The Blue Moon Assembly
Ludwig's goal was simple. The Academy demon summoning attempt. He wanted to recover the Orthea Organon hidden behind the incident I'd orchestrated in Edward's body. I didn't care how he'd pull it off—he'd figure it out. What mattered was that he wasn't retrieving the Orthea; he was visiting the Academy.
"What's my role?"
"Drawing attention. While you and the other members keep the Academy and the Empire distracted, I'll infiltrate and retrieve the remnants."
My mind raced. Ludwig and I exchanged subtle glances beneath the surface, desperately trying to read each other's thoughts. Naturally, I held the advantage. I knew things he didn't, and I knew everything he did.
Even as he used me, he'd assigned himself the lowest-risk role. A rational choice. So what lay behind that decision?
He must have considered the chance that Kyle blabbed to me on the way here.
Apparently not. Kyle was probably dead by now—suicide in a bathroom, maybe. If so, good riddance. If not, too bad. I had no more interest in that idiot.
He's suspicious of me but can't form a solid hypothesis yet.
The countless branching possibilities stemming from body possession. Ludwig suspected he might be dancing to my tune but lacked concrete proof or circumstantial evidence. No problem.
"Fine. Anything else you want? I'll accommodate whatever you desire."
"Nah, this is enough. We'll discuss details later via communicator. I've got things to do now."
Ludwig turned, waving over his shoulder.
"Feel free to stick around. Though you'll do whatever you want anyway, so this is pointless, right?"
He added that and walked off. The members followed one by one, each stealing a final glance at me. Bella, in particular, eyed me with deep suspicion. My mentioning her name earlier clearly rankled. Just as I'd intended.
The trigger's with Ludwig, and he's designed the board so I can't participate directly...
I could see his nasty intent to exploit me somehow. Maybe he'd use this as a trap to kill me and claim the Orthea too. But I decided not to worry.
Once Ludwig set foot in the Academy, my own scheme would activate.
Suddenly, I noticed one member lingering—a survivor from the Phiren Duchy. The woman I'd greeted earlier, Baderon Winen.
"...You."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Do you know the name Persis?"
Persis. The mage who'd orchestrated the Phiren Duchy Sword Master Awakening incident. Me.
"It'd be weirder if I didn't. This whole mess is his fault."
Winen nodded gravely, desperately scanning my face for reactions. It was comical.
"What's with that look? You think I've inherited that bastard Persis's memories or something?"
"...!!!"
Her expression hardened, a faint killing intent flickering toward me. I casually feigned innocence, shaking my head.
"You find it strange that I know about that?"
"...How do you know that fact?"
"I can guess why you're suspicious. Ludwig must have told you about my ability. You're wondering if I swap bodies through memories. Fair assumption."
"..."
Her suspicions were spot on. The Phiren experiments had been to prove my power's mechanism. If the self is rooted in memory, my ability was less theft and more contagion.
But that was only half-true.
My power didn't spread memories—it transplanted souls. Irrelevant detail; I pressed on.
"But no. The reason I know about him aligns with your suspicions."
Winen was torn, wondering if I was Persis. As the duke's daughter, she knew memory replication lay behind the Sword Master experiments. She suspected I could be him, surviving the same way.
"...!!"
Her eyes widened. I approached and whispered,
"Persis is still alive."
Right in front of you.
I swallowed that last bit. Realizing her lifelong suspicion was true, Winen grew agitated.
"Wh-where? Do you know where that bastard is?!"
"No idea. Last contact was ten years ago. Probably lounging at some resort."
As I turned toward the orphans, Winen grabbed my shoulder.
"...Please answer."
"I said I don't know."
"I beg you. Please. If not for that bastard... my father...!"
I shook off her hand, shaking my head.
"Last sighted near the Empire."
"...!!"
Winen fell silent. I watched her follow Ludwig, then turned to the hidden orphans.
I pulled cakes from my Subspace. They didn't react, assuming I'd eat them myself. Yet they couldn't hide their faint hope.
Time to poison the well. I extracted several cakes, lining them up on the floor. Stepping back wordlessly, the orphans crept forward and devoured them.
Enjoy.
They wouldn't glance at the moldy bread later. I chuckled, laying out the moldy loaves on the other side. Cakes for one day, moldy bread for a month.
How would the cake-eaters treat the moldy bread? Intriguing, but not worth watching.
Then one orphan blocked my path.
"...?"
I glanced at the cakes—plenty left.
"...T-take me too."
Her face burned with resolve, desperate as if this were her last chance.
But I was curious.
"Why come to me instead of eating cake?"
She went silent. I waited patiently.
"B-because... then you'd notice me."
"Why think that?"
"I... I had to show I'm not like them."
Show she wasn't like them? To me, people were all the same.
"You want cake, right? No bread? Eat cake then. Famous saying. No water? Drink Mountain Dew."
She shook her head. I shoved a cake from Subspace at her.
"Take it. You want it, don't you?"
She wavered but refused. Interesting.
"Name?"
"Don't know. Mom never gave me one."
"Call parents 'mother' and 'father.' Not 'mom' or 'dad.'"
"Don't have any. They ditched me."
I tossed out a joke.
"See any rings on my heart?"
She stared piercingly at my chest. After a long look, she cautiously shook her head.
"Want to say 8.5?"
"N-no. Nothing."
Honest kid.
"From now on, your name is..."
I smirked. Good idea.
"Leon."
"What?"
"Your name is Leon. Your real name now—remember it."
Leon's face lit up.
I brought Leon home. A week had passed, so Ella was there—back from practical training.
The door opened, and Ella rushed out.
"Where the hell were you? I told you not to go anywhere—"
Her eyes fixed on the child behind me.
"You... you..."
I smirked, introducing Leon to her.
"Say hi. She's gonna live with you from now—"
Time slowed. I savored Ella's shocked expression leisurely.
What face would she make hearing this name? Disgust? Contempt? Jealousy? Anticipation?
Imagining it was pure joy. Grinning, I spoke the name.
Once her little brother. The corpse I'd puppeteered. The trigger for her self-loathing.
"Leon."
Instantly, Ella's pupils dilated to their limit.
"—What?"
She shoved me aside, lunging past to the cowering Leon.
"You... you're..."
Leon (not) greeted her awkwardly.
"H-hi... ma'am?"
Ella's face twisted. Her brief hope shattered.
Delicious! I laughed silently, tears of joy welling up.