I am pleased to present this bonus chapter, which has been made possible thanks to the wonderful review written by Ikxi.
Please enjoy this bonus chapter as a small token of my appreciation for Ikxiâs contribution to my translation work.
[Our adventure starts right now!]
The ending credits roll along with the vigorous voice of a boy with a comical hairstyle.
The story was a bit childish and cliché, but it felt very interesting and fun to me at the moment.
Daesik and Sosik seemed satisfied, too, as they were sitting still and staring at the screen.
Should I say itâs fortunate that we agreed on a channel that we could all enjoy after some discussion?
Anyhow.
Those weird guys.
It seems like about 5 days have passed since we saw the broadcast where someone calling themselves âTwilightâs Callâ appeared and mumbled something.
The timer that was shown then suddenly disappeared at some point, but now that I could watch TV, I could roughly tell the time.
The news always informs you of the date and time.
After seeing the ending credits finish, I changed the channel and turned on the news.
As the pretty announcer unni, no, nuna, rambled on about this and that, I checked the date and time.
Yup. Itâs been 5 days.
If my calculation is correct, I think there are roughly⦠2-3 days left until that timer ends.
Perking up my knowledge pouch, I mulled over what I had seen back then.
The ominous words spoken by that guy from Twilightâs⦠Twilightâs Call.
He definitely said he was fed up with hiding the truth, right?
Iâm not exactly sure, but it was roughly that nuance.
At first, I thought the scope was too broad.
There are too many hidden truths in this world.
Even excluding the existence of anomalies like myself, things like the corruption of those in high places⦠Stuff like that.
But after checking the news from time to time over the past five days, I think I know what hidden truth theyâre talking about.
If what Twilightâs Call⦠said was broadcast nationwide, wouldnât it have been mentioned at least once on the news?
Well⦠Itâs possible that the people hiding the existence of anomalies controlled it.
If they erase the memories of people all over the country, it wouldnât be difficult.
â¦Is that possible?
If it really is, thatâs a bitâ¦
Anyhow.
Thinking that way, it seemed highly likely that Twilightâs Call only broadcasts to the TV in the room Iâm in or only to the building Iâm in.
If so, what theyâre talking about is probably the story of the canned food company.
But it was hard to guess why they were angry.
I understand that theyâre unhappy about hiding that truth, but I canât understand why theyâre getting angry about it.
Hmm⦠Could they be a group of people who bought a ton of Soylent Purple Co.âs stocks?
Because Soylent Purple Co. went under, and all their stocks turned into data scraps?
Even so, that canât be it.
I got the feeling that there might be some kind of faction split, even among the people hiding the existence of anomalies.
Indeed.
In places where people live, things that people do are all like that.
If everyone thought the same way, wouldnât that be even more creepy?
â¦I donât like politics, but thatâs the world people live in.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Hmm.
So.
â¦What the heck is that timer thatâs no longer visible now?
I donât know.
It seems this is the limit of my abilities.
With this much, arenât I quite smart?
It felt good to use my brain (not that I have one) for the first time in a while, but I wanted something sweet because I thought too hard.
As if knowing how I felt,
The door opened, and an exhausted-looking Han Seori entered.
In her hand was a tray with food on it.
The dark circles under her eyes seemed to have gotten darker than 5 days ago.
Is it because of the broadcast by those Twilightâs Call guys?
â¦Because of them, I was just lying around watching TV, but I wasnât too happy to see Han Seoriâs face getting more haggard.
âItâs time to eatâ¦â
Look at that.
Her voice has no strength at all and is staggering.
If she goes to the countryside in that state, wonât she be force-fed until her stomach bulges?
Han Seori, who put down the tray without strength, crouches down as if to watch me, Daesik, and Sosik eat.
I carefully approached and distributed the food to Daesik and Sosik, then stared at Han Seori for a moment.
And held out food to her.
I thought that the one who really needed food right now might not be me but her.
My hand reached out without thinking.
At first, Han Seori blankly stared at my hand, then received the food from my hand with an awkward smile.
It was just ordinary bread, not some kind of animal food, so there shouldnât be any problem.
She tore off a corner of the bread she was looking at and ate it, then put the rest inside my body.
ââ¦Thanks. That gave me some strength.â
What are you saying after just one piece of bread?
â¦Itâs not like I made it anyway.
Han Seori, who was crouching like that, watched me, Daesik, and Sosik eat with a satisfied face.
Eventually.
When I finished eating, Han Seori carefully approached and hugged me.
âCan I hold you for a bit?â
At the voice that sounded like a tired person found their only resting place, I couldnât move in her arms.
Han Seori being this exhausted must be because of those Twilightâs whatchamacallit guys, right?
She was muttering in a very irritated voice back then, too.
Although Iâve never seen the Twilightâs whatchamacallit guys⦠somehow I didnât like them very much.
By the way.
She is unexpectedly big.
Iâm talking about height.
Seeing my view rise higher than I thought, I tried hard to think of something else.
It was warm, perhaps because Han Seoriâs body temperature was being transmitted.
Below, Daesik and Sosik were at Han Seoriâs feet, looking up at me and Han Seori.
Are they envious?
Heh.
Somehow, I felt good.
*Beep⦠beep.*
The time on the timer filling the screen had quickly decreased, now indicating less than a day remaining.
Meanwhile.
At the news that something suspected to be an anomaly appeared in the East Sea, Han Seori fell into thought for a moment.
ââ¦Could that be related to the timer?â
Considering the timing, there was a good enough possibility.
Unless a spaceship suddenly emerges from the sea, it probably is.
What the hell are they planning?
Han Seori pressed her temples *squeeze, squeeze* at the headache that started again.
Han Seori, who was tapping on the desk and pondering, manipulated the panel and called Kim Cheonsu.
Before long, a sweaty Kim Cheonsu hurriedly came to the space where she was.
Seeing him covered in sweat, Han Seori blinked for a moment and opened her mouth.
ââ¦What were you doing before coming?â
âAh, um⦠I was moving luggage from the closed lab.â
âIs that soâ¦? Isnât that still not finished?â
âAh, it just⦠ended now.â
âI see⦠You must have had a hard time.â
Kim Cheonsuâs face, which was like a dead manâs, brightened noticeably at Han Seoriâs recognition of his hard work.
Han Seori spoke with a determined face.
âI think I need to go down to the East Sea area⦠Could you prepare a vehicle?â
âUh⦠Are only the two of us going?â
âYeah⦠Well⦠Theyâll probably prepare everything over there, right?â
As Han Seori murmured that, Kim Cheonsuâs half-dead face became even brighter.
In a small voice, Han Seori said:
ââ¦Weâre not going on a trip.â
âAh, of course, I know that. Iâll prepare right away!â
ââ¦And take a shower before we leave.â
âYes.â
The moment the excited Kim Cheonsu turned his body, Han Seori spoke as if she had forgotten:
âPrepare a small anomaly transport vehicle, not a regular one.â
âYes?â
âI said prepare a small anomaly transport vehicle.â
âAh, yes.â
In the time Kim Cheonsu hurriedly left,
Han Seori, who decided to head to the East Sea where something estimated to be an anomaly was discovered, thought:
ââ¦Those bastards have something in mind.â
Really⦠if they were going to expose the secret of Soylent Purple Co., what they should have done was not warn them, but take action through news, internet, tabloids, etc.
In the first place, they were in no position to give such a warning.
Andâ¦
Han Seori felt like she knew what they were aiming for.
Although it was just a hunch⦠maybe they were aiming for 7496-KR, the slime girl.
From what she found out, unfortunately, the recent abnormal incidents occurred in the branch and lab where she was.
And⦠7496-KR got her jelly involved in almost all the incidents.
Well, she herself was also involved in almost all of them, but rather than targeting a person, it would be more natural to think they were targeting an anomaly.
â¦It could be that she was barking up the wrong tree.
âIf those bastards are really targeting 7496-KR,â
Wouldnât they draw attention with âsomethingâ in the East Sea and aim for the lab to seize 7496-KR?
If it was something like that, their actions made sense.
They probably needed time to prepare âsomething,â whatever it was.
And they must have done ridiculous things like broadcasting to get all their attention focused there.
The puzzle pieces fit together.
Then, Han Seoriâs course of action was simple.
Take what they want and flee to the East Sea branch, which will be boiling with anger.
âIâll give Committee Member Yoo Kangjik a heads-up around halfway, and heâll take care of it.â
The fewer people who knew, the better.
Thatâs why Han Seori chose Kim Cheonsu.
Heâs relatively trustworthy, at least.
ââ¦â
While preparing to leave, Han Seori silently looked in the direction of the isolation room where the slime girl was.
It may be a bit of a strange thought,
But she hoped that what Twilightâs Call was aiming for wasnât the slime girl.
She hoped that her thoughts would end as just excessive delusions.
But ironically,
â¦She had to act on the premise that her thoughts were correct.
Han Seori smirked and moved her steps to the isolation room where 7496-KR was watching TV.