Chapter 56

"Give it some serious thought."

The government employee dressed like a stereotypical serial killer spoke reassuringly.

"You can never be fired, and you work until age sixty-five on a seniority-based pay scale. As a specialized occupation, it also comes with a separate allowance."

Why was I sitting through what felt like a Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau job fair here?

"If you have a 'constitution' that makes you prone to getting caught up in supernatural phenomena anyway, wouldn't you be better off at least receiving proper pay and institutional protection?"

I already was...

No matter how I looked at it, I doubted a Grade 8 civil servant earned more than someone at a major pharmaceutical corporation!

But I couldn't admit I worked at <Daydream Inc.> here, not even under torture.

I didn't want to be flagged as a person of interest and reported to the Bureau!

'Should I have just kept communicating in writing?'

I was beginning to regret my carefully considered decision to speak for the sake of faster, more persuasive communication and greater impact.

Feeling as though I might break into a cold sweat, I opened my mouth.

For now, he seemed to see me as a civilian prone to getting caught up in supernatural phenomena. Let's reinforce that impression...

"I was so scared this time that I tried to do whatever I could, but I'm not someone capable of eliminating supernatural phenomena like this. Becoming an agent is out of the question."

"..."

The government employee gave me a slightly incredulous look.

What? Why?

"You believed the lodge keeper was the root cause of this phenomenon, so you terminated the contract to prevent another incident. Correct?"

"That's... right?"

"Then didn't you bring this supernatural phenomenon to a definitive end through your own independent judgment?"

"..."

"That's innate talent."

No, it wasn't.

It was the wiki carrying me...

"I'm sorry, but I really don't think I can. In fact, I consulted with the friend who came with me about all this..."

Oh, come on. Please.

"Besides, I can't fight well enough to be an agent, and I don't have any special abilities."

"Special abilities."

The corners of the government employee's mouth lifted slightly.

"There are... specific 'ways to learn' those."

"...!"

"You'll hear the details once you're appointed."

This was driving me insane.

"But what makes you trust me enough to do this...?"

"You currently have a small, shield-shaped silver badge on you, don't you?"

"...!!"

"That's why."

Oh, damn it.

'He's sharp.'

I'd considered this possibility, but I deliberately startled, pretending to be even more flustered.

"What? H-how did you...?"

"It's equipment the Disaster Management Bureau uses for persuasion. I've heard that in the past, it was also distributed to citizens who had performed great deeds... but this is my first time seeing someone who can use it."

"Oh..."

"Only a good person can use it, so it also serves as a sort of certification."

Then he gave me a once-over.

"Did you use it inside your pocket?"

The bastard was smart, too.

'Playing dumb now would only make me more suspicious.'

Better to let him confirm that it worked for me.

Remember, this thing only worked for 'good people'!

'He won't go out of his way to confiscate it. There weren't any cases of that unless someone caused trouble.'

Fortunately, after my brain raced furiously, a response came out without a pause.

With a bitter expression suggesting a story behind it, I rummaged through my pocket and held up the little silver badge.

All while casually bringing up the only legal route by which I could possess it without arousing suspicion.

"... I inherited it from family."

As of today, the merchandise box was my family.

"I was told to use it when I needed people to listen to me in an emergency..."

"Yes."

The government employee nodded, looking at me with a hint of pity.

"You had a wonderful family."

"..."

Had he helpfully taken that to mean they were watching over me from heaven now?

In a sense, that wasn't a misunderstanding, but, well...

Trying not to picture the black merchandise box floating in the sky, I spoke.

"They told me not to volunteer for dangerous work, and I'd like to honor that as much as possible..."

"..."

That really was what my parents had said when they discouraged me from going into finance, and I really hadn't joined this company voluntarily, either, so I wasn't lying. Not lying!

"... I understand."

The government employee looked a little disappointed, but readily backed down.

"Then there's nothing to be done."

Whew.

And so the sweat-inducing job fair came to an end.

With an unexpected gain, at that.

"Contact me if you have any concerns or problems."

As I was about to leave the lodge, the government employee gave me another number.

This time, however, the format was different.

Ryu Jaegwan

010-XXXX-XXXX

"That's my work number."

Oh.

"It should be better than the business card I gave you before. With that number, it may take time for a response team to be assigned, and there's no telling what sort of agent will show up."

In short, it was a free pass out of ghost stories.

As though exchanging a cassette tape, I exchanged the contact number I'd previously received for this one.

I hadn't expected to use it like this.

Now I just needed to hurry home before he suggested exchanging names... though he'd probably run a background check anyway.

'In that case.'

I deliberately scratched the back of my head as though embarrassed.

"Um, the truth is, I communicated in writing at our Salmon Market meeting because I was a little scared... but next time we meet, I'd like to talk out loud like this again."

"Of course."

"And... um, could my identity be kept confidential? It's a bit overwhelming... and frightening."

"..."

The government employee fell briefly silent, but then said,

"You can simply leave as you are."

He let it slide.

Yes!

'That means he'll leave me unidentified, right?'

I'd even left the door open for another deal. Perfect.

'Next time I can sell more food with less suspicion.'

"Have a safe trip down."

"You too, Agent."

I shook hands with the government employee.

He rode off on his bicycle.

Even when he made one final recruitment pitch as we parted, I'd brushed it off quite naturally.

["Honestly, I struggle with situations like this... I'm close to my limit even now. I don't think I could do it."]

That was completely sincere.

Baek Saheon, stop looking at me like I give you the creeps.

Perhaps the government employee had only asked out of lingering disappointment. He'd nodded, then mounted his bicycle without further hesitation.

Along with the invaluable advice to leave before the 'Bureau cleanup team' arrived.

'Time to get the hell out.'

I left the front of the lodge, where both the landslide debris and the bus stop had vanished as if by magic, and started walking down the hiking trail.

'Whew.'

Only then did my tension ease.

[Braun knows all the effort you put in over these past few days, even sacrificing sleep for that artistic final shot! Well done.]

Yeah. It had been damn disgusting, terrifying, and exhausting...

'Getting sent into a ghost story like this alone? The Disaster Management Bureau really isn't for me.'

Had Daydream Inc.'s corporate rating in my mind ever been higher than it was today?

'At least they give me money and points.'

They said if you had to be a servant, you should serve a rich household. This was exactly that.

Though I didn't think the work was any more rewarding...

I turned to my fellow recruit, who was contributing to that unrewarding work.

"Let's get down right now. This goddamn lodge...!"

"..."

"Damn it, getting dragged into this shit when there's no money or points in it!"

"Don't you have something to say first?"

Baek Saheon clamped his mouth shut.

Then he turned to me and spoke with extreme defensiveness.

"I can't pay you anything for this. I never asked you to save me anyway."

Well, look at him.

"And you... Supervisor Kim Soleum, you were the only one who got a reward from exchanging the cassettes. That should settle it."

"Oh."

I smiled.

"Interesting. You've got the nerve to say that to someone who lost his weekend and missed work without leave because of you?"

"..."

Baek Saheon's face turned ashen before regaining its color.

With difficulty, he asked,

"... What do you want?"

"Nothing."

"...?!"

"I actually had fun."

"...!!"

I strode down the mountain path.

Behind me came Baek Saheon's hurried footsteps and belated reply.

"... Anyway, I'll admit I caused you trouble with your weekend and the unauthorized absence."

"..."

"That's all I'm saying."

Oh.

"I'll transfer three days' pay to you, so wait."

"Sure."

But a little later, the moment we entered cell coverage and our data connection came back, Baek Saheon would scream.

"The date hasn't changed!"

That's right.

Didn't he know time flowing differently was practically a universal rule in ghost stories?

"I still spent three days on it."

"...!"

I got the pay out of him anyway. Baek Saheon stared at me with a mixture of grievance, relief, and sheer pissiness, then hastily lowered his eyes and fled.

[Haha, even without this incident, he seems the sort who'd have trouble making it through life in one piece!]

Kind of, right?

Actually, there was something else he should have said.

'I didn't think he'd hold out to the very end without thanking me.'

He really was an incredible bastard in all sorts of ways.

Still, he seemed less vicious and a little less heartless than he'd been in <Records of Dark Exploration>...

In fact, when the government employee had met him in the basement earlier, he'd given him a cold look for a moment before offering me some advice.

["One person inherits a Silver Heart Badge, while another inherits a cassette tape... I see."]

["..."]

["You would do well to choose your company carefully."]

["Mm. Yes. Thank you."]

Well, then.

The government had arranged for the cassette tapes to fall into the hands of evil people, requisitioning only those whose guilt was certain.

Which meant this guy... was government-certified evil.

Even giving him the most charitable possible interpretation, there was at least one evil person somewhere along the route by which Baek Saheon had acquired it.

["... It was something we had at home. I inherited it from a relative."]

... A relative, huh.

'There could be a story there.'

But for now, I stopped thinking about it.

I didn't have the luxury of exploring the backstories of characters from the wiki.

'First I need to survive this ghost-story company.'

And not long afterward, this damn company started acting true to form again.

It presented something bizarre and completely unforeseen as though it were perfectly normal.

* * *

A few days later.

"Supervisor Kim!"

On my way to buy coffee on an errand for my superior, a familiar face called out to me in the corridor.

It was Section Chief Lee Byeongjin, the manual reviewer who'd gone missing.

"Ah, congratulations! I knew our Supervisor Kim would go far!"

We hadn't even known each other for two months...

"Top recruit, an offer from Team A, you saved me, and you've got connections in the security team—and now a lightning-fast promotion? Wow, that's great."

"Thank you."

It wasn't particularly great, but that was what I said.

Instead of wrapping up the conversation and leaving, however, Section Chief Lee Byeongjin lowered his voice to a murmur.

"Director Ho has an eye on you, Supervisor Kim."

"..."

"The most decent higher-up in this company. This is an opportunity. Don't let it slip."

An opportunity...?

"There's a rumor the director runs a project team that's kept secret from outsiders... You might get transferred there."

Haha. You had no idea.

In a ghost-story universe, attaching 'confidential' to something cut your survival rate to less than half...

Instead of saying that, I politely shook my head.

"I haven't even been here six months. I'm not hoping for anything like that. I'll simply work hard in the position I've been given."

"Ha, modest, too! I knew I'd judged you right. Haha!"

I could only be grateful that he'd so comfortably forgotten my overbearing behavior when I'd pretended to be a security guard. People really were creatures of their environment, weren't they?

Section Chief Lee Byeongjin gave my shoulder several approving pats, then left me with these words.

"Anyway, I'm really curious where you'll end up!"

"...?"

That had a subtly different implication.

'Why does he sound like he's assuming I'll be going somewhere?'

That question would soon be answered.

That afternoon.

"Hey, Roe Deer. Let's still see each other sometimes, even if you go to another team. I barely got to buy you any meals."

What?

I blinked at the slightly dejected supervisor.

Another team?

Had I... been demoted to some strange place?

All that talk about the director having an eye on me—had it actually been a bluff to put me at ease before shocking me to get a reaction?

Why do something so pointlessly evil to a lowly employee...!?

"I mean, we'd like you to stay on our team if possible... but looking at how things are going..."

Thankfully, before I could panic, the deputy kindly explained.

Field Exploration Team units normally had a complement of three. When one or two extra members were assigned, it was usually to train new recruits.

Those employees could remain attached to the same unit above its regular complement until they were promoted.

"But you're a supervisor now."

Ah.

I... no longer fell under the usual arrangement.

"There's probably a pretty good chance you'll get shuffled elsewhere... Hmm, but maybe you don't need to worry too much."

With a little hope, I asked,

"Am I being granted an exception?"

"Not that... I think we'll probably end up with exactly three people. Keep this to yourself."

"What?"

The deputy gave a small grin.

"I'm quitting soon."

"...!!"

A coworker's escape announcement had just dropped!