NOVEL WEB Chapter 48
Chapter 48: Overwhelmingly Affairs… 3
[Ah! That’s me! Since you know my number, you can call me Riri! Feel free to address me!]
“Have you lost your mind? Who are you talking to right now?”
I ignored whatever Rosa or Rozai was saying and responded to Riri.
“Then I won’t hold back. Riri.”
[Haha! I like your straightforward attitude! So, who are you?]
“Would Alice suffice? I don’t have a last name.”
[Oh! Alice! My new slave… No, the new master of the blue armband!]
Blue armband?
What does that mean?
Well, if I think of it as being in the position of Oriana’s successor, it sort of makes sense.
Now that I recall, Oriana had something like a blue armband in place of an ID.
The Executors of the Barrier Agency seemed to recognize Oriana just by that, so I suppose it’s some kind of proof of being an Overseer.
Even Pira had a blue something like a brooch or on her shoulder.
“Returnee, are you ignoring me? How dare you disregard me, a representative of Ark’s will? Don’t think you’ll leave here in one piece before the auction…”
[What is that? Stay quiet.]
“Ugh?!”
At that moment, Rosa’s body froze.
Not just Rosa, but even the members of the Contact Unit surrounding me stopped moving.
I didn’t feel anything, but Rosa suddenly turned pale as if someone had grabbed her.
[Alice, Alice! So, what’s the matter? This is our first time talking, but I like you! So, feel free to tell me anything you want!]
The tone and excitement in her voice made her sound like a genuine child.
“Uh, thanks? Anyway, sorry for contacting you so suddenly, but I’m having trouble with an official from Ark.”
[Oh, I see! So that’s what’s happening?]
Strange.
Rilstia speaks as if she can see everything happening here.
Maybe there’s something like CCTV around.
“…….!”
Meanwhile, Rosa’s face alternated between red and purple, expressing her fury.
How dare a mere returnee.
[Ignoring the Overseer, who carries Ark’s code?!]
What underhanded trick had she used to even bind her body?
Born an elite and from a privileged family deep within Ark, Rosa had always dismissed commoners and scorned Hunters for engaging in lowly work.
Her anger and disdain toward returnees, however, were especially high.
Rosa had never viewed returnees, who came back from other worlds, in a favorable light.
Despite their strength, they only cared about their own safety.
They treated our reality as if it were a game or novel, disregarding its weight.
What she despised most was that they gained immense power simply by returning, without effort or noble bloodline.
In truth, many of Ark’s First-Class Overseers and key positions were held by returnees, who often overshadowed Rosa despite her elite training and education.
Thus, Rosa and others of her ilk, the so-called inner-circle elites, hated returnees without question.
Of course, the process of receiving power or increasing one’s abilities in Ark was through a procedure called ‘Code Granting,’ so Rosa herself fell into the category of those who gained power without effort.
But it’s not like these elites would ever reflect on themselves.
Rosa assumed Alice was just like any other returnee.
A decent face, but still a returnee.
Beneath it all, probably some useless or incompetent being.
She didn’t care about the specifics.
Likely one of those who babbled on about some game or anime while avoiding reality.
If not, how could she act so arrogant and presumptuous?
Even if she wasn’t like that, Rosa couldn’t stand the thought of someone living in luxury without effort, having gained power so easily.
She had intended to use binding magic, typically reserved for major criminals, to interrogate Alice forcefully.
But before the interrogation could begin, this arrogant little brat had already gotten on her nerves.
‘And now, to act so rude, lacking dignity, even treating Ark’s will—me—as if I were nothing…!’
Rosa began to resist the binding holding her.
The binding magic was indeed quite strong, but Alice, too, seemed unable to break free from Rosa’s binding spell, suggesting she wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful.
-Bang!
Rosa, now convinced, unleashed her Overseer Code, releasing her power, and instantly shattered the binding that had restrained her.
“Hah, how arrogant of you to dare bind me. Let me correct you—you’re not just a useless returnee.”
At Rosa’s words, Alice raised an eyebrow, her expression saying, “What’s with this guy?”
While Alice was talking with Rilstia, Rosa had worked herself into a frenzy, suddenly breaking free and entering some sort of liberated state, her clothes fluttering like a cape.
“Now, I don’t care whether you destroyed the Factory. Frankly, whether the Hunter rabble loses their base or not is no concern of mine.”
As Rosa spoke, she radiated an even more intense energy than before.
It was roughly comparable to Oriana’s usual energy.
Though it seemed like she was unleashing waves and scattering winds, in reality, it wasn’t much.
“But you dared to attempt to kill me—an Overseer, the very embodiment of Ark’s will.”
[What is she talking about?]
“Oh, you can hear her?”
[I can hear her loud and clear. I’ve been watching from the start!]
“I don’t really get it either. She just showed up and started freaking out.”
“You, a Hunter—a scourge of existence—the witless administration, and above all, you, a returnee, the embodiment of toxicity! It seems the only choice is to sever your limbs and sell you as a plaything to the wealthy at the auction!”
[Aha, she’s just a barking mad dog.]
“Die and beg, returnee! I am the will of Ark…!”
-Slash!
At that moment, Rosa’s arm was severed.
It wasn’t from any apparent attack.
With a simple “snap,” her arms fell off.
As if they were always meant to detach, like a child pulling apart LEGO pieces, Rosa’s arms suddenly came off.
“Wha… What…?!”
Even Rosa herself looked horrified, not understanding what was happening.
Her eyes behind her glasses showed shock, anger, and pain, a mix of emotions.
Her arms snapped off before her eyes, and then her legs started to detach as well.
The Code Unleashing, which should have been raging wildly, maintained a silence like a library’s stillness.
“No… This can’t be… I’m the will of Ark…!”
“What’s she rambling about?”
[I don’t know! Maybe she’s a delusional mutt gone mad!]
“Did you do this?”
[I don’t know! I swear!]
Rilstia feigned innocence, and Alice shrugged.
Well, whatever.
Rilstia, after all, was the direct superior of Oriana, the foster mother who had taken her in.
She was someone incredibly high-ranking in Ark.
When such a person openly showed goodwill toward her, it was only sensible to pretend to understand and nod along.
She would find out the truth eventually, and with Rilstia’s evident goodwill, there was no problem for now.
“So, is it resolved now, Riri?”
[Yes! It seems so! I feel so happy when Alice calls me Riri! Please keep calling me that!]
“If that’s what you want.”
[Yes! Now leave that mad dog there and head home to rest!]
“Alright.”
If Rilstia told her to go home and rest, then she would.
“Ugh… Ugh… This can’t be… I am… I am Ark’s will. Its representative… an Overseer! Who dares to do this to me…!”
As I looked at Rosa, who had broken the spell that restrained me, I saw her now limbless, writhing on the floor in a grotesque sight.
Her first impression had been that of a neatly dressed elite young man, but her face, twisted in pain and rage, was rather unsightly.
“Oh dear, how scary.”
■
■
■
■
Rilstia watched as Alice disappeared, curling her lips into a smile and fiddling with the screen.
Her appearance was more to Rilstia’s liking than what Oriana had described.
She was pretty, and maybe it was because she was the successor to the blue armband?
For some reason, everything about her seemed favorable.
‘But did you just dare to touch my blue armband?’
With an annoyed expression, Rilstia pressed her face against the screen.
[Materialization Projection]
“Gasp!?”
Rosa’s voice rang in Rilstia’s ears.
It was much clearer than before.
This made sense because Rilstia’s [Materialization Projection] was her unique ability, which allowed her to project and manifest as a hologram in any place within her line of sight or visible on-screen.
-Thud!
Despite the cute alarm sound coming from her shoes, Rosa looked even paler than before as she stared at Rilstia.
“Y-you’re not possibly…”
“Hello there?”
Rilstia smiled at Rosa.
Rosa could now see the bee-themed headband on Rilstia’s head.
Golden.
A golden pattern crafted deep within Ark.
The yellow armband.
“Yellow badge.”
Although called by nicknames, the true name was the Golden Pattern.
It was a unique color that only Administrators could wear.
‘Small stature. A childlike appearance. A bee headband with a golden pattern… Could it possibly be…?’
“Administrator Rilstia Frostia!?”
Because Rilstia’s appearance was so distinctive, Rosa had no choice but to recognize her immediately.
Rilstia gave a mischievous smile and waved at Rosa as if greeting an old friend.
“Nice to meet you, mad dog! I came here to deliver a notification!”
With a cheerful smile, Rilstia clenched her hand, and Rosa’s severed limbs, along with his body, floated into the air.
“Administrator Rilstia! I was wrong! I shouldn’t have dared…!”
“Overseer Rosa Vintz, if you want forgiveness, you’ll have to clearly admit what you did wrong!”
“T-that is…!”
Rosa’s voice faltered, weighed down by the many things he was guilty of.
“As an Overseer, I fulfilled my selfish desires by…”
“Oh, are you talking about how you sold people at auctions? I already know about the 47 cases with illicit profits totaling $3,433,101! But honestly, I don’t particularly care about that!”
How did she even know that…?
Even as Rosa stood dumbfounded, Rilstia continued to smile brightly.
“Ah! And your audacity as a mere third-grade Overseer to claim you represent Ark’s will? That’s something that could get you summoned for an administrative contempt trial, but I don’t care about that either!”
“You also discriminated against Hunters and returnees with absurd reasons, even though you’re part of the privileged class yourself… But that’s fine too! As long as you do your job well!”
Then Rilstia’s pupils split vertically.
“But why the hell did you touch my successor to the blue badge?”
“T-that was… I didn’t kno—”
“Oh, so if you didn’t know, you’d have hit me too? Go ahead, hit me! You insulted the representative of Ark, so go ahead, mad dog, hit me!”
As Rilstia’s vertically slit pupils approached closer, Rosa instinctively realized.
From now on, it would be far better to beg for death.