Chapter 7

Door & Cafeteria (1)

    Esther, who was faltering, felt numb all over at the sight before him. He didn't think that Tartarus could act so humanely, let alone speak gently. No matter how charmingly cute the girl's face was, it couldn't possibly change her essence in a fraction of a second.

    ‘An old-world proverb once said, A woman changes every three days.’

    ‘Just two swords in, and the woman I knew has changed so shockingly.’

    ‘Oh, my goddess, if she eats about a hundred swords, the world will surely end.’

    Esther quickly shook his head to dispel the ridiculous thoughts in his mind. Sitting up, he assessed his situation: he definitely had one weapon, one following spirit whose benefits were yet unseen, and a summer house... no, more accurately, a ventilated house.

    ‘It's already like this before school even starts; what kinds of problems will follow in heaps when it does?’

    He glanced at the girl's hand holding his, silently transferring warmth to him. His black eyes met her questioning grey ones. The girl before him looked no different from an ordinary human being. There was no need to look for any difference; if she stayed quiet, Tartarus was just a lovely young girl.

    Just as he took a breath, her small hand transformed back into a massive chain. But this time, the chain didn't lock around his leg as usual; instead, it slithered up his left arm like a venomous snake, coiling around its prey. The dark, ominous bond began to merge with his arm, turning into a tattoo that perfectly matched the one on Tartarus' arm, except Esther's was on the left arm, and hers was on the right.

    The tattoo spread up to his left chest and seemed to stop there. From afar, it looked like he had a chain wrapped around his arm. Whether by coincidence or design, the chain's cross was at the exact spot where he had stabbed himself, overlaying the wound but not penetrating through the flesh like the actual cross.

    ‘I usually don't like tattoos... but it's better than being chained by the leg.’

    "Hey, Tartarus," Esther called out, somewhat jokingly acknowledging the absurdity of the situation.

    "What?"

    ‘I really shouldn't have thought too much. She's succinct with her words. Just one phrase, that's all.’

    "What will we do when I need to use the toilet?" Esther asked, addressing a practical concern without mincing words. Without prior planning, such situations could indeed become problematic.

    "What a weird question. I can just hibernate or slither away before you enter the bathroom," the chain, now a tattoo, responded promptly, seemingly having already considered such scenarios, which somewhat reassured Esther.

    Tad…

    Suddenly, his bare legs, which had moved freely before, became unexpectedly heavy. Moving forward felt significantly more difficult for the man who had just acquired a weapon. Blinking rapidly, he tried lifting his leg, finding it several times heavier than before.

    "What the hell did you do?" Esther started to complain, knowing well there was only one person who could cause this.

    "I added some weight, about four times more than before, and I'll keep increasing it depending on my mood," Tartarus' voice came from the tattoo, relaxed yet warning, "Don't upset me too much, and you'll be able to walk comfortably."

    His weapon bearer's response, laced with humor, left him speechless. Yet, Esther's misfortune wasn't confined to his legs.

    "Oh, I've also added weight to your arms and body as a form of training."

    Instantly, his body collapsed under the immense pressure, as if a giant hand was pressing him down. Now, not only his legs but his entire body was affected, making it extremely difficult for him to even stand up due to the rapid depletion of his energy.

    "Who would give up?" Esther grunted.

    Whether it was his stubborn pride or sheer determination, he managed to stand up again, despite the short distance making him breathless. Yet, he walked farther than Tartarus had anticipated, even surprising Victoria, who watched in awe at his relentless effort.

    "If I get to walk for a kilometer... I don't even want to think about it," Esther murmured.

    Struggling with every step, the convicted resident of the cursed building finally reached the grave.

    The area around the grave, once covered in beautifully lush grass, has now become a rather desolate patch of bare earth, as if it had just been freshly buried. Yet, strangely, the surrounding area remained lush and green as if untouched by any battle - a sight quite peculiar to Esther.

    The young man gazed at the ground in front of the grave, where a scribble message appeared:

    “The entrance is the tree. State the name of this place.”

    “The Timber of the Slumbered,” Esther softly responded.

    Silence... There was no response as expected.

    “Are you kidding me, senior?” The keyholder began to praise the ancestor of the deceased, “What else could it be? You, yourself, welcomed me to the Timber of the Slumbered. Next time, stick a label with its real name, so we know without having to guess.”

    Victoria, witnessing Esther's puzzled expression, began to piece together the puzzle from what she had seen and his words. It seemed the red-haired warrior had intended for the young man to inherit everything without leaving anything behind, so even the name would become what Esther thought of first upon entering.

    “You already know the answer, don’t you?” The spirit hinted subtly, “As he said.”

    Esther was struck by an idea upon hearing her voice.

    This place welcomes you.

    This place has become mine.

    “Warrior's Tomb.”

    As soon as Esther spoke, the tree glowing faintly began to shine brighter, the entire forest seemingly welcoming its visitor once again, but this time with warmth. The wind brought a chill, and the key, once blue, now turned a soothing shade of light green, indicating the forest being invoked once more. One particular tree shone brighter than the rest, as if guiding him.

    Understanding each other, the young man took out the key hanging around his neck. At that moment, the necklace connecting to the key vanished into thin air, leaving only the ancient key in his hand. Without hesitation, Esther inserted the key into the tree.

    A keyhole appeared on the previously bare trunk, fitting the key he turned.

    ...Thad

    It did not open.

    “What the hell now?” Esther exclaimed in frustration, twisting the key back and forth, “Making trouble again, huh?”

    Standing frustrated in front of a door, with Victoria’s fed-up expression in the background and accompanied by Tartarus's giggles, Esther became irritated before taking a long sigh. He then reconsidered what exactly had happened.

    Wait, calling the name was about recording the data into the key. And I stupidly tried to turn it while naming where I stood.

    “Unlocking it would be ridiculous,” Esther realized after his initial attempt, “Plain stupid.”

    After admonishing himself, he spoke again confidently,

    “The Cursed Building.”

    Thad…

    “Holy shit...” Esther shouted, losing patience, while Tartarus laughed uncontrollably, not hiding her amusement. He almost threw the key away in frustration, but it refused to leave his hand, his temples throbbing visibly with annoyance.

    What we accept it as what it is, what we know it is.

    “Okay, okay...” He took a deep breath, “From my perspective, right? The ventilated house.”

    Thud...

    The same dull sound, with Esther's expression twisting in aggravation.

    “Damn it!” He yelled out of patience, “Public toilet!!!”

    Creak.

    The green key was easily twisted and unlocked, revealing a square door that fit a person's size around the trunk of the large tree. When opened, the image of a dark, bedless, and lightless bedroom appeared in front of him without any barriers. Even Esther was stunned by the madness of his own brain.

    Victoria was trying so hard to hold back her laughter that her face turned red... A few seconds later, the laughter of the grey spirit echoed through the forest uncontrollably, though not as much as the Chain Spirit's. As for Tartarus, not only her laughter appeared... The image of the girl in a kimono rolling on the ground, laughing her heart out, popped into his mind.

    And she seemed utterly unaware of it.

    “Alright, I know. The place you guys are staying is the same as mine,” Esther conceded before putting the key back around his neck.

    The laughter stopped abruptly.

    The prisoner of the public toilet hurried inside, followed by the spirit girl whose expression noticeably worsened upon thinking about the name he used for her dwelling place. Victoria mumbled incessantly as she contemplated the place she had been coming and going for decades.

    Public Toilet.

    The spirit dwelling in the toilet... Utter madness.

    The door closed with a bang and then disappeared from the tree's trunk as if there had never been an entrance there.

    “Esther,” the spirit girl called the young man in front of her with a peculiar look.

    “Hmm?”

    “Isn’t there a better name for the room?” Her now intense gaze clearly indicated her displeasure with the owner’s overly creative naming. If her physical form were visible, one would likely see a girl frowning in disapproval.

    “Let it be,” the young man replied, waving his hand dismissively, “It’s not that much different anyway.”

    The spirit woman seemed about to say something but eventually remained silent.

    “Victoria, can I ask you something?”

    “Yes?”

    “Do you know what the people called back to the grand castle are doing now?”

    “Uh,” the well-mannered spirit paused for a moment, “After being called back, everyone received treatment and had their meals. Then they were allowed to rest. The director has scheduled another meeting for everyone at ten o'clock today, saying that he sympathizes with most people being very tired.”

    “What the hell, they've already eaten,” Esther commented dejectedly.

    “Are you hungry?” a voice came from the tattoo on his left hand.

    “Putting it frankly, I’m freaking starving,” he replied, “And my body hasn’t had a decent rest either.”

    “Here,” as soon as Tartarus finished speaking, a perfectly roasted squirrel appeared in his left hand, “I can store things inside me to some extent. You don’t have to worry about food.” When he looked at the food in front of him, it was the red squirrel that his Chain Spirit had incinerated earlier.

“Eating as a revenge, huh?” He then began to eat his former foe carelessly, with Victoria making a horrified face in the background, invisible as she was a spirit.