“Ah, Roe’s back!”
“Yeah. Did you get your regeneration potion safely?”
“Yes.”
As I returned to the office, I greeted my superiors who had already finished their lunch and were lounging around.
However, their expressions stiffened as they noticed the translucent, reinforced plastic box in my hands.
They immediately sat up straight.
“……!”
“Wait, is that your assigned Darkness, Roe?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I lifted the transport box to show its contents.
Inside, two black cards clicked softly.
It was the F-Class Darkness I had chosen.
========================
Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story
[The Dilemma]
: A ghost story featured in <Dark Exploration Records>
: Daydream Inc. identification code – Qterw-F-2073
Two plain black cards, 60mm wide and 110mm tall.
When the owner flips these cards at midnight, images appear on the front. These images are randomly chosen themes from the Major Arcanas of Tarot.
Events depicted on the cards will come true in the future.
========================
Although it was a low-grade Darkness, small and portable enough to be managed by a single employee…
It was, in fact, the most dangerous and unpredictable of the three options I had been given.
Because it dealt with the future.
My superiors, recognizing this, wore grave expressions.
“That’s a bit harsh for a rookie.”
“Exactly! Don’t they usually assign something easier? When I was a rookie, I got a radio. You saw it on your first day too, didn’t you, Roe? That one ended up being downgraded to Twilight-Class, even.”
Ah, that radio.
So it was managed by Supervisor Park, huh.
No wonder it was left so openly in the office.
Supervisor Park spoke with some concern.
“Maybe they have high expectations because you’re doing so well, Roe… Oh, Squad Leader!”
Chief Lizard, who had just entered the office, turned his head at the sound of his name.
“You mentioned letting Roe choose his Darkness directly—when was that supposed to happen? Has it already happened?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“……?”
“……??”
“It was chosen twenty minutes ago.”
My superiors turned to me.
“Roe.”
“Yes?”
“You picked that from the options the Squad Leader gave you?”
“Yes.”
I nodded without expression.
“They’re offering overtime pay.”
“……”
“……”
“This Darkness requires regular nighttime management, you see.”
My two superiors exchanged wistful looks.
“Ah… I see.”
“Hmm, that’s so you, Roe.”
And just like that, they regained their calm.
“……”
Where is my reputation even headed?
Should I be happy that my character profile is developing so successfully?
Sniffle.
Holding back tears, I turned on my computer.
“Are you registering it now?”
“Yes, I’m entering my employee ID.”
On the intranet, I navigated to the ‘Unassigned Darkness List’, found the code for my Darkness, and registered it under my account.
Done.
Qterw-F-2073 : Kim Soleum (Supervisor)
And with that, I officially had my own assigned Darkness.
“Even if it’s F-Class, it’s still a supernatural phenomenon. Be careful when managing it.”
“Yes.”
I read through the management instructions for the Darkness.
It was exactly what I already knew about this ghost story.
[Flip the cards at midnight / once a month]
* * *
A few days later, at midnight.
I was working a night shift at the company annex.
“You’re working hard.”
The staff member at the desk, dressed entirely in pitch-black clothing, nodded slightly and unlocked the hallway for me.
Following the path, I reached the designated door and opened it…
“Well, here it is.”
Two black cards lay before me—my task for the night.
Carefully, I stepped into the room, closed the heavy metal door behind me, and approached the card storage case.
I retrieved The Dilemma and placed the cards face down on the circular table provided in the room.
– Are you doing a reading? Occult verification was always a favorite on talk shows! Now, Mr. Roe Deer, why don’t you take a peek at the future?
This was slightly different.
“It’s not about seeing the future.”
– Hmm?
“It’s about making a choice.”
========================
Interpretation
A pair of mystical tarot cards that reveal their symbols when flipped. After viewing both cards, the user shall choose one, and an event matching the chosen symbol will occur in the near future.
However, the event must be something plausible within the user’s everyday life. (Winning the lottery, for example, cannot be done.)
========================
That’s right.
These cards allow the user to choose between two possible near-future events.
Of course, it’s not always a good thing.
I reached out and flipped the two cards on the table.
As if by magic, elaborate illustrations appeared.
The Devil. The Moon.
‘Damn.’
Just like that.
– Oh dear. Neither of these is traditionally considered a particularly positive symbol!
Well, depending on the context, they don’t necessarily have entirely negative meanings either… but overall, they do lean that way.
In other words, when both options are bad, all you’re doing is picking which unfortunate event to add to your life.
Considering that over half of the tarot deck can be interpreted ambiguously or negatively, the odds of this happening were at least one in four.
But…
– Have you decided which one to choose?
“Yes.”
I was going to do this a little differently.
I moved around to the opposite side of the table.
‘This way, naturally…’
From the opposite side, the cards appeared upside down.
If I picked up a card in this position…
– Oh, reversed orientation!
I looked at the card I had drawn, now upside down.
‘They say you should never do this during a proper reading.’
As expected of an F-Class Darkness, its power wasn’t overwhelming, and it had plenty of loopholes that allowed for tricks like this.
‘Even if the trick fails, it usually just reverts back to being a plain black card.’
So, I decided to give it a shot, and it seemed to have worked out.
Now, the card I chose was…
– The Moon! Ah, the symbol of confusion!
I stared at the reversed Moon card, with a pale yellow full moon hanging upside down.
– The Moon typically represents mystery and uncertainty. In the absence of the Sun, vague shapes and doubts grow under the moonlight, eventually giving way to madness.
– However, reversed, it suggests the opposite, doesn’t it?
Hmm.
‘So something becomes clear?’
– Quite promising! The resolution of uncertainty! Doesn’t that bring peace of mind?
Agreed.
‘In this insane world of ghost stories where it’s hard to see even a step ahead, anything certain is welcome.’
– Is that the end?
“That’s it.”
I carefully placed the cards back where they belonged.
Readings were done only once per month.
This means the event will happen sometime this month.
While the scope of events is clearly limited to ‘everyday’ occurrences, my ‘everyday’ involves working at a ghost story company…
In that sense, it might actually be quite helpful for survival.
‘Even if it’s not, locking in at least one slightly positive outcome for the future isn’t a bad thing.’
Having an assigned ghost story that’s more of an asset than a burden isn’t so bad.
I decided not to get too greedy…
Thud.
“……”
A sound came from outside.
This was the annex.
It’s where relatively safe Darknesses were stored—mostly Twilight-Class, occasionally F-Class as well…
But in the end, they’re all still ghost stories.
Thud.
Occasionally.
Very occasionally, if a management failure results in an unexpected incident… people can die. Easily.
I stood in front of the iron door.
‘…How far away is that sound coming from?’
Should I wait here, or…
BOOOOOOOM!!
“……!”
I immediately opened the heavy iron door and ran.
It definitely sounded like something had exploded!