Chapter Text
After heating up some of the ready meals for breakfast, they finally settled back in to keep watching the future.
‘Ready?’ Vil asked.
Idia didn’t feel particularly ready, but he nodded anyway.
‘Yeah, let’s keep going.’
The viewing continued and the screen lit up on the very moment they’d stopped on.
[Idia said they should finish collecting the data quickly and told everyone to look at their tablets, saying it was NDA to sign. Vil was angered and bluntly stated that kidnapping them and forcing them to sign this under armed guard was a blatant threat. Idia was also annoyed and told him it was to protect them as well, saying that if they cooperated they’d be given the best care regarding blot possible and it’d only take 24 hours. Then they’d be let go and everyone would be happy.]
Idia already knew how his older self must feel – he definitely wanted to get this annoying duty his parents had foisted upon him as fast as he possibly could, which was why every single refusal to cooperate got to him so much. Still though, he didn’t feel very sympathetic. He knew better than to expect anything good from his on-screen counterpart.
‘What’s the point of having us sign an NDA if you’re just going to wipe our memories?’ Leona frowned.
Idia shrugged.
‘I don’t know. I tried to ignore my parents’ business as best as I could. Since I’m going to be stuck with it for life, I thought I might as well not pay attention while that was still an option,’ he said.
[Idia said he didn’t want to be here either, he had an event featuring a favourite character on right now, so if they wanted to get this over with they’d better sign. This pissed off the captive students even more and Leona cursed, saying the radish had gotten too bold, knowing they were unable to retaliate for now – he’d have turned him into sand by now had he still been able to use his magic. Wearing an unpleasant smile, Vil said it wasn’t often they agreed like this.]
‘Oh don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to beat older me up soon enough…’ Idia muttered.
Something would go spectacularly wrong sooner rather than later.
[AN HOUR LATER]
‘Wait… don’t tell me… they actually read the whole thing?’ Idia gaped in astonishment.
‘Why wouldn’t they?’ Riddle said. ‘Not reading through it would be stupid.’
[Idia, confused and exasperated, wondered why they would actually read the whole thing and ask questions on every point. Vil said it was natural that if he were to sign something, he needed to be sure he’d talked over everything in it and Azul claimed he couldn’t stand it if one of the points was unfavourable for him. Riddle backed them both up – what if something in the contract broke the law?]
‘Exactly!’ Riddle nodded along.
‘One thing he and I agree on I, I guess.’ Vil pouted in annoyance.
‘I can’t believe my older self just made a good point.’ Azul said.
[Idia just called them a group of SSR Problem Children again.]
‘What else did you expect huh? That they’d be easy to deal with?’ Idia said.
[After everyone signed, Idia said they should get started and Ortho said that everything was prepared. Idia split them into two groups – the first consisting of Subjects A, C and E aka Riddle, Azul and Vil, while the second was Subjects B and D aka Leona and Jamil. Idia told Ortho to lead the first group into the simulator and Ortho bid them to follow him. Jamil and Leona were told to stay behind and if they needed something to call a staff member using the intercom.]
‘I wonder if we’re actually going to learn anything useful about our overblots or if this is going to be a huge waste of time.’ Leona said.
‘It had better not be.’ Idia frowned.
If this didn’t even turn to tell them anything new, then what did that mean for him? STYX had to have done something valuable at least, right? Gotten some kind of results? If they hadn’t… then what would even be the point of his life?
[Leona asked if they had anything to eat at least. Idia said no and complained about the question as he left. Jamil said he was unpleasant and Leona agreed. Meanwhile, one of the Charons asked Idia what to do about Subject F and said he hadn’t woken yet. Idia said that with Grim, there were too many variables involved – the magic he used was nothing compared to the others, putting him in a battle simulation would be pointless and he needed to be informed as soon as he woke.]
‘Did they just take him because he ate those stones and went all crazy?’ Riddle asked.
‘Yeah, I guess. I don’t get what’s going on with him though.’ Idia said. ‘Only talented mages with a lot of magic to burn even can overblot and Grim… definitely isn’t that. So I have no idea what him eating those blot stones left over from you did to him.’
‘Don’t say it like that.’ Azul wrinkled his nose in disgust.
‘Sorry. But it is what he’s doing so…’ Idia said.
‘Something really weird is going with him. I just wish we knew what it was, maybe we’d be able to figure out more about why we all kept overblotting in the future.’ Jamil said, with a hint of frustration in his voice.
‘We should get the answers eventually, if we keep on watching.’ Malleus said.
‘I hope it doesn’t take too long, because I am not leaving without knowing why all this happened.’ Leona declared.
‘Neither am I. So many overblots in a row is statistically impossible and I need to know what caused them.’ Idia agreed.
[One of the operators said Ortho and the subjects had entered the simulation room, and another said they were ready to start gathering the information. Idia contacted the simulation room and Ortho replied that they were hearing his voice clearly and the equipment for measuring magical output was attached. Vil interrupted them and said they’d been brought to some empty room and made to wear headset which made it hard to see. Riddle asked what they were planning to do and Azul question if they were going to make them fight each other. Ortho assured him no, they were wearing magical VR headsets and would fight opponents in a virtual space. Riddle repeated what he’d said in confused shock and Idia said it would be faster to experience rather than him explaining. Azul tried to protest, but Ortho launched the simulation.]
‘I don’t get the point of this.’ Jamil said.
‘It’s to measure how fast you gather blot.’ Idia replied.
‘So you basically made a fancy cage fight?’ Jamil raised an eyebrow.
Had Idia been drinking something, he’d have spit it out in shock.
‘I mean… it’s not like we can measure blot if you’re not using magic and when else would a mage cast a lot of spells quickly?’ Idia said.
‘Still not impressed.’ Jamil said. ‘Any idiot can measure blot that way. I expected something a little more sophisticated, from a rich secret organisation.’
Idia wondered if he should feel insulted by that. Mostly, he just found it funny.