Chapter 1 – Do you believe in Anomalies?

Chapter 1 – Do You Believe in Anomalies?

I have a question for you.

Do you believe in anomalies?

Anomalies.

Phenomena or entities that exhibit properties inconsistent with known scientific laws, theories, or principles. (This includes any deviation or aberration that cannot be accounted for through conventional scientific understanding.)

To put it simply, they are things like unidentified flying objects—UFOs—or ghosts.

Though, to be precise, that’s slightly off the mark.

Just to be clear, I had never believed in these anomalies, or supernatural beings like ghosts.

It’s foolish to acknowledge unrealistic, unscientific existences.

Especially when it comes to ghosts or UFOs, you could definitively say that their existence was impossible.

Most of these claims are just machine malfunctions or hallucinations born from preconceptions.

I didn’t believe in any existence that could cause such supernatural phenomena, much less in the existence of God…

If you’re a perceptive person, you might’ve already caught onto what I was implying.

Yes. I didn’t believe.

“Hey, Akane! Check this out. We received an interesting report today. It seems that another new ‘Unknown’ has popped up.”

“Eh? Another one? They really just keep coming one after another. If you were telling me this a few months back, I’d have scoffed it off as a practical joke.”

“Well, people’s values can change over time. Anyways, take a look at it.”

The long-haired woman calling my name. With inner-dyed red hair and quite a refined appearance, she shoves a laptop toward me.

In this modern world, anomalies appear from who-knows-where. Commonly called “Unknowns.”

The organization I belong to (or rather, was forced to belong to) primarily deals with suppressing, securing, and researching these Unknowns.

Jeez… looks like they’ve caught another one.

Let’s take a quick peek at the report.

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UJP-03-58

Nickname | 「Comfort Pillow」

Danger Level | Safe (Reasonably Safe)

Status | Contained

Description

• UJP-03-58 has the appearance of an ordinary white pillow. It is believed to have manifested in ■■, Kumamoto Prefecture.

It is rectangular, measuring 43cm by 63cm, and is quite fluffy.

• UJP-03-58 is classified as Safe because of its harmless nature. No harm appears to occur unless its ability is activated.

Furthermore, due to its relatively safe nature as an Unknown, it is currently being contained and researched at ■■■■.

Details

• UJP-03-58 has the effect of granting an extremely restful sleep to anyone sleeping on it, turning even the most uncomfortable sleeping place or position into a cozy bed.

• It heals physical and mental fatigue, providing a comfortable rest. The user will wake up feeling surprisingly refreshed no matter where the Unknown is used.

• When using Ujp-03-58 for sleep, one must not sleep for more than 8 hours.

• If the user stays asleep for over 8 hours, it results in death.

Based on our current understanding, use of this Unknown is permitted under strict supervision for the mental and physical well-being of employees. However, all responsibility and risk lies with the individual.

Feedback from Verified Users of UJP-03-58

Personnel A: “So, how was the experience?”

Personnel B: “It was amazing! After last night, I realized that I’d never truly slept before in my life. In my opinion, it’s worth trying even with the risk of dying. “

Personnel A: “Woah… it was that good?”

Personnel B: “You should submit a usage approval form immediately. Soon, you’ll probably hear the Area Chief screaming not to approve any more—too many requests.”

Personnel A: “Hahaha! Shoot, if you’re not kidding, maybe I’ll give it a try?”

(Remainder omitted)

Currently, use of UJP-03-58 is by reservation only, with all bookings filled over a month in advance. Personnel wishing to use it should submit their usage requests as soon as possible.

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Hold on, it’s written so casually, but isn’t this just a “Eternal Rest Pillow,” and not a “Comfort Pillow”?

To sum it up: “Use the Comfort Pillow for over 8 hours and you never wake up,” right?

I can’t understand the personnel who want to use this. Is this organization a black company? Did people want to die that badly?

“See? Interesting, right? It’s an era where people line up for a mere pillow.”

“Comfort Pillow? More like an Eternal Rest Pillow. People are dying from it.”

“You aren’t completely off. We really should change the name.”

Sensing that I’ve finished reading the report, she spoke up.

I let out a sigh of disbelief and gave her my honest opinion.

“Judging from the information on the report, it seems safe, and its management is straightforward, making it a good research material. But, we don’t know if this Unknown is truly as safe as it seems.”

“For all we know, it might harbor other dangerous elements and conditions we’re unaware of. While personnel mental care is important, I wish they’d think a bit more about it before possibly signing their lives away.”

“Adding onto my point, Captain, even you mess around with Unknowns too much. Heck, you’ve even used them against other personnel…”

“It’s fine~! After all, I’m special.”

The woman called “Captain,” who preaches about the dangers of Unknowns while completely ignoring her own words, pouts after being called out by her plainly dressed subordinate.

The subordinate, who looks so ordinary that the phrase “King of Average” would suit him if he ever became an Unknown. An unremarkable appearance where his glasses seem to be his only identity, lets out a sigh—

“Haaah…”

“It’s precisely because of this carelessness that beings like us can operate relatively freely, you know? Realistically, we destroy truly dangerous Unknowns before containment anyway.”

“Not all the time. Ones where the benefits of containment outweigh the tolerated drawbacks, or ones we simply can’t destroy. Those are strictly contained. The rest, I guess they figure it’s fine to be lax every now and then. Our employees are human too, after all.”

“Wait, weren’t you just preaching about the dangers of Unknowns…”

“I was merely stating general principles… let’s leave it at that. It’s not like we have the authority to decide that stuff anyway. We should just be grateful our basic human rights are guaranteed.”

“That’s true, I suppose…”

The subordinate, who seems to have more to say, and the Captain, who only engages in half-hearted conversations.

As if accustomed to these things, the subordinate leans back on the sofa.

“By the way, where’s Chūnī-chan?”

“Ah, he said something about wanting to test a new special move he came up with? I remember him running off into the training grounds. Kids are so energetic these days, I’m a little jealous.”

“Jealous? You’re only 21 yourself. You’re still a kiddo as well.”

As we were speaking, brrrring—the Captain’s phone rang loudly.

She looked at the caller ID, making a face of utter disgust.

After a moment, she reluctantly answered.

“Yes, this is Mobile Task Force U… I figured. You only call when it’s about that. So? Location? Roger. Make sure to send the data. We have a newbie as well. Casualties? I see… I’ll leave the cleanup to you, we’ll take care of it on our end.”

With that disgusted look still plastered on her face, the Captain hung up.

Scratch, scratch.

Then, while scratching her head, she addresses everyone in the room.

“Alright, everyone, time for work. Glasses. You go fetch Chūnī-chan. Tell him to save his special moves for the new target that just showed up or something.”

“Understood, ma’am. I’ll change into uniform right away.”

“Akane. You go change too…? Eh? You’re already prepared, huh. Come on, people… the newbies are more diligent than all of you. Why are my senior employees slackers?”

“Work?”

“Yeah, work. Time for our righteous job of protecting the peace of the people living on the surface. Not that we get any praise or thanks for doing it. C’mon, let’s go.”

“Hey newbie, this’ll be a good training session for you.”

“Doubt I’ll ever get used to a job like this.”

“I feel the same way.”

And so, my life beyond the ordinary goes on.

One day, this extraordinary life will become ordinary.

Ladies and gentlemen, anomalies exist.

Belief has nothing to do with it.

They are a fact of this world.

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