52nd Rule, Merciful Judgment for the Hypocrite Milky (5) ♥Marin♥
It was the day after we'd stopped Milky's rampage.
The moment I told Evelyn I was checking out and leisurely stepped out of the hospital room, my phone suddenly started ringing.
[CALLER ID RESTRICTED]
"......"
I stared blankly for a long time at that impudent smartphone screen hiding the caller's identity from me, its owner.
But I had a rough idea of who it was, so I reluctantly pressed the call button and held the phone to my ear.
There was a brief pause, and then a low mid-tone Italian voice rumbled right in my ear.
"......Long time no see."
The familiar male voice coming through the speaker on the other end of the line belonged to the mafia godfather of the Valerius Family, Valerius, whom I'd contacted not long ago to stop Milky.
Milky's father.
★Toilet★
To follow Marin, I approached the glass wall.
And at that moment, a shocking scene unfolded before my eyes, enough to halt my steps in an instant.
"M-Miss Marin? What the hell is this......?"
Inside the space beyond the glass wall, brightly lit by ceiling LED lights.
Dozens of women lay sprawled on the floor in that vast area, completely naked, their massive breasts heaving as they stared vacantly into space with emotionless eyes, drool streaming from their mouths.
Among them was the assassin woman who'd once sprayed breast milk into the milking machine, and the three cow girls who'd clung to me demanding semen—they were all rolling around on the floor.
Especially in the farthest corner.
A familiar woman sitting with her back against the wall was also gazing at the ceiling, drool dripping from her lips. It was the pure white beauty, Milky, who had bound my limbs not long ago.
"Come in first. I'll explain after."
There, in the center of that wretched scene, Marin stood with her arms crossed, scanning the surroundings with a faintly pitying expression as she spoke.
I carefully made my way to her, stepping around the women sprawled on the floor as much as possible.
That's how Marin, me, and Viper—Milky's bodyguard—ended up standing amid the horde of women whose personalities had been erased.
Marin looked up at Viper and said,
"Alright, Viper. Explain the situation to him in detail one more time."
"......Understood."
Viper nodded at Marin's command and turned to me.
Intimidated by her cold, sharp gaze, I flinched preemptively. Viper closed her eyes, bowed her head, and apologized to me in an extremely polite tone.
"I'm sorry for everything up until now. Even if it was on Miss Milky's orders, forgive us for treating you so roughly."
"Y-Yes? Uh......"
I was so flustered that I scratched my head.
Viper glanced around and continued,
"As you can see, every woman here, Miss Milky included, is currently addicted to the personality erasure drug. But if we stop injecting the drug now and leave them be, they'll all regain their personalities normally before long."
Viper's calm voice echoed eerily through the glass-walled space.
I swallowed hard and stared at Milky, who leaned against the wall with unfocused eyes fixed on the ceiling.
"However, due to the side effects of the personality erasure drug, they won't be able to recall memories from when they had personalities. In short, their minds are practically blank slates now."
"......So even if they return to normal, they won't be able to go back to everyday life?"
Nod.
"Th-That can't be...... So what happens to them now?"
"They'll rot away in prison for life, not even knowing what they did wrong. Neither I nor Mistress are exceptions. We're internationally wanted and hid in this village, after all. It's a very common end for us underworld shadows."
Viper explained their horrific, bleak future so matter-of-factly.
Her indifferent tone made anger surge within me, and I clenched my fist reflexively, muttering,
"That's too harsh an ending......"
"......"
As I glared at Viper, trembling in my legs but mustering courage, she pulled her fedora low over her eyes and looked away, as if at a loss for words.
But it wasn't Viper who responded to my words—it was Marin.
"Puppy, aren't you seriously misunderstanding something?"
"......Misunderstanding?"
Marin, still with arms crossed and maintaining her aloof demeanor, carefully stepped through the women on the floor toward me. She then haughtily lifted her chin and looked up at me.
"Yeah. As you know, most of these bitches are horrific criminals. Even if Milky dragged innocents like you and Amelia into it, nine times out of ten they were irredeemable scum who couldn't be rehabilitated into society. They should be kowtowing in gratitude that we're letting them live and dumping them on the street like this instead of killing them."
She poked my navel repeatedly.
"But you're gonna forgive these bitches and give them another chance? If they were sane, you'd be the first coward they'd go after."
"......"
"Why the hesitation? Where'd that cheeky puppy go who was just snapping at his owner?"
"......Kh."
I couldn't answer right away.
Marin's words were chillingly devoid of emotion, but they weren't wrong. If anything, cold logic made her right a hundred times over.
But.
"Even if you're right, Miss, don't you think it's time to forgive them now? From the moment Milky captured me, I was treated like livestock instead of a human. And they've lost their personalities along with their cruel pasts—doesn't that count as paying for their sins?"
Sweat pouring down my back, I met Marin's steely gaze without flinching and stated my conviction.
Marin furrowed her brow and fell silent.
Was I about to get scolded for defying my owner? Would she shock me with the collar again?
In that urine-terrifying silence, I trembled in my arms and legs, awaiting Marin's judgment.
Then, suddenly, Marin snorted and lowered her head.
Pfft.