If You're Grateful, Die

"If you're grateful, die." [Park Jong-cheol here. Sorry for the late contact. Ryu Harin, how's the situation right now?] A loud voice echoed from Ryu Harin's phone. I was sprawled out on the sofa at the moment. I considered at least greeting Deputy Park Jong-cheol, but with Ari's lap as my pillow, I just stared blankly at the ceiling.

Lisa was cleaning up the scattered glass shards on the floor, and I'd sent Nao home because of her stream. Ryu Harin still looked a bit unwell, her face strained as she talked on the phone with Deputy Park Jong-cheol.

'I didn't even do much, but I'm exhausted...'

My body felt utterly drained; I didn't even want to lift a finger. During the day, I'd chased after Ryu Harin with my trash stamina, and on top of that, I'd had to give blood to Nao. It wasn't like she'd sucked a ton, but I felt a bit anemic. Plus, using Summon drained mental energy every time...

Today, screw pride or whatever—I'd just let Lisa carry me home. The second I got back, I'd crash... Though I had no idea if I'd have the energy left to even shower...

"Mayuri, what should we do with this?"

Lisa, having cleared all the glass shards from the floor, asked me. In her hand was a cute little memo note. I reached out lazily and took it from her.

"......"

No matter how I thought about it, this had to be a message from Work Negligence Prohibition to me, right? I couldn't see the eight-foot ghost's form, so I didn't know exactly what went down. But I'd seen the office floor and walls devouring something.

'...Taking down an eight-foot ghost like this is a first.'

It was just like with Kunekune. The eight-foot ghost wasn't something you defeated—it was something you ran from. And feeding a monster to Work Negligence Prohibition like this was also a first. I knew it had better defensive capabilities than it seemed, but... I never imagined it'd eat an eight-foot ghost.

...Kinda scary, honestly. This was my office, after all. If I slipped up even a little, I could end up getting devoured like that ghost, right...?

I sat up without thinking.

"Uh, maybe I should at least try talking to it once..."

I pulled out a sheet of paper and hung it on the wall.

...Huh, this counts as conversation? It was a bit inconvenient ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠having to do it via notes, but still. Relieved it seemed more reasonable than I thought. Best of all, it turned down becoming a cute girl. I didn't have much else to offer besides the Cute Girl Mod, and multiplying cute girls was a bit overwhelming...

Or could I even mod it? Honestly, I had no clue how to apply the mod to this office space itself. Punch the wall and see if a cute girl pops out? ...If it did, what form would it even take? The total opposite of Taemi's 10cm figurine size—a giant cute girl could emerge.

...I couldn't handle that. Still, now that I knew Work Negligence Prohibition was way scarier than I'd thought, I needed to approach it differently.

"Mayuri, got a sec?"

As I was communicating with Work Negligence Prohibition, Ryu Harin spoke up. The phone in her hand was off—she'd finished her call with Deputy Park Jong-cheol.

"How'd the call go...?"

"Yeah, I reported on the eight-foot ghost. Of course, I kept everything about you... and the office a secret."

Ryu Harin glanced around the office warily as she said it. Was she scared of getting eaten like the ghost?

"...I've ended up owing you again. That's three times now... ...What do I even have to do to pay off this debt?"

"N-no need to worry about it that much..."

"Tell me anything you want. ...I'll do anything."

Our prideful little anchovy said that with total sincerity. Felt like she'd really do whatever. My mind flashed with some naughty ideas, but I shook my head.

"...If it feels like a burden, could you look into Rank 6 threats for me?"

I said. I'd read a manga recently where the hero always took some compensation for helping people, even if small. That way, the helped didn't feel indebted. Ryu Harin probably felt burdened anyway, so asking for something might actually be better.

"Rank 6? Muksi Saengmyeongche records only go up to Rank 5..."

"That's 'cause you're still a regular employee, Harin. Once you're upper management, you can access Apocalypse Rank 6 info."

"Rank 6..."

Ryu Harin's face turned serious. Rank 6 Apocalypse threats. Monsters you had to pass for the true ending—info restricted to top brass in the Foundation, Special Task Force, and Deepweb.

For a solo operator like me to access it, I'd need connections to each faction's elite. Or raise Ryu Harin up the ranks.

'...Doubt Ryu Harin could make exec.'

Felt it again this time—who'd guess she'd step on a death flag at dinner? Honestly, I wasn't betting on her surviving to the end. I'd saved her this time 'cause I was there, but...

...I couldn't stick to her forever. Worried she'd hit another death flag without me. Still, good to have one contact per faction. Geom-ma for Deepweb. Baesena for Special Task Force... And for the Foundation, I'd built rapport with Deputy Park Jong-cheol. Ryu Harin knew my secret but kept quiet, so...

Harsh to say, but her debt made her easy to use. With her massive pride, she'd rather die hugging my secret than blab it.

So... hop on board. If you look like you're dying in front of me again, I'll save you.

"Rank 6... You need info on those, right?"

"Yeah. Each faction's isolating Rank 6 threats—let me know if you learn anything. That square us...?"

"Got it."

Ryu Harin nodded.

"Even if it means betraying the Foundation, I'll stake my life on it. You've saved mine three times now."

"That's heavy... Just look into it as far as you can without overdoing it... Hate to say it, but you keep overdoing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stuff and stepping on death flags..."

"Eek..."

Ryu Harin looked super guilty. After that, I called a taxi and sent her off. As I got her text starting with [Thank you so much for today.] and a transfer of about 3 million won, I sighed.

Why did it feel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like... there were a lot of mentally unstable types around me...?

"...Lisa, you're practically a fairy compared to the rest."

"? You mean my face?"

I'm the universe's top cutie—don't say that. Already scarier than monsters was Ryu Harin's fragile life and her yandere vibes. Felt like if I told her to shit in front of me, she'd do it...

Yeah, rolling in dog shit or shitting yourself... better than the afterlife.

With that, we wrapped up the incident, and peace returned. But it didn't take long to realize this peace was an illusion.

"Deputy? What's up?"

Deputy Park Jong-cheol asked. I had no choice but to say yes. Ryu Harin's story matched, and all the evidence fit perfectly. Even the codex said File 016. [Death (Viriditas)] Eight-Foot Ghost (Resolved).

"Ah, yeah, that's me."

"Uh... c'mon, you could tell, right? Like you know, I'm the universe's greatest beauty..."

"...?"

I did as Deputy Park Jong-cheol said, logging into the Nameless Net and searching for eight-foot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ghost.

"The eight-foot ghost was contained by the High Sea Cult. ...And Ryu Harin encountering it means the cult was targeting her. Or..."

Deputy Park Jong-cheol hesitated, then continued.

"...It could have been targeting you, Fixer. Any guesses?"