The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 17

“The Mop Ghost? Is that actually its name?”

Jade asked back, incredulous. This time, instead of Buster, it was Jade whose face was clouded with deep suspicion.

“Yes.”

“What kind of name is that? Who named it with so little effort?”

“I don’t know that part either…”

Ian trailed off, scratching his pale cheek. He had seen it once while reading a book about monsters. It was a type of ghost, but unlike other spirits that appeared translucent, this one was quite visible, so it usually made a habit of avoiding people.

“You don’t… have to worry about it.”

As Ian spoke, his gentle eyes darted around before he added a final thought.

“Probably.”

“What do you mean ‘probably’?”

Jade leaned down to match Ian’s eye level, asking back in horror. His soft, hazelnut-colored eyes filled Ian’s field of vision. Ian avoided his gaze and spoke calmly.

“Before I came here, I studied the monsters and creatures of the North.”

According to the books, the Mop Ghost wasn’t particularly aggressive and had no real powers. All it did was wander around dirty places by itself.

Ian had seen the thing inside the villa occasionally as well, but he hadn’t cared. He wondered, however, if Jade could feel the same way.

“The Mop Ghost… likes dirty places, but it avoids people. I heard they generally fear humans and don’t attack.”

“It doesn’t attack? This is a massive attack on me, though?”

Jade let out a hollow laugh and pointed at the floor where the dirty water stains remained. He was practically snorting with indignation.

“It’s nothing short of a declaration of war.”

Jade raised his index finger and wagged it slowly from side to side. He was so angry he stood with his weight on one leg and crossed his arms. Since Ian had only ever seen Jade laughing heartily, this was a new side of him.

“I know they are generally well-behaved.”

“Then I guess this one doesn’t fall into that ‘general’ category.”

“It’s been fine until now. It only came out a few times…”

“Hmm.”

Jade narrowed his eyes. Ian tried his best to explain, but Jade’s dissatisfaction didn’t subside easily.

Well, of course not. He was looking at having to re-clean the entire third-floor hallway that he’d just made spotless. The future looked dark.

Jade’s planned cleaning schedule was incredibly tight. To have that schedule ruined… he felt like he could only find peace if he found that damn thing and paid it back for this humiliation.

It was also ridiculous that a “Mop Ghost” liked dirty places. If it was a mop, shouldn’t it be making dirty places clean?!

“So, first of all, that thing is a ghost, right?”

“Yes.”

“Since its name is ‘ghost,’ it’s definitely a ghost type, right?”

“Most likely…?”

Having extracted a firm confirmation from the nodding Ian, Jade recalled the skill he had received as a price for his recent fever. The ‘Ghost’s Obedience’ skill, which had some nonsense attached to it about being the “developer’s consideration.”

Maybe he could actually catch that damn thing.

Jade spent the rest of the day until evening immersed in cleaning, huffing and puffing as he gripped his rag. It took the whole day just to wipe away the marks left by that damn mop—or disaster, or whatever it was.

By the time he finished roughly tidying up even the fifth floor, the sunset was settling in. Because the damn ghost had flattened itself against the walls, even the walls were filthy, which made the job take much longer.

“My future healing life…”

Jade ground his teeth. There was a reason he was so obsessed with cleaning.

In anything, establishing dominance early is important. He needed to get the villa in good shape at the start so he could live comfortably later.

If this damn Mop Ghost kept appearing and dirtying the places he’d cleaned, it would be a huge problem. Jade opened his skill window to read the description in detail.

[ Special Skill

‘Ghost’s Obedience’

Description

You can command a ghost to submit to you. ]

Just like his other skills, the description didn’t exceed a single line. It was a truly unfriendly game. But right now, the fact that he could force submission out of that thing was all that mattered.

[ Warning

Using this skill results in damage; the type of damage is unknown. ]

The part about “damage” was still unsettling, but to Jade, the very existence of the Mop Ghost was already a massive amount of damage.

Jade ground his teeth until the moment he went to bed. He was usually a cool-headed person who didn’t hold grudges, but he could not tolerate the act of dirtying a place he had cleaned.

And the opportunity for revenge arrived before long.

The next day, Jade grilled mushrooms as usual and began his cleaning routine. Today, he was on the fifth floor, where he had left off yesterday.

Didn’t the Mop Ghost like dirty places? If that was the case, he wouldn’t leave a single dirty spot behind.

“Meow, meow. Meow-meow.”

Since the incident yesterday, Buster had been following Jade like a shadow.

“Sundol, you believe me now, don’t you?”

“Myang!”

Initially, Buster had looked at Jade with a face full of doubt, but now he answered confidently as if that had never happened.

He’d felt a bit slighted yesterday, but Jade was grateful to have Buster by his side now. It felt as if the little guy was trying to protect him from the mysterious spirit.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Myang!”

Buster held a small piece of cloth, like a handkerchief, intending to help Jade. Jade, clutching his rag, stopped in his tracks as he headed up to the fifth floor with Buster. It was because of Ian, who was already standing at the fifth-floor railing, looking down at them.

“Oh? When did you get here? I told you to rest, young master.”

“I had nothing to do, and I was bored.”

Ian, who had been waiting for Jade on the fifth floor, avoided his gaze the moment Jade arrived and awkwardly started wiping the hallway railing.

“Young master…!”

Jade clasped his hands together, his face full of emotion. Recalling Ian’s behavior over the past few days, tears nearly welled up in his eyes. And for good reason—hadn’t Ian been avoiding Jade at every turn except for meal times?

Whenever Jade tried to read him a book he’d found in the library…

‘I’m fine.’

He would refuse with those words.

‘I’d like to be alone.’

He gave a cold response to the suggestion of making a snowman together.

‘I don’t like people touching me.’

When Jade had brought out scissors to trim his hair as promised, Ian had even pushed him away coldly.

Jade wanted to get along with Ian as best as possible. Part of it was wanting Ian not to kill him, but since they were the only two people to talk to, what reason was there to be on bad terms?

Jade was unusual for persisting despite the repeated rejections, but Ian was equally impressive for pushing him away every single time.

Perhaps that was why. He was so happy that Ian had approached him first today, saying he would clean with him.

“Alright then, shall we clean together harmoniously?!”

Jade said, clapping his hands like a cleaning foreman. Buster answered energetically, followed by Ian.

“Myang!”

“Yes.”

The fifth floor was the dirtiest place in the villa and had the most areas to clean. Jade suspected that was why the Mop Ghost had been staying there.

“If I run into him today, I’m not letting him off easy.”

Jade reaffirmed his firm resolve. He planned to catch it and wring it out until not a single drop of that dirty water remained. He would dunk it at least ten times in water full of detergent. And, as if responding to Jade’s resolve, the Mop Ghost appeared not long after they started cleaning.

“Grrrr… hiss!”

The first one to spot the ghost was Buster, who was in a corner. Buster, who always cried in a cute voice, growled like a wild beast. It was a fiercer sound than even the one he made toward Ian.

“What happened?!”

Jade threw down his rag and ran toward Buster.

Skitter-skitter-skitter—

As expected, the Mop Ghost from yesterday was there. But the aura it gave off was different. If it had been fleeing from Jade yesterday, today it felt like it had appeared on purpose.

“Ha! You want to go?”

Jade curled his lip. The Mop Ghost was clearly provoked. It seemed angry that someone was cleaning the space it frequented. A dark gray smoke shimmered like an aurora behind the ghost. But Jade was just as pissed off.

“Myaaaa—!”

It happened then. The strands of yarn stretched out long like rubber bands, forming a whip-like shape and lashing out in all directions. One strand moved rapidly through the air as if threatening Buster.

“Myaack!”

“Sundol!”

Buster was sent flying by the ghost’s attack. The Mop Ghost seemed to recognize Buster as more of an enemy than Jade.

“Myang!”

Fortunately, being winged, Buster wasn’t hurt. He drew a curve in the air and flew back to them quickly.

“Jade!”

“Don’t come over here!”

Ian, who was on the opposite side, came running. Jade, having stopped Ian, kept a safe distance from the Mop Ghost while considering the length of the yarn strands.

“Whoa…!”

But the whip-like strands weren’t the only thing to worry about. Something spewed out from the ghost. Dirty water shot out like it was coming from a watering can. And the direction of that attack was toward Ian, who looked the weakest.

“…!”

“Young master!”

Hit by the water, Ian’s body was lifted into the air. His floating body drifted over the railing, about to fall to the floor below.

“No…!”

“Myang!”

Jade threw his body forward reflexively. He managed to grab Ian just in time, but his own upper body tilted over the railing, and they both nearly fell.

“Y-Young master!”

Jade pulled Ian into an embrace and collapsed onto the hallway floor with a heavy thud. He gasped for air, his breath coming in ragged bursts.

I almost died. If I had fallen from the fifth floor, I really would have lost my life. The danger was on a completely different level compared to rolling down the stairs.

“Are you okay? Young master! Ian!”

Without even a moment to catch his breath, Jade checked on Ian. Thanks to his quick grab, Ian hadn’t fallen, but he was unconscious.

“You damn ghost.”

Jade ground his teeth. From here on out, he had to move fast. He had to force submission before that ghost could try any other tricks.

‘Open Skill.’

He quickly opened the skill window. Simultaneously, the smoke surrounding the Mop Ghost grew thicker and thicker. It seemed the creature was preparing for its next attack as well.

Jade put strength into his determined eyes and pressed the button to activate the skill. But who could have known? That Jade’s bad luck would affect him even in a desperate moment like this.

[ Activation Condition

You must shout the phrase ‘Submit to me’ three times. ]

“What?!”

‘There was no mention of this yesterday!’

Jade screamed internally with all his might.