The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 337 Boss Quan (18) - The Fragment That Dreams By nature, a narrative is a matter of interpretation. A criminal who greedily devoured a fragment of a Special-grade Anomaly and abused it for personal gain. A victim who, threatened and coerced by a wicked villain, had no choice but to be exploited. By setting up Quan as a public enemy, the two of them's scheme to turn Qiana from a 'criminal' into a 'victim' was wildly successful. "You trash of a man. If you have even a shred of conscience, release Miss Qiana at once and apologize!!" "Hmm? Hey, is it really alright to talk that way to a 'collaborator'? More than that, I don't see why some outsider gets to tell me what to do with my own employee." "You bastard…!!" "It's alright! I'm fine, so…." Well, roughly speaking, every time an exchange like this took place, hostility and fury toward Quan boiled over, while sympathy and goodwill toward Qiana grew in turn. Ordinarily, people feel far more infuriated by someone who's nominally an ally and thus untouchable than by an openly declared enemy on the opposing side — and Quan had struck precisely at that nerve. As they say, a scam carried out with full determination cannot be avoided even by a highly learned intellectual. As they say, no matter how much people repeat 'beware of beautiful women' until their mouths are worn out, the world is still full of men who ruin their lives over a beautiful woman. Much less when a beautiful-woman-plus-con-artist takes up the victim position against a 'public enemy' — this was practically a cheat code. Of course, as is true of any organization in the world, opinion within the Management Bureau toward Qiana was not entirely one-sided either. "Everyone, get a grip!! Whether or not there was a contract, it doesn't change the fact that she privatized the fragment on her own. It's also clear that during the last evil spirit incident, they smuggled a fragment away behind the Bureau's back. And besides, this whole story about being coerced into having no choice is nothing but a one-sided testimony, isn't it? Even with a lie detector, she could have cunningly dressed up her words, or even tampered with her own memories!" (E/N: Bullshit! Qiana said nothing but the truth!) It was, without question, a genuinely correct insight. A level of brilliance sharp enough that, upon hearing about it later, Quan and Qiana themselves would go "ooh" in admiration. But rest assured, people are not the kind of creatures who easily overturn something they've already decided is right. (E/N: Yeaaaah!) This is especially true when it's a matter of emotion rather than logic. "Enough!! The Management Bureau's true duty is, by nature, to help the innocent and protect the world — how can you doubt someone before even trying to save her!!" "Hear, hear!! You there, apologize to Miss Qiana at once!! How dare you persecute such a pitiable young lady!!" "No, seriously, have you all lost your minds!?" Unfortunately for the opposing faction, the strength of the pro-Qiana faction never once weakened. "Demonic Monk White Bone Zen Master located! He was truly hiding at the exact location the outside collaborator pointed to!! Subdued, and fragment recovery successful!!" "Pseudo-religious cult Azure Sea Sect exposed! Just as Miss Qiana said, hundreds of its members really were carrying powdered fragments inside their bodies! Extraction surgery is currently underway on every single member!" "Other previously undiscovered dormant fragments are also being recovered one after another! Recovery rate is closing in on 80%!!" "There, see!! Thanks to Miss Qiana's cooperation, things are going this well!!" "……." No, that was just part of the contract terms to begin with! She was simply doing the job she was paid for — did she really have to be thanked for it on top of that? Such a logical and legitimate objection didn't land at all. After all, it was also a fact that the fragment recovery work the Bureau had been slowly carrying out over decades was now proceeding at breakneck speed, as if someone had used a fast-forward skill. That didn't mean the opposing faction suddenly did an about-face and started praising Qiana, but at the very least, they could no longer openly doubt or interrogate her. And for Qiana, that alone was enough. Being loved by absolutely everyone was a delusion among delusions to begin with — something utterly impossible without, say, a hypnosis app. What she needed was simply favorable opinion from more than half — and that alone was enough for Qiana to obtain all the information she wanted. In her mind, Qiana unfurled an imaginary map. A map with a grid like a Go board laid over an ordinary map, numbered by section so each zone could be distinguished. 'G12 through G14, all clear. Entire X line excluded. Only X7 remains pending judgment.' As if filling in a bingo board, or as if playing a game of territory-grabbing, she marked in black each 「zone confirmed to have no sealed fragment」. Qiana's goal was to pretend to cooperate with the Bureau while intercepting the fragments they recovered. But once a fragment entered a sealed state, Qiana could no longer detect it, and the moment she openly asked its location, no matter how favorably disposed the agents were toward her, it was all too obvious they'd turn suspicious eyes on her again. So she did the opposite. Using questions like 'Where's the cafeteria?' or 'Where's the department you work in located?', she marked on the map the places that were certainly free of fragments, and excluded them from the candidate list. By excluding and excluding like that, whatever place remained un-excluded to the very end would be where the Bureau had sealed away its fragments — simple logic. Of course, even this was no easy task. To begin with, the 'complete layout of the Bureau' was itself a secret of extremely high security clearance, and no matter how trivial each individual question seemed, asking too openly and too often about landmarks or internal structure was bound to give her away eventually. So Qiana employed a bit more finesse. So that the person in question wouldn't even realize they had revealed anything about the internal structure. For example, something like this. ─During night patrol, moon-watching is one of the small pleasures. It's quite a sight, the way it rises between the mountain peaks. ─Ah, last time the restroom next to my post broke down, it was truly hell. To reach another restroom, even the closest one, you have to turn three corners down the hallway. ─By the way, about the training next week. We're going to be using the entire second basement floor on the west side of the main building, and there's more than one or two people who say they get chills every time they pass through there — shouldn't we actually look into it further? I heard it was confirmed there are no anomalies, but it still feels awfully unsettling. The remark that 'moon-watching is possible' meant that the post in question was located above ground, or on the outer perimeter with large open windows. The complaint about having to 'turn three corners down the hallway' proved the rough distance between the two areas and the structure of the passage. The story about 'emptying or filling an entire specific basement zone during the training period' became an indicator that laid bare the usual security level and personnel density of that zone. Qiana didn't even need to directly ask and listen for anything herself. Simply eavesdropping, with hearing that transcended human limits, on agents chatting among themselves inside the Bureau was enough — all of it became information. The work proceeded smoothly, and the map in her mind was now filling up to the point where it was hard to find any blank white space left. But why was it, she wondered. Qiana's mood wasn't simply elated. "Thank you for your hard work today as well, Miss Qiana." "Oh, not at all — I only tell you the locations. The actual recovery is thanks to the strength of everyone at the Bureau." "No, that's not true." At Qiana's modesty, Philip — the Bureau agent who had become something like her dedicated handler — shook his head firmly. "That, just 'identifying the location' alone, saves the Bureau an enormous amount of manpower, resources, and above all, time. We no longer need to be jerked around by false information or come up empty-handed." The Management Bureau was strong. But those the Bureau needed to save and protect were scattered across the entire world. "Once agents are wrongly dispatched and come back empty-handed, it doesn't just end with those agents being tired and worn out. In that same span of time, somewhere, someone is dying to an anomaly, and by however much funding is wasted, that much less support funding remains to save people's lives." All of that waste and bloodshed had vanished thanks to Qiana, Philip said. "It might sound like self-praise, but the reason the world is still intact right now is because the Bureau is putting in the effort." No matter how many anomalies were destroyed, more kept appearing. To begin with, they drew their origin from people's fears and negative imaginings, so they could never be wiped out entirely. And among humans, too, some kept popping up transformed into anomalies. Conversely, there was no end to the anomalies hiding within human society, pretending to be human while doing harm. Endless reinforcements needed, endless threats, a stalemate with no fundamental solution in sight. "That's why Miss Qiana's contributions, the work of recovering 'Queen's' fragments, are so important. If we investigate and study Queen, who can be called the pinnacle of every anomaly currently in existence, we might be able to eliminate anomalies themselves at the root." To Qiana's ears, Philip's words sounded perfectly justified and logical. So she asked. "Do anomalies really have to be eliminated? Aren't there any anomalies that coexist with people?" Philip answered. "There are probably anomalies that 'pretend' to coexist. Both from the records of the old Anomaly Slayer and from the various cases the Bureau has experienced since, it seems that even an anomaly that appears to help humans in the short term always ends up taking back more than it gave, in the end. It means that associating with them is, in itself, harmful." There was no particular hostility or anger to be felt in Philip's voice. A tone as though he were merely stating the most obvious common sense. Precisely because of that, Qiana realized something. That probably everyone in the Bureau felt this way just as much, if not more. If even a person of such deeply just character, one who harbored no particular personal hatred or vengeful fire, felt this way, then how much more so everyone else. Qiana smiled gently and praised the other's erudition. Being skilled at acting, hiding her expression was no difficulty for her. Recovery of Queen's fragments. 95%. Qiana completed the map in her mind. *** "You look like your conscience is really bothering you." The day of the 'Fragment Smuggling Operation.' At Quan's remark from beside her, Qiana puffed out her cheeks and scrunched up her eyes. "What are you talking about. Did you really have to jinx it right at the start of the operation like that?" "It's precisely because it's the start that I'm saying it now. Once things properly get going, there won't be any chance to back out." To back out. Hearing those words, Qiana's back trembled for a moment. But she soon let out a sulky "hmph." "There's nothing to worry about, so don't fret. You're the one who'd better stall well, boss." "Right. I'll do my best, for the sake of a future where I keep sucking my capable employee dry to the bone." "I wonder if there's any less motivating cheer-on in the whole world…." Even as she spoke words bordering on mockery, Qiana's mood wasn't all that bad. The Bureau agents were good people, and the respect and goodwill they showed toward Qiana were genuine — but that was directed at the 'human' Qiana. Honestly, it was more comfortable to be openly mocked, sneered at, and used, the way Quan did. Perhaps because they'd started off with their shoulders relaxed, the operation that followed also went smoothly. The security systems were breached smoothly using methods prepared in advance, and subduing the guards they ran into along the way went off without a hitch too. "…Boss. This is a bit much." Qiana felt a sense of unease. Of course, it was true that the two of them had done a great deal of preparation up to this point. They'd prepared every conceivable means to raise their chances of success as much as possible, too. But still, this was the Management Bureau. And they were pushing all the way into its innermost depths — going this smoothly? At this rate, it was almost as if─ "─Shh, let's just keep going for now. There's no backing out anyway." In contrast to Qiana, Quan's demeanor was comparatively relaxed. Qiana stared at him, dumbfounded, before soon moving forward with her steps as if there was nothing else to be done. And at last, they reached the innermost depths. As the thick bulkhead slid open to either side with a mechanical sound, revealing the scene beyond, Qiana drew in a breath without even realizing it. Dozens of chains. Every kind of talisman hanging from those chains. Special-grade-level castings placed along the walls and in each of the four corners of the room. An overwhelming sight, in which every single fixture decorating the room held power stronger than that of an ordinary first-rank esper — but that wasn't what surprised her. No, in truth, none of that even properly registered in her eyes. Because what stood at the center was overwhelming enough to reduce everything before it to mere trifles. At a glance, it looked like a massive crystal formation grown from the heart of a cave. But its color was not some flat white or grayish-white — it was a vivid rainbow of colors, and even that wasn't fixed; like a flowing liquid, the hues shifted endlessly, ceaselessly showing off new shades of light. Qiana's heart pounded. No, perhaps that wasn't her heart at all, but the resonance of her very soul. It was on an entirely different level from any 'fragment' she had encountered until now. The fragments Qiana currently held amounted to roughly a tenth of the whole. In contrast, even excluding the 5 percent she'd deliberately left unrecovered to mislead the Bureau's timing, the crystal formation before her eyes amounted to nearly 80 percent of the whole. At this point, the gap was wide enough that one could practically call that thing over there the True Body. With an impulse as though possessed by something, Qiana laid her hand on the fragment. And in the next moment. 「──Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!」 「──Liar! Traitor! How shameless, to call herself a hero!」 「──My lover died because of you!」 「──My family being poor is your fault too!」 「──Let's punish the filthy liar! All glory to the true hero!!」 The ugliness of humanity unfolded before her eyes.