Memoirs of the Returnee-Chapter 341: Price (7)

“…The execution of Deferred Force is almost certain.”

The elders of Libra walking through the Aerial Garden have been in high spirits lately.

The thorn in their side, Theia Esil, has been destroyed, and for Derek, the execution of Deferred Force was obvious.

“Hehehe. Yes. Once the trial of Theia is over…”

The expressions of the elders, including Anakta and Belanta, who were chatting happily, suddenly hardened. It was because of a certain Balancer approaching from the distance.

Belingham Kantar.

He approached leisurely as usual, but the elders clenched their teeth.

Today, he needed a stern reprimand.

“Ba lancer Belingham.”

Elder Anakta called out to him. Belingham responded with a smile.

“Yes, Elder.”

“…How do you intend to take responsibility?”

The elder’s question made him tilt his head slightly.

Pretending not to know? Anakta was deeply annoyed.

“The Balancers and Chasers who were annihilated!”

“Ah… It was an unexpected situation.”

“Unexpected? Is that an explanation for a situation where three Balancers and nineteen Chasers died? Shouldn’t you have anticipated that?”

Elder Anakta took a step towards Belingham.

“A Balancer I've known for 20 years was split in half. Normally, we would convene the Council of Elders to discipline you.”

“…The Council of Elders has no authority to discipline Balancers, Elder Anakta.”

Belingham replied softly. Veins throbbed on Anakta’s temples.

“Authority to discipline?! After damaging the reputation and stature of Libra!”

He pointed his finger accusingly. His attitude of thinking he was above other Balancers had always been so, but this time his shamelessness was particularly unbearable.

Belingham blinked and then chuckled dryly.

“Then, let's ask. What have the elders been doing all this time?”

“What?”

“Here in Libra’s Aerial Garden, eating, drinking, enjoying yourselves, using Libra’s money to go down to the continent to play golf, indulge in luxuries, meet lovers…”

“dare you! Those are to maintain connections for the council”

“Those connections exist because you are part of Libra. In fact, I’ve been managing even those.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Just last week I was with Senator Vetrun and”

“Do you know that Senator Vetrun thinks very little of you, Elder Anakta?”

“…What?”

“See. You know nothing. I had to soothe him because he was upset over the Efelentri investment issue. You almost caused a scandal because insider trading information leaked, Elder Anakta.”

Belingham managed a smile, his face seemingly straining to contain his anger as mana sparked around him. The elders flinched.

“You may squander the coffers of Libra as you please. Live happily and waste away. But remember, you have no right to interfere with the policies of the Libra’s magic space.”

“That is not true.”

Suddenly, another voice interjected.

“The elders certainly have the right.”

Anakta and Belanta, along with the other elders, turned to see who it was. A flush of color returned to their faces.

A prominent pro-elder faction member, Shion Ascal.

Belingham forced a smile.

“…Ba lancer Shion?”

Shion Ascal strode forward majestically, positioning himself between Belingham and the elders.

“Ba lancer Belingham. The elders have been part of the Libra family long before we arrived here.”

The elders straightened their backs once more.

“ln their active days, they completed more missions than any Chaser and sacrificed more than any Balancer to protect the family.”

“Cough!”

Anakta coughed and crossed his arms. The other elders also glared at Belingham from behind Shion Ascal.

“Clearly, these are distinguished individuals who are qualified to be involved in Libra’s policies.”

Belingham’s expression turned icy. A sharpened murderous intent seemed to rise like a blade, but it went no further.

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“Ba lancer Ascal. You didn’t respond to my call yesterday.”

“I was occupied. I’m more curious about why you called.”

Shion glared at Belingham as he continued.

“Had I responded to the call, perhaps I would have died there too.”

“What?! What did you say!”

Anakta reacted vehemently. Belingham’s mouth twitched. He sighed after looking back and forth between Shion and the elders.

“…I admit it. This time, it was my oversight.”

“Is merely admitting it supposed to resolve the issue?”

“…”

It was an unexpected event for Belingham.

Too unexpected, in fact, that by Belingham’s reasoning, it wasn’t a mistake at all.

If a stone bridge collapses while crossing it, it’s the fault of the one who didn’t check it. But if a magical core bomb explodes while crossing, it’s nobody’s fault.

That’s why Belingham found it disorienting to be listening to these ‘fakes’ right now. It was an affront to his pride.

He was a man prepared solely for Libra, existing only for Libra. These roaches, who only band together for their own benefit, had no right to judge…

“My apologies. I will take responsibility and deal with the rogue who killed the Balancer and Chasers. That will be all.”

With that, Belingham left. Shion watched his retreating figure until it disappeared, and the elders clustered around Shion.

Soon after, Shion spoke to the elders.

“… Eide rs.”

“……Probation is almost certain.”

The elders of Libra strolling through the Aerial Garden were in high spirits these days.

The thorn in their side, Theia Esil, was destroyed, and Derek was clearly going to be put on probation.

“Hohoho. That’s right. Once Theia’s trial is over……”

The cheerful expressions of the elders, including Anakta and Belanta, suddenly hardened. It was because of a certain Balancer approaching from a distance.

Belingham Kantar.

He approached leisurely as usual, but the elders gritted their teeth at him.

Today, he needed a stern reprimand.

“Ba lancer Belingham.”

Elder Anakta called out to him. Belingham responded with a smile.

“Yes, Elder.”

“……How do you plan to take responsibility?”

At the elder’s words, he tilted his head in confusion.

Was he pretending not to know? Anakta became extremely irritated.

“For the Balancers and Chasers who were slaughtered!”

“Ah…… It was just an unexpected situation.”

“Unexpected? Does that kind of explanation suffice? If three Balancers and nineteen Chasers died, shouldn’t you have anticipated it?”

Elder Anakta took a step towards Belingham.

“Ba lancer Roman, whom we’ve known for 20 years, was split in half. Normally, this would be a matter that requires a disciplinary council to be convened.”

“……The Council has no authority to discipline a Balancer, Elder Anakta.”

Belingham replied softly. A vein throbbed at Anakta’s forehead.

“Authority to discipline?! After damaging the reputation and dignity of Libra!”

He jabbed his finger and shot back. It was not only because he had always mistaken himself for a superior Balancer, but this time, his audacity was unbearable.

Belingham blinked and then chuckled.

“Well, let me ask. Where have the elders been all this time?”

“What?”

“Eating, drinking, enjoying themselves in the Aerial Garden of Libra, taking Libra’s money to the continent to play golf, indulging in luxury, meeting lovers……”

“dare you! Those are done to maintain the council’s connections”

“That connection exists because you are Libra. I practically manage even those affairs.”

“Stop talking nonsense. I met with Senator Bethron last week”

“Do you know that Senator Bethron is displeased with you, Elder Anakta?”

“……What?”

“Look. You don’t know anything. I calmed him down over the Ephelentry investment issue. It almost became a scandal because of the insider trading information that Elder Anakta leaked.”

Belingham smiled as if holding back anger. His magic flared like a spark. The elders flinched.

“lt’s okay for you to waste Libra's treasury. Please live happily and wastefully.

But remember, you do not have the right to interfere with Libra's policies.”

“ That’s not true.”

At that moment, another voice intervened.

“The elders have every right.”

Anakta and Belanta, along with the other elders, turned to look. A flush of color suddenly spread across their faces.

The prominent pro-elder faction member, Shion Ascal.

Belingham forced a smile.

“…… Ba lancer Shion?”

Shion Ascal strode forward with dignity and positioned himself between Belingham and the elders.

“Ba lancer Belingham. The elders have been part of constructing the house of Libra long before we arrived.”

At this, the elders straightened their backs again.

“ln the past, during their active years, they performed more missions than any Chaser and sacrificed more than any Balancer to protect the family.”

“Ahem!”

Anakta coughed awkwardly and crossed his arms. The other elders glared at Belingham from behind Shion Ascal.

“Clearly, they are distinguished individuals who are qualified to be involved in Libra’s policies.”

Belingham’s expression turned cold. The sharpened killing intent seemed to sprout like a blade, but it went no further.

He quickly changed the subject.

“Ba lancer Ascal. You didn’t respond to my call yesterday.”

“I had matters to attend to. Although I’m curious why you called me.”

Shion glared at Belingham and continued.

“Had I responded to the call, perhaps I would have ended up dead there as well.”

“ What?! What did you say!”

Anakta reacted violently. Belingham’s lips trembled. He looked back and forth between Shion and the elders, then sighed.

“……I admit it. This time, it was my oversight.”

“Is this something that can be resolved just by admitting it?”

“……”

It was an unexpected incident for Belingham.

Too unexpected, in fact, that by Belingham’s reasoning, it wasn’t a mistake at all.

If a bridge collapses while crossing it, it’s your fault for not knocking first, but if a bridge collapses while crossing it because a magic core bomb explodes, it’s no one's fault.

Thus, Belingham found it disorienting to be listening to such ‘nonsense' from these ‘fakes'. His pride was hurt.

He was a man prepared solely by Libra, for Libra alone. How dare these cockroaches who chase their own interests…

“My apologies. I will take responsibility and deal with the bastards who murdered the Balancer and Chasers. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Belingham left. Shion stared at his retreating figure until he was out of sight, and the elders flocked to Shion’s side.

Soon, Shion spoke to the elders.

“…… E Id e rs.”

In truth, these were not the qualified and valuable personnel just as Belingham said. Rather, they were the very embodiment of the proverbial betrayal and abandonment.

Individuals who consumed without contributing any benefits to the family, living just to leech.

“You are all valuable. So, ignore the words of such an arrogant person.”

But, for Shion, it didn’t matter. Whether they gnawed at Libra or devoured it, it was even better if they did.

“Ahem.”

Anakta coughed as if touched.

“……lt’s fortunate to have a Balancer like you who understands. It reminds me of the old days. Back in my day. In my prime, I flew through the skies, leaped across mountain ranges. There were no cars back then. So, I just used my own two legs……”

Shion smiled at Anakta’s endless reminiscing.

Jade was selecting the works to be exhibited at the art museum.

The news of the Balancers and Chasers’ deaths was of no concern to him. He was merely judging the works inside the museum.

“…….Not bad.”

“As expected, almost all the renowned painters wanted to exhibit their works.”

At Shion’s words, Jade smiled with pride. He walked through the museum, looking at the paintings.

“Ah, a work by Verokan.”

“Yes.”

“Remove them all. I can’t stand these metaphysical pieces.”

“Yes.”

As he coldly excluded some works and warmly welcomed others, at that moment.

“……”

Jade’s steps halted.

Suddenly, a familiar style caught his eye.

A canvas filled with transparent crystals. Within them, strange droplets sparkled.

This complex yet beautiful work captivated Jade completely.

“Whose… work is this?”

Shion answered.

“lt’s by an artist named Lynsie.”

“……“Isthat so.”

It wasn’t the name he expected.

After all, she wouldn’t be painting again.

“A name I've never heard before. Who submitted it?”

“I judged it myself.”

Jade turned to look at Shion.

“As expected, you have an eye.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s go with this newcomer for the exhibition. That’s enough for today.”

“Yes.”

Shion instructed the staff to set this particular painting aside, and Jade left the art museum.

Just discovering a painting style similar to ‘hers’ made him feel somewhat suffocated.

“……Phew.”

Shion let out a sigh of relief.

Well, this was a success. It’s fortunate that everything is going according to plan, but it’s also unsettling how smoothly it’s unfolding.

Drring-drring-

Just then, his phone rang. It was a call from Elise.

“Hello?”

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…Hey~ It’s me. Elise.

“What’s up?”

-I was just wondering…

Elise hesitated before speaking.

-When it’s going up-

“When is what going up?”

-What are you talking about! The painting, of course. Have you already forgotten?!

“Ah… Just wait. Do you think it will double in value in a day?”

-It needs to double every day to become a hundredfold… It is going up, right?

Elise has been calling every day, sometimes even twice a day.

Is she short on money or something? Why is she suddenly so obsessed?

“lt’s going up. I’m hanging up.”

-Wait a minute-

He hung up the phone. He had many other plans today besides this art museum.

-The ‘Moonless Village’, designed and directly supervised by architect Barbos

I arrived at the construction site of the village.

“Do you see those bizarre rock formations?”

Barbos pointed to the monstrous rock structures that wrapped around the edges of the village.

“Yes, I see them.”

“Those are the moon shields.”

“……Those things block the moon? Hmph! I’m skeptical!”

A gravelly voice interjected from the side. We turned to look. An elder, with his hands behind his back, was clearing his throat.

“But who is this person?”

Barbos asked.

“He will be the village chief.”

At my words, the elder snorted. Barbos, with a wry smile, politely clasped his hands.

“Ah, yes, Elder. Those rock formations block the moonlight.”

“How is that possible?”

“lt’s simple. The moon’s orbital period is 27.3 days. It doesn’t rise or set arbitrarily; it maintains its orbit. Of course, the Earth’s rotation and the moon’s orbit don’t match exactly, so the time the moon rises and sets changes every day…The soil of those rock formations ‘moves’ taking that into account. We used soil that reacts to moonlight… So, moonlight doesn’t come in.”

There was quite a bit of talk. It was a harmony of science, magic, and engineering.

The elder, with a face that clearly didn’t understand, asked again.

“……So, if I’m inside this village, I don’t have to see the moon anymore?”

“lt’s not that you don’t have to see it, you can’t see it. You can’t see it now, can you?”

Barbos pointed to his wristwatch. 8 PM. Even though it was a time when the moon should be visible, it wasn’t visible here. Only the faint moonlight shone through the rock formations.

“I must go back to work now. If you have any questions, please call me……”

Having explained sufficiently, Barbos hurried back to the site.

“Ah, Team Leader Yulman! I told you not to hammer it like that!”

He seemed ready to argue with the workers on site, having witnessed a scene he didn’t like.

I asked the village chief.

“Elder. What do you think?”

“……”

He looked into my eyes. The village itself seemed satisfactory, but his complexion was still deeply troubled.

“……The village is just a temporary solution.”

“Yes. For now, it’s a temporary solution.”

“For now?”

“When we become the Chairman later, everything will be resolved. Your tribe were ooppressed because you lacked power.”

“……”

Power, represented by politics and authority.

That was the only issue.

Indeed, before the regression, Zia reinstated the werewolves as soon as she became the Chairman and designated them as a special clan to be preserved by the continent.

“Can you promise… that?”

At the Elder’s words, I smiled.

“lf you prove your worth, you won’t need a promise. Your stage will soon be set.”

Then the Elder moved his lips. He smiled like a wolf and extended his hand to me first, and I took his hand.

I liked his rather strong grip.

* * *

Now, just a week before Derek’s final trial, Balancer Smith was in his office attending to personal matters.

He was investigating the recent screw-up by Belingham, the massacre of Balancers and Chasers-

Knock knock.

Suddenly, someone knocked.

“Come in.”

At Smith’s words, the door opened. There was an unexpected figure there.

Shion Ascal.

Dressed neatly, he approached Smith and bowed his head.

“…… Ba lancer Ascal. What brings you here?”

“lt’s nothing special, but with the final verdict approaching…… ”

To commemorate the long trial’s victory, he placed a lunchbox on Smith’s desk.

“lt’s a lunchbox. Please deliver it to Lord Derek.”

Smith furrowed his brow.

“Why don’t you deliver it yourself? You always do. You’re famous for winning Lord Derek’s favor with just a lunch box.”

“I think it’s now your turn, Senior Smith. This last lunchbox should be delivered by you, not me.”

The term ‘senior’ irked Smith, but it didn’t sound too bad.

“……Well. I’ll make sure it’s delivered properly.”

This guy seems to be trying to get in line now.

Thinking that, Smith took the lunchbox.

However, he seemed to have more to say.

“Senior. Be careful of Belingham.”

“……Belingham?”

“Yes. Given the recent events, it’s rather suspicious……”

The sudden warning about Belingham. However, Smith’s face hardened.

He certainly disliked Belingham, but he despised slander and politicking even more.

“ITI make my own judgments about people, Balancer Ascal. There’s no room for such slander or politics in a Balancer’s conduct.”

“……Yes. I understand.”

“Get out.”

Shion, with his head bowed, left the office.

Outside, in the corridor, he wore a faint smile.

Smith’s reaction was lukewarm, but that’s fine. Just like telling someone not to think of an elephant makes them think of one, telling them to be suspicious only makes them suspicious, even if they think it’s a ploy to sow discord.

“Well……”

Smith dislikes Belingham, and Belingham has no intention of being friendly to Smith.

Therefore, Smith will suspect and fight Belingham.

A situation where suspicion is inevitable, the ‘worst-case scenario’, will soon unfold.

“……lt's fine either way.”

Of course, it doesn’t matter if this ploy doesn’t work.

Balancer Smith is merely a secondary factor in Derek’s downfall.