Chapter 71

– ……, …! ……!
A shouting voice woke me up.
The darkness of the nighttime streets was gone. The painted wooden ceiling. The feel of a hard mat against my back. The smell of disinfectant.
The epiphany came naturally to Kim.
This was still somewhere on Polaris. With no idea where I was going, my vision growing increasingly blurry, I continued to run on the rails, guided only by the map in my mind…….
‘I’m thinking all these stupid things. It’s been over a year already.’
It was a sentiment I had graduated from long ago. At some point, I started thinking about how I could get through an episode rather than waking up frustrated.
I’ve come to terms with it, but the reason I’m having second thoughts today is because the process of blacking out was different. This time, I blacked out against my will.
Once in a while, but only once.
There were times when I thought, “If I die, will I go back?
With a lighthearted sense of “it’s a game, after all”.
“Now that I think about it, that must have been glitchy.
Eventually, you’ll have to shut up and run. If you want to survive.
– It’s ……, and you probably didn’t even think about it.
Kim’s eyes squeeze shut and open. Her hazy consciousness comes to life. The pain still lingers in her body. Her limbs feel heavy, like cotton soaked in water.
It’s not immobilizing. I can feel my back, which was the worst affected. Call it luck, or maybe the blue water did something to heal him.
– You’d better be ready, because if he doesn’t wake up, he’s not going to let up. You’re lucky I’m here. If only Mr. Asterique were here…!
“There, that was loud.”
Someone was yelling at me from the other side of the door. No, I knew who it was. It was the same person who routinely yelled at me. Though more venomous than usual.
“…… as soon as I wake up, wow.”
On the right side of the bed, a man sighed. The white-skinned Castus. It was Karam, the spy from Cellbrox Labs who had made contact with Kim.
“You’re in better shape than I thought. What do you remember?”
“Done. I have a pretty good idea of what happened after I spread.”
“Then I won’t bother explaining. It’s pretty much what you’d expect.”
I remember the interior of this place. On an operation, the safe house is usually the first stop for the operatives. On this occasion, we parked the helicopter and switched to the vehicle for a ride and maintenance.
“You breezed through the checkpoint.”
“I got out of there as soon as I spotted you. If I’d been any later, I’d have been in for a nasty surprise.”
I wonder if they escaped before the commotion in the border towns reached the checkpoints, but even so, it’s a mystery.
“They let the injured man go without a word?”
“It’s not strange. In this day and age, if you have a wounded Minos, you’d think he was assaulted by a Pekatum, not a terrorist. It’s not even a case.”
As long as the victim is a Minoan, they have no obligation to investigate. It would be a relief to Pekatum if he could get a good beating and get out of the country. Of course, it’s also thanks to Karam’s good work.
Kim was grateful, but he pondered the word he’d just heard. Terrorist. It couldn’t have been a coincidence, which meant that Karam must have learned Ainoa’s identity as well.
‘Did Chelsea hear about it.
You don’t need to ask them directly. If you’ve heard it, you can confirm it with Kushan, and if you haven’t, you can move on.
“What happened to Turkham?”
“The reserve agent, well, he’s not dead. I wouldn’t say he’s healthy, but he’s not mortally wounded, and they probably intended to capture him alive. I don’t know who you guys were fighting-”
Boom!
The door swung open, ready to fly. He heard the echo of words from inside the room. I peeked my head in the direction of the door and saw Chelsea walking, almost running.
Chelsea looks down at Kim as she approaches. She opens and closes her bruised lips, but doesn’t speak. The gaze was uncomfortable, so Kim spoke first.
“Well, how’s your injury?”
“……Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”
“No, why, because something weird happens every time I take you out.”
“Of course, my boss does nothing but weird things.”
It is.
I know how crazy he must be to be around. Just as everyone around him is getting used to Kim’s crazy behavior, he’s getting used to it himself, and he doesn’t care what others think.
As I was stumbling over my response, Chelsea spoke up.
“Sorry.”
“What?”
“Honestly, I was useless.”
His expression was distorted, in contrast to his calm tone. His scattered hair and lung-like skeleton were normally unremarkable, but now his mood was distinctly sullen.
“If Mr. Asterique was here, it wouldn’t be like this. I can’t be like him, and I’ve been like that since the beginning. There’s really nothing I can do but complain and complain and complain…….”
The more I talk, the redder my eyes get.
Since the day Kim went to visit Chelsea, there have been several events. From the beginning, Kim almost died, and Chelsea felt nothing but resentment.
Why you should hang out with them. I don’t want to get in trouble. I don’t want to get involved in a bunch of bullshit and get killed. …….
It’s different now.
When I thought she was going to die, and now that I know she’s okay. I was so emotional that I snorted. It became that kind of relationship.
“I’m dumber than you, I’m a weak subject compared to Mr. Asterike, I’m unmotivated, and I don’t even know what else to do here.”
He rubbed the corners of his eyes with his hands. Kim glared at Karam. Karam noticed the stare and stood up, leaving the room with a look that said, “You suck.
“Uh, hmm.
Kim remained silent, choosing his words. She couldn’t think of anything to say. A heartfelt consolation? There was no way Chelsea, with her twisted personality, would listen to a younger, more soothing person.
“Let’s just say it works.
Personally, I wanted Chelsea to go at their own pace. In Kim’s opinion, Astericke is too dependent on him, and he doesn’t want Chelsea to be the same way.
“I have no advice.
Naturally, there are limitations. Chelsea could try for 100 years and still not beat Negreanu from the front. He just doesn’t specialize in the first place.
In the end, it was the commander’s mistake. I don’t know what kind of confidence he had in his own ability to organize his forces based on the idea that they would be unstable but manageable.
There was only one thing I could say.
“What’s next. No such thing.”
We need to get back to basics. One wrong step and someone dies, whether it’s you or your teammates. This time, we were lucky.
“I’m sober now. I don’t make mistakes.”
“You’re not going to just go along to get along?”
“I can’t come this far.”
Don’t be underprepared. There is such a thing as too much.
By the way.
“By the way, how long are you going to talk about that boss?”
“Wasn’t that supposed to work?”
“I don’t think so. It’s good to have a consistent nomenclature.”
“Well, what the hell.”
I grimace, my face still wet. Chelsea pouted her lips, just like a moment ago. After a long pause, she scratched her head vigorously.
“Never mind, later. I’ll take it slow.”
“What’s the big deal?”
“It’s awkward, and I hate this.”
“I know and I don’t know, you.”
There was a chapter that neither Kim nor Chelsea brought up.
Chelsea was the only one who remained conscious until the very end. She saw the beginning and the end of the battle, every move. Only they knew why they survived.
Kim’s left hand twitched beneath the quilt covering his body. His five senses were normal and his body was in perfect control, but only the back of his left hand felt foreign.
[mutation rate 14.1704%].
* * *
In Kim’s opinion, the occasional messages were quite arbitrary. She couldn’t figure out the criteria for when they appeared, except for when her agent rating increased.
“No, and so is the rating increase.
Twice so far. When you kill Shedore and Snowfield, respectively, you’re told that the character is dead and that the scenario has been twisted.
“It’s not the death itself, but the magnitude of the deed.
In addition to the two, dead characters were far and wide. White Fang’s Mei, who would have been an agent of the Rap, Darui, who should have been in the Atlanta event at some point, and now Negrum are dead.
But there was no message.
“In other words, it’s not too soon to be reassured.
Whoever’s calling the shots, the importance of the Bastitera Civil War can’t be underestimated. If so, the death of a hitman or two is not enough to prevent its destruction.
Ainoa is still a gurgling creature. The sunfish, who doesn’t know when he’s going to scream, asks Kim when he wakes up.
“Me, me. Are you okay?”
“Not bad. You? You’re a pickle.”
“What? Oh, I’m… yeah.”
Avoiding eye contact and dropping your head. She’s openly embarrassed. Suddenly, I remembered the scolding I’d heard earlier, and I looked at Chelsea, and I was filled with a feeling of disgust.
“Looks like you’ve been blowing off some steam.
It was a natural conflict. Kim concluded that he was being flippant, but to Chelsea, Ainoa was just baggage, and the circumstances of the attack were pretty suspicious.
We had a story to tell, all of it.
“Who looked at the status?”
“It’s me.”
Karam, sipping rum on the couch, said.
“A liquid spewed out of an ear accessory, which was analyzed and found to be non-toxic in itself. Not even a paralyzing agent. It was more of a sensitizing agent.”
“But why?”
“He’s got a parasite inside of him, one that’s normally calm, but one move can cause him enough pain to knock him unconscious. It reacts violently to certain ingredients, and sometimes, like in this case, it’s used as a latent poison.”
“Huh,” Kim exclaimed.
“I know all about that.”
“…I only know what I know. I had a life of my own before I became a spy, and I’m in charge of the medications here.”
I mutter to myself that I’m glad I have a corner to utilize. A character who wasn’t even mentioned in the game. Kim couldn’t help but feel unexpected.
“I’m done explaining, would it be better if I walked away?”
“No, thanks.”
I didn’t feel like celebrating.
I took a sip of water and relayed the policy.
“For now, we’re going back to the laps. As soon as Turkam gets up, we’re going to go.”
“Wise. It’s best to stay out of Bastitera. I know the Raps don’t like quarrels, but it’s too far away for them to get into trouble.”
“…….”
Ainoa chewed her lip. She no longer considered Kim’s predictions of the future to be mere fantasy. Soon, Bastitera would be ablaze with flames.
If Cellbrox Labs pulls out, Ainoa is on her own. Even if she returns to the planet and proves herself safe, what can she do in her short life?
I could only see a future where I would be killed.
“I can’t do that, it’s not even close.”
Ainoa glanced at Kim, who quickly denied it.
“I’m not going to kick you out like this, I’m just going to take a quick trip. I’m calling in reinforcements and taking care of some business.”
The way he said it, his demeanor was resolute. Even in the few minutes since she’d seen him get back up from the ground, Ainoa had sensed something in him that was hard to deny.
His eyes shot out like iron.
“If that thing on your neck wasn’t an ornament, you would have noticed.”
“Moo, what do you mean?”
“Which asshole betrayed you.”
It wasn’t sudden.
It didn’t take a parasite rhyme to figure it out, and I realized right then and there: how the assassin had learned his location and who had helped him do it.
– It’s small, but accept it.
– As close to me as these earrings, no, even closer, I will honor you, Ainoa, and I will repay you with a lifetime of service.
– Happy seventeenth birthday, Ainoa.
A word overlaid the kind words.
“Kill with your own hands.”