Editing Unlimited Fafnir:Volume 6 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 2===

I entered the elevator and it descended automatically, opening its doors at the fourth floor underground.

What appeared in front of me was not a corridor but a vast laboratory. I could see Miyazawa Kenya's figure in a lab coat in the center of the room.

"Thank you for coming, Mononobe-kun."

He smiled cordially, still with ruffled hair and stubble around his mouth.

"What exactly do you want, calling me out alone?"

I asked warily.

Kili's words flashed through my mind. This lab's security measures were unusually strict with a majority of areas apparently occupied solely by the director.

This was the fourth floor underground, which was quite deep considering the elevator displayed showed a lowest level of five floors underground. Since there were no other researchers in sight, perhaps this floor was one of the places where only he had access.

"Just as I mentioned earlier, I have a personal favor to ask. I'd like you to assist in my research... A formal request would necessitate reporting the research to Midgard, which would be a tad inconvenient."

"I don't want to assist in that kind of shady research."

I refused readily after hearing his request. As expected, it was nothing good.

"Don't jump to conclusions. This proposal is in your interests too. Before the showdown against Yggdrasil, wouldn't you like to confirm Ether Wind's effects properly?"

"...What do you mean?"

Not hiding my suspicious attitude at all, I stared at his hollow smile.

"Whether the Ether Wind you create can actually cause souls to manifest, I'd like to confirm this. But the most effective verification experiment needs human cadavers. On the other hand, Midgard refuses to assist in or carry out that type of experiment due to concerns about the outside world's perceptions. Hence, my suggestion is: why not test it out secretly here?"

Miyazawa Kenya fluently explained his aim.

"What... Don't tell me—"

Speechless, I looked around the vast laboratory.

"Indeed, there is a cadaver here, but don't think too much about that. All you need to do is release Ether Wind at the specified location and observe the result."

Without any change in expression, he nodded nonchalantly in admission.

True, this was an Asgard lab. It would not be strange to have cadavers for research samples. I had heard that there was a system for transporting unidentified corpses for research use, so it might not be illegal... Probably.

"Risks are very high if you enter a battle without confirming effects first. In the event of failure, not only you but also your teammates will face danger. That isn't something you hope for, right?"

Seeing me in thought, he continued to persuade.

".......Fine."

After some hesitation, I nodded in assent. Although I was reluctant to let him get his way, I did not want to give up on the chance to confirm Ether Wind's effects. On the battlefield, minor differences could mean the difference between life and death. I could not refuse any chance to lower chances of Iris and the girls getting into a crisis, no matter how small.

"Okay, thank you, then let's get started. Come to this side."

Miyazawa Kenya looked delighted and rapidly walked over to the inner side of the lab where there was a partition. He started operating a control panel next to it.

"What's inside?"

I caught up to him and asked. The partition began to open with a heavy sound.

White mist and cold air flowed towards us from the gap.

"You'll know when you see it."

He answered briefly and went inside without waiting for the partition to open completely. I had no choice but to follow. The inside of the partition was like a fridge. The cold air swirling underfoot was making me shiver.

It was quite dark with the only illumination being the lighting shining in from the lab. In the center of the floor, covered with cold white air, there was a metallic rectangular box.

Several tubes extended from the box, connected to devices of unknown purpose, installed on the wall.

"I'd like you to scatter Ether Wind around that coffin."

Miyazawa Kenya pointed at the box in the center of the room.

"Coffin...? So inside that box is—"

"Yes, a cadaver."

He answered simply then urged me with his gaze.

His attitude basically said "I've already said everything that needs explaining."

But the heavy security made me wary.

Was that coffin really containing an ordinary cadaver?

Clearly just a cadaver for experiments, but placed under such heavy security, it did not feel right. If this was a storage for research samples, then having just a single cadaver would be very unnatural.

However, even if I continued to question, he would not give me the answer.

Fictional armament—Siegfried.

Anyway, my only choice was to do it. Generating dark matter, I shaped it into an ornamental gun.

I heard him gulp beside me.

I glanced at him sideways to see him staring at the coffin.

Although I could sense an unusual impression from him, I still pulled the trigger of my fictional armament.

"Ether Bullet."

Pouring in all the dark matter in the fictional armament, I fired the bullet. Siegfried vanished while shooting. The fired bullet transmuted into Ether Wind on the coffin.

The golden particles exploded and covered the coffin's surroundings.

Immediately, a faint outline came into view.

"Wow!!"

Miyazawa Kenya cheered.

Seeing that phenomenon, I held my breath and observed the situation.

The originally ambiguous outline gradually became distinct, to the point of showing a figure.

It seemed like... a woman.

But just as details became discernible, the golden particles rapidly faded. Immediately, the surfacing image also vanished.

Was that... the soul of the person resting in the coffin?

But since I did not know who was lying in the coffin, I turned my gaze to Miyazawa Kenya.

He should know the identity of the one inside the coffin. Given who he was, he should be able to make some sort of judgment even from that kind of outline.

"Haha... Hahahahaha!"

But I was surprised when I saw his face.

With eyes widened, he was in such rapture that his entire body was shaking.

"Ahhh... Rena, Rena... I knew our inferences were correct. Mononobe-kun, could you increase the density of Ether Wind? I'd like to see if it's possible to communicate with the manifested soul!"

"N-No, this is my maximum generating capacity, raising it requires..."

Feeling pressured by his forcefulness, I answered.

"I see... Then I need to enlist other's help—Oh, but that has its difficulties. No, it's fine, thank you. It is enough to confirm the existence of souls for now. I must hurry and finish my research... With that, surely..."

He muttered emphatically while staring at the coffin with fervent eyes.

"Umm, who was the woman just now? You mentioned the name Rena... Is that her name?"

But just as I asked, he suddenly stopped muttering to himself and stared at me darkly.

"—You have no need to know. You ought to be satisfied with verifying the practicality of Ether Wind, right? Things are done here. You may return."

Coldly refusing to answer, he drove me out of the cold room and closed the partition.

"Oh wait, before I head back, I'd like to ask one question. It's not about research."

While he was driving me away to the elevator, I asked a question I had decided a while ago that I must ask no matter what.

"Are you actually uninterested in Ren? If possible... Even for just a moment, could you act like a father to her? Ren is probably just afraid. She doesn't hate you. Even now, she still cherishes her memories of family... So—"

However, he pushed me into the elevator expressionlessly and told me in a calm voice:

"Regrettably, I am very busy and can't fulfill your demands. Thank you for assisting in my research. I might ask for your help again, so I look forward to your cooperation when the time comes."

"Ah—"

Without listening to my answer, he pressed a button from outside and closed the elevator doors. Like how I arrived, the elevator moved automatically.

Although I expected this, it turned out to be a waste of effort after all. I did not feel like he was listening to me at all.

In the end, I did not manage to do anything for Ren. I sighed and looked up the gradually rising floor indicator.

All I could think of was the female figure appearing due to Ether Wind.

Who could that person be?

But no matter how much thought I put into it, I could not know right now. The dissonant unease in my heart did not go away. I pressed my right hand against my left arm's cast—