DAY 18, 7:32 A.M. — Manager's Bedroom
"Fara told me to spend more time exploring. the worlds of Abnormalities that have already been fully contained… Her intentions are unclear, but at least for now, I haven't found anything harmful about it."
X sat on the edge of his bed, holding a pen as he wrote in a small notebook.
"And she said that 'B' is still by my side… What exactly does that mean?"
He drew a large question mark, flipped to the next page, and began a new line.
"Punishing Bird and Judgement Bird share the same Abnormality world. This is the first time I've seen something like this…"
"Does this mean there's some deeper, hidden connection between them?"
"…The Abnormality world of '1.76 MHz' isn't much different from its containment unit—illusions within a confined area, along with continuous noise."
"…But when I made contact with it, what I felt was rejection and distance. That's quite different from the 'induces intense anger' trait described in the work logs…"
"Hm… That feeling was more like my brain was actively rejecting any information related to it, rather than it exerting influence on me."
"…next is the Snow Queen. That one really surprised me. I had assumed she would be a humanoid Abnormality like the birds, but instead, she was an enormous crystalline ice castle."
"However, the will of the castle was able to communicate with me peacefully… and it seemed very familiar with the company. It even knew who I was."
"Although classified as an HE-level Abnormality, the Snow Queen feels about as safe as a ZAYIN-level soda machine…"
"But when I tried to enter the interior of the ice palace, she told me that 'this place' was not where I belonged—and then forcibly expelled me from that world…?"
"Interesting… She even deliberately emphasized the word 'here' with a different tone."
"I wonder whether the 'here' she mentioned referred specifically to the ice palace itself… or to her entire Abnormality world?"
After writing the last line, X closed the notebook.
He had already developed a habit.
Things related to "surface-level Lobotomy Corporation"—such as work logs, employee information, and daily interactions—were recorded digitally.
That was the diary meant for Angela to see.
But matters like Abnormality world exploration, conversations with Fara, and experiences that defied common sense…
All of those secrets related to the "inner Lobotomy Corporation" were written in this physical notebook and locked away in the deepest part of his drawer.
X did hope that one day, Angela would open up to him and speak honestly.
But "openness" did not mean surrendering his last remaining secrets.
Especially when, deep down, he still harbored a faint sense of vigilance toward his secretary and department heads.
If Angela had secrets she couldn't speak of, he wouldn't pry.
Likewise, he didn't want his own secrets to be exposed without his knowledge under unseen surveillance.
It was an unspoken form of mutual respect—and a basic instinct for self-preservation.
"Alright…"
After locking the notebook away, X stood up and stretched.
"next, time to start today's work."
As he walked toward the door, he muttered to himself,
"Hopefully Angela isn't still upset about yesterday…"
Beep beep beep—
The communicator by his bed suddenly rang, displaying Malkuth's avatar on the screen.
"Manager! Good morning!"
Once connected, Malkuth greeted him with her usual bright and energetic voice.
"Morning, Malkuth."
X smiled as he replied.
"What's up? Calling this early usually means something important."
"Uh… yeah. There is something."
Malkuth's tone sounded a little troubled.
Before she could continue, however, a cool and clear voice faintly came through from the other side of the call.
"That's enough, Malkuth."
It was Yesod.
"Manager, if you could be just a bit more responsible, please come to the Safety Department in person. This isn't something that can be explained in a few words."
"Yesod is there too?"
Hearing the second voice, X felt a bit puzzled, but he immediately responded,
"…Alright. I understand. I'll be there shortly."
—
Safety Department — Department Head's Office
"Um… Manager."
As soon as she saw X , Malkuth waved with a smile, then spoke a bit awkwardly.
"Netzach isn't feeling very well today, so she might need to take the day off…"
"Malkuth, your lying skills are terrible."
Yesod bluntly interrupted her clumsy excuse.
"I'll explain instead. Manager, Netzach is high on Enkephalin again. She's completely useless."
With her arms crossed and her posture cold, Yesod revealed the truth without the slightest mercy.
"That's way too underhanded, Yesod!"
Malkuth reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling as she glared at her.
"So what?"
Yesod shrugged indifferently, unmoved by the accusation.
"Whatever happens to Netzach has nothing to do with me."
Then her sharp, rational gaze turned toward Malkuth.
"Netzach is neglecting her duties—and so are you."
"You should be assembling your team and preparing for work, not covering for her here."
"Oh—right! You're right!"
Reminded like this, Malkuth suddenly seemed to realize something. She slapped her forehead and hurried out of the Safety Department.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to turn back and shout energetically,
"Thanks, Yesod!"
"..."
"..."
As Malkuth's hurried figure disappeared through the doorway, the office was left with only X and Yesod in silence.
"I have to say, she seems pretty carefree like that."
X looked in the direction she had left and chuckled, shaking his head.
"She's a bit reckless, but you could call that a kind of vitality."
"Please don't be angry, Manager. She's always been like that."
Yesod was clearly used to it. Even after Malkuth left, she still felt compelled to put in a few good words for her troublesome colleagues.
"But you should do something before Angela sees Netzach in that sorry state."
"There are fifteen minutes left before work officially begins. Good luck."
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