Shaaaaaa……
Rain pouring down like a shower drenched the forest of Hadekain. The scent of earth and trees rose thickly, and grass insects fluttered amid currents of mana so vivid they seemed almost visible.
In the annex at the center of that thicket.
On the bed in the quiet refuge, Yulie watched over Deculein as he slept.
“……”
Without a word, without the slightest presence, for fear he might wake.
Fortunately, because hers was a doll’s body, she had no need for sleep. Without even the smallest waste, she could look only at him, protect only him.
……Creeeak.
Just then, a sound seeped into her ears. The sound of the annex door opening.
But Yulie did not bother to react.
Rather, as if she had been waiting, she rose from her seat and offered up the chair. Then she looked back over her shoulder.
Crunch, crunch.
Footsteps like someone treading on ice. The presence that approached carefully soon revealed itself.
Yulie bowed her head to her.
“You’ve come.”
The woman who had now appeared was the mage who had arranged for Yulie, who was no more than a mere “diary,” to come back to life, however briefly.
A person to whom she was grateful, who had protected and preserved Yulie’s will, emotions, and memories.
“Yes.”
Epherene Luna.
“I’m here.”
Looking at her, Yulie placed a fist over her chest and lowered her head. In that way, she expressed a knight’s gratitude.
“What are you doing?”
Epherene herself, apparently not understanding the meaning, only stared blankly and asked what she was doing.
Yulie smiled faintly and pulled over another chair to sit.
“As expected, Miss Epherene, you are meticulous.”
“……Meticulous, not at all.”
Even at Yulie’s admiration, Epherene shook her head. Looking at Deculein on the bed, she continued.
“I don’t know anything, really.”
The Epherene of now had not even known that Yulie would be revived in a doll’s body like this.
Because she was merely a fragment of the flow called “Epherene.”
“I’m only doing what time connects me to do. Only adjusting things so that what is meant to happen will happen.”
What is meant to happen must happen. To Epherene, the order of future and past had no relevance.
Epherene looked back at Yulie.
“Because I saw Sir Yulie come back to life like this. When I go back to the past, I’ll preserve the diary.”
Yulie found such an Epherene newly admirable, and worthy of respect. No, no matter what she said, Yulie could only look at her with longing.
She was the benefactor who had saved her twice.
“As expected of a mage.”
The form of address had, before she knew it, changed to “mage” with honorific respect.
Epherene laughed softly and reached a hand toward Deculein, then froze. Gritting her teeth, she pondered with a sorrowful face, then withdrew it again.
Right now, she was not even permitted to touch someone. Even the lightest contact could be deemed a distortion of time and fall under the influence of the “law of causality.”
Noticing this, Yulie quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, is it all right for me to converse with you, Mage?”
“Yes. Sir Yulie, in your case, it’s a matter of compatibility.”
“……Compatibility?”
Epherene looked back at Yulie. Then she pointed to her chest.
“Sir Yulie, the talent contained in your soul can freeze even ‘time.’ Since that is naturally taking effect even now, ordinary conversation is no problem.”
“Ah……”
Yulie placed a hand on her own chest. Epherene gave a small smile. Nnngh—— she stretched, spreading both arms upward.
Pretending that the tears pooled in her eyes were because of that, she muttered calmly.
“Today, there will be one more guest besides me.”
“A guest?”
“Someone who, unlike me, can touch the Professor.”
Step—
At that very moment, the sound of muddy footsteps settled beyond the window.
Epherene pointed there and said,
“His Majesty the Emperor.”
“……!”
Yulie stared there with wide eyes.
Amid the pouring rain stood a figure with long red hair that seemed almost to blaze.
“Why would His Majesty……”
After confirming that it was Emperor Sophien, the moment she looked back at Epherene.
“……You’ve gone.”
Epherene had already vanished.
Not a single trace of her remained.
Then had she come to inform her of the Emperor’s visit?
Yulie looked at Sophien outside the window. Sophien, too, seemed to hesitate, but when her eyes met Yulie’s, she had no choice but to nod.
Yulie said,
“Please come in.”
—……
Then Sophien moved in an instant.
From outside the window, to here inside the window. Her clothes and body, soaked with rain and mud, had also been changed to something spotless and dry.
“……Your Majesty.”
Yulie greeted Sophien with a bow of her head in place of formal ceremony. Any courtesy beyond that was permitted only to Deculein.
“……”
Without a word, Sophien sat in the seat where Epherene had just been. Like her, she looked at Deculein.
However, she was more proactive than Epherene. She placed a hand on Deculein’s forehead. She confirmed the high fever with her own skin.
“I knew it would be like this.”
Mana emanated from her hand. Since there was not the slightest intent to harm him, Yulie watched quietly.
“It is magic to heal Deculein. The only Divine Word magic that can heal this damned complicated body of his.”
Sophien looked at Yulie as she spoke. Yulie also nodded.
Sophien’s mana, shimmering on Deculein’s forehead, spread to his blood vessels and heart, giving rise to a blue and gentle energy.
“Yes. I understand.”
“……Hoo.”
Sophien let out a small breath.
“This one’s body is even now brushing against its limit. If he does not receive repairs from me, he may close his eyes as early as tomorrow. So……”
Sophien looked back at Yulie.
Yulie answered,
“I will not be the first to disclose it.”
She meant that she would not be the first to speak of Sophien’s visit, but should Deculein happen to ask, she would answer truthfully.
For she now had someone who took precedence even over the Emperor’s command.
“……”
Sophien nodded and looked at Deculein again. At his body, being healed in however small a measure by her mana; at his body, which nevertheless was still far from enough, merely delaying death; with sorrowful eyes.
The downpour ceased, the dawn mist spread, and the morning sun rose, yet she only continued to look at him……
“I shall go.”
“Yes.”
Before he woke, the Emperor erased every trace of herself.
She rose and left him without hesitation.
Just like that time in the desert, when Deculein had healed her in secret without her knowing.
* * *
“““Deculein is a traitor, Your Majesty———!”””
One autumn day, a tremendous shout rang through the Great Hall of the Imperial Palace.
For the first time in a very long while, a proper collective petition by the ministers was being held.
Its target was Deculein.
Thanks to the rumors—spread directly by the Intelligence Bureau—that he intended to betray the Empire, two hundred of the six hundred key ministers had gathered in this vast Great Hall.
And it was not only them.
Key figures of the Imperial Knights including Gawain, the Red Garnet Adventurers, the addicts of the Floating Island, even the core faculty of the Imperial Magic Tower.
All participated in the petition against Deculein.
“……”
However, Sophien on the throne said nothing. She merely rested her chin on her hand and stared at the great door in the center of the hall, her expression unreadable as to whether she was serious or contemplating.
Because “he” was not here yet.
“He,” who was the target of this petition, and the most important person to Sophien.
“Your Majesty——!”
The old minister Romellock cried out loudly.
In truth, they had aimed for the gap left by Deculein’s absence.
“Deculein’s achievements themselves are an empty shell built upon plagiarism, and now intelligence that he seeks to devote himself to the Altar is boiling over across the continent. Even the adults and children of the continent know of such facts, and yet you must not stand by like this, Your Majesty! You must arrest him and at least interrogate him! Please heed us, Your Majesty!”
Please heed us——!
Their cries disturbed Sophien’s ears.
However, the Emperor’s eyes were still fixed on the entrance to the Great Hall.
Still waiting for that bastard’s appearance.
“Your Majesty——! Many witnesses are already waiting—! Deculein’s crimes must be thoroughly exposed—”
—What marketplace rumor are you spewing!
In that instant, an even greater shout swallowed the old minister’s voice. Everyone’s gaze moved there.
Even Sophien, who had been idly propping up her chin, finally straightened her back.
“Your Majesty——! Everything Romellock says is false———!”
Of course, that voice did not belong to Deculein. Deculein did not like stepping forward like a wild dog. It was conduct unbecoming of a noble’s dignity.
“Please punish Romellock, who, blinded by petty envy and jealousy, slanders the loyal subject Deculein—!”
The man was merely an imperial minister, some nameless person who had appointed himself Deculein’s lackey.
Romellock also confirmed his low rank and quickly glared.
“What did you say——?! How dare you……”
However, Romellock’s words were cut off midway. Instead, his eyes flew wide open.
Reflected in his rounded retinas were countless crowds surging into the Great Hall.
They too were imperial ministers.
Exactly three hundred and fifty-three ministers.
As if marching, they strode in with imposing dignity and stood on the opposite side from Romellock. Unlike his own group, who had gone rigid, every one of them wore relaxed faces as though sneering.
“……”
Romellock’s spine was seized by bewilderment. His eyebrows trembled, and cold sweat formed on his forehead.
The reason was simple.
Because all of them—no, most of them—were people who had raised their voices alongside him, saying, “Deculein is indeed a traitor”……
Click—
In that instant, the sharp sound of a heel striking. Someone’s footsteps rang against the ceiling of the Great Hall.
Romellock and all his faction looked back there, and received a shock that shook their hearts.
“……Deculein.”
Romellock’s voice murmured blankly.
As if he had heard those words, Deculein nodded and answered.
“Yes. I am Deculein.”
Appearing as though he were some final enemy, he walked forward, offering Romellock and his ilk a cold sneer.
Click— click—
There was not the slightest hesitation in his steps, nor the slightest humility.
Only arrogance, haughtiness, and contempt.
“Because at a place where this humble subject Deculein is to be petitioned against and interrogated, this humble subject Deculein must not be absent.”
The long red carpet leading to the Emperor.
That traditional path said to be trodden only by the Emperor, Deculein trampled under his own shoes.
At that moment, Romellock’s eyes filled with shock and rage.
“Y-you traitorous bastard———!”
The old minister cried out until his voice nearly tore and lunged at Deculein. His fellow ministers restrained Romellock’s frenzy.
Glancing lightly at him, Deculein again looked up at the Emperor.
“I am in attendance. If you have anything to say, say it to me directly.”
Irreverence and insolence. Displaying a brazenness no one in the Empire could ever show to the Emperor, Deculein stated his intent.
It was truly the most proactive way of informing the Emperor of the true meaning he harbored……
* * *
……The meeting in the Great Hall had been extremely shocking from the very beginning.
It had now been going on for five hours and thirty minutes.
“Deculein, and anti-Deculein, is it?”
In a guest room of the Imperial Palace, Ganesh of the adventurers muttered while eating a snack.
For reference, outsiders such as the Red Garnet Adventurers and the Floating Island had temporarily evacuated from that fierce political battlefield.
“Yes. I think so.”
At present, the Great Hall was largely divided into two factions.
One was Deculein, the other anti-Deculein.
It was not yet known who held the advantage.
Because Emperor Sophien was making no response whatsoever.
“Then. If the Deculein faction wins, what happens? Does the Emperor get replaced~?”
“No. His Majesty the Emperor becomes a puppet.”
Lia was currently pondering Deculein’s intent. The way he had stepped forward so conspicuously, volunteering to become the villain.
The words he had spoken to her at the Hadekain annex last time came immediately to mind.
Why had he told her to “chase me”?
“……No way.”
Knock, knock—
Just as Lia was about to peel and eat a tangerine with grave seriousness, there came a knock at the guest room door.
“Yes~ come in~”
Ganesh said without much thought.
Immediately afterward, the door opened.
“Is the meeting finally over……?”
Lia and Ganesh looked at the person who had visited them. After confirming his face, Lia tilted her head.
“Sir Gawain?”
Knight Gawain.
That upright knight called the conscience of the Imperial Knights, who had been baring his teeth at Deculein in the Great Hall until just now, was here again.
“Yes. Good to see you, Lia. Captain Ganesh.”
As if he had seen them just yesterday, he calmly approached and took out a document. At a glance, it was a letter sealed by magic.
“What is that?”
Lia asked.
Gawain answered at once.
“A handwritten letter from His Majesty the Emperor.”
“……What kind of letter?”
Lia first looked at the title of the letter.
At the beginning, she saw the words Masal (魔殺).
“Masal?”
“Yes.”
Gawain rubbed the space between his brows with a rather serious face.
“Masal (魔殺). It is the name of the direct special unit His Majesty the Emperor ordered established just now.”
“A direct special unit……?”
Ganesh’s face hardened.
For the time being, Lia considered the meaning of Masal in her own way.
Taken literally, a team that kills demons.
A team that hunts devils?
“Do they hunt devils?”
“Yes. However, the ‘ma’ here does not mean devils.”
Unfolding the Emperor’s handwritten letter, Gawain spoke to Lia and Ganesh.
In an utterly grave tone, one that said this must never be found out.
“It is ‘Deculein.’”