Chapter 81: The Mouse and the Scientist Part 2

Amon accepted the proposal of a man and a hamster he bumped into on the street.

The two led him to a house that also served as a scientist’s laboratory.

The house was a small, cramped studio, resembling the average living space of Paris’s poor.

There, Amon and Sonia sat at the dining table, waiting.

Soon, the scientist placed a steaming pot on the table.

“This isn’t much, but I hope you’ll enjoy it,” said the man with the hamster perched on his shoulder.

To be precise, it was Moiré, the hamster, speaking through the mouth of his assistant, Dante.

This peculiar scientist duo went by the name Henri Moiré & Dante.

The hamster was Moiré, and the human was Dante.

Amon stared silently at the ratatouille placed on the table by Dante.

Seeing this, the hamster spoke.

“Do you not like eggplant?”

“No, that’s not it,” Amon replied, gazing at the vegetable tomato stew—also known as ratatouille.

He felt a strange emotion.

Amon decided to push aside any hesitation and voice the question he had kept in his heart.

“Did you make this, Doctor?”

“Doctor? Are you calling me Doctor?”

“Yes. Is there anyone else here who deserves to be called Doctor?”

“Doctor! Haha! Doctor, you say!”

The hamster squeaked joyfully, and the man conveyed his happiness in words.

Realizing he had been asked a question, the hamster regained his composure.

“Ah, apologies. It’s been centuries since someone called me Doctor upon first meeting me. Everyone usually calls me Hamster or Teacher. Well, I don’t technically have a degree, so it’s not wrong!”

“Doctor.”

“Alright, Dante. You don’t need to nag me about being polite in front of guests. Anyway, what was your question again?”

Amon, who had been marveling at the two voices emerging from one mouth, chuckled softly and repeated his question.

“This ratatouille—did you make it, Doctor?”

“Sadly, no. While I’m multi-talented, I don’t allocate my brain capacity to inefficient activities like cooking! That’s my assistant Dante’s domain! But I guarantee the taste! His home-cooked meals surpass those of star chefs!”

Amon looked slightly disappointed upon hearing this.

Then, he took a bite of the food and remarked, “This is delicious. I never imagined you could make such flavors with these ingredients.”

“Right? This guy has centuries of experience in household chores! Ask him for anything related to home cooking! He could even make scones out of cardboard biscuits!”

“Isn’t that alchemy?”

“Cooking inherently applies the principles of alchemy!”

“I see. I’d like to learn it someday.”

“If you’d like, you can take a recipe book written by my assistant.”

“Really, Doctor?”

“Of course! A polite young man like you deserves it!”

Amon and the hamster got along like old friends.

The only one struggling to keep up with the situation was Sonia.

She whispered to Amon, unable to hide her confusion.

“Do you know him?”

“No.”

“Then how are you two…”

“I’m just good at making friends.”

Amon smiled brightly.

To be exact, he was using his knowledge from a past life to flatter Moiré.

The doctor was a beloved character who had appeared in Punk City 1 since its inception.

Saying what such a character wanted to hear wasn’t difficult.

Just calling him “Doctor” upon first meeting and treating the hamster with respect like a scholar was enough to maintain a good relationship.

Knowing this well, Amon never underestimated the hamster.

The hamster, sensing Amon’s attitude, felt a vague sense of affection for him.

Amon concealed everything with a smile and his amiable nature.

As appearances often justified actions, Sonia reluctantly accepted the situation.

Despite her lingering unease, she picked up her fork.

That unease disappeared with a single bite of ratatouille.

After finishing the satisfying meal, their stomachs full, they began discussing the main topic.

“I assume you both know why I invited you here?”

“It’s about divine energy, right?”

Amon didn’t bother hiding the truth.

For one, he had become more comfortable with his life, enough to reveal it to Sonia’s school.

And he knew the doctor wouldn’t exploit it.

After all, psychological games wouldn’t work on someone who had lived for nearly a thousand years.

The doctor nodded, as if he had expected this response.

“Exactly. Speaking of which…”

The doctor placed an ampoule on the table and said, “I’ve created a serum that increases the density of divine energy. I happen to need clinical trials for it.”

Hearing the term “divine energy density,” Amon tilted his head in confusion.

He had heard about it from Sonia’s friend before but understood little beyond “the higher, the better.”

In contrast, Sonia, who fully grasped the term’s significance, lit up with excitement.

“Really?! If this is true, it’s nothing short of revolutionary!”

Sonia reacted as though she had stumbled upon a life-changing opportunity.

She seriously considered participating in the experiment.

But Amon calmed her down.

“Let’s hear about the side effects first.”

Only then did she regain her composure, though her excitement over the potential remained.

‘Why is density so important?’

Amon, who didn’t grasp its value, remained indifferent.

Turning his attention from Sonia, he stared sharply at the doctor.

“You’re not planning to gloss over the risks, are you?”

“Of course not! I have my pride as a doctor! Don’t compare me to those quacks out there!”

The man bellowed in a deep voice, expressing the hamster’s indignation.

The assistant nodded in agreement before switching back to his “translator” mode.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t proceed without fully explaining the side effects. I haven’t lived a thousand years in vain!”

The hamster shrugged (or so it seemed) and continued explaining.

“To clarify, this serum increases divine energy density simply by injection. However, the side effect is…”

Gulp.

Sonia swallowed dryly.

‘What could the side effect be?’

‘A loss of magical power? Muscle atrophy? Perhaps a weakened immune system?’

‘But if it could increase density…’

“It converts divine energy into fat—specifically, belly fat,” the doctor explained.

The method involved storing divine energy in physical fat, thereby increasing its density.

Hearing this, Sonia flatly refused.

“No way.”

For a woman, weight was a serious matter.

Following Sonia, Amon also declined without hesitation.

“If I used it, I’d have to roll around to get anywhere.”

Given Amon’s unusually high divine energy, it was unclear how much would convert to fat.

He might even die from the shock.

The doctor, dejected, put the serum away.

Then, perking up, he addressed Amon.

“Well, can I ask you for a favor, then?”

“I’ll hear you out first.”

“I’m out of sunflower seeds. Normally, my assistant handles this, but he forgot today! The store’s about to close. I was hoping you and the young lady could accompany me to the store.”

“What’s the payment?”

“Choose either money or one of my research papers.”

“I’ll take the research paper, please.”

“From the moment I met you, I felt you truly understood my value.”

Amon simply smiled.

The hamster leaped down from the assistant’s shoulder and approached Sonia.

She carefully picked up the hamster, petted it once, and placed it into her pocket.

Then, looking at Amon, she said, “Shall we go?”

At that moment, the assistant stopped Amon.

“You mentioned needing a recipe book earlier, didn’t you? While Ms. Sonia accompanies the Doctor, I could teach you the secret sauce recipe. It’ll save time.”

Amon exchanged glances with the assistant before nodding.

“Go ahead with the Doctor, Sonia. I’ll stay here and learn the recipe from the assistant.”

Sonia wasn’t naive.

She noticed the subtle exchange of glances between Amon and the assistant.

However, she respected her partner’s independence.

‘We promised that day.’

The day Amon single-handedly cleared a dungeon and defeated the boss, he made her a promise.

If he ever needed her help, he would let her know.

In other words, if he was intentionally sending her away, he had a good reason.

At the very least, it wasn’t because he didn’t trust her.

With a cheerful nod, she replied, “Alright, I’ll go.”

Carrying the plump hamster in her pocket, Sonia dashed off.

After sending Sonia away, Amon gave a wry smile.

‘Thanks as always.’

He understood her thoughtful gesture.

Amon silently vowed to repay her with affection that surpassed his growing sense of indebtedness.

The assistant watched him before speaking.

“You make a fitting pair.”

“Thank you.”

“Then, with Ms. Sonia’s kind consideration, I’ll get straight to the point.”

Clearing his throat, the assistant entered “Doctor mode” and began.

***

“Young man, I’ve been observing you for a while, and there’s something unusual about you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The young lady seems… ordinary. Ah, I suppose it’s not fair to call any divine power holder ‘ordinary,’ but still, she seems typical. You, however…”

“You can call me Amon.”

“Amon, you’re different from the usual divine power holders.”

“What exactly do you mean?”

The Doctor lowered his voice as he continued.

“Sadin. Stop pretending in front of me.”

His eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Henri Moiré and Dante were both a hamster and a human.

At the same time, they were also a human and a hamster.

This meant the two shared the same consciousness and memories.

The hamster was undoubtedly the Doctor, and the human was the assistant.

Yet they existed as a kind of symbiotic entity, much like conjoined twins—if one perished, so would the other.

How they ended up this way was never revealed in the game.

However, there was a popular theory in the community.

***

[In the final battle of Punk City 1, weren’t they in the same city as the protagonist? Maybe something happened when the final boss died, exposing them to divine energy?]

The Doctor had been a character in Punk City 1 from the beginning.

Back then, the hamster only squeaked, and the human would translate its meaning.

“According to the Doctor, this is what he thinks.”

That was how their dynamic was portrayed.

However, by the time of Punk City 2, centuries later, the hamster’s consciousness seemed to inhabit the human entirely.

This theory not only explained their longevity but also their peculiar state and was widely accepted in the community.

‘Yes, just like now.’

The assistant didn’t need to stay near the hamster.

Even if they were on opposite sides of the Earth, they would still share the same consciousness.

As Sonia left with the Doctor, there was no issue with Amon interacting with them separately.

Amon, reflecting on this, silently observed Moiré & Dante.

The hamster Doctor, seemingly interpreting Amon’s silence, pleaded earnestly.

“Sadin! It’s you, isn’t it?! Please say it’s true!”

Amon had a sense of who they meant.

In Punk City 2 and 3, if the protagonist reached 100 affection with the Doctor, this conversation would occur.

The Doctor would suddenly ask the protagonist the same question.

In response, the protagonist would always reply:

• “Sorry, you’ve got the wrong person.”
• “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Amon, too, followed suit.

“I’m sorry, Doctor. I’m not the person you’re looking for.”

The Doctor visibly showed his disappointment, as did the assistant.

With a somber expression, the Doctor uttered a familiar line.

“My apologies. I assumed so, seeing your divine energy. You must be… a successor.”

Amon silently nodded.

Successor.

The Doctor always described the protagonist this way.

Since being referred to as a successor was a prerequisite for the true ending, Amon was familiar with the term.

The Doctor, with a faint bitterness, continued.

“If you’re a successor, you must have no parents. You were likely summoned to this world as an infant, correct?”

Amon nodded again.

“You must also know me.”

Another nod.

“What does it feel like to inherit someone else’s memories?”

Amon shrugged.

Even if he inherited memories, they were only what he experienced through a monitor.

To clarify, Amon had no secrets in his previous life—or the life before that, as confirmed by the goddess.

Therefore, he was entirely different from the “Sadin” the Doctor sought.

The Doctor already understood this fact.

Eventually, the Doctor murmured to himself.

“I see… That makes sense.”

Twisting his lips into a faint smile, he asked Amon, “Is the world about to change again?”

“Most likely.”

“I see. Very well.”

The Doctor sighed and stood up.

“Yes, I understand… It’s inevitable.”

Watching the middle-aged man mutter to himself left Amon feeling unsettled.

The Doctor’s questions would usually end here—in the game, at least.

However, what followed made Amon realize this was reality.

“You. What are you planning?”

“I don’t know about others, but I can tell. You’re preparing to die, aren’t you?”

Amon was startled.

‘How did he know?’

The Doctor gave a bitter smile.

“I know because I went through the same thing to be reborn.”

“… Please keep this from Sonia.”

“There’s no need to stir trouble over something you’ll recover from. Consider it kept secret.”

“Thank you.”

“Take this.”

The Doctor handed him a vial containing a purple liquid.

Amon instantly recognized it.

“This is…”

“You’ll need it to be reborn. Even if you already have one, it’s better to have a spare.”

Amon carefully placed the vial into his inner pocket.

He bowed his head toward the Doctor.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. If anything, I should be grateful you’ve bothered to engage with a relic like me.”

The Doctor waved dismissively.

Eventually, the Doctor looked in the direction Sonia had gone.

“I think the young lady will be back in about three minutes. She’s very fast.”

It was a statement he could make because of his shared consciousness with the hamster.

The Doctor decided to transfer his consciousness to the assistant for those three minutes to share the secret seasoning recipe.

“At the very least, I should make it look like I’m trying.”

At that moment, Amon spoke to the Doctor.

“Doctor, I am not Sadin.”

“I know.”

“But…”

Amon paused.

There was something he had always wanted to say whenever he saw the Doctor in this state in the game.

A line that could only come to mind for those who deeply understood the story and lore, so much so that they could propose the definitive theory about the Doctor’s condition.

It was a line so famous that players had begged for it to be added as a choice in the game.

It was eventually included as an option in a mod.

Amon cleared his throat and said what he could never say before.

“Sadin would have wanted to tell you this before ascending.”

He paused, then recited the words.

“The warm memories you shared during the arduous journey were undoubtedly the ‘light’ you were searching for.”

“So let go of the guilt that you killed me, old friend.”

The Doctor’s and the assistant’s eyes brimmed with tears.

Amon pondered why the Doctor sought Sadin so desperately.

‘Why had he spent a thousand years creating all sorts of strange potions, making the protagonist’s journey so spectacular?’

‘Perhaps he had blamed the protagonist’s death on the side effects of his potions during the climactic battle in Punk City 1.’

‘Perhaps he had denied the protagonist’s death for centuries, holding onto hope that one day they would return to him.’

‘Or maybe he had desperately wished for closure, whether through solace or vengeance.’

Amon could not know for sure.

Only the Doctor himself could truly know.

But looking at the Doctor’s expression, Amon felt he had a sense of it.

“Thank you, Sadin.”

“I am not Sadin, Doctor.”

“I know. Sadin isn’t a name—it’s a title.”

“That’s news to me.”

“Of course. I made it up myself.”

Amon filed away this new piece of knowledge.

Not long after, Sonia returned.

She was accompanied by the hamster, who was happily munching on sunflower seeds.

For some reason, the hamster’s cheeks seemed wet, but Amon pretended not to notice.

“You’re back, Sonia?”

Amon greeted her with a smile.

“The assistant taught me a lot. I’ll make something for you when we get home.”

Sonia, noticing something, smiled back for now.

And so, everyone in the room smiled.

Though each smile seemed to hide something, ironically, they were all genuine.