episode_0090

*****

Life at the bottom of any organization is difficult. Villain organizations are no exception.

No, maybe being a villain is more difficult. There may be a gap between the field and office work, but in most societies, people move up from the lower ranks one by one, right?

But this is a world of talent. Most strong villains do not know that they are in the position of the weak.

So things like this are not uncommon.

‘The plan has changed. I’m going to start right away today. You’re waiting with this.’

I was full of motivation and had finished preparing to report, but I was dumbfounded when I heard those words from my doppelganger. Anyway, the doppelganger threw me a necklace and immediately ran somewhere.

I’ve been working hard over the past few days, asking each animal subtly and repeatedly investigating to the extent possible. I also found a place with a high probability of being the center of the barrier… . In the end, those efforts never paid off.

Well, it’s that ‘doppelganger’. Someone like me would have found out this information a long time ago. I guess they were just trying to use it for cross-verification of information.

It is also true that now is such a good timing that you don’t want to miss it. After all, there are no priestesses in this base right now.

“Hwain and Army, I hope you’re okay.”

“It will be okay. Teacher Sia said that too, right?”

I comfort Raon, who has a depressed expression. It’s not exactly empty words. The priestess and the one-armed swordsman set out to save the two, or more accurately, to put an end to the situation.

Thanks to that, the situation has changed and my efforts have been in vain.

“… That’s right. Teacher Sia also believes in ARMY like that. I will trust you too.”

“You’re going to get depressed again anyway, right?”

“… That’s not true~… .”

Ah, I’m crying again. I wish you would stop crying like this. It’s not really my fault, but I feel like I made myself cry.

I wiped the tears that were flowing down with my sleeve, and Raon buried his face in my chest. I feel strangely foolish today.

Still, this is a lot of improvement. There was no crying or fuss right after Ami and Hwain went missing.

I’m a bit upset that it was Titania who calmed Raon down, not me.

‘Don’t worry. ‘Both of you will be able to return safely.’

He does not break down despite the news of his family’s disappearance, but rather encourages the students. Even the students who were blaming themselves for not being able to do anything when Hwain ran forward regained their motivation after hearing Titania’s words. Raon is one of them.

It’s definitely an excellent response from a teacher. But I can’t imagine that the Slaughter Queen trusts anyone.

If it were me, I would bet that ARMY’s survival is being assured by some means. They put a surveillance curse on it or something like that.

Of course, I have no intention of ruining Raon’s mood, which has improved for a long time, by saying something unnecessary.

“It’s not an easy situation for us either. Let’s be careful first.”

Perhaps the doppelganger did something. The exterior of the lobby feels cluttered.

However, since one student has already gone missing, there seems to be no intention to mobilize students to resolve the situation. Currently, students have been notified to wait in their respective dormitories.

It’s nice to know that if I just stay like this, everything will be taken care of on the other side. In times like this, I feel fortunate that I am at the end.

“The Army may have done better. It’s rare to have an opportunity like this to be shipwrecked on a snowy mountain just the two of you?”

“But it may be a dangerous situation… .”

“Ah, you wouldn’t know it if Hwain was alone, but Ami is with her. By now, you two must have found a suitable hiding place and are preparing to spend the night, right?”

Raon balks at it, saying it’s unfaithful, but there’s no way a girl this age could turn down a love story. I’m covering my ears, but there are plenty of gaps. Does this mean that even if you say you don’t like it, your body is honest?

“You know the swing bridge effect, right? Even Army, who is normally an ironclad person, may lose her guard a little in unusual situations such as distress. If Hwain takes advantage of that opportunity and dashes passionately──”

“Ugh… .”

“A situation where there are two men and women at night, one of them is rationally attracted to the other and the other is not disliked. There’s no way something wouldn’t happen in a situation like this, right?”

“Is that so?”

No, you can’t answer there. Where is the concept of pretending not to hear anything?

I’m just picking up and serving whenever I can, but Raon seems to be enjoying it in his own way. Although I myself have no idea what is going to happen.

Isn’t that what the Army is like? A man will not be able to rub against you, let alone include him as a romantic partner. Besides, I don’t think he would have the guts or courage to attack that shy Chinese person.

Since the Army is much stronger than the Fine People, the swinging bridge effect will also be applied to the Fine People, not the Army. It would be nice if the unrequited love didn’t get worse, let alone the two of you end up together.

Such realistic speculation is probably a good thing in the face of interest.

Little by little, the atmosphere relaxed and Raon started talking about other things. It’s a pity that Marie isn’t there. That child is staying here with his teacher, a priestess.

“Now that I think about it, what is that necklace?”

“Oh, this? My brother gave it to me.”

Of course, when I say older brother, I am talking about a doppelganger. Due to the influence of self-suggestion, even the word ‘oppa’ naturally carries with it a sense of favor.

“The person who gave you this necklace is the same person from last time, right? Are you really just an acquaintance?”

Raon’s expression becomes increasingly serious as she looks at the jeweled necklace. Is Ra-on really jealous too? I explained that I was just an acquaintance from childhood, but even that may have felt like I was taking a friend away.

“It’s okay. This is just something to wear for a little while. Anyway, after returning to Seoul, Raon will buy me something to replace this necklace──”

“This necklace has a location tracking spell.”

Eh, what is it? I never heard of that. No, my doppelganger didn’t give me this necklace as a commemorative gift.

“Are you sure that person is really okay?”

“Well, I don’t know. Ahaha. Are there any other features?”

“I don’t think it exists.”

Raon spoke in a guessing manner, but as far as magic was concerned, Raon’s words never went astray. In other words, this necklace was made entirely for location purposes only.

If there were other functions, you could have thought of them as the main function and location detection as a bonus. Location determination is the main thing, that is,

“You were here, Bobbin. I was looking for it.”

You mean there will be times when you come visit me in person!?

“Ah, hello oppa.”

Even the tiger comes when I tell it to, and it comes at a very surprising time. What a piece of shit I was looking for. I heard that he would have known everything about the location through this necklace.

Honestly, I really don’t want to follow along. Judging from the atmosphere outside, the doppelganger has already committed something. Maybe my job will be to help him escape.

Regardless of whether it’s helpful or not, I’ll probably end up getting caught in the middle of it 9 times out of 10, given my skills. Well, now school life is over and a fun life of torture is beginning. I guess I will be the one who suffers.

It’s best to say no here. It’s okay, I’m a human being who can say no.

“There is something I need your help with. Can you help me?”

“… Yes.”

Oh, I’ll die if I refuse this.

Cold sweat runs down my back. The doppelganger’s life was only directed at me for an extremely short period of time, without wasting a single bit on those around me. It’s a message that even a fool can understand: ‘If you don’t come, you’ll die.’

The doppelgänger seems to be in a hurry, too, so he grabs my arm and forcibly drags me out. On the way, I made eye contact with Raon, so I desperately tried to communicate through eye contact.

You must never, ever interfere. You know, right? yes?

Doppelgänger is not a villain we can deal with at our level. At the very least, we need to bring in a teacher from Cheonmyeong High School. Even if Raon did something, it would only be suicidal.

Fortunately, we have a deep bond that we have built up until now. I believe that Raon will understand what I mean even if it is just a simple eye contact.

“Wait a minute, please wait.”

So you said you shouldn’t interfere!? Where have the bonds we’ve built so far gone?

Stand tall. The doppelganger’s steps stop. Without turning his body, only his head turns to look at the person who stopped him—Raon.

I feel like a fool for relying on such uncertain means as ICONTECT. No, more than that, what should I do with this? We need to fix it quickly.

Even while I was confused, Raon continued talking.

“Aren’t there any waiting orders for students now? That’s probably not Bobbin’s instructor.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was it too sudden? Still, I need Bobbin’s help to resolve the current situation.”

Wow, strength goes into the hand holding my arm. It probably means that I should say something too. So, um.

“It’s okay. I will finish it soon and come back.”

If you look at Raon’s nervous expression, it looks like something is going to happen. I need to reassure him quickly.

For some reason, my head doesn’t spin as well as usual. It’s strange, the fear of dying must have been dismissed as a self-suggestion.

The doppelganger seemed to have figured out that the conversation had ended after a brief pause and turned its head again. there’s nothing we can do. Let’s hurry up and give Raon a hint here.

But Raon was quicker to explode the bomb than I was to act.

“That person, under his clothes──”

Bye.

Raon’s head is violently tilted to the side. My body sways and falls as if my head is following me. Something splashed from Raon landed on the bridge of my nose.

… ah. It’s bright red.

“I don’t like little guys with good senses.”

The doppelganger’s hand extends over her shoulder. They probably attacked Raon with something. It wasn’t visible to me at all.

Blood leaks out of Raon’s fallen head. Isn’t that a bit dangerous?

“Wow, I managed to stop this. I hit him with the intention of killing him. Why do you think you had skills when you were so picky?”

Oh, I see. thank god. You’re alive.

Still, if you leave it like that, it could be a big problem. First, we have to take him to a place where he can be treated somehow. The doppelganger’s hand keeps dragging me to the other side.

“Okay, let’s go. No time.”

“Wait a minute. I need to get treatment and go!”

“No. I still need to use this look more. Is there a way to treat it in the first place?”

“That’s… .”

Of course, there’s no way I can use healing magic. So, the idea is to take them to a place where they can be treated. Why do you keep trying to disturb me?

“Anyway, that child is needed for the mission. I can’t let you die here.”

“What, are you really out of your mind? Do you think you can stay here after helping me escape? Of course, you should get out together.”

… yes? Now, what?

“The mission is over. You must return to the main body, [Copy 696].”

“Ah.”

Words filled with magic call my ‘name’. A hint engraved deep within the soul urges you to follow orders.

After confirming that I was not resisting, the doppelganger started moving again.

… Well, since confusion is almost gone, that hint doesn’t work! Still, thanks to that, my head cooled down a bit.

There is no point in resisting me now. What you need is the means. Because I’m really weak. However, if you try to hint to the man in front of you, it won’t work.

Raon is more necessary than anything else to carry out my mission. And she’s also a pretty girl. If a beautiful girl dies, it’s not a loss for Genesis, it’s a loss for the entire world!?

Do whatever it takes to prevent that terrible tragedy――Correction. I can do anything as long as I don’t die, get hurt, or get sick.

A good ‘tool’ also came to mind.

“Hey, I’m from Genesis, right?”

“What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?”

Wow. I feel as if something is binding me inside my body. Okay, there’s a response.

“They are mercenaries and not affiliated with Genesis. I will prioritize my mission over yours.”

“… You.”

At this point, you probably know that hints don’t work. And that I have no intention of helping him.

The immense feeling of death that I felt just moments ago comes over me. Uhehe. What should I do? It’s a serious scene, but I think it’ll be boring.

It feels like the air everywhere is strangling me. If I faint here, my death is confirmed, so I bit my lip and held back, but there’s nothing I can do right now. First of all, my legs are shaking with fear and I can’t even run away.

Yet, my mouth speaks arbitrarily as if it were not my own.

“So who wants to hit our Raon!? If you had stayed still, I could have convinced you all on my own! This happened because you acted needlessly!”

Ah, it feels refreshing! Is this what it feels like to resign from a black company, throwing a resignation letter in the CEO’s face?

Of course, just as my future is bleak if I get fired, my future is also bleak. No, actually, I’m not even sure if there is a future.

The doppelganger frowned upon hearing what I said, but at some point, he grinned. At the same time, the life that had surrounded me disappeared as if it had been washed away.

Ah, the life was just meant to be a threat. Well, being an agent who spills his life when killing someone would be third-rate.

“Okay. i get it. I’ll tell Lilith that I disposed of the defective product.”

Oh, he really died this time.

Still, if this is the case, Raon──

Gang.

Right side of the head. The sound, like metal clashing with metal, makes my eardrums hurt. Oh, eardrums? Not a skull?

“Whose student are you bullying on the topic of rat?”

omg! This voice is not the blood-crazed Slaughter Queen──, but the True God Teacher, Teacher Sia!!

“Teacher! Over there!”

“It’s okay, Raon checked it too.”

Woohyo~, I believed it!

If you don’t have enough strength, you can borrow the strength of others. It’s basic common sense. And I am under Mr. Sia’s terrible contract spell.

Paranoid──Hmm. I had no doubt that Teacher Sia, who was extremely meticulous in everything, would send some kind of signal if I broke the contract. When I actually declared Genesis, I felt the contract magic being activated.

When I felt relieved, the strength in my legs that I had barely been able to stand on began to weaken. As I was about to collapse in place, someone supported me from behind.

“You worked hard. Now get some rest.”

Oh, is this Mr. Sia too? Well, I guess it would be good.

Suppressing mental stress through suggestion is also reaching its limits. I left my head, which felt like it was going to go flat, into someone’s arms and forcibly cut off consciousness to protect my mental health.

It was a tough day today. Good night everyone.

*****