177

What I had in hand was only a single sheet that seemed to be the cover.

Thinking there should be more, I searched and found a diary.

It was likely found from the same desk, so I could have hoped for the contents… but right now, the continuation of that cover took priority.

And so, the continuation I found was—unbelievably—inside the trash can.

Worse, it had been crumpled up, and its condition was terrible.

Not only that, but the table of contents and the content were slightly different—or rather, the pages were different.

(Ah, this is the one they messed up and threw away.)

I slumped my shoulders, thinking the worst case would be having to decipher this.

And since that bad feeling hit the mark, I wanted to sigh.

“It’s hard to understand… but there are still quite a few parts I can barely read. But still…”

There were far more familiar parts than I expected.

I could confirm that Lark’s information was correct, but I still hadn’t found new information, and my irritation piled up.

But when I discovered a certain line, those feelings blew away.

“—Assault Mode! I finally found it!”

What was written first was its specs.

Though there were many unreadable parts, I could make out that compared to normal, it improved abilities by an average of thirty percent, and that the text focused on high defensive performance from the outer hide hardening.

But aside from that, there wasn’t anything else written, so it seemed this was just a spec listing.

Likewise, I found the listing for Stealth Mode.

Just as I feared, I found a note that while the camouflage ability was active, the outer hide changed in nature and caused a decrease in defensive capability.

(In other words, getting cut in that state is dangerous… so what I suspected back then was right.)

Praising myself from that time, I continued deciphering to see if there was anything else, and I found an interesting line.

Incredibly, this Stealth Mode apparently allowed partial changes too.

That meant I could do something like sticking out only my face like a horror movie, or hide only my tail during combat and attack.

With that unexpected gain, I tried it right away.

“…Huh? This is pretty hard.”

Maybe I had gotten too used to switching the whole thing on and off, because I couldn’t get partial changes to work.

My fifth attempt also ended in failure, so I put this on hold for now and deciphered the rest of the document.

But perhaps because the paper’s condition was bad, I gained nothing more.

(But it’s clear. By switching among three forms—Normal Mode, Stealth Mode, and Assault Mode—I’m a genetically enhanced soldier made for capturing bases and raiding the rear.)

Let’s think of it positively as at least one gain.

There were still plenty of rooms, so there was a good chance I could obtain detailed information.

As I was about to move to the next room, my eyes went to the diary in my hand.

There might be something useful in this too.

With no more than “I’ll skim it for now,” I began flipping through the diary.

At first it was a diary-like record of daily life, but as the content shifted to genetically enhanced soldiers and their research, its tone gradually changed.

“Dr. Zeta. Your concern was correct. The Empire allocated genetic modification technology to the military. If it had gone well, it might have restored even lost bodies, not just treated incurable diseases, so my disappointment is great. But this should be resolved once the war ends. All I can do now is pray for the souls of those who became sacrifices. Faced with this devilish deed, to whom should I beg forgiveness?”

The technology had originally been for medicine—that was what I’d heard from Lark, but I could tell that when it was switched over to military use, the researcher couldn’t hide her confusion at a technology meant to save people becoming a technology meant to kill people.

“How long do we have to keep doing these experiments? Because it’s treated as a military secret, I’m not even allowed to resign, and I hate myself for piling up the corpses of experimental animals. If only the doctor were here… no, this sin is mine. It’s not something I should entrust to anyone else.”

Filling in the unreadable parts in my head as I went, I kept reading.

From the perspective of a researcher, the Genetically Enhanced Soldier Project—this person seemed more decent than I expected, and she wrote of her suffering and her rejection of the experiments.

“The Chimera Project has left my hands. I thought I’d been freed from research that toys with life, but it was only for a moment. Next I’m being made to go along with something called the Genetically Enhanced Soldier Project. Based on Chimera Project data, they plan to splice monster genes into humans to create soldiers with monster abilities. It’s absurd! What does the Empire think life is?!”

Setting aside my reaction of “Yes, say more,” this person really was quite decent.

She was negative about continuing research that was practically madness, and she felt guilt.

Even though someone like her existed, it ended in a cruel conclusion—something I knew well.

And as I read on, I came to hear the author’s anguished scream.

“Why? Why did it succeed? How did it succeed? This kind of technology must not exist in the world. No, I should have run away back at the Chimera Project stage. Ah, I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I never meant for this!”

Not an unexpected failure, but an unexpected success.

I envisioned her crying and confessing over a success born as a product of chance.

“Dozel said. After piling up this many deaths, are you going to run now…?”

A page with only that written.

I turned to the next page.

“Running away is not permitted. I can’t stop piling up corpses either. Then at least, to win this war—”

The rest had been blacked out and was unreadable.

I could vaguely imagine what had been written there.

She had refused to justify herself with some reason.

“Why did the doctor make something like this? Was the Nemesis Code really necessary? As one who received your teachings, I want to ask. Did you hate the Empire that exiled you so much that you went that far?”

Here, the Nemesis Code appeared.

I should say reading this had been worth it, but it was too early to rejoice.

This was a diary—there was no guarantee it contained what I wanted.

“It says ‘loss of reason in stages,’ but did the doctor understand what that meant? Or has the Nemesis Code already been changed into something else by someone’s hand? I still can’t contact the doctor. What should I do?”

One new piece of information and one suspicion.

That the loss of reason caused by the Nemesis Code progressed in stages, and that it was possible someone had altered the Nemesis Code into something different from what it originally was.

It was extremely frustrating that no specific details were written.

I turned the page again.

“Apparently the western front has collapsed. They urge us to hurry and complete the research, but it’s not something that can be rushed. No, that’s not it. I’ve learned there are other research facilities for the Genetically Enhanced Soldier Project besides this one. I never thought the day would come when I could feel my loyalty to the Empire wavering this clearly.”

A dry laugh slipped out.

In my current form, it was a lament I could sympathize with a little.

But although I hadn’t known, I had become this way by choice.

I turned the page, deciding I wouldn’t regret it.

“I don’t want to write anything today.”

That single sentence told of her state of mind.

My impatience and my fingers didn’t match, and I couldn’t turn the next page quickly.

“I will probably be recorded as a criminal who remains in human history. Even if it’s not yet complete, once it has come this far, it’s only a matter of time. Even if it leaves my hands here, this technology will be completed. Then at least, I will do everything I can. Even if I’m laughed at as futile, even if I’m scorned as mere self-satisfaction, there is nothing else I can do anymore.”

Her anguish was palpable from the writing.

Whether she gave up because it was hopeless, or resolved herself because she had no choice, either way she chose the path of seeing it through—and within that, she did what she could.

Then where was the result of that?

This diary answered that question from the future.

“Ah, I never thought my wish would be granted! Though only a little, I’ve obtained a chance to atone for my sin! I will make it happen, without fail. I couldn’t stop the Ultimate Lifeform Project, but I will at least make the deletion of the Nemesis Code happen. There are not a few supporters. If only we have the budget, we will even be able to remove it from those who have already had the code implanted.”

An unexpected helping hand— the possibility that research had been conducted to removing the Nemesis Code.

My rushing fingers couldn’t turn the page properly.

On the next page was my hope— the hope of the test subjects who had awakened in this era.

My fingers pinched the paper, and the page turned slowly and carefully.

“We will attend the conference held in the Imperial Capital. We have served the Empire, sacrificing countless lives and building a mountain of corpses. We will make them grant at least one of our wishes, no matter what. I don’t know how many times I’ve thought of dying by now. Even so, I still have something I must do. If hell truly exists, then wait a little longer. I still have to live. The fateful time is May twenty-fifth—I will surely seize one step toward atonement in the Imperial Capital.”

I recognized that number.

The dates on the newspapers I had gathered—the last one was May twenty-fifth.

Maybe this was a few years before that… no—the urgent war situation made me realize it was the same year.

The deployment of the final weapon and the disappearance of the Imperial Capital.

Why was hope so fragile?

The diary in my hand slipped from my grasp.

I just stared at it in silence.