Ch.143143. Evidence (6)

“Ahahaha! Senior, what on earth is that!”

“I’m really trying my best… I can’t step on your dress or your feet…”

“Moving so stiffly actually makes it easier to get stepped on, you know?”

“I-Is that so? Ahem…”

“Think of it as supporting me so I can lean on your arm easily. As if our center of gravity is between the two of us.”

Hearing that, Junon awkwardly shifts his posture, asking, “Like this?”

Renias bursts into laughter again, and the person watching them had to cover their mouth to suppress their own laughter.

“Pfft…!”

What kind of movement is that?

Legs creaking like wooden puppets, arms stiffly frozen as if he doesn’t know what to do with them. Even his torso wobbles without any sense of coordination.

How can someone so flexible and nimble in battle be as rigid as stone right now?

Senia wonders if perhaps he never had any talent for dancing in the first place.

—Huh? Like this? Am I doing it right?

—Puhahaha, I’m sorryyyy…! It’s just too funny…!

—Hmph. You said you’d teach me, but it feels like you’re just making fun of me. Must be my imagination?

—That’s not it… but you’re just so funny, Senior!

A man who has saved countless lives, and a beautiful young woman admired by all.

They make a well-matched pair, she thinks.

“It seems like she’s the only one who can draw that kind of reaction from Junon. Don’t you think?”

When did they approach? Senia only now noticed someone had come near while she wasn’t paying attention.

But she wasn’t particularly surprised. At least, she was someone who wouldn’t be shaken by this sight anymore.

“…I’ve been watching since you were holding that lens. I understand why you were standing there.”

Since it was the person directly involved who felt guilty toward Junon, there was no need to respond to the fact that they had been watching.

After all, this was Aris, who had once knelt before her and desperately begged.

“Are you still anxious?”

“…Yeah. Extremely.”

They shared the same feelings.

There had never been a time when she felt more anxious than when trying to recall if her past self had ever tried to use Junon.

When she was becoming numb with self-loathing, neither her body nor her mind had ever been truly normal.

So, she needed to give Aris some advice.

“I was the same.”

“Huh?”

“Those memories you mentioned. It turns out another version of myself had done similar things.”

“…I see. So you too, Senia…”

“That’s exactly why you can’t just stay still like this.”

Of course, what’s done is done and can’t be changed.

But nevertheless, this process must proceed.

Just as Senia herself had done, Aris too must face this head-on rather than fear it.

“Aris. Go find him and properly ask for forgiveness. I… think that’s the most appropriate course of action for you.”

Whether forgiveness would be granted was uncertain. But even if it wasn’t, Aris needed to seek out Junon on his own.

Before it was too late.

***

“Ah~ That was fun!”

“…”

It seems my junior is truly dedicated to making fun of me.

Being so far removed from aristocratic etiquette and refinement, how could I possibly be good at this? Despite my efforts, Renias couldn’t stop laughing.

We didn’t break the dance until the song ended, but it was impossible not to feel drained.

“Still, Senior. Wasn’t it quite a novel experience?”

“Yeah… sure… a novel experience I never want to have again… being made fun of by my junior…”

“Ehehe. I laughed so much. Thanks to you, I had fun. Thank you, Senior.”

Fun, she says.

Being made fun of was something I was always used to, but having only heard mocking laughter and sarcastic remarks before, this kind of teasing wasn’t as familiar.

Still, while Renias’s laughter continued, I think I was able to set aside my complicated feelings for a moment.

‘I thought I was really going to be in trouble this time, but I guess not.’

Knowing the infection route of the Lemtert Plague alone and not informing anyone—I could certainly be criticized for that.

I fully expected to be cursed out and expelled from the banquet hall… and while I did feel people’s gazes on me, no one showed any signs of doing so.

Sitting in a chair on the terrace and looking outside, I finally realized what I had done.

The properly reconstructed Dubekan gave me the answer.

I had changed the course of a predetermined track.

Everything I’ve been doing was to change a predetermined future.

And as a result, things were changing one by one, as they inevitably would.

“Hey, what are you thinking about now? I’m curious.”

…And unexpected things like this happen too.

“Ow! What’s with the flick… All I did was poke you with my finger.”

“How can you still be playing around after making fun of me like that? I won’t let it slide anymore.”

“Hmph. You’re just staring outside so boringly, that’s why.”

“I had something to think about. …And you just broke my concentration.”

“A banquet partner shouldn’t be left alone to be bored, you know? Mr. Woo, thinking about it that way, I don’t deserve that flick! I’m going to hit your forehead too!”

“Oh, really? Go ahead and try.”

“Ugh…! Let go! Using our height difference to dodge like this is unfair!”

“Haha. I never said I’d let you hit me.”

Renias puffed up her cheeks and gave up, unable to overcome the height difference. Somehow, with her arms crossed and head turned sharply away, she seemed genuinely upset.

“Oh? Are you sulking?”

“Hmph. I don’t know. Don’t talk to me.”

“Heheh. You are sulking, I see.”

She puffs out her cheeks even more and pouts her lips.

She’s such an honest and pure child. This kind of demeanor actually suits Renias best. Almost to the point where I feel bad for teasing her.

I patted Renias’s head and voiced what had been in my mind.

“I was thinking about how much things have changed.”

“Huh?”

“You said you were curious. This is what I was thinking about earlier.”

Renias widened her eyes in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected me to answer so readily.

“Do you mean the Academy has changed?”

“That, and various other things.”

“…”

Renias turned her gaze toward the Dubekan I had been looking at and fell into thought.

I don’t think she’ll figure anything out, but she became quite serious and said something peculiar.

“Always staying the same is painful.”

“Hmm?”

“Ahaha… I guess I said something strange out of nowhere again. Please forget about it?”

She definitely didn’t seem to be joking… what could she mean?

Ah, well, how important could it be? Renias must have her own personal circumstances.

“Ah! But don’t stop patting my head just because of that!”

“Ah, alright…”

Anyway, many things have changed.

But I’ll need to change many more things going forward. To survive in this country.

***

The banquet held according to Professor Muniher’s wishes successfully satisfied the students.

Moreover, by thoroughly breaking the conventions of banquets and seizing real power through educational authority, he once again proved himself to be the Empire’s greatest chancellor in name and reality.

That, conversely, meant that the nobles suffered severe losses.

“That snake-like man…!”

Viscount Flocan throws down his cane in fury as soon as he gets out of the carriage.

It was because of what he had just heard when summoned by Grand Duke Ardelion.

-‘With such clear evidence that your noble alliance has been oppressing the Sirens, how could I not report this to His Imperial Majesty?’

Grand Duke Ardelion had reported this fact to the Emperor of the Artena Empire.

And the Emperor had personally conveyed his opinion.

-‘His Imperial Majesty only asked me to tell you this. Peridot, Jade, Fluden, Sapphire. And finally, Blue Horvice. You surely understand what these names mean, House of Blue, Flocan.’

All the words mentioned were names of houses. Moreover, they were houses that once boasted tremendous power in the Empire, occupying one of the seven colors.

At the same time, they were houses that had fallen miserably, their lineages cut off for defying the Emperor’s will or attempting to act behind his back.

In other words, the Emperor was warning Viscount Flocan:

That he could completely erase House Flocan, the current house of blue, from the map of the Kempryton continent.

It was truly infuriating.

‘How can the Grand Duke, who is supposed to be a king of a country, be so ignorant! Why doesn’t he think about breaking away from the Empire’s grip and becoming an independent principality!’

As of today, the noble alliance has come under the scrutiny of the principality.

Now it’s not easy to extend their influence to the Academy, and the profit structure they had been gradually building by creating enemies out of the Sirens has been greatly damaged.

Drug distribution ban. Black market abolition. Gambling house closure. Position trouble.

With the money cycle—the best means to control the Ardelion Principality—shaking, the nobles have been driven to the edge.

Now Viscount Flocan was willing to use any means necessary.

“You’ve arrived, Viscount Flocan.”

“Is everything prepared, Count Nubel?”

“Yes. I’ve already spoken with the temple.”

They too are those who covet the pie that is the principality, seeking to act away from the Empire’s pressure and eyes. They have no intention of just taking it.

If they’ve been driven to the edge anyway, the only option left is to bring down the opponent at all costs.

‘Even if citizens die in the process. That will all be your fault, Grand Duke.’

This student is just a taste of what’s to come.

“Your mind hasn’t changed, has it?”

“Of course not…!!”

A dim-witted commoner with bloodshot eyes, burning with vengeance, unable to accept the reason for his expulsion.

But right now, he’s the person the temple would welcome most among Academy students.

Normally, they wouldn’t even spare him a glance and might kick him away for blocking the path, but these vengeful types can be used in any way as long as you give them something.

“I understand your grievances. It’s all because this principality is wrong that such things happen. I have a place to recommend to you.”

“I’ll do anything!! As long as I can get revenge on that bastard!!”

“I’ll call my people, so head to the temple with your friends. They will help you there.”

On the surface, he appears incredibly benevolent, but the Viscount’s true feelings are nothing but contempt and mockery.

To him, Demian is just a disposable tool.

.

.

.

At the same time.

Dalia, carrying something she had received from the temple, visited Muniher’s office.

She judged that her husband, Muniher, who had always been busy with work, would now have the leisure to hear this story, making this quite a delayed delivery.

Still, just to be sure, Dalia asks once more.

“Are you done with your busy work?”

“Yes. Jake will take care of the banquet hall now, so I just need to finish up some overtime. But why are you here? You must be tired, you should be resting.”

“Sigh… right.”

“Dalia?”

Muniher was surprised that Dalia suddenly came to his office and immediately sighed. Had something happened?

Looking closely, he saw that Dalia was holding something in her hand.

He thought there wouldn’t be any reports left for his wife to pass to him due to the Lemtert Plague research and Hipplisia ampoule development… but one remained?

“If it’s something I need to look at, just leave it and go rest first. You must be tired.”

The workload had increased by one, but it was for his wife who had worked the hardest. However, Dalia’s words made Muniher’s face stiffen.

“The temple… said there was a Calix summoning.”

“…A Calix summoning?”

“It hasn’t been announced to the entire principality. Only… my sister Denise and I know about this.”

Muniher also knew what kind of impact a Calix could have.

Life forms summoned from another world and dropped onto the Kempryton continent. They once served as swords for humans, but he also knew they were double-edged swords.

“What type is it?”

“…Human. Definitely human.”

“Oh no…”

This was a serious matter. In the case of humans, they have intelligence and could commit crimes of their own volition.

In fact, there have been those who pulled pins from small spheres and blew themselves up, and others who rampaged as serial killers or madmen.

But there was an even bigger problem.

“And… this is a copy of the oracle that came down from the temple.”

As soon as Dalia unrolled the scroll and showed it to Muniher, his jaw dropped.

“Good heavens, this is…!”

One who has lost everything.

It was evidence that someone with the 7th type of magic had appeared.