Hero or Villain

Kaede was struggling to accept what had happened. Ren was still resting in his sickbed, his condition stable.

She carried her beloved dog in her arms to the base of the oldest tree in the garden. The ground was still wet from yesterday's rain. She dug into the muddy soil on her own. After finishing the pit, she climbed in and gently laid Max inside. She stroked his cold, bloodied body one last time and kissed his head. "You were such a good boy. Thank you for being the best friend I ever had," she said as she began covering him with the cold soil. It felt as though more than just Max had died that day.

That night, Kaede stayed awake until morning, deep in thought. Deciding what to do about Ren was proving to be difficult. However, once she calmed down, her emotions and thoughts began to make more sense.

She had to make a decision quickly. If it was discovered that Ren was still alive, another assassination attempt wouldn’t be surprising.
"I’ll find a way for Ren to live. No matter what, I’ll make it happen. And when all of this is over—" she paused. What she was about to say didn’t come out, even when she was alone. "I’ll decide then. There’s no need to rush."

She had dropped Ren’s journal on the stairs earlier. Picking it up, she brought a chair from downstairs to sit by his side and read it from cover to cover. She wanted to learn about the people who had attacked their home and truly understand Ren.

She was quite surprised that the people who had come to kill Ren were from the same organization Ren was a part of. As she read, she admired his strong character but also grew angry at herself for missing such obvious signs. Yet, she wasn’t angry with Ren. In fact, she understood him. Still, she wished he had told her. Even if it was a lie, she would have stayed married to him. At least then, she would have known the truth and not fallen in love like a fool.

Ren lay wrapped in bandages and covered with a blanket. She now understood that the old scars were from battles and hounds that had tried to tear him apart, but the new ones didn’t look the same. She suspected he had been tortured wherever he had been taken.

Ren deserved happiness, she thought. He deserved to live and to find someone he truly loved. Maybe Kaede was too naive and innocent. Or maybe she was addicted to her love for him. Then she noticed a different scar she hadn’t seen before.

Kaede called out, “Medi7000! What does this change on Ren’s arm mean?”

The robot scanned Ren’s body thoroughly before replying, “It appears that a new arm was synthesized using Mr. Ren’s DNA and attached to him. This procedure likely occurred recently because, with this surgical method, organs accept each other as a whole within a few days.”

Kaede pondered the information. The thought of Ren losing an arm didn’t affect her much after everything they had endured together.

“Can we order such organs as we please? Or even create a full copy of him?” she asked.

“Both are theoretically possible, but the latter is strictly prohibited for ethical reasons,” the robot replied.

“But in the end, it’s just a copy, isn’t it?”

The robot’s monotone, emotionless voice responded, “Not exactly. This technology has advanced to the point where the copy is indistinguishable from the original. If desired, it can even have the same memories and become the exact person.”

The idea sent chills down Kaede’s spine. The thought that crossed her mind was so horrifying she hesitated to voice it aloud.

“If we were to acquire the parts piece by piece, could you assemble them? Could we get such parts?”

“For experimental purposes, you could request between three and five organs, but they wouldn’t provide multiple complete biological systems,” the robot answered.

“What about systems?” Kaede asked.

“They would grant only one system at a time.”

Kaede thought deeply. This wasn’t something easily done, and she lacked sufficient knowledge about it all.

She felt a strange sense of relief hearing that. “Somehow…” she began eagerly but found herself sinking into the chasm between an idea and reality. Finding a solution seemed simple, but implementing it felt akin to committing murder.

Her mind swirled with inner conflicts, voices locked in relentless arguments.
“We must act on the solution we’ve found.”
“I’m not a killer. There has to be another way.”
“If we delay searching for another way, no one might survive the next attack.”
“Besides, it’s too dangerous. They won’t provide that many organs. Even if we manage to get them, assembling—”

Quickly preparing herself, Kaede set off with Medi, which has space to accommodate a person.

Reluctantly, she entrusted the house and Ren to little Chillax. Their destination was outside the city, traveling by air would have been faster.

The organ production facility was bustling with activity. Numerous vehicles and robots crowded the entrance. If robots could feel panic, Kaede was sure this would have been one of those moments.

She maneuvered through the crowd, trying to remain calm. The country was generally so safe that most places didn’t require security measures. Kaede relied a bit on that safety and a bit on the hope that what she was about to do would somehow be legal.

At the reception desk, she informed the robot that she was a scientist and wanted to produce organs for experimental purposes. It directed her to Room 37 on the second floor, where assistant robots were stationed.

Entering Room 37, Kaede saw a circular, bright white machine reaching the ceiling, with control panels lining the walls, each the size of a desk. Medi was still by her side, and across the room stood another healthcare robot from the same generation.

“How may I assist you?” it asked.

“I need—” Kaede began, but before she could finish, the door burst open violently. Startled, she turned to see a human.

The woman wore a coffee-stained white lab coat and had the slouched shoulders of someone plagued by chronic pain. Her short black hair was messy despite its length. At first, Kaede thought she was another visitor.

“Sorry, but I’m currently using this room,” Kaede said.

Then she heard a laugh, a fake, almost witch-like cackle.

“No, sweetheart. I work here,” the woman replied.

A human employee? It was so unusual that, despite never encountering something like this before, Kaede believed her. Yet the woman’s presence unsettled her.

“Well then, I can wait until you’re done. I’m in no rush,” Kaede replied, taking a seat on a small stool near the door.

“Oh, but you are,” the woman said, her voice laced with a knowing edge.

She gestured for the robot to leave, and it complied without a word.

“I’m Morgan. Dr. Morgan Leonhard,” the woman introduced herself.

"What do you want?" she snapped sharply.
"Nothing. I just want to watch. You and Ren are fascinating people in this country. Besides, I’m bored. That’s all."
"Ren? How do you know him?"

Morgan laughed. "Do you really want to waste time on this right now? I think you have more pressing matters."

Kaede couldn’t figure out what this woman knew about her or Ren. Perhaps she was someone Ren knew.

"Whatever you think you know about me or Ren, I doubt you know a damn thing. Please, leave this room."

Morgan’s expression turned serious. "What a cursed woman you are. Everyone who comes near you dies or ends up worse than dead. Wasn’t that the case with Max? Or Ren?" She paused before continuing in a mocking, dominant tone. "What about your father?"

"No, no! It wasn’t because of me. I was just a child, a little kid."
"Too little to understand? You’re lying. You knew, but you didn’t care because you’ve always been selfish. You’ve always been someone who sacrifices those around her for affection."

Kaede’s face turned crimson. Her head spun, and she couldn’t refute the words. She hated herself. She had lived with that feeling her entire life. She thought she wasn’t worthy of love, and ironically, she had never truly been loved.

"My father," she said, "he made his own choice that night."
"When he said he was going to the hospital, didn’t you beg him not to? Didn’t you insist? What was your ridiculous reason again? You had a nightmare, didn’t you? I hope that night was better than your nightmares."

Kaede was no longer in a state to wonder how this woman knew a secret she had never shared with anyone, not her mother, not Ren, no one. It was a burden she had carried alone.

"My father would have forgiven me. I’m sure he would have understood me."
Morgan’s voice was as sharp and cold as ice. "The dead can’t understand you. The dead can’t forgive anyone."

Kaede was shattered. She muttered incoherently to herself, her eyes fixed on a single point, repeating incomprehensible words.

"You’re good at causing death. This isn’t even your first time. Now, make your choice: Will you kill someone else to save your lover, or will you do nothing and send your lover to his death?”