It wasn't until the workday was nearly over that all information on O-01-04 was finally unlocked—
O-01-04: The Queen of Hatred
Classification: WAW
maximum Reverse Qliphoth Counter: 2
Management Notes, Entries six and Seven:
When The Queen of Hatred is in a hysterical state, if an employee is dispatched to work with her and the work yields 16 or more PE-boxes, her Reverse Qliphoth Counter will increase.Conversely, if fewer than 16 PE-boxes are obtained, her Reverse Qliphoth Counter will decrease.
—
Faust's surface-level calm and arrogance were not particularly suited to soothing an entity as mentally unstable as The Queen of Hatred.
Even if the other party could sense that she bore no malice, that attitude during conversation easily left a poor impression—
And in turn, worsened the condition.
After X replaced the personnel responsible for consolation work with Justin or Harumoto—both more outgoing and far more approachable—the success rate of working with The Queen of Hatred increased noticeably.
During the three subsequent hysterical episodes triggered by Reverse Qliphoth meltdowns, they successfully soothed her twice, restoring her to a normal state.
Although this still resulted in a second forced chase, all things considered, the day's work could be regarded as smoothly completed.
The Reverse Qliphoth meltdown level also stopped at Level Seven.
Not only that—X also managed to finish a long-delayed task personally issued by Malkuth:
Dusk Approaches.
"To be honest… that was the Dusk ordeal?"
As X tidied up his office, he replayed the day's events in his mind.
"If we don't take speed into account…"
"I feel like those Green Dusk entities—Where Must We Go—could've been wiped out by Justin alone using Mimicry…"
"Did Malkuth really lose that many temporary employees just to suppress things like this? That's a bit too—"
"No. I shouldn't think that way…"
He quickly discarded the thought that belittled his subordinates' efforts.
"Maybe what she encountered wasn't the same as what I did. And she only had untrained temporary employees to work with…"
"Alright… then there's tonight's plan…"
"Hi, Manager!"
A lively voice interrupted X 's thoughts.
It was Malkuth.
"Looks like you completed your task beautifully! Congratulations on finishing the Control Department's final assignment!"
Without realizing it, X had already walked into the Control Department—and, by sheer coincidence, run into his subordinate.
"Seems I was right about you back then! You've really worked hard during this time!"
"Ah… yeah."
Coming back to himself, X nodded, returning her greeting in a perfunctory manner.
"You too, Malkuth. Good work."
His thoughts were still lingering on his plans for the evening.
He didn't even notice the deep anticipation hidden in the eyes that were always brimming with energy.
"Um—Manager! I have a report here on the recent joint drills!"
Malkuth opened the folder in her hands, took out a neatly printed paper report, and presented it to X with both hands.
"The results were quite good. It should definitely improve your efficiency! Would you like to take a look now—"
"Ah, Manager!"
Before she could finish, an uninvited presence suddenly appeared from a corner nearby, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"What brings you here?"
Justin—now changed out of her E.G.O equipment—popped out from the corner at just the "right" moment.
Although she clearly tried to make the encounter look like a coincidence—
Her acting was far too clumsy.
So clumsy that X didn't have the heart to call her out on the spot.
"Man, today really wore me out… getting chased all over the place by that magical girl…"
"Yes, it was hard work."
Having finally sorted through his thoughts, X brought his attention back to the present.
Facing his employee's complaints, he wore his usual gentle smile.
"Not just you. The other employees, the clerks, and the department heads—everyone worked hard."
"Hehe~"
Justin rubbed her hands together with a grin.
"Then maybe you should… um…"
"Hm~?"
Seeing her hesitate, the smile on X 's face deepened, and he couldn't help teasing her a little.
"Honestly, I don't think that level of intensity is a big deal for an elite like you."
Then he quickly laughed and amended himself.
"Just kidding. If you asked me to chase the Queen of Hatred all over the facility at high intensity, I definitely wouldn't survive."
"What would you like to eat? Want me to take you and Harumoto to the Manager's cafeteria again?"
"No, no need for you to treat us."
Justin waved her hands hurriedly and smiled.
"Just having you come eat with us in the employee cafeteria is already the greatest support."
"And you can try different dishes too. Sometimes the special meals aren't as good as the regular ones!"
"Alright then. I'll be counting on you all to recommend something."
"Of course! No trouble at all!"
"…"
"Ah—Malkuth, sorry…"
Only then did X realize that among the three of them, only two voices had been speaking.
There was still a department head standing quietly by his side.
Justin had already been transferred to Central Headquarters and was now under the management of TA and TB.
Given TA's attitude toward the upper-level department heads, even if Justin had mildly offended Malkuth, it would likely be ignored.
Even so, X gave her the respect she deserved, speaking in the same gentle tone:
"I'm a bit tired today as well. Taking a paper report to the cafeteria would be inconvenient."
"Send the digital version to my terminal instead. I'll read it before going to sleep."
"I'll try to finish it early and give you my feedback… see you, Malkuth."
"…Alright."
Malkuth lowered the hands holding the report.
"See you, Manager…"
"Then, Manager, please follow me. The others should already be waiting."
"Alright. Let's go."
Led away by his enthusiastic employee, X passed by Malkuth's slender figure.
But he didn't notice that the light in the eyes of the figure he left behind was slowly fading—
Replaced by a deep, unfathomable darkness spreading layer by layer.
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