Chapter 69
After hearing that students from Minerva would be coming to the chess tournament, Monica had gone for days barely sleeping.
Even on the morning of the tournament, she woke feeling awful, rousing just after sunrise.
The cold voice of the boy she had thought was her friend echoed deep in her ears.
──Someone like you would be better off holing up in a cabin in the mountains where no one lives.
Monica gave a small sniff and pulled the blanket over her head.
Then a faint clink... click came from somewhere in the room. Monica lifted the edge of the blanket just enough to look toward the sound.
"Oh, this might work, huh? All right, I got it up there."
"This is a tough one. But how about this?"
"Whoooooa, grrrr... Th-this is... This is..."
On the floor of the attic room, a beautiful woman in a maid's uniform and a black cat were gathered around a chessboard.
Monica had assumed they were playing chess, but the center of the chessboard was instead piled high with pieces lying on their sides.
Nero the black cat deftly held a piece in his paws and carefully placed it atop the stack... but he lost his balance, and the tower of pieces came tumbling down.
"Whoooooa, as I thought, this is tough with cat paws."
Nero ruefully tapped the pieces with his paw pads, while Rin, Lewis's contracted spirit, tidied the scattered pieces with a composed expression.
"...What are you doing?"
When Monica asked, Nero held up a chess piece and answered without the slightest embarrassment.
"Chess!"
"The rules are to stack the white and black pieces alternately, and whoever knocks them over loses. Also, I am currently on a seven-game winning streak."
It was nothing like the chess Monica knew, but she gave a wry smile and climbed out of bed.
The fact that Rin was here probably meant it was time for the usual regular report.
As Monica sluggishly got ready, Rin spoke while putting the chess pieces away.
"I understand there is a friendly chess match today, and a school festival four days from now. Since several outsiders will be coming and going, Lewis-dono has ordered me to provide security as well."
Apparently, at the chess match, the student council members other than Monica and Elliot would be put to work entertaining students from other schools. If Nero and Rin guarded Felix, Monica could concentrate on the chess match with peace of mind.
Given that the matter with Casey had only just happened, it was only natural for Lewis to be on guard.
"...Um... Rin-san."
"Yes."
"What happened to Casey after that...?"
Casey, who had plotted to assassinate Felix, should normally have been executed. However, on the condition that she honestly explain everything surrounding the attempted assassination, Lewis had taken her into protective custody.
But what if Casey resisted the interrogation...? Knowing how merciless Lewis could be, Monica could not stop trembling.
"Miss Casey Grove, daughter of Count Bright, cooperated fully with the interrogation. Lewis-dono has already made secret contact with Count Bright."
Casey's father, Count Bright, had apparently testified that it was all his responsibility, while stubbornly denying any connection to the Kingdom of Randoll.
However, Lewis believed that Randoll's side had also been involved in the attempted assassination, and was investigating how the assassination device 〈Spiral Flame〉 had been obtained.
"Miss Casey Grove was sent to a monastery in the northeastern region the other day."
"...I see."
Every time Monica remembered Casey's anguished voice, her chest ached.
Casey felt a debt of gratitude to the Kingdom of Randoll. When she learned that Duke Clockford was considering invading Randoll, she had tried to stop him.
Once Felix became king, Duke Clockford, Felix's backer, would have Felix attack the Kingdom of Randoll and eventually launch a war with the Empire.
The Empire was powerful, but it had only recently come under the rule of a young emperor, leaving its government unstable. It was an ideal opportunity to take advantage of that weakness.
That did not mean Monica could simply stand by and watch Felix be assassinated.
(...What is the right thing to do?)
No faction was a monolith.
Some acted for their personal fortunes, some for the good of their nation, some burned with ideals, some desired peace, and some wanted further development. Countless motives, ideals, and desires swirled together. That was politics.
Even after becoming one of the Seven Sages, Monica had kept her distance from politics and holed up in her mountain cabin, firmly believing that turning a blind eye and staying uninvolved was best.
But surely, things could no longer continue as they had before.
Monica quietly faced the political struggle she had always turned her eyes away from.
(...Even though His Highness is such an incredible person... why does he do exactly what Duke Clockford says?)
Everyone knew that Felix was highly capable.
Just as widely known was the fact that he was under the thumb of his maternal grandfather, Duke Clockford. Even Monica, who knew little about politics, had heard it mentioned in passing.
(...Does His Highness want to go to war with Randoll and the Empire...? Does he think it would be all right if war broke out...?)
Monica still could not get a read on the person Felix Arc Ridill truly was.
Even among the other student council members, people like Cyril and Elliot seemed to have become easier to understand—their personalities and beliefs were clearer than when she had first met them.
Cyril, for example, was hard on himself and others, and an intensely proud person. He tended to have a somewhat narrow perspective, but he was considerate of those around him and good at looking after people.
He took pride in being recognized by Felix, and was more devoted to him than anyone.
Elliot clung to the class system, believing that nobles should act like nobles and commoners like commoners.
That was precisely why, despite appearing frivolous, he was serious at heart.
He was so earnest that he agonized over having used castling against Monica.
Monica had always avoided facing other people, but after infiltrating Selendia Academy and interacting with all kinds of people, she had gradually begun to see certain things.
Once she learned what mattered most to someone, that person naturally came into focus.
Casey valued her family.
Elliot valued his pride as a noble.
Cyril valued Felix.
Everyone had something they treasured and beliefs they held dear, and they fought to protect them.
(...Then what about His Highness? What is he fighting to protect?)
From Monica's perspective, Felix was gentle, affable, and sociable... yet impossible to understand.
And yet...
'Even when I show up at tea parties, no one will serve me chocolate made with Randoll technology. There is no sin in delicious food, though.'
The detached look on his face as he grumbled that power struggles were foolish... Monica did not think that was a lie.
(...I won't let His Highness die. I mustn't let him die.)
That was why both the chess tournament and the school festival four days later had to succeed without incident.
To make that possible, she needed to divide responsibilities properly with Nero and Rin.
Monica turned to face the two of them.
"I want to go over today's assignments. Nero, keep watch for suspicious magical reactions, like the 〈Spiral Flame〉 the other day. Rin-san, you're a wind spirit, so you can hear sounds from far away, right? Keep an ear out for any suspicious conversations around His Highness."
Nero raised a paw pad high and cried, "Got it!"
Rin nodded and said, "Understood," then made a suggestion to Monica.
"Actually, while Nero-dono and I were discussing how to protect the Second Prince without arousing suspicion, we came up with something as we stacked chess pieces..."
"Oh, right. Take a look, Monica!"
Particles of light enveloped Nero and Rin, changing their forms. When the light finally faded, two handsome men stood there wearing Selendia Academy uniforms.
One was a wild-looking, black-haired man; the other was a delicate, handsome man with short blond hair.
The black-haired man was obviously Nero, but the blond man... Could it be...?
"Ah, a-a-a... What? Could that be... Rin-san?"
"Indeed. I am Lewis Miller's contracted spirit, Rinsbelphid."
Monica had read in a book that spirits had no gender, and could take either male or female form when transforming into humans.
Even so, seeing Rin transform from a woman into a man was startling. The man's build was slender, but it was unmistakably that of an adult male, and his voice had become lower than usual as well.
"See? With this, we can wander around the school building without arousing suspicion!"
Beside the smug Nero, Rin expressionlessly pulled out a book.
"In this novel, the heroine is accosted by a bad man, and a classmate shields her, saying, 'Keep your hands off my girl.'"
"Uh... yes..."
"If Monica-dono is accosted, I shall reenact this scene, so please feel free to be accosted by a bad man without worry."
"..."
Beside the speechless Monica, Nero's eyes were shining brightly.
"Oh, that's great! Sounds fun! I wanna do it too!"
"A love triangle involving Monica-dono, Nero-dono, and me. How exhilarating."
It was a development that did not make Monica's heart leap in the slightest.
With a pained expression, Monica put a hand to her forehead and opened her mouth.
"Listen, you two... At your apparent ages, wearing uniforms would... if anything, make you stand out... I think..."
The two handsome men, one black-haired and one blond, stopped moving at exactly the same time and stiffened.
"M-meowhat!?"
"...Good heavens."
It seemed that neither of them had an accurate grasp of how old they looked.
Both Nero and Rin appeared to be roughly in their mid-twenties in human form. Needless to say, they looked like suspicious adults wearing school uniforms.
When Monica pointed this out, the two pressed their foreheads together and began a strategy meeting. Then those clothes—no, wait, those clothes...
In the first place, Nero could transform into a cat, and Rin could transform into a bird. There was no need for them to turn into humans at all.
However, the two were discussing their clothing with such utter seriousness that Monica decided to leave them to it and go out.
She had promised to visit Lana's room today. She could not afford to take her time.