Chapter 230 – Ep.16 – Quote
An hour after Michelle visited the Dellin family.
She stops by in the morning and gives some advice, and drives the car diligently as if she is pressed for time.
She travels through the middle of the city of demons at a speed that would make passersby think she was a reckless driver.
There is peace in the city of demons. It’s like a late Sunday afternoon on a soft bed, making you very drowsy but also making you wonder, ‘Have I become too lazy?’
Everything Michelle looks at through her car window has its own languor. Of course, there are demons among them who walk around busily or talk loudly, but in Michelle’s eyes, even those noisy people look lazy. It’s like I’ve become so lazy that I can’t bear it without doing something…
“… “
It’s a red light. It is a time of tedious and anxious waiting. Michelle experiences quite a bit of stress due to this short, fleeting wait. It seems like things aren’t going well today. How many times have I already run into a red light?
Michelle has no choice but to stop and look at an old demon in the scenery. Otherwise, she couldn’t bear the waiting time.
She is standing on the sidewalk about 10 meters away and muttering something, but Michelle cannot hear even that small sound.
The wrinkled old man is wearing an old-fashioned floral dress that people of that age would wear. She is an ordinary old woman with nothing special about her, but she holds a sign in her hand that catches her eye.
[God is always watching you. Do not sin. I’m going to hell.]
God.
Michelle feels that the word is somehow unfamiliar. She always prays every time she eats her three meals, and she also participates in events held once a week… I feel strange.
Is God really watching him?-.
I don’t know why that phrase that I sometimes come across when I pass by on the street bothers me so much today.
With that question in mind, Michelle steps on her accelerator again. She is green light. She stepped a little too hard and the body of the car shook, but she didn’t really care…
————————————
The place she is heading to is an old-fashioned building that looks quite neat. Because it is quite far from the city, many people do not even know the location or existence of this building.
No. To be more specific, it is better not to know.
This old building, which is a government institution, has quite neat interior facilities, unlike what it looks like from the outside. It’s futuristic and cold enough to give off a bit of a gloomy vibe. Beyond being neat, it is eerily flawless.
Beep-!
When a small card containing Michelle’s personal information touches the rough part of the turnstile, the door opens with a small beep.
Inside, the atmosphere is quite different. Busy and hectic.
Michelle also immediately blends into the chaotic atmosphere. The sound of her shoe heels ringing clearly becomes one with the numerous noises inside the building.
She headed straight to her seat,
She tidies up the papers piled on top and puts them aside as always.
After that, Michelle turns her waist once and sits down, unable to shake the worry from her straight face.
“… “
Her head hurts. Michelle, frowning and pressing her temple, tries to find out how her work is going, but the information she currently has is limited.
The atmosphere of the entire Human Management Bureau is strangely distorted. Since it is a newly established place, it is natural that there are frequent changes, but the fact that the organization is being reorganized while keeping information hidden from even oneself means that something is probably going wrong.
It shouldn’t be a big deal.
But usually, in situations like this, all sorts of things happen.
“Whoa… “
On Michelle’s private table, there is a computer, a name plate, and a calming green plant. Of course, in the current situation, no matter how intently I look at the flower, my mood does not improve. I don’t have time for that.
Michelle took off her outer clothes for a moment and immediately started walking again.
The director called Michelle yesterday. She says she has something close to talk about alone, but she already knows what the director is going to say, even though Michelle isn’t listening.
What she is afraid of, however, is that she cannot even guess why her director is excluding Michelle from her work.
Was she too hot to get things done? Or is it someone’s instigation or check?
Michelle feels unfair. This treatment doesn’t suit her, who has been treating her like a dog for the organization for years. Also, it is logically incorrect. In this organization, there is no one as talented as Michelle. She knows this well, and the director probably knows it too.
“Whoa… “
So, tightening her tie again so as not to show her nervousness, Michelle slowly opens the door to her director’s office.
It’s quiet inside. However, in the quiet, the director’s breathing and the sound of turning over a folder can be heard occasionally. In fact, it is so quiet that the sound of paper rubbing against each other feels unrealistically loud.
“Michelle. “You’re here.”
“Yes, Director. “
Naturally. Without being shaken.
Michelle walks calmly as usual and sits down facing her table in the middle. Although there are several black sofas, she chooses the one right next to the one the director loves.
“Uhm. Okay, okay. I’ve been so busy these days that I don’t even have time to see her face. How have you been?”
As if to emphasize her leisureliness, the director slowly walked over and sat down on her own sofa at the end of her long table. It is quite painful to watch her slowly cross her legs and even smile, but Michelle never shows off and maintains a businesslike attitude.
“Thanks to the director’s concern, I had a good time.”
“What do I care? “Because you work hard, everyone cares for you and takes care of you.”
The director, who is quite old, has wrinkles on his cheeks that indicate his age, but despite this, his skin is as elastic and shiny as that of a young person. How great and amazing is the effect of consistent management along with superior physical ability.
“Do you know why I called you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hey, you know! “They probably already have all the estimates drawn up.”
The director chuckles. The director took out a small container of nuts from the top pocket of her suit and started chewing on them, looking Michelle up and down and continuing to ask questions.
“Now you should stop playing around like this and get ahead. Isn’t that right?”
“I will do my best in whatever task is given to me. “I never once felt that the director’s instructions were child’s play.”
“Good. That’s the attitude. This is why I like you. You know, right? “How much do I care?”
Michelle feels a sense of discomfort from the sentences the director utters. It is true that she has known him for quite some time, and it is true that she has shown a favorable attitude towards him, but the situation that Michelle is currently in is nothing more or less than that.
An old hunting dog that has finished its job is beaten to death and boiled and eaten as body soup. Is this situation any different from that cruel family?
“That’s why I’m asking. Okay? Michelle, you can do anything. To be honest, there is no talent like you.”
The director smiles. Her face is that of a young woman, but her smile shows age.
… You can see the nobility and leisureliness of a being that has endured countless storms and proudly stood on top.
“The guidelines have changed. I will completely turn over everything you have done so far. Since it came from above, let’s just follow it. Okay?”
“I will follow whatever you ask.”
It’s not like there’s ever been a time when I didn’t follow,
How long does the director hesitate to make Michelle nervous?
“Good. Then, let’s move on to the main topic.”
However, as Michelle listens to the story that follows, she understands everything.
“From now on, we will cut off all welfare and benefits provided to those people. Don’t show it. Deal with it quietly behind the scenes.”
She clearly realizes why the director put pressure on Michelle herself. It makes her feel once again that it is the director who is holding her leash, and makes her accept it even if it imposes quite harsh conditions.
“It’s over to put these people forward and have them act as public relations ambassadors. Cut it off little by little without anyone noticing. If you explain to them that you have used your power to guarantee human rights, they will actually like it, and it will create public opinion in the same direction among the public.”
To date, there are significantly many people who belong to the pro-human faction. To the peace-worn demons, humans are like cute puppies.
Perhaps Michelle also has a friendly stance toward humans. Because she doesn’t hate them. On the contrary, she felt satisfaction from her own mission to help them.
“Then, one accident will occur, and public opinion will be overturned. If one doesn’t turn over, you can explode dozens of them. Let’s put on a show with that and highlight that humans are inferior and need to be managed.”
What the director said now is,
It’s like driving all humans to their deaths.
Even all the humans across the sea.
“Using that as an excuse, we are going to the human continent. In name, let’s keep it as protection and management. After that, we put everything under our control and take whatever advantage we can.”
“… I don’t think it will be overturned easily. I don’t think it will be that simple.”
Misread- Misread-
Michelle’s will to resist, which she gives as if giving advice, is faintly buried by the sound of the director chewing something like an almond.
“We already have all the estimates. Even if you invest for ten or a hundred years, it is much more profitable. Even if you take those people and make them act like clowns, how far will it go? Fifty years?”
That is correct.
… To the demons.
“Let’s just look at the big picture. “You know what I mean, right?”
