Chapter 76
“What was that deserter like?”
Anschel asked casually, and Harriet answered with a light smile.
“He was an interesting kid.”
Things were getting more and more uneasy.
At the request of a villager to help pull a truck out of a ditch, Angela and Anschel drove down a narrow country road. As soon as he got out of the car, Anschel checked his ringing phone. The caller was Jayden Olden.
“I’m planning to hack the main broadcasting system next week.”
Hearing his voice that got straight to the point, Anschel glanced at Angela’s back as she approached the truck in the ditch, then spoke.
“That won’t be easy.”
“Dante Maxim already controls the media, so what choice do we have? Ten minutes is all we need.”
As Anschel frowned while listening to Jayden’s voice, Angela was lifting the truck with ease. The old woman who had been sitting in the passenger seat was laughing gratefully and giving Angela various food items.
Watching this sequence of events, Anschel took an electronic cigarette from his pocket. The liquid that he had refilled last time was already showing the bottom.
“…What do you plan to do if you fail in this election?”
“I’ve already failed twice. A third failure means death.”
If it had been a fearful or hesitant voice, Anschel would have advised him to hold another press conference to withdraw his support and stop putting on airs. But Jayden was more resolute than Anschel.
Why are there only such people around me?
Anschel scratched his head and put the electronic cigarette in his mouth.
“It may not work on those who support Dante to their core… but at least it will be a great stimulus to those tired of the ongoing war. Let’s believe in miracles.”
“Miracles… I like that. I’ll look into hackers myself.”
What answer would Ender have given here? Would he be afraid of failure? Anschel fidgeted with his electronic cigarette.
Just then, a sudden BOOM-! BOOM-! sound was heard. Anschel’s body staggered momentarily at the massive impact that made the ground itself shake.
Angela, who had been looking around with round eyes, opened her mouth wide and screamed.
“Aaaaah!!!”
“Hello, my sweetie honey.”
“Th-this is insane!”
Anschel unknowingly dropped his expensive electronic cigarette to the ground. As he stood with his mouth gaping open, the approaching object making BOOM-! BOOM-! sounds became more visible.
A robot, not large but looking over 5 stories high, walked toward where Angela and Anschel were standing, making heavy sounds. Tree branches were breaking mercilessly, to the point where they might need to pay a fine.
The robot’s chest plate opened, and a person jumped out from inside.
He was clearly a soldier from his uniform, but one leg of his pants was torn, so he didn’t look particularly presentable. Overall, he had a small build with black hair and black eyes, a cute-looking man.
“I came back because it seemed fun.”
“Koryoin!!!”
What he was holding and waving in his hand was a newspaper page. It was the front page with a photo of Anschel standing on a podium for a speech. Behind him, Harriet and Ender stood as his attendants.
Had he come running in one breath after discovering Harriet’s image?
The machine-obsessed deserter called Koryoin grinned like a mischievous child.
“What’s going on?”
Jayden asked, apparently still on the line. Anschel, clutching his aching stomach, barely opened his mouth with a pale face.
“Hacker… found one.”
[Name: Koryoin
Zone: Zone 18 (Hangwon)
Age: 22
Ability: Machine Creation (S-class)
The military’s best hacker. ★Caution required]
*Â *Â *
Harriet, who was sprawled on the sofa with his back against it, was nodding off with his eyes closed. His white head bobbed up and down in a steady rhythm. His normally neat white hair was slightly disheveled, and his fluttering white eyelashes had trapped his eyes.
With his eyes closed and breathing evenly, Harriet’s bangs swayed gently in the warm breeze. Harriet, whose presence seemed to become even more faint as if he might disappear, was smiling slightly as if dreaming.
There was a mug on the table, but the cocoa inside had already been consumed, leaving only traces without contents. Cocoa was the only food that Harriet, who had a small appetite and was picky, could eat without getting tired of. Harriet occasionally supplemented his three meals a day with sugar.
His subordinates would nag with concern, saying “You’re going to really die at this rate, boss…” so he was cutting back, but in truth, he could put sweet things in his mouth all day if allowed.
The sweet scent remaining in the mug spread in all directions.
Harriet was having a nostalgic dream.
It was of his past self, both the Harriet who met Alcita, the Four-Four waiting for experiments in the research facility, and the Harriet who first met his cute junior.
Despite not much time difference between each scene, his appearance had changed grotesquely.
The last scene was of Harriet quietly closing his eyes underwater. As a door slowly opened in the distance, Harriet smiled and welcomed the sudden visitor.
His small junior, who was warily rolling his eyes like a cat, was flashing red eyes filled with awe and fear. A junior reminiscent of a cute black-furred cat.
Come here, don’t be wary, come over here. Cute child.
Looking at his small junior who was sharp like a cat but more lovely and fragile than anyone, Harriet held his breath and stretched out his fingers inwardly.
And the young junior gradually grew larger, surpassing Harriet’s height and becoming a hero beloved by the people. His rank and abilities now seemed far beyond reach.
“Sunbae.”
Last night, on his way home after parting with Jayden, Harriet tilted his head while clutching his fluttering heart. While Jayden was talking about Alcita, strangely, Harriet wanted to see Ender.
So for a long time, he couldn’t fall asleep and looked toward the bathroom with a restless heart. There was a bug that Ender had given him in the bathroom.
In the dim time when dawn was approaching, Harriet unknowingly opened his mouth. Toward Ender, who would be sleeping at this hour.
“Ender. Are you listening?”
Just as he was about to add that he missed him, Harriet’s phone vibrated. Quickly reaching out to check, the caller was an unknown number.
With hesitation, wondering if it could be, he answered, and Ender McGuire immediately greeted him with a lovely voice.
“Sunbae.”
“How……”
Recalling how Anschel had been anxiously biting his lips because contact with Ender had been cut off, Harriet murmured blankly.
“I missed you.”
“Cute Ender.”
“Call me more.”
Ender laughed deeply and coaxed affectionately, asking to be called more. Each time, Harriet couldn’t help but indulge his junior’s whims. The senior wanted to listen to his cute and gentle junior’s words as much as possible.
“Ender.”
“Yes.”
Not knowing what to say next, when he paused, Ender urged again.
“Sunbae, call my name.”
Then Harriet would quietly whisper again.
“My cute kitten.”
At those words, Ender laughed as if pleased.
“Would you like to video call?”
“Huh? I’m naked.”
Having lain down on the bed right after washing because he was tired, Harriet was currently nude. Then, from across the phone came the sound of heavy breathing, and Ender’s words abruptly cut off.
“…?? Ender??”
Wondering if something had happened, Harriet called Ender’s name, but the call had already been disconnected. And before the call end screen even turned off, another call came in, this time a video call.
For some inexplicable reason, Harriet unconsciously pressed the call button at Ender’s seemingly urgent call. And to fulfill Ender’s request, Harriet had to move his legs diligently without knowing why.
As Harriet fell into light sleep dreaming of last night’s events, a heavy BOOM-! sound was heard from somewhere. Harriet’s eyelids twitched slightly.
Another BOOM-! sound came closer. Finally, Harriet opened his eyes and slowly raised his head.
The sound, which had been briefly interrupted, resonated loudly again.
BOOM! BOOM!
Not a hallucination, the approaching vibrations made Harriet quietly get up, take out a knife from the drawer, and lean against the wall. As Harriet surveyed the situation outside through the window, his eyes widened at the robot head visible between the large trees in the distance. The vibration felt even stronger when he stepped outside.
BOOM-! BOOM-!
With each movement of the robot, the area resounded so greatly that birds chirped angrily, rising high into the sky.
That robot head was something he had seen a lot somewhere. Harriet looked alternately at the robot head that Angela had been playing with like a ball in the yard and the approaching robot head in the distance, smiling slightly as if troubled.
He took another step forward as he discovered a car running toward the office with a screeching sound. The vehicle, which was skillfully and quickly avoiding trees to the point of admiration regardless of who was driving, seemed to spot Harriet outside and approached at final speed.
The car made a screeching sound in front of Harriet, turned half a circle, and stopped. It was a divinely inspired driving skill that deserved applause.
Angela popped out from the passenger seat and staggered toward Harriet. Thanks to the rough driving, her steps were uneven as if her eyes were spinning and she was about to vomit.
“B-b-boss… he’s here.”
Harriet smiled bitterly at those words. He knew how much Angela disliked “him.”
Eventually, Anschel got out of the driver’s seat and looked back. The robot that had been following the car was approaching, uprooting trees as it passed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
