The Rabbit That Ran Through Time
The summer closing ceremony at Seoul Hero Academy was drawing near.
While I was making one preparation after another to attend as a guest once more, one major change took place in my life.
"Hehehehe... Maxwellniiiim...."
"Victory, are you that happy?"
"Yesss!!"
Among the children, Victory had begun spending more and more time outside the holding cell.
But since she had been responsible for so many incidents in which organization members ended up ground into minced meat, none of the other researchers came anywhere near her.
As for me, I had to move around only within fairly tight limits.
Of course, there was one person Victory wasn’t afraid of at all.
"Heh-heh-heh... Victory, have you been well?"
"Director Eileen, hello!!"
The very person who had brought Victory to Black Cell in the first place.
The director had come to see us.
And naturally, she had brought her special agents with her again.
Looks like she came to check on Victory’s condition first and foremost...
Victory was an acceleration-type ability user now, and she’d grown a great deal since then, so Eileen must have come down because there was a nonzero chance she’d be impossible to catch if she decided to run.
In any case, the witch asked the white rabbit the question she was curious about without beating around the bush.
"Victory, are you thinking of going off somewhere on your own?"
"Huh? Victory is going to stay with Maxwell forever."
Her mental leash was far stronger than I’d expected.
Perhaps reassured by that, the director smiled faintly.
"See? I told you this was the perfect time."
"Still, I can’t help worrying."
"Maxwell will be there too, and the escorts are coming along, so it won’t be an issue."
I sighed inwardly at the sheer weight of that trust, and then the director suddenly held a tablet out to me.
Together, we picked out Victory’s outing clothes.
"This one looks just right."
"It’s summer, so something clean and simple is definitely better."
"What do you think, Victory?"
"I-I’m fine with anything!!"
In a sense, this was the children’s first time going out into the world.
Seeing the director say she’d even dress Victory herself made it obvious she was unusually invested in this whole matter.
Time passed and kept passing, and at last the day of the academy’s closing ceremony arrived.
This was only the second time we were going out, so Gloria and Liberty simply told us to have a good trip.
Just as before, I dressed in the early dawn and went down to the underground parking lot, where I found a very familiar group waiting.
"Good morning, Maxwell. It seems we’ll be moving together again this time."
"Hahaha, it’s an honor to be escorting you again."
"I’m the one who should be saying that."
I had never imagined that the same people who had accompanied me to the entrance ceremony would be going again, but all of them were excellent at their jobs, so I decided there was no harm in thinking of it as one of those good things that was simply good.
"Ah, by any chance, did Director Eileen give you a special bonus last time?"
"I certainly didn’t expect to be paid that much just for driving. And—"
"Ahem!"
The escort chief and the guards were all nodding too, so the bonus must have been quite satisfying.
Then the driver noticed the rabbit ears twitching behind my back.
"The child behind you seems to be the one joining us for this schedule... am I correct?"
"That’s right. Victory? Could you come out for a second?"
"Mmmmmm...."
Apparently in her shy personality right now, Victory hid behind my leg and acted bashfully, using me as a shield.
But as I kept encouraging her, Victory—wearing a white T-shirt and a denim skirt—finally peeked out.
The people going with us had, of course, already heard about her, so they greeted her warmly.
"I never thought I’d get to see the famously rare acceleration-type ability user this close."
"And she even has a superhuman-type ability as well... I understand now why Director Eileen took such a strong interest in her."
"I never expected the rabbit mutant I’d heard about in reports to be such a cute young girl."
Victory, showered in the adults’ praise, turned bright red and clung tightly to my leg.
Still, perhaps her first impression wasn’t bad?
Without saying much more, Victory climbed into the limousine.
She was clearly extremely nervous and stayed pressed against me the whole time.
What was strange was that, even while she clung to me, she kept looking around curiously.
And when the vehicle finally started moving, she buried her face in my arms.
She looked a bit like an ostrich with its head shoved into a hole because it was scared.
The moment we left the underground parking lot, I urged her to look outside.
As the city scenery rolled by, I asked her what she thought.
"I-I don’t know."
It must have been her first time seeing a city like this, because her eyes were practically spinning, and she looked thoroughly bewildered.
Even after she calmed down a little, her assessment was almost startlingly indifferent.
"Exactly," I said.
"Huh?"
"There really isn’t much to it, is there? So you don’t have to be scared anymore."
Perhaps she understood what I was trying to say.
Victory slowly nodded, visibly relaxing at last.
The driver and the guards riding with us watched the scene with affectionate smiles.
Since the trip from Pyongyang to Seoul took some time, Victory and I spent the journey looking out at the world beyond our walls.
This time, we reached Seoul faster than I expected.
And because it was the capital of New Korea, the city center was dazzling enough that Victory remained absorbed in looking around.
Since we’d soon be arriving at the academy, I went over everything we’d need to do there one by one with the escort chief.
"Maxwell, I think Principal Baek So-ah will come out to greet us, just like she did at the entrance ceremony."
"Again?"
"Last time was your first visit, and this time you’re attending as a sponsor, so I believe she’ll be moving that way."
So Principal Baek So-ah, who had become a real magical girl after misusing a one-time reality-altering ability, was coming to greet me again.
In return, they were apparently preparing a fairly large donor placard inside the academy and trying to be as considerate as possible.
They even said there’d be one-on-one interviews with the mutant students receiving sponsorship.
That was a genuinely good opportunity for me.
If things go well, I might be able to establish a proper connection with Red Cat.
And it was also a perfect chance to show Victory how the other mutants lived.
Of course, since Victory had to wait with the escorts for a short while right after the closing ceremony, I’d already gotten permission in advance.
"Don’t worry about Victory and go on ahead!"
"Yes, thank you. I’ll be back as quickly as I can."
After patting her head, I found that we’d already arrived at the academy.
Just as the escort chief had said, Principal Baek So-ah came to greet me, her tiny body making the approach all the more distinctive.
"This is the second time for you now. It’s a pleasure to see you again, Principal."
"I’m truly delighted to meet you again under such welcome circumstances, Mr. Maxwell. And... you have another guest with you?"
Victory scurried out of the vehicle and hid behind my leg again.
It wasn’t unusual for guests like me to bring children to the academy.
And perhaps because the director had already briefed her, Principal Baek So-ah greeted Victory with genuine warmth.
However, she also recognized Victory’s ability at a glance.
"A-acceleration-type ability user?!"
"Hm? How did you know that?"
If one were ranking superpowers, acceleration abilities sat at the SSS-class level, so they were quite famous.
And since Principal Baek So-ah wielded magic—the very pinnacle of the unscientific—it seemed likely she had some method of her own.
Still, it was strange that she could identify Victory’s power just by looking at her once.
What she said next left me momentarily at a loss for words.
"I’m always maintaining a defensive spell, so I can tell immediately when something abnormal appears nearby."
"If by abnormal you mean...?"
"That mutant girl has been experiencing a continuous temporal disparity."
Wait... did that mean Victory was still using her acceleration ability right now?
When I glanced at Victory, she wore a completely clueless expression.
If what Principal Baek So-ah said was true, then while I experienced one second, Victory might be experiencing about ten.
In other words, she was living on an entirely different timeline.
When I immediately looked at her for an explanation, Victory opened her mouth, looking terribly embarrassed.
"I-it’s just... Victory wants to stay with Maxwell a little longer..."
That reason was so absurdly simple I couldn’t even argue with it.
And after hearing her explanation, Principal Baek So-ah and her secretary both looked immensely pleased.
"Pfft, Maxwell really is popular."
"Thank you for the kind words. But Victory, isn’t it hard to keep your ability going?"
"N-no, I’m fine!!"
Come to think of it, maybe she’d been using her acceleration ability continuously even while she was at Black Cell.
But then Principal Baek So-ah faltered for a moment, as if she’d just grasped Victory’s true value.
"...An acceleration ability with no drawback?"
"Good heavens... P-Principal?"
"Secretary An? We’ll talk about this later."
Acceleration abilities were truly one of the most absurd cheat-like powers around, which was why they usually came with all sorts of burdensome restrictions attached.
The classic examples were powers that made time flow faster for the user alone, so the more often they used them, the faster they aged.
Or they had to burn through the energy that came with acceleration, forcing the ability user to constantly replenish tens of thousands of calories.
But...
"M-Maxwellniiiim, if you keep staring at me like that, Victory’s getting shy..."
Victory was a true acceleration-type ability user without any of those terrible drawbacks.
Principal Baek So-ah kept glancing at Victory as if she were some unimaginable treasure.
She clearly wanted to turn Victory into a hero, but since I was the one holding onto her as part of Black Cell, she didn’t seem able to make a move too easily.
After that, we arrived at the main auditorium just as we had before.
The closing ceremony didn’t draw as many famous heroes as the entrance ceremony had, but even so, quite a number of people were in attendance.
And I received a series of instructions from the principal’s secretary.
"When the announcement about the sponsorship fund donation is made, all you need to do is come up to the stage, Mr. Maxwell."
"So it really is quite similar to the other events. And the donor placard—"
"We’ve already prepared everything. Ah, and don’t worry; we’ll be holding it for you."
So all I’d really have to do was go up on stage and pose for a photo?
I could already see the academy’s firm determination not to let even a drop of water touch me.
In any case, our group headed to the guest seats on the third floor just as before.
Unlike last time, there weren’t many VIPs here.
So Victory, who was here for the first time, looked very relaxed.
As I chatted with Victory in the guest seating, the closing ceremony moved quickly, and before long it was time for the sponsorship presentation.
"Victory, you can stay with the guards, right?"
"Y-yes! Please go ahead!!"
"Everyone, I’m counting on you."
"Don’t worry, Mr. Maxwell."
Fortunately, Victory looked cheerful as ever.
But she could switch personalities in an instant and create utter chaos, so the escorts stayed on high alert.
With Victory and the guards’ encouragement behind me, I headed straight down to the first floor.
As soon as the man in the suit suddenly appeared, everyone’s attention turned to me.
But the announcement that followed made everyone realize who I was.
We will now proceed with the sponsorship presentation for the educational development of Seoul Hero Academy. Please welcome Maxwell Gray, attending as a representative of Black Cell, to the stage.
Bright lights swept over me in time with the cheerful music.
As I climbed the stage amid the applause of everyone gathered for the closing ceremony, Principal Baek So-ah was already waiting there with the donor placard in hand.
And soon, the mutant students receiving the sponsorship came up as well.
None of them seemed to understand why they were receiving such support.
Among them stood a girl with red hair and cat ears, tense and stiff.
It was Red Cat, and she was carrying more injuries on her body than she had before.
But that only meant she had been trying all the harder.
So I silently cheered her on in my heart.
The closing ceremony host immediately proceeded with the event.
This sponsorship fund has been provided by Black Cell. Each selected student will receive a scholarship and training support grant of 30 million won. A big round of applause, please!
"OOOOOHHHHH!!!"
Had they never imagined that such a large amount of funding would be awarded?
Everyone in attendance gasped in astonishment and applauded enthusiastically.