EP.1 Human Ranch - 1
"Ah! You're here!"
While I was still unable to grasp the situation, someone who drew my attention ran out from inside.
A beautiful woman, with black hair reminiscent of the night sky flowing down to her waist, was approaching me.
Her large chest swayed suggestively up and down with every step she took.
As I was staring at her in a daze, she stopped right in front of me.
"Haa... Huu... You arrived earlier than I thought?"
Kind brown eyes.
A white short-sleeved t-shirt through which a blue bra was faintly visible.
Jeans that looked both innocent and strangely sexy.
She was a beauty you'd only see in magazines.
Because of this beautiful woman approaching me with a friendly, older-sister-like vibe, I couldn't help but feel bewildered.
"Um... what is this...?"
"Just as I heard. You really don't know anything, do you?"
"I heard that I was supposed to be evaluated for something here... but what is this place...?"
"Honestly... the people here are so half-hearted about their jobs... To put it simply, you'll be working here from now on."
"What...?"
Suddenly being told to work, and in a place with a sign that says "Human Ranch"?
'It's already a headache being dropped into another world, but now my head is spinning even more...'
I pinched myself to see if it was a dream, but all I felt was pain.
"I'll explain first, so come inside."
Even at her gentle gesture to come in, I felt resistance.
If she hadn't been a beauty, I might have run away.
After all, who in their right mind would willingly walk into a place labeled "Human Ranch"?
"Ah... you must not know yet. This is a female-only human ranch. You were brought here to be given a job and evaluated for suitability."
Female-only? Even though it's called a human ranch?
At least I learned one more thing:
Whatever is being raised inside, they certainly don't treat them as ordinary humans.
"Don't even think about running away. The tranquilizer gun over there will shoot you immediately."
"Tranquilizer gun...?"
When I looked where she pointed, there really was a vicious-looking gun installed.
It seemed to operate automatically, not by a person, as there wasn't even a handle.
"That's an automated system, not related to me, so I hope you'll cooperate as much as possible."
"What if... I manage to dodge and run away?"
I knew nothing good would come from asking, but I couldn't help my curiosity.
"I haven't seen it myself, but I've heard that at first, hundreds of drones loaded with tranquilizer darts will search the area, and if that doesn't work, the police... and then the military will be deployed."
Just hearing it sounded terrifying.
Besides, I was stateless now, so I didn't even want to imagine what would happen next.
A world where a facility called a human ranch exists openly.
With no nationality and a rebellious attitude, it was easy to guess what would happen to someone like me.
Moreover, she had just said this was a "female-only" human ranch.
If there's a female-only, that must mean there's also a male-only, or at least both exist.
"You're a lucky case. Normally, you'd be classified as livestock right away, but they're short on workers."
"That's... quite a scary thing to say."
"Fortunately, the person in charge thought you seemed normal enough for a stateless person, so they decided to let you work as a trainee first and then make a decision."
"This is just..."
This made running away impossible.
Rather than wandering stateless, it was a hundred times better to work and earn citizenship.
Especially since being classified as livestock was out of the question.
"I guess I have no choice."
"I'm glad you understand. I've heard most people get caught trying to escape."
"I won't resist or try to run. But I do have a few questions."
"You seem to know nothing, so I'll explain various things. So, let's go inside."
She came over without hesitation and linked arms with me.
The soft skin touching my arm made me feel strangely excited.
Her pulling wasn't forceful, but it felt like I was under a spell I couldn't refuse.
In the end, I entered the ranch and sat facing her in what looked like a reception room.
"We should introduce ourselves first. I'm Han Sua. And you?"
"Suheon. Lee Suheon. But I have a lot of questions."
The reception room was not at all different from the world I knew.
Most of the things I saw-smartphones, laptops, pens-looked exactly as I remembered.
"What exactly is a human ranch?"
"Ah... I guess I have to explain from there? Did you grow up in the countryside or were you born abroad?"
"It's a bit hard to explain..."
I came from a world where human ranches didn't exist.
Saying that here would only make them think I was crazy.
"If there are circumstances, it can't be helped. Still, it's a bit surprising. I can't believe there are people who don't know about human ranches..."
"Is it that famous?"
"Of course. The only countries not running human ranches are those on the verge of collapse. Most stable countries operate them."
The whole world is running human ranches.
That alone was shocking, but she didn't seem to be lying.
"I see... But a human ranch... does that mean they really raise humans like livestock?"
"That's right. If you commit a crime and lose your human rights, or if necessary, humans are artificially created for it."
Artificially created humans...
I wasn't going to argue about ethics, but it was definitely not normal.
"Do artificially born humans have no human rights?"
"Legally, they're not recognized. Since they're born through drugs and magical engineering, their intelligence is also considerably low."
"Magical engineering?"
It was shocking enough that artificially born humans had no rights, but this unknown term piqued my curiosity.
"Ah... since you don't know about ranches, of course you don't know about that either? ... What is it, exactly?"
"I'm not an expert, so I can't explain in detail, but simply put, it's science that uses mana."
The more I asked, the less I seemed to know.
But from her attitude, it seemed to be common knowledge here.
"Mana flows through the atmosphere too, but there's not much, and living things have more of it."
"Are humans the most efficient? Is that why they run ranches?"
"You learn fast. That's right. They extract mana from humans and use it for resources like electricity."
"I think... I get the gist of it."
Just from that, I learned a lot about the world I'd fallen into.
Not that it changed the fact that I still had to work here.
"I don't know much, but mana seems to have a lot of uses. It's used for energy and is related to genetic engineering too."
"Genetic engineering... I'm curious how it's used besides energy."
"You can use it for beauty, like permanently changing hair color. You can even naturally enlarge your chest."
Mana seemed to be an incredible resource-changing the body was apparently simple.
Otherwise, there's no way a ranch raising humans would exist in such an advanced world.
"Whew... I learned a lot thanks to you."
"You adapt quickly. Most people are too shocked and just deny it."
"I had no choice but to adapt."
Having fallen into a world different from the one I lived in, I had no choice but to adapt to survive.
Denying reality and ending up as livestock was far worse than abandoning the common sense I once knew.
"Then I'll show you the ranch in person. That'll be faster."
"By the way... aren't there any other people?"
I'd traveled quite a distance to get here, but aside from her, I hadn't seen anyone.
The ranch was as large as a big village, if not a city.
But there was no one walking around or doing anything.
"Ah... until you arrived, I was the only employee here."
"Alone? In this huge space?"
"Ranch management is a job people avoid. It's far from the city, and because of production, we need several locations, so we're always short-staffed."
"It can't be easy... managing this place alone..."
"Most things are automated, so unless there's something special, it's pretty relaxed. And now, you'll be helping, so there's nothing to worry about."
Sua looked as excited as if she'd just gotten a junior colleague.
She handed me a strangely shaped bracelet.
"Put this on. Until you're recognized as a citizen, you're also under management, so there's no choice."
"Of course, I can't refuse, right?"
"Think of it as proof that you chose to work instead of becoming livestock."
There was no other choice.
Besides, it's not like I'd have to wear this bracelet forever.
I just had to pass the evaluation.
"I have no choice."
As I put the bracelet on my left wrist, it fit snugly and locked itself with a sound that made it clear it would never come off.
"Welcome to the team! Let's work hard together at the human ranch from now on."
Three months since I fell into this unknown world.
That's how I became a trainee working at the human ranch.