Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 27



Only Krnovel

＃Returner’s Notepad Episode 27

Weekend (1)

Elise Petra’s schedule is busy even on Saturdays.

Intensive reinforcement training at the academy Selenacio, private tutoring in machete, magical arts, and Latinel, and even on-site classes to prepare for future wizard courses.

Wake up at 4 a.m. and go to bed at 10 p.m. After working hard for 18 hours, I returned to the villa late.

“… … Elise! “I thought you weren’t coming~ You’re the main character.”

“Oh~ Selenacio is the overall leader!”

“Hey, you become prettier as time goes on… … .”

The party was in full swing there.

Music blares from the speakers, lights flash, and the parking lot is full of luxury cars.

Not only Endex seniors, but also alumni who have already entered prestigious universities gathered at this ‘Senior Party’.

“Elise. “You said I got perfect scores on this assignment?”

“It is difficult to decide on the College Board this year. There was even talk that some people might die. “It would be beneficial for you.”

“… … is that so.”

Elise treated them at an appropriate temperature. He had a faint smile on his face, but he also exuded a coldness that told him not to be too annoying.

She greeted them roughly and came up to the second floor balcony.

Kane and Raye had arrived in advance.

“Ah, are you here, Elise? “Fuck, my grades haven’t been corrected.”

Kane said, clutching the spout of whiskey.

“I guess some bastard stole my answers and wrote them. “It’s a shame that I covered it in the mine. I almost got screwed.”

Elise nodded and sat down in the chair. She gently closed her eyes and let the cold wind cool her tired body for a moment.

“Oh!”

Raye suddenly screamed. Elise suddenly woke up.

These guys don’t even give you time to rest.

“We’re down to 90 people!”

It appears that the College Board’s waiver number has been announced.

It is not possible to know what score a student has as it is only under the jurisdiction of the ‘University Association’, but the number of students in total is announced in advance by the school.

“Ah, finally. Shion, that bastard failed twice in a row, right?”

Kane stretched.

“Seeing that bastard’s face felt like shit. “I feel like the tooth I was suffering from has fallen out.”

Then I take a swig of whiskey. Like this, Kane sometimes replaces what Elise wants to say.

“It’s a natural process.”

However, Elise does not want to have any feelings for Sion Askal.

“Useless talents should be weeded out. “Wasn’t it presumptuous for such a person to challenge the College Board in the first place?”

Disgust is as natural as breathing, and the news of his disappearance even makes me feel better.

“Okay… … I feel sorry for Zion… … .”

As Raye puffed out her cheeks, Kane laughed.

“hey. There was a time when you were the person I hated the most. “Cut off your finger.”

“You were ugly back then. “There was also a creepy scar on his head.”

“… … What a crazy idiot. “Isn’t your head still spinning?”

That was when Kane muttered as if he was shocked.

♬♪♩♪—

A classic ringtone rang on Elise’s cell phone.

There was a very surprising name written on the LCD screen.

[Soliet Arcne]

“Why Solliet… … .”

“omg! Is it Solet?!”

Raye made a fuss. Kane also showed interest.

“Aren’t you coming to the party? First of all, I sent Gantalk. “I got scolded for not reading it.”

“Shh.”

Elise put a finger to her mouth. Kane asked firmly, and Raye also pretended to stuff her mouth with a zipper.

I pressed the accept button on the screen.

“hello.”

-yes. This is Solliet.

“huh. know. What’s happen.”

Soliet called first. It’s the first time since ‘that incident’ so it’s quite refreshing.

Is there still a relationship like this left between us?

—… … .

But Solliet actually doesn’t speak. It looks like he wants to ask something, but he keeps procrastinating.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

-hmm… … That’s it.

“Ask. Because it’s okay.”

Elise giggled and looked at her fingernails. It was beautifully manicured, but it was destroyed by the mine.

I need to take care of it right away.

—Do you know anything about Zion Askal?

“… … ?”

Soliet blurted out an unexpected question.

* * *

‘Presium’, a high-end apartment located in the capital city of Edsilla. A 150-pyeong penthouse with a magic training room, a physical training room, and an unarmed sword room.

Solliet is alone there.

No servants, no cleaners, no cooks, no one is brought in.

She doesn’t allow anyone in her space.

Because it’s a hassle if you’re not alone. Because I don’t want to worry about others at all.

Above all, it is because it interferes with one’s ‘work’.

—Didn’t I tell you last time? He’s a psychopath.

Elise’s voice comes from the smartphone.

Solliet nodded.

“Is that so.”

—… … really. I’ll add one more line before that. He’s a seriously twisted, self-objectifying psychopath.

For some reason, Elise seems to hate Shion very much.

“okay.”

—Never mind. Anyway, I was confirmed to be eliminated after failing twice.

-Suddenly.

I hung up. Then she looked around her own room.

There were many photos in her ‘room’, which was the size of an average home. She had many articles she had scraped.

They were all hanging on the wall. The whole place was full of them.

It was all Solliet’s effort to uncover some ‘truth’.

“… … .”

There are too many questions in this case, with too many moments and too many people involved.

The time, pain, and death of that day are driven into one’s heart like a stake.

Solliet looked up at the wall.

[Where is he? ? ?]

A sentence scrawled with a dark red pen.

She also had friends. She had precious people with whom she had been together for over 12 years.

They all died.

No, he was murdered.

Solliet looked at one side of the wall. There was a headline from a certain newspaper.

[The unprecedented serial killer ‘Knightmare’.]

Nightmare.

A pun that replaces “Night” with “Knight.”

It is a nickname referring to a knight or a monster who murdered 30 aspiring knights in succession.

[Serial killer ‘Nightmare’ finally arrested!]

[A splendid achievement in joint investigation between the Knights Templar and the National Police!]

However, the news that follows is quite bright and cheerful. The sentences are peppered with exclamation marks, and the people in the photos are full of smiles.

Crackling-

Solliet clenched her fists as she stared at it. She gritted her teeth.

[Serial killer ‘Nightmare’ commits suicide in detention center… … .]

The end of the case was suicide.

However, Solliet had met him before he committed suicide. I saw a man who the press and media ‘claimed’ was a knightmare.

When Solliet met his eyes, she instinctively knew. She said her intuition told her.

That he is not the real culprit.

That he is an illusion manipulated by the press and media, and that he is a scapegoat set up by the real culprit.

[End due to suicide. Will the bereaved family feel relieved or devastated?]

Therefore, there is no need to feel relieved and there is no need to be discouraged.

Because he is still chasing. That guy who is definitely alive and breathing somewhere, that bastard who is pretending to be an ordinary human… … .

However, there is no progress in the investigation these days. I am also aware of my limitations.

I don’t want any help from my family.

No matter how many times I said it, I was treated like a psychopath suffering from PTSD.

I just need people.

A person who can make and break with an appropriate price. A person who can use it when needed and throw it away when not needed.

A human being like a tool.

Rustle—

Soliette took out a leaflet from her pocket.

[I will do it for you]

Looking at it, I rewinded the day. About ‘someone’ who was talking about Nightmare.

I quietly restored it. About his words that went far beyond the line.

—You, your family is like X.

A dull and unfamiliar voice.

When you know nothing about a subject, you act like you know everything.

—I don’t know. Do you know? Why do you keep trying to escape from your family?

That alone makes my teeth grit and my internal organs twist.

That fucking bastard is getting in my way.

—Nightmare. Right?

Knightmare.

That monster is already his nightmare.

There hasn’t been a single day that I haven’t dreamed of that day.

A swamp of memories that sinks you in from the moment you fall asleep. A broken blade, a torn arm, a gouged out eye. They were dismembered into miserable pieces and lying in the morgue.

She cannot move forward an inch from that moment, nor can she take a step back.

That is the end of the dream.

When you wake up in bed and escape the nightmare, everything is empty and quiet. Even the boundary between whether something is alive or dead is ambiguous.

In a space where he is alone, he manages to find his ‘life’ by groping and piecing together the fragmented reality… … .

“… … “Fuck you.”

Solliet pressed her eyebrows together strongly. A commotion shook her whole body. However, I shouldn’t have been swayed like this by a guy like that.

Take a deep breath.

She closed her eyes and caught her breath. After slowly calming down, she opened her eyes again.

I looked at the laptop screen.

[Swordsmanship Recording: Sion Askal]

A recording of the sword dance shown by Sion Askal in a swordsmanship class. This is Soliet’s assignment report, which I was looking at and analyzing an hour ago.

One line review: It’s ordinary.

It’s not just ordinary, it’s inferior.

Knights refer to this type of swordsmanship as ‘lower-class’. A sword technique that was often used by low-ranking knights, made by scraping off sword techniques that they had picked up somewhere or seen at first glance and patching them up like rags.

His skill level seems to be high, but his swordsmanship as a whole is unremarkable. There is no need to praise even that skill level since it is an easy sword technique to begin with.

It is 0.5 out of 5 points.

bang-!

After completing the report, Soliette nervously closed the laptop.

* * *

Crackling-tapping-crackling-

A temporary residence in the old building with a burning fireplace. Sunday morning, when my drowsy body feels like it’s turning golden brown.

After returning from Sanpuru, I am lying on the bed and looking at ‘Magic Core’.

It’s a ghostly magic core I caught in the Limto Mine, and I’m wondering where to use it.

“Hmm… … .”

Ghost by-products are usually used as catalysts or mediators. Of course, it can be made into an accessory like any other magic core, but there is a superstition that using a ‘ghost’ magic core will result in a curse.

In fact, its appearance is somewhat creepy, unlike other magic cores. Should I say that my heart is pounding like I’m still alive?

“… … “I’ll take 3,000 ren.”

Of course I plan to sell it. I have to start chemotherapy between April and May at least.

I opened the [Dark Web] app on my smartphone.

──Dark Auction.

Dark Auction. It is an underground auction house operated on the dark web. The account level is still low, so you will be charged a lot for appraisal fees and commissions, but for minors like me, there is no other route.

[First, take a photo of the item and upload it.]

That was when I placed the magic core in my palm and tried to take a picture with my other hand.

“… … ok?”

Suddenly my palms turned blue. The magic core above it melted white. A sudden meltdown. What had become liquid seeped through the particularly short life line.

“What, you crazy!”

I quickly shook my hands off, but it was already too late. The clear solution penetrated the skin in an instant.

“… … .”

I looked at my palm blankly. A soft blue light flowed across my skin and then faded away.

“What is this? “My money.”

I muttered absentmindedly.

Is it a function of the spectrum?

I quickly opened “Notepad.”

[94 / 103]

■ diary

■ memory

Capacity history in the last 24 hours: -1

“… … for a moment.”

I opened my eyes wide. I stared at a certain part of the “notepad.”

For reference, that -1 is the result of acquired knowledge. As I worked hard and practiced, my capacity steadily decreased.

The problem is that it is not ‘–1’.

“Wasn’t it a percentage?”

The capacity has changed.

It was ‘100’ before and after regression, so what I thought was simply 100’%’ went up by ‘3’.

I touched my chin.

Although 3,000 Ren evaporated, the capacity increased thanks to this, and I knew that the capacity could be increased.

“no… … Still, 3,000 ren is too expensive.”

It still felt like a loss.

I’ve been telling you this for a long time, but if I look through a notepad, a magic hack, a capacity, or anything else, it’s useless?