Chapter 165
Chapter 165
Fine." The granddaughter seemed to know them; the two agents chatted familiarly, then introduced me. "This here's our newbie." "Ah... Nice to meet you." "Same...!" This wasn't the time to be dazed. I hurriedly bowed to the student, who bowed deeply in return. And then she said, "...
Please take good care of my grandma." "......" For some reason, my chest tightened. "I'm the one... who's been greatly helped by the team leader." "...
Yes." The granddaughter seemed to hold back surging emotions on the verge of tears, took a deep breath, and smiled brightly. "Then I'll step out so you can greet her!" "Yeah. Thanks." Thud. The room door closed, and silence settled. Agent Choi reached out gently to tidy the hair of her comatose team leader. Still, the Elder didn't stir. "There was... an accident." "......" "As you know, Grape, in supernatural disasters, one tiny mistake can kill you in the stupidest way." Agent Choi's voice grew a bit quieter. "The last supernatural disaster our team leader entered was a total labyrinth, bizarre as hell, some really weird place..." She took a deep breath. "Her upper body was pretty much blown away." "...!" "Especially her head... I heard almost half was gone." I reflexively checked the Elder lying on the bed. ...
Perfectly intact and pristine. "Yeah. But she looks fine now, right?" Agent Choi fell silent, gazing at the bed like me. ...
Agent Bronze slowly spoke up. "The team leader passed the goblin trial and possessed her custom goblin lantern." Ah. I reflexively looked down at my right arm. More precisely, the goblin lantern that had replaced it. -They make it custom, right? You can't just take a basic one; the agent has to go through the goblin trial... Whew, powerful but tough work. No way. "So right now, from the team leader's head to her upper body... more than half is replaced by the goblin lantern." "...!" "She can't wake because the goblin lantern is using excessively divine power, unable to withstand the causality of directly intervening in reality... or so they say." "......" I looked at the elderly person peacefully sleeping on the bed. ...
Probably forever. "...
That's how the team leader became the 'Elder.'" Less a person, more a supernatural existence. A goblin Elder. Agent Choi, who had been staring at the bed with me, finally lifted her head. A gentle smile. "But we know she's always watching over us! In dreams and illusions." "...
Yes." "Then let's greet her. ...
Elder! We came to give thanks and introduce our newbie." Agent Choi patted my shoulder. "See? I said this kid would do great. And they really do. You've seen already." Here, I couldn't say I had no intention of joining this team. I wondered if Agent Choi had planned this, but her soft smile suggested not. "......" Guided by Agent Bronze, I stepped right up to the bed. "...
Hello. Elder." I bowed politely. "I'm the new recruit who just joined." That instant.
[Grape.] "...!" I looked up. Everyone else in the room had vanished. And instead of sunset, a brilliant full moon shone through the window, illuminating the room. There...
[Well done.] Was a gentle, faint flame stroking my head. No, a fragment of the Elder with a body as warm as flame... Warmth and imagery. I blinked. "Am... am I dreaming?"
[Yes. You must be dozing off from fatigue after the hard journey. Come, sit here...] A familiar hand grasped mine. My eyes closed. Before I knew it, I was leaning against the bed, receiving the Elder's comforting pats on the back... "Me." The words burst out. "Do you really think I did well?"
[Of course!] [You did your best, and thanks to you, the kids came back alive and laughing. It's all your effort and virtue.] "......"
[Don't blame yourself. No one else could have done better than you. Even if you went back, you couldn't have done better.] For some reason, emotion welled up. Receiving emotional support from someone had a stirring power on a weary heart. 'But...' Doubt crept in. 'They seem to know who I am.' I'd felt it in our previous dream conversation. They knew my items well. 'Because it's a dream?' They already knew about me. Then was this perhaps a spy trying to pry out my secrets? A strange sensation closer to disappointment than suspicion. Like realizing your grandma was being nice forcibly for some other reason... And anxiety. But...
[And who in the world has no secrets? Who has no flaws?] The hand patted my back again.
[The important thing is to always keep a small lantern lit in your heart. When you realize, 'Oh, I've gone astray,' check the ground now and then so you can turn back.] "Thank you." I steadied my breath.
[Yes. I'm just an old fogey now, barely keeping track of the people in my fold... I don't get this complicated world or all the squabbles.] A roundabout way of saying she wouldn't rat out my original affiliation to the Disaster Management Bureau. ... Even about my suspiciousness. "......" The patting hand lifted. Somehow excited movements.
[But old folks have their own wisdom. And...] [They have favors too.] Before I knew it, I had sat up and perched on the bed. As always in dreams, context was skipped. But it didn't feel awkward. It was a dream. And this gentle request too.
[Take out your grip tok from your pocket.] "......" I pulled out the item from my pants pocket. A round accessory with an X mark. Memorial GripTok The item that had shown me past memories as clear text, letting me read the [Darkness Exploration Records]. But it was cracked and unusable.
[Ah, I remember.] [The section chief was so jealous of kids these days sticking these everywhere. The goblins even skipped their nine-day festival to make them.] A hearty, kindly laugh.
[But this one seems... different. Let me see...] The Elder put on reading glasses and peered into my GripTok. The crack in the GripTok still held the adhesive from the goblin forge employee pretending to be a goblin. "Hm, you said the adhesive would set within a month... but it's been quite a while and it hasn't changed."
[Hm? Ah... I see. That guy wasn't a real goblin but a human in disguise, so he might not have known.] [This is even fussier. Just imitating our forge's item.] [But you can't treat it like cheap knockoff trash from street peddlers, or things won't work out.] The Elder infused fire into the GripTok. "...!" The GripTok blazed, shedding grime like old dirt, then sparkled as the crack vanished.
[There, now it's bonded.] "...! Thank you..."
[But the important step isn't done yet.] [Wishing what form it should take.] "...!" Come to think of it, I'd heard that at the goblin forge too. -Wish what form you'd like too. Then it'll become an awesome grip tok! The situation had been so frantic I'd paid it little mind. 'This time, let's be mindful.' I politely pocketed the GripTok again. "Thank you."
[Grape is so polite.] A pleased gaze washed over me. She stroked my head again. The warm flame seemed to seep into my whole body, burning away pain and corruption...
[This old lady wants to give our Grape even a dried persimmon, but... time's up.] Eh?
[Your drowsiness is fading!] "......" I opened my eyes. I had nearly bumped my head on the bed frame, snapping upright reflexively. The posture of someone startled awake from dozing. "...!" I hurriedly looked up. The two agents smiled back at me. And... the Elder lay peacefully asleep on the bed. "Greet her well?" "...
Yes." The room clock showed the same time as when we'd entered. I'd truly just "dozed off" for a blink. And even in that brief nap, a dream had visited. "......" I looked down at my body. The tumor and ulcers that had boiled up were completely gone. "...
Thank you." I bowed deeply to the sleeping Elder. The agents chuckled and patted my back. "We'll come again, Elder!" I followed the two agents out of the room. The Elder, eyes closed in serene peace, seemed to see us off... "So, what do you think? Great person, right?" "...
Yes." "Told you. Such good people skills. Our team~ Guess Grape has good boss luck?" This time, Agent Choi's assurance didn't grate. I slipped my hand into my pocket. The fully bonded GripTok was there. "......" "For now, rest up. We'll think about reports tomorrow. The cleanup team's gone, and the kids are asleep." "Drive safe." "Yes... Thank you." I bowed to the two agents too. They mounted their bikes and vanished down the road. Only after they were gone did I raise my head. "...
Whew." Amazing. 'At least I got something out of it.' I hadn't expected to get the Memorial GripTok fixed like this. 'Then... wish until it activates?' Now, what I had to do... "...
Contact Director Ho." ...
Clean up the mess at Daydream Corporation... 'Tears, for real.' Did Agent Choi just say I had good boss luck? Doesn't feel like it. 'Ah, please.' I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled out my smartphone. Please get cleaned up fast...!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hey, this rumor ain't gonna die down."
Agent Choi grinned and slapped her direct junior's back. Ryu Jaegwan sighed and roughly dodged the hand.
"Dangerous."
"Psh, I'm a bike master."
After sending Grape off to rest and heading back to HQ for their report, they bantered on their bikes.
"What do you mean a rumor that won't die down?"
"What else? Grape."
"...!"
Rescuing all the kids from a routine supernatural disaster structure, and possibly ending the disaster itself. And that amazing feat happened after one newbie joined.
"When coincidence repeats twice, it starts getting recognized as skill."
Moreover, if this newbie had just ended another supernatural disaster during cleanup team duty? No more newbie probation issue. Job aptitude evaluation off the charts...!
"Congrats on Hyunmu Team 1 assignment confirmed. Haha!"
"......"
Ryu Jaegwan pressed his temple. The silver lining: the Disaster Management Bureau invested generously in gear for talent. '...
Could get safer.' At this rate, a custom goblin lantern wasn't far off... Even if not, more gear for sure. Just worried about too much attention. '...
Hope the rumors don't twist weird.' Would have to keep checking. Ryu Jaegwan sighed and pedaled.
"Let's go, Jaegwan~" Incidentally, similar predictions were happening in entirely different factions... Same time. A Daydream Corporation office.
"Cat-nim!" Bam! A Field Exploration Team employee in a colt mask slammed the table dramatically during the research team interview.
"The great Cat-nim was in that darkness! The omnipotent Cat!"
Incidentally, the research team was in chaos. Originally C-grade Dream Essence solution from the "Mermaid Grave" now yielded B-grade or higher. Insane irregularity! But the baby mermaids were all snatched by the Disaster Management Bureau, and agents bolted. Lacking research material, the team squeezed testimonies from the entry Field Exploration staff. And... common testimonies emerged.
📰 Incident Report
Multiple employees testified to sighting a bizarre entity shaped like a black cat (henceforth "Black Cat"). Panic & madness induction, brainwashing, physical alteration, causality distortion, reality warping, collective intellect control—powers incomprehensible to human cognition. "Yes. It helped clear this time... but who knows if we meet elsewhere."
📰 Analysis Summary