While Oliver was scratching his head in front of the Isolation Room…
Not far down the hallway, a small figure was racing down the corridor.
“…!”
The girl dashed quickly along the long hallway.
It was supposed to be the time she was waiting for Oliver in his office. However, unable to resist her curiosity, the girl decided to sneak out the door.
After stepping outside and retracing her memories, she followed the sound of Oliver’s footsteps, heading in the direction she heard him walking.
“Hey, wait…! I said wait a second?!”
For some reason, she found herself urgently sprinting down the hallway, now being chased by a group of researchers.
“Can I just ask a couple of questions? Huh? I’ll even give you snacks afterward!”
“I’ll just give them to you! Just let me take a few pictures!”
“If it’s food, I’ll give you as much as you want! I just want to see it!”
When the girl glanced back, she saw numerous people from behind chasing after her, each holding what looked like snack packages. Although there was no malice in their intent, the sight of them pursuing her instilled a bit of fear.
‘…How did it come to this?’
The question floated in her mind, wondering how on earth things had turned out this way. After stepping outside, she tried her best to follow Oliver’s trail without being noticed by others. Yet, for a girl who had already become somewhat of a celebrity in Base 17, slipping by unnoticed in the corridor was practically impossible. With news of her appearance spreading, researchers began to swarm around her, their excessive curiosity overwhelming her. It was as if her communication issues had flared up again, leaving her paralyzed, unable to act either way—
Thud!
Unable to bear the pressure any longer, she fled the scene.
‘Do they recruit people with a few screws loose here…?’
A peculiar expression crept onto the girl’s face as she dashed down the hallway.
Of course, she was well aware that she had saved their lives. She even remembered some of their faces from the time she had directly encountered them.
However, isn’t it typical to show just a reasonable amount of gratitude to your life-saver? If everyone reacted this way toward someone who saved their life, firefighters would never have a moment to do their job.
With the excessive attention they showered upon her, the girl found it utterly incomprehensible.
But what she overlooked was that these people were researchers belonging to the Abnormal Phenomena Management Office, where countless lives were lost. They were the kind of people who, rather than avoiding getting electrocuted after handling something dangerous, would check if they got shocked every time they touched it.
The very fact that they hadn’t resigned after accepting a job offer at such a suspicious place proved that they valued curiosity over their own lives.
Indeed, the girl, possessing traits of an abnormal phenomenon yet capable of smooth communication, became a walking enigma for the researchers, whose curiosity was uncontainable!
“Let me… just pet your head once!”
“…?”
What on earth…
If one were to ask if all the researchers were only approaching her out of curiosity, it wasn’t entirely true.
“What’s this…? Hey! Pull this guy out!”
“Ack…! This is oppression! Do you think I wouldn’t know you all want to do the same?!”
“Shut up! Let’s see if you can say the same in front of the Ethics Committee!”
From behind, there was an undeniable commotion alongside loud thuds. One researcher tumbled down, while others converged upon him. Yet, even with a considerable number of people dropping out of the chase, the crowd chasing the girl continued to grow for some reason.
Finally, as the distance between her and the researcher at the front began to decrease somewhat, they caught sight of the girl disappearing around the corner and immediately rushed to follow.
“Ugh, huh…?”
What greeted them, however, was an astonishing scene of many researchers running down the corridor, leaving only one researcher standing there with a blank face.
“What, what’s going on? Why is everyone running down the hallway in a pack?”
The sound of the bewildered researcher echoed throughout the corridor. Well, it couldn’t be helped. With emergency alerts ringing at all hours, such a sight would surely signify something was amiss for those accustomed to drills.
“Researcher Emma! Did someone pass by here?!”
“Uh? Oh, no. I didn’t see anything…”
“Really? They must have gone this way… Alright, back to work!”
“Um, could someone tell me what’s going on here—Huh?!”
However, despite the immense scene before her, they hurriedly brushed past the girl as if she had nothing to do with the situation. She meant to ask them what was happening, but seeing the multitude of people swarming through the corridor completely overwhelmed her.
Backed against a door in the hallway, she quietly watched the spectacle unfold.
“…”
And finally, as the last of the marchers rounded the corner, she confirmed that no one was left nearby.
“Na-in, you can come out now.”
After gently knocking on the door behind her, she held her breath.
“…Did they leave?”
Right after her knock, a small figure began to appear from behind the slowly opening door.
“I-I’m out,” the girl said.
“Phew… thank you.”
A sigh of relief escaped from the girl, filled with gratitude. Though she felt her communication skills had been improving, thanks to interacting with various people lately, she still struggled to adjust to the overwhelming eyes and outstretched hands.
Especially with snacks being thrust at her from every direction, it only made matters worse.
“Oh, you’re pretty popular today too.”
“…I don’t know. It feels more like harassment than popularity.”
“Haha… don’t be silly. They’re just unsure how to treat you properly.”
“Is that so?”
While they meant no malice, the researchers weren’t exactly the best conversationalists. To approach a girl who was an unprecedented type of abnormal phenomenon, they only knew one crude method: to shove as many treats as they could towards her mouth.
Well, the very reason she was running away was that she hated that treatment.
“By the way, did you have somewhere you wanted to go? Are you lost or something…?”
Noticing the peculiar expression on the girl’s face, Emma quickly tried to change the subject. After all, she was concerned about the ambiguous reaction of the girl regarding her words. More importantly, she feared that the girl might remember that it was she who opened the floodgates for the snack gifts.
“Hmm? No, I’m not lost. I was just looking for Oliver.”
“The Responsible Researcher, Oliver?”
“Yeah. I heard something escaped, so I thought I’d check if anything’s happened.”
The girl scratched her neck rather sheepishly, speaking as if it were no big deal. But Emma picked up on her tone, realizing that the girl was indeed worried about someone.
This only made her find the girl even cuter, causing a smile to creep across her face as she covered her mouth.
“The researcher will be fine. The very fact that he personally went there means it’s not a dangerous situation.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. If it were truly dangerous, he should be commanding from a shelter. Moreover, shouldn’t there be an emergency alert ringing throughout the base right now…?”
Emma explained to the girl why there was no need for concern, after letting out a small laugh. Of course, she didn’t exactly know what was happening, but at least she was certain that it wasn’t a major issue given the state of the base.
“There are, however, a couple of situations that don’t fall into that category—like when an ‘abnormal phenomenon’ escapes and may not cause issues unless it encounters other abnormal phenomena.”
Of course, there were always exceptions. For instance, a peculiar entity that was kind to researchers but ruthless toward other abnormal phenomena escaping would be one example.
“But those situations are rare, and for the most part, there shouldn’t be any significant problems, so Na-in, you don’t need to worry too much—”
But such events happened only occasionally, and even in those cases, as long as the girl didn’t venture close, everything would be fine. So, she tried to reassure the girl, when suddenly—
“Huh…?”
She became frozen in place, realizing an abnormal phenomenon had somehow approached them.
“…”
A heavy silence settled in the corridor.
Time seemed to halt. Yet in the midst of this quietness, Emma felt an extreme tension twisting her insides.
The reason was clear: the abnormal phenomenon standing before her was the most dangerous entity in the current situation.
“Hmph, a face I’ve never seen before.”
The first to speak was Neferloot. Ever the arrogant and haughty voice, it now seemed tinged with an unusual level of disdain.
“Despite that, being in my temple means you’re either my new follower… or an impudent intruder.”
The woman’s gaze shifted toward the small girl, her eyes scanning her body. Though the words carried a hinted threat, there was also an invitation to enter her ranks as a follower.
“U-Um, goddess… this person is—”
“Shh, be silent, follower. I am not asking you right now.”
“Y-Yes…”
Emma’s attempted interjection was cut off by Neferloot. Under usual circumstances, she might have found it annoying, but sensing some mysterious energy emanating from the girl made her feel like she needed to hear the girl pledge her allegiance directly.
“Speak. What exactly are you?”
The woman’s voice soaked with pressure, reverberated throughout the hallway.
The very first and last opportunity. Choosing the right answer could lead to her return to the Isolation Room with a smile, but if she selected another option—
She wouldn’t let it pass easily.
“…”
The girl locked eyes with the woman.
In the air hung a palpable tension.
In a brief moment of silence, she seemed to ponder something about the woman’s form before finally turning to face Emma beside her.
“What is this? A pervert?”
It appeared the girl did not comprehend what the woman was saying, scrunching up her face and pointing out the woman’s dress.
