The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 88: Violet Went to Her Friend’s House

The fight ended, and we immediately prepared to head outside.

「Found it! The Blade of Fiery Flame!」

Our precious red rapier, which had been blown away due to the explosion caused by using its flame discharge, was stuck in the ground nearby.

Fortunately, this valuable equipment was intact without a single scratch, true to its 5-star quality.

As soon as we recovered the equipment, we headed for the gate.

“I’m alive…!”

“Couldn’t you have come a bit sooner?”

We reentered the safe zone. Workers were outside the containers.

Thanks to us holding off the bugs, no one seemed to be injured.

On the other hand, all the dispatched hunters had been found as corpses, as they had fled into the forest instead of heading to the shelter.

But, as with everything in life, it seemed things wouldn’t end so neatly.

No sooner had the incident concluded than the workers started quarreling with the people from the clan. I focused my magic on my ears and listened closely.

“Perhaps you didn’t understand, but as per regulations, you’re responsible for all the costs of the damaged sap extraction equipment.”

“Why should we compensate for something those damn bugs destroyed?”

“You abandoned the equipment just because a few bugs showed up. Regulations clearly state you’re supposed to retrieve and transport the equipment. This is a clear case of negligence.”

“Negligence, my ass. Should I read out the safety regulations to you? The rule is to drop everything and evacuate when a crawler’s boss appears. How do you expect us to carry that heavy equipment when an entire swarm of Crawlertide, along with their boss, is rushing at us?”

They were arguing over who was responsible for the destruction of the sap extraction equipment.

“The gate got disrupted, a mid-tier monster appeared, and the shelter was such a joke that we were almost all killed! Your security forces didn’t even show up.”

“Quite the exaggeration. You keep changing the subject. A mid-tier monster, you say? A Crawlertide nest appeared, so how are you still alive here?”

Huh, I wondered what they were talking about. The destroyed nest we had taken down was right in front of them. Were they blind or just insane?

“That’s because some young girls saved us! Anyway, we’re not working under these conditions anymore! You rule-stickler, you know failing to ensure safety is also a breach of contract, right? Our union is canceling the contract and withdrawing, so deal with it!”

“Young girls? Ha, old man, lying just to avoid paying compensation isn’t cool.”

“I saw it with my own two eyes! What the—!”

The clan representative pushed the union representative, causing the man in work clothes to fall backward.

“Can I step in for a moment?”

“For what? What are you planning to do?”

Irene slowly walked between the two men.

“If you’re going to cancel the contract, you’ll need to pay for everything and cover the penalty fees—wait, who the hell are you?”

“Excuse me, could I have a word with you?”

The clan representative, who had been acting aggressively, looked down at her arrogantly. However, when Irene pulled out her ID card and showed it to him, his expression changed. The two of them went into a temporary structure nearby. s̈

A moment later, Irene emerged from the building, leaving the trembling man behind. She walked over to the union members and handed them a contact number.

“The issue has been somewhat resolved. If they start giving you trouble about the contract, contact this number.”

“What the… Wow, I thought you were just a student. I don’t know who you are, but thank you! You’ll be blessed!”

We left the gate amidst the workers’ gratitude. I asked Irene,

“What did you say to him to make his attitude change like that?”

“They were planning to cover up the appearance of the mid-tier monster and dump all the responsibility for the equipment damage on the contracted personnel. So, I pointed out the poor condition of the shelter, the incompetence of their internal hunters, and the inadequate state of their defensive facilities—all of which could be blamed on the clan.”

Apparently, she had also hinted at this using the prestige of Helios.

“Patros Resources is a small clan that has worked with Helios several times. I implied that if word got out about how they manage dungeons like this, it might hurt their chances of future contracts with Helios.”

Since she couldn’t take direct action due to the current clan situation, it was mostly bluffing, Irene explained, continuing her explanation.

“Of course, the real key lies elsewhere.”

Irene pointed with her pale finger to a square black device attached to her coat.

“Oh, a black box!”

“Yeah. That guy, even though he’s a hunter himself, didn’t recognize that this was a black box. I guess he barely works in the field.”

Unluckily for them, while real-time communication was impossible, appropriately shielded recording devices could still function in dungeons.

She let out a light laugh, clearly pleased with herself.

“I showed them a bit of the footage and explained that my companion and I had dealt with the Crawlertide nest. You should’ve seen how his shameless expression changed.”

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

With clear video evidence and multiple weaknesses laid bare, the opposing clan had been cornered.

Moreover, the person pressuring them was a powerful hunter who had taken down hundreds of beasts.

They decided it was better to quietly settle the matter than to keep insisting there had been no mid-tier monster attack.

Irene had achieved another outcome as well. Checking her phone, I saw a considerable sum of money deposited into her account.

“That’s your share. I split it 7:3—you get 7, I get 3.”

“Wow! What’s this money for?”

My eyes widened in surprise.

“They paid us for dealing with the mid-tier monster in their stead. Honestly, it’s more like hush money. If word got out about their poor dungeon management, it would hurt their reputation.”

Well, whatever the reason, we earned money for our hard work.

“By the way, is it really okay for me to get so much? Seven parts, I mean.”

“Of course. Without you, I couldn’t have handled that many monsters alone. If I were by myself, I’d have spent the whole time running until the gate opened.”

She reassured me that it was a fair share, encouraging me to feel confident about it as she walked ahead.

After wrapping up everything, we quickly exited the dungeon and made our way through the city center of the mid-region.

“Do you want to come to my place?”

“You mean the house near the school?”

“No, my real house. It’s nearby, and I need to grab some things.”

Ah, she meant her family home. This was a chance to see Irene’s house. What kind of place would the home of the Princess of Helios, the future head of a clan, be like?

「Maybe it’s some kind of mansion?」

「Who knows! It might even be a palace.」

In conclusion, it was undoubtedly luxurious.

An hour later, we were in the mid-region. As we stepped out of the elevator, we were greeted by the glittering city nightscape through the darkened living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Wow! It’s huge!”

“Welcome to my home.”

Irene’s house was a penthouse that looked like something straight out of a drama. The view of Academy City from the top floors of a skyscraper was stunning.

“Mind if I let out my clones?”

“Go ahead. You don’t even have to ask.”

As she gave her approval, dozens of Violets poured into the house from the entrance.

“Let’s go in~!”

“Wow!”

Using their cloning and transmission abilities, the Violets quickly changed into comfortable training outfits and entered the dimly lit living room. Bare feet touched the cool marble floor.

True to the game-like world blending Japanese subculture, the houses in Academy City required you to take off your shoes inside. It was peculiar.

We clung to the windows, admiring the view outside, while some of the Violets explored the penthouse under Irene’s guidance.

The interior was spacious and stylish, but there was no one around. Apparently, apart from occasional cleaning visits, no one ever came here.

“Didn’t you say you’d treat me to food? I’m hungry! Pizza!”

“Are you sure that’s all you want? Is there nothing else you’d like to eat?”

“Anything is fine, just lots of it!”

Not long after, an enormous pile of pizzas was delivered.

Dozens of Violet clones grabbed a box each from various corners of the spacious penthouse.

“Thanks for the food!”

“Enjoying this meal!”

“Let’s eat well!”

The Violets devoured the pizzas enthusiastically.

Not satisfied with just that, they also devoured the accompanying pasta and other dishes.

“Are you sure this is really okay?”

“I love pizza so much!”

“Thank you!”

While eating the pizza with enthusiasm, I felt thirsty.

Soda wasn’t enough. I needed something with a stronger taste.

We each took out a can of beer from the inventory.

Irene’s eyes widened slightly.

She knew roughly what my ability was but didn’t seem to expect I’d drink alcohol.

“Oh… sorry, I guess drinking isn’t allowed?”

“No, it’s fine! You worked hard today. But Violet, you’re still a student… is this really okay?”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? Awakeners don’t get sick anyway. I’m going to drink until my liver bursts!”

Since the host gave her permission, all that was left was to start the drinking party.

We ate and drank joyfully.

Watching us gulp down the alcohol, Irene started to say something but then stopped.

While we drank, Irene only sipped on some juice.

Seeing her like that made me feel a little guilty about drinking alone.

「Hey, didn’t Irene like alcohol too?」

「Did she? I don’t know if she likes it, but she drank a lot.」

I rummaged through the memories of the main storyline and its settings.

What did Irene like?

Ah, I remembered that she often drank this.

I took out a crystal bottle filled with amber liquid from the inventory.

“Irene, would you like to try this?”

“…?”

Her amber eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Irene took the bottle I handed over, curious, and opened it.

The moment she uncapped it, the smell of alcohol wafted out strongly.

Her eyes squinted slightly in reaction.

“What’s this? Ugh… this is alcohol!”

“Huh… didn’t you like this?”

Hearing my words, she looked puzzled.

She waved her hands in denial.

“Why would I? I don’t drink alcohol. Especially not something this strong. It would only interfere with my training.”

“Really? My bad. It’s just… I felt bad about drinking alone.”

I vaguely glossed over the situation.

It seemed that Irene’s preferences were different now compared to five years later in the main storyline.

Now that I thought about it, the main characters I had met so far seemed less serious than in the original storyline.

For instance, the current Kalia doesn’t smoke a single cigarette.

But in the main storyline, she was a chain smoker who went through several packs a day.

Her personality was also rougher and sharper back then.

And Irene five years later?

Right now, she’s horrified and says she hates strong liquor, but later on, she drank such things like water.

The strong smell of alcohol seemed too much for her as she waved her hand in the air.

She pulled out pineapple juice from the fridge and poured it into a glass.

“I’ll just drink juice. Why would I ever put something as awful as alcohol in my mouth?”

Hmm, it seems she wasn’t into alcohol right now, even though she drank well a few years later.

What could have happened during those five years?

There seemed to be a wider gap than I thought between Irene, Violet’s friend now, and Irene, the leader of the Helios Clan and a colleague of the Deep Crimson Academia.

Well, I couldn’t know everything about that.

As time passed, we became full and began to feel drowsy.

One by one, some of the Violet clones started fading away, turning into magical particles.

Irene, who had quietly been watching us eat, slowly opened her mouth.

“Violet.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“How was the food?”

“It was good!”

“…That’s a relief.”

I tilted my head at her unexpected question.

Why was she asking this all of a sudden?

“We fought together today. Was it tough or painful for you?”

“Of course, it was tough. Fighting always hurts.”

“I see.”

Irene seemed to fall into thought for a moment before looking at each of us.

“To be honest, I still don’t fully understand how you fight, Violet.”

“Re-really?”

“But fighting alongside you, I realized something. You have your own method. Thanks to you, we won and were able to safely escape the dungeon.”

Her eyes curved into a gentle arc.

“I suddenly wondered if I had been too presumptuous. I’d been thinking only in my own way.”

The Violets sat still, attentively listening to her words.

Their red eyes focused on her.

“I won’t lie and say I’m completely used to watching you… or all of you… die or get hurt. But Violet, from now on, I’ll respect your way.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But promise me, don’t fight alone. If you ever need help, call me. My spear will always be by your side.”

The Violets stood up with their beer cans and approached her.

“What’s wrong?”

“We didn’t know you thought about us that way!”

“We’re so moved!”

“Let’s make a toast!”

Caught off guard, Irene clinked glasses with the Violets.

A clear clinking sound echoed through the empty house.

“To a toast!”

“Cheers!”

After the toast, Violet No. 65 cautiously asked a question.

“But Irene, there’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“So… is it okay to self-destruct?”

Irene’s face, which had been calmly smiling, crumpled slightly.

She coughed awkwardly and asked back.

“…Like last time when we were trapped in the Marmillion Cavern, a situation where there’s no other solution? If that’s the case, then I guess it can’t be helped.”

“No, I meant using self-destruction offensively.”

“What? That’s not… Ah, I don’t even know what to say…”

Irene sighed softly, clearly flustered.

After a brief conversation, the Violets received a firm request from her: “Only in unavoidable situations, when there’s no other option, should you use self-destruction as an attack.”

“Only when it’s absolutely necessary. Got it? And only if your mind can handle it.”

“Okay!”

Irene was right. It should only be used ‘when absolutely necessary.’

As we talked, the night crept closer to bedtime.

Hopefully, nothing would happen tonight.