Right now.
Beneath the desk where I sit.
Sothing is there.
It calls to .
The employee of the cursed resort, the one I summoned.
“Mr. Mascot?”
The corrupted Jang Heowoon.
My colleague, who died and has yet to be revived, calls out to as part of a ghost story.
To , the one who turned him into a ghost story.
“Please give instructions for the tasks I am to carry out. Thank you for summoning !”
A dizzying sensation.
I realize, in an unpleasant way, that I have regained the feeling of ‘chills’…
Like a spinal reflex, I shape words in the smoke and send them under the desk.
Question : Your current status
Please.
“I am stationed at the Yongcheon Fairy Bath Special Rehabilitation Zone, part of the Supernatural Disaster Managent Bureau located in Gangwon Province, carrying out duties as per your orders, Mr. Mascot. I am accommodating all requests from the ‘agents’ as long as they do not hinder resort operations!”
Yongcheon Fairy Bath.
A well-known paranormal phenonon registered in the bureau’s wiki, used for contamination treatnt and physical recovery.
‘So that’s where they sent him.’
My confused mind calms slightly as it encounters familiar knowledge.
The voice from beneath the desk echoes.
“The agents have look into the thirty-three pools of water gathered around the hot spring, checking what reflection of myself appears on their surfaces.”
But then.
“They ask if I see the form of ‘Agent Hwagak’, who I was before signing my contract with you, Mr. Mascot, but I never do. I always answer them politely!”
……
No.
No, I an, it’s only been half a year… progress might not have been made yet.
But surely sothing has changed, even a little?
‘Okay.’
I suddenly caught onto a clue.
The na I called him by.
‘He responded when I called him Jang Heowoon.’
Because I had just t another ‘Heowoon’, the strong impression led to call him by his real na, but I had definitely contracted with Mr. Jang Heowoon under the codena ‘Bison’.
He had responded to his real na. Doesn’t that an he’s regained at least so sense of human identity? It’s his own na…
[Oh… Mr. Roe Deer, that’s how servitude works! Even if a master calls out with vague nas like ‘Hey’ or ‘You there’, if a subordinate feels they are being addressed, they will gladly respond and take their place.]
……
So, rather than a sign of recovery, it’s just proof that his subordination to is absolute…
‘Then what about the Wish Ticket?’
If he used it… wait a second.
Question : Go Yeongeun-ssi’s status
(Including whether or not you’ve t her)
“I do not have that information. Shall I investigate separately if needed?”
Question : Wish Ticket usage status
“I do not have that information. Shall I investigate separately if needed?”
……
Question : Your identity
“I am Bison, honored to be employed by you, Mr. Mascot, at Flower Golden Resort, currently stationed on assignnt!”
No.
Sothing is wrong.
Seriously, deeply wrong.
‘What is going on?’
If the Jang Heowoon I summoned just now has shown no recovery whatsoever… If nothing unusual has happened to him and he’s simply been managed by the bureau for the past six months.
Then, just now.
Who was the person that introduced himself to as ‘Heowoon’, the employee who recognized ?
And where is the Wish Ticket?
……
This won’t do.
‘I need to get in touch with Yeongeun-ssi.’
As soon as possible.
But I don’t even have a smartphone, and soone as intelligent and cautious as Go Yeongeun-ssi would have changed her number long ago. How in the world am I supposed to reach her…
“Um, Mr. Mascot.”
……!
“May I… dare to ask a question?”
……
Affirmative
: Proceed to ask freely
“Thank you!”
That unnaturally cheerful, polite voice from under the desk… wavers slightly.
“When… will my assignnt end?”
…!
“Have I been summoned now to return to the resort with you, Mr. Mascot?”
I can feel it.
Anticipation.
A product of will and desire.
Sothing a resort employee does not need.
[Oh, I sense a faint individuality.]
Right.
‘Has sothing changed?’
Perhaps the Bureau’s asures are working.
To be sure, I quickly composed a reply.
Response : Negative
“……”
The sound beneath the desk stopped.
I continued speaking.
Return Condition : Must be able to request personal desires unrelated to work from the Mascot.
“But I have no personal desires. My joy has already been fulfilled, and the things I wanted before becoming a staff mber are aningless now!”
Huu.
Find sothing.
“Mr. Mascot…?”
I briefly considered handing Jang Heowoon the bell I held, but soon realized it was aningless.
After all, Agent Haegeum was the one who took custody of Mr. Jang Heowoon. If that had worked, she would have given it to him long ago.
‘More importantly…’
If I delayed any longer, the agents might start tracking him or initiate ergency asures.
‘If there is any progress, they need to keep receiving it from him steadily, without interruption.’
I decided to send Jang Heowoon-ssi back imdiately.
To make his sudden absence appear natural, I instructed him to perceive the summons as a ‘dispatched employee satisfaction inspection’ called by the Mascot.
“Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mascot!”
And just before I ended the summoning and sent him back—
“Will you summon again?”
……
Affirmative.
“Thank you, Mr. Mascot!”
A bright voice responded.
Then, the dead man beneath the desk vanished.
Beneath my left arm brace, within the smoke, the red inventory tattoo briefly glead with golden light…
As if the ‘lodge keeper’, currently serving as manager of the resort, had acknowledged my orders.
‘Huu.’
[Friend, you’ve learned how to handle subordinates. Congratulations! If only we had a fine bottle of champagne to celebrate!]
I couldn’t bring myself to thank him.
Curled up in the carrier crate, I waited until the dull, creeping sensation of ‘chills’ subsided.
Then I asked.
‘So, the person who ca to the annex earlier… wasn’t Bison, was it?’
Because the Jang Heowoon I contracted with remained unchanged.
[Correct, Mr. Roe Deer.]
……
[But every spoken word carries intent. What intent that person had in addressing you, Friend, even this announcer cannot tell…]
Right.
In that case…
‘I need to start by finding basic information on that employee.’
[Oh. Are you planning to use that vulgar researcher? If I recall, you were reluctant to bring this matter up to him directly!]
That’s true. It might only provoke him.
So…
‘I’ll just make him bring it up himself.’
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