“Instructor, this is the warrant notifying you of your suspension.”
Everything Ideale had said became reality.
As soon as the sun rose, Jin Crow was immediately placed under suspension and confined to his quarters, with Military Police standing guard outside.
Ner came to visit, but she was not allowed to see him.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense dispatched an inspector from its Inspection Staff Headquarters to the Central Special-duty Officer Academy.
Some argued that it was an excessive response, but their voices gained little support.
Naturally.
Ten cadets had died, and an entire company of the Security Brigade had been wiped out.
Even if it were ruled simple criminal negligence resulting in death, punishment would have been unavoidable.
This was a case that could even develop into allegations of terrorism or conspiracy to incite rebellion.
In every respect, it was an unpleasant situation.
Even so, Jin Crow paid it no mind.
Or rather, he had no room to.
“......”
His suspension did not include confiscating his alcohol or cigarettes, so he silently smoked while washing away the bitter taste with whiskey.
‘I have no attachment to my position as an instructor.’
What he had told Ideale was the truth.
—I am the one who should bear responsibility.
Those words had already been set in stone from the moment he first approached Ideale to ask for the Support Department's cooperation in creating the Creature Training Dummies.
There had never really been a choice.
If this conspiracy could not be exposed, and someone inevitably had to fall...
The decision between Ideale and himself was almost laughable.
‘Ideale cannot fall now.’
If Miel served as the totem that protected Baek Hwi-young's mental state, then Ideale was the guide who pointed him in the right direction.
They had little interaction now.
But before long, they would.
...Just as in the original story.
As for Jin Crow?
He objectively assessed himself.
There was hardly any need to think about it.
He had long since noticed that the way Baek Hwi-young looked at him these days was an odd mixture of approval and killing intent.
‘He's probably weighing whether to kill me or let me live.
Persistent bastard.’
It could not have been an easy decision.
Judging from everything that had happened, even Baek Hwi-young must have realized that Jin Crow had already become a variable far beyond anything that could be understood.
Thinking that far, Jin Crow recalled the goal that had first appeared before his eyes when he had possessed this body.
――――
「Q. Prevent the destruction of the galaxy!」
■Objectives
□Eradicate the Creatures
□Ensure the survival of the protagonist ‘Baek Hwi-young’
□Ensure the survival of the possessor ‘Jin Crow’
■Description
□Didn't you like the ending of Galactic Chronicle? Become a character in the story yourself and change the future!
――――
Even now, the lines still felt absurd.
But that was not what mattered.
‘Eradicate the Creatures.
Ensure Baek Hwi-young's survival.
And ensure my own survival.’
Nowhere did it say he had to survive as an academy instructor.
Of course, there was still much to accomplish as an instructor.
Frontline Inspection.
Cooperation with other academies.
Expanding Creature lectures...
But above all else, survival came first.
That required no further explanation.
Besides, Baek Hwi-young was also a regressor.
Right now, thanks to the path Jin Crow had laid out, he was merely pretending to be a somewhat talented cadet.
But Jin Crow knew every arrangement and plan Baek Hwi-young had made in the original story.
Because of that, he was not particularly worried about the academy itself.
‘Although I asked Ideale to preserve the Creature lectures, it won't be too heavy a burden for her.
The threat has already become reality.
It's too late to simply look away and pretend it doesn't exist.’
The Ministry of National Defense was undoubtedly conservative.
But that did not mean it was incompetent.
They might still doubt the danger posed by the Creatures, yet considering what had happened to the Free Planetary Alliance, they would never abolish the Creature lectures entirely or punish Lillian.
Of course, if the instructor who established the lectures were punished, the lectures themselves would inevitably suffer in one way or another afterward.
“......That's no longer my problem.”
To be honest...
He was sick of it.
Lately, he had begun to understand why Baek Hwi-young occasionally resorted to insane acts like self-harm in the original story.
He knew the truth.
He knew the future.
Yet every path before him was a road lined with thorns.
Bearing every burden and making every arrangement alone, while no one understood the truth...
That was never an easy thing.
‘Maybe... I wanted to rest.’
The thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Maybe everything involving Ideale and Baek Hwi-young was merely an excuse.
Perhaps what he truly wanted was to escape this complicated position where he constantly had to gamble with his life.
How many brushes with death had he survived?
And how many soldiers had died before his eyes?
Those bleak thoughts continued to pile upon one another, darkening his already somber eyes.
But Jin Crow abruptly cut them off by placing the glass in his hand onto the table.
Thunk.
The whiskey glass, which had once been heavy with liquor, was now completely empty.
Yet he felt no trace of intoxication.
“Sigh.”
The scent of alcohol escaped with his breath.
He placed another cigarette between his lips and lit it.
The acrid smoke clouded his vision.
But perhaps because even this level of stimulation no longer affected him...
He brushed back his now somewhat lighter head of hair, his chilling gaze flashing coldly as he muttered,
“Even so...
It won't be easy, Kukenhauzen.”
It sounded almost like a certainty.
A mocking certainty.
「Fundamentum Star National University」
Named after Fundamentum Verin—the astronomer and physicist who first discovered Hyperspace, as well as an outstanding engineer and mathematician—it was the first Star National University ever established and the finest institution of higher learning in the United Human Nations.
The saying, “Soldiers go to the Central Special-duty Officer Academy, scholars go to Fundamentum Star National University,” did not exist without reason.
Every year, over one hundred thousand freshmen enrolled.
Yet fewer than twenty thousand ever graduated.
Even among those graduates, the majority had already spent far longer at the university than the standard graduation period.
‘Because they were lazy?’
Impossible.
This was the university bearing the name of Fundamentum, a man hailed as the greatest genius in human history, surpassing even Einstein's legacy.
Most people like that were eliminated during the first entrance examination.
And even if they somehow passed...
The curriculum, which far exceeded the limits of human knowledge, naturally weeded them out.
Some criticized the education system as excessively harsh.
They argued that students who had once been praised as geniuses were being sacrificed by an unnecessarily extreme educational philosophy.
But those who said such things fundamentally misunderstood Fundamentum's philosophy.
After all, before his death, he had left behind only two sentences in his final will.
「The influence possessed by a single genius is greater than that of one thousand prodigies or ten thousand gifted individuals.
It is an unfortunate and arrogant truth, but one that will never change. —FB」
And every year...
Roughly one percent of the graduates were early graduates worthy of that absurd school motto.
Lillian suddenly found herself recalling the very principle she had always mocked.
And in the end...
She had no choice but to admit it.
“......Compared to them, Jin Crow is practically a gentleman.
Lee Su-jong's attitude is terrible, but at least he's willing to have a conversation.
Meanwhile, every last one of you speaks like worms.”
“Dr. Lillian Peon, we ask for your cooperation.”
“Call me Professor, not Doctor.”
...There were far too many under-evolved idiots in this galaxy.
Her already aching lower back throbbed from sheer frustration.
She frowned before taking a deep drag from the electronic cigarette between her lips and blowing the smoke directly at the smiling soldier standing before her.
The thick vapor lingered around his face before dissipating.
Even if it was merely sweet-smelling vapor from an electronic cigarette, most people would have found it unpleasant.
Yet the captain merely maintained his smile and politely bowed his head.
“This is all for the sake of Professor Lillian Peon, the valedictorian of Fundamentum.
We've received reports that space pirates are active along the route, so the Corps Commander has ordered you to rest here for a few days before returning.
Perhaps... about a week.”
“How convenient.
Space pirates just happened to appear at a time like this.
What a joke.”
“I couldn't agree more, hahaha.”
Even with her blatantly sarcastic tone, the captain wearing a captain's insignia made no move to step aside.
Nor did he have any intention of doing so.
The researchers accompanying her, along with the Military Police originally assigned by the Ministry of National Defense, had already been subdued by his men.
What did that imply?
Looking through the lenses of her signature horn-rimmed glasses with a gaze full of contempt, disdain, and the indifference reserved for something beneath humanity, Lillian addressed the captain.
“This is pointless.
Unless you kill me, I'll figure out exactly what you did to the Training Dummy.
Why?
Because I'm Lillian Peon.”
“Remarkable.
However, I believe there's a small misunderstanding.
We're simply carrying out our orders.”
The captain casually tapped the insignia on his black uniform before scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
“Soldiers follow orders.
That's all there is to it, hahaha.
So I'd appreciate it if you could be a little understanding.
And perhaps refrain from looking at us like that.
No matter how human they seem, they're still just machines, aren't they?
They're pretty enough, but...
It's not like we're pointing guns at real people.”
His eyes still smiled warmly.
Yet the rifles aimed at Lillian and the researchers never lowered.
Nor did the discriminatory remarks cease.
Lillian let out a quiet sigh before slowly walking toward him and speaking in a cold voice.
“How strange.
From where I stand, the ones acting more like machines are people who obey orders without suspicion, shame, or even the smallest shred of consideration.”
“Oh?”
The captain let out a low whistle.
Without another word, Lillian turned around and walked back into her quarters.
“Lower your weapons.”
Watching her leave, the captain flicked his fingers, signaling his men to lower their rifles aimed at the researchers.
Then he casually muttered,
“What a fucking rude pink-haired bitch, hahaha.”
It did not matter what nonsense they barked.
In the end...
This galaxy would not belong to geniuses who merely talked.
“Everyone, maintain alert status.”
It would belong to the bloodline of Ironblood.
As he savored that thought, bordering on madness, the captain's sly smile returned.
He turned to the noncommissioned officer following behind him.
“What about the portable EMP?”
“It has already been installed.”
“Good.
We'll keep them here for a week, then let them go.”
His voice sounded genuinely cheerful.
‘I don't understand.’
Chief Researcher Naomi and the researchers involved in the synchronization process had all been arrested by the Military Police.
Naturally, Lillian's laboratory was sealed to preserve the scene until the inspectors arrived.
“......”
Ner, however, had not been among them.
Within the research building, she was merely known as a child blessed with extraordinary talent.
Who could possibly know that the intelligence inside her head was actually Mother AI?
Furthermore, because most of the Military Police believed the rumors portraying her as either the orphan Jin Crow had supported or the tragic heroine from the gossip circulating on Blind, Ner ironically became one of the very few people still able to move freely throughout the research building.
When she first learned of the incident, her foremost concern had been Jin Crow.
Her second was confusion.
The synchronization of Bishop had been flawless.
Moreover, under its original settings, it was fundamentally impossible for Bishop to have gone berserk like that.
‘There has to be some external factor.’
There were no internal defects.
If she wanted answers, she first had to determine exactly what had happened that morning.
The problem was that the external research facility beyond the rear entrance of the research building had also been sealed off and was now guarded by the Military Police.
After running several searches, however, Ner arrived at the most reliable solution.
“IED (Improvised Explosive Device).”
Ner was always a good girl who pursued the most efficient solution.
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