“Don’t irritate someone who’s already waiting to pounce, and endure it as much as possible, Cheche-ssi.”
“……”
“The Director is an angry fighting dog at all times. A devil let loose without a leash. Give up trying to understand.”
“Don’t worry. I understand everything.”
You understand?
When James doubted his own ears, Cheche continued speaking.
“He must always be angry. Even if he doesn’t want to hear it, he’ll hear it. Because he’s a motioner, conversation sounds can be heard, and because he’s a souler, emotions are transmitted. No one could handle such a situation.”
“……”
For a moment, he wanted to ask whose story he was talking about. James absolutely could not agree with Cheche’s words. That young master he had practically raised since childhood was just a devil, setting aside whether he could control his abilities or not.
James’s father, the head butler of Evil’s mansion, sometimes expressed Evil as ‘a pitiful person.’ Each time, James would respond with a disgusted expression asking if his father had gone crazy.
James, who had seen Evil since childhood, was Evil’s faithful servant no matter what anyone said, and although he was busy badmouthing Evil whenever he opened his mouth, he was actually very loyal. However, he never intended to sugarcoat Evil’s misdeeds. He was never pitiful.
Sometimes, really sometimes, he felt that Evil’s life must be hard, but it didn’t connect to feelings of pity. First of all, Evil controlled all his abilities. Even if control was impossible and all kinds of noise came in, that couldn’t be a reason to strangle someone’s neck.
“Please speak casually, Secretary-General. The others have already dropped formalities…”
Cheche had no interest at all in how wicked Evil was or what a fearsome existence he was, and only said to speak casually. As if he had completely forgotten that his neck was strangled yesterday, or as if his superior not dropping formalities was more important than having his neck strangled.
James was somewhat dumbfounded.
“Were you like this in front of the Director too?”
“What do you mean ‘like this’?”
“Show that you’re scared. In front of him, you need to show you’re terrified for his interest to disappear quickly. I don’t know if it’s because of pride or what, but you don’t need to hide your fear.”
“……”
Cheche stared up at James. The moment he met those sandy golden eyes, James knew.
This young refugee wasn’t hiding or concealing fear. He wasn’t afraid. Everyone is afraid when facing Evil. Because they know he’s a top predator who can kill them with a finger. That fear was like a survival instinct. Cheche lacked it.
“Yes, I’ll try.”
Does this trying mean he’ll pretend to be scared?
James knew one person who lived without knowing fear. Because he was too strong, he had never felt fear even once. Because he was too perfect, he lived without feeling many emotions.
However, the person before him now was the weakest lower-class person in the world.
“…A scarf won’t do.”
James stopped thinking further. If he thought more, he felt like he’d realize things he didn’t need to know.
He returned to the secretary office, told Julia to buy clothes that covered the neck, and briefly explained the attitude Cheche should take at this luncheon. Cheche nodded without any questions as always.
***
Aura users belonging to the Aura Center wore their respective team uniforms when active. However, most of them wore casual clothes when commuting to the center, but exceptionally, Evil’s secretaries always worked in neat suits. And among them, Cheche especially wore youthful casual clothes that brought out his boyish charm.
After getting a job as Evil’s secretary, Cheche wore expensive brand clothing directly prepared by the Endem family. When there were external events, a stylist would bring clothes and coordinate them, and this time it was an ivory-colored knit tee that covered the neck and dark-colored pants. Perhaps having received information about the wound on his neck from James, the neck length covered up to his chin. In the current early autumn, an ordinary person would have been somewhat hot, but not Cheche.
“Cheche-ssi must be very sensitive to cold. Well, Tar is always summer, right? Early autumn weather must be a bit cold.”
Today’s luncheon was with Dr. Victoria from World Peace Citizen and two S adapters from the Adapter Center, and Victoria in particular paid a lot of attention to Cheche. Unlike the two adapters with consistently stern faces, he looked after Cheche wearing hot clothes with a kind tone.
“If you’re cold, shall I tell them to raise the temperature a bit?”
“Hey, it’s hot, so lower the temperature.”
At the same time, Evil’s command popped out bluntly. In front of a fifty-something adult with graying hair, a young man barely twenty-one openly threw a tantrum, but since that young man was Evil Endem, Victoria could only frown without saying anything.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you lowering it quickly? I said it’s hot.”
Evil urged James standing behind him. James hesitated for a moment but eventually chose to lower the temperature.
When his words worked, Evil crossed his arms with a satisfied expression and crossed his legs.
“Hey, refugee. Are you cold? If you’re cold, kneel and beg to raise the temperature.”
“Thank you. I was hot.”
“……”
Evil, whose temper was provoked, made a boiling face.
“Tell them to bring the food quickly. I’m annoyed just being in the same place as that refugee, so I’m going to eat quickly and go in.”
“Director Evil Endem.”
Finally, unable to bear watching this, an S adapter spoke up.
“Please sit properly. This is an official occasion.”
“What? Your tone is cheeky. To someone who came out because you begged and pleaded for me to come.”
“It sounds like you have no interest in this agenda.”
“You’re just realizing that now? And you call yourself an adapter? We should re-measure your grade.”
Even adapters who always received education to be calm and composed couldn’t be calm when their pride was touched, as they slightly frowned.
“You’re truly rude.”
“Did you not know I was rude when you called? If you hate having someone sitting here who has no interest in this agenda and is only rude, should I leave now? Huh? Should I go?”
“……”
Even with his arrogant attitude, the adapters couldn’t say a word. The person most needed at this gathering was, without a doubt, Evil Endem.
Evil Endem would be the only Aura User in this world who acts so arrogantly toward S-rank adapters.
Aura Users and adapters are fundamentally incompatible, like fire and ice. Aura Users make up about 15% of the non-user population, while adapters account for less than 2%, yet governments of every nation fear the abilities of adapters more than those of Aura Users.
This was because Aura Users were precious assets to the nation.
Motion Aura Users possessed physical abilities strong enough to jump into flames and could move objects without touching them. Soul Aura Users could read or control the emotions of Motioners and non-users and were capable of extremely intricate illusion techniques. Those with supernatural abilities who could easily accomplish things impossible for ordinary humans were naturally precious treasures. Especially in this modern era of frequent natural disasters. But adapters could control the minds of these precious Aura Users.
It was possible to enhance an Aura User’s abilities or heal their psyche, but the opposite was also possible—that is, diminishing their abilities or controlling their minds. For this reason, Aura Users also tended to avoid being in the presence of adapters. If an Aura User let down their mental defenses for even a moment due to carelessness, their mind could be dominated by an adapter without them even realizing it.
Adapters, who could easily exploit the vulnerabilities of Aura Users, were isolated from others immediately after manifestation. They grew up receiving education similar to brainwashing, being taught that they must always maintain rationality with coldness and composure from a young age.
All targets requiring an adapter’s abilities were collectively called patients (which is why adapters were sometimes called doctors), and since these patients easily developed feelings of intimacy toward adapters, only by maintaining distance from patients at all times could an adapter protect the patient’s safety.
To that extent, adapters were both medicine and poison to Aura Users. In fact, there had been a case where the lowest F-rank adapter had manipulated an A-rank Souler at will. It became a big issue because the victim was a young idol, but there were likely many victims whose cases never became issues.
The relationship between Aura Users, adapters, and non-users was like rock-paper-scissors. Aura Users were objects of fear to non-users but powerless against adapters, and adapters were just ordinary people to non-users but objects of fear to Aura Users.
This was basic common sense and an age-old law, but Evil Endem had easily shattered that law.
Adapter abilities didn’t work on Evil at all.
“If you’re not going to be able to make a peep anyway, fuck it. You worthless nobodies who live acting all high and mighty only in front of S-rank trash, who the hell do you think you’re picking a fight with?”
The lips of the mocked adapter twisted slightly, but soon returned to a cold expression.
The table where Evil’s sneer had passed was filled only with silence. Even when the refined Ezibidi-style formal dinner was served, and even while looking at dishes prepared by a first-class chef, no one expressed admiration. Cheche confirmed that everyone was picking up their spoons and knives in the cold atmosphere, then quietly picked up his knife.
