episode_0196

After the consultation ended, I stepped outside.

After waiting for a moment, Sophieel Unnie, who had finished her conversation with the scholarship officer, approached us.

“How was the interview?”

“They said special transfer isn’t possible…” I became crestfallen. Life would be so much better if it could be easy, but it can’t be!

Hearing my words, Sophieel smiled as if it were obvious and replied.

“Of course. You weren’t seriously hoping to get into a prestigious academy in another district with that, were you? Special admission is strictly a system to rescue awakened students whose academies collapsed due to major incidents.”

According to Unnie’s explanation, there were indeed people in the past who intentionally blew up schools or aimed for their closure to achieve that.

“In the early days of the special transfer system, it wasn’t uncommon for wealthy clans to buy academies, then use excuses to shut them down and transfer their students to the academies they wanted. After several such incidents occurred, the rules were revised.”

“Ugh, that happened…” It’s sad. Because those wicked clan members resorted to shortcuts first, our Violets’ share disappeared!

“Ugh, I don’t want to read books!” The Violets wailed.

For other subjects, it’s enough to roughly share vision with clones and find information, but the problem is math!

“It can’t be helped! If we use the power of Dr. Yurik…” We thought of the Ariel Group, and the postdoctoral researcher Mister who would eventually become the head of the Violet Alliance’s R&D department.

The difficulty level of subjects at an awakened academy is, at its hardest, early to mid-undergraduate level. So, for an elite intellectual who has tackled a doctoral program, it’s as easy as pie [literally, “eating rice cakes while lying down”].

“Alright, what should we buy for him this time…” “How about a hotel buffet?” “That sounds good!”

We walked down the hallway, chatting among ourselves. I felt Sophieel Unnie, who was guiding us, glance sideways at us.

“What’s so funny? Oh, I’m really asking because I’m curious. You’ve been laughing ever since.”

“Oh, nothing special, I was just talking with my other selves!”

“It was called the Violet Network, right? Honestly, I still can’t understand it even while seeing it.”

Unnie seemed a little amazed, as if she found it wondrous even as she spoke. It seemed she had heard what I told the scholarship officer earlier.

It seems difficult for even the protagonist of this world to immediately accept the excellence of us Violets.

“Anyway, I’ll be staying with Violet for a while. By the way, will you be alright? No matter how big the factory is…”

“Oh, I’m fine! We already have hundreds of family members.”

“Hu-hundreds…”

Strictly speaking, while it’s “hundreds,” the majority of Violets are dormant in a hibernating state. To be precise, it’s dozens of Violets + a few, six friends, two former professors who are now jobless, and one researcher.

“Now that I think about it, we’ve grown so much, haven’t we?”

Including the brokers from the temporary staffing agency active outside, the influence of us Violets is quite significant, more than one might think.

“Should we try making a clan later?” “That’s a great idea!”

As I pondered what would be a good clan name and headed down the hallway, I saw a girl approaching the scholarship officer’s office.

“Wait, that person…”

A red-haired girl in neat attire approached us. Uniquely, the girl had animal ears on top of her head. It was a rare appearance in this city that pursued realism in unnecessary places.

As I sifted through my memories at the somewhat familiar sight, the girl hurried towards us, clutching documents.

“Milia? What’s going on?”

“Ah, Agent-nim! You were here? I had something to deliver!”

Hearing the name from Sophieel Unnie’s mouth, I was certain. That child’s true identity was the Crimson Scholar’s signboard character.

“It’s Milia!” “The scholarship officer’s secretary!”

As I waved my hand in greeting, Milia’s gaze turned towards me, and she was startled. She quickly whispered to Sophieel.

“Agent-nim! Th-that person is definitely the one the scholarship officer mentioned…!”

“That’s right. It’s her.”

“…Gasp!” Milia gasped and covered her mouth. It seemed I had clearly made a bad first impression on the scholarship officer’s all-purpose assistant.

“Oh no, it seems she knew we were terrorists too!” “Tsk! It can’t be helped. But we’re not terrorists, are we?”

I decided to greet her to give a positive impression, even now.

“Hello, Kitty!”

The effect of my greeting was immediate. Milia’s face hardened.

“…I’m not a cat.”

Uh oh, I made a mistake.

**

On the way home, Sophieel gently chided me for my actions.

“What do you mean, just saying something like that to someone you’ve just met? It’s rude. And Milia hates being called a cat.”

“Ugh! You’re right, it’s my fault…”

I had forgotten. The scholarship officer’s assistant hates being called a cat.

“Ugh! Our image must have completely worsened.”

If I had made a good impression on her, I could have gained several minor benefits. But I just blew it.

“It can’t be helped. We can’t make a good impression right from the start, can we?” “Let’s find a way to raise her favorability later! Like bringing gifts!”

Perhaps because she’s the protagonist’s assistant, Milia has low combat power but possesses some interesting talents. She’s not an ordinary being, after all.

“You wouldn’t do that to your friends or other adults, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t!”

As we chatted about various things, we arrived at the Violet barracks.

“Eat dinner, then hand over the academy server and documents. Alright?”

“Yes!”

We passed the time doing various chores. When evening came, the Violets who had been lounging around began to get up one by one.

“Ugh… I’m hungry…!” “Food!”

The Violets in the barracks headed to the dining hall one by one. While some Violets prepped ingredients and prepared food, others looked around. They were curious about what their friends and the professors were doing.

“What’s everyone doing?”

Until now, we hadn’t had a good opportunity to observe the whereabouts of those around us. We had been too busy with the scholarship officer interview and the aftermath. And personally, I had been busy too.

First, I went to check on Instructor Frederick and my friends. The instructor was discussing something with my friends in the room.

When I asked, they said they would explain everything to me later at once. Was it a transfer consultation?

Looking closer, it seemed they were planning training schedules. I should ask what they’re going to do later.

“This is confirmed. By the way, how are the upvote preparations going?” “Yep! We’ve dispatched agents to other places, considering address allocation!”

These days, the Violets have something they do to pass the time. It’s going onto news sites and social networks and pressing the upvote button. This is called the Ariel Group Online Purification Operation.

“Those Magnabis guys. Looks like they still have energy. Look at this!”

Unit 1540 shared its vision. What appeared on the smartphone screen were news articles.

Articles subtly arguing for both sides, unable to openly advocate for the clans. A fight broke out in the comments section, and strangely, only posts criticizing us received a lot of upvotes.

“This must be manipulation!”

Being accused of being terrorists was tolerable. But the comments claimed that the human experimentation was fabricated. Seeing that made me angry.

“How dare they, I cannot forgive this!”

The Violets upvoted with their pre-prepared accounts and spammed insults. A short while later, our posts rose to the top of the recommended list.

“Hooray!”

In this way, we upvoted posts we liked on the bulletin board and downvoted bad ones. The bulletin board became clean.

“Ugh… it’s over!”

A few Violets who had lost interest got up from the factory floor and went elsewhere. Another one of me headed to a small factory near the barracks. It served as a temporary research lab and magic tool crafting workshop.

I knocked and entered, seeing Dr. Yurik discussing something with Professor Albert.

“There’s no need to feel so bad. That person made their own choice. They were prepared to take responsibility, so how could you stop them?”

“But…”

Yurik Ahjussi had a somewhat displeased expression. Listening to their conversation, it seemed they were talking about the slave Ahjumma who had gone to the hearing recently.

“Indeed, even if she surrendered, it’s hard to avoid punishment!”

And not just punishment? Yesterday, while testifying elsewhere, she was grabbed by the hair and pelted with filth by the bereaved families of soldiers who had stormed in. Since her crime was a crime, she naturally had to endure such accusations and disgrace.

“…Logically, those are valid points. But seeing it, I can’t help but feel uncomfortable. Why is that?”

The Mister’s face was full of bitterness. His former respected and helpful mentor as a scholar was now a wicked villain, and a colleague he had worked with for a short time was an accomplice to terrorism. Such a situation would not be common.

“How could I know your heart? Still, cheer up. Sometimes such things happen to people around you in life. Surely, you aren’t harboring any other feelings…”

Professor Albert, who was about to offer some life advice, seemed to sense my presence and finally turned to look this way.

“What is it, Violet? When did you arrive? Wasn’t there a sign on the door to knock?”

“I did knock!”

“Is that so? By the way, why did you come here?”

“Because I’m the landlord! I came to see if you were doing well. How’s the house?”

As I grumbled, Professor Albert shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, what can I do even if I don’t like it? My student is letting me live here for free, so I should be content.”

Seeing the professor grin, it seemed he wasn’t doing badly. Next was the turn of the Mister Doctor.

“Oh, right, Ahjussi! Don’t worry too much about Ahjumma.”

“…Huh?”

I explained a few internal matters I had learned through my connections.

“Firstly, it’ll be hard to avoid a heavy sentence. However, the main culprit was captured by the Federation without much trouble, so they say she won’t receive the death penalty or life imprisonment! Although she’s getting cursed at by congressmen and soldiers at the hearing, she’s cooperating well, so there’s a possibility of leniency.”

This is what I found out through Adela and Harbor, the manager of the Atlas Clan. The legal team supposedly said so.

“That’s a relief then…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll put a lot of money in her inmate account under the name of ‘slave retirement fund’. She won’t starve in prison. If you’re still worried, let’s go visit her together later. Alright?”

Only then did Yurik Ahjussi’s expression relax a little.

By the way, our slave escaped to the detention center. Who should I entrust with handling magic tools or artifacts now?

“There are the prisoners, aren’t there?”

That’s right. I forgot, didn’t I? Still, it’s a bit disappointing. We didn’t capture them specifically for this, so I don’t know if they can meet our demands. Well, I guess we can make them do it somehow. Though it might be a bit troublesome if the scholarship officer finds out!

“By the way, Professor, what were you doing here?” I looked around the room. Now that I saw it, it didn’t seem like they were just having a simple life consultation. Inside, there were several blackboards covered in complex equations and all sorts of research materials.

The Violet Network read the subtle atmosphere flowing within the space. It seemed they were having a conversation only scholars would have.

“I was going to call for you anyway. I just heard an explanation about your unique ability. You possess an interesting ability, called the Violet Network…”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Hearing my reply, Professor Albert smiled and looked at me. The moment I met that smile, a shiver suddenly ran down my spine. An unknown ominous feeling welled up.

“But why…?”

The professor gestured towards a chair. I sat down as instructed.

“I heard you’re preparing for the transfer exam. I was going to discuss it with Frederick anyway, so I’ll tell you my plan. First of all…” The professor opened his mouth. I listened intently, feeling an inner dread.

**

Two days later, we Violets voluntarily plunged into hell.

“Magic can be copied? It was true. This is a revolution!” The excited professor shouted.

“Everyone open your books and focus! From now on, let’s learn about intermediate and advanced magic!”

“Kyaaaak!”

While a group of Violets suffered in the temporary classroom, another group of Violets stood inside a dilapidated dueling arena building. On the opposite side were their tense-looking friends.

“I’ve explained it until it’s hammered into your ears [meaning, I’ve explained it thoroughly], so I trust you all understand well.”

The instructor dropped a handkerchief on the floor. Soon, a crackling sound echoed, and a translucent barrier enveloped the inside of the dueling arena.

“Ready? Kill each other now.”

The Violets, armed with weapons, charged forward and roared. “Groooar!”