“……Strange.”
That evening, after finishing their exploration, Lee Seo-a talked with Ian over the buffet.
“It’s too ordinary. I don’t see even a hint of the ‘mystic’ in it…… and there aren’t any routes where someone could vanish.”
“True.”
The cruise buffet was far better in quality than most hotels. Korean, Japanese, Western, Chinese—you name it. A huge variety of dishes were laid out in a way that made them easy to eat. Ian liked Korean food, so he was eating things like braised short ribs and fried rice, while Seo-a seemed to prefer Japanese food, having brought back a heap of sushi and poking at it.
“What if the cruise isn’t the cause, and there’s something wrong with the sea? Like sirens, for example. They lured people in and made them throw themselves into the ocean.”
“Then their memories in between wouldn’t have disappeared. And if they jumped overboard, it wouldn’t be a missing persons case.”
“Well, that’s true, but……”
At Ian’s textbook rebuttal, Lee Seo-a let out a deep sigh and picked the wasabi out of her sushi with her chopsticks. Then she dipped only the sushi deep into soy sauce and took a bite.
Ian took a sip of water and stared at her with a dubious expression.
“……That’s a very unusual way to eat.”
“Everyone from Busan eats like this.”
“Apologize to the people of Busan.”
“Shut up.”
Seo-a swallowed the sushi she had bitten into and waggled her chopsticks.
“Anyway, I don’t think we’ll be able to find anything today. At the very least, it’ll have to be dawn, or maybe morning.”
At her words, Ian nodded.
According to the spirit Seo-a had summoned, the first day had passed normally, without anything strange happening. But the moment they fell asleep that evening, their consciousness vanished, and they died two days later. Their memories in between had been wiped out entirely.
He had no idea how that was possible, but there was nothing they could do right now. They had toured the entire cruise and even used magic, yet not a single thing had been detected.
‘Should I release some Outer Sea creatures into the ocean?’
The Outer Sea.
Normally, it referred to a sea not enclosed by land, but the Outer Sea Ian knew was a vast ocean somewhere in outer space.
A bizarre ecosystem ruled and controlled by Outer Gods. A sea tinged with the scent of blood, where creatures devoured one another and starving beings lived in swarms.
In any case, it was still a sea, so there was no reason creatures from the Outer Sea couldn’t swim in Earth’s ocean. No, perhaps they might even move around far better than they did on land.
All the creatures he had summoned so far had only operated on land. Maybe because of that, his personal curiosity about how they would react when they encountered water began to well up.
Of course, he had no intention of using magic here right now just to satisfy his curiosity.
If he released them without any certainty, they might slaughter every marine creature in the area. They might even fail to be satisfied by that and attack the cruise or civilian fishing boats.
They were the sort that basically followed orders well, but there was no guarantee they would do so even while suffering from hunger. Rather than create a dangerous situation just because he was curious, it was far better to handle things decisively.
‘If there’s something in the sea, or if a sea monster shows up, I’ll step in then.’
As Ian thought that and tapped the table, Seo-a patted her now-full stomach with her palm. Though it barely protruded at all.
“Ahh, I’m full…… How long has it been since I ate proper food like this?”
“How long has it been?”
“No idea. Usually I just grab something from a convenience store. Don’t you?”
“I started cooking a bit recently. I’m trying to maintain my stamina through my diet, at least.”
“You’re diligent.”
At her words, Ian gave a faint laugh and sipped the cocktail in his glass.
“So, what are you going to do now? I think it’d be better to just take it easy on the first day.”
“I think so too. The theater and the casino? I was thinking of checking places like that out.”
“Do that. Then let’s act separately today and meet again tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.”
Ian stood up as he heard Seo-a’s reply.
Just then, she took a small bottle out of her pocket.
It was a glass bottle filled with pure white powder. She tapped the bottle with her finger, nodded, and slid it toward Ian.
“……What is this?”
At his question, Seo-a smiled faintly.
“Bone ash. I put a finely fragmented soul inside. It’s an item that blocks one mental-type attack.”
“Ah……”
“It’s just my personal guess, but I feel like the mystery involved here might have something to do with the mind. Take it with you, just in case.”
“Sure. Thanks.”
Ian smiled gently, put the bottle into the inner pocket of his coat, left the restaurant, and headed to his room.
[Wooong!]
The Deep-Sea Travelogue, which had been fooling around on the table, greeted him as though happy to see him.
He stroked the cover of the Travelogue, went out onto the terrace, and put a cigarette in his mouth. He lit it and exhaled smoke beyond the dark night sea. There was nothing above him in particular, so he didn’t need to worry about the smoke.
“……”
The sky was clear. Moonlight slid down over the surface of the sea and shattered, mingling with the lights of the cruise as it bloomed in all directions. The ash-gray smoke melted into the air and disappeared before it could even touch the moonlight.
‘The sea, huh……’
Ian leaned against the railing and quietly looked down at the black sea.
Naturally, he couldn’t see beneath the surface. Nor could he see any marine life.
If this was a world where urban legends took shape, then surely something was alive and breathing beneath that sea as well. Maybe, like in conspiracy theories, there was a UFO base down there, or perhaps megalodons and dinosaurs were still swimming around, stirring their fins.
Whatever it was, he had no desire to encounter it.
He wouldn’t mind seeing it from a distance, but if they rammed the cruise with those massive bodies, this ship would split in half like the Titanic. He had no intention of meeting an ending like the opening of some common monster movie.
“Phew……”
He stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the provided ashtray, came back in from the terrace, and began gathering his tools.
He had already finished his search, but that didn’t mean he planned to lie down and rest. Since something could appear anytime, anywhere, he planned to look around specific areas in general.
‘Lee Seo-a said she was going to the theater and the casino, so I should go somewhere else.’
He put his alchemy supplies and the Deep-Sea Travelogue into his bag, slung it over his shoulder carelessly, and moved out.
The closest places from here were the deck with the hot spring spa and the exhibition hall where paintings, miniatures, and the like were on display. Ian decided to go to the spa first.
He had no intention of getting in the water, so there was no need to change clothes. He got straight into the elevator and went up to the top floor of the cruise.
“……”
The outdoor pool of the cruise was filled with warm water.
Scantily clad people could be seen here and there, and others lay on sunbeds, sipping wine and chatting.
Ian passed them by, carefully moving so he wouldn’t touch the water.
Just like during the day, even though evening had come, he couldn’t sense anything special.
But there could always be something invisible to the eye.
Ian slipped into a dark corner of the deck, drew a magic circle on the wall, and attached a piece of ghoul flesh to it.
“Seek. The one who shall punish them is here.”
A spell that tracked mysteries within a twenty-meter radius. As he recited the incantation, the magic circle shone, and the piece of flesh melted away. It meant the magic had activated properly.
“……Nothing.”
But nothing was detected. Ian clicked his tongue and shook off the blood that had lightly stained his hand.
He hadn’t expected much, so he wasn’t disappointed. He immediately closed his bag and this time moved toward the exhibition hall.
Unlike the spa, there were barely any people in the exhibition hall. Aside from an elderly couple with snow-white hair and beards who appeared from time to time, the crowd was as sparse as the small size of the exhibition hall itself.
It was better this way, since he didn’t need to worry about drawing attention. Ian looked around at the paintings in the exhibition hall while tapping the cigarette pack in his pocket.
[Life]
[My Messy Room]
[Pregnant Woman and Child]
He examined all kinds of modern artworks and miniatures.
There was still nothing unusual. No grotesque paintings or sculptures were in sight.
Then again, anomalies related to paintings or sculptures were more likely to be in museums or art galleries than on a cruise like this. Anomalies placed somewhere that didn’t suit their situation often couldn’t use their full power, so unless they had a death wish, there was no reason for one to appear all alone in a place like this.
‘Nothing.’
In the end, he found nothing in the exhibition hall either. After exchanging a few words with the elderly couple who casually struck up a conversation with him, Ian looked around a few other places as well.
The cinema, the attractions, the lounges, the hall, and more. He visited various locations, but nothing was different from the daytime. Everything was normal.
For a place where a missing persons case had occurred, it was far too quiet and ordinary. That, in itself, made it eerie.
Just in case, Ian finally visited the gambling hall where Seo-a would be.
And there, he found her playing poker.
“Raise. If you’re scared, fold.”
“Grr……! Where did a player like this come from……!”
Seo-a was playing the game while peeking at the other participants’ hands with only the eyes of her guardian spirits barely exposed on the ceiling.
She was blatantly cheating, but unfortunately, there was no one here capable enough to detect her fraud. Ian watched Seo-a’s game from afar, then shook his head and returned to his room.
He had moved around for quite a long time, but there had been no particular gain.
Maybe this really was a case that didn’t involve the mystic. As absurd as it sounded, the captain of the cruise and several crew members might have joined forces to conduct human trafficking. In a world where mysteries lived and breathed, it wouldn’t be strange for madmen of that level to exist. The possibility was simply extremely low.
However…… would the Bureau or the Cartel really have failed to resolve an incident of that scale and left it as a request?
“……”
In the end, it seemed he would only know once the next day came. Ian sighed, organized his belongings, smoked one more cigarette, and washed up in the shower.
[……Woong.]
[Wooong!!]
The two grimoires that had been squabbling on the table showed different reactions when they saw Ian come out while shaking out his hair. The Hand of Re-Creation flopped down weakly, while the Deep-Sea Travelogue swayed its body left and right as if excited. Ian looked at them with a dubious expression and got dressed.
‘Do these things have eyes or something?’
With that reasonable suspicion in mind, he dried his hair and neatly arranged his alchemy supplies on the table.
The items he needed to keep carrying on him were, as expected, the [Knife That Kills Primates], the [Sound-Eating Flame], the [Dying Eyeball], and the [Knowledge-Eating Paper]. They were all small, making them convenient to carry compactly.
‘I’m really glad I chose a paring knife.’
Ian took out the small paring knife and gripped it a few times, then placed it in its sheath and stored it back in his bag.
The Piercing Mirror’s performance itself was outstanding, but its range was too wide, making it a little awkward to use in a closed space like this. He wouldn’t hesitate if he needed it, but for now, it was a little excessive. It was also a bit of a waste, since it was disposable.
‘Tomorrow’s schedule is to drift over the sea all day. I’d like to obtain something before we reach land, if possible.’
It didn’t have to be related to a mystery. Finding even a clue to the case would be enough.
Thinking that, Ian let out a long breath and sat in the chair.
‘The trigger for the mystery might be falling asleep, or it might be the passing of a day, so I should hold out until dawn and sleep when I get tired.’
Rather than agonizing over something he couldn’t do anything about right now, it was better to look to the future. Ian set up his plan, organized his belongings, and sat there indulging in grimoires until the day changed.
Midnight arrived, and two more hours passed.
As for changes on the cruise…… there were none in particular. The bone ash Seo-a had given him was fine, and there were no abnormalities in his body or mind.
It seemed the passing of the day itself wasn’t a problem. Ian carefully read through the last section of magic he had been reading, closed the book, and lay down on the bed.
Sleeping for a long time left him fairly refreshed, but sleeping only a little didn’t cause any problems.
He set his alarm for six in the morning, placed his gun and grimoire beside him so he could respond at any time, and closed his eyes.
A little while later, he drifted off to sleep.
*
[EX. CHAPTER 1 - The Suspicious Cruise Ship]
[Plot Summary: You boarded a cruise ship where people kept going missing and investigated whether there was anything strange about it. However, you did not discover anything particularly odd. Even so, seasoned as you are, you did not let go of suspicion until the very moment you fell asleep. Will you be able to find proper traces and evidence of the incident on the second day aboard the cruise ship?]
[ENTER. CHAPTER 2 - Murder on the Ship]
[You opened your eyes in the morning. Having woken up to your alarm as usual, you washed up normally and headed to the restaurant to eat breakfast. But for some reason, the cruise is in an uproar. What could have happened?]
[Status Window]
[Name: Shin Ian]
[Occupation: Detective]
[Evidence Discovered: 0/5]
[Inventory]
[Assistant List] - No assistant is currently appointed.
[List of Suspects] - [Captain Chae U-jong], [Gambler Lee Seo-a], [Photographer Kim A-jin], [Chef Gang Jin-su], [Detective Bae Do-hyeon], [Young Painter Kim Tae-jin]…….
“What the fuck is this?”
Ian, who had woken up to his alarm, cursed at the scene before his eyes.