Episode 162 – Going Out (2)

Going Out (2)

“Do you like Soliette?”

Is it a trend these days, or is it just obvious?

It’s a question I hear quite often.

I put down my smartphone for a moment.

“Are you bored?”

“…If that were the case.”

Elise was still fiddling with her smartphone.

“It’s impossible.”

A sharp gaze flashed over her smartphone.

“It’s something that can’t be achieved.”

I was dumbfounded by her confident words, but I just leaned back in my chair.

“I’m too old to have the luxury of liking anyone.”

Revenge on Libra. Individual survival.

Those two things alone fill my life to the brim.

Of course, ‘individual’ here includes not only me but also Soliette, and not only Soliette but also the benefactors from my previous life.

“You seem to have a lot of free time. You even play games.”

Elise pulled out a book from her backpack. The cover read [The History of the Edsilla Family]. She flipped through it as she continued.

“Commoners often misunderstand. They think that if they work hard, they might be able to have some romantic encounter with a noble.”

“I didn’t misunderstand.”

“The marriage rate between commoners and nobles in Edsilla is only 1%. And most of them are collateral, only if they are not successors.”

“I said I didn’t.”

Elise thoroughly ignored my words.

Well, if she has something to say to me, she will say it no matter what. Regardless of how I react, what she’s going to say is already decided.

“Moreover, Arkne is a family that believes in magic evolution.”

“…evolution?”

“Yes. The quality and number of magic circuits are less affected by genetics, but the ‘Spectrum’ itself is extremely hereditary.”

She flipped a page in the book.

“For example, if humans without a ‘Spectrum’ reproduce, the probability that their offspring will awaken a ‘Spectrum’ is less than 3%. But if both parents have a ‘Spectrum’, it reaches 97%.”

Elise reclined her seat.

Thud-!

“Ugh!”

It went down a bit too much, but Elise didn’t flinch. She swallowed once and then crossed her legs leisurely.

“…But Arkne goes one step further. They assert that all magical talents, including the Spectrum, are directly linked to genetics.”

“You’ve reclined your seat too much.”

“Therefore, Arkne has never had a non-strategic marriage in its 500-year history. At least not the successors who will become the family head.”

She slowly lifted her body.

“If there is no suitable partner, they are proactive in adopting collateral lines, not even hesitating to engage in quasi-incest.”

Then she put the book on the table.

She pushed it towards me as if to suggest I read it.

“It’s a much more dangerous family than you think.”

“Dangerous?”

Just then, a snack cart came into the train car. Elise casually waved her hand.

“Over here.”

She bought various items like squid, dried fish, milk, snacks, and placed them on the table. I asked her.

“What’s dangerous?”

“…Soliette is a talent that ranks among the history of the Arkne family, no, the history of the continent, isn’t she?”

Thump-! Elise tore into the dried squid.

“Despite the recent events, the Arkne family remains optimistic. They believe Soliette will eventually master arcane swordsmanship.”

Chew, chew- she continued speaking while munching on the squid.

“So, the Arkne are likely watching you closely from somewhere. They might even consider you a parasite. Therefore.”

She punctured a straw into a banana milk carton.

“It’s best not to stay around Soliette for too long. For your own safety.”

Elise held the banana milk with both hands and sipped.

Watching her, I asked,

“Is Petra any better?”

“……”

Her face hardened. Her right eye twitched slightly.

However, she soon put down the banana milk with a calm expression.

“Compared to Arkne or Libra, Petra is saintly. They’re very progressive and open-minded. Above all, we believe in strict manaology, magic, and science. We don’t believe in superstitions or religions that are close to rumors. To be precise, ‘I’, the successor, don’t.”

“So what?”

“……You just asked.”

Elise frowned. I picked up a piece of squid. I chewed while looking out the window.

Passing clouds.

Watching their flow, suddenly.

A hypothesis spread like a current in my mind.

A chill that cooled my back.

“Hey.”

I looked back at Elise. Elise giggled while sipping her banana milk.

“You know, Felix Alter.”

“Phew!”

She almost spit it out but stopped herself with 「telekinesis」, coughing and glaring at me.

“Cough, what is it?”

“What.”

“You suddenly ask about a taboo word.”

Felix Alter. In Endex, his name is as taboo as it gets.

Because it was too shocking.

But that’s not the problem now.

“How can a person’s name become taboo? Besides, Felix Alter was a commoner, right?”

Felix Alter’s background.

I asked about it.

“……He was a random noble, but very close to a commoner. But it’s different from you. He had a time when he was a noble.”

“……”

I slowly sank into thought.

Vaguely, I had concluded, ‘There are no beneficiaries from Felix Alter’s death.’

But, thinking about it now.

That ‘benefit’ will definitely vary depending on the standard.

It will differ depending on how someone thinks.

Therefore, if a group considered Felix Alter, as Elise said, a ‘parasite’.

If they considered him an obstacle hindering Soliette’s growth……

Chew, chew-

I delved deeper into the thought while chewing on the squid.

Swish-!

But Elise snatched away the squid.

“……Ah. You ate all the legs.”

She glared and bit her lip. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Let’s share.”

“Did you buy it? Did you? You shamelessly ate all the legs?”

Elise’s forehead vein popped.

“Pfft.”

A chuckle escaped my lips. It was amusing to see the once-famed phantom of Petra now getting angry over squid legs.

“……What are you laughing at? You’re such an idiot.”

Elise grumbled and put down the squid again.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I don’t care much for the body.”

“I can cut it long like the legs.”

“……Pathetic. Many people cut the body long like the legs, but it’s a cheap trick.”

“Even a cheap trick?”

“Yes. A cheap trick beyond cheap, an endlessly cheap trick. The body is much tougher and harder than the legs, putting more strain on the teeth and jaw. The taste is much less, and there’s no chewy texture, so it’s bland.”

“……Are you some squid expert?”

Elise raised an eyebrow and opened a book again. This time, it was a magic major book.

I sank into the chair.

I looked out the window of the train.

Felix Alter.

Jared Arkne.

Soliette Arkne.

And…… the Arkne family itself.

The puzzle in my head seemed to fit together in a not-so-good way.

* * *

Elise got off at the train station before Shion.

─Take care.

She made an effort to ignore him waving from the train window. She had a place to go today.

“Let’s go right away.”

“Yes, Miss.”

She got into a sedan with the station staff waiting and quickly arrived at.

[ Petra Psychiatric Ward ]

It’s a place she didn’t want to visit often, but with the election season coming up, she had no choice.

“You’re here.”

Quite a few people from the family were already there. They bowed to greet her.

“Congratulations. You’ve been first all quarter.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Elise, who happened to acquire [Fragments of Time], is the ‘overwhelming’ first place in the current quarter. The ranking board on the entrance exam site has been updated.

Thanks to that, whatever she does is legal.

“Do you have no eyes to see? I’ll check.”

Elise narrowed her eyes sharply.

The people of the family, meaning her father’s people, couldn’t be fully trusted.

“Yes. Of course. The Senator also said so.”

“Well, then.”

……

In the visiting room of the psychiatric ward.

In the middle of the room, surrounded by white walls and a magic barrier, a man was restrained.

“Oh, you’re here. Little sister.”

Yael.

Her own flesh and blood. A sibling tied by blood.

Elise swallowed a rising sigh as she saw him.

“I heard the news. You’ve been first all quarter?”

“……”

She didn’t respond and quickly looked around the room. Surveillance cameras, eavesdropping, traces of magic were all absent.

“Elise. The election is coming up soon?”

Yael spoke. Elise twisted her mouth expressionlessly.

“Yes. Father will succeed in re-election and become a ‘Round Table’ Senator.”

Round Table. A semi-permanent Senator position that doesn’t require re-election.

There are only 13 seats at the Round Table, and a minimum of three terms as a Senator is required.

Yael smiled bitterly.

“Elise. Do you think Father doesn’t know?”

“Cut to the chase.”

Elise sat across from him.

She had no intention of being swayed by him. Everything was under her control-

Yael spoke.

“It’s about Shion.”

“……”

Elise’s hand trembled slightly. Yael, shaking his bound arms, continued.

“To get into the Round Table, you need a war. You have to pull down another family.”

That’s why the Round Table is a ‘semi-permanent’ Senator. If a new family wants to enter the Round Table, an existing family must be pulled down.

She stared into his eyes and asked seemingly calmly.

“……I don’t see what that has to do with Shion. Your story doesn’t add up.”

“Hey, you know what I’m talking about. Shion Ascal is quite high in the rankings. He’s getting a lot of attention.”

“……”

It’s true. Not only in the second quarter Planarium, but also in the first quarter, he is high enough to be in the upper ranks.

He can enter Edsilla National University.

“The more Shion stands out, the more he grows, the more of a stumbling block he will be for Petra.”

This is not because of Shion’s individual power.

If the war of the Round Table─a bloody feud between families were to break out.

The opposing family would ‘recruit’ him as a weapon, or material for the war.

“Elise. You know that too.”

Yael smiled, showing his teeth. Elise gritted hers.

“You will have to make a choice someday.”

His blatant, explicit, and disgusting truth.

She also smiled in the same way.

“You. You seem to think I’ll choose Shion?”

She leaned back. She crossed her arms as if amused.

“Well, that’s a mistake, so please keep your mouth shut.”

Shion Ascal.

“He is……”

He is a good person.

“He means nothing to me.”

However, he cannot be a friend of Petra.

Elise knows this all too well.

Because someday he will come to hate her.

Because he will come to despise Petra.

“Keep in mind. The election is coming soon. If you open your mouth, then it’s really over for you, so keep your mouth shut.”

At her words, Yael wore a silent smile.

“Elise. I will always follow your choice.”

……

She had gone to great lengths to get a leave permit, but she was only stressed and on her way home.

Elise turned on her smartphone while leaning against the sedan window.

[ At Your Service ]

She thought about consulting him, but then turned it off.

Instead, she closed her eyes.

Thump, thump, thump.

She endured the pain that seemed to pierce her heart.

‘The more Shion stands out, the more he grows, the more of a stumbling block he will be for Petra.’

“……”

Shion.

Shion Ascal.

He is Petra’s Achilles’ heel.

……No.

Not Petra, but ‘my’ Achilles’ heel.

She quietly thought of him.

What is he doing now?

Is his desired ‘revenge’ progressing well?

When will he find out that Petra is the target of his revenge?

When he finds out… what kind of betrayal will he feel?

Elise inadvertently opened her messenger.

She searched for [Shion Ascal].

“……?”

She was taken aback.

His profile picture had changed.

He, who always kept it default, without a profile picture, had suddenly uploaded a selfie.

“What…….”

Was there a change in his feelings?

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.

Elise chuckled and put down her phone.

The picture seemed well taken, but she wasn’t particularly interested……

“……Why all of a sudden.”

Elise picked up her smartphone again.

She pressed hard on the small profile picture. His face filled the screen.

She glanced at the driver.

Fortunately, he was only focusing on driving. He couldn’t see her through the rearview mirror anyway.

“Hmmm…….”

Elise stared at the picture, letting out a sigh.

There might be some hint in it, after all……

* * *

After a long time, I visited Trick City again as Dale Kal.

I met Kanya at [A Glass of Whiskey].

“Sir Mage. Are you using that?”

Kanya Wieder.

She asked about the ‘Bethune Premium Special Edition CD’ she had given me as a mission completion bonus.

“I’m using it.”

“……Did you use all the bonuses too?”

I nodded. Then Kanya slumped in her counter chair.

“Haaaaa…….”

She sighed and leaned back.

“Oh dear…….”

“What’s wrong?”

She looked at me again. She chuckled, pressing her temples.

“No, I just gave away a treasure for cheap.”

“Cheap?”

“Ugh, but I can’t do anything about it now…… just enjoy it.”

Kanya spoke in a voice that was almost whimpering, seemingly regretful.

“It’s worth almost a million Ren now.”

A million Ren. I was slightly surprised. Even if I added up all the money I’ve made so far, it wouldn’t exceed a million Ren.

“Is it because of the rumors about Bethune?”

“Huh? You’ve heard about it, sir Mage? Yes. There’s a rumor that Bethune will become part of a real dungeon, so the CD itself is now rare.”

The idea of a game becoming reality seems absurd, but it’s entirely possible for a dungeon.

Because a dungeon is ‘part of reality’.

Kanya pouted her lips.

“You’re lucky, sir Mage. I got fooled. But at least I stopped that human trash from becoming a Senator. The most likely person to be elected now is an old man called ‘Mayers’. He’s a typical old fogey, but at least he’s somewhat fair. A bit of a sheriff style?”

She spread out some papers on the counter.

They were [Mission Request] forms.

“Thanks to you, our Section will be a bit better off. Not as much as a million Ren, though.”

I picked up those request forms.

[ Background Check ]

“Background check?”

“Ah. I still don’t know your preferences, sir Mage. I put in all the requests that named you.”

Of course, background checks are my specialty.

It’s not just a specialty, it’s a specialty among specialties. The 「Notepad」 is incredibly helpful for these types of requests.

However…

“……Berrieda Ren Casano.”

The subject of the background check.

The name ‘Berrieda Ren Casano’ stood out.

“Yep. Someone requested a background check on that gentleman. Strange. He doesn’t have a bad reputation. I personally dislike him a bit, though.”

“…….”

Reputation.

His reputation might not be bad.

But I know this guy.

A crazy old man.

A man who hides all sorts of vile intentions behind a seemingly kind facade.

“……I’ll take it.”

“Oh, really?”

Individual survival.

Not only that, but revenge on individuals.

He’s one of the targets.

This guy is one of the ‘hotlines’ dispatched to the surface world by the underworld. In simple terms, he’s a spy.

Thanks to him, quite a few of my comrades died.

“Sir Mage, you look scary.”

“…….”

Memories I had forgotten until now come flooding back.

Now I’m strong enough to deal with those things from the past.

Of course, they might argue that ‘they didn’t do anything’, but it doesn’t matter.

Because I remember.

Because the memories from before my regression make up who I am now.

Whether it was before or after the regression, the fact that you guys deserve to die remains unchanged.

I tucked the request form into my pocket.