Distortion (4)
The academy's educational schedule was immediately minimized. With multiple monster-spawning entrances suddenly appearing, safety and identifying the cause took priority over studies until countermeasures could be established.
"The cause is simple. This is all the work of monsters," declared the elderly mage from the magic department, his white beard bristling. Despite his kindly appearance, his tone was firm to the point of stubbornness, brooking no other possibility. The others nodded in agreement—knights, scholars unrelated to magic, and generals with extensive battlefield experience alike.
That, however, was where the problem lay.
"But isn't that physically impossible? Not only around the academy, but in cooperation with clergy from churches stationed throughout the region, we regularly inspect for monster infiltration and habitats. There's simply no structure that would allow a monster powerful enough to slip through."
When the acting headmaster turned to the archbishop in charge for confirmation, the man spoke up.
"Ah, well, you see... there is, technically, a very slim, slim possibility that something could infiltrate and cause such an incident. However, after committing such an act and escaping without leaving even a trace... that, I'm afraid, is impossible. Yes, quite impossible."
Though an archbishop would normally speak with eloquent fluency, the near-disaster involving the princess, saintess, hero, crown prince, and other noble heirs seemed to have left him excessively tense. What could be done? There was no point in grabbing him by the collar and shaking sense into him, so all that remained was to wait. At least he managed to say what needed saying.
"As a mage, I concur. What does the Saintess think?"
"I fully agree with the archbishop. This is my first time actually seeing monsters, but if something that powerful existed, infiltration might be possible—yet causing all this without leaving a single trace doesn't make sense."
There was no room for disagreement. This wasn't a gathering of just one or two people, and with so many high-ranking heirs and notable figures assembled at the academy, security was tighter than ever. Thus, this possibility had to be eliminated first. If such a monster existed, it wouldn't have stopped there—it would have unleashed far greater power and wiped us all out. But that only created another problem.
"Then if it wasn't monsters, what could have done something like this?"
This time it was the imperial administrative officer, who had remained silent until now, who spoke. Physically it couldn't be monsters, so if not them, then what? Monster involvement had been the most—and essentially only—plausible explanation. Yet they were being told even that was impossible. Confusion spread through the room. Eliminating possibilities one by one was fine in theory, but when only one possibility existed and you removed it, nothing remained.
"Now, here's the key point. The hero sensed it before it appeared and advocated for evacuation."
The elderly magic professor offered a breakthrough. The only lead they had was the hero's intuition—something even I, the saintess who should have been the first to detect anything monster-related, had failed to notice. Regardless of what the cause actually was, if Siegfried had detected it when it manifested, even if only moments before, then starting from there might yield something.
"That's correct, Professor."
"Could you describe exactly how you sensed it? How long before the incident? The intensity of the power, any particular tactile sensation, chills, the number of sources—please be as detailed as possible."
"At first I thought a draft was coming in from somewhere in the theater. About five minutes before everything happened. I definitely felt cold air, but everyone was focused on the auction so I figured they were just ignoring it."
So not right before it erupted. Though five minutes beforehand was practically the same thing. Still, it confirmed that Siegfried didn't usually visit theaters. The Blue Sea Theater was quite upscale—hardly the sort of place where drafts would slip through.
"The Blue Sea Theater, you say."
"Looking back, it was strange, but at the time I didn't think that far. There were thousands of imperial gold coins changing hands right in front of me, and the princess was beside me."
"Understandable. Everyone agrees, yes? Good, it seems so. Please continue, hero."
"Yes. The next thing I felt was..."
Siegfried's excessively polite demeanor toward the gathered dignitaries was rather amusing, given that few people present could be considered beneath him. Setting that aside, the details he provided one by one were at least worth investigating. There were some distinctive characteristics: the chill that felt like cold wind seeping in from somewhere, followed by a strange stickiness that made one wonder when they'd started sweating, the dizzyingly vast and malevolent energy that only became apparent at the very end, and the indescribable revulsion felt the moment the spheres appeared.
"You said it didn't feel like it was coming from any particular direction, but rather filled the surroundings entirely."
"Yes, Professor. I didn't sense any stronger source or specific direction."
Once the discussion reached that point, the mages began exchanging opinions in low voices among themselves, as did the other groups. I, too, belonged to one such group.
"Ah, Saintess, what do you think?"
"If it wasn't felt from any specific direction or stronger at any particular point, does that mean tracking the exact cause will be difficult?"
"Yes, that's correct. Though in truth, tracking may no longer be necessary. Because that statement implies the cause was already present at the location."
The archbishop's words—noticeably fewer "ums" than before—pointed out something I hadn't considered. Right. If you pull out a compass to find the North Pole and the needle spins wildly, you're already there. At the North Pole, every direction is south. This meant the site of the incident was where the cause existed, making it impossible to determine a direction. Because the location itself was the source.
Well, that much I could accept. But—
"I understand that the cause was present at the Blue Sea Theater, but hasn't it already disappeared? You investigated once already. Given how serious this is, I'm sure it was thorough."
Saying they'd investigated to find the cause meant they'd already checked the theater. With victims of such high status involved, a halfhearted search was out of the question. More importantly, there was one thing no one had yet voiced aloud: the possibility of a Demon King's involvement.
The Demon Kings were far to the south, beyond the desert. The academy lay far to the north, right below the empire's border. The distance from the desert's edge to the academy exceeded two thousand kilometers—more than the distance from Hong Kong to Beijing. Unless the Demon King's army possessed some absurd means of traversing such distances, their involvement wasn't even feasible to begin with. The earlier statement about physical impossibility had included this fact as well. The distance was vast, and detection networks were in place.
Yet no one mentioned it, likely because voicing the word "Demon King" might somehow make it real—putting it out there risked inviting denial, or worse. But when possibilities were eliminated one by one and uneasy evidence emerged...
"How much do you know about the existence of Demon Kings, Saintess?"
"They're beings that lead monsters, and multiple Demon Kings are constantly appearing and dying beyond the desert as they compete with one another?"
The topic of Demon Kings could no longer be avoided. With every other possibility eliminated, even if no one wanted to say it and even if its feasibility was uncertain, if it was the only remaining option... The hushed conversations among those of similar standing weren't for nothing. They simply didn't want the word "Demon King" to be heard by everyone.
Me?
"How likely is it to be a Demon King?"
Let's just say it. If speaking it makes it real and silence doesn't, then what kind of Demon King is that?
"Ahem!"
"Saintess, directly mentioning that is... somewhat..."
Some looked outright horrified, more looked uncomfortable at the direct reference, and the rest exchanged glances as if confirming something silently. What were they checking? Countermeasures against Demon Kings? Or some other issue only they knew about? I'd appreciate it if they'd share information.
"There are no other possibilities besides a Demon King right now, are there? I understand they're terrifying, but we have to examine each possibility. So what's the actual likelihood it's a Demon King?"
"Ahem! The actual likelihood of it being a Demon King is vanishingly small. Demon Kings prioritize their own power struggles above all else, which is why southern nations are occasionally raided—purely for plunder. In other words, a Demon King coming all the way here would be far too dangerous even for the Demon King themselves."
The magic professor answered in a rather firm tone. A Demon King personally coming here would be extremely dangerous—not just to others, but to the Demon King. The Demon Kings of this world weren't the absolute monarchs who ruled over monsters and invaded the human realm that one might typically imagine. Of course, monsters were fundamentally hostile to humans. Well, they were monsters—creatures that basically ate people. But the Demon Kings beyond the southern desert resembled the warlord era of China's Spring and Autumn period, or the fragmented military cliques of the interwar period, more than a unified threat to humanity. More precisely, they oscillated between the two. One moment they'd wage near-total war against each other, the next they'd settle into a cold war of mutual checks and balances.
"That's all very sensible and rational, Professor, but isn't it possible something unexpected occurred? Some sudden event that produced unforeseen results."
"I understand what you're trying to say, Saintess, but as of now, we haven't received any reports of related issues from the Irkesh Kingdom either. Isn't that right?"
"Ah? Yes, that's correct. According to our kingdom's intelligence, there has been no unusual activity south of the desert. If it were a upheaval significant enough for a Demon King to take such a risk, we wouldn't have missed it."
Well, every disaster happens because of that kind of thinking. That can't be possible. We've prepared perfectly. And then—boom. Before I could say that, would these people even listen if I did? Wouldn't they just think the saintess was overly worried, that her experience with monsters had left too deep an impression, and that she needed rest?
"I'm not very familiar with that side of things. I just thought it would be good to double-check, since right now that's the greatest possibility we have, however small."
"I agree with the Saintess. While our Brienne Kingdom's intelligence-gathering capability regarding Demon Kings may be inferior to yours, we're willing to provide assistance if needed."
Prince Peter immediately offered support. This is going to cause real trouble! Still, it was more reasonable than the alternative, so I went along with the measure that needed to be taken regardless. The Brienne Kingdom itself was by no means weak, and more importantly, Peter was qualified to speak for the entire kingdom's will in this setting—and he'd been directly involved in the incident, even commanding others in battle. His words carried particular weight.
"The empire will participate as well. The empire will join too."
Princess Yulia, who had been lost in thought without speaking until then, drove the point home. If I'd suggested it and Peter had supported the idea, Yulia had essentially declared it obvious and committed the empire's participation outright. Since there'd been no time to discuss after the words left her mouth, this hadn't been coordinated with the other imperial officials present—but their atmosphere seemed rather favorable. Had they recognized the necessity? Or did they see this as an opportunity to seize international initiative?
"Very well. Investigation as investigation, intelligence as intelligence. We'll reconvene after gathering more evidence."
While the Irkesh Kingdom's representatives were still going "Wait, what—", the conclusion was swiftly reached. A brief uproar followed, but it didn't last long. And in that brief moment of commotion, Yulia approached and spoke in a voice only I could hear.
"I... have something I need to tell you, Lucia."