Something feels off.
I looked around the table. All those versions of myself, sitting there in the forms of various ghost stories.
Right now, my contaminations have been made visible and seated over there by the Space Shopping Mall’s VIP shopping service so that I can perceive them.
And when I asked to have them all removed, what the lizard said was…
‘…That they’re going to permanently destroy a part of myself?’
That sounded as if it meant destroying my contaminated mind itself.
Like amputating a limb to prevent an infection from spreading.
Of course, sometimes you have no choice but to do that.
But normally, it’s an irreversible decision you’d only make when there’s truly no hope of recovery.
“…Is it impossible to remove just the contamination from there? That is, to restore the contaminated mind back to its original state. Permanently.”“That is not a service the Space Shopping Mall provides.”
“…Is it possible anywhere else?”
“That is information I cannot provide.”
I turned my head.
The yellow mascot was shaking its head at me.
Y o u C a n ’ t
I looked down at my right arm.
In this ghost story world where your body can regenerate, there are times when people even cut off their limbs.
Because here, you can undo it.
But to cut away and destroy your sense of self… In this place, that’s an even more extreme choice than cutting off a limb, isn’t it?
“……”
Did Section Chief Lee Jaheon really intend to introduce this method to me?
“I’ll change the question.”
I don’t think so.
‘Then.’
I looked up.
“Rather than destroy my contaminated selves, I’d like to be able to recognize and manage them myself.”
The problem with contamination is that it can turn you into something else without you knowing.
But if I’m fully aware of what mutations exist inside me, I can suppress them, or at the very least, use them if worst comes to worst.
“…So that I can control myself.”
The gray lizard, meeting my gaze, nodded.
“I see.”
“I want to purchase something that can help with that. Is that possible?”
“Yes.”
The lizard moved its hand at once.
As if I’d picked the correct answer.
“…!”
Then, from far down the table, an object shrouded in fog was swiftly brought right in front of me by some excited tentacles.
“With my personal shopper authority, I recommend this suitable item.”
It was… a small machine.
It looked like a piece of specialized surgical equipment, with a delicately crafted needle at the end of what looked like a robotic hand, and a crescent-moon-shaped lamp shining down on the machine from above.
I already knew something similar to this.
The tattoo machine from the Moonlight Tattoo Shop.
A miniature, item-like version of a bizarre device from an emotional ghost story was sitting right before my eyes.
Single-Use Automatic Moonlight Tattoo Machine
“This is an item produced for a short time before the Moonlight Tattooists all went out of business, except for a handful of survivors, due to certain events. You have acquired one of the three remaining units.”
P r e t t y
U n i q u e
The tentacles that had delivered it waved boisterously like arms, then flinched as if glancing at the lizard for approval, and soon vanished into the mist.
My heart pounded.
“…What exactly does this help with?”
“The spirit of the Moonlight Tattooist residing in the machine inscribes a tattoo tailored to support the user’s needs.”
Just like at the Moonlight Tattoo Shop.
“The tattoo inscribed by this device is fluid. It adapts to the user’s environment and changes into the most suitable form.”
That’s a bit different.
But for me, who would have to enter ghost stories and face different contamination risks in the future, it was even better.
‘Did they recommend this with that in mind from the start?’
“Would you like to purchase it?”
I nodded.
“Yes. I want to buy it.”
“Thank you. The price is 159,999,999 won.”
[approx. 116,300 USD]
“……”
I almost choked on my own spit.
“Is it possible to pay with something else? By giving you an item you purchase, for example…”
“What item is it?”
Wait a second.
‘No matter how I think about it, these guys aren’t a buyback specialist business.’
I don’t know where these aliens actually use the money they collect from people, but even so, the prices of the goods sold at the alien shop are already brutal compared to their cost.
Given their business sense… I felt like they’d really lowball me on the buyback price.
‘Of course, just letting me buy at all is already doing me a favor, though.’
In the end, after some thought, I took out a jade token.
A reward I received from Team Leader of Black-Tortoise Team 3 at Cheerful Theme Park.
A disaster management bureau-issued item made at Baridegi Workshop.
“How about this?”
“That is not an item the Space Shopping Mall purchases.”
“Hmm, is it perhaps something you’re seeing for the first time?”
“Yes.”
As expected.
‘The alien shop really has no connection to the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.’
That actually worked in my favor.
“I’m not offering this for sale, but as currency.”
I held the jade token out to the lizard.
“It’s a currency accepted in various places. You’ll find it useful for acquiring a range of goods.”
“Please provide a concrete example.”
I gladly gave a few.
Mainly East Asian legends, ghost stories derived from folktales, and sometimes even European or American traditional fairy tales. All of them accepted jade tokens as currency.
‘Hmm. Summing it up, I guess they work mainly in tales passed down in different cultures.’
The lizard silently looked at the jade token.
And after a moment’s silence…
“Confirmed. I shall recognize it as currency and accept it as payment.”
Of course.
‘Nice.’
However, the lizard took all five of the jade tokens I offered.
‘Not so nice…’
Still, considering the price, it felt like a reasonable deal.
At any rate, that’s how the machine ended up in my hands.
Single-Use Automatic Moonlight Tattoo Machine.
“Would you like assistance with using it?”
“I’m fine.”
I brought the device to my arm.
I planned to have it inscribed over my existing tattoos.
‘It looks like you use it by pressing the switch like this.’
However.
Bzzzz—
The miniature tattoo machine, emitting a soft light and buzzing noise, floated off my arm and began hovering by itself.
“…!”
Then it started inscribing something just below my left collarbone.
As if gathering moonlight and searing the end.
Bzzzz—
Within that sound, I felt the anguish and artistic sensibility of someone who once inhabited the tattoo machine.
What the customer wants is clear.
To govern oneself!
The most fundamental and important thing. But when one’s mind is filled with countless identities and anxieties, it is hard to unify and control them all.
Let’s tag each one and give them a junction.
So that whenever you wish, you can organize and piece them together.
If that’s the case… isn’t the most striking spot right above the heart!
I felt something hot above my heart.
And as the light from the tattoo machine faded, I hastily unbuttoned my shirt to look at my bare skin.
“……!”
A star made of letters was revealed.
A tattoo in the shape of a circular puzzle, repeating like the intricate ring of a tree, as if depicting a halo.
Words from various unknown languages were inscribed in letters the size of the device, interlocked in several precise concentric circles.
There was still plenty of space between them, and I understood…
Now, the worries that made up the design would hold each other in check and maintain balance.
Through this tattoo, the customer can recognize himself and, as he desires, rule himself.
The light and sound from the single-use tattoo machine faded away completely.
Then, with a click, the crescent-moon lamp shut off.
“Usage complete.”
“……”
I turned my head and looked at those who had been sitting at the table.
There was no one there.
No, from the beginning, they had all just been me.
Now that I could verify they were part of me with the tattoo, I no longer needed to see them with my eyes to make decisions.