What Are You Doing, Sis? (5)
What Are You Doing, Sis? (5)
"What are you all whispering about?"
"Nothing at all. My apologies for the chatter."
I quickly lowered my head before the matter could escalate.
Even if I hated it, what choice did I have? He wasn't curious, so I simply had to wait.
My deference paid off. The man cleared his throat a couple of times and lost interest. I was glad things flowed as I'd hoped.
The man, whose face resembled a misshapen zucchini, was called Mössbauer. A professor who mainly taught second-year academy students.
He certainly looked the part of a professor. Not that I believed in physiognomy, but still.
"First, I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone gathered here."
Robespierre's speech began.
"Countless people are in attendance here today. Duke Argana, Marquess Shukeila, Count Herlein, Count Hudson, Viscount Yueil, Viscount Irgana..."
He proceeded in a calm voice. Starting quietly like this and then adding weight at the end was a rhetorical device often employed by eloquent speakers.
"We have all gathered here to subjugate the magic beasts and their cohorts that have infiltrated the Empire."
The traitors he referred to meant Duke Blanton and his daughter.
The nobles of this country knew it too. They knew those two were the principal agents of the nation's ruin.
"The traitor Duke Blanton treated His Majesty the Emperor as his own attendant for years. He enacted irrational policies and endangered the nation from within and without. Even while the national treasury ran dry, he held banquets daily, and naturally turned a blind eye to the suffering of the common people. Can such a creature truly be called human?"
Robespierre waved his hands through the air like an orchestra conductor, enhancing his persuasion. Veins stood out on his neck. That meant the speech was gaining intensity.
"We previously petitioned His Majesty for the restoration of the First Prince's rights and changes to the currency policy. And yesterday, both appeals were rejected by Duke Blanton."
"It was incomprehensible. The petition was addressed to His Majesty, yet the Duke was the one who gave the reply..."
"Because His Majesty's seal was stamped upon it. Had we protested then and there, we would have been beheaded for treason."
The internal situation was far worse than I had imagined. If this continued, the country was doomed.
That wasn't my concern. I just needed to learn enough Elemental Magic and then defect to the elf country.
"...And so we became certain. Duke Blanton is a traitor—or perhaps a magic beast that has infiltrated the Empire."
If this was a trial for the Empire, then so be it. A time of chaos, as they say.
The Empire had always endured periods of turmoil. It had been invaded by magic beasts for over a thousand years, and its governance had never once been clean. Such were the problems of any large territorial state.
"We hereby solemnly pledge, upon this occasion, to overthrow the traitor Blanton and to stake our very lives upon the revival of the Imperial House."
Clap, clap, clap. Amid the applause, Robespierre drew an empty scroll from within his coat.
"To ensure this pledge does not remain mere words, we shall write it in blood. Those who would rise with renewed resolve for the glory of the Philiut Empire, take the needle in your own hand and leave your names here."
The attendees produced needles they must have prepared in advance and pricked their own fingers. Teacher Herlein was among them.
A tedious stretch of time followed. I swallowed the yawns that kept trying to escape like little rats. I needed to buy some coffee on the way back to the dormitory.
"Hm? Are those children not going to write their names?"
What the hell. Why was he suddenly singling us out?
"Vermel and Aether are still students. We cannot allow them to become directly entangled in such dangerous affairs."
"What does being a student matter? In great undertakings, there is no distinction between child and adult."
Rosemary's underling intended to cement me in place here. His words carried two implications.
One: using the excuse that my hand must not be injured by something as trivial as a needle, he could corner me.
Two: later, he could use the blood-written scroll as evidence that I had endorsed the rebellion—and corner me with that.
The best course of action was simply not to write in blood. I responded immediately.
"I apologize, but we are not qualified."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Vermel, being of foreign origin, is out of the question. And I remain a commoner. I would be too ashamed to inscribe my name alongside such eminent persons in their great endeavor."
In short, I didn't want to meddle in their political squabbles.
"Once you graduate from Tillet, you will receive at least a barony. Stop your grumbling and write."
"The deed will take place this very year, will it not? At that point I would not yet hold a noble rank."
"Why must this brat talk back so much? I told you to write, so write. Tch."
I had met a few people like this back on Earth—people who were simply unreachable through reason. Every time, it was best to treat the situation like stepping on a landmine and leave. Too bad I couldn't just walk out here.
"The concern is that I might not graduate from Tillet at all."
"You intend to drop out of school?"
Whether my statement surprised them, several people fixed their stares on me. Had I said something wrong? I was planning to drop out around second year and head to Kaurelia, after all.
"What did you just say..."
Vermel looked at me with eyes narrowed like a crow-tit's. His pupils shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
—Please. Just stay here.
Ah, right. I still hadn't told him that once I'd studied enough I would bolt for the elf country.
"Now, now. I shall personally vouch for the two students' safety. So please, Professor, do not hound them so."
Unable to watch any longer, Herlein cut in. Thank you, Teacher!
"Count Herlein. Are you now their guardian?"
"Both of them are students in my class. So I would be their guardian, wouldn't I?"
"Hm..."
Whether it was an unassailable argument, Mössbauer shut his mouth.
Some ten-odd nobles used their own fingers as brushes and daubed the scroll with blood. Deep crimson lifeblood embroidered its way across paper soft as microfiber.
"So when shall the undertaking take place?"
"The very moment Aether succeeds in miniaturizing the Flare."
As if on cue, everyone's eyes converged on me. I understood completely now. The chairman had called me here in order to set a concrete timetable for the rebellion.
"Look here. Can a cat that stole from the Duke of Haspelt truly miniaturize the Flare?"
Mössbauer folded his arms as if twisting a pretzel and cast a contemptuous glance my way.
"Of course."
"Do not declare it before you have even attempted it. You lack the ability, do you not?"
Oh ho. Look at this guy.
"Even at the slowest pace, I can wrap it up before winter vacation."
"You can manage it within two or three months?"
"Yes. Provided two conditions are met."
I gathered my fingers toward Mössbauer and formed a V. The chairman gestured for me to speak.
"First, that this conspiracy poses no threat to my personal safety. At minimum, you must help ensure I can complete my studies this semester."
"That is not difficult. Upon the name of House Argana, I shall protect you and your friend. So what is the second condition?"
"...The second is much simpler."
I continued, folding down the remaining middle finger.
"Money."
"Money, you say."
"Yes. Research funding."
To research anything, you needed commensurate capital.
"Capital itself, however, I could easily obtain through your generosity. Thanks to that, I have been living a decent human life this semester despite unstable prices. So what I am asking for is less capital than it is materials."
"Materials?"
"What materials do you require? Name them."
"Given the delicate processes involved, I will need the relevant substances. Pure silicon and gallium, arsenic, sulfur, copper, iron, nickel, potassium titanate, uraninite, radon gas, high-quality Mana Cigarettes, transistors, magic stones obtainable from Calamity-class magic beasts, gold, silver, platinum, beryllium crystals, boric acid..."
As the words cascaded like Niagara Falls, the chairman waved his hands in visible bewilderment.
Yes, you must be shocked. I might have phrased it differently, but essentially I was asking them to procure anything that could possibly serve as a material.
"I understand, I understand! B-but do you plan to use all of that...?"
"I will send you the research plan shortly. You may verify the specific quantities then."
And so the thirty-minute meeting concluded with my words. As a bonus, I noticed cold sweat beading on the nape of Mössbauer's neck before I exited the basement.
"Horde will be staying here from now on. If anything happens, contact me at once. Now, this teacher shall take her leave first... You two had better not do anything strange, understood?"
Teacher Herlein departed last.
The room stood empty. The only ones left were Vermel and me.
"...You're going to leave here? Why?"
Vermel looked back and forth between the air and me with a dazed expression. His voice trembled as if he were possessed by a ghost.
"At the earliest, sometime next year, there won't be anything left to learn here. For the rest, I plan to transfer to Iliad, study, and then return. You needn't worry. I'll take down the Demon King before I vanish cleanly."
It would be a shame I could no longer see people like Rote or Frey. But I had family left alone on Earth. I had a job, a position, and a half-written paper (maddeningly important). And I had unfulfilled goals.
That world was better than this one overrun by magic beasts. That thought was unlikely to change.
"......"
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"No, it's just... you're like me, but different."
"...Different how?"
"I miss where I used to live. But for some reason, I don't want to go back."
"Well, that's something."
I took two Mana Cigarettes from my shirt pocket. I put one in my own mouth and held the other out to my Earth-born comrade. Vermel used Air Magic to draw in oxygen. When I snapped my fingers and sent a current through the spot, it ignited. White smoke rose toward the ceiling like cumulus clouds. We exhaled smoke toward the floor and continued talking.
"Friend, I'm weak in this world. The only thing I have is game knowledge. I couldn't even contract with a spirit—the thing every other elf manages to find—so I came here."
"Still, if you made it into Tillet, you must have put in considerable effort."
"I learned it all from a game."
"Huh."
"But here, I can still scrape out a living. Once I defeat the Demon King, I'll at least receive minimal recognition, and my remaining years will be comfortable. How's that? Vulgar, right? I'm not as good a person as you think."
"I've never thought you were good."
I'd been screwed over dozens of times by fellow Koreans alone. Whether I'd fought emotionally or been stabbed in the back. The people of that other world were the ones who had shaped this personality.
Vermel stood frozen with a blank expression, as if he'd been struck by a rock. I added one more remark.
"I told you, didn't I? What we made wasn't an oath. It was a contract. The term lasts until the Demon King is dead and I go back. If you return to Earth too, I'll buy you a beer. If you stay here, I won't care either way."
"...What a shame. The way you talk, it's just like a machine."
"I am a machine."
"That's a joke, right?"
"I lived like a spare part in the other world and then crossed over. It wasn't all that different here."
Vermel looked at me with a bemused expression. Then, before long, he arrived at some private understanding and nodded.
"I think I know why the Goddess trapped you in the body of a girl from the Gold-Eye Tribe."
"Isn't it obvious? To fuck with me, right?"
"That's not it. You'll understand when the time comes."
I asked immediately, curiosity piqued, but Vermel didn't answer. He said something about how it was important to realize these things on one's own.
Before I knew it, the tip of the Mana Cigarette had burned down short. Vermel shook off the ash with Purification Magic, flopped into a chair, and cracked open a can of tuna.
"Anyway, I have to avoid Rosemary's eyes. I'll be living here until finals, so if anything comes up, come through our homeroom teacher. I'll help you anytime."
...Maybe he wasn't a good person, but he was a decent one.
I waved and withdrew from the spot. Leaving the elf alone to stage his one-man post-apocalypse, I set my steps toward the dormitory.
"Sis... What are you doing here right now?"
I was about to step out, but.