Festival (Part 10)
"So listen well: if only because I don't want to die in this life, I am never joining Tembris. Get that through your head once and for all."
That was the end of the interrogation. His piece had been spoken. Junon had zero desire to dredge up any more of those tangled, sickening memories.
Before he knew it, Renias had returned with the food she had ordered. Resting one hand lightly on her hip, she tilted her head.
"Sunbae, are you finished talking?"
"Yeah. You weren't eavesdropping with magic, were you?"
"Wow. Do you know how unfair that is? I keep my promises! Besides, I even waited a little longer before coming out just to make sure I wouldn't overhear."
Given her nature, she could barely stand to overlook injustice, yet she had begrudgingly granted them privacy after all his pleading. Her sullen expression made it clear she was still thoroughly displeased.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."
"Wait, what you said earlier—"
"That's enough," Renias cut in sharply, stepping between them. "The time I permitted lasted only until I returned."
Her chilling voice vividly recalled the suffocating pressure of the massive mana she had wielded moments before.
Reminded of Renias's fierce, incandescent threat, Erika flinched. Despite having so much left to say, she had no choice but to bite her lip and hold her tongue.
"..."
Only after confirming Erika was no longer pursuing them did Renias quicken her pace to fall in step beside Junon.
Behind them, Erika stood motionless, watching Junon's retreating silhouette fade into the festive crowd. A hushed murmur escaped her lips.
"Murdered... by a member of the Tembris party?"
He was a man she had been certain would tenaciously, ruthlessly survive even if it meant sacrificing everyone around him—yet he had died? Those ambiguous words sent tremors through her very core.
Meanwhile, at the very same hour.
"..."
"Hello, Aris."
Following Erika's departure, it was Senia's turn to pay a visit. Unlike Erika, whose motives had been relatively transparent, Aris could not fathom why Senia had sought her out.
"What brings you here? It's not like we're on friendly terms."
"Does being close even matter? We're teammates."
"Even for lip service, hearing that from your mouth sounds utterly bizarre. You do realize that, right?"
When Aris grimaced in distaste, Senia tilted her head playfully.
"The only bizarre one here is you, Aris. Isn't that so?"
"What did I do?"
"I did a little digging, and your written exam scores were surprisingly abysmal. In fact, your grasp of tactical theory is so far behind that it's a miracle you even knew what the Hasirt 3 Formation was."
"T-that's just because I hit the books a little...!"
"Sure. That's plausible enough. You have far more real combat experience than I do, after all. You could easily brush off the Orthoptera defense that way."
Senia shrugged lightly as if letting the matter slide. But then her eyes narrowed.
"However... the theory that two Splash Outs can cancel each other out is taught exclusively in Mana Topology, isn't it? You never even enrolled in that course. How do you explain that?"
Having thoroughly investigated the incident at Ripol Gorge, Senia plunged a dagger straight into the heart of the matter.
Aris swallowed hard, her throat bobbing heavily. Desperate not to be found out, she hardened her expression into the most shameless front she could muster.
"I knew I was lacking in written subjects, so I studied on my own! You really have a rotten personality."
"Studied on your own? What a terribly flimsy lie."
"...What?"
"If you had actually studied it, you would have corrected me immediately: two Splash Outs only cancel each other out when they collide from opposite directions, not when cast in the same direction. That confirms beyond doubt that you've never touched a single page of Mana Topology."
"...!"
In truth, Junon had split the four wagons laden with mana stones into pairs and specifically instructed that the detonating spells be directed against each other from opposing angles.
Against such airtight theoretical logic, Aris's excuses crumbled like dry sand. Having seen right through her, Senia wore the sly, teasing smirk of a fox.
"The formation shifted right before the retreat into Alkaid Hall, and around that time you collapsed from Mana Exhaustion. And right on cue, someone happened to appear, didn't they?"
Senia's tone carried absolute certainty, causing Aris's lips to tremble violently. Just as Senia implied, her unique magic allowed her to trace the subtle threads of mana, making it child's play to deduce who was where.
"The four who seemingly appeared out of thin air were Sylvia, John, Noel... and Junon, who scored near the very top of his class in Mana Topology. I'm currently working on the hypothesis that he was present at Ripol Gorge. What do you think?"
It was a finishing blow that sent her reeling into a total knockdown. Trapped by Senia's suffocating, inescapable deductions, Aris broke completely.
There was only one path left.
"It's... just as you said, Senia..."
"A-Aris? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"I'm begging you, please don't tell the others... Just that... please..."
Collapsing heavily onto the floor, Aris bit her lip until it nearly bled. Even if she had to drop to her knees, even if she had to cling to pity, this secret had to be protected at all costs.
"Whew. Calm down. I get it, so just stand up first. You know our team is supposed to lay all our secrets bare, right?"
"I know, but..."
"I know, Aris. You don't want it revealed. I'll keep it under wraps, but if push comes to shove, I need to know so I can cover for you. Otherwise, someone else might find out."
Senia gently soothed her, promising absolute secrecy. Aris shook her head, convinced Senia could never understand. What point was there in trying to explain the tragic ruin of a Tembris party that had not even formed yet? Still, Senia patiently coaxed her, reassuring her that she would believe whatever she had to say.
In the end, Aris laid bare everything she knew.
"...That's all of it. That's why I tried to cover up Junon's involvement."
"Hmm..."
Senia organized her thoughts in silence, though one hurdle remained difficult to digest.
Since those memories aren't something I experienced myself, it's genuinely hard to wrap my head around...
The problem was that it was no lie. In such desperate earnestness, Aris had no reason to fabricate such a tale. Moreover, only when factoring in this bizarre variable did all the disjointed pieces of the puzzle finally lock into place. Skeptical though she was, she had no choice but to believe it.
Besides, hadn't the conclusion already been reached?
"For now, let's do as you said, Aris. If Junon doesn't want to join Tembris... I don't think it's right to force him, either."
When the person in question adamantly refused and those around him actively shielded him from it, pressing the matter was plainly wrong.
"Phew."
"Why are you sighing like that, Sunbae? Did what that person said hurt your feelings?"
"It's nothing like that, so don't worry."
"There you go again, acting like it's no big deal. You've been sighing so much the ground feels like it's going to cave in."
Since earlier, huh? It seemed he had let out far more breath than he realized, considering Renias was busy counting every single sigh on her fingers.
People often said that catching the same illness twice granted immunity, but that didn't seem to apply here. Dredging up the past was something he had done countless times, yet revealing it to Erika today felt no different from when he had first confessed it to Aris. Not that he would remain completely unfazed if the rest of his former comrades came knocking on his door next.
Curiosity got the better of him.
"Renias. Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Suppose a heinous villain is destined to appear in the principality soon, and you're the only person in the entire land who knows. What... would you do?"
"Where did such a strange question come from?"
"Just asking for fun. The protagonist in a novel I read recently was in that exact situation."
It was not for fun at all. Who would come after Aris and Erika? Would the remaining members appear one by one and harbor the same thoughts? After today's encounter, the thought was impossible to shake. That was why he asked. Because his own stance was too rigid to entertain another's perspective, he needed an outside view.
Moreover, knowing how Renias—who relentlessly passed judgment on wickedness—would think and act might prove remarkably useful.
As he waited with bated breath, Renias finally opened her mouth.
"...I don't know. A novel is just a novel, isn't it? You have to think of it differently from reality."
"What's with that? How boring."
Such a flat, anticlimactic response made his earlier tension feel foolish. In any case, it was time to call it a day. He had no energy left to hunt for street snacks under these circumstances.
"Guess recommending a snack will have to wait until next time."
"..."
Normally, she would have beamed with bright, infectious optimism, chirping, "We can just eat next time, then!" Yet, completely out of character, Renias remained dead silent.
"Come to think of it, Renias, why were you so angry today? It wasn't even a big deal."
"Sunbae."
Only then did Junon realize the reason behind her silence.
"How is getting struck by someone not a big deal? Do you have any idea how infuriating it is to watch that from the sidelines?"
He had put his foot in his mouth. Renias narrowed her dark eyes, letting her pent-up frustration show without reservation.
"Look at you. You suffered such an unfair grievance from someone else, so why aren't you angry? Anyone watching would have every right to be furious!"
"Well, uh..."
That was only because Erika was a former member of Tembris. Still, from her perspective, his passive resignation must have looked maddeningly frustrating. Then again, she was someone who unhesitatingly brought down radiant judgment upon injustice and villains alike, so her reaction was hardly surprising.
"Just you try getting hit somewhere next time. I'm going to be seriously furious with you, Sunbae."
"...Alright. I get it."
Before long, the hour arrived to bid her farewell into the festival night. At the corner of the crossroad, the Lantana family's opulent carriage came into view. Standing a few paces away, Renias hesitated to step inside, lingering on the pavement before suddenly calling out to him.
"...Sunbae."
"What's up?"
"Tomorrow... would you like to go see the festival again?"
The brief hesitation before she spoke had clearly been spent gathering the courage to ask that single question.
Junon let out a soft chuckle and reached out, gently patting her radiant silver hair.
"Only if you train hard tomorrow."
"Really? You promised!"
"Ah-ah. No skipping reps, Renias."
"I know! I won't skip a single thing and keep up properly, so you can't take it back, okay?"
"Sure, sure."
Was the festival really that wonderful? The fiercely protective Renias from moments ago had vanished, replaced once more by an excited, hopping rabbit.
Climbing into the carriage, Renias leaned halfway out the window just like she had after the end-of-term evaluation, waving vigorously until his figure disappeared completely from her sight.
"A festival, huh... Guess that's not so bad."
Rather than merely shuttling back and forth between the dormitory and Mizar Hall, walking the bustling streets wasn't a terrible idea. It would also give him a chance to check on the steadily climbing market prices of mana stones.
One by one, the things he needed to prepare were beginning to take shape.