Chapter 154

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Rejuvenation.

Although it is humanity’s dream, no one has succeeded with science so far, so no one would have experienced actually becoming younger in reality.

But in this ghost story world, I am experiencing it… that very rejuvenation!

…Although my height was cut in half.

“Achoo.”

“Uh-oh, be careful. Kids are sensitive to cold.”

I stayed silent for a moment as I looked at Agent Choi, who had an excited expression while covering me with a blanket.

Because it was absurd.

‘My sense of reality is disappearing.’

To think I am 8 years old!

My state of having returned to an early elementary school student was highly bizarre.

The protagonists in old cartoons who adapted as soon as they became younger are all lies. A child’s senses were several times sharper, and their physical strength was strangely bursting with energy.

I thought I would stagger clumsily because my reach became shorter, but it was surprising that I didn’t.

“It is because of Dokkaebi tricks.”

Agent Bronze cleanly explained.

Of course, that was by the standards of a veteran in the , and it was not clean at all to a rookie.

So I made a reasonable response.

“A D-Dokkaebi trick…?”

“You can think of it as a supernatural phenomenon that deceives reality. It is not a disaster, and it cannot be used for evil purposes at all. Because it is a ‘trick’.”

Hmm. It was a good explanation.

Glancing at the Dokkaebi fire dwelling in my arm, I recalled the explanation of the I knew this time.

Dokkaebi Tricks

Mysterious abilities used by a few agents of the Paranormal Disaster Management Bureau.

It occasionally manifests when an agent is allocated and distributed a miraculous item related to Dokkaebis customized for them.

It is said that some of the various abilities derived from traditional Dokkaebi lore—such as transforming, hiding items, showing hallucinations, and playing with fire in the air—dwell according to the agent’s compatibility.

“As you probably guessed, the Disaster Management Bureau is quite deeply involved with Dokkaebis. So for now, you can just think that our Black Tortoise Team 1 team leader can also use ‘Dokkaebi tricks’.”

You are openly telling me that there is a deeper backstory and you will tell me when I get more experience. Thank you….

“Gasp, Jae-gwan, you told him too much! What to do, junior. You might have your memory erased for this!”

“…….”

“Hing. You aren’t fooled already.”

Agent Bronze pressed his temples. Seeing a child do that with a face as if he had lived all his life was extremely bizarre…….

“When Agent Choi… speaks of words not directly related to duties, you do not have to respond.”

“Hey! You’re too much. Fine, I’ll talk about words related to duties then!”

Child Agent Choi’s grumbling was slightly less irritating.

“Anyway, so Dokkaebi tricks are basically all deceptions~ We didn’t really become children of a new nation, so keep that in mind.”

“Yes.”

I see what you mean….

“But senses deceive the body, and the body deceives the mind.”

Agent Choi poked his head out with a grin.

Because he made an adult’s expression in the appearance of a child, it felt somewhat bizarre, which felt slightly chilling.

“While you are in this form, strangely, your emotions will become uncontrollable, your physical strength will overflow, and your strength will weaken.”

Because you are a child.

“So it’s a 2-person team. If there is a colleague who became a child next to you, you try to snap out of it and look after them, so the adult self manifests a bit~”

“…….”

Indeed.

“Tricks are only tricks in the end, so be careful not to be swallowed!”

“Yes…! I will keep that in mind.”

“Oh dear, our rookie even answers well.”

By that time, the vehicle of the Disaster Management Bureau that was moving us stopped.

Ah, because it was difficult to ride a bicycle due to physical conditions, a van loaded and moved us this time.

And the destination was also quite far.

“We have arrived.”

Thud.

What revealed its form as the door opened was….

Whoosh…

The seaside.

In the chilly early spring, the seaside where the sun did not shine had a somewhat desolate and grand air.

If someone said there was a ghost story of children disappearing there, anyone would nod….

“Not there, this way.”

“…?!”

I turned my head following Agent Choi’s gesture.

It… was a worn-out, giant raw fish restaurant.

‘Oh my god.’

A yellowtail neon sign flickered on the giant signboard. It was very avant-garde.

However, a notice was attached to the glass door.

[Closed today]

But the three children approached the front door of the restaurant and put their hands on the door handle.

“From now on, we are going to the Dragon Palace.”

* * *

Entry Place.

An indoor playroom for children attached to large restaurants that handle marine life, such as fish markets and raw fish restaurants.

At this time, the floor area of the playroom must exceed 49 square meters, and a red cylindrical slide must exist.

Also, a painting related to the underwater kingdom must be observed on the wall.

(When the murals of playrooms satisfying the corresponding conditions were changed, distorted similar sea paintings began to be observed irregularly. It is estimated that complete blocking of entry is impossible.)

“Confirmed.”

“Good.”

Agent Bronze cleared toys with his shorter arms than before and revealed the poster-type wallpaper printed there.

The Little Mermaid and smiling fish, and the coral, clam, and shell-shaped cute castle behind them.

And next to it, a slide that looked like a red slide play equipment and a ball pool.

“Wow, I miss it. Places like this really don’t disappear. Is it because demand is steady?”

“Stop chatting and let’s prepare.”

“Kay.”

Hearing this bickering in the voice of children, it felt relatively friendly.

“Junior, you read all of the manual, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. Let’s do it.”

I stood at the exit of the red slide following the children.

Entry Method.

Crawl up the slide backward from the bottom with your eyes closed.

At this time, you must be thinking strongly that you want to enter the underwater kingdom depicted on the wallpaper.

If you possess related items (seashells, etc.), the probability becomes higher.

And chant the spell.

“Twinkling Dragon Palace, I have moved to the Dragon Palace.”

With eyes closed, enter inside the black hole of the smooth and cold slide.

The corresponding spell irregularly appears in the form of graffiti on the wall or floor of playrooms satisfying entry conditions.

Sometimes, it is detailed in drawings along with the title ‘How to Go to the Twinkling Dragon Palace’ on the appendix page of comic books and the like placed in playrooms.

“Twinkling Dragon Palace, I have moved to the Dragon Palace.”

Keep going up.

In front and behind me, they mimic my spell in the clear and high voices of children.

A strange feeling.

It is dark.

Keep chanting the spell.

“Twinkling Dragon Palace, I have moved to the Dragon Palace….”

The slide does not end.

Instead, strangely, the upward slope becomes steeper, and in the end, you come to climb the slide as if hanging onto it.

I heard the children panting for breath. I feel like crying, but I endure.

If the slope begins to rise precariously higher, it means the entry ritual succeeded.

At this time, there is no record of the result when sliding down backward without enduring.

How much time passed.

In the end, the moment it became a state like hanging onto a cliff.

“Twinkling Dragon Palace…!!”

Suddenly fall forward.

“Ah!”

As if rolling down from a cliff, as if a roller coaster that climbed all the way up fell.

The small body rolls down.

“Eek!”

In the end, the moment the child’s body could not endure, screamed, and opened its eyes.

A fantastic landscape was visible.

“…!!”

A city one would see in dreams.

Twinkling with a golden light, where the blue sky spread widely, a light like an aurora waved in the air.

No, it is not the sky but the blue sea.

Under the dazzlingly waving sea, golden pipes and brick houses made of ivory lined up to create an elegant and dazzling street like a drawing in a fairy tale.

Twinkling coral reefs, colorful banners and decorations. Golden speakers, delicate flowers, and wave-patterned metal decorations sparkled at every streetlight.

And up there, even the beautiful five-colored blue palace decorated with pearls and gold.

“Ah…!”

Before I knew it, my body was not falling.

Floating, as if gently drifting over clouds in a dream, I was approaching downward.

Toward the beautiful golden town.

Gently.

The two children who came with me descended together on both sides of me.

In the center of the gradually approaching city, the banner in front of the white fountain sparkled and fluttered in gold, blue, and red.

[Welcome]

[to the child who moved]

[to the Twinkling Dragon Palace!]

And.

“A new friend!”

“Wow, another came!”

Under the banner, over twenty children rushed along the beautiful avenue.

Every single one of them had a broad grin.

Clean and pretty hair and clothes. The children dressed like princesses or princes in fairy tales looked like the protagonists of a feast on a birthday.

“Three came?”

“I like this one!”

“…!”

As Agent Bronze, whose arm was grabbed, was startled, the child who grabbed his arm giggled.

Laughter and sparkling ecstasy overflow.

“Where… is this?”

“This is the Twinkling Dragon Palace! It’s really, really fun? It’s really good?”

The child who babbled to me began to guide the way with a smile.

As if there was nothing to worry about, as if their parents sent them to a wonderful program and they were just having a fun time making new friends in a place as fun as heaven.

But….

“…….”

These kids are all missing persons.

All things confirmed as living organisms in the corresponding paranormal disaster are all estimated as missing children.

The age range was confirmed from 5 to 11 years old, and the majority expressed deep ecstasy and satisfaction.

“Hahaha!”

The children burst out laughing and tried to take us to the front of the palace at once by running along the avenue.

While also turning their eyes here and there like children.

“Look at this, this!”

Throughout the street, there were moving doll decorations with wound gears.

Golden signs hung on their heads.

[Children]

[please receive honey!]

There was a water fountain near the belly of the colorful soldier decoration with a comical expression, and when the faucet attached there was opened, honey really poured out.

“If you pack it tightly in a bottle, the Little Mermaid gives you a present!”

If placed in front of the mermaid statue made of white ivory in front of the castle, the pedestal of the statue opened and poured out things they wanted, such as cool toys, clothes, and fairy tale books.

Yay!

The sound of children cheering and laughing.

“I will give you this.”

“…Thank you.”

I received a pair of highly elegant shoes from a child wearing a blue dress, who looked younger than me.

A theory is dominant that a folktale about the Dragon Palace, which was traditionally passed down out of pity for children who went missing near the sea, manifested as a paranormal disaster.

“…….”

I purposely held the child and spoke quietly as if anxious.

“Excuse me, I have to go meet my mom now….”

“Mom? They said mom will come to pick you up! They said you can just play here!”

“…….”

“You know, my mom is really cool? She is really good at sewing, I will only show you when my mom comes later.”

And giggling again as if slightly shy, she ran out into the street.

“…….”

……Probably.

That child will not be able to show her mom.

-Once you enter, you will feel like you want to take all the kids out as soon as you see them, right? You must not be caught up in that. Got it?

I bit the inside of my mouth.

-If you take them out wrong, that child dies.

Upon rescuing a long-term missing person (over 1000 days) of the ‘Twinkling Dragon Palace’, the moment they return to reality, they turn to foam and disappear.

Always grasp the missing date well before rescue.

But it was said that this was crazily tricky.

-…The children we meet change in majority each time we enter. However, there has been a case where a child who was not here when we visited last year showed evidence of staying here for over 3 years.

Because the flow of time was a mess, it was said that there were cases where a child who went missing yesterday in reality had spent about 5 years here.

Conversely, it seemed that children from the distant past, or children from a timeline where different events occurred from the reality we lived in, were also discovered.

So you must unconditionally hear the story of what year the child was living in in reality, and based on that, check if they are a recent missing person and take them out.

It was a relief that the time of the agents had never been twisted, which is estimated to be because they are actually adults although using ‘Dokkaebi tricks’.

-Still, because it is the same that you can be polluted by this paranormal phenomenon like children, staying here long is dangerous.

Agent Choi, the person in charge of this mission, had declared.

-Two days.

-…….

-We will spend exactly two days here and leave on the third day. Got it? …Actually, we can hold out a bit more, but because the Bureau told us to…….

-Agent Choi.

-Right! So I’m saying it’s two days.

And so, from now on, the Black Tortoise Team 1, me, three people had to find ‘children who have not been missing for over 3 years in reality’ here and leave.

…Only, those children.

“…….”

This won’t do. Perhaps because it was a child’s body, I seemed to easily become agitated.

“Let’s calm down….”

I moved while inhaling.

To meet many children within the set time in the area I was allocated and hear their stories.

And I am proud of having done my best for two days.

I grabbed and conversed with every single child who came to welcome us, and even found the bedrooms where children who didn’t come to welcome us stayed.

But….

“…This regular rescue ends here.”

“…….”

“…….”

……We did not find a child who met the conditions for two days.

Not a single child.

“Let’s return.”

I lowered my head.

“…….”

…In this world, there are things that do not work even if you do your best.

‘Because it was a ghost story I did not know.’

Since it was a ghost story I had not seen in the Records of the Dark Exploration, there was no special other method for me.

Following the rules of the Paranormal Disaster Management Bureau and the plan of my superior was safe and right.

‘Even without that, it was dangerous for me to stand out more.’

So right now, this is…

“I don’t want to!”

…….

…?!

Wait.

D-did I just say that?

“I don’t want to! Let’s search more!”

…It is right that I said it!

“……T-that is.”

What made it even more frustrating was that my superiors’ expressions also began to look like crying.

…Because of the child’s body!