Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 309



Only Noblemtl

The Regressor’s Notepad, Chapter 309

Milky Way (3)

“Hey. How’s work going?”

Information Agency, asked Belmore, who had come to visit my office. He looked around the interior and smiled happily.

“It’s gotten a lot bigger. It’s gotten a lot bigger.”

As he said, the office changed.

The area itself is probably about five times larger than before.

As Bellmore’s status rose day by day, the administrative team changed things on their own.

“Yes. Is work okay?”

Belmore shrugged.

“It’s the same. But, you’re still doing that work, right?”

‘That work’ is probably Teia Isil.

“Yes. It’s taking some time to prepare thoroughly, but it’s a secret to the public. In case the information leaks out.”

“… … .”

Belmore had an anxious look on his face. He was a bird who avoided unnecessary conflict.

“Ah~ I don’t know either. It’s not my fault if something goes wrong.”

Belmore muttered as he lay down on the sofa.

“Oh, right. I thought you weren’t going to participate in Ortu?”

Ortu Symposium. The end of artificial intelligence, which Jedrick has devoted his heart and soul to, is near.

“Yes. I have a mission.”

It’s a self-made mission. Since I have to attend as Killian, Zion will be away for the time being.

“Team Leader Bell will go in person.”

“……hmm.”

Belmore’s face was scrunched up as if he was not feeling well.

It’s the height of summer, so you might want to go to a club.

“Hey. Zion. Have you heard the rumors about Dr. Killian?”

Bellmore continued to talk, as if he were talking to some college classmate or friend.

I guess you’ve been really bored lately.

“What are those rumors?”

“You spent all 50 million Ren in 3 months. Are you crazy?”

Belmore chuckled.

“I spent almost 500,000 renminbi a day, you’re a better gentleman than me~”

I raised my eyebrows.

This kind of rumor is actually what I wanted. If I were to appear as someone who was immersed in luxury and pleasure, my end would be more dramatic.

“What… …Team Leader Bell.”

I quietly changed the subject.

“Oh, why.”

“Be careful.”

“……caution?”

“Yes. When I was away.”

I looked into his eyes and recited seriously.

“Director Gedler may try to kill Team Leader Bell.”

“… … .”

Bellmore no longer denies these words. He simply listens silently, sighing.

“I don’t know why that guy has such a victim mentality.”

They just gossip quietly.

“Just in case, keep the hotline on at all times.”

“… … It would have been like that anyway, Inma.”

Belmore sat up from the sofa, clutching the doorknob as if to leave.

“……hey.”

He looked back at me and asked.

“Why are you doing this to me… … .”

What should I say? Oh, what should I say? I muttered to myself as if I was embarrassed for no reason, and then I said, Ahem.

“Are you treating me well…? No, why are you loyal to me?”

Belmore seemed curious in his own way. Thanks to me, he became team leader in just two years.

“Team Leader Bell. The only person I am loyal to is Miss Zia.”

“… … No, that’s right. I’m just saying that.”

Belmore pouted. The rabbit-like features and movement of the wrinkles were repulsive.

I held back my swear words and smiled slightly.

“You’re the deputy chief. Team leader Bell is my chief.”

That’s the only reason.

You rise above me, and I use you under you.

Bellmore must be my conduit for all information from the Intelligence Service.

“… … Okay. Good work.”

He smiled a strangely innocent smile. He waved his hand and left my office.

* * *

On the outskirts of Edsilla, on the border, there exists a dark hollow. Originally a simple village, it was closed due to the appearance of monsters and the discovery of a vein of magic stone.

This was Jedrick’s first business, a wild and ambitious setup.

“I think it’s here… … .”

One day, Jedrick learned in advance that the underground of this village was a vein of magic stone.

However, the villagers were unwilling to sell him their land. Their hometown was more precious to them than the mines and such.

Not for Jedrick.

He hired a monster.

The monsters pretended to be monsters and set fire to this small village. They destroyed precious treasures and killed many people.

An ordinary disaster that received no media attention.

Afterwards, Jedrick bought the entire village site for much less than the price he had initially offered, and dug without rest for 20 years.

“… … It’s desolate.”

Now that even the magic stones have been completely depleted, this empty space that is neither a village nor a mine is the old home of Teia Isil.

This is what made her hate Jedrick to death.

“──My teacher and I found that girl Teia here.”

A familiar voice was heard. I turned to look at it. In the darkness, a faint flame of a cigarette was burning.

It was Akane.

“Mr. Akane. You came as a fake.”

“… … .”

Akane suddenly lifted my shirt and looked at my collarbone. There was a sign that said I was fake.

They left behind a symbol that it was fake on purpose.

“Did you doubt me?”

I laughed slightly. Akane twisted her lips.

“Because you could say all the dolls are real.”

I added a word to her as she approached me, plodding along.

“Actually, you are real.”

“……what?”

“Fake mark. It will probably be erased.”

Startled, she rubbed her collarbone with her hand. With a crunch, the mark was erased.

“… … How strange.”

Akane muttered in disbelief.

“You can’t tell the difference between fake and real by looking at the markings. Other dolls also think they’re real.”

In simple terms, the dolls are marking your real body as fake.

“… … I didn’t come here to talk about myself.”

Akane frowned. I nodded calmly.

“Yes, that’s right.”

I said as I looked around the empty hollow that had once been a mine, and even earlier a village.

“My argument is this: ‘Theia’s teacher was killed by Theia, and now Theia is a half-heaven.’”

That’s how it’ll be. Along with murder, I’ll drive Teia to Bancheon and throw her in prison.

Evidence fabrication is easy. There are already quite a few authors in Bancheon who are colluding with Libra.

“… … .”

Akane remained silent, indicating her agreement.

“Can I ask you something?”

However, I had a question for her.

“what.”

“Why did you cooperate with Libra in the past?”

Akane cooperated with Libra. She helped them with their human experiments to some extent.

She shook her head, exhaling smoke from her cigarette.

“… … I didn’t cooperate with any specific target. I did it for myself.”

“For you?”

It was something I couldn’t understand.

It was the same logic as them.

Because the old, twisted ghosts killed people like my father and created victims like me just to avoid death, to get a little bit of a reprieve, just for themselves.

“Zion Ascal.”

Akane called my name.

“Do you think that a human being can create a doll that is similar to a human being, or almost identical to a human being?”

A bitter smile appeared on her lips.

“It’s impossible.”

She shook her head. Those were the words of someone who had succeeded in creating a doll that was almost identical to a human being.

“… … Don’t get me wrong. I’m talking.”

Akane felt my gaze and raised her hand.

“He is not human, he is a monster.”

My right arm was completely dyed black.

If there is a darkest color in the world, it would be this. Her arms seem to float alone, as if separated from the background.

“I almost got eaten by these hands. I became absorbed in puppetry in order to find my self called ‘Akane’. Monsters can maintain themselves when they are absorbed in something, but to me, my self was a puppet. Libra was just a process.”

She smiled faintly.

“… … So I knew.”

He continued speaking while looking at me.

“What disease do you have?”

I didn’t avoid her eyes.

“Also, what kind of person was your father?”

“… … I didn’t come here to talk about myself.”

I didn’t bother to ask her about her father.

Akane. She was someone who helped me a lot before my regression.

It was a monster that always tried to turn itself back and hold on to itself, but in the end, it was reduced to a phenomenon.

“What happened here with Miss Teia?”

“… … Well. It’s nothing. I was my master’s first disciple, and Teia was much younger than me. I found her here, dying.”

Akane smiled slightly as she recalled the past.

“He cried and begged to be saved. I thought he was cute. So I saved him. He was talented.”

“… … .”

“The first few years I was with her weren’t so bad. But somewhere along the way, I turned into a monster.”

I listened to her story in silence.

“Unlike you, she hated monsters terribly. Maybe it was because she lost her parents to monsters. Well, I had to leave my teacher because of her. It was like a rolling stone dislodging a mossy one.”

Akane had already smoked her third cigarette. It was a cigarette that was lit with a cigarette lighter.

“But later I found out that the teacher had died?”

Phew. A burst of laughter came out, saying it was mind-boggling.

I asked her back.

“Was it Teia Isil’s doing?”

“Oh, right.”

Akane muttered, biting the tobacco tightly.

“Even the teacher has become a monster.”

“… …Why?”

“I guess he didn’t want to die. His master was an old man who was dying. He had everything he wanted: fame, knowledge, honor, authority, but he was an old man who was sick. I guess he still had a lot of seas he wanted to sail before he could just die.”

Akane shrugged and smiled.

“Anyway, so. Can we tie it together with just these things?”

“Yes. I found your daughter.”

Akane’s face hardened at my words.

“……okay?”

“His testimony will suffice for the murder charge.”

It is not a sin to kill a monster. Rather, it is a sin to keep the monster alive.

However, no one knows that Teia’s former master was a monster. A fact that no one knows is not true.

Moreover, if Teia also weaves in the source of [Bancheon]’s skein, she will definitely be defeated.

You will be locked up in jail.

“… … This will be fun.”

Akane muttered and shook off the cigarette. Then, she suddenly asked me in a fierce tone.

“I’m sure she won’t die.”

As such, Akane does not want to kill Teia.

Even if it means selling out her own master, she wants ‘that bitch’ to live.

“yes.”

I reached out to Akane.

“Never die. Teia Isil.”

And, the ‘human’ self called Akane… … .

“It will definitely remain in this world.”

A gift I can give to those who helped me in my past life, even though I won’t live long.

I hope they have a happy ending

“… … You really are a strange guy.”

Akane smiled faintly and took my hand.

* * *

One week before the Ortu Symposium.

I am preparing for a business trip as Dr. Killian.

“Are you ready?”

Riley, whom I met in the hallway, asked. By the way, she was to be my personal assistant during the symposium. I guess Riley asked Jedrick directly.

“Yes. I have prepared all the materials.”

I put special emphasis on the word ‘data’.

Because these are the materials you need to take.

Riley sipped her coffee.

“… … I’m nervous. I heard that Ortu is announcing AI version 2?”

“Yes. What.”

I pretended to smile sadly.

“I hope everything goes well. Nothing weird happens.”

“It’s strange… … Well, there have been some strange rumors going around lately.”

Riley noticed my expression and quietly started talking.

“AI bleaches the soul.”

“… … .”

For a moment, my face hardened. I was deliberately reacting quite sensitively.

“Who said that?”

“……yes?”

Riley tilted her head, pretending not to notice.

“It’s just… … a flyer. I don’t believe it… … No, even if it bleaches the soul, wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

“great?”

“Yes. It means that you can recycle useless people.”

“… … Well, I guess that’s true. More importantly, Mr. Riley.”

I looked around and asked.

“You don’t have to watch me anymore, right?”

“Ah… … That’s-”

Riley forced a smile.

“……or not.”

I glared at Riley, giving her a suspicious look.

“Was there perhaps another purpose other than surveillance?”

This level of stimulation would have been sufficient.

Riley, who becomes alarmed by every word I say, will soon try to execute me, and then all I have to do is hand over the materials I have prepared as a ‘whistleblower’.

“I’m joking. Haha.”

I smiled and offered Riley a hand.

“Please take care of me at the symposium.”

A handshake that might be the last.

“……yes.”

Without revealing her true feelings until the very end, Riley held my hand. Her skin felt soft against my hand.

I remembered from her the same meaning we both had.

Jedric’s Doom.

After that, the turbulent succession structure will come crashing down like a waterfall.

It really wasn’t that long ago.