Furious Glare and Regret

“…It would be difficult.”

Faced with that furious glare that seemed to demand an answer, that was all I could say.

Regret washed over me, wondering if I had touched an overly sensitive nerve by trusting in my petty amateur psychology.

I was honestly a bit intimidated by the ominous aura that felt like he might attack me at any moment, but the Ascetic soon slumped his shoulders and let out a deep sigh.

He still had his reason, and he knew that I wasn’t the true target he should be angry at.

“You must know by now. I came from the Quarantine Zone, across the barrier that divides the city.”

He said this while chewing and swallowing his cocktail as if swallowing his boiling anger.

“Medical Megacorp, developing a cure… it’s all fine. It’s a good thing. But where do you think they developed that cure? To catch a rhino, you must grab its horn, and to get honey, you must poke the beehive. Where would be the most suitable research site for the End Pandemic Virus?”

“The Quarantine Zone…”

“Correct. It is only the Quarantine Zone, the outbreak site of the virus. I watched the process of that thing being made with my own two eyes. If that were truly a flawless cure, everyone could have been saved by their hands instead of being locked away. But there is no such thing as salvation in this world.”...