Memoirs of the Returnee
chapter-284

Tick-tock—tick-tock—

The wall clock ticked away in the room at dawn.

I laid Johanna down on the guest room bed. Her breaths were shallow and mixed with the heavy scent of alcohol.

How many bottles of spirits had she drunk?

She was quietly asleep.

Or at least, she appeared to be.

Thump—

I gently placed my hand on her forehead. It was quite hot. Probably not due to a fever, though.

The longer my hand stayed, the hotter it became.

“…Sigh.”

I let out a deliberately soft sigh. While doing so, I tidied her disheveled hair. As if to say, I care for you, but we must part. As if to say, you too must drift away from me.

As if to say we cannot be together…

I then got up from the bed.

Thud, thud.

As I was about to leave, I turned back to look at Johanna. My expression was a little sad.

Most of it was calculated acting, but some of it was genuine.

The Johanna before regression had killed countless people. It was probably a world record for a single individual.

That terrible future would be erased because of me.

However, the sins she committed in the present would not just disappear.

She had taken land from countless commoners for her casinos, department stores, for her business, or simply to possess something. She had taken their money, their lives.

She was a clear villain.

Therefore, my revenge was simple.

To change her, to make her face the sins of her past squarely.

To make her aware of her own evil deeds.

To gift Johanna with self-awareness and reflection.

“…Sleep peacefully.”

I bowed to her.

Creeeak—

I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

The air was dark and quiet, still tinged with the aura of phantoms.

There was no hostility from the phantoms, which was more puzzling, but I managed to walk safely back to Zia’s room.

Tap-tap-tap-tap—

Zia glanced at me while tapping away at her laptop like an octopus.

“…You’re back.”

“Yes. Miss Johanna is fine.”

“That’s a relief…”

“But.”

I asked while standing behind her.

“lt’s strange. Why would phantoms appear here?”

I couldn't understand the reason.

Section 0 of Aerial Garden is where the direct descendants of Libra reside. It’s the most important and central place, so why would phantoms appear here?

“I don't know either… It’s been like that since Aerial Garden was built…”

Suddenly, Sheron came to mind. Her Spectrum, [FrequencyJ , might sense something here.

Just then, Zia took her hands off the laptop.

“Miss.”

“…Yes?”

I asked her.

“Do you have any memories of Lord Sherlock, the head of the family?”

Sherlock.

The current head of Libra, yet a man whose face is unknown.

I do not know what kind of person he is. Despite my pride in knowing everything about Libra, I was ignorant about him.

Of course, Sherlock is going to die within the next five years, but until then, he would remain thoroughly hidden in the shadows.

“Only… very little.”

Zia spoke with a contemplative look on her face.

“Looking at me, he said, ‘You won’t live long.’”

It was an unnecessary imitation, deepening her voice.

“He said that to me.”

I nodded calmly at Zia’s words.

“Is that so.”

Sherlock is a man who is going to die anyway.

Zia will swallow up Libra whole within the next six years, and I will become her second in command. Even though Sherlock is the master of the great evil known as ‘Libra,’ the timelines will surely not overlap.

Why do I keep worrying about it?

“…S h i o n ”

Suddenly, Zia called my name.

“Yes.”

“What kind of man was Shion’s father?”

She asked about my father, whom Libra had killed.

I smiled faintly.

“He was a good father.”

A person I could not respect, but still love. That's what my father was to me.

“Why… did he pass away?”

“He died on duty.”

“Do you know what mission it was…?”

“…NO. I don’t know.”

The truth is, I do know.

My father didn't even leave a body behind.

His flesh was torn apart first, and his spirit disintegrated, as if he had never existed in the first place.

He was the reckless vanguard of a magic space called ‘the Hole.’

“Should I… look into it…?”

Zia offered tentatively, but I shook my head.

“I want to focus on the present. By your side, Miss Zia.”

“…”

Zia watched me closely. I also met her gaze steadily.

Just as she is a person whose heart is unreadable, I must be to some extent as well. She won’t be able to read my expression. She won't be able to measure my sincerity.

Because my wish to be in your present, Zia, contains not a shred of falsehood…

At the annual gathering of Libra, a dining area was set up in the garden of Section 0. Members from collateral and direct lines, as well as the elders, were present. There were many ‘Libra’ members I was seeing for the first time, but I couldn’t let it show.

I stood behind Zia of the direct line, statue-like. Behind Derek was Smith, behind Johanna was Vitro, Jade was alone, and Sherlock’s seat was entirely vacant.

“…So. Are you still reconsidering your marriage prospects?”

The Libras exchanged various conversations among themselves. The collateral line spoke with their own, and the elders addressed the direct line members.

“Don’t wait too long. It’s always better to find an unconditional ally sooner rather than later.”

Marriage was a particularly common topic. Most of the attention was on Johanna. Derek and Jade were also single.

“There’s no one suitable for me.”

Johanna replied, biting back her irritation. Derek let out a snicker, while Jade just sat quietly.

“I remember when you were little, Johanna. You were so small and adorable back then…”

“Ahem?”

During the time when Derek’s elders were teasing Johanna,

Someone approached me. It was an elder with a long beard.

“Are you the knight of Zia I’ve only heard about… from the national university?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Hmm~”

This elder seemed to already know of me.

That must mean my name and face have gotten around.

“The work you've done is quite impressive. Zia has found herself a fine knight. Haha. Congratulations. You’ll make a good independence gift.”

This is how the elders are, with their factions so clearly drawn.

Mostly concerned with Derek and Johanna, they paid little attention to Zia.

“Yes…”

Zia smiled broadly.

I sent a mental message to Grawl.

‘Grawl. Are you seeing this?’

Currently, Grawl was looking through my eyes.

‘Yes!’

Before my regression, there were many whose names I knew but faces I didn’t. Most of the elders and collateral members of Libra were like that.

Whether collateral or direct, keeping themselves hidden from the outside was the same.

‘There are quite a few here worth killing.’

I could step out as Raquel Dra, or simply carry out an assassination.

Either way, it’s a gold mine.

“Well then, I’m done eating.”

Just then, Johanna abruptly stood up. Apparently unable to tolerate the incessant talk of marriage and romance, she strode away briskly.

“…Don’t mind her. You know her temperament well enough, don’t you?

Ask me instead. I'm also in the process of preparing for a spouse.”

Derek spoke mockingly of her, and Jade suddenly looked at Zia and me.

He seemed to notice something pleasing about the two of us.

In the fall, the Knight School at Edsilla National University conducts an annual exam. This test is commonly referred to as the “end-of-semester exam,” but in reality, it’s a large-scale assessment involving students from all years, from freshmen to seniors.

Passing this exam grants eligibility to participate in the [Knight Examination], and upon obtaining a knight’s certificate from the [Knight Examination], one is finally called a formal knight.

“…Pleased to meet you.”

Today, the venue for the final exam was an artificial magic space prepared solely for the test.

I stood in a spacious plaza, facing a ‘passage’ with quite a number of knights lined up all around.

“The outline of the exam is simple. Rescue and survival.”

The professor spoke while projecting a powerpoint into the air.

“There will be two groups: the survival group and the rescue group. The survival group will be randomly placed in extreme situations, and the rescue group will be tasked with saving them from the starting point.”

The ratio was 7:3.

Seven for the survival group, three for the rescue group.

“The composition of the groups has been based on personality and grades thus far. Both survival and rescue will be evaluated on proper and strict criteria, so no complaints. Understand?!”

Yes-

A resounding shout echoed. My ears almost burst for a moment.

“…Shion. Somehow, I think Shion will be in the rescue group.”

Soliette poked my shoulder repeatedly.

“Ah. You’re definitely survival.”

Her eyes narrowed at that.

“…Why do you think so?”

“You’ve missed a lot of classes.”

“…”

“Now, I will announce the rescue group! Those not included in this list are all in the survival group!”

Just then, the professor displayed the list on the powerpoint.

Familiar names in the rescue group were Gerkhen, Kain, Asher, and Shion.

As expected, Soliette was not there.

“…Ah. Really.”

Soliette bit her lip in dissatisfaction, but,

“The survival group will enter the passage first, proceed!”

There was no time to complain.

Proceed-

All the knight school students not in the rescue group rushed into the passage.

We will now proceed with the ribbon-cutting ceremony-

A clamorous cheer resounded, loud enough to sting the ears. Amidst the popping of firecrackers and the fluttering of confetti, onlookers beamed with joy and clapped their hands.

“……”

Johanna gazed at the scissors in her hand.

After a moment of contemplation, she snipped through the ribbon before her—

The applause intensified, dozens of times louder than before.

“Congratulations, Johanna!”

Soon, men dressed in suits approached to shake her hand. Johanna nodded perfunctorily and looked up at the building.

Her thirteenth department store.

A cash cow erected on the most prized land in Edsilla's new city.

Almost every luxury brand on the continent had scrambled to get a spot inside, with the expected net profit running into the hundreds of millions of Ren.

“Well done.”

Johanna commended her subordinates, patting the shoulders of those involved in the construction.

Yet, the feeling wasn’t the same as before.

When she built her first department store, her first casino, she was filled with excitement, a sense of purpose, and a reaffirmation of her life’s meaning…

She had thought that she lived for these achievements.

Why does it feel so empty today?

Is it because she has built too many department stores?

Should she have built a taller tower instead?

“……”

Lost in thought, she found herself already in the car.

“Are you alright?”

Vitro asked. Johanna glanced away and retorted.

“What do you mean?”

“Usually… you would stay for at least three hours.”

“That was before. Now, time is too precious. Besides, hand me the tablet.”

“Yes.”

Johanna took the tablet from Vitro. On the screen was a list of men deemed suitable to be her consort.

A catalog, if you will, personally compiled and delivered by the elders.

Most had excellent lineage, had established and managed successful enterprises, and even looked like they were chiseled from stone.

All of them were dozens of times better than Shion Ascal.

However, in Johanna’s eyes—

[End-of-semester exam at Edsilla National University’s Knight School begins]

An alert popped up at the top of the tablet.

Since Edsilla National University made all exam processes available to businesses or families, Johanna naturally had the right to observe.

It wasn’t snooping, per se.

“…… Hmm .”

She discreetly glanced at the driver's seat as she pressed to view the alert.

A list of students unfolded before her. Among them, she searched for the name and face of [Shion Ascal].

Flicking through the scroll, she quickly found him.

Tap.

Johanna tapped on his name with her finger. The tablet’s screen was filled with the drone’s feed.

There was Shion Ascal, dressed in a rescue team’s uniform, advancing through a land indistinguishable between the Arctic or Antarctic.

“……”

Johanna saw his face. A sharp, expressionless visage resembling a bird of prey. A jawline like a blade and eyes unwavering.

And then…

The way he laid her down on the bed. The touch that caressed her forehead, that gently straightened her hair. The face that looked down at her, seemingly sad and distant.

“……1”

Caught in a trance of memories, Johanna shuddered and quickly set the tablet down.

“Vitro.”

She urgently called out to Vitro, who was in the passenger seat.

“Yes?”

“Take me to the hospital.”

“……The hospital, you say?”

“Yes. The hospital.”

Johanna pressed her hand to her temple.

Lately, she found herself lacking motivation in everything.

Things that used to be fun no longer amused her, and what she liked no longer held her interest.

Instead, she occasionally felt a sharp pain in her chest, and her restless mind would wake her from sleep.

She started having strange and melancholic dreams.

“Libra Medical Center, no……”

Now, it seemed she had to admit it to herself.

“Take me to Spring Water Hospital.”

Professor Yu Hains.

It appears, just as you said, I might have fallen in love with that man.