Episode 241 – Unharmed (3)

Unharmed (3)

The mana bomb installed on the train was a device developed by Grawl, using mana stones as a medium to add various magical circuits. Of course, it wasn’t a real bomb, more like a jack-in-the-box.

Anyway, thanks to that, the train came to a halt.

The police arrived belatedly, but there wasn’t much for them to do.

Theia’s credentials as a ‘Holy Knight’ far surpassed any authority the police had.

In the event of such a magical terrorism incident, she had the authority to investigate and control the scene independently.

“……It’s a relief, I guess.”

After the situation was resolved and we returned to our seats on the train, Theia quickly turned to look at me. In her hand, she held the mana stone core of the jack-in-the-box. She was probably planning to send it for analysis.

“Well, I missed attending the parliamentary session. I should have been writing my article.”

I said nonchalantly. Theia looked pensive, but soon pointed her finger at my laptop.

“Laptop.”

“Huh?”

“Turn it on.”

“……Ah.”

I immediately understood what she wanted.

As soon as I opened my laptop, I searched for [Parliamentary Hearing].

─Now, the Libra Economic Zone, Billiant, Kelroa, Pharalos……

All of them were companies managed by Derek with an ambiguous ownership structure.

─The hearing for ‘Derek Libra,’ who owns numerous companies, will take place.

Derek appeared on part of the screen. He wasn’t wearing his mosaic artifact today, so his face was fully visible.

A look that could dominate the assembly.

This must also be a strategy.

Even if they commit the same misdeeds, the ugly ones get stoned, while the beautiful ones gain fandoms.

That’s just how the world works.

* * *

At the parliamentary hearing.

“It’s almost Derek’s turn.”

An aide handed Derek some documents. Derek smirked and declined.

“It’s fine.”

There was no need to busily prepare anything. All the information was in his head.

Memorizing data and figures was for the lower ranks, and the stupid commoners wouldn’t understand it anyway.

──The hearing for ‘Derek Libra,’ who owns the Libra Economic Zone, Billiant, Kelroa, Pharalos, and many other companies, will take place.

Derek stood up briskly and took his designated seat. A camera in the corner captured him. It was slightly annoying, but a tolerable inconvenience.

In this place, mostly filled with old men, fat pigs, or bald roosters, the noble dignity that Derek himself possessed would provide a stark contrast.

“Sir Derek. As a businessman, you manage many companies, don’t you?”

The Senator asked, pushing up his glasses.

Derek nodded.

“That’s correct.”

“However, there are concerns in the public about your method of expanding into almost every field in a ‘octopus-style’ management… I would like to hear your thoughts on this.”

“There is absolutely no need for concern,” Derek said, cutting through the air with a decisive gesture of his hand.

“Rather, as a businessman, it’s about creating a better environment in the market…”

Based on the pretext of a ‘market economy,’ he continued his speech.

“The expansion into various fields benefits the competitiveness of the market itself. Consumers will see benefits, and market participants will be challenged to develop and advance themselves…”

No one interrupts him.

Not the Senator, nor the various witnesses attending the hearing, nor the citizens from all walks of life. They all just listened.

“Yes, I’ve heard you well,” the Senator said with a small smile and a nod. Derek also smiled silently.

“Is there any citizen here who would like to take the stand as a witness and ask questions?”

A mere formality of a Q&A.

Theia Esil wasn’t here anyway. So no one would be able to challenge him…

“Hm?”

The Senator tilted his head slightly.

“Yes, you there. Please come forward.”

Derek’s brow twitched slightly. In the meantime, a man walked up to the witness stand and sat down.

“Who might you be? Please introduce yourself.”

“My name is Derk. I used to run an IT company.”

This man named Derk.

Derek didn’t know him.

Some unheard-of guy was now stacking documents neatly on the witness stand.

Then an aide hurried over.

─He’s the former CEO of the startup IT company that Derek had acquired through a merger.

It was then that Derek finally remembered. The man who had lost his company to a hostile M&A orchestrated by him.

“Why was that bastard invited…”

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He quickly turned to look at Vern. Vern avoided his gaze with a stern expression, but a faint smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.

“That damned pig-”

“I am here to denounce the corporate ethics of Derek Libra.”

* * *

─…This is the correlation between mana waves and the incidence of cancer. It’s a medically proven fact. Next, this document shows the cancer incidence rates among employees of Pharalos, the pharmaceutical company run by Derek. The rates are significantly high. It’s an impossible figure by any common sense.

I watched the hearing unfold on my laptop.

─Despite the near certainty that the cancer was caused by mana waves, Pharalos has refused to acknowledge it and is still engaged in litigation.

Honestly, at first, I wondered what was going on. I thought that if only Theia weren’t here, none of this would have happened.

I was mistaken.

─About fifty former employees who are cancer patients, half have died, and the other half are struggling to carry on the lawsuit without any attention from the media…

This is neither my victory nor Theia’s. It’s Vern’s victory.

─And that’s not all. All the enterprises operated by Derek are polluting the local environment.

While the Libra family could compete for the top spot in Edsilla based on its size alone, the current situation is that it’s divided into four—Sherlock, Derek, Johanna, Jade—allowing other families to keep them in check.

Therefore, Vern has stabbed his most direct competitor, Derek, with a knife.

“…Huh.”

Suddenly, Theia smiled. It was an honest emotion, uncharacteristic of her.

“What a pity.”

I looked at her.

“You must have tried hard to prevent this from happening at the Libra level.”

“…”

She shrugged her shoulders as if to tease.

“That’s right.”

I struggled to suppress a smile as I closed my laptop.

Inside, a conviction that my choice had been correct was bubbling up.

Derek’s target for retaliation would shift from Theia to Vern, and from now on, they would fight each other fiercely.

“It really is a pity.”

Certainly, Theia could look forward to a better future.

Crackling──

Just then, the train stopped. This time, it was the correct terminal. I gathered my belongings and stood up.

It was already late for the parliamentary building, but I planned to wait nearby.

“Aren’t you getting off?”

I asked Theia. She gazed at me for a moment before getting up.

“Of course I’m getting off.”

We stepped onto the platform.

I checked the time. There was about an hour or two left until the end of the hearing…

Maybe grab some food and rest a bit.

“…Shion Ascal.”

That’s when Theia called my name. She, with a backpack slung over her shoulder, held a ticket in one hand and said.

“Oh, did you already get a return ticket?”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

It was an odd thing to say, but I understood immediately.

“I was quite surprised myself.”

She was probably referring to the moment when the bomb went off inside the train.

[Gotcha!]

That’s what she meant.

“I almost had my life flash before my eyes.”

Theia took off her sunglasses and tucked them into her pocket. I faced her with a faint smile.

“Everyone there probably felt their hearts drop just the same.”

The cool tone flowing between her teeth. The sharpness in her eyes.

“Not you, though.”

“…”

Of course, I could have acted that much.

But I didn’t see the need.

I wanted to plant at least the suspicion in her that I was the culprit.

“I have a heart of steel. I can handle horror movies just fine.”

“…Bullshit.”

Theia twisted her mouth.

“Without evidence, mere suspicion isn’t enough to put you behind bars.”

“Of course, there’s no evidence. Because I didn’t do it.”

“…”

“It’s true.”

It wasn’t me; it was Grawl’s doing.

“Go.”

Theia turned around. As she started to trudge toward the opposite track, I called out to her this time.

“Professor.”

“…”

Theia stopped in her tracks, showing only her profile to me.

“There are things in this world that cannot be conquered.”

The unconquerable.

For her, that was Libra.

She, who had pursued Libra more persistently than anyone, had been defeated in a single moment.

By ‘Sherlock’.

“…Go ahead and read it. See for yourself who you’re really serving.”

Instead of answering, Theia threw a bundle of documents at me. They floated over limply with 「Telekinesis」—it was the Derek file.

A criminal file that compiled everything Derek had done in the name of cost-cutting.

There was no need for me to read it.

It was all already memorized in my head.

“I know very well who I serve.”

Whoosh-!

I set Theia’s documents ablaze with magic.

* * *

Quantum Mechanic, Jesco, received a report from the third party, Crow, at his residence.

“Can we open a new route?”

“Yes. Here are the related documents.”

Crow laid out the papers on the desk. Jesco, puffing on a cigar, casually skimmed through them.

“Get to the point.”

“Yes. This includes the amount of synthetic mana stone needed to increase our territory by 5%, and the calculations for the power required. Thanks to Belkman joining us, we can now meet the demand for synthetic mana stone, but…”

Crow paused for a moment. Jesco’s eyebrows twitched.

“But what?”

“…Currently, the market rates Belkman’s mana stones as a higher grade. Therefore, to expand our territory, concentrated investment in that area is necessary.”

In other words, Belkman was receiving better treatment than Jesco.

It meant that Belkman was considered a better technician than Jesco.

“This crazy son of a bitch─!”

Second in command, Face, finally understanding, grabbed Crow by the collar. Crow clutched at his thick arm.

“Let go of me!”

“Thinking you’re all that just because you’re educated, spouting nonsense to the boss-”

“Hey, hey. Let him go.”

“…”

“What are you doing? Let go.”

Face released his grip. Crow straightened his disheveled tie.

“Huff…”

Jesco exhaled cigar smoke and gestured with his chin.

“Continue. It’s okay, go on.”

“Yes. Of course, the top-quality synthetic mana stones are naturally superior in quality when they come from the boss. However-”

“Belkman’s are consistent, aren’t they?”

“…Yes. They are consistently high quality.”

Jesco chuckled dryly.

“That guy’s personality is like that. Always calm about everything. Doesn’t go out much either. Doesn’t let anyone in when he’s cooking. He blocks out external stimuli. That’s different from me; I can’t work without music.”

“……”

“……”

Face and Crow exchanged glances for a moment.

There was something oddly familiar and intimate about the way he spoke, as if he was talking about a younger brother he was close to.

Was this the same Jesco, who until now had seemed devoid of blood and tears?

“Yes. Well, anyway. The stock sold out in 7 days. There’s a demand for stable supply contracts from all over. To meet that, we need to expand the factory…”

“Just do it.”

Jesco shrugged as if to ask why he was even being asked.

“The technician’s willingness is the issue. It’s not just about Belkman’s ability, but whether Belkman wants to do it, and how long Belkman will stay with us-”

“Belkman’s with us for life. No, that guy is already ‘one of us’.”

Jesco stated decisively. The brows of Crow and Face twitched simultaneously.

“What are you looking at me like that for? Desert folks are known for their strong loyalty.”

“Ah yes… but the workload will increase significantly.”

“I’ll talk to him. He likes to work, so it’s fine. But let’s give him a 3.5% share.”

3.5?

Face mumbled quietly to himself and took a step forward, his throat tightening.

“…Still, boss. Aren’t you trusting him too much?”

“What do you mean?”

Jesco’s eyebrows furrowed.

“I mean, even if he’s from the same desert. We’ve been serving you for over 15 years… Giving 3.5% to someone who’s only been with us a month, it would be much safer to give just 0.5% to our own people.”

“Really? What can you do with the technician’s cut?”

“Well, the technician makes the stones, but we risk our lives to deliver them. Fights break out frequently. With 0.5%, we could upgrade our equipment…”

“So it’s about the money, then.”

Crackle-!

Jesco snuffed out his cigar in the ashtray. A vein throbbed prominently on his forehead.

“……”

Face clamped his mouth shut.

“Face. You’re living well with what you’re getting now. Can you spend it all in your lifetime?”

“……It’s not just for me. As you know, I have a family to support-”

“Ah, fuck. The kid talks too much. Hey, if anyone needs life insurance, it’s the technician. If his identity gets exposed, there’s a whole truckload of people trying to snatch him up. Don’t you know this business?”

Bang!

Jesco slammed his fist on the desk. Face fidgeted with his lips and then bowed his head deeply.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re right, boss. We should always treat the technician well.”

…Fucking bastard.

Face turned his eyes to glare at Crow. Crow, pretending not to notice, cleared his throat and pulled out some documents from his coat.

“Here are the financial documents needed for the facility expansion.”

“Yeah. Put them down and both of you get out. I’ll ask Belkman myself right now.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

After the noisy pair had left, Jesco sank back into his chair.

“Shit. Talking to those guys is like talking to a wall.”

Crow’s documents. He doesn’t even read them.

Too many numbers and letters, they don’t even register to his eyes.

And Face, well, as soon as he opens his mouth it’s money this, money that, and in the entertainment district, he throws cash around like he’s some kind of VIP.

“……Sigh.”

Jesco let out a sigh and dialed someone’s number.

Tru-ru-ru- Tru-ru-ru-

The guy picked up before the second ring could even finish. A smile Jesco himself didn’t expect appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Hey~ What are you up to right now?”

─Yes, brother. I was just getting ready to start working.

His fellow countryman from the same desert homeland, with the endearingly desert-style name ‘Belkman’.

“Alright then, wait for me. I’ve got something to talk about, so I’ll come by in a bit.”

Jesco gathered a few gifts he planned to give to the guy and got up.