Six, having dried her tears, led directly to her parents' ho. It was a rare experience to accompany a coworker who still had living parents—let alone ones they were on good terms with. The situation felt oddly formal, like attending a eting between in-laws. Shaking off irrelevant thoughts, I retrieved the pills from my pocket—the recognition-altering pills capable of allowing Six’s parents to perceive her existence.
When she saw the pills, Six’s expression hardened as she looked at .
“Do you really think sothing like that can make them recognize ?”
“The impressive part isn’t the pill itself, but the technology that went into creating it. Think of it like a smartphone.”
“Aha...”
Smartphones, the pinnacle of 21st-century technology, were light-years ahead of computers from just half a century earlier. A device that could fit in your pocket now had the computational power of an entire building-sized ENIAC. If we tried to replicate a smartphone’s capabilities using 1940s technology, it would take an entire city—maybe even a country—to house such a machine. In other words, impossible.
“But that’s not the point. It’s not about how impressive the pill is, but about the impact it has.”
“...True, I suppose.”
“Are you confident in your speaking skills? Because I’m not.”
“Do I look like I’d be?”
“Okay, then. Take off that suit for now and stay hidden. I’ll call you when it’s ti.”
Although Six looked at as though I were insane, she eventually nodded and deactivated the suit’s specialized device. While I could still see her perfectly fine, no one else—including her parents—would be able to perceive her.
Clearing my throat, I approached the house where her parents lived. Despite being the ho of the parents of a high-ranking officer in the Evilus Corporation, it was an unassuming villa that didn’t scream wealth or privilege.
Knocking on the door, I waited for a response.
[...Who is it?]
“I’m from the Evilus Corporation. May I co in to discuss sothing?”
[Evilus Corporation? What do they want...?]
“I have a lengthy explanation, but may I co inside to discuss it?”
Her mother hesitated before cautiously opening the door. Likely, my clean-cut suit and professional deanor helped her feel at ease. People are quick to judge based on appearances, after all.
Once inside, I followed her to the table and cleared my throat again. Without any pleasantries, she got straight to the point.
“You said you’re from the Evilus Corporation. Why are you here?”
“Ah, I apologize for the late introduction. Here’s my card.”
I handed her a business card—a fake one, crafted with the boss’s approval. While it identified as a mber of Evilus, the claim wasn’t entirely untrue. Her mother inspected the card, glancing between it and with suspicion.
“And why is soone from Evilus at my house?”
“Congratulations! You’ve been selected for a special pension program run by the Evilus Corporation. I’m here to introduce it to you.”
“What? A pension program? We never applied for anything like that...”
“Our selection criteria are confidential.”
“There are others who need this more than we do.”
“Don’t worry. We’re assisting everyone who qualifies.”
“Ah, I see...”
Her mother seed confused but intrigued. Humans are easily swayed when there’s sothing to gain. Having confird my credentials, she rushed to the kitchen to fetch drinks. I noticed her discreetly checking the card’s authenticity, but I wasn’t worried. After all, the corporation could vouch for if she called.
When she returned, she brought two glasses of orange juice, smiling warmly.
“You’re not allergic to oranges, are you?”
“Not at all. Thank you.”
This was my chance. I gestured to Six, signaling her to drop the pill into her mother’s drink. At first, Six stared blankly at her mother, but she quickly caught on and slipped the pill into the glass. The pill dissolved, fizzing slightly, but her mother didn’t notice as Six still held the glass. Once the fizzing subsided, Six quietly set the drink on the table and took a seat beside .
Despite the chair scraping against the floor and a small cloud of dust rising, her mother remained oblivious to Six’s presence.
“I’m not sure we deserve this kind of support...”
“Please don’t worry. This program is designed for people like you.”
“I see... thank you.”
Her mother took a sip of the juice, and that was it. The pill began its work. A mont later, her mother grabbed her head as if disoriented.
“Ugh...?”
When she looked up again, her eyes locked on Six. She blinked, astonished.
“...Shiz?”
“Mom.”
“Wait, you’re here? No, where have you been all this ti? I—oh, I need to call your father...”
Decades of nurturing her child, followed by years of forgetting her, had clearly left a scar. The shock of suddenly rembering her daughter was beyond words.
I watched as Six wept openly, embracing her mother, who cried just as hard. Knowing I no longer belonged in that mont, I quietly excused myself and stepped outside.
Looking up at the darkened sky, I thought about parents.
‘Parents, huh...’
I had parents too, of course. But did I miss them enough to weep or burn everything down to see them? Not really. I cared for them but not to the point of obsession. I could empathize with my coworkers’ familial bonds, but my own feelings were far more subdued.
‘So her real na is Shiz,’ I mused, locking the mory of Six’s true na away in my mind as I returned to headquarters.
“Hello, everyone! Evilus’ sixth executive, Six, reporting in!”
“Six—!”
At the second executive eting that month, I administered the recognition pills to the gathered executives. Finally, everyone could perceive Six. Those who had known her previously chuckled awkwardly, realizing how strange it was to have completely forgotten her.
“What the...? How could I have forgotten you entirely?”
“Well, my ability evolved so much that the entire world forgot about !”
“So... you’ve been alone all this ti?”
“Yes! But this fine gentleman here helped fix it!”
Six pointed at , and the room turned to stare. Their expressions seed to say, What did you do this ti? I simply shrugged. By now, they were used to my antics.
“Well, Six, I hear you have sothing to say?”
“Ah, yes! That’s right!”
“Is this your official welco back? Should we throw a party?”
Regalia smiled, but there was sothing she didn’t know. Even while forgotten, Six had continued working like the professional she was. Her salary had never stopped, and neither had her missions.
“Boss, I’ve completed the task you assigned .”
“...What?”
“You told to investigate all the corporations in 25 cities. It took a while, but it’s done!”
With that, she slamd a box full of docunts onto the table, grinning.
“Will there be a bonus for this?”
Regalia glanced at the papers, her eyes gleaming.
“If you want, I’ll give you half the world.”
That’s when I realized what the docunts contained—information Regalia had desperately been searching for.
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