Nostalgia Candy restores me to my prime condition.
In other words, that version of me is still me. It doesn’t make me smarter or stronger than I actually am.
Relying too much on the state it provides and letting my guard down is dangerous.
I knew that.
“…!”
I clenched my teeth as agony erupted from my right arm—or rather, the empty space where my right arm used to be.
I had missed the timing to take another dose.
God damn it.
‘I got careless.’
With our safe zone about to disappear in less than an hour, and the sudden breakthrough that allowed us to reopen the supermarket, I had gotten distracted.
And the price was excruciating pain.
The arm I had cauterized to stop the bleeding—
Every single word used to describe that process now stabbed into me as raw, searing agony.
“Hhk—!”
My legs buckled, and I nearly collapsed.
Out of habit, I tried to brace myself with my right arm, only to stumble, realizing it wasn’t there. I barely managed to steady myself with my left hand.
But it’s fine.
“Agent…!”
“J-Just a moment—”
Agent Bronze quickly stepped in, supporting me from behind as I gasped for breath.
Go Yeongeun rushed over, checking my condition. Then, urgently pressed me for something.
“What about the candy?! Where is it?!”
Ah.
“Hurry!”
I reached into my jacket pocket with my remaining hand—
But Go Yeongeun was faster.
She dug into my pocket, snatched out the candy, and ripped open the wrapper.
‘All I have to do is eat that.’
I knew that.
I really did.
“……”
“Agent Grapes?!”
Maybe it was the endorphins kicking in, but a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Nostalgia Candy… I only have two left.
Who knew how many more ghost stories I’d have to go through?
‘…Do I really need to take it?’
Couldn’t I just endure with Happy Maker instead?
The bleeding had already stopped.
And from the beginning, my plan had been to make sure we could escape even if I had to lose an arm.
The supermarket had already reopened, so my goal had been achieved.
‘If I consider item efficiency.’
Rather than wasting one here would mean…
“……”
I took the candy from her hand.
Then—I put it back in its wrapper.
“W-What are you—”
I struggled to put the wrapped candy back into my pocket, then reached for another item instead. A small, stick-shaped device.
Happy Maker.
This one will do.
‘Okay.’
I moved to inject it, only to realize something. I couldn’t roll up my sleeve to expose my skin.
Because I had no sleeve left to roll up.
“…Agent, I’m sorry, but could you… inject this for me?”
“……”
“It’s a painkiller.”
But the way Agent Bronze’s expression hardened told me that he knew exactly where this item came from. …Delusion Home Shopping.
At this rate…
“This isn’t the time for that. Please—just…”
“…!”
Fortunately, instead of arguing, Agent Bronze took a deep breath, rolled up my remaining sleeve, and injected the Happy Maker.
Pik.
A small sound.
The drug surged through my veins instantly.
‘Ah.’
The pain faded. Calmness settled in.
An eerie peacefulness.
Anxiety and panic shattered into dust, drifting away. And then, nothing.
‘Ha.’
I stood up smoothly, without stumbling this time.
“Thank you.”
But, an unsettling silence hung in the air.
“Why…”
“I can still move fine for now, so I’d rather hold off on using the candy.”
“……”
The item was too valuable to waste.
Go Yeongeun seemed to read that thought directly from my expression.
“Hah…”
My batchmate from Daydream Inc. let out a deep sigh. Then, deliberately looked away with a complicated look on her face.
…She must have understood at least to some extent.
But one person didn’t.
“…You’ve been walking around in this condition?”
“……”
Agent Bronze was staring at my missing arm, his face blank with disbelief. Then, as if realizing something, his eyes snapped back to mine.
“That potion.”
Right.
He had just figured it out.
What the regeneration potion I gave him was supposed to be meant for.
“……”
“Are you insane?!”
“No, I’m not.”
The Happy Maker kept my mind completely level.
I exhaled slowly, then even forced a small smile as I answered.
With a rational explanation, one that he couldn’t argue with.
“Listen. It was the rational choice.”
“What?”
“I wasn’t in immediate danger without treatment, but you were dying.”
“……”
“And if a veteran like you hadn’t joined our group, the civilians who requested rescue would have been in even greater danger.”
Yes.
From the start, I hadn’t taken account for the two high schoolers who Agent Bronze had been protecting.
My original rescue plan was based on a three-person survival strategy at the stairwell.
Me, Go Yeongeun, and the high schooler I was responsible for.
A three-person team.
‘…I was prepared to leave Agent Bronze behind.’
But then, things changed when I found the sign he left.
Instead of him, I ended up with two unpredictable high schoolers—one barely functioning, and the other completely catatonic.
‘…It got complicated.’
If they had been adults, maybe I could have ignored them.
But they were just kids. Fifteen or sixteen years old. Abandoning them wasn’t an option… not for a contemporary person’s perspective.
In the end, the best decision was clear.
Save Agent Bronze.
‘And since I couldn’t afford to waste Nostalgia Candy, the best alternative was the regeneration potion.’
Logically speaking, even without my personal long-term strategy, it was the most rational decision as a rescue agent.
“So… I still think my decision was the most logical one.”
“……”
But Agent Bronze’s expression darkened.
When he finally spoke, his voice was strained.
“……Then why,”
However, at that moment—
Clatter!
“…!”
All three agents snapped their heads toward the sound.
“Ah, shit.”
Someone had been hiding behind the tent, watching us, and in his panic, he dropped a camping cup. The culprit fumbled, hastily picking it up and placing it back while glancing at us nervously. ṜἈℕоᛒĚȘ
…One of the high schoolers Agent Bronze had been protecting.