The Laboratory
When the key phrase was “a laboratory on the Outskirts,” there were two forces Blanca thought of immediately.
One was the Evil Society, the main villain organization; the other was Heros Corporation, which was almost as much trouble as the Evil Society itself.
And wherever she’d been experimented on...
One thing was certain: the whole mess was so tangled that I couldn’t even tell where to start untangling it.
I watched Blanca in the clubroom as she listened to Meirin’s explanation, and thought it would almost be easier if I’d stayed in the dark.
That much at least made it certain she was the heroine. Heroines usually had one or two dark secrets tucked away somewhere.
Still, not many had a past as dark as Blanca’s.
That sounded a little strange, and I wasn’t trying to say domestic violence was “no big deal” or anything like that.
Both were serious. But if you had to compare the level of seriousness, Blanca’s was worse.
It was like comparing someone who’d lost one arm to someone who’d lost both legs.
But that wasn’t even the real issue. The real problem was why she was interested in me.
It wasn’t like we’d met before I’d possessed this body, and we certainly hadn’t met after.
So why was she paying attention to me?
I hadn’t done anything yet that would have put me on the Evil Society’s radar, so it couldn’t be that. And I’d never even come near Heros Corporation, so they wouldn’t know I existed either.
That only made Blanca’s identity even more mysterious.
If neither of those organizations cared about me, then why was Blanca, who belonged to one of them, targeting me?
...No.
Wait a second.
Was she even really with Heros Corporation or the Evil Society in the first place?
The status window had only told me she’d been experimented on, not which side she belonged to—or whether she’d escaped at all.
I couldn’t tell whether she’d ever had an affiliation to begin with, or why she was interested in me. Not a single thing made sense.
If she was also a transmigrator like me, that would clear everything up nicely, but that came with its own share of problems.
And even when I tried to reassure myself with that thought, she still didn’t quite fit the mold of a transmigrator.
What had she been turned into, exactly? And what was her true goal?
What kind of mindset had brought her into this academy?
I’d spent so long thinking about all of it...
My head didn’t just ache. It felt like it might explode.
“...Huh? Minho? Hmm. Did you get dumped or something? Why do you look so dead?”
“Ah, no. I’m just dealing with something on my mind.”
“Oh, dear. If it’s, um... whatever it is, I won’t ask! Right, I should be considerate... considerate...”
“Anyway, after sorting through all the data so far, it seems like—just maybe. Hypothetically. If your ability keeps growing, it might be possible to exert influence outside your body...”
Meirin kept enthusiastically explaining something, but honestly, none of it was really going in.
Even my hero name had been something I’d made up on the fly.
From the moment Blanca’s information had opened that day, I’d thrown all my mental energy into figuring out who she was, so I’d just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
And after thinking so hard my skull felt cracked open, I hadn’t learned a single useful thing.
That was infuriating in its own way too.
I tried to brush it off with, “Well, she’s the heroine, so I guess I’m in love with her,” but there wasn’t a single convincing reason for it, and that made me uneasy all the same.
I wished I could just ask her and get some answers.
But now that I knew the laboratory on the Outskirts was involved, I couldn’t exactly ask casually anymore.
If I poked at it the wrong way and drew the attention of Heros Corporation or the Evil Society...
I’d be completely screwed.
“So, yeah. That’s the conclusion. Try training while imagining... pulling your ability outside your body. Your goal is to expand your psychokinesis from something limited to inside your body to something that reaches beyond it!”
“Understood. Thank you for the advice.”
“And next is Lucia... Hmm. Part of me wants to tell you to use even your light as well, but... you said there’s a complicated family situation involved. So for now, shouldn’t you deal with that first?”
“...If that were easy... I’d have done it already...”
“But you can’t leave it alone forever, can you? That’s not the kind of wound that heals on its own. Before it festers and rots, it’s a wound you have to treat—even if it hurts.”
“...You make it sound... so easy...”
“Well, I’m an outsider, and I’ve never gone through it myself. It’s hard to truly sympathize with something you haven’t experienced. The best I can do is point you toward a theoretical method of healing.”
“For now... okay...”
First, I should focus on what could be solved right away.
Soon I’d have to get involved in Lucia’s family issues, and also... prepare for the villain attack.
Blanca’s problem was serious, but not urgent. I could afford to push it back for now.
“All right, that’s it for today! If you come up with a new way to use your abilities, or something happens that even you can’t explain, contact me!”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Lucia, as always, collected her things and left first, while Jinhyun and Blanca seemed ready to head off with Yeonhwa.
I was about to let them go, but then I remembered the conversation we’d had last week and asked her about it.
“Blanca. About that thing you said last week—you were going to show me those Artifacts.”
“Oh... ah! That, right...? Well, actually, I still haven’t heard back from them... Oh. Hold on a second.”
At my question, Blanca’s demeanor shifted in an instant into something warm and gentle. She checked her phone, then lifted the corners of her mouth in a strange little smile.
“...Uh, apparently they said the appraisal should be finished by around the weekend... Haha... Do you want to go together this weekend...?”
After saying that, she immediately passed the news along to Jinhyun as well, then busied herself tapping on her phone and relaying the update to her friends too.
The timing was absurdly perfect, but I’d decided to think of it as a good sign since I needed to build points with her.
Going with a group was a bit of a minus, sure, but I’d have to treat it as an opportunity.
...To learn more about her, I wasn’t in a position to be picky.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We ended up riding in a limousine that Lapis had arranged, and were now heading to the research institute where the Artifacts were being kept.
The reason it was a research institute, apparently, was that there were so many new Artifacts they needed time to study them.
Which was why it had taken so long.
Maybe she was bored on the way there, because Yeonhwa asked me why I always wore my school uniform no matter where I went.
“Come to think of it, Blanca, you always wear your uniform even when you’re not at school.”
“Hmm? Oh. Because out of all the clothes I own, this is the nicest one. The rest were cheap bulk buys, so they’re not really something I’d wear out.”
As soon as I answered that, she stammered in flustered embarrassment, clearly trying to smooth things over.
“I-I see... so that’s why...”
“That’s right. I also just like it.”
“...Um, Blanca. You did sell that mana stone this time, so you’ve got a little more money to spare, right? So... why don’t we go to a department store and buy you some clothes?”
“Buy clothes at a department store...? Why bother?”
That sounded like a pain.
Besides, I still hadn’t even gotten the money from selling the mana stone yet.
I put up that small, halfhearted objection.
But Yeonhwa seemed to have made up her mind, and told me that wearing only a school uniform all the time must get boring, so I should relax—she’d buy them for me.
Ugh. I really didn’t need that.
“If, if it’s okay, I’ll go too... Ah, a-and Aegaeha too...”
“Aegaeha too? Sure! Jinhyun, do you want to come as well?”
“I’m in favor.”
But the mood had shifted into something I couldn’t possibly refuse.
Honestly, the uniform had been enough.
And yet again, it was that same lineup.
Jinhyun, that idiot, still didn’t seem to have a clue.
Just when I was starting to feel annoyed that something so excessive was being handed to a guy who didn’t even realize what he was holding, I noticed Minho sitting next to me.
“...Minho. Do you want to come too?”
So I dragged him in on impulse too.
“Me too? Sure, I guess... but will they be okay with that?”
“Hmm. It is a little sudden, but... if Blanca says it’s fine, then there’s no reason not to! Is there anyone else you want to bring? The more people, the better!”
As befit a golden retriever, Yeonhwa got excited and started pushing me to invite even a somewhat floaty extra like Minho.
Unfortunately for her, Minho didn’t have anyone else to add beyond saying he’d bring Seolhwa too.
And so, a group of seven who didn’t look remotely like they’d ever gather together ended up heading to the department store.
Of course, we did all this without asking the opinions of Aegaeha or Seolhwa, who weren’t even there.
Was this really okay?
I started to think about it, then gave up.
Wasn’t half the charm of school days that things somehow worked out by sheer momentum alone?
The Boss told us to enjoy ourselves, so enjoy ourselves we would.
“We’ve arrived, young lady.”
“W-we’re here, everyone. L-let’s go.”
It looked like an ordinary building from the outside, but the heavy security doors at the entrance were enough to tell me this really was a research institute.
After ringing the bell and giving our names, there came a heavy metallic sound, and the iron door slowly opened.
A research institute, huh.
Was it really okay to have something like that inside the city?
...Ah, right. Of course it was.
This wasn’t the kind of research institute that dissected humans.
Right.
It was fine.
I was fine.
It was only my body that got scared on its own.
After forcibly relaxing my trembling muscles, I stepped inside.
The dry smell peculiar to laboratories, the sharp stench of chemicals, the chilling rasp of metal against metal, and even a sound that faintly resembled a scream drifted through the air—but that was all my body’s imagination running wild.
Ignoring the body’s fear response, I greeted the director who had come out to welcome us with as much composure as I could manage.
“Hello.”
“Ah, yes! Welcome, welcome. And thank you! The Artifact you recovered has been a huge help to our research!”
“...I’m glad to hear that. More than that, I’d like to see what kind of ability it has. Is that all right?”
“Of course. After all, Artifacts belong to the first people who discover them. Come in. And please, have some tea while you wait. It’s been stored away in the warehouse, so it may take a little while.”
There wasn’t any poison in the tea.
Still, I didn’t drink it.