NOVEL NEXT Chapter 464.
Chapter 464. An Exciting Night with Two Girls Outside the City: The Alleged Haunted Castle. (7/10)
I carefully descended the stairs one step at a time in the dark with one hand on the wall to my side. From the moment I closed the door after slipping under it, I couldn’t see anything.
It was rather chilly down here, much cooler than outside. Quite stuffy and cramped. The wall was cold and made out of coarse stone. I could feel some cracks in the walls as my fingers slid across the surface in the dark.
It felt as though I was descending into madness within this dark passage. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, I felt as if I’d lost my mind. Just what the hell was I doing here?
Despite that thought, I took yet another step forward, this time, on flat ground. Since I couldn’t see anything, I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds I could hear. If there were footsteps heading my way, I had to be on high alert for them. The same with chatter.
On my way deeper down this confined passage, I stepped in a few puddles on the ground I naturally couldn’t see. Occasional water droplets could be heard as they dripped down from the ceiling into those puddles. Some droplets fell directly onto my clothes and down my back leaving behind a chilling to the bone sensation.
I was accustomed to the cold thanks to the city I lived in, but it was abnormally cold down here for summer. Why? Why was it so cold? It was too unnatural. They had to keep something cold.
Was that what they were using electricity for? Freezers?
That seemingly insignificant clue gave me a glimmer of insight into what the doctor might be hiding down here.
After carefully inching my way forward in the dark over the next few minutes I arrived at a junction in the underground passage. It branched off in three directions. One to my left, right, and straight forward.
If it was a complex network of tunnels, then logically, to avoid getting lost, I should keep my hand on one wall and continue in that direction until I arrived at my destination.
That was the smart thing to do, but who knew how long that might take me. However… what if Wisteria got lost down here and couldn’t find her way out? I mean… she was a bit childish and immature mentally. Would she be aware of an easy way out of a maze?
I had my doubts when I recalled how clumsy she was when she tried to key in the passcode on my phone.
But… she was still an assassin… right? Surely she’d be aware of such a simple method to escape a maze.
I somehow felt like an older sibling anxiously watching over their little sister running their first errand in secret from the shadows.
Whatever, I’ll stick to the left wall for the time being and do my best to map out the layout of the tunnel network in my head.
I walked forward and kept my footsteps inaudible while I listened attentively for any movement. If Wisteria was down here I might hear her before I heard anyone else. Actually, I should be able to see her sticking out like a beacon of light now that I think about it.
Eventually, I came across another set of stairs leading up to the surface. Rather than take them I turned around and headed back the way I came with my left hand on the wall.
Over the next twenty minutes, I came across three more exits. It was actually a bit surprising to me that I hadn’t reached the room the doctor was inside.
I suppose it made sense. If it was somewhere easy to reach, there’s no way he’d hide something down here. There might even be a secret passage that may only open up if the proper procedure is followed.
When I arrived at another junction, I suddenly stopped in place when I heard something unexpected. Faint, nearly inaudible, sniffling in the distance. If I hadn’t been listening carefully I would have never noticed it. I opened my eyes and noticed a very dim light at the end of the tunnel on my right. It came from around the corner at the end.
It was definitely her. It had to be.
I silently approached without making a single sound as the light became more pronounced. If she heard me approaching she might run off. I didn’t want to make much noise either by calling out to her since my voice would probably echo. It wouldn’t be good if we were discovered because of that.
When I made it to the end of the passage I stopped when I heard a depressed girl whispering to herself while sniffling between each pause, “I want to see big brother… This is the worst… Getting lost during a mission… and even losing sight of the target… I’m hungry too… If I can’t get out… and I’m trapped down here… unable to find my way out in time… I’ll miss out on my date… with big brother… I hate this… I want to go home… It’s cold… and dark… just like that room.”
I peeked around the corner and discovered a pitiful-looking half-pink half-black-haired girl slumped down to the ground with her back against the wall. She had her arms wrapped around her knees with her face buried in them. With the light from her soul, I could see her features as clear as day. The passage around her was similarly illuminated by it.
I took a step around the corner, squatted down in front of her, and placed my hand on her head. With how dark it was, she didn’t even notice me. Her body froze up when my hand touched down on her head.
“Wisteria, you okay?”
“B-Big brother? Huh? What? Is that you?” Wisteria’s head shot up as she looked directly at me with two teardrops forming at the corner of her eyes. She really looked like she was ready to cry.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“W-Why are you here? No way. I must be hallucinating from hunger. There’s no way big brother could really be here.”
“But I am here though.”
“I’m so far gone I’m actually hearing voices and feeling someone’s hand on my head.”
I removed my hand from her head, pinched Wisteria’s cheeks, and stretched them out.
“Owww~”
“I’m really here, you dunce. Good god, how did you get lost in here? Just keep one hand on a wall, follow it, and you’ll find an exit in no time.”
“What? Really? It’s that easy?” She looked like a lost puppy who’d been shown the light.
“Yeah.”
“Thank you, big brother’s spiritual apparition.”
I nearly fell over.
“I’m not a spiritual apparition.”
“You’re not? Then what are you?”
“Haaaaah. Your big brother in the flesh.”
Wisteria pouted and complained, with squinted eyes, “Uuuuuuuu… Even I’m not dumb enough to really believe big brother would magically appear in person like some sort of knight in shining armor when I’m in need of him. Stuff like that doesn’t happen in real life. That kind of thing is reserved for stories. I won’t be fooled.”
“If you don’t believe me, then whatever.”
“Mmmm… maybe I’d believe you if you had something to eat.”
“Something to eat? I didn’t bring anything.”
“Are you sure? I can think of some food to eat that my real big brother would always have with him.”
“If I had something to eat with me I’d really give it to you.”
“I don’t believe you. You’re definitely holding out on some food. I can smell it.” She closed her eyes and sniffed me twice. “For a spiritual amalgamation, you really do smell exactly how my big brother smells in person.”
“Are you just messing with me?”
Wisteria’s eyes slightly cracked open as she muttered, “You really do… smell good. So good, it’s making me even hungrier.”
The cannibalistic glint in her eyes was a bit scary.
“Did you forget? I’m just a spiritual amalgamation, you can’t eat a spiritual amalgamation.”
Wisteria’s long tongue peeked out from between her lips and split in two directions. The left and right segments of her tongue coiled around my thumbs still pinching her cheeks before coiling around my wrists.
“What are you doing?”
“Hmmm? For a spiritual amalgamation, you not only smell like big brother, you even taste like big brother.”
“Stop messing around. We don’t have time for this. Let’s get out of here already.” The longer we stuck around, the more dangerous and more likely we were to be discovered.
I stopped pinching her cheeks and stood up.
“I’m too hungry to move from here. Unless I get some food I won’t be able to leave this spot.”
“You’re an assassin, aren’t you? Suck it up.”
“You want me to… suck it up?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright then… since you insist… I’ll… heheh~ suck it up~”
“Huh? Hold on, wait. I didn’t mean-”