Chapter 66
“......That's strange.”
After finishing their investigation that evening, Lee Seoa talked with Ian as they ate at the buffet.
“It's too ordinary. I don't even see a trace of the supernatural, and there's no route where someone could've disappeared...”
“Yeah.”
The cruise ship's buffet was far higher quality than most hotels. Korean, Japanese, Western, Chinese, and more—an enormous variety of dishes were laid out in an appetizing spread. Ian, who liked Korean food, was eating braised short ribs and fried rice, while Seoa, apparently preferring Japanese food, had piled up a heap of sushi and was poking at it with her chopsticks.
“Maybe the cruise ship isn't the cause, but something's wrong with the sea? Like sirens, for example. They lured them into jumping overboard.”
“Then the intervening memories wouldn't have disappeared either. And if they jumped, it wouldn't even count as a disappearance.”
“Well, that's true, but......”
At Ian's textbook rebuttal, Seoa let out a long sigh and used her chopsticks to pick the wasabi out of the sushi. Then she dipped just the sushi in soy sauce and took a bite.
Ian drank a mouthful of water and watched her with a sour expression.
“......You eat in a very unusual way.”
“Everyone from Busan eats like this.”
“Apologize to the people of Busan.”
“Shut up.”
Seoa swallowed the sushi bite and twitched her chopsticks.
“Anyway, I don't think it'll be easy to find anything today. At the very least, it'll probably have to be dawn—if not morning.”
At her words, Ian nodded.
According to the spirit Seoa had summoned, the first day had passed completely normally, with nothing unusual at all. But the moment they fell asleep that evening, their consciousness vanished, and two days later they died. The memories in between had been wiped out entirely.
He didn't know how that was even possible, but there was nothing he could do right this second. He had already circled the entire cruise ship and even used magic, but he hadn't caught a single thing.
'Shall I let some Outer Sea creatures loose in the ocean?'
Outer Sea.
Usually the word referred to seas not surrounded by land, but the Outer Sea Ian knew was a massive ocean somewhere in the Outer Universe.
A bizarre ecosystem ruled and controlled by Outer Gods. A blood-scented sea where beings devoured one another and the starving survived in swarms.
Anyway, it was still a sea, so there was no reason creatures of the Outer Sea couldn't swim in Earth's oceans. No, they might even move around far better there than they did on land.
The creatures he'd summoned so far had all operated only on land. Maybe that was why he was personally curious what sort of reaction they'd show when they encountered water.
Of course, he had no intention of using magic here just to satisfy that curiosity.
If he carelessly let them loose without certainty, he might end up killing every marine creature. And if that still wasn't enough, they might even attack the cruise ship or civilian fishing boats.
They were basically obedient, but there was no guarantee they'd stay that way while starving. Rather than creating a dangerous situation just because he was curious, it was much better to handle it decisively.
'If there's something in the sea, or if a sea monster shows up, I'll make my move then.'
As Ian thought that and tapped the table, Seoa patted her bloated stomach with the palm of her hand. Though in truth, it barely stuck out at all.
“Haaah, I'm full...... How long has it been since I ate proper food like this?”
“How long has it been?”
“No idea. I usually just make do with convenience store food. Not you?”
“I've started cooking a bit lately. I'm trying to keep my stamina up with my diet, at least.”
“You're diligent.”
At her words, Ian chuckled and sipped the cocktail in his glass.
“So, what are you going to do now? I think it'd be best to just take it easy and do our own thing today.”
“I think so too. How about the theater and the casino? I was thinking of checking those places out.”
“Go ahead. Then let's each do our own thing today and meet again tomorrow morning.”
“Yeah.”
Ian stood up at Seoa's reply.
Then she took a tiny bottle out of her pocket.
A glass bottle filled with pure white powder. She tapped the bottle with her finger, nodded, and held it out toward Ian.
“......What's this?”
At his question, Seoa gave a faint smile.
“Bone powder. I put tiny fragments of souls inside. It's something that blocks one psychic attack.”
“Ah......”
“This is just my personal guess, but I have a feeling the supernatural tied up in this place has something to do with the mind. Take it with you just in case.”
“Sure, thanks.”
Ian smiled softly, put the bottle into his coat's inner pocket, and left the restaurant, heading back to his room.
[Wooong!]
The Deep Sea Chronicle, which had been lounging on the table, greeted him cheerfully.
He stroked the cover of the chronicle, went out to the terrace, put a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it as he blew smoke out over the dark night sea. There wasn't anything on the floor above to worry about, so he didn't need to care about the smoke.
“......”
The sky was clear. Moonlight slid down across the sea's surface, shattering as it mingled with the cruise ship's lights and blooming outward in all directions. The gray smoke dissolved into the air before it could even reach the moonlight.
'The sea......'
Ian leaned against the railing and quietly looked down at the black sea.
Naturally, he couldn't see inside it. He couldn't see any marine life either.
In a world where urban legends could take physical form, there was surely something alive and breathing at the bottom of that sea. Maybe there was even a UFO base down there like the conspiracy theories said, or maybe megalodons and dinosaurs were still swimming around, swishing their fins.
Whatever it was, he had no desire to run into it.
It would be fine to see it from far away, but if they rammed the cruise ship with those massive bodies, this ship would be split in two like the Titanic. He had no interest in meeting the kind of ending that would feel like the opening of a generic monster movie.
“Phew......”
He ground out the half-burned cigarette in the provided ashtray and left the terrace, gathering his tools.
The search was already over, but that didn't mean he planned to lie down and rest. Since something could appear anywhere, at any time, he planned to give the surrounding areas a broad sweep.
'Since Seoa said she'd go to the theater and the casino, I should probably head somewhere else.'
He stuffed his alchemy supplies and the Deep Sea Chronicle into his bag, slung it over his shoulder casually, and started walking.
The nearest places were the deck with the hot spring spa and the exhibition hall where paintings and miniatures were on display. Ian decided to check the spa first.
He had no intention of going into the water, so there was no need to change clothes. He got straight into the elevator and went up to the cruise ship's top floor.
“......”
The cruise ship's outdoor pool was filled with warm water.
People who were nearly naked could be seen here and there, and others sipped wine while lounging on sunbeds and talking.
Ian passed them and carefully stepped so as not to touch the water.
Even at night, just like during the day, he didn't feel anything special.
But there could always be something invisible to the eye.
Ian went into a dark corner of the deck, drew a magic circle on the wall, and attached a piece of ghoul flesh to it.
“Seek. The one who will punish them is here.”
A spell that tracks supernatural activity within a 20-meter radius. The moment he recited the incantation, the magic circle glowed and the flesh melted away. That meant the spell had worked properly.
“......Nothing.”
However, not a single thing was detected. Ian clicked his tongue and flicked off the bit of blood that had gotten on his hand.
Since he hadn't really expected much, he wasn't disappointed. He closed the bag right away and headed for the exhibition hall this time.
Unlike the spa, there were almost no people in the exhibition hall. Only an elderly couple with white hair and beards appeared from time to time, and the crowd wasn't very dense for such a small space.
Not having to worry about standing out was actually a plus. Ian looked over the paintings in the exhibition hall and tapped the cigarette pack in his pocket.
[Life]
[My Messy Room]
[Pregnant Woman and Child]
He checked out a variety of modern art pieces and miniatures.
There was still nothing unusual. No bizarre paintings or statues were in sight.
Come to think of it, anomalies related to paintings or statues were more likely to be in museums or art galleries than on a cruise ship like this. Since an anomaly placed where it didn't belong often couldn't properly use its power, it wouldn't just pop up here unless it was a suicidal maniac.
'Nothing.'
In the end, he found nothing in the exhibition hall either. After exchanging a few words with the elderly couple, who chatted with him amicably, Ian took a look around the other places as well.
He visited the movie theater, attractions, rest areas, halls, and so on. He stopped by various places, but nothing was any different from the daytime. Everything was normal.
A space far too quiet and ordinary to be the site of a disappearance. If anything, that only made it feel even more eerie.
Ian decided to make one last stop at the gambling hall where Seoa was, just in case.
And there he found her playing poker.
“Raise. If you're scared, then go ahead and die.”
“Kuh......! Where on earth did someone this skilled come from......!”
Seoa was running the game while the guardian spirit's eye peered out from the ceiling to spy on the players' hands.
She was cheating openly, but unfortunately there wasn't anyone here capable of catching her. Ian watched Seoa's game from afar, then shook his head and returned to his room.
He'd been moving around for quite a long time, but he had nothing to show for it.
Maybe this really was an incident with no supernatural involvement. It was absurd, but maybe the cruise ship's captain and some of the crew were in on it, running a human trafficking ring. Since this was a world where supernatural things lived and breathed, it wouldn't be strange for lunatics like that to exist. The odds were just extremely low.
Still... would the Bureau or the cartel really have left the request unresolved if they couldn't handle a case like that?
“......”
In the end, he'd only know once tomorrow came. Ian let out a sigh, packed his things, smoked one more cigarette, and washed himself in the shower.
[......Wuuung.]
[Wuuung!!]
The two grimoires that had been squabbling on the table each reacted differently when they saw Ian come out after drying his hair. The Hand of Re-creation flopped over limply, and the Deep Sea Chronicle swayed excitedly from side to side. Ian put on his clothes with a sour expression at their behavior.
'Do these things maybe have eyes?'
With that reasonable suspicion in mind, he dried his hair and neatly arranged the alchemy supplies on the table.
The things he needed to keep on him from now on were still [Primate-Killing Knife], [Sound-Eating Flames], [The Dying Eyeball], and [Paper That Eats Knowledge]. They were all small, so they were compact and easy to carry.
'I'm really glad I picked the paring knife.'
Ian took out the small paring knife and tested its grip a few times before putting it back in its sheath and stowing it in his bag again.
The Piercing Mirror was incredibly powerful, but because its range was wide, using it in a confined space like this was a little awkward. He wouldn't hesitate if he needed it, but right now it was a bit too much. It was also a little wasteful, since it was single-use.
'Tomorrow I'll be drifting over the sea all day. I hope I can get something before we reach land.'
Even if it wasn't related to the supernatural, that was fine. Finding even a clue to the case would be enough.
Thinking that, Ian let out a long breath and sat down in a chair.
'Maybe the trigger is sleeping, or maybe it's the day turning over. So it'd be best to hold out until dawn and sleep once I'm tired.'
Rather than agonizing over something he couldn't do anything about right now, it was better to look ahead. Ian made a plan, tidied up his things, and spent the time sitting there, absorbed in the grimoire, until the day turned over.
And so midnight passed, followed by two more hours.
The cruise ship hadn't changed... not in any obvious way. The bone powder Seoa had given him was still fine, and nothing was wrong with his body or mind.
It seemed that crossing into the next day wasn't a problem after all. After carefully rereading the spell in the section he'd last been reading, Ian closed the book and lay down on the bed.
Sleeping for a long time would leave him fairly refreshed, but sleeping only a little wasn't a problem.
He set his alarm for 6 a.m. and closed his eyes with the gun and the grimoire at his side, ready to respond at any time.
After a short while, he drifted off.
*
[EX. CHAPTER 1 - Suspicious Cruise Ship]
[Summary: You boarded a cruise ship where people kept disappearing and investigated it for anything unusual. But you didn't find anything particularly strange. Even so, you never let go of your suspicions, even right up until the moment you fell asleep. On the cruise's second day, will you finally be able to find proper traces and evidence of the incident?]
[ENTER. CHAPTER 2 - Murder on Board]
[You woke up in the morning. As usual, you woke to the alarm, washed up, and headed to the dining hall for breakfast. But for some reason, the cruise ship is noisy. What happened?]
[Status Window]
[Name: Shin Ian]
[Occupation: Detective]
[Evidence Found: 0/5]
[Inventory]
[Assistant List] - There are currently no assistants appointed.
[Suspect List] - [Captain Chae Woojong], [Gambler Lee Seoa], [Photographer Kim Ajin], [Chef Kang Jinsu], [Detective Bae Dohan], [Young Painter Kim Taejin]…….
“What the hell is this, damn it.”
Ian, awakened by the alarm, spat out a curse at the scene before his eyes.