SCIAW: Chapter 160/162

Chapter 160: The Crime That Cannot Be Escaped

The lives of ordinary people are naturally completely different from those of nobles.

As someone who was once an ordinary person, Toshihiko could clearly perceive the vast gap between commoners and the elite.

When he was young and his mind was still developing, he experienced treatment that did not align with his circumstances. As a result, his mindset changed drastically.

Subconsciously wanting to sever ties with his past self, he inevitably buried the memory of his mother's car accident.

In truth, this kind of reaction is quite normal.

After all, people die, but life goes on.

Although Kaguya didn't say these words outright, everyone present understood the meaning behind them.

"The dazzling world is tempting," she mused.

"Everyone desires a life without struggle. If even adults cannot resist such temptation, how could a child?"

Ren understood Toshihiko's situation at that time.

If he had been given an easy life as a child, perhaps his personality would have turned out differently.

For a seven-year-old child, twenty years ago, it was natural that he lacked the awareness to resist.

"It's just that... even after knowing who truly killed his mother, he still shifted the blame. That decision was truly inappropriate," Ren remarked.

Kaguya nodded slightly.

Not only was it inappropriate—it was utterly unacceptable.

He claimed to seek revenge for his mother, yet he directed his anger at an innocent party instead of targeting the real culprit.

If Toshihiko had sought vengeance against the actual criminal still in prison, it would at least prove his resolve.

But instead, he chose to take out his rage on a police officer whose only crime was pursuing criminals.

And no matter how much responsibility that officer might bear, it was only secondary. In fact, it was that very officer who had arrested the perpetrator responsible for his mother's accident.

Even so, he still viewed the officer as the true culprit.

Such behavior was simply unjustifiable.

"Kaguya-sama," Hayasaka spoke up, "have you finished recording the poisoning incident?"

"It's done," she confirmed.

At this moment, Hayasaka had already returned to Kaguya's side.

"The footage has been checked. It clearly captures Toshihiko, the groom, poisoning Miss Suzuki's lemon tea with sodium hydroxide."

"There's no doubt about it—this was an attempted murder."

At this moment, Sonoko also stood up.

"Hmph! They must have taken advantage of my presence at Inspector Matsumoto's wedding to retaliate against the Suzuki Zaibatsu. It seems the Takasugi Zaibatsu is truly dissatisfied with our cooperation."

"Hayasaka, call the police officers stationed outside the venue."

"I'd like to hear their thoughts on what kind of behavior it is for a groom to attempt to poison and murder me at his own wedding."

"Understood, Miss Suzuki."

Hayasaka chuckled, bowed slightly, then opened the door to let the restless figures outside enter.

There was no doubt—this was a deliberate setup.

But no one in the room felt even a hint of unease or guilt.

They held only contempt for a criminal who attempted murder.

"Click!"

The door swung open, and the people outside rushed in.

"Superintendent Matsumoto, I would like to ask, why did the groom attempt to murder Miss Suzuki?"

Hayasaka's words sent a sudden shock through the crowd.

Attempted… murder!?

The groom's friends all widened their eyes in disbelief.

This crime was far too severe.

And the target of the murder was the daughter of the Suzuki Zaibatsu.

In an instant, the friends who had just been drinking with the groom took several steps back.

Just kidding—everyone might be friends while drinking.

But now that an attempted murder charge was in play, who would still stand by a criminal?

"Attempted… murder!?"

Matsumoto Kiyonaga's gaze darkened as he quickly scanned the room.

His eyes locked onto his daughter—seated, safe, and in good health.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Then, his gaze fell upon Toshihiko, lying motionless on the floor, and his expression turned grim.

Of course, he didn't believe that Toshihiko was targeting the second daughter of the Suzuki Zaibatsu.

The true target of this man's revenge was undoubtedly him—Matsumoto Kiyonaga.

And he had aimed at his daughter to carry it out.

But upon seeing the situation inside the room, Matsumoto Kiyonaga felt reassured.

Sonoko stood there, outwardly furious but unharmed.

He immediately understood—it was an orchestrated plan between his daughter and the Suzuki heiress.

Having realized this, he decided not to interfere.

"Murder!?"

"That man actually committed such a deranged act?"

Matsumoto Kiyonaga's face darkened even further.

"I never expected him to take advantage of my daughter's feelings, nor to use her connection with Miss Suzuki to target her in such a vile manner."

"Megure!"

"Yes, sir!"

Megure Jusan immediately stepped forward from behind him.

"Handcuff this scumbag who dared to attempt murder and take him straight to Metropolitan Police Headquarters for interrogation!"

"Also, notify the Takasugi Zaibatsu and Suzuki Zaibatsu, they are both required to report to the station!"

"Understood!"

Megure Jusan glanced at Takasugi Toshihiko lying on the floor.

He found it hard to believe that this man would have the audacity to target the second daughter of the Suzuki family.

However, targeting Superintendent Matsumoto's daughter was a different matter.

It would have been difficult to predict whether Suzuki Sonoko would attend this wedding, but the bride, as the wedding's central figure, was guaranteed to be present.

So, it was clear, Toshihiko's true target had been Matsumoto Kiyonaga's daughter.

Yet, in this moment, they were formally identifying Takasugi Toshihiko as the culprit behind the attempted murder of Miss Suzuki.

Though Megure Jusan had an inkling of the truth, he didn't see Takasugi Toshihiko as innocent.

After all, if this man hadn't truly harbored murderous intent, this situation wouldn't have unfolded at all.

Stepping forward, Megure Jusan pulled out a pair of handcuffs and secured them around Takasugi Toshihiko's wrists.

"Miss Hayasaka, do you have evidence of this man's crime?"

"Of course," she replied.

Megure Jusan briefly paused after securing the handcuffs—he had already expected as much.

This was a trap carefully laid for Toshihiko.

But if he hadn't actually intended to kill, he wouldn't have fallen into it.

He had no one to blame but himself.

Hayasaka retrieved the camcorder she had prepared in advance.

"Superintendent Matsumoto, this was originally meant to record the bride's wedding, but unexpectedly, it captured the groom poisoning Miss Suzuki's drink."

"The poisoned target was the lemon tea can Miss Suzuki had been drinking from."

"Please take this into evidence."

"Of course."

Matsumoto Kiyonaga accepted the camcorder, though his facial muscles twitched with anger.

He truly hadn't expected Toshihiko to be so ruthless.

This time, it had been too close.

That man had almost succeeded.

(To be continued.)

Special thanks to Vester 1 for sponsoring this extra chapter 🎉🎉

Chapter 161: "Clown"

[Today, the police arrested a groom for poisoning someone at a wedding.]

Because the incident was quite serious, the news was reported on the evening broadcast.

Of course, the report only mentioned the groom who committed the poisoning.

The bride's involvement and the identity of the victim were deliberately omitted.

The implication was clear—the details of those involved were being kept confidential.

But in reality?

It was an intentional suppression of information.

Even the media were downplaying the incident between the bride and the poisoned individual.

After all, the culprit was the groom, which meant the bride was implicated as well.

Especially considering that the bride was the daughter of a police inspector, this part of the news needed to be concealed even further.

As for the identity of the poisoned victim, it had to remain hidden.

She was the second daughter of the Suzuki Zaibatsu and the future heir of the conglomerate.

If the heirs of major corporate families had to face assassination attempts not from internal power struggles but from rival conglomerates, the implications would be catastrophic.

If the families collectively decided to flee the country, the situation would become even more problematic.

After all, if the business environment within their own country was so dangerous that heirs faced poisoning attempts from competing conglomerates, wouldn't every chaebol heir have to start worrying for their lives?

Thus, certain matters had to be suppressed.

On the other hand, the Takasugi Zaibatsu, which had become the butt of a massive joke, was utterly doomed.

Public opinion crushed the last remnants of the Takasugi Zaibatsu's reputation.

Their former leader, Takasugi Minami, was so enraged that he died in the hospital, a devastating blow.

Meanwhile, Takasugi Mikako faced accusations of illegally transferring assets, along with suspicions of liquidating stocks for cash.

Originally, those funds had been meant for her retirement, but now, they were frozen pending investigation.

With the collapse of the Takasugi Zaibatsu, the company's stock prices plummeted, and many of their assets were seized.

In short—the Takasugi Zaibatsu had lost everything.

And as the sole heir of the Takasugi Zaibatsu, Takasugi Toshihiko now faced attempted murder charges alongside an insurmountable amount of debt.

It was as if he had been pushed off a cliff with no way to climb back up.

At this point, Toshihiko's best hope was receiving the maximum sentence for attempted murder.

Otherwise, life outside prison would be far worse than a lifetime behind bars.

Seated on the sofa, Ren shook his head slightly as he switched off the TV.

Then, he opened his diary, preparing to complete the final entry for the day.


---

[As expected, the fall of the Takasugi Zaibatsu also brought down Takasugi Toshihiko's adoptive parents.]

[But this was inevitable.]

[His adoptive father died from anger. His adoptive mother's assets were frozen for investigation, leaving her future retirement in question.]

[And as the only heir of the Takasugi Zaibatsu...]

[With his adoptive father dead and his adoptive mother losing all financial support, he is now burdened with every debt owed by the Takasugi Zaibatsu.]

[Even if they sold off every last asset, it wouldn't be enough to pay back what was owed.]

[For him, prison is probably the safest place to be right now.]

[If he receives a life sentence, at least he can live out the rest of his days behind bars.]

[But if he only gets ten years… then his remaining time in this world might just be ten years.]

[Still, his fate is a fitting consequence for his actions.]


---

With that, Ren stopped writing—today's diary entry was complete.

Closing the diary, he quietly focused on the sensation of the magic potion digesting within his body.

His Seer sequence had progressed significantly today, thanks to his guidance of Sayuri and the divinations regarding Toshihiko's past.

In a way, he had unknowingly fulfilled the role of a Seer, accelerating his potion digestion.

"Already?"

While examining his spiritual energy, Ren noticed something surprising—his Marauder and Apprentice potions had also progressed in digestion.

There was now only one-fifth left to complete their full digestion.

This pace was honestly a bit shocking.

It had been less than two weeks since he drank the potions, yet all three pathways were nearly digested.

And that was without even intentionally role-playing any of them.

"At this rate… one more week?"

"No… I won't even need a week to finish the rest."

"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be facing a severe potion shortage soon."

A sigh escaped him.

Originally, he wasn't worried about potion progression since he assumed it would take time.

But now, what had previously not been a problem was becoming a major issue.

"Well… I'll do a divination later to see if anything interesting happens."

That could wait.

For now, he had to complete today's lottery first.

The giant roulette wheel spun and slowly came to a stop.


---

[Lord of the Mysteries]

[Acquired: Sequence 8 Potion – Clown]


---

A blue potion bottle appeared before Ren.

He was no longer surprised by such occurrences.

It just so happened that he had finished digesting Seer today, and now the Clown potion had arrived—right on time.

Without hesitation, he pulled out a maple leaf coin and flipped it.

There was no problem with drinking the potion.

The coin landed safely.

Confirmed.

Uncorking the bottle, he tilted it back and downed the potion in one gulp.

The Clown potion had a rather stimulating sensation—akin to carbonated soda, tingling and numbing his tongue.

It was also intensely sweet.

So sweet, in fact, that it was even sweeter than cola—almost sickeningly sweet.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Ren examined the empty bottle in his hand with mild surprise.

"Weird…"

"It's not exactly bad, but why do these potions always taste so strange?"

"!?"

Suddenly, Ren paused.

Something felt off.

The potion he had just swallowed was already digesting.

His mind filled with a single question mark.

"Wait… what's happening?"

"Did I already play the role of a Clown before?"

"Why is it digesting immediately after drinking?"

Ren thought back carefully.

He couldn't recall doing anything that fit the role of a Clown.

He had never made a confession to a girl, nor had he ever visited a circus.

In the past, he had simply been an ordinary high school student.

He didn't see how any of his behavior resembled that of a Clown.

But the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

"Or… have some of my past actions already been judged as Clown-like?"

(To be continued.)

Special thanks to Vester 1 for sponsoring this extra chapter 🎉🎉

Chapter 162: Limitations of Gifts

"Strange…"

Yeah, this was really strange.

Ren couldn't recall doing anything that resembled a Clown, so why was the potion digesting so effortlessly?

Although it felt odd, rapidly digesting a potion stage wasn't a bad thing.

The only issue was that the gap in potion sequences remained just as large.

As the Clown potion was digested, Ren could clearly feel that Sefirah Castle was integrating with him at an accelerated pace.

The degree of synchronization had increased significantly.

And as a result, the permissions he could access within Sefirah Castle also expanded.

Now, he could temporarily grant himself the abilities of a Sequence 6.

But along with this, Ren received a critical information.

"Before reaching Sequence 4, you cannot borrow the power of Sequence 4 in advance."

"Sequence 4 marks the beginning of Mythical Creature transformations."

Resting his chin on his hand, Ren quickly understood the implication.

If low and mid-sequence Beyonders were still considered ordinary humans, then high-sequence Beyonders were something beyond human—half-mortal, half-divine.

Physically, mentally, and spiritually, they far surpassed normal humans.

Once someone reached high sequence, they would begin to exhibit Mythical Creature characteristics—the fundamental divide between mid-sequence and high-sequence Beyonders.

"If I attempt to break the limit and borrow Sequence 4's power prematurely, my body will be transformed by the influence of the source material… huh?"

"Wait… isn't that a good thing?"

Starting the transformation toward Sequence 4 before actually reaching it, that didn't seem bad at all, right?

Yet, Sefirah Castle had warned him against doing so.

Ren never ignored warnings from Sefirah Castle.

If it really intended to harm him, it wouldn't bother issuing a warning at all.

But it had.

That meant this was a dangerous choice.

Ren sighed and shook his head slightly.

"I guess this isn't as good as it sounds for me."

Memorizing this warning, he immediately dismissed any thoughts of borrowing Sequence 4's power.

There was no need to recklessly explore the unknown, especially when it wasn't beneficial.

Shifting his focus, Ren relaxed his boiling spirituality and checked his current state.

"It seems there's no negative effect on me."

"And Wild Card's value is still rising."

He couldn't help but sigh.

If he hadn't obtained Wild Card early on and had jumped directly into Sequence potions, he wasn't sure if he would have made it this far.

Even though there were no other Beyonders in this world, if it had been only him, maintaining absolute rationality would have been nearly impossible.

Ren was well aware of his own nature.

He wasn't someone with extraordinarily strong willpower.

If he had been a revolutionary from a past era, maybe he could have endured.

But he was just an ordinary person, living in modern society, enjoying the comforts of the times.

He lacked the unyielding determination of those who had fought through hardship.

Growth required support.

Without it, he couldn't walk this path alone.


---

"Knock, knock, knock!"

A sudden knocking at the door interrupted Ren's thoughts.

Sighing, he got up and walked to the entrance.

When he opened the door, he wasn't surprised to see a familiar black-and-white panda pajama outfit.

"...Aren't you sleepy this late at night?"

Ren gazed at his neighbor with mild exasperation.

"I've been thinking about the studio lately, and it's been keeping me up."

Okino Yoko had her reasons.

Lately, she had been contemplating starting her own studio, a major step toward her dream of running a business.

She was no longer just an idol under an agency.

She wanted to become her own boss.

"Fine, come in first."

"Hehe~"

Yoko grinned and stepped inside.

Like it was second nature, she closed the door behind her, locked it, and then pulled out a pair of fluffy indoor slippers from the entrance cabinet.

After slipping them on, she followed Ren into the living room.

She plopped onto the sofa, exhaling deeply.

"Ha… suddenly becoming my own boss… it really feels like a dream."

Ren glanced at the visibly relaxed Yoko and shook his head helplessly.

"If your true fans saw you like this, they'd probably be terrified."

Hearing this, Yoko just rolled her eyes.

"There's always a difference between being on stage and being at home."

"Fans say they want idols to be 'real,' but even the most genuine idols have a distinction between their private life and public image."

"Even as an idol, you need to be casual at home—otherwise, fans will feel like it's all fake."

"That said, I always try to show my fans the truest version of myself."

"Otherwise, if the contrast between my stage persona and my real self is too big, it could cause serious issues."

"You're not wrong."

Ren agreed.

Many celebrities who built their careers around a certain public persona had suffered major backlashes when their real personalities clashed with their image.

A strong public persona could attract fans, but if it ever collapsed, those same fans could become haters overnight.

So, it was always better to maintain a moderate image—not too high, not too unrealistic.

"You're still thinking about the studio even this late at night?"

"It's been a few days. Have you reached out to anyone in the industry yet?"

"I have, but almost every time I bring it up, I get rejected."

Ren wasn't surprised.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing."

"Yeah… it's actually not."

Yoko chuckled.

"If I tell them about my plans in advance, they won't be able to negotiate with me later out of guilt."

"But it's not like I got nothing out of it."

"A few close friends—people I used to work with—have reached out to me."

"They said if I actually go through with starting a studio, they'd support me."

"Of course… if I can help them cover their contract termination fees first."

Ren nodded slightly.

"Just make sure to set clear rules in advance. You don't want unnecessary trouble later."

"You need to confirm that their words aren't just empty promises."

"Don't worry, I've already told them that."

Hearing this, Ren picked up on something.

"So… you're so excited that you can't sleep?"

"Hehe~"

Yoko smiled sheepishly.

"Well, you're still awake too, right? So I figured I'd come over and chat."

(To be continued.)