"What do you think?"
Faced with such an outrageous declaration-be my dog or be beaten to death-even the ever-resolute Mikoto Misaka, not just Saten Ruiko, was left speechless.
Kuroko Shirai actually choked and coughed, looking as though she had seen a ghost.
It was not that she thought Roland's proposed punishment was too harsh. In fact, even if this incident could be brought to a satisfactory conclusion, being the Blue Dream Company's dog would amount to a suspended sentence for Harumi Kiyama's crimes.
But... isn't threatening her like this a little excessive when you've realized we're already in her hands?
What if Harumi Kiyama gets angry? The Blue Dream Company really has no sense of responsibility toward its employees!
"..."
Harumi Kiyama also fell silent, the scarlet light in her eyes dimming somewhat.
She seemed to have been completely unprepared for Roland's audacity. Although she had never intended to insist on taking anyone's life, his words still made her blood surge.
After all, she was now only one final step away from fully activating the Level Upper network.
In a movie, this would be roughly equivalent to the final villain intent on destroying the world already having their hand on the mutual-destruction button.
Normally, even if one did not speak nicely, one would at least play along for the moment.
But Roland was neither conceited nor arrogant.
He simply announced the outcome in a certain, businesslike tone. Rather than negotiating with her, he sounded more like a judge announcing a criminal's sentence.
It was as though the incident she had caused and the trump cards she possessed were mere pebbles by the roadside, beneath his notice.
-as though he could kick them aside with a single step.
*Had that great invention, the Dream Creator, and his mastery of Magnetic Field