Chapter 198: Not as it seems [2]
’Wait, what...?’
Staring at the words written so aggressively behind the picture, I had to take a moment to process what I was seeing.
’Thief? Father is a thief?’
My mind churned. All sorts of thoughts and possibilities. What did this mean?
’No, it’s pretty obvious as to what it means... The award. The cartoon... It was stolen. This changes everything.’
If the cartoon really had been stolen, then it quickly became clear to me who was behind Mr. Jingles.
Looking at the letters written so roughly on the paper, I became even more certain of it.
’In that case, does that mean that Chris is being haunted?’
Thinking about all of my past experiences, this felt like a logical conclusion. It would explain the child’s weird behaviour.
In that case, would everything stop the moment Chris fell under Mr. Jingle’s intentions?
’No, I don’t know. There have been many chances for Mr. Jingles to absorb Chris or kill him...’
The anomaly’s motivation was something else.
Wait...
My thoughts paused for a brief moment.
’Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait...’
If Chris was Mr. Jingles’s target, then who was Mr. Jingles hiding as?
Was everything that I had previously thought and assumed incorrect?
A sudden, overwhelming throb pulsed through my mind.
If what I was seeing was right... If Chris wasn’t Mr. Jingles, but instead the target, or something else entirely, then everything I’d believed and concluded up to this point had to be thrown out the window.
Were my thoughts about Hide-and-Seek even correct?
’No...’ I shook my head, thinking about the quest. ’ It specifically states that I need to find Mr. Jingles. The mission name is also hide-and-seek... Usually, the quests contain hints themselves. I believe this is the hint. In that case, I just need to think of a new target. Someone that could very likely be Mr. Jingles.’
But who...?
Who could Mr. Jingles be if not Chris? The Matriarch?
I quickly shook that thought away.
As far as I was aware, the Matriarch was too busy taking care of the kids to do anything else.
I had seen firsthand just how much she worked to support us.
It had to be someone with experience in animation or something similar. But I didn’t know anyone like that. Most of the people here were kids, and the staff was limited. The most logical conclusion was that it had to be either a member of the staff or one of the children’s parents.
Parents who had most likely abandoned them or died...
Figuring that part was easier said than done.
’Do I have no choice but to take out my phone?’
I tore through the nook and table, searching frantically for any kind of clue. I checked every drawer, even looked under the bed. I scoured every corner, but... aside from the picture, there was nothing.
In the end, clenching my teeth, I took out my phone.
’Damn it, I really don’t think I have much of a choice!’
I knew that the moment I turned it on, Mr. Jingles would know my location.
It would immediately send everyone after me while trying to hypnotise me, but I didn’t have much of a choice.
And...
’I’ve got Mirelle.’
Indeed, in case Mr. Jingles tried to hypnotise me, I would get Mirelle to get me to snap out of it. Since the degree of hypnosis was still not high for me, she was able to snap me out of it.
There was also the Dreamwalker that I had summoned to check the area outside the window.
Just in case someone tried to sneak up from behind.
I was ready in every way possible.
’Alright.’
I took a deep breath while looking to my left, where a certain figure appeared, sitting on the bed with her legs dangling.
Mirelle cocked her head.
"Food?"
"...Later."
Seeing her like that, I drew in a steady breath before pressing the power button. A dim flash of light burst from the phone, casting a sudden dim light across the surroundings, and making the shadows all over stretch.
I watched in silence as the logo of the phone brand appeared on the screen.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
My heartbeat pounded in my ears. Every second felt like it stretched for an eternity as the phone slowly turned on.
For some reason, the silence felt suffocating.
And then—
It finally turned on.
It was also in that moment that the atmosphere suddenly seemed to shift.
A heavy tension, unlike anything from before, shrouded the space, causing my skin to crawl.
In that moment, it felt as though every eye within the household was locked on me, and my breath nearly left my body.
I had to act quickly.
Opening up my phone camera, I took a picture of the image in my hand and placed it in the browser to see if there were similar photos like that.
’I’m sure that if he somehow managed to steal a cartoon from a person, then he must’ve been close to him. In that case, I might be able to find something if I go along those lines.’
I got the results rather quickly, but...
’Nothing, nothing, nothing...’
There weren’t many photos of Chris’s father. Just a handful, mostly from when he won the award for best cartoon.
Thump! Thump!
Suddenly, the muffled sound of footsteps reached my ears, and my body tensed instinctively.
Faster! I had to look faster!
Feeling my anxiety soar, I searched for ’animators/cartoonists from Sire Island’, but even that provided me with nothing. Both the search engine and the AI searched provided with nothing besides Carter James.
He appeared to be the only person on Sire Island who worked on animation.
THUMP!
"——!"
I felt it then.
The steps...
They were inching closer to the door.
My hand shook, and I turned to face the window, prepared to leave when—
Trrr Trr!
My phone suddenly started to ring.
The sound echoed sharply through the room. It was loud and jarring, and for a moment, my mind went completely blank.
By the time I snapped out of it, my phone rang again, and as I slowly lowered my head, my eyes paused on the caller ID.
[Unknown Number]
I grew tense.
Realizing that no messages had been getting through, the fact that someone managed to call me made one thing clear...
This was no normal call.
Before the phone could ring again, I hastily turned off the ringer, but—
Trrr Trr!
The phone continued to ring, and my entire body tensed.
’I knew this wasn’t normal!’
This had to be another one of Mr. Jingles’s tricks.
Just as I began to consider whether I should throw the phone, the ringing abruptly stopped, and the world fell silent once more.
....Or at least, for a split second.
Creeeeak!
The door slowly opened a moment later, revealing the smiling face of the Matriarch as she looked at me.
The hair on my arm visibly rose at the sight of her as I took a step back.
But right as I did—
"Huh?"
I stopped, looking at the figure standing by the window, her lips pulled into the tightest of smiles.
’H-how...?’
Just before, I had clearly summoned the Dreamwalker in order to check if someone was coming.
How was it possible that they were here?
How—
Ding!
A sudden ringing sound jolted me out of my thoughts.
I had merely intended to give it a passing glance, but the moment I caught sight of the message, I paused.
It was just an image.
But the moment I caught sight of it, it was as if something inside my mind clicked.
Everything...
It just suddenly clicked.
’Will I turn out like you in the future?’
’I don’t want to. I.. I... don’t want to! Whaaa!’
’...Y-you’re not going to steal it, right?’
’I... hate thieves! Whaaa!’
From the picture of the man who looked like me, to the ’thief’ at the back of the photo...
From the very start, the clues had always been there.
Mr. Jingles...
He was—
"...!?"
A sudden flash illuminated the surroundings for a split second.
It lasted only a split second, but it was enough for me to catch a glimpse of the small figure standing behind the Matriarch, her pale face turned toward me, lips curling into a twisted smile.
BANG!
Mr. Jingles...
He was the little girl all along.