Chapter 215

The human brain is a small, yet infinitely large, universe.
The clichéd phrase was coming out of a book, but the professor was feeling it herself. She was suddenly aware of the mental connection that had developed between her and the priest.
In contrast to the professor, who was trapped in a shell of ‘consciousness’, the foreign body was free to roam the universe. As it traced its footsteps, it gradually began to see itself.
Fragments of incomplete memories were embedded in my subconscious like shards of glass.
– ……It’s a creepy creature.
– They don’t lift a finger, but they always feel your gaze.
– I wonder how many ■■ are hidden in there…?
Parasites in restraints, researchers observing through a window.
– Can you see me? Can you hear my ■■■■?
– Pupillary reflexes are fine……. EEG is also stable.
– ……You finally made it. Your name is…….
A girl immersed in a special culture, the temperature of which I felt when I picked her up.
– I need to dry ■■……. I have a way… ■■■.
– ……yet sloppy ■■■. Besides, the professor’s ■■ is also….
– The professor doesn’t know what ■■ is ……! At this rate, we’re going to…!
Lights peeking through cracks in closed doors, voices of men and women.
– I don’t have my ■■■■ to throw away….
– That’s true even if it’s ….
– So, Your Majesty, you will have to help me…….
The emperor being handed papers directly from the ‘professor’.
– Is this what you were hoping for, Professor ■■?
– From here it can be different……. What, not bad…….
A mechanical device with a myriad of pipes and wires connected to it.
A pad of electrodes stuck to your forehead and a bunch of text on the screen.
And, and – and
“Huh…!”
The professor’s slipping consciousness snapped back to reality. She realized she was lying on her back. Her body was covered in a cold sweat, and her vision was blurry.
“Don’t be too observant.”
“Don’t tell me I’m noticing you, I’m just looking at you because I think you’re different than last time.”
“Of course it’s different. No matter how neatly you cut a memory, it doesn’t stay clean. The unconscious memories left in the flesh are scraped off and supplemented.”
“I don’t know, even if you put it that way. I don’t like complicated stories.”
The voice you hear becomes clearer and clearer.
“My memories have been artificially cut off, and I’ve been pummeled in the head on the way back in the form of dreams, visions, and hallucinations. Salt has been sprinkled on a wound that has been slowly healing. It must be hard on you.”
“You mean if I leave it alone, it will come up on its own?”
“Maybe, but it’s going to take 10, 20 years.”
“Hmm.”
The professor grasped his throbbing head. The words flickered in and out of her subconscious, but they didn’t jog her memory. No complete memory remained in her brain in the first place.
There are only ‘fragments’ that are arbitrarily reconstructed. And by indirectly experiencing scenes from the past, he realized something new, something the professor didn’t like.
The “professor” of that time is a very different person than the one you are now.
“So, child of the world, have you figured something out?”
This was a process to get clues. The idea was that if we could figure out how he lost his memory, it would lead to a way to get it back.
It served its purpose.
The last fragment I looked at held a clue.
“I saw the Emperor of Xuran.”
He had a different face than the Emperor Kim had killed, but she was certain it was the same person: he was once the Emperor of the Empire, and he was deeply involved in the parasite research at Cellbrossix Labs underwater.
“There was some… facility, I think it was a lab, I’m not sure, but I think I was locked up there, and I don’t think they would have let me back into the lab in one piece under the circumstances.”
Shiran.
The Professor has found Shiran’s shadow in his lost memories, and this sets the course of action. Now that the “action” of investigating Shiran has been decided, the “future” can be predicted.
Nephrite stared at the professor. A dizzying array of future forks. There were paths where the professor was murdered, where he took his own life, where he gazed in despair at the ruins.
The number of all possible cases that could have happened.
Indiscriminate observations, including the outlandish possibility of lightning striking a moving car. The burden was too great, and the numbers too large, to be used as a predictor of the future.
But there’s a use for everything.
One thing that stands out among the myriad of forks.
I began to slowly recite what I could see.
“…a secretive, windowless facility, a massive machine connected to bundles of wires that sprouted from everywhere like thorns. It looks to be quite old, and this, imprinted in the center, is a name.”
“Name?”
“Helena Fabiela, that’s what it says.”
The name of the former director of the Cellbrosics Lab.
It was information that Nephrites had no way of knowing.
Kim nodded.
“Confirmed.”
Shiran has a new purpose again.
* * *
Kim’s group left Vidia’s Forest as soon as they had completed their mission.
As with her last visit, she relied on Altair’s power for transportation. This was both an act of kindness on Vidia’s part toward Kim, and a way to keep the location of the forest a secret.
– The companionship only goes so far.
– Vidya is no longer permitted to be involved in the events and affairs of this world, for she is but a lowly servant, bound by dogma.
– We’re looking forward to seeing you again.
With a polite bow, Altair disappeared into the slime. Not a trace of it remained, and the professor sighed as he looked down at the cleaned ground.
“I thought the same thing when I first met you… you’re an interesting guy.”
“Of course.”
Kim agrees, and it’s clear from their few interactions that Vidia is a secretive organization. How long have they existed and what do they believe in?
Only a small portion of the setting was ever officially mentioned by the game company. In the game, they were portrayed as more mysterious and strange beings, with less contact.
“You don’t need to know the details. There’s a lot of knowledge in the world that’s better left unknown.”
“……You’re right, I think some of the research we’ve been doing in the lab falls along those lines.”
“I don’t know. I can’t say anything about that, because it’s between them.”
It’s an unanswerable question in the first place.
Shiran and Shalem have always believed that the labs of the past would eradicate the scourge, after all. They’ve brought it back hundreds of years, but they’re only halfway there.
“It’s all about the outcome, and if we can resolve this, the lab will have served a cause. Kushan thinks he’s atoned, but that’s different for everyone.”
“Atonement….”
After glancing at the mumbling professor, Kim looked out over the ridge.
In the distance, you can see the Federation of Lucerne, where the talks took place. Altair didn’t send them straight to Shiran; that would be interfering in their affairs, and it wasn’t necessary.
“We need Maximilian’s help anyway.
There’s no point in arriving before Maximilian. Plus, there’s a lot of hostility toward the Rap within the Empire right now. There’s no telling what they’ll do to you while you wait.
‘You know, I’m pretty much a pacifist.’
In any case, the problem is a deep misunderstanding.
“First, I’ll stop by Lucerne. We’re back faster than I thought, so maybe they still have some people in the lab. Otherwise, I’ll find Kilikia or Albatross and leave Nephrite in their care.”
“Isn’t it better to just come back once?”
“Too much wasted travel time. Bastitera is too far away.”
“No matter what, you’re going to go all the way to Shiran on your own?”
The professor is a non-combatant and the only escort is Kim.
In the past, I would have been power anxious.
“Why, why not?”
I don’t feel like I’m lacking anything.
* * *
The summit gave Maximilian a lot to think about.
‘I can’t believe they let that much precipitation in the lab….’
A single company, not a country, is becoming the center of the continent. Of course, other countries will conduct their own research on fissures. But there’s no guarantee when they will be able to do so.
The longer the status quo continues, the stronger the position of wraps and dustbones.
“But I don’t think they’re the kind of great minds who would intentionally let things go.
There are bomb collars on the continent right now. The time limit is not very generous. What’s the point of rising in status if the continent is destroyed?
To take advantage of the current arrangement of leaning on Labs and Dustborn, but ultimately to resolve the situation. That seems to be Kim’s purpose.
Shiran is also forced to draw a numbered ticket.
If so, we’ll have to resolve the conflict between Shiran and Rap…….
“Ha, my head hurts.”
Maximilian leaned back in his chair and craned his neck. Exhaustion washed over him in waves. He was bleary-eyed from all the work he’d had to do since returning home.
I’m reminded of this every time.
The impact of the imperial palace bombing on Shiran and the international community. The rights and duties given to the monarch of a nation. How heavy the responsibility of being a collaborator of terrorists and the next emperor is.
“The funny thing is, I don’t feel like I want to run away.
I just got choked up at times and needed to take a break.
But even that was an unattainable luxury for Maximilian.
“Dear Maximilian. We have an urgent message from the checkpoint at the border….”
“What do you mean, a flash flood?”
“The man who was stopped and detained at the checkpoint is reportedly claiming to be a representative of Dustborne.”
“……what?”
When he heard the news from his servant, he wrinkled his brow.
“What would you like to do?”
“Uh, well, let’s verify the identity first. I mean, there’s got to be Chapter data, right?”
“The description seems to match. He was accompanied by a woman, who has been identified as a ‘professor’ at the Cellbrosics Labs. We’re still trying to spell-check his name, but it looks like it’s him.”
The timing suggests that he was on his way to Xilan as soon as the talks were over.
I almost wondered why, but other issues took precedence.
“…But why did they detain you anyway?”
“Well, that’s how things went down. A representative from Dustborne measured extremely high levels of contamination, and the checkpoint was adamant that they couldn’t let the Parasite in, so they decided to…….”
Maximilian stifled a sigh of frustration.
* * *
Imperial Palace of Shiran.
Kim Yi Hyun is back in a place he thought he would never visit again. This time as a guest, not a terrorist. The servants and escorts had left the room, leaving the three of them alone in the parlor.
“Wow, that’s a much earlier reunion than I thought.”
“I apologize for not greeting you properly at the meeting.”
“That’s okay, it would have been more awkward if we’d said hello.”
Maximilian’s expression showed a hint of amusement; for him, Kim was a colleague with whom he shared secrets about many of the past events.
Of course, worrying is another story.
“So. What brings you to Izzie in such a hurry? Is it to discuss the agenda for the summit separately? If not, I’m sorry, but I don’t see a single point.”
“Oh, no big deal.”
It was a terrifying rush for anyone else to hear.
“I’ve been informed that the Emperor has many hidden labs. I thought I might be able to contribute to the research being undertaken at the Cellbrax Labs. Perhaps we might be able to crack the code?”
Instantly, a cold sweat ran down Maximilian’s spine.
I had a thought the other day, and it came true.
‘You really do know everything.
Maybe you’re in bed with someone worse than the emperor.
I didn’t even bother to ask. The fact that they’ve traveled all the way to Shiran at this time suggests that they have some kind of conviction, even if the source of the information is unknown.
“If I respond with a lie, it will only make me look bad.
Maximilian swallowed hard and decided.
The most effective solution.
“There’s someone better suited for that problem than me: …….”
Let someone else do it.