4
The limited-express train.
The continental railway connected the eastern reaches of the Empire all the way to the distant Imperial capital. In a private compartment of the train…
“Oh! So this is your astral crest, then, Mismis. Well, it’s very striking.”
“R-Risya, don’t say that so loud!”
“Looks like big chests mean big astral crests.”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Ah-ha-ha. Sorry, sorry. But the doors are closed, so it should be fine.”
There was a faint green astral crest on Mismis’s shoulder.
Risya was observing it with great interest and speaking in a carefree tone as she did.
“…Seriously.” Mismis placed the self-adhesive on her left shoulder again and fixed her sleeve. “Well, I’ve shown you mine, so where’s yours, Risya?”
“Hm?”
“We were just talking about it earlier. We all saw you use your astral powers.”
Mismis stared. She raised her eyebrows as she silently looked at Risya, who sat to her right.
“Yes, that’s right,” Sisbell joined in.
Risya was sandwiched between Mismis and Sisbell.
Across from her sat Jhin and Nene. And Iska was closest to the door.
All five sets of eyes were concentrated on Risya.
“……Hm. Right.”
Risya crossed her legs and glanced at Sisbell.
“I was actually planning on having Their Excellency explain.”
“Are you still trying to feign ignorance?”
“No, no, that’s not my intention at all.” Risya played things off with a smile when Sisbell glared at her. “Well, Mismis and the others know already. I guess I’ll just say it since the Sovereignty is aware now. We were researching that in utmost secrecy within the Empire. We were trying to make artificial crests form on humans.”
Risya put up two fingers.
“We were researching two ways of accomplishing this.”
One, the old type, which would create an astral crest without accompanying astral powers.
Two, a new type that would result in both a crest and powers.
“Oh!” Nene yelled and stood up.
“Is that the thing from when we went to rescue Iska?! You gave me and Jhin artificial crests!”
“Right, that thing… That was back when we were headed to Alcatroz, right?”
Jhin grimaced. “We used a weird device to give ourselves crests when we were trying to get across the Sovereignty border. You said that just one shot on our skin will turn us into a witch, right?”
“That’s right. But the artificial crests are so much more useful if you can utilize astral power,” Risya said with a wink. “Nene and Jhin-Jhin, your crests were part of the first experiment. The one I tried was the second. Needless to say, we’ve designed them so they disappear after use. I can use astral powers for just a week before they disappear with the crest. So, Princess Sisbell?”
“…What is it?”
“Do you know why? Do you know why the astral crests we administer disappear within a week?”
“…” The Sovereign princess sighed slightly. “You are bestowing astral energy, not astral power itself. Because if you were using real astral powers, you would end up becoming a real witch just like Commander Mismis there.”
“What a prompt reply! That’s correct!”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“No, no, that was a sincere compliment. I would have expected no less from a witch princess.” Risya crossed her arms, seeming satisfied. “It would be very useful to wield astral powers indefinitely, but keeping astral power in your body turns you into a witch. I can’t afford that as an Imperial.”
“I have a question, too,” Sisbell said, talking over Risya. “How much do you know?”
“Me? About what?”
“When did you learn Commander Mismis was a witch? And you knew who I was when you appeared with the Lord.”
“It’s just as you say.”
“Were you watching us this whole time?”
“Oh, now you’ve misunderstood me.” Risya shrugged and joked. “I didn’t follow you or watch you. Their Excellency just happens to have that power.”
“The Lord does?”
Sisbell looked even more grim—her sentiment shifted from dubious to cautious.
“What does that mean? Can the Lord look into the past like I can? Or is it clairvoyance, where they can see anything happening in the present?”
“It’s not quite that.” Risya tried to hold back a yawn. “Their Excellency’s sense of smell is just slightly more sensitive to the movements of astral power than normal people’s. Though that doesn’t mean the Lord will find all the information they want. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. There’s something they cannot look into, in fact.”
“And so that’s why you’ve set eyes on me. What are you planning on making me do?”
“The Lord would like to extend to you an invitation…”
Risya held out a hand. Sisbell pulled back in response, but Risya put her arms around the princess’s shoulders as though they were old friends.
“Won’t you become a Saint Disciple, Princess Sisbell?”
“E-excuse me?!” It wasn’t Sisbell who shouted this, but rather Commander Mismis, who had been watching the exchange the whole time. “Hold on, Risya! What’s going on here?! Um, Sisbell is a Sovereign princess. And she’s a witch… Iska, can witches even become Saint Disciples?”
“I’m not sure…”
In fact, that was a question he himself had wanted to ask. He had been so taken aback by the unexpected proposal that his mind had gone blank from surprise, and he was at a loss for words.
Sisbell? A Saint Disciple? Was that an actual invitation to a princess from the Paradise of Witches?
“…I don’t understand.”
Even Sisbell looked almost dumbfounded.
“Are you asking me to become an officer within the Empire? To betray the Sovereignty and pass along intelligence in order to obtain a high rank within your nation? Then the answer is obv—”
“Well, that shows how open-minded Their Excellency is.”
“Huh?”
“That is how courteously the Empire would welcome you, Princess Sisbell. What Their Excellency seeks to learn has nothing to do with the Sovereignty’s secrets. It’s about the Empire.”
“What about the Empire?”
“Well…”
Risya’s only response was a cool smile.
Her smile was directed at the members of Unit 907.
“Now, this is a place Isk has fond memories of, I’m sure. There’s an Imperial assembly deep underground in the capital. Isn’t that right, Commander Mismis?”
“…Uh, well, yes. I don’t know much about it, though.”
“Why, of course you wouldn’t. We can’t go around just telling any Imperial soldier about it willy-nilly. There are only a handful of people in the Imperial forces’ headquarters who know where it actually is.”
Behind the lenses of her glasses…the eyes of the staff officer to the Lord—of Risya—narrowed.
“It’s the first place in the world where a vortex formed, after all.”
“…What did you say?!”
Sisbell stood up. She couldn’t contain herself. The information Risya had just uttered was something she desperately wanted, more than anything.
“But why did it happen in the Imperial capital?
“The events that took place a century ago. I don’t imagine that the surge of astral energy in the capital could have simply been a coincidence.”
Sisbell had said that at one point. A century ago, a vortex had formed for the first time on the planet in the Imperial capital, by “coincidence.” The massive amounts of astral energy that showered upon the people in the area created the first witches and sorcerers. Sisbell wanted to see the past events for herself.
“So are you taking me to the Imperial assembly, then?”
“That’s exactly right, Princess Sisbell. What the Lord wants to know is located there. But there’s a rather troublesome issue.”
Risya slipped off her glasses. As she twirled them around the hinge, she looked around at the members of Unit 907.
“We always seem to be interrupted by a certain nuisance.”
“A nuisance?” Jhin’s face darkened. Next to him, Nene, Commander Mismis, and Sisbell all looked puzzled.
“Huh! The Imperial assembly… You don’t mean that!” Iska felt his neck break out into a cold sweat, and an enormous chill ran down his spine. He couldn’t believe the enemies they’d be up against would be— “Risya, you can’t mean…”
“That’s right. There are people who lead the Imperial assembly. If we’re taking Princess Sisbell there, they will have friends who will block us.”
The corners of Risya’s mouth lifted into a daring smile, her glasses still off.
“The Eight Great Apostles themselves.”
“Huh?! Wait, you can’t mean…,” Jhin started to say.
“Now, now, settle down, Jhin-Jhin. It’s all right. My life is on the line just as much as yours. So let’s try not to die, shall we?”
“…Not exactly reassuring, is it?” Jhin said, clicking his tongue.
Nene and Commander Mismis had gone silent. In that oppressive atmosphere, Sisbell hesitantly spoke up, even though she likely had sensed the disquieting mood.
“Um…Iska? Who are these Eight Great Apostles…?”
“The Imperial assembly is just a cover.” Risya beat him to the punch. She put her glasses back on and pointed down at her feet. “There’s something slumbering deep below the capital that the Eight Great Apostles don’t want anyone to see. So they built the Imperial assembly down there to hide it.”
“…Risya. What is it that they’re afraid of people seeing?”
“That’s what Sisbell here will show us, Iska.” Risya clapped Sisbell on the back. “I’m expecting great things out of you, witch princess. Well…I can more or less guess based on the data from Kelvina’s lab. Now I just need to see it for myself and then— Oh?”
Risya blinked in surprise. She reached into her pocket as everyone stared at her. She had produced a comm.
“It’s a message from HQ. Hmm. I already know I neglected to attend that meeting earlier……… Princess Sisbell.”
“What is it? Go ahead, you can tell me.”
“They say there was an earthquake at the Sovereignty.”
“……Come again?”
“But they didn’t observe any geological movement,” Risya said. “It’s not a vortex, either. Do you know what that could possibly mean?”
Risya put her comm away.
Her expression showed slight irritation, which was rare for her, and something Iska was seeing for the first time.
“…She’s awakening now of all times. This is such a drag, Your Excellency.”
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