Has Senior Emma been back for several days?
Hearing the ordinary young man’s words, Leon was slightly taken aback and then reached out to touch the goat horn protruding from his sleeve.
Sure enough, in the soul vision of the Black Goat, Senior Emma’s slightly anxious soul was indeed lingering in her office. Her somewhat chaotic soul state seemed to suggest she was troubled by something.
Strange, since she’s been back for several days, why haven’t I heard any noise from next door? And I’ve also not seen her go back to see little Ellie?
Feeling a bit puzzled, Leon helped the ordinary young man choose an office and, after leading him to some office supplies, came to Senior Emma’s office and gently knocked on the door.
"Senior Emma, are you free now?"
Hearing the voice outside the door, Emma, who was frowning and pondering behind her desk, was slightly stunned and then flung out a bandage to turn the doorknob.
"I am free. Is there something you need to talk about?"
"It’s nothing... I just noticed you are back and came to check in on you."
Even though Leon knew Senior Emma probably needed help, since this knowledge came from peering into her soul state, he didn’t directly ask if she needed assistance but instead hinted from the side:
"Senior Emma, I heard from Anna that it’s been almost two weeks since you last visited Ellie. If you don’t have a new task immediately, why not come to my place to see her after work today?"
Hearing Leon mention her daughter, a gentle warmth crossed Emma’s face, but she quickly shook her head and declined Leon’s suggestion.
"Better not. My current state is a bit... unsuitable. It might frighten the child. It’s really not appropriate to go to your place immediately. Better wait a few days."
Leon was taken aback upon hearing this and then carefully observed her situation.
Still the familiar beige skirt suit, still the originally fair skin almost translucent like jade, even her gentle demeanor was just as before. Except for the several loops of bandages on her arms and her slightly tired eyes, there was not the slightest difference between Senior Emma now and before.
"What’s wrong? Isn’t this just fine?"
Hearing Leon’s somewhat puzzled question, it was Emma’s turn to be confused.
She turned her head to look in the mirror on the desk. Staring at the woman with a pale face, indifferent eyes, and a body exuding an intense murderous aura almost turning solid, she couldn’t help but touch her own face and asked in confusion:
"Is my murderous aura so heavy that you can’t feel it?"
Emma nodded, then, with some exhaustion, said:
"I was assigned a mission to investigate the recent upheaval at Merino County’s volcanoes and discovered it was the secret society ’Earth Essence Society’ causing mischief. They planned to forcibly detonate two volcanoes to extract metals from them.
This society’s members are not particularly strong, but they love to enslave a large number of ordinary people, driving controlled individuals into dangerous areas to help them mine.
To stop their chaos, I had to use heavy-handed justice, killing over a hundred of their members in one go, and used torture devices to subdue more than 6,000 controlled civilians."
"Ah... Well, it’s good that you stopped them from creating chaos."
After waiting a while without hearing more, Leon could only awkwardly comment and then continue to ask:
"And then, what happened next?"
Afterward... I executed over a hundred evildoers and then had to use torture devices on more than 6,000 people, using pain to help them break free from control. That’s why there’s such a heavy murderous aura around me, which may scare children!
Oh... so that’s what you meant...
After taking a fair bit of time to realize what Senior Emma was worried about, Leon showed a look of sudden enlightenment, then said somewhat sheepishly: For original chapters go to n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
"I just got back from the promotion assessment. Everyone looked brimming with murderous aura when they went for assessment, and after getting used to it, I’ve become a bit insensitive to it..."
So that’s how it is...
Upon hearing Leon’s explanation, Emma nodded knowingly and then curiously asked:
"By the way, how did your promotion assessment go? Is the qualification for the second-level Cleaner going to be awarded soon?"
The promotion assessment... Although there were some minor issues during the exam, my assessment was quite smooth... Hmm... It’s just that the whole Clean-up Bureau doesn’t seem to be going well...
"It’s okay, it’s not a big deal if you don’t promote temporarily."
Misunderstanding Leon’s strange expression, seeing him quite at a loss for words, Emma kindly refrained from asking further, instead comforting softly with her eyes:
"Don’t lose heart. With your talent and strength, you will ascend sooner or later. Even if this assessment didn’t go well, just make a greater effort at the one at the end of the year."
Make an effort again at the end of the year... That shouldn’t be possible, right? I guess it won’t even take until the end of the year; once Director of Taurus succeeds, when the headquarters is free, they’ll probably permanently ban me from taking the exam...
"Let’s not talk about this for now."
Although I didn’t plan to abide by Director of Archer’s requests to keep the happenings in the promotion exam a secret from everyone, recounting my experience of consuming all the reference Cleaners myself, then devouring the entire Demonic Soul Abyss, and my continued feats afterward doesn’t sound appealing, so Leon actively changed the subject:
"Senior Emma, have you been staying in your office these past few days because you’re waiting for the... um... murderous aura to fade?"
Looking at her "formidable appearance" in the mirror, Emma, with some dejection, said:
"I also want to see Ellie, but with the current circumstances, it’s really not suitable yet. Better wait a few more days... By the way, Leon."
Saying this, Emma raised her head to carefully observe Leon’s demeanor, with a slight hint of relief in her eyes, and said:
"It seems you’ve adapted well to the work in the bureau. Compared to when I first met you, your aura is growing more serene each time, and you’re smiling more and more. You are really doing well."
Do I seem serene to others... am I smiling more?
Hearing Emma’s compliment, Leon couldn’t help but touch his nose.
As the abnormal objects in my hand accumulate, the Contamination Value slowly rises, and my strength has advanced tremendously. By now, I’ve avenged grievances on the spot, and I generally don’t brood over things internally, which indeed makes me more peaceful than before.
As for smiling more... Do I smile often?