There Is No Hidden Villain in This Novel Chapter 129

“Is, is there a fire?!”

Clearly not. Seeing the mystical flames rise… uh oh, I think I know this. I’ve seen it in a textbook. Unlike Ryuseong’s, this blue flame had a strange jade tint to it, a color that couldn’t help but bring a certain word to mind…

“…Goblin fire?”

“Kyahahahaha! That’s right! Correct!”

As if my guess was right, a tiny goblin appeared through the smoke, flashing a grin of perfectly white teeth!

“Hello, I am a goblin born from the most, most terrifying story!”

Its entrance was quite impressive. Some of the kids were making a fuss, saying the goblin was cute and adorable.

The goblin, enjoying the reaction, flashed its pearly whites again and shouted.

“From now on, let’s have a time to confess the most frightening, terrifying, and sad stories of your lives! The kind of incidents that were so miserable, so desperate, so endlessly lamentable that they left a trauma on your lives! If you don’t, you’ll never get out of here, nyah-nyah!”

The faces of some of the students standing before the cackling goblin hardened. And I just laughed.

Ah, the academy is doing all sorts of things.

This body of mine knew full well the purpose behind the academy’s actions. Even though the abandoned house event was proceeding in a slightly different way from the original story I read, I knew exactly what their ultimate goal was. Therefore, I wasn’t scared.

Meanwhile, the other students didn’t seem to feel scared yet, as they didn’t understand the weight of these words. While everyone was dumbfounded, the goblin added.

“But it’s still incomplete. There are only nine of you for now!”

Dietrich cocked an eyebrow and said.

“One, two, three, four… what are you talking about? There are ten of us.”

But I soon realized one variable.

‘Logan Esteban.’

He’s gagged, and there are no tools for writing, nor can he use sign language.

Therefore, he was excluded from the count of people who could tell a scary story.

“Who gagged that guy?”

Hae Yuna, without much thought, approached Logan to remove the gag. And at that very moment.

「Logan Esteban wandered here and there, threatening the very existence of the test of courage. If the gag is removed, 999,999,999,999,999,999,999 won will be deducted from the mission fee of the person who removed it. Absolutely do not remove it. No gesture hints. Absolutely forbidden! It’s a pity, but it can’t be helped. Aigoo, you shouldn’t have broken the taboo!」

A mission paper, like a translucent veil with this message written on it, floated in the air.

At that, Hae Yuna, who was about to rescue Logan, let out a shriek and performed a shoulder throw on him.

Crash!

‘…Is Logan dead?’

I wasn’t the only one who was dumbfounded; the other members also had blank expressions. But Hae Yuna, standing before everyone’s stares, declared boldly. As if she had something to rely on!

“I knew something was strange when Ryuseong was carrying this guy around! Logan must have done something really wrong! Seeing how the system is acting. I don’t know what it is, but!”

You’re going to shoulder throw him without even knowing what it is?

However, the friendless lackeys just watched the situation unfold without saying a word, despite the tears welling up in Logan’s eyes. Truly, they were certified scoundrels.

Lee Hyang, however, did question it.

“Well, if you put it that way, isn’t that Ryuseong guy suspicious too? Why is he carrying around a mission fee bomb?”

“Th-that’s true?”

However, the culprit wasn’t with us, and since I wanted to get out of the abandoned house quickly to meet up with Ryuseong, I ordered the latecomers to read the mission paper.

Though Logan couldn’t see it because he was tied up… which made the corners of his eyes even wetter, no one helped him up. Capone and Dietrich, having read the entire mission paper, exchanged glances for a moment before asking.

“Uh, um, is it alright if we start… that is to say, would you forgive us for asking if you are in a state where it is acceptable to seek your permission?”

“…”

His voice is trembling. Is he scared? It’s almost cute. At least it means he’s being considerate. So instead of asking him what nonsense he was spouting, I kindly just snorted.

“I am in the middle of considering. You will wait until I make a choice.”

I have to decide whether to go catch one more person or to remove Logan’s gag.

It was quite a struggle to gather even these ten people. Would anyone else pass by after this? There was a high chance I would just be wasting time trusting in luck. On the other hand, Logan’s gag could be removed right away. It would probably hurt since it’s duct tape, but it’s not on my body.

That wasn’t the only advantage.

‘I’ll also get to hear what kind of weakness Logan has in his heart.’

It’s not just any story. It’s a place to tell a ‘scary story’ that has left a scar on one’s life and a trauma in one’s heart. A weakness. If he’s going to be hovering around me anyway, isn’t it better to be able to predict what he might do? And the easiest way to know that is through a person’s wounds.

While I was having these thoughts, I stood in front of Logan and stared at him for a moment. Logan looked at me with eyes that I couldn’t tell if they were fearful or pleading, before avoiding my gaze. All the while, the warning message fluttered before my eyes.

Right, this is the problem. The penalty.

They said that by completing missions, a way to call a helicopter would appear. And from the feel of it so far, the most likely means would be the mission fee.

But the moment I rip this guy’s gag off, my mission fee goes into the red.

As I stood before Logan, lost in thought, the goblin spoke.

“Come on, hurry up and try your best! That’s how you’ll earn mission fees.”

Come to think of it, all of this is ultimately a school trip. The school trip’s imaginary currency versus digging up someone’s weakness. Isn’t it obviously the latter? It was an unparalleled opportunity. I ripped Logan’s gag off.

「Cassis de Millang’s mission fee has been deducted by 999,999,999,999,999,999,999 won! You’d better get ready to be last place!」

For a mission paper’s text, it’s pretty annoying. Anyway, was it because I ripped off the duct tape? Logan looked at me with teary eyes. His appearance, like a rain-soaked puppy, was a bit bewildering, but looking closely, it seemed like he was grateful to me.

I guess it makes sense for him to be grateful, since I freed him from his restraints at the cost of a huge penalty. Though I didn’t expect him to go this far.

I smiled nonchalantly.

“How does it feel to be free?”

“Sob, thank you. Hoooook…! F-finally free…! Three days, two days? I don’t know. What day is it even… Sob sob sob…!”

‘…Don’t tell me?’

My guess was right. From what I heard, it seemed Logan had been kidnapped by the faculty as a penalty for peeking at the preparations for the abandoned house horror experience.

“It was truly atrocious! They kept feeding me delicious food! Sob sob. Saying I’m nothing but bones. I worked so hard to build my muscles! I lost muscle mass and gained weight. Waaaaah. I was on a diet.”

‘…It just sounds like you ate well and came back.’

Putting that aside, since there was something I needed to ask him, I spoke up while Hae Yuna was awkwardly comforting Logan.

“Then you wouldn’t have gone for a walk outside wearing a hanbok, would you?”

“What? Yes, that’s right. I couldn’t even go out. Sniffle sniffle.”

…Then I guess the ‘Logan’ I met wasn’t Logan.

I got all the information I needed. Now it’s time to collect weaknesses. Leaving the grieving Logan behind, I turned my gaze to the villain’s lackeys who were making sour faces.

They bowed their heads as if to ask. I crafted a perfect smile and smiled with my eyes.

“Go on and give it a try.”

And Dietrich began the story of the bachelor ghost.

‘He’s supposed to talk about his own experience, what is this nonsense?’

It seemed that they, having much to hide, started with that to see if only stories they truly experienced would count. Moreover, towards the end, he vaguely connected it to his own life, mumbling something about an old bachelor.

‘He should enter a speech contest. This bastard is good at weaving things together.’

I gave it a not-bad evaluation. But the goblin, as if unable to stand it, clenched its fists and started beating Dietrich. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Boring! Useless! Worthless! Sorry, tree!”

“Hey, what’s your problem!”

“Being no fun is a sin!”

The goblin’s blows were surprisingly strong. And its demands and standards were high too.

“Tell me a story that brought despair to your lifeeeee!”

After getting thoroughly beaten, Dietrich dejectedly returned to his corner. The goblin then said seriously.

“Anyway, the stories you tell won’t remain in anyone else’s memory.”

At those words, the guys who had been looking crestfallen a moment ago immediately made strange expressions. It seemed their respective stories were so painfully heavy that they didn’t want them to be revealed.

‘Clumsy fools.’

At times like these, you need to control your expression. Revealing your emotions so openly is no different from advertising that you have a weakness.

Just revealing the fact that you might have a weakness makes you vulnerable in the world of Clearers.

‘But it’s too late. I’ve remembered you all well.’

By the way, this is a problem. A story that was the most frightening, terrifying, and sad. I’m confident in my ability to talk, but I couldn’t immediately think of anything on this topic. There were tons of facts I had to hide, but when I tried to recall events that had wounded me, nothing in particular came to mind. In fact, maybe there just aren’t any?

‘No, that’s not it! If all the memories are going to be erased, then why did I get a penalty?!’

While Cassis had momentarily forgotten about Ryuseong, Ryuseong was closer than he thought.