NOVGO.NET Chapter 186.3
“That Agent Choi has been doing such a good job at hiding you away that it’s only my first time saying hello to you. Nice to meet you, by the way.”
“I-It’s nice to meet you…!”
I almost retorted, but just barely held it in.
I forced down my embarrassment and greeted Team Leader Haegeum.
In my head, our ‘employee dispatch deal’ was running through my mind.
‘…I had to get something in exchange for sending Jang Heowoon, or it’d look suspicious.’
That’s why I received five jade badges made by the Disaster Management Bureau from this team leader.
…Recalling the wiki entry:
Jade badges made by Baridegi[1] Workshop are frequently used as currency in supernatural phenomena.
Although they are known to be produced for ritual purposes, permission is requested for them to be issued as agent supplies.A currency of ghost stories.
It probably wasn’t a huge loss for the team leader, but it was definitely useful.
“Still, I should properly greet our destroyer rookie agent. Here, shake my hand.”
“Yes… T-Thank you.”
Even without meaning to, my shoulders tensed automatically. Team Leader Haegeum from Black-Tortoise Team 3 gave my back a light tap, waved, and walked off.
I let out a sigh of relief and turned my attention back to Go Yeongeun…
“Wait a sec.”
……
“Haven’t we met somewhere before? You seem a little familiar.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“Uh, actually, I greeted you once in the hallway outside the waiting room… But you seemed tired and just walked past…”
“Oh?? Sorry. I’ve been busy lately. I guess I shouldn’t blame Choi then. So there was a chance after all.”
Team Leader Haegeum scratched the back of her head and laughed.
“In any case, I’m Team 3’s leader. If you’re bored on your way home, stop by the waiting room sometime. Got it?”
“T-Thank you…”
Huuu.
Just like that, Team Leader Haegeum left while chatting with Vermilion-Bird Team 2’s leader.
“……”
When I turned my head, Go Yeongeun was looking at me with an expression that said, ‘What in the world is going on?’
Really, a lot has happened, Yeongeun-ssi…
* * *And then, 6 p.m.
I finally got off work.
‘Wow, please.’
It was a relief that I had a day shift.
The fact that there hadn’t been any call-outs was a stroke of luck, but even though all I wanted was to collapse and sleep even more, I couldn’t afford to do that.
‘I have things to do.’
“……”
I slipped my hand into the inventory tattoo and touched the ‘thing’ I had to take care of.
The soft plush of a stuffed toy tickled my fingertips.
That’s right.
A stuffed toy from the Cheerful Theme Park’s souvenir shop.
I’d succeeded in smuggling an original Good Friend out.
I’d used various loopholes to manage it, but I’d have to review all that again as I went through the ritual… There’s just one important thing.
Now, I can finally summon a Good Friend under the right circumstances, with the right medium.
‘Let’s do this.’
If I delayed any longer, I might end up repeating that late-night talk show fiasco, and just thinking about it made me break out in a cold sweat. I quickly opened the door to my motel room and went in.
But here’s the thing.
As soon as I opened the door, someone was inside.
A lizard head.
“Mr. Roe Deer.”
……??
The familiar lizard face I’d spent the last six days with quietly looked at me.
I almost rubbed my eyes.
“S-Section Chief Lee Jaheon??”
I glanced outside the motel room and then back in, but no matter how many times I checked, it really was Chief Lizard.
No way…!
I hurried inside and carefully locked the door.
Don’t tell me…
“Are you here on Director Ho’s orders?”
“No.”
“Then how did you get in here…?”
“Infiltration.”
“……”
If that’s the case, you shouldn’t just stand there so brazenly…!
‘Director Ho probably already knows we’re meeting in secret anyway, but… i-is this really okay?’
Can you just drop by a spy’s lodging like this? No, seriously, why are you in someone else’s motel room without even a word?
“W-Would you like to sit down?”
“Yes.”
Flustered, I sat facing the lizard at the table.
I tried my best to explain my confusion…
“I see. But I came here to resolve something more urgent, given the priorities.”
Huu.
“I’m sorry, but I have something I need to do first.”
“What is it?”
“……”
Well.
You know that talk show ghost story, the one where you rescued me with bombs galore?
Strictly speaking, I’m planning to summon the host who was the cause of all that chaos again…
Should I even say this? Or, no, would not saying anything just make me a clueless idiot with no sense of danger?
For some reason, I felt like I was getting swept up in things, so I opened my mouth and explained the general situation.
I figured he would understand that it couldn’t be helped.
“I see.”
Sure enough, Chief Lizard nodded without hesitation.
However…
“Please follow proper safety protocols during the ritual. I’ll be checking.”
“……”
It doesn’t look like he’s planning to leave.
And so, with Section Chief Lee Jaheon in tow, I began the official summoning of Good Friend Braun…
‘Is this… really okay?’
I’m about to lose it here.
Note/s:
[1] Baridegi – An onomatopoeic word that refers to how you’d shake a bag or a box to guess what’s inside. ↩