Inner Lobotomy Corporation, Control Department Main Rest Area.
The surroundings were familiar—cold, lifeless furnishings, empty of people, like a corner forgotten by time itself.
When his consciousness once again gathered here, X was already quite used to this sensation of falling from one dream into another.
"..."
But this time, something was different.
X hesitated for a long while along the path he usually took.
Normally, he would head straight for the end of Corridor One, toward that Abnormality space which could grant him a brief moment of peace and conversation.
Chatting with that nun who always listened in silence allowed him, in the empty Inner Company, to dispel a bit of the loneliness and anxiety that came with exploring. alone.
However, after that incident, X … suddenly didn't really want to see that "old bones" anymore.
It wasn't that he felt disgust or rejection—just a simple, helpless uncertainty.
He didn't know what kind of expression to wear, or what sort of attitude to take, if he were to face that beautiful nun again.
In the end, X turned around and headed toward another door leading to a secondary rest area.
This was a route he rarely took. The corridor stretched on as if it had no end, with only the echo of his own footsteps reverberating through the dead silence, sounding especially hollow.
He boarded the elevator at the end of the corridor and, accompanied by the soft hum of machinery, descended slowly to the Information Department below.
After that, X opened the door to one of the Information Department's containment units and stepped inside the Abnormality's space.
A flash of white light filled his vision—
When his sight cleared again, he found himself standing in a dim forest. Just like the first time they met, the Abnormality known as Punishing Bird sat alone on a thick branch of a massive withered tree, swinging her little legs.
"!!"
When she saw X , an uncontrollable flash of joy lit up the bird's bright eyes.
But that joy lasted less than a second. As if she suddenly remembered some important setting, she shook her head vigorously, puffed out her cheeks, and put on an exaggeratedly angry expression :
"Big brother! Why did you come again?!"
Punishing Bird said indignantly,
"Didn't I already tell you last time? If there's nothing important, don't just come running into the forest! That big monster is really dangerous!"
"Uh…"
X looked up at her and smiled helplessly.
"Actually, I'm just here to take refuge."
"Taking refuge… in the Black Forest?"
Hearing that, the carefully maintained angry expression on Punishing Bird's adorable face froze instantly.
She tilted her little head, as if invisible question marks were popping up all around it.
"Big brother, are you sure you didn't say that backwards? This place is the most dangerous one, isn't it?"
"Of course not…"
X walked over beneath the branch she was sitting on, found a comfortable spot, and leaned against the tree trunk.
"To be honest, the outside isn't that safe either… there's even a man-eating nun—uh… I mean, a man-eating big skull."
Mentioning One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds almost made X slip up.
He quickly corrected himself and continued coaX ing her gently:
"Last time, we searched such a huge area and didn't find any trace of a big monster. Maybe it already left, you know?"
"You staying here alone in the forest is actually pretty boring and lonely, right?"
"We could play games together too. That still counts as waiting here for your two sisters to come back, doesn't it? Two birds with one stone."
"W-well… that does make sense…"
Punishing Bird wavered visibly.
X 's words had hit her right where it hurt.
Punishing Bird was actually quite playful. After all, if she really could endure boredom and accept the status quo…
She wouldn't, during daytime work hours, secretly reduce her Qliphoth Counter whenever employees went to work in other containment units—trying to get attention, or even escaping her unit altogether.
"O-okay… fine…"
In the end, she gave up thinking entirely and chose to follow her own desire to play.
"Then… then just keep me company and chat for a bit, big brother."
She flapped the small wings at her waist and flew down from the branch, settling onto X 's shoulder.
"Of course~"
X raised a hand and gently rubbed her head, careful not to use too much force, afraid he might hurt this porcelain-doll-like little creature.
"Hmm… then let's start by talking about your two sisters?"
He suggested.
"If even our little bird misses them so much, I really want to meet them too."
"They must be wonderful people, right?"
"Of course they are!"
The moment her sisters were mentioned, Punishing Bird's slightly conflicted expression instantly brightened. Happiness radiated from her whole being.
"My two sisters are the best sisters ever!"
"Then… let's start with the one you said you could vaguely sense the location of?"
"Oh! You mean Big Bird!"
Punishing Bird's eyebrows shot up as she spoke excitedly.
"Big Bird is the strongest and smartest of the three of us! And she used to have a really, really beautiful eye! Really! Super pretty!"
"But later, to protect the forest and keep everyone from being hurt by the big monster, she gave her eye to Long Bird, and only kept the scale that can judge sins…"
At this point, Punishing Bird began describing her earnestly:
"So, if you see someone with thick bandages wrapped around her eye, always holding a scale in her hand, and she's tall and slender—then that person is probably my Big Bird sister."
"Wow… that really does sound like someone special…"
X nodded thoughtfully.
"Hearing that, I kind of want a chance to talk to her too."
"Then… what about the other one?"
"The other one is Long Bird."
Punishing Bird continued,
"Um… about Long Bird…"
She lightly tapped her lower lip with her finger, as if trying to find the right words.
"Long Bird is kind of… spacey. Uh… not exactly dumb, just… just that she thinks very differently from the rest of us…"
"Ahh… I don't really know how to explain it."
Punishing Bird shook her head in frustration.
"Anyway, if you ever run into a big sister carrying a lantern, with an amazing figure, but who always looks like she's lost in her own thoughts…"
"Then just… just try not to focus on her eyes, or on the lamp she's holding!"
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/BlackDevil808