Chapter 54
The fact that the businessman before me was an informant for [White Shadow] was not particularly shocking.
To begin with, the succession ceremony itself had been held to summon House Nebula's retainers.
In such circumstances, disguising [White Shadow]'s people as business executives to obtain bits and pieces of information from the ducal family had long been common practice.
The fact that Marcel's business had expanded so rapidly that it had barely managed to qualify for this succession ceremony?
That was also partly because House Nebula had quietly helped him from behind the scenes.
Anyone who had served House Nebula for a long time probably already knew this open secret.
"Yeah..."
I spoke with a sigh as I looked at the man who had been [White Shadow]'s informant until just moments ago, rather than at the businessman Marcel.
His expression was blank, all the tension he had possessed moments ago gone as if it had never existed.
I already knew that he was one of [White Shadow]'s people attending the succession ceremony.
When someone like that asked me for a private audience, I had thought something serious was about to happen, and now that I had heard him out, it really was serious.
"Heresy?"
"Yes, sir."
'This is insane. The academy.'
It couldn't stand seeing even a single day—or rather, even a single event—go peacefully.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Propping up my chin and tapping the table, I began turning the matter over in my head.
The current class was admitting the heirs or children of countless powerful figures.
I had known for a long time that Saint Ariel of the [Church of Light], with whom I had a connection, would be enrolling as well.
After all, she had contacted me often and had told me first that she would be attending.
"Hmm..."
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A judgment that the information was false?
There was none.
If the information he had gone to such lengths to bring to my attention turned out to be false, that would be a problem in itself.
I suspected that Marcel had reconfirmed this information over and over again.
After all that checking, he must have come to me reluctantly because it had turned out to be true.
Of course, even so, I could say that he had acted a little hastily.
"Ah, now that I think of it, why did you draw so much attention while conveying this information to me?"
As [White Shadow]'s informant, he should naturally have been able to report the information directly to his superiors.
But I could not quite understand why he had chosen a method that drew everyone's attention instead of doing so.
When I voiced my question, Marcel lightly nodded in agreement.
"Yes. I am well aware that the method I chose was certainly rash."
"..."
"However, the current situation within the ducal family is tumultuous, and I had certain concerns, so I chose to meet you face-to-face like this."
Click.
As he spoke, Marcel took a sip of the coffee on the table, then deliberately set the cup back down with a loud clink.
'Hmm?'
"You are aware of the ducal family's current situation, aren't you?"
Tap. Tap.
'Now.'
"That is why I..."
Tap. Tap.
'I...'
"chose this method of drawing attention."
With that, Marcel began telling me his story.
How he had obtained this information, and where it had come from.
And throughout it all, he deliberately tapped the table, brushed his sleeve against the chair, or touched his sleeve with his hand.
A kind of code.
An act of conveying information to me by using the first words of the paragraphs in reverse order or as they were.
It was also the first subject I had learned while taking heir training.
How to decipher the codes used by House Nebula.
The deliberate clink of the cup as he set it down had been the beginning of the code.
Tap.
One tap meant reversing the final paragraph.
Tap. Tap.
Two taps meant using the first paragraph.
Swish.
Finally, sweeping an object across something meant rearranging the letters into an anagram to create a new word.
Because of that, some parts of Marcel's story did not line up perfectly, but there was no problem with the overall context.
It was obvious that before coming to me, he had thought carefully about both how he had learned this information and how he would convey the code.
"To reach [Crocus Academy], one must first take the dedicated train, correct?"
As Marcel had said, it was nearly impossible to enter [Crocus Academy] except by the prescribed method.
To begin with, [Crocus Academy] had been created for the future by the hero who had completely eradicated the Demon King in the past.
Since that was where such an academy had been built, it was only natural that the sons and daughters of countless powerful figures would enroll and that security would be strengthened accordingly.
It was an academy, after all, so the very idea of it being attacked was absurd.
Even if someone attacked it, they would suffer more losses than gains. What kind of lunatic would attempt such a thing?
"Hmm..."
Swish.
I quietly began using mana to display both Marcel's words and the code in the air.
Countless lines of writing appeared overhead.
Marcel's eyes lingered on the words for a moment, but he did not try to stop me.
"Hmm?"
Noticing another new fact from that reaction, I slowly began combining the codes hidden in everything Marcel had said so far.
[I am now.]
I combined the first paragraph in which he had spoken while signaling that he was about to give me a code.
And then there were the countless paragraphs he had provided while telling me the details of the incident.
I began rearranging the letters into an anagram, completing the final word in the air.
"I think they will use one of the many powers of heresy, perhaps like the necromancy that occurred in the former capital."
Swish.
The letters created by Marcel's words and my mana began to intersect.
"This year's entrance ceremony at [Crocus Academy] is about a week away."
[I am being watched right now.]
With my chin propped up and one leg crossed over the other, I began inserting additional information into the letters in the air.
The completed phrase read as follows.
[I am being watched right now. This is a kind of trap. Be careful.]
Grin.
Marcel and I looked at the completed phrase and smiled faintly at each other.
As if declaring that I had gotten it right, Marcel finished his final words.
"They say they are going to attack the dedicated train bound for the academy."
***
After hearing everything Marcel had to say, I returned to the banquet hall where the succession ceremony was still under way, pretending that nothing was wrong.
The people there looked at Marcel, who had returned unharmed, as if it were strange, but I let it pass for the moment.
Well, I did notice that some beauties brought by the retainers were watching me, trying to ensnare me with their looks.
This was a world where technology had advanced and something called a magi-screen—something like a TV, in my terms—had been created.
Naturally, countless new professions related to broadcasting had begun to appear.
Announcers, actors, singers, and so on.
In other words, celebrities.
They were probably people the retainers had brought in under the guise of servants, hoping to form even the slightest connection with me.
I had seen some of them here and there on the magi-screens, after all.
"..."
I looked around at the beauties who were quietly keeping their eyes fixed on me.
The women who caught my gaze stiffened into smiles and gently waved their hands.
Their beauty was enough to make ordinary people's eyes widen.
But I was not in a situation where I could worry about that.
Considering the information Marcel had handed me, how could I afford to get distracted?
'Haa...'
And so, time passed while I quietly thought about what to do until the succession ceremony ended.
.
.
.
[So, Abel, are you saying that you obtained information that an unidentified organization will attack the train bound for [Crocus Academy]?]
[Yeah.]
[Good heavens... Do you have any evidence?]
[No.]
While talking with Ariel through a typewriter, I smiled bitterly at what I had written, sighed, and moved my fingers.
[The [White Shadow] operative who gave us this information is being watched as well. There is no physical evidence.]
For now, I had assigned guards to Marcel, who was under surveillance, both to protect and monitor him.
[Haa. Then I suppose it would be impossible to tell the others about the attack, too.]
[I suppose so.]
To begin with, the current era was not exactly a peaceful one.
Of course, as the times progressed, the power of weapons had naturally advanced as well, and wars in which countries directly fought one another with force had become rare.
But it was also a troublesome age in which countless political interests were tangled together.
In that sense, the information I had obtained was enough to move other people to action.
The problem was simply that I was a member of House Nebula.
[It would be strange for them to take information from a member of House Nebula at face value.]
Moreover, hundreds of years had passed since [Crocus Academy] was founded.
There had never been a major incident involving an attack on the academy during that time, so it was only natural that my words lacked credibility.
And if the source of the information was the notoriously infamous House Nebula, it would be even harder to believe.
'Hmm...'
In that respect, Ariel trusted what I said to an almost surprising degree.
'There really is something going on with her...'
[Ah, then how do you plan to stop it?]
Ariel's message interrupted my attempt to reason out the meaning behind her strange reaction.
How was I going to stop it?
[What else can I do? I have to board that train and stop it myself.]
From my perspective, there was no need to interfere with this attack in the first place.
Marcel had even said that the attack itself was a trap, and in such circumstances, my involvement was clearly what the enemy wanted.
[What? Abel, you mean you're going yourself?]
I had two reasons for wanting to get involved in this attack.
First.
Ariel, who had maintained a connection and built a friendship with me, was involved in this attack.
If she had been completely unrelated, that would have been one thing, but she was someone who had formed a connection with me.
Ignoring someone like that was not my style.
And second.
'If things go well, I might be able to pick up their trail.'
It was an unidentified organization whose name I did not even know.
The only thing I knew was that they were the ones who had made the duke drink poison.
Moreover, since it was an organization that harbored a strange hostility toward me, I judged that it was necessary to face them head-on at least once.
In truth, this reason carried more weight.
There was nothing more irritating than facing an enemy I knew nothing about.
[Then does that mean you're enrolling at [Crocus Academy]?]
What?
I did not know why, but perhaps it was just my imagination; her message seemed to carry a hint of anticipation.
Was she asking whether I was enrolling at the academy?
[No?]
[What?]
Why would I?