Damn it, after being preoccupied with the role of lab assistant, it totally slipped my mind that the guy I'm posing as had a slave.
She looked like she was in her early twenties, she was skinny and pale, with long messy and tangled blonde hair, blue eyes that looked devoid of life, and a timid expression.
Let's see, he said that he enjoyed treating her like she was inferior, but I didn't have enough time to get into the specifics of it...ah, fuck it, I'll just have to wing it.
I opened the closet and looked through it. A bunch of spare robes and armor, and a few casual clothes. It was the bare minimum, but good enough.
Guess I'll take a shower and change. I picked out a t-shirt and pair of trousers, as well as a towel. Huh, I wonder what the door on the right is? The left leads into a small bathroom, with a toilet, sink and shower cubicle. The woman stiffened in fear as I walked towards the right side door.
"I-is something the matter, master?" She asked nervously.
I opened the door to see a tiny space, no bigger than a janitor's closet. It had a small mattress that took up nearly the entire space, and a narrow door which presumably led into a bathroom. I see, must be the slave's room. Crap, I doubt this guy goes in here too often. Can't let her get suspicious. Really don't want to do this, but I don't really have a choice...
"Hm, what is with that reaction, you wouldn't be hiding anything, would you?" I snapped in a condescending tone.
She flinched and stumbled back, shaking her head vigorously.
"N-no, of course not, master!"
Woah, whatever this guy had been doing to her had really traumatized her, I was starting to feel really bad. But I don't have a choice, I have to speak harshly and condescendingly...I won't torture or abuse her though, if she brings it up I'll just act like I'm bored of doing that. Based on the marks peering out from her neck and under her sleeves, she was definitely physically abused.
Looks like I was taking the place of a pretty fucked up fourteen year old. I gritted my teeth in frustration...the type of human I hated the most were the ones that enjoy torturing innocents...I enjoy torturing those who deserve it, but I can't stand those who do so to innocent people...and it looks like I had stolen the place and appearance of exactly that type of person.
She noticed my grim look and fear appeared in her eyes, she hurried over to me and began undoing the straps on my armor.
"F-forgive me, master, I should have helped you with your armor as soon as you returned, I shall accept any punishment you choose to subject me to," She stuttered meekly, as she took off my armor and set it aside.
She was trying to be as appeasing as possible in order to get off with a lighter punishment...damn it, this is a really unpleasant situation. Also, I should probably stop her from completely undressing me...
"Hmph, consider yourself lucky, I am far too tired today to bother with such trivial matters. And, er, I can take it from here," I pushed her hands away as she began to take off my top and pants.
"Oh, if that's what you wish, master."
She looked surprised as I did that...man, I seriously picked an inconvenient person to pose as an imposter of. Well, whatever. I should take a shower and call it a night early, from tomorrow onwards, I was gonna be pretty busy.
"I'm going to take a shower now, clean up the room while I'm busy with that, understand?"
"Oh...you do not wish for me to join you, master?" She asked with a look of surprise and relief.
...too bad I already killed this kid, because right now I was pretty disgusted and pissed off. Still, if this keeps up, she's going to get suspicious. Uhh...how should I respond without blowing my cover?
"Do not presume that I shall allow a mere pawn to cleanse my body forever. All those instances in the past were merely on a whim," I responded in my most arrogant tone.
It wasn't the best excuse, but my harsh tone was enough to scare her and not question it. Man, I feel like I'm bullying this poor woman...
I took the towel and clean clothes to the bathroom with me, had a quick shower and changed. It was a dark blue top and gray trousers...the lack of black was troubling, but I don't really have a choice in this situation. At least they were dark colors, the white-robe is bad enough on its own.
I then let out a sigh as I headed back into the room...and nearly choked when I saw her standing by the edge of the bed, totally naked. Wha-!?
She looked a bit uncomfortable, but also had a look of helpless resignation on her face. And she was covered in bruises and whip marks. I spotted a whip by the side of the bed, she flinched when she saw me glance at it. Alright, that's it...this was really risky in terms of maintaining my cover, but I can't let this continue...
"You do not have to do this anymore. How foolish of me, bedding a lowly pawn would only serve to taint me...I am bored of you, so feel free to put your clothes back on," I remarked with a tone of indifference.
This time, she really looked surprised. Relieved, but also confused...
Crap, was that too much? Can't be helped, either way, there was no way I was going to do that, for a whole lot of reasons.
"Well, why are you still here? Return to your room, I do not wish to share this space with you, filthy pawn!"
"Y-yes, master!"
She picked up her clothes and disappeared into the small room to the right, shutting the door. I let out a sigh of relief, that had been seriously stressful. Her look of confusion at the end was concerning, I had done way too many things differently to what she had expected, and even though I'd been pretty harsh in how I spoke, I had a feeling that it was nothing compared to her usual treatment. Confusion wasn't the only emotion I saw on her face, there was also relief. Which meant, as rude as I had been, it was a massive improvement from what she's used to from this guy.
My stomach suddenly rumbled, and I realized that I was pretty hungry. Well, I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, so it makes sense. I opened the food parcels and sighed. It was a bunch of steamed vegetables. What the hell? There were so many animals around this area, you'd think they'd include at least a little meat. Well, whatever, it's not like I can't eat it, just that I won't enjoy it.
Ugh, these had been overcooked, they were way too mushy. I quickly wolfed it down till I was full, but was unable to finish it. I ate a bit over one and a half of the packs, so there was still about half a pack left. Hm, I wonder what the slave woman eats? She seemed pretty thin, but not malnourished, so she probably did get some food.
I took a swig of water and pondered it for a second...hm, there doesn't appear to be a garbage in this room. And then there were my dirty clothes and armor too. I really wouldn't mind taking them to get cleaned myself, but I think I've raised enough suspicion.
"Pawn, come here!"
The door opened and she meekly walked out, her eyes filled with fear as always.
"Y-yes, what can I-I do for you, master?"
"Dispose of these. And get my clothes cleaned," I commanded bluntly, handing her the empty and half-empty food packs, and nodding to the bundle of what I wore today.
"Of course, master, right away."
Hm, interesting...I thought as she left.
This whole time, not even once did I feel so much as a hint of bloodlust from her. She had no intention of trying to kill me, and wasn't even thinking about it for that matter. Well, it would be an impulsive thing to do, and she would probably get executed immediately if she did do it, but even so, to not feel so much as an ounce of animosity...was kinda sad.
She had been beaten down and broken to the point where she had completely given up, the thought of revenge or freedom never so much as even crossed her mind.
"I warned to others to brace themselves for horrible sights in this place, and here I am, potentially blowing my cover over something like this...damn it, this sucks!" I grumbled irritably to myself, staring up at the ceiling.
Well, no point in getting worked up about it. I yawned and stretched out on the bed. The mattress was pretty hard, but I could manage with it. Time...to go to sleep. I closed my eyes with another yawn, my consciousness slowly drifting off...
...
Over the next three days, I continued to spend countless hours working as a lab assistant to Dr Reel, thankfully Dista stopped showing up in Lab 7 after she finished whatever she was working on, no doubt something to do with torture, and got assigned a task in a different lab after the second day.
So far, it looks like I was successfully flying under the radar, Dr Reel didn't seem to suspect a thing. Though there was one moment of concern on the third day...
"Hm, you've become more competent recently, dog. You were more than a little useless before," He remarked, glancing at me.
Huh? All I had done was hand him the ingredients he asked for and clean up any messes or spills, how does one be useless at such basic tasks? Seriously, what an inconvenient person I was posing as.
"Of course, sir, I cannot expect to rise in the ranks if I remain the same forever!" I responded before it resulted in a long pause, to avoid suspicion.
"Not bad...perhaps I was assigned a half-decent assistant after all. Do not let it get to your head, dog, you are only doing what you should already have been capable of doing," He remarked, shifting his focus back to the serum.
"Yes, sir!"
On that note, I sure was glad that he wasn't testing that stuff on me. Either my Healing Factor would negate it, or I might end up revealing that I'm an imposter.
He tested the effects of each batch by adding drops of it to a clear solution in a beaker. Chemistry wasn't something I was all that good at, so I didn't really understand it. Then again, someone of this world would be even more unlikely to have knowledge of chemistry...maybe he has his old memories intact?
Including the day I had arrived here, it had been four days now, and I was starting to settle into my role here. Good, another day or two and I'll start widening my margin of caution. At the end of the fourth day, Dr Reel appeared pleased with the results of the batch he made that day, and he went and reported it to...someone.
To my surprise, he didn't task me with doing that, and didn't even take me along with him. Must be reporting to someone from the Retribution Tier, and maybe didn't want to offend them or something by taking a lapdog along.
He returned after a while with a pleased expression, appearing to be in a pretty good mood. He instructed me to show up an hour early the next morning and dismissed me early for the day.
I followed his instructions and made sure to show up on time the next day. It was the fifth day now, and the time was ripe for me to start my investigations. First, I'll have to get through my role as lab assistant for the day, and after that, it's snooping time.
I arrived at the Research Tier building earlier than expected, so used the opportunity to explore it a bit, making sure to keep track of the time and not wander too far away from Lab 7. I encountered a few researchers and other lapdog assistants, but nothing of real note.
Most of the labs had glass walls by the entrance, so you could see what was happening inside, but some had drawn curtains over the glass to cover it. I considered cracking the door open and peering in, but it was too risky to try at this point. I decided to head to Lab 7, don't want to be late.
As I headed towards it and turned a corner, I narrowly avoided bumping into a researcher, getting out of the way just in time. I should probably apologize...
"My apologizes, sir, I was in a bit of a hurry-."
"Tch, watch it, lowly lapdog, I am carrying important-!...hah, never mind, a mere dog such as yourself could not possibly comprehend or understand the importance of my work. Get out of my way!" He snapped, staring down at me condescendingly with a very familiar face.
No fucking way...
I hid my shock as I stepped away and he brushed past me, deliberately slamming his shoulder against mine. I was too surprised to get pissed off though.
That long blonde hair, those dark blue eyes, the wolf ears, hands and feet...and that dramatically arrogant personality. What the hell are you doing here...Arg Lehosa? He disappeared shortly after last year's Brawl of Glory, and no one really cared, though plenty were curious as to what happened to him. So, this is where he had been all this time...I wonder how-...
I shook my head and snapped out of it. I can't afford to get caught up or distracted, I'll worry about him later. For now, I need to get to Lab 7.
I arrived there and opened the door, walking in to find that the doctor was already there, impatiently tapping his foot.
"It's about time you showed up, lapdog brat! Do you not know to arrive half an hour before the specified time!?"
...oh, come on, now that was just being unreasonable. He probably just arrived early and then got annoyed because he had to wait for me.
"My apologies, doctor. I shall keep that in mind for next time."
"Oh, uh...g-good, see that you do!"
Hm, he seemed surprised...man, just how incompetent had this Imsret kid been at his job before I stole his appearance? Should I tweak my demeanor? No, it was too late for that, the doctor seemed surprised, but in a good way, he didn't seem suspicious or anything. He was probably assuming that this guy was showing more initiative and motivation, and improving as a result. In which case, I'll maintain those assumptions and expectations.
I need to be careful though, if I prove to be too competent too soon, I might get saddled with more work, and that would intefere with my mission. I had initially thought that taking the place of someone from the Research Tier would be ideal, but these researchers were seriously busy, and had a lot of technical knowledge and skills, which I didn't have. Looks like infiltrating as a lapdog had turned out to be the ideal option.
Anyway, my job for today was simple. I just had to carry the vials containing the truth serum Dr Reel had been working on, and take them to a seperate lab, where it was to be tested. I had found out that their test subjects primarily consisted of people they captured, and if they ran short on those, they used the most expendable pawns. Apparently, they'd been slowing down on human experimentations due to a lack of human resources, after all, if they use up too many pawns, they'll weaken their overall manpower.
Hm, that would certainly explain why they haven't continued with the Karma experiments, while it was a high reward experiment with extremely effective results upon success, it was also extremely high risk, with an very low success rate. They simply didn't have enough test subjects to spare on it, they'd most likely end up wasting a ton of their pawns for potentially zero successful subjects.
Anyway, we soon arrived at a door marked Lab 13, Dr Reel opened the door and walked in, I followed in after him, making sure that I was holding onto the vials carefully. It'd suck if I dropped them or something.
Inside, were a few other researchers, and...two members of the Retribution Tier. The pawns and lapdogs wore robes, while the researchers wore labcoats. Meanwhile, the Retribution Tier members wore white coats that went a bit past their knees, over black shirts and trousers. I recognized one of them, a familiar head of brown hair parted in front and tied in a low ponytail in the back, black eyes, and a cheetah tail...the fourth ranked member of the Retribution Tier, Hacte Routh.
As for the other one...it was a man in his early-thirties. He had medium length dark brown hair that was trimmed short on the sides and back, with the top neatly slicked to the right, covering the top part of his right ear, a slight stubble, and piercing green eyes. His numbered ring had the number one on it...so this was that Sicario guy that the woman Selesa took over mentioned. There was something familiar about his demeanor...could it really be...?
"Ah, Dr Reel. You said you've completed the truth serum, yes? I hope your results can back up your efforts," He remarked as we walked in.
My blood froze for a second...that accent, there was no doubt about it now...alright, play it cool, pay no attention to him whatsoever. If he really is who I think he is, I can't afford even the tiniest slip up. Just...calm...down...
"Y-yes, of course, Sir Sicario! The test subject is sure to succumb to the effects of my serum!" He replied nervously, nodding at me to take the vials up front.
I made sure my breathing was stable and my heart rate was normal, as I walked forward, vials in hand. I did that respectful bow thing and lowered my head as I presented the vials to him.
As he took them from me, he fumbled a bit and dropped one of them. Before I could stop myself, I reflexively caught it right before it hit the ground, at the same time he reached for it, but I was a bit quicker. Well, he did have his hands kinda full, but even so, he reacted really fast...it was getting harder and harder to deny the possibility that he really was who I thought he was.
"My apologies, sir, I should have handed them to you more carefully, please forgive me," I apologized, handing him the vial.
"No, it was my mistake. Hm, those reflexes...quite impressive. You are a lapdog, correct? I ask you your name, boy," He inquired, staring at me with those piercing eyes.
"Of course, sir...it's Imsret Seinonm."
He nodded and turned around, inspecting the vials. Oh, guess that's my cue to fall back. I cautiously made my way back, standing behind the doctor. Hope that hadn't made him suspicious...no, it looked like he was too nervous to pay attention to me.
"Can we hurry this along, I do not have all day! Bring out the test subject!" Snapped Hacte impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.
"Patience is a virtue, Hacte, you would do well to remember that," Said Sicario with a look of irritation, as a couple of the other researchers rolled in an operating table, with a person restrained on it.
Huh, looks like he didn't like Hacte very much. Come to think of it, when I met that Rion guy and mentioned Hacte, he didn't look very happy either.
"Oh, shut it," He responded with a frown.
They then propped up the operating table, as Sicario walked over with one of the vials. He picked up a syringe and filled it with the serum, before moving the needle towards the restrained man's neck.
Huh, that guy looks a bit familiar, who is h-...my eyes widened with recognition as it clicked. His arms and torso were skinny, he appeared to be completely broken at first glance, but his eyes showed a faint flicker of life and determination. His hair was long and frayed, as was his beard. He had scars all over his torso, and his legs were broken. I could hardly believe it, but there was no mistaking that shade of golden hair, and as I looked closer, I had no doubt about it...that was King Aurich Goldway.
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