Everyone walking the streets was dressed up so beautifully it was almost intoxicating.

This is a modern society at the height of peace. The faces I pass, the clothes I see—every single one is polished to perfection, as if competing to be above average. Even the reflection off the asphalt feels orderly, creating the illusion that 'filth' never existed in this world to begin with.

"Hey, look at that. Isn't that Karen, the anchor from ZZTV?" "You're right. She's even prettier in person than on TV."

I turned my gaze toward the high-pitched cheers coming from the cafe's terrace seats.

She was certainly beautiful. Makeup refined by professional skill, a meticulously calculated hairstyle, and an outfit sporting the latest trends. No matter how you looked at it, she was the perfect 'idol from across the screen.' Anchor Karen was, as always, a dazzlingly normal human.

However, my gaze was fixed on the figure next to her—no, on the 'other shadow' looking down at her and the surrounding crowd with a quiet but overwhelming presence.

The one I admire is there. From the neck up, a rigid, wooden, monstrous head—a combination of an old vermilion torii gate and a silent little shrine.

No matter how much they dress up, the humans walking around possess living flesh. They sweat, they emit body odor, and their raw biological functions pulse beneath that thin layer of skin. I know that for someone like me to call them 'filthy' would be the ultimate insult to society. I understand it in my head, but my heart rejects it. No matter how beautifully they paint the surface, if I take one step closer—no, even without looking closely—the 'rawness' inside them bleeds through.

In contrast, how noble and beautiful that object-headed being is. The cold elegance radiating from that inorganic head was the only salvation in this boring, smelling world.

Yes. I hated the creatures known as humans from the bottom of my heart. That is why I watch only you, the noble 'Object-Headed One' who is not human, from a distance like this.