Employee Cafeteria.
Dinner rush had already passed. The lively noise that once filled the cafeteria during peak hours was now gradually fading.
Compared to other employees—who hurriedly ate their fill and then rushed off alone or in groups to other facilities—X 's manner of eating appeared unhurried.
One could even call it elegant, completely out of place amid the surroundings.
As he liked to say: since there was no need to rush, why not savor the food properly?
"Haa… another satisfying meal. Honestly, the greatest joy in the company is being able to eat like this!"
"Hey, if you keep eating so recklessly, be careful not to overstuff yourself~"
"Relax , I know my limits!"
"Oh really~?"
"…Still, you've got a point. I should take a short walk to help digest… see you later, Manager!"
"Alright~ see you, Harumoto."
Only after the last companion, Harumoto, left in contentment did X finally set down his cutlery. He picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth.
"…You're finally full?"
A voice tinged with amusement came from nearby.
It was Justin—who had returned.
Carrying two steaming drinks, she sat back down across from X and gently slid one of the cups toward him.
"You really are Relaxed, Manager."
Justin glanced around the now-empty cafeteria, then looked back at X with a smile.
"Even the coworkers who usually come the latest have already finished eating and left."
"Did I make you wait too long, Justin?"
X naturally accepted the cup she pushed over, took a light sip of the warm liquid, and smiled.
"You didn't have to wait for me. You've got your own things to do too, don't you?"
"No, no…"
Justin propped her chin up with one hand and leaned slightly closer over the table.
Her face wore a smile brimming with satisfaction.
"Compared to everyday trivialities, what I'm doing right now is much more important."
"What you're doing right now…?"
X took another sip, then set the cup down, unconsciously repeating her words.
Then his gaze met Justin's—perfectly.
"…?"
It took only that brief moment of eye contact for X to sense something was wrong—
No.
Very wrong.
That look in Justin's eyes… he had definitely seen it somewhere before.
A gaze mixed with possession, admiration, and a kind of primal "hunger."
That's it—he remembered.
It was exactly the same look Sister Goodness had worn not long ago, when she pinned him down from behind.
exactly the same.
In an instant, alarms blared wildly in X 's mind.
Subtle abnormalities—ones that shouldn't have become obvious until later—were now clearly perceptible.
That drink he had just consumed…
X 's eyelid twitched sharply.
He'd been drugged.
Fortunately, thanks to his recent experiences exploring. and interacting within the Backstreets of Lobotomy Corporation, his physical condition was no longer what it used to be.
He could even roughly gauge how strong the effects of the drug would be on him.
If this had been him back when he first took office, he would probably have blacked out on the spot.
"…"
There was a very, very slight pause in X 's movements.
Then his body suddenly went limp, and he lost control, collapsing straight forward.
No matter what was actually going on…
Pretending the drug had worked seemed like the better option for now.
Thump.
But the expected pain of his forehead striking the table never came.
A soft, warm body suddenly leaned forward and caught him firmly.
It was Justin.
"Manager."
Supporting X with her own body, Justin naturally wrapped her arms around him from behind, drawing him into her embrace.
"Harumoto was right… you really shouldn't take yourself so lightly."
Perhaps she truly believed her little scheme had knocked him out. The composed, proper demeanor she'd shown earlier was now completely gone.
A charming blush spread across her fair cheeks. Her slightly parted lips exhaled warm breaths again and again.
Her heartbeat raced—as frantic and impulsive as if she had just finished intense physical exertion.
"The work here changed me a lot. It gave me the courage to face death, the skills and strength to fight Abnormalities…"
"But my emotions… they seem to have gradually gone numb during all that management and suppression."
Justin's heart was pounding rapidly, yet her voice was soft.
As if she were speaking to herself—or confiding in the man in her arms, tinged with an indescribable sense of loss.
"In the past, I could naturally try to invite you to eat or Relax with us…"
"But now, just pretending to run into you, then using exhaustion from work as an excuse to invite you to the cafeteria…"
"Something this simple took me almost an entire night of thinking before I finally found the resolve to do it."
"I've thought about it a lot these past few days, and in the end I still felt…"
Justin tilted her head slightly, bringing her lips as close as possible to X 's ear—
Even though he supposedly couldn't hear anything anymore.
"Some things… you only know whether you'll regret them after you try."
"I know we're not people who can walk the same path, Manager…"
"There will never be any fruit of love between us, and I've never dared to hope for something so unrealistic…"
As her words deepened, the strength of her embrace around X gradually increased—
Yet she remained restrained, careful not to squeeze too tightly and hurt the man in her arms.
"So even if this costs me the trust I worked so hard to earn from you…"
"Or costs me my status as an employee, my job under a Wing… or even… my life…"
"I still want to try."
"I'm sorry, my respected Manager."
Justin easily lifted X in her arms and turned around.
"Just once is enough… you won't remember anything…"
"And there won't be anyone else… besides me… who remembers…"
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