Chapter 141

Chapter 141

From Cosmic Rascal to Professor.

Episode 141: I Am The President And You Are… (4).

Kash von Adelwein couldn’t conceal his bewilderment.

The prosecution’s raid on his company had been confidential. They had pressured the media to impose a reporting embargo. Yet, somehow, that fact had been leaked.

How? When? Through whom?

Was there a spy among his trusted aides?

“Student, let’s have a word.”

Kash gestured toward the door with his eyes. Aidel popped a biscuit into his mouth and brushed his hands off.

“Let’s do that.”

Before Zelnya could respond, the two of them moved away.

Once outside the mansion, Kash pulled out a cigarette and examined Aidel’s face. Those weren’t ordinary yellow eyes—they glittered as if forged from molten gold dust.

“Are you a direct descendant of the Reinhardt family?”

“Yes.”

“Then you must be Aidel von Reinhardt.”

Kash lit his cigarette with a laser lighter, a frown creasing his face. Aidel also scrunched his brow, stepping back from the smoke.

Exhaling a puff of smoke, Kash asked.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Who told you?”

His tone was insolent, prompting Aidel to respond just as casually.

“I figured it out myself.”

“You deduced it?”

“Yes.”

Kash bit his lower lip hard. He now realized—this young man was no ordinary person.

“How much do you know?”

“Well.”

Aidel rolled his eyes before speaking.

“Things like how you handed envelopes of cash to the inspectors, covered up the Outer God incident in the Toba planetary system, and toyed with people when making the artificial irregular polyhedron?”

Damn it. This boy knows everything.

“You played with people by the millions. If the police and prosecutors decide to dig in…”

“Hey!”

“…it wouldn’t be hard for your face to end up all over the news, would it?”

The situation was turning against him.

“The embargo will be lifted eventually. Silencing people won’t help. When that day comes, what do you think the main family will do?”

“…”

“They’ll cut off the tail.”

If the speaker were an ordinary person, Kash would have silenced him immediately. But this opponent was a direct descendant of the Reinhardt family. Moreover, he’d made a name for himself with the Resonator research.

Yes. Resonator research. That’s it. Just as a sly smile formed on Kash’s lips—

“Right, Resonator research. That’s the ticket. You’re thinking of using that to sink me, aren’t you?”

“…!”

No way. Did he just read my mind? Impossible. That can’t be.

“Haha, sir. I did apply the irregular polyhedron to the Resonators. But that doesn’t mean we need to play a game of mutual destruction.”

“…What exactly do you want?”

Aidel chuckled—not the laugh of a young man, but of a seasoned politician. Kash felt a chill. His body trembled like a mouse caught in a serpent’s jaws.

“Is it money you want? Information? Or perhaps…”

“Information.”

Thank goodness. There’s room for negotiation.

“How do you make that right-handed irregular polyhedron?”

On second thought, it was a trap.

“I don’t know that either!”

“But you’re the one in charge, aren’t you?”

“No, absolutely not! The on-site operations are handled by the research directors. All I did was provide funding.”

“Oh, so you drank but didn’t drive drunk?”

Aidel subtly raised his voice. Cold sweat poured down Kash’s face. How on earth did he know these secrets? What was his relationship with Zelnya? All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.

He crushed the half-smoked cigarette underfoot. His throat was parched. At this point, there was no other way. Kash left Aidel behind and started walking.

“Let’s go back inside.”

If a mere young man had caught on, it wouldn’t be long before a special investigation team picked up the scent.

Looks like I’ll need to set up a decoy and disappear soon.

The agreement was reached smoothly.

“Our company’s situation isn’t great, but we’ll try to send a promotional team.”

Thanks to Kash’s submissive stance, Zelnya was able to save face. Other Adelwein’s affiliates also expressed their intent to participate in the recruiting event.

“Well then, I have preparations to make, so I’ll be going.”

“Uncle! Where are you going? You have to explain the situation!”

That was that.

Zelnya wasn’t feeling comfortable.

What on earth were these raids on the affiliates? And how did Aidel know about family matters that even she didn’t?

“Hey, you. Come here for a second.”

Zelnya pushed Aidel against the wall. It was time for an interrogation.

“How do you know about our family’s affairs?”

“President, please calm down. I’ll explain everything.”

Family matters were sensitive issues. Aidel knew that, so he began to explain calmly.

“Your family made the right-handed irregular polyhedron. I don’t know the exact production methods, but there were quite systematic human experiments. And it was your uncle who directed them.”

“You!”

“Sounds like a lie? It’s not. I’ve been hopping between research institutes trying to make a Resonator. I found out whether I wanted to or not. You know that irregular polyhedrons are used in making the Resonators, right?”

Aidel detailed the human experimentation methods as he knew them, reconstructing the account based on Ire’s testimony.

Zelnya couldn’t close her mouth.

“It was buried for a while, but at least millions have died.”

Zelnya had a vague idea about the human experiments, but this was the first time she heard the detailed processes and circumstances. She felt nauseous as if acid was rising in her throat.

“Wait, hang on.”

Zelnya halted the interrogation and dashed to the restroom.

In the mirror above the sink, her reflection stared back at her.

When Zelnya removed her scarf, the girl in the mirror did the same. On one side of her pale neck, three black lines were visible—a barcode inscribed with a fake Constellation, a mark from the human experiments.

“Ugh, urgh.”

Just seeing it made her retch.

She leaned over the sink, shoulders heaving, and a few drops of bitter bile dripped down.

“Haa, haa.”

The memories of that day replayed vividly: the dark operating room, the stinging sensation piercing her skin, the nauseating smell of alcohol swabs. It was a past she never wanted to recall.

“So now you understand why the Reinhardt boy approached you.”

She snapped back at the voice that echoed in her mind.

It was the Constellation who always spoke to her.

“That boy wants to use you as bait to uncover Adelwein’s weaknesses. He sees you as a competitor. He probably wants to eliminate or ruin you somehow.”

Zelnya didn’t reply. She remembered Aidel’s warning: Outer Gods sometimes mimic the voices of Constellations. Be cautious, just in case. She steadied her breathing sharply.

“Do you still believe that boy’s words without any evidence?”

The being—whether a Constellation or some monster—sighed.

“Think carefully. Is there any Outer God in the world who cares about people? The Reinhardt boy is lying to you. To prevent you from obtaining a Constellation and surpassing him!”

It made some sense.

Still, Aidel is a friend? Right. A friend. She’d heard that friends should get along.

“Friends can betray each other.”

Zelnya gripped the sink tightly. She imagined Aidel stabbing her in the back. If he did that, she’d never forgive him.

“There’s no guilt by association in the Federation. Even if the family falls, I…”

“Yes. You haven’t done anything wrong, so you won’t be punished. But society has stigmas. Even if you’re a victim, as an Adelwein, you’ll spend your life being pointed at.”

For someone like Zelnya, who wanted to build her reputation, it was the worst-case scenario.

“My dear, I’m worried about your re-election right now.”

The student council election wasn’t over.

Zelnya had placed second-year seniors in key departments to aim for re-election. Simply put, she wanted to hold power for two more years.

She hadn’t built up her reputation properly yet. She hadn’t even stepped out of her family’s shadow. If an incident broke out, regaining support would be difficult.

“Ask him if the Reinhardt boy is aiming for the next president’s position. Then things will become a bit clearer.”

Zelnya rinsed her mouth and wiped her face with a towel. She didn’t feel refreshed—only uneasy.

She was angry and ashamed at the same time.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

Sonia looked back and forth between Zelnya and Aidel as she asked.

“This is a private villa, isn’t it? If a young man and woman are alone in such a secluded place, misunderstandings are bound to happen.”

“Ha.”

“Huh?.”

Aidel scratched his head, and Zelnya wrapped her scarf back around her neck.

Zelnya rubbed her cheeks. The flush from her lingering anger wouldn’t subside.

Other companies’ recruitment proposals went by quickly.

Wherever Zelnya went, corporations bowed their heads. Such was the power of Adelwein. With Aidel tagging along as a totem, the effect was doubled—even without considering he was from the Reinhardt family.

“Why are you so good at talking?”

“I’ve done it a lot. You get better with practice.”

Even mega-corporations with no recruitment plans nodded after a single convincing pitch from Aidel.

It was a talent Zelnya lacked, and she was secretly jealous.

“Where did you learn to speak so well?”

“In graduate school. Every day.”

Aidel explained about proposals.

“We’d pitch research suggestions to corporations or the government. It’s like wrapping ‘We’re going to do this research, please give us money, pretty please’ in a sophisticated package. Living and working closely with companies, I naturally picked it up.”

Zelnya bit her lip hard. She’d planned to transfer him to the Internal Affairs Department if he couldn’t perform. But he was doing too well. Her plan was falling apart.

“Pandora Group. That was the last one, right?”

“Yeah. Now we can head back to school.”

“You’ve worked hard, President.”

Aidel warmly smiled as he walked ahead. If she was going to ask, now was the time.

“Are you planning to run in next year’s election too?”

“Um, probably?”

Her heart sank.

“Early graduation is a critical issue. It’s a campaign promise I have to fulfill somehow. Besides that, improving treatment for graduate students, and so on.”

Aidel had leverage over the Adelwein family. If she opposed him even slightly, it could bring disaster upon her family.

“See, I was right, wasn’t I?”

Only now did she vaguely understand her father’s words.

Aidel was someone to be cautious of and keep under surveillance.

From that moment on, Zelnya tightened her grip on Aidel even more. She insisted on attending all classes together; whenever student council work came up, she kept him by her side. Aidel didn’t mind, saying he had to fulfill his duties as vice president.

They called it companionship, but it was essentially monitoring his every move. The rumors of them dating spread like wildfire. Ironically, both were too busy with work to even hear those rumors.

“As always, the Major Experience Fair is approaching. We’d like the College Collaboration Department and the External Cooperation Department to proceed with a dispatch to Academia.”

“A dispatch to Academia…”

“I’ll go ahead.”

Still before the administration change, Aidel volunteered to assist with the previous student council’s duties. Since it was customary, no one objected.

“I’ll go too.”

And so, Zelnya raised her hand as well.

It was entirely to keep an eye on Aidel. She couldn’t let him go off and tell outsiders about the crimes committed by the Adelwein family.

Because she was so focused on that and had been so busy, Zelnya completely forgot.

Rustila Kersil was at Academia.

Naturally, Rustila was very displeased with Aidel’s repeated broken promises.