Chapter 271.3 |
Using smoke, I carefully pulled out the small object. It was…
‘An earring?’
It looked like a rusted piece of jewelry.
An old accessory that felt like something that might be excavated from ancient ruins or a tomb looked completely out of place here, creating an eerie sensation…
Repairs complete.
– Initiating normal operations-
In any case, it was fixed.
“Roe. That thing just now…”
“Got it. Thank you, Roe Deer-nim!”
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae looked at me with sparkling eyes, then soon inserted the application form again.
And…
This time, it was operating properly.
The machine sparkled and produced the sound of a music box, urging Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae to choose a ‘desired size’.
“The size should be one to one.”
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae pressed the button, and once again, with a loud clatter, sounds of something banging, cutting, and being assembled echoed from inside the machine…
And, many seconds later.
Thunk.
A ‘birthday gift’ popped out onto the rail.
It was…
A knitted doll the exact same size as Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae.
“…!”
As if it had been carefully handmade while looking directly at Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, the hairstyle, eyes, outfit, and even body proportions were identical.
Black cubic gems shimmering with a greenish light were set in as its eyeballs.
As it was slowly pushed out along the moving rail, it naturally dropped beneath it and…
<Helloo?>
It stood upright.
Greeting us.
<For some reason I don’t feel so great, but it’s nice being with kind people!>
No one answered.
The doll’s shining eyes looked at Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae sitting in the wheelchair.
<…Huh? Wait a second. Why do I look like this? That’s strange, and why is there another me over there…>
<Ah.>
Rip—
…Section Chief Lee Jaheon tore off the tag attached to the knitted doll’s head from behind.
At that moment.
The knitted doll fell back to the floor like a toy.
Having lost all movement.
‘……’
Dolls produced by the Toy Maker exhibit speech and behavior extremely similar to the ‘child receiving the gift’ listed on the application.
However, they are not judged to be human by the Dream Essence Collector, and the larger the size, the shorter the operating time, so the Research Team uses them only in limited ways to test new Darknesses without waste.
Please note that once produced, it is never possible to produce another one for the same person.
“Alrighty, I’ll rip ‘em off.”
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae detached the doll’s legs.
For some reason, I watched the sight in stunned silence…
I felt strange.
There are many ghost stories that imitate people. So even if the others felt a bit uncomfortable, it didn’t seem to affect them much.
‘Why?’
I was deeply shaken.
Was that knitted doll really nothing more than something made to imitate Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s appearance? Or could it have truly had self-awareness…
‘…Stop it.’
It was pointless.
I simply watched as Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae carefully slid her own unmoving legs into the legs of the dismantled knitted doll.
Then I saw Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae spring up from the wheelchair.
“Mm. It works well!”
Right.
Because that doll can be controlled as the ‘child receiving the gift’ wishes, it can be used like that.
‘Huu.’
Seeing Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae safely obtain legs she could use temporarily made me feel relieved and glad.
It truly was fortunate.
“Are you going to use it?”
“No!”
“I see.”
As I watched Baek Saheon recoil beside me and put distance between himself and the knitted dolls, I was urged by Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
“Roe, shouldn’t you get some legs here too?”
……
About that.
Unavailable status
Target : 130666
And I pointed to the notice attached beside the machine, hidden in shadow.
“…!”
※ This toy is
designed for the enjoyment
of modern Earthlings.
For safety reasons, aliens, otherworlders, non-sentient
beings, gods, and all other non-human sentient life forms
cannot use it. :)
“Damn it.”
Sorry, but that’s how it is…
‘Is this a characteristic of the Cheerful Institute’s products.’
The candle I used in the ‘Manor of the Blind’ had similar conditions attached, so I couldn’t use it and had asked Yeongeun-ssi instead.
…Back then, I had thought it was simply because I came from another world and couldn’t use it.
“Then let’s hurry and go find the next one. This is really making contaminated people feel miserable.”
…Thank you.
I nodded and left the shop. Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae, who had regained the ability to walk, came out smiling, and together we went to the sergeant who had been leaning against the metal door.
‘If it comes to it, I can just go back here.’
Even without legs, I can move like this using smoke, so there must be another way to get legs before entering Sekwang City.
But then…
[Goodness, something feels odd!]
The sergeant was standing completely still, staring at the floor.
‘…?’
I raised smoke and brought it in front of the sergeant’s eyes.
Concern : Current condition of J3
“I’m fine……”
Only then did the sergeant lift his eyes to look at me.
But the next moment, another eye popped out from his temple and rotated, then looked toward the shop.
The toys in the dust covered display case. Among them…
The red hood.
‘…Damn!’
I took up a defensive stance.
The instant I felt that J3’s gaze was bulging out strangely and turning savage.
“……We’re leaving, right…?”
The sergeant turned his head, then once again became a dry, sluggish employee, dragging his feet as he approached the metal door.
…Thank goodness.
Affirmative
I followed the sergeant and covered his field of view with smoke as much as possible, so he wouldn’t look at the shop.
And the sergeant, in his unstable state, slowly and calmly regained his composure and opened the metal door…
Something is standing in the corridor.
“……”
“Huh?”
When I raised my head, a woman adorned with countless ornate accessories was standing there.
No, something in the shape of a woman…
‘Ceramic…?’
A clay figure. A human form molded from earth and fired.
It was far too out of place for a corridor, standing there blankly in the filthy hallway……
I realized it instinctively.
‘A ghost story.’
That is the ghost story that supposedly had an isolation failure.
‘…!!’
I pulled the sergeant and tried to close the metal door again first. Before the others came from behind—
“Mmmmph!”
…A voice.
I stiffly listened to it. From inside the ornate woman shaped clay figure, a trapped sound was coming out…
And soon, I realized whose voice it was.
“Mph! Mmmph!”
It was Kang Yihak.
goblin note:
I’m so sorry again for the inconsistent update sched! I really thought I could pull off the same regular update sched as before, but then this chapter stumped me for some reason .__. It’s the formatting, it really is
More chapters soonest! I can’t promise when that’ll be, but I’ll do my best to somehow make up for lost time!
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