Drunken Truth (Revised)

Little sister?

Ah, I didn't know. I was surprised too, because her name just came out as soon as I saw her. Yeah, I didn't know anything else. I really was seeing her for the first time too. You've got to believe me.

Uh... really, truly? You believe me?

Thanks. That was really hard to explain.

Like I said earlier, I gave her the Tokamak. I got some good scrolls in return.

Yeah, no regrets. I actually came out ahead on the deal. So don't worry your head about that.

Ah. I see.

The truth is, it was hard to tell you what I'd been up to all that time. It was hard.

Alright. Let's start from here.

I was born in a small, weak village on the outskirts. Hmm, not that it was completely helpless. It was the kind of country that got pushed around by all the bigger powers around it.

Yeah? Even if I told you, you probably wouldn't know it. It's not a place on this continent. I doubt it's in any of the records either.

Anyway, that's about it for the setting. Honestly, there's nothing special to say about my hometown. No episodes you'd particularly sympathize with. The important part is what I did growing up.

The family members I remember are exactly this. Father, mother. And an older sister. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I don't even know how I grew up. I don't remember my parents' faces. After they both passed, I used being busy as an excuse and never went to visit their graves.... No, maybe it's more accurate to say I couldn't.

They aren't good memories. The only person I think might still be alive is my older sister.

My sister? What kind of Gold-Eye Tribe was she?

Uhm, how should I put this. My sister isn't from the Gold-Eye Tribe. Actually, I'm not... no, forget it. If you really can't figure it out, just think of her as my stepsister.

Ah, you're pouring me another one? Thanks. I'll enjoy it.

Here, you take one too.

...Whoa. This is insane.

Oh, but it tastes good.

Wait. What was I talking about?

Ah, right. There.

Anyway, I lived on that island country that wasn't much of an island country, and then I came to the Elankaya Mountains. I heard a lot of my people lived there, so I risked it and crossed the sea alone. There was nothing left to eat or live off of on the island.

Family? I don't know. I think we were all scattered by then.

Anyway, I moved on my own. Crossed the mountains and wandered all over the south.

But I couldn't find a single trace of the Gold-Eye Tribe. I scoured the southern Elankaya region like I was picking out lice, but no one with bright yellow eyes ever showed up.

I had no choice but to head north. Why north instead of the Empire? Back then, this country was... no. I got that mixed up. Sorry.

Ah, my head hurts. This is why I shouldn't drink so much. Hehe, but this stuff really is delicious. It's the perfect snack.

What happened? Well, seeing as I'm clearly alive, at least I didn't die a stray's death out there.

Anyway, let's keep going. While I was climbing along the ridge, I met someone. A person in a pitch-black robe. I couldn't check their eye color because their face was covered by a mask. So I still don't know if they were a member of the Gold-Eye Tribe or not.

That person was unusual from the first meeting. They suddenly gave me food and invited me to their place... whoa. Why, why are you hitting me.

No, I'm telling you, they didn't seem like such a bad person.

Nothing happened, seriously. Nothing.

That person fed me and put me up. It came out of nowhere, but I took it all. I was really on the verge of starving to death back then.... What? Why are you looking at me like that?

They even taught me things, out of the blue. Said I had to learn first for the great work later on, or something.

I worked hard at that, at least. I felt like my life would be ruined otherwise. I learned whatever I could get my hands on. Magic Arts, mathematics, a bit of history and military science. I wouldn't even use a book for firewood until I'd memorized the whole thing.

Then, after studying my brains out like that, one winter day with the snow falling thick, I heard this in front of the campfire.

─ This is no ordinary human talent. It's a waste to let you rot in a place like this. I'll arrange a position for you. Why don't you work there? It'll be a foundation for when you do great things with me in the future.

When I asked what that great thing was, my teacher continued.

─ It's to stand at the apex of this world's Magic Arts. Truly no ordinary thing. Yes, it is a dark and difficult path of sorcery.

I didn't really understand back then, since it was so abstract. Actually, I still don't. Will the day ever come when I fully understand what my teacher is trying to do? Still, since they were the one who fed me, housed me, and even educated me, I figured I could help them out a little.

I parted ways with that person eventually. I helped them out for a while to repay them and then set off on my own when the time was right. When was the last time I saw their face? Ugh, I can't remember.

After that, I went back down south along the Elankaya Mountains. I thought I'd grown up a bit.

That was a miscalculation. I was staying in the southern part of the Elankaya Mountains when I got caught by an imperial slave trader, and that's how I was sold to the capital. Was I just unlucky?

Ah, I didn't tell you. Right before I met you, I was Professor Haspelt's private slave.

Huh? Yeah. Right. I didn't realize that person was a slave trader back then. I just thought they were going to help me out a little, like my teacher. But they didn't, not the second time.

What do you mean, of course that's how it was? At least everyone I'd met up until then had been kind. Like you.

Ah, but I don't know about the slave trader, but Professor Haspelt wasn't kind. That person never gave me a word of praise, even when I did a good job. If I did well, she told me to do better. She was like an evil spirit obsessed with performance.

Right? You get it? That's why the prince and the professor fought over it. The professor tried to sell me off to the imperial household. As a body servant. So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that's why I ran away to the academy. It wasn't hard, since I'd picked up a few things by looking over her shoulder.

Don't look at me like that. It's in the past.

Haah. There's really nothing as fun as badmouthing your homeroom teacher over drinks with a friend. I shouldn't drink any more of this here.

Aw, I don' know. Jus' one more. Heugh.

Flare? Oh, yeahhh.

Haspelt made me research it. It's funny, having me do that while she was getting ready to sell me off behind my back. So I was like, screw youuu, just like this. Yeahh.

Right? That was a betrayal of trust. She told me to get it done by the deadline, and once it was finished, she was basically saying she'd take the money and kick me to the curb. I can't stand people like that.

Let me ever go through that again, just watch. I'll blow it all sky-highhh.

Urp, my stomach feels weirdd.

Huh? What. What did you want to say?

Something like Flare? What?

Hey, don't lie.

.......

Yeah, I see.

So let's get this straight. The Count was researching a method to refine pitchblende magic stones, and now he knows it's a powerful energy source.

And that's why you felt nervous when I went up the mountain at dawn. Because you were worried I'd turn out like that professor.

Forget it. I didn't know either. I only came here to see a friend, okay?

Yeah. It seems like she lied to you, right? I'll have to smack her one next time I see her.

Wait. But if it was something your family was doing in secret like that, you told me... ugh, you got permission? So that's why you went to see the Count before our bath earlier.

I don't know why the Count looked kindly on me. Yeah, I don't get it. If it's a Magic Art you're developing in secret, there's nothing good that comes from telling someone else about it. Especially if he's been researching it for over ten years....

Rote, you're too naive for your own good. What would you do if I were making all this up right now....

.......

Ah, whatever. Since it's already come this far, it's over. No reason to keep hiding it.

Alright. Since you've shown me your sincerity, I should return the favor.

No, it's nothing grand enough to get worked up over now, so you don't need to refuse. I just can't rest easy unless I pay back what I've received. Whether it's a favor or a grudge.

Yeah. Right. That thing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you asked about before.

The Teller-Ulam Design.

I'll tell you how to erase the Demon King's army from this world.

**

The conversation continued deep into the night. The moment Aether finished speaking, she collapsed face-first onto the desk.

Rote staggered and emptied the remaining glasses. She was just as dizzy. It was clear they would both wake up aching if they fell asleep at the desk, so she did her best to hold on to the thread of consciousness.

"Hoo."

It was a lonely night. The moonlight was as bright as could be, and a soft snoring sound drifted from across the desk. Rote slung Aether over her back and laid her down on the bed.

She had drunk so much that her face was flushed bright red. Her breathing was rough. Rote unbuttoned a few of her shirt buttons so her friend could breathe easier, then pulled the blanket up over her.

Aether's sleeping face was nothing short of a beauty that could bring a kingdom to ruin.

Her black hair was in tangled disarray. The double eyelids above her long lashes were distinct. Her lips were tinged cherry-red, and her skin looked as white and soft as snow dust on a pine tree.

If my gender had been the opposite, I might have had some sinister thoughts.......

"I must have been crazy."

She really was drunk. What else could explain such wicked thoughts?

Her head was already spinning so much that she wanted to flop into bed right then and there. But Rote's own bed was quite a distance away.

In truth, it was only a few steps, but getting there felt like a bothersome and exhausting ordeal.

"Aether, sorry. I'm just gonna lie down here ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a sec."

The sleeping girl's breath smelled sweet. Rote looked at Aether's face and recalled the conversation they had just shared.

The relationship between this girl and that girl named Akasha.

The reason Aether had come here.

Her life as a slave, and her story with Professor Haspelt.

Every single one was a story she was hearing for the first time. Some of them were stories that made her heart ache.

She'd started to grow suspicious of Aether after coming here. At first, it was because her friend, who had taught her everything, wouldn't teach her the 'Teller-Ulam Design.' Even then, it had been no more than a bit of sulking.

Everything changed after she met that child named Akasha. They clearly looked the same, but Akasha exuded malice and bloodlust.

─ Just remember this one thing. If you have a friend you want to trust, then trust them without letting others sway you. For that is the path for both you and your friend.

Thanks to that advice from her father, a spirit mage, she had been able to completely untie that knot in her heart.

Spirits, beings who act on behalf of the Goddess's will.

Spirits seek out the perfectly good and virtuous. For example, Rote's father, or a great many elves who had cultivated themselves in Kaurelia. Or that 'Clara Haspelt' who had contracted with many spirits.

Those chosen by a spirit gain the faint ability to distinguish the good from the evil. Only today did she learn that such a father had been wary of Akasha, but not of Aether.

With that judgment in mind, she had gone to her father earlier. It was to tell him, even without realizing it herself, that Akasha had discovered the pitchblende magic stone refiner.

─ It's alright. It wasn't as if you did it on purpose.

To Rote, who apologized repeatedly, her father answered in a gentle tone. Then he added.

─ Rote. Your father doesn't care about such results. Come to think of it, you might not remember.

─ Pardon?

─ Do you remember why I wanted to keep this research a secret?

"Because processing pitchblende could create a dangerous substance...."

He had never once said anything like 'We must not let our family's glorious great work be stolen.'

Right. That was the kind of person her father was.

All of her father's research was focused on the people. Where House Haspelt, another family of fire mages, produced Magic Arts specialized for 'combat,' House Saliere had always focused on 'practicality' and 'welfare.'

─ As you said, if that friend of yours knows the uses for pitchblende, we could perhaps ask the child instead. Whether this is truly safe or not. And how else it might be used. That's what I think.

Was it because she had drunk too much? For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes.

─ First, grind the magic stone with that refiner you mentioned. Then soak it well in fluorine to make uranium hexafluoride. Enrich that by doing this and that, and concentrate the main component of the magic stone to over 80... no, over 90 percent. Then gather a fair amount of that and make a primary bomb?

─ Up to here, it's just a slightly stronger bomb. The Teller-Ulam Design is nothing like that. You make a secondary, then a tertiary there. You can manage it somehow if you're good with Air Magic. Ah, you'll also need earth for the external structure. Hmm, and.... Once it's complete somehow, you install a detonator. Then you ignite it with a fire scroll, and boom. Okay?

The result was simple. Aether knew how to use pitchblende.

Her depth of knowledge was so exceptional that they had talked for over two hours on that topic alone.

Though she didn't know how Aether had learned all this.... One thing had become certain.

Everything Akasha had told her had been slander and an attempt to drive a wedge between them.

Of course it was. If Aether had really been after House Saliere's research, she would never have shared that kind of knowledge with her, and she couldn't have known it in the first place.

"Huhh."

Once her thoughts were finished, a wave of sleepiness washed over her like a tsunami.

What could she do? She had only meant to lie down for a moment before moving to the bed across the room.

But her eyelids were far too heavy to put that thought into action.