Epherene stared blankly at the paper inside the drawer.
All at once, the countless letters she had sent to her patron came to mind. She fidgeted with the handkerchief she always carried tucked against her chest.
“...What on earth is this?”
In that moment of confusion,
Ssssss...
A chill rising from her back stiffened the nape of her neck.
“!”
Eyes wide, Epherene focused every nerve behind her.
A ghostly presence similar to last time.
But even if she had been caught once, she would not be caught twice.
Whoooooo──
Epherene gathered mana in her hand, manifested destructive magic, and turned to face it!
“Miss Epherene. Are you all right?”
“Ah!”
It was Allen. Epherene hurriedly dispersed the spell.
“A-Assistant Professor. Just now, a ghost...”
“Yes. I saw it too.”
“You saw it?!”
Allen nodded with a slightly grave expression, but then noticed the letter clutched in Epherene’s hand.
“Ah.”
He let out a short cry of dismay. Epherene watched his reaction.
It seemed Allen had already known.
“...Miss Epherene.”
Allen’s face hardened, and he spoke in a somewhat angry tone.
“You can’t enter the professor’s office without permission. Rifling through his things is grounds for discipline.”
“Yes... I’m sorry...”
“You really are a troublemaker.”
Epherene’s head was in chaos.
Of course she knew she had done wrong, but why did Deculein have this letter, and was Deculein truly her patron...?
Allen let out a small sigh.
“In any case. Now you know, don’t you, Miss Epherene? The professor isn’t only a bad person.”
There was a great deal contained in those words.
Epherene bit her lip and muttered.
“But why anonymously...”
“He said you would refuse if he used his real name.”
“...”
Epherene could not answer.
Because it was not wrong. In fact, it was far too right.
The her from back then, and the her of now.
She possessed far too much pride for her ability.
“However. For now, I think it would be better if we ran.”
“Yes?”
At Allen’s words, Epherene tilted her head. Allen smiled brightly and pointed out the window.
“Because the ghost is still there. Over there.”
That very ghost, glaring with blood-red eyes, was clinging to the windowpane.
* * *
...In the Mejiseion of the Floating Island, there exists an autonomous investigative body known as the [Magic Investigation Department]. This is because the Floating Island is, by nature, an extraterritorial and independent district belonging to no nation.
Therefore, when a criminal incident occurs on the Floating Island, the so-called “Magic Investigation Department” conducts an independent investigation.
As an investigation by mages using magic, its arrest rate reaches 95%, and the remaining 5% are cases in which they succeeded in identifying the culprit but lacked the capability to bring them in—Black Beast Rohakan, Authority Kala, Divine Soldier Rodran, and so on—and thus they remain wanted indefinitely.
That [Magic Investigation Department] had selected Sylvia as a prime suspect in this case.
As soon as Idnik ascended to the Floating Island, she briefly explained the outline.
“A ghost?”
“That’s right. Sylvia’s unconscious created a horrific ghost, and that ghost committed murder. Therefore, second-degree magical murder.”
I furrowed my brow. Idnik continued.
“Of course, this is only part of the investigation process. Sylvia’s mana was detected at the scene, but there is still insufficient basis to conclude that the ghost was Sylvia’s creation.”
As we walked, we arrived at the headquarters of the [Magic Investigation Department]. It was a geometric structure, like cube-shaped boxes stacked askew.
“The reason you called me.”
“Deculein. You have the ‘Floating Island right of bail.’”
I do?
Idnik knew far too many things that I did not.
“Whether the murder is true or not, Sylvia’s pure talent is comparable to Adrienne’s. Right now, Sylvia must not be confined in a closed space like that.”
“Is her condition bad?”
“Very. She was already worn down when she was locked up. If her stress bursts at this rate, it will be a disaster. Her magic will run wild, and her dantian may be damaged.”
A fundamental question suddenly occurred to me.
If one’s child became embroiled in an incident like this, shouldn’t the first one to come be the “parent”?
“What is Gilteon doing?”
“That man will merely be watching. Rather, he’ll probably consider this the perfect time for ‘magical progress.’ Even if he came, he would be of no help at all. He has no ‘right of bail.’”
“Idnik.”
I called Idnik’s name. Idnik, gripping the doorknob of the headquarters building, turned back to look at me.
“Why did I kill Cielia? What promise was it?”
This, at least, I had to ask.
Even if it drew suspicion, it could not be helped.
“...”
Idnik looked at me with a strange expression.
But soon, she let out a hollow laugh.
“Well. I suppose you would be curious why Ciel didn’t run away. Ciel didn’t tell even me that fact.”
Idnik’s suspicion quickly found its own reason.
This is why an imbalance of information is convenient.
To begin with, there are almost no mages in this world who would infer the hypothesis that “inside Deculein’s shell is Kim Woojin.”
“Ciel was terminally ill. However, she absolutely hated the idea of dying of illness in front of Sylvia. She knew that she alone was Sylvia’s refuge.”
“...”
“I don’t know the details of Ciel’s will. If it was murder rather than death by disease, perhaps she thought that even if she died, Sylvia could go on living through the desire for revenge. Or perhaps she simply did not want to show her daughter the sight of herself slowly dying.”
I closed my eyes in silence.
A sharp, prickling pain rose at my temples.
Each and every word she spoke was reviving dark memories.
“However, Deculein. The one who killed Ciel was you. That does not change. Ciel knew you would kill her, and though she knew, she did not run away. In exchange, you obtained everything you wanted.”
Everything I wanted.
I felt as though I knew what that was.
Most likely, Dikailen’s death.
The killing of that damned specter who had been satisfied with neither Deculein nor Yeriel.
“So do not think of running away now.”
“...”
...At this point, I barely manage to understand.
That Deculein’s evil deeds and traces exist everywhere.
That the 「Fate of a Villain」 will reach out its hand at any time, from places I do not know.
Perhaps it is only a natural course.
Yukline and Iliade.
And Deculein von Grahan Yukline.
He was, from the very beginning, a character “designed so that he could not live.”
“Ha.”
And yet, a smile forms at the corner of my mouth.
Having already decided to oppose fate,
there is no reason to be disheartened by something as paltry as a “setting.”
“...What is so funny?”
This is what Deculein’s life is.
If there is no way each day will be peaceful, if the whole world is trying to assemble me into a villain, if in the end I cannot be loved by anyone.
“I am simply feeling it anew. That this is a world that will not bore me.”
I will gladly accept that challenge.
And I will certainly overcome it.
For my ego will not collapse under the waves of any trend or age.
Even if the most destructive calamity smashes everything and storms through, one day this damned world will discover me, standing alone and noble at the center of it all...
“I will use the right of bail on Sylvia. And I will leave the rest to you.”
“...That easily?”
Though she was the one who had asked, Idnik seemed unexpectedly surprised.
“Ah, of course, if the right of bail is used and the investigation ultimately finds her innocent, depending on the circumstances, the right of bail may be maintained as is.”
“Whatever the case, you will also fulfill the promise with Cielia. I want Sylvia to live long and become an archmage.”
“What?”
Idnik’s arrogant face twisted. There was no need to stare long at that face, so full of questions.
I immediately opened the door to the Magic Investigation Headquarters.
* * *
...The magic investigator in the interrogation room said this.
That while she was asleep, the “Three Primary Colors,” unconsciously manifested, created a monster, and that monster killed a mage.
That the possibility of such a “rampage” existed in anyone.
And so, whether there had recently been anything that might have caused her stress.
“...”
Sylvia sat with her head lowered blankly, thinking.
Whether she really had killed someone.
Thinking alone, she said nothing at all.
“If you keep refusing to speak, we will have no choice but to call an illusionist.”
Those were the words of Investigator Lumiere Russell.
Of course, there had been things that could have caused Sylvia stress. But...
Bzzzz—
“Hm. Regilo Sylvia. Please wait a moment.”
It was a summons. Russell told his subordinate to watch Sylvia, then went outside.
“...Hmm? Monarch Deculein?”
Outside the interrogation room, in a private meeting room of the investigation headquarters, Deculein was standing. He was a famous figure even on the Floating Island, known for favoring suits over robes.
As Russell approached, he spoke.
“Sylvia is here, I hear.”
He was also one of the few figures on the Floating Island, where there was no status system, who freely used informal speech without hesitation.
“Yes. That is correct, but.”
“Release her.”
“...Hah. Monarch Deculein. This is the Floating Island. Not the Empire—”
“I will use the right of bail.”
“...Pardon?”
Russell was greatly surprised.
For a moment, he wondered if he had misheard. Even Russell, who had served as an investigator on the Floating Island for seven years, had never encountered this “right of bail” before.
“I am referring to the right of bail.”
“That privilege... on Regilo Sylvia?”
Moreover, to use such a privilege on someone else?
And even more, for Yukline to use it on Iliade?
“That is correct.”
“...”
On the Floating Island, the right of bail is an extraordinarily special benefit.
In the first place, on the Floating Island where money is overflowing, there is no way bail could be possible with mere money.
However, this right of bail is granted only to those who have achieved a “Milestone”-grade accomplishment on the Floating Island, and after their death, it is inherited by their official successor.
Deculein’s right of bail was probably Dikailen’s.
And the Floating Island’s right of bail, beyond the meaning of the words themselves, allows even a mage who has committed murder to be exempted.
It is a privilege possible precisely because this is the cold society of the Floating Island, where magic and knowledge are more important than life itself.
“However, I will have it conveyed anonymously. That much should be possible.”
“...Yes. I will accept it.”
Monarch Deculein nodded and left the office.
That was the end of it.
One of the most expensive rights on the Floating Island, as if he were paying with a meal ticket...
“No... why on earth would Deculein?”
Russell blankly fidgeted with the investigator’s badge on the chest of his robe.
......
Sylvia was safely released. Russell gave the excuse of “insufficient evidence,” and outside the headquarters, Idnik was waiting.
“Take it. It’s a block of tofu.”
Sylvia looked at the tofu. Her empty pupils were dry. They were the eyes of a rotten fish.
Idnik said,
“Are you planning to keep standing there like an idiot? When you jumped off a cliff asking to be accepted as a disciple, and when you leaped into the sky.”
“Did I really kill him?”
Sylvia answered. Her voice was parched. Idnik clicked her tongue.
“It is under investigation. And they said there was insufficient evidence. It is likely not your fault.”
“...”
Sylvia was crumbling from within.
Because her desire to believe Deculein and the “truth” conveyed by those around her were clashing violently.
Her heart was slowly wearing away.
Unless she abandoned one of the two—Deculein or Cielia—this abrasion would not stop...
“...What a frustrating girl.”
Looking at her, Idnik recalled Deculein’s words.
—I want Sylvia to live long and become an archmage.
Deculein, that man, might know.
What Sylvia needed now was the driving force to live. More precisely, a “flame.”
“...Sylvia. Do you want to see the memory of ‘that day’?”
At that, Sylvia weakly lifted her head. Those lifeless eyes grated on her nerves.
“A memory.”
“That’s right. The day Ciel died.”
Idnik tapped her own eye.
“This left eye is an artificial eye. An eye that records everything I personally see. With this eye, I witnessed the day Ciel died.”
“Ah.”
“I will share this memory with you.”
At that moment.
A small spark blazed up in Sylvia’s eyes.
* * *
As soon as I descended from the floating island, I arrived at the Imperial Palace. It was to play the role of instructional mage for the first time in a while.
……However.
“Your Majesty.”
I am looking at the Emperor.
The Emperor is looking back at me as well.
No, is she even looking back?
Sophien lies on the floor, nodding off. She tries to open her eyes, closes them again, then tries to open them, only to close them yet again.
“Your Majesty. What are you doing?”
“……Mm? ……Ah. Mm…… Lately……”
A dragging voice. Eyes blinking hazily.
“There are…… rather many things…… that are bothersome……”
“Is that so.”
“It is…… I am thinking…… perhaps I should kill myself……”
At those words, I straightened my back.
If Sophien was mentioning suicide, then the situation was somewhat serious. Of course, the mere sight of her in such a languid state was already unusual enough.
“Your Majesty. Only if your sacred body remains in good health can you accomplish your great undertaking.”
“Great undertaking…… mm…… fucking awful……”
I let out a sigh.
“……I would like to enter Your Majesty’s head just once.”
Since the “Darkness of the Imperial Palace” quest was, in fact, an “Exploration of the Emperor’s Past,” I said it to test the waters.
The Emperor opened her eyes and looked at me.
“You would not endure it……”
“There is nothing I cannot endure.”
“How dare you…… Fine. If you meant to anger me…… you have succeeded.”
Sophien’s eyes flashed sharply. Then she tried to raise herself up, but—
Ughhh—
As if rolling over, she collapsed back onto the floor.
“……I take that back as a failure. You…… failed to anger me……”
“……”
The Emperor’s condition was extremely serious.
Her sloth was beyond imagination.
“Your Majesty. Do you know what a sloth is?”
“The likes of you…… cannot understand this sloth of mine……”
What was this, one sloth lazing around in the Imperial Palace?
“Your Majesty. You applied for my lecture as well, did you not?”
“Ah…… that…… was not me…… the cat applied……”
“It is next Wednesday. A biweekly lecture.”
“……”
Sophien shut her mouth entirely.
I looked at Keiron.
As always, he stood there without a word, like the Emperor’s shadow.
“Sir Keiron. It seems Her Majesty is in no state to proceed with class today. Do you know the reason?”
I asked Keiron. He nodded and moved one step.
However, Keiron, who stood behind the Emperor, remained as he was.
In other words, Keiron had multiplied into two.
“Come out.”
One remained standing behind the Emperor, while the other walked over with firm steps and opened the door.
“……Very well.”
For now, I left the sloth—no, Sophien—behind and went outside.
Keiron walked ahead and said,
“It grew worse little by little, and recently, she even finds breathing bothersome. The reason is likely in the underground of the Imperial Palace. You must have heard from Jolang as well.”
“I have.”
“Still, even a mage like you seems to find my ‘magical talent’ curious.”
I nodded. A person had suddenly multiplied into two; how could I not find it curious?
“It is the reason I was able to enter the Imperial Palace as a guard knight at the mere age of ten. Having more bodies is advantageous for guarding as well.”
“I see.”
Keiron, too, was among the strongest in this world.
However, since he was always attached to the Emperor’s side, there were not many chances to see him often. It seemed he possessed quite a wondrous trait.
“It is here.”
The underground door Keiron led me to was not the same place Jolang had guided me to before.
Sensing my puzzled gaze, Keiron said,
“There are two underground doors.”
“Yes. It differs from Jolang’s door. By any chance, have you been watching Jolang all this time?”
“Guarding does not stem only from external force, but also from internal politics. When one is not holding a sword, one must open one’s eyes wide and lend one’s ears.”
“……I see.”
I looked at the underground door.
A plain wooden door.
When I placed my hand upon it, crackle—!
Sparks flew, and an unknowable tone flowed in.
[……Sophien’s death is by no means ordinary.
After dying dozens, hundreds of times, repeating, regressing, there is no way this world could remain unaffected. There is no way it could have no influence on this worldline.
For Sophien is like proof of this world.
She is a person no different from a miracle of this world.
The resentment, sorrow, pain, rage, and hatred born from those eternal deaths flowed down like pus and gathered beneath the Imperial Palace. They formed black, acrid, dark mud.
Thus, exploring those hellish deaths.
Her death is like an enormous task for the player…… ]
It was the opening that announced the start of an “Independent Quest.”
I turned back to Keiron.
“Keiron. Will you come with me?”
Keiron held out a small sword. It was a polite refusal.
“I am a knight who protects only Her Majesty. If it is not Her Majesty, I accompany no one. However, when you are in danger, draw this sword. For a short while, ‘Manifestation (顯現)’ should be possible.”
Each and every word Keiron spoke was weighty.
A voice that made one believe naturally, even without any particular intention to trust him. Like Yulie, he was the very model of a knight.
“Understood.”
When I nodded, Keiron stood by the underground door as if forming a guard line.
Keiron, divided into two, was guarding both the Emperor herself and the door directly connected to the Emperor’s safety.
“Will it take long?”
“The first time will probably end quickly.”
“The first time?”
“Yes.”
Simply put, this quest was about entering Sophien’s head and experiencing regression.
Of course, it did not mean literally entering her head, but anyway.
One could retry as many times as Sophien had died.
From what I had heard, it was more than a hundred times.
Therefore, for today, it could be considered a substitute for the “Rune Language Instruction.”
“……Understood. I will keep watch outside.”
“Yes.”
After finishing his words, Keiron turned back into a statue, and I opened the underground door.