Arc 31: Rumors (6)

Elodie and I flew into the sky and landed on a rooftop.

From above, I could tell at a glance which students were being controlled and which weren't. The unaffected students were visibly bewildered.

... Still, the controlled students far outnumbered them. They spotted me and began entering the building. In other words, we couldn't stay here long either.

“Frondier, have you finally made enemies of the entire student body?”

“What do you mean, ‘finally’?”

She made it sound like I'd planned this.

“I'm kidding.”

Elodie looked down at the students below the building as she spoke.

“... Those expressions look familiar.”

“So you remember.”

Elodie nodded. She'd been there during the cabin incident, so she knew about Serf's ability.

She asked, “Is Serf Daniel alive?”

“... I don't know.”

It was definitely Serf's ability controlling the students. We'd just heard his voice over the broadcast, too.

But something didn't add up. Not only had I yet to see his face, I still didn't think he could be alive.

... Perhaps I simply didn't want to believe it. The Divine-grade bow Chryselakatos never missed.

“I've fought them before, but they're a real pain. Knocking them out doesn't even work.”

Elodie muttered to herself. Indeed, people under Serf's control couldn't be knocked unconscious. To be precise, they were already unconscious. They probably felt as though they were floundering through a dream.

That suddenly struck me as odd, and I asked, “Come to think of it, you're fine. I'd have been terrified if you were an enemy.”

Of course, there were a few other students who'd kept their senses. Had Elodie simply been lucky enough to avoid it too?

“...”

But Elodie suddenly fell silent. Her mouth opened and closed hesitantly. Even her ears seemed to have turned red.

Finally, she forced the words out.

“... I'm, um, one of the people the rumors are about.”

“Hm?”

“Whoever's spreading the rumors about you is handing out Serf's business cards along with them. The name ‘Indus’ carries a lot of credibility. They probably gave one person a whole stack.”

“... Oh. Then whoever got the cards handed them out to friends and acquaintances, to make the rumors they'd heard sound more convincing. So the number of people with cards grew exponentially that way.”

Elodie nodded.

“That's why the people the rumors are about wouldn't get any cards. The students who want to spread rumors aren't the same ones who want to know whether they're true.”

An interesting rumor was entertainment enough for students all on its own. Naturally, they wanted to spread it.

For those students, the longer it took for the truth to come out, the better. Once it did, the fun would be over.

That was why the cards never reached the people who could establish the truth—the subjects of the rumors themselves.

... But then.

“Oh, so you know too. About the rumors going around. Hey, you have no idea how much trouble they were giving me just now. The one about you and me dating—”

WHOOSH

Flames sprang up in front of me as I spoke. Even two paces away, I could feel their frightening heat against my skin.

Elodie's eyes flashed.

“It's a false rumor, so it ends today.”

“... Right.”

Why was she getting angry? We were on the same page.

But Elodie lowered her gaze and muttered something.

“Well, as long as it's not that one, I don't mind the others spreading. They're true, after all.”

“... Hm?”

Just then, running footsteps sounded from the rooftop entrance.

I furrowed my brow.

“Are the controlled students here already?”

“Probably.”

Elodie nodded.

“Frondier, do you know where Serf might be?”

“... Yeah.”

“Then go find him. I'll handle the students somehow.”

I nodded. My immediate destination was the broadcasting room. That was where Serf had made his announcement.

It seemed Serf and Gregory wanted me dead, considering how long they'd spent putting this plan into motion. In that case, they wouldn't run away after bringing things this far. They still needed to kill me.

... But how was I supposed to get from this rooftop to the broadcasting room? I couldn't use the rooftop door with students coming up through it.

“Don't worry about things here. Just go. Once you land on the ground, run west, and you'll be at the broadcasting room's building in no time.”

Elodie spoke as she gathered her mana.

... Um, by ‘land,’ did she mean I should fall from here?

I stood at the edge of the building and looked down. This was, uh, a five-story building, wasn't it?

It was nice that Elodie's opinion of me had improved so much, but I wished she understood how many conditions my abilities came with. Not that I could let her know.

‘Right, this time I'll use Mjolnir—’

Just as I thought that, I spotted someone casting magic on the ground far in the distance.

That pure-white silhouette was unmistakable, even from here.

It was Aten.

Ice Magic, Formula One

Range Enhancement, Sustained

Emergency Escape

A long slide formed, connecting the rooftop directly to where Aten stood. It was made of ice, of course.

“Oh, you were waiting for Aten. I wondered why you were just standing there. I can never tell how much you know.”

Elodie chided me.

... Well, let's just let that pass.

I stepped onto the slide. The ice was cold, but bearable enough.

“I'm off, then, Elodie! Be careful!”

“Just go! And watch out for the teachers! If they haven't responded by now, there's a good chance some of them are being controlled too!”

She was right. I nodded and settled onto the slide. Pushing off with my arms, I let the slope carry me.

“Wheee!”

“Can't you just leave quietly?!”

* * *

The sheer number of students pouring into the building and marching briskly upstairs was a spectacle in itself.

The students who still had their senses backed away in fear. One glance at those faces was enough to know something was wrong.

Robald was among the procession, giving the others all the more reason to keep their distance.

“Hey, Robald. Where are you going?”

Some people, however, paid no mind to such things.

Aster was a little surprised by the enormous procession, but when he spotted Robald among them, he tried to ask what was going on.

Of course, the unconscious Robald simply walked on without a word.

Aster watched him ignore the question and pass by. Then he heard Robald mutter under his breath.

“Frondier... Kill...”

“Uh, wait. Wait, wait, wait.”

Aster immediately fell into step beside him. Both the words and his voice were far too sinister to ignore.

“You're going to kill Frondier?”

“... Kill...”

“Oh?”

He wasn't in his right mind.

Reaching that conclusion at once, Aster blocked Robald's path with his sheathed sword.

“You're not going any farther, Robald.”

“...”

Robald's unfocused eyes turned toward Aster. Seeing them confirmed his suspicion. Something had happened to Robald. Probably to every one of these students.

“Even if I let all the others through, Frondier will manage somehow. But not you. You're dangerous even when you're out of your mind. Though you're a pain when you're in your right mind too.”

“... In... the way...”

Robald's face contorted. Veins bulged at his temples, and the muscles running up from his neck stood out sharply. His body grew slightly larger.

Simply tensing every muscle made his entire body visibly swell.

“... I never thought we'd end up fighting like this.”

Robald was always the one clamoring for a fight, yet now that they were actually going to fight, Aster was the one picking it. He couldn't help finding it ironic.

Blue energy enveloped Aster's scabbard. Its vivid color was now visible even to someone without a particularly keen sense for energy.

It was aura, which he'd learned to manifest at will over the vacation.

He decided not to use his divine power. His goal was to subdue Robald, not hurt him.

Could he subdue someone of Robald's caliber without seriously injuring him, even if he wasn't in his right mind?

Yet Aster smiled fearlessly.

“I haven't had a chance to see how much stronger I've gotten.”

Robald assumed a fighting stance. Even unconscious, his body remembered the movements. Aster drew his sword back and lowered his body, leaving the scabbard on.

“This is a good opportunity.”

A moment later, they charged at each other as though cleaving through the air.

* * *

I ran toward the broadcasting room with Aten.

“Menosorpo.”

I activated the magic circle and pushed back the attacking students with shields.

Plenty of students were still after me, but with Aten's help, I was managing somehow.

Her specialty in ice magic was a tremendous help in stopping them without hurting them.

“I'm glad you didn't get a business card either!”

“I'm one of the subjects of the rumors too.”

Aten answered as she ran beside me. Her expression remained as placid as ever, which was actually reassuring in a situation like this.

“By the way, Frondier.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to make me your slave?”

I looked at Aten at the absurd question. I wondered if she was joking, but her expression hadn't changed.

At times like these, that placid face was terrifying.

“... Uh, you're joking, right?”

“Of course not. Most of the rumors about me were along those lines. That you'd found some weakness of mine and were blackmailing me over it.”

Yes, I knew. I'd just fought Robald over that.

“So I wondered whether that might be what you secretly wanted. You know the saying, don't you? There's no smoke without fire.”

“First of all, I didn't start that fire, okay? I don't want anything like that.”

Make an imperial princess my slave? Even in a fantasy, that would strain plausibility.

“But it would be a sufficient explanation.”

“What do you mean?”

“More students have started wondering why I follow you around. But if I were being blackmailed, that would answer their questions.”

“You want me to actually make you my slave just to answer the students' questions?”

Was this like that advice about giving someone a reason if they hated you for no reason?

Was she suggesting we add a blackmail premise just to provide a plausible reason for her to follow me around?

“That's ridiculous. And treating you like that would be horrible.”

“... I wouldn't particularly mind—”

“Enough!”

How strange. Aten wasn't stupid, but she kept missing the point in the oddest places.

And wasn't there a much simpler solution?

“You could just stop following me around in the first place!”

“Rejected.”

Why, you little...

“Then I reject your idea too! A slave? That's not something you should even joke about!”

“It wasn't a joke. I was about ten percent serious—”

“That's what you call a joke!”

“...!”

Aten stared at me, her eyes widening.

“Is that what it means?”

... Ah.

I wanted to see Serf as soon as possible. I wanted to beat him to death.

These definitely weren't feelings that had just been provoked. I'd felt that way all along.

... I was going to tear him limb from limb.