Chapter 119

In the Polaris Academy girl’s dormitory, far away from the commotion.

“Ow, my head!”

I, Violet 1, was feeling a throb in my head. Another me from a different world had caused trouble again.

I am the first Violet who fell into this world. Yet, the authority given to me is equal to that of other Violets. What remains is nothing but a flimsy symbolism. We, who value practicality, don’t place much importance on the number ‘1.’

However, all Violets possess the contradictory traits of individuality and simultaneity. When one Violet makes a mistake, we all have to bear the consequences. In other words, a Violet’s mistake leads to collective responsibility.

So, I suffered as I watched the foolish act committed by another me. The moment a trivial error in the Central District led to a confidential leak.

“Ugh…”

1 let out a weak groan. How could that get found out there!?

From opening the basement door for moving the Hibernating Violet’s body to being careless without escaping as usual, all those little moments stacked up led to my research lab classmate’s lament.

In front of 1 stood Kalia, looking bewildered.

“Ugh!”

“You said it was a kidnapping? You didn’t capture any innocent people, right? Right?”

“No, I mean…”

“Honestly, answer me…”

“Well, it is true they’re innocent!”

“What? Hey!”

Ugh, it’s ambiguous. If I had locked up a really bad person, Kalia would have taken it in stride. She is familiar with violence and murder after growing up in such a harsh environment, probably second only to me among the friends gathered in the Central District. A few words, and she would have simply moved on.

The problem is that the person we captured is really innocent. They recognized our faces and captured us.

As I groaned alone, resting on the desk, a clear and refreshing voice reached my ears.

“Violet. You’re not feeling unwell, are you? Right?”

As I lifted my head slightly, a long, shimmering silver wave caught my eye. Riding that wave was a slender, pale face with worry and kindness reflected in clear sapphire-colored eyes that gazed at me.

“Yes, Daphne, I have a headache. Can you use your Unique Ability a bit…?”

As a warm green glow enveloped my head, I finally felt comfort. Although I feel this every day when healed, Daphne’s ability affects the Violet Network. It’s truly fascinating.

“Ugh, finally calming down.”

“Now I have some time to think!”

As my head cooled down, I could gather my thoughts. Just a moment ago, the situation had been quite troublesome.

Honestly, I struggled to explain, but explaining one thing didn’t mean it was over.

“Okay! I’ll answer everything. Ask me anything.”

For every question I answered, another one sprang forth continuously. For example:

“You said they’re innocent? Why did you kidnap and imprison them?”

“Yeah, I’m actually curious too. They asked me various things and then captured me just for looking at their faces. I’m not complaining; it’s true that they treated me somewhat comfortably.”

“That’s because I wanted to ask what they were doing, since they were entering an important facility!”

“Important facility? Where is that?”

“Ah…”

I trailed off at Kalia’s question, and then Lucian chimed in.

“Where did you get that gun and weapon?”

“This? I smuggled them!”

“What? Crazy… alright. Then why did you smuggle them?”

“Because I wanted to buy them, but they wouldn’t sell to me! And I can save magical power too.”

“…?”

For every answer I gave, two more questions flew my way, and if I answered those, four more questions came cascading in. Why did I stage a kidnapping? What exactly is the Unique Ability? What have I been doing lately? What on earth am I thinking…

“This is going to take forever if I explain one by one!”

“I can’t do this. I need to grab you all and prepare to explain!”

It was evident that if I continued like this, everyone’s curiosity would only deepen, so I decided to stop taking questions.

“Enough with the questions! It’s too late for today. I’ll explain everything tomorrow morning. For now, just go in and sleep!”

*

The next day, I brought everyone to the Violet Barracks. Here, there were computers, projectors, microphones, and a podium, making it perfect for explanations. And another feature, it was filled with Violets.

As I opened the barracks door, I could see Lucian and his group looking surprised. Irene and Kalia were used to seeing us like this, and the postdoc uncle adjusting his glasses while surveying the surroundings had already become somewhat accustomed to our Violets, so he was less rattled.

Lucian surveyed us around him. His black eyes were filled with suspicion and curiosity. His right hand was adorned with a battle glove engraved with a magic circle, which might imply that he didn’t fully trust us.

“Why are there so many? It’s like a swarm.”

In response to his muttering, I kindly answered.

“There are currently 212 active entities with physical bodies. Including those with conscious selves, 623 Violets are currently active.”

“What? Crazy…”

Hearing our words, Lucian let out a short, disbelieving “Ha…” The mouths of Levi and Granite, standing behind him, dropped open.

But it appears that Lucian’s group wasn’t the only ones astonished by my current figures.

“623? When did it grow that much?”

Kalia asked in surprise, and I corrected her.

“Just now! It increased by one more, so now it’s 624.”

“Wait, what?”

Even Irene, who had been calm, couldn’t contain her astonishment upon hearing this. Was she shocked by the production power of the Violets or the number itself?

The only person among the startled was Uncle Yurik, who maintained his composure. He was following at the back of the group, holding a notebook and jotting something down.

“Clones that continuously increase in real-time? What’s the principle behind it…”

“Uncle, I’ll explain the principle in a bit. You don’t need to write it down right now!”

I quickly led the group in front of the barracks and seated them. It was a place facing one wall of the factory building being used for the Violet Barracks on the first floor.

There, I set up several tables and chairs. Multiple used TV monitors and about three whiteboards were mounted on the walls. A piece of cloth was hung up to serve as a screen.

Right in front of the wall, there were a podium, a beam projector, a laptop on the floor, and multiple wires strewn about haphazardly like a bunch of long snakes.

Once everyone had taken their seats according to my guidance, Violet 1 stood at the podium and tapped the microphone.

“Alright, I have a lot to explain, so I arranged this setup. To resolve everyone’s questions, I have a lot to say, specifically three main points. But before that…”

I looked at the seated people. Then I raised my hand and pointed to the exit door beyond the first floor of the barracks.

“First, Lucian, Granite, Levi. And Uncle Yurik, I have one warning. Kalia, you listen closely too! What I’m about to explain is very sensitive and dangerous confidential information. The moment you hear it, you’re all on the same ship. If you don’t want to hear it, just go out that door right now.”

Hearing that, the expressions of Lucian’s group hardened. Adjusting his glasses, Yurik asked with a serious face, unlike his usual demeanor.

“What happens if we go out?”

“Hmm, Uncle, remember your daily routine? It’s nothing special. You’ll just stay here under our surveillance until our work is over, without knowing anything.”

Lucian, deep in thought, sharply posed another question.

“What if we choose to listen?”

“There’s no difference! Only the danger of knowing the secret will be greater. The surveillance will become stricter. What will you do?”

Excluding Irene, who already knew, the other five fell silent in contemplation. Eventually, starting with Kalia, they began to show their willingness to listen. Even Levi hesitated before nodding his head.

Sitting next to her, Irene leaned in and whispered in Kalia’s ear.

“Hey, you said your name is Kalia, right? Are you really thinking of listening? This is related to our academy. As an outsider, you don’t have to get involved in this dangerous matter…”

“I just want to know what kind of situation my friend is in.”

Alright. Since everyone is resolved, I’ll need to reveal everything.

The Violets turned on the projector and started their presentation. And as the explanation unfolded, those who initially looked bewildered fell into a state of shock.

“So to summarize, there’s a huge research facility and equipment underground in the academy. The chairman and the academy board are planning to use Polaris students as test subjects, and a large-scale experiment is scheduled to take place in a few months?”

“Correct! As expected from the top student, you catch on quickly!”

“Do you think that’s reasonable?”

“But it’s true. Look at that evidence! And that Doctor uncle was kidnapped after coming for an interview, isn’t that right?”

“That’s right. But I had no idea it was some kind of project. If that’s true, my goodness, I can’t believe our principal is involved in such a conspiracy…”

“So that’s why… the student council president was killing people like that.”

Lucian’s expression darkened as he recalled an incident from earlier.

While four of them were confused facing the truth, Kalia also looked horrified. However, my friend seemed to be taking it in a slightly different direction. She appeared to be envisioning scenes from the research lab.

“No way! Were those guys psychopaths like Laplacian?”

“That’s exactly it. That’s why I’m trying to stop those guys.”

Saying that, I set a laptop on the table and turned it on. The online video chat window popped up on the screen connected to the computer, revealing Daphne’s figure inside the dormitory.

“I’ve brought Daphne along because I’m about to explain something important. Is that okay?”

“…I’m Daphne Grace. Nice to meet you all.”

The people seeing the girl on the monitor awkwardly greeted her.

“Now let me explain what my plans are. Everyone, listen closely.”

“Are you perhaps planning to expose this and fight the academy board?”

Lucian crossed his arms and fixed a penetrating gaze on me.

“Something like that.”

Irene, glancing at Lucian, asked with a face full of suspicion.

“I don’t think it’s just about starting a fight. From what you’ve shown us about breaking the academy, it seems like you’re preparing something much bigger. Isn’t that right?”

“Exactly! I’ll show you.”

Daphne, who was attentively watching from the distance, tilted her head in the monitor before seemingly asking the Violet in charge of the dormitory.

-What are you planning to show?

-You’ll see.

Suddenly, Kalia seemed to remember something from the past and spoke up.

“Are you thinking of staging a coup? Like when you smashed the research lab?”

“Something like that! Of course, it’s still an unfinished plan.”

As Violet 1 gestured, Violet 12 started typing on the keyboard. The screen changed to show images of the academy.

“First of all, we’re planning to report what we found out to the media, the internet, and the Inspection Bureau. This is clearly illegal and unethical behavior. But that alone isn’t enough. So…”

As the screen changed, a densely packed list of names appeared. In one corner of the screen were the logos of Magnavis and Polaris Academy.

“What’s that…?”

“Do you see the list?”

I threw out a casual comment.

“That’s a death list of people associated with the academy board and the clans connected to the academy.”

“…?”

Everyone was left speechless, not understanding what I was talking about. Since they couldn’t comprehend the Violets’ long-term plans, I needed to explain it more simply.

“It’s nothing special. We’re going to kill everyone on that list!”

Everyone’s jaws dropped open.