The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 6

Jade gripped the mushroom in his hand. Just then, the sound of calm, steady footsteps approached—tap, tap, tap. Soon, a tiny finger poked Jade’s thigh. Then, it quickly retreated.

“Huh?”

“It’s squashed.”

Ian looked up at Jade, fidgeting with his short fingers. Even as he stole glances at him warily, the way he pointed at the mangled mushroom in Jade’s hand was incredibly cute.

“Oh, this?”

“Yes.”

How could he be this small and lovely? Every time he nodded firmly, his fluttering blonde hair looked just like cotton candy. If Jade hadn’t known what a terrifying being this child would eventually become, he would have bitten those squishy cheeks right then and there.

“Mushrooms actually taste better when you squeeze the moisture out of them.”

“…”

Jade gave a big thumbs up. He had only crushed the mushroom because he was annoyed, but he couldn’t exactly tell the kid that.

Ian looked skeptical, but Jade didn’t back down. After all, there’s no defeating someone who insists they’re right, is there?

Still, this was massive progress. When they first met, the boy had hidden behind a pillar and wouldn’t even make eye contact; now, he was actually initiating conversation. Even if it was just to point out Jade’s mushroom-crushing habits, it was a good sign.

He still didn’t come close, but the vibe wasn’t bad. Maybe, just maybe, Jade could survive without dying at Ian’s hands. However, a week was far too short to change the original route.

‘Tsk, I don’t know.’

Setting down the drained mushroom, Jade shook off his stray thoughts. He didn’t have the mental energy for them anyway. By now, his stomach was practically stuck to his spine.

“More importantly, do you happen to know where the pans or pots are kept, sir?”

“…No.”

“Hmm, I think we’ll get a stomachache if we eat these raw.”

There was always the option of skewering them and roasting them over the campfire, but neither the inside of the villa nor the snowy fields outside were good spots for that. Jade recalled the location of his “exclusive item” that the system window had informed him about.

[ >> Exclusive Item << ]

Beginner’s Cleaning Tools (1)

[ >> Location << ]

Storage shed behind the Linwood family villa

He was still annoyed that cleaning tools were his exclusive item, but he needed them regardless.

Jade figured he’d search the shed while he was at it. If he was lucky, he might find a pot; if not, he might at least find a useful item or two.

“I’m going to head to the shed for a bit.”

Having made up his mind, Jade moved quickly. However, he couldn’t take a step forward because Ian had grabbed his sleeve.

Ian held the edge of Jade’s sleeve with both hands, mumbling something.

“Slowly…”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

When Jade asked for clarification, the boy bluntly brushed off what he was saying. Was he telling him to rest for a moment since he’d just come in from the cold? For such a gesture, the boy’s expression was cold. However, that cold face was flushed bright red.

“I have to go quickly so we can at least eat these mushrooms.”

Jade laughed heartily and gently pulled his sleeve away. He felt like if he stayed too close, the lingering chill from his body would transfer to the child.

Someone as young and neglected as Ian was bound to get sick easily. It didn’t look like there was any proper medicine in the villa, so it would be a problem if he caught a cold.

“I let go because I didn’t want your hands to get cold too, Young Master.”

Jade looked back at Ian and added an explanation as he headed for the shed. Children were easily hurt and prone to misunderstandings over a single word. Jade had been the same during his own childhood.

“You’re still young, so your skin is delicate.”

“I’m not young.”

Ian retorted sharply, shaking his head so vigorously his hair flew about.

“Pfft, ah, right. My apologies.”

Jade couldn’t help but let out a snicker. The way the boy tried to prove he wasn’t young was adorable. That in itself was proof of how young he actually was.

“Please sit here and wait just a moment.”

“…”

Jade pointed to an old chair in the kitchen, but Ian didn’t sit. That said, he didn’t stick to Jade’s side either. He simply hovered nearby.

Jade chuckled and looked up. The snowfall visible through the window was even heavier than when he had first arrived.

“Is there a door that leads to the back of the villa without having to go outside?”

After a moment of thought, Jade asked Ian. If he went out into that blizzard one more time, he felt like he would actually freeze to death.

“There is one.”

Ian headed out of the kitchen as if telling Jade to follow. Jade grabbed a lantern and followed behind him.

“There’s a basement?”

Where Ian led him was the villa’s basement. Behind the stairs, rather than in the central hall, there was another set of stairs leading down.

The villa already looked like an abandoned house, but the basement was even darker. The air was damp, making the hair on Jade’s arms stand up. Even as an adult, Jade got the creeps, but Ian walked ahead with practiced ease as if it were nothing.

In the basement, there were three stairwells leading to different parts of the villa. They were stairs heading back up to the ground floor. Ian headed for the middle passage. This passage was also pitch black. There were lanterns hanging on the walls, but they were out, likely having run out of oil. He’d have to fix them later.

“This should be the shed.”

At the end of the passage Ian pointed to was a worn wooden door. When Jade turned the knob, the hinges let out a nasty screech—creeeak.

“Cough, wheeze…!”

The shed was just as dusty as the rooms. The air was musty, and spiderwebs draped every corner. Jade covered his nose with his arm and pushed open the shed’s window.

“Yikes!”

But he slammed it shut the moment he faced the blizzard. Since the shed was on the ground level, it connected directly to the outside. He had only opened the window for a split second, but the howling cold snap circulated the air instantly. He gained a much sharper chill for his troubles, but the dust cleared out to some extent.

“Oh, it’s quite spacious.”

Now that he could see it properly, the shed was very large. It was of a scale that made calling it a “shed” feel like an insult. The ceiling of the two-story storage space was so high he couldn’t see it, and there were many shelves.

Most of it was junk, but the variety of items seemed decent. Old furniture stood like ghosts under cloth covers, and mysterious objects were stored on the wooden shelves. In the corner, rusted farming equipment and hunting tools were scattered in a mess.

As Jade peered around the shed, the first thing he found was a broom.

[ >> Exclusive Item << ]

You have acquired Beginner’s Cleaning Tools (1)!

As he picked up the broom, a text box appeared accompanied by a cheerful ding.

“Is this it?”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just talking to myself.”

He had his suspicions, but he couldn’t believe a plain, functionless broom was actually his exclusive item.

The number ‘1’ next to the cleaning tool felt like it was mocking him. However, the broom was innocent. And since Jade didn’t have any cleaning supplies, he tucked it away carefully.

“There’s a lot here.”

Starting with the broom, Jade found a large burlap sack and spread it out. He began putting necessary items into the sack one by one.

“Ah! There’s a pot here. There’s kerosene too. Wow, whale oil? This will be very useful.”

“…”

Ian watched Jade with curious eyes as he gathered various things. Before long, he started wandering around the shed himself, looking to and fro. He knew the location of the shed, but this was Ian’s first time actually stepping inside.

“Hmm?”

While Ian was looking around, Jade quickly scanned the shed. His feet came to a sudden halt as he searched every nook and cranny for useful items. An unusual box sitting between dusty shelves caught his eye.

Unlike the other objects, the glossy black box didn’t have a single speck of dust on it. How was that possible in a shed that had been neglected for so long? It felt as though an extraordinary energy radiated from it, as if time itself had bypassed this one box.

“What’s this?”

Jade reached for the box. He figured he should take whatever seemed useful. The box looked high-end, as if it contained something expensive. If it was a decent item, he could sell it for a fair price to buy groceries.

“Ho-oh?”

But for some reason, a strange sense of unease washed over Jade.

Delicate silver patterns were engraved on the surface of the box, and the latch was shaped like a dragon’s claw. It didn’t seem like an ordinary box.

‘This is weird.’

He got a chilly feeling. Was it an intuition? Something was hazy; he felt like he remembered something, but he couldn’t quite place it. One thing was certain, though: he suddenly didn’t want to open the box.

Jade decided to trust his gut. You know what they say—when you get a bad vibe, it’s your ancestors sending you a signal. Jade took his hand off the box and stepped back.

Click—

“Wh-what!”

But then again, who was Jade? Wasn’t he the unlucky guy who’d break his nose even if he fell backward?

As if proving his misfortune, the latch lifted upward on its own. And before he could try to lock it again, the lid of the box swung open.

“What’s wrong with this thing? I have no intention of opening you!”

Jade jumped back in shock. Simultaneously, something inside the box jumped up from its spot.

“An egg…?!”

It was an egg. Smaller than an ostrich egg but large for an egg nonetheless, it was a glossy black.

In an instant, a specific passage he had read in the setting manual flashed through his mind.

While living confined in the villa, Ian discovers a magical beast during his adolescence. The beast, which had been slumbering in the abandoned villa for 100 years, wakes up and follows Ian—the first person it sees—believing him to be its master.

The beast was a creature that grew by feeding solely on evil energy; as the final boss, Ian, plunged the empire into terror, the beast’s power grew alongside his. Later, it became the entity that played a major role in Ian’s massacre of his own family.

‘That beast definitely…’

It hatched from an egg. It hadn’t been written exactly where it was found. But Jade remembered clearly that it had been an egg.

‘Damn it.’

Jade hurriedly tried to close the lid. Or rather, he attempted to. However, he couldn’t close it because the egg had hopped right out of the box on its own. An egg with a sense of self? This was a major problem.

“No, you can’t hatch yet! Don’t hatch!”

The egg, having fallen to the floor, spun in place like a top. Fine cracks were already beginning to form on its surface.

“I told you not to hatch!”

Jade scooped up the wobbling egg and started running blindly. Ian had to be the first person the hatched beast saw. He couldn’t go around breaking the game’s settings already.

“Young Master! Young Master!”

Jade called for Ian desperately. Ian seemed to have climbed up to the second floor of the shed by now. When Jade looked up, he heard Ian’s small voice from above.

Cr-crack—

At that moment, he heard the sound of the egg splitting. The egg was shaking violently in his arms.

Jade let out a scream and ran toward where Ian was. His feet were sweating. He had to show it to Ian immediately.

“Argh! Young Master! Please!”

“Yes?”

Ian was also on his way down after hearing Jade’s urgent voice. Discovering the fluffy blonde hair, Jade let out a sigh of relief.

Pop—

“Mya?”

However, Jade’s relief didn’t last even a single second. It was because the magical beast, having hatched from the egg amidst a puff of purple smoke, poked out its round face and tilted its head curiously.

And the beast’s golden eyes were fixed squarely on Jade.