“Ah…”
“Not everyone here is a criminal. Some volunteered for economic reasons, but it’s still a terrible thing.”
“You’re right, it really is terrible…”
Even if those people are deserving criminals or volunteers, no one could feel good watching someone else suffer.
Although these horrifying human experiments are shockingly not illegal, it’s clear that Elisabetta Scilla is not in her right mind.
Well, if you look at it from a legal standpoint, she hasn’t broken any laws. The mages under her management signed contracts, so…
She might be justifying her actions in her own way.
In this world, in this country, which relentlessly pursues extreme efficiency, maybe this isn’t something that would be heavily condemned. Ethics change with the times and culture.
But despite that, I disliked Elisabetta.
At least according to my sense of ethics, her behavior was something I couldn’t understand.
Is it acceptable for humans to use other humans as materials for the sake of greater power, more knowledge, and more efficient progress?
I could fully understand why Ghieuspe feared Elisabetta.
Moreover, I now also understood why his attitude had become excessively silent.
Surely he wasn’t this quiet since birth. The tower must have influenced his personality during the years when he was forming his identity.
His excessive silence and reluctance to speak were undoubtedly due to the trauma the tower inflicted on him.
Oh, author, how could you not explain all this backstory in the original story…
Well, that’s just how it is with ‘reincarnation fantasy’ stories. There’s always some shocking truth that wasn’t revealed in the original.
It feels like my life is heading in that direction too, and I’m getting tired of it.
I hope Aurora doesn’t turn out to be some villain pretending to be kind. I’ve seen that too many times.
Anyway, while thinking about Ghieuspe’s unfortunate past, I could only hold my head in frustration.
Even though my mind was in turmoil, the woman steadily guided me.
“Go straight down here, and you can escape from the tower.”
I nodded as I looked at the place she pointed to.
At that moment, I noticed a huge room beside me with its door wide open.
“What’s that room over there?”
“Oh, that’s the tower’s library.”
“The tower’s library must be incredible?”
“Yes, they say every book in the world is collected here. The tower master has a hobby of collecting new books. And… ah.”
The woman hurriedly pulled something out from her clothes. It was the same crystal orb I had seen Ghieuspe holding before.
From the other side of the crystal orb, voices of mages, likely inside the laboratory, could be heard.
[“Come back quickly! The tower master is on their way!”]
“What? Understood!”
The woman turned to me with a tense expression and said,
“It seems the tower master has realized you’re missing. I’ll return to my original place to avoid suspicion. Is there someone down there who can help you?”
“Ghieuspe Ascary is down there! He’s my friend.”
“If it’s him, he might be able to help you escape.”
“Do I just need to go down from here?”
“Yes, if you do that, you’ll be able to avoid the tower master!”
The woman said that and quickly ran back the way she had come, in a hurry. Ah, I didn’t even get to ask her name.
With such great help, I must succeed in escaping the tower somehow. My companions are waiting for me, and I need to meet them and get out of this tower quickly.
Thinking that, I began to move toward the stairs, but suddenly, I stopped in my tracks.
‘The library…’
Could there possibly be a clue in there about Princess Eva’s true identity?
Elisabetta was dangerous enough on her own, but I was even more afraid of Princess Eva. She didn’t even seem human.
After hesitating for a moment, I realized that I might never get another chance to enter the tower’s library, this treasure trove of rare knowledge. In the end, instead of going down the stairs, I carefully made my way toward the library.
The library was so vast that I hesitated, feeling overwhelmed by its sheer size.
‘How am I supposed to find the book I need here?’
It was too large. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here in such a hurry?
As I was contemplating whether to leave the library, I noticed a pile of books stacked on a desk and approached them.
Books with titles like ‘How Humans Were Created,’ ‘The Only Domain Humans Can’t Control: Life,’ ‘The Secrets of the Birth of Life,’ and ‘Can We Truly Seize Life?’ indicated that these books all dealt with the study of life.
‘Now that I think about it, this is the recent subject of the tower’s research.’
I picked up the first book, titled ‘How Humans Were Created,’ and opened it. The opening section of the book read as follows:
The Origin of Life
There are many theories about how life was born.
3.5 billion years ago, in the primordial ocean, the first life—single-celled bacteria—emerged.
Some of these bacteria began to obtain nutrients from the sun’s energy.
Oh, this is boring.
I quickly closed the book and opened another one, titled ‘Can We Truly Seize Life?’
It contained a discussion on whether life could be created.
Artificial Humans
Artificial humans have been a subject of literature, such as in ‘Frankenstein,’ and are the dream of many scientists.
But can we really create artificial humans?
If Princess Eva, shockingly, could even create life artificially, then it would be possible to create artificial humans.
But if that were the case, there would be no reason for the original Seraphina to be afraid and run away.
It would have just been noted as, ‘Created an artificial human! Crazy!’ and left at that.
However, the greatest drawback of artificial humans is what happens when they can no longer be controlled.
Artificial intelligence automata strictly follow ethical guidelines, and when they disobey orders, they can be shut down through a connected computer.
On the other hand, an artificial human, possessing complete free will, becomes dangerous if they decide to attack humans.
At that moment, as I quickly scanned the book, I noticed a mark on the page.
Could this be a piece of the artificial human I was looking for?
A piece of an artificial human?
Who had been reading this book?
When I checked the cover, I saw the initials “E.S.” Elisabetta Scilla.
Wait a minute, if the tower master found a piece of an artificial human… does that mean she hasn’t made one herself?
So who else in this country could have the ability to create artificial humans?
My mind started racing.
Could this be the reason why Princess Eva cut off support to the tower?
Then, where is that mysterious ‘piece’?
As I looked around the library, something caught my eye.
That thing covered in a sturdy glass dome, could it be…
***
Ghieuspe glanced down at the vibrating crystal orb in his hand.
Is it the tower master?
He didn’t want to answer, but he picked it up weakly.
However, the voice that came from it was unfamiliar.
[“Is this Ghieuspe Ascary?”]
“…Who is this?”
[“My name is Clio Echo, I’m a mage currently in the tower. I contacted you because I have something to inform you about.”]
“What…?”
[“That… what was her name again? Anyway, the woman with the light purple hair, who said she was your friend.”]
“Seraphina?”
[“Yes, that’s it. Anyway, she was imprisoned by the tower master but managed to escape. She was wandering around the tower, so I showed her the way out. Did you meet her?”]
At those words, Ghieuspe’s eyes widened.
Seraphina escaped?
