Thud!
After emerging from the underground passage…
I didn’t think I’d wandered for too long there, but…
Contrary to what I thought, it seemed like quite a lot of time had passed.
Because I had disappeared, it seemed there was a bit of a commotion outside, but…
Eventually, after I returned, things seemed to have resolved well enough for me to make it back to the facility.
Silence…
And now, back to the present.
As always after something like this…
I was sitting in Oliver’s Office, informing him about what I had experienced.
“An empty underground passage, an endlessly continuing space, various observations of abnormal phenomena…”
Words poured out from Oliver’s mouth, neatly summarizing everything I had shared so far.
I’m not really good at explaining things, so I thought I rambled a bit this time too.
But judging by his response, it seemed like I successfully conveyed the essential points.
“From the consistency of your descriptions, it seems the place you visited is indeed that location.”
“What, that one that suddenly appeared recently?”
“Yes. It’s described in the common testimonies from people who went missing and started emerging from various parts around the world recently.”
He rifled through a thick stack of papers on his desk.
A landscape painting depicting an underground passage with a bluish light, not too narrow or wide.
Each was slightly different, but the scene looked remarkably similar to the place I had visited.
“We have tried to locate that place so far, but we couldn’t even find it, let alone enter. So, there have been differing opinions within the Management Office regarding the authenticity of those testimonies…”
Following that, another drawing appeared.
A person painted completely white, a black hand creeping out from a crack in an open door, a wave of red rushing in from the other side of the hallway.
On each thick sheet of paper were slightly different depictions of things I felt I had seen once there.
He quickly wrote something on every piece of paper and, finally, covered the pile and pushed it aside.
“Thanks to your statement, it’s confirmed. That place definitely exists. Furthermore, it seems we can create more precise guidelines.”
“That makes me a bit uneasy… Just saying, I really wandered around there for a long time.”
“No, even so, the information you provided is all valuable. There’s plenty of information about entities and abnormal phenomena that couldn’t be gleaned from other testimonies, which will be extremely useful if any personnel from the Management Office end up entering that place.”
Oliver said this, but to be honest, it felt burdensome.
Well, as I mentioned earlier, I’m not really good at explaining things.
Thinking back now, I feel like I might have caused a bit of a ruckus before I got out.
I mean, I ended up tearing down a wall out of frustration…
Considering that the debris completely blocked the opposite passage, I might have done something pretty rude to whoever would end up there later.
Should I have cleaned up on my way out?
Hmm…
“…But it still raises a question. What conditions lead someone to enter that place? Considering the circumstances and environment of how you got there, nothing particularly unusual was found.”
Oliver clasped his forehead.
However, I also couldn’t give a definitive answer to that question.
Naturally, I didn’t go in there willingly in the first place.
I didn’t know any specific way or conditions to enter that place either.
“Oh, I think I might know…”
Of course, I had my suspicions.
Maybe not about how to get in, but at least about the reason I ended up there.
It must be related to that big guy in the wide-brimmed hat I met right in front of the exit.
Thinking about what he said to me, it certainly wasn’t just a coincidence that we ran into each other there.
“Do you have an inkling of what it could be?”
“Yeah. I met someone there, and it seems that person was the one who brought me there.”
“You met someone…? At least they were capable of some communication?”
“Well, it was more of a person than just some entity. I couldn’t see their face because they were wearing this huge hat.”
I began to describe his distinctive appearance.
A man wearing an unduly large hat that obscured not just his eyes but his entire face.
Oliver quietly listened to me and then…
“Huh?”
Suddenly, he looked at me with wide eyes, as if he heard something strange.
“Wait a minute, what did you just say?”
“Huh? I said I met a person with a big hat.”
Of course, I had no idea why he was reacting like that.
No, I should probably say I wasn’t paying attention at all.
After all, he had claimed that he had a bad relationship with the Management Office himself.
Who knows, maybe he had clashed with those people in those weird clothes right here.
Yeah, that monk outfit he was wearing…
…Oh wait, that’s just a crazy monk!
“…Was that hat one of those oversized straw hats that could cover your whole face?”
“Yeah.”
“And the clothes were a mix of gray and red, with a long length?”
“Uh… I think so.”
Oliver kept pressing for more detailed information about that man.
To be honest, the only thing I clearly remembered was that huge hat, and the outfit just resembled the vague description of what monks wear.
However, his questions weren’t going far off that range, so I just nodded along.
But for some reason, he was inching closer and closer to me with every question.
I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong, so I was about to ask what his relationship with that monk was when—
“…Do you know him? From how you describe it, it doesn’t seem like they have a good relationship—Whoa?!”
Suddenly, I felt his grip on my shoulder.
I was pretty… no, extremely startled.
“What did he say to you?!”
“What, what?! Why are you acting like this?!”
“No, more importantly, are you okay?! Did he use some sort of device on you? After that, did you feel anything strange?!”
He shook my body.
His eyes scanned every inch of my face.
Not to mention he was trying to pry my eyelids open wide.
It felt as if he was trying to conduct some sort of thorough medical examination on me.
Naturally, having someone touch my body like that without reservation felt pretty invasive.
So, I reflexively kicked Oliver in the face.
“Ugh! I just talked for a bit… Plus, you’re too close, so back off…!”
Thud!
With a groan that expelled air from his lungs, his body was knocked back.
Thump! He fell backwards.
Considering he was a grown man and had a solid frame, it sounded way worse than it should’ve from just a kick.
Oops, did I kick too hard?
“How about… Are you okay?”
“I’m, fine… It wasn’t a heavy hit or anything.”
“So then, I told you to back off already.”
“Sorry… I never expected we would be talking about that guy.”
As I helped him up from the chair, he staggered as he got to his feet.
Well, thankfully, it didn’t seem like he was hurt that badly compared to the sound he made.
If he had broken a bone or something from that, I would genuinely feel sorry.
Though I still thought the fault lay with Oliver for suddenly leaning in so close to my face…
Seeing his reaction earlier, it seemed like there was a valid reason for his concern.
“Do you know him?”
“…Of course. He’s marked as a person of interest designated by the Management Office, and there’s an order to eliminate him on sight.”
“Really? So the rumors about you two having a bad relationship are true.”
“He said that? That it’s a bad relationship?”
“Yeah. Something about how various circumstances have led to that. He wants world peace, but seems to be on a different path or something.”
Hmm…
From what I asked him, it seemed Oliver did indeed know that monk.
Well, it seemed typical.
If abnormal phenomena exist, there would definitely be people fighting over it.
Considering what he said earlier, those guys were likely trying to eliminate those phenomena.
From the perspective of the Management Office, they would consider what could happen if those phenomena were resolved, so they would end up opposing each other.
“Ugh.”
Oliver let out a short laugh.
But that laugh contained less of the bitterness that comes from fighting over similar goals, and more of genuine disbelief.
“…You shouldn’t believe a word of what he says. That guy is just a mad terrorist.”
Surprised by the way he described him, I could only give a small gasp.
I echoed his words back to him in confusion.
“Terrorist?”
