episode_0154

The torn dinosaur picture was taped back together with Scotch tape and put back on the wall.

The line of transparent tape running across half of it was a little annoying, but it was not a work that could be drawn again without seeing Tyrannosaurus as perfect as that.

It’s a shame, but there was nothing I could do.

“They took it all away.”

Victor, who arrived late, looked around the office and said.

It seemed like he knew this would happen too.

“What on earth did you take?”

I asked Victor as I was busy organizing my desk.

Since none of my belongings were missing, I didn’t really know what was missing.

“Just this and that.”

Victor was just talking in general terms, but I could tell that the number of files on his desk had decreased significantly.

I think my memory is not bad.

Files containing personal information and the locations of research labs.

It’s all gone.

The same was true of Amy’s papers.

Amy and Victor started to work hard to gather all the trash in one place.

Unusable documents and broken furniture were thrown into the office area.

Rain, who arrived late, joined me and Shine without saying a word.

Lane’s desk, which was attached to our desk, was also a mess.

She began to organize the papers with her footprints on them, one by one.

“Has something gone, Rain?”

I walked up to her and asked.

Lane spoke calmly, looking over the documents.

“Most of my important information is gone. My computer is gone too. My USB drive I copied to seems to be gone too.”

Even though he said that, Rain didn’t look very serious.

I thought as I bundled up the papers.

Usually important information is not stored in places like this.

A method is used where a separate document warehouse is created and the data is stored there, or backup data is stored on a separately used server.

Because that’s how it usually was.

I also had a lot of information saved as backup data.

therefore…

I knocked on the empty desk.

A fairly familiar movement.

Her little fingers danced as if they were moving over a computer keyboard.

I rubbed my eyes and shook my head.

Now I had no keyboard or mouse.

A thought that briefly comes to mind then sinks deeply again.

As I was sitting blankly in my chair, Shine came over and poked me on the cheek.

“Jeff. Aren’t you going to clean?”

“Okay. I will.”

I shook my head and got up from the chair.

It was time to move again.

As we all started cleaning together, the inside of the office quickly became clean.

Amy called someone to drag away all the trash that had been gathered in one place.

The interior of the office feels emptier than before.

As I watched, I took out some stickers from my bag and decorated my new desk.

Lucy’s sparkly magic stickers make the desk look pretty.

Lane put his comic books on a small bookshelf on his desk.

Shine did nothing.

A bare desk that hasn’t changed since old times.

All that was on top of it were a set of crayons and colored pencils that Amy had given her as a gift, along with a few small pens.

Victor brought the new exercise equipment inside, which was in shambles.

The giant dumbbells sparkled in the light.

Amy made the office look as close to its original appearance as possible.

Although they said they finished cleaning up quickly, it was already well past time for breakfast.

I slumped over my desk, clutching my growling stomach.

“I’m hungry~”

Usually, I ate a packed lunch prepared by Amy for breakfast.

But now there was no lunch box.

It’s because Amy didn’t prepare it.

Amy, who had been sitting with a serious expression, jumped up from her seat with a startled expression on her face at my gaze.

I looked at Amy and stroked my little belly.

I’m quite hungry.

He also sent her a look that contained that meaning.

“Sorry!”

Amy then realized she hadn’t prepared a packed lunch for us and took out her cell phone as she apologized to us.

“I’m sorry. I forgot. I’m really sorry.”

Amy continued to apologize.

I smiled awkwardly at her appearance and shook my head.

Skipping breakfast was quite common in the past.

It’s not like skipping a meal would be a big deal, but Amy’s reaction was quite loud.

“No, Amy. You were super busy today.”

“What do you want to eat?”

Amy asked me, fiddling with her phone.

I looked back at Shine and Rain at her question.

My first meal of the day didn’t seem like chicken breast and salad.

I would have liked to eat tonkatsu, but that’s just my personal wish.

Something that everyone can eat together, and something that few people like or dislike.

After all, pizza is the safest choice, isn’t it?

I told Amy.

“Pizza!”

Both Shine and Rain liked pizza quite a bit.

Rain seemed to be excited by my screams, swinging his short legs back and forth excitedly.

Looking at her shaking butt, it seemed like she was still excited about eating delicious pizza.

“But. Will pizza be delivered here?”

“Oops.”

I asked Amy a question with one question in mind.

This is the new place we moved to now.

Even though we were using the same building, the location was completely different, so I needed to find out exactly where it was.

I didn’t even know where it was before that.

“Jin said it. It’s a place that can’t even be detected by satellite.”

I said, thinking of the forest Allen had created.

Could there be a deliveryman who could penetrate that vast forest?

People who were Jin’s friends also said they got lost in the forest.

“That’s the problem…”

Amy started to make a phone call somewhere, muttering in a small voice.

The name that appeared on the slightly visible screen was Jin.

After a few dial tones, the call with Jin was connected.

“Jin? Where is this place?”

Jin’s voice can be heard faintly.

Although I couldn’t hear clearly because of the distance, I could hear what he was saying.

The tiny radio waves emitted by the cell phone naturally flow into me.

I could hear Jin’s voice clearly, as if I was holding Amy’s phone directly to my ear.

It was the first time.

I knew that my ability control had become quite sensitive, but I didn’t know it was to this extent.

It was very bad to secretly listen in on other people’s conversations.

But now, the feeling of my abilities expanding made those thoughts fly away.

The sound becomes clearer.

[Here? Around District 2, I think?]

“Huh? Here you go?”

[Surprised? I didn’t know before I came, but when I checked the coordinates, it really was Zone 2.]

“But there wasn’t a forest this big there.”

[Yes. There is no place where such a large forest could be located, if it were an ordinary place.]

Amy’s expression distorted strangely at Jin’s words.

It was the same for me too.

“What on earth are you trying to say?”

[Allen covered the entire city in forest and disappeared without anyone finding him. You know about that incident, right?]

“Yes.”

[There was someone who helped Allen back then, and that was my friend.]

“Are you the guy who got lost in the forest yesterday?”

Jin spoke in a confident voice.

He seemed genuinely proud of his friend.

[That’s right, with his powers he moved this forest and our entire building, this is Area 2, but it’s not Area 2.]

I opened my mouth in a daze at Jin’s words.

From the description of moving the entire building and forest, it seemed like Jin’s friend had the ability to manipulate space.

That’s also quite high.

There is one thing that people often misunderstand.

Those with the ability to manipulate space itself and those with the ability to warp through space are often grouped together as one system.

When I first started working, I categorized them into one group.

“I kind of expected it. It’s quite large in scale.”

[Reality always surpasses imagination. So? Is there anything else you’re curious about?]

Amy answered Jin’s question with a small sigh.

“Pizza. Can you deliver it?”

[Blood, pizza?]

Rarely, Jin’s panicked voice could be heard.

***

“Are you looking forward to it?”

I nodded to Amy’s question.

Now, Amy, Shine, and Lane were taking the elevator to the top floor of the building, toward the forest, to get pizza.

The numbers in the elevator start to go up.

40.

60.

70.

100.

120.

Ding-

The elevator, which was quickly ascending, opened its doors as it displayed the last number.

As soon as the elevator opened, a strong smell of a thick forest wafted out.

The gentle breeze was not an artificially created wind, but a natural wind.

As I was about to get out of the elevator, I realized there was a stranger standing right in front of me and I clung to Amy’s leg.

“Gasp!”

“Hello~”

Intense red hair that reaches down to her waist and pure white skin.

The pupils also had a faint red glow, as if they were filled with fire.

A woman with a mischievous smile.

Amy’s long legs were packed with strong muscles.

He was taller than Amy.

The sight of a woman who appears to be about two meters tall is intimidating.

“Is it Shumain?”

Amy spoke to the woman who was larger than her.

Shumain.

The person Jin said was his friend.

Perhaps a person with the ability to dominate space.

Her chest was big.

considerably.

More than Amy.

I looked up at her blankly.

“Jeff.”

As I was taking in Shumain’s appearance, Shine’s voice came flying in.

At the same time, Shine’s hand was gently placed over my eyes.

I can’t see ahead.

Shine’s voice was filled with discomfort.

I asked, gently pushing her hand away.

“Why?”

“Is it good that it’s that big?”

Shine pointed to Shumain and asked.

I thought.

I’ve always wanted to be tall like Amy, but at 6 feet tall, I feel like it’s a bit too much.

“No. I think Amy is better.”

Shine nodded at Amy at my answer.

“I think I can do that too.”

What is possible?

Anyway, we got out of the elevator after joining up with Shumain.

Schumaine was a man of few words.

Although he answered Amy’s questions honestly, she never spoke first.

Although he would occasionally glance at me and Shine, he would quickly look away when I was startled and hid behind Amy.

Schumaine’s pace was quite fast.

As we walked out, stretching out our long legs, Shine, Rain, and I had to run a little faster.

Only Amy could follow Shumain.

As I ran along the red hair that swayed like a horse’s tail, I felt Shumain’s gaze once again.

At the same time, her steps slowed.

“Sorry. Was it a little early? It’s been a while since I walked with other people.”

Schumacher said to me with a small smile.

I returned her laughter with an awkward laugh.

The huge forest made a path for us as we approached.

A wide open road.

It felt good to be covered in soft grass.

The trees around me shook their branches as if greeting me.

“Hello!”

I greeted the trees, remembering Allen’s words.

Then the trees shook their leaves wildly.

I thought it sounded like laughter.

After walking for a while, Shumain stopped at the end of the forest.

I just stuck my head out and looked beyond.

There was no boundary where the forest ended.

There was only white space.

“I’ll be out for a bit, so wait for me.”

Shumain said this and held out his hand.

Then something amazing happened.

The pure white space began to distort, and a small line appeared at the border of the forest.

The line began to grow longer and longer, then spread out to the sides.

There is no distortion.

A small passage appeared there so naturally.

An unfamiliar air came in through the divided space.

A faint smell of smoke. Cars and lots of machinery.

The bustle of the city flowed in through the faint radio waves.

News and telephone radio and computers.

All the things around me suddenly hit my head.

I opened my mouth blankly.

Shumain stretched his body through the gap.

Then she blended in with the crowd so naturally.

Except for her height, no one thought she was anything special.

As Shumain moved away, the space began to close.

“Jeff. Why are you just standing there like that?”

I kept my mouth shut and shook my head at Shine’s words.

Because the amount of information that came at once was so vast, it took time to organize it.

Most of it was useless information.

I rubbed my throbbing forehead.

Shumain, who had escaped the space, reappeared carrying several large pizza boxes.

In a different place than before.

“Yes.”

She handed Amy the pizza box and walked into the woods.