─Perhaps, do you love me?
The moment Deculein asked about “love” in that indifferent voice.
At the same time, in the Imperial Palace.
“That madman!”
Sophien cried out before she knew it.
Her entire body lurched violently. Every object in her private chamber shot upward. The go board, the go stones, and state documents all flew through the air.
“He has lost his mind!”
Her heart leapt hard. The ennui at the edge of her heart blazed up in an instant. It was a turbulence she had not felt even once in all those long years, and at the same time, it was confusion and bewilderment.
Trembling with an emotion she herself could not understand, Sophien slammed her desk.
“He has insulted Us. Out of nowhere, to dare spout such bizarre nonsense. It is an act tantamount to treason. That insane, insane professor.”
“……What is, Your Majesty?”
Just then, from somewhere, a slightly irritating voice drifted in, as if it were mocking her.
Naturally, it was Keiron. Ahan beside him was also pouring tea with a face that was holding back laughter.
Sophien frowned.
1/20
“Did you not hear that just now?”
“No, Your Majesty. This servant has no way of knowing what conversation you had while possessing another.”
“……Hmph. Very well. I shall return to that man and determine his true intent…….”
She shook her head and tried to resume the possession, but there was no way it would work.
Because Deculein’s “treasonous remark” just now had severed the magical connection.
Yuren was a nation more than a thousand kilometers away from the Imperial Palace, so restoring it would be difficult as well…….
“Ah.”
Sophien let out a groan of dismay. She slapped her own forehead.
“Your Majesty. What did the professor say to make you react so?”
Keiron asked.
The Emperor’s face was now swollen, and even flushed red. Sophien’s exceedingly rare and unusual appearance at this moment was just like—
“You look like a maiden.”
“Shut your mouth. Just now, that professor…….”
She roughly tousled her hair, as if about to say something, then closed her mouth.
It was because of the strangely lecherous looks in Keiron and Ahan’s eyes.
“Just now…….”
She tried to say something again, then stopped and shut her mouth.
“So, just now…….”
Once more, she tried to say something, then stopped and closed her mouth.
“…….”
This time, in that state, she shook her head.
It was a gesture that she would keep silent, and Ahan, looking a little disappointed, held out a document.
“Your Majesty. This is the report on Knight Julie that you requested before.”
“…….”
Sophien took it while pretending to be composed.
It was a file from the Intelligence Bureau recording Julie’s recent movements. As she read the sentences, a hollow laugh suddenly escaped her.
“She is walking in search of hardship.”
“Yes. That is what worries me. I fear she may pass away at any moment…….”
The ice mountains of Freyden. The lair of a brown bear. A lake of ice crystals. And the “Deadlands” beyond the Empire’s border.
“It seems she is staying in the Deadlands now.”
“Yes.”
“Her tracks are unclear. Has she not already died?”
“No, Your Majesty. Even recently…….”
Ahan paused for a moment, then took a bundle of letters from inside his robes.
“Letters.”
“Yes.”
Letters that Knight Julie regularly sent to Ahan. Since she was in Freyden, she could not send them to Yukline, and even if she did, they would be returned at the elders’ level, so Julie had asked Ahan.
When the time came someday, please deliver these letters to the professor.
“There are twenty-three in total now. One more arrived last night, so Knight Julie is still safe.”
“She writes them like some kind of diary.”
Though her words were curt, Sophien’s eyes as she looked at those letters had settled rather deeply.
“Yes. There is also a letter addressed to Your Majesty.”
Ahan presented Julie’s letter to the Emperor. With one hand on her temple, Sophien opened it using 「Psychokinesis」.
“Regarding the hearing. Also, an apology to Your Majesty for her own shortcomings…….”
The imperial hearing proposed by Julie and her knights.
However, because several incidents had overlapped, Sophien had decided to “postpone” it.
[……I have always felt only deep remorse toward Your Imperial Majesty. In the harsh Deadlands, where a bitter wind rages and life withers and crumbles, I am kneeling like a sinner. Due to my negligence and misunderstanding, such a terrible incident…….]
Unable to read any further, Sophien shook her head.
“……What a foolish knight. So foolish, and so sincere, that she makes Us, the Emperor, feel petty.”
Sophien had tried to destroy Julie and Freyden even to the point of fabricating evidence. Whether Julie did not know that, or was pretending not to know, this damned loyalty of hers remained unchanged.
However, despite that, Sophien’s feelings toward Freyden had not changed. Freyden was the family most heavily involved in the Emperor’s poisoning.
When Deculein returned, the hearing would resume.
“You may go now.”
Returning Julie’s letters to Ahan, Sophien rose. She trudged over and lay down on the bed.
“You too, Keiron. We will be alone.”
Yes, Your Majesty—
The two retainers’ voices overlapped. After that, Ahan went outside, and Keiron became a statue for a while.
“…….”
The bedchamber was quiet and still, without even the sound of wind seeping in.
Left alone, Sophien sank into thought again.
─Perhaps, do you love me?
Deculein’s voice tickled inside her ears.
Her face turned red once more, and though she burst with anger and sat up.
“That damned bastard…….”
Once again, he had made her worry over herself.
“……Hmph.”
The Deculein of now possessed memories of the hundred and several dozen years he had spent with her.
Those long, long years inside the Demon’s Mirror. If that man, who had come to understand all of it, who now knew her even better than she knew herself, had said those words.
If that were truly so.
A faint laugh slipped out.
“……Yes.”
And so, Sophien finally nodded.
“I admit it.”
Looking up at the splendid ceiling of the bedchamber, she murmured softly.
“We…… you…….”
As she closed her eyes, the professor’s face surfaced again and again. That man who always flickered in her mind.
An emotion she could not reject even if she wished to, could not deny even if she tried.
Belatedly, she confessed it aloud.
“……We love you.”
* * *
Yuren’s VIP room. I am sitting at the desk, reading a scroll written in the Divine Language.
No, I am merely looking at it.
“……There really is no answer.”
There is no strength in my body. My energy has drained away, and my fingertips droop as they please. It is because I exhausted all of my mana.
Of course, even in this situation, my posture does not collapse…… but in any case.
“I have only reached the level of learning the alphabet.”
I am on the verge of mana depletion, yet I have only understood the most basic system of the Divine Language.
Even this is only the record of the “first year,” and in the “following year,” nearly everything I had struggled to learn changes completely.
“It is despairing indeed. A bloodless ending will be impossible.”
I had intended to persuade Quay.
Among this game’s endings, there was certainly one achieved through “eloquence,” that is, persuasion.
But if the necessary condition, the language, is in this state, then really.
“…….”
I looked at the darkness outside the window, then at the red-furred munchkin wheezing in sleep on the bed, and stood up. I went outside the guest room.
The corridor of Yuren’s palace, into which night was seeping.
At the far end stood Prosecutor Rose.
She was pushing a wheelchair as she looked at me.
“……Professor?”
I approached her. The person asleep in the wheelchair was Carla.
I checked her complexion.
“She’s gotten much better. We administered first aid and painkillers too. Right now, she said she wanted to take a short walk, so I brought her out. Though she fell asleep halfway.”
Her breathing did seem to have improved.
“……But it really is possible to heal her, right?”
“As long as I procure the materials and apply the conversion formula. I have already placed an order for the materials with Hadekain.”
“…….”
Rose quietly watched me. As if she had something she wanted to ask, she needlessly swept back her short hair.
“May I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Those thoughts you spoke of to Princess Maho today…… were they truly sincere?”
“Of course they were. Are you saying I would lie?”
Democracy. Popular sovereignty. And besides those, direct elections, republicanism, and so on.
To the people of this continent, they might be ideas so shocking they would bite their tongues, so tremendous they would recoil, and also rebellious.
But to me, naturally, they were not.
Rather, they were ideologies and political forms more familiar and natural than anything else, knowledge of Kim Woojin that was far older than even Deculein’s personality trait of “elitism.”
“Professor…… you really are a noble, aren’t you? You believe that you were chosen, that you were selected, don’t you?”
At Rose’s words, I smiled faintly. At the same time, I sensed a presence near the corridor.
It was probably Maho trying to eavesdrop.
“Of course. Ash-like vermin, or insects that have committed disgusting crimes, cannot stand on the same line as I. However, I highly value exceptional inventions and outstanding talent.”
The princess of Yuren, and one of the important named characters.
Maho’s scenario is pitiful.
In more than five out of ten playthroughs, she dies early on, and in four of the remaining five, she dies without fail as well.
She devotes herself to an ideology and a nation, sacrificing herself as kindling.
“Rather than a treacherous subject who offers empty flattery, I respect one who does not bend their convictions no matter the hardship.”
I respect that Maho. I affirm the iron-blooded path of thorns that Maho will one day walk.
It is an affection that connects even on the level of personality.
“The ideology called democracy is also a brilliant invention, and I highly value the courage and conviction of that ‘unknown author’ who willingly left it behind in a book, despite knowing the disadvantages it would bring.”
“…….”
Suddenly, moonlight seeped in through the window. Mysterious and warm particles illuminated the palace corridor.
“Princess Maho, who kept that problematic book in the library, must also be the kind of person worthy of such respect.”
Rose looked a little surprised and nodded blankly.
Then, as if remembering something, she spoke again in a businesslike tone.
“We are continuing to search for news regarding your conversion formula, Professor. So…….”
“There is no need to find it.”
I cut her off.
I have no intention of finding it, and I will not find it. I have a vague guess as to who stole it, but, well.
“Thank you for your work. Please take good care of Carla.”
I said that to Rose. Rose straightened her expression and nodded.
“Yes.”
* * *
The next day, early dawn.
“This is truly unexpected.”
Maho and Rose were gathered together beneath Yuren, holding a discussion.
Last night’s conversation with Deculein had triggered something very great not only in the two of them, but in Yuren itself.
“Exactly, exactly. The professor truly seems to be a fair person. At times, he looks like a villain, but…….”
“His standards of evaluation are firm and cold.”
Rose summarized. Maho also nodded with a slightly thoughtful expression.
“Yes, yes~ Then. Now, I’ll introduce everyone. The future core members I recruited in advance, who will become our founding members~”
“Pardon? So suddenly?”
At that, Rose’s eyes widened. Maho smiled brightly and breathed mana into a large crystal sphere.
Wiiiiiing──
Like phantoms, quite a number of people appeared in the underground meeting room.
There were five in total.
“We don’t have time~ and I trust you, Prosecutor Rose~”
Vala, the renowned Supreme Judge of Yuren; Mipel, the eldest son of a count’s family; and Charlotte, the princess’s escort knight.
Rose looked around at them in a daze.
“Prosecutor Rose. We are going to gather together and begin a revolution. One under the name of republicanism.”
“…….”
“We will gradually abolish the class system, lay Yuren’s foundation, and help the citizens take pride and patriotism in the nation called ‘Yuren.’”
With a gentle expression, Maho clasped Rose’s hands.
“Will you join us?”
“…….”
For Rose, there was nothing to think about. With a resolute face, she clasped Maho’s hands in return.
“Of course. It would be an honor.”
Meanwhile, at the same time.
The waiting room of the Yuren Magic Exposition hall.
“Guys. The test flight date for this has been set for tomorrow.”
“Okay~ Ephy.”
Epherene was tinkering with the powered aircraft together with her teammates.
It was the powered aircraft they would submit to the upcoming exposition. This was its final inspection.
“Hmm. Is this the object you made?”
Quay murmured as he looked at the powered aircraft. While fixing the propeller in place with 「Psychokinesis」, Epherene said,
“Yes. We made it.”
“It looks a little incomplete.”
At Kwei’s words, Ipeurin’s eyes went wide.
“Where?”
“I’m talking about the gear in this engine here. Only this one is protruding ever so slightly.”
“Where!”
Ipeurin hurried over and examined the gear. The engine was a delicate mana-stone gear that generated mana, and Kwei pointed to one among them.
“This one right here.”
“……?”
To Ipeurin it looked normal, but Kwei evidently disagreed; he plucked the gear out and reduced its size.
It was an extremely minute reduction. Probably on the order of millimeters.
“That’s it now. It’s perfect.”
“……What. Can I even trust this?”
“Haha. Believe it when you see the results. It would be a fine thing indeed if I could earn your trust with something so trivial.”
“Hmph! Fine. Whatever.”
Clang—! Ipeurin closed the engine lid. Then, patting her hands clean, she spoke to Drent and Julie.
“Then I’m going to show Mister Kwei around the exhibition and come back. You guys keep an eye on this.”
“Yeah~ Ipi. I’m so jealous~ going on dates with a total hottie.”
“It’s not a date. And besides, he’s my uncle.”
His public identity was Ipeurin’s uncle.
That was how it was written on his actual temporary identification as well.
[Notary: Dekyullein Pon Geurahan Yukeurain]
[Niece: Ipeurin Runa]
“Uh-huh~ Have fun~ Have fun~”
Julie smirked and waved, then slyly—pretending not to notice—linked her arm through Drent’s. Drent let out a dry cough and pulled away.
Ipeurin found such a Julie pitiful.
She was dating Sir Drent Gwen.
“Let’s go, then. To look around.”
“Sure.”
Ipeurin went out of the waiting room with Kwei.
Kwei looked up at the ceiling of the exhibition hall and shook his head.
“Humans have certainly developed in a peculiar direction. Was there truly a need to make it so garish?”
“What do you mean? It’s fine if it’s pretty.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. If a temple is beautiful, the believers would like it too, wouldn’t they?”
The exhibition was shaped like a transparent dome.
Inside this vast glass sphere, spaces had been prepared for each Magic Tower, or mage’s inventions, or inventive magic to be displayed.
“Oh, what? It looks like the Professor is exhibiting something too?”
Then, Ipeurin discovered a certain ‘nameplate’ at a central spot in the exhibition. Kwei also approached and looked at the name.
[Dekyullein Pon Geurahan Yukeurain]
“Dekyullein. Hmm. It seems he is exhibiting as well. Can we not know in advance what kind of invention it will be?”
At Kwei’s question, Ipeurin ran over and read the back of the nameplate.
“Hmm…… For now, it says magics of the transmutation line, manipulation line. What’s ‘Art Magic’? Ah, excuse me! Curator!”
She called over a curator who had been wandering nearby. A middle-aged gentleman in glasses approached with a smile.
“Is something the matter?”
“We hadn’t heard that Professor Dekyullein was participating; what is this?”
The curator answered benevolently.
“Ah. It was decided upon urgently. The Professor is both a judge for this exhibition and, at the same time, displaying a portion of ｢Art Magic｣.”
“What is Art Magic……?”
“We speculate that he is attempting to carry on the legacy of Professor Dekyullein’s father, Lord Dikaillen. Art Magic was the name Lord Dikaillen gave to his own specialized magic, after all.”
“……I see~”
Ipeurin nodded wordlessly, and Kwei smiled quietly.
“Hm? There he is, arriving just now.”
Just then, the curator pointed toward the entrance, and Ipeurin looked that way.
“That is Professor Dekyullein.”
“I know that too.”
“…….”
Dekyullein, dressed in a suit and with a cane.
Always splendid, always immaculate.
He was no different from his usual self, but today, to Ipeurin, he was strange.
“……What’s wrong with me?”
Was it the sunlight falling from the ceiling of this exhibition, that lighting effect?
Or was it the scarf wrapped around his neck for no reason?
Why would a man who never wore a scarf in his life……
“Why am I really like this?”
Ipeurin was bewildered.
Clomp— clomp—
Indeed, it was because her heart, watching him slowly walk closer, was trembling unusually.
“Why all of a sudden?”
As if……
As if she were in love with that person.