Academy’s Dark Perspective - Chapter 346



Only Krnovel

Academy Dark Curtain Viewpoint Episode 346

“Why are you all like that? It’s as if I’ve ruined the mood. It seemed like things were quite cheerful just a moment ago.”

“… … .”

“Are you going to keep not saying anything?”

Aaron Stingray.

The air in his conference room becomes chilly. The business leaders attending the meeting are sweating and looking around, unable to open their mouths.

Before the war, they had never been this afraid of a man named Aaron Stingray.

They were also the heads of the city’s top megacorps in their own right, and even the so-called high-level adaptors had enough power to control their lives with money.

In fact, it is still the same now.

With the collapse of the giant royal family known as the Stingray Group, there was no one in the business world who could touch them. A new world had opened up, and they were the new century’s monarchs, capable of dominating this city as they pleased.

But at this moment, that wasn’t possible.

It wasn’t the fact that he had defeated a dragon, or that he had single-handedly slaughtered many monsters… that made them tremble in fear. The aura that the man named Aaron Stingray gave off was stimulating their instincts.

Absolute power.

Their animalistic and primal instincts were constantly warning them that they must never confront him in order to survive.

Even they couldn’t tell what was different between Aaron before the war and Aaron now.

But there was something about the man looking them up and down with a mocking smile on his face that made them not think he was the same person.

“… … .”

“… … .”

As the silence continued, Aaron, who had been quietly watching the scene, opened his mouth and snorted.

“It’s so pathetic. You surrounded a woman and made fun of her, and now that I’m here, you can’t say anything? These corporate leaders are so cowardly. Well, that’s probably why even before the war, they only thought about getting beans from the Stingray Group.”

“… … !”

Several business leaders who had been partners with the Stingray Group flinched.

Those who had been flaunting their cuteness and growing bigger around the Stingray Group suddenly changed their attitude as soon as the group collapsed.

So, I can’t help but feel even more guilty.

At that time.

“… …Chairman Aaron Stingray.”

As expected, he was the only nobleman who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Stingray.

Mieletech’s Chairman Kharitonov opened his mouth and tried to lighten the mood.

“I’m so glad to see you’re in good health, contrary to what I’ve heard. I was worried that one of our heroes would disappear.”

“Thank you for saying so, Chairman.”

Aaron also showed some courtesy towards Chairman Kharitonov. Unlike the others, he was not an easy opponent, and in a way, he was also his friend’s parent.

“… … Yes. It’s nice to see your face after such a long time, but I wonder if it’s the right attitude to show up like this without being invited. And since it’s an official occasion, I think you should be a little careful about how you speak.”

“The right attitude?”

Aaron asked back with a mocking laugh.

“Aha. I apologize for my lack of courtesy towards the group that made crude jokes towards my sister. It was so low-level compared to last year that I didn’t think it was a meeting of G20 leaders.”

“Oh, brother… … !”

“… … .”

Kalia’s eyes trembled at Aaron’s remark.

On the other hand, Chairman Kharitonov’s brow furrowed. His gaze turned to some of the new G20 members, who blushed and coughed in vain as if they were ashamed.

“… … Ahem.”

“I, I didn’t mean it like that… … .”

Kharitonov frowned, but soon opened his mouth with a sigh to clear the air.

“… … Well, it would be a waste of time to just argue about who is right and who is wrong. I think it would be better to get back to the main topic.”

“Let’s do that.”

Aaron nodded at Chairman Kharitonov’s words and continued.

“We were talking about the breach of contract with Stingray. That has already been resolved, so let’s just forget about it.”

“Brother… … It’s been resolved… …?”

Kalia asked Aaron in a small voice. The reactions of the other conference attendees were not much different.

“Solved? What are you talking about now?”

“I received the latest information 20 minutes ago and came in. It is true that the Stingray side has already defeated a considerable number of the mysterious forces, but there are still quite a few left. If we leave them alone, it will only be a matter of time before a monster wave occurs.”

“According to the updated contract, if the risk of Monster Wave is not completely eliminated within a week from last week… … that is, by noon today, we can terminate the contract and claim damages from Stingray.”

The attendees each spoke out as if they had caught the ball. However, Aaron still asked with a relaxed expression.

“Please check the time now.”

“It’s 12:13.”

“Then you’re not late.”

“… … So what on earth have you been talking about? Even if you were to go out right now and wipe out the monsters around the city, you would still be in breach of contract.”

“I think the information is too late.”

Aaron cut them off.

“How about checking again?”

“What nonsense are you talking about… … .”

There was a brief moment of such reaction among the attendees, and as if they had been waiting, new news arrived through each of their information lines.

Some people heard the news over the phone, some through email, but everyone who received the information turned pale.

“What, what, that’s nonsense… … !”

“Are you sure you checked correctly?”

Soon, the conference room began to murmur, and Kalia watched blankly as the other G20 members flitted about in confusion.

She glanced at Aaron as if to ask for an explanation, but Aaron simply nodded as if telling her to wait.

And soon, a new message arrived for Kalia as well.

The sender was Maria, and the message was… …

“All mystical reactions disappeared 13 minutes ago!?”

Just before the meeting started.

So, just before the contractual time limit expired, all mysterious reactions within a radius of about 500km from the city were annihilated.

That means that tens or hundreds of thousands of monsters that were likely to cause a monster wave were completely wiped out in a matter of minutes.

“Oh, did your brother do it!?”

“Then who do you think did it?”

Well, that’s what happened.

Who else in this city could possibly have the adaptive power to wipe out that many monsters at once, other than Aaron Stingray? But even knowing that, this is just too… too… too… .

“Whoa, that doesn’t make sense statistically… … ?”

“What are the chances that a 95% replacement rate adaptor will regain consciousness? That kind of thing happens in this world.”

Then Aaron lightly tapped Callia on the back. He must have used some force, but to Callia it felt like she had been hit with a steel club.

“Ahh!?”

“Okay, from now on, you figure it out.”

“… … Ah, you want me to do it myself?”

“I’ll forgive you for trying to implant a chip in my head while I was asleep. I’ll forgive you for selling my name around without consulting me. But… … .”

“Instead, what is it?”

“Just do as much as you can here.”

Then Aaron took a step back to the right behind Kalia. His position seemed like that of a bodyguard.

It was not Kalia who did not know the meaning of that action.

Of course, before the war, they were both fighting for each other’s lives over the throne of the next emperor, but now they are both royal families of fallen empires. Now that the throne they were supposed to occupy has disappeared, all they can rely on is each other, who are related by blood.

Well, to be precise, he was born in a laboratory, so it’s hard to say he’s related by blood… … Anyway.

“……all right.”

Let’s do it together.

Carlia nodded with that meaning and looked forward again. The conference room was still in an uproar due to the disturbance that Aaron had caused.

“Okay, everyone.”

Her voice made the attendees turn their attention to her. Dozens of eyes were focused on her, but unlike before, Kalia didn’t feel even a hint of anxiety.

It feels like I’ve won a thousand battles.

In reality, Aaron alone could probably demonstrate that level of ability. He could probably wipe out the security teams of several companies present at this event with just a snap of his fingers.

Although she was afraid of the power her brother possessed, Kalia was willing to join hands with the devil for her own benefit.

She opened her mouth with a triumphant look on her face.

“Then shall we talk about the contract again?”

* * *

The meeting continued for a long time after that.

Now that I think about it, Kalia must have been quite an amazing person. In this conference room where the average age is close to 100 due to anti-aging surgery, she was only in her early to mid-twenties, so she looked like a newborn baby in terms of age.

Although she had gained experience in high positions earlier than others, she was still a rookie, and she was able to gain advantages in all areas, including speech and information, without being pushed around at all by the old guard, just like a warrior who had come from behind.

‘If Chairman Stingray’s ultimate goal was to defeat the Sky Dragon and gain freedom… … Did Kalia hope to subdue the Sky Dragon with her smooth talking?’

After all, Chairman Stingray himself had secured humanity’s safety through negotiations, so he might have expected that Kalia would be able to draw out a contract that was favorable to humanity in a similar way.

Anyway, Kalia actively brought up the name ‘Aaron Stingray’ and led the meeting in her favor.

At times, he did not hesitate to make unreasonable demands, and through Groll, he created a foundation for the Stingray Group to quickly regain its power.

of course…….

“Are you trying to exploit me openly?”

“Oh, I can’t help it… … .”

The problem, if there is any such thing, is that there were many parts of the content that relied excessively on me.

It created a situation where I had no choice but to run around and deal with monsters and people until the company was fully established.

“Do you know how much it costs to maintain your brother’s mansion in Elysium? Even just to maintain it, your brother must be pushing himself a bit.”

Kalia now seemed confident and took me at my word without hesitation.

But then he looked at me with an apologetic expression and asked.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Until yesterday… … .”

“I guess I’ll have to get a detailed examination first.”

I don’t know exactly about my condition either.

Luckily, I opened my eyes, but there was no guarantee that my body and soul wouldn’t separate again like that. Still, I had a feeling that things would be okay. There was no evidence for that.

“… … Then go quickly. You have to start your activities in earnest starting tomorrow, so you have to prepare in advance so that there are no problems. Besides, those students were so worried about you, Brother. Now that you’re awake, you’d better show your face quickly.”

“I guess so.”

“I will make sure to tell Maria.”

“By the way, what happened to the foundation?”

“Do you want to continue as chairman?”

Kalia smiled faintly.

“Actually, we are not in a position to run an educational foundation right now… … but we will try to do something.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Not at all. I should be grateful.”

As she spoke, Kalia seemed even more relaxed.

Although the form is different, in a way, she is the leader of Stingray, and more than anything, the pressure from Chairman Stingray has disappeared, so it is only natural. Perhaps this appearance is the true form of Kalia.

“Anyway, go ahead and take a look.”

“okay.”

It was just as she said.

It was time to show my face to the guys.