Chapter 252
Chapter 252
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 252
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work
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Hyunmu Team 1, Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, and me.
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau had approved our outing with conditions similar to last time, but their attitude was noticeably different.
'They must have figured out the Spirit Beast Management Law.'
It was akin to tributes.
Rather than testing if it was safe to send us outside, it felt more like helping an elderly village relative visit the city.
Or perhaps... filial piety tourism.
...Hmm. Recalling the words of my assigned Water Screen Newt agent, it really did feel that way.
Of course, I had no intention of doing something insane like tossing Jolly Coins to random pedestrians.
The problem was that we were making a choice that would make the Bureau freak out if they knew, regardless.
Namely...
Dragging a Daydream director into a colossal Extinction-Grade disaster that the Bureau had sealed away, to explore it.
"Deer, so... you're saying we'll bring Director Ho along for the exploration after all?"
We couldn't expect help from the Bureau for exploring Se-gwang Special City.
Nor could we rely on Daydream?
'Things would never turn out well if we did.'
They'd probably just research ways to extract Dream Essence from Se-gwang Special City.
But since I was tied to that company, I needed a way to maintain some freedom of movement.
To satisfy all those conditions, it boiled down to this:
In the end, it had to be Ho Yuwon.
Of course, he knew that himself, which was why he'd confidently made the offer...
"...You sure this'll be okay? I work under that guy, so if he says jump, I jump... but those agent folks clearly won't like it."
"Pfft, what does it matter if we don't like it!"
Agent Choi replied with a laugh.
But he probably wasn't truly thrilled about it.
"The problem is it could lead to big trouble."
"......"
"Grape. You've experienced it firsthand."
There was unassailable conviction in the words of the agent who'd nearly died to Ho Yuwon.
But I had my own ace up my sleeve.
"...!"
The conditions were different from back then.
'We're probably the only ones who've actually gone into and come back from Se-gwang Special City.'
He'd be that desperate for it.
Even in a situation where he could afford to wait leisurely since there were no other candidates but us, Ho Yuwon couldn't sit still and jumped in the moment we gathered and brought up the topic.
I didn't know if he'd been watching through Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, but one thing was certain.
He was so desperate he'd even agree to restrictions being placed on him.
And...
"......"
"Well, yeah. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"
Of course, he was still a creepy bastard not quite worthy of true camaraderie, so Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je glanced toward the café's smoking room with eyes craving a cigarette.
"Anyway, I don't see anything wrong with using what's available. Hmm... That guy's definitely got connections in the Bureau too."
"Of course he does."
...!!
"Looks like you've finally made up your minds, everyone."
A group of office workers passed by our table, carrying coffees.
One of them turned to us with a smile and spoke.
"Hello?"
The café was packed with salarymen as lunch hour ended, and the group exited naturally as if nothing had happened, like they were entranced.
"......"
"......"
Ho Yuwon.
The man who appeared out of nowhere like a lie sat at our table as if he belonged there, smiling.
"Talking about me behind my back... How hurtful."
"Well, they say people curse the king when he's away, so cut us some slack. It wasn't even double curses."
"Of course. Ms. Eun Ha-je."
Then he turned to me, making a pitiful face.
"You've cursed me right to my face several times already, but I was too scared to object..."
Why is he acting like this?
That... might be true.
"How about it, Mr. Deer?"
......
"I believe you won't miss a good opportunity over agents fretting about their affiliations..."
......
There's a misunderstanding.
"...!"
"...What?"
I had no intention of exploring with the agents.
I couldn't let them misunderstand.
I'd only brought it up here to clarify and move past any worries or separate investigations about the future.
"...You."
"Hmm. Public servants are harder to pull away for time, aren't they? And it's hard to hide from the Bureau."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je nodded as if convinced.
"But Deer, your wording. If it bothers you, you'd feel slighted. If you're human, that is."
......
"...No."
...!
"I know you said it considering our positions as agents."
Agent Cheongdong.
The agent, whose dark circles had deepened from days of worry over this unprecedented situation, looked at me and spoke solemnly.
As if he'd already reached that conclusion.
"...But excluding agents from the rescue operation isn't a good choice. The supernatural disaster in question, and even the entry path to it, were both under the Bureau's jurisdiction."
Se-gwang Special City and the well.
"In the end, once it's wrapped up, we'll need to cooperate with the Bureau for safety. Moreover..."
A firm light gleamed in Agent Cheongdong's hardened eyes as he exchanged glances with Agent Choi.
Agent Choi smiled faintly.
"Grape. If your team is trapped in a supernatural disaster and on-site agents can't join the rescue, that'd be even tougher."
Ah.
"Let's go together."
......
......
"Good thinking."
Agent Choi patted the goblin on my antler encouragingly, a hint of playfulness returning to his voice.
"And, junior. How were you planning to impose restrictions without us?"
Ho Yuwon's smile deepened. Agent Choi grinned back.
"There are at least nine hundred restriction spells in the Bureau fit for a slippery supernatural trickster. Why go looking elsewhere?"
"I'd rather die than accept the Bureau's restrictions."
"Oh? Then we can't work together."
"Who knows. By then, you might be the one getting kicked off the team? Regrettably, you barely made it in as is."
"Oh? Then the day Director gets officially registered as delving into supernatural disasters gets moved up~?"
Hmm.
Actually, I'd prepared for that too.
I pulled out what I'd readied in advance from my inventory tattoo.
A rolled-up sheet of paper. Its contents were...
"...!"
The resort employment contract.
'Since I could use Jolly Coins, I figured this authority would work too.'
It was one of the few perks of no longer being human.
As a mascot, as the resort's owner, I could act without worrying about contamination.
Now I could even revise the wording to sound decent. I still had to manually erase mandatory clauses, but this was plenty official.
So...
"...Are you forcing contamination on me? That's too much, Mr. Deer..."
You're not even human, so stop trembling like it's scary...
And besides.
I was bound to Daydream anyway, so I couldn't wield life-and-death authority over Director Ho Yuwon as his employer.
In short, a perfect position for mutual wariness.
That's... fine. I'll fire him right after exploration ends.
'And we'll cut ties without looking back...'
This was purely for safety.
So I deliberately added a clause at the bottom to make it look good.
"Quite humane of you."
Honestly, I'd expected Ho Yuwon to agonize more over it.
I thought we'd bicker a bit, throw in some threats, and only then proceed...
"Sure."
...!
Ho Yuwon took the ornate golden pen from the resort counter that I'd offered him.
And wrote.
Employer:
Employee: Ho Yuwon
The pen returned.
"Your turn, Mr. Deer."
I took the pen.
The moment I signed the employer slot as before, the contract glowed golden and bound itself to me.
"......"
"......"
Thus, the employment relationship reversed once more.
"Agent Grape."
Of course.
"What... exactly did you just do?"
It wasn't something a normal person could do.
"Isn't that accelerating contamination?"
......
"Please explain in more detail. You've been like this for days..."
"Re-gwan."
"...!"
The truth was... my human mind had recovered, but speaking like a human was no longer possible.
Forming natural spoken sentences through acting felt vague and difficult, like calculating in a dream.
'...Maybe it'll recover with time.'
I was a bit anxious it might be permanent, but I was relying on the bell to steady my mind.
"No! That's,"
"Wait, hold on."
Agent Choi cut in.
"Grape. You've been uncomfortable and felt out of place seeing our team leader only in dreams on the way to visit the elder?"
......
"Right?"
He patted my shoulder.
"That's it."
I nodded.
"It was out of concern. No other intent. Right, Cheongdong?"
"...Of course."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, sitting beside me, gave a wry smile at the sight, then slapped my back hard once.
"You rascal. Well, seems we've sorted everything out... Let's officially set out as the exploration team starting now."
"Ooh."
A light round of applause echoed at the table.
Ho Yuwon looked about to open his mouth, face suggesting immediate re-entry to Se-gwang Special City, but...
There was something to do first.
This was a big reason I'd accepted him on the team.
Otherwise, we'd all die amicably again and wake up shattered from aftereffects at Bureau HQ.
"Ah, right."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je asked boldly.
"Director, can you pull Section Chief Lee Jaheon from D Squad?"
"You mean Section Chief Lee Jaheon?"
"Yes, him. He's so famous you know his capabilities roughly, right? He's essential for the exploration."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je clearly expected a reaction like, "Needed for Se-gwang Special City? Of course, I'll kidnap him right away."
But.
"Hmm... That might be a bit difficult."
"Pardon?"
"Section Chief Lee Jaheon seems to be stuck in the last Darkness he entered."
"......!!"
As expected.
"Ah, you assumed the company would prioritize rescuing him, right? He's a capable employee, after all."
Obviously.
But broaching it like this meant...
"But it seems they've deemed it impossible for now."
Ha.
"They say the existing entry method no longer works for that Darkness."
...!
"Thanks to that, the company lost a C-Grade Dream Essence source and they're regretting it."
Wait.
So... they're just going to scrap that Darkness entirely?
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je's urgent voice rang out.
"You're saying they've given up completely?"
"It's been handed to the research team... If the hold period expires, maybe?"
......
"Hmm... Ah, right. Among the employees who last explored that Darkness with Section Chief Lee Jaheon, there's someone you know, Mr. Deer."
Huh?
"The one with the goat mask."
......!
'Baek Saheon!'
That evening.
After item transfer.
Sorry, I had to rush to get it after getting out,
guess it was lame after all. Please just take it as a gift. No need to return it.
A few minutes later.
Fine, whatever. This company doesn't even care about stuff like that.
>
Oh.
'It worked again.'
I read the text with renewed eyes.
Baek Saheon must be right around when the big-corp high from landing a job starts wearing off, time for some paid leave...
And Daydream wasn't exempt from the woes all workers gripe about.
'They really have no operational structure...'
A company that throws employees into ghost stories to burn through them wouldn't have one to begin with...
'Or maybe throwing them in creates a mystical aura.'
Anyway, grateful it connected. He seemed eager to keep trading.
'Calling the item lame was partly to haggle him down.'
It was one of the items Ho Yuwon handed out like rations to project members; I'd gotten one and sent it. Anyway...
Astoundingly, a response came right away.
...?!
Hold on.
Groom classes?
'If it's that one...'
I realized what ghost story Baek Saheon was referring to.
And then it hit me in succession.
'Ah!'
Why Section Chief Lee Jaheon couldn't get out...!
A few days later.
"...!?"
With Ho Yuwon's help, I squeezed every bit of info on that Darkness and the security team's status from Kwak Je-gang.
'Got it.'
Thus, I devised one entry method.
For rescuing Lee Jaheon.