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The commotion settled down about 30 minutes later. An uncomfortable dialogue began inside the Violet Barracks building.

“Umm…”

“Wah!”

As the Scholarship Officer cautiously attempted to ask a question, the Violets hid behind their friends and professors.

Daphne looked at Seijis with a somewhat wary gaze, resembling a mother covering her chicks startled by a predator.

At that sight, Seijis felt a brief moment of dizziness. A sheep protecting its wolf?

‘Where did it all go wrong?’

The Scholarship Officer was confused.

Starting from five years later, until the world crumbled down, how did the heroes who had always been by his side end up gathered around a girl, who would become a villain in that future?

He scrutinized the three girls blocking the way between Violet and himself, along with the other students surrounding them.

‘I’ll let Irene pass. But Lucian is a problem, and to think those students will turn into monster slayers…’

He chastised himself for focusing solely on expanding his strength while neglecting the truly important students.

Two men and women in white coats placed tea and simple snacks on the table.

Gradually, the atmosphere began to ease, signaling the start of a conversation.

The eyes of those standing with Violet momentarily met.

‘Let’s try to persuade them through conversation.’

‘I’ll take the blame if it comes to that. Violet knows nothing!’

‘For now, let’s try to make excuses. There’s no solid evidence, right?’

‘We have to protect Violet!’

The first to speak was an older man seated next to the students.

“Right, you’re the Scholarship Officer from the Inspection Bureau, right? What brings you here?”

The scarred man surveyed the twin siblings with his gray eyes.

Seijis answered immediately.

“I’ve come to investigate Violet regarding the charges of bombing Polaris Academy.”

The instructor shouted.

“Hey! That’s a ridiculous accusation! Our student may be a bit lacking and slower at learning, but they’re not a bad person. And do you have any evidence?”

“Your colleague just mentioned a ‘situation’ a moment ago. Can we assume you know something?”

“What? What do you…”

Frederick stared at Albert in bewilderment.

Albert glared at him, wearing an expression of disbelief.

The two men’s gazes clashed.

‘When did you say that? Didn’t we agree to play dumb for now?’

‘You fool! It’s clear they’ve come with evidence. You think we can play this off against the Inspection Bureau?’

In the absence of the Violet Network, the professors’ attempt to protect their student ended up in a comical farce just as Irene cautiously asked a question.

“Scholarship Officer. It’s been a while.” “…Irene.”

“I should’ve greeted you first, but circumstances forced my hand. Let me ask you this: I saw the incident; it was shocking. But what does Violet have to do with it that you’ve come all this way? You even brought others with you.”

“I view Violet Rugilinn as the main culprit behind the bombing of Polaris Comprehensive Academy.”

Professor Albert asked.

“Evidence?”

“The unique ability of the Violet student is to create clones. She can operate them in quantities of up to ten thousand. The area of effect is the entire Rustroom region.”

Once his words fell, the people on the opposite side showed expressions of shock.

“Before the incident, there were sightings of suspicious vehicles moving near the target area, captured by road cameras and nearby CCTV. There were also unusual cash movements reported. Individuals of similar builds, wearing masks or sunglasses, were frequently spotted around this area. Moreover, numerous other data exists. Did you really think you could hide this?”

Showing them the tablet screen, he said. Violet flinched in surprise.

‘The truth is merely a reference to my future memories.’

This was a deception. Each piece of evidence he presented was just one fact.

It was impossible to connect each piece into one coherent deduction. There were no links.

Excluding Seijis himself, no one in this world could deduce Violet’s existence, grasp her unique ability, and conclude that she committed a large-scale terror attack.

‘This is frustrating; I can’t just say that I came from the future and that girl becomes a serial killer terrorist!’

People began to tense up a little. Seijis spread his palms to signal for calm.

“Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not here to arrest anyone. This is merely speculation at this point. I just want to ask: Violet, step out from behind your friends.”

The Violets timidly poked their heads out.

“This incident, you caused it, didn’t you? What was your motive?”

Seijis asked.

He genuinely wanted to know who that girl was.

‘Has she already become the infinite witch?’

“Hey! Is being a Scholarship Officer enough? You only have suspicions, right? What do you mean by already declaring me a criminal?…”

Kalia protested, but Violet stepped forward.

“Yes! It’s true, I did it!”

Every face in the room, apart from the Scholarship siblings, changed drastically.

**

As the chaos in my head began to clear, I finally stood before the Scholarship Officer. My thoughts were organized and the script on how to speak was prepared!

“…What if I admit it?”

“It’s okay! Daphne. I think I can trust this person!”

Leaving my worried friends behind, I faced the Scholarship Officer.

“Yes! I did it. I blew up the Academy and destroyed the Magnavis headquarters! So what?”

“Why did you do it?”

The Scholarship Officer’s fierce gaze shot at me.

In that terrifying atmosphere, I realized once more that this guy was not the Scholarship Officer I knew.

How could the friendly and polite character turn into someone so intimidating?

What on earth had he experienced?

「Does he think we’re the infinite witches?」

「Let’s prove that Violet is a good person!」

I explained.

“Magnavis and that nasty Chairman turned my Academy into a nightmare! So, those thugs ran amok and hurt Daphne. But it turned out they were performing human experiments and killing students!”

Unit 789 brought forward data and spoke passionately.

“Then why didn’t you report it? Local police and the media aside. The Inspection Bureau…”

“I was going to, but it turns out the four major clans are above the Board of Directors. So Irene’s attempts to report got blocked. Besides, they’re all bad guys, right? So, I decided to kill them all and report it.”

As my words ended, Sophie El looked at us as if she had seen a ghost.

Oh no, I’ve left a bad impression on Sophie.

「But we need to be honest!」

“…Is that all? Any other motives?”

As the Scholarship Officer quizzed again suspiciously, I shook my head.

“This is all! After blowing up the Academy, I planned to transfer to another Academy. I heard that if the Academy is destroyed, they’ll let you transfer to another under the Academy City regulations. If possible, I wanted to go to Aegis Academy.”

“Do you even know your current status? You’re a terrorist. And you think of taking transfer exams after committing a terror act?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected critique, I fell silent. I realized that was indeed the case.

“But no one knows! There’s no evidence.”

“I know.”

Seijis folded his arms and examined us.

“I’ve heard your declaration. And the evidence you provided, even the research facilities. They’re all true. Magnavis is indeed an organization that needs to be dismantled. Speaking as an individual, separate from my role in the Inspection Bureau, I’ll be honest: I see what you did as something necessary.”

People started to whisper. It was an off-the-wall remark for a public servant in the Academy City.

「The Scholarship Officer thinks we’re right!」

The next moment, a bucket of cold water was thrown on us.

“But look at what you’ve done. You blew up an Academy with explosives and amassed military-grade weapons from dubious sources. There’s no reason to just let someone like you enter an Academy.”

I immediately felt dejected.

Since when did the Scholarship Officer become such a cold figure?

I pointed at my friends.

“But… I just want to go to the Academy and have fun with my friends…” The Scholarship Officer’s face twisted bizarrely for a moment. The friends and professors stood behind me in support.

“Violet, we’ve got this. Leave it to us.”

**

A few hours later, perhaps due to the clarifications from my friends and professors, the Scholarship Officer just backed off.

“…Are you sure you’re the Scholarship Officer? The Inspection Bureau person? You’ve come here to investigate a terrorist, and you’re just leaving?”

“…It’s purely circumstantial evidence. No, it’s fine. We know nothing.”

“Then what about the people outside?”

When Professor Albert asked, Sophie El answered instead.

“Don’t worry. On the surface, we’re here to reprimand and take home the bad Awakener Academy students who seem to be linked to criminal organizations.”

「Thank goodness! Hooray!」

Once the conversation came to an end, the Scholarship Officer promptly withdrew. The Inspection Bureau members left.

「They seem suspicious, but it doesn’t look like they’ll take any significant action.」

The Violets finally felt relieved. The more they explained, the more convoluted things became.

If they probed further, they would have to bring up the research facility, and in the worst case, the explanation of our possession.

「But who would believe that?」

Ugh, I just want to end this without speaking any more.

As I smiled and was about to head back to the barracks, someone grabbed our shoulders.

“Eh?”

Irene, Kalia, and Daphne. My three friends were clutching onto me.

“…Violet. Let’s talk.”

“What? What is it?”

A sense of foreboding crept over me.

Before my words could finish, Kalia swung Unit 246 at me.

“Gaaah!”

“You! You! You need a good smack! Why did you leave us behind? Without saying a word! Huh?”

I struggled in Kalia’s grasp and pleaded for help from Daphne.

“Help me!”

Daphne approached me with a sorrowful expression and… grabbed my hair, yanking hard.

“Kyah!”

“Violet needs to be punished! Really! Do you find it that hard to trust us? Huh? What on earth…”

We were scolded by our friends for a long time. For some reason, the angry looks on their faces were tinged with a melancholic hue.

“S-Sorry! Kyah!”

As Daphne hit my head with her staff, she shouted.

“Do you think just saying sorry will let it go? Why!”

I was left at a loss for words. A tsk sound came from behind.

“Tsk tsk, look at that…”

The Scholarship Officer’s sister was observing us with a complicated expression from behind.

By the way, why was Sophie El still here?

 

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