"Bllleeaaargh...!!!"
I ended up soiling the hospital blanket right then and there.
The Chief let out a sigh as he looked at me.
How can he remain so composed even after seeing that horrifying photo?
I was so curious about it that I lifted my head even as drool trickled from my mouth.
"Up. Let's go."
"......."
It was clear he had no emotions.
But there was nothing I could do.
I had no choice but to obey.
Because if I didn't, I would die in agony far greater than when I signed the contract.
I didn't want that.
So I nodded and reached out to somehow deal with the vomit.
Then the Chief quickly grabbed my hand.
"The medical staff will handle the cleanup. Do not touch it."
"Is that really okay...?"
"Yes. The Research Department is also quite interested in a ghost's vomit."
He spoke while treating me almost like an experimental subject.
Even so, I couldn't say a word.
I was timid by nature, and there was no way I could defy him anyway.
"You should change your clothes. It's a bit improper to be wearing only a shirt."
After scanning my attire, the Chief said that.
Come to think of it, I was still wearing only my school uniform shirt.
Although my body had shrunk considerably from before, so everything was hidden...
'It's a bit chilly....'
I was somewhat cold.
It was embarrassing to walk around like this, so I nodded that I understood.
"When we arrive at the Action Division 1 building, I'll give you a uniform. The size may be a bit large, though."
"I-I like baggy things."
"...?"
The Chief tilted his head at my answer.
An expressionless face, as if to ask what he was supposed to do with that.
I carefully gauged his reaction and lowered my head.
"...I'm sorry."
"No, there's no need to apologize. As expected, you seem quite close to being human."
"......."
I thought of myself as human, but the gazes around me were unbearable.
I was being treated like a complete monster, yet I couldn't make any excuses.
I felt sorrow at that fact, yet it also felt strangely familiar.
'Your mom—you killed her.'
'You cowardly bastard, coming back alive alone?'
All the contemptuous gazes I had endured after Mom sacrificed herself in my place.
Recalling those gazes, which were no different from the ones that saw me as a monster, my head went cold.
Nothing had changed.
At least, I think the present is better.
Because at least this place needs me.
That was how I became a member of Action Division 1.
* * *
The Action Division 1 office.
Having arrived there, I looked around at the rather gloomy atmosphere.
"...It's very dreary."
"We can't come here often. I suppose it's that kind of place."
Saying so, the Chief took out a card key and tapped it against the door lock.
"I'll put the security key in the uniform you'll be issued, so you can stop by whenever you like from now on."
"Yes...."
I nodded and followed the Chief, stepping into the Action Division 1 office.
Then, four desks came into view. A number that seemed to match the personnel count.
Each desk was decorated with individuality.
"Here, your desk will be placed next to Yeonu's, Sion. It'll be brought in as soon as today's mission is over."
"Ah... yes."
If it's Yeonu, it must be that person.
That blonde woman who gave off the most repulsive feeling.
The Chief isn't even that fierce.
Unable to tell which side represented the Management Bureau average, I sighed and looked at Yeonu's desk.
Nothing was decorated on it.
Only a single black-and-white family photo sat there forlornly.
Seeing me staring blankly at it, the Chief asked if there was anything else I was curious about.
"Is there anything else you're curious about?"
Of course, there were still things I was curious about.
"...There are."
"What is it?"
"That... wh-what is that?"
I raised a trembling hand and pointed at the entity still staring at us grotesquely.
It was a silver-haired woman with long hair, spewing dark smoke and waving hands upon which eyeballs were attached.
Though she clearly had the form of a human...
...her appearance was utterly horrific.
The two eyes on her face had black sclera and white pupils.
The two eyes on her hands trembled violently, as if soaked in terror.
Seeing the pale woman smiling brightly despite such an appearance, I ended up collapsing on the spot with a thud.
"Hey, stop scaring the newbie."
"Puhahaha...!! An amusing wench has arrived, indeed."
The female-type ghost spoke with a slightly reverberating voice.
The ghost took a deep breath and devoured the black smoke drifting around her.
Closing her eyes as if savoring it, the ghost rose from her seat and approached me.
Her form, which seemed to be imitating a human, was chilling.
"Welcome, newbie."
Closing the eye on one hand, the woman... no, the ghost reached out her hand for me to take.
I looked up at the Chief with a repulsed expression, and he nodded as if to say it was alright.
So I took the ghost's hand.
The ghost flashed a broad smile and pulled me to my feet.
"Let's try to get along, ghost to ghost... though I don't like your thick human stench."
"I-I look forward to working with you."
When I bowed my head, the ghost cackled, saying that fellow slaves were being too courteous.
The Chief let out a sigh and introduced that ghost to me.
"This is the ghost who operates alongside us in Action Division 1, the Watcher."
"Wa...Watcher?"
"They say it is my name, though I myself do not know it."
"You have a real name as well...?"
"Indeed. Are you curious? I could tell you, but..."
The Watcher smirked as she spoke.
Just as I was about to ask, the Chief extended his arm in front of me.
"...So you don't go mad from hearing her true name, like the last ghost who came in."
When the Chief said that, the Watcher smacked her lips in disappointment.
Seeing the Watcher like that, goosebumps rose all over my body.
"...Gh-ghost...!"
Only then did I realize that it was merely imitating a human.
The clauses included obedience to orders, but nothing said I couldn't kill a ghost...
"Urk...."
"Feeling nauseous? I'd best get you a bag."
Saying so, the Chief made to leave.
I broke out in a cold sweat and grabbed the Chief's sleeve.
"D-don't go... I don't want to be alone with that thing."
"......."
"Oh, how hurtful."
The Watcher smacked her lips as she said that.
My whole body broke out in goosebumps, and my legs gave out.
"Watcher, know that if you harm Sion, your own life will be at risk."
"Yes, yes... I ought to heed the esteemed human's words."
The Watcher sat down with a sulky expression.
Looking at her, I put on a dumbfounded expression.
I felt like I finally understood why Senior Yeonu loathed ghosts so intensely.
"Are you alright?"
"...Yes."
"I'll go get the uniform. Since this isn't a place that should be known to ghosts, try to endure while waiting."
"......."
So I'm still being treated like a ghost, huh.
Thinking it couldn't be helped, I nodded.
Saying he'd be back, the Chief left.
Left alone with the Watcher, all I could do was break out in a cold sweat.
'Save me, save me, save me, save me...!'
I screamed for help endlessly in my head.
Whether I did so or not, the Watcher closed all her eyes and muttered something.
Seeing the Watcher like that, I broke out in another wave of cold sweat.
* * *
Han Yeonu of Action Division 1, Korean Ghost Management Bureau.
She entered the school and looked at a broken mirror.
A distorted reflection of herself was visible.
Inside the broken mirror, Yeonu tilted her head, her blonde hair and pale eyes gleaming.
That Yeonu began to rack her brain, trying to deduce what had happened here.
'...What happened here?'
What had the students and teachers experienced?
How desperate must they have been to even jump out the windows?
She walked along the bloodstains, surveying the damaged school.
"Watcher, do you see anything?"
["Nothing at all. How unpleasant! What in the world is this?"]
When Yeonu called, the Watcher appeared in the form of black smoke and scattered eyes here and there.
This was one of the abilities the Watcher possessed.
She could dig up what had happened in places bound by the resentment of the dead.
And she could depict it to those around her through the black smoke she directly controlled.
The name Watcher was given with the meaning of observing the past.
Looking at her, Yeonu gripped her sword hilt with dead eyes, debating whether to cut her down over and over.
["Hah, I see everything. Even if this is just an avatar, I can see all your actions, so don't think of killing me."]
"If I set my mind to it, I can kill you with a single word."
["Ha... Management Bureau scum, how cowardly!"]
The Watcher sighed as she spoke.
Yeonu clicked her tongue at the Watcher.
"If you don't know anything, get lost. When is the newbie coming?"
["Tsk, so ill-mannered. The newbie just arrived and will be heading there shortly."]
"Tell her to hurry. I can't stand working with you."
["Hoo... So you prefer a wench who smells like a human?"]
"At least more than you. She's more fun to torment."
When Yeonu said that, the Watcher laughed like a madwoman, said she was still crazy, and vanished.
Yeonu spat on the spot where the Watcher had disappeared.
"Damned ghost bitch..."
For her, who hated ghosts more than anyone else, having to borrow a ghost's power for an investigation was nothing but humiliating.