Episode 5
*”What is that scent?”*
I was startled when Calisten buried his face against my neck and looked up at him. Our eyes met. His blood-red eyes looked like a predator’s, making my body tense up completely.
*‘Even the person I want to kill smells as good as you.’*
Felix’s words seemed to echo in my head, and I instinctively hesitated and stepped back.
For a moment, Calisten’s eyes, which seemed a little unhinged, flickered with madness.
—BEEEEEEP!
Just as he was about to approach me, the door opened.
“Ah…”
He seemed to snap out of his trance at the ringing, though he still looked somewhat flustered.
“…Go.”
“Huh?”
“Leave.”
“Ah… okay… see you tonight.”
I gathered my tray while watching him lower his head. Somehow, seeing his ears flush bright red made me think that being close to someone else might embarrass him.
I carried the tray out and had to line up again.
Calisten kept his head bowed, seemingly determined never to raise it.
“A-702.”
“Yes! A-702!”
The researcher glanced at my tray and frowned at how perfectly Calisten had finished his meal.
Come to think of it, this wasn’t the same researcher who always checked us at the front. His hair was red today, unlike the brown hair of the usual researcher.
“Damn bastard. He kills people but can still eat?”
He clearly said it so Calisten could hear. Flustered, I lowered my gaze. Then the researcher patted my shoulder and said,
“Be careful. That guy… he can kill and still smile.”
“Ah… th-thank… thank you…”
The researcher smirked crookedly and went off to inspect the other trays.
The blood on Calisten… could have been from the researcher whose cheek he had struck.
I raised my head briefly, feeling Calisten’s gaze on me, but quickly looked down again. I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Everything in the lab was bad, but the shower facilities were good. Each stall was private, so you could wash completely independently.
I had to wear my necklace while showering, so I couldn’t be seen. Protecting my identity was important, but I also didn’t want to see the bodies of other men.
Perhaps, if Calisten hadn’t been so resistant, we might have met in the shower.
Surprisingly, A-rank inmates showered first. They were obedient and didn’t resist.
Higher ranks tended to be more rebellious and violent.
Water fell from a blue orb above, like a sunflower showerhead I had seen in my past life.
I waited a moment, then cold water started dripping down.
“Ugh…”
After checking that the door behind me was properly closed, I took off my necklace and placed it nearby. My original body had returned, and even in the mirror, my appearance gave me confidence.
Even if I looked a little worn now, with clean clothes and some grooming, I was strikingly beautiful—someone people would notice.
I lathered my hair as it fell over my shoulders. Here, they didn’t even provide shampoo. At least there was soap.
I gathered all my hair to the front and washed it like laundry. The cold water made me groan involuntarily. When I was a man, my hair had been short and groomed. But as a woman, my hair had grown long, down to my hips.
Removing the necklace also changed my voice, so I had to stay silent.
Cold water hit my head and chest, dripping to my feet. My feet were freezing. My body shivered uncontrollably, teeth chattering, but I didn’t want to skip washing.
After daily cold showers, I seemed to have adapted a bit.
Thankfully, once a week, there was sometimes hot water. The higher ranks always had hot water.
“Phew…”
After washing, the water stopped. I squeezed my hair dry and put the necklace back on. My hair was short again, but my body still shivered, making it hard to walk.
I had to roughly dry myself with a towel. Uniforms were distributed at the entrance anyway.
When I stepped out, moans came from others still showering. As I looked around, I bumped into something.
“Ugh…!”
I fell on my butt, hitting my tailbone with a thud, but it soon felt fine. I looked up to see who I had bumped into.
He had bright red hair and piercing blue eyes. He stared at me impassively. His rank and number on his shoulder read:
Z-898.
He was already an activated esper, mentioned a few times in the original story.
“Ah, I’m… sorry…”
He stared at me, then placed a large towel over my head. I panicked, fearing he might hit me, but realized my necklace had come off. I quickly put it back on and removed the towel—he was gone.
“Ah…”
He must have seen that I was a woman.
Why was a Z-rank present during A-rank shower time?
It didn’t matter. It had already happened.
What would happen if he told another researcher? Would I be discarded?
The thought made me tremble even more than the cold shower.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
It was time to bring dinner to Calisten. I placed food on his tray and approached him.
Maybe because my identity had been revealed, I couldn’t focus.
I felt like a cow in the market, trembling at the thought of an impending death sentence. Strange—no tears came, just a sense of unreality mixed with despair over what could happen.
Z-898 had physical enhancement abilities. His Z-rank meant he was top-tier.
It made me realize how strong Calisten was.
Even though he ate meals tied up in front of me, he was stronger than all the espers here.
He could burn down the lab and erase all traces without a trace.
I remembered Z-898 because he had fought Calisten. No matter how strong his body was, Calisten could make anything in his sight explode. He had survived longer than other espers, but it was no use.
“Hey.”
“Ah…”
He spoke first while I sat dumbly with the tray.
“Z-999.”
“….”
“Sorry. I’ll feed you now.”
He scooped some watery porridge and offered it to Calisten.
“Ugh…”
“Ah! Sorry! It’s hot!”
Realizing it was hot, I touched Calisten’s lips instinctively, but he turned away in discomfort, which made me feel guilty.
“Hey.”
“My name’s Ascelia.”
“A-702.”
“Yeah.”
He sighed, looking at me.
“What are you thinking?”
“…Nothing.”
Calisten frowned, maybe offended by my words. Feeling his deadly gaze, I stepped back slightly. He glared even harder.
“Hey, Z-999.”
“….”
“Why are you angry?”
He twisted his lips and sighed.
“You…”
“Yeah.”
“You got scared because of what the researcher said earlier.”
“Huh?”
He looked a little different now. I remembered he had killed a researcher before.
But in the original story, he first killed someone when destroying the lab, I think.
“I trust you. If you did it, there must have been a reason.”
“I didn’t kill him.”
“Huh?”
“I took care of him, but didn’t kill him.”
He stared at me with eyes cleared of malice, though his eyes seemed slightly red.
“You probably won’t believe me. You can leave if you want.”
“No… I trust you. I like Z-999. I’ve said it before—I really like you. I want us to get along.”
He no longer glared at me. Feeding him dinner became easier.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
After dinner, it was usually free time, but I was summoned under the pretext of helping higher-ranked espers with physical training.
“A-702.”
“Yes, A-702!”
“You’ve been assigned by a Z-rank, so follow orders. Don’t get on their nerves and risk being discarded.”
“Ah… yes!”
A-ranks did a lot of chores. Often, being summoned for training was to be used as expendable labor. If they accidentally killed someone using their abilities, it would be a waste of higher ranks.
“Take this with you.”
“Yes!”
I grabbed the bag the researcher handed me and went to the designated place: a private training room for higher ranks.
The problem began when I opened the door.
“You’re late.”
Inside waited Z-898: Alexis Rainier, the one with physical enhancement. The person who had seen I was a woman.
