Time rewound.
DAY 17 began anew.
Yet something was very strange this time.
Under X 's close and constant supervision, Miranda did not die inexplicably like before.
To be precise—she was perfectly fine.
Right up until energy collection was nearly finished, nothing like that bizarre incident of a head snapping off out of nowhere happened again.
It was almost as if…
As long as she wasn't assigned to any Abnormality-related work, nothing would happen to her.
That thought pierced X 's heart like a thin needle.
He opened the Abnormality Encyclopedia and stared at the entry for Judgement Bird, where a considerable number of individual PE-boxes had already been collected. His mind sank into another round of struggle.
Should he abandon all of today's progress again—just for this still-uncertain hidden risk—and restart the entire day to eliminate it completely?
X asked himself.
But to be honest, he wasn't some flawless saint. Restarting an entire workday over and over just for a single employee meant wasting his own time.
Managers had lives too.
And since she was alive and well right now, there was no real issue with ending the day as it was.
"I believe you've been waiting for this message for quite some time, Manager."
While X was still trapped in self-persuasion and inner conflict, Angela's cool voice sounded from behind him.
"Today's energy collection target has been completed. From this point onward, every additional unit of energy you extract will contribute to the company's future prosperity."
The formulaic announcement pulled X back to reality. He turned his head slightly and looked at his secretary.
"However, I still recommend that you stop here for today."
Seeing X glance at her, Angela's lips curved almost imperceptibly as she continued:
"The Qliphoth Meltdown gauge is only one segment away from the limit. The next work cycle would trigger ten meltdown departments."
"And Judgement Bird's Qliphoth Counter is also down to its final point. If the next employee makes even the slightest mistake, this WAW-class Abnormality will breach containment and take a stroll through your facility."
She leaned forward slightly, her blue eyes reflecting X 's tired expression .
"You wouldn't want several hours of hard work to go to waste again, would you?"
"…You're right."
X exhaled deeply, as if expelling all hesitation and unease from his chest.
In the end, he chose not to investigate further.
"Let's end it here for today."
X raised his hand, pressed the button to end work, and confirmed it.
DAY 17—long and turbulent—finally came to an end.
"Oh, right, Angela."
After turning off the screen, X asked casually,
"Want to go grab something to eat at the company cafeteria?"
"Are you serious?"
With the workday over, Angela's impeccable professional demeanor loosened slightly. Her always-businesslike face now carried a hint of very human exasperation.
"I'm an AI. I don't need to eat."
She sighed lightly.
"And I don't have a sense of taste."
"Even someone as perfect as you has things you can't do?"
X paused, then remembered something.
"Then the champagne we drank together on the morning of DAY 4—doesn't that mean you…"
"A machine is still a machine. In the end, it's different from a human."
Angela pulled over another chair and sat down across from X .
—This chair had been placed there by X specifically, so she wouldn't always have to stand.
Her long legs, wrapped in sleek black stockings, crossed elegantly. The fine fabric brushed softly against itself, producing a faint, intimate rustling sound.
"In reality, alcohol has no actual benefits to the human body. 'Drinking' is more about self-anesthetic escape, or a social ritual that facilitates interaction."
She rested her cheek on one hand, her eyes lowering slightly as if lost in thought.
"Alcohol only has value when it's shared with others."
She spoke softly.
"Sometimes, I imagine what being drunk might feel like."
"I was once infected by a virus that slowed my sensory processing by ten times. They said it was similar to being drunk…"
"In reality, it wasn't."
X chuckled.
"Simply slowing perception is very different from actual intoxication."
"If anything, dulled reaction speed is closer."
"…So that green-haired mess who soaked her brain in alcohol and Enkephalin really was talking nonsense."
Angela muttered quietly, then lifted her gaze back to X .
"Then tell me—what does feel somewhat like being drunk?"
"Uh…"
Only hearing the latter half of her question, X thought seriously for a moment before answering uncertainly:
"If I had to say… the dizziness when a kiss gets intense is kind of similar?"
As if to support his argument, he added,
"Don't novels always say things like 'kissed until drunk' or 'so entranced they lost themselves'?"
"..."
Angela fell silent.
She stood up and walked toward X with soundless steps.
Then, quite naturally, she sat down on the armrest of his wide office chair.
"…Angela?"
X snapped back to reality and instinctively leaned backward.
But the chair was only so big—no matter how much he retreated, the distance barely changed.
Golden eyes locked onto his, the gaze within them sharp enough to pierce straight through him.
"Have you ever experienced that?"
Angela asked. Her voice was lower than usual.
"…No?"
The moment the word left his mouth, X regretted it.
Why did it have to sound like a question?!
Couldn't he sound a bit more decisive for once?!
But before X could finish mentally scolding himself—
"Chu~"
A soft, cool sensation pressed gently against his lips.
X 's pupils shrank violently as his scattered thoughts were dragged back to reality by the contact.
He—
He—the manager of Lobotomy Corporation—
Had just been kissed by his secretary?!
Being overpowered by an Abnormality, fine—those were embodiments of desire, you couldn't exactly argue accountability.
But Angela… you?
Sure, it made her seem more "human," but could she at least consider his feelings?!
Wasn't he human too?!
Their lips separated.
Looking at the manager's stunned, disbelieving expression , Angela showed no particular emotion, as though she had done something utterly trivial.
She rose gracefully, the black-stockinged knee that had pressed against his thigh slowly pulling away, the hand on his shoulder withdrawing.
Her slender fingers brushed lightly over her lips, still carrying a faint, silvery thread of moisture. She lowered her eyes, not looking up, as if savoring the lingering sensation.
"…It doesn't feel like that."
After stating her conclusion, Angela shook her head, clearly disappointed.
"Well, um…"
X spoke weakly.
"I think those scenes in novels usually happen after the male and female leads confirm they're in a relationship…"
"..."
Angela froze.
The hand near her lips shifted, opening slightly to cover the lower half of her face, leaving only her eyes visible—eyes impossible to read.
"…Sorry."
She dropped the utterly insincere apology, then spun around sharply and fled the office as if escaping, heels clicking rapidly down the hall.
"Hey! Angela—wait—"
By the time X tried to stop her, the capable secretary was already gone.
"…Fine. You're fast, I'll give you that."
X could only shake his head helplessly.
He packed up his things and left the office.
What he didn't see—
At the corner of the corridor, beneath that hastily retreating figure—
Behind the hand covering her mouth, the curve of her lips was not one of embarrassment or panic.
But a rather self-satisfied smile.
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