Chapter 164

Chapter 164. Hasti, Dr. Chae, Nanami

****

[Returnee Brainwave Analysis]

[Author: Humanoid Research Department, Dr. Kang]

[By the way, let me just say something real quick.]

[Everyone was firing bullets indiscriminately to kill the Returnee, and about 800 million won worth of surgical equipment just went up in smoke. Let’s try to use a more civilized method next time.]

[Anyway. While the Returnee was sleeping, the Humanoid Research Department analyzed their brainwaves and turned them into a language file.]

[What follows is a kind of transcript.]

[T: 00:04:59]

[It hurts. There’s no way to stop the destruction. I tell myself in this timeline. Wake up. There’s no time to waste.]

[T: 00:05:20]

[I don’t know. Why do we have to suffer, torn into thousands of pieces like this?]

[T: 00:05:40]

[Without a doubt, infinite regression is the worst curse in the universe, across all existence. I never imagined there would be so many beings capable of detecting tachyons. Such a huge target.]

[T: 00:06:03]

[It’s not destruction…… It’s just that we couldn’t find the best path. In the end, we are nothing, and the timelines we led are nothing either.]

[T: 00:06:55]

[No, then. Does that mean the terrible destruction we’ve repeated thousands of times isn’t the universe’s fault, but ours?]

[T: 00:07:11]

[If we can’t even stop our own miserable deaths, why are we even talking about the destruction of timelines? It’s meaningless. I doubt if what they’re saying is even true.]

****

[Returnee Brainwave Analysis. Reply.]

[Author: Research Department Head.]

[This. You used AI assistance to ‘analyze’ brainwave input. Isn’t this just a hallucination? Dr. Kang. How many times have you even used this?]

[New attempts are good, but this is just nonsense. There’s no basis for it. Symbolically or scientifically.]

[Calculating human hallucinations with machine hallucinations and presenting them again? Write that in your diary. Don’t waste time at work.]

****

Clink.

I clinked my glass against Nanami’s.

Cocktail glasses aren’t supposed to clink, but if Nanami wants it, it’s fine.

A non-alcoholic mojito and a non-alcoholic vin chaud clinked.

Come to think of it, both are non-alcoholic. Maybe I should’ve just had grape juice in the office.

But, it’s too risky to drink real alcohol outside. There might be an emergency.

“What? Mine’s obviously non-alcoholic, but I see the Director’s drink is non-alcoholic too?”

“Yeah. I’m a bit nervous.”

“Dr. Kim. I’m in charge of protecting Dr. Kim, so I’m drinking non-alcoholic. Dr. Kim should drink whatever they want. We’re out after all.”

“Uh, I’ll drink when we get back.”

“As you wish.”

Nanami nodded.

“I saw something rough yesterday.”

“Rough? By Dr. Kim’s standards, what could be rough…… What did you see?”

“The Returnee we caught committed suicide.”

“Weren’t you planning to kill them anyway?”

Nanami tilted her head.

“We wanted to give them a chance.”

“Dr. Kim, just waking the Returnee was giving them a chance. They used that chance to kill themselves. No need to worry about it.”

It doesn’t matter, right?

Thinking about it made me feel uneasy, but it’s something that can just be passed off as an incident.

After all, we managed to retrieve the Librarian too.

“You’re more scared than you look, Dr. Kim. Not even drinking after work. Where did all that courage go, carrying a gun into supernatural spaces?”

“That’s work.”

“Your standards are weird.”

Nanami crossed her legs and adjusted her posture, still sipping her non-alcoholic mojito.

“Anyway. When it comes to those guys, you can’t think in terms of common sense. Just the fact that they’re humanoid supernatural phenomena means they’re already outside the laws of physics, and on top of that, they’re time-related supernatural phenomena, which is taboo even for the Foundation.”

“Right.”

“It’s laughable to even apply the yardstick of logic. That’s why the other veterans at the Foundation are so prickly about the issue.”

“Because it’s meaningless?”

“Yeah. Because there’s no point in worrying about it. We’ve managed to control the situation anyway.”

I nodded.

“That’s true.”

“Let’s hang out again.”

I have no idea what Nanami does in her daily life. Well, we talk often, so I know a bit, but it’s hard to imagine.

Nanami stared at me intently.

“It’s fascinating every time I see you.”

“What is?”

“Nothing major, but Dr. Kim’s current appearance was created by someone, or something, right?”

“Yes.”

“Dr. Kim. Why did they go through so much trouble to make you into a beautiful girl? It’s really strange.”

Well. There probably wasn’t a reason not to.

“What happened to that Science Officer from last time?”

“Ah. After we retrieved them, they’ve been coming to work fine. They complain a lot, though. Lately, they’ve been getting counseling from Dr. An.”

“That’s good.”

Nanami poked at the snacks.

“But, we didn’t even order drinks, so why are we eating snacks? Want to order more?”

“If it’s tasty, that’s enough, right?”

Still, it’s good that today is relaxed.

“Nothing tomorrow, right?”

“On-time work. Unless something happens overnight.”

“Well, we didn’t drink anyway.”

Work is work.

****

On-time work. Hasti and Dr. Chae were sitting in the Director’s 7th-floor basement lounge.

What’s going on this early? Dr. Chae is someone who commutes. Hasti lives in the Foundation facility, though.

“Is Nanami here?”

“Ah. Nanami took half a day off this morning. Said she had a bad hangover.”

But, she didn’t even drink. No one stopped her from taking leave. Ridiculous.

There were two magic books open in the center of the lounge, but it didn’t seem like the two were looking at them. Hasti was chattering about something, and Dr. Chae was looking at her phone.

Let’s see. Hasti still had a collar-shaped restraint around her neck. Wristwatch, ankle device, everything.

Okay. The Popos surrounded Hasti.

“Do the dogs like me? They always swarm around when the Director is here.”

They’re brought in to subdue her in case of emergency.

“Hey, who ate the cupcakes so messily? Clean up while eating, no one’s stopping you.”

Hasti looked at me with an aggrieved expression, then flicked her finger. The trash walked itself into the trash can.

Useful ability.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. What were you doing?”

“Studying magic! I was reading a grimoire called ‘Modern General Magic.’”

“Ah. Any progress?”

Hasti thought for a moment.

“The limitations are clear. In the end, the power to freeze the sea and split mountains comes from contracts. Of course, studying magic is important too.”

“I see.”

I don’t know much about this topic, so I looked at Dr. Chae for an explanation.

“There’s progress. In fact, Hasti here is strong even without contracts or anything, thanks to her absurd power and talent.”

I nodded.

Honestly, I don’t fully understand Hasti’s thought process either. I just think she’s generally friendly now.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Ah, no!”

Hasti shook her head vigorously.

Dr. Chae shrugged. Well, there are plenty of ways to control Hasti now.

Doesn’t matter? Well……

I should think about a more sophisticated leash for Hasti. I stuffed a cupcake Dr. Chae gave me into my pocket.

“Hasti.”

“Yes?”

“Want to raise a Popo?”

“Why all of a sudden?”

Hasti tilted her head.

“Just because.”

“Uh, I’d love to!”

It’s to keep a closer eye on Hasti.

Honestly, Hasti hasn’t done anything threatening since getting hit with a monkey wrench.

But that’s exactly why we need to control her tightly. Hasti blinked.

****

Hasti thought for a moment.

From what Hasti understood, it was something like this.

The Foundation is the planet’s supreme ruling organization.

They can’t always do good. No, they’ll have to do bad things much more often. In that sense, Director Kim is the Foundation’s good cop.

A soft-looking exterior, leaving the villainy to others. The face of the Foundation that the world sees. A kind of idol.

Strong, rational, yet soft and warm—the image the Foundation wants to show the world.

Is the world like that?

Anyway. Dr. Kim’s appearance is the image the Foundation wants to show to everyone who knows of its existence.

A created idol, a created god. That was Hasti’s conclusion. An intentional idol.

This time, a few Popos surrounded Hasti. Just one of Director Kim’s many pets. For some reason, seeing Popos always gave her a warm feeling. Familiar and pleasant.

Is it just because they’re dogs? Hasti thought about it but didn’t come to a conclusion.