“Yes, thank you for your consideration.”
“If you’re grateful, hurry up and follow me.”
While Evil cheerfully took Cheche along and went out, James stood frozen, unable to say anything. At Evil’s bizarre words and actions that had occurred several times in this short period, he slyly raised his hand and pinched his cheek. It hurt terribly.
Though James had been with Evil since he was an infant, this was the first time seeing him like this.
Actually, intense emotional changes had always existed. He was a crazy bastard who suddenly got angry alone and smashed up desks and chairs, then suddenly hummed as if pleased. However, ‘people’ had never made Evil feel good. Evil had lived twenty years and never once felt good because of someone.
James’s father would often describe Evil as a pitiful person, and the fact that he was someone who couldn’t like people was one of those ‘pitiful’ reasons. James somewhat agreed with that too.
An SSS Soul User who reads people’s emotions—he thought the day when he, who felt the dirty and filthy true nature intact even when they approached armed with hypocrisy, would enjoy someone’s hypocrisy and flattery as it is would never come, not forever.
But just now…
Cheche’s every word raised and lowered Evil’s mood.
From the refugee who said things like he’d gotten treated a lot by that Evil Endem so he’d pay today, to Evil loosening up like someone with a date appointment with a romantic interest, even the sight of ‘con.si.de.ring’ Cheche—nothing wasn’t strange.
Could it be?
Could it be…
“…Ugh.”
James shuddered at his own thought.
Evil, who sees through people’s damp insides, doesn’t like anyone. He was born unable to like anyone.
It must be momentary curiosity.
James, not wanting to harbor vain hope, decided to reach that conclusion once again.
***
Autumn rain drizzled from morning. It was quite a lot to go around without an umbrella, so Cheche bought one on the way to work. His stomach hurt at the unexpected expense. Fortunately, the restaurant Evil chose yesterday wasn’t such an expensive place.
After walking with the umbrella for a while, he belatedly realized the sun had risen. By the time he noticed that no one around was using an umbrella, he had already arrived in front of the Center. He entered the building while folding the wet umbrella.
Aura measurement.
That one thing was today’s schedule. Cheche, who had been told in advance the day before, commuted to Evil’s office instead of the secretariat. Evil was already there and for some reason had a sullen expression.
“Director, good morning.”
“Good morning? What the fuck good morning.”
Evil abruptly spat out a curse.
“You come to work too late. Other secretaries come at eight o’clock, but you’re not even a damn snail, yet you come too late even though you’re human. I’ve already waited an hour.”
The other secretary listening, James, felt wronged. I’ve already told him several times that Cheche’s work start time is nine o’clock.
“I’m sorry. I’ll come early from now on.”
“Forget it. I’ll come at nine o’clock from tomorrow too. It’s not even raining but carrying an umbrella. Damn it, covering your whole face…”
Evil grumbled. Watching him, Cheche recalled a seven-year-old child he’d briefly lived with back home. He’d made that expression the day he looked forward to a famous celebrity coming for volunteer work but couldn’t even see their face from afar.
“Contact the measurement room that the refugee is here.”
“Yes.”
James, who had been waiting with a haggard face, notified the measurement room of Cheche’s arrival.
– Preparations are complete. You can measure as soon as you come down.
The answer came right away, and before Cheche could even move, Evil, who had been sullen, stood up first.
“Let’s go.”
“…Director…”
James looked back and forth between the approval documents piled on the desk and Evil, who had already turned his steps toward the door.
“You’re going too, Director?”
“Yeah, I can’t send this bastard alone. I’m worried. I have to tell him from the side.”
“I’m sorry. Because I’m ignorant and unreliable.”
“No, hey, that’s not what I mean. Ah, fuck…”
Evil glared at James. His eyes said, ‘It’s because of you.’ Though he had no idea why he was being cursed at, James perceptively bowed ninety degrees and said, “Have a safe trip.”
The measurement room was always bustling with measurement subjects gathered from all over the world. Because Alcity’s Aura User Center was the most famous place in the world, the measurement room the Center possessed was also the place that attracted the most people among all the Aura measurement rooms in the world… That definitely should have been the case, but today Cheche received special treatment of using the entire fiftieth floor alone. Unless one was a very distinguished person, it was quite rare to be given an entire floor.
“What the hell. It’s uselessly spacious and has a lot of weird stuff.”
Evil, who entered the measurement room with Cheche, looked around. Even though he was an advisory director at the Center, he had never once come to the measurement room. After manifesting at a very young age, he had always only used the Endem family’s measurement room, and the family’s measurement room was specialized for Evil’s personality, so it was quite different from this place.
In other words, Evil had no idea which test to start with or how to do it, so he just followed behind the staff alongside Cheche.
The ordinary measurement that ordinary people did, which Evil experienced for the first time, was very different from the measurements Evil had done. First, there was a video that had to be watched before measurement. It was a full forty minutes long—a boring video explaining why Aura measurement was absolutely necessary.
Evil spent forty minutes watching Cheche watch the video. After the video ended, Cheche asked.
“Is this content I must memorize?”
“Why?”
“The subtitles passed by too quickly, so I couldn’t read them all.”
“Are you deaf? What did you keep your ears for?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to know, so just proceed to the next thing.”
He didn’t bother explaining since it was all just empty talk about ethics and human morality anyway. Cheche looked at the turned-off monitor once and stood up from his seat.
In the physical ability test that followed, Cheche received a judgment of below average. The measurement equipment calibrated for the average height of 177cm for adult males in Alcity was somewhat uncomfortable for Cheche, who was only 168cm tall, and the instructions used many abbreviations, requiring help at every stage of progression.
“Come up and step on it with one foot and press as much as you can hear.”
“Press the button, can’t you understand?”
“Ah, fuck, are you stupid? You can’t even press this?”
Evil grumbled and helped at first, but later couldn’t control his temper and got irritated. He felt frustrated and angry that even the very easy strength measurement at a normal person’s level came out as below standard. At the words asking if he was really stupid, Cheche calmly lowered his head.
“I’m sorry. I’m very lacking.”
“……”
The calmly flowing apology shut Evil’s foul mouth.
“Ah, fuck… If I stay any longer, I think I’ll hit this bastard. You do it.”
Evil, who had taken on the guide role no one asked him to, finally threw away the role. The staff hoped Evil would leave the measurement room altogether, but Evil pulled over a nearby chair and sat down with his legs crossed. His will not to leave Cheche’s side was evident.
“Proceed quickly, idiots.”
“Yes, um… I’ve been watching since earlier.”
A staff member who approached carefully to avoid the beast—no, monster—who might bare his teeth at any moment asked Cheche.
“By any chance, is your hearing impaired?”
“No.”
“…You say no?”
The staff was flustered at the firm answer. Evil sneered from the side.
“How much of an idiot must you be for them to ask such a question?”
“Well… seeing how long it takes for this simple measurement of pressing the button on the side where you hear the sound, it seems there’s a problem with hearing—have you had a checkup recently by any chance?”
“He did. If you look at the medical records from when he was hospitalized not long ago, it says all his limbs are fine. He’s just extremely stupid.”
“I… see…”
While the staff became even more flustered, unable to dare refute Evil’s words, Cheche opened his mouth again.
“My right ear can’t hear right now, but usually it hears well.”
“Excuse me…?”
“When I got examined not long ago, it heard well too.”
“What kind of bullshit is that…”
The hand that had been propping up Evil’s chin slipped. His slightly parted lips and wide-open pupils showed how surprised he was. It was the face of a predator hit by a herbivore for the first time in its life.
“Your ear can’t hear? The right one…?”
“Yes, sometimes my ear can hear and sometimes it can’t.”
