Sis, Save Me (1)
Sis, Save Me (1)
It had been nearly a month since he went into hiding in the Liberal Arts Building basement.
After nearly dying at Rosemary's hands, one thought had lodged itself in Vermel's mind.
'This world is no longer a game. Knowledge from a game alone isn't enough to coast through it.'
He had known that for a while, honestly. It wasn't as if his brain didn't understand. He had simply chosen to look the other way all this time.
The fact that this world was reality and not a game was a vicious nightmare for Vermel.
His life on Earth had been thoroughly tiresome. No matter how hard he tried there, nothing ever went his way. The rewards were uncertain, and the world was only ever harsh. The threat of war had been relatively low, but in its place there was a sense of helplessness that had settled over all of society.
An ashen world drained of vitality. Vermel had detested that uncertain world. Perhaps that was why he had fled into games.
He had liked <Darkest Academia>. If he just followed the strategy, things worked out to a point. Even when he couldn't see an answer, it was nothing that dozens or hundreds of resets couldn't fix. As long as he was playing it, he could avert his eyes from a reality darker than the game.
So when he first fell into this world, Vermel had been ready to jump for joy. He had believed without a shred of doubt that he could finally use the knowledge he possessed to change a world.
'A misjudgment.'
Had the Goddess been mocking him for being steeped in sloth?
The Goddess had sent another possessor besides himself. That possessor had reportedly been dragged into this world while reading a paper the Goddess had posted. Without any idea why.
Aether had said she had never played a game in her life. She hadn't even known what <Darkest Academia> was. It had been a world-famous game, even if it had its difficulty issues.
Naturally, Aether had no game knowledge. Thus, no knowledge cheat. Instead, Aether had a different kind of knowledge. The kind of knowledge that was undoubtedly useful on Earth too.
And so, Aether... she wished to return to Earth. Aether had lost much since coming here. She had also left much behind on Earth. For her, returning to that world was more beneficial than remaining here.
Vermel turned over in his mind the words Aether had said to him.
-You can't treat this place like a game. No matter what, it's reality. Nobody knows how Rosemary will move.
"Right. You did say that."
This place was reality.
He had to break the rules of the game scenario he had memorized until now and move accordingly. It was time for a more complex level of thought and prediction.
Vermel began to think about the future. He was not Aether. He had no scholarly knowledge, no special abilities to speak of. He had to find a way to avert annihilation using only his future knowledge.
Think.
How he could end this stifling basement life. How he could act with even a little more initiative. How he could move about confidently even from a disadvantageous position.
"...Tch."
Ideas didn't come easily.
Still, there had to be a clever scheme somewhere. A good plan that only he could think of.......
"Ah, right...."
He recalled the grumbling that the chairman's group had aired here yesterday.
-So the use of Flare Scrolls has been blocked. Blanton must have caught on.
-At this rate we can neither miniaturize it nor rescue His Majesty.
-What are we to do now?
Vermel took out a pen and a notebook. Accepting the news that Flare Scrolls had been banned as fact, he wrote down everything he knew into the notebook.
[Aether allied with the chairman's group and announced a miniaturized Flare production plan]
[Mössbauer, who attended that meeting, is a lackey hired by Rosemary]
[→ Therefore, Rosemary banning Flare Scrolls is a predetermined move]
[→ Rosemary also knows I'm here]
[Rosemary bans Flare Scrolls]
[→ Aether will react somehow]
[→ As long as nothing goes into the emperor's head]
"Good. That should do it."
Laying it out in order cleared his head. It also gave him a sense of what he needed to do.
"Let's do this."
Over several hours, Vermel came up with a new strategy.
It was a plan to evade Rosemary's Scope and escape from this place.
**
Rosemary had switched off her Scope for a moment and was taking tea. Her face was flooded with murderous intent.
Duke Blanton, returning from state affairs, closed the door as he entered. In keeping with his formal role as "father," Blanton put on a kindly smile the moment he saw Rosemary.
"And what has my daughter been doing?"
His voice was honeyed. But Rosemary's complexion didn't shift a particle.
Her superior was plainly in a foul mood. Embarrassed, Blanton returned to his usual way of speaking.
"...I heard you had a serious discussion with the 2nd Seat yesterday. Then why does the 4th Seat look so unwell?"
"The elf is nowhere to be seen, I tell you. For an entire month."
"You mean Vermel Horde. Why are you searching for an elf who has already withdrawn?"
Rosemary answered while bobbing a black tea bag up and down. Ripples spread across the surface of the teacup.
"Big Sis will know that I banned the Flare Scroll. Yet she lodged no protest. Do you know what that means?"
"It means the Technical Advisor is not acting hostile toward us."
"Exactly. So I can set my mind at ease regarding Sis. Now I need to focus my marking on that elf."
That elf knew that Rosemary and Blanton were demons.
Worse, he could act on it and become an obstacle to the later plan. Rosemary's judgment was that it was best to eliminate future trouble now, if at all possible.
"Good grief, where on earth has he gone?"
"I believe he has already left the academy. Didn't you search every plausible location the other day?"
"I did. Ordinarily, I would have given up right about here."
Rosemary moistened her parched lips with black tea.
"It's lacking sweetness."
She took beryllium crystals from the spice container and steeped them in place of sugar cubes. After dropping the beryllium into the black tea and swirling it with a teaspoon, at least some sweetness rose to meet her.
"Listen closely. For the Demon King's victory to become as sweet as this black tea, we must eliminate the elements that leave a bitter taste."
"Everyone is aware of that."
"Exactly. And as it happens, I received a report from a spy I planted. Apparently, as recently as a week ago, that elf was in the Liberal Arts Building basement."
"A week ago... a fair amount of time has passed. He may well have left by now."
Blanton's point was plausible. Her statement had been premised on the worst case, nothing more.
"That elf keeps wrecking my plans. If I let him live, he'll become an even bigger nuisance later."
"What's strange is this. How does he know our true identities?"
"That's what I can't figure out either."
Rosemary emptied the rest of the black tea into her mouth. It was time to go out.
"I'll investigate one more time today. This time I'm going to turn that basement completely upside down."
She draped her coat over her shoulders and stood, and Blanton saw her off. Rosemary let his parting words pass in one ear as she traversed the distance to the Liberal Arts Building in a single bound.
The places beyond the reach of her Scope were exceedingly few. The Liberal Arts Building basement, or at most a few club rooms. So investigating such places required her to haul her own delicate body there in person.
"Hmph. Whether you're Vermel or caramel, you'd better come out right now."
The moon caught the sunlight and shimmered faintly. With the stealthy handwork of a veteran thief, Rosemary pulled the basement door open.
-Creeeak
"What, it's open?"
She had expected at least some resistance, but it opened more readily than anticipated.
Let down, Rosemary made a deflated noise as she entered. The interior was eerily quiet.
"What. Why is no one here?"
This was clearly a surprise raid.
There was no sign of the elf she was looking for, nor the slightest trace of another presence. only emptiness. Only stillness hung in the dark space. Though she sensed something off, Rosemary continued her sweep of the area.
"It's fine. I installed surveillance cameras before I left, so I can just...... Huh...?"
Rosemary's eyes flew wide open at the sight of the six shattered surveillance cameras.
Lenses, film, all of it had been thoroughly wrecked. Damage like that couldn't even be restored.
"That, that little bastard...."
The elf had unquestionably done this. Grinding her teeth, Rosemary picked up a camera fragment.
That was when it happened.
-BOOM!
At the violent sound, Rosemary spun around instantly. The door she had entered through was somehow already shut.
"Wh, what."
She flung aside the lens fragment she had been holding and rushed to the door. Hoping against hope, she pulled on it. The clunk of metal made it plain. It had been locked from the outside.
"Th, that elf bastard.... Even his pranks are shoddy.... Something like this, I can just tear it off...!"
She put her strength into it and pulled on the iron door. But the door didn't budge.
"Huh...?"
This was strange. Her strength wasn't enough to tear this off?
"Huh.... Huh.... Huuuuh...?"
Rosemary's lips trembled faintly.
Gasping for breath, she kept dabbing her forehead with her sleeve. Even so, she couldn't wipe away all the cold sweat that had begun to pour down.
"Th, this can't be happening."
She was trapped in a confined space.
She felt her mental fortitude being shaved away. Growing frantic, Rosemary kept yanking at the door. Unlike the last time, it didn't show the slightest sign of opening.
Realizing this wasn't working, she hurriedly bit down on a Mana Cigarette. Rosemary drew her staff and unleashed a cutting strike.
-BOOM! Boom!
Useless. It was as hard as diamond, so even attacks using her strings had no effect.
"Has it been magically reinforced...? To a degree that even I can't open it...?"
Memories from her human days began surfacing one after another, and her breathing started to quicken. Though her body barely required oxygen, the body that had once been human was demanding fresh air.
This couldn't be. This mustn't be.
Rosemary pummeled the iron door with all her might. From left to right. From top to bottom. From diagonal to diagonal. She used countless slashes and thrusts, but the door only bent slightly; it remained sturdy.
"Th, th, this......."
Eventually, unable to even maintain the blue eyes she had changed with pigment, Rosemary let out a scream.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH—!!! HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW I HATE CONFINED SPACES?!!"
Rosemary adjusted her grip on her strings and twisted her whole body. Using rotational force, she hammered the door with maximum intensity.
-BAM BAM BAM!
Under the much fiercer barrage, the steel-plate door gradually warped. Yet it seemed to have been absolutely slathered in magic; it looked ready to open but refused to give way. Rosemary felt her throat burning dry.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll KILL YOU!!!"
As she raised her pitch, a deafening roar mixed with mechanical noise erupted from her throat. Her inflection lurched as if firing a water gun that wasn't fully primed.
Rational thought was breaking down thanks to her damnable claustrophobia. Rosemary lit another Mana Cigarette and used lightning magic.
Electricity was useless too. The entire room was a conductor and simply absorbed the magic.
"You elf who's worse than a beast!! Just let me set eyes on you!! I'll hack your limbs to pieces and sink you in cement, you hear me?!!"
As she hammered mindlessly at the door, the strength gradually drained from her arms.
She began to regret her past decisions. If she had known it would come to this, she would have killed him for certain back at the banquet hall.
"That's it, Requiem...! If I use Requiem, I can get out...."
She had only one Mana Cigarette left. Before her mana ran out entirely, Rosemary summoned her violin.
She tried to play with trembling hands. The pitch kept going off, making it hard to complete the Magic Art. The hand gripping the strings was so slick with sweat it might as well have been hyperhidrosis; it kept slipping.
"Please, please...."
Tears threatened to spill out.
What would the other Great Machines of the Nine Heavens say if they saw her like this? She would become drinking fodder for certain.
That absolutely could not happen. Drawing on her shame as nourishment, Rosemary marshaled every ounce of her mental fortitude. But if it were something she could overcome as easily as she liked, it wouldn't be called a trauma.
She was on the verge of hitting her limit. Rosemary ground her teeth.
And then, the next moment.
-Clunk
The door opened, and someone entered.