DAY 16, 7:50 a.m., ten minutes before the workday begins.
Manager's Office.
Angela pushed the door open and walked in.
"Good morning, Manager."
except for yesterday's incident involving B, her greetings were always this punctual—
not a second early, not a second late.
"Ah, morning, Angela."
X greeted his secretary with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
"..."
Hearing the lack of energy in X 's voice, Angela stepped closer and examined him carefully for a while.
Soon, she identified the issue.
"…You had insomnia, didn't you?"
"Well, not exactly."
X took a sip of the coffee in his cup.
"I just woke up a bit too early, and then couldn't fall back asleep."
"Waking easily, and being unable to return to sleep afterward… is also a symptom of insomnia."
Angela narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Was it because of B?"
"No."
X shook his head honestly.
He really hadn't lost sleep because of B.
But the real reason… would sound far too absurd if he told Angela.
Was he supposed to say that he had been pushed down and thoroughly taken by One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds, that old skeleton nun?
If he said that out loud, Angela would probably send him straight to the Training Department for mandatory psychological evaluation.
"Uh…"
Under Angela's gaze—which clearly said Do you need my help?—X ultimately chose not to tell the truth, giving a vague answer instead.
"The reason's a bit complicated. It involves some personal privacy."
"Oh~"
Hearing this, Angela withdrew her curious, probing gaze, clasped her hands together in front of her again, and stepped back behind the chair—returning to her composed, cool-headed secretary persona.
But hearing the tone of that drawn-out response, X couldn't shake the feeling that she had misunderstood something.
And judging from the angle of that misunderstanding—it was wildly off.
Sure enough, while X was opening the control panel and beginning to arrange employee assignments and E.G.O distributions for the day, his secretary's voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
"Humans have three major desire-based needs: appetite, sleep, and… the desire to reproduce. I can understand you, X ."
"Although this situation is not uncommon in a long-term, fully enclosed company like ours… I still need to remind you of something."
"If you are truly feeling pent-up, please go to the company's recreational equipment room. There are specialized tools there designed to handle such impulses."
"Do not, simply to satisfy your biological urges, form inappropriate private relationships with our employees."
"Even if… they are willing."
"?"
X froze mid-operation.
He really couldn't help himself—he turned his head and looked at Angela, who was blinking at him innocently.
"~"
Seeing the confusion on X 's face, Angela smiled slyly.
"This is also for your personal safety, after all. You never know what kind of situation you might end up in."
"…Do I really look like the kind of person whose head is full of filthy thoughts?"
X was completely powerless to complain about this.
After refuting her with a rhetorical question, he stopped responding to Angela's quiet laughter and instead grumbled inwardly.
…Forget it. Let her think whatever she wants. I won't argue with her.
Being able to mutually overthink things and joke around harmlessly like this… might actually mean our relationship has grown closer than before.
And honestly, this version of Angela felt much more like a living "person," rather than a cold machine.
Besides, interacting with her this way did help ease that lingering anxiety and unease in his heart—at least a little.
That's… good, right?
While X was muttering to himself internally, three Abnormality containment boxes slid down from the top of the large screen and stopped in the center.
These were today's Abnormality options.
X straightened up and opened the information for the three boxes.
[O-05-61]:
Only those who do not fear death may live.
[F-01-02]:
I've come… to find you… You will… turn to ashes… just like… me…
[O-04-08]:
The girl wept as she begged, "Sir, please cut off my leg!"
After reading the three descriptions, X barely hesitated and immediately chose the box on the left.
[O-05-61].
Clear, straightforward hints like this were very helpful for narrowing down risks during management.
—
Of course I know you're not that kind of person.
Watching X begin his work, issuing commands methodically and efficiently, Angela's beautiful eyebrows lifted slightly.
…But after saying that, you'll probably be just a little more wary of anyone who harbors inappropriate thoughts about you, won't you?
She chuckled quietly to herself.
Yes—normally, Angela should have felt pleased with her small scheme.
But for some reason, even though everything had gone smoothly, an inexplicable sense of unease continued to linger in her heart.
That feeling… was like a delicacy she had carefully guarded for a long time, planning to enjoy it only at the most crucial moment—
only for some unknown person to sneak a bite ahead of time.
Just an illusion. It has to be an illusion, right?
Angela searched through recent events in her memory.
Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion, just as always.
Even the greatest destabilizing factor—B—had already been forced back into its proper place in the script.
So who, exactly, could still cause something unexpected to change?
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