“How was it? She’s a wonderful person, isn’t she?”
“……Yes.”
“Told you so. We’re really lucky when it comes to people. Our team~ Maybe Grapes also got some luck with superiors, huh?”
This time, Agent Choi’s confident assurance didn’t feel annoying at all.
I slipped my hand into my pocket. I could feel the popsocket, now perfectly fixed.
“……”
“For now, just rest well. Think about things like the report tomorrow. The Site Cleanup Unit already went, and all the kids are asleep anyway.”
“Please get home safely.”
“Yes… Thank you.”
They rode off across the road on the bicycles they’d brought with them.
Only after they’d disappeared did I raise my head.
“……Huu.”
It was amazing.
‘At least I gained something from all this.’
I never expected to get the Memorial Popsocket repaired like this.
‘So… does that mean I’m supposed to make a wish until it activates?’
.
.
Alright, now what I have to do is…
“…Contact Director Ho.”
…I have to clean up the mess that broke out at Daydream Inc……
‘This is seriously making me want to cry.’
Didn’t Agent Choi just say I had great luck when it came to bosses?
I don’t think so.
‘Ah, please.’
I squeezed my eyes shut and picked up my smartphone.
Please let this get cleaned up quickly…!
“Hey, I don’t think this rumor is going to be contained.”
Agent Choi smirked as he slapped his direct junior on the back.
Ryu Jaekwan held back a sigh and half-heartedly dodged his hand.
“It’s dangerous, sir.”
“Eyy, I’m a bicycle master.”
After telling Agent Grapes to rest up, they headed back to HQ to file their report, just the two of them, chatting as they rode their bikes.
“What do you mean, the rumor can’t be contained?”
“What else? It’s about Grapes.”
“…!”
They’d gone out for a regular rescue in a supernatural disaster and managed to save every single child, and might have even ended the disaster itself.
And to think, this miraculous achievement happened right after a new recruit joined the team.
“When coincidence repeats twice, it starts being called skill.”
And if this new recruit had even just completely ended a supernatural disaster while working with the Site Cleanup Unit before?
Then the probationary period for new recruits doesn’t matter anymore.
His aptitude score just blasted through the ceiling…!
“Congratulations on your assignment to Black Tortoise Team 1. Hahaha!”
“……”
Ryu Jaekwan pressed his fingers to one temple.
The one saving grace was that the Disaster Management Bureau was generous when it came to investing in equipment for talented people.
‘…Maybe things really will get safer.’
At this rate, it seemed like even a custom dokkaebi flame lantern wasn’t far off… If not, at least Grapes would be able to get some more gear.
The only concern was whether he had attracted too much attention.
‘…Let’s hope the rumors don’t get exaggerated in some weird direction.’
He decided to keep an eye on things.
Ryu Jaekwan sighed and pressed down on his bicycle pedals.
“Let’s go, Jaekwan-ah~”
For reference, this speculation was taking place in a completely different direction within a different faction…
.
.
At the same time, in an office at Daydream Inc.
“Lord Cat!”
BANG!
An employee from the Field Exploration Team, wearing a pony mask, banged on the table and conducted a vivid interview with the Research Team.
“The Great Lord Cat was in that Darkness! The all-knowing, all-powerful Lord Cat!”
For reference, the Research Team was in total chaos.
It was because the ‘Mermaid Grave’—which used to yield only C-grade Dream Essence—had just produced B-grade or higher essence.
A crazy anomaly!
And to make things worse, the Disaster Management Bureau had spirited away all the mer-children, and the agents had dashed off in a hurry.
So, now lacking research material, the Research Team was furiously extracting every possible statement from the Field Exploration Team members who had entered at the time.
And… this is what the testimonies had in common.
“It was a monster! A monster! Please, save me!”
“I don’t know… The letters I saw? Were they really there? Maybe I was just seeing things… I was terrified, but I did my best for the clear.”
“The GreatLordCatIsWatchingUsLettingUsOut!WeHaveToSaveTheChildren!”
Multiple employees have reported observing an anomalous entity manifesting as a black cat (hereafter referred to as ‘The Black Cat’).
Documented effects include: induction of panic and madness, brainwashing, physical transformation, causal distortion, reality manipulation, and collective mind control. These abilities exhibit anomalous characteristics that are not currently explainable by conventional means.
“Yes. It did help with the clear this time, but… I don’t know what might happen if we meet it somewhere else.”
Attempts to determine the entity’s objective or intent have been inconclusive. Certain Field Exploration Team personnel reported that the entity appeared to be attempting to seize control of the ghost story (Qterw-C-1642); however, these accounts are classified as unreliable.
Notably, the prevailing hypothesis is that an entity of greater transcendence than Qterw-C-1642 irregularly intervened within this instance of Darkness. This hypothesis is considered highly plausi
“I want to avoid it as much as possible.”
Accordingly, the entity designated as ‘The Black Cat’ has been assigned a unique Darkness identification code.
Designation : Qterw-A-1845
And so began the real chaos.