“···How annoying.”
“Hey, get up. I even gave you the chance to fight all seven of us at once as a senior. And you still lost.”
“How pathetic. Aren’t you ashamed? Why even live? If it were me, I’d have hung myself by now. Aren’t you sorry to your parents?”
“Don’t scream; we all know you’re just whining. Injuries sustained within the arena’s veil are only illusions. I definitely saw you listening to the explanation earlier—are you deaf or what?”
“Kya-haha! Look at them bawling!”
“···Yes, yes, of course. If the Disciplinary Committee says to stop, this lowly Administration Chair must comply. ···Consider yourselves lucky.”
“Remember the victory conditions? Hey, stop crying. Who told you to challenge us? You were the ones who started this. Asking us to abolish unfair rules? Know your place.”
“Oh? Here they come. Let’s go grab some parfaits. Me? ···Yeah, I’m doing fine, as you can see. It’d be even better if that purple-haired b*tch wasn’t around. She made all our members quit. Not that it’ll make the Administration Committee disappear, though.”
“Running away? ···Are you kidding? Like I’d lose to that rookie b*tch. Ugh, she keeps challenging me to duels. It’s driving me crazy.”
“How’s the student council president, oh…I mean, the president, doing lately? Says he’s too busy to meet. It’s so unfair. ···Honestly, don’t you think I’m better than the vice president? I’m younger too. That Lera chick has annoyed me from the start. I need to challenge her someday.”
“By the way, do you know where Martin went? I definitely called him here. Haven’t seen him? Haah…He must’ve gone off to bother the juniors again.”
“If he causes another incident, it’ll be a problem. The president told us not to cause any disturbances for now. ···You? Aren’t you coming? Let’s go.”
<F.E. 25.09. Polaris Comprehensive Academy Duel Arena, End of Recording File No. 12.>
In the afternoon, I waited for Irene at a quiet café outside the school.
After a while, I saw a girl with a build similar to mine walking towards me.
“Yeah, Violet. I’ve found something…”
“Right. I’ve uncovered a piece of information about the entrance ceremony incident!”
I immediately took out my smartphone and played the recorded conversation through a directional microphone.
Irene’s violet eyes widened in shock, forming a curve of disbelief.
Barely containing her rising excitement, Irene spoke.
“How did you get this? This voice—it’s the Chairman and Crosell! What method did you use to record this?”
“It’s a company secret, so I can’t say. Hehe.”
“···Don’t tell me you infiltrated the Chairman’s office or the Board of Directors’ building? That’s not it, right?”
I had a hard time reassuring Irene.
She eventually calmed down, and we continued our conversation.
“Yeah, just as I thought. We still don’t know how they summoned the beast, though.”
“I did well, didn’t I?”
Irene stared at my face for a moment, then sighed.
“Don’t do something this dangerous again.”
“Got it.”
Before diving into the main discussion, we each ordered tea.
Irene ordered black tea, while I opted for milk tea topped with whipped cream and various garnishes.
The teas were served shortly.
I took a sip, and the warm, sweet flavor spread through my mouth.
“Isn’t it too sweet? Drinking it like that will ruin the tea’s fragrance.”
“Try it, Irene! It’s really good.”
Irene vehemently rejected my suggestion. She must dislike sweet things.
With some sugar in my system, I felt relaxed. Now it seemed easier to carry on with the discussion.
“···They used the phrase ‘separating the wheat from the chaff.’ What do you think that means?”
“They probably have their own set of standards for what this school needs.”
We put our heads together and exchanged ideas, but no clear answers emerged.
“Why don’t we just release this recording to the media and online, and report it to investigative authorities or the oversight bureau?”
A counterargument came immediately.
“That’s impossible. Even our last report was dismissed as a mere accident, and it didn’t make it into a single news article. This unidentified recording?
It’s useless. They’ll claim it’s fabricated. Eventually, the evidence itself might disappear.”
Irene’s reasoning made sense.
Even on Earth, politicians or corporate moguls rarely crumbled over recordings or minor evidence.
It was more common for the accuser to face retaliation and be silenced instead.
Villains crumbling under a single accusation?
That’s a scene fit for a daytime drama.
In a world like this, where force often overshadowed law, stranger things could happen without surprise.
“Besides, artificially summoning a beast gate? Unless we can prove that method, no one will believe our claims. We’ll just get dismissed as conspiracy theorists or peddlers of fake news.”
It seemed like a futile suggestion after all.
I noticed her expression shift to one of concern.
“Violet, you haven’t shown this to anyone else, have you?”
“No, you’re the only one I’ve shared it with.”
“Good. Never share this material recklessly. You could end up in danger.”
It was an obvious warning.
I had no intention of risking my neck either.
The conversation paused for a moment as Irene sank into thought.
After a long silence, she seemed to reach a decision and met my gaze.
“Violet, thank you for helping me so far. But let’s end our meetings here. I think you should stop getting involved in this.”
I was utterly shocked by her sudden declaration.
“What? Why? I’m doing this because I want to.”
“Thanks for getting the data. But this is too reckless! What were you planning to do if you got caught? More importantly, Violet, you’re a student.”
“You’re a student too.”
“I’m in a better position. I have my parents’ reputation, and I can receive the protection of the Helios Clan. But Violet, what about you? I can’t promise to protect you too.”
“What if there’s a way to avoid danger?”
“A way to avoid danger? Oh no, don’t tell me…”
I called her to an unpopulated area inside the building and summoned a clone.
“Tada!”
“Oh, your unique ability… Wait, your clone can be controlled remotely?”
“Yep, my clone is a bit special.”
Irene’s face finally brightened a little.
“You should have explained it! I thought you had sneaked into some building on your own. Like when you eavesdropped on the student council president the other day, crawling on the floor!”
“Oh, right. I forgot to explain.”
“Sigh…”
She looked at me with a pitiful expression for some reason.
Why?
I felt slightly wronged.
“Once again, don’t overdo it! I appreciate your help, but I’m already hiring people to look into things myself. You don’t have to help. Your intentions are enough.”
“Don’t worry!”
After exchanging some minor conversations, we quietly parted ways. Before we did, Irene said something to me.
“Oh, right, Violet. I heard a rumor. Be wary of someone named Martin Perian.”
“Perian? That name sounds familiar. Is he related to that chairman of the management committee?”
“Exactly. He’s his younger brother. It’s just a rumor, but they say he’s a troublemaker who harasses junior female students. So be careful, and don’t forget to contact me if there’s an emergency.”
So, there’s someone like that. I’ll need to be careful.
As I was heading back, a question suddenly came to mind.
‘Why am I doing this?’
What is the reason I’m taking such risks? I was never someone who dreamed of becoming a hero of justice.
-Irene is one of the key characters in the original story. If I get closer to her…-
-What will you do if you get closer? She’s not even the leader of the Helios Clan yet. That’s five years later in the main storyline.-
Perhaps because of the realistic problem, everyone became a bit serious.
-Yeah, when you think about it, Irene’s not wrong. Honestly, no one would blame us if we stepped back. We volunteered to help, so it’s fine to step away.-
-I agree. We didn’t forget why we’re staying in this damn school, did we? It’s for the student ID. Making money is our priority.-
There were opposing opinions as well.
-Hey! Are you just going to leave this school that’s killing people and conducting strange experiments?-
-So what? It’s none of our business, right? Even Professor Albert said they’re a bunch of lowlifes. And it’s mostly true. What does it matter what happens to the others?-
-What about Irene, Lucian, and Daphne?-
-They’re still alive and attending Aegis Academy five years from now. Our roommate? I’m not some psychopath narcissist witch. Daphne won’t get hurt because of me.-
The number of us voicing practical arguments began to grow.
Since they were reasonable, I honestly found myself a bit persuaded.
-Who knows when the school will collapse, but it’s sure to be far off. It’ll probably last at least a year.-
-To be honest, this espionage game is tiresome! Do you know how annoying it is crawling through ventilation shafts and running into cockroaches or centipedes?-
-A game? Hey, No. 12!-
-Didn’t everyone think the same? Wasn’t this a game?-
No. 12’s unexpected jab left us all speechless.
Come to think of it, am I taking this seriously?
Do I have a sense of purpose?
Am I doing this out of a sense of justice?
-We’re already busy enough trying to protect ourselves. And what if it gets out that we’re test subjects?-
-For now, we don’t need to worry. Think about what the student council president said. They know nothing about us. They don’t even have accurate information about our unique abilities.-
-Exactly! We’ve been lucky.-
That’s true.
Maybe we’ve just been lucky.
I was someone without verified identity or proper immigration records. Like a blank slate, the Bald Research Director hired a broker to forge my records.
Because of that, even the board of directors wouldn’t have accurate details about who I am.
Recalling the memory of my arrival, I had been smuggled into Academy City in a suspicious cargo hold.
The name “Violet” was one the Research Director had given me.
If they investigated more thoroughly, they might not figure out I was from the lab, but they could certainly discover my records were fake.
-Anyway, Irene is right. We need to take this more seriously…-
-…We really lacked a sense of crisis.-
Seriousness, huh.
Perhaps we’ve become so desensitized to death that we’ve been seeking stimulation through these actions.
As my head throbbed again, I returned to the dormitory.
For some reason, I was craving something sweet today.