Chapter 15
“Was it afraid?”
The tiger that escaped outside for the first time in its life?
Harriet just smiled awkwardly at Ryan’s question. Suddenly, Harriet discovered a wet, damp spot. It was animal urine.
Was it the tiger, or some other mountain animal?
As Harriet raised his head, Ender pulled his shoulder.
“It’s dangerous!”
But perhaps it was a little late, as a very small wound appeared on Harriet’s chin. It was so small that it was embarrassing to call it a wound, but blood had formed and the area had turned red.
Ender’s eyes, seeing Harriet’s blood, glowed redder and more sinister than the blood itself.
“…How dare it.”
Ender growled, holding Harriet’s shoulder that he had pulled. He wiggled his fingers through the grass where Harriet had been.
Then a strong gust of wind swept around Ender. It was Ender’s ability to control wind. Ryan covered his eyes, protecting himself from the onslaught of leaves and branches.
The tiger pounced on Ender with its huge mouth wide open. It was a dangerous moment, but Ender’s movement was faster.
When Ender raised his finger, the place where the huge tiger that had attacked Harriet was located exploded. But because of the soil, it wasn’t as powerful as it would have been in the sea. Harriet looked perplexed as he picked up the water bottle he was carrying.
The moment the tiger charged at Ender, baring its teeth, Harriet tore the water bottle with both hands and swirled his hands. The water that had been sleeping peacefully in the bottle became a curtain, blocking Ender’s front. The tiger’s claws struggled, unable to penetrate the water.
Harriet’s white pupils turned bluish. His legs didn’t transform into mermaid fins, but webs formed between his fingers.
Ender embraced Harriet, shielding him with his body. A tremendous explosion sounded where the tiger had been.
BOOOOOM!!!
Dust filled the air and the mountain shook. It wouldn’t have been strange if a landslide had occurred.
“Wh-what on earth……”
The middle of the mountain was deeply hollowed out. No, it looked like it might lead underground.
When Anschel came running at the huge explosion, the situation had already been resolved. The tiger, now as small as a cat, was tightly bound with rope and had a leash.
He couldn’t have imagined finding experimental subject Z-02221, the tiger the military had been looking for, here. The mountain being in this state was bound to require an incident report, and that would all be Anschel’s responsibility.
‘Ah… my stomach is starting to hurt again.’
Anschel retreated backward with a pale expression. Ryan, whose ears seemed to be ringing, shook his head with a dazed face, trying to regain his senses.
Harriet was in Ender’s arms. Thanks to Ender shielding him with his body, he hadn’t fainted.
Ender, with a greatly regretful face, was licking Harriet’s wound with his eyes. He opened his mouth and said,
“I want to lick it……”
Anschel pretended not to hear, but Harriet, who was nearby, was looking at Ender with the eyes of a grandfather watching his grandchild. The wound on the chin had already stopped bleeding and the area around it had turned red, so there was nothing to lick.
What are you going to do by licking that?
Anschel barely managed to keep his mouth shut.
“Um… are you taking it to the military?”
Ryan had apparently regained his senses and approached from the side. His legs were still trembling, but it seemed he could talk now.
Harriet had seen Ender use his abilities in the sea before. Thinking about that time, even his own legs were trembling, so he could only imagine how the boy felt.
“Yes.”
Anschel said so, but in fact, he was a supporter of the Anti-Animal Esper Movement. Just as he was about to say that perhaps they could secretly smuggle it to the African region, Ender growled lowly.
“Who decides to take that away?”
“What?”
“Why should I spare that beast who injured Sunbae’s face?”
Ender’s eyes were already crazed.
Ryan, though trembling, instinctively stood in front of the tiger, which had lost consciousness after being caught in the explosion. As someone who could empathize with animals, Ryan seemed to feel something from the tiger.
“I’m going to bury it. Except for one claw.”
That one was the claw that had scratched Harriet’s chin. Unable to ask what he would do with it, Anschel sighed.
“…Do as you please.”
He couldn’t argue or object to his superior, Ender McGuire. Though Ender might look like a fool in the current situation, he was actually a terrifying man.
Having observed this closest, Anschel knew it better than anyone. But an unexpected obstacle appeared.
“I’d like it to be spared……”
Harriet said with a troubled expression. Harriet liked animals and didn’t want to see Ryan sad.
Anschel tried to persuade Harriet, saying that Ender never goes back on a decision once made. However, Ender, with an extremely impressed face, carefully wrapped Harriet’s hands.
“You’re absolutely right, Sunbae,”
Ender quickly changed his stance, saying that all of Sunbae Harriet’s words were correct even if the earth became the sky, and that they were unchanging truths even if the world turned upside down.
What the hell is this guy!?
Before Anschel could open his mouth to object, something touched his forehead with a click. It was the decorative pistol Ender always carried.
It was an expensive gift his parents had given him on the day he became an adult. Known to be very costly, it could even be loaded with bullets.
Click-.
“You think so too, right? Anschel?”
Ender said in a sweet yet eerie voice, as if he wouldn’t tolerate objection.
Harriet looked around, wondering what was going on. Anschel tried his best to smile while hearing the clicking sound of the trigger being pulled above him.
“…That’s right.”
‘Let me take a digestive medicine first…’
With a face that had aged considerably in just a few hours, Anschel took out a digestive pill from his pocket and swallowed it.
* * *
An old man was sitting comfortably on the sofa.
“You and I are quite similar, yet we haven’t had a proper conversation until now.”
The representative of humans and the man who had sat at the pinnacle of power for over 20 years had a very kind and gentle smile, unlike his reputation.
Anschel had seen the old man’s face enough in his lifetime. While working as Ender’s assistant, through TV and magazines, even in academy curricula, they had lessons about the old man. In some sense, he was more famous than Ender.
Dante Maxim, the president of this country. Why had he requested a one-on-one meeting with Anschel?
With a pale face, Anschel repeatedly wiped the sweat forming on his hands onto his clothes. Dante offered a cup full of warm tea, as if telling him not to be too nervous.
As someone belonging to the military, Anschel couldn’t possibly refuse, so he gulped down the hot drink. His throat felt rough and painful. Seeing that he didn’t even have time to taste it, Dante smiled kindly.
“Yes… I hear you’re assisting our Ender well.”
It was a very natural condescension, but there was a warmth like that of a neighborhood grandfather. It felt strangely disarming. Anschel tried to keep his mind from relaxing.
Suddenly, he thought that this person might not be a threat to him. Even though he tried to keep his body stiff, his tightly clenched fist loosened.
It was a meaningless action for Anschel to try, being in front of Dante Maxim, who had the ability to control minds.
“No……”
Anschel murmured, shaking his head.
When referring to Ender, Dante used the word ‘our’ as if addressing a cherished grandchild. He didn’t hide his favor for him in front of the public or during speeches.
People thought Ender received Dante’s abundant love because he had contributed the most to achieving the end of the war that the president so desperately wanted.
Indeed, Ender’s abilities were incredibly frightening and powerful, even to Anschel who stood beside him. Using wind, he could exert his maximum ability not only on the ground but also in the sky. Ender McGuire was growing without knowing his limits.
“We are very similar.”
Those hateful merpeople.
Anschel hated and despised merpeople. To the point of disgust.
The president reached out and placed his hand on Anschel’s. It was a rough but warm hand, with many wrinkles. Tendons and veins protruded on the back of his hand.
Anschel blinked, recalling his father and mother.
– Breaking news. Merpeople are attacking the ship Ellikiss.
The satellite image captured the moment merpeople from the sea were swarming toward the ship. And not long after, news came that the ship had sunk. News continued to report that merpeople had exploded the ship without forgiving it for deviating from the designated maritime route.
And Anschel’s parents were on that ship. His parents were poor people with modest earnings. They were also ordinary humans without abilities.
Born to such a couple, Anschel surprisingly had the ability to deploy barriers. He could enter a private academy for free and was guaranteed a regular pension after graduation.
Of course, while academy admission was free, not everything used there was free. Therefore, his parents had to earn money desperately. So, until Anschel entered the elementary boarding school, he saw off his parents who went to work every day.
They were people who were prouder of Anschel than anyone else. They always told him that it was a miracle in itself that Anschel, an ability user, was born to ordinary parents.
Even after entering the boarding school, his parents always sent letters without fail. Despite being tired from work, they wrote letters a couple of times a month, never forgetting even when shivering in the bitter cold while working outside.
One day, a letter mentioned that they had gotten jobs as crew members on a ship owned by Alcita, who was the president’s son and one of the Peace Assembly members.
Alcita Maxim was operating a huge cruise business, and if this crossing was successful, he planned to establish a large corporation with enormous capital. And the letter stated that Anschel’s parents were guaranteed regular employment at that company.
Shortly after receiving that letter, the incident occurred.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
