Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 252.2

“…But excluding agents from the rescue mission wouldn’t be a good decision. To begin with, both the supernatural disaster and the access point to it are under the bureau’s jurisdiction.”

Sekwang Special Metropolitan City and the well.

“In the end, once it’s all over, you will have to cooperate with the Disaster Management Bureau, for safety. Besides…”

A hard glint appeared in Agent Bronze’s eyes as he exchanged a look with Agent Choi.

Agent Choi gave a faint smile.

“Grapes-ie. If a teammate got trapped inside a supernatural disaster, wouldn’t it be harder for field agents not to take part in the rescue?”

Ah.

“Let’s go together.”

……

……

Accepted

Additional members for exploration team : Two agents from Black-Tortoise Team 1

“You made the right choice.”

Agent Choi gave the dokkaebi perched on my horn a few light, encouraging pats, his tone carrying a hint of teasing.

“And hoobae-nim, without us, how were you planning to cast the binding spell?”

At that, Ho Yoowon’s smile deepened. Agent Choi smiled back.

“There must be at least nine hundred kinds of binding spells the bureau could use on a slippery supernatural being like you. What are you even trying to look for by running back?”

“I’d rather die than accept a bureau binding.”

“Yeah? Then I guess we can’t work together.”

“Well, in that case, wouldn’t you be the one dropped from the team? Sorry, but it already feels like you barely managed to get in as it is.”

“Oh, then that just means the day you get formally registered as a supernatural disaster will come even sooner~”

Hmm.

Actually, I had something in mind for that too.

I pulled out what I’d prepared beforehand from the inventory tattoo.

A scroll of paper. Its contents were…

‒‒‒

Employment Contract

I accept my employment at the Flower Golden Resort’s Mascot Team with gratitude and joy, and pledge my sincerity and my existence to the cheerful and safe exploration of ■■■■ City.

The employee must obtain the employer’s consent before resigning and must refrain from any act that intentionally endangers fellow team members.

Employer : _____

Employee : _____ ‒‒‒

“…!”

It was a Resort Employment Contract.

‘I figured if I could take out Cheerful Coins, I should be able to use this kind of authority too.’

This was one of the few advantages of being a non-human entity.

As a mascot and as the master of the resort, I could act without worrying about contamination.

Now I could even revise the text to sound fairly convincing.

Some mandatory clauses still had to be erased manually, but this was sufficient as a binding agreement.

Therefore…

Target : Ho Yoowon

You will become my subordinate.

“……Are you trying to force contamination on me? That’s going too far, Roe Deer-nim…”

He isn’t even human, so I wish he’d stop trembling like that. It’s honestly unnerving…

Anyway.

Mutual Contract Relationship

: Equal Standing

Since I’m already bound to Daydream myself, I can’t exercise any life-or-death authority as an employer over Ho Yoowon, a company director.

In short, we’re in a perfectly balanced position to keep each other in check.

[What a magnanimous gesture, Mr. Roe Deer! Though I do wonder, will this man be granted employment stability privileges at the resort even after the exploration ends?]

[Still, this Braun here can’t help but worry about my friend’s business. Accepting such a cunning plague like him as an employee seems certain to tarnish the resort’s dignity.]

It’s… fine. I’ll fire him as soon as the exploration ends.

‘And then we’ll part ways without ever looking back…’

This was purely a matter of safety.

So I deliberately added a line at the bottom of the contract, making sure it was clearly visible.

Official Employment Period :

Until the conclusion of the special exploration project.

“…How humanitarian of you.”

Honestly, I’d expected Ho Yoowon to struggle with the decision a bit more.

I thought there’d be some back-and-forth, maybe even a few veiled threats before it got done, but…

“Alright.”

…!

Ho Yoowon picked up the ornate golden pen I had brought out, the same kind kept on the resort’s reception counter.

Then he wrote.

Employer : _____

Employee : Ho Yoowon

And handed the pen back.

“Your turn, Mr. Roe Deer.”

I took the pen.

And the moment I signed my name in the employer’s space, just like before, the employment contract glowed gold and became bound to me.

“……”

“……”

And just like that, the employment relationship had been reversed.

“Agent Grapes.”

Of course.

“What exactly… have you done?”

Not something a sane person could do, that’s for sure.

“Is this not an action that accelerates contamination?”

……

Current status : Stable

“Please explain in more detail. For days now, you’ve been—”

“Jaekwan-ah.”

That’s.

Unable to form coherent speech

Please understand

“…!”

The truth is… though my mind had recovered, I could no longer speak like a person.

Forming natural, conversational sentences felt vague and difficult, like trying to do math inside a dream.

‘…Maybe it’ll come back eventually if I keep at it.’

It worries me that it might not, but for now, I’m keeping my thoughts clear by relying on the bell. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Apologies for discomfort and unease

“No! That’s, I mean—”

“Hold on, hold on.”

Agent Choi cut in.

“Grapes-ie. When you met our Elder in a dream, did you feel uncomfortable or out of place?”

……

Negative

“Right?”

He patted my shoulder.

“That’s how it is.”

I nodded.

“This guy’s just speaking out of concern, that’s all. No other meaning. Right, Bronze-ah?”

“…Of course.”

Gratitude

Sitting beside me, Assistant Manager Eun Haje smiled wryly at the scene, then smacked me hard on the back.

“This kid. Well then, since we’ve cleared that up… let’s make it official. The exploration team departs now.”

“Ooh.”

Applause rippled softly across the table.

And just as Ho Yoowon seemed about to open his mouth, with that face that said he was ready to demand we head straight into Sekwang Special City…

There was something we had to do first.

Proposal : Recruit additional personnel for the exploration

Salt Goblin

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