Chapter 107

The center of Fangju.

As always, a large holographic screen hovers above the busy crowd of people passing by.

Live broadcasts of friendly matches.

Proving the excitement, the topics of conversation among those walking by are all related to the matches.

“Manager, did you see that just now?”

“Hang in there!”

“Wow, everyone is in high spirits.”

Some cheer during their lunch, while others take a break and engage in casual chatter.

Stories bloom from all directions.

However, the name that consistently comes up among them is Edu.

“She looks cute, but her abilities are no joke.”

“She can summon large robots, you know?”

“They called her a small hero, and it seems they weren’t lying.”

The name keeps popping up.

A man wearing a hood smiles faintly as he hears that chatter.

At that moment, a notification from the bio-terminal chimes in his head.

– Notification, 10 minutes left until the appointment time registered on the device.

“Oh dear.”

The man quickens his pace upon hearing the sound.

He heads toward a less crowded alley after crossing the main street.

The man’s steps, dressed in a hood, halt in front of a dim basement.

Knock, knock.

He raises his hand and knocks on the steel door.

Soon, a presence can be felt from inside, and the old cover attached to the steel door slides open, revealing a voice modulated by machinery.

– What is better than a child?

“A healthy child.”

– Hmm.

The door slowly opens, and the hooded man enters the basement.

Bang.

The steel door closes, and the two face each other in the dim room.

The man takes off his hood, revealing a mysterious figure inside who also removes their voice-modulating mask.

The face that becomes visible.

Surprised that the other is a woman, the man flinches, but the young woman doesn’t react to his action and begins to speak.

“Are you the Child Cheekpuff?”

“Yes, and you must be Nonongnong?”

Nodding to the young woman’s words, smiles bloom on their faces as they confirm each other’s nicknames, leading to a warm handshake.

“Welcome! You can call me Cheekpuff. Should I call you… Nongnong?”

“Yes.”

With their titles agreed upon, the young woman—Cheekpuff—leads the way.

“Then, Nongnong, let’s go inside.”

“Okay.”

The man—Nongnong—follows her.

An ordinary-looking room cloaked in darkness.

However, when Cheekpuff presses a button on the wall inside, rectangular indirect lights illuminate all at once, and the red lights attached to the chairs switch to green.

Rough holographic figures materialize one by one in a staggered fashion.

Above their heads, indicating their unique identities like Cheekpuff and Nongnong, are nicknames set apart by simple colors.

“Nongnong, please have a seat there.”

“Ah, okay.”

Nongnong takes a seat at Cheekpuff’s request.

As the seats fill up one by one, a golden figure scans the surroundings and speaks up.

– AW I like.

[ Good, since everyone called has arrived, it seems the newcomer has found their way properly. ]

A strangely aged tone.

Hearing that, Cheekpuff raises her hand.

“Uh, AW, Mr. I Love 1234 hasn’t arrived yet.”

She points to an empty chair with her finger.

[ I Love has a personal matter to attend to and will not be present today. ]

Sighs ripple through the room at his explanation.

[ That is unfortunate. ]

– Children are the Future.

[ Indeed, I’m sure many were looking forward to it…. ]

– Wakayakpahgnong.

Listening to their conversation, AW nods and responds earnestly.

[ It can’t be helped. Still, her will to be with us remains. ]

Everyone nods at AW’s serious statement.

[ Now then, would you introduce yourself? ]

AW’s gaze turns towards Nongnong.

Other people’s eyes also gather on him, and Nongnong stands up reflexively, bowing his head.

“I-I am Nongnongnong. Please just call me Nongnong!”

A loud self-introduction.

Hearing that, Wakayakpahgnong—shortened to Wakayak—laughs lightly in response.

[ You’re nervous; there’s no need to stiffen up like that. Now that you’ve come this far, you’re no different from us already. ]

“Ah, yes!”

[ Yes, Nongnong. All of us in the Dark Nongnong Group welcome you. ]

As AW says this and claps, others follow suit and welcome Nongnong.

The Dark Nongnong Group.

Those unknown guardians who bear the grand purpose of protecting all the children of Fangju and creating a world where children can freely laugh and play.

From the shadows of Fangju, they were still active for the sake of that cause.

“Thank you! I’ll do my best!”

[ Um, then take a seat. We should start the meeting soon. ]

“Okay!”

As Nongnong sits down, AW opens his mouth.

[ Then, Cheekpuff? ]

“Yes, I will now begin the 132nd meeting of the Dark Nongnong Group.”

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The applause resounds.

As the sound subsides, she continues.

“The topic for the meeting remains the same as before: how shall we support and assist Edu?”

The name is mentioned suddenly.

However, everyone just nods in acknowledgment; there are no objections.

It’s a conversation that flows as if it were a matter of course.

[ Then let me speak first. ]

“Yes, go ahead, Mr. Future.”

[ First, we successfully created a fan site for Edu and directed the fandom name to Nongnong Group. ]

Wakayak nods at those words.

[ As expected, Future, your work is swift. ]

[ No need to mention it. ]

[ Then I will speak as well. To spread a more positive image of Edu, I’m working to increase media exposure along with some appropriate rumors. ]

Wakayak smoothly carries on.

“Media exposure, you say?”

Wakayak nods at Nongnong’s question.

[ Yes, the more familiar people are with her, the closer they feel. I’ve also received positive responses from several companies and broadcasting stations. ]

“Indeed, Wakayak, that’s impressive.”

[ No need to say that, the little child is working hard, right? This much is necessary. ]

As Cheekpuff admires her, Wakayak appears a bit bashful.

AW, nodding, takes over her words.

[ Yes, that is true. It’s quite painful to see a child who should be running around and laughing already traversing a battlefield. ]

A heavy voice.

The atmosphere becomes solemn.

[ Of course, she is an exceptional child with shining talent, and she must have known her abilities to join the academy…. ]

AW trails off.

[ But isn’t it the best for a child to play happily and joyfully? ]

[ That’s right; it’s distressing that she has to head to the battlefield when her health isn’t great! ]

Fighting back tears, Future concurs, and Wakayak nods along.

[ I wonder how much that small and pitiable child has suffered to make such a decision…. ]

Wakayak’s hologram appears to be wiping her eyes as they glisten.

[ But it’s also true that we cannot allow her to live a normal life because of the uncertainty of our future. ]

[ That’s right… ]

[ So, at the very least, if there’s an area where we can help, let’s try our best in those parts. We can at least do that, right? ]

[ That’s right!! ]

[ That’s a good point. ]

Both respond to AW’s remarks.

“We will also do our best!”

“Me, too!”

Cheekpuff and Nongnong raise their voices with enthusiasm.

AW’s hologram shows a smile.

Although his true appearance isn’t visible, the gentle smile from across the way is conveyed.

[ Well then, let’s keep discussing. Let’s talk about what we can do and how we can help! ]

The passionate Dark Nongnong Group.

Once misunderstandings begin, they give birth to further misunderstandings, continuously adding layers like growing branches on a tree.

Thus, in the minds of the Dark Nongnong Group, Edu was formed.

This virtual girl, despite her frail body, was evolving into a heroic figure who made a decision for the sake of many.

….

That afternoon.

“Edu, I’ll go wash up first.”

“Okay.”

“Then, Seol, shall we wash together?”

“Yay!”

Nisia leads Seol into the bathroom, glancing back briefly before collapsing onto the bed.

“Hmm.”

A chuckle escapes involuntarily.

[ Did something good happen? ]

Hearing that, Nightmare questions.

“I’m just feeling good.”

[ Is that so. ]

“Yeah.”

With no particular dangers and an enormous amount of experience and bonus stats earned.

The thrilling combination of No Risk and High Return lifts the mood.

It’s definitely the academy; the performance is solid.

[ It seems you had good results in the friendly matches. ]

“Right.”

To be honest, I even feel a sense of guilt for this.

Because my current level is on a different scale than that of an average first-year student.

Of course, it’s not only me; Nisia and other friends who moved with me also became equally strong, but still, I feel a bit guilty.

But free experience points and stats?

You simply can’t pass that up, no way.

“ID, can you switch on the friendly match screen?”

[ Code check, displaying the friendly match broadcast currently ongoing in Fangju. ]

A hologram appears before me.

In the dome, a large male student I am familiar with is throwing punches at his opponent.

With a thud, a heavy blow lands.

The opponent’s body falls over a beat late, and soon the voice of the female commentator rings out.

– [ A decisive blow has just been landed! The winner is Jack Dillion! What an exhilarating close-combat match! ]

“They’re doing well.”

Nisia, whom I used to hang out with often, is expectedly thriving.

Jack is leveraging his innate physicality and strength from growth effectively and is yielding good results.

Clarissa and Jenny are having a bit of a tougher time, struggling somewhat, but still holding their own.

As for Edward… let’s just say he’s been out of luck.

While I’m thinking this, a loud sound echoes from beyond the hologram screen.

– [ This concludes all matches in the preliminaries for groups A, B, and C! Starting tomorrow…. ]

Ah, it’s over.

Anyway, I just need to keep winning from here on out.

“ID, you can turn it off—”

[ Message from the sender, the Friendly Match Operations Committee, has arrived. ]

“Huh?”

The ID’s notification overlaps with my words.

The Friendly Match Operations Committee? What’s going on?

“Play it.”

[ Code check, displaying the received message. ]

A message appears before my eyes.

While it contained some lengthy content, to sum it up simply, it stated that they’ve sent the matchups for the second part of the preliminaries, so check them out.

But didn’t the last match just finish?

They’re really quick about these things.

“Where…”

Scrolling down, I touch the matchup table at the bottom.

It was an action done absentmindedly without much thought.

However, the content written in the matchup table fell significantly outside my expectations.

“…Huh?”

My head tilts involuntarily.

Even after rubbing my eyes and checking again, the content remains unchanged.

[ What’s wrong? ]

Nightmare asks, hearing my voice.

“It’s just… this seems unfair!”

Shouting that, I send the matchup table to Nightmare.

[ ??? ]

Nightmare checks the transmitted matchup table.

At the very top of the table, the following content was written.

Match 1 of Part 2.

[ Edu Nimbusday VS Nisia Den ]

“Wait! Why would the protagonist end up fighting right after getting some easy wins?!”

Edu, looking immensely wronged, flails her short arms and legs about on the bed.

But of course, there would be no change to a matchup that had already been decided.