episode_0006

Me and Bir from Veronica’s isolation room. I stretched out loud.

“After… Now, if I meet the new Pixie one last time, today’s schedule is over.”

“Thank you for your hard work, master.”

Even though I took a long nap, it was still a tiring day. Or rather, the tension dropped because I took a nap.

I opened the heroine profile in the system window.

[Heroine profile]

Name: Leon

Height: 167cm / Difficulty level: B

Progress: 0% / Like level: 0

A new pixie, Leon, was captured last night after robbing the Skrillz gang through Operation Lion Trap.

There is not much information about Leon. It’s just that she is the owner of a gift that gives her incredible strength, that she has made a name for herself in the underworld, and that, surprisingly, she was captured without resistance.

‘Does being captured obediently mean that aggression is low? Or are they just looking for an opportunity?’

I don’t know what the intention was, but in any case, she’s not the type of heroine who only sees what’s in front of her and thinks. This type of heroine is easy to deal with at first, but it can be tricky as you have to find out what they are up to.

‘Shall I purchase strategy information?’

There are three pieces of strategy information for each heroine, providing helpful information in conquering the heroine. You have to pay points, but it’s not that expensive, so I tend to just buy it.

Leon’s progress is 0%. At this stage, only the first piece of information is available for purchase.

[Would you like to purchase Leon’s Strategy Information 1? (Price: 100p)]

[Purchase has been completed.]

– Leon was born as an orphan, kidnapped by an illegal research group and forced to become a test subject.

I have seen this past history of being forced to become an experiment subject before. Lily, a difficulty level B heroine similar to Rion. She was also a test subject for an illegal research group in the past.

‘Is there any connection between the two?’

Since this world is a game, it seems very likely that they are related, but the only way to be sure is to ask Leon himself.

However, it is clear that Rion is also greatly traumatized by this experiment. Lily also threw a fit and went on a rampage just by mentioning the ‘thread’ part of the experiment.

‘Ugh, I’m going crazy and dying again.’

If you play a game without warning, you have to worry about death.

It really sucks.

*

*

“Director, welcome.”

Manager Aegwynn greeted me at the temporary quarantine center.

“Aegwynn, how is the new recruit?”

“Does not show any special resistance and is mentally stable. Other than being malnourished, there is nothing wrong with my health.”

“Really? I’m glad you’re calm. Because it was a big deal last time…”

“Yes, that’s right. Last time… I don’t even want to think about it.”

When I say last time, I mean Karjen, the last pixie who came in before Leon, four months ago.

All pixies are assigned an isolation room after going through a temporary quarantine center. For this reason, a temporary quarantine center was created to accommodate any type of fixie in preparation for all kinds of situations. Thanks to this, it has never been breached since the management bureau was established…

Karjen remained calm for the first two hours or so. Then he became irritable, saying he was hungry and demanding food, and soon broke the temporary quarantine center, escaped, and started wreaking havoc on the management bureau.

Thanks to my hard work in retrying, casualties were reduced to zero, but several facilities suffered fatal damage and are still being restored.

At that time, the troublesome things were increasing due to the broken facilities, and since that damn bitch was killing one person a day, the rehabilitation center was empty, and it was hard to fill it again…

Thinking about it again makes me angry. I’m sure 30% of my stress is due to that crazy devil woman, Karjen.

I’ll have to think about how to punish that bitch soon.

“Ha… Did you find out anything?”

“I tried talking to him a few times, but he remained silent and no information was gained.”

“I see. Then let me talk.”

“Yes. Be careful.”

The door to the temporary quarantine center opened, and I went inside.

Inside, a new pixie, Leon, was waiting.

*

*

The temporary quarantine center is essentially a quarantine center, but the inside is extremely empty. All there is is a folding chair for me to sit on, a table, and a sturdy, thick iron chair to restrain Pixie.

And in that thick iron chair, newcomer Pixie Leone is restrained.

He has unkempt brown curly hair and sharp, cat-like eyes. Plus, he looks fierce. As befits her name, Lion, she exuded a lion-like intimidation.

I don’t know if the actual name is spelled R or L.

“Hello, I’m Siegfried. The director of the Pixie Management Bureau. Feel free to call me Zeke.”

“……”

As Aegwynn said, Leon remained silent.

“First, let me tell you what the Pixie Management Bureau does.”

Whether Leon answered or not, I began the basic explanation I always give to new pixies.

“The Pixie Management Bureau is an organization that helps people like you with dangerous powers, commonly known as pixies, to live like human beings, instead of isolating them to prevent them from disrupting social order.”

I was preparing my next line, thinking I would be silent again, but Leon opened his mouth.

“Restraining and confining people like this is a humane life… ? It’s not even funny.”

“Oh, you know how to talk.”

When I was purely surprised, Leon’s expression slightly distorted.

Either way, I continued with what I had to say.

“Well, each person has different standards for a humane life. You may not agree.”

I raised my finger and pointed at Leon.

“Then I’ll ask you the other way. Was your life before you were captured by us a humane life?”

“…….”

“Or was it the life of an animal, struggling to survive each day?”

Before being captured, Leon’s life was one of poverty itself. If you were a mercenary who was well-known in the underworld, your income would be quite good, but for some reason, Rion was poor.

A shabby shack that was leaky from the elements, clothes that looked like nothing more than a mat, tasteless and poor meals. They were literally living a slightly better standard of living than being homeless.

Maybe he was saving money for the future, but once he was caught by the Bureau, it all became meaningless.

Wow—

The sound of teeth grinding could be heard inside Leon’s tightly closed mouth.

Maybe he knew that his life was a mess, but he couldn’t really refute my words and just swallowed his frustration.

I spoke confidently to Leon.

“Actually, there is nothing much that people want. A cozy home, delicious meals, and hobbies to enjoy. Even with just this level, most people can live a satisfying life. And this is an option that the management bureau provides to pixies by default.”

Everything I said is true. The bureau’s quarantine facilities are luxurious, almost hotel-like.

A 24-pyeong isolation room with a master bedroom with a queen-size bed and a bathroom with a bathtub, three meals a day prepared by top chefs, and almost unlimited support for hobbies as long as it is legal.

Since the Bureau is forcibly isolating the pixies, they are providing them with this luxurious treatment in order to eliminate as much dissatisfaction as possible.

Of course, a huge amount of money is lost, but from the empire’s point of view, it is more profitable than the loss when they are released into society, so it is generously providing a generous budget.

“……Do you think I would be deceived by something like that?”

“Well, I was just telling you the truth.”

Do you not believe what I said? Or am I really not that interested? Leon doesn’t seem very impressed. No, in fact, it seems like they have become more alert.

“So… What are you going to do with me?”

I thought for a moment about how to answer Leon’s question.

If it were other heroines, they would have answered that they just feed her, put her to sleep, and play with her, but in the case of Rion, there is a past history of being ‘experimented’ on her.

What if I say here that I will use Leon as a ‘test subject’? Depending on the response, additional information may be obtained.

The problem is that my head is broken, but I have to endure it.

“We will learn about the source of your power. If you cooperate with a few investigations and experiments, you will experience something you have never experienced before… ”

Kaang—

Before I could finish speaking, I heard the sound of metal breaking. It was the sound of the restraints that were restraining Leon’s body being broken.

Soon her fist flew. I managed to dodge to the side, but I was swept away by the shock wave and fell to the ground.

“Holy Sheep… ”

When I looked back, I saw a large hole in the thick wall of the temporary quarantine center. One punch from Rion didn’t hit him directly, but just a shock wave.

‘Was this really possible?’

As if he expected me to avoid him, Rion came over to me, sat down on me, and put his hand around my neck.

“Answer what I ask. Do you know a boy who looks like me named Roddy?”

Eyes with more desperation than murderous intent. Mentioning that it was a boy who looked like him. With just this information, we could tell that Roddy was Leon’s younger brother.

Also, since he only asked about the experiment after mentioning it, it is presumed that Roddy was also experimented with Rion.

“Rodi… I think I’ve heard that name…”

“Where is it!? Don’t hesitate and answer right away!”

“Ugh… ”

As soon as my hand gained strength, my neck tightened and I felt great pain.

“Blow everything you know! Unless you want to die.”

“Keuuk… Here… does not exist… different… Where… ”

“Speak quickly!”

No, I want to speak quickly, but how can I speak when my throat is being strangled.

Rion must have realized that fact too late, and quickly withdrew his hand.

“Heo Eok… Wow… Cluck cluck… ”

Only then was he finally able to breathe, and he let out rough breaths to stabilize his breathing. Then I thought about how to take advantage of this situation.

“After… Yeah, Roddy. I remember. Of course, I saw it at the research center where the Granat project is being carried out.”

Granat Project. This is the name of the experiment that Lily underwent. How will Leon react when he hears this name?

“Those scumbags… still… ?”

bingo. It’s a very good response.

This confirms that Rion is from the same research institute as Lily.

“So, where is the lab now!?”

“Molu.”

“Are you kidding me!? I heard you saw it in the lab!”

“You seem to have trouble understanding the current situation.”

“….what?”

“Isn’t it strange? Why is no one intervening in this situation?”

Leon looked around. Before we knew it, the Bureau’s security forces were surrounding the two of us. But no one intervened and just watched.

And although she might not have discovered it, there was also Vir waiting on top of the building, ready to pounce at any time.

“Ha… Of course, that’s because I’m holding you hostage.”

“Oh, really? So what if you do this?”

I made eye contact with Aegwynn and nodded. Then Aegwynn gave an order to the security unit.

“Everyone withdraw!”

The unit was scattered in perfect order, and when they saw that, they had no choice but to retreat.

Eventually, only Leon and I were left alone, and Leon spoke as if he couldn’t understand the situation.

“……What are you doing? Do you think I’ll save you because of this?”

“No. People dying isn’t a very good spectacle.”

“Ha! Are you saying you’re going to kill me now!?”

“No. Why did I kill you?”

I pointed my finger to my forehead.

“here. Finish it with one shot. Cleanly.”

“…..what… ? What is this now… ?”

“Oh, I didn’t ask about this.”

I asked Leon, who had lost his composure in embarrassment.

“Do you know test subject number 28?”

“……”

“Hmm. Good answer.”

Leon didn’t answer, but his expression said it all.

“Okay, finish.”

“Wait a minute, what do you mean you end things on your own?! Answer where the lab is!”

“I don’t know either? In the first place, the whereabouts of the guy named Roddy I mentioned earlier are all lies. I don’t know anything.”

“……”

Leon’s eyes became empty. This is probably because the clue to my brother’s whereabouts has disappeared again.

“Well, don’t worry too much. At least I won’t be suffering like you. Because it would have been searched quickly.”

“Haha… … Crazy guy.”

At the obvious provocation, Leon let out a laugh.

And I thought as I saw her fist raised high, coming toward my face.

‘How many meters long will a hole be drilled in the ground? It would have been nice to at least show me a death cam after searching.’

bang-

[Game over. Restart from the last save point.]