Investigation

After a satisfying dinner.

I parted ways with the Commander and headed straight back to my quarters.

My private room had grown spacious and comfortable, thanks to the facility's upgraded level.

Standing before the wardrobe, I loosened my uniform and let my thoughts wander.

"New Valkyries, huh…."

Adelaide and Spica, the two who had just transferred to Lumia.

Their strength was roughly on par with mine — mine being twenty percent weaker than it used to be.

They were skilled enough that I couldn't guarantee victory even if I fought seriously.

Which meant a repeat of the 2nd loop's approach was out of the question from here on.

Even a surprise attack had a high chance of not landing cleanly.

And if the two of them joined forces, there'd be nothing I could do.

*So this day finally came.*

Honestly, it was an outcome I'd seen coming.

I couldn't be the strongest in Lumia forever.

Someone equal to me — or beyond — was always going to show up eventually.

So I should have mentally prepared for this long ago.

But now that the situation had actually arrived, my head was an absolute mess.

*I might not be able to control the Commander from the shadows anymore.*

That was the crux of the problem.

What if the Commander decided he no longer needed to be wary of a hidden schemer?

There was no telling when he might reveal that he was a regressor.

And since I couldn't directly harm the Commander…

I'd end up sitting on my hands from a distance, sucking my fingers uselessly.

In the end, the Commander would slip out of my grasp and disappear somewhere.

"Ugh, he's *my* Commander!"

Just imagining it was infuriating.

I clutched my head in distress.

I'd worked so hard to build the Memory Corridor, too.

An ending like that was absolutely unacceptable.

This was exactly why I'd wanted to grow stronger somehow.

And yet everything I'd actually created was completely useless in a fight.

By now I'd stripped off my uniform and was standing in my underwear. I reached a serious conclusion.

"As soon as possible…. I'd better learn both of their weaknesses."

So that if they ever got in my way, I could remove them at any time.

Having their weaknesses in hand would put my mind at ease.

Right. I'd shower after I finished the work.

I locked the door so no one could interrupt me.

Then I sat down in my chair and folded both hands over my lower abdomen.

I closed my eyes in that position and quietly murmured the activation phrase.

"Connect."

A sensation like diving into the ocean washed over my body.

For one moment, all five senses seemed to float free of my consciousness and drift away.

When I came back to myself, I was already standing somewhere else.

The entryway of the apartment where my past self had lived for years.

I took a step forward, adjusting to the floating sensation.

*I've gotten fairly used to this.*

The Cyberbrain World had changed a little from when I first built it.

For one thing, the barren interior had taken on a proper home-like appearance.

This was a space that shifted its shape according to my will, after all.

I'd filled it in with furniture — a carpet here, a sofa there.

It would be nice to have a pet waiting to greet me every time I arrived.

I'd actually been researching that possibility little by little lately.

I had a feeling results would come soon enough.

I stepped into the Leila Network room.

The devices I'd seized came into view all at once.

Over there — the Commander in his bedroom, changing clothes.

And there — Yubina, tonight's duty officer, wearing a thoroughly bored expression.

*Same, honestly. Let me get this done and rest.*

I passed through the control room lined with monitors and arrived at the computer lab.

I'd quietly seized control of the computers while giving the facility tour.

I sat down in front of one of the already-rendered terminals and switched it on.

"Let's start here."

There were two types of computers I'd taken over.

The administrative computer connected to the internal intranet.

And the archive computer connected to the external internet.

First, I sat at the administrative terminal and logged into my account.

My Adjutant clearance only let me view Valkyrie personnel files — but that was more than enough to investigate the two who'd transferred in today.

Click.

I pulled up Adelaide's personal file.

Physical data appeared in detail: height, weight, muscle strength, unique ability.

Then the basics: combat record, disciplinary history, city of origin.

And a section for evaluations from her previous Commander.

I read through it carefully, but nothing particularly stood out.

Aside from a personal note about slightly lacking cooperative tendencies, she had a clean record — not a single disciplinary mark. A diligent Valkyrie.

"Unique ability: Wave Surge. The ability to generate and control waves…. Hard to picture exactly what that looks like in practice."

It would help to have combat footage.

Nothing like that seemed to be included in this file.

I'd need to know how she fought before I could identify any weaknesses.

It seemed best to observe her in action soon.

"Her hometown is… Sanctum?"

A detail caught my eye.

Her city of origin was listed as Sanctum.

If my memory was right… that place had strong religious characteristics.

I was fairly sure they even refused to allow Valkyries to be stationed there.

A Valkyrie from Sanctum.

There might be some secret buried in that.

*Next is Spica…. Nothing much here, really.*

If Adelaide was a Dealer-class who controlled waves, then Spica was a Dealer-class who operated drones.

I had a feeling Spica and I would have a favorable matchup.

Obviously — drones versus electrical manipulation, and I was the clear superior.

If it ever came to a fight, I could tamper with her drones in advance.

After confirming everything I could from Valhalla's internal records, I switched computers and connected to the external internet.

Valkyries were well-known figures to ordinary citizens.

There might be some useful lead buried out here.

"Hm. Impressively nothing."

Surprisingly, the internet yielded nothing of note.

Just a handful of social media posts from citizens who'd spotted Adelaide in person.

A B-rank Valkyrie should have at least some name recognition.

Maybe she just wasn't the type to seek the spotlight.

*In the end, I couldn't find anything that qualifies as Adelaide's weakness.*

Well, it would be stranger if weaknesses just popped up on the internet.

I mulled it over for a moment, then let my shoulders drop.

Right. At least I figured out Spica's weakness.

I'd watch them both from close range for a while and find a way.

I decided to wrap up my investigation of Adelaide there.

I logged into the community I'd been indebted to lately for various reasons.

A near-triple-digit number of private messages greeted me.

"Popular as ever."

Not particularly surprising.

The account I'd created for internet activity — Unknown.

This account had earned quite a reputation in the hacker community after I'd run rampant with infinite IPs.

These messages were traces of the various exchanges I'd had with the hackers I'd gotten to know.

[ Shark: I looked into everything you asked. I'll send the details as an attachment. ]

[ Unknown: Thanks, Admin. I'll be on my best behavior today and won't cause any trouble. ]

[ Shark: Um…. Could you maybe be on your best behavior every day, not just today…. The users have been complaining to me so much…. ]

[ Unknown: If you're that eager, should I go ahead and do it today too? ]

[ Shark: No no no no. Thank you so much for taking a break today!!! ]

I'd grown fairly close to Shark, the community administrator in particular.

This person had a deep attachment to the community.

Our arrangement was simple: in exchange for me behaving myself and not running rampant in ways that couldn't be stopped, I asked them to look up information on my behalf.

Honestly, I felt a little bad about it.

It wasn't all that different from being a difficult customer.

But if I could do it myself, I would have.

This was something I had no choice but to ask someone skilled for help with.

A necessary sacrifice for the greater cause. Mm-hm.

"Well then. Let's see what we've got."

I downloaded the file and opened the document without hesitation.

The contents I'd been looking for appeared on the monitor.

[ Representative List of Conspiracy Theories Related to Valkyries ]

Listed there were various Valkyrie-related conspiracy theories circulating in the world.

Things like: the first Valkyrie secretly occupied the highest seat of government.

Or: the Erosion Species were actually artificial lifeforms created by humanity.

Or: the Erosion Species were invasion weapons that fell from outer space.

Or: a secret Valkyrie society existed that controlled the criminal underworld….

Naturally, most of it was fabricated. Nothing but rumors.

They were called conspiracy theories precisely because they lacked evidence.

The majority of the document was dedicated to properly debunking each claim.

"Hmm…. A few of these could actually be true."

But among them were claims that couldn't be definitively judged either way.

Things that, on reflection, had a certain internal logic to them.

And those were exactly the ones I focused on as I gathered information.

If I cross-referenced what came up here against classified Valhalla intel, I could determine what was fact and what was fiction.

For instance — the conspiracy theory about an auction house that traded retired Valkyries.

What if a certain city showed an unusually high frequency of visits from high-ranking officials and wealthy elites?

Wouldn't that lend the conspiracy theory some degree of credibility?

*To be a schemer, you need to hold a lot of information. That's the only way to act as you please without being pushed around by others.*

I understood very well how weak I was.

So I had no choice but to fill that gap with information.

This would be a significant first step toward the scheming life that lay ahead.

I kept researching without letting my mind wander elsewhere.

Before I knew it, two full hours had slipped by.

If I got too absorbed in this, the whole night would pass.

I decided to call it here for today.

"Disconnect."

I murmured the exit phrase for the Cyberbrain World.

My eyes opened back in the private room where I'd connected.

The room felt a little warm — my body felt faintly damp.

"Phew…. Shower time, I think."

I peeled off my sweat-dampened underwear and walked straight to the bathroom.

The hot water pouring down washed away the stickiness.

On a whim, I wiped the condensation from the mirror with my hand.

A remarkably attractive girl looked back at me from the other side.

A figure that made its presence known in every direction.

Skin so pale it was nearly translucent, now flushed and dewy.

And a face so flawless it completed the whole picture perfectly.

I studied the Leila in the mirror for a long moment.

Then I smiled faintly and murmured to her, as if speaking directly to her.

"You were going to die anyway. So it's fine if I use this however I like, right?"

The real Leila might have been furious to hear that.

But I, the one who'd taken her body, felt no particular guilt about it.

It wasn't as though I'd chosen to possess her.

She was going to die in the prologue regardless.

From here on, this wasn't her life — it was one I was building.

If anything, she should be grateful to still be alive.

If Leila's personality was still in there somewhere —

I'd give it back after I'd had my fun. Just wait a little longer.

I conveyed that sentiment with my gaze, then stepped out of the bathroom.

"Haah…. That's better…. Drying my hair is such a bother, though…."

After toweling off and blow-drying every last drop of moisture away, I changed into my pajamas and settled onto the soft bed.

My body was a Valkyrie's, so it wasn't tired in the slightest.

But after a full day of running around, my mind was exhausted.

I was in the mood for a little distraction.

I glanced around the empty room for no particular reason.

Just to be safe, I locked the door, drew the curtains over the window.

Then I retrieved the item I'd hidden under the bed and spread it neatly across the mattress.

"Mm, ahem…. Washing it in secret is such a hassle…."

Muttering an excuse to no one in particular —

I carefully lay down on the bed atop whatever I'd spread out.

A hollow feeling below.

I let all the tension drain from my body and pulled my pajama top up to my sternum.

Both hands rested gently on my lower abdomen, and I slowly closed my eyes.

"Connect."

Perhaps because I'd prepared so well.

Fortunately, there was no need for a second shower.

*

The next morning, having slept more soundly than usual.

On my way back from lunch in the cafeteria, I ran into something I hadn't anticipated.

"Leila. Spar with me."

"Pardon?"

Blue hair. An expressionless, beautiful face.

Adelaide had come to pick a fight.