The Tower Master's Secretary, Mari (3)
The Hero party had gathered in a bedroom somewhere within the Purple Magic Tower.
It was a chamber prepared for the most honored of guests. Neatly arranged furniture sat in elegant harmony with the refined purple wallpaper, lending the room an air of quiet luxury. Beneath the floorboards, an array of magic circles had been laid to soothe the spirit. Simply remaining still was enough to feel every last worry dissolve. It was, without exaggeration, the finest lodging imaginable.
And yet the Hero party sat steeped in a gloom they had never known before.
"I really hate this. I don't want to watch Clitia die."
Breny curled into herself on the bed. She wasn't crying, but her eyes were so bloodshot they looked ready to burst at the slightest touch.
"There's nothing we can do."
Selen did her best to soothe her. She wasn't feeling particularly wonderful herself.
"Selen, would you be okay never seeing Clitia again?"
"Of course I wouldn't."
She had already tried to talk Clitia out of it, and she had failed. In the end she had cried so pathetically that Clitia had wound up comforting her.
"I don't have what it takes to persuade Unni."
It was a bitter, suffocating truth, and she simply had to endure it. She knew how to fight. She had no idea how to talk someone out of a death they had already accepted.
"Ah! What if we tell Riella? Maybe she could do something?"
"...She might."
It didn't seem like a bad suggestion. The two of them were close friends. There was at least a slim chance of persuasion succeeding.
"As it happens, the Tower Master is already drawing up a plan to keep my martial sibling from dying."
Ruel, perched atop Selen's head, remarked this as though it were nothing.
"How do you know that?"
"Mana flows through every corner of this tower. To a Fairy, it is as good as a place with no walls at all."
"Is that so?"
Ruel really was versatile — an all-purpose party member with outstanding close-combat skill and a fine command of mana besides.
"The Tower Master intends to put her plan into action at the Public Enemy council. Should she succeed, my martial sibling may be struck from the list and have their honor restored."
"And that would put her far from any subjugation, too."
Far from being hunted, public opinion might even swing toward protecting her.
"Then let's help Riella!"
Breny cried out with sunny brightness. The resolve Selen had only just managed to steel began to waver.
"Great Warrior, if we do that..."
"Enough."
A cute voice, but a stern word. Selen clung to the part of herself that wanted to look away from the hard truth.
"My martial sibling has resolved to lay down her life to defeat the Demon King. Do you imagine she would rejoice at being allowed to live?"
Quite the opposite. She would be distraught — because the means of defeating the Demon King would have vanished.
"We must do the opposite. We must stop the Tower Master's plan."
"...You're right."
A spirit of sacrifice that would not flinch even from death, if it meant protecting everyone's peaceful days. There were things they had to do, if only to honor that noble will.
"We need to go to Serda."
Selen rose from her seat. The Hero party's next objective was set.
"We must attend the council without the Tower Master noticing."
"The Public Enemy council is said to convene in but a few days. Can we even reach it in time?"
Two problems in total. And there was a way to solve both at once.
"I learned spirit arts from the President of the Spiritist Association."
A privilege unique to the Hero. It was time to make use of the connections she had built with the various powerhouses who came to her first.
"Pyrite."
A flame eagle manifested at once. Pyrite, a low-rank fire spirit — the one whose contract the Association President had personally arranged.
"Please convey my intentions to the Association President."
"Understood."
Pyrite scattered into the air and vanished.
"Everyone, make ready to depart."
Selen steeled her heart once more. For the sake of Clitia, who was so willing to throw her life away.
"The Banished Saintess must be subjugated. She must not, under any circumstances, be removed from the Public Enemy list."
Why was she showing up here? I hadn't even considered the possibility, so I couldn't help being stunned.
This Hero is new to me.
Even Master didn't seem to know her.
Did you not notice?
Have you forgotten that I am weak against spirit arts?
Well, that was why they called her a mutant elf. She insisted it was the other elves who were the strange ones, though.
At any rate, she seems overflowing with talent in every direction. I can see why you'd want to die at the Hero party's hands.
Does that mean you finally understand how I feel?
Say that again and you'll be punished.
Unfortunately, while she respected my hobbies, she still couldn't accept them. Sincerity always finds a way, though. Maybe someday she would understand.
"The Hero has no qualification to participate in this council."
Meanwhile Eluke, who had frozen for a moment, began to respond with composure.
"Please leave at once."
"I am here as a novice spiritist affiliated with the Spiritist Association."
"......"
"What I am about to say has nothing to do with my status as the Goddess's representative."
Even if she said that herself, it was hard for anyone listening to treat her as ordinary. Which was probably the point.
"......"
It was over.
"If you still wish to object, I will hear you out."
This was an attack Eluke would have a hard time blocking. Objecting would mean going against the Goddess's will. She would know it was a lie, but she wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. I would have been the same in her position.
"Please feel free to present your opinions."
I was secretly pleased. I didn't know why she had attended the council, but she had played a huge role. Had she fully accepted that my death was necessary for the future? What a commendable Hero.
"...I will withdraw."
Eluke could not press her argument any further.
I did it. I would get to remain a deranged, indiscriminate murderer. Was I supposed to be happy about that? It didn't sit entirely clean — but things had gone well, so I was satisfied.
"Is there anyone in favor of removing her from the Public Enemy list?"
No one raised a hand or spoke up. Eluke calmly surveyed the room, then paused briefly when her gaze landed on Master.
It has been decided that the Banished Saintess shall remain on the Public Enemy list.
She was clearly holding back a change in expression. The difference was subtle, but she was normally so still that it showed.
"The atmosphere has grown too heated. We will take a thirty-minute recess."
And then she walked straight out of the council chamber. Even though she had unilaterally suspended the meeting, no one called her out for the breach of etiquette. She was disguised as her younger sister Marinea, after all. If anything, the behavior looked perfectly natural.
"If you have any inquiries, please speak with one of our mages."
Riella followed Eluke out. She didn't look any happier. Seeing the two of them like that made me uneasy. They had worked so hard to prepare this for my sake, and I had personally smashed it to pieces.
As always, the regret sat heavy — but my will kept pushing forward. Even if I felt sorry for them, I had no intention of taking it back.
"You there. The elf wearing the Adventurer's Guild mask."
That was when Selen called out to me. With a look that said she already knew.
"Could we step outside for a moment and talk?"
"I don't have anything to discuss with the Hero."
"I have plenty."
At this point, it was safe to say she had figured it out.
What's going on? She recognized me.
You were so confident. Was there something wrong with the magic tool?
I did nothing wrong. It's because of that disciple of yours clinging to the Hero's side.
Master said this while waving a hand — toward the top of Selen's head.
Impressive, isn't it? A technique that lets one dissolve completely into mana.
The Great Warrior was with her? If it was a Fairy, it wouldn't be strange for them to see right through a magic-tool disguise.
"...Please forget what I just said."
Perhaps startled that I had spotted the Great Warrior, Selen hurriedly bowed her head.
"What's your relationship with the Hero?"
This time the mercenary commander sidled up, all easygoing charm, wearing that insufferable smiling squint.
"You shut your mouth."
I answered like a blade. Repis, commander of the Evergreen Mercenary Group. Honestly, of everyone in the debate just now, he was the one I had most wanted to punch.
"What's with the attitude? We were comrades on the same opposing side."
"Don't make me laugh."
I let the unpleasant feelings pour out without any filter. Maybe because I was mimicking Master's way of speaking, the words came easily.
"You were hopping around so much you didn't even offer an opinion."
"The Grand Patriarch did the same thing. Why are you only coming after me?"
Damon, who had been nervously reading the room the whole time, fidgeted beside us in a panic.
"This priest is simply indecisive by nature."
He was too kind, so he kept hesitating — even though representing the Church as a whole meant he had no choice but to join the opposition.
"But you sat there grinning through a fierce debate like it was entertainment."
A spectator who stood on the sidelines and sneered like it was all a good show. More irritating than the people actually fighting you.
"Am I wrong?"
"Look at you, playing sharp."
Without a change in expression, Repis propped both legs up on the round table. So that affable demeanor had been fake. His personality actually suited his looks better this way.
"You're right. She's a crazy bitch either way. Whether she gets taken off the list or not is none of my business."
"......"
The human heart really is a treacherous thing. I had been tearing myself down this whole time. And yet hearing someone else insult me felt strangely unpleasant.
"I never cared about this council from the start."
Repis's eyes gleamed with greed. He swept his gaze over the attendees and even licked his lips.
"I only bothered showing up to see if there was anyone worth a proper fight."
This was why you should never associate with mercenaries from the Evergreen Mercenary Group. Battle maniacs drunk on blood and violence. Every last one of them belonged to a group that lived for combat. True to their name, they loved nature more than their fellow humans, so they didn't hesitate to kill. And yet they carried out their assigned missions so thoroughly that they were wildly popular.
"You don't look half bad. Want to go at it after the meeting?"
Ordinarily I would have accepted. He was a powerhouse on par with Riella, after all. But right now I wasn't in a great mood.
"Come at me right now."
I didn't want to wait until the meeting ended. I wanted to fight immediately.
"Think you can handle it?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
The air turned sharp.
"You wish to fight my disciple?"
Just as no one dared to speak, Master opened her mouth in a low voice.
"Actually, I'd rather fight you."
"Suits me just fine!"
An exaggerated tone and gestures — the habit that came out whenever she was cooking something up.
"But tell me. Since we're going to clash anyway, why not make the stakes bigger?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we compete not as individuals, but as the Adventurer's Guild versus the Evergreen Mercenary Group."
What was she plotting? I still didn't know, but one thing was certain.
"Not bad. I'm in."
Repis had walked right into it.
"Would you mind if I set the rules? Something I was curious about just got resolved, you see."
Master pointed at the bundle of documents the Magic Tower had distributed.
"Every victim of the Banished Saintess is a renowned powerhouse."
"I'd figured as much."
"Which completely contradicts the Purple Magic Tower's claims."
What on earth was she about to say? I stared at her, bewilderment written all over my face, but she didn't even react.
"So what?"
"Let us confirm whether she was truly trying to prevent the resurrection of the Four Heavenly Kings, or whether she is simply a bloodthirsty slaughterer."
I realized what she was after.
"If she only kills the strong, then what do you think will happen once word spreads that you and I are going to fight?"
"...The Banished Saintess might show up."
She would definitely come to the scene. That much was true.
"Wait. Are you saying we use who the Banished Saintess targets as the criterion for victory?"
"That's right. What do you think?"
"An interesting idea."
It was interesting from my perspective, too. Though we were looking at it from completely different angles.
"I'll take it."
"I do like how straightforward young people are these days."
Master laughed heartily and placed a hand on my head.
"Disciple. Won't this be truly entertaining?"
"...Yes."
Master was a con artist, too.
"Are you all right?"
By a window near the council chamber, Riella carefully addressed Eluke, who seemed downcast.
"Of course I am fine."
But her face looked calmer than expected.
"It is a shame, but I have seized a greater opportunity."
"An opportunity?"
"In truth, the mutant elf made me a rather intriguing proposal in secret."
Eluke smiled faintly and pulled the hood of her robe back up.
As expected, Euris was an ally.