I rolled to avoid the Executioner's Sword.
However, the blades that had begun to pour down were already lodged in my foot.
"···!"
Meanwhile, Agent Choi rushes toward me at a terrifying speed and pulls something else out with his hand.
Something round.
A glass marble sparkling in the light of the Dream Essence Liquid.
'A makeshift glass prison!'
the moment I’m hit by that, I’ll be bound and transported to the Disaster Management Bureau’s famous Glass Prison.
Everything ends the moment that happens.
The spying, the Wish Ticket.
'No.'
I gritted my teeth, pulling out the Executioner's Sword that had hit my foot, and rolled to the side.
Ting, ti-di-ding···.
The glass marble, which I narrowly avoided, fell to the side with a cheerful sound, but...
The prison was already open.
"······!”
Sinner,
receive
the binding ropes.
Countless hands emerged from the glass void and grabbed me.
I clung to the office equipment, but it wasn't enough. I was dragged in along with it. I heard the sound of my fingernails shattering as my hands scraped against the floor while being pulled.
There was no time to pull out an item.
'Braun!'
-Oh, it seems you are desperately seeking the devoted help of your Good Friend, Friend!
-But I’m afraid that will be difficult.
What?
-Since this is a decision made for a more interesting progression, I trust Mr. Roe Deer will understand willingly. Ah, but my heart is breaking as well! It truly is···.
-To see a Friend in such distress!
My blood ran cold.
I was trapped in the glass just like that.
Charararak.
With a clear, sharp sound as if glass were resonating, I was isolated from the outside world as if looking through a broken mirror.
'Braun?'
There was no answer. Fuck!
'No.'
I gritted my teeth.
The moment the Agent contacted the Disaster Management Bureau like this, it would all be over.
And Agent Choi was exactly the kind of person who would do that!
‘He’s already started making contact.’
The glass marble rotated in Agent Choi’s hand. It was a kind of simplified ritual to call the jailer of the prison.
'Damn it, damn it!'
How could I stop him? How could I persuade him? He was a compassionate person who occasionally wavered due to emotions, but wasn't that only possible when there was an opening?
Now that he knew I was a spy, he’d start by throwing me into the Glass Prison first···.
······.
Wait.
I looked not at Agent Choi’s hand holding the glass marble, but at his other hand, the left one.
The crumpled piece of paper held there.
'······.'
I found it.
"Is that the note I gave you? Did you find this place because you recently solved that riddle?"
Agent Choi didn’t answer and continued to roll the glass marble in his hand. But I didn't give up and kept talking.
"At the very least, when you received that note, did you think I was really asking for help to save someone?"
"No."
"···!"
"At first, I thought there was a trick. Given where you came from."
···!!
"Why are you surprised? You joined here using the same real name you used at Daydream Inc. Did you really think no one would know?"
The shock that struck my head led me to a conclusion···.
'It was strange.'
Yes. I definitely thought it was strange.
When Lee Kangheon of Team C didn't exist, and when Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, who supposedly exchanged messages with him, said she had never seen him.
I could have deduced the cause with very simple reasoning.
That he was a person who didn't exist in the first place.
He was someone pretending to be a Daydream employee to dig up information.
That man.
So, from the very beginning, he knew I was from Daydream Inc.··.
"But you see,"
Agent Choi’s voice became hollow.
"You were actually quite good at your job. ···You worked hard."
"······."
"You went out of your way to help everyone you met—the kids, even the obnoxious ones. Even if you got hurt or took a loss, you tried to do something."
His voice grew thick.
"I thought that wasn't something you could just act out. Usually, Daydream employees can't stand taking a loss. So I thought... that exactly as you told Jaekwan, it might be true that you faked your death and went into hiding to escape the company."
···!
"I thought it would be fine if I kept you in our team and managed you well··."
Agent Choi gripped the glass marble tightly.
"I just believed what was convenient for me. Haha, making a mistake like this with all my years of experience."
"······.”
"Yeah, it’s human nature to move only if a greater profit follows a loss. On top of that, I forgot the tendency of you people to risk your lives for a Wish Ticket. But··.”
Agent Choi’s eyes gleamed darkly.
"Mr. Roe Deer. Are you even human?"
"······.”
"What was that form earlier? And what is this place? What did they say Daydream would grant you if you did something to the Management Bureau? Let's hear an answer."
I kept my mouth shut.
Agent Choi met my eyes for a moment, then finally laughed.
"There's no point, right?"
"······."
"Fine. Go to the prison and talk all you want··."
"Prison?"
A voice was heard from above Agent Choi’s head.
"···!"
A black shadow loomed over him.
A monstrous form like a giant wolf, sprouted with eyes and teeth at random.
The Sergeant.
He had returned.
Having been stalling for time, I gritted my teeth and shouted.
"Aim for the glass marble!"
"You son of a··."
Agent Choi tried to grab the Executioner's Sword from his waist, but it was already too late.
The teeth approached.
Crunch.
The blade of the Executioner's Sword shattered, and the glass marble was crushed along with Agent Choi’s hand.
"Ugh!"
The moment the glass marble broke between the teeth, the makeshift prison that was confining me also shattered.
I rushed out immediately. And I found an opening to subdue Agent Choi.
At the spot where his reaction would be the slowest.
The neck.
"···!"
I intentionally targeted the scar on his neck.
A feeling that was either guilt or tension surged up my spine.
Thud.
Agent Choi was pinned to the floor. From the black snout of the wolf-like monster biting his arm, a mass of teeth and a tongue-like shape emerged, as if it were about to tear him apart entirely··.
"You mustn't."
I said urgently, panting for breath.
"You mustn't kill him."
"······.”
The monster's form gradually receded, revealing the thin Sergeant with his listless expression.
"I wasn't·· going to kill him··. Just·· to scare him··."
Whew.
"He’s not the kind of opponent that kind of intimidation works on."
I looked down.
My heart was racing.
What should I do now?
Does this mean my mission has completely failed? What happens to the Wish Ticket? How can I fix this situation? How can I··.
"Soleum-ah."
"······."
"Ahem, Kim Soleum. Hey."
Making a small cough and a stifled sound from below, Agent Choi grinned.
"The Executioner's Sword didn't hurt much, did it?"
···!
"That’s not an item you can move like that after being hit in the foot. You saw it, too. When your company’s Elite Squad got hit."
I had seen it.
In the Sparkling Dragon Palace ghost story.
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol, who collapsed while suppressing a groan as soon as the Executioner's Sword struck her.
And the fact that it didn't hurt me much, that meant...
"It means you're not a bad guy, right?"
"······."
"Grapes-ie. We can still turn this around."
···!
"I can just handle this quietly on my end without handing it over to the higher-ups. I mean·· it's not like the Management Bureau doesn't have one or two people from unusual backgrounds."
"······."
"Let's just cover this up. Then you can live as the rookie who escaped from a pseudo-religion company and joined the Disaster Management Bureau, exactly as you said."
Agent Choi’s eyes became calmly clear.
"We just·· keep working together as the youngest agent of Hyunmoo Team 1. Saving people."
"······."
"I don't know why you're tied to that damn company, but·· tell me honestly. You had much more fun being part of our team, didn't you?"
"······."
"And your wish, maybe we can grant it too."
His low voice told a warm story.
"I'll help you. Soleum-ah."
······.
I moved my hand.
"Agent."
"Yeah?"
"Stop lying. It won't work."
“···!”
I twisted Agent Choi’s left arm and pinned it behind his back.
Clatter, a pager fell from beneath his left arm. I grabbed the pager and crushed it.
"You··!"
I knew it.
"Agent Choi."
I said firmly, pinning both of his hands behind his back.
"I already know."
"······."
"Pressing the pager attached below your left elbow is a breakthrough tactic you often use."
Agent Choi’s eyes widened.
"But if you're in a situation where it's difficult to take out the pager like this·· you usually come up with a way to subdue the opponent. You mostly use the Goblin Lantern for subduing, but sometimes you use books obtained from this used bookstore.”
"······."
"But since that’s to protect the target who needs to be rescued, you’ll choose to escape now. Mr. Jay, there’s another pocket inside this man’s pants pocket. There should be a shoelace in there. Please take it out."
The Sergeant did as I requested.
Seeing his own escape item in my hand, Agent Choi’s smile turned pale.
I declared.
"I know you. I can predict everything you do, no matter what."
"······."
"Don't make the situation dangerous with useless attempts."
"Haha··. You bastard."
His voice trembled.
"What are you."
"······."
"Who are you."
I couldn't answer.
I only did it to instill a sense of alarm so that he wouldn't move recklessly.
I disarmed Agent Choi of every weapon he had, one by one, and stored them all in my inventory tattoo.
With this, the first stage of neutralization was over.
'Phew.'
But far from feeling relieved, my head was spinning.
What’s next, what’s next··.
'We have to leave.'
It was dangerous to stay here with Agent Choi. It would be troublesome if the Disaster Management Bureau tracked us.
'A motel.'
For now, we go to a third location.
"Walk. Quietly."
"······."
"Don't do anything foolish."
I pulled Agent Choi up and grabbed him. With the Sergeant at his side, it looked, at a glance, like two people supporting a drunken colleague.
While leaving the Dream Incubation Room like that, I agonized over a plan to fix this again··.
"Soleum-ah."
"······."
Agent Choi laughed while breaking into a cold sweat.
"Are you going to bury me somewhere like this? Or·· hand me over to Daydream?"
"······."
"But you also know well how horribly those Daydream bastards behave. You saw it with your own eyes when they tried to use the kids we barely rescued from the Dragon Palace for experiments."
We moved our feet.
“Are you going to hand me over to them? Really?"
"······."
"Just tell me what you were trying to do at the Disaster Management Bureau. I'll help you."
I couldn't say anything.
And··· I knew he wouldn't help me.
He was just looking for an opening by making me waver even a little bit.
And the moment I gave him an opening, the experienced Agent Choi would somehow transport me to the Glass Prison or escape, gather reinforcements, and reappear.
Then it would be over. No··.
'Is it already over?'
My stomach churned.
The feeling that I had passed an irreversible turning point.
The realization that the daily life where I thought I could quietly steal the documents Director Ho requested would never return.
The sense of vastness that I would now fall into a quagmire that would be difficult to escape from.
I felt like I was going to throw up.
‘······What should I do?'
What way is there?
A Daydream Potion that makes Agent Choi lose his memory or swear a secret is useless.
‘He’ll be caught in less than a week.’
Agent Choi undergoes a weekly internal checkup to see if something Corrupt has entered him. He’ll be caught there.
If only, if only··.
"Excuse me··.”
"······."
"Excuse me."
I turned back to the Sergeant across from me.
The Sergeant spoke while looking at the Agent he was subduing as if supporting him.
"This person·· Disaster Management Bureau··?"
"···Yes."
"Hmm··. I don't know what's going on, but··,"
The Sergeant spoke as if he had realized something.
"You know, you seem to know him·· and it seems like you could communicate."
"······!”
"Through conversation·· for now?"
But what on earth was I supposed to say?
I couldn't say the most important things, like what kind of work I was doing as a spy or exactly what Daydream had requested. Because Director Ho’s Binding Restriction was in effect.
Excluding that, the only thing I could talk about was··.
······.
Only myself, not as a spy.
Kim Soleum.
What it is that I want.
With what thoughts I worked at the Disaster Management Bureau.
Whether I had any intention of deceiving them.
"······.”
Should I try saying at least that?
'Even if it's just the fact that I have no intention of harming the Disaster Management Bureau.’
If I could prove that I hadn't caused any actual harm yet, then maybe I could find some kind of compromise.
For now·· let's try that.
"···Yes."
After coming out to the alley and then to the roadside, I saw a taxi parked there and spoke quietly to Agent Choi.
"We’re going to take a taxi."
"······.”
"Don't cause a scene."
"You're smart, Mr. Roe Deer."
He wouldn't be able to run wild or attack recklessly if there were civilians present. Because he’d worry that the taxi driver might get hurt or killed in the process.
‘It can actually prevent unexpected situations.’
Using even that made me feel even more sick, but I had no choice.
"Let's get in."
The three of us climbed into the back seat of the taxi side by side. And to keep the driver in the front seat from being surprised, we continued the posture of supporting a drunk person··.
"Soleum-nim!"
"···!!”
A familiar face turned around from the driver's seat.
Not a taxi driver. He was looking at me, calling out in a voice full of regret.
···It was Director Ho.
'What is this.'
How did he appear?
Why·· here?
However, the shock dominated the situation before the questions.
Because Director Ho declared.
"Oh dear, you’ve been caught.”
"······."
No.
"But you secured him immediately! I came to meet you because I wanted to save you the trouble of coming all this way."
Director Ho’s gaze shifted.
His gaze, which ignored the Sergeant as if he didn't exist, looked at the person pinned between the two of us in the center of the back seat.
Agent Choi.
"Hello?"
Something that was not human, which had shown clear hatred and animosity toward the Disaster Management Bureau, stared at the Bureau's agent.
A tense smile spread across Agent Choi’s face.
"···It doesn't seem like a very hello-worthy situation for me."
"Oh, no."
A smile also spread across Director Ho’s face.
"You’ll be saying hello very soon."
No.
"Please wait."
I hurriedly cut into Director Ho’s line of sight.
My back was damp with cold sweat.
"He has it set so that if he dies, goes missing, or mutates, an alert is immediately sent to the Management Bureau."
"Is that so?"
"I'm certain. So it would be most efficient and safe to place a Binding Restriction on him and return him to his daily life··."
"Soleum-nim."
Director Ho looked at me and smiled as if he were sorry.
"Since your identity was discovered so quickly, it’s difficult for me to trust your judgment anymore··."
Goosebumps rose to the very top of my head.
"I’ll handle it myself.”
"······."
I stiffly turned my head.
Round ripples were rising over Agent Choi’s face.
Director Ho’s incantation.
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