Return to the House of Winchester
“Did I not expressly ask you to refrain from causing trouble?”
Erse Bathory’s tone was pure reproach, as though scarcely a month had passed since that request—which, in truth, it had not.
I, the target of her scolding, felt nothing but pure injustice.
What exactly am I supposed to have done wrong?
“That’s ridiculous. I can state with absolute certainty that I bear no fault whatsoever in this incident.”
Frankly, if anyone was to blame, it was the Academy itself. Of course, with the Emperor as its supreme authority, I could hardly say so out loud.
However peaceful things might appear, we were still at war. In the midst of a critical conflict with the Demon Realm, was it not only natural to weed out the trash in advance?
High-ranking ability users were almost always dragged off to the front lines. Ideological screening should have been a given, should it not?
A crisis for all of humanity? With enemies swarming inside like this, of course humanity is in danger. That’s exactly why, even in the original story, it wasn’t the Empire with its thousands of high-ranking heroes that saved the world—it was the protagonist who kept his head on straight.
“You little idiot…”
She let out a heavy sigh.
Sigh all she liked; it changed nothing. I genuinely did not consider this my responsibility.
“Fine. Let’s say you’re right. Then what do you intend to do from here?”
She massaged the bridge of her nose with her fingers as if the mere thought made her head ache, then fixed me with a look.
“You, brat, have already crossed the line by a considerable margin. Of all houses to tangle with, the Richmonds… The imperial family’s prestige is on the line. Even if you are a Winchester, the Empire will not let this matter slide easily.”
I was currently under imperial investigation as a suspect in the death of Jack Richmond, heir to Marquis Richmond. They had not detained me—there was no flight risk—but I was being treated as the obvious culprit.
The incident had taken place inside a subspace, leaving no way to ascertain what had happened within. The only fatalities were Jack Richmond and his three party members; the only other people who had remained inside were my own party. It was the perfect setup to pin everything on me.
Damn bastard. Even in death he managed to dump a load of shit on me.
Still, I was not entirely without a way out.
To keep it hidden from the imperial investigators, I had stashed a certain snake-shaped brooch in my inventory. Now I set it on her desk.
“What is that ominous-looking item?”
It was the very object Jack Richmond had carried to conceal his corrupted mana after his fall—the Blessing of the Demon God.
“Evidence.”
“Evidence, you say?”
“Yes. It belonged to Jack Richmond. Why not have the shadow lurking behind me examine it?”
At my blunt words the Principal’s eyes widened for a moment; then, with a look of resignation, she summoned her most trusted subordinate. She did not even bother asking how I knew. She must have realized I would never answer.
“Alfred. Use your skill and examine this item.”
“As you command.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a man in black butler’s attire melted soundlessly into view from behind the sofa where I sat. Even though I had known he was there, the stealth of his movement still sent a chill down my spine.
Alfred was Erse Bathory’s shadow—appearing in the original story whenever the Principal needed to act on the protagonist’s behalf without showing herself.
He lifted the brooch from the desk and activated his skill.
“O Shadow, reveal the truth unto me.”
Rewind
As the skill took hold, something black was drawn from the brooch into his fingertips.
His talent was Shadowmancer—an ability user who commanded shadows. Among his many powers was one of the strongest information-type skills in existence: the capacity to absorb the shadow of an inanimate object and review recent events that had occurred around it.
In the official setting, however, he was already listed as dead by the Principal’s own hand, and thus could never operate in the open.
“This is…!”
“Alfred, did you see something?”
Seeing the shock on his face, the Principal asked with open curiosity.
“Yes, my lady. My ability could not reveal everything, yet Jack Richmond appears to have been connected to the Light of Dawn.”
Bang!
“That damned Light of Dawn again!”
She slammed her fist onto the desk, her voice thick with weary fury.
“So my name is cleared now, yes?”
Her anger was none of my concern. I simply wanted my innocence restored as quickly as possible.
“Brat, it is not a matter that can be resolved so easily…”
“…What?”
I was speechless.
I had eliminated a turncoat belonging to the Light of Dawn—an organization whose members were executed on sight. If anything, I deserved a reward.
“What more am I supposed to do?”
“Unfortunately, Alfred cannot step into the open. Even if he risked it, the investigators would never believe him.”
She spoke as though the whole affair gave her a splitting headache.
“Moreover, the Marquis Richmond household remains a problem. They have surely received word by now, yet they have not moved. Still, they will not simply let this pass.”
My head is spinning…
Even back when I worked at a company, office politics had never been my strong suit. I had always been a classic outsider, clumsy with human relationships. A man like me had no business meddling in noble intrigue—yet, as she said, the situation was clearly not free of complications.
The Principal offered me a single solution. And the method that left her lips was one I had never imagined.
“Brat. Return to your family.”
“…Come again?”
Had I misheard?
“I mean go back to your house and seek their aid! The Academy will officially declare your innocence.”
The body I inhabited belonged to Taylor. And Taylor’s house was Winchester.
The Winchesters held a ducal rank, had produced outstanding heroes for generations, and even bore the title of founding contributors to the Empire. They were currently earning brilliant merit on the front lines of the war against the Demon Realm as well. The Duke of Winchester himself spent more than two hundred days of every year on the battlefield. In short, they possessed power second to none within the Empire—yet they had never shown much interest in politics. One might say they simply declined to exercise political influence.
“…Is there truly no other way?”
“At least none that I can think of. I am not expelling you, so resolve the matter swiftly and return.”
With that, the Principal closed the subject as though she had no other choice.
Damn it. The Winchester family…
I had always known I would have to visit them someday, but I never expected the day to arrive so soon.
I was a reincarnator. I roughly knew this world’s future, yet I knew almost nothing of Taylor Winchester’s past. Elizabeth’s attitude suggested I was not so different from the original Taylor, but the people who had lived with him every day might notice otherwise.
“I see…”
A return to House Winchester now seemed inevitable. I needed time to order my thoughts.
“I’ll leave the evidence with you. It will be safer in your hands than mine.”
“Very well. Do not worry overmuch about the item.”
Her firm assurance came at once. Entrusting it to one of the strongest beings in the world left little room for concern.
I rose from my seat. There was nothing more to gain from the Principal.
I’ll content myself with having secured a reliable ally for now.
As I opened the door of the Principal’s office to leave, I remembered something I had nearly forgotten and turned back.
“Thanks to Trisha’s Grace, I was able to save my teammate. You have my deepest gratitude.”
“Haa… If you truly wish to thank me, then please—for heaven’s sake—stop causing incidents.”
“…I’ll take that under advisement.”
A voice thick with exhaustion followed me, but I answered only half-heartedly and shut the door behind me.
“Mmph-mmph. So does that mean we’re all going to Young Master’s family together?”
Inside the pristine white hospital room, Enri was munching on the fruit I had brought as a get-well gift while she asked the question.
“Enri, I clearly told you not to talk with your mouth full.”
“Hehe, sorry.”
Even while being scolded by Elizabeth, Enri only grinned foolishly—yet something about her was different from usual.
From between her green hair peeked ears that were no longer human: the pointed ears of a fairy.
She had always been a lively beauty, but now her features seemed sharper, more defined overall. When I first saw her like this, the shock had been considerable.
To be honest, I still had not fully adjusted to Enri’s new appearance.
Well, being told out of nowhere that she’s an elf will do that…
In the original story Enri had maintained a human form until just before the final arc, so discovering this felt like stumbling upon an Easter egg.
According to the girls, while she was being treated by the spirit, the dormant elven blood within Enri had awakened. Upon regaining consciousness she had nearly jumped out of her skin at the mirror and asked her family, only to learn that even her parents had never known an elf existed among their ancestors.
“First we’ll check your condition a little more carefully. If everything looks fine, we’ll leave right away.”
“I’m really fine, though…”
“Enri, the doctor said we should keep an eye on you.”
When Angela chided her, Enri pouted.
“Following the expert’s advice is the right call.”
“Yes…”
When I sided with Angela as well, Enri finally nodded in surrender.
Her claim that she was fine was probably true. A spirit had intervened personally, after all.
It even looked like Word of Power was used. There can’t be anything wrong.
Still, the doctor had insisted that, given the severity of her injuries, she should undergo about a week of observation and tests. Certainty was always better. I could wait that long without complaint.
The girls had already been taken aside one by one for questioning by the investigators, and a faint unease still lingered on their faces. There was no need for all of us to suffer together.
“There’s no need to worry so much. We did nothing wrong, did we? Just act with the same confidence as always.”
Worry was my job alone.
“Understood.”
“Yes!”
“Of course.”
Hearing their spirited replies, I turned toward the hospital window to ease the tightness in my chest.
Outside, a disgustingly clear sky greeted me—utterly at odds with the blackened, smoldering state of my heart.