Chapter 12: Anomaly Catching Anomaly

Adaptation to Site 17 (2)

Sophia Brown, a researcher belonging to Site 17, was currently deep in thought.

She had something to seriously consider regarding the Anomalous Entity she was currently researching.

Well, it was only natural.

Most Anomalies were dangerous and unstable.

If you didn't constantly research and contemplate them,

Before worrying about the world's dangers or the lives of many,

Your own life was the most likely to be at risk.

Therefore, most researchers in this field had faces that looked as if they had the word "tired" plastered on them.

But for some reason, Sophia, who should have been one of those people,

Actually looked more refreshed and invigorated than before.

That was because what she was currently pondering wasn't

A threat to her life or an Anomaly filled with malice—

'How can I pet Number 19 for a longer time…'

It was a simple, ignorant, and desire-fueled concern:

Reducing the distance between herself and a certain girl.

If other researchers could hear her thoughts, they would find it trivial.

But what could she do?

You can know the depth of ten fathoms of water, but not one fathom of a man's heart.

Moreover, there wasn't anyone at Site 17 who was idle enough to guess that a woman with a businesslike attitude and a stern expression was having such an embarrassing worry.

'Still, to act so cute and then dislike being petted, Number 19 has such a difficult personality.'

Sophia sighed softly, as if disappointed.

Of course, from the perspective of the girl called Number 19, this was a very unfair thought.

That was because the girl called Number 19 was far from being someone who acted cute.

On the contrary, she was always tense and trying not to do such things.

It was like falsely accusing the girl of something she didn't do.

But, unfortunately,

The laws of the world don't always work the way you want them to.

She might have thought she was always trying to act normal,

But the little girl shaking her head slightly at every question, taking small bites of snacks, or proudly showing off crayon drawings was,

In the eyes of those who "couldn't resist anything cute," it was practically an act of seduction.

And, although it might not be a welcome fact for the girl,

Sophia Brown, who spent the most time with the girl at Site 17,

Was one of the most severe cases among those who couldn't resist anything cute.

'No matter how I think about it, I should request that bear doll again. Let's see, the data I've collected—'

—Click

"Seonbae, did you hear the announcement? If you haven't seen the summons or notice yet—"

Just as she was thinking about re-requesting the giant teddy bear that Oliver had rejected once before, after adding additional requests to the report,

The sound of quick footsteps came from the hallway, and the door opened, and someone began to enter the space where she was staying.

It was her junior, Researcher Arthur.

"...What are you doing?"

Clearly, Arthur's purpose until just now was to find his Seonbae in this room and deliver some information,

But as soon as he saw her current state, he immediately stopped what he was going to say,

And instead, started asking her a question.

"Oh, hello Arthur. I'm currently choosing essential research supplies for Number 19."

"Essential research supplies… those teddy bear pictures?"

"No. Not the pictures, but the things in the pictures. Even so, this office is too small to actually bring these things in and choose them."

"No, whether it's teddy bear pictures or real teddy bears, I don't understand why that's an essential research supply."

"My goodness, you understand a girl's heart so little. Arthur, you haven't had a girlfriend yet, have you?"

"Why are you suddenly making personal attacks?!"

Arthur shouted in embarrassment, then sighed softly as if he had lost.

As he reached out and put his hand on something, the sound of wheels rolling came, and a chair nearby moved closer to him.

He grabbed any chair from the desk next to her and placed it next to him, then sat down with a thud, as if his legs had given out.

It was as if he had exhausted all his energy in that short conversation.

"Haa, Number 19, that's the one, right? The Anomalous Entity Seonbae is newly in charge of."

"To be precise, it's 163-19. But it's too long and stiff to call her that."

"I think 163-19 or Number 19 are both stiff names like 'test subject,' there's no difference."

"My goodness, you're so insensitive to other people's names. Arthur, you haven't made many friends, have you?"

"I'm telling you, stop with the unfounded personal attacks…"

Arthur rubbed his head as if he was in trouble.

As always, she was a Seonbae who really liked to tease others.

But at the same time, it was also true that she was hard to hate.

He asked her about the topic he was currently worried about with a slightly serious look.

"Seonbae, I'm asking this now, but is that Anomalous Entity really okay?"

"Arthur, she's classified as the lowest risk level. I appreciate your concern, but you don't need to worry that much."

"No, of course, that's how the grade is classified. But that picture Seonbae shared this time, something's strange about it."

"Strange, how?"

"...Are you really asking because you don't know?"

Arthur asked back as if to confirm if she was serious, looking at his Seonbae who was staring at him as if she didn't understand.

However, Sophia's expression still didn't change,

And he also found it difficult to understand her reaction,

So he took out his tablet to confirm something and placed it on his Seonbae's desk.

"Ah, this. It's the picture I shared."

On the tablet screen was a picture.

It was a landscape painting drawn by the girl called Number 19.

Although Number 19 had made a firm mistake and made a completely different guess about what kind of place the facility she was in was,

Regardless of that fact, Number 19 concluded that pretending to continue having amnesia would not be good for escaping the facility,

So Number 19 pretended to have regained some of her memory and drew pictures instead of speaking,

She was going to make them think that she came from a world like a fantasy.

Number 19 admitted that she didn't have much talent for art,

So she chose to draw a popular world that could be recognized with simple descriptions so that they could easily recognize the pictures she drew.

But if there was one thing that even Number 19 couldn't have predicted—

"...Yeah, and it's also a picture filled with unbelievably eerie and terrible things."

—That was, Number 19 had much, very, fa-ar more talent for drawing than she realized.

"Look, this bizarre monster with wide, pointed forelimbs and several holes in its face."

Arthur pointed to something on the far right of the picture.

If it was as Number 19 had intended to draw, it would have been a knight holding a sword and shield and wearing a helmet with holes in it.

"And next to it, there's a crescent-shaped monstrosity spewing out something strange."

Arthur's finger pointed to the part right next to what he had just pointed to.

If it was as Number 19 had intended to depict, it would have been a wizard wearing a pointed hat and casting magic.

"There's even something drawn here that I don't even want to imagine being described in detail."

He pointed to something in the corner of the screen that was somehow lumpy, grotesque, and creepy,

And closed his eyes tightly as if he didn't want to see it anymore.

If it was as Number 19 had intended to express, it would have been a flying dragon.

"Even the colors painted in this background… can a world with such a landscape even exist?"

Arthur said, spreading his palm over the tablet screen.

In the part that appeared to be the background of the picture, colors of the kind that should not exist on Earth were painted haphazardly.

If it was as Number 19 had intended to paint…

…Well, even the person who drew the picture probably wouldn't remember it well.

"Hey, Arthur. You're exaggerating too much."

"It's not just me who thinks that way? More than half of the Site personnel had the same opinion."

And the remaining half of the Site personnel were just people who hadn't seen the shared picture yet.

It would be a sad fact from the perspective of the person who drew the picture,

Unfortunately, it was very difficult for a terribly drawn picture to receive good reviews.

"Hmm, even so, it doesn't look that way to me."

Sophia said as if she didn't agree.

It was incredibly frustrating for his junior, whose aesthetic sense was closer to that of a normal person.

"So, what do you see, Seonbae?"

"Well, I don't know exactly…"

She shifted her gaze to the tablet screen.

As if trying to distinguish the figures that were barely distinguishable from the background, she stared intently at the screen for over ten seconds,

Finally, she pointed to the same part that her junior had initially indicated, this time with her finger, and began to speak her mind.

"First of all, this is a knight with a sword and shield, and next to him is a wizard wearing a pointed hat."

The interpretation she began to recite was surprisingly close to the correct answer.

Had the time she spent with Anomaly 19 somehow influenced her aesthetic sense?

She was offering something that an ordinary person could never reach, yet was infinitely close to the answer.

"And this, perhaps, is it depicting something flying in the sky?"

"The sky?"

"Well, you know, like a dragon or something…"

"…"

Unfortunately, that opinion would not be accepted.

The person who drew the picture couldn't speak, and most people couldn't recognize what was expressed in the picture.

No matter how close to the answer it was, the only person who would accept it,

At least within this Site, there was only one person.

If the artist knew, they would be quite shocked.

"…Seonbae, the mental contamination test. You really got it, right?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes and spoke suspiciously.

Of course, it was a joke.

As he and she had discussed before, the checkups conducted within the Site were not something one could refuse, even if they wanted to.

It was half serious, but also half meant to tease her bizarre aesthetic abilities,

He was only saying it with the intention of returning the teasing he always received from his Seonbae.

"Of course, I did. In the first place, because of the escape incident, you and I were sick of getting checkups…"

Sophia covered her mouth with a gasp.

She had unconsciously blurted out the words, as always, intending to lightly refute what her junior was saying.

But this time, the words contained something quite sensitive for the two of them in this place.

The escape incident.

Anomaly 871. That is, when the Swallowing Shadow escaped from Site 17.

They failed to check the alarms and notifications in time, and couldn't get behind the containment wall.

And were swallowed by the shadow.

Of course, like the other personnel who were swallowed at that time, they didn't have detailed memories of that time.

All they had was the sudden interruption of consciousness during their conversation, and waking up to find themselves rescued, half-naked.

They hadn't really felt any particular pain.

In some cases, some people might even feel elated, thinking they were just lucky.

However, the fact that they had survived a life-threatening situation

Was not something that most people could easily dismiss.

Steel bars falling right in front of their faces, lungs crushed to the point of near drowning, a blade narrowly missing their hearts.

Not something vague like 'I might die,'

But a more certain and direct fear that only began to approach them at the moment of facing death.

Wasn't that the most difficult thing for humans to overcome?

And for them, who were aware that their lives could be threatened at any time,

The emotion they felt after this escape incident

Was, literally, the kind of terrible fear that only the dying could feel.

"…I'm sorry. I tried not to think about what happened back then as much as possible."

"Ah, no. This time it was my fault. I shouldn't have said anything unnecessary."

As Sophia spoke apologetically, Arthur waved his hand and stopped her.

To tell the truth, it wasn't either of their faults.

While sitting in the office and chatting,

Who would have imagined that they would suddenly face a complete life-threatening situation without any chance to resist?

Even if he hadn't forgotten to notify her of the call alarm on her work computer that day,

It wasn't certain whether they would have been able to reach behind the barrier in time.

If there was really a fault,

It would only be the existence of this world, where things that could inflict a terrible end on someone for no reason roamed around.

And, very sadly,

He and she were in a position where they couldn't avoid being targeted by those things.

That was the burden that those belonging to the Anomaly Research Department had to bear in common.

"…"

"…"

Silence falls.

An uncomfortable atmosphere flows around them.

The two, who had been continuing their conversation smoothly since the moment they first met today,

Were merely enduring this place, which had become a bed of thorns.

After quite a long time had passed since then,

They were barely able to awkwardly continue the stories they were trying to tell.

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