Delusion Home Shopping #4-168 Studio.
In the filming studio, where darkness and silence had suddenly fallen after the lights went out, only the pleasant male voice flowing from the smartphone in my hand echoed alone.
The Host's voice.
[Come to think of it, 'Friend of Talk Shows', you must not be familiar with the Forced Transmission Fee Collection Method yet.]
I lifted my head and saw the face of the Delusion Home Shopping Show Host, filled with terror.
He looked like a ghost screaming, every orifice of his face widened.
[Shall we find out? You will be able to watch it live, right before your eyes....]
[No, don't d-.]
[First, there's the fee charged by the platform. Oh, the Late-Night Talk Show is broadcast through the time-honored ■■■■■K. [1]The price for another company's program from the same time slot attempting to piggyback on our broadcast in such an isolated, remote place is....]
He explained affectionately.
[Hmm, it will be about the same as the security deposit for this humble, shabby studio.]
[No!]
I raised my hand.
My hand was shaking.
No.
The entire studio was shaking.
[It has begun.]
[Wait, just stop for a second!]
As if in response to that scream, the vitality began to drain from the studio.
"...!"
Like a freshly baked, hot loaf of bread turning into a cold, dry, moldy lump of grain, some kind of vibrant energy that constituted the studio was being sucked away.
Upward.
Toward some bizarre, immense, deep, distant, and more multi-layered dimension that defies description.
If the studio were a living thing, it would have just died.
I thought I heard its dying scream....
Soon, everything grew chillingly cold.
[There... the studio's security deposit has been collected.]
[Noooooo!]
[Oh, so you do know how to be dramatic. I thought you had no talent, just repeating the same lines over and over.]
The Show Host collapsed to the floor.
His arms, stuck to the floor, evoked a strange and repulsive horror.
The alien, old voice from the smartphone spoke in a gentlemanly, soft tone.
[Well then....]
....
[The transmission fee that the Late-Night Talk Show is owed still remains.]
The Show Host jerked his head up.
[The price for using my program for your advertisement, for this tremendous act of broadcasting a home shopping survival show live on my program.]
[Oh, don't worry too much. It's just....]
[Taking this studio as it is should suffice.]
[Wait! You didn't say you were taking money! I just said I would broadcast it! If it meant paying money, I wouldn't have....]
[Goodness, isn't something so obvious fine even if it's not explicitly stated?]
[...!]
The Host had just thrown the Show Host's own words back at him.
Pale as a sheet, the Show Host begged his creditor in a trembling voice.
[Wait, just... Mr. Braun, no, Mr. Host. Please listen to me. I have always respected you. Haha, the Entertainer of the era. How I've worshipped your shows!]
[Oh.]
[Haven't I been extremely cooperative until now? And didn't we have a good relationship? Delusion Home Shopping even provided Teddy Bears to the Late-Night Talk Show, free of charge!]
[Ah, of course, I remember.]
For a moment, the Show Host's face brightened.
But.
[Thank you. Then I will now collect.] [Aaaaaargh!]
Snap.
There was the sound of fingers snapping.
Flames engulfed the entire corpse of the chilled studio.
For a moment, I thought I saw the figure of the Show Host, Red Friday, screaming amidst the flames....
[Ta-da.]
It all vanished.
"..."
As if it had never been there.
Where the studio once stood, there was now only an empty, black space.
It left behind only a single A4 notice posted on a door at the far end, which seemed to lead to a platform.
For Lease
■■■■ - ■■■ - ■■■■■
[And that's it. That was how to collect a transmission fee from a con artist!]
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Holding the smartphone in one hand, I clapped enthusiastically by hitting the back of my other hand.
My god, what magnificent skill!
And what a refreshing ending! It was a shame it couldn't be broadcast on the talk show!
"Are you perhaps going to talk about Delusion Home Shopping on the next talk show?"
[Hahaha, my friend, even a mention is a form of attention. There's a reason we haven't put any jokes about Delusion Home Shopping in the script until now.]
"I see.... I understand."
But another question raised its head.
"Um, what happened to the Show Host?"
[Hmm, he escaped during the collection. He's probably holed up at the Delusion Home Shopping headquarters, sobbing his eyes out.]
[Now, shall we walk a little?]
I realized that a huge gentleman in a suit was now walking beside me.
Patting my shoulder as if praising an employee, he walked through the darkness where the empty 'Delusion Home Shopping Studio' had been.
With the sound of his dress shoes.
And on the wall of that empty place, a black-and-white poster had appeared.
A Friday Gift for You
A Miraculous Price! A Magical New Product!
Delusion Home Shopping
[Originally, Delusion Home Shopping was an advertising program that used to air randomly, mostly on Fridays. It seems to have lost its identity at some point.]
When the hand in a leather glove swiped across the poster, it vanished as if by magic.
[Now that it's lost its newly built studio, it will learn its place and conduct business humbly.]
[That's right. 'Getting back to basics,' what a pleasant ring that has.]
"That's really amazing, Host!"
[Oh my, you don't have to call me that, my friend. I'm your friend, Braun!]
But isn't it only natural to want to show respect that comes from the heart?
My heart swelled for a moment, but I soon remembered the important things.
"Um, the temporary contract workers who were in the studio... what will happen to us?"
[Oh, the Late-Night Talk Show has also acquired this studio's employment contracts, so you will soon be transferred to the talk show studio.]
"Then, will the Residents of Sekwang Special City who were tied here become Late- Night Talk Show crew members too?"
[The opportunity is open to those who are prepared to work hard!]
What a relief!
'Giving them a chance to work at the Late-Night Talk Show, and they get to escape Sekwang Special City, too!'
It felt great to be able to give a new opportunity to the citizens of Segwang Metropolitan City who must have had a hard time, bound to the Delusion Home Shopping studio where there was neither fun nor fulfillment.
"What about my party members?"
[After working one day at the talk show, we will send them home with their wages. Oh, it's only right to treat them according to their employment contracts.]
"Thank you!"
I smiled brightly and bowed my head.
'This turned out really well.'
Everyone would even get to enjoy a fun and rewarding day at the Late-Night Talk Show! So....
....
'Huh?'
A strange sense of unease twisted in my stomach.
Hadn't I forgotten something?
[Now, now, my friend. It's time to enjoy your reward. Have you forgotten? You are the first-place winner!]
"Ah!"
I let out a cry, then became a little crestfallen.
"But Host, the studio is already empty... I don't think it will be possible to receive the promised prize money."
Wouldn't it be difficult unless I went to the Delusion Home Shopping headquarters and filed a lawsuit?
"That's a shame. I expected it to be quite a large sum, being a percentage of the sales revenue. I thought I'd be able to pay back the money I borrowed from you, Host...."
Besides, hadn't the Host bought all the gifts for me!
I'd have to pay that back too....
[Goodness! You really don't have to worry about that. Didn't I say you could pay me back slowly? And my friend, let's just consider the gifts as actual gifts. Now....]
Snap.
With the sound of fingers snapping, an open warehouse door appeared in the empty space where there had been nothing.
Inside... it was filled with Delusion Home Shopping's merchandise.
"...!"
[Here, these are the items collected from this studio. Take as much as your prize money is worth from among them.]
My god.
[I will bill Delusion Home Shopping for the payment. Now then, hurry and choose the items you want!]
"Thank you!"
I quickly opened the warehouse door and went inside.
My heart pounded.
The items were diverse.
From things that made my heart race, guessing what they were from what I'd read on the Wiki, to things whose purpose I couldn't be sure of but was so curious about I just had to open them.
The first thing that caught my eye!
'Happy Maker.'
An essential. I hastily packed a dozen of them.
And, and....
'...Crazy.'
Something huge was occupying a section of the warehouse.
The Blood Bath.
It wasn't the cozy footbath edition I had bought.
The curved body with a black lattice pattern, the elegant, pure white ceramic tub gleamed, and its feet were finished in gold.
That thing, from whose equally golden, heavy, and shiny faucet hot water looked ready to pour out at any moment.
The Fountain of Youth Bathtub, wrapped in vinyl, grabbed a person's feet.
'...Should I take it?'
It occurred to me that it would be a great gift for the Host! But I forced myself to look away.
'F-First, I have to pick things that will help with the exploration.'
Right.
Things that would help make the exploration of Segwang Metropolitan City easier.
To uncover the secrets more safely and quickly with my party members....
....
Ah.
"Host."
[My friend calls for me.]
"...What happens to my party members who died?"
[Oh, we will do as they wish. They can work for just one day as per their contract and go home, or they can strive to continue working at the Late-Night Talk Show.]
[If they are afraid of disappearing when the contract ends, that is!]
"..."
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait...!
"So, um... when the employment contract ends, do they die?"
[Hmm? Hahaha, my friend, they won't be able to die again.]
[Because they are already dead!]
My blood ran cold.
[They were working while dead, so when it ends, you should see it as them returning to their original state. As unmoving, will-less, ego-less... corpses.]
"..."
Like Mr. Jang Heo-un, employed by the Resort, becoming a ghost story himself.
Either that, or returning to a state of death.
But if that happened at the Late-Night Talk Show, that would be....
'They'd be dying outside of Segwang Metropolitan City...!'
Just death.
The end.
'No.'
Then can't they just keep working at the talk show? No, that's... No!
I placed a hand over my heart.
The Contamination, I have to break free from the Contamination.
Right now, as a crew member of the Late-Night Talk Show, in a contaminated state, I'm making an absurd judgment, I....
[There, there... let's not try so hard, my friend.]
The Host patted my back.
And he spoke warmly.
[Isn't this a sufficient achievement? Wonderful showmanship, a dizzying climax, and even a catharsis that explodes like fireworks! It was splendid.]
[I'm telling you to enjoy this achievement, my friend!]
[...Perhaps, this is the end of a chapter.... The ending where you return to your true workplace.]
"..."
[Of course, it would be difficult to enjoy a celebration in a space like this. Now, the crew is cheering and preparing a party. Let's us too head back to the talk show stud-.]
"No."
I shoved the Contamination back into the tattoo.
An overwhelming sense of repulsion and pressure, as if my skin were being peeled off and my flesh torn away.
"...!"
The Contamination of the Late-Night Talk Show was tidied away with brute force.
The magically sparkling happiness, comfort, anticipation, and soaring passion vanished as if they were a lie.
And in their place, emptiness, fear, worry, and pain revealed themselves again.
Like this empty, for-lease space.
"Heok."
I gasped for breath.
"That... I'm sorry, but I'll have to refuse, Braun. I... want to continue exploring this place."
[....]
"I have to explore and find out the truth."
The truth of the Cheerful Research Institute, and of my summoning, which is tied to this Extinction-class Disaster.
And a way to get the people trapped here out.
....
[Very well.]
Braun's hand fell away.
[I told you. That a Good Friend will always accompany you on your adventure, on your journey....]
"...Right."
But at the same time, he'll try to end my journey and drag me to the talk show's ending the moment he sees an opening.
If it seems like I'm harming the 'fun of the scene,' he won't help me even if I beg. 'It'll always be like that.'
In the past, I felt confusion, fear, or disappointment about it... but now I know there's no need for that.
This TV-headed friend is a ghost story.
That was a truth that would not change.
But, let's not forget that he is also my friend.
"...Separately, though."
I said.
"Thanks for today. You had some fun too, right? We worked pretty well together."
[You state the obvious! Have you forgotten where your showmanship comes from? Did you not learn it from this Braun....]
It's a precarious balance, but let's maintain it well. So as not to lose trust and friendship.
'Hoo.'
And then, I swallowed and said.
"So... about the first-place prize money."
[Hmm?]
"Could I choose something other than the items here? For example... something like an employment contract."
[...An employment contract, you say?]
"The daily-hire contracts. You took the labor force as property, right? Then I think I should be able to receive them as prize money. Not many...."
Two people.
"...I'd like to receive the contracts for Agent Bronze and Deputy Manager Falcon."
[The ones who are already dead.]
"..."
[Alright. My friend. I see what you're thinking. You'll take the employment contracts and set them free... is that it? So that they can escape this blockaded city through death!]
[...But is such a thing truly possible?]
What?
[Mr. Roe Deer. You are not a studio. You don't have a place you operate in this isolated location, so how will you 'release them from here'?]
My vision turned white.
[It's impossible! They will simply become spirits remaining in dead bodies.]
[In a state where they can no longer escape this city through death. Oh, that's right....]
"..."
[Even if you summon them back to this empty place that was a studio and tear up their employment contracts, that fact will not change.]
"...Then."
I opened my mouth, pale as a sheet.
"They're trapped?"
[That's right. Correct.]
Agent Bronze and Deputy Manager Falcon can no longer awaken from the nightmare of Segwang Metropolitan City.
[1] keep in mind that it only translated the last Hangul so the actual word might not end with a ‘K’