1. Princess Laura Zelldorf.
In the game, she was a character with a moderate amount of weight. This was because Maximilian's wandering life had continued for a long time. The palace could no longer hide the disappearance of the first prince, and Laura received much attention.
To be honest, I didn't like the character.
Although she may be quicker on her feet than Maximilian, her personality is flawed. Although she doesn't have any particular flaws, Laura is a passive person who doesn't try to do anything with her own hands.
That's why Kim Lee-hyun's current appearance seemed somewhat unexpected.
"Are you driving yourself, Laura?"
"Isn't that strange? Driving is a basic skill for modern people, and it's no different for royalty."
"Just because you know how to do something doesn't mean you can do it all yourself."
Being passive doesn't mean that you order others around, but rather that you don't actively intervene in any incidents. Originally, he was a gentleman who was far from this kind of thing.
For example, as soon as we meet, we start guiding each other without saying anything.
"It's also a shame that you didn't bring any escorts when you were acting with outsiders."
"As the number of people involved increases, isn't there a greater risk of confidentiality being leaked?"
It means that he is not sharing Shiran's darkness with his close associates as much as possible. But he is guiding an outsider he is meeting for the first time, so does that mean he has great trust in Maximilian?
In the game, I mostly only saw him staying in the palace. So, from the perspective of a third party player, it seemed frustrating. I don't even know what was going on inside him.
"Representative Dustborne… is a long name. Can I call you Hyeon?"
"Do whatever you want. I don't really care about honorifics."
"Then, I would like to reconfirm what you revealed at the previous meeting."
The vehicle carrying the three left the palace.
Laura opened her mouth and turned the steering wheel deftly.
"After His Majesty passed away, a rift appeared. I felt a connection between these two phenomena. But you announced that the rift began before the terrorist attack. Is that correct?"
"In terms of timing, yes. I can't say for sure that Bastet was the first."
"Does that mean my perspective is wrong?"
From her calm tone, Kim Yi-hyeon was able to grasp several facts.
'Did you think of the Emperor as the cause of the rift?'
Laura did not seem to regard the Emperor's death as a 'regrettable tragedy'. It was understandable why Maximilian had introduced it. It seemed that Laura had been the one who had been digging up the Emperor's activities.
Perhaps he heard the truth about the terror from Maximilian. Or maybe he knew something from long ago. At least, unlike other Shirans, he didn't seem to have much hostility towards Lab.
'But I don't know how much you know.'
We don't know each other enough to be talking so carelessly.
"I guess it was a bit of a difficult topic."
Laura also turned away without approaching any further.
"I know you're my subordinate, but would it be okay if I asked you a question out of the blue?"
"I will answer you as sincerely as possible."
"What kind of person do I appear to you two?"
"Impression?"
She agreed that it was true and added an explanation.
"You must have traveled the world and met many different people. I suddenly became curious as to whether you have an excellent eye for reading people. I wonder what I look like in the eyes of others."
"…Well. In my opinion, it's calm yet bold?"
The professor seemed very awkward about answering. It was inevitable, since he was evaluating someone he had only just met. It was a question that he could only answer in a well-packaged way.
Meanwhile, Kim Yi-hyeon recalled the scene from the game. Maximilian led his followers back home and caused trouble in Shiran. Laura looked down on the city from the palace as if it was someone else's business.
"He may look indifferent, but he seems to be surprisingly fearful."
Words or actions that could be perceived as rude.
But the response that came back was bland.
"As expected, you have a keen eye for detail."
Laura smiled faintly.
"Then I believe you know very well that, even with Maximilian's assurances, it took no small amount of courage to decide to help you, who were under suspicion."
If there is a 'player' in Polaris right now, the closest thing to that would be Kim Yi-Hyun. However, there are countless living beings breathing in Polaris. Each has their own thoughts and beliefs.
Their own will, not the mechanical response of the program.
Everyone is fighting against destruction in their own way.
I ran a long way to get there.
A place that even Kim Yi-hyeon didn't know the exact location of. A research lab hidden near a quiet mining town. Just as in the script in his memory, the damp air touches his skin.
"It's inside here."
Laura nodded toward the inside of the passage. The lights and the sound of voices leaked out. Researchers dispatched by the imperial family. They held folders in their hands and discussed among themselves before bowing to Laura.
And further on, the interior came into view.
'Is that it?'
A huge machine that fills the field of vision. The overwhelming and strange feeling that the illustration cannot fully convey comes to the skin. The rust here and there looked like bloodstains.
There was writing in the center of the machine.
"Helena Fabiella. That seems to be the name of that machine. Most of the records have been erased, so we don't know much yet. If you have any insight, feel free to comment…?"
Laura looked at the professor and stopped explaining.
"Your complexion is pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
The professor did not respond to the worried voice. He just stared at Helena as if he had lost his mind. The glass shards embedded in her subconscious began to glow, causing dizzying hallucinations.
Kim Lee-Hyeon knew the truth about that machine.
'Helena Fabiella's spell.'
Helena has a spell that digitizes human consciousness.
The spell was embedded in a lump of iron along with Helena's own consciousness.
Damn it.
The professor, who had been standing still for a long time, began to approach the machine. When Kim I-hyeon asked for understanding, Laura nodded reluctantly with a frown.
The moment the professor stood in front of 'Helena Fabiella'.
― … … The authentication process is in progress.
A dry female voice flowed out.
― CASE―001, match rate 99.5124%.
―Approval of data access for preserved CASE―001.
― This data is being interpreted under the rights holder's authority.
The Emperor has given the order. The task of verbalizing the memories of the past professors is ridiculously large, and the stuffed Helena Fabiella has to process all the computations, so it is not yet finished.
"What the heck, this has never happened before…."
While Laura and the researchers are confused, the voices continue.
-Data can be viewed or extracted.
It's time to put the final piece together.
* * *
A closed area outside Harrenhal.
The battlefield was fierce, with the smell of gunpowder and blood mixed in. Chelsea looked through the scope and made a disgusted face. It was her fault for seeing the disgusting sight with her own eyes.
"Ugh. What is that?"
"What's wrong, Chelsea?"
"No, it's a bunch of maggots that have clumped together to form an egg."
The process of egg creation is widely known. Eggs are created by combining contaminated microorganisms born in highly polluted areas. Naturally, it takes a long time to complete.
But the crack shattered all previous common sense.
"How could it be so endless? Why do eggs just pop out like that?"
In less than 10 minutes, an egg the size of a person was created. It was like watching a video of a plant growing on a high-speed camera. It was a scene that made me feel disgusted rather than the mystery of life.
Fortunately, Dustborne didn't have to take charge of every little change.
Whoosh whoosh!
"Don't lose focus! Concentrate until you completely melt!"
Soldiers equipped with flamethrowers pour fire on the egg. And that wasn't all. A solid defensive line was built around the crack. It was perfectly controlled to prevent monsters from flooding in from the outside.
'I guess you could call it human power.'
There would be countries that responded with bombing. Even if they couldn't eliminate the cracks, they would be able to control the situation for a while after wiping out the monsters.
But these are all temporary measures.
"Damn. Is the Cellbrox Lab up yet?"
"I heard that a crack appeared near the capital of Flaoria. They must have gone there to deal with it."
"The capital? Oh, really. There's chaos everywhere."
The voices of soldiers resting in the rear can be heard. The most troublesome part of the crack was the contamination. Since the regular soldiers could not endure for long inside the defensive line, they had to be actively rotated.
No matter how careful you are, contaminated soldiers keep appearing. While supplies and manpower are quickly being consumed, the cracks are getting bigger and bigger. It was a tug-of-war where defeat was certain.
The more desperate the situation, the more her presence becomes a salvation.
-Toodoodoo!
The sound of helicopter rotors began to be heard in the distance.
- Chelsea, are you okay? Sorry for being late!
"I'm sorry. Everyone knows you're busy."
― Hahaha, just a little bit. But it's our role.
He's been a wonderful kid ever since I first saw him.
It's a bit awkward for someone with a twisted personality like Chelsea.
- That's right, I just got a call from Shiran yesterday.
"Oh my. Did you call for help too?"
- Oh, that's not it. I heard Mr. Hyun left.
"Huh? What is that guy going to do there?"
As always, he is someone who doesn't know where he will go.
But anyone who knows Kim Yi-hyun would never think he would run away. In his actions so far, except for a few mistakes, his actions have always been close to the best.
― And there is word that there will be a meeting soon.
"A summons? That means...."
― As always, you must have something planned.
Yeah, as always.
* * *
Shiran's soldiers watched the battle with astonished eyes.
No, it was more of a one-sided massacre than a battle. A human body no different from others. With a body that could easily break, he charged into the middle of a horde of monsters and piled up the corpses of his enemies.
- Pfft!
A parasite as big as a house is knocked down with a single blow through a hole. Sometimes with a pistol, sometimes with a shield as big as my body. I advance while skillfully handling heavy weapons and even spears and swords.
It seemed to embody the expression 'one-man army'.
'No matter how much I reduced the number in advance… … .'
The commander swallowed dryly. He had been extremely displeased with the man who had initially appeared as reinforcements. Rumors of Lab and Dustborn were extremely bad within the Empire.
That's why I only asked you to follow my orders, but what is the reality?
"There's no point in commanding."
Soon, a burst of blue light appeared. The polluted particles floating in the air disappeared without a trace. When the light subsided, the hole in the air had already been filled.
Leaving behind a land of silence, Kim I-Hyeon, drenched in blood, returned to the ranks.
"Thank you all for your hard work."
"...Thank you for your hard work."
"Yes. Can I come back first?"
The commander could only nod his head at the question asked in a tired voice.
After tidying up in the barracks, Kim Lee-hyun got into the vehicle. Feeling the comfortable cushion, he closed his eyes. Soon, the driver assigned by the palace started driving the car.
'I guess this is enough to repay you.'
This incident was the price that Kim Yi-hyeon paid for forcing Laura and Maximilian to do so. Shiran was also not free from the effects of the crack. He took care of it while he was at it.
After stopping by the palace to report the situation, I headed to the research lab.
It took quite some time just to move, but it was a procedure that had to be followed.
Researchers were still walking around the lab. About three weeks after my first visit. I exchanged greetings with familiar faces. Then, as I went inside, a small room appeared.
Inside the room, a beeping sound flowed at regular intervals like a metronome.
"How is the professor's condition?"
"It's the same. My brain waves keep going wild and I even have seizures whenever I try."
Laura glanced over at the bed. The professor was asleep on the bed. He had electrode pads stuck all over his head. He was dizzy with the EEG machine and the IV hose attached.
"I still find it hard to believe that consciousness can be digitized. It seems crazy. Is it really possible to cut out a person's memory and then reattach it?"
"Well, we'll have to wait and see the results. Didn't you say it was CASE-001?"
"…I see. I guess I have no choice but to wait."
"You don't have to stay by my side all the time."
"I know. But I also want to watch."
He jokes that perhaps being a scientist was actually his calling.
"When will you wake up?"
Kim Yi-hyun recalled today's date. April 7th. Exactly 20 days after the 'extraction' of data began. The period mentioned in the game was 20 days, 7 hours, and 12 minutes.
That means, if everything goes as planned, the work will be finished today.
About two hours had passed like that.
"It took a long time."
The professor regained consciousness.