Chapter 08: "Non-Existent Address or the Happy Cage"
Morning in the seaside town. The kitchen of the inn 'Adel' should have been filled with the usual savory aroma... or so it was supposed to be.
No‚ the scent "exists." It's just that my olfactory sensor is relegating it to 'low-priority background processing' in the corner.
"Mom‚ sorry‚ it's honey bread again today‚ but you're not tired of it‚ right? Yesterday when you came back from the training ground‚ your complexion was quite bad... so I thought you'd like something sweet."
Mom placed the plate on the counter with a worried look‚ lowering her eyebrows.
On it was a perfectly golden honey bread shining brilliantly.
Visual information is functioning extremely normally. The size of the bubbles in the dough‚ the viscosity and gloss of the honey covering the surface. The "expected deliciousness value" calculated from that should originally hit 120%.
"No‚ not at all. Mom's honey bread makes me happy every day. Let's eat."
I sat on the wooden chair and tore the bread and brought it to my mouth.
Chew. The moist texture. The viscosity touching the tongue.
But the "taste" that should be there is missing.
Yesterday morning‚ I felt an inorganic roughness like "sand mixed with water." But now‚ even that is gone. It's complete 'zero'.
At that moment‚ a pale blue system log flashed in my brain.
'Warning (Alert): Fatal error in taste input device. Unable to receive data.'
'Starting alternative processing. Loading taste profile from past memory data...'
'――【Sweetness: Set within assumed values】'
Gently‚ the sensation of "sweet" spread in my mouth.
But it's not what the tongue is feeling. My brain (system) is just forcibly replaying the text data 'honey bread is sweet' pulled from past archives as an illusion (ghost).
It was eerie. More than the lack of taste‚ it was that my own brain was coldly 'patching' the fact that there was no taste and trying to cover it up.
"How is it‚ Louie? Today's result. I made the baking time a bit longer."
Mom is looking at me with eyes full of expectation.
I pasted the smile of the inn's son onto my face. The angle of the mouth corners‚ the width of lowering the eye corners. All calculated "happy son" output.
"It's really delicious‚ Mom. ...Yeah‚ today's bread has 0.3% deeper baking than usual‚ and the aroma is exquisitely enhanced."
"0.3%... you again with those complicated numbers. But if it's delicious‚ that's good!"
Mom smiled satisfied and retreated to the back.
Alone at the counter‚ I mechanically send the ghost-taste bread into my stomach.
(...What did I just say? 0.3% deeper baking? Am I stupid?)
Since I can't taste it‚ I just quantified the "browning color degree" obtained visually and twisted out a plausible impression.
I can no longer evaluate Mom's bread with "taste" but only with "data."
The 'god-like power' to optimize the world and reconstruct space.
In exchange‚ I keep uninstalling my own interface (humanity).
The file that should have been the most important in my life‚ "Mom's bread is delicious‚" can no longer be opened.
While swallowing the dry‚ tasteless remnants of honey‚ I despaired deeply and quietly.
...Still‚ I have to go to the academy.
Because there awaits the girl trying to lock me in the savior's cage‚ and my best friend who has a 99.98% chance of his heart breaking.
I open the heavy wooden door of the inn and step out into the street with the sea breeze blowing.
The cries of seabirds can be heard. The scent of the tide faintly brushes my nose... or so I thought. But according to my system log‚ the current olfactory protocol has already shifted to 'sleep state'. The tide scent is also just a ghost pulled from the brain's visual information (sea view).
As usual‚ I head to the intersection on the main street‚ the meeting point with Selina.
But there is no figure of the silver-haired duke's daughter there.
Instead‚ a "jet-black shadow" that seems to absorb all the morning sunlight is quietly standing on the stone pavement.
"...Mr. Agreas"
Agreas‚ the head butler of the Elferia ducal family.
A perfectly tailored tailcoat with no flaws. A gentle face like an elderly gentleman‚ but through my arithmetic eye‚ I can see that only the magic waveform of the space he's standing in is "not reflecting any light at all‚ like a black hole."
He is not human. He is the 'primordial demon' serving the ducal family.
As soon as he visually recognizes me‚ Agreas approaches silently like sliding‚ and deeply kneels on one knee on the hard stone pavement. It was not so much courtesy to a master‚ but an abnormal degree of reverence like a fanatic praying in a temple.
"Good morning‚ Lord Louie. Today‚ the young lady has some minor business‚ so I have come to pick you up."
"...Mr. Agreas. That posture is creating a strong physical pressure that concentrates the surrounding passersby's gazes on me‚ so could you stand up soon? My remaining self-esteem is being ground down."
"Oh‚ my apologies. However..."
Agreas slowly stands up and narrows his amber eyes.
"Before the world's 'reason (principle)'‚ I cannot be so arrogant as to not bow my head. ...Your soul is already stepping into a higher-dimensional realm far beyond the human frame."
A chill ran down my spine.
He is not seeing me as "Selina's childhood friend" or "academy student." He is observing the essence within me as the 'Successor of Time'――the computational body (system) that rewrites the world.
"...You're overestimating. I'm just the son of an innkeeper‚ a small citizen worried about the dishwashing shift today."
"Is that so. ...By the way‚ Lord Louie"
Agreas spoke while adjusting the position of his white gloves in an extremely natural motion.
"Was there any issue with the 'components' of the organic matter you ingested earlier?"
――My heart jumped with an unpleasant sound.
'Warning (Alert): The target has detected the system's fatal defect (loss of taste)'
'Emotion circuit: Terror parameter has risen to 200%'
He has seen through it.
That I can no longer process the taste of Mom's bread except as "components (data)."
"...What are you talking about. Mom's bread was perfect and delicious today too."
I desperately controlled my facial muscles and created an optimized "everyday boy's" smile. But Agreas saw it and floated a chilly‚ cruel smile.
"Yes‚ it is superimposed. Carbohydrates‚ sugars‚ trace salts. ...If those 'numerical data' were processed accurately‚ there is no problem."
Agreas takes a step closer to me.
"Lord Louie. Ambiguous and inefficient interfaces like taste and smell are no longer necessary resource consumption for you. To compute the world and guide the young lady‚ it is optimal to shave off such 'human functions (noise)'‚ I believe."
My breath caught.
Selina is obsessed with giving me "human happiness (limited to inside the cage)." But her shadow‚ Agreas‚ is different.
He welcomes the death of my humanity as a co-conspirator turning me into a "perfect machine (god)" for Selina.
"...I am human. Even if inefficient‚ even if full of noise."
"Fufu. I wonder how long that human-like 'bug' will last... I will observe from the special seat. Now‚ let's go to the academy. The young lady is waiting‚ having prepared a 'new world' for you."
Agreas elegantly yields the path.
In my brain‚ the emotion engine of 'human (Adel-Ver.1.0)' was repeatedly freezing while screaming. The fact that the only being who shares my secret is a demon trying to peel me away from humanity the most filled me with inescapable despair.
With the "abyss" named Agreas following behind‚ I passed through the academy's main gate.
The morning sunlight illuminates the white school building‚ and the chatter of students echoes. The bustle that should have been pleasant is now processed by me only as "environmental noise (45-60 decibels)."
"――Louie!"
Suddenly‚ a silver trajectory flew into my field of vision.
Before my brain could start evasion calculation‚ a soft impact hit my chest‚ and slender‚ supple arms wrapped around my neck.
"I've been waiting‚ Louie. Even though we couldn't meet for just one night‚ my magic circuit (heart) was about to error from your deficiency?"
It's Selina Elferia.
She doesn't even glance at the surrounding students' astonished gazes‚ buries her face in my chest‚ and rubs her noble uniform against my ill-fitting shirt.
A strong assertion of ownership‚ as if showing off. In the past me‚ this situation would have popped the self-esteem bubble‚ turning my face red with shame and impatience.
But what unfolded in my brain was a terribly inorganic pale blue log screen.
'――Contact confirmed'
'Detected heat source of 36.5 degrees Celsius on chest. Pressure from physical contact‚ approximately 40 Newtons of restraint'
'Target's heart rate rising to 1.1 times the steady value'
'Decoding emotion variable 'affection'... Failure. Reception error. No corresponding processing protocol exists.'
...Strange.
Her embrace should be "soft." Her body temperature should be "warm."
But my skin sensors don't convert it to emotions like "emotion" or "embarrassment." Just mass‚ just heat source‚ just pressure.
The more Selina hugs me tightly‚ the more my brain coldly adds it as "increase in restraint force (+15 Newtons)."
"...Good morning‚ Selina. Your output is quite high from the morning. My sternum's durability setting is a bit insufficient to withstand your affection."
I computed and output the voice of "the usual Louie Adel."
(...It was different in the past‚ right?)
When I comforted her crying as a child‚ the small body temperature she clung to. At that time‚ I certainly remember my chest warming and my heart pounding uncontrollably.
'Detected unnecessary cache memory. Deleted (purged) emotional archive 【Childhood Warmth.dat】'
At that moment‚ an unbearable emptiness ran through as if something was "pulled out" from the depths of my chest.
But even that "pain of loss" is immediately processed as the system's error log and ruthlessly overwritten by cold numerical sequences.
My system no longer tolerates even past "human-like noise."
"Fufu. If I hug you so tightly that it breaks‚ you won't be able to escape from being 'mine' physically either? ...Hey Louie‚ I can hear your heartbeat today too. The perfect rhythm that beats only for me."
Selina whispers sweetly while looking up at me.
In her blue‚ transparent eyes swirls an agonizing passion wanting to cut me off from the world and lock me forever in her own cage.
Her breath touches my neck.
Those words are certainly vibrating my eardrums.
――However‚ my heart didn't move at all.
(...Ah. Your words just look like 'text data (strings).')
No matter how passionately she speaks of love‚ in my brain it just flows like a telop as a mere string of character information.
No joy or even fear wells up. The system just objectively notifies the fact that "the target is showing an extremely high attachment parameter."
"Selina. Could you let go soon? There's Catherine's watchful eyes too‚ and if it's too conspicuous‚ my goal of 'peaceful academy life' will arithmetically collapse."
"...It's fine now. I'll block all the palace's eyes‚ so don't worry."
She lifts her face from my chest and places a cold――no‚ 'temperature information: disappeared' hand on my cheek.
"You just need to process my prepared world and my voice as data. ...Everything else is 'impurity'."
At those words‚ I performed a 'simulation of biological reaction' where my spine freezes.
It's ironic. She loves me as a human and tries to possess me by clinging‚ but the closer she gets to me‚ the more my system (heart) can't understand her passion and retreats into absolute zero space far away.
We were physically close yet passing each other at infinite distance.
"...Now‚ shall we go? Today's training has all variables that would discomfort you eliminated."
Pulled by Selina's arm‚ I start walking.
Behind me‚ I felt Agreas floating a soundless‚ cruel smile as if celebrating the "progress of optimization."
Dragging the "restraint device (weight approx. 2.5 kilograms)" named Selina's arm‚ I advance through the academy corridor.
From ahead‚ an unpleasant high frequency――noise mixed with mockery and angry voices could be heard.
Looking‚ three high-ranking noble students were cornering a lower-class student who seemed commoner against the wall. The textbooks he held were scattered on the floor and trampled with mud. It's a common "physical mount named class difference" at the academy‚ though not recommended.
My system immediately alerted 'Risk from involvement: High. Recommend searching detour route'.
But before I could stop walking‚ a white silver flash ran through the corridor.
"――That's enough."
Leon Valks.
Sun-like golden hair and straight eyes embodying unwavering justice. With his intervention‚ the noble students should have clicked their tongues and withdrawn... In the past him‚ his majestic attitude alone would have suppressed the scene and extended a hand to the commoner student.
However‚ today's Leon was different.
"You lot‚ disrupting academy discipline and oppressing the weak. That is clearly 'evil'."
"Wh-what‚ Valks. Just a commoner being a bit cheeky‚ so I was just educating him――"
"Excuses are unnecessary. Impurities must be eradicated."
Leon's hand moved.
He didn't draw his sword. Just grabbed the arm of the noble who made excuses with bare hands――and without a moment's hesitation‚ twisted it up.
A hard "crack" sound echoed in the corridor.
"Gyaaaaaaa!?"
The noble student screamed and writhed on the floor. The remaining two paled in terror and backed away.
As punishment for a dispute within the academy‚ it was clearly excessive (overkill).
"No mercy even 0.01% to evil. That is the judgment I pass on you."
There was no anger in Leon's voice.
Just physically eliminating the evil variable like correcting a wrong equation with a red pen.
Facing that gruesome scene and screams――my system computed no "sympathy" or "pain empathy" at all.
In the past‚ just watching would have given the illusion that my own arm hurt. But for current me‚ the impact sound earlier is just the physical phenomenon of 'friction sound when fatal damage (snap) occurs to the target's skeletal structure'. Even the function (empathy) to imagine others' pain is completely cut off as unnecessary background processing.
My arithmetic eye covers Leon's back with a pale blue grid.
His mental structure――the huge crystal that once boasted 100% purity beauty is now covered with countless fine cracks. The cracks caused by yesterday's "holding back" noise from Rosetta are reaching the critical point inside him.
'Warning (Alert): Detected irreparable defect in target (Leon Valks)'s logical structure'
'Target's collapse probability: 99.98%'
On the back of my retina‚ bright red text flashes violently.
(...Leon. That's too much. That's not justice‚ just an obsession. Your equation is completely ignoring the friction coefficient of reality.)
I have to stop it. The old OS inside me――the 'Louie Adel' as human shouts that. I can't let my best friend who once called me hero and believed in me straight break like this.
But my feet didn't move.
'Simulation execution... Probability of trajectory correction by linguistic intervention on target: less than 0.0001%. Danger of collapse accelerating due to backlash: extreme. Recommend passive observation'
The system outputs the cold optimal solution.
No matter what I say‚ it won't reach him now. Rather‚ words from me‚ the "true hero‚" would only become fuel to justify his rampage.
"Lord Leon‚ a wonderful condemnation. One piece of academy trash has decreased."
Selina‚ clinging closely beside‚ leaks an ecstatic sigh.
To her‚ even Leon's rampage is just a "convenient vacuum cleaner to erase unpleasant worlds from my sight."
The noble groaning on the floor and Leon looking down at him.
Over his back‚ Leon suddenly turned this way. His eyes were filled not with madness‚ but with overly pure sense of duty.
"Did you see‚ Louie. I won't leave any impurities on the path you walk. I'll make everything clean."
He smiled.
That smile was exactly the same shape as the sun-like smile that saved me in the back alley back then.
That's why it was terribly frightening.
(...Sorry‚ Leon. I can't assemble the calculation formula to help you anymore.)
In the depths of me‚ which should have reception error for emotions‚ something like "guilt" that can't be arithmetic faintly ached.
But that too is immediately processed as 'inefficient noise' by the system and coldly erased.
Facing my best friend harboring 99.98% destruction‚ I could only stand as a cold observer (system).
After school.
The place I was guided to was not the usual dusty magic training room.
The deepest part of the academy‚ the special building where originally only high-ranking teachers should enter. The moment the heavy door of one room opened‚ my visual data almost output an error "excessive decoration (over-decoration)."
Fluffy carpet‚ canopy bed chair‚ air perfectly temperature-controlled by magic tools.
But there are no windows anywhere.
A room with no exit connected to the outside world from the beginning.
It was not so much a training room‚ but an extremely luxurious 'birdcage' for confining noble sinners.
"...Selina. Where is this?"
"This is your 'special training room'‚ Louie."
Selina invites me to the center of the room. Her steps are graceful with no hesitation.
"From today‚ you will spend all your after-school time here. Even the 'palace investigation team' of Lady Catherine can't touch with this barrier and the authority of the Elferia ducal family before them. ...You no longer need to fear unreasonable conscription orders."
"...That means‚ in exchange for protecting from the palace‚ I'm completely under your management (territory)‚ right?"
"Fufu‚ bad way to put it. I'm just providing my hero with a 'safe and perfect world'. Outside is full of impurities that break Lord Leon or malice that sends you to dirty battlefields."
Selina's words were thoroughly sweet‚ and at the same time had the heaviness of cement completely blocking my retreat.
At the room's entrance‚ Agreas stands silently.
"Young lady‚ the tea is prepared. ...Lord Louie‚ I have 'optimized' all the magic circuits in this room. No noise will interfere with your high-dimensional computation."
Agreas's amber eyes narrow as if seeing through the bottom of my soul.
He respectfully bows and retreats outside the heavy door――
Clang.
A cruel metallic sound rings‚ and the lock is securely fastened from the outside.
"...Mr. Agreas? Why the lock..."
"For safety‚ Louie."
From behind‚ Selina clung to me.
'――Contact confirmed'
'Temperature data: Unobtainable. Pressure data: Steady. Restraint level: Extreme'
"This is now our world alone. I will protect you from impurities forever."
Her passionate words of love flow in my brain as inorganic text data from right to left.
The fluffy carpet‚ the scent of high-class black tea‚ the softness of the girl clinging to my back. To my current interface‚ they are recognized only as strings of numbers.
In the luxurious birdcage without windows‚ I recalled the one place that was my hope.
Slightly burnt honey bread. Plates with oil stains. Dusty back entrance.
Those were the anchors that tied me to "human Louie."
"...Ah‚ I want to go home."
The murmur that unconsciously spilled didn't reach anyone and vibrated the perfectly temperature-controlled air.
At that time‚ I suddenly felt a terrifying discomfort.
The painful voice that should have come from my throat sounded terribly distant‚ as if 'audio data of someone else played from an external speaker'.
Furthermore‚ even the skin sensation of my back being hugged by Selina is reaching my brain with a delay of several commas of a second (lag).
The connection between the hardware called body and my consciousness (system) is physically peeling off――.
Immediately after.
In my brain‚ a merciless pale blue system log flashed.
'Voice command accepted. Searching destination...'
'Warning: Emotional link to target (Adel Inn) has been disconnected'
'Return coordinates: Error. Non-existent address.'
'――Completely deleted (delete) the linked internal data 【Daily memory group】'
The inn in my heart was no longer anywhere.
(Chapter 08 End)
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