Parallel Memory

Chapter 715: Tech Genesis

(Zeros POV after the crowning of war heroes and declaration of peace treaty)

The celebration ended without a decision.

The people left the plaza carrying different opinions.

Some believed peace was the only way forward.

Others believed humanity had made a mistake by allowing the devils to survive.

The arguments continued even after the crowd had dispersed.

I remained on the rooftop for a while, looking down at the emptying plaza.

The banners were still hanging.

The stage was still standing.

The names of the heroes were still being shouted by people who had never seen the battlefield.

Mia.

Hiro.

Their group.

The Church.

The War Council.

The names of the people who had fought and survived had become symbols.

And the people had chosen what they wanted to believe.

I couldn’t really blame them.

After all, humans had always been like this.

They needed heroes.

They needed villains.

They needed a simple explanation for complicated events.

The Devil King had been defeated.

Humanity had survived.

Therefore, someone had to be the hero who had saved everyone.

And I had no interest in correcting them.

I looked toward the stage one last time.

Mia had stood there and spoken about peace.

She had tried to convince people to let go of their hatred.

But even after defeating the Devil King, the battle had not truly ended.

The enemy was no longer standing across a battlefield.

It was standing inside the hearts of the people.

Some wanted peace.

Some wanted revenge.

Some wanted power.

Some wanted control.

The more I thought about it, the more I understood something I had always known but never truly considered.

The greatest threat to humans had never been only the devils.

It was humanity itself.

Humans could stand together against an enemy.

But once that enemy disappeared, they began fighting among themselves.

The Church wanted control.

The Authority wanted control.

The people wanted justice.

The soldiers wanted revenge.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, everyone claimed they were doing what was best for humanity.

I sighed.

"How troublesome."

I turned away from the plaza.

I had no reason to stay.

The war was over.

The peace treaty was being discussed.

Mia and the others were handling the political mess.

And I had something else I wanted to check.

Tech Genesis.

I had been away for a long time.

Longer than I had originally expected.

The last time I had seen Aiden, Tech Genesis was still growing.

It had been successful.

Very successful, actually.

But I never imagined it would have grown this much.

I left the city quietly.

I didn’t announce my departure.

I didn’t inform anyone.

There was no reason to.

Nobody was looking for me.

Everyone was busy celebrating the heroes of humanity.

That made things convenient.

The journey to the city where Tech Genesis was located was uneventful.

I spent most of the time thinking about what I would find when I arrived.

Aiden had always been talented.

Even before Tech Genesis had become what it was, he had possessed a strange ability to understand business.

He could look at a problem and immediately see how money could be made from solving it.

I had always considered that useful.

But I had never expected him to turn Tech Genesis into something this large.

When I finally reached the city, I immediately noticed something different.

The city itself seemed more prosperous than I remembered.

There were more people.

More shops.

More merchants.

More carriages.

And everywhere I looked, I saw devices that had once been developed by Tech Genesis.

People were using them casually.

Like they had always existed.

I stopped in the middle of the street.

"...Aiden."

I had a bad feeling.

I continued walking.

The headquarters of Tech Genesis was located in the same area as before.

But the building that stood there was no longer the same.

I stopped.

For several seconds, I simply stared.

The old headquarters was gone.

In its place stood a massive building.

Eleven stories.

The structure rose high above the surrounding buildings.

Large glass windows covered the front.

Several entrances led toward the building.

And just beside the main gate was a massive sign.

TECH GENESIS

I stared at it.

Then I looked at the address.

Then back at the building.

I pulled out my communication device.

There was no way.

I dialed Aiden’s number.

The call connected almost immediately.

"Hello?"

"Aiden."

There was a brief silence.

Then his voice changed.

"Zero?"

"Yes."

Another silence.

Then—

"Where are you?"

"Outside the company."

Aiden immediately became serious.

"Wait there."

"I was planning to—"

The call ended.

I stared at the device.

"...He hasn’t changed."

Seconds later, the massive entrance doors opened.

Aiden walked out.

He was dressed in an expensive-looking suit.

His hair was neatly arranged.

He looked far more professional than I remembered.

Behind him came a group of men and women.

They were all wearing formal combat equipment.

And every single one of them looked dangerous.

I looked at them.

Then at Aiden.

"Aiden."

"Zero."

He walked toward me with a wide smile.

Then stopped.

His expression changed slightly.

His eyes moved over my body.

"You’ve changed."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Have I?"

"I can’t tell how much."

Aiden frowned.

"I can sense that you have become stronger, but I have no idea how strong."

I almost smiled.

That was because I was hiding my mana.

Perfectly.

Aiden had never been a combatant.

His ability to sense mana was limited.

The guards behind him, however, were much more experienced.

They stared at me.

None of them seemed to sense anything.

I could almost see the conclusion forming in their minds.

A non-combatant.

Perhaps a wealthy owner.

Perhaps a high-ranking executive.

Perhaps someone important to Aiden.

I couldn’t blame them.

I had hidden everything.

Aiden suddenly turned toward the guards.

"Everyone, this is Zero."

The guards remained silent.

Aiden continued.

"The founder of Tech Genesis."

The atmosphere changed instantly.

The guards stared at me.

For a moment, none of them reacted.

Then several of them straightened.

I looked at them.

They looked like they could tear apart a small army.

"Aren’t you going to introduce them?"

Aiden smiled proudly.

"These are the company’s security team."

I glanced at the guards again.

"Security team?"

Aiden nodded.

"All of them are S-Rank."

I paused.

"...All of them?"

"Yes."

I looked at the guards again.

The record of having an S-Rank combatant employed by a non-combat guild had once been nearly impossible.

S-Rankers had been rare.

They had been treated as heroes.

Many of them had been too proud to work as guards.

But the world had changed.

Rank-up potions had made breakthroughs more accessible.

S-Rank was still powerful.

But it was no longer an unreachable realm reserved for a handful of legendary individuals.

As a result, more S-Rankers existed.

And apparently, some of them were willing to work for Tech Genesis.

One of the guards looked at me.

He probably assumed I was some wealthy non-combatant who owned the company.

He had no idea.

I decided not to correct him.

Aiden suddenly stepped closer.

"I can’t believe you came back."

"I wanted to see how the company was doing."

Aiden’s smile widened.

"Then you should see the rest."

He turned toward the building.

I followed him.

The inside of the headquarters was even more impressive.

The entrance hall was enormous.

Employees moved through the building carrying documents and devices.

Several large screens displayed information I didn’t bother reading.

The company had clearly expanded beyond anything I had originally imagined.

I looked around.

"How much did this place cost?"

Aiden smiled.

"Don’t worry about it."

"That’s not an answer."

"It was within the budget."

I stared at him.

"That also isn’t an answer."

He laughed.

Then he guided me toward a private elevator.

The doors opened.

We stepped inside.

The elevator began moving upward.

I looked at the number displayed above the door.

The top floor.

When the doors opened again, I stepped out into a completely different environment.

The entire floor had been designed as a private residence.

Large windows covered the walls.

The city stretched out below.

There was a living area.

A private study.

Several rooms.

A kitchen.

Everything had been prepared.

I slowly turned toward Aiden.

"What is this?"

Aiden smiled.

"Your residence."

I stared at him.

"My what?"

"Your private quarters."

"Why do I need a private residence inside the company?"

"Because you are the founder."

"I don’t live here."

"You might."

"I won’t."

Aiden ignored me.

"This entire floor was built specifically for you."

I rubbed my forehead.

"How long have I been gone?"

"Long enough."

That answer was becoming irritating.

I walked toward the windows.

The city looked completely different from up here.

Aiden stood beside me.

"Tech Genesis has changed a lot."

"I noticed."

He smiled.

"We are now among the top five organizations in Edolas in terms of revenue generation. "

I turned toward him.

" Organizations?"

Aiden nodded.

"We still operate primarily as a technology company, but our revenue has expanded beyond that, now making much more than most adventurer guilds."

I looked at him.

"How?"

"That is a long explanation."

"Then give me the short one."

Aiden smiled.

"We kept growing."

I stared at him.

"...That’s your explanation?"

"It’s accurate."

I couldn’t argue with that.

Aiden continued explaining.

While I had been away, Tech Genesis had released several new applications and arcade games.

Some were designed for communication.

Others were related to information.

Some had become popular among adventurers.

There were also games.

Apparently, several of them had become extremely popular.

I looked at him.

"You created more games?"

"We created many things."

"How many?"

Aiden’s expression became proud.

"Enough."

I immediately knew I didn’t want to ask for the exact number.

I walked toward the table and sat down.

"How did you manage to expand this much?"

Aiden’s expression became more serious.

"We bought companies."

I looked at him.

"How many?"

"Almost every small technology-producing company in the region."

I slowly turned toward him.

"You bought them?"

"Yes."

"All of them?"

"Most of them."

I stared at him.

Aiden smiled.

"Tech Genesis now controls most of the technology production in this region."

I remained silent.

He continued.

"We became the primary producer."

I leaned back.

"So you monopolized the industry."

Aiden thought about it.

Then nodded.

"That is one way to describe it."

I stared at him.

"Aiden."

"What?"

"You’re terrifying."

He laughed.

"You gave me the opportunity."

I didn’t respond.

I looked through the window again.

The city below was filled with technology that had originally started with a few ideas.

Ideas I had once considered simple.

Now they had become an empire.

Tech Genesis had become one of the largest organizations in Edolas.

And somehow, I had become one of the five richest people in the entire world.

I looked at Aiden.

"How did I become one of the top five richest people in Edolas?"

Aiden smiled.

"Business."

"That doesn’t explain anything."

"Your shares."

I stared at him.

"My shares?"

"Yes."

I had forgotten about them.

Aiden had not.

Apparently, while the company had expanded, my ownership had remained.

The value of Tech Genesis had risen far beyond anything I had expected.

Now, apparently, I had accidentally created one of the largest companies in the world.

I leaned back in my chair.

For a few seconds, I said nothing.

Then I looked at Aiden.

"You’re not going to give me more work, are you?"

Aiden’s smile became suspicious.

"No."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Why did you say that like that?"

"Because I am happy you are back."

I immediately stood.

"Then I’m leaving."

Aiden laughed.

For the first time since returning to the Human Domain, I felt relaxed.

The war.

The devils.

The treaty.

The Church.

The Authority.

The divided people.

All of it seemed far away.

I had returned to something familiar.

Something that had continued growing even while I was gone.

I looked around the penthouse once more.

Tech Genesis had become far larger than I had imagined.

Aiden had done an incredible job.

And for the first time since the war ended, I felt like I could finally take a breath.

Of course, I knew better than to believe that peace would last forever.

Nothing ever did.

But for now...

I had returned.

And Aiden had quietly made me one of the richest men in Edolas.