Chapter 2. That Man’s Name Is No. 6 (1)
“Anyway, have you calmed down a little? I know you’re in a hurry, but you can’t behave like this.”
[The Doctor is correct. You are severely overheated. Calm yourself, ignorant lump of flesh.]
Robert also tried to calm him down.
But this was no time to relax.
“This isn’t the time for that! The people chasing me will be here soon! I get it, so if you want to live, run!”
No. 6 hurriedly explained the situation.
Victoria only looked confused.
“Hm? Why?”
“What do you mean, why?! Do you think Abraxas would just let one of their chimeras escape? There’s a control chip implanted near my brain and spinal nerves! You’ll get dragged into this too!”
Victoria lifted a flask.
“Are you talking about this?”
Inside the flask was a long chip curved like a spine.
There was no doubt.
It was the control chip that had been implanted inside his brain.
“T-That’s...!”
“We took it out while you were sleeping. It would be inconvenient for both of us if you still had something like this inside you.”
Victoria explained it as if it were nothing.
Seryun added a few words.
“It was packed very densely along the cerebral region and spinal cord. The Doctor and I had a bit of trouble removing it.”
No. 6 stared blankly from one face to the other.
He had been told the chip was buried so deeply inside his brain and nerve bundles that removing it would be impossible without tearing out his spine.
Yet these people had simply removed it and were now showing it to him.
“W-Who the hell are you people...?”
No. 6 groaned while clutching his head.
“I already told you. I’m an ordinary person.”
Victoria only smiled brightly.
“Don’t lie! A control chip made by Abraxas can’t be removed that easily!”
Victoria and Robert looked at each other.
“It was easy, though?”
[Correct. It was easy.]
Seryun also joined in.
“I only got dragged into this because I came to deliver kimchi, but removing the chip wasn’t particularly difficult.”
Maybe the thing implanted in his body really had not been that special.
For a moment, No. 6 seriously considered that possibility.
“Anyway, there’s something important I want to tell you.”
Victoria continued excitedly.
“This workshop originally belonged to my mother. Since I came to Korea, I decided to start using it again. But I want to remodel it.”
Then she threw her hands up excitedly.
“I’m going to turn it into an amazing restaurant! I’ve traveled all over the world trying to create food that makes people shout, ‘Delicious!’ the moment they taste it. And this time, I came to Korea!”
No. 6 stared at her in confusion.
“So?”
“So I was looking for a talented chef, and then you suddenly appeared inside my workshop. Do you know what that means?”
“...What?”
“It’s fate! You’re obviously the chef I’ve been looking for!”
Victoria spoke with a deeply moved expression.
Seryun and Robert quietly explained from beside her.
“Please understand. The Doctor has a bit of a young girl’s romantic imagination.”
[In simpler terms, her head is full of flowers.]
At this point, No. 6’s head started to hurt.
Victoria seemed to be a far more troublesome opponent than he had expected.
“Listen. I’m grateful that you removed the chip and treated me, but a chef? I don’t know how to cook.”
“You’re being too modest. You already made something this delicious!”
Victoria presented the lump still sitting inside the pot.
The ingredients had been boiled together until they completely lost their shape, producing a strange smell.
No. 6 stared at it.
“That?”
“The flavor was incredibly intense! You have the talent to become an amazing chef. I’m sure of it!”
Victoria praised him without hesitation.
No. 6 was so dumbfounded that all he could do was laugh.
“Hahahaha...”
Seryun and Robert each muttered after seeing his expression.
“He’s lost it.”
[He has lost it.]
When her persuasion failed, Victoria suddenly asked in a serious tone.
“Do you have anywhere else to go?”
“No.”
Victoria grinned.
“A place to stay?”
“No.”
“Money?”
“...No.”
No. 6 had simply escaped without a plan.
He had not thought any further than that.
Victoria quickly realized this and made him an offer.
“Work at my restaurant and I’ll give you all of those things. What do you think?”
At this point, No. 6 was completely bewildered.
“Why are you so obsessed with me?”
“Because I believe in fateful encounters. That’s how people meet in Korean dramas.”
It was an incredibly simple answer.
It really did seem as if Victoria’s entire mind was filled with a beautiful flower garden.
“I’m not some fated person.”
No. 6 sighed and began explaining who he was.
“My name is No. 6, Number Six. I’m usually called Zeta, ζ. Just as you said, I’m one of the Twelve Archons, anti-personnel chimera biological weapons created by Abraxas.”
“I don’t remember when I became a chimera weapon.”
No. 6 spoke openly.
“When I became conscious, I was already working for Abraxas. Most of my missions involved tracking targets and killing them. That’s also why I was given the ultrasonic monomolecular cutters.”
With an expressionless face, he pulled a dagger from his pocket.
From the moment he had first become conscious, he had been trained to use that weapon like part of his own body.
He had never even counted how many people he had killed with it.
“Then, one day, I suddenly remembered my family.”
No. 6 lowered his head.
“I don’t know why. I don’t even remember their faces. But I clearly remembered that they existed.”
