The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 28

Opening the bundle, Jade produced the star-shaped potatoes and purple carrots he’d dug up today, presenting them with a flourish. He wondered if carrots in the North were naturally purple, but looking at Ian and Buster’s expressions, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Uh… carrots?”

“Myang? Ka-ang!”

Ian looked bewildered but was clearly trying his best not to let it show, while Buster was treats them as if they were straight-up inedible.

[ >> Item << ]

“Shade Carrot”

※ A carrot that looks somewhat depressed. It is edible.

However, Jade decided to trust the system window. The color might be suspicious, but the fact that it was edible was the most important part, wasn’t it?

“They only look like this on the outside; they’ll taste fine. I saw them often when I was learning the ropes as an attendant.”

Even though he hadn’t been here long, Jade pushed through with a bold face. Whether it was an attendant or a part-timer doing odd jobs, it was all pretty much the same thing, wasn’t it?

“Now, now, I’ll have this ready in no time.”

“Can I watch?”

“Myang.”

Ian asked from beside Jade, who was busy setting out the kitchen tools. In truth, “kitchen tools” consisted of a cutting board, a large knife with a dull blade, and a bowl.

“Of course. You’re more than welcome.”

Jade replied cheerfully, rolling up his sleeves and washing the carrots and potatoes thoroughly in cold water. Since there was no grater, he had to julienne the vegetables entirely by hand.

“Hmm, mmm-mmm.”

Jade’s hands moved busily as he hummed a tune. Buster’s tail swayed from side to side to the rhythm of Jade’s humming, and the crisp scritch-scratch sound of slicing echoed through the kitchen.

A sweet, fresh scent rose from the freshly dug carrots. As the rhythmic knife-work continued, the julienned vegetables piled up in the bowl, gradually forming a small hill.

“Kieee—”

As the bustling sounds spread, the mop ghost slid down the wall and drifted toward the kitchen. Bluey, who was riding on the mop ghost, naturally came along for the ride. Bluey shook its leaves to the beat of Jade’s humming.

“Kie.”

“Waaaah?”

Upon reaching the carrots, Bluey’s leaves stood bolt upright. It was an unfortunate coincidence that the carrots looked remarkably similar to Bluey’s own body.

“Waaaaaaah?”

Bluey fumbled over its own body with its stubby arms.

“Huh?”

Jade’s knife stopped in mid-air. Bluey’s leaves, which were quite large compared to its body, were trembling.

Jade looked back and forth between the purple carrots on the cutting board and Bluey. Unlike thick Korean carrots, the purple carrots dug out of the snow were short and plump. Because of that, they really did resemble Bluey’s shape.

Technically, Bluey’s body was white, so it looked more like ginseng than a carrot, but still.

“Waaaaah…”

Bluey made a whimpering sound and covered its face with its short arms. It looked just like a small child burying their face in their arms to cry.

“Whoa, no, no. I’m not cutting you.”

Jade tried to make a frantic excuse after setting the knife down, but the bowl was already full of julienned carrots.

“Hwaaaa.”

The mop ghost swayed from side to side while carrying Bluey, but Bluey’s wails only grew louder. Once it started crying in earnest, it was going to be quite a handful to soothe.

“Now, Bluey. Let’s close our eyes for a second. If you close your eyes, you can’t see anything, right?”

Giving up on making excuses in front of the shredded carrots, Jade chose the “out of sight, out of mind” approach. He planned to cover Bluey’s eyes entirely.

However, Bluey didn’t have eyes, a nose, or a mouth, so he had no idea where he was supposed to cover. His panicked hands moved busily.

“Come to think of it, you don’t even have eyes, so how do you see?”

“It’s likely a way of perceiving information about its surroundings. The mop ghost is the same, right?”

“Is that actually possible?”

“They’re different beings from humans, after all. I think it perceives things through its leaves, too.”

Ian, who had been watching from the side, spoke up. Thinking back, the mop ghost was always moving its tassels, and Bluey was always moving its leaves.

“Here.”

Unlike before, Ian pulled out a small cast-iron pot with an indifferent face. He seemed to be suggesting they keep Bluey inside the pot for a while.

“Mmm… then let’s stay in here for a bit.”

Taking the pot on impulse, Jade opened the lid and put Bluey inside. As expected, Ian’s method worked. With its surroundings blocked out, it seemed unable to perceive any information.

“Hwa-ng?”

Instead of stopping its crying, Bluey shook its leaves curiously from side to side. Its leaves fumbled against the inside of the pot. Bluey moved its body toward the sound of Jade’s voice as if asking where it was.

“Waaaaaaah?”

Standing up inside the pot, Bluey flailed about, grabbing the rim as if trying to climb out. Since the pot was shallow, it could reach the edge, but its arms and legs were so stubby that it couldn’t easily pull itself out.

As Ian watched Bluey’s struggling attempt to escape, he went somewhere and brought back a deep pot. He seemed intent on stuffing Bluey into a pot so deep it wouldn’t even be able to reach the rim.

Whenever Jade saw this cold streak in Ian—who usually seemed like such a fragile, gentle boy—he couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Haha…”

“Here, Jade.”

“Mmm…”

“I’ll put it in.”

When Jade hesitated, Ian reached out and moved Bluey himself. He moved quickly, using his thumb and index finger as if the creature were something that shouldn’t be touched. It seemed he found touching Bluey unpleasant.

“Hwaaaaaaaah…!”

It seemed the feeling was mutual, as Bluey finally burst into a full-blown wail.

“Waaaaah! Aaaaaah…!”

Bluey lay on the bottom of the pot, flailing its arms and legs like it was throwing a tantrum. The way it swung its short arms in the air looked almost like it was throwing punches.

Whenever Ian spoke or stepped closer, those punches grew more forceful. It seemed it had recognized the enemy who put it in the pot. Jade’s small hope for the villa family to get along seemed to be getting further and further away.

“But a pot is a bit much, don’t you think?”

Jade scratched his head with a troubled expression. He knew it was a way to stop it from perceiving its surroundings, but it still felt weird.

Of course, he had absolutely no intention of eating Bluey. But putting it in a pot gave him a strange sense of guilt. Yet, if he sent it away on top of the mop ghost, it would probably just cry again.

“Let’s see…”

“Myang.”

As Jade looked around, Buster brought over a thick dishcloth from somewhere. He then began to wave the cloth gently over Bluey. He seemed to be suggesting they just cover Bluey with the cloth.

“Uh, yeah. That’s okay, but…”

“Myang, Myang!”

“Wouldn’t Bluey have trouble breathing if we do that?”

Seriously, neither Ian nor Buster had any consideration for Bluey at all.

“Myang?”

Even now, Buster flicked his triangular ears as if to ask what the problem was. Instead, he dropped the cloth over Bluey with a display of cuteness, as if urging Jade to just cover it up already.

“A sack! Right, let’s put it in a sack!”

Snatched the cloth out of the air, Jade hurriedly stopped Buster. If Bluey struggled while smothered by a cloth, its leaves would surely be ruined.

“This is perfect!”

Taking Bluey out of the pot, Jade opened the sack he carried every day. Since he’d brought Bluey home in this the first time, he figured the little guy would be less resistant to it.

“Waaah?”

Bluey still didn’t seem happy, but it became quieter than it had been in the pot.

“Haha, I’m exhausted and I haven’t even done anything yet.”

“Are you tired, Jade?”

“No, I’m fine.”

It wasn’t so much being tired as it was feeling drained. However, looking into Ian’s beautiful eyes, those negative words just wouldn’t come out.

“Phew.”

Taking a breath, Jade began his knife-work again. Thump, thump, thump—the slicing continued with a clean, rhythmic beat.

Bluey stayed in the sack, and Buster and Ian stayed by Jade’s side until all the vegetables were prepped. The mop ghost also watched, crawling along the kitchen wall.

Jade’s knife-work was fast and precise, making it a joy to watch. The three of them followed Jade’s hands with their eyes.

“Alright, now we just mix it with flour! Simple, right?”

“The vegetables look pretty.”

“Myang.”

Jade, who had neatly sliced the potatoes and carrots, set the knife aside. Ian and Buster looked at the evenly sliced vegetables with curious eyes.

“Once we add flour and water, it’s basically done. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“Is it a food you like, Jade?”

“Of course. Buster, I bet you’ll like it too.”

“Myaaaang…!”

Buster was a picky eater, but since Jade spoke so confidently, his appetite was whetted. Ian was also looking forward to it, simply because Jade said it was a food he liked.

“Man, flour. How long has it been since I’ve seen this?”

Picking up the long-awaited flour, Jade couldn’t hide his emotion. It was the first time he’d handled flour since dropping into this place. It was more precious than gold.

Jade decided to measure out only half of the flour into a bowl. He couldn’t eat all the precious flour in one go.

His plan was to use half today and use the remaining half tomorrow to make carrot crackers. Since there was sugar, it would be perfect. It was a simple dish: slice the carrots thin, coat them in flour, fry them until crispy, and sprinkle with sugar.

Jade pulled at the top of the sack he’d started opening earlier. He planned to open it completely, pour out only what he needed, and move the rest to a jar.

“Why won’t the end of this open?”

However, opening the mouth of the sack was harder than expected. Unlike the flour Jade used in the modern world, the mouth of this sack was secured with thread, and it was stitched as tightly as a piece of clothing.

“Ugh, this…”

“Myang…!”

As Jade struggled, Buster lunged in to help. Two cotton-ball-like front paws tugged at the edge of the sack.

“Myang!”

“Huh?”

Buster’s sharp claws proved their worth. He caught the end of the thread and pulled it loose.

The problem was that it wasn’t intentional. He had just been waving his paws around when the beginning of the knot accidentally got caught on a claw.

The thread unraveled in an instant. A startled Buster pulled his paw back. The flour sack was yanked along with it.

“Myang?!”

“Gasp…!”

With a poof, the mouth of the sack burst open. At that same moment, flour poured out like a firework.