Maybe There's Still a Way

Just think about it, with over 200,000 avatars, not every one of them can find something to do. Apart from collecting data, Mizuki generally lets the avatars roam freely without any other tasks. The current generation of Mizuki individuals have already started playing video games in their minds.

"How boring."

Mizuki yawned. The joint board members in front of him didn't even notice that he was there. After all, although they held high positions, their own strength was not that great. At most, they had some self-defense magic.

The Mizuki has now concealed itself in another dimension, leaving only a projection in the real world, which even the most skilled sorcerers of Leithanien would not be able to detect.

Having confirmed that even if this group chatted for several more hours, it would still be about the same boring topics, Mizuki chose to disconnect. He didn't have time to play with these guys; things on Rhodes Island were more important to him.

"Ugh!! Why did I lose again?!"

After yet another defeat, Ifrit felt extremely irritable and couldn't help but grab Mizuki's shoulders and shake her violently.

"How come you always win? Can't you just let me win a little?!"

"You're the one who made me use my full strength."

Mizuki looked completely innocent, Ifrit hated that expression of his the most. Whenever Mizuki looked like that, she just couldn't bring herself to hurt him.

"Damn it! Thirteen consecutive losses! When have I ever suffered such humiliation!?"

Seeing Ifrit's fiery temper, Mizuki couldn't help but mutter something under her breath.

"So this isn't a case of letting the water out of the way after all."

Even before she came into contact with the Sea of Life, Mizuki already possessed extraordinary thinking abilities and reaction speeds through her connection with the Seaborn the Brood, and she had never lost a game. After coming into contact with the Sea of Life, the performance difference was comparable to that between an old-fashioned mobile phone and a galactic computer.

"Hmm, what did you say?" Ifrit's ears were keen enough to catch Mizuki's words. "You mean you can beat me even if you hold back!?"

"I didn't say that," Mizuki quickly shook her head. "But Ifrit, you'd be very angry if Dr. Silence and Ms. Saria heard you talking like that."

Ifrit is good in every way. She is responsible, a bit competitive but not willful, and her health is improving under Mizuki's care. However, she is too boyish, which has given Silence a headache for a long time. A while ago, Mizuki that she didn't know if Ifrit would be able to find a partner in the future.

She also mentioned that when she brought this up with Saria, that straight-laced, diamond-hard girl said that Ifrit's future boyfriend must be able to withstand three of her punches. Seriously? One punch and he'd be dead!

It can only be said that Silence has really gone to great lengths for this family.

"I can do whatever I want, even if it's... never mind, you're not allowed to tell Silence!"

Ifrit suddenly remembered that Mizuki was now also in the Medical Department and was a colleague of Silence, which meant that he could report on Silence at any time.

"No, I won't." Mizuki waved his hand. He didn't even need to tell Silence. Silence knew what kind of person Ifrit was, wasn't she like a mother to him?

At this moment, there were only two people in the game club: Mizuki and Ifrit. Mizuki's job was important but not too busy, while Ifrit had nothing to do and could only play with Mizuki out of boredom, but it was very annoying that they couldn't beat each other.

"I'm suddenly feeling really bored. I can't beat you in games, and I'm even less likely to beat you in a fight."

Lying down on the soft sofa, Ifrit looked unusually deflated, a rare sight for her. The fact that she was willing to show this side of herself in front of Mizuki proved that she already considered Mizuki one of her own.

"Why are you always trying to beat me?" Mizuki sat down next to Ifrit, looking at the shelf next to them to see if there were any fun games.

"Because Silence told me to look up to you, and said I wasn't allowed to be like Saria, and that I wouldn't find a boyfriend like her."

Saria has always been Ifrit's role model, and she wants to be like Saria. However, there has always been conflict between Silence and Saria, even now that Mizuki has healed Ifrit. Moreover, as Ifrit grows up, Silence is already worried about her marriage.

"So you're thinking of beating me at least in some way?"

"... I guess so, it's a very childish reason, isn't it?"

Ifrit herself knew that this reason was unreasonable, or rather, far-fetched, but she just had this competitive spirit. The more Mizuki beat her, the more unwilling she was to admit defeat and want to win back.

"You were a child too."

"You're not much older than me." Ifrit sat casually on the sofa, glancing at Mizuki. "I've looked at your file; there's nothing there except your birthday and age."

Judging by appearance alone, Mizuki is indeed very young, even giving the impression that he hasn't fully grown up yet, while Ifrit looks more mature than him.

"Because I usually keep my affairs confidential, of course I can tell you some things, but before that, how are you feeling? Have you been feeling unwell lately?"

"No, even that fat balloon guy rarely appears anymore, and there are no strange noises in his head."

The balloon-like fat man Ifrit mentioned was the consciousness of the Flame Demon, which was embedded in a fragment of the Flame Demon that had been implanted into her body during an experiment. This creature had caused her a lot of trouble.

However, when she was near Mizuki, that consciousness wouldn't bother her, as if it were afraid of Mizuki. Gradually, Ifrit began to enjoy being near Mizuki, seeking some peace and quiet.

"It's a side effect of the experiment; it's just a trapped consciousness. You can try to communicate with it and have an open and honest conversation."

"What if he doesn't want to talk?"

"Then let me talk to him. Hmm, you just say... if he's unwilling, let Surtr come and talk to him."

Mizuki thought for a moment. If it were her, there would probably be no room for negotiation. In that case, she would only be able to use physical persuasion in the spiritual world. Although it was uncertain whether Surtr belonged to the Flame Demon Clan, she must have been a member of the Flame Demon Clan back then. Mizuki had dug her out of the ruins.

If it's an ancient Flame Demon, it should know Surtr's identity, right?

"Big Sister Surtr knows him? How come I've never heard of him before?"

"Why not give it a try? Let's play a game together first. I played this It Takes Two with Rosemary before, and we're almost done with it. It's quite fun."

Ifrit's attention was diverted. She couldn't beat him in a one-on-one fight, but at least she could play together in a two-player game. She picked up the controller and glanced at the impeccably poised Mizuki, then looked at herself... It seemed like her skirt wasn't covering her at all. Luckily, Mizuki didn't see it. If he dared to stare, Ifrit would definitely set her on fire... Oh well, she couldn't beat him anyway. Even Saria said she couldn't beat Mizuki.

Playing a two-player game is much better. Having Mizuki as a teammate makes her feel very reassured. However, after glancing at the "must-play for families and couples" recommendation on the game box, Ifrit had a strange feeling. She and Mizuki certainly weren't family, but as for couples... it was common knowledge on Rhodes Island that Mizuki had multiple partners. She didn't have those kinds of feelings for Mizuki, except for one or two times when she was healed and felt inexplicably comfortable.

"Mizuki, why doesn't the treatment I'm receiving lately feel as comfortable as it used to...?"

"Ah, you mean this... it's because your condition has improved, you're almost fully recovered, so there won't be such a severe reaction."

Mizuki lied with a straight face. He couldn't very well tell Ifrit that the problem was actually his own, which they hadn't discovered during his previous treatments. That would be too embarrassing, and he wouldn't be able to stay on Rhodes Island.

It's all Texas and Ho'olheyak's fault. Hmm, I'll deal with them tonight. Right now, let's get this sorted out for Ifrit first.

"Is that so? That's strange. Usually, when an illness is severe, treatment is very uncomfortable. Why is it that the better you get, the more uncomfortable you feel?"

"So, do you want to be comfortable or sick?"

Mizuki poked Ifrit's cheek, then quickly pulled back to avoid being bitten by the girl; he had experienced this trick from other girls many times before.

"That must be... wait, I definitely want to be comfortable and not get sick!"

Ifrit suddenly realized that Mizuki's words were deliberately teasing her; it wasn't even a multiple-choice question to begin with.

"You're not stupid."

"I'm not stupid!" Ifrit kicked Mizuki. "I'm known for being incredibly smart!"

"But I heard from Silence that you failed your previous assignments."

"Tsk..." In a moment of carelessness, Ifrit's character was accidentally caught. "Why does Silence tell you everything?!"

Perhaps because Mizuki saved Ifrit's life, Silence always trusted him more and often talked to Mizuki about Ifrit, mostly to find someone to confide in and relieve her stress. Raising a child is quite stressful, especially since she was a single mother who had no blood relation to Ifrit.

"Because we're colleagues," Mizuki rescued Ifrit from her role. "So, what does Ifrit want to do? Become a research scholar like Silence and Saria, or do something else, like opening a barbecue restaurant?"

"I need to do... By the way, Mizuki, can you cure Sister Joyce?"

"You mean the Ptilopsis?"

Operator Ptilopsis, whose real Joyce Moore, belongs to Rhine Lab like Ifrit, and Ifrit even have a pretty good relationship.

Unfortunately, due to a mistake in an experiment a long time ago, the chip implanted in her brain still remains, causing the Ptilopsis to fall into a deep sleep from time to time, and forcing her to maintain her personality using a mechanical tone and manner.

"Yes, did you check it for her?"

"I have indeed seen that, but the case of the Ptilopsis is more unique than yours, and in some ways, more difficult."

It's important to know that Ptilopsis is a key target of Rhodes Island's attention. How could Kal'tsit not have asked Mizuki to take a look at it? At the time, Mizuki said she could help, because troublesome doesn't mean there's no way to deal with it.

"But the most crucial point is that the Ptilopsis herself chose to refuse; she wanted to keep the chip."

"Why?"

"She said it was left by a very important deceased friend of hers, and she wanted to preserve the friend's research results, so all I could do was help her avoid feeling pain and prevent her from falling asleep on the ground halfway through her walk."

Speaking of which, Mizuki recalled that the chip in the Ptilopsis's mind was apparently developed for Originium. The developers believed that if Originium truly stored information, then if the information within Originium could be decoded and translated, it would lead to a leap forward in Columbia's science and technology. However, that level of complex information could not be processed by computers; it required human intervention.

Under these circumstances, the Ptilopsis agreed to become a test subject, and almost lost her life in the process. Dr. Della, the Doctor, was also overwhelmed with guilt and wanted to find a way to save the Ptilopsis by experimenting on herself, but unfortunately she did not have the same luck Ptilopsis.

Decoding and translating the internal information of Originium is a bold idea, but coincidentally, Mizuki needs it now, and he can perfect this experiment.

"Ah! I cleared the game!"

After Ifrit finished speaking, Mizuki realized that while she was lost in thought, she had already cleared some parts of the map, and the tentacles had helped her clear the rest.

Watching the two characters on the screen embrace and kiss, Ifrit couldn't help but stroke her chin, looking at Mizuki with curiosity.

"Hey... if you have a girlfriend, you should know what it feels like to kiss. Can you tell me?"

This was a difficult question to answer, at least Mizuki really didn't want to. He pondered it for a moment.

"This isn't something that can be explained simply by talking."

"I see... I understand now."

Ifrit crossed her arms over her chest, feigning an air of self-awareness.

"How about we try a kiss?"

"... What have you come to understand?"

Chapter 261 There Might Still Be a Way

Nothing actually happened between Mizuki and Ifrit, really! After all, he didn't want to have to keep his head down every time he saw Silence and Saria, so he just made up an excuse, kissed Ifrit on the cheek, and that was it.

That feeling seemed to make Ifrit feel that something was amiss. Although it wasn't a kiss, it was the first time she had been treated so intimately by someone other than Silence. She couldn't help but wonder why she had done it, and she blurted out the words as if possessed.

With these conflicted and strange feelings, Ifrit yawned, lay down on the sofa, and fell asleep immediately. Her only thought before falling asleep was: his lips are quite soft.

"Asleep." Mizuki waved away the neurotoxins she had spread in the air, then grabbed a sheet and covered Ifrit with it. "Sleep well."

Although Mizuki doesn't use toxins often anymore, it must be admitted that his toxins still have many uses. They can be used as anesthetics, sleeping pills, tranquilizers, and of course, poisoning. Currently, apart from Kal'tsit, no one in Terra should be able to detect his toxins. This kind of poison that spreads directly from the Sea of Life cannot be detected by physical means.

However, Mizuki didn't intend to do anything to Ifrit by putting her to sleep; she just needed to soothe the other consciousness within her body.

With his fingers placed on Ifrit's brow, the Sea of Life connected with the frequency of the Sarkaz Souls, Mizuki sensed Ifrit's physical condition.

"Let's be a little quieter. I know you can hear me. Try to be less stubborn sometimes and help her out. I'll find a good way to separate you two."

When he treated Ifrit before, he had already discovered the fragments of the Flame Demon in her body. They were very ancient, so ancient that even just the fragments were enough to give Ifrit such power. This was also the reason why Mizuki guessed that the other party should know Surtr. He had inadvertently glimpsed Surtr's memories and found that Surtr seemed to have a fairly high status in the Flame Demon Clan back then.

A fluctuation emanated from Ifrit's body, indicating agreement. It seemed that the other party's temper was better than Mizuki had thought. Well, it was probably because Ifrit had gradually developed a certain understanding over the years. However, the two sides still couldn't have a proper talk.

Having resolved Ifrit's issue, Mizuki sent a message to the Sea Siren in Columbia, asking them to help gather information about Ptilopsis's experiments from years ago. He needed to reconstruct the device capable of decoding and translating information from Originium.

(Dad, no, Izumik, I've found this, I'll send it to you now)

Sea Siren 007 responded to Mizuki almost simultaneously and uploaded a large amount of relevant information through the consciousness network, but Mizuki remembered that she had clearly asked her to investigate Dorothy.

(I've investigated, and Dorothy's pretty much what you thought. Frank did participate in the underground research institute, but she voluntarily withdrew from the experimental group about a month ago. Then, two months ago, she also tried to reproduce that experiment, the one you asked us to investigate.)

"The experiment was reproduced two months ago, and then... the person left the experimental group a month ago?"

This is getting interesting. Mizuki had a feeling before that Dorothy must have some secret. Her kind heart was genuine, but she must be hiding something, or perhaps she didn't even know what she was hiding.

Such a scenario is not impossible; at least Mizuki could do it. It seems he needs to put more effort into winning over this Miss Dorothy.

(Should we continue the investigation?)

"Continue, but just investigate her activities at Rhine Lab. If nothing unexpected happens, the only trace of her research at the underground research institute will be a list."

"Also, help me find out what the Sarkaz are planning to do in Victoria. Can you do that in a day?"

Originally, Mizuki didn't care about Victoria's affairs, but now the situation is different. As Columbia's research on his cells deepens, he has also obtained a lot of information that he didn't know before.

As expected, research is something that only professionals can do. Mizuki couldn't discover these traits about himself because many things seemed completely natural to him. For example, Columbia's research found that his cells could assimilate other living and non-living things and modify their properties. Mizuki thought this was like breathing, but they developed drugs that used his cells as targeted therapies.

Not to mention, they even discovered that Mizuki's cells and Originium shared commonalities, a discovery that Mizuki himself hadn't expected, but which revealed a brand new possibility for him.

Even in parallel worlds, there must be differences. The Originium in this world... may not be the same as the Originium in other worlds. After all, the Doctor, who is the originator of Originium, is different.

Mizuki is now almost certain that the Doctor has left himself plenty of backup plans and firmly believes that these plans will bring him more hope. Now that the Doctor has lost his memory, he must try his best to find these things left behind by the Doctor.

(No problem, don't worry. Our team can find out the details for you within an hour, let alone a day!)

"It rained yesterday, be careful not to hit the Barrier Layer again."

Mizuki knew exactly what kind of people her girls were. Even if they were parachuted in, they could still knock her back into the fountain. Anyway, she wouldn't die. They always did things to kill her.

(Don't worry, we've already practiced parachuting.)

"When you say you've practiced parachuting, do you mean you conjure your body 300 meters above the ground and then crash onto someone's roof, forcing them to pay compensation?"

(Um... actually, I meant the time I accidentally damaged someone's landmark building.)

Mizuki remained silent. He began to doubt whether it was a good thing that he had adjusted the Sea Siren's physical strength too high back then. Originally, it was for the sake of combat power, but these girls always managed to come up with some new tricks for him.

Well, we can't just throw away our own pets, but we can't let them damage a landmark building. We'll make them fix it later.

As for Mizuki himself, he naturally wanted to visit Sarkaz in person, mainly to find Theresa's corpse. Of course, she might have already been resurrected. With this former Demon King as the access point, he could do whatever he wanted.