Monster Company Tycoon Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 

I walked toward it as though I were bewitched.

“Did you find something?”

Brownie, who had hurried after me, chattered excitedly.

“Take a look at this.”

I found a structure that looked as though someone had deliberately built it.

They had gathered stones and piled them up in a circle, then stuck a long wooden stick into the center.

And hanging from the end of that stick was a pendant necklace.

That was what caught my eye, reflecting the light just moments ago.

‘Doesn’t this look exactly like… a grave?’

For a moment, a chill ran down my spine, but the care and attention evident in every part of the grave soon softened my feelings.

“What a bizarre structure. What on earth do humans make these things for?”

Brownie grumbled as he flew in circles around the stick.

I deliberately kept my suspicions to myself.

If I mentioned the word grave, he would undoubtedly start digging it up immediately in search of the head.

Instead, I carefully reached for the pendant.

“It looks like it can be opened. It’s gotten quite rusty from being exposed to the elements for so long.”

Leaving the necklace hanging from the stick, I gently undid its clasp and opened the cover.

Inside was a photograph that the pendant had been carefully holding.

It showed two young children with their arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling.

One of their faces looked particularly familiar.

“Theon?”

“Why are you looking for that cheeky little brat?”

Brownie didn’t particularly like Theon.

It was for childish reasons, of course: Theon was Ragner’s younger brother, and he’d even taken back the wooden sword Brownie had looted from him. Though it seemed she disliked Ragner even more.

Considering that Ragner was a former hero while we were on the Demon King’s team, I could understand why Brownie instinctively felt hostile toward him.

“I think the boy in this picture looks a little like Theon.”

I showed Brownie the photograph inside the pendant so she could get a better look. She tilted her head.

“Doesn’t he look more like that other guy than the little brat? You know, that unmotivated fellow. What did I call him again? Right. Dead-fish eyes, wasn’t it? Although his eyes are sparkling in this picture.”

Once again, I was reminded that I really needed to watch what I said around Brownie.

‘When on earth had he learned a phrase like that!?’

I’d once described the monsters who’d been completely dazed after undergoing Ruadis’s intense training as having dead-fish eyes. Apparently, he’d picked up the phrase and remembered it word for word.

“You think he looks more like Ragner? Now that you mention it… you’re right? Well, they are brothers, so it’s only natural that their faces look similar.”

Judging by the age of the pendant, the person in the photograph was more likely to be Ragner than Theon.

“Then who is the other one? Is he Ragner’s friend? Gasp! Then this is… his friend’s grave?”

The child had a mischievous smile, slightly long hair, and delicate-looking features, making it difficult to tell their gender. The photograph had also faded considerably over time, making it even harder to distinguish.

“What!? A grave?”

“Oops.”

I slapped my mouth for letting the word slip out, but it was already too late.

“Then the Dullahan’s head might be buried in there! What are you waiting for? We should dig it up right now!”

“Stop! That’s no way to show respect for the dead. And it might even be the grave of Ragner’s friend. We can’t just damage it as we please!”

“Why not? What’s there to respect about the dead? You say the funniest things sometimes.”

Having grown up in a country where people held memorial rites for the deceased on the anniversary of their deaths, I found Brownie’s reaction even more ridiculous.

“Regardless, we’re not doing that. Listen carefully. If we damage this grave, something terrible will happen.”

“Something terrible? Hmph! Do you think I’m afraid of that?”

“An angry Ragner might come and smash our dungeon to pieces.”

“……”

Perhaps the thought alone was terrifying, because Brownie pressed her lips shut and looked dejected.

She worked hard to badmouth Ragner whenever the man wasn’t around, but in reality, she was quite afraid of him. Whenever Ragner so much as glanced in her direction, Brownie would hide in my hair and tremble.

“Let’s call it a day.”

“What about the head? We have to bring our employee back! Why are you giving up already? No! Chihuahua, let’s search just a little longer. Just one more time! Please?”

Brownie stubbornly refused to leave, tugging hard at my clothes.

“That’s right. How about searching for just one more hour?”

The Fire Fairy, who wanted to earn a little more money, subtly chimed in as well.

“We’ve already searched everywhere around its patrol route. I also think the owner of this grave might be connected to the Dullahan.”

We’d followed the Dullahan around, thoroughly searching the forest. But we hadn’t found anything. If its head had simply been lying around on the ground, there was no way the Dullahan would have failed to find it.

Even without eyes, surely it would have been able to stumble across it with its hands or feet.

Besides, it was consumed by an intense desire to recover its head. There was no way it would have wandered around aimlessly for this long.

Which meant the Dullahan’s head had to be hidden or buried somewhere.

And the only suspicious thing in this vicinity was the grave right in front of us.

Considering all the circumstances, the chances that it was inside that grave were the highest.

“So we should just…”

“I think we should talk to Ragner first.”

“Then he’ll obviously get in our way and stop us from taking the head!? Chihuahua, try thinking sensibly for once!”

…To be honest, I wasn’t even sure whether telling Ragner was the right choice.

It seems like your dead friend has come back as a monster and is wandering around.

No matter how much he’d been through as a former hero, how could I possibly say something like that to someone’s face?

He could drag me straight to the temple, accusing me of insulting his friend, and I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

And what if I went a step further and asked whether I could dig up the grave to find the severed head because I wanted to recruit his friend as an employee for our dungeon?

Instead of one of those wooden training dummies, my own body would get to experience firsthand just how skilled Ragner was with a sword.

“Ugh…”

My head was a mess, so I pressed a hand against my forehead.

“Let’s go back. We’ve been wandering around all day, and I’m tired.”

“Can’t we just pretend we don’t know and dig it up a little? I can restore everything so nobody will notice.”

Only after grabbing the persistent Brownie and stuffing him into my pocket was I finally able to return to the dungeon in peace.

“I need to talk to him… but where am I supposed to find him?”

After being advised to keep my distance from Ragner, I’d found it quite convenient that he hadn’t shown up on his own these past few days.

But now, something had come up that made meeting him absolutely necessary.

I had no idea how to get in touch with him. If only I could send him a text message or something in a situation like this. Wouldn’t that make things so much easier?

“Ah, Theon goes to the training center every day. Should I go there and ask him?”

However, the time my part-time job ended and the time classes at the training center finished overlapped rather awkwardly.

I heard that children as young as Theon usually went home early, so even if I rushed to the training center as soon as my shift ended, there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to meet him.

“Choi, is something troubling you?”

The middle-aged woman leaned her upper body over the serving counter, rested her arms on it, and spoke to me.

“Oh, ma’am. It’s nothing. Is the food ready?”

“It’s still baking in the oven, so you’ll just have to wait a little longer. Anyway, what’s the matter?”

“Um… Well, Mr. Ragner… You know him, right?”

“Is there anyone in this village who doesn’t know Ragner?”

There isn’t. Not knowing him would be like being a spy.

“Yes, that’s true… I want to get in touch with him, but I’m not sure how to do that…”

A subtle smile appeared on the woman’s face as she suddenly looked at me.

‘What on earth was that expression…?’

“Come to think of it, Ragner hasn’t been coming to our restaurant lately. That boy used to come by at least twice a week.”

Boy? She’d known him since he was little, but could she really call someone with a build that enormous a boy…?

“How cruel of him, making such a pretty young lady wait around for him. That fellow really has no sense.”

“Eek! No! It’s really not like that! I just have something to ask him about for work!”

‘Ah… I finally realized what that subtle smile on her face meant.’

It was exactly the same expression my mother used to wear whenever she watched dramas on the weekends.

“Is that so? Well, if you say it’s not like that, then it’s not like that.”

The look in her eyes clearly said she didn’t believe me at all, but would pretend to. A cold sweat trickled down my back.

If I gave her even the slightest opening, I was sure to become a little source of entertainment in the otherwise dull daily life of an older woman.

“Oh, right. That place where people have been seeing Ragner lately… Ah, yes. The temple.”

At the word temple, my body flinched in surprise.

Wow. I’d gotten to the point where my body reacted automatically just from hearing the word. I’d really become a full-fledged member of the Demon King’s team.

“Seems like he’s helping with the temple’s construction. You might not know this, Choi, but a Temple of Reta is supposed to be built north of our village, you see? If you need to meet him, why don’t you try going there?”

“Ah, I see. The temple…”

I guess that was out of the question.

Even if it took a little longer, I’d have to ask Ruadis to arrange a meeting with Ragner for me.

Of course, putting up with Brownie whining in the meantime would be entirely my responsibility.

“Choi, table four!”

Just as I’d reached that conclusion and turned around to serve the dish that had just arrived at the counter, it happened.

Speak of the devil. Or should I say, even a nobleman wouldn’t be able to wait?

Ragner walked in through the restaurant door.