Re:START/If {Book 1.0}
Chapter 24: New Year could be another new beginning (Part 01)
|Odo POV|
After talking to Vil in the library, I immediately got out of the place and went to the garden in the front yard. There was not a single person in that place, perhaps they were still in the Mansion and counting the results of the expedition. Honestly, the results are very much, but knowing what I bring more than that makes me less satisfied with the results.
Looking towards the sky that had turned dark and the snowflakes were still falling, a glimpse of relief was felt in my mind. There is still a lot that is not finished and is just about to start from this point, but that does not mean like the first time I started to decide to move. Since I understood my ultimate goal of living in this world, anything I would do to achieve it.
“I will definitely prevent that destruction ...”
Cleaning the park bench from the snow pile, I sat in this quiet place while breathing a sigh of relief and exhaling it into a white puff of steam. Crossing my right leg over my left, for a moment I leaned my back against the bench and turned off the temperature-regulating magic I used to endure the cold.
My body shivered for a moment, but that's okay. This feeling, the sensation that makes this self feel more alive is not what it feels. Lately I have been shutting down too often and ignoring my senses like this, ignoring the pain in the body and compassion in the mind. Using Auto Senses too often for that sort of thing seems to reduce my humanity.
Recalling the conversation with Vil earlier, I briefly re-thought the concept of life we talked about. Basically what is life? Why is everyone dying to survive? Such an answer may be obvious, but upon re-review it becomes blurry. There is no definite answer, everyone has different opinions depending on their perceptions.
Opening my two palms and looking at it, from within me it was as if something was preventing me from dying. Although I myself have actually been satisfied, although I have got many things that I could not have in my previous life, but the desire to stay alive is clearly felt from within.
I have had a caring family and have always loved me, a person who can be called a brother, and a friend even though he is not close. That's enough .... But it is really this desire that prevents me from being satisfied.
“Don't say you want to die, live!” that word is like a snarl in my head. It wasn't Auto Senses or Seliari, it was just a passion in myself. “Life without giving up! There's still so much to do!” such an order seemed to keep pushing me until now. It all comes from inside me, I understand that very well. But, I don't know why all that without me knowing it comes from the outside. As with my life, all of it came into me because of the influence of the environment and everyone around me.
One cannot live without the influence of others, life is a journey to meet something precious out there and change ourselves.
These two hands, this body, this opportunity that was given to me, it was like a chain that bound me and forced me to move on. I forced myself to keep moving forward and doing my best. I understand that there is nothing wrong, that is how one should live. Get out of your comfort zone, grow and step forward.
But there is something that feels awkward. I don't care about any of it, the sense of consciousness does exist but I don't care about any of it. It's okay if I die, but I don't want to see people around me die .... It was sad, because such thoughts were in my attitude pattern, I moved. Not that I really care, but only for personal satisfaction I move and even willing to sacrifice my life.
It is the same as the concept of life, there is no clear real boundary between a person who is really alive and really dead. It is not a matter of physical or soul, but of mind and morals. Living as if dead, such a term is often given to people who have no meaning or purpose in life. But on the other hand, there is a contradiction. Nothing in this world is meaningless, everything has meaning.
Even before I knew magic that could allow the limits of the concept of life and death to fade, such a thing was full of problems. The incarnation does not change that concept, it only makes things worse.
“Ah, my ass is cold .... Could have inflammation ...”
Waking up from the bench, I started to re-activate the magic to warm the body. Uh, it feels so good to feel this temperature-raising sensation. Taking a light breath, I started walking back towards the Mansion. Entering through the main door, I immediately walked towards the room by avoiding the Shieal who were still busy taking care of work after the expedition.
Walking in the hallway, glancing out at a glance looks the darkness of the night that does not feel foreign to me. It was like when I used to watch a movie, when I looked out the window the visibility was limited and the snow fell gently. The footsteps stopped and I went to the window, looked out and enjoyed the view I thought was good.
“Young Master, aren't you sleeping? Julia said that to Madam ..”
Eh? I looked up when I heard that voice. Right behind me stood Minda, a woman with long black hair who looked grown up. He was one of Shieal and could be said his main task was to take care of the layout of the Mansion's furniture and its maintenance. It is not surprising that he went around before going to bed at night.
“Aaaa .., I was ...”
“Blowing out again?”
Ah, he's right .... Very precise. I lied to Julia again. No, I don't think I'm lying this time. I really slept for a while. Staring at the woman's black hair, I replied, “Hmm, not really, Madam Minda. I was at the library.”
“Oh, book reading routine apparently.”
“Eh?” My eyebrows are shocked. “Since when did it become a routine?” my many.
“Not, huh? Everyone at Mansion knows that you often go to the library,”, said Minda. He glanced at the end of the hall, looking like there was something he had to do.
“What is not finished .... it .. leveling the results of the expedition and its goods?”
“What letter is it?”
“I don't know. But ..., according to Fiola who was with Madam ..., it seems like something bad has happened. Queen said ... has died.”
Ah, about that. I'm not surprised, I won't. Obviously, I already knew the news about it and it was also what prompted me not to keep quiet once one of my initial goals was over. Once this debt is complete, there will have to be massive changes in some aspects to be able to defend against the waves that may come after this in the near future.
The death of a leader is tantamount to a change in the order of government, especially for the Kingdom of Felixia which is basically the supreme leader is the Queen. The throne of King Gaiel is likely to falter, the royals begin to coalesce and cycle as the previous leadership change would.
Just like what was stated in the archives about the feud of the nobles that occurred when the previous Queen died, such a plot will also occur in the near future. Considering that the Luke Family is sufficiently supported by King Gaiel, the change in leadership that might occur will definitely have a big impact.
Before that I have to prepare everything ....
A little tilting my face, I put on a smile while asking and pretending not to know about it, “How has this news reached my father, huh? I haven't come home yet, have I?”
“Tuan Dart seems to know already, Young Master .... The letter ... was written by Mr. Dart himself who was in the Capital. He said after he finished distributing the winter supplies, he immediately came to the Capital after getting the news ..”.
“Eh?” I really didn't expect that. That guy was there first? Is that as bad as it is to the extent that .... No, maybe for another reason. If it's not wrong Dad is also very close to the King, maybe that's why he came soon.
“Oh, yes .... Sir, do you want to sleep after this?” ask Minda.
“Ya, so .... What is it, Mother Mind?”
“Please do not install optical illusion magic when you wake up, pity if Julia gets angry Madam continues ..”
Eh? He realized??! I had completely forgotten that the instincts and sensitivity level of Mbak Mind were sharper than others about such type of magic. Turning my eyes away from her, I just put on a flat face.
“Yeah, asking that from Young Master feels free .... Then let me go first, sir. My piled up work needs to be completed tonight ..”
“Oh, year-end cleaning?”
“Final year-end shrinkage and structuring,” correction.
He immediately left by accelerating his footsteps. Looking at the black hair woman's back, I remembered something. Immediately turning around and stepping foot, I headed towards my room to make some things there. But before that, I stopped by the study to meet my mother and asked her for a stack of parchment paper.
He did not ask anything else, unlike usual Mother immediately agreed to my request. Although it felt strange with that, but because it was not too problematic so I did not question it.
Bringing the papers I got into the room, I immediately placed them on the table in the corner and closed the door. As expected, my room light was turned off again. Madam Minda was completely aware of what I was doing by installing optical illusion magic. Walking towards the switch, I turned the lights back on.
Sitting in front of a table with a slightly taller wooden chair and made to fit me, I picked up a quill pen and a mangsi box from the desk drawer. Preparing for all that, I immediately wrote a cover letter.
In general standards, a cover letter is needed to make a visit to an agency. Such a letter is versatile because it is flexible based on the purpose of manufacture. On behalf of the Luke Family and writing letters on parchment paper that already had the stamp of the Royal Government of Felixia, I used it to create a cover letter that no agency in the Kingdom would be able to refuse.
The letter I made contained one goal, which was to meet Mayor Mylta in the coastal town. The purpose of the meeting I wrote only for the initial year plan talks, but in the details I inserted a little threat with a word “Investigation” for the possible act of malfeasance granted by the Kingdom of Felixia.
I'm not just bluffing about it, the fact about the record of corruption on some aspects does exist. Actually the corruption carried out by the Mayor is not large, even more personal property is used to advance the city. However, the fact that the Baron used the allocation of state funds for other things is clearly recorded and therefore development is hampered. The funds are not consumed personally. In another note I found in the archives about the fund, there is also a trace that the funds were used to purchase basic food items during the critical withdrawal caused by the withdrawal of funds for the first Astral World Expedition.
“While we act, even we demand ...”
It was like blaming others for their own mistakes. It's terrible ..... I put the pen on the table and closed the mangsi so as not to dry. Putting the cover letter apart with another pile, I again picked up the plain parchment and re-wrote it with another letter.
Tonight I should at least write more than dozens of official letters to several agencies. Since there are no photocopiers in this world, everything has to be manual. The letters I addressed were not government agencies only, but private trading companies and some Guild branches did not escape the target of my plan.
In order to make a wide network of connections all that is needed, the important thing is the introduction first and they should know. For that reason, I do not hide my identity and write my light name. They must have heard of the Dragon Killer challenge, it has become a powerful stock and their perception of me should be quite good in the eyes of these people I am aiming for.