"Nuwa? You okay?" Martha called her seeing the way she looked around in fear.
Iseul glanced back at Martha; the concerned face was clear. "Y-yeah. I am fine." Iseul nodded, with a smile.
"Dr. Cinnamon." A voice called out. Iseul instinctively turned her head in the direction of the voice. Illysa stood there, in a waistcoat and trousers. In one hand, holding a briefcase. "Hello. I am Detective GInger who you wrote a letter to…" Illysa explained with a peal of nervous laughter.
It took more than a moment for Iseul to digest the fact that Illysa had changed—not just her gender, not just her way of talking, not just her personality. It was not just a little weak in his memory; people are created to be something else.
Iseul chuckled, walking over to Illysa. "Welcome to Acorn Valley, Detective Ginger."
If Iseul wasn't sure earlier about Illysa's change in behaviour now she was. Illysa did her best to sneak a peek at Iseul as they walked towards Mr Chestnut's house.
Iseul remained quiet, ignoring it to her best. The awkward silence filled the place with passing moments. The house was way back by the edge, far away from most one. The blooming fall leaves didn't make the situation less awkward. Iseul didn't understand the meaning of this stupidity.
Han was never a character in her book. She always planned for his existence but his looks and power are unknown to her. He was nothing like Ryong or any other character that she had come across till now. The unknown.
"Dr. Cinnamon? Dr. Cinnamon?" Iseul jogged out from her thoughts from Illysa's calling.
"Yes?" Iseul smiled and responded, trying to keep a polite face.
"Is this the house?"
"Y-yeah." Iseul glanced at the small cottage beside an ancient oak tree. Its canopy hovered over the house sprinkling the old moss-filled roof with autumn leaves. The place looked like something out of those fairytale movies. Iseul was first to walk to the house with Illysa following behind her.
"I already checked the corpse. It was an axe stab to his chest. The axe hit his heart causing him to die. There was no fight or anything taken. My theory is during the night someone knocked on his door. Mr. Chestnut went to check and on opening the intruder slayed the axe at him and left." Iseul spoke involuntarily even with information she was not aware of.
She was not surprised; if Han could create this place, then memory was just something insignificant. As time passes they have become more synonymous to the world… and soon might even forget the reality. Iseul bit her lips tightly as the daunting realization hit her. If she could speak his words then matter of fact she would soon join them. So the game was not of mafia rather to make her a character.
"Ryong was wrong. You are smart…but are you smart to be a creator, Nuwa?" The voice whispered once again in her ears.
Iseul smiled staring at the sky. A test to be proven worthy. "Detective Ginger, why don't you check the crime scene? I have an errand to run to?" Iseul excused herself, hurrying back to the village.
The only way this was going to stop was to find out the mafia and end it before it went crazy. Two hundred and ninety-nine people excluding her and Illysa they were two hundred ninety-seven. Who could be? Iseul reached the best place for it. The centre of the village is filled with most of the players.
The shops were already filled with villagers selling stuff. Iseul sat down by one of the stalls watching the passersby with each time passing.
[ANNOUNCEMENT: NIGHT TIME]
With that voice, the sky turned dark. The shops were all closed with no villagers in sight. In the blinking moment eye, the serenity transcended over the place. Iseul stood up, night time means… mafia.
"AHHH!" A scream disturbed the serenity of the place. Iseul glanced at the direction from where the voice came from and without wasting any second she sprinted towards it.
The scream came from the east side of the village. In the serenity of the night, the scream was clearer than ever. By the time Iseul reached there, a cold body lay in the darkness, with fresh blood engulfing the area around it, slowly touching Iseul's foot. Iseul glanced around as she went to check for any kind of hint.
Crack! A crackling of branches all it took for Iseul was run behind a barely visible silhouette of a man. Iseul head-on sprinted behind the silhouette in hopes of catching it. "Stop!" She yelled trying to grab onto the man's clothing. Just as her finger touched onto the woollen fabric a voice interrupted it.
[ANNOUNCEMENT: DAY TIME.]
The blazing sun rose into the blue sky. The one link to leave this place was gone. This wasn't a game this was entertainment for Han and Han only. There will be no end until he doesn't wish to.
Iseul sighed, going back to the cottage for any other hints which might not be stained by the foul play. Ginger was already waiting for her when she reached the victim's place.
"Dr. Cinamon?" Ginger's eyes flickered in surprise seeing Iseul walking out to the house.
"Yeah. I heard about it." Iseul lied, glancing down at the corpse.
Ginger gave a quick nod. Her eyes wandered over Iseul before glancing back at the corpse. "It's a clean murder. No sign of breaking in or assault. Just stab and death." Ginger continued, letting out an exhausted breath.
"How did you know I was here?" Ginger's abrupt question forced Iseul to stop.
"W-what? I didn't know you were here." Iseul furrowed her eyes at the abrupt question.
"No one knew about this, only I did. It was early in the morning. Your house is on the opposite side of the village. There was murder closer to your place than this. You would have been there checking and it would have taken you time but you are here. Not only that but the dried blood on the hem of the skirt. Any explanation, Dr. Cinamon?"