Chapter 88: Golden Rose (1)

A situation where nothing could be certain.

But at the very least, the feelings Bell held toward her husband seemed genuine.

“Anyway.......”

With an unbearably sorrowful expression, Bell looked once more at the golden rose inside the glass case.

“One should be finished soon.”

It was the result of Su-myeon diligently gathering causality until now.

Su-myeon took off his glasses for a moment and rubbed his face before turning his gaze back toward the golden rose as well.

For now, it still looked grotesque, with chunks of flesh and blood vessels clinging to it, but the half-revealed leaves shone dazzlingly.

An inorganic beauty that had devoured dozens, hundreds of possibilities.

That was the method capable of restoring a human who had lost their body back to their original form.

“I have to turn my husband back first.”

As though she no longer intended to hide anything, Bell spoke firmly with a resolute expression.

Once that golden rose bloomed completely, Bell would first feed it to her husband.

It would be good if it worked, but even Bell did not believe there was much chance of succeeding on the first attempt.

“If simply feeding it to him doesn’t work, I’ll find a way. Whatever it takes, I’m going to try.”

The deadline was until Su-myeon terminated all the ghost stories and this inventor’s castle disappeared as well.

She would keep trying, and if it still did not work, Bell would humbly accept her fate.

“I had Cheshire deliver products because, just like I told you before, I needed a way to communicate smoothly with someone like you who could eliminate ghost stories in my place.”

Of course, Bell had never intended to make him do all that work for nothing.

“Before we disappeared, I was planning to give him the last golden rose.”

That was how Bell had intended to compensate Cheshire for his labor.

The only reason she had not told him about his past as a human was because she had worried he might covet the golden rose first.

Bell had not simply been planning to deceive Cheshire and exploit him.

“I’m not a volunteer, but I’m not a completely unreasonable story either.”

Su-myeon felt a strange chill at the way Bell referred to herself as a ‘story.’

Goosebumps rose along his arms, but Su-myeon forced himself to suppress them.

Everyone inside every story, aside from the figures called masters, had originally been human.

But there was still no certain way to restore those who had lost their sense of self.

Among the information Bell had given him.

“Then... if I just eat that golden rose, I can get my original form back...?”

Cheshire murmured quietly.

His voice was slow as usual, but it sounded confused, as though he still had not fully accepted everything.

Even so, Su-myeon was relieved that they had at least confirmed that one fact.

Bell’s proposal was not entirely unreasonable.

The golden roses grew only in Bell’s garden in the first place.

Her offer to share them in exchange for proper compensation was an easy enough transaction to understand.

“Either way, I still have to keep going through ghost stories like you told me to.”

Probably even after he found his parents.

He would not be able to leave this world behind so easily.

Part of that was because he had already become entangled with a national agency, but somehow, Su-myeon felt certain of it.

Until now, he had hidden inside an ordinary life and believed that kind of life was best.

'......There’s no way I could live comfortably.'

The fact that somewhere inside ghost stories, people were suffering, unable to properly live or die while their causality was being exploited.

And the fact that he could end those ghost stories.

He would not be able to free himself from those two facts.

It was not necessarily because of some self-sacrificing impulse. It was the same reason Ju-hee could not leave this place behind.

Live a peaceful everyday life while dreaming nightmares about the people he had failed to save, or give up that peaceful life and at least sleep soundly at night.

If he had to choose between the two, the latter seemed better for now.

“So, let’s move the timing up.”

Su-myeon attempted to negotiate with Bell.

“A vague condition like ‘the last rose’ won’t work. And from now on, the more ghost stories we go through, the more people there will be who need to be turned back into humans.”

“You can’t turn all of them back into humans anyway.”

Bell answered as though the idea were absurd, but Su-myeon made his proposal firmly.

“Every even-numbered one. Give those to us.”

One was already nearing completion with the coins he had given her until now.

Looking at it that way, it would not be that far off.

“In return, if there’s no human waiting for one, then the order won’t matter and you can use it one more time.”

Bell’s expression was poor, so Su-myeon backed down a step.

Even so, Bell still looked fierce.

“How do I know you’ll keep your promise?”

“Then how am I supposed to trust you, Bell?”

As the questions tangled around each other, Bell’s aura gradually became more threatening.

Realizing he might have gone too far, Su-myeon hurriedly added,

“Then how about every multiple of three?”

Only then did Bell look somewhat thoughtful.

Waiting would be agonizingly frustrating, but it was still better than never obtaining one at all.

Bell bit her lip with an displeased expression.

Without Su-myeon’s help, she could not even attempt this in the first place.

In a situation where neither could do it without the other, Su-myeon had backed down first, so now it was Bell’s turn.

“......Fine. We’ll do that.”

She still looked displeased, but she had little choice.

“There won’t be benefits like discounts from now on. I’ll include the price of the roses in the item prices, so keep that in mind.”

“...Wouldn’t it be better for you to help me more actively if you want me to gather coins faster?”

At Su-myeon’s words, Bell glared sharply at him.

He had hit the nail on the head.

“Damn it. I thought you were an idiot.”

She grumbled in dissatisfaction, but Bell could not argue.

Even so, merely managing to break the composure of someone who had always seemed relaxed made Su-myeon see great possibilities.

The inside of his palms was damp with sweat from the tension.

In the end, from Su-myeon’s perspective, nothing he was already doing would change, while he would only gain more from it.

He simply had to keep going through ghost stories as before and gather coins, and along the way, he would also obtain items capable of turning Cheshire and Mu-yeon back into humans.

And if, during that process, they could even find a way to restore the Beast, who had lost his reason, back into a human?

The range of people they could rescue would broaden.

Their methods would increase.

Even if his own parents had been swallowed up by a ghost story and turned into monsters that had lost their minds.

'I can get them back....'

It felt like a faint shred of hope.

“It’s all decided, right? Every golden rose that blooms at a multiple of three belongs to me, and I gather the causality needed to make the roses bloom.”

Su-myeon summarized it clearly.

Even without a formal contract, it was a promise both sides had to uphold if they wanted to continue benefiting from each other.

“I’ll continue giving you causality through item transactions like before. I don’t know what standard you use to determine item prices, but please set them at a level appropriate for making the roses bloom.”

Suddenly, he remembered the Rose Coins he had missed here and there inside ghost stories because things had been too urgent.

Maybe I should’ve made sure to pick them up.

Amid that belated regret, Bell finished thinking and nodded.

“Fine. I promise. I’ll keep delivering the items through Cheshire, but....”

Bell paused in thought before continuing.

Cheshire, who came from Alice Hotel, was the only one with the ability to move freely between ghost stories.

If he became human, the method of delivering items would become unclear.

But if she had already decided to hand over golden roses to Su-myeon anyway....

“I’ll look for a way to deliver items through the inventory.”

Bell continued after thinking for a moment.

“So, between that mutt and Cheshire, you have to give one to Cheshire first.”

Since Bell said she would do everything she could on her end, Su-myeon agreed.

He had already been wondering whether Cheshire or Mu-yeon should receive the rose first.

Neither the decision nor the process of persuading them seemed likely to be easy.

So if the person making the roses chose the order for him, it was actually something to be grateful for.

“Let’s do that. I’m sorry, but Mr. Mu-yeon, could you wait a little longer?”

Su-myeon bent down and asked the black wolf as though seeking his understanding.

Mu-yeon could not speak, so he quietly nodded.

He wanted to regain a human body as soon as possible too, but he had no choice.

If the people who knew the method decided it that way, he could only follow their decision.

“Instead, there’s an item that would be good for the mutt to use in the meantime.”

As though the timing were perfect, Bell returned to her usual cheerful mood and spoke.

“Speaking of which, it looks like you’ve gathered quite a few coins already. How about leaving the kids here and doing some shopping?”

With the situation settled, Bell’s attitude had completely returned to normal.

That in itself felt strange, but Su-myeon nodded.

The golden rose inside the glass case had already revealed half of its golden form.

Maybe if he poured in every coin he currently had, he could make at least one flower bloom completely.

“......All right.”

He did not know why he specifically had to leave Cheshire and Mu-yeon behind.

Su-myeon hesitated for a moment as he watched Bell begin stroking Mu-yeon’s fluffy fur again.

Cheshire, who had been sitting on Su-myeon’s shoulder until now, also hopped down and headed toward Bell.

Perhaps there were old matters between the two of them that still needed to be resolved.

“I’ll be back.”

Since this was his second visit, Su-myeon began climbing the mansion stairs with some familiarity.

He went up the staircase covered in frames holding grotesque paintings and passed through a corridor that no longer felt unfamiliar.

There was only one room where he could shop for items.

The room where products had been displayed like a store.

Su-myeon carefully opened the door and stepped inside.

“......”

Some of the products he had seen before were still sitting in their places.

The things he had already passed over once did not particularly catch Su-myeon’s eye.

Among the unfamiliar items he was seeing for the first time, the first thing to stand out was a collar with a large emblem that looked like a dog tag.

It was because Bell had told him there was an item Mu-yeon could use.

[Rose Vine Tag (20 Coins)]

Forcefully grants causality to whoever wears it.

Made from a special metal created by melting down Rose Coins.

Without hesitation, Su-myeon picked up the tag first.

Something was engraved in an incomprehensible language on the chain collar, which looked suited for a large beast.

Whatever it was, he could not see how there would be any downside to a human gaining causality.

Absurdly enough, there was even a shopping basket placed on one side, as though encouraging him to choose several things.

'For now, I do need it....'

He had 120 coins left after what he had spent on questions earlier.

If he spent all of them, it should be more than enough to make one golden rose fully bloom.

Planning to spend everything, Su-myeon began picking out various items and putting them into the basket.

[Illusion Match (10 Coins)]

The area reached by the match’s flame becomes an absolutely safe space.

However, prolonged use may cause permanent hallucinations, so caution is advised.

[Apple of Deception (30 Coins)]

Taking a bite causes a temporary state of suspended animation.

The user can only awaken through another person’s kiss.

[Ariadne’s Ball of Thread (10 Coins)]

When lost, it shows the path toward the exit.

The thread is approximately 70 meters long. If the path is longer than that or the thread breaks midway, it loses its effect.

He first picked up the things that seemed useful in emergencies.

[Tin Woodman’s Heart (10 Coins)]

A heart made from warm red silk. It possesses a heart, yet becomes a heart that never tires.

Then Su-myeon rubbed his eyes when he saw a product he had encountered in the past.

He was certain it had cost around 3 coins when he first saw it in the app. It had been that cheap.

“......”

After thinking for a moment, Su-myeon swept that into the basket as well.

Apparently, this was what Bell had meant when she said she would include the price of the roses in the item prices.

The more golden roses he received from now on, the more the item prices might rise.

In that case, it would be better to buy as much as possible while he still had the chance.