I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Alice thought about it carefully for a while, and then gave her evaluation.

"That sounds disgusting."

"That's it."

Shinji Kitahara shrugged, thinking to himself that he should be able to get through the rest of the time smoothly now.

But before he could even enjoy his happiness for a few seconds, Alice's voice rang out again.

"Hey guinea pig, have you ever thought about turning me into the kind of easy-going thing you want?"

As she spoke, she moved closer to him, her red eyes flashing with seriousness.

"If you do as I just said and make me yours, you can easily control me, and not only my actions, but also my mind through the aid of drugs..."

"Besides, I've caused you so much trouble all this time, don't you want to punish this 'bad kid' a little? And after the punishment, you can use those things to gradually educate me and turn me into the kind of 'good kid' you want..."

This time, Shinji Kitahara didn't panic. He calmly glanced at her sideways.

"You asked me before if I could do accounting, and now I want to ask you the same question."

“…Huh?” Alice was taken aback.

"Just like you said, you tell me your weaknesses and vulnerabilities so I can use them to threaten you—but then what?"

As he spoke, Shinji Kitahara stretched out his hand and started counting on his fingers one by one for her.

"I don't believe you'll obediently listen. There will definitely be resistance, and I'll have to outsmart you every day, scheming and plotting against you, preventing you from doing this or that, making regular plans, watching out for you to concoct potions and cheat me, and figuring out how to keep it from the academy..."

"But look at me now, I clock in and out, and slack off after work. Apart from the necessary tasks, I can do whatever I want. If I really did what you said, it would just create a whole bunch of troubles and ruin the wonderful life I have now. It would be a losing proposition..."

After rambling on for about a minute, Kitahara Shinji finally stopped his analysis and looked at her.

"So you see, this thing is a complete loss for me, but if you can become a 'good boy,' you'll be the ultimate beneficiary—so why would I do this?"

Alice's smile gradually became subtle.

Although she felt that what Kitahara Shinji said seemed to make sense, why was she feeling a surge of anger...?

"Ah, right."

He spoke again.

"Speaking of which, if you're willing, tell me where you usually hide your medicine now, so it'll be easier to search you before you go out in the future."

If it were just now, Alice would definitely have said it, but now...

"No."

She smiled and declined his request.

When she refused, Shinji Kitahara was not surprised at all and shrugged.

He knew it; no matter how much he liked her, this woman wouldn't actually do what he just said. She was probably just joking with him.

If he agrees, or even just shows the slightest interest, she'd probably immediately pull out a voice recorder or a hidden camera, and say with a smile, "Guinea Pig, you don't want others to see this, do you?"

However, despite this, he did not doubt Alice's claim that pleasure could turn into affection.

Even if what she just said was a joke, it was still a bit too much by the standards of a joke, and her previous behavior was indeed not something that Alice would do in her normal state.

It just seems the conversion rate is a bit low. He used half his strength, but he still couldn't suppress her urge to force-feed him the drug...

Wait a minute, now that I think about it, just how obsessed is she with taking drugs?!

Just as he was thinking this, Alice, who was standing next to him, moved again.

A few seconds after refusing, she looked at Shinji Kitahara's helpless face and suddenly felt the urge to continue teasing him.

She changed direction, stretched out her body, and then put her legs in Shinji Kitahara's arms, her little toes moving restlessly, playful yet alluring.

Shinji Kitahara's eyelids twitched: "What are you planning now?"

"Continue with the nursing care."

Alice looked completely at ease.

"Otherwise, I probably won't be able to hold on until the effects of the medicine wear off, so it's better to finish it now, right?"

"But that side effect isn't..."

"I like you, Guinea Pig."

She stared at him, the line between falsehood and truth in her heart blurred.

"Right now, I don't want to think about anything else except that I like you."

"So, even if things have gotten this bad, how much worse can they get?"

Bullshit! You were just trying to force-feed me medicine!

Shinji Kitahara thought to himself, then rejected her suggestion.

Just kidding, things are already like this, who knows if squeezing it any further will cause any other unexpected problems.

If, while kneading him, she crosses a certain line and actually molds Alice's feelings for him into a fixed state, then that would be a really big problem.

Elizabeth knew his concerns and did not insist, but she also did not intend to move her leg away.

Although Guinea Pig said he didn't dislike her, she still wanted to show him the side of her that he liked.

Having clarified her feelings, what she now wants is no longer just to avoid being disliked and abandoned.

"But there's not much time left..."

She whispered.

More than thirty minutes had passed, and she could clearly feel the false, inflated love in her heart rapidly diminishing and fading, while the lingering irritation on her body was becoming increasingly noticeable.

And more importantly, what will happen to 'her' after the effects of the drug wear off?

It will probably just disappear.

Ultimately, although 'she' is also Eliseko, she is mostly composed of that false, inflated love.

Once that false love vanishes into nothingness, she, having lost her support, will naturally disappear as well.

This is normal; she had expected it.

The problem is, no matter how much she anticipated it, when she truly felt the love waning and her own self gradually fading away...

As the false emotional support crumbled, feelings of unease and panic began to spread.

"what happened?"

Shinji Kitahara noticed her unusual behavior.

She didn't answer, she just pursed her lips.

She was merely a product of an accident, and her existence was built upon false emotions, so it's normal, even expected, for her to disappear.

Reason reminded her that this was just the effect of the drug wearing off and her returning to normal, but the unease and fear in her heart continued to grow.

I don't want to disappear, I don't want to admit my falsehood, I don't want to be separated from Guinea Pig...

She clearly likes Guinea Pig more now, she clearly wants to please Guinea Pig more now, so why is she fake? Why does she have to disappear...?

The rate of decline was accelerating, and the defenses of reason began to crumble.

His hands clenched unconsciously, his knuckles turned white, and the smile on his face disappeared, leaving only the most primal fear stemming from his biological instincts.

The excessive unusual behavior could not be concealed by Shinji Kitahara's observation, and under his earnest questioning, he saw the worry in his eyes.

Her body trembled slightly, and her last shred of rationality vanished. She couldn't help but describe her feelings to him, slowly releasing her inner fear.

"I love you, Guinea Pig. I want to be with you. I don't want to disappear. Don't forget me..."

She kept her head down, not daring to let him see the ugly state she was in, distorted by unease and fear.

Because this might be her last, she didn't want to leave him with an ugly ending.

Fear, sobbing, tears.

Faced with this situation, Shinji Kitahara didn't know how to comfort her.

After all, as she said, she was a product of the drug's side effects, a result of Alice's mind being distorted by external forces.

It's just a matter of returning to normal now, which is a good thing for both him and her.

but......

He reached out and hugged her, gently patting her back.

"Don't worry, you are Suzi, you won't disappear, and I won't forget you either—in fact, given your performance just now, I can't forget you even if I wanted to."

For beings born from falsehood, falsehood itself is their reality.

She was fake, and her love was fake too.

But for her, this love was genuine.

He knew that this behavior was somewhat inappropriate, and he also knew that it would be awkward to wait until Alice returned to normal.

But that's exactly what he wanted to do.

Forty minutes is nothing in the grand scheme of things, barely enough for a nap.

But for 'her', these forty minutes represent 'her' entire life from birth to the present, 'her' complete life.

So, even though he knew she was just a figment of his imagination, and even though he didn't love her, he wanted to give her a relatively gentle ending in these final moments.

She accepted.

The false love in her heart faded away more and more quickly, and large gaps began to appear. Her existence began to collapse like a building without support.

Despite this, accompanied by his comforting words and feeling the warmth that enveloped her, her fear of annihilation suddenly lessened, and even a sense of peace began to emerge.

If a false expression of love receives a genuine response, then it gains a real meaning in its existence.

Moreover, it is a fact that she is dying out.

But at the same time, with the demise of her illusory existence, something real began to grow.

The collapsed illusion fell to the ground, then was attracted by the real buds, which became nutrients for their growth and soon evolved into small tree trunks.

Perhaps because the nutrients are fake, the small tree trunk still looks somewhat illusory.

But it's okay.

Although the false love in my heart has almost completely dissipated, my very existence has been shattered.

But in that warm embrace, she still raised her head, supported by something, and completed the final piece of the puzzle for the illusory tree trunk.

"I like you, Guinea Pig."

Despite the tear stains still clinging to her face, she managed to force a smile similar to her usual one.

Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck and forcefully pulled him towards her.

So, don't forget me!

Accompanied by words filled with nostalgia and reluctance, the last shred of false support collapsed.

I really want to stay by your side, but I'm just a fake existence. Even if I stay, you probably won't accept me.

Since that's the case, please let me leave behind a little bit of truth before I leave, as a final act of willfulness.

So, she raised her head.

The next instant, with the complete collapse of the false love in her heart, she also vanished completely.

Only Alice, who had finally returned to normal, was left, looking at the face so close to hers, feeling the warm touch on her lips.

My mind goes blank.

Chapter 87: If I say no, will you believe me?

Although there were a few minor hiccups, the first day of care went smoothly.

Shinji Kitahara still remembered what had happened before, but he didn't dwell on it too much.

Because it's obvious that this was simply an accident caused by a problem with the Alice experiment, except that in the past the victims were others, but this time it was herself.

As for her previous claim of liking someone, it was nothing more than a false existence born from the side effects of the drug; Shinji Kitahara wasn't foolish enough to take it seriously.

And let alone caring, after Alice recovered, he even scolded her while finishing the rest of her care, and then left with Eclipse.