The First Cute Girl Conference

In the Monster Game, four major factions appear: the Special Task Force, the Foundation, the Cult, and the Deep Web. The game's story is about monsters, of course, but it's also very much about the power dynamics between these four factions. There's subtle tension between the Task Force, who want to exterminate every last monster, and the Foundation, who prefer to capture and study them. Looming over it all is their shared opposition to the Cult, which seeks to drag humanity to ruin. Amidst that, the Deep Web operates the most neutrally.

The Monster Game has strong multi-run elements, so the balance of power between these factions shifts with each playthrough, and the monsters they contain differ slightly too. But there's one event that happens with near certainty every time: war with the Cult.

Park Jong-cheol muttered wearily.

To gain access to the Rank 6 entities contained by the Foundation, I'd built connections with Ryu Harin and Park Jong-cheol. The Deep Web could do the same to access their Rank 6s, and as for the Task Force... well, that's a story for later. With the Cult, connections don't work—they're rigidly binary in their thinking. You're either with the Cult or you're not. And to them, anyone not with the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cult is someone who deserves to die as soon as possible.

So, to approach a Rank 6 monster held by the Cult, you typically have two options. Infiltrate the Cult and rise to high priest to meet it directly. Or join the war against them and encounter the Rank 6 that shows up then. Naturally, I have zero intention of joining that insane cult. Which means I'll end up in the war.

'But they're targeting me even before the war starts...?'

I shook my head at the thought. If the Cult were really after me, they wouldn't bother with roundabout methods. They'd have stormed straight into the Ririri Detective Agency right then and there. My only encounter with them so far had been during the "Ambiguous Hairdresser" anomaly, where I'd crossed paths with some Cultists. And I hadn't even touched them—the Ambiguous Hairdresser had sliced them all to bits.

The Cult probably only knew that "a random civilian was mixed in at the salon," right?

"Park Jong-cheol, have you heard of 'Bloody Mary'...?"

"Ah, nothing."

I decided against sharing internal Cult intel. As I mentioned earlier, the Monster Game's multi-run nature means the entities each faction holds shift slightly with every new run. But not all of them—some are fixed to specific factions no matter what. Like Baesena, the "Human Shelter" with the Task Force. Bloody Mary is one such fixed entity for the Cult—a Muksi Saengmyeongche embodying the Bloody Mary urban legend. You look in a bathroom mirror at night, and she appears; you ask questions, she answers. But it's also a legend about getting murdered by her.

Just like with the salon, the Cult treats human lives as disposable—hell, like they're all suicidal anyway. So maybe they'd been investigating the previous "Ambiguous Hairdresser" incident via Bloody Mary and uncovered something. But then they tried to snipe me and hit Ryu Harin by mistake instead.

The fact that Ryu Harin was targeted meant they knew nothing about me, really.

"Hm..."

Just like I'd hidden my role in resolving the "Ambiguous Hairdresser," I needed to conceal my involvement with the Eight-Foot Ghost too. The Cult didn't seem to know about the Ririri Detective Agency yet. That day would come eventually, but I needed more time to build my strength.

And with that, the conversation wrapped up. Not a bad deal for me. Ryu Harin had basically become my mole in the Foundation... ...Saying it like that makes me sound like a total villain, huh? Anyway, my willing informant Ryu Harin getting promoted was good for me too.

...As long as it wasn't too burdensome. But after saving her life three times, I wondered what would happen if I saved her two or three more...?

'No idea...'

I didn't even want to imagine. The monsters around me wouldn't leave my side, and now even normal humans were getting dependent. Was it because I was some kind of irresistibly charming cutie? Ha. Being this pretty was a curse sometimes. Made me want to wake up ugly once in a while.

Run 1: Cute Girl Conference. Hosted by yours truly, the universe's cutest girl, Mayuri.

Participant 1: Ari, in charge of office janitor duties.

Participant 2: Lisa, in charge of office cleaning.

Participant 3: Taemi, in charge of office talking figurine.

Participant 4: Miyeong, in charge of office coordinator.

Participant 5: Nao, in charge of frequent office visitor.

Participant 6: "Work Negligence Strictly Prohibited," in charge of the office itself.

"...We should probably give you a proper name."

I muttered. This thing could actually hold conversations if you knew how. Sure, it had refused to become a cute girl, but calling it "Work Negligence Strictly Prohibited" every time was getting old.

"What should we name you? Taeman?"

"Sorry, nothing's coming to mind..."

In the end, I named "Work Negligence Strictly Prohibited" Mun Taeman. Taeman didn't seem thrilled, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but that's how names work. Getting one you actually like is a stroke of luck in itself.

Anyway, the Ririri Detective Agency All-Stars were assembled.

"So why'd you call us, unnie?"

"I'm planning to close the office for about two weeks."

"Huh? Why?"

Nao blinked. There were two main reasons. First, the Foundation wouldn't be giving us jobs for a while. They'd outsourced to us during the Cult incidents, but to keep our existence hidden from the Cult, they planned to stop. Our biggest client going dark meant a dip in revenue.

Second: I intended to make some serious cash during the shutdown.

"...Doesn't that sound kinda off? Weren't you making money from the office, unnie?"

Nao looked baffled. It was like fine dining restaurants—they're not great for profits. Low turnover with limited seats, high ingredient costs, insane labor. Apparently, owners make bank from infomercials and ads instead. Our office revenue wasn't bad, but for big gains, I needed side hustles.

"Not trying to hit the casino for a jackpot...? Or crypto...?"

"Nah..."

She was right on the money, though. I planned to rake in hundreds of millions that way.

Enough to straight-up buy a Muksi Saengmyeongche.

"Oh my, can you buy Muksi Saengmyeongche with money?"

"Yeah... Not legally, of course, but there are ways, like with the 'Abandoned Shopping Mall'."

I answered Lisa's question. Not that I planned to buy monsters wholesale and cute-girl-mod them all... More like something useful even without the mod, like our Mun Taeman. Ideally, tool-type monsters. The Cult was getting uppity, so we needed to bolster the office's power. Clearing anomalies one by one was too slow—reactive, and I couldn't pick the targets.

So the plan: Make a huge score, buy the exact monsters I wanted, power up the agency.

"I get the pitch. But how're you gonna make the money?"

"By resolving anomalies, obviously."

I showed her an internet post.

"Unnie, you can't mean..."

Nao eyed me suspiciously. I said it plain.

"Let's do it."

Ari, Lisa, Taemi, Nao, Miyeong. We got this, right? Help me make that money—

"Let's do it."

"Way too reckless, miss."

Miyeong, who'd been quiet, finally chimed in. What're you on about?