“You should just give up.”

…

“What?”

“You’re trying too hard. Stop relying on others and instead just act like a normal girl.”

“What are you saying.”

Lake slowly walked toward her.

“It’s pretty easy to understand.”

Mia took a few steps back, raising her [Saint’s Broadsword] once again.

“N-no. You’re not making any sense.”

Lake sighed.

“I’m sure a smart girl like you can understand. Just think about it.”

There was a moment of silence.

Lake simply looked down at her with his hands in his pockets. He stood no chance in a fight at the moment anyways.

Mia lowered her sword.

“Ah… ahaha, I really should kill you.”

“So why don’t you.”

“Because I don’t even know who to trust anymore.”

“Is that relevant?”

She laughed.

“Aren’t you glad that I haven’t killed you yet?! That was your whole plan wasn’t it? You were going to manipulate me with that document. Aha. Now you’ve achieved your goal. Aren’t you happy?!”

“No. Not really.”

“That’s a lie. Why are you still lying to me, even now?”

“It’s not a lie.”

Mia put her sword back into its sheath. Her expression changed—there was no longer sadness or anger. Her expression was empty.

Nothing.

“I’ve lost my motivation to kill you. Come on, celebrate. You did it! You did it! You win! Aren’t you happy?”

Lake sighed.

“You don’t understand me at all, Mia.”

“What do you even mean? Why are you so cryptic?”

“I’m not. Everything I’m saying is the truth.”

She looked up at Lake.

“What was your point then? Why did you do all this?”

“I didn’t show it to you as a last-ditch plea for life. I was going to survive, regardless of whether I had it or not.”

“Where are you getting all this confidence from?”

…

“It’s pretty simple. I completely understand you, the way you think, the way you act. But you don’t understand me at all.”

“What’s this bullshit coming out of your mouth again.”

“I would never lose to you.”

Emotions hold people back. Memories hold people back. Attachment hold people back. With none of these, the only thing left is rationality.

Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, that’s not up to me to decide. However, that was the theory crafted by The Ideal Human Project.

People’s actions are determined by their emotions. More often than not, their emotions will get in the way of logic. As such, they will always have openings. For long as there was an opening, the perfect human would be able to exploit it.

“What now, Mia. Let me ask you—what do you want to do?”

Her head fell down; she covered her eyes with her small, soft hands.

“H-how am I supposed to know…”

Lake turned his back to the young girl. His hair swayed ever-so-slightly in the wind.

“Don’t you want to leave the city?”

“Why would I do that.”

“Start a new life. I’m sure you have some goal. You can chase it from there.”

“What’s the difference.”

“Are you fine with being a lab rat?”

“It makes no difference now.”

“Are you sure?”

“What is there to be sure about.”

“You’ll never be able to achieve anything for as long as you’re a lab rat in someone else’s palm. They’ll control you forever.”

Mia went silent.

With that, Lake began to walk off into the distance. Despite this, Mia did not follow; instead, she silently stared at the leaves shaking on the trees. She had to make a decision, whether to accept her life, or to try again—again and again, until she succeeds.

• ───────────────── •

“Where did Mia go?”

Samantha looked sternly at the guard who hesitantly answered.

“S-she went for a walk.”

“Wrong answer. Try again.”

“T-that’s w… that’s what she told me.”

Samantha stood up. The guard jolted back.

“I’ll ask you again. Where did Mia go.”

She was smiling, but it was clear that her feeling was anything but content. In such a scene, he smile was more terrifying than an angry expression could ever be.

“She… went looking for o-one of the males that escaped.”

“Ah, that wasn’t so hard now was it. Which direction did she go?”

“I-I really don’t know that one.”

Samantha sighed.

“That’s fine then. You’re dismissed.”

…

Pouring some hot water into her cup, she swirled the tea leaves in the steaming liquid. Vapour flew into the air as she brought it to her mouth.

“Ahh…”

Placing it back on the table, she took a seat in her chair.

Suddenly, another guard rushed into the room. It was the head of security in Complex II. Her face was completely pale.

“Samantha. Part of the Final Report has gone missing!”

“Don’t tell me…”

It didn’t take her very long to piece everything together.

Taking in a breath, her expression immediately went back to normal. Sipping her tea once again, she sighed.

“Thanks for letting me know. You’re dismissed now.”

As the guard left, Samantha got up and closed the door to the office.

“Really now.”

She took another sip of her tea.

“Brienne definitely won’t be happy to hear this.”

She continued to talk to herself, her voice deep and mellow.

—But Mia, I really do want to protect you. Everyone else in the kingdom might think you’re just a tool, but not me. Maybe it’s for the better that you know. Still, I’m not going to report this to Brienne. I don’t report anything bad about you to Brienne.

You’re like a child to me.

Samantha bathed in her thoughts.

In the end, a person’s decisions are affected by their emotions. No matter how old, no matter how mature, no matter how knowledgable—for as long as they have memories, attachments and emotions, those will always affect their choices.

That was no less true for the ever-wise Samantha.