What Did I Do Wrong?

After six months of patient, consistent effort, I'd finally built a degree of trust with Gloria. But because of the organization's year-end party, I had to step away for a short while. And that's when all hell broke loose.

Shhhhhhhk….

The inside of the containment room was flooded with an overwhelming amount of blood pouring from chunks of meat so mangled they were barely recognizable. The occasional fragments that looked like pieces of Black Cell hazmat suits told me everything I needed to know. Those lumps had definitely been the low-ranking administrators assigned to this place.

The scene inside the cell was utterly gruesome, but after seeing far too many corpses over the past six months, I'd grown numb to it. Right now, what I felt wasn't fear so much as a hollow sense of resignation.

This is it, then.

I'd only left my post for a little while during dinner, and Gloria had gone on a rampage… Life really never goes according to plan, does it?

Since I'd already entered the room, running was impossible. I was clearly about to join those chunks of meat on the floor. Accepting my death with calm detachment, I walked toward Gloria. For the faintest sliver of hope, I offered an apology.

"I was away too long. I'm truly sorry."

"…………?"

Had she thought I would run away? Gloria looked genuinely puzzled. But her next words left me completely breathless.

"What did you do wrong?"

I never expected to hear those words here. Especially not while she was drenched in blood. It made her seem even more terrifying than a ghost.

Still, maybe there was a chance. I fought to keep my voice from shaking and spoke.

"I did everything wrong."

Unlike before, I'd left her alone for too long. I hadn't stayed with her while she ate. I hadn't warned her that other people would be coming in. And so on. I knelt down to meet her eyes and slowly confessed everything.

I was just about to close my eyes and wait for the coming judgment when Gloria suddenly snorted, looking utterly baffled.

"Hah, you think I got mad because of you? That's some serious main character syndrome."

"I-is that so?"

"Whatever. Just call those damn mutts already."

Gloria shifted her gaze pointedly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toward her own soiled restraint suit. I could see grains of rice clinging to it. That was enough for me to piece together what had happened.

The terrified low-ranking staff must have all come in together and spilled her nutritional porridge on her.

I could sort of understand why she'd lost her temper. Her emotional control was still immature, after all. Even if her reaction had been extremely sharp, we'd spent the last six months together in this cell, so I'd learned to read her expressionless face to some degree.

With my sincere apology, the atmosphere shifted toward forgiveness as Gloria's anger melted away. Though relief washed over me, there was still a lot of cleanup left to do. Since Gloria kept shooting me uncomfortable glances, I immediately contacted my superiors.

As expected from a villain organization, they treated human lives like they were worthless.

*****************

Not only was Gloria moved to a new containment room, she was also given a clean restraint suit. Honestly, after the accident, I'd expected her to be tied up again even more tightly. But the Director made an unexpected decision.

"Nngggghhh!! This is so much more comfortable now."

"I'm glad you like it."

Not only had they freed her legs, they'd even released her arms completely. The reason for this decision was simple.

"It took half a year, but you actually managed to earn the trust of that crazy little brat… Impressive, isn't it?"

"You're too kind."

I'd survived that bloodbath, after all. The Director must have decided the time was right to begin running various experiments on Gloria.

"But if something goes wrong, I'll end up like those low-ranking administrators, won't I?"

"That's why we have you, Maxwell."

"Ah…."

It seemed I'd earned the organization's deep trust. I'd been officially assigned as Gloria's dedicated researcher. It was an incredibly dangerous duty to be saddled with, but I was allowed to conduct experiments however I wanted. I was also ordered to start building trust with the other young test subjects.

The problem was that my time with Gloria would decrease, and even though her limbs were now free, she still refused to eat unless I fed her like a baby bird. I wasn't sure how to handle it, but I decided to charge forward like always.

"As far as I understand, Black Cell believes I'm only pretending to be close to you, Gloria, for the sake of my research."

"…It wasn't?"

"Of course not."

I honestly told her something that could easily cause her to feel betrayed if she found out later. But since what I said next was the truth, I figured it would act as a buffer for the experiments I was about to mention.

Suddenly, Gloria frowned.

I wondered what was wrong, and then—

"You've been getting awfully cocky lately."

She suddenly told me not to come into the containment room except when necessary or during mealtimes. The thought process of a villain in the midst of puberty was far too difficult for me to keep up with.

***************

For now, I began the experiments on Gloria as the organization had ordered. The sole purpose of these experiments was to explore ways to make superpowers even stronger.

But since this was still before the main story began, neither Black Cell nor any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other organizations had the slightest clue how superpowers grew stronger. The only established theory was that strong emotions stimulated superpowers, which was why they had been conducting experiments on the test subjects that were practically torture.

When Gloria heard about this, she looked extremely, extremely displeased. However, since I'd been granted freedom to conduct experiments as I saw fit, I had no intention of following the manual I'd been given.

"So please don't worry too much."

"…………."

The way her expression softened told me she still possessed her truth-discernment superpower. I resolved to be even more careful with my words from now on and began drafting the experiment plan.

I planned to use the hypotheses from the original work that had the highest probability of success, so the results should be solid. The only problem was that Gloria—the future legendary villain—would become even stronger.

I've got my own problems to worry about right now.

If I didn't produce some results, the organization would dispose of me. Before starting the experiments, I decided to check Gloria's physical abilities. Fortunately, she seemed somewhat reassured and complied with my request. She casually deformed steel and anything else like it was clay.

I was marveling at how such power could come from such a small body when I noticed Gloria staring at me with a similar expression.

"Is something wrong?"

"…It's nothing. Mind your own business."

She really was a difficult one to read. After that, I checked everything—grip strength, punching power, jumping ability, and more. The results were exactly as expected.

"As expected, you're the best, Gloria."

She truly was the seed of the most vicious and powerful villain. Every single stat was S-Class. But when I praised her, Gloria silently looked away. Was she feeling embarrassed?

However, since she'd drawn a clear line before, I didn't approach her more than necessary. I explained how the experiments would proceed from now on.

"By the way, Gloria, how far can you utilize your superpower?"

"Why are you suddenly asking something like that?"

"It seemed like you were handling your superpower unconsciously just now."

People move their fingers unconsciously, but without specialized knowledge, they have no idea how it actually works.

"I believe superpowers change according to the user's self-perception."

"Say it more simply."

"Let's assume a fire-wielding superhuman actually had the ability to manipulate molecular motion speed. The moment that person realizes their true ability, they would suddenly be able to control ice as well."

To put it even more simply, understanding the true nature of one's ability was the first step. I was genuinely curious how strong Gloria would become once she realized her own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true superpower. It was a future worth looking forward to.

After that, we still had some time left, so we checked whether she was affected by external energy. Of course Gloria found it extremely annoying, but since she seemed curious too, we were able to continue with various tests—exposure to infrared and ultraviolet light, and so on. Before long, we'd finished everything scheduled for the day.

Maybe it had ended too quickly, because Gloria looked somewhat doubtful. But when I took her to the new room, she silently climbed into bed without a word. I stayed by her side until she fell into a deep sleep.

***************

There was still plenty of time before Gloria's dinner. I decided to broaden my network and, following the Director's suggestion, go see one of the other young test subjects.

Naturally, to prepare for future rampage incidents, I had to meet the most dangerous one first. I immediately checked the information on the test subject I was about to meet.

Liberty wasn't a superhuman but a mutant. Due to Black Cell's continuous experiments, her intelligence had essentially transformed into that of a beast. But she was not to be underestimated. Although she was weaker than Gloria, her record clearly stated that she had eaten human flesh. In the original work, she had been one of the worst villains, literally chewing up and swallowing the protagonist's acquaintances. If I messed up, I could easily become her next meal.

After making various preparations, I entered the room where Liberty was being held. In the dark room, I heard the breathing of some kind of beast, and then I spotted a girl with black hair and golden eyes. With her wolf ears and tail, there was no doubt this was Liberty.

I was thinking how fortunate it was that she was wearing a muzzle when—

"Bark!!!"

In the blink of an eye, Liberty lunged at me. But the chain collar and the shackles binding her arms and legs turned her attack into a futile struggle.

Krrrrrk! Clang!

"Grrrrrrrrr!!"

"Whew…."

It felt like being locked in a room with a massive predator. Since Liberty was extremely wary, I decided to take it slow like I had with Gloria. I sat down at a safe distance and simply spent time there. Gradually, Liberty's wariness began to shift into curiosity. If I repeated this several times, I might eventually be able to get a little closer.

I stayed with Liberty until it was almost time for Gloria's dinner, then headed straight to her containment room.

"Smells…."

"Uh… what smells?"

"Go wash."

"Excuse me?"

"I said go wash right now."

Thanks to Gloria's silent pressure, I ended up having to change my clothes as well. What a day.