To Britain in Search of an Enemy (8)

The queen opened her mouth, turning on the same kind of eye contact Yeongeun used whenever she searched my face for the answer to one very particular question—if she threw herself at me right now, would I catch her, or wouldn't I?

"Might I ask what you intend to do about House Edelberg?"

"Hardly something you need to ask so formally. I looked into it, and the Edelberg couple owe me a debt as well. So I'm at a loss myself about how to handle them. I can hardly loose a Mana Cannon the way I did with that warning to Japan."

I muttered it while deliberately shaking my head, as if the matter truly troubled me, and a bead of sweat traced the furrows of the queen's brow.

"If Mister Blue were to fire a Mana Cannon at Crowley, judging by its range, London itself would be wiped away. I would be deeply grateful if you would reconsider any use of the Mana Cannon."

"Ah, don't worry about that. I can tune the range and blow away Crowley alone. And they do say even a small change in the land can throw nature into a cataclysm. I'd rather not fire one into the ground if I can help it."

"I am relieved to hear you think so. Britain, too, hopes to forge a close bond with Mister Blue and stand beside you hereafter as a partner, and so in any matter concerning House Edelberg, which has done you harm, we intend to cooperate to the fullest."

"I'm grateful you'd do that. And it would be even better if you'd stop giving Lydia any more orders for a full-body charge."

"Pardon? A full-body...?"

The queen turned to Lydia with a baffled look, as if she were hearing of such an order for the first time. Her reaction puzzled me in turn, so I looked at Lydia too, and Aaron swung around with an "Oho?" And then there was Franc's cold stare on top of it all.

Made the sudden focus of every eye in the room, Lydia flushed, flustered, and plainly had no idea what to do with herself.

Don't tell me this was a setup?!

"Hehehe. I did once send word that could certainly be taken that way. What I said at the time was, precisely, 'If you can grow truly close to the Blue Genius, a measure of bold intimacy would not be unwelcome.'"

"So Lydia, heart stuffed with selfish appetite, warped that into an order to throw her whole body into the conquest?"

Not a setup, then. Still—can bold intimacy really be read as a full-body charge? I stared straight at her, and she fidgeted with her reddened face until the shame got the better of her and she ducked her head.

Well, she wasn't wrong, and it wasn't a bad order. Hard to scold her for it.

Once I'd accepted the queen's apology and let Lydia's blunder serve as a handy side dish, the talk rolled on, and the mood stayed genial the whole way through.

After the customary compliments had been traded—the raid team, my abilities, that sort of thing—the subject drifted naturally toward the Phase World.

No. The queen turned it that way, smoothly enough, but she wasn't asking about my abilities. She wanted the sky island, and the Asumpfre Sunken Ruins I'd traveled. No reason to bristle at that.

It was a subject well enough served by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a few stories that had never made the promotional footage. And she listened, genuinely fascinated.

A way with words worthy of a nation's queen, I suppose. She slipped past every point I might have disliked, neat as you please. Impressive.

Had I been some ordinary man, I might even have taken a liking to her.

Me, though—I've spent my life shacked up with a demon of suspicion. And was the queen's schedule really this loose? Hours of nothing but talk, and that was all right?

At any rate, we were still chatting amiably when the Lord Chamberlain came to say the banquet was ready, and we followed him to a dining room of roughly a thousand square feet, brightly dressed in greens and blues that breathed of summer.

Banquet, they'd said, so I'd expected the sort of thing you see in films—one long table run out in a straight line and heaped with every dish imaginable. What we actually got was a round table, and a course prepared by a chef of the highest order: dishes whose names I didn't know and whose ingredients I couldn't begin to guess.

I was being served a course so artful it was practically a painting, in a dining room whose refinement couldn't even be compared to the suite at the Savoy Hotel, and still I couldn't enjoy it all that much. A year ago I'd been living a life that had nothing to do with any of this.

Just the vague sense that I was being hosted, I suppose. My palate belongs to fast food—spicy rice cakes, hamburgers, blood sausage, hamburgers, fried chicken. Ahem.

What I did like was that they'd set a place for Franc as well. Now and then there were people who treated her as a mere side piece, just because she was my spirit.

We shared a dinner that was decent enough and not bad, returned to the audience chamber, and were taking tea again when the queen, instead of showing us the footage of Alastor's Terrible Dark Castle, asked me to grant her one request.

The glance she gave Franc told me well enough what kind of request it would be. But the queen and Aaron Tempest had spent the whole visit being gentle and mild, working to leave a good impression, and I couldn't very well refuse coldly without even hearing her out. I asked what she wanted, and sure enough, it was that she wished to examine Franc.

"You want to research Franc?"

"I am well aware that Mister Blue cherishes her. It would be neither a complicated study nor one that would do her harm. Merely this: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠during your stay in Britain, the Grokis Institute would set information on her structure and the manifestation of her abilities against the existing records concerning spirits, and confirm where they differ. That is all."

"The very notion of investigating Franc is deeply unpleasant to me. What you're proposing is no different from saying you'd haul Lydia off to a laboratory to verify her light-element ability, and pick her body apart piece by piece."

I refused with a hard face. The queen looked as though she hadn't expected me to use Lydia as the example, though she seemed to have expected the refusal itself.

"Is it truly impossible?"

She asked again, unable to let it go so easily, but my mind didn't move. Offer up the body of my lover—the woman who would be my wife—as research material? No one in their right mind would ever grant a demand like that.

Should I just tell them what Franc really is? Even if they knew, even if they got my information on the Phase World out of it, they couldn't do a thing to me. To shut down this troublesome nonsense, it might not be a bad play.

Forget it.

I looked at Franc, seated beside me, and Franc looked back. When she turned, her long platinum hair swayed, and her snow-white skin caught the light and seemed to shine from within—dazzlingly beautiful.

"Absolutely not. But if it's only the circumstances in which I was able to meet Franc, and the reason I came to be able to use lightning, I can tell you that much."

If even this won't do, I'll shake off whatever lingering interest I have in Alastor's Terrible Dark Castle. And after that, I'd be looking at Britain with a rather poor eye.

The queen, who had been meeting my gaze, closed her eyes as if she had read the resolve in them, and sank into thought.

"...Very well. If research upon the spirit lady is impossible, as you say, then I shall have to seek a lesser course. As for the footage of Alastor's castle, I will grant you entry to the palace archives, on the condition that Lydia accompanies you during the day."

She said it with a gentle smile, as if to warn me against misunderstanding.

"For your reference, the palace archives are closed to all but certain authorized persons. Please understand that what I am granting you is permission to enter as a member of Princess Lydia's party."

"Thank you. When should I give you the information?"

"After you have confirmed the materials you wish to see."

"All right."

Between the matter of House Edelberg and the footage of Alastor, she had seemed considerate in any number of ways, and I'd been meaning to offer a high-grade Phase ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Stone or so in return. And then she went and attached conditions.

A transaction, then. I'll pretend the gift was never on the table.

Still, I might need their help again. Better to keep the relationship greased with a little praise. Praise doesn't cost anything.

"Thank you for looking after us in so many ways. Thanks to you, I think Britain will leave me with a very good impression."

"I was worried over the matter of House Edelberg, but if you have taken away a good impression, then I am glad."

"The three of you have welcomed me like this. I couldn't hold a bad feeling if I tried."

I tossed back the rest of the tea and rose with Franc.

"I hope I haven't taken too much of Your Majesty's time. I'll be going now."

"Not at all. A visit from Mister Blue is welcome at any time. Please call on us freely, and without burden."

I declined to be seen off by the queen, but I couldn't very well stop Lydia and Aaron Tempest from seeing me out as well.

"Duke Tempest, did you build your castle yourself?"

"That I did. I am the founder of House Tempest, you might say. And should the chance ever come, I would dearly like to have a match with you."

"Like I said before, I don't spar. My abilities aren't built for sparring. They're built for killing."

"Mmm. Even so, I want to cross blades with you just once."

"How about this? Next time there's a chance, I'll let you take on my pet. That one's light-element too, but unlike me, it'll actually be a fight worth having."

"Oh! You mean that High-Tier Variant called Flauvis? I'd be much obliged!"

Aaron seized my hand and pumped it up and down, face alight with excitement, and I laughed and nodded.

When we came out of the palace, the white limousine we'd ridden in on the way was waiting. I decided not to use it and to travel under my own power instead, and something faintly regretful passed over Lydia's face.

Lydia and Aaron saw me off, and I kicked off the Wall of Space and hurled myself toward the Savoy Hotel. Spatial Perception caught the two of them talking, and I stole the exchange by reading their lips.

"To think an ability user that outstanding would appear. I envy Korea."

"Truly. If someone of that caliber had emerged in our Britain, then together with Duke Tempest, the British Empire would have stood alone as the greatest power in the world..."

"...Come, let us head back. Our fierce queen will be waiting."

"Yes."

By the time I made it back to the Royal Suite of the Savoy Hotel, still reading them, it was past eight in the evening, and the sun still showed no intention of setting.

"Are the days always this long in Britain in the summer?"

"Yes. It usually doesn't grow dark until past ten at night. Morning comes just as early—the sun is up around four."

Long days, short nights, and the weather none too hot besides. August, and the midday heat still doesn't climb past eighty-six. Britain's summer is a fine season for enjoying yourself.

A sweep of Spatial Perception showed Dad at the hotel with the bodyguards. But Sophia was kneeling before him with her head bowed, and around her the members of the security team...

Right. I never told them.

Dad had been looking over something like a guidebook. He saw Franc and me come in through the window, set the booklet down, and asked.

"You said you might be late. Are your errands finished?"

"No. I meant to go, but something else came up and I couldn't. I'm heading out again. More importantly..."

My gaze went to Sophia, kneeling on the carpet in front of him, and Dad glanced down at her for a moment before looking away.

"When I got back to the hotel, Miss Han Suhee brought me that child, who'd been in an empty bedroom. Did you bring her here?"

Mm. I'd stowed her in the bedroom without a word, so of course they'd taken her for an intruder.

"Yeah."

"I see."

And that was the end of it.

Honestly. You could at least ask me something.

I accepted Security Team Leader Han Suhee's greeting—a dip of the head, nothing more—and looked over the security. Of the detail, two of the older guards held the entrance to the suite and five were posted inside, each of them waiting at their station.

The remaining three, along with the backup team, were down in the special suite on the floor below, stacks of paper piled around them as they went through documents.

"I called the madam and told her to send people to come take Sophia away. They should arrive tomorrow. Dad, what's your schedule from tomorrow on?"

"Barring anything special, I'll be going back and forth between the University of London and the hotel, meetings and seminars, through Friday."

"Got it. If anything comes up, text me."

"Mind you don't get swept into any unpleasant business."

Dad lifted the booklet again and spoke as if to himself, but not a syllable of it—every word thick with worry for me—failed to reach my ear.

"Heh. Got it. I'll be careful."

On Franc's advice that the nights ran cold, I opened the clothes bag in the bedroom. Mom must have known Britain's climate; there were long-sleeved shirts in it, and thicker clothes besides.

I took out a plain black long-sleeved shirt, put it on, and came back out to the living room. Sophia was still kneeling on the carpet. I looked at her, then at Team Leader Han Suhee, who was watching her, and spoke.

"Second Team Leader Han. Sophia won't run, so you don't need to watch her separately. Not that I'd care if she did."

At that, the ends of Sophia's brows drooped, and Team Leader Han looked at her with something almost like pity. Does Team Leader Han know Sophia too?

"Don't make that face. Sophia is a Japanese spy, and a criminal who tried to kill me."

At the hardness in my voice, Second Team Leader Han finally caught her mistake. The color drained out of her, and she bent hastily at the waist.

"I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

"...Watch yourself. Sophia, back to your room."

"Yes..."

Sophia's knack for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠getting close to people struck me all over again. As I understood it, Team Leader Han had been hired when Grand Blue was formed, and in that short a time she'd already closed the distance that far?

I still hadn't the faintest sense of how I ought to punish her, but Team Leader Han's reaction decided me. I would drag every crime Sophia had committed into the light and bury her in public.

Otherwise there would be more than one or two people who reacted the way Team Leader Han just had.

I had no interest in handling it halfway and then getting buried in petitions. A press conference, or whatever it took—the main plank would be to lay out everything that had happened, all of it...

I was still roughing out the bones of the plan when I told Team Leader Han to order room service and have it sent into Sophia's room. I was about to leave when I caught them: seven ability users at the very top of D-Class, beginning to ring the Savoy Hotel at a distance of some seven hundred to a thousand meters.

"What is this? Ability users in suits, starting to surround this place from about seven hundred meters out."

"...Might Britain have sent them, to protect persons of importance?"

Franc couldn't confirm anything at that range. She slipped behind the window curtain and stole glances outside.

I could see ability users taking up positions even on the far side of the Thames, watching this way, and while I was still turning over what to do about it, a call came in from Lydia through the Authenticator.

"Uh, no. What are you calling about?"

"Yeah? If you'll do that, I'm grateful."

From beyond the hologram, Lydia smiled faintly at Franc and me, then asked whether the guards ought to cooperate with one another for the sake of smooth coordination. I stepped out of the living room and called Second Team Leader Han Suhee over.

"If Master permits it, I will link up with them and see to Mr. Jung Soohun's protection with the utmost thoroughness."

Still stiff and tense from her earlier slip, Team Leader Han answered smartly.

"You heard her. Work out the details with Second Team Leader Han, and put the command in her hands."

"Got it. I'll pass it on. Second Team Leader Han, I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me."

Team Leader Han answered with shining eyes and absolute confidence, and it seemed I wouldn't have to worry about trouble.

I told Dad—books spread open, mid-debate with members of some academic society over a video call—that I'd be going out and coming back, then leapt into the sky through the open window of Franc's room. As I headed west, some hundred and seventy miles, toward East Redfin, a swell of old feeling began to settle over Franc's face where she looked down at the ground.

Terrain and vegetation nothing like Korea's. For Franc, it must have called up the feeling of coming home. And the trees, grown so thick they seemed to refuse any human intrusion, looked almost like...

"The woods near Lake Asumpfre, aren't they?"

"Britain sits at a slightly higher latitude than the Great Lakes of North America. So the scenery round about would be a little similar."

"But hey. That person you told me about before, Shinomiya Chise—didn't you say she was the house's second wife? So she never took the Aldion name, and just kept Shinomiya?"

"Because she was a concubine, not the lawful wife... In truth, the principal wife said she would tolerate her as a concubine, but that taking her as the legal wife was absolutely out of the question, and then..."

"And then?"

"She forced Lady Shinomiya to undergo a procedure to have her fallopian tubes removed."

God.

Franc saw my face twist, and she opened her mouth with a smile she had to force.

"Aside from that, she was a remarkably generous lady. She had a beautiful mansion built for Lady Shinomiya to live in, provided her with attendants and maids, and even when they met in public she neither ignored her nor made her suffer."

"So she was the very picture of a proper principal wife?"

"Pfft. Yes. At any rate, most of the ability users who came over from Japan were bound by legal contract, and barred from any social activity except raids. I was told the greater number of them were treated as nothing more than useful accessories, for being ability users."

"Well, yeah. If someone brought over as reparations climbed to high office through what they did at home, nothing would be more ridiculous."

"In that respect, House Edelberg is remarkable. They took a woman ability user from Japan as a wife, and they were even striving to see her children given a fine education, so that they might succeed the house once the sixty years of reparations had ended."

As we talked and drew nearer to East Redfin, my mood sank little by little.

No matter how I turned it over, Shinomiya Chise was probably already dead. And Franc would grieve. She wouldn't show it, not if it meant worrying me, but sad or low, she would be. Thinking of that pulled my own spirits down.

When I'd first heard her story of the past, I'd spoken as if Shinomiya Chise might still be alive, just to comfort her. Now I couldn't muster anything but the grim version.

After an easy hour's travel, the East Redfin we arrived at was a city not even half the size of Crowley.

Even granting that... seen from the sky, East Redfin had no life in it, and looked so bleak you might have called it a city on its way to ruin. The population was small, and with hills ringing it round, it was like some isolated country village in the mountain hinterland.

East Redfin's one distinction was a waterway that began in a lake to the north, cleft open like a river, and ran straight through the village that had formed there.

And that was the only distinction. Too big to call a village, too small to call a city—an ordinary, unremarkable town with nothing to mark it.

Franc looked down at it from the sky without a word. Then, catching my gaze a moment late, she smiled awkwardly and spoke.

"Hehehe. The annihilation of the Aldion raid team must have hit harder than I'd thought. The city that grew up from Lake Lynn used to be packed with houses and buildings, on the flat ground between the mountains..."

What does it feel like, seeing your hometown shrunk so drastically after all these decades?

Franc looked down at the village spread beneath her feet, a sad smile on her face. If she was right, it had once been a considerable city. Now it was a typical farming village, fields tucked in here and there.

Near the lake, though, a town had formed all the way up the hillside—the look of a village that had once spread like tree roots, gathered now into a single place.

"The family mansion is there. The large house built near the lake."

Franc turned, tugged my arm, and pointed to the mansion on the lower side of the lake. It was far larger than the Edelberg mansion in Crowley.

Rather than drop straight down onto it, I decided we would walk the streets together and come up on the mansion that way, and I headed for an empty hill where no one was about.