Side Story Chapter 53 – Escape…

It took quite a while for the tears to stop.

I came here with a light heart just to enjoy the haunted house.

But instead of enjoying it, I felt like I’d never be able to go to a haunted house again.

I considered myself mentally strong, but today, I couldn’t be sure of that at all.

They say the difference between seeing a photo and experiencing something in person is huge.

Without a doubt, this opportunity made me painfully aware of that.

Only, this time, it wasn’t a trip but a terrifying topic involving grandma and grandpa.

No, compared to Piece, who didn’t even respond after screaming.

I was still holding onto the edge of my sanity, so that was better, right?

By this time, it would be normal for Piece to be babbling about something.

Had it temporarily left this world? I couldn’t even hear Piece’s little breaths.

To be honest, I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to nitpick every little thing.

“Are you okay now, my dear?”

“Dad, don’t cry…”

“I was scared too, so I understand.”

“……Thank you… everyone… for being alive… thank you…”

Thanks to time, which is a kind of medicine, I somewhat regained my senses.

As soon as I could move my body, I ran to the staff at the entrance.

I grabbed him by the collar and showed some serious hostility.

I knew I was in front of the kids, but this time, I couldn’t hold back.

“Hey.”

“Wha-what’s wrong? Customer!”

What if it wasn’t me but the kids who saw that?

Of course, it seems that such a situation didn’t actually happen.

But just the fact that there was a tiny chance it could happen was a problem.

If things went south and our kids grew up like me, it would be really dangerous.

“Go in there and see for yourself. If you don’t want to die.”

“Ah, got it!”

The staff glanced at me, half in doubt and half in fear, and hurried into the escape route I came from.

Though just before entering, I noticed a look of half doubt, half disgust.

But before long, that expression completely vanished.

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!”

In place of that, the beastman quickly came out from the entrance.

He was half wrecked and let out a desperate wail.

Like a beast howling at the coming of the apocalypse.

Well, since it was a beastman babbling, saying it was a beast barking wasn’t too far off either.

On the other hand, hearing that scream, several employees in ghost outfits appeared.

Maybe they reacted to the sudden cry of their kin.

However, they all had the same puzzled expression, which didn’t sit well with me.

“What’s going on? Why are you suddenly screaming?”

“Were you just playing with yourself in the bathroom again?”

“I told you to use your hands, not that tool.”

In the first place, didn’t these bastards prepare that?

Why are they surprised and panicking after seeing it themselves?

I still hadn’t received any comfort, you know.

Honestly, I thought they had lost all sense of morality.

“Get those damned bastards out of here!!!”

“Huh? Who are you talking about?”

……They weren’t morally bankrupt, after all.

“Never mind… just go check it out.”

“Are you seriously losing your mind…? Okay, I’ll do it…”

“Yes… please… go in there…”

Of course, they had just disappeared.

In Korea, there’s a wonderful culture that says ‘If only I can’t see it, it’s great.’

Maybe because the Korean Wave is trending, it’s somehow spread to the Beastman Kingdom.

Right now, that beastman was pushing fellow beastmen with a strange smile.

A few beastmen entered with puzzled expressions.

Even though their screams varied in pitch, they soon started rushing out.

They increased in number by exactly two compared to how many had gone in.

At least it was a relief that this time, they weren’t naked but dressed as ghosts.

“We’re in love with our partner, why are you separating us?”

“Life is unpredictable, so just let us have this one last time!”

They looked like they were forced into clothes that didn’t fit them at all, trying to cover their bodies.

While those two abyss-like figures were dragged away by the staff,

The first employee to confirm this approached me and apologized.

Like erasing that bizarre smile from earlier, he changed to a sincere, somber expression.

“I’m sorry. This building is originally an abandoned structure called ‘Chaos’… and there were illegal residents…”

“……Got it… please handle it well…”

“Of course… after showing a few more people… hehehe…”

Of course, that expression turned slightly into a crazy grin.

Still, I was glad to have resolved one issue.

There might have been incidents, but the haunted house was over.

And I was still alive, wasn’t I?

[……It’s not ‘Chaos,’ it’s ‘Kas,’ damn it…]

‘Surely I missed the exclamation ‘Oh’… It was just too dreadful…’

Just then, even Piece seemed to have recovered enough to respond to me.

Just a moment ago, it had been so quiet that I thought Piece had vanished.

But Piece was like a cockroach in terms of sheer vitality.

It wasn’t for nothing that Piece had the word ‘Evil Spirit’ attached to it.

‘Well, I’m just glad you pulled yourself together.’

[……That’s… right…]

However, there was something slightly off about Piece’s words.

Piece answered something vaguely when I mentioned having regained consciousness.

Even though everything had been resolved, there seemed to be a slight awkwardness.

Moreover, no matter how persistently I probed, I only got vague replies.

‘What happened?’

[……It’s nothing you need to know.]

While I was wondering about that, suddenly, a group started rushing over in a panic.

“Oh? It’s the moms!”

“They must be done soon.”

“Thank goodness.”

That group was none other than the heroines.

They were certainly having a discussion about the Beastman Kingdom’s business.

Had they already finished all of that?

Well, it was a relief that I hadn’t taken too long.

It was just a bit strange that they all looked extremely serious.

Plus, they were alternating glances between us and Piece.

They even backed away a little from Piece.

What on earth was making them react that way?

“Why does everyone look so pale?”

“That Piece girl suddenly screamed and wet herself!”

[…….]

It was no wonder they wore such serious expressions.

At the same time, many things started to click in my mind.

The reason the heroines rushed over here in panic.

The reason Piece was slightly reluctant to answer.

The reason they stayed slightly away from Piece.

It seemed Piece had honestly expressed her fear through the scream.

‘Can you please stay away from me a little? It stinks, you know?’

[Yes, don’t you dare say that too!!!]

Piece’s body was expressing fear much more honestly.

I could sympathize with Piece’s journey just a tiny bit.

Given the circumstances, anyone would react that way.

Of course, the heroines didn’t know the details and showed plenty of doubt.

“What on earth happened here?”

“Tell us! Did something dangerous happen?”

“…….Nothing… happened…”

I decided to hold my tongue here.

There was no good that could come from them knowing the truth.

On this good day, why drag everyone into suffering?

There was no need to have more victims than this.

“Moms, why are you all avoiding Piece?”

“Are you okay? You look really pale.”

[Just… not feeling great…]

Adding to that, protecting Piece’s dignity was a bonus.

“You’re looking worse on the outside.”

“You’re overcooking it.”

[……]

Of course, my kids were mercilessly undermining Piece’s dignity.

Watching that scene with amusement, a thought suddenly popped into my head.

The heroines had burst out midway through their discussion about business.

Maybe they were worried something had happened to us.

And now that the situation was somewhat settled, we should get back to our main tasks.

“Hyeji, so are we going back now?”

“……No…”

However, Hyeji’s moody response was far from what I expected.

“Why not?”

“The Pope said he’s doing a fasting prayer, so talk later.”

In that moment, I suddenly recalled.

There were not only heroines there but also an outsider, the Pope.

Then surely, he must have witnessed Piece’s antics firsthand.

“……Could it be that the Piece had an accident?”

“……Although she said she was fine after cleaning up… her eyes looked really shaken…”

“That’s too bad…”

Immediately, I was filled with guilt towards the Pope.

The Pope likely called for Piece because she was a god.

Yet the very god had committed acts worse than a beast.

I could guess that the Pope’s faith was severely shaken.

It would be only natural to have deep doubts about the profession of a priest.

So the Pope must have been whipping himself into shape through fasting prayer.

However, this time, real concern began to rise.

Especially since the Pope wasn’t exactly young, fasting could be fatal.

Conversely, the fact that such a method was employed meant that his faith was in crisis.

Even if the Pope had a stash of adult material, his faith had remained quite intact.

Not to mention, the very foundation of the Beastman Kingdom was now threatened.

“Shinwoo, is this guy really the god of regression?”

“More like the god of Piss, which makes Piece.”

“Oh, I see.”

[Shut up! I was so startled I miscalculated the regression point!!!]

Anyway, if we just look at the results, there was no longer anything to hide.

Everyone had gathered much more quickly than I expected.

Just then, it seemed the kids were also whining like it was nothing.

Now, it was time to enjoy the amusement park in full swing.

“Ladies! Are you all ready!”

“Let’s go have fun!”

“Let’s hurry up.”

“Honestly, it was boring, wasn’t it? There was no real issue anyway.”

Only,

“So where should we go?”

“Anywhere but the haunted house sounds great…”

[Agreed…]

I quietly eliminated one choice from the list.

---