The Demon’s Menu - Chapter 24: Readings
Chapter 24: Readings
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Jason could feel his hair standing upright from being watched by a group of corpses.
The smile on the corpses’ faces made the cold, oppressive air that had previously disappeared, resurface once again.
Without hesitation, Jason began to back up.
This time, Jason stopped walking after he was only about ten meters away.
A quick gasp came from Jason’s mouth.
He needed to use this breathing to stabilize his mental state.
When he had learned that the mysterious side existed, Jason had always been cautious and guarded. Even after numerous confrontations with the mysterious side, he had always relied on gunpowder and firearms to win.
However, Jason was very certain that the deeper he delved into this mysterious side, there would eventually come a day when he would encounter a problem that could not be solved with just gunpowder and firearms.
But…
He had not expected that moment to come so quickly.
Looking at the corpses that had been restored to their original states, Jason couldn’t help but press his hands on the book, “Graphical Reiteration”, that had been written by “Dan”.
Jason had definitely felt the slight jittering from earlier.
If it weren’t for the book, Jason was sure that he and Bondy would have entered into the club.
Then, what next?
At the thought of the weird looks the corpses were giving, Jason knew exactly what would have been waiting for him.
He understood that the most important thing for him to do now was to leave this place, find a safe place, and start reading the book that was in his arms.
Holding back on this impulse, Jason turned his head toward the sheriff, Bondy, and quickly said, “Cordon off the area. Let nobody approach, and immediately notify everyone in Croaker Mine, Bottomline Vault Street, and the others; ask them to not act rashly.”
“Understood.”
Bondy quickly went to Hall and the others. For the sheriff, this scene he had just witnessed had allowed him to decide to follow the opinions of the only “expert” present.
When facing the orders of their superiors, Hall and the others, who had also witnessed the creepy scene, could not wait to raise their hands in agreement. None of them wanted to dive right into a situation where a solution may not even be present.
They even…
…felt like leaving the place entirely.
Eventually, as Bondy’s assistant, Hall stepped forward and led the six young detectives to cordon off the area.
Bondy led the rest of his underlings to Croaker Mine, Bottomline Vault Street, and the other places.
“I have to go in person.”
“I’m worried to let someone go in my place.”
Bondy said to Jason, and after leaving Finch and the police carriage behind, he left in a hurry.
Likewise, Jason didn’t stay for long.
After Bondy left, Jason greeted Hall and boarded the carriage, with Finch in the driver’s seat.
In the carriage, Jason couldn’t wait to open the heavy book.
The jerky, illegible text appeared before Jason’s eyes under the light of a kerosene lamp outside the car window.
“Grin… ner, first appeared in the north of Kward… its existence was not confirmed up until the year Hr1073… this should be the handwriting of some crazy alchemist… good at climbing, hard fur, sharp teeth… fear of high temperatures…”
“Paradoxical being… in year Hr1234, was summoned by a worshipper of ‘Theoli (ambiguous handwriting with traces of ink smears)’… after mating with a certain type of frog, the present paradoxical being… two tongues, six meters in length, tough and powerful… slow moment, low self-defense… but if there is a third tongue, it will begin to move faster…”
“Submariners… descendants of deep divers… similar records have surfaced as early as the year Hr700… water ghosts… have ten powerful, ten-meter long wrists and feet… when the wrist and feed exceed 20 meters, they will work hard to reach the ocean… have to survive in a place with water… in a normal state… they are weak and frail…”
…
Jason sat there and carefully read the book written in “Graphical Reiteration”, sentence by sentence.
In the beginning, it was pretty simple.
Because Jason realized that his “teacher” had carefully described the monsters he had encountered in detail.
This allowed Jason to study the difficult language and get to the situation at hand quickly, based on what he had experienced.
Naturally, this allowed Jason to confirm his previous guess: his “teacher” had not come to Rhode for no reason; it was to pursue the person from the mysterious side who was related to Kalina.
Otherwise, it would not have been possible to provide such detailed and accurate information.
Even the scene just now might have been set up by the person from the mysterious side, who was related to Kalina, in an attempt to deal with his “teacher”.
Otherwise, there was no need to go to such extents just to kill some ordinary people.
It would have been enough if they had kept up what they had been doing all this time, which was sending monsters to deal with the situation!
The plan to remove Bondy and the others, was also to prevent mass deaths… no… No, it was not technically “prevention”. It was only because the other party did not want to go head-to-head with the hostile official forces that Bondy represented.
But he had reacted too fast and hit the muzzle!
Through reading, Jason had calmed down, and his thoughts gradually cleared.
Phew!
Jason, who wished to understand the cause and effects, took a deep breath and adjusted his sitting position. He continued reading.
Although, the arrangement that had been made was not targeted at him.
But, with such a feeling of helplessness, Jason did not wish to experience it for the second time.
As for relying on his “teacher”?
Even ignoring the fact that he was a false inheritor, even if he was real, Jason was more used to relying on himself!
Not to mention…
Didn’t his “teacher” give him the answer to dealing with the enemies?
Jason was so engrossed that he had not realized he had already arrived at the gates of the police station.
Finch looked at Jason, who was quietly reading, and did not bother to interrupt him.
The young constable had witnessed the scene of the “Moon Mask” previously and knew that Jason was looking for a solution.
“I hope everything goes well!”
The young constable gave a small prayer, and then raised the brightness of the kerosene lamp.
Then, colleagues came from the distance, and the young constable made a gesture to indicate silence. They then proceeded to stand still outside the carriage.
The last glimmers of the sun had completely disappeared.
The sky became completely dark.
The streets of Rhode did not calm down.
More constables ran along the night streets.
All rest before sunset was canceled by Bondy, and everyone returned to their posts with live ammunition.
There was a feeling of depression that shrouded the entire city of Rhode.
At this moment, the wind seemed to become breezier.
He closed the door of the house, and the people hiding on the bed heard the sound of boots on the street hitting the ground. They couldn’t help but retract their heads back into the quilt, wrapping their bodies tightly.
Others put items that could be used as weapons within arms reach, and some even held on to them in their hands.
But their hands were shaking.
Fear and panic were spreading.
It spread faster than the plague.
And it was much scarier.
Inside the carriage, Jason could finally imagine what ordinary people would be feeling in such a situation.
Even then, he was sure that if the situation continued, the ending would be unthinkable.
Chaos!
A big mess without any semblance of reason!
He needed to get a tight hold on the situation!
Jason thought about this and focused, once again, on the book in his hands.
But…
In the next moment, the mutation had suddenly emerged.
