Chapter 167: Panic and Truth
__________ POV Beru__________
"... Ok, so I guess we have a new member in our small group then?" Yori said without much change in expression.
I guess letting him and Don know about it beforehand might've been a better move. Nemuri coming here was quite a shock to the two of them.
"Glad to meet everyone here!" Nemuri's just waving her hand around while sitting in my lap.
"Yeah... I'm Don, the one smarter looking one is Yori, although he probably needs no introduction." At least Don is a lot more composed. I guess he's a bit uncomfortable since Nemuri also technically used to be his girlfriend.
He probably got over the fact that the two of them can't be together. I mean, he's my clone, but I ain't sharing.
"Yeah... I do know about Yori, Beru mentioned him before... But I've never heard about you before. Who exactly are you? What do you do?" Damn, she's already starting with the questions.
I probably should have at least told Don to come up with some cover story for his identity.
"I'm just someone helping them reach their goal... I guess I'm something more akin to a lackey." Don just scratched his head with an awkward smile...
Couldn't he have come up with something more substantial? Ah, fuck it, not like it matters all that much.
"He's the one mostly in charge of distribution... I guess we should catch you up to speed about our operations." Yori is thankfully a bit more resourceful.
I'm not planning on lying to Nemuri anymore, but saying that Don is actually the head of the largest underworld empire in the world is rather problematic.
Better to just say what his role is in our group instead, kinda like Yori did.
"Distribution? Kinda sounds like you guys are running some type of drug empire..." I can tell that she's joking, but it still makes me a bit uneasy to hear her say that.
"Well, that isn't outright wrong. Let's start at the beginning..." And so, Yori, the most composed member of our group, started explaining everything to Nemuri.
From how the world is ending, to how the two of us banded together to stop it, and how Don also joined us to help with everything.
Her reactions were quite fun to see at times. We didn't really bother using any examples or videos like we did when we presented this at that party. But she did believe us since she knows I didn't bring her here to bullshit her.
"... Wh- How come no one else knows about this?!" She looks beyond shocked.
She's probably had that expression in mind ever since Yori mentioned that 'Quirk Singularity' was already technically public knowledge.
"There are plenty of people that know about this now, mostly those we've swayed in our favour to help our cause. People should also be drawing conclusions in some other places, but no one's actually been vocal about this at all." Yori's calm demeanour is a really nice contrast to Nemuri's panic and shock.
"Well, I did find some people online discussing the theory, but most of them are simply considered conspiracy nuts. So I no one would take them seriously." Don also added that piece of information, which is quite new to me too...
"S-So, the only cure we have is that serum you guys developed?" Nemuri probably has quite a few things to question from this entire story. Yori also didn't really go into detail about what that serum is.
"Yes, it's a way to suppress the quirk factor within an individual... The problem is that one needs to actually take the serum in order for this to work."
"You guys said that you're already distributing it around the world right? So that means it should be ok, right?!" Damn, I guess the panic is getting to her, she's not even thinking straight anymore.
"There's plenty of issues with that.
1. There's no way to guarantee that every single person takes this serum
2. The effects of the serum aren't permanent, so periodic consumption is required"
Yori's pretty thorough in explaining things, I guess his passion for his research shows when he speaks about it.
"... Can't we just tell everyone? Wouldn't it be easier if we stopped keeping this a secret?"Nemuri's tone is quite hopeful. And, honestly, that's actually a valid question, I guess I can answer that one.
"No way everyone would believe it~ People would actually reject it~ Quirks, especially powerful ones, are held in high regard~ They would never entertain the idea that quirks would be bad for them~" My tone might be a bit colder than intended, Nemuri also doesn't look all that convinced.
"That can't be completely true. I mean, they might not agree at first, but after a while, they are bound to listen to you!" Damn, didn't take her for an idealist.
"That's likely~ They would listen eventually~ But the damage would already be visible~ The media and governments around the world would 100% try to hide this too~
Quirks are a very good business after all~ Plenty of industries would take a hit if people no longer revere quirks the same way they do today~"
I'm more of a realist though, and it's better that we get her to understand the truth of our operations.
"... I see. So the only way to do this right now is to distribute this cure as far as possible." The three of us just nodded at her words.
No reason to prolong the explanations more, she's already heard the gist of it. Time to get onto the more pressing matters.
"Ok~ So, back to the matter at hand~ The incident in Egypt has already been publically 'solved'~" Yori and Don just nodded, I guessed that they would've heard of this before me.
"How's that related to our talk though?" Damn Nemuri's already considering herself part of the group. It's nice to see her get comfortable so quickly.
She's also processed this end of the world thing rather quickly, which might be helped by the fact that we've already started working to fix it... Saying that just doesn't feel right, oh whatever.
"Think about it for a second~ What exactly used to be at the centre of the sinkhole?~" That was all that needed to be said. Nemuri may not have High Spec, but she's not an idiot.
The information of the world ending is still fresh after all, from the look on her face, she's already connected the dots.
"So... It's already started?" She looks genuinely scared right now, damn.
"Well~ That may be caused by the fact that marriage laws are a bit laxer in some countries, their DNA gets mixed together at faster rates~
You know~ It's the first time I've thought about it this way~ But teenage pregnancy might actually be a cause for disaster from now on~"
Might not be the best moment for jokes, at least Don smiled widely at it. I can at least trust my clone to laugh at my jokes.
"That's not exactly reassuring." She's composed herself a bit, but she's still fidgety.
"At this point, not much is certain. We need to speed up our operations, but we can never be sure of actually reaching every place in time. More and more disasters will arise, unfortunately."
Yori's words aren't really an encouragement either.
"We can at least make sure that such a thing doesn't happen to us anytime soon, most modern countries won't be as affected by this, as distribution is much easier." Don, the self-proclaimed distribution expert is speaking this time.
"But you can't really reliably spread the cure to people that don't even have running water." Damn, he does have a point.
"I-I think I'll need some time to process all of this. Beru, can we go home?" Damn, this brings the meeting to an abrupt end... Can't be helped though.
"Sure~ One last thing though~ Keep looking into more details about the disaster~ Also, Don, spread out more people around the world, get us notified as soon as something of this magnitude happens again~"
The fact that we had to see this happen in a news report is rather disappointing, we need to be on top of these types of things from now on.
After saying that, I just warped me and Nemuri back to her apartment.
"Well~ What do you think about my friends?~ Pretty nice people huh?~" I'll try to get her mind off of things, but it will probably take a while.
"I need to clear my head a bit... But, thank you. For everything. It's taken you a few years, but you were finally honest with me." Damn, she may have concern in her eyes, but the way her smile lights up her face is still as beautiful as ever.
"I'll give you some time to process everything~ I'll also go and deal with some other stuff in the meantime~" I hugged her a bit and prepared to fly off through a window.
She returned the hug, but it still seems like her mind is processing things, so I'll give her some time to cool off.
As for me... Well, it's been a while since I've visited some friends. This is as good a time as any.
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Hope you liked the chapter! I had a pretty busy week, but I finally managed to get it out.
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