The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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“Somewhere on Cascadia Island, there’s a secret hangar.”

Secret warehouses or bases are common facilities for clans or companies with a bit of cash, but this hangar had distinctly different characteristics.

Specifically, it was home to human-friendly, democratic fusion creatures.

“Alright, from now on, this is your home!”

As the first semester rushed in, a special terminal containing the entire central archive of the Foundation was moved to the Violet Laboratory (tentative) for research.

The plan was to extract data here and set up our own server.

Meanwhile, while fresh underclassmen were entering Aegis Academy, the core of the Hekatonkheires captured from Rumyx was secretly moved to Cascadia Island.

Iron Fist would surely love that.

「A lonely tank now has a friend!」

Iron Fist was from the army, so you can’t really consider it a true ‘friend’. Since Kale is an airborne battleship, it would be categorized under the navy in the federal army system.

They’re not even in the same unit, so I wonder how well they’d communicate.

「It’s fine! They’re fusion creatures, so we should be able to talk, right?」

「Exactly! We’re all connected through the network.」

All Violets and their subordinates are connected through the network.

If we dig a little deeper, the V-Animals have dedicated lines, and fusion creatures have their own separate lines.

But overall, they’re all part of our network. So once they get used to it, they’ll chatter all the time.

You can already hear the idle chit-chat of the other subordinates in the network with just a little focus.

「Let’s create a new hymn for our great leader! We must celebrate our victory!」

「Yeah! Let’s make it more majestic!」

Listening to the animals’ chatter, I immediately disconnected the line. I had to at least maintain some privacy.

I thought this alien battleship would easily assimilate into us under the influence of the network.

I believed it would smoothly join our military forces.

After all, it’s part of our Violet family!

It seemed my expectations were too naive.

「Yikes! It’s a steel demon!」

I gave it a solid smack on the back of its head. Can’t just go talk trash like that.

–Smack!

「You shouldn’t say that to a friend!」

After I smacked it, it clutched its head as if it was hurt.

Then it looked up at me with resentful eyes.

「Friend? That thing? No way! I can feel the power of a demon coming from that machine! Just like you!」

「Demon? Seriously, this thing is saying weird stuff again!」

「You call a demon what it is! What else should I call it?」

I couldn’t stand its edgy reaction anymore.

I immediately connected to the network and shot my strong will at it.

「Even the power you use definitely feels like a… uh! Uh! What? Why can’t I say the word?」

It noticed something strange about my incessant babbling and was startled, clutching its mouth.

It clearly looked surprised.

And understandably so; I had set a forbidden word through interference in the network.

「Ugh! Why can’t I say it? De, ugh? Ear, ugh!」

「Hehe, of course! I’ve blocked it.」

「No way!」

It seemed the censorship was too shocking for it.

The Hekatonkheires plopped down on the ground, mumbling with vacant eyes.

「Ugh… the tyrant’s network has imposed censorship…」

Kale’s expression was utterly hopeless.

Unable to bear it any longer, Iron Fist chimed in through the network.

「Violet Commander, isn’t censoring words a bit much?」

「Really?」

「It doesn’t seem like it was trying to mock us. Look at its reaction; it feels sensitive to something.」

Hearing that, Iron Fist’s statement seemed to hit the mark.

Did I push the still-conscious battleship girl too hard?

If so, I’d need to soothe her a little.

Guess I should hear her out.

「I lifted the censorship.」

「Ugh, ugh! That demon was right… ugh!」

「Why do you keep babbling about demons?」

As soon as I asked, she frowned as if to say, “Why are you asking something so obvious?”

Then, she hesitated a bit, checking my expression before mumbling.

「It’s definitely a demon! Just look at those strange waves it gives off. That weird ability to manipulate reality! That’s a power only demons wield!」

「This thing?」

–Vroom!

I used my acceleration ability right in front of her.

Seeing the fleeting images in the hangar, the Hekatonkheires reacted violently.

「That’s definitely demon power! It’s the ability of a demon that twists and mocks the laws of physics from the ground up!」

「Demon?」

Only then did my Violets realize why she was acting so sensitive.

「Are you talking about Aedos when you mention demons? Those apostle guys?」

As soon as the apostle came up, Kale’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

「Exactly, those cursed ones! The ones that steal stars, the enemies of all sentient beings, those wicked tyrants devouring civilizations… I can feel the power of an evil lord and its minions from you and that machine. How on earth are you using that power? Have you allied with those demons?」

I shrugged and replied.

「I absorbed an apostle! Now they’re part of us.」

Instantly, the core of the hangar lit up loudly.

「No way!」

Kale was so shocked that she fell over.

After sharing quite a few stories, the battleship girl’s reaction vacillated between surprise and suspicion.

「Impossible! You defeated those interdimensional demons so easily? You just happened to enter consciousness? That’s utter nonsense!」

「But I did! Unit 2501 is the proof!」

Seeing her disbelief, I called upon the ex-apostle now turned Violet.

Soon, the testimony of the former apostle, now a current Violet, followed.

「I was once just a former apostle, but now I’m a full-fledged Violet! Living as a cute girl is a lot more enjoyable than living as an apostle!」

Even with the continued testimony, Hekatonkheires tilted her head in uncertainty.

「I still can’t believe it! Insult Monad!」

「The dictator of Monad is a garbage tyrant! A waste of space!」

「Huh, that does sound right…」

Just by throwing an insult, her attitude shifted slightly.

「I never thought you’d criticize so casually. You’re not aligned with those demons.」

「You just figured that out?」

「Oh, sorry! But the head honcho of those demons has placed a terrible decree in the minds of its subordinates. So, nobody can entertain bad thoughts about their ruler. If you dare try to enforce it, you’ll be killed immediately or brutally corrected. Just like what you did to me.」

「Ah!」

That’s right. What I did to her was no different from what a tyrant like Monad would do!

I realized I had been unwittingly treading the path of tyranny.

「No! I was unwittingly becoming a dictator Violet!」

「Sorry! I won’t do it again!」

「How can you be trusted with this network connecting our minds?! Disconnect it immediately!」

「I can’t do that. I don’t even know how to. Once connected, we have to stay this way.」

Kale muttered in a sorrowful voice.

「Not a demon, but in the end, it’s no different from their tyranny. A slave to aliens… The will of the Nornir citizens, who tried to protect democracy from the tyrannical empire, has been trampled on…」

At that moment, a familiar word suddenly pierced our ears.

「Wait, Kale. What did you just say? Democracy?」

「Why? Do you think aliens don’t even know what democracy is? From what I can see, the politics of this planet called Trist seem pretty abnormal. They’re all fools who don’t know every person has the right to sovereignty…」

「I know! How could I not!」

A wave of overwhelming emotion surged from deep within me. I’d never expected there were others here who seriously thought about democracy besides me.

The humming vibration spread through the network like a wave.

Information flowed in vigorously like a tidal wave. Kale’s sapphire eyes grew large.

Much larger than before. And her eyes shimmered with brightness; delight and joy sparkling like stars.

「Could it be! You knew about democracy too?」

「Of course! We Free Violets pursue clone democracy!」

The battleship girl, who had been beaming brightly, suddenly furrowed her brow in thought.

It seemed something was troubling her, and she hesitated before asking.

「Hmm… Can this really be called democracy?」

「Of course! It’s democracy!」

She awkwardly scratched her head, but gradually nodded as if coming to terms with it.

「Well, there’s no helping it. It does have its flaws, but… for now, I guess it qualifies as democracy.」

「Now you understand?」

「Yeah, I’ll believe you. As long as you and that machine follow democracy, it seems you’re not demons.」

Finally, she opened her heart.

Unit 5531 spread her arms wide.

「Welcome to the Violet Division!」

Our new Hekatonkheires worked hard to adapt to the unfamiliar environment.

「Nice to meet you, comrade! I’m Lemon!」

「Woof! A mechanical friend of my master! Welcome, comrade!」

「Eew! That hideous alien is licking my face!」

Apparently, the battleship girl wasn’t used to the creatures of Trist and shrieked in horror at the sight of a mouse and a dog.

She was momentarily startled by the enthusiastic welcome from the V-Animals, but we did hit it off in some regards.

「So, Commander, what are we doing from now on?」

「Well! We need to prepare to fight the potential enemies of democracy.」

「Enemies of democracy!」

We had already taken down two of the four clans that dominated the academy city and continent, but two clans and the federal army remained.

Those guys were outright maniacs when it came to violence and scale, far stronger than the previous two clans.

Moreover, they even helped when we spread the viral weapon.

「They’re trying to suppress Violet democracy!」

We definitely need to teach them a lesson as soon as possible, but unfortunately, we had used up too many resources and ammunition in the last war.

But luckily, the battleship girl in front of us had infinite potential.

「So, Hekatonkheires, what kind of being are you?」

「Finally asking! I’m a democratic agent of Nornir and a versatile planetary colonization support battleship—」

「Just summarize it.」

「—I’m an interstellar colonization battleship and a mobile factory…」

「Concise, I like it!」

In short, she was a powerful weapon and a mobile factory capable of planetary colonization.

From what I heard, she could make anything.

「So can you create this?」

I handed her a plasma pistol made by Rumyx.

She glanced at it and frowned.

「Ugh! This is an insult to technology! You sloppily copied Nornir’s tech!」

「Really? So can you make it perfectly? Or can’t you?」

「Of course—」

But Hekatonkheires suddenly froze with a serious expression.

「Um… I don’t know! Why can’t I remember?」

Oh no, it seemed like she had gone a bit dense.

 

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