Haimar, who had a tendency to seek out corners when sleeping, was now sound asleep, embracing Ben in a facing position, and his breathing was incredibly quiet.
His breaths were so small and soft that Ben had to hold his finger close to Haimar’s nose to feel them.
A person should ideally snore or talk in their sleep to be more human, but even in this aspect, Haimar was true to himself.
“Oh.”
After enjoying himself for a while by stroking Haimar’s ears and running his fingers through his hair, Ben suddenly saw the golden aura he had witnessed before.
Sparkling particles shimmered around Haimar’s neck.
Feeling a mystical sense, like watching a dreamlike three-dimensional hologram, Ben reached out to touch the aura, but he felt nothing.
The particles passed through his hand, slightly scattering like smoke, then gathered again to form a band.
Although not large, the sight of the golden stardust shimmering was immensely beautiful, like a small galaxy.
But why does it only appear around his neck?
No similar particles were visible on any other part of his body, yet the fact that they noticeably formed a band only around his neck was quite strange.
Ben subtly lifted the blanket covering Haimar, but not a single speck of dust was visible.
Wait, this wasn’t the time for such thoughts.
Since he didn’t know the reason for its appearance, he couldn’t guarantee when he would see it again after this time.
He needed to look at it as much as he could while he could.
Ben suddenly wondered if he could capture it with a photo, grabbed his phone, and opened the camera app.
It won’t be captured in the photo, will it?
Regrettably, contrary to Ben’s wish, nothing appeared on the phone screen.
And then, it vanished from Ben’s eyes as well, leaving him with a strong sense of disappointment.
Since it had come to this, Ben decided to take a picture of Haimar to console himself.
He debated a few times whether to take the picture, but since he was the only one who would see it, what was the harm?
Crucially, the fact that such an opportunity wasn’t common played a large part.
It was like a special comet in the night sky that could only be seen once every 75 years.
In the end, Ben shamelessly satisfied his private desires by secretly taking pictures from various angles, filling his gallery with Haimar’s photos before finally feeling satisfied.
After having committed the deed, he quickly closed the camera app, feeling a guilty pang, to hide the scene of his perfect crime.
The familiar background screen showed accumulated messages.
Thinking about it, the reason he had just woken up was due to the message notification.
“Messages from the Reablem twins… and the latest one is from Vice-Director Enten…”
The majority of the accumulated messages were pleas for Ben’s attention from the Reablem twins.
They contained a string of whiny complaints that Central was too boring without Ben, or demanding when Ben would formally invite them to his home.
The last message concluded with a threat that if Ben didn’t come to Central to meet them—who were on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion from waiting—by today, they would kidnap him immediately.
[Penka and Pinka will kidnap you! •°⎝(°ㅅ´ °)⎠°••°⎝(°ㅁ´ °)⎠°•]
How scary.
In fact, he wasn’t scared at all, even if the twins—who were a little eccentric but utterly adorable—threatened him in half-jest.
It was just that their ability to bounce around unpredictably was a talent in itself, and if he let them be, he couldn’t predict what kind of snowball effect would roll down.
At the same time, it would be troublesome if Haimar got angry if he indulged them too much, so he needed to calm things down before the situation escalated.
Ben, who decided he needed to stop by Central soon, then checked the most recently received message from Vice-Director Enten.
[I’ve got a guess about what the Director is planning with the biological information. It would be best if you could stop by Central for a moment if you have time.]
Hmm, I should withdraw my previous thought.
It would be better to stop by Central today, as soon as possible.
Since the twins also asked him to visit them today, Ben changed his mind, deciding to go placate them while he was there.
It was more satisfying to hear the details quickly than to procrastinate.
That way, he could better devise the next course of action.
Having made his decision, Ben felt he should get ready to leave immediately and pulled back the blanket covering his legs.
Ah.
“Wake me up. Waking up to find you gone is the most irritating thing.”
Just before he put his feet down on the floor, he recalled Haimar’s earnest request from yesterday to wake him.
Honestly, forcibly waking him up was a reluctant task… but regardless of his feelings, breaking a promise made him uneasy.
Reluctantly, Ben called out softly to the still-sleeping Haimar.
“Haimar.”
Why did he feel like he was committing a great sin just by waking a sleeping person?
Ben resolved himself again, gently took Haimar’s shoulder, shook it, and called out once more.
“Haimar—?”
“……”
Not the slightest movement.
Since he had called twice, he couldn’t bring himself to do it a third time.
Let it go.
What glory would he gain by waking him up?
How much time would Haimar have to sleep so soundly like this in the future?
In any case, he had tried to wake him up as requested, so it seemed better to save this time and go quickly instead of forcefully waking a sleeping person with difficulty.
After the control device adaptation issue was resolved, Haimar was a man who would jump up first even without Ben waking him.
Since this was a rare opportunity that would not exist even if he wanted it in the future, Ben didn’t take this one instance seriously.
His business at Central was merely to soothe the twins and have a cup of tea with Enten.
It was, at most, an hour or two, and Haimar might even be awake by the time he returned.
Then, they could have a delicious dinner like yesterday and end the day.
The deliberation was short. Ben folded his thoughts and cautiously moved his feet the rest of the way onto the floor.
‘A prickle.’
“It pricked again.”
As he put his foot down, his left ankle pricked again, as if reminding him not to forget it, and then it was fine.
Since he was going to Central anyway, he should make an appointment at the Central infirmary.
Fortunately, it wasn’t aching as strongly as yesterday, so Ben quickly shook off the sensation, finished getting ready to leave, and quietly left the officetel.
[Salagadoola mechikaboola bibbidi bobbidi boo.
Anything you want, you can get.
It’s like magic.
Bibbidi bobbidi boo.]
A clear magical incantation broke the silence.
A faded pin-spotlight shone on a woman in the heavy darkness.
Below it, the woman sat cross-legged on a tangled pile of what appeared to be some kind of refuse.
Her lilting voice was like the song of a girl in first love, the sweet whisper of a woman receiving a romantic proposal, and the sourness of a tart, unripe apple tasted for the first time.
Though the woman mimicked the shell of a noble lady, she could never fully wear it.
The red-haired woman was trampling on a mound built with the corpses of many humans, and the scent that enveloped her was not that of fragrant flowers but the residue of slaughter.
The one-armed witch, clutching a hard, black bag with satisfaction, moved her fingers gracefully, intoxicated by the song stained with greed.
Her fingers, fluttering in the empty air, momentarily slipped into a small opened space and came out. In her hand was now a small Erlenmeyer flask.
The palm-sized flask was tightly stoppered, filled with a jet-black liquid.
Powders intermittently sparkled within the pitch-black liquid that didn’t even transmit light.
Roilnia opened the stopper with her thumb reverently, as if handling holy water.
She regrettably licked the liquid that was dangerously sloshing at the edge of the flask.
A fiercely bitter taste spread across her tongue, yet to Roilnia, it was sweeter than anything else.
The woman with her tongue out tilted the raised flask slightly.
The thick, unpleasant-looking liquid slowly dripped, sliding onto her tongue, and the Adam’s apple on her raised neck moved greedily.
Roilnia, who had swallowed every last drop of the freely falling liquid, threw the empty flask onto the floor.
The manner in which she disposed of the object, which she had cherished moments ago, without hesitation, was remarkably similar to discarding useless trash.
Fzzzz—.
Before long, faint smoke leaked out from her body.
The bone-chilling cold felt as hot as midsummer.
Heat surged uncontrollably.
Roilnia willingly accepted and enjoyed her body, which was beginning to circulate blood arbitrarily and grow hot.
This was the prelude to her becoming stronger.
Just thinking about the change this would bring made her heart tremble with overwhelming excitement.
The resounding thumps of her heartbeat were an assurance guaranteeing a promised future.
The woman, who indulged in the tremor close to ecstasy, hummed a continuous, bizarre, and mismatched tune.
The hopeful incantation that realizes thoughts and wishes is very close at hand.
To wish and desire is something anyone can do, but to fulfill it is the overwhelming domain of talent belonging only to the chosen ones.
It could only be completed by taking, seizing, and enjoying.
Roilnia was so proud of herself for becoming one with the crystallization she had cultivated with her own hands.
Moreover, she had acquired the rare regeneration ampoule that would make her damaged body whole.
At this moment, neither the absence of her arm nor the defeat of the past could hinder Roilnia.
The only path open to the woman was the road leading to a brilliant future.
With this, the complete consummation of greed was not far off.
“How vulgar.”
The infinitely light melody was abruptly cut off by a coldly spoken word.
The person who opened the door to the dilapidated warehouse and entered was an elderly woman in a bulletproof vest and armed.
Roilnia, seeing the woman with her back straight and a cold gaze, stood up joyfully and greeted her with a bright smile.
“Ahaha, welcome.”
