Getting Approval from Otherworld Clients - Chapter 5

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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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Episode 5.
The client’s request is
an absolute law. (3)
“Oh, Lee Hyun! Blood, there’s blood!”
Hena handed me a portable tissue.
After hastily tightening the Smart Watch Strap, I used the tissue to stop the bleeding.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious hemorrhage—the nosebleed subsided quickly.
“Usually even when you take off a watch, it doesn’t go like this. It seems the residents here have some unique characteristics. We’ll need to be careful that the watch doesn’t slip off!”
“…It’s said that in another world, hearing voices from similar bipeds can cause psychological shock. It seems these people have similar symptoms.”
An octopus who was preparing the Space-Time Installation Ceremony witnessed the commotion and approached nearby.
“My goodness! Are you alright?”
“Yes, it’s really nothing….”
Oh no—before I could finish speaking, the tentacled creature seized my arm and dragged me somewhere.
A slick sensation crawled across my skin.
“You must have overexerted yourself doing Design Work in such a short time! It’s likely our excessive requests that are to blame. Why don’t you sit and rest while we’re working on the Nameplate project?”
Why was this resident so kind—almost excessively so—compared to the distant client I’d met earlier?
The octopus seated me briefly at a banquet table where preparations were underway.
“Please, eat whatever you’d like while you rest! We’ve prepared plenty of food, so don’t hesitate!”
“…Yes, thank you.”
I gave a gracious reply since they were being considerate.
But on the table before me, something writhed—something I absolutely did not want to eat, or rather, absolutely should not eat.
‘Ugh… this really is a strange place.’
By nature of my work, I enjoy viewing all manner of visuals, which is why I have a film habit.
I’ve watched quite a few fantasy movies, but I’ve never seen life forms or cities that look quite like this.
As I sat thinking various thoughts, some time passed.
‘I’m… uncomfortable……!’
A newcomer less than a week into the job couldn’t even rest comfortably alone!
So I was thinking I should probably get up.
Ping—chirp-chirp!
…A peculiar sound came from beneath the table.
“??”
I bent down to look, and—what is this now?
Something like a small slime, grey and mucilaginous, studded with countless eyes.
……It was staring at me.
“…….”
Was it some kind of local resident? A wild animal? Even one eye staring had been unsettling, but how many eyes did this thing have? If I ran, would it chase me?
…In my tension, a thousand thoughts flashed through in a single second.
Ping—chirp-chirp—eek?
But as if my alarm were unfounded, the grey slime merely tilted its body, seemingly curious why I’d frozen.
‘…It’s not planning to hunt humans?’
Relief came slowly, though the panic did ease somewhat.
As I relaxed my rigid frame, the peculiar creature even began waving part of its gelatinous form like a tail.
‘…It’s almost like a puppy.’
Was it a pet kept by the residents? Ah, there are drag marks stretching from beyond the city entrance—not footprints but trails.
‘An Outsider from beyond the Gate….’
I could see a few low burrows outside the city, packed with similar-looking slimes inside. That must be where they live.
“Lee Hyun, are you feeling better now? Oh my, what are you looking at?”
Hena, who’d approached without my noticing, looked at the slime together with me.
“It seems to like people! Hehe, how cute.”
No matter what, that was… a stretch.
Perhaps because it wasn’t human, her standard of cuteness was quite different from mine.
Squeak, squeak, pant-pant….
‘Did it come drawn by the smell of food?’
The blob of slime hung down toward the table above. …What made this revolting thing think that food looked appetizing?
‘…Earlier, they did say I could eat some of the food.’
Since it was acting so pitifully, I decided to test it out—I let a bit of food drop from the table.
…Of course! Without letting it touch my hand, I pushed it off with my fork!
Squeak—chirp! Slurp—chirp!
The slime that picked up what I’d given it spun around in delight.
“Oh my, they’ve come visiting again.”
A few residents who had been preparing for the event noticed the commotion and gathered around.
Squeee-squeak!
“Heard the higher-ups want to expel these creatures lately. They don’t follow orders like they used to, always talking back.”
“Really? Well, they’re cute—just keep them as livestock. You can’t expect beasts to obey a hundred percent of commands anyway~.”
Even the squid-folk’s sense of beauty has rotted away… They think that’s cute? Really?
[We shall now commence the Space-Time Installation Ceremony for our new fortress city, Opticon. Residents, please take your seats.]
The announcement crackled through the loudspeaker, marking the beginning of the event.
As the residents who had been watching the slimes with us settled into the arranged chairs, the atmosphere grew more orderly.
Another squid-folk, seeming important under the weight of all eyes, climbed onto the platform.
“Looks like the Mayor’s about to give a speech.”
“Hope it’s over quick~.”
Low murmurs of conversation drifted through the crowd.
[Today, our long-held dream, Opticon, has been completed.]
A booming voice resonated through the microphone.
[We have shown great forbearance until now. Going forward, this fortress city shall serve faithfully as a sanctuary for our people alone.]
“Why do they keep fretting over the slimes? They probably used them to build this whole place anyway~ Why not just leave them be?”
Like students enduring a principal’s morning lecture, the residents exchanged quiet complaints among themselves to stave off boredom.
[I trust you will all bear witness to this glorious beginning.]
As the Mayor’s speech concluded, the installation work that had been paused resumed without further interruption.
Whirrrrr—
The sound of hammers and drills rang out, and before long, all the installations appeared complete.
“Let’s go see the new Nameplates!”
“Oh, the Poster looks beautiful.”
Banta’s Design Work had been installed at the Gate—the threshold between the city’s inside and outside.
Residents had gathered in considerable numbers, murmuring as they examined it.
Squeee-squeak!
As the tentacled residents congregated near their own habitat, the slimes, seized by curiosity, burst from their cave and approached the crowd.
Squeak? Chirp-squeak?
The creatures lingered near the residents, as if wondering.
But the residents’ manner had subtly changed from moments before.
‘The atmosphere… feels wrong somehow.’
The cheerful chatter from just seconds ago had vanished entirely.
The residents simply stared at the slimes with blank expressions.
Then, a whisper emerged.
[Impurity.]
The residents’ voices had shifted into an eerie, emotionless timbre.
Their mechanical droning grew louder.
[Outsiders.]
[Impurities cannot enter here.]
[We are perfect.]
[A Perfect Fortress City free of all Impurity.]
They were reciting the slogan written on the Poster.
‘This is wrong. Like something’s broken….’
Disturbed by the grotesque phenomenon, I turned to Hena, who stood beside me.
“Hena, do you know why they’re suddenly acting like this?”
The woman whose expression was always bright had turned dark.
Her mouth moved as if she had something to say, then closed again.
…….
The giant one-eyed creatures advanced toward the gelatinous eyes.
Slowly, but with certainty.
In ponderous, measured movements.
Before long, the residents stood in close confrontation with the slimes.
There was no time to understand what was happening.
……Tentacles suddenly slashed through the air, lashing outward.
Shriek—!
The extended tentacles struck their target with absolute precision. Then….
Crushing, pulping, trampling, tearing—eyes and eyes and eyes severed, scattered into the air, unknown fluids gushing forth,
Shriek-shriek-shriek-shriek!!!! Screeeeeeeech-screech-screech-screech-screech!!!!!
They did not stop; they turned toward their lair, collapsing the cavern, burning it, obliterating it, shattering it, destroying it,
…….
Crimson flames spread across my entire field of vision.
Things that once belonged to someone—a home, a family, an entire world—burn in countless fires.
With the roar of flames consuming everything, screams rise like smoke from within.
“…….”
The burning world unfolds before my eyes. I fall silent, watching it.
‘Perhaps… maybe….’
I did this.
The thought came that it could have been me.
‘If I think about the residents’ strange transformation, perhaps my Design Work was somehow…….’
Staring at this horrific scene, I sank into thought.
“Stop gawking. Let’s head out.”
The team leader grabbed us both by the scruff and dragged us along.
We were shoved through the installed Dimensional Gate, and everything went dark.
* * *
Back at the Design Company.
The Office was silent, as if the chaotic world from moments before had been nothing but a dream.
…….
‘I can’t believe it….’
Hena, eager to escape the awful memory as quickly as possible, packed up and left the moment we returned.
‘I should… head home too, I guess.’
But the afterimage of flames kept flickering before my eyes, and I sat dazed at my desk.
‘…what time is it now.’
Quitting time had long since passed.
Friday had never been unhappy except for those times I had to come in on the weekend.
This is hands down the worst Friday I’ve ever had….
“Drink this.”
The team leader brought me a warm cup of tea as I sat dumbfounded in the Office.
…Surprisingly kind of him.
Or maybe I just looked that pathetic.
‘Something doesn’t add up.’
It all seemed strange. Until just moments ago, the residents hadn’t been so hostile toward the Outsider.
But then their attitude suddenly flipped, and they crushed him, burned someone’s world to the ground.
‘No matter how much I think about it….’
…there’s only one turning point that could have caused it.
……Did it start after they saw the Nameplate and the Poster?
“Team leader, may I ask you something?”
Pascal nodded lightly.
“Did the residents slaughter the external lifeforms after seeing the Poster we created?”
“…You could say that.”
Pascal explained a company secret that hadn’t appeared in the contract.
Works produced by the Design Company’s own design program, crafted with the Production Department’s special materials, generate inexplicable effects once released into the world.
The message the Design Work conveys exerts influence on the subconscious of the intelligent beings it targets.
And depending on the circumstances, it can act quite powerfully.
“…Sometimes the results may contradict your convictions. Like what happened just now.”
…….
Did I even have convictions, living like an ordinary citizen?
I simply needed a stable job where the paycheck arrived reliably every month.
…Without any burden of conscience.
‘If I keep following the client’s demands just to protect myself… will things like this keep happening?’
The team leader watched me quietly.
He waited without a word until I brought the warm cup to my lips.
…Until its warmth thawed my rigid body just a little.
“…But you know.”
The team leader spoke at last.
“Good work today, Lee Hyun.”
…….
This is still a mad company full of senseless absurdities, but I decided to reassess my opinion of the team leader.
His mouth may be rough, but he’s capable.
And there seems to be a warm side beneath the facade….
‘And, more than anything.’
It was a small comfort to find another human being in a company teeming with creatures who defied all convention.
Yes, compared to the senior who’d thrown his weight around at the subcontracting firm before, this was paradise. So there he was, actually grateful for his luck with superiors, when—
Crack, crackle—
…?
All at once, the silhouette of his boss standing before him transformed dramatically.
Silver fur sprouted thick across the lean frame.
What emerged: claws, fangs, ears pricked into triangles—
“…Ah, so today was the full moon.”
…….
There’s supposed to be another human! There’s supposed to be another human!!!!!

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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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