If Only We Could Turn Doubt into Trust
If Only We Could Turn Doubt into Trust
Having barely escaped from Aether, Akasha caught her breath on the mid-slope of the western mountain and surveyed her surroundings.
"This should be far enough, right?"
The terrain was rugged for a mountainside. The incline was so steep that there wasn't a soul in sight. Akasha let out a sigh of relief, found a suitable rock, and perched on it.
Freed from the urgent situation, her sharp mind began rifling through the past. Akasha recalled the conversation she'd just had with her sister.
"I didn't think she'd demand my personal magic even after losing her memory..."
Her sister had always been obsessed with studying Magic Arts, even before she lost her memories. Her passion for learning had been so great that she'd even tried to turn her own legendary-grade magic into a scroll.
There was no grand reason behind that goal. She'd done it simply because it was fun.
At one point, Akasha had tried to emulate her sister and leave her own magic behind in scroll form as well. Originally, legendary-grade magic wasn't supposed to be preserved in scrolls in order to maintain its rarity, but that hadn't mattered to the innocent girls they were back then.
The product of that effort was the incomplete Construction Array for 'White Night' that she'd just handed over.
"Yeah, we did that."
Looking back now, it had been a fool's errand. Simply being able to cast a magic was a completely different dimension of difficulty from making it usable by someone else.
Finished with her reminiscing, Akasha stood up. Before her stood the Tokamak she'd received as payment for the deal.
Even if it was her own sister, handing over the details of her personal magic left a sour taste in her mouth—but so what?
Every moment was urgent now. She'd gotten the plant, so that alone was a major achievement. Thinking about the praise she'd receive from the Demon King later made the corners of her mouth rise on their own.
"Welp, let's finish the job."
Akasha fed an invisibility scroll to the Tokamak. Mana-particle-based transparent pigment instantly coated the device.
Then she pulled her hood down low enough to hide her face. She couldn't afford to be seen heading to her next destination.
"Guess this is the place."
Akasha had arrived at a building whose outer wall had collapsed from flooding.
The Louvre Museum. It was the second-largest museum in the Empire, after the Central Museum in the capital.
Though it looked like a mere large-scale exhibition hall, it actually housed the Sealing Stone needed to summon the Demon King into this world.
The Red Lodestone—among the five Sealing Stones, the spirit stone forged by the Spirit King of the Fire Realm.
"Really, they hid it away tight."
As if on cue, several artworks were being carried out of the museum entrance. Akasha studied the procession intently.
Then her eyes caught a large package being loaded onto a wagon marked [Bound for Central Museum].
There was no doubt about it.
"There it is."
Akasha's lips stretched into a wide grin.
"Lucky me."
Originally, the plan had been to ask the First Seat to have beastfolk raid the Saliere Territory, then secretly steal the Lodestone in the chaos.
That was no longer necessary.
The Central Museum was located at Tillet Academy. And Rosemary was there.
"Didn't even need to look around."
The need to cause a disturbance had also vanished.
Carrying the invisibility-cloaked Tokamak, Akasha leisurely vanished from sight.
**
Rote had explained most of what had happened in detail to the household staff.
"So, to summarize... the girl with the white hair was not the young lady's friend, but her twin sister, and the real friend had been away among the beastfolk for two weeks and only just returned, yes?"
"And on top of that, the sister is a meaningful enough person to have tamed a Fenrir."
At the maids' clean summary, Rote nodded readily. In contrast, the servants who had actually heard the story looked incredulous.
"Not only did she subdue a Fenrir in an instant, she tamed it... You jest too much."
"And a Fenrir is a Calamity-class Magic Beast. How could such a monster appear in a place like this?"
It felt unfair. She felt like the shepherd girl from the fable.
This was also karma. She'd already lied to her family that Akasha was Aether, so it was only natural they wouldn't believe her now.
Right then, her father came running in upon receiving a report that the study window had been broken. After confirming the situation that had been handled, Count Saliere dismissed the servants and remained alone with Rote.
Her father spoke with a sympathetic look in his eyes.
"I knew from the start that you were telling a lie."
"Ah..."
Just as she had thought.
Her father and brother had accepted it back then with a speed that was almost hard to believe. Rote swallowed a breath and avoided her father's gaze.
House Saliere had valued honesty since ancient times. She'd broken that rule, so she would be punished.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not scolding you. I asked because I was curious why you lied back then. This is just a guess... but that girl had something about her that only you knew, didn't she?"
"......!"
It wasn't a reproachful tone. It was a gentle voice, as if coaxing a child who'd broken a plate.
"And your friend does, too."
At her father's next words, Rote's eyes flew wide open.
"Rote, I won't bother asking what happened. But take this one thing to heart. If you have a friend you want to trust, don't be swayed by others—trust them. It will be the right path for both you and that friend."
"How did you..."
"It's obvious. I went through something similar at your age."
Her father wore a bitter smile. Rote's father, Count Saliere, had always been this kind of person.
Even though he couldn't possibly know her exact situation, he found her worries like an omniscient god and offered a solution. Maybe the saying that no parent is blind to their child's heart was true.
─ She was always like that. Research was more precious to her than friends.
─ The Tokamak was the same. She copied the design from someone in the elf village and finished it, right?
─ Why else would she go to Pitchblende Mountain at dawn without a word? There has to be a reason she came to this territory.
Rote bit her lip.
"...What if suspicions still arise?"
"Between friends, it's not suspicion. It's merely curiosity. If there's something you want to ask, don't create misunderstandings—ask with sincerity."
It was advice that cut to the bone and flesh.
Because Rote's father had lived this way, he'd been pushed out of the slander-ridden central politics. But for that very reason, many people genuinely liked and followed him.
"Then may I ask one more thing?"
"Of course. If my daughter is curious."
"To properly convey that sincerity, what's a good way to ask?"
"Hmm... let's see. When I was in the army, we'd push each other's backs and talk about the things we couldn't during the day. Topics like how the regimental commander was trash, or who'd lost a lot of hair."
I see, Rote thought, nodding. It was a method worth taking note of.
"She's arriving just in time."
"Aether..."
─ Your friend is a thief who steals other people's research and uses it. Just think about Flare. Remember what Kleis's face looked like when she was scooped.
Nonsense. There's no way a little sister would try to slander her own sister to a complete stranger.
It was her father who pushed her forward. But seizing the opportunity had to be her own doing.
The black-haired, golden-eyed girl was walking toward her with light steps, as if she were in a good mood. The Tokamak wasn't in her hands, but she walked carrying a large scroll instead.
Different from Akasha.
She was so innocent, and though clumsy at expressing her emotions, her feelings still showed through her actions.
She was the savior of her life, and her personal tutor who would be with her going forward.
She had so many questions for that teacher. Rote kicked off the ground and strode forward.
**
I was feeling fantastic.
[Legendary Unique Magic Art ─ Incomplete Scroll of 'White Night' (Output Section)]
In exchange for the Tokamak, I'd gotten an incredibly rare scroll. I'd paid a dime and gotten back a dollar.
And it wasn't just any legendary-grade scroll.
[▷(Description) White Night]
[The ultimate Magic Art that manipulates a designated target into a quasi-neutral state. It can also be seen as a hybrid Magic Art that is an extreme development of both Fire and Air Attributes. When the designated target is the 'sky,' it dyes the atmosphere in vivid colors, hence the alias 'White Night'.]
[□ You cannot currently master this Magic Art in full.]
[△ Reason: Only beings who meet specific conditions can wield this Magic Art perfectly.]
Simply put, a technique to naturally generate plasma.
Just creating plasma doesn't automatically achieve nuclear fusion, but to produce nuclear fusion, matter must first enter a plasma state. I'd essentially obtained a necessary condition for subjugating the Demon King.
One regrettable point was that this was an incomplete form.
In the end, it was the same as with Flare. I was going to have to bust my ass developing it.
Still... would this be easy to pull off?
"It'll work out somehow."
I rolled up the scroll and walked with light steps. The Count Saliere family residence had come into view before I knew it.
Ah, come to think of it, I'd left after causing a major incident. I felt needlessly afraid to go inside.
Still, I had to apologize for the trouble I'd caused. I didn't really know who Akasha was, but the problem had been caused by Aether's little sister, supposedly.
"Haa."
Life was so exhausting. I had to clean up after a kid I'd never even met. If I hadn't received this scroll, I might've actually been furious.
"Aether!"
"Hm?"
Rote came running from a distance. It was nothing compared to the speed Akasha had dashed off at, but it was quite fast.
I didn't even have a chance to say anything. Rote, who had raced right up to me in an instant, grabbed my hand, panting for breath.
"What's the matter? Did something urgent happen?"
"Let's talk for a bit."
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
I'd already finished preparing my list of excuses. Why I'd gone to the beastfolk nation, where exactly this white-haired chick had come from when I clearly didn't have a little sister, and so on.
I calmed the breathless Rote and pointed toward the mansion. It was a signal to head inside first and then talk.
Understanding my gesture, Rote nodded and spoke with a determined voice.
"So, shall we take a bath together?"