Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Something Seems to Be Going Wrong (5)
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Running into Sabrina was a simple coincidence.
After searching the party hall high and low to no avail, I had come down to the underground parking garage where David's plan was set to begin, half-resigned to failure.
But I never expected to find her trying to persuade David all by her lonesome, looking utterly pathetic.
It seemed this was a timeline where Sabrina and Raven had never crossed paths.
‘Hmm… Still, in a way, this is a relief. If Sabrina wasn't here at all, there'd be nothing I could do.’
It wasn't such a bad situation, all things considered.
The worst-case scenario would have been her not being at the hotel at all, perhaps injured or kidnapped.
At this point, thanks to David's research, she was the only one who knew the true purpose of this terrorist incident and Nemesis's conspiracy.
If I could just get Sabrina and Raven together, things would somehow work themselves out.
‘Alright. Now's the time. Let's go down.’
The moment David boarded the elevator, unmoved by his sister's pleas, and Sabrina, who had rushed after him too late, collapsed in front of the heartlessly closed doors, sobbing her heart out.
Hanging upside down from the ceiling with psychokinesis, I slowly released my power and landed silently on the floor.
“Sob, sniff… Brother…. H-Hwaaah! W-What was that?!”
“…”
Was she startled by the sudden appearance of a person dropping down in front of her?
Sabrina, who had been crying so sorrowfully it was painful to watch, instantly stopped her tears and scrambled backward on the floor.
Nothing stops a child's tears quite like this.
Having inadvertently administered some shock therapy, I puffed out my chest and looked at Sabrina with confidence.
And did she finally notice my appearance?
She hastily wiped her tears with her forearm and rose to her feet, her face full of suspicion.
“Wh-What are you, security? No, you're just a little kid…”
“…”
“M-More importantly, you! You were eavesdropping just now, weren't you! Are you going to tattle?!”
Sabrina, who had been bawling as if her world had ended just moments ago, clamped her mouth shut and took a threatening stance, ready to pounce.
Ooh, so that's the Iron Tiger Bear Fist from the original story.
She had a similar build to mine, yet her body felt like that of a giant bear. Amazing.
‘No, this isn't the time to be calmly impressed. First, I need to clear up this misunderstanding. I have to convey that I want to help, and naturally steer things so that Raven's assistance can resolve the situation smoothly…’
As I muttered this inwardly, I suddenly felt a strange sense of unease.
…Come to think of it, how am I supposed to convey these thoughts to Sabrina?
“Answer me! If you don't, I won't go easy on you just because you're a kid! I'll smash your face in, mask and all!”
“…!”
This is bad.
I'd completely forgotten that I can't speak!
At this rate, it felt like I was about to get beaten up without any chance to explain myself.
I vigorously shook my head at the menacing Sabrina, trying to show I had no such intention.
Then, I made an 'X' with my fingers over my throat to indicate I couldn't speak, and raised both hands as if surrendering.
“You can't talk? You expect me to believe that right now…?!”
“…”
Hmm, she doesn't believe me right away.
Well, she is from the underworld, where you can't afford to be naive.
It's only natural for her to be suspicious of a stranger.
But this was a problem.
We need to trust and help each other to achieve a good outcome, and this was just wasting time and opportunity!
‘Ah! Maybe this will work…’
How on earth can I move this situation forward?
As I pondered, a good idea flashed through my mind.
A way to calm down the agitated Sabrina and earn her trust.
Right, if I have an idea, I should act on it immediately.
I carefully opened my hands, curled my fingers, and brought them to the top of my head.
Then I bounced on the spot, wiggling my hands like perked-up ears.
…Huh? What am I doing, you ask?
I'm mimicking the round, cute ears of a bear! Can't you tell?
“You… that's… Reine's…”
“…!”
That's right! That's it!
I nodded vigorously at Sabrina, whose expression was shifting from intense suspicion to surprise, and then to relief.
This gesture was none other than the bear impression created by the kidnapped princess, Reine.
Sabrina, who, aside from her round, furry bear ears, looked no different from a human.
It was a dance Reine had created to comfort her when she felt like an outcast in metahuman society.
In other words, it was a precious memory connecting Sabrina to Reine, who was like an older sister to her.
It was more than enough to serve as a secret code between them!
…Ugh, it's a bit embarrassing, like I'm doing a children's dance.
But I can literally see her guard coming down, so this is no time to worry about shame.
“D-Don't tell me… did Reine send you?!”
“…”
“You… who are… No, it's fine. If you know that, you can't be an enemy.”
The tension drained from her shoulders.
It seemed she now believed I hadn't been hiding with malicious intent.
I just tried it on a whim. The bear dance is super effective.
As I sighed in relief and considered my next move, Sabrina spoke with an apologetic expression.
“Yeah. I couldn't stop my brother. You came to blame me for that, didn't you?”
“…!”
“…It's fine. Reine would have tried to stop my foolish brother too, if she knew he was fighting Nemesis alone. There's no way he can win. It's like trying to break a boulder with an egg.”
Despite me shaking my head to say that wasn't it, she spoke with downcast eyes and gazed at the elevator.
And Sabrina, her face steeped in helplessness, stared silently past the elevator for a moment before something seemed to dawn on her. She let out a small, wry smile and looked back at me.
“Even I know that, and I never even went to school. There's no way my brother doesn't know. Right?”
“…”
“My foolish brother went knowing all that. He's not doing it because he can, but because he has to.”
Huh.
Saying that in this atmosphere…
Wait, that's not it, is it? You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?
“I have to go help my brother. I probably won't be much use… but I can at least lend some strength.”
“…?!”
“If you get to see Reine again, tell her. Tell her it's not her fault, just that two foolish siblings decided to do something reckless.”
No, no, no!
Why did you come to that conclusion?
You don't want your brother to die, so you should be looking for someone to help through me, right?
Why did you suddenly have an awakening and decide to help David yourself?!
‘Did she misunderstand and think that Reine, who was kidnapped because of me, is still trying her best without giving up? Ah… this is driving me crazy!’
But looking at Sabrina's face, the dark clouds that had hung over it now completely gone, it seemed impossible to stop her.
Was this how Sabrina felt just now when she let David go?
The way the original plot was collapsing so spectacularly made me want to cry.
*Ding.*
She must have pressed the button already, because the elevator came to a stop.
And Sabrina stepped into the open elevator without a moment's hesitation.
If I let her go alone, it would be a complete disaster.
Realizing this, I urgently followed her and jumped into the elevator.
“What are you doing? You can't come. Someone has to be there to give Reine the news.”
“…”
“…Do what you want. I warned you. From here on out, it's your fault for following.”
Who was worrying about whom, exactly?
Sabrina turned her head away with a huff, but her expression clearly showed she was happy I had followed.
As for me, I wanted to grab her by the scruff of the neck and drag her to Raven.
The problem was, to do that, I'd have to openly use my psychokinesis.
She might look like a cute girl, but as a bear metahuman, her strength was on par with a grown man's.
And then all my efforts to hide my psychokinesis would go up in smoke.
I could become a huge sensation as the world's only psychic, hounded by countless people wanting to meet me and shake my hand.
Of course, no one knew what would happen after that.
Things might even take an unexpected turn and end on a positive note.
But one thing was certain.
If that happened, I would no longer be able to enjoy my peaceful life as a mere part-timer at the Crowley Fixer Agency.
‘What should I do? What on earth can I do? Is there a way to solve this difficult situation…?’
Inside the cramped elevator, shooting up from the underground garage to the ground floor in an instant.
I racked my brain until my head throbbed.
And the moment the elevator stopped at the floor Sabrina had selected.
A paradigm shift occurred in my stress-addled brain.
‘…Do I really need to stop Sabrina? At this point, why not just help her make the terrorist plot succeed, and then connect David directly to Raven?’
It was a truly brutish plan.
Forget the original plot. It was a method that erased all the intermediate steps and left only the result.
Yes, come to think of it, obsessing over the original story was ridiculous.
Would someone who goes on and on about the 'original story' personally beat up Drakel and steal the Tesseract?
It's not like it's some emergency fund I only dip into when it's convenient.
Besides, making detailed plans never suited someone like me, who acts on impulse.
‘Two things stand in David's way. The combat robots that his firepower can't break through, and Lexi, who is exceptionally strong. Without those two obstacles, David's plan has a good chance of succeeding.’
Let's abandon the fixed idea that I have to stick to the original plot.
Can I really not clear these two things out of David's path?
‘I might not be able to eliminate them… but I can definitely push them off the board for a while.’
I trotted after Sabrina as she exited the elevator and moved forward, hastily adding details to the plan I'd just come up with.
‘Avoid revealing my psychic powers, avoid getting hurt or killed in the terrorist attack, and neutralize the combat robots and Lexi. Maybe… this could work?’
My eyes sparkled as the plan came together in my head, fitting perfectly like blocks of the right shape.
*
[ “That concludes the product introduction… We will now take a short break! We hope you'll look forward to the upcoming presentation, where you can witness a new innovation for the future of metahumans firsthand!” ]
At that same moment, in the banquet hall where the emcee had just announced a short break before the main presentation.
Having heard the gist of the product introduction, Raven clicked his tongue as if he'd expected as much.
“…Innovation, my ass.”
“Why? Isn't a prosthetic arm that metahumans can use innovative enough?”
“Now that I've heard it for myself, I get it. This stuff already exists. From about ten years ago, when we were fighting like hell.”
“What?!”
Alice's eyes widened in surprise.
She thought it was a brand-new technology, but it existed ten years ago?
When she looked at Raven, demanding an explanation, he answered while digging in his ear.
“You, why do you think metahumans can't use prosthetics?”
“Uh… because magical energy doesn't flow through mechanical devices, right?”
“That's about half the reason. To be precise, it's because each metahuman species has a different physical structure.”
Just as humans differ from orcs, the bodies of orcs and elves differ as well.
And there are so many different types of metahumans it's dizzying to even count them.
Lumping all metahumans into one category was nonsensical from the start.
“Oh? You're right. Now that I think about it, there's no way a Woodkin with a body of wood and a Fishman who's similar to a fish could use the same prosthetic arm…”
“Exactly. But they claim this one works? Why is that?”
“Uhm…”
Alice thought hard.
But unable to figure it out, she looked to Raven for the answer.
“They're using the properties of magical energy. Both Woodkin and Fishmen have magical energy flowing through their bodies. If you can interpret the magical energy response when they try to move and use that to control the prosthetic, it's not impossible.”
“Ooh, right! Because they have magical energy!”
Alice clapped her hands in fascination.
But Raven sighed as if that wasn't the important part.
“However, there's a problem with this method. A response from magical energy means that magical energy is being consumed. Just wearing this kind of prosthetic drains the user's magical energy. And it puts a heavy strain on the part of the body connected to it.”
“That… is definitely a problem.”
“Right. So guys who desperately needed an arm or a leg would use it for a bit, then toss it, realizing it wasn't something for long-term use. It would just make their condition worse.”
Raven said, his gaze turning grim as he looked toward the emcee.
Nemesis must know that too. Why would they think of brazenly releasing something like this onto the market?
As he mulled this over, his hands itching for a fight.
Alice, who had been looking around, suddenly spoke with a worried expression.
“But, Jin. Yuria went to the restroom and still hasn't come back. Do you think she might be lost…?”
“Huh? You're right. Where the hell did that part-timer go?”
Raven scratched the back of his head.
Considering her usual personality, she was quite sharp and composed.
And thinking about her true identity as a ghost, he wasn't too worried.
Still, she was an employee he was responsible for, and she'd been gone for this long.
As her boss, he couldn't just sit around.
“Should we go look for her? There's not much point in watching more of this anyway. Let's look around outside for a bit, then grab a bite to eat and head home.”
“Okay! Let's go quickly!”
Raven and Alice left the banquet hall at an unhurried pace.
It was a leisurely pace born from a certain trust—that such a small, cute kid wouldn't possibly be getting into any trouble.