A hideout dug deep beneath the sands of the desert. A sizable village known as the Anthill, where the Jeokgwe clan lived.
“No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to this place.”
Idnik’s eyebrows twitched as she looked around.
It was a tunnel built in the unstable underground of the desert, yet strangely enough, it had everything it needed.
A school, a cafeteria, a training hall, farms, and so on… How the hell did they make a farm?
“It’s well made, isn’t it?”
Allen said with a bright smile.
“That farm exists thanks to the magic I learned from the Professor.”
“What kind of magic?”
“It’s called an artificial sun. It was an old midterm exam. With mana stones worth about 100,000 elne, you can grow enough crops to feed three hundred people for a year. There’s groundwater down here, too.”
An artificial sun. It was nothing grand—just a mana-stone object above the farm that emitted sunlight.
“And the money?”
“We cover it through sponsorship.”
“Hm. Well, I suppose.”
Thanks to the clan’s peculiar, uncanny abilities, the Jeokgwe had plenty of money.
These days, they said indiscriminate Jeokgwe inspections were being carried out, but it wasn’t as though there was no way to avoid them at all, and the money they had earned so far would not simply vanish. At the very least, they might not suffer financially.
“But what will you do if there’s a spy among them?”
Allen smiled faintly.
“Yes. It’s fine. There are dozens of villages like this. Even if one is discovered, there are no points of contact, so the rest won’t be exposed. It’s a cell organization.”
“…In that case, I suppose your leadership isn’t here either?”
Idnik asked. Understanding what she meant, Allen placed a hand on her shoulder.
──Immediately after.
“It’s here.”
The space changed. They were in an underground bunker far deeper and darker than the tunnel from moments before, where even the air itself felt different.
“……”
There, an oil lantern burned quietly, and a woman relied on its light to write in a ledger. Unfazed by the sudden visit, she pushed up her round glasses and glared at them.
Idnik smiled faintly.
“…Elesol?”
“……”
Elesol narrowed her eyes and glanced at Allen.
“Yes. Then I’ll be going now~ Please talk with the elder.”
Allen left first, as if fleeing, and Idnik handed Elesol a sheet of magic paper.
“Read it.”
The moment she skimmed it, Elesol was confronted with geometry that made her vision go distant.
An alien pattern, far too vast and complicated to understand at once.
─What is this?
“Hm? Ah~ I suppose. It isn’t magic someone of your level could understand.”
Only someone like me can grasp this magic’s purpose and scale. Indeed, indeed. Muttering to herself, Idnik added,
“I stole it from Deculein.”
Elesol’s shoulders flinched. She hurriedly lifted the lantern and illuminated Idnik’s mouth.
Being unable to hear, she seemed doubtful of the lip movements she had just read.
“You understood correctly. I stole it from Deculein.”
The source of information must always be sealed tight.
Idnik would not tell the Jeokgwe leader anything that could become Deculein’s Achilles’ heel.
This massive magic had to be something she had “stolen.”
If she let slip that Deculein had “given” it to her, he would become a traitor to the Emperor and the Empire.
“It is a grand magic capable of destroying not only the desert, but even a part of the Empire, and the most perfect weapon suited for mutually assured destruction.”
“……”
“Even I was surprised when I stole it. How did he come up with such an artistic megaton bomb?”
Elesol looked back down at the magic paper.
“If this magic is deployed, it should at the very least prevent war from breaking out in the desert.”
─To realize magic of this scale, we would need many mages.
“That’s right. Tight-lipped ones, and at least around three hundred of Lumiere rank or higher?”
─Impossible. Lumiere isn’t some dog’s name.
Fifth rank, Lumiere.
It was the lower limit for elite mages, but even three hundred of those could only be found on the Floating Island.
“That’s right. I wasn’t expecting that much. There are two mages worth a hundred and fifty each, so can you prepare thirty tight-lipped ones?”
At those words, Elesol’s brow furrowed slightly.
─Mages worth a hundred and fifty. One must be you.
“The other is Epherene.”
Epherene?
Startled, Elesol quickly signed.
─That thief, Deculein’s former disciple, was here?
“Huh? Allen didn’t tell you? She’s been with me for a long time.”
Grit—
Her teeth ground together on their own.
Why did that bitch Ellie always skip over the important details?
─I heard her relationship with Deculein had become hostile.
“That’s why she’ll be helpful. Isn’t that right?”
─……
Elesol pondered.
…There was no need to.
─I will provide them.
Mutually assured destruction.
Whether when the Grand Elder of the Jeokgwe had still been sound, or now when he was little better than a vegetative person, it was the only logic of power capable of resisting the Empire that Elesol had always advocated.
* * *
……The temporary Imperial Palace in the desert.
The duel between Keiron and Lia had been stopped by Sophien’s intervention, and the afternoon had settled briefly into calm.
Scratch— scratch—
Lia sat before Sophien, scribbling down words.
[1. Horseback riding]
[2. Reading]
[3. Intellectual debate]
[4. Sailing]
“……”
Looking at them, Sophien asked with her eyes.
What is this?
Lia answered.
“Ah. These are things the Professor likes.”
Given Deculein’s settings, these were hobbies he was certain to like. Horseback riding, sailing, hunting, and other openly aristocratic sports.
“Why are you writing that down?”
“I thought you’d want to know.”
“…We would?”
Sophien had gone beyond bewilderment and into disbelief.
How long had it been since someone had been this calm in front of the Emperor? Not since Deculein.
“Yes.”
Lia spoke boldly.
“You said you liked the Professor.”
“……”
“I’ll help you. I’m an adventurer who does anything if I’m hired, aren’t I? Right now, I’m also a guest of Yukline, so I know him well.”
“Ha……”
She closed her eyes tightly.
This spy had dared to eavesdrop on the Emperor’s private conversation, and now she was babbling about it so proudly.
Of course, it was better than having her tremble and grovel completely……
“Lia. The only reason We are not punishing you is because you were of great help in interpreting the divine tongue.”
Even as she said so, her eyes remained fixed on the paper Lia had written on.
For some reason, this girl Lia seemed likely to know Deculein’s innermost thoughts. It was because of that inexplicable expectation, but……
“We know all of these.”
“…Ah, really?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm……”
Then Lia pondered.
Well, it made sense. The things Deculein liked were obvious. He was such a definite person.
“Then……”
In that case, a shift in thinking.
What if she thought about the personality of Kim Woojin, Deculein’s model?
Of course, that old mop Deculein had none of Kim Woojin’s personality, but still, if there was something he might like……
“Surprisingly……”
Flowers.
Woojin was an artist. A painter who drew pictures.
And since he liked Van Gogh, many of his canvases were still lifes, and most of them were flowers.
Sunflowers, dandelions, roses, cotton flowers, lilacs, and so on……
There was a reason I put “flower” in the name of his former fiancée.
—Yoo Ara von Vergissmeinnicht.
Vergissmeinnicht.
The original word for forget-me-not.
“It’s……”
But for some reason, she did not want to say it.
“It is? Speak the rest.”
Sophien urged her on, but the more she did, the tighter Lia’s mouth closed.
“Lia.”
“……”
“If you tell Us, We shall forgive your spying.”
The memory of him drawing a dandelion on my cheek while I slept, and of the time he was discharged, when he wove dozens of roadside flowers together and gave them to me, saying they were in place of flower shoes.
The way he lowered his head, saying he was sorry he was penniless, and that later he would give me something better.
I had thought that cute, pure heart was my gift.
I had truly been grateful that you were mine.
“…Lia. Answer.”
Of course, Deculein was not Woojin……
But she did not even want to share it.
“Lia.”
She did not want to say it.
She did not want to tell anyone.
She wanted to keep it for herself alone.
“You little…”
Thud—
When the Emperor struck the table, Lia finally flinched and lifted her head.
“Yes?”
“If you speak, We shall forgive you.”
“…Ah.”
But now, it was all in the past.
Keeping it to herself would not make it come back.
Lia smiled bitterly.
“Surprisingly… he might like flowers.”
“Flowers?”
Sophien furrowed her brow.
Lia nodded, relieved.
“Yes. Flowers.”
“……”
Sophien wrinkled her nose and gestured with her hand.
“Go. Since you spoke, We shall forgive you.”
“Yes. He really might like flowers—”
“Did he give even a single bouquet to Julie? Or perhaps gift her an island made of flowers?”
“……”
Now that she mentioned it, that was true.
Well, the chances that Deculein would like the same flowers Woojin liked were slim.
“Then—”
“Leave. We will not tolerate any more.”
Sophien did not say things twice.
Lia sprang to her feet and bowed at the waist.
Keiron watched her trudge away with a peculiar expression.
—That adventurer child is strong.
“Did you not go easy on her?”
—My strength is indeed spread here and there, but even if it were to return to my true body, I believe it would be difficult to guarantee victory outright.
“……”
Considering Keiron’s level, it was an extremely unconventional assessment.
But at this moment, Sophien had no interest in such things.
……Flowers.
The word most foreign to this desert.
“Flowers.”
—Your Majesty!
Suddenly, from outside, came a shout utterly unsuited to flowers.
—The Count has captured all of the escaped prisoners!
Before she knew it, Sophien had clenched her fist.
* * *
Whooooosh——!
In the middle of the sandy desert, where hot winds swirled like flames, Emperor Sophien stood still, looking over the group of prisoners.
In a place so hot that their skin seemed ready to give off the smell of burning, they trembled as though trapped in a frozen polar region.
—Lower your eyes! Even looking upon Her Majesty is a grave crime for the likes of you!
General Bell roared as if he would catch and kill every last one of them, and Sophien’s heart was not much different.
“Your Majesty. How shall we deal with them?”
Someone behind her asked in a low voice.
Sophien glanced at him and answered.
“Why ask? Do you not know the punishment for prisoners who fail to escape?”
That damned Professor—no, Deculein, who had now become Chairman.
“We shall kill them all. Bury them alive in the ground, or strip them naked and tie them here until they die.”
“……”
Deculein showed no particular reaction.
He merely spoke calmly, with an indifference like one ordering food.
“Please give them a chance, at least.”
“…Ha?”
Sophien twisted her lips in a sneer.
“There are no Jeokgwe among them. Moreover, they are a tribe skilled at finding underground water veins, so their strategic value is great. Therefore, please grant them even the slightest opportunity.”
“…A chance.”
It was a truly merciful thing for Deculein to say.
Sophien looked down at the prisoners.
They knelt deep in the sand, as though about to be swallowed by it.
As she stared at their faces, an inexplicable rage surged up within her—but perhaps that was not because of them, but because of Deculein……
“Did you just say chance?”
“Yes.”
“…You damned cripple.”
For a moment, a small commotion stirred among the guards behind her.
That was how serious the statement had just been.
Since she had said it in a public setting, it would deal political damage, and since it was an outright insult, it would also affect her standing.
“Get lost.”
However, Sophien did not care in the slightest and took a step forward.
Then she called not Deculein’s name, but someone else’s.
“General Bell.”
The general who had been whipping the prisoners as if to kill them.
At first, he did not even realize he was being called and only blinked, but Sophien fixed him with a strong gaze and spoke.
“Will you not answer?”
“Ah, yes, yes, Your Majesty! I am overwhelmed by your grace!”
“Take it.”
She threw an armband to him. Bell barely managed to catch it before it fell into the sand.
Sophien said,
“You were the one who drove out those insects and occupied the oasis. Worthy of praise.”
“Ah! I am overwhelmed by your—”
“Thus, you shall be the commander of this desert expedition.”
“Uh…… Huh?”
Bell’s mouth fell open.
His face showed that he was repeating to himself what he had just heard.
Then he quickly bowed his head.
“Your Majesty! I-I am overwhelmed by your grace!”
“……”
Sophien turned around just like that and entered the official residence without even looking at Deculein.
“Damn it.”
Her heart was tormented by a pain she could not explain, and her chest felt stifled, as if a great boulder had settled upon it……
This, too, would soon pass.
—Your Majesty.
The voice reached her the moment she lay down on the sofa in the official residence.
It was Keiron, the statue standing imposingly in one corner of the inner chamber.
—Might I suggest you distinguish between public and private matters?
At that instant, a vein bulged on Sophien’s forehead.
“Keiron. If I were to distinguish between public and private matters, I should have killed the professor the instant he said such a thing.”
The professor had committed high treason.
He had confessed to an attempted assassination of the Emperor, and declared that he would accept every charge raised in the hearing.
Even so, the reason Sophien did not sentence him to death, the reason she told no one, was simply—
“Because I do not distinguish between public and private matters. No…… because I cannot.”
—……
“Deculein is alive.”
Her tone was clearly barren and dry, yet strangely, her voice sounded as though it were on the verge of tears.
At that, Keiron, too, seemed to understand, and fell quietly silent.
“……”
Sophien wordlessly stared up at the ceiling and stretched out a hand.
But that arm soon sank down, wavering.
—Are you all right?
“……No. I do not even have the strength to go to bed. Is this that accursed lassitude? My body will not move.”
Sophien’s heart ached.
Because, to some extent, she was afraid.
“Keiron. I cannot…… predict that madman.”
Deculein, that mad professor.
What if he truly chose to die in Yuli’s place?
What if he chose his own death, in place of Yuli, whose life was not long to begin with?
“So, if I kill Yuli first……”
With that thornlike thought held in her heart, she briefly fell into a deep sleep.
“……”
Her head slowly drooped, and her whole body lay neatly arranged like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
……And then.
──Creeeak.
The sound of a door opening.
……Step, step.
Footsteps rang out softly.
—You have come.
Keiron’s words, greeting someone.
“Yes. She has fallen into a deep sleep.”
Answering thus, a man knelt before the sofa where Sophien lay.
Deculein.
“……”
He placed his hand on her forehead. Carefully, as if taking her pulse.
“She has a fever.”
He murmured so, letting out a small breath.
It was not a simple fever, but a raging heat, as if she were boiling.
—It seems Her Majesty is suffering greatly because of you.
“Is that so?”
—Do not underestimate Her Majesty.
Keiron suddenly spoke in a grave voice.
—Her Majesty truly can kill you. I mean to say, do not behave any more carelessly than this.
Words that spoke of death.
Yet Deculein did not so much as glance at him, looking only at Sophien.
“I know that much, Keiron. I have been with her for over a hundred years.”
—……I say this because if you die, problems will arise for Her Majesty.
“It will be all right.”
He slid his hands beneath Sophien’s back. Lifting her as though she were a princess, he carried her to the bed and laid her down.
“……The subject I shall teach Her Majesty from now on is.”
Then he lay down on the bed beside her, arranging her hair with his own hand as though combing it.
“Pain.”
For some reason, a mischievous smile formed on his lips.