The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 41

“Sigh…”

Waking up to the morning light, Jade rose with a heavy sigh.

Even after a full day, the pain hadn’t subsided. The back of his hand was stinging, but it had scabbed over and was doing alright. The problem was his arm. He felt like he really needed professional treatment for the crack in the bone.

Actually, he wanted to confirm if it was even a crack in the first place. Was it a clean break, or had it just become inflamed? The fact that it kept swelling and throbbing was a truly bad sign.

“I’m hungry.”

Even if his body ached, the chores had to be done. Since Jade was the only one capable of working in the villa, there was no other way.

One monster and one young child. Their mouths depended on Jade. Oh, as of yesterday, Bluey had grown a mouth too, so the number of people he was responsible for had increased to three in total.

The longer you lie down, the more sluggish you get. Jade quickly forced himself up, washed, and headed downstairs.

But was he imagining it? From the direction of the kitchen, he heard the low murmur of voices and the sound of something being chopped with a knife. What’s more, the knife work sounded incredibly clumsy and slow.

“Meow!”

“Then you try it.”

He heard Buster’s grumbling cry followed by Ian’s prickly voice. It seemed they were bickering again.

He had wondered why Buster, who usually slept by his side, was nowhere to be seen this morning, but here he was. Drawing closer, he saw Ian standing on a chair, busy peeling potatoes.

“What are you doing, sir?”

“…You said it was potato stew for breakfast today.”

Ian’s voice was a bit blunt as he spoke hesitantly. The sight made Jade burst into an involuntary smile.

He felt like he was getting to know Ian better and better. This little boy became pricklier and more standoffish whenever he was embarrassed or struggled to express his emotions. He likely wanted to help the injured Jade.

As Ian said, the menu for breakfast today was potato stew. Originally, he had planned on making roasted potatoes, but he changed the menu because of Bluey. When he checked on Bluey—who had just grown facial features yesterday—he realized the little guy had no teeth. That was why he’d switched to a soft stew.

“Hmm.”

It seemed Ian intended to chop the potatoes into sizes good for boiling… but unfortunately, the hacked-up potatoes on the cutting board were a mess.

The skins had been sliced off so thickly they looked gouged, and the pieces he’d cut were all different sizes and jagged. Bits of unpeeled skin still clung to them here and there.

However, the only tool in the kitchen was a large chef’s knife. For Jade, who had worked many kitchen part-time jobs, using a large knife to peel vegetables and for various other tasks was easy, but it must have been too much for Ian’s small hands to handle. It was a miracle he hadn’t hurt himself.

“You peeled these well.”

Jade flashed a grin at Ian, who must have struggled for a long time to peel and cut the potatoes. Setting the knife down, Ian looked away and muttered.

“Liar.”

“I mean it. I was much worse when I was your age, Ian.”

It was the truth. Jade had to cook for himself from a young age. Since there was no one to look after him, he had no choice if he wanted to fill his growling stomach.

Back then, Jade was so scared of using knives that he only filled up on foods that were easy to prepare. Had he just splashed soy sauce on rice and eaten it like that? Compared to his past self, Ian was doing quite excellently.

“I’ll handle the knife work now, so please help me with something else, Ian.”

Jade gently took the knife from Ian’s hand. Well, it wasn’t as if seeing Ian with a knife made him suddenly realize the kid had killed two servants.

“Would you mind holding the potatoes so they’re easier to slice?”

“…Yes, sir.”

Jade picked up a potato that had been peeled but not yet sliced and placed it on the cutting board. Since he couldn’t use both hands, Ian held the potato steady while Jade cut it into appropriate sizes.

“Now for the carrots.”

It was the same when peeling and cutting the carrots. With Ian holding them, it was much easier. Ian was quite sharp. When Jade went to wipe the knife, Ian turned on the water, and when he went to season the stew, Ian brought over the salt.

“Could you give it a taste?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh.”

Unconsciously, he tried to use his left arm, and a wave of pain rushed in. When he let out an involuntary groan, Ian flinched and looked up at Jade. Seeing the boy’s eyes droop and his expression darken, Jade forced a wide grin as if it were nothing.

In his original world, he would have been treated at a hospital and had it stabilized with a cast, but in a secluded place like this, he had to be satisfied with just a splint. Still, since the cracked arm was his left, he was able to finish cooking.

“There! The potato stew is finished.”

“Meow!”

“Huaaa.”

After struggling alongside Ian, they managed to complete the stew. He wasn’t sure if food made of just potatoes, onions, carrots, and seasoning could be called a stew, but for now, Buster and Bluey’s reactions were good.

“Huaaa, uaaa.”

Bluey looked even more adorable now that he had eyes, a nose, and a mouth. He blinked his small black eyes and opened his triangular mouth.

Actually, even though he had a mouth now, it was a mystery whether he could actually eat food. It was written in the encyclopedia, but since he was a creature that originally lived by absorbing fresh water and nutrients from the soil, Jade thought he might not need food. However, seeing how much he liked it, it seemed he could eat.

“Want to try some?”

When Jade cooled some of the broth and fed it to him, Bluey flapped his short arms and wiggled his body. His leaves moved up and down happily. When Jade mashed some potato and fed it to him, he liked that too. The only downside was that his arms were so short that Jade had to keep feeding him. It was a huge relief that his injured arm was the left one.

“Heue.”

After gaining eyes, a nose, and a mouth, Bluey found everything around him fascinating. It was a different look than when he recognized information through his leaves. When placed in his flowerpot, he constantly looked around, and when he caught a good scent, he would sniff with his nose. Perhaps he had cried so much before because he felt stifled; now, he didn’t cry as often as he used to.

Last night, he even crawled out on his own and toddled around the villa. Since Bluey himself was tiny and his legs were only a few centimeters long, Jade thought he wouldn’t be able to get around well, but surprisingly, he scurried here and there quite well—even if he kept falling over because he couldn’t balance his large leaves.

“Can you eat onions too?”

“Heue?”

He didn’t seem particularly picky about food either. It felt strange to suddenly be in charge of childcare, but he didn’t feel tired. Having lived a lonely life, Jade didn’t mind this bustle.

“Mr. Jade, aren’t you eating?”

“Oh, no. I’m eating.”

“……”

Ian stared with an unsatisfied gaze at Jade, who kept feeding the Bluewood. Jade’s bowl of stew had stayed the same for ten minutes. Even when Ian slid the bowl closer with a spoon, Jade was too busy feeding the Bluewood.

He really should have thrown it away when they first brought it. That thing doesn’t even have wings, so it wouldn’t have been able to come back. He hated crowds as it was, and the fact that it was a whiny thing made him dislike it even more. Despite those thoughts, as he swallowed the stew, his insides felt warmly toasted.

“Meow…”

Sensing Ian’s sharp aura, Buster rolled his eyes back and forth with stew smeared on his whiskers. This morning’s meal was coming to an end with Jade and Ian each lost in their own thoughts.

At the latest, he felt he needed to head down to the village by next week. It was partly to treat his arm, but also because the final deadline was fast approaching.

In about ten days, it was the day the supplies were supposed to arrive. And the man had said he wouldn’t send supplies anymore. That meant, in other words, that he wanted Ian’s corpse.

Kill Ian, or run away. Jade was given two options.

The latter was an option that meant being a fugitive for life. If he took the money and didn’t complete the request, there would be consequences. Judging by the aura of the man who brought the supplies, he would surely chase him to the ends of hell.

But could he kill Ian?

‘Fat chance.’

In the end, Jade decided to choose flight. They might hire another hitman to order Ian’s assassination again, but he decided to believe in the set destiny.

Even if Jade left tomorrow, Ian would survive. He was that kind of character. He survives and becomes the final boss, doesn’t he? He had to keep his resolve firm.

And frankly speaking, there was a higher probability that he would die rather than Ian. A child who becomes the final boss versus a hitman who failed an assassination? Anyone could see the latter was at a disadvantage. He had to keep his wits about him. More than anything, he had no choice because he couldn’t kill Ian.

He tried to gather anything of value from the villa, but nothing was in good condition, so he doubted he could get a decent price for them. To live as a fugitive, he would need a lot of money.

‘I’m pretty sure that was a dragon’s claw.’

Then he remembered the box Buster had come out of. The box itself was unusual, but the latch, which was shaped like a dragon’s claw, particularly stuck in his memory.

Regardless of the time or the fantasy world, weren’t dragons rare beings? It was possible he could get a substantial price for it.

“Buster, mate, that box you came out of. Do you really not need it?”

“Meow, Myang.”

Buster waved his front paw, saying he didn’t need it. It was crystal clear he was telling Jade not to bother him because he was annoyed. Jade had unraveled an old knit sweater and made a yarn ball for him, and he was currently preoccupied with playing with it.

“I mean, you might want to go back inside later.”

“Myang?”

“I don’t mean go inside right now, but if you happen to need it…”

“Hiss-!”

Whether it sounded like he was telling him to go back into the egg and the box, Buster bristled his fur and hissed.

“Alright, alright. You said you didn’t need it, okay? You have to be clear about this.”

“Meow.”

“No taking it back later, alright?”

“Myang!”

Having received the final promise, Jade headed toward the storage room. The weather had cleared up, but he was too lazy to go around the back, so he used the underground passage.

The path leading underground was eerie no matter when he used it. Even with a lamp lit, it was dim and damp, which he disliked. Still, thinking that a shortcut was the best way, he was just reaching the storage room when…

Uuuggghhh—

A strange sound, like something a zombie would make, echoed through the underground passage.

“Huh?”

At first, he thought he had misheard. It could be the air trapped inside resonating, or wind might be blowing in from somewhere.

Uuuugggghhhh—

However, the same sound was heard once more. This time, lower and longer than before.