Chapter 9
"Tr-Trinity Academy...?"
"As I thought, you don’t know it."
"I-I’m sorryyy..."
"There’s nothing to apologize for. Don’t apologize for things like this."
I reiterated that and immediately continued the explanation.
"Trinity Academy is the largest Adaptee training institution in New Valhalla City."
Trinity Academy.
Also called simply the Academy.
There were two reasons why the place, established to foster talents to fight against the [Arcane], was named after the ‘Holy Trinity.’
The first reason was the founders.
The academy was originally a joint venture between three forces: the government, corporations, and citizens.
To be precise, it was founded through an agreement between the New Valhalla City Administration, the TOP5 corporations led by the Stingray Corporation, and the city’s largest civilian organization known as the Popular Faction.
The second reason was the founding ideology.
The easiest way to understand this ideology was to read the old inscription engraved at the Academy's main gate.
—"If it is an observable existence, even if it is divine, it shall be conquered."
[Arcane] are monsters born from humanity’s fundamental fears and imagination.
Some of them are based on urban legends or myths, and the city has actually been on the brink of destruction several times because of them.
Foolish people sometimes worship these monsters as gods, claiming, “They were sent to punish sinful humanity.”
But at Trinity Academy, an institution that trains warriors to fight against the [Arcane], gods and demons alike are viewed only as enemies threatening mankind.
Under reason and rationality, there is no room for the unknown or fear, and if it is for the sake of humanity, divinity can be profaned without hesitation.
In that sense—Trinity.
It proclaims that this place is where the greatest beings grow.
"To put it simply, it’s a place where the best talents and technologies gather. I’m sure you’ll learn techniques and knowledge there that you’ve never seen before."
"Y-Yes?! M-Me, I’m the one attending?!"
"Yes."
"Not you, Aaron?!"
"Right. Looks like you misunderstood something. I’m not a student—I’m a sponsor."
There was no reason for a royal of the city to attend an institution meant to train soldiers and engineers.
Even if, for some reason, he did attend, someone like Aaron Stingray, a complete monster, wouldn’t have anything to learn at the Academy. It’d be a relief if he didn’t go around slicing up his classmates.
At my words, Miyu shook her head violently.
"I-It’s impossibleee! Someone like me has no right to attend such a place... I mean, I didn’t even finish elementary school..."
Which is exactly why it’s so amazing.
That someone who didn’t even graduate elementary school could self-learn not just various modules, but even create disciple-level nanomachines that surpassed Adam’s.
"I-It’s too much for meee... No way a place that amazing would be willing to teach someone like me..."
"You don’t need to worry about that. If I say the word, those gates will open without hesitation."
Of course, if it were the Academy of the past, even the Stingray Group would have had a hard time pulling strings, but now it’s different.
The current Trinity Academy is practically being run by the Stingray Group and a few other major corporations.
The government, which was once one of the three pillars, has become a puppet dangling before capital, and the other pillar, the civilian organization ‘Popular Faction,’ has fractured due to factional infighting.
Once those two powers lost influence in the city, the corporations devoured the Academy’s operating rights whole.
Of course, the original tradition still remains, and three headmasters selected from each faction technically run the Academy together.
But it goes without saying that the headmasters representing the government and the citizens are nothing more than figureheads.
‘The current Academy has become a space where corporations can legally train Adaptee mercenaries and engineers using taxes.’
Trinity Academy looks fair and clean on the surface, but beneath that lies a den of corruption.
There, corporations openly recruit talented individuals early on under the name of ‘sponsors’ and form teams to compete with each other.
Naturally, the Stingray Group is deeply involved in this recruitment race, and with their unmatched capital and history, they can exert considerable influence in operations.
In simple terms, sneaking in a few students through unofficial means is something they can easily get away with.
‘Well, the real issue isn’t the admission process—it’s whether Miyu can adapt once she’s there.’
Even in the original novel, Miyu, who was extremely timid, struggled to adjust to the Academy despite her talent.
‘Still, it’s a necessary step.’
Trinity Academy is one of the main settings of Cyber‑Module’s Necromancer.
There are many types of nerds in this world, and some of them enjoy watching their favorite characters suffer...
But I wasn’t one of those.
If I could, I’d lock Miyu away in a cozy and comfortable room and pamper her, whispering, "Aww, my baby," and make sure she never lacked anything.
But Miyu needs to grow—for humanity’s future, and for herself. And to grow, she needs to face many trials.
If I had to describe my feelings, it would be like a mother lion tossing her cub off a cliff.
"You need to develop your abilities further—for my sake, too. So, while continuing your research, prepare to move. I’ll provide everything you need, so keep your packing minimal."
"Y-Yes, Aaron..."
Miyu responded in a faint voice.
She looked quite displeased, but I knew her well enough to understand she wouldn’t utter a single complaint.
"I’ll give you my personal contact information, so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be heading back now."
"O-Okay. Please get home safelyyy..."
"You look kind of happy, though."
"N-No! That’s not true at all…!"
Miyu panicked, flailing her hands.
I considered teasing her a bit more but held back. She had been through a lot today and must be exhausted.
Like a strange man breaking down her door and barging in, or having her illness cured.
So it was only right to let her rest now.
"Then, get some good rest."
I put my coat back on and stood up. Just before stepping out of the lab, I added one last thing.
Something the original Aaron would never have said.
"Come to think of it, I forgot to mention this."
"Yes?"
"Thank you—truly—for saving my life."
Leaving Miyu’s lab, I moved to an open lot near the Black Market. It was the spot where I had first parked upon arriving in Sector E.
I contacted Maria and told her to come pick me up. Less than five minutes later, a high-end flying sedan appeared and stopped in front of me.
Shhhhh.
The back door opened smoothly, and I climbed in with a natural motion, lying back into the soft leather seat.
"Welcome back, Young Master."
"Yeah. Let’s go home."
At my command, Maria began driving the car in the direction of Elysium.
As the car soared high into the sky and the full view of New Valhalla City unfolded before us—
"Young Master."
Maria, who had her hands on the wheel, opened her mouth.
For the record, this sedan had an autopilot feature, but apparently, when escorting a VIP, it was proper etiquette to drive manually.
"How did the matter you were pursuing turn out?"
"……."
I didn’t answer.
I was worried that, without my emotional control module, I might slip and reveal something fatal to her by lying poorly.
She had always been a loyal hunting dog of the Stingray Family and didn’t exactly look kindly on someone like me—mad dog and murderer that I was.
And now that I had wiped out the Blood Wolves today, her opinion of me might have dropped even further.
‘If she finds out I can’t use most of my modules anymore, she might go straight for my throat.’
Give out the bare minimum of information.
Seize as much initiative as possible.
Anyway, the fact that I’m healed won’t stay hidden for long, so before they make their move, I need to strike first.
Instead of answering her question, I changed the subject immediately.
"Contact Benedict."
"You mean the young master?"
"Yeah."
Benedict Stingray.
The second son of the Stingray Family.
In other words, my younger brother.
When his name suddenly came up, Maria’s poker face twisted slightly. It seemed like an unexpected statement to her.
"…May I ask the reason, sir? If I suddenly reach out to him, the young master might be confused."
"It’s regarding the Academy."
"You don’t mean the sponsor role, do you?"
"I do."
Currently, the one managing the Stingray Group’s Human Resource Development Foundation is none other than the second son, Benedict Stingray.
Originally, the Aaron before I possessed him had been serving as chairman, but when he fell ill, he temporarily passed the authority to Benedict.
Then, at the start of volume 2—so about half a year later in the original timeline—Aaron’s condition worsened irreversibly.
Realizing his death was near, he visited the Academy briefly to formally transfer power to his younger brother.
There, he happened to spot a few ‘prey’ and his killing urges were triggered. After several murder sprees, he ended up being caught and fought by the protagonist.
‘If I were following the original story, I’d be handing the position over to my brother… but I’ll be doing the opposite here.’
The Human Resource Development Foundation’s role is to discover, support, and recruit talented individuals from across the city, including the Academy.
The clear advantage is being able to plant future elite members of the Technology and Security Departments according to your own preference.
And by using the position of ‘sponsor,’ my ultimate goal is to preemptively bring key figures—including Miyu—over to my side.
But obviously, there’s no way my younger brother would willingly hand over such a valuable position.
Maria seemed to be concerned about that too and asked cautiously,
"Will you be alright? The young master has invested quite a bit into that department, so he’ll likely be very upset."
"Invested? That’s ridiculous."
I let out a snort.
"Last year, every first-year student he selected as a sponsorship candidate was pathetic. Someone with such poor judgment doesn’t deserve the chairman seat of the foundation."
"With all due respect, Young Master. The students we sponsored this year have all achieved top-tier grades, and even last year’s first-years..."
"They’re trash."
Of course, I had no idea who those sponsored students were—never seen their faces or names.
But I could say with confidence that their talent was insignificant.
Why?
Because in the original story, they were all extras.
Their names didn’t even show up.
"The one I picked up today is a hundred times better."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Foolish, Maria. Do you think I turned that Abandoned Factory District into such a mess for no reason?"
Maria’s eyes widened slightly at my words.
Judging by that reaction, she had clearly thought I went berserk and killed those guys just because I felt like it.
Well, she’s not wrong… but a little seasoning would help.
"Today, I made a contract with a Modular who had been exploited by those guys. She’s still inexperienced, but far more exceptional than any of the ones Benedict selected."
"Co-Could it be that Modular is the one related to the ‘Talking Vending Machine’...?"
"Yeah. The one I ordered you all to find but you failed to locate."
With that, Maria would now suspect that my illness had been cured. She wouldn't dare make a move on me now.
"Contact Benedict immediately and convey my exact words. ‘Your eye for talent is garbage, and you are unfit to be a sponsor.’"
"...Understood. However, as you know, Young Master, the younger master is not someone who would back down easily from that."
"If he comes at me like that, then we can settle it with a wager."
"A wager, sir?"
"Hmm. How about this?"
Pretending to think it over, I revealed the plan I had already prepared.
"We each have the engineers we chose compete against each other."