Ch.113A Story That Won’t Evaporate – The End of Childhood (1)

“It seems that police officer you mentioned handled things quite neatly. Yehoel confirmed it. I heard they brought him in.”

The detective, who had returned to Ysil’s mansion only by late morning, checked his watch a couple of times and spoke after calling his police contact.

It seemed that Inspector Leonard had captured my father. According to the detective, he had gone all the way to the forest where the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn had gathered for their meeting and arrested him on the spot.

Apparently, the elf corpse and two followers that Ysil’s contractors had brought in yesterday provided enough evidence for an arrest. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but it wasn’t time yet.

“This isn’t over, is it, Michael? Clichy Corporation has plenty of lawyers, and father is… well, father. I won’t be able to do anything about the legal proceedings…”

Although Paulina was a legal professional, I wasn’t one myself, nor did I have any experience participating in trials. My father, on the other hand, would have more than enough of such experience.

The detective clicked his tongue. His face suggested there was no need to worry yet.

“If it goes to trial, we can leave it to the prosecutors. If the criminal they’ve caught is the Forest’s Firstborn, they might even request an assassination warrant.”

An assassination warrant was… a breach of contract. It was a declaration to handle a clear criminal outside the bounds of law when they couldn’t be processed legally, and requesting one was practically a dishonor.

Usually, they were rarely approved, and even if executed according to the warrant, inspectors from the Divine Guard would come down to investigate. It seemed my father had cultivated enough hatred to risk that.

But there was something off about the detective’s words. If Inspector Leonard was handling it, going to trial would be the natural course.

“If it goes to trial? So it’s not certain that it will go to trial?”

“It might not. They seem to have dragged him straight from the gathering, but who knows what those deranged Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn might do. His son seems to have shown up too, so their organization hasn’t completely collapsed… The only reassurance is that the police station is a building. Buildings can block lightning.”

The detective seemed to be considering the possibility that the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn might cross the line. If that happened, the chaos would truly reach its peak. For the sake of one man’s safety, they wouldn’t…

I couldn’t be certain this time. Even my conviction that father couldn’t possibly be the Forest’s Firstborn had been easily shattered. I wouldn’t be surprised by such things anymore. I clenched my fists.

Perhaps I looked worried, because the detective continued.

“If they really attack the police station, they’ll only hurt themselves. They couldn’t even defeat angels with submachine guns and had to give up the Forest’s Firstborn, so if they try anything, the National Guard will come.”

By now, rumors of Ysil’s involvement would have spread throughout the city, and as the detective said, since Ysil was a mythril supplier to the military, it was obvious the National Guard would pay extra attention.

Would that be enough of a deterrent? After all, the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn were all madmen obsessed with futurism. Expecting reason from madmen would be laughable.

“Still, I can’t help feeling uneasy. If father gets out through trial, that would be sad in its own way…”

“They’ll bribe the jury, and it would be faster to count how many judges in New York don’t have personal connections with that elf. As you said, the law will never catch him. Why do you think I brought up assassination warrants when legal matters came up? Without that, Charles Clichy will walk free.”

Capitalists don’t lose in court. Unless there’s clear evidence and public outrage, they simply slip away quietly. I knew this because I respected journalists who wrote articles about such people.

And I had never worried about finding such a dirty capitalist’s face in my father, so I felt an instinctive aversion to the idea.

“Anyway, you said there’s not much we can do if it goes to trial. So let’s plan for what we can do. If the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn march to the police station and try to break out the Forest’s Firstborn, we have two options. Wait for someone else to handle it, or do it ourselves. Which is better?”

If that happened, there would certainly be a bounty, dead or alive… and it would become another manhunt. It might be like the Cowboy’s death all over again. An inexplicable anxiety welled up.

Still, the National Guard would surely arrive soon, and they would make my father and the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn realize what a foolish choice they had made in New York City…

I tried to continue that line of thought, but the words wouldn’t come. Could I just watch from across the river like a deer being chased by hunters? Could I back out now just because I was anxious?

More than that, if the detective went alone, it would be better for him to go alone than for me to be a burden. I had no fighting ability, and in a fight, I would be almost useless… No, that’s not true. Not this time.

“Father won’t strike me with lightning. And because he’s worried about induced lightning spreading around me, he won’t strike near me either. Father isn’t the type to abandon family. He might gladly strike others with lightning, but not me. So, let’s do it ourselves.”

I said, meeting the detective’s eyes. He looked into my eyes for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes, that’s not a bad idea… But if the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn come with guns, you can’t block bullets. We’ll need to take your lawyer and all of Ysil’s contractors.”

In the past, he might have asked if I understood, but this time there was no confirmation. I felt like there was some kind of trust that I would understand his words well enough.

But would anything change if father disappeared like that? The Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn would try to elect a new Forest’s Firstborn, and Clichy Corporation would still remain. The family would inherit it.

Then perhaps nothing would change in the end. I shook my head again. Even if nothing changed, I had to do this. I couldn’t just give up because all values had collapsed.

The detective took out a gun from his coat and handed it to me. It wasn’t his usual 1911 pistol, but rather something closer to the elf gun he had used to crush the followers in Pennsylvania.

It wasn’t something he usually carried, so he must have gotten it from somewhere… Surely he hadn’t stolen it from the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn? I felt uneasy and shook my head to clear it.

What if it was from the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn? I was the daughter of the Forest’s Firstborn, yet I was fighting against his followers. Both this gun and I were traitors in a sense. It would be a righteous betrayal. Probably.

If what Paulina had given me was for self-defense, this was a proper gun. It wasn’t that large since it was sized for an elf’s hand, but the bullets inside were stronger than those in a derringer.

“Keep it. You might have to shoot, not me, and I don’t want to bet my life on two derringer shots.”

The gun was heavy. Unlike the derringer, which could be drawn lightly for self-defense, this gun felt heavy, as if when drawing it, one really had to think about shooting someone.

I took a deep breath but accepted the gun. Could I do it? Judging by my anxiety, I probably could. Doubting meant I was truly prepared to do it.

“I’ll try to be more useful in a fight, Michael! Though honestly, I don’t want to shoot. Father is still father, after all.”

Father was still father, so much so that I had the detective take the phone call earlier for fear my resolve might weaken. No matter how firmly I steeled my heart, that fact wouldn’t change, and it hadn’t.

As complicated feelings—was it confusion, hope, fear, or anxiety?—mixed together, ominous news began to flow from the radio in Ysil’s mansion living room.

“Ah, ah. We’ve just received news at our studio. Elves are reportedly marching down from northern New York, and judging by their masks, they appear to be Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn. Although they are reportedly unarmed, police authorities have warned that there might be mages among them, so caution is advised. What are these elves planning to do?”

I felt the second possibility becoming reality. They would think the Forest’s Firstborn had been unjustly captured, and they wouldn’t want to see their leader fall so easily.

Did father know about this? It was clear that even father, who seemed to believe he could control this flow, atmosphere, and fervor, couldn’t have predicted that his followers would march so recklessly.

Moreover, father was now in the police station. He would learn about the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn rushing in later than I would… I thought that this time, I might be able to move faster than father.

“Looks like it’s the second option, right?”

The detective nodded briefly. He picked up a thin jacket and put it on, checking his own gun that he had prepared. A sharp skinning knife was also tucked at his waist, the kind hunters might use.

“Yes. Let’s leave right away and wait in front of the police station. Whatever happens, it’ll be easier to deal with it there than sitting on our behinds here.”

With ten of Ysil’s contractors, plus the detective and Paulina, would we stand a chance? I got into the car that the detective had borrowed from Ysil, along with Paulina. I took another deep breath.

“Now I truly understand why you always move so quickly. While dragging things out might increase your fee, to be in the right place at the right time to handle matters, you need to move this diligently. As a journalist, I should have realized this sooner, right?”

“Yes. Still, for an elf who can barely wake up before 9 AM and stumbles around half-asleep, you have good insight.”

I smiled slightly at the detective’s words, which sounded both sarcastic and like an empty joke, then turned my gaze toward the cityscape passing by.

Though we weren’t driving fast, the scenery was blurry. Perhaps because today, people were more important than scenery. So instead of habitually looking out the window, I looked at the detective and Paulina in the car.

Paulina’s mythril shield with its bluish tint was shinier than usual. It had protected me all this time, and I felt good knowing it would protect me again, sensing her determination.

She still had her eyes covered, but it didn’t matter now. I, who had openly boasted about being others’ eyes, was just a young and immature person, but now, only after I had stopped saying such things, I had become someone who could properly fulfill that role, so it didn’t matter now.

Though I couldn’t see her gaze, I felt her looking at me and turned my head. The corners of Paulina’s mouth turned up gently.

“Only Rose would make such a grand declaration of independence. Even if the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn aren’t armed, stay close to my shield, Rose.”

“Yes, Paulina! Since father won’t use lightning magic around me, you should stay close to me too. This time, I think I can protect you as well!”

The feeling of watching each other’s backs was fulfilling. It was strange. Despite heading toward such a dangerous place, I wasn’t overly worried. It felt like déjà vu.

Clearly, since confronting father, I had gained adversaries, people who hated, doubted, and misunderstood me… Yet I felt alive. I felt incredibly healthy and vibrant.

When facing a powerful adversary, one’s own self becomes much clearer in opposition. Perhaps this was what Gremory meant by the end of childhood.

I think I heard that one could leave childhood either through loving family words or by killing someone… I had dreamed of the former, but I didn’t deny that what would happen was the latter.

It didn’t take long to reach the police station. Journalists from our Golden Age Press and other newspapers had already gathered around the police station, craning their necks to catch a good photo.

Yes, this story being non-volatile might only matter to me. To others, this is just a scandal about Clichy Corporation, a story that would be buried if some other capitalist caused trouble.

That doesn’t matter either. Wanting a story that’s important and permanent to me to be weighty for others is just a young and immature mindset.

I got out in front of the station and immediately gathered Ysil’s contractors. There were no masked elves nearby, so we could discuss the plan without worry.

“If the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn march here and try to attack the police to rescue father, we’ll cooperate with the police to stop them immediately. While father is imprisoned, it’s fine, but if he’s released, you might get struck by lightning… It would be difficult for all ten of you to gather around me, so you can step back if needed. That alone would be helpful.”

The detective and Paulina would handle things on their own. I showed them trust as much as they trusted me. And then, the signs began to appear.

From far away in the northern sky, an angel in police uniform flew in and began reporting something to another angel waiting on the police station roof.

Judging by the halo behind the head of the one receiving the report, it was a high-ranking angel. About four such angels with halos stood on the building roof, surveying the surroundings. Fortunately, the angels also knew well where the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn’s march was heading.

Even with an elf’s sensitive senses, it was impossible to hear the voices of people so far away. But judging by the direction from which the angel had flown, it was certain they had been scouting the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn.

As expected, before long, the sound of elves marching began to be faintly heard. The voice of the standard-bearer leading the march in place of the Forest’s Firstborn also lingered in my ears.

“They’ve shown their claws! They poisoned our followers’ robes to make us burn, and now they’ve taken the Forest’s Firstborn from our hands! But we will show them! We are still strong! We will still have a future! We are the Followers of the Forest’s Firstborn!”

The fact that it was a familiar voice sent unpleasantness down to the depths of my spine. It was my second older brother’s voice.