Inevitability Disguised as Coincidence
The Imperial Academy was the institution charged with raising the talent who would shoulder the Empire’s future.
It was, without exaggeration, the finest school in the Empire—indeed, the finest on the continent.
If its first-years were being taken on an academic field trip, the destination had to be a place of considerable importance. Naturally, any location chosen for that honor grew frantically busy preparing to receive them.
Some did so out of genuine gratitude toward the Empire’s future elite. Others did so as an investment, hoping a sliver of those students’ future wealth and influence might trickle their way. For every reason under the sun, the roughly two-week expedition was prepared with meticulous care.
The moment the teleportation magic finished, the most powerful lord in the region stepped forward. After a brief exchange of greetings with the escorting professors, he took his place before the first-years.
“We have been waiting for you, Academy students. Allow me to offer you our heartfelt welcome to the South.”
Commoners were mixed among the ranks here and there, but he paid it no mind. In time, even they would each claim a seat of power in the Empire. Some would go further still and earn noble titles; treating them well now was simply good sense.
“Your visit has brought us the most brilliant weather. For the Academy students, we have emptied the nearby villas in their entirety. Our southern nobles were using them until only recently, so you need not worry about the facilities. I sincerely hope you enjoy a most rewarding field trip.”
Clap-clap-clap—!
The students applauded the southern nobles’ generosity. The lord who spoke as if he had freely offered the villas out of pure goodwill, and the students who clapped for it, were simply performing their own mutual theater—painting a picture that benefited both sides.
What a damn circus. Absolute circus.
To Kyle’s eyes it was nothing more than a staged play, a show. The Ministry of Education would already have secured every necessary arrangement while planning the expedition. Yet here they were, crowing about their own kindness and largesse.
In truth, “cooperation” was a polite word for a notice. And when a notice arrived, the nobles who received it had only one answer: “Yes.” Refuse, and next time the request would not come from a minister—it would come as an imperial command. Would that command be delivered gently? Absolutely not. It would say, more or less: How dare you take a contrarian stance? How truly regrettable.
When the Emperor expressed “regret,” what did that mean? It meant you had been marked. From this moment on, guard your neck carefully. The first excuse that appeared, and you—and your entire house—would be wiped clean off the map.
What noble would welcome that blood-soaked future? Even an academic field trip contained an evaluation of how the nobility regarded imperial authority.
In his heart, Kyle finally understood his father’s way of doing things—the John Nassen way. Politics and power truly were tiresome. How much simpler if you could just slam into the problem once and be done with it.
“Wow… Kyle! This place is nicer than the Academy dorms!”
They had arrived at the villa where they would stay for the duration of the expedition. Tisha, touring the grounds, looked ready to burst with delight. Until now she had believed the Academy dormitories were the finest lodging in the world. To her, the nobles’ luxurious villa was an entirely new universe—and on top of that, instead of the barren North she had the South’s bright, livable climate. Of course she was clapping her hands with joy.
“It seems so. It really is a fine place, Tisha.”
It was not a polite answer. It was genuine. Behind the villa they had even cleared a broad open space that could pass for a training ground. Of course, people who came to a villa for leisure would hardly be mad enough to polish their blades there; a glance confirmed the area had never seen use. All the better. He had been wondering where they would train. He planned to tell Nell, Ian, and Leto to use the place for progressive sessions throughout the two weeks. If possible, Tisha and Elga should join without fail as well.
Where else could you find a more beautiful sight? Ah, just imagining it fills me with pride.
The protagonists of a romance fantasy novel, grinding iron. The sheer grandeur of it. Other readers ought to see this scene; they would all be on their feet applauding.
…Or not. Whatever.
I should start getting ready myself.
Strike while the iron is hot—hesitation did not suit a John Nassen. He had heard that arrival day had no fixed schedule. Students were free to wander the area and enjoy the southern sun. While everyone else was drunk on dazzling sunlight and the blue sea, Kyle intended to quietly seek out certain people and head for a certain place.
Bag in hand, he made for his room. The moment his fingers closed around the doorknob, his eyes turned razor-sharp. Power flooded his hand of its own accord, and the knob crumpled with a metallic crunch.
“Haa.”
Kyle sighed, then yanked the ruined knob free. “The doorknob suddenly got crushed!” was harder to sell than “The doorknob came off!” He opened the door roughly and stepped inside—only to find several figures already waiting beyond the threshold.
“…Haaaah…”
An even deeper sigh escaped him at the sight.
“I believe I made myself quite clear. I told you to stay put.”
“Sorry. But I didn’t have a choice.”
First to reveal herself was, once again, the Fifth Princess, Yulika. Flanking her stood two imperial knights and two agents from the Special Affairs Ministry. How they had slipped in ahead of him and taken up residence in his room was anyone’s guess. Irritation prickled. He had told them to wait. He had even left them with rather favorable terms. So why had they followed him here? Did they mean to cling and pester him all the way out in the South?
“….”
“….”
He turned his head and found the knights and agents rigid with tension. Only then did he realize he had failed to rein in his aura, irritation leaking free. That was why they were sweating buckets, braced for the worst. Not that bracing would help them, but what else could they do? That was their duty—the obligation they had to fulfill even if it killed them.
“…Why exactly are you here?”
He pictured himself alone in a quiet gym, moving heavy iron. The irritation vanished at once, leaving only stillness. Nothing settled the mind and body better than imaginary progressive overload.
“I received an imperial command, Kyle.”
“An imperial command?”
“Yeah. His Majesty’s order. You know I can’t refuse. I didn’t have a choice either.”
At this precise moment, a princess had received an imperial command and slipped all the way here in secret—and she was saying so to none other than him. He had come south for an academic expedition, of all things.
…I see what’s going on.
Kyle settled onto the seat opposite the princess and parted his lips.
“So His Majesty already knows as well. That those drug addicts are on some island in the South.”
The princess smiled and nodded.
“Of course. Special Affairs already finished the investigation. Foreign Affairs has been running around hard too.”
“…Is the fact that this year’s expedition destination became the South part of that plan?”
“That isn’t it. Really. I’ll call your coming south a coincidence.”
Was this what they meant by inevitability disguised as coincidence? Then again, that was how things were supposed to work in a novel.
“Kyle. One question.”
“Is it Her Highness asking, or His Majesty?”
“…The latter.”
If it had been the former he might have stalled a little; a pity it was the latter.
“You’ve received the information too, haven’t you?”
“Are you asking who I heard it from?”
“No. Something else instead. Are you going to do it?”
“Do what.”
“You already know. Don’t play dumb.”
Their gazes locked in the air between them—the man feigning ignorance, the woman demanding to know why he was dodging. In the end it was Yulika who spoke first.
“Those bastards. You’re going after them, right?”
Hmph—.
Instead of answering, Kyle simply smiled. For a mere noble scion to laugh when a princess asked a question—any of the knights could have barked at the insolence, yet none of them opened their mouths. After tasting that terrifying presence moments earlier, who would dare step forward?
“No.”
“No?”
“That’s right. I’m not.”
The princess stared at him as if the answer were impossible to believe. She had already received every detailed report of what had happened with the Western Coalition. How had the John Nassens dealt with the people who used that drug? They had crushed them utterly. The Three Heroes of the Coalition—warriors said to stand on par with the Imperial 10 Strongest—had been completely flattened. They had even been left just enough room to try standing up again. That had not been mercy. It had been the ultimate punishment for those who had dared to offend them.
The John Nassens’ rage had been that immense. People who had grown strong without any effort or price—the hostility they inspired could not even be measured by ordinary emotion.
“The expedition was set for the South. Arrive ahead of the Academy party and meet Kyle. Confirm his intentions. Whether he truly means to stay silent, or whether he intends to move.”
“Originally this is work the Empire should handle, but if that young man has already made up his mind, any interference would only get in his way. That must not happen. Instead, offer him every possible cooperation.”
The “cooperation” the Emperor meant was, of course, a gag order handed to the professors: from this moment on, no matter what Kyle did—even if he suddenly vanished—they were not to so much as notice. And further: if he set out somewhere, lend him a ship, or give him a chart of the sea routes.
And yet he says no?
Unable to comprehend it, the princess fixed her eyes on Kyle once more. He laughed again, and only then gave his real answer.
“I’m not going to find them, Your Highness.”
That was right. He was not going to find them. The purpose of the visit was completely wrong.
“I’m going to make it so that nothing ever happened.”
A chill—!
In that instant, an indescribable cold swept through the room.