Arc 21: Auction (1)

Elodie had identified the barrier one step ahead of Quinier.

She was half convinced that Frondier was the one who had wiped out the fleeing monsters with those “fireworks.” She had come to hear the details of what had happened during the attack, but...

“...”

After spotting Quinier, Elodie opened the door. She could not stall any longer.

The door swung open, revealing Frondier sitting alone inside.

“Huh? Elodie.”

Frondier sounded just as he always did. His languid expression was no different, either.

Elodie smiled.

“Oh, where’s Ms. Malia?”

“She stepped out for a moment.”

“What did you talk about? She called for you over the speakers.”

Just as Frondier appeared perfectly normal, so did Elodie.

Quinier entered after her.

“Oh, Quinier. I was just about to come find you.”

“... Are you alone?”

Quinier stepped inside and looked around.

The infirmary was as tidy as ever. She could detect no sign that anyone had come and gone.

... Of course, having arrived later, Quinier did not know who had been inside, or even whether anyone had been there at all.

The barrier had merely given her a gut feeling that Frondier was in danger.

Yet he looked perfectly fine.

Still, judging by Elodie’s expression when Quinier arrived, something must have happened.

“We need an upperclassman for our finals team. If you could help us, Quinier...”

“Oh, yes. All right.”

Whether or not he knew what Quinier was thinking, Frondier steered the conversation toward everyday matters.

Since that had been her original purpose as well, Quinier went along with it for now.

Elodie listened to their conversation in silence.

* * *

The Richae estate.

The front door opened, and a maid hurried over as Elodie entered.

“L-Lady Elodie. You’re home early. We received word you would be late.”

“My plans changed.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll prepare your meal right away, so...”

“No, it’s fine.”

Elodie’s face was expressionless. Needlessly frightened by it, the maid scurried after her.

“If you’ll just wait a little, I’ll have it ready—”

“I said it’s fine...!”

Elodie raised her voice, then closed her eyes and shook her head.

She was taking her anger out on the wrong person. She knew that. So she smiled again.

“No. I just don’t have an appetite. Really.”

“Th-then I’ll leave you be.”

“All right.”

The maid withdrew, her shoulders hunched.

“... Listen.”

Elodie called out to her retreating back.

“It really is all right. I’m sorry I snapped at you for no reason.”

“N-not at all, my lady.”

Watching the maid shake her head, Elodie went into her room.

“Whew...”

Elodie sat in the chair at her desk.

She wanted to sit on the bed, but knew she would end up lying down. She could not do that without changing her clothes first. It was ridiculous that even now she was worrying about such trivial things.

“... What even are the Ten Thousand Capes...?”

The mutter escaped like a sigh. She did not like the tremor in her voice.

Elodie had heard their conversation. Hagley of the Ten Thousand Capes, was it? Perhaps he had trusted his barrier; there had been no soundproofing spell on the infirmary itself. Even if there had been, Elodie could have penetrated it.

“What have you gotten involved in, Frondier?”

From their conversation, Frondier had seemed to hold the superior position.

But what they had discussed was deeply troubling.

[“Mustn’t you bring down the daughter of the Richae family?”]

[“You hated that woman, didn’t you?”]

[“Didn’t it disgust you to see her giggling in front of you, blessed with every talent?”]

[“Wasn’t the way she flaunted herself before you unbearable?”]

“... Frondier felt that way about me...?”

Elodie clutched her head, rumpling her carefully groomed hair.

It had never occurred to her. She and Frondier had often played together as children.

She had always smiled at him. She would talk about what she had done that day, what she wanted to do, and boast about her abilities.

Whenever she did, Frondier had seemed annoyed, but still, still...

... Frondier had no Divine Power. Yet she had flaunted her abilities before him, sometimes even complaining and grumbling about them.

She remembered doing it countless times.

Even as a child, Elodie had never expected much from Frondier. She had only wanted him to pull his own weight.

But the one who had kept making him feel inferior, preventing him from managing even that...

“... It was me.”

That was how it had looked to Frondier.

And she had never known. What a fool.

But if that was true, why had Frondier said...

[“Just as I eliminate my own potential enemies, I will eliminate Elodie’s enemies as well.”]

Why would he say that...?

CREAK.

Just then, the door opened.

“Elodie, are you all right? I heard you seemed upset, so—”

WHOOSH.

A pillow struck the man entering square in the face.

“Knock and come in again!”

How many times had she told him that already?

She was upset enough as it was, and her irritation doubled.

“Y-yes. I’m sorry.”

The man obediently stepped outside and shut the door.

Then he knocked so softly she could barely hear it and spoke.

“Elodie, it’s your brother. May I come in?”

“No. Don’t come in.”

“E-Elodie! That wasn’t our agreement!”

“I never agreed to anything!”

Elodie’s older brother, Revet de Richae.

Normally, Elodie did not get along badly with him. In fact, they were rather close. Revet usually gave in to her, after all.

But right now, she truly did not want to see anyone.

“Th-then I’ll talk from out here. That’s all right, isn’t it?”

“... Suit yourself.”

Her brother never gave up.

“Ahem. I hear your finals are coming up soon.”

“Yeah.”

“You must prepare thoroughly for an important exam.”

“And?”

“Would you like to come to an auction with me? There will be some fine items this time.”

An auction?

That piqued Elodie’s curiosity.

It was true that finals were not far off. During the midterms, she had experienced an unexpected frustration.

Elodie could not control the power of her magic. She had wondered whether that really mattered, but carrying out missions in a field with students scattered everywhere had proved harder than expected.

With an Artifact to help control her magical power, she would be able to use her abilities more effectively in the finals.

“What will they have?”

“Hmm. Don’t be surprised. The fabled metal, unbreakable steel!”

“...”

“You’re not actually supposed to take that literally.”

“Right. I see. Unbreakable steel.”

Well, how impressive. Wherever had they found that?

The fact itself was surprising, but Elodie felt little excitement. Naturally so, since it was of no use to a mage like her.

“Elodie, unbreakable steel can withstand your magical output.”

“What good does that do? I need to reduce my output.”

“If it can withstand it, it can store it, too. It could regulate your output and store that mana.”

Oh?

Now that was interesting.

“Well? Will you come? Since it will be yours, I’ll commission the finest magitech company to make it. If necessary, I’ll place an order with Hitchcock.”

“Hmm...”

Elodie considered it for a moment.

Whatever else she might say, talking to Revet had lifted her mood a little.

It would have been lovely if he had stopped there, but though Revet was considerate, he could not read the room.

“By the way, I’ve heard rumors that you’ve been talking quite often with the Roach family’s second son at Constel lately. At the last social gathering as well. Of course, I didn’t see it myself—”

Elodie sighed involuntarily. She had been wondering when he would bring up Frondier.

“Not you too. I’m already in a lousy mood.”

“What? So it is because of that bastard Frondier? I’ll grab him and—”

“Try that, and you’ll have six opponents to deal with.”

“... Six? Has Frondier found himself some allies? But mere Constel students are no match for—”

“Let’s see. Me, Agni, Rudra, Indra...”

“Elodie...!”

Revet’s voice rose in an anguished plea.

From outside the room, of course.

* * *

In the south of the continent lay a region beyond the Empire’s reach.

It was imperial territory, but so barren that living creatures could not inhabit it, and no one ventured there.

The southernmost edge, where neither humans, animals, nor monsters lived.

Here stood a sheer cliff that looked as though land and sea had been forcibly cleaved apart. An enormous river flowed down from above and plunged over it as a waterfall.

Somewhere behind that immense waterfall, over three kilometers in diameter, lay a cave occupying the entire cliff.

The Ten Thousand Capes. Said to be closest to the “boundary,” they could, ironically, be considered quite safe in the sense that no monsters came there.

[Has something changed?]

A meeting was taking place in the deepest darkness of the cave.

Hagley spoke.

“His arrogance is unchanged. But the enthrallment did not take hold.”

[Did he notice you were using magic?]

“It did not seem so.”

[Hmm. Even an incompetent son makes some progress given that much time. Besides, people naturally develop resistance to enthrallment.]

Hagley merely bowed his head low at those words.

He had not believed his magic would work forever, either. Until now, Frondier had simply been far too susceptible.

But that was not the issue at hand, nor the reason for this meeting.

“However, matters have become difficult.”

[What is it?]

“Frondier appears to have abandoned deciphering the ancient language. He also seems unwilling to cast the spell intended for the Richae family’s daughter.”

The voice fell silent for a moment.

[He will not strip ‘Inies’ of her Divine Power?]

“Correct. Not only that, he told me to protect her. I do not know what caused this change of heart.”

This time, a different voice spoke.

[That won’t do. Inies is the greatest obstacle we must remove before we strike the center. When I think of those assholes who banished me, still laughing away even now...]

Hagley let out a sigh without anyone noticing.

The owner of that voice seemed to seethe with anger at every moment.

[Then we must find a new tool. Leave Frondier alone, and he will destroy himself.]

“Frondier is the only one who can decipher the ancient language. There may be others, but finding one will take as much time as it took to discover Frondier.”

Deciphering the ancient language required talent, quite apart from its difficulty. That talent alone determined whether it was possible at all, making it a very powerful gift.

Frondier, who was called a good-for-nothing, possessed that talent. Had the Roach family known sooner, they would not have held him in such contempt.

Yet Frondier himself seemed unaware of the ancient language’s value, and his family appeared no different.

Incompetence was incompetence, in the end.

[Then remain by his side for now. Keep playing the ally, and he may change his mind again.]

“I am not certain. Frondier ordered me to protect Inies. Whether he will change his mind so easily...”

[That is the nature of human inferiority, Hagley. It is neither his family nor Constel that most inflames Frondier’s sense of inferiority. It is Inies. Anyone would find his circumstances hard to endure. Soon, he will collapse back into darkness.]

At the certainty in that voice, Hagley could only bow his head low.