Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols – Chapter 544 – Noona (1)

Author: LyraDhani

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Now we’re actually getting somewhere, Assistant Manager Kim. It’s funny, isn’t it? People always leave right when they finally start becoming useful.

The system added its little remark. I didn’t disagree, so I just listened in silence. Other things were far more important than its petty commentary.

The brochure used the expression ‘fostering’ the next generation in the new business section. On the other hand, my sister’s system had asked her if she had decided on a ‘wish’. Inferring from the context, they seemed to point to the same thing, though the terminology was completely different.

Normally, you might think the concepts were different, but I believed these two meant the exact same thing.

‘The system changes its language depending on who it’s dealing with.’

If using Manager Nam’s tone was effective, it used business terminology. If approaching like a friend was better, it adopted everyday language.

They used different packaging, but the system’s objective was the same: ‘To have a deceased individual utilize their function appropriately so that they join the cycle of circulation, ensuring the species is maintained’.

An artificial sound of applause echoed from the system. It sounded like one of those recorded sound effects on a karaoke remote, meant to liven up the atmosphere.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ I call it an ‘opportunity.’ That’s a bit closer to the… intent of ‘transmitting profit to future generations through a supernatural phenomenon.’ This will probably resonate better with you, Assistant Manager Kim.

The system’s explanation continued.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ All living things are designed to prioritize survival above all else. Because of that, they focus on the present. They don’t think about the distant future. Themselves and the generation immediately following them are the extent of the territory they consider.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ It’s a given, but because of this, dramatic changes never happen. Aside from slight variations in population, wings getting a bit larger, or legs getting a bit shorter, their patterned forms don’t change. And there’s nothing more boring than watching that.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ So I came up with a hypothesis: what if we passed down something other than genetic information or instinctive behavior? Could prey become predators themselves against their predators? Could they pass something other than information about food and shelter on to future generations? What if, instead of a system where descendants merely receive what was passed down intact, we created one where they could expand upon what they inherited? And what method would be appropriate if we wanted this to apply not just to specific individuals, but to the entire species?

The questions continued endlessly. At the end of this long Q&A, the system created a suitable test subject for its curiosity:

A species placed in a position of being both predator and prey, with an average lifespan appropriate for observing generational changes, possessing the intelligence to allow for thoughts considering future generations, and capable of surviving in all regions so that samples could be reviewed across the planet—’Humanity’.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ The conditions are almost the same as other living things. I don’t intervene while they are living. I didn’t give them bonuses midway through, and I left the possibility of natural evolution open just the same. There’s only one difference.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ They can provide a one-time ‘support’ for the object of their inheritance—whether it be knowledge, information, or a warning. That is the ‘Species Preservation Function’ allocated to humanity. Haven’t you ever heard stories about an ancestor giving out lottery numbers in a dream, or a problem that wasn’t working out suddenly resolving itself one day?

They were stories common stories. There were plenty of tales about someone stepping away from a shop for a moment because they’d run out of ingredients, only for the shop to catch fire while they were gone, or about someone postponing a decision because they had a bad feeling after a dream and thereby avoiding disaster.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ As a form of welfare, all employees are allowed to use this ‘opportunity’ upon death, limited to equal relationships like sisters or brothers, or to the generations below. The idea is to achieve generational advancement.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ When a person dies, they look back on the life they’ve lived and identify what was helpful to them. Next, they designate the beneficiary to whom they will grant the ‘opportunity.’ Once they identify the beneficiary’s current state, record what kind of opportunity they want to give, and submit the Support Request, that person’s role is over. Then I, in charge of A/S, send a signal in the most ideal way at the right time. This matter ‘inevitably’ affects the beneficiary’s life. It always does.

It seemed that what my sister had been doing with ‘Friend’ earlier was reviewing her life in order to decide what to pass on. My sister wasn’t married and had no children, so I was the only possible object of inheritance.

In the end, my sister had decided on a wish. She had left the words she wanted to convey to me, just as the system said, it should have been delivered to me in a way I couldn’t possibly miss.

However, after my sister died—and furthermore, after she had submitted the Support Request—there was never any accidental luck in my life. This was a point that contradicted the system’s words that it ‘inevitably’ had an effect.

While my thoughts were stalled, the system started chattering excitedly.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ Maybe that’s why. Humans really love passing things down. The leader rarely changes, and the form of the organization is extremely rigid. In the early days, it was the head of a tribe; that developed into social status; and after the caste system was abolished, they pass down wealth or political power from generation to generation.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ It’s the same with building records to pass to the next generation, or inheriting items and keepsakes used during youth. It’s not for nothing that humanity builds libraries and museums. I heard they even do eco-friendly campaigns for their descendants these days? How interesting is it that the consciousness of having to transmit something to the next generation is engraved in their instincts?

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ I’ve gone off on a tangent. You’ll understand, Assistant Manager Kim. I haven’t had an occasion to say these things until now. This is a matter of security, after all. If it became known that phenomena appearing supernatural were actually regulated, it would be hard to obtain proper data. Consider it a special favor since Assistant Manager Kim has worked so diligently.

After rambling on for quite some time, the system finally returned to the point.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ As you saw, Kim Wonjoo finished her settlement normally and submitted the Support Request. Up to this point, there were no problems.

The system flickered slowly.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ …If only you hadn’t died right then, Assistant Manager Kim.

Just a moment ago, the system had explained that it delivered the content delegated by the deceased to the beneficiary at an appropriate time. Therefore, the system would have had to wait for me to fall asleep at least once after receiving the Support Request from my sister.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ The fact that Ms. Kim Wonjoo took so long to complete her settlement was already a problem. Still, I thought the beneficiary, Assistant Manager Kim, was young and had time to spare, so I left it alone—but then what do you know? Because you died suddenly on the day Kim Wonjoo submitted her Support Request, the documents and transmission details were all entered into the network, but processing became impossible… Honestly, what are the odds?

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ In banking terms, the money for the transfer was received, but both the sender and the receiver evaporated. It’s not like there’s some government agency we can report this to, or a national treasury we can fall back on. Things got tangled, and I mean really tangled. And since you could have survived that day normally, I couldn’t even make the excuse that it was an unavoidable situation.

[SYSTEM] A work instruction from the ‘Superior’ has arrived.

▶ If there had simply been no beneficiary, there wouldn’t have been a problem. If there was no successor, the complaint would automatically be closed. If the grantor had refused to provide an opportunity, the project would have ended immediately.

But my sister had followed every procedure the system required and, as the system had first requested of her, left transmission details to be passed on to her younger brother—me. Despite that, because my unplanned death event occurred, the system became unable to perform its mission.

Given that countless unforeseen situations could occur, the system must have established examples of disqualified cases.

Right now, for instance, since I had no family or direct descendants, I would have ended my life without obtaining the qualifications of a grantor. Or, if the person in question disliked all their juniors and claimed they didn’t particularly want to leave anything behind, it would be classified as ‘grantor’s refusal to provide opportunity’.

I did not fall into those categories of disqualification. Only then could I fully understand the meaning of the ‘Irregular’ the system had called me.

An anomalous entity that couldn’t be handled as an exception, yet absolutely had to be processed. A defect born from a flaw in the system.

No wonder it had tried so desperately to fix me.

The mystery that had been as hazy as fog was slowly being unraveled.