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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Four months after the official dissolution of the Graveyard Fortress.
“Charlotte Evergreen, it’s the Director.”
“…”
“…Charlotte Evergreen!!”
“Ah, y-yes!”
“What’s gotten into you lately? Your mind is completely elsewhere.”
Charlotte Evergreen, wearing a white lab coat, was standing in a huge underground research institute.
Only after being scolded did she come to her senses, causing ‘Isaac Ophen’, the institute director, to click his tongue in disapproval.
He was the director of the Future Military Technology Research Institute, the core of the Empire’s future technology and a key department under the Defense Industry Agency.
“Even though His Excellency the President specially entrusted you with this task… If you keep acting like this, it will be troublesome for me as well.”
“I apologize, Director.”
“Tsk… If you’re sorry, then pull yourself together next time.”
Director Isaac added in a displeased voice.
Of course, there was a separate reason for his reaction.
The project currently led by Colonel Charlotte Evergreen was a system that would play the most important role in leading the next-generation Imperial Army.
The AAA-type Tactical Command System Project.
Also known as Project Oracle.
It was a project that integrated the Akasha quantum computing systems, which had been installed and operated individually in each fortress, centralization under the name ‘Oracle’, while providing more intuitive battlefield information to field commanders in conjunction with the ultra-high-performance quantum computer Akasha, the symbol of hope that had led the Empire to victory and provided a turning point for humanity, which had been pushed to the brink.
If this project was realized, humanity would be able to achieve a level of technology that was previously unimaginable.
It would be possible to implement future technology at an earlier point in time.
And it would be possible to prevent all future disasters and tragedies early on.
It was a project that would undoubtedly have a significant impact not only in the military but also in the civilian sector.
That’s why Director Isaac wasn’t scolding Charlotte for no reason.
Not only did it require highly complex computational work, but she was also the first pilot of the Oracle Project.
“You were the one who sang about wanting to be the pilot. So do a good job.”
Fuck.
Charlotte swallowed the curse that almost came out of her throat.
What song did she sing?
Wasn’t he the one who had pushed her into this position, saying things like she was the only one who could do it, that she had to set an example as the project leader, and that he would put in a good word for her to the President?
However, Charlotte was someone who had faithfully followed Luthers Edan in front of him, even when he gave more absurd orders than this.
She couldn’t succumb to this kind of condescending attitude.
Of course, in her eyes, both of them were just idiots lost in their own worlds.
“Still, the results are coming out well. Didn’t you read yesterday’s report?”
“Yes, keep it up like that. And tomorrow is the test run, right?”
“Yes.”
“Do well. If you feel like something is wrong with your body, stop the operation immediately. Don’t push yourself and get injured.”
Director Isaac disappeared into the distance with his hands behind his back.
“Eat this, you old man.”
Charlotte raised a refreshing middle finger towards the back of the director’s head and walked in the opposite direction.
Even after leaving the Graveyard, Charlotte Evergreen’s personality hadn’t changed.
Charlotte returned to her office and laid down on the chair that was left alone.
“Haaa….”
A sense of helplessness was gradually creeping in.
Is this alright?
When she first took up her position at the Future Military Technology Research Institute, she was simply happy.
Wasn’t it the workplace she had dreamed of for so long?
She was happy that she could access various weapons and new equipment before others.
Although Charlotte Evergreen had a noble-sounding name like an old aristocrat (she was actually from a count’s family, but of course, after the President took power, they lost all actual authority), she was surprisingly a ‘military otaku’ second to none.
From firearms to tanks and aircraft.
She was a hardcore technological supremacist who believed that advancements in military technology directly led to the progress of human civilization.
However, the reality of the research institute she actually entered was enough to shatter her fantasies.
Overtime after overtime after overtime.
The weapons she wanted to see were scattered throughout the facility, not even properly assembled.
The projects that had been planned as the war ended were being overturned one after another.
The reason was that there was no budget to invest in weapons now that the war had ended.
Even the Oracle Project she was currently in charge of would have become a troublesome piece of junk buried underground if the President hadn’t personally saved it.
Whooooo.
Charlotte Evergreen looked at the huge machine visible through the window of her office.
A computer that had originally been intended to house a giant anti-Titan weapon, now occupying one of the hangar spaces and emitting a heavy, rumbling sound.
Oracle.
It was a machine that boasted a performance far superior to the ultra-high-performance quantum computer Akasha deployed in each fortress.
Unlike Akasha, which used a classical input-output method, its distinctive feature was that the subject could directly connect to the server and receive the information intuitively.
Of course, it was all just theoretical for now.
Whether it was true or not would be known tomorrow.
Still, she was looking forward to becoming the first test pilot of the technology that would lead the future.
What would the future of humanity be like after the war?
Wouldn’t it be a utopian life like in old novels?
A world where everyone lived a happy daily life, filled with laughter.
Charlotte Evergreen stretched her body.
She thought that in such a world, she might even curse less without realizing it.
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The next day.
A group of people, including Director Isaac Ophen of the Future Military Technology Research Institute, the head of the Defense Industry Agency, which was the higher-level organization, and even renowned figures from the private sector, gathered in front of Hangar No. 8 of the research institute.
“Welcome, distinguished guests. I am Colonel Charlotte Evergreen, the project manager of the Oracle Project.”
Wearing a pristine white lab coat, Charlotte Evergreen began her explanation to the gathered people.
The Oracle Project.
With this, humans would be able to break free from the predetermined flow of time and evolve into a far superior existence.
If they had known the future, they could have definitely prevented the rampage of the Titans that had claimed the lives of billions worldwide.
Charlotte was convinced that she carried such an important mission.
That’s why she endured all sorts of condescending treatment from Isaac and didn’t take out the resignation letter she had stuffed in her pocket.
“This concludes the explanation. And now the time is….”
The explanation was something these people already knew anyway.
It was a project that the President was most eager about, while also being able to further enhance the system of Akasha, the Empire’s greatest masterpiece.
“5 minutes remain until the start of the Oracle operation.”
The project team member assisting Charlotte checked the time and spoke.
“Then, I will prepare and immediately begin the test.”
“I wish you success, Colonel.”
Clap clap clap clap clap.
Thunderous applause filled the hangar.
They were sincerely wishing for Charlotte Evergreen’s success.
The safety inspection was completed.
Although not to the extent of a test pilot, clinical trials using chimpanzees, which had the closest genetic structure to humans, were also finished.
They couldn’t achieve 100% results from the start, but for now, they placed significance in formally operating it.
Everyone had that thought in mind.
Beep—, Beep—, Beep—.
“Quickly disconnect!”
“Colonel!! Colonel!! Pull yourself together!!”
“Medic!! Call a medic quickly! What’s with all this blood…!!”
Until Charlotte Evergreen was carried out less than 10 minutes after being put into the experiment.
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Where is this place?
The place where Charlotte Evergreen opened her eyes was a pure white space.
There was nothing there.
An empty space of nothingness, so desolate that it was frightening.
What went wrong?
Maybe it took time for the system to work since it was their first time starting it up.
As Charlotte had her arms crossed, gazing at the endlessly extending white horizon, a voice echoed in her ears.
“You have to do it.”
“Holy shit!!”
Startled, Charlotte turned around to find a huge fortress behind her.
It wasn’t just an ordinary fortress.
A familiar fortress that looked like a giant tombstone standing tall.
The Graveyard.
“Why is this here…?”
As she took a step towards the fortress with a puzzled expression, her field of vision suddenly started spinning.
What appeared next after the Graveyard was the Eastern Military District’s Branberg Command.
Bang!
A single gunshot rang out, and a woman in a red dress collapsed to the ground.
“Wh-what the!”
Charlotte was momentarily flustered.
She saw a man walking past a woman lying on the bed, wiping his eyes.
“Forget about someone like me and live happily.”
Those words made her heart ache.
She didn’t know why.
Just looking at it made her feel like she couldn’t breathe.
“The settings must be wrong. I need to stop the experiment right away…!”
At that moment, Charlotte Evergreen realized one thing.
The Oracle Project was definitely a system that foresaw the future and informed them to prepare for it in advance.
Then… does this mean that these events will happen in the future?
Terrorism? Assault? Conflict?
She had been about to urgently stop the experiment due to the changes in her body, but she straightened her posture again.
Then the background changed once more.
This time, the place that appeared was the capital, Hoenbaren.
A man in a suit was facing another man.
The faces of the people, which had been blurry up until now, finally became clear.
“President Mikhail…?”
However, the person facing the President was someone she had never seen before.
It was an old man with a thick white beard, and his face was contorted with anger.
“If only I could punish those despicable politicians… If only I could throw those evil bastards who only know how to fill their own bellies into hell… I am prepared to make a deal with the devil.”
“I will make it happen for you. But make sure you do what you promised properly. That way, I’ll have something to gain as well.”
“Of course, Your Excellency. I will ensure your safety.”
“Remember, the promised signal is the moment the requiem echoes. You won’t have many chances to kill the President. This will be the first and last time.”
“I am truly grateful.”
The President and the old man clasped hands.
Charlotte Evergreen could only blankly stare at that scene.
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