Chapter 50

Episode 50. The Foundation’s Playground (2)

Tap. I raised my head, and Nanami entered my office, placing a pen on my desk. It was just a pen. A seemingly ordinary black pen.

“Hello.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s this?”

“A pen that can’t be lost.”

“It’s not dangerous, is it?”

Nanami tilted her head.

“The Artifact Management Department said it’s safe. Though someone died during its creation.”

“Someone died?”

“I don’t know who. Just someone else? Artifacts are often made through human sacrifice.”

I placed the pen far away.

“Then it is dangerous, isn’t it?”

“Not dangerous to you. Oh, I didn’t mean I killed someone.”

Nanami leaned against the wall of my office.

Her light brown, or rather, yellowish hair, reached her neck, covering her face.

A pen that can’t be lost, what’s the principle behind it? Is it impossible to forget where you left it? Or can it summon itself into your hand regardless of its location?

I’m not sure.

“Where was it made?”

“A gift from the Foundation Headquarters. They didn’t say who made it or where.”

“……”

I pondered for a moment.

“Send it to the Research Department to have it disassembled. It might have a GPS or a listening device……”

Nanami nodded this time.

“There’s a conference later, right? Should I go?”

“No need. Only presenters and those involved in operations and research need to attend.”

“Then I won’t go.”

It doesn’t matter much if she doesn’t come.

“Let’s begin the conference.”

This conference was led by Lee Se-ah. The Research Department Head, still seemingly afraid of me, kept glancing at me while presenting.

A positive change.

“The first speaker is Bishop Oh, who will present on the miraculous symbolism of the Supernatural Space – Garden and related hostile groups.”

Bishop Oh took the stage.

Bishop Oh is the Foundation’s foremost expert in symbology. For any theological or religious supernatural phenomena, Bishop Oh’s opinion is always sought.

“Well, since everyone here knows more about science than I do, I’ll briefly discuss the altars and other symbols found at the scene.”

A simple PowerPoint with black text on a white background.

“It’s not entirely new. A spacetime rift about the size of a soccer ball, existing since around 2015, seems to have been expanded through human sacrifice for some purpose.”

“A body was found on the altar at the scene. The weapon used is believed to be an obsidian knife, though it wasn’t found at the scene. Judging by the skill of the slaughter, it seems to be the work of a professional.”

“There were no signs of resistance.”

“The ritualists cut the femoral artery and vein of the chosen sacrifice, drained most of the blood from the thigh into a vessel, and then extracted the heart and liver. The reason for the fanatics’ deaths is unclear.”

These are things I witnessed firsthand. I’m not sure if I remember everything correctly… but several fanatics’ bodies were found at the scene.

“Several symbols were found at the scene. Mainly symbols related to the Earth Mother archetype and flora and fauna, but one peculiar symbol was… this modified scissors emblem.”

Bishop Oh paused briefly.

“It’s the symbol of the hostile group, ‘The Gardeners.’ Symbols related to The Gardeners include a deer, a bear, and scissors. By the way, supernatural groups place great importance on symbols. You can always find them.”

The Foundation is the same.

The Foundation’s uniforms, vehicles, documents—everywhere bears the Foundation’s emblem. Everywhere the Foundation staff’s eyes might frequently land.

Because symbols have power, even if it’s hard to express in words or numbers.

“The Gardeners’ exact purpose is unknown, but it’s believed to be related to spreading the Garden’s vegetation.”

“The Gardeners don’t actively seek to kill people, but they won’t hesitate if it’s necessary for their goals.”

“However, since their goals don’t involve mass slaughter or breaching the Veil, it’s acceptable to communicate with them if needed. But the principle is to shoot on sight.”

Killing is easy. Persuading, containing, or researching humanoids is the hard part.

“The Gardeners seem closely related to nature worship and Native American religious traditions. The group itself is believed to have been established in the 19th century.”

The presentation continued for a while.

“A concerning point is that numerous supernatural phenomena related to The Gardeners were witnessed during the Yulje-myeon incident.”

“Not only was a Wendigo corpse found at the Yulje-myeon site, but there were also The Gardeners’… walking flowers.”

“The creature named Wendigo had the form of a giant ape or bear with a deer skull on its head.”

“It’s considered a partially non-physical Divine-Class Entity. Also, it’s believed that its power was limited due to the aftermath of a nuclear explosion when it was killed.”

These are the things I killed at Yulje-myeon. The Wendigo died from silver bullets, and the walking flowers were easily dealt with using firearms.

So it was weakened by the nuclear explosion, was it affected by fallout? Or was it directly weakened by neutron radiation?

“In summary. The Gardeners appeared at the Yulje-myeon site and summoned their Divine-Class Entities. Near where Yulje-myeon was, The Gardeners’ bizarre vegetation still roams.”

“Their purpose… is still unknown. But considering the Yulje-myeon site report, it’s believed that the Divine-Class Entities fought among themselves.”

I scratched my head.

What the hell, did someone gather Divine-Class Entities in Yulje-myeon to farm experience points or loot drops and run a battle royale?

That’s completely insane.

Of course, it’s an insane explanation for an insane situation, so there’s no guarantee it’s wrong.

The presentation ended about seven minutes after Bishop Oh started. The Research Department Head nodded.

Though I organized the conference, honestly, it wasn’t that interesting. The only funny part was that the Research Department Head was still wary of me.

It’s understandable. With dozens of gods dying, the chances of the Foundation failing to control Lee Se-ah are slim.

At least, as long as Lee Se-ah doesn’t give the Foundation or me any significant leverage.

The Research Department Head shrank under my gaze again.

“Uh, then, next up. Researchers from the Expansion Physics Department will present on the expansion physics characteristics of the Supernatural Space.”

The person who took the stage was from the Expansion Physics Department. Why didn’t they mention their name?

“Does everyone know about topology and the average curvature calculation in limited subspace distortions? It’s somewhat important for understanding this presentation.”

“……”

No one answered.

“Ah, I’ll explain simply. The time inside the Garden isn’t perfectly linear, and the space inside the Garden isn’t perfectly Euclidean. This is probably why the Garden’s interior space hasn’t been fully conquered.”

My head was already starting to ache.

The words are complicated, but ultimately, it means you can’t expect normal time and space inside the Garden.

“Based on observations from the rift leading to the Garden, electromagnetic distortion, spatial distortion, and temporal distortion accompany the rift.”

“It’s unclear whether this phenomenon originates from inside the Garden or from the rift itself. It’s likely the latter.”

In one corner of the conference room stood three research interns. I’d met them before.

Why didn’t they give them chairs? Weird.

The conference ended a while later.

“Director! I have a question.”

It’s Park Seon, the research intern. I’d seen her before when recruiting for insufficient manpower.

I sat back down.

“What is it?”

“Why is it that The Gardeners, who are relatively friendly to the Foundation, have a shoot-on-sight principle?”

It’s a question that requires some thought.

“Because their goals aren’t mass slaughter or breaching the Veil, they’re considered relatively friendly. Regardless, without other grounds for consideration, it’s appropriate to treat armed robbers or terrorists accordingly.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Any other questions?”

One of the research interns raised their hand.

“Yes. If they were sighted at Yulje-myeon, does that mean there’s a spacetime rift there too?”

“There wasn’t. The monsters at Yulje-myeon were summoned through altars and rituals, not rifts.”

The sound of note-taking.

“Go to the specimen room. There should be quite a few specimens related to the Garden. Mention my name and ask them to let you look around. It’s good to learn how to examine specimens.”

Shoo. I gestured to dismiss the research interns. Now, it’s time to plan the operation.

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