How a Wizard Survives (50)
How a Wizard Survives (50)
'Wouldn't it be better to confess before it's too late?'
I knew better.
Reinhardt was not the sort of man who would reverse a decision he had already made.
And from the look of things, he'd already persuaded even the head of the Wizardvein family...
There was no chance he would listen to Katrina or me now.
But revealing that I was an Awakened One was simply too dangerous, no matter how I looked at it.
The order of events had only changed slightly, but...
If I did that, I could end up suspected of being a spy.
'Because I really am a spy.'
Reinhardt and Wikia's intelligence-gathering and reasoning abilities were nothing short of staggering.
The moment they became suspicious, it was over.
The slightest misstep, and Ash's existence could even be exposed.
Circumstances aside, being acknowledged as a mage wasn't so bad in itself.
Being able to use magic openly in front of the other inquisitors would certainly make things easier.
Amidst the confusion, I steeled my resolve.
Here, I should follow my teacher's instruction.
Now that things had come to this, I would keep up the deception for as long as possible.
I could always make excuses after being found out—it wouldn't be too late.
If I made an excuse along the lines of not having known I was an Awakened One myself... well, a way out wasn't entirely impossible.
'The real question is whether a demon can read my true nature... but there's no way of knowing that right now!'
Reinhardt had probably wanted to take me directly to Winter Fortress.
But if Katrina and I both left our posts, the Reshutal Inquisition Branch would have no one left in command.
He had therefore been forced to bring a Summoning Circle here and proceed with the contract...
If this could be called hope, it was my only one.
If the contract had proceeded with a real demon standing before me, I would have been discovered without question.
But a contract through a Summoning Circle was different!
What was called forth through this method was not a demon's true body, but an avatar.
'Though, I still feel like I'll get caught regardless...'
Since a contractor is connected to a demon down to the soul, hiding my condition might be impossible.
All I could do was carry the deception as far as possible.
Even if things went wrong, Katrina would side with me.
Then I might at least have room for an excuse.
In the meantime.
Katrina was still vehemently objecting.
"Uncle. Surely you aren't saying you mean to drag even Jaeger into our family's curse?"
"Don't state the painfully obvious. The Wizardveins are the family that heads the Inquisition. We've already dragged everyone into it, for all intents and purposes!"
"Uncle!"
Whether Katrina clenched her teeth or not.
Reinhardt turned to face me.
"Make your decision, Jaeger. What will you do?"
"Understood. Let's attempt the contract. Though I'm not sure if they'll like me..."
"Jaeger!"
Katrina's expression now looked like she was about to cry.
Reinhardt activated the Demon Summoning Circle at once.
Charlotte turned her head away, as if she had witnessed something she wished she hadn't.
"Hrk..."
"Answer my call. Winter Demon Orphos! Here, a new contract awaits you!"
With Reinhardt's incantation, light burst from the Summoning Circle laid out on the floor.
The Winter Demon Orphos.
Not a Rejection Demon with an exclusive contract to the Wizardvein family, but a demon similarly monopolized by the Inquisition.
Guessing by the name, he was likely used in the operation of Winter Fortress.
More importantly, a summoning circle capable of calling forth a demon exclusive to the Wizardvein family.
It was truly an object of absurd value.
If one were to put this up for sale at a secret auction house, living a life of leisure would be effortless.
While I was deliberately entertaining these nonsensical thoughts.
At last, the Winter Demon Orphos burst forth from the Summoning Circle.
Unlike the demons I had seen before, he resembled a kind of ice spirit.
His body below the waist was almost nonexistent, but his upper half was extraordinarily muscular.
Even so, the uniquely sinister aura of a demon could not be hidden entirely.
"How long has it been since my last summoning...? Kehehah!"
Orphos chattered in a delighted voice.
It was just an avatar, so my assessment wasn't precise, but he felt High-Rank at minimum.
The secret weapon Reinhardt had procured, bypassing the Rejection Demon.
Naturally, the demon had to be extraordinarily powerful.
Political considerations surely played a part, but contracting with a weak demon would defeat the entire purpose.
'Hello, I am a weak and stupid human. I am absolutely not an Awakened One or anything of the sort, so would you kindly shut up and just make the contract?'
Standing before the creature, I groveled internally with that thought.
To have my soul held as collateral by a demon at this point.
My teacher and Uncle Luft would be devastated if they found out, but I saw no other way through this crisis.
Unfortunately, Orphos kept chattering with excitement.
"Lion of the North Reinhardt! To think that you would push for my contract... you really do live and learn. Isn't that right?"
"What could a wretch who's been imprisoned for centuries possibly know to blather on about?"
When Reinhardt retorted curtly, Orphos chuckled to himself.
"Right, you wouldn't know. Just how chatty the mages trapped inside the ice become. An eternity of time is waiting, after all... and I am the only conversation partner they have. You'll be babbling every little story you have when your time comes, won't you?"
After a rambling story that might have been truth or fiction, Orphos finally turned to me.
The demon had finally taken an interest in his prospective contractor.
"So, this is the one? I much prefer the young lady off to the side, though..."
"Same here."
"Oh, we do share some common ground unexpectedly? Very well. What kind of fellow is he, that the great Reinhardt has gone to such lengths? Shall I take a look?"
I had deliberately answered in a prickly tone, but Orphos wasn't bothered in the slightest.
Before I could say anything, the demon opened his right eye wide.
His gaze seemed to pierce past my face and into something deeper.
It struck me then that I had picked the wrong opponent.
'This is serious. He doesn't seem like someone I can deceive so easily. He might recognize I'm an Awakened One in a single glance...'
Fortunately, the demon merely blinked a few times without any particular revelation...
But the real trial was only beginning.
"As I thought, it's hard to see in this state... Say, is it alright if I examine you before the contract? Don't worry. Unlike you humans, we demons keep our promises."
"Don't try anything."
"What nonsense is that, when you've already bound me with a Summoning Circle? Shouldn't I at least know what kind of person my contractor of several centuries is?"
Grumbling under his breath, Orphos suddenly seized my wrist.
Feigning to be an ordinary person, I couldn't even exert any Magic Resistance... but as Reinhardt had said, with the Summoning Circle there, the demon wouldn't be able to harm me.
With his hand still on my wrist, Orphos's eyes bulged once more.
"Now, show me your inner self—... Hmm?"
The chattering demon hesitated for a moment, then stared directly at my heart.
Sensing the strange shift in atmosphere, Reinhardt partly drew his sword.
But Orphos moved first.
As if recoiling in shock, the demon leaped back and shouted with utter sincerity.
"W-what in the world are you! My word, such a dreadful—"
"What's this bastard on about? I'm better looking than you, you know?"
"Hold on, Orphos. What nonsense are you—"
Fwish!
Even Reinhardt, unable to grasp the situation, faltered for an instant.
Orphos was sucked right back into the Summoning Circle.
The demon had canceled the summoning of his own volition!
"Uh, uhh...?"
"...Orphos?"
It was a long while before the six people in the basement managed to understand the situation.
No one could bring themselves to speak.
Wikia, who had been silent until now, carefully voiced a thought.
The tone was uncharacteristically uncultured for him.
"Did that demon just now... tuck tail and run because he got scared?"
Everyone present wanted to deny it, but...
Just before disappearing, Orphos's face had been unmistakably seized with terror.
I tried to gloss over the situation with a joke, but it had little effect.
"Am I really that horrifyingly ugly?"
"..."
"What in the world just happened..."
To be honest, I was just as baffled as everyone else.
Even if he had figured out that I was an Awakened One...
Was there any need for that kind of reaction?
'Could it be that Awakened Ones are objects of terror to demons? No, that can't be right.'
If that were the case, Ulysses would have given me a heads-up long ago.
The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
Reinhardt tried to summon him again, but Orphos refused every call.
The contract attempt ended without a resolution.
Greatly flustered by the unforeseen turn of events, Reinhardt grabbed hold of Charlotte and spoke.
"Charlotte, you saw it clearly too, yes? There is something about Jaeger. Now that it's come to this, even if it means using Rejection Magic—"
"Calm yourself, Uncle! I believe we need to be a bit more cautious here."
I didn't particularly like Charlotte, but this time her words were right.
I myself had no idea what had just happened.
Fortunately, my expression didn't look like I was covering anything up.
Reinhardt's adjutant Marcus, who had been newly wary of me, muttered awkwardly.
"Jaeger really does seem like he knows absolutely nothing..."
"Katrina. That Jaeger fellow passed the test properly, didn't he?"
"Yes! Twice, even."
Katrina looked relieved, though no less bewildered than I was.
Having barely regained his composure, Reinhardt issued a gag order.
"For now, the contract is on hold. Charlotte, you will return to Winter Fortress with Marcus and inform the family head of this fact. Tell her I will attempt a contract with the Rejection Demon if possible..."
"Yes, Your Excellency. I shall convey the message."
Her tone made it clear she would deliver the message, but Reinhardt should not expect much.
Perhaps because he was exhausted as well, Reinhardt said nothing in reply.
After rolling up the Summoning Circle drawn on leather and retrieving it, Charlotte stared at me pointedly before leaving the basement first.
Katrina looked ready to reveal that I was an Awakened One, but ultimately held her tongue.
"Could it mean that Squire Jaeger's talent is so great that even a demon fears it?"
"...For the moment, it would be reasonable to see it that way. Wikia, you will refocus your efforts on tracking Ulysses."
"Yes."
Reinhardt, too, stared at me intently before climbing the dark, damp stone stairs.
After finally escaping the basement, I spent the rest of the day in a daze.
If my teacher had been here, I could have at least discussed it...
But he had inconveniently left for a foreign country.
Instead of safely keeping my secret, a troublesome riddle had grown more tangled.
'Does Uncle Luft know something?'
"Jaeger! What's this secret weapon to defeat Ulysses?"
Angelica greeted me cheerfully, unaware of my state of mind.
One look at our faces told her that something had gone badly wrong.
"Ah... it didn't go well? Don't worry about it too much."
But having roughly guessed it involved magic, she didn't press the issue.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, she made a very welcome suggestion.
"Then how about we go to that new restaurant later, to get your mind off things?"
"And if the food's bad, we'll flip the table, right?"
"That's the spirit!"
"...Alright."
For once, Katrina agreed readily.
When your mind was under this much strain, the least you could do was eat well.
We had somehow escaped the immediate crisis, but the tension still clung to me.
Having clocked out right on time, we headed for the restaurant Angelica had marked.
I was already mourning the owner and staff who would suffer through our visit when a familiar figure crossed an alley ahead of us.
"Hm? That person is..."
"Did I just see that wrong?"
Angelica's face was also puzzled, as if she had seen the same person.
In truth, mistaking him was nearly impossible.
Even in all of Reshutal, a giant of a man like Hector Einhold was rarely seen.
Perhaps Reinhardt was comparable.
"Why is Father in Reshutal? I received no word of this."
"Could it be that your father is a here—ow! Ow, ow!"
For my careless joke, I was promptly pummeled by both of them.
Honestly, I deserved it.
Isn't there a time in life when you cross a line without meaning to?
Today was exactly that kind of day.
"Where does that alley lead to? No matter how you look at it, it's no place for a member of the Einhold family to be."
"Let's follow him."
"It doesn't look like a suitable place to escort ladies into, either..."
Unfortunately, my restraint was thoroughly ignored.
We quickly pulled our hoods up and began tailing Hector Einhold.