Chapter 57
The Adventure Is Over.
"So... You don't have any memories of what happened?"
James asked again as if he wanted to confirm.
According to what James said, I guess I saved someone or went outside while I was here.
Of course, I don't remember doing that.
I also didn't know why I did that.
The last thing I remember is.
"Uh... I remember something flying at me like a missile and I blew it away."
"Not something like a missile, it was a missile."
"I see~"
"Huh. You speak so calmly."
Even if he say that, somehow it doesn't seem to make sense.
Me having the power to summon a city-sized mirror and send a missile flying to another world.
If I had to do it again, would I be able to do it? I can never do that.
...Maybe.
"I'm sorry, but I have no idea about my condition or my strength. I only know that I have become a complete devil. On the contrary, I think those of you who have watched me for so long would know better."
"If you want information, I'll tell you. However, you must promise me one thing."
At that time, a woman dressed as a researcher next to James took a step closer to me and talked.
Thinking that she must be someone related to this organization, I asked her.
"What?"
"You will belong to the Institution and submit to its control. And you will only use your power for the benefit of humanity."
That's grand.
I answered immediately.
"No."
At those words, the female researcher frowned slightly.
From the Institution's point of view, this would naturally be an unpleasant situation.
But I don't like it.
She spoke to me in a higher tone of voice than before.
"That's like saying you won't cooperate with the Institution.
The freedom guaranteed will be minimal, and it will become difficult to provide good treatment.
Are you the type of devil who wants to harm humanity?"
Tsk. It's extreme.
This almost sounds like a threat.
However, I felt that she lacked the charisma to be that intimidating.
I confidently laid out my thoughts.
"I have no particular desire to hurt people. But I have no intention of following like a slave the orders of an unknown organization or an unspecified number of people I don't know if I can trust."
"..."
"For the sake of humanity? If you tell a passerby to only use their power for humanity, who will follow that? Should I look at them like I'm looking at a crazy person? It is clear that in the name of humanity, they will force me to make an infinite dedication that even other people are reluctant to make. So, it would be a big mistake to think that I will accept without hesitation."
"...Actually, it's an offer that any normal person would reject. My thinking was short."
Surprisingly, she agreed easily.
I felt embarrassed for being so sharp to her, so I spoke in a softer tone.
"Well, I understand."
Seeing me like that, James shook his head in disapproval.
Still, he was smiling slightly.
"She's... So easy."
"What...?"
The female researcher answered my question as if she had been waiting for it.
"The Institution wants isolates that can communicate normally.
Fortunately, you don't lie casually and your way of thinking is similar to that of humans.
I think I now know a bit about your personality."
"Did you test me?"
"Yes."
I remembered that in the past, Maria had figured out my way of thinking using a similar pattern.
I was once told that I'm an idiot if I fell for the same trick twice, which made me feel bad.
"I hate you."
"I feel unfair."
"Please don't hate me too much."
She took a contract out of the drawer.
A contract is not a forced oath but a minimum procedure to obtain a certain degree of mutual consent.
Interesting. What kind of suggestion would she make?
"Now, my suggestion to you is that you do not go out without notice. As long as you follow these guidelines, you will be allowed to go outside with the Institution's permission and we will grant your wishes as much as possible.
If you want to enjoy more freedom, you can do what the organization asks you to do. Of course, there is also the right to recuse."
For an organization that captures and traps anomalous beings to offer me this, it's is a very peaceful offer.
I hate being offered freedom, but I have to make some concessions.
What? You think I'm weird for accepting an offer that basically involves having my freedom unilaterally controlled?
I'll make it less weird by saying this.
These guys are a bunch of assholes.
I spoke in a calm tone.
"...Okay. It's not bad."
She smiled brightly at my answer.
"Please sign here."
"It's not an unfair contract that agrees to something like a radical experiment, right? Or make me fight a strange monster?"
I want to avoid becoming a victim of VS play as much as possible.
I feel like I would die.
"That's considered a favor, and you don't have to do it if you don't want to."
"So you're saying you're going to do it. Well, it doesn't matter because I can just say no."
"Great. D-888. We're more like colleagues now, so I'll call you by your first name when we have private conversations in the future."
A name.
I have already died once and my original name has no meaning.
We've already seen the end of Ella.
I think I need a new name.
I pulled out the one name that shined most strongly in my head.
"Alice. Call me Alice."
"Is as expected? You were mumbling that name even before you came to your senses."
"Really?"
"Yes! First of all, since we are in a cooperative relationship, let's shake hands."
She offered me her hand. I held it.
"Please take care of me. I'm Carol, the new head of the lab."
"I'm Alice."
...
"That black half-sphere is the overlap. It's a superposition of your world and our world. Well, it sounds grand, but it's just the size of a small city."
Carol said as she played a video while asking people to get rid of the clutter of programs that were taking up most of their large computer screens.
It looked like a black sphere swallowing a city.
They say it was created when the strange world I was in and the outside overlapped, and it looked like this from the other side. There was a reason why a missile flew out of nowhere.
It looks very dangerous.
"That overlap began to be visible to the naked eye an hour before the nuclear missile was launched. Also, people's fears, disturbing thoughts, and stories began to disappear and be absorbed into that place. The staff of the Institution and the former head of the lab became complacent due to fear, so they hastily launched a nuclear missile and you appeared, swallowing the nuclear missile with a huge mirror. It was Alice. Really. I thought the Institution had some defenses against psychological attacks, but it turns out that it only resists erosion, contamination, and destruction, but is not immune to being taken away."
"..."
"It seems like you have a lot of questions. Anyway, when we met... "
Why are you trailing off?
"When we met?"
"We brought you here because you were sleeping."
"What the hell."
I thought you got into a battle with me, who was irrational.
"It was cute."
"Noisy."
"That's cruel. There are many other stories besides this."
After hearing various stories from Carol, I returned to the isolation room.
While I was in the laboratory director's office for a short while, the room had completely changed.
Cute dolls and fluffy furniture.
The walls decorated with colorful patterns made me dizzy.
"Do you like it?"
"...I'm not a girl, James."
"I'm sorry. Was it too childish for the lady? I can change it if you want."
That's not what I meant.
"It's okay."
Fluffy.
The bed is comfortable.
I read the document James gave me while chewing the candy next to me.
Rustle.
"You're calmer than I thought. I thought you would be anxious, so I stayed next to you."
"What should I say... I don't even know if I have that much power.
It's hard to imagine the scale of the Institution, so it doesn't hit home? That's the kind of feeling I have.
I just stopped thinking about it. Ah. Thank you for your consideration. Thanks to you, I feel better."
Rustle.
Ha-rim. Eun-jeong. Suho. Kyeong-min. Everyone is safe.
That's good.
The faces didn't change at all.
It seems like not much time has passed.
James asked me carefully as I was concentrating on the document.
"...Don't you miss those kids?"
Rustle. Rustle.
"Not really."
"You say that, you can't take your eyes off the children's photos."
The hand that was turning the pages stops.
"...Finally. These children have returned to their normal lives."
"..."
"There is no danger anymore. They will regain peace and live a normal life like everyone else. Yes. That's their ending. That's how the children's story ended. I have no intention of forcibly lifting the curtain of the finished stage and bringing in the actors. Because I alone am enough. Besides, even if I come to them looking like this, they probably won't recognize me. Does it matter since you erased their memories in the first place?"
"Are you okay with that?"
"Yes. I'm okay."
The adventure is over.
Pain. ;-;
Guys, I swear I’ll fix all grammar mistakes, I saw your comments. I’m just feeling lazy right now.
As always, any errors just say, and I hope you liked reading it.
—Chi
WARNING: THIS IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATION, I CHANGED SOME WORDS, PUNCTUATIONS AND THE FORMATTING TO WHAT I BELIEVE MAKES IT FLOW BETTER WHILE TRYING TO FAITHFULLY MAINTAIN THE AUTHOR’S MEANING.
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