Chapter 98 Black Consumers – Part 5

Sometimes, there are times like these.

Even as you burn your life and time pursuing a goal, when you wake up in the morning…

…you feel like it's all meaningless.

I wasn't pursuing the future. All my regrets were in the past, which had already passed.

Revenge.

It was a sweet word. Some might say revenge is futile, but that wasn't the case in my experience. Revenge was incredibly sweet and brought a sense of exhilaration.

But the problem with revenge was the aftermath. The letdown after revenge was over.

It wasn't for nothing that the protagonists in revenge stories in fiction would wander aimlessly after their revenge was complete.

Because they had poured everything into revenge, pursued it, and raged for it.

And after all that was over, they were left with a cold emptiness.

…That's why I hated dawn. It made me think useless thoughts even though my revenge wasn't over yet.

But I couldn't fall into a deep sleep either. The Headmistress, Laura, Ruth, and the academy in my dreams were too happy.

It made me feel terrible after waking up.

"...…"

That's why I would sit by the fire and look up at the night sky whenever I woke up at dawn.

The stars in the sky. The revolving stars. The revolving night sky.

Revolving and revolving. Revolving and revolving.

Revolving—

***

"Damn it."

How long had I been out of it?

When I finally broke free from the revolving illusion, Milia was already gone.

But the blood splattered on the floor proved that she was also desperate.

'She ran away.'

She was still quick to escape. She was the one who managed to escape from Beatrice, who was bombarding the place with magic while using her followers as meat shields in the ruins of Delphia.

…Beatrice.

'All of this…'

Wasn't a Dark Sword nightmare, nor the Wish Cult's scheme, nor the Archmage's rampage.

If it was true that she had returned to the past, as she said…

If it was real…

"...…"

I looked out the window and saw the scenery of the academy.

The peaceful days I had dreamed of countless times in my nightmares.

The days when I managed to fulfill my duties as the Finance Director despite the hardships, laughed and talked with the Headmistress, and was happy despite all the commotion.

Those days.

I had returned to those days. I could undo everything.

I quietly stood up.

Thud. Thud.

I walked out of the dormitory. Perhaps because it was the time when all the other students were in class, there was no one around except for that woman.

There wasn't even a caretaker, so I continued walking.

"Finance Director…? What happened to your hand?"

"It's fine."

"Ah, yes sir!"

A few security guards approached me because of my mangled hand, but I dismissed them.

I headed towards the path etched in my memory.

I entered the central building, calmed the staff who were making a fuss, went up to the top floor, and…

Stopped in front of the Headmistress's office.

"…I'm home."

I quietly opened the door. It was a promise I made with the Headmistress.

After our relationship deepened beyond that of ordinary colleagues, we spent much more time together during work than after work.

It was a joke that the Finance Director's office and the Headmistress's office were our real home, and that we should say "I'm home" when entering.

But there was no one to hear the joke.

"...…"

The Headmistress's office was empty. I had no memory of this. Perhaps she went out for a while or was on a business trip.

My eyes fell on the Scabbard of Dark Sword lying on the floor.

I did remember it being there when I woke up after collapsing.

Perhaps that was the cause.

'It's not an object with good memories.'

It was an item that that Milia bitch used quite effectively. It was known as a scabbard that suppressed the power of Dark Sword, but it actually had a hidden ability.

I remember her stealing it and running away when the academy collapsed.

'Wait, the fact that this is here…'

Could it be that it was when we received this scabbard as a refund from the dwarves? The mayor, no, the acting mayor at the time, Tir, requested the Headmistress's assistance instead of money for the refund.

We were quite wealthy thanks to the Headmistress's futures trading, so I was going to pay with money, but the Headmistress insisted on going herself.

Then it made sense that the Headmistress wasn't here now.

If this was that time…

'The Delphia Kingdom will explode soon.'

And Beatrice would return to the Delphia Kingdom, and…

…the entire kingdom would turn into ruins.

Leaving only Rank 8s who wandered the skies without a sense of self, killing anyone who entered the ruined kingdom.

That time wasn't far off.

'I'm sorry, me.'

He had decided to go back, but he still had to prevent what he could.

Adam, apologizing to his past self, lifted the Scabbard of Dark Sword and…

…thrust the sharp tip of the scabbard into his heart.

Thud!

"Ugh!!"

Even though it was a scabbard, it was an artifact created by the great dwarves. It easily pierced the body of a mere Rank 1.

But even with his heart pierced, Adam was still alive. He should have died instantly, but he didn't, as if bound by something.

And slowly…

The scabbard disappeared into Adam's body.

Crack! Crack!

"…Sigh."

I'm truly sorry.

He apologized inwardly once again, but he couldn't think of any other way. Unlike him, Milia seemed to truly want to change everything in this past.

Adam had interfered with Milia and blocked her path many times, but that was only possible with the knowledge from the game and Chloe's help. He didn't have much time, and he failed to finish off Milia earlier, so he had no other choice.

So he used the scabbard 'first.'

This was the best way to screw Milia over.

'Aftereffects… good luck. You know about them.'

The pain was already gone. The wound and blood from the pierced heart had also completely disappeared.

Adam, getting up and dusting off his clothes as if nothing had happened, looked around.

He went to the Finance Director's office and scanned the entire room.

'There's still a lot of work.'

Mountains of documents, books, and reports.

Adam, with a wry smile, sat down at his familiar desk. He took out paper and a fountain pen.

"…What?"

The paper was fine. But the moment he held the fountain pen, he unconsciously muttered to himself.

Because it was too cheap.

We were going to be rich from the futures trading, so why was he using something like this? Even if it was the past, it wasn't completely the same, was it?

'It's good to save money.'

My resolve to return grew stronger. I chuckled and started writing something on the paper with the cheap fountain pen.

Things I had to remember.

"This is the best I can do."

About the Headmistress, about the Wish Cult, about Lisha and the magic spear, about the Margrave, about Ruth, about the Delphia Kingdom and Beatrice, about the western wasteland of the Empire, about Circe, and so on.

I wrote down everything. To avoid repeating the failures and tragedies I had already experienced.

For this past me and the Headmistress to be happy.

I wrote down everything I knew, filling the paper, and only after a long time did I put down the fountain pen.

Even though it had only been a short time,

A strange temptation kept coming to mind.

"…Headmistress."

I wanted to see her. I wanted to meet her. I wanted to see her face again, even if it was just once.

I wanted her to call my name. Or call me Finance Director. I wanted to hold her hand. I wanted to see those fireworks at the festival with her again.

Each and every one of those thoughts was filled with regret, so I could be sure.

If I saw the Headmistress, I wouldn't want to go back. I would want to stay in this past. I would struggle pathetically to stay, no matter what I had to do.

But that couldn't happen.

'Chloe.'

The last memory before returning to the past. I heard that Ruth had left to assassinate Milia and the leaders of the Wish Cult.

Chloe would be waiting for me in that future.

…And Ruth, after the Wish Cult, would come for us.

'I have to finish things my way.'

I had already shed so much blood. I had killed so many innocent people under the pretense of revenge.

Like the saying, "Trying to catch a bedbug and burning down the whole house."

By burning down the house, I caught the bedbug, but I also killed those who were living peacefully in the house.

Unfortunately, Adam wasn't shameless enough to ignore all those sins.

Moreover, he couldn't abandon Chloe, who had followed him until the end even amidst those sins.

'Chloe, Chloe.'

He only felt sorry. And grateful.

He was most sorry that he couldn't accept those feelings.

If Chloe had also returned to the past, if that had truly happened…

He hoped she would live happily.

Without getting involved with someone like him, freely.

'…What should I do now?'

I don't know how to go back. But I can feel it.

It was probably because of the incomplete regression. Ever since I failed to kill Milia, I've been feeling like I'm slowly 'returning.'

Did that Milia bitch return through a different method than me?

Anyway, I would probably go back naturally if I just stayed like this.

In the meantime, what should I do?

It was obvious.

"…Let's work."

It might sound crazy, but I missed this Finance Director work. I unfolded a random document and started working with the fountain pen.

Looking at the already approved documents, I could see some immaturity. It was only natural since it had only been two years since I became the Finance Director.

Even though I only had five years of experience.

Suppressing the urge to go out the door and meet the people of the past academy, the acquaintances of the past, everyone from the past,

I quietly approved the documents.

Just like I did in the past.

'By the way, regression.'

How should I tell this to Ruth? Would she even believe me when she hated me and was trying to kill me? Milia, that bitch, said Ruth was Rank 6 in this past, but was that true? Did Ruth also regress?

I suddenly laughed at the thought.

…Before being killed by Ruth…

I wanted to tell her that we were happy in a certain past. That everyone was happy like in a fairy tale, without any tragedy.

It felt like I could say that.

***

"…Ugh."

What the hell.

I woke up sitting at my desk in the office. What? Did I fall asleep while working here?

But wasn't I in the Headmistress's office? Why was I here?

'No, more importantly!'

I was leisurely sleeping? How much time had passed?

Once I came to my senses, I quickly woke up. Cold sweat started to form on my back.

I didn't know how long I had slept, but the sun was high in the sky outside the window. Considering that it was almost evening when I remembered the Headmistress leaving, that meant…

At least a day had passed. Damn it.

'What about the piled-up work?'

The Headmistress had gone to the dwarven city, so I had to do her share of the work as well.

I just slept? I wasted at least a whole day like this? Was I really crazy? But Laura would come to check on me if it was more than two days, so it wouldn't be…

The dark history of oversleeping on the day of the GED came to mind. I managed to run and barely made it, but my biological rhythm was completely messed up, and I ruined the exam.

I realized then that ignoring things because it was already too late wouldn't make anything better. I had to face reality. Especially as the Finance Director, not the student preparing for the civil service exam.

With cold sweat dripping down my back, I steeled myself and looked at the documents.

"…Huh?"

The piled-up documents were all approved. And with impeccable skill.

They were organized by category, department, and task, the signatures and comments were neat, and they were marked in places so that I could find any document I wanted, anytime, anywhere.

Unable to believe this reality, I hurriedly ran to the Headmistress's office next door, but it was the same there. The mountain of documents was completely processed.

What was this? Seriously, what was this?

Woong!!

"Ta-da! Finance Director! I'm back! Not only did I return earlier than the promised four days, but I also brought souvenirs… Finance Director?"

"H-Headmistress."

"Finance Director? What's wrong? You're drenched in cold sweat."

"It seems like I… have superpowers."

"…What?"

I woke up from sleep, and all the documents were approved?

This was the best…!!