Ch.111111. Charlotte Ashelt (5)

The voice that came with the intense headache. And the other memories of herself that had burrowed into her mind had to be hers alone.

But he had come to this place in person. There wasn’t even time to question what exactly was going on.

When she first thought he might know, she fell into anxiety, thinking “surely not,” and when it became a fact that he had come with definite evidence, fear overwhelmed her.

But what about her now?

“I was already aware of it in the hospital room. But, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it to you, senior…”

She had clearly changed.

After spitting out all the heavy sediments that had been trapped in her sleep, a clear voice without any foreign matter rose through her vocal cords.

Her tightly pressed lips no longer suppressed her emotions, and she spoke one by one with a bitter smile.

No more anxiety and fear flowed from her thoroughly soaked eyes.

She was freely telling a story she couldn’t reveal to anyone.

And right in front of the person involved.

“…I said such things, don’t you resent me?”

Charlotte asked after confessing everything from beginning to end.

Junon chuckled and patted Charlotte’s head as she fidgeted.

“Would scolding you change anything?”

The voice she heard when stepping into the Empire this semester, the vivid scenes that came to her, and even the story she had confessed while guessing what she might have said.

Even just listening to this, it wasn’t something easy to talk about.

But throwing it back at Charlotte with a “so what” attitude wouldn’t change anything.

No, as Goden said, Charlotte clearly knows her own mistake. She’s smart enough to find contradictions in money circulation, deduce the existence of a gambling den, and gather evidence alone to achieve merit.

Scolding such a Charlotte would be completely wrong.

“Even if I were to scold you, it wouldn’t change the fact that it happened. Charlotte.”

There’s no reason to be trapped in past emotions and equate the present with then. Committing acts out of unnecessary vengeance would only return as a bigger wave of the Empire’s downfall.

She reminds herself over and over. The point is to pursue change and transform the future.

“I just don’t want the same result as back then.”

“What… result?”

“The Empire. You know how hard it was then, don’t you?”

Junon glanced at her briefly before turning her gaze back toward the academy, evading the question.

“I don’t remember that far…”

“Hmm… really? Well, such things happened. All the academy students had no money, so they dropped out and found other paths.”

“So that’s why you went to the Octagon to earn money…”

A small gambit. Knowing Aris’s reaction, she knows well that these people only have partial memories.

For Charlotte, who doesn’t remember everything, she can only wonder what that means…

Telling the truth might hurt her more.

Even today, hadn’t she watched her cry her eyes out from such guilt? Bringing this up now would be like placing blame on Charlotte.

Originally, Charlotte’s words, seen from another perspective, were actually out of concern for me, not intended to insult.

It was her own wish that I would escape safely even if my heart was wounded, and I absolutely don’t want to tell her that the end of that wish was a futile death.

“By the way, you used to call me ‘you’ before, but now you’re calling me ‘senior’ quite well?”

Flinch.

A strange movement rippled through Charlotte’s body.

“Th-that’s because I was… at that time…”

Charlotte flinched momentarily and stumbled over her words.

While she had easily called others “senior,” she had stubbornly addressed Junon as “you.”

“I know, I know. It’s because you’re embarrassed about crying your eyes out and being carried like today.”

“Ugh… uuugh…”

Charlotte covered her flushed face with both hands, as if confirming the answer without missing a single syllable.

In fact, this embarrassment wasn’t about the present. It was because she couldn’t understand why her past self had abandoned the proper term “senior” and used the awkward address “you.”

As she covered her face with both hands, Junon kept chuckling, making Charlotte even more embarrassed, burying her face between her knees.

At times like this, the subject needs to be changed.

Charlotte deliberately changed the topic.

“The money you gave me will be gradually distributed to those looking for jobs. But… what are your plans going forward, senior?”

“Hmm… I don’t know? I guess I’ll just focus on graduating from the academy.”

“Not that. There must be unresolved issues in your memories too. If it were me, I would have tried to win money at the gambling den.”

It was a pointed question.

An important fact not to be overlooked is that she is a merchant. A merchant skilled at synthesizing information, securing advantages, and achieving results.

While she may not match Senia’s eloquence and psychological warfare that seems to see through others, Charlotte’s information processing and computational abilities from her broad foundation cannot be ignored.

Now she has the information that Junon also remembers the past and faced some kind of outcome. Even someone like him could be at a loss if he handled this carelessly.

“I don’t have any desire to accumulate money and become rich. Really. I’m actually uncertain about what happened after that.”

“…So you haven’t definitely decided on anything?”

“That’s right. Except for one thing.”

“What’s that one thing?”

“At least I won’t go back to Tembris. Actually, I came to find you to tell you this.”

The same words he had conveyed to Aris and Erica.

It meant he would completely distance himself from Tembris.

***

There are two bad precedents, but one counter-example has emerged, and this could become a precedent.

And now it’s time for me to state my business.

“At least I won’t go back to Tembris. Actually, I came to find you to tell you this.”

If I reiterate that I won’t have anything to do with Tembris, Charlotte might reflect my will.

That’s enough.

As with Cain, Goden doesn’t forcibly recruit members but prefers to persuade and reach an agreement.

Therefore, if I strongly express my intention to never join, even the stubborn Goden would step back and give up.

My connection with Tembris ends there.

I don’t need to get involved with those who were called the last pillars of the Ardelion Empire.

“…I see.”

“Why? Is that strange?”

“No… it’s not that…”

Charlotte unusually hesitates. For a girl who has lived as a merchant, hesitation means there’s something she’s uncertain about.

“Was there something said about me?”

Charlotte flinched momentarily and slowly turned her gaze toward me. As if something had indeed been said, she met my eyes and then lowered her gaze again.

“During the festival held at the beginning of this year, there was talk of wanting to recruit you, senior.”

“Me? Who suggested it?”

“Senior Goden. He mentioned your commoner status, your position in the lower class vanguard, and even your recent grades, asking everyone what they thought.”

I didn’t think any of the members I’d met so far would suggest or want me.

But to think that Goden, whom I’d never met, wanted to recruit me from that time…

Goden doesn’t directly recruit people unless he has seen and confirmed them with his own eyes.

Even Michelle, who first received the offer, caught Goden’s eye before starting, and other members were only accepted after passing some strange tests.

Damn, then I must have caught his eye somewhere… what happened before that?

Charlotte clearly said during the festival held at the beginning of this year.

‘Wait, before the festival…’

The welcome duel replica executed by Professor Denis.

There’s no reason Goden couldn’t have been among the many spectators.

Ah… so that’s why he came to the hospital to make the offer.

He must have had his eye on me properly since he approached with the mindset of clearly marking me, and there’s no more certain way to make an impression than that.

“So what happened?”

“…It wasn’t accepted.”

After gathering four or more members, they would have decided by asking for everyone’s opinions. So if everyone had agreed to recruit me, I would have had a very serious problem…

Come to think of it, on the festival day, I met Erica and got slapped right away. Right. Someone must have opposed it.

Then why bring this up at all?

Although I caught Goden’s eye, someone opposed, and my recruitment, which would have fizzled out due to Erica’s opposition, has no meaning.

“Tell me, Charlotte.”

“Yes?”

“You have something you want to say to me from that conversation just now.”

After a moment, Charlotte closed her eyes tightly and then opened them, desperation flowing from her.

“Even if senior and I… aren’t on the same team, if there are difficult times like today… can I come to you and cry?”

Really, why so serious about something so obvious?

I don’t understand why someone who leads a merchant company would get such a simple calculation wrong.

“People don’t think it’s strange for seniors and juniors to contact each other, Charlotte.”

Of course, we’ll have to keep it secret from them.

***

The trial for allegations of involvement with the Octagon is over, and I’ve eased Charlotte’s guilt with meaningful words and delivered what I needed to say.

Now it’s time to walk the original timeline and pursue other changes. Time to think about the next incident.

However, while there have been events like the Tveshar subjugation and the inferior student rampage that I could change with my intervention, I can’t guarantee the same for what’s next.

Even though I know what causes will arise, what processes they’ll go through, and what kind of damage they’ll ultimately inflict on the Empire.

“Still… I should be able to deal with it a little better this time.”

I look at her gift in my hand.

This business card with the name Charlotte Eshret written on it will be sufficient help for my inadequate preparations.

-‘If you contact me this way, it’s my personal contact, so our team won’t hear about it. If you need help, anytime, no, please do contact me, senior.’

Complete closure of the gambling den and Octagon.

That’s just a temporary measure to preserve the strength of current third-year students in vanguard and support positions.

-Your ordered item has arrived!

“…I hope they’re not an exploitative boss, arriving so soon.”

Opening the delivered package, I found a bottle filled with transparent liquid.

And a small post-it note attached to the bottle. It seems Charlotte wrote it herself.

[This is the Mysteris solution you asked for. The purity is quite high, so you can spray it on weapons against rodents, or it will be effective if sprayed directly on the target.]

After that day, I gathered information and asked Charlotte for the Mysteris solution in advance.

And I’ve laid down other measures as well, so I’ve done all the preparation I can.

This bottle is the cornerstone for subduing the swarm of rats.