111 – 111. Charlotte Ashrelt (5)
A voice that came with a severe headache. And the memories of her other self that had penetrated deep into her brain had to be hers alone.
But he came to this place himself. I didn’t even have time to ask what the hell was going on.
When I wondered if I had known about it, I fell into anxiety, thinking that I couldn’t believe it.
But what about her now?
“I was already aware of it in the hospital room. But, I couldn’t bring it out of my mouth to my senior…”
It has changed dramatically.
After all the heavy sediment trapped in the water was spit out, a clear voice without a foreign body came up through her vocal cords.
The tightly bitten lips do not block the emotions that have been suppressed, and they talk one by one with a bitter smile.
Anxiety and fear will no longer flow from your wet eyes.
He is bringing out a story that he could not reveal to anyone.
That too right in front of the party.
“…I said that, don’t you resent me?”
So said Charlotte, who had told her everything.
Then Junon patted Charlotte’s head as she hesitated.
“Does scolding you change anything?”
This semester, the voices heard while stepping on the principality and the scenes that came vividly. And even the story she confided, assuming that she had spit it out.
It wasn’t a story that I could easily put into my mouth even if I just listened to it.
However, even if she replies to Charlotte by saying, “So what?”, Nothing will change.
No, as Goden said, Charlotte is clearly aware of her mistakes. She guesses the existence of a gambling house that dug into the empty part by looking for a contradiction only with the circulation of money, and she is a smart enough child to catch the evidence and make a feat by herself.
Colding Charlotte like that is a completely wrong answer.
“Even if I scold you, it doesn’t change the fact that it happened, Charlotte.”
There is no reason to be obsessed with the emotions of the past and identify the present as it was then. Even if I did something out of a needless desire for revenge, it would come back as a bigger wave of destruction of the principality.
Remember it over and over again. The point is to pursue change and change the future.
“I just need it if the same results don’t come.”
“What… Result?”
“The principality. How hard it was then. You know that, right?”
After glancing at her, Junon turned her gaze back to her academy and evaded her words.
“I don’t remember that far…”
“Um… Yeah? Something like that happened. All the students at the academy had no money, so they dropped out and looked for other ways.”
“So you went to make money in the Octagon…”
A small target. Knowing Aris’ reaction, he knows very well that they only have part of their memories.
She can’t help but wonder what that means for Charlotte, who can’t remember everything…
She might be more hurt if she told the truth.
Didn’t I just watch him cry out loud, suffering from that much guilt? Bringing this up now is tantamount to blaming Charlotte for her sins.
In the first place, Charlotte’s words at the time, if you look at them from a different angle, made me worry, and did not intend to insult her.
It must have been her own wish that she would escape safely, even if she was hurt in her heart, and I absolutely do not want to let anyone know that the end of that wish is her futile death.
“Rather than that, in the past you were only teasing me, but now you often call me senpai?”
Flinch.
A strange movement arose in Charlotte’s body.
“That, that’s when I… I mean…”
She flinched for an instant. Charlotte stuttered her words.
She was the one who talked to other people well, but she never took off the title of “You” To Junon.
“I know, I know. It’s because I’m ashamed. I shed tears like today in front of me and got carried away.”
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Charlotte covered her flushed face with her hands, as if she hadn’t made a mistake, and that it was the correct answer.
Actually, this shame was not what it is now. It was because she couldn’t understand at the time why she left the normal title of senior and called you by the awkward title.
Junon chuckled and laughed as he covered her face with her hands, and Charlotte got even more embarrassed and buried her face between her knees.
At times like this, we need to change the subject.
Charlotte deliberately deflected her words.
“The money you handed over will be gradually paid to those who are trying to find a job. By the way… What do you plan to do in the future?”
“Um… Well? You have to work hard to graduate from the academy or something.”
“That’s not it. Even in my senior’s memory, there must be some parts that haven’t been resolved well. If it were me, I would have just tried to win money at the gambling house.”
It was a pointy question.
It is a fact that should not be overlooked, but she is a merchant. She is a skilled trader who synthesizes information to secure an advantage and produce results.
Senia’s rhetoric and psychology, which seem to be able to read her opponent’s insides, are pushed back, but her Charlotte’s information power and arithmetic ability from her wide feet cannot be ignored.
Now she is informed that Junon also remembers her past and what kind of consequences she faced. She could be in trouble no matter how carelessly she handled it.
“I don’t have that kind of desire to accumulate money and become rich. Really. After that, I’m actually a long way away.”
“…Then it’s not like there’s anything definite, right?”
“Yes, except for one.”
“What’s that one?”
“At least you’re not going back to Thembris. Actually, I came to tell you this.”
The same words I gave to Aris and Erica.
It was said that he would completely distance himself from Thembris.
***
There are two bad precedents, but there is one counterexample, and this could be a precedent.
And now when I have to talk about business.
“At least you’re not going back to Thembris. Actually, I came to tell you this.”
If I repeat that I have no plans to enter Thembris, Charlotte will be able to reflect my will.
That’s enough.
As with Cain, Goden doesn’t forcefully take the person involved when it comes to recruiting her members.
Thus, if you strongly express your intention not to enter, no matter how stubborn you are, Goden will step back and give up.
My association with Thembris ends there.
There is no need for me to intervene with those who were called the last pillars of the Principality of Ardelion.
“…That’s right.”
“Why? Strange?”
“No… That’s not it…”
Charlotte rarely takes a break. To a girl who has lived as a merchant, she says that she is not confident enough.
“Did you say anything about me?”
Charlotte, startled for a moment, slowly turns her gaze this way. As if they were really talking about something, they met my eyes and looked down again.
“At the festival held at the beginning of this year, she said she wanted to recruit seniors.”
“Me? Who suggested it?”
“Goden-senpai. I asked what everyone thought, mentioning not only that he was a commoner or an avant-garde position belonging to a lower class, but also his recent grades.”
I didn’t think that among the members I’d met so far, there was no one who would suggest me to me.
But, she said, Goden, whom she had never known before, wanted to recruit me from then on…
Goden said, “She doesn’t recruit people directly by hand unless she has seen and confirmed them with her own eyes.”
Michelle, who was first proposed, also caught Goden’s eye and stepped on the start, and the other members were accepted into the team only after undergoing some strange tests.
Damn it, then I’ve been noticed somewhere… What happened before that?
Charlotte made it clear that she was at the festival earlier this year.
From noble mtl dot com
‘Wait, before the festival…’
Illusion sparring replica executed by Professor Denis.
In the midst of that many spectators, there was no law that Goden could not be included.
Ah… So she came all the way to the hospital and suggested it.
Anyway, since I worked with the mindset that I would definitely take a picture and press it down, it must have been properly captured in the eyes, so there is nothing that has been more clearly stamped on my eyes.
“So how did it go?”
“…Wasn’t accepted.”
After four or more gathered, the decision would have been made by asking the members’ opinions. So, if everyone approved of my signing, I would have a very serious problem…
If you think about it, I met Erica on the day of the festival and was openly slapped on the face. Okay. There were people who were against it.
Then why are you bringing up this story?
Goden liked it, but there were people who opposed it, and my recruitment case, which must have been fuzzy due to Erica’s opposition, has no meaning.
“Tell me, Charlotte.”
“Yes?”
“There must be something you want to say to me in the conversation we just had.”
After a while, Charlotte closes and opens her tight eyes, and her longing comes rushing in.
“Senior and I… Even if we’re not on the same team, if there’s something as difficult as today… Can I go and cry?”
Well, it’s obvious, but why is it so serious?
I don’t know why the guy leading the top one is wrong with such an easy calculation.
“I don’t think people find it strange to keep in touch with seniors and juniors, Charlotte.”
Of course, I’ll keep it a secret from them.
***
The trial for alleged involvement with the Octagon is over, and Charlotte’s guilt for throwing her meaningful words is alleviated and the words to be delivered are also over.
Now is the time to walk back in time and pursue other changes. It’s time to think again about the next case.
However, there have been things that I could change with my own hands, such as the subjugation in Tveshar and the runaway school incident, but I can’t guarantee the next one.
Even though he knew everything about what caused it, how it went through, and what kind of damage it ultimately inflicted on the principality.
“But, well… I’ll be able to cope with it a little more this time.”
I see her gift in her hand.
This business card with the name Charlotte Ashrelt written on it will help me with my poor preparation.
-‘If you contact me here, it’s my personal contact, so my team won’t hear from you. If you need help, please contact us at any time. Senior.’
Gamblers and Octagon completely closed.
It is just a temporary measure to preserve the strength of the students who are currently in the 3rd grade frontier and support positions.
-The item you ordered has arrived!
“…I hope it’s not a vicious boss, to say it’s already arrived.”
When the delivery box was opened, a bottle filled with a clear liquid was found.
And a small post-it attached to the bottle. It looks like Charlotte wrote it herself.
[ This is the Mystellis solution you mentioned. It’s pretty pure, so you can spray it on your weapon against rodents, or spray it directly on the target and it should work. ]
After that day, I gathered information and asked Charlotte for the Mystellis solution in advance.
And other measures were laid, so I did everything I could to prepare.
This bottle is the cornerstone to subdue the rat swarm.