Chapter 59: The Butler Isn't the Butler, But the Master?
"As you can all see," Xie Lin began, a bitter smile touching his lips, "no matter which message we look at, they appear simple on the surface, but in reality, they pose an immense challenge for us."
He gestured toward the phone displaying the clues. "I can understand the first part—survive for seven days. But the second half... 'kill it'..."
He paused, letting the words hang in the air. "This is the first time we've encountered a blood-word clue that explicitly demands we kill something. Previous instances were either about pure survival or completing some kind of spiritual ritual. At most, we might have had to resolve a ghost's lingering obsession. But to kill a ghost? That's far too difficult for players at our level. Our speculation is that there must be some item hidden within this castle that can help us achieve this. As for who 'it' is..."
Xie Lin's gaze swept over the group. "Is it the Butler? The Castle Master? The Mistress? Or something else entirely? We can't be sure yet."
"Then there's the second clue," he continued. "Initially, we suspected the Butler wasn't a neutral NPC. We thought he might be part of the Antagonistic Faction, or perhaps not even human. But the second message—'The Butler is always on the Players' side; the Butler is a good person'—completely overturned our theory."
Xie Lin put away his phone, his expression turning grave. "This is all the information we have. Our preliminary judgment is that this instance has two core objectives: first, survive seven days inside the castle, and second, kill 'it.'The most critical issues now are identifying who'it' is and finding the key to the Butler's room."
Until they could determine the identity of the target mentioned in the first clue, no one would dare make a move. Killing an important NPC by mistake would be nothing short of self-sabotage.
"Um..." A small, timid voice broke the heavy silence. Li Wenwen raised her hand hesitantly. "Is it possible... that we're supposed to wait until the seventh day to attack the Castle Master? The Butler said he was just away on a business trip, right?"
Her question sent a ripple of contemplation through the group.
It was a valid point. The rules clearly stated the Butler was on their side, a "good person." However, the rules never said a "good person" couldn't be the target for elimination, nor did they state such a person was "unkillable."
Haruto listened, entirely unconcerned. In the worst-case scenario, if they truly couldn't figure out who to kill, he'd just use a few Talisman Cards to wipe the slate clean and kill everyone. Problem solved.
"What about your side?" Xie Lin turned his attention to Haruto. "Did you find anything on the third floor?"
Instantly, all eyes focused on Haruto, gazes filled with anticipation.
"See for yourselves." Haruto gave Yotsuya Miko a slight nod. She promptly took out her phone and began swiping through the photos she had just taken, displaying them one by one for the group.
As they viewed the images, a collective unease settled over them. The sight of the deliberately smeared mural on the wall, followed by the photos of the Castle Master's bedroom—which clearly showed signs of recent use—made all the disparate clues seem to snap together.
"So," Liu Haoran began, piecing it together aloud, "the Butler killed the original Castle Master for some reason, took his place, and seized everything in the castle? He doesn't want us guests prying into his secrets and only plans to let us leave on the seventh day, which is why the game judged him a 'good person'from our perspective? And the second half of the first clue,'kill it,' actually refers to fulfilling the original Master's lingering obsession—which means killing the Butler?"
The others nodded slowly, a murmur of agreement spreading. The theory seemed highly plausible.
Xie Lin neither agreed nor disagreed, his gaze simply shifting toward Haruto, waiting for his input.
But just at that moment—
"Guests, what are you...?"
The Butler's voice, smooth and deferential, suddenly echoed from the staircase. None of them had noticed his approach. He was already standing on the landing, a trolley beside him piled high with steaming curry fish balls and golden-fried tofu.
"Nothing much," Xie Lin replied calmly, his composure unshaken. "We were just chatting. Are the snacks Little Brother Bai Liu requested ready?"
The Butler inclined his head. "Please return to your rooms, guests. The Master does not like people wandering about at night. Please try not to leave your rooms after dark."
"We can't come out late at night? Why is that?" Xie Lin pressed, testing the boundary.
"Please return to your rooms, guests. The Master does not like people coming out at night. Please try not to leave your rooms late at night; the castle is very noisy in the evening."
The Butler repeated himself, but this time his tone was stiff, almost robotic, and the muscles on his face seemed to twitch into a distorted mask for a fraction of a second.
'The castle is very noisy in the evening?'
Xie Lin's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't push further. He shot a meaningful glance at Haruto before addressing the group. "Everyone, let's head back to our rooms for now. We can discuss anything else tomorrow."
The Butler's expression immediately smoothed back into its original calm and respectful veneer. "Breakfast tomorrow is at eight o'clock," he added. "I will come to wake you all then."
The others took this in stride, but Yotsuya Miko's expression froze. She turned to look at Haruto, a vivid memory surfacing of his impossible-to-wake, grumpy morning self back at the guesthouse.
'An early start!'she thought, a sense of doom washing over her.'We're doomed!'
The man in question, however, was blissfully unaware of her concerns. "Give me the trolley," Haruto said to the Butler. "You go handle your business. We can push it ourselves."
"Very well." The Butler bowed, relinquished the snack-laden trolley to Haruto, and turned to descend toward the first floor.
The group moved toward the stairs in unison, their eyes following him. They watched as the Butler took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door next to the kitchen—the very room they had found locked earlier.
After confirming that it was indeed the Butler's room and that he possessed the key, they didn't linger. The Butler's warning that the castle was dangerous at night was clearly not an idle threat. Judging by his own actions of retreating to his room so early, it was highly probable that the Castle Master, now a vengeful spirit, would return to seek revenge.
Lin Xuelao sensed that everyone else had dispersed. She took a deep breath, preparing to return to her own room.
But just as she turned, a hand suddenly clamped down on her arm.
Her reaction was instantaneous. She lashed out with a sharp kick, then scrambled back two steps as the sound of a young man gritting his teeth in pain followed.
"You actually hit me."
"I-it's you?"
Recognizing the voice, Lin Xuelao froze. Facing this young man who had helped her repeatedly, she felt a complex mix of gratitude and an indescribable, subtle sentiment she couldn't name.
"You're staying in a room by yourself, right?" Haruto asked, rubbing his shin.
Lin Xuelao nodded gently.
Haruto had already guessed as much. The fact that she had entered the instance alone was a clear sign that she didn't want to involve others or feel like a burden to anyone. Even if someone had invited her to room with them, she would have likely refused.
"Then come with me," Haruto said, extending the invitation. "There are three of us over there; adding one more is no problem."
As expected, Lin Xuelao shook her head decisively. "No, thank you. I'm used to being alone—"
Before she could finish, Haruto simply grabbed her arm again and started walking, giving her no room to argue. Her strength was no match for his, and she could only let him pull her along, her protests dying in her throat.
Back in the room, Kaguya and Yotsuya Miko were somewhat surprised to see Lin Xuelao, but since Haruto was the one who brought her, they naturally didn't object.
"Lao Lao, this blind cane of yours isn't a longsword in disguise, is it?" Kaguya leaned in curiously, her eyes scanning the cane for any hidden mechanisms or buttons.
Lin Xuelao was taken aback for a moment before shaking her head. "This is just an ordinary blind cane."
"I thought it might be one of those... things that looks ordinary but has a hidden secret," Kaguya said, her tone laced with disappointment.
Lin Xuelao offered an apologetic smile, then turned her face toward Haruto. She remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking. "Thank you... but I should still leave."
"Leave? Leave for where? Now that you're here, don't even think about running off," Haruto grumbled, plopping down on the edge of the bed and starting to enjoy the curry fish balls. "You think you can just pique my interest and then slip away? There's no such good deal in this world!"
Yotsuya Miko felt there was something slightly off about his phrasing, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
"If you really feel like you owe me, it's simple," Haruto continued nonchalantly. "When a critical moment comes, just use your life to block a fatal blow for me once."
"Okay."
Unexpectedly, Lin Xuelao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at his words, and she nodded with firm resolve.
"Brother Bai Liu," Yotsuya Miko suddenly asked, her voice low, "that butler... he isn't the real butler, is he?"
"You guessed it." Haruto didn't deny it, casually opening a dark, eye-lined Gap in the air beside him.
Through the rift in space, they saw the door to the room on the first floor swing wide open. The Butler walked out, carefully relocked the door, then proceeded to turn off all the lights on the ground floor before starting to walk slowly up the stairs toward the third floor.
Seeing this, Yotsuya Miko became even more certain of her guess.
Kaguya, meanwhile, wore an expression that clearly said, 'This lady knew it all along.'
Although Lin Xuelao didn't fully grasp the chain of events, between Yotsuya Miko's question and the others' reactions, she also confirmed one thing—the man they knew as the Butler was not who he claimed to be.
Thinking back, everything suddenly became clear. From the very beginning, the "Butler" was never the butler; he was the master of the ancient castle. This also explained why the blood-word clue stated the Butler was on the players' side. Under the premise that the "Butler" was a good person, he would still harbor a murderous intent toward them—an intent they could feel simmering beneath his polite facade.
"Brother Bai Liu, then earlier you..."
Before Yotsuya Miko could finish, Haruto covered her mouth. He pressed a finger to his lips in a "shh" gesture, then decisively switched off the light and lay down on the bed.
As the room plunged into darkness, Kaguya explained in a low whisper to the two still-confused girls, "Look at the design of this balcony. It's just a simple protrusion with a symbolic railing. And the windows are floor-to-ceiling glass that can't be closed. It's clearly designed to let certain things enter and exit freely."
Kaguya's explanation was chillingly clear. Combined with the Butler's warning, the realization made the hair on their arms stand on end.
In the dead of night, something would crawl in from the balcony. And that something was likely not human.
Judging by Haruto's reaction, it had probably already arrived.
Kaguya decisively curled up on the bed. Yotsuya Miko followed suit a second later. Seeing Lin Xuelao still standing frozen by the door, Miko reached out and pulled her onto the bed with them.
Fortunately, the bed and its covers were large enough to successfully cocoon all four of them. In the darkness, however, no one noticed the parasol hanging at the head of the bed. The hideous, painted eyes that were supposed to be on its underside had, at some point, migrated to its outer surface, staring silently into the room.
"Ryuko, what are you afraid of?" Kaguya's voice came from under the covers. She remembered that Haruto had collected a massive number of Talisman Cards recently. Wiping out a single ghost should be no problem at all, let alone the entire castle.
"Then what are you afraid of?" Haruto retorted, rolling his eyes in the dark. The last time, Kaguya had brought few items only because Eirin hadn't known about her trip. This time, there was no way she was traveling light.
"It's because this lady needs to farm some ratings, obviously."
"I think you have another reason," Haruto shot back. "And that is you're both scared and excited."
Crackle... crackle...
A dry, scraping sound echoed from the outer wall, like a giant gecko crawling up the stone facade, getting closer and closer.
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