Chapter 98

Iris’ Past (6)
It took Iris about two years to graduate from university. Although there were jests about how even Iris's record of skipping grades had its limits, the real reason was the university's effort to keep her within their grasp. Graduating was not a problem for her at all. However, at this stage, her future was beginning to take shape. Notably, Iris holds a world record for skipping grades within a matter of weeks.

For instance, she was offered employment at companies connected to her professors or urged to join national research institutions. The interference in Iris's life intensified.

However, Iris never accepted any of the offers. Her response to all of them was a firm "no."

This was natural. Iris had not the slightest interest in academics. Everything she accomplished was to make her parents happy.

But Iris's parents did not dictate her future.

"Become what you want to be. From here on, it's your life. If our expectations are a burden to you, you can throw everything away."

Iris was confused. She had genuinely believed that her life existed for the sake of her parents. She had never acted on her own initiative before.

This made everything up to now seem colorless. She had no idea what she should do next. This was Iris's first experience of anxiety.

What should she accomplish? Whom should she make happy? Iris's thinking was too immature and simple to provide an answer.

For now, she rejected every offer. Some people were persistent, while others resorted to veiled threats. But none of it reached Iris. The advanced knowledge she possessed, incongruous with her young body, only served to entangle her further.

There are risks in everything. But there was nothing Iris wanted to do badly enough to accept any risk.

"A difficult problem."

It was the last week Iris would spend at the university. For once, Iris was graduating at the usual time. Until now, she had only experienced personal or small-group graduation ceremonies, having always entered schools off-season and graduated in no time.

Iris tore off a piece of her sandwich and held out her palm to a nearby sparrow. Without hesitation, the sparrow landed on her hand and began to eat the crumbs. This, too, was one of Iris's talents. Although she had no friends, she could naturally get along with animals. However, she had never owned a pet and had never begged her parents for one, thinking it might be a nuisance.

"How dare you!! Are you telling me to reduce my daughter to a mere lab animal?!"

Meanwhile, Carls was furious. The request he had just heard from a man in a black suit who appeared in the break room of the national research institute where Carls worked had ignited his anger.

"Calm down. This could be considered the will of the United States. Your daughter's talent could be preserved for future generations."

"Shut up!! If you bring this up again, know that the next time we meet will be in court!!"

I won't allow my precious daughter to be made the foundation of such a worthless experiment!! Listen carefully; I'll say it just once. The answer is no. If you try to push this forward by force, I'll make everything public and expose your corrupt intentions."

"This matter has the President's approval. As a citizen, shouldn't you contribute to your country...?"

He couldn't say more. Carls, though a slender man, was strong from growing up in the slums. His fist shattered the black-suited man's sunglasses and slammed him against the wall.

"Fine, then. Contribution to the country? You seem unaware of how much I've worked on research with soldiers in mind. I'd rather leave than take orders from ungrateful people like you."

Carls spat at the man in black before heading straight to the office of the institute's head. The door was made of wood, an obvious luxury, but Carls kicked it open. He'd always thought it a waste of taxpayer money... The director was no exception, of course.

Inside was a bald old man, looking every bit the part of someone who would kowtow to those in power. And indeed, he was.

"Hey, old geezer. You understand what I'm saying, right? This is the end of our relationship. From now on, do your research without me."

"W-what are you saying? Do you even understand what you're researching? You're essential to the development of the AI that could govern the entire world!!"

The director shouted, his eyes bloodshot. However, it had already been discovered that he was one of the key figures who had decided to sell out Carls' daughter. In the short time it took to get to this room, Carls had cracked into his phone and accessed all the project's documents.

"I've always hated you, but this is the last straw. Contribution? Knowing my background, how could you even say that? I haven't received anything from this country. I've made it this far solely on my ability.

Unfortunately, I'm leaving this country. If I keep working with scum like you, Iris won't see me as a good parent."

Carls tossed his ID badge and researcher's card aside and left the room. There was much to do, but he already held the upper hand. This project couldn't be made public. It involved the country's top officials disregarding Iris's human rights. If they truly understood Carls' intellect and personality, they wouldn't leave any evidence in the data. That would render everything meaningless.

"I’m leaving. If you try to stop me, I’ll make everything public, including the illegal research you’re conducting."

"Who are you?"

Carls made a phone call, briefly stated his purpose, and then hung up. The person on the other end would soon realize who was calling. Carls might even face death, but he was a pure scholar. This was something he couldn’t tolerate. Even if it meant discarding everything he had built up, he had to stop it…

"This country is not suitable for Iris to live in. Maybe we should move to Japan. They won’t be able to refuse us, and it’s an allied country. It shouldn’t get too bad… I hope."

As Carls thought about his daughter, who was in low spirits, he considered that changing their environment might be a good idea. Iris had neither a goal to aim for nor a belief to uphold. Carls realized that their actions, intended to expand their daughter’s potential, had instead become shackles.

"We made a mistake. She is not a genius. She only responded to our expectations.

She has done enough. If forcing her is the alternative, I will give up everything. She still has a chance to start over… This time, I’ll be the right parent."

When he returned home, he found Shizuka with a troubled expression. Carls understood that she had been told the same things he had.

"I’ve resigned from my job."

"Yes. If it’s like this, I’ll leave too… But Iris..."

They discussed the future. However, they were unsure how Iris would react. She might accept the proposal. As parents and as people, they couldn’t agree with it. However, they might not be able to oppose it due to their guilt for having taken everything from her, despite giving her everything up to now.

It was frightening. They worried that Iris might agree to it for their sake. However, Lim’s statement upon returning after putting Iris to bed dispelled that thought.

"Oh, speaking of which, she was told about it. But the young lady outright refused.

In fact, lately, her answer to everything has been 'no.' She probably isn’t even interested… Also, this is just my personal opinion, but I think she should make friends her own age. Although she doesn’t show it, I think she feels loneliness.

She looks forward to meeting Takuto and Elder Gensai every week… She even went so far as to skip attending prom."

The reason for Iris not having any acquaintances and not participating in weekend events was probably because she didn’t have time due to meeting Takuto and Gensai in the virtual space. Moreover, in this era, prom events included alumni as well. Being from a top university, alumni were often influential people.

It seemed troublesome. There was no meaningful reason to attend the prom, considering it would waste time that could be spent relaxing with friends or with elderly acquaintances. In fact, Iris had a rule not to participate in anything on weekends for the past three years, so even if the president or a deity invited her, she wouldn’t attend. Her parents had taught her that breaking promises was wrong.

This had indeed been a problem repeatedly. Even though Iris was internationally famous, she refused to attend forums and other events for personal reasons.

Virtual reality technology was already practical and publicly available, and there were countless powerful figures who wanted to see Iris.

"So, it’s decided. We’re moving to Japan. We’ll probably live in that mansion."

Iris told Takuto about the move the day after the graduation ceremony. Actually, she had only been informed the day before. Moreover, she had been given no detailed explanation, merely stating that they were moving to Japan because they had quit their jobs.

Iris didn’t mind. With no patriotism to speak of, Iris would probably follow her parents anywhere, even to an enemy country… although Japan was technically an allied nation.

"It’s like that, you say... it’s too sudden. Did something happen?"

"I don’t know. But that’s what Mama and Papa said. Also, I don’t like it here because there are so many persistent people."

Iris usually kept to herself, but she occasionally vented her frustrations. This was something she would never mention to her parents. Takuto was aware that she genuinely found it bothersome.

They might be childhood friends, but they had only met in reality for a few months. Most of their interactions were in virtual space due to Iris’s busy schedule. Takuto didn’t feel lonely. Whenever he sent a message to Iris, she would reply within minutes, regardless of what she was doing. Even though it was in virtual space, Iris’s avatar was indistinguishable from reality. In fact, the difference between reality and the avatar was minimal. It felt like meeting every week.

Meanwhile, Gensai was groaning as he looked at the shogi board, his losing rate having already reached 95%.

“... Just a moment…”

“Today’s the 13th time.”

“... Please, just this once.”

“Grandpa, no matter how many times you play, you never win.”

“Be quiet, you fool!! Playing against Iris is more educational than playing against the Ryuo.”

Gensai, who was completely losing focus and getting crushed by Iris, had his pride shattered. It wasn’t that Iris was exceptionally strong. She would almost certainly lose if she played against someone else. She had merely analyzed everything about Gensai. Where to place pieces and where to put them. If she understood that, she wouldn’t lose… unless he did something irregular.

This was the reason Iris’s win rate wasn’t 100%. However, since Gensai couldn’t adapt his playing style, he only managed a single victory.

Iris showed no mercy or leniency, playing with the precision of a program that targeted Gensai’s weaknesses. After all, she was just a child.

“Grrr. Regardless of the move, why do I keep losing so badly... It’s terrifying. I didn’t expect the gap to be this big... What do you think? Why don’t you aim for the title of Ryuo?”

“I don’t know what to do... What should I do?”

“That’s a difficult question.”

Gensai crossed his arms. It would be easy to answer that there was no answer to it. However, Iris had a path to follow until now. But that path had only led to a dead end.

And there might be no answer to it. Because it’s not something that others can decide, and beliefs or ideals left to others are fragile and prone to distortion.

“But is it something that needs to be rushed? Is it something that needs an answer immediately? Rushing will only lead to going in circles. It’s better to search slowly for what you want. Your life has just begun.”

“... Yeah.”

Iris nodded. Indeed, there was no need to hurry. She didn’t understand why she had been so anxious. However, Iris’s hidden fear was that her parents might have lost interest in her.

Gensai had vaguely sensed this but chose not to say anything. Words from others are often unreliable. Iris needed to realize how much she was loved.

Gensai could only sigh.

(What in the world were those fools doing?)

It was clear that Iris’s growth was skewed. Normally, such issues would be considered more thoroughly after personal development and physical growth. These were not concerns for a young child.

Gensai had been furious when he heard from Shizuka about why Iris had to move. He was so angry that he made Shizuka cry over the phone.

It wasn’t just the dirty adults using the child, but it revealed how little interest Carls and Shizuka had in Iris’s inner self. Indeed, Iris was capable. However, she was still a young child. Gensai scolded Shizuka for how much they had relied on a child.

“Well then, see you next week.”

“Hmm, I’ll be waiting with some castella.”

“......”

Gensai, annoyed by the fact that Iris only conversed with him, gave Takuto a knuckle tap on the head.

“You lack diligence. With that attitude, you’ll never be noticed.”

“It doesn’t hurt, but... sigh... fine. I’ll be waiting, too. I have friends I want to introduce to Iris.”

The virtual world couldn’t reproduce pain. Well, it was possible, but it was cut to avoid causing phantom pain. So Takuto didn’t actually feel any pain.

“A bully?”

“I won’t bring him along if he bullies you. He’s a bit of an idiot, so I want you to teach him a little.”

Iris had no particular reason to refuse. After all, once she graduated, she would be a NEET. If she had been born a few years earlier, she would have had to attend school as part of compulsory education. Unfortunately, there was no compulsory education for those who graduated early. Of course, she could still enroll, but the school refused to accept her.

Although there were benefits to Iris being enrolled, the school couldn’t accept her due to the risk of complaints from unknown sources. Furthermore, they would have to consider measures against the press, making it unlikely they would want to accept her.

“What language should I teach? German, French, Russian, or Mayan? I can teach any of them.”

“Something strange was included, but you can really speak various languages.”

“I think Japanese is the most difficult. Usually, three different languages aren’t combined like this. It’s more straightforward.”

“We use it normally... Well, foreign languages are also difficult, and other things are also troublesome. I couldn’t manage it.”

“It's fine. Just let me know which university you want him to go to.”

“Yeah, I don’t require that much, and it’s probably impossible. Just giving him some decent intellect is good enough.”

It’s somewhat... or rather, quite off the mark, but for Iris, learning academically equated to progressing to higher education.

“Well, see you later.”

“Contact me when you arrive.”

When Iris disconnected from the network and her consciousness returned to reality, she felt a sense of relief. Iris tilted her head, got out of bed, and began preparing her belongings.