Chapter 50: How to Enjoy a Festival (8)

"Yes. That's truly a good choice."

He took something out from his bosom.

It looked like a lump of bright red meat wrapped in plastic wrap, about the size of a table tennis ball, and something white could be seen sprinkled on its surface like powder. Jinseong unwrapped it, rolled the round meat lump in his hand a few times, and then threw it towards the door of the room where the elder was.

Splat!

With an unpleasant sound, the meat lump hit the door and slowly slid down under the influence of gravity. When the meat lump fell to the floor, the white powder on its surface seemed to multiply on its own, gradually increasing in area.

Squeak.

Finally, from the meat lump now completely covered in white, a small sound could be heard.

A sound so small that it could be mistaken for an insect's noise, like crying.

The sound was like the death throes of a mouse, or like the mournful cry of a mouse in the stomach of a monster.

Only after hearing this cry did Jinseong turn his head and hand the unzipped bag to the politician.

"What's this?"

"Take a look."

When the politician looked inside the bag, he saw it was full of Nendoroids.

The Nendoroids were showing off their individual cuteness, wearing clothes with vibrant colors and making adorable expressions.

"Aren't these things that those, what do you call them, otaku like?"

"That's right. But the people here will like them too. No, they'll like them so much they'll go crazy with their eyes rolled back."

"Is that so?"

The Nendoroids in the bag all seemed to have shifted, lying on their backs and looking up. When the politician's eyes met with one of the Nendoroids, he felt a chilling sensation and, feeling something unsettling, he turned his head and quickly averted his gaze.

But even after turning his head, he could still feel the gaze from inside the bag. Unable to bear the gaze that felt as if it would pierce through the skin of his face, he couldn't help but look at the bag again, and when he did, the dolls were standing neatly with only their crowns visible as if the gaze he had felt earlier was a lie.

Having felt uneasy about the gaze, the politician inwardly sighed with relief, but soon felt something strange.

Crowns?

He hadn't shaken the bag or laid it down.

So how could the dolls that were lying down looking at the sky all be standing straight up with only their crowns visible?

The politician felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

And he realized that the bag he was holding, the dolls inside it, were no ordinary objects.

"Oh my. It seems they're excited from the blood I fed them earlier. Hahaha."

But Jinseong laughed as if it was nothing.

"Don't worry. If you do as I say, they won't harm you. But there must not be a single mistake."

*                     *                     *

Swoosh.

The politician entered the bathroom and turned on the water strongly.

The water came out so strongly that it seemed excessive, and instantly filled the bathtub.

The bathtub whose drain was blocked with silk began to overflow, unable to withstand the faucet that kept spewing water endlessly. And since the drain was also blocked, the entire bathroom became a sea of water.

At the center of it, the politician was covering his mouth with a cloth soaked in water with one hand, and tightly hugging the bag with the other hand.

『 First, we need water. Block the drain and bathtub plug and turn the bathroom into a sea of water. 』

Although it wasn't winter, the terribly cold water felt like it would freeze his feet, but he maintained his posture without moving even while shivering.

『 And with one hand, cover your nose and mouth with this cloth soaked in water, and with the other hand, hold the bag tightly. You must never let go of the cloth or let the bag touch the water. Remember this without fail. 』

How long had he been shivering and watching the bathroom overflow with water?

He saw white smoke flowing in through the gap in the bathroom door.

Like the white smoke that appears when dry ice is put in water, it was floating slowly into the bathroom.

The smoke, which seemed like it wouldn't have any smell, had a fishy odor, and as if it was full of moisture, water droplets formed on every surface the smoke touched.

『 As you stay in the bathroom, you'll see white smoke coming in. Then throw the cloth covering your nose and mouth towards the door and pour all the dolls from the bag into the bathtub. 』

As Jinseong had instructed earlier, as soon as he saw the smoke, he crumpled the cloth and threw it towards the door, then turned the bag upside down and poured all the Nendoroids into the bathtub.

Plop.

Splash.

The dolls, seemingly quite heavy despite their small size, sank to the bottom as soon as they fell into the bathtub with large splashes, and the politician quietly counted their number, confirmed there were 20, and then took out a talisman he had put in his pocket.

『 Then all the dolls will sink in the bathtub. Confirm that there are 20 of them and put this talisman in your mouth before the dolls float up. You'll feel thirsty when the talisman is in your mouth, but you must not open your mouth until all 20 dolls have floated up and the bathroom light goes out. 』

When he saw one of the Nendoroids in the bathtub trying to float up stealthily, he panicked and hurriedly stuffed the talisman into his mouth. And to prevent his mouth from opening unconsciously, he tightly covered his mouth with both hands.

Beep------------

The timing was just right.

As soon as he stuffed the talisman into his mouth, the doll that was rising stood up abruptly on the water surface with a whistling sound and spewed out something translucent.

What came out of the doll began to move, crawling on the surface of the water as if it were smoke, and every time it moved, the water pooled on the bathroom floor undulated as if waves were forming. The sight was incredibly bizarre, like looking at the sea.

Beep-!

Beeep-!

And with that, the dolls submerged in the bathtub all rose at once.

The other dolls also stood up abruptly as soon as they surfaced and spewed out smoke, and moved towards the door crawling on the floor while making whistling sounds.

It's cold.

The smoke was so cold.

So cold that it felt like his flesh might freeze and shatter.

He could only cover his mouth and shiver.

But was it because of the talisman in his mouth?

The smoke showed no interest in him as he shivered, instead gathering densely in front of the door, and eventually picked up the cloth that had fallen to the floor, levitated it, and hung it on the doorknob to pull.

Click.

Then the closed bathroom door opened, creating a gap, and they all went outside through that gap at once.

And after they had all escaped, the bathroom light flickered as if its life had ended, and finally went out with a pop sound. And in that darkness that settled on the sea of water, the politician continued to cover his mouth and shiver.

『 When the bathroom light goes out, you're safe now. Now, remember this well. Spit the talisman in your mouth onto your palm, tear it into small pieces, and sprinkle it on the floor. Oh, and don't try to drink water even if you're thirsty. Never. You must not drink water under any circumstances until the sun rises tomorrow morning. And... Haha, don't be nervous. Just chant the words you usually say three times. 』

He spat the talisman from his mouth onto his trembling hand. Then, as Jinseong had instructed, he tore the talisman into pieces and threw it on the floor, relying on the faint light coming from outside the door, and then cleared his throat and shouted with all his might in a trembling voice.

『 Now, repeat after me. O... 』

"Otsukaresama deshita!"

Otsukaresama deshita, meaning "Thank you for your hard work."

As Jinseong had said, it was the phrase he always used.

"Otsukaresama deshita!"

But for some reason.

For some reason, he felt like what he was shouting now wasn't the usual "Thank you for your hard work" but something else.

Although he wasn't well-versed in supernatural abilities, the politician knew that what he had just done was not ordinary. Jinseong had made him perform sorcery, something that seemed close to a summoning ritual, and indeed, ghost-like things had come out of the dolls and gone outside.

Would the final words of such a chilling ritual be just "Thank you for your hard work"?

Maybe this, this is.

He closed his eyes tightly and shouted for the last time.

"Otsukaresama deshita (おつかれさまでした)!"

Not the "Thank you for your hard work" (お疲れさまでした) used in daily life–

Possession.

But perhaps "Otsukaresama deshita" meaning "You are possessed" (お憑かれ 様でした)?

*                     *                     *

The summoning sorcery ritual was over.