Meeting of the Evil Organization (3)
Meeting of the Evil Organization (3)
The demons who had sorted out the situation seated themselves around the round table once more.
The Great Machines of the Nine Heavens sipped their beryllium tea with serene expressions, as though nothing at all had occurred moments before. It was a top-grade product covertly airlifted from the elf nation via a clandestine route.
"Now then, shall we move on to the main topic?"
Akasha spoke first. Although Rosemary had presided over this meeting, Akasha, too, had a mountain of things to say. Had nothing in particular happened, she would have been the one to convene a gathering herself.
"As I said earlier, I met our sister in Saliere Territory. It seems she has regained her memories."
"Oh. Is that true?"
"I'm telling you, it is."
Akasha waved both hands up and down in delight.
"The moment we met, she called me by name right away! At the very least, it's proof that her memories are returning."
Inside her head, the happy-circuit was already operating at full capacity. The tiresome game of "observing" humans would now end, and there would be a splendid return to the Demon King's army. She would command the Second Army alongside her sister while awaiting the day of the Demon King's resurrection. Then she would have no lingering regrets.
However, in every group, there was always the type who delivered a sharp rebuke to someone basking in such rapture.
"This one thinks not."
"...What."
Jormungand, who had been stirring yellowcake powder into her high-grade beryllium black tea on the grounds that the tea lacked flavor, set down her cup and continued.
"Your sister came to this one's dwelling. She said she would grant a request of mine within her power, so I should share with her some of the Magic Stones I produce."
Jormungand added polonium to her tea instead of sugar cubes and stirred it with a claw.
"...What did you ask of her?"
"A simple task: to look after the fox beastmen. In that process, she could have harmed Saliere's territory for her own convenience, yet she did not."
Aether could have turned a blind eye to the fox beastmen tribe's raiding in order to secure their food supply and well-being. Doing so would actually have been conduct befitting the Demon King's army.
"Had her memories returned, and had she been testing or scorning humans, she would not have made such a troublesome choice."
The other Great Machines of the Nine Heavens might not know, but Jormungand, who had served the Demon King alongside her since ancient times, could tell.
"That one always selects only the action that yields the greatest profit in the shortest time. Even if she has forgotten every memory of us, that instinct alone will not have changed."
One's nature does not easily change. Humans, elves, beastmen, demons — all are the same in this respect.
Take Jormungand herself, for instance. Unless a matter involved spirits or beastmen, she found everything troublesome and holed up in the mountains. Rosemary sat around gossiping about humans every time one saw her, and Akasha was a child who knew nothing but her sister.
"Nonsense."
That was why Akasha refused to believe Jormungand's words.
"What you're saying has a logical contradiction. If my sister truly remembers nothing, how did she find you? Surely you're not going to spout some bizarre claim that you went to find her yourself?"
Jormungand's dwelling was situated at the very peak of Pitchblende Mountain, specifically on Falling Dragon Peak, infamous for its treacherous terrain. Because of its location, few attempted to enter, and it was not a place one could easily access.
Jormungand did not try to explain this. She shrugged and drained her tea, thick with neutrons.
"This one does not know that much either."
"Are you joking right now?"
"What matters is not such trivial things, but the power to see through another's essence. If this one says no, then it is no."
"Boasting just because you've lived a long time..."
"This is something I have felt for a while, but you are a bit different from your twin sister. At the very least, learn how to treat your elders."
"Then you bring my sister here."
Until that moment, the other Great Machines of the Nine Heavens had merely been listening attentively to the two. The 5th Seat only uttered exclamations of interest, and for the 3rd Seat, maintaining silence during such disputes was routine.
The only demon remotely suitable to intervene was Rosemary. She, who had been deep in thought, opened her mouth.
"Couldn't that little beastman brat have leaked the information?"
"Whom do you mean?"
"You know, that tiny runt you look after from time to time. I don't know what she grew up eating to end up even smaller than me."
"Well, that is possible."
From this point on, they were in the realm of speculation. Since nothing was certain, the demons' interest rapidly cooled. Rosemary was the only one who enjoyed racking her brain over such inferences; the rest preferred to move personally and verify the situation.
"It's my turn now, isn't it?"
Rosemary braced her hands on the table and stood. As the one who had summoned her comrades to this place, she had urgent news to share.
"Listen, and don't be surprised. It seems our big sister is seeing some elf at the academy."
"......What?"
"Put the cup down and listen calmly. That's the rumor."
Akasha's expression crumpled thoroughly. Her gaze naturally turned toward Jack Blanton, Rosemary's adjutant.
"Orleyang, is that true?"
Orleyang was Duke Blanton's true name.
"It is."
"...Explain in detail."
At the twin sister's request, Rosemary recounted to Akasha what she herself had seen and heard. Though it took quite some time, none of her colleagues grew bored. It seemed the notion of a demon forming a bond with an elf had come as a shock.
After hearing the full story, Akasha ended up hurling her teacup at Rosemary's head.
Crash!
"Seize that bastard at once and bring him here."
"Calm down, sis. I'm still in the middle of verifying it because I can't believe it either. Blanton here keeps saying it seems that way, so I'm still in a bewildered state."
"Then don't say anything from the start!"
"I'm telling you so you're aware. If I kept quiet and things escalated later, I'd be the only one getting cursed out, wouldn't I?"
One reason the Demon King's army could exert power greater than the Empire's was because of meetings such as this. Since the leadership of each army gathered at every opportunity to exchange information, they demonstrated flexible responsiveness even when problems arose.
This instance was no different. Even a mere rumor was reported. Rosemary's information, in particular, which came with her 'Scope', was remarkably accurate even when its source was hearsay.
Akasha clutched her head and frowned.
"This won't do. Until it's clearly determined, you keep that bastard marked."
"Didn't I tell you before? Until the Lodestone enters the capital, I'm lying low."
"It's already entered."
"What...?"
Akasha retraced the events that had occurred in Saliere Territory. She excluded the part about smashing through the mansion window.
"The typhoon damage that the Eighth Seat unleashed was far more successful than expected. Even without the esteemed First Seat bothering to make a move, the library itself ended up flooding, so they decided to temporarily move the Sealing Stone to Tillet."
"Huh, and here you are going after me aga—"
"It's practically confirmed that the Fire's Lodestone is entering the academy. In any case, it will likely remain in the capital for half a year until the maintenance on the Saliere Territory museum is complete."
At the sudden bulletin that one of the keys to resurrecting the Demon King was entering her jurisdiction, a smile bloomed at the corner of Rosemary's mouth.
"Good... very good."
This changed the story entirely.
**
I left Angelica in Vermel's care and exited the clubroom, heading to where the Chairman was.
As I walked, I sorted through a great many thoughts.
I thought about how I should explain to Rote and Frey that I had smashed a fourth-year upperclassman's skull open, whether I could just leave the Literature Club kids who were spreading rumors alone like that, how I should resolve the next step for the hydrogen bomb, what I should eat for dinner tonight... and so on.
Among them, the deepest concern was the matter concerning the Chairman.
"Please, come in."
Chairman Robespierre had told me to come see him once I returned to the capital. The moment he heard my knock, he opened the door as though he had been waiting.
No one in the world would probably guess it. The fact that numerous nobles, this man included, had paid my tuition for the next term in my stead.
"Is the miniaturization of Flare we discussed earlier proceeding well?"
No.
"I had been working on it to some extent."
I was about to start now.
"Good. I shall eagerly await the day of its completion. It is, after all, the sole hope of Fire Magic."
During the secret conference held previously with Professor Herlein and others, the Chairman had requested the miniaturization of the Flare Scroll.
The ostensible reason was to facilitate frontline supply. Viewed solely from this angle, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary Fire Magic practitioner who had taken a liking to the Magic Art known as Flare.
The reality was different.
The standard of 'miniaturization' that Robespierre spoke of differed in meaning from the 'miniaturization' discussed in war. Here, miniaturization meant 'create a scroll so small that one can carry it in one's breast pocket.'
In short, it was for assassination.
This man intended to overturn the nation.
"At any rate, have you completed your course registration?"
"I'll have to go to the Academic Hall tomorrow and do it."
If I lingered, who knew who else might get the wrong idea? Somehow, ever since I'd started spending time alongside Vermel, the very act of being alone in a room with a man had become unpleasant. I said only what was necessary and left.
The next day, I stopped by the Academic Hall building to register for courses.
Because this world had no such thing as PCs, everyone had to gather in one place to register. From what Lorwell told me, the students who flocked at the end of every vacation to snag the so-called 'honey courses' were a real ordeal.
First-years had no such luxury. Just as at an Earth university, once you packed your schedule with the requisite major courses, there was neither time nor credits left to spare. Having placed first overall, I could take six more credits than the others, but I had no desire to pursue a Hermi×ne meta even here.
Originally, university was a space for self-study. A teaching assistant was more reliable than a professor, and the major texts in the library were more trustworthy than a teaching assistant.
Since it was the registration period for first-years, the Academic Hall was not very crowded.
The kids who had come to register were likewise mostly first-years. Given my nature, I tended to remember faces once I had seen them. Daisy, Hashalye, Chloe, Liera, Maxwell, Ernst... Though I had never had deep conversations with any of them, they were all faces I had greeted at least once.
The unfamiliar face... was she retaking a course?
It probably wasn't anything to concern myself with. I was about to simply pass by when it happened.
"Hello."
A girl in a deep black dress suddenly popped out from one side and addressed me without any preamble.
At her abrupt appearance, I couldn't even scream and simply dodged away. I thought my heart would drop.
"This is my first time registering for courses... could you help me for a moment?"
The girl with navy-blue hair stared at me with bright, sparkling eyes and held out her course registration paper.
And who was this.