Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 39: It’s Free

How could that make sense—saying he was still hungry after eating that much?

It definitely shouldn’t make sense, and yet... he stacked his tray again like a circus trick, heaping it with food.

Not just an extra large, not just a heaping pile, but ultra extra and ultra heaping.

This made it his 35th tray, but really, the contents deserved to be counted as quadruple that.

Watching the man head back to his seat, Yu Hyena stepped behind the serving station and into the makeshift kitchen where volunteers were cooking hard, all while maintaining her smile.

“What’s the status on the ingredients?”

“They’re... they’re almost gone. That guy emptied three entire pots by himself!”

“We always bring more than enough... What should we do, Hyena?”

“We’ll have to restock from the closest market. The food quality might drop, but no one’s going hungry today because of him.”

With a sigh, Yu Hyena pulled out a golden Hero-exclusive payment card.

Since it had fingerprint authorization, only she could use it—so she had to go herself.

She gestured to the larger male volunteers, climbed into the truck used to transport the food, and rushed off to the market, grabbing every vegetable and meat item in sight.

By the time she returned to Black Bear Park, the cheers of the crowd had grown even louder.

“FORTY-FOUR! FORTY-FOUR!”

“WOOOOOOOOOO!”

What the hell is happening now—don’t tell me that’s his 44th plate?

Panicked, Yu Hyena rushed back into the kitchen to check on the situation.

The volunteers weren’t overjoyed at her return—they looked absolutely defeated, sweating like they were working in a five-star restaurant rather than a soup kitchen.

“Ahhh...! The ingredients... they’re finally here!”

“Please! Let us rest!”

“Ugh... uuugh...”

As the male volunteers thumped down bags of onions, potatoes, and meat next to the stove, the other volunteers let out collective groans.

But only for a moment.

With fast, practiced hands, they refilled the pots and resumed cooking.

Residents lined up to receive their next portions, and then—towering above everyone else—the man took his place in line once again.

Yu Hyena clenched her fists and steadied her heart as she stepped up to face him.

Don’t get mad just because he eats a lot. He came here hungry too. Everyone deserves to leave full, equally...

“D-Did you... enjoy your meal?”

“It was delicious.”

He’s not saying he’s hungry. Okay, good. As long as it tasted good, that’s fine. Surely now—now—he must finally be full.

But no.

Betraying every last ounce of her hope, the man stood at the counter and began loading up his tray again.

“Would you... like some more?”

“I will eat more.”

“R-Really? You’re... amazing, huh?”

“Hm. This is what they call... a thumbs up.”

As the man raised his thumb proudly, Yu Hyena felt a sharp pang in her skull.

Thumbs up, my ass!

This was too much—even by any standard!

As the newly-filled pot was once again half emptied onto his towering plate, the volunteers sighed, and the residents cheered.

Again? This time for real—please, the final one?

Just once—can it be the last? Seriously... please!

“Thanks for the food.”

“Ah... ha, ha, ha...?”

It wasn’t until well after that {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} final refill that the man finally gave a polite thank you for the food.

Yu Hyena’s smile, now stretched past its limit, looked nothing like a smile at all.

When the man placed his tray into the return window, every resident who had stayed long after finishing their own meals erupted in applause.

“FIFTY-SEVEN! It ended at fifty-seven!”

“Aha-ha-ha! He should’ve gone for a few more!”

“WOOOOOOOOOOO!”

“You’re the best! That was amazing!”

Yu Hyena raised an eyebrow as she looked at the man, patting his belly with satisfaction and raising his fist in triumph.

Is he really human? Where the hell did he even put all that?

It’s not like he could be hiding it under his clothes—he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Just an old pair of firefighter pants, exposing a solid, muscular upper body.

He looked to be at least twice her size, and as he walked up to her, she couldn’t help blinking in surprise at the cleanly defined muscles that showed even after eating all that food.

“You must be the foreman of this soup kitchen.”

“I’m not the foreman, I’m—wh, whoa.”

“Incredible. I didn’t think I’d actually be able to eat until I was full.”

“You’re... full now? That belly... really?”

“I’ve never eaten this much delicious food before in my life.”

Before she realized it, Yu Hyena reached out and touched the man’s abs—then jerked her hand back like she’d burned it.

For a moment, the sincere tone in his soft, honest eyes gave her a strange sense of reward.

But only for a moment.

Then the sheer amount of food he had eaten hit her again, and the feeling of reward was completely replaced with stunned disbelief.

Yu Hyena had a rule at this soup kitchen: Don’t ask who people are.

Even if someone’s a criminal, feeding them until they’re full could turn them into a decent worker.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder.

Who the hell was this man?

Was he really human?

Or just a monster in disguise?

A pig?

Or some kind of Esper who awakened the ability to eat endlessly?

But it was finally over. With a long breath, Yu Hyena gave him the farewell she always said to everyone.

“I hope today’s meal gives you strength to get through tomorrow.”

“Hm... So you’re not going to ask for money?”

“No. This is a free meal program for people who are hungry.”

“Amazing. It’s truly free...!”

Did she even know?

Just how rare it was for this man to show emotion like this?

Clapping his hands, mouth agape, the man held out one of his giant, pot-lid-sized hands toward her.

Confused, Yu Hyena hesitated before taking it—and the moment their hands met, her slender hand was swung up and down like a toy.

“You are a magnificent woman. The fourth most magnificent person I’ve ever met.”

“Um, fourth place doesn’t sound that special...”

“No, fourth is impressive. Just like yarikiri.”

“Yari? Yakitori? You mean chicken skewers...? We didn’t serve any of those today.”

Maybe there’s something wrong with him...?

Yu Hyena blinked in confusion, trying to check if her hand was still intact after that handshake.

What kind of hand is that huge?

For a second, she felt like a child again.

By then, the man—perhaps worried she’d ask him for money—had already made it halfway to the park’s entrance.

He turned back toward her and held out his thumbs once again.

This time, with both hands.

Backing away as he did it.

Yu Hyena just stood there, blinking blankly.

“What a typhoon of a man...”

One of the volunteers muttered beside her, and Yu Hyena quietly nodded.

That really was the perfect way to describe him.

A man like a typhoon—showing up out of nowhere, sweeping away all the food, then vanishing just as quickly.

And somehow, despite the exhaustion, you felt like... maybe you could endure it.

Maybe.

Also?

She really hoped he wouldn’t come back.

“...He’s not going to show up again tomorrow, right?”

“Aha-ha... no way.”

“If he ate that much, he should be full for a whole month...”

Yu Hyena let out a long sigh and went back to serving food with the other volunteers.

From then on, even the biggest eaters only took three or four plates at most.

Yu Hyena gave them extra bright smiles as she asked how they were doing.

And just like that, the day ended.

The next morning—Sunday, the final day of the weekend—

The man returned.

“That’s him? The guy who ate 57 plates?! That’s real?!”

“Wow! It’s Mister 57!”

“Mister 57!”

“Hi—Hiiiiiieee!”

“Oh, come on, why’s he here again?! Didn’t he eat enough yesterday?!”

The man appeared once more at the soup kitchen, standing out whether you wanted to see him or not—he was just too tall.

Yu Hyena and the volunteers, upon spotting him, trembled slightly, their arms already sore from the previous day’s labor.

Surrounded by laughing residents, the man swallowed his saliva with audible gulp gulps as he stepped up to Yu Hyena.

With trembling hands, she handed him a tray and greeted him.

“O-Oh, you’ve come again today...?”

That was as far as the usual soup kitchen greeting went. Asking someone’s name or background was against the rules here.

But Yu Hyena, unable to hold back any longer, parted her lips and asked the man for his name.

“Um, excuse me, but... what’s your name?”

“Hm... my name, huh.”

The man scratched his shaggy head like he was thinking it over, and then answered.

“You may call me Han Muryo.”

“Well, that’s... a very fitting name for someone who loves free food...”

Han Muryo—literally Mr. Free. Who the hell names their kid Free...? Wait. That actually kind of sounds cool?

Yu Hyena didn’t have long to linger on the thought.

“Han! Mu! Ryo! Han! Mu! Ryo!”

“Woooooo! He’s eating again!”

“Ma’am, looks like we’ll need another shopping run...”

“H-ha-ha-ha...”

The volunteers, already experienced from the day before, cooked faster—but he ate even faster.

He was already on his 55th tray.

Yu Hyena, who had already gone on one grocery run, started preparing for another.

Whether because word had spread about Han Muryo’s food fight performance or not, the number of residents coming to eat today was nearly double yesterday’s.

And that, at least, was good news for Yu Hyena. She’d been wondering how to draw out those who still clung to pride over hunger—even here in Zone 4—who refused to show their faces at a soup kitchen even if they were starving.

Now, with free meals and Han Muryo as entertainment, maybe she could reach them too.

She told herself it was a good thing the residents were laughing and enjoying themselves, and headed off for more groceries.

That day’s final count: 68 trays.

And when Han Muryo finally emerged from the crowd of laughing residents, patting his full belly and placing his empty tray in the return window, a thunder of cheers echoed through the park.

“Han Muryo! You’re the best!”

“You’re the best! The best! The best!”

Surrounded by praise, Han Muryo closed his eyes and waved his hand, as if humbly denying the compliment.

Then he stepped up next to Yu Hyena and raised her wrist into the air like a champion.

“I am not the best... The best is this woman! This woman, like YARIKIRI itself!”

“Wooooooo! Yari—Yarikiri...?”

“What the heck is that? Like... Yarit, Nurikiri? What is that even?”

“Director Yu Hyena isn’t weird or anything. She’s elegant! Definitely not, uh... whatever that means...”

What is he even saying?

As the crowd murmured in confusion, Han Muryo inhaled deeply—then roared so loudly the whole park shook:

“YARIKIRI!!”

“YAAAAAAAH! YARIKIRI! YARIKIRI! YARIKIRI!!”

No one knew what it meant, but they cheered anyway.

Yu Hyena could only wave at the residents with a dazed expression.

And just like that, the man swept through the soup kitchen like a typhoon—and vanished like one, too.

“Whoever he is, he’s hilarious!”

“Yarikiri—that’s when you finish your task and go home early, right?”

“So basically he’s saying, ‘I’m done eating, time to leave’?”

“Yarikiri’s a great thing!”

Even after he left, the residents kept laughing and chatting, energized by their unexpected entertainment.

Yu Hyena looked over them and smiled faintly. Good. Let them enjoy it... she thought, as she began cleaning up the kitchen.

Still... he probably won’t come back next weekend... right?

Ever since discovering the paradise known as Free All-You-Can-Eat, my life had changed.

I finally understood why people looked forward to weekends so much—understood that weekends were truly, genuinely, happy things.

Just thinking about the weekend made even bland weekday meals feel satisfying.

Even when overly attached citizens clung to me for no reason, or fed me drugged meat without getting bored of it, or when those idiots started spreading again, trying to capture me like before—it all felt less annoying.

And so, one week later, on the next weekend, I returned to that utopia in Zone 4.

Even just being here made my mouth water. I swallowed—gulp, gulp—and locked eyes with the forewoman of this place.

The woman stiffened.

As I glanced behind her, curious what kind of food was being served today, she walked straight toward me with a heavy aura.

I read the tension in her steps, and slowly swallowed the last bit of saliva in my mouth.

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“...Mr. Han Muryo?”

“Hm?”

“Mr. Han Muryo... sigh... from today on, please limit yourself to just 30 plates.”

“AAAAAHHHHH!”

“AaAAAAAAHHHHHH!!”

BOOM!

It felt like I’d been hit in the weak spot by Starlight herself. My eyes went wide in shock, and I clenched both fists as the realization hit me.

The people around me sighed on my behalf, then began murmuring and nodding to each other.

“I mean, I yelled because I felt bad... but she’s not wrong.”

“Dude eats way too much. I had to wait ten minutes in line last week because he cleaned out the kitchen.”

“Same here. I’ve never seen the food actually run out at this place before.”

“You heard her, right? If you eat like last time, others will go hungry.”

That won’t do.

I looked around the soup kitchen, filled with people who clearly weren’t eating enough in their daily lives, and even through the shock, slowly nodded my head.

It was kind of ridiculous to stuff myself twice in a row.

But still—this aching, unbearable emptiness...

“So, just 30 trays. That’s already way more than normal, okay? I thought it was weird too, but... I’ve seen you eat, so—this is me being generous.”

“...Aaaah...”

So it’s true.

Free and Unlimited... cannot coexist.

I nodded again, and the woman repeated, just to be sure.

“Thirty only. Got it, Mr. Han Muryo?”

“I... am not Han Muryo.”

“...What?”

Today, the bright and shining world I’d built crumbled.

Free and Unlimited... could not exist together. And so, I left behind Muryo.

Even if the glow had dimmed, this place was still free. That sacred word remained.

But the hollowness in my chest... I could not bear it.

“From now on... call me Han Yoo-ryo.”

(Yoo-ryo = Finite / Limited)