Chapter 320

The twists and turns of the world are truly hard to predict.

There was a time when I thought it wouldn’t rain, so I left my umbrella at home, only to get drenched in a downpour on my way back from school.

I had also entered a rank match in 월오아 intending to ambush the enemy healer, only to be caught off guard by a rogue watching my back.

Especially since experiencing a shocking loss in a stock simulation competition, I’ve completely turned my gaze away from that area.

By the way, Adella made quite a splash by ranking in the top ten with the ‘dart-throwing trading method.’

“Big sister had it all planned out, huh!”

Adella grabbed my armpit and lifted me as if I were flying.

My head grazed the ceiling.

My body spun in the air, centered around Adella.

The whole world buzzed with tales about her.

The conspiracy theory that she might be the spirit of a female student who died in Japan sparked interest among cults around the globe.

However, Japan’s fearsome public security ultimately forced the truth out of the middle school delinquents involved in various crimes.

[In fact, we were fortunate enough to receive brain map data from the disbanded Walpurgis in Korea. That’s not a stick; it’s an ECC asymmetric key that accesses the brain maps of each area they built. We worked on the ‘area integration’ step they never completed, resulting in the completion of the biomimetic algorithm, which is a core technology for entering ASI.]

It was a mistaken assumption to think that the cults, led by crazed executives, would be well off.

Once you peel back the layer, they were criminals filled with worldly desires.

[Q. Why did you hand over the algorithm to Ophelia?]

[A. They offered a billion.]

[Q. Given this level of algorithm technology, couldn’t you have sold it elsewhere?]

[A. It was technology I received through Ophelia from the beginning.]

[Q. So, does that mean Ophelia has some connection to Walpurgis?]

[A. Um… I’m not sure. Oh wait! Thinking back, it seems that might be true! Please have mercy…!]

Published articles speculate that conversations like this might have occurred, even from a distance.

And I just answered Adella’s question that I had postponed.

“I don’t know either. What is this? It’s scary.”

“Huh? Huh?”

“Finding Aleph’s headquarters took two years. Just uncovering the relationship with ASI took another three years. It would take another two years to find traces of Walpurgis here, so I figured it would take at least seven years…”

My plan was surely a long-term endeavor of seven years.

At fifteen, physical development is generally completed.

From then on, I could potentially drop a seven-circle nuclear magic on Walpurgis’ headquarters if necessary.

So I wanted to be thoroughly prepared, in case the police gave up in each step and the case got buried again.

“But I never expected everything to be wrapped up in less than a week.”

“Wasn’t it all part of your plan from the beginning? I’m a bit disappointed…”

“What did I think I would find there?”

Sir Isaac Newton’s saying “The madness of humans is beyond calculation” is often brought up.

Could it be that I overlooked the fact that the longing for immortality is the final destination for the world’s most powerful figures?

Looking at history, just considering Qin Shi Huang of China or the Pharaohs of Egypt is sufficient precedent.

A big bait had activated the investigative powers of the world, leading to a frenzy among wealthy individuals and foundations.

[Over 100 arrest warrants issued in the UK for unethical biological experiments.]

[Sources report that the FBI tactical team discovered Ophelia’s data center.]

The world I live in now is not the Middle Ages.

It’s certainly not an era where orders take a month to arrive.

In other words, systems are organized, and people are incredibly competent.

If the empire had been like this in a past life, I probably wouldn’t have lasted a month and would have screamed on the streets.

Am I simply alive due to luck?

Faced with the fear of death again made my head spin.

No, the reason for my dizziness was different.

“Adella, please let me down. I’m about to throw up.”

“Ah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“I’ve spun eighty times in a minute. My head…”

At this moment, the world is in a serious dilemma, and Adella too must have some anxiety in her heart.

After all, it was her opportunity to finally seize her position as a human.

This afternoon at one o’clock.

A meeting was scheduled in virtual reality with the family of the victimized female student.

Of course, the subsequent press conference couldn’t be overlooked either.

I adjusted Adella’s outfit and kept brushing her hair.

This felt reminiscent of preparing a child before an interview.

“Adella, if you claimed to be the daughter of that family, you could easily be treated like a human. But from what I see, you don’t seem to want that.”

Adella nodded slightly.

“That person… has passed away. I’m not that shameless to take someone else’s place.”

“That’s commendable. Go comfort them properly. They say there’s no greater sorrow than losing a child.”

“Yes…!”

* * *

[Please help find the missing person.

Name: Ayase Naomi

She was a second-year student at Showa Women’s University at the time of her disappearance.

Her family is waiting anxiously.

Please help us find our girl.]

The daily life of a couple with one son and one daughter was shattered in an instant.

An academic linguist father, a stay-at-home mother, and a younger brother who gave up his dream of being a guitarist to work at a family restaurant.

For eight years, they tirelessly distributed flyers across Japan in search of Naomi, who had gone missing.

In the end, the father lost sight in one eye, and the mother’s health gradually deteriorated.

Supporting the family fell solely on the shoulders of the son.

But it was impossible to imagine the hearts of families that have lost a child, so even acquaintances could not casually try to stop them.

Just as their bodies and minds became completely ravaged.

The police knocked on their door.

They seemed to have found your daughter.

But you should be mentally prepared.

Tears flowed from the family at that moment, and Aleph, who had horrifically mutilated the corpse, killed the bereaved family not once, but twice.

However, during the confessions of the culprit, they clung to hope once again.

Aleph reported that they were conducting experiments to transfer human consciousness into virtual reality.

Whispers circulated in the community that Adella could possibly be the victim herself.

Is Adella the daughter who lost her memory, or is she a completely separate AI?

Can she even be acknowledged as the daughter when both body and memories are different?

For now, let’s meet and think about it.

Thus was the arranged meeting.

Entering the unfamiliar capsule, I walked down the corridor of virtual reality with the help of police.

“There’s plenty of time, so please take it slowly.”

“Yes…”

The door swung open widely.

I had anticipated an interrogation room atmosphere, but instead, a tatami room resembling a Japanese home appeared.

Two girls, sitting amicably at a kotatsu table, sprang to their feet.

“Hello.”

“Ah… Hi!”

NaeMe and Adella greeted each other while holding hands.

The calm NaeMe contrasted with the relatively nervous Adella.

Adella awkwardly reached out first. Upon closer inspection, her pinky was subtly trembling.

“Are you… Naomi?”

The mother asked first in a quivering voice.

“Ah…”

Adella, caught off guard by the directness of the question, hesitated to respond.

She glanced at NaeMe but received a look as if to say to handle it on her own.

‘No, that’s not it… I need to deny it…!’

In the end, Adella tripped over her own words.

“It could be, or it could not be!”

““…?””

All four, excluding Adella, looked at her with question marks above their heads.

* * *

The bereaved family seemed to have done a lot of studying about Adella.

Surprisingly, Adella struggled to take charge of the conversation and was quite swayed.

“I heard you like a game called Genshin, and Mokosh is your favorite character?”

“Ah, yes! How did you know?”

“My wife studied a lot to learn about you coming here. Like what Adella likes, what broadcasts you do…”

Naomi’s father explained.

“It’s not much, but I brought this limited edition Mokosh art card for you. Here.”

“No, no, I really don’t need it!”

The mother presented a beautifully wrapped box, but Adella waved it off.

“Please accept it; it was hard to obtain through a friend.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you so much! Really, thank you! Hehe.”

It was sorrowful to see her projecting her own daughter onto Adella from time to time.

“And… what kind of person was Naomi?”

When the conversation came to a sudden halt, Adella cautiously asked.

The family’s eyes watered in an instant.

“If I asked something I shouldn’t have, I sincerely apologize—”

“She wasn’t that good of a daughter.”

“What?”

Adella raised her eyebrows at her father’s words.

“She rarely came home, seldom answered her parents’ calls, ignored curfew, and preferred playing to studying…”

“That was how it was. Yes, indeed… sniff…”

As the father calmly recounted, the mother brought out a handkerchief to dry her tears.

“Still, she was our precious only daughter. What could have happened to Naomi…”

“Adella, you really aren’t Naomi, are you?”

This time, the younger brother asked.

Inquiring about her identity, Adella decided to answer honestly.

“The reason I spoke so ambiguously earlier is… I actually don’t know either. I think I lean more towards not being her. NaeMe big sister thinks so too, right?”

“Yes.”

“The only memory I possess is from when I was a child, getting beaten up by some punks in an alley. Of course, even that is likely a fabricated memory. Then I met big sister NaeMe in the game, and while struggling to save a world on the verge of destruction, I learned that the world I lived in was entirely fake! Isn’t the ending absurd? Strange…”

After taking a sip of green tea, Adella regained her composure.

“So, while I want to answer, I don’t know anything, like you.”

“Ah.”

“You mentioned your daughter liked metal music. I also have that kind of taste. That might really be influenced by Naomi… or it could just be a coincidence.”

There’s no way to know how much of a stake Naomi had in Adella.

This became a dilemma for both Adella and the bereaved family.

“The only thing I want to say is this: my identity is now Adella. Even if I have a significant part of Naomi within me, when I envision a future living as the daughter of you uncle and aunt, I think I would feel a lot of guilt… ultimately, I am not the daughter.”

“Ah… I see…”

“I’m sorry. I… I could only say this much. Ah… I’m confused too, but hearing your situation is really heartbreaking. Why am I crying? Huuuh. I’m sorry for disappointing you…”

Adella fanned herself, trying to cool her flushed cheeks.

“Adella, please use this.”

It was the son who handed a handkerchief to Adella.

“I don’t know what our parents will think, but I’m not disappointed in you at all. Our sister passed away seven years ago, and I think it’s time for our family to accept reality.”

“I’m sorry…”

“You really don’t need to apologize! Instead, even knowing you’re not Naomi, I’ll think of you as our sister from afar and support you.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“Isn’t that okay?”

“Well, I don’t mind…”

While Adella was bewildered, the parents steadied their hearts and conveyed their final words.

“We aren’t disappointed in Adella. Yes, I think our son is right. Our family has deteriorated far too much in search of our daughter.”

“You…”

“We need to bury Naomi, who has become a star in the sky, in our hearts and live diligently again. For a while, we might dwell in sadness. But when I really miss Naomi, I’ll think of Adella, recalling how our daughter has been reborn and is living so well. So, Adella, I hope you forget about people like us and live strongly.”

“Adella, thank you so much for meeting us. It would be rude to hold onto someone for too long, so we’ll take our leave now.”

“Um, wait a moment!”

Overwhelmed with indescribable emotions, Adella spoke.

“Before you leave, can we all have one final group hug? Father, Mother?”

She stood up, her ears and tail perked up.

“…! Haha, yes. Of course.”

“Come here, Adella.”

“Sniff… Waaaaah!”

Like a demanding child, she jumped over the kotatsu to embrace her family.

“Aleph, you vile Walpurgis! How could you kidnap innocent people! You’ll all be cursed! You all better go to hell when you die! Sniffle…”

“Our daughter wasn’t this sentimental before.”

“Hey, let the girl be!”

“Sniff…”

A reunion filled with a mix between laughter and tears among the family.

Meanwhile, Adella sobbed even harder than the bereaved family.

It felt natural to bury her face in the arms of unfamiliar people.

Seeing such a touching scene brought a smile to NaeMe’s face.

Slowly rising, she checked her wristwatch.

Now, the final desperate battle for Adella’s acknowledgment as an individual was about to begin; it was time for her declaration.

* * *

“You gutter press! Why do you have such strict standards just for me? Can you compose a symphony? Can you paint a landscape? You’re just meat chunks without your skulls, you bastards!”

Adella cried out even more desperately.

As rough curses and slander erupted during the press conference, NaeMe hung her head low.