After returning to the orphanage.
The children walked around wearing their new clothes. They seemed very pleased with their purchases.
Bright smiles graced their faces as joyful laughter filled the orphanage.
“Teacher, how do I look? This is the dress my sister bought for me.”
“Do I look cool in this too?”
“Hehe…”
Rene exclaimed with a surprised expression.
“Ah! What’s this? Why does everyone look so cute and adorable? I just want to hug you all! Can I bite you?”
The children’s faces brightened even more at Rene’s enthusiastic response.
Is she really going to hug them? With a mischievous giggle, she approached the kids.
They were startled and started fleeing from Rene, letting out bright peals of laughter.
A satisfied smile briefly crossed Red’s face as he watched the scene. At the same time, a tinge of loneliness mixed in.
If he could, he would want to buy them better clothes. But he couldn’t.
‘Wearing too extravagant clothes will only make them stand out.’
In Outskirts City, dressing extravagantly is not a good act.
It draws the attention of many people, and those with ill intentions will increase.
Unless they’re confident in their abilities, it’s dangerous for the children.
Suddenly, he noticed one child was missing.
Red searched the surrounding area and spotted a child standing quietly with her arms crossed.
A girl with white hair wearing a Solver’s mask.
Lily was watching the kids playing with Rene.
Her expression was concealed by the mask, making it difficult to read her thoughts. Red tried to gauge her feelings through her atmosphere and actions.
At the moment, she seemed somewhat fine.
Red recalled the incident at the clothing store.
‘Unlike the other children, she was calm even after receiving the new clothes.’
Even with new clothes, Lily appeared indifferent.
While clothes serve practical purposes, they also fulfill a decorative aspect.
While the other children constantly wore joyful smiles and busied themselves changing outfits, she seemed wholly uninterested and even irritated.
Looking back, she had been wearing tattered clothing when he first saw her.
Her outfit was torn and worn, as if scavenged from the trash.
Perhaps she was unaccustomed to adorning herself with clothes.
Red lowered his gaze slightly, revealing a hint of sorrow.
What hurt him even more was Lily’s attitude.
Lily does not trust people. The evidence is her mask.
‘What kind of life must she have led…’
He didn’t know why she wore a mask. But to wear a mask suggests she has her reasons.
Failing to reveal her circumstances also meant she didn’t yet trust the people at the orphanage.
Even while mingling with the other children, she might be keeping her distance for that reason.
It’s a very sad thing when a person cannot trust another.
Especially sad when the future of this world—the very children who will continue to live on—display such attitudes.
Yet, given the nature of this world, he couldn’t blame her. He could understand Lily’s attitude well enough.
But.
He didn’t want to use the world as an excuse to do nothing.
Red wanted to teach Lily.
That, for now, life in this world was still worth living. That people could be trustworthy.
He genuinely hoped that everyone at the orphanage would come to know each other’s sincerity.
That’s why Red, Rene, and the other children don’t forcefully try to remove the masks.
Because doing so would deeply hurt that little girl’s heart.
So everyone waits.
For peace to come to Lily’s heart, and for her to open up first.
Red approached Lily.
Lily tilted her head as if to ask what was going on, and Red’s lips curled upward.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding, Lily hurriedly tried to move away, but it was too late.
Red grabbed the shoulder of the fleeing Lily.
“Hey, Rene! Look at Lily! Isn’t she super cute?”
“…!!!?”
With that, he gave a strong push to the little girl’s back.
Rene turned her head.
Lily wobbled below her, caught in an awkward stance.
If she could talk, she would surely have said something like, “Oh no, this is a disaster.”
“Lily is cute too! Come on, let’s hug her tight!”
“…!!!”
With a rather frightening smile, Rene came running toward them.
Terrified by her momentum, Lily began to flee in a panic.
Red chuckled as a pleasant smile spread across his face.
*
Nina was walking alone in the corridor.
The lights installed at regular intervals on the ceiling illuminated the path, so she turned off her flashlight. Even after walking quite a distance, the end still wasn’t in sight, making it seem considerably long.
Only her footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Though she had experienced many things and was rarely surprised, her face was dark and full of tension.
Perhaps it was the uneasy thoughts lingering in the back of her mind more than the unknown dangers that lay ahead.
‘Stairs…?’
Nina carefully took one step down at a time.
It felt like she was stepping into a place she shouldn’t.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she found yet another corridor.
Nina frowned.
She cursed inwardly at whoever had made the path so interesting.
After making her way for a while, she finally saw light ahead.
Thinking she had nearly arrived, Nina quickened her pace.
Stepping out of the corridor, she entered a large space.
“I can’t believe there’s a place like this in the orphanage…. Does the director know? Or….”
Nina looked around with her mouth agape.
Various experimental machines and devices filled the space. It was clear that this was a laboratory just by looking at it.
It was hard to believe.
It was unlikely they could secretly create such a massive facility beneath the orphanage.
Naturally, it had to have been there for some time.
The orphanage had been a place Isaac had acquired.
Had he done so unknowingly? If not…
‘…No! It’s too early to draw conclusions!’
Nina shook her head vigorously to shake off her thoughts.
Jumping to conclusions could be dangerous.
Nina began to investigate the area to discern exactly what this place was and what had occurred.
She scrutinized with the eyes of a Solver.
Despite the dust and disarray of items and trash scattered about, the facility itself looked remarkably new.
Even the machines were functioning normally.
Clank~
“Hmm…? What’s this……?”
A liquor bottle rolled underfoot, catching her attention.
As Nina lowered her gaze, her expression slowly hardened.
She bent down and picked up the bottle to examine the label.
It was a liquor that Isaac liked.
Was it a coincidence?
Her hands trembled slightly. Exhaling a long breath, she placed the liquor bottle back down.
Nina hurriedly moved her body, rifling through anything that seemed related to this place.
In the process, she discovered a large quantity of documents.
Nina began reading the materials.
They were experiment logs.
The contents, purposes, results, and various details were meticulously recorded. From the documents, she could infer what kind of experiments had been carried out here.
‘Synthetic beings…’
Synthetic beings. Ethically questionable experiments that combine the advantages of various organisms.
An act that violates the law. Essentially, it denotes a crime.
The revelation that such horrific experiments had taken place beneath the orphanage was shocking.
Nina suddenly became dizzy and clutched her forehead.
‘No, wait…. Then!?’
At that moment, another thought flashed through her mind, sending chills down her spine.
If experiments had been conducted, there would inevitably be created experimental subjects.
She quickly looked around but saw nothing suspicious and felt no signs of life.
‘Nothing here. No, they might be somewhere. But I didn’t see anything in the corridors I passed through. If they’re not here, then where could they be?’
With heightened vigilance, Nina began her investigation anew.
While examining a broken glass tube, something caught her eye.
A dirty, old, torn scarf.
Gazing intently, Nina’s jaw dropped in shock. Her face turned pale, and her eyes trembled violently.
Nina recognized the scarf. She knew the owner.
It was an item she had gifted to a child at the orphanage. As she repeatedly thought, “There’s no way,” she discovered the name sewn with thread.
‘Why is this here…. Why…?’
Nina didn’t want to believe it. But she had already concluded in her mind.
She clenched her fists tightly.
Whoever was responsible for the experiments here, she vowed not to forgive them.
‘They conducted experiments here, but why are there no traces? I can’t find a single clue. Have they already moved on to another location?’
Suddenly, a massive glass tube in the center started to draw her attention.
Nina approached the glass tube. It was filled with a colorless liquid.
She carefully touched it with her hand and looked up. Nothing was inside.
Lowering her gaze again.
It extended far down, with the bottom completely dark and barely visible.
Nina focused her eyes and stared.
She saw a wriggling movement in the dark.
Startled, Nina pulled her hand away from the glass tube and took a step back.
‘There’s something down there…. Something enormous…’
After organizing her thoughts, Nina took out her phone. It seemed she was going to call Red.
But just her luck, she received a signal loss notification, making it impossible to connect.
“Damn!”
As she hurried to return through the passage, unfamiliar footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Nina gasped and quickly hid in an unnoticed spot.
As the footsteps grew closer, Nina’s expression grew tense.
Swallowing her dry throat, Nina.
Moments later, a shadow fell, and a familiar silhouette came into view.
Upon seeing the owner of the footsteps, Nina was utterly shocked.
A handsome man with black hair. It was Isaac.
Nina hesitated, uncertain of what to do. Should she trust him or not?
As if sensing her inner turmoil, Isaac spoke.
“I know everything here. Hiding won’t do any good. If you don’t show yourself immediately, I’ll force you out.”
A powerful magic aura surrounded Isaac. Suddenly, the laboratory felt cold.
He was sincere.
With no other choice, Nina revealed herself.
Isaac blinked in surprise at her appearance. Then he immediately put away his fierce magic, letting out a sigh of relief.
“What? It was you, Nina?”
“Director….”
“I thought you were the owner of this place. Why are you scaring people?”
“Did you know about this place beneath the orphanage?”
“Of course not. I didn’t know there was all this beneath the orphanage. Haah… I should have investigated and secured the building better.”
Isaac looked serious as he clasped his forehead.
He wasn’t pretending.
His voice conveyed genuine feelings.
“But why are you here, director?”
“Me…? I sometimes come here to think about the children. But today, I found a strange passage by the fireplace, so I got curious and came in. But what about you? What brings you here?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about the kids lately. I’ve been visiting Sunshine Orphanage frequently. So, that…”
“I see. Well, since I’ve been visiting Sunshine Orphanage too, I’ve started to miss the kids more recently. How I wish our kids were still alive like them.”
Serious conversations dampened the atmosphere.
After Isaac forced a half-hearted smile, he opened his mouth.
“Let’s get out of here for now. Once we’re out, we’ll thoroughly investigate from tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. I absolutely won’t forgive those responsible. How dare they commit such horrific acts. Isn’t that right, director?”
“I agree. How dare they kidnap the children to conduct experiments under my nose!! I will never forgive them!”
Isaac’s face twisted with rage, his voice trembling with emotion.
The Ice Prince, the Winter Lord.
Unlike the cold connotation, Isaac was furious.
It showed how deeply he loved the children.
Isaac turned his back.
He started back through the passage they came in. But there was only one set of footsteps.
Isaac halted abruptly, turning his head.
“What’s wrong? Nina…? Did you find something?”
“Director, this is your first time here, right?”
“Right.”
“But you’re already certain that experiments were conducted on the children here. I only realized what kind of place this was after looking at the documents.”
Silence fell.
No one spoke amidst the heavy atmosphere.
For a while.
Nina, who had sorted through the chaos in her mind and made up her resolve, finally spoke.
“What did you do to the children?”
Nina shot an intense glare at Isaac.
Isaac clasped his forehead with his hand.
After a long sigh, he slowly lowered his hand.
The atmosphere completely shifted.
His face hardened. His gaze was chilling.
“…I dislike sharp Solvers like you for this reason.”
That statement was almost an admission of guilt.
Nina’s face transformed with fierce anger, glaring fiercely at Isaac.
“Right! That’s how it was! How could you! How could you do this!? After doing such a thing, are you even human?! They were children who liked you! Why on earth would you do this to them!? Did you establish the orphanage intending to bring the children here from the very beginning?!”
“Nina, I can explain everything.”
“Shut your mouth! I don’t need your explanations! Just cut open your brain and verify it!!!”
Nina drew her favorite weapon from her pocket.
She slammed it onto the floor, and in an instant, leaped into Isaac’s arms, swinging her weapon toward his throat.
The speed was immense, one that an average person wouldn’t even perceive.
Just one or two seconds more, and Isaac’s head would spectacularly roll onto the floor.
But.
The incredible speed slowed down.
As if her time had malfunctioned, everything around her began to freeze until her weapon came to a complete halt at Isaac’s skin.
Nina’s time froze forever.
Nina became an ice statue.
