GSGW c257

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Chapter 257

I looked over the wedding hall, now a chaotic wreck like the scene of an incident.

My mind felt hazy.

‘How many died?’

The guest seats still held, unfortunately, the ‘trial trainees’ who had been caught up in this insane groom class ghost story.All of them wore blank expressions, as if their minds had snapped.

…I counted the empty seats.

Out of fifteen, eleven dead.

Not even a third remained.

‘A survival rate of thirty percent ….’

Well, it was still better than a dokkaebi fire bombardment from alien reptiles.

In any case, I had already judged it impossible to save everyone. And I had thought that no matter what we did, there would be casualties… but having people die just to set the mood for a TV show.

……

[You’re slow to respond, my friend. It seems you’re still savoring the afterglow of a live broadcast!]

At the same time, I clearly understood.

‘There’s no point telling Braun something like “did you really have to go that far”….’

Handing over control to a talk show host within a ghost story who would go even further for a successful broadcast meant I should have anticipated a situation like this.

Especially after being warned just beforehand.

‘…At least it wasn’t total annihilation. A few survived, so in the end it’s fortunate.’

Do you know what leaves the most bitter taste?

Seeing the dead no longer shocks me that much.

It wasn’t just that I had gotten used to it.

Right now, I was a mind barely maintaining reason, bound to an amorphous body sustained by droplets.

At this point, the fact that I could still feel even a trace of bitterness toward the dead was something to be thankful for.

……

‘Focus on whether the survivors make it out safely.’

And.

—Braun.

[Hm.]

To Braun’s unspoken “what do you think,” this was the correct answer.

—As expected of a legendary host.

[…!]

—I was hoping you’d ruin the wedding, but I didn’t expect you to reconstruct it into something even more successful.

—Thanks to you, it seems the bride was satisfied too.

I realized something from what had just happened.

‘If we had simply wrecked the wedding and run, there’s no telling what would have happened.’

Because the ‘bride’ had been satisfied, the situation had settled more peacefully and safely than expected.

However.

—Are you planning… to make this into a series?

The fact that Braun seemed satisfied with the live broadcast ratings.

That kept bothering me.

What if he incorporated this into a new late-night talk show series? What if that caused this groom class ghost story to mutate into an even higher-grade one….

[Mr. Roe Deer.]

Braun’s cheerful voice spoke kindly.

[You’re being overly cautious about something obvious!]

…!!

[Of course, if the conditions allow it, I intend to produce a next season. A producer must not miss the timing when audience response is strong. The fact that you noticed this—indeed, my friend has a sense for broadcasting.]

—Braun.

[What is it, my friend?]

—You do know the late-night talk show is way more fun, right?

A brief silence.

[Oh, of course. What an obvious thing to say, Mr. Roe Deer!]

[You needn’t worry that I would neglect the late-night talk show. I merely meant that the possibility of production remains open, assuming the conditions are met.]

[For now, let us conclude with an epilogue broadcast.]

Whew.

[Now then, the crew will begin withdrawing.]

Clap, clap.

At the sound echoing through the air, the cameras, lighting, and band set up in the wedding hall were dismantled and cleared away in perfect order by faceless staff.

Despite having no features, some of them felt strangely familiar… no, better not think about it.

‘If I dig too deep, I might get dragged in again.’

Just mentioning it already felt risky enough.

As I deliberately avoided focusing on the staff, my gaze naturally shifted to something at the edge of the shared vision.

The destination at the end of the long white velvet carpet. The place where the vows had been made.

The podium.

‘……’

It had been shattered in a horrifying manner, leaving only fragments of stone scattered in all directions. Scars remained on the floor, the carpet torn apart.

And beneath where the podium had stood….

A black hole.

Deep.

Darkness so profound the bottom could not be seen.

'......'

Just moments ago.

The ‘bride’ had emerged from there.

That shock, though I could not fully perceive it through Section Chief Lee Jaheon’s censored vision—the way my senses had been distorted and crushed. Something that had been sleeping below, barely bound and interpreted within the frame of a wedding….

“Mr. Roe Deer.”

……

“Mr. Roe Deer. Do not attempt to turn your gaze.”

……!

I snapped back to my senses.

…At some point, I had apparently been trying to seize control of Section Chief Lee Jaheon’s body and turn his gaze.

—…Thank you.

“Yes.”

Section Chief Lee Jaheon, who had remained silent throughout the broadcast, had regained control of his body the moment the live show ended.

And now, he was calmly observing the wedding hall.

I was grateful that he had simply watched in silence despite the absurd spectacle of someone winking at the camera and hosting a live broadcast in his body—it really showed the judgment of a veteran field exploration team member.

Even now, he hadn’t interrupted Braun and had quietly waited for things to conclude….

“Mr. Roe Deer. Do you require advice?”

……

—…If I did, what kind of advice would you give?

“Yes. Remove the talk show host of the ghost story known as Braun from your mental system.”

What?!

[Oh, if not for the live broadcast, that pathetic knife wielder would have ended up decorating a wedding cake instead of walking out on his own two feet, and yet he dares to speak so boldly.]

W-wait a second.

—Section Chief. Still, it’s certain that thanks to this situation, we can now escape without a dokkaebi fire bombardment. Right?

“Yes.”

Whew.

[And who created this ‘situation’? It was the host of the late-night talk show—an entertainer who put together a live broadcast program in a single day. Honestly, anyone with even a shred of thought should be offering thanks.]

“I see. Thank you.”

[…….]

“Now remove him.”

For once, I witnessed the talk show host ghost story rendered speechless….

—S-still, it was worth it, right…?

[I hear the sound of someone disappearing.]

……

Yeah…….

W-well, anyway, it felt like the tension had mostly subsided.

‘…Let’s get out of here.’

I needed to separate those two immediately.

In more ways than one, I was exhausted ….

—For now, it seems we can just head out through the main gate, Section Chief.

As if declaring surrender to the live broadcast, the boarding school’s main gate had reappeared in its place and now stood crudely open, allowing passage in and out.

Watching Section Chief Lee Jaheon send the survivors out first, I let out a sigh of relief.

‘As expected, he’s making the ethical choice.’

What a relief.

After that, Section Chief Lee Jaheon also stepped out through the door.

Wide open.

Through the shared vision, I saw light pouring in from beyond the opened door.

Something I had never seen in this perpetually gloomy boarding school ghost story.

Sunlight.

I stepped into it…….

……

“Customer.”

I opened my eyes.

A white space. Before I knew it, I was seated in a strange place made of light and dimension.

And in front of me was….

“We have confirmed the attempt and success of rescuing the ‘Lee Jaheon’ entity at the Space Shopping Mall.”

A lizard from Space Shopping Mall.

This time, gray-green.

It seemed that, much like during the VIP personal shopping, I had once again come face to face with these alien reptiles through a similar mechanism.

“Has Section Chief Lee Jaheon returned safely?”

“Yes.”

“I would like to speak with him directly.”

“Yes. That is why ‘we’ are here.”

For a moment, I failed to understand the sentence, then grasped it belatedly.

These alien reptiles considered speaking with ‘us’ to be the same as speaking directly with Lee Jaheon.

Because Lee Jaheon was ‘us.’

Because they possessed a single vast mental system that shared all experiences and judgments.

That made it feel even more real.

‘They probably don’t even have the sense that they abandoned a member called Lee Jaheon.’

It was simply… no different from discarding a part of themselves.

Pulling out a broken nail, scraping away a burn, cutting off rotten flesh.

Even if they felt regret, they wouldn’t feel guilt.

Because we are we.

It was an incredibly strange feeling.

“I’m sorry, but I would like to speak with the specific individual ‘Section Chief Lee Jaheon.’”

“We have no differences in experience or judgment.”

“I still ask that you do so.”

A brief silence.

“Confirmed. The Lee Jaheon entity will contact you in reality.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

At least it seemed certain he had returned safely.

“Then may I return to my body now?”

When I went to rescue Section Chief Lee Jaheon, Space Shopping Mall had explained it as the final activation step of the “We Help!” item.

—If the rescue of the summoner succeeds, the responding entity’s consciousness returns to its original coordinates.

“Yes.”

As expected, the receptionist lizard agreed.

Then I should hurry back and….

“Would you like to receive your reward later?”

“By reward, you mean….”

“Our reward for rescuing the Lee Jaheon entity.”

…!

“Space Shopping Mall is giving me a reward?”

“No.”

For some reason, the lizard looked at me with a more favorable gaze.

Something more meaningful.

“‘We’ will reward you.”

……

A designation broader than “Space Shopping Mall.”

“What do you want?”

My mind sharpened instantly.

‘This.’

This wasn’t an ordinary opportunity.

“…Could I receive help rescuing someone in Segwang Special City?”

“We do not recommend it.”

I had expected that.

‘They didn’t recommend the “We Help!” button back then either ….’

Aside from that urgent matter.

‘…I need to think more carefully.’

Don’t answer rashly.

After careful deliberation, I finally chose one.

……

……

Among the goals I had set in the underground containment room of Daydream Inc., the clearest one.

“I… want to regain a human body.”

I wanted to be human.

I wanted my body back.

“By the ‘human body’ you refer to, do you mean the body of a 21st-century modern human on Earth?”

“Yes. …Is it possible?”

The answer came immediately.

“It is possible.”

…!

“What method would that be?”

“Use the body of a human whose ego has been lost.”

Wait, that meant….

‘Swap bodies?’

A truly alien way of thinking. One that made it even harder for me to carry out.

…Let’s rephrase it.

“Is it possible to use my current body as if it were human? Like when I used to be a Supervisor at Daydream Inc.?”

Swallowing, I stared at the lizard’s snout.

Slowly, its mouth opened and spoke.

“Yes.”

…!

“Then I would like to receive help with that.”

“Yes. We will deliver the reward once preparation is complete.”

Got it.

Just as I was about to say I would leave, feeling like clenching my fist….

Another idea came to mind.

What if?

“My assistance… also helped reduce the cost of your dokkaebi fire bombardment, correct?”

“Yes.”

“In that case… will you assign a cost value to my help like a bombardment and count it as Space Shopping Mall purchase performance?”

The lizard met my gaze, then nodded.

“We have judged your statement as a rational inference.”

And then.

“Congratulations on your membership upgrade.”

It held something out to me.

‘A VIP thank-you card?’

That’s what it looked like. Then did that mean I had been upgraded to a level beyond VIP?

‘There was something higher than that?’

As expected of a shopping mall. I opened the rather flashy gold card….

I am Space Shopping Mall VVIP!

An amazing upgrade!

~Gratitude cells included~

"......"

"......"

“…Um, about the mall’s design.”

“Yes.”

“Do you handle it yourselves?”

“Yes.”

Hm.

I felt like I understood many things….

“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

“Yes.”

I carefully took the thank-you card.

“See you again.”

And then I was pushed away from the shopping space, drifting out.

***

A soft sensation.

“Grapes.”

I opened my eyes. Before I knew it, I was….

“Are you awake?”

Lying on the wooden floor.

The residence prepared for me by the Disaster Management Bureau.

And with the paper doors thrown wide open, I could see the faces of agents peering in at me.

Black Tortoise Team 1.

‘Ah.’

I made it back safely.

I raised my hand. A thermometer and heart rate monitor fell off with a clatter. It seemed they had been tucked into my zipper.

They must have had a hard time finding a pulse point.

‘They prepared a lot.’

Feeling a bit moved, I sat up.

And quickly reported.

Gratitude and report:

▶ Returned safely

▶ Section Chief Lizard rescue successful

It was a very satisfying result.

“Oh~ impressive?”

Agent Choi smiled and patted my shoulder.

“Then can I ask you one more thing?”

Affirmative.

“Okay! Want to see this?”

Agent Choi held something up.

It was the small rabbit doll I had put in my pocket.

“Your friend Braun, I mean.”

Right.

‘Come to think of it, they said the agents delivered him.’

I had meant to thank them at least once. It had slipped out of my pocket again, and they had picked it up for me….

“He’s a talk show host?”

……

……!!

 

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