Salvation Through Delusion C5

Chapter 5

“The stable’s behind the main building, to the right… Wait here, don’t go anywhere.”

I thought I heard Marvin’s name being called faintly from downstairs. He left me standing in the hall and hurried down. The moment he disappeared from sight, I turned to the spirit that had been hovering beside me this whole time.

“Where’s your Petal?”

[When the sun blows warm breath and the gentle breeze starts to dance~ Hop on and roll forward twice, and you’ll find her there~~]

So much for hoping she’d just give me a room number. I pointed toward a nearby door.

“What number is written on that one?”

[Numbers are boring~~ Everything in this world grows too much when you start counting~~]

The spirit was illiterate. My sigh came out heavier than expected, and I tried again.

“Then just stand in front of her room and tell me which one it is—”

Thump, thump, thump…

Footsteps thundered up the stairs, and Marvin appeared, pale-faced.

“The Director has arrived. She wishes to speak with you, Mr. Rue. Please come down at once.”

Unlike the frightened Marvin, the Director herself was calm. She only seemed interested in assessing my condition. Like a proper doctor, she asked several medical questions before ending with,

“You seem to have found a bit of stability here. Tell me—do you wish to return home?”

The woman was in her fifties, smiling pleasantly, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all.

“Why would I want to leave when I’m comfortable here?”

If I’d said I wanted to go home, she would’ve probably drugged me into a relapse. After all, I was their golden goose—a VIP patient paying for the retreat’s luxury suite. Her brow arched slightly, as if she hadn’t expected that answer.

“That’s good to hear.”

The Director kept staring at me, as if she were searching for traces of deceit. Finding none, she finally capped her pen.

“Nothing else you wish to discuss?”

“None.”

“You’re still not seeing spirits or fairies, I assume?”

“Of course not.”

Her gaze sharpened again.

“You used to panic whenever those were mentioned. But now you’re completely calm?”

“That’s the medicine’s doing. It’s been helping me relax.”

I answered before Mo could feed me a line. It wasn’t hard to piece together—no matter how strong the liquor had been, there was no way Rue would’ve drowned in a pond without something stronger in his system.

“Hmm. The medicine suits you, then. You say you can already feel the effects?”

I almost forgot she said Rue had only been here three days—but I kept my face straight.

“Yeah. Helps me sleep well too. Keep prescribing it.”

She still looked suspicious, but soon concluded the meeting. Before I could leave, however, she issued a stern warning.

“No matter how comfortable our retreat feels, you cannot wander about as you please. Outside designated hours, you are not permitted to leave your room. Understood?”

“Yes,” I answered obediently.

The moment the door slammed shut behind me, I whispered to Mo,

‘I’m leaving this place today.’

[Shall I look for an escape route?]

No need. The method’s simple—just make them open the doors themselves.

Once back in my room, I turned to the spirit.

“That bell is what they use to alert everyone when monsters appear. It’s connected throughout the whole building. Can you make it ring?”

[That scary bell~ Why would we ring it~ Let’s not~]

“Because ringing it will open all the doors. Everyone will think there’s danger, and all locks will disengage. That way, it’ll be easier to save your Petal.”

The spirit’s expression grew serious at the mention of Petal. I frowned. Don’t tell me she couldn’t do it?

The pond spirits had been able to stir up the wind—surely she could too.

But the spirit fell silent for the first time. Her head dropped, tiny hands clasped tightly together, trembling slightly.

Ah. So she’s a weak one—can’t even control the wind.

“It’s alright. I’ll find another way.”

Trying to reassure her, I walked toward the window. Could I open it? While I tested the latch, the spirit flitted nervously around me.

I kept my focus on the window to avoid making her feel worse. There were iron bars, but the wall was brick, not concrete—if I loosened the mortar, I could pull them free—

[Hyuuwik!]

What? I turned at the sudden sound. The spirit was flapping her stick-like arms wildly, repeating herself.

[Hyuuwik!! Hyuuwik-nim!!]

“What?”

[We can ask Hyuuwik-nim for help~~~~~~~~~~~]

Her excitement stretched the words into waves. Whoever—or whatever—Hyuuwik was, it sounded like someone who could control the wind.

“Really? Perfect.”

[Perfect~ perfect~ perfect~ perfect~ perfect~ perfect~]

…Okay, maybe too perfect. I was tempted to tell her to stop, but she was darting around the room in joy, and I didn’t have the heart to ruin her moment.

“Hurry back, then. I’ll be waiting.”

The spirit waved her tiny, nail-sized hand and vanished in an instant.

Thirty minutes later, she made good on her word. The bell rang throughout the entire building.

Clang! Clang!

Footsteps thundered through the wooden halls. Locks clicked open in rapid succession. My own door burst wide.

“Please, come out! You must evacuate! Hurry!”

“What? What happened?”

Feigning confusion, I stood still. The nurse, flustered, shouted back while scanning the corridor.

“A monster’s appeared! Get to the basement shelter immediately!”

“A monster? That’s serious.”

I followed him out leisurely, raising my voice.

“If we have to carry all these patients, that’ll be a real problem.”

“Carry?!” The nurse whipped around, frowning. “Everyone who can walk should escape on their own, of course! Hurry!”

“But what about the ones who can’t walk? The patients bedridden, unable to move—don’t we have any?”

“There aren’t any…!”

He stopped mid-sentence, face turning pale. Clearly, someone had come to mind.

“Damn it—Room 317…”

He muttered a curse under his breath, looking up the stairs. I seized the opening.

“There is a bedridden patient? Then what are you doing standing here? Didn’t you say there’s a monster? Get up there and open the room doors! If anyone dies locked inside, you’ll have bigger problems!”

Normally, he’d have scolded me for saying something like that—but right now, the blaring emergency bell was rattling the walls.

“What are you waiting for? Go!”

The nurse broke into a run. The halls were chaotic—patients and staff flooding the corridors—so no one paid attention when I followed him up to the third floor.

Just as I hoped, he did exactly as I’d said—he unlocked Room 317, then ran off without checking inside.

Perfect.

The door creaked as I pushed it open wider, glancing down the hallway to make sure it was empty. Footsteps still echoed distantly, but no one was nearby.

Time to save “Petal.” Hopefully, Rue’s body was strong enough to carry her.

“…You’re tall.”

Of course, things are never that easy.

The woman lying on the bed looked to be in her mid-thirties. Though her frame was slender, she was easily a head taller than Rue. Her limbs were bound to the bed with leather straps.

What the hell happened here, that they’d tie down an unconscious patient like this?

At least I didn’t need to confirm her identity.

[Our poor Petal~~ lying so still~~ her face, oh dear~~]

I started untying the straps while muttering, “She’ll recover once she wakes up.”

[Her face is so swollen~~ round and wide~~ our Petal’s face is like a big pumpkin leaf~~]

I thought she was worried about her health, not her looks. Ignoring the spirit’s rambling, I undid the last strap and hoisted the woman onto my back.

Then I tried to stand.

“Urgh—”

I barely lifted her halfway before collapsing back onto the bed.

Seriously, Rue’s body was pathetic. I knew he wasn’t muscular, but this weak?

Taking a deep breath, I clenched my teeth and tried again.

Come on. How hard can it be to carry one person—

“Ah!”

This time, I shouted, forcing strength into my legs. I managed to stand—but the moment I did, my knees nearly buckled.

I stumbled forward, gasping, then froze.

The reason was simple.

I couldn’t feel any weight on my back.