episode_0666
by fnovelpia
Emily took a step back after hearing my deal proposal, saying it was too big for her to judge.
It was a matter that required permission from above.
I also had no intention of hearing the answer right then and there, so I just nodded obediently.
Instead, he requested an isolation cell with slightly more comfortable facilities where he could stay with Scarlett.
Scarlett finally fell asleep after seeing me, and if she came to, she would definitely be mentally shocked if I wasn’t there with her.
There was no mention of leaving the isolation room and staying in a normal hotel-like accommodation.
Even though things went well and there were no casualties, it is true that there was a battle, and it doesn’t seem likely that the ECHO higher-ups would be so incompetent as to release an abnormal entity with my level of power outside.
Instead, I was allowed to stay with Scarlett in a separate room for cooperative humanoid abnormalities, as per my request.
The room assigned to them was a two-room room, and it was structured like a normal home, except that they could not leave the room without asking the researcher and that there were no windows.
And the very next day.
I made a contract with Scarlett, who had regained consciousness while the researchers were out of sight.
Although there were surveillance cameras, Maria was able to manipulate the footage to sign the contract without being caught by ECHO after discovering that there were no anomalies in the CCTV circuits for information security.
To begin with, aside from the surveillance cameras, there was no one else watching us in the isolation room.
“This is…! My body is full of strength…!”
Scarlett said, her arms waving, her voice sounding a little more excited than usual.
The level at which she was strengthened was not even as much as the ability value shown in the tester status of the ticket, and it was half of the ability value I had in the [Tower Status Window], so it wasn’t that great of a number.
But even so, from her perspective as an alchemist with the abilities of an ordinary woman, her strength would have increased several times in an instant.
So, it would have been more than enough to get her excited, but her reaction didn’t get any more intense than that.
When I think of the other people who jumped up and down in their seats and touched things here and there as soon as they signed the contract with me, their reaction was very tame.
‘Maybe it’s because I’m originally so timid.’
I wondered if I would be able to properly resist when danger came.
I thought it would be best to keep Scarlett by my side as much as possible and just unsummon her when danger arose.
The contract was made as a kind of insurance policy, since alchemists were hardly considered combatants in the first place.
“I feel like there’s an invisible connection between the clan master and me… ”
She enjoyed her increased physical abilities for a while, flapping her arms like that, then she put her hand on her chest and muttered.
The slightly flushed face seemed to indicate that she had received a very nice gift.
‘Is this the effect of the first Burim?’
“Title: Chief Burim
A title given to a summoner who succeeds in making a contract with a divine being.
Effect – The capacity of the souls that can be contracted increases. The divine beasts become fond of the owner of the title. The deeper the bond between the summoner and the summoner, the more the summoned beast grows. The power of the summoned beast strengthening skills increases.
The effect of the first summon was, strictly speaking, to make the summoned beast feel good, but there was no reason why the effect could not be applied to humans.
It may also implicitly help deepen communication.
‘Or maybe it’s just the feeling of your soul being connected to another person for the first time.’
Scarlett, who had the traits of a loner, might have been genuinely happy to have made a connection with another person.
Anyway, I was glad that she didn’t take the contract negatively, as if I was mortgaging my soul to her.
“Now, if something dangerous happens, I can call Scarlett right away. So if something similar happens, I don’t have to panic too much.”
“Yes… !”
Scarlett’s red hair swayed to her nodding head.
At that moment, a voice was heard from outside the isolation room.
-This is Emily. May I come in?
We shouted at them to come in and fix their clothes for no reason.
Slurp-
The door opened so quietly that even my highly developed senses wouldn’t have been able to hear anything, and Emily came in.
For a moment, I thought, ‘Is that door also an abnormal entity?’
‘If there’s something like that, wouldn’t there also be something like a floor mat to eliminate noise between floors?’
Emily, not knowing what kind of crazy thoughts I was having, looked back and forth between me and Scarlett and said.
“The permission from above has been granted.”
“That means… ”
“So you’ve decided to accept my offer.”
“The decision was made sooner than I thought.”
In a large organization like this, it would take time to make important decisions, but the approval was granted the very next day.
But Emily acted as if this was a given.
“The principle is always to respond quickly to matters related to abnormal entities.”
“Oh, that’s a good rule.”
“It’s a principle written in blood. There’s even a history where a city was destroyed because a decision was a little late.”
“… … .”
All the safety rules are written in blood, that’s what they say.
It was definitely on a different scale when a city was blown away because the decision was a little late.
Despite the unfortunate past, it was a satisfactory result because the conditions I had hoped for were met.
But Emily’s words did not end there.
“Instead, there are two conditions:”
“I’m listening.”
“I have personally written reports on your abilities from combatants and researchers who have experienced them. However, the higher-ups want to see if your cooperation is actually helpful in dealing with the anomaly. The abilities you have demonstrated are certainly special, but they are not completely irreplaceable.”
‘It seems like the standards for strength in this world are pretty high.’
In the previous battles, I didn’t show any real power. I just felt like I was taking a walk.
But even at that level, it would have been a level of power that would have been difficult to approach by the standards of an ordinary human.
But it’s not to the point where it’s irreplaceable.
‘It looks like there are more abnormal entities that can be used in battle, just as I thought.’
“There is an abnormal entity that needs to be contained. The higher-ups want you to join the containment team for that abnormal entity and achieve positive results.”
Even as I was lost in thought, Emily continued speaking.
I understand that you need to see how our collaboration will benefit the organization.
I readily accepted the terms.
“Even when a normal company hires an intern, they interview, so of course there should be a procedure like that. So what are the other conditions?”
“Other conditions are related to the rental of abnormal objects, including the Mirage Mirror. The rental of necessary abnormal objects is subject to the full review of the responsible researcher, and the condition is that the borrowed abnormal objects cannot be taken out of the facility.”
“What are the criteria for the principal investigator to review it?”
“I will judge. I am one of the few people in the field who have a good position.”
Emily said that and crossed her arms as she looked around the isolation room assigned to us.
“Your and Scarlett’s goal is to return to the original world. In a way, that could also be seen as isolating the abnormal entity. It is highly likely that this logic was the background for the superiors’ quick decision.”
Are you trying to get rid of the annoying intruder from another world as quickly as possible?
I wanted to do that too, but it felt strange to be pushed back like this.
‘Don’t cry and scream and grab my trouser leg later.’
I snorted inwardly and asked Emily what was most important.
“So, what is the anomaly I need to isolate?”
“… I’ll tell you as we go.”
“Right now? Right now?”
“Do you need any preparation time?”
“No, that’s not it. I think you’re rushing things a bit.”
Emily sighed and answered my question.
“This is an abnormal entity that has already failed containment once. We need to respond as quickly as possible to avoid further damage… ”
“What are you doing? You’re not moving? We need to respond before more damage occurs. Let’s listen to the story as we go.”
“… … .”
Emily passed me by and opened her mouth to see me standing at the door.
She looked at Scarlett, who was following me, keeping her mouth shut, and walked away.
I asked, leisurely following Emily who was walking ahead at a brisk pace.
“So what is that abnormal entity?”
“… The name of the anomaly you must contain is the Blade Lord.”
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