Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Have to Go to Work
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"Oh, the Deer's here!"
"Yeah. You got the regeneration potion okay?"
"Yes."
I returned to the office and greeted my superiors, who were lounging around after finishing lunch.
But they straightened up with serious expressions upon seeing the translucent reinforced plastic case in my hand.
"...!"
"Hold on, is that your assigned Darkness, Deer?"
"Yes. That's right."
I lifted the transport case to show them inside.
There, two black cards were rattling around.
The F-Grade Darkness I'd chosen.
A low-grade Darkness small and portable enough to be managed by a single employee...
But in truth, among the three candidates given to me, it was the most dangerous and uncertain ghost story.
Because it involved the future.
My superiors recognized it too, their expressions turning grave.
"That's pretty tough for a newbie."
"Right? They usually give something easier, don't they? When I was a newbie, I got a radio. You saw it on your first day too, Deer, right? It even got reclassified to Twilight Grade."
Ah, that radio.
'So the assistant manager was handling it.'
No wonder it was so blatantly sitting in the office.
The assistant manager spoke with a hint of concern.
"Maybe the higher-ups have high expectations since you're doing well, Deer... Oh, Squad Leader!"
The Lizard Squad Leader, entering the office, turned at the call.
"You said you'd let Deer pick his own Darkness directly. Has it been scheduled yet... or not?"
"20 minutes ago."
"...?"
"...??"
"I picked it 20 minutes ago."
The superiors turned to look at me.
"Deer."
"Yes."
"Did you pick that one from the options the Squad Leader gave you?"
"Yes."
I nodded expressionlessly.
"They offered overtime pay."
"......"
"......"
"Because this Darkness needs regular nightly management."
My two superiors' faces took on a distant look.
"Ahh..."
"Hmm, very on-brand for Deer."
And then they grew serene.
"......"
What the hell is happening to my image...?
'Should I be happy that my character archetype is solidifying successfully?'
Ahem.
I held back tears and turned on my PC.
"Registering it now?"
"Yes. Entering my employee number right now."
Find the corresponding Darkness code in the 'Unassigned Darkness List' on the intranet and register my account...
Complete.
Now I had my own assigned Darkness.
"Even if it's F-Grade, that's still a supernatural phenomenon. Be careful when managing it."
"Yes."
I read the management instructions for this Darkness.
The usage method for this ghost story, which I already knew.
[Flip cards at midnight / Once per month]
A few days later, at midnight.
I headed out to the company annex for overtime.
"Have a good shift."
The employee at the desk, covered head to toe in pitch-black clothing, nodded slightly and opened the corridor for me.
Follow that path, open the appropriate door...
"Still in good shape."
And there were the two black cards I was supposed to 'manage' today.
I carefully entered the iron door and closed it behind me.
Then I opened the card storage box, took out this Darkness, 'Dilemma,' and placed it face-down on the round table prepared in the room.
A bit different.
"It's not seeing the future."
"It's choosing."
That's right.
This was a card that let you choose between two events that would happen in the near future in a dilemma format.
Of course, that didn't always mean something good.
I reached out and flipped over the two cards on the table.
Ornate designs appeared as if by magic.
The Devil. The Moon.
'Damn.'
Like this.
Well, depending on the question, they're not unconditionally negative... but overall, yeah.
In other words, if both options suck, you're just adding a bad event for no reason.
And considering over half of Tarot cards can be interpreted ambiguously or negatively, the odds of this were at least 1/4.
But...
"Yeah."
In a slightly different way.
I moved to the opposite side of the table where the cards were placed.
'This way, it looks natural...'
From the other side of the table, the cards appeared upside down.
If I pick them up like this...
I looked at the card held upside down.
'They say you absolutely shouldn't do this during a real reading.'
Fitting for an F-Grade ghost story—low power, full of loopholes, so exploits like this worked.
'Even if the exploit fails, it just reverts to plain black cards.'
So I went for it, and it seemed like a good choice.
The card I picked was...
I peered at the Moon card, with its pale full moon hanging upside down.
Hmm.
'Something becomes clearly revealed?'
I think so too.
'In this insane ghost story world where you can't see an inch ahead, having something certain would be nice.'
"Yeah."
I put the cards back.
This divination cycles once a month.
Meaning an everyday event sometime this month.
Though it's clearly limited to everyday-level events, my everyday is working at a ghost story company...
So it might actually be pretty helpful for survival.
'Even if not, locking in a somewhat positive future event isn't bad.'
Turning a managed ghost story into a benefit instead of a burden.
I decided not to get too greedy...
Thud.
"......"
A sound came from outside.
This was the annex.
Where relatively safe Darknesses are stored. Mostly Twilight Grade, occasionally F-Grade...
But they're all still ghost stories.
Thud.
Occasionally.
Really occasionally, if management fails and something goes wrong... a person or two dies like it's nothing.
I stood in front of the iron door.
'...How far away is that sound?'
Wait here, or...
Kaboom!!
"...!"
I immediately flung open the iron door and ran.
Something had definitely exploded!
'Better to run out than get trapped inside—higher survival odds.'
I dashed to the entrance, trying to bolt out, but...
The floor was already half-destroyed.
"......"
Various insane possibilities flashed through my mind.
But right after, I spotted a figure pressing down hard with their foot on some shattered thing in the center of the broken entrance floor.
"...!"
It was the black-clad employee from the front desk.
And judging by the look of having 'suppressed' the Darkness...
'Security team employee, huh!'
And it seemed the situation was already over.
The noises I'd heard were probably from the security team suppressing it.
'Guess they don't just put anyone at the annex desk.'
I hesitated, then asked from about 4 meters away.
"Can I help with anything?"
The black employee shook their head.
Thank goodness...
Let's just get out quick.
"Then I'll head in."
The employee glanced at me, then reached aside and lifted something from the desk.
A Post-it note.
Have a good night.
Surprisingly sociable.
"Thank you."
I bowed my head. The all-black desk employee gave a light nod in return, retracted their foot, and sat back down at the desk.
On the entrance floor, shards of glass—probably the medium for the ghost story—glinted amid the wreckage.
In that reflected light, the employee's leg shadow twisted oddly, looking like a broken hoof... then back to human.
'Whew...'
Don't look.
I left the annex without staring at anything.
"Sheesh."
Every kind of incident happens routinely.
'Yeah, locking in one good everyday event was a solid choice.'
Life's tough and exhausting, but since I'm somehow muddling through, my mood improved a bit.
Hmm. Come to think of it, I also communicated via writing like that employee earlier.
Have a good day^^
That one-on-one in-person flea market deal where I sold ghost story food for 40 million won.
Hid my voice with writing back then too.
Sold the churros from the theme park's blue dragon mascot.
'I do have one more pack of those churros.'
Still no plans to sell unless desperate... hmm.
I realized I had quite a few food-related items.
Decent quantities too.
'Maybe sell one or two to cash in.'
If they're still looking.
On a whim, I checked the flea market.
Surprisingly, a new post was up.
Hmm.
'If the churros were already used for research...'
I sent a message.
[BlueFriend: Hello, sir^^ Got some more food. Interested?]
And two days later, on the weekend.
I ended up waiting at Gwanghwamun Station Exit 5 for the flea market buyer, just like last time.
'Trust is key with people, huh.'
After selling something matching their criteria once, they set up the meet without much chit-chat this time.
They were even waiting at the exit first.
Dark clothing, hat, mask—just like before.
I recognized them by the beverage box in hand. Well, I'm dressed similarly, so no complaints.
[Hello^^]
I opened my notebook to show the greeting. They didn't panic, as if expecting it.
[Here's the item I prepared.]
Inside the box they offered were two cookies from the Alice Picnic Set.
Why these? Simple.
'Expiration date's almost up.'
As snacks, they had a shelf life!
Effect halvers and amplifiers don't get used much, so I had a bunch left.
But the drinks were such a super save in the Tuesday Quiz Show that I couldn't bear to use them, so cookies it was.
'Cookie form's even harder to use anyway.'
No point letting them expire unused.
And using expired items? No desire to see what happens.
Anyway, I presented the item and awaited the buyer's reaction.
The buyer swept a gloved hand over the box once...
And shook their head slightly.
"Not what I'm looking for."
Hmm. As expected.
'Not wave-grade level, I figured.'
Mass-produced items feel relatively low-risk and passive, unlike bizarre objects directly from high-grade ghost stories... so the quality differs.
'Too bad, but oh well.'
Still worth negotiating...
"So I'll buy at half price each."
Cool deal, thanks.
'If this guy knew about the alien shop, he'd probably kill me out of envy...'
Better lay some groundwork just in case.
I hurriedly scribbled on the notebook.
[Thank you. I really need the money.]
"......"
[Doesn't seem as dangerous this time, but expiration's soon, so research it before then. Here's a couple more.]
I added a small bag with one or two extra cookies on top.
'Call it a bonus.'
Building trust for future deals. Brought for haggling, but used this way.
I'm a pretty nice flea market seller in this ghost story world.
As I took the cash-filled beverage box from the buyer and turned to leave...
The buyer's voice called out.
"Hey."
Hm?
"How do you come by things like this?"
Hmm.
[Can't say. Sorry.]
That should do it.
Supernatural trading platform—everyone's got their backstory. Let them imagine.
'Alien shop only shows if you've seen the ad directly anyway.'
I was preparing to bolt if they pried more when...
"......"
The buyer pulled a pen from their pocket and wrote something on my notebook.
"If you get into a dangerous situation, call there."
Huh?
"See you."
The buyer left, and I checked the notebook.
"...!"
'Government line.'
Direct line to the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau's emergency relief request.
Basically 119 for ghost stories.
'Bureau affiliate?'
Explains the wave-grade terminology.
I shrugged and pocketed the money and notebook carefully.
Daydream Corporation, evil megacorp that it is, had bad relations with the government. As their employee, I'd never need to call that number...
Yeah. I did!
That very evening, back at the company dorm.