episode_0055

After the Violets, who had been thrown into disarray by confusion, fear, and absurdity, were calmed down by some means, Violet 1 barely managed to speak.

In front of Violet 1, another Violet lay sprawled on the floor. It was Violet 2.

Just a moment ago, Violet 2 had put a self-defense pistol in her mouth and pulled the trigger. Thanks to that, all our heads cleared.

Golden magic particles scattered, and Violet 2’s body disappeared.

“…To think this would actually work.”

The regenerated Violet 2 shook her head.

If there was a disadvantage Violets had compared to ordinary people, it was that when we suffered a severe mental shock, the impact was much greater than if it were just one. The moment a negative emotion was generated and crossed a threshold, it would sweep through our minds along the mental network, greatly amplifying itself.

The amplified flame of emotion would then erupt continuously like a nuclear fission chain reaction, sweeping through everyone’s minds. In such a state, no amount of ordinary words or positive thoughts could calm us down, even if we wanted to.

To calm down, we needed an even greater shock to dispel the emotions overwhelming our minds. Something like physical shock.

Violet 2 slowly raised her hand and began to explain in a gentle tone to the others.

“Alright, calm down. It’s only three months. And you know what? We don’t die. It just means the time for us to leave the school has been sped up a bit. Wouldn’t it be best to maintain the status quo for now?”

Violet 7, who had been sitting with her arms crossed, ‘glared’ at Violet 2. To be precise, Violet 7, who was at the school, mentally transmitted the feeling of glaring at her to Violet 2.

“You idiot! Polaris was a giant petri dish. We were microorganisms cultured on it. It’s no different from the secret research lab we were in…!”

At the word ‘research lab,’ our minds, which had barely quieted, began to churn like an earthquake once more.

A research lab? Right, that place where we were constantly given electric shocks to our necks, fed tasteless baby food, and beaten whenever they were bored? A pseudo mental hospital where we couldn’t see wind, sun, or earth. And that gloomy ponytail woman too!

I don’t even want to remember it. There are only bad memories there. If it weren’t for Kalia, we wouldn’t have been able to get out head-on.

And… ugh, my head. My head is throbbing again. What is the identity of this blank memory that hurts my head just by trying to recall it?

Furthermore, beyond the psychological burden, a real danger remained.

“Three months is just a figure of speech. In reality, it could happen sooner. What if it’s October? Or November? A researcher or doctor could suddenly shout ‘Eureka!’ and finish the plan in a day or two!”

“It seemed like a plan to do something by emitting Aether waves, but what if we turn into ghouls? We need to consider a situation where our unique abilities are neutralized.”

Violet 2 fell silent at the unexpected point, and her thoughts stopped. Seizing the opportunity, the other Violets who had been quiet surged forward.

“Yes, let’s run! Why did we shoot those researchers and get out? It was for freedom!”

“That’s right! Three months is just a figure of speech. It could be even faster.”

“Let’s run quickly! We have money, don’t we? There’s nothing to regret! We can get hunter licenses separately.”

“Freedom! Freeeeedom!”

As the excited Violets each spoke a word, the inner and outer reaches of their minds truly became chaotic. Soon, the discussion turned into a waste disposal site, dumping meaningless emotions and garbage.

In the midst of that commotion, Violet 21, who had been leaning against the wall, holding her head, suddenly remembered something and shot up from her seat.

“Hey, everyone. What about the others?”

“What…? Oh, them? Who cares if they die or not? Professor Albert said they’re all trash anyway.”

Some Violets were indifferent, while others sneered. Having only seen rough and messy things, our affection for the school had long since bottomed out and drilled through the basement.

While we objectively thought the wicked conspiracy and impending tragedy were bad, we didn’t know. We didn’t know why we specifically had to stop it. We had just happened to fall into this world.

And our goal was to achieve a peaceful and comfortable life. Although wicked conspiracies and various black operations lurked in the shadows of Academy City Rustrum, if we closed our eyes and lived in the light, assuming we had enough money, we could live fun and comfortably.

World salvation? Realizing justice? That’s the scholarship student’s job five years from now. It’s not our business.

Above all, the opponent conspiring at the school now was, in terms of Earth, a massive organization combining a criminal private military company advancing a thousand kilometers into a nation’s capital and a conglomerate. If we dared to challenge them at our level, it would be a mercy if we just ended up drinking blue tea; otherwise, we’d have to fight the clan’s private forces, who would relentlessly pursue us like exterminators clearing out cockroaches.

If that happened, we would barely escape with our lives. Just our lives.

Violet 21, who had glimpsed our terrible imaginings, waved her hands.

“I know! I didn’t say we should suddenly become apostles of justice like some madwoman. But…”

Violet 21, receiving everyone’s gaze, trailed off and took a deep breath.

“What about Daphne? What about Irene? Are we just going to leave them? We don’t know how they survived in the original story, but with us as a variable, who knows?”

At Violet 21’s point, our minds snapped to attention.

That’s right, those two are good people. Who cares if they’re important characters in the game or what the original story was about. Since we’ve met them before and received help from them, leaving them behind felt a bit against our conscience.

“Then, when we think the situation has worsened, let’s just extract those two. We’re not going to run away immediately, are we?”

Violet 35, who had only been listening without participating in the conversation, pulled something from her memory and presented it to us.

“What about the girl who gave us cake as a thank-you gift? And that big guy who took me to the infirmary when I collapsed from a hangover?”

“Their names are Levi and… who was it again? Granite? Well, fine. We occasionally exchange greetings with them when we see them in class, so let’s extract them later.”

With that, we concluded our discussion. Everyone dispersed and headed to their respective workplaces. In truth, it had been a long time since we’d done deliveries or hunting, so more people went to their beds than to their workplaces.

While talking calmly amongst ourselves definitely made things better than before, a corner of our minds still felt restless.

Is this the right thing to do?

Most people at the academy were strangers, and we’d seen many unpleasant things. Still, there must be a few innocent people among them. Even if some had done wrong, it felt a bit uneasy for them to die or become ghouls, unless they were truly severe cases. We didn’t know the detailed reasons, but knowing that an unprecedented disaster was approaching, we also wondered if it was right to simply stand by and watch.

‘How would the scholarship student have acted?’

Suddenly, the protagonist siblings of this game came to mind: Seijis and Sophieel.

Since they were the protagonists, we assumed they would have gathered students and colleagues and somehow resolved the situation.

‘Sigh, I don’t know.’

We had suddenly become hungry. Looking now, we hadn’t eaten breakfast. We should get something quick.

-Thump!

Oh, a sound came from the corner of the warehouse. Something hitting the floor and breaking. Did one of us make a mistake? But no one seemed flustered.

The source of the noise was coming from one side of the room.

“That room… weren’t we just using it? Come to think of it, the person we brought in…”

Bang!

The man kicked open the door and burst out. At the sudden situation, all our gazes turned to him. Simultaneously, we turned our heads to look at the man.

“Freedom!…What?”

Yurik, who had been shouting vigorously and running out, stopped. His eyes widened like lanterns. It couldn’t be helped. Reflected in his pupils were over ten identical-looking girls.

“Uh…what…again…identical girls…clones?”

Yurik seemed to have forgotten his intention to leave and stopped. With a dazed expression, he pointed at us, his hands trembling. He appeared to have become a stutterer from too much shock.

“Right! We forgot to dispose of that person while we were discussing. The sleeping pill should have worn off by now.”

“What?”

The Violets were startled. Wait a minute, that person. Did he just see our faces?

Our thoughts aligned with lightning speed, and we lunged like a thunderbolt.

“Catch him!”

“Charge! Charge!”

“Aargh! Aaaaaah!”

The man finally regained his senses and tried to run, but he was caught by the Violets who rushed him in the blink of an eye, pinning him to the floor.

We wondered how he had untied the ropes, and then, heavens. A broken chair was visible in the room. Since the chair was a bit old, he must have slammed his body against the floor to break it and free himself from the bindings.

“Mon…monsters! It’s a clone army! Help me! Please help me! Is anyone… Mmph! Mmph!”

Since he was yelling at the top of his lungs, we first covered his mouth.

We thought this person was an ordinary intellectual, but seeing him break free and try to escape, he’s more proactive than we imagined. Plus, he saw our faces. We absolutely couldn’t let him go now.

“What should we do? Kill him?”

As the man struggled, making muffled groans through the gag, his face went pale when he heard one of the Violets murmur. First, we hit the back of his head to knock him out.

We pondered Yurik’s unconscious state.

“Kill him? Who are we killing? He’s an innocent person!”

“But he saw our faces! Our unique abilities could be exposed!”

“We found out who this person is. He’s lived an honest life and hasn’t done anything bad. If we can’t let him go, let’s lock him up in our house instead! We happen to have a spare room, and we even have shackles and an animal cage we got when planning that kidnapping operation before.”

“What? You’re saying we should drag him all the way to our dorms?…Hmm, that’s plausible.”

Killing an innocent person was wrong. However, since he had witnessed our secret, we couldn’t let him go. If rumors about countless girls with identical appearances began to spread, the advantage of Violets being able to appear anywhere at any time would disappear.

Until another solution emerged, directly managing him was the safest option.

“Look at this, the screen is full of messages. They’re from Professor Sturges.”

Checking Yurik’s smartphone, we found a pile of messages asking about his willingness to participate in a project. One person was registered as ‘Advisor-nim,’ and the rest were unknown contacts.

We had already extracted all the important data anyway. We immediately smashed the smartphone and collected the debris. We planned to burn it all and melt it down later.

“Dorm team, clean one of our unused rooms and get a lock. We’re coming up.”

In the end, we decided to confine this man, Yurik, for the time being.

Looking at the unconscious man’s plight, we felt a bit sorry. He was suffering needlessly because of us.

“Since bringing him in was our fault, let’s provide him with the best meals and other welfare. We should give him a salary too.”

“Let’s do that.”

We securely wrapped Yurik with ropes and handcuffs, loaded him into the truck bed, and finished preparing to head to the central district. Since all traces had been cleaned up, we wouldn’t have to worry about being tracked.

Just as we were about to start the car and leave, an emergency signal came from a Violet at the school.

It was the Violet from the underground facility.

“Hey! Everyone! Pay attention! Something big has happened! Here right now…!”

A sudden, powerful mental shockwave swept over us.

“Aargh!”

Our vision went black.