At the subway station exit.
Normally, the plaza in front of the station would be bustling with people, but instead, it was being tightly controlled by individuals wearing stiff expressions.
The path leading to the exit was surrounded by fences.
Red and blue lights flickered intermittently from cars, completely blocking the way.
…
Exhaustion visibly etched itself onto Researcher Sophia Brown’s face as she sat on the stairs above the station.
Since the girl had disappeared, the Abnormal Phenomena Management Office had immediately cordoned off the station and surrounding roads to search for her. However, they hadn’t found a trace of her, not even a shadow.
The records left by the tracking device indicated that it was as if the girl had suddenly evaporated from that spot.
They had tentatively concluded that she must have been swallowed by an unknown abnormal phenomenon connected to the underground passage.
[Researcher Sophia. It’s time to come back.]
A voice drifted from the communicator jammed into her ear.
It was Oliver Smith, her superior and lead researcher.
[It’s already been 15 hours. Do you plan to bury your bones there?]
“But according to my outing permit…”
[I’ll handle the report to the higher-ups. Just don’t worry about it. Leave the site to the agents and come back.]
…
A silence ensued between the two of them.
No response returned.
Effectively, this behavior could be seen as insubordination, but for some reason, Oliver felt like he understood her reasons.
After a short sigh, he cautiously advised Sophia over the communicator.
[…Sophia. I’m not unaware of your trauma, but don’t you think it’s time to stop overlaying that creature with your sister?]
“No, not really…”
[Really? Based on your actions so far, I don’t find much credibility in that answer.]
…
[I don’t think you’re unaware of this, but that creature is an abnormal phenomenon. And it’s also the entity that almost annihilated Base 17 alone. It’s not a soft existence to worry about.]
His words blocked her excuse.
Advice to separate work from personal feelings.
However, what came from her mouth moments later was quite a reasonable concern, contrary to his expectations.
…
“I know. But what can I do? I’m worried.”
[Did you just hear what I said?]
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not just worried about that child. I’m worried about what might happen while I’m not there.”
[What do you mean?]
“Don’t you remember? Last time, the agents dispatched from headquarters almost caused a big mess when they shot at Nine. What if something like that happens again while I’m gone?”
Oliver recalled the past.
It was probably about the time the base was attacked by hostile forces, and the agents dispatched urgently ended up attacking the girl, causing her to temporarily adopt a hostile attitude.
Because of that, she was recognized by the Management Office as a being that could harbor hostility toward humans, and Sophia, as someone capable of controlling the girl, was forced to be in a situation where she was basically on the front lines.
[You have a point, but at that time the agents weren’t even briefed on the situation.]
“So this time, will they be briefed properly?”
[Yes, our base agents should be well aware of that entity by now, shouldn’t they?]
“But the agents stationed around the station are all from the management board.”
Of course, Sophia wasn’t here just out of obligation.
The personnel from Base 17 had seen the girl help them directly and had developed a better understanding of her over the past few weeks.
However, to the others from the Management Office, she was still merely treated as a high-risk anomaly.
For them, this incident was just a disaster of a monster disappearing in the city center.
As a result, the pressure from headquarters was inevitable.
Sophia, being the only one from Base 17 permitted to stay near the station, could easily anticipate that if she left, annoying problems would certainly arise.
[Of course… I did explain it to them as well. I told them to refrain from any hostile actions or aggressive postures.]
“Is that so? But I don’t think the agents from headquarters would obediently listen to what you have to say, particularly not those from the management board.”
[Researcher Sophia. As I said last time, at least refrain from making hostile remarks about headquarters outside.]
“Ah, I’m sorry. I may have spent a bit too long under someone who never listened to higher-ups.”
…
A small sigh came from the communicator.
Of course, it was Oliver’s.
[Sigh, at least return within the next three hours. By then, controlling the area will start to become quite a burden.]
“Yes. Oh, by the way, are you taking care of the field expenses? I ended up spending quite a bit this time.”
[Um, I was just about to ask about that… But, did you really buy those clothes on your own accord? I don’t know the entity’s taste well, but honestly, they don’t seem like something she would like.]
“Of course! Ah, I’m going to turn off the communicator soon. There are too many eyes around.”
[What? What do you mean――]
Click.
Oliver’s voice cuts off.
As Sophia removed the communicator from her ear, a playful smile crept onto her face.
But right after the communication completely ended, she felt countless gazes on her from outside the station.
Immediately, the smile vanished from her face.
…
Her gaze shifted downward towards the stairs.
The underground passage was now empty, completely devoid of shadows due to the restrictions.
Since the girl had vanished, she had been waiting for someone to emerge from there.
Yet, the underground passage remained, still showing nothing.
‘Maybe she can’t come back. Or…’
Worrisome thoughts began to take over her mind.
Of course, she knew well that the girl wasn’t such a fragile existence as to warrant her concern.
However, physical and mental fortitude don’t always correlate, do they?
The things the girl had done were undeniably feats unimaginable for a human, but her nature was not so different from that of other humans.
Above all, she couldn’t shake the feeling of having seen a tearful expression on the girl’s face when the agents had attacked her before.
Concerned that the girl might return with a hurt heart, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to leave this spot.
‘I’d rather it be her choice to leave rather than being forced to…’
She was all too well familiar with the feeling of loneliness.
Having grown up without family or friends, one could easily crumble simply from the knowledge that there was no one around.
The girl looked human, but to the Management Office, she was an outsider from another world.
Even after helping others, the moment the girl was aimed at with a gun, she likely concluded she had completely fallen into isolation.
Perhaps, the girl’s choice to not return could be a deliberate decision on her part.
…
An hour passed, then two.
Time flowed relentlessly, and as night deepened, Sophia, who had practically spent an entire night outdoors, felt severe fatigue and boredom.
Because of that, she could no longer withstand the weight of her heavy eyelids.
In an awkward position hunched over on the stairs, she eventually drifted off to sleep.
…
“?”
She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder.
“Huh? What?”
Starting to awaken, she slowly opened her eyes.
Dazed, she looked around and quickly realized she had dozed off without knowing, frantically mumbling excuses.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry! How long has it been? I didn’t mean to fall asleep…”
To be honest, it was quite embarrassing.
After all, she was supposed to be on duty, and dozing off during work was far from ideal.
Especially since an agent from the monitoring area had come over to someone in such a dangerous spot as herself.
It was clear that her behavior was significantly less than ideal.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
However, the voice that came from beside her was surprisingly familiar.
When she turned her head, there stood the girl who had mysteriously vanished just hours ago.
“Are you okay? You look tired.”
Concern dripped from the girl’s voice.
A naturally casual conversation.
In that indifferent attitude, Sophia momentarily froze, then—
“Nine!”
“Ugh.”
Suddenly, she widened her arms and squeezed the girl tightly.
“Where have you been? I was worried!”
“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”
“I’m glad to see you back! Did you get hurt?”
“Ugh…”
Sophia expressed her overwhelming relief.
A long embrace that lasted dozens of seconds.
The girl tried to say something to her, but with her face buried in Sophia’s chest, she couldn’t get the words out.
After mumbling something meaningless a few times and realizing it was a futile effort, the girl quietly raised her arm and pointed a finger over Sophia’s shoulder.
“Huh? Behind me? What’s behind me—”
Sophia turned her head.
Where the girl was pointing.
Just as she was about to completely turn around, she recalled the presence of other agents surrounding the station.
“Oh.”
When she fully turned her head, she realized she was under the scrutiny of numerous eyes from the monitoring area.
…
An awkward silence followed.
Many gun muzzles were pointed at her and the girl.
However, what lingered in their eyes was not suspicion but rather a strangely ambiguous emotion.
So began her realization that she had expressed an unusually intense emotion in front of strangers, unfitting for her usual demeanor.
Keeping her head turned to avoid the embarrassment, she whispered that the current situation was over.
“T-Target secured…”
With her voice meek and bashful, the awkward sounds of several agents clearing their throats echoed around them.
