Chapter 341 ·The Villain’s POV in the Academy
Chapter 341: The Villain’s POV in the Academy
“Are you kidding me right now!?”
“Kidding? Whatever do you mean?”
Kalia indifferently sipped her coffee as she answered the man whose face had turned red as he raised his voice.
Her nonchalant attitude seemed to infuriate him even more, and the man became even more aggressive.
“We clearly paid the price! We went along with every last one of your ridiculous demands and gave you everything you asked for! But this is different from what we agreed on!?”
“What exactly did we agree on?”
“Things will become difficult if you keep acting like this! According to the contract, in exchange for us paying the price, your Stingray Corporation was supposed to deploy the ‘Aaron Stingray’ in your possession and prevent the Monster Wave in advance…….”
“No, Mr. President. You seem to be mistaken.”
“W-What!?”
“Maria, the contract.”
“Yes.”
Maria carefully placed the paper contract on the table between the two, and Kalia pointed to part of its contents with a pen as she spoke.
“Article 5: Provision of Strategic Defense Services.”
Definition and Scope of Services: “Stingray” (hereinafter referred to as the “Service Provider”) shall provide strategic defense services to protect the city in response to all Monster Waves occurring during the term of this Agreement. The Service Provider shall remain prepared to mobilize all of its resources and expertise to defend the city against Monster Waves, which includes the potential utilization of all strategic assets possessed by the Service Provider, including “Aaron Stingray.”
2.Utilization of Strategic Assets: When necessary to defend the city, the Service Provider may utilize strategic assets under its possession, particularly individuals or equipment possessing exceptional capabilities such as “Aaron Stingray,” Game Changer-Class Modules, and the like. Under this Agreement, the utilization of ‘strategic assets’ shall be determined at the discretion of the Service Provider.
Interpretation of Obligations: Pursuant to this Agreement, the Service Provider shall make its best efforts to defend the city and may consider the utilization of all available strategic assets, including “Aaron Stingray,” in the process. The ultimate objective of the provided services is the effective protection of the city against Monster Waves, and the specific selection and use of assets for this purpose shall be determined according to the professional judgment of the Service Provider.
“Did you actually read the contract properly? Nowhere does it say that we ‘must’ deploy ‘Aaron Stingray.’ All we have to do is effectively stop the ‘Monster Wave’ or prevent it beforehand.”
“……!”
The man's face turned deathly pale at Kalia's words. After all, the contractual phrase ‘make its best efforts’ was practically no different from saying they did not necessarily have to do it.
To think they had made such an elementary, utterly elementary mistake in a contract this important.
The cause was probably the complete annihilation of their legal team during the previous Dragon invasion. Due to their manpower shortage, they had hastily hired fresh law school graduates to draft the contract, only for them to make such a fatal mistake.
“Damn it…… Those legal team bastards, when I get back, I'm going to screw every last one of them……!”
The man ground his teeth, but he still had room to counterattack.
“……Article 12. Termination of Agreement and Damages.”
“…….”
“According to this clause, if we raise dissatisfaction with the security services you provide, we may terminate the Agreement and claim damages. Am I wrong?”
“……Of course not.”
Kalia answered while struggling to maintain her poker face.
“However, if you would first tell us specifically which aspects you're dissatisfied with, we'll do our utmost to provide services that reflect your concerns.”
“I've had enough of this irritating beating around the bush. Just deploy ‘Aaron Stingray’ and finish everything. I can't understand why you're keeping such tremendous combat power locked away!”
“Locked away? Of course not. It's merely that the power my Elder Brother possesses is excessively great, so we're exercising caution in its use-.”
“We've already figured out that you've been hiring and using Academy students and mercenaries. I know those people are at least the most useful combat force in this city right now, but we can't delay this any longer.”
“…….”
“Finish it within a week. Before the [Mysteries] swarm toward this city again. Wipe out every last one of those monsters currently gathering around the city.”
“Of course.”
“Tsk.”
At Kalia's answer, the man clicked his tongue and rose from his seat.
“I said one week. If those monsters leave so much as a single claw mark on this city's defensive wall, we'll consider you to have ‘failed.’”
With that, the man left the president's office.
Bang! The door slammed shut violently.
The heat that had built up between the two quickly cooled beneath the air conditioner's breeze, and Kalia sank deeply against the sofa as though exhausted.
“Haaaa…….”
“Miss…….”
“Don't say it. I know.”
Kalia answered irritably.
She had managed to hold out until now by making one excuse after another, but she was nearing her limit.
Even today, complaints had come in from two companies, including the man from earlier, and another meeting regarding the same matter was scheduled for the afternoon.
“……We have to do something soon.”
They had only managed to hold out this long because the Special Class students had performed far beyond expectations.
Threatening others by throwing Aaron's name around would no longer work either. The sharper ones among the corporations had probably begun to suspect something about Aaron's condition.
“So, how is Elder Brother?”
“…….”
At Kalia's question, Maria merely shook her head in silence. Her expression was extremely dark.
Kalia stared at Maria's face for a while before murmuring as though she had made a decision.
“I see…… So that's how it is…… It can't be helped.”
M-Miss……!?”
“You know I'm not doing this because I want to. You need to change your mind and accept it too. The man called ‘Aaron Stingray’ died fighting the Dragon, and all that's left now is an empty shell.”
“You cannot do this, Miss. Do you know with what feelings Young Master has fought until now……!”
“Tell those children the deadline as well.”
Maria pleaded, but Kalia answered in a voice coldly resolute enough to seem heartless.
“One week.”
If they could not completely resolve this crisis within a week, they would have no choice but to make an unfortunate decision.
“An email came from President Kalia…….”
“[What does it say?]”
“If we can't completely eliminate the signs of the Monster Wave within the next 160 hours…… she says there'll be no other choice…….”
“[That's a week! That damned woman! She's really going to kill her own brother with her own hands-!]”
“No, I don't think that's it.”
Airi calmly shook her head at the furious Silence.
“If she'd intended to do that from the beginning, she would've done it long ago. She could've just implanted a behavior-control chip into the Chairman's head without caring what we did.”
“[W-Well, that's true, but…….]”
“They've probably reached their limit too.”
But even after Airi's words, Silence grumbled as though he could not accept it.
“[We're at our limit too. Fuck, do you even know how many days it's been since we could go back? I heard the Academy's been restored and the semester's already started, but we even took leaves of absence just to spend all day fighting monsters!]”
“This humble monk…… would like to bathe soon…… It smells as though someone washed a filthy rag with my body…….”
“[Don't worry, Junior. Actually, you've smelled like that since last week. I just didn't say anything.]”
“Gasp…….”
“Forget showering, I need some maintenance too. My minigun overheated, and I think the barrel got slightly bent. Since yesterday, the grouping's kept forming in completely wrong places…….”
“[Well, my optical equipment's starting to stop listening to me too. I can't feel one of my arms either…….]”
One by one, the members began voicing their ailments.
They had already been fighting continuously without proper rest for more than two weeks, so it was understandable.
Their days had consisted of receiving resupplies and maintenance through drones sent from the city between battles before continuing to fight, but just like Kalia's side, they had reached their limits as well. The fact that even the battle maniac Dharma Protector said he wanted to rest said everything.
“[Leader. What are we going to do?]”
“……We have to go back. Fighting any longer is impossible. We need direct maintenance, not remote maintenance.”
“[Yeah. Thanks for saying that.]”
Because Airi had fought more desperately at the front than anyone else, everyone had secretly hoped she would be the one to say it.
That way, they felt they could lessen their guilt, if only a little.
In the end, they withdrew from the field for the time being and briefly returned to the city.
Miyu, who had been waiting in the workshop, welcomed them and immediately began maintenance. However, she appeared every bit as exhausted as the combat members, with deep dark circles beneath both eyes.
The workshop was filled with piles of uncleaned trash, with an especially large proportion consisting of caffeinated drinks. At a glance, it seemed like quite some time had passed since she had gotten a proper night's sleep.
“……You need…… maintenance, right?”
“……Yeah.”
“Understood. Please lie down in the pods…….”
Everyone was exhausted beyond their limits, so none of their usual cheerful or playful atmosphere could be found.
The combat members trudged like zombies over to the maintenance pods, lay down, and immediately fell asleep. With the help of the androids, Miyu began performing maintenance on them while they slept.
Airi tried her best to remain awake because the sight was so pitiful, but the moment she lay down in the pod, she fell asleep without even realizing it.
And when she opened her eyes again.
From one dark corner of the workshop came the sound of someone quietly sobbing.
“Sniff…… Hic……!”
It was obvious whose crying it was.
Airi carefully got up and approached the source of the sound, and sure enough, Miyu was there, curled up with her knees drawn to her chest as she sobbed.
“……Miyu.”
“A-Airi……!”
Miyu jolted in surprise and wiped her tears with her sleeve. Airi did not bother asking something like ‘why are you crying?’
Because the answer was obvious.
She was exhausted.
She was so utterly exhausted that she seemed ready to collapse at any moment, yet if she gave up, the worst possible outcome was obvious. Unable to do one thing or the other, all she could do was burst into tears.
Airi carefully asked Miyu.
“I'm sorry. It's hard, isn't it……?”
“…….”
Miyu shook her head.
Then she sniffled once before answering.
“I…… can tell just by looking…… how hard all of you are fighting out there…… Your joints are completely worn down, and your weapons are worn out like they've been used for years. There are traces all over your bodies from being attacked by monsters too…….”
“…….”
“So I can't say that I'm tired. I can't ask all of you to try even harder either…… I'm doing something I love…… And most importantly, if I rest now…… Aaron…… Aaron will……!”
Miyu began tearing up again.
Airi quietly wrapped both arms around her and embraced her.
Miyu silently soaked Airi's chest with her tears while held in her arms, until at some point, she stopped crying.
“M-Miyu……?”
Airi called out to Miyu in slight surprise, but fortunately, it seemed she had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion.
To collapse after crying herself out—just how much work had this tiny body been shouldering?
Airi quietly carried her out of the workshop and into the bedroom, then returned to her original spot. The members were asleep in the pods while receiving maintenance, and it seemed there was still some time left before the work would be finished.
“152 hours left…….”
That came to six days and several more hours.
Within that time, they had to completely wipe out the monsters gathering at various locations outside the city and threatening to form a Monster Wave.
“Can we do it……?”
The answer to that question was ‘no.’
At their current pace, they would never make the deadline even if they died and came back to life. They were already spending nearly sixteen hours a day doing nothing but fighting and moving from one region to another.
Their original subjugation plan had collapsed long ago, and at this point, the only way to describe it was that the members were pushing themselves forward through sheer grit and stubbornness. Yet despite all that effort, the result would not change.
Once those 152 hours passed, Aaron would undergo behavior-chip implantation surgery and become a complete cyborg.
To reclaim power in this city, Kalia intended to turn him into a war puppet without the slightest hesitation.
Of course, that was not bad news for everyone. At the very least, the people living in this city would probably prefer sacrificing a single Aaron to completely eliminate the threat rather than continuing to live amid uncertain danger.
But…….
‘If that happens, the Chairman will never come back.’
Of course, there was no guarantee even now that he could return to normal. Looking at it coldly, one could say the real Aaron had died long ago.
Even so, Airi could not give up.
The other members felt the same, but she in particular simply could not bring herself to do so. It was not merely because of her affection for him. Her intuition told her that she must not allow it to happen.
‘The Chairman is alive.’
Even she did not know whether that was the work of her sharp intuition or merely stubborn insistence. But at the very least, she was certain that if she let Aaron go like this, she would regret it forever.
‘But what do I do? What else can I possibly do from here……?’
She could not force the members any harder than this. They were already fighting at the very edge of their limits. If she ignored that and pushed them further, it could lead to an even more horrific outcome.
‘Is there really…… no other way……?’
As she pondered.
She suddenly noticed a strange object in the corner of Miyu's work desk. It was a dedicated Module case she had never seen before.
‘What's this?’
Who could these Modules possibly be for?
When she opened the case, Modules were revealed inside. At a glance, they clearly possessed considerable output, and a data chip was stored alongside them.
Airi inserted it into her own socket and checked its contents, realizing that Miyu had actually created these Modules for them using the data shared by Stingray.
“Miyu, why…….”
Why had she hidden something like this instead of giving it to them?
The reason became clear once she read the report.
“High Replacement Rate…… high output…… danger…….”
As Modules possessing tremendous power, their risks were equally considerable.
They were already pushing themselves through consecutive battles, so these were somewhat dangerous items for the members to equip and use in their current condition.
It seemed that even after creating these Modules, Miyu had hidden them because she did not want to place an even greater burden on members who were already approaching their limits.
“…….”
Airi stared at the Modules for a long while before finally making up her mind.
There was no other choice.
The next day.
The Special Class members awoke to a commotion. The source of the noise was none other than Miyu.
“[J-Junior. What's wrong? Did something happen?]”
“E-Everyone! Have you seen Airi!?”
“[Whaaat!?]”
A short while later.
They realized that Airi had departed for the battlefield alone early in the morning.