Ch.293The Switch (13)

Ireh was lost in thought as she organized Eidel’s documents.

Now that the graviton had been discovered, only the graviton bomb remained. Though she didn’t know how long it would take, they were certainly approaching the end.

She felt elated. Had she ever come this far so comfortably before? Had there ever been a cycle where she lived each hopeful day knowing a new path?

Of course not. This was the first time.

As she was humming while organizing the desk, the Saint asked.

“Do you like Rheinland?”

“What?”

“It doesn’t seem like a simple business relationship. I was just curious.”

Like him?

Eidel? Me?

Ireh’s face turned bright red.

“Del is just a reliable colleague.”

“Oh my. Even a nickname.”

“It’s not a nickname. It’s just easier to call him that… Anyway, don’t jump to conclusions. It would be troublesome for Eidel.”

The Saint snorted.

“Women like you always end up leaving nail marks on men’s backs before long.”

“Cut the nonsense. I get goosebumps just from touching a man’s fingertips.”

“You’re the one talking nonsense. Isn’t that person a man? I’ve been watching, and you don’t seem uncomfortable at all.”

“Eidel is… an exception.”

The Saint pursed her lips. Her expression suggested she was wondering what this woman was all about.

Perhaps this was an opportunity.

Although she had lost to Eidel, the Saint’s heart still belonged to the Foreign God.

The Iron Foreign God.

He was her savior who had rescued her from the backwater slums and made her the head of a religious order. She had to work for him.

But there had been no suitable opportunity. Killing Eidel seemed impossible, and destroying the accelerator would be pointless since the research was already complete.

So what should she do?

[“Block future research.”]

Seeing Eidel von Rheinland’s determination, completely stopping the research seemed impossible. So thinking inversely, she could create an environment where it would be difficult to concentrate on research.

Eidel was a married man, and the woman before her was not his wife. Yet Eidel spent more time with this woman than with his wives.

Office wife.

Perfect material to encourage an affair.

The Saint smirked.

“It’s not that you dislike men, but that you haven’t met a man you like until now. Someone kind, intelligent, with similar interests, and handsome. Plus tall and rich.”

“You’ve got me all wrong. I’m not a loose woman like you.”

“Who are you calling loose? I’m a devout believer. I always keep myself pure.”

“Devout my foot, wearing such provocative clothes. Anyway, I have no intention of causing trouble for Eidel, so stop trying to drive a wedge between us.”

The Saint inwardly clicked her tongue.

Not easy.

But judging by the woman’s reaction, it seemed like something might happen soon. The Saint decided to wait patiently for now.

Whirr.

That’s when an android in a maid uniform entered the room.

“Young master, are you asleep?”

“Shh.”

Ireh raised a finger.

“He just finished his thesis. He said he’d take a short nap.”

“I see. That’s good news.”

The android was, needless to say, Sonia. Sonia looked at the peacefully sleeping Eidel with a fond smile, then whispered in Ireh’s ear.

“Someone from the government is coming.”

“…Understood.”

Of all times.

Ireh and Sonia moved to the changing room and swapped clothes. Ireh became Sonia, and Sonia became Ireh. Ireh returned to the room, while Sonia left the laboratory saying she would hide for a while.

Shortly after, people from the government arrived.

“Is the head of the Rheinland family here?”

“The young master is currently in deep sleep.”

Ireh calmly dealt with the officials.

Appearance, attitude, voice, posture. Everything was perfect. Thanks to habits from her days as an assassin, she was portraying Sonia without any sense of incongruity. Even the maid uniform that once embarrassed her was now somewhat bearable.

“What brings you here?”

“Well, it’s about the android movements we observed during the Aether Belt restoration operation we mentioned before.”

“I see. You’ve come to take me for examination.”

“That’s correct.”

“The young master has finally fallen asleep after staying up for ten days straight. Since I am Eidel’s property, you need his permission to take me.”

“This is… troublesome.”

“Should I wake him now?”

“No, that would be impolite. But we can’t leave without conducting any tests.”

One official rummaged through his bag and pulled something out. It was an electronic device similar to a speed gun.

“What is that?”

“It’s a newly developed Fron detector. We’ll use it to check if this android has any traces of the Foreign God.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“It’s a basic inspection.”

They seemed to suspect that Sonia might be an incarnation of the Foreign God. That was a close call.

“Can we test you on the spot?”

“Shouldn’t you get the young master’s permission?”

“It’s not a difficult procedure. It won’t take long, and we’d appreciate your cooperation for the public good.”

Another official spoke in an authoritative tone. Ireh reluctantly spread her arms.

Beep.

“Normal. No traces of the Foreign God detected.”

“Hmm.”

Some officials let out indecipherable murmurs. The female official who conducted the measurement said they would return in two days. Ireh politely saw them off.

“I’ll see you next time. Please return safely.”

The officials left, disappointed. Once they were completely out of sight, Ireh let out a shallow sigh.

She had managed to get through the immediate crisis, but it was only a temporary solution. A better solution would be to complete Sonia’s dummy and use it to deceive the Ministry of Defense, and the fundamental solution would be to create a peaceful world without the Foreign God.

Creating the dummy was taking longer than expected.

To prevent information leaks, the fake Sonia was being manufactured at Seti’s subsidiary. They were reviewing it multiple times to ensure perfect deception.

Until then, she had to endure.

Ireh clicked her tongue repeatedly as she entered the room. The Saint seemed to have fallen asleep with her eyes closed, and Eidel…

“Oh, Sonia?”

He had just woken up.

Ireh glanced at the Saint. The Saint was an enemy and couldn’t be trusted. She needed to continue acting as Sonia as they had discussed before.

“Did you cough, young master?”

“Yes. Oh, my head.”

“You don’t seem to have slept much.”

“Still, I completely dozed off for a moment.”

“Some officials visited while you were sleeping, young master.”

“Ah, I see.”

Eidel couldn’t open his eyes properly. He was in a half-asleep state. He staggered like a drunk person and immediately picked up his thesis.

“Sonia, look at this. I finally finished my doctoral thesis.”

“Really? Congratulations.”

“Yes, now I’ll get my degree and graduate with this. Want to take a look?”

“Yes, please.”

Though she had already seen the thesis several times, she opened it again.

[Gravitons and Physics Inside Singularities]

From the title to all the content, it was a well-written thesis.

A theory using the FR model to identify black hole phenomena at boundary surfaces, and using gravitons as intermediaries to confirm their internal structure. With this theory, creating a graviton bomb would become feasible.

“What do you think?”

“It’s amazing.”

It wasn’t just flattery; it really was. Eidel’s thesis had the power to make Ireh’s heart race.

“I can’t understand everything, but it’s clearly an excellent thesis. It has dedication in it. It will definitely be approved.”

“Thank you, Sonia.”

Eidel smiled with his half-closed eyes.

“You deserve the most credit for this thesis, Sonia.”

At that moment.

Thud. Ireh’s heart sank.

“What… do you mean?”

“You’ve been supporting me all this time.”

“No, young master. Hasn’t Miss Ireh worked harder than me?”

Eidel gave a bitter smile.

“Sonia, you think what you do is just natural. Whether it’s housework or protection, if you hadn’t been exclusively by my side, I wouldn’t be who I am today. So this thesis wouldn’t exist either.”

“…”

“You deserve the most credit, so don’t be unnecessarily modest.”

It was unfair.

Who had been by your side for two years while the Saint was turning back time, helping with your research? Who had been a reliable pillar as your assistant and colleague?

Ireh mumbled and then hung her head low. An inexplicable emotion welled up like ink.

It was strange. She couldn’t understand why she suddenly felt this way. Yet she wasn’t even given the leisure to think about it slowly.

“Sonia.”

Eidel wrapped his arm around the waist of Ireh disguised as Sonia. Ireh’s shoulders trembled slightly. Eidel swallowed a yawn and continued in a gentle tone.

“I told you before, didn’t I? That after getting my doctorate, I would try to persuade Zernya.”

“Did you?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You’re quite passive today. Is that your concept?”

“…”

“You know, Sonia. I realized that even though you’ve made advances toward me, I’ve never confessed to you first. I suddenly feel sorry about that.”

Wait a minute.

The atmosphere was strange.

“I’ve been thinking about you all this time. The time we spent together, what you’ve done for me, the heart and sincerity you’ve shown me. It all resonated with me.”

This was wrong. Something was going terribly wrong.

“Even though I know I should feel sorry toward my wives, I absolutely cannot make the decision to push you away. So I’ll give you my answer right now.”

“Ah, wait…”

Ireh couldn’t continue.

A soft, warm sensation invaded her tongue.

Following that, the smell of a man piercing her nostrils made her muscles stiffen. Ireh’s thoughts sank into confusion.

Eidel separated his lips and said quietly.

“This is my answer.”

“Ah, ah…”

Her legs weakened, and she couldn’t move.