"That... my wife isn't fused with my body! She simply resides within me without interfering! This happened a long time ago... during a painful event that's hard to explain," Touzen replied calmly.
"I see. Let the past be the past. Everyone goes through painful events in life. For now... you should live as the person you are today," Gens said, exhaling deeply.
"You... don't want to hear my story?" Touzen asked, looking puzzled.
Gens just shook his head, signaling he didn't have time for it.
"Sorry, it's not like that. But right now, I can't waste my time on trivial things," Gens replied with a deadpan expression.
"T-Trivial?! You're saying my past is trivial?" Touzen responded, disappointed.
"Maybe for now, yeah. I don't even know who you are, hahaha," Gens answered bluntly.
"You don't know me? Fine, I'll say it again! I'm Touzen Ishigari! And this is my lover—no, my wife! Her name is Thea Lysmere!" Touzen reintroduced himself proudly.
"H-Hey! You're embarrassing me! ><" Thea said, blushing.
"Eh? She can talk too?" Gens asked, a bit surprised.
"Of course! She's human too! That's why I love her! So, how about it? Will you accept my offer to be friends?" Touzen asked hopefully.
"Hmm… sure, why not. But you have to help me out too!" Gens agreed.
"Really?! Of course! As friends, we should help each other, right? Hahaha, finally… I've made a friend in this country. I was starting to lose hope after being rejected over and over again, even by a large group recently..." Touzen said, showing a sad expression.
"It's okay, dear! Even if you didn't make any friends… you'd never be alone. I'm always here for you," Thea said gently.
"Hey, cut it out with the lovey-dovey stuff already!" Gens snapped at them.
"Haha, sorry… it's just a habit, hehehe. By the way… what's your name?" Touzen asked.
"Haa… oh right, you don't know who I am," Gens said, patting his head.
—
Meanwhile, Gusa had reached the location where Alifade's best robot was stored. Along the way, he smiled to himself upon seeing the many futuristic robots Alifade had built.
"Hmm hmm hmm, all of this… looks delicious! Hahaha! Today I'll just steal data from five of these robots! Then I'll do it over and over until I have data from all of them! Hahaha! Then… I'll copy it to my ugly robots!" Gusa muttered to himself, thinking no one could hear him.
But surprisingly, Alifade had heard everything. In fact, he had prepared for this very moment. Rather than panicking, he smiled.
"Hmmm, so that's how it is, Gusa? Well, things are going according to plan! I'm so bored of just building boring robots every day. Maybe now I'll have some fun... hehehe," Alifade said to himself.
He decided to pretend he didn't know anything and let Gusa steal the data on purpose.
"In the meantime, I'll work on developing my beloved serum—False Kin!" Alifade said, lifting a vial of the strange liquid.
—
"All right, Gens. So what do I need to do to help you?" Touzen asked.
"Help me train in combat," Gens replied simply.
"Huh?! A-Are you serious? Don't you know that if you train to fight in this country, you'll be arrested? And then… erased from existence?!" Touzen asked, shocked.
"Yeah! You're exactly right… but unfortunately, I oppose that law! So… do you mind? By the way… looks like you came pretty prepared, huh?" Gens said, flipping through his book.
"Of course! A-And I don't mind at all! Let's start right away!" Touzen replied enthusiastically.
Gens and Touzen began training with passion. Touzen also taught Gens his own martial art techniques. Gens enjoyed it so much that little by little, he began to trust Touzen more deeply.
—
Two weeks passed… and Touzen remained loyal and devoted to Gens. This made Gens believe that Touzen truly just wanted to build a new life in Xenonida.
"It's been two weeks already! All right, Touzen, I trust you a little now! That's why… you should train too! Copy the codes in this book—it might help," Gens said, handing over the book.
"Haah? You still don't trust me fully, huh? Fine, whatever," Touzen replied with slight disappointment.
As Touzen began copying the codes from the book, he was shocked by something on the last page. He quickly called Gens.
"G-GENS! Come here! Look at this!" Touzen shouted.
"Ugh, what is it? Don't yell like that—it's annoying," Gens said.
"Look, Gens! On this last page—it lists names and their locations!" Touzen said, stunned.
"Huh? What is this?" Gens said, scanning the title of the page.
"Holy crap! Read this, Touzen! I-It's… the names of the Geniuses, along with their exact locations! What the hell?! Yananaig… you're insane! How did you get this info?!" Gens shouted.
"Y-Yananaig? Who's that?" Touzen asked, full of curiosity.
"Shut up for now! I'll explain later!" Gens ordered. Touzen nodded silently, not wanting to upset his one and only friend in Xenonida.
—
While watching the SHAYAN group train with their robots, Yananaig was lost in thought. He wondered whether Gens had finally opened the last page. Was he surprised? Confused? How would he react, knowing Yananaig had the personal data of all the Geniuses?
Suddenly, Fesly approached him.
"Hey, what are you thinking about? Are you okay?" Fesly asked as she saw Yananaig frozen like a statue.
"Huh? What? Just get to the point already!" Yananaig snapped.
"Hahaha! Is Gens doing okay?" Fesly asked sweetly.
"How should I know?! He's not even here," Yananaig replied bluntly.
"Ugh, you jerk! I'm seriously worried about him!" Fesly said, visibly upset.
Yananaig went silent again, as if the world had gone mute. But after a moment, he spoke again—this time, asking a question.
"Hey Fesly… what do you think would happen if there was a serum that could manipulate someone's mind? Like… if you used it, you'd feel like a stranger is your master?" Yananaig asked cryptically.
"That… sounds kind of impossible, doesn't it? But… actually… I've heard of something like that before. A long time ago. I'm not sure where it is now, or if it even still exists," Fesly replied, recalling her past.
"What do you mean? Are you saying that kind of serum really exists?" Yananaig asked.
"Of course! But I found it before I became the person I am today…" Fesly answered.
"Your memory… is impressive, Fesly," Yananaig said with a joyful smile.
Fesly didn't understand what he meant and assumed he was teasing her for acting all smart.
—
"Hey hey hey hey hey~ Oh man, what if… I just modify this serum? Or better yet—I'll make a new type! One that can manipulate hundreds of souls at once! Not just one! Hahahaha! Will I become the ruler of the world?!" Gusa said gleefully as he stared at his newest creation.
---
To be continued
Author's social media:
@navypemula
@giansugiana357
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SugiArt CH