Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 11
>Chapter Title: Do They Do Painful Things?
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Does it hurt a lot?
I scratched my cheek and looked back at Mia.
“Shall we go before more people gather?”
“Yes, that would be best. The pests are starting to swarm.”
The word ‘pests’ was particularly laced with disgust. It was the kind of tone that would have made my friend—the one currently being used as a chair by a female student with her hair in cinnamon roll buns—groan in delight. I wasn't quite that far gone, so I just nodded.
“Alright, everyone who's coming with us, gather close. If you're too far away, an arm or a leg might get left behind.”
I asked with wide eyes.
“What happens to the missing arm? Does it stay here?”
“No, it gets abandoned in the dimensional rift and is annihilated.”
“Ah…”
Usually, when a whole body part just flies off, it takes quite a while to recover. That's because my arm that disappeared yesterday once reappeared as a baseball bat at the stadium. Thankfully, since a lost limb is annihilated mid-transit, it should recover by the next day. I let out a sigh of relief, then pulled the children into the center.
The children flinched every time I pulled them. I gave an awkward laugh and said.
“Sorry, is the smell that bad?”
As I said that and let go, the child I'd been holding jumped in surprise, their eyes wide. They opened and closed their mouth as if wanting to say something, but Mia was faster, opening her own to chant the spell. I made sure the children were as close to Mia as possible, then stood at the very edge.
A dark red magic circle appeared on the floor and began to glow. Just as I was looking down at the magic circle in wonder, *tug*. Someone pulled on my pant leg.
“Hm?”
“…”
Jess had approached me at some point and was now gripping my pants, looking up at me with teary eyes. Her ears were drooping, and her tail was curled between her legs. The moment I tried to say something to Jess.
*Fwaaa!*
Dark red light filled my vision, and my head spun.
***
The place they arrived at was Mia's laboratory. It was so magnificent it made Odil's lab look shabby. Mia generously provided them with spacious lodgings, a dining hall, and various other facilities.
>She rarely brought in test subjects anyway, so most of the areas were empty and available for them to use freely.
>A week passed like that. I had grown accustomed to life in Mia's laboratory.
“Rian?”
“Right here.”
The moment Mia raised her hand, I handed her the documents I anticipated she would need. Mia then began to read through them with practiced ease.
*Pour.*
I collected the tea she had half-drunk and poured a fresh cup, placing it beside her. Mia then wet her lips with the tea out of habit. Some might ask if I was living like a real slave, but to me, it was nothing.
‘Heh heh, this is a piece of cake.’
I had over ten years of experience taking care of my mother, who, far from doing any housework, would just flop down and start whining the moment she got home. For someone like me, looking after the easy-going Mia was child's play.
“Ah, now that I think about it, we're out of ingredients, aren't we?”
“Shall I prepare for you to go out?”
“Yes, please.”
Mia set down her tea and rose from her seat. I immediately took some clothes from the wardrobe Mia had made for me at my request.
‘Yesss, this is it!’
It was the ultimate machine; just hanging clothes inside it would completely remove all sorts of smells and dust, and even finish them with a perfect press. I carefully brought the clothes over and handed them to her. Mia changed behind a folding screen set up in the corner. A light turned on inside, and her pitch-black silhouette painted a masterpiece.
Watching her shadow jiggle as she took off her top, I grinned dopily. Not long after, she walked out from behind the screen, and I quickly schooled my expression. I didn't want to be labeled a pervert and lose this comfortable life.
“Here is your outerwear. And this is your subspace bag.”
“Alright, I'll be back.”
She skillfully attached the palm-sized bag to her waist, draped a navy cape over her shoulders, and headed for a mirror in the corner of the lab. It was a portal mirror that worked by registering specific coordinates. As Mia drew a magic circle in the air, the mirror's surface rippled.
Once Mia disappeared through the mirror, I stretched lightly and muttered.
“Well then, shall I go take care of the rest of the chores?”
The location had changed, but my duties hadn't. Just as I was humming a tune and heading off, a sudden realization made me freeze.
‘Wait... if I came over to Mia's side, what happens to Iris?’
In an instant, my face was drenched in a cold sweat.
‘Am I... screwed?’
***
“What else did I need to buy?”
Mia muttered as she put the ingredients she'd just bought into her pocket.
“Hm?”
As she was about to pull her hand from the pocket, she felt a piece of paper. She pulled it out without much thought.
“This is…”
[ Things to Buy ]
>[ *Dried Motas Weed ]
>[ *45g of Rotikora Powder ]
>.
>.
The items written on the palm-sized memo were the same ones Mia had intended to buy. Mia smiled softly as she thought.
‘It seems Rian prepared this for me.’
She walked through the street, which had the atmosphere of a night market, checking off the items she hadn't yet bought. After wandering around for a good while, her shopping was finally done. Just as she was about to head back without a second thought.
*Rumble, THUD!*
A massive demon dragged a heavy cart over and set up shop in a corner. The cart was so heavy that when he set the handles down, it sounded like a boulder had been dropped.
“Kuhung, selling vegetables from Mount Jikel!”
He seemed to have no intention of setting up a proper stall, starting his business right then and there. What he was selling were fresh vegetables. Since this was a place frequented by the likes of the Demon Race and black mages, they sold many fearsome things, but vegetables like those were also commonly sold.
‘Should I buy some on my way out? What will he cook for me this time?’
Thinking of the meal Rian would make, she uncharacteristically bought a few vegetables. Just as she was smiling pleasantly and about to truly head back.
“Huh? The Witch of Frost cooks now, does she?”
“...?”
A voice, both deep and high-pitched. It was an unpleasant sound, like a man forcing a woman's voice. A man with prominent cheekbones was staring at Mia, his triangular eyes gleaming.
“Hmph, to think you're good at cooking too... Truly a prepared bride.”
“You're good at spouting nonsense.”
“It's a joke. A joke.”
“Haa... Just do your business and get lost.”
“Eeeh, you're so mean to a friend.”
Surprisingly, Mia was acquainted with him. After all, there were remarkably few sane people among black mages, so he was one of the few she could hold a conversation with.
“Well, I'm not that free myself, so let's part ways here.”
“...? Alright.”
The man, who would normally have clung to her for at least two hours, was leaving so readily with a broad smile. It was strange, but she quickly dismissed the thought.
“I'm craving a warm soup today.”
Mia was becoming completely dependent on Rian, though she herself hadn't yet realized it.
***
“Kehehe... To think I'd get my hands on such a fine specimen. I have to hurry back and use it.”
The man with the skinny body, prominent cheekbones, and hollow buttocks, but with bulging forearms in contrast, was the same man who had just parted ways with Mia. He grinned creepily as he returned to his laboratory.
*Clank.*
“Welcome back, sir.”
“Yes.”
Upon his arrival, figures with shackles on their necks and ankles knelt and bowed their heads. Their common trait was that all of their skin was mottled, as if their bodies had been patched together from various parts, and their surgical scars were vivid.
“The test subject?”
“She has been pacified.”
“Move her to the operating table.”
“Yes, sir.”
He hummed a tune as he slowly made his way to the experiment room. On a hard, pale-colored table, a beautiful girl was tied down, her face filled with terror.
“Oohut... So beautiful indeed.”
As he smiled, the skin over his cheekbones gleamed. The girl, whose arms and legs were bound, moved her mouth as if trying to say something, but only the sound of a choked gasp came out; no words followed.
“It would have been wonderful if your voice were beautiful too. Oh well, it doesn't matter, since you'll become the masterpiece of this great Doban.”
He laughed bizarrely as he wheeled over a trolley.
“Don't worry. Today is just for a simple check. I have to cut away any flawed parts, you see.”
Doban grabbed a lock of her disheveled, snow-white hair and grinned.
“Ahh—so soft. At this rate, I won't need to scalp you after all.”
Doban picked up a sharp dagger from the trolley, swished it lightly through the air, and spoke.
“Now then, shall we see just how beautiful your blood is?”
The girl's eyes trembled aimlessly, filled with terror.
***
“Haa…”
I sighed and took a bite of bread. As I was chewing, Lily, who was sitting next to me, spoke up.
“Oppa, is something wrong?”
“Yeah...? Something... is wrong…”
I couldn't just brush off the fact that the original story had gone 170 degrees off course with a simple 'it's nothing,' so I muttered with a hollow expression.
“Are... you really okay?”
Noah's gaze fell on my face. I lightly touched my face.
‘Ah, the sweat from earlier is still there. Or is it? Am I still sweating?’
The thought that the original story had gone awry was making me break out in a cold sweat. I could have shaken it off like a dog shaking off water, but it might have splattered on Lily next to me, so I just roughly wiped my face with my sleeve and spoke.
“Sorry, did I smell? I'll be more careful from now on.”
Noah looked at me as if she had a lot to say, but then closed her mouth. Just then, a head of red hair came dashing to my side.
“Jjwin-nim. Are you sick?”
“Huh?”
Why is she asking if I'm sick now?
Confused by the situation, I tilted my head. At that, Jess clung to my leg, on the verge of tears.
“Jjwin-nim, you look like you're in pain.”
“No, I'm not in pain at all.”
“Jjwin-nim, they do scary things.”
“Scary things?”
For a moment, the dining hall, which had been filled with the sounds of eating, fell silent.
“Do they do... really painful things to Jjwin-nim?”
Jess rubbed my stomach, her ears drooping. Only then did I realize that what Jess was talking about was ‘experiments’.