The title of the document was ‘Log Diary,’ but the content was more like the research institute director’s ‘memoirs.’
There wasn’t as much documentation as I expected.
Eve guessed that she might be storing the detachable capacity module somewhere else.
The god of mechanical devices, Deus ex Machina, just Doraemon.
Even Eve, who was called by many titles in my mind, found it difficult to grasp the data of the physically separated capacity module.
I felt a bit disappointed, but Eve seemed more disheartened.
I was getting quite used to reading the emotionless Eve by now.
Anyway,
I continued to read the materials on the tablet.
[■■/■■/■■, Cloudy, 3 cups of coffee]
[Today, we invited special personnel from outside for research on ‘Origin.’
The subject’s name is ‘Nicholas Jayden.’
I opposed it. However, the market was convinced by the argument of the -primitive- researchers who said that it wouldn’t matter as long as the identity of Origin and the facility wasn’t revealed.]
[Damn fools.]
[■■/■■/■■, Suspicious weather, 9 cups of coffee]
[I told you I would be of no use!
Why on earth did they call an external personnel? He didn’t help with our research at all.
His knowledge of magic was lacking, and he didn’t know any part better than the researchers theoretically.
I requested the assassination of subject ‘Nicholas Jayden’ for the security of the institute, but the stupid superiors said they would only install adequate surveillance devices, being wary of the ‘wizard’ community.
My head started to hurt more.
I think I’ll need to drink more coffee today.]
[■■/■■/■■, Hot weather, 2 cups of coffee]
[Today’s experiment was very stable.
‘Three’ ‘subjects’ were consumed, but according to my calculations, that’s a small number.
It was reported that the ‘mana concentration’ in the underground has thickened to about ‘30%’. It’s unavoidable for the advancement of technology.
I revised the composition of the drugs going into Origin again. This should hold for a few days.]
[■■/■■/■■, Unknown weather, 14 cups of coffee]
[‘Fuck’. Today’s experiment was a complete failure.
However, it wasn’t without results.
The plan to extract ‘mana’ by inputting ‘stress’ into the ‘brain’ submerged in culture fluid was excellent.
However, there wasn’t sufficient efficiency, and there were no ‘subjects’ capable of storing mana in their brain.
Unfortunately, the brains used for this plan and experiment were all disposed of. A complete waste of time.]
[■■/■■/■■, Scorching weather, 8 cups of whiskey]
[What in the world is Origin.
Is this being really a god?
I couldn’t resist consuming alcoholic beverages in the reality that negates all my scientific knowledge.
Let’s just call today’s experiments done here.
Later, when I have time, I should research the similarities between mana and alcohol.
Ha, ha, ha.]
I unconsciously tightened my grip on the tablet.
– Crack.
Even the muscle enhancement magic might have been activated, as spider web-like cracks appeared on the tablet screen.
There wasn’t much clue I could find from the tablet.
I didn’t call it a memoir for no reason. It was filled with useless content.
Having read all the records that could serve as clues, I dropped the tablet to the floor. As I stepped on it, the cracks on the screen became more intricate.
“…It sure smells like blood.”
While there wasn’t a scent of blood, I had no choice but to mumble like that.
How many subjects—children—had to die for these records? And what kinds of records would be in the absent capacity module?
“……”
I turned my head to look at Eve.
“Where is the research director now?”
“He was spotted in the corridor on L2 floor, 631 seconds ago from the surveillance camera.”
Then it’s time for us to go down too.
I asked Eve to guide me underground.
—
41. The Truth That Feels Like a Lie (8)
The entire laboratory lit up with red alarms.
The loud siren Wail and the warning voice echoed through the corridor.
《Intruder detected inside and outside the research facility. All employees in the facility, please act according to the established procedures.》
Outside must be the forces of Kojaka, and inside, perhaps it was referring to Andrea.
Or maybe they might have slowly realized that we had intruded.
Even though Eve had hacked the contents of the surveillance cameras, someone among the 200 children who disappeared at once must have noticed it.
Anyway, the children were left with the trustable companion, Andrea, so I wasn’t too worried about that.
We quickly made our way down the corridor.
“There is an elevator that leads down to the lowest level, L2.”
The structure of the research facility was simpler than I thought.
I had expected there to be about ten levels underground, but there were only two floors in total. However, the space of each floor was considerable.
“Intruder detected! Pu─, Ugh!”
“It’s hacking! Quick, cut the signals! …No way?”
The security personnel who failed to stop the equipment collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
Just like in the past, those who had undergone surgery under Kojaka’s Ninja Unit could not escape from the hacking of super artificial intelligence.
The little one riding on Catherine’s back lit up his eyes at the scene.
“Wow! How do you do that?”
I smiled and answered instead, being just as friendly to the child as Catherine was.
“Right?”
“……?”
I’m not that good at theories…
Anyway,
We soon hopped onto the elevator that went down to the lower floors.
《Current Level 1 Emergency Alert. Current Level 1 Emergency Alert. Therefore, the operation of the elevator is suspended─ Crackle.》
The red emergency lights shining in the elevator slowly dimmed.
Normally functioning like usual, the elevator carried us down underground.
“…….”
“…….”
The elevator descended in a quiet silence.
Having just read the contents from the electronic documents on the tablet, I wasn’t in the mood for jokes.
Eve is normally quiet, and Catherine was already in a state of enlightenment while pulling her hair back.
Even though we were going from L1 to L2, the elevator operated for quite a long time, probably because of the significant depth of each floor.
It felt like it had been running for over three minutes.
As we descended deeper and deeper below the city, I started to feel something odd.
The mana concentration in the air was thickening.
It’s normal for breathing to become uncomfortable when descending underground due to ventilation or pressure issues, but oddly enough, I was growing more and more comfortable.
I don’t remember it being like that when I was below the sewage.
…‘Origin’.
I recalled the name I saw in the research director’s records.
What the heck is down here?
Could it be an ancient demon that fell after being hit by a staff from some great wizard?
However, the actual progression felt seriously detached from demons.
If my conjecture was correct, the “guardian” Teddy mentioned, the “ghost” the child referred to, and the “Origin” mentioned in the research director’s records seemed to be the same entity.
…Well, I guess we’ll find out when we go.
We waited for the elevator to come to a stop.
—
L2 floor’s structure was surprisingly simple compared to others.
It had a much larger difference from the L1 floor, right above it.
L1 floor had a typical research facility atmosphere, while here it felt like a closed factory.
Thick barricades dropped just a few meters apart. There were no employees wandering around, only steadily blocked passages.
“…Ugh, my ankles are sore.”
“We’re almost at our destination.”
It seemed catching the research director by the collar would be insufficient.
I’d need to grab and shake him at least five times.
I resolved this internally.
At that moment, the little one on Catherine’s shoulder tilted his head.
“…Hmm, something feels strange.”
Catherine turned her head to look at the little one’s face.
“It’s probably because we’re underground. Why? Is it hard to breathe? If it’s too tough, would you like to go outside?”
The little one calmly shook his head.
“No, actually it feels super comfortable!”
“…?”
I replied while walking at that statement.
“It seems like the little one has talent for magic. Well, it is a Mana Research Institute, after all.”
It wasn’t something too strange.
Thinking back, I wondered if all the 200 children we rescued might also have talents for magic?
If Merlin heard this news, he might scream ‘Nuhyuot!’ in joy and faint.
At that moment, Eve briefly paused.
“This is the last barricade.”
“Really?”
“I’ll open it.”
So the research director is just beyond this.
I gestured to Eve while stretching my wrists.
And when the closed door opened.
“…F-Fuck!!”
A desperate curse was heard.
It didn’t seem he was reporting us; a middle-aged man with a mustache, resembling a plumber, was shouting at the computer screen.
“…It’s too late! The capacity…, the capacity… Damn it, where did the others go!”
I hoped he could refrain from swearing since there was a child around.
The other employees must have all run away, and besides the middle-aged man, no one was visible in what seemed to be a huge control room.
Next to him were crumpled cans of what seemed to be coffee or whiskey.
I activated the zoom function of my mechanical eye.
I found a badge reading ‘R.D.’ affixed to the middle-aged man’s chest.
I silently exchanged glances with Eve, who nodded positively in response to my look.
So that guy is the research director.
I quickly walked toward him. The only source of light was the powered-on computer screen.
The overhead lights were off, making the surroundings quite dark.
“Excuse me.”
“…Huh?”
“Are you the research director?”
I used muscle enhancement magic to lift the research director by his collar.
For now, call me a ‘warrior’ instead of a ‘wizard.’
However, it seemed the research director wasn’t bothered at all by my grabbing him. He continued to stare at the computer screen, yelling.
“…Let go! I haven’t injected the drugs yet!”
I glanced at the contents on the computer screen.
It was filled with names of unknown drugs. Triazol…, damn it, even reading it was hard.
Before I knew it, Eve, who approached me next to the research director, spoke up as she looked at the screen.
“They’re all types of nerve stabilizers.”
“Hmm….”
They certainly seemed like things found in a research facility.
But was this really the timing to need them?
The research director’s eyes were glimmering.
He looked at us with his beard covered in drool, like a Shih Tzu who hadn’t taken care of himself.
“Wait, it’s you guys. You took all the subjects from the lab?”
“…They’re not subjects; you should call them children.”
At my remark, the research director’s face flushed with anger.
“…What the hell have you done! Do you know what will happen if you take subjects out of the institute?”
Perhaps the world would be a little more peaceful.
I released my grip on the research director’s collar.
Water, fire, and lightning have always known the answers.
It seemed the research director’s mind was a bit unhinged, so I thought I’d assist him in regaining his sanity using magic.
“…Kugh, yeah. You wouldn’t understand what you’ve done.”
Already resigned, the research director started to laugh as he continued talking.
Staggering, the research director rose to his feet.
“It’s all over now! Just look!”
As he pressed a button in front of him, the wall that had blocked the control room began to turn transparent.
It seems we were close to the incinerator. In the distance, flames were flickering underground.
Is it a cave? It’s really huge.
A massive space covered in darkness began to reveal itself.
But, what on earth is there to look at here…
……
I gently pinched my cheek.
It hurt.
So, it wasn’t a dream.
I rubbed my eyes and looked ahead again.
It wasn’t an illusion either.
In that instant,
From the darkness, golden pupils began to shine.
Reptilian eyes with vertical slits gazed down at us.
I swallowed hard.
If I wasn’t seeing things, one of those eyes was larger than my head.
…Hmm.
Suddenly, I recalled the movie Catherine and I went to see together.
It was about dinosaurs surfacing from the underground in a city.
That might be historically accurate in some sense….
I nodded, pondering.
There’s a trivial difference that it’s not a dinosaur but a dragon, though.
