Chapter 04.1: "Mud-Covered Startup (CEO: Lily Ardent)"
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【Excerpt from the History Book 'Twilight of the Magical Society'】
「……In this world‚ wealth was always believed to flow 'from the upper class to the lower class.' But the truth is the opposite. By squeezing the survival mana (mana) of those dying in the lower depths to the absolute limit and converting it into golden‚ shining infrastructure‚ the privileged class maintained their vivid‚ rainbow-colored splendor. The human scrapyard is the heart of a dystopia that most blatantly embodies this exploitative structure. However‚ when a single girl hijacked that heart with a 'bug‚' the world witnessed for the first time——the most absurd hack drama of all: 'profits flowing backwards from the bottom.'」
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Hwoo.
The freezing wind blew through the gaps in the crushed steel beams.
The unpleasant low bass that had long dominated the human scrapyard was no longer audible anywhere. The driving sound of the mana-sucking capsules that had continuously drained the children's survival mana had fallen completely silent.
A gray-brown sky steeped in despair. Through a crack in the thick clouds‚ a faint ray of morning sunlight shone thinly.
The dozens of orphaned children who had been liberated could not yet fully accept the reality of freedom and stood there in a daze. Their thin arms trembled slightly‚ and their emaciated legs looked as if they might snap at any moment. Painful reddish-black bruises remained on their necks where the mana-sucking terminals had bitten in‚ and their dust-covered clothes fluttered in the cold wind. They probably hadn't had a proper meal in days——among them were even young children whose consciousness was blurred from severe mana deficiency‚ doing nothing but repeat shallow breaths.
I firmly adjusted the tattered cloth coat over my dirty mana-silk dress and quietly stepped forward in front of the children.
「……Kaito‚ Sasha. It's okay now.」
Kaito looked up at me with anxious eyes while supporting his younger sister Sasha with his thin arms as if to protect her.
「Big sis…… Are we really…… not going to be turned into batteries anymore……?」
「Yes.」
I nodded as strongly as I could.
「Garlus's administrator rights have been legally revoked. That man will never come back here again.」
Even as I said that‚ a different anxiety swelled darkly in the depths of my chest.
——Six months. The area manager had given me only six months. If I couldn't prove profits (numbers) by that deadline‚ it wouldn't just be me. Every single person here would be completely erased (deleted) by the privileged class's system.
Just rescuing them didn't end anything. Today's bread‚ a shelter from the rain and wind‚ and the 'work' needed to survive tomorrow——I had to prepare all of it starting today.
（……But what on earth should I do?）
（Everyone is starving and freezing to their limits. And yet‚ all I have on hand is a meager amount of magic crystals……）
Not wanting them to sense my anxiety‚ I gently pulled the tattered cat clinging to the hollow of my collarbone closer. The faint residual heat transmitted from inside the cold metal was the only thing that quietly calmed my wildly beating heart.
「Hey‚ Noah. Can I ask you something?」
『Good grief. Is the new president's first job to stand bewildered in front of the mountain of garbage employees she liberated? Let me tell you‚ while you've been worrying‚ my Darjeeling has gone completely cold.』
The voice echoing in my mind was as cold as ice as always‚ yet somehow seemed amused.
「This isn't the time for that!」
I unconsciously raised my voice.
「When that area manager came‚ you called up the system and summoned Asteria‚ right? Is there a way for me to directly access this world's system like that?」
『……Kuk.』
I sensed a small chuckle.
『You've noticed an interesting point‚ Lily. To put it plainly——yes‚ it's possible. What you're wearing is the attribute tag of a genuine "Anonymous Top-Tier VIP‚" even if it's temporarily frozen. The system access rights (access rights) have already been granted to your retinal UI.』
「Access rights……!」
My heart raced.
「Then maybe I can help these kids right now!」
『Oh‚ that expression says you've thought of something.』
「I exposed Garlus's corruption and drove that man into self-bankruptcy (loss cut). In that case‚ on the system……」
I took a deep breath.
「I am Garlus's successor. Meaning‚ all the assets and rights that man held should have been transferred to me.」
A moment of silence. And then——.
『……Fufu.』
Noah laughed with satisfaction.
『Correct. The system's automatic mediation rolls back the fallen administrator's public assets to the successor with highest priority.』
『Now Lily‚ swipe the amber-colored gate at the top right of your retinal UI.——Hack the system.』
I swallowed lightly and activated Amber Vision at maximum output. An enormous information tree I had never seen before unfolded across my entire field of vision. System logs that I previously couldn't even understand now drew toward my fingertips like amber light‚ as familiar as old friends.
『Administrator asset search——Completed.』
『Target: Garlus』
『Public assets‚ residential district‚ and ownership of the human scrapyard confirmed.』
『Ownership information updated to Lily Ardent.』
——Click. A decisive approval sound rang in my brain.
「There it is……!」
An involuntary cry of joy escaped me.
「Access rights to Garlus's residential district……! It really was processed as successor. That entire facility is now under my control!」
「Big sis……?」
To Kaito‚ who tilted his head curiously‚ I smiled gently.
「Come on‚ everyone. We're leaving this place.」
The moment I said that‚ all the children turned toward me at once.
「Today we say goodbye to this dark and cold place. From now on‚ we're going to a place where you can eat warm meals‚ take nice baths‚ and sleep peacefully.」
A moment of silence. A small light began to dwell in the frozen expressions of the children.
It was not the eyes of those who merely obeyed someone's orders. They were the eyes of humans who had begun to believe‚ even if just a little‚ in their own future.
I adjusted my hold on the tattered cat and led the forty 'employees'——pushing open with all my strength the rusty‚ heavy door of the scrapyard that had been sealed for so long.
「Kaito‚ the main street is too conspicuous.」
While scanning the surrounding darkness with caution‚ I lowered my voice slightly.
「If the security drones or mid-level surveillance cameras mark this large group as 'anomaly detection targets‚' it'll be trouble.…… Let's take the back alleys through the ruins district.」
「Yeah‚ this way should be fine.」 Kaito nodded without hesitation. 「The buildings around here are collapsed‚ so there are a lot of blind spots for the drones.」
We led the children deeper into the most rundown part of the color-faded slum. Crushed concrete rubble filled the path‚ and black puddles mixed with heavy oil and mud mercilessly dirtied our shoes.
The people coming and going all had faces that looked like they were breathing only to survive today. They had not yet fallen into complete 'dead end (erasure).' Even so‚ the residents crawling at the bottom of attribute society wandered like ghosts while wearing down their remaining survival mana (mana).
The vulgar sneer of a slave trader leading a collared young child. Those collapsed in the back alleys like tattered cloth after having their mana squeezed dry. The hollow eyes of young girls waiting for customers in the shadows of buildings that never received light were the same inorganic sepia color as the cracked walls behind them.
No one was surprised. No one stopped them. Here‚ that was everyday life.
The children walking behind me gripped the hem of my dress tightly in fear.
（……Nothing has changed. Not a single thing.）
A sharp pain stabbed my chest. I too had once lived in this mud. A hell where you couldn't survive tomorrow without stepping on others. Even so——.
Suddenly‚ my foot that was about to step out of the mud stopped.
A crushed‚ rusted iron sign. A shop name whose paint had peeled off and become unreadable. A small‚ familiar junk shop dealing in broken magitech tools and discarded appliances. In front of that shop‚ an older man with mixed white hair was quietly repairing the circuit board of a soot-covered radio——.
I unconsciously caught my breath.
……It was that old man.
The person who had picked me up when I was abandoned in the slum's garbage pile and shared a shelter from the rain and wind along with warm soup. Even without blood ties‚ he was my one and only 'family.'
『No matter how hard it gets‚ believe in people.』
That phrase he taught me in a hoarse voice amid the mud-covered daily life was still deeply rooted in the bottom of my heart.
Suddenly‚ the old man looked up. His cloudy‚ marble-like gaze caught me straight on.
——However.
The old man's body stiffened as if repelled. The 【Forged VIP Tag】 shining above my head had automatically activated the 'Inviolable Protocol' against lower-ranking commoners. Dazzling golden noise and the absolute wall of class. The system's mosaic coldly covered my outline and completely blocked my existence from the old man's retina.
「……Ah‚ no……」
Squinting as if dazzled‚ the old man hurriedly shook his head.
「Please excuse me…… There is no way such a noble person would be in a place like this dump……」
He muttered self-mockingly‚ then lowered his gaze back to the radio in his hands.
I could only quietly gaze at the deep wrinkles etched into his face.
In my mind‚ that day came back. The day my biological mother‚ who had married into the middle class‚ came to pick me up. To give me a life without hardship‚ the old man accepted the 'gratuity' offered by my mother and forced a smile as he let me go.
……The young me at the time had misunderstood that I had been 'sold.' Even so‚ I never once resented him. Because I knew better than anyone the clumsy kindness with which he gripped the bundle of bills with trembling hands‚ desperately forcing a smile on his tearful face‚ and sent me off saying "Be happy."
What awaited me as a result was the worst dead end——being pushed back into the slum due to debt.
If‚ on that day‚ the gentle curse (teaching) "believe in people" that the old man had given me hadn't existed——.
I probably wouldn't have been able to join hands with the demon of the deepest prison (Noah) or resolve to hack the world (system) to save these children.
I tightly clutched the chest of my dress.
（……Old man.）
（I'm so glad you're doing well.）
I quietly whispered my unreachable gratitude in my heart.
I had to keep walking. If I named myself now‚ I would drag the old man into this dangerous game as well. That was the one thing I absolutely wanted to avoid no matter what.
I gently wiped the corner of my eye with my fingertip and turned back to smile kindly at the children.
「Let's go‚ everyone.」
There was no more hesitation.
「To our new home.」
The children nodded slightly and followed my back. Their mud-covered steps were still unsteady. However‚ in their eyes there was definitely——a small light of trying to walk toward the future with their own will.
After passing through the mountain of rubble and turning through several suffocatingly narrow alleys.
In the sepia-colored‚ decaying streets‚ only that place was clearly different.
A massive metal partition wall. The dull‚ heavy light it emitted stood imposingly with an inorganic dignity‚ rejecting every bit of the slum's filth.
「This is……」
Garlus's residential district.
I took a deep breath and focused my gaze on the amber-colored administrator key floating in my retinal UI.
——Authentication (Access).
In an instant‚ the heavy partition wall slowly slid open to both sides with a low driving sound that resonated in the pit of my stomach. What overflowed from the gap was violent 'light.' Vivid‚ full-color rainbow hues that could never exist in the sepia world.
「Whoa……！」
Behind me‚ the children's small cheers overlapped.
Everyone lost their words at the sight spreading before them and simply stood there in a daze. Polished pure white marble without a speck of dust. A thick‚ soft crimson carpet that absorbed footsteps. From the high‚ open ceiling‚ beautiful magitech plants hung elegantly‚ and jewel-like particles of light quietly danced down.
It was an entirely different world‚ unrecognizable as being on the same planet as the mud-and-rubble streets we had just walked through.
「——M-Milady！」
Along with the voice‚ figures appeared from the back of the entrance.
「We have been awaiting your return！」
Maids and butlers dressed in well-tailored uniforms lined up neatly on both sides of the crimson carpet and bowed deeply all at once. There were roughly several dozen of them. The children‚ frightened by the sudden grand welcome‚ hurriedly hid behind my back.
「…………」
I unconsciously looked down at my own appearance.
A mud-covered tattered coat. Torn sleeves. Boots stained with heavy oil and dust. No matter how you looked at it‚ this was not an outfit for receiving the highest-class welcome in such a luxurious place.
（……They must have the wrong person‚ right?）
『Unfortunately‚ no.』
The tattered cat nestled in the hollow of my collarbone yawned lightly in exasperation.
『In their retinal UIs‚ you are registered as Garlus's legitimate successor. Appearance means nothing. In the extreme‚ even that tattered coat is automatically interpreted favorably by the system as "the noble master's novel hobby." That's the kind of distorted world this is.』
「That's ridiculous……」
With a strained smile‚ I looked around the luxurious reception hall.
「Hey‚ Noah. Can I really use everything here…… for free?」
『Good grief.』
Noah snorted quietly.
『The idea of "free" is so typical of a slum-raised girl. This isn't free. It's the price paid in blood by those behind you.』
「Price……？」
『That's right.』
Noah's cold voice quietly seeped into my brain.
『Garlus squeezed these children's lives with capsules‚ converting their mana into profit. This mansion was built with those ill-gotten gains. Now Garlus has fallen‚ and you are the successor. Therefore‚ the right to decide how to use this facility naturally belongs to you.』
I looked around the luxurious mansion once more.
The polished floors. Beautiful furnishings. The warmly temperature-controlled air. All of it had been built by shaving away the children's lives. Thinking that made my chest ache a little. But precisely because of that‚ there was no need to hold back at all.
「……Then」 I asked‚ suddenly curious. 「Is the area manager's mansion even more amazing?」
『It's not even comparable.』
Noah answered immediately.
『This is nothing more than one terminal facility in the mid-level administrative district. There are at least ten districts of the same scale around here alone. The mid-level area manager oversees all of them and controls an enormous flow of mana.』
There‚ Noah chuckled softly in his throat.
『……That's why it's interesting.』
His amber eyes narrowed in pleasure.
『You have now thrown the first small stone into that massive flow of exploitation. Eventually those ripples will reach the top of the system. I shall observe it from the best VIP seat in the front row.』
The tattered cat swayed its tail happily.
I stared straight at the scene before me once more.
Until yesterday‚ this place had been the castle of the villain named Garlus. But starting today‚ it was different.
This place would become the 'home (startup)' where forty children could eat their fill and sleep peacefully.
The moment I stepped forward to guide the children to the hall.
『Lily.』
Noah's absolute-zero voice quietly echoed in my brain.
『I shall teach you your first duty as president.…… First‚ you need to give those forty children proof that they are your "property."』
「……Eh?」
My feet stopped involuntarily.
「Property……？」
Just hearing that word made my chest feel coldly disturbed.
「What are you saying‚ Noah?」 I stared straight at the tattered cat in my arms. 「I saved these children to set them free! Making them someone’s ‘property’ again…… that’s the same as Garlus!」
My voice unconsciously grew harsh. At my angry shout‚ the children behind me flinched and looked up at me anxiously.
『……How unreasonable.』
Noah snorted quietly in his throat.
『I don't dislike your pure sense of justice. But the real system is far more cruel.』
Simultaneously with that declaration‚ Amber Vision forcibly activated. Amber-colored information windows overlaid one after another on the children's thin bodies.
『Owner Information——Lily Ardent』
『Status——No ownership proof』
『Security Drone Recognition——Unauthorized Trespassers (Noise)』
『Automatic Processing——Delete Targets』
My heart gave an unpleasant thump.
「……Eh……？」
I involuntarily looked twice at the blood-red text floating on my retina.
『Ownership itself has already been transferred to you on the system.』
Without emotion‚ Noah calmly piled up the cold facts.
『However‚ the patrolling security drones only understand visible physical authentication information. Those without proof tags are simply "garbage to be eliminated" even within this premises. The freedom you speak of is‚ in this world——』
After a brief pause‚ Noah whispered.
『Nothing more than the freedom to have your head blown off one second later.』
I was speechless. My throat went completely dry‚ and I couldn't breathe properly.
Freedom. It only exists when there is power to protect it. Throwing them out defenseless without any means of protection was not kindness‚ but merely abandonment and leaving them to die.
「…………」
I looked down and tightly gripped the hem of my dress.
「……Then」
I squeezed my throat and somehow spun the words.
「What do I have to do to keep these children from being killed?」
『It's simple.』
Noah answered immediately.
『Create badges using your DNA as the authentication key and have them carry them. A single strand of your hair is enough. As long as they wear it‚ the security drones will recognize them as "the inviolable private property of the top-tier VIP." Even mid-level officials won't be able to touch them.』
I quietly closed my eyes.
After a long internal conflict‚ I gently reached for my own hair. I pinched a single strand of my fine‚ soft flax-colored hair——and with a snap‚ I pulled it out as if tearing away a small hesitation.
The faint pain on my fingertip was nothing compared to the pain in my chest.
「……Understood.」
Opening my eyes‚ I turned to the elderly butler who was waiting. As president. As the master of this mansion. I suppressed my trembling voice in the back of my throat and commanded firmly.
「Use this hair as the authentication key and create DNA authentication badges for all the children immediately.」
I took one step firmly onto the carpet and added resolutely.
「Within one hour. Distribute them to everyone's necks.」
「——Understood‚ Master.」
The elderly butler respectfully held out a silver tray‚ accepted the hair‚ bowed deeply‚ and quietly left the room.
Watching his back‚ I made a vow in the depths of my heart that no one could hear.
（Just for now……）
（Just for now……！）
（To protect these children's lives‚ I'll use even a false "ownership" or anything else.）
（But——）
（Someday‚ without fail‚ I will hack and smash to pieces the very rules of this insane world where you can't live unless you belong to someone.）
Noah said nothing.
Only the tattered cat's supple tail swayed slowly in satisfaction.
「Milady. How would you like dinner today? Or would you prefer to change first?」
A young maid quietly knelt before me and asked respectfully.
（Eh…… Dinner? Change? Which one is the correct choice to ask for……？）
Faced with the sudden "privileged class choices‚" I inwardly panicked wildly.
『Don't hesitate‚ new president.』
Noah's exasperated voice slipped into my brain.
『Maintenance of the employees comes first. Top priority is calorie replenishment (meals)‚ next is equipment maintenance and inspection (medical care). As the one standing above them‚ order the most rational investment.』
（……I know that without you telling me.）
While internally snapping back‚ I let out a small sigh. Then I turned my gaze toward the children huddled modestly in the corner of the hall. Clothes dirty with mud. Emaciated bodies. Small eyes cautiously glancing around in fear.
I won't let anyone make them feel that way ever again.
In as resolute a tone as I could manage‚ I faced forward.
「……First‚ the children.」
The maid looked up.
「Prepare the highest-grade meals. Then give everyone a full health checkup. Arrange medical drones as needed.」
I spoke while looking at each of their faces.
「Prepare individual rooms with soft beds‚ warm baths‚ and clean changes of clothes as well. I want today to be a night where these children can sleep with peace in their hearts.」
「——Understood‚ Master.」
At those words‚ the mansion's maids began moving all at once.
「This way please.」「We have prepared warm soup.」「There's no need to hurry.」
Guided by the gentle voices‚ the children began to walk timidly. When they were led to the dining hall and saw the steaming stew and freshly baked bread.
「……Ah.」
Sasha's eyes widened as if witnessing a miracle. Kaito smiled softly while lovingly embracing his sister's thin shoulders. It was a genuine‚ childlike smile—the first I had seen from them today.
The moment I witnessed that sight‚ the string that had been stretched to its limit inside me suddenly snapped.
Strength drained from my entire body along with heat.
「……Phew.」
A bitter smile leaked out involuntarily.
「Now it's my turn.」
I looked down at my mud-covered sleeves. 「I need to do something about this appearance.」
Guided by a maid‚ I headed to the deepest part of the residential district. There was a luxurious spa hot spring exclusively for Garlus.
The heavy door opened. Soft steam drifted gently. Pale moonlight pouring in from the skylight created multiple ripples of light on the milky-white surface of the water.
I took off my tattered coat and quietly dropped my mud- and oil-stained dress to the floor. Cleaning drones waiting in the changing room quickly collected the dirty dress‚ and in exchange‚ brand-new clothes tailored from the highest-grade mana-silk were neatly prepared.
「What is this……」
The moment I stepped into the bathroom‚ fine mist sprayed all at once from the ceiling‚ breaking down the dirt clinging to my body at the nano level. At the same time‚ quiet classical music that enveloped the space flowed‚ and the fresh scent of a meadow filled the bathroom.
「So Garlus-san…… lived like this every day……」
『Listen‚ Lily. Once a living being called a human raises its standard of living (cost)‚ it can never drink muddy water again.』
The tattered cat‚ curled on the edge of the tub‚ warned me in exasperation.
『Don't forget that you too have already stepped one foot into that sweet poison.』
「Thank you‚ Noah.…… You're right.」
『That said‚ fatigue dulls thinking and leads to poor judgment. For today‚ I'll permit that rest.』
The mist spray stopped‚ and the marble floor leading to the tub glowed pale blue to guide my feet. I followed it and——slowly sank my body into the vast hot water.
「…………Phew……」
A deep sigh escaped naturally.
The warmth slowly soaked into the very core of my chilled body. The harsh torture in the nanomachine spa. The life-or-death confrontation with Garlus. My autonomic nerves stretched to the limit. Muscles that screamed with every step——the supreme hot spring gently melted it all away.
The moon rippled on the water's surface‚ and white steam gently stroked my wounded skin.
（……Old man.）
I quietly closed my eyes.
（I'm in a very strange place right now. But you know‚ I don't resent anyone. Because the words you taught me——"believe in people"——that kind and cruel teaching is still alive inside me.）
In the water‚ I gently clenched my fist in front of my chest.
The forty lives I saved today. To protect those small smiles‚ I couldn't stop here. I would generate profits‚ grow the organization‚ and hack this insane city from the inside.
And——.
I would change the very world (system) where people can't live unless they become "property."
Beyond the steam‚ sapphire-blue eyes quietly opened. There was no longer any hesitation in their depths.
「……It's going to get busy starting tomorrow.」
I smiled boldly at the tattered cat sitting on the edge of the tub.
「Hey‚ Noah.」
『Of course.』
His amber eyes narrowed in pleasure.
『Because from today‚ you are the president carrying this massive debt.』
At those words‚ a small smile spilled out.
Outside the window‚ a deep and quiet night had fallen over the sepia-colored city. But somewhere in this spacious mansion——there were children who‚ for the first time today‚ had been freed from hunger and fear and were sleeping peacefully from the bottom of their hearts.
Just that certain fact made me feel like I could——just a little——come to like this insane world.
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Chapter 04.1: "Mud-Covered Startup (CEO: Lily Ardent)" End
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