Sheron’s mansion.
The cleaned artifacts were laid out on the table, personally wiped down by Sheron herself.
“This one. This one. This one.”
She selected a few among them. Most were restraints like handcuffs or restraining suits.
“I can feel the souls in these. If we adjust the frequency precisely, we’ll see… Anyway, it seems they’re not dead but alive.”
“Can you also determine their location?”
Soliette asked. Sheron’s face tightened.
“Do I look like a human radar to you…”
“*Ahem*”
“…Sigh.”
After my deliberate cough, she sighed deeply and quietly closed her eyes.
Mana began to emanate from her body.
It seemed like she was doing something, but I couldn’t understand the exact principle. That's typical for a rSpectrumJ .
“I found it.”
Sheron opened her eyes.
“lt’s here.”
She took a pen and precisely scribbled down all the coordinates, including latitude and longitude.
“…How do you know these coord in ates?”
It was quite surprising to me. Before her regression, she never utilized this rspectrumj .
Sheron shrugged.
“Hmph. It’s about utilizing the frequency, amplitude, and period of the waves comprehensively. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained in detail, so let's skip that. More importantly.”
Her face suddenly turned serious as she glared at me.
“Can it happen?”
“Yes.”
“lt better.”
Sheron waved her hand at soliette.
“Soliette. You go outside for a bit.”
“Yes, yes.”
Soliette, looking at the paper with the coordinates, stepped outside.
“…Now tell me. How are you going to arrange the meeting?”
Sheron crossed her arms.
“Before that, what exactly are you planning to inquire about?”
“What? Why should I have to tell you that?”
Sheron’s eyebrows twitched left and right like some kind of living caterpillar.
“lf you ask something nonsensical, it could put me in an awkward position.”
“…DO you think I would ask something nonsensical?”
I firmly shut my mouth. Sheron stared at me with laser-like eyes before letting out a sigh.
“Ugh. It’s about family matters. So, I can’t tell you the details.”
Aventagher, related to Sheron’s family.
That gives me a rough idea of what it might be about. The elders of Aventagher are notoriously strict.
The reason she was expelled from Aventagher before her regression was mostly because of these elders.
“Yes. I’ll arrange the meeting and contact you.”
“Really? When? It’s going to happen, right?”
Sheron asked with a beaming smile. I nodded confidently.
“lt will happen.”
Crash—!
Derek hurled a glass against the wall. Shards flew in all directions. Gedley couldn’t bear to look at him and bowed his head.
“…I am terribly sorry.”
“ls that kind of apology supposed to fix this?”
Derek was furious. The losses from the [New Frontier] project were astronomical, but what disgusted him even more was Vern’s smug face.
“I have nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths. It was their sheer luck—”
“Luck? Luck?”
Thump—!
Derek slammed his fist on the desk.
“Such bullshit about luck, we should have been prepared for this.”
His voice was laced with a bitter laugh, clearly indicating extreme anger.
“There was a pioneer team at New Frontier. We should have kept them in check. Then we wouldn’t be in this shitty situation—!”
He grabbed a bottle by the neck and hurled it at Gedley, striking him hard in the chest.
“…l’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry.”
An oddly calm voice intervened. Derek looked over.
It was Dr. Vito from the Al department.
“The research will be completed soon. Once our Al is commercialized, we can recover this scale of loss in just one day.”
“…What does that have to do with our current losses?”
Derek’s jaw trembled as he glared. Vito responded clearly.
“Director Gedley was the one who scouted Dr. Killian, our key researcher. Without Dr. Killian, the project would have been delayed by at least six months. Please consider that as well.”
“…”
Derek then sat back down, glaring intensely at Gedley and waved him away.
“Get out.”
“Yes.”
Gedley backed out of Derek’s office.
Creak— Thud.
The door closed firmly.
He clenched his fists. He gritted his teeth. Humiliation and degradation welled up from within.
“…”
It was absurd. This failure wasn’t his fault. The rivals’ discovery of the crystal cave in the Arctic was a stroke of luck that not even a god could have anticipated.
Gedley had checked hundreds of times. The New Frontier's pioneer team was just a bunch of nobodies.
But then…
A thought suddenly crossed Gedley's mind.
What if someone had leaked the information about the crystal cave to the [New Frontier] guys? What if they had been led to make the discovery?
That seemed more plausible.
“…Wait a minute”
Whose operation was this [New Frontier] originally?
Bell Moore.
Who was the first person to submit the report to him?
Bell Moore.
And that guy had handed over the operation too easily. No resistance, no defiance. As if he had been waiting to hand over the entire operation.
“No way.”
Gedley’s face turned red. As he continued to ponder, he bit his lip. Crunch—skin tore, and blood spattered.
“…So this was your plan all along.”
Half out of his mind, he was already convinced. With a bloodied mouth, he smiled.
“Bell Moore. That bastard, I'll rip his guts out…”
For him, who had lost everything in this debacle, all that was left was revenge.
In the capital city of Edsilla, within the mansion of the eldest daughter.
Johanna lay buried in her bed, lost to the passage of time and space, indifferent to how hours flowed or where she found herself.
She no longer cared.
To her, everything that surrounded her had become worthless. All the happenings across the continent seemed meaningless.
It wasn't just a lack of motivation; it was a deeper questioning of the very purpose of existence.
What had all her gambling, killing, wealth accumulation, and desire for honor been for?
A strange emotion welled up, and when she closed her eyes, his image surfaced again.
The way he confessed his love in the desert, blurring like clouds.
—It was mere greed that led me to this point. Despite knowing it was wrong, I wanted to be by your side.
Because of love, we cannot be together,
Because of love, we should not be together.
—Therefore, from now on, I wish to distance myself. For your sake, Johanna.
The desire to distance himself from her for her sake,
The way he didn’t want to hurt her.
—Will you help me to die in peace?
He worried about her even as he confessed his own death. It was a sentiment unknown to Johanna. She thought they were alike, but in reality, he was more considerate towards her than she could ever be.
“…….”
Johanna quietly contemplated her wealth.
Casinos, department stores, hospitals, magical spaces, real estate, stocks… She owned so much, yet all of it combined couldn’t save Shion.
She couldn’t heal the person who loved her, and the person she loved.
“……There are too many useless things in this world.”
Johanna was crumbling.
Somehow, it feels like a tower built on a faulty foundation from the start.
What was I hoping for when she killed people? Why did she accumulate wealth?
“Johanna of Libra.”
Intoxicated with that honor and pride, she lost sight of what truly mattered.
“…Shion Ascal.”
Shion Ascal won’t live past thirty.
Such a dear, loyal, and splendid man, a damn rare man in her life, won’t even see one more decade.
Johanna had read every paper related to his cancer. No one lasted five years. Most patients suffered endlessly before their deaths.
Johanna is terrified of his death. It scares her.
No matter how far away she is, no matter how much she pretends not to know, his death will inevitably reach her ears.
Will she be able to avoid crumbling even more than now?
“…You must be more frightened.”
Johanna muttered blankly as she stared at the ceiling.
Probably, no, certainly.
He must be more frightened than herself. More depressed. More tormented.
While loving her, and worrying about hurting her, what must he be thinking as he tries to distance himself from her?
“…I miss you.”
Johanna began to consider the feelings of others. She became considerate of others.
She realized there was someone more important than all the businesses on the continent, more important than any wealth.
“…”
She quietly got up. It was the sudden memory of his father that spurred her.
Dale Ascal, who served Libra but died on duty.
What kind of man was his father?
Johanna became curious.
Because love spreads like ripples, she became interested in everything related to him. She wanted to know everything about him.
Perhaps, it could be a gift to him.
Before heading out, Johanna took a packet of pills. They were new antidepressants prescribed by Yu Hains.
I received information from my team members on the hotline.
“lt looks like Gedley is about to make a move—his condition is quite fierce ” was the message.
Indeed, he blew his entire fortune accumulated over decades. The losses must be even greater than before his regression.
It seems like it’s time to activate Bell Moore.
“……He seems a bit unstable.”
In the warehouse of the Intelligence Agency, where he had fully joined the Bell Moore forces—unbeknownst to Bell Moore—David, the external team leader, said.
“How about the other team leaders?”
“lt seems they’ve suffered significant losses too. Apparently, they forgot it was an operation and put in their own money.”
“Hmm. I see.”
I nodded and casually brought up the next point.
“lt looks like Gedley is going to act more aggressively.”
“Aggressively?”
“Yes.”
“……NO. I don’t think so.”
The external team leader shook his head.
“Gedley is an expert at strangling his opponents. He’s more likely to do a background check and slowly tighten the noose using his connections.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Even if he’s lost his rationality, he won’t start shooting wildly inside the Intelligence Agency. Derek is already furious…… he’ll be cautious.”
“……I have a different view.”
I crossed my arms. David slightly furrowed his brow.
“Trust me on this one, second-year Chaser. I’ve been opposing Gedley for 15 years.”
I stared at David. David didn’t look away either.
Such power struggles are common. Even if there’s a recognition of being ‘allies,’ once we’re from different houses, everyone wants to take the lead.
Therefore, not only do I need to elevate Bell Moore to the director position, but I also need to establish superiority among these allied forces.
“Yes. I understand. Since my experience is still limited, let's defer to Team Leader David on this matte r.”
“……You make things sound so complicated.”
I nodded.
“Alright. I’ll contact you later.”
“Do that.”
I stepped out into the corridor of the Intelligence Agency and called Bell Moore.
“Team Leader Bell Moore, where are you right now? I need to talk to you.”
…What? I’m outside. Just say whatever you want here.
“lt’s urgent.”
—What's the matter then?
Judging by the background noise seeping through, he seemed to be near a club.
“You’re aware of the failure of the New Frontier operation, right?”
—Yeah, that. I was shocked. I was about to get involved in the public auction, didn’t know how, and almost got screwed over.
“I think Director Gedley blames you for the failure.”
…What? Are you insane? What have I done?
Bell Moore retorted. I quickly continued.
“The operation was originally ours, Team Leader Bell Moore. So now, the director thinks you deliberately screwed them over”
—Ah shit, why are you stirring things up? I’m starting to doubt you. Gedley is a decent man…
He really lacks ambition.
Still, Bell Moore has strong survival instinct.
I've prepared something to trigger that instinct.
“Let’s meet in person to discuss this, I’ll come to you. Where did you leave the car keys?”
—Ah, damn it. They’re in the team leader’s office. Don’t you have a car?
“I sent it for repairs. I’ll see you later. Don't drink.”
—Hang on, damn it.
I stopped by the team leader’s office and picked up the car keys from the table. Then I headed down to the Intelligence Agency’s parking lot.
Bell Moore’s large SUV was parked in the middle.
He takes taxis to and from clubs, a strange way of showing his adherence to the law by not drinking and driving.
I opened the car door and sat in the driver’s seat.
As I gripped the steering wheel and was about to press the accelerator.
BOOM!
An explosion surged from beneath the car. A deafening roar filled the parking lot.
Meanwhile, inside the car, I smiled as I felt the hot air burst around me.
Why?
Because it was all my own setup.
