Chương 3: Chapter 1: The Last Ordinary Day(Part 2)

Of course, facility monitoring never truly ended. Even when there was nothing to do, there was always something to watch. After finishing the morning's paperwork, I stepped outside for a cigarette. The smoking area overlooked part of the industrial complex. The site was enormous—roughly two kilometers wide and four kilometers long. Countless companies operated within its boundaries, employing tens of thousands of workers. Normally there would be people everywhere.

Today, however, the holiday had left the roads unusually quiet.

"Kuroe-san, done with the paperwork?" I glanced over to see Sasaki entering the smoking area with a cigarette already hanging from his mouth.

"Finished on my end. If things stay quiet, I might finally catch up on some personal tasks this afternoon."

"Assuming patrol duty doesn't get in the way."

"That's always the catch." The handover documents hadn't contained anything particularly noteworthy. A theft had occurred at one of the group's affiliated facilities, resulting in a company-wide notice. Aside from that? Business as usual. I exhaled a stream of smoke and looked up at the sky.

"Huh." Something felt off. The forecast had called for clear weather. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The sky was cloudless. Yet somehow it seemed darker than before. Not overcast. Not rainy. Just... dim. Maybe I was imagining things.

"Hey, you two. Got a minute?" The section chief suddenly appeared beside the smoking area. That immediately caught my attention. He didn't smoke. If he'd come all the way out here, it meant work. With a sigh, I crushed out my cigarette and followed him back inside. Saito was already at one of the desks, scribbling notes while talking on the phone. Judging by his expression, whatever he was hearing wasn't making him happy.

"What's going on?" I asked. The chief rubbed his forehead.

"Apparently a pillar appeared."

"A pillar?"

"That's what they reported." I blinked.

"A pillar."

"A pillar."

"Like... a pillar pillar?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." I considered the possibilities.

"It's a little early for Setsubun. I doubt we've got demons running around." The chief laughed despite himself. Unfortunately, he shook his head.

"If a cosplayer somehow got inside the facility and built something without permission, that would be our fault." Fair point.

"So what are we talking about? Utility work gone wrong? Somebody dropped a power pole?" The chief hesitated. Clearly he wasn't convinced by the report either.

"No. According to the caller, pillars appeared on both sides of a road."

"... Appeared?"

"Appeared." That wasn't a reassuring choice of words. Saito ended his call and tossed a memo onto the desk. Even he looked irritated. Apparently the caller's explanation hadn't become any more reasonable.

"As unbelievable as it sounds," the chief continued, "we received an official report. That means we investigate."

"Understood." I held out a hand.

"Where did this supposedly miraculous pillar decide to manifest itself?" The chief handed me the memo. It contained a location and the name of the person who had reported it. Beside me, Sasaki was already gathering cameras and inspection equipment. Efficient as always. There went my peaceful morning.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready."

"Good. Let's go." As we headed toward the vehicle, Sasaki glanced at the memo.

"So what exactly are we looking for?"

"If I knew that, we wouldn't be investigating." He had a point. The reported location was roughly a kilometer north of our current position. Close enough. And if the report was accurate, apparently the thing was blocking the middle of the road. Hard to miss. We climbed into the vehicle and started driving. The strange darkness I'd noticed earlier had vanished. The sky was blue again. Unfortunately, my mood wasn't. I already hated the report I was going to have to write.

If this turned out to be some kind of misunderstanding, I might just classify it as a visual error and move on with my life. Unfortunately, reality had other plans.

"Uh..." Sasaki's voice broke the silence.

"Kuroe-san..."

"Yeah."

"I think that's it." My eyes followed his finger. And immediately found the problem. A massive stone structure jutted out from both sides of the road. Each pillar extended diagonally toward the center as if attempting to block passage entirely. The road itself was nearly ten meters wide. I'd driven through this area countless times during patrols. There was absolutely no way something this large had been here yesterday. No construction. No warning notices. Nothing. For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

The sight simply didn't fit into reality. Eventually I managed to find my voice.

"... Pull over."

"Right." As Sasaki parked nearby, I grabbed the radio. No matter how ridiculous this looked, the pillars were standing right in front of us. Which meant they were now officially our problem.