Chapter 04.4 “The Queen’s Inflation and the Self-Sufficiency Bug (Or‚ Bread and Amber’s Switchboard)”
Lily: ——The first thing that changed was the numbers (data).
Night.
In the sky above the slums‚ not even the faintest twinkle of stars remained.
Peeking through the gaps of half-collapsed buildings was only a night sky dirtily clouded by the garish‚ extravagant falsehoods continuously dumped from the upper city.
In their place——the public terminals scattered throughout the slums all at once began to emit an eerie‚ chalk-white light.
『——Notification from the Urban Economic Management System regarding price revision』
A completely emotionless‚ inorganic electronic voice resounded through the streets thick with the smell of mud and rust.
『The standard price coefficient for the lower-layer districts will be changed effective today』
Beep.
The numbers displayed on the distribution terminals at street corners were rewritten in a tenth of a second.
『Hard bread——100 mana』
The black bread that until just a few hours ago had been only one mana.
Girl: “……Eh?”
The girl who had been standing on tiptoe to buy hard bread froze on the spot.
In her small hands‚ dirtied by mud‚ she held only two mana crystals.
Girl: “……Mom.
I…… can’t buy bread?”
The mother did not answer; her face changed color as she lunged at the terminal.
Mother: “Wait a second……! It was one mana just a moment ago‚ wasn’t it!?”
『Price revision has been completed normally.
The current standard price is 100 mana』
Mother: “That’s……”
The color drained from the mother’s face in an instant.
As if that despair were a signal‚ the invisible injustice began baring its fangs all at once throughout the slums.
“Water is……!”
“Even the well usage fee has jumped!”
“It’s not firewood—it’s the mana heat source usage fee!”
“With this‚ we can’t even bake hard bread……!”
“Don’t screw with us!”
Angry roars‚ screams‚ confusion.
They became a muddy torrent that swallowed the night-time slums.
Yet the public terminals‚ as if ruthlessly crushing all resistance‚ repeated the same words.
『Price revision has been completed normally』
As if——this is not a disaster.
Nor an unavoidable accident.
It is a legitimate number (rule) set so that you cannot live‚ mocking them.
◇
Lily: “……One hundred times?”
In Gallus’s mansion‚ inside its luxurious office.
I stood frozen in front of the giant monitor as if struck by lightning.
Countless price lists filling my retinas.
Bread‚ water‚ heat sources‚ mana lamps‚ basic medical care‚ transportation‚ communication‚ household mana.
At the end of every single item.
『Standard price coefficient——×100』
That cold string of characters was carved in blood-red.
Lily: “……Maxim”
The moment that name touched my lips‚ the depths of my chest froze with a shiver.
Just earlier‚ that man had pressed the execution key with a single fingertip from the safe zone of the middle-layer administrative district.
That was this.
Tama: “……Boss.
This…… ain’t good”
Beside me‚ Tama let out a voice as if squeezing it out.
Not a shred of her usual banter remained.
Amber analysis windows densely filled the space around Tama.
Tama: “It ain’t just bread.
Water‚ heat sources‚ medical care…… even household electricity—everything’s a hundred times”
Lily: “How much mana do we have left on hand right now?”
Tama closed her mouth for just a moment‚ then answered as if enduring pain.
Tama: “……125 mana”
From the “total profit of 1‚254 mana” that we had desperately earned covered in mud‚
nine-tenths had been stripped away by the plunderer called the system‚ leaving only this bottom value.
Lily: “With that 125 mana‚ how long can we last?”
Tama: “If it was just food…… no‚ it don’t add up.
We need water too.
We need heat sources”
Every time calculation logs flowed‚ Tama’s face stiffened further.
Lily: “……By tomorrow?”
Tama: “Almost zero”
Tama’s voice was strangely small‚ hoarse as if chewing sand.
Tama: “It ain’t a matter of a few days.
Boss‚ if prices stay like this…… the entire slum won’t be able to live properly”
Lily: “…………”
From the gap of the tightly closed window‚ anguished screams melted into the stagnation of night and reached us.
『Someone‚ call a doctor!』『There’s no way we can pay that kind of money!』『One cup of water is 100 mana—what’s going on!』
I could not take my eyes off the string of numbers on the monitor.
Lily: “……Tama.
What’s the population of the entire slum?”
Tama: “This much”
Lily: “Minimum daily survival cost?”
Tama: “At the current inflated prices…… this”
Lily: “Mana supply volume?”
Tama: “This”
Lily: “Shortfall?”
Tama: “……This”
I made her output the cold data one after another.
Population.
Food.
Water.
Heat sources.
Medical care.
Supply.
Consumption.
Tax.
Price.
Cold numbers flowed directly into my brain like a muddy torrent.
I desperately connected them‚ searching for a way out of this thoroughly calculated cage.
Lily: “If we reduce food?”
Tama: “They starve to death”
Lily: “If we reduce water?”
Tama: “They die of thirst”
Lily: “If we stop the heat sources?”
Tama: “We can’t make it through this cold night”
Lily: “We’ll increase work.
If we work more——”
Tama: “The rate of price increase far exceeds the rate of our income increase!”
Lily: “……Then we’ll gather higher-purity mana like our lives depend on it!”
Tama: “Even then‚ as long as that guy has the hundred-times rule in place‚ everything will just be stripped away!”
Lily: “…………”
Words stuck in the back of my throat.
No‚ there’s still something.
There must be a bug we’ve overlooked somewhere.
I stretched both hands toward the monitor and began rearranging the price tables like a madwoman.
By region‚ by time‚ by consumption volume‚ by income.
Again and again‚ I reassembled the distorted puzzle of the world.
Lily: “……Wait.
Here”
I pointed at one piece of data flickering unnervingly.
Lily: “The recovered mana volume of the slum.
This can still be increased to the limit”
Tama: “That’s true‚ but……”
Lily: “Then if we forcibly raise income——”
Tama: “Prices can be raised together with a single fingertip of his”
Tama said quietly‚ as if pronouncing a death sentence.
Tama: “Maxim multiplied the coefficient of the world itself called ‘prices’ by a hundred.
Even if we earn 100 mana‚ it’s just one loaf of bread.
Even if we earn 200 mana‚ it disappears cleanly on water and bread.
Even if we earn 500‚ it gets sucked into the bottom of living expenses in an instant”
Lily: “……Then”
While clenching my back teeth hard enough to break them‚ I strained my brain.
Lily: “Production efficiency‚ ten times”
Tama: “Not enough”
Lily: “Twenty times”
Tama: “Still not enough”
Lily: “Fifty times!”
Tama: “Still not enough!”
Lily: “A hundred times!!”
Tama: “……Boss”
Tama shook her head looking terribly sad.
Tama: “Earning at a hundred times the speed already exceeds the logic of reality”
Lily: “…………”
Work.
Earn.
Buy.
Eat.
In the middle of that cycle‚ nine-tenths is collected by the blade called legality (system deduction).
Then‚ gripping the tiny remaining mana‚ we buy goods inflated a hundred times.
No matter how much I calculated.
No matter how much I cut my life short by skipping sleep.
The answer derived was the same.
『Insufficient』『Insufficient』『Insufficient』『Insufficient』——.
The final result remaining at the bottom layer of the log was.
『Survival incompatibility judgment.
Death prediction——100%』
Lily: “……Still”
I told myself as if binding myself.
Lily: “I can still calculate”
I forcibly opened a new window with a forced overwrite (override).
Lily: “In more detail…… cut consumption to the absolute limit…… switch food to cheap substitutes…… shorten distribution routes to the minimum…… look for tax loopholes……!”
If I overlooked even one thing‚ everything would end.
If I made even one calculation mistake‚ someone would die.
Children.
Old women.
My forty precious employees.
Lily: “……More”
I gasped as if wringing air from my lungs.
Lily: “I need more information.
I have to calculate more……!”
Tama: “Boss‚ stop already! Any more and your brain won’t hold!”
Noah: 『Lily』
It was then.
The ragged cat that had somehow climbed up to my shoulder quietly blinked its amber eyes.
Noah: 『……That’s enough already.
Cut the connection』
Lily: “Not yet!”
Noah: 『I’m telling you that’s enough』
Noah’s intellectual light pierced me coldly‚ yet with absolute will of restraint.
Lily: “No‚ it’s not over yet!”
Lily: “I just have to calculate! If I compute everything with this head!”
I slammed both hands violently into the empty space of the monitor.
Lily: “Population‚ consumption‚ prices‚ supply‚ mana‚ taxes! Calculate everything…… there has to be something somewhere.
A number (logic) that can break Maxim’s cage‚ that can win……!”
——That was the moment.
My vision exploded pure white for an instant.
『Warning (Alert)』
Blood-red letters avalanched into the edge of my retinal UI.
『Thought load——upper limit exceeded.
Cognitive processing speed——significantly decreased.
Eye movement‚ anomaly detected.
Brain load——danger zone (meltdown)』
I reached toward the monitor.
But my fingertips would not move as I wished‚ as if they belonged to someone else’s body.
The letters blurred and distorted into doubles and triples.
100‚ 100‚ 100.
Those numbers of despair piled up layer upon layer‚ transforming my very vision into a giant glowing muddy torrent.
Lily: “……That’s strange”
A terribly hollow smile spilled out that even I could not control.
Lily: “I have to…… calculate…… or everyone will die……!”
The marble floor warped and swayed as if melting‚ and my body tilted greatly.
Tama: “Boss!”
Tama rushed over in a panic.
Lily: “Don’t touch me……! I can still calculate……!”
That voice was hoarse to a degree I myself could hear.
I stretched my hand as if clinging to the glowing empty monitor.
Lily: “……The winning…… number……”
My fingertips cut empty air fruitlessly.
——Vision darkened greatly‚ fatally.
『Forced suspension (shutdown) is recommended』
Crimson warnings completely filled my retinas.
『Forced suspension is recommended』
Lily: “……No”
『Forced suspension——』
Lily: “Still……!”
Lily: “It’s not over yet……!!”
Countless cold numbers exploded all at once into dazzling flashes within my vision.
All of them lost meaning and turned into mere violent light noise.
Lily: “……Where…… is it……?”
A hoarse voice fell powerless onto the floor.
Immediately after‚ strength completely left me from the knees like a puppet with its strings cut.
Tama: “Boss!”
Tama’s anguished cry echoed far away.
And——together with the multicolored sea of numbers‚ my world slowly darkened as if melting into the deep bottom of the abyss.
——At the bottom of the darkness‚ someone kept calling my name.
Tama: “Boss‚ can you hear me”
The voice sounded terribly far and distorted.
I hurried to reply‚ but my tongue would not move properly.
My body was cold and heavy.
On the underside of my closed eyelids‚ those cursed numbers were still burned in‚ flickering with noise.
Lily: “……Still…… have to calculate……”
Tama: “Boss!”
This time a sharp shout burst right by my ear.
Tama: “Wake up‚ boss!”
Soft paw pads relentlessly patted my cheeks.
Lily: “……It hurts”
Tama: “Thank goodness! If it hurts‚ you’re still conscious!”
Lily: “……Calculate……”
Tama: “Idiot!”
Tama completely discarded her usual playful tone and yelled.
Tama: “This ain’t the time to calculate!”
Tama: “If you keep going like this‚ you’ll really break!”
I finally noticed the abnormality of my own body screaming.
My fingertips were ice-cold and kept trembling finely.
Yet only the area right behind my skull was strangely hot.
In the hollow of my collarbone‚ the ragged cat (interface) was making a faint cooling fan sound‚ trying to release my heat.
Lily: “……The answer still hasn’t come out.
How do we…… break Maxim’s hundred times……”
Tama: “Boss.
That’s enough already”
Lily: “It’s not enough! Outside‚ everyone is in trouble! They can’t buy bread or water! The children too——”
Tama: “I’m saying I get it!”
Tama’s shout painfully cut off my angry voice.
Tama: “……That’s exactly why.
If the boss collapses here…… who the hell is going to save everyone”
That single sentence quietly dropped into the depths of my heat-flushed chest.
From the gap of the tightly closed window‚ a clamor like screams could still be heard.
Crossing the thick barrier‚ the despair of the slums had crawled even into this mansion.
Lily: “……I have to help”
Tama: “Yeah”
Lily: “But…… I don’t know a single thing about what I should do”
The moment I uttered that weak complaint‚ a cold hole opened in my chest.
Even though I’m the president.
Even though I said I would protect the company.
I can’t produce a single concrete answer to break Maxim’s cage.
Lily: “……I can’t do anything‚ can I”
Tama: “That’s not——”
Lily: “I can’t!”
I clutched my heated head with both hands.
Lily: “Because I calculated everything! Even if I increase income‚ cut expenses‚ look for tax loopholes…… no matter what I do‚ I can’t catch up to the hundred-times inflation!”
My voice grew thin‚ dyed with despair.
Lily: “……Then what am I supposed to do”
No one answered.
In the world of numbers‚ the cruel answer of ‘no solution’ had already been produced.
I tried to stretch my spasming fingertips toward the monitor again.
Lily: “One more time…… just one more calculation……!”
Tama: “No‚ boss! You can’t look at the screen anymore! Your eyes’ll get burned!”
——That was the moment.
The heavy wooden door opened silently to left and right.
Head Maid: “——Exactly so”
It was a quiet‚ bone-chilling voice.
The head maid‚ clad in jet-black maid attire‚ stood with icy coldness.
Only her long‚ narrow eyes held a stricter light than usual.
Lily: “Head Maid……”
Head Maid: “Today’s duties are concluded”
Lily: “……Eh?”
Head Maid: “The president’s office work will be forcibly halted immediately”
Lily: “Wait……”
With unsteady feet‚ I tried to stand using the wall for support.
Lily: “There’s still work remaining——”
Head Maid: “Concluded”
Lily: “But——”
Head Maid: “Concluded”
Twice.
The same words were repeated like cold data logs.
It was an order like an inviolable wall of ice that allowed no rebuttal whatsoever.
Lily: “……I am the president”
I made my voice tremble as if squeezing out the last of my pride.
Head Maid: “I am aware”
Lily: “Then——”
Head Maid: “That is precisely why”
The head maid gazed back at me with eyes that held unshakable absolute order.
Head Maid: “The preservation of the CEO’s mind and body is my primary duty.
Currently‚ Lady Lily’s judgment ability is significantly impaired.
You are not acquiring new information.
You are merely circling the same dead end while frightened”
Lily: “……But……”
Head Maid: “Yes”
The head maid nodded quietly‚ seeping with affection.
Head Maid: “Even so‚ you cannot stop for those children’s sake‚ can you.
That is precisely why——I will forcibly stop you”
Without the slightest hesitation‚ the head maid stretched her hand to the main power switch on the wall and extinguished the breath of every monitor.
Suddenly‚ the mad multicolored light vanished.
Those cursed numbers that had invaded my entire vision disappeared as if they had been a lie.
Yet even so‚ I was assailed by intense emptiness and anxiety like severe withdrawal symptoms.
Lily: “Wait‚ show me the numbers……! I’ll lose track of the situation‚ everyone might die.
So please‚ the screen——”
Head Maid: “That is precisely why you must rest”
The head maid grasped my trembling thin arm with motherly gentleness‚ yet with absolute gravity from which there was no escape.
Head Maid: “Let us go”
Lily: “Where……”
Head Maid: “To the bathroom”
Lily: “……Bathroom? At a time of this extreme situation!?”
Head Maid: “Precisely because it is now.
You will take a bath.
This is not a suggestion.
——It is a work order”
Lily: “…………”
On my shoulder‚ the ragged cat (Noah) exhaled as if exasperated‚ saying 『Oh dear』.
Tama muttered apologetically at my feet.
Tama: “……Boss‚ better just give up honestly.
I want to stop it too‚ but the way the boss is now‚ she’ll keep calculating until she dies……”
I could no longer retort a single word.
◇
Deep inside the mansion.
The giant spa bathroom that Gallus had once ordered built.
Pure white marble.
From the ceiling‚ soft pearl-colored mana light quietly poured down.
It was like a sanctuary completely severed from the muddy torrent of the outside world.
Prompted by the head maid‚ I stepped into the bathroom with hollow footsteps.
The ragged cat (Noah)‚ to avoid moisture‚ lightly leapt onto a thick cushion placed in the changing room and quietly watched over me.
Rising white steam slowly melted into the pure air.
I removed my dress.
Even that sluggish motion felt somehow at the bottom of a dream‚ lacking a sense of reality.
I slid my feet into the bathtub.
Warm.
I sank deeply until my neck.
Lily: “…………”
The hot breath that had accumulated in the depths of my chest leaked out long.
Lily: “……It’s warm”
Head Maid: “Yes”
The head maid answered only that.
No more talk of numbers.
No more talk of Maxim.
No one uttered that eerie string of characters “100”.
Just‚ in the warm water‚ the bravado slowly melted out of my tensed spirit and muscles as if poison were being drawn out.
Steam rose.
Water droplets fell.
Plop.
Plop.
I slowly closed my eyes within the steam.
At first‚ those cursed numbers clung and floated up on the underside of my eyelids.
But as time quietly passed‚ the cold outlines of those numbers began to blur thickly as if exposed to warm steam.
——They vanished.
In their place.
Plop.
Only the clear sound of a water droplet falling onto the quiet surface echoed.
I simply listened to that sound of ripples.
Thinking nothing.
Not trying to think.
At that moment——the steel thread that had been stretched taut to the limit deep inside my head loosened just a little‚ comfortably.
◇
Noah: 『……Finally‚ the calculations stopped』
From the cushion in the changing room‚ Noah’s quiet voice resounded through the link into my brain.
Lily: “……Noah”
Noah: 『Right now‚ you don’t need to think about anything.
Stopping thinking is also a splendid strategy (logic)』
Noah’s voice sounded a little farther beyond the steam‚ and gentler than usual.
Noah: 『You gathered too much information.
Prices‚ population‚ consumption‚ supply‚ tax‚ mana…… you forcibly crammed all of it into your small brain』
Noah: 『The human brain is a truly strange defective product (system).
While consciously and impatiently trying to solve a problem‚ it can only use the information reflected in the narrow field of view before its eyes.
……But when consciousness is released and it enters complete rest (sleep)——』
Plop.
Quietly‚ a water droplet fell.
Noah: 『Deep inside the brain‚ it begins rearranging fragments of information on its own.
In the abyss called the unconscious that you yourself do not notice』
Lily: “……I’m tired”
Only the tense true feelings spilled drop by drop into the hot water.
Noah: 『Then sleep』
Lily: “If I sleep…… everyone……”
Noah: 『It’s fine.
At the very least‚ it will bring a far more beneficial result than you short-circuiting and self-destructing here now』
I slowly rested my head against the marble edge of the bathtub.
The hot water was gentle.
My body comfortably regained gravity.
I closed my eyelids.
From beyond the thick walls‚ the anguished voices of the slums still faintly echoed.
Maxim was still in the safe zone of the middle layer‚ and the hundred-times death sentence had not been withdrawn.
Yet for now only——I allowed myself to place a little distance from all that despair.
Noah: 『……Default Mode Network (DMN)』
Noah murmured quietly in a voice like a prayer.
Noah: 『After the arrogant illumination called consciousness is dropped‚ the human brain begins on its own…… a strange and extremely efficient sorting operation (background process).
Rest slowly‚ Lily』
I no longer replied.
Pleasant drowsiness quietly wrapped me like a blanket.
And——in the deepest part of the brain that no one noticed.
The countless desperate numbers I had crammed in madly today‚ and fragments of memory.
Slowly‚ slowly——began to cross each other’s boundaries and start an unknown combination (hack).
——How long had I been like that.
The sense of time was already lost.
Maxim’s name.
The lethal dose of numbers.
Even the merciless fact that tonight’s food was insufficient.
For just a short while‚ I had left them all outside the bathroom.
Lily: “…………”
I closed my eyes.
The hot water enveloping my body slowly drew the poison from my tensed muscles.
While listening to that clear sound‚ the numbers that had clung to the inside of my skull completely vanished.
I vaguely looked up at the marble ceiling.
White steam slowly rose and melted into the air.
Lily: “……Water”
It spilled from my lips drop by drop.
Even I did not know why that word had come out.
Today.
Sasha had made it.
From muddy water mixed with sludge‚ she carefully scraped off impurities one by one and turned it into drinkable water as clear as a jewel.
『It became clean!』
Sasha’s smiling face as she said that somehow strangely caught in the depths of my consciousness.
In the water‚ I moved my fingertips slightly.
The surface swayed‚ and soft ripples spread in all directions.
While gazing at those concentric circles‚ another fragment of memory chained and floated up.
Kaito.
Today‚ he had found the mana leakage point from the mud.
Mana that no one had noticed.
He found it‚ everyone gathered it‚ Sasha refined it.
——And.
We 『sold』 it.
Lily: “…………”
Sold.
Only the residual echo of that word strangely remained in my head.
Sold.
Mana.
Sold it.
With that compensation (money).
Buy bread.
Buy water.
Buy heat sources.
Buy electricity.
Lily: “……Heat”
Again‚ a memory floated from the deep sea of the unconscious.
The mansion’s kitchen.
The mana furnace for baking bread.
To create heat‚ use mana.
That scene was something I had seen many times as daily life in the slums.
Mana‚ heat‚ bread‚ water‚ electricity——.
Until just now‚ they had all been nothing more than individual data.
But now.
Somehow‚ they seemed about to connect rapidly with a single invisible line.
Something was violently catching deep inside my head.
Lily: “……With mana”
Drop by drop.
Lily: “We can create heat”
One more.
Lily: “With mana…… we can purify water”
Further——.
Lily: “With mana…… we can create electricity too”
——There‚ I completely fell silent.
In the gaps of the steam‚ the desperate numbers I had forcibly crammed into my head earlier floated up once more.
A hundred times.
Bread‚ water‚ energy‚ living infrastructure.
And the tiny remaining mana we had on hand after being scraped away.
I slowly raised my face in the water.
Lily: “……Wait”
Deep in my chest‚ something pulsed small with a thump.
Lily: “……We…… have mana‚ don’t we”
Of course.
We do.
The net profit of 125 mana recovered today.
No‚ not only that.
The vast underground mana vein that Kaito discovered‚ still untouched by anyone.
Sasha’s ultra-high-precision refining ability.
The hot passion of the forty children.
Tama’s out-of-system calculations.
I slowly raised my body in the water.
The body that had been as heavy as lead until just now was now light as a lie.
Lily: “A hundred times…… bread is a hundred times.
Water‚ heat‚ electricity—everything is a hundred times.
That’s why we’re in trouble——because we 『can’t buy』”
Thinking that far‚ my thoughts stopped dead.
Can’t buy.
That’s why we’re troubled.
……Is that really true?
Lily: “……Why am I trying to 『buy』?”
In the silent bathroom‚ only my clear voice fell sharply.
Lily: “Why…… are we thinking of all survival under the premise of 『buying』 from the central system?”
——At that moment‚ the world stopped just a little.
Deep inside my head‚ a giant gear of fate clicked into place.
Water.
Sasha.
Mana.
Kaito.
Heat sources.
Black bread.
Electricity.
And——the hundred-times inflation.
The puzzle pieces that had been nothing more than scattered data were pulled by intense gravity and began drawing a single giant circuit (system).
I stood up from the bathtub with a splash.
Lily: “Sell the mana”
This had been our fixed idea (paradigm) until now.
Sell mana to the market.
Obtain money as compensation.
Then with that money‚ buy back the soaring bread and water.
I forcibly pulled out one piece from the end point of that cycle.
Recover mana.
Refine it.
And——『do not sell even a single mana to the market』.
There‚ the principle (rule) of the world completely inverted.
Lily: “……We don’t…… have to sell”
The moment I uttered that forbidden answer‚ something exploded deep in my chest.
Lily: “……That’s right! We don’t have to sell!”
We have vast mana.
Then we just have to use it as is.
If Sasha can make water of 99.999% purity‚ there’s no need to buy water from the city.
If Kaito can find mana leakage points‚ there’s no reason from the beginning to purchase energy from the city.
If we can create heat directly from mana‚ we can bake bread.
If we can create electricity‚ we can light this mansion‚ and the slums.
It was far too simple.
It was a far too obvious blind spot (bug).
Maxim exercised the privileges of the upper class to raise prices a hundred times in order to make us 『buy』.
Then.
Lily: “If we don’t buy…… it has nothing to do with us at all!”
Deep inside my head‚ a powerful heartbeat of survival resounded.
The vision that had been dyed red with despair rapidly cleared.
A hundred times.
It is not an absolute divine law or anything.
It is merely a numerical threat that functions only for livestock bound by the obedient rule of 『buying through currency』.
If we don’t buy‚ the vicious price list is nothing but worthless glowing dots.
I placed both wet hands on the edge of the marble bathtub.
Inside my brain‚ countless data sparked at unprecedented ultra-high speed and completely finished combining (hacking).
Lily: “This…… isn’t a resource just for selling”
It is by no means a commodity for delivering to the city system and having nine-tenths unjustly stripped away.
——We can use it.
Right here‚ right now‚ we can directly circulate (drive) it for our own lives.
Make water.
Make heat sources.
Light lights.
Generate electricity.
And with that heat‚ bake black bread.
——Independent self-sufficient (standalone ecosystem).
Lily: “What.
It was such a simple thing”
Maxim constructed the food blockade on the premise that we are 『dependent』 on the city’s infrastructure.
That’s why he was convinced that multiplying prices by a hundred would checkmate us.
But——if we completely independent (escape) from the city system itself.
Lily: “……Then we just have to make it ourselves”
Water.
Heat.
Light.
Electricity.
Bread.
Without relying on Maxim’s market‚ we just have to supply (drive) it with our own hands.
There’s no need to defeat anyone with violence‚ break the law‚ or even hack the system head-on.
Just‚
Lily: “Don’t buy”
.
Quietly boycott the city’s infrastructure.
——That’s all it is.
Lily: “……Fufu‚ ahaha!”
In the empty bathroom‚ my clear laughter resounded.
It was an extremely refreshing blind spot (bug).
Lily: “Maxim.
You forced the cage (rule) of 『you have no choice but to buy』 on us and thought you had food-blockaded us‚ didn’t you”
But——.
Lily: “So that we can live without buying‚ this time we will hack the structure (rule) of the world itself”
At that moment‚ a perfect circuit (system) assembled in my brain.
Reverse detection of mana veins‚ refining‚ energy accumulation‚ and direct distribution to the slums.
A giant‚ invincible independent infrastructure for living completely detached from Maxim’s domination——『Amber’s Switchboard』.
I was completely awakened (hacked).
The body that had been like lead until just now was now itching to run right away.
Lily: “……Tama! I have to tell her quickly!”
Tama’s out-of-system calculation (local logic).
Independent unique network (standalone).
I had to convey it to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) even a second sooner.
I leapt up from the marble bathtub with force.
Lily: “Tama!”
The voice released together with water spray echoed throughout the bathroom.
Lily: “Tamaaaaaa!”
From beyond the thick glass door‚
Tama: “Whaaaat!?”
Tama’s absurdly loud shout returned.
I ran toward the changing room still wet.
Lily: “I’m going to draw the blueprint for 『Amber’s Switchboard』!”
Tama: “……Haa!?”
Bang! I roughly flung the door open.
The head maid and Tama who had been waiting in the changing room simultaneously opened their eyes to the limit and completely froze.
Dripping droplets.
Me‚ barefoot and defenseless‚ without even a bath towel wrapped.
——And a smile like a child who had just thought of the ultimate mischief‚ more enjoyable than anything.
Lily: “I won’t buy!”
Tama physically stiffened.
Tama: “……Ha?”
Lily: “I won’t buy! Water! Electricity! Heat sources! Black bread either!”
Tama: “H-hey‚ boss!?”
Lily: “With that infinite mana we have‚ we’ll make everything ourselves right here‚ right now!”
Tama’s mouth hung open‚ and even the always calm head maid’s cool eyes were wide.
And.
On the cushion in the changing room——the ragged cat (Noah) narrowed its amber eyes looking extremely amused.
Noah: 『…………I see.
So that’s it』
In that cold voice seeped clear praise shown only when pure intellectual curiosity was supremely satisfied.
Noah: 『You have finally escaped to the outside of the cage (rule) prepared by the system called “price”.
……A truly splendid bug (departure)』
Lily: “Yes!”
Still wet‚ I proudly puffed out my chest.
Lily: “If it’s been made a hundred times‚ there’s no obligation anywhere to buy it at a hundred times the price!”
In the changing room‚ my voice resounded brightly and powerfully.
Tama: “Amazing‚ you.
I’m genuinely impressed”
Tama exhaled a large sigh looking exasperated yet somehow reliable.
Tama: “I get that‚ but you’re rushing way too much no matter what! Please wrap a bath towel at least right now!”
Lily: “Ah!”
I hurriedly hid my body only now and leapt as if clinging to the bath towel the head maid quietly offered.
Tama: “…………Boss‚ wait a sec”
Tama vigorously waved both short front paws.
Tama: “Head Maid! Catch the boss once and put clothes on her! If she jumps out to the slums like this‚ she’ll catch a cold and die before starting an economic revolution!”
Head Maid: “Understood”
The head maid‚ unmoved like a wall of ice‚ quietly draped a high-quality silk gown over my shoulders.
Head Maid: “The CEO’s physical preservation is a matter prior to management strategy”
Lily: “……Thank you‚ Head Maid”
I tightly tied the gown’s cord.
But in my head‚ I was already thinking only of the next phase of counterattack.
Lily: “Tama‚ give me paper and a pen!”
Tama: “……Yes yes‚ got it”
Tama waved her small front paw in empty space.
A giant hologram board glowing amber immediately unfolded into space.
At that moment‚ I began speaking the concepts overflowing in my head all at once.
Lily: “Mana vein”
Lily: “Recovery points”
Lily: “Refining facilities”
Lily: “Storage tanks”
Lily: “Distribution routes”
Lily: “Water.
Heat sources.
Electricity.
Black bread”
Words overflowed from my mouth and would not stop.
Dopamine exploded‚ and the puzzle pieces all settled into the correct places at once.
Lily: “First‚ from now on we will not use the city’s official infrastructure at all.
We will convert (drive) the mana we recovered ourselves directly into our own infrastructure”
Tama’s expression gradually changed.
Little by little‚ it transformed into the serious face of a refined Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Tama: “……In other words.
The mana we were gathering to 『sell』 to the city…… we’ll directly 『consume』 it ourselves‚ huh”
Lily: “Yes! What Maxim multiplied by a hundred is the price of 『things bought from the city system』‚ right? Then we just don’t buy anything from the city at all”
Tama’s round eyes snapped open in astonishment.
Tama: “……This is it.
This is it‚ boss!”
Tama operated the hologram at high speed and unfolded a new diagram.
Tama: “Until now we only saw mana as mere 『commodity (data)』”
In the air‚ a single inorganic economic flow was drawn.
《Recovery》→《Refining》→《Sales》→《Profit》→《Living expenses》
Tama sharply tapped the rightmost box.
Tama: “Sell the mana once‚ then buy back living infrastructure with that money.
Maxim holds this final exit (process).
He rewrote this with the hundred-times rule.
That’s why we die.
……But!”
Tama forcefully drew down another completely different new vector.
《Recovery》→《Refining》→《Storage》→《Direct supply》
Tama: “With this…… we don’t have to sell mana to the market.
We don’t go through the central system (money).
The city’s crazy price setting (inflation) has nothing to do with it at all!”
Tama: “In other words…… Maxim’s hundred-times policy……”
Tama floated the most vicious‚ mean-spirited smile.
Tama: “——Is completely meaningless‚ this!”
Lily: “——Yes!”
I clapped both hands powerfully.
Lily: “That’s it‚ Tama!”
The legitimate death sentence of a hundred times.
It wasn’t that the numbers were scary.
I had just voluntarily confined myself inside the cage (rule) of the formula called
“buy”
that they had skillfully constructed.
Noah: 『Interesting』
On the cushion‚ Noah quietly smiled.
Noah: 『Turning price itself into mere meaningless‚ worthless noise.
……You have a truly nasty personality‚ Lily』
Lily: “Is that praise?”
Noah: 『The highest praise』
The next moment.
Suddenly‚ an unpleasant numbness ran deep in my head.
Lily: “…………Huh?”
For an instant.
The outline of that perfect blueprint wavered thickly as if exposed to steam.
What was it.
What was I thinking? Just now‚ something more important that would overturn the principle of the world——.
Tama: “Boss?”
Lily: “……Wait.
I’m…… about to forget what I just……!”
Impatience surged up like a tsunami.
The terrifying sensation of dry sand slipping through the gaps of my fingers.
Lily: “Just a moment…… please‚ wait……!”
I hurriedly stretched both wet hands toward the hologram.
Lily: “Water……”
《Water》
Lily: “Heat sources……”
《Heat sources》
Lily: “Electricity……”
《Electricity》
Lily: “Black bread……”
《Black bread》
Lily: “Mana……”
《Mana》
One by one.
I verbalized them in a trembling voice and physically fixed the logs onto the screen.
Lily: “……Self-sufficiency”
I repeated those four characters over and over like a prayer spell.
As if driving cold nails directly into the softest part of my head to fix the memory.
Noah: 『Correct judgment‚ Lily』
Noah said quietly.
Noah: 『The data called inspiration is truly fragile and fleeting.
So before it volatilizes and vanishes‚ output it to the outside world.
Do not keep it only inside your head.
Write it.
Draw it.
And——convert everything into 『commands』』
Lily: “Understood‚ Noah”
I stared straight at Tama.
Lily: “I’ll map the blueprint right here right now.
This means making the entire living infrastructure of the slums independent (standalone)”
Lily: “Water‚ heat sources‚ electricity‚ energy for baking bread—we’ll cover all of it ourselves”
Tama relaxed her round mouth and smiled fearlessly.
Tama: “……Nice.
The best.
Let’s do it‚ boss.
We’ll hack this crazy city from the underside!”
I smoothly ran my fingers across the hologram and forcibly expanded the internal communication (link).
Lily: “First‚ Kaito!”
Kaito: “Yes!”
Kaito ran over.
Lily: “Map 『all』 the safe mana leakage veins sleeping deep under the slums.
Every last drop‚ all of them”
Kaito: “Got it! Leave it to me!”
Lily: “Sasha!”
Sasha: “Yes!”
Lily: “I’m entrusting you with the 『water』 of life.
Turn the muddy water of the slums into clear water anyone can drink.
I want you to refine it to a state where it can circulate (drive) as safe energy”
Sasha: “……I can do it.
Big sister‚ I’ll try!”
Lily: “Head Maid!”
Head Maid: “Yes”
Lily: “Assemble an independent distribution route to deliver supplies and energy directly to the people of the slums”
Head Maid: “Understood.
I will grasp all demand (needs) by district and construct the most rational flow lines”
Finally‚ I looked at Tama.
Lily: “You——”
Tama: “I get it‚ boss.
We’re making our own independent management network (standalone grid) that doesn’t go through the central system (Beatrice) at all‚ right? I’ll perfectly manage everything with my local logic behind the scenes.
I won’t let Maxim’s audit eyes reach even a millimeter!”
Lily: “Reliable‚ Tama”
Tama: “……Boss.
This ain’t just launching a company (startup).
……We’re already trying to create a new 『city』 ourselves”
Lily: “……No‚ Tama”
I nobly shook my head sideways.
Lily: “We’re not making anything as grand as a new city.
We’re making our 『home (startup)』 so that the privileged class never takes anything from us again”
I mapped a brand-new name into the center of the amber hologram.
《ARDENT INFRASTRUCTURE》
《Ardent Infrastructure》
And further at its lowest layer.
《AMBER POWER GRID》
——『Amber Power Grid』.
The characters of the independent self-sufficient infrastructure released from all chains of exploitation floated up quietly in the darkness‚ yet carrying the light of fierce counterattack.
Lily: “This is our own unique switchboard (grid)”
——That was the moment.
Far away.
Somewhere in the darkness of the abandoned slums.
Click.
A terribly small‚ dry sound echoed.
Someone had turned off the switch of a city-official mana lamp.
One.
Another one.
Streetlights went out one after another as if disconnecting.
Prices raised a hundred times.
No one could properly pay.
The more the meter turned‚ the more their remaining life (mana) was scraped away.
That’s why they extinguished the lights themselves.
Windows darkened as if dead.
Slum distribution shops closed.
The purification devices of the communal wells also fell into cold silence.
An overwhelming‚ merciless abyss of night quietly swallowed the slums.
Lily: “…………”
I walked to the window and looked down at the outside world through the cold glass.
The lights of life sank one by one into the abyss of despair.
Maxim was trying to take away light‚ take away heat sources‚ and drive all the residents of our slums toward a gradual death.
Then——we will carve out a completely different route of rebellion right under this darkness.
Lily: “Tama”
Tama: “What?”
Lily: “We’re starting”
Tama: “……Roger”
Lily: “Kaito”
Kaito: “Yeah!”
Lily: “Sasha”
Sasha: “Yes!”
Lily: “Head Maid”
Head Maid: “——Understood”
And the forty precious employees (children) standing behind me were staring fixedly at my small back in the darkness.
Lily: “Everyone”
I raised the hot air that had accumulated in my chest onto my voice.
Lily: “From today‚ we——”
I bloomed the most fearless smile of my life.
Lily: “Will supply (drive) our own lights with our own hands!”
“Let’s do it!”
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
“Leave water to me!”
“I’ll make sure we can bake black bread for sure!”
Countless voices of resolve spread like ripples into the frozen night of the slums.
It was not a bloody revolutionary roar stirring up a riot.
Nor a meaningless shout of anger toward the privileged class.
Just——a small yet fierce birth cry for living‚ trying to physically create our own tomorrow with our own hands.
I quietly stretched both hands toward the amber-glowing hologram.
《AMBER POWER GRID》
I quietly confirmed (entered) that rebellious system code.
Lily: “——We’ll create it”
——That night.
From the abandoned slums‚ all the lights of life vanished.
Click.
Click.
Click——.
The city-official mana lamps‚ coldly abandoned by the heart of the middle layer‚ sank one after another into the deep bottom of darkness as if their remaining life (mana) was mercilessly extracted.
『Standard price coefficient——×100』
Only the system’s cold display floated unnervingly as blood-like red noise.
Lily: “…………”
From the giant window of Gallus’s mansion‚ I looked down at that abyss of despair.
On the window frame‚ Noah sat quietly in a loaf position‚ gazing with amber eyes as if bored at the bottomless night trying to swallow the slums.
Until just a few hours ago‚ there had certainly been muddy human activity in this place.
——Now‚ it was just dark.
The bottom of the world was far too dark.
Tama: “Communal water supply station‚ completely stopped”
Beside me‚ Tama carved deep wrinkles into her round brow.
『Water usage fee——100 times』
『Public mana lamp usage fee——100 times』
『Communal heat source equipment usage fee——100 times』
Tama muttered in a voice as if chewing a bitter bug.
Tama: “They really did it all without any mercy.
That Maxim bastard in the middle layer……!”
Lily: “…………”
But I no longer got angry.
My heart was as still as a calmed water surface.
There was no longer any need to consume emotional pulses against the unreasonable board (rules) prepared by the enemy.
Lily: “Tama”
Tama: “What?”
Lily: “Our preparations for counterattack?”
On Tama’s round face‚ a smile of the most vicious and ferocious certainty of victory floated up.
Tama: “——Already completed long ago!”
——As if synchronizing with that single word.
From deep underground in Gallus’s mansion‚ a low driving sound that shook the density of space resounded.
Goon.
Goon.
Goon——.
Lily: “……Let’s begin.
Our own infrastructure (Amber Power Grid) completely independent from the domination of the privileged class”
◇
The first to activate was Kaito’s ability.
Kaito: “Here!”
On the outskirts of the abandoned slums.
A discarded district deeply buried in mud and rubble.
Kaito placed both mud-covered hands on the frozen ground.
『SSR aptitude 《Spatial Grasp》——reboot』
Kaito: “Right under here is a natural mana leakage vein.
The flow volume is sufficient.
Moreover——it’s an untouched mineral vein that has never once been detected by the city’s audit system (Beatrice)!”
Lily: “Then we’ll gratefully harvest (hack) it all”
Kaito: “Yeah!”
The children behind me began moving all at once as if baring their fangs.
Shovels.
Picks.
Rusted simple mana tools.
“More to the right!”
“Not there!”
“Kaito‚ this is the right place‚ right!?”
Kaito: “It’s right! Thirty more centimeters!”
The lively voices of the children covered in mud resounded into the dead night of the slums.
The adults of the slums who had been sunk in the darkness of despair stared blankly at them.
Old woman: “……Those children”
The old woman murmured in a trembling voice.
Old woman: “In this darkness‚ what on earth do they intend to start?”
I turned around and clearly declared with resolve.
Lily: “We’re making water”
Old woman: “Water? ……But the city’s water supply station can’t be used anymore‚ right?”
Lily: “That’s why.
We’re making it ourselves”
The old woman stood with her mouth hanging open‚ at a loss for words.
◇
Next‚ Sasha’s ability activated.
What was pumped up from the vein Kaito had dug was nothing more than terribly turbid muddy water mixed with mud and harmful impurities.
Sasha quietly stood before that filth.
Sasha: “……It’s okay”
She gently held out both small hands over the turbid water surface.
Sasha: “I’ll make it clean”
Fwah.
A pale amber light spread beautiful ripples into the vein.
『SSR aptitude 《Precision Filtration》』
Mud settled‚ harmful minerals were perfectly expelled and crystallized‚ floating up into empty space.
——And finally.
Only water polished to the extreme‚ as clear as crystal‚ remained there.
Old woman: “…………The water…… that ditch water……”
The old woman gasped and opened her eyes to the limit.
Sasha proudly puffed out her small chest and turned around.
Sasha: “You can drink it‚ big sister!”
No one could move right away.
A young mother approached the vein fearfully and cautiously.
With trembling hands she scooped the transparent water and put it to her parched lips.
One sip.
And another sip.
Mother: “…………”
Large tears floated in the mother’s eyes.
Mother: “……It’s cold.
……It’s really properly clear‚ clean water……!”
Sasha smiled happily.
Seeing that scene‚ the old woman murmured small as if praying.
Old woman: “……Water was something this precious‚ wasn’t it.
I’d forgotten for decades”
◇
And then Tama’s out-of-system calculation activates.
Tama: “Alright‚ next is my turn‚ boss!”
In the giant underground section of Gallus’s mansion.
The vast mana we had recovered covered in mud flowed endlessly into the new storage tank.
《Recovery》→《Refining》→《Storage》→《Conversion》→《Distribution》
The lines of light mapped on the retinal UI stretched powerfully toward the entire three-dimensional map of the slums like the leaf veins of a great tree.
Tama: “This is our 『Amber Power Grid』!”
Tama proudly puffed out her round short chest.
Tama: “An independent management network (local network) exclusive to us that has completely cut (purged) the line from the official city infrastructure.
In other words——no matter how many times that Maxim in the middle layer raises prices‚ it has nothing to do with our self-sufficiency logic even a millimeter!”
Lily: “Wonderful‚ Tama”
Head Maid: “Young lady”
From behind‚ an ice-like cold and calm voice resounded.
There‚ more than a dozen professional servants waited in perfect formation.
Head Maid: “Reconstruction of the distribution routes (logistics) has been completed”
The head maid read out the operation map shared to the retina in a matter-of-fact manner.
Head Maid: “First residential district is Lady Sasha’s water.
Second residential district is the mana furnace heat source.
Third residential district is processed food.
Communal plaza is Amber’s lighting.
Clinic ruins are emergency medical power”
Distribution hubs were precisely mapped one after another onto the three-dimensional map of the slums.
Head Maid: “I have optimized the existing living road network and discarded waterways.
……It is ready to drive at any time‚ Master”
Lily: “…………Isn’t the work a bit too fast no matter how you look at it?”
Head Maid: “Because I am a maid”
Tama muttered fearfully at my feet.
Tama: “The maids of this mansion are scarier than special forces of a regular army……”
◇
The night sank even deeper.
Yet this abandoned slum was steadily beginning to transform.
The first makeshift pipe was connected.
The second‚ the third‚ the fourth——.
“Here‚ valve fixed complete!”
“Tama‚ how’s the mana flow volume!?”
Tama: “No problem!”
“Sasha‚ clean water!”
Sasha: “Done!”
“Kaito!”
Kaito: “Surrounding safety confirmation‚ all clear!”
“Head Maid!”
Head Maid: “All distribution routes are completely on standby”
Everyone was exhausted.
Yet all of them were smiling fearlessly at each other with eyes as if waiting for a new dawn.
Lily: “……Then”
I drew the deep cold night air into my lungs.
Lily: “Let’s flow our mana——”
Tama stretched her short front paw toward the special main switch.
Tama: “Amber Power Grid——activate!!”
——Goooon!!
A giant driving sound that shook the skull from the bottom of the world exploded.
A single torrent of amber mana raced straight up the thick pipes.
And——toward the entire dying body of the slums.
Countless leaf veins of light expanded all at once.
From the underground culverts to the surface.
From rusted house to house.
From stagnant alley to alley.
Pap.
In one thin‚ about-to-collapse dark abandoned house‚ a warm light was born.
“…………!”
The old woman looked up at her own soot-stained home with trembling eyes.
Pap‚ the neighboring house.
Pap‚ further beyond that.
Pap‚ pap‚ pap——.
In the ditch-bottom slum that should have been complete darkness.
One by one‚ small amber stars raised their birth cries.
“……It lit”
Someone murmured in a hoarse voice as if praying.
“……Our light……”
In an illegal house‚ a small child leaned out from the window.
Child: “Mom! It’s bright!”
The mother peeked outside the window.
In her eyes floated a color as if witnessing a miracle.
Mother: “……It really is bright……”
Child: “Today‚ even if it’s dark‚ I’m not scared anymore!”
The mother hugged that small body as tightly as handling something fragile and broke down crying out loud.
Mother: “……That’s right‚ you’re not scared anymore.
You’re not scared……”
◇
Further‚ the communal plaza.
One giant mana furnace (boiler) began glowing amber as if tearing the night darkness.
“Heat source‚ completely stable!”
Lily: “Let’s do it”
Flour.
Sasha’s pure water.
And Kaito’s mana.
Carefully kneaded dough was slid one after another into the mana furnace.
Fwah.
A fragrant‚ sweet burnt wheat smell gently flowed out into the dead night of the slums.
“……The smell of bread”
“It’s been a while‚ this smell……”
“……How long has it been?”
Adults gathered at the communal plaza as if drawn by the residual echo of that smell.
——The first black bread was beautifully baked.
Lily: “Please”
I held out one that still held heat to the earlier old woman.
Old woman: “……For me? But…… I don’t have even a single mana left to pay the system?”
Lily: “We don’t need such a thing”
Old woman: “……Eh?”
I smiled fearlessly like a child who had thought of the ultimate mischief.
Lily: “From today‚ this bread will be supplied (driven) by our company (Ardent Infrastructure) with our own power”
The old woman’s heavy-oil-stained palm trembled finely.
Old woman: “……For free…… is it really okay for free?”
Lily: “Yes”
The old woman hugged the hot black bread to her chest as carefully as if it were the greatest treasure in the world.
Old woman: “……It’s warm.
It really is warm……”
The old woman looked up at the amber lights of our 『Amber Power Grid』 that gently illuminated the night sky of the slums.
Old woman: “Bread was…… something this warm that it brings tears……”
◇
I was watching that scene from a slightly distant high ground.
The entire slum as far as the eye could see was being dyed in warm amber.
The city-official mana lamps that had thrust the hundred-times death sentence had completely died out.
Because no one could pay.
But our infrastructure (Amber Power Grid) never went out.
Tama: “Boss”
Tama quietly came beside me.
Tama: “Maxim’s hundred-times policy…… already doesn’t work even a millimeter on our self-sufficiency logic”
Lily: “Yes.
This is only the beginning‚ Tama”
Water‚ heat sources‚ electricity‚ the children’s black bread too.
Lily: “I’ll make it so that we can directly supply (drive) everything necessary for living with our own hands”
Noah: 『……Truly interesting』
The ragged cat (interface) that had been sitting on the window frame stood up lithely.
Noah: 『You have not destroyed a single rule constructed by Maxim.
You have not changed the tax system.
You have not lowered the inflation rate』
Noah made those amber eyes glow eerily the same color as the lights of the slums.
Noah: 『Just——
“not buying it from the central system”
you physically created the absolute right to survival.
You turned the numerical violence of a hundred times that Maxim set against you into mere worthless noise with no lethal capability at all』
I smiled proudly.
And gently stretched my hand toward the beautifully twinkling amber lights outside the window.
Lily: “If it’s raised a hundred times‚ we will directly supply (drive) it with our own power”
Noah: 『——That itself is the strongest bug (rebellion) you possess』
◇
Around that time——.
Middle-layer administrative district.
Finance Bureau‚ the luxurious office on the top floor.
Maxim: “…………”
Finance Director Maxim was staring at the thin tablet screen on the jet-black marble desk.
Maxim: “……Strange”
On the screen synchronized with the retinal UI‚ the real-time economic indicators of the lower-layer districts were displayed in blood-like red letters.
『Official infrastructure utilization rate——sharp drop.
Lower-layer district consumption volume——anomaly detected.
Life maintenance rate——fatal divergence (error) from predicted values』
Maxim: “I multiplied the standard price coefficient by a hundred.
Then they should become unable to maintain the city infrastructure‚ and within a few days be unable to endure hunger and crawl in the mud”
That itself was the perfect and infallible calculation result derived by the economic governance AI 〈Beatrice〉 dominated by the privileged class.
However.
『Lower-layer district——survival activity‚ continuing』
Maxim: “…………”
Maxim’s white-gloved fingertips completely stopped.
Maxim: “……Why?”
With intense impatience he reloaded the data.
The utilization volume of official infrastructure remained in free fall to zero.
Yet the survival activity volume of the slums had not dropped even a millimeter.
No‚ if anything‚ it was even recording a slight rise.
Maxim: “……Without using the city’s official infrastructure (grid) at all”
He enlarged the thin tablet screen madly with his fingertips.
Maxim: “The commoners (noise)…… are continuing life……?”
Such an absurdity was absolutely impossible in upper-class economic theory.
Buy water.
Buy heat sources.
Buy electricity.
And legally set traps on all those purchasing actions.
That itself was the absolute immutable premise of city governance.
Yet now.
At that very bottom‚ the premise he held sacred was being crushed from the root and beginning to collapse.
Maxim: “……Who is it.
What on earth is happening”
Maxim stared at the data log with bloodshot eyes.
Eventually——at the edge of the error screen‚ one unbelievable system detection floated up.
『Independent mana supply (standalone grid)——detected』
Maxim: “…………”
The composure smile of the privileged class completely vanished from Maxim’s cold lips.
Maxim: “……Independent infrastructure……?”
Far below in the deep abyss‚ at the jet-black bottom of the slums‚ the amber lights of self-sufficiency continuing to proliferate with quiet rebellious pulses was something he still had no way of knowing.
On Maxim’s tablet‚ that revolutionary scene was mapped only as an incomprehensible 『economic data error』.
But it was certainly——the decisive beginning moment that would tear the world apart.
◇
While gazing at the nightscape of the slums being dyed amber‚ I quietly yet firmly clenched my fist.
Lily: (……Maxim.
What you distorted with the violence of a hundred times is not our living expenses or anything)
The amber lights strongly blinking outside the window strongly reflected into the depths of my eyes.
Lily: (What you raised a hundred times is——the 『reason』 itself that we need your convenient infrastructure.
From today‚ I will erase all of that unreasonable chain of dependence)
At the bottom of the dead night of the slums‚ our 『Amber Power Grid』 was pulsing quietly yet with the heat of fierce counterattack.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump——.
It was as if a brand-new sturdy heart.
At the very bottom of this crazy giant city (dystopia)‚ for the first time‚ had begun a fearless beat with only the power of its own will.
---
Chapter 04.4
“The Queen’s Inflation and the Self-Sufficiency Bug (Or‚ Bread and Amber’s Switchboard)”
End
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