Perfect Bishoujo
* Incident Summary
Former Special Task Force agent Lee Kang-un was caught in an anomaly during subway travel and went missing for 12 days. His travel route at the time of disappearance was confirmed by his own testimony, but CCTV records showed his appearance completely deleted. This is presumed to be due to the records themselves being erased simultaneously with the anomaly occurrence.
* On-Site Investigation Results
Inside the One Person Factory Manager, a large number of products that appear to be clones of Lee Kang-un were discovered. The Muksi Saengmyeongche is presumed to have attempted human organ cloning. Multiple human corpses were recovered from the incinerator, judged to be victims prior to Lee Kang-un. Memory erasure measures for bereaved families are scheduled after identity confirmation. Only two survivors: Lee Kang-un and Mayuri. No additional survivors confirmed.
* Additional Observations
Bloodstains found throughout the factory were confirmed not to be of human origin and are presumed to be the Muksi Saengmyeongche's bodily fluids. The corpse of the Muksi Saengmyeongche was not found. Due to destruction of the power supply device, factory facilities have completely stopped operating, and the bodies of entities acting as 'employees' also appear to have vanished immediately after power cutoff. The investigation team judges that the factory itself will be erased after a certain time following the core entity's disappearance, and long-term detailed investigation will be difficult.
* Related Persons
- Mayuri: Involved in the incident as a civilian, confirmed as the direct actor who destroyed the factory's power supply device and ended the anomaly. She also testified to her travel route at the time, but presumed her existence erased from external records like CCTV due to the anomaly.
- Lee Kang-un: Rescued by Mayuri and sent a rescue request to the Special Task Force.
Rescued.
"No special abnormalities in your body. You're healthy."
I went to the hospital for a light check-up. Of course, there was nothing wrong. On the other hand, the missing elderly man Lee Kang-un, who had been trapped in the factory the whole time, was apparently in quite a weakened state. I heard he'd have to be hospitalized for a while. Facing a monster and getting off with just hospitalization could be considered lucky, in a way.
And so, the "One Person Factory Manager" incident was safely concluded! And I──couldn't go home.
...When will I be able to go home?
The moment they confirmed there were no issues with my condition, I was transferred to Special Task Force headquarters.
"We just need to confirm a few things~. And since you resolved the anomaly, you'll get a reward too!"
──That's what Baesena said, but.
They probably brought me to headquarters for "memory erasure".
...The government is hiding the existence of monsters from the public.
So the Special Task Force would try to erase my memories now that I'd learned about the monsters. But they hadn't erased them right away, so they probably wanted to take my statement first? About how I resolved the anomaly and rescued Lee Kang-un. They were holding off on the memory erasure because there were still stories they needed to hear from me.
In other words, once I spill all the info, they'll erase my memories...
So now I had to prove my value. That erasing my memories would be a loss for them.
I let out a breath. I was alone in the room. No Ari or Lisa. I'd put them in the "storage" earlier. I wanted to hide the Cute Girl Mod's power for now. And even more than that, letting the Special Task Force know about Ari and Lisa wouldn't be good.
The Special Task Force was a group that "protected the public by exterminating all monsters".
The "King of Flies" and "Carnival Chef" had been neutralized by the Cute Girl Mod, but the Task Force would prefer to leave no loose ends at all. If they found out what Ari and Lisa really were, they might try to kill them. ...And that would put me in danger too.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Let's start the statement now!"
I was sitting alone in the interrogation room when a cheerful voice rang out. Two people entered. One was the mannequin doll monster, Baesena. The other was a burly man wearing an ID badge that read "Team Leader Kang Hyun-seok". He had that jaded, world-weary vibe.
Team Leader Kang Hyun-seok sat down across from me with a stern expression. Even from the distance, a faint smell of cigarettes stung my nose. ...Maybe because he was team leader level. He had an overwhelming presence.
He glanced at his documents once, then met my eyes.
"Let's begin. Tell us everything from the moment you were dragged into the factory to the end."
"...Pardon?"
"Oh come on! Hyun-seok, if you say it like that, Yuri won't understand! We're not interrogating a perpetrator; we're hearing from a victim!"
No icebreaker or anything──straight to the point with Team Leader Kang Hyun-seok. Baesena yelled, apparently displeased, and he glared at her.
"I said just observe. Don't interfere, Baesena."
"That's why saying it like that scares everyone~. Look, what we're doing is asking Yuri a few questions! For incident prevention!"
"Yes... okay..."
"No need to be so tense! We're just hearing your story lightly! So, at first, when you were dragged into the factory, what did Yuri do?"
Baesena asked. Team Leader Kang Hyun-seok was still glaring at her, but no matter how you looked at it, this kind of communication was Baesena's specialty. He seemed to know that too, so he shut his mouth and just watched.
And I... pondered how to answer a bit.
This incident was basically solved by Lisa, but I'd decided to hide her existence, so I needed to lie.
"Uh, at first... I tried to go back home, but no matter how much I looked, I couldn't find the way..."
"Yeah yeah! And then?"
"I looked around... and a bit away from the factory, I found something like a note. I think it was a message left by people dragged in before me..."
"A note~?"
"Did you not find the note...? It, it should be there... Please check around the factory...! I thought maybe someone else would get dragged in like me...! I left it right there..."
Baesena looked at Team Leader Kang Hyun-seok. He read his documents.
"According to the on-site investigation team's report, there was definitely a note."
That's what he said.
Monster games were originally like that. First a clue-gathering phase, then infer the solution from the clues, and deal with the monster. I just skipped clue-gathering because I'd played the game once and read the setting book.
"Doesn't seem like you're lying. What did you do after finding the note?"
"The note said the factory itself seemed like one big monster...? So I thought cutting the power might do something... So..., I sneaked in while avoiding the monsters' eyes!"
"Sneaking in means?"
"There were cover objects all over the factory facilities! And I'm super small...? I hid here and there and somehow made it to the second floor...! There was the power supply device, so I broke it, and all the monsters vanished!"
──I said.
What I was saying was the standard strategy. The most common way players cleared the "One Person Factory Manager". Honestly, there was no other way to solve it. This time we used a completely different method with Lisa's help..., but without her, I'd have done it that way too. So it was the lie with the least contradictions.
They had to believe me...?
"Doesn't seem like something a civilian could do."
Team Leader Kang Hyun-seok stroked his chin.
...Huh?
"Looking at your build, you don't seem like Special Forces or professionally trained. We checked your identity; no notable peculiarities."
"I-is that so..."
"There were massive bloodstains inside the factory. The investigation team says it's not human blood. What do you think?"
"W-well... I don't know..."
I averted my eyes.
H-he's suspicious... It should have been perfect... No, maybe it's too perfect, that's why...?
Well... I'd be suspicious too.
I was already a perfect bishoujo from the face up. If everything else was perfect too..., it'd be like a dragon or unicorn──some imaginary beast. In reality, this body had overall poor athleticism. No one can be perfect in every way, so I'd traded other aspects for looks. Poor athleticism was like inevitable humanity.
...So Team Leader Kang Hyun-seok's suspicion was justified.
But what now...? How do I fool this guy...?
"So Hyun-seok thinks Yuri tore all the monsters apart by herself?"
Suddenly, Baesena chimed in.
"...I said don't interfere."
"You said it yourself, Hyun-seok. Yuri doesn't seem professionally trained. It doesn't make sense she'd take down all the monsters alone!"
Baesena spoke as if defending me.
"Anyway, Yuri rescued Kang-un, right? That means she's capable of saving people from monsters! Isn't that the important part, Hyun-seok?"
"What are you getting at, Baesena."
"The Special Task Force fights monsters to save the public, right? But aren't you just focusing on the 'fighting monsters' part? We should give proper treatment to Yuri who 'saved the public'. Suspicion is too much, Hyun-seok!"
"You're talkative. ...Baesena, come out for a sec."
Sighing, Kang Hyun-seok stood and left the interrogation room. Baesena got up cheerfully too.
"Don't worry! I'll talk to him!"
──She said, winking at me.
And so I was alone in the interrogation room again.
Hmm... What was that...?
Affinity: Extremely Friendly
* Overview
This entity has been named "Baesena" and confirmed as a doll collective operating and managing "the safest shelter in this world." Their numbers are practically infinite, sharing a strong purpose to rescue and satisfy as many humans as possible.
* Behavior and Characteristics
Entry and exit to the shelter is freely permitted. However, "Baesena" shows aversion or dissuasion toward those trying to leave.
"Baesena" respects free will but persistently encourages staying inside the shelter.
The following statement was recorded during observation:
"Once you're caught in an anomaly, you won't get caught in another, right? So staying in this shelter is the safest!"
"Why did Baesena help me...?"
I muttered.
Reasons why Baesena helped me. Three possibilities came to mind.
1) I actually have perfect acting talent and fooled Baesena completely.
2) I'm so much of a bishoujo that I enchanted her.
3) Helping me benefits Baesena, so she did it.
Hmm... Could it be 1 or 2...? 3 feels kinda iffy...
After that, Baesena came back and said there'd be no more statements. I don't know what they talked about, but.
I was finally able to go home safely.
You encountered the "One Person Factory Manager" but resolved it safely.
"One Person Factory Manager" has been added to the codex!
You encountered the "Human Shelter" but survived safely.
"Human Shelter" has been added to the codex!
File 001. [Defect (Albedo)] "King of Flies" Poari (Cleared) - Stored
File 002. [Death (Viriditas)] "Carnival Chef" Yerisa (Cleared) - Stored
File 003. [Death (Viriditas)] One Person Factory Manager (Resolved)
File 004. [Harmless (Nigredo)] Human Shelter (Unresolved)