"Now then, we shall convene the first general meeting of the Sixth Calamity Countermeasures Office."
A low voice echoed through the conference room. The person taking command on the podium was an old man in a military uniform. However, his physique was built and trained so robustly that he did not show his age. Groomed hair of romance gray and a kaiser mustache. He had a solemn face like a crag, but it was a well-known fact that a humanity that loved his subordinates more than anyone else lurked behind it.
The meeting was held under the progression of Commander Andarm, now Chief Andarm. After quickly finishing a brief introduction of the superiors, the agenda immediately shifted to the core.
"First, we shall once again review the video in question that was posted the other day on the video-sharing site 'I-Tube,' accompanied by detailed commentary. If there are any points you find questionable, feel free to ask without hesitation."
The lights in the room were dimmed, and the image projected from the projector was cast onto the screen. The eyes of everyone gathered in the conference room focused there.
The video begins with a scene in a desolate back alley where a girl ignites a cassette stove. The girl wore a mud-stained scarf and sweater, and her mouth was hidden by a mask. However, her characteristic silver hair was exposed without reservation. Despite her shabby appearance, the beautiful quality of that hair, which was thoroughly well-maintained, felt somewhat peculiar.
The girl casually took out potatoes from under the stand and placed them gently on the stove's grate. She used her hands to steady the total of three potatoes as they rolled unsteadily on the grate. And then, the girl, who had maintained silence until now, spoke for the first time.
'It's Six.'
The atmosphere in the conference room shifted with a stir. There were no people who would leak private talk in this place. Only the air moved quietly. That was how much meaning was contained in her words.
"She uses 'Six' as her username on I-Tube. It is not clear what she was thinking when she used this name, but it could be taken as a message directed at us..."
The girl's identity had already been determined, and that information was shared by everyone present. The Second Dark Continent Expedition, which the United States of Saherta undertook as a national project—that 'Negative Baggage.' It was thought that they had successfully returned this time without bringing back any risks, but that first human achievement was overturned at this point. History repeats itself.
As if the act itself was a sin, as if the land refused humans from treading upon the New Continent, one cannot escape the punishment called Calamity. Although she had not yet been publicly certified, she held the possibility of becoming the sixth calamity that would lead humanity to extinction.
Only she knows her thoughts and why she posted such a video. However, there are things that can be deciphered by carefully observing the video. Even if they could not understand the thoughts themselves, they could infer what kind of emotions she was feeling at that time.
Chief Andarm is a master who can distinguish the relationship between the nature of aura and emotions. He prided himself on the fact that, even in this wide world, there was no one who could surpass him in that field. As long as he could see a person's aura, he could read their approximate emotions.
Aura is not captured in the video footage. To an ordinary person, it would just look like a normal video, but a Nen user can supplementarily visualize the movement of aura in their mind from that visual information. If one looks with eyes that have opened their micropyles, it is possible to read that person's aura from the subtle signs of physical movement, even if it is a video.
On the video, the scene of Six roasting potatoes in silence continues. Andarm used his trained 'Gyo' to focus aura in his eyes and observed the aura the girl wore with high precision.
"Her spirit appears to be in a state of strong tension. It is thought that anxiety and impatience are mixed together, causing a state of light panic."
A stir arose in the venue over whether it was possible to read emotions from aura in such detail. As expected of a key figure who took command at the front lines during the Dark Continent Expedition without regard for his own safety and led it to success; even in his old age, he showed a high level of strength that ordinary Nen users could not possibly reach.
'The butter I am using today is, M-Minoru Farm, handmade-style, Gla, Glass, Grass-fed Butter.'
Materials detailing the product information of Minoru Farm Handmade-style Grass-fed Butter had been distributed to all meeting participants. The producer, the place of origin, and the regions where it is sold—this was information worth investigating just based on that. The sound of participants scratching their pens on the materials echoed through the conference room.
Perhaps unable to bear the silence, Six began to read the label on the butter box in a halting tone. From the ingredient list to the expiration date and storage method, she simply read the text from end to end.
The reading of the label finished, but not much time had passed yet. However, at that point, Six took the butter out of the box. Whether from the cold or nervousness, she placed the butter on top of the potatoes with hands that trembled slightly. If she intended to make buttered potatoes, shouldn't she have placed the butter right before eating, after the potatoes were completely cooked through?
The butter, melted into a slurry by the heat, slid off the potatoes and sent up smoke as it was scorched by the stove's fire.
'It's finished.'
She stated it clearly. And then, she grabbed the potatoes—which looked undercooked no matter how you looked at them—with her bare hands. It was an act that wouldn't be surprising if it caused burns, but Six seemed unbothered.
'I'm eating.'
She declared so, but she remained frozen while staring at the potato in her hand. Here, Andarm operated the PC at hand and paused the video.
"Regarding her suspicious behavior around here, judging by what I can read from the flow of her aura, she seems quite confused. It appears she is trying to wrap up the filming as quickly as possible. Because her emotions are jumbled, it is difficult to make an accurate prediction, but if I were to state my personal opinion... she likely finds the mask she is wearing to be a hindrance to eating the dish she made, and she seems to be conflicted over whether or not to take it off in front of the camera."
One participant raised their hand there. Andarm accepted the question.
"She couldn't eat while wearing a mask. She should have known that from the stage before filming. Once it was actually finished, would she really agonize over something like that?"
Andarm nodded deeply.
"You certainly have a point. However, as I mentioned earlier, she was in an extremely unstable mental state. It is possible she could not make normal judgments. Also, she might simply be staring intently at the finished product of the dish she made."
Even Andarm cannot decipher all true intentions. There is much prediction included. Even if she looks like an innocent child, she is a suspect of being a calamity. There is a possibility she is thinking of things they cannot even imagine.
Andarm resumed the playback. From there, the video reached a turbulent development.
The frozen Six suddenly turned her eyes toward a spot outside the camera's filming direction. Six tried to stand up from the spot in a hurry. But there, a white shadow flew in at a tremendous speed.
"Awooo! Awooo!"
It was a large dog. A dirty white dog appeared. It wore no collar and looked like a stray dog. It pounced on Six as if to pin her down and began licking her face vigorously.
"Whoa, wait, puwa...!"
Six shook the dog off. While her face was being licked, the mask had come off, and her true face was exposed. As she started to move to quickly stop the camera, the dog attacked again from behind her. Being pinned down by its large build, Six fell forward. The dog, which had climbed on top of her, began to violently thrust its hips.
"Stop itttttttt!"
"Haa! Haa! Haa! Haa!"
One of the participants raised their hand.
"This dog's abnormal behavior...? Is there a possibility it received some kind of influence from her, such as through a Nen ability?"
"This is called mounting, a behavior in dogs that expresses joy. It is also a display of hierarchy toward those lower than themselves. This itself is a natural behavior seen in pet dogs as well, but there are several grounds why we cannot say for certain that this dog is not under the influence of some kind of ability. I will elaborate on that later."
While the Q&A was being conducted, the video had ended. Andarm mercilessly rewound the footage. He paused it right before Six stopped the camera. Six's face, looking as if she were about to burst into tears, was clearly captured as she approached close.
That image and a different image opened in another window were projected on the screen. It was classified material recorded during the Dark Continent Expedition. There, the figure of "Quinn," whom the investigation team contacted on-site, was shown. Data matching the facial features of the two, Six and Quinn, was displayed.
"As a result of the analysis, it has been confirmed with a 99% probability that these two are the same person. Upon receiving that report, the government secretly established this Sixth Calamity Countermeasures Office. We are treated as the executive agency tasked with overall response, based on the premise that this person calling herself Six is the same person as 'Quinn'."
In short, it was a "dumping" of responsibility. It was clear that Andarm was chosen as the person in charge because "you guys were the ones who brought her back, so you deal with it." Of course, his skills are expected, and there is significant funding and human assistance from the government, but the planning and execution of all plans are entrusted to the Countermeasures Office.
"However, let me tell you all here that the very premise itself is uncertain. There is a possibility that 'Six' and 'Quinn' are different people."
Andarm has experience directly contacting Quinn. From his perspective, the two are clearly different people, although they look similar. The difference in personality could be explained as a change that occurred, but the aura observed in the video cannot be faked. The 'Ten' covering Six's body was significantly inferior in refinement compared to Quinn's. It was unrefined, as if she were a novice who had just learned Nen.
However, if they were different people, that was a major problem in its own right. It would mean that two people with the exact same appearance, enough to deceive an analysis by state-of-the-art equipment, had come into existence. It could not possibly be dismissed with the word "coincidence." A possibility—a fear he did not want to consider—came to mind.
Quinn carried Chimera Ants with her. There are many unknown points regarding the relationship between the abilities she handles and Chimera Ants. However, if one were to describe their characteristics as living creatures simply, it would be 'eat' and then 'multiply.' By eating, they incorporate the superior characteristics possessed by other organisms and multiply at an explosive speed.
If Quinn had 'multiplied,' one could not help but imagine. 'Six' is a word representing the number 6. If that simply meant the number given to her in the order she was born...
"How was this Six born? Did they hide in the research ship and cross the sea? Or did they pass through the Uncharted Waters by another route? What was the intent behind her exposure to the media at this time? There are mountains of things we must investigate. But the thing we must tackle first is..."
Andarm was terrified. Standing on the podium, he maintained his dignity and did not show even a slight tremor, but in his heart, he wanted to run away with all his might. This terror could likely only be understood by those who had tasted a true hell. A Calamity (Risk) is not something in a domain that humans should touch. It is a true despair that one must not get involved with, no matter what. There were hardships that could not be expressed in words regarding how he led the half-destroyed investigation team and the ship back to their motherland.
Why was he facing such a situation? Why was he burdened with such a position? He got angry, he insulted, he cursed, but even so, he did not run away. Because that is the man called 'Andarm' whom he swore to play the role of for the rest of his life.
"We will attempt to make contact with Six. And then, we will 'protect' her. There is a limit to just gathering information on the internet. We cannot move forward unless we meet her directly."
By the time the Saherta government noticed Six's existence, about three weeks had already passed since the video was posted. They never imagined that a suspect of being a calamity would be brazenly active on I-Tube. The fact that information about Quinn was known only to a very limited number of high-ranking officials was also a factor in the delay of discovery.
The posted video was immediately deleted afterward by Six herself. Why did she post a video she would delete, even if only temporarily? Various reasons are considered, but the theory that it was an accidental operation due to being flustered is considered likely.
How was the Countermeasures Office able to obtain such a video? It was because the same video, reposted without permission, could be confirmed in many places on the internet. Apparently, there were people who downloaded the video data within the brief time between it being posted and deleted. Reposting a video without the person's consent is a violation of the site's terms of service, and these videos were being deleted one after another, but they had fallen into a game of cat-and-mouse where someone else would post it even if it was erased.
It was being reposted not only on I-Tube but also on other video-sharing sites. The members of the Countermeasures Office could not understand what drove those malicious internet users to such lengths. An enormous number of comments had been posted on the reposted videos. There were comments simply praising Six's adorable appearance, but comments filled with nonsensical slang flooded in with an overwhelming force that surpassed them, confusing the investigation team.
Pure fans, those taking a negative stance, those who just wanted to make a fuss by jumping on this commotion—those with such diverse intentions brought in internet memes, and the comment sections of the reposted videos had turned into a chaotic and bizarre environment. They even suspected an attack by a new type of Nen ability.