You Must Help Me (5)
I led Cryan to a storage room at the far end of the corridor. It was secured with a lock, but that posed no obstacle to someone who could shatter steel. Kang—!
“Fascinating. I’ve thought so since the entrance ceremony—a man who breaks iron.”
I threw the words right back at him. “Curious. You seem more interested in my ability than the fact that I just broke into a locked room.”
“I’m not on the prefect committee. For someone wrapped in as much suspicion as you, you certainly have guts.”
“Well, since we’re both inside the storage room now, doesn’t that make you an accomplice?”
“I don’t concern myself with such things. And drop the formal speech. There’s no benefit in using honorifics with someone like me who has already discarded his title…”
“As you wish.”
“That was fast.”
Once I had sealed the storage room door by freezing it solid with Drakaris, Cryan spoke in a crisp, well-ordered voice.
“Before we talk, let’s settle one thing clearly. You’re not about to tell me that His Highness Bancart killed my mother, are you?”
There was an unmistakable note in his voice—the tone of someone testing the waters.
“Why ask that question?”
“Verification of facts. You’re not the first person who has come to me trying to drive a wedge regarding my mother’s death.”
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
“Since you came all this way to speak of it, I assume you already know the full story.”
With his back still turned to me, he ran a finger through the dust on a cabinet and continued. “His Highness Bancart is not a man with a clean back trail. Attempts to strip him of his crown prince position and install me in his place have happened several times. And every person who came to persuade me always named His Highness Bancart as the one who killed my mother.”
Then he whirled around, eyes sharp. “But that much I already know. My brother may not have killed her with his own hands, but he was undoubtedly behind it.”
Yes. And Cryan, you have been cutting those accusations down all this time—by reporting them directly to Bancart himself, of all people. Why? Because titles and status no longer held any meaning for you. You even possessed a fatal weakness that left you no choice but to kneel before him.
So I casually dropped a hint about the history of those very reports he had made.
“Are you planning to report me as well?”
“Impressive. You even know that I’ve been doing exactly that all along.”
Yet he shook his head as if that were not his intention at all. “…However, everyone who has approached me until now has been connected to the ‘bloody purge’ my brother Bancart carried out. This is the first time someone from the Grand Duchy—completely unrelated to that—has come.”
“So you tested me first, thinking there must be some reason behind it.”
“I even brought Lady Gremory along as a precaution, but you handled the situation brilliantly. As expected of someone so perceptive.”
In truth, the one who seemed to possess the sharper mind was Cryan, who was still trying to manipulate the board even while we spoke. There was no point in dragging out a conversation with someone like him; it would only expose my own hand. I cut straight to the heart of the matter.
“However, to speak plainly from the start, your guess is wrong. I did not come to you to invoke Bancart’s name.”
“Then who are you claiming killed my mother?”
Cryan spoke while staring at the floor. “Nonedon Naigerse. The King of Fists who rules the Bruised City beneath Karlangk.”
“…Ha. Who is th—”
But the moment he heard the name, Cryan’s words trailed off strangely. Confusion clouded his face. That was understandable. The childhood memories he had shared with the man had been erased wholesale by the defense mechanism he had built to forget them. Even so, a sense of déjà vu still remained.
“—What is this? It feels familiar.”
“You don’t need to know. It’s enough that I do.”
“I suppose that’s true. There’s no reason the name of the bastard who killed my mother would remain in my memory.”
Still, the boy didn’t need to realize everything at once. I brushed it off as if it were nothing, and Cryan, apparently wishing to avoid any more headache-inducing thoughts, soon fell quiet.
“You want to regain the forgotten memories of your past, don’t you?”
“…….”
His mouth opened and closed.
“To do that, you need the ‘item’ the person who killed your mother took from her. You’re hoping that if it falls into your hands, your old memories might return.”
At those words, Cryan’s face flooded with shock.
“…Wow. Damn it. How could you possibly know that?”
“I just do.”
“Are you a mind reader or something? No—that doesn’t make sense. Why would you bother reading my mind in the first place? Just what are you…? Did you come from the future or the past?”
“Yes.”
Cryan let out a hollow laugh at my answer.
People with quick minds like his would only react negatively if I circled around the truth looking for excuses. They would sniff out every contradiction in my words and intentions and bombard me with annoying questions. So it was better to slam them with the raw truth and leave them speechless.
See? Wasn’t he staring at me with a completely stunned expression he had never shown before?
He probably didn’t believe my claim of having seen the future or past. But this was not the end.
“Even so, it is true that Bancart was the one who ordered your mother’s death during that bloody purge. He commanded Nonedon to do it.”
“…I know that, but I cannot raise a hand against my brother because of it. Therefore—”
He finally seemed ready to reveal his true feelings as he spoke in a hollow voice. “Is it because of the orphanage you fund?”
“……Ha.”
“If you show even the slightest sign of seeking revenge, he threatens to kill all the children in the orphanage you support, doesn’t he?”
I let out a hearty laugh. “I understand. So you have no choice but to remain Bancart’s loyal dog and keep feeding him information.”
“Enough. Enough, Yohan.”
“Why? Don’t want me to keep talking?”
He drew in a ragged breath as if his mind were reeling. “Logically, it really does seem like you must have seen the future. But that can’t be possible. Still… if you’re this accurate, it no longer seems important where you obtained the information.”
I crossed my arms and met his gaze. His eyes looked as if they were trembling five times per second.
“Everything you’ve said is correct. However, the only part whose truth I cannot confirm is the story about this ‘item’ you mentioned.”
“Though it may not be enough to call it induction, my words seem to have struck a chord with you.”
His voice shook. “You truly know the one who took my mother’s keepsake—the Pulse—don’t you?”
Got him. I cheered inwardly and told him, “I do indeed. If you wish, I will guide you on the journey to reclaim that Pulse.”
He answered immediately. “G-good. Please take me with you. I no longer need revenge against my brother, nor do I have any method left. The only thing I need right now is that.”
“But every deal requires a price.”
“…In exchange, I will offer you everything I can provide. That’s what you wanted from the beginning, isn’t it?”
Quick to catch on. Good. I stretched with a groan and said, “All right. I need the power of a great mage.”
“Why?”
“I possess the ability to alter a specific person’s perception, but I want to completely erase the traces it leaves behind when used. In other words, I want to upgrade its performance.”
“So that’s why you approached me, a member of the Magic Tower. But in that case, why not Lady Gremory and instead come to someone like me…?”
I answered indifferently, “To cut off Bancart’s head.”
“…?!”
“Yes. Your guess was correct. This is a plot for rebellion. However, if I were to report it as well, you would never learn the location of the Pulse, would you?”
He stumbled backward. It was a comically exaggerated reaction, but it showed just how terrifying Bancart was to him.
“That is exactly why I came to you.”
“Huk…”
“Karlangk’s interior may be rotten to the core, but because Bancart has decapitated every threat, it has paradoxically become stable. So even if I tried to win over Gremory of House Aregor—”
I deliberately drew out my words, watching his confusion deepen. “Would she truly accept what I say?”
“The young lady knows nothing about him.”
“I know that too. But no matter how you look at it, there is no chance she would trust me over Karlangk.”
So the one I chose was you.
But could you really refuse your mother’s memento—the very core of your existence—simply to report me? Don’t you want to regain your memories?
In short, that was the message.
His face turned deathly pale. “You’re insane. That is impossible. You had best not entertain even the slightest thought of it. The moment you rebel against my brother, at that very instant…!”
“No. If it fails, I will be the one to bear the consequences, not you. So it is none of your concern. Besides, I have a reason that prevents me from backing down.”
At that, Cryan spoke as if something had just occurred to him. “…Is it the Grand Duke’s daughter?”
“Oh?”
“Don’t tell me my brother has reached his hand toward her as well?”
“…Mind your own business. What matters here is that regaining your memories is crucial, isn’t it? At least in this matter, neither of us has a path of retreat.”
“Hmm.”
“It seems our interests align perfectly.”
I held out my hand to him. “Decide quickly whether you’ll take it or not. The ladies will come looking for us soon.”
“Damn it. With that vicious face of yours, you’re even drawing a sword in a sealed room and offering your hand. In technical terms, this is called coercion.”
“If I thought you would report this, I would simply kill you here. But I believe you’ll take my hand.”
“What a demonic human you are. Just who are you, really?”
“Eclipse says I’m not even a person.”
“And who is that…?”
But as expected, his hesitation did not last long.
“I have one condition.”
“What is it?”
“As you said earlier, you must take me with you on that journey without fail. No matter what happens.”
“…Well, since I brought it up, I suppose I must take responsibility. I don’t know exactly how things will unfold, but I’ll do my best.”
“Thank you.”
Grab—
His hand was so small and delicate for a man that it barely felt like I was holding anything at all, yet the contract was now sealed.
We kicked open the frozen storage room door and stepped out, behaving as if nothing at all had happened.
Apparently the ladies’ teatime had already ended before ours. They waved their hands in greeting and called out to us.
“Lord of Steel, Cryan—! Where have you two been?”
Cryan mumbled awkwardly. “The washroom…”
“Ah, sorry for asking.”
Lady Gremory seemed momentarily at a loss for words. I glanced at Cryan, but he merely shrugged as if he had no intention of mentioning what had just occurred.
Then Lady Karalin, seated beside Gremory, spoke to me.
“Yohan, listen…”
“What is it?”
“This child is quite good and kind. There’s no need to misunderstand him.”
The rejecting tone I had sensed from her at our first meeting was completely gone. Instead, her flushed, animated expression was striking. She had clearly fallen for Lady Gremory’s sociable charm.
“I see. Is that so?”
She then proceeded to chatter to me about everything except the parts still under embargo from their girl talk. To an outside observer it might have seemed like her usual self, but to my eyes she was in a state of extreme excitement.
Gremory waved at me with a bright, knowing smile, as if to say, ‘Hey, it’s your big sis★.’
I had known Gremory possessed excellent affinity and a good personality, but I had not realized she could tear down the walls Karalin had built with nothing more than a short conversation. She truly was something special.
Standing behind the quietly observing Cryan, I whispered, “Then let’s carry out the plan tomorrow, Cryan.”
“…Your decisiveness is truly remarkable.”
“We’ll move around lunchtime. Skip any classes you have. Meet me at exactly twelve o’clock in front of the Karlangk Grand Bell Tower.”
“We’re going to the lower city?”
I spoke with deliberate weight. “Yes. The floating arena in the Bruised City. That is Nonedon’s stronghold. There, we will seize the Pulse.”
Cryan’s body trembled faintly as if he could already sense something vast beginning to unfold.
Now… shall we start cashing in on a few favors?