Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 190



Only Krnovel

The Regressor’s Notepad 190

Internship (1)

“Ellie. How about this?”

The winter before entering the National Magic University.

The new freshman Elise’s gang is having a discussion in their own villa.

“Look. I made a schedule.”

Raye held out a piece of paper. Elise glanced at it.

[ A gathering that does anything ]

“… … What is this?”

“Let’s create a small group.”

College clubs are literally small gatherings centered around college students. Compared to college clubs or interest groups, they are very small in size, but they are practically essential for Magic University students. The activities in the clubs themselves become specifications.

“We’re creating a club where we can do anything. You know Ellie, you know [Do It for You]? Like the person who helped us with our homework at Endex.”

Elise looked closely at Raye’s face. Her eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them, as if she hadn’t slept well recently.

“How is the [what’s wrong with you, meeting]?”

“What? What kind of club is that? Beauty?”

“… … .”

“Beauty is not that great. If not, how about a [Mystery Solvers] meeting? Mysterious magical incidents will occur here and there. You can build up your specs by solving them! Awesome!”

“… … Don’t you guys have any thoughts?”

Elise looked back at Kane and Asher, who were slumped on the sofa. They both yawned and shook their heads.

“We’ve decided to have a separate gathering for the knights. With James Brown Mel.”

Elise and Raye are in the Magic Department, but Asher and Cain are in the Knight Department, so from now on, their paths cannot but diverge.

“But Elise. You’re only going to study at the top for one or two years anyway, right?”

Kane asked Elise.

“They say you have to build up your specs to do that. Early admission is not easy.”

“Hmm~ Should I ask Zion something~?”

Laye hinted at the luck. Then Elise showed a little interest. She pretended not to notice and glanced at Laye’s cell phone.

“… … Hehe.”

Raye noticed the situation and smiled sinisterly as she called someone.

Dooroo-

“Hey, Zion, what are you doing right now?”

“joy.”

Elise shook her head. She pretended to be on the phone when she wasn’t even on it.

“Take it easy. There’s no way he’ll answer your phone-”

“What? Libra Internship?”

“?”

Elise’s eyes widened. Kane and Asher also turned their heads.

“You’re doing a Libra internship, right?”

“… … .”

Elise put her ear to Raye’s cell phone.

─Oh. I’m going to do an internship now. Why?

“How can I do an internship if I’m not a college student?”

* * *

─How can I do an internship if I’m not a college student?

“I don’t know either. I came because you told me to.”

I looked up at [Libra Station] and answered.

“But why.”

─Uh… … No, what~ When you enter our university, you have to do a club activity~ I’m thinking about doing that, but I was wondering what you’re planning to do~

“Oh, a gathering?”

A club is a gathering where college students can prove their abilities outside of the university. They can conquer dungeons, solve magical phenomena, or help people. In the process, they write reports and have them notarized by the university, so it is practically an official specification.

“What are you guys going to do?”

─We~ are going to do some volunteer work with Ellie and stuff!

“I’ll think about it.”

─Really?!

“Uh. I’ll hang up for now.”

I put my cell phone in my pocket.

[ Libra Station ]

Libra Station. The company that is the backbone of Libra and manages all of its affiliates.

It is a large corporation that occupies an entire 99-story building, which was founded and built by the current owner, Shaylock.

As such, there are an incredibly large number of people coming and going. Not just knights and magicians, but also accountants, lawyers, and employees from various departments of the head office.

I came here after receiving an offer from Bellingham for a Libra internship.

By the way, Soliet didn’t end up getting her internship card. Of course, because she was Arcne.

“… …What brings you here?”

A security guard approached me as I was blankly looking around inside the company.

“Ah. I’m going to participate in an internship.”

“Did you receive your internship card?”

“yes.”

“You can just take a picture here.”

The security guard pointed to the entrance gate. I tagged my internship card.

Bb-

“You can go to the auditorium on the 5th floor.”

“Oh, yes.”

I got on the elevator first. There were a lot of people in the elevator. They all pressed the higher floor numbers, but I was on the 5th floor.

“… … Are you thinking of participating in an internship?”

A man glanced at me.

“Yes. I’m a college student.”

“haha.”

He smiled and pressed the same 5th floor button. The lights on the 5th floor went out.

“Normally, new employees and interns don’t use the elevator. It’s a tradition.”

“Oh, is there such a tradition?”

“Because it’s Libra.”

I pressed the 5th floor again.

Ding-

The elevator stopped exactly on the fifth floor, and the man frowned.

“What… … .”

“Because I kind of hate tradition.”

I headed straight to the auditorium.

The space itself was very large, but there were less than twenty people sitting there. They all looked at me with slightly puzzled expressions.

Maybe because you’re too young.

“Hmm.”

At exactly 9 a.m., the doors to the auditorium closed as soon as the appointed time arrived, and a man in a suit stepped onto the stage.

“Just for your information. In an internship, if you are even one second late to any schedule, you will be disqualified.”

As expected of Libra, you are very sensitive to time management.

“Please don’t be late again. You will be disqualified without a single warning if you are late.”

As he said this, he opened a file of documents.

“Sixteen people are participating in the Libra Internship. I will now call your names one by one, so please come up to the stage. Mr. Belmore?”

Belmore.

The moment my name was called, my eyes widened.

“Yes, this is Belmore.”

I looked back at him.

Before his return, he was the most vicious psychopath among Libra’s executives. He climbed up onto the stage, sweeping his slicked-back hair back.

“Mr. Reliion Sensei.”

The next one was a familiar name. It was a familiar face.

One day, the guy who kidnapped and tortured my colleague.

“This is Reliion Sensei.”

“Next, Riley Erin.”

But the next time, I felt something different than before.

Riley Erin.

A woman with purple hair and pursed lips, with a firm and intelligent look.

“her.”

A hollow laugh flowed out without me knowing.

“This is Riley Erin.”

I had a colleague. It was a [group that was harmed by Libra], so to speak.

There she was an information officer.

Inside Libra, a human like me was leaking Libra’s information to the outside.

But I didn’t know her face. I only heard her name from my colleagues.

Why?

He was executed in less than five years.

“Thames Horn.”

“It’s the Thames Horn.”

He is a handsome black man. He realized Libra’s beastly nature, turned against Libra, and fought against Libra until just before I died.

I smiled ironically.

From Libra’s perspective, this internship was a strange mix of gold and snake.

“……finally.”

Fifteen names are called, and the last, the sixteenth.

“Zion Ascal.”

I stood up from my seat without saying a word and went up to the podium.

There were a total of sixteen participants in the internship.

“Nice to meet you. You will be called interns, but you are not actually formal interns. The internship is just an internship experience.”

An unnamed Libra executive continued speaking.

“You are probably college students, former famous mercenaries, or magicians. Do you know what you will be doing if you join Libra?”

Someone raised their hand.

“Dungeon raiding. Mission completion. Cargo escort. And everything else Libra tells us to do.”

It was Riley’s answer. She was disguising herself with a face more passionate than anyone else.

“That’s right. Libra has several companies. However, people who handle magic like you are assigned to the Libra headquarters. Therefore, the internship is not about becoming a simple employee, but about whether or not you can become a ‘Libra person.’”

Exactly-!

The executive snapped his fingers.

“Today is the first day of my internship, so there’s nothing special. I just have a demonstration mission.”

Then the scene in the auditorium changed completely. It was a highway. A truck had overturned, and the driver was dead, pinned to the steering wheel.

“One day, Libra was delivering a precious magical substance called ‘Barrel Crystal.’ But as you can see, an accident occurred.”

The executive pointed to the truck and said.

“You have been ‘dispatched’ to this site. As the delivery manager, I have dispatched you to this site.”

Then he looked around at the interns, silently, without saying a word.

Belmore asked back.

“… … Is being dispatched the end?”

“You are not a people who follow orders. You are a people who make independent decisions.”

That’s what it means to be a ‘Libra person’.

In the event of an incident or battle in Libra, be dispatched there to carry out work that is as beneficial to Libra as possible.

“So, please start moving now.”

The rest moved busily at the officer’s words. They examined the corpses and objects in turn, and each reconstructed the scene while releasing their magic power.

“… … Are you going to stay still?”

The executive asked me with a strange look in his eyes. I looked him up and down.

“yes.”

As soon as I answered, I moved. First, I looked into the truck bed.

Although there were many other gimmicky cargoes, only one, the ‘Barrel Crystal’, was stolen.

As if he knew about Crystal’s existence from the beginning.

Next, he checked the truck driver’s cell phone. After fingerprinting the body, he read the work-related text messages.

[ ■■in : 0983-123-2910 ]

[ Ship ■ Jang ■ : ■■ 3■■D-95 ]

[Top 1 Secret. Undecipherable]

Next, I read the truck driver’s texts just before the accident.

[Truck driver: I’m on a delivery. I ordered a big one, so let’s have a drink after I’m done.]

[ Colleague: The big one? You mean Libra? ]

[ Truck Driver: Huh? How do you not know? ]

[ Colleague: Libra hired quite a few trucks this week. I guess they’re transporting valuables. I think they’re trying to fool people by using multiple trucks. ]

Illusion. A traditional delivery method. Hiring several deliverymen and entrusting the real thing to only one of them.

“… … Okay.”

This is enough. There is nothing more to see.

Because I know Libra. Maybe I know Libra better than Libra itself.

So, to this extent, inferring the situation is like lying down and chewing gum.

* * *

At the same time, the HR team is monitoring the internship situation through a monitoring camera.

“What is that college student?”

Libra’s HR manager, Jean Blunt. She frowned at the sight of Sion Askar, a college student who was standing alone and yawning.

“Just stay still.”

“Who invited you?”

“… … This is Bellingham Kanta.”

The current leader’s right-hand man, Bellingham Kanta.

Jin sat down on the chair indifferently.

“What are you going to do by hiring a rookie who isn’t even a college student yet as an intern…?”

“But I was ranked 67th on the College Board.”

“I was in fourth place.”

The subordinate coughed for no reason.

“It’s an internship anyway.”

They watched the screen again.

Demonstration mission progress, 10 minutes.

Most of the interns finished their research. The subordinates looked back at Jin.

“I think it’s time to go now, Team Leader Jin.”

“Record. Do a good job.”

Jin, who had put on his coat, went down to the main auditorium. The interns were still lined up in the highway scenery.

She faced them and said.

“Hello. I am Emily Jin, the Human Resources Manager at Libra Station.”

match-

“No applause needed.”

The interns who were about to applaud quietly put their bags behind their backs.

“Everyone. Please tell me how you will respond. First-”

“I will do it.”

It was Belmore.

“I will first recover the stolen cargo. I will kill the raiders with my own hands.”

“Is it possible?”

“Yes. The truck was attacked 10 minutes before I was dispatched. If it were me, I would have arrived 3 minutes after receiving the signal, but 10 minutes would have been enough.”

“How to track it?”

“Smell. It’s the sense of smell. They used horsepower to stop the truck. I’ll follow the horsepower trail. I can run at 300 km/h for three hours, but the chase takes 30 minutes.”

Belmore’s claims about his specs were monstrous, but there was nothing false about them.

Gene knows Belmore’s physical abilities. He can indeed run like Superman.

“next.”

Jin checked the documents and moved on to the next one. There was no right answer to this question.

“Likewise, I’m going to go and retrieve the stolen cargo. The barrel crystal is a huge item worth close to 100 million ren at the current value… … .”

The interns each suggested different methods, but most of them had the first condition of recovering the cargo. The only difference was the method of tracking it, depending on one’s ability level.

Jin, who had been checking moderately, is now at the end.

I saw Zion Ascal.

“Last. Zion Ascal. What about you? Are you also chasing the cargo?”

“……no.”

Zion Ascal shook his head.

“I don’t chase cargo.”

“then?”

To that question, he answered simply:

“We will find the traitor within Libra. The traitor who leaked the location of this cargo and the existence of the crystal.”

“… … .”

Jin’s fingers paused for a moment. She looked back and forth between the papers she was writing and Zion.

“betrayer.”

“yes.”

“… …Do the other interns have anything to say?”

Jin asked the other interns. Then Belmore raised his hand.

“Tell me.”

“The existence of the traitor is probably something most people would have thought about. Of all this cargo, only the barrel crystal was stolen. However, that is not the top priority.”

Belmore looked at Sion Ascal. Sion Ascal also turned his gaze to meet his.

“We can track down the traitor later. We need to retrieve the cargo now.”

The corner of Belmore’s mouth twitched in a smirk. He smiled at Sion Ascal as if he were a cute child.

“I understand you want to act smart, but think about your priorities first, junior. All of us here have walked the same path as you, but in a much more elite way-”

“There was no need for cargo in the first place.”

Zion Ascal took it. He glared at Belmore and smiled slightly.

“From the beginning, this truck was set up to weed out traitors.”

“……what?”

Belmore’s brow furrowed. Jin looked at Zion.

Zion continued calmly.

“The first priority is to eliminate the traitor. Rehearsals are essential for delivering valuables like barrel crystals.”

Libra first suspects whether there is an entity inside her with other intentions.

“You wouldn’t entrust a delivery to a mere truck driver, but if you did, you should first consider whether the delivery itself might be fake.”

Zion drew his sword and aimed it at someone’s neck.

It was the executive who called the interns’ names from the stage.

“Why are you pointing your sword at me?”

The executive asked with a furrowed eyebrow. Zion answered calmly.

“Because you are a traitor.”

Jin looked at the two and smiled inwardly.