The sound of heavy rain drumming against the roof and walls was disturbingly loud. Anna had once cherished rainy days, but now, this downpour accompanied by muffled thunder only amplified her unease.
"Who found the body first?"
The white-collar worker pointed a trembling finger at the frightened woman, then shrank further into himself. Seeing this, Grace simply shook her head and continued deeper into the corridor.
"Wait! It might be dangerous!" Kenzo called out, stopping her.
"A ghost has already killed someone. Now my chances of encountering a ghost have decreased from one in ten to two in twenty-nine. I doubt I'm that unlucky," Grace replied, walking into the corridor without looking back.
"Oh, she's the most courageous person I've ever seen," Beom Seok said, a slight curve to his lips. "But it makes sense. There are limits on ghosts killing people, assuming that information isn't misleading us."
He didn't realize the terror his words instilled in many. He slipped his hands into his pockets and strolled casually towards the body.
Anna, too, possessed courage. She also found her fear of death diminishing, so she followed Grace.
The corpse was tragically disfigured; the man's expression was a hideous mask of distortion from his broken neck. However, this was merely more shocking to the three who had witnessed the scene in the gardener's hut earlier. Many of those who arrived later were terrified and kept a wide distance, unwilling to approach.
Grace squatted down and began to examine the body, and Anna wordlessly started to check the dead man's clothes. Their actions caused the nouveau riche who arrived last to flush with embarrassment.
"Are you perverts? There are still two ghosts that haven't killed anyone, and you're so carelessly searching for the dead?"
Beom Seok snorted. He had wanted to search as well but was preempted by Grace and Anna. Forced to watch, he retorted to the nouveau riche, "Are you stupid? This guy was so scared he just wanted to run back. He didn't even notice anything that might save his life. How could such a coward leave the group and go to the bathroom when the time was almost up? What were you guys doing? You act so arrogant, but you got killed by a ghost just as time ran out when you came back?"
The upstart was not easily intimidated. He glared and shouted from afar, "What do you know, little brat? Why should I care whether this guy lives or dies? As long as he survives until there are nine people left, he'll be safe. Do you think I don't know that? It's his bad luck if he dies!"
This statement immediately displeased several people, but the upstart was disdainful.
"What are you looking at? We all know what's in our hearts, so don't pretend to be working together. Killing twenty-one people in seven days is an elimination game after all. I saved myself and didn't push you into the ghost's mouth. Do you want to be a savior? You're a bunch of hypocritical guys!"
"Heh, hypocrisy? If we can fight against the ghosts, you'll regret it if so many people die because of your passive attitude!" A young woman from Beom Seok's group stepped forward to support her companions.
"That's right, what's your attitude? Since you call us hypocritical, don't hide what you've found, just tell us," the man from the couple added, finding his courage.
The nouveau riche glanced at them. "Haha? Trying to provoke me? What if I tell you? I have a pill that can make ghosts pass by. You're questioning me with such arrogance now. When you're chased by ghosts, even if you kneel on the ground and beg, I won't give you a pill!"
"Clearwell Pill," Grace interjected, "The description says it's a pill synthesized from the dregs of Moonshade Essence, containing innate clear air, just like insect repellent, which can make people emit a smell that ghosts hate."
Just as the argument threatened to escalate, Grace spoke again.
"The description says there's only one bottle and one pill, but from your tone, it seems there's quite a lot of medicine. Since you have something to rely on, I won't say anything. Just use it to keep yourself safe. If you're still alive after seven days, you're welcome to come and laugh at everyone."
"You... what do you mean?"
Grace's meaningful words clearly made the nouveau riche uneasy.
"Don't you think that everything will be fine just because the ghosts hate you? People can eat things they don't like when they're extremely hungry, but when ghosts go crazy... humph."
The nouveau riche's face paled. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out. He turned and hurried back upstairs.
"Finally driven away," Grace exhaled, wiping the blood from the dead man's clothes before tossing a lighter-sized object to Beom Seok.
"Eh? This is..."
Beom Seok caught it and saw a wooden cylinder engraved with more than a dozen circles of unfamiliar characters. The bottom of the cylinder depicted a skull and a pentagram.
"The ghost summoning catalog. The less desirable items in the collection can summon ghosts to protect oneself. It's also said that many people have been killed by the summoned ghosts. This person probably wanted to gamble and quietly summon a bodyguard. In the end, I don't know if he succeeded and was killed by the summoned ghost, or failed and was killed by the ghost in the house."
Grace wiped her hands twice but found she couldn't get them clean. She frowned and looked around.
"Are you so confident to give it to me?" Beom Seok smiled slightly.
"It's reliable to give it to you."
This, of course, referred to the fact that Beom Seok had also participated in the investigation of the gardener's hut earlier.
"Oh, I might just start to like you if you say that, dear sister."
"I won't like you if you say that. Where's a place to wash your hands?"
Beom Seok laughed and waved his hand. "I'll take you there, but since you think this thing isn't good, why don't you keep it yourself?"
This question was actually directed at the onlookers. People like Anna, who had searched with Grace from the beginning, already understood her reasoning.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
...
Afternoon.
Since the discovery of the first dead person, after wrapping the body in a sheet and placing it in the gardener's hut, everyone gathered and counted. There were still twenty-nine people.
Another concern for Grace was whether the ghost-summoning catalog had been used and if there were new ghosts present. After careful observation, the woman with glasses gave a more definitive answer: it had not been used.
"The book records that if similar items are used, the text on them will become blurred, indicating they are disposable. Since this one is still so clear, it has never been used."
"It seems the interpretation went smoothly," Someone commented.
The woman with glasses was also confident. "Except for some specialized terms that might take some time to decipher, the other content isn't difficult. However, the entire book has a lot of text, so I'll prioritize the parts that seem most useful first."
"So, is there anything useful?"
"Well, there's a section that introduces a reverse ritual, but this part is more complex to understand, and I still need some time..."
Just then, several people pushed the dining cart back to the restaurant.
Cooking had become a problem under these circumstances. Finally, the young woman from Beom Seok's team, the woman from the couple, and Ling Yan volunteered to cook and enlisted a few others to help, forming a cooking team.
"Sister Grace can't cook?" Anna asked, a little surprised.
"I usually either order takeout or go to a restaurant. I rarely cook. I've never cooked anything except rice and fried rice," Grace replied, studying the dagger as she chatted with everyone.
"As a strong woman, it's normal that she doesn't pay much attention to domestic chores," Beom Seok interjected.
"I do pay attention to my life. Even when I'm busiest, I won't treat myself badly," Grace said, sounding slightly displeased, though only Anna beside her noticed the emotion.
Lunch consisted of various stir-fried dishes, a large pot of steamed rice, and assorted sauces. Someone had just died, and the appetites of those who had helped move the body were understandably poor, so Grace didn't eat much.
In contrast, the nouveau riche came downstairs with two followers, eating and drinking heartily. He was tactful enough not to comment at this time, which made the lunch quieter.
After lunch, everyone cleaned up the tableware and spoke in hushed tones. The atmosphere seemed to have become more harmonious.
"I want to take a shower," Someone suggested.
When the body was moved out of the house earlier, many people had gotten wet despite the umbrellas, and now the damp clothes felt very uncomfortable.
"Won't it be dangerous?" Policeman David asked, a little worried.
Grace shook her head. "There are two bathing pools here. If there are many people, just bring your things with you. Even if we do nothing, the danger won't decrease."
"Wow, I thought you would definitely object," The first girl who had entered the room said happily, taking the hand of the woman with glasses and running upstairs together.
"Where are they going?" Grace asked, a little surprised.
Francesco lit a cigarette and took a comfortable puff. "You haven't seen the rooms yet, have you? The rooms here are like a hotel, with quite a lot of things. They're going to find bathrobes."
"Mr. Mechanic knows a lot," Beom Seok said with a smile.
"If you raise a daughter, you have to understand these things, especially when she's particularly attached to her parents."
As Francesco said this, his face softened considerably, as if recalling a pleasant memory, making Beom Seok grin. "Then I'll join in the fun. Anyway, if there are two pools, separating the men and women won't be a problem."
With the leaders showing their intentions, the young men and women in Beom Seok's team naturally couldn't resist going along.
Anna didn't join them, not feeling the need. Besides Francesco and Grace, the three from the nouveau riche's group returned to their rooms after dinner.
The white-collar man and the heavily made-up woman also stayed in the hall, refusing to wander around.
The couple guarded the candle and refused to move. The others more or less wanted to clean up.
"Everyone, let's divide into batches. Uncle Noah, please protect everyone," Grace asked the most reliable person present.
"Don't worry."
Grace looked at Kenzo and Cairo again. "Let's go pick a room. Since there are double rooms here, we'd better... stick together at all times."
The brief hesitation was likely because she wanted everyone to act as a team, but it was too unrealistic for so many people to stay together constantly. Many had their secrets, and the props that could resist ghosts now formed a wall between them, creating distance.
"Sister Grace, are you worried about the future?" Anna asked as they went upstairs. "Do you think everyone can't survive?"
"No, there are other reasons why I don't want everyone staying together all the time. I have some guesses... Forget it, let's figure out how to best use the things we have."
The room on the second floor was indeed luxuriously decorated, with a full set of Western-style furniture. The warm brown tones alleviated the gloomy feeling brought by the weather outside, and the lights emitted a bright white glow when turned on. Although Victor Ravencourt had favored a retro style when building the villa, he hadn't neglected modern amenities.
Anna walked around the bathroom. There was no bathtub, but there was a flush toilet. To maintain the unified style, the washbasin was built in a style similar to a dressing table, with a round mirror mounted on the shelf, giving one the feeling of being in a movie. Even without any research experience, Anna found this decoration style very appealing.
"Rich people," Anna sighed after coming out.
Grace nodded. "We already know that Victor Ravencourt was deeply involved with these mysterious things. Such people are either extremely poor or have too much money to burn. What's more, if it's true, he's more likely to be an invisible rich man. This villa is probably where he studied those things. From what we've found, it can almost be inferred that..."
"...Something happened to this place."
Anna, well-versed in the principle of not interfering, also guessed the underlying plot. The mere fact that so many items related to mysticism were collected here indicated the presence of numerous secrets. Something must have happened to Victor Ravencourt later, causing the villa to become what it is now. He himself probably didn't meet a good end.