READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 34
The only beings I can trust right now are Earth Buddy and James.
There aren’t many people around me.
First of all, in the orphanage, I’m treated like a problem child. I haven’t caused any trouble inside the orphanage, but I’ve often come back late without following the designated times.
From the teachers’ perspective, I must look like a delinquent who stays outside until midnight without anyone knowing what I’m up to.
The teachers try their best to discipline us and offer various consultations, but my behavior hasn’t improved at all, and they seem to have given up on me.
I wonder what changed in the orphanage after I disappeared.
Is Ji-hye doing well?
I’m unable to contact Ji-hye, one of the few people I know well, so my situation right now can be described as being in cahoots with people I can’t really trust.
Earth Buddy is somewhat okay.
We don’t know much about each other’s past, but aside from that, we get along pretty well. According to Earth Buddy, I’m the “friend who safely brings him home when drunk,” and to me, he’s just an “unremarkable guy.”
I can’t quite figure out why he helps me so much without any complaints.
Could it be because I’m a Magical Girl? Although, he has never looked at me the way he looks at Ha-yoon.
As for James…
If I had to choose the most untrustworthy person I’ve interacted with in my life, it would be James. At least with Earth Buddy, we don’t know much about each other, but James holds a ton of information about me while never sharing anything about himself.
The problem is, it’s impossible not to rely on James in this situation.
And the condition for that help? Revenge.
If I could, I’d like to take revenge too.
After all, there have been people I’d wanted to punch in the face in both this and my past life. However, every time I felt that way, I refrained from acting on it, knowing that responding like that would lead to major setbacks in social life.
Not just me, but everyone likely feels the same. Who in the world can live without putting up with anything?
Even though I’m a Magical Girl, I have no idea what would happen if I took revenge against those at the very top of this country while being chased by them.
“If you think about revenge that simply, that’s the conclusion you’ll reach.”
James spoke with an annoyingly casual tone, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.
“If going after someone who dealt me a blow and giving them the same in return is revenge, then it can be called that. Some people even consider beating or killing someone as the ultimate form of revenge. If it were a primitive age, that would have been a splendid method. It simply shows that the same fate can befall anyone who touches me.”
I gazed at James, who seemed intoxicated by his own words, unaware of my stare.
“But in modern society, that’s not an option. There’s something called public authority. If you think you can beat or kill someone for revenge, the police will be right behind you. And the government will enact ‘revenge’ on those who break the law for personal reasons.”
“So, what are you suggesting?”
“Naturally, you should use the very power you have right now as a means.”
“Isn’t that basically the same thing?”
Using my power means beating or killing someone, right? Sure, I’m not thinking of beating anyone, but I have no intention of killing either. Like other Magical Girls, I don’t want to become a murderer.
“It means you need to choose your targets carefully. For now, it seems that both the Galactic Federation and the Company are in chaos due to the plan, but I expect they will begin opposing each other again soon.”
James said this with an extraordinarily malicious expression while munching on sunflower seeds.
“I was thinking of passing on the most important being for upcoming research, but that being has now disappeared. The Galactic Federation can’t help but suspect betrayal from the Company, and the government has been framed as incompetent, unable to catch terrorists while trusting both entities. Moreover, they must be feared that your truth will be revealed to the world.”
“So, what you’re saying is that soon there will be chaos trying to pin all the blame on Logan?”
“Need I say it again? Initially, it’s not that tightly connected anyway. The government doesn’t want the Galactic Federation interfering too much. The Company has to finish the transfer of management as quietly as possible, so this issue needs to be resolved quickly. The Galactic Federation, for its part, needed to find another way out, given that the number of Magical Girls is overly restricted.”
I’ve heard there are Magical Girls or similar beings in other countries.
Of course, there aren’t many. In fact, I could say that South Korea has a comparatively large number.
That’s why it has been mentioned as an important region in webtoons.
“It was just a matter of a single time when various interests happened to align. There are idiots wanting to inherit the Company’s management, and the government likely used that idiot to create a foothold for intervening in the Company. The Galactic Federation sought another path in that process.”
Just once.
The unfolding of the story ahead depends on how they act, but in any case, they cooperated just once to create an opportunity favorable to themselves.
And the result? This mess.
If I were to say the root cause of this mess, then I would naturally be at the center of it.
I’m glad I ran away back then. Even if I hadn’t, my life would have been a gutter anyway. A slightly larger space to lie down in a gutter is still better than a cramped one.
“The conditions for the Company are too unfavorable, right?”
“The Company was probably only thinking of handing over a single technology. The technology that’s referred to as ‘Circuit’ itself is almost the same except for the emotional part… but a technology that ‘efficiently extracts a small amount of energy from an ordinary person’ is something else entirely.”
Maybe, since they hold key technologies or equipment from other areas, they think they can keep the Company safe as long as they don’t hand that part over to the Galactic Federation.
“However, in the long run…”
If you have the core technology, then applying it comes down to how much time and budget you have. Optimizing equipment and improving productivity can likely be solved by other companies given enough time. Of course, how much difficulty they’ll face in between is uncertain, though.
“There are people blinded by short-term gains who will throw long-term profits out the window. Or, he might not even know that what he considers ‘long-term profits’ is something completely different. He might be planning to run for office decades from now. Who knows how he’s going to tackle the issue of environmental destruction on Earth as a pawn in this game.”
“……”
“And like I mentioned, the two Circuits share too much in common. Conversely, if they invest time and budget into repeated failures, it would have eventually been possible for the Galactic Federation to produce a ‘Circuit’ too. The next chairman might have seen that. But even so, yes, as you said, that’s foolish.”
“Okay, let’s say their interests line up that way. But what about the government? They’ve been reaping benefits from the two conflicting sides, right?”
“Due to this incident, both the Galactic Federation and the Company will now have to watch the government’s reactions. The government’s prestige has taken a hit, but it won’t be enough to flip the nation upside down. It might change if the regime shifts.”
That’s true. It’s not like a war has broken out or anything.
“The failure to prevent the terrorist incident can be placed on the Company’s mismanagement, and the inability to capture you can be blamed on the lack of abilities of the Magical Girls.”
“What about when I got caught? It’s not like this was all based on assumptions, after all?”
“The Company is likely thinking of not handing over all technology for the time being, and if they start supplying equipment to the Galactic Federation using the facilities they’ve already imagined, it changes the story. First, as someone who knows all the ins and outs of the incidents, they will find a weakness, and second, as far as government regulations go, they manage the Company’s facilities under South Korean law quite strictly, even if they turn a blind eye to the Galactic Federation’s facilities.”
The Company can benefit from being outside the laws of the Galactic Federation because they are paying for the technology transfer to the Korean government in return.
So, all the facilities and equipment of the ‘Noir Corporation,’ which is listed as a ‘domestic company,’ conform to South Korean laws. They must be keen on surveillance since they need to receive technology for the products produced at the facilities.
In other words, supplying equipment to the Galactic Federation would be impossible without the permission of the South Korean government.
That means the status of ‘reaping benefits from the middle’ remains intact.
…Seriously, everyone is just faithful to their own desires.
“So now, for the last question.”
I looked down at James and said.
He seemed to flinch a bit, as he finally put down the sunflower seeds he had been munching on since earlier.
After all, the size of our bodies is completely different.
“So, why did you betray that Company? If selling technology was your goal, you had plenty of ways to stay alive, right?”
“Of course, it’s because I don’t want my technology to be used as a pawn in some power struggle.”
“Isn’t that a bit too idealistic?”
“It’s problematic to only use the technology that can make ideals real just for launching spaceships.”
…Launching spaceships is an incredibly pivotal technology, though.
“I want to reverse the entropy of the universe. The technology to create something from nothing or a method of producing more energy than consumed.”
“Is the universe really suffering from that much of an energy shortage?”
I don’t know for certain, but it seems the Galactic Federation already knows how to operate warships while minimizing environmental destruction.
“That’s a misconception.”
James stated confidently.
“We can go out into space and freely extract resources. In reality, we are continuously using the limited energy in space. The acceleration is getting faster and faster.”
“How much longer do we have?”
“Probably only a few billion years left. Research on how to go to another galaxy and extract energy hasn’t even started yet.”
With that staggering statement ringing in my ears, I sat for a moment, dazed, before opening my mouth again.
“Does that mean the lifespan of Squeaky Adults is several billion years?”
“They’re no different from humans.”
“Then isn’t it possible that neither the Galactic Federation nor anyone else could last until then?”
“That’s precisely why we’re trying to make it sustainable, you know?”
Now I understand why this guy couldn’t hold on in that company.
“Could it be that the chairman thought the same way?”
“It’s the founding philosophy of the company. Even when there isn’t a star left in the sky, to keep biological life going endlessly.”
So that’s where the ‘Noir’ comes from.
I can see why the chairman was excluded now.
“You think that’s absurd?”
“……”
I pondered for a moment.
“Regardless of how absurd it is, in the end, I have to cooperate with you, right?”
“If you want my technical skills, then yes.”
“……Well, I guess I have no choice.”
Well, at least if he talks as he did, it just means he’s a bit too much of an overzealous engineer.
I bet his climb to that position was all thanks to the chairman. He doesn’t seem to be cut out for political battles. After all, what kind of insane executive would give so much support to a mere combatant every time they went out to battle? Upgrades every single time, no less.
“Are you thinking something very rude right now?”
James asked that, but I just shrugged my shoulders in response.
It seems James isn’t that keen to have a lengthy chat with me, as our conversation ended there.
I picked up the comic book I had left in the Earth Buddy’s room and started reading it again, while James resumed eating the seeds and nuts he had been munching on.
By the way, he really does eat nuts just like a hamster.
Those people from that planet are lucky. They probably have fewer worries about housing prices and construction costs. Or maybe they breed so much that there’s no real difference from Earth.
I thought about various things, but in the end, the last thought that crossed my mind was just how I’m stuck in this situation, preventing me from concentrating on the comic book, forcing me to return it to the shelf.