The Attendant in the Horror Game C6

Chapter 6

Jade tightened his grip around the mushroom in his hand. At that moment, the sound of small, steady footsteps approached, and a tiny finger poked at his thigh—once, twice—before retreating.

“Huh?”

“It’s… squished.”

Ian’s small fingers fidgeted as he looked up at Jade. Even though he was glancing around cautiously, the way he pointed at the crushed mushroom in Jade’s palm was almost unbearably adorable.

“Oh, this?”

“Yes.”

How could a child be this small and endearing? Every time he nodded with that soft, serious expression, his golden hair fluttered like cotton candy. If Jade didn’t know what kind of terrifying monster this little boy would grow into, he might have pinched those chubby cheeks until they turned red.

“Mushrooms taste better when you squeeze out the moisture first.”

“……”

Jade gave him a big thumbs-up. In truth, he’d crushed it out of irritation, but he couldn’t very well tell the child that.

Ian didn’t look convinced, but Jade didn’t falter. Persistence was key, after all.

Still, this was genuine progress. The first time they met, Ian hadn’t even dared make eye contact from behind a pillar—and now he’d come forward to talk. Even if it was just to point out a squished mushroom, it was something.

He still kept his distance, but his demeanor was less frigid than before. Maybe, just maybe, Jade could survive without ending up on the receiving end of Ian’s blade. Though, truth be told, one week wasn’t much time to change fate.

Well… who knows.

Pushing away his spiraling thoughts, Jade set down the deflated mushroom. His stomach was practically clinging to his spine at this point; he couldn’t afford distractions.

“By the way, do you happen to know where I could find a pan or a pot?”

“…No.”

“Hmm, I figured as much. Eating them raw seems like a death wish.”

Roasting them over an open fire would’ve been ideal, but between the decrepit kitchen and the howling snowfields outside, it didn’t seem like an option. Then Jade remembered something—the location of his so-called exclusive item.

>> Exclusive Item <<
Beginner’s Cleaning Tools (1)

>> Location <<
Linwood Family Villa, Rear Storage Shed

He still wasn’t happy about the fact that his exclusive item was a cleaning kit, but he needed supplies anyway.

Might as well check the shed. If luck was on his side, there could be a pot or two lying around. Even if not, he might find something useful.

“I’ll go check the storage shed.”

He made up his mind and moved quickly—only to stop short when he felt something tug his sleeve.

Ian was holding the edge of his coat with both hands, mumbling something softly.

“Slowly…”

“What?”

“…Never mind.”

Jade blinked, tilting his head. Was the boy telling him to rest after being outside in the cold? If so, his expression didn’t match the sentiment—it was as frosty as ever. Yet, despite that stoicism, his face was flushed bright red.

“Well, the sooner I go, the sooner we can eat.”

Jade laughed cheerfully, gently freeing his sleeve. He didn’t want to pass his lingering chill onto the boy. Someone as young and neglected as Ian was probably frail. If he caught a cold in this place, there was no medicine to treat it.

“I only pulled away so your hands wouldn’t get cold, Young Master.”

Jade turned back and explained lightly. Children were easy to misunderstand; he knew that from experience.

“You’re still young, after all. Your skin’s delicate.”

“I’m not young.”

Ian’s sharp retort was followed by an emphatic shake of his head—so forceful that his soft blond hair swayed with it.

“Pfft—Ah, yes, my apologies.”

Jade couldn’t help but laugh. The little boy’s attempt to assert his maturity only made him look more childish.

“Wait here for a bit, alright?”

“……”

Jade pointed to a dusty chair nearby, but Ian didn’t sit. He didn’t come closer either—just hovered nearby, pacing aimlessly.

Jade chuckled quietly and lifted his gaze toward the window. The snow outside was falling harder now, swirling like a storm of white feathers.

“Is there a way to reach the back of the villa without going outside?”

He asked after a moment’s thought. Venturing through that blizzard again was practically suicide.

“There is.”

Without another word, Ian turned and walked out of the kitchen. Jade grabbed a lantern and followed.

“There’s a basement?”

They stopped before a narrow staircase leading down beneath the main hall. The air grew damp and cold the deeper they went.

The basement was even darker than the rest of the house, the air thick and stale. Even Jade felt his skin crawl, but Ian walked ahead unfazed, his steps sure and quiet.

There were three passageways leading out from the bottom—each connecting to different areas of the villa. Ian pointed toward the middle corridor. The walls were lined with lamps, though most had long since burned out.

“This way leads to the storage.”

At the end of the narrow hall stood an old wooden door. When Jade turned the knob, the rusted hinges screeched.

“Cough—ack!”

The air inside was heavy with dust and the faint smell of rot. Cobwebs draped across the corners like curtains. Jade covered his nose with his sleeve and pushed open a small window.

The moment he did, a blast of icy wind slammed into the room. He yelped and quickly shut it again. Still, the brief rush of air cleared much of the dust—though it made the room even colder.

“Oh… it’s huge.”

Now that he could see, Jade realized the storage wasn’t just a shed—it was practically a second house. Two stories tall, with towering shelves disappearing into the darkness above.

Old furniture, covered in sheets, stood like silent ghosts. Hunting tools and rusted farming implements cluttered the floor.

As Jade scanned the space, something caught his eye—a broom.

>> Exclusive Item <<
You have acquired: Beginner’s Cleaning Tools (1)

A cheerful chime echoed as the message appeared.

“This? Really?”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself.”

So it was just a regular broom. A perfectly ordinary, useless broom. The “(1)” beside it felt like a personal insult. Still, he didn’t have any other tools, so he decided to keep it.

“There’s a lot of stuff here.”

He set the broom aside and began rummaging through the shelves. Soon, he found a large burlap sack and started filling it with anything that might be useful.

“Ah! A pot! And some lamp oil! Oh wow, whale oil too? That’ll come in handy!”

Ian watched him with wide eyes, following him around the room. Though he’d known the storage existed, it was clear he’d never actually stepped inside before.

“Hm?”

As Ian wandered, Jade pushed deeper into the storage, eyes darting across every dusty corner. Then he stopped.

Between two tall shelves sat a strange, black box—gleaming and untouched by dust, as if time itself had ignored it.

“What’s this?”

He crouched down. It looked expensive—polished and perfectly preserved, with silver filigree etched across its surface and a clasp shaped like a dragon’s claw.

A chill crept up his spine. Something about it felt wrong.

This is strange.

His instincts screamed that it wasn’t an ordinary box. It stirred something half-remembered from the game lore, something important—but the memory slipped just out of reach.

Still, one thing was certain—he didn’t want to open it.

He trusted his gut. When something felt ominous, there was always a reason.

He stepped back.

Click.

“What—what the hell?!”

Of course, this was Jade. Misfortune incarnate.

Before he could even blink, the clasp snapped open on its own, and the lid creaked upward.

“Wait—no! I wasn’t going to open it!”

He jumped back, but the box continued to open of its own accord.

Inside, something moved.

“…An egg?!”

It was an egg—small, but larger than a goose’s, smooth and black with a faint shimmer.

And suddenly, memory struck.

In the lorebook, there was a section describing a creature Ian discovered in his teenage years.

A monster that had slumbered for a century in the abandoned villa, only to awaken when Ian found it—bonding to him as its master. It fed on malice, growing stronger as Ian’s hatred consumed the empire. That same creature later helped him destroy his entire family.

That monster… hatched from an egg.

The book hadn’t specified where it was found—but Jade remembered the description vividly.

“Damn it.”

He slammed the lid shut—
—or tried to.

The egg rolled out of the box, landing on the floor with a solid thunk.

It wobbled, spinning like a top.

“No! Not yet! Don’t hatch! Don’t you dare hatch!”

Tiny cracks began spreading across its surface, glowing faintly.

“I said don’t hatch!”

Jade grabbed the egg in both arms and bolted for the stairs.

The first person to see the creature had to be Ian. That was how the story was supposed to go. He couldn’t break the game’s narrative now.

“Young Master! Young Master!”

He sprinted through the corridor, shouting. Ian’s small voice echoed faintly from above—he was on the second floor of the storage.

Crack.

The egg quivered violently in Jade’s arms, shaking as the shell began to split.

“Ahhh! Please, Young Master, hurry!”

“Eh?”

Ian’s head peeked over the railing. The sight of that soft golden hair filled Jade with momentary relief—

Crack!

“Mya—?”

—and then the egg split completely.

Purple smoke billowed out, curling like mist, and a small, round creature blinked up at him with wide, golden eyes.

The newly hatched monster tilted its head, its gaze locking unerringly on Jade.