(EP-83.2) Club #2

083 – Adventure Club #2

“I don’t know a place for reading.”

“Let’s go to my place! It’s not too far from here!”

“You live nearby, Marmar?”

“Yes! I call it the Revolution Secret HQ. Comrade saved my life, so you are invited!”

Marmar’s residence.

I was indeed curious about where and how our little comrade Marmar lived.

Marmar then led me through the gardens of Ark, across a clear stream, and into what you could call ‘the forest surrounding Ark’.

Paseuseuk, paseuseuk.

The deeper we went into the vegetation, the more anxious I became.

“… Marmar, is it really here?”

“Yes!”

Was there actual accommodation in this place?

I couldn’t imagine it at all…

“Ta-da! This is my base!”

Then, something that could be called an old hut finally entered my vision.

The hut had cracked windows, worm-eaten triangular roof and creaking damp wood.

It was a damp hut that would only smoke even if it was set on fire.

In front of the hut, there were stones arranged in a circle with a brazier and a pot being placed on it. There were also rows of clotheslines drying laundry and worn out sheets.

“Comrade, be careful not to step on that side! There’s a rabbit trap! I’ve set up several of them to catch some rabbits!”

“Ah-.”

You lived here?

Wasn’t this just the wild?

My vision darkened.

I felt ashamed for complaining about living in a three-person room in an old dormitory. Here, it was not even about living, but simply surviving….

My eyes were in disbelief and I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

“Marmar, do you really live here?”

“Yes!”

“I heard that there is an accomodation for employees. Why don’t you live there?”

“They say you have to pay 500,000 coins a month! You also need to deposit 5 million coins. The monthly rent is too high….”

Chuuuk.

Seeing Marmar’s proud diamond tail dangling helplessly to the ground made me reflect.

I was the one who brought Marmar to this place and planted her as an Ark faculty employee.

However, I was oblivious to the hard life she’d been living and neglected her under the excuse of being busy.

I expected her to live decently in a proper place, but this was way below my expectations. It simply felt terrible…

“I was lucky though! I found an abandoned hut! When I asked the Ark management about it, they said it would be okay for me to move in because no one lives here anyway!”

“Oh, I see…”

“I’ll make tea then. Have a seat and make yourself at home, comrade! I’ll get some water from the nearby stream!”

Marmar then disappeared through the bushes. I looked around and eventually made it into the old hut.

The inside was surprisingly manageable, giving off the feeling that people actually lived here. The space was almost taken up with a bed and a table. There were also some unexpected things.

The bed was covered with a duvet that looked like a mosaic because of the many patches. And the broken desk seemed to have been one that was thrown out of the classroom.

There were beakers and alcohol lamps that looked very old, and some dishes such as plates and bowls. Of course, it didn’t look new and more like they’d been picked up from somewhere….

Seureuk-.

I uncomfortably sat in a chair and opened the book. However, I was soon greeted by unexpected words.

「This is the record of the Adventure Club. It is forbidden to read without permission. Upon violation, unauthorized readers will be subject to a terrible curse.」

‘A curse?’

‘How funny~.’

I thought nothing of it and turned the first page. Then I saw a table of contents entry that someone had written by hand.

「Location and History of Adventure Club.」

「First Quarter. Truth Hall – Rooftop Room」

「Second Quarter. Wish Hall – Underground Guild」

It seemed that the records were divided according to the movements of the club room. It made sense since a place was easy to standardized.

Also, there was that rooftop room in the Truth Hall.

As expected, something was definitely there. However, it was now being used as a warehouse.

I searched around to see if there could be more, but all I found was dust, cobwebs and some lost coins.

And what was this about something called the Wish Hall?

Seureuk-.

The moment I turned the page after that, I was startled.

‘Nothing.’

The page was painted black!

“What is this?”

It was like the work of a kindergartener who had scribbled on the entire paper with black crayons and signed it with ‘Kim’.

[T/N: Kim is the most common Korean name]

Fwip-. The next page again.

Fwip-. The next page, no, all the pages had been painted black.

That could only mean one thing.

Someone was intentionally trying to conceal information. I couldn’t think of any other reason for someone to cover the pages up in black so people couldn’t read it.

But why?

Naturally, I couldn’t figure it out at the moment.

The only information I got was that in the second quarter, the club was situated in a place called ‘Wish Hall’.

Where could one even find it?

Then the door of the old hut opened.

“Comrade-. I couldn’t pick any tea leaves…. I think the rabbits ate it all. I don’t have anything…. I’ll just give you some fresh water…!”

A leaf-covered Marmar handed me a gourd with some cold water.

Marmar’s reflected face looked embarrassed that she had nothing to offer her guest other than water.

“Thank you, I’ll enjoy the drink.”

I gulped the fresh water from the gourd and asked after putting it down.

“Marmar, do you happen to know where the Wish Hall is?”

“Wish Hall?”

Marmar’s face greatly darkened.

“Where did you get that name?”

“I need to find a building called ‘Wish Hall’. But as far as I know, there is no such building in Ark.”

“The Wish Hall is an old closed building. It’s here in the fairy forest. All my things here were taken from there.”

“Really?”

It is fortunate that Marmar knew the location.

“Where is it?”

“But, it’s better not to be interested in it. There seems to be a scary monster living there!”

There were rumors that an old club building where the Demon King Angmar had been involved got closed, and that there might be a monster living there.

I had a feeling I might have found it.

“Marmar, I want to go there. Can you guide me?”