Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Drug
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The drug.
Yes.
The drug.
Using the drug feels good.
Happy.
There are many ways to be happy.
I could lose myself in fantasies.
The fantasy that I was, in fact, a happy person.
Maybe being trapped in this white room is just a dream, and I’m actually living happily at home with my family?
Playing with friends outside is fun.
When I dream, I find myself trapped in a strange white room.
That’s how it is.
I was playing.
Playing with my best friend.
Happily.
Just thinking about what to play is fun.
It was a playground.
We were playing in an abandoned playground.
The slide and swings were rusty, but we could still use them.
The next moment, my arm was shattered.
It’s not a playground, but a strange operating room.
They say they’re conducting an experiment.
They inject a drug, saying they’re measuring my regenerative abilities.
The drug.
Then it’s the playground again.
I’m playing in the playground.
It’s just a nasty nightmare.
We are each other’s only friend.
We have no one else to rely on.
So it’s good to be together.
We don’t know what the future holds.
But as long as we’re together, everything is fine.
The future looks bright.
Then the next moment, I can’t see anything.
What did these bastards do to my eyes.
Even if I have complaints, I have to endure them.
There’s nothing I can do.
And a little later, they inject the drug.
Then I can see the playground again.
I keep having bad dreams, and it’s making me feel down.
So I complain to my friend.
“I had a bad dream.”
“It’s okay. It’s just a dream.”
That’s how they comfort me.
Right.
It’s a dream.
I still can’t see.
It’s hot, like something is burning.
I hear them say they need to use a different drug.
I wish they would just do it right.
Whatever it is.
Give me more of the drug.
And then I return to the playground.
The sky seen from the playground at dusk is beautiful.
Even the ruins of the crumbling buildings look beautiful.
No one lives here, and no one maintains it.
The population has dwindled, and all the living have gone to the cities.
But there are still people here.
I can see a fence with the words, “Children are the future.”
It seems there was a small elementary school here before it became a crumbling ruin.
“If they’re talking about the future, that must be us.”
“Us?”
“Yeah.”
What kind of future are they talking about?
Are they hoping for a good future?
One day we’ll grow up and become great people.
My vision started to return.
Someone shouts, asking what they’re thinking, pouring the undiluted solution.
I don’t know what the undiluted solution is, but it’s probably the drug.
Is what’s streaming down my face not tears, but the drug?
More of the drug pours down.
I’m talking with my friend.
A peaceful daily life.
“What are you going to be when you grow up?”
“Hmm.”
I had to think about it.
What would be good to become?
“Someone who... helps other people.”
That was the answer I gave.
I learned that caring for others is a good thing.
When I grow up, I’ll become a kind person who helps others.
A good person.
So, was I helping others?
They said I could help people through these experiments.
That I could save many people.
That this was a valuable thing.
I have to be a good kid.
Then the adults will like me.
See, the reason we can’t live in the city.
The adults hate us.
Parents, relatives, everyone else, they all abandoned us.
You too, right?
“Someday, when I become a little more amazing...”
Becoming amazing.
I hope a day like that comes.
At least I won’t be a burden to others.
I won’t hold people back.
“Maybe...”
I’ll become that kind of cool person.
A good person.
“My parents might even recognize me and come for me.”
I know.
They’re dead.
They’re all dead, which is why I’m in a place like this.
Everyone died in a surprise magical beast attack, leaving me alone.
“If I become a really, really cool person, maybe they’ll come find me.”
But you never know.
They’re definitely dead.
They must be dead.
But maybe my family isn’t dead.
Maybe they’re not.
Just like how I’m not dead yet.
“It’s a useful test subject, so store it properly.”
I am useful.
I am being helpful.
I’m helping other people.
It’s a wonderful thing.
Then someday, people will recognize me.
My family will come back to me.
Because I’m a good kid.
I don’t hold others back.
I’ll never be a hindrance.
Don’t throw me away.
Can’t you stay with me?
The sun is now setting on the playground.
Still, I’m glad I have family.
I’m so glad I have a friend who’s like family.
“Where are you?”
I look for my friend.
We’re playing hide-and-seek.
We agreed to hide only near the playground, but I can’t see them.
“Wh-where are you?”
I can’t find them.
Where did they go?
“Hic...”
After searching for a long time, I still can’t find them.
Tears start to fall.
Because I’m scared.
“Here, I’m here. Sorry.”
This is why we didn’t play hide-and-seek often.
Because I’d start crying at the slightest bit of anxiety.
Then again, with only two of us, it might not have been a great game to play.
I hated the feeling of being abandoned.
I didn’t want to be abandoned by anyone.
I hate it when people I was close to leave.
I hate it when people I knew turn their backs on me.
Anyway, I wasn’t abandoned.
Because I’m a useful test subject.
If I can’t be anything else, at least I can be that.
That’s a useful life, right?
I’m living a meaningful life.
By the time I become an adult, I’ll be a really good person.
Yeah.
What kind of person will I be when I grow up?
I’ll be living in a nice house, with my family.
I’ll probably be incredibly happy.
I wonder if I’ll have made a lot of friends.
I’m starting to get curious about that friend’s name.
That very close friend.
The one I played with at the playground.
But I can’t remember their name.
It’s like I’ve forgotten every name there is.
I don’t know why.
“You know.”
My friend speaks up.
As if they’ve made a decision.
“I’m going to help other people too.”
“I see.”
So you’re going to be a good person too.
Just like me.
“And I’m going to protect everyone.”
Protect them?
I don’t know what that means.
That sounds like a very difficult thing to do.
Can they do it?
“Will you protect me too?”
They’re going to protect everyone.
So that includes me.
“Yeah.”
“Wow.”
“Agh, ugh, waah...”
My legs won’t move.
My legs.
“They should recover in about three hours.”
My legs won’t move.
My legs won’t move.
It hurts, something’s wrong.
It will be fine in just three hours.
A lot of time seems to have passed.
I look at the clock, and there are 2 hours and 59 minutes left.
A lot of time seems to have passed.
It’s still 59 minutes.
Ah, I’ve really held on for a long time now.
59 minutes.
Still?
But I am a good person.
A sacrifice?
Is that what this is?
I sacrifice myself so something can be gained, right?
That’s a good thing, right?
“Hehe, huheh, haheh...”
Yes! It’s a good thing!
“I think it’s gone strange.”
“It was always like that.”
I’m a good kid, right?
I’ve become a good kid, right?
Everyone likes me, right?
You won’t throw me away, right?
You’ll protect me, right?
The drug, give me the drug.
Just a little more.
And I found the drug.
It was really in the lab.
Just like Researcher A said.
The lab was on the fourth floor.
It’s large and spacious, big enough to accommodate even giant magical beasts.
“Ahat.”
Leaning against the window, I look down outside.
People are fighting.
The magical beasts have almost all been dealt with.
One Awakener killing the beasts catches my eye.
With that much light in the middle of the night, there’s no way I wouldn’t know.
The champion of justice.
A hero.
The protagonist.
That person is…
My friend.
The view from the lab feels even more special.
It’s vast.
Last time, I was the one on the operating table.
This time, it’s the other way around.
The ones on the operating tables aren’t me, but the staff here.
The ones collapsed on the floor aren’t me either.
Thanks to that, I got a lot of the drug.
Plunge.
[345 hours 16 minutes]
Clink.
A syringe falls to the floor.
Thanks to that, it was nice to recall fragments of happy memories.
Bad memories came up too, but that can’t be helped.
I tried to be a good person.
But they said they were going to dispose of me.
They said to throw me in the incinerator.
It couldn’t be helped.
I just did to them what was done to me.
As if they could have lasted even 30 seconds.
I still don’t get it.
I did a good thing for you.
You said it was for a good cause.
Why didn’t you praise me and try to throw me away?
Flash.
A light flashes again beyond the window.
Wow, a star.
I wanted to go stargazing.
Plunge.
[353 hours 53 minutes]
Come to think of it, we promised to go stargazing together.
If we go to the roof, we’ll be able to see the stars.
But watching them all by myself is lonely.
The light flashes a few more times, and the magical beasts fall.
It seems they didn’t come alone.
The beam of light shot from a distance is probably magic from a colleague.
Cool.
It’s a magnificent sight from afar.
I don’t want to see it up close.
It seems the magical beast suppression will be completed soon.
I see more people who have been rescued than people who are fleeing.
I also see people entering this lab building.
I can hear a faint thumping sound.
Someone is coming up the building.
“This is the Rescue Team, you can come out now, it’s safe!”
So they say.
“What, what did this... There might be a magical beast inside. Be careful.”
I hear voices from the hallway.
It seems they’re almost at my location.
Plunge.
“Hah.”
Feels good.
[361 hours 13 minutes]
With this, I’ve used all the drugs that were here.
There was less than I thought.
Slam!
The Rescue Team bursts through the door.
Five armed people.
They seem horrified by what they see inside the lab.
The corpses of magical beasts and humans are strewn about.
The only living thing is me.
It seems they’ve finally spotted me.
“[Please save me.]”
I said with a smile.
They came to save me.
Who else is there to save in a place like this but me?
I’m glad someone came to save me, even now.