Chapter 246: Scheme (1)

Scheme (1)

Erent wrestled with her thoughts in the office.

Should she use it or not, cast the dice or not?

She hadn't even started the revisions her senior had assigned, just circling the same thoughts in her head.

Then, abruptly, she stood up.

She looked towards the editor's office, the desk. Inside the partitioned glass, Editor-in-Chief Frank and a few reporters were present.

"......"

Gritting her teeth, she walked over.

She pushed open the door.

"What the... what do you want?"

Bald Frank furrowed his brow upon seeing her. The senior reporters beside him just rolled their eyes in bewilderment.

Erent spoke up.

"...I have an exclusive source."

"Ugh. Get out."

Frank waved her away. Erent didn't budge. She watched them puffing away at their cigarettes, then—bang!

She pounded the desk with her fist.

"Shit, you scared me. Are you out of your mind—"

"Senator Syrimus has a hidden son."

"......"

The expressions of Frank and the others stiffened slightly.

But soon enough, they looked unimpressed, as if to say, so what?

The mere fact of a hidden son was hardly a blemish for a politician backed by Vern.

Erent added more.

"He's a criminal."

"Alright, get out for now—"

"And more!"

Having a few criminal records wasn't enough to bring down a Senator.

A child's scandal might be juicy material for the media to tear apart, but in the grand scheme, it's not the Senator's own wrongdoing. Everyone knows raising kids can be tough.

However, the corruption Erent had uncovered about Syrimus went beyond that.

"He's received a monster graft, a chimera procedure."

"......"

That's when everyone froze.

"You're spouting some crazy bullshit."

Frank's face contorted with disdain, but she presented part of her source.

"His name is Luke. He's been suffering from a rare disease since birth. The monster procedure was because of that."

Belatedly, Frank's complexion turned pale. He scanned Erent's source with his own eyes.

"...Did you tell the bureau chief about this?"

"Not yet. I'm about to."

"It's not fact-checked."

Erent, feeling her heart pounding more than ever, said,

"Isn't that what I'm going to do?"

* * *

Before his regression, 'Hannah Erent' was an editor-in-chief.

Once, she soared as a star journalist, thriving on the crumbs from the political and business elite. But at the most critical moment, she maintained her integrity, and the price she paid was death.

The people I choose, and will choose, are mostly like that.

They have at least a minimum sense of justice.

Therefore, they can stand upright independently, not just as cogs in Libra's wheel.

─What are you thinking about......?

Suddenly, Zia's voice came through the Libra phone.

"I'm thinking about what to have for lunch."

I sat on a bench, sipping my takeout coffee.

─Hmm... you see, my sister wants to give you a gift in person.

"That so."

Zia's sister is, of course, Johanna.

It means I'm about to receive an A-grade R-elix.

─The bidding was quite high...

The Johanna I know values life highly.

She's firm with rewards and punishments, but she's also too immersed in materialism.

─Where are you now......?

I sent my coordinates. A park bench in the capital, Edsilla.

─...Okay. I've passed it on.

"Thank you."

Zia ended the call.

I waited quietly.

After about 30 minutes, someone sat down next to me on the bench.

At first, I thought it was one of Johanna's attendants.

"......"

"What are you staring at?"

But it was Johanna herself.

She slid her sunglasses down slightly and handed me a magic box.

"Take it. It's the R-elix."

"Thank you."

"......However, before you take it."

She paused, looking at me with something to say.

I nodded, facing her.

"Would you consider it?"

She handed me a piece of paper.

It was no ordinary paper.

The Libra family crest was watermarked on it, and Johanna's personal seal and signature were scrawled in her own handwriting, a document entrusting a top-secret mission to a Chaser in her direct lineage.

"Beckman is no different from my vassal. He's a founding contributor. It's been nearly 15 years now. He's made quite a bit of money for me."

Johanna explained this with a somewhat bitter tone.

"So I can't dismiss him myself. For my own dignity, for the trust and relationship with the remaining balancers. After all, he hasn't done anything wrong yet, has he?"

She looked up at the sky.

"......But if there's a hint of something off about him, or if he eventually goes mad and tries to do something."

Her blue gaze slid sideways, meeting mine.

"You take him out."

"......"

I silently looked at her paper.

A top-secret mission document related to Beckman.

I let a voice drift through my mind.

'Grawl. Check this out.'

'Yes.'

Grawl responded immediately and skimmed through the document using my eyes.

"...This is a curious document. It's spatially mediated."

Without showing any reaction, I asked back.

"Spatially mediated?"

"Yes. The specific area where this document is placed gets recorded. If you place this document in your home, it could allow someone to spy on the space where you are."

This document itself is an artifact, a mix of eavesdropping and recording, no, something much more sophisticated.

"It's so cunning that I barely caught it."

Was Johanna doubting both Beckman and me at the same time?

"I know it's a difficult request. It involves touching a Balancer, and you are Zia's knight."

Johanna seemed to mistake my silence for contemplation.

"However, it's because you are Zia's knight that I can make such a request."

I turned to look at Johanna. A leaf had settled on her sunglasses. I carefully reached out and brushed the leaf away.

"......."

For me, there were things I needed to confirm.

Why she had personally sought me out. Why she was making this request of me, and why she wanted to monitor me.

"......Alright. Think it over. I'll wait for about 5 minutes."

If it had been her before the regression, she would never have done this.

She considered even time as money.

She wouldn't bother to come to see a mere college student.

That's why I wanted to confirm one thing.

"......I'll do it."

"Good."

Johanna stood up from her seat.

"However."

I stopped her. Looking up at her while still seated.

"If everything is wrapped up in some way or another."

Johanna detests the act of demanding rewards or conditions. She believes that she will take care of it anyway once it's over, but also because it confirms the aspect of loyalty to her in exchange for money or honor.

Johanna wants someone she can trust.

While Johanna herself judges people solely by money, she desires pure and unblemished loyalty from those under her.

To such Johanna, I dared to propose a condition.

I would expect a reward.

"Could you go paragliding with me?"

Paragliding.

To continue the flight that I couldn't enjoy last time because of an intruder.

I watched Johanna's expression.

"......."

She didn't speak, but her eyes wavered.

Her heartbeat remained the same, but this faint reaction was enough to give me some assurance.

The Johanna I know is a gold supremacist.

A cruel murderer who is obsessed with money, treating it like a religion, and has killed countless people. A woman who is congenitally lacking a significant part of emotion.

The very epitome of what is commonly known as a 'psychopath.'

But now, she exhibited a very slight disturbance.

If this was a manifestation of some emotion.

"...Paragliding."

I could make full use of her.

"Is that all you want?"

Johanna retorted.

I smiled thinly.

"Yes."

"How modest."

Johanna nodded. She walked away, her steps pressing into the grass.

I watched her back for a long time.

The 'plan' that was forming in my mind was low in success probability and carried significant risk, but.

If there was even the slightest chance, to move the emotions of one of the direct line towards me...

It might be a gamble worth taking.

* * *

Late at night. On the way home after finishing a university assignment.

Elise sensed someone approaching her.

A man who didn't seem to bother hiding himself, walking towards her openly.

"...Who are you?"

Elise turned to look at him. He grinned at her.

A familiar face.

"Good evening. It's been a while~"

A journalist.

His name was Irving, or was it Earl?

Anyway, the damned paparazzi who spread rumors about her and Shion's love affair.

"Sigh."

Elise shook her head in disapproval and was about to continue on her way when-

"Ah. I have some information to deliver to you."

The journalist smirked, extending an envelope.

"..."

Elise's expression turned icy. She pondered what to do with this overstepping paparazzi but.

"It's about the person you're rumored to be in a relationship with."

She first silently looked at the contents.

It was data from a hospital.

A testimony from a nurse.

Records of the day someone died, and a child was born.

The day Shion Ascal's mother died.

At that moment, Elise's composure shattered. Unknowingly, she drew upon her magic power. The journalist stepped back, startled.

"Do you not value your life?"

"...No. I value my life. That's why I came to sell it."

"Sell it?"

Her voice sharpened like a thug.

"Yes. But seeing your reaction, you already knew? Have you been staying close not because you liked it but out of pity?"

The journalist smirked. Elise followed suit. She smiled with a thick murderous intent.

"Do you want to die?"

"...Ah, I'm actually under a real threat of death."

And then he pointed to his chest.

"My laptop is connected to my heartbeat. I've written a separate will too. So, if I die, all related materials will be delivered to Libra. To Libra, and to Chaser Shion."

Elise glared at him silently.

"Just buy it without any fuss. What I want is simple. Just... about 20 million Ren? Installments are possible too. A lump sum of 20 million Ren, or 3 million Ren in installments over 10 years. Just in case, I've already sent the documents to your father, Ken Petra. He's probably reading them right now."

"You insane bastard!"

Elise stepped forward with a burst of magical power. Irving hastily stepped back.

"Anyway! It's a fact that would have come to light even without me. You know that, right?"

"..."

"Besides, I can help bury this story forever, just for some money. I'm serious."

A headache began to throb at Elise's temples. She couldn't tell if it was anger, exasperation, or sorrow—emotions swirled chaotically in her mind.

"So make your choice wisely. Do you want Libra's promising Chaser to find out how his mother died?"

He spat out his final words.

"There will be a war if he does."

Then he turned and hurriedly ran off.

In the dark night.

Left alone, Elise steadied her ragged breathing and trembled.

* * *

I arrived at the dormitory. I placed the document Johanna had given me on the desk.

"..."

Everything that happens within a 10-meter radius of this document, from the living room to the bedroom, is transmitted to Johanna.

It's a rather annoying artifact.

I lay down on the bed.

Thump- thump- I tapped the dormitory wall with my fingers, waiting for the prearranged call.

Drrring──

My smartphone rang just in time.

I got up from the bed to answer the call.

─It's Jake.

It's Grawl.

I'm about to perform a certain act with this guy.

"Yes. This is Shion."

Johanna assigned me a mission, intending to monitor me.

She suspects me and probably wants to find out what kind of person I am.

Also, to find out what I think of Johanna herself.

I plan to consistently satisfy her needs moving forward.

─I've received the details about the mission, but monitoring a Balancer is a dangerous task.

"...Is that so."

─You would know better, Mr. Shion. A Balancer is not an ordinary opponent. If you're discovered, you'll be counterattacked.

I made him say it as if this mission itself is a huge burden to him.

Of course, considering Beckman's character, it is indeed a dangerous mission.

"Even so, please proceed."

I answer firmly, almost stubbornly.

─Haa... may I ask why?

This guy's acting skills are improving day by day.

Indeed, I'll soon be receiving an A-grade R-elix, so naturally, I have to work hard.

"The reason..."

─Yes. Lady Johanna is not your lord, Mr. Shion.

At that, I let out a low chuckle.

Pretending to think of the person named Johanna.

"...It's because she's lonely."

─Lonely?

"Yes. There are too many people around her."

Johanna's power is not inferior even when compared to Derek's. Especially now that she's almost gotten the Golden Casino shares for free.

"However, she trusts none of them."

She trusts no one. That's why she's obsessed with money, and why she can't easily cut off Beckman.

"Lady Johanna stands alone in that place. In that lonely void, alone, in solitude..."

Johanna would certainly be listening to this conversation.

─...You're alike.

It was an unexpected ad-lib from Grawl.

Not in the script.

"Yes."

I almost frowned but continued with an ad-lib of my own.

"Perhaps. I don't trust people either."

─...

We fell silent for a moment.

─This matter could lead to our downfall.

"..."

But this bastard keeps ad-libbing.

If he overdoes it here, it might actually arouse suspicion.

"It's okay. I'm prepared. That's all for now."

─...Yes. See you later.

Jake, Grawl hung up the call.

I turned off the light and lay down on the bed.

I'm not sure what Johanna will think about this conversation today...

If she has any feelings, I should be able to draw them out sufficiently.

The plan is to proceed step by step.