Ch.169Big Gun! (2)

#169

“Blegh, bleeeegh.”

“You okay?”

“I’m! Fine, urp. See? Bleeeegh.”

Jesse, wearing a headband covered with mechanical devices, was clutching the bathroom wall and retching, while Dexter patted his back with a pitying expression.

“Haah, seriously, now I understand what it feels like when people say they’re going to throw up from studying too much.”

“I didn’t know it would be this physically literal either.”

“Jesse, are you okay?”

“Just let me wash my face and rinse my mouth…”

As Dexter came out of the bathroom, Himena, who had been waiting outside, looked at Jesse with worried eyes.

“I thought the learning device wasn’t supposed to cause any physical problems?”

“This is my first time seeing it used on an Earthling too.”

“You should have tested it first… no, you probably would have just endured it anyway.”

“What do you take me for?”

“Hmm, a Terminator?”

“Well, well. Looking at me like I’m some killing machine.”

Jesse emerged from the bathroom with a haggard face and immediately sat back down at the desk in the bedroom.

“Why don’t you take it easy?”

“No way. I’m going to finish all the basic engineering courses by the end of this week.”

With those words, Jesse began watching a lecture video featuring a reptilian alien on the monitor while studying an alien engineering textbook.

Seeing Jesse, who was usually so energetic, staring blankly at the monitor with unfocused eyes, Himena grabbed Dexter’s arm and shook it as if she couldn’t bear to watch.

“Don’t you feel sorry for him?”

“Why should I stop something he chose to do?”

“You can be so cold-hearted sometimes.”

“The device temporarily activates the brain, but the side effects get redirected to other parts of the body instead of the brain, which is why this happens. There’s only one way to solve this.”

“What is it?”

“Nanobots.”

“Then just give him one.”

“You think nanobots just appear out of nowhere? Medical nanobots are quite expensive even in space, and they need to be custom-made for each body type, so a doctor specializing in nanobots would have to come here personally.”

To get to a hospital with a nanobot specialist, they would need to send Jesse to another planet, and for an Earthling to leave Earth for another planet would take quite some time, even for an OSA employee.

Conversely, to invite a nanobot specialist to Earth would require bringing all their specialized equipment, which would take about as much time as sending Jesse to another planet.

“I’ve already talked to Eliya about commissioning nanobots for all four of us including Judy, but even he doesn’t know when they’ll arrive.”

“What? You were already preparing for this?”

“Why would I keep something this good just for myself? Of course we should all benefit.”

While Himena looked at Dexter a bit differently after hearing he had already been thinking about nanobots, she still felt sorry seeing Jesse studying with such an exhausted appearance.

“I still feel terrible for Jesse. He looks like a Korean high school student.”

“Why a Korean high school student?”

“I heard they study from 9 in the morning until 10 at night. And that’s not enough, so they take private lessons too.”

“What a crazy country.”

Dexter shook his head while watching Jesse’s hand moving the pen without rest.

“But why is he studying so hard?”

“Because he wants to stand by Dexter’s side?”

Emily, who had somehow attached herself to Dexter’s back, glanced at Jesse and said.

“What does standing by my side have to do with studying?”

“He said he feels sorry for not being able to help much during the Orbis Corporation infiltration.”

“What? He helped plenty! What more could he have done?”

“I don’t know that much. But whenever he gets off work early, he’s always studying like that.”

Emily continued her explanation, but Dexter still couldn’t understand.

“Right, Jesse did well… was there something that bothered him?”

“I’m worried he might be pushing himself too hard. Emily, keep an eye on him and carry him to the table when it’s time to eat.”

“I will.”

Just as Dexter turned to head to the kitchen, his phone rang in his pocket.

[Caller: Eliya]

Dexter immediately picked up the phone.

“Hello.”

-Greetings. Have you been well?

“Not bad, but is there something wrong with the learning device? Jesse keeps throwing up or getting nosebleeds.”

-That’s brain overload, can’t be helped. If you don’t like it, nanobots need to heal him.

“What about the nanobot doctor?”

-How many people do you think are willing to make a house call to Earth? I found a couple, but their skills aren’t that great.

“At this rate someone’s going to die, so send someone as quickly as possible.”

-My, how terribly concerned you are about your woman.

As Eliya spoke in a pleased voice, Dexter bared his teeth.

“Never mind that. How are the former Crown Prince Stefan and his wife doing?”

-When the former Crown Prince Stefan arrived, the Emperor of the Gaijin Empire cried his eyes out, and the nobles and knights around him cried too, turning the place into a sea of tears.

“Well, he is his son after all.”

-The problem is that his sister, Crown Princess Victoria, slapped Stefan’s face.

“Why?”

-Apparently because he dared to step down from the crown prince position and try to pass on the throne without consulting her.

“That’s ridiculous. So what happened?”

-Stefan has returned to the crown prince position. He’s no longer the former crown prince, but Crown Prince Stefan now.

Dexter expressed his irritation at the absurd situation.

“And he just accepted it? Is being crown prince like a sticker that you can take off and put back on?”

-It might be easier to understand if you think there was ‘some’ help from Tenpenny Corporation.

“This bastard, did you bribe the nobles again?”

-Tut-tut, it’s investment. Investment. Anyway, I think you don’t need to worry too much about Stefan and his wife.

“The state of that planet is ridiculous.”

Dexter shook his head, thinking he might have ruined a perfectly fine planet because of himself.

“I almost forgot the most important thing. What’s happening with Vulcanus?”

-Vulcanus? Vulcanus… just a moment.

Soon, the sound of something being rummaged through came from the speaker, followed by the noise of something crashing down.

-Oh, damn it. It’ll take some time to find the documents, so I’ll call you back later.

“Ah, okay.”

As Eliya answered in a troubled voice, Dexter immediately hung up.

Himena, who had been sitting on the sofa curious about the conversation, casually asked.

“What did he say?”

“He’ll let us know about Vulcanus soon, and Stefan has been reinstated as crown prince. Oh, and the nanobots will take some time.”

“Is there anything Eliya doesn’t know?”

“That guy? He knows everything related to money.”

Soon the phone rang again, and Dexter answered.

-Do you have any siblings?

“That’s random. Don’t you remember when I first started working with you?”

-Yes, I still remember. ‘I’m an only child and an orphan, so if I die right now, no one would remember me.’ That was quite an immature statement.

“If you know that, why are you asking?”

-If you want to easily purchase any item, you need to go to Planet Phothos. There was a place that focused on buying unsold miscellaneous stones from the Phothos auction house.

“Miscellaneous stones?”

-Not ordinary stones, but items that were auctioned off when the mining company you worked for went bankrupt. It seems they remained unsold until recently.

Hearing this, Dexter frowned.

“There were still items from that company? Well, let’s say there were. So?”

-While Vulcanus is rare, it’s useless if you don’t know its purpose. Since it kept going unsold, it seems the auction house just sold it off.

“Don’t tell me there was Vulcanus in those stones?”

-When I asked the staff, they said there was a considerable amount of purple-colored stones.

“Ah, that’s definitely Vulcanus. But how did you find out that Vulcanus kept going unsold?”

-I’m not entirely sure about that myself. Anyway, the auction items were briefly on a nearby planet before disappearing without a trace. That was three months ago.

“Well, well. Did Stefan and his wife know anything about this?”

-Ah, do you think Stefan and his wife transported Vulcanus to where you are? I hadn’t thought of that… I’ll look into it.

“Yeah, do that. Thanks for your hard work.”

They now knew how Vulcanus had leaked out, and the rest would be to resume experiments after getting permission at the bureau meeting.

Dexter briefly explained to Himena how Vulcanus had made its way to Earth, adding that this information should also be shared at the bureau meeting, to which Himena replied.

“The meeting results are important, but I wonder how it will go. Will they really approve experiments using Negative?”

“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll have to attend the meeting.”

“You? Or me?”

“Me, of course. And it would be good to have one or two people who can advocate for the Negative experiments.”

Despite Dexter’s reputation within the OSA, he knew very few agents or executive-level staff.

In this regard, Himena needed to step up, and after thinking for a moment, she held up three fingers and said.

“There are exactly three people in the bureau who would help us.”

Himena wore a confident expression.

* * *

An incredibly tense atmosphere in the meeting room.

Himena, standing outside the meeting room, was anxious, while Dexter, observing the bureau meeting inside, wore a grave expression.

“What could they possibly be discussing that’s making him react like that…?”

Since entering the meeting room, Dexter had gradually lost his smile, and eventually ended up just nodding with a stiff expression like now.

Not knowing the situation inside, Himena felt frustrated.

Eventually, the meeting ended, and all the bureau executives came out, with some of them looking at Himena with disapproval or showing obvious dislike.

Finally, as Dexter emerged from the meeting room, Himena, curious about the outcome, rushed to him.

“What happened? How did it go? Why do you look like that? Tell me quickly!”

Dexter sighed deeply and said with a gloomy expression.

“Well, the meeting result is…”

“Don’t tell me they rejected it? We can’t do the experiment?”

Himena placed her hand on Dexter’s chest, genuinely concerned.

“They said we can do the experiment.”

With those words, Dexter completely changed his expression and grinned.

“But not today. The director wants to observe the experiment tomorrow.”

“Wait, what? Then why did you look like that earlier?”

“Well, if I walked around grinning because my experiment proposal was approved in front of the executives, I’d look pathetic… Himena, hey! Stop kicking!”

“Dexter, you jerk! I was so worried thinking the experiment wasn’t approved!”

As Himena started kicking wildly, Dexter dodged backward while laughing.

“Stop hitting me now, and let’s go tell the science and technology department people. We can do the experiment.”

“Just you wait, Dexter. I’ll pay you back for all these pranks someday.”

“Strange, I’m not scared at all.”

As the two bickered and left the meeting room, someone emerged from a spot beyond their line of sight.

“What was that all about?”

It was Rascal who had been hiding in the corner.

“Those two proposed an experiment, and the director is going to participate?”

Rascal also roughly knew what the two were up to, so he thought this was definitely something he should report to the chief.

Moreover, this would be welcome news to the chief, who had ordered him to find out everything about Dexter and Himena’s activities.

“It’s good to score points, but what is that stupid private detective doing that I haven’t heard anything from him?”

With a dissatisfied look on his face, Rascal quietly left the vicinity of the meeting room.