Chapter 66
Adjusting his hold on Harriet’s body, Ender looked around. Night had completely fallen, and darkness surrounded them. Only a faint light emanated eerily from the research facility.
They quickly moved to the vehicle they had prepared in advance. Fortunately, the car hadn’t been discovered. After carefully placing Harriet in the back seat, Ender spoke to Anschel who had just gotten into the driver’s seat.
“Don’t take the highway. Go down through the mountain road.”
“Yes.”
Anschel answered while gripping the steering wheel. After confirming that Ender had gotten into the back seat, Anschel urgently started the engine and turned the wheel.
“Colonel, why did the military stop their dispatch?”
Surely military deployment orders must have been issued. But the military hadn’t moved, and the three of them had been able to escape the research facility safely. There were many strange things about the situation.
Ender gently stroked Harriet’s round shoulders. The feel of his lean muscles was pleasant. His elegant fingers moved down Harriet’s arm to carefully caress his waist and hips.
“…At least it means they’re not enemies.”
Ender muttered.
Unlike Anschel’s rough handling, the car moved very smoothly. Harriet expressed admiration for Anschel’s driving skills with newfound appreciation. Ender, unable to whine that he could do it better, kept his mouth tightly shut.
* * *
“Chairman, we’ve finished setting up.”
Whoo—a red light blinked from a tank waiting near the research facility. The small, round red light hovered around the area for a while before suddenly going out. Someone watching the situation through binoculars whispered softly.
“They’ve left.”
Sizzle—the sound of something burning was heard.
The source of the sound was a man quietly smoking a cigarette near the tank. A new cigarette was held between his fingertips. He lit the cigarette without a lighter and slowly brought it to his lips.
The man’s figure, hidden in darkness, was revealed by the small light. He was Jayden Olden, the Peace Committee Chairman known for his genial smile and friendly way of speaking on TV.
The middle-aged man with tanned skin and short brown hair swept back smiled.
“Blow it up.”
“Yes.”
Those who followed him like shadows nodded and pressed a button.
BOOM-!! BANG!!
With a tremendous explosion, the interior of the research facility burst into flames. Intermittent explosions continued, and soldiers who hadn’t managed to escape were caught in the blasts. However, there was no one here who sympathized with them.
The middle-aged man, who had inhaled his cigarette until his cheeks hollowed, lightly tossed the cigarette toward the burning research facility with a tap.
Cigarette smoke flowed out between his smooth lips. After watching the research facility explode for quite some time, Jayden quietly turned his head. Yellow eyes, too fierce and glinting to belong to a man in his mid-50s, blazed with the burning research facility as a backdrop.
When Jayden climbed onto the tank, the disciplined men quickly left the mountain road, leaving the burning research facility behind.
Weeeeee-!
Dozens of fire trucks could already be seen chaotically rushing on the road. He took out another new cigarette, and flames flickered in the air like a will-o’-the-wisp.
“…Chairman, smoking is prohibited inside the tank.”
“Is that legally mandated?”
Jayden asked. The man immediately shut his mouth.
“…It’s not specifically mandated, but it’s dangerous…”
The man persistently mumbled, but Jayden didn’t respond.
“There’s a call from President Maxim.”
Weeeeee- Woong-
Dozens of ambulances passed by the tank. Jayden removed the cigarette from his mouth and answered the phone. He tucked the cigarette between his fingers and smiled slightly.
“Yes, ah… Of course I left that out. Trust only me, father.”
Dante Maxim’s soft voice resonated through the mobile phone. To Jayden, who had been with Alcita Maxim since childhood, Dante was like a father figure. Jayden had been Alcita’s loyal dog, and most of the Peace Committee members followed him. When Alcita was alive, Jayden had followed Dante Maxim more than his own father and supported him.
That had been the case.
The veins on Jayden’s trembling fist stood out prominently. Jayden’s face was smiling, but his body was shaking. Blood flowed between his tightly clenched fists.
“…Of course. Let’s set off fireworks together at Alcita’s grave.”
Alcita’s grave was the sea. Alcita Maxim had been ruthlessly killed on the Ellikiss ship above that sea. Jayden continued the call with his genial smile. The ruthless murderer who had blown up the research facility was nowhere to be found in this moment.
He ended the call and opened the tank’s upper hatch. Then he threw the cigarette butt onto the highway, simultaneously tossing his mobile phone outside.
“That’s illegal dumping. It violates the law.”
“Who the hell brought this guy?”
Jayden growled, his face contorting severely. Spinning a small USB in his hand, he quietly lowered his head and closed his eyes. The middle-aged man’s face looked terribly tired.
“Why am I still alive after losing you, Alcita?”
Jayden muttered quietly. All those who had been chattering annoyingly beside him until just now fell silent.
Jayden quietly took out a recorder from inside his jacket. It was a square, very old recorder. Connecting earphones, Jayden pressed the play button with a click. A familiar voice was heard.
– Hello, friend…
Yes, there was only one reason why Jayden Olden was still persistently alive to this day.
“But… is it okay? Giving that to him.”
Even the men’s voices had become solemn.
“At least we’ve confirmed they’re not enemies, so there was some harvest.”
Jayden glanced at the USB in his hand and then looked back.
* * *
The first thing Anschel did upon returning to the office was to empty the water bottle in the refrigerator in one go. Sweat was flowing down his jaw so much that Anschel’s face was damp with it.
After emptying a 500mL bottle at once, Anschel poured another and approached Harriet with a tumbler. By now, Harriet was sitting on the sofa. He seemed to have finally recovered after being so limp that he couldn’t even hold his body up.
“…The research facility has been blown up. Seeing that it happened right after we left, it’s clear the other side was monitoring our movements.”
The black T-shirt on Anschel’s upper body, now freed from the bulletproof vest and military uniform that had completely wrapped his entire body, was soaked and clung to him. Having exercised regularly as a soldier, his attractive abs and arm muscles were prominently visible.
Anschel wanted to take off his T-shirt right away but resisted. After turning on the air conditioner, Anschel opened the bag he was carrying, turned on the laptop, and inserted the USB.
“…There’s not much we’ve salvaged, but at least enough to deal a blow to Dante Maxim.”
The USB contained a list of biological experiments performed on Harriet. Titles like human dissection, suturing, new human body, organ transplantation, and so on were written.
But they couldn’t expose this right away. Ender McGuire seemed to share the same thought as he shook his head.
Anschel bit his lip hard and raised his head to look at Harriet. Under the bright fluorescent light, Harriet, meeting Anschel’s eyes, smiled slightly as he always did.
Harriet was warm and quite indifferent, making him comfortable to be around. He was detached and self-contained, but at least he didn’t pick at people’s wounds.
He’s a good person, Harriet Alster.
There was no reason why such a person should have endured that kind of treatment. Yes… there wasn’t.
“…I’m sorry. Can we do the briefing tomorrow?”
Harriet raised his index finger and tapped Anschel’s chin. It was Harriet’s habit when conversing with Ender or trying to comfort him.
But his fingertips were cold. His attractive fingers gleamed white. Even the fingertips and nails of Harriet’s hand, now damp with Anschel’s sweat, were white.
“It would be better for you to go rest. Ender, let’s go back too.”
“Yes, sunbae.”
Why did you have to endure such treatment?
Anschel bit his lip and pondered, but no answer was in sight.
Harriet, picking up the cane he had left on the office desk, opened the door and left with Ender. Only the sound of the air conditioner filled the now-silent office.
Through the window, Anschel blankly stared at Harriet’s back as he limped away. His snow-white hair was even more noticeable in the dark night.
It would probably be difficult to find any trace of the original Harriet Alster below the face. That Harriet Alster would also be difficult to recognize as the Harriet before the age of ten. He was a monster mixed with a merperson.
“Ugh…”
Anschel was in agony. Even though he didn’t have a special relationship with Harriet, his emotions were churning just because he knew him. It wasn’t as if the ground was collapsing beneath him like when he had heard the news of his parents sinking beneath the sea, but his throat was choked up and his heart felt heavy.
Finding it too stifling, Anschel took off his sweat-soaked shirt and threw it away. Still not feeling better, he opened the door and, before he knew it, was climbing the mountain like a madman.
“Huff, huff-“
His body, which had been moving all day, was screaming in fatigue, but mentally driven Anschel had no time to notice his physical condition. Blood trickled down from his cheek, scratched by a protruding branch on the mountain path. Despite being something he could have avoided normally, Anschel felt nothing.
When he finally reached his destination and stopped walking, he gazed at the man who was smiling as if he would always be there. The beautiful man with blue hair and blue eyes slightly turned his head as if he had noticed Anschel’s arrival.
In his hands sat a tree frog and a small bird. A frog and a bird—such an odd combination suited him so perfectly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
