I'm a Supporting Role in a Horror Game, Don't Kill Me

CHAPTER 028

Posted by RJR, Released on October 17, 2023

“I said it before, if you’re going to play hide and seek, let’s do it together. I think it would be fun.”
Luke was dressed quite nicely, which was completely inappropriate for such a silly game, and he stated that they really wanted to hang around and play hide and seek. I gazed at the white shirt that was so perfect on him.

It’s a serious issue if even one grass blade gets wet. It appears to be a pricey shirt. Kindly get together again soon.

“Once that’s done, we can do it inside rather than in the garden.”

‘Why are you being so sincere?’

It’s like I was a pouty kid who didn’t include him in fun games. But imagine a killer wandering around this garden looking for me. Just because the tagger is replaced by him, it wouldn’t be a children’s game and would become a horror genre. Because of the spatial setting of a horror game, the sky is gloomy every day, bats sometimes fly around, the only birds that appear are crows, and the only cats that wander in the garden and on the streets are black cats, so it’s really scary… I didn’t have the luxury of mind to play hide and seek with a killer. If that happens, my heart will really stop.

‘And above all… You can’t look for clues if he’s involved.’

It’s extremely difficult. I glanced at his gaze, trying to think of a reason to refuse. Although Luke had provided generous financial support to Shine and Luna, and had always had meals with them, he had never hugged them or played with them. I thought that the fact that he suddenly insisted on playing hide-and-seek with them did not mean that he was trying to build a close bond with the children. Did he want to protect me…? Maybe I think it’s a fun toy and I want to play with it like a cat playing with its prey before killing it… I didn’t know which one. I guess it’s because of me…

‘Oh, I don’t know. Let it happen.’

I let out a long breath, thinking that I had been sighing a lot lately.

“…great. follow your heart.”

‘Well, he may come off as enthusiastic, but if you hang out with him for a while, you’ll soon get tired of him.’

What a simple and childish game this is. And sometimes my employer needs to know how much kids love repetition. But that was my mistake. The Duke of Rearmond, an extremely elegant man who seemed suited to leisure activities such as leisurely boating and tennis, had an unexpected shamelessness. Whenever Shine, Luna, and I took turns trying to catch him, he would hide himself in the rose bushes and we would have to sweat to find him. Shine and Luna had a hard time with their uncle, but they followed suit. The two seemed very excited when Luke joined in on such a passionate game. I was busy listening to laughter erupting from all over the place, and getting scared every time I saw Luke.

‘…What kind of affinity event is this? I wonder if a favorable event means something sweeter is happening. I’m just scared to death.’

Did they play hide-and-seek in the garden ten times or so? Shine kept pulling small practical jokes close to Luna while she slept on the floor. These included using adhesive to tickle cheeks or fiddling with light-reflecting mirrors. Why did I instantly remember the ghost story I had heard from the tea party participants at that very moment? I told the ghost story as a joke, without recognizing it.

“The monster in the cellar is coming for you if you keep playing around like that! Whoa!

It was just a joke, but Shine and Luna’s faces became thoughtful. Shine was a very energetic and playful boy of his age, but his face turned white and froze, as if he had seen her ghost, and Luna just burst into tears.

“Monster, monster…”

“Hwaaaaa!”

I had no idea that the children who had been playing and talking together just a moment ago would overreact to the prank so much.

“Oh my, are you okay?”

“Ugh, wow!”

“It’s okay, shh, it’s okay. Luna, I’m sorry teacher.”

I was even more surprised and quickly pulled the children into my arms.

“Did the teacher surprise you too much? I’m sorry, Shhh. calm down.”

“Whaa, huh, whaaa.”

Luna took a deep breath and snuggled into my arms with tears welling up in her big eyes. And Shine was gently pulled into my arms as I pulled her, and I looked around her.

“…it’s fine. Something like this doesn’t matter.”

Shine muttered as if it was unbecoming of her, but she wasn’t the type of person who would normally be held quietly in my arms, so there was no doubt that she was very discouraged. Luna immediately stopped crying, but she didn’t show her bright smile again, and her sleepy face looked downcast. Why were they both so surprised? Since they were characters in a horror game, were they weak to things like ghost stories? I was sorry for ruining our long-awaited fun time, so I was about to apologize to the two of them again, but Shine suddenly tugged on the hem of my skirt and whispered.

“…Sir, it would be better not to talk about that.”

“…huh?”

“They say that if you call, they really come.”

“…Hey, where is that? Shine is a child too?”

I smiled and comforted him, but Shine responded in a serious tone.

“But… The sound you hear every time it’s midnight… No, that’s enough. Let’s stop.”

Shine said as much as he could and then bolted out of my arms. I was curious about his backstory, but Shine never told her. In the meantime, Luke found us, and the ghost story ended up falling apart. Because Shine and Luna were so upset, I couldn’t tell them to stop playing hide and seek, and we had to play the same game for another hour.

‘You’re so scared, but you want to keep playing hide and seek. I really don’t know what’s inside these kids.’

When it was Luke’s turn to play tag again, I mechanically hid in the bushes and recalled the story Shine and Luna had told me. I tend to go to bed early, but if I heard something unusual, I would have known. Or maybe I heard at least a few words when I asked about something suspicious going on. There was no relevant information.

‘But maybe… Maybe it’s not just nonsense. Unless you’re a child, there might be a hidden secret that no one tells you.’

Crsp, crsp.

I was lost in thought, but when I heard the tagger’s footsteps getting closer, I quickly got up.
It seemed like this game with Luke would never end as Shine and Luna were getting caught too quickly, and they kept begging them to do it again out of resentment. This time, I thought I would take it a little longer, so I muffled the sound of my footsteps, passed the two children, and stepped further into the garden.

Crsp, crsp.

The sound of footsteps chasing behind me got far away, but soon got closer again. The Lakers must have found the two kids and then come after me again. I was wandering around among the rose bushes that were taller than me, and suddenly I stopped. I thought I would be caught at the right time, but did I unconsciously start to speed up because I thought it was Luke’s footsteps?

When I came to my senses, I realized that I had no idea how to get out, and the only place I saw was red roses and bushes.

“…How much money does it take to build a garden like this?’

If I have that much money, I’ll raise my salary. I tried to forget the eerie feeling of anxiety that crossed my mind through nonsensical grumbling. Even though the sky is full of dark clouds and there is a strangely gloomy and huge mansion standing behind it, it is still broad daylight. And we’re just playing hide and seek. there is nothing to be afraid of.

Wow. Wow.

The sound of a small tree branch breaking was heard again. Sounds like Luke was chasing me. I instinctively wanted to run away from that sound, but I couldn’t stay lost in the garden forever.

“It’s here!”

The moment he waved his hand high and shouted that, another sound came to my ears.

Wow. Wow.

At first, I thought I must have misheard, but the sound came from the direction of the mansion, opposite to the sound of stepping on a tree branch. The sound was very faint and sounded like chains clinking. As if I was drawn to the sound, I walked towards the mansion. When we arrived at the place where the garden tree touched the mansion’s wall, the sound could now be heard quite clearly. It sounded as if some sound was faintly mixed with the clanking, clanking sound. Even if I listened closely, I could only hear the sound of something alive struggling in chains.

“…fat… ryo… Give it to me.”

I quickly covered my mouth.

It’s a human voice. I thought it was an animal trapped, but this was clearly a human voice.

A missing person. Although it was not written down in the incident notebook, I clearly remembered that disappearance cases occurred frequently around this time.

‘…That’s because it was said in the final chapter that there have been many disappearances so far… I didn’t know exactly when it started.’

Revealing the correlation between the disappearance case and the serial murder case was one of the important keys to entering the final chapter. Suddenly, as if by chance, Amber’s words came to mind. What she said when she apologized for bumping into me with her very tired face.

‘…These days, the two youngest kitchen assistants suddenly stop coming to work, so the workload has increased… sorry. I am truly sorry.’

‘…Oh my god.’

Was it really a coincidence? A missing person, the sound of chains coming from the basement. And the ghost story of this mansion that even the people who came to the tea party know.

‘…In fact, doesn’t everyone know this except me? What’s going on…’

Rustle, rustle.

Before I could continue my thoughts, I once again heard the sound of footsteps stepping on grass and branches. This time, I felt goosebumps growing all over my body, and I hurriedly left the place. If I catch Luke’s attention here, it would be like playing hide and seek with a killer.

I was in a hurry, but when I had only taken about 30 steps, I ran into Luke. When he saw me, he widened his eyes as if he was a little surprised and glanced behind me.

“Did something happen?”