episode_0048

On the way back to the dorm, I coincidentally met Levi. Strictly speaking, Levi spotted me first and ran towards me.

“Th-there! Violet! This!”

Levi hesitantly handed over a small white shopping bag he was holding.

“Last time… thanks…”

“What is this?”

When I opened the bag, an unknown small box appeared.

“It’s a… a cake. Enjoy it…!”

The fellow darted away after leaving just one word.

-Anyone would think it’s a bomb.-

-I was craving something sweet, so this is good.-

Returning to the dorm, I looked at the cake box Levi had given me. Opening the small box, I saw a palm-sized mini fresh cream cake decorated with strawberries.

I took out my dagger, cut a corner, and put it in my mouth. The soft fresh cream was impressive. It was sweet.

After eating a little, I was still craving more, so I cut another piece, picked it up with my hand, and put it in my mouth. The crisp tartness of the strawberries and the soft texture of the bread were exquisite. I even licked off all the cream on my hand.

-Good. Where did he buy it?-

-Let’s ask him when we meet during class.-

Everyone was full of praise.

After eating about half the cake, I got tired of it. As I pondered whether to save it for later, someone came to mind.

-Where’s Daphne?-

-Seems like she hasn’t come back yet. She’s probably at the library studying.-

In the meantime, I had eaten too many cookies and drinks Daphne bought. Even I thought it was a bit much.

So I thought she might like it if I gave her this.

-Wow! What a good idea!-

-I agree too!-

Since the other mes also strongly agreed, I placed the cake on Daphne’s desk and went outside again. It was because after eating cake, I started craving other things. It’s troublesome, but I’ll have to go outside the school again.

-I want spicy rice cakes.-

-And spicy stir-fried noodles!-

-There’s cup ramen, rice balls, and sushi, so why isn’t there something like that?-

Although I’ve become a beautiful girl now, a part of Violet’s psyche contains memes originating from the Korean Peninsula. While it wasn’t an appetite that couldn’t eat rice without kimchi, lately I’ve started craving something spicy.

-Let’s just buy some hot sauce.-

-It’s chicken instead of pheasant [a proverb meaning settling for less than ideal but still acceptable].-

Chatting excitedly with the other clones, I stepped outside the campus. As I walked down along the wall, I noticed familiar-looking shimmering silver hair a short distance ahead.

-It’s Daphne! She was here!-

I excitedly raised my hand to wave and ran, but then stopped. It was because there were other people surrounding Daphne. Even from afar, the atmosphere seemed unusual. It looked like she was caught up in some troublesome dispute.

-What’s with that guy!-

A slovenly-looking guy, accompanied by two lackeys who seemed to be his gang, was bothering Daphne.

Behind Daphne, a girl I’d never seen before was trembling.

Whoever he was, his hair was a messy blonde, and his impression was unpleasant. He was undoubtedly one of those low-class types, often vulgarly called a ‘golden sun,’ sure to cause trouble.

I placed my hand on the wall next to me. Clone 71 was generated beyond the wall.

-Check the situation. And the others, prepare bricks!-

-Confirmed.-

Clone 71 approached closer and listened carefully.

“···Do you think it’s right to forcibly drag someone who says no?”

“And what kind of bitch are you? We just wanted to hang out with her! Who are you to stop us?!···”

“Stop! I saw you dragging her forcibly! Please just go away now.”

“Ugh… sniffle sniffle…”

“It’s okay. Don’t be scared.”

Judging from the situation, it seemed Daphne had intervened to stop those wicked guys from bothering the female student.

When I peeked my head over the edge of the wall, I could glimpse a resolute attitude in Daphne that was usually unseen.

The blonde thug’s leering eyes swept over Daphne. I saw his gaze stop at her chest.

-That! Those eyes! Where are you looking?!-

-Let’s kill him! Kill him!-

After finishing his appraisal of her appearance, the guy snickered.

“Hey, how about this. We’ll let her go, and you come with us. How about it?”

“Excuse me, but I refuse. I dislike people like you the most.”

Hearing her refusal, the blonde thug scoffed. Then he stretched out his arm towards Daphne.

His filthy hand reached for Daphne!

-That damn bastard!-

-Hey! Let’s go in!-

Five clones were summoned from the wall, preparing to jump over it.

But that hand never reached her.

-Clang!

“Huh? Damn it! What the hell?!”

Immediately, a pale green protective barrier unfurled, mercilessly bouncing off his hand.

A hemispherical barrier surrounded Daphne and the girl. She immediately turned around and began to exit between the guys, taking the girl with her. The thugs were pushed back by the barrier.

“What?! Fuck! Hey! Aren’t you going to drop the barrier?”

“Why is this so sturdy?”

The guys kicked at the barrier, but they couldn’t penetrate Daphne’s unique ability, which could even block the breath of an intermediate magic beast.

Daphne calmly turned and left with the trembling girl, her expression unchanged.

“Ah, this really pisses me off!”

The blonde thug, seemingly enraged, drew a knife.

Oh, look at this guy.

The moment a sword gleam flashed from his knife, we simultaneously jumped down from the wall.

Our target was directly above the thugs’ heads!

A blow carrying our full weight struck their heads.

“Gravity Strike!”

-Slam!

“Gasp!”

“Agh!”

“Ugh!”

[Attacking from the rear activated Synchronized Trait: Critical Backstab. Damage increases!]

The guys were struck by hammers and fell to the ground.

“We did it! Daphne! Let’s get out of here quickly!”

“···Ms. Ruzilin? Why are you here, of all places?”

“No time to explain. Let’s go!”

While I, waiting in the rear, led them away, the other clones who had subdued the guys checked their condition.

“Ah… damn it… who is it…”

“···This one didn’t faint?”

The blonde thug whined and tried to get up. He was sturdier than we thought. Since he had fallen face down, he couldn’t see us, but one hit seemed insufficient.

-Whack! Whack! Whack!

After hitting the back of his head vigorously with a hammer, the guy finally stuck out his tongue and collapsed.

“People will be passing by soon. Let’s quickly loot them!”

“Alright!”

We looted the wallets and smartphones of these wicked thugs and then de-spawned.

Should we have stripped them of their clothes too?

“Are you okay?”

“Thanks to you, I got out quickly. Thank you!”

Seeing Daphne’s smiling face, I felt good about saving her. I couldn’t let my beautiful roommate be handed over to those third-rate, low-life thugs.

“Thank you for your help!”

The girl Daphne saved repeatedly thanked her and then left. Originally, I just intended to get more snacks, but somehow things escalated a bit.

I guess I’ll just head back now and call it a day.

“Want to go eat cake?”

“Cake?”

“I actually received a gift…”

***

Aside from punishing the thugs, the external personnel had stopped their activities and were currently slacking off.

In fact, their motivation to work had disappeared a few days ago.

After discussing the recordings with Irene, a skeptical sentiment gradually spread among the Violets.

-Shouldn’t we do something?-

-It’s annoying. Why should I?-

I don’t know.

As we kept repeating the same tasks, we fell into a rut.

The lack of significant further results also contributed to the loss of motivation.

The grand plan to kidnap researchers from the underground facility was currently on hold. This was because they hadn’t solved the problem of how to get people out. Only various internal recordings accumulated meaninglessly.

-Shouldn’t we analyze these?-

-I don’t know, it’s annoying.-

Everyone had somehow stopped working and was lying on the floor.

-Weren’t we supposed to go to work? What about deliveries?-

-Deliveries? I quit. I was one minute late, and they made such a fuss, demanding a refund!-

The Violet lying on the mat said to another clone lounging next to her.

-Wouldn’t it be easier to just find the protagonist and tell them what we know?-

-That’s a good idea, but how do we know if the protagonist is currently an inspector?-

-We don’t even know if the inspector is male or female yet.-

The other Violets, who had lost their will to work, also agreed to find the protagonist. The underground facility was too vast, and areas with many people were difficult to investigate. Above all, there were limits to what an individual could do.

-Let’s contact the Inspection Bureau. If we say the protagonist’s name and ask for contact information…-

-As if they’d just hand it over.-

The Inspection Bureau was at least one of the few trustworthy organizations in this academy city.

Its official name is the Central Dispute Adjustment Inspection Bureau, abbreviated as CDAIB. It is the workplace of the protagonist, the inspector.

The protagonists of typical gacha games often play the role of a manager or commander, managing characters from the rear with their arms crossed.

However, in some works, the protagonist stands shoulder to shoulder with their comrades and plunges into the battlefield. The inspector was a character created following this trend.

In the dictionary sense, an inspector refers to an education official who supervises and advises on the practical implementation of education in schools.

However, in the world of Crimson Academy, the ‘inspector’ of the academy city held a different meaning. While they performed the duties of a typical education official, they also took on a political role of coordinating the interests between various clans and academies managing the academy city.

However, conflicts among Awakened individuals or the power struggles between clans, corporations, and various secret societies happening in the darkness are not easily resolved through dialogue.

Therefore, in terms of their practical role, the inspector is a problem-solver who bulldozes through all sorts of discord arising among corporations, schools, clans, and the Federation.

They are also the best force the academy city can employ since its military power was restricted after the Teatime Agreement.

Suddenly, the whereabouts of the bag that went missing last time came to mind.

-Did the inspector take it?-

-It’s still uncertain who took it. For now, there’s a high possibility that there are more people like us.-

-What about the possibility that an insider just happened to pick it up?-

-A multi-dimensional bag is an artifact of the highest value. If even a slight rumor spread, all sorts of people would have flocked to that dungeon, but there’s no sign of that yet.-

-It must have been someone with their own information. People like us, that is.-

-Right. Given that we exist, there’s a possibility of other transmigrators.-

Clone 7, who had been quiet, raised her hand enthusiastically and presented a new argument.

-What if it’s a regressor?-

-What?-

-Someone who time-traveled to the past through some means. Aether is a substance that causes miracles, isn’t it?-

-That’s absurd even by standards here. Ah, let’s say, just for argument’s sake, that it’s true. Then we’d have to pack our bags and run.-

-Why? Ah. Right.-

The Violets quickly understood the reason. Upon reflection, the inspector and future Violet were connected by a deep-rooted ill fate.

-Couldn’t we just persuade them with a good conversation?-

-Do you think that’s possible? Assuming the future version of them came here, we’re like baby Hitler in front of a Jewish time traveler.-

-Or Bin Laden in front of an American.-

At the bizarre analogy made by Clone 8, voices of protest erupted among us.

-Eek! How dare you compare us to an Austrian painter or a terrorist!-

-Clone 8, reflect on your actions!-

-Reflect! Reflect!-

Embarrassed, Clone 8 reluctantly bowed her head at the other Violets’ condemnations.

-Ugh… I’ll reflect.-

-You’ve reflected, right? Then it’s fine. Don’t do that again!-

The conversation, which we thought might be productive, ended here. We still didn’t know the whereabouts of the bag, and everything was annoying to us.

Still, after lying around listlessly and then making a fuss, I felt a little better.

Though I still had no motivation.