The Director had finally left after her inspection visit.
She'd probably lingered so long because she was pleased that I'd made up my mind.
But the state of the organization members who had been renovating the meeting room in the meantime…
"Is everyone all right?"
"Y-yes, sir!!"
"We'll finish tidying up faster!"
They had all been so tense that they were completely drained — and on top of that, the way they looked at me had changed.
It was a gaze that mixed fear with reverence.
'It's not as though I want to be on close terms with the Director, either…'
Of course, what would be the point of saying so.
It was obvious no one would believe me, so I simply oversaw the work.
After that, through the members' efforts, the renovation of the meeting room was completed.
"Cleaning is all done as well!"
"Is there anything else you'd like us to add!"
"No, this is more than enough. You've all worked hard."
I'd had the space made wider, just in case the two of them came to blows.
Unlike before, I'd also installed a full scent barrier so they couldn't smell each other at all.
There was no need to drag things out — I arranged the meeting between Gloria and Liberty, and brought Liberty to the lab first.
"Huff, huff, huff… Bark!!"
"There, there. You're going to have a rough time of it today. I really do appreciate this."
"Whimper…!"
Liberty absolutely hated the idea of meeting Gloria, but she was forcing herself to do it as a favor to me.
I'd have to buy her a gift later.
Next up was Gloria.
She had been listening to me fairly well lately, but given the sheer number of incidents she'd caused up to this point, not a single soul could be felt anywhere along the corridor to the lab.
It felt as though a world where only the two of us existed had arrived. In that strange atmosphere, we reached the meeting room.
Sure enough, unlike before, not a single researcher had come to watch.
Thinking that was actually a blessing, I entered the room opposite Liberty's side together with her.
Inside the clean room, where a lone chair sat in the middle, Gloria slowly looked around — and without me saying a word, she sat down on her own.
But then she spotted the black curtain hanging in front of her and turned to ask me.
"When are you opening that?"
"In about… ten minutes."
I immediately received a look that said, 'Why drag it out — just get it over with.' But Gloria sprawled back in her chair as if she was willing to wait without complaint.
Just as before, I slipped out of the lab to give them both time to adjust to their surroundings.
The hand gripping the remote that would draw back the black curtain was damp with sweat.
Praying desperately that the two of them wouldn't fight, I held my breath.
With a trembling hand, I pressed the remote. The black cloth that had been concealing them from each other slowly rose.
Then the curtain disappeared entirely, and Gloria and Liberty found themselves staring directly into each other's faces.
Perhaps because of the fight they'd had last time, the moment they laid eyes on each other, both of them pulled expressions of profound displeasure.
But miraculously — they didn't fight!!
'Thank goodness…'
This was nothing short of a complete success.
In lieu of fighting, Liberty let out a low, feral growl and glared at the other with sharp hostility.
Gloria, for her part, looked Liberty up and down with an expression of deep dissatisfaction.
Of course, one wrong move and they could start fighting again, so I was about to bring the meeting to a close immediately — but then Gloria muttered something under her breath, and Liberty's composure cracked as her face twisted into a grimace.
I, too, found myself at a loss for words.
"I suppose having a few head of livestock around wouldn't be so bad."
Gloria had apparently decided to treat Liberty as a pet.
********************
It was an ice-cold meeting, but a genuinely successful one.
I immediately lowered the black curtain and wrapped things up.
First, I told Gloria I'd take Liberty back first.
"Hurry up and come back."
"Then please wait just a moment."
Fortunately, she didn't seem particularly bothered — she simply sprawled flat out on the floor.
I quickly scooped Liberty up and hurried toward the detention cell.
I stroked her head and didn't hold back on the praise.
"Thank you for putting up with it this time."
"Yelp…!"
Liberty didn't seem particularly bothered, even though Gloria's offhand remark must have genuinely stung.
I promised to buy her a gift later, then moved quickly back to the lab.
If some other researcher happened to wander over and poke around while I was gone for even a moment, it would be a disaster.
But the saying that ninety-nine percent of anxieties never come to pass must be true — there wasn't so much as a fly near the meeting room.
I arrived at Gloria's side again, panting, and she wrinkled her face.
"Aren't you a little pathetic?"
"Ha ha ha ha… W-well, I haven't been exercising much lately…"
It was the truth rather than an excuse, which earned a click of Gloria's tongue — but she didn't cause any trouble, and we walked together back to the detention cell.
As we made our way down the corridor in our own little world again, a thought came to me.
'Judging by today, it's clear that Gloria won't particularly care when she meets Victory either.'
She'd almost certainly treat her like a pet, same as this time — but the plan might move faster than expected.
Quite surprisingly, Gloria was the one who brought up the next meeting first.
"Who's the other one?"
"Her name is Victory. She's a rabbit-type mutant."
"Sounds incredibly weak."
"She makes up for it with her Acceleration Ability — she'll be quite fast."
Gloria heard about Victory's ability and showed at least some degree of interest.
Then it would probably be good to arrange a meeting between the two of them next time.
We arrived back at the detention cell shortly after.
Gloria went straight to the bed and sat down, then waved her hand at me to leave.
"Then I'll see you at dinner."
"Don't be late."
I said my goodbyes to Gloria — who had become considerably more talkative — and stepped out of the detention cell.
After that, I looked after Victory and Liberty, and then, before dinner, sat down at the computer to finish the task the Director had assigned me.
The report was filled with dense information not only on Lee Se-ra — Red Cat, whom I had already intended to sponsor — but on other mutants as well.
I called the secretarial office to check whether the Director had returned to her room.
[ She has just returned to the Director's office. ]
"Does the Director have any immediate appointments scheduled?"
[ No, she does not. ]
Good — the report would be over quickly, then.
I made an appointment on the spot and headed straight to the Director's office. As I arrived, the Security Director — an enormously built man — was stepping out from inside.
"Hm? Maxwell?"
"Good day, Security Director."
"Good to see you as well. What brings you here, though…?"
"The Director asked me to come in person to submit the sponsorship report."
"Ah… a continuation of the discussion from the conference room that time."
The Security Director looked at me with a sympathetic eye, then abruptly handed me his business card.
He had a mixed name — likely of mixed heritage.
[ Black Cell ]
[ Security Director: Yoon Carter ]
"My subordinates speak very highly of you, Maxwell. If you ever run into a serious problem, feel free to contact me."
"Such generosity… I'm truly grateful."
"Not at all — I should be the one thanking you for indulging our Miss Eileen's stubbornness."
The fact that the Security Director was calling the Director 'Miss Eileen' told me something.
That man was very likely a member of the Blackrock Family — the Director's own family — just like the President.
In any case, hadn't I just stumbled into acquiring a missile without even trying?
The fatigue drained away, and a warmth settled in my chest.
*************
The moment I parted ways with the Security Director, I went straight into the Director's office.
It was as bleak and austere as ever.
The report on the sponsorship itself, however, went very smoothly.
Of course, nearly all the mutants ranked in the bottom tier academically, which made the Director frown.
"Even after all that careful selection, I still have to sponsor this lot… It feels like throwing money into the gutter."
"That's precisely because these are mutants with a high floor but a low ceiling. Or you could think of it as investing with a different angle in mind."
"Tch… Whether these kids amount to anything or not, it's not really our concern."
Fortunately, the Director approved the documents right away.
The problem was that the sponsorship would go out under Black Cell's name, so I couldn't make it obvious that I was involved.
Surprisingly, the Director solved that for me.
"Maxwell, could you go to the Hero Academy later and take some credit for this?"
"I'll have a large banner made, take photos, the whole thing."
"Mm~ Perfect."
The report was done.
I was about to go see the children right away, but the Director shared one more piece of information.
"Now that the new recruits have been disciplined and settled in, I'm thinking of gradually resuming the experiments that were put on hold. Any good ideas?"
"I think that question would be better directed to the Chief Researcher."
It was a clear overreach of my authority, so I took a step back.
But the Director closed that distance in an instant.
"That one's too much of a coward to even come near me. Tell him to come to the Director's office and he'll make up every excuse in the book to avoid it."
It was genuinely baffling that someone so faint-hearted was leading inhumane experiments.
In any case, this was, in a way, an opportunity for me.
Hadn't I already decided to align myself with the Director's faction?
I resolved to voice the desire she had never shown to anyone.
"…Then I suppose it can't be helped."
"That expression of yours tells me you've already thought of something."
"It's nothing more than a rough idea."
"Tell me anyway."
"Research into turning non-ability users into ability users."
A jolt —
Silence fell over the Director's office for a moment.
It felt as though time had stopped — but the Director appeared to be seized by a joy so great she couldn't keep her expression in check.
At last, she tried to hide from me the way the corners of her mouth were trembling, pretending to deliberate as she propped her chin in both hands.
In that strange, suspended atmosphere —
"That… is really good."
She was a witch wearing the most radiant smile in the world.
**************
The Director had always managed her image meticulously, never letting her inferiority complex show to her family or the outside world.
But when I voiced the goal she had truly wanted for herself, something remarkable happened.
"Maxwell, could you tell me what you and the Director discussed yesterday?"
"Secretary Min Chae-rin? Why would—"
"It's just that the Director told everyone not to work overtime this time."
Whatever I had said must have pleased her enormously — a workaholic had told her employees to go home early of her own accord.
In any case, hadn't I just given the Director a very convenient excuse to use?
She began treating me with noticeably more warmth than before, and on top of that —
"Turning non-ability users into ability users?"
"That's quite interesting."
"It's certainly a fresh research topic. But who suggested this—"
"According to this official notice, it was Maxwell who recommended it."
"Ah… well, if it's him…"
A new directive had come down to the researchers.