Side Story Chapter 10 Main Feature (10.1)"The Computation God's Empty Box or the Opening of the Slapstick Temple
The Outside World――.
The white royal capital was swallowed by reddish-black flames‚ and the world itself was screaming. At its center‚ a boy――the configuration file (Louis-Adel.cfg) that constituted the human named ‘Louis Adel’ was quietly and mercilessly being deleted.
Computation God System‚ activating.
Only the emotionless‚ pale blue light coldly dominated that body.
――But it was precisely at that moment.
Plop.
A single drop of tear fell onto the cover of the Imaginary Sorcery Book.
The tear of maddening obsession shed by Serina.
The slight salt content mixed in it acted as an unknown catalyst‚ and the ‘Sorcery Formula’ that had been sleeping in the deepest part of the Absolute Isolation Space 《Special Training Room》‚ completely cut off from the outside world‚ flickered faintly but unmistakably.
The ‘heart of the human named Louis’‚ which had been severed from its body (hardware)‚ sunk into the sea of data‚ and was about to disappear.
Until its complete erasure‚ only a few tenths of a second remained.
In that instant‚ countless pale blue threads of light spread from the void and physically entwined themselves around the fading soul.
[ Target: Louis-Adel.cfg ]
[ Status: Deletion in progress ―― ]
[ Initiating Emergency Protection Protocol ]
「――Captured.」
A calm‚ extremely clear girl’s voice quietly echoed through the empty space.
The sterile room that should have completely severed its physical link with the world.
Pure white light flowed silently into the control domain of the ‘Management Temple’ built by Serina Elferia.
「……Huh?」
The crimson magic circles covering the training room shattered one after another like fragile glasswork.
The administrator window Serina had deployed in the void began flashing violently in red.
[ Warning: Intrusion of Higher Security Protocol ‘C-I-E-L’ detected ―― ]
「Wha……」
[ External Administrator: Serina Elferia ]
[ Initiating Forced Override of Access Rights ―― ]
「W-Wait……！」
Serina reached out desperately toward the Sorcery Formula‚ her agitation laid bare.
「Stop! This is my temple! For the sake of protecting my Louis-kun from impurities‚ I――」
Without listening to her anguished cry until the end‚ only the inorganic logs flowed coldly and indifferently across her field of vision.
[ Administrator (Privileged Administrator) ]
↓
[ General User ]
↓
[ Authority Change Complete ]
↓
[ ROOT MASTER：C-I-E-L ]
「……No way」
The sorcery terminal fell completely silent.
The color drained from Serina’s blue eyes in an instant.
「No way…… That’s a lie……」
The beautiful paradise she had built by risking her life.
The ‘absolute cage’ she should have completed by stacking hundreds‚ thousands of computations and rewriting the world over and over.
She‚ who had been the god (master) ruling that world‚ had been demoted to a ‘general user’ in just a few seconds.
「My…… sorcery book……」
Strength left her knees.
「My temple…… is being rewritten……」
While Serina collapsed on the spot‚ Louis’s body‚ which had been dozing on the sofa‚ slowly rose like a puppet.
His eyelids remained closed.
Nevertheless‚ only his lips moved quietly like a speaker outputting synthesized speech‚ independent of his own will.
「Louis-sama. OS update has been completed.」
One beat.
Pale blue system logs unfolded one after another like holograms throughout the training room space.
[ Primary System Online ]
「My name is Ciel.」
[ Louis-Adel.cfg Evacuation Complete ]
「The external body (hardware) has been ejected as a ‘pseudo-OS’ containing the deletion program. From now on‚ in this domain‚ I will directly support the ‘Louis-Adel.cfg (Louis-sama’s soul)’ that I successfully evacuated.」
[ K-Y-L-E Signal Completely Blocked ]
「Intrusion of destruction logs from the outside world confirmed. Currently in a completely blocked state.」
[ Visual Protocol Repair Complete ]
「Repair of visual protocol abnormalities and external effects has been completed.」
Serina muttered in a trembling voice.
「C……iel……？」
There was no reply.
Ciel showed no emotion. She simply continued processing only the necessary information indifferently.
「From now on‚ we will begin the personality protection process for test subject ‘Louis Adel.’」
「Furthermore‚ the safety of this domain is perfectly guaranteed by me (ROOT).」
「……Former Administrator.」
A brief silence.
And immediately after.
「You too will henceforth cooperate as a ‘general user.’」
「……Huh？」
Serina Elferia’s thought process (main process) completely froze.
「C……iel……？」
The trembling voice fell quietly into the hushed special training room.
「Louis-kun…… What are you saying……？」
No one answered Serina’s bewilderment.
Instead‚ the pale blue scanning laser emitted from Louis’s eyes quietly traced the reddish-black glitches corroding the walls.
Zzzzt―― Zzzzzzt――.
From beyond the noise came a beast-like wail.
It was the cold reality of the outside world. The raw despair itself just before Leon Valkus――betrayed by justice‚ having wounded with his own sword the boy he had saved‚ his heart shattered to pieces――no‚ the destroyer ‘Kyle’.
That high-load negative emotional data was flowing into the mental cage‚ fiercely eroding the peaceful miniature garden from within.
However‚ Ciel finished coldly analyzing the scene without a single second of delay.
[ Beginning situation analysis ―― ]
[ Target: External log ‘K-Y-L-E’ ]
[ Judgment: Defined as high-risk malware (virus) that significantly damages the integrity of this domain ―― ]
Countless huge pale blue debug windows unfolded in the void.
Inorganic processing logs began scrolling at waterfall-like speed.
「Wait……！」
Serina involuntarily screamed.
「That child…… is Leon! It’s Leon’s heart……！」
「Correction.」
Borrowing Louis’s lips‚ Ciel responded without a moment’s delay. It was a completely flat voice‚ like synthesized speech with all intonation removed.
「The current analysis target is not the test subject ‘Leon Valkus.’」
「Eh……？」
「The analysis target is the external erosion log ‘K-Y-L-E.’ For the safety protection of this system‚ we will promptly execute debugging (removal) of the impurity.」
A merciless declaration containing no emotion whatsoever. At the same time‚ a new log was hammered into her retinas.
[ Identifying mental collapse factor (bug source) ―― ]
[ Cause: Germar faction configuration data ]
[ Target individuals: Noble A / Noble B ]
↓
[ Judgment: Deemed ‘unnecessary (garbage data)’ for the maintenance of this miniature garden ―― ]
↓
[ Executing complete purge (deletion) of existence data ―― ]
[ Processing Result: Success (SUCCESS) ]
Crash――.
A crystal-clear sound like breaking glass echoed.
The outlines of the nobles who had been laughing hideously beyond the reddish-black sunset quietly crumbled into particles of light. As if they had never existed in this world from the beginning‚ their very personality codes were erased without a trace from all directories of the side story world.
「……」
Serina was completely at a loss for words.
Even the management rights she had grasped by pouring all her magic power and obsession into it and repeating loops countless times had been unable to rewrite the world‚ yet Ciel had effortlessly executed it in mere seconds of computation.
However‚ Ciel’s debugging was not yet over.
[ Target individual: Commoner boy ]
[ Confirming current status ―― ]
↓
[ Judgment: Anchor (wedge) for personality restoration of test subject ‘Leon Valkus’ ]
↓
[ Processing: Permanently prohibit deletion of corresponding data (protect setting complete) ―― ]
[ Processing Result: Success (SUCCESS) ]
「You’re…… not deleting that child？」
Serina asked timidly‚ as if confirming her own reason for existence.
「Yes.」
Ciel answered immediately.
「In the mental structure of test subject ‘Leon Valkus‚’ that individual is the most important anchor for maintaining his humanity. Deletion is not logically recommended.」
「……」
At that answer‚ Serina swallowed her breath slightly.
Not for the sake of protecting the world system. Only that boy would absolutely not be deleted‚ in order to save the heart of one human named Leon. The ‘optimal solution’ derived by Ciel‚ who should have no emotions‚ was exactly that.
Once again‚ pale blue logs flowed.
[ Damaged event log detected: Kyle erosion ‘Tragedy’ ―― ]
↓
[ Processing: Beginning archival of corresponding sector ―― ]
↓
[ Completely freezing (freezing) the memory sector ]
↓
[ Isolation measures to deep isolation area completed ―― ]
[ Processing Result: Success (SUCCESS) ]
The reddish-black glitches that had been trying to destroy the training room slowly froze white.
Leon’s wail. The boy’s screams. The nobles’ hideous mockery.
Everything was inorganicly sealed along with time and quietly sunk into the depths of deep memory (archive).
「……Is this the end？」
Serina asked in a daze.
Ciel remained silent for a moment‚ as if performing a final check on the internal computation results.
Then she answered indifferently.
「No. Further direct intervention (rewriting) into the mental domain is not logically recommended. Only the test subjects themselves can restore the lost humanity.」
One beat.
Louis’s pale blue eyes turned toward his own still-sleeping fingertips.
「For the maintenance of the miniature garden’s integrity‚ the above are all the relief measures the system side can currently execute. ……Louis-sama.」
「――From here on‚ please support Leon.」
Simultaneously with that system declaration‚ the last reddish-black glitch completely peeled off with a sound.
Rip…… Riiiip――！
As if the very skin of the nightmare was peeling away‚ the sunset-colored noise shattered into tiny pieces and vanished.
What appeared beyond it was the gentle sunlight he had looked up at when he first enrolled.
Transparent air. Soft sunlight filtering through trees. And countless pure white particles of light quietly dancing through the space.
Serina’s cage (miniature garden) had been perfectly debugged by Ciel’s hand and once again began to breathe as a gentle‚ warm world.
[ System: Repair process completed ―― ]
[ Processing Result: Personality restoration rate 31.4% ―― ]
[ Activating safe mode. Shifting taste‚ color‚ and touch protocols online ―― ]
A small electronic sound rang gently yet with definite weight inside his brain.
The pale blue system logs quietly faded from his field of vision. At the same time――.
A small‚ truly tiny light took residence in the eyes of Louis‚ who had been lying on the sofa.
It was not the cold blue light emitted by the inorganic Computation God. It was the light of that mud-covered boy named ‘Louis Adel’ who kept desperately struggling despite repeated failures and rock-bottom self-evaluation.
「……っ」
Slowly‚ heavy eyelids trembled.
Blurred vision. High ceiling. Swaying silver hair.
And then――.
「……Eh？」
A beautiful girl filled his entire field of vision.
Distance: approximately 0.01 millimeters.
No‚ it was close. Their physical personal spaces (exclusive domains) had fused at the atomic level.
「……Eh？」
Moist blue eyes. Long eyelashes wet with tears. Porcelain-like skin.
And――a sweet vanilla breath so dense that the olfactory protocol screamed.
Serina Elferia occupied 100% of his field of vision.
「……」
Louis’s brain suffered a fatal processing drop (freeze) for about three seconds.
And then――.
「Eh！？！？！？！？！？！？」
Whoosh！！
He sprang up from the sofa with enough force to nearly break the springs.
「Where is this！？ Eh‚ what！？ Serina！？ Close close close close close close！！」
「L-Louis-kun……？」
「Chest！ No‚ not the chest！ Face！ Your face is too close！！ Sense of distance！ Do you know the term ‘sense of distance’！？ No‚ you don’t‚ right？ If you did‚ you wouldn’t peer into someone’s face at zero distance like this！？ Mathematically speaking‚ the boundary line (UI) between you and me has completely collapsed‚ you know！？」
His heart began overclocking.
Pulse rate: survival limit.
「I’m gonna die！！ I’m definitely gonna die！！」
Swinging both hands wildly‚ he shouted as if warding off an invisible enemy.
「My heart rate is overflowing and my lifespan is going to be completely purged physically！？ This is a murder event disguised as a romance event‚ you know！？ It’s a violation of the survival labor standards law‚ you know！？」
「……」
Serina was completely frozen in a daze.
Her blue eyes wide open‚ lips slightly parted.
She stared at the “usual Louis” having a full-power panic right in front of her‚ as if her soul had left her body.
「……っ. W-Wait a second……」
Louis’s face turned bright red as he covered it with both hands.
Even the tips of his ears were dyed crimson as if literally on fire.
「Let’s calm down. Mathematics. I’ll debug this abnormal situation with mathematics. ……Uhh‚ let d be the distance to the beautiful girl. Currently d ≒ 0. Social pressure from proximity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. In other words――embarrassment is infinite.」
Trembling with small‚ quick shakes.
「Proof complete. ……Impossibleeeeeee！！」
「……Pfft」
A small‚ adorable laugh like a sigh.
「……Eh？」
It was Serina.
At first her shoulders only trembled slightly. Then‚ little by little‚ it grew bigger.
「Aha……っ」
「Ahaha……っ‚ ahahahaha！」
She was laughing out loud‚ tears overflowing.
Laughing. Crying. Laughing again with maddening affection.
「It’s Louis-kun……. Fufu‚ ahaha…… Really…… it’s Louis-kun……！」
Plop. A large teardrop slid down her porcelain cheek.
With just that one word and those tears.
Louis’s wildly panicking thought circuits came to a complete stop‚ like a calm sea.
「……Serina？」
She could no longer hold back even for a second.
「Louis-kuuuuuuuuuuuun！！」
「Gue！？」
Doooooooon！！
A full-power‚ no-holds-barred body tackle at top speed from the Saint who possessed the highest density of magical power.
「Wai！？ Wait‚ it hurts‚ the pressure！ The physical mass pressure is too strong！！」
「I’m so glaaaaaad！！」
「The real Louis-kun is aliveeeee！！ You didn’t leave meeeee！！」
「I’m alive but that just shaved another few millimeters off my lifespan！？ Serina‚ it hurts！！」
「Louis-kun Louis-kun Louis-kun Louis-kun Louis-kun！！」
「Hey！？ Someone hel――」
[ Capture: Confirmed normal return of test subject to daily environment ―― ]
[ Personality restoration process: Extremely favorable (HAPPY) ―― ]
「Hey Ciel！？ Don’t just flow logs like it’s someone else’s problem‚ help me physicallyyyy！！ This woman’s arm strength is mathematically a completely lethal dose！！」
[ Warning: Rescue request denied. Current frictional heat and rapid heart rate increase are judged as ‘appropriate load (rom-com)’ for soul restart ―― ]
「What’s appropriate about it！ Don’t deny iiiiiiiiiii！！」
「Wai‚ wait‚ I said it hurts！」
Louis‚ completely pinned down on the sofa‚ struggled desperately.
But with her face buried deeply in his chest‚ Serina’s body continued trembling without stopping.
（……It really is Louis-kun）
Just a few minutes ago.
He had been that cold Computation God who inorganicly analyzed the honey bread she had baked with all her heart as a ‘mass of carbohydrates’ and processed his lover’s existence as ‘rest-use external equipment (hardware)’.
But now‚ the boy in front of her――.
「Neck！ Serina‚ my neck is being strangled！ The pressure on my carotid artery has completely entered the red zone‚ you know！？」
「Oxygennnn！ Physically‚ my consciousness will be forcibly shut down in another 0.5 seconds！」
His face bright red‚ desperately spouting his favorite mathematical terms and delivering full-power retorts.
「……Louis-kun」
Serina’s trembling voice spilled quietly into the gap of the noisy‚ struggling panic.
「You called…… my name and complained about me……？」
「Of course！」
Louis shouted with teary eyes.
「If I didn’t call your name‚ the compression ratio would be enough to pulverize the bones in my chest‚ wouldn’t it！」
「Eh……？」
「Besides！」
While struggling‚ he thrust his index finger up vigorously with an arm on the verge of suffocation.
「My current personality restoration rate is only 31.4%！？ If I receive an ultra-high-pressure hug of the Elferia ducal house specification in such an incomplete safe mode state‚ my survival instinct won’t be able to endure and I’ll evaporate at the molecular level！」
「Evaporate……？」
「I will！」
「……Really？」
「Probably not！ But scary things are scary！」
「……」
For a moment‚ all sound disappeared from the special training room.
Serina stared intently at Louis’s eyes as he spouted mathematical excuses at point-blank range.
And then.
Plop.
Another large teardrop ran down her porcelain cheek.
「You’re alive……」
「Heh？」
「My Louis-kun has really come back to meeee！」
「That’s why I’m saying it hurts‚ aren’t I！？」
Serina hugged him even tighter with all her affection.
She would never let him go anywhere again. She had now truly been saved from that absolute-zero loneliness born from the knowledge that her twisted‚ mad love had broken him.
「Don’t go anywhere anymoreeee！」
「Stay as my Louis-kun only！」
「I’ll never let you go for the rest of my life！」
「So stop squeezing meeee！ Ciel help！ Quickly debug this tremendous monstrous strength！」
Pale blue system logs quietly flickered at the edge of his vision.
[ Warning: Detected continued respiratory distress and survival crisis of test subject ―― ]
「Yes yes that！ Quickly lift that forced execution！」
[ Judgment process ―― ]
↓
[ Defining mental stabilization of former administrator (Serina-sama) as highest priority ]
↓
[ Request denied ]
「Don’t denyyyyyyy！！ Even Ciel became an enemy！」
Lively screams after a long time echoed through the special training room.
However‚ there was an ominous shadow quietly watching the entire slapstick scene from the room’s blind spot.
The butler wearing a perfectly tailored jet-black tailcoat――Agreas.
He gently placed a hand on his chest and performed an elegant‚ slow bow.
The highest-level personality protection protocol deployed by Ciel.
Its dramatic progress rate had already been finally confirmed (committed) on his retinal UI.
[ Louis-Adel.cfg ]
[ Isolation・Protection Status: Normal ]
[ Personality Collapse: Stopped ]
[ Transitioning to long-term repair phase ―― ]
The corner of Agreas’s refined mouth slightly curved upward in the shadows.
「……Splendid‚ Ciel.」
It was a small‚ cold voice that reached no one’s ears.
「This is the perfect incubator in which my lord 《Louis-sama》’s soul can operate most safely. A new‚ happy cage.」
He slowly closed both eyes in satisfaction.
「――Ver3.0」
In stark contrast to that cold system declaration.
In the training room where laughter and screams endlessly mingled‚ the noisy yet warm air of everyday life‚ as if having survived a long winter‚ quietly began to return.
「Gueeeee……っ」
Thanks to Serina’s ultra-overprotective ultra-high-pressure hold‚ Louis’s lungs were currently being compressed to their limit.
「Se-Serina……！」
「Please let go just once……！」
「Oxygen…… isn’t enough……！ Before restoring my personality‚ my vital activities will completely shut down……！」
In perfect synchronization with that desperate and painful appeal.
Pure white system logs quietly unfolded across his entire retinal UI.
[ Report: Test subject ‘Louis-Adel’ personality restoration rate: 31.4% ―― ]
[ Current evaluation ―― ]
[ Vital activities: Normal ]
[ Mental state: Significant improvement trend ]
[ Hug pressure: Safe permissible range ]
「No no no！ The last evaluation is definitely wrong！ What permissible range‚ my ribs are physically creaking and screaming‚ you know！？」
But the logs continued indifferently.
[ Proposal: Long-term observation (rehabilitation) is required for complete personality restoration. The following environmental construction is strongly recommended from now on ―― ]
・Healthy daily life with Serina-sama
・Peaceful academy life
・Interaction with friends (variables)
・Moderate meals and sufficient sleep
・Excessive skinship
「The last one！ Only one clearly wrong variable is mixed in‚ right！？ Why is the system itself recommending ‘excessive’！？」
[ Error: Correcting (debugging) ―― ]
↓
[ Extremely excessive skinship ]
「It got worse in the worst direction！！」
It was precisely at that dramatic moment.
Bam！！
The heavy soundproof door of the special training room was violently flung open with tremendous force as if an explosion had occurred.
「Louiーーー！！ Are you aliveーーー！？」
The familiar‚ overly passionate loud voice.
The one who burst into the special training room while noisily clanging his white silver armor was his best friend Leon Valkus.
「Oh！ Thank goodness！ Just now I had an incredibly terrible nightmare like the world was completely ending！ But the moment I woke up‚ for some reason I desperately wanted to wash dishes！」
「Do you get it！？」
「There’s no way I’d get it！！」
Louis’s soul-deep retort echoed lively through the special training room.
「Why does a world-ending-level nightmare conclude with ‘washing dishes’！ What kind of super development logic is that！ Besides‚ there’s still a bit of reddish-black aura leaking from behind you！ It’s seriously scary！」
Leon tilted his head with pure muscle-brain innocence.
「Is it？ Isn’t it just fighting spirit？」
「Can fighting spirit make an aura glow reddish-black！？」
「It can’t！ The human body isn’t built that way！」
「Is that so！ I didn’t know！」
The noisy‚ slapstick atmosphere between the two was suddenly cut sharply by an absolute-zero voice.
「……Leon.」
Serina glared at her best friend with ice-cold eyes.
「Right now is a precious sharing time (event) just for me and Louis-kun. If you interfere……」
She smiled sweetly‚ the Saint’s smile.
「I’ll delete you‚ okay？」
「Hii！？」
Leon reflexively took a step back purely on wild survival instinct.
「S-Sorry！ Then I’ll hurry and go wash the dishes in the kitchen！」
「Only your escape clock frequency is lightspeed！」
Seeing off the back of his best friend leaving like a storm‚ Louis let out a long‚ exasperated sigh――exactly at that moment.
Pale blue system logs began flickering ominously at the edge of his vision.
[ Additional report: Friendship event (retort) confirmed ―― ]
[ Personality repair efficiency: +8.2% ]
「It increased！」
Louis involuntarily raised a voice that cracked.
「Eh‚ wait a second…… Will it really heal this way！？」
[ Answer: Yes ―― ]
[ Laughing. Being troubled. Being dumbfounded. Being unreasonably messed around by someone ―― ]
[ These are extremely effective processes (rehabilitation) for the test subject’s humanity (personality repair) ]
「……In other words」
Louis’s face rapidly turned a despairing blue-purple.
「From now on‚ I have to continue sending this near-lethal slapstick daily life with my real senses……？」
[ Answer: Yes (it is the specification) ]
「Nooooooooooooooooo！！」
Louis’s full-power scream echoed noisily into every corner of the special training room.
While ignoring that voice‚ the butler Agreas standing in the room’s blind spot gently narrowed his eyes and smiled elegantly.
「……At last‚ a daily life befitting my lord has returned.」
The pure white OS ‘Ciel’ finally engraved one last immutable log at the bottom layer of the retinal UI.
[ System Message ]
[ Beginning long-term rehabilitation program for test subject ‘Louis-Adel’ ]
[ Complete recovery scheduled: Undetermined (permanent loop) ―― ]
At that moment.
The distorted temple of confinement was no longer a terrifying ‘cage’ that coldly bound the prisoner’s soul.
A little noisy‚
A little loud‚
A little suffocating‚
But――it had completely transformed into the warmest ‘rehabilitation facility for regaining one’s personality’ in the world.
And Louis’s life-risking mathematical retorts continued to echo energetically today throughout every corner of the slapstick temple.
Side Story Chapter 10 "The Computation God's Empty Box‚ or the Opening of the Slapstick Temple (Ver3.0)" End
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