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Anastasia said that and then slightly swayed her body, perhaps out of boredom.

As a result, the abnormal creature swayed up and down in sync with her movements, bouncing her body as if it were a real trampoline.

The creature rolled its eyes and kept watch over her, making sure she wouldn’t fall out, while it extruded tentacles to create a small net beneath her.

Just in case something unexpected happened and she did end up falling, it looked like it was prepared to catch her quickly.

Though one might find that kind of earnestness to be quite touching… to others, it appeared a little creepy.

However, this sight was familiar to Iserin, Iarin, and Ella.

It wasn’t the first day Anastasia had been seen carrying around something unknown.

In fact, what she was sitting on now was one of the more presentable ones.

That was because what could truly be called “the real deal” looked visually horrifying enough to make anyone scream and collapse from fear if seen in the middle of the night.

The forms of those monsters, which seemed like they had been crafted by a serial killer extracting nightmares and shaping them, were so terrible that even mythological beasts would look handsome by comparison.

At least one good thing was that there weren’t too many of those horrifically visual creatures around.

Anastasia didn’t pay any mind to other people’s gazes, but she still held the generic preference of liking cute and pretty things. Because of that, most of what she brought around tended to be things that looked strangely cute or pretty, or plush dolls with impressive fuzzy fur, or even abnormal creatures that seemed like deformed, cute versions of something dangerous or fierce.

A prime example of this was the gaming owl that Ella was holding.

A gigantic owl the size of a human head.

Its RGB colors changed slowly and flamboyantly like gaming equipment, making it an eye-straining creature to look at. Yet, despite the eye discomfort, the color changes had a strange, enchanting magic that kept one’s gaze locked, combined with a face that appeared oddly cute and insignificant, making it a captivating sight.

“I’ve heard broadcasts don’t progress that quickly. Since not much time has passed, shouldn’t we just wait a little longer for it to start?”

Ella replied to Anastasia while hugging the fluffy gaming owl tightly.

With her eyes closed on the swaying swing, Ella resembled a young lady spending her time in the garden of a medieval noble family. If what she was hugging was a regular puppy or kitten instead of the gaming owl, it wouldn’t have been strange to call her a distinguished noble lady.

“I can’t wait…! It’s just so hard to be patient…!”

Anastasia exclaimed while bouncing her body, almost like a little child throwing a tantrum.

Naturally, with every movement she made, the trampoline bounced up and down, propelling Anastasia even higher, while the beanbag sofa she was leaning on contorted its shape.

Twisting.

Did the trampoline perhaps think that if this continued, Anastasia might fall? It deployed its tentacles and wove them into a net, creating a wall to prevent her from falling, while the beanbag sofa stretched and positioned itself at an angle across her body, wrapping her snugly.

It was as if seatbelts were buckled around her.

The beanbag sofa extended itself to ensure it wouldn’t roll over, entangling itself with the trampoline’s tentacles to secure its body.

Thus, Anastasia was safely cocooned due to excessive protection.

Of course, as a trade-off, she was no longer able to bounce around.

“Just hang in there.”

Ella slightly opened her eyes, glanced at Anastasia’s state, and then closed them again. She seemed done with responding, leaning back on her swing and swaying back and forth, relishing her freedom.

And so, their conversation came to an end, and peace returned once more—a peace similar to before.

In the distance, the sounds of children playing soccer resonated from the playground, and the chatter of girls gathered in the stands spread like white noise.

“Ugh.”

In the treetops, Iarin’s peculiar snoring filled the air instead of the sounds of insects or cicadas, whether due to angle or fatigue, while below, the sound of a humorous video playing from Anastasia’s smartphone drifted up.

Ella lay with her eyes closed, listening to the creaking swing.

[ How unfortunate. The future of that broadcast seems quite uncertain, indeed. ]

Beside Iserin, a camel only she could see whispered to her ear.

A ‘secret’ revealed through powers.

The grimoire flicked its tongue to clean around its mouth, sitting on the ground, stretching its neck long.

[ Contractor, my cute contractor. Curious as a peculiar witch having fun in a dream world. Don’t you know? You’ve gathered information out of curiosity. ]

‘Yeah.’

Iserin nodded softly at the grimoire’s whisper.

[ It was quite the remarkable secret. Truly, one that could be called a ‘secret’. How could an enemy’s belongings pop up in Korea, and their face be firmly embedded there? ]

‘…It was amazing.’

[ However, what’s even more astonishing is that there was a secret within it. A horrific secret so dreadful that peeking carelessly could harm your body. ]

Just as the grimoire said, Iserin had used her powers to look into the broadcast before.

It was unavoidable.

During lunch, when Lee Yang-hoon casually mentioned that his brother, who had left home as soon as he became an adult, might appear on TV, how could she possibly hold back her curiosity?

Naturally, she felt a surge of curiosity and a desire to uncover more.

If curiosity arose, it had to be resolved, and if curiosity existed, it must be confirmed.

Isn’t that common sense?

And so, Iserin took action.

To obtain information about the broadcast featuring Park Jinseong.

Her actions were executed instantly.

Of course, she couldn’t enter the broadcasting station.

There would be no better opportunity than sneaking into the station to see documents and edit reports and secretly watch meetings… But unfortunately, security devices, artifacts, and whatnot were set up everywhere.

The security, which had always been tight at the broadcasting station, became even more so after incidents of people rushing in during live news broadcasts, babbling nonsense like “I have a bug in my ear” and “An American IT billionaire is implanting berry chips into people’s bodies to conquer the world,” or “The world is flat, and the moon is also flat. What people call a sphere is just brainwashing by the media.” Not to mention, “No. The claim that the moon is flat is nonsense. In reality, the moon doesn’t exist, and what we see as the moon is merely an illusion.”

With so many absurd claims being shouted out, the level of security reached unimaginable heights.

Iserin, who still couldn’t fully use the grimoire’s powers, couldn’t break through the tight security of the broadcasting station.

Thus, the method she resorted to was eavesdropping on the staff’s conversations outside the station.

It wasn’t too difficult.

Unlike the inside, there wouldn’t be that level of security at a restaurant outside the broadcasting station.

Iserin was able to glean information by eavesdropping on the staff’s conversations and managed to gather information easily.

However… the information she obtained was far from ordinary.

They mentioned something so huge that it couldn’t be aired, that it had been cut off by higher-ups at the station, and even that the national intelligence agents appeared, and the staff’s smartphones had some peculiar app installed by the national intelligence.

Anyone could tell these were odd pieces of information.

It was just a broadcast.

Just a mere broadcast, but why the national intelligence was involved, and why was there even talk of strange apps?

Naturally, Iserin couldn’t suppress her curiosity.

She delved deeper into the mystery…

‘…It’s unavoidable if it doesn’t air.’

Even as a minor, she undeniably discovered a secret that made her think, “Oh, if this gets aired under the current circumstances, it would be a big deal!” And naturally, she understood that the future of the broadcast could only be uncertain.

But it wasn’t something to be too disappointed over.

Didn’t Lee Yang-hoon say Park Jinseong was likely to appear in about three broadcasts?

Only one of them was canceled.

Just one out of three.

And though it was said to be three…

If the response was good, there would likely be endless requests for more broadcasts afterward, and if he accepted those, wouldn’t he be appearing on TV continuously?

‘I’m curious, but…’

She was curious about the canceled broadcast, but…

Iserin didn’t obsess too much over it.

She wasn’t overly interested in the investigative reporting programs.

As she continued to ponder, a thought suddenly bubbled up in her mind.

‘Speaking of which, I wonder what my brother is doing right now…? Is he filming another broadcast?’

With the first broadcast production now indefinitely postponed, she found herself curious about what her brother, Park Jinseong, might be up to.

* * *

“This is a process of understanding. It is a moment to pause in walking, to stop and turn around, reflecting on the path just taken. Observing abstract footprints to measure their form and size, to examine their direction and appearance, thereby acknowledging their correctness in recall.”

In a dark room.

Jinseong illuminated the darkness with the flame of samādhi, using it as a torch.

 

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