My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

Taking the blindfold off my eyes and removing the gag from my mouth, the light from beyond the door entering my retinas caused my pupils to dilate, allowing me to see who the two entrants were.

They were a man and a woman; it was something that could be easily deduced by the physique and shapes of their bodies.

"Oh, hello. Nice to meet you! Is it feeding time?"

Looking at them, I welcomed the two with a bright smile.

"..."

"Shut up. Don't open your mouth or the gag goes back on."

The woman appeared to be staying quiet for some reason, but the man was being quite aggressive.

"Oh, right! Sorry!"

"Tsk. You will be. Hey, give it to him."

Was she of a lower rank than he was? Nodding quietly, the woman revealed a paper bag from behind her back and approached me.

"Oh, what's this? A meal, perhaps?" I commented.

Soon, my thoughts began to slow as the image of what exactly she was holding became clearer.

...What?

The bottom of the bag was dripping wet onto the floor, and I could smell something unbelievably foul emanating from it; as if someone had developed a vile blend of dog and cat food and excreted in it.

"It looks a little, um... 'Unsavoury', however, I will accept what's given to me. Thank you very much, miss."

I gave the woman my gratitude as she bent over and placed the soggy bag in front of me, her gloved hands subtly trembling.

Hm?

From this distance, she was just about close enough for me to discern her face obscured by the black mask. Although it was for but a second, I caught a glimpse of her expression.

―One of terrified uncertainty.

"Haha, why are you scared?"

I asked her such a question, causing her to jolt away and stare at me in a panic.

What's that reaction for?

I'm defenceless, remember?

Oh well, whatever.

I turned my gaze back to the thing on the floor in front of me before tilting my head.

"Excuse me, is there no drink to go with it?"

"Don't push your luck. What you've got is enough to last you until the next meal."

Judging by the cruel dampness of whatever kind of "food" was contained within the bag, he appeared to be correct.

I'm not sure if I want to know what exactly this is, but it seemed to be more than moist enough to fill a glass of water.

Whether or not it contained the right amount of nutrients was questionable, but since they would prefer to keep me alive whilst under their care, it should hence contain a half-decent amount of sustenance.

Of course, they wouldn't want to make me too comfortable, so I would most likely still be starving even if I ate the whole thing.

Since there's almost certainly a one hundred percent chance that they put some drugs in there as well, I was inclined to doubt that they were even trying to take care of me in the first place.

I don't even need to look at the contents of the bag to know that they think they're being funny.

Um... Let's save it for later, shall we?

My appetite having more or less died down, I looked away from the bag and back at the two.

"So, what are you going to do with me? This is a precious opportunity for you guys, you know? I wouldn't recommend letting it go to waste."

If they waited too long, their time would be up.

I don't have all day, after all, and I certainly don't plan on staying the night.

"That's none of your concern."

"Oh, but I believe it is."

Looking at the woman, who remained silent, I opened my mouth with a smile.

"Hey, miss. You're nicer than this guy, right? Since you so kindly gave me my food, I'll let you ask one question first. It can be about absolutely anything in the world."

She swalled her saliva before opening her mouth.

"...I--"

"--Don't."

Interrupting her rudely, the man stuck his arm in front of her.

"Don't even think about his offer. It is nothing more than the temptation of a devil. You should have been taught this already in the debriefing. Do not forget what this is all for."

"Y-yes, sir..."

"It is alright. Try not to fall for his tricks."

"Awh, come on~ You know you want to. It's free!"

He shot a glare at me.

"You; if you continue, I will shove this gag right back into your mouth without even giving you the chance to eat, so do as I say and be quiet."

In response, I shrugged.

"Well, I don't really understand what the big deal is? You guys are gonna be asking me questions soon enough anyway, so what's the problem with answering one or two more in advance?"

"That's enough. Come he--"

Ring ring~!

Suddenly, the phone at the man's waist began to vibrate.

"Tsk... Yes?"

Pausing whatever he was about to do, he answered it; not even a few moments later, his eyes widened.

"What...?! A breach!? Are you su-- Yes, yes! I'm on my way!"

Shockingly, it seems like an incident has occurred.

Huh.

My, how unfortunate for them.

I wonder who it could be.

"Tsk, shit...!"

Hanging up the call with yet another click of his tongue, he cursed and hurriedly ordered the woman and I.

"You―don't fucking say a word. And you―don't listen to a word he says. If it gets tough to bear, don't hesitate and put this fucking thing in his mouth to shut him up. I'll be right back."

He roughly handed her the gag and rushed out of the room in a hurry.

"..."

"...So, have you considered what question you're going to ask?"

Not even a few seconds after the guy had left, I began talking to her.

I could see the movement of her flapping mouth opening and closing even beyond the mask.

She clearly didn't know how to respond or what to do.

"...I-I'm not supposed to be listening to you..."

She was right.

However.

"But that's just what that guy told you to do, right? Everyone telling you to not talk to me is selfishly trying to keep me to themselves."

"Wh-what do you...? N-No, that's wrong; we're protecting everyone by locking you up."

Is that what they're teaching the new recruits these days?

"Oh, is that what they told you? That's just a bunch of lies though, you know? Look at me; I'm utterly powerless here. Think realistically. Nothing is going to happen if you ask me a single question, is it?"

As I spoke, I looked through the woman's mask, directly into where her eyes should be located.

"It's Miyu, right? As they told you, I know everything. I know you're worried, but I really mean it when I say I'll answer any one of your questions for free, right here and right now. Ask me anything, Miyu."

"H-how can I trust you?"

She seemed to be holding on to her greed well.

But, that wouldn't last forever.

"What could I possibly have to gain from lying to you, Miyu? Absolutely nothing. All I'm doing is offering you free knowledge. That's all I can offer, in fact."

"W-why...?"

"Because, Miyu―to me, you seem like a genuinely nice person. In fact, I know you are a good person because of my power. I've seen all the good deeds you've done. The reason you took the job you're on right now is for money to look after your family, right?"

"T-that's..."

"Really. Any question; any topic. It can be something personal or something random; something inconsequential or something meaningful; whatever it is, I promise that I'll tell you the absolute truth if that's what you want."

The sweet and seductive words firing nonstop out of my mouth became too much for Miyu to bear, until eventually...

"Al... A-alright... Fine... J-just one question, though!"

Ha.

―She had succumbed to the so-called "devil's temptation".