Memoirs of the Returnee

Episode 328: Flow（6）

Zia had seen the theory she had invented. It was a way to utilize the extreme mana stone more efficiently and innovatively. She wrote it down swiftly, yet the completion was exceptional.

Astonishingly simple Logic: One circuit couldn't fully handle the efficiency of the extreme mana stone, so she proposed Layering two circuits.

An ordinary mana stone would oxidize without even fully utilizing the double circuit, but not the extreme mana stone. It contained much more inherent magical power.

There was no need to verify the theory. Zia was quite confident in her ideas, and this was enough to be immediately adopted.

“Shion.”

Zia called out to Shion with a bright voice, a smile Lingering on her lips to boast about her achievement.

“Shion…?”

There was no response. She absentmindedly turned towards him.

“Ah.”

He was asleep. Lying on the sofa as if dead, breathing evenly.

Zia approached him.

“…”

His face was peacefully asleep. No wrinkles, no blemishes, just white skin with blonde hair cascading down.

To the people of Libra, Shion Ascal was meticulous and flawless, a perfect confidant prepared solely for Libra.

Zia thought no differently.

One who skillfully unties complex knots and one who cuts through them with a single stroke. Shion was capable of both.

He was a 'wild card' that could adapt to any situation.

But now…

“Heh.”

He just looked like a child.

A deeply sleeping child. A child, albeit taller and more robust.

Zia reached out to touch his cheek but hesitated.

Suddenly, Johanna's words came to mind.

—Do you even know what kind of person Shion Ascal is?

Curious about the underlying meaning, she decided not to delve deeper.

Zia tended not to take much interest in people. She tried not to harbor any emotions towards anyone, not her father, not her brother, not her sister, and not even her own knight, Shion.

That didn't mean Zia was a sociopath like Johanna, devoid of emotions.

Rather, Zia was more analytical, rational, and above all, her ambition for 'succession' was greater.

It was a matter of priorities.

Her foremost task was succession.

“SLeep welL”

She smiled faintly. Zia, who had rarely experienced a peaceful sleep, felt a pang of envy.

Her ambition was, in fact, directly linked to survival. Since childhood, she had been tormented by an incurable disease.

This disease, which was slowly killing her, meant that even becoming the head of Libra and pouring all its resources into treatment was uncertain…

“…”

Just then, Shion opened his eyes.

“Awake?”

Zia grinned broadly.

“l'm sorry.”

He quickly sat up, straightening his posture.

“No.”

Zia shook her head and proudly shared her theory with him.

“Thanks to you, I've completed it.”

“…Oh.”

He Looked surprised, a sight that Zia found endearing.

She wasn't one to trust people easily.

But Shion was definitely different.

He was the one who showed her that there were ways to work together, even for someone like her who tried to handle everything alone. He taught her a different kind of perfection.

“Thats good.”

Shion said.

Zia nodded softly.

“Yes. Ifs good…”

On a lazy weekend afternoon, I visited the Germetici Art Museum. I admired the paintings and sculptures there.

It's a famous museum, so there were plenty of delightful artworks, but that wasn't the real reason I came.

“…Hey.”

Soliette. She was on duty as the museum's security for the day, part of her knightly duties.

“Excuse me?”

She saw me but didn't speak. Stuck to the wall, pretending to be a statue.

“lgnoring me, huh? Is this embarrassing for you?”

I circled around her, chattering away.

“Are you fucking with me?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Soliette moved only the right side of her Lips and whispered softly.

“…Please Leave.”

“Can't you talk?”

“…NO, I can't.”

“Why? Why can't you?”

“…lt's my duty.”

Soliette closed her mouth again, and I chuckled. She was, after all, fulfilling her knightly duties.

“…H uh?”

Suddenly, I spotted a familiar figure.

Blue eyes and blue hair. One of the most perfect appearances one could see in a Lifetime. A presence that seemed Like a sculpture fitting for the museum-

“…Lord Jade?”

Jade, who was admiring a masterpiece, turned to Look at me.

“A Balancer, here to admire the art?”

A faint smile appeared on his Lips.

“Yes.”

“Well, you do have an exceptional artistic sense.”

The change in how he addressed me was quite dramatic. To be called 'you' by Jade, something I couldn't have even imagined a few years ago—

“Follow me. I'll explain the artworks.”

“Yes.”

He called me over.

“This painting, 'Heaven's Tree/ is by an artist named Berth la ng. Its somewhat surreal…”

He toured me around various paintings in the museum, not staying long at any one spot.

In my opinion, he seemed to be searching for a particular artists work.

The one-armed painter.

Calling her such a derogatory name in front of Jade would likely be my Last words, but still.

Perhaps he was hoping that 'her' painting might have made it into this museum.

“…Shion Ascal.”

However, her painting was not in the museum, and Jade eventually lost interest and turned to Look at me.

“l'm thinking of creating my own art gallery.”

“Is that so?”

Perhaps it was because he now had the financial means.

Jade's art gallery, something that would have been utterly impossible before his business failures in his previous Life.

“Could you help me with that?”

He asked for my help. It was a request, not a demand.

In this way, Jade might be the one who has changed the most among his direct Lineage.

It's a good change. A change directly connected to life. The best way to deal with Jade is not to fight him.

I still don't know how the pre-regression Zia managed to overcome Jade.

“Yes, of course…”

I was about to say it was possible, but then a scheme popped into my head—a way to completely retire Jade from the succession structure.

“…Of course?”

Jade questioned the hesitation in my voice. I managed to hide my smile as I responded.

“I think I can help you.”

In the continent of Edsilla, there is a one-armed painter. She has long been out of the mainstream, content with her modest, simple happiness.

I visited her disguised as a critic in his mid-sixties.

The small building had an art supply store on the first floor and an art school on the second, but I entered the first floor first.

“Hello~”

A woman who appeared to be her sister approached me.

“Are you looking for something?”

I silently looked around the interior and then pointed to a painting.

“This painting.”

It was a landscape. The brushstrokes, color combination, and composition were all 'hers:

Even without an arm, a person's painting style remains as unique as a fingerprint.

“Who painted this?”

“Ah… it's not for sale.”

The sister smiled bitterly, scratching the back of her neck. I added in a low voice.

“That's a shame. Its beautiful.”

“…lsn't it? But…”

She scanned me from head to toe. Beret, rimless glasses, coat, and more. My current attire screamed 'art professional/

“Who are you?”

“Here you go.”

I handed her my business card.

[Salvador Porsenati]

My occupation was Listed as an art critic. I had Grawl properly set up a website too.

“…An art critic. Wow.”

She seemed to ponder for a moment, then gestured upstairs.

“Would you like to go up to the second floor? The person who painted it is up there…”

“…NO, that's alright.”

“Huh?”

“lf it's not for sale, then the painter must have her reasons. She would need to be prepared to come out. I wouldn't want to disturb that.”

This identity was a very polite elderly gentleman. To awaken Eceline's talent and reintroduce her to the world as a 'painter'—

Yes, like a perfectly fitting mentor.

Winter, a day when snow piled up thickly.

Derek attended the courtroom. The previous preliminary hearing had been fruitless, but this time was going to be different because public opinion against Theia EsiL, who had arrested him, had turned decidedly hostile.

Derek could certainly capitalize on this backlash.

“…As I have stated repeatedly, the defendant received no reports concerning the artificial intelligence overwriting incident. He couldn't even be held responsible.”

Derek maintained a poker face as his lawyer spoke. He could not afford to show joy, sorrow, or panic.

“The currently fugitive Dr. Vito, Dr. Killian who was caught up in a terrorist incident and died, and several other researchers independently pursued this project out of personal greed, without any reporting to the defendant.”

At this, the plaintiffs side raised a hand.

“Excuse me. We have the recording. How can you deny such clear evidence?”

The defense attorney nodded as if he had been expecting this.

“We have quite a bit to say about that. Why do you think Dr. Killian prepared such documents? Merely as insurance? To bring down the defendant like an elusive Phantom in such a situation?”

The prosecutor furrowed his brow in frustration.

“Whatever the reason, evidence is evidence!”

“…”

Derek really disliked this guy. After the last hearing, the prosecutor had been changed to someone named 'Kaylee.'

He was famously incorruptible.

“Yes, there is evidence. We have the recording.”

The defense attorney pointed to a USB drive.

“A file recorded with only voices, no faces or videos.”

“You know? I thought you didnV”

Prosecutor Kaylee crossed his arms and replied indifferently.

“The voice analysis of that recording matches the defendants voice by 99%. What exactly does the defense want to say?”

“Yes, in that regard, we would like to call a witness.”

The recording was the smoking gun Derek's legal team had considered. Thus, they had prepared a solid countermeasure.

A man trudged up and sat in the witness stand.

“…Hello.”

“Could you introduce yourself, please?”

The defense attorney asked gently.

“Yes. My name is Giroth. I am a voice actor.”

The mention of 'voice actor' caused a murmur in the courtroom, and the prosecution bit their Lips.

“lt seems everyone has caught on to why we asked Mr. Giroth to attend as a witness. Defendant?”

The lawyer pointed at Derek first.

“I would Like to ask you to introduce yourself to the judges, the prosecutor, and the jurors present here today.”

It was a prepared situation. Derek nodded and recited a line.

“…I am Derek.”

“Yes. Next, Mr. Giroth?”

“Uh… ahem.”

Giroth cleared his throat, and as Derek and his legal team's hearts pounded, the tension in the courtroom tightened.

“…I am Derek.”

Everyone gasped.

The voice came from Giroth. They weren't Derek's words, but Giroth's.

The timbre was strikingly similar.

No, it was exactly the same.

The defense attorney smirked.

“As you can see, voices can always be manipulated. It doesn't necessarily require a witness; a voice actor, or anyone with a voice-related Spectrum, can manipulate a recording that lacks video evidence.”

Meanwhile, Prosecutor Kaylee's expression crumpled.

“We would accept the charge of mismanagement of the organization, but the charges of overwriting the souls do not Lie with the defendant…”

At the same time, Zia began to create cracks in Derek's governance structure. It was a web-like complex structure, but she had already figured out its in and outs.

She quietly bought up shares with the massive cash influx from [Lithium].

Since Derek's manpower was almost entirely focused on the trial, they could only assume these buying pressures were from simple individuals or institutions.

Just one month.

After quietly buying for a month, a board meeting would roll all of Derek's assets into Zia's hands…

However.

Someone definitely noticed her malicious intent.

“…”

It was Vito. He chuckled as he looked at his Laptop and fiddled with his gray hair.

“So, this is how it turns out. Eventually.”

From his safety bunker, Vito had read Zia's intentions. He understood the strategy and who was behind it.

For Vito, it was bittersweet.

He was someone captivated by 'Underdogma'. Thus, he had hoped that Derek, who had fiercely fought his way through, would win over a perfectly prepared successor.

“H m m…”

Vito sighed and picked up his phone.

It wasn't too late.

Just one message to Derek could enable him to respond adequately. They could counterattack Zia with the balancers.

However.

—The defendant believed that the "artificial intelligence1 Dr. Vito spoke of was merely a boon of civilization. He could never have imagined that it involved the inhumane act of overwriting souls.

Looking at Derek in the trial now being broadcasted to the media, trying to shift all blame onto himself.

—The real culprit is Vito. The currently fugitive…

—Please stick to the trial. Is this some kind of public manhunt broadcast?

The defense attorney ignored the prosecutor's interruption and continued.

—Dr. Vito is still at Large…

Who would help such a detestable person?

“…You brought this upon yourself.”

Vito closed his Laptop.

Insults to himself were one thing, but he found it unbearable to see slanders thrown even at the deceased Killian.

He was like a soulmate he had met after a Long time, a mind capable of changing the world.

Vito sat down in his chair and closed his eyes.

“Father. It seems… I cannot overcome fate after all.”

He muttered strangely and forced a bitter smile.