Elise paused when she spotted me. She hurried over and then just stood there blankly, so I spoke first.
“What’s up with you?”
It took her a moment before she responded.
“…Damn, you scared me.”
“l’m the one who got scared.”
Elise glared daggers at me while stroking Bianca.
“…Why are you touching her without permission?”
“She seems to like it.”
“Hmph. Doubtful.”
Elise glanced at me sideways. I was pleased to see her, but unfortunately, there was no time to catch up.
“Are you here for the seminar?”
“Yeah. I heard they created an artificial intelligence. What about you?”
Elise pointed at me.
“An escort. I’m with Libra, remem ber?”
“ Oh!”
Just then, another voice chimed in.
It was Layla this time.
“lt’s Shion!”
Layla approached with a big smile, holding a toast in each hand.
I smirked.
“Looks like you came together.”
“Yeah. Came with Elly. Shion, want some?”
Layla offered me a toast.
“No, I’m good.”
“Really? It’s tasty. This place is a gem.”
Crunch- She took a bite.
“Are you here for the Al too?”
“Yeah.”
Something occurred to me at Layla’s response.
“Then… come on. I’ll show you the best spot.”
“Really?”
“…IS that even possible?”
Elise squinted her eyes suspiciously. I confidently replied.
“Yeah. I’ve grown more than you think. Follow me.”
We walked down the seminar hall corridor together.
Crunch, crunch- Layla devoured her toast greedily, while Elise nibbled like a bird, pretending to be timid.
I asked her.
“But, don’t the magic tower freshmen usually not come out to the continent?”
“…That’s true. Freshmen are overwhelmed just following the Magic Tower curriculum. But I’m not one of them.”
“Is that so?”
“There’s also a matter I need to attend to.”
“What matter?”
Then Layla answered.
“Raquel Dra. You know about it, Shion, right?”
“…yeah. I know.”
I casually asked.
“S0 what? Any evidence come up?”
“No. No evidence at all. Can’t even guess. But… mages are coming down to catch Raquel Dra.”
“Is that so?”
Mages coming down.
The mages of the Magic Tower, I’m confident that whoever comes down won’t be a match for me. I have a peculiar body that's immune to most magic.
“Who’s coming down?”
“Elly. You know her?”
“…Lermont, right?”
Lermont. I hesitated for a moment then nodded.
“She’s a famous mage.”
Was it a coincidence? Or was it the unseen hand of Libra, perhaps Sherlock, moving things behind the scenes?
Lermont is a mage from Libra.
That means she’s one of the many from Libra who hold high positions in almost every field.
“Yeah. She’s coming with a team, so it looks like Raquel Dra will be caught soon. It’s rare for the Magic Tower to get involved in worldly matte rs.”
“…Here we are.”
I led them to the VIP seats, the closest to the podium.
“Wow! Shion, you actually managed it!”
Layla looked surprised, and Elise nodded in satisfaction with a hum.
“They’U probably sell first-come-first-serve subscriptions to the Al after the presentation. You should be able to get one.”
Layla and Elise are smart. They’ll figure out whatever secrets this Al holds.
After all, exposing the overwriting of souls alone, just through my whistleblowing as Killian, won’t enough. We need the hands of other notable ‘consciences.’
Even before my actual regression, several sages including Theia had taken the lead.
“Hey. Shion. Do you know anything about this AI?”
Elise asked as she sat down.
“Are you talking about insider information?”
I placed my hand on her head. Elise swatted my hand away and frowned.
“No, I’m not.”
“That’s a crime, you know. An economic crime.”
I placed my hand on her head again. Elise tried to dodge by shaking her head from side to side, but I persistently followed.
“Ah, come on. Stop it. Really, stop.”
Elise squirmed all over.
“What’s going on~?”
Layla looked at us alternately with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“Enough.”
I stopped teasing her. As I pulled my hand away, Elise’s hair was a mess, and she glared at me sharply.
“I don't know much either. How this Al works. It’s a highly confidential department.”
“…H m p h. Figu res.”
Elise scoffed and picked up her smartphone. She seemed about to do something as she tapped the screen sharply.
“Don’t even think about buying stocks.”
You'd lose a lot.
Her hand paused mid-air. She glanced at me and quietly put down her smartphone.
Just then, it was time for the presentation.
The room dimmed appropriately, and as people trickled in until it was full.
“l’m off.”
I left for the bodyguard’s position.
Derek lectured about artificial intelligence.
With pompous vocabulary, he seemed intoxicated with himself as an innovator rather than focusing on the product itself.
—This Al, ZR1, shows exceptional achievements in almost every field, connecting to the internet and learning on its own according to the owner’s commands…
I quietly listened to Derek’s words. Indeed, the content itself was enough to amaze the audience.
Indeed, using actual overwritten souls does give it an over-technology vibe.
“Look at her. Just look.”
I discreetly zoomed in on Elise with the SZX-9500. She was fiddling with her smartphone, busy buying stocks in real-time.
The internal expose would blow up in a few months to a year, so selling before that would indeed be profitable.
It seems she really isn’t receiving any support from her family anymore.
“…And that concludes the presentation.”
Derek’s product explanation came to an end, and a thunderous applause erupted. I too clapped, infusing my palms with magic.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The loud claps made Derek smile.
“Then”
At that moment, someone in the audience stood up abruptly. ‘She’ asked Derek a question before anyone else could speak.
“What is the source of this artificial intelligence? Is it truly just created from simple magic?”
She tried to disguise her identity with Infimian, but I immediately knew who it was.
Theia Esil.
Derek smirked and waved his hand dismissively, signaling for the security guards.
“There have been consecutive disappearances of homeless people across Edsilla. Astonishingly, the approximate number of missing people over the past month matches the number of artificial intelligences that can be sold”
The guards grabbed her. They covered her mouth and almost wrestled her out.
“Sometimes, there are those who are envious of the technology.”
Derek brushed it off like that. The audience laughed.
I followed the guards outside too. I stopped them as they were about to bind Theia’s limbs with magic.
“Let her go.”
“Yes.”
The guards stepped back. I looked at her, kneeling on one knee. Her face was distinctly different from that of Theia Esil.
The infimian's level is certainly impressive, though not as much as mine.
“…Theia.”
“…”
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
“lsn't that a bit too far-fetched?”
“…Ha. You’ll find out soon enough.”
She scoffed and stood up. I silently watched her back as she walked away.
“Uh, should we really let her go just like that?”
A security guard asked.
“We have no other choice.”
Just then, Derek’s balancer, Smith, appeared. Coming out of the seminar room, he stood next to me and asked.
“Who was that?”
“…lt was Theia Esil.”
The guards were visibly shocked, and Smith’s eyebrows twitched.
“Was it lnfimian?”
“Yes.”
“lt was unavoidable then. I’ll let Derek know.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded quietly.
Now, a clash between Theia Esil and Libra is inevitable. Therefore, the best course of action I can take is already clear.
To imprison her before she dies.
It seems like the lesser of two evils.
I went back into the seminar room. Leaning against the wall, I watched the VIP seats.
Elise and Layla, as well as several noble families, were signing the membership contracts.
…Whoooosh.
A white wind sweeps through. Beyond lies a mountain range wrapped in snow and clouds, stretching endlessly like a landscape painting, and beneath it stand countless aspiring knights.
[The Knight Qualification Exam].
“The goal of the first test is simple. Climb as high as possible in this mountain range within 120 hours. This ‘backpack’ provided as supplies is the same for everyone.”
It feels like deja vu.
This test, it feels like I've done it with someone before.
“Oh. This should be interesting.”
Soliette said next to me. She had just barely met the qualifications by attending the summer session.
“Exactly. It’s just hiking.”
“Yes.”
I looked ahead. Gerkhen’s red hair stood out.
“lf you want to give up, just plant this flag and come down. With the severe cold and numerous monsters appearing, don’t even think about risking your life. You could actually die.”
The knight instructor said.
Apparently, there have been quite a few deaths during the knight qualification exams.
“You can form teams or go alone. Both methods have their advantages. Are you ready!”
The instructor’s shout was met with a resounding response.
“Good. Let’s begin!”
He drew his sword from his waist and raised it high into the sky. It was the signal to start the exam, and thousands of cadets challenging for the ‘knight’ qualification simultaneously rushed towards the mountain.
It was quite a spectacle.
“Shion. Shall we go?”
Soliette asked with a smile.
“l’m going alone.”
“…What?”
She looked as if she had been betrayed by the world. I chuckled and corrected myself.
“Just kidding. Let’s go.”
“…You really scared me there.”
We climbed the mountain. The first 1,000 meters were easy, but the peak of this mountain range reaches a staggering 9,000 meters above sea level.
It means we could actually die if we’re not careful.
“…S h i o n ”
Soliette asked as she climbed the path.
“Yeah. What is it?”
I stuck close to soliette.
“Aren’t you a bit too close?”
Apparently, Soliette found this proximity somewhat uncomfortable.
“You generate a lot of body heat.”
People from Arkne naturally emit heat due to their magical energy, and they produce a significant amount of heat, so I’m using her as a human heater. Even though I’m quite sturdy, I can’t completely ignore the cold like soliette.
“…Hmm.”
Soliette looked somewhat displeased.
“What?”
“lt’s always been like this. Ever since I was young, on cold days, animals or people would cling to me.”
“…Think of it as fate.”
“What kind of response is that?”
“lt’s a good thing. Let’s hurry up.”
…[3,000 meters above sea level] a sign appeared. It was a half snow-covered milestone, and beneath it was a small warning.
“Be careful of the cold and blizzards.”
The cold had indeed become severe. It was not just moderately cold. I ended up clinging to soliette’s back, and her lips pouted.
“Soliette. Turn it up a bit.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The temperature.”
“…”
Soliette glanced at me sharply and then increased the output of her magic a bit more.
“Ah, that’s warm. It’s nice.”
“…Really now.”
She frowned as if it was ridiculous, but was a bit embarrassed.
“No, Soliette. Isn’t this a bit abnormal?”
“What is?”
“lt’s too cold, even for cold weather.”
The cold was bizarre. It felt like it could be minus 80 degrees Celsius. At an altitude of 3,000 meters, if it’s this cold here, what will happen if we go higher?
Whooooosh!
Suddenly, the wind blew, mixing with particles of snow. It was a blizzard. Even a slight touch on the skin felt like it was freezing.
“Heater!”
“…Ah, damn.”
Soliette released a powerful burst of magic. Inside the circular barrier she created, I caught my breath.
“No, Shion. But what’s with 'heater’? Call me by my name.”
Soliette glared at me, but honestly, I felt it was a bit unfair.
“That’s not the point? This is really weird.”
This cold snap is suspicious.
Of course, direct magical effects can’t harm me.
However, if magic indirectly dramatically lowers the natural temperature, it affects me too.
It seems like that kind of magic is happening in this mountain range right now.
Why?
Is someone targeting me?
Or is it just nature going haywire?
“…Well. It’s okay. Anyway…”
Suddenly, Soliette stopped talking. She stared up at the mountain range, frozen in place.
“What…”
I looked up at the same spot and also shut my mouth.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
An avalanche… No.
“Hey, hey! Look out!”
A snowball the size of half the mountain was rolling down towards us.
It was too late to dodge.
“Soliette, flameth rower!”
“…Ah, damn. I can’t do that!”
Soliette quickly drew her sword, and I did the same.
“Center! Let’s break thro ugh.”
“Got it.”
In an instant, we assumed the same stance.
It was the Severing Sword.
