Chapter 7: Sorry!

“Ah.”

The pure white flower that had been emitting warm light just a moment ago was losing its light in my hand.

“S-Sorry…”

I didn’t mean to break it on purpose, but how did this happen?

While I was fidgeting, watching the flower wither away, a question arose.

Come to think of it, who spoke to me just now?

I turned my head in the direction where the loud shout came from a moment ago…

The bald-headed man holding a large greatsword was staring at me with an indescribable expression.

Behind him, people with red hair… yellow hair… green hair… of all colors were looking at me from behind the bald-headed man as if they were scared.

“Uh…”

People. Not the dog-like Abnormality in my next room, but real people.

Since these are the first people I’ve met here, I feel like I should do something.

I can’t just stand here and have an eye-to-eye contact, can I?

First of all, since I’m an Abnormality, should I raise both hands to show that I’m harmless?

No, the first impression is important to people. Wouldn’t it look strange to raise both hands and surrender right away after meeting them?

Umm… In this case, it’s better to go with the flow, right?

“Um… Hello…”
“How… how did you get that?!”

The bald-headed man in front interrupted my greeting and pointed at the flower in my hand with his finger.

What, why this flower?

Whoa, is this a very important flower or something?

“This… this, is it?”

I raised the flower, which was now wilted and drooping.

Then, the bald-headed man’s expression gradually turned into astonishment.

I don’t know what it is, but I know one thing.

I did something big.

“Wait, I didn’t hear that a young kid like you had come to management… Can you tell me which department you belong to?”

As my mind was in chaos, the bald-headed man approached me with a very scary expression.

Even more frightening since he was dragging a large greatsword on the floor.

“Ah, I’m not from any department, I’m just an Abnorm…”

Wait a minute, my mind started spinning quickly.

The Abnormality alarm went off just now.

The blood dripping from the bald-headed man’s large greatsword.

No matter how I look at it, they’re people who came to subdue the escaped Abnormality.

…Wait? Then, if I reveal that I’m an Abnormality here, am I going to be chopped up by that greatsword?

Instead of a little girl, I’ll become a cut girl.

Oh my goodness.

“Your complexion isn’t good… Are you okay? Huh? Hey! Where are you going! Come here right now?!”

The bald-headed man shouted loudly from behind, but I ran down the hallway without looking back.

I don’t want to be dragged into the Chamber of Truth!

“I wonder what that girl was.”

“I don’t know either, she must be a shy new recruit…”

Noah picked up the pure white flower that the girl had dropped on the ground while running away and fell into thought.

A small girl in a black hoodie and white hair.

Seeing that she couldn’t answer the question, he thought for a moment that she was an Abnormality, but if she was an Abnormality, the escape alarm would have gone off long ago, so she couldn’t be an Abnormality.

But it doesn’t seem like a kid like that would be a management staff… Is she a new recruit who came in for office work?

Even though the manpower is lacking, to use such a young girl… He once again dislikes the company called Lobotomy.

…Wait a minute, more than that, something important still remains.

Since the announcement that the Meat Lantern had been subdued hadn’t been made, it means that it’s still somewhere in the department.

Maybe this flower happened to be a flower that looked like the Meat Lantern’s flower.

It was a stroke of luck that the girl survived.

…We must subdue the Meat Lantern as soon as possible.

“Tea, Team Leader!”
“What’s the matter again? Staff member Justin.”
“There’s something strange out there…!”

Something strange is out there?

Noah turned his head toward the hallway, at Justin’s words that he didn’t understand.

Then what he saw was,

A gray mass of grass and two round dots attached to that grass mass.

Always putting the flowers outside and devouring the new recruits who were lured.

The main body of the ‘Meat Lantern.’

“Impossible! The Meat Lantern is showing its main body outside of the containment cell?!”

Noah was surprised by the Meat Lantern’s behavior, which was different from usual, and clenched his E.G.O, Mimicry, in one hand.

…Looking closely, in the place where the Meat Lantern’s flower should be, only the green stalk that was broken in the middle was sticking out its head.

Besides, it seems to be moving as if it’s extremely angry.

“Damn it, I don’t know how this happened… Everyone, come behind me! Start subduing the Meat Lantern!”

Thus, a sudden battle began between Team Leader Noah, who has a bald head, and the Meat Lantern, who has just become bald.