Multiverse , Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 403: 403 MCU 78

"What’s this box? Did it have a pistol in it or something?"

I picked up the black box and shook it as I asked.

I was trying to draw attention in case she tried to brush it off.

"I don’t think so? Wait, maybe? It is about the right size for a pistol. If you’re curious, just open it."

"Really? Okay."

I peeled off the tape sealing the black box and opened it.

Inside, as expected, there were several glass bottles containing a suspicious red liquid.

"Huh? What’s this?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Hold on, don’t touch it. It might be dangerous."

I immediately took the box and moved to the lab.

Actually, I had already analyzed everything with my [Keen Eyes] from the moment I first saw it, so there was no real need to check again, but I spent a little time in the lab before returning to Natasha.

"This contains a mix of various ingredients, but it’s not harmful to the human body.

It just has a mild effect of stimulating the brain.

It doesn’t seem to be designed to trigger any specific bodily function."

"Really?"

"Usually, rather than affecting the body directly, this type of drug is more likely to be an antidote that neutralizes a specific substance already in the body. If it was just made for stimulation, it wouldn’t be any more effective than a cup of coffee. Given how carefully it’s been made, it’s probably a fairly important antidote."

"Then who sent something like this to me?"

"The answer is probably here. It was in the box too."

I handed Natasha the photo that had been included with the antidote.

The picture showed a young Natasha and her sister, Yelena Belova, smiling brightly together.

"This is... a photo I gave to my sister..."

Natasha looked surprised at the photo, her expression turning serious, and she quickly began packing her things.

"Where are you going?"

"Something seems to have happened to my sister. I need to go to Budapest."

"Let me come with you."

I also stood up and said that, and Natasha asked me,

"I’d be happy if you came, but aren’t you busy with the unification of Korea? The other members are all busy with that too."

"I’ve already bought all the supplies and stored them in the warehouse, so the staff and members can handle moving them. I’m a bit busy with investments, but it’s not to the point where I can’t spare any time."

Actually, Minerva was handling the investments on her own, so I didn’t need to get directly involved.

There were some development projects that required my personal attention, but I planned to proceed once things settled down a bit, so for now I did have some free time.

"Really? I hope I’m not taking up your time when you’re busy."

"No, it’s fine. And wouldn’t it be stranger not to go when your sister might be in trouble?"

At my words, Natasha chuckled, clearly pleased that I was thinking of her.

"Alright, then let’s go together."

We packed light into the Talarian camper van, dropped Cosmo off at the base, and headed out.

I could have left Cosmo at the mansion, but I thought she’d be less bored with the members, so I asked them to look after her for a while.

On the way, I told the members we’d be going to Hungary for a bit.

Inside the Talarian camper van heading to Budapest, I was looking at the photo I’d shown Natasha.

"Why did you dye your hair blue when you were little?"

When I asked, Natasha shyly snatched the photo from my hand and said,

"I think I wanted to be special back then. So I bought some dye and did it myself. My sister liked it, but I got a lot of scolding from our foster parents."

"You were quite rebellious even as a kid."

"Well, yeah. I guess that’s why I ended up here."

"I suppose... So what about your sister?"

When I asked about Yelena, Natasha sighed and told me.

"Her name is Yelena Belova. She’s not actually my biological sister—we lived together as a fake family. But I really thought of her as a real sister and we got along well. During the Red Room days, though, I could barely take care of myself, so I think our relationship got pretty strained. The last time we met, she didn’t seem to like me much."

"A Red Room family... S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files said the Red Room was dismantled years ago."

"That’s right. I assassinated Dreykov, the head of the Red Room. So I thought my sister was just living a normal life. I wonder what she got involved in..."

Natasha said that with a worried expression, showing how much she cared for her sister.

The Red Room was a former Soviet secret organization that took in orphaned or talented girls—after erasing their ties—and trained them as assassins (Black Widows). The person in charge was Dreykov.

We arrived in Budapest and parked the Talarian in the air before getting out.

Budapest was a beautiful city of old European-style buildings, like something out of the 19th century, rather than tall modern structures.

"Feel like sightseeing while we’re here?"

I looked around and said, and Natasha smiled.

"Budapest is a beautiful city. It wouldn’t be bad to visit sometime later when we have time."

But there was a problem.

Since this was the capital of Hungary, many people recognized us and asked for autographs.

So we had no choice but to sign and move along, which took quite a while to reach the safe house.

"Hah... This is exhausting... I should have made my signature simpler... I regret it."

"Still, you have to do it properly to fill the hole in the fund."

"I know, but it’s still tiring."

I pointed to the building ahead and asked,

"Is this the place?"

"Yeah. Let’s go up."

We took an old elevator up and stopped in front of an apartment.

Natasha started trying to pick the lock with something like a bobby pin, but I placed my hand on the door and used magic to unlock it.

Click!

"Wow... Magic really is convenient."

"It doesn’t work on electronic locks."

"So it’s not omnipotent?"

"Yeah."

Just then, someone inside spoke to us.

"You’re late. I thought I’d have to live here forever. I expected you to come alone, but you brought your famous boyfriend too."

At that, Natasha quietly pulled out the pistol she had holstered.

"Jin, wait here for a moment. I need to talk to my sister alone."

"So you talk to your sister with a pistol?"

When I shot back, Natasha frowned.

"This isn’t the time for jokes!"

Yelena, who must have heard us from inside, called out again.

"I get it, you’re a cute couple—take your lover’s quarrel somewhere else!"

Natasha aimed her pistol and began quietly moving toward the source of the sound.

I just waited at the entrance as she’d told me.

"Why are you creeping in like that?"

"Because I don’t trust you."

"You’re a powerful Avenger now—what threat could I possibly be to you?"

Clearly, because I had changed the past so much, the dialogue was quite different from the original.

"Can we talk like adults?"

"We’re adults now?"

Natasha moved all the way to the end of the hallway, keeping her pistol aimed toward the kitchen on the right.

I couldn’t see from where I was, but Yelena seemed to be in there.

From the fact that Natasha kept her pistol trained, Yelena was probably aiming one at her too.

"Put it down while I’m asking nicely."

"You put yours down."

Natasha slowly entered the kitchen with her pistol raised, but Yelena didn’t back down either.

Then, suddenly, the sound of things breaking came from where Natasha had gone, and wood splinters and glass shards flew out to where I was.

Even two pistols rolled out—they must have gotten into close-quarters hand-to-hand combat and lost their guns.

CRASH! SMASH! THWACK! BANG!

Feeling awkward just standing there, I walked in, picked up both pistols, and watched them fight, wondering whether to stop them or not.

Eventually, I just asked,

"Need any help?"

"Ah, no! I can handle it!"

"Natasha’s sister? Nice to meet you. I’m Jin."

"Y-yeah, nice to—ugh!"

BAM! SMACK! CRASH!

Natasha and Yelena answered my questions while simultaneously kicking each other and grabbing whatever was nearby to hit each other.

It was a bit funny, but thanks to that, the apartment was being completely trashed.

Then Yelena grabbed a kitchen knife, and that’s when I stepped in to stop them.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. Were you two really on such bad terms that you’d pull knives on each other?"

At that, Yelena calmed down, glanced at the knife she was holding, seemed to realize it was too much, and set it down on the dining table behind her.

Seeing that, Natasha spoke to Yelena.

"Let’s stop."

"Yeah..."

I handed each of them a pistol and said,

"Let’s get out of here first. I’m hungry—we haven’t had lunch yet. Since you’re meeting after so long, let’s go to a nice restaurant. My treat."

"Huff... Fine, let’s do that."

"Okay."

Both Natasha and Yelena didn’t refuse—they probably hadn’t eaten yet either.

I got a proper look at Yelena—she was a blonde beauty with a toned physique.

One look was enough to tell she’d been through a lot of training, and her accent carried a strong Russian flavor, giving her a tough aura.

We left the building and got into the Talarian camper van.

To avoid being asked for autographs again, we decided to just keep moving in the Talarian.

I found a highly rated restaurant and ordered lunch.

Since it was a pricey place, no one asked for autographs during the meal, which was nice, but Natasha and Yelena just glared at each other without saying a word.

So to break the ice, I spoke to Yelena first.

"You seem to hold a grudge against your sister."

"She’s super rich, dating a handsome boyfriend, playing hero—and she didn’t even contact me once. So yeah."

Natasha looked dumbfounded.

"Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t want to see me."

"Hah! That’s funny."

Just then, the courses started coming out.

Silence fell again, and we ate quietly.

The restaurant had one Michelin star, and the food was decent.

"Is it okay to order wine?"

After eating in silence for a while, Yelena asked me.

"Yeah, order whatever you want."

"Having a rich brother-in-law sure is nice."

Natasha immediately corrected her,

"We’re not married yet."

"Now that’s funny. Anyone can see you’ll be married soon."

"Th-that’s..."

Natasha’s face turned red and she couldn’t respond properly, so Yelena chuckled.

"By the way, are you taking something? Aren’t you in your thirties now? How do you look so young? Do you get special treatment as a hero or something?"

"No, I don’t."

Actually, this was because of me.

Natasha had once complained about wrinkles, so I’d been subtly feeding her life force using the [Bat-Bat Fruit Model Vampire] ability without her noticing.

Her actual age was 32, but her physical age was being maintained at 25.

So I felt a little guilty.

"Come to think of it, you haven’t aged either, brother-in-law. I remember you being a bit older."

"Now that you mention it, yeah. How old are you, Jin?"

At Yelena’s question, Natasha also suddenly got curious and asked me.

"38."

I said it without hiding anything, and Yelena looked genuinely surprised.

"Really? I would have believed early twenties..."

"I take care of myself."

"You must be the type that doesn’t age well. But people like that usually suddenly age all at once."

"That’s a scary thing to say."

Natasha giggled at that.

We hadn’t gotten to the main topic yet, but the casual conversation had lightened the mood and opened up the dialogue, which was a relief.

After finishing the meal and paying, we bought coffee and dessert nearby and continued talking inside the Talarian.

Eventually, we finally got to the main topic.

"So why did you send that strange drug to me?"

"It’s an antidote that can cure the Red Room’s chemical brainwashing."

Natasha looked shocked at Yelena’s words.

"Wha, what?"

"The Red Room is still active."

"What are you talking about! The Red Room was dismantled years ago! I killed Dreykov!"

Yelena stopped eating her dessert, looked at Natasha, and asked seriously,

"Did you see the body? Are you sure he’s dead?"

"..."

Natasha couldn’t say anything—she hadn’t properly confirmed it.

There was a reason.

She had tried to assassinate Dreykov by planting explosives.

But the explosion had also caught Dreykov’s young daughter, Antonia Dreykov, in the blast.

Because of that, Natasha felt deep guilt and never confirmed his death, simply reporting him dead to S.H.I.E.L.D.

"After what happened to you, Dreykov made sure no one could ever betray the Red Room. Chemical brainwashing was one of those measures. Until recently, I was brainwashed and carrying out missions myself. Then the woman I was chasing happened to have the antidote, and I was lucky enough to break free. I think the person I was after was one of the researchers who developed the chemical brainwashing—she died before I could get more details, though."

"That can’t be... How have you stayed hidden from the Avengers all this time? And why did you leave me, a traitor, alone?"

I answered that one.

"Because the Avengers are scary. If they messed with you, a whole team of superheroes would come after the Red Room."

"That’s right. Brother-in-law’s smart. Anyway, I sent the antidote to you because I hoped you’d use the Avengers to destroy the Red Room."

Natasha looked at Yelena with an apologetic expression and said,

"I thought you were just living a normal life."

"Whatever. You didn’t know, so I can’t blame you. But not contacting me all this time—that was too much."

Just then, the sound of multiple motorcycles came from below the Talarian.

I checked the monitor and saw people on bikes searching for something.

From their builds, they seemed to be women—most likely Black Widows.

There was even an armored vehicle driving around nearby.

"Oh, crap. They must be looking for us."

Yelena grew anxious at the sight, but I reassured her,

"Don’t worry. As long as we’re in here, they won’t find us. This camper van has retro-reflective panels that make it invisible, absorbs radio waves, and matches the surrounding temperature to avoid thermal detection."

"Wow... So this is what an Avenger has."

"More importantly, Natasha, let me see that antidote."

"Huh? What for?"

"What do you think? We need to recruit more allies."