Death Cast

02.4 | He Who Sleeps, Dreams

Everyone is suspicious of the said village, specifically the Death Casts undergoing the task. They are all well aware of the consequence of meeting something incredible in the middle of a dilemma, in this case, a nearby village that could offer them lodging for a while. It wasn’t unfamiliar knowledge since such a set-up has been used in many movies that anyone could easily name five movie titles using the same scheme.

Currently, the ones negotiating the villagers were the driver and the bus conductor since they are mostly responsible for the tourists and the only representatives of the travel agency the tourists supposedly had applied for the trip. A travel guide should have come together with them but the person carrying this title is yet to join the group in the next station.

Who would’ve thought they would encounter an engine failure while in the middle of the trip?

“It’s a good offer,” Noel commented.

The four men with maple leaf marks in different parts of their faces nodded in agreement. They were standing near the door of the bus at the front entrance, passively participating in the conversation between the non-player characters. Jaerim walked down from the high three-step stairs of the bus and joined them in their gossiping.

All of them secretly looked at Jaerim once, assessing his whole being by calculating whatever raw aura is present, then averted their gaze as if pretending they were not examining him. Jaerim thinks that it is funny since instead of hiding their intentions, they are clearly showing it as if they were not afraid of getting caught. The average-looking man marked with a scar on his face stood beside Noel. Everyone had seen them talking before and assumed that they had come together as a team.

Someone, a young man with vividly colored red hair and five ring piercings in each ear took a step forward and offered Jaerim a hand. He has quite a gentlemanly demeanor that reminded Jaerim of Barron, but less refined and a bit rough. A large maple mark was printed on the right side of his face, covering his cheeks, eyes, and the flesh on his ears. It’s the first time Jaerim saw a mark that almost covered someone’s face.

“My name is William. It’s my second world. Nice to meet you.”

Jaerim accepted the handshake quite easily. “Jim.”

“Convenient name,” William commented after they finished introductions.

He seemed to have guessed that it wasn’t Jaerim’s true name, yet, he didn’t bother with it. The level of trust between them is fragile and is only limited to the ruse of the current event. However, William still looks at Jaerim with keen interest, his eyes darting from the black hair and black eyes combination and to the scar that has the shape of a maple on the person’s cheeks.

There are no visible marks of the vivid maple leaf on Jaerim’s face. Yet, there is a patch of the unusually colored leaf-like scar on his face.

Jaerim could see William boldly scrutinizing him, and frowned. He hates it when people cross boundaries forwardly like this. Before he could start complaining, William turned his head around and beckoned the other two people behind him to come closer. From one glance, anyone could tell that they are twins.

“We belong to the same grim reapers. I have sort of become their guardians after the trial world.” William explained briefly.

“You carried quite a baggage,” Noel honestly quipped.

He could never think of adopting members, or making himself a guardian of some random people just because they belong to the same management. Even if the other people have some wonderful or life-saving ability, he still hated the responsibility of becoming someone’s subject of dependence. Though, he inadvertently glanced at Jaerim from the corner of his eyes. If it is this person…

He could probably make an exception.

William did not feel offended by Noel’s words. He understood the sentiments of the other person and accepted them calmly. He could not call Noel cold-hearted since his words do make some sense. But it is because William is a different adult that he could take responsibility for his actions.

“What else could I do other than to be soft-hearted? Anyways, they weren’t that heavy. These siblings are quite useful,” William derailed for a bit before nodding as if agreeing to his own statement. “Correct. Very useful.”

Jaerim could see a sweet smile painted onto the red hair’s face and looked at the twins behind them. It must have been his imagination or something since he had seen the pair shiver after hearing William’s words. Well, who would not? He is not even humble saying those words in front of them.

“What are you guys doing? Go, introduce yourself. It’s better to know the people around you to see your future enemies.”

Noel laughed after hearing William drawing a clear line. “I like the compliment.”

“It’s better in this way. We could clear up our roles without disturbing others.”

The twins took a step forward with identical faces, except that their maple marks were placed on opposite brows. Both possessed dark brown curly hairs with visible slashes of lightness on the tips. Their eyes looked quite haggard, probably from the issues cropping up with this kind of work. The first one to speak is the twin brother with a maple mark printed under his right brow.

“Isaac,” he said. He gestured his hand towards his brother. “His name is Gabriel.”

“Hello, sirs,” Gabriel nodded cautiously. His maple leaf mark could be found on his left brows.

The introduction was short and concise, giving up enough information without revealing anything crucial. Jaerim accepted their gestures and somewhat approved of their bearings. The two of them looked reliable and obedient, at least.

“I had met with the other members of the group. Actually, I know the three of them. Somehow.”

“Somehow?” Noel looked at the direction inside the bus and found the three females in their group sneaking glances at them. He had exchanged a few greetings with them but haven’t had any formal conversation.

“We entered the same first world. So, you could say we somehow have a connection,” William shrugged his shoulders. “Anyways, they were a bit closeted off. Don’t worry about it though since it can still be mended.”

“I guess something happened on the first world,” Noel questioned.

William nodded. “It wasn’t a good experience, to be honest. Let’s just take time to understand each other.”

They were quite harmonious despite the strange introductions. Jaerim did not feel much aversion towards the red-haired guy and thought that he is frankly nice. Still, he did not think of trusting anyone fully, even Noel. His cautious is his most important feature.

“Anyways, let’s deal with our situation. It seems that we will be following them to the village,” Noel opened up.

They were conversing lowly so they could still hear the villager and the driver talk. Most of the time, it’s the villager talking, convincing the driver to come into their village so they could rest. They don’t have to worry about commodities since their village is complete with facilities and lodgings. They could stay as long as they want.

“A death flag,” Jaerim muttered.

Everyone agreed to his statement. Anyone saying that their house of village owned good facilities would always have the most problematic places anyone could go. It is like a lure towards the weary and tired travelers looking for a good place to rest, just to encounter some supernatural events along the way that could lead them to their gruesome deaths. And the most painful death is dying without people knowing you died and the reason of your death. 

“Why are they so enthusiastic though?” Isaac asked after listening to the villager boast a lot about their village. “If it is that good, why didn’t we hear anything about it?”

“That’s true,” the twin brother responded. “The driver and the bus conductor must be natives of this country yet they were not aware of the existence of such a village. They are from a travel agency that specializes in sending people to good places. How could they miss such a good place?”

“Do you think they purposely hid the village?” Isaac asked his brother.

“Really?” Gabriel slowly shook his head. “If he is that enthusiastic, do you think they have the purpose of hiding it? He looks quite excited.”

“Then they’re luring us,” Isaac concluded.

“Un, that must be,” Gabriel couldn’t disagree.

The twins’ discussion was clear enough for the people around them to hear. Everyone has the same thoughts. They are indeed getting lured towards the crime scene. It’s just that they don’t have the ability to reject it.

William patted each of the shoulders of the twins. “That’s some good thinking. Keep up the good job.”

Jaerim could visibly see the two shivers while maintaining a smile. He moved his eyes to look at William just in time for their glances to cross. It made the red hair smile more.

They then moved to the village that very night.