Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Wanna Play?
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Wanna play!
The entity that dwelled on the backside of that world was gone.
But the world didn't collapse right away or anything like that.
Because I was here.
Its power hadn't vanished. The owner had simply changed.
"Hmm hmm~."
I hummed a little tune as I looked around.
The once picture-perfect hillside was now riddled with holes.
The resistance had been fierce during the meal.
Still, it would recover in time.
And right now, admiring the scenery wasn't the point.
"Now, where could it be hiding around here?"
The thing I'd devoured had lingered in this place for quite some time, and eating it had gifted me all sorts of knowledge.
For starters, it wasn't a naturally occurring anomaly.
I couldn't even tell from the outside.
I only learned that during the digestion and absorption.
"And it looks like it was made in a place just like this one."
This Eden garden seemed to share the same origins as the thing I'd eaten.
They'd been closely linked from the start, after all.
And since proof of that had to be nearby, that's why I was poking around...
"Found it!"
Luckily, it didn't take long.
I dug up one spot in the ground, and out popped something like a nameplate.
Etched on it in Hanja:
.
Paradise.
"Hmm."
Coincidentally, it was a word I'd heard before.
The original name of the Joey Kids Cafe—back before they changed it—was the Paradise Kids Cafe.
Crunch.
I smashed the nameplate to bits and scattered it, then stood up.
No need to bother renaming this place.
Instead, I'd already decided on its purpose.
"It's perfect for tea time!"
I'd felt cooped up doing tea time in the isolation room. This spot was ideal.
Sure, it was fake, but the sunny skies and picturesque meadow made it just right.
I flashed a satisfied smile and reached out into empty air.
I'd sent the others out ahead of time. Now it was just me leaving.
Crack—.
I tore open a rift in the air.
And threw myself through it.
My consciousness floated up, then got yanked hard into somewhere else.
Followed by a swift descent.
And landing.
"Fuuu."
I let out a long breath and opened my eyes.
I was back in the isolation room before I knew it.
But the inside was in quite an uproar.
"Eek, eek!"
"Please save me, save me, save..."
Because two people were already waiting outside.
One was the guy who'd been imitating a fox, and the other was the one who'd been croaking like a frog by the water, peeking around.
The common thread? They were still in their human forms.
That was why I'd only sent these two out.
They hadn't been contaminated yet.
Ding-dong—.
This time, I rang the bell first.
"You called?!"
Seyeon showed up soon after.
Her face was flushed red, like she'd come running.
I spoke to her.
"What a fun picture!"
"Haha, glad to hear it!"
Seyeon laughed in reply.
I smiled back at her.
"So, what's Paradise?"
"A group packed with total psychos!"
Seyeon picked up on my meaning right away, like always.
"I had my suspicions, and that picture confirms it was Paradise, huh!"
"Yeah. It said so inside. Oh, and I brought some people out too."
"Incredible! Survivors after all that! Mind if I ask something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why'd you spare those two?"
She used to be so cautious with every question back then.
Now? Not so much.
It wasn't that she wasn't afraid of me anymore.
She'd just figured me out.
She knew I wouldn't take offense to questions like that.
Spot on.
Frank questions beat tiptoeing around every time.
"Just did."
"Ah! Got it. Understood!"
Seyeon didn't pry further.
Even if she had, the answer would've been the same.
The old me—the one before contamination—might've said saving people was just natural.
Or at least that helping others as much as you could was a given.
But on the flip side was the me now.
No real difference between humans and anomalies.
I sorted them by fun, necessity, and cuteness. That was it.
"Can I take those two?"
"Sure."
I nodded.
Conversation over.
"See you at the next tea time!"
"Yes!"
I headed to my room.
The people got moved to the reception area.
Someone would pick them up on their own.
"Hmm hmm~."
Back in my room, I hummed as I picked up the painting.
Pondered for a moment, then hung it on the wall by the tea table.
"How's it look?"
I asked Dasom.
She silently gave a thumbs up.
I smiled warmly and gazed at the painting again.
And thought to myself.
I needed to dig deeper into Paradise.
I've set up shop at the Foundation's branch.
But I'm not tied down there.
I've scattered my shadows everywhere, after all.
Each one is me, and I can shift to any other body just by focusing.
Though the clone I use most is 'Elena.'
The one planted in that world.
"Investigate Paradise."
I gave the order to a waiting follower through Elena's body, then cycled through the others.
Once I'd checked all the clones.
I realized it was time and focused on one spot.
A certain hill.
A me perched in a rarely visited place.
"Coming soon?"
This version of me wasn't wandering free. Instead, I'd settled on a small stone statue.
One of the shadows I'd scattered when moving from the church to the Foundation.
I'd mostly ignored the ones here before, but lately I checked often.
The reason? One little kid.
"Hi!"
I whipped my head toward the voice not far off.
A girl who looked about elementary school age stood there.
"Hi."
"Yeah!"
The kid grinned and came over to say hello, holding something out.
"Brought this today too!"
It was whipped cream bread.
You know, the kind they sell at supermarkets.
"You don't have to bring any."
"But you like sweets!"
"True that!"
Cake was my absolute favorite, but this hit different sometimes.
Like switching from gourmet to junk food.
I took the bread, split it in half, and handed a piece to the kid.
"Here."
"I-I'm good."
"Nope."
I forced it into her hand, and she reluctantly took it, nibbling like a squirrel.
I chuckled and ate my half beside her.
"Today, we had PE class?"
The kid chattered on about her day between bites.
I listened quietly by her side, chiming in now and then.
Of course, it wasn't always this mellow.
Sometimes we'd play tag or hide-and-seek.
But not today.
"So, what's with your tummy?"
The kid always had a shadow over her smile.
I knew the cause but never pried.
Today, though, I couldn't hold back.
Pretending not to notice the dark bruise on her belly was too hard.
"Huh? H-How...?"
"Saw it."
She hesitated.
I stroked her head.
"You can tell me. We're friends, right?"
"Uh..."
She wavered a long time before murmuring darkly.
"Didn't greet properly..."
"Beat you for that?"
"Yeah. M-My fault. Too quiet. Didn't hear."
I gently stroked her head.
"Do you like your parents?"
"Yeah. If I don't mess up, they're good to me. Strict 'cause they love me."
She seemed to truly believe it.
Or wanted to.
Anything else would be too much to bear.
"Alright, decided!"
So I made up my mind.
"Today, I'm coming over to your house to play!"
"E-Eh? No way..."
The kid, who rarely refused anything, looked shocked.
"It's fine. Your parents will say yes!"
"Really? But..."
"Totally! 'Cause we're friends?"
Her eyes clouded over, then she slowly nodded.
"Yeah. They'll allow it."
"See? Let's go!"
I took her hand and started down the path.
We reached the house soon enough.
It was surprisingly nice.
"I-I'm home!"
She called out loud.
A gruff voice barked from inside right away.
"Why're you so late!"
A gaunt man, tall as a pole, stomped out.
"Told you to come straight after school!"
"S-Sorry."
"And who's this?"
His eyes turned to me.
As expected—not everything in this world tied back to anomalies.
Most problems came from plain old humans.
This guy was just an ordinary one.
Utterly ordinary.
To him, I said with a smile.
"I want cake!"
"What?"
"Buy some."
The man stared blankly.
"Uh, yeah. Cake. Gotta buy cake."
He shuffled right out the door.
The kid gawked at me in shock.
I grinned at her.
"We'll play! Wanna do dolls?"
She nodded blankly.
This place was a dollhouse now.