"Yes, yes… alright, I understand…"
After ending the call in a timid and apprehensive manner, the middle-aged woman stood beside the smoldering ruins of the villa. Even now, occasional embers still flickered from the wreckage. Her face was full of confusion.
Seeing her expression shift after the call, one of her subordinates turned his head curiously and asked, "Captain, what are the higher-ups saying?"
She snapped irritably, "What else could they say? Other than telling us to find out what happened behind all this, what more could they order?"
Looking at the still-smoking debris, the subordinate frowned in distress and muttered, "How are we supposed to investigate that?"
Although the site looked completely destroyed, he knew all too well that not long ago, it had been a sinister, man-eating death trap.
He had absolutely no desire to step inside and poke around.
The middle-aged woman simply gave him a glare in response.
"The higher-ups aren't expecting you to solve anything. The expert team should be arriving soon. Just cooperate with them when they get here."
After giving those instructions, she exchanged a few more words with an elderly man in a white robe, instructing him to have all relevant data ready to hand over to the experts for analysis.
Although the old man had some reservations, he dared not voice them. He knew very well that anyone specially dispatched by the higher-ups must carry significant authority—very likely, someone who could be his superior.
These were no clueless nobodies.
Both he and the middle-aged woman clearly understood that the destruction of this place held great significance for all the factions suffering under the threat of supernatural entities. It meant that the seemingly insurmountable menace might have a weakness!
If they could uncover the truth and provide humanity with a countermeasure against these anomalies—
It would be a major achievement!
Of course, the old man had zero confidence in figuring this all out on his own, so he secretly resolved to find a way to join the expert team and ride their coattails to some of the glory.
---
The next day.
The expert team arrived via steam rail to the remote little town and immediately began thoroughly questioning everyone present.
One of the researchers asked sternly, "You said that on the day of the incident, and the two days prior, you kept smelling roasted beef?"
The soldier nodded earnestly and added, "Yes, sir. Besides that, I also smelled charcoal-grilled meat, stir-fried pork slices, and vinegar-flavored meatballs…"
Frowning as he scribbled across an entire page, the researcher finally lost his patience and snapped, "Are you reciting a restaurant menu to me or what?"
The soldier tried to defend himself, a bit stubbornly: "But I really did smell all that! My family runs a restaurant—you've got to trust my nose!"
"Alright, alright, step aside. Next!"
And so, disgruntled but obedient, the soldier retreated.
---
Not long after.
The team leader of the experts casually skimmed through the compiled reports, his mind filling with a single question mark.
His face full of confusion, he turned to his assistant and asked, "Who submitted this recipe list?"
The assistant looked a bit awkward as he shook his head. "…That's the actual report that was handed in."
"?"
The team leader fell into total bewilderment.
He flipped through the contents again.
---
Hours later.
After a lengthy internal discussion, the expert team concluded that all the personnel present had fallen into some form of hallucination, which caused them to perceive their surroundings as filled with mouthwatering delicacies—specifically meat dishes.
To prevent further exposure to this phenomenon, all of them were sent to the hospital for a three-month quarantine period.
No commendations were given.
---
"I object! I want to join the expert team!"
"I wasn't affected by any hallucinations!"
"I'd like to be sent to the Ironmist Third Hospital, the food there's great!"
"WTF—I was about to go on annual leave, and now they're locking me up for three months!"
"..."
Amidst the chaos of mixed emotions, they were all loaded onto a transport vehicle and hauled away.
---
Meanwhile, in another corner of the small town, Orsaga was sipping coffee and chatting happily with two young women.
One of them, with slightly tanned skin, dressed in denim jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, was passionately explaining her goals to Orsaga:
"Did you know?, According to my investigations, there've been strange rumors circulating over the past few years! Most of them sound absurd—like horror stories—but they always seem to contain a kernel of truth. And every time something happens, the authorities quickly clamp down on it. I'm convinced there's a huge cover-up going on!. That's why I want to uncover the truth and reveal to the public what the government has tried to bury."
Orsaga could hear the pride behind her words. Smiling slightly, he reminded her, "Sounds noble, but don't underestimate the danger involved."
After all, those things were very real—and many of them would kill you just for poking around.
Upon hearing that, she immediately raised her chin proudly and declared, "Don't judge me just because I'm a woman—I can take down several average guys by myself!"
To prove her point, she even tried flexing her hands, attempting to make her muscles bulge.
Her companion, a graceful woman in a flowing white dress, nearly burst out laughing at the sight. With a face full of disdain, she immediately exposed her:
"Sure, you say that, but you literally just slipped off a windowsill—headfirst. If someone hadn't caught you, you'd have died from a two-story fall."
Faced with her friend's betrayal, Iris opened her mouth to argue.
But after a moment's thought, she found she had no comeback.
Even she had to admit that what just happened was utterly humiliating—nearly dying from a fall off a two-story building.
After a brief silence, she stiffly insisted, "That was just because I haven't been sleeping well lately. I was mentally unfocused—that's all!"
The other woman simply sneered in response.
As for Orsaga, he actually believed her. After all, his eyes could clearly see that Iris's essence, energy, and spirit were all weak.
The cause was obvious—in plain terms, she was being haunted.
Likely a result of her frequent visits to paranormal sites.
A case of self-inflicted supernatural trouble.
For a demon like Orsaga, that sort of thing was like delivery straight to the door. But for an ordinary person? Not so lucky.
That so-called "slip" from earlier?
It was just a minor trick from a vengeful spirit.
While such a move might be considered pathetically low-level among supernatural beings—embarrassingly weak, even—
It was more than enough to kill a normal human.
First, wear them down with nightmares and hallucinations to erode their resistance, then create an "accident" to finish them off.
The classic tactic of low-ranked evil spirits.
Fortunately for Iris, she'd been lucky enough to encounter a handsome stranger from the Abyss passing by—Orsaga himself.
Otherwise, they'd already be picking out her tombstone by now.
You have no idea how excited Orsaga was to see a ghost dropping a beauty straight onto his head.
____
T/N:
Hello everyone! My Patreon is just $3 — a perfect opportunity to access 80+ advanced chapters and support the translation.
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
Or simply search Translator-Sama on Patreon