Anomaly-404: My Super-Handy RatPT

My new companion, Anomaly-404 or RatPT, as I call him—turned out to be incredibly useful.

"RatPT, what's the current time?"

"Time to take a break, I guess."

He could even tell me exactly how long I'd been playing games.

"Today's lunch menu."

Ask for the lunch menu, and he'd list it all out.

"Whoaaa..."

I couldn't stop marveling at him.

Just having one little RatPT had skyrocketed my quality of life!

He'd scowl like he hated answering every time I asked something, but he'd always reply anyway.

Is this what they call a tsundere...?

As I was geeking out over how cool he was, the door hissed open with a chiiik, and the Agency Agents came in.

At some point, the Agency's attitude toward me had softened up a ton.

The biggest change was these agents.

Even after I'd gotten a bit used to them, they'd always approach armed to the teeth with scary guns.

"Let's go, Angel."

"Yup, Uncle!"

But lately, the agents came without any weapons.

No heavy protective gear either—they smiled softly like friendly neighborhood uncles.

Well, they were still packing heat on the sly.

But what mattered was they'd disarmed on the surface, right?

Feeling a bit freer, I followed the uncles out.

Krrrng!

The other anomalies still growled threats every time I passed by.

Whenever I glanced at those anomalies, RatPT identified them like a know-it-all professor.

"A zombie...?"

I gasped, mouth agape at the word.

To think something that scary was right here!

"Zombies are scarier when they shamble slowly...!"

"The horror of fleeing from zombies, hitting a dead end, and getting slowly surrounded by those shambling things—it's terrifying!"

Sigh, what a zombie noob.

I'd have to rewatch some classic zombie flicks with RatPT later.

Then he'd get why slow zombies are scary.

As I chatted away with RatPT, we arrived at Anomaly-12's Containment Room.

Peeking through the window, I saw Han A-young already there, talking with No.1 Sister.

Chiiik.

The door slid open, and as I stepped in, they beamed at me.

"You're here!"

"Hi, Angel!"

"Hii there..."

I gave a proper bow and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠went inside.

Today's lesson was on anomalies and ghost stories.

I'd braced for tough stuff like math or science, but this sounded way more fun—no headaches, just relief.

"Ahem... You know we're studying together today, right?"

"Yesss~!"

No.1 Sister was handling today's lesson.

I'd wondered if she was qualified at first, but she'd studied hard just to teach me.

She's super smart, so I could trust her.

No.1 Sister grinned and stood from her chair.

The moment I saw her...

"Waaah... so prettyyy!"

I blurted out in awe.

Today's No.1 Sister was extra gorgeous.

Instead of her usual school uniform, she wore a light suit like a student teacher.

With glasses too—she looked like a charismatic lady teacher.

"Hehe, really?"

"Yup...!"

I'd come dreading the study session, but with a teacher this cute...!

Might actually be fun?

As I grinned dopily, No.1 Sister dragged over a whiteboard from somewhere.

Han A-young chuckled at the sight and stood up.

"Guess I should head out now. Learn well from No.1."

"Yup! I'll become a smarty-pants!"

"Haha, good luck."

Han A-young waved as she left, and No.1 Sister spoke up.

"You're like an elementary schooler, right, Angel...?"

Huh...?

How should I answer that?

I fidgeted awkwardly.

Sure, I looked like a kid, but I'd finished regular schooling and all.

My hesitation must've confused her.

"Oh... Angels don't have elementary school...?"

No.1 Sister tilted her head, then scribbled on the whiteboard.

"Don't worry, Angel. I'll keep it super simple."

"Yup."

If it were chalk, it'd screech and hurt my ears.

Whew, it's a water board—lucky!

Thank goodness she used water-based markers—no devilish squeaks assaulting my ears.

Swoosh... swoosh...

Under her smooth strokes, the first term appeared.

"Rulebook Ghost Story?"

"Yeah, it's a popular type of ghost story these days."

Ghost stories like this were trending...?

I had no clue. I'd been surfing the net hard, but eek.

"They're so common on Earth that you should know how to handle them just in case."

"Got it!"

"I'll start with a simple example."

She briskly wrote five rules on the board.

I read them from top to bottom, then raised my hand at Rule 2.

Good students ask lots of questions!

"Yes, Angel?"

"Why 744...? All I know about 744 is that it bans Gallery for 31 days..."

RatPT had been listening and started teasing right away.

But useful or not, I'm the boss here.

I poked his head to shut him up.

"In numerology, 7 means truth and 4 means stability. That's probably why."

"I see..."

Hmm... Still not fully getting it.

I tapped under the desk where a chat window had popped up.

"Tch."

Runs away when it's losing.

Maybe I should rename him FoxPT instead of RatPT.

Then I read the final Rule 4 and froze in my seat.

Uh... should I report this?

I started to raise my hand.

Bzzzzt.

My smartphone vibrated wildly.

Checking the screen, there was RatPT's advice.