Cosmic shopping mall.
I wonder how much money I spent there.
Even if I don't remember every single item, it’s easy to deduce that it's in the hundreds of millions.
I had poured as much as a typical apartment deposit in the metropolitan area into that shopping mall to purchase all sorts of items.
And then one day, I received that gold card.
I was a Cosmic shopping mall VIP!
~Gratitude Cell Enclosed~
I hadn't even had a clue what that Gratitude Cell was supposed to mean.
Until this very moment.
"Valued Customer."
I looked up.
I remember sticking the cell under my tongue, but what I did after that is hazy.
So... did I doze off for a moment?
"Valued Customer."
Hold on. Manager. I'm currently trying to grasp the situation... wait.
Customer?
"Manager?!"
"I am not."
Only then did I properly identify the object in front of me.
A Lizard was staring blankly at me, eye to eye.
"Manager."
"I am not, Valued Customer."
I heard the expression of clear denial twice.
I looked closely at the reptile in front of me again. The scale-covered snout and the flashing vertical pupils were the same.
But the color was different.
‘It—it’s gray.’
A gray Lizard was sitting in the seat where Lee Jaheon had been sitting just a moment ago!
The snacks and coffee I had hurriedly set out on the dining table had also disappeared.
I swallowed hard.
"Who are you?"
"I am a shopper who has come to represent the sales intentions of the Cosmic shopping mall, helping with the personal shopping of a VIP customer."
Oh my god.
"Would you like to proceed with your shopping?"
I stood up from my seat. Right, I was still sitting at the dining table in the motel room.
And Manager Lee Jaheon, who had been sitting across from me, was replaced by some similar-looking alien... wait a minute.
Cosmic shopping mall VIP shopping?
Could it be... is a kind of employee out here now doing something like a personal house call for me?
‘...Manager!’
You were just talking about how I’m completely contaminated!
Was this all a build-up to sell me an item good for contamination? No, even if it was, it wouldn't be bad if I could just get rid of the contamination!
I barely managed to calm down and sat back down, speaking quickly.
"I want to speak with Section Chief Lizard."
"Are you referring to the entity named Lee Jaheon, who is working as a Section Chief at Daydream Inc.?"
I flinched.
"Do you require him for psychological stability because he is an entity with whom you have built a friendly relationship?"
"If I say yes, what will happen?"
"I will explain that there is no problem."
The Lizard's snout opened.
"Because We Help know Mr. Roe Deer, and that is exactly the same as what Section Chief Lee Jaheon knows."
"......!"
"Furthermore, We Help wish to maintain a friendly relationship with you in the future. Valued Customer."
"......"
It was bizarre.
Come to think of it, Section Chief Lee Jaheon often introduced himself or started stories using 'We Help' as the subject.
And the name of the button I used was... ‘We Help.’
We Help.
"Who is ‘We Help’?"
"We Help are The Union. Speaking to Lee Jaheon and speaking to the entity currently before you are both speaking to The Union."
The conversation was becoming increasingly metaphysical.
So... a bizarre group of alien beings that share a single set of memories and emotions....
‘I heard there were ghost stories like this.’
As expected of an Alien Shop, it’s very sci-fi. I clutched my head and said.
"I'll just... talk to Manager Lee Jaheon. I'm not in the mood to shop right now."
"Mr. Roe Deer."
"......!"
I looked up.
But the white Lizard was still an entity other than Lee Jaheon.
Yet, he spoke in the exact same tone.
"You are in a situation where you need help. Please receive appropriate treatment when you can receive help in the form of shopping."
"...What kind of treatment are you talking about?"
"I exist in this place to help you with your shopping. Would you like to begin the VIP shopping of the Cosmic shopping mall?"
It was a non-sequitur.
However, catching the nuance, I slowly nodded.
Does this mean I can only proceed if I shop?
"...Yes."
"Understood."
The gray Lizard nodded.
The next moment.
The dining table began to grow massive.
"...?!"
On top of the table stretching endlessly to the left, items hidden by mist appeared. And tentacles loitering in front of those items... no, wait. Where on earth is this?
"I accessed this through the cell you ingested. Through the complaints regarding the website UI, the service allows VIPs to shop in the most familiar and comfortable space...."
"Did I ask that out loud?"
"Yes. Please sit comfortably and enjoy your shopping."
The Lizard spoke very professionally. No, wait, what exactly does it mean that I was 'accessed' through the cell....
"Then, prior to shopping, I will proceed with identity verification. Since it is difficult to clearly confirm the intention to trade in this state, I will differentiate to assist in a comfortable purchase."
"Differentiate?"
"Yes."
People began to appear at the endlessly lined-up dining table seats.
"...!"
They were obscured by mist and hard to see. However, the closer they were, the more their appearances were faintly visible.
A mart cashier's outfit, a broadcaster wearing a luxurious suit and stylish gloves, a kindergarten teacher holding an educational manual, a high school student in a school uniform....
The ghost stories I had experienced.
Me, contaminated within those ghost stories.
"......!"
And the two entities sitting closest to me were not shrouded in mist, so their forms were clearly visible.
I creaked my head around to check.
A yellow Mascot.
A black cat.
I t ' s o k a y
C a l m d o w n
[This way]
They even spoke to me.
Goosebumps erupted all over.
In front of their dining table, decorations and colors symbolizing each ghost story were added. I was about to jump up from the table and run away....
"Valued Customer. You are currently connected to the Cosmic shopping mall through the cell. That imagery is merely a projection of your mind and is not a state where the separation of personality and ego has actually occurred."
"......"
"Do not be more wary of yourself than necessary."
"...Is this a formalization of my contamination? To... refer to during decision-making when purchasing?"
"It is similar."
This is driving me crazy.
I sat back down for now and pressed my temples. The yellow Mascot looked restless and tried to take care of me.
This is a disaster.
"Would you like to check?"
Check what?
"For smooth shopping, would you like to check the appearances of the imageries sitting nearby once more?"
"......"
I realized instinctively.
This was advice.
And so, I raised my eyes and looked at the ‘I’s filling the table.
Whereisthis? I'mconfused.Let'sfindtheeducationalmanualagain.Throwingawaytheeducationalmanualw asatrulyhugeerror.
Welcome to Lookie Mart!
[The graduation ceremony will start again soon. I have to go back to school.]
-It's a unique place. If I do an in-depth report, the great Host might prepare a new segment for me!
I felt like vomiting.
However, that repulsion comes because they are things I know. It's a fear that comes from knowing them so well that I can imagine them.
But....
"......"
I looked at the faces sitting nearby.
Appearances that were not shrouded in mist and could be seen relatively clearly caught my eye.
By the way.
"Who are you?"
The one sitting in the very next seat, hidden by the giant Mascot sitting beside me.
He was draped in a tattered cloth that looked like a rag.
"I've never seen you before."
The me that I don't know.
I n t r u d e r
The Mascot turned its body, clearing the view toward that person.
Looking more clearly at that figure, I noticed the material of the rag that unknown me was wearing.
It was... old parchment.
"You."
I looked at the unfamiliar me.
"Take that off."
"......"
The one sitting at the table slowly lowered the parchment rag from its head, revealing itself.
Me, wearing a vermilion cleaning uniform.
-Caught me.
The Imitator of the Church of the Luminous Unknown twisted its head while looking at me.
-Hahahaha
"I will screen out things that interfere with shopping."
The next moment.
The me wearing the cleaning uniform disappeared from the table.
"......"
My heart thumps.
"Valued Customer. Is there anything associated with the version of you in the imagery just now?"
"Yes."
I remembered.
I reached my hand into the inventory tattoo and pulled out the object I had forgotten... no, that had been eroded so as to be forgotten.
A rolled-up old parchment.
Mimic Scripture Verse 4
Story Usurper
The item that appeared when the Sergeant defeated the Imitator I encountered while cleaning in the company basement after receiving disciplinary action.
A Fragment of Divine Law from the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
I also remember wrapping it in ‘Wrapping Paper 12B357Na’ to block the effect of this item.
‘And... I unwrapped the paper and wrapped it around my body for defense on the Train Bound for Tamra!’
After that, as I was drawn into Braun's Late-Night Talk Show, I had no opportunity at all to recall this Divine Law of the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
No... perhaps from a certain point on, my narrative might have been manipulated so that I ‘couldn't recall’ it.
‘...If I hadn't just received the music box originating from the Church of the Luminous Unknown in the Goods Box, I would have forgotten it entirely.’
I was able to associate it thanks to having seen an item from the same origin just moments ago.
And....
"Valued Customer. The parchment is swallowing something."
"Yes."
I saw it too.
I forcibly pulled out something black and cylindrical that was almost melting into this parchment.
A fountain pen.
"...!"
It's the brainwashing item from Sekwang Technical High School that I received in exchange for giving an eye to Baek Saheon.
‘I had forgotten this too.’
I realized.
It seemed that the Divine Law had been usurping the narrative of this fountain pen.
Through that, it would grow its power, and one day, I, having been overtaken, would be completely eroded by the Anomalous Phenomenon of the Church of the Luminous Unknown....
.......
Wait a minute.
‘What else have I been forgetting?’
I quickly racked my brain. But I couldn't remember anything.
It made sense. It would already be a memory usurped from me!
In that case....
"Can I get a list of the items I have purchased from the Alien Shop so far?"
"Yes. Is this an attempt to find the whereabouts of the items?"
"...Correct."
"In that case, I have something to tell you."
The Lizard looked at me.
"There is an item you have forgotten."
"What is it?"
"You received strength-enhancing equipment from Section Chief Lee Jaheon and crafted new equipment, but its whereabouts after being crafted are ambiguous."
"...!"
"Section Chief Lee Jaheon tried to inform you of that fact, but he realized sequentially that it was not a problem that could be solved simply by notification."
...I remember.
-I will introduce you to an item.
-Is it an effect that strengthens physical strength?
-It is similar. Use it as a Parent Item when making Exclusive Equipment.
We definitely had such a conversation.
Listening to the story, I slowly became aware of that object.
‘...It was a bracelet.’
It was the object I last crafted with Assistant Manager Eun Haje at the Daydream Inc. Annex.
At that time, Assistant Manager Haje suddenly appeared in my room. ...Just like Manager Lee Jaheon appeared in the motel room now.
But what I did with that equipment after crafting it... is completely absent from my memory.
Even though there were several crisis situations where I could have used it, I didn't recall it.
And I probably wouldn't have recalled it in the future either... because it had already been eaten by the Fragment of Divine Law scripture.
...It’s a bone-chilling feeling. I barely opened my mouth.
"I'm sorry. Even though you were kind enough to lend it to me."
"It is fine."
Despite saying he wasn't Manager Lee Jaheon, he accepts the apology naturally.
‘Phew.’
Calm down, calm down.
Anyway, it's a relief that I noticed.
‘Was it because the Imitator had almost eroded me that the liquid didn't fill the Collector?’
Even more so, since I was performing the roles of all sorts of anomalies from the Security Team Special Division to the Mascot, ‘mimicking’ them, the effect would have been doubled.
...Perhaps, that's how I was judged not as a human, but as an anomaly of the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
‘Phew.’
The contamination seems to have deepened because of that too.
I looked at the strange ‘me’s gathered around the table with gloomy eyes.
The cat looked at me with blood-red eyes and tapped the table with its tail as if dissatisfied, and the Mascot drooped its horns as if discouraged.
Besides that, I'm dazed by the various reactions.
And although they aren't banished from the table, the parts eroded by the Imitator must still be within me....
‘Ha.’
For now, one by one.
I gestured toward the Fragment of Divine Law of the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
"Can I dispose of this parchment at the shopping mall?"
"It is not an item purchased by the Cosmic shopping mall."
"By any chance, do you handle my contaminations currently sitting at the table?"
"They are not items purchased by the Cosmic shopping mall."
Phew.
Right. Either way, it was too dangerous to sell to humans, so I didn't think they were items handled here.
‘But Manager Lee Jaheon guided me here as an alternative to the Fox Counseling Room.’
That means... there is a way.
At that moment, the ‘We Help’ button flashed in my mind.
"Then, by any chance, is it possible to request ‘The Union’ to remove them? While paying a fee, that is."
"Yes."
"......!"
The Lizard looks at me.
"Are you proceeding with a request to permanently destroy a part of yourself?"
D o n ' t d o i t
I t ' s d a n g e r o u s
Wait a minute.
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