Ch.89Green Fairy 2

Before I knew it, it was quitting time at the laboratory.

However, I made an excuse about cleaning up and didn’t leave.

Instead, I sat at the bar, counting the number of researchers leaving.

Typically, Association officials are required to leave at 6 PM as a rule.

The same applies to the laboratory.

Originally, a research facility would need staff on standby at all times, but I heard the Rankers living in Lab 2 agreed to take over that duty.

That works out better for me.

Fewer people to avoid.

I take out the potions I prepared yesterday from my clinking bag.

I stood up to deliver them personally.

And naturally headed toward the lab.

Misha couldn’t join this procession.

She had been summoned by Councilor Park and rushed to the Association headquarters.

That’s actually for the best.

It was uncomfortable having her constantly watching me from the side.

I’ll use this opportunity to thoroughly understand the layout of this place.

Fortunately, the doors are open all the way to Lab 2 for staff coming and going.

But the door to Lab 3, where my sister is, remains firmly shut.

I need to find a way back in there somehow.

I can’t exactly cut off their fingers, so how am I going to get past the fingerprint scanner…

Let’s think about that later.

Investigating those Rankers is the priority now.

I headed first to Room 03, Misha’s room.

Her room was blatantly open, so I didn’t expect much.

It was just an ordinary girl’s room.

Surprisingly ordinary, in fact.

Dolls lined up neatly on the bed.

Maid outfits, princess-style dresses, and other elaborate costumes.

And… even a mannequin of me holding a cocktail…

How did she even make this?

It’s even exactly my height.

Feeling creeped out, I shook my head and left Misha’s room.

Across from Room 03 is Room 04.

That room is also very ordinary, like Room 03.

Just a bed, desk, and wardrobe—nothing particularly special.

Except for one thing.

A machine that looks like a massage chair.

It has a VR device and something like a computer monitor attached.

I immediately recognize it as a gaming system.

Some kind of virtual reality machine, I guess.

In front of the gaming system are scattered snack crumbs and caffeinated drink cans.

So she guards the lab entrance during the day and spends all night playing games?

I made a note on my phone that she’s a hardcore gaming addict.

As I was about to leave the room, my eyes caught a pile of clothes on the bed.

Among them was a bra.

I hadn’t realized because she always wears a hat pulled down tight and a mask…

Well, her voice was rather androgynous.

Back in the hallway, I looked around the other rooms.

Now for Rooms 06, 08, and 09.

The main culprits who killed me and my colleagues.

From here on is the most important part.

I tied my hair tightly and held the potions respectfully with both hands.

Since Room 08 was locked, I headed to Room 06 first.

Music was coming from the room.

So they’re inside.

I took a deep breath and knocked before entering.

But perhaps because of the loud music, no one responded to my knock.

Left with no choice, I opened the door and went in.

What I saw made me gasp in surprise.

Room 06 was much larger than any of the rooms I’d seen so far.

“A gym…?”

The room was filled with various exercise equipment.

There, 09 was lying on an exercise ball, looking at her phone.

And 06.

The one with the bizarre physical ability to control all his muscles.

With his shaved head, he was doing pull-ups.

With ten 20KG weight plates attached to his legs, no less.

The enraged muscles on his back radiated heat.

It felt like looking at a massive beast rather than a human.

He’s gotten even bigger since I last saw him…

They weren’t just playing around.

They were desperately working to maintain their rankings.

“Who are you?”

09, rolling on the exercise ball, looks at me.

I stare down at her with a dumbfounded expression, holding the cocktail potion.

“Ah, that bartender… Siho, was it?”

“Bartender?”

06 asks, hearing 09’s words.

He counts to 50 and drops down from the bar.

The heavy weight plates hit the floor with a loud thud that echoes through the room.

“Yeah. She’s going to supply us with potions.”

“What? I thought you made potions with that arm of yours?”

06 points to 09’s left arm.

The red-eyed woman wiggles her arm and shakes her head.

“No, I tried, but I’m not quite there yet.”

What was once my arm twitches.

I stare blankly at the stitched seam where it connects to 09’s shoulder.

“Why, scared?”

09 grins, thrusting her arm toward me.

I nod in response.

“Don’t worry. I don’t touch people who are useful to me.”

Her red eyes flash through the gaps between her outstretched fingers.

Just like when I saw her before.

“Thank you.”

If I had met her in the past, I would have surely shown fear or anger.

But now…

I simply smile.

And offer her.

My special potion.

<Bloody Mary>

Grade: ★★★★

Effect: Increases strength by ?? amount. Decreases composure by ?? amount. Lasts for 1 hour.

Info: A cocktail made with vodka and tomato juice base. Similar to Red Eye but a completely different cocktail. Siho has only given tomato-based cocktails to Jeoksa and 09.

“Wow, look at this color. Being red makes it look like a real potion.”

09 takes the potion with admiration.

06, now interested, drags his weight plates over to us.

“This is the first potion I’m giving to both of you.”

“What’s the effect?”

“Hmm, strength enhancement. You’ll feel a surge of power right after drinking it.”

I raise my finger and smile brightly.

Satisfied with the mention of strength, 06 immediately prepares to drink.

“Wait a moment.”

“What? Didn’t you give it to us to drink now?”

“Save it for when it’s important.”

“When it’s important?”

Both Rankers blankly repeated my words.

I whispered to them:

“For instance, during a raid.”

“When would we ever do a raid?”

09 laughed off my suggestion.

06 did the same.

“Right, we don’t do inefficient things like raids.”

“Then what do you do?”

When I asked, the Rankers hesitated to answer.

Their faces, which had been grinning just moments ago, quickly became expressionless.

“Hmm… farming?”

06 said that word and narrowed his eyes like a snake.

Bizarrely inhuman.

“Anyway, I’ll drink it with gratitude.”

The man said this and popped open the potion lid.

Then he sniffed it carefully.

The subtle, refreshing scent of tomato wafted up.

Soon, judging there was nothing wrong with the ingredients, he gulped down the potion.

His Adam’s apple bobbed relentlessly.

“06, how is it?”

The woman who hadn’t yet opened her lid asked him.

06 smacked his lips and looked at the empty potion bottle.

“This… definitely seems effective.”

The man’s skin gradually turned red.

He took deep breaths and flexed his biceps.

His already large muscles bulged even more, veins protruding.

I turned away from the revolting sight.

“Wow, it’s real!”

09’s eyes widened at the visible effect.

She followed the man’s lead and gulped down her potion.

Soon her skin also turned red and her body became firm.

“Hey, I might not have to do this miserable exercise anymore!”

“What do you mean? This is exactly when you should put more strain on your muscles!”

The two shouted excitedly at each other.

I watched them with satisfaction.

“Hey, bartender!”

“Yes…?”

I reflexively answered 06’s shout.

The man, breathing heavily, said to me:

“Make sure you supply this every day from now on. Got it?”

Normally, a civil servant would find additional work bothersome.

But I smiled sweetly at him.

“Of course. I’ll provide it twice a day, ‘every day’ from now on.”

“I like you. If you keep impressing us, there will be countless rewards coming your way.”

06 points at me with his finger.

09 agrees, exclaiming in an excited voice:

“Yeah! With this kind of ability, we might even let you join our team someday!”

I bowed my head, saying it would be an honor.

Then I quietly left the room and returned to the lounge bar.

I repeated this routine for a month.

That’s how I was adapting to life at the laboratory.

Eventually, all the Counters members started collecting my potions daily.

Each for different reasons.

But there was one exception.

Misha never wanted my potions.

She just watched me bartending and handing potions to her colleagues.

I tried offering her potions directly, but Misha absolutely refused to drink them.

She said she didn’t need potions.

That bothered me a little, but I tried not to show it.

Anyway, once a week she leaves to report research progress to Councilor Park.

If I carry out my plan on that day, I can easily avoid dealing with Misha.

After work, I returned to Moment.

Even in this familiar bar I hadn’t visited for a while, all I could think about was the laboratory.

I constantly took notes and checked my routes.

Senior Jiwook looked at me with concern.

My expression, which used to be joyful while bartending, had become very dark lately.

And it wasn’t just him who noticed—others did too.

Jeoksa, of course, and even Anna, who was awkward with emotions.

While I was sitting alone at the bar table playing with my pen, she came to the bar.

The white-eyed woman approached and sat next to me.

“What are you thinking about?”

“What…?”

I closed my notebook without even looking at Anna.

The killer placed her hand on my shoulder and forced me to meet her eyes.

“I hear you go into the Counters’ laboratory every day. Why go there when you should be at the bar?”

Somehow Anna knew and questioned me persistently.

I just smiled in response.

“I’m just serving drinks to people who are working hard. What’s wrong with that?”

“Really…?”

Anna’s expression didn’t change despite my smile.

I stared back at her serious face.

“Are you sure nothing’s going on?”

“Yes…”

Finally, the white-eyed woman let me go.

She frowned and looked at me wistfully.

“You make the same expression as your sister.”

“My sister…?”

“Yes, whenever Seonyae lied to me, her left pupil always trembled.”

Anna’s finger points to the corner of my eye.

The corner of her mouth twitches bitterly.

“You still have secrets you can’t tell me…?”

Secrets…

Those two words digging into my mind left me momentarily speechless.

Seonyae also hid lies from Anna until she was about to die, only then finally revealing the truth.

I might end up the same way.

But…

Even so, I can’t tell her yet.

Perhaps I’ve gone beyond being a simple vessel and have truly become her sister.

After all, I’m doing exactly what she did.

“I’m sorry… please wait a little longer.”

“You’re asking me to wait again?”

Anna murmured in a dry voice.

She turned her head and stared blankly at the counter where I often stood.

Today, her back looks especially fragile.

I whispered in a trembling voice:

“I’ll have a chance to tell you soon.”

Hearing this, Anna turned her head again.

Her cloudy white eyes shimmer.

“Alright. I’ll trust you and wait.”

The white-eyed woman nodded, firmly holding my hand.

She decided to believe in her sister’s words one more time.