Good Friend.
Preparations for the invitation ritual were already complete.
The tear-inducing mess I’d just gone through at the theme park resort—using a substitute for a substitute, making do with my gums because I had no teeth—was over too.
This time, I had prepared every item exactly as I had when I first performed the Good Friend invitation ritual.
The necktie, the Silver Coin Snake, and… most importantly, even the plush doll from the theme park gift shop.
I picked up the plush doll.
Astonishingly, that doll with its fluffy fur… was a keyring-sized pink rabbit plush!
Took over the gift shop from the Yellow Zone, so how did I manage to get a rabbit instead of a yellow horned cat?
Simple.
“Using the mascot’s authority, I made a special sales stand.”
[A Plush Doll I Pick and Assemble Myself]
In other words, Build-Your-Own Custom Good Friend.
And so I succeeded in obtaining an original Good Friend with an appearance almost identical to the “Good Friend Keyring” I’d gotten from the Real Goods Box—that is, the merchandise-made version.
Though it didn’t have the keyring hardware attached.
Now all I had to do was not think about what this plush doll was made from…
All fine.
But, but…
“……”
“……”
The stare was prickling.
“I… just need to carry out the invitation ritual according to the manual written here.”
“Yes.”
The unblinking eyes of the lizard were oppressive…
But Manager Lee Jaheon showed absolutely no intention of looking away or compromising, and in the end, I wound up carrying out the ritual while listening to him inspect the manual.
“It doesn’t specifically say it has to be done alone, but…”
Somehow, instead of feeling tense, I kept letting out heavy sighs as I went through with it.
This time, I drew the lines at the proper size, placed Good Friend’s small body in the center, set the Silver Coin Snake down as well, and performed the ritual…