When Eustar, Laila, and Felix returned to the vicinity of the branch, the monster had almost stopped moving.

It only occasionally twitched its body covered in nets or made growling sounds, showing no signs of actively attacking or raging violently.

The rain had already stopped. As the moon peeked out from behind the dissipating dark clouds, a pale light began to pour down.

“It’s a full moon.”

Felix said, looking up at the moon. At that moment, the monster, which had curled up its limbs under its shell like a turtle, suddenly began to howl in a thick, low voice.

—Gook…! Grrk, guuuk…!

Eustar went around to the front of the monster and examined its elongated head. While the head shape was similar to that of a human, it had no bridge of the nose and an unnaturally large mouth.

However, the teeth were closer to human than beast. The canines were slightly protruding and sharp, but the rest—the incisors and molars—were distinctly square-shaped.

“Tiltil, have you contacted Branch 2?”

When Eustar asked, Tiltil nodded.

“Yes, I called the branch director a little while ago. For a reply, it’s still…”

It was at that moment. As if it had been listening from somewhere, a tearing noise came from the communicator, and then Muge Olga’s figure appeared on a faint hexahedral image that floated upwards.

Whatever she had been doing, her hair was disheveled and there was something like soot on her forehead.

“What’s all this fuss about in the middle of the night?”

The unit commanders, who were lower in rank than Muge, bowed their heads to greet her, but Felix, being a branch director himself, did not. Muge’s expression became even more scowling when her eyes met his.

“Why do I have to see that guy’s face on this lovely moonlit night? Eustar, you explain.”

Felix said,

“You think I’m particularly happy to hear your chattering voice in this chaos? You little basement dweller.”

“After living for nearly thirty years, life’s not that fun anymore, is it? So you’re staging a ‘please kill me now’ protest, Carrot?”

“If you still find life amusing, how could mine be boring? You…”

At that moment, Eustar intervened between the two’s bickering.

“Both of you, stop it. Is this the time for this?”

He turned sharply to Felix who was nearby and put force into his eyes.

“Branch Director Felix, mind your words.”

“But, Sir Eustar…”

As Felix grumbled discontentedly and quietly retreated, Eustar looked up at Muge’s floating image. Then he moved his position slightly so that she could get a better view of the monster trapped in the net.

“Olga, can you tell what kind of monster this is? I contacted you thinking you might have some information.”

The blurry image flickered with a ‘jik’ sound. Muge grumbled.

“You think I can see anything properly with this outdated communicator? From here, it looks like a giant beetle covered in some sort of spider web. If you were going to talk about a monster, you should have said so from the start. Tiltil!”

Tiltil, who had been standing aside, flinched and looked up at Muge.

“Yes, Branch Director Olga.”

“Have you become stupid too from working under that red-haired idiot? You should have just relayed the message to use the ‘window’, now it looks like you’re making me do the work twice!”

“My thinking was short-sighted, Branch Director. I apologize.”

Felix, who had been standing back, grumbled again, but everyone present, including Muge, pretended not to hear his complaint.

If they reacted here, Muge would really come running, and then they’d end up using more than half of their combat strength trying to break up the fight between Felix and Muge before catching the monster…

Muge, looking thoroughly displeased like a child who had just had candy snatched away, said,

“I’ll open the ‘window’ from this side, so wait. Try to make it so I can see that thing well. Is it physically strong?”

When Eustar looked at Tiltil, she nodded.

“It seems to be. Though slow in speed, its entire epidermis, including the exoskeleton, appears to be made of rock.”

“Rock, you say? It doesn’t seem to be a golem type. Anyway, try to stand it up or something. That’s the only way I’ll be able to see anything.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Muge’s face scattered and disappeared like an afterimage, and with it, the hexahedral image went out with a ‘pop’ sound. As soon as she disappeared, Felix unleashed a rapid-fire string of complaints as if he had been holding them back all this time.

“Really, Sir Eustar! I honestly don’t understand why you just stand by and watch her act so impudently. Even if she is from Jaokoonst, this is…!”

“Branch Director Felix.”

As Eustar turned around and called Felix in a solemn voice, the unit commanders around quietly retreated.

Although they were usually on familiar terms, watching one’s direct superior get thoroughly scolded by an even higher-ranking superior was not exactly an enjoyable spectacle.

Eustar let out a long sigh and said,

“I know you have negative feelings towards Jaokoonst, but what does Branch Director Olga have to do with that incident? Isn’t it right to digest your anger within yourself, by your own strength? As we all do.”

Felix furrowed his brow and clenched his molars. Eustar’s words were the epitome of sound reasoning, leaving no room for rebuttal, and the fact that there were no loopholes made him even more furious.

Eustar continued,

“Moreover, in such an urgent situation as this, do you think it’s sensible behavior to engage in childish squabbles, forgetting your important position as a branch director? The only reason I’m not disciplining you right now is because that monster is not what we were aiming for. Keep that in mind.”

“…I apologize, Sir Eustar.”

It takes time for the ‘window’ to open. Eustar ordered Felix and the other unit commanders to lead their troops in thoroughly searching the surroundings.

Now that one monster had been caught, if the one that had kidnapped the children was a similar type of monster, it might be lurking around the branch.

“And Laila.”

Laila, who had been staring down at the monster groaning and growling while trapped in the net, raised her head.

“Let’s talk.”

There was a shadow in Eustar’s gaze as he turned around. Laila let out a short sigh and silently followed him.

Eustar, who hadn’t said a word throughout the entire passage through the corridor after entering the branch, only looked straight at Laila after returning to his room and locking the door.

Laila could read various emotions in his trembling eyes. There was confusion and anxiety, and even a faint anger. These were emotions he had never shown towards Laila before.

“Tell me.”

As Laila’s eyes blinked slowly, Eustar continued, as if urging her.

“About what happened at the sink earlier. What happened? Laila, you…”

Eustar’s urgent words were abruptly cut off midway.

He tilted his head back and ran his hand through his long hair, as if unsure of what to do. His hair, which Laila had carefully combed, was now disheveled and tangled, waving like water.

Eustar said,

“Do you remember what you said?”

Laila, who had been staring at him intently, replied,

“I remember.”

“Do you also know how it sounded to me and Felix?”

Laila’s eyes shone indifferently. It was a question she wouldn’t have been able to answer just a few months ago, but now it was different.

She remembered exactly what she had said and done, and was clearly aware of how Eustar and Felix had looked at her.

Laila said,

“It felt as if I was the Sync. Isn’t that right, Eustar?”

“It seems you don’t realize this isn’t something to be spoken of so casually.”

As he finished speaking, Laila frowned and shook her head.

“I’m not a fool, Eustar. I know exactly what Sync means to the people of Tentinella, no, to all the people of Sierow. There’s only one thing I want to say. It wasn’t my intention.”

“What I’m doubting isn’t whether you voluntarily assimilated with the Sync. Don’t you understand, Laila? If it were an intentional act on your part, I wouldn’t be this worried!”

It was then. Eustar momentarily lost his words as he saw Laila’s expression contort in a very strange way.

She was now frowning not just with her eyebrows, but with her entire face, an expression similar to when she first took ‘Orange’, the portal motion sickness medicine.

“Why is your expression like that, Laila?”

Eustar asked, but Laila seemed not to hear him at all. She was now alternating between scrunching up her face and puffing out her cheeks as if they were some kind of paper balloon.

“Laila.”

“…I didn’t know you would be worried about me.”

What nonsense is this now, Eustar thought. The answer he had hoped for and the words that came out of Laila’s mouth were far, far apart.

“What on earth are you saying? Did you think I wouldn’t be worried after seeing you in such a state?”

“I know that Eustar always worries about me. Of course, I tend to ignore it most of the time.”

It was an ambiguous statement, unclear whether he should sarcastically say it was fortunate that she knew, or sincerely thank her. While Eustar was dumbfounded by the suddenly derailed conversation, Laila tried to add an explanation.

“But I didn’t know… that you would be worried enough to be angry. I’m sorry for approaching the Sync on my own. It may sound like an excuse, but it wasn’t my own will either. At some point when I came to my senses, I was there, and it, the Sync I mean. It seemed like it was speaking to me. No, not speaking, but more like…”

“More like?”

“…It felt like it was injecting. Its thoughts… forcibly. Just like squeezing cream into an inflated choux pastry.”

“Are you saying that the Sync pushed its own desires, and information about that monster, into you?”

Laila shook her head.

“Just the desires. The information about the monster was mixed in with those desires. I’m not good with metaphors, but if I were to use one… It was like muddy water pouring into me, and I could vaguely see things like stones or water plants mixed in between.”

Eustar’s expression was covered with complete bewilderment.