Black Tortoise Team 1, Assistant Manager Eun Haje, and me.
The Bureau permitted this outing under conditions similar to last time—but their attitude was different.
‘Feels like they’re trying to figure out how to handle familiars.’
It was like offerings.
Rather than testing if I could be safely taken outside, the vibe was more like some countryside elder being escorted into the city for leisure.
Or, filial piety tourism....
— Have fun sightseeing in Seoul! But please refrain from handing out theme park money as pocket change to random kids you pass by....
...Yeah. Remembering Submaksae Agent, who’d been fixed as my handler, that really did seem to be the case.
Not that I’d ever do anything so insane as scatter Delight Coins around to pedestrians.
The real issue was something far more alarming to the Bureau:
Dragging in a Baekilmong executive for an expedition into a sealed, catastrophic-class disaster site.
“Noru, so... you’re really saying you’ll include Director Ho in the expedition?”
Affirmative.
I couldn’t expect help from the Bureau for the Se-gwang Special City expedition.
So, rely on Baekilmong instead?
‘There’s no way that’ll go smoothly.’
They’d probably just study methods of extracting dreams from the City.
But I was still bound to that company. For freedom of movement, I needed some leverage.
Which left only one solution:
— A backer with third-party objectives, someone who could influence Baekilmong.
In other words, Ho Yuwon.
Of course, he knew it too, which was why he’d been bold enough to make the offer.
“...You sure about this? I mean, I work under that bastard, so if he says jump, I jump. But the Agents? They’re bound to hate it.”
“Come on. Even if we hate it, it’s not like that makes it a problem.”
Agent Choi grinned as he answered.
But it didn’t mean he liked it.
“The problem is—it could get us killed.”
“......”
“Grape. You’ve already been through it.”
I couldn’t refute the conviction in the Agent’s voice. He had nearly died at Ho Yuwon’s hands.
But I also had my own reasoning.
Variable:
Ho Yuwon’s desperation.
“...!”
The circumstances were different now.
‘We might be the only ones who’ve truly been inside Se-gwang Special City.’
That made him desperate.
Even though he had no other candidates and could afford to wait, he hadn’t been able to sit still. The moment we gathered and broached the subject, he’d butted in.
Maybe he was watching through Assistant Manager Eun, maybe not. But one thing was certain:
He was desperate enough to agree to place restrictions on himself.
And—
When the desperate share your goal:
Likelihood of betrayal ▼
“......”
“Well, yeah. They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Eun Haje snorted, glancing toward the café’s smoking room like he badly wanted a cigarette.
“But let’s not kid ourselves. He’s still a creepy bastard. Still, can’t hurt to use him while we can. I bet he’s got strings in the Bureau, too.”
“Oh, he does.”
...!!
“So you’ve made up your minds, have you? At last.”
A group of office workers strolled by our table, coffee cups in hand.
One of them turned and smiled at us as he spoke.
“Hello there.”
The café was crowded with office workers finishing lunch. No one seemed to notice when one slipped away like a puppet on strings.
“......”
“......”
Ho Yuwon.
Like a lie, he sat down at our table as if he belonged.
“Talking about me behind my back... that hurts.”
“Well, they say people complain about the king when he’s not around. We didn’t even swear at you.”
“Of course. Eun Haje.”
Then he looked at me, feigning a wounded expression.
“Truthfully, you’ve insulted me right to my face several times, and I was too scared to talk back....”
What the hell was this act?
[Good heavens, how vile.]
[But he does seem giddy. Clearly burning with impatience to work with you, Noru!]
That... might even be true.
“What do you say, Noru?”
......
“I trust you won’t let overly cautious Agents, bound hand and foot to their institutions, make you miss this opportunity....”
......
He misunderstood.
Expedition members:
Excluding Bureau Agents.
“...!”
“...What?”
I wasn’t planning to take them into the expedition.
I couldn’t risk dragging them into suspicion.
I’d only raised it here to clear up concerns, to keep them from fretting or secretly digging into it later.
“...You.”
“Hm. True, it’s harder for civil servants to spare the time. Harder to hide from the Bureau.”
Eun Haje nodded as though it made sense.
“But Noru, you should choose your words. Saying they’re unnecessary—if they were human, they’d take offense.”
......
“...I understand.”
...!
Agent Cheongdong.
His eyes were darker than ever, shadows carved beneath them from days of agonizing over this unprecedented situation.
He spoke gravely, like it was already decided.
“...But excluding Agents from a rescue operation is not a wise choice. The supernatural disaster, and the gateway into it—those fall under the Bureau’s jurisdiction.”
Se-gwang Special City. The Well.
“When this is over, we’ll still need to cooperate with the Bureau for safety. And beyond that...”
A hard light glinted in his eyes. He met Agent Choi’s gaze.
Agent Choi gave a faint smile.
“Grape. If our comrades are trapped inside a supernatural disaster and we, the field agents, can’t be part of their rescue... that’d hurt worse.”
Ah.
“Let us come.”
......
......
**Accepted.
Expedition roster updated:
“Good call.”
Agent Choi tapped the will-o’-the-wisp perched on my horn, like encouraging a pet. A mischievous tone colored his voice.
“And really, junior—without us, how would you enforce the prohibition?”
Ho Yuwon’s smile deepened. Agent Choi smiled back.
“There’s no shortage of Bureau seals to slap on a slippery supernatural like you. Hundreds, at least. What are you even trying to reinvent the wheel for?”
“I’d rather die than submit to Bureau bindings.”
“Then you can’t work with us.”
“Well, in that case, maybe you’ll be the one excluded from the team. Pity—you’ve barely been let in as it is.”
“Oh? Then that just means the Bureau will be even quicker to register you as a supernatural being, officially~”
Mm.
I had something prepared for this.
I pulled a rolled parchment from my inventory tattoo. Its contents—
Employment Contract
I accept with joy and gratitude my position on the Flower Golden Resort Mascot Team, and I swear to devote my existence in cheerful service to the safe exploration of ■■■■ City.
The employee must obtain the employer’s consent to resign, and must refrain from any act that deliberately endangers teammates.
Employer: _______
Employee: _______
“...!”
A Resort employment contract.
‘If I could bring out Delight Coins, then I should be able to use this authority too.’
One of the few perks of no longer being human.
As the Mascot, as the Resort’s master, I could act without fear of contamination.
I could even adjust the wording now. The mandatory clauses had to be redacted manually, but it was still a proper recommended contract.
And so—
Target: Ho Yuwon.
You will be my subordinate.
“...Are you trying to force contamination on me, Noru? Cruel....”
He was no human, and his melodramatic whining was unsettling.
But anyway.
Mutual Contractual Relationship:
Equal standing.
I was already bound to Baekilmong, so I couldn’t exert absolute authority over a director like him.
In short—perfectly balanced terms for mutual restraint.
[Such magnanimity, my Friend! But tell me—if the expedition ends, won’t this plague-ridden schemer cling to job security at your Resort?]
[Brown fears this kind of hire would only tarnish the Resort’s dignity.]
It’s fine. I’ll fire him the moment the expedition ends.
‘And cut all ties immediately....’
This was purely a safety measure.
So I deliberately added a clause at the bottom of the contract, clearly visible.
Formal Employment Term:
Until the conclusion of the special expedition project.
“...Quite humane of you.”
Honestly, I expected more resistance.
A struggle, some veiled threats, before he’d agree.
But instead—
“Very well.”
...!
Ho Yuwon took the ornate golden pen from the Resort’s front desk and signed.
Employer: _______
Employee: Ho Yuwon
He returned the pen.
“Your turn, Noru.”
I signed as employer.
The contract gleamed gold, binding itself to me.
“......”
“......”
Just like that, the power dynamic flipped.
“Agent Grape.”
Of course—
“What have you done?”
This wasn’t something a normal person could do.
“Isn’t this an act that accelerates contamination?”
......
Current status: Stable.
“Then explain in detail. For days now you’ve been—”
“Jaegwan.”
But—
Unable to form sentences.
Please understand.
“...!”
Though my mind had recovered, I could no longer speak like a human.
Forming natural spoken sentences from smoke felt impossible, like trying to solve math in a dream.
‘...Maybe it’ll come back in time.’
I worried it might never return. For now, I steadied myself with bells.
Apology: For the discomfort and unease.
“No! It’s just that—”
“Wait. Hold on.”
Agent Choi cut in.
“Grape. When you met our team leader in a dream, did that make you uncomfortable?”
......
Negative.
“Right?”
He clapped my shoulder.
“That’s all it is.”
I nodded.
“He was just worried. No hidden meaning. Right, Cheongdong?”
“...Of course.”
Gratitude.
Assistant Manager Eun smirked at the sight, then smacked my back hard.
“Alright, punk. If everything’s settled—then let’s set this expedition team in motion.”
“Ohhh.”
Polite applause rippled across the table.
Ho Yuwon opened his mouth, looking like he’d demand we dive back into Se-gwang immediately—but first, there was something else to settle.
Proposal: Recruit additional members for the expedition.
That was a big part of why I’d accepted him into the team.
Otherwise, we’d all just die again and wake up broken in the Bureau’s main building.
“Oh, right.”
Eun Haje grinned.
“Director, can you smuggle in the Section Chief from Team D?”
“You mean Lee Jaheon?”
“Yes. You know his reputation. We’ll absolutely need him.”
He clearly expected a “Of course! I’ll abduct him right away” type of response.
But—
“Mm... that might be difficult.”
“What?”
“Seems Lee Jaheon never returned from the last darkness he entered.”
“......!!”
As I suspected.
Question: Will you attempt a rescue?
“Ah, naturally, the company would intend to rescue him. He’s talented.”
Of course.
But the way he hedged—
“However, for now, they’ve deemed it impossible.”
Ha.
Question: Why?
“They say that darkness can no longer be entered by the usual means.”
...!
“So the company’s upset—they’ve lost a C-grade dream-source.”
Wait.
They’re going to just scrap it?
Eun Haje’s voice turned urgent.
“You mean they’ve given up?”
“Research might take it over, but if the deferment runs out... maybe, yes.”
......
Request: Any further information available now.
“Mm... oh. Right. Among the last employees to explore that darkness with Lee Jaheon was someone you know, Noru.”
Huh?
“The one in the goat mask.”
......!
‘Baek Saheon!’
***
That evening.
— Citizen, I’d like to deliver the promised item. Where should I send it? Sorry for the delay.
Didn’t you say you couldn’t give it to me?
— Well... I escaped the cult not long ago. Thank you for worrying.
Worry, my ass. Whatever. So, hand it over then.
— How should I deliver it?
If it’s small, fold it inside a piece of paper. Make a paper boat, send it on the road.
— Okay.
[Item transferred.]
Is this a joke? Some string that clears your mind? I’ve already got crap like this, lol.
— I’m sorry. I was in a hurry after escaping. I guess it’s not much. Please just accept it as a gift, you don’t need to return it.
I wasn’t planning to return it anyway. Don’t get ahead of yourself.
So, you contacting me because you want another favor?
— Would it be alright if I asked about a particular supernatural disaster? I think it’s one your company used to handle.
You kidding me? Asking company secrets like that?
— Apologies.
[Several minutes later.]
Eh, whatever. This company doesn’t give a shit anyway.
— Excuse me?
You can steal items, resell them secondhand, they won’t catch you. No system in place. Which darkness do you wanna know about?
Oh.
‘So this works after all.’
I blinked.
Saheon was probably at the career stage where the big-company high was wearing off....
And Baekilmong wasn’t immune to the gripes every worker had.
‘Yeah, they really don’t have any system....’
What company that shoves employees into ghost stories for grind would?
‘Actually, maybe that was part of the mystique. Made them seem more mysterious.’
Anyway, if he was willing, I was grateful. He wanted to keep trading.
‘Probably said the item sucked just to drive the price down.’
It had been one of those rations Ho Yuwon handed out to project members. Saheon had snagged one and passed it to me. Anyway—
Don’t make me wait after asking.
Fine.
— It’s a supernatural disaster set in a boarding school. Have you entered such a place recently?
A reply came instantly.
The crazy school where they make you take groom training?
...?!
The one that pretends to be all prim and proper but makes you want to puke? Yeah, I went in. Why?
Wait.
Groom training?
‘That place....’
In that moment, I knew exactly what ghost story he meant.
And I realized—
‘Ahhh!’
Why Section Chief Lee Jaheon couldn’t return.
***
Several days later.
Question: Location of the insane boarding school with groom training.
“...!?”
With Ho Yuwon’s help, I squeezed every detail out of Kwak Jegang about that darkness and the Security Team’s situation.
‘Got it.’
I’d devised a way in.
To rescue Lee Jaheon.