Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 12
>Chapter Title: Unseen Wounds
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Tentacles shot out and restrained me.
‘Experiments… I’ve had a few.’
I rolled my eyes upward, trying to recall.
“For your body to be healed already… Have you undergone experiments before?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I’ve been like this since I was a kid.”
I had been. In the Gag World. But after possessing this body, I hadn’t really been experimented on.
The problem was whether the original owner of this body had been experimented on before I possessed it. I couldn't know that for sure, so I rubbed the back of my neck and said I didn't know.
“The wound has already healed. Hmm, then let’s make a small incision.”
She picked up a knife from the trolley next to the lab table. Then she took my hand and lightly cut my palm. It stung.
“Does it hurt?”
“A little sting?”
“…Are your pain receptors dull?”
Mia muttered to herself and prodded the bleeding wound further. But instead, the bleeding lessened.
“...??”
Mia's eyes widened as she stared down at the wound, a sight that defied all worldly logic. The bleeding slowly stopped, revealing the cross-section of the cut.
“W-What is this…”
Flushed with excitement, Mia brought her face close to my palm. As her body drew near, something warm, soft… and supple… anyway, something nice rested on my lap.
‘Hwaaak…’
My body felt like it was melting away, like a demon being exorcised.
“How can this be possible?”
She hurriedly let go of my hand and tossed the knife onto the trolley. Then she violently grabbed my shirt and ripped it open. A button flew off, soaring through the air before clattering to the floor.
“Kyaaak!”
I shrieked like a high school girl who'd just seen a man walk into the girls' locker room, covering my chest and cowering.
“Stay still!”
She yelled and cast a simple spell. A round hole appeared on the lab table, and pitch-black tentacles shot out, restraining me.
Thud!
My upper body was thrown back onto the table. Bound to the lab table, I trembled like a delicate maiden. Mia, her eyes wild, raised a new knife.
The knife instantly sliced open my stomach. Blood gushed out for a moment, then stopped.
“My goodness…”
She looked down at my body, her face a mask of astonishment.
‘I-If you stare so openly… I’ll never get married.’
As I whimpered and feigned tears, Mia seemed to belatedly come to her senses and cleared her throat.
“I got a little too excited.”
Mia skillfully stitched up my split stomach. By the next day, it had healed cleanly, but a scar remained.
The stitches should have been removed after the wound healed, but it closed up so quickly that it left a mark.
‘I ended up with a few more scars from subsequent experiments. But, well, it doesn't really matter.’
As I was thinking that and nodding, I felt a tug on my clothes and looked back at Jess.
Jess's eyes were already brimming with moisture, looking as if she would burst into tears at any moment.
“It, uh… it didn't hurt that much.”
The moment I answered, I heard gasps from around me. I immediately started making excuses.
“Look. I look perfectly healthy, don't I? Unlike Odil, Mia-nim is super nice, so she would never do any painful experiments! Besides, the, uh, experiments are rea-lly rare. I mostly just do chores.”
But Jess's expression didn't soften. Tears began to trickle down her cheeks, which had grown plump over the past few days.
“Gasp…!”
Startled by her tears, I quickly scooped her up and sat her on my lap. Then I started waving my arms around, showing off my biceps.
“See? I'm totally fine! I can even swing my fists like this…!”
Swoosh.
As I moved my body in an exaggerated way, my sleeve slid up. It revealed a long scar that snaked from my wrist to my elbow. It still had a reddish tint, as if it were recent.
“Hiiing..!”
“…!”
“Hwaaaang!”
“Eeeeing!”
Jess finally broke down, burying her face in my chest and starting to cry. Then, like dominoes, the other children her age also burst into tears.
I quickly pulled my sleeve down to hide the scar and said,
“S-Sorry, was it gross? I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to show you I was okay—”
You know what? In the Gag World, the ones branded as 'evil' were usually 'those who made a woman cry.' Especially if you made a 'pretty woman' or a 'young child' cry, you couldn't escape a trip to jail.
Making a fuss to soothe the children is an unavoidable instinct!
“Hey kids, it's okay. Shh.”
“Don't cry…”
The children who weren't crying tried to comfort those who were. After a while, they finally managed to stop their tears.
I let out a sigh of relief and patted Jess, who was still buried in my chest. She let out a stuffy breath, her shoulders hitching. Soon, her trembling shoulders calmed.
Just when I thought she had finally settled down and tried to move her away.
Fumble, fumble. Jess started patting me down. The ticklish sensation almost made me burst out laughing.
“Jess, stop—”
Before I could finish.
Whoosh, Jess suddenly lifted my shirt and stuck her head underneath. I blinked rapidly, bewildered.
‘Do kids like small spaces, just like animals…?’
That thought vanished as Jess's body started to tremble again.
“Hic…!”
“..! Jess, what's wrong…!”
I quickly pulled Jess out from under my shirt. Her face was bright red, and she was bawling her eyes out. I wiped her face with my sleeve and hugged her again.
“Jjwi-nim, hurts… hic, it hurts…”
“No, no. I'm not hurt. Shh, shh.”
Even as I tried to comfort her, Jess couldn't easily stop crying. As she sobbed her heart out, the other children looked over at me, flustered.
“N-Noah, what do I do? Jess won't stop crying.”
“...”
Noah, who had been biting her lower lip so hard it turned white, sighed, stood up, and approached me. She then spoke to the sobbing Jess.
“If you keep crying like that, you'll just trouble him. Is that what you want?”
“Hey, you don't have to be so harsh—”
“Hic…”
Noah, you're a lifesaver!
Jess stopped crying almost as soon as Noah finished speaking, now just sniffling. I looked at Noah as if she were a 'child-rearing genius.' Can you feel my respect?
“Rian needs to finish his meal, too. Get off him now.”
Noah said in a voice even colder than usual. Just as I was about to say she could have been a little gentler, Jess squirmed out of my arms.
‘Pfft…’
Her eyes and cheeks, swollen like steamed buns, were so cute that I almost burst out laughing. I swallowed hard, managing to hold it in.
“Hic, sniffle… Jjwin-nim, I'll… p-pwotect you…”
“Yeah, okay. Thank you.”
Her tiny hands clutching my clothes as she spoke with a stuffy nose was so adorable that I answered in a cooing tone. Jess let go of my shirt and climbed off my lap.
Pat, pat.
After watching Jess return to her seat, I looked at Noah and said,
“Thanks. You really handled that well. If there's anything you want later, just let me know. I'll get it for you.”
“…Anything?”
“Well, not anything I can't do, but anything within my power!”
“Really? Then… follow me after we eat.”
“…?”
What's this? What does she want from me?
A sense of unease crept over me, but I figured it was nothing and finished the rest of my meal.
That day, the children were particularly insistent on doing the dishes and cleaning up, so I left the dining hall earlier than usual.
Thump.
“Let's go.”
“Huh? Right now?”
As soon as I stepped out of the dining hall, Noah grabbed my arm and started dragging me away. I glanced back, wondering if it was okay to leave Nero alone, and saw him cleaning up with the other kids his age.
The sight was so peaceful that a pleased smile spread across my face.
‘That’s a relief. He’s adjusting well.’
When Nero was out of sight, I turned my head back to Noah. She was striding forward without a single glance back at me.
Matching her pace, we quickly passed through the hallway and arrived at the dormitories. Rooms that could each house four people were lined up in a row.
The room Noah pulled me into was the one she, Nero, and I shared. Since there was an odd number of children, the three of us ended up in the same room.
Click, slam!
As soon as we were inside, Noah roughly slammed the door shut.
Thud!
At the same time, my body was pushed back against the door. Noah's eyes glinted fiercely as she grabbed the hem of my shirt.
“H-Hey, Noah?”
Noah completely ignored me and yanked my shirt up.