“Did you think we’d contact him primitively like humans do with phones?”

Ezel snorted as if In-woo had asked an incredibly foolish question. Even though they were brainwashed to absolute obedience, their original personality hadn’t disappeared, as they subtly looked down on people with every word. In-woo got annoyed and kicked Ezel.

“Ack! Such a violent adorable puppy!”

It was an insult that made the person saying it feel more embarrassed. Ezel’s face turned bright red with shame as they trembled. After a while, when they had calmed down their heated state, Ezel explained through gritted teeth.

“Raseti will probably bring the journal. They said they’d be here soon.”

“…I see.”

It’s good that things are being handled quickly but… Raseti coming instead means, surely he’s planning not to show his face anymore.

While he didn’t particularly want to see Radel directly, he didn’t like being avoided first either. In-woo became aware once again of how he was dragging out his own emotions.

In the end, he was only resolute in words. His true feelings hadn’t reached a clear conclusion either way. Whether to cut Radel off, or to continue their relationship.

Anyway, reading the journal that contained Radel’s raw thoughts might help organize his thoughts a bit.

Feeling anxious and restless, In-woo sprawled out on the living room sofa. Though the blood Radel had spilled that day had disappeared without a trace, just looking at the living room brought back memories of that day, making his stomach churn. The strange sensation of the knife piercing Radel’s body, blood spraying everywhere and falling to drip over his own body. Things he might never forget for the rest of his life.

Just then, there was a loud crashing sound from the kitchen.

Before he could dwell long in his reminiscence, In-woo jumped up startled and ran to the kitchen. Ezel was rummaging through the shelves with a serious face and turned to look at In-woo.

When he glared at them for freely going through someone else’s kitchen like a thief, Ezel made another wronged face.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a meal.”

“Are you trying to prepare food for me?”

“Yes.”

“Leave it alone.”

“Just eat it. You adorable baby kitten……”

Seeing them spout more ridiculous insults, it didn’t seem like Ezel was doing this of their own accord. It was probably a behavior pattern designated by Radel.

“That’s enough, just sit quietly.”

Though their face was full of dissatisfaction, Ezel didn’t disobey In-woo’s words. But while he thought they would sit properly at the dining table, Ezel went to the living room and knelt on the floor to wait quietly. It was a ridiculous sight. In-woo turned his back on Ezel’s humiliation-filled face and lay down on the sofa.

Then he dozed off for a moment. He woke up when someone rang the doorbell outside. While In-woo was sluggishly getting up from the sofa, Ezel naturally checked who was outside and opened the door.

“Hello.”

Raseti, who greeted politely, looked like someone quite uncomfortable. It even felt like they were trying to read the mood here.

Instead of returning the greeting, In-woo observed how Raseti was different from usual. He had been worried they might be sick, but the current Raseti just seemed to be in a bad mood rather than lifeless like before. That’s a relief. While he didn’t like that Raseti had deceived him, he didn’t want them dead.

Behind Raseti, an android with an expressionless face followed in. When In-woo gestured toward the android, Raseti explained.

“I brought Radel’s journal data as is. The android will translate it. Afterwards, the android will completely delete the translation data.”

“No.”

In-woo pointed at Ezel.

“Let them translate it.”

“Me? Why me?”

“How can I trust an android sent by Radel? You’re just brainwashed but your thinking is similar to before. You’ll translate objectively.”

“No, you’re going to make me do such a thing?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I’ll know everything?”

“You guys are good at memory manipulation. You can erase it later.”

Whether android or Ezel, they’re both beings that just follow orders. Ezel pointed at themselves with an incredulous look. Despite having naturally attended to In-woo until now, they seemed genuinely upset at receiving an actual order, their face twisting unpleasantly.

“You really use me so easily. How dare you, do you know who I am?”

“What else, you’re an alien slave.”

“You insolent……”

“Shut up and roll over. That’s an order.”

Without time to resist, Ezel’s body rolled once in place. They jumped up with their face bright red. Before Ezel could say anything, In-woo gave the next order.

“Stand on all fours and bark.”

“Khurorararararok.”

Standing on all fours like a dog, Ezel made a bizarre sound. It was such a thunderous noise that In-woo, who had expected just a “woof,” stopped in shock.

“What was that just now?”

He asked Raseti, but they couldn’t answer right away as they were doubled over laughing almost to the point of sobbing. Making sounds close to wailing, Raseti finally managed to stand up unsteadily with tears in the corners of their eyes.

“…It’s a Kalkas cry. It’s a beast about 17 meters in size that looks similar to a Tyrannosaurus, Ezel kept a few in their garden.”

Having witnessed such an entertaining sight, Raseti’s expression had brightened considerably. After thinking for a moment, they tried to help Ezel up. Ezel didn’t get up and just lay sprawled out.

“Get up.”

“Go away.”

“I’m not trying to help you up, I mean you need to work. You have to translate, right?”

“You worthless hybrid……”

“Wow, it really annoyed me before but now it’s just funny. Look who’s talking, a brainwashed slave.”

Raseti smiled brightly and lightly pulled Ezel up. Though they appeared to have similar builds, the difference in strength must have been overwhelming, as Raseti lifted Ezel up very easily. As Ezel stumbled after being yanked up, Raseti whispered in their ear in a threatening low voice.

“Though I’ll have to watch to make sure you don’t try anything funny.”

“Didn’t you just see what I was made to do?”

“It’s not like you completely lack free will. What if you slip in strange words in subtle ways?”

Ezel and Raseti faced off, one annoyed and bewildered at the same time. In-woo had no intention of watching their confrontation for long.

“Then Ezel will do it while Raseti watches. But don’t interfere unless what Ezel writes is completely different from the truth.”

“Could we let the android I brought handle some parts?”

“No.”

“Radel mentioned there are some s*xual descriptions…”

In-woo’s face burned. Why the hell would that bastard write such content and tell others about it? When In-woo reluctantly nodded, Raseti called over the android that had been standing by the entrance.

In-woo offered Radel’s study as the workspace. Raseti took out a machine about the size of a finger joint. Something like a hologram video floated above the machine, outputting dense text in an unidentifiable language.

Ezel began transcribing it into another window for Raseti to see while looking at it.

Note:

For ease of interpretation, dates, units, place names and other terms and explanations from the original text have been replaced with Earth (Republic of Korea, Korean) expressions.

Watching them write down sentences that didn’t really need to be written, In-woo left the study.

In a few hours at the earliest, he would be able to read Radel’s journal.

“……”

In-woo forced himself to move and entered the kitchen that Ezel had been rummaging through earlier.

When he opened the refrigerator, ingredients that should have gone bad had all disappeared and been replaced with several familiar-looking side dishes. In-woo’s hand gripping the refrigerator door tightened.

Though he thought about throwing it all away, in the end he couldn’t touch anything more and closed the door again.