Chapter 64: The Witch’s Forest (7)

[4. There is one surest way to escape. Among the countless candy houses the Witch has created throughout the forest, you must find the real one. Above the staircase inside it is a door that leads back to reality.]

[#BELL: I already showed you everything available to you within the causality you possess.]

The reply came from Belle.

Despite all the countless items he had seen when he visited her castle, this was the attitude she took.

Irritated by his hunger, Su-myeon opened the Secret Shop app again.

There were two items left in the shop.

[Tin Woodsman's Heart (3 coins)]

[A heart made of warm red silk. You gain a heart that can feel but never tires.]

[Dokkaebi AI App (20 coins)]

[Request specific data, and the dokkaebi will provide the information you desire. However, the price for information is paid in ■■.]

Neither item's description was particularly appealing.

Given the peculiar nature of ghost stories, there was far too much room for interpretation when it came to what that price might entail.

A heart? What was he supposed to do if using it meant having his original heart removed and this one put in its place?

Besides, it did not seem particularly useful in his current situation.

"If you don't get it, ask Belle to explain more~"

Cheshire said, infuriatingly, as he chewed on his confection.

Su-myeon drew a deep breath, barely suppressing both his emotions and his cravings, then sent Belle a question.

[Can't you explain it in more detail?]

[#BELL: Not for free.]

Her answer came quickly this time as well.

It was hardly an unexpected response.

[How much will it take?]

Personally, he would have preferred to save up more Rose Coins and get a new item list, but this was no time to be stingy.

He needed something that could help him right now.

There was absolutely no way he was going to die because mere hunger had robbed him of his senses.

[#BELL: I can tell you as much as you're willing to spend.]

The hardest bargaining in the world was bargaining without a fixed price.

As the hunger returned the moment he was about to forget it, Su-myeon answered without hesitation.

[I'll pay 5 coins, so tell me more about the AI app.]

In a situation like this, where rational judgment was becoming difficult, an AI would surely be useful.

At the very least, simply having it organize his current situation and thoughts for him would be a help.

The vague nature of the price bothered him, though, so he wanted to know exactly what it involved.

[Rose Coins: 56]

His coins decreased, and the text in the Secret Shop changed.

[Dokkaebi AI App 'Imae Mangnyang' (40 coins)]

[Request specific data, and the dokkaebi will provide the information you desire. However, the price for information is paid in food. Dokkaebi generally prefer humans (food that humans can eat), and to offer dokkaebi fare, hold the offering in your hand and clearly specify it within the app. All prices are paid in advance. Note that if you do not specify the offering beforehand, dokkaebi fare will be forcibly collected from the user.]

"What is this?"

More than the description itself, what first caught Su-myeon's attention was the item price, which had doubled.

He had already paid for the information, so why had the price of the item itself gone up as well?

Ju-hee, who had been quietly watching from behind him, spoke cautiously.

"Maybe.... Could it be that? Causality."

What Ju-hee said made sense.

Causality—the thing beings from ghost stories coveted and desired above all else.

By learning this information, the range of actions available to Su-myeon had expanded considerably.

Naturally, as the range of Su-myeon's possible actions—the causes—increased, the possible results diversified as well.

The causality contained within the being known as Su-myeon had grown greater.

'Dokkaebi generally prefer humans (food that humans can eat)....'

Su-myeon reread the part in the middle that bothered him most.

Those parentheses could not have been there for no reason.

Among the foods dokkaebi preferred, plain 'humans' themselves were clearly included.

If Su-myeon had used the app without knowing that, part of his own body might have been forcibly taken as dokkaebi fare.

"Anyway, there's plenty of edible stuff around here... so I guess that's fortunate, isn't it?"

Ju-hee said, pointing at the candy house in front of them.

Su-myeon nodded and immediately purchased the Dokkaebi AI.

Even inside a ghost story where not even mobile data worked, the app called 'Imae Mangnyang' installed itself in an instant.

The app had a strangely familiar-looking UI, with a question box and a short line of text beneath it.

Mortal, what shall I aid thee with?

Its manner of speech was strange, but Su-myeon suppressed his hunger as best he could and sat down.

As soon as he placed a hand directly against the candy house and had Ju-hee sit beside him, the rich smell of butter became even stronger.

Judging by the way Ju-hee swallowed dryly, she was not in much better shape.

[The offering is the Witch's food currently in my hand.]

After clearly specifying what food he intended to offer, Su-myeon's fingers moved quickly.

"Then, let's ask."

Su-myeon and Ju-hee began entering their current situation into the phone, discussing it as they went.

Their explanation was rambling and disorganized, but simply talking and forcing himself to concentrate helped push the hunger into the background somewhat.

Muttering aloud without even realizing it, Su-myeon entered one final question.

"So... now... what should I do...?"

Understood. This One has comprehended thy situation.

As the text appeared on his phone, Su-myeon scratched his brow.

For an AI, Imae Mangnyang had an exceptionally old-fashioned way of speaking.

Thou seemest already sufficiently aware of the dangers against which thou must guard while wandering The Witch's Forest, so This One shall refrain from adding further counsel on that subject.

"It's reliable information, right...?"

Ju-hee asked cautiously, her head pressed close to Su-myeon's as she read the text appearing on the screen.

Whether he trusted it or not, there was little else he could do. Still, Su-myeon glanced at the candy house, half of which had vanished in an instant.

After consuming this much food, surely it would prove at least somewhat useful.

Judging escape and the rescue of the missing to be equally important.

Both lead to the same conclusion.

To arrive at that conclusion, however, there is one matter that must first be reconsidered.

The relationship between the missing friend of Seo Tae-hyeon, the informant, and the owner of Room 404.

This One's (本量) deduction on the matter!

They are highly likely to be family. (e.g. father and son)

Hypothesis: They surely entered The Witch's Forest together.

And the father took upon himself the role of bait, luring others into the forest in order to save his son.

The Witch most likely held the son hostage and threatened the father into procuring food.

I'm starving to death.

Su-myeon forced himself to ignore the sensation that kept intruding on his thoughts like an instinct and barely managed to focus on the text on his phone.

Seo Tae-hyeon, the citizen who had served as the informant, had definitely mentioned that the missing man's family still lived in the same place.

Other details had pushed it from his mind, but if he considered the matter in terms of a family relationship—

Father and son seemed the most plausible.

The rest, however, felt like something of a leap.

'So that... is possible.'

Taking someone hostage in order to exert influence on reality.

Beyond the dull haze of hunger, something hovered maddeningly just beyond the reach of his thoughts.

This leads to the conclusion that the earlier missing person is highly likely to be at the Witch's house.

Furthermore, there is the other missing person of whom thou art aware—the one from the internet.

He too shall be suffering from vicious hunger, just as thou art.

He is highly likely to be bound to one of the candy houses somewhere in this forest.

The hypothesis ends here!

Conclusion! Thou must find the Witch's house!

As thou art surely well aware, dozens of other candy houses are scattered throughout this place.

Only one of them is the true Witch's house, and the escape route lies there as well.

<Finding the true Witch's house = searching for the missing = finding the escape route>

To judge the situation thus and act accordingly shall be the safest course.

If This One may recommend a course of action, offer the Witch's confections to This One in advance as This One's portion.

Do so, and thou shalt be spared the confusion of wondering whether thou hast already passed the same candy house before, which is most convenient.

This One's belly shall be full, which is pleasant, and thou mayest offer dokkaebi fare to This One in advance and stockpile payment for future questions!

Is this not three birds with one stone?

Hunger is a most fearsome and burdensome thing for This One as well.

Hand over all the Witch's confections to This One, and This One shall render thee aid in good faith.

"......."

By the time he finished reading it carefully, Su-myeon actually felt as though his head had cleared.

Moreover, the way Imae Mangnyang reasoned its way toward its conclusions closely resembled Su-myeon's own thought process.

It felt as though the AI had taken all the hypotheses that had been floating vaguely through his mind, muddling his thoughts, and organized them on his behalf.

While thinking that its performance was actually quite impressive, Su-myeon noticed one thing that felt off.

'It feels hunger?'

Isn't this an actual dokkaebi rather than an AI?

But that was beside the point for now.

Once everything had been laid out in order, new thoughts began branching from it.

"The fact that we're starving might actually work in our favor."

At first glance, combing through the forest in search of candy houses might seem no different from wandering around aimlessly.

But what if they gave themselves the explicit goal of finding every candy house and offering it up?

Ju-hee looked at him questioningly, as though asking what he meant, and Su-myeon explained.

"The Witch will keep hoping we give in to starvation, and she'll keep watching us."

As long as there was bait suffering from hunger, the Witch would continue trying to lure them toward the candy houses.

In other words, they would not simply be wandering through the forest—the Witch herself would guide them toward the candy houses.

Even if she saw Su-myeon offering those houses up as dokkaebi fare, the Witch would keep trying.

"From that point on, it'll be a battle of willpower."

She might have simply lost interest in a beast that could not starve and left it to wander the forest forever.

But they could starve.

So it came down to whether they could withstand this unnatural hunger and make the offerings as planned, or whether they would fail to endure it and eat the confections themselves.

It would be a battle against appetite, one of the most primal instincts of all.

"We can do it!"

Su-myeon flinched slightly at Ju-hee's sudden burst of determination.

When he widened his eyes and looked at her, she spoke again, even more firmly this time.

"I absolutely won't become a burden, so please trust me!"

He did not think he had ever regarded her as a burden in the first place.

If anything, Ju-hee's unnecessarily resolute attitude made Su-myeon's heart feel lighter.

It was only hunger.

For no particular reason, he suddenly felt confident that he would not lose to something like that and die a pathetic death.

A few months that had felt longer than several years.

After everything he had been through, Su-myeon smirked, feeling a strange sense of camaraderie.

"Yes. Please do. Noona."

He lightly patted the shoulder of the woman who froze for a moment at the unfamiliar form of address, then rose to his feet.

[I'll offer up all the remaining candy houses in advance as well. Is there a limit to how much I can offer in advance?]

As he entered the message with one hand pressed against what remained of the candy house, the rest of the building vanished in an instant.

"Uh... my chocolate.... My confection......."

The candy house was gone.

In its place stood an empty lot, the outer walls completely vanished, with only a few pieces of furniture left behind.

Clutching the one chair that remained, Cheshire slumped over and muttered blankly.

The sight put Su-myeon in an even better mood as he checked Imae Mangnyang's response.

There is none! The more thou givest, the better!

Its manner of speech was bizarre, somehow resembling both an old man and an innocent child.

Its performance was already worth far more coins than the useless bystander Cheshire.

Satisfied with how well it had performed, Su-myeon was about to put his phone away when it vibrated again.

Did Imae Mangnyang have something else to tell him?

[#WOLF: Su-myeon.]

[#WOLF: I've entered as well.]

The message that appeared on the screen was something entirely different from what he had expected.