Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 16: The Mage's Mansion (3)
"Let's go."
Hamel drew his sword and cautiously moved forward.
Everyone held their breath in tension, and a quiet silence fell over the hallway.
Just as they were passing in front of the dining room where the monster had entered,
—Crunch, crack!
A chilling sound came from within.
What could possibly make such a sound when chewed?
The strange, rhythmic sound continued for a while, then the clatter of silverware hitting the floor.
After that, the chewing sound resumed.
—Crunch, munch, munch!
It was chewing.
There was no need to think long about what it was eating.
He felt nauseous just imagining the pig carcass with its entrails spilling out that he had seen in the dining room.
'Is it chewing and swallowing the bones whole?'
It seemed he wasn't the only one who realized this.
Antonio and Daniel's expressions were also grim.
Hamel gestured for them to keep moving.
If the monster was focused on something, it would be easier to pass by.
His companions followed without a word.
Carefully moving forward, they soon reached the kitchen.
Fortunately, the monster didn't come out of the dining room.
Hamel breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.
His companions were staring at him with tense expressions.
"..."
Since when had he become the leader of the group?
Hamel felt a slight burden, but he did what he had to do.
"We'll enter the kitchen now. Get ready."
He knew that he, as an exorcist priest, was the most experienced in this kind of situation.
At Hamel's words, his companions nodded without hesitation and adjusted their grips on their weapons.
Hamel turned away from them and calmly turned the doorknob of the kitchen.
The doorknob turned with a click.
Through the slowly opening door, the rhythmic sound of chopping could be heard.
—Chop, chop, chop, chop!
The kitchen knife was still moving on its own, chopping something on the cutting board.
"We've retrieved the tea set."
Hamel said as he stepped inside, and the chopping sound abruptly stopped.
A brief silence fell.
The group tensed, gripping their weapons tightly.
But at that moment,
"...Ah, thank you for your effort. Please put it on the table over there."
The voice said nonchalantly and resumed chopping.
As nothing happened, the group relaxed and quietly lowered their weapons.
Hamel carefully sheathed his sword and asked,
"You made a promise."
"Ah, about how to go upstairs."
The kitchen knife stopped chopping and turned around.
Everyone flinched as the tip of the knife pointed towards Hamel, but contrary to their worries, it didn't fly towards him.
The knife floated in the air, moving towards a bell in the corner of the kitchen, and rang it with a clang.
And at that moment...
...Clank, clank, clank
The deafening sound of something heavy being dragged echoed through the mansion.
"If you go out now, there will be stairs."
The kitchen knife said flatly, returning to the cutting board to continue cooking.
Hamel stared at the kitchen knife with a strange expression.
‘That's it?’
No way.
It was a demon.
There was no way it would keep its promise so quietly and end things here.
It was definitely going to try and stab them in the back.
Hamel shook off his hesitation and clasped his hands together.
He intended to burn the entire fireplace where the demon was hiding with azure flames.
At that moment.
Thump
Someone grabbed Hamel's hand.
"...Head Priest."
"Let's go."
The Head Priest smiled kindly and slowly unclasped Hamel's hands.
Then he bowed his head towards the kitchen knife in gratitude and turned around.
Unable to understand the Head Priest, Hamel asked in a stiff voice.
"Father. That's a demon."
"I know."
"Then why...!"
"Didn't it keep its promise?"
"That's... We don't know yet."
"If we harm it based on assumptions about something that hasn't happened, what makes us any better than a demon?"
"..."
Hamel closed his mouth tightly.
It wasn't because he agreed.
Honestly, he thought the Head Priest's logic was idealistic and lacked a sense of reality.
But Hamel followed the priest's words.
It was because the rest of the group was confused by the conflict between the two.
"I understand for now."
When Hamel yielded, the Head Priest placed a hand on his shoulder as if to thank him.
Just as the group was about to leave the kitchen...
"Wait a moment."
The voice of the Centipede Bride could be heard from behind.
'I knew it.'
There was no way a demon would just let humans go.
As if he had expected it, Hamel drew his sword halfway and turned around. And there...
"...?"
A large plate was floating in the air. The kitchen knife was placed neatly on the cutting board.
"What is this?"
At Hamel's question, the plate, covered with a food lid, was held out towards him.
"You'll need this upstairs. Take it."
"Why are you giving me this?"
"It's a reward for helping me with my work."
"..."
Hamel nodded and accepted it without thinking.
That was it.
The Centipede Bride resumed her kitchen chores.
She grumbled about the broken teapot, but she didn't chase after them with a knife.
—Click!
As Hamel stepped out of the kitchen, looking confused, the head priest smiled and said,
"Hamel-nim, may I share a conclusion I've reached after my long religious life?"
"Of course."
The head priest was also someone who had served faithfully in the Order for a long time.
Hamel had no intention of ignoring him.
He listened attentively to the priest's words.
The priest expressed his gratitude and continued calmly,
"After experiencing all that, I've come to realize only one thing. There are no absolutes."
"...What do you mean?"
"Demons and humans are both creations of God. There is no absolute evil or absolute good."
"...That goes against the doctrine."
"Of course, it's a secret outside these walls."
Seeing Hamel's uneasy expression, the priest chuckled and replied,
"See more, learn more. If you confine yourself to your own way of thinking, you'll miss out on many things."
Hamel unconsciously nodded.
The seasoned head priest's words carried the weight of experience.
After a pause, the head priest asked curiously,
"So, what is that?"
"Who knows."
Hamel shrugged and lifted the lid of the dish.
He saw the food placed on the plate.
"...It's a cat."
"...Indeed."
Meow!
"...And it's alive."
"...Oh my God."
As the priest turned his head, Hamel quietly closed the lid.
He didn't know what use a bound black cat could possibly have, but at least it didn't seem threatening.
"I hope you're right, Father."
Hamel muttered, though he didn't believe it himself.
Just as they were deep in conversation,
Daniel approached and said.
"Hamel, I found the stairs. They're close by."
As he said, the stairs had appeared right next to the kitchen door.
"Good. Shall we go now?"
Hamel nodded and casually handed the plate with the cat to Antonio.
"Please hold this for me. I'm not very fond of cats."
"...Why are you giving this to me? Hamel-nim? I'm afraid of cats."
Antonio, holding the plate, looked back and forth between the plate and Hamel with a wrong expression, but Hamel was already gone.
***
"Ugh..."
Antonio groaned, nervously holding the cat that was struggling against its bonds.
Of all things, a cat.
And a black cat, no less, a symbol of witches.
Antonio disliked cats more than anything, so he voiced his complaint.
"Why are we taking this thing with us? Can't we just leave it?"
Just as Antonio, pouting with his lips stuck out, was about to climb the stairs to the second floor.
Bang!
Suddenly, the sound of a door being violently flung open echoed from the first-floor hallway.
His heart almost leaped out of his chest.
Waaaagh!
Meow!
The startled Antonio hugged the cat tightly.
It wasn't difficult to figure out where the sound came from. Antonio slowly turned his head towards the source.
He had a feeling he knew what it was.
"..."
With a silent prayer, he creaked his head around. Unfortunately, his expectations were not misplaced.
[Ugh...]
He heard the familiar, garbled pronunciation.
The unidentified monster.
It was back.
Antonio tensed up, expecting it to charge towards them, but it didn't.
The monster looked around for a moment, then slowly moved towards the parlor.
As if following some kind of trail.
And Antonio thought he knew what the monster was doing.
"...Is that thing chasing us?"
It was already in the parlor, so the kitchen would be next.
"Oh God..."
Antonio's face turned pale, and he started running up the stairs.
"Hamel-nim! Hamel-nim!"
"Antonio, we can talk about the cat later..."
"It's not that! It's coming!"
"...What is?"
Hamel asked with a frown.
Antonio blurted out without taking a breath,
"That monster from the dining room! It's heading towards the parlor now. I think it's following us! Next, it'll definitely..."
"The kitchen. And then it'll come up to the second floor."
Hamel muttered to himself, frowning.
He was curious about the monster's identity, but at least its purpose was clear.
It was a countdown.
A time constraint they would face if they didn't clear the rooms in time.
That was the meaning of the monster's existence.
"Can't we fight it?"
"We have to avoid it."
When Daniel asked with a puzzled expression, Hamel and David shook their heads simultaneously.
The monster hadn't attacked them even after seeing them.
Because it was a being that absolutely adhered to the rules of the workshop.
That's what made it even more dangerous.
"Is it that dangerous?"
"Can you stop the darkness from falling at night?"
"That's impossible..."
"At least within this workshop, it is."
He didn't know the details, but if they were caught, they would lose according to the rules of the workshop.
If they could kill it, it would likely be after the workshop was deactivated or according to another set of rules within the workshop.
Hamel clicked his tongue and hurried his steps.
"Let's quickly search the second floor."
The order was the same as the first floor.
From the room at the far left to the right.
There were four rooms in total: a dressing room, a study, a doll workshop, and his old room.
They would search those rooms, and when the stairs to the next floor appeared, they would go up.
"Let's go to the dressing room first."
"This isn't easy, is it?"
Daniel, leading the group, started running towards the dressing room door.
It was a race against time now.
***
Hesitation
Daniel abruptly stopped in front of the dressing room.
"This is..."
The others did the same.
There was writing on the dressing room door, written in blood.
Hamel frowned and read it aloud.
"Gather the broken mirrors?"
Hamel tilted his head but pulled the doorknob of the dressing room.
The door opened with a click.
It wasn't locked.
After a moment of contemplation, Hamel spoke.
"Let's go inside first."
To understand the meaning of the message, they had to enter the room.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The dressing room was very dark, so each of them lit a lamp and held it in their hand.
"Let's go in."
With Hamel in the lead, the group slowly stepped into the dressing room.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
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