As someone knocked on my door, a lisping voice called out to me. It was Mary, the poster girl of the Stardust inn, the inn I was currently staying in. It was before noon, the period of time in which the Stardrop inn was very busy preparing for lunch. Nevertheless, Mary's voice was as carefree as could be.
When I opened the door, Mary smiled softly.
「Oh, so you’re in. That’s good」
「What is it?」
「There’s a visitor for Mister Noel. Should I let him through?」
「Is it a reporter from a newspaper company called Modern Opinion by any chance?」
「That's right, that’s the one, he’s a newspaper reporter. He has an appointment to see you, right?」
As Mary nodded, I looked at my watch. A few days ago, I had been sent a letter requesting an interview for a column in Modern Opinion. I readily consented, and agreed to start the interview today at 1 pm. It was only noon though.
「He’s pretty early, isn’t he……」
Well, it’s better than being late. I'm free now because I had already finished my early morning training a while ago. I’ll finish up the interview quickly and go eat lunch.
「Alright, can you show him to my room?」
「Okay~. ……But he’s not a handsome guy, you know?」
「What does him being a handsome guy or not have anything to do with me right now……」
「I mean, doesn’t it look better to pair a handsome guy with another handsome guy? Won’t Mister Noel feel happier if the person you’re going to be all alone with in a closed room is a handsome guy?」
「……Just so we’re clear, I don’t swing that way」
「Huhhh!? You’re lying, right!?」
「You little……」
Good grief, this brat is getting worse by the day. If she’s like this at age ten, what’s going to happen when she grows up? It’s scary just to think about it.
「Mister Noel, there’s no need to be afraid, you know? God said, handsome guys should be joined with handsome guys. It’s the providence of nature」
「Miss Mary, you should let a doctor take a look at your head soon. Or would you prefer me to open a hole in your skull and fiddle about with your brain?」
「Mary is not wrong! It’s this world that’s wrong!」
「You’ve said something really preposterous, you brat. But I’m deeply impressed by your resolve to turn the entire world into your enemy. I like it. Feel free to use my clan’s Kouga and Leon」
「Huh, you’re letting me use them as models for my pictures!?」
「Yeah. Use your overflowing inspiration to entangle them as you wish」
「Yayー! Hoorayー!」
Mary rejoiced while blood flowed endlessly from her nose. I felt bad for Kouga and Leon, but I’ll have them become the outlet for Mary’s desires.
If Mary was satisfied and behaved herself, her father, Gaston, should feel a little less stressed as well. That tired back of Gaston, a single father, which I occasionally saw, was a sad and pitiful sight.
In other words, this was a good deed. Those two were good people at heart, so they’ll probably be happy to oblige once I explained the circumstances. --correction: They’ll probably oblige with sour faces.
「Alright, can you go get that reporter now? Here, a tip for you」
Mary nodded with a smile as I held out the tip.
「Okay! I’ll get him right now!」
Seeing off that small back as she ran off, I heaved a deep sigh.
「Really, I wonder what kind of adult this kid is going to become……」
†
†
「Nice to meet you, I’m Thomas, from Modern Opinion」
The person who had entered my room was a sophisticated bespectacled middle-aged man. He was certainly not a handsome guy, but he was mellow, well-groomed, and had a graceful bearing. At the very least, there was nothing I could see that would make me feel displeased.
We sat facing each other across the table.
「Thank you so very much for consenting to the interview and for taking the time out of your busy schedule. In addition, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for bringing the interview time forward due to my own circumstances」
「That's quite alright, but was there some sort of problem?」
「Yes, to tell you the truth, it seems like the Seeker Guild is going to make a big announcement at the time we had agreed on, so I need to go there as well. I'm so sorry to have troubled you, Mister Noel. I had planned to apologize and change the date if it hadn’t been convenient for you」
I see, it’s definitely about the matter of the Variant. Harold had mentioned that they would announce it soon, but I guess they’re doing it today.
According to the newest information that I had obtained from Harold, it seems like the Variant wasn’t crossing over in a year, but in six months. So if they wanted to announce it, now would probably be the time for it. The emergence of a catastrophe-class Variant would have a major impact on the economy. They couldn’t afford to delay the announcement any more.
「Alright then, let's start the interview right away. First is--」
Thomas took out a pen and notepad.
「No, let's stop today's interview」
I shook my head.
「Huh, what do you mean?」
「I mean, there’s a big announcement after this, right? In that case, no one will pay any attention to the column with my interview」
「W, well…… Taking into account the mindset of our readers, it may be exactly as you say. However, the information medium called a newspaper doesn't consist of only one article. There should be many readers who want to read Mister Noel's interview as well」
「Is that so?」
「Of course! After all, you’re the clan master of the hottest clan right now, Wild Tempest! To say nothing of Seekers, you’ve drawn a great deal of interest from the general public as well!」
「Hmm~」
「If you’re angry about the fact that I wasn’t punctual, I’ll sincerely apologize once again. I’m truly very sorry. I’ll increase the interview fee as a form of apology, so will you please do the interview?」
Thomas bowed his head with a practiced air. But I shook my head again.
「It's not a problem of money. Let's stop for today」
「Mister Noel, please don’t say that, and by all means--」
I forestalled the persistent Thomas with my hand.
「Don't get me wrong. I’ll do the interview. However, what I’m saying is that I won’t do it today. Today is a bad day after all. Actually, I’m afraid no one will be interested in anything else for the time being. That’s because the Seeker Guild’s announcement is to declare a state of emergency over the fact that a Variant will cross over in six months」
At my words, Thomas’ eyes shot open.
「……I, is that true?」
「It’s true. There’s no doubt about it as it’s something I heard from the inspector in charge of my clan. I was forbidden to speak of it, but there should be no problem talking about it now as they’re going to announce it right after this. The policy of needing to pass a strict screening when creating a clan is also meant to narrow down the Seekers who were likely to be a valuable fighting strength in the decisive battle six months later」
「I, I see. Then, you must be right. However, a Variant crossing over in six months? ……It’s going to be rough throughout the Empire」
Thomas crossed his arms and became lost on thought. Interviewing me was probably the last thing on his mind right now.
But that was fine. I had no intention of taking the interview seriously from the start. The Seeker Guild's announcement was quite a convenient topic. With this, my plan was proceeding smoothly.
「Having heard that, you should understand. Even if I did the interview for the column, no one will read an article like that」
「Certainly, it's as you've said...... The story being what it is, not just one page, it might take up the entire newspaper, so there's a possibility that there might not even be any space left for my column」
「Right? That's why I'm proposing that we change the date. --And, let’s also change the format of the interview. Instead of interviewing me only, how about gathering the clan masters of several major clans, and conducting a joint interview?」
「A joint interview?」
I nodded at Thomas, who had tilted his head, and continued talking.
「The entire nation should be interested in how the major clans are planning to deal with the threat of the Variant. Each clan master will discuss it in an interview format, and your company will get to write an exclusive article about it. I’ll guarantee its newsworthiness」
「That's great! It's a wonderful idea!」
Thomas rose to his feet with a twinkle in his eyes.
「By all means, please let my company do it! We’ll cooperate fully with you!」
「Then, can I leave the arrangement and preparation of the venue to you? Let's throw a luxurious party in order to raise its newsworthiness. I want to invite not only Seekers, but also the rich and famous」
「Understood. Please leave the venue to us. Is it okay if we leave the guest list to Mister Noel?」
「Yes, I'll take charge of that」
「However, will you be able to get the other clan masters to consent when you reach out to them? Certainly, Wild Tempest has been gaining fame since it debuted as a clan, but most of your peers won’t take kindly to you for that reason alone. It might be a little bit difficult to gather people using Mister Noel's name……」
Thomas's concern was natural. I was just a novice clan master whose clan had only just debuted, and I had a pretty bad reputation on top of that. There would probably be very few people who would consent when a youngster like me reached out to them. No, there would probably be none at all. For that reason, I’m going to make good use of『that guy』.
「No problem. The joint interview will be held using another Seeker’s name」
「And who might that other Seeker be?」
I smiled faintly at Thomas’ question.
「Sieg Feinstein, the sub-master of Supreme Dragon Squad, the strongest clan in the imperial capital」
†
†
After I parted ways with Thomas, I came to a steep rocky mountain that was an hour away by horse from the imperial capital. The rock face was steep, and there weren’t any decent trails up the mountain. I needed to scale a cliff, and even for me, a person who trained constantly, it wasn’t easy to reach the summit.
The air at the summit was thin, and the wind, which was cold as ice, was blowing fiercely. It wasn’t a place where people could stay for long. But according to Loki, Sieg came here often. I surveyed the surroundings, looking for him, and a bizarre sight caught my eye.
「The mountain is moving……」
To be precise, part of the rock face was moving up and down. When I went closer to confirm the truth of the bizarre phenomenon, I was so startled that I was at a loss for words.
There, just one man had lifted up a rock the size of a small hill.
Estimating its weight from its size, that rock was probably about 4,000 tons. Moreover, with that rock still lifted up above his head, the man was doing squats.
It was no longer a feat that could be accomplished by humans. His strength had surpassed the realm of humanity and had reached the domain of gods.
「So this is the power of an active EX Rank……」
Eventually, the man--Sieg Feinstein threw the rock he had lifted up far away. With a thunderous roar, the impact it made caused the ground to shake violently.
Sieg, with steam rising from his naked upper body, removed a towel from a bag near his feet, and wiped his sweat. His body, which boasted superhuman strength, was thin and supple instead of big and bulky. In all likelihood, the density of his muscles was probably tremendous. Even though he looked slender, he should be many times heavier than normal.
After Sieg had finished wiping his lightly curled flaxen hair with the towel, he turned back, and upon seeing me, he smiled gently even though he was a little bit surprised.
「What an unusual visitor」
「I never expected you to be a hard worker. I’ve certainly never even dreamed of doing this kind of aberrant training. I’ve changed my mind a little bit about you」
「Thank you for your praise. But "hard worker" is not a phrase that make me happy」
Sieg took out a bottle of water and wet his throat before continuing.
「If it’s Noel, you should understand. That there’s nothing glorious about the word “effort”. All that’s needed, is results. Even children can put in effort. In the first place, how many people are there in this world who have never put in effort? In other words, effort is the proof of mediocrity. If anything, it’s shameful to be covered in sweat like this. If it could be fulfilled, I would wish that my efforts would disappear like bubbles, and leave only the results」
Mediocrity, huh? You wouldn’t think that those were the words of someone who had reached EX Rank. However, it didn’t seem like he was boasting in a self-deprecating manner. They felt like words spoken from his heart.
This mentality of being able to work harder than anyone else, despite disparaging effort as something that was worthless, was probably the very thing that made this man push himself up into becoming one of the strongest Seekers in the imperial capital. In other words, he had the willingness to do whatever was necessary in order to become strong.
「Well, what do you want? You went out of your way to come to a place like this to meet me. Seems like it’s not something we can talk about in the imperial capital. Even now, if you want to capitulate to Supreme Dragon Squad, you’ll be warmly welcomed, but it doesn’t look like that’s what you came for」
「I have a favor to ask of you. Will you listen to my request?」
「I seem to remember you saying horrible things about me, but...... Well, I'm an adult too, so I’ll let bygones be bygones. If it’s just listening, then I don’t mind listening to your request」
I had gotten his consent, so I approached him. When I did, Sieg pointed to the brooch--the silver winged snake that was the emblem of Wild Tempest, that was pinned to my chest.
「That clan emblem has become quite famous. Consequently, rather than calling you guys by your clan name, the other Seekers tend to call you guys『Snakes』instead. When talking about snakes in the imperial capital, it means Wild Tempest, and also refers to you personally」
「And what of it?」
「Snakes are creatures that entice people, aren’t they? I just thought that I might get poisoned and swallowed whole if I’m not careful」
When Sieg shrugged his shoulders, I smiled wryly.
「Don't worry. I have no intention of baring my fangs against you」
--For now, at least.
「My request is for you to lend me your name」
I told him about the joint interview that Modern Opinion and I were planning to conduct. After my explanation was over, Sieg looked quite interested as he stroked his chin.
「It sounds pretty interesting. And your goal is to find a patron in this party that you call a joint interview?」
「Yes, that's right. I need money, you see」
When I nodded, Sieg smiled in a mean-spirited way.
「Noel, that's a lie, isn't it? No, that might also be one of your goals. But your real goal is to use this joint interview, which will have a large influence on the public, to clear Hugo's false accusations, right?」
「Hmm, so you knew about it」
Just like how I had an information broker called Loki, Sieg probably had an information network of his own as well. There was nothing surprising about the fact that he knew.
「You're not going to deny it?」
「Even if it’s known, it’s no skin off my nose」
Like Sieg said, my real purpose was to guide public opinion in order to clear the false accusations against Hugo.
It was difficult to influence the authoritarian Justice Department. That was why I had been using Loki to gather extremely useful information.
I had already assembled all the evidence that could prove Hugo’s innocence, but I needed one last move to get public opinion on my side. That would allow me to create a situation where the Justice Department, and by extension the country itself, had no choice but to admit that the accusations against Hugo were false.
This would not have been feasible when we were still Blue Beyond. With merely the status of promising rookies, there would probably be no one who would listen to what we had to say. But it was different now. And we were also able to prepare a place where we could protest Hugo's innocence in a more sensational manner.
「Noel, your plan isn’t bad. You’ll probably get the results that you’re hoping for. But something like that is inconvenient for me. Is there any reason why I should accept your request in spite of that?」
「Of course, I’ll prepare a reward for you」
「I wonder what kind of amazing reward it is? By all means, tell me about it」
「I'll let you fight Lioud」
When I told him that, Sieg's face became blank.
The imperial capital, the holy land for Seekers, had two people who were referred to as the strongest. One of them was Sieg Feinstein, the sub-master of Supreme Dragon Squad, who was standing right in front of me. And the other was Lioud Edin, the clan master of Hundred Demon Parade.
Supreme Dragon Squad was the higher ranked clan of the two, but Sieg and Lioud were both the same EX Rank. Moreover, unlike Victor, the other EX Rank and the clan master of Supreme Dragon Squad, both of them were also at their peak physically. For that reason, the current trend in the imperial capital was to treat both of them as equals as far as their strength was concerned.
However, I learned from our previous exchange that the prideful Sieg was dissatisfied with that treatment. He wanted to make it clear whether Lioud or him was stronger. However, they were both men in positions of responsibility. They would never be permitted to fight for selfish and personal reasons.
Yes, I knew too, that he had been forcing himself to accept that.
「You want to fight Lioud, right? If it's me, I can fulfill that wish」
「Certainly, I want to fight Lioud. I want to get it over with and make it clear which of us is truly the strongest. But I'm in a position where I have responsibilities to uphold. I'm not allowed to have personal fights where there’s a danger to my life」
「That's why, in a place acknowledged by everyone, I'll let you fight to your heart's content without having to worry about dying」
「……How are you going to accomplish that?」
I decided to not give him the answer immediately, but to explain things in order.
「Wild Tempest will become one of the Regalia in six months」
At my declaration, Sieg didn’t say anything. I didn’t know if the sub-master of the strongest clan thought that it was possible, but at the very least, he didn’t laugh and say that it was impossible. Sieg simply urged me on with his silence.
「Regalia is a title that’s bestowed by the Emperor. In other words, I’ll be granted an audience. At that time, I’m going to propose a certain plan to the Emperor」
「A certain plan?」
「To hold a battle tournament that all Seekers will have the right to participate in」
「What did you say!?」
Sieg opened his eyes wide with surprise. I continued my explanation.
「As you probably know, a Variant is going to cross over in this Empire. Considering the uneasiness of the citizens, you’ll need to hold a grand event to allay their fears. The Emperor will definitely approve of my plan. And since it's held in the name of the Emperor, many prominent Seekers will also want to compete in the tournament to showcase their abilities. Especially the Regalia, who will be fighting the Variant directly」
The Variant would most likely be challenged by an alliance formed of Regalia. In that case, the identity of the person who would become the commander-in-chief and take command of them would becomes a hot topic.
Going by achievements, it would be Victor, the clan master of Supreme Dragon Squad. But Victor was too old. It would be impossible for him to fight while taking command at the front.
In other words, given that Victor was excluded, everyone else in Regalia had a chance of becoming the commander-in-chief. And that would mean that the tournament that I was planning to hold would become the perfect stage for those who wanted to be the commander-in-chief to show off their abilities.
Of course, for me as well.
「I see, I see...... I see! That idea is a loophole, isn't it? If the rules prohibit the killing of opponents, I can certainly fight Lioud. Moreover, if it's a tournament that's acknowledged by the Emperor, it won't be regarded as a problem even if I, the sub-master of Supreme Dragon Squad, takes part in it」
「Exactly. I'm still working on the rules, but I plan to make it so that even those of different Ranks can fight head on, and everyone has a chance of winning」
「That's an interesting idea. But is it alright for you to reveal so much? I can steal that idea and hold the tournament myself, you know? If I kill you here and now, no one would think that it’s an idea that someone else came up with. What’s more, this is quite conveniently a place that’s rarely visited by anyone」
I snorted with laughter at Sieg's transparent threat.
「You shouldn't say things that you don’t mean. You’re thinking that, rather than holding the tournament yourself, it's faster to use me, aren't you? Above all, can you say the words『Please participate』to Lioud?」
「……You’ve got me there. Pride is really burdensome, isn’t it?」
Sieg made a sour face and turned his back on me.
「Fine, I'll take part in your plan. I'll lend you my name, so in exchange, be sure to hold the battle tournament the day you become one of the Regalia」
「I will. I swear by name of my grandfather, Brandon Stollen」
We had come to an agreement. Just when I was about to turn on my heel and leave, Sieg unexpectedly continued.
「Noel, I want to ask you one thing. Between Lioud and me, who do you think is stronger?」
「……I’ve never met Lioud directly. However, from what I can tell from his battle records, Lioud is stronger. Lioud is undoubtedly the strongest Seeker in the imperial capital」
In truth, Sieg was exceptionally strong as well. However, even if they were the same EX Rank, Lioud was far superior according to my predictions.
「Well, I’ll believe in your analysis. In other words, I'm going to be the challenger. ......That fires me up!」
In an instant, Sieg let out a magnificent fighting spirit. I couldn’t see his expression as he had his back to me, but I was pretty sure that Sieg had a deep smile on his face.
「Sieg, I don't hate that about you」
Those words that I had muttered softly were swept away by the fierce winds and disappeared without reaching Sieg.
Noel casually throwing Kouga and Leon to the wolves, er... I mean Mary. I really love how his childishness has slowly been creeping back recently. It’s a good counterbalance and helps remind us that he’s still a kid after all.
Tournament arc! That’s probably coming in the future but it’s a tournament arc, guys!
Sieg casually lifting hills for training, and also casually revealing what this arc is about…… Are you getting excited, Ilyr?
Those last two lines…… Is Sieg going to be one of the troubled geniuses who join Noel? But Leon is already the sub-master, and I don’t see Sieg willing to be anything less, since he’s so prideful…… Either way, it’s not something that we’ll find out anytime soon.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login