Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 304



Only Noblemtl

The Regressor’s Notepad 304

New Year (2)

“… …Negotiation.”

Dark factory. I glared at the executives of the cafe [BALANCE] who had come to see me.

The executive in a suit spoke seriously.

“Stop your wasteful behavior and tell me what you want.”

For reference, I’m currently ‘pretending’ to be a blocker’s subordinate.

This is a setup that utilizes Growl’s information power. It means that all information transmitted to Jade and her subordinates is being controlled.

It wasn’t difficult. Jade, who didn’t use information or combat personnel, was the easiest direct line to fool.

The purpose of this whole process is to ultimately make Jade angry.

“I think they might like it if I offered them 30% of their net profit as a security deposit.”

I smiled smugly. Of course, the conditions were outrageous.

“… …That’s nonsense!”

One of the executives shouted.

I straightened up. I stared at them with my scarred eyes.

“If you want to get out safely, it would be better not to raise your voice.”

The executives flinched back. There were bodyguards, but they looked equally frightened.

“… … 30% of net profit is an impossible figure.”

“Impossible. Don’t you know the concept of protection money? The railroad you use to transport coffee beans is often attacked by monsters. Also, the smell of coffee beans stimulates the monsters. We are protecting that distribution network.”

“That’s nonsense-”

“You guys are the ones talking nonsense.”

He talks and acts like a rascal who can’t communicate with anyone.

As if there is no other solution than slaughter.

“So, please convey our conditions precisely, without a single mistake, to that nobleman.”

I said, baring my teeth. The executives bit their lips in anger, and I smiled like a villain.

“Hahahahahahaha─”

Well, this is the kind of laughter I’m talking about.

* * *

Jade is experiencing the feeling of being sick for the first time in her life. It’s not often that a situation tests her patience like this.

It’s because of those damned things that stick to me like flies or mosquitoes.

“……negotiation?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I was so frustrated that I went out, but… … .”

Jade would not allow negotiations with the bugs, but Jade’s staff arranged a meeting for them, and they were only told that they would have to pay 30% of their profits as a protection fee.

“I don’t think you gave permission.”

Jade tilted her head. It was a habit she had when she was angry.

If you move your fingers even slightly here, all the employees will die.

Of course, the staff didn’t know that fact, but they all quickly knelt down.

“sorry!”

“… … .”

Jade frowned.

Even if we kill them, it’s just venting our anger. There will be no one left to work.

The problem is ultimately the group called Blockers. These cancerous lumps of society ignore public authority and move secretly across borders. There are many people in Edsilla and other countries who receive their spoils.

Jade also tried to treat them with a noble attitude at first.

However, rather than having a conversation, they robbed the cafe by stealing coffee beans and even tearing down the cafe’s interior…

That’s why Jade is truly suffering.

Should I step forward and sweep these filthy bastards away myself?

dripping-

Just then, a knock sounded. Jade looked back.

Beyond the door that the butler opened, there was Zion Ascal.

He first bowed his head politely.

“Jade Princess. I came to see you because I thought you had some troubles.”

Jade sighed softly and gestured to her staff. They all went outside.

“… … You probably already know what’s going on.”

Jade gave Zion a mission. She didn’t reveal his name, but he probably noticed right away.

“Yes. Miss Zia is also perplexed about that.”

“Tell her not to worry, it’s not her fault.”

Jade pointed to a chair. Zion nodded and sat down.

“… … While you’re here, let me explain the mission in more detail. What those damn bastards have been up to so far.”

Jade explained everything that had happened over the past few months. Zion listened as if he didn’t know.

“You asked for their location and identity so that we could sweep them away?”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

Because violence is undignified. And information may leak out.

Suddenly Zion opened his mouth.

“Jade Lord. May I tell you something?”

“Is this what they mean, ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’?”

Even the elders, not to mention the staff, were giving advice.

“It’s the concept of ‘chosen people.’”

Zion Ascal said something completely different. Jade raised her eyebrows.

“Jade Lord is a noble chosen by heaven. Jade Lord’s dignity and ability prove it.”

“… … .”

It was a compliment she really liked. Jade’s nose twitched slightly. She tried to keep the corners of her lips from moving.

“On the other hand, they are barbarians. To them, logic is power, and violence is dialogue.”

Zion held out a scroll on the desk. It was a map with specific coordinates marked on it.

“But Lord Jade. Violence is a word that is used only between humans. To beasts that cannot communicate with words, human violence is like education. Humans educate beasts through violence.”

Jade nodded and listened to him.

“Just as it is the right of man to educate beasts, it is the right of the chosen people like Jade to educate the savage. Such education is rather a noble thing.”

A very persuasive proposition that one is a superior chosen people, and that the other party is an uncivilized barbarian, so violence against them is not violence but education.

“That sounds plausible. But what if I don’t intend to educate you?”

Zion tilted his head, his eyes wide.

Jade’s lips twisted.

“What if they are just beasts that are not worth edifying?”

Zion thought for a moment and then blurted out a word.

“It would be right to kill her. That would also be Jade’s right.”

* * *

… … A winter so cold that even the air seems to freeze.

The atmosphere at the Glowfeld family home has been gloomy lately. The entire estate looks drenched in rain.

The same goes for the always iron-blooded lord, Derrian. His usually upright back even looks bent as he sighs.

“… …Your Majesty.”

The interior of the Glowfeld mansion.

The old knight who had been with the family for 30 years bowed his head to the head of the family, Derian.

“I think it’s time to go and find it now.”

Derrian was silent. He knew what the knight meant. If it had been three weeks ago, he would have immediately given a warning.

The knight spoke persuasively.

“I’m not saying that we should rely on superstition. We should now grasp at straws. If things continue this way, Lord Beckron… … .”

“… … .”

Darian had a complicated face.

There is no such thing as magic that can probe a person’s future or soul. Therefore, fortune telling and shamanism are nothing more than ‘superstitions.’

Nevertheless──

“Your Majesty, please speak.”

Now even Darian’s heart is weakening.

“… … They said they would accept it?”

“yes?”

“That bastard Baekrong caused a mess when he left that shaman’s house.”

Beckron, son of Derian and successor to Glowfeld.

His pancreatic cancer was completely cured. With magical medicine, that was an easy feat.

However, he is still hospitalized. Because of unexplained ‘symptoms’ that even modern medicine cannot explain.

“Wouldn’t it be better for the shaman to forgive Beckrong before he goes to see her or not?”

Beckron is getting thinner by the day, and he himself is falling into a kind of madness and resenting Derian. He cries out that he is dying because Derian does not allow him to meet him.

If this information leaks out, what a blow it will be to Glowfeld… … .

No, let alone saving face, it is an absolute necessity for Glowfeld to be cut off immediately.

“… …Actually. I heard that the young lady arranged the seat.”

Darian’s eyes widened at the knight’s words.

“How long will it take for your daughter-in-law to grow up?”

“Yes. The young lady somehow managed to contact Lord Yerain, and through earnest persuasion, she succeeded in arranging a seat for him.”

“Yerein? You mean Rodman’s daughter?”

“Yes. He also said that he escaped trouble thanks to the astrologer.”

Darian was troubled. But he couldn’t stay still when he thought of his son in the hospital room.

Beckron was an only child born in his old age. He was also the last gift from his late wife.

“… … Okay. I’ll go myself, so tell them to prepare a seat for me.”

The knight breathed a sigh of relief at Derrian’s words.

“Yes, I will accept it!”

He shouted loudly and bent his waist at a 90 degree angle.

* * *

[Castrology]

Inside the tent of Castology, I look at Derian of Glowfeld.

Although he is now an old man with a gaunt face, he still looks at me with sharp eyes.

“I heard you said something strange to my son.”

The tone was quite melancholic.

I shook my head.

“It’s not a strange thing. I just let you hear the words of the soul.”

“… … .”

Darian put his hand into his bosom. A small box came out of it. He placed it on the table.

“It’s a treasure. If it were to be auctioned, it would be worth at least 300 million ren.”

He opened the box. There was a sphere the size of a ping-pong ball.

I also recognized the identity of the object at a glance.

“They call it a will-o’-the-wisp.”

This sphere floats around its owner, intercepting and protecting them from external attacks.

A rare item that is far beyond the level of an artifact, and is definitely a treasure. It is said that it can replace ten knights of the guard, and there are not many of them left in Edsilla.

It was definitely something worth looking at.

“This isn’t something that can be solved with money.”

“… … .”

A vein appeared on Derrian’s hand.

“If money can’t solve it, then what’s the problem?”

“You are now mistaken about the object of your anger. I am merely conveying the entangled meanings of the celestial flow that descends upon man through cards.”

“… … What do you mean?”

Darian asked anxiously.

“I am the one who conveys the meaning. You are the ones who will interpret the meaning.”

“But why is my son sick?”

He slammed his fists on the desk. I stared at him calmly and explained.

“In the end, it is a response from the soul.”

“Soul response?”

Derrian’s brow furrowed. The veins on his scalp bulged.

To him, I threw a word like a dagger.

“You value your own son, but look down on other people’s sons and daughters?”

“… … .”

His expression hardened.

“Their souls, who had fallen so insignificantly, descended upon your son through the power of the heavenly bodies.”

His bony hands shook violently. He couldn’t even breathe properly.

Jjang-

I took my time and drew a card. It was green.

“The spirits want a proper apology.”

“… … .”

Darian looked at me silently. I threw several cards into the air. Suddenly, an aurora-like phenomenon appeared and filled the tent.

It was an intentional performance, and Darian also watched it for a moment, lost in thought.

I asked him.

“What on earth happened?”

“… … What difference does it make if you talk? Well, if you’re dealing with celestial bodies, shouldn’t you be able to figure it out without talking?”

But Darian still had his doubts.

“I can convey your will to the soul, but to do so, I must form a form of consolation.”

“Comfort?”

I nodded. Darian asked back with a hollow laugh.

“Are you saying you will do good?”

“Not similar.”

“under.”

At that moment, Darian kicked his seat. As I watched Darian’s back as he abruptly got up and was about to leave, I said.

“I think the soul is willing to forgive you all.”

“… … ‘as much as’?”

He immediately understood the meaning of the words I had added so meaningfully.

“The spirits say that there was more than one family that tore them apart. They say that they were using them to achieve some illusive ‘wild wish’.”

“I wish… … .”

In an instant, Darian’s wrinkles tightened. His complexion also turned pale, as if he had seen a ghost.

I spoke in a pushy manner.

“You deserve forgiveness. But this means you are given a chance to make things right.”

“… … .”

Darian just let out a gasp of breath without saying a word.

“If you miss this opportunity, not only your son, but you will never be able to continue the family line.”

The old man’s knees shook. His whole body slowly bent.

I flicked the last card. It became a drizzle and settled down from the tent ceiling.

Gulp… gulp… .

Derrian’s back became cold and wet.

“Confess your mistakes to the soul and ask for a chance to make amends. They still have the heart to forgive you… … .”

I continued speaking like a wise man. Derrian shed tears at that moment. It was rare to see tears from an old man, but there was no need to feel pity or sympathy.

Whether you cooperated partially, fully, or even took the lead in the pursuit of eternal life, you would have suffered much more.

I waited for Derian to stop crying.

“… … .”

I thought it would stop soon, but Darian cried for quite some time. It was hard to hear. Of course, his son’s illness must have been very painful mentally.

How much time has passed like that?

I looked at my watch without realizing it.

30 minutes had already passed.

“… … .”

The old man is still crying. There is no sign of him stopping.

Ah, when will it end? Why is this old man acting like this?

“… … There isn’t much time.”

I finally urged him.

Only then did Darian stop crying. He got up, his surprisingly thin body flailing, and sat down in front of me.