Chapter 132
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 132
I became the married-in son-in-law of the Mulrizka family. As the husband of the next Family Head, it was a monumental leap in status.
Because of my lowly origins, there was no shortage of opposition within the Mulrizka family. But Katrin's position and will were absolute, so everything proceeded without a hitch.
I went all the way to Agatha's doorstep to deliver the wedding invitation in person. She probably didn't even know that Katrin and I had been seeing each other.
"Noel, I thought you weren't interested in women..."
Agatha stared at me blankly. When she opened the invitation, a hologram of Katrin and me floated up.
"I'm a man too. It's about time I settled down."
I said it calmly. Agatha scratched her messy hair.
"True. But it's a surprise. I had no idea you and the Captain were like that. Who confessed first?"
"I don't really know. It just sort of happened."
"You've really made it. Congratulations, Noel."
"Are you going to keep your guest standing at the door?"
I made to step inside. But Agatha kept her hand on the door and looked at me.
"...Ah, sorry. My boyfriend's coming over this evening."
"I thought you broke up recently? Already dating someone new?"
"Yeah."
Agatha nodded. I let go of the doorframe.
"Have a good time."
"You must be swamped with wedding preparations. Take care."
And with that, we parted.
I walked down the hallway toward the elevator. With every step, memories flashed by, as if I were traveling back through time.
Agatha.
She had been my companion from the very bottom all the way up to this point.
Memories of our childhood surfaced. When I stood watch, Agatha would climb over walls to steal. The other kids we ran with on the streets betrayed us without a second thought. But Agatha stayed by my side to the very end. We shared everything, down to the smallest scrap.
'Noel, we stabbed him together. If there's a sin, it belongs to both of us.'
We committed our first murder together too. We must have been about twelve. Gripping the hilt of the knife together, we plunged it into the chest of a terrified man.
We enlisted together as well. We protected each other no matter the circumstances. Even if our entire unit was wiped out, as long as Agatha and I survived, that was enough.
Swoosh.
Stepping into the elevator, I dragged my palms down my face.
My companion now is Katrin, not Agatha.
Memories are like books. You open them when you think of them, then you close them again. That's all.
What matters is the future. What we can choose and change is not the past, but what's ahead.
* * *
Katrin and I had a grand wedding waiting for us.
I went to see Katrin to discuss something, but instead I hid myself. Agatha was standing in front of Katrin's office.
"...Captain, please make sure Noel is happy!"
Agatha said, bowing deeply from the waist. Even Katrin looked flustered, trying to lift Agatha upright by the shoulders.
"That guy's done nothing but suffer his whole life. He doesn't trust people easily, so I figured he'd never even date anyone. For someone like him to decide to get married, he must really love you, Captain. Please take good care of Noel."
Agatha stayed firmly bowed.
"Thank you, Agatha. And I've taken care of what you asked for. They've had their eye on you for a while anyway. Said they were in need of an excellent field officer."
"Thank you."
Only then did Agatha straighten up.
"No, I should be the one apologizing. It feels like I've stolen your best friend."
"If it's you, Captain, it's fine. I like you just as much as I like Noel. Ah—you're not my Captain anymore. Katrin."
Agatha hesitated shyly, then pulled Katrin into a hug. Katrin smiled and returned the embrace.
I waited until Agatha had left before entering Katrin's office. Seated in her office chair, Katrin tilted her head slightly and looked at me.
"Is Agatha leaving the Mulrizka-Jager?"
"Mm. I guess she didn't tell you. Seeing how she came by in secret, I figured as much."
"Why did you allow it?"
My voice grew slightly heated. Katrin narrowed her eyes until her lashes nearly veiled her pupils.
"Because I felt bad for taking you away from Agatha."
"But the commanders of other units will just use Agatha as a tool. At best, they'll treat her like a sharp blade. Staying with the Mulrizka-Jager would be—"
"Noel, you separated from Agatha and stood on your own too. So you should let her stand on her own as well. That was a surprisingly thoughtless thing to say—not like you."
I was left speechless. I was the one who had abandoned being her companion first.
Two weeks later, we held our wedding, and I officially took the name Mulrizka.
* * *
Time inside the simulation passed quickly.
I shifted my senses outward to check the perceived time. About twenty minutes had likely passed in reality. Because it was such a vast simulation, there was a distinct sense of mental fatigue.
But I couldn't afford to waste time resting, so I focused once more.
This time, the identity index between Noel and me was incredibly low. Because of that, instead of experiencing Noel's perspective and inner thoughts firsthand, I watched the scenes play out like a video.
My viewpoint was currently moving freely. If I shifted it too quickly, the processing couldn't keep up, and the surroundings would turn pitch black.
The scenes outside of Noel's field of vision were nothing more than rough reconstructions generated by the simulation and the computer. After all, these were Noel's memories.
Whir, whir.
A metallic screech echoed.
On the training grounds of the Mulrizka-Jager unit, an early model of a Full-Armor Prosthetic was moving. I could tell at once whose brain was housed inside it.
Noel had transferred his brain into the Full-Armor Prosthetic. This was why the discrepancy in our identity index had grown so large.
Full-Armor Prosthetic.
Right now, Noel's psychological state and thought patterns had drifted far from anything human. He had become an existence closer to a machine than a man. His brain was functioning as nothing more than a component of the Full-Armor Prosthetic.
If one remained housed in a Full-Armor Prosthetic too long, they would permanently lose their human functions, one by one.
Clack, boom!
The Full-Armor Prosthetic hefted a heavy weapon in one hand and fired. The target was obliterated as if an artillery shell had dropped on it.
—Noel, can you hold up?
Katrin's voice came through the speaker.
—I'm fine for now. But it's best not to use this if we can help it. This is... a monster that devours humans.
—It'll get better as the technology advances. Some units have already deployed them in actual combat. The results were apparently mind-blowing.
—I don't know about the results, but I do know the user of a Full-Armor Prosthetic won't stay sane.
Noel spoke in a dry, mechanical voice.
—You're right. Even after just a few days of use, their mental state deteriorated worse than if they'd spent years on a battlefield. The physical brain damage was severe too.
—There's a reason we use humanoid prosthetics instead of shapes better suited to combat... The Full-Armor Prosthetic is a foolish concept.
Noel voiced his dim opinion of the Full-Armor Prosthetic.
—At least this one takes a human form. Since its efficiency has been proven, it'll develop in a direction that reduces the side effects. Say what you will, Noel—the Full-Armor Prosthetic is the future of Akresia.
Katrin was right about this. Even the brilliant Noel didn't always make the correct judgment or the accurate prediction.
Two centuries later, the Full-Armor Prosthetic would become the core branch of the Empire's military. And further still into the future, an era would come when every soldier used one.
The early Full-Armor Prosthetic that even Noel struggled to handle performed worse than the mass-produced Myrmidon of my era. It was a stark reminder of just how rapidly technology advanced.
Since Noel wasn't a scientist, it would have been hard for him to predict technological progress.
Akies Victima was not a superpower. It was merely extrapolating the future from the information and knowledge one already possessed.
Clack, clack.
A physiologically disturbing scene followed.
The Full-Armor Prosthetic entered the hangar. As its helmet opened, the Metal Box containing Noel's brain emerged.
A robotic arm transferred Noel's brain, carrying it toward his original Full-Body Prosthetic.
Click.
The back of the Full-Body Prosthetic's head swung wide open to receive the brain. Electrical signals jolted through it, and chemicals poured in to seamlessly bind the prosthetic and the brain together.
Thud!
Noel opened his eyes. And as the identity index spiked, my perspective was sucked in, overlapping with his.
"Cough, hack."
The moment I emerged from the glass tube, I doubled over, coughing violently. My brain, having adapted to the Full-Armor Prosthetic, found the Full-Body Prosthetic foreign.
Even normal breathing wouldn't come naturally. My parasympathetic nervous system was malfunctioning, forcing me to consciously focus on and regulate every single function.
Pupil constriction and dilation, heart rate and respiration, even my excretory organs—everything was malfunctioning. Humiliatingly, my lower body was soaked and damp. Damn it all.
"Haa, haa."
I steadied my breathing first. I had to calm my badly agitated nervous system.
"The scientists observing you are whispering that you're a monster. They say your brain's plasticity is abnormally high."
Katrin said as she approached. She took off her coat and wrapped it around my waist. Thanks to that, the mess of my lower body was hidden.
"The monster isn't me. It's that thing."
I gestured toward the Full-Armor Prosthetic with my eyes. Soon the door opened, and the research team walked in.
Squeak, eek, skritch.
Short aliens rushed in to service the Full-Armor Prosthetic. Standing a full head shorter than me, they looked almost cute in their own way.
Tarpa.
They were a race called the Tarpa. A pair of horns grew from their heads, and their skin was blue. They were small and physically frail. Even fully grown, they looked like human children.
Yet the Tarpa's scientific and technological prowess was far ahead of humanity's.
The first human nation to make contact with the Tarpa was Akresia, and thanks to that, they'd been able to absorb the Tarpa's superior technology.
Following Noel's thoughts, I mentally stepped back and pondered.
I've never once seen a Tarpa with my own eyes in my era.
The Empire persecuted alien species. Because of that, ordinary Imperial citizens rarely had any chance to see one.
The Tarpa, like the other alien species within the Empire, simply didn't show themselves—but they had to be out there somewhere.
Whirrrr.
Once again, my perspective merged with Noel's.
"Mr. Noel Mulrizka. I'd like to speak with you once you've recovered."
A female Tarpa addressed Noel. She was larger than the others, and her horns were longer.
"If it's just talk, we can do it now."
"You can call me Kel. My real name would probably be too difficult for you to pronounce."
Kel and I exchanged introductions. After the formalities, Kel got straight to the point.
"My team and I would like to offer our exclusive support to the Mulrizka family."
Not only me—Katrin, too, looked at Kel in surprise.
"Is it the Tarpa's Sixth Sense?"
Katrin murmured, as if she'd had an inkling. Kel slowly closed and opened her eyes, as though in thought, then spoke.
"Mr. Noel will likely become a great man. So I'd like to build a relationship with you."
Katrin crossed her arms and smiled.
"Hmm. A man chosen by the Tarpa's Sixth Sense... I certainly chose my groom well."
Kel's sixth sense proved right.
After that, I rose rapidly for ten years straight. As the son-in-law of the next Mulrizka Family Head, I overcame the barrier of social status. With the wings of the Mulrizka name, I was finally treated with the respect I deserved.
Ballistic Control, Adaptive 3D Maneuvering...
Several combat styles I designed were recognized for their practical value and incorporated into the Standard Combat Style manuals. As my reputation grew, other units began dispatching their officers to me for training.
My influence within the military expanded naturally, and eventually I took on the role of a non-standing military advisor, reaching far beyond just the Mulrizka-Jager.
Within the Mulrizka family, there was no longer anyone who questioned my origins.
Because I'd earned the military's recognition, Katrin was able to become Family Head far sooner than expected. Her father stepped down early—Katrin's influence was likely behind that decision.
"Everyone is looking up to you. Perhaps you won't just be a small light, but a great one."
Katrin said, hugging me from behind.
The bedroom was quiet, and beyond the window sprawled the city of jagged spires. The depths below were still dark. I stared down at them in silence. From here, I couldn't see anyone.
Were those submerged in that darkness looking up at me too? Could they even make me out from down there? Could I ever become their light?
I wanted to be their guide—proof that a person could crawl out of the gutter and choose a better life. If there were more people like me, then those at the top would eventually be forced to look down.
I closed my eyes. And before long, the opportunity arrived. An audience with His Majesty Cracia, the ruler of Akresia, had been scheduled.