Chapter 23: Anomaly Catching Anomaly

Adaptation to Site 17 (13)

After roughly dropping off a nameless person who had collapsed in the middle of the playroom outside.

I returned to the playroom and closed the door I had just come through.

"...Will they be alright?"

I looked back at the door. I was a little worried about the person I had just left behind.

I left them in a crowded place, so people passing by would probably report it, but still.

Not being able to take someone who looked like they were in bad shape to the hospital bothered me a little.

"Eh, whatever. They're not going to die, surely."

However, I quickly shook off the uneasy feeling and decided to focus on what I was doing.

In the first place, when I first saw that person, I checked, and their heart was still beating, and they were breathing normally.

There weren't any obvious external injuries, so I figured they probably collapsed due to overwork or mental fatigue.

No, how could a grown man collapse from overwork in the middle of a playroom?

Well, I think it's entirely possible.

Playing with kids could have put a strain on their heart, or they might have just fallen asleep from exhaustion.

Especially considering the size of this "playroom" I've seen so far, it wouldn't be strange for anyone, whether they're a grown adult or a national athlete with strong physical fitness, to suddenly collapse from exhaustion while playing.

This playroom was truly unbelievably huge.

Well, the entrance to the facility is blocked by a sturdy door, but I do have some doubts about why there are so many doors leading outside, and why they're connected to so many different places.

If I recall the fact that such an endlessly large place is being used as a playroom, the only conclusion I can come to is that it's not wise for me, who knows nothing about modern building standards, to argue about the building's entrance installation standards.

If I don't accept this fact, it would be like proving that I'm just an old man who can't keep up with the times.

I don't want to become an old fogey who can only think based on the standards of the time I lived in, now that I've finally returned to my technologically advanced home.

"So, where is this place again?"

Putting aside all the random thoughts, I looked back at the playroom, the place where I was originally wandering.

Now that I think about it,

when Sophia said the word "playroom" earlier,

I remembered what a playroom was like in my time, and I wasn't very happy about coming here.

Well, I've lived long enough.

It's pointless now, and it just makes me look like a pathetic old man, so I don't usually like talking about my age, but still, there's a limit.

Isn't a playroom usually a place where very young children play?

A place with soft rubber balls scattered on the floor and colorful toys for toddlers.

No matter how open-minded I am, I didn't have the confidence to play like a real child in such a place, so I was just planning to sit down and kill time until she came back—

...Well, I have to admit what I have to admit.

Until just now, I was quite embarrassed to come here, but unlike my poor imagination, the modern playroom was a completely different place from the one I knew.

The modern playroom was a place full of fun, so much so that even I forgot my embarrassment and played with great enthusiasm...!

I should have expected it from the moment I first entered.

From the moment I saw the unusual scenery unfold before my eyes.

A space where geometric shapes filled the sky, and you had to walk on platforms floating in the air, a huge swimming pool, or a giant sky garden built so high that the ground couldn't be seen.

Every time I opened a door to another area, the scenery was completely different and mysterious from the previous space.

This place was literally a futuristic theme park.

"Especially when a place that looks like a big city suddenly folds in half and starts spinning like a roller coaster..."

Moreover, it wasn't just scenery; there were definitely things to enjoy.

The phenomena of the ground turning upside down or space being distorted in impossible directions were perfect for stretching and moving my body, as I had been in the same place for quite a while.

Of course, as far as I remember, I also thought that it didn't seem like something ordinary people could endure...

...Well, they probably made some safety devices.

Modern people aren't all thrill-seeking maniacs, and they wouldn't have made something like this in a playroom for kids for no reason, right?

In the first place, Sophia brought me here, calling it a playroom.

I just need to enjoy myself; there's no reason to have strange suspicions on my own.

"The only downside is that I don't see many people."

And, while I was playing in this place without thinking,

I was aimlessly wandering around, hoping to run into someone soon.

Are you already bored?

No, that's not it.

I haven't even seen all of this space yet, and I can't even predict what's in the other rooms.

This playroom was a place full of so many amazing and wonderful things.

However, I had only recently returned to my hometown, and after not being able to feel the presence of people for quite some time, the gloomy delusion that I might have left my hometown again was slowly creeping into my mind.

So, in search of a scene of children playing and squealing, as befits the name "playroom,"

I started to diligently wander around this vast space.

However, perhaps because this playroom was using the space too generously, it was very difficult to encounter anyone other than myself.

The only person I had found was the one who had collapsed due to overwork earlier.

I still couldn't find a room full of people.

"Well, I guess exploring this shopping mall-like place is the priority for now."

I looked around the room I had just moved to and slowly started walking towards the place with a hole in the center.

Actually, I saw enough people when I took that person outside just now.

It's a little disappointing to play alone, but when I think about it, it might be a little embarrassing to show that side of myself to other people.

For now, I think it's a wise choice to enjoy this place.

"The stores are all empty, and some of the stairs are blocked by debris."

Looking around the shopping mall-like space, I was figuring out its characteristics.

When I first saw it, I thought it was like a food court in an amusement park...

But seeing that all the places that looked like stores were neatly organized without a single piece of furniture, I figured this was probably one of the playroom's spaces as well.

Who decorates a playroom like an empty shopping mall?

Well, you should ask the person who made a playroom out of a place with yellow, damp carpets and wallpaper plastered all over it.

Honestly, that place didn't have any special features, and it was lucky that there was a door leading to another space soon.

It was just a large and uninteresting place, so I even thought it was a design flaw.

Or maybe it's just an ordinary hallway, and I was just expecting something else.

If that's the case, I'm just amazed that even the hallways of the playroom are so big.

By the way, what's the real estate price like these days?

Judging by the fact that they can use this much space for just a playroom, it seems like I won't have to worry about land and house prices like I used to.

Later, when I leave this facility and start settling down in my hometown, I too—

—Flicker

Just as I was thinking about the future for a moment, suddenly, all the lights in this space started flickering.

—Flicker, flicker, flicker, flicker

"...What, a power outage?"

The lights were flickering on and off like crazy.

I suspected that this was a power outage, but I soon started to deny it myself.

In the first place, if it were a power outage, the lights would have gone out all at once; it wouldn't have just flickered like this.

And if it was because the lights were at the end of their lifespan, there's no way all the lights would have started flickering at once like this.

So, as if someone was deliberately playing a prank, what's going on with all the lights in this room flickering?

I was soon able to find the answer to that question.

That's right.

Anyone who has spent even a little time in this playroom would be able to recognize it.

This was a harbinger of things to come.

As I said before, space would warp, the ground would flip over entirely, shake like waves, gravity would reverse,

Anyway, those mysterious phenomena that occurred in each room.

And if my guess was right, this flickering of the lights was definitely a sign of something,

Then soon, this room that looked like a shopping mall would also…

It meant that a unique phenomenon that would entertain me was about to occur.

'Ah, it's over.'

After the lights flickered for ten-odd seconds.

Finally, as if nothing had happened, all the lights in this space started to function normally again.

Well, I knew it would be like this.

It doesn't make sense for the lights to break down like that.

So, that means something's about to happen soon.

I wonder what will come out of this room―――

"...?"

At that moment.

From a distance, a figure began to appear.

"―――――――――――"

Something that looked like a person, but also like a completely different being.

Just a moment ago, there shouldn't have been anything nearby.

The figure appeared as if out of nowhere, and from some point on, it was there,

And it didn't say anything, for dozens of seconds.

It just kept staring intently at me,

"Ah."

With a short groan that didn't sound human,

It started running towards me at a very fast speed.

Previous|Next