With trembling eyes, I looked inside the drawer again.
But the object inside hadn’t changed.
A labor contract.
What lay there was unmistakably the contract I had signed.
After I drank the Wish Ticket, after learning the truth and watching my
identity collapse, Director Cheong had appeared and offered me this
lifeline.
Or perhaps, a fatal noose.
-It’s a contract. All you have to do is sign. I promise you very humane
treatment.
In the end, I signed.
I signed to live, and I worked for the Security Team as 130666....
But why was it here, inside the management office of an abandoned resort
within my own mindscape?
...Wait.
’Could this be the binding force of the contract that constrains me?’
Had it taken shape deep inside my inner world, inside this very drawer — a
drawer that symbolized a place where ’Resort employment contracts’ were
kept?!
If so.
If so...!
With a trembling hand, I grabbed the labor contract.
It felt real to the touch.
And then.
Riiiiip.
I tore it.
The labor contract that had bound me split cleanly in two down the middle.
A rush of liberation surged through me. I lifted my eyes, breath catching—
Then looked down again.
The labor contract was whole.
Untorn.
"..."
I tore it again.
Riiiiip.
I blinked.
The labor contract was whole.
I tore it again.
Riiiiip.
I blinked.
The labor contract was whole.
I tore it again.
Riiiiip.
I blinked.
The labor contract was wh—.
’Stop!’
I stopped my hands, panting for breath.
It seemed the simple act of tearing it wasn’t enough to destroy this labor
contract.
Right, it couldn’t be that easy....
Good Friend
Where, oh where are you hiding?
My body froze.
...From far down the hallway, I felt a presence approaching.
A Contaminated Daydream Character was coming this way....
"..."
This time, I didn’t touch the door.
Instead, silently , I crawled behind the management office desk and curled
up.
Thump.
Please.
Thump.
Just pass by.
Thump.
The sound grew even closer .
Thump.
And then.
Thump....
....
...It was moving away.
’Ha.’
Drenched in a cold sweat, still unable to move, I strained my ears to the
receding sound.
I could feel the vibrations as the thing, having failed to notice me, headed
down the other end of the hall....
’Am I... a little freer?’
It seemed the Mascot was having a harder time tracking me here than in the
dilapidated Daydream office.
’Is it because I escaped once?’
Of course, if this dragged on, there was a high probability that another
Good Friend hunting method would emerge.
So, I had to get a grip.
Quickly, quickly!
’What do I do?’
I gritted my teeth, looking at the contract still in my hand.
If tearing it doesn’t work....
Right.
’...What about editing the contents?’
A pen!
Reaching out, I silently rummaged across the desk and quickly found a pen.
A fountain pen.
Hurriedly, I dipped it in ink and drew a line across the contract.
’I edited the Resort employment contracts this way.’
To make them safer, to ensure there would be as few problems as possible
for the people working there. So maybe, with a similar method, my labor
contract could also....
"..."
The ink on the paper vanished.
As if it had never been there, the trace of the fountain pen slid off the labor
contract and fell to the floor.
Drip.
It didn’t work.
As if to say I had no right to edit it.
’Ah.’
Right. I had been able to modify the details of the Resort employment
contracts to some extent because I was the principal party, the employer.
Besides, a contract that has already been signed cannot be altered
unilaterally.
Without mutual agreement with Director Cheong, no, even then, I didn’t
know if it could be modified.
Only one thing was certain.
I had no authority.
[A dead end, my friend.]
[Will you look for another path?]
Right.
At a dead end, one had to find a new path.
A method for which I had authority to execute.
An action that could affect this contract.
...There was one.
"..."
I...
took the labor contract.
And ’read’ it.
In the Wiki form.
130666’s Labor Contract
The standard Security Team contract used by Cheong Dallae, the
Managing Director of Daydream Inc.’s Development Department.
Kim Soleum’s signature is written at the bottom.
It is now irreversible.
The effect of this contract originates from the authority of the Yellow
Dragon. Cheong Dallae is using the core of this authority, which she
seized from said Dragon entity after it was demoted to a Daydream
Mascot.
(The remaining entity is presumed to have been inserted into a certain
theme park ghost story at the ■■ Research Institute. For detailed
records, see the Pleasant Theme Park entry.)
A faint trace of the core remains on the contract. It resembles an
eyeball, reminiscent of the wish-fulfilling orb of the dragons in legends.
Cheong Dallae places the collected dragon cores into a giant eye, dozens
of pupil■■ ability■■■■■contract■■■■■■■■■■
!!!!
The shock originating from the content was the first thing to rock my brain.
But immediately after.
"Blaaaaargh."
No, no!
I’m melting, I’m disappearing!
Just reading it was unraveling me, dragging me back to to that numb, empty
state of 130666!
It hadn’t changed.
I understood.
’If I edit it, it’s over.’
If I tried to edit this with my Wiki ability, my hard-won identity as a person
would dissolve.
I might melt away and never be able to regain my human form!
I barely managed to pull myself together... no, no, it was easier than I
thought. It’s okay. I’ve done this before, so the recovery is fast. I didn’t even
try to edit it, so, phew.
’Even though I’m in a Good Friend Doll form and not a real human body,
this thing still melts.’
Perhaps it was because this was a mindscape. I held back a sigh and looked
at my arm.
As expected, my severed arm had not regenerated.
If anything, that brought back a sense of reality in this bizarre mindscape.
"..."
Tearing it, editing its contents, and using Wiki were all useless.
So what should I do now?
’Stay calm.’
First... the information I just read.
There are always hints in information.
I took a deep breath and looked down at the contract again.
A faint trace of the core remains on the contract.
That was true.
On the paper’s surface, like an anti-counterfeiting mark, there was a strange,
pale gray circular pattern with a golden sheen.
’The authority of this contract was originally the ability of Daydream’s
yellow dragon character, and Director Cheong stole it?’
And.
The remaining entity is presumed to have been inserted into a certain
theme park ghost story at the ■■ Research Institute.
The rest was put into the yellow mascot....
The realization struck me.
’I’ve never seen the other Mascots hire employees.’
Neither did the Blue Dragon and Magic Bunny.
Only me.
Only the Golden Flower Mascot had been signing employment contracts
with people.
It was possible because the contracts were in this drawer.
’The form of that ability... was it passed down from the previous mascot?’
The puzzle pieces were falling into place.
My Good Friend body was recycled from a part of the dead yellow mascot.
The dead yellow mascot was recycled from a Daydream character.
And that Daydream character’s original identity was....
The effect of this contract originates from the authority of the Yellow
Dragon.
A Yellow Dragon.
’Was Daydream really just catching anything that resembled a dragon in the
Darkness and turning it into a mascot...?’
Was this... stemming from her identity as Gwang-cheol?
This obsession with dragons.
Whether it was her ability or her nature.
’Don’t tell me the reason she specifically bound me with a contract was....’
Because a good portion of my body was made from a dragon?
A chill ran down my spine.
Either way, Director Cheong must have found a certain amount of
amusement in the desperation and misery of a breaking opponent....
That petty malice felt enormous.
Like being an ant watching a shoe descend from the sky, an almost cosmic
horror.
My mouth went dry.
Then Director Cheong’s gianteyeappearedinthesky,
dozensofeyeballsspinningroundandroundandround1... Shut up!
Anyway, the numerous strange pupil silhouettes I had seen in Director
Cheong’s eye in the sky were....
All body parts ripped from other dragons and shoved into her own eye?
Cores that could be called wish-fulfilling orbs?
Did she meticulously ’collect’ one every time she encountered an entity in a
ghost story that could be roughly identified as a dragon?
’Is she insane?’
She was like a creature from a gory horror movie. I gritted my teeth against
the shiver crawling up my spine and looked at the contract again.
’Then what,’
What can I do?
It is now irreversible.
My stomach churned as I recalled the words clearly written on the contract.
’Can a person... find a loophole to escape this?’
This situation itself felt like the plot of a ghost story.
A person trapped in a ghost story struggles for a long time to get out, and at
the very moment escape becomes possible....
They realize that because of a mistake made at the very beginning, escape
was impossible from the start.
A despairing and terrifying story.
I....
[Is this a moment where you require the help of this Entertainer, my
friend?]
"..."
’Braun.’
[My friend calls for me!]
’How about you arrange a live broadcast of you and Director Cheong
having a proper showdown.... I think the ratings would explode.’
A hellish silence followed.
Yeah. I knew it wouldn’t work.
[Hmm? It’s not that it wouldn’t work!]
...!
[But Mr. Roe Deer, let us recall a classic fairy tale. The knight who rescues
the princess captured by the evil dragon is always rewarded. And what kind
of reward is that?]
His voice dropped.
[A reward where the client gives up their most valuable possession.]
...!
[Traditionally, that would be the right to the throne! Of course, it must be a
paltry kingdom to entrust the resolution of a royal kidnapping to a passing
knight....]
[And, oh, this story, though varied to this day, has a very solid basic
structure.]
....
In short, it meant that once that showdown was over, I, the client, would
have to gladly change jobs again and join his talk show crew as my
’reward’.
Or....
Since the stakes were so high, I would have to give a bigger, more powerful
reward, and something even more terrible would happen.
Like becoming a permanent talk show prop.
...A groan escaped my lips.
’Let’s just forget it.’
Hah.
[Hmm, then how about some encouragement? As everyone knows, whether
in a quiz show or a survival show, the audience’s cheers and support are a
great source of strength!]
[Sometimes, that can be the final touch, an incredible variable. Now
then....]
I felt a huge hand patting my shoulder.
[You can do it, Mr. Roe Deer.]
...Strangely, it was as comforting as always.
I took a deep breath.
’I can do it.’
Right.
The fact that he was talking like that meant there really was a way.
’What else should I think about?’
I can do it. A loophole, a counter-intuitive idea, a hidden truth that can be
read from the context....
’Find it!’
I racked my brain.
The Wiki page I just saw, all the legends about Gwang-cheol I had scoured
over the past few days, and the contract right in front of me.
’Obsession with dragons....’
....
Wait.
If Director Cheong really was, like the Gwang-cheol of legend, ’a being
who failed to ascend and become a dragon’.
If she was in at least a similar state–
Wouldn’t it make sense for her feelings toward dragons to be more than
simple malice or obsession?
’An inferiority complex?’
But no — she didn’t show the passive-aggressive traits that usually come
with that. Her malice felt like something woven into her very being.
’In that case....’
Let’s simplify this situation and assume it’s human society.
If I saw someone in my field doing the same work as me, but they had
better qualifications and status....
’Competitiveness.’
And the psychological desire to break them to prevent them from
surpassing me.
Eliminating the competition.
’....’
Right.
Director Cheong is keeping dragons in check!
’Doesn’t that mean... she feels a certain level of threat from dragons?’
Because they are, perceptually, beings superior to her!
In the end, it was an act of preemptively defending her own weakness.
Seen this way, her actions seemed more akin to nipping dangerous elements
in the bud to prevent any unexpected situations from arising.
’That fits perfectly with Director Cheong’s pattern of behavior.’
Scheming, setting traps, and eliminating variables.
I swallowed.
If I were a real dragon, I would have devised some kind of counterattack...
but I didn’t have that ability.
’Dammit.’
I nervously twirled the fountain pen in my hand....
"..."
Wait a minute.
I looked at my cloth arm, stuffed with cotton.
And with the fountain pen, I drew a stroke on it.
The black ink left a mark as it passed over the cloth....
And it remained.
As if it was within my authority.
[Hoh.]
With the pen, I began to draw more complex strokes.
About a certain mark that I had no problem reproducing because it was
originally mine.
: 恩主 :1
The inventory tattoo.
The Caretaker’s employment contract brand worked successfully even on
my cotton doll arm, connecting to somewhere.
I stuck my hand inside it.
It connected.
’Phew.’
Urgently, I first shoved the contract inside.
’If it’s just moving it, not destroying it....’
Thankfully, the contract went into the tattoo quietly.
And it did not reappear in the drawer.
’Phew.’
Holding back a sigh of relief, I reached in again.
And, besides the Potion Maker, I carefully took out a certain item that had
been in here....
"..."
It was a single blue scale.
The huge scale, which filled both my cotton-stuffed hands, shimmered with
an iridescent blue light.
A gift for a good child.
C a l l M e
It was the gift the Blue Dragon Mascot had given me.
A scale meant to call him.
’...Was Gwang-cheol an imoogi that symbolized fire and drought?’
And the dragon inside this mascot....
Was the master of the deep sea.
"..."
I took that scale.
And clenched it tightly, as if in prayer.
And I called.
The Blue Mascot.
No....
Its original form, within.
* * *
Agent Haegeum was running.
She ran, her feet moving through the dilapidated buildings of the ruined
Segwang Metropolitan City and the overgrown weeds that had suddenly
sprung up with the passage of time.
She wasn’t alone.
Beside Team Leader Lee, an agent from another team was running with her.
And though they weren’t moving together, a good number of those who had
been on standby at the Resort have likely entered Segwang Metropolitan
City as well....
Anyway!
"Noona."
Agent Haegeum climbed the stairs toward city hall, exchanging a look with
Agent Choi.
Something unusual was definitely happening on the roof....
"Oh, hello there!"
"...!!"
Turning her head, she saw another agent running up energetically from
below.
"Are you agents from headquarters? The one who just ended this city’s
Disaster was... huh, it’s the Hyunmu Team folks!"
He wore a Lion Mask.
And the moment she saw his appearance, Agent Haegeum remembered
what Kim Soleum had told her, as if struck by lightning.
The agent he said he saw inside Segwang Metropolitan City on May 4th.
"It’s been a while, Team Leader!"
The expendable agent waved at her.
...But Agent Haegeum had no memory of this agent.
But there was no time to get lost in sentiment!
"Something unusual is happening up here!"
"I know! Well, hey, this is exactly that, Gwang-cheol!"
The Lion Mask tilted strangely.
"Oh, you know a lot about Gwang-cheol? Let’s talk while we run! Is that
thing up there?!"
In the meantime, Agent Choi swooped in and asked, practically herding the
three of them to run upwards naturally.
"I know it well! That’s a nasty Gwang-cheol! A really nasty piece of
work...."
The expendable agent paused.
"Why is it so powerful? Was it always this strong?"
"..."
This agent must have remembered the Gwang-cheol from before the
Segwang Metropolitan City Disaster.
"...Anyway, is it true that a Daydream Director is up here??"
"Wait, this... this is really serious. Right now, only two people from the
Hyunmu Team are...."
FLASH.
A tremendous light flashed in the emergency stairs.
"...!"
The three people climbing the stairs reflexively grabbed their magic
weapons and stopped in their tracks.
Agent Choi immediately glanced outside.
The outside, which had been bathed in sunset just a moment ago, had turned
gray.
The sun hadn’t set.
It had been swallowed by clouds....
Pitter-patter-patter.
Agent Choi’s blue pupils widened.
Fine lines.
It was raining.
Then the light just now was....
"Oh. Lightning."
"..."
The Blue Dragon Team agent, from behind his Lion Mask, smiled faintly.
"Our Lord comes, bringing rain and lightning."
In the skies of Segwang Metropolitan City,
Something that had been summoned appeared.
1. Lord of Grace Tattoo
2. giant eye appeared in the sky, dozens of eyeballs spinning round and
round and round