My Measurement: The Villain Desires a Satisfying Payback

Forbidden Knowledge.

Knowledge that, for one reason or another, should not be known to humanity.

I don't know what that knowledge is, but the Measurement of Truth has the power to uncover said knowledge, and due to the natural morbid curiosity of mankind, that was what occurred.

However, a price was to be paid for such Forbidden Knowledge.

That price, according to Professor Marcus Lynton, was the death of everyone present except me and himself.

"I won't tell you what question we asked, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out without much trouble eventually."

He asked me a question, so I used the Measurement of Truth to find the answer and gave said answer. This straightforward sequence of events led to slaughter.

The Professor said that multiple people discussing it is not good for anyone.

He and I were the only survivors that were present during the time of the incident.

Is it possible that, because there were multiple people listening at that time, those additional people died from hearing about knowledge they shouldn't have heard?

「You do not have access to this information」

Of course, I couldn't know now, but I will find out.

If my hypothesis is correct, in any case, then had I not heeded his warning just now... Would Sophie Asanami have died here, just as the other Professors on that day?

Because she was not intended to know the information, she died.

If it's like that, just to ensure that the knowledge can only be passed on one person at a time... Then, what about written records? Or recorded footage?

I recall Sophie Asanami reporting that all documentation of the topic, be it physical or otherwise, was nonexistent. Whether erased thereafter or something else entirely, I previously never would've imagined that they simply didn't possess any information on it whatsoever.

However, now I'm not so sure.

I don't know if this is the case for certain, and Marcus Lynton won't tell me if this is true, but the likelihood that any information that is at all related to the Forbidden Knowledge can only be transferred from one person to one person directly is extremely high.

If anyone unintended sees or hears about it, they will perish.

If that is truly the case, then of course there would be no documentation on it―anyone who saw such documentation would die, after all. Therefore, it's very possible that the only way such information could be passed around or spread is orally.

Forbidden Knowledge that is only transmissible through one-to-one oral communication.

If that is how it works, then it makes sense how only he and I lived following the incident; because I was only telling Marcus Lynton about the knowledge, so everyone other than us was deemed 'unintended', thus they died.

That must be it.

"..."

A slight shiver ran down my spine.

I now knew why the Professors died on that day, and I knew why I and Marcus Lynton were the only survivors of the incident.

My understanding of the subject matter having expanded significantly, the next big question was simple:

What question did they ask me? What Forbidden Knowledge did they seek?

And then, what was the answer to said question? What answer was so taboo that spreading it around was so restrictive?

Whatever the answer was to any of these questions, it wasn't possible to know right now.

I could, however, simply discover more next time.

I don't need to figure it all out right away, and it's not necessarily urgent to do so.

Today was a day of bountiful harvest, and I'm satisfied enough with what I have learnt. Although I wish I could know more, I won't push the boundary too far.

After all, even if I don't know what exactly this is all about, I do understand one thing:

That this is a grave matter.

The Professor himself admitted that if I were to discover the truth, I would oppose the world. I don't believe his words, but it's obvious that he means it. He would never say something like that unless it was serious, so I can only take it as such.

Going a little further, I wonder if his words hide some meaning behind them.

'Opposing the world'.

Was the question perhaps related to the truth of the world?

Why would such a thing be classified as Forbidden Knowledge?

Is the reality behind the world not what science teaches?

「You do not have access to this information」

...I do not know if I can take this answer as a positive or a negative, as it is more likely that any information, no matter how marginally related, is blocked altogether.

But, at least this means something; from this, I can infer that the reality behind the world is somehow related.

I do not know what exactly this means, or even to what extent it is considered Forbidden Knowledge, but it's a step in the right direction nonetheless.

"I will have to take my leave now, as there are matters to attend to. Oh, before I leave..."

Suddenly, Marcus Lynton spoke to me. With that same smile on his face, he mentioned something I never thought he would talk about.

"I would have ordinarily asked you to kindly dissuade my former workplace to attack me, but I know you wouldn't agree to such a thing without adequate compensation. So, I will just let you know one thing instead."

He knew about me giving the government a head-start for the Wardens to attack the Order, or at the very least, he knew I provided some sort of information to them.

I wasn't surprised at the fact that he knew, but I was quite surprised he brought it up to my face.

"There is not much I can do about the Order being destroyed, but well, it doesn't really matter. It was never my organisation, to begin with; I merely took over as the head in recent years."

He admitted it rather candidly; as if it had nothing to do with him.

"When the Order falls, I will simply take over another organisation to come for you. If that one fails to do so, then I will get another one, and so on. If there are no more groups for me to hijack or persuade to capture you, then I will simply establish my own."

Like an undying cockroach, the Professor will continue to come after me again and again until he gets what he wants.

Either he captures me alive and uses me for his research, to discover more about the world, the universe, and to delve deeper into the wider abyss of Forbidden Knowledge; or he kills me so that I do not destroy the world he wishes to uncover.

That is the desire of Marcus Lynton, and his self-imposed reality.

"I just thought I would let you know in advance, that just because you are ending the life of the Order, you are not in any way putting an end to me."

Separating himself from the Order.

No, from the very beginning, they were two entirely different entities.

The Order will come to an end, but Marcus Lynton will not.

Thinking about it, I came to a conclusion.

That's fine.

The Order is the annoying one, the one that kidnapped me and treated me roughly.

They don't possess the information I desire.

So, it's fine if they are annihilated.

The Wardens will do that, and I was not planning on involving myself any further anyway, so nothing will change from the Professor's words.

I simply need to stay a little more vigilant about more hostile groups coming after me.

"It was a pleasant reunion after a long time. Goodbye, Cipher."

Watching his back as he turned and walked away, hands in his thick coat pockets, I stifled the urge to pull out the Ruger and the suppressor. Killing this man would render me unable to figure out the truth.

I don't know if unlocking the information I once sealed away within the Measurement of Truth is possible, so I have to leave Marcus Lynton alive.

Because he is the only one who knows the real truth about what happened that day.

He won't tell me now, but one day, I will find out.

At that time, it will become okay to kill him.

"C-Cipher...?"

Sophie Asanami suddenly called out from behind me. Calling me by my 'real name' for the first time, she seemed a little hesitant.

"Yes."

"Everythin' okay?"

"There's no problem for now."

Her face showed signs of timidness unlike her usual self, but I thought it was something to dissipate with time.

"Do you wanna walk around or just sit down somewhere?"

She asked me, and I contemplated for a moment. I didn't care either way, so I responded in kind, "Do you have a preference?"

"No, but uh, d'ya just wanna walk for a bit first? Y'know, since we were sittin' for quite a while earlier."

"Alright. Not for too long, though."

Not too much time had passed from earlier, so the time was quickly approaching noon. That only meant the Festival was even busier than earlier, so we had to hold hands again in order to prevent getting lost.

"Ah, that's right!"

All of a sudden, she yelled as if remembering something important.

"You never answered my question!"

"What?"

"Don't you remember? I asked you what ya think about my hair. Don't even try to escape this time, just tell me if you like it or not, and be honestly honest. Oh, and if you do, what you like about it."

I couldn't understand the fascination with hair no matter how I tried, but seeing her repeated glances to the top of my head, I exhaled.

Examining the bright blonde hair that decorated her scalp, I was under the impression when we first met that it was dyed. Later, I discovered that I was wrong with that belief, and looking at it again with that in mind made sense.

Wavy, and with ever-so-slight curls, it flowed halfway down her back.

Looking back down at her face, I nodded.

"Your hair is fine."

Saying that, one second passed. It was my honest thoughts just as she requested, and I thought it wasn't an answer that could possibly upset her, so I found no problem with it.

"Hmph. Just "fine"? Are you serious?"

Apparently, I was wrong.