episode_0138

……………………

……………..

……

“I’m here~.”

It was evening, after the sun had set.

The door to the research and experimentation lab of the villain organization Abyss opened, and No. 13, grinning foolishly, waved his hand back and forth as he entered.

Dorothy took off her glasses and glared at him, looking annoyed.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’re in a bad mood? Is something the matter?”

“Your smile just makes irritation surge within me. Other than that, nothing’s wrong.”

“…That’s so harsh, seriously.”

No. 13 grumbled and placed the report file he was carrying onto a nearby table.

“Here, this is the report you requested, Dorothy. The detailed data files and recordings of the experiments have been uploaded to the cloud.”

“Alright. I’ll check them later.”

“…But, is it really necessary to watch something like that?”

From No. 13’s perspective, it was honestly hard to tell what difference there was no matter which video he watched.

At most, they were just videos of heroes writhing and moaning obscenely.

It felt like amateur porn that made him aroused just by watching, but he couldn’t understand how it was useful for research.

“How it helps with research, you don’t need to know that far. You don’t even need to think about it. Of course, it would be good if you paid a little more attention when filming or recording, but it’s hard for your brain to consider such things. I don’t expect it. You might even mess things up more by unnecessarily thinking about it, so it’s better if you don’t know anything at all.”

“…You’re still looking down on people quite a lot.”

“Express it as objective and factual.”

Since it was also true, he had nothing to retort with.

Anyway, No. 13 was the one receiving help, and while Dorothy was a genius, he was, at best, merely ordinary, so it was natural that he found it difficult to understand her thoughts even a little.

He agreed that there was no need to know the details, so No. 13 decided not to discuss this any further.

Meanwhile, Dorothy silently went to a nearby shelf, took out several vials of medicine and syringes, and laid them out in front of No. 13.

Dorothy was experimenting with the drugs she had developed on the heroes of Unit 7 that she had recently acquired.

She had already tested several types of drugs, and at a glance, the quantity had significantly increased compared to before.

“Here, these are also new drugs I want you to experiment with. The targets for each drug are marked on the labels of their respective bottles, so make sure you don’t accidentally give them to the wrong person.”

“Understood. …But, are they really okay? There aren’t any side effects, are they?”

“I won’t know until I check them myself.”

“Hey, Dorothy.”

“What. Do you have a complaint?”

Dorothy glared coldly. No. 13 met her gaze.

“Anyway, those women only think of you and us as villains. They’re just targets to be killed. So is it wrong for us to see them that way? Is it bad for us not to treat them as humans, just as they treat us? What’s wrong with using them as guinea pigs?”

It was truly cold and callous, but it made sense logically.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, she meant.

To that, No. 13 responded with a small sigh.

“First, let me tell you, the heroes of Unit 7 are important pawns for our Abyss, which currently lacks combat personnel. And there are endless uses for them. It would be troublesome if an accident happened due to something like this, reducing our strength.”

“…….”

“And above all, that doesn’t align with our organization’s policy. ‘Do as you please.’ ‘Do what you want.’ That’s our organization’s policy, but we’ve strictly forbidden taking a life, without exception, until the very end.”

Because they don’t treat us as humans, we don’t treat them as humans either.

Awakened Ones don’t have human rights anyway, so no matter what happens to them, the law and the country won’t protect them.

No. 13 also freely abuses the heroes of Unit 7, but that doesn’t mean he kidnaps women off the street and rapes them in the same way.

His usual playful acts of terror certainly cause harm to ordinary people, but he avoids causing casualties.

It’s fine to act as villains do, doing whatever they please.

But there’s a line that must be upheld, and the boss of this organization clearly drew that line, and No. 13 was following it.

And Dorothy, who belonged to this organization, also had to uphold it.

Dorothy gazed at No. 13 for a while.

No. 13 did not avoid her gaze.

Then, Dorothy let out a small laugh.

“It was a joke, you idiot. The drugs are first verified to the extent I can, then I only release those that have been selected as safely proven as possible. That should be enough, right?”

“…That wasn’t a very funny joke. Well, if you say so, Dorothy, then I guess it’s fine.”

“Of course, I can’t confirm 100%. That’s why we’re experimenting to find out. But you’ll cut me some slack on that much, No. 13, won’t you?”

Though he felt uneasy, No. 13 couldn’t be that strict, no matter what.

Dorothy then began to line up more vials of medicine, one after another.

These were familiar bottles.

“And here. Replenishments for the improved brainwashing drug, and the aphrodisiac you requested.”

“Oh, thanks for taking care of it. Thanks to Dorothy’s aphrodisiac, I can abuse even more heroes.”

“…Hearing that doesn’t particularly make me happy.”

Dorothy added with a cold demeanor.

“The aphrodisiac is still in the testing phase, so if you take it and feel something strange, tell me.”

“Really? It’s safe, right?”

“Well. I haven’t specifically verified its safety.”

“…You verify every single one you give to the heroes? But you don’t care about what you give me?”

“Don’t you need it?”

“……I need it.”

Well, whatever.

There haven’t been any problems so far.

Even if it’s improved, it would only have a few ingredients added, so there surely won’t be any problems this time either.

Anyway, his business with Dorothy was done.

As he thought that, he suddenly noticed Dorothy staring intently.

“What is it? Is there something else you want to say?”

“No, not really.”

“Then why are you staring like that? Ah, is it because you’ve finally noticed how handsome I am? I really am a man full of sin.”

“…Was there a side effect in the aphrodisiac I gave you that damages the brain? If so, I apologize.”

His brain was perfectly fine, but he’d received an apology.

Why does no one understand this handsomeness? It truly is a pity.

“Is there really nothing wrong? Like, a woman showing strange signs, or signs of brainwashing wearing off, or someone suddenly acting eccentrically?”

“…..? I’m not sure what you’re trying to say, but for now, I don’t think there’s anything like that?”

“Really? Think carefully.”

“Hmm….”

Even with that, nothing specific came to mind.

First of all, the brainwashing of all members of Unit 7 had proceeded smoothly, and all the members were being played with by No. 13.

If Dorothy’s drugs or No. 13’s brainwashing hadn’t worked, he wouldn’t still be having sex with those women.

No. 13’s head would have burst or been crushed a long time ago.

“No. There must be something wrong. There has to be.”

“…I said nothing comes to mind. Why are you so sure? It’s the brainwashing drug you made, isn’t it? I submit reports every day.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my drugs. The problem is on your end, No. 13.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. You, No. 13, are the problem. After all, you’re a human being who has incredibly bad luck.”

Dorothy’s words implied this:

Since No. 13 is an unlucky person who attracts misfortune, it’s impossible for there to be no abnormalities whatsoever.

What was that?

Was that something to say in front of the person concerned?

More than that, he admitted to being unlucky, but he didn’t want to admit to being *that* unlucky….

“Always consider the worst-case scenario, No. 13. The world is unreasonable, humans cannot be trusted, and the least trustworthy is oneself. If you don’t doubt and doubt again, you can’t be a villain.”

“…Dorothy, you don’t trust yourself?”

“I’m an exception. My excellence is a fact and truth regardless of whether you believe it or not.”

She was full of confidence.

Anyway, he seemed to understand what Dorothy was trying to say.

Hadn’t she given him similar advice before?

Not to think too easily or comfortably, but always assume the worst and prepare thoroughly for any contingencies.

Thanks to her advice, when he subjugated Rahe, he was able to barely overcome a dangerous crisis and turn the situation around.

If he had been even slightly negligent in his preparations, or if he had lacked even one move, No. 13 would have been torn to shreds by Rahe and lost his life that day.

“…I won’t forget. Not getting too excited, and being cautious. That’s enough, right?”

“Hmph. It’s good if you understood. I don’t really care if someone like you dies or not, but this organization still needs you. Ah, I also want to avoid a decrease in test subjects.”

Still a cold tone, devoid of much emotion.

But even though she seemed like an emotionless scientist, he somehow felt that she cared for and worried about him more than anyone else.

That she gave appropriate advice when needed was also part of it.

─Dorothy was a tsundere.

No. 13 didn’t voice that thought, instead gathering all the medicines Dorothy had prepared and leaving the lab.

Her advice was not forgotten, etched into a corner of his mind.