She had already prepared herself for Jonas to send her on a suicide mission, but his words left her unable to react for a long while.
Put... put this on?
The girl known as the Black Valkyrie looked at the collar in Jonas's hand, her mind struggling to catch up.
She turned her head stiffly, and once she realized what Jonas was holding, her mind promptly crashed.
A collar was an accessory that, in most circumstances, carried degrading implications.
Even though she was inexperienced, with the internet so widespread these days, she could vaguely guess Jonas's intentions.
She gritted her teeth, the faint blush on her face spreading to her ears.
This was clearly a far better outcome than being sent on a suicide mission, yet somehow she could not bring herself to speak.
Without a doubt, she now found herself in an utterly mortifying situation.
Compared to carrying out some dirty assignment, this demand left her even more at a loss.
She stared at the silver gleam of the collar in Jonas's hand and gritted her teeth, her ears now burning red.
"I... am willing to accept this condition."
The words came with difficulty. After all, in a sense, agreeing to this meant giving up her identity and dignity.
Jonas did not seem particularly surprised to hear it.
He walked up to Esnie, his slender fingers slipping through her hair before finally coming to rest behind her neck.
Esnie lowered her head and clenched her fists, doing her best to quell the turbulent emotions within her.
-Click.
The sound of the collar fastening.
His fingers brushing through her hair tickled, and the instant the collar fastened, her resentment, anger, and nervousness intensified in that strange atmosphere.
In the end, Esnie instead calmed down, and traces of an unfamiliar emotion began to stir within her.
"Is that... enough?"
Esnie's voice was a little strained as she asked.
"Of course not."
Those words made Esnie lift her head involuntarily, staring wide-eyed at the young man before her.
The corners of his mouth curved upward as he said with a cruel edge:
"Miss Esnie, you seem to have forgotten what I said before that."
He leaned back against the wooden desk, looking down at her as though she were prey that had been completely captured, powerless to fight back.
"How will you prove your loyalty?"
How would she prove her loyalty?
Those words instantly threw Esnie's newly settled emotions back into turmoil.
She looked at the young man before her and opened her mouth, but no words came out.
The collar around her neck gave her an oppressive sense of restraint. Thinking back to what Jonas had just said, she vaguely understood that he was forcing her to make a declaration.
Her sense of humiliation deepened, and, as though compelled by some unseen force, she uttered a single syllable in a voice barely above a whisper:
"Woof..."
Esnie left in the end.
Jonas acknowledged her loyalty and promised that he would save her younger sister.
Of course, that promise was far from reliable. Jonas knew this, and so did Esnie.
Current medical technology could not support surgery for Ellison Muscular Atrophy. In other words, the chances of Celine Nora making a full recovery were slim.
But Esnie was willing to gamble on that possibility, because behind Jonas stood the Wetting Conglomerate, which represented the very cutting edge of medical technology...
If even the Wetting Conglomerate could do nothing, perhaps no one in the world could save her younger sister... This was her last lifeline, and her only one.
All she could do was trust that Jonas would keep his word.
The elevator slowly descended. Watching the numbers steadily decrease, Jonas shook his head helplessly.
Before she left, there had been a trace of resentment in the girl's eyes. Jonas knew perfectly well that hers was not the gaze of someone pledging loyalty.
But that was fine. True loyalty could not be achieved overnight. All he could do was plant a seed in her heart.
Judging by the complicated look in her eyes before she fled, Jonas's first step had undoubtedly succeeded.
Perhaps even he had not expected the plan to proceed so smoothly.
Looking at the detailed information on Esnie's physical condition displayed on the virtual screen before him, Jonas could not help having a strange thought.
Naturally, this physical data had been gathered by the collar Jonas had just put on Esnie, covering everything from her heartbeat and body temperature to her mental state.
As the saying went, once you controlled someone's body, controlling her heart was not far off.
Though that was something of an exaggeration, this data would indeed be very helpful in Jonas's efforts to win Esnie over.
He stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, the city's buildings looking tiny beneath his feet.
The Wetting Conglomerate's buildings had always been known for their height, so Jonas could easily take in a panoramic view of most of the city.
He withdrew his gaze and moved his hand to the Communicator interface, quickly placing a call. Without wasting any words, he ordered:
"Celine Nora... transfer her to a hospital owned by the Wetting Conglomerate."
"I'll send her information to your inbox later. Remember to handle this discreetly. Don't do it in my name."
With that, he ended the Communicator call.
So, what will you do next...?
Esnie Nora, Miss Black Valkyrie...
Seeing his faint reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window before him, Jonas could not help smiling.
But soon, as though something had occurred to him, he froze.
He had prevented the Black Valkyrie's first meeting with the game's original protagonist... So who was fighting the gangs in Esnie's place now...?
As though to confirm his suspicions, the moment that thought surfaced, he received a Communicator call from the Wetting Conglomerate's security department.
And once he answered the Communicator call, the very first thing he heard was:
"Mr. Jonas, there's been a problem with the Wetting Conglomerate's control over the gangs in the Alt District..."
"The Alt District is out of control."
PS:
[Confidential company files]:
This record took place on [data deleted]
Jonas: Put it on, Black Valkyrie. This is the fate of the conglomerate's employees.
Esnie: But, Jonas, what is the price?
Jonas: Everything you have...
Before you continue