Ch.42Organizing (1)

“I think I’ve… gathered all the information I needed.”

A soft murmur.

As I brush away the shadow remaining on my palm, I sense a faint presence stirring at my feet.

I look down with cold eyes.

It was none other than a man wearing a robe.

The administrator in charge of this abandoned laboratory, appearing as the final villain of this episode.

He was also the one who brought us here.

The man was writhing on the floor as if having a seizure.

“Kuk, kueek, uaaa……”

The man groans with his eyes rolled back.

His facial muscles twist grotesquely.

Now he’s even drooling.

After watching his broken reaction, I mutter with a cool breath.

My words are dripping with thick contempt.

“To think you’d crumble from just this much.”

Perhaps it was because I put emotional force behind it.

The man, unable to endure, had lost his mind. He was making only animal-like cries, as if he’d lost all reason.

I quietly click my tongue.

“I did get the most crucial information… but I was hoping for more.”

Those damn tree bastards.

I was especially hoping to find out the cult leader’s whereabouts, but unfortunately, the man was nothing more than an empty can.

He was just a puppet following orders from above.

“You were useless until the end.”

I put my disappointment behind me.

As I quietly turn to leave, the mutants that were hiding nearby begin to creep out.

They’re the wolves from the laboratory.

They had been keeping their tails down, suppressed by my killing intent.

But as I started to leave, they began prowling around one by one.

I load shadow into my fingertips.

However.

“Hmm.”

Grrrr-

Their teeth weren’t targeting me.

It was the man rolling pathetically on the floor.

The mutants drool and lick their lips.

“Are they hungry, I wonder?”

Their pupils gleam with bloodlust.

Their rough breathing is filled with the intent to devour living flesh.

At this rate, they looked ready to pounce on the man.

He wouldn’t be able to resist at all.

He would be torn apart alive by the experimental subjects he once managed, disappearing in the most miserable death.

Perhaps this was the end I wanted for him.

I withdrew my killing intent and quietly stepped aside.

Immediately after.

“KUAAAAAAA!!!”

Crunch, crack-!

Behind the savage noise, the man’s pain-filled screams color the basement.

Flesh is chewed, bones are broken, blood flows abundantly.

A scene of cruelty unfolds.

Yet I merely step away with a bitter smile.

“The judgment of monsters, I see.”

I silently chew on a meditation, making sure it can’t be heard.

“May you.”

Forgive the world through this.

Satisfy your hunger stained with revenge by tearing the flesh of the one who tormented you.

Kill him as cruelly, severely, and painfully as possible.

And thus, even if just a little.

Fill the hunger of your twisted souls.

“May God receive you.”

This is a prayer for monsters.

I quietly move my lips.

I appreciate the clearly resonating requiem as I walk out of the research lab.

It was truly the moment when everything was coming to an end.

***

When I returned to the laboratory after finishing my work.

The first thing that caught my eye was several adults standing around the children.

People looking around in a daze.

“…What is all this?”

“……”

“What on earth happened here……”

It seemed that support had arrived from Gallimar.

Realizing that this episode had finally ended, I slowly approached them.

I offer a light greeting.

“My, my… you’ve all arrived a bit late.”

All the scattered gazes focus on me.

Professors standing in a daze.

They seemed bewildered by the chaotic scene.

The collapsed ceiling, wolf corpses, the smell of blood everywhere… it was truly a mess.

I smile gently.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

A smile that escapes from my feeling of relief.

Just as my energy was running low, the professors had arrived with perfect timing.

I approach with a pleasant atmosphere.

I notice the children lying on the floor.

Pink and blue hair.

They were sound asleep.

As if to check on the condition of the two, several professors were conducting examinations.

I shrug my shoulders lightly.

“You’re already too late.”

Since I had already checked them once.

Both of them only had slight exhaustion, with no noticeable abnormalities.

“They’re both healthy.”

“……”

“Hmm?”

The professors don’t particularly react.

Finding this strange, I notice adults with serious expressions in my field of vision.

The atmosphere was ominous.

Perhaps it was because of the sinister laboratory setting.

The professors weren’t letting their guard down, appearing to be prepared for potential enemies in the vicinity.

I speak up to indicate that’s unnecessary.

“Hmm~ There’s no need for everyone to be on guard.”

“……”

“The situation ended a while ago. Please rest assured.”

My explanation continues kindly.

I act smoothly.

Naturally deflecting suspicious gazes, I casually approach the children.

As if worried about friends.

“Huhu.”

“Student Judas, do you perhaps know what happened in this laboratory……”

“Shh.”

When one of the professors who had come to their senses tried to ask a question, I firmly bring my index finger to my lips.

It meant to maintain silence.

So the children wouldn’t wake up from the noise.

“Could we return to the academy first?”

I quietly ask.

“Everyone seems very tired… we desperately need rest. Myself included.”

For me, the children always came first.

I had no intention of continuing this conversation while they lay on the floor.

As I make my polite request, the professors who had hesitated momentarily nod in understanding.

“That would be best.”

“Thank you.”

“We’ll return to the academy for now. The collapsed students will be transported to the infirmary immediately.”

“That’s a relief.”

Perhaps it was because of my concern for my friends.

The chilly atmosphere softens considerably.

We moved to a point where teleportation was possible, then proceeded with the return procedure without hesitation.

[EP5. Midterm Exam]

-Abandoned Laboratory, Monsters Who Cannot Laugh-

It was the moment of successfully concluding this episode.

***

Immediately after returning to the academy.

We were transported straight to the infirmary and underwent various examinations.

Our physical condition was confirmed through more precise examinations, and we were prescribed IV fluids to replenish our depleted mana.

Contrary to concerns, no abnormalities were found.

I was healthy without question.

I hadn’t been injured in the first place.

The villainess and protagonist had simply fainted and would wake up soon, according to the medical opinion.

Fortunately, this eased our worries.

“The story of what happened today… we’ll hear it when the other two wake up.”

The professors withdrew for now.

The investigation of the basement wasn’t complete yet, and since there were students who had suffered some damage, they seemed to want to proceed cautiously.

Especially our homeroom teacher, Selena, showed great concern.

“Let’s not burden the students for now. They’re children who’ve experienced a frightening incident, aren’t they?”

She soothes her colleagues who were acting impatiently.

I always thought she was just someone who was always drunk, so I was a bit surprised to see this thoughtful side of her.

She calmly brushes back her purple hair.

Her red eyes gaze at us without the slightest tremor.

“…Let’s get some rest for now.”

She had a somewhat complicated expression.

Toward her as she slightly turned her head, I quietly spoke.

“I’ll stay by their side until the other two wake up.”

“While your concern for your friends is commendable, don’t forget that you need to take care of yourself too.”

“Huhu, I’m doing that sufficiently.”

“I’ll be waiting outside the ward. Please call me anytime if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Professor Selena.”

Selena suddenly left.

In the spacious infirmary, only three people remained: the snake, the manipulator, and the vain one.

On the beds arranged side by side lay pink and blue hair.

I quietly sat beside them.

“……”

Children each repeating steady breaths.

I took one hand from each of them.

Our warm body temperatures touch each other.

Given the unpleasant incident, I hoped they wouldn’t have nightmares.

I gently apply pressure with my fingertips.

“…I should wait too.”

I quietly kept my place.

In the silent infirmary.

For a while, only the sound of the children’s breathing flowed around us.

***

-Become stronger, Amelia.

Amelia was dreaming.

No, actually, it was more like a scene from a memory rather than a dream.

-Otherwise, you won’t survive.

A voice tinged with tears.

Despite her young age, the girl seemed to understand the world.

Having endured a bitter winter, a child wandering in the snowy mountains could only grow colder.

Living filled with fierce determination.

-As the young lady, you must be even more perfect.

-You must show the proper appearance as the rightful successor.

-Wouldn’t that put the departed Duke and Duchess at ease?

The detestable elders of the family.

-Don’t worry, Amelia.

-Since you’re still just a student and can’t handle family affairs… I’ll specially help you.

-We’re family, right?

Her uncle, who always pretended to care for the girl while failing to hide his greedy eyes.

-Sis… I’m scared.

-I miss mom and dad. Where are they?

A younger brother she had to protect despite her harsh daily life.

‘I’m sick of it.’

Amelia eventually had to push herself.

Just to survive.

Willpower eats away at the heart.

Abandoning altruism, giving up happiness, mocking sacrifice.

Before she knew it, standing in front of the mirror was an adult perfectly worn down, having forgotten her childhood.

An ugly mask.

‘Don’t forget.’

There are things you must protect.

If I make a mistake, everything ends.

For revenge, for happiness, I must always look forward and run.

The moment I look back, something terrible will happen.

‘I can only trust myself.’

An obsession that had colored her life for a long time.

While reminiscing about her joyful early childhood, Amelia sensed that she could never return to those days.

Too many things had changed.

The girl no longer deserved to be called young.

Because she had personally blackened her once pure inner self, she thought she could never live for anything again.

Yes.

She certainly thought so.

“……”

“You’re awake.”

She opens her closed eyes.

As she blinks her heavy eyelids, a voice comes from beside her.

Amelia unconsciously moves her eyes.

“A full day has passed.”

A boy with deep golden hair.

Blue eyes were blankly staring at the scene.

“……”

“I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried about you.”

The snake smiles gently.

Then he raises his hand and softly strokes the girl’s disheveled hair.

It was a touch filled with affection.

As if treating someone precious.

“You did well, my lady.”

A gentle whisper.

The boy leaves a light kiss on the back of her snow-white hand.

Though startled by the soft sensation, Amelia could only remain frozen in bewilderment.

Because a nostalgic sense of fulfillment colored her chest.

“You really did wonderfully.”

“……”

The villainess quietly accepted it.

The palm of the boy being colored by taming.