Invidia

“I agree, that will likely work. Well, assuming your assessment of Darren Foster is correct, anyway.”

“But are you really sure you can pull that off, Ellie?”

“… Yeah. I can.”

There was no point in explaining the true method I was going to use. This could be accomplished without miracles, so ironically, being honest would only make Lily lose trust in me by way of making me seem crazy. As we re-entered the venue, I immediately set off to the ballroom. The kitchen should be in here, right?

I set off to put the last of my life to some use.

===

Lillia calmly approached Darren Foster, who had just separated himself from a conversation.

“Mister Foster. Still having fun?”

Darren, vaguely disinterested in his surroundings until that moment, gained an exponentially sharper impression upon Lillia’s approach.

“Ah, Lillia. Still planning on stealing back the Buchanan Design Company?”

Lillia’s face didn’t betray her slight annoyance at having her intentions exposed so easily.

“Oh, how could I ever do something that bold?”

Darren chuckled.

“You kids are more fun than most of my contemporaries… well, with one notable exception. You do remind me of your grandmother.”

“… I do?”

“How about I tell you a brief story before we begin serving again?”

“By all means.”

Darren gave a carefree smile and led Lillia to a table. Waving a hand at a waiter to bring them over, he grabbed a glass of wine. Lillia, for her part, refused. Darren examined his wine before speaking. He began to swirl the liquid as Lillia patiently waited for him to begin.

“My father told me that there are two types of ambitious people in this world: people who want to succeed for the material reward it can bring, and people who love winning for winning’s sake.”

“I suppose that’s mostly true.”

An image of her grandmother came to mind for the former, and a black-haired man for the latter. She paused for a moment, considering another, white haired woman.

“You’re right, Lillia. It’s mostly true. Beyond that, there is one more category.”

“What is it?”

“Well, we can get to that later. For now, let me tell you about your grandmother.”

Finally, Darren brought the wine to his lips.

“Hm, five hundred years of aging does wonders.”

“… Aren’t aging acceleration devices banned?”

Darren gave Lillia a dismissive look of “what do you think?”, to which Lillia shook her head lightly and smiled.

“Never mind. That was a dumb question.”

“No, it actually links quite well to what I wanted to say.”

Darren took another sip.

“Back when I was younger, I was in charge of distribution of artificially aged alcohol. We were actually quite widely used by bars and the like.”

At this moment, Lillia could only wish that recording devices worked in the Cube. But ultimately, she could only fantasise while letting him continue.

“To cut to the chase, the Bellon Corporation’s bar chain, then led by your grandmother, completely ruined my business.”

“… How?”

This was baffling in itself. Lillia had never heard of anything like this.

“We were undercut. Ella started to release off-brand fakes en masse under a different company and selling them at lower prices. Naturally, they were chemically identical to our products, but they simply cut the expensive aging process.”

While she was a little irritated that she had to hear even more about her grandmother’s brilliant stewardship, Lillia’s eyes widened. That was definitely something Ella Bellon would do.

“And you didn’t retaliate?”

Darren sighed lightly.

“We could have, but I didn’t want to. As a whole, my family tends to be too poor losers for my taste. I’m in the latter category from earlier, I do this because I enjoy it, not because I particularly care about the money.”

Lillia was thrilled at that comment.

‘Perfect. This is exactly what we needed, I can just-’

Her thoughts were cut off by Darren.

“Now, I assume you came here to make a bet with me, right?”

While Lillia’s static expression wouldn’t betray anything to passive observer, Darren smirked.

“You know, not changing your expression can be a tell in itself. Geniuses like you tend to get too cocky when dealing with supposed untalented old bats like me. You’re inexperienced”

“I don’t-”

“If you weren’t inexperienced, we wouldn’t be sitting here. You would’ve cut your losses and left early. You’re still not anywhere near Ella Bellon; you know that, right?”

Lillia was beginning to get frustrated. He was looking down on her. A crushing feeling began to clamp down her heart. She wanted to receive the same recognition as Ella. She didn’t want to hear more of this.

“You shine far more brightly to me, Lily.”

Lillia’s lips lifted, and, though it would be imperceptible to almost anyone, a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face. She took a deep breath, and, calming herself, she looked Darren in the eye.

“I don’t care, Mister Foster. I don’t think you do either, right?”

Darren gave a wide grin.

“You’re goddamn right I don’t. So, what do you want to bet?”

“If your reputation is ruined among the partygoers by midnight, then you’ll cut out your harassment of the Buchanans. If not, then I’ll tattoo the East Meryka Trading Company logo on my arm.”

Still smiling to himself, Darren put down his glass.

“I think you’re the third type of ambitious person, Lillia.”

“Hm?”

“You’re the type to want to win because you have something to prove. Is it to Ella?”

Lillia paused and looked off at the ballroom door.

“… No. I think right now, there are only two people who I care about proving something to.”

Darren, glancing at his watch, came to a decision.

“Alright, it’s ten o’clock now. I’ll accept that bet.”

Lillia could only shake her head in slight disbelief.

‘My intuition told me he’d accept this, but it’s unbelievable to actually see a man trade a company for a tattoo.’

===

I finally left the ballroom, having completed my task. What I had seen in that room was rather shocking for me, even for me. How did they even use a bucket like that?! Not to mention, I am entirely certain that they shouldn’t have been snorting that concrete powder….

Black ice is so dangerous not just because it severely impairs judgement during its high, but also because it removes mental limiters on physical strength during use, and, on top of that, it permanently restructures the brain to be more predisposed to violent behaviour. Naturally, the wealthy can afford to somewhat mitigate these side effects, but problems still remain. Those who can’t afford to treat the side effects tend to end up in far, far worse shape.

No matter what I thought about, I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in my chest from what I had just done. I’m probably dead, aren’t I?

“Hey, Ellie!”

I turned to the voice and saw Lily standing next to Darren Foster.

“It’s ready, Lily.”

“I really do wonder how you did it.”

“Miracles.”

Lily softly laughed at that, but I couldn’t help but simply feel tired. I definitely won’t be able to gain any faith here… is it just over? In spite of that looming threat, I pushed the issue aside for the moment. Darren, looking at both of us with interest, cocked his head slightly.

“You interfered with the product somehow, right? Hm, I wonder how you would do that….”

“As I said, it was a miracle.”

Darren slightly smiled, clearly assuming I was joking. I haven’t even cried wolf before…. I lightly sighed and called over a waiter to grab some wine. Seeing Darren and Lily talking, I assumed Lily had successfully made the bet. If that was the case, then the situation should be firmly in our favour. Lily, in turn, confirmed one more thing with Darren.

“Ah, may I address the guests after they’re served, Mister Foster?”

“Very well.”

And so, it was time to wait.

===

Ella Bellon watched as Lillia and Elysia met up once more after Lillia made a bet against Darren Foster.

‘So, you really could do it, Lillia? I was worried that you might take the easy way out, but… I’m glad. You did something I never could.’

She leaned back on her chair and stared at the ornate ceiling. In all of her century of life, she had never once been able to teach a protégé, so raising Lillia was a truly unique experience. Ultimately, she had succeeded in motivating her by pressing Lillia’s sense of inferiority and envy towards her grandmother. Ella smiled.

‘That was a little fun. Maybe I’ll try it again in another hundred years’ time.’

She glanced at the ballroom, wondering how Elysia pulled off what she assumed their plan was.

‘Maybe she really is a prophet? I heard she was trying to claim that in my reports. Well, I suppose it doesn’t really matter either way.’

Nevertheless, losing interest in the party now that conclusion was clear, Ella began to tap away at her E-watch.