Chapter 29
Arc Royle’s body began to tremble as she read through the humans’ blasphemous plans to replicate her.
[You dare… you dare to try and…]
Regret surged through her for having cooperated with humans without a second thought. She should have heeded Seraphim’s warnings about their cunning nature. The painful awareness of her past mistakes weighed heavily on her.
Consumed by fury, Arc Royle continued reading the text.
But then…
***
“However, as the research on mass-producing Archangels progressed, the team encountered unexpected results. Even though the clones of Archangels, known as Angelculus, were created, the results showed little difference from standard angels, or in many cases, were of even lower quality. While regular angels are stronger than mere humans, when considering the alchemical materials, magic stones, and time required for their creation, it was deemed far more advantageous to simply train human warriors. Ultimately, it was calculated that the results did not justify the cost, leading to the permanent suspension of the project.”
[…Haa…]
The story ended on a strangely anticlimactic note.
Arc Royle, who had been trembling moments before, now let out a long sigh of relief.
[I thought for a moment… but of course, there’s no way these humans could replicate me with mere magic.]
She chuckled, thinking about how absurd it was for these lowly humans to even attempt to mimic her, a scion of the high heavens.
Still, the story had been plausible enough to momentarily stir fear in her heart, and that realization made her let out a small, involuntary laugh.
[Ha… Well, at least it confirms they’re doing something involving angels here. If I search a bit more, I might even find what Seraphim desires…]
Just then…
[Hm!]
She suddenly sensed a presence.
Quickly, Arc Royle hid herself within the shadows of the room.
Moments later, a group of magicians burst into the room, seemingly preparing for some kind of experiment.
Seeing them, Arc Royle clicked her tongue in frustration.
‘A bit earlier than I expected… but no matter. I know the location now, so I can retreat for now and return later.’
She could have easily wiped them out, but she didn’t want to stir up trouble unnecessarily, especially when she had plenty of time to act.
One of Seraphim’s top 10 teachings about fieldwork: gather information discreetly and without drawing attention.
Besides, while the research into cloning her might have been discontinued, the mere fact that it had existed left a bitter taste in her mouth. She wasn’t in the best mood to deal with anything else today.
Having made up her mind, Arc Royle quietly slipped away from the room. She could phase through walls easily, an ability granted by her transcendent nature, allowing her to evade the eyes of humans as she made her exit.
Some time later…
After having left the Magic Tower and returned to the city, Arc Royle stood for a moment, breathing in the still-blue sky and the sun now beginning to set in the west.
Once again, she felt the deep, unsettling realization: humans were far more terrifying than she had ever imagined.
‘For now… should I report this to Seraphim? No, no… even so, it’s better to report after everything is finished… after obtaining more reliable data…’
Aside from the chilling content, Arc Royle had no intention of giving up at this stage.
This was a test to prove her worth to Seraphim.
With a determined promise to achieve meaningful results, she steeled herself once more.
“Alright, then I’ll just hide around here and come back at night…”
At that moment, she spotted someone in her line of sight.
In the distance, across the street, a figure was moving slowly.
Hair of the same pink hue as hers.
And then.
A sense of soul-level connection that could only be felt as an angel.
At that very moment,
Arc Royle was overcome by a chill that ran through her entire body.
“Wasn’t this the thing that was interrupted…?”
Feeling confused about what had happened, Arc Royle hurriedly ran towards that direction.
And then.
{!}
It began to flee quickly, as if it recognized this side.
Arc Royle couldn’t help but feel perplexed at its speed, which was faster than she expected.
“What’s going on? It was said that the replication performance was at the level of an ordinary angel! None of that book is accurate!”
Thinking about how poorly things were being handled, completely separate from the grand tower, Arc Royle chased after the fleeing figure with all her strength.
And finally.
{Huff… huff… ugh…}
[Huff… huff… I caught it. This guy…]
In an empty alley, Arc Royle finally caught up with it.
But then.
{…P-please… spare me.}
[Huh?]
{P-please spare me. I don’t want to die! I don’t want to kill either! I don’t want that… I don’t want that anymore… so… so please…!}
The next moment,
It dropped to its knees on the ground and began to plead with both hands together.
In response to the unexpected reaction from the other party, a different kind of bewilderment settled on Arc Royle’s face.
And then.
[…Haa…]
After letting out a deep sigh,
Arc Royle took off the robe she was wearing.
Only then did her face fully reveal itself.
She then approached the trembling figure still looking at her…
Her replica… and spoke in the kindest voice she could muster.
[For now… calm down, and I promise you this: as long as you don’t attack or act hostile towards me, I won’t attack you either.]
{R-really?}
[Angels don’t lie. I promise in the name of my master, Seraphim. Trust me.]
{Ah! Y-yes! Ah… I understand. Then I will trust you.}
[…Hmm.]
Even though she told it to calm down and to trust her, it immediately believed those words.
That expression was just like…
The way she used to wag her tail innocently in response to the sweet talk of past humans.
‘This is… my replica…’
Surely, its appearance and behavior were remarkably similar to her own.
However, unlike her current state, which was relatively normal,
this one seemed to be in poor condition in many ways.
There were various large and small wounds all over its body.
Additionally, it looked quite dirty, perhaps due to not being properly cleaned,
and it was only wearing tattered clothing that barely covered its body.
If this weren’t her replica, she would have felt pure sympathy.
But.
‘I’ll save my sympathy for later… For now, I need to figure out what this thing really is…’
What exactly is this creature?
Why is the plan that was supposedly discarded being carried out again?
And…
Why does it look like this?
As Arc Royle pondered these questions and was about to start her serious inquiries…
-Grrr…
[Huh?]
{….}
A sudden sound of a growling stomach echoed.
Arc Royle felt a bit taken aback.
Come to think of it, she had heard that ordinary angels,
especially those of lower ranks, needed to eat like living creatures.
It was clear from the sight before her that this being was experiencing what one might call ‘hunger.’
‘…Hmm. I guess interrogating in this state might be a bit much?’
Although the situation wasn’t good, she was, at her core, an angel.
It was only natural for her to feel compassion for those who were suffering,
especially for someone like this who was hungry and injured.
‘Well… I still have some time before I can re-enter the magic tower…’
Remembering the second teaching of Seraphim:
Rushing won’t help with what can be done calmly,
Arc Royle decided to respond with a sense of ease, without feeling rushed.
Coincidentally, her pockets were filled with gold coins provided by Solomon.
[It looks like you’re hungry. How about we talk while having a meal?]
{Fo…food? Yes! Food! Please!}
[…]
The replica angel, with the same face as hers, sparkled its eyes and eagerly grabbed the offer without any doubt.
Seeing this, Arc Royle felt her face heat up slightly.
‘I think I understand a bit now… why Seraphim looked at me with a blank expression.’
It was as if she was witnessing a live reenactment of her own naive past.
At the same time, she felt a strange sense of intimacy towards this being that resembled her.
Arc Royle then headed toward a nearby restaurant.
The place she arrived at was an outdoor restaurant,
selling food from the East.
{Munch munch munch}
[… Please eat slowly. You’re attracting too much attention.]
{Yes! I’ll eat slowly. Munch munch…}
As the being stuffed dumplings into its cheeks,
following Arc Royle’s advice and eating more politely,
Arc Royle felt a peculiar tickle in her heart while watching this reflection of herself.
“When I first heard about cloning and all that, I was a bit surprised… but seeing it like this, it really does feel like it… like a so-called obedient little sister… right?”
Thinking this, Arc Royle turned her gaze to her own portion of food.
It had noodles dipped in a dark, glossy sauce.
Although, as an archangel, she didn’t need to eat,
she could certainly enjoy tasting food, so she decided to Savor a human-made dish for a change.
However…
{Gulp…}
[…]
The replica was looking at her food with sparkling eyes.
With a small sigh, Arc Royle reluctantly picked up her chopsticks.
And then…
{Ah…}
[Go ahead and eat.]
{! But…}
[It’s okay. I’m not hungry.]
{!…}
For Arc Royle, eating was simply for enjoyment,
but for this being, mealtime was a matter of survival.
Abandoning her small interest, she lightly offered the food to it.
[Here, ah.]
{…Munch… Munch…}
With a trembling feeling, the replica put the food in its mouth.
It seemed to struggle a bit while eating,
and as she watched this, Arc Royle suppressed a budding warm feeling and spoke seriously again.
[After you finish eating, please answer my questions. I have quite a few things I want to ask.]
{…Sniff… Y-yes.}
[…?]
Her response seemed tinged with tears.
Feeling a light sense of curiosity, Arc Royle continued to move her chopsticks to serve more noodles.
{There… I ate well.}
[Good, then now… ]
At that moment…
“I’ve finally found you, Number 562.”
{Gasp!}
In an instant, the child’s face began to harden in fear.
Arc Royle watched as the bright spark the child had just a moment ago extinguished in an instant.
Slowly, Arc Royle turned to look behind her.
Standing there was a middle-aged male wizard draped in a black robe.
He was accompanied by a young wizard, and as soon as he appeared,
the people around them began to hurriedly get up from their seats.
“Th-that person is… a gay…”
“What are you doing? Let’s get out of here quickly! If we hesitate, we might get into trouble!”
With an unsettling atmosphere surrounding them, people scrambled to flee.
As the wizards approached, causing a commotion with their arrival,
they slowly moved toward the terrified child,
completely ignoring Arc Royle, who was sitting right next to them.
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