Reincarnated as the Villain Who Experiments on Orphanage Kids – Why Are the Test Subject Girls Begging Me for "Night Experiments"? - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Something Sketchy Is Closing In On The Ramen Shop

“What’s up? You’ve got a gloomy face.”

It was one week after the whole full medical checkup mess.

Every single night Priere begged me for checkups, and I was completely worn out from lack of sleep and low magic power. Even so, I was still draining the noodles.

The boss noticed something was off and asked me about it.

“If something happened, spit it all out. Don’t bring negative feelings into the ramen.”

“Yes! Please listen, Boss!”

I almost cried from his kindness and told him about the full medical checkups.

I left out the specific stuff, but I explained how she kept begging me every night and how tired I was getting.

The boss crossed his arms with a weird look on his face.

“Isn’t it your fault for not turning her down? You don’t say no, so more and more volunteers keep showing up.”

He was completely right. I couldn’t even make a sound in reply.

“Yeah, that’s true, but when a kid begs me I just can’t say no.”

“You’re too soft. That’s not the attitude of a ramen shop guy.”

“I know…”

“But that’s fine for you. There are some ramens only a soft guy like you can make.”

“Boss!”

Like I thought, the boss is a real adult.

For someone like me who deals with kids who aren’t exactly normal most of the time, those words really hit deep.

“Your good point is that you don’t reject other people’s actions or will. That part connects to ramen too. For example, when you make dashi from dried sardines, you normally remove the heads and guts.”

“To get rid of the bad smell, right?”

“Yeah. But if you make the dashi without prepping them, you get a really rich broth. A strong one that won’t lose to soy sauce or other seasonings.”

“!? ”

“That’s what I mean. You might be tired from the full medical checkups, but that should give you a strong broth. That experience will definitely help with your ramen. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Speak up!”

“Yes!!!”

*

[Side: Priere]

“There have been suspicious people hanging around in front of the ramen shop lately.”

Around the time we had built the perfect routine of morning training and nighttime full medical checkups.

We in the SJO Squad held our weekly meeting. Thirty people showed up.

The meeting spot was the storage room in the underground lab that recently became our base. There was space after Sai did his big declutter, so we turned it into our hideout.

It’s not that big, but it can fit about fifty people.

Today’s topic was the suspicious people.

“According to the second team’s info, there are about three people who regularly watch inside the ramen shop. All middle-aged men with nothing special about their clothes or looks, but we need to stay on maximum alert.”

Almost no one got arrested after the recent Rebellion attack on the capital.

They released the monsters and then disappeared, so not many fought openly.

The only ones we can clearly say are from Rebellion are the three Sai caught at the ramen shop.

Jimbara is still an exception since he’s trapped in Sai’s ball.

By the way, I haven’t seen that ball lately. Where did it go?

Cough. I got off track.

“We’ve had some good things happen recently. Yes, the full medical checkups. But this isn’t the time to celebrate. There’s a chance Rebellion is trying to make contact with Sai.”

“Definitely suspicious.”

Rafal and a few others nod.

“Hmph. If they know Sai works at the ramen shop, doesn’t that put the orphanage in danger too?”

Fioraia’s worry makes sense.

“Yes. No suspicious people have shown up at the orphanage yet, but we don’t know when they’ll find us. We need to act fast.”

What exactly do the Rebellion people plan to do with Sai?

They haven’t attacked right away, so it looks like they want to make contact instead of killing him.

Are they trying to recruit him?

But Sai is the boss of the SJO Squad.

Once they know how close we are, trying to pull him in would be impossible.

So what is their goal?

We don’t know how much info has leaked to them, so it’s hard to guess their real intention.

“For now, maximum security at the orphanage. Leave Sai to me. I’ll step up and protect him with everything I’ve got!”

—Rebellion.

If they try to get close to Sai, we will stay even closer to guard him.

That was our plan.

“One more thing. Let’s move forward with that plan at the same time.”

*

[Side: Sai]

“By the way, got one thing to report.”

Right before closing, after the day’s business was done.

While washing pots, the boss suddenly spoke up.

“Starting tomorrow I’m hiring another part-timer.”

“Eh, for real?”

“To be honest we’ve got enough hands, but his passion for ramen is the real deal.”

“There’s talent like that? How old is he, by the way?”

“Fifteen.”

“Eh?”

A fifteen-year-old at a ramen shop?

That seems a bit early.

“Is that okay?”

“Huh?”

“I mean… child labor laws and stuff.”

“What? I don’t know about that complicated crap. This is a ramen shop.”

It’s true this country doesn’t have labor laws.

So it makes sense the boss doesn’t know, but I still had this weird uneasy feeling.

“Is it really fine…”

“Relax. He’s not your average kid.”

The boss says it with his arms crossed.

“Not average? What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said.”

His voice dropped a little. The boss looked far away and said,

“His eyes weren’t like normal kids have. Those were real. They had crazy strong resolve in them.”

“Is he that amazing?”

“His energy was so strong it actually made me nervous.”

“Even you, Boss?!”

“Well, he’s coming tomorrow anyway. You’ll see when you meet him.”

“Haa…”

I gave a vague reply, but something kept bothering me deep in my chest.

A fifteen-year-old part-timer. Eyes full of crazy resolve. Energy strong enough to make the boss nervous.

No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t normal.

And there was only one kid I knew who fit all those points.

—Please don’t let it be Priere.

That was all I could do, pray silently in my heart.