– B-But… his work was pretty helpful, wasn’t it…?
[I hear the sound of soone being erased.]
……
Yeah……
A-Anyway, the tension seed to have eased sowhat in the grand sche of things.
‘…Let’s get out of here quickly.’
I needed to separate these two, pronto.
For many reasons, I was exhausted…
– For now, it looks like we can just walk out through the front gate, Section Chief.
The boarding school’s main gate, as if declaring surrender to the live broadcast, had reappeared and been forced wide open to allow the filming crew to move through.
I watched as Section Chief Lee Jaheon first escorted the surviving trainees out, and I let out a sigh of relief.
‘He really does make ethical choices.’
Thank goodness.
Then Section Chief Lee Jaheon also stepped through the gate.
Glimr.
Through our shared vision, I saw light pouring in beyond the door.
Sothing never seen in this gloomy academy ghost story.
Sunlight.
We stepped into it, and……
……
“Dear custor.”
I opened my eyes.
A white space. Before I knew it, I was sitting in a strange place made of light and three-dinsional shapes.
And in front of was…
“We have confird the attempt and successful rescue of the entity ‘Lee Jaheon’ from the Space Shopping Mall.”
A lizard from the Space Shopping Mall.
This ti, a grayish green one.
It seed I was facing these alien reptiles through a chanism similar to the VIP personal shopping session once again.
“So Section Chief Lee Jaheon has returned safely?”
“Yes.”
“I’d like to speak with him directly.”
“Yes. That is why ‘we’ are here.”
It took a mont to understand the sentence, but then it clicked.
These alien reptiles considered speaking to ‘us’ to be the sa as speaking directly to Lee Jaheon.
Because Lee Jaheon is ‘us’.
Because they shared one enormous ntal system, one collective experience and judgnt.
Which made it sink in even more.
‘They probably have no sense of having ‘cut off’ a specific mber nad Lee Jaheon at all.’
To them, it’s just… no different from giving up just one part of the whole body.
Like pulling out a broken nail, scraping off burned flesh, severing a festering wound.
They might feel regret, but not guilt.
Because that’s who ‘we’ were.
The feeling was truly uncanny.
“I’m sorry, but I would like to speak with the specific individual known as ‘Section Chief Lee Jaheon’.”
“Our experiences and judgnts do not differ.”
“Please, I would still like to request it.”
A brief silence.
“Understood. The Lee Jaheon entity shall contact you directly in the real world.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
It seed certain that he had returned safely.
“Then, does that an I can return to my own body now?”
When I went to rescue Section Chief Lee Jaheon, the Space Shopping Mall had explained that this would be the final operational step of their ‘We Can Help!’ item.
– Upon successful rescue of the caller, the mind of the entity who responded to the call shall return to its original coordinates.
“Yes.”
The reception lizard nodded again as expected.
Then I should hurry and return…
“Will you be receiving the reward at a later ti?”
“If by reward, you an…”
“Our compensation for rescuing the Lee Jaheon entity.”
…!
“You an the Space Shopping Mall is giving a reward?”
“No.”
The lizard looked at with an oddly friendly gaze.
Sothing more… significant.
“’We’ will reward you.”
……
A designation far more encompassing than ‘Space Shopping Mall’.
“What is it that you want?”
My mind snapped sharply awake.
‘This.’
This was no ordinary opportunity.
“…Would it be possible to receive help rescuing soone in Sekwang City?”
“We do not recomnd it.”
I expected that.
‘Pressing the ‘We Can Help!’ button back then wasn’t recomnded either…’
If I set aside that imdiate, urgent matter then would be…
‘…I need to think more carefully.’
I shouldn’t answer rashly.
I thought with painstaking care, then finally chose one.
……
……
Among the goals I set in the Daydream underground containnt room, this was the clearest.
“I… want to regain a human body.”
I want to beco human.
I want to take back my body.
“When you say ‘a human body’, do you an the body of a 21st-century contemporary human of Earth?”
“Yes. …Is that possible?”
An imdiate answer ca.
“It is possible.”
…!
“With what thod??”
“Use the body of a human whose sense of self has been lost.”
Wait. So that ans…
‘They’re suggesting a body switch?’
Such an alien way of thinking. And for , nearly impossible to carry out.
…Let try shifting the nuance.
“Would it be possible to use my current body as if it was human? Like I did when I was a supervisor at Daydream Inc.?”
I swallowed and fixed my eyes on the lizard’s snout.
Its mouth slowly opened and spoke…
“Yes.”
…!
“Then I’d like your help with that.”
“Yes. We will deliver our reward once preparations are complete.”
Great.
Feeling the urge to clench my fist in triumph, I was about to say I would take my leave when…
A thought occurred to .
Maybe?
“Um, is it true that helping to rescue also saved ‘us’ the cost of a Sacred Fire bombardnt?”
“Yes.”
“In that case… could my assistance also be counted the sa way and applied as purchase credit toward Space Shopping Mall rewards?”
The lizard t my gaze, then nodded.
“We have judged your statent to be a rational inference.”
And then.
“Congratulations on your mbership upgrade.”
It handed sothing.
‘A VIP appreciation card?’
That’s what it looked like.
Could it be that I was upgraded to a tier above VIP?
‘There was a tier higher than that?’
As expected of a shopping mall.
I opened the splendid, gold-colored card…
I Am a Space Shopping Mall VVIP!
Astounding Upgrade!
~ Appreciation Cells Included ~
“……”
“……”
“…About, uh, the shopping mall’s design.”
“Yes.”
“Do you… do it yourselves?”
“Yes.”
Hmm.
I suddenly understood many things…
“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”
“Yes.”
I carefully took the appreciation card.
“Until we et again.”
And then I was swept out of the shopping space, far into the distance.
* * *
A gentle sensation.
“Grapes-ie.”
I opened my eyes. At so point, I was…
“Are you awake?”
…lying on a wooden porch.
This was the lodging prepared for by the Disaster Managent Bureau.
And with the paper door fully slid open, the agents’ faces were peering in at .
Black-Tortoise Team 1.
‘Ah.’
I made it back.
I lifted my hand. The thermoter and the heart-rate monitor dropped off with a clatter. It seed they had been slipped in through a slightly opened zipper.
They must have had a hard ti trying to find a spot where a pulse would register.
‘They prepared so much.’
Feeling a small swell of emotion, I sat up.
And imdiately reported.
Gratitude & Report :
► Returned safely
► Successfully rescued Section Chief Lizard
A thoroughly satisfying result.
“Oh~ Impressive?”
Agent Choi laughed and patted my shoulder.
“Then can I ask you just one more thing?”
Affirmative
“Okay! Take a look at this, yeah?”
Agent Choi lifted sothing.
It was the little rabbit doll I kept in my pocket.
“Your friend, Braun.”
Right.
‘Co to think of it, the agents said they delivered it to .’
I’d ant to thank them at least once. It must have slipped from my pocket again, and they picked it up for …
“He’s that talk-show host, right?”
……
……!!
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