Chapter 41: The First Secret Plan (5)
Chapter 41: The First Secret Plan (5)
Translation: Godtl
Chaos erupted in the Lenoir household.
Because Lady Serena, who had vanished without a trace, had returned safely with Jurgen.
"Let me hug my daughter. Come here, are you hurt anywhere?"
"Serena! Where on earth have you been?"
"Are you unharmed, my lady? You're not injured anywhere, are you?"
The scattered workshop team members gathered from all directions, and even Serena's father, Baronet Lenoir, and her mother came running out barefoot in the commotion.
For just a brief moment, Serena's eyes met Jurgen's.
Then, with drooping eyes, she gloomily apologized.
"I-I'm sorry... I must have been under too much pressure. I just wanted to take a day off and ended up leaving abruptly like I was running away. I didn't know everyone would worry like this."
"My lady, so you're saying you weren't kidnapped?"
"Huh? K-kidnapped?"
"We thought that bastard Rex had done something terrible to you..."
"N-no, nothing like that happened."
Serena's lie was terribly awkward, but she had always been shy and clumsy to begin with.
They had been worried sick thinking it was a kidnapping, only to find out it was just a runaway.
The Lenoir family members who had been desperately searching for Serena let out sighs that could have been either relief or emptiness.
"It's understandable. You've been pushing yourself too hard lately."
"Exactly. I've had moments where I wanted to throw everything away and run off too."
"Hey, what kind of master craftsman talks like that? Still, it's a relief you returned safely."
"Serena, we won't make a big deal out of it this time, but don't let this happen again."
"Come here. Do you know how worried your mother was?"
Thanks to the team members playfully defending Serena, the punishment was just a light scolding.
At most, she got a few swats on the back from her mother.
"..."
This was the agreement.
'I'll count on you, Miss Serena.'
Serena hadn't been kidnapped—it was just a runaway.
Jurgen hadn't defeated priests in an outlaw den to rescue Serena; he had merely stumbled upon her while she was running away.
It was true that he couldn't refuse the request from his life's benefactor, but Serena also found this version more comfortable.
She had already caused enough worry—how much more would their hearts tremble if they knew she had encountered a Black Mage and narrowly escaped death?
If she framed it as an involuntary runaway, it wasn't entirely a lie either...
—Screech
Just then, a sedan came to a screeching halt in the distance, tires drifting.
Penelope Rosemore hopped out and came running over.
She had been on her way to meet with Belheim to discuss the issue but rushed over the moment she received the telegram announcing Serena's return.
"Serena!"
"P-Penelope...?"
Penelope strode forward with such intimidating determination that she did something Serena could never have imagined.
She suddenly yanked Serena into a tight embrace.
If Serena had been a teddy bear, the stuffing would have popped out from how hard she was squeezed.
"Ee... eek...!"
Serena was startled.
She and Penelope weren't particularly close.
Weren't they just using each other to begin with?
"You're not hurt, are you?"
"Huh...? N-no, I'm not injured anywhere, but..."
Why was she acting like this all of a sudden?
Wasn't this the kind of reaction you'd have when a worried friend returns safely?
Serena's arms flailed awkwardly in the air.
She couldn't decide whether to hug Penelope back or what to do at all.
When she rolled her eyes around, she noticed everyone watching their embrace with warm smiles.
It was as if they were witnessing a beautiful friendship or heartwarming tale.
The uncles wiped under their noses with proud smiles, and even Serena's mother, who had been angry earlier, was making a face that seemed to say, "How touching..."
"Ah."
Penelope, who had hugged Serena so passionately, also seemed surprised by her own actions.
Belatedly swallowing a gulp of air, she let go of Serena.
Serena, too, creaked awkwardly like a wind-up doll that had run out of spring.
"...I-I'm glad you're back, Serena."
"...Th-thank you for your concern, P-Penelope."
The two of them coughed awkwardly and belatedly tried to regain their formal composure.
Whether the audience's smiles deepened even further was perhaps just a trick of the mood.
"What? She wasn't kidnapped, she ran away?"
"W-well, even I have my sentimental days sometimes..."
"...Good heavens, are you some teenage girl now?"
Though there was an ending where Penelope, upon learning the agreed-upon truth—that Serena had simply run away—jumped up in anger and started yelling.
Perhaps it was because the tension had completely dissipated—she was starving.
After hurriedly finishing a meal with her family and soaking in a steaming hot bath,
Serena let down her hair and flopped onto the bed with a thud.
"Wow..."
She had never realized before just how fluffy the woolen blanket was, or how springy the mattress—specially crafted with the Lenoir family's proprietary springs—could be.
Lying on the bed she thought she might never see again, a surreal sensation floated hazily around her.
It still felt like she was dreaming.
What if everything—the kidnapping, the outlaws, the Black Mage—had all just been a dream?
Despite the exhaustion pounding in her head from so many events, sleep wouldn't come.
Because there were far too many thoughts swirling in her mind.
'Miss Serena, I have a favor to ask.'
'Y-yes?'
'Can you keep what you saw in the Demon Realm a secret between just the two of us?'
'J-just the two of us...? What about Miss Penelope?'
'Don't tell Miss Penelope either.'
Jurgen had made this request.
It wasn't entirely out of the blue.
After all, wasn't he hiding his true identity while posing as a commoner?
But the fact that he was keeping it even from Penelope, his ally, was unexpected.
'But then... won't I just end up looking like a complete fool?'
'Wouldn't everyone just dismiss it as an adorable little mishap?'
'I-I'm already cute enough... I don't need to be more adorable... Ah, no, never mind...! I understand.'
That's what she said, but...
Given the difference in their status, refusing was hardly an option.
Not to mention, she was deeply indebted to him after this incident.
If not for Jurgen, Serena would have met a gruesome end by now.
Of course, she was extremely grateful for that, but the weight of that gratitude pressed down on her like a boulder.
"Huuuu, what do I do now...?"
Because now, the debt remained.
The debt Serena owed Jurgen was substantial—the kind where if he so much as craved a cup of tea, she'd have to scramble in her maid outfit to fetch it.
She wasn't naive enough to blindly believe sweet words like 'You're an ally, so of course I had to come save you.'
Where in high society did such things exist?
Getting too close in sincerity only led to being used and discarded.
Expecting friendship from feigned kindness just made you the easiest prey.
She had learned that the hard way.
She wouldn't make the same mistake again.
So surely, Jurgen must have saved her with some ulterior motive.
His intentions were impossible to guess, but that was beside the point for now.
"...Just what kind of person is he?"
Serena had originally assumed Jurgen was from a prestigious technical family.
That alone would make him a formidable figure, but...
She had placed him slightly below Penelope—a collaborator of sorts, given how she had begun revealing her true influence and extending her reach into the underworld.
But what he had done today defied that explanation.
He had stormed into the outlaws' den and single-handedly purged the criminals.
She didn't know how strong or how many outlaws were under Rex's command, but fine, she could accept that much.
However, Jurgen had soloed a Black Mage of priest rank.
From the way he handled alchemical catalysts while breaking the chains, his methods were likely alchemy.
A priest-rank from the End Cult would normally require at least a 6th-Rank Knight or alchemist to subdue.
She hadn't been able to see the battle clearly due to the swarms of spiders and darkness, but Jurgen hadn't even suffered a single scratch.
This meant Jurgen wasn't just an exceptional craftsman—he was at least a 6th-Rank Alchemist.
And he was hiding his true identity even from Penelope.
Outwardly, he might appear to be their age, but for all she knew, he could be older than her father.
Once you reached 6th Rank, you could even defy the natural flow of time.
"My head... feels like it's going to explode..."
After rolling around restlessly on the bed, Serena eventually flopped facedown and fell silent.
A deep sleep, impossible to resist even with all her worries, enveloped her like a blanket.
After the runaway girl Serena returned home,
preparations for the counterattack accelerated.
The only difference was...
"Miss Penelope, aren't you going home?"
"Nope, not going."
"Won't your parents worry...?"
"I'm here to make sure you don't run off again, aren't I? Get to work."
"Eugh..."
...that Penelope had been staying as a guest at the Lenoir household for weeks now.
No one knew just how much her heart had dropped during Serena's little escapade.
Last time, it had ended as a mere mishap, but rather than risk another heart attack, she figured it was better to plant herself here as a ward against disaster.
As long as Penelope remained a guest of the Lenoir family, even Rex would think twice before making a move.
From Serena's perspective, it was a situation where her employer, having lost trust in her, was now hovering over her shoulder with close surveillance.
Though she hadn't actually run away this time, the unfairness of it all was utterly suffocating...
"By the way, Serena, your family's beds are really comfortable."
"Hehe, they're packed with our family's secret techniques."
"Yeah? That's great. Once this is all over, want to supply them to the Litchfield Hotel? I'll pay you properly."
"R-Really?"
Somehow, it felt like they had grown a little closer.
Meanwhile.
The tumultuous war between Y&P Trading Company and Keystone Company—
The battle for market share between Cola and Berry Mix—was slowly but surely nearing its end.
"...In summary, over the past month, Berry Mix has completely overwhelmed Cola in both sales and distribution."
[What about the factories? Any weak spots?]
"No, our factory completion rate is far ahead of Y&P Trading Company's. The initial capital investment was on a completely different scale, wasn't it? We're leading in both the number and size of factories. There's no way this advantage will be overturned."
[Heh heh heh, it's all thanks to your generous investment, Rex. Good, let's keep this momentum. I'll repay you handsomely.]
After ending the call with Baron Keystone, Rex rested his chin on the back of his hand.
Though he had told the Baron everything was going smoothly, he couldn't bring himself to relax.
"Damn it."
Ever since he was assigned the mission to "kidnap Serena," all contact with the Jet Black Group had been severed.
Even if Rex held one of the eight seats on the Grey Council, openly associating with outlaws was suicidal.
He had maintained only loose connections to cut ties if necessary—but now, even those had snapped.
This meant he had lost control over the Jet Black Group, an organization he had painstakingly cultivated.
"I'm going insane from frustration. I can't even go check in person."
Meanwhile, Serena—who he thought had been kidnapped—was perfectly fine, working away in the workshop.
Had the Jet Black Group failed from the very first step?
If so, then why had Penelope thrown a fit, demanding Serena's return? Was it a diversion?
Had something gone wrong with the Jet Black Group itself? Or just their point of contact?
Or had the Black Mage they recruited caused trouble?
It was all incomprehensible.
"At this point, there's no backing out."
Even if Penelope turned out to be far more capable than expected, the plan remained unchanged.
Extracting secrets from Serena had always been a secondary objective anyway.
He had already poured an enormous sum into factory construction.
A massive investment meant an equally massive return.
Even if he lost his means of controlling the Jet Black Group, as long as Berry Mix succeeded, he could use Baron Keystone's influence to rebuild his power.
The one saving grace was that Berry Mix's victory was all but assured.
...Right?
"Get the car ready."
To soothe his unease, Rex decided to step out for some air.
Though he called it "getting some air," it was more like reconnaissance.
When he arrived at the Cola wholesale store in the warehouse district, Rex couldn't believe his eyes.
The usually bustling storefront, always packed with people lining up to buy Cola, was eerily quiet.
The endless queues that had gnawed at Rex's patience were completely gone.
Only a few wholesalers remained, loading Cola onto their carts.
"Kuhaha! I knew it would come to this! This is how it should be! Were they all insane?!"
What kind of lunatics would wait five or six hours in line just to try some damn drink?
The absurd hype around Cola, fueled by Bellaby and high society, had finally burst.
The suffocating tightness in his chest—like indigestion from some inexplicable unease—finally cleared.
The game was over.
Even the smallest variables had been eliminated.
"Hey, head to the plaza."
"Where to, sir?"
"You know the usual place. Sovereign Lounge. A day like this calls for a toast!"
Rex clapped the driver's shoulder and named his regular tavern.
For the first time in a while, he planned to get properly drunk, maybe even spend the night with a woman in his arms.
But then—
"What the hell? Why are there so many people at this hour?"
The street leading to the tavern district was unusually lively, as if a festival had broken out.
Frowning, Rex scanned the crowd—and froze at the bizarre sight before him.
"Stop the car."
"But sir, your usual tavern is still—"
"I said stop the damn car, you brat!"
Leaping out in disbelief, Rex frantically looked around.
In the hands of the crowd filling the streets—and on the tables visible through the tavern windows—were glasses filled with the same dark-red liquid.
Not just one or two.
Every single person in sight was holding Cola.
No matter where he turned his gaze, all he saw was cola.
"What the fuck, how the hell did this happen...?"
Before Rex's eyes sprawled an unreal scene—the streets completely overrun by cola, a beverage whose production barely reached twenty thousand bottles a day.