Chapter 85
Chapter 85
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Lingering Damage
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85.
[Employee Park Yeon-jeong! You worked really hard again today.]
Yeah, I really did work hard.
Especially today, it was tough.
An Executive Director level, no less.
The Executive Director position, called the GRA's top combat force.
If that woman Seo Eun-bom had gone all out against me from the start, I might've been slaughtered right there on the spot in an instant.
'No way they'd decide on such a hardline policy against me this quickly.'
Those guys sure move fast when it suits them.
Still...
Ending the fight with an Executive Director without major injuries was a miracle in itself.
This was nothing short of a blessing.
Static-
Along with the noise crackling from the speaker, the White Librarian approached me as always to collect the quill pen.
Noise's voice followed.
[We'll deposit your performance bonus right away.]
No sooner had the words about the performance bonus left his mouth.
Bzzz-
A vibration in my pants pocket. I checked my smartphone, and sure enough, the amount corresponding to this 'C-rank' had hit my bank account.
-50,000,000
...Fifty million won.
Somehow, my sense of money felt completely shattered.
Ever since starting here, I'd never been short on cash, which was a relief...
But now, money didn't matter anymore.
'Missing those low-rank ghost stories.'
Of course, low rank didn't mean they weren't dangerous.
That 'Smiling Mask' ghost story from Wonderriot Circus was still overwhelming.
Plus, right now, considerable fatigue had built up in my body.
Lately, I'd only been capturing high-rank ghost stories, and mentally, it was starting to feel too much.
Not one of the human big three needs.
Something else entirely.
A little thought, and I could easily pinpoint the reason.
The true nature of this mysterious fatigue I was feeling.
-Mental damage.
Unlike with civilians so far, I'd had the 'Top Student Glasses' that blocked mental damage, so I'd nullified nearly all of it.
Nearly 99%, as described—probably spot on.
Yeah, that mere 1%.
Ignoring and not resolving that tiny 1% would eventually turn into poison and come back to bite me.
The GRA had prepared for this.
For employees with accumulated mental damage beyond a certain threshold, they had facilities for mental care as a welfare measure.
So what I'm saying is...
They should build one of those welfare facilities here.
I know comparing to others is frowned upon...
But having it wouldn't hurt, right?
'Maybe ask Noise for it?'
This wasn't just for my benefit.
It was a company welfare issue for smooth future operations.
So, wouldn't this be a valid suggestion?
As I spun my private fantasies deep in my mind.
Swish.
...Ah!
Right.
I'd forgotten.
The White Librarian was holding out her palm right in front of me again.
I'd forgotten to hand over the quill pen to the White Librarian.
Just as the 'Max-Level Pillow' I'd been holding vanished from my hand, and I moved to pass the quill pen to her.
Drip-
?
Ink?
Black ink accelerated toward the floor.
With a clear tinkling sound, a droplet entered my view.
【The child just... liked toys, that's all.】
!
A very familiar message popped up before my eyes.
Squish.
The single droplet that hit the floor began to swell in size. The ink balloon inflated rapidly.
Unable to withstand the pressure, the ink balloon soon...
Pop-!
Burst weakly.
At that moment... a child with goat horns near her head entered my sight.
'T-This guy...'
[Dream of Toys]
...What?!
The captured ghost story had escaped the quill pen on its own.
A sudden situation.
I hurriedly gripped the quill pen in my hand to recapture it back inside.
Wobble-
!!
The ground suddenly rippled left and right like waves.
The world before me rocked like a massive ocean swell.
This...
Mental damage?
Did that ghost story kid attack me?
I didn't know.
Why this sudden mental damage out of nowhere.
But what I could clearly tell right now.
Wobble-
Wobble-
Was that I wouldn't be able to hold onto my consciousness for long.
Wobble-!
A man who couldn't even keep hold of his own body.
Soon...
Splat-!
Collapsed powerlessly.
And his consciousness cut to black.
*****
Under the dim fluorescent lights, a clean and tidy hospital room.
In the center of the room, a bed covered in pristine white sheets. A woman with disheveled hair draped over her face lay limply on it, staring blankly at the white sheet.
"...Haa."
Flinch!
A heavy sigh sank into the air.
Bloodshot red eyes filled with killing intent stretched toward the woman on the bed, as if ready to murder her.
"You just got assigned an S-rank ghost story bastard, and not only did you fail to land a single solid hit, but you got injured? Injured?!"
"S-Sorry! S-Sorry, I'm sorry!"
Crack-!
The man's red glare burned even fiercer.
"We got a report that Z Team, those benchwarmers, finally dug up a decent Executive Director, so I figured you'd at least pull your weight... What a letdown."
"......"
The woman currently lying in the hospital bed was Seo Eun-bom, Z Team's newly promoted Executive Director.
She was getting chewed out by B Team Executive Director Kang Tae-sik.
In front of the other Executive Directors, no less.
Seo Eun-bom's defeat and return from her battle with the 'Black Flame Man' had caused quite a stir at the GRA.
Some were even discussing a reevaluation of Executive Director ranks.
"Embarrassing as hell..."
And the biggest issue.
Even with her 'Luck-Devouring Predator'—
She hadn't landed a single effective hit on the 'Black Flame Man'.
-Luck-Devouring Predator.
Despite using a custom high-rank item that annihilated all enemies identified as such, at the cost of devouring the user's luck...
Seo Eun-bom had barely escaped with her life.
This situation was undoubtedly an emergency for the GRA...
"What emergency?! This idiot bitch got cocky relying on her cheat item and ended up like this! That's why desk-jockey higher-ups who don't know fieldwork are the worst."
Kang Tae-sik looked like a runaway train with his rage meter maxed out.
It felt like Seo Eun-bom might end up dead at his hands any second.
But a burly man stepped in to block Kang Tae-sik first.
"Kang Tae-sik! Seo Eun-bom is a patient right now. How can a grown man lack basic consideration... No wonder they call you 'problem personnel.'"
"What?! J Team old dog! You done?!"
"......"
Grit-!
Now, amid the sparking standoff between the two men, a woman slipped smoothly between them.
Click-
"Excuse me... for a moment."
The woman with her signature white hair flowing stopped in front of Seo Eun-bom's bed, parting the two.
"...E-Executive Director Lee Jui?"
It was R Team Executive Director Lee Jui.
What Lee Jui wanted to ask Seo Eun-bom was this.
"That ghost story... what did it say to you... exactly?"
"......It said this was the last warning. A-And it already knew my name."
After hearing Seo Eun-bom's account, Lee Jui fell deep into thought for a while.
And just recently.
Words from A Team's new employee flashed through her mind.
-I sensed it brings 'disaster' with it.
Lee Jui soon spoke to the gathered Executive Directors.
"From now on... if you encounter the Black Flame Man, it might be best to avoid... rash attacks."
She suggested exercising caution in handling the Black Flame Man going forward.
But...
Crack-!
The first to explode at those words was, predictably,
Our team leader, Executive Director Kang Tae-sik.
"R Team snowman! Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?! You already scared of that S-rank ghost story runt?!"
"I'm just saying... we should move more cautiously..."
"Ha!!"
But Kang Tae-sik didn't let Lee Jui finish.
More precisely, he didn't see the value in hearing her out to the end.
"Cowards, get lost!! A bunch of Executive Directors... all just worthless bugs!"
"Watch your mouth, Kang Tae-sik!"
Executive Director Kwon raised his voice at Kang Tae-sik's escalating abuse.
Bang-!
But Kang Tae-sik, bored of the cowards' den, stormed out of the hospital room.
After a few more Executive Directors followed him out.
The ones left in the room numbered at most.
Including Seo Eun-bom.
J Team Executive Director Kwon Ji-yong.
L Team Executive Director Han Ji-eun.
R Team Executive Director Lee Jui.
Just four people.
"...Executive Director Lee Jui."
L Team Executive Director Han Ji-eun, who had been silently listening to everyone so far, spoke up.
Brushing back her signature purple bangs, she demanded more explanation from Lee Jui.
"Upper management's directive was permanent elimination of the 'Black Flame Man.' If we keep sitting idle and let him grow stronger, we might miss our chance for real."
".........Executive Director Seo Eun-bom."
"Y-Yes!"
Lee Jui addressed the dejected Seo Eun-bom once more.
"The ghost story you saw... did it really seem dangerous... to you?"
"......Pardon?"
The two remaining Executive Directors let out disbelieving snorts at Lee Jui's question.
An S-rank designated ghost story—asking if it really seemed dangerous was a contradiction in itself.
But...
After pondering Lee Jui's words for a moment, Seo Eun-bom spoke again.
"...T-To be precise, I'm not sure either. I-I don't know the reason, but that ghost story..."
She gave a truly unexpected answer.
"...felt like it might not be 'human' like us?"
*****
A sensation of endlessly falling into a vast void.
Where am I...
Who am I?
But even in this hazy consciousness, one thing was clear.
Fluffy.
A pleasant texture.
Like sinking into a giant marshmallow, it enveloped my entire body.
Soft.
Warm.
I just wanted to let go completely.
【Yeah, just let go~】
......Okay-
【In dreams, you can achieve anything you want~】
...I see.
Then, can my wish to go home come true too?
【Of course. Just picture it in your mind~】
Picture it?
Then I can really go back?
【Anything's possible in dreams. Trust me~】
......Alright.
I pictured the house I wanted to return to in my mind.
In detail.
Rummaging through memories.
Recalling the home where I'd lived.
And always...
Always, the face smiling at me unconsciously filled my memory.
"......Master."
From beyond the silhouette emerging through the hazy fog, a soft voice flowed.
That voice was truly...
Familiar.
"......Employee Park Yeon-jeong. Or should I call you 'Master'? Anyway, thank you for returning to my side. I've waited my whole life for you to come."
"............."
Ah...
Fuck.
This is a dream.
And a nasty one at that...
Top-tier bullshit dream.
'...Time to wake up.'