There Are No Humans in the Monster Company

‘Director Moon Ara?’

What intrigued me the most was the nature of the information she obtained there.

As the Head of the Security Team of the Order Control Room, she was responsible for managing every out-of-the-ordinary incident within the company.

Then why would she go through the trouble of descending to the deepest part of the Extraction Laboratory just to converse with a Dimensional Entity?

After staring intently at the pages of the enormous floating book, I cautiously asked my next question.

“Why does Director Moon Ara come to see you so often?”

Shhh.

The parchment pages trembled slightly before beginning to print words.

Once again, the ink was crisp, and the tone of the message was exaggeratedly cheerful.

[Director Moon Ara is the Head of the Security Team of the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts! She often visits me to quickly obtain the information she needs for her work! She is an excellent friend who always provides me with high-quality information!]

It wasn’t an incorrect answer.

But as the Head of the Security Team, she already had access to virtually all of the company’s confidential information.

The fact that, instead of consulting the system, she chose to confront such a grotesque creature face-to-face in order to obtain information still struck me as unsettling.

‘And I don’t like that part about “high-quality information,” either.’

What kind of information could she have given this monster?

I glanced outside the containment chamber.

Neither Assistant Manager Son nor Supervisor Shik was anywhere in sight.

Had they decided that, since this Dimensional Entity was incapable of causing accidents, there was no need to keep watch over it?

Hoping that, at least for now, this conversation would remain solely between the creature and me, I asked my next question.

“Could you also tell me what Director Moon Ara asked you?”

The moment I finished speaking, the pages of the enormous book began fluttering violently, as if they had been struck by a hurricane.

The icy sound of thousands of pages rubbing together filled the entire containment chamber.

After a few moments, the pages stopped moving, and the ink slowly began spreading across the parchment.

However, unlike before, the sentence did not appear all at once.

The letters formed slowly and carefully, as if someone were hesitating while writing.

[That goes against the principle of equivalent exchange, Mr. Jeong Haeil.]

The period at the end of the sentence felt strangely cold.

[If you wish to learn someone else’s secrets, you must also offer me information of equivalent value. Living information—something that truly piques my interest.]

Omniscient Incompetent’s enormous book floated until it was directly in front of my face.

A faint scent of ink drifted out from between its pages.

‘Looks like it’s my turn to provide information.’

I let out a quiet sigh as I mentally reviewed everything I knew.

What kind of living information could possibly interest this knowledge addict without revealing company secrets?

The dirty intelligence work I experienced during my time as a soldier?

The ugliest side of human society?

Just as I was trying to decide which of those pieces of information—important yet ultimately useless—to share.

Shhhhhh!

Suddenly, Omniscient Incompetent’s pages began flipping frantically, as though they were screaming.

‘What’s happening?’

As I watched its movements, I instinctively reached for Dark Spike, but the storm of pages showed no sign of stopping.

After a long while, the book finally became still, frozen like an image, and opened completely to an entirely different chapter.

[I possess information that Mr. Jeong Haeil desperately needs at this very moment. Are you willing to offer information of equivalent value in exchange?]

What did that mean?

The manual said the extractor provided information in order to obtain energy.

It never mentioned that the Dimensional Entity itself could take the initiative and demand specific information.

‘Seen from another angle… this is an opportunity.’

If I possessed something this creature wanted, then the principle of equivalent exchange would also make it easier for me to obtain the answers I sought.

Not just regarding Director Moon Ara.

In truth, there were far too many things I didn’t know.

Executive Director Won’s disturbing warning.

The truth about Extraction Team 1.

And the very nature of this company.

After thinking it over for a few moments, I swallowed and slowly nodded.

“…All right. What information do you want?”

The moment I finished speaking, the ink swirled violently across the blank pages.

This time, the letters appeared written in a much thicker, more viscous black liquid.

[I want to know about Mr. Jeong Haeil’s family.]

That unexpected question made my eyes waver.

‘My family.’

Omniscient Incompetent’s enormous book trembled directly in front of my face, as if urging me to answer.

I could feel the greedy gaze emanating from behind its pages.

Without the slightest shame, it intended to dig into the most fragile part of my life—the part I had never shown to anyone.

***

A brief silence.

They say that all happy families resemble one another, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Mine clearly belonged to the second group.

I have no memories of my father.

I don’t know whether it was because of a divorce or because I was born out of wedlock, but the truth is that I never saw him or even heard anyone speak about him from the day I was born.

Because of that, the only people I could call family were my mother and my older sister.

And neither of them resembled a normal family.

“Haeil, our beloved dream and hope.”

Most people spend their childhood in an apartment, a house, a residential building, or some other ordinary home.

I don’t know what my case was.

The only thing I remember clearly is my mother showing me all kinds of things while giving me orders, and my sister, who, unlike me, accepted everything willingly and obeyed without the slightest complaint.

The reason my childhood memories are so blurry is probably, if what I learned in my field is correct, precisely because of that period.

‘And I think I was eight years old.’

The only thing I’m certain of is that it was shortly before I entered elementary school.

A gaze filled with contempt directed at me.

“■■…”

My sister.

What was my sister’s name?

My mother knelt down until she was at eye level with me and gave me a strange, yet outwardly kind, smile.

“You are a failure. Garbage.”

After that, everything happened with overwhelming speed.

The bewildered expression of the orphanage director when she found me abandoned in front of the entrance.

Fortunately, both she and the entire orphanage staff were genuinely good people.

Thanks to all the organized support I received there, I was able to prepare to become independent.

I didn’t want to keep being a burden to such kind people, so I left the orphanage as soon as I was admitted to university.

“…And now, after being discharged from the military, I work at the Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts.”

With that, I finished my story as calmly as possible.

As though I were trying to convince myself that people like them no longer meant anything to me.

The moment I finished speaking, Omniscient Incompetent’s enormous book began vibrating frantically.

Rumbleee!

Tens of thousands of parchment pages rose against gravity, forming a gigantic whirlwind.

The air throughout the containment chamber was violently shaken as the creature’s robe fluttered grotesquely at the center of the tempest.

The euphoria emanating from between its pages was incomparable to any reaction it had shown before.

[My goodness! My goodness! What a perfectly refined tragedy!]

Black ink gushed across the pages like a fountain as it engraved the words.

That reaction was far too exaggerated for someone who had simply acquired information.

Enormous amounts of energy illuminated the entire containment chamber.

However, the more that brilliant light spiraled out of control, the calmer my mind became.

It disgusted me that I had unearthed those memories with my own hands and handed them over to a monster.

But neither did I feel any desire to stop it.

What value could those fragments of my childhood possibly have?

‘I never imagined they’d one day help me survive.’

When the storm of pages that had been whipping the air into a frenzy gradually began to calm down, Omniscient Incompetent slowly sat back down, like a gourmet who had just enjoyed a magnificent banquet.

A faint bluish glow still lingered on the pages floating above his head, as though the pleasure had yet to fade.

[Excellent, Mr. Jeong Haeil. Your life surpasses every classic tragedy I have ever read in value. We shall now proceed with the equivalent exchange we promised.]

His attitude was far more respectful than before, as though he were entertaining an honored guest.

Shortly afterward, the ink began spreading as it revealed Director Moon Ara’s secret.

[Director Moon Ara asked me a very interesting question.]

Every page except one flipped backward.

As though it intended to reveal only a single truth, thick letters appeared across the blank sheet.

[Which external Dimensional Entity is being contacted by the “Project Fairy Tale Land,” promoted by the Strategic Planning Office, without the approval of the Order Control Room?]

“Was this really what I needed…?”

A disappointed sigh escaped my lips as I finished reading.

I had already heard about Fairy Tale Land several times.

That mysterious project led by Executive Director Ahn, in which both Extraction Team 2 and Extraction Team 3 were involved.

Learning that the reason the Head of the Security Team had come to Omniscient Incompetent was nothing more than an ordinary conflict between departments—and that she had even been deceived by this Dimensional Entity—left me with a strange feeling of emptiness.

‘So it really was something work-related.’

The Strategic Planning Office.

It didn’t take long for me to remember where I had heard that name before.

Executive Director Won’s words during the dream.

— There are also several human employees in the company. There are even outstanding talents in the Strategic Planning Office.

It was obvious that humans worked in that department.

But considering how rarely I had encountered human employees within the company, I couldn’t say it filled me with much hope.

Even so, one question still remained unanswered.

‘Someone on Director Moon Ara’s level…?’

There was no way someone like her would be unaware that someone else could obtain information from Omniscient Incompetent using exactly the same method I had.

Then.

Why leave a record like that?

‘Was it an oversight?’

Or had she deliberately left that clue for someone to find?

If it was the latter, perhaps she already knew I would eventually come to speak with Omniscient Incompetent.

Or perhaps that message wasn’t meant for me at all, but was a warning for someone else.

“…Understood. Thank you for answering.”

I gave a slight nod.

Omniscient Incompetent’s pages trembled happily.

The creature immediately regained the exaggerated enthusiasm it had displayed at the beginning and wrote a new sentence.

[You’re very welcome, Mr. Jeong Haeil! Someone capable of telling stories as valuable as yours will always be welcome! If you ever have more questions, please don’t hesitate to visit me again. I’ll always be here, waiting for a new story!]

Leaving behind his polite farewell, I exited the containment chamber.

Just as the heavy security door slammed shut behind me, I heard Assistant Manager Son’s voice approaching from the distance.

“Hey, Haeil! Finished already? That took you quite a while!”

I quickly concealed the gloomy expression that had reflected the chaos of my thoughts only moments earlier and put on a bright smile.

“Yes, I’m finished. It was my first time dealing with a Dimensional Entity like that, so it took me a little longer.”

“Good work, good work. Now head back to the office, finish your report, and you can go home!”

“Yes, Assistant Manager Son. I’ll head back first.”

Leaving Assistant Manager Son’s cheerful words of encouragement behind, I made my way toward the office.

With every step, the killing intent emanating from the other containment chambers brushed against my skin.

But what truly stirred my mind were the remnants of the childhood I had just revealed.

The information I had obtained in exchange for selling the monster the part of my life I most wanted to hide.

And above all, the disturbing possibility that someone might be able to access that information.

‘There is no place where I can find peace.’

I just wanted to get off work.

Left with no other choice, I quickened my pace, feeling my legs far heavier than usual.