Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 47

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Come to think of it, Mallo had seemed reluctant about this place even before we arrived.
After a brief silence, Mallo spoke again.
“And there’s one more thing…… I should mention.”
His words made me tense. When I looked up, he was staring at the elevator doors, his brow furrowed.
Whatever it was, he clearly didn’t want to say it.
“You remember we talked about the snail?”
“……The Salt-Dissolving Snail story?”
The Agency used the metaphor of a Salt-Dissolving Snail to describe survivors trapped in the Fortress, their bodies and minds broken down beyond repair.
Just as the salt solution’s concentration is too strong for a snail to bear, so too is the Fortress’s existence too incomprehensible and vast for a fragile human to endure.
“That’s right. And of course, the salt has no intention.”
“……?”
“What I mean is, the salt water didn’t dissolve the snail out of malice. And here—this place ranks among the lower concentrations even for the Fortress…”
Mallo paused and gestured toward the elevator ceiling.
At first I didn’t understand what he meant, but when I looked again, I saw it. The metal structure that should have been perfectly angular was twisted into a warped, unnatural shape.
“Ugh……”
BB looked at me with bewilderment, but I had no room to respond.
“Because of the professor? It got like that?! Is that even safe?!”
“For us, it is.”
“‘For us’?”
“Even if a hundred buildings like this came crashing down, it wouldn’t concern us.”
“But then……”
I looked at BB, who still understood nothing.
So what he was saying, ultimately, was that nothing that happened here would affect me.
‘Me alone.’
It was strange, after all.
I didn’t feel good about being the only one safe and protected while others received favor or partiality, watching the other survivors scramble desperately.
Amelie had even said it in her diary—I should lend my strength since I didn’t know when I’d be called to pay the debt.
Watching me, Mallo let out a small sigh.
“There’s no need to overthink this. You don’t need to understand any of it.”
“But then……”
“Just call for me when you need me. I’ll come to you. In the form you want, safe and harmless. Can you do that?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I simply nodded.
Mallo smiled.
At the same time, with a soft chime, the 12th Floor doors slid open.
* * *
S#1
F.I.
INT. Nest Building. 12th Floor. The doors open. A wide, pleasant Living Room with white marble flooring stretches before us.
Amelie:
(with shock in her eyes) What on earth is all this?
BB:
(confused) What do you mean?
Amelie:
You didn’t feel anything?
BB still looks mystified.
Then a young man in a loungewear robe approaches the two women.
He is tall, slender, and beautiful in appearance.
He greets them in a voice as beautiful as his face.
Canaria:
(smiling) Welcome. I’m Canaria.
Amelie:
(surprised at the sight of him) Oh? You’re…… could you be a musical theater actor……?
BB:
(cutting her off) Shh.
Amelie:
(flustered) Oh, I apologize. I’m Amelie.
Canaria:
Don’t worry about it. I’m the one who should apologize for my appearance. In the mornings, I’m restricted to specific clothing. Would you care for some tea first?
BB:
That won’t be necessary. Since this isn’t official business, there are quite a few restrictions. If you don’t mind, would it be alright if we looked around the house first?
Canaria:
By all means.
BB moves past the Living Room toward the Kitchen, while Amelie stands uncertainly.
Canaria, observing her, quietly approaches Amelie.
Canaria:
Amelie? Since you’ve come this far, wouldn’t you like to have some tea over there?
Amelie:
No, thank you, but I……
Canaria:
I’m asking nicely.
Amelie:
(glancing at the direction Canaria indicated) Over there would be……?
Canaria:
(whispering just loud enough to hear) A blind spot.
* * *
I was not the one who sent the signal.
I stared at the note Canaria had pressed into my hand.
I’d thought it odd when I saw the Nest Building Rule Book was formatted like a script, but…… I never imagined it meant something like this.
Through the circular glass window in the Laundry Room door, I followed BB’s movements.
It seemed whatever ‘that’ was from a moment ago, only I could see it.
The moment I stepped onto the 12th Floor, a light dizziness washed over me, and something like a Prompt began printing across my vision.
‘It seems to have disappeared now…… I think?’
It looked like a kind of script. The strange part was that it seemed to be written in real-time, following what we said and did.
Did this mean someone was watching us?
The Nest Building promises eternal safety and peace to authorized residents. In exchange, residents cannot leave without the Nest Building’s permission.
That’s what the Rule Book said.
I stared at the Laundry Room ceiling.
So who was doing this unpleasant thing, and why?
First, I examined the shelves in the Laundry Room. Neatly arranged bottles of detergent lined the orderly shelf.
‘It’s almost excessively organized.’
Like stage props, almost.
The display case in the Living Room, the other furniture—everything was the same. This white, spacious house was so clean it barely felt lived-in.
‘First…… let me look for the Communication Terminal that BB mentioned.’
Before we entered, BB had explained that to send a rescue signal directly to the rescue team, we’d need a Communication Terminal manufactured by The Agency.
Canaria is a protected witness, so of course he has a terminal.
But he said it wasn’t Canaria who sent the rescue signal.
Could that mean someone had snuck in here? Another survivor?
‘…… Let me look.’
I opened the Laundry Room door.
And once again, I began to be recorded.
* * *
S#2
BB and Amelie stand by the Living Room window, conversing.
BB carefully reads the note Amelie has handed her, then destroys it.
The audience cannot read its contents.
BB:
If we could trust everything that person said.
Amelie:
(glancing toward Canaria) Who do you trust if you don’t trust the witness?
BB:
That’s not relevant to this. The witness being here is because of a completely separate incident.
Amelie:
So what is it, then? You’re saying Canaria is lying? Why would he do that?
BB:
Maybe he doesn’t even know he sent the rescue signal. The Nest Building will distort perception itself just to keep its residents confined.
Amelie:
Hmm…… Shouldn’t we be careful about saying things like that? We don’t know who might be listening……
Then Canaria emerges from the Kitchen.
He carries a tray with tea and a teapot.
Canaria:
Is the search going well? Not that I have anything to tell the both of you, but I do hope it was just a mistake.
Amelie:
It would be nice if it were. A rescue signal in a home where someone lives alone is rather unsettling.
The three sit around the coffee table.
Amelie:
(looking at Canaria) But if you’ll forgive me, Canaria—if I understand correctly…… you can’t leave this house, can you? Which means, until you die.
A brief silence falls over the room.
Canaria takes a sip of tea with graceful composure.
Canaria:
(laughing without strength) Unless things work out well on the outside, I suppose, but after so much time has passed, the odds of that seem low.
Truth be told, there’s no real reason to leave. Everything I need is here.
Amelie:
Mm……
Canaria:
Well, it’s not all bad. After all, I’m an actor. Acting is my life, and you could say this place is my stage.
Amelie:
(pensively) A ‘stage,’ you say……
BB:
Do you notice something?
Amelie:
Well, that is……
Amelie looks around, then suddenly stares directly at the camera.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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