MTL
The letter was matter-of-fact.
"I'm writing this to tell you about things I couldn't mention before."
It was like a note left by someone departing for a while.
Kim Sol-eum wrote about spare glasses left on the sofa in Hyeonmu Team 1's waiting room, the flat rear tire of a bicycle in front of headquarters, and printer ink still in delivery.
It was too simple and fragmented to be a proper handover. There were traces of lingering attachments that appeared but vanished in the next paragraph.
Yet this seemingly casual letter maintained a similar tone throughout,
imperceptibly shifting to meaningful advice.
Content no rookie at the Disaster Management Bureau would know.
...Advice about supernatural disasters.
"Wearing silk clothes in the ironing area of the intersection laundry will no longer be safe after rescuing the citizen in the blue dress. It would be good to make sure no agents enter wearing such material."
These were ghost stories Black Tortoise Team 1 had investigated. The words seemed like insights he had figured out and deduced, yet strangely conveyed with the certainty of someone who had known them all along.
But it was clear they were written out of concern and worry.
The agent's eyes anxiously scanned through them.
"And... I apologize once more."
The content became more personal.
The events of the night when the taboo was placed were written very tactfully, in a way only those involved would understand. As if being considerate to someone who might still be under a restriction.
This was followed by gratitude and apologies to Agent Bronze who had allowed him to speak the unadorned truth without pushing him. And then...
"I still want to go home."
As a farewell.
"I can't give up without even trying to return.
But I feel heavy-hearted for wasting the Disaster Management Bureau agents' time because of my feelings.
I apologize again. For not living up to expectations and for resigning like I'm running away instead of diligently accepting disciplinary action."
"..."
"Though it may be uncomfortable, I've enclosed items I found useful.
I hope they can be used by Black Tortoise Team 1."
He had detailed the performance and effectiveness of the items He left
behind.
And finally:
"I'm writing this just in case.
The writing I left on Black Tortoise Team 1's waiting room whiteboard is nothing.
I wanted to tell you it's okay to erase it comfortably, in case you felt uneasy about erasing it thinking it might be a hint or a mark.
It's just something I left impulsively with no other meaning."
The letter ended.
The agent frantically flipped the pages back and forth.
...There was a small note at the end of the back page.
"Thank you always.
I wish you health and happiness."
"..."
The reader lowered their gaze to look at the fallen items.
Then bent down slowly to pick up one of the small trinkets.
It looked like a cheap candy.
But it was an item that could temporarily turn back one's condition to "better times".
Many things that would be invaluable to the emergency response team
gleamed on the floor.
"..."
"..."
Agent Choi looked up.
The downcast eyes of the two Black Tortoise Team 1 agents met.
If he had disappeared just now, there was a high chance he hadn't yet
escaped from this place.
"Wait! Agents...!"
They ran out of the waiting room with the startled staff member to search
the Crystal Cave.
And...
"..."
Kim Sol-eum, who had been standing motionless in the corner of the room, hidden within the shadow of lights-out, quietly followed them out. With just a sheet of paper in his hand.
Through the door crack the agents had opened to enter this room.
-That's an elegant and courteous exit. Not a bad approach.
"..."
I quietly looked at the sunlight pouring down.
'So this is how I left.'
I tried my best to end things safely and gently... but honestly, I don't know how the Disaster Management Bureau will take it.
And what Black Tortoise Team 1 will think.
I walked faster, trying not to recall the faces of the agents I had just passed by.
I didn't forget to thank the host who had kept the lights off for me all the way from leaving the Crystal Cave, walking to the bus stop, and taking the express train.
-Oh, don't mention it!
Thanks to that, I was able to slip away quietly like this.
If he hadn't helped, I would have had to escape in a more complicated and
emotionally difficult way...
"..."
[The train will depart soon...]
I tried not to think about it.
How much they would search the Crystal Cave after I left, how they would
handle the items I left behind, how suspicious the Disaster Management
Bureau would find me, whether Black Tortoise Team 1 would erase the
writing I left in the waiting room...
Instead, I tried to sleep.
Fortunately, the high-speed train to Seoul didn't evoke the terror of the Tamra trip, and I barely managed to fall asleep before waking up.
And to prevent any potential tracking, I checked into any random motel using cash.
Thud.
Only after closing the door could I gather my thoughts and start taking stock.
Reality was finally sinking in.
'...Did I leave almost everything behind?'
Only one or two consumable items remained.
I had especially left behind many things purchased from the space shopping mall that guaranteed safety.
...Probably because I wouldn't need them anymore.
'It's right that people who are more likely to get hurt than me should use them.'
What's left are just a few equipment items and tattoos.
However...
Pop.
A small light bounces out from my chest.
A will-o'-the-wisp.
"Are you really going to keep following me?"
The flame moves up and down vigorously in agreement.
This one stuck with me all the way to Seoul.
It even left behind the glass lantern it had inhabited.
Though this was less troublesome considering my concern about being tracked...
"Everyone will worry. You belong to the Bureau."
The will-o'-the-wisp sparkles as if refuting me.
-...It says it's all grown up so it'll be fine. Good heavens. Such a persistent and foolish creature. Phew!
According to Braun's reluctant translation, it can "recharge" on its own, albeit slowly.
It says it can recover faster if there's energy from sacred lightning, but that...
would be hard to find, wouldn't it?
Anyway, the will-o'-the-wisp's decision seems absolutely firm.
"...Then I'll be counting on you for a little while longer."
The will-o'-the-wisp sparkles happily as it circles the motel room once.
...To be honest, it wasn't just troublesome.
'So at least one remained.'
A trace that I had belonged somewhere.
Evidence of the days spent with good people...
'...Let me keep it for a while.'
It won't be for long anyway.
I stroked the will-o'-the-wisp once, then let it transform into my right arm.
-Now you're free again, Miss Deer! You can go anywhere. Where will you go?
Strictly speaking, isn't it actually the opposite?
I'd be lucky if I'm not wanted by the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau, and I'm already a dead person to Daydream Corporation.
The places I could contact and go to were limited.
'Agent Choi even discovered the Dream Cultivation Room at the Cheerful Research Institute.'
Even if he couldn't tell the Disaster Management Bureau about that
cultivation room because of the restrictions, he himself could come
anytime. I would have to take precautions, but I needed to be careful.
But I didn't leave without a plan.
'I have a plan.'
-Indeed!
...The problem is that it's a very uncomfortable plan.
"..."
I turned on the phone I had kept in my tattoo.
Two weeks of abandoned contacts appear.
'Fortunate it wasn't discovered during the interrogation.'
I almost risked exposing Ms. Young-eun or Mr. Heo-un's identities.
It was actually fortunate that I put my phone into the tattoo as soon as I was caught in Jisan Village, and that the tattoo lost its function in the glass prison.
I sighed in relief as I scrolled through the message items.
They were mostly promotional texts.
But among them, there were several accumulated messages from an
acquaintance.
[Hey]
[Are you okay?]
[When will you tell me what you found out]
[Hey]
[If you're sick]
[If you have a problem, contact me]
It was the Security Guard.
"..."
Somehow it feels strange.
It seems like I'm always just... receiving worry and help from this person. 'Come to think of it, I haven't been able to contact him since the restriction was placed.'
After some consideration, I replied: [I'm sorry. I had some issues.
Everything is fine now.]
And after some internal conflict, I sent one more. [Thank you again for looking up that information for me. Would it be possible to hear about it tomorrow or the day after?] [Let's eat something delicious too.]
The message was seen quickly, but the reply came slowly. [Ok] "..."
That's done now.
Now it was time to do what needed to be done.
I set my destination.
Not because I wanted to, but because there was no better option.
And...
Because preparations were already in place.
[Please prepare the wish coupon.]
[I've found the information you wanted.]
To Director Ho.
"Mr. Soleum, you're back!"
"..."
I looked up.
Director Ho was sitting at the familiar waiting room table of the Fox
Counseling Room, smiling.
My insides churned reflexively.
...A revulsion at making this choice in the first place.
A strange sense of guilt, like I was betraying someone who had even removed the restriction for me.
But at the same time, an appreciation for this paradoxical situation where I could now negotiate more properly because the taboo was gone. "I've come to receive the wish coupon."
"Just a moment. I'd like to tell you this first."
Director Ho, still wearing a gentle smile, hesitates awkwardly.
It gave me more chills.
"I think I went too far with the taboo about your death. I'm embarrassed that I made a somewhat emotional choice given the circumstances at the time..." "..."
"It's good that it's gone now. Don't you agree?"
I recalled the strange ritual that General Tiger of Daecheongbong was performing.
And Director Ho, who had been exhibiting bizarre reactions through Deputy Eunha's body.
'...Even if I'm curious or worried about the Deputy, I shouldn't ask.'
My familiarity or concern being noticed by Director Ho would more likely harm Deputy Eunha. My stomach twisted.
So instead of readily nodding to Director Ho's words, I answered carefully. "It doesn't matter. Regardless of the taboo, a promise is a promise, so I've come to keep my promise to you, Director."
"Is that so? That would be impossible."
"..."
"You don't even know exactly what 'extinction-level disaster' I requested,
Mr. Soleum."
That's right.
Director Ho had said he would provide more detailed information once our spies could access the secret archives underground in Gangwon Province. But...
1 know.
2 could already guess what Director Ho was going to demand. "I found it through deduction."
"..."
"Just tell me the name of the disaster. If the information I've brought doesn't
match, I'll accept punishment."
There's no risk for Director Ho anyway.
He could tell me and impose a taboo or punish me.
Anyway, the situation has changed, and now I no longer have fellow agents
who could remove a taboo for me.
So...
"All right."
I thought so.
Director Ho smiled and interlaced his fingers.
"The name of that supernatural disaster is 'Segwang Special City'."
"..."
"Oh! Don't try to pronounce it outside the Fox Counseling Room.
Something bad will happen."
Director Ho looks into my eyes.
"So."
"..."
"Does it match the information you brought?"
I didn't avoid his gaze.
"Yes."
"...!"
"Here it is."
Plop.
A document was placed on the table of the Fox Counseling Room's waiting area.
"These are documents regarding the 'extinction-level supernatural disaster'
you just mentioned."
"..."
"Please check."
Director Ho reached out and picked up the paper to read.
And...
"...!"
He closed the paper.
Director Ho stares at me with a blank expression.
"...How did you find out?"
So I was right.
"That's not important."
The truth is.
I didn't find it out.
'...I already knew it.'
That's right.
This was the reason I had confidently promised to bring the information
within a month in the first place.
Because I already knew.
The fastest and surest method.
Writing down information from the
It was a method I had deprioritized because I couldn't possibly persuade or explain it to other spies, and because I feared Director Ho might become suspicious and do something terrible to me. I wanted to proceed as safely as possible.
But with everything falling apart, there was only one way.
'I had to move quickly.'
If there were more delays, the Disaster Management Bureau would check for and try to root out other spies.
If Ms. Young-eun or Mr. Heo-un were caught, they would never receive wish coupons and would suffer doubly, bound by Director Ho's taboo... I had to act quickly before that happened.
However...
"You must have been imprisoned in the glass prison until yesterday, so where did you find this information...?" "..."
"They wouldn't keep such information there."
Correct.
In the Crystal Cave where the glass prison is being stored, they naturally don't keep valuable information.
At most, reports on supernatural disasters were occasionally written for
updates based on information obtained from prisoners.
But...
'That's why there are some office supplies for report work.' For instance, things like this.
Blank supernatural disaster report forms from the Disaster Management Bureau.
Forms where the responsible branch has been censored in the report format, since they're written in a glass prison with undisclosed location. So...
The most suitable paper for printing the contents of documents about extinction-level disasters stored in the secret archives.
Ironically, my imprisonment in the glass prison gave me the opportunity to acquire what I needed most.
And thus, I was able to present to Director Ho.
The "Segwang Special City document" that I created myself based on what I had read on the wiki, with limited information. "..."
But there's absolutely no need to tell Director Ho that.
It would only be dangerous.
'I came prepared with some final countermeasures...' Cold sweat forms on my back. Still, I have to speak.
"What matters is that I brought the promised information. And I definitely received help from two other people in this process." "..."
"Now it's your turn to fulfill your promise, Director."
A smile spread across Director Ho's face.
"Very well."
"...!"
"Congratulations, Mr. Soleum. On receiving the wish coupon."
I clenched my fist.