Otaku Translation: I! Anomaly Cleansing Agent! C44

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The old Leon would have risen early in the dead of winter, when frostbite nipped at cheeks until they turned blue, tirelessly seeking work without complaint. The chill of late autumn should have been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. But after growing accustomed to the warm, sweet-scented little tent where he'd spent so many cozy hours, simply being deprived of its comforting hearth was enough to make him tremble uncontrollably. He broke into a jog as soon as he left the stall, only stopping once he reached the vicinity of the Cleansing Bureau building, gasping for breath.

"Not bad, not bad at all! Full of energy, aren't you?"

From the window of the chief’s office on the first floor, a red-haired woman holding a steaming cup of water watched Leon approach. She pushed open the half-closed window, leaning her curvaceous figure casually against the sill. With an inviting smile and twinkling eyes, she waved him over.

"Little Leon~ How did your investigation at the Waterworks Company go? Did you find anything… abnormal?"

"…"

Though he knew she was teasing him, her question wasn’t about whether he’d found something abnormal—it was about whether he’d secured evidence of illegal operations at the Waterworks Company. Still, thoughts of the golden-haired middle-aged man from the Lion family—the one who had come into contact with the heart of the black goat—caused Leon’s expression to falter ever so slightly.

"Hmm?"

The sharp-eyed chief immediately caught his hesitation. Her playful grin faded, replaced by a look of mild surprise. "Is there really some trace of an anomaly at the Waterworks Company?"

"…"

You guessed it… But though there is indeed an anomaly there, it’s not what’s causing the mass illnesses. It’s one of the seven lost remnants of the black goat’s remains—a piece left behind after its legendary rampage.

Granted, the black goat may be long gone now, but back in the day, it was still considered a Greater Demon. And here I am, a rookie fresh out of training. Would the Cleansing Bureau really allow me to keep two dangerous demonic artifacts under my care?

"Hmm???"

Leon’s second bout of hesitation didn’t escape the chief’s notice either. This time, her smile vanished entirely, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You’re hesitating about reporting this to me. So whatever this anomaly is, it must be special—and useful to you personally. But if you report it, you might not get permission to keep it, right? Let me think… Could it be that what you found at the Waterworks Company is another missing part of that dead goat’s body?"

"…"

Not even a single word has left my mouth yet!

Staring at the red-haired woman who had pieced together nearly the entire truth based solely on two fleeting moments of hesitation, Leon—who had intended to say something—fell silent once again.

This is insane… Does she have some kind of mind-reading artifact or something?

"Relax, I don’t read minds."

Oh, so you don’t read minds, huh? Then why does it feel like you just heard every thought in my head?!

Leon visibly flinched, his eyes wide with alarm. The red-haired chief couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

"I’m serious; I don’t read minds."

Placing her steaming cup on the windowsill, she rested her cheek on her hand and explained with an amused smile:

"In the past, I used to play hide-and-seek with Contaminated Individuals hiding among ordinary people. Over time, I got pretty good at reading expressions and behaviors. And you, well… let’s just say your emotions are written all over your face. It’s pure coincidence that I happened to guess correctly a few times in a row."

"…"

I’ll believe that when pigs fly!

Leon didn’t buy a single word of her explanation. Though he wasn’t exactly known for his poker face, he prided himself on keeping his feelings relatively contained. The neighbors in Veteran’s Alley often described him as quiet and reserved. How could someone possibly guess his thoughts so accurately multiple times in a row?

She’s definitely pulling my leg!

"Really, I’m not lying to you. Your expressions may be subtle, but your eyes—they’re practically overflowing with information."

She glanced at Leon, whose inner turmoil was betrayed by the flicker of frustration in his gaze despite his best efforts to maintain a stoic facade. Smirking, she pointed a finger at him.

"For instance, right now… I see annoyance at having been figured out, suspicion about whether I truly possess mind-reading abilities, relief that you no longer need to try hiding things from me… Oh, and just a hint of barely suppressed lust."

Glancing down at her neckline, which had loosened slightly due to her leaning forward, she adjusted it modestly before stretching lazily. Turning back to Leon, who looked increasingly uncomfortable, she beckoned him with a crooked finger.

"Come to my office. Let’s talk properly."

"…"

…

"So that’s how it is… The heart of the black goat ended up in the Lion family, huh?"

Having listened attentively to Leon’s account of his findings at the Waterworks Company, the red-haired chief nodded thoughtfully. Without missing a beat, she promptly assigned him a new task.

"Something of this magnitude can’t be ignored. We need to investigate further. As for the pretext…"

Her eyes lit up as she studied Leon’s features, and a mischievous grin spread across her face.

"How about searching for relatives?"

"Searching for relatives?"

"Yes, searching for relatives! You happen to share the same surname as the Lions. Isn’t that the perfect excuse?"

Faced with Leon’s incredulous stare, the chief continued cheerfully:

"Just show them your credentials from the Cleansing Bureau and claim you suspect you might have Lion blood in you. Given your promising future—you became an assistant-level public official at sixteen or seventeen—even the illustrious Duke of Lionheart wouldn’t dare turn you away."

"But my hair isn’t golden…"

"Pfft! That’s easy! Just dye it!"

"But I was planning to report them for misconduct…"

"One thing doesn’t cancel out the other! They’re unrelated!"

"…"

"If you absolutely refuse, I suppose I could assign you a different mission."

Seeing that Leon still seemed reluctant, the chief—who was clearly enjoying herself—suddenly adopted a stern expression. Pulling a stack of assignment files from her desk drawer, she spread them out dramatically across the table.

"Two weeks of bloody rain in Bovary Forest. Nearly a thousand animals died of thirst near the water source."

"A five-meter-tall beast wreaking havoc at Adolf Manor, injuring several farmers."

"Massive shipwrecks at Lion County’s seaport, likely attacked by a large tribe of underwater sea folk."

"The coal mine in Muddy River Valley collapsed on a massive scale, suspected to be hollowed out by tens of thousands of sand worms."

"These are the only missions you stand a chance of completing. Take your pick!"

"…"

Strange blood rains, towering beasts, aquatic tribes, and sand worms capable of devouring entire mountainsides…

With a resigned sigh, Leon reluctantly made his choice:

"I’ll… go search for relatives…"

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