System Mission: Seduce the Final Boss [BL]

Blake was currently... sitting together with everyone.

’Wha the... how did I even end up here?’

His fingers drummed lightly against the wooden table as he stared blankly ahead.

Yesterday’s conversation with Myles refused to leave his head.

The confession that wasn’t really a confession.

The goal that wouldn’t change.

The embrace.

The almost-admission.

It all kept replaying, over and over.

As a result, he hadn’t slept, not even a little, really.

...

The previous night had been miserable.

Blake had laid beneath the blanket, eyes squeezed shut, desperately trying to force himself unconscious.

He turned to the left side, then the right side, on his back, stomach, then left again.

The pillow had become warm, he flipped it.

Five minutes later it was warm again, so he had to flip it once more.

Two whole hours were passed like that, with his eyes closed without opening them once.

His brain simply refused to stop thinking.

"It might."

"I can’t abandon my goal."

"...Agh..."

Blake buried his face into the pillow.

At some point, he genuinely considered knocking himself unconscious.

’If I slam my head against the wall, I’d probably faint, that’s technically sleeping.’

He frowned.

’Actually that’s a terrible idea, Myles would scold me so bad, I don’t want to hear it!’

Click.

Blake instantly froze.

His body stopped moving altogether.

Slow footsteps followed.

Without opening his eyes, he already knew who it was.

Myles.

For reasons he already knew, that only made everything more embarrassing.

The bed dipped slightly.

Myles sat beside him without saying anything.

Then, a large hand gently rested against Blake’s back.

Slowly, he began rubbing small circles between his shoulder blades.

He clearly knew Blake wasn’t asleep, yet he didn’t call him out.

He just continued rubbing his back with steady, patient movements.

Blake felt every ounce of tension he’d been carrying slowly melt away.

"..."

His breathing steadied.

His thoughts finally slowed.

Before he even realized it, darkness finally swallowed him.

...

The next time he opened his eyes, morning light filtered through the curtains.

"...Huh..."

His head felt much lighter.

On the bedside table sat breakfast.

Fresh bread and a small jar of jam.

Tea that was still pleasantly warm.

"..."

Blake smiled faintly.

"Thanks, whoever brought it here..."

Even though nobody was there to hear him.

Breakfast didn’t take long. Afterward, there was nothing to do, again.

No books.

No phone.

No television.

No conversation.

Just, the ceiling, so he stared at it for ten minutes, then twenty, then an hour.

Eventually it was two.

"I can’t do this anymore."

The silence had started becoming oppressive.

Yesterday he’d wanted to be alone.

Today, being alone felt awful.

Carefully, Blake grabbed his cane and pushed himself upright.

His ankles still protested.

Every step sent dull aches through both legs.

Still, he somehow managed.

Slowly making his way toward the bedroom door.

"..."

He reached for the handle.

Click.

"It isn’t locked?"

That surprised him more than anything.

He hesitated for a second before carefully stepping outside.

The hallway was quiet.

Following the faint sounds of conversation, he eventually reached the central room.

Everyone was there, except Myles.

They weren’t even eating together properly.

Tania sat cross-legged on the floor with a bowl resting on her lap.

Alexis occupied almost the entire couch, lazily typing away on a laptop balanced against one knee while occasionally stuffing food into his mouth.

Zlatan sat far from the dining table, legs crossed elegantly, reading an unusually thick book while absentmindedly eating.

Estelle faced three computer monitors, breakfast beside her keyboard as lines of data scrolled endlessly across the screens.

No one seemed particularly social.

No one even looked surprised when Blake appeared.

"What do you want?" Alexis asked flatly without looking away from his laptop.

Blake scratched the back of his head.

"I... didn’t really want to stay alone in the room."

"Then Myles isn’t here. Go back."

Before Blake could answer...

"Oh, ignore him."

Estelle finally looked over.

"You don’t have to ask permission to sit here."

She smiled.

"Come on."

Blake’s shoulders relaxed.

"...Thanks."

Using the cane, he slowly reached the table and lowered himself into a chair.

"..."

There was a television mounted on the wall.

He looked at it, then back at everyone.

Nobody seemed particularly interested in talking.

Zlatan quietly turned another page.

Alexis typed.

Tania stared into space as though contemplating absolutely nothing.

Estelle continued working.

"..."

Maybe turning the TV on would bother them.

He decided against asking.

Instead, he leaned against the table.

"..."

His eyes drifted toward Zlatan’s book.

"What are you reading?"

Zlatan looked up pleasantly.

"Oh?"

He closed the book enough to reveal the cover.

"A behavioral study on parasitic wasps."

Blake blinked.

"...Parasitic wasps?"

"Yes. They’re fascinating creatures."

Zlatan smiled warmly.

"Did you know certain species lay their eggs inside living caterpillars? The larvae deliberately avoid consuming the organs necessary for survival until they’re fully developed."

He sounded genuinely delighted.

"The host continues living while slowly becoming nourishment."

"..."

"..."

Blake stared.

"...That’s kinda creepy."

"I know."

Zlatan smiled even brighter.

"Isn’t nature beautiful?"

"..."

Blake suddenly understood why this man and Myles didn’t get along.

"Ah..."

An awkward silence followed.

Zlatan noticed immediately.

He gently set the book down.

"What were you actually thinking about?"

Blake looked away.

"...Nothing much, I’m just organizing my thoughts."

"For what?"

"What I’ll say next."

Zlatan rested his cheek against one hand.

"Myles doesn’t necessarily have to be present whenever strategies are discussed."

Blake laughed quietly.

"No, he does, there are things I can only explain if he’s here."

"I see."

Zlatan smiled again.

"If you’re simply looking for a distraction..."

He picked up the remote.

"We can watch television."

Blake glanced toward everyone else.

"...Is that alright?"

Nobody objected.

"It’s fine," Zlatan answered before pressing the power button.

The news immediately filled the room.

"...and moving on to today’s economic—"

Routine stories.

Traffic.

Weather.

Politics.

Blake barely listened.

"...Returning now to the mysterious incident in the Trincilda mountain region."

The anchor’s professional voice became more serious.

"We have now received official confirmation that a significant portion of the criminal organization known as RENARTEN has been completely destroyed."

Photographs appeared on-screen.

Collapsed structures.

Smoke.

Emergency personnel.

"The organization’s leader, Renar Durchdenwald, alongside several high-ranking members including Morin Stlina, has been confirmed deceased."

Blake stared.

"It is currently unknown who was responsible for the attack. Authorities have yet to identify any individuals connected to the incident."

"However, considering RENARTEN’s long history of terrorism, illegal trafficking, and attacks against civilians and government facilities..."

"The nation extends its sincere gratitude toward whoever prevented further casualties."

Blake grimaced.

"..."

They don’t even know.

He reached over.

Click.

The television went dark.

’I’m not really in the mood for this shit.’

Nobody complained.

Blake turned back toward Zlatan.

"So, did you actually gain anything useful from wiping out RENARTEN?"

Zlatan nodded.

"Potentially."

He pointed toward Estelle.

"She’s tracking the remaining members."

Without turning around, Estelle raised one finger to acknowledge him.

"RENARTEN existed for many years. They attacked numerous underground AL-TECH facilities. We don’t know every location but they likely possessed far more complete blueprints than the ones you brought."

Blake nodded slowly.

"That makes sense..."

Then, something resurfaced in his memory.

He frowned.

"Can I ask something?"

Zlatan gestured for him to continue.

"Do you know anyone who can amplify their voice enormously, and give people orders with it?"

That caught everyone’s attention.

Even Tania looked over.

She quietly stood before taking the empty chair beside Blake.

"If the voice itself compels obedience, then you’re likely describing someone with neurological interference."

Blake tilted his head.

Tania folded her hands.

"My perception extends beyond ordinary sensory processing. Rather than directly controlling someone’s mind, a person with similar capabilities could temporarily influence how another brain prioritizes external commands. In simple terms, they make a command feel overwhelmingly important."

"So, you can control people?"

"Not exactly. I can perceive and interact with certain cognitive patterns, but a stronger specialist could manipulate them."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"Where did you encounter someone like that?"

"...a-exp."

Everyone became still.

"They were infiltrating too. We ran into each other underground and he suddenly shouted..."

Blake instinctively rubbed one ear.

"My eardrums were damaged. It wasn’t permanent at least. But my ears rang for hours, it was annoying."

Alexis finally closed his laptop.

"...How’d he give the order?"

Blake frowned while remembering.

"He didn’t say anything strange. It sounded normal. Just really onfident, actually no, arrogant. Like he expected me to obey immediately and forget about everything."

Zlatan nodded thoughtfully.

"That tracks. Individuals capable of affecting cognition are exceptionally rare, even possessing altered genetics doesn’t guarantee that specialization."

He leaned forward slightly.

"Were you wearing auditory protection? I imagine both the sound pressure and the command itself would’ve been dangerous, you’re lucky to even hear in general."

Blake nodded.

"I... had something protecting my hearing."

He deliberately kept it vague.

The defensive system buff definitely wasn’t something he could explain.

"Hm."

Zlatan accepted the answer without pressing further.

Blake continued.

"Anyway, right after I escaped, I got attacked because that guy was discovered. The soldiers assumed I was working with him, they even started that whole M.O.S.A.I.C. bullishit because of it."

Estelle finally spun her chair away from the computers.

She crossed one leg over the other.

"Were you really every single one of those people they showed on TV?"

"...Yeah."

Silence settled across the room once again.

Everyone quietly reconsidered just how many times Blake had slipped through the world’s most secure facilities without anyone realizing it.

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