Our Office Is Open for Business (2)
Our Office Is Open for Business (2)
I was startled by my own voice for a moment, but something even more surprising filled a corner of my blurry vision.
Even with pupils that hadn't cleared from just waking up, I could feel the beauty radiating from her.
Just in case, I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Oh my god.
She is definitely a beauty.
Her silver hair was braided to one side from near her temple, with the ends tied off with an elegant ribbon. Her face featured round eyes drawn with soft lines, and plump lips that looked slightly pouting. Below that, she wore a casual suit skirt—she was, by anyone's standards, the very picture of an elegant office worker.
Because she was clutching a giant board that looked like a tablet, that... massive mass—goodness, is it okay for them to be that big?—was creating a strangely mature vibe, as a bonus.
But it was a face I knew too well. I should have been able to recall who it was, but... my brain, rendered stupid by the encounter with such incredible beauty, had ceased to function. As I stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot——.
"Director-nim, really. Is now the time to be dozing off?"
"Ah, um."
I finally came to my senses at the beauty's grumpy remark.
Only then did the surrounding scenery come into view.
It wasn't my cramped studio apartment where I'd fallen asleep last night.
It was a small office that—while I couldn't call it spacious—would look cramped if a few people walked in.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were cracked, broken, and stained here and there, barely managing to avoid looking like a haunted house.
On top of that, the guest sofa placed right in the middle just to fill the space had faded, tattered black leather that made me wonder if they'd picked it up from some junk heap.
Is it a relief that the office desk and chair I was leaning on were at least reasonably intact?
Hmm?
Sigh.
I slowly scanned my surroundings and saw myself reflected in a mirror hanging on one of the walls.
But it wasn't me.
My messy, unkempt black semi-curly hair was chopped off around my neck, and the clothes I was wearing underneath were an ivory turtleneck with a black coat thrown over it.
And what about the face?
Looking at my face with wide-open eyes... the person who woke me up was a beauty, but I was a beauty too.
It was bewildering, but not enough to make me faint from shock.
Because, apart from that strangely familiar woman, my reflection in the mirror was also familiar.
A familiar beauty, a shabby office. Plus, me, wearing a familiar yet strange face.
My brain, processing these three pieces of information, quickly reached the answer.
I had possessed a character. And in the ruined game 'Eden Breach' that I had poured my affection into, no less.
The woman looking at me with a skeptical face, as if her dissatisfaction hadn't faded yet, was Seora. She was a character who appeared as an operator role, assisting the protagonist in the game. Although there was a significant difference in the impact between seeing her in 2D and in reality, anyway.
Furthermore, 'I', currently in this state, was the Director—the game's protagonist and the player's representative character. It wasn't a real name, but a title. Perhaps for the sake of user immersion, there was no set real name; you could say the nickname the user set was treated as the real name.
Anyway, judging by the information I knew, this shabby place seemed to be an office. An ability user office where 'I' was the Director.
You might wonder why an office all of a sudden, but that was just the setting.
Anyway, with gates opening and monsters pouring out, a small number of people awakened special abilities. The Korean government, unable to just watch these special people run amok, established a related agency.
But it seemed they were overwhelmed by the task of grading all ability users, managing them, and organizing their work, so they handed over part of the duties to the private sector.
So, when an office like a temp agency took on work from the government, the office would place the ability users they could recruit in the right places.
And that was exactly what the protagonist, i.e., the user, did in Eden Breach.
Recruiting ability users (a gacha system disguised under that name) and solving missions (stages) sent down by the government.
The protagonist was running a small, pathetic office, just like the one I saw now. Should I call it a problem that arose because you couldn't give them grand tasks from the start?
Since I possessed this body without any warning, I was too mentally occupied with grasping the situation.
Besides, why did it have to be in a female state?
If I had entered the game exactly as I was playing it, I had nothing to say.
Of course, like modern games, the game gave you a choice. Whether to be a woman or a man.
But unless it came with performance stats, why would I choose a dick when born as a man? Naturally, the playable character was a female character.
If I had known I would possess the character, I would have chosen a man, but... Damn it, what's the point of thinking about it.
"Uh... Seora...-ssi?"
"Yes?"
I awkwardly called the operator's name, and a grumpy gaze, maintaining the same pouty mood as before, shot toward me.
I understand.
In the original work, the Director would spout bullshit jokes every time they opened their mouth, so she couldn't be in a good mood.
Still, I had to say what I needed to say.
"Hmm... what has happened so far?"
Because assessing the current situation came first.
Naturally, Seora's expression soured upon hearing my question.
"You came to work and were dozing off with your head on the desk."
"No, not that, I mean recent work-related matters."
Seora looked at me with suspicious eyes, her eyes narrowing at my words. It looked strange for now, but since grasping the situation quickly was the priority, my reputation was secondary.
"...Did you get contaminated on your way to work? If that's the case, first go to the hospital——."
"Hey, it's not that. It's just that I'm getting older, so my memory is a bit hazy."
"Are you serious?"
A gaze suspicious of whether I was spouting bullshit like I usually did. I responded with a gaze that was, in my opinion, quite serious.
"Sigh... You accepted a C-rank subjugation mission, and you sent subjugation requests to Hwaran-ssi and Dolorence-ssi."
"Ah, right. That's right. Sorry, I keep forgetting things, probably because I'm getting old."
"What do you mean, getting old? Director-nim, you're still quite young."
It's no wonder she's looking at me strangely.
Because it's not normal to ask about important events that couldn't have happened more than a few days ago.
I lightly ignored Seora's gaze and racked my brain.
Hwaran and Dolorence.
Thankfully, those are names I remember.
Hwaran, provided as a guaranteed reward just after the tutorial ends, and Dolorence, designed to be obtained without fail in the single-pull event. Plus, if I had just accepted a C-rank subjugation operation, it could be said to be the very, very, very early stage of the story.
"When is the meeting?"
"You forgot even that? Oh, geez. They're coming soon, I'm telling you——."
Knock knock.
Before Seora could even finish her sentence, a guest arrived.
Someone making their presence known from outside the door.
- Is this really the office? It's way too... shabby, isn't it?
Ugh.
It's not an office I built, but the monologue coming from outside the door felt like it was stabbing me in the heart.
Not everyone can start with everything fully equipped.
And it's going to become the best office in Korea!
...Probably.
"Come in."
The door opened slowly at my command.
Ugh, my eyes!
Bright light poured in through the gap in the door as if the sun were spilling in.
But that was merely my misconception.
It was just that another beauty had been added to brighten up the room even more.
A woman with bright blue hair, which I wouldn't have seen in ordinary Korea, tied back, walked in, scanning the inside of the office with suspicious eyes.
Wow. She walks around in an outfit like that?
It was an outfit consisting of a high-leg cut that exposed her hips, skin-tight Spandex material that revealed the curves of her body to an almost bizarre degree, and barely a black rag draped over it.
Even though she was wearing clothes that would make people think she was some kind of pervert, the sight of her tentatively stepping into the office felt quite cute.
That impression lasted only a moment, and my jaw, which had already been hanging open, dropped even further at the woman's following words.
"Agabang Hunter Office... right?"
"Uh, uh? Ye... yes."
Ah, shit. Wait a second.
It's the exact office name I chose?
Are you crazy?
Is the god or developer who possessed me into this body in their right mind right now?
They're actually going with that?
What kind of common sense is it to just slap in the office name I chose on a whim!
Unlike me, who was screaming inside, the woman looked unfazed.
Whew, well, she seems unfazed, so let's calm down.
Because of some cognitive alteration or whatever, it doesn't seem to be seen as having any other meaning.
Should I call it a blessing in disguise?
Since only I feel like it's strange, it's a problem I just have to endure.
"I am the Director of Agabang Hunter Office. Please call me whatever is comfortable."
I can feel my face burning red.
This is why you have to be careful when choosing names.
Characters are another version of me.
"So you're the Director-nim. Nice to meet you. I'm Hwaran, a B-rank who just finished registering as an ability user a little while ago."
Hwaran, smiling brightly without knowing anything, reached out to shake my hand. When I took her outstretched hand, she shook it so hard I thought my arm would fall off.
"Argh."
"Ah, sorry. It's my first mission, so I'm too excited... hehe."
What kind of strength is that. I thought my shoulder was going to pop out.
Hwaran was definitely a ranged dealer type, but it seems that once you become an ability user, your physical ability itself becomes twice as strong as a normal person's.
"There's no need to be too nervous. The mission itself is low-grade, and besides Hwaran-ssi, an A-rank ability user is also going to join us."
"Ah, that's a relief. They say I can handle a C-rank mission, but... since it's my first outing, I was worried I might just be a nuisance due to lack of experience."
And bang!
The door was kicked open so hard it nearly broke.
"No! If the door falls off in this old office!"