This is why I didn’t want to sleep.
Blinking my eyes, I sat up to find Hwang Bo-yul, who had been holding me while we slept, was no longer on the bed. Still, she wasn’t out of sight—she was sitting across the table, talking to the man who had brought us here yesterday.
Since I could only see Hwang Bo-yul’s back, I didn’t know her expression, but the man’s face looked more rigid than usual, suggesting they were probably discussing work.
…In other words, if I let on that I’m awake, I’ll likely be dragged into work right away.
But as much as I didn’t want that and pretended to sleep, my conscience prickled, so I reluctantly stirred myself awake with a wobble. As I sat up, the man who had been stern-looking smiled brightly and spoke.
“It seems you’re awake, after all. Heh, you’re quite the sleepyhead, just like my granddaughter.”
“Please don’t say things like that…”
I barely caught Hwang Bo-yul muttering something under her breath, but what the man had said still weighed on my mind.
…Talk about a granddaughter.
Yesterday, it was the same—such words left a peculiar feeling in my chest.
In any case.
I slid out of bed and trudged towards the two of them. The early morning visit pretty much confirmed what awaited. Not surprisingly, they had prepared a large amount of food. Watching it get piled onto my stomach was almost comical, but it felt like sitting across from an indulgent grandmother rather than an uncle.
After what seemed like a long journey, this might just be old-fashioned country kindness—or perhaps the old lady’s grand hands of hospitality, given how skeletal her grandson must look to her.
Whenever I hear those ominous return-to-nature stories on the internet, it feels like the latter might be closer to the truth.
…Could this be some kind of send-off feast?
Hwang Bo-yul also appeared surprised as she watched me devour an overwhelming amount of food. Her gaze made me feel self-conscious.
Finally, stopping when her attention lingered on me, the man carrying out the dishes just chuckled.
“You can eat more if you want—go ahead.”
What kind of terrible fate would make them so generous with food? This felt oddly like the precursor to some grand finale feast.
This time, my journey here was done without much foreknowledge, and a small unease bubbled up within my jelly-like core.
…It felt like they were treating me kindly, but there was a strange undercurrent of unease.
Anyway.
Once the meal was over—it certainly wasn’t the “final” banquet, but rather a simple breakfast—the man took Hwang Bo-yul and me to another vehicle. I thought we’d be heading inside a container again, but thankfully it seemed we wouldn’t need to.
It felt strange getting into a car without being stuffed inside something or clinging to someone else’s body.
Even though I wasn’t riding the way I usually do, it felt like I hadn’t been in a car in ages. Probably because I’ve always either been contained somewhere or clinging to a person recently.
In this new setup, I actually buckled my seatbelt. Not that it was necessary for me, but I wanted to enhance the human-like experience after getting in the car normally for once.
As I secured myself, my jelly shape compressed under the belt. If we had to stop suddenly, I wondered if I’d tear apart along the edges of the belt. What’s safe for a human might ironically be hazardous for me.
…Alright, I won’t die from that, but it certainly wouldn’t be pleasant.
While I daydreamed about disintegration, the two in front gave me a look like they were admiring an obedient child.
Why are they looking at me like this?
Hmm… Isn’t this common sense?
What’s it like to feel praised for something so trivial? Someone might say spoiling kids is bad, but there’s no one who truly dislikes being praised, right?
I even felt like a golden child of sorts, but honestly…
It made me feel really good.
After only receiving complaints for trivial matters and facing frustration during my days cycling between work and home, this felt especially wonderful.
I’m almost addicted to this praise.
Maybe that’s why people seek out parenting advice.
My joy somehow resonated with the other bits of jelly, and they began bouncing with vitality alongside me.
As the car drove on, we passed through a guarded checkpoint of sorts, which wasn’t as surprising as it once would have been to me. These days, I guess this kind of place is “normal.” Though it did make me feel a little like some high-ranking official in the army, the reality was far from that.
With a sigh, once we cleared the checkpoint—or whatever it was—the man up front began detailing the task at hand.
“You’ve probably noticed as we drove through, the surrounding area is under control. Thanks to that, well… can I call you Lime? Lime, that’s why you can sit here like that.”
Hopefully, he’s not waiting for me to reply.
I silently nodded, and the man seemed satisfied to continue driving.
“The singularity that’s upcoming… truthfully, we don’t fully understand what it is exactly. It’s so new that it hasn’t even been classified yet. We’d like some time to observe it closely, but…”
The man shook his head as if overwhelmed.
“It’d be different if it was just a normal mansion, but the fact that it keeps growing by swallowing up the surroundings is a problem. We’ve tried all sorts of methods to stop it from expanding, but it’s only temporary—we couldn’t stop it completely. Eventually, we decided to send operatives inside, but… so far, no one has returned.”
…That’s intense.
A house that grows.
Is this the kind where limbs sprout and move around? That’d be oddly familiar. If it’s what I think, eliminating the burning heart might solve the issue…
As I got slightly excited by the thought, the grand appearance of the mansion finally came into view, and I snapped my jelly shut.
What I saw wasn’t like one of those anime-style houses but rather a genuinely massive mansion.
I can’t identify its architectural style with my limited knowledge, but one thing is certain: I could feel a heartbeat—a literal thump-thump—emanating from it. While I don’t clearly perceive its expansion, it undoubtedly feels alive, growing little by little.
…What exactly is this thing?
This was a sight beyond comprehension, yet instead of an overwhelming fear, I felt more curiosity and irritation.
While I stared at the living mansion with strange feelings, people nearby who seemed to be guarding it rushed toward us, though their running resembled an escape.
It wasn’t clear why until, at that moment…
A thunderous explosion echoed, unlike the grenades I’d heard in boot camp. Even in the car, the jelly inside me trembled from the magnitude. Looking toward the mansion, I saw a large corner of it crumble grotesquely, but its size was enough that it didn’t seem to be collapsing entirely.
And…
The collapsed section began to heal, like a wound forming a scab, the damaged part slowly filling in with flesh. The process wasn’t fast, but the rejuvenation of cells was palpable.
How could one miss it when chunks were visibly growing?
As I pondered silently with jittering jelly, the man next to me turned with a heavy tone.
“It seems one of our agents acted too hastily and blew it up. Lime… Miss? Sorry, but we’ll need you to move quickly.”
…Ah, so this is the entrance, then?
My thoughts wandered from imagining a polite knock at the door to this surprisingly grand, almost cinematic entrance.
I glanced at Hwang Bo-yul, then quickly stepped out of the car.
A faint mutter of, “She really understood…” drifted from within, but I ignored it. If they wanted me to misunderstand, they wouldn’t have explained so much, right?
Anyway.
Since the mansion was healing slowly but surely, I realized we’d need another explosion if I delayed any longer, so I hurried.
As I got out, my eyes met with the agents who had been hiding from the explosion’s aftermath. Their expressions alternated between relief that I was heading in and guilt or anxiety at the sight.
Honestly, neither look was comforting, so I slightly inflated myself and moved forward with the jelly around me.
And so…
I began my journey toward the mansion, where a section had been violently blown open.
As I approached, I hoped against hope that the Knowledge Repository would help solve what awaits inside.
