Home.
The destination.
The reason I wanted to win a Wish Ticket.
I used to call it that, as a shorthand for my intense desire to escape this world and return to where I originally lived.
‘I want to go home.’
…Only in my head!
My private affairs, which I had never voiced aloud, suddenly burst forth in this interrogation room.
‘Where is my home?’
I forced my hands to relax so as not to grip the chair.
I must not lie.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“…I heard that home is very important to you.”
From whom? No….
…….
I remembered.
-So what’s the wish you’re trying to achieve?
-Going home.
Agent Choi must have told him.
I recalled that hellish night when I encountered Director Ho in a taxi.
And the conversation I had with Agent Choi afterward.
“…….”
Home.
Was that judged to be a personal conversation unrelated to me being a spy?
‘Even so, why did you even try to mention it?’
Isn't it dangerous?
And nothing changes just because Agent Bronze knows it.
I changed the subject.
“Should I tell you where I commute from?”
“No. That isn’t your home.”
…!
Agent Bronze looked at me silently.
“I know you’re staying in a motel.”
“…….”
“I’ve already confirmed that there are no personal furniture pieces, let alone anything that could be called your own property, in the room you're occupying. …A few sets of clothes were all there was.”
It felt like the things I had kept only as thoughts were being exposed.
“That place cannot be called a home. No, you were intentionally leaving that space neglected. You didn't even apply for the agent dormitory provided by the Disaster Management Bureau. …Why is that?”
A question I couldn't answer.
“Agent Grapes.”
“…….”
“It’s alright if you don’t answer the questions I’m about to ask. However, I want you to know this.”
Agent Bronze spoke without hesitation from across the glass wall.
“This conversation is only between you and me.”
“…….”
“There is no recording or separate record. I will be the only one listening.”
I raised my head.
Meeting my eyes, Agent Bronze nodded slightly, then set down the documents he was holding and spoke….
“I didn't have a home to begin with.”
“……!”
“My parents divorced when I was young, and after my mother passed away, I grew up in an orphanage.”
Wait a minute.
“Even though I lived, ate, and slept there, I didn't really think of it as home. On the contrary, when I thought of home, I remembered the villa where I lived with my mother. Even though I don't remember it well and only the feeling remains.”
Personal history poured into my ears. The past of a character not recorded in the Wiki.
No, not just a character….
‘Agent Bronze.’
The story of an acquaintance.
“Then, while going to school, I got caught up in a Supernatural Disaster and encountered the Disaster Management Bureau for the first time. When I asked how I could work there, they laughed.”
And he said the Bureau, having heard his situation, introduced him to a safe job a student could do.
It was a strange bookstore used by the Bureau.
“I worked there while attending night college. And immediately after completing the university course, I took the exam… and passed.”
Agent Bronze looked at me.
“That’s how I got to where I am now.”
“…….”
“Now, when I hear the word home, I think of the waiting room of Hyunmoo Team 1. I also think of the dormitory room at the Bureau. And people’s faces come to mind.”
Ah.
“So I want to ask you this question.”
Agent Bronze asked quietly.
“…Agent Grapes. Is your home not in this world right now?”
“…!”
“Did it exist once, but you lost it?”
I felt like I could hear the omitted words after that.
‘Like me.’
“…….”
I wasn't bound like I was during the last interrogation.
I could freely evade the question.
But….
“Yes.”
“……!”
“It isn't.”
A light flickered in Agent Bronze’s eyes.
“Did you work at Daydream because you wanted to get that home back?”
“It’s a bit different.”
I slowly formulated my words.
“It's because I want to return home.”
“…….”
Agent Bronze was silent for a moment, as if chewing over the meaning of those words.
But.
“Agent Grapes.”
A firm reply came back.
“You cannot go back to a place that no longer exists.”
“…….”
“There are only those who try to use you by deluding you into thinking you can return. …Do not let them exploit you like that. You are a stronger person than that.”
No.
I knew that wasn't it.
The Wish Ticket was real.
I knew what he was trying to say, but it didn't fit my situation….
“Can't you make a new home?”
“……!”
“Like I did.”
I looked at him with an expression as if I had been hit on the head.
“If you go out of here, meet good people, find a place your heart gravitates toward… and create a place where you can rest comfortably and sleep without worry.”
Agent Bronze declared.
“That place will become your home.”
Just as he thought of the Main Building of the Disaster Management Bureau, and its cozy, clubroom-like waiting room, as his home.
The advice of someone who had experienced it felt refreshingly certain.
So.
“I’m not asking Agent Grapes to be absolutely certain of it. But… I’d like you to think about it at least once.”
“…….”
“Can you do that?”
I nodded very slowly.
And the glass wall projected nothing.
Truth.
A slight smile of relief spread across Agent Bronze’s face.
“Good. That’s the end of today’s interrogation.”
“…….”
“Today… I hope you get some good rest.”
I couldn't believe myself either.
What did I just answer that I would consider?
But the atmosphere was surprisingly soft, and my mind was calmer than expected.
As if I hadn't made a bad choice.
And Agent Bronze didn't pry further into my situation.
“And I hope you take good care of your meals and sleep. I’ve been assigned as your interrogator for the next week, so there won’t be any aggressive interrogations. Don't worry, and think of it as a rest.”
Agent Bronze added that he would provide anything I needed. Of course, dangerous items that violated regulations wouldn't be allowed.
There was no sign of falsehood in those words.
It didn't seem like he would throw me into a Nightmare Maze right away….
‘…Whew.’
The state of Awakening I had desperately maintained to avoid falling asleep and eating only small amounts of safe food to avoid interrogation traps almost snapped in an instant.
The moment fatigue tried to wash over me like a wave.
“And this is… a personal question, but.”
A slightly hesitant voice was heard.
“Are you perhaps resentful of Agent Choi?”
“……!!”
“I think you could be. He suddenly transferred you to prison as soon as he released your Binding Restriction. …Without consulting anyone else.”
A hint of anger mixed in Agent Bronze’s voice before it was tightly suppressed and vanished.
‘It seems like they fought.’
But as if he didn't want to show that sign, Agent Bronze changed the subject.
“But for the past week, it’s not that Agent Choi put Agent Grapes here and intentionally tried to neglect you.”
On the contrary, an explanation followed that he had continuously applied for the role of interrogator to speak with me.
But….
“On top of being the one who transferred you to prison, he was blocked because he failed the objectivity criteria during the first day's interrogation application.”
“……!”
“Fortunately, I passed, so today… I was worried about what to say.”
Agent Bronze bowed his head slightly.
“I’m relieved that you gave me an answer.”
“…….”
“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After urging me once again to take care of my health and rest, Agent Bronze disappeared back into the fog beyond the glass wall.
And so, I was left alone in the Glass Prison once again with the Goblin Fire.
However, it wasn't the tension given by a mind awakened by vigilance, but a daze as if I had been hit, that swirled in my head.
And I chewed over it.
The conversation just now.
‘Live here?’
Give up… on going home?
It was a suggestion to make a new home and settle down here.
As an agent belonging to the Disaster Management Bureau.
‘…Is it bait for interrogation?’
But considering Agent Bronze’s personality, it didn't seem like he would cooperate with such a deceptive interrogation method.
Then it meant it was real.
With conditions predicated on it, of course.
The Disaster Management Bureau did not judge me to be an evil person.
And… they wanted me to continue working.
“…….”
My god.
‘Things seem… better than I thought.’
Since the interrogator was Agent Bronze, it might end with me confessing to being a spy at an appropriate level. I might be able to walk out of the Glass Prison while keeping all sorts of secrets that were too difficult to tell.
And, and….
I might be able to just work here.
“…….”
Continuing to live as an agent of the Disaster Management Bureau.
Working with Hyunmoo Team 1 as I was now, spending time with good people doing good work.
Then, if it really got hard, if I honestly said I was scared, they might transfer me to another team.
In that way, I could lead a daily life and stay relatively safe with good people even in this Ghost Story Worldview.
‘There’s… nothing bad about it, is there?’
No, on the contrary, it felt okay.
Making a new home…….
‘No.’
I slapped my thigh hard enough to make a sound.
My body and mind were tired, so I shouldn't make the mistake of judging things for my own convenience.
‘Right now, Agent Bronze is suggesting this assuming that I lost my home due to an accident or disaster.’
I shouldn't be mistaken.
‘My home is perfectly fine.’
It’s just that going back is difficult; I’m not obsessing over something that goes against reality or is impossible!
I can do it. I can do it….
……And besides.
I actually knew.
That choosing to live in this world of <Dark Exploration Record> was truly not a wise choice.
……Do you remember? The subtitle of that Wiki.
Apocalypse Prophecy: Dark Exploration Record
That’s right.
‘I can’t stay for long.’
Because this world was, from the beginning….
-My, my.
A polite and pleasant male voice.
-Your mind seems to be quite complicated, Friend.
“…!!”
I bolted upright.
‘An auditory hallucination?’
-An auditory hallucination? Could there be such a vivid hallucination? Oh, of course, I can fully understand if you mistakenly thought so because you missed this Braun. Of course, of course….
The eloquently flowing speech was too distinct to be my imagination. I hastily put my hand into my coat pocket and pulled it out.
The small rabbit plush doll.
‘…….’
A chilling sensation ran down my back.
‘How is it talking?’
All non-daily supernatural phenomena are blocked inside this Glass Prison….
Ah.
‘He said… supernatural beings can still exist.’
Just like the Goblin Fire shivering against the wall right now.
So… is the ‘Good Friend,’ the being here through that medium, being recognized not just as a talking plush doll but as an intellectual entity, a being?
-That’s right. Haven't we frequently shared conversations in your daily life as well! Close conversations between friends cannot be treated as frivolous tricks. Mr. Roe Deer, how could you be so cold!
The Host, who had been speaking in a pleasant tone, paused as he added the final remark.
As if realizing.
-Yes…. I am hurt.
…….
-It seems Friend is not glad to see me. Even though it's our first conversation in a week….
-I thought Friend would be as delighted as someone who counts down the days for a program that only airs on the same day of the week, finally getting to watch it….
“…….”
If so.
This plush doll had voluntarily remained as silent as a lie for a week….
-You call it that again. ‘Plush doll.’
Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck.
-Hmm. It doesn't matter. A great talk show host, a show entertainer, must willingly accept any nickname or derogatory name. If that is the public's choice. And if it is the choice of my dear Friend!
The Host’s voice rang cheerfully through the glass sphere.
Reverberations were added like the echo of a microphone….
-Splendid. I must show a wonderful show to my Friend who has spent several exhausting and hard days.
-Surprise! Raise your head, Friend!
I moved my head stiffly.
On the glass wall in front of me, where Agent Bronze had been standing….
-Allow me to introduce…. ‘How to Escape the Glass Prison’!
A video began to play.
Like a screen.
“…!”
-Isn’t this more wonderful than the children's cartoon we were going to watch together? Haha, my! Friend, you're flustered. It’s alright. Oh? I don’t know what you mean by supernatural phenomenon. Isn't watching TV a most natural and daily action! Now, then….
-Let’s watch.
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