Chapter 339 ·The Villain’s POV in the Academy
Chapter 339: The Villain’s POV in the Academy
Summer.
It was the first true summer this city had ever experienced. The blazing sunlight made the roads shimmer as though they were about to catch fire, and sweat streamed down your body even if you did nothing but sit still.
[Hello, this is today’s weather caster, Gina. It looks like we’re in for another sweltering summer day, but unfortunately, there’s no rain in the forecast for the time being. Due to the influence of high pressure, clear weather is expected to continue for a while, and as temperatures rise, those of you with Cyberware should take care not to suffer burns around the installation sites…….]
To most people, the Sky Dragon’s attack was known merely as an extension of the Monster Wave.
Just when they thought they had barely managed to stop the entire monster invasion, a Dragon had appeared at the very end, causing tremendous damage.
In truth, only an extremely small number of people knew that the Sky Dragon had been manipulating the city from behind the scenes through the system known as the Megacorp. It was something completely unknown to the general public.
For that reason, the disappearance of ‘Anti-Rain’, which had used the Sky Dragon’s power to defeat monsters, was likewise understood by the general public as the technology itself having been lost due to the Dragon’s attack.
Had the truth become known to them, there probably would have been plenty of people who poured their complaints and resentment onto Aaron.
Among the conspiracy theorists of the Deep Web, there had been someone who, through sheer dumb luck, happened to spout nonsense that came close to the truth, but that too was nothing more than a minor incident that occurred in the darker corners of the internet.
Anyway.
With the truth concealed like that, time passed until summer arrived, and the wounds of the war had more or less completely healed.
And then…….
“Ms. Kalia Stingray.”
“Yes.”
The G20 Corporate General Assembly was held.
So many things had happened that its scale had been drastically reduced to the point where it looked shabby compared to last year, and the composition of the participating corporations had also changed considerably.
Some corporations had fallen during the war, while others had risen to fill the vacancies they left behind, resulting in a natural generational shift.
And at the center of that change.
Was the Stingray Group.
The fact that the Stingray Group still retained its name could be called a miracle, or perhaps something closer to a feat of artistry(技藝).
Most of its buildings, laboratories, data, and the like remained almost entirely intact, but all of its employees had died. There was no way the Stingray Group could continue operating properly as it once had under such circumstances.
And yet, how had the Stingray led by Kalia been granted the qualifications to attend the G20 Corporate General Assembly?
The princess of a fallen empire.
Kalia, the sole survivor of the war, had first used the employees and funds belonging to the Stingray Foundation as her foundation. Given the circumstances, Maria also actively cooperated with her.
Afterward, she hired mercenaries and androids to guard the remaining research facilities, production facilities, and corporate buildings.
Since there was no telling who might steal Stingray’s assets, when they might do so, or how they might do it, she had decided to first surround the empire with walls and take stock of what remained.
After that, she sold off large quantities of technologies and products she judged to be relatively low in value to secure additional funds, then began hiring new employees from scratch.
Kalia personally participated in every stage of the interview process, carefully examining and selecting talented individuals.
At the same time, she also managed to coax the members of the City Reconstruction Committee into awarding her part of the reconstruction project.
She reinvested those funds into facilities and personnel, using the remnants of the Stingray Empire left standing amid the ruins as a foothold to begin growing again from the ground up.
Naturally, the name ‘Aaron Stingray’ had proven extremely useful throughout that process.
With a human weapon powerful enough to defeat the Sky Dragon backing her, the hyenas had no choice but to whimper and retreat even with prey ripe for the taking right before their eyes.
However, there was no way such a method could work indefinitely, and Kalia’s side likewise had no choice but to take what they could up to a certain point before backing down.
That was precisely why she had been allowed to attend the G20 Corporate General Assembly despite effectively lacking the qualifications to do so.
“Ms. Kalia. Do you remember the promise?”
“……Which promise might you be referring to?”
If the previous G20 Corporate General Assembly had been a gathering for currying favor with the Stingray Imperial Family in hopes of picking up whatever scraps fell from their table, this year’s G20 Corporate General Assembly was closer to a hearing convened to interrogate Kalia.
“Under normal circumstances, we should have demanded punitive damages for Chairman Stingray’s preemptive attack. However, in light of your claim that Chairman Stingray was being controlled by the Dragon, and as compensation for Aaron Stingray taking the lead in defeating that Dragon, we agreed to let the matter go. Do you remember?”
“Ah, yes. That.”
Kalia answered somewhat indifferently.
Part of it was a deliberately insolent attitude meant to keep herself from appearing intimidated, but the other party’s behavior genuinely struck her as utterly ridiculous.
Until last year, the man speaking now had been the president of a small-to-medium-sized corporation who would bow ninety degrees and flatter not only Chairman Stingray, but Kalia herself as well.
For Kalia, simply refraining from laughing at the arrogance that same man now displayed was an ordeal in itself.
“Yes. I remember.”
“In exchange for the government and ourselves accepting those conditions, you also entered into a contract with us. Do you remember?”
A contract.
Kalia shrugged before answering.
“Yes, of course I remember. You mean the agreement for us to lend you the power of my ‘elder brother’, ‘Aaron Stingray’, correct?”
Kalia deliberately emphasized the fact that he was her ‘elder brother’. In truth, that was effectively the only thing she had left to rely on, so she had little choice.
“I’m glad you remember. We called you here today because we have something to discuss regarding that contract. It is about time for your side to uphold your end of the promise, Ms. Kalia.”
“……Meaning?”
“Signs of a Monster Wave have been detected.”
“……!”
Monster Wave.
What had been bound to come had finally arrived.
Kalia clenched her fist where no one could see it.
“As you know, the previous war inflicted extensive damage on the military assets of numerous corporations, including Millennium Technology. Many military Modules were lost with the deaths of high-level Adapters, and we also lost a considerable number of weapons of war. Needless to say, the Government Special Mission Fixers and City Defense Forces were practically annihilated as well.”
“Yes.”
“And to make matters worse, with the technology behind ‘Anti-Rain’ also gone, our ability to respond to [Mysteries] has deteriorated significantly. We do not even know whether we could stop another Monster Wave using the same methods as last time.”
“In short, you’re saying you want to use ‘Aaron Stingray’.”
“To summarize it, yes.”
Kalia smiled inwardly at the man’s answer.
‘This is so obvious that I don’t even need telepathy to see what they’re thinking.’
They were surrounding her and applying pressure in an attempt to make her shrink back, but the ones who were actually anxious were them.
As stated earlier, the city was currently in a situation where it could be destroyed at any moment unless it relied on the power of ‘Aaron Stingray’, and in that regard, Kalia had a firm grip on their lifeline.
They knew that fact too, which was why they were deliberately acting so high-handed. Like a frightened cat puffing up its fur before a terrifying opponent.
‘I can…… use this.’
It was truly fortunate that another Monster Wave had broken out at just the right time. Had the peaceful days continued instead, her side’s position would only have weakened.
“Yes, I understand what you’re saying. But as you know, our situation isn’t exactly comfortable either.”
At Kalia’s words, the expressions of those attending the meeting twisted all at once.
“Now listen here! Didn’t we have a contract!? In exchange for lending us Aaron Stingray’s power……!”
“Ah, yes. Of course we made a contract. We did. But contracts can always be amended or terminated, can’t they? Personally, even if I have to pay a small penalty, I’d very much like to amend that contract.”
At Kalia’s response, the people participating in the meeting erupted in outrage. Some cursed her for being insolent, while others accused her of playing games with people’s lives.
But at that moment.
Kalia smiled and uttered a single sentence.
“Why don’t you all shut up?”
“……!”
A frigid atmosphere swept through the conference hall in an instant.
“How dare you raise your voices in front of me like this? It’s exceedingly unpleasant.”
“You insane woman……! Just because you’re running a corporation under the name ‘Stingray’, do you think the Stingray Empire still exists?”
“Of course.”
“W-What!?”
“Like you said, the Stingray Empire collapsed. All of its affiliates fell apart, all of its employees disappeared, and we’re absurdly short on liquid capital…… Yes, well. That’s true. But…… so what?”
Kalia spoke with a sneer.
“What can you do? A Monster Wave is coming, so what exactly can you do about it? Other than swallowing your pride and crying and begging us Stingrays to help you, what can you possibly do?”
“That bitch really……!”
“If you dislike that so much, you’re welcome to fight us instead. Your corporations’ combined military strength against one ‘elder brother of ours’. If they fought head-on, who do you think would win? Hmm?”
“……!”
“That’s all I have to say. We’ll lend you our strength, so I suggest you prepare sufficient compensation. Chairman Kharitonov?”
Kalia turned her gaze toward Kharitonov, the head of Militech, seated at the far end. Unlike the others, he maintained a poker face as he looked at her.
“You’re an intelligent man, Chairman, so I trust you understand the situation. I’d appreciate it if you would take the lead in persuading the others.”
“…….”
“Th-That woman……!”
Even as the others cursed, Chairman Kharitonov merely remained silent. Kalia met his eyes for several seconds before shrugging and speaking again.
“We’ll have the working-level staff handle the detailed contract renewal. Then, I’ll be going.”
And with that, Kalia left.
While the other corporate chairmen cursed her as an impudent little brat, Chairman Kharitonov remained deep in thought for a long time. Yet what eventually came out of his mouth was somewhat unexpected.
“……When did that young lady become such a brocon?”
After finally getting the chance to throw her weight around again after such a long time, Kalia walked down the corridor looking thoroughly refreshed. Maria naturally fell into step behind her and asked.
“Did the discussion go well, Young Lady?”
“Yeah. Having power really is nice. With military force backing you up, nobody can even make a move against you, you know?”
Kalia burst into laughter as she said that.
But only for a moment. The smile gradually vanished from her lips. As if that were not enough, she began trembling with anxiety.
“Um…… you know, Maria…….”
“Yes, please speak.”
“I’m scared to meet my elder brother…….”
“…….”
“What should I do……?”
Three months had passed since the war ended.
Only now had she begun reflecting on how she had treated her elder brother in the past.