Arc 31: Rumors (3)

Pascal was at his mansion, leaning against a window as he spoke with someone.

“Your information was wrong!”

Pascal shouted. It had been a long time since he had felt this angry.

[“My apologies. I believed the information to be quite reliable.”]

A crow busily worked its beak in front of him.

“A misunderstanding...”

Pascal could understand how it had happened, though he could not accept it.

During their light(?) sparring match, Frondier had definitely deflected his Aura. But he had not done it by releasing Aura of his own. Whatever he had used, it had been completely invisible, unlike Aura.

‘What a strange technique.’

He had been unable to see it, but judging by the distance between them when his Aura was knocked aside, its reach was considerable.

He could not be certain, since he had sensed it through his Aura, but it had felt like metal. Another sword, then? Or a shield? Was Frondier keeping an invisibility spell on his weapon?

“Bring me accurate information next time. That’s why I’m keeping in touch with your people.”

[“Of course. We at Indus will always work toward our mutual benefit, Lord Pascal.”]

“You certainly know what to say.”

Despite his reproach, Pascal generally trusted the information the crow supplied.

Its information about the knights was particularly reliable. Whenever the crow brought him word of a knight’s misconduct, that knight would soon be arrested or flee.

Pascal had no interest in what happened to the other knights at the Imperial Palace. He was perfectly happy without them. It meant fewer rivals at the palace.

After all, he had only one goal: to become the empress’s bodyguard.

[“Then I look forward to your assistance with our next piece of information as well. Please be thorough in ‘verifying’ it.”]

“Fine. Though I don’t know why Indus is doing this.”

[“We merely strive to expose lies and bring the truth to light. The more the palace’s dark underside is laid bare, the easier your own ascent will be.”]

Was that really for the commoners’ benefit?

He did not know why Indus, which claimed to serve the commoners, had approached him. But as long as it kept supplying information, he intended to make good use of it.

“All right. Off you go.”

Pascal waved the crow away.

CAW!

Already behaving like an ordinary bird again, the crow cried out and vanished.

“Whew. I nearly hurt a student.”

Pascal muttered to himself.

Just then, a different crow from the one that had flown away came to the window. It carried a slip of paper in its beak.

“What is this?”

[“Our Indus business card. I brought it in the hope of maintaining a close relationship with you, Lord Pascal.”]

“A business card...?”

Pascal took the paper and studied it in silence.

* * *

I had asked Aten to help me meet Empress Philly.

Trying to arrange a meeting with the empress this way was absurd in itself, but given the circumstances, I had no choice.

There was, however, one small problem to deal with before I met her.

“Selena. I have something else to investigate today. Go back without me.”

I spoke to Selena, who stood quietly beside me.

She answered in a voice that seemed brimming with loyalty.

“Wherever you are is where I belong, Lord Frondier. At all times and in all places, I shall exist to protect you.”

... Sigh.

Lately, I had come to realize that Selena was a victim of rote learning.

I had no idea what the Ten Thousand Capes had taught her or how, but while her expressions and delivery were flawless, none of it fit the situation.

‘Having Selena involved will only complicate things.’

I considered it for a moment, though there was really no need. All I had to do was tell her the truth.

“Fine, then stay with me. Her Majesty the Empress will be here shortly.”

“... By Her Majesty the Empress, do you mean the Terst Empire’s one and only empress, Philly Ter—”

“Too long. And yes.”

Selena shut her mouth at my answer. After standing frozen for a moment, she bowed her head politely.

“If Her Majesty will be at your side, there is surely no need for me to remain. I shall withdraw as ordered.”

“... All right.”

I considered teasing her a little, but decided it was too much trouble. The instant I answered, Selena vanished. It was almost like she was running away—no, she was simply running away.

For some reason, Selena was terribly afraid of powerful people.

VROOM

As I waited outside the school gates, a sedan stopped in front of me. It was an entirely different vehicle from the one I had seen last time. I had heard they changed cars regularly to avoid attracting attention.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Philly. This is truly important, so I hope you’ll excuse my... presumptuousness...”

I hurried to speak as the window rolled down.

Then I saw him.

“... What did you just say?”

A man with sharply handsome features was glaring at me, his gaze like a honed blade.

... It was Atzier.

“Frondier, did you just call Her Majesty ‘Ms. Philly’—”

“Oh, Frondier. It’s been a while. Did you enjoy your vacation?”

Philly waved at me from the seat beside him, then turned to Atzier.

“It’s all right. I gave him permission.”

“Permission? You mean you gave him permission to call you ‘Ms. Philly’?”

“Yes. He’s earned that right. Frondier, you can sit in the front passenger seat.”

At her invitation, I walked hesitantly around the car and climbed into the passenger seat.

... I could feel Atzier’s burning stare behind me. No, rather than burning, it felt as though his gaze were boring into the back of my head like an awl.

“Frondier, I’ll question you about what you just said later. You had better prepare a proper answer that will convince me.”

“You will not. I told you I gave him permission, didn’t I? If you reprimand Frondier over this, I’ll take it to mean you’ve disregarded my words.”

Atzier glared at me, and Philly defended me. Throughout their exchange, I did not utter a word.

I felt I might actually die if I said the wrong thing.

“So, Frondier, why did you ask to see me? If it’s nothing important, even someone as generous as I am won’t forgive you.”

Philly changed the subject for me. Her consideration nearly brought tears to my eyes.

“... Your Majesty, do you happen to—”

“Call me Ms. Philly. You always have.”

“...”

I looked at Philly in the rearview mirror. She was smiling. She seemed to be in a very good mood.

“... Do you happen to know a knight named Pascal—”

“Call. Me. Ms. Philly.”

My attempt to gloss over it did not work either.

“... Ms. Philly, do you happen to know a knight named Pascal?”

“Of course I do. How could I not know one of the palace’s promising knights? I also know he’s working as a teacher at Constel.”

Philly sounded thoroughly pleased, her reply overflowing with warmth.

Beside her, Atzier squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.

For now, I would have to force myself to ignore him.

“Well, Pascal believes I can use Aura.”

“Hmm, I see?”

“I don’t know exactly where or how that false rumor spread, but I doubt Pascal believed it without any basis whatsoever. It must have been a convincing lie. In that case, whoever spread that rumor is most likely—”

“Wait a moment, Frondier.”

Philly interrupted me, tilting her head in confusion.

“Why do you call it a false rumor?”

“... Pardon?”

“Hmm?”

Somehow, we were talking at cross-purposes. Philly and I looked at each other with much the same expression.

Then her eyes widened, as though she had realized something extraordinary.

“Frondier, you don’t know how to use Aura?”

“... That’s right. I don’t.”

At my confirmation, Philly’s mouth fell open in even greater surprise.

“But then how did you... Everything you’ve done so far...?”

Even in her surprise, Philly omitted the details. Things like Renzo and the chimera. Once again, I was grateful for her consideration.

“It’s difficult to explain, but I don’t know how to use Aura.”

“... Good heavens.”

Philly fell silent for a moment, apparently thinking something over. Meanwhile, Atzier’s eyes were asking me, ‘What on earth have you been getting up to?’

“Well, all right. So, what were you saying about whoever is behind this?”

“I have an idea who it is.”

“Are they powerful enough to warrant asking for my involvement?”

There was an edge to Philly’s question.

From what she had heard so far, it must have sounded as though I had brought a personal problem to none other than the empire’s empress and was whining for her to solve it.

That was not entirely wrong, but there was one difference.

“I believe a man named Gregory is behind it...”

I told Philly what I had investigated so far and the conclusions I had drawn. After listening to my account, she was silent for a moment before speaking.

“So this Gregory is spreading rumors at Constel, using information obtained through spying.”

“Yes. At Constel, and at the Imperial Palace as well.”

“... Just how much do you know, Frondier?”

Understanding what I meant, Philly asked in disbelief.

That was right. The knights’ recent bizarre misconduct—the simultaneous incidents and the commotion they caused—was also connected to Gregory.

... Though, in truth, this was hardly something I could boast about knowing. The side quest had told me.

Philly narrowed her eyes.

“But spreading so many rumors requires telling a large number of people. Influential people, at that. How is Gregory feeding them information? And why do they believe him and spread his rumors?”

Gregory usually approached others in the form of a crow.

Anyone would find it difficult to believe a crow’s chatter without question. Why had they believed Gregory?

I knew the answer to that as well.

“Gregory is a former member of Indus.”

“...!”

Philly’s expression changed.

Indus was an organization that ostensibly worked to improve commoners’ rights and interests. Both Gregory and Serf Daniel, who had targeted me, had belonged to it.

But after Serf’s death, Indus had successfully cut all ties to the affair, so very few people knew of its dark side.

Philly, of course, was among those few.

“Gregory was expelled from Indus after the police discovered his complicity in the crime. But ordinary citizens have no way of knowing that. That’s the whole point of cutting someone loose to save yourself.”

“... In other words, despite having been expelled, Gregory is still pretending to represent Indus?”

“That’s very likely. He seems to be using Indus’s name to gain the trust of key individuals, then feeding them all sorts of rumors. Even if they’re suspicious at first, once his claims prove true, they’ll begin trusting him as well.”

“What is Gregory’s objective?”

“... I don’t know exactly yet. I believe he’s planning to escape.”

I could at least tell that Gregory was trying to stir up trouble.

If he used Indus’s name to spread every rumor he had collected, it would naturally damage the organization’s reputation.

Even now, the police were investigating the knights’ crimes, while Indus was working to restore its image.

... Still, I had trouble imagining that a commotion caused by rumors could grow all that serious. Wouldn’t it just make things a little noisier?

“With Gregory running wild like this, Indus won’t sit idly by either. My guess is that he means to exploit the opening that creates.”

“I see. Not bad.”

Just as I expected of Philly. She caught on quickly.

I nodded and continued.

“But the information I’ve verified hasn’t told me why the knights are committing these crimes. If we could just learn that, we’d have a lead...”

Just then, a phone rang. It came from beside me—from the driver.

“My apologies. May I answer this?”

“Go ahead.”

Philly gave her permission without concern. The driver took out his Sagephone and raised it to his ear.

VROOM

Then the car began accelerating at an uncanny rate. Its speed, which had been creeping upward, was now impossible to ignore.

I looked at the driver.

“... Hey.”

The moment I spoke in that low voice, the driver wrenched the wheel. His foot stayed on the accelerator. The car kept gaining speed. Ahead lay a guardrail, and beyond it, a cliff with no bottom in sight.

CRASH!!

The sedan slammed into the guardrail and hurtled into the air.