NOVEL WEB Chapter 11
She got up from the chair and sat on the sofa set up in the middle of the room.
“Who are you two?”
“They are students I’m protecting on this mission.”
“Oh? Nice to meet you. I’m Aila.”
“I’m Jema. This is Ririan.”
I nodded silently.
“Please sit down.”
As I settled on the sofa, my breath caught in my throat.
Jema seemed similarly distressed, clutching her chest with a pained expression.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
From Aila’s body, something like vapor was emanating.
“You’ll be more comfortable now.”
“So, you’re not human.”
“The human ratio in Roran is only about 15%.”
Aila’s head sprouted two ears, and a long white, spotted tail appeared.
“I’m a beastman. Unlike those two, I’m a combat agent.”
“So, you’re the reinforcements?”
“That’s right.”
Contrary to Alium’s story, she was quite calm and beautiful.
“You look quite young.”
While one shouldn’t judge solely by appearance, Aila looked much younger than Solche and Alium.
In fact, she appeared closer in age to Jema.
“Even if I look young, I’m seventeen.”
“You seem quite young.”
“Well, thank you for thinking so.”
Solche and Alium first consulted Aila about Jema regarding the removal of the bomb embedded in her heart.
Aila glanced at Jema and then gestured for her to come closer for a moment.
“Don’t turn your head this way.”
As I turned my head, I heard the sound of clothing rustling, and there was a moment of silence.
“Alright. You can fix your clothes now.”
Jema buttoned up her clothes completely and sat next to me.
Her face turned bright red as she only stared at the ground.
“Looking at your condition, it seems you haven’t synchronized for long. There are two methods.”
One of the two options Aila proposed was already known to us.
The other one was very unusual yet seemed the safest if successful.
“What’s the success rate?”
“If I do it, 100%. With the specialized team’s help, 90%.”
“Why is your success rate higher than the specialized team’s?”
“Because there’s no one stronger than me on the specialized team?”
For a moment, she spread her intangible energy all around.
The killing intent pierced through my skin and directly transmitted into my bones, leaving me feeling paralyzed in an instant.
“You feel the pain, right? That’s the bomb sensing a threat.”
“Stop it! It hurts!”
When I shouted, I felt her power recede.
“I think I’ve shown you my skills. What will you do?”
There didn’t seem to be any other options.
The method of having Jema strengthen herself to break it was time-consuming and dangerous.
“Jema, what will you do?”
“Alright. I’ll undergo the surgery with you.”
“Then, come to the basement level 1 of this building tomorrow morning. Saying my name will get you through.”
After finishing our discussion, we rested in the room arranged right below.
Solche and Alium each had a room.
Jema and I were assigned to share one room.
“Why are we in the same room?”
“Um, I don’t know? Why is that?”
In response to my question, Jema looked off into the distance while avoiding eye contact.
She took off the cloak she was wearing and sprawled onto the bed.
Sleeping in the cramped vehicle hadn’t been comfortable at all.
Even if it was only a few days, the fatigue seemed to have piled up, and I quickly fell asleep.
I woke up to the sound of rustling, and Jema had changed into light clothing.
“You’re up early?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep because I’m thinking about how I can remove this.”
The slightly open front of her attire revealed a bit of Jema’s bare chest.
Now in a male body, it was flat with nothing there.
“If we just remove that, we’ll be completely free.”
“Right!”
Jema’s voice sounded quite spirited.
As we stepped out of the room and went downstairs, Solche and Alium were waiting.
The staircase leading down to the basement was located in the left hallway, facing the reception desk.
As we descended the stairs, two people dressed in black suits stood by the door.
Upon saying Aila’s name, they opened the door without any resistance.
Following the darker staircase down, a single door appeared.
Opening it revealed a fairly large room.
In the center of the room stood Aila, the woman I had seen yesterday, wearing armor and holding a sword.
Next to her was a masked person, dressed simply and setting up the surgical chair.
“You’ve come early. Sit here.”
As Jema sat in the surgical chair, I could hear the masked person mumbling something.
“Once you take a nap, it’ll all be over.”
At Aila’s gesture, the masked person nodded and placed their palm against Jema’s face.
A moment later, as Jema fell asleep, Aila unbuttoned Jema’s top.
“Let’s get started.”
“Yes. You there, guardian. I promise that what I’m about to do is a medical procedure that won’t harm the patient.”
The masked person quickly went through the formalities and began casting magic.
“I’m executing the extraction spell.”
As the fingers of the mask crossed over the center of Jema’s chest, it opened with a crack.
“Not a drop of blood is coming out.”
“If you think this is too cruel, you can wait outside.”
“I’ll be watching.”
“Alright.”
Crunch!
A strange sound echoed as the masked person’s voice grew louder.
“Extraction! Enlargement!”
Two pounds! Two pounds!
In the room floated a heart the size of an adult, beating powerfully.
“That’s the bomb.”
“As you know, you have to break it properly.”
“I know. It’s not the first time I’ve done this.”
Thick chains wrapped around what was presumed to be Jema’s heart.
“The bomb looks like chains.”
“If one explodes, it’s designed to trigger a chain reaction.”
Alium explained while pointing at the chains.
“If one is neutralized, the others can be broken easily as well.”
After Alium finished explaining, Aila immediately began reciting how to dismantle it.
“In other words, it means we don’t have to destroy all of them!”
Aila drew her sword from the sheath.
With extremely rapid speed, the sword swung once.
A thin crack appeared in the chains where the sword had passed.
“Now, I’m going all out!”
Aila unleashed her power, letting out a loud shout.
The scene unfolding was reminiscent of the movement Den had shown us earlier.
Slow yet steadily, the chains were softly hammered down.
I couldn’t even hear the sound of the sword hitting the chains, as she controlled the power perfectly.
Like a scarecrow, the chains disappeared without a trace.
As parts of the chains vanished, the rest quickly followed suit and disappeared in an instant.
“Removal complete.”
“I’ll return the extracted area back.”
The masked person cast a spell to return Jema’s heart to its original position.
“The medical fee is 100 million gold.”
“What?”
“There’s no such thing as a free surgery. It’s 100 million. But it’s an indefinite interest-free loan.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal!”
“Well, I’m saying it now. Come on, let’s go write a promissory note.”
I was dragged out by Aila before I could see Jema’s heart restored to its original place.
I was taken to the elevator with Aila and brought up to the 13th-floor room.
Aila came with two sheets of paper and two fountain pens from the desk.
She sat on the sofa and placed the two sheets side by side on the table.
“Read this.”
I picked up one and slowly read through its contents.
The paper merely stated a simple note that they would cover the operation costs for the patient.
However, there was nothing written in the amount section for Jema’s surgery.
“Why is this blank?”
“Checked it thoroughly, huh? Just sign it for now.”
Aila held the fountain pen, urging me to sign in the section below.
“What if I don’t?”
“I’ll take that kid’s heart.”
I hadn’t seen if Jema’s heart had been returned to its original state.
“Is this a threat?”
“Who knows?”
If I didn’t sign the documents, I couldn’t guarantee Jema’s life.
Even if Solche and Alium were in the basement, it didn’t seem likely they would help me against Aila.
“Alright, I understand.”
Unable to withstand the threat, I reluctantly signed the documents.
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“Trusting you after being threatened is a bit much.”
“Okay, now write down an amount in the payment section that you think is appropriate.”
“What if I write 0 won?”
“I’ll consider it a service.”
Aila had a faint smile on her face.
Even if I wrote down 0, she didn’t seem like she would complain.
I contemplated writing 0 but felt a sudden pang of conscience.
Usually, one should be extremely grateful for such a significant surgery.
Steeling my resolve, I filled in the blank amount.
“Impressive. That kind of amount.”
“But you’ll have to wait until I can pay it back.”
“Anytime.”
As the paperwork was completed, Aila handed me a glass of beverage.
“Shall we chat while drinking?”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Just some casual chatter.”
I pondered what to say and ended up asking about the swordsmanship I had just seen.
Aila thought for a moment and then asked me about Den’s appearance in return.
As I described Den’s appearance, Aila acknowledged someone she knew, chiming in.
“Yeah, that’s how he looked.”
“Do you know him?”
“I fought him once a long time ago. I lost though.”
Hearing Aila’s reply, I struggled to ease my tense expression.
“Actually, the person chasing us…”
“I know. Don’t worry. That was in the past. Since then, I’ve fought him a few times and won.”
Only after hearing that did I feel a bit more at ease.
“How did you become strong, Aila?”
“Me? My clan, or rather, my master was strong.”
Aila took a light sip of her drink, lost in reminiscing.
“You want to be strong, right?”
“Of course.”
“Join me.”
Caught off guard by her sudden suggestion, I couldn’t respond, seeing Aila talking with a smile.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to answer right away. You thought of that kid, didn’t you?”
“I can’t say I didn’t.”
“Take your time to think it over. You still have time to choose.”
Aila wasn’t forcing me to make a decision right now.
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the door and entered—the masked person I had seen in the basement.
“The surgery was completed successfully.”
“Good. You worked hard. Ririan, sign those documents over there.”
Thinking about it, there were two sheets of paper on the table.
There was the exact billing cost written on it.
“Do I really have to pay right now?”
“You can give it to me now or I can wait up to a week.”
I looked at Aila urgently.