Chapter 203
Chapter 203
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Translator: Ebornarch
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: Home
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Home.
Destination.
The reason I wanted to obtain a Wish Grant.
I often called my intense desire to escape this world and return to where I originally lived by that shortened name.
"I want to go home."
...Only in my thoughts!
The intimate circumstances I had never voiced out loud suddenly spilled out in this interrogation room.
"Where is your home?"
To keep from gripping the chair, I forcibly relaxed my hands.
I couldn't lie.
"Why are you suddenly asking about that?"
"...I heard that you consider home very important."
From whom, exactly? No...
......
I remembered.
-So, what is the wish you're trying to achieve with it?
-Going home.
Agent Choi must have told him.
I recalled that hellish night when I ran into Manager Ho in the taxi.
And the conversation I had with Agent Choi afterward.
"......"
Home.
Up to that point, it must have been deemed personal conversation unrelated to me being a spy.
"Even so, why bring it up out loud?"
Wasn't that dangerous?
And nothing would change even if Bronze Agent knew about it.
I changed the subject.
"Would it be enough if I told you where I commute from?"
"No. That isn't your home."
...!
Bronze Agent looked at me silently.
"I know you're staying in a motel."
"......"
"We've already confirmed that the room you're occupying has no personal furniture whatsoever—nothing you could even call your own belongings. ...Just a few changes of clothes."
It felt like something I'd kept only in my own thoughts was being exposed.
"That place can't be called a home. No, you've deliberately left it as such a space. You didn't even apply for the Bureau-provided agent dormitories. ...Why is that?"
A question I couldn't answer.
"Agent Grape."
"......"
"You don't have to answer the questions I ask from now on. But please understand this."
Bronze Agent spoke without hesitation from beyond the glass wall.
"This conversation is just between you and me."
"......"
"No recordings or separate records. Only I will hear it."
I raised my head.
Bronze Agent, our eyes meeting, nodded slightly, set down the documents he was holding, and continued...
"I've never had a home to begin with."
"...!"
"My parents divorced when I was young, and after my mother passed away, I grew up in an orphanage."
Wait a minute.
"Even while eating and sleeping there, it never really felt like a home. Instead, thinking of home brought back the villa where I lived with my mother. Even though I barely remember it, just the feeling lingered."
His personal history poured into my ears like a flood. The past of someone not recorded on the wiki.
No, not just anyone...
'Bronze Agent.'
The story of an acquaintance.
"Then, while on my way to school, I got caught in a supernatural disaster and encountered the Disaster Management Bureau for the first time. When I asked how I could work there, they laughed."
And after hearing my circumstances, the Bureau introduced me to a safe job suitable for a student.
It was a strange bookstore that the Bureau used.
"I worked there while attending night college. After completing my degree, I immediately took the exam... and passed."
Bronze Agent looked at me.
"That's how I ended up here."
"......"
"Now, when I hear the word 'home,' I think of Team Hyunmu 1's lounge. The Bureau dorm room comes to mind too. And people's faces."
Ah.
"That's why I wanted to ask you this."
Bronze Agent asked quietly.
"...Agent Grape. Your home... doesn't exist in this world right now, does it?"
"...!"
"It existed once, but you lost it?"
I could almost hear the unspoken words that followed.
'Like me.'
"......"
I wasn't bound like during the previous interrogation.
I could freely evade the question.
But...
"Yes."
"...!"
"It doesn't."
A light sparked in Bronze Agent's eyes.
"Did you work at Daydream Corporation to get that home back?"
"Not quite."
I carefully formed my words.
"Because I want to go home."
"......"
Bronze Agent fell silent for a moment, as if chewing over the meaning.
But.
"Agent Grape."
A firm response came back.
"You can't return to a place that no longer exists."
"......"
"There are only those who would deceive you into thinking you can, trying to use you. ...Don't let them exploit you like that. You're stronger than that."
No.
I know that's not true.
The Wish Grant was real.
I get what you're trying to say, but it doesn't fit my situation...
"Can't you just make a new home?"
"...!"
"Like I did."
I stared at him with an expression like I'd been struck on the head.
"Get out of here, meet good people, find a place that feels right... and create a space where you can rest easy and sleep without worry."
Bronze Agent declared.
"That will become your home."
Just like how he considers the Bureau's main building, that cozy clubroom-like lounge, his own home.
The advice from someone with experience hit home with refreshing certainty.
So.
"I don't expect Agent Grape to unconditionally believe that. But... I hope you'll at least think about it."
"......"
"Can you do that?"
I nodded very slowly.
And the glass wall reflected nothing.
Truth.
A slight smile of relief spread across Bronze Agent's face.
"Good. Today's interrogation ends here."
"......"
"Today... please get plenty of rest."
I couldn't believe myself.
What was I agreeing to consider just now?
But the atmosphere was surprisingly soft, and my mind felt more at peace than expected.
As if I hadn't made a bad choice.
And Bronze Agent didn't pry further into my circumstances.
"Also, please take care of your meals and sleep. For the next week, I'll be assigned as your interrogator, so there won't be any harsh sessions. Don't worry—just think of it as rest."
Bronze Agent added that he'd provide anything I needed, though of course nothing dangerous that violated regulations.
There was no sign of deceit in his words.
He didn't seem about to throw me into the Nightmare Maze right away...
'...Whew.'
The alertness I'd desperately maintained—picking only the safest foods in small amounts to avoid traps, barely sleeping to stay awake—nearly crumbled in that instant.
As fatigue came crashing in like waves.
"And this is... a personal question."
A slightly hesitant voice followed.
"Do you resent Agent Choi at all?"
"...!!"
"I think it's understandable if you do. They released your restraints and immediately transferred you to prison. ...Without consulting anyone."
A hint of anger mixed into Bronze Agent's voice, then vanished as if suppressed.
'Looks like they fought.'
But as if he didn't want to show it, Bronze Agent changed the subject.
"But Agent Choi didn't intentionally leave you here unattended for the past week."
On the contrary, the explanation continued that he had continuously applied to be the interrogator in order to talk to me.
But...
"As the one who authorized your transfer to prison, and because he scored too low on the objectivity section in his first interrogator application, he was blocked."
"...!"
"Fortunately, I passed, so today... I was wondering what to say."
Bronze Agent bowed his head slightly.
"Hearing your answer puts me a bit at ease."
"......"
"See you tomorrow."
Bronze Agent once again urged me to take care of my health and rest, then vanished back into the mist beyond the glass wall.
I was left alone again in the glass prison with just the will-o'-the-wisp.
But it wasn't the tension from heightened alertness—it was a daze like I'd been punched in the head.
And I mulled it over.
The conversation just now.
'Live here?'
Give up on going home?
It was an invitation to settle down here and make a new home.
As an agent of the Disaster Management Bureau.
'...Interrogation bait?'
But considering Bronze Agent's personality, he didn't seem the type to cooperate with such deceptive tactics.
Then it must be genuine.
And there was a prerequisite condition.
The Bureau hadn't deemed me a villain.
And... they wanted me to keep working.
"......"
My goodness.
'The situation... seems better than I thought.'
With Bronze Agent as interrogator, I might confess to being a spy at an appropriate level and wrap things up. I might walk out of this glass prison while keeping all the secrets I can't possibly reveal.
And, and...
I might even be able to just keep working here.
"......"
Continue living as an agent of the Disaster Management Bureau.
Working with Team Hyunmu 1 like now, spending time with good people doing good work.
And if it gets too tough, if I say I'm scared and come clean, they might even transfer me to another team.
That way, I could build a relatively safe daily life in this ghost story world, surrounded by good people.
'What's... not to like about that?'
No, it even felt pretty good.
Making a new home...
'No.'
I slapped my thigh hard enough to make a sound.
I couldn't let exhaustion lead to rash judgment in my favor.
'Bronze Agent assumed I lost my home to some accident or disaster and advised accordingly.'
I couldn't delude myself.
'My home is perfectly fine.'
It's just hard to get back—not impossible or against reality!
I can do it. I can...
......And besides.
Truth is, I know.
That deciding to live in this [Darkness Exploration Records] world forever isn't truly wise.
......Remember? The wiki's subtitle.
Apocalypse Prophecy: Darkness Exploration Records
That's right.
'I can't stay here long.'
Because this world was never meant to...
-Like this.
A polite, cheerful male voice.
-You must be feeling overwhelmed, friend.
"...!!"
I shot to my feet.
'Hallucination?'
-Hallucination? Is there such a clear hallucination? Oh, of course, if it's just you mistaking it because you missed this Brown so much, I can fully understand. Of course...
The eloquently flowing speech was too distinct to be my imagination. I hurriedly reached into my pocket and pulled it out.
A small bunny plush toy.
'......'
A chilling sensation crept up my back.
'How is it talking?'
Supernatural phenomena were supposed to be completely blocked in this glass prison...
Ah.
'Supernatural entities... can still exist.'
Just like the will-o'-the-wisp trembling against the wall right now.
So... the 'good friend' is recognized here through that medium—not as a mere plush toy speaking, but as an intelligent being, an existence?
-That's right. We've often had conversations in your daily life too! We can't dismiss intimate talks between friends as mere trickery. Mr. Deer, how hurtful!
The host, speaking in a jovial tone, paused at the end with a flourish.
As if realizing something.
-Yes... How hurtful.
......
-My friend doesn't seem pleased to hear from me. Even after a whole week.
-I thought you'd be looking forward to it like a fan counting down to their favorite weekly show, thrilled at finally watching...
"......"
Then.
This plush toy had voluntarily stayed silent for a week, like it was lying...
-Calling it that again. 'Plush toy.'
Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck.
-Hm. Doesn't matter. The host of the great talk show, the show entertainer, must graciously accept any nickname or slur. If it's the people's choice. Or my dear friend's choice!
The host's voice rang cheerfully through the glass.
With an echo like a microphone...
-Excellent. I should put on a splendid show for my friend after these exhausting days.
-Surprise! Raise your head, friend!
I stiffly lifted my head.
On the glass wall where Bronze Agent had stood moments ago...
-Allow me to introduce... the 'Glass Prison Escape Method'!
The video began to play.
Like a screen.
"...!"
-Isn't it cooler than that children's cartoon we planned to watch together? Haha, oh dear! Friend, you're flustered. It's fine. Oh? Supernatural phenomenon? What do you mean? Watching TV is the most natural, everyday thing!
Now, then...
-Let's watch.