Chapter 165 - Chapter 165

Chapter 165

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Translated by Jinmu

Read more at Nineheavens.org

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The Elder.

The existence known as the team leader of Black Tortoise Team 1.

She was also the one who had bestowed 'Dokkaebi Tricks' upon the agents through the window of this clubroom-like waiting room, allowing them to enter the Twinkling Dragon Palace in the form of young children.

'She might not be human.'

I was almost certain.

Therefore, I had expected that we would perform some magic-like ritual through that window in the waiting room to go see the 'Elder.'

However, the situation did not unfold that way.

“All right, let's go carefully.”

Click.

We moved by car.

“…??”

“It's not that far, about forty minutes?”

Perhaps I should be grateful that it was at least not a bicycle.

The three agents used an unbelievably mundane method of transportation to pass through downtown Seoul and head toward their destination.

That place was...

[Blue Hope Hospital]

“…….”

A white building located in a quiet area.

It was a convalescent hospital.

Seeing that the staff were all kind and there were many visitors, it seemed to be a very well-managed place...

As if they were familiar with it, the agents stepped into the main entrance without hesitation.

“Excuse me, we are here to visit Park Hong-rim.”

“Ah! This way...”

Upon going up to the fifth floor, a sunny single hospital room came into view.

And...

In that place, an elderly woman with a peaceful face lay in a bed where warm sunset light poured from the window.

She was an elder whose impression made one think she would be intelligent and benevolent if she had her eyes open.

Truly... the Elder.

“Grape. Let's greet her. She is our Elder.”

“…….”

On the table sat a picture frame containing rolling papers that people had written.

Just like in the Black Tortoise Team 1 waiting room.

-Sister Hong-rim, I really, really love you

-Thank you always

-Leaving a message of verification as a beloved disciple who tracked and rescued an Andong Soju master to maintain loyalty with the team leader, who is a soju lover

-A great leader, our team leader

Traces of people.

“Grandma, I'm... huh?”

At that moment, a student who was entering the hospital room busily was startled upon seeing us.

“Hello, agents...!”

“Hey there, Ye-ji. Good to see you. Have you been well?”

“I'm the same as always. Let's see, how is our lady doing...”

The high school student, who appeared to be her granddaughter, put her hand on her grandmother's forehead as if to check for a fever and examined her expression before lifting her head with a smile.

“She seems to be in a good mood.”

“Indeed. Her complexion is bright.”

“Haha. Ah, Uncle Jae-gwan, have you been doing well?”

“…Yeah.”

As if they knew each other, the two agents conversed familiarly with the granddaughter and then introduced me.

“Here is our rookie.”

“Ah... nice to meet you.”

“Yes, me too...!”

This was not the time to be dazed. I hastily bowed to greet the student, and she bowed her head deeply as well.

And then she spoke.

“…Excuse me. Please take good care of my grandma.”

“…….”

For some reason, my chest swelled with emotion.

“If anything, I am the one... receiving great help from the team leader.”

“……Yes.”

The granddaughter took a deep breath as if suppressing a surge of emotion that made her look on the verge of tears, and then she smiled brightly.

“Then I will step out for a moment so you can greet her!”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Click.

The hospital room door closed, and silence descended.

Agent Choi reached out his hand slightly and tidied the hair of his non-waking team leader.

Even so, the Elder did not move.

“There was... an accident.”

“…….”

“As you probably know, Grape, even a single mistake in a paranormal disaster can lead to a really absurd death, right?”

Agent Choi's voice became slightly softer.

“I heard the paranormal disaster our team leader entered last was like a labyrinth, bizarre, and just a very strange place altogether...”

He took a deep breath.

“Her upper body was almost blown away.”

“…!”

“Especially her head... I heard that almost half of it had disappeared.”

I reflexively checked the Elder lying in the bed.

...That perfectly clean and intact appearance.

“Right. Still, she looks fine now, doesn't she?”

Agent Choi fell silent, unable to continue, and looked at the bed quietly just like me.

...Agent Bronze slowly opened his mouth.

“The team leader passed the Dokkaebi Trial, so she possessed her own customized Dokkaebi Fire Lantern.”

Ah.

I reflexively looked down at my right arm.

To be precise, at the Dokkaebi fire that was replacing it.

-You make it custom, right? You can't just receive it in an abbreviated way like this; the agent also has to undergo the Dokkaebi Trial... Whew, it's powerful, but it's hard work.

No way.

“So, more than half of the team leader's head and upper body are currently... replaced by the Dokkaebi fire.”

“…!”

“They say... she cannot wake up because the Dokkaebi fire is already using too much miraculous power, rendering her unable to bear the causality of directly intervening in reality.”

“…….”

I looked at the elderly woman on the bed who was sleeping peacefully.

...Who would probably sleep forever.

“…In that way, the team leader became the 'Elder.'”

Rather than a human, she became a supernatural existence. A Dokkaebi Elder.

Agent Choi, who was staring at the bed with us, barely managed to lift his head.

He had a beaming smile on his face.

“Still, we know she is always watching over us! In dreams and illusions, that is.”

“......Yes.”

“Then let's greet her. ...Elder! We came to express our gratitude and introduce our rookie.”

Agent Choi tapped my shoulder.

“Look. Didn't I say he looked like he would do a good job? He really did great. Though you've probably already seen it.”

I could not bring myself to say here that I had no intention of joining this team.

I wondered if Agent Choi had targeted even this, but looking at his face, which wore a gentle smile, that did not seem to be the case.

“…….”

Guided by Agent Bronze, I stepped right in front of the bed.

“…Hello. Elder.”

And then I bowed respectfully.

“I am the new rookie who recently joined.”

At that moment.

[Grape.]

“…!”

I lifted my head.

Everyone who had been in the hospital room had vanished before I knew it.

And instead of the sunset, a brilliant full moon shone into the room from the window.

In that place...

[You did very well.]

There was a gentle, faint flame stroking my head.

No, it was a fragment of the Elder... possessing a body temperature as warm as fire.

Warmth and images.

I blinked my eyes.

“Am I... dreaming?”

[Yes. It seems you are nodding off due to the fatigue of your arduous journey. Come, sit here...]

A warm hand held my hand.

My eyes closed.

Before I knew it, I was receiving the Elder's touch as she patted my back while I leaned against the bed...

“…Did I.”

Suddenly, words burst out.

“Do you really think I did well?”

[Of course!]

[You did your best, and thanks to that, the children returned alive and smiling. It is all your effort and blessing.]

“…….”

[Do not mistreat yourself. No one else could have done better than you. Even if you went back, you would not have been able to do better than that.]

For some reason, I felt a surge of emotion.

Receiving emotional support from someone possessed a power that stirred a weary heart.

‘But...'

Doubts arose.

‘She seems to know my identity.'

I had felt it in my previous conversation with the Elder as well. She knew the items I possessed well.

‘Is it because it's a dream?'

She probably already knew about me.

Then, could this also be an attempt to pry out a spy's inner thoughts?

It was a strange sensation closer to disappointment than suspicion.

It was almost like the feeling when one realizes their grandmother is forcing herself to treat them well because she has some other motive...

And anxiety.

However...

[Besides, is there anyone in the world without a secret? Is there anyone without flaws?]

The hand patted my back again.

[The important thing is to keep a small lantern lit in your heart forever. It is to check the ground from time to time so that you can turn back when you realize, 'Ah, I took the wrong path.']

“…Thank you.”

I steadied my breathing.

[Yes. I have now become an old person who finds it overwhelming just to know the people embraced in my arms... so I don't really know about the complicated ways of the world or disputes.]

It was a roundabout expression of her intention not to snitch about my original affiliation to the Disaster Management Bureau.

...Even regarding my suspiciousness.

“…….”

The touch patting my back pulled away.

It was a somewhat excited hand gesture.

[But an old person has an old person's wisdom. And...]

[There is also a reward.]

Before I knew it, I straightened my body and sat on the edge of the bed.

Just as it always was in dreams, the context was skipped. However, it was not awkward. Because it was a dream.

And this gentle request as well.

[Let's pull out your norigae from your pocket.]

“…….”

I pulled out the object that had been inside my pants pocket before I knew it.

A round accessory with an X drawn on it.

Memorial GripTok

The item that showed past memories clearly in text, which had allowed me to read the .

But it was something I could no longer use because it was cracked.

[Ah, I remember that.]

[The administrative officer teased me so much, saying all the kids these days attach things like that and walk around. The dokkaebi didn't even throw a feast for eight days to make that.]

A hearty and benevolent laugh.

[But that seems a bit... different. Let's see...]

The Elder put on reading glasses and peered closely at my GripTok.

Inside the cracked gap of the GripTok, the adhesive put in by the employee who had pretended to be a dokkaebi at the Dokkaebi Workshop still remained.

“Well, he said that adhesive would harden within a month... but even though quite some time has passed already, it has not changed.”

[Hmm? Ah... I see. That fellow is not a real dokkaebi but a transformed human, so he might not know.]

[This one is an even rarer treasure. However, it seems he merely imitated our workshop's product.]

[But if you treat it like some counterfeit made by common street thugs, things won't work out.]

The Elder infused fire into the GripTok.

“…!”

The burning GripTok sparkled as if old grime were peeling off, and soon the crack disappeared.

[There, now it is glued together.]

“…! Thank you...”

[However, the important step is not finished yet.]

[I mean making a wish for what kind of appearance you would like it to have.]

“…!”

Come to think of it, I had heard those words at the Dokkaebi Workshop as well.

-While making a wish for what kind of appearance you want it to take. Then it will become a very wonderful ornament!

Because the situation had developed so urgently that I was practically out of my mind, I had paid less attention to that part.

‘Let me be a bit conscious of it this time.'

I politely tucked the GripTok back into my pocket.

“Thank you.”

[Grape is indeed very polite.]

I felt a pleased gaze.

She stroked my head again.

The warm fire seemed to permeate my entire body. As if burning away the pain and pollution completely...

[This old person would like to give our Grape even a dried persimmon, but dear me... time is up.]

Uh?

[Your sleepiness is running away!]

“…….”

I opened my eyes.

Before I knew it, I was in a posture where I almost bumped my head on the hospital bed before reflexively straightening my body.

A person who startled awake from dozing off.

“…!”

I hastily raised my head.

I saw the two agents looking back at me with smiles.

And... the Elder lying in bed, sleeping soundly.

“Did you greet her well?”

“…Yes.”

Looking at the clock in the hospital room, the time was exactly the same as when we had entered.

I had literally 'dozed off for a second.'

And dreams dwell even in a very brief sleep.

“…….”

I looked down at my body.

The traces of tumors and ulcers that had looked as if they were boiling had all disappeared.

“…Thank you.”

I bowed deeply toward the sleeping Elder. The agents smiled and patted my back.

“Then we'll come again next time, Elder!”

I followed the two agents and left the hospital room.

The figure of the Elder, still closing her eyes in a peaceful manner, seemed to send us off...

“How is it? She's a good person, right?”

“……Yes.”

“Told you. Our team has such good luck with people~ It seems Grape has good luck with bosses, doesn't he?”

This time, Agent Choi's boast did not feel annoying.

I put my hand in my pocket. I could feel the completely glued GripTok.

“…….”

“Let's rest well for now, and we can think about things like reports tomorrow. The site cleanup team went there too, and all the kids have fallen asleep.”

“Have a safe trip back.”

“Yes... Thank you.”

I also bowed to greet the two agents.

The agents rode the bicycles they had brought and disappeared across the road.

Only after they had vanished did I lift my head.

“......Whew.”

It was surprising.

‘Still, I gained something.'

Because I had not expected to fix the Memorial GripTok like this.

‘Then... do I just have to make a wish until it starts working?'

Now, what I had to do was...

“…Contact Director Ho.”

…I had to clean up the mess made at Daydream Co.......

‘This brings tears to my eyes, seriously.'

Did Agent Choi just say I had good luck with bosses?

I did not think so.

‘Ah, please.'

I squeezed my eyes shut and picked up my smartphone.

Please let this be cleaned up quickly...!

* * *

“Hey, this rumor isn't going to be easily suppressed.”

Agent Choi grinned and patted the back of his direct junior.

Ryu Jae-gwan held back a sigh and casually dodged his touch.

“It's dangerous.”

“Hey, I'm a bicycle master.”

On their way back to headquarters to report after sending Agent Grape to rest, they continued to chat while riding their bicycles.

“What on earth do you mean by a rumor that cannot be suppressed?”

“What else? I'm talking about Grape.”

“…!”

They had rescued every single child from a paranormal disaster they had gone out for a routine rescue, and they might have even concluded that paranormal disaster itself.

Yet, this amazing feat had occurred with the joining of a single rookie employee.

“When a coincidence repeats itself twice, people start recognizing it as skill.”

What was more, if this rookie employee had just recently concluded another paranormal disaster during his duties with the site cleanup team?

The probationary period for rookies was no longer an issue.

His job aptitude evaluation had literally pierced the sky...!

“Congratulations on the confirmation of your assignment to Black Tortoise Team 1. Muhahaha!”

“…….”

Ryu Jae-gwan pressed his temples.

The only saving grace was that the Disaster Management Bureau tended to invest generously in equipment for talented personnel.

‘...I guess it will become safer.'

If it reached this level, it seemed a customized Dokkaebi Fire Lantern was really not far off... Even if that was not the case, he would be able to receive a few more pieces of equipment.

However, his concern was whether he would attract too much attention.

‘...Hopefully the rumors won't be exaggerated in a weird direction.'

He would have to keep checking.

Ryu Jae-gwan held back a sigh and pedaled his bicycle.

“Let's go, Jae-gwan~”

For reference, this expectation was also taking place within a completely different faction, in a different direction...

At the same time. An office in Daydream Co.

“Lord Cat!”

Thud! The Field Exploration Team employee wearing a pony mask slammed the table as he conducted a vivid interview with the research team.

“The great Lord Cat was in that Dark! The omnipotent cat!”

For reference, the research team was in an uproar.

This was because a solution of grade B or higher had come out from the 'Mermaid Tomb' where grade C dreamscape solution was originally extracted.

A crazy irregular!

But to make matters worse, the Disaster Management Bureau had smuggled away all the young mermaids, and the agents had fled in a hurry.

Consequently, the research team, lacking research material, was fully occupied with constantly extracting testimonies from the Field Exploration Team that had entered at the time.

And... testimonies like these were commonly coming up.

“It was a monster! A monster! Save me!”

“I don't know... The text I saw? Was it really there? It might have been my illusion... I was just so scared, but I did my best for the clear.”

“ThegreatLordCatprotectsushewillletusout!Wehavetorescuethechildren!”

Multiple employees testified about sightings of a bizarre entity in the shape of a black cat (referred to as the 'black cat' hereafter).

A bizarre powerfulness incomprehensible by universal human thought, such as inducing panic and madness, brainwashing, physical mutation, distortion of causality, reality warping, and collective manipulation of intelligent entities.

“Yes. Although it was helpful for the clear this time... I don't know what it would be like if we met it elsewhere.”

Failure in guessing its purpose and intent. There was a statement from a field exploration employee that it seemed to be an attempt to seize the corresponding ghost story (Qterw-C-1642), but its reliability was low.

However, highly evaluating the validity of the speculation that a more transcendental entity, rather than one originating from Qterw-C-1642, had anomalously entered the corresponding Dark,

“We want to avoid it as much as possible.”

Designated the corresponding entity, the 'black cat,' as a Dark with an independent identification code.

Bestowed the identification code Qterw-A-1845.

It was the beginning of grand chaos.