Chapter 322 : The Truth Beyond the Masks
Chapter 322: The Truth Beyond the Masks
I still couldn't decide whether throwing away all my masks just now had truly been the right choice.
However, I was at least certain that it hadn't been a completely wrong one.
'Half-hearted lies never would have eased their anxiety.'
I had no idea exactly how the Stingray Chairman had managed to convince them, but judging by the fact that he had gotten them to believe something as absurd as, "You're characters inside a novel," he must have demonstrated extraordinary skill.
Trying to cover up a truth that they had already accepted after being presented with undeniable evidence using flimsy excuses and lies would have only backfired.
Rather, the best way to avoid losing their trust was for me to honestly reveal my own thoughts as well.
As it turned out, my judgment had been correct.
I could see the uneasiness gradually fading from their expressions.
Miyu, in particular, tried to understand the situation in her own way using her own knowledge.
“S-so, if we think about it based on the various Multiverse Theories, then perhaps the ‘novel’ Aaron read shouldn't actually be viewed as fiction created purely from someone's imagination, but rather as a medium that observed and recorded another possible version of the universe we exist in……”
“[I don't really know much about multiverses or anything like that. But there is something I'm curious about…… In the ‘novel’ you read, what happened to me in the future?]”
“Ah, this humble monk is curious about that as well.”
“M-me too.”
In the end, the topic naturally shifted toward how each of them had been portrayed in the novel.
I had expected them to remain shocked for much longer after learning that they were supposedly characters in a novel.
Surprisingly, that wasn't the case.
When I asked about it...
“W-when I think about it... it's actually not that shocking…… Things like the Simulation Theory or the Brain in a Vat have been around for a long time…… Besides, as a scientist, having someone who can actually prove those theories standing right in front of me is much more interesting……”
“[Even if we're suddenly characters inside a novel, nothing really changes. Besides, it's not exactly an easy story to believe. I've decided to think of it as you seeing the future from another world. And…….]”
“You weren't trying to deceive us out of malicious intent, Mr. Chairman. If anything, it was the exact opposite.”
...That was roughly how they all felt.
Since everyone accepted it that way, the heavy atmosphere from the beginning quickly returned to normal.
Instead, I had to explain in considerable detail what each of them had been like in the Original Story, and exactly how this world differed from it.
—Silence. Originally, you overused your Modules during the final battle and ultimately met a tragic end.
—Raina. You kept pursuing Airi over and over, only to be rejected every single time.
—Airi. You were never destined to become the Student Council President.
—Evangeline. You, too, were a victim sacrificed by the Transmigrators.
As we talked about one thing after another, it naturally became inevitable that Shade Wells, the deceased protagonist, Aaron Stingray, the greatest villain, the Stingray Chairman, and the Sky Dragon would all come up as well.
What had begun as lighthearted curiosity gradually became more serious.
Before long, it had reached the point where I was explaining the current situation we were facing.
“The Sky Dragon……?”
“A Dragon…… is controlling us……?”
I realized it was about time to stop dwelling on emotional matters and discuss reality instead.
After speaking for quite a while, I slowly took a breath before opening my mouth again.
“……By now, you've probably all figured it out. I'm planning to fight the Sky Dragon.”
“Then…… do you have any chance of winning?”
“I don't know.”
I answered Airi's question immediately.
“I intend to use every means available to me. I also can't explain anything more in detail than I already have. If that thing can control the people of this city, then none of you are exceptions.”
“Ah……!”
Airi hurriedly covered her ears.
She was worried that she might unknowingly leak information to the enemy.
After all, being a Transmigrator was one of the most important aspects that made me who I was—Aaron Stingray.
But naturally, I wasn't that careless.
I had deliberately avoided mentioning anything that might genuinely become an obstacle in my battle against the Sky Dragon.
Besides, someone capable of controlling most of the city's population through Anti-Rain wasn't going to become any more threatening simply because it learned a little more information.
So I reassured Airi and continued.
“What worries me now is the possibility of you ending up in danger while I'm away. Whether you're taken hostage by the Sky Dragon or get caught in the battle and injured. That's why I brought these.”
As I spoke, I placed the pouch containing the Module Chips onto the desk.
The moment Miyu recognized it, she couldn't hold herself back.
“T-t-these are—!”
“What is it, Miyu?”
“N-no…… It's nothing. Surely someone like Aaron wouldn't transport such valuable items this carelessly—”
As she spoke, she inserted several Modules into her Mechanical Tail to inspect them.
Then, suddenly wearing the expression of someone possessed by an evil spirit, she charged straight at me.
“A-AAAAAAAAH! AARON!!”
“……!?”
I'd never seen Miyu this agitated before, so I instinctively flinched.
How should I describe it...
It felt like an enraged baby rabbit suddenly screaming, "If I die, you're dying too!" while launching itself straight at my face.
In any case, Miyu looked ready to grab me by the collar.
“Who carries Lv.5 Arcane Modules around like they're dumping scrap?! They should be stored inside dedicated cases at the very least! If you transport them like this, the internal circuits could snap, or the connection terminals could be damaged!”
“……?”
When I asked if I hadn't always carried [Cloud Spider] and [Tech Blade] around this way, she explained that the problem wasn't transporting a few Modules.
The problem was cramming hundreds of them into a single pouch.
Combat Modules weren't items that broke easily.
However, since they were still delicate devices, they became much more vulnerable to pressure and temperature changes whenever they weren't equipped by an Adaptee.
“Who in the world handles items valuable enough to buy one-third of this city like this?! Huh?!”
“……M-my apologies.”
I had never imagined Miyu would become this angry, so I obediently lowered my head.
Apparently that still wasn't enough to calm her down.
She immediately snatched the pouch away and carefully inserted each Module into her Mechanical Tail one by one.
“I'll have to use my tail as a temporary storage case. Guardian, Raina, could you help me?”
“H-hm? This humble monk?”
“Huh? W-why me?”
“We're going to move the equipment from my room over here. Will both of you help?”
“Why this humble monk specifically?”
“Seriously, why me?”
“Because the two of you are the ones with absolutely nothing to do here.”
“……”
“Now hurry! Move already! Everyone else, please wait here for a moment!”
With that, Miyu forcibly dragged the unwilling pair toward the dormitory.
Watching them leave in bewilderment, Airi muttered,
“How did someone that timid become like that……?”
“[Otaku are always the scariest when they're angry.]”
Silence then slowly turned toward me and gave me an indescribable look.
N-no...
I really hadn't intended to do that.
Well, anyway.
Not long afterward, Miyu returned together with the other two, all of them panting heavily.
Guardian and Raina had carried all the equipment from Miyu's room.
After having the two of them reassemble everything, Miyu grunted as she placed a large case on top of my desk.
“There. I've sorted the Modules by grade, performance, and effect.”
That was absurdly fast.
As expected of a genius.
She had organized hundreds of Modules and stored them inside a proper carrying case in only a few minutes.
Perhaps because this was her favorite field, she looked at me with sparkling eyes despite me not asking her to do anything beyond that.
“You want to use these to equip all of us, don't you?”
“T-that's right.”
“Leave it to me!”
Miyu quickly unfolded the case before separating it into several sections.
She placed one in front of Airi and Silence, another in front of Maria and Raina, and another in front of Guardian.
“Based on all the accumulated Bio Data, I've assigned the Modules with the highest compatibility to each of you. If you install them gradually over the course of about an hour, your bodies should accept them without any problems. And……”
Then she distributed another batch of Modules.
“These are Modules that could create synergy with your current Module configurations—if you're able to use them. However, their genetic compatibility is low, so you'll probably need Tickets.”
“Ah, right! The Tickets!”
Airi exclaimed as she hurriedly placed several more Tickets onto the desk.
At a glance, there appeared to be dozens of them.
“We completely forgot to ask about the Tickets. We wanted to ask you what we should do with them, Mr. Chairman.”
“You wanted to ask me?”
“Well... since you're a ‘Transmigrator,’ we figured you'd probably know more about them than we do. We heard these were the only ones that had been ‘properly’ completed, so we accepted them... but honestly, we don't even know what that actually means……”
“……”
Brains in a Vat.
From the looks of it, the Stingray Chairman had been using the brains of Transmigrators who hadn't been protected by the Motherboard to mass-produce Special Tickets through an unconventional method.
The part about them being "properly completed" probably meant that most of the Tickets created through that shortcut had ended up as failures.
The Chairman had simply selected the successful ones before handing them over to these children.
'But wait……'
Why hadn't the Chairman given these Tickets directly to me?
Instead, why had he specifically summoned the members of the Special Class?
Leaving aside how he even knew about the existence of Transmigrators...
Why had he revealed such important information to them?
'Just what was he thinking……?'
At that moment...
I noticed that among the Tickets Airi possessed were Module Grade Upgrade Tickets and Optimization Rate Increase Tickets—items that could no longer be purchased.
'N-no way...?'
Could this be the same thing that happened with the Ninja Corps?
The Chairman had been trying to use me to defeat the Sky Dragon, and by taking advantage of my own suspicious nature, he had indirectly handed over the useful Modules he had created.
Likewise...
Perhaps he also knew that the greatest factor preventing me from displaying my full strength was none other than the members of the Special Class.
'This time... was it to strengthen them……?'
I had no idea how far that man had planned ahead.
But if I interpreted everything in the most favorable way possible...
Perhaps he had even anticipated me clashing with other high-level Adaptees and acquiring the Modules they possessed.
Perhaps these Tickets had been prepared for exactly that purpose...
“……”
No.
For a brief moment, I had almost mistaken this for goodwill from the Chairman.
But I knew better than anyone that he wasn't that kind of man.
I must never trust him.
There was no telling where he had hidden the trap.
However...
'I can't afford not to use these.'
Frowning, I tightly gripped the Tickets in my hand.