Risk Level <4> : Girl
"..." The ceiling I'd never seen before. Waking up to a ceiling was at least a small mercy. At least I hadn't come to inside some gentle slime girl's body, nor was I staring at an upside-down room while dangling from the ceiling.
"Big bro! You're finally awake? Hehe.."
"!"
Staring blankly at the ceiling while weighed down by bone-deep fatigue, a black-haired girl with a mischievous grin suddenly leaned into my view.
"Yeah~ You can't just die like that. You promised to pat my little sister's head, remember?"
"Uh.."
"Hehe, now that I see you're up, I'll get going. That creepy clown guy asked me for a favor, so I gotta run."
Using the long sleeves of her doctor's coat, the girl playfully tapped both my cheeks before leaping off the bed and vanishing from sight just as suddenly as she'd appeared.
"Huh?"
Wait a second... If she's gone, then who's holding my hand right now?
"Ugh..?"
Even the simple act of turning my head was exhausting, but I finally managed to shift it toward the soft pillow. I immediately regretted the decision. The moment I succeeded, I found myself staring directly into a pair of intense, chilling eyes belonging to whoever was gripping my hand—the one with the IV needle still embedded in it.
"..."
My half-mumbled groan died in my throat. My mouth went dry in an instant, and cold sweat began trickling down my back where it pressed against the bed.
"Why so tense?"
That alluring voice, sharp yet strangely magnetic, sent a shiver through me.
"Field Team Leader.."
"Stay still."
"..Yes."
There she was—the Field Team Leader, with her striking black hair, crimson lips, sharp nose, sunglasses, and a suit worn casually without a tie. Beneath those sunglasses, her gaze made me feel like a fish on a cutting board.
"Um.. My hand, why is it.."
"..."
She shot me a sharp look.
"..Sorry. I'll be quiet."
That was a mistake, wasn't it? I forced a smile, but it clearly didn't help.
"Haa.. So you shot the clown, huh?"
"Ah."
Her sigh-triggered words triggered a flood of memories. Everything that happened right before I blacked out came rushing back like a computer booting up.
"Team Leader..? Are you alright?"
"That's not really your place to ask, is it?"
"R-Right.."
Yet the details remained hazy—why had I shot her? Where did the gun even come from? One vivid lavender color kept surfacing whenever I tried to fill in the gaps, only to be replaced by a splitting headache.
"Don't worry. If a single bullet could drop her, I'd have killed her over a thousand times by now."
Normally, getting shot would kill a person..
"She'll be here soon.. Ah, speak of the devil."
The sound of the door opening made me turn my head reflexively—and to my surprise, the movement came far easier than before. Standing in the doorway of what looked like a medical office was, just as the Field Team Leader had said..
"Team Leader!"
The Management Team Leader, her suit jacket bearing a conspicuous hole patched over with a rabbit-character bandage that was clearly meant for the Field Team Leader.
"You're awake. Thank you, Field Team Leader."
"It's weird hearing you thank me so honestly. Don't get the wrong idea—it wasn't for your sake. It was for the Founder's."
"Yes~ Yes, thank you anyway."
The Field Team Leader released my hand and left the room, leaving behind only the faint, sweet scent of her perfume. Being left alone with the Management Team Leader like this.. This could get complicated.
"Looks like we won't need to find a fourteenth counselor after all."
"Ah.. Well, Team Leader.."
"It's fine. Having my chest pierced and a bullet lodged inside was quite painful, but I managed to endure it."
"..."
That.. didn't sound fine at all.
"My trusted subordinate got completely bewitched by some pretty girl whose name he doesn't even know and pointed a gun at me, but.. that's fine too."
"Ah.."
"I even had to bow my head and beg that brat to save someone who was on the verge of death from having all their energy drained, and she kept poking the bullet wound with her fingertip. It took everything I had not to react, but.. it's fine. Hehe."
If she'd just yelled at me outright, I wouldn't be drowning in this crushing guilt right now.
"..I've committed an unforgivable sin."
Even though I still didn't fully understand the situation, I knew lying here comfortably wasn't an option. I bowed my head deeply, practically prostrating myself as I begged for forgiveness.
"Hehehe.."
A chill ran down my spine at the unsettling laughter that accompanied her voice. I trembled involuntarily.
"Teasing you really is fun. Just kidding."
"..Pardon?"
She stopped laughing abruptly and spoke as if it had all been a joke. I lifted my head slightly, only to lower it again. With the mask on, I couldn't tell if she was serious or not.
"It stung, but this isn't the kind of place where you can lie around whining over a single gunshot. Especially not when you're the Management Team Leader."
"..."
Stung? The recoil and smell of gunpowder had definitely been real.
"Anyway, there were no other casualties, and the containment subject has been recaptured and secured. Ultimately, there's no problem. I also bear some responsibility for not preparing properly despite receiving prior notice from the Observer."
"..."
"Above all, I never imagined the Founder would bring you down to that exact floor and open that exact door. This time, it was truly beyond anyone's control."
"But.."
She'd called it a joke, but I couldn't just let it go. I had no idea how to even begin apologizing. And.. it might sound like an excuse, but I had clearly heard that voice. That voice in my heart had definitely..
"Yes, I understand what you want to say, but first, take this."
"This is..?"
She slid her terminal toward my bedside.
"Since you can't claim you didn't violate regulations, you'll have to accept the corresponding disciplinary action, won't you?"
On the terminal's screen was the detailed profile of a containment subject.
Risk Level <4> : Girl
A cunning woman whose very existence borders on falsehood. This ability user has claimed numerous victims from the shadows of society. Her existence was first exposed when an internal power struggle among Russian political figures ended without a survivor, prompting the Federal Investigation Committee to intervene.
After records show the Russian Federal Investigation Committee detained and transported a woman with striking lavender eyes as a key witness for interrogation, similar internal conflicts erupted within the investigative agency, resulting in numerous casualties and paralyzing the organization before information leaked externally.
* Upon obtaining intelligence, two field teams were immediately dispatched for investigation. However, contact was lost with one team that infiltrated internally after their final report of contacting the beautiful woman. Field Team Leader [CODE NAME: NINE TAIL] and two additional teams were dispatched.
Based on information obtained from the investigative agency, the subject was forcibly transported to the facility using sleeping gas and anesthesia without initial negotiation, per the ability user response manual.
Drug Resistance: Vulnerable
Physical Strength: Vulnerable
Intelligence Level: Average
Physical Ability: Vulnerable
* Special Traits: False Implementation, Anomalous Transformation
* False Implementation
When a target hears and accepts a lie she fabricates, she absorbs the target's vitality to make the lie a reality. The scale and precision of implementation increases with the number of targets who accept the lie. Victims whose vitality is completely drained and left unattended typically die within 5 minutes. Even if they barely survive, they exhibit short-term memory loss and symptoms of mental illness due to severe cognitive dissonance, confirming the need for restricted access protocols post-containment.
* Anomalous Transformation
Field team appearance statements did not match except for lavender eyes and hair, confirming she transforms into the ideal age, appearance, and voice that each person considers most ideal for both men and women. However, this appears closer to hallucinations and auditory hallucinations cast on each individual. It was confirmed that the subject's form becomes blurry when reflecting an image through light, such as in photographs, videos, mirrors, or sleep.
* It was confirmed that she uses anomalous transformation to draw out the target's favor and trust, and maintains her existence by deceiving the target through pure lies that deceive even herself, absorbing their vitality.
Based on the above, classified as Risk Level 4. This may change, and re-evaluation may be conducted through additional investigation and experiments.
———
* Information obtained through counseling is additionally noted below.
Due to restricted access protocols, actual conversation is not possible, but no negative reaction to physical contact on areas such as shoulders and back of hands. Since physical ability and strength are extremely vulnerable, metal restraints or pressure suits risk bedsores, so relatively light and non-rigid restraint devices are used, and position changes and skin massages are frequently performed under the supervision of two or more guards.
The first outing review was rejected considering the danger of the subject's special traits.
———
Recorder [CODE NAME: COUNSELOR]
"So this is.."
"What do you think it is?"
"..Don't tell me."
"What else? Your next counseling subject, of course."