Black (6)
Chrome thumped his chest with heavy thuds, sighing dramatically. "Come on, isn't this a bit much? Treating me like some kind of lethal toxin—I'm seriously getting the short end of the stick here."
If someone unfamiliar with the situation saw him now, they might actually believe he'd suffered some terrible injustice. But Ligret, who'd dealt with this slippery bastard more times than she cared to count, wasn't buying it for a second.
"Last time you said Professor Psyche would be fine. That out of all those deranged professors, she was one of the better ones and we could actually talk to her, right?"
"Well, compared to those three who'll grind through people with their 'whatever works' attitude, Psyche at least cares whether her students live or die. You've seen those black butterflies hauling patients away every time the academy pulls off something big, haven't you?"
Hmm. Is that really enough to conclude she values life? Ligret tilted her head inwardly, but soon shrugged it off. The Psyche she knew was simply a short professor with a rather unpleasant way of speaking. Still, if there was one thing she'd learned about Chrome, it was that he had an uncanny knack for digging up information no one else possessed. This was probably another case of him uncovering some hidden 'something' and judging her character based on it. Or maybe his tendency to pester anyone who showed talent had simply clouded his judgment with bias.
"Anyway, according to you, that short professor is relatively sensible, doesn't disregard human lives, and is overall a proper person."
"Proper person... well, let's not get carried away, but basically yes."
"If a proper person like that is wary of you, doesn't that mean you're not a proper person?"
Chrome froze mid-motion with an audible crack, stiff as if he'd been turned to stone. Ligret idly wondered if she could hit him with less force control than usual while he was like this. Before she could decide, the wicked merchant bastard rebooted himself.
"What the hell did I even do?! At most I promised some minor benefits to the Eastern Army Commander, shared a few ways to utilize the academy for military purposes, and as a result made the kids roll around in those harsh mountains for days on end!"
At most? That already sounded like a full confession of crimes. Of course, Chrome wasn't actually unaware of his own sins. He knew exactly what he'd done—that's why he only grumbled behind their backs instead of taking direct action. If he'd truly believed it was unfair, he would have flipped the entire situation long ago. The fact that the other party was a professor made him restrain himself? If this guy actually cared about such boundaries, he never would have shoved the Second Prince into the background in the first place.
"So what are you going to do about it? Are you really just going to let this slide?"
As a result of Chrome and the princess being excluded from the main discussion, the parties ended up being reorganized separately from the existing teams. Ligret herself, Crow, the Pendevig siblings, and the other highly motivated members, along with Chrome and Akasha, formed a vanguard of six. Their role was to assess the situation while carrying out subjugation operations. The remaining personnel would secure the retreat route from the rear.
"Alphonse has already made quite a concession with this arrangement, so we need to acknowledge that. The fact that he didn't nitpick the unofficial nature of the mission shows considerable restraint on his part. Besides, right now he's also acting as the spokesperson for the kids who don't want to go to dangerous places. We should give credit where it's due."
Unofficial mission. It sounded nice to say there was no worry of being discovered, but viewed from another angle, it meant they could be cut loose at any moment. Naturally, if something like that happened during an already controversial operation, even the Eastern Army Commander couldn't simply overlook it. With the princess present, the actual likelihood was slim. Still, for those actually being sent in, the uncertainty left a bad taste in their mouths.
Both Lyla and Fiore had wanted to join the vanguard, but Chrome and Alphonse had jointly prevented it. In Lyla's case, her position alone meant that sending her into danger would create silent pressure on the rear team. Beyond that, her abilities were specialized for rear base defense. If she poured her immense mana into barrier creation and bombardment, it would create something akin to an instant fortress.
Since a blocked retreat route in an emergency would mean the end, they had positioned forces that absolutely could not be breached. Fiore's situation was simpler—her combat ability was low, and she was relatively slow compared to the others. Ligret and Crow needed no explanation, and the Pendevig siblings could comfortably use movement spells. By contrast, the White Light Fiore employed had lower enhancement output and efficiency. Adjusting the entire vanguard's pace to match her would dull their overall mobility.
Akasha's enhancement efficiency was low, but her baseline physical specs were so high that it wasn't an issue. If anyone was the problem, it was Chrome, but...
"Heh. Looks like I can use this level of spell now too."
When Chrome took a light step, a gentle wind rose softly behind him. Among spells, those that assisted the caster's movements had high difficulty even within the same grade, so Chrome hadn't been able to use them properly before. It seemed he'd learned it while moving separately this time.
That smug expression with his nose in the air somehow irritated her, so Ligret blurted out bluntly, "Even so, it'll probably still be slower than me."
"How many people in the entire empire are faster than you, you talent-obsessed monster!"
In this world full of deception and bragging, was this really how things should be? The boy who had been so pure as a child—how had he ended up like this? No, come to think of it, he'd already been like this when they first met. Sometimes people accused her of strangely influencing those around her, but she'd like to show those people this vicious mercenary woman right here.
When he reported the new operation to the Eastern Army Commander afterward, Dietrich accepted it far more easily than expected.
"A reasonable conclusion. It's a bit much to say this after sending you into a dangerous place, but if it really gets perilous, just make it back to the mountainside somehow. I'll handle the aftermath—whatever it takes."
What? Did he eat something strange? The Dietrich von Draug he knew wasn't this upright. Still, whether it suited the man or not, the effect was undeniable. The expressions of several kids who had looked distinctly uncomfortable had relaxed considerably.
It was somewhat comical that in an operation approved by both the emperor and the chancellor, they still had to watch their backs and couldn't move freely. But perhaps that was simply what it meant to become a military commander.
As for what happened after that—
"—that's what happened. I received a strange object from that unpleasant madman, so I'd like you to dispose of it."
Naturally, he was reporting his encounter with Alcor to the supervising professor. He wasn't unaware of what kind of rumors would circulate if word got out that he'd received a scouting offer from a fanatic. But it was better to say it himself than to hide it and have someone else reveal it later.
He had already consulted with Princess Lyla. She had agreed.
"...I understand the situation. I'll hold onto this for now and report it to the higher-ups. It might seem faster to hand it to Eastern Army Commander Dietrich von Draug, but since he is currently in the position of the client, the paperwork would become rather complicated."
"Yes. I'll leave that matter to you."
Whew. Good. With this, that strange flag had been broken. Keeping something like that around for no reason and accidentally triggering some bizarre enhancement event would be impossible to handle. If some sacrificial ritual activated on its own without him knowing, what was he supposed to do about it? He had no desire to end up like SkullGreymon.
With that, all that remained was preparing for tomorrow's operation. He was about to leave with that thought when Professor Psyche called out to stop him.
"One question. Why did you involve the academy in this affair?"
Uh, I didn't involve them? Pretending ignorance seemed too much of a stretch no matter how he looked at it. Even if Dietrich hadn't spilled everything, the academy professors he knew wouldn't have failed to notice.
He pondered briefly what to say, then decided to simply be honest. Since he seemed to have already earned her dislike, there was no point in struggling to say something that would please her.
"Because among the cards the empire can currently move, this is the most powerful and useful one."
"Do you believe you and your classmates' abilities surpass those of the regular army?"
"At least when organized in groups of about ten like this, I believe we'd be comparable to—or even exceed—the elites of each army."
In the original story, by the end of their second year, the academy students could hold their own against most active-duty soldiers. It was still early in the second year now, but factoring in the enhancements he'd made both openly and behind the scenes, they shouldn't fall too far short. Honestly, excluding inhuman powerhouses like Istar or Dietrich, overwhelming them would probably require forces on the level of the emperor or the predecessor's royal guards.
"Even assuming that's true, I still don't understand why you would deliberately court danger. You had ample opportunities to withdraw."
"Well... since I pushed the others into this, it wouldn't feel right if I snuck away alone, would it?"
"If that was your reason, you shouldn't have dragged your friends into it from the beginning."
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"There are two reasons. First, if we don't move now, the situation will become even more disastrous."
The Third Prince and the fanatics were still within the scope of 'organizations,' but the Ivestan Empire was a nation. The scale of the incidents they caused was accordingly massive. If they didn't chip away at their power in advance—even if only bit by bit—they wouldn't be able to handle it when the full wave crashed down. There was also the Dietrich situation. The character Dietrich hadn't appeared in the original work he knew, but the repeated descriptions of the previous Eastern Army Commander being exceptionally competent made it highly likely that this 'previous commander' was Dietrich. Currently, whether due to the butterfly effect of his actions or not, Dietrich was still properly in position. But what if he died, or was dismissed after carrying out an unreasonable operation? If the person responsible for the crucial eastern front was replaced by some strange individual, how could they possibly handle the consequences?
"I don't know why you can be so certain, but even if that's correct, don't you feel anything about your classmates who were swept up by your intentions?"
"That's the second reason. I do feel sorry. However, since they would have been deployed anyway, I thought it better to move before the opponent could make too many preparations."
At his words, Professor Psyche narrowed her eyes.
"It sounds as if you're certain that even if you hadn't planned this, the students would have come here anyway."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Looking at how incidents keep erupting across the continent, it seemed inevitable. In short, it's a prediction."
It might sound somewhat self-absorbed, but he couldn't exactly say he'd seen it in his previous life. So he'd stick with this. Even when being honest, one still had to distinguish between shit and piss.
"May I ask one question as well?"
"Permission granted."
"Actually, didn't you make a similar prediction, Professor? Otherwise, there would be no need to come all this way under the pretext of class to act as a guardian. Nor would there be any need to spread butterflies across the mountains like this."
Her eyes widened dramatically.
"How did you..."
"Oh, it's gotten quite late. I'll take my leave now to prepare for tomorrow. It would be troublesome if fatigue caused a major accident."
Leaving the stunned Professor Psyche behind, he turned and walked away in silence. The fact that a bluff which wouldn't work on the fanatic or those three mad professors had actually succeeded filled him with satisfaction. Looked like he'd be getting a good night's sleep tonight.