Admin Privileges
"Lieutenant, what's wrong?" Bell whispered again in a low voice. But Adolf didn't respond. He kept his gaze quietly fixed on the central Aria sphere. Streams of information floating up like light reflected chaotically in his eyes, dancing wildly.
"Hey."
When Bell stepped up beside him and called out once more, Adolf finally snapped out of it and lowered his head.
"...Ah, yes, Captain."
"I called you twice."
Bell spoke curtly, and Adolf scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"Ah, sorry about that."
"We saw that thing in the science tech department last time, right?"
Bell said it casually, staring at him intently. Adolf's face showed a flicker of surprise at her words.
Does Captain Bell not see it? Or is she just used to it...?
Adolf just smiled and replied.
"Yeah, we did. I guess I just... got lost in it without thinking."
"It's kinda cool, isn't it? Makes you wonder if every government agency used to have one like that back in the day. Kinda makes me feel like a marvel myself."
"Is that so? Yeah, I bet most people today don't even know these exist."
Bell slowly turned her gaze to the Aria sphere. Countless streams of information and holograms flowed in rippling, spherical waves. It felt like a glowing white water balloon.
"Probably. We proxies can see it because that's what we are."
Bell felt a bit out of place right now. So much had changed in just a few years.
"A thing like that collecting and managing all the info. Just a water balloon."
As Bell voiced her pure impression, Adolf empathized with the childlike metaphor—yet at the same time, it made her seem even smaller, more endearing.
"That's cute. That metaphor you just used."
He knew she was the straightforward type, but this one hit him with a bit of embarrassment.
Bell flinched visibly, glanced around, and shot back in a hushed, urgent whisper.
"Shut... up... Don't say stuff like that."
"Ah, sorry. I'll only say it when we're alone from now on."
"No, no, that's not what I meant."
"Oh?"
"Sigh... Just watch yourself."
Bell sighed, rolled her eyes once, and continued.
"Let's go. No point staying now that Lieutenant Kseszbet's gone."
"Yes, understood."
Adolf nodded to her, and Bell started walking ahead. But when he didn't immediately fall in step beside her as expected, she turned—and saw him sidelong-glancing at the Aria sphere while following.
His eyes still lingered on it, so Bell recalled how he'd once conversed silently with Aria. She paused and asked.
"You talking to it like last time?"
"No, nothing like that."
Adolf shook his head. It was true. He wasn't asking Aria anything, so it wasn't answering. But the difference was this: the moment he'd entered the Intelligence Analysis Department and stopped, the Aria sphere had detected him and instantly popped up holographic windows around him automatically.
To him, he was surrounded by multiple holographic windows right now. But Bell acted like she saw nothing. No one else around reacted with surprise or interest either.
Adolf was certain the moving holograms beside him were visible only to him. Like windows opening just for him, dozens layered over one another, enveloping him. It felt almost like a whisper: Welcome.
But seeing Bell's usual round eyes, he decided to treat the wonder as no big deal. No point telling her about things she couldn't see—it'd just make him seem weird. He already felt like he was learning so much from her as it was. Just now, too. No need to mention this. It was probably just some minor manifestation ability, like that silent chat with Lumen Guard's Aria in the conference room last time.
Finishing his thoughts, Adolf said warmly to Bell.
"I was just curious, that's all."
Bell met his eyes, trying to read his expression, but he smiled softly and looked away—as if eye contact would make him unable to lie.
"Whatever... fine."
Bell replied curtly and resumed walking.
By now, darkness had fallen outside the windows. After leaving the analysis room and settling back into the central chairs at the Rain Code Management Bureau, Lucia and Kelun returned from their investigations.
Lucia spotted Bell and trotted over happily, plopping down beside her. Kelun sat next to Adolf and spoke up.
"No unusual activity from the regular army. The strategic planning department was cooperative—no issues verifying. No orders issued to the regular army."
Lucia chimed in.
"There was an order to recover all the drones for the investigation."
"They called back the drones, huh."
Bell crossed her arms, murmuring shortly.
"Did you catch whose order?"
"Lin Kseszbet!"
"Lieutenant Kseszbet. So that's what she did right after leaving."
As Bell saw it, Kseszbet had greeted Adolf and left like she'd suddenly remembered something urgent. Then recalled all the drones—maybe just spite toward Kyle Walker. And since Walker hadn't redeployed them afterward, his drone purpose must've been fulfilled.
Was Kyle Walker simply looking for Freigel Shtafenberk?
What are they hiding...?
But she didn't want to dwell on it now. The day had been too long; the sun had already dipped behind the barrier. Quiet seeped into the halls, and she said wearily.
"That's it for today. Everyone, rest up. Lieutenant, we've gotta head to the church early tomorrow. See you at dawn."
Adolf nodded eagerly at her words. Bell ruffled Lucia's hair once, then stood.
Rain Code nights were quite chilly. Bell tapped the wall to summon a small hologram window, then closed it. Back in her room, she was drafting a formal report to Brigadier General Jack William of Lumen Guard.
She was the head of the combat response unit, after all—formalities demanded a report on the investigation. As holograms flickered up repeatedly, she filled them out and covered the desk panel. With a hum, they vanished instantly.
Orphanage, Lucia, Luminot, Lin Kseszbet, Freigel Shtafenberk. All the threads tangled together. But they were connected, for sure. She'd thought it was just escorting Freigel Shtafenberk, but somehow she'd gotten pulled into the incident. Her head throbbed.
Now that she was in, she wanted to see it through. Especially since Lucia was tangled up in it—she had to grasp everything precisely to keep her safe.
But the clues wouldn't come to hand. What would the high priest say at tomorrow's mass?
"I'm no good at studying."
Bell muttered and flopped onto the bed. The ceiling was dark, her head heavy. Still, she sighed in relief at the soft mattress.
Suddenly, she thought of her weapon in the Rain Code armory. That massive sniper rifle. With no telling what might happen at mass, she should bring it—but even she knew it was ridiculously big.
...Not something to carry in front of people.
She could switch to rifle mode, but the sheer size would intimidate anyone. Then she recalled Adolf's weapon.
A sword. Weird how people don't freak out seeing someone walk around with a sword in this world. The uniform? Makes him look like a guardsman?
Bell found it amusing and strange. To her, who'd seen him slice shells and bisect steel Dists, it was plenty threatening.
She chuckled and pulled up the covers. For some reason, his speech, his gaze, his movements lingered in her mind.
Really... such a weird guy.
With Adolf there, a revolver would suffice, she thought—and promptly fell asleep.
Adolf couldn't sleep. He'd tossed off only his uniform jacket, still in his dress shirt, lying awake on the bed. His body was exhausted, but his mind kept replaying the earlier scene.
The holographic windows visible only to him. Fluorescent lines of text and metrics, the flashing ARIA name. It was no ordinary interface, by any measure. Not like querying Lumen Guard's Aria for answers. This felt like it could reveal everything.
And the fact that it was only for him... intoxicatingly alluring.
Finally, he opened the door and stepped out. The corridor was silent, devoid of people; even the faint drone hum from earlier measures had long ceased.
In that quiet, his destination clarified with each step. He naturally headed for the Intelligence Analysis Department.
The Aria sphere...
He'd first seen it in Lumen Guard's science tech department—passing by the center while training Kelun and Lucia. Even using mid-level Aria back then, he'd seen it as mere admin tool and data processor. Not like now, with this pull.
But Rain Code's Aria had reacted to him before he even asked. Curiosity sparked, sure. Like a fairy tale.
Silly to think of Aria—the AI running barriers for convenience—not as code, but some bodiless entity. Shapeless, omnipresent, speaking to anyone. Like... a ghost. No, closer to a god.
"Captain would've laughed if I told her..."
Adolf snorted. Upon reaching the department, contrary to expectations, a few staff remained. Some on shift rotation, others quietly analyzing at monitors.
Heads turned subtly toward the sudden arrival. They recognized him as one of the proxies who'd visited today. The department had its pride—collecting, managing, acting in shadows.
Yet they didn't stop him outright, thanks to his Lumen Guard proxy status. Barrier commander Innocent Remar's direct order: "Cooperate fully with Lumen Guard dispatch."
Still, some eyed him warily, discomfort plain.
"What brings you here?"
An officer asked cautiously, tension in his voice. Adolf slowly turned and pointed to the Aria sphere. Its silvery surface rippled like waves.
"That thing. It's so cool, I couldn't sleep."
Silence fell briefly. The officer looked flustered, then chuckled.
"...Go ahead and look. It's a sight."
Doubt lingered in his tone, but sensing no hostility like Kyle Walker's, a slight gap opened.
Adolf thanked him and slowly scanned the room. No Lin Kseszbet. Data windows rippled over terminals; the sphere rotated slowly above.
He approached. White light enveloped it, holograms swirling. Like gentle ripples on oily water.
Data in complex numbers, graphs, languages formed a panorama—like blueprints or starry constellations. Sacred.
Adolf thought the word. Some might fear it, but not him now. The thrill of nearing a secret. Amid the crowded room, this moment felt like he alone reached for truth.
His heart beat quietly, strongly. He stepped closer. Light from the sphere touched his hand, and dozens of holographic windows bloomed like pouring rain. His vision filled with transparent sheets cascading everywhere.
The layered data panes and shapes sharpened in his eyes. The oddity hit there: no one around noticed, focused on their own screens. Like a secret play permitted only to him.
Adolf glanced carefully at the officer. His expression unchanged, as if this radiant holographic world didn't exist.
...Why can't anyone else see it?
He unwittingly asked Aria. Instantly, with several windows, a woman's voice whispered into his mind.
Adolf felt a thrill of excitement.
How can you talk to me?
Why...?
Adolf asked inwardly, lips unmoving. Cautiously.
Why only me?
Then the windows around the sphere halted. In the central hologram, crisp text formed.
It wasn't speech, video, or audio. Just heavy block letters.
You have accessed with administrator privileges.
Adolf felt his heart race.
"...Administrator?"
He murmured unwittingly, then quickly scanned around. The wary glances had vanished. To others, he was just a young proxy curiously eyeing the Aria sphere.
He realized it then. This Aria was utterly different from Lumen Guard's. That one was a systematic info AI—reacting to queries, following algorithms precisely.
But here, in Rain Code's Intelligence Analysis Department, it felt beyond boundaries. Not waiting for questions, but approaching on its own. No longer a system—something unknowable.
His fingertips trembled. Sticky tension wrapped his body.
Then another window opened. A single blazing line.
Adolf Mandel. Inherited Administrator.
He gasped. Too eerie to dismiss as mere manifestation ability.