Memoirs of the Returnee

Sheron's question was abrupt, but I feigned calmness and asked back.

“Frequencies overlap pi ng?”

“…”

Sheron peered into my face quietly.

Her gaze was full of suspicion, as if trying to dig into my thoughts, but compared to Johanna, she was nothing more than a docile cat.

“Sheron, you’re holding onto my wrist.”

Soliette glared at her with dissatisfaction. Sheron fiddled with her lips and then took a step back.

“Hmph.”

I pretended to be clueless and asked.

“What does it mean to have two frequencies?”

Sheron clicked her tongue and sat down on a chair.

“Didn’t I just tell you, you goldfish?”

“Huh?”

“I can feel the frequency of souls. Once I’ve sensed a frequency, my flesh remembers it. So no matter where someone is, dead or alive, I can always find them. But you.”

Sheron pointed at me with her slender finger stretched out.

“Your frequency doesn’t match up properly.”

“lf it doesn’t match, what does that mean?”

“lt’s strange, that’s what!”

She frowned in annoyance and crossed her legs.

“Your frequency is entwined in a spiral.”

“So what?”

“I just told you it's strange. It’s bothering me because it’s the first time I’ve ever seen something like this, you know?”

Sheron set her jaw in a commanding manner. At that, Eric let out a snicker.

“Take it into account. This is the lunatic who lines up drinks in the fridge in a row. It’s an obsession bordering on psychopathy.”

“Do you want to die?”

Sheron's eyes, filled with murderous intent, pierced Eric. He shook his head nonchalantly as if it was nothing.

Sheron quickly turned back to me.

“Anyway. I’ve been bothered by it since I first saw you. Two strands of frequency felt at the same time, and even the degree of separation becomes clearer each time we meet. It doesn’t seem like you have two souls inside you… Do you have R-elix by any chance?”

“Yes.”

“But to say it’s because of that…”

Sheron pondered to herself.

I was sweating bullets on the inside.

If it’s because of the regression, could the frequency from before the regression remain? I’m just one soul. Or does it mean that time is entangled?

“Um… Sheron. What about soliette?”

I asked about soliette.

If regression is the cause, then there might be something different about soliette as well.

She seems to have some, ‘very little’, memory from before the regression.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, Sheron scrutinized soliette closely. Her eyes narrowed sharply.

Chiiing—

Under the laser-like gaze, Soliette turned her head away as if avoiding the sun.

“What, what is it all of a sudden?”

“You’re strange too?”

“Yes?”

At that moment, my heart sank with a heavy thud.

“There’s a slight confusion. It’s not as blatant as with you… but when I look closely, I can see it.”

“…What does that mean?”

Soliette echoed my earlier question. Sheron’s face twisted with irritation.

“lt’s not about meaning, it’s just strange! What the hell is it with you two? Are you dating?”

“They’re not.”

Erick answered for us. He looked at soliette intently, as if hoping she would deny it.

“No, we’re not dating.”

Soliette shook her head shyly.

“Ha, of course.”

“…”

I silently watched soliette.

The confusion of frequencies

Not like mine, but a definite oddity.

“What are you looking at me like that for, Shion?”

Could there be something with her?

Is something coming?

“Are you planning to go straight to the lab?”

Erick asked soliette. It was a smooth change of subject.

“lf you’re thinking of going, I can take you, Soli.”

Sheron scratched Erick as he used a nickname that sounded too casual.

“You can’t go, dumbass. Go do some work, you ox.”

“…What, ox? I told you not to call me that. This lunatic keeps saying weird stuff”

“lf you’ve eaten a hidden class, then go do some work.”

“Whoa. Hidden class?!”

Soliette's eyes widened. Still a common thief, she still harbored attachment and longing for a hidden profession.

“Yeah. This guy’s construction”

“Hahaha. Construction, yes. The art that most grandly expresses the human psyche.”

Erick covered Sheron’s mouth with his hand and smiled broadly.

“Carving nature to sculpt the world, a truly majestic hidden class. Noble Architecture- Ow!”

Sheron bit Erick’s palm. She spat out and sneered at him.

“Lunatic bastard. His class is a construction worker. Just a plain construction worker. The class name is 'Advanced Construction Worker’. Thanks to that, he works like a beast—like a hundred oxen strong”

“How many times do I have to say it’s architecture, you crazy bitch!”

While being a construction worker is indeed a noble profession, Erick seems to desire a name that sounds a bit more prestigious.

“Who’s calling who crazy, you mad fuckwit!”

“Crazy bitch, crazy bitch, crazy bitch”

Finally, Erick’s facade slipped, and as the two continued to bicker fiercely behind me,

“…Let’s go. Soliette.”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

We logged off from Bethune.

—How’s your body feeling?

A foggy, cloud-like memory.

Before my eyes, a wistful ‘olden day’ faintly emerges.

—Shion. How is your body feeling? Answer me.

Soliette, inquiring about my physical state as I lay in the hospital bed.

—Answer me!

I look at the scar etched on her shoulder and shrug mine.

—It's the same as always. I’m more worried about you, though. Every time I see you, there’s a new scar.

—What are you talking about? You know there’s no need to worry.

Soliette retorts with a laugh in her voice.

It must be around this time. My life expectancy is just about five years, and soliette is a few weeks away from taking her own life.

At this time, the whole continent came to know of soliette's strength.

—Shion will get better too.

Her voice is filled with an unfounded certainty that I will recover.

—Answer.

…Why do you keep asking for an answer?

—Because you’re not answering, that’s why I’m telling you to answer.

I let out a hollow laugh.

Soliette’s comfort was always abrupt and filled with too much deliberate positivity, but I liked those words.

—What are you laughing at?

—Why? Can’t I laugh?

—I’m serious.

—About what?

—Just, I have this strong premonition. I will help Shion get better.

—Forget it.

I reach out and place my hand on her cheek, mustering a bit of courage.

Soliette seems slightly flustered but quietly meets my gaze.

—All I need is for you to be by my side.

I became weak beside her.

If she had stayed by my side during my short remaining life, I might have given up on revenge.

…No. That’s not the right path.

Soliette shakes her head.

To soliette before the regression, revenge was the right path.

I found that sad, and it was heartbreaking.

—The right path for me is you, isn’t it?

—Bullshit. There’s definitely a better path. So take better care of your health. Quit coffee and cigarettes.

—Well, coffee in moderation is actually good for you. And cigarettes… I’ve already smoked too much. I've suffered irreversible damage, that’s what I mean.

Soliette narrows her eyes.

I quickly changed the subject.

—Ahem. How are you feeling, though?

—Are you asking about the feeling of becoming the strongest?

She answers as if she has been asked this question before.

—Yeah.

During that time, Soliette was the supreme being feared by all cartels, monsters, and even the noble families.

Jade was dead at this point, but Jade had fought with bare hands, while soliette wielded a sword—a lethal weapon.

—Doesn’t it feel futile?

—No. There’s a sense of accomplishment. Because I can help the person I care about.

Soliette said.

Her voice, still lingering in my memory, was very different from the soliette of now.

It was strong and husky.

It had completely changed because she had cried too much, suffered too much.

—You're not talking about me, are you?

At this time, there was no room for me to get through to soliette. She was filled with too much sorrow.

…after.

Soliette gave a bitter laugh and pressed her lips to my forehead.

—You’ll find out later. Shion will definitely get better.—

You'll find out later.

…Alright. Then today’s surgery should go well, too.

Soliette certainly said that, and I tried to believe it, but from my perspective, it was all so tragically selfish.

She took her own life not long after.

At her funeral, I replayed her words, but I couldn’t understand them at all.

Without you, I can’t get better.

“Shion. Shion. Shion.”

“…7”

The shaking of my shoulder woke me up. I looked at the person in the seat next to me.

It was soliette.

The current soliette.

“We've arrived.”

“…Ah. Have we?”

I rubbed my eyes, slapping my cheeks lightly to shake off the grogginess.

“You’re good at driving. I fell asleep right away.”

For the record, Soliette drove today.

“Hahaha! I told you, didn’t I? Shion, you were worried about a car accident, but you slept like you were in a cradle?”

Soliette shrugged her shoulders proudly.

“Let’s get out.”

“Yes.”

We got out. There was a mountain right in front of us. More precisely, a mountain with a tunnel through it. But the entrance was completely blocked.

It was one of the locations of the research lab marked by Sheron.

“lt’s said to be underground. Let’s go.”

“Yes. Be on your guard, Shion.”

Soliette drew her sword. I did the same.

Swoosh—!

Soliette sliced through the entrance of the tunnel. Beyond the cleanly cut opening, we advanced.

A hidden space at the end of the underground tunnel.

We had found a place presumed to be a closed research facility.

“There’s nothing here.”

Due to the passage of time, there were no clues to be found. Broken vials, unidentified tufts of hair, shattered measuring instruments, computer fragments, and so on… Most of it were merely remnants.

“Exactly.”

“But, can we take this off? It’s suffocating.”

I looked at soliette. She was currently wearing an Infimian. So was I.

Both of us looked very ordinary.

“Quiet, Jelly.”

There was a possibility of surveillance and even eavesdropping. That’s why soliette was Jelly, and I was Candy Bar.

We hadn't found any magical devices, but you never know, right?

“The alias Jelly to begin with”

“Shh.”

I knelt down. I placed my hand on the ground. I closed my eyes and drew up my magic.

I was trying to download the 'Memories’ left in the place with rNotepadJ …

—Aaaaaah!

—Case 53… Failure. Dispose of the test subject.

—Save me!

—Case 73. Failure. Dispose of the test subject.

—Kyaaaah!

…Case 103. Failure. Dispose of the test subject.

Aside from these fragmented deaths of people, there was nothing left. Perhaps because the research itself was from too long ago.

“lt seems like quite a few people died here.”

“Did you see something?”

“Yeah. When people die, they release magic. I just caught a glimpse of that, but that’s all there was.”

There’s this urban legend that when people are weighed just before death and then again after, they’re a few grams lighter—it’s all because of this release of magic.

“Was there any hint about the family?”

“No. The major families wouldn’t leave their names in a place like this.”

According to Sheron, not only Arkne, Libra, Aventagher but also Glofeld, Pencia, and Kruan—six of the famous ‘Round Table families’ were involved.

“Still, let’s collect evidence. If we show it to Sheron, she might find something.”

Sheron's frequency can be applied to objects, or evidence as well.

“Yes.”

Soliette put various things into an evidence bag.

“But, let’s say we collect the evidence like this.”

Crouching down and collecting various things, Soliette asked.

“How do we approach the major families?”

“Approach… Ah!”

Suddenly, my eyes widened.

“l’ve got an idea.”

“What is it?”

Soliette asked.

“Do you know this? Strangely, the more successful people are, the more they cling to superstitions.”

…

“What is this?”

The next day, near Edsilla.

Soliette chuckled at the sight of the rundown building I had purchased under a pseudonym.

[Castro logy]

“Castrology?”

It’s a combination of Card and Astrology.

There was no particular reason for it, just to make it look somewhat credible.

“lt’s similar to Tarot cards. I’m going to be a card reader. I’m a gambler, right?”

With the skill [DeceptionJ from [Bethune], I can change the form of cards. I can also perform an actual effective [Card Draw] .

Along with this, I plan to fully utilize my knowledge of the future to make the 'Round Table families’ come to me directly.

“ls that possible? It seems like no one would believe it.”

“No, they will. Trust me. Especially the Glofeld family. They rely on astrology whenever they make important decisions.”

Libra is less so, but most of the Round Table families rely on astrology to some extent, not out of blind faith in quackery, but as a means to alleviate their own ‘selfdoubt.’

“lt might take some time, but the effect will be certain.”

Of course, since we’re starting now, we need word of mouth.

It might take years, but just once.

Just one meeting, and I can make them obsessed with me.

“Shion. Do you know how to do card readings?”

“Sheron told me I had two frequencies, right? Maybe I’ve got some psychic powers.”

“Ah, that could be.”

Could be, my ass.

I held back my laughter and continued.

“Besides, with this astrology, presentation is more important than skill. If you package it right, you can quickly become number one in this business.”

“…Are you saying we’re going to commit fraud?”

“lt’s not fraud, it’s technique and marketing.”

It’s definitely not a scam.

I only plan to tell the 'celebrities’ who visit me about their future.

In that sense—

“Who are you going to call?”

“l’ve got connections. I’m thinking of starting by bringing in some celebrities.”

I called Grawl.

It wasn't for nothing; this guy had quite a few celebrities he followed back on SNS…

[Castro logy]

On an autumn day, the third-album singer Benjamin looked up at the shabby sign of a building that was nearly falling apart.

Thud—!

He closed the door of the luxury van and asked his manager.

“…IS this the place?”

“lt seems so.”

The manager replied.

“I feel like we’ve come here for nothing. What’s Castro logy?”

Celebrities, overwhelmed with worry, sorrow, and anxiety about the future, often find themselves wanting to lean on such seemingly fraudulent superstitions.

“Benjamin. Who recommended this place to you?”

“Grawl, that guy. You know, the one I follow on SNS. You know him, right?”

“Ah, the cat influencer?”

“Yeah. The guy with the cute cat.”

Celebrities, always under the guillotine of public opinion, find great healing in cute creatures like cats.

Benjamin asked his manager.

“You’ve prepared the tracks for the album, right?”

“Yes. But is it okay to play them? If there’s a leak”

“No, it’s fine. We just have to choose the title track anyway. And people with cats don’t lie.”

The album release is just a week away. The current concern is only which song to choose as the title track.

“Let’s go.”

Since it’s a friend's recommendation and they’re not charging much, there’s no harm in trying out astrology or card reading…