Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Promises Should Be Made Carefully
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I managed to wrangle a promise from Cheolwoong to eat food together and help me write the guidebook.
Even though the Princess Guide is currently only circulating within the research institute right now, it might spread across the world in the future.
The gourmet restaurant guides that inspire people originally started in just a few regions, after all.
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'The Princess Guide could spread across the world too, right?'
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I'd scoured the internet before, but I'd never seen any information explaining the flavors of anomalies.
I might just become known as the world's first anomaly taste columnist.
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'Heh heh. I'm going to be Korea's inaugural anomaly taste columnist.'
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What started as a bid for a 5th-grade card key had snowballed into something much bigger.
The old saying goes that dreams should be big, so dreaming a little larger shouldn't hurt.
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"Ahaha. Princess, are you that thrilled about the promise with Squad Leader Cheolwoong? You're grinning like an idiot."
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Sehwa looked down at me and chuckled softly.
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"Ahem! I got a bit carried away for a moment there and let my guard down. Please forget what you just saw."
"Hee hee, got it."
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I cleared my throat and schooled my expression back to its usual dignified demeanor.
Sehwa watched me with a gentle smile.
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'At this rate, it'll take forever to finish writing the second volume of the Princess Guide. Isn't there a better way?'
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Experiments storing anomalies had only just reached the second one.
And there was a considerable gap between those experiment dates.
I'd been able to finish the first volume of the Princess Guide quickly by recalling the tastes of anomalies I'd eaten before.
But if we kept experiments at this pace, the second volume would take ages.
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'It'd be great if I got a chance to eat a bunch of different anomalies at once.'
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I was pondering ideas as we walked down the corridor when it happened.
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Weeeeeng—.
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A siren blared.
Unlike the usual steady tone, this one pulsed louder and softer in waves.
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"F-Facility breach alert?"
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Sehwa, walking beside me, froze in shock, her eyes wide.
Her pupils trembled violently.
Soon, the siren cut out briefly, replaced by an announcement.
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"Facility breach alert issued. Attack by unidentified anomaly confirmed. All institute personnel, proceed to designated locations—."
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Sehwa listened calmly, took a deep breath, and snapped back to reality.
She clenched her fist, as if she'd figured out what she needed to do.
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"Okay. First, evacuate to the safe zone... Huh?"
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Sehwa started to step forward confidently but halted abruptly.
She stared straight at me.
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"What about the Princess? Normally, we'd send you back to your room, but it's too far from here. Should we go to the safe zone together?"
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Sehwa muttered to herself in confusion.
It was kind of funny.
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"Wait. If it's an unidentified anomaly attacking, couldn't we use the Princess? No, maybe the problem is we can't capture it alive? Ugh. What the heck are we supposed to do with the Princess?!"
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She ruffled her hair, firing off questions that wouldn't get answers.
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"Screw it. Princess! What do you want to do? No one will object to whatever you decide. For the record, I'm heading to the safe zone."
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Sehwa looked at me and blurted it out rapidly.
I'd already made up my mind.
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"I'll wait here for the anomaly."
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I'd just been wishing for a variety of anomalies to eat.
No reason to turn down food walking right into my mouth.
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"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. I'll head to the safe zone first then. Take care, Princess!"
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Sehwa looked startled for a second but quickly accepted it.
She turned to head for the safe zone.
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"Ugh. What the hell is that?"
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Sehwa stopped, frowning at the air.
Following her gaze, I spotted a white whale floating lazily through the sky.
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"Ah... Aah...."
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Sehwa let out a faint groan.
Tears welled up in her eyes out of nowhere, and she started sobbing without warning.
Even as tears streamed down her face, she smiled happily—a bizarre sight.
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'Is that thing the attacker?'
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The white whale drifted slowly toward the research institute.
Sehwa had burst into tears the moment she saw it.
That had to be the culprit behind the institute breach.
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"I... I have to find freedom. I need to free everyone."
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Sehwa muttered blankly, her eyes unfocused.
She flailed her arms toward the empty air, as if grasping for something.
I tiptoed closer to her.
Tap.
I poked her cheek with one finger.
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"P-Princess? Ugh... R-Right. The Princess is already free."
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Sehwa stared at my face, then clutched her head with both hands.
She kept mumbling to herself, trying to convince her own mind.
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"The Princess is already free. The Princess is already free. The others aren't my responsibility. I don't have to worry about the others."
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She leaned against the wall and slid down, still muttering nonstop.
She looked a bit unstable, but she'd be fine if left alone.
I stood calmly, waiting for the whale.
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"Ahaha! Hahaha!"
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The corridor grew noisy.
Joyful laughter echoed through it like a party was underway.
Soon, I sensed anomalies swarming the long hallway.
Not just one or two.
Countless anomalies had escaped their containment rooms and roamed freely.
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'Heh heh. Talk about good luck.'
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I could finish the second volume of the Princess Guide way ahead of schedule.
I dashed down the corridor.
I passed researchers and devoured anomalies.
I zipped through the institute, shoving every anomaly I saw straight into my mouth.
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'It's a shame the flavors mix a bit, but can't be helped.'
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I couldn't eat anomalies still locked in containment rooms.
I'd promised Sehwa.
So the ones that had come out were fair game.
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'I'm definitely a genius.'
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I marveled at my own clever thinking as I ran.
I didn't forget to savor each one carefully.
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'If I don't eat them fast, someone else will shove them back into containment.'
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I had to gobble them up before the escapees got recaptured.
I raced around, tasting them all.
By then, the white whale had entered the institute.
I stopped in front of it.
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"Thanks for the meal."
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Tonight's main course.
I couldn't eat it once it got locked away.
Lucky it was out here.
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Woooong—.
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The whale bellowed in protest, lecturing me about freeing its friends.
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"What're you saying? You're just an anomaly."
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Nom nom.
I ate the noisy whale.
Since it was nagging me like a scolding aunt, I digested it in one go.
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"Phew, I'm stuffed."
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I'd promised Sehwa not to digest institute anomalies as much as possible.
Without digestion, I could taste them but felt no fullness.
It was like eating and spitting out—left me feeling empty.
After so long without, digesting a big one brought satisfying fullness.
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"B-Black Princess...."
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As I savored the pleasant fullness, someone spoke up.
I glanced over to see a researcher.
His white lab coat had "Park Junyoung" embroidered on one side.
Junyoung shuffled toward me.
Thud.
He dropped to his knees.
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"You saved me! Thank you!"
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A total stranger thanked me.
I had no idea why, but it felt pretty good anyway.
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"Heh heh. You'll be even more thankful!"
"You saved my life. Thank you! I almost died, but it was all thanks to you, Princess. Thank you!"
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Stuffed with anomalies and even digested some, the fullness felt amazing.
On top of that, someone was praising me, reason unknown.
Today was a happy day.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I, the man Park Cheolwoong.
Reacquisition Squad Leader at Ansong Research Institute.
In a life of battling and negotiating with all sorts of anomalies, I rarely got nervous.
Yet here I was.
Unable to hide my trembling hands.
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"Y-You're saying I have to eat this?"
"Yes, that's right."
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The Black Princess beamed innocently in front of me.
Her face full of eager expectation.
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'Damn it. I shouldn't have made that promise back then.'
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A few days ago, I'd casually promised to help with the Princess Guide.
After that, the Princess had incredibly successfully repelled the unidentified anomaly attacking the institute.
As a result, trust in the Black Princess within the institute had skyrocketed, and talks of formally establishing a cooperative relationship began.
To prepare for that cooperation, the decision was made to build a friendly rapport with her first.
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'Why me for that friendly rapport? I'm not even her assigned researcher!'
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Various people close to the Princess were suggested.
And apparently, I was on that list.
We'd only bumped into each other once or twice in passing, so I had no clue how this happened.
The institute held a meeting on how to build that rapport.
During it, Researcher Lee Sehwa mentioned how excited the Princess was about writing the Princess Guide.
That naturally brought my promise into the discussion.
And so, I was forced to keep it.
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'Hoo.'
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I speared a bite-sized piece of the grotesquely shaped anomaly with my fork.
Held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut.
I lifted the fork and shoved the anomaly into my mouth.