Information (2)
It was neither mana nor aura, yet the golden haze that shimmered around her was of a purity that would not yield to either. That peculiar energy still clung faintly to Vina's body, and I still could not pin down what it was.
It seemed to draw on the ambient mana in the air, but even that connection was too faint to call certain. She was, from what I had heard, a contractor of a Spirit King — so perhaps the power was related to that. Something drawn directly from the spirit realm, maybe.
As a mage, I could hardly help being curious. And if it was a power I might one day make use of myself, the interest only deepened. So I reached out, quietly, and tried to gather a sample of that energy with a tendril of mana.
"Ah-ah. Just where do you think you're stealing from?"
Vina's eyes narrowed into pretty slits as she swatted the blue-tinged tendril away. Tak.
I clicked my tongue in disappointment. She planted her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly displeased.
"Don't touch it, Duke Pervert. That power is mine and mine alone. You couldn't use it anyway."
"…Hm."
I figured I wouldn't know until I actually studied it, but when the owner of the power put it like that, backing off was the only sensible choice. I dispersed the mana I had extended and dusted off my hands.
"Anyway. Why am I a pervert duke?"
I shot her a sidelong look, genuinely puzzled. How on earth had I ended up saddled with a nickname that grotesque?
I clenched and unclenched a fist, just in case a little discipline was in order. Vina only shrugged. Then, as if it were the most trivial thing in the world, she sank me without a trace.
"Incestuous freak. The pervert who pressed his own little sister's skin against his."
"…"
"Miss Charlotte seemed to be doing well, by the way."
I had no choice but to unclench the fist I had been holding so tightly. Once you heard something like that, there really wasn't much of a rebuttal left.
Hearing a Wing of Sephirot speak Lottie's name at all was enough to make every hair on my body stand on end. But there was no malice in it. Mischief, if anything.
I pressed the back of my hand to my burning forehead and changed the subject.
"So why did you approach me so suddenly?"
"Oh my, oh my. Look at you changing the subject. Are you ashamed of what you did? If you knew it was shameful you shouldn't have done it in the first place. Tsk. Tsk."
"…"
The problem was that none of it was working. Even in human form she was batting at me with little clenched fists like a cat. I considered slapping her once, but her appearance was that of a delicate young woman, and that made me hesitate. I gritted my teeth and hauled my patience back up.
"…So. Tell me why you chose to make contact in a place this public—"
"Did you enjoy sharing a bed with your little sister, Duke Per— ghhk!?"
And I shattered that patience in about a second. Patience, nothing. My fist flicked out, light and clean, and Vina crumpled, clutching the pale, exposed skin of her lower belly.
I had already been irritated that she wasn't wearing so much as a thread. The timing of the punishment, I thought, could not have been more appropriate.
"Cough, cough…! Y-you actually hit me. You actually hit me…!"
I stroked my knuckles with a quiet sense of satisfaction. Vina stared up at me, shouting as if she could not believe it. For a fleeting instant, the violet of her eyes rippled gold. I wondered, idly, whether her true form's eyes might actually be gold.
It was not a deduction that mattered just then. I spoke briefly.
"Vina."
"…Y-yeah?"
"Don't push it."
"…"
"You'll die."
Vina pulled a face like she had bitten into something foul, but what was she going to do about it? In an alliance like ours, hierarchy was decided by strength. That was simply how it worked.
"…Ugh, you really hit me hard. You animal. Is this how you treat a woman?"
She grumbled the whole time, but she planted a knee and stood up soon enough. Apart from that first moment, she hadn't even looked that hurt. Maybe it was because she had nothing but a single outer garment draped over her like a cloak — the way she rose left her lower body completely exposed.
"…"
Remarkably, I felt almost nothing. Clean-looking, I supposed, since there was no hair. Face and body alike belonged to a stunningly beautiful woman, but it was not her true form, and apparently that was enough to keep any real desire from stirring.
I glanced down at the fist that had briefly touched her bare skin, then brought us back to the point.
"So… your answer?"
"…"
Perhaps it was because I had dropped my voice a fraction. Vina cleared her throat and put on a serious face. After the briefest hesitation, she began.
"…Your subordinate. The red-haired one."
"If you mean Elena, what about her?"
"Something happened yesterday, didn't it?"
"Mm…"
I nodded without a word. So it was that, after all. I had already guessed there was nothing else that would send her looking for me in such a hurry. Elena had made quite a spectacle of it, and well…
I stared down at the stone floor for a moment, then asked, abruptly,
"Was that rat one of yours, by any chance."
My voice had gone cold and still. If the guess had been right, even Vina would have flinched.
"No. Not one of mine."
She shook her head, dismissing my suspicion as if it were nothing. Then a third name left her lips.
"Netzach. Have you heard that name?"
"…Netzach."
My eyes narrowed of their own accord. Of course I had heard it. I knew as much as there was to know about Sephirot's executives. But if she was asking whether I knew anything about the man himself beyond the name, I would have to shake my head. Everything I had on Sephirot had come from Yesod, and there was only so much a dying man could pass on.
"I know he's male, at least."
I said it while stroking my chin. Vina scratched her cheek, looking faintly embarrassed.
"Well. Yeah. He's a pretty disgusting guy, too."
"…So you know each other's faces?"
"We've met with magic over our faces. That's how Sephirot's executive meetings usually go."
Vina gave a little shudder, as if the memory itself were unpleasant. What kind of man was he, to get that kind of reaction out of her? Curiosity stirred — but there was something I needed confirmed first.
"So he's the Wing in charge of the Altmain Imperial Academy. Is that right?"
I murmured it with a thick thread of killing intent. Vina answered with a silent nod.
Netzach. I committed the name to memory. It was only a hunch, but I had a feeling I would be meeting him before long.
Vina stared at me for a long moment, taking in the look on my face.
"…What?"
When I frowned at that unreadable gaze, she finally got to the point.
"Listen, Isaac Havertz. Do you remember the terms of our contract?"
"…?"
It seemed like an obvious thing to ask. I tilted my head slightly, but I answered without delay.
"Of course. You provide me with information, and I become your strength."
"…About that strength."
Vina hesitated. She clasped her hands behind her back and lifted her torso a little, watching my face as she finally said it.
"I think I'm going to need it soon. Your help, as an 8th Circle mage."
"…"
"Don't take Netzach lightly. Especially not now. What that filthy man is trying to do… it could go beyond me. It might even drag in your little sister and your fiancée."
There was something urgent in her voice, almost pleading. She had even gone so far as to name Lottie — and Adelaide, too. Just what was this Netzach planning, that she would go that far? Vina was a Wing of Sephirot in her own right. Perhaps even among executives of the same rank, a hierarchy existed. Kether's case made that obvious enough, really.
I clicked my jaw and asked,
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
"…"
Vina pressed her lips shut. I waited, quietly, for her to go on. I still had no idea what kind of help she wanted from me. But…
There's nothing to lose.
I was not the one in a hurry. If she was asking for cooperation when she still hadn't given me all the information she owed, then she was the one in the weaker position. And simply agreeing to her request would let me extract quite a lot.
"…So. This is…"
Before long her lips began to move. Her face was faintly twisted, as if the words themselves were hard to get out, and she rubbed her thighs together as she spoke.
Is she doing that on purpose?
The atmosphere was supposed to be grave, but I felt the tension leak out of me, leaving something faintly awkward in its place. She still had nothing but that single garment slung over her shoulders, and she was moving like that — completely unguarded. Maybe this was her best attempt at seduction. Using a woman's body to seize the upper hand in a negotiation was a tactic as old as time.
Well. Probably not.
I brushed the thought aside, unimpressed. Looking at Vina's expression, that kind of calculated allure did not seem to be what she was doing. She simply kept hesitating, fumbling for the words, until at last she looked up at me with unsteady eyes.
"You… you know what a Grimoire is, don't you?"
"…"
And then a single sentence I could not afford to let pass.
My expression turned to ice.