2
Morning, seven o’clock.
In the center of the Altoria jurisdiction in the eastern reaches of the Empire, there was a terminal station frequented by the odd tourist or businessman. The jurisdiction was so remote that it would take even a limited-express train nearly a day to journey from there to the capital.
“…We should be back home by tomorrow.” Jhin sighed as he sat down on a bench. “Feels weird. We’ve been gone for so long, it’s almost nostalgic.”
“I feel that way, too,” Nene said. “It’s been a whole month since we left the capital.”
Nene, who sat next to him, spoke in a slightly conflicted tone. Now that they thought about it, they had been gone a while. It had all started with the headquarters giving them an order.
“Unit 907, you have been ordered to go on special leave for sixty days.”
“It would be best if you went somewhere far away. How would you feel about resting in an ally nation on the outskirts of the Empire?”
They had first headed to the independent state of Alsamira.
There, they had encountered Sisbell and were forced to enter the Sovereignty when she asked them to be her bodyguards. Now, after they had been pulled into their fair share of trouble and fighting for their lives…the Imperial capital was finally within sight.
“…Don’t see anything that matches the incident,” Jhin said.
“Huh? What are you reading, Jhin Big Bro?”
“The morning paper. I got it at the place where you bought the bread for breakfast.”
Nene glanced at the newspaper Jhin had been reading. She perused the domestic news.
“You mean about the research facility where Miss Sisbell was kept captive?”
“Yeah. Even though it was supposedly abandoned, I bet at least a few hundred people saw the massive amount of astral energy that blew into the air—Iska.”
He rolled up the paper and threw it toward the swordsman. Iska caught it and glanced through the news as well, but he didn’t find anything relating to the facility where Sisbell had been held prisoner.
…There isn’t even a mention of the place being an illegal astral power research institute.
…An intense astral energy surged into the air outside when we fought Kelvina, no questions about it.
Yet no one had noticed? No, there had to have been witnesses. And they would have reported that back to the Imperial forces.
“Risya.”
“Hm? What’s up, Isk?”
The Saint Disciple of the fifth seat turned around. He knew she must have been listening to their conversation up until now. Her reaction was an act, plain and simple.
“So HQ is still hiding what happened then?”
“Oh, you mean the events from yesterday? They’ll make a formal announcement, of course. But not until after an official investigation is finished.” Risya shrugged as though there weren’t anything else to it. “I know you still find things suspicious, but the Imperial headquarters weren’t involved with that research facility at all. The Imperial forces weren’t, either. That’s why they need to do a thorough inspection into everything, along with who was behind it.”
“…”
“You don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Risya, but to be honest, there have been too many unexpected things happening…”
“Oh?”
“So I can’t figure out what to believe.”
The Birthplace of Witches. That was what the mad scientist Kelvina had called the research facility.
“This is the Birthplace of Witches. And it was here where I investigated the truth of this planet.
“Vichyssoise turned out well. She was the first stable subject we created here.
“Their name for the time being is Beasts of Katalisk. As you can see, they are artificial astral powers. They’ll serve as next-gen energy for the Imperial forces’ weapons.”
The witch Vichyssoise had been created there.
But that wasn’t all. The incident had also proved that artificial astral power resided within the Object they’d fought at the independent state of Alsamira.
“Risya…the researcher said that the monsters she created would be used by the Imperial forces. I know she did.”
“Is that so?”
“Do you still insist HQ wasn’t involved?”
“They really weren’t. I wasn’t, and neither was Their Excellency nor anyone else at the headquarters.” Risya grinned. She narrowed her eyes until they almost looked like thin threads. “I know what you’re trying to say. So now you’re wondering who it could have been. To be honest, even I’m not sure.”
“……Huh?”
“Well, to be more accurate, I don’t have proof. I more or less am sure who it was, but they just haven’t given themselves away yet. So this was a windfall. A perfect witch…oh, I mean mage, made her way into our nation.” Risya winked.
That hadn’t been directed at Iska, but at someone clinging to him from directly behind…
“Right, Princess Sisbell?”
“…”
“Princess Sisbell?”
“…I have no idea whatever you could mean.” Sisbell crossed her arms and turned her face away. She knit her brows and pursed her lips, refusing to meet Risya’s eyes. She was blunt and brusque. “I won’t run or hide. I’ve even made my way to the station to go to the capital.”
“Yes. Their Excellency is waiting.”
“Yes, that’s it!” Sisbell thrust out a finger.
She pointed at the Lord’s staff officer. Had she been a soldier in the Imperial forces, she would have immediately been sentenced to disciplinary action. Though her gestures were provocative, Sisbell did not seem frightened in the slightest to address someone in a position of such high authority.
She was a Sovereign princess, after all.
“I said I would head to the capital. So why were you waiting here? Shouldn’t you be there instead?”
“Ah-ha-ha. You’ve misunderstood, Princess Sisbell.” Risya’s tone was carefree. “Like I told you at the hotel, I’m accompanying you. Because of Their Excellency’s thoughtful consideration for you…”
“Are you monitoring us?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“So you are, then.”
“Like I said, it’s not like that.”
This happened to be their fourth time having this same conversation since meeting at the hotel. Sisbell had not let her guard down nor made any attempt to obscure her animosity since Risya had shown up out of the blue.
…Well, in Sisbell’s mind, this came out of nowhere.
…Risya did kidnap Rin with the Lord, after all.
On top of that, Risya had been targeting the witch princess with her Thread astral power. Had Rin not been protecting her, Sisbell likely would have been caught instead.
“Your name was Risya, was it?” Sisbell glanced at the Saint Disciple. “I have no intention of placing my trust in you. If I feel like it, I could look through your entire past. And if you do anything even slightly suspicious—”
“Oh? Mismis, over here.”
“Are you listening to me?!”
“Well, you always draw out conversations, Princess Sisbell. It’ll be okay, you’ll see. Look over there. See what good friends I am with Mismis?”
Commander Mismis had gone to buy the train tickets. Risya smacked both hands down on Mismis’s shoulders and started squishing her face against the commander’s.
“So, Mismis, I have a favor to ask.”
“What?”
“Would you lend me some money?”
“You want money?!”
The commander froze as Risya continued to press her face against hers.
“Wh-why would you need that?! I don’t care how close we are, you can’t ask for a loan. It says so in the Imperial forces’ handbook…and you should have a much higher salary than me as a Saint Disciple, anyway!”
“Oh, well, you see, I don’t have my wallet on me.”
Risya continued to stroke Mismis’s head as she stared straight at Sisbell. The princess continued to eye her suspiciously.
“So, about yesterday. Look, you remember the Lord disappeared, right? I was also supposed to head back to the capital.”
“……Yes. That’s exactly why I’m curious as to why you are still here.”
“It seems that the Lord can only transport two people at a time.”
“Huh?”
“We came together. But then the Lord headed back with Rin. So I got left behind. I must say, it took me by surprise as well.”
The Lord had taken Rin and disappeared. Essentially leaving Risya behind.
“Huh? So you really are just tagging along? You’re not here to monitor us?”
“Of course. I’d never lie to you, Mismis.” Risya nodded and smiled. “I’ve had such a tough time. I was actually supposed to take Sisbell straight to the capital, so I didn’t bring my wallet or anything with me. I couldn’t buy myself a meal or even a drink.”
“…Oh. That’s why you want to borrow money from me.”
“That’s right. So I really need that loan, or I’m going to be in trouble. But I suppose borrowing money is against the Imperial handbook. In that case, would you lend me your credit card?”
“My credit card?!”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll pay you back double.”
Risya pulled Mismis’s credit card from her wallet and quickly stuffed it into her pocket.
“Oh, come to think of it, you reserved normal seats, didn’t you, Mismis? Why don’t we upgrade those to a first-class private room?”
“With my card?”
“You can submit an expense request to the Lord later.”
“I’d be too frightened to even attempt that!”
“It’s all right. The Lord would be nice to you since you’re so cute. You’re like an adorable pet, after all. They’d squeeze you just like this.”
Risya hugged Mismis from behind.
“Ahh…that’s so nice. You’re tiny and soft and smell just like shampoo.”
“It doesn’t feel so nice to me!”
“Well, anyway, that aside…”
Risya swept her eyes up Mismis’s left shoulder as she kept the commander in her clutches.
“…Hmm.”
“What is it, Risya?”
“Well, there’s something I’ve been curious about.” Risya place a hand on Mismis’s left shoulder.
“What a nice self-adhesive. You weren’t caught by the astral-energy detectors at the ticket gate, I see,” Risya whispered.
“Uh?!” Mismis’s small body began to shake.
How did Risya know about that? Iska unconsciously swallowed his breath. Nene opened her eyes wide, and even Sisbell, who had given Mismis the self-adhesives in the first place, was slack-jawed from surprise. All of them, except for…
“So you saw through it, then?” Jhin still looked cool and collected as ever as he spoke in a stifled voice. “Still, I don’t get it. If you knew about her astral crest, then why did you let us out of the Empire? And you even got us a sixty-day special leave, too.”
“Oh, it’s nothing to concern yourself with, Jhin-Jhin.” Risya winked at him. “I mean, Mismis turned into a witch in Mudor Canyon, right? In that case, I’m responsible for what happened to her since I ordered you all to go there.”
“So you even know that, too, then.”
“Of course. Mismis tripped and fell right into the vortex, correct?”
“No, I didn’t!”
“You didn’t?” Risya looked puzzled at Mismis’s exclamation. “I was convinced you’d gotten your foot caught on a rock and fallen right in.”
“Someone kicked me in! The guy who was leading the enemies’ forces!”
“Ah-ha-ha, how rude of me to assume. Well, I guess it’s a work-related injury, then. You can get worker’s comp if you file for it.”
Risya let go of Mismis and gave her a jovial shake of the shoulders. It was early in the morning on the train station. She checked to make sure no one else was around.
“This is a secret. But there have been several incidents just like yours, Mismis.”
“…What?”
“Whenever a vortex is found, the Empire and Sovereignty always fight over it. While it’s rare, it’s not as though zero Imperial soldiers end up as witches after being exposed to the astral energy. You see, whether someone can become a witch depends on the individual. It’s not something the Empire can prevent.”
They still didn’t know what conditions needed to be present for someone to become a witch. For instance, Iska had fallen into the vortex, but he hadn’t been affected. But Commander Mismis had. It seemed that developments like these weren’t unheard of in the long history of the war.
“Oh, um, Risya!” Nene raised her hand. “Just like you said, the commander didn’t end up this way because she wanted to! Um…so…”
“So please be lenient? Is that what you want to say? I think things will turn out fine. Though we can’t officially reveal this, Imperial soldiers who have become witches, like Mismis, can be used as spies. They’re real witches, so they can waltz into the Sovereignty.”
“Is that the case with you as well?” asked the princess, who had been silent until then. She spoke in a doubtful voice.
“Risya, or whatever your name was,” she added.
“Hm? What do you mean, Princess Sisbell?”
“I’m asking whether you’re a witch, too. Like I am, and like Commander Mismis is.”
Sisbell glared at the Saint Disciple. With a look of strong distrust in her eyes, she continued to silently face Risya.
…Of course that would bother Sisbell.
…It’s even got me doubting things. I bet Commander Mismis, Jhin, and Nene feel the same, too.
The threads of astral power that had ensnared Rin. Risya had undoubtedly produced them, and she’d even owned up to this.
“R-Risya, that light isn’t…”
“Oh, you mean this? That’s right—it’s astral power. But make sure you keep it a secret from the other Imperial force members.”
Iska had been looking for an opportunity to ask about it as well. In the end, Sisbell had been the one to act first.
“You said that you’re accompanying us, not monitoring us. In that case, you should tell us about yourself.”
“About me?”
“That’s right. Are you a Sovereign citizen?”
“No, no, I was born and raised in the Empire. Just like Mismis,” Risya stated. Her answer was nonchalant, in contrast to Sisbell, who had furrowed her brows and grown deadly serious. “It’s just a bonus that I can use astral powers.”
“I’m asking where you got them from. Don’t try to shrug it off. Would you prefer I lay your past bare with my astral power, then?”
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just— We can talk about it, but we’re still in public.” Risya put a finger to her lips and shushed them with a strained smile. “I’ve even reserved a private car for us. Why don’t we talk there?”
“You won’t go back on what you said, then?”
“I would never. I know how I seem, but I’m proud to say that I’ve never told a lie in my life.”
“That’s a lie! You can’t believe her, Miss Sisbell… Mgh?!”
“All righty, then, Mismis. Why don’t you simmer down for a moment.”
Risya clamped Mismis’ mouth shut before she even finished speaking. Then she hauled the commander right onto the train. Based on that exchange, anyone could tell Risya was rather adept at kidnapping people.
“All right now, please come this way, Princess Sisbell.”
“Truly suspicious…”
“I can assure you I’m not. My creed is ‘Sincerity, integrity, and charity,’ after all.”
“Another lie! Risya always says that and then goes off and decides to… Mgh?!”
“Quiet now, Mismis.”
She was dragged away, still gagged. Iska and the others reluctantly got on the train to head after her.
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