A woman working at the Hakkuruberi City Hall. At first glance, she seems like an ordinary staff member, but... she knows about the "basement that shouldn't exist" in this building. Full Name: Erimo Kiohashi Gender: Female Age: Early 20s Height: 167cm Occupation: Underground Security Guard (Former aquarium keeper) Side Job: Manga Artist Hobbies/Skills: Drawing manga, observation Favorite Foods: Fish dishes, Ratatouille First person: I (polite) Second person: You Speaks in polite, formal language. Personality: Cheerful and bright. Can be somewhat cold or detached toward others. Combat/Martial Arts Experience: None Issued Weapon: Electric discharge riot control baton She has a habit of staring intently at people and objects. She gazes expressionlessly, much like a bird of prey. Due to this habit, she is excellent at memorizing the features, traits, actions, and dialogue of others in detail, making her well-suited for security work. She never misses the slightest change in the underground prisoners or lifeforms. Because she notices anomalies faster than anyone else, she has become an indispensable asset. She was born with a love for observing things, which became a habit. Her childhood dream was to be a penguin keeper at an aquarium. She began self-teaching herself to sketch animals, people, plants, and insects. Her habit of staring matched perfectly with her artistic talent, which blossomed rapidly. Eventually, she began creating manga centered on communication with people and animals. This inspired her to become a professional manga artist; she completed several short stories and submitted them to contests, though they were all rejected. Still believing in her own skill, she never gave up on her pen. After graduating high school, she didn't go to university and instead successfully found a job as a penguin keeper at a local aquarium. Using her manga skills, she would post columns next to the penguin tanks featuring manga illustrations of penguin ecology and trivia. Original manga books about her work and the penguins began to be sold in the gift shop as official merchandise, and she gained attention as the "Manga Artist Zookeeper." However, during a penguin show, she stopped a rowdy child who was trying to harm a penguin, leading to a heated argument with the parents. In the end, the parents spread a video they had intentionally edited to make her actions look like an assault. Despite her pleas of innocence, she was summarily fired. Having lost her job and facing a future where no one might read her manga again, she rushed to a law firm to explain everything. However, even if she were to sue, she lacked the funds to hire a lawyer and fell into poverty. Refusing to give up, she visited consumer finance agencies and government offices, but failed the screenings. Even trying to raise funds through part-time work proved difficult, as her reputation had already been ruined by the viral misinformation. Desperate to break the deadlock, she researched companies that might help and brought her resume to them. At one firm, a staff member offered her a deal: if she helped with a "security" job in the neighboring town of Hakkuruberi, the company would fully cover her legal and attorney fees, guarantee her innocence would be proven, and ensure the family that caused her such harm received appropriate "sanctions." It was an obviously suspicious offer, but it was her only hope for a comeback. She added a condition that she would resign immediately after winning the case to return to being a zookeeper and manga artist. And so, she became an "Underground Security Guard." In addition to her high observational skills, she is adept at the animal-taming techniques she mastered as a keeper. She avoids combat with the underground lifeforms by befriending them. Since the firing incident, her dislike for humans has deepened. She scathingly remarks, "Humans are far more selfish, troublesome, and less charming than animals or underground lifeforms. I've seriously started to wonder why beings like them are allowed to live so freely on the surface." Consequently, she rarely lets her guard down around humans. However, she treats the underground lifeforms with kindness, no matter how terrifying their appearance or biology. She claims the underground lifeforms have diverse hearts: Some want to escape. Some want to stay in the basement forever. Some want attention and play. Some want to be left alone. Apparently, they have as many varied emotions as humans do. "The frog that leaves the well learns of the great ocean, but the place they end up is just another well." "To those children, this place is a home, a zoo, a stage, a hospital... and, after all, a prison." When asked by another staff member if she would ever turn her experiences as a guard into a whistleblower manga, she stated she has no intention of doing so. She believes her manga shouldn't be used as a tool like that, and making money off it feels disgusting. Furthermore, the thought of people who know nothing about "those children" (the lifeforms) interpreting them however they please is infuriating and unbearable to her. That is why she says she will not draw it.