Chapter 169 - Chapter 169

Chapter 169

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Translated by Jinmu

Read more at Nineheavens.org

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On the day of the assignment.

"Congratulations on the official appointment of our Agent Grape~!!"

"......."

"Bwahahat! Shall we have a dinner gathering today? Quite a bit of overtime meal expenses have piled up for our team this month, right? How much did I get? Anyway, my treat!"

Wow.

With eyes that had given up on everything, I received the agents' welcome greetings in the waiting room of Black Tortoise Team 1.

Actually, it was hard to even call it a welcome greeting. Since I had seen them just a few days ago.

It was just that my placement in Black Tortoise Team 1 was completely finalized today!

"...I look forward to working with you."

"......Yes."

For the record, the senior who had said he would do his best to voice his opinion so I could be assigned to another team was also present here.

Agent Bronze was avoiding my gaze even as we shook hands.

"......."

Yes, Agent. It is a grave I dug myself....

'Destruction King... Let's work diligently so that nickname disappears at least.'

Because I wondered if this was okay as a spy.

'Haha....'

In the end, I bowed my head to Agent Choi as well.

Since I would keep seeing him from now on, it would be foolish to make a fuss about not wanting to come to Black Tortoise Team 1.

"...Thank you for welcoming me."

"Don't mention it~"

Agent Choi smiled broadly and patted my back.

At any case, he was a decent person character-wise....

"Since we're going to work together for the rest of our lives, I don't know if the welcome should have been grander. Haha!"

"......."

The sense of duty of an agent from the early days was a bit scary.

"Let's work together for a long time, Grape...."

No, a lot....

In any case, Agent Choi's dinner gathering proposal became reality that evening.

As soon as their work ended, Black Tortoise Team 1 moved to have dinner together.

"This is a place we visit often. Because the owner here is a retired agent. Ah, please give us a large tripe hotpot here! Two bottles of soju."

Thus, in a room-type table seat in the corner of a crowded popular restaurant, we began to eat and talk while having a light drink.

In the process, I finally received a formal introduction to Black Tortoise Team 1.

"Though team numbers actually don't have much meaning now, still, when it first launched, Team 1 took on slightly more difficult missions. So you can take pride in your affiliation, thinking of your seniors!"

It was a fact I already knew.

But hearing the explanation directly from the person involved was indeed fresh.

Just like hearing about the current situation like this.

"Originally, Black Tortoise Team 1 had five regular staff members under the team leader... but two are on sick leave, and one is... well, on leave of absence."

"......."

Although he did not mention it, there were probably many cases of dying in the line of duty.

Recalling the writings in various handwritings that had filled the waiting room's whiteboard, I looked at the two remaining people in this team.

Agent Choi smiled widely.

"Finally, our headcount has reached three. Wow, this is nice. Hey, Jae-gwan, don't you think so too?"

This person... might have simply been glad to see a new face.

I suppressed a bitter smile. And raising my glass, I just bowed my head to the two.

"Um, thank you... once again, for welcoming me...."

"...!"

It was gratitude for not giving me even a single scolding when I actually came to Black Tortoise Team 1, even though they knew I had very stubbornly aspired to join another team.

And the listener also seemed to have read the meaning of these words.

"No~ We are the ones who are grateful."

Agent Choi waved his hand and spoke in passing.

"You didn't want to come, did you? To our team."

"......."

I suppressed a sigh and downed the soju.

"It's not that I dislike the Dispatch Rescue Team. It's just... that I don't trust myself."

"Sol-eum."

Agent Choi looked at me.

"It's okay. There is no one who does."

"......."

"Who would be one hundred percent confident that their action is correct in a paranormal disaster? If such a person existed, that person would be a paranormal phenomenon."

The senior, who had begun to call me by name and title instead of junior from some point.

He grinned while ladling out some hotpot for me.

"...But for us, there is advice from the people who have tried it before."

"......."

"Believe in that."

The exploration records.

"And as you go on... once in a while, you steel yourself and feel like jumping in first, you know? Then you end up advising someone who comes after you."

"......."

Agent Bronze's eyes grew dim, but he did not object.

As if the two had already fought over this part and reached an agreement in the past.

"But there's no need to think that far ahead yet!"

Agent Choi smiled warmly and filled my glass.

"Sol-eum, you really had a lot of trouble from the beginning since you entered this place."

I could not deny it at all.

"But actually, that kind of thing is an event that happens once in half a year—no, if you're lucky, not even once in a few years. It's not like you'll be doing that every day just because you came to our team, so don't worry."

Agent Choi grinned and unilaterally clinked his glass against mine.

Clink.

"You'll do well."

"......."

"Got it?"

I nodded.

And like a lie, those words became truth.

* * *

Three weeks after the formal assignment to Black Tortoise Team 1.

"Grape, there!"

I was performing rescue work in ghost stories much more smoothly than I had thought.

"Catch them!"

"Yes!"

I grabbed the rescue requester who was trying to flee frantically beside me, and stuffed them into the washing machine.

"Ack!"

I'm sorry, please endure it a bit since that is the escape route!

"Hey, it's over! Run!"

And before the spin-dry finished, I also got into an empty washing machine, submerged in the spinning water, and....

"Whew!"

Successfully escaped.

"The rescue requester and two others have been safely rescued from the 'Intersection Laundromat'."

Today, I saved three citizens at a crazy laundromat that remodeled personalities and reformed bodies.

And the past three weeks had been similar.

'Dispatching about once every three days...?'

Honestly, it was scary and tough.

But....

"Is that fellow the one? The Destruction King? Indeed, he handles tasks incredibly refreshing and well!"

"Bwahahat! Right, Team Leader!"

"......."

Surprisingly, the Destruction King Rookie image was quite useful!

-The Destruction King Rookie is adapting smoothly ^^

-You're in this room too now, right?

Since a positive character that was funny and friendly in its own way had been established, adapting was also easy.

Furthermore, the character was getting stronger by the day. To this extent, it wouldn't even be awkward to be written in the wiki.

'Me, a celebrity of the Disaster Management Bureau....'

Honestly, it did not feel bad.

And as if what I had experienced beforehand had truly been a blessing in disguise, no unexpected situations occurred in ghost stories for three weeks.

All that remained was simply bringing people back while adhering to the already published rescue manual.

It was at a level where it was doable if I just endured the goddamn fear!

'In the first place, if it's a ghost story where the Disaster Management Bureau's rescue request number can be found, it means the Bureau has already grasped much of it.'

Enough to plant a number inside the ghost story.

To the point where I could understand why there were many solo missions.

'At this rate, it is bearable...!'

Moreover, because I was still a rookie, it was a two-person team.

It was less scary and safe!

So I once quietly tried telling this story to Agent Bronze, but he grew serious.

-No. It is not safe.

-.......

-Your standards are somewhat warped.

Agent, if you also spend just half a year at Daydream Co., you'll become like me....

'I feel like crying.'

Agent Bronze had been trying to take excessive care of me since I ended up in Black Tortoise Team 1, yet he subtly avoided personal chats. He probably had an uncomfortable sense of debt. I understood....

Anyway, that was why the past three weeks had been bearable despite the tension.

I naturally blended into Black Tortoise Team 1, and now, whenever I ran into people inside the headquarters, I had no need to introduce myself as Black Tortoise Team 1.

Because I had blended into this team enough that everyone already knew.

'...It was fine.'

I could not deny that there was stability brought by a sense of belonging.

...The problem was that it was about time for solo missions to come to me too.

Ha.

'Alone... it will be scary.'

Having to experience a ghost story alone once every three days. That was truly the problem.

Even so, before that, such a proposal came.

"Grape. Do you want to go get some rest?"

It was when we were preparing to leave for the day in the waiting room after finishing the transfer of work to the Site Cleanup Team.

"You worked almost without rest for three weeks and continuously went out on support duties. A guy who was even hospitalized a month ago shouldn't overdo it. You need to rest a bit now to clear your head and recover your strength."

Agent Choi had proposed this.

And....

To be honest, this was a situation I had slightly aimed for.

'It is hard to use up a batch of annual leave as a rookie....'

That was why I deliberately overextended myself to maximize my working hours, hoping to get a few days off through a recommendation from a supervisor who couldn't bear to watch anymore.

'I succeeded.'

Agent Bronze also nodded quickly as soon as our eyes met.

Good.

"Thank you."

"Right, don't forget to bundle your two off-days and attach them to it!"

Thus, I was able to use four days of annual leave in a row.

Attaching them to the two off-days that occurred in a week, it was a whopping six days.

Of course, there was definitely a clear reason why I needed this empty period.

[Mr. Kim Sol-eum, the results of your mental stability test are out. Please make an appointment for a consultation and pick them up when you have time ^^]

A text message had arrived from Director Ho last week.

...Now, I could soon enter Pleasant Theme Park.

'Let's prepare.'

And let's handle the schedule I had postponed due to work.

[Aren't you going to make the exchange?]

[It's information you'll absolutely want to hear]

It seemed Baek Sa-heon was ready.

* * *

And that evening.

I met the guy in a dark room cafe in Seoul.

"Tell me quickly."

A vein bulged on Baek Sa-heon's temple upon hearing the urging as soon as we met.

"......Look here, this is a transaction. It doesn't feel good when you speak that way."

"You like efficiency. Isn't it better to speak quickly, take the item, and leave? Live while doing some math."

"~!"

Baek Sa-heon momentarily wore an extremely pissed-off expression, but he quickly concealed it and smiled.

"...Let's do that, then!"

Oh. He seemed quite confident.

I also focused to listen carefully.

"First...."

Baek Sa-heon opened his mouth in a highly significant tone and shared a special fact....

"Two of the rookies from our batch have vanished."

"......."

"Do you remember? Go Yeong-eun and..."

"Jang Heo-un."

"...!"

Good grief.

"I know, so skip it."

"W-Wait a minute. You don't know where they went, do you, Supervisor?"

Yes. I do.

I stared at Baek Sa-heon with dead-fish eyes, and the guy continued talking while breaking out in a cold sweat.

"They went to a branch office!"

They didn't.

"You know the branch offices, right? I mean the provincial ones. A lot of employees have been assigned to the headquarters from there lately, and it somehow seems like a suspicious place. All contact with them has been cut off too...."

"Right. Next."

I told you they didn't.

I didn't know for sure, but Baek Sa-heon must have been swearing profusely internally right now.

'Go ahead and do it....'

But I had to give him a bit of hope for the information to flow out more smoothly. I changed my words.

"Tell me something else. It will only tire you out if you keep babbling about information I already know."

"......."

"Are there no other rumors?"

Baek Sa-heon briefly looked at me with eyes that seemed to scream, 'How on earth do you know that?' but ultimately confessed the next piece of information.

That was....

"A while ago, I saw a researcher and a security guard fighting."

Hmmm.

'Did the researcher get his head cracked open or something...?'

Perhaps my face grew dubious, as Baek Sa-heon hurriedly continued.

"No, listen. The researcher is someone you know too. It is Manager Gwak Je-gang of Research Team 1...."

"...!"

What?

I almost let it show that I had lost my composure.

I barely managed to keep myself to just widening my eyes, but it was already too late.

"You seem to really want to hear this."

Baek Sa-heon was wearing a triumphant smile.

"I want to tell you quickly too... but, um, let me look at that item first and then tell you. Because it would be awkward if you said there was no item after hearing everything."

"......."

"Ah, not that you are that kind of person, Supervisor... but for mutual trust! Speed is important, of course, but trust is also important in a transaction."

He's got some game.

"Shall we?"

"...!"

Fine.

As if performing a magic trick, I pulled out the Necronomicon from my wrist.

Seeing the imposing book-shaped item contained in a creepy book case with an unusual atmosphere, Baek Sa-heon's eyes flashed with greed.

And he reached out....

Slap!

"Didn't you say you'd only look?"

"......."

Baek Sa-heon momentarily cast an aggressive look, but he soon opened his mouth and continued to spew information.

"They said a security guard picked a fight with a researcher. He tried to hit him because he didn't answer properly when asked something."

And the 'rumor' that followed was this.

A security guard was asking a researcher he met on duty about things related to the facility, when the researcher's boss appeared.

None other than Gwak Je-gang.

And he reportedly spoke to him.

"What did he say?"

"I don't know. It probably wasn't anything grand. But suddenly, the security guard attacked."

"......."

Suddenly, a scene came to mind.

The security team leader who was talking on the phone with Gwak Je-gang.

-You know... although I can't enter the Dark...... I can kill humans.

Wait a minute.

'Could that security guard... be J?'

"It's probably because of pollution. Since the security teams are crazy bastards in the first place due to pollution...."

"Don't make things up."

"What?"

"Your imagination got mixed in."

I spoke, pretending to be crazy.

"If it shows that you exaggerated... the dopamine disappears."

"......."

"Continue."

Baek Sa-heon seemed slightly intimidated.

And his words became plain again.

Fortunately.

"...Well, anyway, they say that security guard is someone who originally doesn't come outside much, but he volunteered and did duty at the annex and such. I heard he was originally quite famous?"

"Who said that?"

"The manager-level employees gathering and chatting. Even if I don't know specifically who they were, anyway, they were people with quite a bit of seniority."

"......."

'The Security Team Leader was... originally an elite team leader.'

It seemed it was J after all.

'He is truly trying to find out about the Cheerful Lab...!'

Even so, I had hoped he wouldn't do dangerous things, but fortunately he seemed to be keeping within limits well.

Although it broke me into a cold sweat that he had clashed with Gwak Je-gang.

If anyone got beaten up, it would be Gwak Je-gang, and nothing bad would happen to the Security Team Leader. Since Gwak Je-gang was scary because of the crazy exploration setup he designed!

'It is indeed convenient to check like this.'

And I didn't have to worry in vain.

"This is for sure!"

"Right."

I listened to a few more useless pieces of gossip afterward, pretending to be interested.

And by the time Baek Sa-heon's patience was nearly exhausted, I sensed that the right price had been reached.

"To be honest, the stories after that weren't very interesting."

"......."

"The fight with the researcher was fun. Good job. It's good information."

"...!"

Smiling, I removed my hand that was holding down the Necronomicon.

"Take it."

As soon as the words left my mouth, Baek Sa-heon quickly snatched that bizarre book.

And after scanning the book case with excited eyes, he suddenly looked at me and spoke.

"By any chance, is this not something that only existences like you, Supervisor... anyway, only those existences can read?"

"No."

I returned his gaze directly.

"But don't expect to use it with the same power as me."

Because you are not a ghost story enthusiast!

"......."

Baek Sa-heon hesitated but ultimately packed the book inside.

Whew.

I finally relaxed my tense shoulders.

Disposal complete.

'I gained information and also disposed of it.'

The Fake Necronomicon. I had felt uncomfortable holding onto it anyway, so this turned out well.

Well, it wasn't an item that caused problems just by possessing it, but....

'...The thing is, I feel like I'll keep wanting to handle matters with that.'

The power was too good.

If I had it, every time things got complicated, I would feel the urge to just read it and solve the matter in 'that' direction.

Because everyone would end up listening to me.

But a long tail is bound to get stepped on.

'It is perfect for getting caught.'

And... no matter how I thought about it, if I pushed myself even a little too hard, I felt like I would go mad or develop permanent mental issues.

So selling it as the price of information to a guy who wasn't a ghost story enthusiast was perfect.

'It turned out well.'

Baek Sa-heon's expression grew better and better as he packed the book, and he eventually turned to look at me with a subtle look and spoke.

"Um, Supervisor. I want to hear a bit more about the standard for 'good information'."

He probably wanted to squeeze out more because the performance of the transaction item was so solid.

"If you tell me in more detail, I will also..."

"Interesting things."

"......."

"I already told you. You want me to tell you more specifically?"

"...Yes. If you would, I'd appreciate..."

I rested my chin on my hand.

"The story about the researcher earlier was interesting too. As expected, it is easier to imagine when it is someone whose face I know... Yes. The security guard is also fine. Unique."

"...Then I will listen to rumors focusing on those two, and look into other things too."

"Okay."

I nodded.

In that way, the transaction implicitly reached its end, and Baek Sa-heon rose from the table while packing his bag containing today's harvest.

Once that guy leaves, I should also....

"Excuse me."

Hmm?

Baek Sa-heon hesitated before continuing.

"Supervisor, you are currently at the Disaster Management Bureau, right?"

"......."

"Back then, you were rescued by agents in the form of a child. Then..."

I quietly looked back at Baek Sa-heon.

And advised him.

"It's better if you don't know."

It was the truth.

Unless you also want to be 'transferred to a branch' and disappear.

'If that guy gets caught by Director Ho while digging into my background, he is finished....'

"In any case, that's not a place where you can get something like a Wish Ticket."

"......."

"Meaning there is no corner for you to gain anything."

Perhaps sensing an unusual vibe, Baek Sa-heon rolled his eyes and nodded.

'This should be enough.'

Yet he added unexpected words.

"...Yes. Well... Supervisor, take care of yourself too."

"Yeah. You too."

Thus, the transaction ended.

I let out a sigh only after verifying that Baek Sa-heon opened the room cafe door and left.

"Whew."

Baek Sa-heon.

I already knew what kind of person he was as a character, and had also figured it out while sharing company housing with him.

So, in a different sense, he was a low-risk partner.

'Should I say he moves as expected.'

Thanks to that, I still used him as a trading partner, but... well, actually, I barely knew any personal information about him other than his character type.

And come to think of it, that seemed to apply not only to Baek Sa-heon, but... to almost everyone I met here.

'...Because I am going to return home.'

Are the seniors of Group D the exceptions at best?

Hearing Baek Sa-heon talk about trivial gossip of others today made me consciously aware of that anew.

So I am also suddenly curious.

'Why is Baek Sa-heon trying to obtain a Wish Ticket?'

Why a bastard who bets everything on survival does life-threatening work was never specifically mentioned in the .

'Well... it is none of my business, though.'

Honestly, I was also more curious about the reasons of my other colleagues rather than Baek Sa-heon's.

I will ask if there is an opportunity later, and for now, let's think about my own Wish Ticket.

And my survival too.

"Whew."

I pulled out my smartphone after verifying that Baek Sa-heon had completely gone out into the street.

And sent the reply I had prepared.

To Director Ho.

[I would like to make an appointment, doctor]

Let's enter.

Pleasant Theme Park.