014. Is She Your Daughter?
This is the second-level area, right?
How did Ritsuko Akagi get in here? Well... hasn't Shinji Ikari also been in the second-level area?
Privileges never disappear, no matter where you are.
No, wait!
None of that is the point! The real issue is what benefits this encounter could bring.
Um...
She's just a high school girl. Other than admiring her body, there doesn't seem to be much benefit.
A thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook his head to suppress this dangerous idea.
Only a few people know about SEELE's Human Instrumentality Project, and it seems this doesn't include the original character, meaning SEELE's protection level against me shouldn't be too high. In the future, there should be opportunities to leave the base and move around in the outside world. Even if I can't leave, by getting along well with Ritsuko Akagi, I could potentially connect with Kaji Ryoji, who is a future double agent.
If I leak the Human Instrumentality Project, then no matter how terrifying SEELE's power is, it won't be able to withstand the world's opposition.
Theoretically, as long as I keep my actions hidden, there shouldn't be too much danger.
However, he didn't have the confidence or courage to take this gamble.
This concerns my life, after all.
Moreover, if the plan succeeds, the future will become unpredictable, and whether humanity can defeat the Angels will become uncertain. Leaking the plan would surely lead humanity into internal conflict, with the EVA units being used in internal wars first, which could further decrease the global population. It could even mean that without the Angels' attacks, human civilization might come to an end...
Wait a minute!
I'm considering too few factors. Once the Human Instrumentality Project is made public, apart from a few lunatics and brainwashed zealots, the vast majority of people will resist it.
Even if SEELE doesn't collapse, its influence will at least be severely weakened.
That's probably how it would go, right?
After much hesitation, he still didn't have the courage to take this step.
Leaving in a hurry, Ritsuko Akagi realized when she arrived at the cafeteria that she hadn't brought her meal card. She was wondering whether to go back and get it or wait for her mother to arrive when she noticed a strange person staring at her. This person wasn't particularly handsome, nor exactly plain... No, the point isn't his looks! The point is why he's staring at me.
More mature women, when simply stared at like this without any other actions, wouldn't have much of a reaction. After all, having stepped into society, you encounter all kinds of people, and the more you experience, the more immune you become.
However, as a high school girl, Ritsuko Akagi hadn't had such experiences and was immediately flustered from being watched. She didn't know what to do until she saw her mother, Naoko Akagi, entering from the door.
Just as she was about to go over and seek support, she noticed her mother approaching that strange man.
"Dr. Fumihiko, why are you staring at my daughter like that? Is there something you need?"
Ikari Fumihiko felt awkward inside, but his face gave nothing away.
A deadpan face—
That's one of the benefits of his transmigration.
"So this is Dr. Akagi's daughter."
"What's going on?"
"I was just wondering why Dr. Akagi suddenly dyed her hair blonde, so I couldn't help but take a few more glances."
"Is that so..."
Naoko Akagi replied noncommittally, clearly not buying Fumihiko Ikari's excuse.
Without asking further, she got up and went over to her daughter.
"Mother..."
"This is Fumihiko Ikari, a PhD in bioengineering and the temporary team leader of Unit One."
"He's that Dr. Fumihiko?"
"Yes. From now on, avoid this person as much as possible."
"Okay."
After getting their meals, the two sat at a corner table.
"This man is somewhat dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
Ritsuko Akagi was surprised. Just from that brief eye contact, she only found the guy a bit dazed. Aside from that, he looked more like an ordinary person than an academic researcher. The only thing worth mentioning was that he was neatly dressed and didn't look as sloppy as the people around him. He also seemed more energetic than the others around him.
No matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem dangerous. But she knew that you can't judge a book by its cover.
"During the last meeting, because of a hypothesis he proposed, the discussion took a dangerous turn."
Fumihiko Ikari's concept of a compatible person led the discussion in the later part of the meeting toward the extremely dangerous directions of cloning and human modification. Although others were the ones talking about it and Fumihiko Ikari remained silent throughout, not objecting to such dangerous fields of research essentially means supporting them. Hence, Naoko Akagi considered Ikari a dangerous thinker.
She opposed these two dangerous research directions.
Of course, if it ever got to the point where it was absolutely necessary, she wouldn't firmly oppose it anymore.
"A dangerous direction?"
Ritsuko Akagi couldn't quite imagine what this dangerous direction specifically entailed, and Naoko Akagi didn't explain further.
"Just remember that this person is dangerous."
"Okay, I will stay away from him in the future."
Ikari Fumihiko shifted his gaze away from the mother-daughter pair talking in the distance.
That's enough!
Don't I know my own limits? I really don't have what it takes... okay? Enough—stop overthinking... isn't it better to live quietly?
What's wrong with my life right now?
Besides the long working hours, the pressure of pretending to be a PhD, and not seeing the sun for over a month, what else is there to complain about? Every aspect of life is well taken care of, the food is prepared by professional chefs, and I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want. If I need anything, it's basically just a matter of saying the word. And I don't have to face the dangers of the outside world's collapse in order.
And—
As long as I don't cause trouble and everything goes according to the original plot, there won't be any major changes in the future.
Just wait for the introverted kid to save the world.
Advising himself like this, he still felt a bit distracted. It wasn't until he burned his tongue with egg soup that he came back to his senses and focused on eating. After finishing his meal, he glanced around and noticed that the Akagi mother and daughter were nowhere to be seen. He then suppressed the rising stray thoughts in his heart, got up, left the dining table, and returned to the lab. After a moment of hesitation, he gave up on the idea of slacking off again and threw himself into his work.
He had already disappeared all morning, and disappearing again in the afternoon would be a bit much. It wouldn't feel right, either.
Alright—
I'm worried that it would affect tomorrow's slacking plan.
"How's it going? Do you know what to do now?"
"I contacted Dr. Ibuki earlier. As per her instructions, I split the program into five modules and assigned them to five people to code. Barring any accidents, it should be done by tomorrow afternoon."
By now, Ikari Fumihiko had pretty much figured out the ins and outs of his work.
"The timeline isn't that tight. Mechanical modifications still need some time, so if it's done by the day after tomorrow, it's fine."
"Got it."
Time passed slowly amidst the tedious work.
[Are you free for dinner?]
[Sorry... I have another surgery coming up. It'll take at least three hours to finish.]
[No problem, take care.]
[Mm—you too.]
It felt like their relationship had hit the brakes suddenly, which made Ikari Fumihiko a bit uncomfortable. But given the situation, there was nothing he could do but endure and accept it.
Having something is better than nothing.
After finishing dinner, he kept himself busy until 10 PM. As he was leaving the lab, he bumped into Gendo Ikari.