Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Two Broadcast Codes
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In the end, we compromised with coffee instead of a meal.
It was early morning, and above all, the only place open at this hour was a single cafe.
A cafe marked on the map caught my eye.
It happened to be the location of my part-time job interview today.
A perfect five-minute walk away.
Above the glass door at the cafe's entrance was a sign reading 'Hand Drip,' and the interior was filled with the aroma of coffee.
I liked the clean, serene atmosphere.
More than that, though.
"Really...? This card doesn't work either?"
It looked like getting a free meal today was impossible.
"Ugh... This can't be!"
All her payment methods were suspended.
Even the last card pulled from her wallet betrayed her expectations.
"P-Please, just one more time..."
At her request, the part-timer swiped it once more but ultimately shook their head.
Only then did it click for me.
I'd momentarily forgotten—
She'd been missing for six whole months.
Her head drooped in front of the counter.
Just before arriving, she'd been humming a tune.
"Agent! I can order everything on the menu!" she'd declared confidently.
Now, her shoulders slumped in despair.
The stark contrast made a laugh slip out before I knew it.
"I'll just cover it."
"Huh?! No, you can't, Agent!"
"It's fine. You said you'd pay me back later."
"...That was... supposed to be for life."
Her voice trailed off.
Her ears turned red.
In the end, I paid.
Truth be told, I hadn't particularly wanted a freebie.
I didn't want to use my credit card, though.
Steam rose from the cup on the table.
And across from it sat her, still dazed and clutching her coffee like she couldn't grasp the reality.
After stirring her coffee endlessly with a spoon, she finally spoke up.
"It's weird."
"What is?"
"You being right here in front of me."
"...Is it?"
"Yeah. It's weird. We've only ever talked over the phone. You seemed so tiny back then."
Her head tilted.
We'd met in the middle and talked.
For some reason, it felt like we were avoiding that topic, so I didn't bring it up.
The lingering coffee scent slowly dispersed in the air.
"I really thought... you died back then, Agent."
"That's harsh. Thought I was dead?"
"But... why'd you go that far?"
At that, I set my cup down.
For the record, mine was hot water.
"Like I said earlier, it was just... a promise."
"Huh?"
"We'd get out together."
Silence hung for a moment.
Soon, her eyes trembled faintly, then sparkled.
"...That meal promise I made? It's valid for life."
"That's a bit heavy, don't you think?"
"That's why it's for life!!"
After that, we chatted about trivial things.
Ordinary, everyday stuff.
Then time was up, and we stood from our seats.
The interview was approaching.
And above all,
I couldn't keep her forever.
Now, it was time for her to return to her family.
I'd given her a moment to process reality.
That's when,
As I tidied up to leave, she quietly spoke.
"...Phone number."
Gripping her coffee cup tightly with both hands, head bowed, she said it again.
"...Give me your phone number. I haven't bought you that meal yet."
***
The anomaly was gone.
And with it—
My part-time pay vanished too.
That's why I needed this job today.
[Cafe Part-Time Interview]
[Please come to ROOM2.]
Following the notice, I opened the door marked 'ROOM2' inside the cafe.
Two interviewees were already seated within.
One woman, one man.
And me in the third seat.
Three in total.
My competitors for today.
Soon, the owner entered and set three cups of coffee on the table.
"Would you mind tasting this? It's my own creation."
There was a strange confidence in his tone.
I took a sip.
...Hmm.
My eyebrows furrowed like waves.
Was my sense of taste off?
Glancing at the two beside me, they wore the exact same expression.
They tried to control it, but the stiff muscles around their mouths said it all.
The beans were over-roasted.
"Could each of you share your impressions of the coffee, one by one?"
The first woman, tense-faced, spoke up.
"The beans are... properly roasted, bringing out the coffee's acidity... well!"
Her ending pronunciation faltered oddly.
The second man followed.
"From the subtle aroma spreading... it's like being in the bean's homeland, Italy—"
......The beans' homeland is South America.
Now it was my turn.
The owner looked at me with expectant eyes.
I was the only one who'd taken more than one sip.
What he wanted now wasn't flattery.
Honesty.
I'd been skeptical at first.
But on the second sip, I was certain.
He'd deliberately over-roasted them.
No way he knew less about coffee than I did.
Something he'd put effort into wouldn't turn out like this.
Honestly, convenience store coffee tasted better.
No, more honestly— it was on the level of McDonald's at best.
That's when a familiar scene flashed in my mind.
'The owner serves terrible coffee to test the part-timer's honesty.'
'In the end, the one who spoke honestly gets hired.'
My nightly shorts-watching habit paid off here.
I quietly spoke.
"...It doesn't taste good."
My words dropped, and both applicants gulped simultaneously.
Too honest.
A brief silence.
Rather than his expression souring at my words, the owner's smile deepened slightly.
"Could you... elaborate a bit more?"
Genuine curiosity gleamed in his eyes.
"To be frank... the moment I tasted it, these thoughts hit me."
"What thoughts?"
"'If I drank this every day, I'd get cancer.' 'Is this ground-up coal or what?'... And 'Oh, this is McDonald's level at best.'"
I said it straight.
No holding back.
***
Lying in bed, I stared out the window.
My body felt languid.
Gazing blankly at the sky, thoughts of the half-watched 'Human-Faced Dragon' and 'Giant Centipede' videos from yesterday surfaced.
'Should I finish them?'
I'd paused midway for the convenience store run, so I was curious about the rest.
As I reached to plug in my earphones,
That's when the text arrived.
[Interview Result]
[Owner]: Sorry, but... you're rejected.
[Owner]: Since you were honest earlier, I'll be honest too.
[Owner]: Truth is, I was looking to hire an 'honest person' today.
[Owner]: But after feeling it out—
[Owner]: Someone too honest... isn't great either.
My mood to watch videos evaporated.
***
[Broadcast Code: 76353]
The human-faced dragon lay completely collapsed, silent.
Then—
Its belly split open, and dark red blood erupted like a waterfall.
Guts spilled out.
From the gap, something slowly emerged.
Ptooey—
The man spat blood from his mouth.
Stripping off his shirt revealed layers of 'Physical Nullification Talismans' plastered across his body.
"From the start, enhanced humans aren't idiots who'd trip over their own feet?"
It had all been staged.
Even the agency staff fleeing.
They weren't such a ragtag bunch that they'd run before the fight.
The paper scraps slowly dissolved in the water and fell away.
The man shook blood from his hands and muttered.
"Spent a ton of coins... but eh, the results aren't bad."
Even for him, the coins used this time—excluding the clear—were a stretch.
He naturally pulled out his phone screen like it was daily routine.
And his gaze, rigid and sharp until moments ago...
Shifted to pitiful in an instant.
Some text on the screen:
[Newb broadcast started.]
It was on Nyoongle.
A sigh escaped automatically.
No coins left.
But still, his fingers busied themselves.
[Flounder]: From what I saw...
[Flounder]: From the anomaly's perspective, she's like a sort of 'battery'—
Despair is despair.
This is this.
[99324]
A cityscape-based location.
Light fog cleared, slowly revealing the scene within.
On a rooftop.
She slammed her sword into the ground at last, then collapsed backward.
"...Phew. It's over. Nearly died for real there."
Severed monster limbs littered around her, black blood raining from the sky like pitch.
Spatial limits lifted, and paramedics' voices echoed from all sides.
Collapsed amid bodily fluids, she raised an arm at the approaching sounds.
Her colleagues rushed in.
"Pulse! She's still alive!!"
"Stretcher here!!"
"Po%@&..!"
"What?"
"...Phone!"
"In this situation...?"
"Phone! ...I'm in a hurry!"
Overpowered by her intensity, her colleague handed over the phone.
Snatching it, she moved her hands swiftly.
Couldn't delay a second.
Had to check diligently every hour of every day.
No telling when the newb might get tangled in an anomaly.
She grinned proudly.
At this rate, could call herself a top-tier newb junkie, right?
But the next instant, her pupils froze.
The troll post on the gallery was gone.
The usual mischief-makers who loved pranks showed no sign of activity?
That meant even the trolls had ditched for something more urgent elsewhere.
And there was only one such case.
"The newb started a broadcast? ...No way!"
Her hands, steady even in anomaly fights, shook uncontrollably.
Luckily, the broadcast had just begun.
But that offered her no comfort.
In newb broadcasts, even seconds of delay meant 'late.'
Those seconds led to endless screw-ups.
"...L-Let's see, how many coins left this month... Made about 300 this time... Total 363? ...Hmm. Plenty."
Calculations later, though.
First, type in chat.
[Parcheon Emperor]: Anomalies prefer 'good people' over villains. Simple reason.
[Parcheon Emperor]: Good people can't ignore others' misfortune.
Veterans began gathering in the newb broadcast one by one, swiftly.