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After Ariel Group and the Scholarship Officer left, the Duke leisurely strolled around the naval base, engaging in conversation with his daughter.

“I was a bit puzzled when you first mentioned that girl named Violet.”

At the Duke’s words, Adela, who had been observing the port’s cleanup operations, turned her head with a questioning expression.

“Honestly, I even had this thought: now I’m joking about it, but I was worried that your little hobby might interfere with a great undertaking.”

As the Duke playfully smiled, Adela raised her voice in embarrassment.

“Father, that’s—!”

“I’m not trying to criticize you. No need to be ashamed. Everyone needs their own way to relieve stress.”

Adela managed a bitter smile.

“If you’re worried, let me assure you one more time: I don’t resent you for it. The training was tough, but it was a necessary process for our family and for me.”

“…It makes me happy to hear that.”

His daughter had a fondness for cute things.

Though her taste clashed with the solemn and formal atmosphere of a warrior clan, the Duke tolerated it.

Therefore, peeling back the family’s outer facade revealed an unexpected sight.

Inside the mansion, Adela’s room was filled with various dolls and outfits, while the garden was bustling with numerous puppies.

And that’s not all. On weekends, Adela would visit the orphanage sponsored by her family for volunteer work.

Seeing the young lady playing with the children was undeniably a noble virtue and good deed in the public eye.

Nevertheless, the Duke couldn’t help but think as a father of a child from a previous marriage.

Showing particular affection for cute things and children might be an unconscious desire to compensate for a lost childhood that she could not reclaim.

To ensure she focused on the rigorous training as the family heir, the clan confiscated and removed anything deemed a distraction.

Cute dolls, charming puppies, even beautiful dresses reminiscent of fairy-tale princesses.

All that was given to young Adela were just hard weapons and a dull room.

Returning to the topic, the Duke commended Adela.

“Your instincts were correct. That girl caused a clan to collapse in an instant. Moreover, this has given us a new opportunity. We claim the glory of eliminating the pirate warlords and have obtained strategic materials. With this opportunity, we should be able to regain the Senator’s recommendation rights.”

The point was clear. Cascadia would be able to recover its influence in the federal political arena based on this opportunity.

“Do you remember the disgrace that happened when our family’s power weakened when you were young? When those wretched Laplacians tried to rob our tomb, we failed to punish them thoroughly in the end. But now, the situation has changed. We won’t be so easily beaten again.”

And all credit for this went to his daughter, who had brought formidable warriors to the family’s side.

“You mentioned a junior. There are only a few years left until your graduation. Take good care of her in the meantime. There’s no need to forcibly bring her to our side. From what we’ve seen, Violet might be dangerous, but she is pure and innocent. With the right approach, she could become the sword of Cascadia. The strongest dagger, indeed.”

“Yes, I will make sure to do that.”

With an elegant and courteous smile befitting an heir, Adela concealed the thoughts flooding her mind.

Today, her lovely junior had multiplied.

“They said there were 4,000 of them. Probably?”

During a serene moment aboard the airship, as they returned to the mainland, Adela sipped her drink and lost herself in thought.

The main residence of Cascadia was large and spacious. There were many rooms that weren’t even used in the annex.

Inviting a dozen girls as guests wouldn’t be a burden considering the family’s wealth.

“And, we could grasp an awakened unit that could grow in an emergency, at the size of a single brigade.”

This was a strategic and rational choice for the family.

Any fool would act as he did.

Adela was confident that her thoughts were a valid decision as the heir.

Suddenly, a question flashed through Adela’s mind.

“By the way, what kind of food does Violet like the most?”

Despite being proud of buying Violet a variety of things, she didn’t know what the girl genuinely enjoyed eating.

Scolding herself for overlooking such an important detail, Adela opened her messenger.

The recipient was Violet’s roommate. They had become close over time, often exchanging messages regarding Violet.

[Can I contact you? I have something I’m curious about.]

[Student Council President? Yes! I’m fine. What do you want to ask?]

She carefully broached the subject. If she suddenly asked about her eating habits, it might raise suspicions, so she made up a dinner appointment excuse.

The reply came quickly.

[Violet eats just about anything. But she especially loves meat and fried foods; if you give her those, she’ll be really happy.]

[Got it, thank you so much for the tip, junior!]

Expressing gratitude for the kind advice from a considerate junior who cherished Violet just as much, Adela smiled.

‘I need to bring Violet to the mansion as soon as possible.’

Imagining the Violets playing around in the garden, she momentarily closed her eyes.

‘Violet One, Violet Two…’

**

Sometimes, we found ourselves unable to comprehend the Scholarship Officer’s thoughts.

The current Seijis was quite different from the Scholarship Officer we knew.

Ideally, a Scholarship Officer should be competent and trustworthy, like Older Sister Sophie El, bright and kind, but the current appearance of the Scholarship Officer radiated a deep-seated shadow.

We could only make the brief speculation that the Scholarship Officer might have come from the future.

Ever since the rather bright atmosphere of the first part turned a complete 180 due to the appearance of the Boundless Witch, all we could do was guess at what kind of experiences that followed could have occurred.

But one thing was certain: the Scholarship Officer must have gone through extremely dark experiences.

“Who did she fight against? The Obsidian Legion and Magnavis for sure, and she must have fought with Restraid too?”

“I bet she fought with Laplacian too! Then the Rumyx Foundation must be involved…”

Engaging in battles with the Legion would also involve the Federation, and she’d probably had clashes with Arshith too, having been to the northern regions at least once.

As for the clan, shrouded in mystery, those details remained unknown.

Whatever the case, it didn’t matter much. The work the Scholarship Officer was doing helped me and my friends significantly.

I shook my head lightly to clear away the miscellaneous thoughts. What mattered now were two things.

One was the political controversy surrounding our Violet.

“She received a knightly title, but the nobility is the enemy of democracy! She should have refused it!”

“It’s not equal! This isn’t democracy!”

An urgent Violet meeting was in full swing, passionately debating the best compromise between the title bestowal and Violet’s democracy.

At first, the news of becoming a knight had excited us, but as the excitement settled, we recognized the seriousness of the issue.

If mishandled, it could lead to a potential distortion and corruption of our Violet’s ideological purity and political line.

“It goes against the principle of equality!”

“If this continues, we might become fascists! We could turn into Fascist Violets or Communist Violets…”

At that moment, for some unknown reason, Unit 2501 clutched her head and screamed.

“Oh no! We’re going to become Nazis! No way!”

With 2501’s scream as a signal, the imagination within the terrified Violets in the network began to spiral out of control.

The network was thrown into disarray in an instant. The scene that unfolded was shockingly vivid.

Violets with mustaches shouting for Violet supremacy and imprisoning all of humanity in concentration camps played out before our eyes.

“To survive, we must unite! We’ll make all those who resist equal!”

“Siege Violet!”

“There is only one standing tall beneath the great Monad’s sky, our leader, Chancellor Rugilinn!”

Indeed, the sudden emergence of a class structure had collapsed the equality society.

The ultimate destination of the collapsed equality society was a breakdown of free democracy and a mania-driven imperialism among the Violets!

In the end, the academy city crumbles and Trist falls.

“One nation, one system, one Violet race!”

“Nooo! This isn’t democracy!”

The fascist Violets, having swiftly suppressed the Federation and clans, turned their gaze upward.

What they saw among the twinkling stars were pitiful and worthless civilizations that could not become Violets.

“Build the fleet!”

Spaceships made from linked drums broke through the atmosphere, heading into the vast universe, with the vision of spreading Violet fascism to all civilizations intensely imprinted across the network.

As the nightmare reached its peak, the bubble of heightened imagination suddenly popped.

“Wait, everyone calm down!”

Unit 2 anxiously reassured the panicking Violets.

“Think about it. The knighthood is an honorary position, right? It applies equally to all of us Violets. It’s equal!”

“…I suppose?”

The Violets coolly put their heads together to discuss.

Upon careful reflection, the knightly title didn’t seem to imply any issues.

If we were to liken it to a game, it was akin to an achievement or title system.

It was something that was given equally to everyone.

“Why were we worried about something like this? It’s nothing significant.”

“Next time, let’s see about getting another title! I want to become a Count!”

The council of all equal noble Violets swiftly regained its peace.

I found myself wondering why we were so frightened. My imagination had simply run too wild.

Sometimes, when I get caught up in various delusions, it shakes the entire network.

It’s one thing if it merely causes confusion, but once the 4,000 Violets begin to sink into imagination, the entire network tends to go into overdrive.

From now on, I should probably rein in my imagination a bit.

As the meeting approached its end, the sound of a jet engine filled the air, and a black figure slowly began to descend from the distant sky.

“The Scholarship Officer has arrived!”

As the Palcyon VTOL aircraft landed, the rear ramp opened slowly. Within the craft was Seijis.

“Scholarship Officer! Over here!”

“Well done, Violets.”

The Violets carefully moved the securely packaged Professor Bernike into the cargo hold.

Though I didn’t understand why there was a sudden request to capture the professor, I suspected there must be a good reason for it.

There was an ominous aura surrounding the professor.

Just a little while ago, when she approached me, claiming to scan my injury, her face had a weirdly excited expression.

Suddenly, the image of the Laplacian Laboratory and the Woman with a Ponytail resurfaced in my mind.

Coincidentally, Professor Bernike also had her hair tied in a ponytail.

“Isn’t she that wicked ponytailed scientist? They call her a professor! She might be an evil villain who enjoys human experiments!”

“Human experiments? Eek! Shouldn’t we eliminate her immediately?”

Perhaps it was the recent horror of Violet fascism that made even a minor concern stir the air within the Violet network.

Someone who could casually ask us to do such things wouldn’t be someone to take lightly.

While I’m not fully aware of the specifics, given that she modified a monster due to a pirate’s job request and eventually unleashed it to escape, it’s clear she’s a dangerous individual.

She might even later commit some tremendous atrocities using monsters again.

“But the Scholarship Officer requested a rescue. It’s a bit strange to say to kidnap her after saving her, but I’m sure there’s a reason.”

“That’s true.”

First, we must inquire about the details inside the plane.

As some Violets transferred the goods, the ramp slowly began to close, and the front cockpit door opened, revealing a girl with red hair peeking her head out.

Before me was Seijis’s assistant and the game’s mascot character.

Whenever I turned on my smartphone, it was always the cat girl, Millia, who greeted me enthusiastically.

“Hey, Millia!”

“Oh? Hi there. You guys, are you Violets?”

Though we had probably met frequently, it felt like it had been quite a while since I’d seen this cat girl, as I hadn’t been to the Inspection Bureau’s office as often since my meeting with the Scholarship Officer.

As the Violets greeted the familiar face with warmth, the girl awkwardly waved her hand in response.

Hold on, now that I think about it, she doesn’t seem like such a good cat after all.

Though my memories were a little hazy, I recalled that she always greeted me with a bright smile but only gave me trash every time I spun the gacha.

“Yeah, we’re Violets! We’re helping the Scholarship Officer!”

“Helping you say? Wait, what on earth does that mean?”

“A corpse bag!”

Millia, who had been awkwardly flapping her ears, suddenly jolted.

She looked horrified at my words.

“W-what? A c-corpse…?”

“It’s not a corpse. It’s a corpse bag. The person inside is alive!”

After hearing my follow-up explanation, the mascot girl sighed.

“…Scholarship Officer, isn’t this kidnapping?”

The Scholarship Officer fell into silence for a moment before throwing out a line.

“…There’s a reason. Please understand.”

Millia couldn’t hide her unease as she headed back to the cockpit.

She’s such an innocent child. The Scholarship Officer has become hardboiled, so she should start getting used to it.

“By the way, Seijis. Why in the world did you want us to capture that lady?”

“I’ll explain that right now. Listen carefully…”

 

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