Arc 32: Kraken (5)

Kraken stepped into a sewer somewhere. It was the scene Frondier had glimpsed beyond the portal.

As befitted the place, the sewer reeked of rot. But Kraken found nothing unpleasant about it. He had devoured every stench beneath the water. Everything that rotted underwater had become his nourishment.

"Hmm-hmm~ Master Frondier was more entertaining than I expected."

Kraken hummed as though he had just returned from a blind date.

His original objective had been nothing more than the business cards. The man called Frondier was not yet his concern. It was simply Frondier's position that made him a suitable sacrifice for Indus to rise upon; the man himself was nothing special.

"But you need to cool your temper a little, Master Frondier. You can't solve everything in the world by acting purely on emotion—"

Kraken stopped muttering advice that would never reach its intended listener.

He sensed something approaching from far away. No, flying toward him.

No, at this speed, even calling it flight...

"Uh, wha—"

While Kraken was still making that foolish noise—

ZIP—

ZIP-ZIP-ZIP!

Whatever had entered the sewer changed direction several times, too fast even for Kraken's eyes to follow, then pierced his right knee in an instant.

THWIP!

"Hurk?!"

Kraken screamed, his entire body buckling.

His right knee. He rolled his eyes toward his pierced knee in disbelief.

One of his hearts was there.

THUD.

Kraken collapsed.

"Hah! Hah! Haaah...!"

Drool streamed from his mouth. Both the drool and the edges of his foolishly hanging mouth kept stretching into tentacle-like shapes, then returning to human form.

Only after several seconds did he finally manage to steady his ragged breathing.

'An arrow...?'

He couldn't be certain, but the thing his eyes had barely caught seemed to have been shaped like an arrow.

Yes, just before he had crossed the portal, Frondier had taken out a bow.

"One of my hearts..."

Kraken had three cores. He was merely pretending to be human and had no such thing as a heart, but he called his cores his "hearts."

No matter what part of him was cut off or burned, Kraken could restore his original body. But if all three cores were destroyed, he would die.

And one of them had just been blown away, without the slightest warning.

'The plan...'

He was a member of Indus. With "revolution" as their supreme mandate, they had countless preparations to make.

Kraken, too, had tasks for which he had to be prepared to risk his life. There had been a plan for which he was already prepared to lose two of his three lives.

And now an arrow like this had taken one...

"Kh..."

But Kraken laughed. This would surely give Frondier one mistaken impression.

That I am dead.

Frondier doesn't know I have three hearts. He is bound to make that mistake.

"Kh... heh heh..."

Thus, this one lost life would become a move that would someday corner Frondier.

Look, Frondier. I am still here, alive and well.

Since I am not dead, the plan can proceed. With a few adjustments, it can proceed as far as I please.

I am not dead. That is enough.

I am not dead...

"Kh... heh heh... Frondier..."

... And yet.

Why were the corners of his mouth gradually turning downward?

Why were his eyes becoming bloodshot?

His body trembling, he threw back his head.

"FRONDIEEEER!!!!"

Even Kraken himself did not know why he screamed like a madman.

* * *

After waking Gregory, I made him revoke the command imposed on the students.

Fortunately, although the command had been delivered in Serf's voice, canceling it fell to Gregory, who had handed out the business cards.

Pascal cuffed Gregory's wrists. Since getting caught had been his objective from the start, Gregory complied without resistance.

"Get some rest now. The teachers will take it from here."

"The teachers..."

Pascal's words suddenly reminded me of something.

"Come to think of it, what happened to the other teachers? Did they receive business cards too...?"

But that explanation was strange, too. If they had received the cards, they would have been controlled and come to attack me. Yet not a single teacher had done so.

Pascal nodded.

"Yes. It appeared they had all received business cards. However..."

"However?"

"Every single teacher resisted."

He said it as though it were only natural.

"Immediately after the command 'Kill Frondier' came over the speakers, every teacher nearby stopped in their tracks. They remained conscious, but none of them moved a single step. Their resistance was remarkable."

That reminded me of Saibel.

She, too, had resisted without losing consciousness after receiving Serf's business card. Even so, resisting had become too much for her, and she had nearly killed me.

But all the teachers had managed to resist? For this long?

"The president was actually moving of his own free will. He even used magic. That surprised me."

"Magic...? What was the president doing?"

"Maintaining a barrier to contain the teachers. If any of them failed to resist and tried to kill you, we would have had a truly serious incident on our hands."

I see. So Ospreet, a Zodiac, could go that far.

Just then, the auditorium doors opened.

"Ah, there you are! Frondier!!"

Saibel came in first, approaching with a wave. Behind her came Elodie, Aten, and the other students who had helped me.

"Is everything all right now?"

"I'm done! I don't even have the strength to lift anything anymore!"

They came up to me, each adding their own comment. Gratitude welled up in my chest as I looked at them. Yes, I could never have resolved this incident without them.

"Thank you. Things would've gone really badly without you."

I spoke from the bottom of my heart, looking at Saibel, then Elodie, then Aten, then Frondier.

...

Frondier?

"Huh?!"

Instinctive terror jolted through my entire body, and I leaped backward.

Wh-what the hell was that?! A doppelgänger? The kind where one of you dies if you meet? Where was my short sword? Damn it, activate Weaving right—

"Frondier, calm down. It's Quinier."

"Huh?"

At Saibel's words, the person wearing Frondier's face let out an "Ah." They reached up and peeled off their face, starting from beneath the ear.

The real face revealed underneath did indeed belong to Quinier de Biet.

"... Oh. It was a mask."

The face had startled me so badly, but everything else was different: the color and length of her hair, her figure, her clothes. She was even carrying her signature fan.

If I'd kept even a little composure, I would have recognized her immediately. I'd simply been too shocked.

"That's right."

Even as Quinier answered, she looked unwell. Not merely unwell—she was deathly pale, with a dark, sickly cast to her complexion, as though she really were about to die.

"I'm never doing this shit again."

"... Ah."

Her muttering let me piece it together.

She had put on a mask and pretended to be me to draw the students' attention. Having unconscious students moving like corpses swarm you would be a pretty terrifying sight.

... Like corpses.

I closed my mouth and looked at Quinier. She opened her fan to cover her mouth and spoke with her eyes instead.

'Don't let it show.'

Understood.

"By the way, where did Aster go?"

"He's fighting right now," Elodie said.

Fighting?

"Why? The students should have come to their senses by now."

"That's why he's fighting."

"Huh?"

It happened just then.

CRAAASH!

Something slammed violently into the athletic field outside the auditorium.

We went outside to see what was happening.

There was Aster, pinned underneath Robald, pushing against Robald's face with his foot.

"You lunatic! You weren't in your right mind!"

"I refuse to accept it! Don't think you've won after a fight like that!"

"I don't think that, so get the hell off me!"

Oh. Hearing Aster speak that roughly was rather refreshing.

Elodie explained.

"Apparently, Aster had used Aura and almost completely subdued Robald while he was unconscious. But then Robald woke up, and now he's throwing a fit, yelling, 'That wasn't a proper match!'"

"... Typical Robald."

I sighed and watched them.

"Aster! A rematch! Right now! I'll show you my true strength!"

"Are you out of your mind?! I can't fight right now!"

"Why not?!"

"I used up all my strength stopping you while you were out of your mind, you idiot!!"

At Aster's shout, Robald abruptly fell silent and blinked.

Then he stopped crowding Aster and stood up.

"Hmm. I see. You used up all your strength stopping me. Hmm. I see."

"... Yes."

"In other words, I was incredibly strong even while unconscious."

Oh, was that all it took?

Relieved, I thought the tension might ease in this peculiar way.

If those two fought, there was no telling who might get caught in the crossfire, or how. That innocent bystander could be me.

"Oh, by the way, Robald."

But Aster spoke as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"What is it, Aster?"

Aster gave Robald a bright smile.

A vein bulged on his face.

"You fight better when you're unconscious."

"... What?"

"Next time you want to fight me, go bash your head against something first. Then you might actually win."

"You son of a bitch!!"

Robald lunged. The two went rolling around, trading blows again.

All feeling draining away, I simply watched them as though watching a movie.

"He could've just let it slide. Honestly, Aster."

Elodie sighed.

"Well, Aster has a massive amount of pride, too."

That side of him was part of what made him this game's protagonist.

* * *

That night, after returning to the estate, I headed for Selena's room.

I stood outside her door and considered for a moment.

... What was I supposed to do when visiting my bodyguard's room? Would it be better to call for her, or knock?

After a moment's consideration, I knocked.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Selena, it's me."

"Master Frondier? If you give me an order, I'll come at once—"

"No. I have business inside your room."

"... Inside my room?"

"Yes."

There was no answer from inside for a moment after my reply.

Then—

"In that case, please give me five minutes. I won't be long."

"Five minutes? You only need to open the door. I'll come in—"

"Ah! No! I'll just chang—no, I'll only be a moment."

A flurry of noises moved around the room: rustling, the swish of fabric, and a scraping sound like a wooden door opening.

I sighed and said,

"You don't need to change. My business has absolutely nothing to do with that."

The noises stopped dead.

"I wasn't changing. I don't know what you were imagining, but I was merely following the proper procedure for welcoming you into my room, Master Frondier—"

"All right. Is that procedure finished?"

"... Yes. Please come in."

Only then did the door open.

Selena was wearing loose, baggy pajamas. They were completely different from the uncomfortably tight-looking nightwear she had worn when we first met.

... Right. Of course they were.

I entered and took a long look around. Hmm, it had everything a room should have. Just what I'd expect of the Roah Estate.

"What brings you here?"

"Something very important for you."

Selena's expression tightened at my answer. Yes, she would do well to be nervous.

I continued.

"Starting today, I will teach you the ancient language."