Chapter 142

The next day.

Even though it was time to wake up, Victoria couldn’t get out of bed, so I woke her up, got her cleaned up, changed her clothes, and stood her by the entrance.

Then when Morris went to work, he took care of it.

Still early morning with a clear blue sky. There’s a truck parked beside the mansion. I know this, but trucks all kinda look the same wherever you go.

It’s got wheels, space to load stuff, and just a spot to sit and steer.

There was room for two kids to sit, but I gave the front seat to Victoria and climbed in the back.

Since no one stopped me from getting in the back, I guess there’s no law against carrying passengers in the back. Probably not many people have died from it yet.

The truck started moving and I rode in the back.

The vehicle headed towards the center of Bern City. Lucky for us, it wasn’t too crowded since it was still close to dawn.

Which meant we didn’t have to sit around for long and could comfortably reach our destination.

On the road, we saw passing taxis, cars, office workers, and laborers heading to work with tired faces.

Of course, the laborers were on the side streets rather than the main roads—like they’re separated as if they can’t be seen in public.

In other words, there’s discrimination going on.

And honestly? It suits me just fine.

After all, it means that just making a harvester will automatically kill people without much effort.

Heheh.

That way, while enjoying the city’s lights and shadows, we arrived at our destination.

When I got out of the car, there was this huge company building that required an ID card to enter.

I could see the sign “Enchant Company.” Is this a place that uses magic to do something technical?

But the company Beatrice was filling out paperwork for had a different name. So these two work at different companies.

Yeah, just because someone works nearby doesn’t mean they marry them, right?

Morris talked to the guard, then came back inside and handed visitor badges to me and Victoria.

Then he drove deeper into the compound.

Behind the towering building, there was a factory-like structure. He parked the car in a non-designated parking area and led Victoria and me inside.

“Wow!”

Victoria gasped in amazement. She began explaining the names and purposes of the equipment in front of her eyes. From what I heard, it seemed like rare and hard-to-get machinery.

Morris looked around the empty area once, then led us to where he worked. It wasn’t a private office but an open cubicle section filled with various devices. On a noticeboard in one corner, it said “Morris Bat – Researcher, Development Team.”

His position was located far away from the central equipment, so it seemed like he rarely interacted with others.

Morris enthusiastically explained the device he made to his daughter. How it worked technically, its intended purpose, how inefficient it currently is, but how amazing it could be with improvements—the usual proud dad spiel.

Honestly, I don’t care about the tech stuff.

For reference, the technology itself has some impressive aspects.

Especially the shining memory?

Daegon, huh. Whatever.

If human costs are cheap enough, you can create highly efficient equipment. Just combine the internal systems, and you’re good to go.

In that sense, Morris really is talented.

However, since there aren’t any traces of corpses around here, it seems this technology won’t gain recognition anytime soon.

The solution is simple: tweak the blueprint Morris proposed slightly. Instead of absorbing magic power from the air, embed it directly into humans.

Humans? They’re like filters or catalysts… something like that flashes through my mind.

But do these people even need that?

While thinking about this, I watched as father and daughter conversed. Gradually, employees started arriving for work.

Surprisingly, there didn’t seem to be much gender inequality here. The ratio of men and women coming in was balanced, and even their races varied widely.

Some had horns on their heads, others had elongated ears, and there were those with fur, carnivorous animal-like ears and tails.

But there’s one issue.

The looks the newcomers gave us were terrible. Mocking, disdainful, and puzzled why we were still here.

They tried hiding their expressions when they saw me, but hiding feelings from me is impossible.

Among them, there were even those who openly showed hostility before heading somewhere else.

A reasonable person would probably want to leave with Victoria at this point.

But I don’t plan to do that.

If possible, I’d like Victoria to do what she wants.

As I sensed the ominous signs of misfortune creeping in, I waited for someone to trigger it. This is the perfect moment for such a person to show up.

A short while later.

A stern-looking middle-aged man and a strict young woman approached us. The younger woman followed a step behind the older man, indicating she was likely his secretary.

So, the middle-aged man must be of high rank.

He walked past me straight toward Morris.

“You brought a kid into the lab without permission, Morris.”

“Director!”

Morris hurriedly ran over and bowed deeply.

A decent person wouldn’t insult another parent in front of their child, right?

“How long have you been wasting research funds without producing anything worthwhile? Didn’t I already warn you that if you don’t show results by the end of the week, you’d better prepare yourself? And now you’ve broken company rules. Did you forget this is a controlled zone, Morris?”

But there are always indecent people around.

Morris kept apologizing while bowing, and Victoria behind him looked devastated as she stared at her father.

The humidity in the room dropped.

Power is impulsive.

There are plenty of people who want to take your research position, especially those who claim they’d work tirelessly. Yet here you are doing nothing, they spat.

And they used harsh words—very harsh ones.

No one appeared to be watching,

but I knew they were listening intently. Some were purely curious, others smirking at the spectacle, and a few worried the trouble wouldn’t reach them.

Of course, there were those concerned for Morris, but fear of the director outweighed that.

This is how companies work.

The director is just doing his job; if there are no results, you should leave. Bringing a kid to a confidential location like this is unacceptable.

What a great situation!

It’s fine if Victoria crosses the line. It’s fine if Morris sacrifices her.

People’s lives change incredibly easily. All it takes is one wrong step.

A tiny theft, a small lie, choosing a simpler victim—it’s all part of life.

Everyone wants to live freely, but ends up living a life they can’t control.

Pfft.

Unable to contain his anger after yelling at Morris, the director grabbed a folder and struck Morris on the head with it.

“You, my dad-”

“Victoria!”

Before the water rushed to strangle the director’s neck, Morris shouted loudly.

“I apologize, Director. Victoria, it seems I won’t be able to show you around my workplace today. I’ll escort you to the entrance. Director, after I take the kids outside, I’ll gladly accept whatever comes next.”

He wiped the blood streaming down his face as he spoke.

Alongside tears, lamentation, and sorrow, there was resolve flickering within.

Indeed.

Is this what being a father is all about?

Or does it mean he hasn’t completely corrupted yet?

Maybe if he decays a bit more, he’ll make a mistake that gathers warmth…

But instead of doing something recognized by the company, Morris took his daughter’s hand and left.

Although he forgot about me in the process, I’ll let it slide since he’s clearly preoccupied.

“Kid.”

“What is it?”

As I followed the two who left earlier, the director called out to me. Turning back, I saw him staring intently before stepping back.

He seemed to have forgotten what he was about to say and just kept staring.

When his secretary asked, he pointed toward the exit.

“Tell Morris Bat to submit his resignation.”

“Understood.”

Though it offers multiple possibilities, disappearing like this is also fate. By Daegon’s standards, this is very early-stage technology, but it’s also the starting point for other technologies.

It might be efficient now, but as technology advances, it becomes mediocre and obsolete.

Using living organisms as fuel requires using souls to truly be effective.

I stepped outside.

The two noticed me as soon as we exited the building.

Outside the door, Victoria was hugging Morris tightly and sobbing, while Morris stroked her hair gently.

“Guess I showed you an embarrassing side, huh?”

As I approached, Morris gave me a bitter smile.

“The director told me to submit my resignation.”

Morris nodded with a resigned expression.

Watching him, I suddenly became curious.

“1473256?”

Whether he knows or not, or if it’s just a spark of malice, I mentioned the most efficient form of the technology he’d shown earlier. Simply rearranging the order of the machines from left to right.

His expression stiffened.

Ah, that’s the look of someone who knows.

“Even if you know, pretend it doesn’t exist. That technology shouldn’t see the light of day.”

“All technologies developed by this company belong to the company.”

“I understand. But who would bother digging into someone’s work like that? And legally, I’ll dispose of as much as I can before leaving.”

Victoria didn’t understand what we were talking about and alternated glances between me and Morris. Morris pulled her close into a hug.

As if protecting her from me.

“You’re scarier than I thought.”

“You’re a monster.”

I corrected him and stepped closer.

If someone stays on the right path despite having easy opportunities to stray, they deserve praise. Most people can’t make such choices and instead mock others’ good deeds, right?

“You managed to protect your daughter. I commend you for that.”

So let the monster take care of it. After all, from the opposite perspective, I fully understand the value of what he’s accomplished.

And I also know how quickly that value can crumble.

Hearing my words, Morris chuckled awkwardly, touched his bloodied head, and fished out his wallet. He handed me some money.

“Please help calm down my daughter.”

Then he hugged his daughter one last time before heading back inside.

Watching him reminded me of something.

This guy loves his daughter so much. What choice would he have made if she never came back…?

I erased the alternate reality where Enchant Company was drenched in blood, took Victoria’s hand as she sniffled, and left the company.

Let’s go sightseeing in the city.

---