Chapter 33
Seeing the message pop up in front of me, my jaw dropped.
The status window's features are being unlocked?
This existed?
And points?
I'd just been leaving this status window alone because it only existed and didn't seem to do anything, but it had stuff like this too?
I was about to reach out for it on the spot.
“Phew! That was close!”
Quras's voice pulled me back to reality.
“Ah.”
Only then did it truly hit me.
That I'd resolved this wretched giant incident.
“Aaaaaaah!”
I got to my feet and let out a roar.
It was a truly soul-filled, desperate scream. All the things I'd done so far flashed through my mind like a panorama and made my emotions swell even more fiercely.
From now on, no one else will have to suffer through the giant incident.
The faces of everyone I'd survived with flashed through my head. We'd never meet again. Our ties were gone for good, too.
But if the incident is resolved, then that's enough.
Live well somewhere without any bullshit.
You all worked hard.
“Huuuh!”
I forced the tears welling up back down and looked at the two agents.
Come to think of it, my hands feel empty.
“Ah, by the way, I think I dropped the medicine I got from that prescription.”
“I figured as much, so I kept it safe.”
Quras presented a box.
“Oh! Thank goodness. But you're going to confiscate that, right?”
“Obviously. This is a special-grade hazardous item.”
That was a little disappointing. If I could've kept it, I might've been able to use it as a weapon. But I'd already taken it out in front of the agents, so there was no helping it.
“Well, it'd be useless to me anyway. But, agents. A whole building just collapsed in the middle of Seoul—what do we do about that?”
What the hell do we do?
“Don't worry about that.”
By then, Gorgodio's transformation had already worn off.
He straightened his black jacket and said,
“The Administration Bureau can cover up something like one collapsed building somehow.”
“You can do that? Really?”
“That is the power of the Administration Bureau. Haven't you ever seen strange phenomena on the news or anything like that?”
“Not really... but that's all?”
So the Administration Bureau had been covering things up every time something happened?
“Exactly. That's the power of the Administration Bureau. Above all else, there are all sorts of people in it.”
Quras draped an arm over my shoulder.
“This guy is more useful than I expected. Right, Gorgodio?”
He was surprisingly calm and decisive. How could an ordinary person do that?
For the first time, Gorgodio gave me a suspicious look. Now that the incident was over, his normal judgment seemed to be back.
“I'm just kind of like that to begin with. Besides, without that kind of decisiveness, you can't survive in a hospital.”
“That makes sense.”
“I suppose so. You had enough nerve and quick thinking to make it through. Hardly anyone comes out of there alive, after all. Anyway, leave the rest to the Control Team and let's head back.”
“Understood.”
So we're going back.
“At this point, we'll probably get a C-rank, right? We really wrapped that up fast.”
“We might get a D-rank judgment because we handled it too quickly.”
“No way. That medicine was the deciding factor.”
“True, but it would've been the same if the Administration Bureau had brought in a high-output weapon.”
The two agents were talking to each other about C-rank and D-rank, but from my perspective it was just ridiculous. If we couldn't stop this, it was a freaking S-rank world-ending disaster, okay? And besides, we'd already failed to stop it in the previous run.
“So they really do assign grades like that. I guess your performance improves if you clear higher-rank cases?”
“Exactly. Let's get going.”
“Yes. What am I supposed to do?”
“Naturally, you have to come with us. We have a lot to talk about. Ah, there. The car's here. Let's take that.”
“Yes.”
And so I got in the car with the two agents.
As soon as they got in, they started reporting back to headquarters. With my conversation partner gone, I just looked out the window and took in the chaos.
Police and firefighters had all swarmed the area. And there were onlookers, reporters... I have no idea how they're going to cover this up, but they'll probably manage it somehow. Honestly, if they manage it, nothing happens; if they don't, it turns into another giant incident.
Looking at it, I couldn't even see any flesh among the collapsed building's debris.
Did that medicine completely erase it?
That hospital really is something else.
What on earth is Cheongak Mary Hospital?
“...”
Let's check the status window once we get to the Administration Bureau.
* * *
It's a fairly large building.
“This is the Administration Bureau building?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it okay for it to be this out in the open?”
“The rule is to hide trees in forests and buildings in cities. Go on in.”
“Oh. That actually sounds plausible.”
I went straight into the Administration Bureau building.
“This really is straight out of Men in Black.”
My first impression after going in was that it was exactly like Men in Black. You know how Men in Black had huge spaces like this too.
“We've arrived on the first floor. Handover complete. Heading up now. Hey, rookie! You absolutely have to come to our Suppression Team! We'll be waiting!”
Quras, who'd put his phone in his pocket, grabbed my shoulder and shook me.
“I'll decide after seeing it.”
“The moment you said that Roy Mustang line to me, you crossed the point of no return. Anyway, you worked hard.”
“No, I've heard that gag a lot already...”
“It might've been your first time, but I've heard it a hundred times. Anyway, stay here and someone will come. Then bye.”
He raised his hand, held up his index and middle fingers, and turned away coolly.
“Yes. You two worked hard as well.”
After saying goodbye to the two agents, it finally felt like everything was over.
Should I check out that status-window feature now?
Anyway, it only shows up for me and I don't really need to say it out loud, so that's fine. But this is the Administration Bureau headquarters, so I can't help feeling a little cautious.
As I stood there blankly with those thoughts,
ㅡchok-chok-chok.
someone came up behind me and touched my shoulder.
ㅡchok-chok-chok.
Rather than touching me, it felt more like they were poking me with their fingertips.
Is there a Zealot standing behind me right now?
“Ah.”
When I turned around, I saw a woman with an eye-catching beige long-wavy hairstyle.
“You’re the one? The hospital survivor and witness to this incident?”
A gentle-looking face and a soft voice.
Is this woman an agent too?
“Ah, yes. That's right. I'm the one.”
“Come with me. We have a lot to go over.”
“Yes.”
I immediately followed the woman.
ㅡclack-clack.
With a new person appearing, I sharpened my powers of observation. Since she was wearing high heels, unlike Gorgodio or Quras she seemed like someone who worked behind a desk rather than in the field.
“Um, what should I call you?”
“Mm, call me Agent Jamtree. That's what you should use.”
“Then I'll call you Ms. Jamtree. I...”
“Stop.”
“Huh?”
Jamtree, who had stopped walking, turned back to look at me.
“Don't say your name.”
Quick on the uptake, I nodded.
“I understand. I see everyone uses codenames and things like that.”
Jaaldi. Gorgodio. Quras. Jamtree.
None of them seemed like names used in English, either. They were literally the kind of codenames you'd expect.
“There must be a reason for it. Not being able to use real names.”
“Good eye. That's right.”
“There was something like that at Cheongak Mary Hospital too.”
While talking like that, we walked down the corridor and took the elevator.
The place we arrived at looked like some sort of interrogation room. Interrogation rooms traumatize me. Are they going to pull my brain out again?
But unlike the fake Administration Bureau, this place had a white interior and a futuristic design, so it felt a little more open.
“Take a seat over there.”
“Yes.”
Jamtree, seated opposite me, took out a pad.
“First of all, congratulations on escaping Cheongak Mary Hospital. It's an extremely dangerous place with almost no survivors. Just surviving there was an incredible stroke of luck.”
“Yes... Quras and Gorgodio gave me a rough rundown.”
“Mm-hm. Can you tell me how you escaped? If there's any useful information, tell me that too. I need to add it to the rulebook.”
“The rulebook.”
So that's how it works.
“You were adding to the rulebook based on stories from survivors like me?”
“There are things agents discover directly, too. Other times we hear from survivors like this. That place hasn't been fully cleared.”
“Not fully cleared...”
From the way she spoke, it sounded like there were other strange phenomena that had also been fully cleared.
“There are a lot of places similar to Cheongak Mary Hospital?”
“Yes. Of course. More than you'd think. Really.”
“It's a wonder this world hasn't ended yet.”
“That's our job—to stop that. So, will you tell me?”
“Yes. But this is a bit long, so would it be okay if I go in order?”
“Mm-hm. Please do. Slowly. As detailed as possible. Time doesn't matter. Ah, if you uncover any new rules, there's a reward too.”
“That's an enticing offer. Then where should I start... Actually, I've run into something like a vampire before.”
“Huh?”
I started by explaining that.
Of course, with a few embellishments.
Late at night, when I tried to cross the road through the subway underpass, I heard a strange voice there. As if under hypnosis, I started moving and ended up meeting a blonde woman.
“I got the overwhelming feeling I was under hypnosis. My body was moving on its own. But then, wouldn't you know it, I saw the woman's long fangs? Ah, I thought, this is a vampire. That's what I figured. So!”
At that point, I took out the cross necklace I'd had on me and showed it to the vampire. I'm Christian, so I always carry one, thankfully. Anyway, when I did, the vampire frowned and flinched, and I realized I had garlic on me, so I yelled it out loud.
“Then the woman turned into dark smoke and vanished! She really was a vampire!”
“Ah, um. Mm-hm. Hmm... incredible.”
An awkward smile.
“That's really good improvisation.”
“Saying it like that makes me a little embarrassed.”
Telling someone a story you've thrown up is a bit much, yeah.
But I had to embellish it this much.
“Actually, after that I went crazy. I was tormented by the delusion that the vampire would come after me.”
“That's not strange. It's a natural reaction.”
“Yes... but because of that, I kept digging up information, and then I started having delusions that black-suited people were chasing me.”
“What...?”
“No, but it really seemed real. They kept showing up around me.”
At this point, knowing about the fake Administration Bureau and still being alive would be strange. So I decided to throw up a smoke screen like this.
Sure enough, Jamtree's expression grew serious; as an agent, she seemed to know about the fake Administration Bureau.
“So I ran away while I was already out of my mind.”
After that, I looked for a job in the provinces that included room and board, and ended up getting hired as a guard at Cheongak Mary Hospital.
“Wait. You said guard? You got hired as a guard?”
“Yes.”
Her hands moved busily.
“A guard... From our end, that's been identified as an aberrant entity?”
“Looks like it was after all? I'd sort of picked up on it too. My predecessor was really strange. Same with the guard rulebook.”
Come to think of it, my successor was strange too.
The one that showed up when I left the hospital.
No matter how I think about it, that thing wasn't human.
“Mm? The guard rulebook? Can you tell me more?”
This information was unknown too?
“Yes. I'll tell you from memory. But the rules were a little strange. They didn't quite add up.”
“All of them. Explain in detail.”
ㅡtap-tap-tap.
What, are you a pad ghost or something?
That typing speed is insane.
Anyway, I explained all the rules.
“What in the world...”
Jamtree looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and said, “How did you survive?”