Chapter 157

Episode 157. Popo, and the Puppy

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[Science Officer Dr. Yang]

[Author: Director Min]

[He’s alive. We ran the Copykiller Protocol, but it wasn’t a Mimic. It wasn’t a Doppelganger, Fairy, or anything else either.]

[Just a pure human.]

[Health condition is good, and no mental disorders like PTSD were detected.]

[Returning to work depends on Dr. Yang’s opinion now, but it’s hard to be sure.]

[He verbally said he’d return, but whether he actually will or perform well is still unclear.]

****

[Science Officer Dr. Yang. Reply.]

[Author: Dr. Kim.]

[Yes. Good work.]

[Losing the Science Officer initially was my mistake. I shouldn’t pressure Dr. Yang to cover for my error.]

[Thank you to all the staff. I hope we can proceed with work while reflecting Dr. Min’s opinions as much as possible.]

****

[Hasti]

[Author: Bishop Oh]

[Working at the Foundation as a Christian, there are many things that go against my religious views. Of course, I view my actions from a Calvinist perspective, but compromise is still compromise.]

[Hasti is a prime example of this. Isn’t she blatantly a devil worshipper?]

[Of course, the Foundation seems to think that putting a leash on Hasti is enough. I trust you understand what I mean.]

[Anyway, work must be done.]

[After working with Hasti, my conclusion is this: she seems like a good person. She’s also deeply knowledgeable about symbolism.]

[The containment devices around her seem to be working well, though it’s hard for me to evaluate that specifically.]

[Hasti appears to be the most powerful mage I’ve seen at Facility 82. In terms of power, she might even surpass Dr. Chae.]

[Separately, isn’t Hasti borrowing power from the King of Darkness? That’s not a safe power. We need to be cautious in its use.]

[By the way, the magic book recovered from Hasti’s belongings has finally undergone data analysis. It seems it was just hidden in a vault after Hasti was subdued.]

****

“Oh, why is that thing wandering around?”

Hasti ran towards me. I didn’t bring the monkey wrench, so this is giving me some PTSD.

It’s not dangerous, right? I frowned slightly and looked at Hasti, and the Popo around me also stared at her. Hasti didn’t seem to sense any hostility.

“Dr. Kim!”

I only relaxed after confirming the electronic anklet on Hasti’s ankle, the watch on her wrist, and the collar around her neck.

She wasn’t fully released, just allowed out by the Humanoid Research Department. I don’t know how she walked all the way to the Director’s Office.

“Ah, Hasti.”

“I heard. You went into a dungeon and fought a giant snake monster, right?”

I nodded.

“That’s the gist of it.”

“You should’ve called me! I could’ve killed or subdued it easily!”

Did someone give her some kind of drug?

Her vibe is different from usual.

Hasti seemed excited, but I couldn’t just leave her wandering. I gestured and slowly pushed her towards the Director’s Office.

Even though she’s under control, not all Foundation staff are open-minded about humanoid supernatural phenomena. Many dislike or even want to kill Hasti.

She almost blew up a research building.

The Popo also don’t leave my office unless necessary. Many Foundation staff genuinely dislike supernatural phenomena. Seeing them makes people uneasy.

“This way…”

Hasti followed my words and stepped into the Director’s Office, and a Popo closed the door behind her. Exit blocked.

“Speak.”

“Ah, yes.”

Hasti sat in the chair in front of my desk. A Popo jumped onto her lap, and the mage looked startled.

“Uh, what about the puppy?”

“Just leave it. It’s not dangerous.”

“Honestly, isn’t it a bit… dangerous?”

Popo can easily kill a person, but if they stay calm, they’re not dangerous.

“Anyway. I heard about the mission from the Hero. If you’d called me, I could’ve easily killed that snake.”

“Killing it wasn’t necessarily the goal.”

“Why not?”

Hasti. You’re alive too. There are many reasons not to kill supernatural phenomena—they might be useful, or pitiable.

“We don’t know what would happen if we killed it.”

If we killed it, we don’t know what the consequences would be. Some say the city was built on an ancient god’s tomb.

Their opinion was this:

The Abyss calls people, and the city is where people gathered above the Entrance to the Abyss.

We don’t know if it’s true, but if it is, we have no idea what would happen if we killed Jörmungandr in Seoul’s basement.

That’s why we didn’t kill Jörmungandr and just fought it a bit before leaving.

“I see.”

A Popo climbed onto Hasti’s lap, and she picked it up.

“Looking closely, it’s cute. Is it a dog?”

It’s not a dog. Popo are people.

At least genetically. Popo intelligence is close to humans. They can read letters and distinguish ammunition types.

I don’t know what Popo are. There’s no way to know. Fragments of divinity born from virgin births? Children of demons summoned from hell?

“You can think of it as a dog.”

“Interesting.”

Hasti rubbed the Popo against her face. The Popo looked at me with a bored expression.

I once saw a document. The Director, meaning me, freed the Popo, so they follow me.

The scientists said Hasti follows me because she was injected with Popo Serum and revived from near-death.

It’s possible. It could be Stockholm Syndrome after captivity, or she just adapted quickly to reality.

We don’t know for sure. There are many reasons Popo Serum isn’t used medically despite its effects.

This suspicion is one of them.

Does it mean we can just inject Popo Serum into anyone who annoys us? We haven’t tried it on anyone but Hasti yet.

“Still. I hope I can work with Dr. Kim again! This time, it reminded me of the good old adventure days.”

But. There’s no reason to explain all this to Hasti. I didn’t do it on purpose, and she seems happy now.

“Yes, I hope we can spend time or work on missions with Hasti again.”

I nodded.

I wonder what’s going through Hasti’s mind now. Are her thoughts and words similar? I hope so.

“Please say hello to the Hero for me.”

“Yes, I will.”

Hasti looked into the distance.

****

There’s a lot I’m curious about Hasti. The classification as a dark-type supernatural phenomenon, the Demon King, Hasti’s home world.

“But. What exactly was the Demon King?”

“Simply put, it was the king of non-human things. We went on an adventure with the Hero to catch it.”

Reality is like the pages of a book, or the curtain behind a stage. Thin, with much more behind it.

“Did you succeed?”

“Sort of.”

It was a suspicious answer.

Hasti was petting the Popo’s head when she suddenly looked at me.

“Ah, that reminds me. The Foundation’s emblem, right? The triangle with a circle inside.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve seen that in my home world too. It was the flag of some secret knight order within a strange empire’s government.”

I frowned.

What is this now?

“So.”

“Yes.”

“Wait. You’ve seen the Foundation’s emblem in another world? As a secret society’s flag?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

“Every world must have its own rules. There were definitely areas beyond my knowledge in that world too.”

“Hmm.”

“Ordinary people in this world don’t grasp the essence of the world either, right? There are secrets that shouldn’t be known.”

I slowly nodded.

I sometimes forget.

Hasti is a mage and a tower lord. Whether it’s true or not, she’s clearly very intelligent by that world’s standards.

“How’s life these days?”

“It’s okay. I’ve gotten used to it, and I’m not treated like a prisoner much anymore.”

“That’s good.”

Hasti might not be completely free of resentment towards me or the Foundation, but isn’t this a realistically satisfying outcome?