episode_0037

“Would you like to check where and what kind of ‘job’ was given?”

Letel snatched my paper and read the contents with a smiling face, then suddenly turned a straight face.

My expression slowly hardened due to the ominous feeling.

“…what’s the matter?”

“Hangil. I think we’re following this?”

“Uh, huh?”

I looked up in surprise at the sudden profanity, and she quietly made eye contact before handing me a piece of paper.

“What on earth does it say…”

[What today’s overtime recipient ‘Sim Han-gil’ must do]

[One. Please bring the ‘crying paper’ from the ‘12th floor’ and submit it to the bath room]

[2. Please deliver three cup ramen to the ‘security guard’]

[3. Please tell the ‘office worker’ in the bathroom that he can leave work now]

[4. Please repel the ‘intruders’ with the ‘guards’]

[5. Please turn off all computers of the ‘Paranormal Response Team’]

“……”

I don’t know much about ‘ordinary small and medium-sized businesses.’

It’s only natural since it’s only been a few days since I went to work in the first place.

But at this moment, I felt like I was acutely aware of the malevolence of this damn building.

Why? Have you become enemies with me?

Oh, I accidentally spilled the soup on my cup ramen the other day. Is that because of that?

“…this is right?”

“No, that’s not right. A ‘job’ with such high difficulty doesn’t make sense.”

“Ugh… then should I press the ‘emergency distress signal’?”

I grabbed the ‘emergency rescue signal’, a supernatural object that was lying on the desk.

It’s just a square plastic plate with a red button, and it’s not a machine or anything, just a toy to play with. It’s said that the moment you press it, the management bureau personnel waiting outside are dispatched.

“Um, maybe we shouldn’t do that?”

“What? Why?”

“If you do not work overtime and even refuse to do ‘work,’ the intensity of retaliation from ‘ordinary small and medium-sized companies’ becomes stronger. The intensity of retaliation is even proportional to the difficulty of the ‘job.’”

“…Am I in danger of dying right now?”

“Maybe… no, 9 out of 10?”

“……”

“……”

Letel and I looked at each other for a moment, smiling awkwardly.

“Howie. Please.”

“Well…I’ll try my best.”

She smiled with an embarrassed expression and read the paper carefully.

“Let’s start with item 5, which seems the easiest. Let’s turn off all computers here first.”

“Phew…good.”

“Oh, just in case, be sure to bring a ‘luminous umbrella’.”

“I already got it.”

The ‘Luminous Umbrella’ looks like an ordinary folding umbrella on the outside, but it is a supernatural entity that shines dazzlingly when opened and blocks physical force below a certain level without any damage.

I’m not sure how helpful it will be since it’s a basic item given to everyone, but it’s still better than nothing.

We walked around the office, which was larger than necessary, and carefully checked the computer power.

“You turned everything off, right?”

“Yes. I checked several times.”

“Okay. Then, let’s decide what to do next. None of it is easy, but if I had to choose the easiest one…huh?”

As she was looking through my list of ‘jobs’ and pondering, a light suddenly came on on one of the computers.

“Huh? What…”

“Don’t look!”

Letel almost lunged at me, turned his head and covered my eyes.

-It’s a gig, it’s a gig… there’s no one…?

I heard a creepy woman’s voice along with the noise, which made my body tense.

-Is there anyone here…?

I instinctively turned my head in the direction I heard the sound, but thanks to Letel’s hand, I couldn’t see anything.

Cheesy! Cheesy!

The computer, which had been making noise for a while, suddenly cut off as if there had been a power outage.

“Whew… I guess I’m gone now. I thought it was the easiest, but then the ‘face on the screen’ pops up? Doesn’t this bode well from the beginning?”

“…Retel. When you’re done, move out of the way.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry.”

The woman who was hugging me tightly takes a step back and smiles, raising the corners of her mouth.

“Hangil, how was it?”

“what?”

“What do you mean? Of course, you hugged me. Did it feel good? How did it feel? How does it compare to the sunset?”

I shook my head in response to her question poking my side.

“What are you talking about? I’ve never done anything like that with Noeul.”

“What? Really? You haven’t even gotten to that stage yet?”

“Stage or whatever, we weren’t in that kind of relationship to begin with.”

“Huh? Really? That’s surprising… So you’re saying I came before Noeul? What should I do? I don’t like NTR!”

“Don’t be weird. Move fast… huh?”

At the moment when I was seriously lowering my voice to get the conversation that was taking a strange direction back on track, I suddenly made eye contact with a stranger and froze.

The screen wasn’t turned off.

Beyond the darkened screen, as if it had been turned off because the brightness was too low, a cruel face was staring at me.

“Ah, uh…”

I can’t believe I got caught in this kind of prank…!

Bloodshot eyeballs that look like they’re about to ooze blood, sagging flesh that makes the deep rim of the eyeballs visible, wrinkles, dark circles that are so thick that they look rotten, yellow boils with pus leaking out, and even sparse teeth.

It was an appearance that was difficult to face.

“Huh? Why… like this?”

She turns her head to follow me, clicks her tongue and raises her hand.

-You were there, right? hey. Please do some work for me.

“……”

This time, Letel covered my mouth and began to push away with his weight.

-Please do some work! I’m having a hard time! I can’t do this anymore!

Her voice was painful and desperate, as if her heart was breaking.

-Overtime is too long! The work never ends! Help me! sorry! Help me!

“……”

But the words of that being, who I don’t know if he’s a ghost or something, are a bit sad rather than scary, aren’t they?

Could this be someone who died from overwork while working overtime at this ‘ordinary small and medium-sized company’?

As the distance between us grew, she pounded on the monitor beyond the screen and glared at us with scornful eyes.

-Kyaaa! don’t go! Let me out! it’s hard! I think I’m going to die! It’s too much work! There’s so much to do! Help me! I want to go home! I want to go home!

The more I hear something, the more pitiful I feel.

When I glanced at Letel, I saw that she also had a strange expression filled with guilt.

-Please do just one thing. It’s a really simple computer task. Please help me. yes?

“Um…Retel. I don’t feel like saying this, but…wouldn’t it be okay to talk about it?”

I took her hand away and whispered, and she looked at the monitor with a complicated expression.

“Hmm… I guess that’s it for now? Even if they attack me, I think I can handle it somehow…”

She implicitly showed confidence and cautiously approached the computer while blocking my path.

-iced coffee! You’re finally here! thank you thank you…!

After increasing the brightness of the screen, she opened the Excel file on the desktop with tears streaming down her bloodshot eyes.

-You just have to do simple tasks. There is a list and manual here, so please follow them.

When I looked at the contents of the manual, I found that there were only really simple tasks.

“Hmm. Hey. If I do this, will you be able to rest?”

-Ah, that’s right! You can rest! You can finally rest!

“Then what happens? Can I attain Buddhahood?”

-Sacred Buddha…? I do not understand. I just want to go home. I’m going to go home and get some rest.

“Hmm…”

What does it mean to go home?

Is this person still alive? Could it be that for some reason they are trapped in an ‘ordinary small business’ that is a supernatural entity? If I help you with the work, will you be able to get out?

I was very curious, but it wasn’t something I could decide on my own, so I held off on answering and looked at Letel.

“what do you think about it?”

“Hmm…it doesn’t seem that dangerous right now…I’ll give it a try.”

Apparently she was also very curious, so she volunteered to extend her hand.

However, I shook my head and pushed her hand away.

“No, this is what I’m doing. I can confidently say that my defense is better than yours.”

My body is not strong, but wouldn’t immunity to various conditions and damage reflection be strictly speaking defensive power?

is not it?

“Oh…you have a lot of confidence? Is this what it feels like to see a frog in a well?”

She smiled and looked at me as if it were very funny.

“Hmm… But Han-gil, your performance is unusual. Okay, I’ll leave it to you for now. But if I think it’s dangerous, I’ll intervene right away.”

“Yes. Please do so.”

The fact that he readily asks me to do this is probably a sign of confidence.

I guess that’s why I feel so relaxed because I think I can perfectly protect myself no matter what happens.

It’s so reassuring that the tension melts away.

“Let’s see…then I’ll help you with the job.”

-Ah…thank you. thank you…!

I started working on the accelerator while watching the woman bending over on the screen.

Crackling.

“Hangil. Are you quite skilled?”

“Ahaha. How could anyone be so good at such a simple task?”

As she smiles and handles each task one by one, the image of the woman on the screen becomes blurred.

-You can rest. Finally, I can rest. iced coffee…!

The emotion she felt was so great that we who heard her voice became emotionally immersed.

And finally, the woman on the screen disappeared completely.

“Wow. Have you really achieved Buddhahood?”

“Well, I don’t know. Is it over now?”

Retel tilted his head at my words.

“It’s such an easy-to-solve supernatural entity, but why wasn’t there any mention of it in the overtime manual? Something’s strange…”

“Isn’t that overtime manual somewhat sketchy to begin with? There’s too much information missing. It would have been better if it had been written in more detail…”

-Tiring!

At that time, a list of next things to do came to mind so quickly that it filled the computer screen.

I checked it and started working mechanically.

“Oh, they said it couldn’t be helped. I don’t know why, but I heard that if I wrote it down in detail, ‘ordinary small and medium-sized businesses’ would get rid of it? That’s why I wrote it so vaguely.”

“Aha… supernatural entities are unpredictable. Why get rid of them?”

Crack, crack, crack.

“But Han-gil, why are you continuing this? Can’t we stop now?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I have to work.”

“…Stop it now.”

“No, Letel. What are you talking about? If you come to the company, you have to work. It’s natural. Haha, I really don’t want to work, but I can’t help it because it has to be done. Oh, will you help me work overtime too?”

“…Tsk, is this the way it is?”

She clicks her tongue and reaches out her hand to me.

A space that sways like a worm.

“Huh? What are you going to do?”

“Stay still. I’m trying to get your mind back on track…”

“why?”

“Why? That’s right…”

Damn it! Damn it!

“Sigh!?”

“Aaaahhh!”

We screamed at the same time.

She was startled when a strange snout suddenly popped out, and I was in terrible pain.

“Ugh…! Well, I don’t know what it is… Re, Retel. Cover your ears.”

“What, what!? What is that all of a sudden? What is that!? Gross!”

“Cover your ears!”

She hurriedly covered her ears at my shout.

“Kkkk!”

“Hiyaaa!? What!? What on earth!?”

“hmm…”

As soon as a single scream rang out, my head cleared.

“What on earth…”

Looking at Letel, who was pale, he put his muzzle in and smiled awkwardly.

“Ah, sorry. Are you really surprised? Actually, this is a skill that automatically removes status abnormalities…”

“Wow, I was surprised! I was really surprised! I hate gross things! Don’t ever bring that up again! Understand!?”

I found myself nodding my head at the stronger reaction than expected.

“Uh, yeah. I understand.”

“Ugh… More than that, is your head okay now? Doesn’t it make you want to get back to work?”

“Not at all. Why do you work when you have consecrated a ghost? Quickly turn off the computer and do something else…”

-Kyaaa! why! Why aren’t you working! You said you would do it for me! You said you would be with me for the rest of your life! Come back! Come back and work!

Immediately after, an ugly hand stretched out from the monitor along with a horrifying scream.

“Huh…!?”

The moment I froze in shock at the unexpected surprise attack, I heard a muttering that sounded like I was in a very bad mood.

“You’re noisy. Shut up now.”

Faaah! Pachaang!

The arm that was aiming at me shatters like glass.

It was a truly amazing sight.

This is because the fabric, which was originally normal when torn, was torn into pieces with a clean cross section.

-Kyaaa…

With a steady stream of screams, the being that was unknown whether it was a ghost or not disappeared, and the computer also turned off as if the power had gone out.

“Oh…what did you do?”

“I just destroyed the entire space. It can also destroy ghosts and ghost types. Haha…”

She sighed and stroked her red hair with a tired expression.

“Anyway, let’s go do the next thing.”

“Ah, yes…”

“And you, from now on, just don’t come forward. I think it would be better for me to just take care of it rather than look at that snout every time I get a status abnormality.”

“…okay.”

Her expression was scary, so I had no choice but to nod.

[You got 10 points!]

“…uh?”

“huh?”

At that moment, all of us who witnessed the hologram window suddenly popping up in the air had dumbfounded expressions at the same time.