Something Scarier Than Horror Stories
The Foundation staff who arrived to clean up the scene couldn't help but swallow hard.
"This is gruesome."
Men lay scattered on the floor, each missing an arm or a leg—or more. A quick check revealed they were criminals, apparently. Thugs who operated in the shadows, and it looked like they'd collected a couple of Muksi Saengmyeongche.
"What should we do? Should we contact the Special Task Force?"
"Contact them for what? You know we might lose these Muksi Saengmyeongche to them if we do."
"I know, but won't we get in trouble for handling this on our own?"
"Round them all up and make it look like they went missing. We'll use them as 'helpers' anyway."
Helpers. The Foundation often threw manpower into experiments for Muksi Saengmyeongche research. They usually dragged in death row inmates or prisoners from various countries, or ground up captured cultists. But when they ran into criminal organizations like this, they conscripted helpers. Non-voluntary ones, of course.
"By the way, if something like this happened, you should've reported it to the higher-ups first. You don't jump into dangerous situations alone like that, Yangmiro."
"It was too urgent."
Yangmiro smiled as she said it. The Foundation employee stared at her, tilting their head without realizing it.
Was she always like this?
Something felt off, unfamiliar.
Yangmiro. A Foundation employee with a decent tenure. But they hadn't talked much, so her personality didn't come to mind clearly. She just felt like someone who'd suddenly appeared in the Foundation one day and started working.
"By the way, you know the people at Ririri Detective Agency?"
"Oh, I just met them through this case. Junior Ryu Harin introduced me."
"Ryu Harin... I wondered why she went AWOL. Where is she now?"
"She's off somewhere else right now."
As Yangmiro glanced sideways, a woman approached them.
"Hello. I'm Yerisa, the director's secretary at Ririri Detective Agency."
"Ah, I've seen you around a few times. So you're the secretary."
Yerisa—Lisa—responded with a smile. A position created just an hour ago.
Currently, Mayuri was in a Shadow Swap state, perceived as Ryu Harin via the mod. And no Foundation employee would fail to recognize her. No, Director. Why are you impersonating Ryu Harin? If questioned like that, things would get messy, so Mayuri had already returned to the hotel. Instead, Lisa, newly appointed as secretary an hour ago, stayed at the scene.
"Is the director not here?"
"Director Mayuri... was too busy this time, so I was deployed alone. She recently became a special advisor for the Special Task Force."
"I see. You seem just as capable as the director, Secretary."
The scene looked like a monster had rampaged through it. Using the phrase "like a monster rampaged" implied it was actually a human who'd done this—not a real monster.
She'd shown impressive combat skills during "Magical Girl's Birth," but who would've thought she'd take down an entire organization solo?
"Anyway, thanks for your hard work. We'll handle the cleanup."
The Foundation employee said that. They'd profited nicely from this incident. The criminals had collected a couple of Muksi Saengmyeongche, and now the Foundation got them basically for free.
"Feel free to take the Muksi Saengmyeongche the criminals had. We don't need them," Ririri Detective Agency had yielded. In exchange, the Foundation handling cleanup was no big deal.
"The intercity bus accident should be easy to cover up too. The highway blockade by police and the APB on you will clear up soon."
"Thanks. Can I head out now?"
"No, wait a sec. If you're okay with it, how about grabbing a meal together?"
The Foundation employee impulsively stopped Lisa. She immediately read the intent in his gaze.
"Sorry. I have someone I like."
Lisa turned and walked away. Miro, who'd been watching quietly, chimed in.
"Then I'll escort the secretary back to her lodging. Good luck."
With that, the two left the scene.
I'd napped at the manga cafe during the day, so sleep wouldn't come. I killed time on my phone until Lisa and Yangmiro returned.
"Can you even drive?"
"Most Foundation employees can, right?"
Yangmiro, who'd driven Lisa back, said that. Her eyes were still that murky color. Up close, they looked less like a living person's and more like a corpse's. That kept her at a subtle distance.
"Ah, I can't see well unless you're this close. This body is a bit inconvenient."
"...You can drive with eyes like that?"
"'Yangmiro' was set up as someone who could drive. So I, replacing her, have to know how too."
Yangmiro shrugged as she said it.
"I Am a Murderer" is a horror story where you forcibly create a corpse of "I am a murderer," framing an innocent person as the killer. Conversely, making them not a murderer strips the story of its life force.
And Yangmiro's true nature, "The Me in the Mirror," is a horror story where the reflection in the mirror replaces the real you. Thus, the truth of this incident: the dead Yangmiro in reality was replaced by the living one from the mirror.
"It's surprising it can be resolved like this."
Lisa looked at Yangmiro with wonder. It was such a novel solution that when players first discovered it, many called it a glitchy exploit.
"Mirror-based horror stories have been around forever."
There's a saying: rumors spread faster than ghosts. Horror stories stem from human imagination. Human belief and fear form their foundation. Mirror-themed ones are especially common, even universally popular across regions and countries. As a long-orally transmitted tale, "The Me in the Mirror" is quite powerful. Strong enough to devour "I Am a Murderer."
"So, can I just live on as Yangmiro?"
Yangmiro narrowed her eyes and asked. Only I and Lisa knew her true identity. And if I tampered with her even a little, the Cute Girl Mod would probably kick in. For "The Me in the Mirror," who wanted to live as a human, our existence must be a huge concern.
"You did all this to live as a human in the first place. But if you want to live properly as one, there's one thing you need to do."
"What?"
"Change jobs."
"...Pardon?"
Yangmiro blinked.
"Change jobs?"
"The Foundation is no pushover. Higher-ups will figure out who you are."
"I Am a Murderer is a cunning anomaly, injecting fabricated records and knowledge of Yangmiro into everyone's memories. But it's not so refined that no one senses the incongruity. Sharp people might uncover her true nature. The Foundation specializes in Muksi Saengmyeongche, after all—they'd spot a monster disguised as an employee. Eventually.
"I'll tell Ryu Harin to help you out. You can work there without issue for about a month, but transfer to the Special Task Force before anyone notices."
As a special advisor, my recommendation would make the transfer easy. Once done, no one would dig into her identity. And it benefited me too—if Yangmiro's truth came out, it wouldn't be good. This case was solved because "The Me in the Mirror" devoured "I Am a Murderer." If Yangmiro vanished, the latter could revive.
"Hm, looks like I've only got one way to survive. Got it. I'll follow your advice."
Yangmiro said that and left. Watching her retreating back, Lisa commented.
"Not binding her this time?"
"L-Lisa...! Don't say such scary things!"
Add another girl I'd be responsible for? Responsibility is scarier than any horror story...!
I fell asleep late and woke up late. It was already lunchtime. Over a late meal with Lisa, I said,
"Case solved, so let's head back to Seoul, Lisa."
"I think I could stay in Gangwon-do a bit longer."
"Huh? Want to sightsee?"
I blinked. Among the girls around me, Lisa was the type open to new things. Ari obsessed over food, Sua over detective work, Nao over clothes. Lisa enjoyed learning about human society itself.
"Looks like I like traveling. I want to stay here longer."
"Really...? Wanna look around then?"
"No need. You don't like sightseeing, Mayuri. And you have anemia symptoms."
"?"
I thought she wanted to stay for tourism, but she took me to the hotel cafe.
"Couldn't we do this back in Seoul...?"
"Big difference. Huge."
"Yeah...?"
Not being a traveler myself, I couldn't grasp the appeal. I spent time at the cafe with Lisa, planning our return in my head. Maybe stay another day or two. Train or bus?
...Gotta book the train.
Remembering yesterday's accident made my skin crawl. One crash and I'm bus-averse.
I pulled out my phone, opened the app, and booked tickets for two days later. Perfect. Admiring my flawless planning, I enjoyed tea time with Lisa.
All for naught, though.
"Detective assistant Watson, reporting to Detective right now."
As I sipped fresh fruit juice at the cafe, a familiar figure appeared before me. Sua. Not just her—Nao, Ari, and Ryu Harin too.
"S-Sua... how'd you get here...?"
"Drove, Detective."
Sua hugged me tight.
"Detective assistant Watson will never let go of Detective again, okay."
"...At least let me go to the bathroom."
A few hours later, I was dragged by Sua onto the girl train.
"Short trip. Shame."
Lisa shrugged.