Anomaly Management Bureau, Director's Office.
"Hi~♪, good evening! My name is Elysia. Sorry to call you over so late~
So this is 096~ It looks quite dangerous! Hayashi, you've worked hard!"
A sweet and cheerful voice rang out. If Hayashi hadn't known that she was currently full of resentment due to certain circumstances, he would have been captivated by Elysia's fairytale-like smile.
"It's for work, no hardship at all!"
Hayashi, pretending to know nothing, said with a righteous attitude.
"Hmm, very high awareness indeed~~"
Elysia playfully patted Hayashi's shoulder, her beautiful eyes curiously examining him.
'Hmm, not bad, not bad! He's a good, righteous child!
But this alone isn't enough!'
Elysia didn't know why, although her rationality told her that she and Hayashi were only meeting for the first time, yet... love, joy, grief, resentment... all sorts of emotions continuously impacted her thoughts, and vaguely, she seemed to hear her own voice.
"You seem to have a lot of questions for me. Don't rush; we still have a lot, a lot of time~♪."
Those were the words the girl said to tease someone wearing a white navy uniform.
"I'm cute during the day, and I'm cute at night. Which me do you prefer? ♪"
That was the playful question the girl posed under the morning light and moonlight, filled with joy and anticipation.
"All today's tasks are done? That's great, I'll praise you~♪"
That was the girl's magic to relieve someone's fatigue, encouragement that could turn into candy to last the whole day.
But gradually, the girl's cheerfulness vanished.
Only she remained on the lonely deck, waiting for the figure in an elevator that would never open again.
"The journey is long, and perhaps it will stagnate... but emptiness and confusion also have their meaning~♪"
The girl comforted herself in this way, looking forward to someone's return, and then they would do missions together, go to amusement parks together, barbecue on the beach together, together... "But why did you disappear…"
In the end, he never reappeared, and the cheerful notes in the girl's words also vanished... Affected by the lingering emotions, Elysia's gaze towards Hayashi unconsciously carried resentment.
Jeanne, who was beside them, was the same; her gaze towards Hayashi was somewhat hazy, and finally, a little resentful.
"!"
On the surface, he showed no flaws, but inwardly, Hayashi was sweating profusely.
He actually wanted to say. As a Captain, as a Master, isn't it normal to stop logging into games for various reasons?
Academics, work, life, etc... But at this moment, Hayashi felt that if he said such words, he would be beaten to death by Elysia and Jeanne.
After all, whether as a Captain, Master, or other Doctor, Traveler, Commander, Sensei or whatever.
The debts he left behind were comparable to U.S. dollar debt.
"Beautiful Director, if you have a way to contain it, then it's yours!"
Just as Elysia and Jeanne's gazes grew increasingly dangerous.
Hayashi shifted the topic to business.
"Oh, right~ Let me see..."
Saying this, Elysia opened Yukino's mission log, which had been written long ago as soon as her mission ended.
"Minimum 35 km/h, maximum can reach nearly subsonic speeds (approximately 855 km/h), capable of catching up to and destroying high-altitude early warning aircraft... physical fitness is about 24 to 580 times that of a human (calculated based on the human 100-meter world record of 37.58 km/h).
All flesh and internal organs are crystallized, can move with only bones, and bones can resist annihilation by anomalous rules and cannot be destroyed...
What kind of monster is this!"
Their attention drawn by 096, Elysia and Jeanne temporarily chose to abandon their exploration of those strange feelings towards Hayashi.
"But why did it target Asuna? Is there anything special about that cute girl from Shuchi'in Academy?"
Elysia asked, puzzled.
Hearing this, Hayashi breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he was free from the resentful gazes of the two women.
Thank goodness that both Saint Jeanne and the Immaculate Maiden Elysia were saints and goddesses who loved humanity.
"This is the key!"
Saying this, Hayashi pulled up pictures of 096 from various forums.
"This is its photo?"
It was Jeanne, who had been silent all along, who spoke. She wasn't frightened by 096's face, only puzzled. A mere photo—could it be a reason for it to kill?
"Wait, the time these photos appeared..."
Suddenly, Elysia keenly discovered something and pointed at the release times of these photos, exclaiming in surprise.
"It's consistent with the time that undead army attacked the base station and server base..."
"Could this be the virus that the Cyber Security Department couldn't find!?"
"The virus they injected wasn't to paralyze the world's network, but to spread these photos!?"
Facing Elysia's questions, Hayashi nodded and said.
"Yes, it can perceive anyone who has seen its facial photo, video, or portrait, regardless of obstacles and distance... and will try its best to kill them!"
"I gave it a nickname, 'The Shy Guy.'"
After Hayashi finished speaking, Elysia and Jeanne looked at 096, who was wearing a dog-head mask, in sudden realization.
No wonder when they saw its picture earlier, this guy made an attacking motion towards them, but after looking at Hayashi beside them, it sulked and became quiet again.
"What a dangerous fellow!"
Elysia exclaimed, then looked a bit troubled. Such a guy would indeed be difficult to contain under normal circumstances.
"It seems that until we find a way to contain it, it can only stay with you for now."
Elysia said with a look of regret.
"Ah, can't we find a way to sink it into a volcano or throw it into the Earth's core?"
Jeanne asked, puzzled.
"It's useless. Yukino-chan's anomalous authority couldn't destroy its bones, so throwing it into a volcano is pointless. Even if we threw it into the Earth's core, I believe it could climb out on its own!"
Elysia shook her head and said.
"I don't have any objections; I'll just treat it like raising a dog!"
Hayashi said indifferently. After all, this guy's intelligence was even lower than a dog's.
"A dog! Wait for me!"
Hearing Hayashi say this, Elysia seemed to remember something, and suddenly, a breeze swept up as she vivaciously disappeared from the office.
Then, shortly after, Hayashi and Jeanne saw her jump back in a flurry, holding a pair of realistic dog ears and a cat tail.
"Hehe—! ♪"
Elysia, with her own sound effects, proudly held up the two items in front of Hayashi and Jeanne.
"This is..."
Although they were good friends and comrades in the bureau, Jeanne didn't know enough about Elysia's collection of strange little objects, so like Hayashi, she showed a questioning expression.
"Transfiguration tools from a certain magic academy!
These dog ears, no matter what creature wears them, will turn into a dog!
And this cat tail, when worn, will turn a person into a cute cat-eared girl!"
Elysia said proudly.
Saying this, she took off the mask on 096's head, and as 096 was seen in the face, amidst its helpless, angry whines, she put the dog ears on 096.
Then, under Elysia's expectant gaze and Jeanne and Hayashi's astonished gazes.
096 really turned into a purebred husky!
"It really changed! Is this amazing magic!?"
Jeanne exclaimed in surprise.
"Transfiguration?"
Hayashi said in astonishment.
"But its bones are indestructible, aren't they!?"
Jeanne asked, puzzled.
"Perhaps this transformation has no effect on its bones. Your Highness Saintess, you yourself said 'magic'..."
Hayashi also expressed his incomprehension but was greatly shocked.
"Perfect!"
Elysia looked at the 096 husky on the ground with satisfaction, then, holding the remaining cat tail, she looked at Hayashi with ill intentions...
Editor's notes:
The rest of the chapters tomorrow...