The Raven Dark Hero 86

Chapter 86 : Warn Me First

TL:SummerPeanut

--The Next day, 10 AM German time

“Now that’s what I’ll call BIG. So, that's Core's laboratory.”

“I guess so. There seems to be a village at the foot of the mountain, so let's just ask around.”

Core's laboratory was located in the mountains with a small settlement around it.

Kouki and Rumi decided to ask around in the village first. Both of them were disguised with Hannah's gift. Kouki had silver hair, sunglasses and a scarf while Rumi with a red hair.

The name of the village is Drassen, and it has been around since long before the construction of the Core Institute ten years ago with a population of about five hundred.

The village is experiencing population ageing and at the moment there are only a few old people walking around on the streets of the village.[1]

Kouki and his party were posing as tourists who had come to visit the laboratory. The detailed setting is that they are also scientists. Of course, they couldn't enter the institute without special permission so they planned to observe the outside for now.

“Ah, sorry for bothering, could I have some of your time?”

Rumi approached an old man who seems to be a good hearted local. In German, of course.

“……What’s this? Are you a tourist?”

“Yes. I wanted to catch a glimpse of the world-famous Core laboratory.”

“Hoh~, there are two or three groups of tourists like you who come to our village every year. From our point of view, we don't know what's so interesting about seeing such a big box, but we welcome you because tourists bring money in to the village.”

“Is that so? Core is a large company with the most advanced technology in the world in the field of science. As scientists ourselves, we are interested in the heart of that research centre.”

“It’s a big company after all. We've certainly benefited from the construction of that box, though.”

“Does that benefit something other than travelers spending money in the village? ……If you don't mind, could you please tell me?”

“That's fine. When Core came here to build a research institute, all the young people in the village were hired as part of the condition. So everyone in the village is happy to have a good place to work.

Those who got hired to work seldom came home because they were too busy but the villagers all received part of their monthly wages and letters from time to time. It's a little lonely, but I guess it can't be helped.”

Those who went to work did not come back. Perhaps it was because she had heard about it with suspicion in her mind, but to Rumi, it sounded like Core was more than just a black company. There might be something going on behind the organization.

“……Is that so? Erm…… Do people from the outside usually come in and out of the lab?”

“There is a bus that comes once a month. Considering the size of such a large building, there are rumours of them hiring more workers.”

The old man had spoken relatively favorably about Core but if they were experimental subjects on that bus, it would be linked to the kidnapping case. There was no proof of the old man's words but the party had gotten the information they were looking for quick enough.

“By the way, are you guys staying in this village today? If so, I'll show you a good place to stay. ......with that being said, there's only one inn in this remote village though.”

“Oh no, we'll go back after we've seen some more of the institute. Thank you for the offer.”

“I see. Just in case, the inn is just around the corner.”

“Thank you for taking the time to talk with me.”

With that, the old man left.

Kouki asked Rumi to translate the details of the conversation for him.

“……I see. So the villagers' impression of Core is not bad, despite the fact that the villagers who got hired to work haven't come back yet.”

“That's what's bugging me, too. There is a possibility that they are being used as experimental subjects under the guise of working.”

“I don’t know…… Maybe it's just because we already have our suspicions about Core. It's also possible that the villagers don't have a bad impression of Core because they give jobs and pay wages well.”

“I see…… But something is bugging me. Let's ask around some more.”

“I guess so. I'll ask Rumi to take care of that. I can't understand a word you're saying without using my phone anyway, so I'll just look around the lab.”

……After that, Rumi asked several people the same question but all the answers she got were the same as the first old man's.

And Kouki……

At the old man's house where they first talked to the old man, he was communicating with someone on the phone.

“……A couple, a man and a woman. I told them to stay here today but they're planning a one day trip apparently. We'll have to find some reason to stop them. Mmm, you can be a little rough with them.”

The old man hung up the phone.

The old man was on a mission to deceive outsiders who came to the village and send them to Core's laboratory. He knew how the outsiders were being treated in the institute.

“It's been a long time since I caught young peeps. I'm sure the bonus will be paid handsomely.”

The old man chuckles. There was a sense of despicability overflowing from that old man, unlike his appearance of a good-hearted old man from earlier.

“I see. So you're working for Core.”

A mechanical voice could be heard in the old man's ear. When he turned around, he saw Kouki standing there, holding a mobile device.

“You, you’re the one from before……”

The old man's words were translated by the Kuroyume mobile terminal held by Kouki.

“I thought it was suspicious. You're not actually an old man, are you? Your gray hair is a wig and your skin isn't too wrinkled. It's really obvious?

Anyway, if you don't want to die, tell me everything. What you're going to do with us, what's going on in the lab.”

Kouki saw through the old man's disguise that Rumi didn't. It wasn't that Rumi was insensitive. It was just that Kouki's perception was superior.

“I, I don’t know what you’re talking…… GYAAH!?”

Kouki's index finger became a sharp knife and cut off the old man's ear in an instant.

“Next one I’ll shave your other ear off, okay? Now shut up and answer the question.”

Looking into Kouki's eyes, the old man regretted his shallow actions. That this young man was definitely not the kind of person he should have gotten involved with.

“I, I understand! I’ll talk! I’ll talk, so spare me…… GYAAAH!?

As announced previously, the other ear was also cut off.

“Next is the nose. Now, answer quickly.”

“YES! ……YEESS! I’ll answer, I’ll answer so, wait…… GYAAAAH!”

And then the nose was cut off.

“I'm warning you. If you say anything other than what I ask, I'll slice you immediately. Next one...how about the fingers?”

The old man was tempted to complain that Kouki should have warned him first before anything else but he realized that if he did, he would surely lose a few fingers. So he began to answer.

“I’M SORRY!! I’LL ANSWER!! I AM…… WE ARE TRYING TO GET YOU GUYS INTO THE LAB!!”

“And? What happens after we enter the lab?”

“That’s………… I can’t say-UGYAH!?”

The old man……or rather the middle-aged man in disguise, had his right index finger cut off.

“After that?”

“HIIin…… in, in the lab, they are going to have you be their test subjects..”

“As an experimental subject, huh. Does that have anything to do with the kidnappings that are occurring frequently in the country now?”

“Yes, from all over the place, once a month. A truckload of kidnapped test subjects is delivered to the lab.”

“I see. So you're saying that the whole village was helping Core with their experiments?”

“We had no choice..!! They took the villagers they hired initially as a hostage and we had no choice but to obey..!!”

“……I see. You poor thing. No wonder you guys tried to get us into the lab.”

“Heh?”

With that, Kouki picked up the middle-aged man's shaved off parts and healed him back to normal with Cell Flame.

“Eh? Eh? Why……”

“Now, then, I'm going to be taken into the lab just like how you wanted. So get on with it and show me the way.”

“No…… But why……”

“I know a guy who is very good at reading other people's minds, and he's taught me a few tricks, so I can usually tell if you're lying or not.”

How can someone lie when they’re being tortured so savagely! ……that’s what he wanted to say but the middle-aged man resisted doing so.

“It doesn’t seem like you were lying when you said about the villagers being taken as hostage and forced to do this by Core. Besides, I was originally planning to infiltrate the lab. If you guys help me, I'll be able to get into the lab smoothly.”

He thought that if it were the people from this village, they might be able to get into the institute easily. But even if this old man and some others from this village might be cooperating reluctantly at first, they were certainly dazzled by the reward now and took the initiative to cooperate with the institute.

……Of course, Kouki had no intention of forgiving such people…….

“That’s…… If I may say, the inside of the lab is dangerous. As soon as you enter, you're going to be immobilized with some kind of drug and then you're going to be experimented on at their whim, you know?”

“That's exactly what I'm hoping for. As long as it'll get them to drop their guard.”

Thanks to Kouki's Cell Flame ability, any foreign substance that enters his body is immediately eliminated, so any poisonous substance will not work on him.

“Now, then let's get on with it. Get me to the lab as fast as you can.”

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TL’s note:

1. Population ageing occurs when the median age of a country or region rises. This happens because of rising life expectancy or declining birth rates.