Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 200



Only Krnovel

The Regressor’s Notepad, Chapter 200

Encounter (1)

The campus of Edsilla National Magic University. It’s so wide and expansive, I’m just walking around for no reason. I’m curious about what it feels like.

It was once a dream.

Walking through a university with flowers in full bloom, holding your student ID in your arms.

Huttul─ Huttul─ Huttul─

──Faster!

“… … What is that?”

But, a scene that is the complete opposite of that romance is unfolding over there.

Huttul─ Huttul─ Huttul─

There are quite a few people sprinting on the track. Among them, you can see the faces of Kane, Escher, and Gerken.

By the way, it looks like that’s a welcoming party for freshmen in the College of Journalism.

It was a good thing I didn’t go.

“It’s the entrance ceremony today, and yet they’re acting like this.”

“Because they’re desperate to join Preternity.”

An answer came to my monologue.

It was Elise.

“What? How long have you been there?”

“… …It was there from the beginning.”

Elise glanced at me and tossed her hair.

“Don’t you think so?”

“What are you thinking?”

“I mean prenatal.”

‘Freternity’, where only men can join, and ‘Sorority’, where only women can join.

They are a college social group loosely called the ‘Final Club’, and their influence extends beyond the university and extends to all areas of politics and business.

It doesn’t matter though, since I already have a tight grip on the Libra string.

“Not really me. You?”

“I’m going to the rooftop anyway?”

Elise shrugged.

“And, I’ve already received countless contacts.”

“Congratulations.”

“Not really? It’s nothing to celebrate. It’s nothing to brag about to me.”

“I was just being sarcastic.”

“……what?”

The guy frowned. He really is clueless.

“By the way, you. Did you [Bethundun]?”

“No. I’m resting.”

Elise snorted.

“I’ve been logging in diligently. I’ve leveled up a bit. I’ve also laid some foundations. This world will soon become reality, right?”

“i envy you.”

“… … .”

Elise looked at me with a mysterious expression. She seemed to be trying to figure out if I was being sarcastic or not.

“I just gave you a nod.”

“What did you say… Anyway. Knight Railo called. Come to the building by 3pm next Monday.”

“Okay. I’ll go.”

As I was walking quietly along the school grounds, I arrived at the dormitory. It was the site of the dormitory for the College of Engineering. The names were simply: College of Engineering 1st Complex, College of Engineering 2nd Complex.

Elise asked.

“Are you in the dorm?”

“I’ve already applied.”

“I applied… … .”

That was when.

Click─

The sound of a camera shutter rang out from somewhere. Our sharp ears heard it clearly, and at the same time, we quickly turned around to look at the place.

There was a reporter.

“Ah, that human… … !”

Elise gritted her teeth as she glared at the running away boy.

“What is the university doing without managing outsiders…?”

“Is that the reporter who spread the dating rumors?”

Elise flinched at my words.

“… … That’s right. That reporter who spread that rumor. He’s been following me around like a paparazzi these days… … .”

The guy paused for a moment and glanced at me.

“Aren’t you feeling anything?”

“What? It’s not like that anyway, so why?”

“… … That would be nice. You’d feel at ease.”

Elise frowned as if she was dissatisfied with something.

Wheeeeeeee──

Suddenly, a “delivery box” flew in from the sky. It was a box decorated in a very golden color.

“What is this? Is this your box?”

“no.”

Elise accepted the box and held out one side. The initials ‘GAEN’ were engraved on its surface.

Gen.

Gen Petra.

“Does your father use that too?”

As the developer of “Delivery Box”, I felt a new sense of wonder and pride.

Of course, strictly speaking, it is knowledge invented in the future by a complete stranger, but isn’t it me who has processed it to make it much more useful?

“I told you, this ‘delivery box’ is useful.”

Elise took something out of the box. It was a sealed letter. It seemed to be from her father.

“Why don’t you just text me?”

The guy read it and answered.

“It’s election time. You never know when or how you might be wiretapped or eavesdropped.”

“It’s intense.”

“dentition?”

Elise quickly put down the letter and took a step back from me.

“Re-election is almost certain. The problem is the Round Table.”

Round table. Simply put, it means ‘a table that does not require re-election.’

Only thirteen families can stand on this round table, and unless they are ‘challenged’ by another family and eliminated, they will reign as semi-permanent members. Since it is a right given to the family itself, it is naturally inherited.

Petra is eyeing a seat at the round table.

That means you have to go to war with one of the thirteen families.

“Yeah. That would be bloody hilarious.”

Elise looked at me. Her eyes were strangely wet.

“… … I’ll go.”

“uh.”

Elise turned around, taking a waltz-like step back.

But those two legs soon stopped.

“Should I not go?”

“……what?”

Elise shook her head in response to my question.

“I was just talking to myself. Go away.”

He tells her to go and leaves first. He walks steadily, step by step, like a nobleman.

I looked at his back and laughed in vain.

“Are you sick?”

… … .

A shady park on the campus of a national university. Elise sits on a bench at the university and looks up at the sky.

“ha…….”

I lifted my father’s letter with a faint sigh.

[Congratulations on becoming a college student. However, from now on, be careful who you hang out with. I hope there won’t be any more useless articles like last time. You are not an ordinary person. You are Petra’s legitimate heir, a noble, and now an adult. You have to take care of yourself.]

A letter of warning, obviously. Given the timing, someone in the university family must have already reported something to my father.

Perhaps Zion is not among the ‘suitable people’ that the father speaks of.

No, maybe this letter was sent because of Zion alone.

But… …will my father remember?

The day he caused the death of Zion’s mother.

“Tsk.”

It would be better if you just forgot.

She is rather anxious.

I was afraid that my father would remember that fact and act indifferent. I was afraid that he would feel even a little guilty.

“… … ‘You have to take care of yourself.’”

Elise read the last line of the letter.

“independence…….”

That’s why she invests some serious time into [Bethundun].

Right now, all of his foundations are Petra. The building, the house, the clothes, everything was received from his family.

Because of that, I want to have something that I have personally worked on, even if it is just a little bit.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to reject the family. There’s no reason to do that.

Because family is precious.

Because we’re family.

……but.

She quietly picked up her smartphone. In the notepad app, she had written things like, ‘Classes that Zion Ascal is applying for,’ ‘Dorm availability,’ and ‘No plans on joining a prenup.’

Why did I write these things down?

Zion Ascal is incompatible with Petra.

Surely, someday, there will come a day when one of the two will have to be abandoned… .

“Haaaaa …

She quietly clutched her head.

I had a sharp pain in my temples.

* * *

Endex’s old building. I’m back from college and slowly unpacking my things.

“Zion. Are you really going?”

Solliet looked at me with pitiful eyes.

“You can go too if you go. The room assignments are automatic.”

You don’t have to apply for the dormitory in the engineering department; you are automatically admitted. The engineering department has free dormitory fees and there are still rooms available anyway. There are only about 150 new students per year.

Soliet shook her head.

“I’m going to stay here. I’m used to this space now.”

“… …I knew it.”

I took out the cage I had brought in advance. There was a guy I had asked Growl to bring.

“ruler.”

I opened the cage. A small cat walked out from inside.

“……uh.”

No matter how big you hit it, it’s still only the size of a person’s palm. An orange-furred cheese cat.

Soliet’s eyes became blank for a moment.

The boy walked towards me, waddling, and made a cute sound, “Meow!” with his mouth wide open.

“how is it.”

I can’t stay by Soliet’s side forever. That dependence isn’t good for her either. The insomnia caused by loneliness must be cured.

Meow-

The cat meowed and approached her, rubbing its entire body against Solliet’s paw.

“Oh my… … Look at Zion.”

“I know.”

I asked for the most cute guy, and he really is cute.

I said to Solliet.

“Live with him. Be a good companion to Mr. Beltos. He’s a good man.”

“… … Yes. I know that too.”

“I have to live an ordinary life.”

Then Soliet turned to me.

“Someday, even when revenge is over.”

“… … .”

She made an expression similar to a smile.

“I’ll try, but cats have a shorter lifespan than humans.”

“When I think about parting from the moment I meet you, everything becomes tiring.”

I placed my finger on Soliet’s forehead.

“In the end, it’s the process that’s important.”

That’s why everything has a lifespan. It’s precious because it disappears, and it’s beautiful because it’s not eternal.

Perhaps if the default for humans is immortality, wouldn’t they simply commit suicide one by one without having children and eventually become extinct?

People with a limited time like me rationalize it like that.

“I know. But, the happier the process, the greater the sadness of the breakup.”

“Then just die now.”

“… … What did you say?”

Soliet narrowed her eyes.

“Then just die now.”

“… … .”

“You don’t like that, do you?”

Solliet growled silently and then took the cat into her arms. I guess she meant to raise it anyway.

Tiring-

Just then, a message arrived on my smartphone.

[Dispatch order]

[Recommended arrival within 30 minutes]

[coordinate]

I said, putting my phone away.

“Just decide on a name until you come back later.”

“I’ve already decided. It’s Solemandy.”

“……okay.”

I smiled slightly as I watched Soliet carefully caressing the boy.

* * *

Late at night. I arrived at the dispatch location. It was a restaurant.

“Hey. Is it okay to come later than the shooter?”

Belmore was already there. He motioned to me as he cut the steak.

“You go down first. I’m going to eat.”

“Where should we go down?”

“Go to the kitchen.”

“… … .”

At the back of the restaurant. A man was leaning against the kitchen door.

As I approached slowly, he opened the door for me.

I glanced around the interior. The kitchen was ordinary. People were busy cooking, washing dishes, and a fire was burning…

“Are you a rookie?”

Then a black man looked at me and snickered.

“Follow me.”

He went into the storage room on one side of the kitchen. I followed him.

“It’s probably your first time. Don’t be surprised.”

bang!

He closed the window door.

At that moment, the entire warehouse vibrated. It was like an elevator going down, down.

It was only then that I realized.

[Information Agency].

An independent facility where Libra’s ‘Chasers’ work. A dark area of ​​Libra that was renovated from the basement of Edsilla into a single facility.

Ding──!

Soon the warehouse door opened.

Beyond that was a gray space. A bleak atmosphere where people in suits came and went like dust without saying a word.

“Welcome.”

This place not only eavesdrops and wiretaps, but also collects all information regardless of whether it is domestic or international, and operates accordingly.

“I came to Libra’s shadow.”

“… …Is this the restaurant entrance?”

This is my first time at this information agency too.

It was such a huge facility.

“No. There are multiple entrances. I’ll only tell you one as a rookie. Later on, as you gain experience, you’ll know more than one. So, work hard~”

The black man climbed back up, and on the other side came Belmore.

“Are you here?”

“Weren’t you eating?”

“I finished eating and came down. Follow me.”

He guided me. I walked around the office behind Belmore.

Sagrak- Sagrak- The sound of papers turning.

Sakak sakak – the sound of a pen writing.

Crack, crack, crack – the sound of employees’ footsteps.

It was a very dry and dull space.

“You can’t use any electronic devices here. Even cell phones don’t work. So everything is analog. It’s a bit inconvenient, but whatever. Most of the work is covered by the equipment.”

The exit from the quiet office. I opened the door leading outside and it was a wide tunnel.

“… …Is it a tunnel?”

“Uh. Underground tunnel.”

Belmore dug into his pockets and pulled out his car keys.

Beep-

One of several parked SUVs responded.

“The information center is huge. It’s divided into sections. Tta.”

He got into the car first. I got into his passenger seat too.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

We reached quite deep into the intelligence agency, which I saw as a ‘prison’.

“It’s here.”

Libra was running a prison at the family level. It was mind-boggling.

“It’s a prison.”

“Ah. They are prisoners who committed crimes against Libra. But… … Today’s work is not here. Follow me.”

Belmore led me to an interrogation room.

dripping-

He opened the door and knocked.

“Oh. Everyone was here.”

There were two other chasers inside, one male and one female.

“Rookie?”

“Uh. I’ll change shifts.”

“Be prepared. That kid won’t open his mouth.”

A man sat on the other side of the reinforced glass, his head bowed.

“thanks for your effort.”

The two chasers left, patting me on the shoulder one after the other. I asked Belmore.

“What’s going on?”

“What the heck. I have to make that kid cry.”

Belmore sat down in the chair.

“What do you mean by blowing the whistle?”

“You. Do you know that Libra Chaser has been kidnapped?”

“I don’t know.”

“Anyway, I was kidnapped. The chaser who was kidnapped was a guy named Beltan. Beltan cut off his leg when he was kidnapped. That’s why he couldn’t escape.”

I looked down. Sure enough, one of the legs was missing.

“We’re interrogating him now… … He won’t open his mouth. Why did you kidnap him? Where is he from? Who instigated him?”

I looked him over from bottom to top.

The only leg is black. It is all hair. It is dense with almost no gaps. The hair is also thick, and the beard and sideburns are connected in a serious manner.

However, when I saw the part of that bare face that wasn’t covered by hair.

“… … .”

I almost laughed out loud without realizing it.

It’s not that I don’t know him, I just know him.

He’s the person in my memories.

That too, in my very last memory… … .

“Ah. That kid’s opening his eyes again. Do you know who he is?”

Belmore sat up in shock.

At that time, I felt the need to control my emotions, but today, I couldn’t help it.

“No. I don’t know. But… … .”

“You kidnapped Libra’s people, so I can’t forgive you?”

“… … Well, that’s true.”

I answered with my teeth clenched. But, ironically, a smile also appeared.

“I can’t forgive you. At least not me.”

The guy on the other side of the tempered glass has as much hair as an animal.

It’s actually half beast.

Werewolf──A werewolf.

Before I returned, I was talking about the guy who killed me.