Just as Irel was about to be wary of that gaze, a system notification suddenly rang out
Ting
.
[Beatrice's favorability increased by 8 points.]
The sudden growth of sympathy surprised Irel. At the same time, Beatrice bowed her head and apologized to her.
“I'm sorry for what I said earlier.”
"Huh?"
"It's about the Receiver. I'm sorry for saying those words when you were already insecure."
Beatrice's incomprehensible apology surprised her. But it wasn't bad, so Irel willingly nodded and answered.
"It's okay. You probably just said that because you were worried."
"But remember this. The fact that the Masakas don't see Receivers as humans, this is the truth."
Beatrice turned her head to look out the window and said dryly. A tone filled with implications, hard to ignore.
“What do you mean?”
Irel noticed something unusual in Beatrice's voice and asked again. Beatrice smiled and answered lightly.
"Ah, no. Not all Masaka are like that. There are some good people among them, right?"
“…What do you want to say?”
Irel felt that Beatrice's erratic attitude and words were strange. She tried to ask more directly, but Beatrice did not answer but was lost in thought. Then she suddenly mentioned someone who wasn't here.
"Rel. Do you remember my little brother?"
“What?”
Why suddenly mention Beatrice's younger brother in the middle? The conversation topic kept jumping around like a ping pong ball, giving Irel a headache.
She really wanted to ask what Beatrice was talking about. But now we need to be careful with our words. If the ‘real Irel’ had had private conversations with Beatrice before, she would definitely be suspected.
"As expected, I don't remember. After all, we only met when we were kids."
Fortunately, Beatrice misinterpreted Irel's silence and shrugged her shoulders. And the story about her younger brother also ended there.
"We're here. Looks like the road isn't blocked today."
Beatrice looked outside and changed the subject just in time. Just as she said, the carriage arrived in the busy neighborhood.
“Aye.”
As soon as the coachman opened the door, Beatrice jumped out of the carriage first. And she arrogantly nodded towards Irel.
"You said you had to go home early, right? Let's go quickly."
"…YES."
Irel felt like he was being manipulated by Beatrice over and over again, so he felt a little restless. But to get rid of Beatrice as soon as possible, she needs to quickly get off the carriage like she said.
Luckily, the hat shop is not too far away. Turning a corner a little away from the main road, before their eyes was a mint green sign decorated with sparkling gold details.
"What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?"
Beatrice immediately ran to the display window, turning around to look at Irel smugly. Irel unconsciously looked inside the window after her, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
“Oh…”
Truly, these are hats that are almost works of art. Wide-brimmed hats in white, dark blue, and light pink are exquisitely decorated with sparkling gems, feathers, lace, flowers, and ribbons.
Looking at those rich, beautiful colors and sparkling decorations, she felt her eyes light up. At this moment, Irel understood why Beatrice insisted on coming here.
"See, I told you you'd like it. Isn't it exactly your taste?"
Beatrice laughed, seemingly knowing in advance, when she saw that Irel was immediately attracted. Then, she gently pushed her back.
“Come on, let's go inside.”
Is it because of the feeling? Beatrice's hands on her shoulders and back seemed to exert particularly strong force. Irel felt strange, but still walked into the hat shop.
Ting
—
The bell rang along with the elegant scent of incense wafting at the tip of the nose. But there was no sign of any staff member who should have come out to greet guests.
“Is opening time over?”
"No way. I already made a reservation, right?"
Beatrice firmly denied, then strode inside. She plopped down on the sofa in the middle of the room, crossing her legs haphazardly.
“Is anyone here?”
Even though Beatrice called out in a sharp voice, there was still no response.
“…No way.”
Beatrice muttered as she looked around the deathly quiet shop. She stood up and started walking around the hidden corners of the store. It seemed like she had to confirm it with her own eyes before accepting it.
Ignoring her, Irel, after getting bored looking at the hat designs, started wanting to go home. While waiting for Beatrice to give up, she leisurely strolled around the store. But after waiting forever, Beatrice did not return, so she had to step deeper inside.
“Beatrice?”
There was no answer even though she called. At this point, Irel started to feel a bit worried. She went deeper inside along the store's long, narrow hallway.
From here onwards it is a restricted area, customers are not allowed to enter. But no staff stopped me, so Irel continued walking forward.
“Where are you, Bes?”
After passing through the large materials room and employee changing rooms, she saw a warehouse at the end of the hallway. And at the same time, she saw Beatrice's back standing still like a stone statue.
“What's going on?”
Irel accidentally approached her side, then she stiffened. There was a strange sound coming from the slightly open warehouse door, right in front of Beatrice's crimson toes.
It's like a sound
slowly
of someone stepping on a sticky puddle, or the sound of kneading wet mud. An ordinary noise, if considered as an everyday sound, there is nothing unusual.
But the problem is the growling mixed in those sounds. Something was growling ferociously behind the warehouse door, occasionally making a popping sound. Like a wild beast tearing raw flesh.
“R-Rel…”
At this moment, Beatrice called out to her in a hushed voice. From where she stood, the inside of the warehouse could be vaguely seen. Therefore, Beatrice saw a scene that should not be seen, tears flowing down her eyes, her mouth filled with tears.
Key, tan.
The moment she realized that name that was uttered soundlessly, a chill ran down her spine. Irel unconsciously covered his mouth with one hand and stepped back.
‘Oh my god.’
No way. Is there a Keytan inside?
At this moment, Irel understood why Lady Dequi's hat shop had no employees. And… what Keytan is
lip smack
What is eating behind the iron door now?
‘Keytan.’
Cannibal monsters, only exist in the game
Salvation
.
According to legend, the evil god Abikhshan was jealous of the main god Hashba, who was widely loved by creatures. Therefore, he created Keytan to destroy humans, the creature that Hashba loved the most.
A monster with skin as hard as iron, impenetrable to swords or arrows, and sharp teeth and claws that can tear through armor. Just one Keytan can make an entire village disappear overnight.
That monster was currently lurking inside, just a door away from them. It was definitely gleefully tearing apart the store's employees.
'It's unbelievable.'
Irel tried to think with her numb head. This is a busy neighborhood, and is inside a very famous hat shop. So how could a Keytan, which only appears in border areas, get here?
Logically this is impossible. But the stench emanating from the crack in the door and the ferocious growling didn't lie.
“Kn, rrhut?”
At that moment, Irel stood frozen in place. The clicking sound inside fell silent. Then, heavy footsteps approached the door, then
snorted
smell.
A moment of eerie silence passed. But right after that, a roar like thunder tore through the silence, hitting his eardrums.
“Kiaak!!!”
The first person to react to that malicious roar was Beatrice. She, who had been standing motionless, quickly rushed into the door like lightning. The door slot is slightly open
Boom
closed, blocking Keytan's face.
“Hurry, hurry!!”
There was no need to scream, Irel's body moved automatically. She quickly turned the door handle to lock it, then pushed down the latch above.
Right at that moment
clack
of the lock rang, Beatrice fell to the floor, her back hitting the door hard. And right after that, a loud crash that sounded like it was about to explode rang out.
Boom—!!!!
Irel reflexively covered his ears, his face completely pale. This wasn't just the sound of a wild animal crashing through the door. It felt like a small car had just crashed into the iron door.
Luckily, Beatrice fell out the door. Otherwise, she would have been thrown and broken or injured somewhere.
When she looked at the game screen, she didn't recognize it. But facing Keytan just a door away like this, she deeply felt: Why is it called a disaster for humanity?
[Ting! The side quest ‘I don't want to die in this place!’ has appeared.]
[Side quest ‘I don't want to die in this place!’: Safely escape the Keytan that has infiltrated the hat shop without dying. If successful, you will receive a random reward.]
At that moment, a mission window suddenly appeared in front of Irel, who was standing blankly.
‘What the hell is this?’
Not only the main quest, but now there are also side quests. After all, who, and for what purpose, grants these tasks?
But this is not the time to be concerned with idle thoughts. Keytan, who had let his prey escape right before his eyes, started to become more frantic behind the door.
“Kiririk, Kyaak!!!!”
At first, it seemed like he didn't understand what was going on so he left the door closed, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Boom, Boom—!!
Every time Keytan hit hard, the thick iron door caved in clearly visible. Obviously it won't last long. If that monster escapes, the chances of Irel and Beatrice surviving are zero.