episode_0136

Where am I?

Takuya’s vision suddenly shifted, and he looked around the place he had arrived, thinking that. But that was only for a moment. Takuya, who had experienced all sorts of bizarre things in his life, soon calmly assessed the situation.

For example, he quickly identified potential escape routes and figured out where he was.

The conclusion Takuya reached in that short moment was this: ‘No escape routes, presumed to be inside a workshop.’

It was a remarkably simple conclusion, but it was enough to understand the current situation. It seemed Takuya had gotten entangled in another strange incident. Even though he hadn’t done anything this time.

‘Such is my fate…’ Takuya sighed a little inwardly because of it, but it was only for a moment.

Takuya looked around what he presumed to be a workshop. Oh, and the reason he was sure this was a workshop was simple.

It was because simple or complex-looking machines were lined up, along with disassembled parts and materials he’d never heard of. Things like these usually indicate either a workshop or a laboratory, but given how messy it was, it clearly wasn’t a lab. If his memory of being unwillingly confined in a lab was correct, then labs usually have stacks of documents rather than techie gadgets like these. They also pay attention to hygiene for any unforeseen variables.

Takuya thought that and was about to look around.

“That rotten brat! Why isn’t he coming!” That is, until a voice, so loud it sounded like thunder, echoed from a corner.

Takuya subtly turned his body and headed towards the source of the sound. He needed to meet someone else first to figure out what was going on.

‘Still, just in case. I should be ready to counterattack.’ Thinking that, Takuya crept forward and soon arrived at the source of the voice.

And what was there was…

‘An old man?’

It was an old man with white hair, whose body looked healthier than most young men. He couldn’t see his face because the man had his back turned, but judging by his reddened body, he didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

After observing the old man for a moment. It seemed there would be nothing good from getting involved with that old man, so he tried to escape.

“Hey, you there!! Who are youuuu!!!” That is, until the old man, as if possessed, noticed his location the moment he subtly pulled back.

Takuya turned his head and looked at the old man’s face, which was staring at him, and thought: ‘What should I do?’

Just running away wouldn’t be bad, but if he ran away from here, wouldn’t he look like a truly suspicious person? He figured it might be better to talk first, and then run if things looked like they’d go to hell.

“I can hear your mind working!” While Takuya was frantically thinking, the old man in front of him seemed to realize Takuya was deep in thought, and shouted.

Takuya briefly considered just bolting at the sound, but then decided to try talking. He walked forward to the old man, hands raised in a surrender pose.

“I’ve taken a wrong turn.”

Standing before the old man, Takuya could now clearly see his face. And Takuya’s assessment upon seeing the old man’s face was this: ‘He seems like a difficult old man.’

He seemed difficult. More accurately, he’d be incredibly annoying.

The reason Takuya assessed him this way was simple. It was because his face clearly showed stubbornness mixed with viciousness. You know, those particularly vicious teachers among school teachers. His expression was exactly like those teachers’.

Among them, a rather research-like? Viciousness was evident. To understand more accurately, if Yuzuke’s old man had the vicious viciousness of a powerful figure on his face, then this old man had the viciousness accumulated from nurturing hatred alone in a secluded room, so to speak.

Anyway, it was a face devoid of composure, brimming only with anger. Perhaps, if it were the usual Takuya, he would have disliked getting involved and fled, but sadly, this time he chose to talk instead of escaping, so he had no choice but to engage in conversation.

Just as Takuya thought that and was about to open his mouth.

“You, you’re!! That rotten brat!!” The old man’s expression, upon seeing Takuya, suddenly contorted in anger, and then he pointed a finger at Takuya and shouted.

Takuya was flustered by those words. What? Why am I a rotten brat?

Takuya was flustered by the sudden verbal assault, but the old man paid no mind and continued.

“Give me the watch quickly!! You’re keeping that precious thing stuck in such a place!!”

Takuya was puzzled by the old man’s words. Naturally, he was, since the old man was suddenly asking for a watch.

After a moment of thought, Takuya then… ‘A watch? Do I have something like that… Ah, no way?’ Realizing he did have a watch, he rummaged through his subspace pocket and pulled out a component he had received after farming and clearing a scenario a long time ago.

And as he pulled out the component, excitement rather than anger began to surge on the old man’s face. Takuya, fearing something might happen if he didn’t give him the component, quickly handed the old man the component and the watch, and then…

“Alright~!”

The old man, upon receiving the watch and the component, had his face—which had been contorted like a malevolent demon, as if he’d had his wife stolen—suddenly transform into that of a child. He then sat down on a chair with the watch and immediately began working.

And Takuya, watching the entire process, muttered: ‘What the hell is this?’

It was a situation where foul language was simply unavoidable.

***

How much time had passed since the old man began his work? Takuya couldn’t say anything, thanks to the old man’s back radiating an aura that screamed ‘Do not disturb,’ so he just looked around the workshop.

And as he looked around the workshop, he realized one thing. No, there were actually several things.

First, this workshop wasn’t just any ordinary workshop.

Because an ordinary workshop would never…

[Pill that Turns Men into Bitches]

It would never make a drug with a ridiculous name like that.

And that wasn’t the only one.

[Basic Penile Muscle Enhancement Implant] [Pill that Turns Beast-folk into Furries] [Beam that Turns Bread into Excrement] [Pistol that Makes Things Ripen Well] [X-ray Glasses]

And so on.

Aside from the ethical question of whether such things should be made in a workshop, it was filled with items that made him doubt if they could even be created.

And after cautiously experimenting with a few.

‘Why is this real?’

These items were ‘real’.

Of course, he didn’t know if all of them were real. He had only experimented with those X-ray glasses.

‘All the other ones were a bit too awkward for me to experiment with.’

The basic penile muscle enhancement implant was somewhat interesting, but implanting that into his spine was a bit…

Anyway, as Takuya looked around the workshop, he realized that this was no ordinary place, and it was a place that created extraordinary items.

In addition.

‘There’s only that old man in this workshop.’

He realized that the only person with a clue to leave this workshop was the one diligently working on the watch over there.

Thinking that, he played with the X-ray glasses while waiting for the work to finish.

“Kyahahaha!! Finally! Finally!! It’s completeee!!” Takuya, who was starting to feel sleepy and had closed his eyes while wearing the X-ray glasses, snapped awake at the old man’s thunderous laughter and looked at him.

The old man rose from his working chair and stretched his hands high into the air. More precisely, he was holding the finished watch, not just the component I had given him.

Just as Takuya, wondering what on earth that thing was to make the old man act like that, approached him to ask.

─Whir!

Suddenly, the watch vibrated faintly, then it flew out of the old man’s hand and came towards him.

“Wha—what is it?” He stared in bewilderment at the watch that had suddenly flown through the air and landed in his hand. No, why did the watch suddenly fly?

And he wasn’t the only one flustered when the watch flew.

“No! I fixed it, so why did it go to that rotten brat!!” The old man who had repaired the watch also had a flustered expression.

He tried to ask the old man what was going on, but…

“Kuh-heuk! So, it prefers players like him over a guy like me! Kuh-heuh-euk!!” The old man mumbled something without giving him a chance. Then.

“Filthy world!”

After saying that, he waved his arms frantically.

Suddenly, a bright light enveloped him, and when he came to his senses again, he was out of the alley where he had been standing before going into the workshop.

He looked around, bewildered by this inexplicable situation.

And then he realized.

‘I’m back.’

He had returned. At the same time, he thought:

‘What was that just now?’

A strange space, suspicious items, a weird old man. It was filled with nothing but strange things.

To be honest, he wondered if he had simply dreamt it.

But there was clear evidence that it wasn’t just a dream.

[Stopwatch] [Nude X-ray Glasses]

The items he had seen in the workshop and the perfectly repaired golden pocket watch were the proof.

At the clear evidence that it wasn’t a dream, Takuya felt a momentary dizziness, but then decided to think positively.

‘Anyway, I got some good items for free, didn’t I? Cheers~’

Thinking that, Takuya put the pocket watch and the X-ray glasses into his pocket and headed back to the path he had been walking.

Takuya calmed his momentarily confused mind and carefully placed the pocket watch and X-ray glasses into his pocket. The fact that this strange experience wasn’t just a dream made his head spin for a moment, but he quickly shook it off.

There was nothing more he could figure out by thinking about it, and it wasn’t the first time he’d had strange experiences coming from places like that.

With that, Takuya headed back to the hospital.

Carrying an enormous question in his mind.