Episode 6
**“You’re late.”**
The person who had been waiting beyond the door was No. Z‑898.
Alexis Rainier — an esper with enhanced physical abilities.
The one who had found out that I was a woman.
He looked at me with curiosity, then stepped back.
“S‑sorry I’m late.”
“Name.”
“I’m A‑702!”
“Name.”
“…Pardon?”
“Your name.”
Hesitating, wondering whether I was allowed to say it, I finally spoke.
“Ah… Aselia.”
“Aaaseelia?”
“It’s Aselia.”
“Right.”
Once Alexis learned my name, he seemed to lose interest and stopped asking questions. Even though it was night, his private training room was as bright as day. Lights as bright as LEDs were installed everywhere.
Because of that, the stars were barely visible through the glass ceiling.
“That.”
“Yes.”
I took an item out of the bag I’d brought. Important training was done either alone or with researchers present. What I was assisting with now was clearly *personal* training.
The worst X‑grade subjects often used “training” as an excuse to kill defective ones.
Here, whether A‑grade or Z‑grade, causing trouble meant being reclassified as X‑grade. X‑grades were further divided into X, XX, and XXX — and once you reached XXX, one more mistake meant disposal.
Killing defective subjects alone didn’t earn an X‑grade.
You were marked X only if you failed an outside mission or killed researchers.
Then why was Callisten still Z‑grade?
“Aselia.”
“Ah—Z‑898! I’m sorry!”
Startled after drifting off in thought, I straightened up. He had walked far away, then closed the distance in an instant.
“Hold that properly.”
“…Yes.”
What I was holding was a gun.
I could roughly guess what kind of training this would be.
He was a physical‑enhancement esper.
That meant the methods weren’t very diverse.
“Shoot when you feel like it.”
This crude training method had been designed by the researchers.
If he pushed his enhancement ability to its peak, he could deflect bullets with his bare hands. But that was only possible for trained espers. Not everyone could control their abilities from the start.
“Yes… I’ll shoot.”
I raised the muzzle toward him, preparing to fire.
Even if it was training, it was still a gun.
It was heavy — heavier than most dumbbells. And what if he failed to activate his ability in time and actually got hit?
Why did it have to be me…? There were plenty of other enhancement trainees.
“Ugh…”
But if I didn’t shoot, I’d anger Alexis. And if that happened, he might tell the researchers that I was a woman.
Then I’d be disposed of.
After finally managing to talk a little with Callisten, I couldn’t die like this.
Unable to aim directly at him, I deliberately pointed the gun far off to the side. Then I squeezed my eyes shut and placed my finger on the trigger.
I tried to calm my breathing, even though it wouldn’t steady.
And then—
*Click.*
“Huh?”
“Oh. Right.”
He darted back over to me at incredible speed and rummaged through the bag on the floor. With a clatter, he pulled out a small square box and handed it to me.
“Bullets.”
“Ah…”
The problem was—I didn’t know how to load a gun.
Not wanting to upset him, I opened the box. The bullets spilled out onto the floor with a loud clatter.
“Ah…!”
He just stared blankly at them. Panicking, I hurried to pick them up, afraid he’d get angry.
*Click.*
A dry sound came from the empty gun as I crouched — I’d pulled the trigger again.
“You just blew my head off while sitting down.”
“I—I’m sorry…”
His expression, previously blank, softened slightly. When I looked at him, it shifted into a smile.
When emotionless espers smiled, it was never a good sign.
“Do you know how to load it?”
“…No.”
He looked even more amused.
He reached out a hand toward me. Not knowing what he wanted, I clutched both the gun and the bullets and took his hand.
“Pfft…”
“Ah…”
Alexis was strange. Wasn’t he asking for the gun?
“You’re supposed to give me the gun.”
“Oh… I’m sorry…”
Embarrassed, I tried to pull my hand back, but he held onto it. I applied a little strength, but couldn’t pull free.
When I looked up at him in panic, he was still wearing that same smile.
“Alexis.”
“…Yes?”
“My name is Alexis.”
“Yes…”
He tightened his grip slightly. It didn’t hurt, but his gaze made it hard to lift my head.
“You know, I’m going to kill all the brats in this place.”
“…What?”
“You too. And those trash researchers over there. I’ll turn this whole facility into ashes.”
“Ah…”
My body trembled before I could stop it.
“I won’t kill you until then, though. So stop backing away.”
“…Yes…”
He was smiling brightly, but his eyes looked broken. My head felt dizzy from the tension.
It seemed there wasn’t a single sane person in this place.
“Now, shoot.”
“…Yes.”
When he let go, I fumbled with the gun again. I still didn’t know where to put the bullets, so all I managed was make clattering noises.
Alexis just watched without any intention of helping.
Suddenly, he felt huge — like a bear — and it became hard to focus.
My hands kept shaking, and I had no idea where the bullets were supposed to go.
“Aselia.”
“Yes—yes…?”
“Try calling me Alexis.”
“Ah… Alexis‑nim…”
“Do it as a woman.”
Startled, I looked up at him. He was wearing that same smiling expression.
So he really did know.
“Ah…!”
“Can I lift your clothes?”
“Ah—th-that… I—I’m a w‑woman…”
“You were definitely a woman back then. But now you’re a man. I just want to check.”
“Ah…”
When I looked away, he met my eyes again, coaxing.
“If it’s a body‑transformation ability, it should be Y‑grade or higher, right?”
Cold sweat broke out as he pressed me with questions. Lying wouldn’t help — but fear and instinct made the words stick in my throat.
“I won’t kill you until I destroy the lab. I promise.”
“…Ugh…”
Tears spilled out before I could stop them.
Either way, he was still talking about killing me.
I’d finally gotten a little closer to Callisten, and now another dangerous man appeared.
In my past life, I’d died as a lab slave. And now, in this life, I was a defective subject.
All the resentment I’d buried suddenly burst out. Being defective was bad enough — but being the only woman in a lab full of men? Why couldn’t I have ended up in one of the all‑female facilities?
“Hic….”
If only my mind had been female but my body fully male, none of this would’ve happened.
“Are you crying?”
I shook my head, but my breathing betrayed me.
“You’re crying.”
Perhaps fascinated, he forcibly pulled my arms away from where I’d curled up and stared at my face, as if watching a performance. The humiliation and sorrow piled up until my emotions overflowed.
“What’s your name when you’re a woman?”
“…h‑hic… ngh…”
“Aselia, so… Celia?”
I bit my lip and held my breath to keep from making a sound. Then he lowered his arm and brushed my cheek with his hand.
“Go back to being a woman. Then I’ll let you go today.”
“Ah…”
“If you lie and say I was mistaken—”
“….”
“I’ll twist your neck off right now.”
He said something so horrific so casually that my crying stopped instantly.
The shame vanished in a flash. This wasn’t someone I could cry in front of. What use was a deer’s tears before a lion?
I steadied my ragged breathing and spoke.
“P‑please… turn around.”
“Okay.”
He obediently turned his back.
In thirteen days, Callisten would destroy the lab anyway. This man would die then too.
So I just had to keep the secret for thirteen days. Less than two weeks. And in the original story, he definitely died.
He was one of those who charged in like a moth to a flame once Callisten awakened.
I slowly closed my eyes, then opened them again. The sky was still pitch‑black, the lights still blinding. This was the private training room of a fully awakened top‑rank esper.
A place even researchers couldn’t enter freely.
Thinking that, I took off the necklace.
In an instant, my hair lengthened and spilled over my shoulders. Despite being washed roughly with soap, it flowed softly, cascading over my chest like ripples.
I tucked the necklace into the pocket of my lab uniform and said,
“Done.”
He turned around to look at me.
With an expression like he’d just seen something unbelievable.
