Chapter 19: Anomaly Catching Anomaly

Adaptation to Site 17 (9)

'Name, Arthur Wilson, age, 25, birthday, February 25th, hometown is Dover Estate in Delaware...'

Arthur began to mutter information about himself in his mind.

It was a kind of diagnostic method.

A self-examination method to check for mental contamination on the spot.

The Anomaly Management Bureau dealt with numerous Anomalies that inflicted mental and psychological attacks,

And since those who faced them were inevitably subject to mental interference,

They were teaching employees a self-examination method that, while less effective than a direct examination, was still quite valid.

'...There's nothing particularly wrong.'

After conducting the self-examination.

Arthur, realizing that most of what he remembered was normal, realized that what he had just experienced was not a type of mental attack.

Of course, if something as simple as being cute could make someone lose their mind, that alone could be considered an Anomaly.

In fact, as soon as he saw the girl called 19, he was involuntarily overwhelmed with the urge to hug and caress her.

It's not that he dislikes cute things, and to be precise, he actually likes them,

But even so, he had rarely felt this strong a desire to cherish something so intensely in his life,

So it wasn't strange that he closed his eyes and performed a self-diagnosis.

"Hmm? What is it? Did you perhaps already fall for 19, even though you said so much to me?"

"...It's not that. More importantly, why do you look so happy, Seonbae?"

It was a senior colleague teasing him in a hateful way, but sadly, Arthur couldn't strongly refute it.

After all, the way he had acted until just now was completely the opposite of what he had been saying to his Seonbae.

"Well, it can't be helped. I'll give Arthur a chance to pet her once. It's not an opportunity that comes easily, so you should thank me?"

"No, listen to what I'm saying――"

Sophia bent her knees, gently hugged 19, and showed her to Arthur.

He naturally tried to push away and ignore his senior's actions,

But immediately after making eye contact with 19,

Like a rock, he froze on the spot once again.

Sad, tearful eyes, beautiful chestnut hair, small height.

As if he was bewitched by the sight,

He involuntarily raised his hand and began to bring it towards 19,

And finally, the moment his large hand was about to be placed on the girl's head――

"...That's enough. She'll hate it if you touch her without permission."

Making an effort to sound embarrassed, he spoke words that considered the girl's feelings,

And began to bring his outstretched hand back to its original position.

"Without permission? 19 expresses her dislike properly if she doesn't like it."

"You never know. Maybe she's enduring it as much as possible even though she finds it burdensome when Seonbae pets her."

"Hey. Arthur, are you jealous right now? Even so, such indiscriminate slander isn't good."

She spoke in a blunt voice, but Sophia nonchalantly retorted as if teasing her junior.

From her perspective, it was understandable to think that way.

19 still didn't let people pet her head for very long,

But still, recently, she didn't seem to feel any resistance to having her head touched itself.

The actions of her junior seemed to her like a young boy getting angry and hiding his embarrassment.

'...I don't think she seems to think that way.'

However, he must have seen it.

When she was recommending Arthur to pet the girl.

19, with her eyes half-closed, looking up at her as if dissatisfied.

It was clearly a silent protest, or something similar.

And seeing that the expression was repeated exactly when Sophia retorted,

It was clear that 19 was probably not satisfied with the act of petting itself.

――Weeeeee

While continuing a foolish Q&A with his Seonbae as usual for a while, his security cell phone vibrated.

Feeling the vibration in his pocket, he took out his cell phone with familiar movements,

And soon, with a hurried expression, he began to speak to his Seonbae.

"No, more than that, that's not important. Seonbae, didn't you hear the notification? The Management Bureau has summoned you."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, I don't know either. Thanks to you, I wandered around for a long time looking for you in the middle of a busy schedule. Anyway, come here quickly."

Sophia asked in surprise.

After all, she couldn't think of any reason why she would be called to the Management Bureau.

Of course, given the nature of working in a place like this, it wasn't that strange to be called at any time,

And she would have responded to the summons without hesitation if it were a normal day, especially considering the previous escape incident.

But today, she was in a position with the important mission of taking 19 around.

"Wait a minute. I have to take 19 with me...."

"Take her? To a security zone? An Anomalous Entity?"

"...Come to think of it, if the Management Bureau is calling, it would naturally be outside the restricted area."

Sophia tried to move while holding 19's hand to Arthur, who was speaking as if he was in a hurry.

Soon, she belatedly realized that 19 was not in a position to move with her.

The area where an Anomalous Entity with limited outings permitted could go was only a public area.

Taking her to a personal space or security zone was not included in the request.

"Arthur. Could you take care of 19 for a moment?"

"I can't! In the first place, you can't take her around unless you're an authorized person!"

Arthur shouted. He was afraid to even think about how many written apologies he would have to write if he did such an unauthorized act.

Of course, even if it were possible, he wouldn't have taken care of 19.

He was already in a situation where he was struggling to handle the work he was in charge of,

And if he was in charge of the small girl next to her, he didn't know what he would do without realizing it.

And in preventing such things from happening, he knew very well that the wisest way was to not give the possibility of the event happening in the first place.

"Isn't it enough to just put her back in the isolation room?"

He spoke the most direct and simple method that Sophia could implement right now.

Putting 19 back in the isolation room and responding to the summons.

At least in his opinion, that was the most rational and appropriate solution.

"Still, if she goes in this time, I don't know when she'll be able to come out again."

"You were thinking of coming out next time too...."

But, as expected.

That method was not going to work for Sophia right now.

She was even thinking of taking the Anomalous Entity out not only this time but also next time.

Apparently, he had heard that similar things had happened a few times at other Sites....

Seeing it actually happening in front of his eyes, with his acquaintance doing it, Arthur felt very confused.

After Sophia started to worry about something with a flustered expression for dozens of seconds.

Arthur, thinking that he had already spent a considerable amount of time, was about to say the plan he had made earlier again,

At that moment, as if something had flashed through her mind,

She began to speak about what she had thought of, as if she had found a clear answer.

"Ah, that's right! Come to think of it, there's that place."

He frowned slightly.

That place, how am I supposed to know if you say that?

There were probably well over hundreds of places that could be called 'that place' in this Site alone.

"That place? Where is that place?"

"You know, the place in the C-2 corridor."

Immediately after hearing her words, Arthur drew a rough map of Site-17 in his head,

Before long, he had no choice but to show his senior a facial expression that meant he had no idea at all.

As far as he knew, the C-2 corridor was not a place where anything particularly impressive or special was located.

But Sophia, seeing his facial expression, looked at him as if frustrated that he didn't understand even though she had told him the location.

"There, I mean the playroom!"

Soon, in this Site-17 that manages Anomalies.

She uttered a word that had an atmosphere that should not exist at all, and should not exist.

What is a playroom?

To give you the dictionary definition, it can be said to be a room full of harmless furniture where an infant is placed to prevent self-harm when the infant's guardian or parent is away,

Strictly speaking, Site-17 did not have a room for that purpose.

However, clearly.

Among the researchers at Site-17, it was surprisingly easy to find people who used the word playroom.

The reason was that what they called the playroom was not a word with its common meaning in society, but simply a slang term for a specific isolation room.

"I'll be back to get you soon."

-Nod nod

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect something like this to happen so suddenly... Ugh, for some reason, I keep apologizing today."

-Shake shake

"Really, how can you be so kind..."

Sophia stroked Number 19's head.

She felt like it was happening too often today, but Number 19 decided not to refuse her touch for the time being.

For some reason, she seemed very urgent while talking with her colleague,

Having seen her trying to accommodate her needs despite the urgent situation, she thought she should be generous enough to overlook this much.

"I can't really call it a substitute, but there are various things to play with here. I hope Number 19 likes it."

She pointed to another door inside the isolation room, beyond it.

It was a place used to evaluate the cognitive abilities of low-risk Anomaly.

Most of them were for experiments, but some included puzzles ranging from simple to quite complex, and there were also devices that required some physical activity.

Of course, there was no need for Number 19 to enter this place.

In the first place, if she could communicate with the researcher, there would be no need to use this place for the time being.

However, that didn't mean its use was prohibited,

Also, under the pretext of evaluating Number 19's cognitive abilities, she intended to buy time until she returned to this isolation room.

She brought Number 19 here, thinking it would be much better than sitting alone in an empty isolation room.

'Well, I might get an earful later...'

Of course, her use of this isolation room was quite rushed,

There was a problem that she might hear something from above due to the temporary isolation room usage procedure later.

However, that was all.

This action didn't violate any regulations or safety rules, so it was safe to say that this wouldn't be a problem.

She even still remembered that this room was used as a playground for a specific Anomaly a few years ago,

So she could leave Number 19 here without much worry.

"Seonbae. It's almost time--"

"Ah, I know."

Arthur, realizing that the time limit was approaching, grabbed Sophia's arm and pulled her.

She reluctantly tried to leave the isolation room as her junior said.

"Then, I'll be back soon. I really will!"

Soon, waving her hand at Number 19,

She promised to return.

With the sound of machines moving, the huge door with a near-future design closed.

Number 19, left alone in the isolation room, looked around as if in trouble.

'Even so, I think I'm way past the age of playing in a playroom.'

Well, that wasn't wrong.

Mental age follows the body, and she thought she still had a fairly young mindset,

Even so, she felt quite embarrassed to play in a place called a playroom.

She didn't listen carefully to what she and her colleague were saying because she was admiring the long-lost scenery of her hometown,

But she definitely remembered hearing that this place was a playroom.

'In the first place, even if it's a protection center, is there a need to build a playroom in a place like this?'

Looking at the machine door that looked exactly like the one in her isolation room, Number 19 had such a question,

Soon, she shrugged her shoulders and dismissed her question with the thought that it could always be the case, as always.

Even if you put a small, tiny stray dog in a cage, there's no need to think strangely about it.

It was a bit much to compare herself to a dog, but anyway, like the little one that came into her room back then.

If it's a facility that protects things from beyond the dimensions, this level of security wouldn't be too strange.

'Then, could there be other people inside?'

Just before grabbing the doorknob, which was quite ordinary compared to the heavy machine door,

Number 19 had such a question in her mind.

In fact, unlike the room she belonged to, a playroom was a space closer to a public area where many people gathered, wasn't it?

Especially considering the purpose of this facility that she guessed, it was virtually certain that someone was inside.

'Well, I'll know when I go in.'

But well, it didn't matter.

Whatever it is, she just had to face it.

After all, nothing would change by standing still here.

Number 19 opened the door in front of her and began to enter without hesitation.

And, what was in front of Number 19's eyes.

Unlike the size of this room seen from the outside, a landscape that seemed to stretch endlessly,

And a sky full of geometric somethings that completely ignored the existing laws of physics.

A unique landscape that could never be thought of as belonging to this world was unfolding.

'...Wow.'

A heartfelt exclamation came from within her mind.

The playroom in her memory was definitely a place where infants played with soft balls and slides.

The space unfolding before her eyes now was like...

Like something indescribable, a mysterious sight.

'Science and technology have really advanced tremendously...'

Number 19 reflected on her thoughts that she had thought the playroom was childish until just now,

Without even noticing that the door of the room she entered was closing,

She was just walking into that strange space as if being sucked in.

! Emergency Alert !
Alert issued throughout Site 17
1983-β-Temporary Procedure in progress

To all personnel working at Site 17.

A sudden closure phenomenon has been detected from Anomaly Number 1983, "The Door to the Multidimensional Maze."

All personnel are to stop moving from now on and immediately distance themselves from the door currently located nearby.

1983-β-Temporary Procedure is currently in progress.

Specially assigned personnel are assessing the situation and will be moving around inside the Site.

Assigned personnel will forcibly break into doors if necessary and will never ask staff to open doors.

If you hear a voice requesting that you open the door from beyond the door, immediately move away from the door, cover your ears, and turn your gaze away from the door.

Again, specially assigned personnel will never request the opening of locked doors.

All personnel are to stop moving immediately and remain where you are until further instructions.

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