Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 254

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 254

Let me summarize.

Manager Lee Ja-heon is trapped in a boarding school ghost story that conducts insane groom lessons.

He’s been selected as a groom candidate, no less.

And as preparation for the wedding, they’re drawing a whole bowl of blood from him every night, so he’s scheduled to collapse in four days.

Lastly….

-…The wedding is also in four days.

“That’s correct.”

This is driving me crazy.

‘Why are you so calm about this!’

He must know that in this type of ghost story, a wedding is an ending that gets censored!

I suppressed the feeling of my head throbbing.

Actually, there’s no need to suppress it. Right now I’m just existing as a consciousness system connected inside Manager Lee Ja-heon’s head without a body. …Setting aside the fact that it’s not even a human body to begin with.

Anyway, first things first.

Blood.

-The space shopping mall, so… couldn’t you receive items from ‘us’ to supplement the blood deficiency?

“Yes.”

Why!

…Of course, true to Manager Lizard’s nature, there was a rational and reasonable explanation.

“If the current method of blood collection proves insufficient, there’s a high probability they’ll order more life-threatening procedures.”

In other words, from the ghost story’s perspective, it would become ‘Why isn’t this working? I should try a different method,’ and they might suddenly drain all his blood overnight….

‘That makes sense.’

Though it makes me sigh.

[To think my friend must waste time on such a passive and uncreative swordsman!]

…?

‘Brown!?’

Why here… wait a minute. Even in Segwang Special City, Brown was judged as part of my consciousness system and accompanied me to the space shopping mall’s VIP shopping.

And this time too, I only entered Manager Lee Ja-heon’s body mentally through an item made by the aliens who run the space shopping mall.

It’s likely a similar mechanism.

So… is it because of the same judgment?

[Oh, correct! Noru! That was very clever deduction.]

Right, right.

The problem is.

“Noru.”

Manager Lee Ja-heon knows Brown very well….

He was the alien reptile who destroyed Brown’s studio in response to my item usage.

“Is that statement from the host of the late night talk show in the darkness?”

-That’s… correct.

“I see. Do you need advice?”

-…Well, um. Would you advise me to get rid of it?

“Yes.”

[Oh, how unsurprising. Such is the insight and eloquence of a rude swordsman who would terrorize studios and kidnap crew!]

I think I’m getting stomach pain….

‘No, we’re in an insane ghost story that’s trying to put soundproofing devices in students’ feet because their footsteps are too loud, and this is what….’

-…For now, Manager Lee Ja-heon’s current situation is more urgent, so I’d like to discuss this later.

“Yes.”

Literally, you’re going to die in four days at most.

This is maddening….

After appeasing Brown’s mood, I thought while suppressing a groan.

‘Manager Lee Ja-heon has no intention of giving me physical control at all.’

The situational conditions are too different from what I prepared for anyway.

I came to take a proxy exam so he could pass the groom lesson experience, but he’s already passed and even became a groom candidate, becoming a formal student who needs to escape.

‘This changes everything.’

Rather than choosing the correct answers for this groom lesson ghost story, it would be more likely to succeed by exploiting structural loopholes behind the answer key.

I immediately checked.

First… the Darkness Investigation Records only mentioned that you can’t leave the bedroom due to the boarding school’s policy.

-Is it difficult to leave the bedroom at night? If so, please explain why.

“Yes. At night, structural anomalies are observed in the building, and there are supervisors in areas without anomalies.”

In other words, the boarding school at night is a hellhole where the structure twists around, plus there are patrol supervisors. It’s a nightmare.

-Have you ever tried going out directly? If you have, please tell me the purpose and destination.

“Yes.”

And Manager Lee Ja-heon didn’t open his mouth.

‘…What?’

But the next moment.

Lee Ja-heon ‘told’ me.

‘…!’

Sharing of information chunks.

No… should I call it memories, sensations. Unrefined visual, olfactory, tactile, auditory… sensory information values are input into my thought system.

Like my own memories.

I am moving silently through the dark corridor of the boarding school.

The curtains move, and just as the patrol supervisor is about to reveal themselves, my body hangs upside down from the ceiling, avoiding their gaze.

Controlling my physical strength to avoid damaging the ceiling lights, I put my hands into the brick grooves and move again.

The destination is the main entrance.

I know.

During the experiential lessons of this boarding school ghost story, if it seemed like you might fail, you could try escaping through the main entrance as a last resort.

In rare cases of success, you wake up near your home address… a fact that can also be found in the .

You can also find this in the Baekillmong Corporation database, so it was contextually reasonable to assume that Manager Lee Ja-heon had tried this method based on that.

But here’s the thing.

It wasn’t actually necessary.

‘…I just knew.’

I naturally knew that Manager Lee Ja-heon, ‘we’ had made judgments based on similar background knowledge.

Because it was shared.

A shocking sense of unity.

-…Is this how ‘we’ share information?

“Yes.”

Is this process constantly ongoing for the Reptilian Aliens?

That was definitely not the kind of information transmission method modern people could experience. No, rather than transmission, it was more like unification of experience…

Even in the midst of this, my memories were being reorganized.

After a long, suffocating game of hide-and-seek combined with appropriate use of force, I…

I reached the position of the Main Entrance.

Time required from Bedroom to this location: 2 hours 48 minutes 14 seconds. Retry possible if sleep is abandoned.

But we knew this was unnecessary.

Because where the Main Entrance had been

I held back a curse.

there was only a Wall.

Night exploration complete. Returning to Bedroom.

This damn boarding School had completely sealed off all official entrances.

So that no one could leave or enter.

‘Like the final chapter of a horror game.’

It seemed like they had received all the Groom Candidates and entered some kind of ritual phase.

While preparing for the ‘wedding.’

‘Is the end of trial instruction also due to this influence?’

Moreover, even if I tried breaking down doors or escaping through windows…

The boarding School’s surroundings were enclosed by fog and cliffs, Forest where seaside sounds could be heard from somewhere, and all Explorers who had fled to those places had gone missing.

This was the ending.

In other words, a high-grade Ghost Story type that had poor compatibility with Manager Lee Ja-heon’s existing specialty of physical exorcism.

But there was an even bigger problem here.

‘…This kind of thing never happened before.’

The point was that Manager Lee Ja-heon, Employee D being in this situation was a record I had never read about in the .

Was it a butterfly effect?

Had my entry caused changes in Team D’s composition and such, creating a new crisis where Manager Lee Ja-heon could die?

…The feeling wasn’t very good.

So I should cooperate more in escaping the Ghost Story.

-Thank you for kindly informing me.

“Yes.”

Soon Lee Ja-heon began drawing blood.

It would be better to draw it now and get some sleep rather than drawing it in the morning, but I was anxious.

‘The amount is too much.’

…Really, the hands visible to my eyes seemed to have become more pale.

A sense of crisis about survival.

It felt more vivid because we were using the same body.

‘I need to create an escape route as quickly as possible.’

In my mind that was becoming hazy as I synchronized with Lee Ja-heon going to sleep, I resolved to gather information tomorrow…

And the next day.

[The menu is quite old-fashioned, isn’t it.]

What was served at the breakfast table was lily of the valley, apples, and… boiled brain.

The complete form of brain with apricot-colored sauce poured over it was clearly visible.

‘Please.’

Fortunately, the size appeared smaller than human. Sigh…

I tried to ignore the taste of brain with the feeling of wanting to shed tears. I suppose I should be grateful that I wasn’t cutting and eating it directly with my own hands…

‘Let’s focus…’

I tried to gather other information captured in Manager Lee Ja-heon’s field of vision.

First of all… the Students.

The Shadowy Figures sitting around the long table appeared to number well over twenty, but could be distinguished by their clothing.

About ten or so people wearing not the pure and modest uniforms worn by Groom Candidates, but more frugal-looking sturdy shirts and pants.

‘Are those Trial Students?’

People caught up in the Ghost Story.

Since they weren’t accepting new Students, it seemed like they were probably continuing to repeat trial instruction life after receiving failures in the previous round.

…I also realized that more than seven of them were in states of physical mutilation tantamount to torture, and some were in states where they had to personally perform such acts themselves.

In the peaceful and quiet boarding School dining setting, grotesque scenes were casually interspersed as if nothing was wrong.

‘…Phew.’

It was a scene that was more chilling because it was eerily peaceful.

‘…’

Stay calm.

Imagining taking deep breaths, I shifted my focus to other information in my field of vision.

This time to the other side.

‘Groom Candidates.’

Those wearing the same type of uniform as Manager Lee Ja-heon were sitting at the head seat of the table, having gentle conversations…

…Strangely, their faces appeared blurry.

No, not just their faces, but information beyond their uniforms wasn’t being interpreted well, as if my brain was rejecting it.

As if filtered.

[Oh, Noru. Wouldn’t that be a characteristic of this Swordsman?]

Characteristic?

[This reptilian fellow is discovering here one reason why they were ignorant of art and aesthetics.]

[It’s a sensory system that only interprets what they judge necessary. Oh, what an arrogant and primitive method!]

Wait.

So, the Reptilian Aliens of the Space Shopping Mall… don’t perceive sensory information they don’t need?

‘Isn’t that a contamination prevention measure?’

Filtering out harmful things and accepting what’s needed.

Come to think of it, I had never witnessed Manager Lee Ja-heon suffering from contamination or even showing signs of being affected by Ghost Stories.

It seemed to be a characteristic of ‘us’.

‘That explains it!’

Feeling one mystery being resolved, I first turned my gaze away from the groom candidates.

‘So those over there aren’t human…’

Indeed, among these types of facility ghost stories, there are often cases where they weren’t originally operated for humans. Like the ‘Mansion of the Blind’ and that exhibition ghost story.

‘…So that’s why there haven’t been cases of being selected as official groom candidates, rather than just passing through experiential learning.’

Perhaps Manager Lee Ja-heon also fundamentally isn’t an ordinary person, but passed the selection because he’s a reptilian alien.

‘…’

Alright for now. I’ll remember that.

Next, I focused on the tall, slender shadowy figure sitting at the head of the table.

The dormitory supervisor.

The educator of this boarding school.

-Manager, is it relatively safe to ask the education supervisor wedding-related questions at a non-persistent level? Please blink once for yes, twice for no.

Lee Ja-heon’s eyes slowly closed once and opened.

Affirmative.

-Then please ask this question.

The education supervisor is looking at me kindly.

I filter out the dangerous elements from my question.

First, I exclude direct questions about the bride.

-Um… they probably thought it was rude… The person who went in with them… probably had their mouth sewn shut with a crochet hook… As a form of discipline…

I also exclude probing questions about the school.

-Ah, there was someone who got expelled for persistently asking who runs the boarding school. They were probably reported missing in the forest… There were rumors that they asked questions after receiving extra money from the research team.

Therefore, I chose a more personal question that would be appropriate for a student to ask.

-Is it possible for groom candidates to be eliminated without making it to the wedding ceremony?

Lee Ja-heon voices my question.

And the education supervisor kindly and strictly provided an answer.

However, I cannot explain it in colloquial terms.

Certainly the supervisor is responding to me in an auditory manner, but my thoughts and descriptions are expressed like lengthy reminiscences from a classical diary.

It was truly a strange compulsive force, similar to that scene where I couldn’t properly construct sentences while struggling to communicate through smoke.

However, befitting the theme of groom lessons, the supervisor’s words are received in my mind in this elegant and flowing manner.

It was…

A gentle explanation that all groom candidates except one would be eliminated.

‘…!’

-Then what happens to the eliminated groom candidates?

The education supervisor kindly answers. As if comforting the anxiety of a student worried about failing to become a groom, the supervisor once again emphasizes the generous motto of St. Anticus Boarding School.

Encouragement and assistance.

Just as they do their best to teach the virtues of a groom even to experiential learning applicants who aren’t even official students.

Even now, despite all the groom candidate positions being full, aren’t they waiting until the experiential learning applicants complete their course?

They too will all attend the wedding ceremony.

The same was true for eliminated groom candidates.

No, the supervisor told me that in the case of candidates, they would take on even more important and glorious roles at the wedding ceremony.

-May I ask what that is?

The supervisor gladly described it.

They would become wedding mementos.

These are beautiful artworks representing the groom’s growth, and as part of that art, as important components of the ceremony, they would be together throughout the entire wedding.

And when the ceremony ends, they could be distributed to the wedding guests as return gifts.

As eternal mementos to reminisce about the wedding.

…

…

-Thank you.

The supervisor praises my polite gratitude and requests that the groom candidates offer words of encouragement.

Thus, amid the eloquent words of encouragement offered by the groom candidates who had just finished breakfast, I thought.

‘I’m screwed.’

So if you fail, you become a memento, and if you pass, you become the groom.

It would be better to become the groom, but no matter how I think about it, I feel like the assessment would be ‘it would have been less painful to become a memento instead.’

No, whatever I choose is a disaster…

‘Damn it!’

During the break after morning classes, I urgently asked Manager Lee Ja-heon to let me go to the bathroom alone, then asked.

-If we can’t escape by the wedding day, don’t you plan to use holy fire bombardment?

Because that seemed like the most clear-cut answer.

Looking at it now, everyone’s going to die anyway. Rather, if we unleash sacred fire bombardment and create chaos, at least a few people might survive.

‘Couldn’t we then go to the safe house?’

But…

“Yes.”

…?!

-Are there other reasons besides the possibility of casualties?

“Yes.”

-I would like you to explain.

“Yes. Because abandoning the Lee Ja-heon individual would be more economical for us.”

-…

Wait a minute.

-What do you mean by economical?

“Currently, the location where Manager Lee Ja-heon is isolated has its connection point to reality closed, making energy input difficult.”

….

“In this situation, if we track the location and proceed with sacred fire bombardment, we predict it will cost more than Manager Lee Ja-heon’s identity and physical body.”

So.

It seems like they’re saying that since all entry methods to this place have disappeared, it would actually cost more than when I escaped from the late night talk show….

But if that’s the case,

-Doesn’t Manager Lee Ja-heon also earn enough money at Daydream Company? Considering future value.

“It can be replaced at a lower cost than sacred fire bombardment.”

-….

It was a strange judgment.

Those alien reptiles calling themselves ‘we’ seem to treat Lee Ja-heon, an individual belonging to their group, as some kind of small part….

Even Lee Ja-heon himself.

Like a single bee in a giant hive or a cell in a massive organism.

Is it because they share all experiences and information?

[It’s a concept called hive mind, Noru! Of course, it’s 20th-century science fiction imagination, but quite plausible, isn’t it?]

[Of course, it means it’s no wonder that an interesting and colorful person like you can’t understand those friends!]

….

I don’t know.

But.

-Manager.

What I want to rescue is Manager Lee Ja-heon of Team D.

-You want to live, right Manager? I mean, you yourself, not ‘our’ will.

A moment of silence.

And.

“Yes.”

Good.

-Then let’s do our best.

I desperately racked my brain.

Combining the information I got today. Students, groom candidates, dormitory supervisor, questions, wedding ceremony, we….

We.

The filtered vision that looked at the groom candidates.

-…Manager. Are you in a state where contamination doesn’t work well? More so than ordinary Daydream Company field investigation teams.

“Yes.”

…If that’s the case.

‘Something did come to mind.’

[Oh!]

This seems like a really crazy idea, but….

-If you’re reluctant to hand over physical control to me, would it be possible to perform as I request?

“Yes.”

-Thank you.

-First, don’t draw blood starting tonight. And….

And… well.

I continued speaking with the feeling of wanting to swallow.

-Would you consider temporarily handing over physical control to someone other than me?

“Who is this ‘someone else’?”

Well.

The thing is.

-…The late night talk show host, Brown.

[Oh?]

It might sound crazy, but this is the best choice.

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