This truly felt strange.
What should I say?
A shiver running down my spine kind of feeling?
It wasn’t the kind of nostalgia I had lost touch with since becoming like this.
When I thought about it, this feeling was one I often experienced when I made mistakes.
Like the time I messed up the order of digits for something I needed to order.
Or when I drained the water from a stir-fry cup noodle and suddenly all the noodles went down the sink.
Or that late thought that struck me on the airport bus, “Did I remember my passport?”
It was always this emotion I felt when encountering terrible situations throughout my life, so it wasn’t exactly welcome.
Still.
If it means that prodding this thing with my own hand is an action so terrible, there seemed to be an issue at hand.
The problem was that in this moment of excruciating boredom, the thought crossed my mind that I might inadvertently press it as an unconscious form of stimulation.
After all, whether it’s negative or positive, the rush of dopamine it provided was the same.
What’s more, the method of use was exceedingly simple.
Just a light prodding would set off a dopamine surge, right?
…Something feels off.
I felt like I had become some kind of mentally unstable internet user.
It’s terrifying.
I wanted to go back to not knowing this.
However, having come to realize it, I had now become a jelly that couldn’t unlearn this.
With my fairly good memory, I would likely need to experience something intensely overwhelming to forget this completely.
Ah, still… I want to do it.
That’s a board game, for sure.
How interesting would a board game form of Singularity be?
If I’m to avoid going down the wrong path, wouldn’t it be better to engage in this?
Through Electric Scent, I wouldn’t be able to convey this desire.
If I were to explain such elaborate reasons, I would need to recount everything I had just felt too, wouldn’t I?
Being shy is enough of its own burden.
…Hey.
When I thought about that, my heart suddenly calmed down.
I then became aware of how unusually excited I had been before.
Apparently, the stimulation of my assumed main body had caused my head to get slightly foggy for a bit.
I shouldn’t touch it again.
Because of curiosity and boredom, I prodded it and ended up with this strange experience.
Sigh.
As I sighed and let the jelly bubble up, other jellies finally appeared in my field of vision.
For some reason, the jellies had abandoned their beloved TV, all giving me a fixed stare.
…Uh, um.
Why are you looking at me like that?
It felt like I had hit some sort of emergency alarm.
A loud ringing spread and the jellies gazed at me, the button-pusher.
Since nothing much actually happened, I felt like a sort of “boy who cried wolf.”
Despite that, their intense attention made me feel oddly good. It was satisfying to see the jelly eyes that had been stolen by the TV now directed at me.
Thus, I should relieve this yearning for the board game… No, no, why am I acting like this?
Apparently, the excitement hadn’t quite subsided yet.
…Really, I should not press it.
With this renewed vow, I waved to the jellies who were watching me intently.
In response, they mercilessly shifted their attention back to the TV.
A creeping urge to press again rose within me.
The boy who cried wolf probably began with this kind of feeling.
Remembering the story, I refrained from pushing the button, avoiding the fate of the boy.
Still, I had learned that pressing it would make the jellies look at me, so at least I’d gained something from it.
Not sure what exactly to do with that knowledge, though.
With a somewhat awkward feeling, I glanced around.
The jellies were back to watching TV, but in the corner, Electric Scent, slouched and somehow catching my attention, drew concern.
Fortunately, she seemed still lost in thought, her face troubled, sitting on the ground, much like me.
Sitting like that reminded me of myself, stirring a strange, squirming sensation.
Still.
It was fortunate that she didn’t see my odd appearance.
I pulled the blanket over myself.
Rather than feel the sense of boredom, it might be better to just sleep. Mistakes always happen on days like this.
It would be good to dream something interesting.
—
—
—
“Hmm, you say Lime has shown unusual behavior?”
Han Seori, who had been staring at the screen, turned to Kim Cheon-soo with a serious expression. Seeing her expression, Kim Cheon-soo solemnly nodded and quietly spoke.
“Yes. She suddenly inserted her hand inside her, then it seemed like she was poking something inside. Immediately afterwards, her body rippled like a wave and the other entities nearby turned to look at Lime.”
“…Could it be because we didn’t let her touch the latestSingularity?”
Han Seori looked very complicated at the moment.
Though she asked Kim Cheon-soo, she might have already made up her mind.
“I don’t know that either. After she poked it once, she fell asleep.”
“…This is difficult.”
Han Seori, deep in thought, suddenly smiled.
Kim Cheon-soo looked confused at this unexpected smile. Noticing his look, Han Seori waved her hand lightly and explained.
“Just… I thought maybe she’s becoming very close to us. Similar to how she acted a bit coquettish earlier.”
“…That might be.”
The two felt a strange sensation.
Now that they’d given them names, there was no reason to hesitate, yet they still felt awkward, influenced by the customs they had been practicing until now.
Especially since Lime wasn’t even present.
In any case, Han Seori became serious again.
“Nevertheless, it’s problematic… Her sudden behavior due to this new variable is indeed perplexing. Regardless of whether it’s joyous or not.”
“That’s true.”
Their eyes focused on the suspected Singularity brought by the Call of Twilight.
After all, the cause of Lime’s abnormal behavior today most likely traced back to that.
In fact, bringing it in might already have been an odd step.
To begin with, it was impossible for these creatures to even possess a Singularity.
But once it was taken care of this way, there was a high possibility that the wrong message would be conveyed to them. Nonetheless, by now, it was impossible to go back and address that issue.
Sigh… Let them believe whatever they choose.
In any case, there was no intention within Han Seori to cooperate with them, so she decided to erase the fact that the source of this Singularity belonged to “them.”
Thus, her remaining choices were limited.
The first thing to do was to check the connected database for similar Singularities.
With such a vast amount of data, it would be impossible for Han Seori to search alone, so she decided to seek Hwang Bo-yul’s help.
Kim Cheon-soo already had plenty of other things to do.
Like monitoring Lime.
Or preparing meals… and so on.
Hmph.
In any case.
Han Seori and Hwang Bo-yul rummaged through countless records to gather information about the suddenly delivered Singularity.
The large volume of data was a problem, but the multitude of censored sections also added many difficulties in identifying the nature of the Singularity.
While Han Seori had the authority to override this, doing so would leave traces, which posed an issue.
If it became known they were sifting through data in search of something, it would only bring unnecessary trouble.
Already under watch, Han Seori wished to avoid further attention as much as possible.
Therefore, their task was inevitably time-consuming and dull.
Still, it was somewhat manageable since they focused only on Singularities marked as lost or destroyed.
…However, the sheer quantity remained a problem.
Enough to make Han Seori mutter under her breath.
After all, it was only natural she didn’t know this fact.
Unless they were the ones she had personally disposed of, Han Seori wouldn’t care much about how other laboratories handled their Singularities.
While reviewing the countless Singularities, a thought suddenly struck her.
…How many Singularities were truly “disposed of” here?
The Call of Twilight people also… the former director as well… how can we be sure they hadn’t smuggled any out?
Contemplating her own indifference, Han Seori thought others mustn’t be much different.
…Perhaps the lamp under the nose burns the least bright.
Is it not?
Still, everything must thoroughly be managed, right?
Han Seori felt an uncharacteristic sense of anxiety.
For how long had she been poking through the database, when Hwang Bo-yul, who had been massaging his darkened eyes beside her, finally spoke.
“Seems like there’s nothing. We might have missed something though.”
“…Yeah, exactly. If we’ve looked this hard, it must not be here anywhere.”
If it’s not this, the person who removed it must’ve thoroughly erased every trace.
Swallowing unnecessary words, Han Seori sighed deeply.
What could this thing possibly be?
Now what should I do?
Han Seori found herself at a crossroads of choice.
