The girls’ dormitory of Polaris Academy, far away from the commotion.
“Agh, my head hurts!”
I, Violet No. 1, felt a sharp throb in my head.
Another one of had caused trouble again.
I was the first Violet to fall into this world. Yet, the authority granted to was the sa as that of any other Violet.
What remained was only a shallow symbolism. We, who prioritize practicality, don’t place much value on the number “1.”
However, every Violet possesses a contradictory nature of individuality and simultaneity.
When one Violet makes a mistake, we all have to bear the consequences.
In other words, a Violet’s mistake leads to collective responsibility.
So, I suffered watching the foolish act committed by one of the other ’s.
The chain of minor mistakes that led to a confidential leak in the central district, for instance.
“Ugh…”
No. 1 groaned weakly. I can’t believe it was discovered there!
From leaving the basent door open for a brief mont, intending to move the hibernating Violet’s body, to being negligent because we were living without escapes, all of those small monts added up, resulting in the lant of a lab mate.
In front of No. 1 stood Kalia, looking flustered.
“Ugh!”
“You said it was a kidnapping, right? You didn’t capture and imprison an innocent person, did you? Right?”
“No, I an…”
“Answer honestly…”
“It’s true that the person is innocent!”
“What? Hey!”
Ugh, it’s complicated. If we had imprisoned a genuinely bad person, Kalia would have just accepted it.
After all, she’s lived in such a rough environnt.
Among the friends gathered in the central district, she’s second only to in terms of familiarity with murder and violence against people.
She probably would’ve just said a few words and left.
The problem is, the person we imprisoned is truly innocent. We locked them up just because they saw our faces.
As I groaned alone, leaning on the desk, a clear and refreshing voice reached my ears.
“Violet. You’re not hurt, are you? Right?”
I lifted my head slightly, and my gaze was captured by long, silvery waves.
As my eyes moved up, I saw a delicate, pale face with sapphire-colored eyes full of concern and goodwill, looking back at .
“That’s right. Daphne, sothing happened that gave a headache. Could you use your unique ability for …?”
As the warm green glow enveloped my head, I finally felt so comfort.
Although I experience this every day, Daphne’s ability affects the Violet network. It’s truly fascinating.
「Ugh, finally, I’m starting to calm down.」
「Now I can think more clearly!」
As my mind cooled down, I was able to organize my thoughts.
Just a mont ago, I had been in quite a difficult situation.
I had honestly tried to explain, but explaining one thing didn’t end it right away.
“Alright! I’ll answer everything. Ask anything.”
Each ti I answered one question, more followed. For example, like this:
“You said it was an innocent person. Then why did you kidnap and imprison them?”
“Well, I’m actually curious too. They asked a bunch of questions and then locked them up just because they saw their face. I’m not complaining though. Honestly, it wasn’t bad. I got along fairly comfortably.” ṘА𐌽ȯＢË𐌔
“That’s because they entered an important facility, so I wanted to ask what kind of place it was!”
“Important facility? Where is that?”
“Ah…”
I trailed off at Kalia’s question. Lucian followed up by asking.
“Where did you get that gun and weapon?”
“This? I smuggled it!”
“What? Are you crazy… Fine. Then why did you smuggle it?”
“Because they wouldn’t sell it to ! And it saves magic too.”
“…?”
Each ti I answered one question, two more would co flying at .
After answering those, four more would follow.
Why did we conduct the kidnapping? What exactly is the unique ability? What am I doing these days? What am I even thinking…?
「If I try to explain everything one by one, this will never end!」
「This won’t work. I’ll need to prepare and explain properly.」
At this rate, it was clear that all the questions would just pile up, so I decided to stop receiving questions.
“Stop asking questions! It’s too late today. I’ll explain everything tomorrow morning. For now, go ahead and get so rest!”
The next day, I took everyone to the Violet barracks. It had computers, projectors, microphones, and a podium, making it a good place to explain things. And another feature: it was full of Violets.
When I opened the door to the barracks, Lucian’s group was taken aback by the sight. Irene and Kalia were used to seeing us like this, and the bespectacled researcher who was adjusting his glasses and looking around had already beco familiar with the Violets, so they weren’t as shaken.
Lucian glanced around at us. His black eyes were filled with suspicion and curiosity. He was wearing combat gloves with magic circles etched on them, perhaps signaling that he didn’t fully trust us.
“Why are there so many? It’s so crowded.”
He muttered to himself, and I kindly responded.
“There are currently 212 active entities with physical bodies. Including those with consciousness, there are 623 Violets active right now.”
“What? Are you serious…”
Lucian, hearing this, let out a short sigh of disbelief, “Ha…”.
Levi and Granite, standing behind him, had their mouths hanging open.
However, it seed that Lucian’s group wasn’t the only ones surprised by my current numbers.
“623? When did it grow that much?”
When Kalia asked, I corrected her.
“Just a little while ago! One more was added, so now there are 624.”
“Wait, whoa.”
Even Irene, who had been maintaining her calm, couldn’t hide her surprise at hearing this.
Was she shocked by the Violet production rate or the sheer number?
The only person who remained calm among the surprised group was Professor Ulric. He had been trailing at the back of the group, holding a notebook and jotting sothing down.
“Clones that keep increasing in real-ti? What’s the principle behind it…”
“Uncle, I’ll explain the principle in a bit. You don’t need to write that down now!”
I quickly guided everyone to the front of the barracks and had them sit down. We were facing the wall of a factory building on the first floor of the barracks.
I set up several tables and chairs in that area.
There were multiple second-hand TV monitors and three or four whiteboards on the wall.
A piece of cloth was hung as a makeshift screen.
Right in front of the wall was a podium, a beam projector, and a laptop, with multiple wires sprawled out on the floor like long, tangled snakes.
Once everyone had sat down as instructed, Violet No. 1 stood at the podium and tapped the microphone.
“Alright, I’ve prepared this setup because I have a lot to explain. There are three main things I need to explain to clear up everyone’s questions. But before that…”
I looked at the people seated and raised my hand, pointing to the door beyond the first floor of the barracks.
“First, Lucian, Granite, Levi, and Uncle Ulric, I have a warning for you. Kalia, listen carefully too! What I’m about to explain is highly sensitive and dangerous confidential information. Once you hear it, you’re in the sa boat with . If you don’t want to hear it, you can leave right now through that door.”
At my words, the faces of Lucian’s group stiffened. Ulric, who had been adjusting his glasses, now had a serious expression on his face as he asked.
“What happens if we leave?”
“Yeah, you rember your usual life, right? It’s nothing special. You just need to stay here under our surveillance until our work is done, without knowing anything.”
Lucian, who had been deep in thought, sharply asked a question.
“What if I decide to listen?”
“It won’t make much of a difference! But the danger of knowing the secret will increase. The surveillance will get stricter too. What will you do?”
The five people, except for Irene who already knew, fell into brief contemplation.
Soon, starting with Kalia, one by one expressed their willingness to listen.
Even Levi hesitated before nodding his head.
Irene, who was sitting next to Kalia, whispered into her ear.
“Hey, you’re Kalia, right? Are you really planning to hear this? This is related to our academy. As an outsider, you don’t have to get involved in this dangerous matter…”
“I just want to know what kind of situation my friend is in.”
Alright. Since everyone’s ready, we might as well reveal it.
The Violets turned on the projector and began their presentation.
Then, they started explaining the academy’s secrets.
At first, the people were baffled, but by the ti the explanation ended, they were in shock.
“So, to summarize, there’s a massive research facility and equipnt underneath the academy. The Chairman and the Board of Directors plan to use Polaris students as test subjects, and a large-scale experint is scheduled to happen within a few months?”
“Correct! As expected from the runner-up top student, you catch on fast!”
“You, do you seriously think that makes sense?”
“But it’s true. Look at the evidence over there! And wasn’t that doctor over there also kidnapped after coming in for a new interview? Isn’t that right?”
“That’s correct. But I didn’t know it was for a project like this. If this is true, goodness, I can’t believe my advising professor is involved in such a conspiracy…”
“So that’s why… that bastard of a Student Council President has been killing people so recklessly.”
Lucian furrowed his brows, recalling an incident from not long ago.
While four of them were confused after facing the truth, Kalia was also horrified. However, the direction of her reaction was slightly different from theirs.
It seed she was reminded of the scenery in the research lab.
“Crazy! Those guys are psychos like Laplaxia?”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m trying to stop them.”
As I said that, I placed a laptop on the table and turned it on.
A video call window appeared on the connected screen, revealing Daphne, who was in the dormitory.
“I’ve brought Daphne into this as well since it’s an important explanation. You don’t mind, right?”
“…I’m Daphne Grace. Nice to et you.”
The people seeing the girl on the monitor awkwardly returned her greeting.
“Now I’ll explain what I plan to do. Everyone, listen carefully.”
“Are you planning to expose this and fight the academy’s Board of Directors?”
Lucian crossed his arms and stared at intently.
“Sothing like that.”
Irene glanced at Lucian before asking, her face full of suspicion.
“I don’t think this is just about picking a fight. From the things you’ve shown and said about destroying your academy, it feels like you’re preparing for sothing even bigger. Am I right?”
“That’s correct! Let show you.”
On the other end of the video call, Daphne, who was observing the presentation, tilted her head in confusion.
Then she turned to the Violet in charge of the dormitory beside her to ask.
-What is she planning to show?
-You’ll see.
Suddenly, Kalia, seemingly reminded of an old incident, spoke up.
“Are you planning to stage so kind of sche? Like when you destroyed the lab and escaped?”
“Sothing similar! Although the plan is still incomplete.”
When No. 1 standing at the podium gestured, Violet No. 12 started typing on the keyboard.
The screen changed, showing photographs of the academy’s scenery.
“First, we plan to expose what we’ve found to the dia, the internet, and the Bureau of Inspection. This is clearly illegal and unethical. But just that won’t be enough. So…”
The screen shifted again, this ti showing a list densely filled with nas. In one corner of the screen, the logos of Magna Nabis and Polaris Academy were visible.
“What’s that…?”
“You see the list, right?”
With a casual tone, I threw out a single sentence.
“It’s a kill list of individuals tied to the academy’s Board of Directors and the academy-related clans.”
“…?”
Everyone froze, not understanding what I was saying. Since they couldn’t grasp the hundred-year plan of the Violets, I decided to explain more plainly.
“It’s nothing complicated. We’re going to kill everyone on that list!”
Their jaws dropped.
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