# Chapter 109
I turned my head to stare at Haylen, unable to find words, but he only showed a troubled expression as if he already knew.
He slightly avoided my gaze. Fenil also had only her face peeking out from the doorway, ready to bolt at any moment.
“…So that’s why you were frequently looking for sweet things.”
“I was planning to tell you later to disguise as Hans. I tailored Hans to match you from the beginning.”
Everything that I had found strange started to make sense. No wonder Fenil, who extremely disliked sweet things, ate them with a grimace.
Besides, Tade had mentioned how strange it was that Hans could look at monitors like that without his eyes hurting. Of course Fenil was used to it, since she looked at monitors all the time.
If that was the case, it must have been Fenil who submitted Hans’s resignation letter in my place.
“I’m really sorry!”
I was still dazed, thinking about everything that had happened. Perhaps afraid of my silent reaction, Fenil hastily left her spot.
“…”
I stared at the place she had vacated for a long while, at a loss for words. In hindsight, Fenil who had planned all this was truly remarkable.
* * *
Kane opened his eyes a few days after returning to his body. After staring blankly at the ceiling for days, he seemed to regain consciousness as he gazed at his own hand.
“Are you okay?”
Alex, who happened to be next to him, asked while checking Kane’s condition. Eyes filled with complex emotions turned toward Alex. Kane’s lips, seemingly lost in thought, finally opened.
“…I think my ability is gone.”
Kane slightly frowned at his cracked voice from disuse. Alex handed him water. With a small smile at the warm cup, he drank.
“Your ability is gone?”
“I don’t feel… anything.”
With a voice now much more comfortable, Kane spoke, and Alex carefully chose his words, not knowing how to respond.
“Ah…”
“It’s, it’s okay. I never thought I needed supernatural abilities anyway…”
“Is that so?”
Noticing Alex’s expression belatedly, Kane waved his hand as if to say not to worry. Alex let out a restrained sigh.
“Yes, it’s actually fortunate. An ability I can’t control only harms others and myself.”
Kane’s attitude, carefully speaking while fidgeting with the cup, genuinely seemed fine. He even appeared somewhat relieved.
But soon after, as if remembering something he’d forgotten, Kane began to gauge Alex’s reaction. His hesitant lips finally opened.
“Um, I’m sorry but I don’t think I can leave for another country right away.”
Speaking in a timid voice, Kane bowed so low he nearly touched the bed. To stop him, Alex gently lifted his forehead and asked in a gentle voice.
“May I hear the reason?”
“There’s a child I need to see.”
“Is it that… child at Peace?”
Alex was being as considerate as possible, in case Kane might be sensitive about it. Kane nodded at his thoughtfulness.
“I know a way in, so I could meet them at least once.”
During his time as a researcher, he had gathered information indiscriminately. It might be needed someday. Among that was a secret route to the laboratory, so he could visit once without much difficulty.
At Kane’s resolute words, Alex recalled Haylen’s message about rescuing Alice once more. The child Kane wanted to save was also a test subject, so perhaps his information could be greatly helpful.
After looking at Kane as if gauging something, Alex soon smiled brightly and spoke.
“Kane, would you like to sell us your information?”
“Information?”
“In exchange, we’ll help you rescue that child.”
It was a tempting offer. Not just meeting, but actually rescuing the child. However, Alex, though kind, was still a villain. He couldn’t trust him blindly. If Alex broke his promise after getting the information, Kane would have no recourse.
“Actually, we also need to rescue someone at Peace.”
Reading Kane’s inner thoughts, Alex continued speaking to build trust.
“Of course, we’ll sign a contract too.”
Kane’s pupils trembled slightly, showing signs of conflict. Several minutes passed without Kane opening his mouth, but Alex silently waited for his answer.
“I’ll tell you everything I know. So please, please rescue that child.”
Finally, Kane expressed his acceptance. The contract Alex mentioned must be one created by someone with an oath-binding superpower. Once contracted on paper imbued with supernatural ability, one had no choice but to fulfill it.
Kane thought he could trust him if he went that far. Besides, even with the information, he had no way to rescue the child himself.
“I promise we’ll rescue them.”
“…You’re actually an executive here, aren’t you, Alex-ssi?”
Staring blankly at the brightly folding blue eyes, Kane spoke dazedly.
“How did you know?”
Alex awkwardly stiffened and slightly avoided Kane’s gaze. At that reaction, Kane spoke as if it were obvious.
“Because if you were a low-ranking member, the others wouldn’t show you such respect.”
Other organization members who occasionally visited often showed awkward attitudes while being mindful of Alex. Anyone could see it wasn’t how one would treat a low-ranking member.
If he was an executive, he probably introduced himself as low-ranking deliberately so Kane wouldn’t be scared.
“Thank you for being considerate.”
Kane was genuinely grateful for that.
A clear smile appeared on his face as worry and anxiety began to fade away.
* * *
There was one thing Kay couldn’t understand.
“Doesn’t Boss want revenge?”
Clearly, Haylen’s family had been killed by Raymon. If that were the case, it would be strange to just leave it be. Especially since he had the power to take revenge.
Before, it could have been because of the brainwashing, but now the brainwashing was gone. Yet Haylen only mentioned Raymon when talking about his past, and afterward, never even spoke his name.
He could kill that bastard right now and it wouldn’t be enough. Why was Haylen just staying put? Finally, Kay couldn’t hold back and asked him.
Looking perplexed at the unexpected question, Haylen carefully put his thoughts into words.
“At that time, I thought it would be meaningless, but…”
Letting his last words trail off, Haylen’s red eyes momentarily burned with rage. The overflowing killing intent gave Kay goosebumps all over his body.
“I do want revenge. I want to kill him painfully.”
Haylen spoke through gritted teeth, barely suppressing his rising anger. It was astonishing that he had hidden this emotion until now.
Kay wanted to help him. Although his help might not be necessary, he didn’t want to just watch. He felt he couldn’t let go of his anger unless he punched the smug face of the person who had tormented Haylen.
“Then I’ll—”
“No. This is a problem I need to resolve myself.”
But Haylen gently refused Kay. It wasn’t that Kay would be in the way. Even with his own power, dealing with Raymon would be difficult enough.
However, he didn’t want to burden Kay. The Alice matter already posed considerable danger to him. In such a situation, if Raymon became involved too, Kay would face even greater danger.
“Kay doesn’t need to worry about it.”
That’s why he thought it would be better if Kay, at least, didn’t concern himself with it. But Kay couldn’t know Haylen’s true feelings that he hadn’t expressed.
In the silence, Kay and Haylen’s thoughts slowly began to diverge.
* * *
The sound of wheels rolling continued to be heard in the control room. Finally, unable to bear the noise anymore, Tade frowned and turned around.
“You’ve been out of your mind lately, what’s going on?”
The implication was to stay still. But Ben couldn’t possibly read Tade’s hidden meaning.
The rolling wheels stopped. Ben, who had been staring at the floor, slowly raised his head. He spoke toward Tade, who was looking at him menacingly.
“Kane died because of me.”
“…Then why are you doing this here?”
“Because I have nowhere else to go.”
His pitch-black dead eyes blinked, emitting a gloomy light. Since hearing the news of Kane’s death, he hadn’t been in his right mind.
It was strange, considering he must have seen many people die. He resented himself for only busying himself with observing, recalling Kane every hour.
Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t properly complete any mission that would have been easy normally. He was just blankly spaced out.
Afterwards, he just sat here quietly, trapped in meaningless thoughts. He couldn’t go anywhere else.
Because everywhere else, everyone except him was saying Kane’s death was a good thing. They all looked like demons to him. It wasn’t the first time he had heard such things, but it was the first time they appeared as demons.
And at that moment, he realized. That he too was a demon.
Only when he lost someone he didn’t want to lose could he understand.
He had committed an unforgivable sin. He actually knew, knew that what they were saying wasn’t right.
But, wanting to be comfortable, he obeyed their words like being brainwashed. This was the result.
Ben bit his lips. Blood seeped through his torn lips.
Silently watching the dripping blood, Tade carefully let out a sigh. It wasn’t a sigh of contempt, but one of sympathy.
“I think he’s alive.”
“Why?”
Ben abruptly raised his head and asked urgently. Though it was meant to encourage Ben, Tade hadn’t expected such a quick response.
But since it was the truth, Tade opened his mouth easily without much deliberation.
“Well… just a feeling.”
Kane was Hans. That meant he wasn’t an ordinary person. An ordinary person wouldn’t need to be in disguise.
Surely there was a reason for the disguise. In this place crawling with superhumans, someone who could disguise themselves naturally enough to fool others would somehow survive. It was a weak reason, but that’s what Tade believed.
