Chapter Twenty-One: It's called robbery
…note. Now I'm not that confident in this chapter. Honestly, I'm not at my best right now, so I hope this will do for now.
Been going through somethings lately. But I have to write.
Now, how did we even get here to begin with?
Overlooking the ruined commercial streets, Morgan let his gaze slowly drag across them.
Right.
It began about when, three days ago, following his progress.
...a few days ago.
Flashback jumpscare!
Friday, April 7th.
Petals danced in the air, carried by the fresh spring breeze.
Even though it was past the afternoon mark, the calm vibe made it feel like it was still very early in the morning.
Classes had wrapped up.
Most students who weren't in a club had already headed home by this point, except for those involved in club activities.
"Fmph. As much as it annoys me, I guess I'll let you do your thing for now."
It was right outside the gates of Raizen High.
A bus was parked close to the gates, proudly displaying the school's emblem.
Surrounding it was a small group of about fourteen people.
The twelve members of the Kendo Club along with the President and Vice-president of the student council.
"Seriously, how many times are we going to keep going over this?"
Morgan slumped his shoulders, casting an exasperated look at the girl.
Time and again, she had tried to pull him into this.
But he already had his own plans.
Plans for the upcoming week.
That's to say,
If he also tagged along, supposedly to cheer for them, the student council would give him the leeway.
But next week was way too crucial for him to ignore.
While there would be other chances down the line.
Still, Morgan thought it was better to act sooner rather than later.
"But if we follow Sinclair-san's data, then it's a guaranteed win for Haruka-senpai, right?"
Before anyone could respond, a club member chimed in.
With that, all the club members nodded in agreement.
After all, to understand their upcoming competition,
Morgan had collected data from last year's tournament and used Beta to analyze the performance of every major team.
And he didn't stop there; he did the same for their own members.
Of course,
There was another reason behind it.
By consistently feeding data to the AI, it could enhance its processing model.
This would, in turn, improve its processing abilities for the Supernatural.
Regardless...
"Don't put too much faith in my data."
Morgan waved his hand dismissively.
As someone who had recently been diving into advanced topics in artificial intelligence...
He knew better than to depend solely on data. Variables are there for a reason.
But just as he mentioned that.
"Sinclair's right! Don't underestimate human potential!"
Haruka interjected, crossing her arms.
…ah, that's right.
She's the type that believed that pure grit could overcome anything.
Morgan mused with a smirk.
If only it were that simple.
"…Still, it's surprising that just days after transferring, you've already landed the role of Vice-President."
After observing their exchanges for a while, she finally chose to step in.
Student Council President.
Kirasaki Tsubaki.
With that, she paused, locking eyes with Morgan, who also locked eyes with her.
"What do you say? How about joining the Student Council?"
She said this with a graceful smile.
One that was a bit too graceful for his taste.
And sure enough, Haruka jumped in between them, arms spread wide as if to protect Morgan.
Along with,
Grrrr—
A low growl resembling that of a wild animal while also baring her teeth at her fellow student.
"Keep your eyes off him."
In response to that however, the Student President merely smiled back.
From their interactions,
Morgan could tell they were likely on good terms.
Maybe it's because they were in the same year?
But regardless of that,
Morgan sighed and reached out, giving Haruka's shoulder a gentle pat before shaking his head.
"Sorry. I'll have to turn down that offer."
That was way more work than he was looking for.
If he were truly a clueless guy who didn't know any better about the world, he might have considered it.
But not in this lifetime.
"I see, that's unfortunate, I was thinking of offering you the vice position."
With that, the black-haired girl continued when,
"K-Kaichou!?"
Her actual vice president, who was standing next to her, froze.
It was as if she'd been hit by an invisible arrow, staggering for a moment before shooting Morgan some serious death glares.
The guy, however, just blinked once.
Yeah, not tempting at all.
"Sorry, even if you offered me the president position, I'd still decline."
Once again, Morgan shook his head.
In the first place, this wasn't a merit-based school.
Naturally, there wouldn't be any real benefit to becoming the Student President other than adding it to one's resume.
In hindsight,
The national competition that Haruka was aiming for is both competitive and based on merit.
For example, if Haruka clinched first place for Raizen High and was named the Most Outstanding Individual.
…then she would get recognized for that.
This could lead to anything from a scholarship to acknowledgment of her family's dojo.
But…
Morgan thought that after a month, he had her figured out.
That one wasn't in it for the accolades or anything or the likes.
She simply wants to fight.
"I see. Well, I guess that didn't work."
Tsubaki smiled, letting out a gentle breath, shaking her head softly when,
"Heh! Of course it wouldn't. After all, Sinclair is the one who will take my place after graduation."
Haruka proudly puffed out her chest, raising her head with her nose pointing high.
But, Morgan mercilessly tore that dream down.
"No way."
He waved his hand in front of him with a perfect deadpanned expression on his face.
"...Hah!?"
Haruka turned to meet his gaze, letting out a shocked sound, clearly thrown off by his quick dismissal.
Of course, this wasn't unexpected,
But to her, it felt like confessing to a guy and getting turned down right after;
she just couldn't handle it.
"You should know by now. I find stuff like that really stressful. Even this position was kind of forced…"
"Geh!"
Plus, nobody actually wanted the position.
Still,
As he said that, Morgan looked over at the other club members,
who quickly turned away while making some innocent whistling sounds.
'Yeah, little bros, you're not fooling me.'
The reason they didn't escape—No, let's rephrase that.
…the reason they were still here was that they couldn't escape.
Getting away from Haruka or the Kendo Club after joining was nearly impossible.
One of them had even tried to hand in a resignation letter once.
Of course, right in front of him, with a big smile, she tore the letter up right in front of him.
"Kinomoto-san, do you have anything to say?"
Morgan smiled sweetly at the guy in question.
The poor guy froze, feeling a chill run down his spine.
With a nervous laugh, he rubbed the back of his head.
"I'll be counting on you next year, okay?"
The guy froze, letting out an 'eh?', but with Morgan's friendly smile, he knew better.
"What the heck are you saying? You can't do that!"
Even with Haruka protesting, Morgan had already signaled for the club members to start getting on the bus.
Naturally, none of them dared to disobey.
And with everyone climbing aboard, Haruka had no choice but to follow.
"Sinclair—hey! I'm not done with you yet!"
"If you don't get in now, you'll miss the competition, you know?"
"Gah! Fine! But we're finishing this conversation when we get back, okay!?"
Morgan thought about arguing but decided against it.
For now,
It was better to just comply and nod so they wouldn't drag this conversation out any longer than necessary.
He gave a simple nod and waved as she finally stepped onto the bus.
The doors closed with a soft hiss, and soon the bus started moving down the sloped hill.
And with that,
Morgan let out a quiet exhale.
With club activities on hold during their absence, he suddenly had a lot of free time.
"Alright then, Tsubaki-kaicho, I'm off now."
"That's right. See you next week, then."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, flashed a gentle smile, and pivoted on her heels, heading straight back to the gates.
"Grrrr—"
Of course, the vice-president couldn't resist shooting him some sharp glares before skipping over to Tsubaki.
'Well, well, what have I done this time?'
In the end…
After stepping away from the Student Council, Morgan quickly set off on his own.
He slid his hand into his pocket and took out his phone.
[ Beta ]
With the Artificial Intelligence integrated into the Animusphere, he had started working on a new version of it.
Naturally, there were security issues,
if he used Dr. Elric's original design as a foundation, the doctor would essentially have a backdoor.
This new version would take the place of the current one, altering its permissions as well.
… to put it simply,
[Beta] was almost finished.
Now, the only thing left to figure out was if it was possible to inject an AI directly into his own brain.
And that's why his first stop was here—
[Paradise]
'No matter how much I look at this…'
He stared at the faded plaque above the storefront, shut his eyes briefly, and said nothing more.
Instead, he slid the door open and stepped inside.
"Yo, old man. I'm here again."
"Ugh. Here comes trouble."
The harsh greeting came instantly, though at this point it was practically normal between them.
Morgan smirked faintly.
Now that he thought about it…
He'd never actually taken the time to study the countless herbs and jars lined around the shop.
Maybe that knowledge would prove useful one day.
With that idle thought, he dropped his bag to the floor.
2:33 P.M.
It was still afternoon and there was plenty of time left.
"Say, why did you come here today, I don't imagine it to be for nothing."
The doctor was behind the counter, seemingly jotting something down on his notes without glancing at Morgan.
Morgan did the same,
Without so much sparing a glance, while slipping the 'Animusphere' on,
"I thought I'd ask something."
"What is it?"
"...is it possible to inject an Artificial Intelligence directly into the Realizer, or my brain?"
The man's pen stopped mid-stroke.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then, almost to himself, he murmured,
"…I see. Parallel computation."
As a scientist, forming hypotheses, no matter how far-fetched, was second nature to them.
Especially for someone who had worked in this field with many dubious possibilities.
But as he followed that line of thinking, surprise spread across his face.
He reasoned it.
Wizards depended on machines to enhance the Realizer's computational power.
Right.
But what if.
Just what if a specialized Artificial Intelligence was injected directly into the Realizer from the very beginning?
"Have I gone senile, or what?"
The more he thought about the possibility, the more the frown on his face deepened.
In the end,
"Unfortunately, I don't know."
It sounded plausible, and honestly, having a separate mind for purely calculations sounded genius.
Therein lies the problem.
...the brain.
How would the brain perceive that additional consciousness?
And how would the Realizer interpret its computational reasoning?
"Until we have an answer to that, I suggest you steer clear of it."
Upon hearing those words, Morgan let out another sigh.
Just when he thinks he's figured it out, another hurdle pops up to block his path.
It was challenging.
But that made it all the more rewarding.
Flashforward to present.