Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Prospective Believers Arrive!
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Prospective believers have arrived!
Opposite the thick mirror.
A woman was grinning slyly.
"Thank you so much for making time for me!"
Yoo Seyeon. The researcher who'd received a passing necklace from me.
"Thanks my foot. This is delicious!"
In my hand was a round, chewy dessert.
Dubai Chewy Cookies that Yoo Seyeon had brought as a bribe. DubChewCooks for short!
By my old standards, the sweetness would've numbed my tongue, but now it was just right.
Paired with milk, it was honey-sweet!
"Hehe. I lined up at dawn to buy them!"
Yoo Seyeon beamed even brighter at my words.
She looked every bit the intellectual elite, but her speech was totally at odds with her image.
Of course, it would be foolish to judge her as sloppy based on appearances alone.
Unlike the researcher who'd sent disposables to test the waters, my first impression of her was favorable.
"So, what do you want from me?"
That didn't mean I planned to cooperate fully.
No.
I had no intention of cooperating with anyone to begin with.
Cooperation or deals only happen when the other side has something I want.
And there was nothing in this world that I wanted.
Yoo Seyeon answered my question simply.
"Everything about Dawn Girl!"
"Dawn Girl?"
"Yes! I figured you wanted the formal title 'Dawn Girl,' but calling you 'Girl' felt weird, so I went with Dawn Girl. Does it bother you? I can use a different name!"
She talked a ton, and fast!
But her enunciation was crisp, so I could follow.
"Wha... sure."
Dawn Girl sounded better than Dawn Girl anyway.
I needed a title to use instead of a name anyhow.
Yoo Seyeon smiled again.
"Got it, Dawn Girl. As I said, I want to know everything about you. Not to run experiments or anything! Just chatting like this."
"That's all?"
"Yes. Unlike those other idiots, I volunteered for this myself."
"Why?"
"I'm really, really interested in you."
Her eyes were crystal clear.
"And you're satisfied with just talking?"
"Just talking? Being able to communicate like this is an enormous opportunity! Dealing with anomalies? I couldn't care less."
"Why?"
"If you understand the anomaly, everything else follows naturally."
She expressed her desires openly, without hiding.
She clearly stated what she wanted from me, yet didn't demand more than she could offer.
That's why I didn't dislike her.
She was far more appealing than some transparent act.
Well.
That attitude was probably strategic to a degree.
Based on her observations so far, she'd likely calculated that I'd prefer this approach.
She seemed smart enough to strategize like that.
Even so, I didn't dislike her.
Whatever her intentions, her words rang with transparent sincerity.
"By the way, could I touch your face just once later? It looks so soft and glutinous, like rice cake."
Hm.
Or maybe she's just a weirdo...?
I furrowed my brow for a second, and Yoo Seyeon hurriedly added,
"I was kidding! Haha!"
Didn't sound like kidding.
Anyway.
She's fun. I like her. In a completely different way from Yuna.
Maybe I can stick around here a bit longer.
"Hmm, got any fun stories?"
"Plenty! Do you know this one?"
"What?"
"Headquarters doesn't actually call anomalies 'anomalies.'"
"Really?"
"Yeah. They mix terms to fit each branch's characteristics. Pretty unique, right?"
"It is. Uniform terminology would be more convenient."
"Exactly! It's probably because HQ treats branches like consumables. If HQ's the body, branches aren't even limbs—they're just tools."
Yoo Seyeon casually spilled key facts about the Foundation.
Most branch staff probably had no clue.
"You can just say stuff like that?"
"No problem! You won't go blabbing anyway."
"True. So what does HQ call anomalies?"
"Echoes. Or resonances."
Yoo Seyeon stretched the last word slightly, drawing a circle in the air with her finger.
"Any event, emotion, or will that strongly impacts the world leaves a trace. It's the lingering reverberation that echoes even after the cause fades. That's why they call it an Echo."
"What about that world over there?"
"You mean the back world! They see it similarly. A place born from this world's influence. So, flipped world. Mirror world. Back world. Like that."
"Hmm. So am I an Echo too?"
"You are. By the way, HQ hasn't classified your level yet."
With that, Yoo Seyeon grinned and straightened up from her slight lean forward.
"I've droned on with boring stuff too long!"
"Nah. It was interesting."
"Really? Anything else you're curious about? If not, can I ask one question?"
"Shoot."
"What's Dawn Girl's goal?"
I smiled back at her question.
"Secret."
"Aw! So curious, but oh well. Can I head out now?"
"Yeah."
"See you next time!"
Yoo Seyeon stood up.
I waved her off. Then I returned to my room and slowly tracked her with the shadows' eyes.
Yoo Seyeon took the elevator up and entered the lab.
Soon, I heard her conversing with the others.
"-That was way too dangerous!"
"-What if you'd gotten seriously hurt?!"
She definitely held a high position.
Yoo Seyeon responded curtly to the others.
"-But I came back fine, right? Got tons of premium intel too. Unlike some idiots, we chatted amiably."
Yoo Seyeon shut them down lightly and perched on her chair, adding a few words.
"-Sigh. I'm too competent sometimes. I scare even myself."
...She's definitely an odd human.
I pulled my gaze from them and rolled around on the bed.
For now, I'll keep watching them.
"Hmm. What’s that one up to?"
I shifted my attention to another human.
The one I'd attached a shadow to before.
I closed my eyes briefly and focused, and my vision moved elsewhere.
"-Listen to my story, everyone!"
The man, hollow-eyed and gaunt-cheeked after just a few days, was shouting at passersby.
"-You all don't know the great one! She guides us on our path! She is glorious!"
Like a madman.
My presence must've impacted him strongly.
Passersby glanced at him like he was crazy and hurried on.
But he kept shouting undeterred.
Seeing that filled me with delight.
Good call not killing him right then.
His desirous gaze as he ogled my body had made me want to crush him on the spot, but wouldn't that have been too quick a death?
"-Hear me out just once!"
The man didn't stop, shouting nonstop. He didn't head to a new spot until nearly three hours later.
And even then, it wasn't for a break.
He went to an abandoned building, which I instantly recognized as a passage to the other world.
"-What? Why're you so late?"
"-What's wrong with your face, asshole?"
There were people dressed sturdy, armed with knives or steel pipes.
I clocked them instantly as explorers of the other world.
Looked like the guy I'd shadowed had gathered his own kind.
"-Had some business. Anyway, let's go."
"-Is what you said last time true?"
"-Of course. Found something amazing. You'll love it."
That was when I figured out what the man was up to.
Taking others to the place where he'd first met 'me.'
Figuring they'd recognize my true nature upon meeting me.
"Heh heh heh."
This one's fun too.
I hadn't given any grand orders or plans, yet he was moving with real zeal.
Might as well have some fun with it now.
"-Over there!"
"-Whoa, slow down!"
The man led his partners to the ruined castle with my clone.
I revealed myself when they arrived.
Without hiding my presence at all, unlike last time.
"Ahem!"
I cleared my throat and spoke solemnly.
"Cake. Bear doll. Macaron!"
"My god!"
"Lord!"
They dropped to their knees, tears streaming as they praised me.
Like total lunatics.
No matter what words or phrases they used.
They were seeing what they wanted to see.
Something massively inflated in their tiny minds.
"Heh heh heh."
I should try what the Bald Man was doing!