Ishura - Volume 6 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Wandering

Ever since the day the eighth match concluded and an alarm rang out across Aureatia, many of the people who would soon find themselves in a life-or-death struggle with Alus the Star Runner had spent their time unaware of their fate.

Tu the Magic, for example, hadn’t left Flinsuda’s mansion since she forfeited the fifth match against Kuze.

Of course, there was no beastfolk cage in existence that could keep Tu imprisoned. The reason behind her continued good behavior largely lay in her inferiority complex toward Flinsuda the Portent and the presence of the one surveilling her.

“FOOD TIME, TU.”

A somewhat pallid-faced servant entered the room. They had no hair, and their eyes had been replaced with pearls.

It was a revenant under the control of Krafnir the Hatch of Truth.

“…Thanks, Krafnir. But I really don’t need to eat anything.”

“STILL, I CAN’T LEAVE YOU ALONE WITHOUT GIVING YOU ANYTHING. I’D BE THE ONE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.”

“Yeah…”

Tu was sitting on a chair, curled up, with her knees to her chest.

Before her was a dish cooked by Flinsuda’s personal chef, extravagant and luxurious.

When she thought about Kuze the Passing Disaster, and what he was trying to protect, it was hard to keep anything down, especially something so rich.

“…Why do I…think that something tastes good? Why do I think baths feel good? When I was protecting the Land of the End, I didn’t really eat anything at all.”

“I DON’T…HAVE A VERY GOOD ANSWER. REGARDING IZIK THE CHROMATIC’S CREATIVE ENDEAVORS, THEY ARE NOTHING BUT CONVENIENT FUNCTIONS TO HIM HELP FIT INTO MINIAN SOCIETY. THERE ARE VERY FEW OF THE MINIAN RACES WHO WOULD LET THEIR GUARD DOWN AROUND SOMEONE THAT CAN’T FEEL ANY POSITIVE SENSATIONS. IN SHORT, IT’S A FUNCTION TO MAKE OTHERS GET ALONG WITH YOU.”

“…Like you and Rique do?”

“…I CAN’T HAVE YOU SEE ME AS A FRIEND…PUTTING RIQUE ASIDE.”

After attempting a sneak attack on Kuze the Passing Disaster, Rique the Misfortune had died.

Given that Tu the Magic had been knocked out of the Sixways Exhibition, a man like Krafnir should have similarly lost any need to associate with Tu like this; however, he must have had something on his mind to continue his job of keeping watch over her.

Tu wanted to believe so.

“I…couldn’t stand to see someone end up unhappy. So back when I was in the Land of the End, I was always angry. I thought of how much the people there suffered… I wondered why no one ever thought of them or offered them any help… But I ended up being just as bad.”

The world was far bigger than she had realized. There was far more pain and sadness than she had the ability to affect. An invincible organism like Tu hadn’t been able to save either the children of the Order or Kuze the Passing Disaster.

“I…find food tasty, as other people do. But unlike other people, pain and agony are unknown to me. I was created without the ability to feel that stuff. I’m only pretending to be a minia… Izick was the one who made me, after all.”

Izick, the Life Arts user who created Tu the Magic and Ozonezma the Capricious.

However, before Izick the Chromic became famous as a member of the First Party, he was a damnable demon king who destroyed cities on a whim, killing simply for the fun of it. Everywhere he went, he left a sea of blood in his wake.

“Izick told me that I was a weapon. I think I told him that I didn’t want to be one. But as long as I’m alive, I can’t do anything about the nature of this body, so…I wonder what I gotta do to be able to understand everyone’s feelings…”

Her long triple braid swayed in the night breeze that blew into the room.

She couldn’t help thinking that she should have talked more about that stuff with Rique while he was still alive. In truth, she had sat through countless lectures of his on the things that set her apart from the average person.

“YOUR TROUBLES MAKE NO SENSE TO ME. JUST POSSESSING A MINIA’S SENSES, WELL… THERE ARE STILL HETERODOXIC EXAMPLES LIKE IZICK. IN FACT, THERE ARE EVEN EXAMPLES OF THE OPPOSITE, I THINK. THE INCIDENT WITH KUZE THE PASSING DISASTER…THAT WAS SOMETHING FLINSUDA AND I SET UP, AND YOU DON’T NEED TO FEEL RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.”

The pupilless revenant matched Tu’s gaze.

“…SO DON’T GIVE IN TO DESPAIR. DON’T DO ANYTHING RASH. FLINSUDA SAYS THAT SHE WON’T FORCE ANY COMBAT ON YOU FOR NOW. JUST KEEP BEING WELL BEHAVED AND LET HER LOOK AFTER YOU, EVEN JUST FOR A LITTLE WHILE. WHILE YOU DO, YOU CAN SLOWLY BEGIN SEARCHING FOR A WAY TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR OWN GOALS…WHETHER IT’S TO MEET THE QUEEN OR SOMETHING ELSE.”

“…You’re a good guy, Krafnir.”

“I’VE JUST BEEN HIRED TO BE HERE. MY MIND ARTS RESEARCH NEEDS FUNDING.”

Tu’s current inability to move about this mansion wasn’t because she was stricken with grief over Rique’s death.

She still didn’t understand—what did she have to do? What was needed for her to be able to save another?

Tu had come all the way to Aureatia to meet Queen Sephite. But shouldn’t she have been using her strength for some greater purpose?

“…Hey, Krafnir. Why are you so interested in Mind Arts?”

“I GET THAT YOU’RE BORED, BUT… YOU REALLY WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THAT?”

“Yeah.”

She had never seen Krafnir’s face before, as he was always controlling a revenant instead.

However, he was far more involved with the behavior of others than Tu and making use of his own talents. Just as it was for everyone else Tu encountered, he must have lived a life that led him to be this way.

“……”

Revenants didn’t breathe, but perhaps because of Krafnir’s connection with it, its gesture resembled a sigh.

“…WELL, IF IT’LL DISTRACT YOU A BIT, THEN FINE. I…WAS ORIGINALLY BORN IN THE NORTHERN KINGDOM. I HAD STUDIED WORD ARTS AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE, BUT PARTWAY THROUGH, I ASPIRED TO STUDY ON MY OWN. THOUGH, WELL…THAT WAS BECAUSE NO ONE AROUND ME COULD REALLY FOLLOW ALONG WITH MY THEORIES.”

“So even back then you were really brilliant, huh, Krafnir?! That’s amazing.”

“NO, UM…BRILLIANT IS A BIT… HMPH, I SUPPOSE…YOU COULD SEE IT THAT WAY, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT. ANYWAY, AFTER I WAS EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL, I MET A RECLUSIVE SELF-PROCLAIMED DEMON KING. SHE WAS AFFLICTED WITH A SERIOUS ILLNESS AND COULDN’T FULLY LIFT HERSELF OUT OF BED, BUT SHE TRIED TO TEACH ME HER SKILLS…THOUGH, IT APPEARED THAT SHE JUST REALLY ENJOYED TEACHING. HONESTLY, AT THE TIME, I WAS FED UP WITH STUDYING WORD ARTS. I WAS SO NATURALLY TALENTED THAT I FOUND STUDYING THEM BORING.”

“But you still studied them as much as you could, huh?”

“WELL, YES, I SUPPOSE…”

“You were a prodigy from the very beginning, but you didn’t want to disappoint that teacher of yours. You’re kind to a fault.”

Tu rocked her body with a beaming smile. The revenant’s gaze darted to and fro, looking embarrassed.

“…ANYWAY! THAT WAS WHEN I LEARNED THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CONSTRUCT CREATION THEORY. AS I DEEPENED MY UNDERSTANDING, I BEGAN THINKING I WAS READY TO CONTINUE ON PAST JUST THEORY AND LEARN MORE. IT WAS THERE…I ASKED MY MASTER. AFTER SHE WAS DEAD, WHO WAS THE PERSON I WAS SUPPOSED TO LEARN CONSTRUCT CREATION FROM?”

“Who was it?”

“IZICK THE CHROMATIC.”

“……”

“THE ILLNESS MY MASTER WAS AFFLICTED WITH…HAD BEEN A BACTERIOLOGICAL WEAPON IZICK HAD CREATED. HE HAD SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED THE CELLULAR MODIFICATION DONE THROUGH LIFE ARTS ON MICROORGANISMS. MY MASTER LOST ALL OF HER PUPILS TO THIS WEAPON, AND SHE HAD BEEN CONTINUOUSLY TORMENTED WITH HALF-PARALYSIS HERSELF. HOWEVER, AS A FELLOW CONSTRUCT RESEARCHER, SHE COULDN’T HELP ACKNOWLEDGING THE FACT HE HAD AN OUTSTANDING KNACK FOR IT, IF NOTHING ELSE… IT MUST HAVE BEEN HUMILIATING.”

Izick the Chromatic. The First Party, the seven legends who were the first in the land to challenge the True Demon King. The other six names had been passed down with honor and respect, but Izick’s name was the only one that was always accompanied by hatred and rancor.

While the terror of the True Demon King may have overwritten everything that came before it, the misfortune he brought upon the world in the previous age was all too great. Even Krafnir the Hatch of Truth sat at the end of a chain of misfortune wrought by the man.

“…Krafnir, I’m sorry.”

“DON’T GET THE WRONG IDEA. WHILE IT’S TRUE YOU’RE ONE OF HIS CREATIONS, I’M NOT SO PETTY AS TO DIRECT MY GRUDGE AT YOU. BUT, WELL…AFTER MY MASTER DIED…I WASN’T ABLE TO ASK IZICK TO TEACH ME… IT HAD BEEN MY MASTER’S WISH THAT I COMPLETE MY THEORY.”

“But it’s a good thing you didn’t involve yourself with a guy like Izick! I wonder what your master was thinking. You were one of their precious apprentices, too, weren’t you?”

“HMPH… THAT’S YOUR WAY OF LOOKING AT IT. IT WASN’T ABOUT FRIENDS OR FOES, DANGER OR SAFETY. TO US, PROVING THE THEORY BEHIND MIND ARTS AND STANDARDIZING WAS EVERYTHING… I WANTED TO STUDY ON MY OWN AGAIN AND HAVE OUR IDEAS BEAR FRUIT. THIS WAS BEFORE THE APPEARANCE OF THE TRUE DEMON KING. IZICK RAMPAGED ABOUT AS HE SAW FIT, WITH HIS INSECT CONSTRUCTS, VERMIN CONSTRUCTS, PLAGUE CONSTRUCTS…MENACING THE NORTHERN KINGDOM WITH ALL MANNERS OF GRUESOME DEATH. BUT IF WE COULD COMPLETE OUR THEORY, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WIPE OUT THE BAD REPUTATION IZICK HAD CREATED REGARDING CONSTRUCTS AND DEMONSTRATE THEIR UTILITY. ESTABLISH CONSTRUCT CREATION THEORY NOT AS A SOURCE OF CALAMITY BUT AS TECHNOLOGY FOR PEOPLE TO MAKE USE OF. THAT WAS WHAT OUR RESEARCH WAS ABOUT.”

“Wow, really? I knew it… You really are amazing, Krafnir.”

Tu smiled. Born strong and unable to feel pain or agony, for Tu, the acts of “hard work” and “effort” proved far too difficult. Spending all that time, the past several decades behind him growing fainter…Krafnir had put in more and more hard work. And now his name was known as the one who discovered the fifth system of Word Arts.

“…You made your master’s dream come true. Having constructs now be beneficial for everyone…”

“NO. THERE’S MORE TO THIS STORY.”

The revenant slowly shook his head. His voice seemed to be laughing, but his words were spoken with a self-deprecating tone.

“FOR A LONG TIME, MY RESEARCH STAGNATED…BUT THEN ONE DAY, IN A RUINED CITY, I FOUND A SINGLE CONSTRUCT CORPSE. A VERY SMALL, WORMLIKE REVENANT. HOWEVER, THE WORD ARTS THAT BUILT IT WERE EXTREMELY ADVANCED YET SIMPLE…AND STRUCTURED. THIS SINGLE SPECIMEN WAS ABLE TO COMPLETELY FILL IN THE GAP IN MY RESEARCH.”

“…………”

“IT WAS ONE OF IZICK’S CONSTRUCTS.”

Izick the Chromatic was a genius without peer.

“MY MASTER HAD SPENT HER LIFE UNSUCCESSFULLY TRYING TO ACHIEVE THE SYSTEMIZATION OF MIND ARTS, AND IZICK HAD ALREADY GOTTEN THERE A LONG, LONG TIME AGO.”

“Krafnir…”

“DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! LISTEN. WHAT I’M GETTING AT IS…EVEN THOUGH HE HAD THESE AMAZING SKILLS, WHY HASN’T ANY OF IZICK’S RESEARCH BEEN LEFT BEHIND? IT’S BECAUSE ALTHOUGH HE HAD SUCH IMMENSE POWER, HE NEVER ONCE TRIED TO USE IT FOR THE SAKE OF SOMEONE ELSE. HIS NAME’S PASSED DOWN NOT AS A GREAT HERO, BUT AS THE MOST TERRIBLE SELF-PROCLAIMED DEMON KING OF THEM ALL. THAT’S WHY YOU’RE DIFFERENT FROM HIM!”

Izick the Chromatic had been a genius. A solitary genius.

Never in his life had he shared his successes with anyone else, nor did he use them to do anything but satisfy his own desires.

“WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY IS… TU, YOU HAVE A MIND OF YOUR OWN, DIFFERENT FROM IZICK’S. MORE THAN JUST THE STRENGTH TO SAVE SOMEONE ELSE, YOU HAVE THE DESIRE TO USE THAT POWER FOR THE SAKE OF ANOTHER. SO YOU DON’T NEED TO BELIEVE YOU’RE POWERLESS. THERE WILL COME A DAY WHEN YOU’LL BE ABLE TO SAVE SOMEONE. THAT’S THE END OF THIS CONVERSATION.”

“…Okay.”

Even Tu could tell Krafnir’s past wasn’t something he spoke about easily.

Yet in this moment, he was an open book, as if they were engaging in idle chitchat. He was trying to soothe her feeling of helplessness at having been unable to save Kuze or Rique.

She understood that was what he was doing for her.

Krafnir…really is kind, after all. I want to become kind, too…

Still hugging her knees to her chest, Tu gazed out at the jeweled city lights before looking up into the dark sky.

Right before the end of the sixth match. In a corner of the new town, filled with the light of the night, there was a secret conversation going on.

A slightly rotund man with a camera hanging from his neck, Yukiharu the Twilight Diver, entered the abandoned restaurant. He beamed an amiable smile unfit for the ruins he stood in and raised his hand.

“Hello there. Forgive me for calling you out of the blue.”

“I might double-cross you,” declared the silhouette right after he spotted Yukiharu. The shadow’s name was Kuze the Passing Disaster.

“I’ve already told this to Hiroto and Zigita Zogi, but I should let you know, too. If anything happens to the Order children who were sent to Okafu, then there won’t be meaning to any of this… Yukiharu the Twilight Diver, I want you to keep watch on Okafu, too.”

“Ha-ha-ha. And if I don’t, will you end up stabbing me, too?”

“…Ha-ha.” Kuze merely replied with a dry laugh.

“Ah, well… You don’t need to worry, I’ve set things up so all Okafu information will automatically get sent my way. As a reporter, it’s best to find material for my articles on my own, but to get my feet going, I need connections to create a foundation to walk on. Still, Hiroto and Zigita Zogi are keeping the children close at hand to try to ensure you won’t double-cross them, right? If the kids were all killed because you betrayed them, I mean, you’d have your priorities all backward, wouldn’t you?”

“Bweh-heh-heh. You may be right. So don’t read too deeply into this, but…lately, the thoughts come to me.”

Since winning the sixth match by default, something had changed within Kuze.

Everything looked the same as it had up until now, but there were signs of some sort of strife. A sense that something was off, like the small parts of a watch beginning to slip out of sync.

“Perhaps, maybe I might…”

Kuze paused.

“…kill the children. I might end up doing that to protect everything else within the Order. When I think about all the sacrifices I’ve made thus far, maybe I shouldn’t be swayed by someone using my love and attachments anymore.”

The man had abandoned himself and had done absolute everything for the Order. He had sacrificed so much. His mentor, his friends, the things that he loved—he had thrown them all away for the sake of the Order.

Would such a man truly be able to discard the things he was supposed to protect?

“Ha-ha-ha. I hope that doesn’t happen. Fortunately, Hiroto’s interests align with yours. I, myself, don’t really think he’d have any motive take those children hostage in order to compel you into doing something.”

“Hiroto said the same thing to me. I just want him to take protecting the kids seriously to ensure nothing happens to them.”

“…Well, there’s no guarantee that another foe willing to use the same methods as Nophtok won’t appear again, unfortunately.”

Kuze the Passing Disaster was nigh invincible, but his weakness was all too clear. It didn’t only extend to the children, either. Any and every follower of the Order in Aureatia could be used as a hostage against him.

Yukiharu thought, however, that it was already becoming impossible to say this with one hundred percent certainty. Would it truly be possible to control this ultimate assassin right up to the end, even for the aberrant politician Hiroto the Paradox?

“You guys protected Nophtok the Crepuscle Bell, too, didn’t you?”

“Yes. While he is a fiend who’s totally worthless alive or dead, if we kept him here in Aureatia, it’s likely he’d just be assassinated and eliminate you from the tournament. We’re having him stay hidden until your next match. It’s a simple plan but quite effective, wouldn’t you say?”

“…Yeah, it sure is.”

For some reason, there was a self-deprecating slant to Kuze’s smile.

“An almost laughably effective plan.”

“Well then, about the business I called you out here to discuss. On the day of the eighth match, we’d like you to head to the castle garden theater.”

“Is this on Zigita Zogi’s orders? I can go as a spectator, but I can’t kill anyone while they’re fighting against someone else, and wasn’t the whole idea that you had to let Uhak survive and get him to join your side for everything to work out?”

“About that, you see, they’ve estimated that it’s highly likely another force will take advantage of the eighth match to make a move. They’re calling this force the ‘invisible army.’ They’re a spy collective consisting of several vampires. They’ve already planted their agents into most of the other organizations, and they’ve already been successful at masking many casualties as rebellion or suicide. I have several photos as proof. Want to see?”

“…Suicide?” Kuze murmured, as if to himself.

At the almshouse where the children, now in Okafu, used to live, a priest-in-training named Naiji the Rhombus Knot had committed suicide. Yukiharu knew this and purposely chose to include the word suicide in his briefing.

“The most likely timing for them to make a move is while Zigita Zogi is fighting in the eighth match. We want you to act as a commando in the spectator seats and keep an eye on anyone you suspect belongs to the invisible army. There’s nothing unnatural about having another hero candidate spectate the other matches, right?”

“Right. Sure… It’d be best if nothing happened, after all.”

With an affable smile, Yukiharu rubbed his hands together.

“Oh thank goodness. Speaking of betrayal, I was rather on edge thinking that you might refuse. In any case, let’s hash out the steps to take for after you arrive on the scene.”

The nighttime city was overflowing with eye-catching lights and colors; there was no one who took deliberate notice of the black-clad man walking through the crowds.

Just by covering up everything below his eyes with his black scarf, there would be few who could point him out to be the hero candidate Kuze.

…Now, there’s nothing left I have to worry about.

The children were in the Free City of Okafu, affiliated with Hiroto the Paradox.

All he could do about the Order’s future, after Kuze’s sins were eventually brought to light, was entrust it to Hiroto. For the children, it just meant their inevitable fates would come a bit sooner than expected.

I’ll kill the Queen, and we’ll be the only ones who’ll take on the persecution of the Order. That’s all I had to do. Just like Nastique… I only have to become a blade with a singular purpose.

Compared to his battles up until now, where he struggled to save everything and everyone only to lose it all, this battle was much, much easier, knowing he’d lose everything from the very start.

He purchased some of the day’s leftover mead and barley bread from a store that was open late.

Among the countless lights in Aureatia, could the light of the faith Kuze had protected be found?

Or perhaps…was it only the believers in the Wordmaker who had fallen into darkness in between the gaps in light—just as people had criticized—and were now beyond salvation?

At the very least, the children in the Western Outer Ward Church hadn’t been able to live among Aureatia’s light.

“……”

Walking along as he ate his bread, Kuze came to a stop in front of a narrow alley that stretched out beside him.

In the center of the darkness, he thought he saw the image of a seated child.

“Taking a bit of a break, are we?”

“……”

Kuze had been right on the mark. He heard her breathing change in response to his voice.

The shadow stirred, and strands of her blond hair faintly reflected the light from the main road.

“I’ve done the same plenty of times. But if you sleep sitting up, it’ll come back to bite you when you get older. Should I call for someone? Or perhaps not?”

“…Leave me alone.”

The child wasn’t all that young. A prim young elf girl, about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Based on the state of her, she didn’t seem to be a vagabond or a starveling. Kuze figured she must have run away from home.

“Or maybe you’ve been ordered to capture me, is that it?”

“Oh, heavens no.” He humorously lifted up both hands. “You don’t know who I am? And here I thought I’d gotten a little bit of fame for myself…”

“Nope, no clue. Who are you?”

“Seriously…” Kuze awkwardly scratched his head.

It wasn’t strange for someone not to know the faces of the hero candidates. Kuze himself hadn’t actually seen beneath Toroa the Awful’s hood, and when it came to Ozonezma the Capricious or the young girl named Kia who appeared in the fourth match, he knew nothing of their appearance beyond the rumors.

“Hmm, so…who’s trying to capture you, then? Are you running from somebody?”

“If I tell you that—” The girl’s large aquamarine eyes narrowed. “You’re gonna sell me out to them, aren’t you?”

“Whaaaat? No, fine, I get it. If that’s how it is, you don’t have to tell me anything. I just thought if you were having a rough time, maybe I could split some of my bread with you.”

“Huh?”

The girl took out her own bread. It was much larger, whiter, and softer than what Kuze had just purchased for himself—a truly high-quality loaf.

“I—I guess you didn’t need any of my help at all… That’s great. Real happy for you.”

“I don’t need anyone’s help. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

The young girl may have been speaking the truth. Her appearance was much neater and tidier than other stray children Kuze had seen. She showed no signs of fear, and she wasn’t even hurting for food, either.

“All right, then, why are you hiding in the shadows, avoiding the eyes of others like that?”

“……”

This girl was running from someone. If she hadn’t had some personal circumstances weighing on her conscience, then she could’ve just sought out help. While they had exchanged only a few words, she didn’t seem like the type who was incapable of asking for help.

She was burdened by some large sin she’d committed. Kuze might’ve felt it in his gut.

“…What’s that got to do with anything?”

“I’m with the Order, you see. I teach everyone that all lives stand to benefit from the Wordmaker’s salvation.”

“The Wordmaker. Oh, right, I remember. You people on the outside believe in that stuff, don’t you…? You believe that the Wordmaker is the God who made this whole world, and they can do anything. Tee-hee. Hee-hee-hee-hee.” The young girl’s shoulders trembled as she laughed. “…That’s so stupid. If that’s true, then that means the Wordmaker is just like me.”

“Whoa, whoa now, what’s that supp—”

“Blind him.”

Without warning, there was a blinding flash from the alleyway. The source of the light was utterly ambiguous, and it gave off neither sound nor heat.

With the reflexive movements of a warrior, Kuze braced himself, preparing for a fight.

“…What was that just now?”

When his vision finally recovered enough to see the dark alley, the young girl was already gone.

Kuze turned around, and on a building’s roof, right under the moon, there was a small, white figure. Had the angel Nastique been able to see who exactly that girl was?

…That means the Wordmaker is just like me.

The Wordmaker is everywhere.

It was what Kuze had been taught, and what he had taught others. The conscience in one’s heart was itself the Wordmaker’s salvation to all, and the Wordmaker was present in the eyes of every living creature with a soul.

I’m sure they’ll be watching the whole time, even on the day I commit my sin.

After finishing his clandestine meeting with Kuze, Yukiharu the Twilight Diver headed off in a new direction. His destination could be described as a blind spot in the vast Aureatia, an abandoned shipyard.

He was now carrying a wooden box on his back.

“I never would’ve expected we’d bump up against someone else while covering the National Defense Institute. Ended up making a weird connection through it all, too!”

“I agree.”

The wooden box was far smaller than a person’s whole body. Although there wasn’t enough capacity to fit any of the minian races, an eloquent voice resonated from within.

“Think we can trust what Haizesta talked about? That if we looked into Enu the Distant Mirror’s conduct, it’d link back to the National Defense Research Institute.”

“I wonder. But if Enu’s in charge of city development, then I don’t think it would be that hard for him to secretly provide a base of operations inside the Institute without the Aureatia government catching on.”

The Fifteenth General, Haizesta the Gathering Spot. He had belonged to the third faction in Aureatia, Kaete’s camp. However, Kaete the Round Table fell from power after his defeat in the sixth match. In the process of investigating Kaete’s opponent, Enu the Distant Mirror, Haizesta had learned about the existence of the National Defense Research Institute and had secretly made contact with Yukiharu the Twilight Diver, who was also investigating the Institute.

Haizesta’s movements afterward were unknown.

“Is it true that the charges of foul play laid on Kaete and Kiyazuna were all part of Obsidian Eyes’ machinations? The garden theater bombing, using airships for acts of sabotage, Mestelexil’s rampage… With how many witnesses there were, Aureatia concluded that Kaete’s camp were the perpetrators. I still think it’s a bit too much of a stretch to say it was all a conspiracy.”

“Even within the Aureatia Assembly, Kaete’s camp was seen as an unwelcome player by the most powerful factions, Rosclay’s and Haade’s. The suspicions of foul play may have all been a setup, but on the Aureatia side of things, it had to be something they wanted to go along with anyway. Since they could use the charges to cleanly snuff out a threat.”

“But there’s no evidence of any conspiracy, right? It’s already dubious whether Obsidian Eyes actually exists or not.”

“If Enu’s guilty, just like Haizesta claimed, then it’s highly likely that Zeljirga has a contact within Obsidian Eyes. That would mean that the invisible army’s true identity was Obsidian Eyes, just as Zigita Zogi hypothesized. The now-missing Kaete and Kiyazuna might’ve been killed or captured by them. Why don’t we act just as Haizesta requested…? We can search for the two of them and rescue them if they’re still alive.”

“True, asking the two of them directly would probably be the fastest way to go about it, but…if Obsidian Eyes really are the opponents here, how are we supposed to save them? Heck, if we went out to help then, we’d definitely end up dead instead.”

“Whoa, whoa, we’re not doing this ourselves here. The Old Kingdoms’ loyalists are.”

The shipyard Yukiharu was heading toward was a secretly hidden basepoint for the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists inside Aureatia. Knowing this country from its days as the Central Kingdom, the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists had secured a great number of basepoints just like it.

Furthermore, Yukiharu’s employer, Hiroto the Paradox, was the mastermind who had previously given economic support to the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists’ occupation of Gimeena City and had spurred them into their uprising.

Even now, after the loyalists lost their war with Aureatia, Yukiharu always maintained a direct connection with them.

“Right now, the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists are in desperate need of someone formidable and powerful to mobilize their camp. They keep getting themselves caught in battles of attrition, which is the problem. Given that they were driven out of the Aureatia government, Kaete and Kiyazuna should be capable individuals who they’d definitely want to have on their side…which is how Zigita Zogi explained it all.”

“You didn’t think that all up yourself, then, Yukiharu?”

“Aha-ha. The story I’m after is still just the National Defensive Research Institute, after all. It’s the same for you, too, though, right?”

“…Yeah.”

There were hardly any people who knew about the contents of the wooden box Yukiharu carried on his back.

However, its objective was an exceedingly simple one.

“I’m going to make sure you keep your promise—I might be able to see Mother.”