Memoirs of the Returnee

Opportunity Cost, Sunk Cost (2)

Jade’s café was doing better than expected. The coffee was three times more expensive than an average café, and the desserts were more than five times pricier. Yet, the 1st to 5th floors, which were open to everyone, had no seats left, and even the ‘Noble Floor,’ exclusive to VVIPs, saw plenty of traffic.

“…We’re already getting inquiries about opening branches.”

Jade said with a solemn expression as he sipped his coffee.

“That’s fortunate.”

“It is most impressive.”

Layla’s archaic way of speaking had been grating on my nerves for a while now. What period drama did she watch to end up like this?

“Is that the kind of old-fashioned education the Hilton family receives?”

“That it is.”

“…Right.”

Jade looked away, turning his attention to someone else.

First, it was Gerkhen.

“My name is Gerkhen. I am a first-year student at the National University’s Knight Academy.”

Gerkhen introduced himself briskly. Jade then looked beside him.

“…Next would be Petra’s daughter, I presume.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Elise had been sitting quietly ever since we arrived, not touching the desserts or coffee she had ordered.

“Well then. Enjoy yourselves. I have a business trip scheduled, so I must be going.”

Jade stood up from his seat. I also started to rise, but Jade gestured for me to stay seated as he left first.

“…Wow. He really is handsome, that man.”

While Layla expressed her admiration, Elise remained unresponsive. The desserts she had ordered, the pudding and cream buns, were untouched.

“I’m going to head out first.”

In the end, she left the café.

Before we could even try to stop her, she had hastily grabbed her bag and was gone.

“What the! She didn’t go after Mr. Jade, did she?!”

Layla puffed up her cheeks, while Gerkhen quietly slid Elise’s desserts towards himself.

* * *

At the Petra family mansion, Elise was summoned to Ken’s study. Standing there stiffly, she was met with Ken’s questioning gaze.

“I’ve heard you’ve been hanging out together quite often lately.”

It was probably about Shion Ascal.

“His name was Shion, wasn’t it?”

“…He’s a friend.”

“Friend is a generous term for someone of his caliber.”

“…”

Elise furrowed her brow slightly.

Suddenly, Ken’s dry voice settled like grains of sand.

“…So you can make that kind of face now.”

“Do you have any proof that he’s of poor quality?”

At that, Ken let out a hollow laugh. He tossed a document onto the table and said,

“The guy is from Libra. A ‘Chaser’.”

“Chaser…”

“Yes. You know what a Chaser is.”

Petra had its own breed of Chasers.

Known as the ‘Strategy Room,’ they handled Petra’s dirty work, not shying away from any criminal activities.

“He’s not just a threat to the election, but to your life as well.”

A threat.

Elise still felt her insides twisting.

She wanted to ask her father about ‘that day’ right now. About the day Shion’s mother died, and she was born in her place…

“Father, is that all you remember about the Ascal family?”

Ken lifted his gaze, his brow slightly furrowed.

“They’re not a family worth remembering.”

Elise felt a sudden surge of revulsion. The talk of mere family lineage was unbearable to her.

She turned around hastily, fleeing from the family home. She vomited the bile that filled her mouth onto the ground.

“…Haah.”

She sighed, lost in thought.

Where did it all go wrong? Or what exactly is wrong? How am I supposed to navigate through these thorny vines?

“—Hey.”

Suddenly, a voice invaded her ears.

Elise startled and looked in that direction.

There was someone standing by the roadside.

“…What do you want, you?”

It was Shion.

“Here.”

He extended a box to her.

“What’s this-”

“Dessert. You didn’t eat it. It’s really good.”

“…”

Elise took a slight whiff of it. A harmonious sweet scent teased her nostrils.

“But, did you throw up?”

Shion asked nonchalantly. Elise shook her head.

“…No.”

“No? It’s all spilled out here.”

He pointed to the ground. A whole mess was neatly laid out there.

Elise’s face turned red around the nose.

“It’s not mine. Do you have proof? You don’t.”

“Whatever. Enjoy the dessert. And don’t stress out too much.”

“…What stress are you talking about?”

Elise pouted her lips in a petulant manner for no particular reason.

“Whatever. If you’re too annoyed, live however you want for a week. Binge eat, be lazy, even swear a bit. It might make you feel better.”

“…”

“Start with this.”

Shion shook the dessert box. Elise quietly embraced it in her arms.

“Rest while you eat. I’m off.”

“…Yeah.”

Shion Ascal walked away with a faint smile. Elise quietly watched his retreating figure.

“Live however you want…”

She murmured his echoing voice.

Live however you want.

* * *

The next day, I was summoned to the Intelligence Agency.

The atmosphere was quite tense. Everyone passing through the corridors was almost like a scene from a desolate battlefield, minus the swords.

“You’re here.”

Bell Moore called me over.

“What’s the matter?”

“You don’t know? Lord Derek is pissed.”

“…Ah.”

Of course, it would be because of Vern.

Vern had humiliated Derek in a similar fashion to Theia. His intention was probably to keep his rival Derek in check.

But he had stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Thanks to that, the target of the total offensive that Theia had faced before the regression had shifted to Vern.

“So, everyone’s been told to bring an item each.”

“Vern won’t be easy to deal with.”

“That’s the point.”

Vern’s power was immense compared to Theia’s. Even for Derek, it would be difficult to confront him alone. Unless his siblings helped, which was unlikely.

Of course, the capabilities of the Intelligence Agency were superior on Libra’s side.

“Do you have any thoughts?”

“…”

I pondered for a moment.

If you ask whether Vern is a good person, the answer is no. In this field, there isn’t a single clean tycoon who has succeeded on the back of their family’s power.

Vern, the owner of the top-ranked corporate enterprise, is particularly excessive even among them.

“…The election is coming up soon.”

At my words, Bell Moore tilted his head.

“Isn’t it about three months away?”

“Vern has quite a connection with the Senators.”

“…Huh.”

He quickly grasped the meaning.

“Planning to knock down some birds?”

He chuckled dryly.

‘Birds’ here meant Senators.

“No. Now they’ve also entered the competitive arena, haven’t they?”

During the election period, Senators are not invincible. They are, in fact, more vulnerable than anyone else.

Bell Moore made a curious expression.

“…So, who’s the target?”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to start researching now.”

This could be an opportunity to build up my achievements while pretending to be helping Derek, and it could also benefit Zia.

“Hmm. Alright, if you’re in, I’m in too.”

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

How exactly targeting a Senator could benefit Zia would become clear in time.

…

Senator Syrimus.

He’s one of Vern’s people. A two-term Senator of his district, he’s aiming for a third. He’s from the ‘Sanrama’ district, rich in minerals, and he has a history of selling mana stone mining rights to Vern at a bargain price, which are essential for semiconductor production.

I ordered Grawl to do some background checks related to him. It shouldn’t be too difficult, given that he had plenty of shady dealings even before the regression.

But simply bringing down a bird isn’t enough.

“We’ll plant our own person in the vacant spot,” I said to the screen.

Zia and Sonya were there.

─…You mean to make Syrimus lose the election and replace him with our person?

Sonya asked.

“Yes.”

─Do you have someone in mind to put in his place?

“We’ll have to create one now.”

I brought up another file on the video call.

“This is a former Senator named ‘Ludeniel.’ He’s a man in his late thirties from the Louis family, who served as the Senator for the Sanrama district eight years ago. He ran in the election four years ago but lost. The Louis family is currently in a dire state, but their local foundation is still solid.”

─The election… won’t be easy to win… even getting him to run is uncertain…

Zia’s words made me nod.

“We can make it possible.”

─…How?

“We’ll create an incident.”

We’ll create an incident that brings Ludeniel into the spotlight, and through that, we’ll propel him as a strong Senatorial candidate.

“Before that, we need to make sure he’s firmly on our side. If you approve the plan, I’ll go and recruit him.”

I looked at Zia.

Zia seemed to ponder for a moment but then nodded her head.

─…Okay. I’m counting on you.

…

In the Sanrama district, far from the capital, a city of stone where the majority of the region is mountainous and the local products are minerals like coal and mana stone, I visited a fallen politician.

“Are you Mr. Ludeniel?”

Of course, my face was suitably disguised.

I was starting to feel that my face was becoming too well-known.

“Who are you?”

He was a man in his mid-thirties.

“Ah. This is who I am.”

I handed him a suitable business card.

[Jean Consulting]

“…Consulting?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t have anything to consult about. You might have come to the wrong place.”

Every time Ludeniel opened his mouth, the smell of alcohol wafted out.

It seemed true that he had been living a reclusive life since his defeat in the election.

“No, I’ve come to see Mr. Ludeniel.”

“What for…”

He scratched his beard.

“Have you considered running in the election one more time?”

“…”

His expression suddenly hardened. He glared at me with sharp eyes.

“Are you insane?”

“No, I’m perfectly sane.”

“…There’s only three months left until the election. Talking about running now is crazy talk.”

“The deadline to declare candidacy is still a ways off.”

Anyone could run for ‘district Senator’ as long as they met the qualifications. The million Ren registration fee was the real issue.

“…Nonsense. Get lost.”

As Ludeniel tried to close the door, I spoke up.

“Don’t you feel wronged by the last election?”

“…”

His movements halted for a moment.

Ludeniel looked at me with a face filled with anger.

“You were taken down by baseless negative campaigning. Crushed and trampled by lies—”

“Who are you?”

“I told you. Jean Consulting.”

I offered him the business card again.

“If you want revenge, contact us. We don’t ask for much.”

“…”

Ludeniel finally looked at the business card.

[ Jean Consulting ]

A piece of paper with nothing but a phone number written on it.

“Opportunities come along as you live your life. And for you, that opportunity is now.”

I smiled faintly and turned to leave.

That should be enough for him to get in touch on his own.

Ding-

I’d like to bait him a bit more, but unfortunately, I don’t have the time.

[ Auction Patrol: Chaser Recruitment Notification ]

There’s just too much to do these days.

* * *

An auction, simply put, is a bidding sale. But as you can tell from the participation of the Libra lineage, this is no ordinary auction.

Rare items that the average person might never see in their lifetime come up for bid, and all of this takes place within one massive ‘underground floor.’

Ah, but it’s not the underworld.

Unlike the underworld, this is an aristocratic establishment created by various tycoons to avoid the public gaze.

This place is the auction, [Terra].

“Participation list. Chaser Veral. Chaser Mitsuko. Chaser Shion Ascal──”

I was on duty as a bodyguard for the lineage.

My job was straightforward.

Visit the waiting room where the immediate family would stay, thoroughly inspect it, check the entire Terra for any other threats, and arrange proper security equipment…

“What is this?”

In the middle of my work, Beckman suddenly asked me.

I replied, “It’s a wiretap detection device.”

“…”

Beckman frowned. Clearly, he had come to pick a fight.

Crack-!

He smashed my device.

“You’re not allowed to use equipment from other companies. Don’t you know?”

That seemed to be his quibble.

I had customized my spy gear myself.

It’s not that the products made by Libra were subpar; it’s just that they often performed poorly due to Derek’s obsession with ‘cost-cutting.’

“I’ve already refined everything cleanly through hacking.”

“That’s what you think. A Libra Chaser using products from another company? That’s grounds for discipline.”

Beckman glared at me as he set down his own device.

I nodded without much protest.

“I’ll do so from now on.”

“Do you think you’ll have a next time to guard Johanna? There’s no next time for you.”

“…”

The more I think about it, this guy’s condition seems a bit dangerous.

Normally, he’d be the type to explode in a year or two.

Could it be that he’s been provoked by me?

“I apologize.”

“Go crawl on the floor tiles or the ceiling. Like a rat.”

Beckman left with the other Chasers. I took a closer look at the various devices installed in the room.

Anti-eavesdropping machines, mana wave setters, wave calculators, and so on, they all seemed to be focused on security─

But they all had eavesdropping capabilities built in.

In other words, Beckman was pretending to protect Johanna while stalking her like a voyeur.

Bang-

Suddenly, the door opened again.

I turned to look.

There stood a woman in a beret.

“……?”

A person who shouldn’t be here, or at least, someone who was supposed to arrive two days later.

She pointed to her beret and gave a wry smile.

“How is it? It’s the one from last time.”

“Ah.”

The beret I had given her to wear during our escape from the casino. She trudged over and sat down on the sofa.

“It’s been a while, Shion Ascal.”

Her voice, thick and languid, seemed somehow pleased to see me.

“…Yes.”

A dangerous conversation to have in a space where Beckman’s eavesdropping could be happening.

“I should go now. I’ll take my leave.”

I immediately headed out.

“…What are-”

Bang.

I closed the door without listening to what she had to say.