Chapter 59

The tattoos the ghost stories had branded onto me were all lettering.

One was in Latin.

: Socius :

It had been seared into me as the Membership given to me by the blue dragon, a theme park mascot, burned away. According to Braun, the lettering conferred the authority of a pass granting something like “special privileges.”

The other was in Chinese characters.

: 恩主 :

That tattoo had been seared into me when the lodge keeper’s employment contract burned away in the serial-killer ghost story.

But because I lacked the necessary “qualifications,” it was nothing more than lettering with no actual function.

If I had to choose one of these to “enhance”...

'It has to be this one.'

“I’ll leave it in your hands.”

The tattoo artist examined the tattoo I pointed to.

: 恩主 :

My reason for choosing it was simple.

'I’m better off expanding my range of abilities.'

It was all but certain that I would keep entering all sorts of ghost stories in the future, painful as that was to admit.

In other words, this wasn’t a situation where one superpower could solve everything.

'Even Section Chief Lizard nearly died once with all that strength. Not a chance.'

It was better to have more cards to play in different situations. Giving one ability a modest boost wouldn’t be all that useful.

'So I’m better off making the useless lettering usable.'

And with Moonlight Tattoo Shop, there was no need to worry about accidentally stepping on a land mine.

It was so friendly toward humans that it rarely gave out potentially harmful abilities. Meaning the lodge keeper wasn’t going to pop out of nowhere and chop my head off.

Besides...

I stole a glance at the Latin lettering.

["Good Child."]

... When I thought of that mascot, with whom I seemed to have formed a strange emotional bond, giving this tattoo a “cover-up” somehow felt like defacing it.

'It sets off alarm bells.'

My instincts as an avid reader of <Records of Dark Exploration> told me that this was the sort of thing best avoided.

“Ah, at last we begin!”

And so I made my choice, and the tattoo artist got to work.

I stopped her when she tried to show me several proposed designs.

“Oh, just do whatever you think would be best.”

If I wanted to maximize the effect, I ought to leave it to the expert.

I grinned.

“I trust your skill.”

“...!”

The owner’s eyes seemed to flash for a moment. Then she vigorously urged me to lie back comfortably in the chair, pressing Braun firmly into my hand as she did.

“She seems to have mistaken me for some sort of doll to soothe the pain! What a rude yet amusing misunderstanding!”

But there was no pain.

The tattoo artist put on an elaborate pair of goggles that brought steampunk to mind, then began operating an enormous tattoo machine.

'... Are those machines normally that big?'

Just as I was beginning to feel a little disconcerted by the machine, which was almost as massive as a piece of surgical equipment, moonlight settled into it.

BZZZZZ

The light pouring from the LED ceiling is drawn into the machine.

Then it gathers at a single point.

The tip of the tattoo machine’s needle.

Watching that tip approach my arm like a shining jewel, I closed my eyes as instructed.

“...”

A strange sensation runs through my left arm.

It wasn’t pain or an itch. Nor was it pressure.

A cool, soothing feeling lingered, as though old grime were being stripped away and my skin rearranged, fitted together just as it should be.

Two taps.

It was over.

The light before my eyes disappeared, and at the tattoo artist’s gesture, I opened them.

“...!”

'Good lord.'

The tattoo now had a background.

A full moon hung in a deep blue-black night sky, depicted as though painted in a single brushstroke. Over it, the lettering was inscribed like shadows on the moon.

Stars seemed to have been scattered around the characters, gleaming with a pearly light.

Two taps.

The tattoo artist looked at me with her hands on her hips, as if asking whether I liked it.

“It looks wonderful.”

Looking pleased with herself, she patted my shoulder, then dashed to the counter.

“...?”

When she returned, she held a single pearl. It looked as though she had taken it off the necklace I’d brought.

'What’s this?'

The owner held the pearl against my tattoo.

And it slipped right inside.

“...?!”

“Oho, well now. Hmm...”

“Mr. Roe Deer, how very interesting. A ‘passage’ has opened.”

A passage?

“Would you gently rub the tattoo? You should feel something.”

I raised my hand and lightly touched the tattoo, which, unbelievably, had neither swelling nor pain.

“...!”

I could feel it.

Some sort of “gap” between the touching surfaces of my skin.

“...”

Carefully, I “put” my hand inside.

When I pulled it back out, I was holding the pearl the tattoo artist had put in earlier...

'... A space?'

“Exactly. Apparently that wretched lodge worker’s contract even included ‘providing space’!”

“Then again, providing rooms to travelers is a servant’s natural duty, is it not? It seems the artist found a loophole in that contract and arranged for a small space to be provided to you as well!”

Wait a minute.

Did that mean I now had... my very own little inventory?

'This is actually possible?'

My heart raced at this webtoon-style gift I had never expected to get from a ghost story.

“Let’s see... Think of a cube roughly two feet on each side. It seems a space of that size has been ‘connected’ to you!”

Two feet would be about sixty centimeters.

Naturally, being from an American talk-show ghost story, he had to use those fiendish units of measurement, but I was genuinely grateful for the information.

But hold on.

'Does that mean this connects to that lodge?'

That insane murder lodge should definitely have disappeared.

“Well, as for where it connects... who can say?”

“Exactly what sort of space the lodge keeper agreed to provide would be known only to the party who originally signed the contract.”

“...”

“How fascinating. It would make a fine subject for a wager! What shall we stake to add a little enjoyment to our lives?”

I would politely decline...

Still, Moonlight Tattoo Shop wouldn’t have manifested an ability in a way that harmed its recipient. I shouldn’t let excessive caution stop me from using a useful ability.

'At least I won’t have to worry about sneaking items in anymore.'

That alone was impressive enough.

“Thank you. This is truly incredible. I love it.”

I returned the pearl I had taken out. Joy and satisfaction sparkled in the tattoo artist’s eyes as she accepted it.

“Am I all set to go?”

She nodded.

“I’ll be on my way, then.”

Just as I was about to head for the entrance, the tattoo artist gestured for me to wait, as though she had remembered something.

'What is it?'

She rummaged furiously beneath the counter and pulled out some sheets. After carefully wrapping them in clear packaging, she held them out to me.

'... Tattoo designs?'

The moment I accepted what she was offering, I realized.

They were temporary tattoo stickers.

They even featured the exact tomato-tree design she had recommended and I had chosen.

Three of them, no less!

“...!”

Wait a minute.

“Does this mean that while I’m wearing one... I’ll become ‘brave’? Just as if I’d gotten the tattoo?”

The tattoo artist smiled and nodded.

'Good lord.'

It was a bonus I’d never even imagined.

“Thank you.”

The owner waved to me with a smile.

It seemed it really was time to say goodbye now.

After safely tucking even the stickers into my pocket—or rather, my newly acquired “space”—I took hold of the door to leave for real this time.

“I hope you have a lovely day.”

With that polite farewell, the door closed behind me.

JINGLE

And when I looked back again...

“...”

The premises were vacant.

Beyond a glass window bearing a real estate agent’s contact details, distorted as befitted a ghost story, there was nothing but empty space.

'... They did say that was how it worked.'

Moonlight Tattoo Shop could only be entered once through this ghost story, Vacant Premises.

'I’ll have a chance to use another ghost story next time.'

“Ah, that was a unique and delightful experience.”

Agreed.

“Roe Deer, did the exploration go all right?”

“Yes.”

That day, I safely completed the exploration of Vacant Premises without any further trouble and collected my points.

The pleasant fragrance from Braun’s aromatherapy massage lasted for days.

But the tattoo’s cover-up vanished as if by magic the very next day, leaving only the original lettering on my wrist.

The ability I had gained remained, though.

'Let’s put it to good use.'

Thinking of the inventory’s potential, I experimented again and again.

* * *

Then three weeks passed.

Incredibly, the ability never had a chance to shine...

“...”

Well, I mean... this was how things normally went.

When we entered ghost stories with manuals, the company already provided everything we needed to clear them, so there was no particular reason to sneak anything in.

And we were being sent into far fewer ghost stories without manuals.

'There’s nothing in the Alien Shop that looks useful enough to make me desperate to carry it around, either....'

In the end, it had been reduced to a slightly more convenient way of carrying my existing items.

'I did at least find out that food doesn’t spoil in there. Maybe it’s a vacuum or something.'

When I put an analog watch inside, its second hand stayed still, but when I put in a digital watch, its battery drained.

I couldn’t work out the rules.

Nor was there any pressing need to use it.

In short, time passed with me steadily earning points, without any particular need to push my items or abilities to their limits...

'That is a good thing.'

“Three weeks until the regular personnel reassignment.”

“Huff, huff.”

“You’re staying here, got it, Roe Deer?!”

“Yes. I certainly hope so.”

The fact that Team D’s hottest topic of conversation was whether I would manage to stay on the team through the regular reassignment said it all.

As you’d expect from a ghost-story company, injuries and terrifying incidents still cropped up from time to time, but I had grown fairly used to those, too.

I could get through them now by clutching the tattoo stickers like a talisman.

'I’ll save these for a real emergency.'

As I gradually grew accustomed to working at the company, I began to feel reassured by doing my job alongside these agreeable teammates.

And, of course, that sense of security didn’t last long either.

Three weeks and two days later.

Monday morning at work.

“You’re here, Roe Deer?”

“...”

The atmosphere had changed.

'... What’s going on?'

A strange calm.

The air in the office felt like the moment someone leaves a final message for their family during a disaster.

That peculiar serenity of people about to accept a tragedy.

It was absolutely not a good sign.

“... Well, I suppose we get to try this kind of work, too.”

“It’ll be fine. Everyone on our team has a knack for surviving against the odds!”

Deputy Eun Haje didn’t bother responding to Supervisor Park Minseong.

Something was seriously wrong.

“Have a seat, Roe Deer.”

I ended up sitting on the sofa instead of at my desk. Seated across from me, Deputy Eun Haje calmly set a tablet down in front of me.

“This is the Darkness we’re entering in three days.”

“...”

Three days?

'Why are they giving us so much time?'

For something scheduled three days away, they would normally say something like, “You might be going in, so prepare yourselves.”

In other words, they almost never spoke this definitively.

“It’s a Darkness that takes twelve people... and it’s B-grade.”

“...”

“Don’t look so alarmed. The survival rate is absurdly high. And they’ve allocated a generous amount of bonus points... so we can each walk away with two thousand.”

“... And?”

A wry smile that seemed to say, You sharp little bastard, flickered across Deputy Eun Haje’s face.

“And, well, there’s a problem. Though it’d be quicker to find a Darkness without one... this particular Darkness is a little unusual.”

“... Unusual in what sense?”

“The easiest way to explain it... Right.”

Deputy Eun Haje folded her arms.

“It’s a luck-based clusterf*ck of a game.”

“...?!”

“The moment you enter, one person dies. Guaranteed. ... Completely at random. Purely down to luck.”

Fuck.