“Ner is a genius, Instructor.”
Ever since entrusting Ner to Lillian, that was what he heard every time he went to see her.
She had said it so many times that his ears were practically developing calluses.
Yet the one saying it looked as though she would never tire of repeating herself.
Naturally.
Lillian herself was a genius.
There was a reason she was regarded as one of the very best in her field of bioengineering—especially in the field of Training Dummies.
‘Would someone like her lavish praise on others?’
Of course not.
Geniuses generally fell into only two categories.
Those who reveled in their own brilliance.
Or those who pitied ordinary people for being different from themselves.
Lillian belonged entirely to the former.
Her sluggish demeanor simply kept it from being obvious, but Jin Crow clearly sensed the firm, unbreakable ego she possessed.
‘Lillian Peon. And Risu-jong.’
Their personalities differed, but fundamentally they were the same type of person.
Perhaps personality was the only thing that truly separated them.
After all, the university both she and Risu-jong had graduated from was known as the finest in the Human Composite State.
What more needed to be said?
“Instructor, Ner's a genius. Are you really going to let that talent go to waste?”
Although Stero Mer's genetic information had been used, leaving traces of his appearance in her, Ner was unquestionably a different sapient being.
More importantly, she genuinely wanted to help him.
And she had been a tremendous help.
Whether it was providing information about Oparts or contributing her knowledge to the creation of Training Dummies.
In that sense, Lillian's praise was certainly welcome.
The problem was that her conclusion always took a strange turn.
“So then, even now, take my recommendation letter and send her to our university—”
“She hasn't even completed compulsory education yet. How many stages do you think you're skipping, Professor?”
“Well, Ner can just skip grades, can't she? Right? I entered university at the youngest age in history too.”
“......Haa.”
He almost missed the days when she was so lethargic a sloth might have asked to be her friend.
To be fair, he could understand how she felt from an instructor's perspective.
If there was an outstanding talent capable of hunting Creatures, any educator's natural instinct was to throw them onto the front lines at least once.
Lillian had been so enthusiastic that he had genuinely considered it.
“No.”
But he soon shook his head.
If Ner entered university now, she would lose all her time.
There was a reason Lillian and Risu-jong were called geniuses.
This was a society where androids truly existed, and what had once been called Strong AI had become commonplace.
In such a society, possessing an extraordinary intellect meant having abilities that overwhelmingly surpassed ordinary humans.
Wasn't a university exactly the place where such people gathered?
‘If Ner's true identity is exposed, it'll be dangerous.
For Ner.
And for me.’
If genius-level minds gathered there, then it also meant people capable of discerning Ner's true identity gathered there.
There was no reason to stir up unnecessary trouble.
Nor any reason to live under needless uncertainty.
In truth, even when he had entrusted Ner to Lillian, he had secretly worried that she might discover Ner's identity.
Judging from her reactions, however, there seemed to be nothing to worry about yet.
Of course, even if she did discover it, she was hardly the sort of person who would suddenly harden her expression and cast Ner aside.
“Professor! How could you even think of sending a child to such a horrible place...!”
Fortunately, Jin Crow was not the only one trying to protect Ner.
Naomi, the senior researcher under Professor Lillian, together with the rest of the research staff, also worked hard to protect her.
Naturally.
They too acknowledged that Ner was a genius.
But she was still a child.
She should be enjoying knowledge and seeing beautiful things.
Graduate school?
Knowing better than anyone what kind of hell those words represented, they willingly threw themselves in front of Lillian to protect Ner from her clutches, whether they were androids or humans.
“Absolutely not, Professor.”
“...But.”
“Ner, cover your ears.”
Of course, another reason for such fierce opposition was that every researcher happened to be a woman.
Call it maternal instinct.
Rumors of Ner's tragic past had already spread.
The researchers did everything they could to prevent another misfortune from befalling her.
Several months passed.
Before anyone realized it, Ner had become something like the mascot of Lillian's laboratory.
Naturally, every time she visited, Ner grew closer to Naomi, who always greeted her with a warm smile, rather than Lillian, who insisted on dragging her into the earthly hell known as graduate school.
“...Naomi. Explain this situation.”
“Ah, Instructor. You're awake.”
Having just woken up, Jin Crow asked Naomi in a slightly hoarse voice.
She responded with a somewhat awkward smile as she gently stroked Ner's head.
“Well... I had something to report, and Ner said she wanted to see you, so we came together.”
“Not that.”
“Ah... this....”
It was not unusual for Ner to come with Naomi.
What Jin Crow was referring to instead was the cooking utensils scattered all over his once spotless kitchen and the sandwich stuffed into Ner's mouth.
“Ner said she was hungry.”
“There shouldn't have been any ingredients.”
“We happened to stop by the market on the way.”
“An android did?”
“......”
Rather than answer, Naomi exercised her right to remain silent.
Jin Crow stared at the messy kitchen for a moment before sighing and shifting his gaze toward Ner.
Nibbling on her sandwich, Ner looked back at him with her characteristically clear, tranquil eyes.
‘Well...
It's not really something worth getting angry over.’
Naomi had probably given in because Ner wanted to eat.
It was likely true that she had something to report as well.
Despite possessing Mother AI's consciousness, Ner still had surprisingly childlike moments.
Of course, why that conclusion had somehow led them to buy groceries and make sandwiches in his quarters remained a mystery.
Still, he did not bother to complain.
“Is there one for me?”
“Ah, yes. I made one just in case.”
Brushing back his slightly messy hair, Jin Crow sat down at the table and took the sandwich she handed him.
The bread was filled with plenty of vegetables and ham.
As a surprisingly decent flavor spread across his tongue, he silently swallowed it.
By the time he had nearly finished the sandwich...
He noticed Naomi standing awkwardly while looking down at Ner.
He called out to her.
“Naomi.”
“Yes?”
“The upper kitchen drawer. There's some artificial jelly in there. Eat it if you want.”
“Ah... Yes.”
At his words, Naomi opened the drawer.
Sure enough, she found the artificial jelly commonly eaten by androids.
She tore open the package and placed one into her mouth.
She was not someone who showed exaggerated reactions, so only the faintest hint of satisfaction crossed her face.
Seeing that, Jin Crow quietly nodded to himself, glad he had bought it.
‘Originally, I'd bought it for Lambda...
But still.’
As long as someone enjoyed it, wasn't that enough?
Thinking so, he finished the rest of his sandwich before asking,
“So, what was it you wanted to report?”
“Ah, well. I think we'll be able to deploy the Bishop you mentioned in the next lecture.”
“...Already?”
Even Jin Crow could not hide his surprise this time.
Naturally.
Pawn and Knight were fundamentally simple.
One charged.
The other defended.
Their behavior and movement principles were easy enough to recreate.
But Bishop and Rook were entirely different.
Not only were their actions and attack patterns much harder to implement, but the sheer amount of computation involved was enormous.
Several months earlier, Lillian herself had estimated it would take at least half a year.
Half a year had not even passed yet.
And yet they were already saying it had been refined enough for training?
“It's all thanks to Ner.”
Perhaps noticing the surprise on his face, Naomi rested her hand atop Ner's head and gently stroked her golden hair with pride.
“Ner found an error in the Terranis calculation method we'd been struggling with and reverse-calculated the positional fixed values. During that process, she also adjusted the repulsive force within the horizon coordinate system—”
“So it went well.”
He interrupted her.
Even if he listened, he would not understand a word.
Out of habit, he took out a cigarette.
Then he glanced at Ner.
Still holding it between his fingers, he lightly tapped it against the table instead.
“What about Lillian?”
“She was called away by the Ministry of National Defense. Since the Bishop calibration is nearly complete, most of the researchers have gone on leave as well.”
“Then...”
“Yes. I thought it would probably be best if Ner stayed at your quarters for a few days. I have some work to take care of too.”
Jin Crow shifted his gaze toward Ner, who looked back at him with quiet yet unmistakable purpose.
Perhaps because she had just eaten the sandwich, a slight sheen of oil remained on her lips.
Watching her, he slid the cigarette back into its pack.
Then he stood and headed toward the bed.
“Do as you see fit.”
Watching his back as he walked away, Naomi found herself smiling without realizing it.
“Hey, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“Those two idiots. Not only did they mouth off to Instructor Jin Crow, they even challenged Baek Hwi-young to a spar and got absolutely destroyed.”
“Oh, that guy... Atom or Aton or whatever?”
“His little lackey didn't even dare fight.”
“What a pair of idiots. They were asking for it.”
“They used to hang around with Chance Marbre. They're all the same kind of trash.”
As though the cadets were making sure they could hear every word, Aton and Martin kept their heads lowered while walking to a secluded corner on the outskirts of the academy.
They lit their cigarettes.
Sizzle.
Inhale.
The tip of the cigarette glowed red before thick smoke drifted into the air.
The two merely stared blankly at it.
‘Fuck.’
‘Should I just drop out?’
Neither of them spoke.
Naturally.
They had never been close friends in the first place.
They simply both liked acting tough and knew each other well enough to end up hanging around together.
Now that things had become this bad, however, it was only natural that they would begin blaming one another.
‘The idiot got completely crushed.’
‘Nothing but a loud-mouthed moron.’
They glared at each other.
Eventually, however, they both looked away helplessly.
Instinctively, they understood.
If they fell out now...
Dropping out really would be their only option.
“Should we kill that military doctor bastard?”
“Ah, the one called Sigmund or whatever?”
With that, Aton skillfully changed the subject while grinding his cigarette between his teeth.
The target was appropriate.
Martin was equally dissatisfied with the new military doctor.
“Fuck. He definitely heard the rumors. Did you see the way that punk looked down on us?”
“Yeah. Ha... Now even insignificant bastards are looking down on us.”
Even now, those indifferent green eyes that bordered on contempt lingered in their minds.
Of course, Sigmund Nihel did not soften his gaze even when facing Jin Crow.
But to the two of them, already consumed by inferiority and resentment, everything looked like an insult directed at them.
“Haa.”
There was nothing they could do.
Lay a hand on a military doctor?
They knew better than anyone that it would end in far more than expulsion.
“Fuck.”
Several minutes passed as they cursed under their breath and smoked in frustration.
Seriously contemplating dropping out, Aton suddenly looked down at the vibration coming from his wrist.
His brows immediately furrowed.
〔If you wish to take revenge on Instructor Jin Crow, open the attached file.〕
It was an unexpected whisper from the devil.
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