Chapter 206

It’s been two weeks since I returned to my daily routine.

Let me go over what happened step by step.

Polaris and I went back to the Royal Academy the day after we returned, but Victoria couldn’t do that.

That’s because she collapsed as soon as things calmed down and didn’t get up for three whole days.

The doctor said it was like she had been overworked to exhaustion.

She’d been using her psychic abilities all day long, which left her starving, and she was awake for way more than half a day—so it wasn’t surprising that she passed out.

After being hooked up to IVs for three days straight, she barely managed to sit up.

Once she got out of bed, Victoria was questioned by the royal family, just like everyone else captured in Bern City.

Surprisingly, they said killing Marquis Gaston wasn’t considered a crime.

But when you see how the royal people kinda glossed over that part… it feels like they’re trying to sweep under the rug the massacre Victoria committed in Nantes Village.

I don’t know why.

Like, over 5,000 people died because of her rampage—it’s insane.

Maybe they think keeping someone with that kind of power under their thumb is worth overlooking the atrocities?

Anyway…

Victoria was questioned by the royal family and then released without any punishment or restrictions, going back to school at the Royal Academy. They basically let her off scot-free.

And it wasn’t just her.

Everyone who was there when the royal air fleet arrived got questioned.

No one resisted or tried to escape—they were all rounded up quietly.

After arriving in the capital, they were locked up in prison and interrogated separately.

Shockingly, most of them walked out alive.

These were people who might have been plotting rebellion. Normally, if you surrender to the royal family, you’d expect them to execute everyone, right?

Marquis Gaston’s house had also been bending the king’s orders for their own twisted purposes.

Under normal circumstances, both sides could’ve been charged with treason and wiped out—but strangely, there was almost no punishment.

Well, the top-level culprits were either imprisoned or slapped with massive debts. In Marquis Gaston’s case, much of his wealth was confiscated by the royal family.

But that was about it.

No one was executed.

It wasn’t only them, though. Polaris, who had gone to Bern City with us, was also questioned. Of course, she wasn’t thrown in jail—being from a noble family, she was treated properly while being investigated.

That’s pretty much everything that happened during the week after we returned to the capital.

But no one came to question me. Not even now, two weeks later.

Why not?

I thought I witnessed some important stuff—why am I getting skipped?

At first, I figured they were waiting to figure out what happened before questioning me, especially since I created those super-powered psychics and multiplied them like crazy. Wouldn’t it make sense for them to suspect me now?

So I assumed they were planning to investigate me further.

But two whole weeks have passed, and still nothing.

It’s weird.

Since no one came for me, I just resumed my normal life where I lived.

As far as my involvement in the Bern City incident goes, that’s where it ends.

Back to everyday life.

Aside from the extra lessons scheduled for me, Polaris, and Victoria, the Royal Academy was surprisingly quiet.

Not because the students didn’t care—there was just bigger news overshadowing everything.

The royal family made a big deal out of publicizing what happened in Bern City, so every break time at the academy turned into heated discussions about it.

According to the royal announcement, three companies had betrayed the crown: Pride Industry, Rocket Mobile Company, and Gun and Rufu Company.

Not just these main companies but all their subsidiaries too.

They even formed a special team to conduct a full investigation into every single mechanical device within government institutions.

Through the state-run broadcast, the royal family meticulously detailed their findings each day, showing footage of the devastated parts of Bern City.

Here’s the funny thing: while the state-run channels kept blabbing on, the major news outlets stayed silent.

Not all TV channels are directly controlled by the state, you know. While smaller channels and the state-run ones were constantly covering the story, the big networks weren’t airing any specials about it.

What happens next?

About four days after I returned to the capital, the royal family made their announcement. A week later, the media started fighting amongst themselves.

The big outlets briefly chimed in right after the announcement but quickly fell silent, while the smaller ones tore into the story with gusto.

Newspapers reporting on the Bern City incident were flying off the shelves.

For an entire week after the royal family’s initial announcement, every edition sold like wildfire, detailing potential conspiracies, unanswered questions, and why this information hadn’t been shared earlier.

Some publications even started releasing special issues dedicated to the topic.

Meanwhile, companies associated with the three major corporations were plunged into serious trouble.

Noble families involved in related industries are currently being investigated under royal orders, specifically targeting rival factions.

You catch my drift?

Yeah, exactly.

The nobility initially tiptoed around the situation, carefully probing the royal family’s intentions, but once the royals looked away, chaos erupted.

Blood rained down.

The entire nation was thrown into turmoil—but it wasn’t bad turmoil. It was like lancing a festering wound.

Right now, everyone’s attention is focused on one thing:

Not the events in Bern City itself, but the revelation that these corporations had tried to manipulate the nation.

Word on the street says other countries are also starting investigations into these same companies.

It was a fatal move—they essentially placed the king beneath corporate control.

In short, here’s what happened:

In a world of faded memories, OS companies secretly installed functions allowing them to monitor and control devices internally.

Even security software companies were in on it.

This influence extended to military-grade weapons too.

We already saw the worst-case scenario play out: machines rising up in rebellion in the forest. That could’ve happened across the entire kingdom.

The country immediately began cracking down hard on these corporations.

Honestly, when I realized the extent to which these companies controlled major media outlets and all mechanical devices, I thought their public exposure would result in minor financial losses at most.

Given how widespread these global corporations are, I figured they’d crush any backlash from a single nation.

But I was wrong.

A week after returning—last week—the royal family revealed evidence that a backdoor allowing total control of all devices existed, and that they’d known about fundamental flaws in the power systems ahead of time.

When it came out that they’d bribed Marquis Gaston, the landowner of Bern City, to cover it up, the entire capital was buzzing with the story.

Our little trio skipping out on the academy seemed insignificant compared to this.

By the way, our names never came up in any official announcements.

Here’s what the royal family officially stated:

There was an incident of abnormal behavior in the mechanical devices in Bern City. Afterward, protesters demanding answers clashed with the army, allegedly incited by the three corporations bribing Marquis Gaston.

The royal army’s air fleet intervened to stop the conflict, and the royal family declared they wouldn’t hold the citizens accountable, vowing instead to uncover the truth.

Interviews with citizens present at the scene were also released.

Hilarious stuff.

To summarize:

The corporations had plotted to betray the royal family but were caught early by the royals.

They’re still hunting for the culprits.

But I know something else.

Society, reliant on mechanical devices, is about to undergo massive changes.

And there’s plenty of talent ready to fill the gaps.

The harvester who received my memory in Brightshin’s slums.

The harvesters who used my memory in Bern City.

Those who inherited fragments of Daegon’s and the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s memories will step forward too.

With such dramatic advancements in technology, the world is bound to change.

A new revolution is coming.

All I need to do now is watch quietly.

So, big problems solved.

But small ones remain.

Lunchtime after morning classes.

Victoria’s sitting next to me right now, looking deeply troubled.

“Still no word from your parents?”

“Yeah…”

Phones do exist, but they only work within city limits. Long-distance calls are tightly controlled by the state, making them difficult unless it’s for military or broadcasting purposes.

Apparently, it’s not a security issue but a technical limitation.

“They evicted all the citizens living in the area where they drew the line to stop the protests in Bern City. Once they settle in, they’ll reach out.”

“But what if they decide not to come back…”

Where did that bloodthirsty Victoria who cursed everyone to drown go? All that’s left is a whiny kid.

I try to comfort her.

What really happened to her parents, though?

…

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