Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Novel) - Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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The light green magic potion went down Go Yeong-eun’s throat.
Gulp. Gulp.
When the liquid disappeared and the glass bottle was completely empty.
“…!”
Go Yeong-eun set down the bottle.
With her eyes wide open, she reached her hands toward her ears……
And inside her trembling hands.
As if new flesh were budding from a wound, a round lump of flesh grew in the place where Go Yeong-eun’s ear had been torn off.
And in an instant, it took shape.
The auricle, tragus, and lobe revealed their distinct shapes based on the cartilage, and then……
It became complete.
“…….”
“Wa-Waaah…!!”
My goodness.
“Go Yeong-eun?”
“Yes!! Ah! I can hear! For this, for this to actually work….”
Crying out in disbelief while touching her newly formed ear, Go Yeong-eun turned on her smartphone and began inspecting her ear with the camera app.
As if it were natural, she said it looked exactly like her original ear.
“Does it hurt or anything?”
“Not at all! It just felt a bit itchy and then it was fine… Wow, no, it actually seems like I can hear even better than before?!”
It was a very good thing.
Although it was felt as something truly, truly amazing and even miraculous, and it was a great relief……
‘…But she might make more reckless choices in the future.’
If it was proven in the manual that a fatal physical loss was unconditionally premised for clearing a certain high-grade Dark, this company would sometimes distribute low-grade regeneration potions as equipment.
And once one got used to that act?
The employee would gradually think nothing of losing their body parts.
The first time is hard, but from the second time it is easy.
‘Is that a good thing?’
I looked to the side with a strange feeling.
Baek Sa-heon was staring down at the luxurious box containing his regeneration potion with a somewhat dark expression…
With his single eye, that is.
“…Excuse me. Baek Sa-heon.”
“…….”
Go Yeong-eun hesitated before speaking cautiously.
“If one eye is uncomfortable, the impact is bigger than you think. It affects your sense of distance, angle of view, and even your sense of balance, so even if it feels like a waste, it might be better to use it and regenerate it.”
“Mind your own business.”
Go Yeong-eun almost made a face that said, ‘What a jerk,’ but perhaps because she was relieved that her ear had returned, she chose to ignore him.
I hesitated before adding a few words.
“Since the work is dangerous, another physical loss might occur. Saving it just in case doesn’t seem like a bad judgment either.”
“Ah… that is true as well.”
“……!”
Baek Sa-heon suddenly dilated his pupils and stared seriously into the box.
‘Hey.’
Why did he make an expression like, ‘Should I just use it now?’ just because I took his side.
Anyway, I also ignored him and packed the box well.
My heart fluttered a bit too.
It was the first time I was seeing such a famous, powerful, yet non-scary symbolic item in person.
The symbol of Daydream Co.
Magical medicine.
‘Let’s store it well.’
It was then.
“Um, Sol-eum.”
“Yes?”
“I was going to tell you anyway… but I really wanted to greet you formally right now.”
Go Yeong-eun bowed her head upon looking at me.
“Thank you so, so… much.”
Pardon?
“Back then, you faced the machine alone while letting us escape.”
“…Go Yeong-eun, you were not in a dangerous situation in the first place.”
Had she not already had her ear collected, so there was no need to pay the fare? Wasn’t the only one I saved practically Baek Sa-heon?
‘And that insolent bastard hasn’t even said a single thank you….’
As expected, his personality is trashed.
However, Go Yeong-eun shook her head firmly.
“No. After that, you came back again to save us. Even lying that the candle was ours.”
“…….”
“No matter how much I think about it, there was absolutely no need to do that. Because you could have just gone with the Group D people.”
“Well.”
But there was…
‘Giving the candle to those steel-hearted people?’
Oh? We secured safety with this? Okay. Then let’s try this and try that too. Let’s submit it for manual evaluation to extract points.
I could only imagine the sight of myself collapsing from a heart attack while chasing after them as they did all kinds of things while making such remarks.
I did not brave the terror of having to wander around that crazy exhibition alone for no reason to find the two of them.
It was because a greater terror lay behind us…!
‘And…… if I can save someone, it is right to save them.’
I had simply done as much as I could.
So I just shook my head.
“That was something anyone would have done.”
“Are you serious? I don’t think so…”
“Rather, considering the contribution alone, it would have been right for the two of you to be promoted as well, so I feel a bit sorry that only I got promoted.”
Go Yeong-eun straightened her face.
“Ah, no. I… don’t want to get promoted already.”
“…….”
“Ah, of course, you will do well, Sol-eum!”
Suddenly, I feel like crying……
“Um, but why do you think we should get promoted? You remember that during the exhibition, the items and everything else came out of Kim Sol-eum’s pocket… right?”
Go Yeong-eun looked at me with eyes that somehow seemed to view a pitiful person.
“Well. Since people will look down on you if you look too nice during company life, wouldn’t it be okay if you didn’t speak so nicely of others…”
Pardon?
Although it seemed she only viewed me too favorably due to the lifesaver effect no matter how I looked at it… thinking of the Silver Heart, I just bowed my head.
Let’s behave kindly!
“…Thank you for the advice.”
Baek Sa-heon looked back and forth between Go Yeong-eun and me with an incredulous expression, but kept his mouth shut.
Then he stood up from his seat and left without even saying goodbye.
Well. Let him be.
I exchanged polite greetings with Go Yeong-eun again and turned around.
And I thought.
‘When should I start wearing the Silver Heart.’
Should I only do so when going into a mission.
Rolling the badge in my pocket with my fingers, I drew up plans here and there.
At that moment, a now-familiar figure walked over from the other side of the hallway…
A white lizard head.
“Group Leader.”
“Kim Sol-eum.”
It seemed he had gone and spoken with the team leader while I was receiving the extra prize.
Now, even those vertical pupils felt somewhat friendly.
‘Is this also the lifesaver effect.’
I fell silent for a moment, recalling the lizard’s brutal brass knuckle punches that snapped the guide machine’s needle in two.
Just then, the lizard’s vertical pupils turned toward the empty regeneration potion bottle and box.
“Did you use it?”
“Pardon? Ah. It’s not mine. My colleague here… Employee Go Yeong-eun used it.”
“Hello, Manager! I am Go Yeong-eun!”
Go Yeong-eun bowed her head toward the unfamiliar lizard… no, the section manager of another group.
The lizard looked at Go Yeong-eun with lidless eyes.
“I have a question.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Are you the owner of the escape item?”
“…Pardon?”
“Did you possess a candle-shaped cognition-disrupting item in the B-grade Dark in the form of an exhibition three days ago?”
Ah.
“Ah… well. Something like that….”
“Yes. That’s right.”
Upon making eye contact with me, Go Yeong-eun grasped the situation and trailed off her words, but tactfully did not deny it.
But it seemed she thought she should quickly leave the spot.
“Yes. Then I will be on my way.”
Throwing out such a polite greeting, she stealthily disappeared in the opposite direction of the hallway first.
‘That is good judgment……’
Feeling relieved, I took out a water bottle from my bag and drank a sip…
“Kim Sol-eum.”
“Yes?”
“Refrain from repeated lying.”
I almost snorted it out my nose.
“The more frequently it is mentioned, the less effective it becomes.”
“…….”
When did he notice?
But first, I lowered my head.
“I am sorry.”
“Yes.”
“I thought that unless it was to the extent of a colleague possessing an escape item, it would be difficult to persuade them to spend precious escape time.”
“Yes.”
To say he was replying in short answers because he was extremely pissed off…
‘His voice is peaceful.’
He was originally this kind of human, no, lizard.
Reading his expression, I raised my head.
Surprisingly, the lizard was… smiling slightly!
“All humans lie.”
“…….”
“What is important is the purpose and result of the act.”
It was a remark that felt almost philosophical.
‘…Is he saying that since I lied with good intentions and the result was also good, it doesn’t really matter?’
“…….”
Ah, whatever.
“Still, I will be careful next time.”
“Yes.”
With that, the conversation ended.
Group Leader Lizard returned to being a silent, vertical-pupiled reptile again.
‘I thought his personality was also somewhat discrepant from ordinary people…’
I felt like I realized that more deeply. In a good way, too.
I picked up the regeneration potion box I received as an extra prize from the chair.
-Friend, is the work all finished?
Just then, Brown in my pocket spoke to me.
We had agreed to refrain from chatting with each other when working in the office so as not to get caught that I possessed a ‘friendly companion’… but since the timing was right, should I ask him once.
I slightly pulled the stuffed doll out of my pocket, letting it hang outside.
‘Brown. Regarding the employee standing next to me right now.’
-Ah, you mean Roe Deer’s tall superior?
‘Yeah. What does he look like to you?’
-Ho.
After a short silence as if examining him.
-His eyes, nose, mouth, and auditory organs all look perfectly fine and balanced!
‘…As a lizard?’
-Lizard? Haha, Roe Deer, you even know how to make mischievous analogies. Who are you trying to tease? A lizard, of all things!
“…….”
Even Brown doesn’t see him as a lizard?
Could it be… that I am truly the only one who sees him as a lizard?
“Kim Sol-eum.”
“Yes, Group Leader.”
I resolved again. Let’s never even let the word ‘lizard’ slip out of my mouth in the future.
“We will move.”
Section Manager Lee Ja-heon moved his steps toward the elevator.
Walking after the lizard while pretending to be calm, I asked.
“Should I return to the office?”
“No.”
Hm?
“…Then where are we going?”
“A restricted area where access authority is opened starting from supervisor.”
“…!”
“I will explain the usage method.”
It came.
* * *
In this company, as an employee’s rank rises, various authorities are created.
That was a benefit, a capability, and a location all at once.
“As Kim Sol-eum got promoted to supervisor, the use of three additional facilities has been authorized.”
In front of the annex, I received a document folder from Section Manager Lee Ja-heon.
1. Security Team Rental Warehouse
2. Annex (Equipment crafting free twice a year)
3. Fox Counseling Room
“From now on, Kim Sol-eum can take out weapons from the Security Team Rental Warehouse.”
“…….”
“You can customize dedicated equipment using Twilight-grade Dark at the annex even without a superior’s company, and register at the Fox Counseling Room when necessary.”
Benefits I already knew about.
And though I didn’t know them in practice, several spaces of which I had information through the <Records of the Dark Exploration> were opened.
A slight sense of accomplishment and thrill.
And expectation.
‘The methods I can use to survive in this crazy worldview have increased further…!’
But everything has a double-edged nature.
Better treatment meant the company wanted that much more from the employee.
Speaking of this company…
‘Danger.’
Fitting for a company dealing with ghost stories, things accessible only to high ranks meant they contained the potential to become too dangerous for a civilian to handle.
Like this.
“In addition, a supervisor of the Field Exploration Team is assigned one Dark entity in charge.”
“…….”
That’s right.
Apart from the team, a ghost story that I must directly manage has been created!
“Usually, even if an individual takes charge, the group manages it jointly, but the primary locus of responsibility lies with the employee himself.”
Dispersing responsibility to field workers.
It is truly a corporate-like treatment. I am tasting a familiar 21st-century salaryman flavor here…
According to Group Leader Lee Ja-heon, as years of service accumulate and rank rises, the assigned Darks become more numerous and dangerous.
Still, the fortunate thing was that I was a rookie.
“Since Kim Sol-eum has less than a year of service and is a supervisor, an F-grade will be assigned.”
Whew.
“After managing it according to the schedule, register the presence or absence of unusual details on the checklist.”
“Yes.”
In any case, a situation where I had to do as told, instead of consuming physical strength by whining uselessly, I decided to offer a meaningful prayer.
‘Please! Please! Let a normal, low-grade Dark be assigned!’
If it turns out like the Tuesday Quiz Show, it would be better to just resign and prepare for the Disaster Management Bureau exam instead!
But I heard surprising words.
“Are you saying you will let me choose?”
“Yes.”
Section Manager Lee Ja-heon meant he would show me a few candidates so that I could choose from among them!
“Is it originally like that?”
“No.”
The lizard stared at me intently.
“It is my authority.”
…?!
So, he used his official power to flexibly make options for me… just now?
That lizard?
“Thank you so much for your consideration. But… may I ask the reason you are doing this for me?”
“It is an expression of gratitude.”
“Pardon?”
“It is an expression of gratitude for the act of finding the correct escape route in the B-grade ghost story and leading the entirety of Group D to return without injury.”
“…But Group Leader also saved my life from the guide machine.”
“That is a matter of responsibility.”
The lizard said indifferently.
“A group leader has an obligation to take responsibility for the members within his capability.”
“…….”
Hey, he is a good boss… indeed.
‘I almost felt slightly moved.’
If I were truly a rookie in society, I would have postponed my decision to resign by a month.
Was this why Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je and Supervisor Park Min-sung smiled broadly and tried to view the group leader favorably whenever it came to his matters.
It was to the point where even I felt I should do well.
“…Thank you nonetheless.”
“Yes.”
After bowing my head, I headed to the F-grade Dark containment room to which the lizard guided me.
It was a very good situation that I had not anticipated.
‘If I do well, I might actually profit from this.’
The <Records of the Dark Exploration> is a wiki.
What that meant was, since multiple creators freely made it while only keeping the rules, their standards for each grade could be slightly different.
‘Meaning that even with the same F-grade, the range of utility could be very good.’
That is, if I know the proper way to handle it.
And through the <Records of the Dark Exploration>, I already know that method.
If it is a Dark recorded there.
“These are three items of F-grade Dark.”
I raised my head.
Before my eyes, three objects were visible…
A worn-out teddy bear.
Two black cards.
A model airplane.
“…!”
‘I know all three.’
It was a jackpot.
-Ah, it is a very old and ugly doll.
In the midst of that, Brown let out a voice that was somewhat uncomfortable. Was he keeping the doll in check under the influence of the ‘friendly companion’?
-Anyway, the time of choice has approached, Roe Deer!
I contemplated.
And I reached out my hand.
“I will take charge of this Dark.”