Something warm presses against his body.
It keeps squirming, too — what on earth is it?
Just as the strangeness was beginning to register.
The memory of where he was snapped into place, and his eyes flew open.
*Don't tell me I fell asleep in Victory's cell?!*
He lifted his head first and quickly scanned his surroundings.
By some miracle, nothing seemed wrong with his body — and on top of that.
"Mmhehehehe…."
Victory was sleeping soundly on top of him, wearing the most blissful expression in the world.
And judging by the blanket draped over the two of them, it wasn't hard to imagine how much effort the girl — arms and legs still bound — had put in during the small hours of the morning.
Either way, it was still early, so.
He carefully laid the deeply sleeping Victory back down on the bed.
Then slipped quietly out of the cell.
He walked down the corridor of the Danger Zone, sinking into thought.
Thanks to what had just happened, he realized Victory had opened up to him far more than he'd expected.
In that case, would it be all right to start introducing her to the other children, as he'd mentioned yesterday?
Whether the Director would approve was anyone's guess — but he happened to need to see her today anyway.
Turning over what he'd say to the Director, he barely noticed the morning arriving.
He pulled the children's data and headed to the Director's office.
Secretary Min Chae-rin, the human lie detector, was still there alongside her — but the atmosphere was noticeably lighter than the day before.
Then the Director made an unexpected proposal.
"Maxwell, how about you just move in with the young test subjects from now on?"
"Would that be permitted?"
He'd originally planned to lay out the data and persuade the Director himself.
He hadn't anticipated her making the offer first.
The reason, however, was refreshingly blunt.
"Setting aside the fact that those children won't allow anyone near them but you — the time waste is getting out of hand."
"I have to admit, I can't disagree."
The cells were spread far apart, and having to visit each one individually was eating up an enormous amount of his time.
The Director, who clearly wanted him available for other assignments, seemed to find that deeply inconvenient.
Of course, given that Gloria and Liberty had come to blows the moment they met last time, she was giving him a generous window.
"You're saying roughly over a year?"
"In exchange, I need you to focus most on Victory."
As before, the Director kept emphasizing Victory's importance.
There was a very personal reason behind that, too.
What ability would a workaholic who never left the office want most?
Victory's Acceleration Ability, naturally.
Knowing the motive made the Director remarkably transparent.
**************
Shortly after leaving the Director's office.
Maxwell sat at his desk, turning the problem over in his mind.
How exactly should he go about introducing the children to each other?
As it happened, the children were all in unusually good spirits today — likely the effect of the gifts he'd bought them.
The timing felt right, but moments like this were precisely when he needed to move with more care, not less.
After prolonged deliberation, he settled on a decision.
He would arrange a face-to-face meeting between Liberty and Victory — the two who shared the most similar histories.
Of course, since he had no idea how it would go, he needed to put several safeguards in place.
First, he submitted a request to Black Cell for what he needed.
"Mr. Maxwell, are you planning to restrain the wolf mutant again?"
"You could say that — though I'll need it for two this time."
"For two? Hmm… understood."
The supply staff were clearly dying to know what he was planning, but ever since the public execution of the whistleblower, everyone had been keeping their heads down and their mouths shut.
In any case, the moment the request went in, Black Cell got to work — arranging custom-made reinforced glass panels in an empty room to create two separate compartments, covering each side with black cloth so neither could see the other, and finally positioning the heavy-duty shackles Liberty had previously worn along both walls. Once the safety check was done, preparations were essentially complete.
He left the final inspection to the other staff and went to Liberty first.
She greeted him as warmly as ever — which meant sinking her teeth into his neck — but she was biting more gently than last time, which made it clear she was in a genuinely good mood.
He didn't let the opportunity pass, and told her about Victory right away.
"Liberty, you're going to meet a new friend this time. Is that all right?"
"Woof!! Heh heh heh…."
Liberty still communicated only in animal sounds.
But after spending so much time with her — just as with Gloria — he'd learned to read her well enough, and he got the answer he needed.
She was giving him permission to do as he saw fit.
Next was Victory.
The complication was that she had multiple personalities.
And it appeared the personalities didn't share memories particularly well.
Even if one agreed, a refusal from another could cause serious problems.
Just to be safe, he invested a considerable amount of time asking each one in turn.
"I — I'm fine with anything!!"
"Are you certain?"
"Of course!! If this meeting is part of the process for being with Maxwell… hihihihi…."
Between the conversations they'd had in the cell and the fact that they'd actually slept together, every single one of Victory's personalities had become an unconditional yes — and if even that timid, brooding personality had agreed, it was as good as settled.
After that, word came from the supply team that the custom room was ready, and the long-awaited moment arrived.
With a knot of nerves in his chest, Maxwell brought Liberty in first and secured her shackles.
It was a situation that could easily have felt humiliating, but Liberty didn't voice a single complaint — she trusted him completely.
"Liberty, I'll say it again — are you all right with this?"
"Heh heh heh…! Woof!!"
"Good. Thank you, truly. The friend on the other side will be restrained as well, so please don't attack first."
Liberty was settled. Now it was Victory's turn on the other side.
The problem was that she was an Acceleration Ability user, which meant her legs needed to be fully immobilized.
So once again, he carried her in a princess hold — Victory, wrapped up like a cocoon — and transported her to her spot.
Naturally, being carried like that made Victory more than happy, and she offered no resistance whatsoever as the shackles were fastened.
She did seem curious about Liberty on the other side, though.
"One of the owners of that scent…."
"Her name, to tell you again, is Liberty. Would you perhaps—"
"Hehehe… it's fine. If she stays still, I'll stay still too."
Victory's most mild-mannered personality actually put him at ease.
And so, with consent secured from both sides.
The meeting space — thoroughly safe — was complete.
Maxwell stepped outside for a moment to let them both adjust to the room.
He found himself wondering what all this preparation had even been for — but from Black Cell's perspective, this was the moment their youngest and most dangerous test subjects would come face to face.
And conveniently, the room where Liberty and Victory now sat was structured the same as the other labs: those inside couldn't see out, but those outside could see in.
In other words, the outside was reasonably secure.
The staff's attention converged on the room at once, and other researchers began crowding over to watch.
"Wow… so these are the test subjects Maxwell-senpai has been looking after?"
"That's right, Ms. Amano."
"But they're both so much calmer than I'd heard?"
The moment Amano said it didn't seem like a big deal, the other researchers recoiled.
"A-Amano-san, you absolutely cannot underestimate those kids."
"That wolf mutant even enjoys cannibalism."
"It's easier to think of them as monsters that just happen to look like children."
"I — is that so? But Maxwell-senpai…."
Every pair of eyes in the vicinity snapped to Maxwell at once.
But when a senior researcher followed up, the expressions around him shifted to understanding.
"This is Maxwell-san we're talking about — the man who trades jokes with Director Eileen herself. In a way, I suppose it's only natural."
"""Ah…."""
The surrounding chatter briefly swelled, but the time had come.
As everyone fell into a hush and watched.
Maxwell spoke into the microphone positioned outside.
[ I think you've both had enough time to settle in, so I'll be removing the black cloth now. ]
The moment he pressed the button on the small remote, the black cloth between Liberty and Victory began rising slowly toward the ceiling.
The reinforced glass was still in place between them — but gaps opened at intervals, allowing each to catch the other's scent.
And at last, they could see each other's faces directly.
He was silently hoping they wouldn't start fighting the moment they laid eyes on each other.
"Uh… Maxwell-senpai? It looks like neither of them has any interest in the other?"
Liberty and Victory were staring at each other the way a cow stares at a chicken.
**************
The first meeting between Liberty and Victory, orchestrated by Maxwell, had barely come together.
But unlike how both of them had reacted with clear distaste the moment each other's scent reached them — they showed absolutely no interest in one another.
Maxwell let out a quiet breath of relief that the worst hadn't happened.
The researchers around him watched with keen fascination.
"This is… genuinely unexpected."
"Given how violent those two are, I thought they'd be snarling at each other on sight…."
"Could it be because they're both mutants?"
"A rather intriguing angle."
They were all scientists, after all — they couldn't help but analyze the situation — but Amano Yume drifted over to her senior.
"Maxwell-senpai, what are you going to do from here?"
"For now, this meeting is, in a sense, a complete success. If we keep bringing them face to face, their relationship will develop one way or another."
After deciding they'd had enough time to adjust to each other, Maxwell stepped inside to hear their thoughts.
He approached Liberty first — and just as before, the wolf mutant immediately climbed up his body.
Clank!
Twang!!!
Suddenly, the sound of shackles snapping taut rang out from the other side.
Maxwell glanced over at Victory with a sinking feeling — and sure enough.
Creak!
Crack crack crack!
Victory was staring at Liberty with an expression full of jealousy.
And since Maxwell's attention was currently fixed on the other side, he couldn't see the face of the girl clinging to him.
Pfft.
The other researchers, who had caught Liberty's expression — the smile of a victor — shook their heads slowly.
"Those kids have quite a possessive streak, it turns out."
"So that's why the entire Danger Zone got wrecked…."
"Then just how bad is that unhinged little girl…?"
It was a moment when Maxwell's future looked very, very dark indeed.