Memoirs of the Returnee

Recordark (5)

Swoooosh……

The typhoon-like winds of Recordark were as sharp as arrows. The ground seemed to overturn, and the constant battering of the wind seemed to have slightly impaired my hearing.

In the midst of this dizzying landscape, Elise asked the man in front of her.

“Who are you?”

He just smiled quietly.

Crash——!

In the meantime, the iron door of the isolation zone was flung open and crashed into the playground. We both turned around in surprise. From beyond the wide-open door, Draven reappeared.

On his right side, he was carrying what looked like a prisoner from the solitary cell, and on his left, a senior from the magic high school.

Draven put the two of them down on the ground and pointed at us.

“Hey, I caught these two, what about those two?”

At that, Elise began to gather magic in her body.

“……I’ll ask again. Who are you guys?”

She didn’t seem scared. Anyone could see she was ready to fight.

She’s not the type to choose suicide, so it seems like she hasn’t developed her instincts yet because she hasn’t faced a real strong opponent.

“Stay still.”

I grabbed Elise’s wrist. Thud-! I was roughly shaken off at that moment. Elise glared at me as if she was going to stab me with a knife.

“Don’t touch me with your dirty hands.”

A sincere killing intent spread dangerously.

“Before I really kill you.”

“……You’re scarier than them.”

“Hey, what are we going to do?”

Draven asked the man. The man was still silently looking at us. More precisely, at ‘Elise’.

Eventually, he opened his mouth.

“Elise Petra. I know who you are.”

A simple question delivered in a voice as soft as a boy’s.

“Do you know who I am?”

A very casual tone, as if dealing with a neighbor’s friend.

But his words, and the whole situation now.

Sparked something in my head.

[Recordark 13 escapee Noah Lucille, whereabouts unknown for over a year……]

[Demon of Mirina, where is he……]

[Breaking news: Recordark Ⅰ attacked during special activities of the college board……]

[One senior kidnapped, one solitary cell prisoner dead……]

[The whereabouts of the kidnapped senior are unknown……]

[The leader is presumed to be Noah Lucille…… The dead student is the son of the prosecutor in charge……]

“Ugh!”

Shattered Memories.

Memories that I had once read, seen, or experienced, but were buried in the unconscious, sprang up like blades and dug into my memory.

“Oh, my head……”

I pressed my temples.

Could it be that his question triggered my 「Notepad」?

“Do you know?”

He asked again.

“……I thought I asked you, who are you?”

Elise’s response was innocent. The man pursed his lips.

“That’s true.”

But it’s a bit strange.

There was no name ‘Elise’ in the articles or case files I remembered. Elise wasn’t originally involved in this case.

Could it be because of me?

Because I held onto her for just about three minutes?

“You’re saying you don’t know me. Well, that’s understandable-”

“I do know.”

I raised my hand abruptly, speaking in place of Elise.

“-It’s been a long time.”

The man didn’t even bat an eye.

Until I opened my mouth.

“Noah Lucille.”

His eyes twitched for a moment. His head jerked sharply. Finally, he looked at me.

I added with a faint smile.

“Right? I have a bit of an interest in crime and the underworld.”

“……Noah Lucille?”

Elise also asked. She looked quite surprised, which was, in fact, a natural reaction.

“You killed 77 civilians and were imprisoned in Recordark XIII. You were sentenced to death, but it was just when the Chairman was re-elected, right? The Chairman postponed your execution, and you rotted in prison for 18 years. And then-”

“I escaped. Because it wasn’t my crime.”

Noah cut me off.

“Exactly 18 years, 312 days, 5 hours, 33 minutes, and 17 seconds. That’s how long I was locked up.”

“Is that so? But……”

I scrutinized his face closely.

His eyes, nose, and mouth were as pure as if they were painted with a brush, and there wasn’t a single wrinkle or blemish on his skin.

“You look incredibly young. You don’t look like you’re in your mid-forties. Is it your 「Spectrum」?”

The face value of the man who was imprisoned at 24 was still 24.

No, to be honest, he looked even younger than that. I would believe it if he said he was my age now.

He lifted the corners of his mouth.

“It’s interesting. You even know my age.”

“How could I not? You’re the only one who escaped from Recordark 13. You’re already a legend.”

Recordark 13. The monster who escaped alone from that volcanic island, which is a prison in name but practically hell.

His imprisonment was 19 years ago, but his escape was just a year ago. Since it was a major headline at the time, Elise would know about it too.

“Really?”

He put his hand to his mouth and chuckled. I pointed to the senior sprawled on the ground.

He’s not an Endex, but a senior from the prestigious magic high school ‘Devon’.

“Since I got it right, let him go.”

Noah shook his head.

“I can’t do that. This guy didn’t get the answer right.”

“So, you’re going to kill him?”

He answered immediately.

“Yes.”

I asked him back.

“Then, will anything change?”

“Do you think I kill people hoping for something to change?”

He responded with a question in place of an answer.

I looked at the student sprawled on the floor.

A victim of Noah Lucille, in the memory of the 「Notepad」.

When this incident first occurred, everyone thought it was just an unfortunate accident. But when the truth came out, the world was shocked.

“Valentin Otto. His father is a prosecutor, right? He prosecuted and investigated you.”

“……”

At that moment, Noah’s pupils dilated. His bottomless black eyes. It was a gaze that felt like it could suck you in.

I tried hard to stay calm.

“I’m a bit curious, you see. And I have a pretty good memory. You claimed your innocence throughout the trial, didn’t you?”

The 「Notepad」’s Memory can evoke everything related to this moment.

But, there’s no need to rely on it for memories about Noah Lucille.

“Yeah. You know a lot. You’re well-informed.”

He is a big shot who escaped from the harshest prison and founded a group called [The Spectres].

A vengeful spirit seeking to kill all those who ruined his life and wasted his years.

“Nothing changes just because a few kids die.”

I agree with his feelings to some extent, but the target is wrong.

“No. There is.”

He took out a lump of iron from his pocket. Elise quickly reached out. Her blue magic was discharged and it sparkled upon touching it.

It was a revolver.

“It eases my mind a bit.”

“Wai-”

Bang——!

Before I could say anything, the deafening sound of a gunshot.

Blue flames exploded.

The skull burst.

Bone fragments scattered like shrapnel.

Blood, brain matter, and rainwater mixed and flowed.

The spreading stream of liquid reached our feet.

“……Ah.”

Elise was frozen with her mouth half-open. I let out a heavy sigh. Noah leisurely wiped the muzzle with a handkerchief.

“You can think of it as saving a person. I was going to skin him, cut off every hair, nail, finger, toe, wrist, ankle, eyeball… one by one.”

I looked up at him. I asked as if talking to myself.

“This… the kid is innocent, isn’t he?”

Then, a response mixed with laughter came back.

“I was too. I was innocent too.”

“……”

“You may not know, but I already gave him a chance.”

Noah raised his index finger.

“First. I went to the prosecutor, his father, and asked him my name. He couldn’t answer. His face was just like it is now.”

Then he raised his middle finger.

“Second. He made excuses. He said he had no choice at the time. He has a child, so please forgive him. What had no choice?”

Finally, he raised his ring finger.

“Third. The apology was the last. He said he committed a sin worthy of death.”

And then he folded all his fingers.

“If you commit a sin worthy of death, you should die. But I didn’t want to simply kill him. He had to live for another 18 years, 312 days, 5 hours, 33 minutes, and 17 seconds.”

He nudged the corpse with his foot.

“Carrying this Memory.”

I was at a loss for words.

Indeed, if you consider the future, persuading The Spectres might have been impossible from the start.

This is just the beginning, but in a few years, they will grow into a group that even the ‘Master Cartel’ of the underworld fears.

“But, what do you think? Do you think I really killed 77 people? Do I seem like the ‘Demon of Mirina’?”

He asked. My face was reflected in his wide-open pupils. It must have been some kind of demonic eye.

“……No.”

I answered sincerely, shaking my head as if sighing.

“You were innocent.”

Everything Noah claimed was true. The police submitted fabricated evidence, the prosecutor knew but did not recant, and the judge suppressed the testimony of a crucial witness.

As someone who traveled back in time, I know all of it.

But.

“Not anymore.”

The innocence of the future is meaningless in the face of the crimes of the present.

Just like his innocence can’t compensate for the time he’s already lost.

“……”

Noah Lucille was silent.

He probably knew the sincerity of my words.

“……Hmm.”

Soon, he bit his lip slightly. He closed his eyes for a moment. He turned around, letting out a sigh that was barely audible.

“Let’s go.”

“Hey, can we just leave like this? Don’t we have to kill these guys?”

At Draven’s question, Noah turned his head and looked sideways.

“He got the answer right. I won’t kill him.”

“Ah.”

Then Draven also scratched his head, as if he understood.

“The rest is up to you. Handle it well. His name is ‘Belendex’… just a common murderer.”

For some reason, Noah left behind ominous words and turned around.

Whoosh——!

With a single leap, the two of them left, but the silence was only temporary.

There was one person left behind by them.

“……What the hell was that.”

Draven pointed at the solitary prisoner brought out from the isolation zone.

We looked at him.

“Grrrrr……”

Creak— creak-creak—— He got up, his joints creaking. His veins had already turned a ghastly color, and his eyes were bloodshot to the point of bursting.

He looked like a zombie.