Chapter 16

[Achievement Unlocked]

You had begun Part 1 of the main story.

Achievement Points: +1000

‘The start of the main story…’

As expected, my privilege seemed deeply tied to the original story’s flow.

Even for the sake of the privilege, I decided to maintain a strategy of following the original story as closely as possible.

‘The core of Part 1 was “comrades.”’

Iri Elisbell, Miyu, Silence, and so on.

The protagonist, Shade Wells, formed a team of fellow unaffiliated students—those not backed by any corporation—as his comrades.

In that process, each comrade conflicted with or wandered from the protagonist under different circumstances.

But through the protagonist’s actions, trust deepened and they gradually became true “comrades,” which was roughly the content of Part 1.

‘So I’d have to build their trust in place of the protagonist.’

Of course, as the chairman of the foundation, my position was completely different from the protagonist, who was just another academy student.

I couldn’t simply replace Shade Wells—the hands-on, ever‑active leader—so my own strategy had to be different.

However, I had already devised a concrete plan for that.

So what I needed to worry about right now was even more important than that…

‘Iri Elisbell! My Iri!’

The fact that Iri—undoubtedly the main heroine of the original, and one of my favorites—stood right before me felt far more significant.

What? My shop level went up?

So what about points?

What do I care.

That’s something I could check later!

Of all the moments for such an important royal audience, appearing to block my view—infuriating info‑window spawn.

I irritably banished the privilege information window from sight.

Then, I took a slow breath, closed my eyes.

To prevent myself from doing anything weird, ‘un‑Aaron‑like,’ out of excessive excitement.

After calming my heart, I slowly opened my eyes and asked.

“A… are you Iri Elisbell?”

“…But who are you?”

Her sharp violet eyes glared at me.

Within them lay immense wariness.

She looked like a wild animal encountering a stranger.

Silver hair reaching down to her waist.

Depending on the light, it could seem ashen.

It seemed to symbolize her past—fiercely surviving amid dust and grime.

I was struck with admiration.

‘This is… even more than I had imagined…’

She was beautiful.

Not a joke—truly.

The aesthetic standards of the cyberpunk world, New Valhalla City, sharply diverged from those of my original world.

To put it kindly: expressive individuality; to say it harshly: bizarre styles often defined the standard of beauty.

That was because here faces were just replaceable parts—you could change the skin like swapping components.

However.

Iri wasn’t wealthy enough to afford such surgeries.

In the original, she had spent all her money to implant only the minimal cyberware devices and nanorobots needed to function at the academy.

In other words.

‘…She’s an absurdly natural beauty.’

On the cover of the original “Cyber‑Module’s Necromancer,” the protagonist Shade Wells was featured, and no illustrations of the other supporting characters had ever been revealed.

Which I thought was such a shame.

But now that I saw her, it didn’t matter if such illustrations had existed—they couldn’t have done her justice.

‘Thinking back, she’s such a pitiful soul.’

If she had been born in my world, just her face alone could have made her a top‑tier celebrity, bringing both wealth and fame.

Well, in any case.

It was about time to pull myself together.

“Aaron Stingray.”

Stifling the overwhelming emotion, I calmly spoke my name as though it meant nothing.

Ah—of course I didn’t forget to photograph her face directly into my internal hard drive.

Click.

“A‑Aaron… St‑Stingray?!”

As expected.

At the sound of “Stingray,” Iri’s expression instantly froze.

The wariness that filled her face shifted to hostility in that moment.

“W‑why are you here…!?”

“Oi, you! ‘Why are you’! Don’t talk like that!”

A teacher, standing a little ways off, shouted angrily at Iri’s reaction.

“W‑watch your words! Do you even know who this person is?”

“I said I do! Why on earth is someone unrelated to me here!”

“Hey!”

Unable to contain herself, the teacher suddenly stood up, as if to slap Iri.

I snapped a terse word, irritated.

“You’re loud.”

I felt as if the air in the guidance room had frozen in an instant.

The teacher’s face turned utterly ashen, and Iri’s guard rose even higher.

Only Maria seemed unflustered, stepping forward to manage the situation.

“Teacher, would you please step outside for a moment?”

“Ah, um…!”

“It’s all right. We’re just going to speak with the student for a moment.”

“Ah, I understand.”

With Maria’s composed response, the teacher nodded repeatedly and hurriedly fled the guidance room.

Having offended one of the highest authorities in the city, her fear was understandable.

While I keenly felt the magnitude of the power I wielded, I also found it strangely fascinating how naturally I accepted these power dynamics.

Unfortunately, however, my words seemed to have made Iri even more wary.

She stared at me like a trapped wild animal, ready to bite at the slightest touch.

Of course, my concern was purely personal—I liked Iri—and yet this tense, highly charged atmosphere was exactly what served my plans best.

“Maria, bring it.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Without attempting to soothe Iri’s distrust, I gave Maria my instructions.

Maria promptly took out the items she had prepared and handed them to Iri.

Iri looked at them and asked again.

“…What is this?”

“It’s a contract.”

Maria answered in a calm voice on my behalf.

“The moment you sign here, Miss Elisbell, you will become an academy scholar sponsored by our Stingray Group.”

“Wh‑what, what?!”

“And according to academy regulations, if a scholarship student causes trouble within the academy, the sponsor may stand in and take the punishment on their behalf.”

“…!”

Iri was sharp—she seemed to grasp the situation instantly, despite the indirect phrasing.

“So… by writing my name on this contract, you’re saying you’ll erase today’s incident as if it never happened?”

Exactly.

This was a carte blanche.

At the academy, the consequences for wrongdoing vary depending on whether the student has corporate backing.

Even if expelled or charged, the sponsoring corporation could use its power and discretion to negotiate minimal, symbolic penalties.

“…”

Iri’s brows furrowed.

At first, she looked like she might be hesitant to decide—but I could read her true feelings.

Yes.

If this truly was the Iri I knew, the reaction she’d show here would be…

“…Is this how it normally is?”

Just as I expected, what she said next came out in a furious tone.

“Is this how you trap students—by exploiting their weaknesses and binding those without connections?”

Iri’s voice grew even louder.

“Ah, now I understand. You were all in cahoots with that damned guy from before!”

“Miss Elisbell, I fear there may be some misunderstanding…”

Maria tried to calm the upset Iri, but I stopped her instead—this was the outcome I intended to provoke.

“…My lord?”

“If you have something to say, then say it.”

“I don’t need to be told—I already am going to say it!”

Iri yelled out.

“Suddenly, Stingray people come and say they’ll sponsor me, sign a contract? There’s no way you didn’t know I came from the Fallen sector!”

I know Iri Elisbell well.

Her hatred for the Stingrays ran deep in her bones—any other reaction would have made me doubt whether she was truly herself.

“Now I see—this is exactly how my brother was treated by you! Of course, people as elevated and refined as yourselves would never remember a low‑ranking person who’s on their way out!”

And I knew the most effective line to steer this precisely toward my desired reaction.

“‘You mean Peter?’”

“…!”

Iri’s eyes shot wide.

“You… you remember that name? You? Then tell me—what happened to my brother…!”

“The conversation is drifting off topic.”

I deliberately redirected the subject back.

Iri’s expression crumpled instantly.

Unable to contain herself, she roared and lunged at me.

“TELL ME NOW!”

Iri’s head dropped suddenly, and a terrifying intent emanated from her left side.

She was aiming for my jaw.

A movement almost devoid of excess.

The clean swing of a kick suggested familiarity with fighting.

But then—

“Huh?”

Thunk.

I cleanly blocked Iri’s kick using just two fingers.

Her attack didn’t make me budge even a single millimeter. Instead, her leg rebounded off my fingers like it had hit a wall.

Only after the fact did the gust she stirred slightly ruffle my hair.

“H‑how―ahhrrgh!!”

Iri clutched the leg that had struck my fingers and rolled on the floor.

It probably felt like she’d kicked a wooden club with her shin.

My heart almost shattered at the sight of my favorite character in pain, but through gritted teeth, I recited the line I had prepared.

“Weak.”

“Wh‑what did you say?!”

“What exactly were you planning to do with just that?”

“…Sh‑shut up!!”

Iri got up again, preparing to fight.

But before she could, I thrust the contract in front of her face once more.

“This is a chance I’m giving you.”

“…!”

“Even if you’re from the Fallen sector, you’re not so stupid as to not understand the situation, are you, Iri Elisbell?”

At my words, Iri bit her lip and glared at me.

“You… What are you trying to do with me?”

“You’ll have to find the answer yourself.”

“…”

Yes, you need to find that answer on your own.

Part of me wanted to tell her everything right away—the means and methods to achieve her goals, and the truths she longed for.

But doing that wouldn’t help her grow. She’d just remain a reckless stray dog covered in ash.

That’s not the outcome I want.

“You’d better sign it. For the sake of your goal.”

“You…!”

She was about to say something, but lost her momentum and fell silent.

She was probably thinking furiously by now.

Eventually, she grabbed the contract and pen, frowning.

“…So what am I supposed to do?”

“Maria. Explain it properly.”

“Yes, my lord.”

I took a step back while Maria approached Iri and began explaining the contents of the contract.

Even after the explanation, Iri stared at the paper for a long time, poring over it to check for any trap clauses.

Then, deciding there was nothing wrong, she finally signed her name.

“There. I signed it properly. Okay?”

“No issues, my lord.”

Maria looked over the contract in my place and gave her report.

I nodded in response.

“Good. You may go.”

“Huh? R‑really?”

“What’s wrong?”

“N‑nothing. Just… it felt too anticlimactic. I figured there’d be some kind of ‘you’ve been tricked!’ moment after this or something…”

“Iri Elisbell.”

“…What?”

“You speak rather informally.”

“…Sir.”

Seriously.

Even after imagining all that, she still went ahead and signed her name and chose to confront it head‑on—so like her.

It made me feel strangely proud, but I made sure not to show it as I spoke to her.

“You’ll get a notification email by the end of today. Prepare to move to the special dormitory for scholarship students. That’s all.”

“R‑really, I can just leave?”

“Your words.”

“…Sir?”

“…”

Tacking on “sir” doesn’t automatically make it polite, young lady.

Instead of replying, I simply narrowed my brow a little. Only then did Iri hurriedly turn and dash out of the guidance room.

“I’m going to keep watching to see if you tricked me! And if you did, I won’t forgive you!”

Even as she left, she made sure to throw in one last line.

Once her footsteps had grown distant, Maria spoke up in concern.

“My apologies, my lord.”

“It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yes.”

Maria was apologizing because she hadn’t stopped Iri’s surprise attack earlier.

But that was only because I had already ordered her beforehand not to interfere no matter what happened. She hadn’t done anything wrong.

Of course, Maria knew that too and was only apologizing out of formality.

“But…”

Maria cautiously changed the topic.

“Did you perhaps already know Miss Elisbell before this?”

“Did it seem that way?”

“I’m not sure.”

Well, that was only natural to wonder.

Everything that had happened here between Iri and me—I had already told Maria ahead of time that “something like this will happen.”

“We didn’t talk much, but Miss Elisbell seemed to have a deep distrust of our group.”

“She certainly does.”

“And yet, my lord, you acted rather out of character.”

As Maria pointed out, the original Aaron would have acted differently than me.

The moment Iri showed suspicion, he likely would’ve tried to crush her thoroughly with power and authority. More importantly, given her Fallen background, he wouldn’t have even considered recruiting her.

“You’ve changed a little.”

“You’re being impertinent, Maria.”

“My apologies.”

From her tone, she likely meant it as a compliment. But I lightly scolded her and changed the subject.

“Anyway, now that things are settled, take care of the aftermath.”

“Do you mean Militech?”

“Yes.”

Millennium Technology.

The company that the boy Iri had punched belonged to.

Now that Iri had suddenly become affiliated with Stingray, there was a good chance Militech would view this incident as provocation.

They’d probably lodge some sort of complaint.

“Understood. I’ll also inform Young Master Benedict about this matter. But, my lord… are you truly okay with this?”

“…”

Maria’s concern was likely whether Iri Elisbell was worth the trouble.

Was she worth making things uncomfortable with Militech over?

She probably also worried whether someone who hated the Stingray Group so deeply could even function as their scholarship student.

I answered with confidence.

“There’s no need to worry.”

Even if she’s a little rough around the edges now—

“She’s also an absurd genius.”

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