Ch.7777. What Does Vine Like?

“As for Vine, well. It’s just as you already know. First, tell me what you know.”

“Transfer Vine’s data that was measured at Eden to my phone.”

“It’s a hassle, but fine. What else?”

“Nothing specific for now. Hmm… I wonder if there’s anything Vine likes?”

“Why? Planning to enjoy yourself when you go out together?”

“Yeah. I already mentioned it in the group chat. But since I’m the one who wants to benefit personally, I should make the effort.”

“What… *sigh*. What good will scoring points with Vine do you?”

“I was thinking, if not now, when else can we get closer?”

“You already seem close. Vine may call you a bad friend, but knows all your information. And you know Vine’s too.”

“That’s different from what I mean.”

“From my perspective, you two already seem close in other ways too.”

“I don’t know about that. Anyway, I want to get closer. Besides, I have my responsibilities too.”

“What? Do you think you beat Vine up so badly that their body ended up in that condition?”

“No. I know hitting wouldn’t cause that.”

“Right, mere hitting couldn’t damage a monster’s body that badly. So it’s not your fault.”

“No, it is my fault. I mean… I’ve done a lot of wrong to Vine.”

“True. You’ve done some serious wrongs.”

“Yeah… *sigh*. If I had defended them a bit more back then, Vine wouldn’t have been treated that way.”

“What?”

“No, rather than defending, maybe I should have rescued them. Getting them out earlier. Should I have taken them out sooner?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. But rather than regretting now, shouldn’t you focus on making the present better?”

“You’re right. Even so, humans tend to regret things.”

“As a monster, I wouldn’t know. Let’s go quickly and think about what to do.”

“The law says monsters are human too. *sigh*. Anyway, can you tell me what Vine likes?”

“I don’t know much either. But they seem to like cute things.”

“What?”

“Really. At first, their room was bare like a typical guy’s room, but before I knew it, it was filled with stuffed animals.”

“I didn’t see that when I went there last time?”

“There were too many, so most were put in another storage. When I told them to take just one essential plushie, they got upset and stopped buying them after that. They even threw their comfort plushie at me before leaving.”

“When did that happen?”

“Less than a month before you guys invaded?”

“Did you return that comfort plushie?”

“No. I couldn’t.”

“Do you have it now?”

“Yes. I was going to give it back later. Actually, I should get it out now.”

Ellis quietly took out a box from the bedside cabinet.

It was one of the boxes she had asked Blanc to move. A box that was surprisingly light for its size.

Blanc hadn’t thought there would be stuffed animals inside.

At most, he had assumed it contained bedding, but if that box held plushies that reflected Vine’s taste…

“Is there only one plushie in there?”

“No? There are a few more.”

“Let me see too.”

“Hmm… there’s this big carrot plushie and… a shark plushie. The others are in different boxes. I’ll get them out if they ask later. I put them deep inside.”

“You put all of them in there…? All those many?”

“Eden’s technology. Better not to know too much.”

“What the… If you had such power, shouldn’t you have used it to help rather than for bad things?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? Eden’s technology is merely a tool to achieve the boss’s ideals. That’s all. Without the boss, all this technology is meaningless.”

“You and Vine… Well, fine. It would be more constructive to discuss which plushies are cute.”

“Wait… if I place the carrot like this… and put the shark on top… hugging it like this… Ta-da!”

“…I’ll get my phone.”

“You know, there are parts of Vine that will wake them up if touched, and parts that won’t wake them no matter what. If you move their arms carefully, this kind of thing is easy.”

As if to prove her point, Ellis played with Vine’s arms, lifting and dropping them like a toy.

Then, as if making Vine preciously hug the shark plushie, she positioned their arms to tightly embrace the plushie and started taking numerous photos with her phone.

In the few seconds before Blanc returned with his phone, she had taken over a hundred photos of Vine from different angles and lighting conditions. All these would become precious data to be backed up in duplicate and triplicate on Ellis’s hard drives and SSDs.

Even Blanc followed Ellis’s lead and took a few photos before seemingly satisfied, putting his phone back in his pocket.

Despite all the commotion the two were making, the blanket continued to rise and fall slowly, as if Vine had no intention of waking up.

For the sake of a peaceful afternoon, the two enjoyed a moment of happiness before leaving the room.

In the room where only the girl remained, only the sound of breathing filled the space.

No malice, no schemes. Just pure breathing.

* * *

I feel like I’ve forgotten something.

Like I’m missing something important.

Long ago, when I was a student.

Both my mother and father had left early for work, and I was alone.

Looking at the clock, it was 8 o’clock.

40 minutes until I’d be late.

I hurriedly washed up, brushed my teeth, changed clothes, and left.

But on the bus, no one was wearing a school uniform, as if I was already late.

Wondering if I was really late, I checked my phone.

XX month XX day, Saturday.

It was a day when there was no school.

That feeling of missing something and rushing to school unnecessarily, only to realize I’d made a fool of myself.

No, actually…

Maybe it’s just the feeling up until I woke up.

Was all this nonsense just an excuse for my fatigue?

I must have been really tired to be trapped in such strange thoughts, floundering.

…It’s definitely not because I was flustered when I woke up. In fact, I overslept today and caused trouble for the people living here, for my employer.

I even made Ellis worry unnecessarily.

There’s nothing wrong with my health…

It’s just that my mind is tired right now. Physically, there’s no problem.

…No.

This kind of self-rationalization isn’t good.

That’s right.

Since leaving Eden until now, can my life really be considered smooth?

No. Even from the point when I entered Eden, could my life be considered normal?

The story of an ordinary boy who got caught in an accident called a dimensional rift, was chased by people, and was saved by the boss.

Who would believe this happened to an ordinary person?

From that day on, the modifier “ordinary” became a completely ill-fitting garment for me.

For me now, words like “defeat,” “worst,” “trash,” “debtor”… those would be more fitting clothes.

Or maybe.

Something like “magical girl’s pet.”

That might be my modifier now.

Since neither Blanc nor Ellis are coming into the room, I just keep having these strange thoughts endlessly.

…Wait a minute.

Mr. Shark…?

I definitely left Mr. Shark at headquarters…?

Oh, could it be… Ellis had been keeping it…?

The soft, fluffy, squishy shark plushie that Ellis brought me when I was doubting myself.

I named it Mr. Shark when I hadn’t fully recovered my memories, and I’ve been calling it that ever since…

Ellis made a fuss about me outgrowing plushies, so I handed all my plushies over to her…

Oh, so that means Ellis remembered. All this time.

No wonder I was able to sleep so well, without even dreaming.

…It’s lost some of its original scent from being locked up in Eden for so long.

But that’s something I can fix with proper care.

What, Carrot is here too…?

Is today some special day?

For such happy things to happen in succession, surely something bad is about to happen…

Whenever good things happened, bad things always followed…

Well, maybe I don’t need to worry about that now.

Transferring my scent to Mr. Shark is the priority.

So I buried my face in Mr. Shark’s belly and was nuzzling it enthusiastically when…

Somehow Ellis came up, knowing I was awake.

“You’re up. Do you like the gift I prepared?”

“…Ah.”

“What?”

“I… like it…”

“Right? How did you sleep without this for so long? Hm? Our Vine always has nightmares without plushies. So heartbreaking.”

“I slept fine without them…”

“Then give them back. Leave them at headquarters.”

“…! No…!”

“Hey, I’m just kidding. Are those two enough for now? Get yourself together and come downstairs. We need to talk with the others.”

“Okay… But what time is it now…?”

“The sun is already setting. It’s a little past 6:30.”

“What…?”

“Arin and the others are all gathered, so we’re just waiting for you. Don’t worry about food, I’ve already ordered.”

“O-okay…”

“Wash your face first. There’s drool on the corner of your mouth.”

“…Hey!!”

Ellis’s mocking laughter buried under my anger was clearly audible to my sensitive ears.

Then, with instructions to come down, she left the room.

*Sigh*… Drool…

With that thought, I wiped the corner of my mouth, but there was nothing there.

How does Ellis notice these things…!

As I was about to get out of bed, trying to move Mr. Shark aside…

“…Damp?”

Ah.

This wasn’t what I meant by transferring my scent to Mr. Shark.

Oh well, never mind. I should go downstairs first.

Oh, right. I should wash my face first.

Showing this appearance to Arin would be more embarrassing than showing it to Ellis…