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Tl: Sam

…

　Director of the Bureau of Magical Research, Kurosu Maki.
　If I had to sum her up in one word, it would be “eccentric”.

　She loves research so much that she has no interest in anything else. The fact that she wears only a white coat on her upper body probably stems from her lack of interest in clothing.
　She only eats solid, complete nutritional food, and the sleep she takes is minimal. She has no desire for money or to be popular with the opposite sex.

　She just wants to be free to do the research she is interested in, and that is all she wants.

“Well, sit down, Tanaka-kun. Let’s welcome you.”

　Maki-san sat down on the desk and put his feet on the back of the chair.
　It was very ill-mannered, but this was her normal behavior. If I had to point out every single thing, there would be no end to it. It would be nonsense to point out her manners and civility.

“I am surprised that you are still doing your research under the government. I thought you would leave as soon as possible.”
“Hey, hey, hey, what do you think I am?　I’m just a quiet dog with a collar on. I won’t do anything that will bother you.”

　Maki said with a hearty laugh.
　Well, I don’t trust her. After all, this person’s background is unusual.

　Even as a junior high school student, she was already as knowledgeable as an adult researcher and was sought out by various research institutes. It was amazing that she was sometimes invited to famous universities overseas.

　Maki’s career as a researcher was going smoothly, but a turning point came when she was nineteen years old.
　It was the advent of the dungeon. With a personality of curiosity wearing a white coat, Maki was fascinated by the charms of dungeons.
At first, Maki was doing research at a public institution, but ethical and safety concerns made it difficult to get approval for her experiments. Especially when it came to experiments on human subjects.

　Therefore, Maki-san disappeared from the public eye and began to conduct illegal experiments behind the scenes. There are many rich people interested in dungeon research, so she would have had no trouble finding funding sponsors.

　For the next few years or so, Maki-san continued her research as she pleased, but a second turning point came. It was an investigation led by Dojima-san to force the Monster Subjugation Bureau to take action.
　Illegal research institutions were all shut down, and Maki was detained in the process.
　Normally, she would have been arrested, but Dojima-san hired her on the condition that she would not engage in such illegal activities in the future and that she would return all the results of her research to the government.

　Naturally, the government and the media were all over him about it, but he brushed it off.
　I thought it was a mess, but as it turns out, thanks to Maki-san, Japan is one step ahead of other countries in dungeon research.
　It is also thanks to Maki-san that we are able to manage even though there are more dungeons than in other countries.

“I would love to do five or six inhumane experiments on human beings. I’ve thought about getting out of here and going back into the underground. But…… the current situation is not so bad. It’s a great way to get a little extra money for my research, and I don’t have to worry about Dojima-san’s eyes on me.”

　Maki-san laughed.
　I don’t want you to say that you’ve thought about betraying us because it’s bad for my heart.

“By the way, Maki-san, I was wondering about your arm…….”
“Oh, this one.”

　I pointed out, and Maki-san put her right arm out in front of her.
　Her right arm was a mechanical arm from the elbow to the tip. It looks like the main character in a famous shounen manga(Tl: Probably Edward Elric from FMA). When I met her before, it must have been a normal arm, but I wondered if she had opened the door to truth through too much research.(Tl: Another FMA reference)

“Isn’t this cool?　It’s useful, you know.”

　Maki-san said, and a blue light gushed out from the tip of her index finger. She lit a cigarette in her mouth with the light and took a sigh of relief.
　Obviously, the chemicals and machines here are supposed to be non-smoking, I wonder if it’s okay. Well, the director here smokes, so why should I bother to mention it?

“I don’t think it’s cool, rather, What the hell happened to your arm?”
“It’s a noble sacrifice. Don’t worry about it.”

　Maki-san brushed it off with that.
　I was wondering if I should ask her about it, but if she didn’t want to tell me, I didn’t have to ask.

　As I was thinking this, I noticed Maki-san sitting at her desk, looking at me and fidgeting. I saw her cheeks were slightly reddish.

“What’s wrong?” “I thought it’s time to…… you know.” “About time?” “I want you to show me that thing you’re holding. I can’t take it anymore!””

　Maki-san jumped down from the desk and approached me. 　Her agile movements startled me. I was surprised. Maki-san is an awakened person herself, so her physical abilities are extremely high.

“Maki-san!”
Tanaka-kun, show me the Shogos-kun that you….. you have with you!”
“Eeh?”

　As I let out a stupid voice, Riri came out of my breast pocket and looked at me. I’m not sure what to say. I had forgotten that I had come here to show you Riri.
　There are no other monsters friendly to humans, except for Riri, so it is only natural that Maki-san is interested in her.
　Riri’s eyes fluttered in surprise. Naturally, her eyes met those of Maki-san, who was standing right in front of me.

　Maki’s expression hardened for a moment, and then she smiled.

“Oh, well, well, well. It’s so nice to finally meet you, cutie. I’ve been waiting for the day I’d meet you for ages.”

　At the sound of her mousy voice and gaze, Riri seemed to pull back a little, “Riri…….”
　It was indeed Maki-san who could make Riri, who was always so easy-going, to pull away.

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