Chapter 9
Such people actually existed in our organization. Since Alice was rumored to have many S-class ability users, it would be stranger if they didn’t exist.
Of course, these individuals had more enthusiasm than skill. As a result, they frequently died during missions because they overestimated their abilities. But admiring S-class might be better than those who antagonized S-class users.
S-class superpowers were obtained by chance. Since one couldn’t become S-class through effort, it was inevitable that some would harbor hatred.
I remembered words from a nameless subordinate from the past. He hadn’t joined to become a member, but to kill S-class ability users.
Even as he was captured, he said:
‘If not for being S-class, you would have died long ago.’
I immediately cut off his head and never saw him again, but those words had remained with me until now.
He wasn’t wrong. In reality, without my abilities, I was a human with no value. Even Boss, who picked me up, would have discarded me someday. But I ended up manifesting as S-class, didn’t I?
So it was pointless to dwell on it. The very premise of not being S-class didn’t apply to me in the first place.
But why hasn’t this memory faded even now? This memory didn’t remain just as a fragment of the past, but still held my ankle in the present.
Could I possibly think that even without this ability, I could prove my worth? If so, it was laughable even to me. I existed as I was now because of my ability.
Without my ability, the current me wouldn’t exist. I would have already become a handful of dirt, trampled by others.
My life was already too tainted to not know this fact.
So it couldn’t be. Rather, it must have been impressive that he spat out such words even in his dying moments.
Yes, that must be it.
Otherwise, I would look too foolish.
Me, harboring the thought that I could survive even without my ability.
I’d heard these words countless times. That I could be in this position thanks to my S-class ability. That I would have died long ago if I weren’t S-class.
Those words were enough to extinguish any hope that had been burning.
The once blazing ember had long since turned to ash. The hope that had crept up at all times was dead.
Even if I were to discover a living spark in the ashes, I no longer wanted to rely on it. I’d been tired of it for too long. I was more afraid of seeing my feeble hopes crushed than dreaming of a future that would never come true.
So I no longer thought there would be someone who would need me for who I was, not for my ability.
***
If I was in charge of entrance security in the morning, it was now time to take charge of the control room in the afternoon. I walked down the corridor, basking in the lazy sunlight coming through the windows.
The warm sunlight, proving it was afternoon, gave me an odd feeling. I didn’t know how long it had been since I’d walked like this.
Recently, due to a large amount of work, I’d had to go without rest. For someone like me, such a peaceful moment was something I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Though it was ironic that this too was a mission.
But this moment didn’t last very long either.
Tap— Tap— Tap—
In the silent corridor, the sound of someone running from far away could be heard.
At first, I thought it was just someone passing by, but those footsteps grew louder, heading precisely toward me.
“Hans! Are you going to the control room?”
Tade, who approached in an instant, casually draped his arm over my shoulder. With him standing with his back to the window, the comfort I’d felt just a moment ago vanished without a trace.
Hans and Tade’s work routes were the same except for night shifts. So I had no choice but to go to the control room with him.
“…Yes.”
Looking at Tade’s smile, I nodded glumly. The fact that I had to move with him was uncomfortable.
For me, it was more convenient to go alone. It was one of the few times I could breathe. But since Tade knew a lot about Hans, I couldn’t let my guard down.
In the documents, they were described as not very close, a one-sided relationship. I hadn’t anticipated him being this persistent.
I wanted to cut him off cleanly, but Hans wasn’t that kind of person. He was someone who didn’t care what others did, indifferent to everyone.
“Let’s go together.”
All I could do was ignore Tade’s words and keep walking. Understanding that as permission, he stuck close to me and matched his pace.
“Being in the control room for the afternoon is so convenient. I can’t even express how comfortable it is.”
Tade, as described in the documents, never stopped talking. His voice overlaid the sound of footsteps.
“A month ago, I suffered standing all day.”
By this point, a person would normally stop talking out of embarrassment, but I wasn’t sure if he was just shameless or if that was his nature. I wondered if all regular employees were like this, but that didn’t seem to be the case either.
By now, he had a more difficult personality than Zenon. At least with Zenon, I could shut him up.
“Now if only my eyes wouldn’t hurt, it would be perfect. Looking at the monitor constantly makes my eyes too tired.”
Was he talking to himself or to me? Tade muttered as he rummaged through the pocket of his jacket. His hand, searching for something, emerged from his pocket.
“Eye drops, want some?”
Tade gave the eye drops in his hand a slight shake. His green eyes creased with goodwill.
“I’m fine.”
After looking at that smile for a moment, I looked away. He was truly an incomprehensible human. It was amazing how he continuously showed kindness to someone who rejected him so much.
“Well, you see just fine. It’s amazing. You watch the monitor for so long yet you’re not affected at all.”
Accepting the rejection naturally, Tade, after putting the eye drops in his eyes, closed them for a moment. When he stopped, the distance between us naturally widened.
At the same time, my gaze fixed on a certain place.
That is…
It was something I noticed inadvertently. If I could use that, things might proceed more easily.
With that thought, I monitored Tade’s presence. Whether he’d dropped the eye drops or not, a faint groan was heard along with the sound of something hitting the ground.
“Hans, wait a moment!”
The sound of Tade’s footsteps looking for the rolling eye drops echoed in the space. In the long, stretched corridor, only Tade and I were present.
Even he was preoccupied with finding the eye drops. The opportunity approached as if telling me to execute this plan.
“…”
Then there was no reason to waste this opportunity either.
“Sorry! Did you wait long?”
“…No.”
By the time Tade found the eye drops and got up, the situation had already ended. After fiddling with the object rolling around in my pocket for a moment, I resumed walking.
The sunlight, which had only felt warm, now stabbed down sharply.
***
I tapped my employee ID on the control room entry machine. With a beep, the door opened. When I turned on the lights, dozens of monitors revealed themselves.
The monitors, running without rest, emitted bright light. I could understand why Tade said his eyes hurt.
It would be impossible not to feel pain working in such a space. Hans, who wasn’t affected at all, was truly remarkable.
“If there’s any problem, let me know immediately.”
Tade said while checking the walkie-talkie. I scanned the screens while leaving him behind as he focused on the walkie-talkie with his head down. Then, among the chaotically rotating screens, I noticed a particularly staticky one.
After staring at it for a while, I cautiously spoke.
“Tade, can you come look at this?”
“What is it?”
He hurried over at my words. Tade narrowed his eyes upon discovering the screen that rippled with a grayish light.
“One’s malfunctioning.”
What was broken was the corridor we’d been in earlier. A very close distance from here. I gave Tade a look.
“I think someone should go check it out.”
“I’ll go check.”
As if we’d had the same thought, he answered as soon as I finished speaking. Tade, who threw his jacket on the chair, quickly went out the door.
Tade was probably worried about whether an accident had occurred. But contrary to his concern, no accident had happened.
“Now I’m alone.”
I was the one who’d damaged the surveillance camera. I’d sent interference waves using a device. The surveillance camera would be out of order for a while.
While Tade was gone, there was one thing I had to do. Something I’d found odd since I first got on the elevator this morning.
“The blueprint clearly shows up to the 11th floor.”
I muttered while thoroughly examining the monitors. According to the blueprint Fenil provided, Peace extended to the 11th basement floor.
But on the elevator and surveillance cameras, the basement only showed up to the 10th floor. Since it was a blueprint that Fenil had obtained, there shouldn’t be any issues.
“Did they deliberately hide it?”
If so, it made sense. If they had something they wanted to hide on the 11th floor, it wouldn’t be unreasonable. The fact that they didn’t even install an elevator button meant whatever it was must be that important.
And as my thoughts reached there, naturally another question arose. Something I hadn’t considered.
How could Fenil obtain what Peace wanted to hide so badly? If it were the usual Fenil, she was competent, so I wouldn’t have had any doubts.
But the fact that she, who couldn’t find Alice’s whereabouts, had obtained this blueprint was hard to accept.
The moment this blueprint was made public, anyone would inevitably be curious about the 11th basement floor.
So naturally, hiding the blueprint somewhere no one could find it would be normal. Or destroying it.
My thoughts continued to follow one after another. Could Fenil be planning something else? She was someone whose intentions were hard to grasp.
It wouldn’t be strange if she was hiding something. Plans had often changed before. Since the process had led to better results, this time might be the same.
No matter what Fenil was thinking, she was a person who wouldn’t harm the organization. For now, trusting and leaving it to her would be the right thing to do.
