Author note: Updated
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Space Shopping Mall.
How much money have I spent there, I wonder.
Even if I don't remember every single item, it's easy to calculate that it's in the hundreds of millions.
I poured enough money into that shopping mall to buy all sorts of items, maybe about as much as the deposit for an apartment in the Seoul metropolitan area.
And then, one day, what I received was that golden card.
I am a Space Shopping Mall VIP!
~ Special Gratitude Cell Included ~
At the time, I had no idea what that gratitude cell even meant.
At least, not until this moment today.
"Dear Customer." I looked up.
I remember putting the cell under my tongue, but after that, things are a bit hazy.
Did I… doze off for a moment?
"Dear Customer."
Wait a minute. Section Chief. I need to get a grasp of the situation and… Wait.
Dear Customer?
"Section Chief?!"
"No."
Only then did I properly register the figure in front of me.
A lizard was staring blankly at me.
"Section Chief."
"No. Dear Customer."
Twice, I heard clear, firm denial.
I looked closely at the reptile in front of me. The snout covered in scales and the gleaming vertical pupils were the same as before.
But the color was different.
'G-Grey?'
A grey lizard was now sitting where Lee Jaheon had been just moments ago!
The snacks and coffee I'd hurriedly set out on the table had also disappeared.
I swallowed hard.
"Who are you?"
"I am a shopper dispatched to assist VIPs in their personal shopping, and I act as a sales representative on behalf of the Space Shopping Mall."
Holy shit.
"Would you like to proceed with shopping?"
I stood up from my seat. Right, I was still sitting at the motel room table.
And Section Chief Lee Jaheon, who had been sitting across from me, had been replaced by some similar-looking alien… Wait a minute.
Space Shopping Mall's VIP shopping?
Don't tell me… an employee has come out to do some kind of personal, door-to-door sales for me?
'…Section Chief!'
Just a moment ago, we were talking about how I was completely contaminated!
Is this some kind of build-up to sell me items that are good for contamination? Well, even if that's the case, if I can get rid of the contamination, I can't exactly complain!
Barely calming myself, I quickly sat back down and spoke.
"I'd like to talk to Chief Lizard."
"Are you referring to the being named Lee Jaheon, who works as a section chief at Daydream Inc.?"
I hesitated.
"Do you require him for psychological stability because he is someone with whom you have built a friendly relationship?"
"What happens if I say yes?"
"I will explain that there is no problem."
The lizard's snout opened.
"We know who you are, Mr. Roe Deer, and what we know is exactly the same as what Section Chief Lee Jaheon knows."
"...!"
"Additionally, we wish to maintain a friendly relationship with you as well, Dear Customer."
"..."
It was strange.
Come to think of it, Section Chief Lee Jaheon often started sentences or explained things using 'we' as the subject.
And the button I used was called… 'We Can Help'.
We.
"Who exactly is 'we'?"
"We are the Coalition. Speaking to Lee Jaheon or to the being in front of you now is the same as speaking to the Coalition."
The conversation was getting more and more metaphysical.
So… a bizarre collective of alien beings sharing a single memory and emotion…
'I have heard about urban legends like this before.'
It really was like something out of a sci-fi story. I mean, of course it would be, since this was an alien shop at the end of the day.
I held my head in my hands as I replied.
"Just… let me speak to Section Chief Lee Jaheon. I don't want to shop right now."
"Mr. Roe Deer."
"...!"
I looked up.
But the white lizard was a different entity. It's not Lee Jaheon.
Yet, it spoke in exactly the same manner.
"You are in a situation where you need help. If you can receive the proper treatment in the form of shopping, please accept it."
"…What kind of treatment are you talking about?"
"I am here to assist you with your shopping. Would you like to start your VIP shopping at the Space Shopping Mall?"
It was an evasive answer.
But catching on to what the lizard meant, I nodded slowly.
So I can only proceed if I shop, huh.
"…Yes."
"Understood." The grey lizard nodded.
The next moment.
The table began to grow enormous.
"…?!"
On the endlessly stretching table to the left, objects appeared, shrouded in mist. And in front of those objects, tentacles… No, wait. Where am I, exactly?
"We accessed you through the cell you ingested. Through your homepage UI complaints, VIPs are now provided with the most familiar and comfortable environment for shopping, as a service…"
"Did I say that out loud?"
"Yes. Please sit back and enjoy your shopping."
The lizard speaks in an extremely professional manner. No, wait, what does it even mean that I've been accessed through a cell…
"In that case, before proceeding with your shopping, we shall conduct identity verification. In your current state, it is difficult to clearly confirm your intent to purchase, so we will distinguish things to help ensure a comfortable transaction."
"Distinguish?"
"Yes."
Entities begin to appear along the endlessly extending seats at the table.
"…!"
They're hard to see, hidden in fog. But the closer they are, the more their features become faintly visible.
A supermarket cashier's uniform, a stylish broadcaster in a luxurious suit and elegant gloves, a kindergarten teacher holding an handbook, a high school student in a school uniform…
The ghost stories I've experienced.
Me, contaminated in those ghost stories.
"...!"
And the two figures sitting closest to me are not shrouded in fog, their forms are clear.
I slowly, stiffly turned my head to check.
Yellow mascot.
Black cat.
I t ' s O k a y
C a l m D o w n
[This way]
They're even speaking to me.
Chills ran all the way up my spine.
In front of each at the table, decorations and colors symbolizing their respective ghost stories have been added. I sprang up from the table, trying to run away…
"Dear Customer. You are currently connected to the Space Shopping Mall through the cell. This imagery is merely a projection of your mind. In reality, your personality and self have not been split."
"..."
"Please do not be overly wary of yourself."
T/N: When soleum kept calling for chief lizard, i couldn't help but substitute 'Section Chief!' with 'Daaaad!!!' in my head, as if he'd been left alone at a supermarket checkout counter lmao
Anyway, i'm really sorry for the lack of a proper update sched these days i'm in my slump era i fear but still, good timing…? i've always planned to keep a respectful distance from the raws' latest chapters, so im glad part 2 has been launched in kkp now too!
All parts/chapters i've managed to put out have been scheduled for the next three days, and i'll try very hard to post more again before they run out~
"…Is this a visualization of my contamination? So I can refer to it while making purchasing decisions?"
"It is similar."
I'm going crazy.
For now, I sat back down and pressed my temples. The yellow mascot fidgeted, looking like it wanted to help me.
This is seriously driving me insane.
"Would you like to check?"
Check what?
"For a smooth shopping experience, would you like to take another look at the features of the projections sitting closest to you?"
"..."
Instinctively, I understood. This is advice.
So I lifted my gaze and looked at the 'me's' filling the table.
Where am I I'm confused Let's go find the handbook again Throwing away the handbook was a really huge mistake.
Welcome to Looky Mart!
[The graduation ceremony will start again soon. I need to return to school.]
– What a unique place. If I do an in-depth report, the great host might prepare a new corner for me!
I'm going to hurl.
But that repulsion comes from things I know. It's fear that arises because I know them well enough to imagine them.
However…
"..."
I looked at the faces of those sitting closest.
Since they weren't shrouded in fog, their distinguishing features were relatively clear.
But then.
"Who are you?"
The one sitting just after the huge mascot at my side, obscured by it.
It was draped in something like an old rag.
"I've never seen you before."
A me I don't know.
I n t r u d e r
The mascot turned its body, clearing my view toward that figure.
As I looked more closely, I noticed the material of the unfamiliar me's rag.
That was… worn parchment.
"You."
I looked at the unfamiliar me.
"Take that off."
"..."
The figure sitting at the table slowly pulled the parchment rag off its head, revealing itself.
Me, dressed in a scarlet janitor's uniform.
– Caught me.
The mimic from the Church of the Luminous Unknown turned to look at me, twisting its head.
Kekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekeke
"Allow me to cover up anything that interferes with your shopping."
The next moment.
The me in the janitor uniform vanished from the table.
"..."
My heart pounded.
"Dear Customer. Did anything from your mind's image just now come to mind?"
"Yes."
I remembered.
I reached into my inventory tattoo and pulled out the item I'd forgotten… No, the item that had been subsumed so I'd forget it.
A worn, rolled-up piece of parchment.
The Mimicry Sect's Scripture, Verse 4
Story Usurper
The item that came out when the security sergeant disposed of the mimic I met while cleaning in the company basement, back when I was under disciplinary action.
A fragment of the Church of the Luminous Unknown's sacred law.
I also remember wrapping it up with 'Wrapper 12B357' to block its effect.
'And… On Tamra Express, I unwrapped it and wrapped it around my body for defense!'
After that, as I got caught up in Braun's Late-Night Talk Show, I never had a chance to think about this Church of the Luminous Unknown's scripture.
Or maybe, at some point, my narrative had been manipulated so I couldn't recall it.
'…If I hadn't just received a music box from the Church of the Luminous Unknown in the Merch Box, I would've completely forgotten.'
It was thanks to seeing another item from the same source just now that I was able to recall it.
And…
"Dear Customer. The parchment is swallowing something."
"Yes."
I saw it too.
I forcibly pulled out a black, cylindrical object that was almost completely absorbed into the parchment.
A fountain pen.
"…!"
It was the brainwashing item from Sekwang Technical High School, the one I'd gotten back from Baek Saheon by turning the tables on him.
'I had forgotten about this too.'
I realized.
Apparently, the scripture had been stealing the narrative of this fountain pen.
It grew stronger through that, and one day when I was taken over, I was completely assimilated into the bizarre phenomenon of the Church of the Luminous Unknown…
...
Wait a second.
'What else have I forgotten?'
I racked my brain quickly. But nothing came to mind.
Of course, it must already be a stolen memory!
If that's the case…
"Can I receive a list of the items I've purchased so far from the alien shop?"
"Yes. Are you attempting to track down the whereabouts of your items?"
"…That's right."
"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 gear from Section Chief Lee Jaheon and used it to craft new equipment, but the whereabouts of the crafted item are unclear."
"…!"
"Section Chief Lee Jaheon attempted to inform you of this fact, but soon realized that simply notifying you would not resolve the problem."
…I remember.
– Does it enhance strength?
– Something similar. Use it as a parent item when crafting a new special equipment.
– ...! Thank you.
We definitely had that conversation.
As I listened, I slowly realized what the item was.
'…It was a bracelet.'
It was something I last made together with Assistant Manager Eun Haje at the Daydream Inc. annex.
At that time, she had suddenly appeared in my room… just like Section Chief Lee Jaheon appearing in this motel room now.
But after making that custom equipment, I have no memory of what happened to it.
There were several crisis situations where I could have used it, but it never came to mind.
And it probably never will again… because it's already been devoured by the sacred scripture fragment.
…It's a chilling thought. I barely managed to speak.
"I'm sorry. After you went through the trouble of lending it to me."
"It's alright."
Even though it said it wasn't Section Chief Lee Jaheon, it accepted my apology as if it were natural.
'Huu.'
Calm down, calm down.
At least I noticed in time. That in itself is a relief.
'Was the Dream Essence Collector not filling up because the mimic had almost completely overtaken me?'
On top of that, I'd been playing all sorts of bizarre roles, from the Security Team's special division to the mascot, 'imitating' them all, so the effect would have been amplified.
…Most likely, that's why I was judged not as a human, but as a being of the Church of the Luminous Unknown.
'Huu.'
Thanks to that, it feels like the contamination has gotten even deeper.
With a gloomy gaze, I looked at the bizarre "me's" seated around the table.
The cat slapped its tail on the table with displeasure, its eyes blood-red as it stared at me, and the mascot drooped its horns, looking dejected.
All the other reactions left me feeling dazed.
And although I hadn't been expelled from the table, the part of me overtaken by the mimic was probably still inside me…
'Ha.'
For now, one thing at a time.
I signaled to the fragment of the Church of the Luminous Unknown's sacred law.
"Can I dispose of this parchment through the shopping mall?"
"It is not an item the Space Shopping Mall purchases."
"Do you deal with any of the contaminations sitting at this table?"
"They are not items the Space Shopping Mall purchases."
Huu.
Right. Either way, these are too dangerous to be sold to humans, so of course they wouldn't be accepted here.
'But Section Chief Lee Jaheon guided me this way as an alternative to the Fox Counseling Office.'
If so… it must mean there's some method.
At that moment, the 'We Can Help' button flashed through my mind.
"Then, is it possible to request the 'Coalition' to remove these, for a fee?"
"Yes."
"...!"
The lizard looked at me.
"Are you requesting an order to permanently destroy a part of yourself?"
D o n ' t
I t ' s D a n g e r o u s
Wait.