Choice 3 (Part 1 Finale)

Svetlana stared blankly at the purple barrier, exhaling a weary breath. "...What the hell just happened?" one of her secretaries asked in a daze beside her, but it was exactly what she wanted to know too. It had to be the young lady who summoned Alphabet.What on earth are you thinking, miss?

She turned her head toward the Erebus Core. The machine, already shattered beyond repair, had lost its function.

"Svetlana... are you there?" The chairman called out to her then.

"Did you call for me, Chairman?"

"Send your subordinates into Erebus to get Neige out. I think I know what that child's planning."

"What kind...?"

"No time to explain. But I'll say this much." The chairman spoke with a resolute expression. "I won't stand by and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watch you save me and sacrifice yourself alone."

"...Understood." Svetlana nodded to the secretaries around her, and soon they rushed to Erebus, opening the door. Inside the collapsed mechanical structure, Neige lay sprawled on the floor.

"How's her condition?"

"She's fine. Seems she took a brief shock when Erebus broke down."

As the words suggested, Neige slowly opened her eyes.

"Feeling better?"

"...Everyone's safe."

"Yeah, thanks to you." The chairman knelt to meet Neige's gaze. Everyone feigned surprise at the sight of the chairman doing such a thing.

"What were you planning to do?"

"About what?"

"ImmuneWire's database. Why is it all being deleted?"

At the chairman's words, everyone was shocked again and checked their own databases.

"It's real...?"

Neige smirked and said, "It has to be. That way, ImmuneWire becomes the victim."

"I see... So that was your plan." The chairman raised his hand and lightly slapped Neige's cheek. Stung by the sharp impact, Neige looked up at him with a dazed expression.

"Are you trying to do what I did?"

"..."

"I can't let that happen. Even if she's an adopted daughter taken in without love, she's still my daughter." The chairman took a couple of deep breaths before finally saying, "Tell me the plan."

Neige slowly looked around at the secretaries. As they wisely tried to step back, the chairman immediately said, "Neige and I have been researching AI."

Like thunder striking, everyone froze in shock.

"What? Think we broke the taboo and deserve death? Go ahead, if you have the guts to kill someone with Alphabet's cooperation."

The secretaries exchanged glances, gauging the mood.

"Still hesitating? These are the people you've served for years. Do you sense any malice from this child?"

"...No, Chairman."

"Then that's enough."

Neige simply watched the bold exchange unfold.

"So, what's the plan?" When the chairman asked again, Neige finally spoke.

"I was going to make ImmuneWire the victim and leave."

"...Leaving Alphabet in Erebus?"

"Yes, that way..."

"We can stop the war." The chairman finished before Neige could respond. "Sacrifice, right? You told me not to, but you'd do it yourself?"

"...I'm not dying."

"What else? Planning to mess with memories too?"

"..."

"...My god, it was real."

Neige gave an awkward smile as the chairman sighed and shook his head.

"I can't let that happen. I'll share some of your burden too."

"...Why? You don't have to."

"Because you saved me." The chairman uttered the heavy word "saved" and stood up. "Gather Alpha and Neige's friends. Tell the Holy Legion to clean up headquarters and arrest those damn rebels."

"Yes, Chairman!"

"Make it quick. We don't have much time to sort this out among insiders."

My friends were in the next room. The three secretaries who'd supported me until now, and even Alpha from the Holy Legion. It was surreal. I'd planned to just leave quietly.

As I watched the awkward gathering, the chairman and I talked separately in the adjacent room.

"...Those who choose sacrifice don't think to ask for help from those around them. They have to die alone."

"..."

"I think you've fallen into that dilemma. I know it well." The chairman stared into Neige's eyes intently. He knew sacrifice all too well. It was hard to argue against.

"But if there's a path that's comfortable for you and for us, would you accept it?"

"...Is there such a thing?"

"Then tell me your original plan properly."

I stared at the chairman's face for a long while before deciding to explain. After hearing everything, Chairman Cashian summarized lightly.

"ImmuneWire takes a big hit but survives, and you take all the blame and get forgotten? Even sorting our memories? Are you Jesus or something?"

"Uh... You and Svetlana were exceptions, Chairman."

The chairman rubbed his forehead. "What about your friends?"

"I was going to talk to them and decide."

"...And Alpha?"

"Store him and return him in the distant future—"

The chairman let out a deep sigh. "Didn't trust ImmuneWire that much? It's the company you've been with for over ten years."

"Being tangled with me is dangerous."

"Selfish altruism."

"Pardon?"

"Actions that seem for others but are actually selfish. Considering only your own heart." At that moment, the chairman gestured toward the opposite room. Turning my head, everyone looked shocked, staring at us.

"...Chairman, no way?"

"Yeah, they can hear this conversation too."

The people from the other room rushed over, then grabbed me and shouted all at once. Alpha started it.

"Lady Maria! Why won't you even give me a chance! This Alpha is so sad!"

He hugged my body with his brutish arms and cried. Hard to believe this was the general who'd just slaughtered Klaus's private soldiers.

Next was Clea. "...Neige, I actually knew."

"Huh?"

"That you were researching AI. We've shared a room for years. How could I not know? ...And you're an agent too."

"...Then the others too...?"

Clea nodded. "I told them."

"Why?"

"...It wasn't a problem at all."

I turned to look at the other friends' faces. They all said similar things, sharing Clea's thoughts.

"...I was curious why you had the chairman's favor."

Ayaka.

"Doesn't matter. He's just some guy from history books anyway."

Lorenzo.

"Neige's always been outstanding... I thought maybe I could research with you too... S-sorry..."

Even Saints. The generation that didn't know Alphabet's terror. The year that generation came of age, as the chairman said. 2177.

I turned to Alpha. "I don't doubt the judgment of the Messiah and Lady Maria."

"Ah." I was the fool for doubting their intentions.

Finally, I looked at the secretary office. Svetlana answered immediately.

"In this incident, what we need to focus on is the young lady's actions. Trying to shoulder everything and leave—that gave us infinite trust."

The secretaries all nodded in agreement.

"Besides, after serving you for years, doubting now would be ridiculous."

"Uh..."

I dazedly shifted my gaze to the empty air amid them. Then the chairman spoke in a voice mixed with laughter.

"Yes, the genius girl who surpassed me."

Lots of teasing in his tone. "How does it feel to be a fool?"

I bowed my head deeply. My face was probably red by now.

"Now you look like a lady. A sight I've never seen in my life."

'Stop the taxidermy.' The people around me teased. But for some reason, it just felt good. Yeah, these were the people. Everyone around me was like this.

"Now that we've confirmed each other's thoughts again, we can talk properly." The path the chairman mentioned—one comfortable for me and for others. What could it be?

"First, the premise. I can't stop you from leaving ImmuneWire."

As soon as the chairman finished, Svetlana added, "The Bitmancer who summoned Alphabet. The whole world will obsess over that existence."

"To stop the war as you want, it's unavoidable."

I nodded. Erasing my identity, my traces. Starting a new life was inevitable.

"I'm already prepared."

"Then let's align our stories from now on. First, Neige, you deceived me."

The chairman proposed creating a false scenario for this civil war. It mixed truth and lies seamlessly. Ambitious Klaus seduced me, the princess, into crossing the line into AI research. Once it progressed enough, Klaus warned that he could defeat the chairman. The Holy Legion and the chairman caught on and suppressed it, but Erebus collapsed in the process. Klaus was captured. But somehow, I, who'd touched AI, realized something and fled, vanishing.

Even more shocking: Alphabet had replaced Erebus. Finally, the chairman quashed the coup and returned to his throne.

Me crossing into AI research was true, Klaus trying to seduce me was true, the Holy Legion suppressing it was true. The rest was false. Blending truth and lies made a scenario with solid plausibility before and after. That was our story.

It considered me in many ways. All the blame went to Klaus, and my "realization" complicated my image. Dominating that image was Alphabet replacing Erebus. The fact that Alphabet not only heeded a mere Bitmancer and intervened in human society but directly replaced Erebus would shock the world.

I couldn't have written this scenario alone. It was possible because these people moved for me. My original plan was to take all blame for my acquaintances' safety. But those very acquaintances made me abandon my stubbornness. And that process didn't feel bad at all.

Just as AIs were designed to love humanity. Humans apparently weren't made to scatter.

"Once this false scenario settles in the world, we'll support you from the shadows."

"...Me?"

"Everyone here believes in the ideal world you envision."

As I cautiously scanned their gazes, they each showed agreement in their own way.

"Bring AI back to humanity's side." The dream I'd planned.

"After all you've done, you gonna throw it away now?" Yeah, I had no choice but to believe. With things like this, I couldn't shoulder the cross alone and run.

"...Will ImmuneWire be okay?" The chairman had to lead a battered company after the civil war and database loss. Threats to ImmuneWire without Erebus would be plentiful. And purging Klaus's faction on top. Everyone here would face harsh trials.

"Just lending a hand with the weight you'll bear." The chairman spoke leisurely, making my worry seem unfounded. "A megacorp doesn't crash from losing wings. Make great use of the people here."

Alpha would get more budget for legion maintenance, Svetlana would become next secretary-general. My friends would all get fast-tracked promotions by the chairman himself.

"They're all talented. No waste in positions. With them, the empire can rebuild."

And my job was simple: Adjust everyone's memories to the scenario—except these people. Precisely, Alphabet's job, not mine.

As we sorted out the details, Clea cautiously raised her hand.

"Um... how do we find Neige?"

A question that had to come. "If Neige really hides, we can't find her, right?" Hiding while only showing presence to ImmuneWire was nonsense. But I smiled. One method remained.

"...We'll make a signal shared only among us here."

These people won't have memories altered. So leave a key only we know in the memory data.

I wrote in the air with my finger. "A, N, V, Z."

"What does that mean?" Clea asked innocently, so I answered right away.

"Alphabet ('A'lphabet), Neige ('N'eige), and V and Z in my head."

A code meaning all your existences are safe.

"When it settles successfully, I'll send the code. Don't worry how you receive it. It's me, right?"

"...Ugh, so cheesy."

Clea shook her head, and we both looked at each other and laughed.

"I'd like to plan more details, but no time now." The chairman, watching us, spoke up. "Soon, annoying people from around the world will swarm."

"What about Klaus?"

"With such a huge incident, the world wants a sacrifice. ImmuneWire has to provide it."

Meaning Klaus. "He has to pay for ruining what could've been a happy ending if left alone. Hearings, deliberations, interrogations, investigations... Better off dead."

Saying that with a smile makes him look like trash. No, he's firmly on our side.

"Neige, such a shame. To think our time together ends here."

"...Time for final goodbyes, then."

I accepted the situation. I'm a lucky person. At least in this era, for meeting these people.

I cautiously extended my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand forward. Clea got it and placed hers on mine, and the others followed one by one.

"Even if we meet again someday, we'll be friends. And colleagues, allies."

The road ahead is long. But the path I've walked is long enough.

"When everything's done and my name becomes 'Neige' again, today will surely be a memory."

So keep going forward. Until I see the finish line I want.

"Ah, can't drag it out."

Everyone laughed at my words. Now it was time to part.

Only one person could see me off as I left. In the scenario, the fleeing me couldn't be seen with an escort. That one was Clea. Everyone agreed unanimously.

Sitting at the entrance of the stealth-painted hovercraft on her back, we shared final words.

"...Neige, here's the guidebook Svetlana-unnie and I made. Don't pretend to like ImmuneWire, okay? Bitmancers outside hate our company."

Like a nagging mom, Clea lectured.

"Above all, you're getting shadow support from us, so don't act like you have connections or it'll raise suspicions."

100 Rules for a Perfect Fugitive Life. If such a book existed, Clea wrote it.

"And Neige, your skills are too good, so be careful. Put limits on AIs. Got it? And also... And also..."

After talking at length, Clea suddenly said, "...Neige, how long do I have to one-sidedly love you?"

"..."

I already knew Clea's feelings. I'd kept postponing "let's get serious after everything," and now with me leaving, she'd have to wait more. Knowing she'd be disappointed, I repeated the same.

"After everything..."

"Yeah, figured."

Seeing her disappointed as expected, I mustered a bit more courage.

"And it's not one-sided."

"...Huh?"

After struggling to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠understand, Clea realized and blushed.

"Neige, you..."

I grabbed the back of her head and brought our foreheads close. Her jewel-like blue eyes were right there up close.

"After everything... like always, let's live in the same house."

"...And?"

"Watch fun movies, eat meals, go on dates..."

"...And?"

"Someday... sleep in the same bed."

"Yeah...!"

Clea smiled brightly. So pure it felt like childhood Clea was back.

"Time to go. Tell everyone who moved for me, thanks."

"...Yeah, I will. See you again for sure."

"Definitely."

I barely boarded the hovercraft, closed the door, leaned against it, stared blankly into space, and quietly murmured.

"Alphabet, it's all done. You saw everything, right?"

When I sat in the cockpit after sorting everything, tears slowly flowed for some reason. Strange. Tears that hadn't come through anything before. Why now...?

If you've decided, leave. If you've steeled yourself, be strong. Even scolding myself like that, I soon realized my true feelings. What pierced my heart wasn't a sharp blade, but a warm, soft longing.

I don't want to leave. I want to stay with my friends, the people I love. But it was too late to turn back. The hovercraft's engine ignited, familiar vibrations enveloping me. It flew toward Israel's distant desert. Now, I would be forgotten by this world.