Clank—
"What do you think?"
Jensen looked at Rosanne and lowered his head. He was still trying to process the entire interrogation.
’He didn’t lie. I’m sure he didn’t.’
Jensen measured everything. Seth’s heartbeat. His tone. His sweat. Everything... None of the measurements were out of the norm. Of course, this didn’t necessarily mean that he wasn’t lying, but Jensen was someone who specialized in this type of interrogation. Even when using his nodes, he couldn’t find any flaws with what was being said.
In that case...
’He isn’t lying.’
But what was with the sense of bitterness he was feeling?
Thinking about everything that he had found out during his investigation, he felt that there was more to it than what was being shown.
And yet—
"...Dantalion."
Rosanne’s voice shook him out of his thoughts.
Lifting his head, he turned his attention towards her as her gaze remained fixed on the window.
"If what I heard is not wrong, then there’s going to be more of these demons."
"....."
The tension within the room heightened as Rosanne’s expression remained calm.
"Recently, there have been strange activities running across several islands. I did receive some reports of strange and mysterious cults appearing all over the world, but I haven’t paid much attention to them since they’ve been here since the dawn of time. However... It looks like I’ll have to start paying more attention to these matters now."
Jensens’ expression turned grim upon hearing her words. Thinking about what had occurred from just one ’demon’, he couldn’t even imagine what would happen if several more demons like that were to appear.
One [SS] ranked gate was enough to make the world tremble.
But what about one more? Two? Three...?
The more Jensen thought about the situation, the grimmer his expression became.
"There’s no need to pull that face."
Turning around, Rosanne smiled as she looked at Jensen.
"The outcome does sound grim, but that’s only on the occasion that we allow for such demons to appear. Now that we’re aware of how they operate, we can stop them before it’s too late. I’ll assign the top Paragons around the numerous islands to take care of these matters."
"...Understood."
Despite her words, Jensen didn’t feel much better.
The situation was that grim for him.
"Let’s leave that aside. There’s another thing that I need you to check up on."
Casually walking towards the table in the middle of the room, Rosanne brushed her curly hair back before picking up one of the papers and giving it a quick scan.
"...I don’t know if it’s just the trend these days, but I’ve received reports of certain horror games appearing all over the world. Although they are all harmless, there have been quite a few reports about them causing quite a stir."
"Horror Games?"
Jensen raised his head, his mind churning as a certain figure appeared in his mind.
"Yes."
Rosanne replied, placing the paper down and turning to look at the window.
"Horror Games. Just like the ones he’s developed."
***
Following the interrogation, I was soon escorted away.
Clank—!
"This will be your room for now. You are free to roam the surroundings, but you are not allowed to leave the premises of the headquarters."
One quick glance, and I found myself surprised. The room was a lot better than I had originally expected. Not only did it have all the necessary furniture, but it was also fairly large.
"This right here is your ID card."
The agent who escorted me handed me a slick black card.
I reached out for it a moment later.
"With it, you can access the canteen. The food is provided directly by the BUA. The ID card will also be useful for you later down the line when you collect your stuff back."
Looking at the agent, I asked, "How long do I need to wait before I can get my stuff back?"
My phone and everything had been confiscated by the BUA. In fact, I wasn’t even sure of where I was.
’Well, I know that I am somewhere controlled by the BUA, but am I still in Malovia?’
It certainly didn’t feel like I was.
"I apologize, but I can’t say when you’ll be released. Given the nature of the situation, it may take some time. I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up taking quite a while."
"Hm?"
Some time...?
"How long are we talking about?"
"I’m not sure."
The agent shook his head.
"There’s never been a case as unique as yours."
"....."
There were a lot of things that I wanted to say to the agent. In the end, however, I chose to keep silent and just accept his words. I knew that even if I said something, he very likely wouldn’t know a thing.
"I understand."
The only thing I could do was accept the situation and wait.
’I’ll take this chance to rest.’
I needed to catch up on a lot of sleep. Beyond that, I had to get used to this body. Even though it was an exact replica of my own, my movements still felt stiff. At times, I even struggled to properly control certain parts of it, as if it hadn’t fully become mine yet.
’I won’t be surprised if I end up peeing the bed today.’
Thankfully, this seemed like a temporary thing. Outside of that, the body was exactly the same as my ’old’ one.
’...I hope the system can create a new one.’
Well, maybe not.
The system wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall for my trick twice.
"I have accomplished my duty. If there is anything else that you need or require my assistance, please feel free to reach out. You can tap on the bracelet on your wrist, and I will come to assist you."
"Hm? Oh, yes."
Looking at the dark bracelet on my wrist and then the agent, I nodded slightly and thanked him. He proceeded to leave shortly after that.
Clank—!
Silence fell across my surroundings a moment after.
Looking around the room, I didn’t relax.
’They may have hidden them, but I’m sure that there are cameras to monitor me. It wouldn’t be wise of me to summon my anomalies.’
With that being said, I was curious about their situation. I could still feel my connection with them, but it was a lot weaker than it was in the past. It was almost as if they were struggling to accept this new body of mine.
Thinking about my current situation, I felt that even if there didn’t exist means to monitor me, it wouldn’t be wise to summon them.
Besides the Conductor, I was afraid that they’d all turn on me.
There was also Kyle...
Thinking about his situation, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
’Yes, let’s just wait for a little bit.’
"What should I do, then...?"
Relaxing?
I didn’t know how to do that.
But it wasn’t like I had anything else to do. Scanning the room, I eventually settled my gaze on the remote on the bed. I decided to watch some TV.
’Let me check out the news. I wonder how the situation in Malovia is.’
I was just about to turn the TV on when—
DING!
A notification appeared across my vision, stopping me in place.
[Calculation finished.]
The system...
[Quest Completed]
It was back.