Chapter 55
—Lyon City Hall, in the heart of the city.
“No problems so far, huh?”
Gregorio was climbing the stairs of City Hall, where he worked.
Looking at his neat appearance and well-groomed figure, no one would think Gregorio was a man who sought to turn the world upside down.
That’s right.
No one understood Gregorio’s true nature.
He deliberately invited nobles to a debauched soirée, while at the same time using the Dark Guild to cause trouble in Hafen Village near Lyon.
His thoroughly corrupt guests wouldn’t notice a thing, while Gregorio would be the first to catch on, alert the knights, and boost his own reputation. That was the plan.
Of course, when he actually put it into practice, unexpected complications arose.
For instance, the nobles at the soirée Gregorio had hosted had fallen asleep, but a report that had just come in said that the men he’d arranged to guard the venue had been taken out by someone.
Meanwhile, he’d lost contact with Hafen Village as well.
—Even so, Gregorio kept smiling as he made his way to the mayor’s office.
Gregorio felt nothing in particular.
And it wasn’t just this plan.
“...The Bright Night,” he murmured.
That’s right.
Even the elite Dark Guild he had created, the Bright Night, after investing so much money and time in it, was nothing more than one of Gregorio’s many ways to kill time.
“Now, how should I amuse myself next—”
With that, Gregorio put his hand on the door to the mayor’s office.
“Hm?”
Something felt off.
As soon as he opened the door, he felt a draft.
He was sure he’d closed the windows in the mayor’s office.
Which meant...
“Well, well. An unwelcome guest?”
Standing before him was a boy he recognized.
“Well, well. It’s only been a day, Ultos-kun. What can I do for you?”
◆
As soon as he entered the room, he caught the scent of tea.
The boy was sitting on the sofa with a teacup in one hand.
“It’s a fine tea, isn’t it? The very best,” Gregorio said, approaching the boy and speaking with superficial kindness.
“But it’s not very nice of you to sneak into my workplace, even if you are the heir to the House of Randall.”
However,
“Mayor, I know. I know that... you’re connected to the Dark Guild.”
“...Oh?”
That wasn’t the response he’d expected.
For a moment, Gregorio let a little of his true feelings show.
Interesting.
It seemed this boy had figured out who he really was.
He responded with a smile, as if to say, “I see, I see.”
“Well, this is a problem. You’ve certainly done your research.”
“I want to live an ordinary life. Could you please stay away from my parents and the House of Randall?”
“I see. But I’m afraid that’s a difficult request.”
No hunter would abandon a hunt while his prey was right in front of him.
What’s more,
(—What an idiot.)
Gregorio could barely keep himself from laughing at the boy’s naivete.
An ordinary life?
That was just the sort of thing a wastrel with no confidence in himself as the heir to a ducal house would say.
And besides...
(You’re still so naive.)
Gregorio cursed beneath his smiling mask.
Maybe the boy had indeed gotten a little closer to the truth.
But he was far too naive.
Careless to an absurd degree.
Coming here alone, of all things.
“But I’m sorry, Ultos-kun. Aren’t you being a little careless? You didn’t bring your parents or even the maid who’s supposed to be by your side.”
Snap.
Gregorio snapped his fingers.
“In times like this, you should make sure you have some pawns at your disposal. Especially if you’re a powerless weakling like yourself.”
At the same time, a man entered the mayor’s office.
Three men.
At first glance, they looked like ordinary knights, but their eyes were colder than those of ordinary knights.
Heavy armor.
A knight’s armor was made of expensive metal. It wasn’t the legendary mithril, but it was still the sort of equipment most adventurers would sell their souls to get their hands on.
It would deflect mediocre magic, and any half-hearted blow would likely break the weapon that struck it instead.
(You’ve been playing around a little too much, boy...)
Gregorio signaled with his eyes.
The men surrounded the boy, who sat on the sofa leisurely sipping tea.
Gregorio tapped the boy on the shoulder and said,
“Well then. I’ve got a lot of things to take care of—”
He started to leave.
“W-wait! Please hear me out!”
The boy grabbed the hem of Gregorio’s clothes.
Thinking it was some pathetic plea for mercy, Gregorio tried to brush the hand away—
“No, I said, just wait a moment!”
“...H-hey, why are you so strong?”
The hand gripping Gregorio’s hem wouldn’t budge an inch.
No matter how hard he pulled or how much he shook himself, it showed no sign of giving way.
“You there, get him off me.”
“—As you wish.”
The moment the knight who had received the order grabbed Ultos by the shoulder,
Clang! A particularly loud crash rang out.
Or rather, it was the sound of something bursting.
“Huh?”
It was impossible.
One of the knights who had grabbed his shoulder—a knight in armor of such tremendous weight—had been slammed helplessly into the table.
As easily as twisting a baby’s arm.
“Tch! You lot!”
The other knights sprang into action at once.
The second man readied his sword and charged.
The third took advantage of the opening to chant a spell.
But...
“Ah, that’s a pretty nice sword you’re using. I’m jealous.”
You don’t see equipment like this around here very often.
As he made that carefree remark, the boy dodged the knight’s blow with the slightest movement.
Dodge, dodge, dodge.
All while holding his teacup.
Then he spun around. With a calm expression, he stole the sword and, carrying that momentum through, smashed the man with its hilt.
The heavy armor dented and shattered.
“...Kah...”
The knight collapsed.
“Oh, the armor’s first-rate, too.”
It was a nightmare.
No, there was still a chance.
His magic had built up. The third man’s lightning spell began to glow.
“≪Thunder Lance Drei / Triple Lightning Spear≫”
Gregorio knew Thunder Lance well.
It was a powerful fourth-tier combat spell that pierced its target with spears of lightning.
And this man was casting three of them simultaneously—a remarkable feat.
The lightning spears surged forward with enough force to engulf even the mayor’s office—
“—Huh?”
But even that spell vanished midway, as if it had struck some kind of wall.
“Would you mind not getting in my way?”
And just like that, the third man collapsed helplessly before the boy.
Overwhelming.
Not a single drop of tea spilled from the cup in the boy’s hand.
Every feat had been performed with one hand.
The difference in their strength was truly nightmarish.
“We had a bit of an interruption. Anyway, why don’t we both sit down?”
(What the hell is this...?)
Still bewildered, Gregorio followed the boy’s suggestion and sat on the sofa opposite him.
Their eyes met.
The boy’s gaze was cool and composed, devoid of fear, anger, or despair. For the first time in his life, Gregorio found another person ‘unnerving.’
“So you were the one who kept getting in my way today—”
“Oh, that was me. Things haven’t been very peaceful lately, have they? I came all the way to Lyon, only to end up working all night.”
This boy had been behind everything.
“What are you after?” Gregorio asked before he could stop himself.
Money? Fame? Status?
What on earth could he want—
“No, like I said before, I really do want to live a peaceful life, from the bottom of my heart.”
“—So, Mayor, could you please keep things a little quieter from now on?”
The boy threatened him with a smile.
(No... way.)
Gregorio thought.
(This is just some useless wastrel of a son? You’ve got to be kidding me.)
This was nothing so harmless.
As a madman himself, Gregorio could tell. He could feel it keenly, precisely because he wasn’t like other people.
Normally, the boy was a wastrel.
When they’d first met, he’d seemed like nothing more than a foolish brat, without a hint of spirit, who’d followed along without a second thought.
But that was just a mask.
Behind it, the boy had been coldly plotting all along.
Waiting for a chance to devour him.
A cold-blooded tactician wearing the mask of an ordinary fool.
It was madness, and no exaggeration to call it that.
A terrifying monster, filled with madness and cold calculation, who didn’t care about his usual reputation as long as it let him deceive others.
And just as Gregorio stood speechless at the boy’s nature,
right then,
light shone from behind the boy.
“...Ghh.”
Gregorio narrowed his eyes.
But he was soon captivated by the scene visible behind the boy.
The sky behind him was still dark, since it was not yet morning.
But thanks to the sun just beginning to rise, the darkness and faint light mingled, creating a singular atmosphere.
“A-ah...!!!”
If he had to put it into words,
—It was the Bright Night: the dazzling sun heralding the dawn.
(S-so that’s it...!!)
All at once, Gregorio understood.
Why he had created this organization.
Who this organization was really for.
“H-ha ha—yes! I found it! I finally found it!!!!”
At last, he’d found someone far beyond his expectations.
“This is it—no, you are the Bright Night!!!!!!!!”
Joy welled up inside him.
A joy that set his heart ablaze.
Having finally found what he had been seeking, Gregorio let out a cry and lost consciousness.
◆
“Uh...”
I was holding my tea and staring in disbelief.
I’d been trying to handle things as peacefully as possible.
I’d prepared tea to create a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere where it would be easy to talk. Then I’d set the scene for a warm, homey conversation.
After that, I’d simply tell him, “I want an ordinary life.”
Perfect.
Of course, some suspicious-looking men came charging in with enough force to wreck the mayor’s office, so I did have to put them to sleep for a bit...
—But.
“...The real deal is something else.”
I’d been trying to negotiate, but midway through, Gregorio had started shouting,
“Th-this is the Bright Night!!” and “Wooooo!!!” for some reason, yelling the name of his own guild before passing out.
I mean, I know, okay???
Your guild’s name.
The mayor’s office was a complete mess.
For some reason, all the enemies had passed out.
“W-well, I guess this is... fine?”
With nothing else to do, I decided to take a sip of tea.
“Ah, this is really good.”
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Gregorio
→ He’d been bored, but finally met a madman greater than himself and was moved.
Protagonist
→ He tried to hold a meeting with a warm, homey atmosphere while drinking tea, but failed. The problem was that the sofa he sat on faced east, where the sun rises.
Men in Armor
→ Gregorio’s right-hand men. Knights in heavy armor. They boasted overwhelming strength, enough to make them far too much for ordinary adventurers to handle... but were wiped out by a boy holding tea.
※ I’ll post two more chapters today and bring the second arc to a close.
I’m going to slack off at work and write at my workplace. I’m serious.