Chapter 256

Chapter 256. The Moment You Didn’t Notice.

Meanwhile, after assessing the situation at the auction and trading market.

Icarus was sighing, “Hooeeeng,” wondering what to do next, going through a moment of deep contemplation.

At that very moment, the superhumans who had cleared all the “Daily Quests” assigned by Icarus were taking advantage of the well-deserved break to gather for a rare meeting.

However, except for Jessica, who assists Icarus, and Partia, all the other superhumans.

Including Marian and the newcomer Tiamat, the vibe of the gathering was something like…

“Alright, is everyone here?”

“Hmm…”

With all the lights turned off and only special holograms flickering, the meeting room gave off a very sinister vibe.

It felt like a secret shadow council manipulating the government from behind the scenes, plotting something truly dark and evil.

So much so that if Icarus were to see this, they would undoubtedly freak out, exclaiming, “Wow! What the heck!”

But contrary to that ominous appearance…

“So, anyway…”

“But do we really have to meet like this?”

“Well, since we all know each other anyway… it’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Then let’s turn on the lights.”

The place, which was filled with a shadowy atmosphere, quickly brightened up as someone turned on the lights, complaining that the holograms were too bright and hurt their eyes.

“…So, what exactly are we gathered for?”

“Hmm, come to think of it, this is Tiamat’s first time joining, right?”

“Yeah, she’s been busy with aircraft training and hasn’t had much time to rest.”

Tiamat (first-time attendee), watching this spectacle, was filled with doubt, wondering what on earth was going on.

But those thoughts were short-lived.

“Since everyone’s here, I declare the meeting open~♡”

“Alright, as always, let’s proceed with the first agenda item.”

“Agenda item?”

“Right.”

“The most important agenda item proposed by Gryanarr last time, ♡”

“???”

“The grand plan to extract the Commander’s DNA and distribute one Commander clone to each superhuman.”

“Officially known as the ‘Commander Supplement Plan,’ the progress report on this plan is the first agenda item of the meeting.”

“…”

From Tiamat’s perspective, who had no idea what was going on, it was quite something.

The superhumans weren’t gathering for a friendly meetup or forming a secret organization within the base.

Instead, they were plotting a sinister and bizarre plan to acquire the DNA (?) of the base’s Commander, Icarus, to create one clone per person.

Tiamat’s face twisted in confusion, unsure how to process this information.

==========

And while our poor Tiamat was going through an “Where am I, who am I” moment.

As soon as Pashtira announced the start of the meeting, Belial, who was on the side, immediately started berating Gryanarr…

“You always boast that you can do anything, so why can’t you create a clone of the Commander? Gryanarr.”

“Ugh.”

“Pathetic.”

“Nnngh!”

Usually, Belial, who is the epitome of FM (Follow Manual), relentlessly berates the ever-flexible Gryanarr, who always dodges the blame.

But this time, as Gryanarr repeatedly failed in his specialty of ‘science and research,’ he was on the receiving end of Belial’s FM-style criticism and even had his own mocking lines thrown back at him.

Shivering, Gryanarr acknowledged the reality, shaking his head in resignation.

“As I’ve mentioned before, you can’t create something out of nothing.”

“Hmm…”

“To create a clone, we need a significant amount of the Commander’s DNA… but the problem is, it’s really hard to obtain.”

“That’s right, as Professor Gryanarr said, extracting DNA from the Commander is quite difficult.”

In response to Gryanarr’s explanation, Smeragi and Pashtra raised their hands to ask questions.

“Can’t we infiltrate the Commander’s room through the bathroom pipes like we did with that guy, Rakan or whatever?”

“I was thinking the same thing. Even if it’s not the bathroom, there must be ventilation pipes or something.”

But to their questions, Grigri Gryanarr and his assistant (?) Rain responded that it was impossible.

“We’ve tried, but…”

“Surprisingly, the Commander’s room is completely sealed off and isolated.”

“It’s disconnected from all the base’s pipes, wires, and other lifelines, except for communication.”

Of course, this was all due to the system’s protection, creating a kind of ‘absolute barrier.’

The women gathered here were so locked in their heads that they couldn’t even begin to grasp the concept of “system protection.” Breaking through this issue was, quite literally, no exaggeration to call it impossible.

“If we can just get enough genetic material, we can use the stuff in the ‘Nest of Life’ to clone as many as we want.”

“If we have enough resources, we could fill the entire base with clones of the Commander.”

“…Isn’t that why we’re having this meeting in the first place?”

“Exactly, that’s the whole problem.”

Meanwhile, Belial, Pashtira, Gryanarr, and Smeragi—who was influenced by them—along with Rain, were all groaning and struggling with headaches. Meanwhile, Ignis, who had somehow become the senior member of the base, unlike the other superhumans drowning in lust, suddenly brought up an idea.

“Wait, if we can mass-produce clones like that… couldn’t we create an army of superhuman clones using our genes?”

“Huh?”

“Ignis, that’s not what we’re talking about right now…”

Of course, the other superhumans were baffled by this random suggestion, but…

“Actually, if we overwhelm them with sheer numbers and rack up an impressive record, wouldn’t the Commander show us some favor?”

“…Hmm.”

“Trying to force it, and especially with Gryanarr not even hiding his intent to squeeze the Commander dry, only makes the Commander more wary.”

The others nodded, agreeing that the point was valid. However, Gryanarr and Rain, who would actually have to create these “clones,” suddenly turned pale.

“Unfortunately, even if we inject superhuman genes, it doesn’t mean superhumans will be mass-produced.”

“Why not?”

“Life doesn’t work that easily. Even if we create a clone army using our genes…”

“They’ll only look and act like us, but they won’t have any of the special abilities needed to be superhumans.”

“Ah… I see.”

Gryanarr shook his head firmly, declaring it “impossible.” Belial and Oxianor nodded but couldn’t help feeling a sudden doubt.

“Wait… does that reaction mean you’ve already tried it?”

“Yeah, last time I tried cloning from stem cells, but all I got was a kid who looked like me.”

“Ah.”

“But their intelligence was low, their physical abilities were completely average, and their personality was the same, so I just tossed them into the chimera production plant.”

“…?”

Faced with Gryanarr’s bright and confident attitude about using his own clone as a biological component for chimera production, the two could only nod in agreement.

But in the end, no matter how you looked at it, the plan to create a clone of the Commander had failed once again. Except for Ignis, who was daydreaming about having one more Commander around, the other superhumans were determined to secure a future where there would be at least one Icarus per person.

Meanwhile, Gryanarr was subtly burning with the will to let the others have the clones while he kept the original for himself.

Of course, Tiamat, who had been half-dragged into this meeting, couldn’t possibly understand any of this. With a pure expression, she innocently blurted out:

“But isn’t the Commander a kind person? Is all this really necessary?”

“What did you say?”

“Huh?”

Of course, Tiamat’s comment was no different from a casual fan telling an obsessive otaku, “Your character isn’t that hot.” The result?

—————————————-

<Event>

<Tiamat’s excessive defense of you has caused her favorability to drop!>

<Tiamat’s current favorability: +25 (-5)>

—————————————-

“What now?”

Icarus, who had been zoning out to neutralize her mental stress, was suddenly hit with an unfair favorability drop event.