Mistaken for a Catastrophe-Level Ghost Story Employee 90

Chapter 90

This guy…

Suddenly, he said he would give me one of his props.

Really, without the slightest hesitation.

My gaze naturally drifted to check the second hand on my wristwatch.

The second hand on my current wrist watch…

……was not moving.

‘So, it’s not a lie?’

It didn’t seem like his offer to give me a prop was a lie.

In that case, I turned my gaze toward the teddy bear.

And the moment our eyes met, our first teddy bear—

Pat, pat, pat—!

As soon as it sensed my gaze, it came running over in a single stride.

Without hesitation, I grabbed our first teddy bear, who had rushed to my side in one step, and stuffed it inside my employee ID.

While I was handling the teddy bear…

Suddenly, I shifted my gaze. 404 was already watching me, a digital camera in one hand.

A whisper-like voice from 404 brushed chillingly against my ear.

【Don’t move.】

Click—!

A flash burst before my eyes, followed by the sound of the shutter.

The blinding light made me instinctively frown, and as my vision gradually adjusted to the surroundings…

What came into view was…

An endlessly stretching hallway and, lining both walls, countless rectangular glass chambers, what could be called single-person sets.

This was the place 404 referred to as the ‘Content Warehouse.’

‘I never thought I’d see this place in person.’

Even in <Ghost Story journal>, the descriptions were vague, with no detailed accounts of its interior.

And now, I was standing inside that very warehouse.

Flash—!

Another burst of light flickered beside me, and when I turned to look…

Standing next to me was a figure with glowing yellow eyes, who spoke quietly.

【Let’s have you pick one from my collection. Thanks to you, my broadcast’s viewership has skyrocketed, after all.】

404, who had unabashedly declared he would give me one of his collectibles.

‘……Seriously?’

“You’re even giving me a gift? I’m truly grateful.”

Though I reflexively expressed my thanks…

My eyes wandered toward the endless rows of glass chambers, each showcasing unique personalities.

‘Isolation cells’ might be a more fitting term than ‘glass chambers.’

Inside those cells, the first things that caught my eye were ghost stories of various appearances.

From a being entirely made of water…

To one with a small saw attached to its face…

Even a mechanical figure that looked like it could be used as a promotional mascot for a certain pizza chain.

‘He’s collected quite a lot.’

Not only ghost stories unrecorded in <Ghost Story Record Storage>, but also figures I recognized were among them.

But…

Amidst all these ghost stories, one particular isolation cell stood out, capturing my attention.

Among countless ghost stories…

A lifeform curled up in the farthest corner of the glass chamber, its body twisted as if it had given up on life.

A human.

‘…As expected, they’re here.’

Though this place was primarily for isolating ghost stories, a significant number of humans like me were also imprisoned here.

The ghost stories trapped here were used as main content for broadcasts, as seen earlier.

But for ordinary humans with no special abilities, there was only one reason they were captured.

Disposable props.

Whenever humans appeared in 404’s broadcasts, they were always paired with the main ghost story.

And that day’s broadcast would vividly showcase the process of the human being killed by the ghost story.

Literally, a one-time-use prop.

If…

Instead of the noisy place I had been before…

I had initially fallen into this ghost story of the 404’s…

That spot could have been mine.

Had luck been worse, I might have been slaughtered the moment I set foot in this world.

Was that why…

“…….”

For some reason, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from that woman.

【…….】

404, who had been silently observing me, suddenly.

Leaned in closer and pointed at the person trapped inside the glass chamber.

【Want me to give her to you?】

!

404 took small steps, slowly walking toward the glass chamber I had been staring at.

【You’ve got a good eye, brother. That human’s reactions are quite entertaining.】

“…How interesting.”

There was no trembling.

Hiding the tremor in my voice wasn’t difficult anymore.

Or so I thought.

But the deep-seated discomfort in my heart wasn’t so easily washed away.

404 continued explaining the woman in the glass chamber.

【Especially when the other human who came with her was split in half right before her eyes, the sounds she made were just delightful!】

【After that, I used her quite a bit, as long as she wasn’t too damaged.】

【Even now, just thinking about it gives me chills! …But.】

His enthusiastic tone suddenly deflated.

Tap, tap—

Lightly knocking on the woman’s glass chamber, he continued.

…….

【As you can see… she’s broken. After that, her reactions just weren’t as lively, so I was thinking of disposing of her. But if you want her, I’ll give her to you.】

【Even if she’s a scrap, it’s all about how you use her. She might make a decent plaything for light doll experiments.】

…….

I stared at the woman trapped inside the glass chamber for a long moment.

And if I didn’t choose her here…

This woman… would die.

Without a doubt, before long, 404 would eliminate her himself.

‘……Don’t waver.’

Even the slightest flicker of emotion couldn’t be allowed in front of 404.

Suppressing the turbulence in my heart to the bare minimum, I forced a faint smile.

“This might be presumptuous of me to ask, but could I possibly choose another prop…?”

【One. Only one.】

‘…What a cold bastard.’

Do you know the saying, ‘Excessive greed eventually becomes poison’? But don’t worry, I’ll make sure you can hold onto at least one thing.

404 declared that he would unconditionally give me one prop of my choice, regardless of type. At his words, I stared intently at that woman for a while.

…Hah.

I turned my head away.

You could call it cruel.

But,

In a world teeming with ghost stories, cases like that are nothing more than commonplace.

It was just bad luck.

Not her fault, nor anyone else’s.

Just luck.

That woman too… She was just unlucky, that’s all.

…

A faint breath escaped the man’s lips and scattered.

My gaze gradually drifted elsewhere.

“You seem to have quite a few interesting props here. Mind if I take a closer look?”

“Well… I don’t mind if you’re just looking, but the ads I put up for the broadcast will be ending soon.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll finish up the remaining broadcast and come right back.”

404 expressed his intention to leave me here while he wrapped up the unfinished broadcast.

As soon as I heard that suggestion.

“Oh dear! It seems I’ve held up someone far too important. Work comes first, after all. Please, don’t mind me.”

I had no reason to refuse.

404 assured me he’d only be gone for a moment.

Of course.

With a warning.

“I don’t think you’d do this, but… I trust you know that stealing is wrong.”

A blatant warning.

At his sharp tone, I smiled calmly, as I always did, already accustomed to it.

“Don’t worry, go ahead. I’ll wait here until you return.”

And then, I added one last remark.

“But is this really just a simple act of kindness?”

I wanted to ask, was he really treating me this well solely under the pretense of keeping his promise?

404’s response to my question was:

“Of course. Why would there be any other meaning?”

Click.

“…I see.”

404 vanished in an instant, as if sucked into a black hole in the void.

…

Now that the noisy troublemaker was gone.

‘Finally, some peace.’

I could breathe again.

A wave of fatigue washed over my sluggish body.

“…Well then.”

It was good to have some breathing room, but.

‘What now?’

The moment I asked my last question, the second hand on my wrist moved.

It hadn’t budged during 404’s first question, but it definitely moved after my second one.

“Is this really just a simple act of kindness?”

Right.

There’s no way that broadcast-obsessed lunatic would just let me walk out of here.

And the biggest proof that he had no intention of letting me leave?

The fact that he brought me to this ‘Content Warehouse’ in the first place.

404 unhesitatingly opened the ‘Content Warehouse’ to me.

A place he only enters when he’s secured a new collection for the <Ghost Story journal>.

‘404, you bastard…’

You’re planning to make me part of your collection.

You’re probably waiting for me to let my guard down so you can trap me inside one of these glass display cases.

It’s obvious.

You wouldn’t hesitate to resort to force, either.

Under normal circumstances, faced with this situation, I might’ve been drowning in despair like that woman earlier.

No, I definitely would’ve been.

I can guarantee it.

If I had come here empty-handed, with nothing to my name.

‘I might actually owe 404 some thanks.’

In that case, I should return the favor, shouldn’t I?

Swoosh—

With a quill pen in hand, I softly opened my mouth.

Or rather, with a wicked grin, I wore an expression more grotesque than any ghost story.

“All ghost stories who want to teach that broadcast-obsessed brat a lesson right now, raise your hands!”