Chapter 18
<Mirabilis> NPC (4)
There was certainty that I could survive.
But courage and certainty don’t necessarily scale together. I also needed to sort out my thoughts first.
So I headed to Chef Po’s kitchen.
Not just for item resupply… just because.
“W e l c o m e”
The angelic bear, Master Poko, greeted me warmly. Maybe because of everything I had just gone through, my nose stung for a moment.
“E a t b e f o r e y o u g o”
“Menu… by any chance…?”
“M u s h r o o m g r a t i n”
Poko’s mushroom gratin was insanely, unbelievably delicious.
Even though the cheese looked pitch-black, like it had been pulled from a black hole, and the mushroom pieces scattered throughout were red with white speckles—like poisonous fungi drawn by an eccentric artist…
Still, the taste was absolutely insane.
It was almost too good for someone like me with no refined palate.
I even found myself thinking—
‘If someone opened a modern restaurant like this, it would be a hit. The concept would be something like “reverse of prejudice,” or “another world aesthetics”… something that sounds sophisticated.’
Seriously, if they opened a place like this… some suspicious tire company would probably give it five stars.
Anyway.
After finishing the meal and adding Poko’s Special Meal: Mushroom Gratin to my list, I returned to the village via the hidden dog hole.
David’s house was almost unchanged. No signs that anyone had visited.
However, one thing had changed.
When I casually opened the storage in the kitchen corner, my eyes widened at the sight of it filled with ingredients.
As I stared at the food and baskets containing them, a strangely familiar scent lingered. That smell… it was definitely what had been used to draw the monster’s attention before heading to the cathedral.
At that realization, a face came to mind.
‘…Peritas!’
So this was meant for me.
She must have brought it, thinking David had returned to the village and might be starving.
But when the monster appeared, she must’ve left what was unused from the baiting operation here.
A wave of emotion surged up, tightening my chest.
Even inside this cold, zero-and-one world of a horror game, kindness still existed.
I slowly rummaged through the basket, inspecting the food.
Sausages stuffed full, cured meat with deep red flesh, fresh green herbs—everything looked incredibly fresh and appetizing.
Tears almost welled up. I wiped the corners of my eyes and lowered my head.
‘I, meanwhile, stole apples…’
I should repay this someday.
I must become a repaying mammal.
With that resolve, I lit a fire in the yard and grilled two sausages.
Then I washed one and offered it to Master Fennec.
However—
“Ptuh! Coal… spit!”
“……”
“Ugh. Trash. Trash.”
It spat on the sausage I had carefully grilled.
Then, using its tiny legs, it buried it in the ground with clear intent to dispose of it, its face full of hostility.
I looked up at the sky for a moment…
“Hey, you ferret.”
For the first time in my life, I had a real fight with a ferret.
After grilling a new sausage and offering it again to Master Fennec, and tidying up the house a bit, I washed and sat on the bed.
The noisy but cute ferret I had just fought was now asleep.
I picked up a wooden board and pen I had found in the attic corner.
“Let’s整理 things.”
The hypothesis was this:
“…First, inside the room there are web-like tendrils scattered everywhere, with crosses hanging at their ends.”
On top of that, severed arms crawl around trying to grab me.
Outside the window, there is a giant spider.
I began writing:
Web = tentacles
Cross = cross
Spider legs = severed hands
But something I had overlooked.
Spider legs ≠ the legs of the spider outside.
Then—
Spider mouth ≠ the mouth of the spider outside.
“…It might not be the same thing.”
In other words, “spider mouth” didn’t necessarily refer to the visible mouth of the spider outside.
Just like how “spider legs” weren’t literally its external legs.
It was, in essence, a script trick.
The game only said “put the cross into the spider’s mouth,” but never specified where that mouth actually was.
“…Then what is the spider’s mouth?”
As I thought about it, I recalled the view outside.
Memories of my death surfaced, sending a chill down my neck, but I needed to remember.
Outside there was a giant spider. Everything else was pitch black, like an abyss.
No other creatures were visible.
As I scratched my neck absentmindedly, a thought emerged.
“Why was it so pitch black like an abyss?”
If it was just game rendering, fine—but even then, it was strange.
The outside looked like an endless deep sea, or a cave.
At that moment—
“…What if everything outside is actually—”
And then I recalled why the spider was called the “puppeteer.”
The realization hit.
“The spider outside is just a puppet inside the mouth of something bigger. The real one… is the cave itself.”
If that’s true, the task becomes easier.
Assuming my hypothesis is correct.
I wouldn’t need to aim for a spider mouth.
I could just throw the cross into the cave outside.
So… is this the answer?
It was.
Ding!
[The spider’s form has disappeared.]
[The figure of “him” is also nowhere to be seen. You vaguely feel that something has gone wrong.]
“Ah! You did it, traveler!”
“Hohoho…”
Looking up at the clear sky with the adorable ferret, I blanked out.
It felt strangely empty.
Unlike when clearing a game, there was no surge of adrenaline. Maybe because my life had been on the line.
Still…
‘At least I now know everything isn’t what it seems.’
There were more tricks than expected. Even the entity that first caught me remains uncertain.
I clenched my still damp hands.
As sunlight streamed in, I looked around the now-brighter room and approached a door on the right.
A crude wooden door.
I pushed it open.
Creeeak—
Dust rose as objects inside came into view.
A three-layer altar, a knitted spider figure, scattered threads…
“…Bible.”
I slowly lifted it.
Flap—
Opening it.
Then—
[¿ Cur venisti ?]
[Servator David]
Red letters stared back at me.
The jagged marks looked like pages torn with a fingernail, making my fingers tremble.
Unlike when it was just text in a game UI, it felt unsettling now.
‘…David, you must’ve had it rough too.’
So you used me as a substitute?
…No, right?
There was no way to confirm.
I stored the Bible in my inventory and stepped outside.
Then I picked up a candle holder and placed a candle on it.
Click, snap—
Whoosh—
As the candle lit—
Sssshhh—
The outside world darkened.
Day had instantly turned into night.
It was always fascinating.
The sudden shift between day and night made this world feel truly unlike my own.
While I watched, I turned toward a sound.
The entrance door had opened.
I moved outside, crossed the corridor, and saved at a nearby statue.
Then walked to the original statue where I first met him.
And—
“……”
“……”
“Oh! Still here!”
I found Deus still tied up.
After inspecting him briefly, I untied the knot.
Then—
Rustle—
His clothes dragged along the ground as he left without even looking at me.
Whether that was narrative intent or shock at his sibling’s actions, I didn’t know.
‘Leaving him tied might’ve been safer…’
But first—
He couldn’t have escaped those spider limbs if he couldn’t even undo this knot.
And second—
He often advances the story.
He appears as a guide, gives hints, or leads the way.
So I needed to let him go.
Thus I released Deus and returned to the village.
‘Next destination… must be.’
Ding!
Something is wrong. I feel like I need to find Deus.
Where did he go? Where is he staying?
Memories of the cathedral structure resurfaced.
“Priests… usually stayed in private prayer rooms. All day.”
▷ Go to the prayer room.
▷ Go to the prayer room.
▶ Go to the prayer room.
But I didn’t go immediately.
I had to stop by home first.
And deliver ingredients from Peritas to Poko.
‘For me, they’re trash. For Poko, they’re ingredients.’
Naturally, the latter is correct.
On the way home, I removed a candle from the wall, thinking about the next area: the prayer room.
‘There won’t be a boss fight for a while.’
That was expected.
Bosses are called bosses because they don’t appear often.
So what’s in the prayer room?
‘Religious statues… marble sculptures.’
That part is fine. I know the solution.
The problem is…
‘I’ll need equipment.’
Even though I now had this strong body, I wasn’t David.
I was just an average modern guy stuck in an overpowered body.
As I thought through what I needed and where to get it, I realized something.
‘I can interact with villagers now. The story won’t trigger strange behavior yet.’
So I decided to meet people.
First, Peritas—the town’s unofficial sheriff, former mercenary.
‘While I’m at it… I should talk to others too.’
Even if I leave someday, interaction matters.
The village of Letum was isolated and underdeveloped.
A small, tight-knit community.
‘If I become disliked here, it’ll be troublesome.’
I began walking lightly.
But before I could reach Peritas’s house—
“……”
Thud!
“……”
Thud! Crack—
From inside the shabby house, violent noises erupted.
Something was breaking.
I instinctively pressed myself against the wall.
My reflexes sharpened from constant danger in the cathedral kicked in.
‘Is this normal for a household?’
Tensing my shoulders, I peeked inside the Sheriff’s house.
And then—
“……”
A flood of red filled my vision.
