I am walking up the stairs of a nightmare school with an agent from the Disaster Management Bureau.
…While dragging him along like a prisoner after restraining him.
For context, I used an item he handed me to betray and restrain him.
“……”
This is a mess.
‘This can’t go on.’
This definitely feels like I’ve crossed the line. By tomorrow, I might find myself on the Disaster Management Bureau’s blacklist, conscripted for whatever sinister purposes they have in mind.
Sure, the company might protect me, but I really don’t want to owe Daydream Inc. anything—it would be utterly insane…!
‘I-I need to fix my image somehow.’
The cold sweat on my back never seems to dry.I spoke carefully.
“If you promise not to yell, I’ll remove the gag. Please just nod your head.”
The agent’s murderous glare softened slightly. He gave the faintest of nods.
‘…What a lie.’
If he’s going to deceive me, he could at least try to hide it better!
With a sigh, I continued.
“I have no intention of harming you, stealing Disaster Management Bureau intel, or reporting anything back to the company.”
“……”
“And… as I just said that, I felt no pain whatsoever.”
“……!”
“I know the caramel you gave me is a truth-inducing interrogation aid.”
The agent’s pupils trembled.
“Of course, I don’t think you gave it to me with malicious intent. It’s just…”
I gazed at the air with a melancholic look.
“I wanted to convey that even though I work for Daydream Inc., I wasn’t planning to lie to you.”
Strictly speaking, I was lying.
If it came to it, I fully intended to use express-delivered alien painkillers to bypass the effects and lie my way to survival.
Unsurprisingly, a sharp discomfort began to rise from within.
‘Ugh.’
It felt like my insides were twisting, like the onset of an ulcer.
But now wasn’t the time to let it show.
‘I can endure this without flinching.’
The more malicious or deliberate the lie, the greater the pain. What I’d just said was evasive at most, barely a level one discomfort.
Endure it.
‘Next step…’
Building trust.
I discreetly loosened a small silver badge in my pocket while keeping my face composed. Then, I openly showed the item—the Silver Heart—to the agent.
“I’m telling you this without relying on tools like these.”
“……”
“I’ll repeat myself. …If you promise not to yell, I’ll remove the gag. Just nod your head.”
Conflict flickered in the agent’s gaze.
When we stopped on the landing, he gave another faint nod.
“……”
Without a word, I removed the gag.
The agent kept his promise and didn’t cause a commotion.
‘Hmm.’
Good. Next step.
I returned the flashlight and pistol I had confiscated from the agent. Then, I loosened the restraints on his arms.
“This is…”
“You’ll need them to defend yourself in this kind of urgent situation.”
‘Not that the pistol works on anything but ghosts or supernatural entities.’
Though it could theoretically harm bad actors depending on the ammunition, I didn’t think either Jang Heo-un or I fit the criteria for such targets.
‘Jang Heo-un hasn’t caused any significant trouble in the past three months.’
Still, I didn’t completely remove the restraints. If the agent escaped before I finished winning him over, it could spell disaster.
I offered a plausible excuse.
“It’s too dangerous to wander off alone here. I’ll keep the restraints on until your judgment fully returns.”
“……”
We cautiously ascended the stairs, keeping watch in all directions.
Suddenly, the agent asked,
“Is ‘Roe Deer’ your alias?”
“……”
“Your group operates in units and uses aliases derived from your masks, correct?”
“…That’s correct.”
“Are you a squad leader?”
“No, just a new hire. This one here… is a fellow new hire.”
With a faintly bitter smile, I pulled a half-mask from my pocket and placed it over my face.
The familiar texture of bark with horns sprouted settled over my skin.
The agent looked at me, visibly shaken.
Then, I heard Jang Heo-un’s subdued voice.
“…I’m sorry, Mr. Roe Deer. I know you were trying to help me…”
“No, it’s fine. You must be very flustered.”
Honestly, compared to Baek Saheon, who was determined to get me fucked up, this was something I had already braced myself for when I decided to act as a temporary agent…
Moreover, Jang Heo-un even went as far as to vouch for me to the agent.
“Mr. Roe Deer is truly a kind and dependable person. Even when we first met, he risked his life to save me from the Darkness…”
“That’s, uh, an exaggeration.”
Nice shot!
“We just… helped each other. To survive the Darkness together.”
“Mr. Roe Deer…”
“……”
The agent fell silent, a complicated expression on his face.
At least he didn’t try to smack me with the grip of that small pistol, and I’ll take that as progress.
“…Entering the fourth floor.”
We ascended the final stretch of stairs.
[4F]
“……”
We made it, but…
‘I feel uneasy.’
From the fourth floor onward, this ghost story starts getting even more warped.
For one, when students die, there’s no announcement over the speakers anymore.
The floor is eerily dark.
Bzzt, bzzt…
Most of the lights were already shattered or burnt out, and the few remaining ones flickered sporadically, except for a handful that stayed on.
And the bigger issue…
“……!!”
“Huhp—”
Dozens of students were standing in the hallway.
And they were already staring directly at us.