Chapter 44
"Roasted Chestnut! Hey, Chestnut!"
No answer, no matter what name he called. He was cycling through every chestnut-related nickname under the sun.
Before he could summon every creature in the mansion, I hurried outside.
"Tasty Chestnut... oh!"
Kwak Hanmuk, who’d been shouting with both hands cupped around his mouth like a megaphone, spotted me — then stopped mid-step.
He stood at a distance, eyeing me up and down with suspicion.
I lifted the lantern closer to my face.
"It’s me."
But Kwak Hanmuk’s suspicion didn’t fade easily.
"Question. What was the name of the Trial that Blue Thunder and Chestnut cleared earlier?"
"...Wait, Chestnut?"
"Answer."
"...."
Kwak Hanmuk was being needlessly suspicious.
There were creatures in the mansion that could mimic voices, but none that could copy appearances.
Not to mention I had no idea where he’d even gotten that nickname.
I swallowed a sigh and answered.
"DeZonDeal. Dead Zone Delivery."
"Hmph. You really are Tasty Chestnut."
Only then did Kwak Hanmuk amble over.
I looked up at him.
"Anything unusual happen?"
"Yeah."
I blinked in surprise, but he didn’t tell me what happened — he just asked a question back.
"Kill many Cleaners?"
"Only about six so far..."
I caught on belatedly.
"Did Lieutenant Colonel Je stop by?"
"Uh-huh."
"...Did you also hear him say I could reach the True Ending?"
"Heard it."
Watching him answer so casually made my chest tight.
"Then why last night did you..."
"Wondering why we didn’t kill the Cleaners?"
What kind of question was that?
But there wasn’t a trace of playfulness on Kwak Hanmuk’s face.
Meeting his gray eyes — cold energy swirling in them — I answered.
"Of course I’m curious. And is Captain Mo okay?"
Mo Haein was what worried me most.
I hoped she wasn’t suffering alone in the basement, cut off from sunlight.
I’d followed the Cat Butler through the entire East Wing today, but I hadn’t even gotten close to the basement.
"Instead of this, why don’t we go find Captain Mo right now—"
"Goyo."
"Yes?"
"Better if you don’t meet Captain Mo."
"Is she in really bad shape?"
"Actually, Captain Mo—"
Captain Mo was...?
I waited, completely tense, for what would come next.
Kwak Hanmuk said, with an extremely serious face:
"—has a butler allergy."
"...Captain Kwak."
I called his name through gritted teeth, the words practically ground out.
Kwak Hanmuk cackled, then clapped me on the shoulder.
My body swayed under the "encouraging" blow.
"No need to find Captain Mo. You’re sticking with me tonight, Goyo hyung-nim. I’ll fucking destroy those Cleaners for you."
"Technically, we’re feeding the Cleaners to the creatures."
"Right, feeding the creatures. I make a mean ramyun too."
Ramyun had nothing to do with anything, but I gave up on further thought.
At any rate, I was glad to have met up with Kwak Hanmuk.
Unlike Je Hyun-oh, he seemed willing to cooperate. I figured we could hunt Cleaners together first.
"By the way, what’s Lieutenant Colonel Je doing?"
"Oh, him? His infection flared up and he went on a solo rampage, so we sent him to the basement. Told him to only kill creatures over there."
That was an extremely plausible statement.
I nodded in understanding. Kwak Hanmuk suddenly spoke.
"Let me ask you one thing."
"Go ahead."
"Did the Rabbit and Cat threaten you? Hit you a few times?"
The butlers hate being called that.
I glanced around, worried someone might be listening.
Fortunately, no Footmen, creatures, or Cleaners were nearby.
"Nothing like that at all. The butlers have been really good to me."
While I was at it, I passed along the news about the spaceship being shot down.
I didn’t forget to mention that the butlers had decided to secure a transport ship for me.
"Ha..."
Kwak Hanmuk let out a long sigh.
"You were better off when your eyes were just glowing..."
Muttering this strange lament, he pressed his hand to his forehead for a moment — then abruptly lifted his head.
"Tasty Chestnut. Want me to hit you once? If I hit you hard as fuck on the head, maybe you’ll come to your senses."
"...."
I stared at him, thinking.
Wasn’t this the guy in front of me who needed his head hit?
No, actually, on second thought, I didn’t think he needed it.
This is just normal Captain Kwak, isn’t it.
Kwak Hanmuk must have read the pity in my eyes, because he finally said something normal.
"Fine. I’ll help you catch Cleaners."
I started patrolling the mansion with Kwak Hanmuk.
Walking side by side, I gave him a brief briefing.
"Today I plan to feed at least thirty Cleaners to the creatures, then gather information on the third floor of the main building."
"Yeeeah."
"Oh, and if you stay with me, creatures won’t attack you."
At that, Kwak Hanmuk tried to hide behind my back.
He crouched down hard, but no matter how much he scrunched, his sides and top were still sticking out.
He placed his hands on my shoulders and declared solemnly:
"Let’s go, Goyo hyung-nim."
"...Yes."
I decided to just go along with Kwak Hanmuk’s rhythm.
We walked a bit with him on my back — then I spotted a tall figure moving silently.
A metal face turned toward me.
It was a Footman.
"Butler."
The Footman approached me the moment he spotted me, then tilted his head at Kwak Hanmuk hiding behind me.
He looked puzzled about why a Cleaner was with me.
And with his hands on my shoulders, no less — it was understandable that he found it strange.
The only part of the Footman’s face that could show emotion — his mouth — twitched.
His lips pulled downward as he glared at Kwak Hanmuk, not hiding his displeasure.
He looked like he wanted to tear Kwak Hanmuk off me immediately.
The Footman bent at the waist and brought his face close to mine.
"If you’ll pardon my impertinence — may I dispose of that Cleaner for you?"
"It’s fine, Alpha."
When I called his name, the Footman’s mouth corners turned up slightly.
I jerked my chin toward Kwak Hanmuk.
"He’s my lunchbox."
"...!"
A look of realization crossed the Footman’s face, and he immediately apologized.
"Please forgive my rudeness, born of ignorance."
I generously forgave him, then did some traffic control to avoid unnecessary encounters.
"I’ll check the third floor of the main building myself. Pass that on to the other Footmen."
I patted his shoulder, telling him to work hard. The Footman bowed his head repeatedly, looking honored.
I started walking again.
Kwak Hanmuk, who’d been clinging to me like a turtle shell the whole time, finally spoke.
"You’re practically a butler now."
"I’m still an Apprentice Butler."
I was just acting according to my role.
Just then, I spotted a Cleaner in the distance.
It was stumbling around, not yet adjusted to the darkness — seemed easy to lure.
I was about to shake the lantern to call it over when Kwak Hanmuk grabbed my wrist.
"What now?"
I asked curtly. Kwak Hanmuk whispered:
"But why the third floor of the main building? What info are you gathering?"
"...."
"You ignoring your lunchbox? Spill it."
"...It’s not that I’m ignoring you."
I didn’t want to tell him because he’d probably make a fuss about it.
But if I didn’t, he’d probably keep this up all night.
"I’m trying to gather information about the Master of the mansion."
"The Master...?"
Kwak Hanmuk reacted as if he’d never heard the term before.
He chewed on my words, then muttered:
"Well, I guess if there are butlers, there’s a master."
"Yes. The butlers of the mansion have been waiting for the Master all this time. I think the Master is connected to the True Ending."
"Then we should head to the main building first."
He argued that since the Footmen were patrolling today and Lieutenant Colonel Je was locked in the basement, the Cleaner supply wouldn’t be a problem.
He was right — getting information about the Master was urgent too.
I decided to go to the third floor of the main building first.
On the way, we ran into several creatures, but we just exchanged brief glances and passed by.
We also encountered Cleaners, but they didn’t notice my presence unless I shook the lantern to call them.
This seemed to be another ability I’d gained from becoming an Apprentice Butler.
I wondered what abilities I’d get if I became a full Butler.
If I could shoot laser beams, the first thing I’d do is fire one at Je Hyun-oh.
I was indulging in this silly fantasy when we reached the first floor of the main building.
GRRRRR...
Suddenly, the mansion rumbled lowly.
The tremor felt like a shallow earthquake. I stopped in my tracks, eyes wide.
Kwak Hanmuk cursed from behind me.
"Ah, fuck. Lieutenant Colonel Je couldn’t hold it in."
Something had clearly happened to the mansion.
My heart plummeted.
I tried to run forward.
But I couldn’t move the way I wanted. Kwak Hanmuk’s hand pressed down hard on my shoulder.
"Captain... What are you doing? Let me go."
"Nah, don’t feel like it."
We started wrestling.
I swung my elbow back, aiming for his solar plexus.
But close-quarters combat against him was hopeless.
Kwak Hanmuk grabbed my forearm, impressed.
"Whoa, Goyo hyung-nim can throw a punch?"
Then I nearly headbutted his chin.
As we tussled, the mansion rumbled again.
This time it was stronger, longer.
The chandeliers on the ceiling swung in uneasy arcs, crystals clattering against each other —
CRASH!
Every window in the mansion shattered at once.
Shards of glass poured inside, and moonlight flooded in.
The darkness that had shrouded the mansion grew hazy.
The bright moonlight touched me too.
I looked up at the night sky.
Countless glittering stars, an unrealistically huge moon — and...
Je Hyun-oh, wings spread wide.
He had attacked the mansion.
While I was distracted by Je Hyun-oh for a moment, Kwak Hanmuk wrapped me in his Zelkova wood bead rosary.
Bound from head to toe, I stared at him in disbelief.
"What the hell are you doing?! If you do this, the True Ending— ugh!"
And then my mouth was covered too.
I thrashed wildly. A bead flew off and smacked me in the forehead.
I was glaring at Kwak Hanmuk when the next sight made me jolt.
BOOM!
A small Cleaner kicked the front door open and burst inside.
’Captain Mo?’
It was Mo Haein, holding the Black Moon Blade.
The shattered front door scattered at her feet.
Without a single disrupted breath, she swept her sharp gaze across the interior — then found me.
For an instant, Mo Haein’s face twisted.
Kwak Hanmuk hurried toward her, me still bound in the rosary, dragged through the air.
Mo Haein called out urgently:
"What’s the Trainee’s status!"
Kwak Hanmuk answered quickly.
"No aggression. At least not toward us. Definitely not a kill order — with some luck, he might not even need the special isolation facility."
From my perspective, this was incredibly unfair.
So now I’m being treated as infected?
I’d become an Apprentice Butler, but I definitely wasn’t infected. I was still perfectly lucid.
But wrapped in the rosary, I had no way to prove I was normal.
Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein dragged me outside the mansion.
"Lieutenant Colonel Je!"
Mo Haein shouted.
Je Hyun-oh immediately swung his metal hand toward the mansion.
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
An invisible barrier blocked him.
"How dare you—!"
A voice so enormous it felt like it would tear my eardrums pressed down on my whole body.
Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk coughed up blood.
"You lowly wretches dare—!"
Sparks crackled in the empty sky.
Between the flashing lights, the butlers appeared.
The Cat Butler, holding a long spear with a sun-shaped circular blade.
And the Rabbit Butler, holding a long spear with a crescent moon-shaped blade.
The Cat Butler raised his sun spear, erupting in fury.
"You will not die an easy death!"
As if delivering a final judgment, his stern voice made my head ring —
"...Roasted Chestnut?"
The Rabbit Butler had spotted me.