Chapter 192

“I want to go to university! Please let me go to university!”

Ciel shouted with sparkling eyes.

But I couldn’t help but frown at her sudden and out-of-nowhere request.

“University? What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“Ugh……”

Ciel seemed to shrink back at my curt tone. I hadn’t meant to reject her — I was simply asking out of curiosity.

Now that it had been almost a year since I became Aaron Stingray, I was slowly realizing something.

Even when I didn’t mean to, I often made people — regardless of whether they were male or female — shrink back in front of me.

Perhaps it was a kind of innate charisma.

It was a bit embarrassing to say that myself, but there was clearly something about me that couldn’t be explained just with words. A while ago, I even had a conversation about it with Serena.

—Mr. Aaron, I don’t really worry about you much. Which is quite a relief for me.

—A relief?

—Because there aren’t many women who would covet you.

That was a shock.

To think I wasn’t popular with women.

Come to think of it, despite this SSS-grade face I had acquired, I could count on one hand the number of times I’d received a direct approach from the opposite sex.

The most forward one was Serena.

Next would probably be Iri.

Aside from those few instances — like during high-class parties or Serena’s university festival where I gained brief attention — there wasn’t much else worth mentioning.

In other words, I was surprisingly unpopular compared to my specs.

When I first came to this world, I had thought that with this “face,” I’d have fans following me wherever I went. But that hadn’t been the case at all.

—Mr. Aaron, it’s because you’re way too over-spec’d.

Serena had explained it that way.

Like a pie in the sky.

Or a tree too tall to climb.

Just as men sometimes give up on beautiful women, assuming, “She must already have a boyfriend,” women did the same thing.

A tall man with a sculpted face, the eldest son of the Stingray Group, chairman of the Foundation, and one of the most powerful individuals in all of New Valhalla City.

With that kind of résumé, “Aaron Stingray” was basically a cheat character — someone people didn’t even dare to approach. Some even assumed, in a sour-grape kind of way, “He must be a womanizer.”

—To match someone with your specs, she’d have to be at least on my level.

Listening to Serena boast so confidently, I thought to myself:

‘Yeah, Serena really is a weird woman.’

She could say things like that without a shred of embarrassment or hesitation. Objectively, she did have reason to be proud, but her level of narcissism was almost admirable.

…No, this wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

Maybe I was just tired — my mind was wandering all over the place.

I brushed off my idle thoughts and asked again.

“I’m not trying to scold you. I’m just curious. Don’t be afraid — answer me.”

“But… your expression right now, Mr. Aaron…”

“My expression?”

“It’s the same one you had when you cut off my head before…”

“……”

If anyone overheard that, they’d definitely misunderstand… though, come to think of it, that had actually happened.

Back in the early days of my transmigration, I’d been quite reckless. Probably because of the “Synchronization.”

“…I’m just tired, that’s all. There’s no particular reason.”

“Ah, yes, sir.”

With a slightly stiff posture, Ciel approached my desk and placed something on top of it. When I looked closer, I saw that they were university pamphlets.

Since I worked as the chairman of the Foundation, I could tell at a glance what she was getting at just from the names of the universities.

They all had “Information Security Departments.” In other words, schools where one could study “hacking.”

“I want to go to university too. I want to go beyond being just a ‘hacker’ and be officially recognized as a ‘Wizard.’ Studying alone like I am now isn’t enough!”

“You want to learn professional knowledge, then?”

“Yes!”

Ciel nodded vigorously.

That enthusiasm, at least, was commendable. Those who recognized their own shortcomings and strove to improve always shone brightly. But, regrettably, I had no choice but to give her this answer.

“That might be difficult.”

“W-why is that?”

“Because you’re an android.”

“Ah…”

At my words, Ciel looked visibly dejected.

Honestly, I hadn’t wanted to sound discriminatory toward her. If it were up to my feelings alone, I would’ve liked to support whatever she wanted to do.

But regardless of how I felt, the fact that she was an android — and a household-service model at that — was a significant obstacle.

“Getting you citizenship wouldn’t be hard. Sending you to university, either. But in that particular field… even for me, that would be difficult.”

“I figured as much…”

Unlike the original world, in this one, “hacking” was done by directly connecting one’s brain to a computer.

The moment Ciel logged in during a class, the fact that she was an android would be exposed immediately.

What would happen afterward was… well, obvious without even seeing it.

Ordinary citizens considered androids who had awakened their sense of self as nothing more than “malfunctioning robots.”

The students in the Special Class who treated Ciel like a normal person were the rare exceptions.

“And with your skill, aren’t you already around the ‘Magus’ level? It should be enough for self-defense.”

Among the top-tier hackers above regular ones — the Techno-Wizards — there were various ranks according to skill.

The highest rank was [Sage].

Below that came [Grand Mage], [Elder], [Magus], and [Wizard]. These weren’t official classifications but rather unofficial licenses issued within hacker communities.

And from what I could tell, even though it hadn’t been a full year since Ciel had begun learning hacking, she was already somewhere between [Magus] and [Wizard].

Not because she was extraordinarily talented herself, but because she was an android using an AI Core instead of a brain — and thanks to the various hacking tools I’d tailored for her from the start.

To put it bluntly, her performance was equipment-based.

Regardless, even if it was due to her equipment, Ciel’s current abilities were objectively not lacking in any way.

Wait a second.

Wizard, huh.

Come to think of it, Ciel was already a Wizard.

“Ciel.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have all your hacking tools equipped right now?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. Why?”

“Then that’s fine. Come with me.”

I quickly began putting on my coat.

Then, dragging along the bewildered Ciel, I headed for the parking garage. I had her board the aerial car and handed over the data I’d received from Vladimir.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s information about the secret laboratory where Benedict is hiding. I obtained it through a contract with Vladimir.”

“So you finally found it? I didn’t have much faith in him, but I guess I’ll have to change my opinion.”

Ciel murmured in admiration as she began examining the report I’d shared.

I had already told her the details behind the “Living Fireworks” incident during the recent festival. She was one of the few who knew about my plan — well, strictly speaking, one of the few robots.

While Ciel was reading the report, I fastened my seatbelt and gently pressed the accelerator. The aerial vehicle began to hover smoothly.

Then, as if she realized something strange, Ciel asked in a panicked voice,

“W-wait a minute. Where exactly are we going right now?”

“You already know.”

“I don’t! No, honestly, I might know, but I’m hoping I’m wrong!”

“You’re probably not.”

“N-no way…!”

Ciel screamed.

“You’re really taking me with you!?”

“Yes.”

“Why!?”

“It’ll be convenient to have a Wizard with me.”

“This place looks like a death trap no matter how you see it!”

Ciel was right.

According to the data Vladimir had provided, the secret laboratory where Benedict was hiding wasn’t just any ordinary facility.

Usually, the Stingray Group hid their secret laboratories deep within Production Colonies, operating covertly. But the one Benedict was in was closer to a fortress designed solely for scientific research.

Its location was carefully chosen to be invisible to the satellites owned by Rival Corporations, and it was presumed to produce most of its resources and materials independently.

The reason the report said “presumed” was because even the Militech Intelligence Division had no way of obtaining information about the fortress’s interior.

The report roughly stated:

—Confirmed deployment of high-tier [Mystic] defense turrets, missile interception systems, anti-magic energy shields, and optical camouflage panels. Due to high-sensitivity radar, even agents equipped with [Lv.4 Stealth Modules] could approach only within one kilometer.

…Or something like that.

“How are you even planning to break through that!?”

“Head-on assault.”

“That’s insane! You’re joking, right!?”

“I’m not.”

“N-nooo! Ciel wants to get off here!”

Sorry, but that wasn’t going to happen.

We were already on our way.

The aerial sports car was cruising 500 meters above ground at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Once we left the city, we’d go at least five times faster. Naturally, there wouldn’t be any rest stops where she could hop off and buy something like butter-grilled potatoes, so she wouldn’t have any chance to get off until we arrived.

Even a high-level Adaptee would risk death jumping off from that height and speed. In Ciel’s case — an android originally from a household-service model with some bio-parts installed — she’d almost certainly end up as a heap of scrap metal.

“Wh-why!? Why me!? You could easily hire plenty of other capable Wizards!”

“First, you’re the most trustworthy. Second, you just happened to be right in front of me.”

“That’s too much!”

I couldn’t take a Wizard from the Stingray Group — and hiring a freelancer would take both time and money, not to mention the lack of reliability.

Compared to that, Ciel might be somewhat inferior to the pros, but she was reliable. Once there, she’d have the chance to prove herself if I set up the right conditions.

When I explained that, Ciel burst into tears.

“Waaah! All I wanted was to go to college!”

Well, that’s true.

If she hadn’t come to see me, I probably wouldn’t have thought to bring her along either. The timing was strangely perfect.

“If this mission goes well, I’ll make sure to reward you. I’ll do everything I can to help you attend university.”

“I’ll just not go! I’ll never bring up college again! I won’t even dream of experiencing sweet and bitter campus life ever again!”

“I told you, it’s already too late.”

So that really was her true motive, huh.

Well, whatever.

No matter what Ciel said, I had no intention of letting her go. Honestly, she should at least earn her keep, shouldn’t she?

At my answer—

“Waaah—!”

Ciel cried out like someone who’d lost everything in the world.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep