Chapter 52
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Ally
I’m being kept.
[950 hours, 26 minutes]
There’s no other way to put it.
It feels like I’m being raised by the doctor.
It’s so languid and comfortable.
But my mind is uneasy.
Something is screaming that I shouldn't be like this.
"...More... medicine..."
Why am I slurring my words?
I'm screwed.
I'm completely steeped in it.
But there's nothing I can do.
It's better to just give in to instinct and rest like this.
...
Rest?
What am I talking about?
Am I going to keep resting in this state?
The drugs must have eaten away at my brain for me to think like this.
“Ugh…”
I'm so screwed.
There's no turning back from this.
Actually, I'm starting to wonder if it even matters.
It's already a given that it's too late.
I'll just... keep going like this...
Like this...
What will happen to me?
That part is a mystery.
The amount of drugs I've used today alone must have exceeded the lethal dose.
I remember them talking about the median lethal dose and whatnot back at the lab.
Anyway, I didn't die.
So it's okay to use a little more.
A lot more.
The more, the better.
The drugs must be good for the body after all.
Even if they're bad for my body, I don't care.
My life is ruined anyway.
As long as I can feel good, that's all that matters.
“Hee... heh.”
Do something.
Where did all the plans I'd made go?
I was trying to do something.
I've just forgotten it all.
This is why most of my memories have evaporated.
I was always passed out from the drugs at the lab, too.
All the bad memories, blown away.
My mind is uneasy, but I like the unique, tingling sensation of the drug.
I want to get up, but I have no strength.
I don't even know where I am.
“Medicine…”
"You just had some five minutes ago."
Did I?
Can't I even last that long now?
I have no self-control whatsoever.
No, actually, there's a reason.
A reason why I have to use up every last drug here.
There definitely was.
What was it?
It feels like my brain is melting.
I can't remember.
It's broken.
Still, a little more.
I want to be happier.
"Still..."
Still, give me more.
Hand it over.
“[Give me more.]”
"It seems you're at least controlling your Command Spell usage."
I don't care.
It seems Command Spells and the like don't work on the doctor.
"It's less of a Command Spell and more of a pseudo-draconic tongue, I'd say."
I don't know what he's talking about.
It doesn't seem like he said it for me to understand anyway.
"Here is the medicine."
-Plunge.
Medicine.
[953 hours, 1 minute]
The rate at which the time increases has slowed significantly.
Ever since I passed 800 hours, the time hasn't been increasing much.
Still, there should be plenty of medicine left.
"More. Please..."
He pushes the needle in again.
[955 hours, 46 minutes]
This sensation of every single nerve cell awakening.
It's not enough.
It's still not enough.
Because there's medicine everywhere.
I'm going to use it all.
Ah, I remember now.
Why I have to use all the medicine.
There's a reason I must.
So, it was this room.
The study.
The place where the doctor reads difficult-looking medical books.
And I'm just lying on the carpeted floor.
The bookshelf in the study has a secret mechanism.
“Haaah…”
If you push the bookshelf, there's a space inside.
A space where a lot of medicine is stored.
I have to use it all.
Me.
I'm going to use it all.
-That's a lot of medicine.
-Yes, I plan to distribute it to the people here.
-Distribute it?
I don't know why he wants to distribute the medicine.
I really don't understand.
-Yes. Though the time is not yet right, so I haven't.
-Why?
Why is he trying to hand out drugs like that?
If he means the people who live here, he must be talking about the people in the factory slums.
Is he going to give it to kids like Yul or Hyun?
Why?
That's not okay.
-Because happiness grows the more you share it.
What is he talking about?
This kind of happiness is enough for me to have all by myself.
-Why.
-Of course, the people living here are not Awakeners, but if they use the drug, for a short while...
-I refuse.
I grab the doctor and say.
-Because I'm going to use all the medicine.
And that's why I'm in this state.
How much have I used?
A hundred?
No, maybe not that many.
If I keep using it, won't the stock run out eventually?
I can't let anyone else use the medicine.
I won't let more addicts be created.
I have to.
Come to think of it, the doctor didn't charge me when he first gave me the drug.
It was free.
He must have handed it out to many others besides me.
That's why I...
“Hyaaah.”
Medicine.
The medicine.
“More…”
I have to use it all.
All of it, including the shares for others.
-Plunge.
“Ugh.”
[958 hours, 24 minutes]
I'm dying of pleasure.
I think I'm ruined.
So I have no future.
But I didn't have a future even without the drugs.
So it's better for everyone if I at least use up all the drugs before I go.
That's the wisest choice.
[958 hours, 23 minutes]
Actually, I don't give a damn about that, I just wish he'd give me more medicine.
As long as my pleasure center is stimulated, that's all that matters.
The reward circuit just needs to keep firing.
Just using the medicine is my whole world.
It's a pretty vast world, in its own way.
Just a little poke of the needle, and it's bliss.
Something on a completely different level from ordinary pleasure.
Poke. And pleasure.
It's fun.
I'm glad.
I'm happy.
Poke. And pleasure.
It's fun.
I'm glad.
I'm happy.
An infinite loop.
While the pleasure licks over my body, I can't think of anything.
Common sense doesn't apply.
Ethics and morals crumble.
As long as I feel good, that's all that matters.
Someone once said.
The ultimate goal in life is happiness.
So maybe I've already achieved that goal.
“Eheheh…”
Honestly, stopping others from using the drugs is just an excuse.
If that were really the case, I would have used my abilities or whatever to destroy all the syringes and vials of drugs.
So what.
If I'm going to destroy them anyway, it's right to use as much as possible before I do.
Have to conserve resources.
It's only natural.
But why is the doctor giving me so much medicine?
He used to sell it for money.
It's not like I'll check later and find it's all been put on a tab, right?
“Mooore…”
He gives me whatever I ask for.
Though the only thing I ask for is medicine.
"That's enough for today."
Thump.
The doctor closes his book.
He doesn't seem to have any intention of giving me more medicine.
[970 hours, 39 minutes]
Why?
I can't stop here.
“Medicine…”
"Can you stand up?"
My strength is completely gone.
But just standing up...
“[Stand... up...]”
I pushed myself up, using the wall for support.
Somehow, I managed.
"I'm up, so medicine..."
Give me more.
It's already too late to stop.
If a car going 500 kilometers per hour suddenly stops, the people inside could get hurt, right?
I don't think you should just cut off drugs like that, either.
970 hours is a lot, but still.
“More…”
I need more.
***
I need more information.
When Seo-ah and Si-hoo became friends.
And why they are friends.
So I investigated.
Si-hoo isn't the only person I know at the Academy.
There are many who have benefited from the 'Saintess'.
Among them are Academy students.
There's no problem in extracting a bit of information.
But there was so little information that even that was difficult.
It seems she was enrolled for a short time at some point, but no one knows her, and no one has seen her.
There's no one who was in the same class.
She was wearing a uniform in the photo.
An Academy uniform.
While I was wondering if the photo was doctored, I finally found someone.
Someone who knows Yoo Seo-ah.
Or at least, has met her.
"Seol Ha-jin?"
"Ah, Saintess?"
His white hair is striking.
He's handsome, though not as much as Han Si-hoo, and is characterized by his somewhat delinquent-like eyes.
"Well... it's been a while."
We're at a cafe near the Academy.
There aren't many people.
"So, you're looking for that girl, Seo-ah?"
"Yes, something like that."
"First off, she's not at the Academy right now. I thought it was strange too, so I looked into it, and it seems the Academy is deliberately hiding her."
"Tell me everything you found out with your Observer ability. In return, I'll heal that person you want me to."
It's a deal.
I provide healing in exchange for information about Yoo Seo-ah.
My healing ability isn't omnipotent, but compared to a regular Awakener, it's close.
"Yes, well. Yoo Seo-ah and Han Si-hoo, both from the slums. One is, without a doubt, an ace. The other is a psycho."
Harsh.
"A psycho?"
"Probably. She had that eighth-grader syndrome, you know? Wore an eyepatch and everything. She was kind of cute, though. Maybe that's why Han Si-hoo liked her."
"Liked her? Han Si-hoo?"
He liked her?
Were they that close?
"I don't know about their past... but it did seem like Han Si-hoo was very protective of her. He even came and threatened to kill me if I watched her or messed with her."
"Hmm."
That's a new side of him.
I've never seen Han Si-hoo get that angry.
"What else I know... the Special Class? I think she went there. And even then, she disappeared one day. That's about it. Han Si-hoo said he'd kill any observer I sent after her, so it was too creepy to do anything."
"You must have done something wrong."
"I was just trying to look out for her as a junior, but it caused a misunderstanding... Ah, come to think of it."
He seems to have remembered something.
"Is there something else?"
"Yes. I wondered when and how she arrived, and what was it? They said she came in after being stabbed with a sword. There was a witness, you see. An Academy staff member, I think. The person in charge of transporting the victim told me."
"Getting stabbed with a sword... what happened?"
"I don't know either. This is all I know. But why are you so curious? It seems you know a thing or two yourself."
"Well, just because."
It's a personal reason.
Nothing for him to worry about.
"So, who's the person you want me to heal?"
"My teacher's younger sister."
"Huh?"
An unusual choice.
Is there some story behind it?
"There's a teacher named Lee Yoo-ram, and I heard her younger sister is in bad shape. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get her treated."
"Hmm, well. Okay. So where is this sister?"
"Ah... about that."
He hesitates.
"I need to know where she is to go heal her, you know? Unless you're saying she'll come to me, which is fine."
"The teacher's younger sister..."
"Yes."
I wish he'd just say it.
"I think Han Si-hoo has her."
“...Huh?”
I need to heal the teacher's younger sister, but Si-hoo has her.
I see.
"Si-hoo?"
Why Si-hoo?
I don't understand what he means.