When they came out after clearing DeZonDeal, Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein had been unconscious for over half a day.

They’d cleared it with the True Ending, but the BT-DZD virus infection had affected them physically.

Kwak Hanmuk regained consciousness before Mo Haein. By then, the TRA was in utter chaos.

Han Goyo had gone into shock from massive blood loss and fallen into a coma.

And over Han Goyo’s disposition, Ham Ji-wol and Samra had clashed head-on.

Ham Ji-wol had stormed in with her researchers, insisting that before his heart stopped, they needed to halt Han Goyo’s treatment and begin biological preservation.

Samra had come out strongly against it. Neither side would back down, and they were locked in a tense standoff.

Director Jang Seokyun was also in favor of continuing treatment, but he couldn’t simply ignore the Research and Analysis Division’s vehement arguments.

Especially when Ham Ji-wol was this unhinged about something — she was nearly impossible to stop.

That was when Kwak Hanmuk regained consciousness and joined the fray.

Kwak Hanmuk, who’d rushed over after hearing all hell had broken loose, was dumbfounded.

"What the fuck."

It was a temporary team, sure — only a month — but he had enough of a conscience not to hand over a teammate, a kid who was barely twenty-four, to Ham Ji-wol.

And besides, since when did the Research Division get to lay a finger on Field Operations personnel whenever they pleased?

He went off.

"We bust our fucking asses in the field to shut down a Trial, and you’re telling me you want to shove a kid who isn’t even dead yet into a preservation tank while he’s still alive? This is some bullshit. I can’t fucking deal with this."

"Captain Kwak Hanmuk."

Samra placed a hand on Kwak Hanmuk’s shoulder. But instead of pulling him back, he subtly nudged him forward.

The message was clear: keep going.

"Did I say anything wrong?"

Kwak Hanmuk swatted Samra’s hand away — the man was only pretending to hold him back — and turned to Jang Seokyun.

"Transfer Chief Ham to the Special Task Force. Right now. Let her run around in a Trial with us. She can get all that data she’s soooooo fucking fond of. How about it?"

"Captain Kwak. That’s enough."

As if his head was throbbing, Jang Seokyun pressed his fingers firmly against his temples.

"Han Goyo’s treatment will continue."

Later, when Mo Haein woke up, Kwak Hanmuk told her exactly what had happened.

After hearing the story, Mo Haein quietly reached a conclusion.

"We shouldn’t mention the eye thing for now."

They’d already filed a report about the discoloration of his eyes once before, after HapFactory.

But this time in DeZonDeal had been different.

If Ham Ji-wol got word of what happened in DeZonDeal, she would absolutely lose her mind.

She was the kind of person who wouldn’t bat an eye at dissecting Han Goyo alive.

They hadn’t been able to get on the same page with Je Hyun-oh, who’d entered his next Trial immediately upon returning, but that wasn’t something to worry about.

Because he was never the one to file a report first.

As a rule, Je Hyun-oh didn’t submit reports on the Trials he entered.

Occasionally, if Samra or Director Jang Seokyun asked him directly, he’d give a short answer. That was the extent of it.

"Captain Mo. We’re telling the Lieutenant Colonel about this one."

At Kwak Hanmuk’s sulky remark, Mo Haein let out a small laugh.

"We should. Chief Ham crossed a line. This needs to be a fight between division chiefs."

Director Jang Seokyun had sided with Field Operations, but that alone wasn’t enough.

Je Hyun-oh, whatever else you could say about him, did enjoy making the Research Division’s life hell.

That was because, a long time ago, Research had hounded him relentlessly, trying to get samples.

Normally he was a pain in the ass, but when he was on your side, Je Hyun-oh was a reliable goddamn lunatic.

They agreed: they’d send Je Hyun-oh in to stomp on the Research Division so hard they’d never spout that nonsense again.

Having resolved to tattle to Je Hyun-oh, Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein focused on handling their respective team duties.

They’d expected that Han Goyo wouldn’t be getting up for a while, and that their next Trial entry would be postponed.

But then something astonishing happened.

After receiving treatment, Han Goyo’s body began recovering at an unbelievable rate, and in just two days, he regained consciousness.

They wanted to visit him the moment they heard he’d woken up, but visits weren’t permitted.

All they got were secondhand reports through Samra that he was fine. They didn’t see his face until the briefing.

As if the whole coma had been a lie, Han Goyo greeted them looking perfectly healthy.

Neither of them said it out loud, but Kwak Hanmuk and Mo Haein both thought the same thing.

He really wasn’t normal.

At this point, nothing that happened to Han Goyo in a Trial would surprise them.

And then they entered Clean3.

"Shit..."

Kwak Hanmuk swore first. No — he didn’t know what else to say besides swearing.

They’d finished the early item farming decently, and now it was time to be selected by the butlers and enter the mansion.

As long as you were careful during the initial Selection, you didn’t run into Clean3’s butlers much after entering the mansion.

But since the goal this time was the True Ending, Han Goyo was planning to make contact with the butlers inside the mansion.

The endings Kwak Hanmuk had seen in Clean3 so far were all just surviving seven days and returning.

The Roulette was infuriating, but as long as you survived somehow, you got an ending.

So all he’d ever done was clean and hunt creatures like a madman.

He’d had no idea you could build affinity with the butlers.

He wasn’t confident he could avoid losing his temper with those arrogant bastard butlers, so he’d been approaching this with the mindset of diligently supporting Goyo-hyung.

Then, out of nowhere, the Rabbit Butler came running toward Han Goyo.

Tensing at the anomaly, but sensing no hostile intent, they held back and watched.

And Kwak Hanmuk regretted it.

He should’ve just grabbed Han Goyo and bolted.

"Roasted Chestnut!"

The Rabbit Butler grinned wide enough to show all his sharp teeth and called out Han Goyo’s Trial name.

He lifted the grown man like a child, delighted, and then even called over the Cat Butler.

"Look who it is! Isn’t that Roasted Chestnut!"

The Cat Butler was overjoyed to see Han Goyo as well.

The two butlers began chatting away warmly, as if they’d run into a dear old friend. Kwak Hanmuk shot Mo Haein a bewildered look.

But there was no way Mo Haein knew anything either.

In the meantime, the Cat Butler even handed off the Cleaner Selection process — something he had never once delegated — to a footman.

"Take over here. I must entertain a friend who’s come to visit after so long."

It was easy to see this wasn’t a situation Han Goyo had anticipated.

They’d never heard about anything like this in the briefing, and more importantly —

"It’s been a while, Butlers."

— Han Goyo’s face had gone pale as he greeted them.

And there wasn’t a damn thing they could do.

Han Goyo was dragged straight into the mansion.

And now, only Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk were left outside.

"Selection will now begin! Those properly attired, step forward!"

The footman called Alpha shouted loudly.

Avoiding Alpha’s gaze, Kwak Hanmuk whispered rapidly.

"Captain Mo. I think we’re fucked."

Having entered Clean3 multiple times, he knew better than anyone just how insane this situation was.

The butlers didn’t treat Cleaners as people.

To them, a Cleaner was about the same as filth in a trash can.

The Rabbit Butler in particular often displayed strong hostility toward Cleaners, making him an NPC you absolutely had to avoid when tackling Clean3.

Kwak Hanmuk would turn and go the other way if he spotted rabbit ears even a hundred meters off.

Those same butlers hadn’t just shown Han Goyo overflowing affection — they’d gone so far as to dump the Cleaner Selection, which they treated as critically important, onto an underling, all so they could entertain a guest.

Receiving more attention than necessary from an NPC was never a positive sign.

They could end up forcibly infected and trapped inside the Trial.

"This doesn’t seem connected to the True Ending either, does it?"

But no answer came back.

Mo Haein, her face drained of color, was staring in the direction Han Goyo had vanished.

Her wavering eyes had lost all focus.

"Haein."

Kwak Hanmuk grabbed her forearm tightly.

"Snap out of it, Haein. We’re in Clean3."

He gripped hard enough to bruise and spoke low and firm.

Fortunately, Mo Haein came back to herself.

"...We’re in Clean3."

She repeated Kwak Hanmuk’s words in a daze, then clenched her jaw and shook her head sharply.

"Sorry."

Mo Haein took a sharp breath, then spoke rapidly.

"The butlers were friendly. I don’t think they’re going to do anything to the trainee right away. First, we get inside the mansion and regroup with the Lieutenant Colonel. And then..."

Her words, which had been flowing without pause, came to a halt. Kwak Hanmuk finished for her.

"We grab Goyo and get the hell out of Clean3."

Even if they couldn’t clear it with the True Ending, the point was to get out first.

Mo Haein gave a small nod, then stepped forward with Kwak Hanmuk to undergo Selection.

The Cleaners who failed Selection died on the spot.

A few fled into the forest behind the mansion or dove into the lake, barely escaping with their lives.

But surviving seven days would be difficult.

At last, it was Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk’s turn.

"Not bad. You may enter the mansion."

Alpha looked satisfied and declared them passed.

Now it was time to be assigned their cleaning zones inside the mansion.

Both of them unconsciously quickened their steps. Their hearts were anxious and urgent.

And when they entered the mansion —

"Sand will take the West Wing, second floor. Blue Thunder, the East Wing, second floor."

— they came face to face with Han Goyo, who had become a butler.

Ding!

A System Window appeared.

◆ Main Quest: Rescue ’Han Goyo’.

***

The interior of the great mansion was overwhelming in a way that felt entirely different from the outside.

It was a space roughly suited to the height of the butlers and footmen, but for a human of ordinary build, even climbing the stairs was a struggle.

The ceiling, bizarrely high, was carved into a grid like a chessboard, each square fitted with gold ornamentation, and the hanging crystal chandelier was dazzling and enormous.

The light falling from the chandelier illuminated the marble floor, which was engraved with geometric patterns, making it gleam brilliantly.

The walls, fitted with pilasters, were also painted with beautiful patterns, but I couldn’t take any of it in.

"Roasted Chestnut. Do you remember? The mural painted on that wall — you fixed it for us."

I don’t know how to paint.

I’d simply obtained a paint item to complete a cleaning quest in the game and slathered it on.

"I also recall the memory of Roasted Chestnut giving us wonderful gifts! One every single day. Our days were joyful thanks to you."

I don’t even know what those gifts were.

I’d just farmed Gift Box items in the game and handed them over, box and all.

The Gift Box item, which restored a player’s health, could also be given to a butler NPC once a day to raise affinity.

"It was also remarkable how Roasted Chestnut defeated that enormous creature. The basement has been clean ever since."

That, too, was just defeating a Boss Monster.

Because it was a game, of course I... acted that way.

While I was half out of my mind, the Rabbit Butler and the Cat Butler had at some point brought me to the parlor.

The Rabbit Butler sat me down on a sofa.

The sofa was so large that even seated, my feet didn’t touch the floor.

As I sat there, my whole body sinking into the sofa, the Cat Butler handed me a teacup.

I took the large, gold-rimmed teacup with both hands, struggling with its weight, and he poured tea for me.

The tea, a deep red like pomegranate, filled the cup.

The warmth against my palms helped me regain a little of my senses.

"So, how have you been? I’ve been terribly curious. It’s so difficult to exchange news with your planet, Roasted Chestnut."

I tilted the teacup.

I made a show of taking a sip, but in reality, I didn’t even wet my lips.

Swallowing saliva instead of tea, I tried to regain my composure in the brief time I’d bought.

Clean3’s NPCs remember me.

Figuring out how this had happened could wait.

The immediate problem in front of me was this.

Can we still clear the True Ending?

I was a player who had already cleared every ending in <Clean! Clean! Clean!>.

I’d even seen the hidden ending. There was no chance an additional ending existed.

It was also impossible for the Lieutenant Colonel or the Captains to see the True Ending in my place.

"It was also remarkable how Roasted Chestnut defeated that enormous creature. The basement has been clean ever since."

Because the Boss Monster — the condition for reaching the True Ending — wouldn’t be there.

And that wasn’t all.

Even in the chaos of being brought to the parlor, I’d kept an eye on my surroundings. The Gift Box items were nowhere to be seen.

Normally, they were basic items scattered throughout the mansion, easy to find.

There would be many other elements that had changed besides this. Enough to make normal gameplay progression impossible...

Clearing it with a normal ending won’t be easy either.

I know the games of the Archive fairly well — most of them, at least.

But I don’t know how to play a game whose ending is already over.

Still, I can’t just sit here trapped.

I didn’t enter alone. Je Hyun-oh and the Captains would be trapped here too.

Because of me.

The tea in the teacup trembled faintly.

This wasn’t the time to be sitting here.

I had to do something.

What I needed most right now was information.

The main NPCs who controlled Clean3 were favorably disposed toward me. I had to get even a small hint from them.

I set the teacup, its contents not diminished in the slightest, on my lap.

And forced my lips apart.

"...I should have contacted you first."

"It’s quite all right. Roasted Chestnut is still young, is he not! The younger you are, the busier you’re bound to be."

The Cat Butler let out a hearty laugh.

"How have you both been?"

"We’ve managed the mansion as always. But we’re curious about Roasted Chestnut’s stories."

"Nothing much has happened with me either."

Then, as if the thought had just occurred to me, I added a question.

"Oh, right — has the Master returned?"