PMEVBO 44

Iser held a silver-colored letter envelope in his hand. It must have been tucked inside the holy book. Given Seriha’s personality, I figured he’d written the letter to express his gratitude.

I chuckled softly and held out my gloved hand.

“Looks like Abel put it there.”

Iser said nothing. Clutching the envelope tightly, he just stared at my outstretched hand.

…Does he not want to give it?

I hesitated for a moment, then placed my outstretched hand palm-up on the table, as if to say, give it when you want it.

Then, Iser’s eyelashes seemed to flutter ever so slightly. I propped my chin up with my free hand and slowly opened my mouth.

“Actually, I lent that holy book from Abel and just got it back.”

“…I know.”

Iser answered, his gaze fixed on my palm.

“Oh, did I mention it yesterday?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Huh? Then how did you know?”

Iser lifted his gaze and met my eyes.

“…You don’t always need to hear it to know.”

His muttering voice sounded somehow muffled.

But the child’s eyes looking at me were as calm as a sky untouched by a single breeze. Iser gave the letter envelope in his hand one last glance before gently placing it on my palm.

But he didn’t withdraw his hand immediately. His fingers intertwined with mine as I reached to take the letter. Even through the gloves, I distinctly felt the sensation of his fingers brushing against mine.

While I froze, startled by that unfamiliar feeling, Iser fixed his gaze on my hand and asked weakly.

“…If you’re going to read it, can you read it outside this room?”

……I didn’t know. Why he was asking that with that expression and tone, I didn’t understand at all.

But I couldn’t bring myself to ask. I thought I shouldn’t ask. The moment I asked, I had a premonition it would be irreversible. Compared to that unease, what Iser was asking right now wasn’t difficult to grant.

“……Alright, I’ll do that.”

When I nodded obediently, Iser briefly smiled. As if that was all that mattered for now.

***

The requirement to earn 15 praises was brutal, but since the target was such an easygoing guy, it was manageable.

I didn’t even need to go looking for him; Seriha came to see me on his own. Just handing him a spoon during his twice-daily visits to the kitchen around meal prep time meant one praise was easily achieved.

The fact that the number kept growing without much effort proved this was indeed a fish farm. I’d somehow ended up achieving my dream.

Two days later, my current quest status was as follows.

(14/15)

D-2 (48h 9m 20s)

It was practically cleared. All I needed to do over the remaining two days was cook one meal. Could I really fail at that?

So the praise quest wasn’t a worry. The only thing giving me a headache right now… was the problem with the experiment log.

As I stepped out of the bathroom, my gaze instinctively drifted toward the desk drawer holding the experiment log. I’d only opened that drawer once before, and even then, it was just to slip Seriha’s letter inside.

I still hadn’t managed to pull the experiment log out of that drawer. It wasn’t that I was putting it off because I didn’t want to read it. It was simply…

“…I lacked the confidence.”

Yes, I lacked the confidence. The confidence to pull it out and read it in front of Iser, without hurting him.

I knew the duke had conducted inhumane experiments on Iser. That’s why I simply couldn’t bring myself to unfold the records of those experiments in front of him. Even if it was a request he’d made directly to me. But whenever I was in the room, Iser was always there too.

The only time I was apart from him was when I went to the vegetable garden or the kitchen. But I couldn’t very well walk around the annex with the very experiment log that Atsula had stolen from the duke tucked under my arm.

“Hah…”

I let out a small sigh and moistened my throat with a glass of water.

At that moment, Iser, who had been reading the holy book across from me, reacted.

“What’s wrong?”

I dried my damp hair with a towel and gave a half-hearted smile.

“Nothing. Do you want some water too?”

“…No, I’m fine.”

Fortunately, Iser turned his gaze back to the book without further comment. Watching him like that only made my mind more complicated.

Iser surely knew that I hadn’t even touched the experiment log yet. Yet, he had never once hinted at that matter to me. No urging, no reproach, not even a mention.

That must be his way of being considerate. …He’s a deep-thinking guy.

I really must read it as soon as possible.

After much deliberation, I resolved not to sleep tonight.

I’d always been a heavy sleeper, but since possessing Lucariel’s body, it had become even worse. Once I fell asleep, I never woke before morning. So I decided to stay up all night and read the experiment log while Iser slept.

I lay beside Iser, pretending to sleep, then rose from the bed as dawn approached and cautiously opened the desk drawer. Inside the drawer were both the experiment log and Seriha’s letter.

The letter remained unread as well. I felt it would be improper to read Seriha’s letter before even opening the experiment log. So, once again, I left the letter untouched and took only the experiment log.

Stepping out onto the balcony, the dawn air was cool. Worried Iser might be cold inside the room, I quickly closed the window. Through the closing window, I could hear Iser’s soft snoring. Thankfully, he was sleeping soundly.

I sat down on the floor and leaned my back against the wall, I saw the distant castle walls beyond the balcony railing. The blue dawn light was already flowing in from beyond those walls. The sky above my head was still as dark as night, but the world was already bright enough to read.

Experiments and Considerations for Immortality

I stared at the title on the cover for a long moment before slowly opening the book. Guilt slithered up my neck like a cold snake. It felt like trampling on someone else’s wounds with muddy feet.

After a deep breath, I turned to the first page. Finding Iser’s name among the cold, ugly records wasn’t difficult. From the beginning to the end of the journal, there wasn’t a single part where that child’s name wasn’t written.

<Experiment No. 893>

Subject: Myself (Inflammation in left oral cavity)

Experimental Tool: Iser Hayut (Power of Life)

Procedure: After severing the tip of the experimental tool’s tongue, the subject’s hand was in contact with the experimental tool for 1 minute.

Result: The subject’s inflammation was completely cured within 1 minute. However, it took 7 days for the experimental tool’s tongue tip to regenerate.

Note: Confirmed phenomenon where the Power of Life’s healing power is significantly delayed in specific areas. The tongue tip’s recovery speed is similar to that of ordinary humans. Possibility exists that other areas exhibit the same reaction. Additional experiments needed to determine if the Life Force itself is defective.

Reading this made me feel nauseous the entire time, but I managed to endure it. However, the part about additional experiments related to ‘defects’ was unbearable.

“Ugh.”

My stomach twisted, bile rising, and I turned my head. Clear gastric fluid poured from my mouth. Even after vomiting, I couldn’t bring myself to stop reading. I continued down the log.

<Experiment No. 2231>

Subject: X

Experimental Tool: Iser Hayut (Power of Life)

Procedure: Complete severing of the experimental tool’s tongue (deliberately avoiding damage to the lingual artery). Observation of recovery speed thereafter.

Results: Massive bleeding and temporary unconsciousness immediately after severing. No issues with life support. Recovery proceeded at the same speed as a normal human, taking approximately 40 days to fully recover.

Note: It is confirmed that the Power of Life applies to the entire body but does not function on the tongue. Had the lingual artery been severed, the experimental subject would have died.

(How absurd that the Power of Life has such a flaw.)

At the book’s edge lay two notes. Disgusting notes, seemingly written by the duke on different days.

The restraint device attached to the experimental took’s mouth was found partially released. It is presumed the subject attempted to sever its own tongue.

The experimental tool’s suicide attempt was unsuccessful. However, had I not personally intervened, it likely would have succeeded.

I must correct his mental state to prevent him from ever entertaining such foolish thoughts again.

Damn it, the experimental tool was stolen.

I still can’t believe this happened to me.

It’s been at least a month since it was stolen, so the experimental tool’s survival is unlikely. I am thorough and perfect, which is why I kept a tight grip on the leash of that bastard who was desperate to die.  An ordinary person couldn’t have handled it and would have let him die.

That priest is the most suspicious of all. He, the bastard who thwarted my desire for immortality, will be torn to pieces.

In the end, Iser was nothing but an experimental tool from start to finish. Not even a test subject, but an experimental tool.

I closed the pages of the experiment log and set it on my lap. My fingertips were cold. My stomach churned, and I couldn’t breathe properly. I closed my eyes and simply sat there.

I don’t know how long I sat like that. When I opened my eyes again, the night had ended. Brilliant sunlight was bathing the world in pure white.

Traces of vomit remained on the balcony floor. I took off the shirt I was wearing to clean up, then went back inside. Iser was still asleep.

Carefully, I placed the experiment log back into the desk drawer and headed straight for the bathroom. When I returned after showering, Iser was still asleep. Same posture, same breathing as before.

It was a time when both I and Iser would normally already be awake. Since possessing Lucariel’s body, I had woken at roughly the same time each day, and Iser usually woke a little later than me.

Iser lay with his back turned. Pink hair scattered across the snow-white pillow like a cluster of flowers. I quietly watched his shoulders rise and fall with each breath, then sat down quietly on the bed.

“Iser, are you sleeping?”