NOVEL NEXT WORLD How much time has passed?
As I organized my complicated thoughts and looked around, I was greeted by an unfamiliar landscape.
The room was filled with strange devices I had never seen before.
However, I could roughly guess the purpose of these devices.
From the way a peculiar device in the center of the room was connected to the others, it became clear that it served a critical role.
Moreover, since my hands and feet were bound by this core-looking device, I easily realized it was a complex technological restraint device.
That’s a bit excessive for just a detention, isn’t it?
I felt a bit frustrated and wiggled my fingers.
Honestly, I thought a pair of handcuffs would be tolerable for a short time.
Despite the necessity due to rescue operations, I indeed caused substantial damage to the building while I was at it.
Given how chaotic the situation was, it would take some time to sort things out.
Well, from the perspective of the people who might not know whether I was capturing a person or a doll, they couldn’t just let me be.
In fact, wasn’t this restraint device like that? Something treated as mere handcuffs in the present but built using the astonishing science and technology of the future?
Maybe I was being too sensitive about being treated like a suspect.
Yeah, that’s definitely it.
After all, it’s a future world.
Everything I’ve seen so far has been so incomprehensible that this could easily be just another instance.
Hahaha.
Ha.
H.
H….
….
Haaaa….
A deep sigh escaped my lips.
Because I sensed I was reaching my limit of turning a blind eye to reality.
Even if I tried to act like a dimwit, the undeniable truth kept presenting itself right before my eyes.
At this point, I had no way to escape from reality; I had arrived at a cliff with no way to go forward, and I was now at the brink of having to acknowledge it.
What was I acknowledging?
Well, that my hometown was completely different from what I had known.
The hometown in my memory was undoubtedly a world where only ordinary people and the society they formed existed.
But this new place I had come to know was an abnormal world, filled with monsters that could crush people in an instant.
To be honest, I had sensed it vaguely.
While I didn’t think of myself as particularly smart, I wasn’t dull-witted either.
Based on what I had seen and heard in this place so far, I could clearly conclude that the things existing in this facility were far from ordinary, even by the standards of this era.
But I didn’t want to acknowledge it.
To be precise, I should say I had intentionally ignored it.
I thought it might be somewhat amusing to have a somewhat unrealistic group lurking on the outskirts of my hometown, but that was only in the context of light urban fantasy adventures.
I didn’t want a mad world where endless-replica-monsters turned people into minced meat, fitting for a cosmic horror horror game.
I returned to my hometown intending to enjoy a leisurely retirement, only to find out that my hometown resembled the bizarre worlds I had traversed so far.
I felt like I had encountered my first love in a brothel, and once again sighed in a complex emotional state.
…Still, I must acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.
But what good would it do to blame what has already happened?
Denial of reality wouldn’t change anything.
Even if my hometown turned out to be a dramatically different place, I no longer had any objectives left.
I was fated to settle down in this place, whether I liked it or not.
From now on, I planned to look at the future with a bit of optimism.
At least, I had quite a few things I wanted to do now that I was back home.
So, when would be a good time to leave this place…?
As I flexed my arm, I felt the restraint device shifting slightly.
Hmm, I think I should be able to get out of this.
It seemed designed with somewhat annoying technology, but it was manageable.
After all, there was no longer anything holding me back.
If someone didn’t enter soon to explain this situation to a satisfactory extent, I planned to smash this restraint device without hesitation and head out.
Was it necessary to wait?
Well, that was true. I had met some people who treated me decently while I was here, but that didn’t give me any reason to stay.
Even if I were to break this facility and smash anyone trying to stop me into the ground, thinking of those who were floundering against just that one doll, I didn’t think anyone would be able to harm me.
But there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed with people.
And this was, in short, the last line I had drawn for myself.
After wandering alone for so long through dimensions, it’s natural for humanity to start fading away.
But at least for now, I wanted to remain human, so I had pre-emptively set this last limit for myself.
Even if I obtained a somewhat unique power, it didn’t mean I should kill a creature that still had the capacity to communicate, just because it was annoying or troublesome.
…Of course, that would only apply if the other party seemed willing to communicate with me.
But if someone were to pull a gun on me or issue commands in a domineering manner like before, I would hit them without mercy and escape this place.
As I mentioned earlier, I was already at my limit of patience.
I didn’t want to be locked in this tight room any longer while denying reality.
i—Click
And just as I was thinking I would have to twist this device for real if no one showed up soon, metallic sounds began to resonate from the only entrance of the room.
i—Click, click, click
The sound of mechanical devices interlocking and unlocking the complex locking mechanism followed in succession.
Surely the door in the previous room was far simpler than this.
Seeing as I was locked up in a place with such a thick security door, they probably thought of me as quite the dangerous individual.
i—Creeeak
Finally, after the complicated process, the door opened.
The thick door that looked sturdy, and behind it, countless identical doors.
And someone walking in from behind that was.
Predicting a meeting with someone completely new whom I had never encountered before.
“…”
Entering the room was a strange middle-aged man.
Just a glance made it clear he had a strict personality.
He stepped into the room, exchanged glances with me in silence, and then without delay, he spoke.
“Nice to meet you, 163-19.”
He began with a simple greeting.
The Responsible Researcher, Oliver Smith, was currently feeling quite anxious.
The reason for that would undoubtedly be the girl bound in front of him.
The device restraining her was powerful enough that it seemed excessive compared to her pitiful appearance.
However, he was aware that the girl was an anomalous entity capable of bursting heads in an instant, contrary to her appearance.
She doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.
Oliver’s eyes met hers. A much more negative emotion seemed embedded in her gaze than before.
It made sense. Feeling animosity toward those who bound her was a natural response for any living being.
In fact, the fact that she hadn’t caused any ruckus since being tied up reinforced her docile personality.
Damn those higher-ups.
A small, unheard sigh escaped him.
Truth be told, this wasn’t how he wanted to meet the girl for the first time.
Regardless of what Researcher Benjamin had said about her possessing the terrifying power to tear dimensions, she had indeed confronted the chaotic anomalies, saving quite a number of lives in the process.
He still couldn’t even be sure of the ulterior motives at play here.
Nonetheless, since she was currently complying with their restraints, he didn’t want to provoke her unnecessarily by binding her hands and feet.
But he was merely an intermediary, unable to help it.
To the high-ranking supervisors within the Management Office, the girl was nothing more than a level V anomalous entity that needed to be neutralized.
He feared that if things continued this way, that conservative, uptight group would employ unethical means to isolate this girl.
Thus, he had reluctantly given the order to bind her momentarily to demonstrate—formally—that they were controlling the anomaly at Base 17.
I hope she’s still in a state where communication is possible…
In the tense atmosphere, he tried to calm his trembling heart, organized the words he wanted to say, and finally, after gathering his thoughts, he opened his mouth.