Memoirs of the Returnee-Chapter 338: Price (4)

Elise's days had become a blur. Ever since she had spent 600,000 Ren in one go, she couldn't quite remember how she had moved forward from that moment.

First, she secured a loan from the bank to pay the auction price. Her hand trembled terribly as she handed over the check.

After Leaving the gallery, Elise returned to the Magic Tower, overwhelmed with all sorts of thoughts.

Could it be a scam?

After all, she had only heard Shion Ascal's voice; she had never seen his face.

A new kind of voice phishing with voice modulation?

She urgently called Shion.

—Stop calling. Its real.

Shion Ascal insisted it wasn't a scam, but Elise spent the next few days in a state of deep suspicion, like a wary animal.

“Yes, Mage Elise. Please sign here.”

And today, she finally received the painting.

The round object was covered in all sorts of protective packaging. When she unwrapped it, a framed painting emerged.

Elise hung it in her room at the Magic Tower.

“lts pretty, I suppose.”

It was beautiful.

However, she wasn't deeply knowledgeable about art. Although people often assumed she would be interested in art because of her outstanding appearance and artistic nature, in reality, she had little interest. It was a hobby that didn't aid her personal growth.

Yet, even to her ordinary eyes, this canvas was quite striking.

“lf its worth 100 times… that's 60 million Ren.”

The problem was, the value of the canvas wasn't determined merely by its aesthetic appeal.

It was clearly a well-painted picture, but assessing its actual value was another matter.

Could it really be worth tens of millions of Ren, as Shion had said?

Honestly, Elise still wasn't sure.

“H m m…”

She tilted her head, sniffing the canvas. Somehow, it seemed to carry the scent of fresh air, as if a cool night breeze was flowing through.

“…Magic.”

She had learned in her magic textbooks that when a painter diligently works on a painting, their soul permeates as the result.

However, the effect wasn't dramatically magical.

Could this really be worth 60 million Ren?

To Elise, it certainly didn't seem so.

She hung the painting next to the window and stepped back to sit on her bed.

Resting her chin on her hand, she looked at it. It was better than nothing.

Strangely, it also made her feel better. Perhaps it was a sense of stability.

Elise closed her eyes for a moment.

…Whooooo.

Soon, her hair began to float. Everything in her room levitated.

This always happened when she took a deep breath, a form of meditation, a way to gather her fMagnetism J .

While her f Magnetism J continued to grow, lately, strange side effects had begun to occur.

Crack—!

Sparks flew, and peculiar memories surged.

Memories she had never experienced, yet felt as if she had, both sad and lovely…

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Elise opened her eyes. The objects in the room settled down.

The painting faced her.

“…Not bad.”

She looked at it and cracked a slight smile.

“ is it?”

The machine I had ordered from Grawl was finally complete.

“lt looks good.”

I nodded in satisfaction as I looked at the device placed in the middle of Grawl's lab.

“WiLL it work?”

It's a machine designed to explore the subconscious.

The same machine Theia Esil mentioned, the one that had implanted the entity 'Tae' into my mind.

The goal is to get Belingham seated here.

-Yes. I think I still need to learn a bit more about how to use it… How are you planning to get him to sit here?

Grawl asked, his tail swishing curiously.

“l'll figure it out somehow.”

Belingham is a formidable enemy. His abilities might be on par with Theia EsiTs, and he commands a significant number of balancers under him.

“There isnft a complete lack of methods.

Fortunately, he has an unexpected weakness.

His self-importance. Its grown so large that he deludes himself into thinking he's the most important person in Libra.

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But he doesn't know.

No matter how smart he is, or perhaps because he is too smart, there's one fact he's completely oblivious to:

That I am a regressor.

My greatest weapon is this asymmetry of information.

-And, I've found a place. It's an abandoned library.

“…A records room?”

-Yes. I thought it was just the basement of the abandoned library, but it seems to be related to Libra.

Grawl displayed the screen. It looked like a completely deserted library.

“There's something in the basement?”

-Yes. Libra-related figures visit a few times a year. Even the fearless Special Forces cats don't want to go down there, which makes it obvious.

“Then we should check it out.”

I immediately contacted soliette.

-Right now?

“No. After visiting someone.”

Bellaros Detention Center's visitation room.

Theia Esil had now somewhat adapted to the environment there. She fully understood the saying that humans are creatures of adaptation. She was newly aware of how strong her body was.

At the same time, she was prepared for death.

The only way out—she could not bring herself to betray the humanity of her mentor, Athan.

She couldn't trample on the Legacy of a man who had been a hero of the continent, shining light on the world and becoming the dream and hero of countless people.

“Professor, you have a visitor.”

Today, once again, a visitation was scheduled.

“…”

At that moment, Theia was warming herself by the stove. She blinked and looked at the guard, whose expression was faintly bright.

Thanks to that, she immediately knew who the visitor was.

“Sigh.”

As expected, that bastard was sitting in the visitation room.

“You're here.”

Shion AscaL Just seeing his face made her grind her teeth.

Theia walked reluctantly and sat down in front of him.

“You seem to be in quite good condition.”

He immediately offered a lunchbox.

“Persistent, aren't you? I thought I wouldn't have to see you again.”

Shion smiled faintly and nodded.

“Yes. It seems that today will probably be my last visitation.”

The last visitation.

Probably so.

Gerkhen would soon fulfill Theia's wishes, and the trial would definitely come to a conclusion.

“Why don't you just make it a suicide?”

Theia smiled. Vern's death couldn't have been a suicide.

The Vern she knew wasn't the kind of person who had the resolve to take his own Life.

“No, that won't happen.”

Balancer Ascal still responded calmly.

“That's a pity.”

Theia leaned back in her chair. She had no regrets left now.

The moment she resolved herself, everything was decided. She had lost to Libra, and she alone would take responsibility for the defeat.

Gerkhen would make adjustments to ensure that her disciples wouldn't suffer any harm.

“Is that so?”

Suddenly, Shion looked at her with a strange expression. It was an inexplicable change, like a stream flowing. Theia's brow furrowed slightly.

“…”

It was a rather puzzling look.

It was similar to the face Gerkhen had made during a previous visitation.

The look of a disciple… looking at a mentor.

“Hold on.”

He then handed her a small lunchbox.

A lunchbox slightly different from the Large ones, seemingly prepared just for Theia.

“You are more valuable alive.”

Shion stood up. There were still five minutes left in the visitation time, but he left just like that.

“…”

Theia silently looked at the Lunchbox. A small lunchbox and next to it, a large lump of lunchboxes.

She held them tightly in her arms as she left the visitation room.

“Oh, are you done already?”

The guards rushed in like hyenas. Theia handed over the large lunchbox.

“…This one is mine.”

She managed to protect the last one.

Late at night.

Candy and I were dispatched to the abandoned library. It had been quite a while since we last teamed up for a duo mission.

“ls it something big?”

Soliette widened her eyes as she surveyed the entirety of the library.

“I thought it would be smaller since it's a library.”

“Exactly. Lets go inside.”

The abandoned library. This area isn't even a slum. Its practically uninhabitable.

Decades ago, it was a city, but after being designated as a monster appearance zone, the population dwindled, and it eventually died off.

This library was built over several decades ago.

“Shi—no, Candy. Did you bring a lunchbox?”

As we entered the library, Soliette asked.

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

She clenched her fist tightly. I glanced at her and chuckled quietly.

We proceeded down the library corridor.

Rustle—rustle—

The floor was covered in debris. The sound of us stepping on it felt natural.

“…Shion.”

Soliette called me in a very low tone.

“What”

“lt smells like shit, it smells like shit.”

Soliette urgently babbled about the smell, and I understood her.

“I know, I smell it too.”

“No, it's like diarrhea. Worse than shit.”

“…You're right.”

The foul smell was incredibly strong. It wasn't just a simple smell of feces.

It was as if feces, diarrhea, and a buried corpse were mixed together, a smell with actual destructive power.

“Ugh… it's torturous.”

“Yeah. Its perfect for driving away outsiders.”

“…Ah.”

Soliette seemed to realize it too.

The smell, in a way, was the easiest method to block access to the place.

Placing guards arouses unnecessary suspicion, and

releasing monsters becomes a hassle when allies arrive.

“…Ugh. These bastards are tough. How can they stand this smell…”

Soliette was sweating profusely. Droplets formed on her temples and the tip of her nose.

“Hey Candy. How's work been lately?”

I deliberately threw a casual question.

“lts bearable, cough!”

Soliette groaned.

“Hey. Are you oka”

“Coughhhhh! Ugh!”

Soliette almost vomited. Seeing her gag made me feel nauseous too.

“Hey, are you air—ugh!”

“Ughhh!”

“Blarghh!”

After a while, I managed to stop vomitting. Having spat it out nearly a dozen times, I wiped my mouth and muttered,

“…Should've brought a gas mask.”

“…lt's not too late now, Candy.”

At that, I looked at soliette. She was gasping for breath, her face more strained than after any battle, all in just 15 minutes.

—Looks like we'll make it.

Eventually, we managed to get some gas masks. Akane had a few. I quickly brought them over.

—Should've done this earlier. No need to upset our stomachs.

With the masks, we advanced through the library much more easily.

—Candy. This seems to be the place.

Suddenly, Soliette spotted a staircase leading underground. I examined the area with my [SZX-9500J .

There was a firmly sealed door at the bottom of the stairs.

…lt's a magic space.

—Magic space?

—Yeah. Something's hidden inside.

…Hmm.

Soliette looked at me. I looked back at her.

We nodded at each other and went down the stairs to shake the doorknob.

—It won't open.

—Yes. Candy, step back.

—Okay, Jelly. Go ahead.

I stepped back. Soliette drew her sword from her waist and slashed at it.

However, there was no loud aftermath. It simply dismantled the 'magical mechanism' locking the door.

Her use of the Severing Sword had become astonishingly skilled.

—Let's go.

—Yeah.

I walked on, hiding my surprise.

Honestly, I was incredibly shocked.

But broadly speaking, since I am the mentor of her Severing Sword technique, a mentor's mindset should not be surprised by the progress of a disciple.

Especially when such an extraordinary person is a disciple, it's healthier for one's mental state to always embrace their growth with joy…

…Doesn't seem like there's much here?

Soliette said. I looked around.

—No.

It seemed like there was nothing. Broken, shattered bookshelves with torn books underneath them, all seemingly meaningless.

But still.

I picked up a book.

To the naked eye, it was no different from trash. A book almost burnt to ashes.

However, when I infused it with magic…

Whooooosh-

It emitted a sound like the wind blowing and restored itself to its original state, as clean as new data.

—Wow, Candy! How did you do that?

—I already said. Its a magic space.

I pointed to my eyes.

—Particles are clinging to the books.

Right now, with the SZX-9500 activated in my retina, I could see the particles sticking to the books.

—When you remove these particles, this is what happens.

-Oh…

Thats when it happened.

Soliette suddenly gripped her sword. She thrust it behind my shoulder, slicing through the air.

…What, what are you doing?

—Candy. There was something just now.

—What was it?

—A shadow.

I scanned the area again with the SZX-9500.

It was not visible. Perhaps it had disappeared quickly.

Or…

—Wait.

I stopped soliette as she was about to swing her sword again.

—A shadow?

…Yes.

Suddenly, a chilling thought struck me.

The shadow.

In my memory, in the records of the future, there is one known as 'Libra's Shadow:

No, not a 'one:

It's a 'phenomenon:

Suddenly darkness fell. The space around us was engulfed in darkness. Soliette became invisible, and even the features of the library were erased in an instant.

It had swallowed me.

“Ah… this.”

I gritted my teeth.

“This is going to be tough.”

A nervous laugh, laden with cold sweat, escaped me.