Caught in a Dilemma
Caught in a Dilemma
So far, there had been three secret meetings. In the meantime, Rote had finished packing her bags to return home.
I asked her.
"Is it all right if I follow you as far as the border?"
The territory managed by Count Saliere was located in the western borderlands, over five hundred kilometers from the capital.
Rosemary, entrenched in the Imperial Palace, was said to have a Scope range of just over four hundred kilometers. It was the perfect place to stay out of the demon's sight.
Of course, there was another reason. A material critical to the development of a hydrogen bomb was buried there. We could use the Flare to develop nuclear weapons, but if I obtained that material, we could deliver a fatal blow to the Demon King's army with only 1945-level technology.
I hadn't ruled out the possibility that Rosemary might leave the capital. When I didn't know the scope of her surveillance well, I had agonized over it. But all the fog had lifted since I talked with Vermel.
— No matter what, Rosemary won't leave the capital before winter.
I had a possessor's guarantee. I could rest easy now.
Rote, who had been staring blankly for a moment at my question, smiled and nodded.
"Yes. I'd like that."
"His Excellency the Count also said he wished to see your friend," the maid beside her added, expressing her agreement with Rote's words. Her name was Charlotte, wasn't it? She was an attendant sent by the Count Saliere family right after the capital's lockdown order was lifted.
She seemed to be around our age. Her words and actions were refined; it looked as though she had been doing maid work for quite a long time.
"We have about three days' leeway before departure. Another friend of hers also requested to accompany us to the border. We decided to wait until she finishes her preparations."
"You mean Frey?"
"Yes, from what I hear, she has business beyond the border."
The beastfolk lands lay beyond the empire's west. A land of unorganized chaos and plunder. Imperials collectively called the beastfolk living there savages.
I had no idea why Frey wanted to go there. I wondered if there was some amazing liquor beyond the border.
I just nodded in response for now. I could ask Vermel later.
I headed for the club room. I unlocked the door and went inside. The tokamak remained on one side of the room; it hadn't been used except for that one time we experimented with the Flare. Still, I couldn't just leave it abandoned here.
I lifted the makeshift tokamak, which weighed as much as four sacks of rice. It was quite heavy, though not so much that I couldn't carry it at all.
"...You're planning to take that, too?"
Vermel asked with a bitter smile. He still didn't seem to understand my and Frey's masterpiece.
The first time I showed Vermel the tokamak, he had been incredibly flustered. After talking with him during our secret meetings, he said the original Aether—not me—had built something similar. So that version of me had also followed the nuclear fission-fusion tech tree.
From Vermel's perspective, seeing another person doing the same thing must have been terrifying. He only seemed relieved after I told him I had majored in physics.
By now, he was comfortable around me. It was hard to find the way he used to panic just from making eye contact at the beginning of the semester.
"That's probably not what's urgent right now."
"I know."
Something more important than moving luggage. I had to prevent Professor Herlein from leaving the capital.
Vermel had said during our second secret meeting that if either Professor Herlein or Professor Haspelt died, the world would end.
There was a high probability that Professor Haspelt was trapped in a place called the Iron Tower. If Vermel was right, Haspelt would survive there for a year and a half. In contrast, Professor Herlein would die without fail if we couldn't stop her from leaving the capital.
"You'll stay in the capital during the break, right?"
Vermel nodded.
Thoroughly blockading Herlein to prevent her from leaving the capital. That was the role of the possessor who grasped the causality of this world. If Vermel stayed here and did well, Herlein would survive.
The first attempt was the most crucial. We had to complete the first step to prevent Herlein from leaving. In game terms, it was called a 'route.' Vermel had taught me that expression.
After moving the tokamak to the dormitory, I headed to the citadel's north gate with my newly made friend.
My mentor's death would be stopped there.
**
Rosemary let out a yawn.
Over the past few days, a subtle current had flowed between Aether and that one elf. She had even cut back on sleep to monitor them, which left her with a splitting headache. It felt as if an EMP had struck her central processing unit.
Aether's relationship with Vermel had progressed rapidly starting about a month ago.
Aether spoke to Vermel at every opportunity, and Vermel hovered around her during every break, showing his interest.
"What are those two doing?"
It was a phenomenon Rosemary found difficult to understand.
"I suppose I'll just watch a little longer."
Then she discovered something unusual. Right after the semester ended, the two of them had begun spending all their time in the club room.
In particular, they entered the storage room attached to the club room together at staggered times and then came out later. She tried to check what they were doing inside, but the signal was jammed. The Scope had too much noise to illuminate the interior.
A chill ran down her spine.
"Why is that?"
"I can't leave that elf alone."
There was the written inquiry she had exchanged with the 2nd Seat the other day, and he also knew how to counter her magic arts.
"So he does know me. This is troublesome."
She decided to observe for now. She continued monitoring the two. Blanton, at her side, watched the process as well.
Beyond the screen, the image of Vermel and Aether emerging from the narrow storage room was caught. She could not confirm the scene before that, since the Scope magic had been jammed.
"What could they be doing in there?"
Were they plotting a scheme? Placating Aether? What on earth were they talking about?
Rosemary groaned at the continuous questions. That was when Duke Blanton opened his mouth.
"It seems they are having a tryst."
"Do you think I'm an idiot? That I wouldn't know that?"
"No, it is not the wholesome tryst you are imagining, 4th Seat."
Rosemary's mouth fell open.
"A... wholesome tryst? D-don't tell me... that...?"
"Yes, I believe that is correct."
She suddenly felt dizzy.
"In my view, that person may have fallen in love."
"Stop spouting nonsense, Blanton!"
Romantic affection was the emotion Rosemary hated most. That sort of choice had never been in her mind from the start.
The desire to care for others without reason. What kind of end had those few compatriots who harbored such feelings met?
"Romantic affection for that sister of mine who was worked to the bone for years as a slave? You're talking nonsense. Besides, the compatibility between the Gold-Eye Tribe and elves is the worst imaginable! Their mana-wave phases oppose each other, so they're supposed to feel instinctive disgust!"
Rosemary protested in that manner. In Blanton's eyes, it only seemed like the excuse of a green girl.
Duke Blanton had stayed here longer than Rosemary. It had taken decades to secure a bridgehead to encroach on the empire and open a path for her to enter the palace—during which time he had studied a vast amount of human data.
Blanton knew. A single emotion called love could easily destroy a whole noble house.
"There are cases of men and women from enemy nations falling in love. If that doesn't resonate with you, think of the Gold-Eye Tribe members who are not loyal to the Demon King. They treat spirits and the Goddess with similar feelings."
Rosemary propped her chin on her hand and groaned, a posture she took when she didn't want to admit something.
"Can a person really fall in love at first sight for no real reason?"
"You were once of the human tribe. Surely you know well, 4th Seat?"
"I don't know. I don't remember."
Rosemary stopped thinking. She didn't want to dwell on uncertainties.
This time, she put a lollipop in her mouth—not just any candy, but Maso Candy, a luxury food item infused with mana. It was a snack that replenished the body's mana just by licking it.
Rosemary unfurled her Scope again. Aether was currently talking with the young lady of Count Saliere's house. Rosemary's face crumpled as she eavesdropped on the conversation.
"She's going to the western borderlands? This is serious trouble."
This would put Aether outside her surveillance range. Her Scope couldn't reach the western border.
The big event was at least scheduled for the end of November, and Rosemary had to hold her position here until then. She could leave briefly, but she couldn't be absent for days. There were too many others she had to monitor.
It couldn't be helped.
"Blanton."
"Yes, your orders."
"I'll give you a detached force. Go on a two-month business trip. Find out what Aether is up to, and if you can persuade her, approach and bring her back. While you're at it, stop by the pitchblende mine and tell that overgrown lizard to get to work."
"Understood."
Blanton lowered his head and withdrew from the room. Rosemary continued monitoring Aether and Vermel.
The two walked toward the north citadel, making small talk. From what she heard, it was only everyday chatter, no useful information.
If there was one oddity, it was Aether's expression. She kept smiling as she talked with the elf.
How strange. That sister of mine always wandered around with a blank face.
"No way. Tch, it can't be."
It was a pointless delusion. What mattered more was knowing where they were headed.
She shifted the screen to confirm their destination. Inside the citadel, mages were servicing warhorses and golems.
Rosemary's eyes widened as she scanned the citadel when another figure she had designated for surveillance caught her eye.
"That's Professor Herlein!"
Meriga Herlein. A monster who, alongside Kleis Haspelt in the days before the Flare, had broken through the 1st Defense Line.
She was preparing to leave. This was an incident. Rosemary thought for a moment, then realized that the direction she was heading was where their own main base lay.
"Come to think of it, the 2nd Seat did capture Haspelt and throw her into the Iron Tower. Is she going to rescue her?"
Now she understood what the academy chairman, Herlein, and Aether had discussed when they gathered in that basement.
"Tch... Do I let her go... or not?"
Rosemary hesitated for a moment.
Humanity had already gotten its hands on high-level technology called the Flare. Thanks to its development, Calamity-class beasts were now easily sliced down. And if Herlein, with her innate genius for golem operations, joined them...?
The 3rd Defense Line would be pierced once more. The legion's forces, which had just barely been restored, would evaporate again.
But letting her go wasn't a bad choice either. Eliminating her in the north, where she couldn't evade the spirits' eyes, would also be a gain in its own way. Above all, with the 2nd Seat and 3rd Seat remaining at the Iron Tower, there was no chance of the Demon King's army headquarters being overrun.
"Letting her go really is the right call, isn't it?"
Yes, she would let Herlein go and stop that elf bastard from leaving. That was the strategically correct choice.
As expected, Vermel and Aether stopped in front of Herlein, meaning they had something to say.
"Now then, let's see how this plays out."
It was all in the palm of her hand anyway. No matter how the elf tried to persuade her, she, Rosemary, would send Herlein north.
Rosemary giggled and cupped the screen with both hands.
Just try and stop me!
[Professor, safe travels!]
...Huh?