Lobotomy Corporation — Private Dining Room
The lighting in the room was much softer than in the main hall, cutting off the noise of the outside world and leaving only the faint sounds of cutlery touching porcelain.
The refined wallpaper and thick carpeting absorbed most of the remaining noise, creating a sense of near-luxurious tranquility.
The air was filled with the aroma of food—the charred fragrance of grilled meat, the rich sweetness of creamy soup, and the fresh tang of slightly sour jam. It stood in stark contrast to the ever-present scent of disinfectant that clung to the facility.
"Good evening, Justin, Audrey, Harumoto, Faust, X i."
As the last invited employee took her seat, X raised his glass and smiled.
"Managing Nothing There and working overtime on Judgement Bird—you all worked hard today."
"You're too kind, Manager."
"It was our duty."
"Not hard at all."
"You worked hard as well."
As the Manager and the senior employees exchanged polite remarks, X i—sitting stiffly upright—suddenly realized something a little too late—
Today…
She seemed to have… not actually worked with either of those terrifying Abnormalities at all?!
But since she was already here, slinking away now would be cowardly and humiliating…
She might as well shamelessly finish all the food on the table before leaving!
Having made up her mind, X i carefully picked up her knife and fork. She avoided meeting anyone's eyes, instead burying her attention in the perfectly cooked steak on her plate.
—
By the time the dinner reached its midpoint, most of the lavish dishes had already been cleared away.
The initial awkwardness of subordinates sharing a table with their superior had faded considerably under the influence of good food and a Relaxed atmosphere.
Sensing the moment was right, X wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin and gently set down his cutlery.
This small motion caused the mood in the private room to subtly shift.
"Hmm… besides thanking you all for your hard work today, I actually had another reason for inviting you."
X spoke calmly.
Though his tone still lacked the stiffness and distance of a superior, it was enough to make the atmosphere turn serious once more.
"…?"
X i looked confused. She resisted the urge to bolt and instead perked up her ears, staying put to listen.
"..."
Audrey, who had short, ear-length brown hair, also put down her utensils.
She lifted her head, but her gaze remained slightly lower than X 's, deliberately avoiding direct eye contact—a restrained expression of respect toward her superior.
"Gulp—"
Harumoto, who wore two cute bun-like pigtails with the lower half of her hair dyed dark green, swallowed the last bite of food before speaking somewhat indistinctly:
"Please go ahead, Manager."
"Indeed."
Justin, with her purple hair tied into two playful braids and serving as the Control Department's vice-captain, appeared far more at ease.
She nodded and smiled.
"We're happy to help."
"For you to bypass the Sephirah and come directly to us…"
The final speaker was Faust, a composed, intellectual woman with smooth silver-white short hair and an emotionless expression .
"Faust predicts that the topic you wish to discuss concerns our department heads."
"Still as sharp as ever… as expected of the Control Department's captain."
X nodded in approval, his gaze sweeping over the employees seated before him.
"That's right. What I want to ask is this—do you have any opinions about your Sephirah department heads?"
He paused briefly, then put it more plainly.
"In other words, have your department heads been doing anything recently that's caused you particular trouble?"
Aside from the slightly guilty X i, the other four present were all veteran members of the Control Department—part of the very first group that had worked under X from his first official day as Manager.
Among them, three were now captains of their respective departments.
Originally, there should have been five founding members.
But the last one… had suffered a mental breakdown on Day 1, unable to withstand the immense pressure of the job. No one knew where Malkuth had taken her afterward.
"Problems? There are quite a few."
Faust answered without hesitation.
"To suppress the 'Ordeals' occurring in other departments, Ms. Malkuth has been reallocating many reserve employees from the Training Department."
"I see…"
As the Control Department's captain—and Malkuth's right hand—Faust's words carried considerable weight with X .
At the same time, they explained something that had long puzzled him.
No wonder there had been no major incidents, even in departments he couldn't directly intervene in…
So Malkuth had been handling them all along. As expected of the Control Department.
"And then?" X prompted.
"…However, because Ms. Malkuth relied solely on these 'temporary employees' from the Control Department to suppress Ordeals, the suppression ultimately failed, resulting in heavy casualties and mental breakdowns."
Faust continued.
"Judging from the reactions of the Sephirah toward their department heads, she is still reallocating temporary staff to the middle and lower departments to hold back Ordeals."
"And her emotional state has been growing increasingly obsessive. Her tolerance toward clerical staff and related personnel has also been steadily decreasing…"
Justin added at just the right moment:
"For employees who break down, she executes them directly instead of transferring them to the Training Department for treatment."
"…That concludes the report."
Faust delivered the summary.
So that's why the task assigned to me back then was that nonsensical 'Suppress a Dusk Ordeal'…
X thought to himself.
"Good."
X nodded, then turned to another employee.
"Audrey? How about the Information Department?"
"Yes."
Having received permission, Audrey finally spoke for the first time since the meal began. Her voice was respectful, with a hint of distance.
"A subordinate should not directly observe a superior. My observations regarding Ms. Yesod are therefore limited."
"…However, I have noticed that Ms. Yesod's clothing has become slightly thicker compared to before."
"Other than that, she remains as rational and efficient as ever."
"That's still useful information… Though I thought Snake—Yesod—would be the one with the fewest problems."
X shifted his gaze to the side.
"Harumoto, the Safety Department… uh…"
"As for Netzach's issues, I probably don't know much more than you do."
Seeing her Manager stumble mid-sentence, Harumoto could only shrug helplessly, her expression saying You already know this, as she replied:
"She's… still the same. I think you understand that better than anyone."
"Uh… right, pretty much…"
X coughed awkwardly, brushing past the topic.
"Seems like what you know lines up with what I've found out as well."
"Then next—"
Beep beep beep—
At that moment, the communicator in X 's pocket rang urgently.
"Sorry, excuse me for a moment…"
X stood up, pulled out his device, and stepped into the private restroom attached to the room.
"Hello?"
"Manager, please return to your quarters immediately. I'm waiting at your door."
Angela's voice came through the line.
"There's an urgent matter. Please come back right away."
Her words were brief and direct—whatever it was, it clearly couldn't wait.
"Now?"
X froze for a moment.
"Alright. I'll be there right away."
Click.
After ending the call and returning from the restroom, X addressed the employees with an apologetic expression .
"Sorry, everyone."
"I've got an urgent issue and need to leave early."
"I've already paid the bill. Feel free to keep eating or stay here and chat for a while."
"Anyway… that's all for now. Goodbye, everyone. We'll talk again next time."
"Mm."
The group nodded in response, none of them objecting to his sudden departure.
Justin even smiled and waved at him.
"Thanks for the meal today, Manager. See you next time!"
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