Mistaken for a Catastrophe-Level Ghost Story Employee 107

Chapter 107.

The floor we arrived at after riding the Gyro Drop Elevator to Hell was—

6th floor.

-Ding~

Leaving behind the barely audible elevator announcement, we now had only one last customer left to attend to.

Shiver, shiver, shiver.

My legs felt weak.

……

Even compared to facing the second customer today, ‘Today’s Expression?’, the fear I felt during the short ride from the 4th to the 6th floor was far worse.

Honestly…

‘This elevator itself is practically an A-grade ghost story, isn’t it?’

That reasonable suspicion lingered in my mind.

And now, the thought of riding this same elevator all the way to the 44th floor made anxiety creep up on me already.

[Master? Are you okay?]

……

She asks so quickly.

“…I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Even if I vented my feelings to her, nothing would change.

This girl, who’s scared of everything else, isn’t scared of this elevator she wouldn’t understand.

Once again, I felt an inexplicable sense of betrayal from the fox as I moved toward the final customer.

This time, the room number was—

Room 612.

Compared to the previous rooms, it wasn’t too far.

As we slowly made our way there, just before arriving, I noticed something.

The door to Room 609 was wide open.

‘Can’t you people close your damn doors?’

Though I grumbled internally, my gaze deliberately shifted toward the wall.

By now, I knew—if I don’t look, nothing bad will happen.

Still, just in case, I figured I should warn the fox.

“No matter what happens, don’t look inside that room.”

[Yes, understood.]

As we walked past the open door—

Perhaps sensing our presence, a certain sound began drifting out from Room 609.

-Ahh~

[!!]

……Ignoring it was the right choice.

Why do these things always show up just when you start to forget? Unlike me, who had grown used to ghost stories pulling this kind of stunt—

Swish, swish, swish—!

The fox’s tail whipped up a wind strong enough to rival a propeller.

[…Hng.]

Even her shallow breathing from behind was audible.

“…Disciple.”

[Y-Yes!]

That panicked tone like she’d been caught doing something wrong made me sigh.

“I told you not to look.”

[I-I didn’t! What do you take me for?!]

She acted indignant, as if she’d done nothing wrong, but—

-No, not there!

Swish, swish, swish—!

Her tail was practically generating hurricane-force winds.

“I said don’t look.”

[…A-Aren’t you curious too, Master…?]

I had no intention of risking my life to satisfy unnecessary curiosity.

So my response was simple.

“Do whatever you want, you perverted fox disciple.”

[Pe—I-I’m not a pervert!]

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”

I didn’t stop her if she really wanted to look.

-Ahh~! No!

[……]

As if drawn by something, the fox stood frozen for a while before finally snapping out of it when she noticed me walking away.

[…I-I’m not a pervert!!]

Contrary to my expectations, she suppressed her desires and hurried after me.

Step—

Not long after, we stopped in front of a specific room.

Room 612.

Without hesitation, I pulled out the key from my pocket and opened the door.

Click—

The first thing we saw upon entering was—

[The lights… are off?]

Just as the fox said, the room was entirely dark.

Was this customer like the fox, disliking bright lights?

I asked the fox to summon some will-o’-wisps to light the area.

[One should be enough, right?]

“Yeah, one’s enough.”

Fwoosh—

With a purple will-o’-wisp floating beside me, we stepped inside.

Perhaps because the room was dimly lit rather than completely dark, the fox didn’t seem as uncomfortable as before.

Step—

Swish—

We approached the firmly shut inner door.

Without hesitation, I grabbed the handle and opened it, greeting the customer inside.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

But.

……

……?

No response came.

No—there wasn’t even a hint of anyone’s presence inside.

The fox, who had followed me in, also scanned the room but sensed nothing.

‘There’s no way it’s empty…’

As I stepped further inside, the fox, who had been cautiously following my shadow, suddenly—

Gasp—

[KYAAAH—!]

With a scream that nearly burst my eardrums, I turned to see the fox clutching my sleeve tightly.

“What? What’s wrong?”

[A-A voice… I heard a voice!]

“A voice?”

At first, I thought she was just being jumpy—until a whispering voice brushed past my ear.

[Did the little fox get scared?]

[Did it see a ghost, perhaps?]

!

I heard it.

This time, it was unmistakable.

A calm, composed male voice—like a narrator observing from a detached perspective.

I immediately knew who this ghost story was.

‘So that’s why the lights were off.’

[What kind of performance will our long-awaited actor give us tonight?]

[A vixen and a man in a suit…]

[What will they show us in this dark room? I’m already looking forward to it.]

Judging by the chattering voices, this ghost story in Room 612 was different from the previous two—it was an A-grade.

And worse—I’d met it before.

[The Shadow Man.]

Facing a reunion with ‘The Shadow Man’, the best course of action was—

“Disciple.”

I called the fox in a low voice.

“We’re going to need… more will-o’-wisps.”

[Y-Yes!]

If the customer was ‘The Shadow Man’, the more light we had, the better.

Fwoosh—

As the fox summoned more will-o’-wisps, the Shadow Man’s voice continued.

[Oh my! Our male lead prefers performing under bright lights, it seems!]

[Is it to get a better look at the vixen’s alluring face?]

[He must be quite taken with her.]

I didn’t react to the Shadow Man’s nonsense.

[M-Master… you… me…]

Flush!

Swish, swish, swish—!

…The other girl, however, seemed very affected by those words.

But now wasn’t the time for that.

“Make sure the lights don’t go out.”

That was the most crucial thing right now.

But.

It seemed my words didn’t fully reach the fox’s ears.

[…Master! I-If you’re okay with it…!]

Whack—!

I immediately flicked her on the forehead.

Thud—!

[Ow!]

“Stop talking nonsense and focus on keeping the lights on.”

[……Yes.]

Leaving the sulking fox behind, I steadied my voice.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you again. I didn’t expect to see you as a customer.”

After the usual formalities, I waited for the Shadow Man’s response.

What came instead was—

[…Our male lead is playing a new role, it seems.]

[Does he realize this role is far beneath his caliber?]

More nonsense.

Our conversation wasn’t going anywhere.

Worse—it felt like he had no intention of talking properly either.

If he really didn’t want to converse, there was no point forcing it.

I pulled out a book from my employee ID—its cover charred black.

At first, I’d been curious about who would buy this troublesome ‘Match Girl’ ghost story.

‘Troublesome beings really do stick together.’

Placing the book on the table, I spoke again.

“The product you requested. We’ll take our leave now.”

With a short bow—

Step—

I turned to leave.

With my main objective complete, there was no reason to stay.

As I walked away, the fox followed.

Just when I thought all customer interactions were finally over—

[How strange.]

[Did I… say the actors could leave the stage?]

Whoosh—

In an instant, the fox’s will-o’-wisps vanished, and pitch-black darkness began swallowing us whole.

!!

‘Damn it!’

[M-Mas█er!]

The fox behind me was the first to be consumed by the darkness.

I tried to resist—but the abyss swallowed me just as easily.

As we were dragged into the void, a man’s voice echoed with a chilling laugh.

[The lead actor can’t leave yet.]

[The show… has only just begun.]