Preparing for the Group Stay
Even though we'd postponed announcing the discovery of the awakening factor to the outside world, everyone who needed to know within the group already knew. Black Cell and I had secured an enormous standing.
But joy, in the end, always turns to jealousy. Marian Blackrock, the head of Black Bullet, came in person to headhunt me. It looked like the infighting between subsidiaries was only going to intensify for a while.
After confirming the Chairman and the President's little games, the Director even decided to pull me out temporarily.
"What about internal company activities, then…?"
"Maxwell, you've already seen it yourself. Absolutely not."
The Chairman could still pull something, so the Director wanted to cut off every possible variable at the root. Thanks to that, though, I'd get to live with the kids sooner than expected. It was only a month, but a good start is half the battle — this group stay would become a solid foundation for the future.
Of course, it wasn't pure vacation.
"So for roughly a month, I'm supposed to collect the kids' data and draw their blood."
"We're currently running experiments to find the awakening factor in superpowered individuals' blood. When you come back, it'll be a huge help to the research."
The way she told me to pay special attention to Victory made me wonder if she still wanted that acceleration ability. In her own way, the Director had a remarkably transparent set of desires. Still, it was midsummer — the whole thing felt a bit like heading off to some place with good water and clean air for a summer retreat.
When I told Dr. Cain the news, he nodded so hard I thought his head might fall off.
"The Director made an excellent call this time. Tsk, tsk, tsk… I never imagined so many people would try to interfere with great research."
"You'll need to be careful yourself, Dr. Cain."
"Don't worry about me. Instead… I think I'll need to do a little housecleaning on the inside."
Dr. Cain didn't want to lose me as his powerful shield, so he encouraged me to take the kids and rest well. But the other senior researchers currently involved in the core work could easily become targets. He knew that perfectly well — so he was probably preparing measures to protect them for a while.
"Ah! And I've almost finished writing the paper."
"Already?"
"Hahaha, I haven't felt this kind of passion in ages. Want to take a look? Your edits are always welcome, Maxwell."
The paper was practically the size of an encyclopedia. I was genuinely glad I'd dumped that project on Dr. Cain. I skimmed through it with my eyes and confirmed that I was listed as the third author. The promise had been kept, so I handed the paper back to him.
"It's so perfect I don't think my edits are even needed. That's Dr. Cain for you."
"Hahahaha! Maxwell, you really know how to make a man feel good!"
Apparently being acknowledged by me meant that much to him — Dr. Cain stood up and personally saw me out.
The report upstairs was done. Now it was time to tell the kids about the group stay. My breath caught in my throat for a second, but I made my way slowly toward the containment cells.
Gloria would be better approached around mealtime, so I told Liberty first. She clearly hadn't expected us to start living together this soon — her wolf ears and tail shot straight up in surprise.
"Pa… Papa!! Ruff?!"
"But it's only for a month, as an experiment."
"Awooooooo!!!"
Even if it was temporary, Liberty scrambled down off me and started racing around her cell in circles. Watching her pure joy was nice, but…
"Of course, the other kids will be coming too."
"Kek?!"
Thanks to the ongoing three-way meetings, Liberty no longer showed open hostility toward Gloria. But her relationship with Victory — her fiercest rival — had gotten catastrophically bad. In a way, this was basically a group stay with peers she couldn't stand. Still, Liberty seemed to have steeled her resolve.
"Grrrrrrrr!!!"
"Uh… Liberty? Please don't fight each other at the villa."
"Ruff!! Ruff!! Grrrrrr!!!"
The growls roughly meant she understood. But the sheer venom in them was anything but reassuring. At least Victory's acceleration ability meant there was zero chance of her getting eaten by Liberty. That was a genuine relief.
Next, I told Victory.
"Th-that's really true?!"
"The Director approved it faster than I expected."
"Waaaaaah!!!"
The moment she heard, Victory started bouncing around so fast that afterimages filled the room. Even when I mentioned the other kids were coming too, she didn't care in the slightest.
"Those two never got to go outside with Maxwell like Victory did, after all~"
"R-right…"
Kids will be kids — Victory was finding superiority in the strangest places.
Which left the final boss. How would Gloria react? If she refused, I'd have to seriously reconsider the whole group stay.
So once again, while I was feeding Gloria as she curled up like a baby bird at dinner, I carefully broached the subject.
"Lady Gloria, I mentioned before that if things went well, we might be able to live together. Do you remember?"
"Yeah. I know."
"That plan has been moved up."
She froze. Gloria blinked at me, signaling me to explain, so I told her everything that had happened.
"You live a really complicated life."
"You're telling me. So what do you think?"
"……………"
Gloria stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought. I was worried she might refuse — but then a faint smirk touched her lips.
"Sounds pretty fun."
For the first time, the always-expressionless Gloria smiled, just a little.
With all three of them on board, the remaining problem was how to get them there. Black Cell's ridiculous budget solved most of it, but for the safety of the staff, the kids would be placed under the highest-grade restraints.
First, cargo trucks with clean, compact containers arrived at the underground parking garage. I personally loaded each of the kids into their own container, and all three ended up bound like cocoons caught in a spiderweb. They'd promised to stay still until we arrived, and Victory and Liberty were so excited I didn't need to worry about them much. For safety, though, I rode in the cargo hold of Gloria's truck myself.
Once everything was ready, the three cargo trucks pulled out of Black Cell's underground garage. Every time the vehicle jolted, the restraints rattled along with it.
"Lady Gloria, you're not getting carsick, are you?"
"…Shut up."
Her face had gone pale. Even someone as powerful as Gloria could get motion sickness, apparently. Still, the fact that we'd made it this far was genuinely astonishing.
"Seeing you like this reminds me of when we first met, Lady Gloria."
Back then she'd been threatening to kill me and worse. The nostalgia was overwhelming. Did she remember that day too? She suddenly avoided my gaze and just closed her eyes. We still had a long way to go, so I let myself drift off for a while as well.
How much time passed?
THUD!!
The truck stopped, and the container door swung open.
"M-Maxwell, sir?"
"I'm fine, so don't worry. We arrived faster than I expected — what about the other trucks?"
"They're pulling in one after another right now."
I left Gloria half-unconscious from motion sickness and stepped outside. It was still midday — sunlight fractured through the blue-green leaves, scattering a soft glow. Ahead of us stood a massive villa that looked like something out of a fairy tale, imposing and grand. There was even a beautifully maintained pond.
Of course. The chaebol family's youngest daughter's summer villa.
There was money-flaunting, and then there was this.
The place sat deep in the forests of Gangwon-do, in what used to be North Korean territory. Mount Kumgang was nearby, but this was private land where outsiders had no reason to approach. Perfect for a group stay with the kids.
I quickly checked on the other two in their containers.
"Hweeeeek…"
"Whine… whine…"
"You two got carsick too, huh?"
Being suspended in midair the whole ride had left them all queasy, eyes spinning. I asked them to wait a moment while I settled their stomachs and met the security team protecting this place — and came face-to-face with the villa's head of security.
Of all people, him again?
"Ahem. Looks like we'll be working together once more, Maxwell."
"I never expected the security chief to be assigned here."
It was the same dependable security chief who'd accompanied me every time I went to the Hero Academy. Having someone familiar around was a relief for me, but this man had personally led special agents when we captured Air Bomb, and he'd appeared alongside the Security Director during the Director's power struggle with her sister. His rank was clearly quite high.
I gave him a look that asked for an explanation, and the security chief finally told me who he was.
"I'm Kang Loren, Deputy Director of Security. My apologies for not saying so sooner."
This man was the Deputy Director? For a moment, the Director's determination to protect me no matter what became crystal clear. Like Security Director Yoon Carter, he had a mixed Korean name — half-Korean background, then. Now that the truth was out, we exchanged greetings properly once more.
And just in case, I made one precautionary arrangement.
"Maxwell… what's this?"
"As you already know, Black Bullet paid me a visit recently."
I handed him my Black Cell-issued phone and a small, stiff piece of paper. The Deputy Director immediately grasped my intent and nodded.
"Better than coming here to rest and ending up covered in blood, don't you think?"
"Hahahaha. Thanks to you, Maxwell, my men might actually get to stay alive."
He explained that the special agents stationed here were essentially on half-vacation status, and thanked me for it. Now it was time to release the kids. The Deputy Director and the special agents around us tensed — then I activated a remote, and the restraints unlocked. All three slowly stepped out of their containers.