I'm Not an Escaped Convict (5)
"...Mister."
My head was spinning.
My body felt heavy.
In my hazy consciousness, I followed the voice calling me and turned my eyes toward it.
There, pure white strands swayed gently, tempting me.
If I buried my face in them, would they feel soft?
"...Mister, are you coming to?"
"...Where is this?"
"The garage."
My head was cushioned, my vision dark.
I couldn't get a read on the situation.
Wincing at the pain that stabbed with every breath, I tried to sit up.
But my movement halted as a shadow loomed over my face.
"Got that... but what the hell happened?"
Was the situation sorted...?
"We grabbed the research data from the lab and moved to the garage. But you were passed out with the Guard Captain... I've been looking after you."
"Thanks."
"...Just doing what anyone would."
I couldn't see her face, but she was probably blushing.
With nothing else to do, I'd been lost in idle fantasies when I turned my head to watch people pulling cars out one by one from the garage.
"...Escaping's great, but now what?"
I had no hometown.
More precisely, this world was an utter unknown to me, riddled with uncertain information.
Was the world outside the one I knew from the Hero Project?
Or one endlessly similar to it?
And if it was the former... what would this world's future hold?
I had no idea if I was on the same path as Quaker.
His past never came up until the late game, right when the foreshadowing was about to pay off—then I got isekai'd.
So I had to survive, sorting the scant solid intel from the dubious knowledge I couldn't verify.
Of course, I had zero intention of following Quaker's path.
That would make me a villain who'd let thousands die in a terrorist attack without batting an eye.
But the situation forced me toward a villainous road, which was unsettling.
I'd been isekai'd into a secret government lab, made enemies on day one, and now busted out— the bigwigs would paint us as criminals for sure.
Mass prison break, ringleader this guy, blah blah... They'd smear us however they could.
Going legit would be tough anytime soon.
Though it depended on the timeline.
My face looked young now.
Early twenties, give or take.
Not weird if you figured me for a youthful version of Quaker, estimated at least forties.
But what about Mina right in front of me?
She looked just one or two years off from her canon self.
A bit less baby-faced, face a touch colder, and she'd be the Sika I knew.
Which sparked doubts about the timeline.
Sure, you could argue a clean-shaven Quaker looked young enough to pass... but nah.
He was a big-shot villain active for over a decade, too infamous for that.
"...Dunno. Survive first, figure it out later."
Questions like that? Step outside, check the news.
If Quaker was out there active, I sure as hell wasn't him.
"You're awake, lad."
"Ah... how's it going?"
"Matching keys to cars. We'll be ready to roll soon."
"Where to?"
"Hmm... Some heading home to family, others off to new lives.
As you know, plenty here with no roots."
No roots, huh.
Makes sense—they'd be easy to snatch.
I glanced at the man from the next cell over, his eyes alive again now.
"You going to find your family, sir?"
"Have to. Like you said... good end or bad, I gotta see it through. It's my business to finish."
His voice trembled, uncontrollably so.
Alive? Dead?
Schrödinger's cat—he had to open the box.
"Rest up, lad. I'll let you know when the car's ready."
"Yeah, sure."
Couldn't move much anyway... might as well rest.
Time for a little luxury.
"...Dummy mister. Where's dummy mister thinking of going?"
"Dunno."
"...No family?"
"Nope."
Quaker might have family, but it wasn't mine.
Villain family might mean more villains anyway.
For a guy who just wanted to live quietly, any ties to canon Quaker were best avoided.
World might not let me, but worth a shot, right?
"...So you started a rebellion without even thinking that far?"
"You gotta act first, think later."
Better to dive in than dither and drag our feet.
If we'd waited longer... odds of failure would've spiked.
Traitor might emerge, or we'd get caught plotting by accident.
"You're such a dummy, mister."
"Dummies have it easy in this world."
"...True that."
Mina giggled, like something was hilarious.
The first laugh I'd heard since arriving here.
But from my angle, those prominent curves blocked her face.
Wanna see it.
Unlike canon, where she never smiled, she was probably wearing a soft one now.
"What about you?"
"I'm an orphan too."
"Really?"
"...Trying to act like it."
Didn't know her backstory, but locked up here? No silver-spoon childhood.
She'd figure it out.
"Alone's gonna be rough."
Looked underage, girl alone in this brutal world.
Overt underworld, where elites publicly back the scum.
"...Stick with you, mister?"
"Me?"
"Yeah."
"You'll suffer..."
"Better than here?"
"...Fair point."
Beats rotting like cattle in a slaughterhouse.
"Hey, lad! Where you headed?"
Sudden question.
But one I had to answer now.
After a moment's thought, a place name surfaced in my mind.
"Thinking Hanam."
"There... nah, who am I to judge? You'll do fine anywhere. Someone's heading that way—I'll hook you up."
"...Mister, isn't that a lawless zone?"
"Can't go legit right now anyway."
Mina might scrape by, but me? Caught, and God knows what they'd do.
"What'll you do there?"
"Start a business or something."
Not fully planned, but I could scrape together something livable.
Recalling canon knowledge, I smirked.
One thing I knew plenty about—should be useful.
"Lad! Car's ready—over here!"
"Mina, mind helping me up?"
"...Got it."
With her support, I barely climbed into the jeep.
Four or five folks inside turned to look.
"Boss man heading that way too?"
"Best spot for a fresh start."
"Yeah, you'd thrive anywhere."
Hope so.
Surrendering to the long-missed vibrations, I watched the garage door grind open.
Fresh air.
Better than the stuffy lab.
"Buckle up tight—we're off."
"I'll get it."
The real deal now, huh.
Like a protagonist leaving the tutorial, I eyed the lead cars pulling out.
"...You're just letting them go?"
"Mist. Isn't it intriguing?"
Special-class villain Mist looked up at the boss she served.
The middle-aged man with tanned skin continued as if answering her gaze.
"When heroes raided the secret lab and the test subjects escaped, I figured it was dead meat. Even more so when the cleanup crew snatched it on the run.
But... things didn't go as I thought.
The thing made from my genes stole the neural fluid and busted out."
"Regretting you didn't crush it yourself?"
"I'd be lying if I said no. But... my curiosity about that one outweighs it."
He turned from the departing jeep.
Business done—time to head back to base.
"Hope it helps with my revenge..."
The two melted into the darkness, where not even the moon showed its face.