Surviving as an Office Worker in Monster Management Bureau

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“People are truly fickle; it only takes a week off for them to become so slack.”

And I’m paying the price for that thoroughly.

“You should have at least run away.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing at all.”

I replied to Yu Da On, who was fixing her outfit.

This should never happen again.

“I’m ready.”

As I was repeatedly whipping my hazy mind back into shape, Da On’s words brought me back to reality.

Da On nodded and tidied her own clothes.

Since our operation was still unformed, we both decided to be as cautious as possible.

“We don’t know what might be outside once we step out. For all we know, this could be an odd phenomenon or not.”

“Don’t worry.”

Da On said with a bright smile as she grabbed the doorknob.

“I’m not dead yet, right?”

That’s exactly the problem.

After Song Ah Rin, or whatever was disguised as her, left, Da On and I concluded that we needed someone capable of projecting physical firepower.

If all the people around, including the mountain lodge owner, were truly out of their minds, someone must suppress them.

“I said my room should be two doors to the right of Chae Yeon’s room, so we’ll charge into the second room on the left as soon as we step out.”

“If the door is locked, we can break it down, right?”

“If necessary.”

Da On nodded again and looked at me.

“Tell me when you’re ready. I’ll open the door.”

“I’m ready.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Da On grabbed the doorknob and flung the door open, darting towards Jang Chae Yeon’s room.

Sneaking in exercise or something? She’s really fast.

I clicked my tongue inwardly and followed her.

—Bang!

With the sound of something smashing, Da On kicked the door and instantly, Chae Yeon rushed out, looking around.

“Enemies?”

“Not yet.”

“Earlier, Song Ah Rin knocked on the door; that was odd.”

“Did she knock on your door too? How did you know it wasn’t someone else?”

“She called me by my name in a friendly way.”

That was a rather personal method of discernment.

“What do we do now? Clean-up?”

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s not hard, assuming all the opponents are regular folks.”

Chae Yeon raised her hand while looking around.

“We could topple the building itself.”

“Let’s hold on for now, since I don’t see the Team Leader or Song Ah Rin.”

What if those two get caught up in this mess?

With a somewhat regretful expression, Chae Yeon lowered her hand and looked at me.

“You surely laid out a plan.”

“Did you leave the planning to me?”

“No. But you did, right?”

“I did.”

It feels like I’ve become the planner and leader every time something goes wrong.

“We don’t have time, so I’ll explain briefly.”

Da On and Chae Yeon surrounded me, nodding.

“First, we won’t go outside. Be as careful as possible when looking out.”

I recalled the mountain lodge owner’s words.

“And the forest looks stunning at night!”

“And now, don’t trust anyone except us three. If you see Song Ah Rin or the Team Leader, trust them with caution.”

I recalled what transpired earlier.

When Da On, Chae Yeon, and I were climbing the stairs, we made noise.

Conversely, the Team Leader and Song Ah Rin were silent.

I couldn’t tell if the two were someone else entirely or if they were under some kind of hypnosis or brainwashing.

Better be cautious than sorry.

“Especially be careful around Song Ah Rin.”

If there’s something imitating her, I wouldn’t need to worry; but if she really is brainwashed, then it’s a different story.

A brainwashed brainwasher? If Da On and Chae Yeon end up falling for it, I wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Attacking the mind would be tough.”

“If I burst my own head, would I snap out of the brainwashing?”

Chae Yeon nodded as if she understood, while Da On began contemplating a bizarre solution that only she could come up with.

“Alright, got it. So what’s the plan?”

“We need to find the cause first. We still lack too much information.”

Even if we have a hunch or evidence, we don’t have a clear background on why this incident occurred.

Is there no way to obtain more solid information?

“How great would it be if someone just tossed us some intel?”

“That’s it.”

“Huh?”

Hearing Da On’s mumbling sound defeated, I seemed to have found an idea.

“Let’s just go ask.”

“Are you thinking of something strange again? Like back at the Cube?”

Da On made a face of exasperation.

But what can I say? It’s usually Da On who gives me great ideas.

“Chae Yeon, do you know where Song Ah Rin’s or the Team Leader’s room is?”

“…No. I don’t remember.”

Chae Yeon shook her head slowly.

“In that case, we need to make them come find us—”

“Who, me?”

Song Ah Rin’s voice chimed in from behind, and I quickly turned around to face her.

With a bright smile, Song Ah Rin was looking at us three.

“Did you come looking for me? Why?”

I glanced above her head.

[Name: Song Ah Rin]

[Age: 21]

[Specialty: Hypnosis]

[Talent: -]

[Background: After experiencing twists she finds hard to understand, she parachuted into the Human Resources Team. She’s even having a rough time right after arriving for the workshop.]

[Weakness: To break the brainwashing, stronger brainwashing is required.]

My temples started throbbing.

If I’m feeling this way, then the two behind me must have already fallen under hypnosis.

I swiftly rolled on the floor, and sure enough, Da On’s fist grazed where my head had been before the wall of the lodge crumbled.

I rolled over while down and desperately started racking my brain.

“To break the brainwashing, stronger brainwashing.”

How am I supposed to brainwash someone? I don’t have any brainwashing abilities…

…But wait?

A translucent window popped up before my eyes automatically.

[Method – Perfectly assimilate with someone and mimic their traits. Appearance remains unchanged.]

[Method – 1]

If I wholly assimilate with someone, wouldn’t that break the brainwashing?

I have no time to think.

I jumped up from my spot and silently shouted the method in my heart.

Something else started coming into view.

Thick purple threads protruded from above Song Ah Rin’s head.

When I turned my eyes left, the thread moved to the left, and when I turned right, it went to the right.

I instinctively knew this.

If I connect this thread to someone, I’d become linked with that person’s method.

So how do I connect it to me—

…How do I connect it to myself?

Naturally, I can’t see myself unless there’s a mirror.

Hastily looking down at my chest, the thread merely bounced off, as if refusing to connect.

That was an unexpected mishap.

Without the luxury of time to think, I rolled on the ground again and glanced at the other two.

There’s no choice; I can only connect it to one of those two.

Hoping that the thread would stick to anyone, it moved swiftly and—

“Huh.”

“Ugh!”

The thread pierced through Chae Yeon’s head and melted away from my vision.

Her body trembled as if she felt a chill, while Song Ah Rin stood frozen with wide-open eyes.

“…Ugh…!”

Did she wake up? Da On held her head and groaned.

“I was trying to kill myself, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.”

“Glad you at least tried.”

“…What about those two?”

“We’re about to find out.”

Looking at the two who were stuck like statues, Da On tilted her head, and I could only give an ambiguous response.

The first to return to her senses was Jang Chae Yeon.

“…Feels like someone poured cold ice into my head.”

With her brows deeply furrowed, Chae Yeon shook her head.

“Are you okay?”

“Sorry. I’m still not used to mental attacks.”

“…You.”

While I was checking on Chae Yeon’s condition, the awaited Song Ah Rin began to stir, making Chae Yeon and Da On tense up as they gazed at her.

“…Were you always this good-looking?”

“…Are you out of your mind?”

As soon as her mind clicked back, Song Ah Rin began spouting nonsense while pointing at me.

“No, wait. What did you do to my head?”

“I did something.”

“Tell me! No, don’t.”

Covering her face with one hand, Song Ah Rin bent over.

Her earlobes were bright red.

“I have no idea what you did, but right now, I can’t control my feelings. I really appreciate you waking me up, but could someone else ask me instead?”

“Very well then.”

I gestured to Da On, who began asking her questions with a sour expression.

Soon recovering her expression, Song Ah Rin slowly opened her mouth to start answering, though she had her back turned.

“First off, someone knocked on my door. When I opened it, there was a very uncanny person.”

“Was it someone with a long neck and hair covering their face?”

“Exactly. And please, don’t mention your name. I’ll ask you nicely.”

Song Ah Rin placed a hand on her chest and took several deep breaths.

“Anyway, that person waited by the door until I came out and spoke something while handing me something… And the next thing I knew, here I am.”

“What did they hand you?”

“For goodness’ sake… don’t say it…”

She flinched while replying, and the expression on Chae Yeon’s face suggested her growing discomfort.

I really want to see that face directly.

“…Huh. If my memory isn’t faulty, it was something like a statue.”

A statue, huh.

“Chae Yeon, the mountain god incident is confirmed to be over, right?”

“According to the records, the incident is concluded.”

But then why do I feel so uneasy?

At least I’ve got a target now.

“Let’s catch that woman.”

…

“You’re not planning to go separately, right, Song Ah Rin?”

“…I will go.”

Song Ah Rin pulled something from her pocket and extended it. She remained turned away.

“What’s this?”

“Your gun. You left it behind.”

“Why would you bring this, Song Ah Rin?”

“Just in case.”

Seeing her hand over the gun while still turned away, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of mischief.

“Thank you.”

I walked up, took the gun from her hand, held her shoulder, and locked eyes with her.

“!”

Song Ah Rin’s face turned bright red, and before she could say anything, she stepped back and bumped her head against the wall, then crouched down, clutching her head.

“Ugh…”

“…Don’t forget the seriousness of the situation.”

Chae Yeon said in a grumpy voice, then stepped forward with determined strides.

This is quite entertaining.

While observing Song Ah Rin shaking with her head in her hands, I stood up and put the gun inside my jacket.

First things first, we found our target. After catching her, we should learn something.

I glanced over to where Chae Yeon had smashed the wall earlier.

Let’s find that woman first. Then, gather as much information about this situation as we can.

Although the sky was clear without a cloud in sight, uneasily, not a single beam of moonlight shone over the wall.