Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The man was in an unusually good mood. The lighting in his regular dive bar was dim and the tables were sticky, but he didn’t mind in the least.
The new job was no easy task, but the success payment was generous, and rare for this line of work, the money had arrived on time.
For the next month, he could loaf around without working.
Why not visit a gambling den for a change? Surely there were still a few places left that wouldn’t turn him away.
When he lifted his bleary eyes to order another drink, a blonde woman he’d never seen before approached him with a bright smile and struck up a conversation.
“You look like you’re in a good mood, sir?”
The man answered with a swagger.
“Just got a big haul. Truth is, I probably won’t be coming to some shabby dive like this for a while.”
“That’s impressive. I’m intrigued—would you mind telling me more?”
People who worked in places like this had a sixth sense for money. Watching the employee sit down across from him, the man smiled inwardly with contempt.
“Well, you could say it’s basically a job finding people. But then this additional commission came through—turned out to be a pretty solid gig.”
“Wow, that’s worth celebrating. Would you mind if I poured you a drink?”
Before he knew it, the employee was holding a rather expensive spirits bottle.
He didn’t know where she’d produced it from, but he was willing to be pleasantly deceived by such a sales tactic.
After all, his pockets were unusually full, and today was a day he wanted to get quite drunk.
“Come on, tell me—where did you land such a good job?”
At her question, the man searched his memory.
Where did it start? Right, he’d been uncomfortable at first. The approach itself was different, and the commission had been passed through multiple brokers.
He could understand that much. When people in high places were involved, they often laid down a smoke screen that way.
But the infiltration target finally communicated at the end was…….
The target was…….
The man stopped thinking for a moment and stared vacantly into space. What was it? He was certain he’d been given orders to infiltrate somewhere.
And he was supposed to find someone. But that girl’s name……what was it again?
“Let’s start over. From the beginning.”
The employee rested her chin on the table.
“Commissions like this always go from one underling to another, then down to subcontractors. You probably knew almost nothing about it.”
What is this? An interrogation?
The sense of wrongness was brief; the man found himself nodding as if under a spell.
They moved in teams, but identities were classified, and preparation took several months.
As if reading his thoughts, the blonde employee smiled.
“You were probably shuffled around to set up a false identity. And in the end, you wound up applying to join the Regular Exploration Team.”
The Regular Exploration Team.
The name sounded familiar.
Right, that was it. To join the Regular Exploration Team, he needed to launder his identity. In exchange, he’d received a hefty advance and signed several promissory notes.
But that was……what kind of exploration team was it again?
The employee laughed lightly.
“What kind of team? Well, obviously…….”
The Fortress.
Thump—he felt his heart plummet.
The Fortress? I went to the Fortress? But that place……, that place…….
“Now, calm down and think through this slowly. Do you remember the name of the broker who sent you there?”
The man shook his head. Even as he did, he felt his back growing damp with cold sweat.
But why am I talking about this? I was warned there’s nothing good about spreading talk about the Fortress.
Snap—the employee flicked her finger.
“Shall we focus again? What were you looking for in the Fortress?”
Once he’d infiltrated the exploration team, moving independently became manageable. Unfortunately, the first place he’d been dropped was some arcade.
There was almost no information given, so it was difficult to make a judgment. Then some lunatic in a bear costume showed up and handed him something like a flyer.
It was nonsense, but the colleague who’d fallen alongside him believed it immediately. Then, right before the man’s eyes, he was sucked into a game.
“That’s when it hit me. This place……this is a world where common sense doesn’t apply. So I…….”
He barely escaped the arcade, but he’d injured his leg in the process. The man wiped the cold sweat beading his nose with his sleeve, trying to recover the memory.
“A stranger approached me. Said he could help me get back to the original world……. But unless I found even the smallest lead, I couldn’t go back. I had a debt……I had a debt.”
Right, the man owed a large sum of money. Why had he forgotten this fact?
To pay off the debt, he had to find someone. Whether dead or alive didn’t matter. All he had to do was find them and bring them back to get the money…….
Tap—the employee struck the table. Her fingertip pointed at the drink glass in the man’s hand.
The man found himself raising the glass again as if under a spell. He pushed aside all petty worries and took a sip.
And continued talking.
“That……person told me. They said the person I was looking for was at a cinema. They even showed me how to get there. For some reason, I couldn’t help but trust what they said……. So…….”
Riverside Cinema.
Yes, that was it.
A film called “Evening Glow” was showing. I found a warning notice rolling around, but I ignored it.
I’d seen clearly what happened to my colleague who’d believed the arcade flyer.
Inside the theater, a ordinary foreign film was playing. I confirmed someone was in the seats and tried to approach carefully.
But because of my injured leg, I limped and accidentally turned on the flashlight. And…….
And…….
And?
His body began to tremble.
“There was……there was something there……. Row J……in row J…….”
The man finally began to weep. Horror drained the color from his entire body, and alcohol spilled over his clenched fists.
Tsk-tsk—the employee clicked her tongue.
“No good. Not this one either.”
The employee—or rather, that thing—smiled. Eyes warped in a sinister curve stared at the man as though he were filth.
“Ah……, uh-uh…….”
Scared, so scared.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m sorry……. Sorry…….”
“If you’re going to talk like that, why don’t you just spill who you were looking for? The person in charge is waiting for your answer.”
“B-but, but…….”
The man spoke through his tears. He knew he was blubbering like a child, but he couldn’t calm himself.
“If I, if I say things like this, if, I can’t. If the Fortress learns to hate me, if it hates me…….”
It laughed softly.
“Don’t worry about that.”
Tap—the surroundings melted away into darkness, leaving only that creature and the man beneath a single circular light.
“You’re beyond forgiveness already.”
The man stared vacantly at the blood spreading across the table.
“Ah……, ugh…….”
“Well then.”
“Ah……, no, no. No……. Please……, please…….”
“Shall we start over from the beginning?”
It clapped its hands. The name tag on its uniform chest reflected the light and gleamed.
Goldilocks
Tap—the lights went out, and no one remained.
* * *
Goldilocks was not a bad job—in fact, quite a good one.
Four days, excluding Tuesdays and Thursdays when there were lectures with Mallo, and Mondays, the regular day off.
The work wasn’t particularly difficult, the pay was generous, and so far there had been none of the troublesome customers Momo had mentioned.
Of course, communication with the patrons was a bit tricky.
Most of them spoke in a flat monotone as if they were foreigners learning Korean for the first time, and they would do inexplicable things like banging their heads on tables or bursting into laughter without context.
What mattered was simply smiling naturally, as though nothing were amiss, taking orders and passing them to the kitchen.
It had startled me at first, but it didn’t take long to get used to.
What really gave me trouble was actually the Drifters.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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