The Good and the Wicked
"Excuse me—I'm so sorry! Are you hurt where I bumped into you?"
"...I'm fine."
"Your shoulder isn't dislocated or anything? Nothing broken?"
"I'm perfectly intact."
"Whew! Thank goodness. You're really built solid, aren't you!"
I answered her evenly, and Elda—who had been scowling with worry—let out a long breath of relief. She must have been afraid that sturdy frame of hers had actually done some damage. And given how expensive my clothes looked, she didn't seem the least bit bothered that my tone was a little high-handed.
...I never expected to run into Elda here. That startled me.
I settled the surprise in my chest and stared at her through the slit in my mask. Elda Ferrenka. One of the original novel's heroines, a woman of the northern tribes who had immigrated to the Empire as a child. I recognized her at a glance. Beautiful women with black hair and black eyes were vanishingly rare.
And Elda always did have a thing for food...
My gaze drifted to the chicken skewers in her hand. She was clutching three of them in one fist, eating as she walked. How did she keep a figure like that while putting food away like this? Did every last calorie just go straight to her chest and hips? I let my eyes drop, just for a moment, to the generous swell of her breasts—so thoroughly well-nourished that any child of hers would never go hungry.
"Um, pardon me, but are you competing in this year's Sword and Magic Festival?"
"How did you know?"
"Well, it's just... your voice sounds young, but your skill feels extraordinary."
Elda said this around a mouthful of chicken skewer. So she'd sensed my presence on instinct. I was suppressing my energy for the festival, and she still picked up on it. Sharp little she-wolf, as always.
"I see. In any case, the collision was nothing. I'll be on my way."
"Ah? Oh—yes, of course."
I turned my back on Elda, who was still studying me with those keen eyes. Part of me wanted to keep talking with her forever, but carrying on a conversation while hiding my identity was a little ridiculous. There would be another chance to see her soon enough. Leaving her gaze burning into the back of my head, I headed for my original destination: the chicken-skewer stall.
"Welcome! What can I get you?"
"One chicken skewer."
"Yes, sir! Coming right up!"
The merchant took my order and moved with brisk efficiency. A moment later I accepted the skewer he handed over and found a decent spot to sit.
Well now...
It looked like a perfectly ordinary chicken skewer. For ostrich meat, it wasn't even particularly large. With a flicker of anticipation rising in my chest, I lifted my mask just enough and took a bite of the well-spiced skewer.
So this was what a chicken skewer made of ostrich tasted like.
It was fucking ordinary.
No wonder the smell had been so unremarkable.
Tch... I guess the food at the estate really is just that good. Is there anything else around here?
I dumped the rest into my mouth and wandered the streets in search of something actually worth eating, until I found myself standing in front of a bakery.
"Hey, Hanson. I hear the salt bread here is famous."
"I heard that too. They say it's been notorious as the 'drug bakery' ever since it was operating at the Academy! The owner got accused of putting narcotics in the bread, but the captain of the guard took one bite, burst into tears, and had him released on the spot!"
"That good, huh? Well, now I have to try it!"
I joined the line, listening to the chatter of the people around me. The familiar string of words set the memory-engine in my brain whirring at full speed. The Academy... a drug bakery...?
Ah. That bakery.
The one I'd visited back when I was staying at the Academy. The owner had been dragged off by the guards, so I'd assumed he'd actually put drugs in the bread. Turns out it was just that good.
That's a relief. A real relief.
Still, it seemed like he'd been suspected because of me... I was curious about the taste anyway, and I figured I owed him an apology tip, so I got in line. After a long wait, my turn finally came. I handed the owner a gleaming imperial gold coin.
"Welcome! Hrk—! Th-this is...?"
"I'd like one salt bread."
"Ah... one salt bread is ten copper coins, my lord."
"I don't need the change. Just give me the bread."
I forced the coin into his hand. The baker trembled as he accepted it. Before he could get another word out, I snatched up the bread and walked out. Behind me, I heard him shout that today's batch was sold out.
So I'd bought the last one. Lucky me.
I found a bench in the park, sat down, and unwrapped the bread.
Rustle.
"Oh."
A rich, savory aroma bloomed all at once. The quality of the butter and flour was obvious from the look of it alone. It was bigger than I'd expected, the crust golden and perfectly baked, practically advertising that it was ridiculously delicious. I was just about to take a happy bite when—
"Haa... the salt bread's already sold out. I specifically made time to come out here just to eat that..."
A woman's voice from the park entrance. I turned my head, half-suspecting, and there was Elda, trudging toward me with heavy sighs.
"Starting tomorrow I'll be too busy to come back for it... ugh..."
She slumped onto a bench, groaning over missing out on the famous bakery's bread. I looked down at the salt bread in my hand, then walked over to Elda and held out half of it.
"Oh, we meet again? Wait, is this...?"
"I'm already full. I'd appreciate it if you helped me out a little."
"...Are you an angel, by any chance?"
Elda's face lit up as if she'd just met her savior. Having fed the hungry she-wolf, I sat down beside her without a word and took a bite of the salt bread.
Crunch.
"Whoa."
A short gasp of genuine admiration slipped out of me. This wasn't just salt bread. This was actually insanely good. A little salty, deeply savory, crisp on the outside and chewy within. This easily ranked among the top three things I'd eaten since transmigrating.
I glanced sideways. Elda seemed to like it just as much—she was devouring her half with gusto.
She really does eat like she's blessing every bite.
It felt a bit like watching a pet enjoy its meal. Was this what complete domestication looked like? Still, it felt like the Elda I remembered, and I found myself smiling for no particular reason.
"Haa... thank you so much. I actually tried to get this yesterday and failed."
"Is that so. I'm glad you got to eat it this time."
"It's all thanks to you. Ah, I'm Elda Ferrenka. I teach in the Knight Faculty at the Academy—I'm here escorting the students competing as representatives in the Sword and Magic Festival. You seem to be competing too. If it's not too forward, may I ask your name?"
"Licht."
"Hmm, Licht. I'll be sure to remember that."
Elda popped the last bite into her mouth and chewed, the corners of her striking, slightly upturned eyes curving with satisfaction.
I should get going soon.
The pleasant time with Elda couldn't last. I looked up—the sun was already high. If I wanted to stay on schedule, I needed to leave now. I tucked a fragment of Elda's warm gaze into my chest and stood.
"I'll take my leave first."
"You're going?"
"Yes. The Sword and Magic Festival will be starting in earnest soon."
"Ah! That's right. I should go look after my students too."
Elda rose with me. Before we left the park, we exchanged a light handshake.
"Then I suppose I'll see you at the arena."
"So it would seem."
"This year's festival—my student will take the championship. Watch and see."
Elda said it with complete confidence, giving her ample chest a proud pat. She had no idea, of course, that I intended to claim the championship myself. That was the only way I could thoroughly crush Albireo.
"Sorry, but I plan on winning this myself."
"Oh? Someone's confident."
Interest flared across Elda's face. The Ferrenka family tradition was to take as a husband only a man stronger than oneself—maybe that was why. She seemed instinctively eager to test herself against me.
"If you want, I'll show you what I can do later."
"I'd like that! I'll be looking forward to it!"
Whether she truly wanted to spar with me or not, Elda answered with a bright, beaming grin. Having promised to meet again, I removed my mask and headed for the arena.
After parting with Elda, I entered the nobles' viewing box of the colosseum-like arena, where a considerable number of nobles were already seated. The stands fell quiet at my appearance. I walked through the familiar weight of their stares, and a noble with red hair and a thin mustache approached me.
"You've arrived, Your Grace."
"Viscount Kieran. Have you been well?"
"Of course. All thanks to Your Grace's generosity. My son Dustin has been selected as the Academy's year representative for this Sword and Magic Festival. I swear he will not bring shame upon your name."
The father of Dustin Redfield, third-year representative of the Academy's Knight Faculty. Viscount Kieran Redfield spoke with a face full of resolve. He was one of the nobles under my banner—a family that had already been loyal, and had grown even more zealous after I'd provided them with financial support.
"I'll look forward to it. I'll be watching."
After giving Viscount Kieran a suitable reply, a barrage of greetings followed from the other nobles. The houses already under me, plus those I'd pulled in over the past month. In the current climate of imperial succession, I'd unintentionally put my faction on full display, and the eyes of nobles aligned with the First and Second Princes naturally gathered on me.
So it bothers them.
Choosing the right side was a matter of survival. Of course they were agonizing over what to do. I was absorbing their sidelong glances when someone at the entrance called out.
Albireo had arrived, right on cue. Silence swallowed the room. A moment later the doors burst open and he walked in.
Albireo, appearing for the first time in quite a while, didn't look much different from the last time I'd seen him. Brilliantly shining blond hair, ornaments draped over his entire body. Still dressing himself up in that same glossy, ostentatious way, still carrying himself with the same arrogance.
One thing, however, was different: the white-haired old man walking at his side.
The Magic Tower Master...
I couldn't have failed to recognize him. Since transmigrating into this world, he possessed the most colossal mana reserves of anyone I had ever seen.
Crazy old bastard. If you measured mana volume alone, he might even have a little more than I do.
Watching the white-haired elder walk as if he were floating through empty air, I couldn't help cursing inwardly. How could a single human being radiate an expanse as vast as the ocean? In the original novel, the Magic Tower Master had swollen his mana by devouring the mana of gifted children. At this scale, I couldn't even begin to guess how many children he'd reduced to husks.
Disgusting old man.
Following my furious gaze, the people around me also turned to watch Albireo and the Magic Tower Master enter. A short while later, Albireo—seated near the place of honor—addressed the noble beside him.
"So Elder Brother is skipping this year's festival as well."
"So it would appear. He still seems to have much to do on the eastern front."
"Haha. As if. He's simply so obsessed with the sword he can't leave the battlefield. He spends every day swinging a blade, and now and then uses enemy knights as training dummies. More importantly—is His Majesty coming?"
"Yes. He's currently en route to the arena with Sir Friedrich."
The noble beside Albireo wiped sweat from his brow as he answered. News that the Emperor was coming here with the commander of the Imperial 1st Knight Order. I'd never met him, so I was curious—but my chest went ice-cold. To me, it was the same as hearing that a father who sat idle while his children tore each other apart for the throne was on his way.
And yet I didn't rashly conclude that he was a wicked man. Even in the original novel, the line between good and evil had been ambiguous when it came to him. And somehow, I wanted to judge him by what I saw and heard with my own eyes.
Would the man I actually met be a good man? A wicked one? Or a human being somewhere in between?
While I was lost in thought—
Someone cried out, and the closed doors opened.