After countless hardships, we finally escaped the insane red mascot zone and arrived in the blue zone.
And there, on the shoulder of the welcome sight that was Group D... the lizard manager, was Group A's leader's body hanging limply.
"..."
I barely managed to ask,
"Th-that corpse on your shoulder, Leader...."
"Ah, he just fainted."
Aha.
So he had been carrying him over safely. I was just beginning to feel relieved and recover a sense of familiarity when—
Group D's assistant manager casually pointed a thumb at the huge tube he and the senior staff had been dragging along.
"The corpse is over there."
"..."
To actually see them stuffing a corpse into a tube and dragging it around....
"We wrapped it up well, but some of it was kind of in pieces too."
Please don't describe it.
"No, seriously, it was horrible. Wow...."
"Roe Deer, be careful. The mascot here acts like some incarnation of justice."
"Huh?"
The explanation that followed went like this.
The mascot here hated team members killing each other with an extreme intensity.
"But over in Group A, that assistant manager in the mantis mask decided he wanted to 'run an experiment' and pulled something."
While riding the first attraction, he had chuckled as he pushed the Group Y employees into one deadly situation after another.
Undo your seatbelt, stand up, sing along to the song, do a handstand and go down onto the tracks....
"All three from Group Y died like that. The last employee was crying and begging, and he didn't even blink... it was kind of disgusting."
"..."
And apparently the only ones who felt that way weren't just his companions.
Group D's assistant manager frowned.
"When we got off the attraction, the mascot was already waiting for the mantis mask. Calling him a 'bad child.' And then...."
Description omitted for the sake of my mental health.
"I thought I was going to throw up."
"..."
"Well, honestly, he still had it coming! ...Though this manager here didn't agree."
The senior staff subtly pointed to Group A's leader hanging over Manager Lizard's shoulder.
"Come to think of it, then why exactly did that person faint?"
"Uh... our leader, um,"
"..."
W-wait a second.
Don't tell me.
"Well, at that time, he made some rather unreasonable demands of us. I think he was trying to save one of his team members somehow."
And when that went too far....
"Leader just whacked him on the back of the neck."
"..."
"Hey. We're all going to agree that his blood pressure got too high and he collapsed on his own, so keep your mouth shut too, Roe Deer."
"Yes."
I'll take it to the grave.
"Ah, and as for why the Group Y employees got treated like that...."
"I heard the rough outline already. From that person."
I gestured slightly with my eyes toward the assistant manager in the butterfly mask.
"...Really? Okay."
The senior staff's complexion improved slightly. It seemed like he was relieved to pass over a topic dark enough to be unpleasant to explain in his own words.
"But are your team people okay?"
Ah.
I hurriedly checked the cow mask with the hole through his shoulder and the butterfly mask with the bubbling face.
"There are people who need first aid. Could we possibly get some help?"
"Yes."
Suddenly Manager Lizard dropped the burden on his shoulder... Group A's leader, with a thud onto the floor.
And began shaking him.
"J-just a moment, Leader!"
"Uuugh!"
"...?!"
Manager Lizard, having shaken Group A's leader awake, spoke with a calm face.
"Manager Seok. There are employees who need treatment."
"Wh-what...."
Group A's leader, who had worn a dazed, half-conscious expression, soon snapped fully awake and pointed at Manager Lizard.
"You!! You!"
"Yes."
"What happened to Assistant Manager Lee! The one in the mantis mask...."
"He died."
"..."
"..."
"...And while he was dying, what were you doing?"
"We waited until he died, collected the body, and rode the next attraction."
Good lord.
For a moment Group A's leader looked speechless. Then he barely managed to stammer out,
"Y-you were just watching my Group A die?? Lee Jaheon, are you in your right mind?? How are you going to take responsibility for this! For this loss...!"
"? I am Group D's leader. Group A is not under my jurisdiction."
The lizard narrowed his pupils as though puzzled.
"The loss caused by the death of Group A Assistant Manager Lee Seokjong is the responsibility of you, the leader."
"..."
T-to think I'd actually see someone say something like that in a real company.
Even if their rank titles were the same, if he was from an elite team, then he would definitely be a superior to him.
A different kind of chill ran down my spine.
"..."
Group A's leader was staring quietly at Manager Lee Jaheon with bloodshot eyes.
"You also rode all three attractions while unconscious and met the clear conditions. Now heal the employees and take responsibil—"
"Leader."
That wasn't someone trying to stop Manager Lee Jaheon.
It was the butterfly-mask assistant manager calmly speaking to Group A's leader, who looked on the verge of snapping.
"Wouldn't it be better to talk once we get out? Let's clear this before more variables show up. You need to go meet that lunatic from Research Team 1 too, don't you?"
"...Right. That's true."
The eyes inside the mallard mask blinked and slowly settled.
It seemed the top priority for his anger had been fixed again.
But in the end, he still left one sentence behind.
"Leader Lee Jaheon, we'll see each other outside."
"Yes."
The senior staff whispered quietly to me,
"It's okay. Apparently our leader hears lines like that as an annual event."
"..."
Is that really... okay?
'What's certain is that I'm not in any position to stick my nose into this.'
Let's quietly keep my mouth shut and avoid standing out.
Anyway, Group A's leader used his exclusive equipment to treat the butterfly-mask assistant manager.
Watching the skin around the jaw and head regenerate as though it were being rewound was astonishing.
"There are almost no employees who have exclusive equipment like that. I'm jealous."
Me too.
'Is there any way to get something like that?'
Just having something like that would probably raise the survival rate quite a bit.
I watched Group A's leader's exclusive equipment—the healing ring—very closely.
'Healing...'
After confirming that the butterfly-mask employee had been treated pretty cleanly, Group A's leader tried to pass right by the Group Y employee whose shoulder was full of holes without even considering him, but....
"Could you perhaps treat this side too? We need to keep moving together, and I'm worried his mobility will drop."
"...!"
Surprisingly, Group A's assistant manager nudged for treatment for me and the Group Y rookie.
Thanks to that, the Group Y rookie, Jang Heowoon, whose shoulder got healed before he knew it, blinked beneath the cow mask.
"...Thank you."
The Group A assistant manager gave a slight nod.
'Is he really just the type who moves purely based on work efficiency...?'
The moment he understood the mechanics of this Ghost Story and secured safety and an escape method, the way he made decisions had shifted toward minimizing risk.
'Is that the kind of person who counts as an elite in this company...?'
For now, I decided I'd keep a close eye on and remember Group A's equipment and traits. ...And while I was at it, maybe it would be nice if I could forget the corpses in the tube too.
"Alright then, let's ride the two attractions we got and get out fast."
"Ah, thank you."
As soon as the treatment process was over, the red team headed toward the attractions to fill the remaining empty slots on their ride-ticket bracelets.
The others stayed and followed instead of leaving.
"It'll take exactly thirty minutes, so don't worry."
It seemed like they were waiting partly to confirm what was going on and partly to look after the rookie.
I was grateful, but considering the corpse tube was coming with them, it almost felt like it would be less scary if they just left....
"Like I said earlier, the mascot here is weirdly moral for a monster."
Mm. I had more or less guessed that from the call already.
'If they rode three attractions that quickly, then there can only be one reason.'
A generous mascot that demanded nothing excessive by human standards.
By sheer luck, those teams had ended up in a zone like that against absurd odds.
"It even answered questions like what was inside the attractions, really kindly. Since we were the first to ride all three, it even gave us souvenirs."
Must be nice. Coasting like that.
Meanwhile someone else had been worked to death in the insane Magic Bunny Zone....
The strange thing was that if you looked only at survival rate, the red team had actually had everyone survive, so more people had made it out alive there.
Anyway, the red team soon arrived at an attraction entrance where a blue dragon character riding a dolphin was smiling.
And once they entered the attraction... I saw a figure with an adorably exaggerated blue dragon head.
A blue mascot wearing a life jacket.
[Hello]
The mascot waved a greeting sign.
I bowed my head slightly in greeting. The mascot greeted me back.
"Hmm."
Next we boarded a flume ride called Blue Mountain. It was a typical ride where you climbed into a boat and drifted along enjoying the water spray.
The two from the other Field Operations Teams boarded safely as well.
But the last person was a problem.
"Fuck."
The researcher twitched at the corners of his mouth, then spat a curse at the mascot.
His loathing and fear toward Magic Bunny, meeting a similar but less frightening mascot, seemed to finally burst out.
"You fucking disgusting bastards...."
"Please get on quickly."
"Y-yeah."
Glancing back at the mascot, the researcher boarded the attraction.
The button-like eyes of the Blue Dragon mascot watched him silently.
"..."
And so, as the remaining attractions were also boarded without issue—
[(A Fun) Fantasy Land Ride Ticket ■■■]
"Finally...!"
"Whew."
At last we had filled all the ticket slots.
"The exit is to the north. We will move there."
"Yes!"
We were soaked through, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that we could finally escape this damn theme park.
'For a while, I don't think I ever want to go within a one-kilometer radius of an amusement park again....'
[Please return safely]
Above the gate devices at the north exit, a typical goodbye sign glowed.
And next to it stood another Blue Dragon mascot, dressed formally.
"It says if we scan our used ride-ticket bracelets here and leave, that will do it."
The Blue Dragon mascot politely gestured toward the gate device with one hand.
"Alright then, the leaders can go first. Go on."
Group D's assistant manager made the wise choice of organizing the situation and sending the superiors out first.
So people began leaving one by one, and it was about the time the assistant managers and below were about to leave.
"Alright then, Assistant Manager Jin first...."
"M-move!"
The researcher shoved the employees aside and rushed to the gate first.
"What the...."
The senior staff and assistant managers looked a little dumbfounded, but seemed to brush it off with a vague, Civilians are like that, I guess attitude.
It wasn't as if being a few seconds late would cost them anything.
The researcher, uncaring, frantically tried to scan his ride-ticket bracelet at the gate.
'That's probably a habit of his.'
Honestly, it made me frow—
B a d c h i l d
"...Huh?"
The researcher turned his head.
The Blue Dragon mascot was holding his ride-ticket bracelet in its claw.
The paper bracelet crumpled.
Y o u
Tuduk,
B a d c h i l d
Tudududuk,
A r e i t
r i g h t
It snapped.
Whoosh.
The researcher stared dumbly, unable to comprehend, at the broken pieces of bracelet falling to the floor.
And then.
"Haaaahhhhk, aaagh!!"
The Blue Dragon's mouth split wide open.
"Save me! Save me!"
He was being sucked in.
At my side, the cow mask muttered like he was possessed.
"OhhhhowterrifyingtheSeaGodhasgrownangrythewickedoneisbeingdrawnintothetidalwavehowterrify...."
I covered the Group Y rookie's mouth and pushed his head down.
I lowered my own head as well and did not look.
"Aaaagh!!"
So this is how it ends after all....
If you move into another zone, the aggro you pulled from the mascot of the previous zone disappears.
But the things you did yourself still accumulate.
---------------------=
A Fun Theme Park User Guidelines (applies up to Darkness Exploration Record No. 64)
Please remember that the theme park is a shared space!
Please keep etiquette and manners when using public facilities! Countless eyes are watching all of you, and no one forgets.
Hey, the mascot is behind you.
---------------------=
All the mascots know what you did inside A Fun Theme Park.
Which means they also know what the researcher did earlier.
-Move, fucker!
Even the fact that, while fleeing from the red mascots, he had shoved the Group A assistant manager to die in his place.
'It looks like they were probably willing to let it slide once, considering it was an extreme situation....'
The problem was that he repeated the exact same thing.
'Karma, I guess.'
The researcher's scream ringing in my ears had already changed into a howl.
"That fucking bastard was trying to kill me too!! Why only me, only me!! You trash, tra...."
That was true.
But the Group A assistant manager had never actually carried it out. Because when you persuaded him, he listened.
'But you didn't.'
At this point, even a resident of the Coward's Shelter like me thought this was entirely self-inflicted.
-S a v e m e e e a a a a a a a a a gh...
The researcher's voice stretched out like pulled taffy, leaving behind a sickening chill.
'Ugh.'
Just as my coward's heart reacted on reflex and my body jerked—
"Don't."
"..."
The Group A employee grabbed my arm and held it down.
And spoke as if stopping me.
"You can't save him."
Th-that... I wasn't even thinking of trying.
Anyway, just as he said, I stayed still.
Soon the screaming disappeared, and the strange feeling around us also died down.
When I lifted my head, all that remained was the Blue Dragon mascot standing there politely in spotless attire just like before.
It didn't look remotely like something that had just killed someone.
That somehow made it even more chilling.
'The standards are... stricter than I expected.'
So this really was inside a Ghost Story after all.
This mascot seemed to have its own beliefs or standards. More than simply not harming team members.
'Let's act carefully.'
"...Let's try going out again."
"Yes."
One by one, then two by two, the remaining people exited.
Maybe I'd hoped otherwise, but rank order was still rank order.
"See you outside."
I gave up and sent the superiors first.
Then, after even seeing off my fellow coward—
Finally, I stood at the gate next to the Blue Dragon mascot.
"..."
The dragon, adorably deformed in shape, looked at me with round eyes.
Excuse me, could you maybe not look at me.
To be honest, you're really scary. Even being the last one left here is terrifying. I only forced myself because I didn't want anyone to notice I'm a coward.
That was when it happened.
Y o u ' r e
a
g o o d
c h i l d
"...!"
A-ah, is it reassuring me?
The mascot's voice did not sound bizarre like before.
'Vandalizing park property... it really does seem like it's letting that slide.'
What a relief.
"Thank you."
I bowed my head and tried to pass through.
But the mascot moved and blocked my way.
"...?"
A
g o o d
c h i l d
g e t s
a
g i f t
The Blue Dragon stretched out a hand.
Then lightly took hold of my wrist.
More precisely, of the ride-ticket bracelet hanging there.
[(A Fun) Fantasy Land Ride Ticket ■■■]
The bracelet seemed to grow slightly warm, and then, when the mascot took its hand away....
[◎ (A Fun) Fantasy Land Membership Pass ◎]
The text had changed.
L e t ' s
k e e p
p l a y i n g
...Huh?