I Became the Childhood Friend of a D*ug Dealer

Medicine.

That’s right.

Medicine.

Using medicine is good.

Happy.

There are many ways to be happy.

I can fall into fantasy.

In fact, the fantasy that I am a happy person.

What if being trapped in this white room is just a dream, and I’m happily living at home with my family?

Playing outside with friends is fun.

When I dream, I end up trapped in a strange white room.

That’s how it is.

I was playing.

I was playing with my best friend.

Happily.

Just thinking about what to play is fun.

It was a playground.

We were playing in an abandoned playground.

The slide and swings were rusty but usable.

Then, in the next moment, my arm was smashed.

It was not a playground, but a strange operating room.

They say they are going to conduct an experiment.

They inject me with medicine, claiming they are measuring my recovery ability.

Medicine.

Then, it’s back to the playground.

I’m playing in the playground.

It’s just a bad nightmare.

We are each other’s only friends.

The only ones we can rely on are each other.

So it’s nice to be together.

I don’t know what will happen in the future.

But as long as we are together, everything is good.

The future looks bright.

Again, in the next moment, I can’t see anything.

What have they done to my eyes?

Even if I have complaints, I have no choice but to endure them.

There’s nothing I can do.

And after a little while, they inject me with medicine again.

Then, the playground appears again.

I keep having bad dreams, so I’m not feeling good.

So I complain to my friend.

“I had a bad dream.”

“It’s okay. It’s just a dream.”

They comfort me like that.

Right.

It’s a dream.

Still can’t see ahead.

Something feels hot, like it’s burning.

I hear a voice saying I need to use a different medicine.

I wish they’d do it properly.

Whatever it is.

Give me more medicine.

And then I’m back in the playground.

The sky looks beautiful over the playground at sunset.

Even the ruins of the crumbling buildings look beautiful.

No one lives here, and no one manages it.

The population has decreased, and all the living people have gone to the city.

Yet, there are still people here.

I see a fence that says, “The future is a child.”

It seems there used to be a small elementary school before it became ruins.

“If that’s the future, then we are the future.”

“We?”

“Yeah.”

What kind of future is it?

Are we hoping for a good future?

One day, I will grow up to be a great person.

My eyes start to see again.

I shout out, “What do you plan to do by pouring in the concentrate?”

I don’t know what the concentrate is, but it’s probably medicine.

Is what’s flowing down not tears, but drugs?

The medicine pours out again.

I’m having a conversation with my friend.

It’s a peaceful daily life.

“What are you going to do when you grow up?”

“Hmm.”

I’m worried.

What should I become?

“Helping others… something like that.”

That’s what I answer.

I learned that helping others is good.

When I grow up, I should become a good person who helps others.

A good person.

So was I helping others?

They said I could help people through these experiments.

They said I could save many people.

This is a valuable thing.

I need to be a good child.

Then adults will like me.

Look, do you know why we can’t live in the city?

Because the adults dislike us.

Parents, relatives, and everyone else have abandoned us.

You’re the same, right?

“One day, when I become a bit greater…”

Becoming great.

I hope that day comes.

At least I won’t be a burden on others.

I won’t hold people back.

“Maybe…”

That’s how I become a wonderful person.

Become a good person.

“My parents will come back and recognize me.”

I know.

They are dead.

Everyone died already, and that’s why I’m here.

Killed in a monster attack, leaving me alone.

“If I become a truly amazing person, won’t they come find me?”

But you never know.

They may be dead.

But they might not be dead.

Just like how I am not dead yet.

“Store the useful test subject properly.”

I am useful.

I am helping.

I am helping others.

That’s a great thing.

Someday, people will recognize me.

My family will come back to me.

Because I’m a good child.

I’m not a burden on others.

I won’t cause problems.

Don’t abandon me.

Can’t I be with you?

The playground is now getting dark.

But I’m grateful to have family.

I’m really thankful for friends who are like family.

“Where are you?”

I search for my friend.

We’re playing hide and seek.

We agreed to only hide near the playground, but I can’t find them.

“Hey, where are you?”

I can’t find you.

Where did they go?

“Hmph…”

After searching for a long time, I still can’t find them.

Tears come out.

I’m scared.

“Here, here! Sorry.”

That’s why I’m not good at hide and seek.

I cry at the slightest bit of anxiety.

Well, with just the two of us, maybe there weren’t many games to play.

I hated the feeling of being abandoned.

I didn’t want to be abandoned by anyone.

I hated it when close people left.

I hated it when known people turned their backs.

Anyway, I wasn’t abandoned.

I’m a useful test subject.

Even if I’m not anything else, at least I am that.

That’s enough to make my life worthwhile.

I’m living a meaningful life.

By the time I grow up, I’ll surely become a good person.

Indeed.

What kind of person will I become?

I’ll probably live in a nice house, with my family.

I’d be immensely happy.

I wonder if I’d have a lot of friends.

I’m starting to get curious about that friend’s name.

The one I’m really close to.

The one I played with in the playground.

But I can’t remember the name.

It seems I’ve forgotten every single name.

I don’t know why.

“I…”

My friend opens their mouth.

As if they have made a resolution.

“I, I will help others too.”

“I see.”

You want to be a good person too.

I feel the same way.

“And I will protect everyone.”

Protecting?

I don’t know what that means.

That sounds like a really difficult task.

Can I do it?

“I’ll protect you too.”

Protecting everyone.

Then I will too.

“Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“Oh, oh…!”

My legs won’t move.

My legs.

“After about 3 hours, I should be back to normal.”

My legs won’t move.

My legs won’t move.

It hurts; something is wrong.

They said it would be fine after 3 hours.

It feels like a long time has passed.

Looking at the clock, it says 2 hours and 59 minutes remain.

It feels like it’s taking forever.

Still 59 minutes.

Oh, I’ve really endured a long time.

59 minutes.

Still?

But I am a good person.

Sacrifice?

Is that what it is?

Am I sacrificing something to gain something?

Is that a good thing?

“Hehe, hehe, haha…”

Yes! It’s a good thing!

“I feel like I’ve become weird.”

“It was like that from the beginning.”

I’m a good child, right?

I’ve become a good child, right?

Everyone loves me, right?

They won’t abandon me, right?

They’ll protect me, right?

Medicine, a bit of medicine.

Just a little more.

And then I found the medicine.

It was really in the laboratory.

Just as Researcher A told me.

The laboratory was on the fourth floor.

It’s big and spacious enough to hold a massive monster.

“Aha.”

Leaning against the window, I glance outside.

People are fighting.

The monsters have almost all been taken care of.

I spot an awakener killing the monsters.

In the middle of the night, I can’t possibly miss that amount of light.

A messenger of justice.

A hero.

The protagonist.

That person is…

A friend.

Seeing the scene from the laboratory feels all the more special.

It’s spacious.

Last time, I was the one on the experiment table.

This time, it’s not me but the staff over there on the table.

The ones lying on the floor are not me.

Thanks to them, I got a lot of medicine.

Thump.

[345 hours 16 minutes]

Clang.

The syringe falls to the ground.

It made me recall happy memories in fragments, and that felt nice.

But bad memories came back too, but there’s nothing I can do about that.

I tried to be a good person.

But they said they would dispose of me.

Said to throw me in the incineration facility.

Isn’t that just how it is?

I did what they told me to do.

While they wouldn’t last even 30 seconds.

I still don’t understand.

I did something good for them.

Isn’t that being good?

Why didn’t they praise me and instead tried to throw me away?

Twinkle.

Light shines again from beyond the window.

Wow, stars.

I wanted to go star-gazing.

Thump.

[353 hours 53 minutes]

Come to think of it, I did ask to go star-gazing together.

If we go to the rooftop, we can see the stars.

But watching them alone feels lonely.

The light flickers a few more times, then the monsters fall.

I don’t seem to be alone.

The beams of light shot from afar are probably from my companion’s magic.

That’s amazing.

From a distance, it looks grand.

But I wouldn’t want to see it up close.

It looks like they will soon complete subduing the monsters.

I see more rescued people than ones escaping.

I also see people entering this laboratory building.

I hear faint thumping sounds.

Someone is climbing up the building.

“We are the rescue team; you can come out safely!”

That’s what they say.

“What is going on here… There might be monsters inside. Be careful.”

I can hear sounds from the hallway.

It seems they are nearly here.

Thump.

“Haah.”

I feel good.

[361 hours 13 minutes]

This is the last of the medicine I had here.

It’s less than I thought it would be.

Bang!

The rescue team bursts in through the door.

Five armed people.

They seem aghast at the sight inside the laboratory.

There are corpses of monsters and humans scattered everywhere.

I am the only one who is still alive.

It looks like they just found me.

“[Please save me.]”

I said with a smile.

They came to save me.

Who else could they possibly save here?

I am glad someone has come to rescue me now.

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