Signallers who were synchronized through Synchro Magic felt the sa things and shared the sa information through their Unique Magic.
Since they had predetermined ways of seeing things, their speech patterns naturally beca similar as well.
It seed that the Military State had reached the point of mass-producing even humans.
But that couldn’t be the case.
If it were, would they have bothered to confine the Signallers in the Windowless Room?
"Signallers can contact each other! So why didn't you help your colleague who was on the brink of death?"
It was an ethical criticism.
Facing such a problem for the first ti after a lifeti of being confined in a room, I.A. hesitated for a mont before answering.
"That is the rule of the Signallers..."
"Shut up! The urgent matter first!"
I tried to prompt Y with my eyes... but it wasn't necessary.
Y was already administering the potion.
She tilted the card I gave her, held the Nine of Hearts inside her mouth, opened Z's mouth, and poured it in.
Everyone fell silent, watching the scene.
Y, who was desperately pouring the potion… suddenly convulsed and then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
So were agitated seeing the scene, but most of it was from our side.
Even when one of their own collapsed, the Signallers remained calm.
"The potion is a lie."
"Poison? Or a drug?"
"This Module has no ans to resist such an attack. Why would he lie?"
"He is known as a swindler in Amitengrad. Surely, this was to deceive our Module."
I.A. and the other Signallers were unperturbed.
They had anticipated this possibility, so Y collapsing only reaffird their belief that I intended to attack them.
But there was one exception.
"Liar!"
Only X, filled with intense anger, approached .
Historia quickly moved to stop her, but I held her back with my hand.
They need to think and judge for themselves.
"Did you plan to eliminate us all from the start? Do you intend to continue attacking even after knowing who we are?"
X alone poured out pure anger at .
I could have toyed with her more, but there was no need to complicate things.
I spoke frankly.
"The potion I used is Nine of Hearts, the Potion of False Death. It puts the person who drinks it into a state of suspended animation for a while."
"Suspended animation? Why use such a potion...?"
"Becoming a sacrifice ans tearing out one's Spiritual World from its roots. Though she managed to survive, she will soon die. To restore her Spiritual World..."
I made a slicing motion across my neck.
"It's called a life review, I believe? When one faces death or a similar shock, their entire life flashes before their eyes."
Any device will reset and solve most problems if it stops and restarts.
So were humans.
When a great stimulus, like death, swept through the body, it rebooted the neural pathways, bringing back past mories and restoring the mind.
"So, once they die and co back to life, a large part of their Spiritual World gets restored. The phenonon needs to be triggered, even using drugs. Would you like to check?"
Doubtful, X used her Unique Magic again.
Unlike Y or Z, her summoned Eider only opened a door and suffered no significant damage.
The relatively intact Unique Magic linked her with Y and Z.
"...! We’re synchronized...!"
Though incomplete, they were connected.
Part of the heavily damaged Unique Magic was restored.
X realized I was telling the truth.
Simultaneously, all the Signallers recognized it as the truth, thanks to their synchronization.
X quickly changed her attitude.
"...Thank you for your help."
"It's alright. I just had the right ans."
The ans to manipulate you all.
I hid my true intentions and gave X a friendly smile.
"Please take care of those two. You seem to be the most reliable person here."
Feeling gratitude towards , X laid them down properly.
Soone had built a robust system for the Military State.
A thod of governing the Military State using Signallers isolated from the world.
It was impressive from my perspective too.
But only impressive.
The idea of a Philosopher King1 ruling the world was quite common.
Everyone wanted to be a Philosopher King, standing above others.
The Military State, filled with Signallers, was remarkable, but it couldn't overco its fundantal limitations.
No matter how well they were made, in the end, Signallers were still human.
"By the way, I'm starting to get angry. You! The one who called a swindler!"
I walked briskly towards U and shoved my face close.
U, suddenly the focus of my attention, recoiled, but I followed her quickly, shouting.
"Do you know who I am to judge ? Do you think a swindler from the back alleys can reach this far?"
"N-no. But according to the information I gathered..."
"Information you gathered? Whatever it is, did you see and think for yourself? Can you explain who I am with the information you have?"
Unable to respond, U shut her mouth.
She prided herself on her job, so even a small mistake felt humiliating.
Yes, that's it.
The slight differences in how they perceive the sa situation.
Those small emotions…
The tiny cracks that humans have because they are emotional and impulsive.
Having finished shouting, I walked slowly and spoke.
"I have no intention of killing or harming you. From the start, I ca here to affirm the value of humanity."
Everyone listened to my words.
The Signallers of one Module were synchronized in real ti.
But do they all listen to it the sa way?
"The Military State doesn't care about humans. It only oppresses, punishes, and rules. They don't rule with compassion. They imprison mothers who stole to feed their starving children alongside heinous criminals, and they trample on anyone who speaks out their thoughts if it contradicts the ideology of the Military State, without considering the heart behind it."
I walked slowly while speaking, and the mont I arrived before P, I suddenly turned my head and shouted.
"The sa goes for the Signallers, who were slowly dying in their narrow rooms!!"
"Kyaah!"
P, particularly sensitive to stimuli, was startled and fell on her butt.
Signallers could maintain composure because they communicated through golems; without that, they were no different from ordinary people.
I gave her a mocking smile and moved my face close to R, who was next to her.
"I can't accept a country like this. A country with no unexpected joys, luxuries, and pleasures like a night's dream. A country that doesn't touch your heart or whimsically change your mind. A country that considers the heart before judging cris. A country where people co before rules. That's the kind of country I want!"
"Why tell that to ...?"
"Have you never thought about it? When punishing a criminal according to military law. Is it right to punish soone who sold their conscience for petty cash the sa as soone who stole a bit to save their dying family?"
R, who gathers verdicts and precedents among the Military State's Signallers, would take it more seriously.
I gradually told each Signaller different words.
Akin to using a sharp skewer to pry open the gaps and wiggle them.
"You are wrong! I don't know who taught you to be like this, but you're completely wrong! Surrounding yourselves with steel walls, talking only through golems, having secretive conversations among yourself? Do you think that makes you objective? No! That's negligence and abandonnt! If you are Command of the Military State, you must not give up thinking!"
Maybe feeling sothing off, I.A., the administrator of this Module, stubbornly tried to cut off.
"Your argunt is aningless. Since you cannot offer a better alternative, your opinion is–"
"Shut up! I don't care about your opinion, bystander!"
I slapped her… again.
I.A., who fell again, briefly showed a look of indignance.
Her Unique Magic bound several nearby Signallers... in other words, if this were a class, she would be the class president.
Her power was very strong within a close range, enough to bind all the other 25 Signallers here.
So I didn’t allow her to speak.
I pressured her to the point she couldn't even open her mouth.
How does that feel?
Frustrating, isn't it?
Good.
"You talk too much. Historia, block her mouth while I talk."
"...Is that necessary?"
"It's crucial. If you don't, I'll gag her."
Deciding that covering her mouth was better than using a gag, Historia went behind I.A. and covered her mouth.
The grip of a Star General was stronger than most restraints and smarter than a straitjacket.
I.A. was now completely helpless, only able to watch speak.
"You are doing well. The fact that the Military State is still standing proves it. But you are also human, and you are not always right."
I raised my hand.
The broken Nine of Hearts card.
It should have been red, but the liquid inside had leaked out, leaving it with pale gray hearts.
I held it between two fingers.
"For example, like this. If I restore the broken card..."
After shaking the card between my fingers and blowing on it, the card turned red again.
Holding the restored card, I waved it proudly.
"Would any of you, who have spent your lives in that small room, know what trick I used?"
It was a phenonon that couldn’t be explained logically.
So Signallers felt curiosity... or a desire to observe.
Signallers developed voyeuristic tendencies due to being confined inside a room their whole life.
Trapped in steel boxes, they compulsively tried to connect to golems to see the world.
And those who had never seen magic were the easiest to deceive with it.
"There is no reason to pay attention. He has certainly used a trick. There is nothing remarkable."
Only one person, S, tried to block the Signallers' curiosity.
But the approach was wrong.
Claiming it was a trick only half acknowledged the magic's existence.
If they hadn't been interested at all, it might have worked, but such a claim only made them more curious.
1. A hypothetical ruler in whom political skill is combined with philosophical knowledge.
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