Starting Point
After turning across many pathways and being put on many elevators, I passed through a massive door, and there was the room.
It was a strange room. The wall had large rectangular holes cut out of it, and a dazzling light shone inside from its depths. Nevertheless, I couldn't tell whether this place was above or below the ground.
There was one man sitting down. It seemed like he was looking this way, but I couldn't tell for sure at all due to the light behind him.
Mission: Go to the high level office. Dialogue: Hey, thank you for coming. Your personal background is waiting for you right there.
After he said this, the man pointed at a small side table in front of me. On top of it lay a student ID and a student's handbook.
It seems like this will be "me" from today onwards.
Task: Please enter your pseudonym.
For every big job I get assigned a different name and personal background. It was the same procedure as always.
The man continued:
Dialogue: We would like you to investigate the strange phenomena occurring mainly around Komagaoka City, and the beings we call "Lost Property"... Dialogue options: "Understood", "......", "I don't want to".
Investigate the supernatural phenomena occurring in Komagaoka City, and the Lost Property that seemingly causes them. That is the mission I was given. Of course, I did not possess the right to refuse.
When I left the room behind me, this time there was a tall man wearing an eyepatch waiting for me. He, Shinichirō Amaki, my direct supervisor, was a man who was granted the right to access all sorts of Organization data.
I was brought along by Amaki to visit a containment installation that was made out of a remodeled public apartment complex. On the way to our destination, Amaki gave me an explanation regarding Lost Property.
Dialogue: They appear as objects that someone has lost, things that were forgotten and left behind, or persons who have passed away. That is why they are called Lost Property.
Lost Property. There exists no account anywhere of when their existence was first identified. There have been cases in which they were recognized by the general public as spirits, ghosts, supernatural phenomena, urban legends, or the occult, but most of these were swiftly contained by the Organization after their discovery, and information control has been propagated. It is unknown what kind of harm they would cause for human society if they were let to be worshipped by cults, or circulated as lethal weapons.
The purpose of me going to Komagaoka City is also to prevent harm caused by Lost Property.
When we entered the containment room, there was a being who greeted us. Lost Property 382 [Reproducing Mitsuo], a Lost Property categorized as B-grade.
Mission: Follow Amaki. Dialogue: Welcome back~.
It was floating lightly in the center of what was once a dining room. It looks like a withered balloon, I thought. Many vinyl balloons that were poorly modeled after people, floating around while intertwining with each other... such was my impression. It looked extremely unreal to me, like a man-made imitation, partially due to the fact that it kept on saying "welcome back" with a voice that I could identify as neither male nor female.
Then, I was asked by Amaki:
Dialogue: What do you think the condition is to stop it from reproducing? Dialogue options: "Answering it", "Having someone always watch over it", "I don't know".
Then I suddenly realized. This Lost Property was constantly looking at a security camera. Having someone always pointing their gaze upon it, directly or indirectly. Is that the condition to stop it from reproducing...?
"Almost correct." It seems like I was right. "It's having someone point their gaze at the human-shaped front part in real-time. It also works when viewed through a computer screen. On top of that, it is needed to contain the object in a washitsu (Japanese-style room) as part of a layout modeled after a public apartment complex. In any conditions other than these, it will keep reproducing itself extraordinarily." When I made a face that signalled "why...?", Amaki said with an emotionless voice: "We don't know the reason nor the mechanism behind it. Such beings are Lost Property."
On the way back from the containment center, Amaki said while handing me a drink:
Dialogue: If you happen to encounter an A-grade Lost Property, you do not have to fight. Prioritize evacuating the local residents and taking care of them. Dialogue options: "A-grade...?", "Understood", "Thank you for the drink".
A-grade. A category of Lost Property with a risk of bringing about enormous harm, with no known way to contain them. It seems that, since they are not beings that can be controlled by humans and they are similar to natural disasters, we have to prioritize saving people's lives over facing it directly.
Furthermore, there are respective classifications for Lost Property that can be contained, such as the 382 we saw earlier, which is classified as B-grade, and Lost Property that is relatively safe and that employees are allowed to take with them, which is classified as C-grade.
Actually, there also seems to exist a category known as Special-grade, but with my current level of authority, I cannot get my hands on that kind of information.
"My guidance ends here. Next, go to the Department of Development. You should be able to get a tool to aid you in your work against Lost Property." After saying this, Amaki walked away without turning his head around towards me.
Finally, I tried asking him about the eyepatch on his right eye. He stopped for a mere moment, and mumbled "I lost it because of a slip-up," and then disappeared behind a corner of the hallway. He was not planning to speak any more than that. That was the kind of refusal I felt.
Now that I think about it, I missed my chance to say thanks for the juice he bought me. I think I will tell him the next time we meet.