"Was she abducting people? Men, to be exact?" I asked, listing my most probable theory.
Upon hearing my words, Dungeon Master 02 looked at me with a seemingly frozen expression. "Was I wrong?" I asked, a little confused.
He shook his head, "No. That's exactly what happened. I was just a little confused as to how one could come to that conclusion with so little information. To be frank with you, what you just said makes me really question if you really didn't know about this matter beforehand."
No. “That” just sounded like something she could pull out.
"I didn't," I replied frankly. "Perhaps Theta deemed I was not trustworthy enough to share this with."
"I wouldn't know about that, but if you really didn't know about this matter, then I suppose I finally get why Theta is so eager to have you back."
Is that a compliment or something? Because even if it sounded like one, it didn't feel like one.
"I don't think that's why she wants me back by her side, especially now..."
Looking down at my little hands, I felt more and more adamant against the idea of returning to Theta's side. Considering Aiden's relation to me, it wasn't hard to figure out how she would be viewing Aiden. At that moment, I felt a shiver run down my back, one that made me instantly tense up.
"Is that so..." Dungeon Master 02 said, ponderingly.
After taking a moment to rearrange the new info I just received, Dungeon Master 02 continued with his explanation. In spite of being caught red-handed by the other Dungeon Masters who, through Dungeon Master 04 and Dungeon Master 14's official channel, had caught wind of the strange abduction case going on, which allowed them upon tighter inspection to lead them straight back to Theta's organization and ascetics. Prompting her to unrepentantly admit that ongoing male abductions across the continent were her doing and that she did for an experiment she was allowed to continue. As she was already midway through it, she might as well just finish it; she just was expected to at least be more mindful of the consequences of her actions, which one could argue she did by revealing the result of the program on the second generation.
"Perhaps she knew you'd be interested in the result of the program. Dungeon Master 02 prepared this for you," he said, retrieving a notebook from the rift torn by his spatial ring and handing it out to me. Accepting the notebook and making a quick rundown over several bookmarked pages of the notebook, which documented information about what children born of this program included. Details like what was to be known about the parents, their age, their height, weight, classes, skills, titles, abilities, but also, of course, plenty of information about the child. After going over dozens of bookmarked pages, I believed I figured out what kind of combination Theta was coming up with and what kind of goal she was aiming for with this program's second generation.
"I wasn't really involved in this whole mess since Dungeon Master 07 himself didn't involve himself much in it," he said, motioning at his body. "And I'm really thankful for it," he said, admitting that he too would avoid being involved in Theta's affair. "But I know that the result of this program is that most of the second generation displayed no sign of the title carried over by the initial chosen homunculus subjects. Sure, most of them display high potential when it comes to acquiring a certain set of interesting skills, which I guess makes them a little conspicuous especially for their age, but still nowhere as much of a freak as you or any other specimen of the HMC-0 series, which is why Dungeon Master 08, Dungeon Master 04, and everyone else involved has come up with the decision to fund this orphanage."
"As I said, most of the children born of this program are closer to your average children than they are close to you and those of the HMC-0 series. Not integrating them equates to dooming them to forever remain lab rats---lab rats that Dungeon Master 08 herself isn't much interested in anymore as she already got the answer she's looking for when initiating this program. So instead of just leaving them be, might as well make use of them. Considering how “normal” they currently are and how uniquely special they can grow into, as long as they're appropriately nurtured, they can be of use in the future."
From the look of it, they planned to use the orphanage as a conduit for seamlessly integrating these children into society. Releasing them en masse into the world would undoubtedly arouse suspicion regarding their origins upon any scrutiny. However, by using the orphanage as a strategic intermediary, subsequent inquiries are likely to halt at its doorstep, shielding Theta's not-so-legal and certainly not moral facilities from unwanted exposure.
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“I see, so that’s why Dungeon Master 14 and Dungeon Master 16 were involved in funding this place.”
“Yes, children that will be reared in this orphanage are to be outleted into either of their organizations. So in a way you can see their involvement as a form of long-term investment.”
“I see,” I nodded, failing to see flaws in that logic. However, remembering who else could be considered an investor of this orphanage, I asked, “And Theta, what does she have to gain out of this?”
“You really distrust her, don’t you?” Dungeon Master 02 sighed, “I won’t pretend I don’t know why,” before explaining, “While she lost interest in them as subjects born of the program, she’s still curious as to what they might become with adequate training. It was to document that, and several other reasons, among which were the fact that they were women and thus best fitting for the duty that her Maiden Ascetics have been assigned to in this orphanage.”
“I see…”
I wanted to ask for more information about the said maiden ascetics, as they, just like the girl, had something about them that made me feel a little doubtful of my initial assessment. For the girl, it was how she didn’t feel like a proper product of Theta’s experiments—I felt the same thing when it came to the orphanage’s Maiden Ascetic, especially the one in charge of this place; there was just something that was un-Theta-like about them. I considered asking the question but hesitated.
“If you’re still not convinced, you can always ask Dungeon Master 08 herself. I’m sure she’ll be happy to tell you the truth.”
“No thank you.”
“Is that so?” He said, standing up, “with this I believe I’ve answered all the questions you had about this place, haven’t I?”
I initially wanted to raise yet another question—one about the ascetic in charge of this orphanage and the little girl Celestina, but having received the notebook, I had the feeling that I would find my answer in there, so when he said that, I simply nodded.
“If that’s the case, then it’s about time I take my leave he—”
He was just about to tear a rift through space when I stopped him.
“Wait, I have something else to ask.”
He turned around. “What is it?”
For a moment I thought over how I could voice it until eventually I decided to simply ask as I thought it. “What will become of me?”
“I don’t think I understand?” He said with a frown.
“What does Dungeon Master 07 think of doing with me? He left me here but I’m really confused as to what exactly he expects of me.”
He seemed to think about the question for a short while before dismissively saying, “Don’t know. But even if I did know I doubt that I’d just tell.”
“... that makes sense.”
“However, if you want my opinion, I believe that before you ask yourself what Dungeon Master 07 plans for you, you should first figure out what you want for ‘you,’ especially given your current predicament. From the look of it, it doesn’t seem like there’s been any development as to your control over this vessel. Have you informed him of your presence?”
“I… I haven’t yet.”
“I figured so. But the fact that you said “yet” suggests that you plan to. You plan to tell him but then what? What will be your stance? Will it be a fifty-fifty organization between the two of you, or do you plan to take full control, or perhaps it is the opposite?”
“I… I don’t know yet.”
“Well then figure it out. Only then do I believe there’s any decision that can be made about your future.”
At that moment, he raised his hand, opening a rift through space as he gently brought the hand down. "On this, I really should leave," he said with a certain sense of urgency in his voice.
Upon finally digesting what he just said and noticing the tingue of urgency in his voice, I decide to make a casual but teasing remark. "Got a date or something?"
He cast a sidelong glance at me and said, "Hmph, too young for that. I'm just leaving because it's almost," he explained, perhaps noting my confusion. He added, "bedtime."
"Mm. I never pictured you as a bedtime enthusiast."
"It's because I'm not. My avatar is. Nine is ridiculously early to be already in bed, but at his age," in that moment, he once again glanced back at me. "It's very important to get enough sleep. Well, I'm saying that; it's not like I'm particularly good at the subject."
"I see. Then I won't hold you up any longer. See you next time."
"Ideally, I'd prefer there wouldn't be a next time. At least not one like this one. I'm not just someone you summon over for errands."
"I know."
I just didn’t have anyone else to turn around.
"So long as you do," he said, stepping into the rift that promptly closed behind him.