The Subspace Pouch

What a twisted bastard.

"W-what, h-how… Then the Magic Tower is…"

"The mages of the Magic Tower have all been wiped out. Of course, as I mentioned, the research materials remain."

"Th-then bring them to me! I'll reward you…"

"You still don't seem to grasp the situation."

I flicked the paper I was holding into the air.

"There is no Tower Master here anymore. No mages who used to be your hands and feet, either."

Then I crushed it under my heel.

"All that's left is your crime."

"……"

"Good. Now it looks like you're ready to talk."

"What do you… what do you want?"

"Simple. Dedicate the Grand Duke's precious vote to Princess Amelia."

"You… do you even understand what you're saying? You're threatening an Elector of the kingdom to overturn the kingdom's traditions…!"

"You're the one who dirtied those traditions first, aren't you? Are you going to lay everything down quietly, or are you planning to go to war with the royal family? You have far too much to lose."

"You little…"

"I'll keep the materials from this laboratory safe until the election is over."

"How am I supposed to trust that? Fine, after the election. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠After it's over, if you use those to accuse me…"

"If I accuse you."

I echoed his words.

"What exactly are you going to do about it?"

"……"

"You still don't understand? Grand Duke, you have no choice left. Stay quiet."

From beyond the flame came the sound of Keln snorting roughly through his nose.

"Well then, I'll take it that our conversation is finished."

Flick—

I shook the match and snuffed it out.

"Shall we look around a bit more? There might be something else worth taking."

At my words, Amelia and Kairon both nodded.

Following Kairon, we scoured every corner of the underground until we found one door sealed tight.

"Lord Kairon, what's this room?"

"……Don't know."

Every other place looked as if a fox had already passed through—doors left open, and every open room ransacked beyond recognition.

Only this one remained firmly locked.

When I examined the doorknob, I found something that looked like a keyhole.

"……Looks like it needs a key."

"I don't think it's a key."

I didn't even need to call on the spirits to check.

I had already seen something that would fit this hole.

From the top floor of the Magic Tower.

I pulled out the Tower Master's wand and slid it into the opening. Click.

The locking mechanism released with a soft sound.

"We've come this far—might as well take a look at the homeowner's room."

As a mage who specialized in spatial distortion, the Tower Master's chambers were absurdly vast.

Given the structure of the underground facility, a room this wide and high-ceilinged should not have been possible.

Yet his chamber stretched out grandly, as if flaunting his unique magic.

"Looks like… no one came here."

"Indeed. It's more orderly than I expected."

In the middle of that enormous space sat a single long desk.

If all he needed was one desk, why build a room this huge?

The Tower Master clearly hadn't cared much about efficiency.

Only then did I summon the spirits and cast the magic to its fullest.

Just like with Karma, a boss's room in their hideout was bound to hide something.

After a short wait, one spirit circled over a floor tile.

There, too, was a hole identical to the one on the door. I inserted the wand again.

Click—

"This is why you should never use the same password on every site."

"……Huh?"

"Never mind. Let's go down."

Taking Kairon and Amelia with me, I descended into what turned out to be a vault.

About the size of two shipping containers put together.

Inside, gold bars were stacked neatly beyond counting.

He might not have cared about efficiency, but he clearly liked things tidy—same as the orderly room above.

And rising from the exact center of the vault stood a short pillar, and on it, a single pouch.

Pitch-black like the night sky, with patterns like stars drawn across it.

"What's that, to be placed more carefully than the gold bars?"

"Come to think of it, the Tower Master was a mage of space, wasn't he?"

"Yes, and that means…?"

"He might have been able to create something like a Subspace Pouch!"

I shouted in excitement as I snatched up the pouch.

"A Subspace ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Pouch? What's that to get you so worked up?"

A pouch that could hold anything and let you take it out at will.

Subspace Pouch.

For short… Auntie Pouch…

Better not shorten it.

"In an emergency he probably planned to dump all the gold bars into this pouch and run."

"Well, he died pointlessly before he could, though."

I turned the pouch upside down and shook it hard.

Nothing came out—not even a speck of dust. Either it had never held anything, or whatever was inside had already been removed.

"Not everything goes according to plan, after all."

To test whether it really was a Subspace Pouch, I picked up a gold bar.

The moment I lifted it—

"What is that?"

"Apparently every single gold bar has the Tower Master's name engraved on it. Central bank mark and serial number, too. Almost as if he expected someone to steal them."

That "someone" spoke.

It was me, of course.

"What a twisted bastard."

"Are you talking about me?"

"No, the Tower Master. Why are you flinching?"

"…We can just melt the bars down and use them."

"If we can find a place that will melt this much without asking where it came from, sure."

"I'll find a way. First, though."

With a trembling heart I slid the gold bar into the pouch.

Sssuck—

The bar was sucked in as if the pouch had swallowed it.

The pouch didn't bulge into the shape of a gold bar, nor did its weight change at all.

When I reached inside and thought of pulling out one gold bar, my fingers closed around the solid metal in that empty space.

I drew it out and held it up proudly. Amelia let out a breath of wonder.

"Just as I predicted. Even if he had to leave, he left us a gift like this."

"It wasn't meant as a gift for you… but still."

I ignored her and feverishly stuffed gold bars into the pouch.

The Subspace Pouch swallowed every last heavy bar without the slightest strain.

There were just so many of them that it took a long time.

A completely unexpected harvest.

With this, I would never again have to send a delivery boy because I didn't have a free hand to carry a cake.

It would still need laundering before use… but the gold bars ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠far outnumbered anything I had taken from Karma.

And perhaps the Subspace Pouch itself was more precious than the gold.

Ding—

The Sisterhood of the Order.

The bell signaling the end of holy magic class rang out.

"Um, I have a question…"

Ester quickly raised her hand, only for the other nuns in the classroom to whip their heads around and stare at her.

It was lunchtime; the silent pressure said clearly, Don't waste our time.

"Ah, n-never mind."

She slowly lowered her hand.

Afterward she turned to the nun beside her.

"I'm really sorry, but could you spare just a moment? I don't quite understand this part, so if you could explain a little…"

"If you're sorry, don't ask."

The nun stood up abruptly and left with the others for lunch.

"Ha… ha…"

Before long Ester was left alone in the classroom. She slumped forward onto her desk as if collapsing.

Life at the Sisterhood had not been smooth for her.

Graduating early from the Academy and advancing to a higher institution had been wonderful, yet the only recovery magic she knew was a single spell, and nearly everyone else had been raised from birth inside the Order's facilities.

The Order's rules, its daily life, its magic—

The only one who found none of it familiar was Ester.

On top of that, an Academy graduate had vaulted straight into the Sisterhood on the personal recommendation of the Holy Knight Commander. Among the nuns who had climbed the ranks the honest way, more than a few eyed her with open resentment.

Why are they treating me like a rival?

Ester let out a sigh.

I'm not trying to become a saintess like the rest of you.

But she could never say those words aloud.

If she did, she would be branded a weirdo and end up even worse off.

The Commander said I could come to him anytime if something was difficult…

He had also promised to help, yet she did not want to go that far.

Commander Blash and her sponsor both believed in her. She wanted to manage on her own, precisely because of that trust.

She trudged to the dining hall, took a single piece of bread, and headed straight out to the walking path.

Even if she stayed in the dining hall, she had no friends to sit with and chatter over a meal.

Outside, at least, there was sunlight.

Chomp—

She bit into the dry bread without water and sank into thought.

Am I doing all right?

She had learned a great deal since coming to the Sisterhood, yet she was barely keeping up.

She had to concentrate harder than anyone else, study longer than anyone else.

Assignments others finished in two hours sometimes took her eight before she could submit them.

If only I had started at the Theological School, things might have been easier…

The moment the thought surfaced she rebuked herself for it.

She must not grow anxious.

Blash and Daywin had both been certain she would be fine beginning at the Sisterhood.

Those two said so. Why am I doubting them?

Don't grow weak.

She repeated the words silently five times and took another bite of bread.

"Ester!"

A voice calling her name made her jerk her head up in surprise.

"Ester, where are you? Ester!"

It was the managing nun of the Sisterhood training dormitory.

In Academy terms, something like a dormitory housemother.

"I-I'm here!"

Ester thrust her hand high between the trees of the path. The managing nun approached carrying a box wrapped in brown cloth.

"So this is where you were. A package arrived for your room and you weren't there, so I searched forever. Why are you out here alone during lunch instead of in the dining hall?"

"Ah, w-well, I already finished eating and was on my way out."

Embarrassed, she held up the half-eaten bread.

"This is more like dessert… I guess I just eat a lot."

"Good grief… Anyway, here. This is yours."

Ester accepted the box and turned the cloth this way and that, but nothing stood out.

"Maybe my parents sent it…"

"Ester, wait here a moment."

"Y-yes?"

Without waiting for an answer the managing nun turned her back and walked off.

Ester stared blankly after her, then carefully unwrapped the cloth.

On the outside of the box were the address of the Sisterhood where she lived and her own name.

The instant she opened the box—

"…Hup."

She clapped a hand over her mouth.

It was a whole cake.

A cherry cake nestled in a neatly folded box.

The very cake she had eaten at the Hasgard estate after the Subjugation Festival.

While she stared into the box with a stunned face, she noticed writing on the inside as well.

Just as he had hoped, the cake had arrived looking pretty and perfectly intact.

The handwriting was rough and unsigned, yet Ester knew at once who had sent it.

"Ah, really…"

She lifted the cake box so the sunlight could fall across it.

"Hehe… hehehe… Sponsor…"

She laughed like someone who had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lost her mind.

And in that moment she found the strength to keep living at the Sisterhood.

There had been no words of encouragement, yet it was more than enough.

"Honestly… you didn't have to go this far…"

"Ester, don't just eat bread—have some milk too… Huh? You don't need it?"

"Hwaaah! Yes?"

The managing nun had returned without her noticing and was holding out a glass bottle of milk.

"You just said you were fine without anything."

"N-no! Thank you!"

"Mm. Eat it with the bread. Ester, even if you don't have friends to eat with, you still have to finish your meals properly. We're all doing this just to stay alive, after all. Don't do this again."

"Pardon? Um, I'm not really…"

"If you have worries, you can always talk to me."

Once more she ignored Ester's reply and walked away.

"Ah, yes! Worries…"

Ester watched the retreating back blankly, then smiled again and hugged the cake box to her chest.

"I don't think I have any… not anymore."