Ishura - Volume 8 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Orde Old Town

Yuno the Distant Talon was long removed from the center stage of the Sixways Exhibition.

With her feat of bringing Soujirou all the way to Aureatia earning her employment under Haade the Flashpoint, Yuno had, out of sheer coincidence, laid eyes on the secret within Haade’s camp right after the third match. Escaping with her partner in crime, Linaris the Obsidian, she had spent a fair bit of time in hiding.

Then, on the day of the eighth match, Linaris had returned to the mansion looking horribly exhausted, both physically and mentally. She still had yet to recover. As a mere child, there was surely not much Yuno could do.

Even still, there was something she had gained for herself from being wrapped up in the death of Nagan, the ruin of Lithia, and the fierce upheaval of the Sixways Exhibition—she learned about the types of powerful individuals who were far out of her reach.

There were eight days until the beginning of the tenth match.

Yuno, once again, met with the Gray-Haired Child.

“I’m honored to have another chance to meet with you, Yuno the Distant Talon.”

“Th-thank you… It’s nice to see you again, Hiroto the Paradox.”

She nervously bowed. This office, located in a remote corner of Aureatia, was the dignitary parlor that he owned.

Next to Yuno sat a hollow-cheeked man. He barely showed any vitality, like a large doll. He was the very man who had accompanied Yuno, but she knew almost nothing about his identity.

“I’m Lendelt the Immaculate. I don’t believe we’ve met before, Master Hiroto the Paradox.”

Lendelt politely bowed.

He was an agent of Obsidian Eyes, sent to keep watch over Yuno’s moves and behavior while she met with Hiroto. Nevertheless, while she was sojourning in the black mansion, Yuno had never once seen him around, nor had she ever heard the name Lendelt brought up.

He may have been an agent dedicated to attending meetings like this with other organizations, to ensure that there wasn’t the slightest chance of any information around Obsidian Eyes’ main force being exposed. Though this, too, was nothing but Yuno’s own conjecture.

While Yuno was turning everything over in her mind, Hiroto and Lendelt’s conversation had continued.

“…In any event, I am glad to see you are safe, Yuno.”

Hearing her own name, Yuno reflexively looked at Hiroto’s face.

Hiroto continued with a gentle smile. “I heard rumors that you had disappeared right after the end of the third match, you see. Right after that sniper attack as well. I was worried that you might have gotten caught up in some other…incident.”

“Erm, well…”

She had actually been caught up in something. Yuno didn’t know how to answer.

Despite wishing to feed her soul to the fires of her revenge, so many constraints wouldn’t let her.

However, there was something she needed to prioritize over explaining her own situation.

“I can say the same thing to you, Hiroto. Thank you for taking time during your difficult circumstances to meet with me. Um…I hope my information can provide some help…”

This was all secondhand information from Lendelt, too—

Hiroto’s camp, a coalition of Okafu mercenaries and goblins, was now left in an unfavorable political situation following Zigita Zogi’s defeat in the eighth match. They had lost the protection of Hiroto’s hero candidacy, while Rosclay’s camp, having eliminated most of their rival powers, was extending their influence even further. The goblins, as foreigners in minian society, would end up being cleared out from Aureatia in the future.

If Linaris and Yuno’s information was accurate, that future had become even more certain.

“First, can you take a look at this text?”

“…I see. It looks like a letter written in the welkin language. While I can read it…I’m afraid I’m not very proficient. Can you explain what it says for me, Yuno?”

“I can. This is a copy of information that one of General Haade’s subordinates delivered in secret to the castle garden theater. I…and a certain individual, decoded it and realized what they were intending to do.”

As Yuno explained the letter to Hiroto, she recalled that day when she and Linaris decoded the letter together.

Linaris, seen amid the soft sunlight, had been intelligent and beautiful.

Sitting beside her, Yuno herself had been the one to make use of Linaris’s knowledge. She realized that though Nagan had been destroyed, the things she learned living there hadn’t all been in vain.

The letter began with these words—

From the “cerebrum” to the “brain stem”: Depending on results, may be necessary to adjust “terminus excision” period.

“…This part here is the content that we were able to understand from the reconstructed letter. Given what I just mentioned, the ‘cerebrum’ mentioned here would be Haade. The ‘brain stem’ could then be interpreted as Rosclay. This ‘terminus’ is, then, Iriolde. General Haade is pretending to work together with Minister Iriolde, but he is looking to cut him down at the appropriate moment and merge with Rosclay’s camp.”

“Thank you kindly. Just working from what you’ve laid out to me, it seems that interpretation is correct.”

“This… This merging of their games must pose an immense threat that will greatly influence your course forward, given you’re fighting to change Aureatia yourself! I would think it should be dealt with as soon as possible…”

“Where is the proof that this document actually existed?”

“Huh… What?”

“You didn’t take the letter itself, but took down a copy to leave behind no trace that you read it. I can believe that. However, as long as we are unable to confirm the original article, this sort of document could have been forged to say whatever you want. That then means that the reliability of this information is lacking. You need trust to get people to act, after all.”

“Er, that’s… Th-that’s fair…”

Yuno felt terribly embarrassed and dropped her eyes to the table.

The information she got a hold of was certain to shake the entire Sixways Exhibition itself. Nevertheless, Yuno’s capabilities to handle such information weren’t up to the task.

“Still, Hiroto. I… I don’t have anything beyond my own word. If Haade’s camp found any leftover evidence, I figured I’d probably be executed on the spot, so…won’t you believe me?”

“I believe you.” Hiroto laughed cheerfully. “Ah-hah-hah-hah! Of course I believe you. The information you laid out details one of the possibilities that Zigita Zogi the Thousandth was also worried about. So now I have someone giving concrete corroboration to something even he couldn’t definitively prove. This is a windfall. Thank you very much.”

“Um… Okay…?”

“Did I make you nervous? I do apologize for that. I’m sure that ever since you entered this room, you’ve been taking into account your word choice, your accuracy, and even my own interests, but as long as you’re able to express your sincerity properly, whoever you’re dealing with won’t press you about all the little details. Instead of searching for a reason to refuse your proposal, they’ll look for a reason to help. You’re in your own dangerous situation already, Yuno, and I was the first person you came to for help. That alone is plenty of reason enough for me to aid you.”

Hiroto the Paradox. This man, just like her acquaintance Soujirou the Willow-Sword, was someone who had deviated from the logic of the Beyond. A visitor. However, when she actually met with him face-to-face, she understood that the nature of his strength was something entirely different from Soujirou’s.

If Soujirou’s deviance was strength that terrified people, then Hiroto’s strength was one that charmed them.

“You’ve made your sincerity more than clear to me. As for the advantages and drawbacks around this… Lendelt, I’d like to hear from you.”

“Of course.” Lendelt replied in kind. In contrast to Yuno, he appeared to be perfectly calm and composed. Had he anticipated that the negotiations with Hiroto would progress like this from the start?

“Regarding our identity, I don’t believe I need to explain in detail, do I? I am Lendelt the Immaculate, seventh formation vanguard of Obsidian Eyes, and a minia.”

Yuno had no way of knowing Lendelt’s intent behind emphasizing his race while introducing himself.

Obsidian Eyes was a band of corpses under the control of a vampire. While it was possible for Linaris and her group to expand their control by infecting others through corpses, that danger therefore made it necessary when sitting at the negotiating table like this to guarantee the other party’s safety.

Lendelt the Immaculate was an agent for that explicit purpose. Without ever once meeting Linaris, who was able to transmit her virus through the air, he maintained his allegiance to the organization while remaining uninfected.

“For you, Master Hiroto… I acknowledge that Obsidian Eyes are a hated and unforgivable foe. If my head will satisfy you, then I will gladly offer it to you at any time. Aureatia has turned into a singular behemoth. If someone doesn’t stand against them, no one else has any hope of victory.”

“……” Hiroto’s smile itself didn’t falter at all, yet Yuno couldn’t surmise the emotions that lay underneath.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say, Yuno could no longer surmise them. When Hiroto had laughed at Yuno just now, she had a clear sense that he was giving her a glimpse of how he truly felt.

“There won’t be much time until Rosclay’s camp wins and solidifies the overall power balance. If your own camp is in a disadvantaged position, then we could change the present state of the playing field as shadow actors with no connection to you whatsoever. To face the massive strife that is set to occur here in Aureatia, we ask you to employ Obsidian Eyes… That is our master’s wish.”

“Wait!” Yuno stood up without thinking. “I didn’t hear anything about that! My request here… There is a patient in critical condition that needs treatment as soon as possible! I heard the results from Haade’s investigation when I was with him! That Ozonezma the Capricious is a brilliant physician, and that he’s a hero candidate with connections to you! I came here to ask you to save my friend!”

“I received these orders from my master after you, Yuno.” Lendelt spoke in a clear voice that carried over and interrupted Yuno’s shout. “If you intended to gain assistance from the Gray-Haired Child in exchange for information, then my master asked me to choose the survival of the organization over their life. It should be easier for Master Hiroto to accept Obsidian Eyes’ request following my master’s death.”

“…If the parent unit is dead, then none of you will be under outside control. Is that what you’re trying to say?” Hiroto replied, as if he was convinced of something Yuno didn’t understand.

It was intolerable.

“Hiroto the Paradox!”

Yuno wanted to throw her anger at him. If she let the madness and hatred deep inside her take over and slammed her words at him, she could get through this without dwelling on the fear of facing off against the strong.

If she threw the unvarnished emotions inside her at him, then maybe, just maybe, everything would go smoothly.

“…! Hiroto, you just…” Yuno took a deep breath. “You said this just a moment ago. That it’s not accuracy or talks about advantages or disadvantages that are needed when negotiating…but sincerity. In that case, I… If it looks to you like I am sitting here in this chair right now in good faith, th-that’s because I’ve been talking about saving my friend.”

Think. Think.

If she remained spurred on by her impulses, then nothing about her had changed.

She wished to feed her soul to the fires of her revenge. Why hadn’t she been able to do that?

Because her desire to escape the oppression from the powerful was so great that she entrusted all her choices to her impulses in the moment.

The result was where she was now. Drifting farther and farther away from the person she wished vengeance on without achieving anything Yuno herself wished for, everything about her being swept away by the situation at hand.

She needed to decide with her own thoughts where she was heading.

Even if this was a request from Linaris herself, she couldn’t back down here.

“I feel that Lendelt’s proposal also outlines a very urgent problem. But the ones who gained this information and deciphered it…are myself and said friend. Since I’ve come here to sit and converse with you directly…I ask that you do me this favor. P-please… It’s all I ask.”

With a deep breath, Yuno bowed her head low.

She was able prevent her explosion of emotion from emerging.

To Yuno herself, it was an unbelievable feat.

“Master Hiroto. There is nothing more foreign to our organization than trust and confidence. Thus, we can only come to the negotiating table with talks around benefits and drawbacks.”

In almost total contrast to the nerves and tension Yuno was feeling, Lendelt was cool-headed.

“As you have guessed, the patient Yuno wishes to save is our master. If you can spare her life, that would be more than we could ever hope for. Obsidian Eyes will swear in good faith to do everything we can for you. However, her life, or Obsidian Eyes—I also understand that the right to make that choice rests in your hands. If you are to choose between either, then choose Obsidian Eyes. Naturally, the other agents are unaware of the details around this deal, and I will not disclose it to them.”

There was the option of waiting until Linaris’s death to then take Obsidian Eyes in.

Just from the flow of conversation, Yuno could tell that this was bound to become an extremely important factor.

Hiroto replied, “Obsidian Eyes murdered my sworn friend.”

The reception room went perfectly still, as if filled up with water.

Both Yuno and Lendelt both felt the weight of the enmity in Hiroto’s words.

However, this atmosphere disappeared as if it had all been an hallucination.

“However, my friend created this situation himself. There’s no need to overthink things here. When it’s all said and done, I have guests coming to me seeking my help…and it’s about whether I become friendly with them or not.”

As he said this, Hiroto put down his cup.

Standing up, he stretched out a hand to Yuno and Lendelt.

A handshake held out to his mortal enemy, Obsidian Eyes.

“I shall grant both your requests.”

The coincidental course of events on the day that Zigita Zogi died seemed as if they had almost saved Hiroto the Paradox.

That was wrong.

Obsidian Eyes was comprised of broken failures who could only live in the midst of war and conflict.

Therefore, their goal had been to create a war-torn world that would allow them to survive.

Their strategy to do this was to eliminate Zigita Zogi the Thousandth, and with that, control Hiroto’s camp with mass infection. By first manipulating their leaders, starting with Morio the Sentinel and Hiroto the Paradox, they could artificially orchestrate a longstanding cold war between Aureatia and the New Continent, truly achieving a victory for Obsidian Eyes.

However, this strategy was defeated. As Linaris the Obsidian secured her victory over her opponent, Zigita Zogi the Thousandth, his final stratagem made a change in their strategy unavoidable.

What exactly had been Zigita Zogi’s final stratagem, then?

Making them question, for just a brief moment, if perhaps he was actually still alive—but that wasn’t the true essence of it.

The actual aim was, by implanting the shadow of doubt that Zigita Zogi was alive and everything was all a part of his plan, it would make continuing their controlling strategy more dangerous.

Once they understood that the path they needed to follow was dangerous, their only choice was then to retreat to the safer path—for someone sharp-witted enough to realize the existence of such an escape route, this was the only option.

Their escape route was forming a united front with Hiroto’s camp.

If Haade’s scheme was going to bear fruit, then it would inevitably cause a huge upheaval in the military of Aureatia. No matter how it all turned out, it would lead to increased tensions between Aureatia and Hiroto’s camp.

It might not have become a long, drawn-out period of war. It may have only resulted in an employment relationship destined to someday be discarded. However, that was precisely the battlefield Obsidian Eyes kept wishing for, that they were meant to live through.

The real trap was the second-best strategy—the one they couldn’t shake from the back of their minds even as they carried out the most viable plan.

Linaris the Obsidian understood Zigita Zogi the Thousandth’s strategy, and as a result, chose surrender.

The gambit of her death could potentially change the whole balance of power.

Having lost their strategic linchpin of Zigita Zogi, Hiroto’s camp would assuredly need an actually operating force like Obsidian Eyes. Furthermore, as long as Hiroto the Paradox survived, it was possible to win over a formerly hostile opponent to their side—that was what Zigita Zogi believed.

Hiroto, too, believed that it hadn’t been the end. Thus, he made Morio the Sentinel enter Aureatia, forced Yukiharu the Twilight Diver to continue his investigations, and prepared himself for the favorable chance that was bound to visit him.

All he had to do was believe the time would come, and wait.

I haven’t lost yet. It starts here, Zigita Zogi.

He could still continue to fight.

Trust is what’s stronger than anything else.