The Improved Dog Collar Mk.2
"Who else would come running here in such a hurry? How unexpected, Field Team Leader."
The Management Team Leader was already waiting in front of the recovery room, and the area around it had been completely sealed off while her subordinates conducted their investigation. The moment I realized the intruder had indeed been here, it all clicked into place.
"Ugh..."
When the clown mask turned toward her, the Field Team Leader stopped in her tracks with the expression of someone who had just seen something she shouldn't have. It wasn't that there was any real rivalry or conflict between their teams; she simply disliked the Management Team Leader as a person. She didn't force her own subordinates to share that sentiment either. The biggest reason was probably the difference in their personalities, or perhaps the fact that both of them hated losing.
Still, having come this far, she couldn't just leave without asking.
"...Where's the Counselor?"
"He's already been kidnapped. Ah, we're currently venting the sleeping gas from the recovery room, so please don't go inside."
The clown-masked woman raised both hands in white gloves, as if to calm her down, when the Field Team Leader stepped closer to the door in reaction to the word "kidnapped."
"Didn't this facility have countermeasures against spatial abilities?"
"Yes, Founder has fundamentally blocked them. But it seems we can no longer consider the opponent an ordinary ability user."
As she spoke, the Management Team Leader recalled the inverted world and the fallen light she had witnessed at the previous site. According to Nero's testimony, there had been an ability user with a horn growing from one side of their head. She didn't know exactly what the Inquisition was up to, but one thing was certain: Lucifer was involved. If they had succeeded in accepting even a portion of a demon's authority, it wasn't entirely impossible for them to have forced their way into the facility that Founder occupied by prying open a spatial gap.
"So what if they're not ordinary? Your subordinate was kidnapped and you're not even angry?"
"Haha, please calm down. Woong will be fine. He has received special attention from Founder. Perhaps even from Observer."
"...What do you mean by that?"
Though their reactions seemed reversed, the Management Team Leader had a clear reason for remaining so composed. What had saved the Counselor's life this time was the fragment of Undine that remained inside his body. If she had urged him to finish the counseling session in preparation for this incident, then Observer's sudden request also made sense now. Moreover, she had once seen Founder emerge from his shadow when she had dinner alone with the Counselor. That meant she had already turned his shadow into a passage, and if she were to overinterpret it, it also meant she had acknowledged him as part of herself. Just as she had freely traversed the facility's floors like a ghost, she could now appear at his side anytime, anywhere.
"Just as this intruder's appearance was an exception, the situation the Counselor is currently in can also be considered an exception."
Normally, she and her younger sister were never supposed to intervene directly, but there was one exception. When it came to things that should not exist in this world, that old snake could step in herself. ...Though it was entirely up to her mood.
"But if you're still worried... please take this."
"What's this?"
What the Field Team Leader received was none other than a small GPS terminal with a screen. A red dot marking some location blinked periodically, pointing in a certain direction.
"Don't ask for details. This is most likely Woong's current location."
The Field Team Leader, who had suffered enough from the Management Team Leader's usual antics to know them well, couldn't help but comment.
"You... can't you do something about that nasty hobby of yours?"
"A nasty hobby? I have no idea what you're talking about."
The Management Team Leader feigned ignorance, but even she hadn't predicted this situation in advance. She had simply been curious about what they would discuss after she left the hospital room, so she had hidden a listening device inside the fruit basket. She never expected it to be used this way. This time, it had even put his life in danger... She had played a little trick because she wanted to hear his true feelings about their future cooperation, but because the device was too far away, she couldn't hear the voices on the other end. However, the GPS signal attached for retrieval was functioning normally.
"Haa... Never mind. I'll deal with you when I get back."
Watching the Field Team Leader accept the terminal and hurry outside, citing the lack of time, the Management Team Leader felt genuinely surprised inside. She never expected that nine-tailed fox to suppress her own personality like that and prioritize going to save him. The purpose was obviously to secure a hostage in order to get Ignis back, so his life wasn't in immediate danger. This side hadn't been idle either; she had already sent her tails and a response team to the estimated location. But for her to be this impatient... Hmm~?
"This... Could it be?"
Feeling the corner of her mouth twitch beneath the mask, she kept her gaze fixed on the direction in which the Field Team Leader had disappeared.
*
"Founder?"
"Hurry up and answer, big brother. Are you going to save her or not?"
The beautiful girl with long, jet-black hair coiled like a snake and clear obsidian eyes looked straight at me and asked. I knew well that saving someone wasn't a simple matter, but even so, I believed she already knew what my answer would inevitably be.
"I want to save her. No, please help me save her."
At my answer, the girl lifted only the corner of her mouth into a faint smile and posed her second question.
"I thought you'd say that, but how exactly do you want to save her?"
How exactly... Asking her to just do something when I was the one requesting help was irresponsible, but when faced with the specific question, no words came out.
"..."
For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was the image of Nero's former master, the Alchemist, lying there dependent on countless drugs and medical devices, neither dead nor alive. If we brought her back to the facility, the Team Leader would, as per protocol, end the suffering of the prisoner marked with the Stigma. And even if I somehow stopped that and kept her alive... Would forcing her to lie on a bed for the rest of her life without any hope really be saving her?
"...I heard the Stigma is the authority of the archangels. If we could just remove it..."
If that were possible, even if it was an unreasonable request, I wanted to ask her to erase it. But before I could finish, the girl slowly shook her head.
"You should think carefully before asking. That unpleasant clown said the same thing, didn't she?"
"..."
Come to think of it, the Team Leader had said the same. Founder could never help us directly. Was that because she possessed abilities outside the standard classification, or was it because those abilities couldn't even be defined as such in the first place? In truth, if it was her, I even wondered if she could simply erase all the threats we were facing as if they had never existed.
"That's right. But if big brother really wants me to do it, there's nothing I can't make happen."
...Once again, she answered my thoughts directly.
"...Founder."
"But there is no way to undo it once it's done."
Was she trying not to entrust an individual with an irreversible choice and its unbearable consequences? Or was she asking whether a paradise without any pain or threat was truly something of value to us?
"While you're thinking, I'll take care of this for you."
Crack... Snap...!
"Founder?!"
After finishing her words, Founder grabbed the horn of the collapsed, groaning ability user with her bare hand and broke it off without the slightest hesitation. A gasp escaped me at the sound of the horn snapping cleanly. But whether I reacted or not, Founder continued her "treatment."
"Ugh... They really set this up in a nasty way. I don't know whose idea it was, but it's creative and unpleasant."
Of course, the unnaturally grown horn looked quite out of place, but had the condition been worse than I thought?
"This is...?"
"Ah, hold this for me."
Thud.
"Huh?"
Without any mental preparation, the heavy, smooth texture of the black horn placed on my hand sent a chill down my spine. There was no detailed explanation, but at least I could tell that Founder was helping her by moving her small hands. In that case... I should probably give her a satisfactory answer soon as well.
After a little more thought, I came up with one answer.
"I need... an item."
I remembered that whether during counseling sessions or right after this incident broke out, the Team Leader had always requested special items from Founder. Each one of them was something that defied common sense and could influence special entities and abilities. Of course, it was the facility staff who used them.
"Hehe... What kind of item do you need?"
Seemingly satisfied with my approach, Founder let out a small laugh and finally posed her third question. At this point, I understood. Like some blue raccoon somewhere, Founder wasn't going to solve everything for me. In the end, whether it was obtaining something or being saved, I had to do it myself. I, a human living in this world and the one bearing the codename Counselor.
"I need something that will let me safely bring her back to the facility so I can counsel her."
"Aah~ So you need an item like that? Of course I can do that much."
"...!"
"Ah, but put this on first."
Flutter...!
When the girl stretched out her arm, a white coat suddenly appeared and draped over her shoulders. I wondered what meaning that lab coat, the kind doctors or researchers would wear, held, but I couldn't figure it out. The only thing I could tell was that in her other hand, the one opposite the coat, she was now holding a thick, ring-shaped lump of metal. The item she took out, as if she had been waiting for this moment, looked strangely familiar. It was clearly something I had worn before at some point.
"Ta-da~ This is the newly improved 'Dog Collar Mk.2!!' It's Mk.2, so there are two exclamation marks."