I had no real expectations going to my office. I was more stressed out about the impending expedition than anything else.
Holding onto a bag that was filled with all sorts of goods that I had bought from the nearby convenience store the day prior, I sighed.
“In case something happens, this should be enough for Mirelle.”
Well…
I was also tempted to bring her if I did go, but I wasn’t too sure.
’I mean, it’s not like they can force me to go. What are they going to do if I say no? I already signed the contract anyway, so they can’t force me to do anything. Clearly, the Section Chief is after something.’
I could also more or less guess what the Section Chief’s goal was.
He was probably pulling some sort of nonsense to get me into the field. He seemed to have gotten this weird misunderstanding with me. That I was somehow good at this type of stuff.
I wasn’t.
I sucked and I hated scary things.
But then again… I did need some new inspiration for my next game.
The sales for ’A regular day in the office’ were starting to cool down. If I needed to progress, then I needed to quickly create a new cash cow.
“I’ll think about whether to go or not in a bit. I still got a little bit of time.”
We were supposed to head out at around ten. It was still eight. I had two hours to decide.
“…..”
Or so I thought.
Walking into my office and seeing the unconscious figure sprawled on the floor, I had to pause and process what I was looking at before rubbing my eyes and taking another look.
No change.
There really was a person passed out in my office.
“What the fuck?”
I looked around, half-expecting a camera crew to pop out and shout ’Gotcha!’, but no one came. The silence just made it weirder.
That’s when I saw the painting.
It was lying face down on the floor beside him.
“Ah…”
I sighed as I looked at the man again.
’Right… isn’t he that strange guy from yesterday? Don’t tell me I was really correct with my hunch?’
Did he try to break in?
I scanned the room. Nothing looked out of place. No signs of forced entry. All my stuff seemed untouched.
Then how the hell—
“Hihihi.”
A sudden laugh filled the room as I turned my head towards the painting, and a head peeked out of it.
“I had a lot of fun~”
“You did…?”
“Mhm.”
Mirelle laughed, her pearly laugh echoing throughout.
“so much fun~”
“I see.”
I secretly shuddered and forced a smile.
“I’m glad you had fun.”
Glancing between the man on the floor and Mirelle, I lowered myself to the ground and sat down, leaning against the wall behind me.
“Tell me everything about what happened yesterday. Don’t leave anything out. I’m curious to hear what games the two of you played when I wasn’t here.”
***
It felt like a long and terrible nightmare.
Rowan was no stranger to nightmares. Most in his line of work had their fair share. Lately, he had been plagued by nightmares due to all the built-up work and stress. But this one was different. It felt real… too real. And he couldn’t shake the feeling of being smothered, as if a heavy weight was pressing down on his chest
The nightmare seemed to last for an eternity, pulling him deeper and deeper into its darkness.
’Hihihi~’
But occasionally, he would hear the sound of a little girl giggling, elevating the pressure that he felt.
’Play~ Play~ Play~’
No, no…
Make it stop. Please…
The little girl’s words felt like they came from the depths of hell.
It sent shivers down his body, and then—
“Huaaa!”
He gasped, eyes flying open as harsh light stabbed down from above.
“Huh?”
As if a massive weight had been lifted off his body, Rowan blinked his eyes slowly.
’Where am I?’
His head throbbed, and he had little recollection of what had happened.
That was until…
“You’re awake.”
“…..!”
Rowan’s head flicked towards the voice, and his expression changed when he saw a pair of dead eyes looking at him.
“You, what…!?”
Memories came rushing back. The painting. The girl. The laughter. The shadowy creature.
Rowan stumbled upright, his legs shaking just as much as his voice.
“This, this… ah.”
He couldn’t form the words, his entire mind still consumed by the sheer terror that he had felt the day prior.
But it was amidst his struggle that he heard the voice again.
“You reek of alcohol.” His voice was flat and unamused. “I won’t ask why you were in my office, but I presume it’s because you were drunk. At least, I hope that’s the case.”
Alcohol? Drunk?
He had hardly drunk at all the previous night. No, he did drink… but he was used to drinking this much. It wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.
Rowan slowly turned his head to look at Seth.
“No, it wasn’t—”
“Take a seat.”
Seth’s voice was firm as he spoke. For a moment, Rowan almost sat down. There was something about the voice that made him want to listen to it. But that was until he recalled the painting, and his head flicked back towards it.
He spotted it immediately.
It was hanging on the wall, with the girl in the painting in the same position as he had first found it.
A chill ran down his spine.
“Do you like that painting?”
“Wha… What are you talking about?”
“I saw you holding onto the painting while I found you passed out. Figured you liked it.”
“No, that’s…” Rowan’s voice rose. “That painting… It’s cursed! You need to immediately take it down and hand it over to the Guild. It’s—”
“Stop.”
Seth raised his hand to stop Rowan from speaking.
Reaching for the drawer next to him, he took out a small notepad.
He then proceeded to jot a few things down on the notepad as he shook his head while mumbling a few things like, ’More serious than I thought. Shows signs of clear distress and anxiety… This is worse than I expected…’
What in the world was he doing?
Rowan frowned, his chest starting to simmer.
But before he could say more, the man set the notepad aside and pulled out his phone.
“I figured someone would show up after what the Section Chief did yesterday,” he said, placing the phone on the desk. “Didn’t think it’d be this fast.”
He tapped the screen.
“Well, I guess that we can get started since you’re already here.”
Started? Get what started?
Rowan’s anger was about to reach a tipping point when the speakers of the phone came to life and a certain tune began to play in the air.
It was soft and melodious.
…Even hypnotic.
All of a sudden, Rowan felt his mind go blank at the sound of the music, and the anger that had been simmering inside of him vanished.
Across from him, Seth leaned back in his chair, legs crossed.
“Well then…”
He spoke softly, those lifeless eyes of his fixed on him.
“Shall we begin your trauma counseling?”