“Uurgh— Section Chief, it’s fine. I did everything I needed to do!”
But Section Chief Lee Jaheon did not release the restraints.
However, when our eyes met, surprisingly, he seemed to realize that the standard mascot was me. He picked up the bound Supervisor Lee Seonghae and brought her over to me.
“Eh?”
“Oh, Mr. Mascot, you’re here.”
Supervisor Lee Seonghae spoke in her usual calm voice.
“Um, can you take the cost of reactivating that one over there out of my salary? I’m fine even if I don’t get anything from the souvenir shop…”
Supervisor Lee Seonghae looked at Jang Heowoon.
At the employee who no longer wore the bison mask, just a resort staff member.
…!
“And if given the chance, he’d kill someone else too, so you can’t just let him be! Honestly, dying actually lets them be reused in a way that benefits the resort.”
My head spun.
But do you know what the real problem is?
…Somewhere, there’s a part of me that feels relieved.
What’s more, the guests aren’t shaken up at all.
Some of them even clapped as if they’d just seen an entertaining show, or tried to tip Supervisor Lee Seonghae.
Which means…
It’s an even bigger problem.
It should have been me, the mascot, to punish Ladybug.
Whether I made him serve the horrific toxic bath users in the spa, forced him to run around on foot for room service, or made him do whatever the guests wanted. That was my decision to make.
But…
“But Mr. Mascot, you’re just too good.”
……
“Stuff like this is best handled by someone who doesn’t get stressed out, like me!”
Huu.
“…!”
“…Yes, yes.”
In the end, I had a standard mascot assign Supervisor Lee Seonghae to spa cleaning duty as a demotion.
Honestly, rather than a real demotion, it felt more like a show of punishment for overstepping authority.
I don’t know whether I should be grateful, scared, or horrified… haa.
‘My head hurts.’
I gritted my teeth and even revived Ladybug.
…Whether this could really be called reviving, I’m not sure.
“I’ll work hard, Mr. Mascot!”
With that, the number of casualties reached two.
Two human beings were replaced as perfect staff members.
“……”
Section Chief Lee Jaheon somehow seemed to be quietly watching me, but I avoided his gaze and went to the front desk.
I was exhausted.
But there, too, was the staff member in Jang Heowoon’s form.
‘God damn it, seriously.’
Just work.
Work faster, escape faster…
Then, as I was welcoming the next guest—
“Team Leader, look! Daydream bastards!”
…!
“Yeah, I’ve got eyes too. I’ve seen those maniacs more than once during Disasters, stop making a fuss.”
…That familiar term of address.
Their voices were soft, almost whispers, but since a standard mascot was nearby, I could hear it.
“Still, you have to note that there are people here working just fine. Got it, Gomyeong?”
(T/N: Gomyeong = garnish)
I looked up.
Two people in Disaster Management Bureau jackets were approaching the front desk.
‘…!’
Holy shit.
The one called ‘Team Leader’ looked down-to-earth, but somehow tough, and stepped forward to speak to me.
“Hello?”
“Um, we’re here to ask a few questions.”
And the Team Leader explained as she looked at me.
“I heard a guest who looks similar to us, wearing a hoodie and jeans, checked in recently.”
That civilian.
This was obviously a response to that person’s call for help.
Which means these people are…
‘One of the other Black-Tortoise teams…!’
Oh god.
And I’d seen Team 2, the team next door, coming and going for weeks, but these people were strangers.
That means only one thing.
‘Black-Tortoise Team 3!’
“Could you tell us which room that guest is staying in?”
I barely managed to reply to Black-Tortoise Team 3’s leader.
“…You’re really strict about professional ethics, huh?”
“Seriously?”
The members of Black-Tortoise Team 3, who had been staring at me blankly, soon shifted their gaze to the ‘staff’ beside me.
“Pardon me, isn’t there some other way?”
“I apologize, dear guests! As Mr. Mascot said, here at Flower Golden Resort we absolutely cannot disclose the personal information of our guests. Is there anything else we can help you with?”
“Ah, then…”
“Wait.”
At that moment, the team leader’s face hardened as she studied the staff member.
She stepped closer, checked over the build of the front desk employee, and then looked into the eyes behind the yellow mascot mask—
“…Site Cleanup rookie?”
…!
She recognized Jang Heowoon.
“Why’s he here…? Wait, this isn’t a registered site. That’s why only two people were assigned, right?”
“Yes? Yes! That’s right. And as far as I know, that rookie was on vacation…”
“……”
“……”
The two agents fell silent and stared at the staff member with Jang Heowoon’s face.
And then—
“How can I help you, dear guests?”
A small curse nearly escaped the Black-Tortoise Team 3 leader’s lips, but she swallowed it.
…Still, the two of them quickly regained their composure, showing the calm typical of people used to situations like this.
They looked at me with cooler eyes than before, but did not forget their reason for coming.
“…You said you can’t tell us what room the guest is in. Then, please call the guest for us. Tell her we’re here.”
I gladly accepted that request.
The civilian, startled several times, at first wouldn’t answer the phone, and then, even after finally picking up, dropped the call in terror a few times or cried, but in the end, believing she’d been rescued, she finally came down.
The problem was…
In the process, the guest broke a few things in the room…
“…!!”
“S-Sorry, I was just so startled…! I’m really, really sorry…”
I politely held out both hands to the civilian.
But, of course, the civilian couldn’t pay.
Realizing this, the team leader pushed her aside and stepped up to face me.
“Even without money, is there some other way to pay you back?”
Huu.
“…?!”
I gestured toward the group.
Then I made a bold suggestion.
Or…
The civilian I pointed to froze.
“T-Tha, that…”
The agents immediately moved to shield the civilian.
And the team leader calmly confirmed,
“If we say we’ll work, do we end up like that?”
She gestured to Jang Heowoon.
……
“Or can we work like the other employees?”
If I were just a mascot, I might not have understood what that meant.
But I do understand.
I lowered my head.
“……”
The agents flinched.
The Black-Tortoise Team 3 leader studied me as if gauging something.
After several tens of seconds passed, she finally declared,
“…Fine. The three of us will work here.”
“Team Leader!”
“Yeah. Just think of it as good work experience. And you know…”
She glanced at her sneakers.
Or more precisely, an item attached to their laces. It was most likely that kind of item.
An escape item.
“I brought it.”
“…!”
The agents ended up protecting the civilian, and it seemed they intended to look for a chance to rescue Jang Heowoon as well. Sёarᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
The three took the employment contracts, read them carefully, and signed.
…And with that, the staff requirements were all fulfilled.
‘……’
Now for the last thing.
It’s time to set up the ceremony.