# Chapter 65
I noticed something was wrong with Alice quite some time after administering the drug to her.
Blue veins began to protrude from her delicate skin, and she started breathing heavily. Sensing something was off, I approached immediately and saw her sweating and crying.
“It hurts…”
Alice’s lips were badly chapped from constantly biting them in pain. A faint, trembling voice came through her lips.
Normally, even when in pain, Alice would try to endure it calmly. For her to say it hurts meant her condition was serious.
“Shouldn’t we administer a painkiller?”
Zenon, who had approached upon hearing Alice’s groans, seemed to notice her condition and muttered with furrowed brows. With Alice now even beginning to sob, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
From clenching her fists so tightly, Alice’s palms were covered in nail marks. I forcibly unclenched her fist and overlapped it with my hand. Somehow finding the strength, Alice interlocked her fingers with mine so tightly that my hand hurt.
“It’s because the effects of the previously administered drug are wearing off…”
“Adding more painkillers would strain her body too much.”
That’s right. Her body is already weak. Using more painkillers would be too much strain. But we couldn’t just leave her like this. According to the diary entries, in cases like this, the pain could last for over a day.
It would have been helpful if there were instructions on how to alleviate the pain, but unfortunately, Kane hadn’t written anything about that. So I had to find a way to help Alice within the limits of my knowledge.
I searched for a solution while watching her writhe in pain, saying it hurt even in her unconscious state.
“If only there were a mental type superpower—”
At that moment, one solution crossed my mind. Yes, that could work.
“Come to think of it, Mr. Zenon, you have barrier abilities, right?”
“Ah… I guess they told you about that.”
I had known it all along, but if he wanted to assume I’d been told, that worked in my favor.
“Yes, I heard that since you’re S-class, you can add other functions to your barriers.”
Seemingly guessing what I wanted, Zenon stared at Alice for a while before finally speaking.
“That’s not wrong, but… I can’t maintain it for long. At most, a little over an hour.”
I already knew that. But that would be enough.
“For now, reducing the pain is what’s important. And I was thinking of bringing in a mental-type ability user.”
If only I could bring him here, Alice might feel a bit more comfortable. But Zenon frowned questioningly, not understanding what I meant.
“Mental type? Is there a superpower user who would help a test subject? Besides, not just anyone can come in here.”
It made sense that he didn’t understand. It would be difficult to imagine someone willing to help a test subject while knowing what kind of experiments were conducted here.
“I can’t say for certain, but I know someone.”
However, there was exactly one person who met all those conditions.
* * *
After briefly leaving Alice in Zenon’s care, I hurried to where Ben was. I was worried I might not find him in time, but fortunately, I was able to locate where he was.
“Why were you running so hard?”
I slowed down as Ben’s figure appeared in the distance. My panting breath revealed just how poor Kane’s physical condition was. I grabbed his wrist as he stared at me blankly and pulled him to a secluded spot.
Only after checking that no one was around did I speak between steady breaths.
“Could you help me just once?”
Ben and Kane weren’t that close, so he might refuse. But I decided to rely on what I’d seen of him so far. Just as I was about to add an explanation to my urgent request, Ben spoke first.
“Yes, what do you need?”
He accepted my request immediately, without showing any sign of refusal or suspicion. For a moment, I wondered if I had said something different.
“Are you really okay with it?”
“Kane wouldn’t make an impossible request, so I’m fine.”
“Well…”
Kane certainly wouldn’t have. But since I wasn’t him, I couldn’t fully live up to Ben’s trust.
“It might be a bit of an unreasonable request.”
“If Kane says it’s just a bit, then it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
I meant he should doubt me at least once, but he showed a bright smile as if he had no intention of doing so.
“…Then I’ll ask for your help.”
Though I was worried about Ben, who seemed excessively naive, I desperately needed his goodwill right now. So I grasped his hand tightly and expressed my gratitude. But I wasn’t going to take him without explanation. While briefly explaining Alice’s situation, I watched his reaction.
I thought he might refuse once he knew what he would be doing. But again, he simply nodded and agreed.
Was I the only one who thought it was a difficult request? It seemed easy for him.
After our conversation, I walked to the laboratory first. It would be better to move separately, as moving together with Ben might raise suspicion from other researchers.
Shortly after I returned to the lab, the door opened. Zenon, who had been questioning me for coming back alone, immediately became hostile.
“Who is it?”
But his attitude didn’t last long. Confusion settled on Zenon’s face as he recognized who it was. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that no one didn’t know Ben, so this was expected.
“It will be okay now.”
In the meantime, Ben quickly checked Alice’s condition and made eye contact with her. It was just a fleeting moment, but whether he had used his ability in that brief time or given some suggestion, Ben turned his head.
Alice, who hadn’t been able to sleep due to pain, closed her eyes as soon as Ben finished speaking. As her irregular breathing began to stabilize, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“How long will it last?”
“I set it for about two days, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
Certainly, the pain should be gone after that much time.
“Thank you for your help.”
Without him, I would have had no choice but to watch Alice’s suffering without being able to do anything.
“It wasn’t difficult at all.”
He said that, but it couldn’t have been an easy decision. Ben was a person from Peace, after all. If the higher-ups found out he had helped a test subject, he could be reprimanded. No matter how confident Ben was that he wouldn’t get caught, the fact that he took a risk couldn’t be erased.
That’s why I was genuinely grateful to him. As if reading my thoughts, Ben quickly changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t greeted you. It’s been a while.”
The smile full of goodwill was directed at none other than Zenon. However, the face of the one receiving this goodwill was souring.
“Why are you here?”
“Because Kane called me.”
“Are you the type to come willingly just because he called? You used to wag your tail only for your master.”
“You still seem very interested in me.”
“Of course, is there anyone not interested in you? The great S-class hero.”
After listening to their rapid exchange, I could understand why Zenon had frowned. I didn’t know they knew each other, but I hadn’t expected their relationship to be this bad. Especially Zenon, who was showing clear hostility.
While Ben wouldn’t look good to Zenon, who hated Peace, it was surprising that he showed it so openly. He didn’t have this much animosity toward other researchers. There must be something between them.
“By the way, weren’t you out on a mission? It was supposed to be long-term. I guess it’s over?”
“What’s it to you?”
Judging by Ben’s attitude toward Zenon, he didn’t seem to despise him. He wasn’t exactly friendly either, but it was incomparable to the attitude Zenon was taking.
“I’m just curious when your next mission is. It’s not good for either of us when we run into each other. For me or for you.”
“The truth is… right?” Zenon sharply retorted to Ben, who put particular emphasis on his final words.
“Unfortunately, I have to stay here for a while.”
As the atmosphere became so tense it could break at any moment, I quickly intervened between them.
“So Zenon knew Ben too?”
“Zenon? Did Peace give you that name?”
“Are you crazy? I named myself.”
The conversation was flowing in a slightly different direction than I had expected. As soon as the word “Peace” came from Ben’s lips, Zenon’s already unfriendly expression wrinkled even more.
“Well, Peace wouldn’t give you a name, would they?”
Noticing it didn’t make sense, Ben immediately withdrew his statement.
“We met a long time ago.”
Thanks to Zenon, who remembered my question, the diverted topic returned. Though the atmosphere didn’t improve.
Zenon’s harsh face was tinged with desolation. Whatever happened in the past, it wasn’t a good memory. Just as I was thinking I shouldn’t pry into someone else’s past carelessly and should end the conversation here…
“Zenon was in charge of body disposal.”
If only Ben hadn’t continued. I checked Zenon’s reaction as Ben casually mentioned his past, but Zenon only frowned without stopping him.
I thought he wouldn’t want to talk about it, but maybe that wasn’t the case.
“Since I was a test subject, I had to see a lot.”
“I just saw you a few times in passing.”
In any case, it seemed this conversation wasn’t exactly welcome. As the two started to clash again, I intervened once more.
“Would they assign an S-class superpower user to such a task?”
“…I wasn’t S-class; originally I was sold to them. Then when my powers manifested, I was transferred.”
“Oh… I see.”
This is what they call stepping on a landmine. I had brought up something unnecessary. Given Peace’s past actions, it was plausible they were involved in human trafficking, but I never expected Zenon to be a victim. I was wondering how to escape the now frigid atmosphere.
“Enough about that. If you’re done, get out quickly.”
Zenon seemed to share my thoughts as he jerked his head toward Ben. Ben obediently followed. As he moved toward the door, he spoke.
“If something like this happens again, please tell me. Things like this are easy for me.”
The door closed as Ben gave me a smile with his eyes. Zenon, who had been watching silently, then uttered a single sentence.
“He’s finally lost it.”
