The Attendant in the Horror Game C61

Chapter 61

The sound seemed to be coming from outside the wagon. Jade crawled awkwardly through the rattling cargo compartment and peered out.

Only wasteland stretched in every direction. No people, no wagons.

I must’ve imagined it.

Of course—there was no way. Jade shrugged lightly and lifted his gaze to the night sky.

When he’d left Ian behind, the sky had been pitch-black. Now, a faint gray was blooming at the horizon. The darkness had not yet lifted, but morning was beginning to seep into the edges of the world.

The cold dawn wind brushed his cheek. Jade tilted his head, watching the disappearing stars.

How long had it been since he’d spent time alone in peaceful silence? Probably not once since he’d fallen into this world. From the very first day, everything had been a whirlwind—he’d had no room for calm.

Yet somehow this quiet did not comfort him. Sudden silence felt bitter… hollow. He would need time to adjust to living alone again.

“Mya…”

While Jade was lost in thought, that familiar cry sounded once more. His face went rigid.

Three times now—this was no hallucination. The muffled sound resembled the way Soondol meowed when he had something in his mouth.

“Meow….”

Soondol called as if beckoning him. The voice came from below. Very close—directly beneath his chin. Jade looked down.

“S-Soondol!”

Clinging desperately to the wagon, Soondol dangled like a deflating balloon, something clamped in his mouth. He flailed his tiny wings, but the wind kept folding them back. His golden eyes shimmered with resentment.

“What on earth happened to you?!”

Afraid the driver might hear, Jade lowered his voice and hauled Soondol inside. Only then did he notice the full situation—Soondol had Parang’s leaf in his mouth, and Parang hung from it, swinging helplessly, arms and legs flailing.

Once safely inside, Soondol spat Parang onto Jade’s lap with a dramatic ptoo.

So that was it. The muffled cry hadn’t been Jade’s imagination—Soondol simply couldn’t meow properly with Parang in his mouth.

“Huuuwaa—!”

“Mya!”

Parang rolled onto Jade’s lap and burst into tears. Crying here would be disastrous, so Jade scooped him up and rocked him gently the way the mop ghost used to.

“Soondol, what happened?!”

“Mya! Mya!”

Soondol was furious. His black fur bristled like a spiky caterpillar, his claws fully extended. He smacked Jade’s arm with his paw—and realizing it wasn’t strong enough, added slaps with his tail.

They’d been on the road for over an hour. That meant Soondol had clung to the wagon for more than an hour… while also carrying Parang in his mouth.

“You—what were you thinking?! Do you know how dangerous that was?!”

“Mya-mya-mya! Myaaaa—! Myaow, myaooow!”

At Jade’s scolding, Soondol’s anger dissolved into sobbing. Tears welled and rolled from his round golden eyes. His fur was roughed up from the wind, dust clinging to it. Seeing him so pitiful, Jade’s heart softened, and he gathered him close.

“Don’t cry, Soondol. I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry.”

“Mya…”

After a while, he calmed down and retracted his claws, rubbing his forehead against Jade’s chest with such force that Jade nearly toppled backward.

“What happened? I told you to stay with Ian.”

When they had headed toward the temple, Soondol had been asleep. In the guest room, Jade had found a small basket, placed Soondol inside, and hidden a note beneath him—asking him to watch over Ian, making sure Ian wouldn’t see it.

Soondol adored Jade, but he belonged by Ian’s side. He was meant to grow into an important helper once Ian rose to power. That was why Jade had left him behind.

Not only Soondol—he had left Parang, the mop ghost, and all supplies.

The supplies were necessary for Ian’s survival. The mop ghost was helpful as a servant of sorts, and Parang, being a healing plant spirit, might soothe Ian’s body or mind someday.

Jade had not wanted Ian to feel his absence. That was why he slipped out alone.

“Didn’t you see the note I left? Hm?”

“Mya…”

At Jade’s question, Soondol looked away guiltily, eyes rolling.

“Mya! Myah!”

Then he perked up, slapping his own wings with his paws. His disgruntled noises made Jade blink.

“Oh—wait. You can’t stay in a temple, can you?”

He suddenly realized the obvious. Soondol was a monster. The temple was a sacred place—its opposite.

Of course the temple would reject him. Who knew what the divine atmosphere would do to Soondol?

“Right. I should’ve realized sooner.”

“Myaaa.”

(Soondol smugly licked his paws—his excuse had been fake, but Jade accepted it wholeheartedly. A monster like Soondol had no concept of guilt.)

“Pueh…”

“But Soondol…”

Parang, exhausted from crying, slumped asleep on Jade’s palm. As Jade looked down at him, a certain truth struck him.

“…If you brought Parang without the mop ghost, I’ll have to take care of him now, won’t I?”

“Mya…”

“You brat. If you were going to follow me, you should’ve brought all three—or left Parang behind!”

“Myah! Myah!”

“Oh, forget it.”

Jade grumbled, but felt relief. Leaving Parang behind had weighed on him even as he’d left the temple. Parang required more care than the others. Ian was unlikely to manage him well—he might even throw him like he did Soondol on bad days.

“So the mop ghost is with Ian?”

“Myang!”

“I hope that’ll be okay.”

Even with Soondol’s confident reply, Jade worried. The mop ghost had helped many times, but being alone with Ian… who knew what might happen?

If Soondol were there, at least he could mediate.

“Fine. Since you’re here, you’re staying with me now.”

“Mya, mya.”

Jade hugged him, and Soondol nestled proudly into his chest—though a flicker of fear crossed his mind at the memory of Ian’s cold voice:

“Follow Jade.”

A half-asleep Soondol had been shaken awake by Ian and ordered: “Jade is acting strange. Follow him. If he leaves the temple, come tell me.”
He had been threatened too: “If you disobey, expect consequences.”

But Soondol hadn’t listened.

He’d found Jade’s note first, then snatched Parang to ensure Jade wouldn’t refuse him. If Parang cried, Jade wouldn’t leave him behind.

And with Ian? He’d been thrown enough times already.

“Hmph.”

He still remembered the sensation of being hurled aside. Why obey such a human?

Soondol only liked Jade. So the moment Jade left the temple, he followed. He hid and waited until the wagon moved far enough that Jade wouldn’t turn back.

He tried flying behind it, then perched atop it. But the weather—gods, the weather—was freezing. The later it got, the colder the night grew. Trying to slip inside, he slipped and ended up dangling.

“Right. By the way, Soondol.”

“Mya?”

Jade hesitated, lips folding awkwardly.

Soondol pawed his arm impatiently.

“What is it?! Mya!”

“Your box… I left it at the villa. Are you okay with that?”

“…Mya?!”

Soondol’s face froze.

Oh no.

He had forgotten. In all the chaos of the intruder, he had forgotten entirely.

His treasure chest—the one he refused to sell—was still in Jade’s room.

“I was in a hurry, so I didn’t grab it…”

Jade scratched his cheek apologetically. But apologies wouldn’t bring the box back.

“Myaaaaa! Myaaaaang, myaang!!”

Soondol slammed his paws on the wagon floor, wailing in sheer devastation.