Arc 16: Attack (1)

Ales’s resistance ended without much of a fight. Facing Jane and Malia together would be difficult, since they were teachers just like him. The moment he exposed himself as a traitor in front of me, he was as good as finished.

Ales would soon face a disciplinary hearing. From there, it was the teachers’ job.

... And now it was time for me to fulfill my own role.

“In the end, we need a frontliner.”

After our discussion in the training room, Aten spoke as though she had reached a conclusion. I nodded.

We had checked our respective roles in the training room, simulating what positions we would take when fighting together as a party.

Aten was one of the few people who had actually watched me fight firsthand. Thanks to that, we could assess my fighting style objectively. Our conclusion was that I was better off fighting at a distance.

When I fought the Slab in the dungeon, when I defeated the golem, and when I faced Renzo, I often finished my enemies off at close range. That made me seem like a frontliner, but I actually belonged in the back line.

Though the final blow in most of my fights had been a close-range attack, throwing weapons had played a major part in getting me there. I had wounded the Slab with a thrown dagger to reveal its form, hurled weapons at the golem from a distance to limit its attacks, and consistently attacked Renzo from afar to conceal my final move.

Now that I could use Chryselakatos as well, I was even more effective as a backliner.

“The best choice for a frontliner would be...”

“Aster Evans.”

At my answer, Aten looked as though she had bitten into shit. Well, Philly’s magic was probably still affecting her. According to Philly, the spell wasn’t particularly powerful and would naturally wear off as they spent more time together, but judging by Aten’s reaction, that seemed a long way off.

Truthfully, I didn’t want Aster in my party either. Ideally, I would form my own party without disrupting his, and both parties would work toward clearing the game. So I wouldn’t touch anyone I considered part of Aster’s ideal lineup.

... Aten had originally been one of those ideal members too, but somehow things had turned out this way.

“Then what about Aster’s older sister?”

“His sister?”

Aten tilted her head. Maybe she didn’t know her.

“Elin Evans. The most technically skilled swordswoman among Constel’s students.”

“If she’s the strongest sword fighter at Constel, doesn’t that put her above Aster?”

“... Ah, well, you see.”

I could certainly understand her confusion. Aster used a sword too. That was the catch in the phrase “most technically skilled.”

“She isn’t the strongest sword fighter. She has the best technique.”

“... Oh, I see.”

Elin Evans. Calling her “the most technically skilled swordswoman” was certainly praise, but it also revealed her limitations.

Unlike Evans, Elin had no Divine Power. Nor did she have enough energy. In the world of Etius, mana and aura were fundamentally the same substance, known as “energy.”

Elin had already mastered aura and could use all sorts of techniques derived from it, but she lacked the mana to sustain a prolonged battle. She could use her signature move, “Single Strike,” once per battle, or twice if she pushed herself.

In other words, she was a character who overcame all those disadvantages through technique alone.

'Her natural stamina probably isn’t that good either. That must be why she learned to sleep while walking.'

Outside training, classes, and combat, Elin spent most of her time asleep. If she was walking along in silence, the odds were close to a hundred percent. In the game, it had seemed like nothing more than a running gag, but living in this world, I could see the reasons behind it.

“Anyway, she’d be far too good for our party.”

“If she’s too good for us, wouldn’t that make her hard to recruit?”

Hmm. Sound reasoning always hurt.

“It can’t hurt to ask.”

The chances couldn’t be completely zero. We had defeated a golem together, so we must have developed some camaraderie.

... Right?

* * *

The disciplinary hearing.

Ales sat in the center, with every teacher watching him. Both his arms were restrained.

It was the seat Edwin von Behertio had once occupied. Ales had been the one to corner Edwin then. Now the tables had turned.

“What are we waiting for?”

Someone spoke up. It was Isamaya, the history teacher, who looked Ales over with a displeased expression.

“A teacher betrayed Constel and put an imperial princess in danger. There is no defense or justification for this. We should dismiss him immediately and press charges to hold him accountable. There’s no need even to convene a hearing.”

“Professor Isamaya, don’t be hasty.”

“I simply dislike wasting time.”

Despite another teacher’s attempt to rein Isamaya in, there was no sign of backing down.

“Frondier secured the evidence, didn’t he? And Jane and Malia confirmed it. There’s no room for debate.”

Jane was a little surprised.

'Oh? I thought Isamaya disliked Frondier.'

Isamaya had been embarrassed by Frondier before. Seeing him taking no notes, Isamaya had asked him a question as a test, only to have the intention behind it exposed and become a target of the students’ ridicule. Frondier was famous, and rumors involving him spread just as quickly.

Jane spoke frankly.

“I’m surprised. I thought you disliked Frondier, Isamaya.”

“Of course I find that insolent brat unpleasant.”

Isamaya nodded as though that went without saying, even giving a snort.

“But those are my personal feelings. They are no reason to distort the facts.”

At Isamaya’s firm declaration, Jane gave an intrigued hum and smiled.

“However, this hearing isn’t being held to determine Ales’s guilt. As you said, the charges against him are firmly established.”

“Then what is it for?”

“To establish the full story behind the incident.”

“We already have the full story. We know Ales is the traitor.”

Malia had not yet told the other teachers about Elysia. She had saved that revelation for this hearing.

At Constel, the students’ safety came first. Most of those present did not know that the Imperial Palace was involved in this incident. To them, this was simply a continuation of the Renzo incident: Renzo had attacked Aten and Frondier, and a traitor within Constel had helped him. Now that Ales had been identified as that traitor, they had no further questions.

“It turns out that isn’t quite the case,” Jane said.

The full scope of the plan Frondier had drawn out of Ales left far too many questions, even after Malia had relayed it to her. The mention of Imperial Princess Elysia was particularly troubling.

“... Well, where should I begin?”

Malia began slowly. They had learned so much all at once, but she went through it point by point.

Imperial Princess Elysia, the true culprit. The monster attack. The intended targets, Aten and Rodrick. With each new piece of information Malia revealed, the teachers’ expressions grew more appalled.

“... That can’t be true. Lady Elysia...”

Someone voiced a perfectly natural reaction.

“Then can’t we just destroy the magic circle that lures the monsters? ‘Rafflesia,’ was it?”

“No.”

Someone flatly rejected the teacher’s suggestion. It was Binkis, the teacher of summoning magic and magical engineering.

“From what Malia has told us, the culprits had already set a schedule for their plan. In other words, the magic circle is very likely complete.”

“Why is that a problem? Even if it’s complete, we only need to damage its circuits—”

“They have probably arranged for any such attempt to activate the circle. If that happens, the damage could be even worse than if we hadn’t known about the plan at all. Constel would be caught in complete disarray.”

The teachers’ faces grew grim at Binkis’s words. Isamaya asked,

“Then what should we do? Are you saying we must simply watch the enemy’s plan unfold?”

Binkis touched her lips. After a moment’s thought, she gave an unexpected answer.

“... Yes. That would be best.”

“What?”

“We must wait for the enemy to put their plan into motion, then aim to stop it with the least possible damage.”

In short, Elysia’s “Attack” had progressed too far to prevent. They would let her set the plan in motion. But now that they knew it existed, they could prepare thorough defenses.

“Then the most important thing is to keep the enemy from realizing we know about the planned attack.”

“Yes. From the outside, Constel must appear as normal as ever.”

Everyone nodded, understanding Binkis’s point.

“First, we must ask our allies for help. A small, elite force, since we cannot afford to be discovered.”

Outside help. A small, elite force. Those two phrases naturally drew the teachers’ eyes toward one person: Malia de Roach. The Roach family had such formidable talents as Ampere and Atzier.

“... I’ll pass the word along.”

Malia sounded less than enthusiastic.

Jane asked, “What about the students?”

Everyone fell silent at that question. They were teachers, entrusted with protecting their students. But if they told the students about the plan, Elysia was certain to find out. And could they even defend Constel without the students? Even if this course would ultimately reduce the harm to them...

“All of Constel’s activities will proceed as scheduled.”

A grave voice settled over the room. Everyone turned toward its owner: President Ospreet.

“Nothing will change.”

His firm tone brooked no objections. When Ospreet spoke like this, the conclusion was as good as settled. Every teacher nodded.

* * *

In my room at the Roah Estate, I sat lost in thought. I had no way of knowing exactly what measures the teachers would take against the attack. But they would at least make some preparations.

Above all, there was no way to prevent the “Attack” itself. I had tried everything while playing Aster, but nothing had stopped it. My attempts had only led to more casualties.

So my job was a little different from everyone else’s. If I couldn’t stop it, I had to eliminate the mastermind. There was only one way.

'Kill Elysia.'

Whatever else she might be, Elysia was a designated villain. If I didn’t kill her now, she would only become a greater nuisance to the player later. But I had never managed it before.

Aster attracted so much attention and was entangled in so many relationships that he had surprisingly little freedom of movement. It felt as though his every move was being watched. Any unnecessary action would draw suspicion.

During the operation, Elysia would not be at the Imperial Palace. She would monitor events from her own tower. As Aster, it had been impossible to slip out of Constel and make it all the way there.

But I could. As Frondier, I could do it. As I was now, with no one paying me any attention.

'... From here on, I’m heading into the unknown again.'

The mastermind behind the attack on Aten, the accomplice, their subsequent plan, and even the means of thwarting it—everything up to this point had followed what I knew. But the path to taking down Elysia was entirely uncharted.

“... Well, that’s nothing new.”

Had everything ever gone my way? Even in the game, I had failed because I couldn’t handle it all. I was used to failure. Both in games and in reality.

[Main Quest: Attack]

- A large-scale monster attack will occur at Constel. Prepare for it.

- An inadequate response may result in the loss of Named Characters.

I checked my smartwatch once more. It had been a while since I last looked at the Main Quest details. A fair amount of time had passed since I first received it.

... I had been given plenty of time to prepare.

The attack was coming soon.

“But...”

Today, I had somewhere to go, to secure the best possible ally for the coming attack. The timing was perfect.