The Anomalous Report
[…? What exactly are you doing right now? Even if I’m happy to see you, that kind of behavior is a little too much.]
The being looked up at me with a subtle expression as it spoke. In contrast, my gaze down at it was filled with shock. From above, my awkward posture staring at the wall below must have looked strange. But the real problem was the creature itself, standing there so boldly.
“You little… I’m curious how you even followed me here, but are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea who’s on the other side of that glass wall? Huh??”
I hissed at the nonchalant creature, keeping my voice as low as possible while packing it with resentment. This was a small, enclosed space—not exactly spacious. There wasn’t anywhere to hide except behind the capsule. With the creature openly occupying the room like that, the sight was enough to make anyone’s blood run cold. It was no wonder I’d instinctively moved to block the glass wall with my body the moment I spotted the damn cat.
The creature had initially given me a puzzled look, but it soon seemed to grasp my intent and nodded. The faint smirk that followed was just extra.
[Hehe… You have quite the adorable side, don’t you? Still, you don’t need to worry about that. They can’t see me from over there. Think about it for a second—if they could, how would I have made it this deep inside?]
“!....”
The creature had a point. It had already demonstrated considerable cunning yesterday; there was no way it would overlook something so basic. In the end, I was the one who’d been flailing around for nothing. I couldn’t hide my embarrassment, silently cursing the cat for not mentioning it sooner.
I reached out on impulse and scooped the creature up with both hands. Without hesitation, I tossed the wide-eyed cat straight into the capsule, then waited with a sly grin for its reaction.
But the creature merely poked its head out and stared back at me with an amused expression.
[If you were hoping to see me panic by throwing me in here, I’m sorry to disappoint. This machine isn’t even running anymore, and something this crude could never expose my true nature~]
“Tch! You annoying little pest…”
I’d already known the device was powered down. Still, I’d expected at least some sign of surprise. Instead, the creature remained completely unfazed. While I was distracted, I suddenly remembered the bigger issue and snapped my head up. The speakers were still silent. At this point, I was starting to doubt whether anyone was even behind the glass wall. Maybe they’d gotten tired of waiting for the results and gone to eat.
As my anxiety showed, the creature—who had been watching me the whole time—finally spoke.
[You seem quite curious about what’s happening over there. Makes sense; you can’t see through the wall with human eyes. If you’re that desperate, shall I tell you?]
“!? You can actually see inside? Then hurry up and tell me. I’m your contractor, aren’t I? The least you can do is answer a simple question like this.”
My response was immediate. This was basically the announcement of critical test results being delayed. Of course I wanted to know right away.
The creature glanced at me, then continued with a thoughtful hum.
[Hmm… hmm… hmm!!! Nope, can’t do it! Refused! Never happened!]
The answer was so outrageous that my hopeful expression froze solid. Hope turned to disappointment, then flared into burning anger—and I had no intention of holding it back.
“You rotten cat… Are you messing with me right now? Do you want to die? Stop spouting nonsense and spill it while I’m still asking nicely.”
The fluent curses that left my mouth were still heavily restrained out of consideration for the people beyond the glass. But even my menacing threat only earned a snort from the creature, which then started getting angry itself.
[Hey! A delicate young lady shouldn’t use such foul language! You still lack a lot of self-awareness… Well, setting that aside for now, a first-rate magical girl should be able to overcome this kind of obstacle on her own!]
“What the hell are you—”
When I stared at it in disbelief, the creature raised a paw and pointed somewhere. There, on the wall, was the room’s only opening: a ventilation duct.
Unable to accept the ridiculous demand, I frowned and stepped toward the capsule. Leaning against it, I muttered under my breath.
“…You’re not seriously telling me to go in there, are you? Even if it were possible, they’d obviously notice if I just vanished from this room.”
I whispered while glancing toward the glass wall. If I liquefied my body, I could probably squeeze through the small gap. But doing so would immediately alert the people on the other side. Even if I somehow got away with it for a moment, the sudden disappearance of someone who had been sealed inside would cause a huge commotion.
It was simple common sense. Yet the creature only sighed as if I were hopeless.
[Didn’t I tell you to stop thinking like a human? If you can’t go yourself, just send a part of you. Remember the slime traits I taught you~]
“!? Ah…!”
Only then did I understand. The ability to detach and control a portion of my body. I’d already used it effectively when dealing with the monsters in the dungeon. If the creature was right, I could leave my main body here and only move my vision.
It was a strategy only a slime could pull off. Without wasting another second, I put the idea into action. While casually looking to the side, I hid one arm behind my back. Releasing the human form on just my hand, I separated the gray slime mass from my body and let it drop to the floor. The now-empty hand quickly regenerated using another part of my body.
The moment I did it, a faint blue window appeared before my eyes. According to the creature, this number represented the maximum amount I could separate. Even though I’d only detached a fist-sized chunk, one-tenth of my Residual had dropped. It was probably because I’d never raised the stat before.
As soon as it confirmed my action, the creature moved. Leaping out of the capsule, it quickly snatched up the separated piece in its mouth. Then it flashed me a bright smile while I was still nervously watching the glass wall.
[Now we’re finally on the same page! I’ll make a special exception and help you move it this time. ->-]
After making that bizarre face again, the creature dashed forward without waiting for my reply. With movements so smooth it looked like its paws were magnetized, it scaled the wall and slipped through the ventilation duct’s blades, disappearing inside.
“……”
I remained standing with my back against the capsule. More accurately, my entire focus was now on the detached piece of my body. How could I even describe this sensation? It was like suddenly having another hand. Even though we were separated by distance, I could still feel everything it touched. The creature’s running inside the duct made everything shake, and being held in its mouth created a strange, unpleasant feeling—like my hand was covered in cat saliva. It didn’t hurt, but the sensation was far from comfortable.
After a few minutes, the creature’s movements slowed. Instinctively, I knew we had reached the destination.
[From here on, it’s all up to you. I’m sure you already know that without me having to say it, right?]
‘I know perfectly well, so stop nagging.’
After replying inwardly to the probing question, I concentrated on the separated body part once more. It felt similar to controlling a remote-controlled robot from my childhood. The only difference was that this time, the sensations from the “robot” were being transmitted back to me. For now, all I could feel was the texture of the floor beneath it.
Next, I needed to grant it sight and hearing.
Transform
The skill activated smoothly, as if it had become second nature. The target wasn’t my main body here. I was issuing the command to the separated piece of myself far away. This was another way of using my body that the creature had taught me during special training in the dungeon. The detached fragment was still “me.” Until I relinquished ownership, I could share its senses or give it separate orders. If the connection was ever forcibly severed, it would turn to ash and disappear on the spot. In exchange, my Residual would decrease and wouldn’t recover for a while. It wasn’t very useful in direct combat, but it was perfect for deceiving others or gathering intelligence.
I had already obtained complete data on the human body by devouring the party members in the dungeon. Creating a human eye was easy. First the pupil took shape, followed by the cornea and iris. The moment the complete eye formed, a current ran through my mind and a new field of vision opened.
Closing one eye and focusing on that part, I could now see clearly through the new pupil. The first thing that came into view was the cover of the ventilation duct blocking the way. Slowly turning my gaze, I spotted the creature sitting in the corner behind me, staring in my direction. It looked at me with a proud expression, that irritating smile still plastered on its face. I frowned slightly at the sight, then shifted my view again to peer through the blades of the duct.
Though my field of vision was narrow, the space beyond was exactly as expected—the area on the other side of the glass wall. In the distance, I could faintly see my own figure standing behind it. The two people, however, were sitting farther inside, away from the wall. No wonder there had been no response from the speakers—they hadn’t been watching the inside of the room at all. The man was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette, while the woman sat at a nearby monitor, focused on something.
So this was what it felt like to see a place I normally couldn’t with a third eye. The realization that I was no longer human hit me anew. I had already felt many times that I had become something alien, but this time it felt different.
Just then, the woman turned in her chair and spoke with a deeply furrowed brow. To hear their conversation, I quickly formed a human ear beside the eye. After a brief ringing, their voices gradually became clear.
“…Ugh!!! You chain-smoker! I thought something was weird. There’s no way you—who’s practically married to cigarettes—would quit. I was wondering why there was no smell. You were holding back because that kid was nearby, weren’t you?”
“That’s part of it. I’ve been busy with work for the past few days, too. I figured I should smoke while I still can.”
Watching the white smoke fill the room, I looked at him with surprise. So he was originally a smoker. I’d never seen him do it once since we met, and there had never been any smell, so I hadn’t imagined it at all. He must have been holding back as much as possible while I was around. A strange feeling welled up at his unseen consideration.
At that moment, he spoke again.
“…Stop beating around the bush and just tell me the test results. They should be out by now, right? What are you hesitating for? That’s not like you.”
“Hmph… You’re always quick to notice these things, like some kind of ghost.”
She gave him a sulky look at his sharp remark, then let out a small sigh and pressed a pen she was holding against her forehead.
“Then think about why I still haven’t said anything. Ugh~ My head hurts. The machine isn’t even broken, but… I really can’t believe this…”
He looked at her with intrigued eyes, as if her behavior was unexpected. After agonizing for a while, the woman finally gave up. She tapped the monitor a few times and printed out a single sheet of paper from the fax machine. Without hesitation, she handed the document to the man standing beside her.
She leaned back in her chair and covered her eyes with one hand.
“…!!! This is…”
The man’s expression, which had been scanning the document with a stiff face, was now colored with shock. I swallowed hard, my own chest tightening with tension, and enhanced my vision to slowly read the report.
At first glance, it resembled a status window. My newly registered name, age, other physical information, and the last confirmed level—19—were clearly displayed. From here, I started feeling a sense of crisis. A level nearly twice that of an average person. Even considering that I was an Awakened, it was an abnormal number for this appearance. But that was nothing compared to what came next.
As I slowly lowered my gaze, my eyes widened at the unbelievable sight. Abilities, race, attributes, stats… the fields that were most important to an Awakened were completely broken and unreadable. The area was filled with garbled text, with no trace of legible characters left.
[Absolutely~ There’s no way your identity will be exposed, so rest assured!]
The creature’s earlier words suddenly came to mind. Indeed, with results like this, uncovering my true nature would be nearly impossible. But… wasn’t this suspicious in its own way? This went beyond simply hiding my identity—it was a problem on an entirely different level. It was like trying to cover something up with paint, only to end up with a rainbow instead. The expressions on the two people’s faces said it all. They clearly understood how absurd the situation was.
[Ahem! How’s my skill? Pretty amazing, right? I hid it perfectly, just as ordered. Those primitive humans won’t be able to decipher it even after hundreds of years!]
The creature, watching everything from behind, declared with a voice full of pride. As if drawn to it, my transformed eye slowly turned toward the creature. The trembling pupil looked like it was experiencing an earthquake. Its expectant gaze seemed to demand praise. After handling things so poorly, it still had the nerve to make that face. For the first time since the dungeon, I felt the urge to kill.