Ch.88Green Fairy 1

The next day, I packed my equipment and headed to the laboratory.

I greeted 04, who was sitting on the sofa playing a mobile game as usual.

He grumbled about being stuck on the 24th round of a defense game.

Then he asked if I could help him beat it during our break later.

I responded to 04 with a bright smile.

I arrived at the lounge bar.

I greeted 03, who was tending the bar in her female form instead of her muscular suit.

She said she’d been waiting for me, immediately linked arms with me, and sniffed my skin.

Then she asked if I could watch her practice making gin fizz later.

I responded to 03 with a bright smile.

“I was so worried you wouldn’t come back!”

Misha clung to my arm with a pitiful expression.

I barely managed to comfort and soothe the girl.

“They’re paying me 1,200 a month, how could I not show up? Besides, it’s all legal, right?”

“That’s right! We conduct our experiments on a completely humanitarian basis!”

Bullshit.

I almost blurted out “bullshit” right then and there.

I pulled myself together and put on the bartender uniform I’d brought.

The girl watched me with admiring eyes.

A form-fitting white shirt and tailored slacks like a suit.

With a blazer cinching the waist, anyone would recognize me as a bartender.

“Your formal outfit… it’s so cool.”

Drool trickled from her mouth.

Misha hugged my hips and stared up at me.

Her intense gaze made me sigh involuntarily.

“So this is why the councilor told me not to wear formal clothes…”

“Unnie, what did you say?”

“Oh, nothing… just talking to myself.”

Having arrived at the bar table, I immediately set up the glasses.

Then I stood at the counter with a constant smile, my expression unchanging.

Ready to welcome the guests who would soon arrive.

Eventually, around 3 o’clock.

The doctor who had been impressed by the gin fizz I made returned.

As it turned out, he was an important figure in charge of stabilizing test subjects in Lab 3.

He determines the release or isolation of specimens—the fate of test subjects is decided by the press of his finger on a button.

“You must be the most essential talent in the research center.”

“Not at all. The person in charge is this young director here.”

The doctor shrugged while drinking the gin fizz I made for him.

Misha, embarrassed by his praise, shyly lowered her head with her hands on her cheeks.

“Oh my- it’s all thanks to you, Doctor.”

“All I do is press red and green buttons. Release, isolate. That’s it.”

I etched his casual statement deeply into my mind.

Red, green.

Those were buttons I’d definitely seen in the control room.

After serving several guests, it was already 5 o’clock.

Then I heard someone coming down from the elevator.

I thought it might be 04.

But it was someone completely different.

Black hair, black shirt.

And blue eyes.

A face that seemed familiar.

But I soon recognized who he was.

With an appearance of a high school student.

And the tattoo under his eye that read “08.”

The ranker who had stopped my sister when she tried to kill 09.

It was 08.

He’d grown a lot since I last saw him.

He must have been eating well and living well all this time.

“What? I thought only Misha would be here.”

“Say hello, this is Siho unnie, our potion master and bartender.”

“Oh, so does that mean we can get potions every day now?”

“No. She’s employed here as a bartender, not a potion merchant.”

Misha shook her head firmly.

I quickly stopped her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make potions for you soon. On a very ‘regular’ basis.”

“Oh my, really? You really are an angel…”

“With what I’m getting paid here, that’s the least I can do.”

08 stared at me intently.

It was unsettling, as if he could see through to who I really was.

But that couldn’t be possible.

Unless the kid could peek into my memories.

I smiled brightly as Misha introduced me.

08 cleared his throat and sat at the counter.

“You’re actually going to drink a cocktail I make? I’m so happy.”

Misha was touched that 08 wanted to drink a cocktail she made.

But the boy grimaced at her reaction.

“What nonsense. I just dropped by because I heard there was a new person.”

The boy looked up at me expressionlessly.

Beautiful blue eyes.

To think someone with such eyes could kill people so carelessly.

I wanted to gouge those eyeballs out with my fingers right then.

But not yet.

Not yet…

“Well, you look ordinary enough.”

He observed my face and figure with apparent indifference.

But for someone supposedly indifferent, he observed for quite a long time.

“So, what would you like to drink?”

“Drop the formalities. I’m 18 now.”

“I’ll be casual when we get closer~”

I smiled with the corners of my mouth, narrowing my eyes.

The boy avoided my gaze and cleared his throat.

“I don’t know much about cocktails, so recommend something.”

Seeing the boy’s reaction, Misha gave me a curious look.

With a mischievous face, she whispered to me.

“I think 08 likes you~”

“Me…?”

Misha excitedly shook her head.

She pointed at the boy while hiding her finger under the table.

“Yes~ He actually doesn’t drink cocktails much. He’s terrible with alcohol.”

Well, it’s normal to have low alcohol tolerance at 18.

“What are you saying! Don’t treat me like a child.”

“But you are still a child~”

When the boy got upset, Misha shrugged her shoulders playfully.

08 frowned and said to me:

“I can handle my liquor, so don’t worry.”

“But you’re still so young… should I make you something non-alcoholic?”

I looked down at the boy with a concerned expression, covering my mouth with the back of my hand.

Almost condescendingly.

“No! Give me something really adult.”

The boy muttered, clearly annoyed.

Even the shadow beneath him seemed to writhe with displeasure.

I smiled at the boy.

With my eyes half-closed.

“Alright, I’ll give you something very ‘adult.'”

I prepared a clear martini glass.

I dropped a few drops of Johnnie Walker Black onto it, then swirled it around to coat the entire glass.

Next, I filled it up with Black Vodka, which despite its name is transparent.

Finally, I garnished it with a lemon peel…

<Black Martini>

Grade: ???

Effect: Increases the ?? of the consumer by ?? amount.

Information: Black Martini made by Siho. The bartender who always put her heart into serving customers has made this with different intentions. Angelic Hand has been activated.

The ink-black liquid filled the martini glass.

As dark as 08’s hair and clothes.

But that wasn’t all.

Before serving the glass, I took out a small vial from my pocket.

A green liquid swirled inside.

While Misha was briefly distracted, I secretly dropped a few drops of the liquid into the glass.

Fortunately, I finished everything before she turned back to me.

Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief and address the boy.

“Here’s your Black Martini.”

I pushed the glass toward the boy with a gentle smile.

He stared at the glass curiously.

“The color is interesting.”

“It’s a ‘Black’ Martini, just as the name suggests.”

I answered kindly with my hands behind my back.

08 slowly grabbed the glass.

Instead of holding it properly by the stem, he gripped it with his whole hand.

Just that was enough to show the boy was completely unfamiliar with cocktails.

08 put the glass to his lips.

Then he gulped down the Black Martini like it was soda.

He was trying to show off his bravado to appear adult.

Soon his eyebrows twitched.

Having downed a cocktail of over 40 proof in one go, that was inevitable.

Expecting him to spit it out, I stepped back a little.

But fortunately, the boy didn’t spit out the drink.

He forced himself to swallow the burning alcohol to save face.

Being a ranker, he has a strong stomach, I guess.

“D-delicious…”

The boy stammered with a flushed face.

Misha looked worriedly at 08, who had drunk half the alcohol in one go.

“Are you okay…?”

“This is nothing. What do you think, noona?”

08 looked up at me, breathing heavily.

I said to him:

“Amazing~ You did very well.”

I patted his head with a bright smile.

The boy jerked his head away in surprise.

“Don’t treat me like a child. How dare you…”

He glared at me.

I mumbled with an apologetic expression:

“I’m sorry… you just looked cute…”

“Hey, watch how you talk to Siho unnie!”

Seeing me deflated, Misha erupted in anger.

She pointed at the boy and demanded he apologize immediately.

The boy muttered to himself.

He obediently bowed his head and apologized.

Unbelievable.

The one who killed us so mercilessly is apologizing at Misha’s command.

Maybe…

Maybe the numbers of the Counters indicate their hierarchy.

If so, how strong must Misha be as 03?

I’ve seen her create muscular male suits.

I thought she was just a genius engineer, but…

She seems to have another secret I don’t know about.

The way she let me go after I entered Lab 3.

And her position as deputy director of the research center.

It’s all very suspicious.

“Anyway, this isn’t strong at all. Nothing special.”

08 emptied his glass and stood up.

Indeed, for someone who downed his drink in one go, he looked remarkably composed.

But I soon noticed.

Unlike his seemingly composed body…

The shadow beneath 08 was writhing as if drunk.

I looked down at that cute shadow and inwardly curled up the corners of my mouth.

“I’m leaving.”

“Going to pick up corpses again?”

Misha asked the departing boy.

Corpses…?

“As always.”

“I hope it’s a proper specimen this time, like the one you found back then.”

“Oh, you mean that flame swordsman?”

My lips twitched at the mention of “flame swordsman.”

Could they be talking about Jisoo noona?

“I got lucky then, finding both a flame swordsman and a healer who could read memories.”

The boy shrugged.

How shameless, talking as if he’d simply picked up the corpses of dead hunters.

“It’s strange, how could such capable people die to mere wyverns?”

Misha pressed her finger to her lips, unable to understand.

Could it be that 03 doesn’t know that Counter rankers go around killing people?

While I was briefly pondering about Misha,

08 muttered with a meaningful smile:

“They were worms who couldn’t properly use their abilities.”

The boy waved his arm and headed toward the elevator.

As he left, my gaze was fixed solely on his shadow.

The boy’s shadow staggered like a drunk.

Yes.

As you said, we didn’t know how to use our abilities properly.

But things will be a little different now.

I fondly caressed the vial in my chest pocket.

Misha looked up at me intently.

She asked me quietly:

“Hey, unnie.”

“Y-yes…?”

I had been lost in thought.

I snapped back to reality at Misha’s question.

“What did you put in his drink earlier?”

Her question hit the mark, making my heart race.

Does she have eyes on the back of her head?

“Hmm~ seeing how flustered you are…”

Misha narrowed her eyes mischievously and placed her finger on my shoulder.

Then she traced it down softly, as if caressing me.

My heart pounded wildly.

As the girl opened her mouth, my body froze as if time had stopped, waiting to hear her words.

“It’s your special bitters, right?”

I breathed an inward sigh of relief.

Fortunately, she thought it was a cocktail ingredient.

Well, in a way, it is an ingredient.

Having caught my breath, I stroked Misha’s head.

And very secretly, I lowered my voice and told her:

“That’s right, it’s my special liqueur.”

“What’s it called? It was green like vegetable juice.”

“The name…”

I inwardly defined the name of this liquid.

Yes, this is what it’s been called since ancient times.

“The Green Fairy.”