Chapter 48

“Today at lunch, you have a meal scheduled with Academy officials.”

“Got it.”

“In the afternoon, you’ll need to visit the ‘Stingray Military’ booth in Hall A with them. Since the V-Series modules have been discontinued, you’ll have to appeal with something else this time.”

“I see.”

“At 3 o’clock, you must attend a meeting regarding the new uniform contract to be supplied to Academy students starting next year.”

“Alright…”

“And lastly, in the evening, you have to attend the party held at the hotel.”

“…”

Just listening to it was exhausting.

… I don’t want to work.

“Do I really have to?”

There’s that Benedict guy, isn’t there?

I’ve already handed him all sorts of authority, so why do I have to do all this? It’s not even related to the scenario. I just wanted my name on the board while taking it easy.

When I asked Maria with that in mind, the reply I got was…

“You absolutely must.”

… That was it.

Apparently, this was already the minimized version after cutting out the parts I didn’t like.

Well, if I left even these public activities to someone else, my status would surely crumble, so I had no choice but to grit my teeth and go along with it.

If they got hold of power, it was obvious they wouldn’t leave me alone.

“Understood.”

I neatly gave up and decided to go through with the schedule.

Fortunately, thanks to the remaining fragments of Aaron’s memories, along with the support of Maria and other staff members, I managed to get through the first day without major trouble.

After that came the evening banquet.

A social gathering of the city’s uppermost class.

In my previous life, I had never experienced something like this, so I was unsure how to act.

But that concern turned out to be unnecessary.

‘They’re the ones approaching me.’

Apparently, the grand return of the Crown Prince who had been afflicted with a terminal illness was a fascinating topic for them.

On top of that, I had stirred up various incidents immediately after returning to the Academy, so they came over with smiling faces, eager to hear my stories.

So, I either responded with my usual cold, arrogant demeanor depending on the person, or gave a few polite nods to pass the time.

After a while, I began to overhear their quiet assessments of me.

—Aaron, you seem much softer these days.

—They say people change after surviving near death.

—Perhaps his sharp attitude before was…

—Yes. Maybe he was just acting out because of fear of death.

—So the Crown Prince was human after all.

—Indeed.

That’s not it, you lot.

That was just Aaron’s original personality.

Looking down on everyone, acting cynical and arrogant—such was the man named Aaron Stingray.

I had simply judged that keeping that same attitude toward high-ranking figures from various sectors wouldn’t be wise.

‘Just how much chaos did this bastard cause at official events…?’

The fact that their opinions could shift so drastically just from me acting a little more “normal” was baffling. Of course, those who had known me for a long time wouldn’t change their impression so easily.

What was more absurd was…

No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t recall the memories of the atrocities Aaron had committed.

In other words—

He had no awareness that he’d done anything wrong. To Aaron, it was genuinely not even worth thinking about.

‘Unbelievable…’

While internally exasperated, outwardly I kept the conversation going in a slightly softer tone, without damaging the character too much.

The only daughter of the city’s largest general hospital’s director, a prominent politician touted as the next mayor, a giant in the legal world, and so on.

Each of them could potentially have a major impact on the main scenario, so I treated them as cautiously as possible.

However, an awkward situation arose midway.

A group of people, seemingly eager to win my favor, approached me with an exaggerated fuss.

“Oh my, Aaron Stingray. I heard you got out of bed—so it’s true? How’s your health?”

“Mr. Stingray! I saw the footage from the Titan incident on the news! The way you personally stepped in for a single student was truly…!”

“…”

What in the world are these poison dart frogs…

At least with someone like Kallia, her looks could somewhat make up for the bizarre makeup—this “maconie” thing or whatever. But with ordinary faces, it was simply unbearable to look at.

Even more disturbing was the fact that some men were mixed into this poison dart frog group. Apparently, this style of makeup was trendy regardless of gender.

The male frogs were largely from the art scene, and they seemed to carry an especially potent venom.

They were terrifying.

‘Work, [Poison Immunity] module…! Protect me from the venom…!’

No, seriously, please…!

You people have money!

In a world where beauty can be bought as much as you want, why do you all insist on going beyond bold to the point of ocular destruction?

Do you worship Shiva or something?

In the end, I couldn’t take it anymore and made a decision—

No matter how important they were, anyone in poison dart frog makeup would be treated as if invisible.

After keeping that stance for a few hours, luckily a rumor began to spread—

“The Crown Prince hates maco makeup.”

‘Yes, I do hate it, so please, let this trend die. Celebrity or not, anyone wearing that crap won’t be allowed on TV.’

While I was making that resolution—

I felt a familiar presence approaching.

“So you’ve come after all, Aaron Stingray…!”

Grinding his teeth, the one who spoke was Vladimir. Annoying as his voice was, in this poison dart frog paradise, he was the lesser evil.

“I have something to discuss with you. Come with me.”

“Sure, le—”

As I turned my head to agree, I spotted a new species of poison dart frog standing there.

The “Vladimir” variety, to be exact.

“…”

“What is it, Aaron Stingray? Why are you looking at me like that? Ah, surprised by this face, are you? You seem out of touch with trends, so let me explain—”

“Haa…”

I let out a deep sigh.

I cut off Vladimir’s nonsense.

And declared—

“…I’ll kill you, Vladimir Kharitonov.”

“What?!”

Daring to burn my eyes like that.

I’ll kill this bastard.

After such twists and turns, the first night’s banquet somehow ended successfully(?).

The time was 9 p.m.

The official dinner had ended, but people still lingered, continuing their networking. I, however, was planning to head back to my room early.

“Is it alright for you to leave first?”

“I don’t mind. I’m tired from going through the day’s schedule since morning. You should head back and rest as well, Maria.”

“Understood. I’ll escort you to your room, then I’ll leave for the day.”

“Alright.”

I nodded.

If things had gone according to the original work, I’d still be lying in bed and wouldn’t even have attended this G20 event.

Given the circumstances, attending was unavoidable, but I wanted to minimize any butterfly effects it might cause.

‘Well, the original scenario has already diverged quite a bit… but there’s no need to push it.’

While walking down the hallway with Maria, I suddenly heard noisy chatter coming from behind us. The voices sounded rather youthful.

‘Kids…?’

There were maybe four or five of them.

All male.

They looked to be in their mid-to-late teens—in other words, middle or high school students.

Maria quickly explained.

“The grandson of the president of ‘New Life Corporation,’ the grandson of the chairman of ‘Purity Service,’ and…”

“No need to explain further.”

“Understood.”

In short, they were third-generation chaebols.

I thought I’d glimpsed them at the banquet earlier, and now that the formal event was over, they were probably off to have fun all night.

“Judging by their direction, they must have rented one of the hotel’s pool villas.”

“I see.”

Whether from excitement over their plans or just arrogance, they didn’t even notice me standing nearby and kept talking loudly.

Thanks to that, I learned—without wanting to—how they planned to spend the night.

‘Tch. Kids sure play dirty.’

Alcohol, drugs, women.

It looked like they were going to bring in some female celebrities who had just finished performing at the convention center.

Just the sight of this decadent culture of the upper class—something I’d only heard of in fiction before—made me frown.

“…Shall I call them over and warn them?”

“Forget it.”

Whatever kind of debauchery they indulged in wasn’t my concern.

Everyone from the laborers in Sector E’s lower districts to the elites themselves already knew the city’s upper crust was rotten to the core.

Besides, I had no right to scold them.

After all, wasn’t my own hobby murder?

Compared to that, a bunch of middle schoolers partying with women was practically wholesome.

I had no desire to get involved, so I ignored them and kept walking.

But then—

One of them dropped something on the floor. White, oddly eye-catching, it naturally drew my gaze.

“They dropped something.”

“This looks… like a junk chip.”

Maria picked it up, set it in her palm, and showed it to me. It was slightly larger than a thumbnail.

A plain white surface.

In red, a triangle with two red dots inside it.

I frowned and asked—

“A junk chip?”

“Yes.”

“Idiots.”

If they were going to mess with something like this, at least don’t go dropping it in public. The clumsy actions of kids barely past puberty made me sigh.

“What shall we do?”

“Tch. I’ll head back alone. Return it to them and clock out for the day. Give them a warning to… wait.”

I was cut off by an incoming call.

The number wasn’t saved in my contacts.

I knew right away who it was and answered.

“I’m busy. If it’s not urgent, I’m hanging up.”

[Hello? Yes?! Ah, no—it is urgent. I finally secured a source for junk chips!]

It was a report from Ciel, whom I had sent outside the Academy for a while. Honestly, I hadn’t been expecting much, but I didn’t let that show.

“That’s good news.”

[Wait a second, I have a bone to pick with you. I checked, and you really did plant a bomb in my body?! Are you insane?!]

“So you checked?”

[Of course I checked! Do you know how hard it made trading for me?! I tried to get it removed, but everyone got scared when they saw the ‘Stingray’ mark and wouldn’t touch it!]

“I’d advise against trying that.”

[Couldn’t do it anyway. In any case, I luckily secured the route, so starting next week, you’ll be able to proceed with the Act 2 scenario just as you planned.]

“Good work. Then—”

Just as I was about to hang up—

Ciel stopped me.

[Wait. I have something more important.]

“Something important?”

[Lately, there’s been a strange rumor in this business about a certain junk chip…]

“Stop dragging it out and tell me.”

[Ashita-kyo.]

Ciel said—

[You know Ashita-kyo, right? That cult. The ones tied to the ‘Android Rebellion’ in Act 1, Chapter 3.]

“I know them.”

[Apparently, among the ‘special junk chips’ being distributed lately, some are made and spread by them.]

“What…?”

Ashita-kyo again.

Their name had surfaced once more.

[In the original novel, there was no mention of junk chips when they appeared, right? I just wanted to check, because I don’t remember clearly…]

“Not at all.”

Those guys were nothing more than a troublesome group of purist psychos; they never dealt in cyber-drugs.

In the original work, there wasn’t even the smallest hint suggesting otherwise. The ones behind the junk chips Silence distributed weren’t “Ashita-kyo” at all, but rather the “Mystics.”

Then Ciel said—

[Then it’s certain, unless you were the one who extended influence over Ashita-kyo.]

“I understand what you’re implying.”

Another transmigrator.

One who couldn’t be found within the Academy might now belong to the group that would be the biggest headache for me to deal with.

“I get it for now.”

[Yes. It’s only a rumor, so it’s not certain, but I think you should be careful.]

“Any other information related to that?”

[Hmm… I wanted to get my hands on one of those ‘special junk chips’ they supposedly make, but it seems I still lack the credibility for that.]

Time and more information were needed.

It wasn’t yet enough to make any hasty conclusions.

“Understood. Report whenever you need something.”

[Then could you please remove the bomb in my body? I haven’t been able to sleep lately because of it.]

“…”

You don’t sleep anyway, you android.

Until not long ago, you’d faint just from seeing my face, and now you’re making demands?

It seemed the mission I’d given had hardened Ciel quite a bit while she drifted through the Black Market. She must have had all sorts of nasty experiences.

“I’ll consider it after this plan is over.”

[I knew you’d say that. Oh, and about that ‘special junk chip’—I heard that…]

At that moment, for some reason—

My eyes instinctively shifted toward the junk chip we had picked up earlier. At the same time, Ciel explained:

[They say it has a white body with a red triangle drawn on it. And inside the triangle, there are dots.]

“I see. So that’s it.”

I nodded.

Ciel kept chattering away with unimportant details, but I ignored her and hung up.

And then—

“Maria.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

I turned to Maria and ordered—

“Bring me those guys from earlier.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep