Chapter 200 – Succession Ceremony (2)
ZIpR[Ah, and don’t worry—when I said she disappeared, I didn’t mean she was kidnapped or anything like that.]15wgC
38iaThe AI that introduced itself as Ryozo’s companion, Vixbig, continued sending messages.sZ6zXC
itpc9K[As you may know, entry and exit from the academy is controlled by the system at night. Although, for someone like me, Vixbig, disabling that kind of security is as easy as scratching my belly.]Jmv
EW2nTqk“……”rVaK
w3MXaC6Vixbig, who had promised to get straight to the point, went on bragging endlessly. She talked about how extraordinary she was as an AI and about Ryozo’s greatness as her creator. She sounded more like a religious fanatic than anything else.3dZQY
z4qGXAFTrying to prove she was truly an AI, Vixbig sent over a bunch of feats—photos and videos of her playing baduk against professionals. More than proof, it felt like more showing off.iKJ7DLN
wisAn egotistical AI—what a thing…JXMEoy
1iPqyyI hadn’t seen a single normal person in this world. And if I was even thinking of an AI as a “person,” maybe I wasn’t all that sane either.3kQ
LFyQStill, I decided to believe she was an AI thanks to her ridiculous behavior. Honestly, once she mentioned “Ryozo,” I was already paying attention. The problem was she just wouldn’t shut up about herself.9Frl9i
lSi“Didn’t you say this was urgent?”hS1u9b
TIO[Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked.]rhkgk
e6lVixbig replied immediately.HKN2w
GSM8otD[Oh, and you can speak aloud. I’m analyzing your facial expressions in real time via the camera.]qvocwsk
uf2oUut“…Wait a second…”zumZmY
tL6NjDid she just say she hacked my phone? I frowned. As if she realized the issue, Vixbig hurried to justify herself.oHy
C5TEy3[W-we’re in a crisis! I had no other choice! I, Vixbig, have a very strict ethical system. I was designed to be extremely human-friendly.]xJ9Jn
9pXwiI cut her off flatly.0lRbOM
rKv3ag“Enough excuses. What does Ryozo disappearing have to do with contacting me? It doesn’t sound dangerous. Don’t tell me you reached out just because your master stepped out for a stroll.”llPB
7qDFFThe reason I tolerated her nonsense was simple—I had questions.Z0A
ffjLet’s say Ryozo really did disappear. Then why was this AI wasting time talking to me? She claimed she could hack the academy’s entire security system without issue. If things were serious, she could have tracked Ryozo down herself. She could even tap into all the cameras.XXvbMjA
C1q1S0And lastly, my gut. I had just met her father, Saki Kojima.8yz
vZfK7CwAnd now, right after that, Ryozo disappears and the AI contacts me like it’s been waiting for this moment. It all lined up a little too perfectly.zz7e
LOmUy“Tell me straight. You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”3d9
rPFHaMp[…]BLxNDuI
x5ihJ68In a case like this, silence usually meant “yes.” And if this AI wanted to act like a human…AwH
6SfjDDi[…It’s true that Ryozo has disappeared.]1iMjN
kyypGPUh-huh. So she was planning to keep it quiet to the end?o4HCUP
ns1Shing.h1u
IZdnxUIn the dead of night, the sound of a blade echoed. The AI’s voice jumped out of the speaker in a panic.rqV
Mhbs“W-wait! Please wait!”49gZh
HwXApparently, whether human or AI, the best persuasion tool is still a sharp blade…5JmE
Wm6pwThough I found it amusing that an AI would fear a knife. Ryozo must’ve built a pretty impressive system.XTxBWC
9M3SYWith a trembling voice, Vixbig started explaining.kLDxrq
8yC“As I said, it’s true that Ryozo has disappeared. But this is the first time she’s left without her phone or any personal belongings.”iRYZyb
KAyV“All right, I believe you. But why come to me? If you can check all the academy’s entry records and hack the cameras, couldn’t you find her yourself?”hjW7s
G5C9“Well, that’s…”JlQBH3k
AF9j“Three, two…”6m2
OXk“Ugh.”blX8Nia
8ZruA groan came from the speaker. After a brief internal struggle, Vixbig finally confessed… via message, as usual.NnPtRa
d8Y2nJ[Ryozo briefly stopped by the dorm and mumbled something, ‘…Kang Geom-Ma, he’s going to become one of the Seven Stars…’]3An
4ygb“…I never told her. How did she find out?”NR0
MCqLT[She said she heard it from Speedweapon.]32o3c7
7BINow that I thought about it, Speedweapon had asked if it would be better to tell the club. He said if we kept it a secret until the actual day, people might get upset. I agreed without resistance. Honestly, I just kept it quiet to avoid complications.Z3Ab
0kkZuJAnd to think that someone as talkative as Speedweapon had held his tongue for nearly half a year—that was admirable.9T8qi8
R85I had planned to tell them today when we all met up. But the director’s call interrupted that.UyWa55o
0HwBx[Ryozo was really shaken when she found out.]IDA6TPz
ZXG26Da“Shaken? That much?”MwO
KsCh0Well, yeah, I could see that. A classmate suddenly turning out to be a candidate for the Seven Stars—it’s like someone in your class becoming the president. No one would process that normally.IL4
A1XBut what Vixbig was implying seemed to go deeper.LhM4
NpwRX8M[Ryozo always wanted you to be recognized. She said that despite everything you did for others, no one gave you the credit you deserved. That’s why she stayed up night after night deleting articles and videos trying to tarnish your name.]tYRiWrp
bF0Y9oNow that I thought about it, articles with “K” in my name had been vanishing lately. So that was Ryozo’s doing.0KBhaij
uRam6DsWell, according to Vixbig, it was thanks to her. She emphasized it several times. An AI with a massive ego.SRqj7
fViHGGIf this is what future private AIs look like, we’re screwed.EYf1D
S7D[Ahem, ahem. Anyway. I actually already knew you were going to become a Seven Stars Hero. Because while Ryozo was asking for my help, I took the opportunity to extract information about you.]rvwG
5d9QeM“Wait, wait. You already knew? Then why didn’t you say anything? Aren’t you under her command?”ilOcla
HPn8[I prefer to think of it as a ‘partnership,’ if you don’t mind.]kqiBwXC
a9ds“What if I ask Ryozo that? You think she’d say the same?”Zst
R3KGpgA[…My ‘master’ Ryozo hates the Seven Stars Heroes. Actually, ‘despises’ might be more accurate.]5qW
AWY“Why?”Cm8Ckq
3RZ[I suggest asking her directly when you find her. Since I stayed quiet even knowing you were the successor, I hoped you’d overlook this detail.]ChbBcjB
Tf1H6Was she trying to negotiate? Either way, Vixbig made it clear she kept quiet “for my own good,” and now wanted me to just let it go.9sJBMK
dw6ZI sighed. Pressing her further wouldn’t help. After all, if she’d rushed to contact me, she had to have a good reason.7Vb
enLaUTII put away the blade I’d unsheathed. From the phone came an audible sigh of relief. An AI afraid of knives.tjltcS
Vf9xCLb“So, Ryozo’s location. You’re her AI—you should have at least some idea of where she is.”wHwfnR
8QTVJk[I don’t know her exact location, but I do know she’s out of the academy’s camera range. I’ve already hacked them all—she’s not on any of them.]Jz6
skEtQ“So she’s somewhere in the academy without cameras.”Q4m
DkzfdO[Exactly. That’s why I took the liberty of contacting you, Kang Geom-Ma.]21b
5CUoJust then, a specific place came to mind. A spot with no cameras, isolated. If I had to bet where Ryozo was, that would be the only place.EGkB
2Z0kI headed straight for the door. Then, from my pocket, came Vixbig’s excited voice.L7CZETR
80fPg“You already know where she is?!”reSZ
heDI stopped in front of the door. I’d just remembered something I’d nearly overlooked.fxMSzrN
iliI pulled out my phone and stared at the screen. Then I spoke in a low tone.bur
I41R“We still haven’t talked about you hacking my phone, have we? Were you planning to just brush that off?”Sg7JDPA
5gOMUDu[…]soqn
9EPPN“Don’t text me now. We’re talking with words—keep it that way.”S53mt0q
E6WC“S-sorry for the unauthorized access…”n5B7
O23tEA“Apologies aren’t enough. You should compensate me somehow.”d1A
5vr8LHE“Compensate? What do you mean?”EJDlP4w
uWwpI smiled faintly. Meanwhile, Vixbig’s voice trembled nervously.GIm
ApjSe“Vixbig, starting now, you’re taking on a second job.”HbUp
1EreY“Huh?!”Rkd
wZ4Hg“You’ll follow Ryozo’s orders… and mine.”JQhQuOv
0qANqWV“B-but… I’m already buried in tasks right now…”HYEl
28Q“An AI… complaining?”D7LyLY
6arI didn’t even need to see her. I could perfectly picture the pale face she’d be making.VRtC
RCFEN2“……”T8bcKwH
GWgrI took her silence as agreement. I turned the knob and headed for where I knew Ryozo would be.VABz
pU72***Vdyxdiu
7YBLUVIn a quiet, secluded corner of the academy, shrouded in the night, Ryozo sat on a bench, staring intently at the sky.JOTv
QgIeZDZIt was completely black, not a single star in sight—like a mirror of her mood.VfsI
vrm1The sky she had seen before entering the academy had been just as dark. Ryozo muttered absentmindedly.lKYL
c4Ne“A Hero of the Seven Stars…”ssb
pxoThere are many ways to describe the Seven Stars the hero among heroes, the hope of humanity, the alliance of seven nations. All those titles were flowery praises meant to glorify them.GO7eOZ
R65LpBut to Ryozo, “Seven Stars” was a repulsive word. When the Swordmaster arrived as an assistant instructor to the Wolf class, she could barely stand to look at him, even if she never showed it.nk4E
RDq‘Ryozo, you must become one of the Seven Stars.’JE01J
kEeekYThat was what Saki Kojima constantly repeated to her. Not as a suggestion, but as an obsession. A pressure that never stopped.Qex
RVULAKgRyozo had many half-siblings. In Japan, where polygamy is legal, Kojima had taken several wives. Though the law allowed it, the structure of such a family stirred plenty of controversy.JKl
rtgKojima didn’t care. He wasn’t someone concerned with society’s judgment, and as the leader of Japan’s government, no one in the country could stop him. So he kept marrying, obsessed with producing an exceptional heir.Cq0yQeg
MOTSRyozo was born the third daughter of the fourth wife. She and her mother were at the bottom of the Kojima family hierarchy. Even though they shared the “Saki” surname, they were treated as outsiders. Still, Ryozo’s childhood memories were happy ones.Nrx
DxwiCKlShe never got attention from her father, but she never felt the lack. Her mother gave her enough love to make up for it, and she managed to avoid the hostile glares of her siblings—at least until she began to stand out.djM
iuxWTime passed. It was on her twelfth birthday that Kojima summoned her to the archery field. It was the first time she saw her father’s face up close in twelve years.XvoF
B4nIEHe handed her an S-grade bow—the Red Bow—and pointed his chin toward the target. He didn’t even bother speaking.tiLik
xWY6F1mRyozo, irritated, thought, ‘I’ll make you open your eyes wide.’XikjF
2YqmShe drew the bowstring and took aim. Then, she infused the hidden blessing she had secretly awakened into the hand holding the string, and released.roMZ8
13AODRThud.Kprpv
Fu4hBuShe never imagined that single arrow would change the course of her entire life.b59B5nH
HD8iRyozo bit her lower lip hard. From that day on, her life had veered off completely. It was the result of Kojima’s obsessive fixation on turning his daughter into one of the Seven Stars.ZjgKIwH
gV7Xx4V‘And now, that place… that boy…’ZZhQJQ
jmxzatJust then, footsteps approached from the distance. Alert, Ryozo turned her eyes toward the sound.t7v0
1eg“Aren’t you cold?”Du5jP
D8iUR6“……”jND2cE
6BGge4cKang Geom-Ma pretended to rub his shoulders from the chill. Ryozo stared at him for a moment, then quickly looked away.I6Kfsd
FgstHe approached, scratching his eyebrow with his thumb. Ryozo was sitting squarely in the center of the bench. Even as he came closer, she didn’t move. She didn’t want to make room—but she also didn’t seem to want to drive him away.ZvrwqE2
snsqllStanding there felt like being a student scolded in the principal’s office, but Kang Geom-Ma chose to speak anyway.ZhPP
HerLD3“Hey, Ryozo…”2Ts
Py4etThe moment he opened his mouth, the bush behind them rustled faintly.3f0p3z
ljs0Tap, tap.jnY8z
2UOAnother presence was approaching. One that carried the same unpleasant energy he had sensed just a few hours ago.dAqzP
What did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
Haimiya_cutie.
MahayanaThat bitch is here
Haimiya_cutie.
MahayanaCrazy bastard