After accepting the Queen-ordered homecoming for the orphans evacuated to Okafu, a select group of the Twenty-Nine Officials gathered together and held an impromptu meeting in the Aureatia Central Assembly Hall. The gathered roster included Hidow the Clamp, along with Grasse the Foundation Map, Cayon the Thundering, Antel the Alignment, Kaete the Round Table, and Hiroto the Paradox. Jelky the Swift Ink pushed through the injury to his eye to attend. Grasse the Foundation Map opened up the meeting with his usual, easygoing tone. “Well then, main topic for today is to discuss the temporary Okafu orphan repatriation measure that has become an official order from the Queen as of today. Since this is a royal decree, if we want to oppose it, we need to hold a special assembly and get an oppositional resolution. With that in mind, I need gather up the opinions of anyone who has given their authorization. How about you, Cayon?” Grasse tossed the question to Cayon sitting beside him. “Whatever, right? What’s the problem?” A man with one arm. Mele the Horizon’s Roar’s sponsor and one who remained neutral among all the factions. “Sure, if this decree rubbed up against Aureatia’s military strategy maybe, but letting some small children return to their homeland is cute, really. Besides, Okafu themselves have far too much going on to use something like this as a pretext to attack. Am I wrong?” Cayon tried to draw out information from Hiroto, sitting diagonally across from him. Appointed to his position as the Twenty-Ninth Minister, Hiroto was tasked with brokering negotiation between Okafu and Aureatia in Haade the Flashpoint’s stead, whose accidental victory in the tenth match effectively made him fall from power. “This stemmed from Her Majesty’s genuine consideration for the children, so there couldn’t possibly be any objection. Morio the Sentinel, along with the rest of the Okafu leadership, welcome this temporary return as a chance to show the repaired relationships between Aureatia and Okafu. If there are any concerns, they would lie with the Order, not Okafu.” Hiroto the Paradox’s present position had him acting as the spokesperson for the Order, as well as the Free City of Okafu. The religious group Aureatia had to abandon when they rebuilt the minian nation was still part of the foundational support base that comprised the Gray-Haired Child’s power and influence. “Though the attempt during the fifth match failed, it is still true that when the Order’s hero candidate, Kuze the Passing Disaster, had his match, someone targeted not the man himself, but those around him, in an attempt to force their demands on him. While the Sun’s Conifer were the main offenders in the Western Outer Ward Church incident, when taking into account Aureatia’s present state of affairs, there is no guarantee that there won’t be another type of cowardly attack again. As Okafu’s diplomatic envoy, I would ask you to entrust the safety of the orphan evacuees to me.” There was hidden meaning behind the man’s words… An attempt to keep Jelky of the reformation party in check, in particular. For starters, the whole Sun’s Conifer incident right after the fifth match was absolutely the work of old man Nophtok. Even Hidow, previously at one end of the reformation faction, could only hypothesize on what sort of operation had been behind the whole affair. That said, Kuze’s sponsor and reformation faction member Nophtok the Crepuscle Bell had become mentally unstable for some unknown reason ever since. Nophtok was being sheltered by Okafu with the rest of the Order followers and still hadn’t returned. It was natural to assume that Nophtok, with discretionary powers over Kuze, decided for himself to eliminate Kuze through the use of hostages and, somehow or another, suffered a reprisal of some kind from the Order. Way the reformation faction sees it, they want to keep Kuze the Passing Disaster on hand by any means necessary. So then, unexpected temporary homecoming’s another card for ’em to play to ensure Kuze loses without issue while still holding the eleventh match itself. Hidow looked to see Jelky the Swift Ink’s expression. Sharp—and as cold and expressionless as ice. However, he had thick shadows underneath his good right eye, and it was clear he hadn’t recovered from the unexplained exhaustion from before. “…Understood. The Twenty-Ninth Minister has voted to protect the evacuees during their temporary return, and unless anyone else wants to take on the task, I’d personally prefer to leave them up to him. Coordinating with Okafu on details, including repatriation procedures, will go smoothly at the hands of the one among us on cordial terms with Okafu.” …I’m surprised. Figured he’d gripe a little more to get some concessions. Rudely perched on one elbow, he watched the two go back and forth. Although part of the Twenty-Nine Officials, Hiroto was a latent adversary to the current system. At the very least, when Rosclay the Absolute was still alive, he wouldn’t have gotten this demand of his through. “Kuze the Passing Disaster is awaiting the eleventh match. Considering the precedent the Twenty-Ninth Minister mentioned, he is surely on high alert to any tactics from outside forces. Considering the numerous matters we need to deal with, I want to avoid any actions that could needlessly provoke Kuze’s animosity…” “Indeed. Similarly, to ensure no harm comes to the Queen’s honor, this evacuee homecoming should only be employed to show proof of Okafu and Aureatia’s amicable relationship. Is there anyone else who would be interested in taking this on?” No one raised their hand at Hiroto’s question. Hidow, of course, had no intentions of getting saddled with the trouble. “All right then, Okafu diplomat handles the Okafu stuff, and moving forward, we’re accepting the orphan’s visit with the Twenty-Ninth Minister in charge. There was also something about the eleventh match, too, right?” “Hiroto the Paradox. Kuze the Passing Disaster’s appearing in the eleventh match, right?” The question came from Kaete the Round Table. He had shown overt disinterest in the talk of the orphans. He was Mestelexil the Box of Desperate Knowledge’s sponsor and would be fighting a decisive battle in the eleventh match against Hiroto, Kuze the Passing Disaster’s de facto sponsor. “I don’t care about some piss-poor brats. But if they make that guy cower from the fight, all the effort we spent on arranging this’ll go up in smoke. You better drag him out into that arena.” “Assuming the eleventh match will happen… If possible, I would like Kuze kept in a usable state for later.” The tanned man with glasses was Antel the Alignment. “The snag is that Kuze’s power of instant death doesn’t occur with a visible counterattack. Depending on how the things play out, it could come off as Kuze being crushed by a weapon without any means of fighting back. Mestelexil has been forcefully reinstated after already being disqualified once. To ensure we don’t sour the citizen’s feelings toward Mestelexil, we should put some limitations on what method of attack he can use.” “Hmph. Don’t push your luck. This isn’t something some low-level reformation nobody should be sticking his head into. You lot may be annoyed at my reinstatement, but the truth is Mestelexil is far more useful to us than a spineless coward like Kuze. Besides, from here on out, do you really want to gauge the Order’s feelings on something every time we want to get some use out of him, like with this whole Okafu brat situation? At this point, Kuze the Passing Disaster is unnecessary.” “Thing is: I made that proposal more with your position in mind than out of concern for Kuze. The way to win is just as important as the how. Understanding that or not was the biggest difference between you and Rosclay.” “Oh, was it now? Well, the one who did understand that is dead. I guess I was right, then.” “…” “Ugh, c’moooon now, you two! Enough of the bickering, I swear. This meeting is still going on here.” Cayon cut into the powder-keg situation in spite of himself. Hidow was fed up with it all. Grasse didn’t appear concerned whatsoever and, if anything, seemed to be enjoying himself as he pushed the meeting forward. “All right, Antel, we’ll consider what you said as just a proposal, okay? As for Kuze’s appearance, we’ll have the Twenty-Ninth Minister confirm… Though actually, I just want a firm answer. Kuze’s going to fight, right?” “Although he has expressed as much, he does appear to have some misgivings. I think it prudent to think Mestelexil might win by default depending on Kuze’s intentions here—and plan accordingly.” “Really now? That’d put me in an awkward spot if he withdraws, though. Kuze’s the one who asked me to set up the eleventh match for him, and we even got the go-ahead to reinstate Mestelexil, too.” “Not much we can do if the dude’s changed his mind, right?” Hidow chimed in with his head leaning on the back of the chair. “Kuze’s abilities are just to kill and nothing else, so an opponent like Mestelexil’s will definitely be more than he can handle. Though, I doubt he ever imagined a candidate deemed defeated would pop back up to fight him.” Jelky turned his sights to Hiroto. “…The eleventh match is going to happen. Even if Kuze the Passing Disaster withdraws, his sponsor will need to take responsibility and bring forth a replacement for him. If Kuze’s having second thoughts, I want him to make his intentions clear to us as soon as possible.” “I will try.” Strictly speaking, Hiroto the Paradox was not Kuze the Passing Disaster’s sponsor. Kuze’s sponsor continued to be Nophtok the Crepuscule Bell, and Hiroto was acting on his behalf. “Next item then. For the World Word issue, as of right now she’s considered dead—that’s fair, right? At present, there haven’t been any retaliatory attacks against those she’d target first. The Queen has been safe while out on her courtesy tour as well.” “That’s right. One thing is that we still haven’t found Kia’s body. There’s still the possibility that she was just incapacitated or lost her will to fight. No further damage’s cropped up, but I want all of you to understand the situation and have a sense of urgency.” As he spoke, Hidow felt a bitter uneasiness. It was true that Hidow and Aureatia were unharmed. But no one had actually confirmed if the Queen was safe. The only people in this meeting who knew that currently the Queen was a body double were Hidow and Kaete, having been informed by Jelky—and Antel. There were only a few who even knew she existed. On top of that, save for Jelky, no one knew where the real Queen was. It’s totally possible that I haven’t dealt with any reprisal from Kia yet because the Queen was killed a long time ago. In that case, what is Jelky planning to do? No way he’s gonna try to pass off that body double as the real Queen, right? Given that he had informed Hidow, already broken off from the reformation faction, and Kaete, an enemy to their faction, about the existence of the body double, Hidow just had to trust Jelky wouldn’t do anything brash. “Well, the Queen’s going around to all the different regions in the first place because Kia’s assumed dead. Let’s move on to the next topic then: the ongoing incident in Sagasa Old Town.” “The Sagasa matter…and this Roto the Cross.” Instead of Kia the World Word, this was now the problem directly facing Aureatia. More accurately put, the fact that it hadn’t become a problem yet was what made it so threatening. There was a clear case of macabre serial murders—one with the culprit positively identified—however not a single person had managed to discern the full scope of it all, and with the threat of infection, they were unable to send any personnel to handle it. “Yet another issue involving the Twenty-Ninth Minister… Got yourself way too many matters to handle right after assuming office. You all right?” “There is no need to worry.” Hiroto answered Grasse’s consideration with a breezy smile. “Taking into account the Okafu mercenary casualties from the investigation, I believe any large-scale deployment to Sagasa Old Town is inadvisable. More preferable would be a small number who can quickly neutralize Roto the Cross without any adverse effects on the citizens. With this in mind, I have requested Flinsuda’s assistance and secured a supply of antiserum for Kuze the Passing Disaster, along with her commitment to the investigation.” “All right then, we can assume Roto the Cross is a vampire. There was a huge collapsed cavern inside the ruins of the National Defense Research Institute… Could be that a vampire they had gotten their hands on escaped.” “I’ve arrived at the same hypothesis, Antel. Judging from several points of circumstantial evidence, it seems to be a different parent unit from the one within Obsidian Eyes, however… After sharing our data with Flinsuda, she indicated that it was possible that, among the nearly extinct vampires, the mutation to allow for airborne infection manifested simultaneously in multiple individuals. Thus, in regard to Roto the Cross, I have made her eradication my highest priority, and after inoculating him with one of the limited vials of antiserum, I intend to deploy Kuze to face her.” “Sure, if the enemy doesn’t hesitate to kill, then using Kuze as bait will let us get her, but…a vampire that infects through the air?” Hidow murmured. It sounded preposterous, but Kaete, having raided Obsidian Eyes’s hideout with the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists, said he witnessed this threat right before his very eyes. “I just can’t bring myself to believe it. You serious that there’s someone like that out there, Kaete?” “Hmph. So the flurry of scientific evidence I presented was too much for a moron like you to comprehend? Now with Kia the World Word gone, vampires are Aureatia’s greatest threat. We screwed up handling the spread in its early stages, and there’s no undoing the damage.” “…Okay then, so tell me,” Cayon said, exasperated. “Why haven’t you sent Mestelexil out to Sagasa, then? He’s a construct, so the vampire pathogen isn’t going to infect him, right? Wouldn’t he be a much better fit than Kuze?” “Really exposing how shallow that thought process of yours is, Cayon. Just think for a second… There’s a chance Mestelexil’s weapons will harm regular citizens by accident. If Roto the Cross is simply just a young vampire, as estimated, then excessive firepower’s unnecessary. This whole Sagasa matter is nothing more than a basic murder investigation to begin with. Mestelexil will be deployed for operations that require greater firepower.” “Sounds a little fishy to meee. Though, I agree we can’t have Mestelexil running wild in the city. As an aside, Mele can’t do it, either. No matter how precise his aim may be, why, the whole town will come crumbling down.” This guy always manages to come out on top… Went and used a point he wormed out of Kaete to give himself a reason not to get Mele involved. As this went on, Hiroto raised his hand. “As you are all aware, we have yet to get a clear picture of this entire incident, and we should expect the unexpected. While I am sure Kuze alone would be enough to handle a normal threat, I would like to take any and all precautions. That said, the environment means deploying excessive force like Mestelexil or Mele is unfeasible…” Hiroto looked over to Jelky. “Can we send in Shalk the Sound Slicer? He is another construct hero candidate, so there isn’t any need to prepare more doses of antiserum. With Shalk’s fighting style, even if there was a battle, he will be able to keep the destruction to a minimum. I don’t believe anyone would be more suited for the task.” “…I agree. We’ll need to negotiate with his sponsor, Hyakka, though he doesn’t always answer our requests for help. If it seems possible to go a different route and use one of Okafu’s own constructs, I’d like you to consider that option, too. If necessary, we can give them permission to stay in Aureatia temporarily.” “Thank you very much.” “…Okay, so—” Cayon spoke up once again. “What’s this other operation you’re deploying Mestelexil for, then? I certainly haven’t heard anything. Is everyone else but me in on it already?” “I’m not aware of anything.” “Me neither.” Hidow and Hiroto both gave their answers. In other words, the other attendees, Jelky and Antel with the reformation party and the one managing the Aureatia Assembly, Grasse, had all gotten on the same page about this beforehand. “Fine, then I’ll explain it to you. We’re searching Obsidian Eyes’s base of operations. The investigation team will be composed of Health Ministry personnel, and Mestelexil will be accompanying them as their bodyguard.” “Sure… Is Mestelexil seriously necessary for something like that?” The explanation didn’t really satisfy Hidow. An organization of Obsidian Eyes’s caliber surely made it a habit not to leave behind any evidence in their old bases, and it would have been very unlikely for them to return just to hinder an investigation of their abandoned hideout. A considerable number of days had passed since the raid on their headquarters, and it was hard to believe this investigation would produce any concrete clues. “There is still a slim chance,” Jelky said. “Whether Obsidian Eyes appears to obstruct the investigation, the parent unit we believe to be the Obsidian can employ a force of birds and other small animals. Depending on how they react to the investigation, Mestelexil’s destructive force may prove necessary. With the threat of airborne infection, a medical professional inoculated with the antiserum will need to be deployed with the investigation unit… Since the Sagasa case is going on at the same time, we cannot afford to lose a single one of them.” Without any prospects for creating more dhampir-produced antiserum, there could only be a limited number of inoculated people. A group of doctors within the Health Ministry had been given the antiserum even before some of the Twenty-Nine Officials, due to their line of work. If they were going to be deploying everyone with a resistance to the vampire virus at once, utilizing this group of doctors was unavoidable. “You heard him. Since he can’t get deployed in the city, Mestelexil’s going to investigate Obsidian Eyes. Depending on the data we find, it could be used to bring down this Roto the Cross or whatever.” “Given that the two tasked with handling these investigations, Kuze and Mestelexil, are set to fight each other in the eleventh match…,” Antel murmured, “…we have no choice but to mobilize them at the same time to wrap everything up beforehand.” Now, with Uhak gone in exchange for slaying Kia, Aureatia had limited fighting power available. Several different calamities were waiting for their time to ignite. Even within this very meeting room, there was one secretly scheming, using lies to outwit all the others. Of course, all of you readers were already aware. The one planning to outwit the others was Kaete the Round Table. He hadn’t told any outright lies. He simply hadn’t reported what had already been completed. The time was about one small month prior to the special assembly called to address the Okafu orphan evacuees’ temporary return to Aureatia. It immediately followed the operation on the Orange Thirty-Six train. Kaete the Round Table, together with Mestelexil the Box of Desperate Knowledge, set off for Obsidian Eyes’s base of operations. “Wrap this up before dawn. Don’t screw up this time, Mestelexil.” “I—I have never…screwed up…before!” During the clash on the train, Mestelexil had been handily disintegrated by Kia’s Word Arts. Afterward, to avoid being caught in Uhak’s Word Arts nullification, he delayed his regeneration and fell out of the train car—however, his true goal was, by falling off the train, to create a period of time when his whereabouts would be unknown and to take action elsewhere while deceiving Aureatia. Kaete immediately got into contact with Mestelexil after he regenerated, and they headed for this location together. Hidow the Clamp was dealing with the aftermath of the operation he had carried out under his sole discretion, along with prioritizing the search for Kia’s body above all else, and so he wasn’t in any position to keep a close eye on Kaete. The Aureatia leaders are all devoting everything to Kia the World Word. Seeing as they haven’t even started a proper investigation of the National Defense Research Institute, they certainly aren’t going to give the Obsidian Eyes’s headquarters any attention. No important information would still be inside the Obsidian Eyes’s headquarters. Kaete assumed as much. However, if the spy guild had withdrawn during that chaotic battle, they couldn’t have had the time to dispose of everyone there. Nevertheless, they were after something in the area that only Kaete’s camp could utilize. “No leftover pathogen around, right, Mestelexil?” “Yeah, n-no problem! None, anywhere!” Snaps and crackles rang out from all around the thicket, and the smell of charred metal and vegetation hung in the air. It was closely followed by the sound of taut strings snapping—or something heavy falling to the ground—resounding intermittently. Mestelexil detected the traps strung up in the vicinity of the manor and burned through them with an invisible laser beam. Though Obsidian Eyes had vanished from the area, it still remained dangerous. It was unknown how many days the mutant virus remained in the air, and even when ruling out that vector of infection, the physical traps would cut down anyone who stepped on them carelessly. Aureatia’s records showed that Kaete had never been inoculated with the vampire antiserum, but it wasn’t a problem. Kaete had hidden several facts that could potentially benefit Aureatia. One among them was that Mestelexil’s Life Arts were able to reproduce any drug with a makeup he understood—and in unlimited supply. Kaete’s camp alone could retain as much antiserum as they wanted. When Kaete had pleaded with Jelky to be reinstated, the vampire threat against Aureatia had stirred up more than enough. A time would come when he could eventually force Aureatia to pay the highest price for his antiserum manufacturing method that didn’t require a dhampir. Those Aureatia imbeciles. I bet it seems like I sincerely surrendered to Aureatia’s will. But…while to them it might appear as if I don’t have the slightest chance right now, they’ll get a front-row seat when I use my own wits and strength to reclaim my power. Kaete was trying to secure a tool to do just that with this search. Once he had reconstructed his faction, he could again produce weapons. Personnel, however, didn’t come so easily. He would have to collect together those with the will to rebel against Aureatia’s current system once more—and enough to support a whole faction. “K-Kaete! I found them! Someone…collapsed underground!” “Good job. They still alive?” “No idea!” After arriving in the manor, Kaete followed along with Mestelexil’s detection system and went underground. The room they were after was hidden behind several layers of locks and camouflage, but a light tap from Mestelexil was enough to tear the locks off, door and all. Kaete calmly walked forward into the room—a prison cell. “Well, it seems our positions have reversed from the first time we met.” “…Huh…? Kaete the…Round Table?” a hoarse voice replied. “Seems you’re just barely still alive, Caneeya the Fruit Trimming. How lucky…for me anyway.” Caneeya the Fruit Trimming. She had been the virtual leader of the current Old Kingdoms’ loyalists. Her natural physique and well-developed muscles, greater than your average full-grown man, seemed visibly enfeebled from being confined so long. The prison cell appeared to have been converted out of the manor’s basement, and it had water pipes running through it, but there were no food stores at all. She managed to survive for the whole small month following her defeat because of her defining characteristic: the physique she had been blessed with. “I heard from the remaining Old Kingdoms’ loyalist survivors that you had been captured in the middle of the battle. Knowing Obsidian Eyes, they wouldn’t fail to dig out information from the enemy commander. Additionally, I knew after being routed and losing Mestelexil, they wouldn’t have the time to take care of their captives.” Kaete still maintained his connection with the remnants of the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists. Almost all the soldiers who entered the area that day had been wiped out, and they couldn’t even muster up enough of a fighting force to rescue Caneeya themselves, but nevertheless, Kaete could get use out of their connections, resources, and network of groups who still continued to resist Aureatia. Up until recently, Kaete had been on the run from Aureatia and left with no choice but to be placed under the organized protection of the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists. But from here on out, the roles of master and servant were reversed. Kaete the Round Table now held the organizational power of the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists firmly in his grasp. Only Kaete could effectively utilize the dying group, now lacking any fighting force whatsoever. He could make up for their decisively insufficient military strength with however many golem soldiers or weapons necessary from the Beyond. He had needed to venture inside the manor before Aureatia could begin their formal investigation. In order to take complete control of the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists, he needed to secure Caneeya—or in the worst-case scenario, her corpse. “Wh-why…?! What am I…doing in a place like this…? W-were you the one…who locked me in here, Kaete?” “Hmph. Right, those spies are able to erase a corpse’s memory. Whether they go to the hassle of silencing a captive, works out the same for them either way.” He threw a packaged meal and water down at Caneeya. She crawled and devoured the hard, burnt piece of bread like a wild beast. “You have no right to refuse. I’ll rescue you from here, but I’m not saving you from certain death for free. From here on, you’re going to work hard for me, Caneeya the Fruit Trimming.” “……” “We’re done here, Mestelexil. Finish carrying Caneeya out of here before Aureatia gets wise to this. I’ll arrange a place to hide her.” “Uh-huh…” Mestelexil gave a lukewarm response. His round head swiveled around and focused on the area aboveground. “…What? Something bothering you up there?” “Th-there is…another person…here!” “What?” Kaete furrowed his brow. This manor was far outside the city, deep inside a forest. Given there were lethal traps laid out all over the area, a civilian wouldn’t haphazardly wander into this place. In which case, was it one of the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists, recklessly making their way here to rescue Caneeya? Or perhaps, after all the time had passed, Obsidian Eyes had returned to their headquarters. “We need to dispose of them, Mestelexil. Can you do that?” “Y-yup! They are…above us! Let’s go, Kaete!” With Mestelexil carrying the near-dead Caneeya, they went to the ground floor. Mestelexil had apparently sensed the sound of faint breathing. He detected Caneeya both underground and on the brink of death first. Is her breathing really that faint? With the precision of Mestelexil’s detection abilities, I can assume he’s not mistaking it for some small animal’s breathing, but… When they arrived at the library, the odor of decomposing flesh assailed his senses. Still, Kaete didn’t seem especially disturbed or uneasy when he opened the door. Mestelexil hadn’t sensed any danger. “…………Who’re you, then…?” A sloppy mass of something was adhered to the wheelchair. While it seemed to be a person at some point, this wasn’t the breathing Mestelexil had sensed. Next to the chair, a beautiful young girl sat like a corpse. “S-Sis!” “…? What’re you talking about?” “Kaete! I-it’s the…nice…lady, Sis!” It went without saying that Mestelexil didn’t have a sister, neither elder nor younger. That said, when they had fought each other on this land before, hadn’t Mestelexil behaved in a similar way? “……Master Kaete. I did not…know you were here…” The young girl opened her mouth. Her voice was hollow and almost lifeless, like a ghost. Hidden behind her bangs, Kaete couldn’t make out her face. “I am…the leader of Obsidian Eyes. Linaris…the Obsidian…” “Th-the Obsidian…?” The commander of Obsidian Eyes. A vampire born from a spontaneous mutation, capable of airborne infection. The monster that gnawed at Aureatia, who possessed a power capable of laying waste to it, and yet whose extreme cowardice kept their identity a total mystery as they maneuvered. “Caneeya, is this the one…? Did she capture you?” “I don’t know. My memories…are hazy…” “I—I… I remembered! M-my electronics! My electronic records…made me remember! I used…to listen to…anything Sis…told me!” “Impossible.” Even if the homunculus’s memories were erased, there was an electrical copy of the memories inside the golem body.
Chapter 244
25 min read