Episode 191 – Internship (2)

Internship (2)

Still, in the auditorium overlooking the highway.

I did not lower my sword that was aimed at the executive’s neck. I was a bit nervous, but I needed to make a ‘special impression’.

“Alright. Then let’s ask. Why am I the traitor?”

The executive asked calmly.

I responded.

“You said you were in charge of the delivery.”

It was the first thing he said.

‘I dispatched you all to this scene as the person in charge of delivery.’

It was an assumption that he was also included in this situation.

“Just for that reason?”

“There are probably dozens of cargo trucks that Libra hired for rehearsal. Probably all of them were robbed. If only the real truck was robbed, it would be like advertising that there’s an insider.”

“What are the chances that the truck company leaked the information?”

“The insider probably aimed for that, but another department of Libra sent a text to the truck driver first. The text was subject to a confidential protocol. It was the kind that destroys information immediately after receipt.”

“Confidential protocol.”

“Yes. From the beginning, this cargo had no destination. The truck driver received several confidential texts in succession. They were probably texts that kept changing the destination.”

The executive’s lips twitched slightly.

“So far, it’s just speculation.”

“Additionally.”

I gestured towards the inside of the truck.

“The truck number written on the truck driver’s license and the actual truck’s license plate are different.”

The license plate number on the license was [GPA539-EDS].

But the actual truck’s license plate was [GAP213-DDE].

Clearly different.

“It probably was different from the start. Libra must have switched it. So if there was an insider at the truck company, they wouldn’t have been able to track this truck.”

As a truck company that only signed a delivery contract, they wouldn’t know the destination of the truck or their license plate number.

It means it’s impossible to track from the truck company.

“The reason this truck was robbed is simple. Someone attached a GPS to the real truck. An ‘insider’ who definitely knows the delivery plan.”

“Sorry, but there was no GPS or anything.”

Another intern interrupted. This time it was Riley.

“We inspected the truck as soon as we arrived. We used magic waves. Nothing was detected. If the robbers took the GPS while robbing the truck, that in itself means there’s no evidence.”

“The robbers wouldn’t have had time to retrieve the GPS. As Bell Moore said, Libra would arrive in 15 minutes and pursue in 30.”

Bell Moore coughed awkwardly.

“So the only culprit is you.”

I looked at the executive again.

“The person in charge who would have received the news of the incident first.”

“……Hmm.”

“You probably retrieved the GPS first by rushing to the scene, and called the agents late.”

“Did I really do that?”

“May I search you?”

The executive, who silently raised his eyebrows, put his hand in his pocket. A small GPS came out with it.

“Huh.”

Bell Moore chuckled awkwardly, and I lowered my sword.

Thud!

Jean, the head of human resources, closed the documents.

“Yes, this incident actually happened. You may not know about Magic Space, but it occurred 15 years ago. Hence, it’s a bit of a classic.”

She spoke in a businesslike tone.

“15 years ago, Libra Station conducted a rehearsal to deliver the Beryl Crystal, and all the trucks participating in the rehearsal were robbed.”

Her brown eyes looked at me.

“As intern Shion guessed, there was an insider. However, unlike today, it wasn’t the delivery manager but one of his subordinates. In reality, it wasn’t a GPS but a location tracking formula that naturally disappeared over time, but we substituted it with a GPS because it would be too difficult without physical evidence.”

Jean glanced at the other interns. They all had faces like they had bitten into something bitter.

“Libra is challenged by all sorts of family minions, corporate industrial spies, not to mention monsters of the underworld, and insiders from cartels.”

Although she said ‘challenged’, in reality, they were paying the price for their actions. It was no different from a penalty.

Starting with Sherlock, who grew Libra through such petty tricks.

“Remember, as a person of Libra, there is only one code of conduct. ‘Strive to benefit Libra’.”

* * *

The interns moved from the auditorium on the 5th floor to the 6th floor. This time, it was a space like a train waiting room.

“Please, everyone, take a seat.”

At the executive’s words, the 16 interns sat down sporadically.

“There will be individual interviews for department placement. Riley, you’re first.”

“Yes.”

“The rest of you, please wait.”

Riley entered the interview room. I pretended not to watch his retreating figure.

“Hey.”

Suddenly, someone sat next to me.

A man with a large chin and slicked-back hair, giving off a very flamboyant impression.

It was Bell Moore.

“You’re pretty smart, huh?”

He was already a full-time knight who had graduated from college. He’s six years older than me now. He looked too worn out to be in his mid-twenties.

“You’re entering college this year?”

He’s one of the top psychopaths in Libra. A piece of trash who used to blow up homeless people’s heads for fun.

Do I need to bother talking to such a subhuman creature- I had such thoughts, but…

“Yes. I’m entering as a junior to Knight Bell Moore.”

It seems better to get closer to him for now. If I can lessen his guard, it will be easier to kill him someday.

Bell Moore relaxed his body, chuckling.

“If my brain was a bit younger~ I wouldn’t have thought to check the phone of the already defeated guy.”

Despite his words, he’s smart. Countless victims have been fooled by his ignorant appearance and combat style.

Above all… he’s sizing me up right now.

“You. You said you’re a loyalist of Libra?”

Bell Moore must already be a confirmed hire. As far as I know, he’s been a hunting dog, chosen and active since his college days. He’s probably on a mission to identify interns among the interns.

“My family has been for generations.”

“Generations, huh~ That’s nice.”

He chuckled lightly.

“What about you, Mr. Bell Moore?”

“I’m similar. I received a scholarship. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Libra… but, well, working here is just a side gig.”

“A side gig?”

I looked back at him, a hint of hostility in my eyes.

Bell Moore laughed a bit more cheerfully and raised his hands.

“Whoa, you’re so tense, as if I’m not a loyalist.”

“…I’m just a bit annoyed by the term ‘side gig’.”

“Why? Not everyone is as pure as you. They don’t all revere Libra like you do.”

Bell Moore spoke as if he knew a lot about me.

“I have a lot to give to Libra, and Libra can treat me as a top commodity in the market. That’s why I’m here. I’m not here for Libra like you are.”

“Are you belittling me?”

“I know. All the internship participants are competitors. I’ve figured it out. But, you know what?”

Bell Moore whispered in my ear. A terrible smell of cigarettes wafted in.

─Loyalty doesn’t feed you. Ability does. If Libra had to choose between you and me, they’d probably choose me.

I pushed his shoulder. He fell back quietly, a large smile on his face.

He was smiling.

“Next, Mr. Bell Moore.”

“Yes. I’m going.”

The executive called him. He got up abruptly and went inside.

I just sat quietly. It was a bit boring since my smartphone was confiscated.

‘Grawl, can you hear me?’

I casually reached out to Grawl. It was telepathy through R-elix.

‘Yes. What is it?’

‘I’m bored, let’s play a word chain game. You know it?’

‘Yes. A three-letter word chain game.’

‘Sodium, your turn.’

‘……Are you kidding?’

‘Why?’

‘I’ll start.’

‘Go ahead. But the forbidden words are sodium, yttrium, cadmium… anything ending in -ium is forbidden.’

‘Puppy, your turn.’

‘……What’s that?’

“Next, Mr. Shion.”

It was my turn before I knew it.

I entered the interview room. HR Manager Jean and her two subordinates were sitting across from me.

“Please, have a seat.”

Jean said. I took a seat.

“Intern Shion. You were quite smart today, weren’t you? It seems you weren’t chosen as an internship member for nothing.”

“I was just lucky.”

Libra values humility. They prefer talents who show loyalty to their lineage, yet do not seek attention or fame.

“There are a few questions… From a D- grade in Endex to a sudden rise to 67th in the college board scores. Is there a particular reason?”

On the continent, a sudden increase in skills is highly suspicious. The most likely cause is monster grafting, a procedure rampant in the underworld.

“As you know, I’ve had some health issues.”

Knowing this, I had prepared my answer in advance.

“After recovering from my illness, I resumed proper training. Once I escaped from the clutches of the disease, my skills improved.”

“Hmm. You’ve been through quite a lot. Your father was a junior knight of Libra, and you yourself were in the Libra Orphanage… which is now closed, I believe?”

“It has been relocated. To the north.”

Jean raised an eyebrow.

“You said your goal is to become a guardian knight of Libra. Do you know what that entails?”

“Yes.”

“The aptitude you demonstrated today seems more suited to a ‘Chaser’.”

“To become a guardian knight, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

A Chaser.

As the name suggests, they are pursuers. They assassinate entities harmful to Libra or respond quickly to incidents.

They also oversee setups and rehearsals to root out traitors, like the truck incident I experienced today.

“Don’t you want to serve the direct line of the main house?”

Jean asked about the main house.

Libra’s Derek, Johanna, Jade, and Zia.

When I think of them, I can’t help but smile.

“Why are you smiling?”

“…Just imagining it is an honor.”

At that moment, my smile was truly sincere.

“I always hope to serve them.”

When hatred crosses a certain line, it can become strangely endearing.

* * *

Tick-tock─ Tick-tock─

Along with old man Belthos and Soliette, I’m tending the garden of the old building.

“Shion. How about this? I cut it myself.”

Soliette pointed to a tree she had cut into the shape of a dinosaur. I clapped for her.

“You’re learning well. You have talent.”

“Hahaha.”

Since last week, when I desperately held onto Soliette, she has been restraining herself from connecting to Bethune.

She knows that Knightmare is in Bethune, but since it’s a dead end, the creature can’t escape, and Soliette herself will face it in a slightly detached state from obsession and hatred.

Even Knight Raelro advised against connecting.

He said that some ‘change’ is happening from within the bottle of souls. That now is the time to wait.

“Are you going to the internship again today?”

Old man Belthos asked. Soliette looked interested.

“Yeah. I’m about to head out.”

“Shion. Until when?”

“Until the entrance ceremony.”

It’s a one-month schedule. Twice a week, a total of eight times.

Ding-

A message arrived just in time. It was related to the internship.

[Shion Ascal]

[Today, your duty is assigned as a ‘Chaser’.]

[We are dispatching you to the following location.]

[This is an emergency dispatch. Please arrive at the location within 15 minutes.]

“…I need to hurry.”

Again, Libra is strict about time management. Even a second late would mean disqualification from the internship.

“Oh, are you going to the internship?”

Old man Belthos and Soliette stood side by side, clutching garden shears. They looked like a granddaughter and grandfather.

“Yeah. I might not… come back until night.”

“When you come back, I’d like one of those corned cheese chickens?”

“I’ll make it when I get back.”

“Yay.”

Soliette smiled like a child, and

“I’ll buy the beer.”

Old man Belthos also chimed in.

“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

…

As the HR manager said in yesterday’s interview, I was assigned as a ‘Chaser’, a field worker. Therefore, my workplace was in some mountainous area.

“…There are people here.”

There were two people.

One was an unknown man, bloodied and leaning against a tree.

The other was Bell Moore.

In front of him, Bell Moore turned to look at me.

“Huh? Ah~ I thought I smelled milk.” (symbolizes a baby, aka inexperienced person)

He lit a cigar and chuckled.

“You’re my partner? Shion Ascal.”

“Explain the situation first.”

“Asshole, you think I’m your servant?”

Bell Moore took a step back. There was a man covered in blood. I looked at him quietly.

He frowned as he looked at me.

“…Who’s this kid?”

“This gentleman here, ‘Renkal’, requested rescue. He was a spy inside the cartel, but he got caught.”

“I didn’t get caught. I ran away with the information.”

Bell Moore introduced him to me. Then he winked at me. Was he asking me to introduce myself?

“Shion Ascal. I’m an intern here, like Mr. Bell Moore.”

“Crazy. Two interns? The cartel is coming! Why the fuck are you an intern?”

I asked Bell Moore.

“Is the cartel chasing him?”

“Yeah. I’ve already killed three. Seeing as you arrived safely, I guess that was the end of them?”

“…”

I looked again at the man named Renkal. His name was different from memory, but his face was familiar.

“…Renkal?”

I furrowed my brow.

I approached him.

I knelt on one knee and looked into his face.

I brushed his thick hair back.

“…Hey. What the hell are you doing?”

“Ah.”

Now I understand.

I know that face. I also remember the name.

Melsus.

Melsus, a bastard pedophile who flitted between Libra and the cartel like a bat, killing countless people and sacrificing many of my colleagues.

From Libra’s perspective, and from mine, he was a man not worth sparing.

“What the hell are you doing, you punk? What’s an intern touching?! You want to die?!”

“What am I doing?”

I put my hand on my waist.

“Hey, what are you-”

Before Bell Moore could reach out, I drew my sword. A flash of light flickered. A single line crossed the bastard’s neck.

Kwazuzzuk──!

Blood spurted out like a fountain.

Degrurur──

The severed head rolled through the grass.

“…….”

Bell Moore opened his mouth wide in shock.

“……Are you crazy?”

“It’s the best solution.”

I sheath my sword. Bell Moore pushed my shoulder.

“The best solution? This man was a spy planted by Libra in the cartel, you idiot!”

“Yes.”

I rummaged through the corpse’s pocket. There was a USB.

“I’ve recovered the information.”

“……What?”

“He infiltrated the cartel, stole information, and then ran away. So, is the value in the person, or in the information?”

“…….”

Bell Moore put his hand on his head. His face was one of confusion.

“The value is only in the information. A spy who gets caught is incompetent. Or.”

I kicked the corpse with my foot.

“The hypothesis that he was caught and turned into a double agent is more likely than ‘he was caught but miraculously escaped’. The cartel guys aren’t that easy.”

“……So. How are you going to explain this?”

“I’ll explain it as it is. I’m doing something beneficial for Libra. This man is not beneficial to Libra.”

This man named Melsus is garbage that is harmful to Libra and humanity itself. It’s perfectly fine to kill him right now, no, he ‘deserves to die’.

“Heh, haha.”

Then Bell Moore let out a hollow laugh. He pressed his temples and made his laughter louder.

Eventually, Bell Moore said to me.

“Isn’t this guy a psychopath…….”

It was a line I never thought I’d hear from him.

* * *

1.

The bottle of souls. Jared Arkne’s Presidium.

“……Did I really come to your house?”

Detective Victor stared blankly at the CCTV footage of himself. Jared Arkne asked with a puzzled face.

“Do you really not remember anything?”

“Yes. I don’t remember anything.”

“…….”

Jared’s complexion hardened considerably.

“What did I say?”

“……This world.”

You said it was fake.

But he swallowed the rest of his words. There was no need to unnecessarily burden others.

“This world?”

At Victor’s words, Jared shook his head.

“No. Just in case, though.”

And then he handed Detective Victor a notebook.

“Can you always keep this notebook with you, no matter what?”

“……This notebook?”

“Yes.”

According to Jared’s speculation, this Detective Victor is not the Victor he saw then.

He is not the ‘unidentified entity’ who said the world was fake. However, he may become ‘that person’ again someday.

Therefore, Jared wrote a sentence in the notebook.

[I am Jared Arkne. Do you have a nail clipper? I have a nail clipper. I want to talk.]

In case ‘he’ enters this detective’s body again, he can see this sentence and come to him immediately.

“……Yes. I understand for now. Then, I’ll be going.”

Detective Victor left with the notebook, and Jared sat down on the living room sofa with a thud.

He turned on the TV.

[Breaking news. A ‘Patrick Cure’ that cures dementia has been developed. This new drug has no side effects…….]

Jared watched those news flashes.

[Next up. The hair loss treatment, ‘Rotarka’, has been approved. This miraculous treatment that can cure even when the hair roots are completely dead…….]

Could these things be possible?

Curing dementia, completely conquering cancer, treating hair loss…… Could these be feats that humanity can achieve in such a short time?

Jared Arkne was lost in deep thought for a moment.