Chapter 87
Chapter 87
Chapter 87
[Main Story] No.2 Betting Table (3)
Right after that, when I took him to the waiting room, everyone was surprised and delighted. Crystal balls were thrust at him from all directions, and the cat was held down everywhere and mercilessly photographed. Wilhelm, the head professor, trying to imitate what he called an "otaku heart" that he learned from his daughter, seemed like an old man, while Gray, who disliked professors and reluctantly gave the middle finger, seemed like a kid.
Rebecca, who had arrived at some point, was also satisfied and approached Gray.
"You. Don't scratch your head. I just styled it and now it's sticking out."
"Ah, yes..."
"Come here."
Rebecca personally pinned down the stray gray hairs that were sticking out, then came close to me and whispered.
"This has become troublesome, Professor."
"What has?"
"That child, it's not good if she does too well."
How considerate.
Even at this moment, Rebecca the isolationist is fretting, thinking only about the isolationist policy.
"...But, she's so pretty."
It was pure admiration, and I silently nodded in agreement.
On the contrary, I hope Gray does as well as she possibly can.
Gray was blankly looking over the interview script again and again. It must have been given to her this morning when she arrived here. It had become like a rag even though she'd only received it a short while ago.
Amidst the tension, Wilhelm was chattering nonsense with the assistant professor. It was consideration to avoid giving attention.
Rebecca also took Reim and Cheongru to look around various places. Even for her, who must have seen only the good things in the world, the scenery of the imperial city would be marvelous.
Meanwhile, I got up for a moment.
The filming might take a long time, so I went out to use the bathroom briefly, but the gray cat followed me out. It was Gray.
"Didn't you go earlier on the way to the waiting room?"
"Yeah. But I need to go again."
"You shouldn't drink water then."
"I know. What if I make a mistake again like last time..."
"..."
And so we went to the bathroom together.
"Don't leave without me."
"Alright."
Since men usually finish first in the system, I came out and waited outside.
I heard some employees whispering.
"Isn't it a bit shameless?"
"I know... It's ridiculous."
"Honestly, it's laughable. When they didn't need anything from us, they pushed us away so rudely. Now I don't know if they're being brazen or what."
"Even if we treat them well, they won't appreciate it, right?"
"I guess so."
Their voices were dripping with contempt.
Who are they talking about?
Their boss? Or another department?
It overlapped with my graduate student days, so I was listening with interest.
"The level of those Hiaka bastards, tsk."
The language became daggers stabbing into my ears.
...So it was about us.
"It's kind of funny. Now they're talking about opening up the country and whatnot... And all they're doing is using a pitiful girl as a pretty face."
"Hey. That's all they can do. What else does Hiaka have to offer besides people?"
It was a conversation that starkly revealed Hiaka's external image and status.
Many rankers compared to the population.
But besides that, a country with no impressive industries, resources, or competitiveness.
"But that Cain Tree thing? That's pretty amazing."
"Ah, I'll give them that..."
And then recently, one competitive tourist attraction appeared. That's why it was being pushed even more at the royal level.
"But you said that Hiaka girl is pitiful?"
"Isn't she? I heard the Kreutz kid studied abroad in the Empire and even learned illusion magic from Agion."
"Is that so... I don't feel pity just because she's from Hiaka. Besides, would an assassin even know what filming is? You need to have talent for it."
"True... It would be funny if her awkwardness shows up on video."
With that final remark, the two laughed and walked away.
It was a terrible conversation, but I was fine. I didn't care if anyone badmouthed Hiaka. I don't have any particular patriotism anyway.
But there was someone who wasn't like that, and she was standing still inside the bathroom, listening.
"...Let's go."
Gray walked out pretending she hadn't heard.
So I decided to pretend I didn't know either.
"Let's go."
But just as we were about to reach the waiting room.
"Professor, just a moment..."
She suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me somewhere. Forward from the emergency stairwell in the hallway. She crouched down, leaning against the wall.
"What's wrong? You'll get dust on your skirt."
"Just, stay here for a moment..."
Her head was lowered. Her fingertips kept fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, crumpling it distractedly. Gray was nervous.
It was already a tense situation, and the conversation between the Assassination Daily employees just now must have fueled that even more.
I stood silently beside her.
"..."
"..."
There are times when words can have a certain resonance. Times when a single piece of advice can change a person's life.
But sometimes, silence can be a comfort to someone. Knowing this fact, I shared Gray's breath in silence.
After a long while like that, Gray's mouth slowly opened.
"...What if I make a mistake?"
A voice heavy with responsibility.
Gray doesn't want a serious answer.
Knowing this, I answered carefully.
"We'll start a war. With Kreutz."
"Huh...?"
It was a joke.
Gray blinked and said.
"...You're crazy..."
"Why?"
"No, why... If you say that, it sounds like you'd really do it..."
"I really am thinking of doing it. I'll kill them all."
"Ah, don't. You crazy old man..."
But then she laughed inwardly, thinking 【If a war breaks out, my mistake would be nothing...lol;】
That brief conversation and silence seemed to have helped somehow. Her restless hands settled down calmly.
"Let's go."
"...Okay."
On the way, Gray held my hand tightly again. It felt awkward to let go, so I held it for a moment.
We returned to the waiting room and waited a bit more until it was time. A staff member gave the signal.
"Time's up. Let's get our butts moving, princes and princesses."
At Head Professor Wilhelm's words, we all stood up.
On the way to the filming set following the staff, the "Filming Device" followed us.
"Please don't mind us. Just act as you normally would."
They persistently tried to film everyone, including Gray. Rebecca pulled down her wide-brimmed hat to cover her face.
"...Could you move that away a bit? I'm camera shy."
"Ah, yes. Princess."
Tension rises as we walk down the hallway.
There shouldn't be any madmen trying to commit terrorism in the heart of the Empire - but there were plenty of historical examples where that common sense was shattered.
Wouldn't they be punished under imperial law? → They were.
Aren't they crazy? → They were crazy.
Would punishment bring back the dead? Laws and systems only slightly raised the hurdles of the wild. It's up to oneself to abide by them. We had to be on guard.
"...Still, these guys are being considerate."
Wilhelm spoke to me then.
"Considerate, you say?"
"Yeah. If it were me, I would have deliberately made our paths cross so we'd have to walk together with Kreutz."
"That's interesting."
"Right? Think I could quit being a professor and be an assistant director here? Professor Dante, what do you think you would have done?"
"...Well..."
His voice is loud. He's saying it for everyone to hear. It's a reminder of Assassination Daily's style.
"I'd give each of them a knife too."
Wilhelm laughed, and Gray's eyes widened as she elbowed me. She mouthed 'Are you crazy...?'
Just before entering the set for the last time, the head professor reassured everyone once more.
"No need to be nervous, everyone. They're in the media business too, so who knows, maybe they set up this filming schedule with pure intentions. Let's relax, relax."
That those were empty words was revealed only when we arrived at the set.
Amidst nearly a dozen staff members moving cameras and microphones around. There was only one chair at the center of the set. Even though there were two people.
"...I take back what I just said."
Wilhelm narrowed his eyes. Of all things, the chair looked very much like a princess chair. It was their intention to make one of the two look like a sidekick.
Gray buried her head in the script again. Rebecca left her seat with her aide. As we sat there killing time, that's when it happened.
"Professor."
Wilhelm's foot taps mine. I turn my head to see a crowd.
At last, the Kreutz students and professors were making their appearance. 'Ah, that's...' At the assistant professor's voice, all of our gazes turned in that direction.
Anyone could recognize them even without [Name Tags].
Since the Holy Mother Church is the state religion of Kreutz, every child from a wealthy family gets the symbol of the "Cross Star†" tattooed on their face as a [Stigmata] during their coming-of-age ceremony.
There was also the pearl called Amulet inside the conch shells of the opposing professors.
It was a bit more splendid than what we saw earlier.
Soon they noticed us too, and all their heads snapped in our direction at once.
The murmuring began to die down.
"..."
"..."
Ominous gazes.
They have no perception of themselves as aggressors. They too think they are the victims. It shows from how they express it as <Reclaiming the stolen illusion magic>.
The silence spread contagiously. The entire set falls into quietness. Finally, only gazes remain.
As if blinking would mean defeat, neither side moves even a little.
Intense tension.
An atmosphere as if a fighting match is about to begin.
"Let's have a good filming."
It was Wilhelm who broke the silence.
Half a beat late, the opposing head professor also raised his hand.
"Are you going to assassinate me?"
He cracked a joke.
"Come on, I'm a believer of the Holy Mother Church too."
Wilhelm mentions Kreutz's state religion. Even though the Holy Mother Church is everywhere. At the same time, he deliberately avoids the word assassination. A clever retort.
"Park, Dominic, Opus"
The other side responded with a prayer phrase from the Holy Mother Church.
With just a few exchanges between the two old men, the tension on both sides drops significantly. This was precisely why Head Professor Wilhelm came as the representative.
...I suppose that's enough for now.
But it's not time to let our guard down. Don't robbers with knives smile when ringing the doorbell? All the more reason to be tense in front of Kreutz, who had actually planned terrorism in the fabricated time.
"Standby!"
The schedule is divided into 3 parts in total.
1.
Filming
2.
Illusion Magic Combat
3.
Interview
The filming is one thing, but placing the interview after the illusion magic combat was a blatant attempt to instigate a fight.
"I'll be back..."
And problems arose from the very beginning. As soon as the standby was called, Amulet came out quickly clicking her heels and sat down first in the only available seat.
'Ey, that, that wench...!'
'Gray! You should have gone first...!'
Disappointed sighs erupted from our side.
The docile cat loses the stove...
"Gray, please come to the center too!"
While the filming crew didn't particularly intervene, subtle smiles bloomed on Kreutz's side.
【 'What can you do now?' 】
【 'Go ahead and act violently. It'll all be caught on camera.' 】
They were already celebrating inwardly.
But.
At this point.
Gray did something surprising.
She naturally sat down next to Amulet by creating a chair with [Glass Butterfly].
'Oh! Ooh! That's it! That's the way!!'
'Yeah yeah, well done!'
'Why are we here? For [Illusion Magic]!'
The docile cat makes her own stove!
This seat symbolizes the relationship between the two countries while also proving [Illusion Magic]. The "Filming Device" was already rolling, and Gray beautifully opened that first salvo.
【 '...' 】
【 '...' 】
Kreutz's smiles were trampled under the cat's paws.
"What? So you do know how?"
"Huh?"
"I was wondering since you're from some backwater place. But I guess you're not completely clueless?"
Amulet scratched at Gray, but Gray just scratched her ear and seemed not to have heard.
"...Hm? What?"
"..."
A dumbfounded expression.
The flow of the start is very good.
After that, the "Filming Device" busily opened and closed its shutter, and the two students made various expressions and poses according to different directions. At this rate, it seemed the Part 1 filming segment would end smoothly.
It's always welcome when things go as expected.
'No matter how you look at it, we won.'
'That's right.'
Because the model is a 'crushing victory'.
...Anyone who says otherwise here would get stabbed.
In the midst of this.
I saw someone's name tag outside the window facing indoors.
"Huh? Professor Dante, where are you going?"
"I'll be back in a moment."
This is Gray's domain from here on anyway. I had to do what I needed to do.
I stepped out of the set for a moment. Then I followed two men. They were employees. They were talking to each other. I cast a [Perception Hindering Veil] on the surface of my body with [World Fabrication] and approached very close to listen in on their conversation.
"...Man, this guy is so frustrating. Just upload it as instructed, will you?"
"But senior... This, this isn't right..."
"What's not right about it?"
"It's not even shocking but we're putting a [Shock!] title... We're completely disregarding the assassin's privacy too... They only met briefly for a mission, but to say they're having an affair with this..."
"That's why I'm saying, just be vague about it. Who told you to write that they're having an affair? Just write [Secret Meeting in a Locked Room] and it's fine."
"That implies they're having an affair! This, this is absolutely not right, senior! Head Professor Hidden has his honor too...!"
"Right, he does. Honor."
"...Pardon?"
"Then we should write honestly. Right?"
"Well, yes...?"
"That's right. Then it's settled. Wow, even a new recruit knows something so simple that the executives couldn't figure out until this building was built."
"...Uh."
"It's not shocking. We respect their privacy. We're honest. Right? We can make the title like this. [Not Shocking At All! Head Professor Hiden Embarks on a Wholesome Mission with a Bassian Female Colleague Assassin]! Wow... That'll really boost sales. Right?"
"...Ah, well..."
"Right? Don't you want to buy it with your own money?? Isn't it so interesting you want to buy ten copies and distribute them to your family, friends and relatives? No? No? No? No? No? No? No? No? No? No? No?"
"..."
"Then who do you think pays your salary, you son of a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch."
"...Eek!"
"Wake up, man!! Are we writing articles to uphold journalistic integrity?! We just need to gather attention and get paid, that's it! From the beginning, I never understood you! Why do you spend so much time on correction articles!"
"Is there no need to write correction articles?"
"Of course not! Who cares about that stuff? What the public is interested in is not the truth... but..."
The reporter who was turning his head froze.
His name was Trash Fobtime.
He was the one who wrote Professor Toxin's related interview with shitty content, making me look like an idiot among the neutral professors.
"So that's why you ignored my request for a correction too?"
At that moment, he reacted.
"...!"
This guy had truly amazing reaction speed.
I had never seen such a fast human in my life.
He suddenly slammed his head on the floor and lifted his legs.
It was a perfect "Grand Bow", rare to see these days.
"Please spare my life."