Chapter 162

After a moment, I realized what mistake I had made.

“Was it a misunderstanding because of the words?”

I asked them directly, just to be sure.

“You two didn’t imagine anything perverted, did you?”

The expressions of the two upon hearing my words subtly changed.

These fools did seem to be caught up in some strange misconception. It was quite evident from how they kept avoiding my gaze.

I placed my hands on my hips and glared at these lecherous people.

“Hey, you said earlier that you needed someone, right? This lady is an expert in magic and relics.”

“Oh, so her job is just an assistant, huh? But why call her a slave…”

“Exactly! If the term ‘slave’ sounds strange, just think of her as a graduate student.”

Hearing my words, Ennis flinched and made an “ugh” sound while Yurik let out a short sigh.

“I may have said the word a bit oddly, but do you both understand that it’s also your fault for interpreting ‘slave’ in such a lewd way? Anyway, I’ll go guide the lady! Follow me!”

“…Wait a second!”

Violet dragged Ennis out. As Yurik let out a small sigh, a moment later, his assistant Violet walked out behind him.

“We’ll probably need another desk in the office, right?”

“Yeah, if we’re going to use it together in the future. But, Violet.”

Yurik turned to me.

“Call me ‘Boss!’ I told Ennis the same, so from now on, it would be better to call me that than ‘Mr. Whatever.’ By the way, why?”

“…Alright, let’s go with that. Boss. You called her a slave earlier, right?”

The voice of the bumbling researcher shifted to a surprisingly serious tone.

“I saw what she has on her wrist. As far as I know, that’s a binding artifact for Awakened Ones. Is that correct?”

I nodded. Yurik’s gaze shifted toward the window.

Ennis, guided by the Violets, was looking around curiously.

“Now that I think about it, saying ‘slave’ doesn’t seem too far from the truth. I need an explanation.”

I started to explain everything that had happened to satisfy Yurik’s curiosity.

As he listened, the expression on Yurik’s face gradually darkened, and once I finished my tale, it shifted to one of concern.

“…I see.”

“So in a way, calling it a slave isn’t wrong. She’s our prisoner. We’ll treat her differently from you, and she won’t get a salary either.”

All that we would provide the prisoner is food, clothing, and shelter.

After a while of silence, Yurik suddenly threw out an unexpected comment.

“Boss, about that death list from before. Our professor is on it. I don’t fully understand, but that means people from the underground research lab are also on there, right?”

“That’s right! But why is that? Is it a plea to spare my supervisor?”

“Not at all. However, it struck me that if I had been kidnapped… um, sorry. If I hadn’t joined over here and instead participated there, I might have ended up on that list by now too, right?”

“Yup!”

Seeing me nod decisively, Yurik let out a bitter smile.

“It just made me think, hearing about that person. If I had been in that lab as well, wouldn’t I have ended up like that? No, it doesn’t mean that person is innocent. They clearly committed wrongdoings. It’s just a little sad for me as a fellow scholar, even if the fields are different.”

I felt a mix of shock and a hint of compassion in Yurik’s gaze directed at Ennis out the window.

“Hey! Don’t look so scared. If they had gone rogue even a little, they would have been killed long ago. Just focus on what’s ahead and don’t dwell on the past. We’ll talk together later. We need to discuss what we should do moving forward and coordinate schedules, right?”

Just then, Clone 567 appeared with coffee in hand.

“Alright, you’ve had your fresh air? Drink some coffee!”

Watching Dr. Yurik enter the research lab, I suddenly thought of Clone 10.

I wondered if he had wrapped up his conversation nicely with Sister Adela.

“I explained well. I might be able to get some support!”

While explaining the identity of the Violets and the structure of the Violet Barracks to the new slave, we received a real-time report from Clone 10, who followed Adela in a helicopter yesterday.

The term “heard” is actually non-awakened language. Information transmitted through the Violet Network is absorbed instantly, unlike the information conveyed through written or spoken language.

Thus, part of our conversations among the Violets serves as a sort of reinforcement for complete understanding of information.

“Adela was quite shocked. Not negatively, literally! She keeps asking how we have so many of us.”

The Violet who was carried along in a helicopter to the Cascadia combat unit rested in a designated hotel and is now talking.

“Room service at a five-star hotel… I’m so jealous!”

“That’s not what’s important! Focus on the conversation.”

Currently, Adela is receiving various updates from Clone 10.

The information she received was nearly identical to what we had revealed to our friends during the previous clarification meeting.

“Oh my gosh, Violet. I had no idea there was such a backstory.”

Listening to the reality of the academy and our story, Adela hugged Clone 10 passionately.

I buried my face in Sister Adela’s warm and soft embrace!

“It’s okay, Sister Adela! I’ll take care of the academy and those clan goons.”

Hearing my brave declaration, Adela smiled like a mother would at a wonderful child, stroking my head.

After explaining the situation, we began to share our opinions regarding the suspicious actions of the research lab, academy, and clans.

“Really, Laplacian has always been a company with bad rumors. The gossip that Chairman Laihan and his crew are involved in illegal human experimentation was true. By the way, what is Magnavis up to?”

“I don’t know. First, we’ll capture all the researchers and interrogate them. Then, we’ll spread all the documents we secured from the academy to the media and agencies. You just have to help a little. We don’t need to go to war.”

“Then I’ll do my best to assist as far as I can. Violet also saved me and our students, after all. I promise on my family’s name.”

Hearing encouragement from a beautiful senior who might become our mentor filled me with renewed vigor.

After their brief discussion, Clone 10 and Adela reached a conclusion.

“I just received a message; the Vision Prism has been disbanded by our family. There was a little friction with the newly arrived federal soldiers, but it ended safely.”

“Thank you! Sister!”

Adela, who was watching Clone 10 with a satisfied expression, suddenly regarded him with a meaningful look.

“By the way, Violet’s unique ability is somewhat of a collective consciousness, right? Everyone is a Violet, and we can generate clones anytime, anywhere.”

“Correct. But why do you ask?”

Adela hesitated for a moment before responding.

In her reaction, I pictured an earnest student trying to take a rebellious step by awkwardly putting a cigarette in their mouth.

As she gathered her resolve, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Can you create a clone here for me? I’m just curious to see how the generation looks. It’s strictly for power verification.”

Power verification, huh? I internally agreed with Adela’s rationale. Since we would be allies confronting the four major clans, it would be necessary to confirm our abilities once more.

“That’s easy. Alright, everyone. Come out!”

Immediately, more than ten Violets appeared in the hotel room. A wide smile stretched across Adela’s face.

“Wow, there are so many Violets!”

—

After concluding the discussion with Adela, the Violets fell into deep contemplation.

“We have some time until the weapon deal. The specific date for the operation is not yet set.”

“So what do we do now?”

Everyone unanimously decided on training.

“We need to train for one-on-one matches!”

The enemies we would soon face are the four major clans, particularly the renowned magic clan, Magnavis. Despite our victory at the Lion’s Plaza battle, we couldn’t let our guard down.

“Mages! Magic! That’s the problem. They are too strong!”

Indeed, the name ‘four great clans’ is not an empty boast. They were incredibly powerful. There existed gaps that couldn’t be filled merely by numbers and firepower.

The Violets contemplated how weak, numerous warriors could defeat a small number of skilled Awakened warriors.

Conventional firearms were effective enough against powerful Awakened ones and monsters. Just look at the Federal Army.

The Federal Army strives to equip soldiers with advanced gear like exoskeletons and rail guns as far as their budget allows.

If they led with tanks and fighter jets, even A-rank or EX-rank exceptional hunters could be killed—unless they could single-handedly bring down a mountain or part the sea, of course.

Yet, the easiest method of countering Awakened beings is to respond with Awakened combatants.

Awakened ones are superhumans that disregard common sense and laws, after all.

Mages can also be seen as a subset of Awakened ones. Here, Violet derived the following logic.

“The most effective means against magic is… magic.”

“Let’s show an enormous array of magic!”

Of course, this introduces the issue of how to overcome the skill gap.

Ordinary Awakened ones focused on enhancement abilities might be able to compete through skill, experience, or equipment. Still, the difference in proficiency becomes stark when it comes to magic usage. Just think of Lucian who got clobbered by Vanguard or Daphne whose barriers were shattered.

“That’s just a problem with overcoming unique abilities.”

“Is that so?”

The discussion continued.

“We don’t have long until our deal with Armas. We should learn magic later.”

Clone 671 raised a skeptical point. We had already earned quite a bit from adventuring in dungeons, and a few hours ago, we received money diverted by clan members after the Vittorio Dungeon incident.

Given the firepower of the weapons we would buy with that money, magic seemed a bit laughable.

“Have you seen the message from the weapons merchant through Manager Leslie? We were lucky enough to receive the federal military’s supplies.”

As she spoke, 671 began to list the supplies mentioned by Armas in the network. It was frighteningly comprehensive, even though we had already seen it.

“Look, there’s even a cannon! It’s old-fashioned, but it can kill Vanguard and the Chairman with a bang. It can bring down buildings too, you know?”

The previously quiet Violets began to argue.

“What about fire suppression magic? What are you going to do if someone like Leira shows up with fire suppression artifacts? Within the clan, we should assume there are at least several similar items.”

“There could also be mages using limited high-speed movement suppression. Just think about the interception spells. A seasoned mage can intercept incoming rockets. We’ve all seen that, haven’t we?”

As images of mages intercepting Violet guided bombs and rocket barrages with elaborate magic flashes flooded the network’s mind, silence fell.

“…Okay, then we should focus a bit more on magic training. First, let’s find some equipment.”

We agreed to concentrate on magic training.

However, another problem arose.

The fact that our Violets hardly had any magical gear available.

“Let’s sort through the inventory!”

“This is an automatic rifle, that’s an automatic shotgun, this is a human leg. And this is a head…!”

“Why do we have legs and heads? Get rid of them quickly!”

“No! I’ll use the legs to tease the Student Council President. I’ll just throw away the head.”

Violet sent the unknown head to Clone 1004, the rocket factory on the deserted island.

Clone 1004 kicked the head into the ocean.

“Fish, eat up~”

Once the inventory was sorted out, a few items were left on the floor. An electric staff I looted from a gang previously and several cheap magical devices, as well as a few staves picked up after defeating those Vanguard goons. The problem was they were all broken.

“If I had known, I should have just run them over with a tank.”

“Still, look at this! The tip is intact.”

Clone 678 picked up one of the staves lying on the ground. The tip of the staff, where the exterior had fallen off, revealed a round, translucent blue orb.

“Maybe we can repair this?”

“Who are we going to ask for that?”

A sudden funny thought crossed my mind.

“How about asking Ennis? She seems to have some skills when it comes to manipulating relics.”

“That sounds a bit baseless… well, let’s just ask. If she can’t, we’ll just order a new one.”

A little while later, we summoned the slave researcher who was having a late lunch.

“…This is Vanguard equipment.”

“Correct. Can you fix this? Please!”

After hearing our words, Ennis seemed momentarily taken aback and examined the gear left on the ground.

She slowly inspected the various staves on the floor.

“It’s not broken as badly as I expected.”

“Wait, you can really fix this? I thought you were just a researcher.”

“My post in the department is interpreting and developing relics and magical devices. So I do have some technical skills. But…”

She spoke.

“It might just be better to buy a new one. Are you okay with that?”

“Try fixing it! It’s Vanguard gear, right? It should be really good!”

Hesitating, she began listing the minor equipment required for the repairs.

Alright, let’s see what our slave can do.