Ch.183[Chapter 183] Anomaly: Hime

A rain of candy falling from the sky.

v.a.l.l.o.c. quickly took shelter inside the building as this was something he occasionally experienced, but Sir Dominic just stood there blankly staring at the sky.

Candy was falling down.

But not ordinary candy.

Mysterious candies that looked like transparent glass marbles, as if they contained universes within them.

Sir Dominic was entranced by these candies, which would appear utterly mystical to anyone seeing them for the first time.

“Junior!”

v.a.l.l.o.c., who had entered the building, called out to Sir Dominic.

Huh. Sir Dominic snapped out of his trance.

The world, which had been moving slowly, began to move quickly again.

Sir Dominic tried to twist his body, raising his shield above his head to escape, but the candy had already reached dangerously close to him.

That’s when it happened.

“Sir Dominic! Watch out!”

A familiar voice called out from somewhere.

Before Sir Dominic could react to the voice, his body was pushed backward.

Someone had tackled him and pushed him away.

Rolling together with this sudden savior, Sir Dominic fortunately managed to enter the building before the candy hit the ground.

The candy that fell where Sir Dominic had been standing shattered into beautifully glowing powder.

Though beautiful to look at, one wouldn’t think so if they saw the sharp fragments up close.

“That was close. Sir Dominic, are you alright?”

Ah.

Sir Dominic turned his gaze away from the scattering candy fragments.

He wanted to see who had saved him.

Sir Dominic’s eyes widened as he turned his head.

“Sir Dominic?”

There was Unryu Hime.

…

“Why were you here?”

“Do you know what a ninja’s habit is?”

“It’s liking high places,” Hime said playfully.

In fact, Hime enjoyed moving between buildings near System Industries and looking down below.

While doing so, she had spotted Sir Dominic and was happily running toward him when the anomaly occurred, and she instinctively saved him.

Sir Dominic found Hime’s explanation slightly suspicious but nodded, thinking it was plausible in Gachaland.

“Anyway…”

Sir Dominic looked outside.

The weather system was still malfunctioning, creating sparks.

Sir Dominic’s expression hardened as he watched it becoming increasingly damaged by the falling candy.

“Did you happen to see anyone suspicious?”

“Where?”

“On this rooftop.”

Hime pondered Sir Dominic’s question for a moment.

Then, as if remembering something, she hit her palm with her fist and answered.

“I did see a black object falling from the rooftop. I’m not sure if it was a person or not.”

Sir Dominic nodded.

Hime’s words sounded quite plausible.

“I don’t know what to do now.”

Sir Dominic looked outside again.

Candy was still pouring down violently.

The ground had already become a path of sharp thorns due to the candy powder.

“Where do you need to go?”

v.a.l.l.o.c. interjected.

“Sir Dominica and Alice are at the Executive branch. They went to get information about this event.”

Sir Dominic said.

“We were supposed to meet and exchange information, but with this…”

“Have you tried calling them?”

Hime asked.

Hearing this, Sir Dominic took out his phone and was about to press the call button when he paused.

The weather was so bad that it showed he was out of service range.

“…It seems calls are impossible too.”

“Executive branch. Executive branch…”

v.a.l.l.o.c. muttered.

“So we just need to get to the Executive branch?”

“That’s right.”

Sir Dominic looked at the weather system again.

“I came here because I was worried someone might be exploiting the weather system, but I missed them. Now I have no choice but to rely on Sir Dominica’s information.”

Sir Dominic had already gathered all the information he needed to find.

“Then there’s another way.”

v.a.l.l.o.c. said as if it were no big deal.

“There’s no place better equipped with gates and portals than System Industries. They say people who work at System Industries travel 10km daily just sitting in their chairs.”

“The gate to the Executive branch is on the 13th floor below. No, was it basement level 13? The structure of this company changes every day, so it’s always confusing.”

“That’s fortunate. It’s better to do something than nothing at all, right?”

Hime smiled at Sir Dominic.

Sir Dominic gazed at Hime’s smile for a moment before speaking to v.a.l.l.o.c.

“Take me to the gate. I need to head to the Executive branch right away.”

Sir Dominic stood up.

And once again looked at the weather system.

“Come on, junior. Don’t get lost.”

Sir Dominic, with a subtle expression, began walking at v.a.l.l.o.c.’s urging.

…

Heaven Delivery headquarters in the Executive branch.

Sir Dominica was momentarily stunned by the rather sacrilegious sight.

Angels were flying between conveyor belts moving packages, and angels handling customer service in the corner lost a handful of feathers from their wings with each incoming call.

In an area marked “Break Room,” an angel with four wings and another with eight wings were smoking cigarettes and badmouthing their manager, while a small-winged angel who appeared to be a junior employee just scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.

“This is… Heaven Delivery?”

Sir Dominica muttered, somewhat shocked.

“They’re a bit short on budget, I hear.”

Senator Muscleman explained as if making an excuse.

“Recently, Heaven’s administrator invested too much in some returnee, causing financial difficulties…”

Sir Dominica was shocked once again.

Gachaland was truly incomprehensible.

Sir Dominica shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Being shocked was one thing, but work was work.

She had come all this way to find information about Miss Sweet-Sweet, so she needed to gather at least some basic information.

“Customer?”

An employee at the entrance greeted her with a puzzled look.

“Ah.”

Only then did Sir Dominica fully come to her senses.

“Ma’am? Are you alright? Should I call a doctor?”

“I’m fine. It’s… nothing much. I’m just a bit shocked…”

“Ah. Yes. First-time visitors are often shocked.”

The angel nodded in agreement.

Though still wearing a bright smile, somehow that smile seemed sad.

“Anyway, what brings you here? Are you planning to send that thing behind you somewhere?”

The angel pointed behind Sir Dominica.

There stood Alice, hugging a hamster doll while blankly looking around.

Surely the angel wasn’t suggesting sending Alice as a package, so they must be referring to the hamster doll.

Sir Dominica shook her head.

What Sir Dominica wanted was not to send a package but to collect information.

“We came to get information.”

“Information…”

The angel pondered for a moment before responding with another bright smile.

“Ask anything. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Miss Sweet-Sweet’s home address.”

“…Pardon?”

Sir Dominica got straight to the point.

The angel looked perplexed at Sir Dominica’s request.

“Um, ma’am? I can’t provide personal informa—”

“It’s about the sudden event.”

Senator Muscleman stepped in to help.

“Moreover, she’s a villain. A villain recognized by the system. Even now, there’s chaos outside because of her.”

“…”

“Someone bring a first aid kit!”

Just then.

An angel who had been delivering packages outside came in carrying another angel who was covered in blood with candy fragments embedded all over their body.

“Call a doctor!”

“It’s raining candy so heavily outside that no one can move! Even if we call a doctor, they won’t be able to come!”

“Damn it, we can’t just leave them like this!”

The scene was absolute chaos.

Pandemonium seemed accustomed to such situations and continued to focus on the hamster doll and Alice, and thanks to this unintentional consideration, Alice didn’t see the bloodied angel.

That was fortunate, if anything.

“…You see.”

Senator Muscleman spoke while grimly observing the devastating situation.

“Miss Sweet-Sweet has crossed the line. Without your decision, there could be more victims.”

“…”

“If you’re concerned, we’ll keep it confidential. Despite appearances, I’m a senator of the Tanker Union, and the Tanker Union has that much power.”

“…”

“If you’re still uncomfortable…”

“That’s enough.”

“!”

“Wait a moment. I need to access the database.”

The angel sniffled with a gloomy expression.

Clearly, seeing the collapsed, bloodied angel had softened their heart.

“…Here it is.”

The angel handed over a printed paper while still sniffling.

Sir Dominica took the paper and read its contents.

It was a paper with Miss Sweet-Sweet’s home address.

“…Thank you for your help.”

“Please go now. I… I… need to rest for a while.”

The angel began to shed tears they had been desperately holding back.

The shock must have been that great.

Sir Dominica left Heaven Delivery without even being able to offer words of comfort.

“…Leaves a bitter taste.”

“Indeed. But… it was necessary.”

Senator Muscleman said dejectedly.

Just then.

A gate appeared beside Sir Dominica.

And two people jumped out from within the gate.

“…Are you sure this thing worked properly?”

“Ugh… my head…”

“…Sir Dominic?”

Senator Muscleman looked at the people who had emerged with disbelief.

It was Sir Dominic and Hime.