Chapter 125: The Otherworlders’ Outing (３)

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The humans of Babylon built a towering ziggurat to reach their gods. As punishment for challenging the divine, humanity was cursed to never understand one another. That was the origin of language.

Mythologically speaking, that is.

A bar in the upper floors of the Lotte World Tower.

The tower stood 555 meters tall.

A height that dwarfed any ziggurat the Babylonians had ever raised. The beings gathered there let out dry chuckles at the irony.

“Is this all of us?”

Six figures in suits gazed down at the city below the window. Everyone else went about their daily lives as if nothing was amiss.

“Over there. Somewhere beneath the city is the youngest. Aside from the youngest and Mother… I believe these are all the Blue Roses who survived.”

Blue Rose-1. Contrabass.

Blue Rose-4. Silver.

Blue Rose-5. Paint.

Blue Rose-7. Black.

Blue Rose-9. Spring.

Blue Rose-11. Spade.

“If not for Spade’s ability, we never would have made it into this cursed city.”

Without Spade’s perception-dampening adjustments, six Blue Roses who looked suspicious to anyone’s eyes would never have been able to move through downtown Seoul.

Blue Rose-9, Spring, was a clockwork-type anomaly, so the mask was worn openly. It was a wonder the police hadn’t arrested the anomaly on the way here.

“Have you tried calling the youngest?”

“What, Blue Rose-13? If we’d tried, martial law would’ve been declared across the city. Or helicopters would be flying around… Anyway.”

Silver’s face scrunched up.

“You idiot. Did you forget Blue Rose-13 single-handedly occupied an entire island? Number 12 was chopped to pieces in a single exchange. Number 13’s hunting dog shredded and pulped 12’s head.”

“…”

Silence fell over the group.

“Calling her, my ass. We should’ve been thinking about assassinating her. I just checked—Blue Rose-13 is moving as if she’s anticipating a sniper shot. Though there’s no way to land one anyway, with the cognitohazard spread across a 50-meter radius around her.”

Silver gestured toward the guitar case at her feet. Inside that case was an anti-materiel rifle instead of a guitar.

Silver.

She was a girl with silver hair and red eyes, but to avoid drawing attention, she wore a baker’s cap on her head and tinted glasses over her face.

To anyone else, she might look somewhat insane, but it was better than wandering the city with silver hair and red eyes on full display.

Silver was an experimental subject created from anomalies provided by Pluto LLC, a Group of Interest. Among the Blue Roses, she was one of the stronger ones.

“She’s wandering around the city?”

“Blue Rose-13 is the king of this country.”

The Blue Roses murmured among themselves.

Paint looked up from the magazine she’d been reading and scratched her head.

“Our youngest is a Director?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe we should’ve just stayed on Jeju.”

“Jeju is too small. The Foundation could search every inch of that island.”

“Is Seoul any different?”

“If we go down into the tunnel network beneath Seoul, even the Foundation won’t be able to find us. That’s where we’re headed today.”

The Blue Roses sighed. The tunnel network wasn’t a pleasant place. Though they’d been spending their days down there for the past several days.

“So. Why are we gathered here?”

Contrabass, who had been slouching crookedly in his chair, slowly opened his half-closed eyes.

“Noisy.”

“What’s your plan?”

Contrabass spoke in his low, flat voice. The Blue Roses’ gazes fixed on him.

“Originally, I intended to go find the youngest. But Silver says she has no intention of dying in a fight today.”

“That’s bait.”

Director Geum had, unusually, gone out accompanied by a single humanoid anomaly. The Blue Roses had considered seeking out Director Geum.

In the end, they decided against it.

“Our position’s gotten awkward. The scientists on Jeju who made us have all been reassigned or scattered. Going back would only mean death.”

“Right.”

“We could go back to the youngest and beg for mercy, but we’d obviously just be treated as monsters.”

Silver crossed her arms.

“You should’ve kept a proper eye on Hourani back on Jeju. Or completed the recovery of Number 13 properly.”

“Silver. So what do you want me to do about it?”

Contrabass let out a sigh.

“Bear with it.”

“…”

“We came to Seoul with a purpose, and it’s done. So here’s the plan. We cooperate with a suitable Group of Interest, borrow their strength, and recover Blue Rose-0.”

“What does Blue Rose-0 have to do with us?”

The Blue Roses gathered in the room murmured again, and Contrabass narrowed his eyes. What does it have to do with us — what a genuinely stupid thing to say.

“Even if we were disbanded and reassembled, Blue Rose-0 is the source of our power. We liberate Blue Rose-0 and reclaim our maximum strength.”

“Is the Foundation our enemy?”

Blue Rose-1 shook his head.

“The Foundation are realists. An anomaly that doesn’t cause trouble is as good as nonexistent. Until we strike at Blue Rose-0, we don’t antagonize the Foundation.”

Spade raised his head.

“That’s overly optimistic thinking. Under heaven, above the earth — do you think there’s anything the Foundation doesn’t know? Wasn’t it the Foundation that created us?”

“That’s your job, Spade. Do your best erasing our tracks with your perception interference.”

“Don’t raise your voice. The civilians here might start paying attention to us.”

Contrabass nodded.

“Contra. Fine, let’s say all that’s true. So, which Group of Interest is going to take us in?”

“Well… let’s head underground for now.”

****

The outing ended without incident.

Just as I’d originally planned. In fact, naming the operation “Two Lures” and tacking on that business about baiting anomalous groups — that was all a lie.

If the only reason I gave was that we were playing along with the otherworlders, everyone wouldn’t have cooperated with the operation. So I’d tacked on all that talk about lures and training.

“Here’s what I think. Miss Hasti can be fully respected here, she has ability, and she has a Returnee who’s like family by her side, doesn’t she?”

“And so?”

“You’ve probably heard this offer a few times, but… just say the word. We’ll give you an employee ID and a resident registration card. Please work with us.”

“And what would happen then?”

“You’d probably study thaumatology with our Thaumatology Team. You’d go through the program at the in-house graduate school. You’d get a salary too.”

Hasti leaned her head against the passenger-side window.

“I’d like to talk it over with my Returnee.”

“By all means.”

“Still, I’ll consider it positively.”

That’s about as much as I could hope for.

“I don’t understand why you people go to such trouble trying to recruit us every time. From your perspective, aren’t we just dangerous monsters?”

“It’s not simply that.”

“Hm?”

“The world is full of dangerous people. There are those who capture anomalous humans and use them as materials, those who sell them as slaves, and plenty who are just waiting for a chance to dissect them.”

“Well…”

“I’d like to call it anarchy, but the government would do the same if given the chance. What the Foundation protects isn’t just ordinary humans.”

“Is that so?”

“When Pasteur discovered the vaccine, medicine — in a sense — underwent a laboratory-ization of society. Under the banner of protection.”

“Control through knowledge, you mean. With the protection of both sides — the anomalous and the normal — as the goal.”

“I don’t know if others in the Foundation think that way. But I do. As long as I sit as an executive of the Foundation, the people under me will act the same way.”

Hasti let out another sigh.

“You’re saying it’s the lesser evil.”

“It’s not that I’m trying to justify my own or anyone else’s actions… I’m just telling you that I’m doing my best in my position. If Miss Hasti were to sit at a desk, perhaps she’d be able to join that conversation too.”

“I suppose so.”

A rustling sound. Hasti seemed to be rummaging through my car, looking for snacks.

****

[Job Application]

[Filed by: Dr. Chloe]

[Document transmitted through the Human Resources Department.]

[Hello, Director Geum. I am sending this through the Human Resources Department window. I wish to transfer from the Jeju Branch to the Seoul Branch.]

[I have extensive achievements and experience in the research of anomalies, particularly humanoid anomalies. Furthermore, like yourself, Director, I have abundant field experience and combat experience.]

****

[Re: Job Application]

[Filed by: Aide An]

[Isn’t Dr. Chloe dead, killed during the siege of the Jeju Branch? I don’t know what kind of trick this is, but we will investigate thoroughly.]

[The HR Section Chief will need to have a meeting with the Director regarding this matter. The facility-wide alert level has been raised because of the document that was just sent. HR Section Chief, please come to the Director’s Office as soon as you see this document.]

****

[Re: Re: Job Application]

[Filed by: HR Section Chief Dr. Min]

[I never sent any such document, and neither did the Human Resources Department. It seems someone with Foundation security clearance genuinely sent it. Um…]

[Is it really not Dr. Chloe?]

[Ah. And another thing. I will go to the Director’s Office within today, but I don’t yet admit to having done anything wrong. An investigation will reveal the truth, I suppose.]