# Chapter 58
I stared quietly at the empty cup with only traces of coffee remaining. What did Tade want? He was an ordinary employee. I didn’t think he was plotting anything, just a friendly person you could find anywhere. That was Tade.
But the recent incident had several suspicious points. Among them, the biggest problem was that he seemed to have noticed my identity, which no one knew.
I’d like it to just be a coincidence, but the intention behind giving me this coffee wasn’t so pure. Surely, he was trying to test me.
If I had handled it smoothly, I might not have aroused any further suspicion. But I got entangled with him and couldn’t escape his doubt.
Though it’s been overlooked for now, I’m worried about how he’ll approach next. Where did things go wrong? Maybe I should have run away from the beginning.
I didn’t intend to get involved, but I ended up entangled again. With someone whose intentions I couldn’t read. I didn’t think Tade would do anything even if he knew my identity, but that was only based on what I knew of him.
If Tade was hiding something, it would be difficult to let this pass without incident. Moreover, if by any chance he was connected to Peace’s experiment, I couldn’t just let it go.
But it was still too early to make plans right now. I hadn’t yet figured out Tade’s purpose, and as Kane’s body without the ability to use powers, there were limits to what I could do.
No matter how much I thought, no clear solution emerged. My thoughts, already tangled, only became more knotted.
In the end, I erased my unproductive contemplations. Even if my suspicions were correct, so far his were merely speculations; he’d need to approach me more to confirm them.
I picked up the cup I had been staring at. And along with the distracting thoughts filling my mind, I threw it in the trash. The cup disappeared from view as it sank into the bin.
I gazed at the scene blankly before turning my head toward Alice to check on her. Since the last practice, along with basic education, we were also conducting training related to psychic abilities.
“How is it? Do you think you can do it?”
Alice, perhaps because her mental age was in her late teens, learned quickly. That’s why we could proceed with training at a fast pace.
Alice, who had been quietly closing her eyes, gently lifted her silvery eyelashes. Then her strangely glowing blue eyes began to reveal themselves.
“Hmm… I can read it.”
When focusing on psychic abilities, her eyes would glow like a beast’s eyes at night. The blue eyes, softly shimmering like a moonlit sea, proved she was using her ability.
“Then would you like to read my thoughts?”
She should be able to do this without difficulty. The distance wasn’t far either.
“Alright.”
Alice closed her eyes again. She would be blocking out surrounding sounds one by one to try to read my mind. After a brief wait, a stiff sentence popped out of Alice’s mouth.
“Do you know what I’m thinking? This, I heard it.”
She repeated exactly what I had been thinking.
“It seems you’ve got the hang of it now. Just need to control the range.”
Since she can freely use her ability, all that’s left is to handle the range. Currently, she’s using mind-reading by releasing her ability and narrowing the range, but that’s not a very efficient method.
Being able to accurately read the target’s thoughts the moment she uses her ability would be advantageous in actual situations.
“I’ll work hard.”
Alice clenched her fist, showing her determination. She had done well so far, so she should continue to do well.
“Oh, by the way, do you happen to know someone named Ben?”
I just remembered what I wanted to ask him. Kane’s diary had almost no information about other people. It seemed he deliberately didn’t write about them, including Alice, who was in his charge.
Therefore, asking Alice was the best way to clearly understand Ben’s intentions.
“S-class?”
“Yeah, I met Ben here. I was wondering if he was also involved in this experiment.”
“No.”
I thought he couldn’t not be involved. But what came out of his mouth was quite unexpected. Ben not being involved in the experiment? Then why could he enter the lab? My question could be resolved with Alice’s next words.
“A-7 is like me.”
“A-7 is…”
I looked at him with a sense of disbelief, but Alice nodded calmly. He spoke as if it were obvious.
“S-class’s real name.”
“Ben was an experimental subject?”
“Yes… and the only S-class success.”
It took a while to accept this sudden information. An experimental subject? It was hard to believe, but at the same time, everything started to make sense.
The reason he freely gave me information was because he didn’t think deeply about the experiment. Ben would have been treated as a successfully completed subject after a long period of experimentation. So he wouldn’t have any remaining aversion to the experiment itself.
That’s why he could remain unperturbed despite knowing about the experiment.
This must also be why Ben is loyal to Peace. He probably received education akin to brainwashing from Peace. Therefore, his world had no choice but to revolve around Peace.
Like fog clearing before my eyes, all his actions started to make sense. These were things I could have noticed if I had thought about it a bit more.
“How long has Ben been here…?”
I pulled out one sentence that had emerged from my confused thoughts. My voice naturally weakened.
“He was already here when I came.”
Alice observed me and spoke calmly. His records started 15 years ago. That would mean Ben had been here for at least 15 years. It was an environment that made Ben’s childlike attitude inevitable. He had actually grown up too well considering the harsh environment.
“…So that’s why Kane knew Ben.”
“Yes, Kane and A-7 are close.”
“That must be why Ben asked me for advice.”
I brought up one by one the stories that now had answers. Kane was a researcher, and Ben was an experimental subject. Of course, Kane wasn’t here when Ben became a subject, but he would have frequently visited the lab for follow-up measures anyway. That’s where Ben and Kane formed a connection.
Since Kane was the only one in the lab who cared about the experimental subjects, it made sense that he built a relationship with Ben.
But understanding didn’t solve everything. In fact, I was more confused now than before I knew.
Thinking coldly, this had nothing to do with me. Ben being experimented on didn’t affect me, and I hadn’t done anything to him. Ben was just an experimental subject, and now I knew about it. That’s all.
However, there are times when one can’t think coldly.
This moment was like that for me.
Clearly, I hadn’t suffered any harm, but my emotions were boiling over. The indescribable feeling seemed like it would burst out the moment I let go of the rationality I was barely holding onto.
“Is there… a problem?”
Alice must have sensed my precariousness and asked carefully.
“No…”
Right, there was no problem with this situation. The only problem was me. I didn’t know I would become this weak. I simply couldn’t pass over a problem that I should have been able to ignore.
“Alice, if you weren’t here, I would have ignored this experiment’s true nature even if I knew about it.”
In the midst of this, I conveyed to Alice the words I had been wanting to say all along. Even I didn’t know why I was saying this now. These words just existed within my emerging emotions.
“I know.”
It was a sudden statement, but he quietly affirmed.
“You wouldn’t have cared how many people died here or what the results were.”
“…”
That’s right. From the beginning, this had nothing to do with me. I’m not a hero. I was a villain and had killed countless people. I had no obligation to save them. I was well aware of that fact. That’s why I didn’t try to save them.
“But why do they reach out to someone like me?”
Yet they casually extend their hands toward me. They unhesitatingly grasp my rotten, decayed hands.
“That makes me angry.”
That’s why I feel this emotion. If only Ben hadn’t grabbed me, I could have passed by without feeling anything by now.
“I’m angry at these people who foolishly trust someone like me.”
Because he specifically grabbed my hand, not anyone else’s, I couldn’t ignore it. I end up responding to his circumstances. Ben’s goodwill had somehow stained me.
My world should only flow through Boss, that’s how it should be…
But intruders keep interfering with my world. The world I thought would be eternal is gradually beginning to crumble.
I was fine until now. I was satisfied with this world.
But like this, don’t I start to desire another world? Don’t I start thinking about wanting to hold their hands with these hands overflowing with indelible sins?
All of this wouldn’t have happened if they just hadn’t trusted me.
“I like that you’re angry.”
Alice clearly conveyed these words to me as I was crumbling from within. Though her tone was dry, my gaze, which had been cast downward like my feelings, turned toward her.
“Kay wouldn’t just move on and forget. You would regret it.”
His words were gentle but also strong. As Alice spoke, words that shouldn’t come to me started to approach. Each one was too generous for me, excessively kind.
“That’s why Kay is a good person.”
His blue eyes sparkled purely, as if speaking only the truth. This time, I didn’t reject Alice’s words.
I could now accept it. That I wanted to be remembered as a good person by someone.
Although I knew I was an evil that could never become good, I wanted to be good.
