Chapter 80
After that.
Before long, I ended up being led off to get a psychiatric evaluation while holding Mr. Spandal's hand. I felt like some little kid being dragged to the hospital by his mom—except this was psychiatry?
"This is my first time getting a psychiatric evaluation."
"If you're an agent, you have to get one regularly."
"If you don't, you'll end up like the World Politics Board users."
"Hmm, not sure about that."
The Administration Bureau's building was vast, and there were still plenty of things I hadn't figured out. After riding the elevator, I arrived at the Bureau's psychiatry department.
"I'm not crazy...! I don't want to go to the hospital!"
"Wh-what?"
"I'm joking."
"You really...! Haaah! Fine! Just go in already! I'll wait here!"
It was always fun to fluster Mr. Spandal.
I opened the door and went inside.
"Hello. I'm Agent Grong."
"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Pantermero from the Bureau's mental health team."
A man with a strikingly severe 50/50 part greeted me. I'd never seen such an extreme hairstyle before.
His hair was gray, and he wore a white coat. He looked just like a psychiatrist, and sure enough, he was a Bureau agent.
"Have a seat."
"Yes."
"We're going to begin your psychiatric evaluation now. Are there any difficulties or anxieties you'd like to mention?"
There was no shortage of things that made me anxious.
But my greatest anxiety and fear were tied to regression, and that was something I could never tell anyone.
"Is it hard to talk about?"
"Hmm... now that I'm trying to think about it, nothing really comes to mind."
"Then please fill this out."
Pantermero handed me a sheet of paper.
1. What makes me the most anxious?
I couldn't write regression, so I wrote vampire attacks.
I filled out all the questions that way.
Then I handed it in.
"Hmm... I can feel a very strong obsession with vampires."
"Can't be helped. If you think about it, I became an agent because of vampires, after all."
"I see. Then please follow me."
What else was there?
I followed him to another room.
What I saw the moment the door opened was...
"..."
A giant machine of unknown purpose and what looked like an operating bed. Could they really be doing the psychiatric evaluation by sticking some kind of patch from that machine onto my head?
This looked way too suspicious.
"Please lie down here."
"Are you going to stick something on my body and test me with it?"
"Yes."
"What kind of machine is it, specifically?"
"It's a machine that examines an agent's mental state. Now, please lie down."
Ah, shit.
What?
Why was I so uneasy?
What if something happened after this?
But I couldn't show it. Avoiding a psychiatric evaluation here would be strange too. Besides, why was I even worrying about this at our own headquarters?
I lay down on the bed right away.
Thunk.
Mr. Pantermero attached a patch to my forehead. Then I started to feel dazed. At the same time, a comforting feeling came over me too. That sinking, being-drawn-in feeling you sometimes only get right before falling asleep. As it spread through my whole body...
"Click. Done."
"Yes?"
The test was over.
Already?
"Come on, let's go hear the results."
"That finished awfully quickly, didn't it?"
"It wasn't that quick."
I followed him for now.
"Now then, Mr. Grong. We ran your psychiatric evaluation, and it shows that your anxiety and fear aren't very severe. Rather, the results indicate that your mental fortitude is extremely strong."
"Oh, really?"
On the computer screen, a graph I couldn't make sense of appeared. He pointed at it and said my mental fortitude was tremendous, so I just nodded.
"With this level of mental fortitude, you'd rank near the top among Bureau agents. Your obsession with vampires is a little strong, but it's still within acceptable bounds."
"What happens if it goes beyond the acceptable range?"
"Then we'd have to treat it, I suppose? An agent whose mind is unstable wouldn't be able to carry out missions properly."
"I suppose not."
"It seems like you also use your obsession with vampires to steady yourself, Mr. Grong. Is that right?"
"Yes. Preparing for vampires, getting ready for them—that helps me stay calm."
"That's a positive thing. Then I'll send the results to Team Leader Jaaldi."
"Goodbye."
It was a little suspicious, but I somehow got through the psychiatric evaluation.
When I came out, Mr. Spandal had already left. I contacted him on my phone and was told to come back to the office.
* * *
After that, a detailed investigation into the human meat factory began. First, I rewound my memories and described its exact layout and scenery, as well as the monsters in great detail.
The Administration Bureau had all sorts of equipment.
"Is it like this...?"
When Mr. Dejure activated the hologram device, the butcher monster's form appeared.
"Oh! That's similar! But its legs feel more elephant-like. And the skin is more wrinkled."
"Ah, I see... I'll adjust it... Is, is the size right?"
"Please put up a human hologram too. I want to compare the size."
"Mm-hmm..."
So Mr. Dejure did this sort of work too.
After a few adjustments, the butcher monster's perfect likeness was completed.
It looked so vivid, as if it were alive!
"Wow! That's exactly it! It's identical! The color is seriously similar too! Why are you so good at making these?!"
It felt like I was watching someone make clay figurines!
"Heh-heh... m-making things like this is my specialty."
"It really does feel like you're doing crafts."
When I complimented him honestly, Mr. Dejure scratched the back of his head and looked thrilled.
After that, we made a hologram of a truck too. We also recorded how far the monster was sent flying after being hit by it. You could call it a kind of impact test.
"This is very important work... With this, we can figure out the shape and traits of the aberration to some extent."
"It certainly is important work."
"Next, we'll do the... human meat factory simulation. You c-can picture it, right?"
"No problem."
Mr. Dejure handed me a headgear set with wires attached. I put it on as instructed and sat in the chair.
A blurry scene appeared before me.
"-Can you hear me...? Keep describing the scenery... Then I'll build a three-dimensional map."
"Yes. I'll begin. It's a bathroom for now—the inside of it. Please make it."
The moment I spoke, the scenery began to be constructed at high speed.
I put my whole heart and soul into the work.
Once we created a complete simulation space like this, training would begin based on it.
After the mock training ended, a full-scale operation plan would be drawn up.
Jaaldi said they were currently investigating the abnormal reaction that occurred when I suddenly vanished and then returned from the human meat factory. He said that once the investigation was over, they might be able to discover the conditions needed to go to the human meat factory.
I didn't know when that would be, so I had to do my best to train as quickly as possible. That way, they could deploy me sooner, couldn't they?
And so, busy days passed.
Still, there was no contact from Kim Seongjin.
* * *
"Grong. We've narrowed down the list of Kim Seongjins. Come take a look."
"Yes!"
I immediately went over to Jaaldi's desk and sat down.
"Wow, it pulled up every Kim Seongjin in the country."
Inside the screen were all sorts of Kim Seongjins, with their photos and personal information organized. I scrolled down, comparing their faces.
"I narrowed down the candidates based on what you told me. Find him. Hopefully Kim Seongjin isn't an alias."
"I'm sure that's his real name. I'm certain of it."
"I hope you're right."
"It's not just something that would be nice—it really is. Team Leader, you just didn't see the urgent friendship that sprang up between me and Kim Seongjin back then. At the time, Kim Seongjin and I were truly soul partners."
I could never forget that he saved me.
"I told you to run, but then I came back in reverse with the truck and saved you."
"Exactly! That's what I'm talking about! That's when I felt true friendship!"
"Grong. I've heard that story more than forty times now. I think it's about time you stopped."
"A good story is still good no matter how many times you hear it. Team Leader Jaaldi, have you ever experienced such an unparalleled friendship?"
"Hmm..."
"Anyway, I want to save Kim Seongjin."
"Then find him quickly..."
My finger's killing me from all this scrolling. Anyway, that guy is incredible. It was a miracle he survived at all, and he even rammed those monsters with a truck. But the fact that I was trying to sacrifice my own life there is also pretty impressive, isn't it?
"It certainly is impressive, but now I'd like you to stop talking about it..."
A good story is worth hearing again and again... Ah!
"Found him!"
There he is!
It's Kim Seongjin!
"Is this the guy?"
"Yes! He looks a little different, but this is him!"
"Are you sure?"
"Ah! I'm telling you, I'm sure! Kim Seongjin and I shared a true friendship! I can't be wrong!"
"For now... you said his relationship with his family wasn't very good. I'll investigate that part, and if it seems appropriate, we'll approach him. If this really is Kim Seongjin, I'll check whether he's in the real world or not."
"But can you really tell just by investigating that?"
"It's the Bureau's technology. Here, take this."
Jaaldi printed out a sheet listing Kim Seongjin's personal details. Where he lived. The date he went missing. His family's addresses. Transaction history. Move history. All of it was written there.
"Wait, the Bureau knows all this too?"
"Do you think we're called the Administration Bureau for nothing? Move quickly. Go visit his family and confirm that he's really Kim Seongjin."
"Yes."
Kim Seongjin had told his family about the things he'd seen on the World Politics Board, and they had treated him like a lunatic and more or less cut ties with him.
From the looks of it, this family hadn't really made much effort to look for Kim Seongjin after he went missing.
Well, we'd know once I went there and talked to them.
"Jamtree. Bring Grong the agent investigation equipment."
"Yes, yes."
Soon, Ms. Jamtree handed me something that looked like a ballpoint pen.
"What's this?"
"See the button on the pen? Press it and it'll cause a light cognition interference. They'll answer if you ask them something, and afterward they'll remember it as if you came to inspect the gas or the water purifier."
"Wow! This is quite the item! I'll make good use of it!"
So they even had stuff like this!
"You'll be okay going alone? Want big sis to come with you?"
"Jamtree. No time to slack off."
"Aww. Then go and come back safe, Grong."
"Yes."
Still, if I were going with someone, I'd rather go with Mr. Spandal. If I'm on a mission, I might as well take a drive too.
Anyway, I got in a car and headed to the address.
* * *
I arrived in front of Kim Seongjin's parents' house.
Ding-dong.
After I pressed the doorbell, I sensed movement inside.
Soon the door opened, and a middle-aged woman poked her head out.
"What brings you here?"
Was she Kim Seongjin's mother?
I pressed the button on the ballpoint pen in my pocket and said,
"I'm here about your son."
"What? Don't tell me Seongjin..."
"I'd like to talk about him."
"Please come in."
The effect was great.
This really was the Administration Bureau.
I naturally went inside and looked around the living room.
It looked like the mother was the only one home.
"Has Kim Seongjin come back recently?"
"No... Don't tell me you found him?"
"We've confirmed his whereabouts, at least."
"Ah."
She didn't look all that happy.
"I'd like to hear about Kim Seongjin. I heard he was showing signs of mental illness."
"Haah... don't even get me started. The kid suddenly got obsessed with conspiracy theories."
Kim Seongjin's mother started complaining to me.
She went on and on—he used to be smart, but then suddenly went off the rails, and so on.
From the sound of it, it was definitely the Kim Seongjin I knew.
"He keeps sending weird bulletin board links all the time!"
"You mean the World Politics Board?"
"Yes!"
Confirmed.
After that, it was nothing but gossip about Kim Seongjin. I couldn't take part in badmouthing Kim Seongjin, my friend in true friendship, so I cut it short.
"I understand. I'll be heading back now."
"Okay."
The pen's effect was insane.
I had listened to everything and left without any problems. Perfect.
I called once I got outside.
"Team Leader Jaaldi. It's confirmed. He's Kim Seongjin."
-Understood. Return to base.
Then this means we'll be able to tell whether Kim Seongjin is in the real world now or not.
* * *
"I'm back."
"We were just running the equipment. The results will be out soon."
"Oh, where is the equipment?"
"It's somewhere else. We're just receiving the results."
A tense moment.
Whether Kim Seongjin had returned, or whether he'd remained in the abnormal space.
This was the moment it would be decided.
"There it is."
"Please...!"
I clenched my fists tightly, and Jaaldi spoke.
"Oh? It says he's in the real world. Kim Seongjin succeeded in escaping. He's on Earth right now. Congratulations, Grong. Your buddy from that true friendship has come back alive."
"Waaah!"
That bastard!
So he really did escape!
"Then why aren't you contacting me, you bastard!"