Interference (1)
I lifted my head to the dawn light seeping into the room.
Only then did I realize morning had come.
“That’s enough for now.”
I set my pen down and closed the notebook spread open before me.
Its pages were filled with codes only I could decipher.
All of it contained information related to this world.
“The most imminent event is the auction held at ‘Anabada’ five days from now…”
…I needed to purchase the ‘Candy Ring’ there.
More precisely, I had to intercept it from Michael.
Why suddenly a ‘Candy Ring’ at ‘Anabada’? It might sound absurd, but these were all codenames I created.
‘Anabada’ referred to the Royal Auction, and the ‘Candy Ring’ was the Horizon Pendant.
I renamed them in this way to prevent any accidents if someone ever read this notebook.
My memory was finite.
It had limits, and even now, it was fading.
So while I couldn’t record everything, I had to document every event related to Michael without exception.
To bring him down—and to make Grace mine.
“The pendant. I can’t let it fall into Michael’s hands.”
The Horizon Pendant was, as the name implied, a pendant from the Horizon family.
But the Horizon family was one of the Empire’s most prestigious houses in Mage Engineering.
This world didn’t use electricity.
There was no energy source called coal or oil, either.
Instead, there existed a material infused with mana—commonly referred to as the “stone of the gods”: the Aether Stone.
These Aether Stones were discovered in mana-rich caves or geologic layers, formed over long periods of time by absorbing mana—essentially, a natural battery.
All Mage Engineering was based on Aether Stones.
Which meant that even my smartphone and fluorescent lights were powered by the mana within these stones.
Anyway, the pendant was a Mage Engineering weapon meticulously crafted by ‘Luna Horizon,’ the top-tier mage engineer, to protect her family.
You might ask what kind of weapon a pendant could be.
But this pendant had the power to turn its wearer into a “weapon.”
“Arguably the strongest weapon in the Empire. That must not end up around Ariel’s neck.”
Michael was the one who bought the pendant, but he gifted it to Ariel.
And when that happened, Grace lost her left arm again.
Temporarily, yes—but its power was enough to pose a threat even to a Weapon Master.
“…So that was the plan all along.”
Thinking back, it seemed the author intended from the beginning for Ariel to be the one who severed Grace’s arm.
Which meant it was planned from the conceptual stage.
Ah, damn you, Shinsseun…
Ding–dong.
At the sound of the doorbell, my body instinctively reacted.
Grace?
But it wasn’t even the weekend. What’s going on?
Ding–dong—!
Standing in front of the mirror, I straightened my collar.
Then I rushed to the door and opened it.
“Welcome… Lady Ellis.”
“Took you long enough, grossly late. What’s that look? Why do you look disappointed the moment you see me?”
“...That’s not it. More importantly, what brings you here? And this early?”
My heart raced as I opened the door, only for a blouse to flutter into view.
Ellis, with her hands behind her back, now wore a suspicious glare.
“What, are you hiding a girl or something?”
“If that’s true, I’ll bite my sword.”
“No need to go that far. No need to make such a fuss. Anyway, I can come in, right?”
Before I could answer, Ellis slid past me into the apartment.
Then why even ask?
Amid the slightly strong scent of roses, I returned to the living room after straightening the shoes Ellis had kicked off carelessly.
Still walking around with her hands behind her back, she glanced at the display stand and spoke.
“Just like it looked from outside—cozy place. Pretty clean for a guy living alone. Where’d you get this stand? Online? Or a workshop? Nice design.”
“It’s quite old, so I don’t remember exactly. Probably Habledown Workshop in Crescent. And living space is a reflection of one’s heart. So I keep it clean. No, really—what brings you here?”
I nearly got swept up in Ellis’s pace.
After regaining focus and asking again, she perched on the edge of the couch.
“I need a favor.”
Another favor.
I wish it had been from Grace.
“Grace’s last lecture. Can you give me a summary?”
“You really⸺”
“If you say ‘as if I wouldn’t,’ I’ll kill you.”
“……”
Slumped into the sofa, Ellis tilted her head to look up at me.
“I tried to buy it from the other kids, but nobody’s selling. Seriously, they think they’re so smart and important. Agh—stuck-up bitches.”
She really was hopeless, and yet, she was so unfiltered and sincere that I couldn’t hate her for it.
If Grace was sweet and soft like a marshmallow, Ellis was a spicy candy with a Scoville rating of ten thousand.
So spicy you wanted to spit it out, but you just kept sucking on it anyway.
“I don’t have a summary either. You should’ve attended the lecture.”
“Come on, just once. Or even one page. A three-line summary works too!”
“Must I say it again for you to understand?”
“Agh! Fine! Want me to change your caller ID to ‘Dad’ on your phone?”
“I’ll say it once. So take notes.”
If Ellis said even one word to Dennis, it would become a nuisance.
More importantly, since she’d helped me before, and because I really wanted to make sure she graduated from Springwind, I decided to help.
I cleared my throat and summarized only the key points from the last lecture.
“Wait. Hold on. Okay, go.”
Before I could continue, she whipped out her smartphone and started recording me.
She was always quick with things like this.
“…That’s all.”
“Seriously? Everyone but me learned Grace’s ‘Four Seasons’? All of it?!”
“There were some revisions to Spring, so she’ll go over that again in the next lecture. It’s not too late, so make sure you attend. You need those credits, right?”
“Really? That’s a relief! Oh, I can breathe again. …But how long are you gonna keep talking formally to me?”
Just as I turned toward the kitchen to get a drink, I paused and looked back at Ellis.
She had changed slightly after the narrative was revised.
Originally, even Ellis should’ve spoken formally to me.
“Technically speaking, you’re my instructor now, right? Isn’t it weird for a teacher to speak formally to a student?”
“That’s out of respect. Besides, students are all adults now.”
“But it’s so stiff. Come on, Rohan, we’ve known each other for years. Isn’t it time we dropped the formalities when it’s just us?”
“…I was waiting for you to say that.”
Honestly, I thought of Ellis more as a friend than anything else—not as a woman or student.
Her friendliness helped, but back when I was reading her, I remember thinking how nice it would be to have a friend like her.
“Then I’ll drop the honorifics when it’s just us. Gotta keep it professional otherwise.”
“I don’t mind. Whatever works for you, Rohan. I’m more comfortable now. Having someone talk like a big brother all the time with ‘ma’am this’ and ‘did you do that,’ was kinda suffocating.”
People probably always used formal speech with Ellis.
Because Dennis, head of the Éclat Knights, was influential and well-off.
Ellis’s name had always been bound to the title of “lady,” and with her easy-going and impatient personality, that must’ve been torture.
Then, while looking at her phone, Ellis spoke again.
“But when are you heading to work?”
“Soon, I guess… What time is it now?”
“7:58.”
Damn it!
That meant I’d be later than Grace.
Even if I caught the next train immediately, it’d still take at least 30 minutes…
“What’s with that serious face? I brought my car. I’ll give you a ride. You helped me, after all. Hee~”
Then she dangled the key to the newest hypercar model of the year—Inferno.
I was once again reminded of the importance of having good friends.
“Wait. I’ll be right back.”
“I’m hungry. Got anything to eat?”
“Second shelf of the fridge!”
I rushed to my room to change.
When I came back out, urgency faded for a moment as I stood and looked at Ellis.
“…Ellie.”
“Oh? We’re using nicknames now? I like it.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t need a ride. But I do have another favor.”
Just now, the owner of the pendant had been decided.
***
[Horizon Pendant]
In public, the pendant was often called “Luna’s masterpiece.”
132 years ago, it was crafted with rare, top-grade Aether Stones and a master craftsman’s soul—resulting in a one-of-a-kind, monstrous artifact.
“If you wish to protect, you will protect. If you wish to kill, you will kill.”
Luna Horizon left those words in the annals of Imperial history—and vanished.
And they were true.
Imperial Year 873, Autumn
The deranged head of House Horizon slaughtered his entire family. The cause was revealed to be the curse within the pendant.
Unfortunately, the item Luna had created to protect her family instead wiped them out.
“The Candy Ring amplifies the wearer’s subconscious...”
If your heart was pure, its power would be pure.
If your heart was evil, its power would turn evil as well.
So when the next head of House Horizon, filled with twisted thoughts, inherited the pendant—he went berserk.
Thus, though House Horizon had vanished, the pendant remained as the only surviving relic.
“And that ring will be up for auction at this Anabada…”
Good thing I didn’t miss the timing.
But the real problem was.
“…Can I even buy it?”
The pendant was insanely expensive.
In the novel, Michael won it for 30 billion ring.
For reference, a convenience store sandwich costs 600 rings.
That’s how massive the amount was.
There was no way Rohan could afford it with his current funds.
After reluctantly riding Ellis’s Inferno this morning (it had phenomenal ride quality) and arriving at the annex, I checked my account first thing.
The result:
[Account Balance: 13,642,090,050 ℛ]
Roughly 1.36 billion.
That was my entire fortune.
It was the result of serving in the Human-Demon War and later as Vice-Captain of the Éclat Knights.
Frankly, not much for a war hero.
Most knights or mages with decent merit from the Human-Demon War were now living comfortably off their reward money.
Looking through the records, I found that the original Rohan, before I possessed him, had donated much of it to welfare organizations.
Mostly orphanages and similar institutions.
…Probably because of Rohan’s past.
At this rate, I couldn’t even afford the pendant’s chain, let alone the pendant itself.
Still, better than Grace—at least I had a wedding fund left.
Anyway, that’s when I thought of Ellis.
To a family like House Éclat, where the account balance had so many zeros it was rotting, 30 billion was nothing. Like a gacha purchase in a mobile game.
And Ellis was Dennis’s daughter.
The only issue was—would she agree to this “shopping”?
Ping.
A notification popped up on my phone.
It worked!
That means…!
Always joking…
…Okay.