I can’t get a grip on my work.
If they were going to make a decision like that, they should have at least discussed it with the team leader beforehand.
Couldn’t they have at least informed me before I went out, even if it was just a notice?
But there wasn’t anything I could do.
Even if I raised the issue, it would only make noise for a little while.
I really ought to quit this damn job.
“Time is dragging like a motherfucker today.”
Just as I stretched, trying to shake off my drowsiness,
the door opened and the deputy team leader came in.
“You’re really something, Team Leader. Seriously.”
“What.”
“You went through all that, and you still didn’t even apply for leave.”
“Don’t even talk about it. It’s so fucked I can’t stand doing this anymore.”
Of course, I did get a week of leave because of this incident.
But somehow, it felt like they were trying to shut me up with that, and that pissed me off.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t considered taking the leave and resting.
It was just that once I thought about the bastards who gave it to me, I didn’t want to use it anymore.
“Ah, here are the documents you asked for.”
The documents related to Graver that I had asked the deputy team leader for.
Normally, they would require a security review, but they were passed straight through.
Should I call it fortunate that they at least know they screwed up?
“But it really is a monster, isn’t it? I wonder if it can even die.”
“The moment it survived a nuclear warhead, it was already hopeless.”
Was a nuclear warhead a bit too much for Graver as well?
No, I didn’t particularly think so.
According to the follow-up team, it abandoned the irradiated area and fled.
It was a creature that gathered piles of dirt to form its body parts.
Even if it really did avoid irradiated soil, that didn’t mean much.
Because dirt was everywhere.
Then what, were we going to contaminate the soil of the entire world just to catch one Graver?
I’d heard there were lunatics among the higher-ups at headquarters, but they weren’t that stupid.
“They say it hates rain. Is that true?”
“They said it found the follow-up team and was about to attack, but when it saw it was raining, it ran away.”
“It hates rain that much?”
No matter how I thought about it, it was strange.
It had the power to slam both arms into the ground and make the earth rise and sink.
And yet it hated getting wet from mere rain?
We’d have to experiment to know, but I knew that was impossible.
“Ugh, I’m starting to wonder if it’s even something humans can beat to death.”
“Well, wouldn’t it be at least possible if it fought another entity?”
An entity that might be able to take down Graver.
No, let’s not go there.
A few names did come to mind.
But once those things escaped, we wouldn’t be able to handle them.
They were the ones judged impossible to recontain.
To the point that it would be better to have Graver roaming around like it was now.
“To begin with, among entities that strong, we don’t have a single one trained to our liking.”
“Well, I suppose that’s a problem too.”
“Headquarters was swaggering about making something new, but I don’t have any expectations.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Some kind of human-piloted mechanical entity, or whatever.”
When they already didn’t use fighter jets because there were too few people who could pilot them.
And now they wanted to fight with machines controlled by humans? Ridiculous.
They should at least stop running their mouths like it sounds plausible, those bastards.
“Well, let’s wait and see. You know how it is. It’s not like there’s anything we can do.”
“That’s why it’s so damn frustrating.”
Come to think of it, there was an undead section among the documents related to Graver.
But the Graver I saw had shown no such sign at all.
“By the way, wasn’t Graver supposed to use undead?”
“Well, on paper, yes.”
“But I didn’t see any of that in the field.”
Did it require some condition?
No, it was more convincing to say it simply hadn’t wanted to use them.
Graver’s undead were just groups of moving skeletons.
They had no armor or weapons like the ones that might appear in a novel.
If there hadn’t been weapons like tanks, then maybe.
But in a situation like that, I didn’t think it would bother bringing out undead to use.
If there were no restrictions on using them at all, it would have used them from the start.
“It’s lunchtime. Aren’t you going?”
I had thought time really wasn’t passing.
But it was already lunchtime?
Still, I wasn’t particularly hungry.
“You go eat. I’ll eat later.”
“Now you don’t even trust the people giving us food, is that it?”
“I wasn’t thinking that, so don’t push it.”
“You’re going to skip a proper meal and fill up on snacks again, aren’t you?”
“Well, I can’t just starve, can I? I just don’t want to eat right now.”
The deputy team leader shook his head.
“Should I buy you some cup noodles or something?”
When I expressed that I didn’t want any, the deputy team leader was just standing up.
“Then, if they have tuna mayo, buy me one.”
“Wow. You said it like you had no particular thoughts, and now you’re making me your shuttle?”
“If you don’t want to, forget it. I’ll buy it myself.”
“And then you won’t eat it, will you?”
“I’m busy, damn it. If you’re busy, you just eat whatever or skip it.”
“Please take care of your body, I’m begging you.”
I decided to lightly ignore the deputy team leader’s nagging.
Gathering information on Graver came first.
+++
Looking through the related documents only gave rise to more questions.
To the point where I wondered if they had truly faced such a monster, the quality and quantity of the reports were
abysmal.
I needed someone who knew Graver well.
For example, someone who had fought Graver directly.
There was someone who came to mind now.
One person mentioned countless times in the reports: Team Leader Pagos.
But given the timing, there was a high chance he had risen above team leader level by now.
The downside was that I would have to check one by one.
“You’re still looking at that?”
I was about to answer when something suddenly occurred to me.
When it came to this kind of information, the deputy team leader was more capable anyway.
“Have you ever heard the name Pagos?”
“Director Pagos?”
“What, do you know him?”
“Not that well. I vaguely remember seeing it somewhere.”
“Do you happen to know where he’s assigned?”
“I know he’s assigned to a rear facility. Was it Area 03?”
Good.
If I met Pagos, I might be able to learn more.
I had to meet him before it got any later.
When I hurriedly picked up the stack of documents and prepared to leave, the deputy team leader pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Haah, does that mean I have to handle your work again?! There’s a limit to how much I can do in your place.”
“I’ll buy you meat. Meat.”
“I’m not falling for that.”
“Hanwoo.”
“Kkiya-hoo!!”
Before I knew it, the deputy team leader was sitting at my desk and starting to handle the work.
“Have a safe trip, Team Leader!”
Well, fine.
If the deputy team leader looked happy, that was enough, right?
There was no time. I had to hurry.
+++
“Team Leader, the Area 03 facility is in sight.”
Area 03, which couldn’t be entered by ground transportation.
To think they’d dig into a cliff and fill it with a facility.
I didn’t know whose idea it was, but it sure was a spectacle.
Once my identity check was complete, I was able to enter the facility.
‘Security is tighter than I expected.’
In terms of facility size, it was definitely on the smaller side.
There were only a very small number of entities under containment, and for a facility focused on research, the security level was far too high.
While I was looking around the facility, someone walked toward me.
“I’m Gern, Director Pagos’s adjutant. What is the purpose of your visit?”
“Ah, I’m Cracker, team leader of the Security Processing Team. I was hoping to speak with the director.”
“It seems you did not make an appointment in advance. Is that correct?”
“Yes. Would that be a problem?”
“Huh. The director’s schedule is packed, you see. I’ll ask him first.”
“Ah, I’d appreciate it.”
The adjutant was about to turn away when he paused for a moment and called out to me.
“Could you tell me, specifically, what you came to discuss? Depending on the content,
the director may agree to meet you.”
“Ah, of course. I came to talk about Graver.”
Upon hearing that name, the adjutant’s face twisted ever so slightly.
The moment I felt as though he was glaring at me, the adjutant had already turned and was walking away.
For now, I should wait.
+++
“Director, it’s me. May I come in?”
“Come in!”
An enormous pile of documents was stacked on the table.
When the director pushed aside a stack so huge it was strange the table hadn’t collapsed under it,
he began glancing over this way with a look like he had bitten into shit.
“Who’s here? You said there was no one scheduled to come at this time.”
“Ah, the team leader from the Processing Team came by. He says he wants to meet with you.”
The director pointed at the pile of documents with his finger.
“I’m busy enough to die dealing with these wretched things, and what damned meeting? You should stop seeing guests off and help me handle some work!”
“Still.”
“Don’t talk back. Make up some excuse and send him away. I said receiving guests was auxiliary work, not important work,
didn’t I?”
“He says it’s about Graver.”
The director’s busy hands stopped for a moment, but clearly.
He looked at the adjutant with an expression that said he must have heard wrong.
“I didn’t know you had a talent for jokes, Gern.”
“Would I be joking? From what I saw, he seemed to have related documents in his hand as well.”
Pagos looked utterly unconvinced, but soon kicked back his chair and stood.
“Heh heh, seems another youngster is about to stir up trouble. Bring something to drink.
I’d like to see what kind of bastard he is with my own eyes.”
“Understood. I’ll bring him in.”
“And while I’m gone, take care of these eyesores for me.”
“You were going to make me do them anyway, weren’t you?”
“If I just ordered you to, I’d feel like too much of a piece of trash. This is a plausible excuse.”
“I don’t particularly care, so go on. You’re going to get excited and talk all day anyway, aren’t you?”
“Do you see me as a senile old man too? Tch, youngsters these days.”
“Then do that stack of documents yourself. As a youngster, I’m not suited for it.”
“I’ll be back!”
What did it matter whether one was young or old?
In the end, they had one thing in common: neither of them wanted to work.
“Ah, I told him not to scribble on security documents. He really never listens.”