A Stroke of Good Fortune

The laboratory and the Underground Waterway were a wreck. Eugene could already hear, in his mind's ear, the chancellor's forthcoming scream—but the damage had been unavoidable, so he didn't particularly care.

"I-I'll talk! I'll tell you everything I know, so just calm down...!"

"I heard you. Stay still. You're coming with me."

"W-wait, what's with that aura-loaded fist? H-hold on!"

"Think of it as anesthetic. I'll put you under in one shot."

After a brief scuffle, Gashir took a fist packed with aura in place of anesthetic and went down with a bang. Eugene didn't forget to collect Gashir's neatly severed right arm before making his exit from the research site.

Laura, who had been barely holding her concealment magic together, dropped every spell she had running and surveyed the scene.

Wh-what in the world was that?

A damp Underground Waterway. A laboratory reduced to chaos. The interior, once packed with forbidden texts, had been shredded by Gashir's dagger, and Eugene's slash had split the lab clean in two.

The thought of the chancellor and the senior administrators weeping tears of blood to repair it was almost enough to make her feel sorry for them. She swallowed dryly and replayed Eugene's words in her mind.

For himself and his little sister? Is he really doing all this for his sister?

If a man like Gashir had been allowed to raid the Academy as planned, the damage would have been considerable, and Ruina might well have been put in danger. Worse, Eugene hadn't stopped at wringing information out of Gashir—he seemed prepared to impersonate an executive and operate from the inside.

Even for Eugene, why go so far as to pick a fight with the rumored Ash Wave? Was he trying to conquer the world or something?

The answer might have been closer than it looked.

Because he's afraid Ruina's talent will be exploited?

Eugene muttered about his little sister as if he were in the grip of an obsession, and even Laura—a genius in her own right—had been startled by the scale of Ruina's gift. On top of that, their house was a traitor family that had sided with the Second Prince against the former Crown Prince. In a situation that bleak, Eugene had likely drawn his sword in earnest—to cut down anyone who might try to use his sister's talent.

Eugene, what are you even...

Why go this far?

She understood the feeling. She just couldn't accept the method. Having glimpsed the hardship of one man, of one older brother, Laura could only shake her head at this pathetic pair of siblings.

Just one word. A single conversation, and all this misunderstanding and discord might be resolved.

Then she remembered something from not long ago.

"Ah."

The sigh slipped out before she could stop it.

Why, of all times, did that insufferable student have to come to mind? She mocked her own situation under her breath.

Right. I'm no more honest than he is.

Perhaps Eugene's behavior resembled her own more than she wanted to admit. A fool who dressed up and hid the way he wanted to look after someone, until he ended up lying even to himself about what he truly felt.

Because she understood, in a way, a man who couldn't speak his heart plainly.

If you make Ruina cry, I won't let you off, Eugene.

She began laying even more meticulous plans to tail him.

Once the short fight with Gashir was over, I headed for an office prepared inside the Academy.

I woke the unconscious Gashir and began the interrogation in earnest. He folded at once and spilled everything he knew.

"So the reason you infiltrated the Academy this time was to kidnap the distinguished guests?"

"That's right. There's high-level security posted inside the Academy, so they sent me—one of the Six Fingers. The Defier of the Heavens ordered me to cooperate with an insider."

Of course he'd gotten in thanks to a traitor on the inside, and the purpose of the planned raid was to abduct the dignitaries enrolled at the Academy.

It was unfolding exactly as I'd expected.

"I'll grant you the raid itself is feasible. How were you planning to kidnap them?"

"There's a method for that. Look at this."

When I pressed him on the specifics, Gashir pulled a shabby scrap of paper from his coat. On it was a drawing that looked like a child's scribble.

"It's a makeshift barrier combining painting magic and Dark Arts. Deploy it and you can generate an artificial space. Inside, powerful magical beasts and a maze will be waiting."

"...What kind of beasts?"

"The same ones from the Underground Waterway."

"That wasn't a kidnapping. You were going to kill them."

I was so incredulous I couldn't help snapping back. Gashir cleared his throat and answered.

"I was told to dispose of them if things went south... so I planted chimeras on purpose."

"Are you kidding me?"

I let out a low sigh and pinched the bridge of my brow.

I'd fought those beasts myself, so I could say this without hesitation: the creatures from the Underground Waterway were more than the male leads' party could handle on their own. And if Gashir used his Dark Arts to pin down the Cheat Key Trio, the party trapped in that dungeon wouldn't last long before they were finished.

The difficulty spike is way too steep.

Compared to the last train terror, the difficulty of this Academy raid was unreasonably high. This wasn't some random thug—a top executive of an entire faction was taking the field in person. Was that really a trial the romance-fantasy male leads and the heroine could survive? As things stood, absolutely not.

So the heroine was supposed to have her first awakening during the train terror after all.

If, back then, the heroine had gained some tremendous power through Ash Powder, would the story have gone differently?

Perhaps the core of this main scenario was the heroine's awakening—plus the male leads' sacrifice. If the last terror had laid the groundwork, this one was meant to give her a reason to recognize her own strength.

The story structure even fit a little too well.

At first, none of them know a thing. They enjoy the club fair, laughing and carrying on. Then the Ash Wave strikes, targeting the dignitaries of every nation.

The security detail is tied down by Gashir. The male leads and the heroine are trapped with unidentified magical beasts in a maze with no end in sight, teetering on the edge between life and death.

In that crisis, the heroine sees her friends in danger, awakens, and claws her way through the ordeal. And through the suspension-bridge effect, she and the male leads realize their feelings for one another.

A truly easy, simple plot. There was no need to overthink it. I could only swallow a quiet sound as I stared at a drawing scribbled like a child's game.

I jerked my chin at Gashir and asked,

"Do you know anything about the other executives?"

"Unfortunately, no. I only know their rough appearances. We pledge loyalty under the Defier of the Heavens, but among ourselves we're cooperating rivals."

"And that's all it takes for you not to know each other?"

"...Also, if we don't know each other, a betrayal doesn't do much damage. That's why our organization runs as a cell structure."

I stared him down hard and let killing intent leak out; only then did Gashir add the rest. I pressed a little further.

"And the Dark Arts? Do you people have the ability to use Ash Powder as well?"

"...You even know about Ash Powder. Only the Defier of the Heavens can wield it in full. The Dark Arts I use were obtained from Ash Powder the Defier modified."

"Well, that's just fucking great."

So there really were people besides the Ivory Tower Master who knew how to use Ash Powder. The sheer nerve of it dragged a curse out of me.

...Then is the Ash Powder I picked up at the scene a modified version too?

If what he'd said was true, it raised questions about the Ash Powder recovered from the train terror.

No matter how reckless those people were, they wouldn't have tried to dump it into Iris without some kind of guarantee. They must have had a reason to believe it would work.

Even I, knowing Iris's identity, still hadn't used the Ash Powder lightly.

I'd already handed it over to Yoter and Isabelle. I'd have to wait a while for answers on that front. The deflating question made me pinch my brow a little tighter.

"You wouldn't know who the Defier of the Heavens is, of course."

"The only one among the Six Fingers who can meet him in person is the one in charge of Thumb. And even that guy supposedly doesn't know the Defier's true face."

"Is that so."

The leader the Ash Wave followed—the Defier of the Heavens—was unknown even inside the organization. If even the highest-ranking confidant didn't properly know his face, there wasn't much more to expect from Gashir.

That was as far as the information I could get from him went.

It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little disappointing, but that was fine. The identity I'd gained this time was useful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough in several senses to make up for the thin intel.

"So it is correct that you're the one in overall charge of this raid?"

"That's right. The men under me follow me."

"They're already infiltrating the Academy?"

"We've been placing them little by little."

"Do you know the insider's identity? When's the next contact?"

"I was supposed to confirm it today, but you showing up ruined that. Next contact was going to be me reaching out first."

I ran the angles quickly.

From the look of it, Gashir held every real lever of this plan. And he meant to use painting magic to construct a dungeon and run the party through it.

Wasn't that putting them squarely in the palm of my hand?

Put another way: I could make the heroine's awakening proceed a lot more reliably.

There were still plenty of problems with impersonating Gashir perfectly.

The severed right arm, at least, had a clean cut, so reattaching it wouldn't be much trouble. I'd stick Rina on him for surveillance, and if I asked the Minister of Relief to stamp him with a Soul Brand so he couldn't try anything stupid, he'd obey me quietly enough.

I'd even been handed a chance to plant my own people inside the villain faction with ease.

That alone made today's haul more than enough.

"Good. This identity will be useful in more ways than one."

"...So you're letting me live?"

"Of course."

"Ah...!"

"But you'd probably be better off dead."

"...What?"

Eugene could smile in satisfaction.

Looking at that face, Gashir realized he'd picked the wrong person.

With Gashir's complexion gone paper-white, I took him to the chancellor's office.

"Chancellor, let's do a big job together. Keep it secret from Her Majesty."

"...Ghk—!"

Lucas took the shock and clutched the back of his neck.

The place I took Gashir was the chancellor's office. There, Lucas startled once at my sudden visit, then startled again at the sight of Gashir with one arm cut off. He calmed his racing heart and pressed on with questions.

"So the gentleman beside you is the ringleader of this Academy raid?"

"That's correct."

"And there's a traitor inside the Academy, so you intend to use this opportunity to tear the problem out by the roots?"

"You've grasped it perfectly."

Use the captured Gashir to lure the enemy. Given the nature of the academy genre, getting repeatedly breached by villain factions was practically destiny. Handled well, the Academy could prevent the raid with minimal damage and root out the insider at the same time.

"Can't we simply stop the raid before it happens? Why... why allow it to proceed..."

Of course, no matter how I looked at it, there were plenty of strange points.

"It's all for the Empire."

I simply shoved it through like a man with a one-track mind.

Her Majesty's interrogation and nagging later?

Unfortunately for everyone involved, I already had a tolerance built up for Her Majesty, so I could ignore that much without breaking a sweat. And since I intended to push this plan through no matter what, I could say it with a straight face.

"And all of this is for Her Majesty as well."

It's all for you.

The same gaslighting I'd been running steadily since her days as a princess.

"So I'd like you to help me, Chancellor. There's already one professor I suspect as the traitor, and we'll have a security detail to assist when the raid hits during the fair, so don't worry."

"That is hardly the issue! You mean to sit on a raid without even reporting it to Her Majesty! What kind of—"

"For that, just use me as the excuse. Say some bastard named Eugene didn't know his place and threatened you, Chancellor. Her Majesty will understand everything."

"That is—what do you even—ghk—!"

Had I dumped too many orders on him at once? Lucas let out a pained noise and grabbed the back of his neck again. Collapsing from this much was still a bit much, though.

If he sees what I'm about to pull with his own eyes, he'll actually faint.

I left the dazed Lucas where he was and spoke to Gashir.

"From now on, your person is being handed over to Rina. Do as you're told."

"...You're not watching me yourself? I could run."

"Oh-ho."

I couldn't help the little sound of admiration at the sudden nonsense. He was thinking of running from Rina? That was genuinely impressive.

"Go ahead and try. That woman will literally tear a person apart with her bare hands."

"Worse than you...?"

"Compared to Rina, I'm the merciful one."

Rina had a quietly sadistic streak, and if you got tangled with her the wrong way, you suffered for it. She was plenty vicious on the inside even when she didn't look it. She even made self-deprecating jokes about having a nasty hobby—that should tell you enough. I raised a fist toward Gashir, who was already going pale. He jerked backward in a panic.

"W-wait, what are you doing? Why are you loading aura into your fist like before—"

"You said it yourself. You could run. You might bolt with the chancellor sitting right there, so I have to put you down."

"H-hold on! I won't run...!"

That was as far as he got. Wham!

A fist swung like a sledgehammer smashed into the back of Gashir's head. With that, the transfer of Gashir's person was complete. Before I left the chancellor's office, I said one more thing to Lucas.

"Ah, and Chancellor Lucas."

"...! Y-yes, Lord Eugene!"

"If you get any clever ideas and tell Her Majesty—or anyone you shouldn't—about what happened today... you understand, don't you?"

I'd stepped back from the front lines and only recently returned, so I couldn't do things quite the way I used to. But if he tried anything stupid, I might not have him purged, but I could still make his life a little miserable.

The warning landed. The chancellor trembled and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Y-yes, of course."

And with that, persuading the chancellor wrapped up smoothly enough. I left the office and sorted my thoughts—specifically, around Professor Kentri, the suspect who reeked of something off.

On the day I went to the Underground Waterway, he'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swapped duty with Professor Laura. Circumstantially, Kentri was the one who looked guilty, so I ran back through everything I knew of his history.

Heir of a provincial viscount's house. Married his fiancée the moment he graduated from the Academy.

It hadn't lasted long; he'd lost his wife and become a widower.

He'd had a daughter, but she'd been frail and died of illness.

He currently held a professorship at the Academy, and was known as a mage fluent not only in alchemy but in magic and shamanic arts as well.

Interpreted in romance-fantasy terms?

He tried to bring his dead family back. Nothing else offered any hope, so he reached for Dark Arts and approached the Ash Wave.

That was the story: he'd even laid hands on Dark Arts to revive the dead. But it still wasn't enough. I had the feeling I was missing something decisive.

Did he really have to swap duty? He could have just played dumb and sent Gashir a message to meet next time.

Was there a reason to create a point of contact with Laura, who had a certain connection to me?

Laura was a difficult woman with a prickly temperament besides. If he'd still asked her to swap duty and she'd agreed without a fuss, that meant his reputation and the trust he enjoyed ran deep.

Interesting.

I could see the shape of his little scheme well enough now, and it was almost laughable. I gave a short huff of a laugh and closed my hand around the blue crystal orb I'd taken from Gashir—a magic tool for exchanging contact with the insider.

He'd never imagine I'd be impersonating Gashir.

I sent a message through the orb.

I'd get a bite before long. I picked up my pace and left the Academy's main building. The club fair wasn't far off now.

Time passed like that, and then—

"Kassel! The club exhibit you asked for is ready. I finished it following your advice—what do you think?"

The contacts I'd been waiting for arrived one after another.

Now all that was left was to make the heroine awaken.

It was a stroke of good fortune.

And at the time, I had no idea.

That I would end up going on dates with three different women.