The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

3. How to Create an Excellent Shelter: First, Money Solves Everything.

Remaining time until the apocalypse: 17 days.

Next to the town of Brunel, the Kint train station. I stood in front of the station, looking at its exterior.

It was a beautifully constructed train station with wooden frames filled with half-timbered plaster, resembling a birdcage.

Small and old, it was a Tudor-style building that looked like something I had seen in Chester, England.

Last time, all the telephones were broken, so I couldn’t make a call and had to send letters instead. Thankfully, this time the phones seemed to be working.

With the hope that the call would go through, I stepped into the Kint train station.

The interior of the station was simple. There was a door leading to the train platform on the opposite side, and a ticket booth was on the right.

Next to the ticket booth were a newsstand and a telephone, while on the opposite side, chairs were scattered around.

I first approached the ticket booth to find a station attendant.

“I want to use the phone.”

After paying the phone fee to the station attendant, I stood in front of the telephone.

Then, I put the receiver to my ear and dialed the number. Immediately, the operator at the telephone exchange connected me directly to the Sinclair mansion in the city.

As I heard the connection sound, I brought the transmitter to my mouth.

Rrrrr-

A short beep followed and someone picked up the call.

Click.

[This is the Sinclair mansion.]

It was the voice of my personal maid, Susanna.

“Susanna! It’s me, Cherry.”

[Oh, my goodness, Miss! I wanted to call you, but I didn’t know how to get in touch with you.]

“What’s going on? Isn’t today the day you were supposed to come?”

[Well, it’s just that the head maid seems to be bedridden, so I might have to stay one more day and then leave.]

The thought of having to endure another day without Susanna, all alone, was dreadful. However, I didn’t show it and replied calmly, “It’s okay. There’s nothing we can do. You must come tomorrow for sure.”

With the approaching apocalypse, time is running short.

I swallowed the rest of my words.

[Yes, yes. I’ve already booked the train ticket. I should arrive around tomorrow afternoon. How have you been? Is your health okay? Are you feeling well, with no pains or anything? Have you been eating properly?]

Susanna’s worried questions almost made tears well up in my eyes. The struggles and hardships of the past seemed to flash before me like a panorama.

“I’m alright! And what about the mansion? Is everything fine there?”

[Yes, it’s alright. But the mansion feels too quiet without you.]

“It’s always been like that, hasn’t it?”

Susanna had not been with the Sinclair family for very long, so she might not know, but our mansion had always been quiet. Since my parents were busy with their businesses, and I was occupied with various activities, the mansion was often empty.

“What about Harrison?”

[Well, he’s not here. He left his post.]

“Really? Did Harrison say anything? I sent him a letter, but there was no response.”

[Oh my, really? But, come to think of it, I don’t recall receiving any letters from you.]

“What?”

[Oh, and now that I think about it, lately there have been incidents where postmen traveling to different areas have gone missing.]

Wait, hold on. What is she talking about?

“The postmen are missing? What are you talking about?”

[You haven’t seen the news, have you? There have been many reports about postmen going missing and some being horriblyly murdered by criminals. The world is truly becoming a terrifying place these days. Please be extremely careful when walking outside at night.]

‘Horribly murdered by a monster.’

I closed my eyes tightly.

While I was hesitating like this, it seemed like the world was diligently preparing for its own demise.

“Thank you for the information. Please pass a message to Harrison for me. Tell him to personally bring the requested item down. Duncan Lancaster is here in town, investigating that item. If you mention that, he’ll understand.”

If Eden discovers the firearm, the situation would become serious.

With so little time left, getting caught up in an investigation and facing the apocalypse, or worse, meeting it while in police custody, were real possibilities.

[Yes, I will relay your message, miss.]

I took a deep breath while putting the receiver and transmitter down.

‘As long as Eden goes back to the capital, all the problems would be solved.’

The unchanging rule of the original work. As I thought about those ominous words, I shook my head vigorously.

‘I must definitely break the unchanging rule of the original work and survive.’

For that, I need to prepare more thoroughly.

As I walked from the train station, I took a notebook out of my pocket. It was to check the shopping items I had written down.

‘Now, I need to go look for furniture.’

Do you know what the most crucial thing is in creating an excellent shelter?

‘It’s money, of course.’

I headed straight to Kint’s furniture store district.

***

The police station located in the center of Brunel village.

Eden was sitting at his desk, going through the case files of Brunel village and its vicinity.

[Westmore City Urban Legends Incident]

One particular case file from last year caught his eye. It seemed like Cherry and Vanilla had mentioned something about Westmore.

Since last year, the Westmore City Urban Legends Incident had become quite famous within the police department. This was due to the staggering number of missing Westmore residents, totaling ten people.

Around this time last year, the police received reports of screams coming from an abandoned house in Westmore every night.

After the screams, they said they heard sounds resembling animal cries.

However, when the police arrived and thoroughly investigated the abandoned house, they found no trace of any humans or animals.

‘It’s similar yet different from the 61st Notium Street Incident.’

During the 61st Notium Street Incident, there were several witnesses, and in the end, a monster appeared. However, it was not the case in the Westmore incident.

There were only rumors, and no witnesses. That was why it was called an ‘urban legend.’

‘So, the case was quickly buried.’

In the Westmore City Urban Legends Incident file, even the address of the abandoned house where the incident occurred was not written.

‘Tsk. They didn’t even bother to record it properly. They didn’t do their job right.’

Just as Eden was clicking his tongue.

Wahaha-

Loud laughter echoed through the police station. The village residents were sitting together, sharing tea and chatting away.

As they passed by, the owner of a nearby restaurant, bored with the quietness, brought up the topic of Cherry.

“That lady from the abandoned house, she’s quite strange, isn’t she?”

When the restaurant owner started, the grocery store owner and the bookstore owner, who came with her, also joined the conversation.

“She keeps carrying things into that abandoned house, what’s that all about?”

The gossip among the village residents continued. Eden couldn’t understand why they gathered at the police station just to chat like this. Shouldn’t they avoid the police station as much as possible?

But then again, when he saw Inspector Hans, the head of the Brunel Police Station, joining in the gossip with enthusiasm, he had a hunch about the reason.

“Well, that abandoned house is still a house, and they’ve been repairing it diligently.”

“With good repairs, the basic structure should be fine. It was originally a villa owned by a noble, right? Doesn’t it look perfect for committing a crime and hiding it?”

“Oh my, really? Then, could that lady from the abandoned house be…?”

Having heard their conversation, even Eden was briefly suspicious.

Cherry Sinclair, who attracted attention with everything she did, could even survive an accident. Especially recently, there was the incident with a 100 million-gold loan.

‘That was quite a big issue.’

Eden couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

Eden’s suspicion was reasonable. What if after the accident, she couldn’t handle it and ended up hiding in this village?

‘She mentioned hiding her identity.’

If Brunel were a larger town, Cherry Sinclair’s true identity might have been exposed soon enough. The media loved news about her.

However, Brunel was a very small countryside village without even a train station, and its residents were people who had never ventured outside this neighborhood.

If she chose this village to hide her identity, it was an excellent choice.

‘Or perhaps she’s really hiding as part of a firearms smuggling case.’

Cherry had been at the center of several suspicious incidents recently, and Eden couldn’t overlook that fact.

He was patiently watching Cherry, waiting for the right moment to apprehend her.

“Oh my, what’s that?”

At that moment, the villagers turned their attention outside the police station, and Eden, too, looked up with a puzzled expression. Through the partially open door, he saw a strange sight.

A woman was effortlessly dragging four giant scarecrows woven with straw, tied together with ropes.

And that woman was none other than Cherry Sinclair, who had been the center of the gossip just a while ago.

Seeing her like that, Eden thought, Cherry Sinclair wasn’t a typical woman.

‘She certainly seems far from normal.’

Until now, nothing she had done seemed reasonable according to Eden’s common sense.

“What the hell is that scarecrow?”

“But how is she carrying all those scarecrows by herself?”

The people inside the police station murmured as they watched Cherry. And seemingly hearing their voices, she looked up.

Because the police station’s door was open, her eyes met with those of the people inside.

“Oh, everyone’s gathered here. Hello!”

She greeted them with a friendly wave.

“Why are you taking those scarecrows?”

The grocery store owner, who had been observing her, asked Cherry. In response, she shrugged and replied, “I’m practicing.”

“Practicing what?”

“I need to learn how to neatly cut off their limbs.”

Cut off…?

The people’s faces turned pale. Then Cherry quickly waved her hands in panic.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. It was a joke. Ahaha!”

As Cherry scratched the back of her head and burst into laughter, the scarecrows that were on her shoulders fell to the ground with a thud along with the rope she was carrying.

Cherry effortlessly lifted the fallen scarecrows again and bid farewell to the people. “Well then…!”

After she disappeared, there was a moment of silence inside the police station.

Eden knew Cherry Sinclair as a delicate greenhouse flower who despised physical labor.

As he watched Cherry’s back, easily carrying the four giant scarecrows, he pondered, ‘Where did she get the reputation of being a fragile greenhouse flower?’

Suddenly, he recalled something Cherry had said not too long ago.

“I tend to be misunderstood a lot. People think I enjoy luxury and naively get involved in accidents. They might think I would easily commit crimes.”

“I’m fine. I’m used to those misunderstandings.”

Perhaps, after all, it was just a misunderstanding.

‘Come to think of it, the firearms smuggling case was most likely the work of Lawyer Howard.’

Admittedly, Cherry Sinclair had a unique character, and there was hardly any corner of her life that was unremarkable.

However, one thing was clear – as eccentric as she may be, she didn’t seem as arrogant and naive as the rumors made her out to be.

‘I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on her.’

As Eden watched Cherry walk away, he turned to the villagers and asked, “Does the lady of the mansion often come down to the village?”

There was a short silence, and the villagers exchanged curious glances with each other.

Eventually, the innkeeper stepped forward and spoke up. “Ah, don’t even mention it. Yesterday, she cleaned out the grocery store.”

He pointed to the grocery store owner standing next to him, who nodded vigorously. “Today, she did the same to the general store.”

“It was all swept away as if preparing for a war.”

“Who knows where she gets all that money from.”

Upon hearing that, Eden struggled to hold back his laughter. Cherry Sinclair probably didn’t consider that much money to be a significant amount.

“But why are you so interested in the lady of the mansion?”

“Just curious, you know? She’s incredibly beautiful.”

Eden was taken aback and found himself at a loss for words. While he acknowledged that Cherry was indeed a stunning woman, he couldn’t understand why her looks seemed to be such a big deal to everyone.