Episode 4
“I came in here because there’s someone I want to kill.”
A chill ran down my spine as Felix said this with a smile. His stark white hair and deep green eyes…
Maybe because I knew he was the Marquis of Magnolia, he looked completely different from the A-888 I had known before. I knew he had infiltrated the Arsen Laboratory. But I had no idea he had done it as an A-rank. The fact that he had infiltrated had only been mentioned briefly and wasn’t treated as important.
I didn’t even know whether he had found and killed the person he was looking for.
“That person smells just as good as your blood.”
The blood that had been flowing from my fingertips trickled down the back of his hand. I was scared by the way it fell to the floor, spreading outward in a round pattern.
“Why… would you say something like that…?”
“Exactly.”
He took the hand he had been holding with a smile and brought it close to his face, as if smelling it. Fear made me pull my hand away.
“Don’t joke around.”
“Hahaha.”
I felt a little relieved as he stepped back, smiling.
–Beep!
“A-702, A-888.”
The researcher, who would normally have seemed terrifying, now felt strangely welcoming.
“Yes! A-702!”
“Yes. A-888.”
“Once you’re done, move on to the next lab.”
“Yes!”
“Yes.”
Although my hand was injured, the chores that needed doing could easily take an entire day.
Even until lunchtime, time passed quickly.
Fortunately, Felix didn’t do any of those strange things again after that.
“A-702, assigned meal received.”
“Next.”
“A-100, assigned meal received.”
“Next….”
As it was time to meet Calisten again, I felt a strange sense of anticipation.
“You there, A-702.”
“Yes! A-702!”
I straightened my shoulders and stood immediately as the researcher called. Then he handed me a key, which I took with my free hand, not holding the tray.
“You’ll need this.”
“Thank you.”
I wasn’t particularly grateful, but if I didn’t say thank you when receiving something, there could be retaliation.
I unconsciously looked toward the room where Calisten was.
Perhaps Calisten wasn’t a bad person—maybe he was just awkward in expressing himself. I tried to think positively. Thinking I only had 14 days left to live, all that mattered was doing what I could to survive.
–Beeeeeep!
The doors opened simultaneously, and I realized he looked even worse than when he had arrived that morning.
We all walked forward in unison, and I followed the line into the designated room. As I entered, Z-999, Calisten opened his eyes.
This time, he had a gag in his mouth. The key I had received before entering must have been for this.
On the tray were a few pills, corn soup, dry baguette, apple jam on the verge of drying out, and bacon so greasy it made me question if it was even pork.
“Hello?”
Since he had killed Aselia for not smiling, I decided I would smile whenever we met.
When I greeted him with a smile, he glared at me coldly.
I placed the tray nearby and inserted the key into the hole by his mouth. When I turned it, it clicked and fell to the floor.
“You.”
“Yeah.”
“Your cheek.”
Apparently, he was concerned that I had been slapped because of him.
“It’s fine. I’m used to this kind of thing.”
I added that to ease his worry, and his expression changed subtly. He seemed completely unaware of his own appearance.
Calisten looked miserable. His entire body was bound, and the “stimulation” from the morning’s experiment had apparently caused physical pain.
“Hey, Z-999.”
“….”
“Can I wipe your face?”
He glared again. Then, lowering his gaze slightly, I felt as if a cat had granted permission. I poured some water onto a dry cloth I had brought.
“If I don’t eat, why would you get in trouble?”
“Uh… that’s just how it is. If you’re hurt, it’s my fault.”
“The ones who hurt me the most say things like that?”
“You’re hurt, Z-999.”
As Calisten looked at me like I was some kind of oddity, fear made me almost look away. I had noticed before that Calisten expressed a lot through his eyes. And when it was a feeling of discomfort or anger… it was unsettling.
“You know, Z-999, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Nonsense.”
“Yeah, nonsense. Just ignore it.”
Then I wiped the dried blood from his face. There were dark stains near his ears, which the healing esper had patched up roughly.
Since he was quiet, I could wipe his entire face. His bright red eyes followed me anxiously, but I ignored it and continued.
“Now you can eat.”
His glare had softened enough that I could make eye contact, so I smiled at him.
“Step back.”
“Ah, okay.”
He seemed uncomfortable being too close, so I took a half-step back. I knelt and placed the tray on my knees. I stirred the corn soup with the spoon I had brought and offered it to him.
He sighed deeply and ate it as if he had no choice.
“Ugh…”
“Hot?”
“…Yeah.”
I blew on the next spoonful before offering it. He looked curious, then ate it quietly. Z-ranks had their hands bound behind them when they caused trouble, so they couldn’t do much.
“You.”
“My name’s Aselia.”
“A-702.”
“Yeah.”
“If I leave this, will I get scolded every time?”
“Yes. Don’t worry about it. I often did that in the previous room too…”
“Other rooms too?”
When I nodded, he made a strange face, as if deeply displeased.
“I didn’t know.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t know.”
His voice, like an excuse, sounded good to me, so I asked again. In the original story, he probably ate whatever was given.
But if I were too scared of him to even look at him and just offered food, I would be gruesomely killed.
“Will you eat properly from now on?”
He didn’t answer but made eye contact. I reflexively smiled, and he frowned. I couldn’t give in to that. With 14 days left to live, there was nothing I couldn’t smile through.
I offered the soup again, and he ate it like a subdued cat.
After he finished the soup, I spread apple jam on the dry baguette. When I handed it to him, he made a disgusted face, frowning so deeply his brows furrowed.
“You don’t like apple jam?”
“….”
Seeing him frown, I withdrew it and then he looked at my cheek, sighed deeply, and ate it.
The bread was so tough and dry that biting it was a struggle, and chewing made a rubbery sound. Of course, his expression was not pleased regardless.
I placed the bacon on the remaining slice. He seemed to hate the greasy smell the most. His expression turned despairing, and he looked at me.
I smiled reassuringly, and he looked at my cheek again.
My cheek still throbbed, but by now, the swelling had probably gone down.
He reluctantly bit into it.
“Ugh…”
“Not tasty?”
He didn’t answer, forcing himself to chew. The bread was stiff, and the meat greasy.
Calisten barely suppressed the urge to vomit and swallowed it all.
“Thanks, Z-999.”
Now all that remained was giving him the pills, which was the hardest part.
I wasn’t sure why some of the pills resembled those from my previous life, but they seemed to be a mix of vitamins, sleeping pills, and a sedative unique to this place.
Calisten was now at the start of his first-stage awakening. Perhaps they wanted to accustom him to sedatives in advance.
Awakenings could reach a third stage, each with distinct steps. The first awakening supposedly had five stages.
“Hey, Z-999.”
“….”
“It’s better to only take these. This is a sleeping pill, this is a sedative… since you haven’t awakened yet, taking this will make you dizzy and weak. And this, absolutely do not take.”
I held up something that looked like pentothal sodium.
“This is a truth serum.”
He stared at me blankly, as if dazed.
“You.”
“Huh?”
“You smell… strange.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked at me like he was drunk, then rested his head on my shoulder.
“Ah….”
Even though Calisten’s arms were bound behind him, I couldn’t move because of the way he looked at me. I felt like a herbivore caught by a predator.
“What… is this smell?”
Suddenly, the wound on my hand from when I was with Felix seemed to sting.
