The Rain That Could Not Be Taken Back
"Hoh hoh, what a brazen boy this Goyan is! What could possess him to spew such reckless nonsense? If you're stepping forward on the strength of your father's power, you're making a grave mistake! Is it not yet time to admit your error and beg forgiveness?"
Duke Hector had been flustered for a moment, but he held firm to the very end. Judging by how shamelessly he was carrying on, he might have a few tricks up his sleeve — but there was no way he could make it rain. Nature belonged to the gods; it was something no man could command.
"Duke Hector! You would persecute my son before my very eyes?"
Duke Randert, who had kept his silence throughout Bayul's explanation of the spirits, finally unleashed the killing intent he had been suppressing. At his glare, Duke Hector's entire body trembled.
"Did Bayul not say he would prove it himself? It would be no great loss to decide whether you believe him or not after that, would it?"
"…Why should we waste precious time waiting for what will obviously turn out to be a lie? Do we look like people with nothing better to do? Am I wrong, everyone?"
Even as he stumbled over his words, Duke Hector refused to bend. His cronies chimed in, lending weight to his argument.
"And what will you do if Bayul does make it rain? Will you surrender your chairmanship?"
"Wh-what did you say?"
"He said to hand over your chairmanship! Why should Duke Hector have to do any such thing? Is it not Duke Randert who ought to step back? To put on such a disgraceful display in the Grand Hall where His Majesty sits — truly disappointing!"
"If Bayul cannot make it rain, then I will do exactly that."
"My lord Duke!"
"Father!"
At Duke Randert's declaration, Liam and the other retainers recoiled in horror and rushed to dissuade him. They had heard some account of Bayul's abilities in advance, but none of them had witnessed it with their own eyes, so they could not bring themselves to believe it completely. Truthfully, Bayul's claim that he would summon rain in the midst of such a merciless drought sounded like pure fantasy.
Duke Randert fixed Bayul with a gaze brimming over with trust.
Your father believes in you.
Do not be swayed by their words.
I stand behind you.
Bayul had already dealt with the endless rains that had plagued Hamilton for so long. He was more confident now than he had ever been.
Do not worry, Father. I will not waver.
He would flatten the noses of those who scorned both his father and himself.
"What will it be, then? Will you surrender your chairmanship?"
Duke Randert was astonishingly aggressive. At this display, so unlike his usual self, the Emperor and the Crown Prince exchanged a glance. The Duke resorting to such a bold gambit to drag Duke Hector down was almost certainly because of his son.
His worry for Bayul — in other words, it meant that what Bayul said was unmistakably the truth. The shrewd father and son saw through it in an instant.
"Why the silence, Duke Hector? Has your heart suddenly changed — do you now think Bayul might actually make it rain?"
"…N-not at all! Fine! If he can make it rain, then I will gladly surrender my chairmanship. I shall occupy myself with considering who should succeed me as chairman!"
Duke Hector felt no small unease at Duke Randert's thunderous challenge, but he chose to trust his original reasoning. It was impossible for anyone to summon rain. The idea that it could be done right now, without any preparation whatsoever, defied all reason.
"Hmm. Since my ministers seem to have reached a decision, I shall go along with it. Whatever the outcome, I raise no objection to the resolve shown by Duke Hector and Duke Randert."
"Your Majesty, there is one further judgment I must ask of you."
Duke Randert intended to settle everything here, before the assembled body of ministers.
"Speak, Duke Randert."
"If Bayul does make it rain, I petition that he be granted a reward commensurate with the deed."
"And what manner of reward would that be?"
"On that matter as well, I am already fully aware."
"Bayul is a Spirit User, one capable of resolving every one of these problems. If rain falls over the capital today, Bayul will be summoned wherever he is needed for the rest of his days. Is that not so?"
"To revisit an earlier point — if such an ability truly exists, should it not be put to use where it can do the most good?"
If it were truly possible, the Empire would have gained a talent of staggering worth. The moment word spread, foreign powers would come hungry for him. Looked at closely, Bayul's talent, in these times, was both an enormous blessing and an object of temptation.
"Therefore, I formally petition Your Majesty: grant Bayul the official post and title that befit him."
"N-now, hold on! Duke Randert! Your son is only seventeen, is he not? How can you confer a title upon someone not yet of age? That has never once happened in the history of the Empire!"
"And there has never once been a Spirit User in the history of the Empire, either."
If Bayul were dragged about from place to place without a proper post or title to his name, there was no telling what trouble he might be swept into. Once the rumors spread, every manner of vulture would come flocking. It was self-evident that pinning a clear and unmistakable nameplate upon him — one strong enough to protect him — would serve him well in every way.
"A fair argument. Honestly, what does age matter? If the rain falls and ends this long drought, I feel there is nothing I could give Bayul that he would not deserve."
Crown Prince Lindemann clapped along eagerly at Duke Randert's words.
"I think the same. He saved the Crown Prince's very life — what could I possibly withhold from him?"
"But Your Majesty, this sets a precedent that has never existed! At the very least, deliberate upon it further—"
"Didn't Duke Hector himself say Bayul will fail to make it rain? Then what is there to worry about? Have you already forgotten the wager you made with me just moments ago?"
"…Th-that is not it at all! It is only that so many absurd claims keep spilling forth, and I speak merely to urge Your Majesty to judge wisely!"
Despite his words, cold sweat was beading on his forehead. The belated realization that something had gone terribly wrong was beginning to creep over him.
He had never seen Duke Randert push so hard as he had today. A vague suspicion that he had been lured into a trap gnawed at him, but words already spoken could not be taken back.
"Then Duke Hector agrees as well?"
"…I do."
A sense of dread closed in on him. An uneasy thought took root: could it be that rain would truly fall?
"He claimed he would make it rain at once, so the result will show itself soon enough. It seems he will only come to his senses after suffering a thorough humiliation, so worry yourself no further, my lord Duke."
There was no point expending energy on something that would soon be exposed. In Duke Hector's stead, Marquis Voytek issued the command to Bayul.
"Well then, begin."
"You mean, here?"
"You were the one who insisted on doing it right now. Was even that a lie?"
"It isn't that — I would simply prefer the rain to spread evenly across the entire region."
"The entire region?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Is it only the palace that suffers from the drought? The citizens of the capital are waiting for the rain as well."
"It would be hard to fathom how vast the capital is, but I believe it worth attempting."
Father and son have gone mad together!
So thought Duke Hector and many of the ministers. Everyone knew Duke Randert was no man to speak idly, but given the matter at hand, even his own retainers were hard-pressed to back him blindly.
"That being the case, somewhere open on all sides and high off the ground would serve best. Does the palace have such a place?"
"Father, the central tower would be ideal. From there, one can see not only the whole of the palace grounds but the city streets as well, can one not?"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, please guide me there."
At Bayul's request, Crown Prince Lindemann nodded and rose at once. And so a grand spectacle descended upon the palace.
The Emperor and the Crown Prince, naturally, along with the most prominent ministers of the Empire, were all swept up in a great procession. It would have been strange if they had gone unnoticed.
Besides, Vergara at that moment was already packed with delegations from every nation, gathered to celebrate the victory in the war. They, too, naturally joined the swelling crowd, and word of what was happening passed from mouth to mouth.
"He claims he will make it rain?"
"And the son of Duke Randert, no less?"
"How could a boy barely seventeen manage such a thing?"
An enormous crowd gathered, with not the faintest inkling of what was about to unfold. The larger it grew, the more anxious Duke Hector became — and yet the more exhilarated he felt.
The bigger the humiliation, the better. With everyone around him so plainly skeptical, he felt all the more at ease.
"Father… is it truly all right for me to receive a title?"
"Feeling the weight of it already?"
"Yes. Receiving such a thing at my age… it somehow feels improper."
It was this thought that weighed on Bayul as they made their way toward the central tower. The opposing faction, mistaking his expression for fear, could be seen smirking among themselves.
"Bayul, this country is a strict hierarchy, through and through. An official post and a title will be your strength in their own right — even without me at your back."
"That's right, Bayul. That's simply what politics is. The world is full of people that a sense of justice alone can't handle. Duke Randert is planting the barest minimum of armor around you. So don't hesitate."
Born heir to a land where the crown's power ran thin, Quinn had weathered a great deal despite his youth. That the high lords of his homeland bowed with courtesy before him was thanks to nothing more than his station. Rank, in this world, was a shield — and the higher it stood, the better.
"You understand it well, Quinn. Things may be as they are now, but in time you will come to understand your old father's heart."
"Yes, Father."
By the time their conversation wound down, they had arrived at the tower. Since not everyone could ascend, only the key figures would accompany him.
Bayul and Duke Randert, Quinn, Liam, the Emperor and the Crown Prince, the knights guarding the imperial family, Duke Hector and several of his retainers — some twenty souls in all.
"Then I shall begin."
Bayul did not dawdle. If he was going to do this, it was better to put on a proper show as well.
"Everyone, will you come out?"
The instant his words ended, the four great spirits materialized in the air.
"Gah!"
"P-people, floating in midair—!"
Anyone who looked closely could tell they were not human at all, but most of the onlookers mistook the spirits for people based on their forms alone.
"Father, look closely — each of them has a distinct nature. The girl in the blue dress is water, the little one is wind, the girl wreathed in flames from head to toe must be fire, and the middle-aged gentleman, earth. Every one of them brims with character."
This was the second time Crown Prince Lindemann had seen the spirits. But the first time had been such a moment of chaos that it was as if he were seeing them properly for the very first time. He was electrified by their appearance.
"Innocent, you've already heard, haven't you?"
There was no need to give the spirits separate instructions. He had already conveyed his will to them through the bond of their minds.
"Yep, Bayul. Just trust me!"
"Painting our Bayul as a liar — what a wicked human you are!"
Tempesta flared up and blasted a gust of wind straight at Duke Hector. As the sudden gale made the Duke stagger, those beside him hastily caught his arm.
"Wh-what was that just now?"
A small boy in a robe darted his face up close and vanished in a blink. As Duke Hector stood dumbfounded, Tempesta burst out laughing.
Bayul wanted to praise him inwardly for a job well done, but instead he scolded the boy sharply and told him to stop.
"Tempesta, now's not the time. We have to make it rain right away. You can help, can't you?"
"Of course! I'll prove that Bayul is no liar!"
"Thank you."
"Hmph! Later, I'm going to soak you good and proper!"
Innocent shot a sidelong glare at Duke Hector, then soared up into the sky. Around her, the three other spirits took their positions at even intervals and began to move in slow rotation.
As in Hamilton, Innocent's power would have to carry the day. Shame, the spirit of earth, would help the rain soak evenly into the ground, and Spinel, the spirit of fire, would lend Innocent her strength. Tempesta, spirit of wind, would drive the storm clouds along and help the rain spread across the whole of the capital.
How long had it been since the spirits took flight into the sky?
Slowly, the people's eyes caught sight of the rain clouds gathering.
Crack!
And moments later, thunder suddenly split the sky that had been nothing but dry and parched — and with that crack as a signal, something began to patter down onto the earth.
"Rain… it's rain!"
"Raindrops are falling!"
Cries erupted from below the tower. At the sight of falling water for the first time in years, everyone rejoiced as though they had lost their minds.
Bayul himself did not waver. The spirits were the ones making the rain, but he too had to hold his focus to channel the power of the ancient Spirit Kings into them.
A drizzle would never satisfy the ministers. For his father's dignity, if nothing else, the heavens themselves would have to pour down.
Innocent, just a little more strength!
As time passed, the streams of rain thickened bit by bit. Where at first it had been enough to dampen one's clothes in patches, the drops soon grew heavy enough to demand an umbrella.
Bayul did not know it, but pandemonium had broken loose outside the palace as well. At the sudden downpour, the citizens all burst outdoors and danced through the streets like mad.
At last, the drought was over.
Every soul in the capital rejoiced, tilting their faces up to the sky with open mouths to taste the rain.
But for one man alone.
Only Duke Hector, his face contorted, stood frozen like a statue for a long while, unable to move.