Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Just as Melana clung to the past and chose the Under Chain, Jeff chose Eden for the sake of the future ahead.
The one who opened that possibility was me.
The one who informed him about Cult was none other than me.
I thought things might turn out like this.
Even so, I gave him the chance.
Because I believed that was the right thing to do.
“Then take her and get lost.”
I ordered them out.
Jeff had no intention of opposing us. That had already been confirmed.
“Sorry. And thank you.”
Jeff wasn’t someone suited for Eden.
He had no faith, and no loyalty toward Cult.
But he was exactly the kind of person Cult would like.
Cult would probably lend him power willingly.
“Can you risk your life for the sake of another?”
Jeff proved it through his actions.
He risked his life.
That alone would have been enough to attract Cult’s attention.
However, he won’t return to Eden.
There’s no way he could bring back a heretic like Melana.
The only reason he chose Eden was to gain the power to heal her.
Jeff intends to use Cult.
Even if they escape like this, the road ahead will be nothing but thorns.
They may be hunted by the Empire, the Under Chain, and perhaps even Eden itself.
And yet Jeff left, carrying Melana with him as if none of that mattered.
Some time after the battle.
Melana, who had been unconscious, opened her eyes on Jeff’s back.
She understood the situation.
That was why she had to say it.
“Jeff.”
“You’re awake? How’s your body? I tried what I learned, but I don’t know if it worked.”
Jeff knew.
Melana knew as well.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah. I’m an idiot.”
Even knowing everything, Jeff pretended not to know and agreed with her.
He didn’t know what words could comfort her.
So he decided to quietly become the one person who would understand her.
“And I’m a fool.”
Melana knew the choice Jeff had made.
Of course she did.
They had been together for a long time.
It was easy for them to notice changes in each other.
Quietly on Jeff’s back, Melana felt regret.
A regret that had come far too late.
After everything ended.
“Are you insane?”
“Lady Ariel, someone might hear you. How can you say something so vulgar?”
“Hey! You crazy bastard!”
Ariel had grabbed me by the collar.
I understood.
After all, I hadn’t given her any warning about this.
But I had no choice.
Nothing was certain, and anything I said would have been nothing more than my own speculation.
“Please calm down. Lady Ariel, I didn’t know things would turn out like this either.”
“And someone who didn’t know just calmly let the criminals go?”
“What could I possibly have done there? Surely you weren’t expecting a delicate young lady like yourself to fight both of them.”
“Maybe wipe the lie off your lips first.”
“There’s no need. The winter weather is dry lately, so I already applied moisturizing gel before coming ou— ack! Ack!”
Ariel had moved from grabbing my collar to choking me.
How can someone be this violent?
This is behavior you would never expect from a high noble.
“Hah! Fine. I guess it’s my fault for not realizing Sir Johan could be such an emotional person.”
“Exactly. You could have caught them even if I let them go, so why didn’t you? Now you’ve made me look like the strange one.”
“…Sir Johan, do you always have to say things like that?”
Surprisingly, yes.
I naturally possess a way of speaking that makes people dislike me.
That’s what happens when the imperial princesses keep dragging me into all sorts of trouble.
“Hm…”
Ariel looked up at me with a strange expression.
It was an unpleasant look.
“Sir Johan, are you actually a warmer person than I thought?”
“Do I look like it?”
“Not until now, but maybe a little today?”
“I’ve always been a warm person.”
“Now that I look again, that doesn’t seem true.”
Ariel turned her head away with a pout.
How am I supposed to respond to that?
No.
Let’s not respond at all.
“The job’s done, so let’s go back and rest. I’ve been exhausted for days, so I’m going to sleep.”
“Shall I walk you back?”
“No.”
“Come on, you’re just shy. I’ll walk you back.”
“…This is driving me insane.”
It seemed Ariel’s impression of me had changed.
Probably in a good way.
But the way she was acting was irritating.
Why is this little kid acting like my older sister?
“Ah.”
Ariel, who had been walking beside me while staring at my face with a mischievous grin, suddenly missed her step.
“Oof!”
She fell straight to the ground.
Her hat floated slowly through the air after failing to keep up with her movement, and the rabbit ears attached to it drooped as she lay face down.
She really is something.
“Sir Johan.”
“Are you embarrassed?”
“Ugh…”
I threw her words back at her.
As expected, Ariel’s ears turned bright red.
I did it on purpose.
Her reaction was exactly what I expected, which made it rather amusing.
“C-could you pick up my hat?”
“….”
“And maybe walk me back to the dorm too. Hehe.”
This is rather troubling.
It seems her incurable illness is acting up again.
Should I just leave it alone?
The illness known as transcendence syndrome, sometimes called archmage syndrome.
Its symptoms involve a growing separation between the soul and the body.
It begins with the limbs losing strength like this while other senses expand.
At Ariel’s level she could move her body using magic.
But that would only worsen the condition.
Even I have a conscience.
And I did just claim a moment ago that I was a warm person.
“Sigh.”
First I picked up her hat and placed it back on her head.
“Thank you.”
“Sigh…”
“Could you stop sighing so much?”
Then I hoisted Ariel onto my back.
It felt like carrying someone who was completely drunk.
She kept going limp, making it difficult to keep her balanced.
“…Wouldn’t it be better if you trained your physical strength a bit more?”
“Do you want me to comment on Lady Ariel’s body weight?”
“I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
She really talks too much.
In the end, I didn’t need to take Ariel all the way back to the dormitory.
She had been chattering endlessly, but perhaps the earlier battle exhausted her.
Before long, she fell asleep quietly.
For a moment I thought I’d have no choice but to walk all the way to the women’s dormitory.
But before that happened—
“You’ve worked hard, Johan.”
“….”
I ran into Robelia.
I thought she would be away today.
Apparently not.
This was quite an awkward situation.
“It seems you and Ariel have grown quite close while I wasn’t looking.”
“Not really.”
“For people who say that, the distance between you looks rather close. When did you become comfortable enough to give her your back?”
Robelia smiled brightly.
Looking at it objectively, she wasn’t wrong.
I was carrying Ariel on my back while she slept comfortably behind me.
At this point it wouldn’t even be strange if someone thought we were dating.
Should I tell the truth?
Or let her misunderstanding remain?
“Please take her.”
“No excuses?”
“There’s nothing to excuse. Nothing happened. It just turned out like this.”
In the end I chose silence.
Ariel hides her illness from Robelia.
It would be rude of me to reveal it.
Some might say it would be better if someone told her.
But I believe the most important thing is respecting what she herself has chosen.
“You’re a better man than I thought, Johan Damus.”
“Better than you thought? I’ve always been a good man. Good background, good looks, and ability… well, as long as we’re not comparing me within the Cradle.”
“Haha, that may be true. Though you might want to revise the part about your looks.”
“…”
What’s wrong with my face?
Is it really that bad?
I thought I looked decent enough.
“Oh, and I’ll collect the payment later.”
“…Payment for what?”
“You borrowed my subordinate Ariel without telling me.”
Robelia took Ariel from my back and grinned.
She’s such a troublesome person.
“And the price for forgiving you for lying in front of me.”
Seriously.
A typical day began again.
But there was one clear difference from usual.
“Student Jeff and student Melana are absent today. I wonder what happened…”
Two students who had always attended class diligently had disappeared.
It left a complicated feeling.
The incident itself hadn’t even become known yet.
And aside from a brief mention, no one seemed to care about their absence.
I lowered my head.
And fell asleep.
I’m so damn sleepy.
After school.
I must have dozed off for a moment, because when I woke up all the students were gone and I was alone in the classroom.
Seriously?
No one even woke me up?
Just as I was thinking that—
“How disappointing.”
As always, without me noticing at all, Yuna appeared and leaned her back against mine while complaining.
“Disappointing.”
I was startled when I suddenly felt weight on my back.
If I can’t even notice her approaching, someday I might really get stabbed in the back.
“I said it’s disappointing.”
Ignoring her was starting to get difficult.
So I asked Yuna, who was half lying against my back.
“…What is?”
“Why didn’t you ask me for help? Even without magic I could’ve given you twenty four hour close protection.”
Yuna grumbled like a child.
She wasn’t wrong.
As an assassin, Yuna would have been far better suited for protection than Ariel.
She could have responded to Melana’s ambush more easily and from closer range.
But I deliberately chose Ariel.
The sharpest dagger is most dangerous when hidden.
“You don’t use a butcher’s knife to catch a chicken.”
Yuna’s existence is currently the most threatening secret weapon.
After all, no one besides me has even noticed her existence.
However, Cult is still aware that someone like her exists.
Eden had already suffered a setback during the previous attack, so they are probably keeping an eye on the existence of the Safe Clown.
It will take time before that awareness fades.
“That’s a lie. Do you think I’m really stupid just because I act like a fool?”
“….”
My breath caught.
Her cheerful voice sounded strangely chilling today.
“You got involved under the pretext of a deal because you pitied that girl, didn’t you?”
“No. Do I look like someone who has that kind of spare capacity?”
Maybe I had been imagining things.
Her teasing tone made my body relax again.
But then—
“Really? You shouldn’t have that kind of spare capacity.”
Yuna leaned further against my back.
It felt like not her physical weight but her presence itself was pressing down on me.
Still sitting back to back, she tilted her head backward until our cheeks touched.
“Then why would you act like that?”
Her cheek was soft.
Her whisper brushed against my ear.
Her voice tickled sweetly.
“You shouldn’t have that kind of spare capacity.”
But it was terrifying.
It felt like a blade was already pressed against my throat.
“You can use a special ability, can’t you? Why don’t you use it?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Really?”
She wasn’t someone to underestimate.
Right now she acted like a whining child, but in truth she was an assassin who had slaughtered hundreds.
Even though I knew that, her acting was so natural that I often forgot.
That’s what made her terrifying.
The naturalness with which she could approach you smiling and cut your throat without hesitation.
“I understand what you mean, but that’s just speculation.”
“Really? Because I heard you manifested your ability at age four.”
“Where exactly is all my personal information leaking from?”
“It was written in the student records. That kind of thing doesn’t get recorded unless you’ve manifested an ability.”
“Ha…”
Now I understood.
Yuna had been interested in my ability all along.
Thinking about it, it made no sense that she wanted to take me as a disciple just because of my acting skills.
I felt betrayed.
Though pointing that out would be meaningless.
If she cared about that kind of thing, she wouldn’t have become an assassin.
And lying wouldn’t work.
She’s someone who completely outclasses me in psychological warfare.
“I really can’t use it.”
“….”
“For certain reasons I lost the ability to use it. Do I have to explain the reason too?”
My ability is called Thought Division.
The ability to split my thinking into two streams and think about two things at once.
Used properly, it’s an incredible ability.
When holding a staff, I can double cast without any risk.
When holding a sword, I could walk the path of a magic swordsman.
And if I became Yuna’s disciple, I could wear the most perfect mask.
But for several years now, it’s been an ability I cannot use.
I didn’t lie.
I simply didn’t reveal the reason.
“Sorry. Are you angry?”
Perhaps noticing my displeasure, Yuna suddenly jumped up from leaning on my shoulder.
She then hurried around to stand in front of me.
Her expression looked awkward.
So she can read the room too.
“Come on, don’t be mad. I’ll help you once for free if you’re ever in danger.”
“I’m not mad. But you really will help, right?”
“Of course! So you forgive me now?”
Yuna sat down in the seat in front of me and rested her chin on my desk, looking up at me with sparkling eyes.
…She really is ridiculously pretty.
And the way she uses that beauty is downright malicious.