#084 Obsession
#084 Obsession
After spreading word about the Holy Sword and the Spirit Machine.
I left the cleanup to the others and searched the mage's house, trying to find any kind of trace.
There was one thing I couldn't figure out.
'Why break the crystal ball?'
Why would the mage who had been researching the Narag Venomous Insects 'deliberately' destroy his own means of contacting Regret, the seat of the County of Odron?
Because he was startled?
No.
A communication crystal ball isn't something like glass.
If anything, it's closer to a solid iron sphere.
Even if you swung a morning star like the ones the Church uses at a person's head, the morning star wouldn't break—the person's head would. A crystal ball is that hard.
This was broken on purpose.
That conclusion came from tracing the break marks, the crystal ball's durability, and the traces left in the mage's house.
And then.
"......Ha."
I found it.
'It was Acedia.'
Traces of Acedia, the faction that follows the Demon King Army.
Beneath the basement of the mage's house, I began to sense the lingering mana I had felt while fighting Shax, Malphas, and the others.
I hadn't sensed it well before, but after synchronizing once with the Water Holy Sword, I could feel it clearly now.
'There's an underground water vein flowing.'
I could feel a watercourse running beneath the mage's house, and through the underground water vein, I could sense the lingering mana of Acedia's Demon King Army.
It didn't seem like they were spreading venom through the water vein or anything like that. Mana was simply flowing in from somewhere—a 'passage' that extended out through the water vein.
Did this just happen to form under the mage's house by chance?
No.
This was made deliberately.
Whether they secretly dug through the earth in the dead of night or used some other method to create a path.
This kind of 'escape route through an underground waterway' was a typical Demon King Army escape route and underground infiltration method.
It could be speculation.
But the picture forming in my head was hard to erase.
At the moment when the goblin controlling the giant golem first sent the Narag Venomous Insects on a large scale, the mage must have been planning to act as an inside collaborator.
A barrier variable appeared, sure, but what if they kept the mage as insurance and infected people one by one from within?
'Am I overthinking this in my own style?'
If it had been me taking this village with Narag Venomous Insects, this was probably how I'd have done it.
Looking at it from that perspective, I kept assigning meaning and fussing over things that might not mean anything at all.
If I hadn't boarded Celsius, I probably wouldn't have paid it any mind. But now that I'd sensed Acedia's mana flowing beneath the mage's house, I couldn't pretend not to see it.
The mage was with Acedia.
Even if he wasn't, I'd assume he was and respond accordingly.
"This is driving me insane."
"Why do you say that?"
"Hm? Lucius, are you allowed to be down here?"
"Yes."
Lucius approached from below, holding a lamp.
"It's dark. You'll strain your eyes."
"I'm an undead, what does it matter? Weren't people looking for you and all that?"
"Lady Liliez had a harder time of it than I did."
"Well, that's only natural. She's a Hero. What I meant was—"
"I reached an agreement with Sir Rapid. My involvement is to be kept secret."
"Hmm...."
I hadn't seen him that way, but he was more loyal than I'd thought.
"Meaning it's a secret from the villagers, right?"
"Yes. He said he absolutely must tell his liege—that is, the Count of Odron."
"Then things are about to get awkward. You might even receive an invitation. They'll try to tie you and Droniel together."
"She's his own daughter, though?"
"You're a Hero. And it's not like Droniel has zero interest in you."
"......."
Lucius's expression looked complicated.
"Do you not want that? Being publicly recognized by the Count of Odron?"
"It's a bit much. I'm not in a position to take responsibility for someone yet, and if that happened, it would feel like I'd have to take responsibility for Droniel."
"Hmm...."
Sure enough, Lucius had a strong sense of responsibility, but unexpectedly, in this area, his confidence seemed to dip a little.
"Want me to talk to them for you?"
"No. That's a bit..."
"Then you'll have to speak up yourself."
I reached out and pressed my fist toward Lucius's chest.
"So what if the Count of Odron is Droniel's father? You're a Hero. The master of the Wind Holy Sword, the Holy Sword that struck down a Demon King. You're someone who could stand tall even before the emperor of the Arpe Empire, so what's the problem? Honestly, to be blunt, Droniel's fine and all, but I'm only saying this because Rosemas isn't here."
Tap, tap.
I knocked on Lucius's solar plexus like I was knocking on a door.
"Your heart is yours. No one can force it. If there's someone you like, just because someone else likes you doesn't mean you have any reason to like them back."
"......."
"They're the ones throwing themselves at you because they like you. Do you have to like them back just because of that? Same goes for the Count of Odron. You just have to be honest. What's the reason you don't like Droniel?"
"......It's not that I dislike her. As a close friend, I think well of her. But."
Lucius shook his head firmly.
"She's extremely obsessive."
"...Obsessive?"
"Yes. She hated it when I talked to other women in the village. She even badgered me about why I was talking to women who were already married."
"She's definitely not an ordinary girl."
Truly a remarkable woman.
"I dislike women with strong obsessions. What about you, Master?"
"Hm? Me?"
"Yes. Surely you have an ideal type you hope for too. Something you dislike, that sort of thing."
"Well... for starters, I don't really like obsession either."
Setting aside matters of romance, I just don't care much for obsession itself.
-Aaaah! Demon King! I will make you my slave! For the Demon King!!
...To be precise, it was because of some lunatic that I came to dislike obsessive people altogether.
"Still, as long as it's not too extreme, isn't it fun when someone's obsessed with me?"
"Excuse me?"
"It's pretty entertaining that someone pays this much attention to me, that someone cares about me this much. They're a complete stranger, yet they cherish and love someone as if that person were themselves. I was like that too."
"......"
Lucius stood still with a blank face.
"Master... have you ever been obsessed with someone?"
"...Ah, you misunderstood? I was the one being obsessed over, not the one obsessing. Oh, but there was one thing I was obsessed with."
"A thing?"
"Yeah. The Great Demon King Belphegor."
Myself.
"Well, putting all that aside, just take it easy. If you accept Droniel as a comrade, then she's a comrade. If the Count of Odron asks to meet you, you just go and say what you need to say. If you went to some other kingdom, you could easily earn yourself a count's title, you know? You have absolutely nothing to feel inferior about, so straighten your back, plant your feet firmly, and puff out your chest. Got it?"
"Understood, Master."
Lucius seemed to have regained a bit of confidence.
"Then when can I ride it?"
"Ride what?"
"You know what."
"...Ha, honestly."
At times like this, the way he acts like a child is really quite manly.
Well, it's only natural that any man would lose his mind at the sight of a giant piloted weapon.
Especially Lucius, who's a Hero just like Liliez.
At the thought that someday he too might pilot a Spirit Machine like Celsius, he'll probably toss and turn all night tonight.
"You can't ride it."
"What?!"
"I mean you can't right now. You think you can pilot a Spirit Machine with that little power? No, no. You'd get in and within about three seconds your mana would be completely drained."
"......I'm not that weak."
Lucius's voice immediately turned sullen.
"What do you mean you're not? That's exactly the state you're in right now. Even if you summoned a Spirit Machine, the moment you climbed aboard, you'd be wiped out in three seconds."
"How do you know whether I'd be finished in three seconds, or last over thirty minutes, or ride all night?"
"Of course I know. A Spirit Machine runs on its pilot's mana."
Lucius flinched and bit his lip.
"You think you can pilot a Spirit Machine with your mana right now? Impossible. And do you think piloting a Spirit Machine is easy? No matter how outstanding a Hero you are, piloting a Spirit Machine is a completely different beast from the usual methods."
"But Liliez piloted it just fine, didn't she?"
"Liliez only supplied mana. I did the piloting. From on top of Liliez."
"Excuse me?"
Lucius's eyes wavered for a moment.
"I did all of Celsius's piloting. The cockpit is a single seat. Hmm... sit here."
I sat Lucius down in a chair.
And then.
"Rosemas, you're up there, right?"
"Y-yes?!"
"Come down. Your timing is perfect."
I called Rosemas, and Rosemas came down with quick little steps, watching my expression.
"Um, well..."
"Want to sit on top of Lucius for a moment? All the way onto his inner thighs."
"........"
Rosemas hesitated for a moment, then sat right down on top of Lucius.
Rosemas, sitting on top of Lucius, was actually more embarrassed than he was. I reached out to Rosemas and had her mimic exactly the posture I'd taken in the cockpit.
A position lying face-down on Lucius's thighs like a cat.
Hmm, perfectly identical.
"Th-this is..."
"This is how I piloted it, in this difficult position. Understand?"
It was a feat like facing a knight with only one toe.
For me, it was truly satisfying beyond measure, but it seemed somewhat hard for Lucius to grasp.
Well.
Anyway.
"I've piloted a Spirit Machine a few times myself, you know. Heh heh."
"...Were you a Hero?"
"No. I just piloted one."
Five hundred years ago.
When I carved the giant statue in front of the Demon King's castle, I used a Spirit Machine to carve it.
It was nice because it was big.
Slicing things off in great big chunks.
"Ah. That method could work too. You two, hold that position for now."
"What?! Wh-what do you mean?!"
"This is for when you get a Spirit Machine later. The two of you can board together, and then Rosemas just has to stay pressed right up against Lucius's body."
To be specific.
"Rosemas. You'll have to be Lucius's mana reservoir."
"I-I'll do it! If it's for Lucius!"
As expected.
Make it so she gets to cling to him, and Rosemas is over the moon.
What?
Me and Liliez?
'Well, we're both women, so what's the problem.'
Liliez was a decent and safe woman, more than I expected.
If I'd been a man, I might have taken her through the full course from dinner to the next morning...
'Eh, forget it.'
I'm not dating a Hero.
Heroes.
'They're obsessive.'
If I ever dated a Hero again, I'd rather live alone for the rest of my life.
Right.
I'm a Demon King, so why would I date a Hero?
"...I miss him."
"Pardon?"
"No, it's nothing. Just thinking about the old days."
If it were him, maybe not.
"Practice that position well. If things get dangerous later... I might climb on there myself."
"Master."
Lucius was serious.
"How long should I practice?"
"Three-second exhaustion?"
"I can do it all day."
Little brat.
As expected, he can't resist piloting a giant doll.
Rosemas was absolutely thrilled.