Chapter 1322: Chapter 1322

"The clues we have are far too few. Even knowing the hospital's troubles are connected to a gem mine, it's difficult to guess the curse's true origin. But since the mine entrance must be somewhere inside the hospital, and the morgue is the only underground room we've been in, we might as well assume the entrance is right here."

This was the conclusion Mr. Hood had reached after careful thought.

"You mean the entrance is behind this row of lockers?"

Hathaway asked. Her reasoning made sense; the walls on the other three sides didn't look like they could possibly hide a mine entrance.

"But we can't just blow up the lockers. The space is too confined. A major explosion would probably bring the ceiling down on our heads first."

This was Magic Miss's assessment.

"Wait a moment. If the mine entrance is in the morgue... have you considered how the miners in the past got into the hospital without arousing suspicion? And how did they move between the mine and the hospital without damaging the room's structure?"

Jenkins suddenly ventured a guess.

"Mr. Candle, are you suggesting the miners disguised themselves as corpses to get into the morgue, then used some clever mechanism here to access the mine? So now we have to find and activate a hidden switch for an entrance behind the lockers?"

"No, perhaps there isn't any mechanism. The way into the mine from the morgue might be very simple... Guess what you'd see after lying down in one of these drawers and getting pushed inside?"

The more Jenkins spoke, the more plausible it sounded, and he found himself surprised by his own idea. If it was true, then his past speculations about the Corpse Gentleman's activities outside their gatherings were completely wrong. He probably wasn't just whiling away the time in a morgue drawer; he was likely using a tunnel behind it to leave this place.

"That's a rather terrifying thought, isn't it? But it's certainly possible. We've examined all the lockers we've opened so far and haven't found any way out the other side. Could it be that only a select few of them are special?"

Hathaway continued, then paused to think for a moment before summarizing:

"Whether Mr. Candle's theory is correct or not, our next step remains the same: we have to open the rest of the lockers in here."

She was right. Regardless of their ultimate goal, the only thing the explorers could do now was continue opening the lockers. Before they could act, misfortune once again struck the writer. This time, a large, hairy-legged black spider leaped into his mouth, nearly suffocating him. But he passed his [Constitution] check and simply swallowed the spider whole.

"Oh, that's just vile." Read complete versıon only at novel✶fire.net

Jenkins remarked with a grimace.

As things stood, he couldn't think of a better solution. Now that they knew letting the writer bear the curse for a while wouldn't have any major consequences, they could only bite the bullet and open the locker the Corpse Gentleman usually occupied. He was convinced that specific locker was the entrance to the mine.

"...The noblewoman opened the chosen locker and examined it closely. It was completely empty..."

Jenkins was stunned. He had imagined every possible scenario for what might be in that locker, but "completely empty" hadn't been one of them. In his mind, even if they didn't find the mine entrance, there should at least have been some other clue, or even a trigger for a combat encounter.

"Could the Corpse Gentleman have modified his personal locker to hide the truth from the Church? But if he had time for that, why didn't he clear the clutter from the other lockers as well?"

He couldn't make sense of it. During that same round, however, the others finally made a significant discovery. It was the sailor's turn to find something: a skeleton, curled into a fetal position, and a letter. The paper was mottled and fragile with age, likely written decades ago.

"The sailor has found a letter. You open it and read the contents, which say:

[To those who come after, this land has been cursed by our greed. The trapdoor in the garden behind the main building leads to a boiler room housing a high-powered steam engine. From there, a hidden passage leads down into the mine.

Yes, we found a gem mine beneath the hospital. Our avarice led us to unearth the deepest darkness from below. I am sorry, you who have come after. There is no treasure here—only five cursed souls and me, the coward who fled from everything.

I am Director Foster of this hospital. The curse began when I touched those accursed gems. To end all of this, you must take my remains outside the hospital and burn them. Do this, even though it will utterly shatter my soul... It was my mistake. I deserve such a fate.]"

Not even the clap of thunder that exploded outside the window was as loud as the Corpse Gentleman's voice. The group stared at one another in stunned silence until, after a long moment, White Cat Mr finally spoke:

"Is it really that simple?"

They had anticipated countless possibilities leading up to this point, but this simple solution had never been one of them.

"No, I don't believe it."

Jenkins said, shaking his head. "This must be a trap."

The Corpse Gentleman had to be involved in this. It was impossible for him not to play a part in the finale. Besides, the very presence of this skeleton and letter was highly suspicious. If it were true—if burning the director's remains could really lift the curse—then all his suspicions over the past six months, even commissioning Black Cat Mr in Dullin to investigate, would have been for nothing.

"But it's also possible that it isn't a trap. It's truly difficult to say."

Mr. Hood said, hoping someone else would offer an opinion, but it was clear everyone was equally skeptical.

"Just as the explorers discover the letter, the curse seems to undergo a subtle change..."

As if on cue with the Corpse Gentleman's words, a terrifying peal of thunder, like a bomb detonating, once again rocked the skies over Nolan. The sound was so powerful it nearly shattered the glass, leaving everyone's ears ringing long after it faded.

"Sensing its own impending demise, the curse is growing stronger. From now on, an additional check is required both before and after the writer's turn. Furthermore, for any luck-related checks, the die roll is automatically doubled. And with each passing round, the curse will continue to intensify."

"You're forcing us to leave and burn the remains."

Jenkins said, turning to the Corpse Gentleman.

"You don't have to, but it's hard to say what fate will befall the writer if you don't."

The Corpse Gentleman's reply was calm. He ignored Jenkins, addressing his words to Hathaway, as she was the one in control of the writer's destiny.