Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Beneficiary
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"A decent spot. Rarely gets any customers."
The place we arrived at was a café near the factory.
An unmanned café.
There were no staff, but it was kept tidy.
The layout consisted of several small tables placed between long sofas.
There was enough seating for many, but only the two of us were using it.
"Well, there's a lot to talk about..."
The Doctor pours a cup of coffee.
And a glass of orange juice.
"If we're going to have a conversation..."
He brings the drinks over to the table.
The coffee for himself.
The orange juice for me.
Plop.
A single pill drops into the juice.
"It's more convenient to use our words."
The pill dissolves.
It vanished without a trace.
I drank it.
It tastes strange for just orange juice.
But it's good.
I keep sipping it.
My throat feels strangely warm.
[393 hours, 53 minutes]
"It's a drug that helps control abilities. They often give it to young Awakeners who lack control."
"...Control abilities?"
[393 hours, 52 minutes]
I check the time.
It hasn't gone down much.
"How does it taste?"
"It's delicious."
[393 hours, 52 minutes]
The time isn't decreasing.
I can speak as much as I want now.
Amazing.
The Doctor is amazing.
I fall silent.
I just swallow the drink without a word.
What should I say?
Right now, I'm happy.
But when I think about what the Doctor did, I can't help but feel he's the cause of all my problems.
Which means I have to kill the Doctor.
The Doctor...
I tried to create a knife, but it didn't work.
Is it because of that ability control thing?
What a scary drug.
If you secretly give this to someone, they'll be powerless?
Does such an all-powerful drug exist?
Well, to be honest, I don't really feel like killing him that much.
It just felt like something I was obligated to do.
"Why..."
"Yes?"
"Why did you come now?"
What could be the reason for the Doctor's appearance?
"Why do you hate me?"
I have so many questions.
I gulp down more of the drink.
"Huh?"
He hates me.
There's no other way he would have made me like this.
There must be a reason.
"But I like you, Doctor."
The drug seems to be working well.
It's making me say things I normally couldn't.
I feel pretty good, too.
The Doctor doesn't answer.
"...Ah."
The Doctor says, as if realizing something.
He takes the glass of orange juice.
"Haha, my."
He sniffs it and laughs.
Did something go wrong?
"I seem to have given you the wrong drink. This... is alcohol."
"Alcohol?"
I've already drunk more than half of it.
No wonder it tasted a bit different.
"I didn't intend to give a minor alcohol."
"Heh."
But the drugs are okay?
What is he even talking about.
"Ahaha."
That's funny.
A funny joke.
[393 hours, 51 minutes]
It's alcohol.
It doesn't seem to affect the time much.
"So why is it? Why do you hate me, Doctor?"
I can't see the Doctor's expression clearly.
It's as if there's a filter, or fog, or a shadow over it.
It was almost always like that.
Is this also a form of brainwashing or suggestion?
"Back there, it still hurt even with the drugs."
Should I get closer and try to see his face?
I'm not drunk.
There's no way I'm drunk.
I get up and move.
I walk to the sofa across the table, where the Doctor is sitting.
I only stumble a little.
"You deliberately told them to give me weaker drugs, didn't you?"
The drugs they used in the lab were all strange.
Some were too effective, and some were too weak.
There were times they just left me there when the effects were wearing off.
"Or not."
I sat down next to the Doctor.
It's soft.
"I thought you were a good person, Doctor, so why are you..."
I'm just spouting nonsense.
"I don't hate you. I like you."
He strokes my hair.
"...Hmm?"
Huh, you like me?
I can't follow the flow of this conversation.
I don't even know what I'm saying.
It feels like it's been a very long time since I heard someone say they like me.
When was the last time I heard it?
I really don't know.
No one ever told me they liked me.
"Ummm..."
It feels good to hear it, even if it's just empty words.
I felt even better.
I think it's a thing I have.
A lack of affection, maybe? I'm easily swayed by anyone who says nice things to me.
It's probably because I don't have parents or friends.
"It would be better to talk when you're sober. I didn't realize someone had put alcohol in the orange juice bottle."
This is bad.
I feel way too good.
I feel like I can forget all the bad things that happened with the Doctor.
Is my brain broken?
"Ahat."
It broke a long time ago.
I'm satisfied even in this state.
There isn't any major problem, is there?
Or is there?
[393 hours, 46 minutes]
Time is overflowing.
I can't possibly feel bad.
I'm happy.
"My hair has gotten longer."
"So it has."
"Oh, right. And. My eyes are a little strange."
I move my hair to show him my eye.
The pupil of my right eye was strange.
A vertical slit.
"And my body doesn't move well, and something's weird when I talk..."
There are too many strange things.
"I see and hear strange things, I can't think straight, and my memory is weird..."
A lot of things are really strange.
What do I do?
If I go to a hospital and get treatment, can I live?
I think Researcher A worried about that.
Hospitals have doctors.
The Doctor is right next to me.
"I don't know anything now except how to use drugs..."
What should I do?
"It's too late for treatment, isn't it?"
I can't believe I'm still talking about treatment.
"It's not too late."
"Really?"
"There's nothing to worry about."
How does he plan to treat me?
Is there a way?
"Is that really true?"
I don't know if I can believe him.
Last time, he said it was a cure, but nothing was cured.
I just wanted to use more drugs.
Or maybe I just don't know.
Maybe if I kept using them, I would have actually been cured.
Did I just not use enough?
"...What would be good."
The Doctor checks something on his phone.
"What do you mean?"
"Could you give me a number? Any one will do."
"A number?"
[393 hours, 45 minutes]
"45?"
"Ah, yes. Then..."
"Huh?"
Then what?
"I think I'll send a text."
"To whom?"
"To the person who will treat you, Seo-ah. I need to let them know the patient's condition."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"The beneficiary who owes you a debt. They said they would cure you."
"A debt..."
What kind of debt?
Most of my memories are of being trapped in the lab, so I can't think of anything.
"At the very least, they'll erase those scars without a trace."
"Aha."
That's a relief.
I didn't want to show my scars when I met my friend.
Was he a friend?
My memory is vague.
What happened back then?
I know that Han Si-hoo hated me a lot.
I felt like I was going to die.
Maybe it was a dream.
[393 hours, 31 minutes]
A little more time passed.
Just being able to relax in a café is nice.
And it's even better that they said I can be cured.
"Can I look forward to it?"
"Yes."
I feel like we've gotten a little closer.
"A little more juice..."
"Ah, that's enough of this."
"Ah..."
The Doctor moves the cup aside.
I felt like I could have had a little more.
"Can I lie down?"
"Yes."
Wow.
"A lap pillow... Hehe..."
The sofa was long, so I could lie down.
My head was spinning, so I just lay down.
Is it because of the alcohol?
My head feels strangely hot, too.
"You can go to sleep."
"...I don't want to."
I can't just close my eyes anywhere.
It wouldn't be strange to wake up back in the lab.
They could send me anywhere while I'm pickled in drugs.
My vision starts to distort.
I'm confused about where I'm lying.
Am I really on a sofa, or have I been placed on an experiment table?
I'm confused about who is with me.
They must be a friend to be with me.
Is it Si-hoo?
Was the Doctor Si-hoo?
No, that's not right.
Right.
Is it a researcher?
Have I been in the lab this whole time, just lost in a delusion?
My vision isn't working properly.
"Ahat."
I feel good, but it's strange.
My mind is hazy.
I smile brightly.
[393 hours, 20 minutes]
***
An outing with a friend.
My first outing with my first friend.
The friend who called the girl, who had only ever been called Saintess, by her name.
Han Si-hoo.
It's an outing for just the two of them.
Of course, it's not for leisurely fun.
Thanks to the recent magical beast escape at the research institute, they had discovered corruption at the munitions factory.
As the Saintess had connections to both the institute and the factory, she could be of great help to Han Si-hoo.
"This should be fine, right? I won't look strange."
She adjusts her clothes while looking in the mirror.
Several outfits she'd never usually buy.
A white outfit that matched her long, white hair.
Pure white, just like a Saintess.
Is it too conspicuous?
Another outfit would be better.
As she tried on various clothes, the time for her appointment drew near.
"Okay. I'll just... go with this."
A gray hoodie.
She decided to go with a casual look.
It's not good to stand out too much.
She went out into the street.
No one's gaze lingered on her.
It was a good choice of clothing after all.
After leaving her house, she arrived at a café.
Si-hoo would be here soon.
"One café latte, please."
She ordered something first.
-Ding.
A text message arrived.
She went to the seat she had saved and sat down.
Hoping it was Si-hoo, she prepared to read it.
What had arrived was a strange link.
She was hesitant, not knowing who sent it.
"Is it spam?"
I heard you're not supposed to open these things carelessly.
-Ding.
Another text arrived.
This time, it was a picture.
A girl smiling brightly.
The white lab coat was familiar.
What was her name again?
Was it Seo-ah?
A promise from the past came to mind.
-So if I just stay in the lab for a month... you'll cure everything?
-Yeah. I already saved you when you were dying, right? I can even cure severe drug addiction.
-I'll do it.
-Good choice. It'll hurt a bit, but I heard you have an immunity to drugs, right? Just endure it for a month.
-Okay.
She knew from seeing her condition back then.
There was no way she could last more than a month.
She had thought the girl must have died long ago.
She wonders who sent the text.
Are they trying to blackmail me?
The only person who would do something like this is...
She hesitates before clicking the link.
A video starts playing.
A 45-minute-long surveillance camera recording.
The date on the screen was from six months ago.
It showed a girl sitting in a chair.
"-Ah, you were already here."
Just then, Si-hoo walked into the café.
She hurriedly turned off her phone.
She decided to watch the video later.
A video sent by some unknown person for some unknown reason.
"Ah, hello, Si-hoo."
On a day like today, it was nothing but a nuisance.