The clown’s goal was rather simple.
It didn’t want revenge. It didn’t want to conquer the island.
Its goal was simple.
It wanted to create a world where everybody smiled and was happy.
Mr. Jingles was merely an abstract resentment formed from a father’s desperate plight to keep his daughter happy.
’In that sense, it wanted to create a world perfect for the little girl to live in. One where she would always be smiling.’
“You want the little girl to be happy, right? That’s your goal, isn’t it?”
“…..”
The smile on the clown’s face flipped completely in that moment.
I could feel its empty gaze bearing down on me as my heart skipped a beat. In spite of the slowly rising fear, I managed to maintain my expression.
“…She’s currently being recovered at the Beareu. From what I’ve heard, she’s quite sick as a result of the actions that you took. You can say that you were trying to make her life better, but as a result, you made her life harder.”
Swoosh—
A cold breeze suddenly filtered through the room, making my skin crawl.
The worst part of it all was the fact that there were no windows in my office.
BANG!
One of the drawers opened, and papers flew out.
A suffocating pressure suddenly erupted in the room as Mr. Jingles’s head slowly tilted at me.
I continued to speak.
“As far as I’m aware, her condition is still stable, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re the one responsible for her current situation. She might get discharged one of these days, but you won’t be there to help her since you’re now stuck with m—!?”
BANG! BANG—
Even more drawers opened, causing even more papers to fly out into the room.
I felt my skin crawl at the sight.
However, I knew that I couldn’t falter.
Not right now.
“….What if I told you that I can help you see her again?”
Silence.
It was right after the words left my mouth that everything stopped.
In that moment, the clown’s hollow gaze fell on me as I swallowed nervously.
“I can’t do it right now. I’m too weak to do that. However, if you work with me and help me, I can get you in touch with the little girl. Perhaps by then, you might even be stronger than now. The cartoon that you’ve created for her might also be even better…”
The words just flowed out of my mouth.
I was making promises that I wasn’t even sure that I could keep. I only knew that the little girl was at the Bureau due to Kyle. However, I had no idea how to get to the Bureau. That was a lie that I had made up in order to appease the clown.
’It looks like I’ll need to find some time to ask Kyle to get there.’
Nonetheless, I knew that if I became strong enough, I’d be able to get there.
This part wasn’t a lie.
’I just hope that nothing happens to the little girl by the time I get strong enough to go there…’
“I think you’re aware that I have a special power. I can help you grow while fueling my own growth. In that sense, you might be able to make your cartoon even better. You might be able to create one where the little girl is truly happy.”
This part wasn’t a lie.
I really could do this. The Dreamwalker was the best example.
So long as I accumulated enough fragments, I could help the clown reach the next level. In that sense, he’d be able to develop a better cartoon.
“…..”
As the silence around me felt even more unsettling, I mustered the courage to look at the clown in the eye.
“So…? What do you say? Will you work with me? I’m sure this is much better than killing me and probably dying as a result.”
“…..”
The clown remained silent as it looked at me.
It remained like that for what felt like forever, but eventually, the smile returned to its face.
I sighed in relief, then as my heart nearly leaped out of my chest from anxiety.
“That’s good.”
Thud!
“Hm?”
Suddenly, a box appeared on the table in front of me, startling me. I was just about to move away when I caught a glimpse of the contents within the box, and I paused.
“This is…?”
Looking through the box, I was left shocked by the sight that greeted me.
A red ball. Red wig. Red pants. A couple of deflated balloons…
My mind churned, and I immediately came to an understanding.
This…
“…I can use these to hypnothize someone, right?”
Mr. Jingles raised two of his fingers.
“Two?”
I was confused at first, but looking down at the box and seeing that everything was in pairs, I came to a sudden understanding.
’Two times. That’s how many times I can use the clown.’
“…Will I be able to do more in the future?”
Mr. Jingles remained silent.
It didn’t answer my question, but I was sure that it was possible.
It all depended on my performance and strength. It was possible for me to get more in the future once I became stronger.
Two was my limit for now.
’In that case, I need to think carefully about how to use these two tries.’
My first thought was using it to screw the rat over. With the rat claiming that Mr. Jingles was contained, if it suddenly showed up, it would screw him over. However, I quickly brushed those thoughts away.
In hindsight, while I was annoyed by the rat’s actions, it worked to my own benefit since I didn’t want to expose that I had been the one to take care of Mr. Jingles.
It removed a lot of unnecessary attention from me.
’…But it’s not like there isn’t someone that I want to try this on.’
I had a person in mind, in fact.
“But not yet.”
I turned my attention to my computer and stared at the empty cartoon before me.
Shifting my attention toward Mr. Jingles, I nodded my attention.
“We have a deal.”
Mr. Jingles’ figure faded right after that, and the heavy sense of oppression that lingered in the room vanished in the blink of an eye.
For the first time since entering the office, I could finally breathe again.
“Hooo.”
Leaning back against my chair, I took several deep breaths before looking around the room, where I saw all the scattered pieces of paper. It was there that I noticed a certain book and picked it up.
[Decrees and Orders]
“Hm?”
I paused upon seeing the title of the book. It was also then that I recalled something and nearly smacked my forehead.
’Right, I did have this book.’
It was just that I had been so busy with my game that I had forgotten to check it out.
Kyle had given it to me in the past.
I scratched the side of my head and sighed.
“I really need to change.”
It became painfully obvious to me that my lack of sleep was slowly starting to get to my mind. Not only that, but my work environment, too.
The fact that I didn’t take care of myself was the main reason why I struggled to think about obvious solutions to problems that I faced.
“Change.”
I muttered silently while staring at the book in front of me.
“…I really need to change.”