Chapter 115
As soon as he heard my answer, a boisterous burst of laughter erupted.
He was laughing wildly, as if he had just heard a brilliant joke.
Having been half-dazed by the unexpected phone call, it took me a moment to realize.
’I called him Mr. Black Block.’
I had called him by the nickname I had secretly given him.
He was an Outer God, a being I presumed to be of considerable status.
My first thought was whether it was alright to arbitrarily give such a strange nickname to a being like that and call him by it.
Feeling a bit intimidated, I waited for the other party to speak.
Fortunately, Mr. Black Block didn’t seem offended.
On the contrary, he seemed quite delighted.
- A pet name given by the Lamb himself! As a fan, I am moved, truly touched! I like it very much!
It seemed to be because the nickname didn’t carry any particularly negative meaning.
The nuance of "Black Block" was, in its own way, rather cute.
I apologized to him honestly.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t know your name... It’s late, but could you tell me your name?"
I asked for his name as politely as possible, but for some reason, the other party began to laugh heartily again.
Perhaps it wasn’t as funny as "Black Block," but he stopped laughing fairly quickly.
- I am ■■ ■■■!
For a moment, the voice distorted and warped grotesquely.
No, it wasn’t a voice.
Something that mixed enthusiastic cheers and applause, blood-curdling screams and wailing, manic laughter and rage-filled shouts shook my brain violently.
I murmured blankly.
"I didn’t catch that.."
At that, he made a sobbing sound again, "huhu huhu."
- The Lamb cannot hear it yet. How very disappointing.
I wanted to hang up.
Still, since I had received help from him before, I exercised patience and waited for the sob to end.
Was this a problem caused by a difference in status?
Even in the system window, his name was blocked out.
I didn’t know what his name actually was, but it felt as though I wasn’t supposed to know it yet.
- Please just call me Mr. Black Block!
Meanwhile, he himself wanted to be called Mr. Black Block.
Feeling awkward, I called him as he wished.
"Yes, Mr. Black Block."
Listening to the delighted laughter of Mr. Black Block, I glanced at the door.
It was quiet outside.
There was no way the remnants wandering around at midnight would have become docile already.
It was strange, as it had become quiet exactly from the moment I answered the phone.
For now, I needed to focus on the call.
Recalling that this was a debt collection call, I spoke.
"I’m afraid the cooking isn’t ready yet. I’ve suddenly come to a new place... and there are no ingredients here worthy of serving to you, Mr. Black Block."
This was the honest truth.
Since The Cell-X was set as an island in the middle of the ocean, the prison cafeteria was poor.
And I myself was currently eating expired cereal.
If I were to make a dish here, I’d practically have to serve cereal soaked in seawater.
- I completely understand, Lamb! Joy exists because there is waiting.
Mr. Black Block readily accepted my excuse.
However, it seemed I really would have to cook once I left The Cell-X.
It wouldn’t be good to keep him waiting for too long.
"Thank you for understanding, Mr. Black Block."
As I spoke, I suddenly realized something.
The other party’s voice sounded much clearer than when we had spoken back in S2P.
There was still some noise mixed in, but the call quality was decent.
Before, it had been a mess, as if we were communicating from a universe hundreds of light-years away.
It was as if the communication had become smoother because the distance had grown shorter..
’Ugh.’
It was a chilling thought, even if I was the one who thought of it.
I just asked his location outright.
"Mr. Black Block, are you still there... at PSR?"
- PSR B1919+21, you mean! Not currently. That place is not a location one can stay in for long!
I thought aliens could just live anywhere in space, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.
Or was Mr. Black Block picky like Dominic, strict about where he resided?
If he was a high-status alien and possessed a similar class-based mindset to Dominic, that would be the most plausible guess.
"Then where are you now? I wonder if it’s a location I can send food to..."
- Ack! The connection is about to be cut of!
Mr. Black Block shouted with great regret. Before I could interject, a quick farewell followed.
- Let us try to communicate for a bit longer next time! As your fan, I will always be watching, Little Lamb.
Just before the connection ended, Mr. Black Block gave a different greeting than before.
- Please have sweet dreams! Well then...
Beep beep beep.
The call that had started abruptly ended just as abruptly.
I felt as if I had been swept up in a storm.
I held the receiver for a moment before putting it down.
It was still quiet outside. After some hesitation, I opened the door.
There was no one in the hallway.
The remnants that should have been swarming everywhere had all vanished.
’Is this an error too?’
After scanning the empty hallway for a while, I closed the door again.
Then, I called the Pudding Slime, who must have been politely waiting for my call to end.
"Mr. Dominic."
"Yes, Roasted Chestnut."
I expected to be scolded, but the response was so nonchalant that I didn’t know what to say.
I thought he would dislike the call with Mr. Black Block.
This was because Dominic had been utterly disgusted by the method of using blood that Mr. Black Block had taught me.
And besides that, something else.
There was something Dominic had said about Mr. Black Block.
At the restaurant in S2P..?
Hazy memories filled my mind like a fog.
Feeling a slight dizziness, I sat on the bed.
Then, Dominic spoke to me with concern.
"It is too late."
He urged me to sleep, saying it wouldn’t be good for my health if I went to bed any later.
I lay down on the bed, feeling a lingering sense of unease as to why Dominic wasn’t saying anything.
Come to think of it, Dominic had been very quiet at the new prison guard training center as well...
As my mind grew complicated, sleep washed over me.
I wanted to talk to Dominic, but my brain wasn’t functioning properly.
Dominic climbed onto my chest.
The squishy movement on my chest felt like gentle ripples of water.
It felt as if he were patting me to sleep, making me even sleepier.
Blinking my fading eyes, I quickly fell into a deep slumber.
Just before falling asleep, a thought flashed through my mind.
’Why did he tell me to have sweet dreams?’
Was it because it was past midnight where I was?
Mr. Black Block didn’t seem to be that meticulous of a person.
But since he can barely communicate through the Trial, he can’t do anything to me right now...
Can he really not?
I know that this is a dream.
However, the moments when parts of my memory are reproduced are too vivid.
As if it were reality rather than a dream, as if I had returned to that moment on that day.
’My’ left arm is the first thing that catches my eye.
The bandages starting from the palm of the left hand extend tightly past the wrist to the middle of the forearm.
’I’ was wrapped in white compression bandages.
This was a scene I knew all too well.
"This will never function normally again."
I see the man standing opposite me.
He, who likewise cannot take his eyes off ’my’ left hand, opens his mouth.
"Brother."
He looked at ’me’.
"Why did you do it?"
’I’ couldn’t say the words.
He lunged at ’me’.
Grabbing me by the collar, he screams.
"I asked why the fuck you did it!"
At the blood-curdling cry, ’I’ opened my lips.
I know.
That this is a dream anyway, and the flown-by past cannot be changed.
Nevertheless. I want to cover ’my’ mouth.
Don’t speak.
But ’I’ spoke.
"You wanted to win too."
I finally spit it out.
As soon as he hears ’my’ words, the man’s face hardens.
"I did?"
He asks back slowly, as if he cannot believe it.
"I wanted to win?"
The hand gripping ’my’ collar spasms, then slowly loses its strength.
He lets go.
And for a long time, he looks down at ’me’.
Is it because it’s a part not in my memory?
Even in the dream. his face becomes blurred at this moment.
Just as I did back then, the ’me’ in the dream cannot lift my head for a long time.
"Han Goyo."
Finally, he spoke.
The name he uses to call ’me’ was unfamiliar. He rarely called me that way.
’I’ slowly lifted my head.
And upon seeing his face.
Only then do I realize the mistake.
’My’ gaze wavers.
But it is a realization that comes too late.
He is laughing hollowly.
He says to ’me’.
"Disgusting."
I woke up from the dream.
It was night. It was still dark outside, and I was alone.
I quietly curled my body up.
A chill ran through me, so I pulled the blanket over me, but the cold did not disappear.
I reminded myself where I was and what I had been doing.
This was not the small studio apartment where I had been hiding.
I had entered The Cell-X, received the role of medical officer, and woken up after falling asleep in the prison quarters.
I confirmed to myself several times that this was reality, not a dream.
But... it was a bit hard to breathe.
I didn’t think the medical officer’s quarters were this cold, and the trembling of my body showed no sign of stopping.
A squishy sensation touched my cheek.
The one clinging to my wet cheek asked softly.
"Was it a nightmare?"
l opened my mouth, but no voice came out. I just shook my head slightly from side to side.
Dominic asked nothing more.
Instead, he just stayed quietly by my side.
Even when I arbitrarily grabbed the squishy slime and hugged him tight, he remained silent.
Only when my trembling body calmed down and my damp cheeks dried did he whisper gently.
"It is alright, Roasted Chestnut."
He offered me a consolation that I could not understand.
"It is only because you have not been born for long. You are swayed by the traces now because you are young, but they will soon become nothing."
The tender whisper reached me softly.
"You will forget everything. There will be nothing to suffer from."
But I didn’t want to forget.
"Look at this. Haven’t you become quite proficient at speaking as a god?"
He spoke softly, as if soothing a complaining child.
"You will be alright soon. Truly."
I did not understand his words.
But listening to the low whisper, I felt as if I were truly becoming alright...
Slowly closing my eyes, I fell asleep once more.