episode_0149

Chapter 6 Episode 5 – Cat’s Hand

After the last East Continent incident, Cheshire lost her teleportation ability and obediently submitted to quarantine. Since Cheshire was no different from an ordinary person now, the quarantine itself was simple.

However, the problem was how to manage Cheshire.

The reason I created the management bureau was to make it easier to attack heroines, but the bigger reason was to efficiently satisfy the desires of the captured heroines.

Each heroine has her own desires, and if those desires are not adequately satisfied, dissatisfaction builds up. And when the dissatisfaction exceeds a critical point, abnormal symptoms begin to appear, which causes a major obstacle to the progress of the game.

Therefore, I am satisfying the diverse needs of heroines through the management bureau’s infrastructure.

Lily periodically goes out on unnecessary missions called magical girl activities. Providing toys to Kuen periodically. Walking and playing with Ker every day.

All of these are part of the bureau’s pixie management method that satisfies the needs of heroines.

So how should Cheshire be managed?

The other heroines’ desires were able to be expressed relatively clearly. However, in the case of Cheshire, it is ambiguous because he purely pursues fun.

Fun is so subjective, and even if you find the right one, you’ll get bored if you keep repeating it, so it’s difficult to have a consistent process.

So, we decided to change the idea and provide an environment where Cheshire could find and do fun things on her own, rather than having the management office satisfy Cheshire’s needs.

“Ah, hello, Director. What’s going on in the lab?”

“I came to see Cheshire.”

“Ah, you mean Cheshire? I will guide you.”

When I arrived at the lab, Misha, the head of the research department, was the first to meet me. Misha is the younger sister of Asha, the head of the medical department, and an engineer who has been called a genius in her own right.

The reason I came to the bureau was a recommendation from my older sister, Asha. She was very ambitious when she joined the bureau, but after feeling the huge wall called Olivia, she gave up all ambition and became a snob.

” That’s Cheshire. Your skills are amazing. The downside is that I don’t listen well. Could the director please talk to me?”

“He doesn’t listen to me, so there’s nothing I can do.”

“It’s a shame. I think if you trick it well, you can make it quite salty.”

Misha makes a gesture as if she is counting bills with her hands. I originally had a pure passion for engineering, but why did it deteriorate like this? Was the wall called Olivia really that high?

I don’t know.

“Rather than that, if you’re a manager, isn’t it normal for you to be the busiest? Why are you coming to meet me?”

“Ahaha, I’m so incompetent that even if I stay, I’ll only be a hindrance. So I’m doing some odd jobs.”

“What… . okay. Please guide me first.”

Leon and I walked around the lab under the guidance of Misha, who had particularly low self-esteem.

The center of the laboratory. Actually, I’m not sure if it’s the center, but when I looked at the arrangement of the inventions and furniture, it looked like the center.

Anyway, the clunky hemispherical device located there. Supernova, the Bureau’s largest and most expensive invention, was showing off its majesty.

“Cheshire, please come out. The director has arrived.”

Bang bang–. When Misha knocked on the Supernova, a familiar purple doll, Cheshire, came out of it.

[Heroine profile]

Name: Cheshire

Height: 154cm / Difficulty level: A

Progress: 80% / Like level: 5

“What~? It’s Zeke. What brought you here?”

“I came to monitor whether I was doing well. Because someone is so unsatisfactory.”

“Kuhuhu. Are you saying you keep thinking about me and going crazy? Zeke said he couldn’t do it without me~.”

Kuen and Cheshire too, why do these bastards distort my words as they please?

“So, what were you doing?”

“Huh? What were you doing? Kuhuhu. I was fixing this.”

Thump thump–. This time, Cheshire tapped Supernova.

“Was it something that could be fixed?”

Supernova is one of the malicious stocks that are made but never used. Although other inventions were used before retrying, Supernova was impossible to use in the first place. There was obviously no problem in the design, but when it was actually made, it didn’t work.

‘Even though the entire research department full of people from prestigious universities came rushing in, they couldn’t find the cause, so Cheshire, who comes from the streets, can fix it?’

I looked at Misha with a puzzled expression. Misha nodded as if what Cheshire said was not a lie. With a very dejected expression.

‘Ah, somehow Misha’s self-esteem was low. I guess it’s because of this.’

Of course, Cheshire is not without its real roots. All of the mechanical devices in Wonderland so far were made by Cheshire himself. Although it was shabby due to a lack of materials, facilities, and manpower, it would be impossible to make them by self-taught people unless they were very talented.

‘Well, the fundamental reason may be game exaggeration. Like Olivia.’

Anyway, it’s nice to be able to fix Supernova. Having more options available is always welcome.

“Misha.”

I walked up to Misha, who was standing quietly next to me, and whispered.

“Keep an eye on Cheshire. As you know, if you do that wrong, the entire management bureau will disappear.”

“Oh, of course. I don’t want to die either.”

“And if Cheshire does anything suspicious, report it immediately. If it’s not too dangerous, don’t bother to stop it.”

“Uh… . Are you saying to leave it alone?”

“Okay. Secretly stealing materials or making strange devices. For things like that, just report it and ignore it.”

Misha looked like he couldn’t quite understand, but he nodded.

Normally, there would be thorough surveillance to prevent such harsh actions, but there is still one more Wonderland left. Only by releasing it properly will you be able to prepare for the final wonderland.

“What kind of secret are you two talking about without me~?”

Cheshire roughly organized the tools in his hands and approached with a grin.

“You were swearing.”

“Do it too much~. Then can I tell you a secret?”

“Why does it happen like that?”

Cheshire slowly raises his head. I felt bad and thought about rejecting it, but I decided to listen first to see if it had anything to do with Wonderland.

Cheshire held my ear and whispered slowly.

“I heard what kind of relationship you have with that woman. That was really interesting, huh? Although they were lovers, their feelings for each other were completely different? Kuhuhuhu. How will she react if she finds out your true feelings? Aren’t you curious~?”

“……Are you threatening me? Do whatever you feel like. There’s no way I’ll believe you anyway.”

“Well, that depends on the situation~.”

Cheshire scoffed in displeasure. I guess it’s quite fun to watch me get annoyed.

‘The gift of listening to emotions… . It’s unexpectedly annoying.’

It’s obvious which one of me, Cheshire, and Lupia will believe what they say. But what if, just by chance, you find yourself in a situation where you have no choice but to believe what Cheshire says?

The reason Lufia isn’t going crazy right now is because she believes I love her. Rather than incarcerating myself and being hated, I chose to be loved even if it made me a little anxious. However, if the premise itself collapses, Rupiah will definitely run wild.

‘I have to stop him from meeting Rupia.’

Fortunately, Cheshire is easy to control since he has lost his ability to teleport. Since Lufia isn’t particularly interested in anyone other than me, it wouldn’t be very difficult to prevent the two from seeing each other.

“Don’t do something you can’t handle.”

“Well~. Is that really a problem I can handle? Kuhuhu.”

Cheshire, who maintained an irritated attitude until the end, picked up a tool in one hand as if he wanted to start working again.

“You can look forward to the next Wonderland~. It would be better if there was more support than just loose monitoring~.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hmm~. Is that how it comes out? Then I’ll do whatever I want~.”

You wicked bastard.

“See you next time, Zeke~. You know how I feel~?”

Cheshire blows a hand kiss with a wink.

“Get out.”

“Be merciless~.”

As expected, he looks like a damn cat who is good at scratching people.

As I left the lab and was walking aimlessly, Leon spoke to me.

“Zeke, are you giving a crazy person like that a chance?”

“Opportunity? what… … Ah, well.”

For a moment, I wondered what Leon was going to say, but then I remembered a time in the past when I gave her a vague answer to her question about ‘why she manages the pixies.’

It was clearly said to be a test to ensure that pixies could coexist with other heterogeneous beings who do not fit into existing society. From Leon’s point of view, he may see it as a kind of ‘opportunity’.

“I don’t know if this is right either.”

I sighed heavily.

Sometimes I thought about quitting everything and just living in seclusion. In fact, there was a time when I lived completely in seclusion after the reset.

But in the end, my desire to return to reality only grew stronger, and this damn world wouldn’t leave me alone in the first place. In the end, I have no choice but to target the heroines in this shitty game.

“But what is certain is that I, who deal with these crazy people, am no less crazy.”

“Haha, that definitely might be the case.”

I don’t know your gag code.