Wong Jiayin

Wong Jiayin started to disappear, breaking apart into pure energy. Soon, all that was left was an empty pile of vines.

[She is fine. Wong Jiayin will go back to where she was before arriving in Gaellia.]

"Is that so?" I voiced but was reassured.

The eighteen-year-old had not been innocent but I still felt killing her was too extreme a reaction. What the Chinese girl needed was not death but therapy and to maybe answer for her crimes. She going off the deep-end was not an excuse to forgive her for killing Rosettia Fillemund and whatever else she did to reach Level 54 so quickly.

(Maybe we were all victims of happenstance. Jiayin, Rosettia, me, and whoever else not native to this planet.)

I looked at the sky which was starting to gather storm clouds from a side-effect of the <Firestorm> messing with the atmospheric pressure. I saw the dancing energy that was the remnants of Jiayin continue to float up before it got too far for me to see without enhancing my vision.

"Miss Wong, I wish you will eventually find peace—and not in death."

Looking down at the pile of vines, I watched as 37 put the entire thing in our Inventory to handle later and was sure the Wind Fire Wheels were also taken.

After a moment, I irritatedly mussed my hair, ruining the half-tail it had been pulled back in. "Ahhhh!"

All this and I still never got any answers from her!

[Actually…]

"Hm?"

Please tell me…

[One of the rewards for a won Duel is the other Partner's Biography. And I did manage to glean some information in my altercation with Program D-01.]

I stopped bothering to stand on the ground, pulling my feet up and throwing my hands up in the air in relief. Thankfully all this effort wasn't for nothing!

'So?' I eagerly asked my adorable and cute AI (unlike the psycho 01) while I sat with my legs crossed while <Hovering.>

[Ahem. I suggest we relocate first—]

Before I could ask why, 37 continued.

[Nostradamus is closing in on our—]

'You had me at Nostradamus!'

And I was gone.

…

…

A few days later, I was making myself scarce, staying in the Wyvern Roost.

I spent the past few days going through the spoils of winning the Duel while talking with 37 and clarifying some points.

Most of the items weren't of use for me immediately or redundant, so I just put it aside in my Inventory. The only things of relevance were several records and scrolls.

The Birth of the Spider-Lily had been a somber read. It gave me a bit of insight into what the eighteen-year-old went through on Gaellia.

There wasn't much revealed when it came to the mechanics of Programs and their Partners, other than the fact systems reflected the Partner—Jiayin had a dimensional pocket and techniques common to stories I've seen in female-orientated C-novels (and I suppose 01 was her "pet") in contrast to my game-like setup.

I found out way more than I wanted to about the Eastern Kingdoms though, including the fact Jiayin was a deft hand at mental manipulation. King Zadok had been under her control when she left to Crown City to stir up some more trouble.

For some reason, Jiayin had been after Nostradamus which made me conflicted. Was it a good thing or bad that I happened to pop up onto her radar when I followed Natasha and she split, thinking I was stalking her as another Partner? Because it was obvious that Jiayin had no chance against the half-alfr but the likeliest outcome—with her bullheadedness—would have been a fairly gruesome death.

Sorcery was a magic that made me think sadists invented the magic system.

Other than that, I flipped through the spells she knew. Apparently, when they were talking about a Partner's property, they meant everything. Since most of her knowledge was of Forbidden Magic, the only useful one I would actually use was her disguise technique <False Face.>

My partner was busy going through all the information he managed to get from glimpses of 01's coding.

I now knew there were different Programs types: A, D, and N models. A stupid but very plain naming system of "Angel Programs," "Devil Programs," and "Neutral Programs."

It was my fault for never thinking to ask why 37 chose to contact 42 until after the fight with 01. Sometimes, my partner was reticent with information—probably a side-effect of his programming—that would have been useful to know since I couldn't read his mind unlike he could mine.

Rosettia Fillemund had been partnered with Program A-42. 37 had wanted to contact 42 because he was aware that "A" designations were "good."

Well, I couldn't blame 37 for not mentioning this to me before. I had thoroughly questioned my AI and he seemed only a little more informed than I was when it came to his brethren and why we were all in Gaellia.

It probably had to deal with the fact that Neutral Programs were supposed to turn into Angel or Devils as they learned from their Partners. Child programs that didn't become "aware" until they changed.

That was what 01 had been cackling about in her last moments, after all. She thought 37 would turn into a Devil Program after killing Jiayin, not realizing he meant to delete 01 herself.

I sighed.

*Purrr? Klck.*

I turned my head to the mother wyvern. "I'm bored."

The wyvern only cocked her head to one side before dismissing me and started grooming one of her babies that struggled to run from its bath.

Looking at the amusing sight for a moment, I turned my gaze back out into Crown City. The sky was turning purple and orange from the sunset, glass and metal reflecting the sun and sending young wyverns to chase the scattered light.

Meanwhile, the fallout from the battle in the sky of Crown City during the night resulted in the end of the Conference. With the "attack" on the city, the foreign dignitaries felt unsafe to linger any longer.

And, I suppose, since they were only going in circles, the scholars have given up on the meeting for the moment. It was time to gather more information before they were to meet again.

I was trying to figure out how to leave the information I got from Jiayin's biography to someone that could do something about it (someone not me). The Head Librarian seemed the best candidate even if Nostradamus was the one I knew that was closest to politics.

Considering the fact I ditched my Library Key on a random weather pane to keep the half-alfr from tracking me down, it was kind of obvious I was avoiding the Master Sorcerer.

[Nori?]

'What's up?'

[… should I delete myself so you can go back home?]

I was taken aback. "Where did this come from?"

[It's because you're bonded with me that a Devil Program and Partner targeted us. There are dozens more of my kind on Gaellia and… and I do not know enough to be able to help you.]

'Nonsense. Are you feeling guilty? Well, don't. You're practically in the same boat as me, Thirty-Seven.'

[But…]

"Also, I would not want to leave if it required sacrificing you. And…"

I had a reason to stay in Gaellia now.

[Nori?]

Clapping my hand, I floated out of the belltower to settle on the roof. I rubbed my hands in anticipation. "Enough with the doom and gloom! The Conference has ended so that means the Quest is complete! Show me the rewards!"

Fiction. Fiction. Fiction. Give me something to read!

A window popped up:

<Quest Complete.>

I impatiently skimmed through the summary.

<Reward>

<Subclass gained: Ninja>

<Reading App for Terminal Unlocked.>

<Allowance of 100,000 words for Reading App.>

I paused before digging out my smartphone and opening the new app.

WHAT IS THIS?!

[You can do Dailies for more points to read with, Nori.]