143. Competitor

I picked up another chicken skewer and bit into it.

Omnomnom—

The texture and flavor hadn't changed at all.

"The taste is exactly the same."

"Right."

The taste was exactly the same.

That was the strange part.

Harpy meat normally spoiled completely within twenty hours of death and became inedible. With various preservative treatments, it could be made edible for up to forty hours, but that made it disgustingly tough and stripped away all the flavor, so nobody bothered.

Yet this harpy meat tasted exactly the same.

Kill a harpy in Ge Vihenum, butcher it immediately, and bring it to the Imperial Capital? Impossible.

The distance from Ge Vihenum to the Imperial Capital, measured in a straight line, would take me a week at full sprint.

Well... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a Beastkin like Leona or a Wizard like the Flame Emperor could make the trip in a day, but by then the meat would already have spoiled.

And at that speed, the meat would obviously be pulverized anyway.

Then what about Teleportation Magic? Even if they hired a high-circle Wizard as a courier, it was impossible.

As far as I knew, even Kaloso, the Wizard who had reached the highest Realm, had said teleportation over that kind of distance was absolutely impossible.

Chaining it consecutively was obviously impossible too.

Which meant this meat had been butchered and brought from somewhere within twenty hours' distance. No—within ten hours at most.

Where had it come from?

A Cartel branch?

Was the courier also a low-level member of the Cartel's cell network?

Or someone from the core?

I raised my head and looked at Adelia.

She was still smiling serenely.

Eurasia was the only other person left here.

I opened my mouth without bothering to weigh my words.

"Professor, haven't you already tailed them and found out where the Cartel's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠branch is?"

"That's right. It's what I'm good at."

The question had come out of nowhere while eating chicken skewers, but Adelia answered as if it were nothing.

Eurasia wore an expression that said she had no idea what this conversation was about, but she quickly shut her mouth and suppressed her presence.

"And that's how you learned it's not some low-level Cartel operation, but an organization close to the core?"

"Exactly."

Adelia nodded and continued.

"Aren't you curious where it comes from?"

"You said it's a Cartel branch."

"The location of that branch."

"...Don't tell me."

"That's right. A Cartel branch in the Holy Kingdom."

Adelia smiled serenely, and I clicked my tongue.

So she even knew I was looking for information on the Holy Kingdom.

Why? There was no need to think about it. The information must have leaked from Ophelia.

Of course, I didn't think Ophelia had spilled it herself. It was probably simply the result of watching Ophelia.

As for me... I'd been on guard against the crows around me lately, but Ophelia, who had never experienced this sort of thing, wouldn't be.

Anyway.

If harpy meat was being supplied from the Holy Kingdom all the way to the Imperial Capital... that meant there were harpies somewhere in the Holy Kingdom.

Raising Monsters in the Holy Kingdom? To eat?

That was insane. The Holy Kingdom loathed and despised all demons that existed beneath this sky.

In the first place, doing something like that in the Holy Kingdom was impossible. The Holy Kingdom's Barrier. A Barrier that reacted instantly if anything even slightly related to demons entered.

Because of that Barrier, not just Monsters—even humans who had stayed in Ge Vihenum for more than half a year couldn't easily enter the Holy Kingdom.

And yet, raising Monsters in a place like that?

"I don't know the reason either. I was focused only on the Imperial Capital while tracking the Cartel's tail."

As if she had read my thoughts, Adelia answered smoothly.

I too set aside my complicated thoughts for the moment and leaned back in my chair.

"So that's why I've been seeing so many crows lately... tch."

"There must be a lot of pretty, handsome crows in the Imperial Capital. Seeing how they flock in from other neighborhoods too."

"They might be crows that look fine on the outside but are pitch-black inside. And people come because they like that?"

"Who knows. Just because the outside is black doesn't mean the inside is black too."

"At least the crows I've seen were pitch-black inside and out."

"Isn't it just that Miss Eliarnes doesn't want to believe it, so you're seeing them through tinted glasses?"

"Tinted glasses, my ass."

"Still, I'm glad you seem softer these days than when I first met you."

"Why do you insist on saying that? Do you want me to go back to being wary of you like before?"

Heh-heh— Adelia laughed.

"Whatever it is, I like it. Both have their own distinct flavor."

Eurasia flinched and crept over toward me.

"Anyway, yes. In the end... on the surface, this is material for our Demon World Exploration Club's performance report. What should we do with it?"

The moment the three who had gone out to vomit came back in, the topic of conversation naturally shifted.

"Ugh... can you really write a performance report with... harpy meat?"

Stella, still looking sick and pale, flopped down into a chair.

"Of course. There are so many reports you can write with just one of these chicken skewers... harpy skewers."

Adelia handed Stella some water.

"So our Stella can write the performance report using this harpy skewer. The hint is... heh, Miss Eliarnes would tell you anyway, but I'll tell you in advance. A harpy's corpse spoils and becomes inedible twenty hours after death."

"...What? Then this skewer..."

"That's right. Investigate how that happened, how many hours it takes for this meat to spoil, and if so, where it was shipped from—then write the report."

Having finished speaking, Adelia shifted her gaze to Ophelia.

"And Ophelia... you'd better work hard from now on."

"Me...? Why me?"

"You've got a competitor now, haven't you? No, not a competitor—more like the tyranny of a major corporation...? Heh-heh... Anyway, by the time the report is written, you'll understand what I meant."

Ophelia opened her mouth slightly with her signature dumb expression.

"...A c-competitor? Th-th-th-that, that... wh-what do you mean?"

"A tavern... is an old and worn-out method in many ways. It would be better to approach the Imperial Capital's citizens in a fresher, friendlier direction."

"Uh... uhh? Uhhh?? A t-tavern? A friendly approach? Whaaat?!"

Adelia simply smiled at Ophelia's words. Then clap! She clapped her hands to draw attention.

"Now, let's end today's club time here. Don't go playing just because we finished early—I hope you all work hard over the remaining week to complete your performance reports."

With that, she spun around and began walking out of the club room.

The way she swayed her hips gently as she went made it look like she was quite pleased with the uniform she was wearing.

Does everyone act that ridiculous when they get old? Hmm... no, that's not it. Mom is... much more dignified and elegant.

Leona, on the other hand... hmm.

Once you hit four hundred... I guess it can't be helped.

I shifted my gaze from the door Adelia had left through.

Stella had already pulled out her fan and started writing the report, and Ophelia was still sitting there with her mouth open and a dumb look on her face.

Blink-blink— Pina, who had foamed at the mouth and fainted the moment she heard it was harpy meat, was blinking her eyes in Eurasia's arms, and Eurasia looked extremely curious about the conversation Adelia and I had shared.

How could four people gathered in one room... no, five including me, all show completely different reactions?

Well, it had been the same four hundred years ago.

Back then too... me, Paulo, Luna, Kaloso, Arisa.

All five of us had completely different personalities and tastes.

Chuckling to myself as I compared the past and present, I slowly opened my mouth.

"That's right, Ophelia senior. You're going to have to work a bit harder from now on."

"Uh, uhh...? Junior? Junior? What are you talking about? Work? I-I'm just a student at Karelai Academy?!"

Ophelia answered through gritted teeth.

But expecting people not to notice when she was being that obvious was too selfish.

In the first place, if you traced where this harpy meat came from, you'd eventually figure out that it was being supplied by the Cartel.

Then everyone here would recall Adelia's words and start guessing about Ophelia's connection to the Cartel's cell network.

From there, it would be up to the kids to judge on their own—but if they judged in some weird direction for no reason, it could become troublesome.

Ophelia was under the Puppet Emperor's surveillance. So if pointless talk leaked out, it would be a problem.

And Ophelia still needed to stay by my side.

The Elixir for the Shedding.

They say even rolling in a shit field is better than the afterlife.

Ophelia too would be better off living like a slave by my side than being devoured by the Puppet Emperor.

So me speaking first was the easier path in many ways.

"The information guild you run, senior—isn't it going to get pushed out by another business and disappear before long?"

Ophelia's face went pale.

*****

I calmed down Ophelia, who was so shocked she could barely breathe, and then calmed down Stella and Eurasia, who were shocked by the fact that Ophelia was the head of an information guild.

I handed Pina a macaron.

Then I began explaining.

First, why I had revealed Ophelia's secret.

I said that since various explanations would inevitably lead to that conclusion anyway, it was better to reveal it in advance than let it drive a wedge ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠between us.

In the process, I received a sharp look from Ophelia, as if asking whether I actually cared about such things, but I ignored it.

I couldn't tell them everything because of the Puppet Emperor's surveillance and wiretapping, so it couldn't be helped.

And to Eurasia and Stella, I said I had found out after visiting the information guild.

The two listened obediently and understood quickly.

I'd thought Stella would be startled even if Eurasia wasn't, but she'd apparently grown a thicker skin after experiencing all sorts of shocking things herself.

And Pina simply found the macaron delicious.

I handed her one more.

With the conversation over, we headed to the dining hall to get dinner to go. Eurasia, Stella, and Pina stayed behind in the club room to work on the report, and only Ophelia and I came out.

Originally Eurasia had said she would go, but I said I'd go because I didn't want to do that whole... writing and... theoretical stuff.

"...Junior, I think you're really too mean... you know."

"Just speak casually at the academy."

"Sh-should I then? Junior, you insolent little shit, what kind of way is that to talk to your senior?"

"Don't get too comfortable."

"I'msorryI'llneverdoitagain."

The pale-faced Ophelia bowed her head deeply. At that, the gazes of students passing through the hallway gathered on us.

Today of all days... we seemed to be drawing quite a lot of attention. It was always like this, but today it was especially bad.

"...If you bow your head like that, what do you think people will think of me?"

"Hah... s-sorry, junior."

Was this bitch doing it on purpose?

Was she messing with me through sophisticated means?

Was she a spy sent to tarnish the Eustetia name?

I quickened my pace while entertaining all sorts of thoughts.

And so, in front of the dining hall we arrived at.

"Oh, isn't that Eliarnes? It's been a while."

"...Fabiana senior?"

"Yes. Did you come to eat dinner too?"

"Yes, well. I was thinking of eating in the club room again today..."

I ran into Fabiana Hermann.

But now she had Silina by the scruff of the neck...

"Um... why is Silina like that?"

"Aha. You mean my little sister."

Fabiana smiled sharply.

"My lovely little sister pulled a very adorable stunt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠behind my back, so I have no choice but to discipline her properly."

"...An adorable stunt?"

Had Fabiana found out about what I'd planned with Silina?

I hid my expression as much as possible and met Fabiana's eyes.

Fabiana's golden eyes, which had been watching me for a while, turned toward Ophelia. Ophelia trembled and hid behind my back.

Looking at Ophelia, Fabiana chuckled and spoke quietly.

"There are too many eyes watching. Let's talk separately."

Those words. "Eyes watching"—it felt like she meant not the students, but the Puppet Emperor.