Chapter 115

As soon as he heard my answer, a boisterous burst of laughter erupted.

He was laughing wildly, as if he’d just heard the funniest joke imaginable.

Having been half-dazed from receiving such an unexpected call, I realized only then what I had done.

‘I called him Black Block-ssi.’

I had addressed him by the nickname I’d secretly given him.

He was a foreign deity—a being I assumed held considerable status.

My first thought was whether it was really okay to call such a figure by a bizarre nickname I’d made up on a whim.

I waited for his response, feeling a bit intimidated.

Fortunately, Black Block-ssi didn’t seem offended.

In fact, he appeared thoroughly delighted.

—A nickname given personally by the Little Lamb—I am deeply moved and touched as a fan! I like it very much.

It seemed that way because the nickname didn’t carry any negative connotations.

The phrase ‘Black Block’ did have a certain cute ring to it, after all.

I offered him a sincere apology.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know your name… Could you tell me your name, even if it’s a bit late?”

I asked as politely as possible, but he started laughing heartily again—apparently finding something else amusing.

He stopped laughing fairly quickly, though—perhaps because it wasn’t quite as funny as "Black Block."

—I am ■■ ■■■!

For a split second, his voice became bizarrely distorted and warped.

No, it wasn’t a voice.

A chaotic mix of frenzied cheers and applause, blood-curdling screams and weeping, maniacal laughter, and furious shouts shook my brain violently.

I muttered blankly.

“I didn’t catch that…”

At that, he began making sobbing sounds with his mouth again—heuk-heuk-heuk-heuk.

—It seems the Little Lamb cannot hear it yet. That is a great pity.

I felt an urge to hang up the phone.

However, since he had helped me out before, I patiently waited for his whimpering to subside.

Was there some issue arising from a disparity in our status?

Even on the system interface, his name appeared as a blacked-out block.

I had no idea what his name actually was, but it seemed like something I wasn’t supposed to know yet.

—Please call me Black Block-ssi!

Amidst all that, he actually wanted to be called ‘Black Block.’

Feeling a bit awkward, I addressed him just as he wished.

“Yes, Black Block-ssi.”

Listening to Black Block-ssi’s amused laughter, I glanced toward the door.

It was quiet outside.

That was strange, considering the dregs that roamed at midnight wouldn’t simply quiet down on their own.

It was eerie how the silence had fallen the exact moment I answered the call.

For now, I needed to focus on the conversation.

Reminding myself that this was a call demanding debt repayment, I spoke up.

“I’m afraid the meal isn’t ready yet. I’ve suddenly found myself in a new location… and there aren’t any ingredients here worthy of serving you, Black Block-ssi.”

That was the honest truth.

Since Cell-X was set on an island in the middle of the ocean, the prison cafeteria was poorly stocked.

I was currently eating expired cereal myself, after all.

If I were to cook something here, I’d basically be serving cereal soaked in seawater.

—I understand perfectly, Little Lamb! Joy is found in the waiting.

Black Block-ssi readily accepted my excuse.

However, it seemed I would genuinely have to cook for him once I got out of Cell-X.

Making him wait too long likely wouldn’t end well.

“Thank you for understanding, Black Block-ssi.”

As I spoke, I suddenly realized something.

The voice on the other end sounded much clearer than when we had spoken via Sla2Plate before.

Although there was still some static, the call quality was actually quite decent.

It was a far cry from before, when the audio was so garbled it sounded like a transmission from hundreds of light-years away in deep space.

It was as if the distance between us had closed, making communication smoother…

‘Ugh.’

It was a chilling thought, even though it had crossed my own mind.

I decided to just ask about his location directly.

“Black Block-ssi, are you still there… at PSR? Is that where you are?”

— You mean PSR B1919+21! Not anymore. That isn’t a place where one can stay for long.

I had assumed that aliens could just live anywhere in space, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

Or perhaps Black Block-ssi was picky—like Dominic—and had strict standards for where he lived?

If he was a high-status alien with a class-conscious mindset similar to Dominic’s, that seemed like the most plausible explanation.

“Then where are you now? I was wondering if your location would allow me to send you some food…”

—Ah! The connection is about to cut off!

Black Block-ssi exclaimed, sounding truly regretful. Before I could even get a word in, he quickly said his goodbyes.

—Let’s try to communicate a bit longer next time! As a fan of yours, I’ll be keeping a close watch on you, Little Lamb.

Just before the connection ended, Black Block-ssi offered a different kind of farewell.

—I hope you have sweet dreams! Until next time…

Beep… beep… beep… The call, which had begun so abruptly, ended just as suddenly.

It felt like I had been swept up in a whirlwind. I held the receiver for a moment before putting it down.

It was still quiet outside the door. After a moment of hesitation, I opened it.

There was no one in the hallway.

All the dregs that should have been swarming there had vanished.

‘Is this a glitch, too?’

I surveyed the empty hallway for a while before closing the door again.

Then, I called out to the Pudding Slime, who had likely been patiently waiting for my call to end.

“Dominic-ssi.”

“Yes, Roasted Chestnut.”

I had expected a scolding, but his response was so calm that I didn’t quite know what to say.

I had assumed he would dislike me talking to Black Block-ssi.

After all, Dominic had absolutely loathed the blood-based technique Black Block-ssi had taught me.

And there was something else, too.

Something Dominic had said about Black Block-ssi…

Was it back at the restaurant in Sla2Plate…?

A hazy memory clouded my mind.

Feeling a touch of dizziness, I sat down on the bed.

Dominic spoke to me with concern.

“It is very late.”

He suggested I go to sleep, noting that staying up any later wouldn’t be good for my health.

I lay down, harboring a lingering sense of unease about why Dominic hadn’t said anything.

Come to think of it, Dominic had been unusually quiet during the new prison guard training, too…

My mind was a jumble, yet sleep was washing over me.

I wanted to talk to Dominic, but I couldn’t quite get my thoughts in order.

Dominic climbed up onto my chest. The soft, swaying motion against my chest felt like the gentle lapping of waves.

It felt as though I were being soothed into sleep, making me feel even drowsier.

Blinking my heavy eyelids, I quickly drifted off.

Just before falling asleep, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Why did he tell me to have sweet dreams?’

Was it because it was past midnight?

Black Block-ssi didn’t seem like the type to be so considerate.

But given that he was barely managing to communicate through the trial, he couldn’t possibly do anything to me right now…

Or could he?

I know this is a dream.

Yet, the moment where a memory replays feels incredibly vivid.

It feels not like a dream, but reality—as if I’ve been transported back to that very moment.

‘My’ left arm is the first thing that catches my eye.

Bandages, starting from the palm of the left hand, wrap tightly up past the wrist to the middle of the forearm.

Wrapped in those white compression bandages, ‘I’ know the truth.

That it will never function properly again.

I see a man standing opposite me.

He, too, has been unable to tear his gaze away from ‘my’ left hand; now, he speaks.

‘I’ look at him, and he looks at me.

He asks me:

‘I’ cannot say a word.

He lunges at me.

He grabs me by the collar and shouts.

“I asked why you did it, you fucker!”

At that blood-curdling shout, ‘I’ part my lips.

I know the truth.

That this is just a dream, and the past cannot be changed.

Even so, I want to clamp my hand over ‘my’ mouth.

Don’t say it.

But ‘I’ speak.

The words finally spill out.

Upon hearing this, the man’s face hardens.

He asks back slowly, as if unable to believe it.

The hand gripping my collar twitches, then slowly loses its strength.

He lets go.

Then, he looks down at me for a long time.

I hang my head.

Perhaps it is because this part is missing from my memory.

Even in the dream, his face blurs at this very moment.

Just as I did back then, the ‘me’ in the dream cannot lift my head for a long time.

Finally, he speaks.

The name he uses to address me feels unfamiliar; he rarely calls me that.

I slowly lift my head.

And upon seeing his face…

Only then do I realize my mistake.

‘My’ eyes waver.

But the realization comes too late.

He is smiling a hollow, defeated smile.

He says to ‘me’.

I woke up from the dream.

“…….”

It was night. It was still dark outside, and I was alone.

I quietly curled up.

Shivering, I pulled the blanket over myself, but the cold did not go away.

I tried to recall where I was and what I had been doing.

This was not the small studio apartment where I had been hiding.

I had entered Cell-X, been assigned the role of medic, and had fallen asleep—and now woken up—in the prison quarters. I kept reassuring myself that this was reality, not a dream.

But… I found it a bit hard to breathe.

I didn’t recall the medics’ quarters being this cold, yet the trembling of my body simply wouldn’t stop.

A soft, yielding sensation touched my cheek.

The one pressed against my damp cheek asked in a low voice,

“Was it a nightmare?”

I tried to speak, but no sound came out. I simply shook my head slightly from side to side.

Dominic asked nothing more. Instead, he simply stayed by my side.

He remained quiet even when I impulsively grabbed the soft slime and hugged it tightly.

Only when my trembling had subsided and my damp cheek had dried did he gently whisper to me,

“It’s alright, Roasted Chestnut.”

He offered me a comfort I couldn’t quite fathom.

“It is simply because you were born so recently. You may be swayed by these lingering traces now while you are young, but soon enough, they will amount to nothing.”

His gentle whispers reached me softly.

“You will forget it all. There will be no more pain.”

“Look at this. Haven’t you become quite adept at speaking as a god?”

He spoke softly, as if soothing a fretful child.

“You will be fine soon. Truly.”

I did not understand his words.

Yet, listening to that low whisper made me feel as though I really would be all right…

Slowly, I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep.