Ten Ghosts Night Parade (3): Special Matters

My head throbbed so badly I pressed my temples hard with my fingers.

Even the act of double-checking the special matters was draining my mental strength further.

What the hell is this? What am I even looking at?

Just one absence, and I get hit with a bomb like this?

When I first saw there were seven special matters, I'd denied it outright. I figured I had to be seeing things, but even after rubbing my eyes and slapping my cheeks, the duty log ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't change.

Once I accepted this nightmare was real, curses spilled from my lips unbidden.

Not a single floor was free of anomalies. Hell, even outside had some freakish youkai showing up.

That meant the moment I stepped out of the guard room, death could come for me at any time.

Was this insane outer god so determined not to give me even one floor's breathing room?

"What're you doing putting on a solo show?"

Kim Eat-Chil laughed as he watched me freak out over the duty log by myself.

Come to think of it, that "student who hasn't gone home on 3F" was the same anomaly from my first day. That student ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had turned out to be Kim Eat-Chil himself, but this time, no name was listed for whoever was left behind.

"Eat-Chil, you sticking around school today by any chance?"

"Nah, I'm heading home."

If it had been Kim Eat-Chil, at least 3F would've been safe. I'd gotten my hopes up for a second, but clearly the kid on 3F was some other youkai. And on top of that, there was a wild animal youkai up there too.

Humanoid youkai might be open to talk, but what the hell was I supposed to do with an animal one I'd never seen before?

Relying solely on Gallery admin Chieon Nak-si-kkun's info was too risky.

Did I really have to navigate this hell with nothing?

That's when our eyes met, and a brilliant idea flashed into my head.

If there's nothing, why not add something myself?

"Eat-Chil."

"Yeah?"

"Don't go home today."

"Huh?"

"Help me with my shift."

"……"

Kim Eat-Chil went silent, stunned by my proposal. But then he grinned slyly and held out his palm.

"For free?"

"This needs payment too? What do you want?"

"Oh? Can I pick?"

"No."

I shot back reflexively. Thinking it over, it felt like he'd just handed me an opening.

I might not know much, but letting a youkai pick whatever would surely screw me over.

But what did I even have to offer Kim Eat-Chil right now?

"I'll swing by again during break. Think it over till then."

Right then, the world's light vanished, and night fell.

Kim Eat-Chil started toward the left hallway but spotted something and turned back to me.

"You're heading out of the guard room right now, right?"

"Yeah."

I hadn't forgotten why I'd pushed the shift difficulty this high just to skip a day. I planned to head straight to the counseling room on 5F and meet Soonbaek-i.

I didn't have to go today, but after this special matters bomb, I needed some escape intel just to breathe.

You need hope to endure despair, right?

"If you're taking the left stairs, go out the central entrance and circle around to the left entrance."

"Why?"

"Curious? Then take the hallway."

With that, Kim Eat-Chil sauntered off toward the hallway like he'd said his piece.

I could guess what he meant. The outsider who'd invaded 1F. Sounded like his version of advice.

I had no intention of ignoring it, but even following it came with a problem.

The stylish gentleman. I'd probably run into that youkai outside—how was I supposed to handle it?

Should I check the Gallery first? But if I dawdled, the counseling room door might lock.

I didn't have time to agonize. I stepped right out of the guard room.

The predecessors must've figured out new youkai on their own to post about them in the Gallery. And I'd handled Kim Eat-Chil without Gallery help before.

Clinging to that belief—that staying calm meant survival was possible—I headed out the central entrance.

Special matters were usually just "student," "teacher," or "outsider," making it hard to distinguish youkai. But the stylish gentleman stood out. He was the only one with real personality.

What kind of freak was he to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠earn that label?

My curiosity dissolved the instant I stepped into the central entrance.

As I turned toward the left entrance, there he was.

A youkai in a sleek black suit, limbs and torso stretched impossibly long. He was so tall that unless I craned my neck skyward, I couldn't even see his face.

I consciously kept my head down instead of looking up naturally. My neck ached from the strain.

The youkai just stood there. Facing my way, but no movement.

Could I just walk past?

I crept forward cautiously. He pivoted toward me, but showed no other reaction.

Then something dropped right in front of me with a thud.

A black top hat. The kind a magician might wear. Looked like the youkai had dropped it.

"……"

Of course. No way I'd bump into a youkai and stroll past unscathed. I was in a rush before the counseling room locked, and now this snag.

Should I pick it up?

The youkai didn't move to retrieve his hat.

I didn't agonize long. I picked it up and handed it straight to him. He was a gentleman, right? Gentlemen don't repay kindness with enmity.

Only then did he move, taking the hat from my hand. It rose up over my line of sight.

I couldn't see any thank-you even if he gave one, so I turned and kept walking.

The gentleman youkai trailed right after me. No clue why, but he didn't seem about to attack.

When I reached the left entrance and stepped inside, he finally stopped following. Seemed he couldn't enter buildings.

Before climbing the left stairs, I peeked down the hallway. To scout the 1F outsider youkai Kim Eat-Chil had warned about.

According to Gallery admin Chieon Nak-si-kkun, outsiders were either drunks or the giant type. We'd handled the drunk last time—no way another showed up, right?

Contrary to my worries, this time it was the giant youkai's back I spotted.

Not sure I'd call it humanoid, but it was at least human-shaped. What made it seem massive wasn't the body—it was the hands.

Two grotesquely huge, elongated hands propped against walls and floor as it advanced. Its feet, by contrast, were ridiculously tiny and feeble. They couldn't possibly support the weight, so its thighs dragged uselessly along the ground.

Like a reverse T. rex. T. rexes had puny arms and massive legs; this was the opposite.

If this matched Chieon Nak-si-kkun's description, staying out of its path kept you safe.

Now I got why Kim Eat-Chil had steered me from the hallway.

Was this a demo? A trial of the perks of keeping Kim Eat-Chil at school.

If so, he'd succeeded in tempting me. But using him required payment.

What the hell could I offer a youkai?

I shoved the thought aside for now and dashed up the left stairs. Visiting the counseling room trumped the rest of my shift tonight.

A blinding white landscape greeted me. I'd made it before closing time.

Scared I might be late, I'd sprinted here, panting as I caught my breath.

Soonbaek-i sat in midair, gazing down at me. Her expression was serene, but utterly inscrutable.

"Back already?"

"It's been weeks for me—already?"

"Time is relative, after all."

She snapped her fingers, and the space shifted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to a dark classroom.

Something felt off. For talking, wouldn't a lit classroom be better? Kkamang-i favored bright ones; Soonbaek-i, dark. It couldn't be meaningless.

She could read my mind, yet she just stared, lips sealed. Guess secrets cost payment.

"Heard you skipped a shift."

"Even I wanna escape this hell."

"In that case, you can make one demand of me now."

"…A demand?"

Something was wrong. I'd assumed payment bought only info.

But her words implied something broader.

"You can get information. Or, if you wish, I can grant abilities or tools."

"What? Abilities?"

"Yes. Abilities."

I'd never dreamed of it. Ability granting or tool crafting from an outer god? Sure, possible, but it hadn't crossed my mind.

"Hold on… So, could you pop up a status window or something?"

"What would you like displayed?"

"…Just assorted info."

"Possible. Shall we do that?"

"No, no! Just an example."

My thoughts tangled. I'd come to ask about escape routes, not this.

Leaning against the wall, eyes shut, I pondered: What would get me closer to escape?

The predecessor's warning echoed: Be careful with counseling.

This had to be what he meant.