LIGHTNOVELONLINE ! URGENT REQUEST !
Sender: Senior Researcher, Benjamin Campbell
Recipient: ███, ████
Request: Requesting the evacuation of all personnel at Base 17 and a complete lockdown of Base 17.
― Request denied
Reason for denial: Insufficient grounds for the request
A fair bit of time has passed since then.
Well, maybe just about a week or so, but it feels like an eternity when you’re cooped up in a tiny room.
But isn’t time relative?
Anyone confined like me would feel the same.
So, what’s happened in the meantime, you ask?
Well, nothing particularly special.
There weren’t any unusual creatures sneaking into my room like before, just the usual rigmarole of people coming in and asking me the same old questions: “Have your memories returned? Any flashes of something in your mind?”
Of course, my whole purpose was to play the role of a memory-lost little girl, so I just kept shaking my head vigorously.
They brought in strange machines I’d never seen before, scanned me, and even took bits of my hair and nails.
Since they were using terms like “examination” and “check-up,” it seemed like they were conducting some kind of physical examination.
And this added credibility to my previous assumptions.
I suspected this place was a facility for protecting and researching lost children from another dimension.
Taking bits of my physical tissue probably meant they were studying creatures from beyond the dimension…
Thanks to that, I had to control my strength during tests, but since they hadn’t questioned anything yet, it seemed I had managed to fool them somehow.
So, if someone were to ask me what I was so proud of after just killing time, I could confidently say it wasn’t for nothing.
Above all, the invisible barrier wall that was once present in the center of the room had completely vanished.
There wasn’t much to do in this room in the first place, and even though I’d gained double the space to loiter, it didn’t exactly fill me with joy.
But the fact that the barrier wall separating me from the others had been removed was proof that I had made an impression that I wasn’t a threat.
How was that possible, you ask?
What’s the big deal?
I just had to sit quietly and pretend to be on my best behavior.
I mean, it’s a cheat code when you’re dealing with people and you’re a cute little girl like me.
From a glance, I appeared to be a girl who hadn’t quite hit puberty, making it pretty easy to earn their trust.
Thanks to that, visitors treated me strangely kindly, asking if I needed anything or offering me snacks.
Somehow, I had opened up enough to accept some snacks from her.
-Munch, munch
“Do you want more?”
A blonde woman asked in a sweet tone.
The woman’s name was Sophia.
She was the first person I encountered after arriving in this room.
-Nod, nod
“Here you go.”
As I nodded, she opened a small bag and handed me its contents, which I accepted without suspicion.
To be honest, I didn’t trust Sophia enough to take the snack bag from her at first.
I mean, during our first encounter, didn’t she awkwardly say, “Wow, what a cute girl?”
I was more worried about her being a complete weirdo than trusting her at all.
But after that, meetings with her continued.
Among the many who came and went, she kept showing an interest in me.
She’d ask if I needed anything or offered snacks, trying to befriend me, and I eventually warmed up enough to take the snacks she brought.
-Munch munch
Well, it’s not like I was begrudgingly eating the snacks or anything.
In fact, it was the opposite.
Honestly, I had missed that taste a lot.
It’s food from my hometown!
In another dimension, the concept of taste varies so much that finding any food that feels familiar is like trying to find sand in a desert.
I hadn’t had these kinds of treats in ages.
I couldn’t even remember what they tasted like, and who knows if the food from my hometown is still the same?
But when I put the snack in my mouth and felt that familiar taste on my tongue, it brought back memories of my hometown food, so thankfully, it seems things haven’t changed that much.
“Is it tasty?”
-Nod, nod
“Good to hear!”
As Sophia smiled, she reached out her hand towards my head.
Realizing she was about to pet my head, I instinctively jerked back, but something in her expression forced me to let her.
-Swoosh, swoosh
Someone was gently stroking my hair.
Honestly, I still didn’t want to get used to it, and the feeling was more than a little awkward.
After all, being patted on the head at this age was pretty odd.
Of course, being treated like a kid was a given.
“19th entity is well-behaved.”
She seemed pleased.
19th entity. That was likely the name given to me.
I had no intention of complaining about a name that sounded like something assigned to test subjects.
After all, I chose to keep my mouth shut.
I had no intention of letting a silly name mess up my whole act.
…Well, it’s a bit late to say this, but to be honest, I had thought a few times about pretending I could say a couple of short words.
-Rustle, rustle
Thinking I’d been petted for too long, I started shaking my head like a wet cat shaking off water.
It was a sign that she should ease up.
“Ah! I-I’m sorry! Did I pet you too long?”
-Nod, nod
“W-Well, could you allow me just a little longer…?”
-Shake shake
“Ugh… Alright, I’ll stop.”
Sophia pulled her hand away, looking sad.
I felt a bit guilty seeing her like that, but still, I had no desire to be petted any longer.
And this was something I’d thought about before: if I was petted for too long, I started to feel a bit strange.
Stepping away from her droopiness, I began to make my way to the corner of the room.
I needed some space from her at that moment, and I had something to bring to her.
‘Let’s see… I think it was around here somewhere…’
I started rummaging through the cluttered corner piled with various items, looking for something I had set down.
Of course, Sophia herself was the one who had brought this stuff.
I was truly grateful when she brought bedding or other necessities, but when she started bringing in girly stuff like teddy bears, I found it a bit troublesome.
‘Ah, there it is.’
After a bit of digging, I managed to find what I was looking for among the toys.
A sheet of white paper with a familiar landscape drawn on it.
In short, it was like a landscape painting from a fantasy world.
‘Yeah, it’s drawn with crayons, so it’s not the best, but it’s not completely unrecognizable.’
Of course, I didn’t choose crayons for any aesthetic preference.
When I had vaguely requested paper and something like a pen, it was the only thing she’d brought.
But asking for something else again felt like a hassle, so I just decided to draw with whatever I had.
Well, the real issue is that I’m not that great at drawing, but…
…Still, this level of description should be understandable without too much trouble.
Turning around, I saw Sophia with her head drooped.
Seeing her like that made me feel a mix of emotions, and I began walking toward her, paper in hand.
-Tug, tug
“Um…? Ah, what’s the matter?”
As I tugged on her sleeve, she snapped back to reality and reacted to me.
Could it be she fainted because I rejected her petting…?
…Nah, surely not.
“Oh my! What’s this…?”
When she saw the drawing I unfurled, her eyes widened in curiosity.
Well, naturally!
It’s not every day that a girl with amnesia shows off a drawing of a fantasy landscape!
Considering that I came from beyond the dimension, it must be quite an intriguing fact for her.
‘I mean, I can’t pretend to be amnesic forever.’
Playing the part of a girl with amnesia was okay, but there was a problem.
That being that people wouldn’t let a girl with amnesia roam freely outside.
Especially if my guess about this place being some sort of protective center is accurate.
So, I was planning to start acting like my memories were returning soon.
Having gathered a degree of information about this facility, even if I no longer pretended to have amnesia, I didn’t think it would lead to significant problems.
Why did I bother describing a fantasy world?
Well, when you think of another world, this is typically the kind of landscape that first pops into your head, right?
It’s not that hard to draw, either.
Just draw someone holding a sword, a wizard, and maybe a fire-breathing dragon.
Regardless, anyone could tell that this was a fantasy world.
Of course, it’s an outright lie to say I didn’t think about my second hometown, which is already destroyed.
“Hmm….”
She seemed to be pondering.
She looked thoughtfully at the drawing I held up, then suddenly seemed to have a realization and began speaking to me.
“Could it be that you’re depicting where the 19th entity came from?”
-Nod, nod
“Oh! Then, have you regained all your memories?!”
-Shake shake
“Oh, is that so? That’s too bad….”
I shook my head to convey the negative when Sophia asked if my amnesia had been cured.
Of course, I wasn’t about to rush things.
I intended to take my time pretending my memories were returning and find the right balance of what to reveal.
At least until I could leave this room and gauge the exchanges with other dimensions, I needed to keep a lid on things.
“Don’t worry too much. You’ll remember everything one day.”
Her soothing voice made me begin nodding slowly.
Those were words fit for comforting a young girl with amnesia.
As she clutched the paper I was holding beside her, she gently strok my head as if to reassure me.
“Until then, let’s stay safe here.”
Sophia smiled.
…Well, it must be said that this time, the feeling of her stroking wasn’t too bad.
—
Anomalous Entity Report
Date: ████, September 14
Reported by: Senior Researcher, Sophia Brown
On this date, I received a drawing from 163-19.
163-19 described it as a place they came from, but the drawing lacks sufficient detail for further interpretation.
Insights from other researchers are needed, so I will share the drawing’s content in the base database. Please contribute as many opinions as possible.
Additional Request: Given that 163-19 still seems to shy away from physical contact for prolonged periods, it seems their mental state is still unstable.
I would like to request approval to introduce a giant teddy bear into the isolation room for 163-19’s psychological stability and further research.
― Additional request denied
Reason for denial:Enough already, Researcher Sophia.
– Responsible Researcher, Oliver Smith