Chapter 376

Chapter 365

Entrusting information gathering to the only person Ismailov will speak to.

A sound strategy. A sound strategy—but from the moment Pleroma said "we wish for Lukas Askanian to take charge of Ismailov," it becomes a dangerous choice. Despite that, the government attached Ismailov to me. What could the reason be?

'...It seems they're thinking differently precisely because Pleroma came out with it so openly.'

Because Pleroma had displayed their intent directly, the government concluded that placing me and Ismailov together must not be Pleroma's ultimate goal. In believing Pleroma has some hidden true objective, the government and I are the same—but our inferences diverge.

'My head hurts.'

I can't be entirely certain what Pleroma ultimately wants either, but I still believe part of Narce's testimony. It was only recently that Narce said I should stay as far from that man as possible—and now we're to be attached at the hip?

"Your Excellency Mecklenburg."

The moment Narce broached the subject, Mecklenburg answered at once.

"I don't wish to deliver this order either. I've already asked them several times to reconsider, but it wasn't accepted."

"......"

Should I try sending a letter to Abraham? No—that person is the type to say, 'I'm curious what relationship you have with the messenger of the covenant, that they singled you out.' She'd find it interesting, is what I mean.

'I'll keep that one as a last resort.'

First, let's try what can be tried right now.

"No matter how I think about it, this is beyond me."

I could see ambivalence swirling in Mecklenburg's eyes. He seemed partly to be thinking something like, what could Nicolaus Ernst possibly be incapable of—and partly to sympathize with this unreasonableness because I was a 101st Class student. He seemed to quickly settle his heart on the latter. Mecklenburg turned his gaze away and spoke.

"...I'll keep raising it. If that person gradually adapts to the Empire, things may change."

What would change? It sounded vague, but it meant that if Ismailov came to divulge information to someone other than me, they'd detach him from me immediately. In other words: for now, there was no way out.

"From where I stand, this isn't a particularly good choice. It's far too early to let Ismailov come face to face with our mages. Besides, that person, about you...."

Mecklenburg substituted a gesture for the rest and made a repulsed face. He too seemed to feel a strong unease at Pleroma's Second Coming having said, 'I like you.'

"How surprising, Senior—you're actually saying something correct for once."

"...Don't joke around. This isn't the time."

'I meant it sincerely—what joke?'

"The conference with France is this week. I suspect they're trying to extract information from Ismailov to gather every card the Empire can play. Just endure it until then."

"And if I endure?"

"After that, if there are no results, I'll report that we should gradually pull back, results or no results."

Mecklenburg seemed to assume there would be no results. What frightens me is the possibility that there will be. I looked at the government mages waiting for us and said quietly.

"What happens if I refuse to follow the order?"

"The Chief of Staff would meet with you and decide on your disposition. Do I really need to spell it out? Beyond that, at this rate you could even be expelled from the Imperial Mages' Association."

"Expelled? Me? They'd never expel me."

I snapped my fingers, casting Sound Insulation Magic, and scoffed. But at the same moment, a certain possibility flickered through my head, and the laughter began to slowly drain away.

What if, by some fraction of a chance, these lunatics actually expelled me? Open any page of any history book and you'll see—the way a nation runs is never rational or reasonable. Individuals and collectives have different natures and produce different outputs from the same situation. Reason, rationality, and optimal choice are fantasies found only in economics textbooks, and in the political arena that's usually even more true. Thinking of that possibility sent a chill down my spine. If I were expelled while these eighteen-year-old high schoolers remained—if they stood on the firing line while I alone lingered in ordinary life... it would be the end.

I turned toward where Narce stood. Narce was staring at the floor without expression. If there were some clever move, he would have given me at least a hint by now—the fact that he wasn't suggested this situation would be hard to slip out of smoothly. Thinking it over myself right now, I agreed. If they reacted this way even after Mecklenburg—this faithful pro-Emperor loyalist—had tried to dissuade them first, then the odds were high that my stepping in would change little. All the more so since I currently had no precise supporting evidence to present to them.

"From now on, Ismailov will accompany you. To be precise, you will accompany Ismailov and care for him. Without that, we won't be able to draw his words out."

"......"

"In case Ismailov shows abnormal symptoms while with you, we are measuring his heartbeat and magic power in real time and monitoring them. If his rhythms become even slightly irregular, an alarm will sound immediately, so you'll know—just get clear. We'll head straight to your location."

Get clear.... Shouldn't it be me subduing him, rather than getting clear? He'd probably raise hell about me showing off, so I couldn't say it aloud.

For now, I have points to spend on Retry, so I'll allow myself the experience at least once. Not that there's any way to avoid it at present anyway.

I left Mecklenburg behind and walked toward Ismailov.

"A pleasure."

Ismailov looked down at me and blinked. Looking at those pale water-colored eyes, so close to white, I was reminded of Narce of the Holy See—and before that, the high-tied hair and artificial whiteness reminded me of Ainsidel. Thankfully, that in itself was a clue.

Since Ismailov only stood there, I extended my hand. The government mages holding him watched Ismailov's movements closely. Ismailov looked down at my black-gloved hand, examined his own hand once, and slowly took mine. The way he clasped the blade of my hand, filling his whole grip, was exactly like someone shaking hands for the first time. Feeling somehow unsettled, I dropped his hand at once. Even at that discourtesy, Ismailov looked at me plainly—like someone who didn't even know it was a discourtesy. I smiled and gave a short greeting.

"I've been briefed. Let's get along well, starting today."

—"That's my line, Lukas."

I turned my head toward where the words had come from. Narce, still fixed in the very spot where we'd been talking earlier, was watching me. He'd been uncharacteristically without a trace of a smile, but when our eyes met, one appeared.

—"I've thought it over from every angle, and this would be for the best. Let's get along well, starting today."

"...Huh?"

I smiled awkwardly and raised my eyebrows. Get along well, out of nowhere? Haven't we been getting along all this time? More to the point, the guy in front of us might hear—why say it now, of all times?

But he didn't give me the answer I wanted. He ended it by looking at Ismailov, and no further explanation came. Leo, noticing the strangeness from my reaction, contorted his expression and looked at Narce, but he answered neither my questions nor Leo's.

"......"

Ismailov only watched Narce in silence. I received an explanation from another government official beside him, and we moved to the Bavaria National Medical Center. After enduring, at the hospital, a situation in which hostage rights hit rock bottom, we entered Nymphenburg Palace once more. In preparation for his arrival, everything that could constitute information had been cleared away. Since Leo had gone off to protest this treatment—I'd told him we should go together, but he acted as if he hadn't heard—only Narce and I led Ismailov up to the top-floor room of Nymphenburg.

CREAK—

When I opened the door, the friends gathered around the table rose from their seats. When I'd been called out since morning, they'd said they would wait for me here. Ulrike saw Ismailov behind me and asked.

"...Who's that?"

"A hostage from the Pleroma side."

"What?!"

"What is this supposed to mean?"

Elias asked, his gaze fixed on Ismailov. I looked at him and shrugged.

"Exactly what it sounds like. Introduce yourself, Mr. Ismailov."

"......"

He didn't open his mouth. Even though it would count as information, he didn't so much as look at my 101st Class friends. He only stared at the wall beyond them. Ulrike cast Sound Insulation Magic and asked.

"...Ismailov? Is he Russian? Is this why you got called out since this morning—to be introduced to this person?"

If only it were just that. When I hesitated to answer, wearing a transcendent smile, my friends' expressions began to stiffen. I shook my head and explained.

"To be precise, they say he has to live with me."

"...What?!"

"What kind of insane nonsense is this?"

Ulrike and Elias reacted simultaneously. Tsheringen looked back and forth between us with slightly narrowed brows.

From the government's standpoint, since I'm the only one Ismailov opens his mouth to, they want me to talk with him and extract whatever I can. But is there any guarantee this Pleroma Messiah will open his mouth only to me? Earlier was simply luck—he might stop speaking even to me, and once his guard relaxes, couldn't he speak to anyone at any time? I knew I was being somewhat unreasonable in thinking so, but I thought it anyway and exhaled at length.

When I led Ismailov to the round table and sat, my friends all took their seats too, eyes wary. Their gazes were directed at Ismailov and me. I answered my friends, who were waiting.

"It's just as I said. I don't know how long it'll last, but they say I have to take charge of this person."

"Why?!"

"......"

Because Pleroma's Messiah says he likes me....

I couldn't say that. My friends might all have to wash their ears with holy water as a group. Who could hear that reckless statement and not be horrified? I hadn't even mentioned the Pleroma Messiah part in the first place. I shook my head in place of an answer.

"They must have judged that there's fundamentally no way we'd suffer irrecoverable harm from this person. Seniors from other classes and the government are continuously managing him, too. All I have to do is help him adapt, they say."

"Then what about your sick leave?"

"Gone, obviously. Anyway, since you and I are living together, this also means all of us will have to be around this person."

My friends' expressions turned grave. Even Heike, this once, narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at him. She returned to her usual blankness soon enough, but the very fact that such an expression had appeared on Heike, however briefly, was genuinely astonishing.

I asked Ismailov, who was still looking only at the table.

"Is there a tea you like?"

"......"

I hadn't expected anything. I ordered black tea from an attendant and sat quietly, watching him. Ulrike cast Sound Insulation Magic again and whispered.

"Lukas. Is it really okay for you to be with that Pleroma?"

"I don't know either. And he can probably hear everything even through the Sound Insulation Magic."

"Huh...?!"

"Am I right? Or does this also depend on the situation?"

Ismailov glanced at me and turned his gaze away again. Right, apparently. Good enough. I broke the silence and spoke once more.

"As long as you're a Pleroma, your image isn't exactly good—you know that well yourself. If you want to live comfortably during your stay, try having a conversation when the opportunity is made for you."

No answer. Now Elias wrinkled the bridge of his nose and glared at him.

"Could you at least say something? What terms was he even exchanged under?"

"We handed over nothing. Just—for the time being, they asked us not to attack their dioceses."

Elias spread both hands with a dumbfounded face and let out a hollow laugh. Even without words, his expression said everything. It was the face of does that make any sense. Loosely interpreted, it would probably amount to: 'As if that'll stop you from attacking.'

"...I'm losing my mind. No—everyone's lost their minds. What if our information leaks through this person?"

"It won't."

At the words that dropped in abruptly, every head turned. I looked at Narce, who had opened his mouth for the first time since arriving. Still expressionless, he continued.

"They didn't use such a shallow trick. Initially he was set up to share senses, but everything was dissolved when they returned."

Elias, far sharper than usual with a Pleroma in front of him, nodded slowly, then propped his chin and asked coldly.

"Then what did he come here for?"

Ismailov, whatever Elias said, kept looking only at the table. I answered the moment the question ended.

"Peace overtures. Goodwill."

"...I know things can be done this way for those purposes, so why does it feel this off?"

"With Pleroma as the counterpart, it can't be helped. And we never even extracted their surrender—there's no reason to receive a mage of this caliber as a hostage."

From "a mage of this caliber," my friends seemed to gather that he was quite a skilled mage. More importantly, I had something else to do now. To pry Ismailov off of us, I had to get him to open his mouth to other people too—whether by helping him adapt to the Empire or by having him practice conversing with people.

'...To get him talking at all, should I leave just the two of us?'

"Everyone, could you give us the room for a moment?"

Astonishingly, those weren't my words. Narce spoke as if he had read my thoughts verbatim, and smiled. Meanwhile, Elias bared his teeth and spoke in a voice like he was grinding something down.

"I'm not leaving until this Pleroma opens his mouth."

"It's to try to get him talking. Please."

"......"

At Narce's words, Elias pursed his lips, let out a sigh, and went outside. Tsheringen also nodded as if she had no objection, rose from her seat, and said quietly.

"Tell me if anything happens."

"I will. Thanks."

Even after everyone had left the room, Narce remained seated beside me. I called to him carefully.

"Narce."

"Hm? Me?"

"Yes, you.... Could you step out for a moment too?"

"Ah~ that I can't do."

Narce refused my request in one stroke, smiling brightly. Can't? Why...? For a moment I was at a loss for words, mouth open, before shaking my head.

"Narce. There's something I need to ask this person right now...."

"Go right ahead~"

Go right ahead, he says. I'd been planning to start by asking what "I like you" was supposed to mean. I swallowed hard and ran the simulation. If Narce had known all along, that would deserve a hollow laugh in its own right; if he was hearing it now for the first time, then that, in its own way, would make me want to dissolve this gathering on the spot.

"With you here, I don't think he'll give me answers or anything else."

Narce made a face conceding the point, then smiled and looked straight at Ismailov.

"Give it up."

"......"

Ismailov, raising his gaze from the table to Narce's eyes, blinked slowly. I looked back and forth between Ismailov and Narce, then gave up and threw out a different question.

"What did you do before coming here?"

"...Pleroma."

"......"

At his voice—the first I'd heard since the interrogation—I looked at Narce. Narce, who had been staring fixedly at Ismailov alone, felt my gaze and smiled gently.

Had Narce's "give it up" worked? I stroked my chin and asked again.

"I mean, what did you do within the organization?"

"......"

"Then before you joined Pleroma?"

"......"

The two silences were silences of a similar grain. Judging by the movement of his eyes, neither seemed to be a deliberate withholding. He appeared to have recalled something earlier but been unable to put it into words. A clear precedent for having to interpret countless signals packed into a blank face on my own had been sitting at this very table until moments ago—the déjà vu was remarkable. Since there was no malice or hostility in that expression, I answered briefly.

"We'll learn as we go."

***

From the moment I took on Ismailov, it was as good as returning to duty as Eschet. And what did that mean I had to do?

On a street in Nuremberg, Bavaria, I pulled out my signal device, tapped it, and spoke.

"Concluded. Returning to base."

THUD—

When Narce brought his staff down, pure white Divine Power spread in every direction. Having purified the Vitriol spread across the ground, Narce switched his staff back into a wand and smiled.

"To think you and I would end up deployed on the same team. It's been a while since a Grade 8 Victim."

"Mm, true."

We took on everything as the reports came in. No—honestly, I should say 'I' did. Our 101st Class, assigned to high-risk victims, has no obligation to take low-risk victim reports. This time I'd chosen to go alone, and Narce had simply followed.

'...Hmm.'

When what Narce had said that morning crossed my mind again, Narce smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Let's head back, Lukas."

"...Right."

Turning around, I could see Ismailov in the distance, standing there blankly, doing nothing, watching us. Right—that guy had followed me too. Narce and I warped straight to Nymphenburg Palace, and Narce brought Ismailov over in short order.

And so a day continued that was, against expectations, nothing special. Past the bolt-from-the-blue morning and the chaotic noon, it was now drawing close to evening.

To try thinking positively while I'm at it: one good thing has come of taking on Ismailov. I have finally escaped Leo's room at the Crown Prince's Palace and been given a room of my own at Nymphenburg Palace, same as my friends.

"......"

And right now, I am laughing hollowly.

The government aside, I have no particular need to extract information from Ismailov. So my choice was neglect. I did my work as usual, chatted with my friends in moderation, went out to send a victim to the hospital, and drank tea.

And Ismailov followed me around all day long.

"Stop."

In front of the archive's bathroom, I turned around and issued a warning to the two humans.

"Unless you have business in there, out."

Why two humans? Because not only Ismailov but Narce, too, had been trailing me. All day, without missing a single moment.

"Ah, this one is a bit much, true."

Narce snickered and waved his hand in acknowledgment. This one knows exactly what he's doing and is teasing anyway, so there's nothing more to see there.

I turned my head toward Ismailov, and he tilted his head, expressionless. I was at a loss for words.

"......"

"......"

Only silence flowed. It was deeply disconcerting. Even Heike wouldn't ask me why on that one.... What kind of lunatic follows another person to the bathroom when he has no business of his own there? From Elias I could let it pass, but from anyone who is not Elias, it defies basic human understanding. Transcendent with resignation, I gestured at him.

"Get lo.... I mean, please step out."

"......"

Ismailov withdrew obediently. It genuinely makes me wonder whether this person has been socialized or not. Even compared to Heike, who counts as relatively normal—though that may only be because I've grown accustomed to her—he was on an entirely different level.

I returned to the archive and looked at the empty shelves. Because a Pleroma had come to stay, there had been a degree of information control. I spoke to Ismailov, who stood in silence.

"Read a book or something. For your sake, it seems they've moved everything elsewhere and left only what look like children's storybooks."

Since he remained motionless, I pulled out a suitable picture book and handed it to him. In truth, I wasn't certain whether he could read. Meanwhile, I headed toward a shelf with at least a few more books on it.

'And this guy follows again.'

I'd wanted to look at some magic theory texts, but naturally none remained here. I pulled out a suitable history book and opened it. Ismailov stood at a slight distance from me, slowly turning pages.

"......"

And five minutes later, I admitted it. Concentration was a lost cause. Trying to read a book alongside some Pleroma Messiah, I couldn't focus at all. I closed my book and looked at Ismailov, who was behaving like a human seeing a picture book for the first time—surely he hadn't actually never seen one, but the way he acted was just....

The things I'd seen at the hospital passed through my mind. I don't know how many artifacts and drugs had gone into that body to suppress the magic power in it. He was currently in a state not much different from a non-mage, and he had to be. Whether the suppression would truly hold, I didn't know, but at the very least I hadn't been able to feel his magic power during the handshake. Even while I observed him, he paid no attention at all, turning pages, and soon closed the picture book and pulled out another book of his own accord. I pointed to the heartbeat-measuring artifact embedded at his wrist and asked.

"Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"......"

"Well, even if you said it was, there's nothing in particular I could do to help."

"I know."

I could see Narce, seated far off, smiling with a face that said, then why did you ask? I shrugged and produced another question.

"What are you reading?"

He blinked, perhaps considering his answer, then replied curtly.

"Augustine."

"......"

Augustine? A chill ran through my head. Why is this Pleroma reading a theologian? Suddenly, starting with the Trinity, ten thousand thoughts began racing through my mind. I stepped close to him and closed the cover of the book he was reading.

"Let's have a look."

"......"

What he had been reading was indeed On the Trinity. It was only his position that made it somewhat concerning—there was no problem beyond that—but even so, why he would be curious about the doctrine of the Trinity was, as ever, unsettling. You'd be better off reading a different book—I was about to say so with a hollow laugh when a jarring alarm sounded.

BEEP BEEP BEEP—

"...Hm?"

His heartbeat? Wait. I don't recall doing anything problematic just now?

Narce, too, looked at me with a dumbfounded face, and I, equally at a loss, looked up at Ismailov. In that instant, Albertina Hohenzollern and Mecklenburg warped in simultaneously.