On my way back to the dormitory, I ran into Levi by chance.
To be precise, Levi spotted me first and ran over.
“Uh… uh, Violet! Here!”
Levi hesitated as she handed me a small white shopping bag.
“Last time… thank you…”
“What’s this?”
When I opened the bag, a small, mysterious box came into view.
“It’s… it’s a cake. Enjoy it!”
After saying just that, she bolted away.
-Lucky me, I was craving something sweet.-
-Back at the dormitory, I examined the cake box Levi had handed me.-
Opening the small box revealed a mini strawberry-decorated cream cake, no bigger than a palm.
I took out a dagger and sliced off a corner, putting it into my mouth.
The soft cream was impressive.
Sweet.
After a few bites, I found it tantalizing and cut off another slice, eating it with my hand.
The tartness of the crisp strawberries combined with the soft texture of the cake was pure art.
I even licked the cream off my fingers clean.
-This is good. Where did she get it?-
–I’ll ask her next time in class.-
-Everyone else had only praise for it.-
After eating about half of the cake, I started to get full.
I debated saving the rest for later when someone came to mind.
-Where’s Daphne?-
-She hasn’t come back yet. She’s probably studying at the library.-
-I’d been eating way too much of the cookies and drinks Daphne had brought lately.-
Even I thought I’d overdone it.
So, I figured she might like this as a gift.
-Wow! That’s a great idea!-
-I agree!-
-The other me’s enthusiastically agreed, so I left the cake on Daphne’s desk and headed out again.-
Eating cake had sparked a craving for something else.
Although it was a hassle, I decided to go out of school once more.
-I want tteokbokki.-
-Spicy stir-fried noodles too!-
-There’s cup noodles, onigiri, sushi… why isn’t there anything like that here?-
Though I was now a pretty girl, part of Violet’s personality had deeply absorbed memes originating from the Korean Peninsula.
While I didn’t have to eat kimchi with every meal, I had been craving something spicy lately.
-Let’s at least buy some hot sauce.-
-Better than nothing.-
-Chatting cheerfully with my clones, I stepped out of the campus.-
Walking along the wall, I spotted something familiar ahead—a head of shimmering silver hair.
-It’s Daphne! She’s here!-
-I was about to run over, waving excitedly, but I stopped.-
There were others around her.
Even from afar, the atmosphere seemed off.
It looked like trouble.
-Who’s that guy!-
-A shady-looking guy, flanked by two henchmen, was harassing Daphne.-
Behind her, there was a trembling girl I didn’t recognize.
I didn’t know who the guy was, but his messy blonde hair and unpleasant demeanor screamed lowlife.
The type people crudely referred to as “golden trash.”
I placed my hand on the wall next to me.
Beyond the wall, No. 71 was summoned.
-Check the situation. Everyone else, get the bricks ready!-
-Understood.-
-No. 71 approached quietly and listened closely.-
“Do you think dragging someone who said no is the right thing to do?”
“And who the hell are you? We just wanted to hang out with her! What’s it to you?”
“Stop it! I saw you trying to drag her away! Just leave now.”
“Sniff… sniffle…”
“There, it’s okay. Don’t be scared.”
Judging by the situation, it seemed Daphne had stepped in to stop those jerks from harassing the girl.
Peeking out from the edge of the wall, I saw an unusually firm and resolute Daphne.
The sleazy look in the blonde delinquent’s eyes lingered on Daphne.
His gaze stopped at her chest.
-That! That look! Where does he think he’s staring?!-
-Let’s kill him! Kill him!-
After sizing her up, the guy snickered.
“Hey, let’s do this. We’ll let her go if you come with us. How about it?”
“Excuse me, but no thanks. I can’t stand people like you.”
Hearing her rejection, the blonde punk scoffed.
He then reached out toward Daphne.
His dirty hand was heading straight for her!
-That bastard!-
-Let’s jump in!-
Five clones summoned themselves over the wall, preparing to leap.
But his hand never reached her.
Ping!
“Huh? What the hell!”
A bright green barrier materialized instantly, deflecting the jerk’s hand mercilessly.
The semi-spherical shield surrounded Daphne and the girl.
Without hesitation, Daphne turned and began to lead the girl away through the group.
The delinquents stumbled, shoved aside by the barrier.
“What the hell! Hey! Turn off the shield!”
“Why is this thing so damn strong?”
They kicked at the barrier, but Daphne’s unique ability, capable of withstanding mid-tier beast breaths, wasn’t something they could break through.
With an unchanging calm expression, Daphne led the trembling girl away.
“Damn it, what the hell!”
Furious, the blonde punk drew a knife.
Oh?
This guy.
As the blade gleamed with an ominous aura, we leaped off the wall simultaneously.
Our target: the heads of the punks below!
Using the weight of our bodies, we delivered a crushing blow to their heads.
“Gravity Strike!”
Thunk!
“Ugh!”
“Ack!”
“Whoa!”
<Critical hit!>
[Back attack triggered the synergy effect: Severe Back Damage. Damage increased!]
The punks collapsed under the weight of the impact.
“Got them! Daphne, let’s go!”
“…Rugilinn? What are you doing here?”
“No time to explain. Let’s move!”
While I guided Daphne and the girl away, other clones stayed behind to check on the state of the punks.
“Ugh… who… who the hell…”
“…This one’s still conscious?”
The blonde punk groaned as he tried to get up.
He was tougher than we thought.
Though he hadn’t seen us directly, one hit wasn’t enough.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
We kept hammering the back of his head with gusto until he finally passed out, his tongue lolling out.
“People will pass by soon. Let’s grab their stuff and go!”
“Got it!”
We robbed the wallets and smartphones of those nasty punks and immediately reversed back.
Maybe we should have stripped them of their clothes too.
“Are you okay?”
“Thanks to you, I got out quickly. Thank you!”
Seeing Daphne’s smiling face made me feel like I had done a good job rescuing her.
There was no way I could hand over my pretty roommate to those third-rate, low-class thugs.
“Thank you for helping me!”
The girl Daphne had saved thanked us several times before leaving.
Originally, I had planned to indulge in some more snacks, but somehow things escalated.
I decided to call it a day and just head back.
“Want to go eat some cake?”
“Cake?”
“I actually received one as a gift…”
* * *
Apart from teaching those punks a lesson, the external members had stopped their activities and were slacking off.
In truth, the motivation to work had disappeared a few days ago.
After discussing with Irene about the recordings, a sense of skepticism began to spread among the Violets.
-Shouldn’t we be doing something?-
-Ugh, it’s such a bother. Why do I have to do it?-
I didn’t know.
We had been repeating the same things over and over, and we ended up falling into a rut.
The lack of clear progress so far also contributed to the loss of motivation.
The grand plan to abduct the researchers from the underground facility was currently on hold.
This was because the issue of how to bring people out hadn’t been resolved.
Various materials filmed internally just piled up meaninglessly.
-Shouldn’t we analyze these things?-
-I don’t know, too much hassle.-
Before we knew it, everyone had stopped working and was lying on the floor.
-Weren’t we supposed to go out for work? What about the deliveries?-
-Deliveries? I quit. They made such a fuss and demanded a refund just because I was one minute late!-
A Violet lying on the mat spoke to another clone rolling around nearby.
-Wouldn’t it be easier to just find the protagonist and tell them what we know?-
-It’s a good idea, but how do we know if the protagonist is in the position of the Scholar right now?-
-We don’t even know if the Scholar is a man or a woman.-
The other Violets, who had grown tired of working, also agreed with the idea of finding the protagonist.
The underground facility was too vast, and it was difficult to search through crowded places.
Above all, there were limits to what an individual could do.
-Let’s contact the Inspection Bureau. If we tell them the protagonist’s name and ask for their contact info…-
-As if they’d give it to us.-
The Inspection Bureau was one of the few organizations we could trust in this Academy City.
Its official name was the Central Dispute Adjustment Inspection Bureau (CDAIB), the protagonist Scholar’s workplace.
In typical gacha games, protagonists often act as managers or commanders who oversee and manage characters from the rear.
However, in some works, the protagonist fights alongside their companions on the battlefield.
The Scholar followed this trend and was created as such a figure.
In the dictionary, a Scholar refers to an education official who supervises and advises on practical education in schools.
However, in the world of Deep Crimson Academia, the “Scholar” of Academy City had a different meaning.
They not only carried out the usual duties of an education official but also played a political role of coordinating interests among various clans and academies managing the city.
However, conflicts among the Awakened, and the power struggles between clans, corporations, and secret societies in the shadows, aren’t easily resolved through dialogue.
Thus, in practice, the Scholar acts as a troubleshooter bulldozing through the discord between corporations, schools, clans, and federations.
Since the Tea Time Accord, which limited military forces, the Scholar was the most potent asset Academy City could deploy.
Suddenly, the whereabouts of the bag that went missing last time came to mind.
-Could the Scholar have taken it?-
-It’s still uncertain who took it. For now, it’s likely someone like us.-
-What if it was just an insider who picked it up by chance?-
-A Multidimensional Storage Bag is an artifact of the highest value. If even a rumor spread, all sorts of people would have swarmed that dungeon. So far, there’s no sign of that.-
-It must have been someone with internal knowledge. Someone like us.-
-Right. Given that we exist, there’s a possibility of other possessed individuals too.-
Quietly, Subject No. 7 raised her hand and suggested a new idea.
-What if it’s a regressor?-
-What?-
-Someone who traveled back in time using some method and landed in the past. Ethers are substances that perform miracles, after all.-
-That’s an absurd story even by this world’s standards. Ah, let’s say, hypothetically, it’s true. Then we’d have to pack our things and run.-
-Why? Oh, right.-
The Violets quickly understood the reasoning. Come to think of it, the Scholar and future Violets had a deep-rooted grudge.
-Couldn’t we just persuade them through conversation?-
-Do you really think that’s possible? Assuming the future version of them is here, we’re like baby Hitlers in front of a Jewish time traveler.-
-Or Bin Laden in front of an American.-
The bizarre analogy made by Subject No. 8 sparked objections among us.
-Ew! Comparing us to an Austrian painter or a terrorist?!-
-Apologize, No. 8!-
-Apologize! Apologize!-
Flustered, No. 8 had no choice but to bow her head under the Violet’s reproach.
-Waaah… I’ll apologize.-
-You’ve apologized, right? Then it’s fine. Don’t do it again next time!-
What I had hoped would be a productive conversation ended here.
The whereabouts of the bag remained unknown, and we were too lazy to care.
Still, after lying around helplessly and raising a fuss, I felt a little better.
Although I was still unmotivated.