"What? Can you repeat that again?"
"...I’d like to get access to one of the containment rooms to see VILE-819, the Twisted Man. There are a few things that I’d like to study for my upcoming game."
"No, I heard you the first time."
"But you asked me to repeat it."
"For the simple reason that I didn’t believe you’d ask for something like this"
Staring at me, the Section Chief’s face changed several times. I could understand why he was reacting like this.
Following the decision that I had made during the game testing, the first thing I did after getting everyone to play the game was to head to the Section Chief and ask him to meet the Twisted Man.
No normal person would even think about asking something like this.
"I guess I should’ve seen a request coming from someone like you."
"Someone like me...?"
What the hell was he talking about?
If anything, he was the weird one.
The Section Chief didn’t say anything but just gave me a meaningful look.
’Hold it in. Hold it in. Hold it in.’
I just barely kept myself from lunging at him. Mainly because I’d be the one to get beaten up by the end of it.
"...Are you sure about your request?"
"I am."
I nodded after looking at the Section Chief.
"And you need to visit the anomaly in person?"
"I do. With VR now in the mix, I can craft even more lifelike monsters. As you probably know, the inspiration for the creature in my game is the Twisted Man. I believe that if I can get a closer, more personal look at it, I’ll be able to understand it better and create a more authentic monster for the game."
This was just nonsensical bullshit.
However, it was also very convincing bullshit. Especially since the Section Chief was aware of my game. He had seen it firsthand and was aware of the monster lurking within the game.
The goal was for me to get close to the Twisted Man and use my new node on it.
But there were still some problems.
’Even if I do get to meet the Twisted Man, it’ll very likely be in a monitored setting. That would make things a lot more difficult for me. Especially since the skill requires me to touch the anomaly before using it.’
I still didn’t know how to handle that part.
However, I first needed to make the meeting with the Twisted Man possible.
I could think about everything else later.
"Hmm."
A frown tugged at the Section Chief’s face as his expression shifted several times, clearly torn as he struggled to agree with my request. In the end, though, he gave in.
"Alright, fine."
I secretly clenched my hands, trying my best to contain my excitement.
And just as I was about to stand up to thank the Section Chief, he stopped me with his hand.
"Don’t get ahead of yourself. This isn’t something I can decide alone. I’ll need to reach out to the Team Leader overseeing the Containment area for their approval. It might take a while. You can wait, right?"
"Yes, no problem."
In fact, it was better this way.
I still needed to plan my approach to the Twisted Man under so much supervision.
’Maybe I can think of a way to hypnotize the person overlooking the cameras? Or maybe I can get the Conductor to play a certain tune to distract those watching?’
All sorts of ideas crossed my mind.
I stood up and started to turn away, but just as I was about to leave, the Section Chief spoke again.
"Wait a second."
I stopped and looked back.
"Yes...?"
Pinching the middle of his brows, the Section Chief tapped the table a couple of times before asking.
"What do you think about Myles...?"
"Huh?"
My face stiffened.
"W-wha..."
"I’m thinking of promoting him. He’s just reached the Second Order. He’s currently stuck in Kyle’s team, but given his current results, it might not be too bad if he becomes an assistant Squad leader for another thing. I heard that the two of you are close. I just wanted to ask about your opinion."
Close...?
Who spread this nonsense?
The two of us were anything but close. If anything, he was a rat that I wanted nothing to do with.
"So? What do you think? Based on his current achievements, he can get promoted. He’ll be the second fastest member to get prompted after you."
"I..."
Biting my lips, I eventually forced a smile.
"Yes, I think he’s ready."
*
Clank—!
Coming out of the Section Chief’s office, my stomach churned. I felt sick to my stomach. The thought of that rat getting promoted off the back of my hard work made me feel sick to my core.
Still, it wasn’t like I could say no to the Section Chief.
I could see it from his face that he had already made up his mind.
Saying no would just make me look petty and jealous.
’I feel like shit.’
I wanted nothing more than to head back to my dorm and take a long, calming shower. But of course, nothing ever seemed to go smoothly in my life. As soon as I turned to leave the Guild, a familiar face appeared in front of me.
With his signature dimples and cleanly cut bowl cut hair, the rat appeared before me.
"Hi."
He waved happily at me.
"It’s been a while. How have you been?"
"...Good."
It took everything out of me not to show my disgust.
But that was easier said than done. Just one look at the rat was enough to make me sick to my stomach.
’I’m sure he feels the same. He’s just not showing it.’
I knew the rat even better than he knew himself. That was why I was confident in the fact that he loathed me more than I loathed him.
The more I shone, the more jealous he became.
’...If my guess is not wrong, he may have already made some moves to get me out of this place.’
I wasn’t sure just yet what he did. However, I knew that he had done something. This became especially clear by how bright the smile on his face was.
So much that I couldn’t help but ask,
"You’re smiling quite a lot. Did something good happen?"
"Hm? Me?"
The rat pretended to look surprised by the fact that I noticed. But as his dimples became even clearer, he nodded.
"Yes, actually. Well..."
Looking around, the rat leaned closer to me before suddenly whispering, "...I actually talked with the Section Chief. I might get promoted soon. I’m just happy about this fact, hehe."
Even his laugh sounded innocent.
That made my stomach churn even further as I looked at him and patted him on the shoulder.
"In that case, I hope everything goes well for you. If you would excuse me."
Moving past him, the smile quickly faded from my face.
’Things can’t keep going like this.’
The rat was growing more and more dangerous by the day. I had been neglecting him due to everything that had been happening recently, but I could no longer do that.
’I can’t stay passive anymore.’
I made up my mind at that moment.
The rat...
I needed to get rid of him.