Don’t want the same ending as Soran?
The Section Chief’s words stayed stuck in my mind as I walked out of his office and back to mine. As I walked, I could feel the numerous gazes of those around me, but I tried to pay no mind to them.
A part of me was incredibly irritated.
This was the second person who told me to give up on chasing VILE - 1048.
’I know it’s hard, but if I really try, I’m sure that I can find it.’
I had grown to believe in my abilities as of late.
I was good at my job.
Very good at it, in fact. There was no denying it.
There had been a point in the past where anything scary would scare the living shit out of me, but I had grown past that point. At least, I hoped that was the case.
’...It’s not like I’m immune to fear, but most of my emotions are quite numb.’
At least, I could still feel the emotion known as’anger’.
"Is... everything alright?"
A cautious voice disrupted my thoughts. When I lifted my head, I found Zoey standing before me. Before I knew it, I had drifted closer to her and the others’ area.
I thought about lying and saying that nothing was wrong, but today, I didn’t really like doing that.
"Yes."
I decided to be honest.
"Hm? Really?"
My honesty was enough to surprise Zoey and anyone who was near enough to her to overhear.
"I’ve been ordered to let go of the case."
"You mean VILE - 1048?"
"Yes."
"Ah, well..." Zoey scratched the side of her face, her brows furrowing tightly as she folded her arms and sat on top of her desk. Eventually, she looked at me. It was as if she understood exactly the reason for why I was pissed. "And you don’t want to let go of the case, correct? You think that you can solve it."
"...Yes."
Zoey opened her lips, but soon smiled.
It was an honest smile that didn’t contain any malice as she shook her head.
"You really are something."
She mumbled quietly as she continued to shake her head, the strands of her blonde hair falling to her face.
Lifting her head again to stare at me, her emerald green eyes squinted slightly.
"...I’d normally have called you crazy for this. It’s no secret that VILE-1048 is an incredibly mysterious and dangerous anomaly, if it could even be considered an anomaly. I’ve heard some people consider it a disease rather than an anomaly."
"It’s not."
I blurted out almost immediately, prompting Zoey to raise her brow.
"You don’t think so?"
"I’m certain that it isn’t."
Given the quest and the fact that I had already met’it’, I was certain that it was no disease.
"....."
Zoey’s eyes squinted as she looked at me.
In the end, she shrugged.
"Well, alright."
She looked a bit doubtful about my words, but didn’t ask.
Zoey continued, "Since you’re so confident that it’s not a disease, then it’s good. I’d still be careful since this is a case that not even the BUA has been able to solve despite so many years and many Paragons trying. I wouldn’t want you to... spend too much time on it like Geneva, who has stagnated a little in her rankings due to her obsession with it."
"That’s... fair."
Her words made sense, but I could see a little doubt in her eyes.
It seemed like she, too, thought that this was too big a case for me.
’No, maybe I’m being too paranoid.’
My jaw subconsciously tightened.
And right then—
<strong>Ding! </strong>
Taking out my phone, I looked at the first message.
’Ah, right.’
I then turned to look at Zoey.
"Team Leader Soran?"
"Seems like it."
"Right, she might be of some use to you," Zoey said after thinking for a moment. "From what I’ve heard, she did dabble with VILE - 1048 in the past, even though it wasn’t for long. But she did have a case that made her obsessed for a while. It would be good if you talked to her."
"...Will do so."
Zoey’s words intrigued me.
Just like the Section Chief mentioned. It seemed like the Team Leader had faced something similar in the past.
I started to grow curious.
Especially at the part where she said that Soran had dabbled with VILE - 1048.
’I’ll ask her.’
Thanking Zoey, I turned around and headed to the meeting spot where I was supposed to meet up with Soran.
On the way, my phone rang a couple more times.
<strong>Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! </strong>
***
"What do you think?"
Zoey asked as she stared at Seth’s departing back.
A head peeked from the cubicle behind hers.
Zoey’s face turned strange as she turned her head to meet his gaze.
"Hey, is something going on between the two of you? It’s strange... You used to be glued to each other’s hips. Now you’re not even saying hi to him. In fact, it looks to me that you were trying to hide from him."
"...Ah, well..."
Kyle scratched the back of his head, putting on a complicated expression.
He eventually smiled bitterly.
"Actually, I drank all of his coffee so he’s kind of—"
"Bullshit."
Zoey cut Kyle off before he could continue with his nonsense. One of the reasons she was so good at her job was because she was so observant. She could sense that something was off between the two.
And she could also tell that whatever Kyle was about to say was nonsense.
"I’m not going to ask what’s going on between the two of you. I know better than to pry when it’s none of my business."
Of course, Zoey was curious about the situation between the two of them.
However, after all the things that had happened between her and Seth, she realized that things were best left alone.
That being said—
"He’s been acting pretty off, hasn’t he?"
Zoey’s eyes squinted as she thought back to the expression Seth made when she told him about VILE - 1048 and how challenging it was. For a moment, it almost looked like he was pissed at her. It was just a brief moment, but it didn’t escape her line of sight.
"You’re not wrong."
Kyle replied right after, his voice lower than usual as he too stared in the direction where Seth went off to.
Pursing his lips together, he turned his attention towards Zoey.
"He’s... starting to grow attached to the case."
"You mean obsessed?"
"Well, yes, but no. I wouldn’t say he’s obsessed, but he’s certainly showing signs of becoming like that."
"...Ah, great."
Zoey pinched her forehead as she shook her head.
She had seen this type of behavior many times and had even warned Seth about it.
There tended to be some people who grew so obsessed with some cases that they’d give everything up just to solve them. Most such people never had good endings.
"Let’s observe for a bit."
Zoey made a quick call.
"Although I usually don’t pry in these situations, it looks like we might have to in this case. I don’t want Seth to end up like the others."
Turning around, she looked at Kyle, who answered a beat later than usual.
"....Ah, right. Right."
He agreed after meeting her gaze.
Zoey’s eyes squinted slightly, but she soon turned away.
’These two... I hope they fix their shit soon enough.’