Chapter 158

Episode 158. Just Cute, Though.

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[※ Anyone who reads this document will die within a day. Only those free from death may read it. We have warned you. ※]

[Administrator Council Meeting.]

[Participants:]

[1st Administrator, Veritas.]

[8th Administrator, Yustitia.]

[9th Administrator, Patreus.]

[11th Administrator, Raven.]

[12th Administrator, Acacia.]

[Veritas: The Foundation’s mess is running smoothly.]

[Yustitia: What’s your problem now?]

[Veritas: How come a crow and a cat are sitting in the Administrator Council? Why don’t we just exterminate them all and put humans in their place?]

[Raven: I object.]

[Patreus: I also object.]

[Acacia: Two objections. Motion denied.]

[Yustitia: Stupid cat and birdbrain.]

[Acacia: That’s not the issue right now.]

[Raven: Right. That’s not the issue.]

[Acacia: Have you seen the ‘Tuna Slayer’ operation conducted by the Seoul Branch?]

[Patreus: So what?]

[Raven: Who named the operation…]

[Acacia: They breached a protected subspace of an ancient deity using teleportation, defeated an outcast deity in the abyss beneath Seoul, and returned alive. Blue Rose-13, the Director of the Seoul Branch.]

[Patreus: Is a regular office worker going to work now an agenda item? I ate yesterday.]

[Veritas: If someone keeps picking fights every time someone speaks, the meeting won’t progress.]

[Raven: Idiot. You’re the one who wanted to exterminate us as soon as the meeting started. You’re the worst.]

——–

[Veritas: Fine. I’ll apologize, so let’s try to have a respectful conversation. Just to save time.]

[Raven: Got it.]

[Acacia: Anyway. Think about the power Director Kim currently holds. The means to teleport anywhere in the world, and the power to kill anything, no matter what it is.]

[Patreus: That’s some real barking nonsense.]

[Veritas: Respect.]

[Patreus: Aruru! Woof woof!]

[Acacia: No.]

[Acacia: Anyway, isn’t that power too dangerous for one individual to wield?]

[Veritas: Administrator Acacia. You’re shameless. The Aden Naval Battle, Project Blue Rose, all pushed forward by your suggestions. You don’t want to go yourself, so you’re asking us to handle it?]

[Raven: There’s some truth to that.]

[Veritas: You even got North Korea on your side. What’s your intention now, causing trouble for the Director of the Korean Branch? Did you learn nothing from Furanui?]

[Acacia: That’s a high-level supernatural phenomenon, collecting ancient deities like Pokémon. This time, they stirred up the abyss beneath Seoul.]

[Veritas: You’re unusually quiet today, Yustitia. You’ve seen Director Kim in person. How was it?]

[Yustitia: Just cute, though.]

[Raven: Cute?]

[Veritas: That’s a major point.]

[Acacia: What?]

[Raven: Oh, come on, you fool.]

[Yustitia: She’s still a young female scientist— Ah. Not in that sense. I mean, she didn’t seem like a dangerous person.]

——–

[Veritas: I’m the chair. We can’t move just because of one Director-level individual. It’s ridiculous to hold a meeting over this issue.]

[Patreus: I don’t see the problem, Acacia. Didn’t things go as you wanted?]

[Veritas: Seriously. How many wars are we going to fight in our lifetime? This one needs to be taken down for this, that one for that.]

[Acacia: It’s a matter of prevention. Shouldn’t we cut off the seeds of discord?]

[Yustitia: Prevention. Good word.]

[Raven: Look at the outcast deities collected by the Director of the Korean Branch. Chloe, Cernunnos, Jörmungandr, Crocodile, the original Blue Rose, that weird teratoma dog.]

[Veritas: There’s no basis, no basis.]

[Yustitia: Ask Jeonsian.]

[Veritas: Jeonsian? I don’t like them either. They’re impossible to communicate with.]

****

Today, there’s nothing special to do. No leads to track Blue Rose, and the number of problems has decreased significantly.

Today, I’ll just laze around and go if someone needs me. I checked my emails—

Knock knock knock.

An elderly foreign man entered the Director’s Office. I’ve seen him before. He’s not a Foundation scientist.

Professor Mayer, who came to research angels.

From the cat tower in the Director’s Office, the Popos stared at Professor Mayer.

They must find him interesting since they’ve never seen him before. Or maybe there’s something they don’t like about him?

No. Considering how the Popos clung to Hasti, maybe they cling to those they dislike.

Anyway.

Professor Mayer is a kind of external contractor.

Last time, he suffered a cognitive disaster while communicating with an angel and was hospitalized. I heard the angel minimized exposure to humans.

I wonder what conclusion was reached back then.

“Long time no see, Director.”

Professor Mayer bowed his head as if meeting an emperor. I waved my hand.

“No need for that.”

“Yes.”

“Are you feeling well?”

“I was fine. Even when I was hospitalized, the only issue was my speech pattern changing.”

“That’s still a serious problem.”

I remember it being a peculiar case.

The cognitive disaster made his speech identical to the angel’s, speaking in three-syllable, four-beat phrases. The extent of the danger is unknown.

“The angel assimilating someone’s speech pattern could be an attempt to take over their body. It might be a form of brainwashing.”

It’s not something to take lightly.

“Ah.”

“So, I haven’t seen the angel since then. It’s too risky for high-ranking Foundation officials to be exposed to mental attacks like brainwashing.”

Professor Mayer nodded.

In the end, there’s too much we don’t know.

The angel was a kind of gift from Pluto Limited Company. What they were using the angel for, what the angel can do.

There’s no way to know.

They might have been using it as a decorative piece.

If someone has billions or trillions rotting away, how much would they pay to meet a real angel with wings?

Around 1 billion per meeting seems reasonable.

Disgusting people. Just imagining it makes me uncomfortable. This time, we didn’t get any meaningful information from the angel either…

“So, what did you find out from the angel?”

“The research was halted, but the angel mentioned fighting in World War II. On the side of humans, the Foundation.”

I’ve thought about that before.

The Foundation’s power wasn’t built over just a few years or decades. What was the Foundation’s role in world history?

Most historical records are either data-erased, censored, or non-existent. It’s not an easy topic to investigate.

“So, did we win?”

“That’s what the angel claimed.”

In the end, the professor doesn’t know either.

I pondered a bit.

“Well, we can continue researching.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s head to the Research Department Head’s office and choose a department for you, Professor. If there’s any additional field you’d like to study, let the Foundation know.”

“Thank you.”

Professor Mayer nodded.

****

Nanami watched Professor Mayer leave.

“Dr. Kim. Are you free now?”

“Probably.”

I was free, until you entered the office. Guess I won’t be relaxing today.

“Hey, that professor. Didn’t he die?”

“He didn’t die.”

“Well. That’s why he’s walking around.”

Inside the Director’s Office, there are cat towers on either side of the door. The Popos stared at Professor Mayer earlier, and now they’re staring at Nanami as she enters.

Professor Mayer didn’t notice, but Nanami sensed their presence and made eye contact with the Popos.

“Go out more, Dr. Kim. You look sickly from not seeing the sun.”

Did I? I checked my face on my phone screen. A pretty brown-haired girl looked back at me from beyond the mirror.

This is why I don’t like mirrors.

“It’s dangerous outside.”

“Why, are there monsters roaming around?”

Nanami smiled slightly.

More than monsters.

I could be a target. For example, sitting in a crowded movie theater, and someone releases poison gas targeting me.

There are countless ways things can go wrong.

Nanami sat down in front of my desk.

The Popos in the office gathered around Nanami. But this time, perhaps scared, they didn’t cling to her.

“There are a lot today.”

“Total of 33. It’s rare to see all 33 at once.”

Nanami chatted idly for a bit, then suddenly remembered something and turned her head.

“Our coffee machine broke.”

“Let’s go to the department with a coffee machine.”

****

Meanwhile. Support Department Head’s Office.

“Uh, Department Head!”

“Just approve it. Consider it done.”

The employee who rushed into the Department Head’s office scratched their head awkwardly. What’s going on?

“No, Department Head. I tried, but this isn’t normal. It’s a Tachyon positive reaction!”

“What? Tachyon… Tachyon?”

The Support Department Head’s eyes widened.

“Tachyon?”

A spacetime anomaly has appeared. Tachyon reactions unrelated to the Foundation’s activities are bad. One of the things the Foundation hates the most.

“We believe it’s a Type 2 Time Traveler. We’re currently tracking them, but if left alone for even a day, who knows what they’ll do.”

“Contact the Director’s Office and the Special Forces.”