episode_0039

After such a grand session of intimacy with Apple, I took a short break.

After that break, as always, I fed Apple the brainwashing drug again and reinforced the hypnotic suggestions implanted within her.

Apple was already thoroughly brainwashed, to the point of being considered complete by Dorothy, but Dorothy still kept harping on about not letting her guard down and being careful.

‘…I don’t think it’s necessary to go this far.’

Such a thought crossed my mind, but remembering Spade’s case, that naive idea quickly vanished.

Right. I must be careful, and then even more careful. To ensure that nothing like that happens again next time. I must be even more thorough.

After completing the inspection and reinforcement of Apple’s brainwashing, and having sex one last time, ejaculating deep inside her, I sent Apple away.

While it would have been fine to send her off in the morning, I decided it would be better if Apple wasn’t caught coming and going at late hours, if possible.

…………………. ………… ……

“Haaah~ …Dorothy, are you here?”

The next day… No, since Apple was sent off in the early morning, it was that same day in the afternoon.

After sleeping soundly at the hotel and waking only when the sun was high in the sky, 13th returned to the hideout and immediately went up to Dorothy’s laboratory.

Perhaps due to the somewhat intense night spent yesterday, despite possessing the stamina of an awakened one, I felt a degree of fatigue. It was unavoidable that a pathetic yawn escaped my lips.

“Is this executive-level attendance, 13th? Where did you go last night? I didn’t see you this morning either.”

“I was out since last night to ‘handle’ Apple. You can’t meet a hero during the day, can you? It couldn’t be helped.”

“Does Boss know about that?”

“…I did tell Aide about it, for now.”

Well, our Boss has a somewhat straitlaced side to her, you see. 13th said, avoiding Dorothy’s accusatory gaze.

Although I had reported to Boss about the brainwashing drugs and tools, I deliberately didn’t provide detailed explanations of exactly what I had done to the heroes.

Of course, as long as my actions don’t harm the organization and I do my job properly, Boss wouldn’t say anything harsh… but still, it’s, well, hard to talk about.

‘No, well, even if I don’t specifically say it, I’m sure she already suspects.’

I remember when I spoke about brainwashing, Boss gave me a subtle look.

No matter how straitlaced Boss is, and even if she appears to be a virgin at first glance, there’s no way she wouldn’t guess what I’ve done.

Brainwashing, defenseless women, beautiful ones at that, and a good-for-nothing rogue villain.

Just stringing those words together immediately paints a picture, doesn’t it? Boss isn’t oblivious, so there’s no way she doesn’t know. She’s just maturely turning a blind eye.

“It’s not really something to boast about anyway. If it becomes necessary, I’ll talk about it then.”

“Yes, it is embarrassing. Your very existence.”

“…There’s a bit of a sting to that? Is something wrong? Are you on your period?”

“I’ll really kill you, you know?”

Dorothy said that with a fierce killing intent. 13th quickly whimpered and bowed his head, because if Dorothy said she’d kill him, she really would, and it would be a truly gruesome death.

As 13th pulled up a chair and sat down, Dorothy placed a bottle in front of him instead of tea.

It was a bottle with no label, but having been given it by Dorothy a few times already, I knew what it was.

I gulped down the vigor tonic from the brown bottle. …It tasted awful and was incredibly bitter, but as soon as I drank it, I felt my energy surge.

“Thanks as always, Dorothy.”

“I’ll bill you later. I’m keeping a running tally every time.”

“…Please don’t do that. Seriously. You know I’m completely broke. I even owe money to Aide.”

“You’re still in debt? Don’t you plan to pay it back quickly?”

“Ugh… I want to pay it back, too.”

The amount had already become something I couldn’t pay back with ordinary work. And my salary is already meager.

To give you an idea, Aide isn’t just earning allowances from the organization; she’s also involved in various side hustles. I heard she even does stocks. And apparently, both her side hustles and stocks are hugely successful.

So Aide is rich. And I am poor.

And it was inevitable that I, despite being Aide’s superior, would have to bow my head and borrow money from her, given how infinitely generous she is.

“You idiot, do you know that’s an abuse of power? No matter that we’re outlaws, we still have to follow the rules among ourselves, don’t we?”

“…Stop, please stop, Dorothy. Really. I know full well. I honestly didn’t want to do that. I had no intention of it, but then I’d resolve myself, go to Aide, and start talking… I don’t know, before I knew it, I was borrowing money again.”

13th said, as if unjustly accused. One might wonder what was so unjust about it, thinking 13th was entirely at fault, but it couldn’t be helped that he felt that way.

Clearly, he knew this was wrong, and would start conversations with Aide, intending to repent and promising not to do it again.

But then, while talking, it would suddenly feel like he was dealing with a benevolent saint (he used to think she was a man, so a male saint back then), as if she would understand everything, and thus he should rely on her more… and before he knew it, he was borrowing money. And he even got various services as a bonus. What on earth was happening?

Listening to 13th’s story, Dorothy made a realization, then let out a sigh.

“You idiot. You’ve completely fallen into it… You don’t even realize you’re being led around by the nose in real time… No, I also used to think that person was a man, so I didn’t think much of it… But now that I know she’s a woman….”

“…? Dorothy, do you understand something?”

“Never mind. Don’t worry about it. No, even if you knew, it’s already too late.”

Dorothy, just in case, asked 13th about the borrowed amount.

13th cautiously stated about half of the total amount. Dorothy let out a sigh of resignation.

“Yes. Uh-huh. There’s no answer.”

“…Right?”

“Yeah. There’s no future for you. May you rest in peace.”

Even with only half the amount, Dorothy had already adopted a stance of resignation. If she heard the entire amount, including interest (which Aide said wasn’t necessary, but 13th stubbornly insisted on), she would surely have fainted.

I vaguely realized it, but I was truly doomed. Yeah. This is a big problem.

I highly doubt Aide would come at me with a knife demanding money… but what should I do? Now I have nothing left to give but my body. Even if I sold all my organs, it would barely be enough to pay back the debt I owe Aide….

Dorothy kept looking at me with pitiful eyes, as if she understood something. Don’t just keep it to yourself. Tell me what you’re thinking right now.

In any case, we decided to stop talking about Aide and the borrowed money there. There was nothing to be gained by thinking about it further.

With that, we moved on to the main reason I came here. I hadn’t just come here to get a vigor tonic.

“How is Club doing?”

13th turned his gaze towards the laboratory inside Dorothy’s research room, firmly sealed by a door.

Currently, beyond that, the brainwashing of the abducted Club is underway. Dorothy is primarily in charge of it.

“It’s going smoothly, for now. The basic work should be finished by this evening. Especially with the Spade incident, I’m putting extra care into it.”

“Right. It doesn’t seem to be ending with just feeding her drugs or having her smell them, like before.”

“…Just for your information, Spade was the only one treated that way. Even Apple went through a much more complicated process than that.”

Come to think of it, that’s right.

In Spade’s case, it was 13th himself who handled it from beginning to end, not Dorothy, and it was a crude brainwashing using only drugs.

If I were to leave it to Dorothy, I would have had to bring Spade to the hideout, but I avoided that, considering the potential risks, even though she was brainwashed.

Remembering how Spade went berserk this time, I think it was a good decision to do it that way.

“Right. So you put a lot of effort into brainwashing Apple. Her brainwashing was certainly very well done. I’m still getting a lot of help from Apple.”

“It’s a relief to hear that. Still, it was the first brainwashing targeting an awakened one, so there were many uncertainties. I thought there was about a 90% chance she would regain her senses quickly.”

“…It was that dangerous? Hey Dorothy, you entrusted something like that to me?”

“What could I do even if it was dangerous? There was no other way. Anyway, I’m glad it helped, truly glad.”

Dorothy said nonchalantly.

Good grief, so I’ve been relying on a 10% chance all this time?

But since everything turned out well in the end, I couldn’t really complain.

Thanks to Dorothy also teaching Apple about brainwashing knowledge and techniques, I’d also received various help at crucial moments….

Anyway, now is the time to talk about Club, not Apple. Apple is in a very safe and worry-free state right now.

“To be honest, it would have been much easier for me to format her personality and instill a new one.”

“You can’t do that, Dorothy. Not just me, Boss said so too, didn’t she?”

“…Tsk. Neither you nor Boss act like villains. Thanks to that, I have more things to worry about.”

Dorothy said with an annoyed sigh.

“Anyway, most of the process is complete. Now I’m just in the final stages of adapting her mind and body… It should all be done by this evening. I’ll only go that far, so you’ll have to handle everything else after that.”