The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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I found myself in a tricky situation.

I woke up in the dawn to find a woman with pale white hair, and instinctively I fought back. However, the ghost turned out to be Daphne!

For some reason, she was hanging off the top bunk, and when I pushed her, she tumbled backward.

By the time I grasped the entire situation, I was sitting like a criminal, getting scolded by a pouting Daphne.

“You can’t just push me out of nowhere!”

“I’m sorry! I thought you were a ghost!”

“A ghost? Me?”

Fortunately, Daphne is also an Awakened One. Falling from the height of the top bunk didn’t break or injure anything.

But it seems the emotional hurt was significant. I had never seen my roommate, who usually gracefully smiled while munching on snacks, sulk like that.

“I was just checking because you looked like you were in pain. Isn’t it reasonable to attack when startled? It’s too much!”

“But at night, with just your head popping out, you really look like a ghost. Especially with your silver hair!”

My clumsy excuse backfired. Daphne opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, bowing her head with a dejected expression.

“I was wrong too. I’m sorry for startling you. I just wanted to help…”

She seemed aggrieved, lost for words. A hint of moisture gathered in her beautiful blue eyes that sparkled.

-What should I do? She seems disappointed!-
-It’s our fault. We should apologize.-

“I messed up. I’m sorry. I won’t push you again next time!”

I sincerely apologized to Daphne for five minutes and successfully gained her forgiveness.

“I’ll apologize again. If I see something that looks like you, I’ll make sure to speak first!”

“No, it’s understandable. I mean, if a stranger were touching my head at night, I wouldn’t have taken it lightly either!”

She chuckled lightly, as if embarrassed. I needed to be more careful next time. If I had pushed harder, she might have pulled out a weapon.

By the way, there was something I was curious about.

“Why were you on the bed, Daphne?”

In response to my question, she began to explain calmly.

“Actually…”

She started explaining that I often tossed and turned and groaned at night. While it happened occasionally during the first week, it had increased since the second week.

“At first, I thought it was just sleep talking.”

She spread her palm, and a bright light of light green magical power radiated from it.

“One night, you looked like you were struggling so much while lying on the bed, so I used my Unique Ability. I was planning to tell you about it later, but then this happened.”

“Really? You did that every night? Was it that serious?”

“You were probably asleep, so you wouldn’t have noticed. Don’t you remember? Just earlier, you were crying because you were in pain.”

After listening to her explanation, I learned that one of her Unique Abilities, Healing Ability, could also bring psychological comfort. If controlled well, it emits specific waves that calm the brain, reducing pain and creating a comfortable feeling.

But this was news to me. Was I really that noisy at night?

-Don’t you remember anything?-
-I don’t know. I was asleep, so I couldn’t have felt anything, right?-

Discussing with the others gave me only skeptical responses. Reflecting on earlier, what could have happened before, during sleep?

“I remember. I had a bad dream.”

The situation clicked into place. While I was having seizures in my sleep, Daphne used her Unique Ability to calm me down.

Wait, judging by how often this happened, it seemed like it had been going on for more than just a day or two.

“Wait a second, you’ve been checking on me and healing me every day? Did I keep you from sleeping?”

“Don’t worry about that. The times when your condition was worse coincided with when I would wake up. It wasn’t a big burden at all.”

She shrugged. Seeing her smile so nonchalantly made me feel ashamed. I had pushed a good person off the bed, thinking she was a ghost. Wasn’t I being selfish?

“Thank you for forgiving me for pushing you earlier. You’re such a good person, Daphne!”

“A good person?”

I noticed that she hesitated slightly at the last part of my sentence.

“I’m not that good of a person…”

“What do you mean? I made you suffer through a sleepless night for no reason.”

“Well, it’s just… when I see someone around me struggling or in pain, I can’t just stand there.”

I was left awkwardly speechless by her sudden self-deprecating remark.

Daphne seemed to pick up on my expression and changed the subject.

“Did I say something strange? It just reminded me of old times… By the way, can I ask you a sensitive question?”

“As long as it’s not something weird, I’ll try to answer as much as I can.”

“Alright then, Daphne. Have you ever gone through something bad in the past?”

“What do you mean by something bad?”

She began to explain to me with a serious face. A sudden flood of psychological and medical terms left me dazed.

Her summarized explanation was basically this:

“I’m not a professional doctor, but I’ve seen similar cases before. Right now, the symptoms you’re experiencing are quite similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“Post-traumatic stress disorder? Isn’t that something veterans suffer from?”

She shook her head at my question.

“Post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological issue that anyone can experience. Anyone who’s been through something traumatic can face it.”

“Something bad in the past? I don’t have any of that. Let me think.”

I sunk into deep thought, sifting through memories like rummaging through an old elementary school diary.

If I think of some past events, there was that time in the research laboratory. Memories of being teased by that wicked ponytail girl and getting electrocuted by that slick-haired guy sprang to mind. Recently, I had my head blown up or limbs cut off while hunting in a dungeon.

But were those truly that hard to bear?
At this point, they felt more like ‘that was how it was’ rather than something painful. Moreover, I had personally beaten up the culprits.

So, what could be the real issue? Perhaps something from even longer ago…

As I started to think deeper, suddenly my head began to throb.

I couldn’t remember. It felt like someone had deliberately chopped off bits of my memory.

Bright lights, masks, I was lying down, unable to move. Someone came close…

My head.

It hurts.

“Ugh… Aah!”

“Are you okay?”

I clutched my head and shook it back and forth. The world spun around me. As I tried to get up, my body wobbled. Suddenly, my breathing quickened, and cold sweat broke out.

Daphne caught me just as I was about to fall and pulled me into her embrace. Nestled in her soft, full bosom, my breath calmed down.

Once again, healing waves wrapped around my head. With her gentle touch stroking my hair, I could finally catch my breath.

“Ugh… huff…”

“I’m sorry; it’s all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault, Daphne…”

Once again, healing waves enveloped my head. With her gentle hand caressing my hair, I could finally settle my breathing.

“Just a little longer…”

Daphne silently patted me. I didn’t want to think. I just closed my eyes for a moment, snuggled up in her embrace.

As my heart calmed, I could barely manage to sit back up with her support.

“Maybe you should go see a hospital?”

“A hospital? No way!”

Upon hearing the word ‘hospital,’ my body instinctively reacted violently. For some reason, that word felt uncomfortable.

“Alright. If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. But if it gets serious, you must consult someone, okay?”

She kept emphasizing the seriousness of the issue with a serious look on her face. Should I really set aside some time for an appointment with a psychiatrist? I might have to go somewhere I’ve never been before, even before I was possessed.

My head throbbed again.

“Could you use your Healing Waves again? My head hurts… again…”

“Sure. Then, please lie down for a moment.”

I laid my head on Daphne’s lap. Once again, her soft hands covered my forehead, and a warm wave enveloped my head. It felt refreshing like a spring breeze and warm like sunshine.

Suddenly opening my eyes, I saw a large, soft curve filling my vision.

I always felt this way, but Daphne’s chest was larger than mine. I didn’t know why such a thin and delicate body could coexist with such fullness.

As the pain and anxiety faded, a funny thought occurred to me.

If she has such a figure, it might be warmer and softer to sleep while hugging her. What would it feel like to sleep tightly cuddling Daphne? It’d probably be very comfortable.

Noticing someone was watching me, Daphne’s gaze turned towards me.

“You seem to be having fun thoughts. Can I hear them too?”

“Ah? It’s nothing!”

“Isn’t it something strange?”

“Ehhe….”

I decided to keep my mouth shut. I won’t dive into any weird thoughts.

***

When the Central District began to glisten under the early morning sunlight, the Fifty-Eighth Clone went to find Kalia.

“Hey, it’s Violet. What number are you again… oh, I don’t know. There are just so many of you. So, has the submerged transport issue been resolved yet?”

“No, I came to check on something else.”

“Ask quickly. I’m busy.”

Before heading to school, 58 had a unique incident while staying briefly at the Brotherhood’s lodgings.

“Unique incident? No, nothing like that… oh. There was one.”

“What is it?”

“I didn’t mention it because it might embarrass me, but in the first few days after escaping from the laboratory, there were often crying sounds coming from the bedroom where you sleep at night. Strangely enough, it lessened after a few weeks. We all worried about it back then. But why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“Just, it’s nothing. Thanks for telling me!”

I threw a vague response. Kalia scrutinized me for a moment before casually tossing out a remark.

“Hey, Violet. Are you okay these days?”

“I’m fine, why?”

She bent down to look me in the eye. Her calm emerald eyes were fixed on me.

“Are you really okay? It’s great that you’re busy with deliveries and searches, but you look really unwell.”

“I’m just a bit tired. I’ll be fine after some good rest!”

“No, it’s not that. Other people… well, whatever. If you’re fine, there’s nothing I can do.”

As Kalia turned to leave, she glanced back and spoke in a worried tone.

“If you feel overwhelmed or face difficulties, you must come to me. Don’t wait for me to come find you. Got it?”

“Got it!”

The Fifty-Eighth Clone hurriedly walked away, disappearing among the alleyways.

***

In the afternoon, during a brief moment of downtime, we discussed our situation.

-Kalia was right. Except for the first few days, I haven’t had any nightmares. Lately, it seems like they’ve been increasing again.-

-Second week? What was going on then?-

-That was when we started ramping up our clone numbers and activities.-

Could the increase in clones be linked to the frequency of nightmares? There was a suggestion that our bad memories might be amplifying with the number of clones, but nothing was certain.

However, one thing we all realized was that we didn’t know.

We had forgotten something important. Every time we braced ourselves for a headache or dizziness to recall something, we felt a hollow emptiness.

-I feel like I’m forgetting something.-

-Yeah. It seems like something really important is lost. It feels like forgetting the password to a door.-

What could it be? It felt as if someone had deliberately sliced parts of my memory away.

-Well, I guess we’ll remember it someday!-

I shrugged it off and headed to the appointed place. Sitting on a quiet bench, Irene appeared shortly after.

“You came early. I heard you won the duel.”

“Yeah, it was nothing. But what do you mean you want to fight?”

Today, Irene seemed even more confident.

“I’m going to challenge the Freshman Management Board soon. I finished my preparations faster than I expected.”

As I thought, it looked like Irene would step up. Maybe we could wrap up this ridiculous control soon.