Chapter 54
The Ember Knights' hideout.
Lydia and Beatrice exchanged information.
“So that little cutie figured all this out on her own?”
“That's right. She deduced it from the name of the secret auction house, the ‘Triangle of Desire,’ and my own movements.”
“Good heavens….”
Beatrice clicked her tongue.
She was holding a piece of paper. It was a report summarizing how the ‘Triangle of Desire’ was run and its final meeting place, which Morgan and Lydia had tracked down over the past few days.
It even contained information hinting at the existence of the ‘Black Temple’ and the ‘Ember Knights’….
Flutter—
It was practically a prophetic text glimpsing the hidden hand behind this world.
That first deduction
had begun with a triangle drawn by a tiny hand.
And the answer, too, ended with a triangle.
-The intersection of all evil and its lackeys is the ‘Hanson Troupe.’
“….”
“….”
A truly genius-level ability to reason.
Lydia was reminded of the profilers from her previous life.
‘In this world, the standard investigative method is to beat up whoever they suspect of being the culprit. To take the clues at hand and reason out how people and society move… that’s cutting-edge, practically magic.’
Knowing better than anyone the importance of information,
Beatrice still spoke as if she couldn't believe it.
“That little cutie really figured it all out just from a few pieces of information, sitting in her room? You didn't give her any answers, Princess?”
“If anything, I was the one asking questions. She answered me and worked it all out, step by step.”
Beatrice fell silent.
“….”
“….”
And it was about five minutes before she finally spoke.
“Princess.”
“What is it?”
“That red-haired little mage friend of yours. Wouldn't it be better to have her join the Ember Knights right away? If we contact the commander and she only needs to undergo the Flame Baptism, I think she could be sent into the field immediately.”
“!”
Lydia felt a quiet pride. But she kept it from showing and asked with deliberate composure,
“…What makes you think so?”
“Huh? Do I need to explain?”
“I simply want to hear your opinion, Beatrice.”
Beatrice poked Lydia's shoulder with a finger as if to say, ‘Gotcha!’ She seemed to have noticed her oddly proud air.
“Ahaha! What is this? Usually you’re so sure of yourself before you even hear my opinion. This time you sound like a parent wanting to hear someone praise their kid….”
“….”
Oh no….
She'd seen right through her.
Beatrice chuckled,
then fluttered the paper open again as she spoke.
“First off, she’s an eighteen-year-old kid who upholds the Vow of Purity, yet she has no prejudices. It’s probably less because she has broad horizons and more because she’s been beaten and rejected so many times…. She doesn’t have much attachment to this world or any ideals.”
“….”
“Seriously, even if her country were destroyed tomorrow, she wouldn’t bat an eye, would she? She has no attachment or ideals, after all. She’d just accept it with a ‘They’re all the same anyway.’ Otherwise, she wouldn’t have such chilling insight.”
“…I see.”
She doesn't expect anything from the world.
That's why she sees it so dispassionately.
It was a sad story,
but exemplary conduct for a member of a secret society.
“And…”
“?”
“She understands people too well. She’s seen how complexly selfish they are—how weak they are to desire, how they want to ease their guilt, how impulsive they are, and how they can look the other way if they have even a little justification.”
“….”
Beatrice's voice was lively. But there was a trace of longing for the past in it.
“A girl who’s already been disappointed in humanity, yet chose not to give up on people herself…. Doesn’t that sound familiar?”
“….”
‘…Is she talking about me, back when I joined the Ember Knights?’
Beatrice giggled.
For a seductive woman in a black dress, her smile was pure and girlish. That melancholy smile felt a little unfamiliar.
“Birds of a feather really do flock together. Where did you find such a perfect little copy of yourself? Is she your lover, by any chance? Did you fall for each other at the academy and bring her along?”
“….”
‘Well, she’s still Beatrice.’
Lydia shook her head.
“It just happened. And she isn't my lover. She's my friend.”
“Ooh…. Then which of the ones you brought along is your lover? The hero? The saint? The knight? Or all of them?”
“….”
Lydia sighed and answered,
“They're all my friends.”
“Hmm….”
Beatrice narrowed her eyes and tapped her red lips with a finger. Then she focused on the conversation again.
“Anyway, I think it would be better in the long run to have this little cutie join the Ember Knights right away. If she’s going to face the truth of the ‘Black Temple’ sooner or later, it’s better to start with someone who’s already noticed it exists.”
As she said that,
she lightly tapped the paper with the triangle drawn on it.
Tap!
“Instead of wasting time on formalities like heroes and whatnot, the sort of thing only traditional Gallian nobles care about… I think we should take in people like her first.”
“….”
Her tone was casual,
but there was a chill beneath it.
‘…Does she want to focus on real-world matters instead of the authority and prophecies surrounding the Hero?’
Then she added with a shrug,
“Just my personal opinion! Hoho! A pretty girl's heart is fickle, so take it with a grain of salt~!”
“….”
Lydia nodded.
“The problem is whether the commander will approve.”
“!”
The commander of the Ember Knights.
At the mention of him, Beatrice smiled.
“Well, true. He’s an old man who hates Gallian royalty, yet loves the people of the southern continent dearly. Unless she’s a ‘genius with miraculous qualifications’ like you were at eight, Princess, he’ll probably put her through a long trial.”
“Besides, the commander is quite far away on a solo mission….”
Beatrice pretended to wipe away a tear.
“Oh dear, the old man’s knees are going to give out again. He should be holed up in some corner of the capital like usual. He said, ‘I’ll trust royalty one last time’ in his later years….”
“….”
“I wonder if our commander is somewhere groaning and crying because his joints are acting up.”
“…You mean the strongest Sword Master?”
“Sword Masters don’t get arthritis?”
“They probably don’t. After I became a Sword Master, I got rid of all the physical liabilities of being a woman, too.”
“Hee…. I didn't know that.”
Beatrice’s eyes widened with curiosity, then she pretended to sulk primly again. When she crossed her arms, it accentuated her alluring figure.
“Hmph…. This lowly beauty isn’t a Sword Master, so I don’t know about that! Forgive me! I’m just a thirty-something beauty who used to sell flowers in the back alleys~!”
“….”
Lydia didn't humor the joke.
“In any case, let’s leave Morgan joining the Ember Knights for later. For now, we need to think of a way to infiltrate the Hanson Troupe.”
If Lydia went as she was, as a princess, the theater would surely be thrown into an uproar by the visit of royalty. Then the people behind the Hanson Troupe would go into hiding.
‘But if I use a necklace-type artifact to hide my appearance and pretend to be an ordinary woman, I won’t have a good excuse to infiltrate them….’
But Beatrice answered easily.
“That should actually be easy.”
“?”
*
The young receptionist at the Hanson Troupe, Mel, was frantic. She had to find a new mage to handle the lighting effects for the next few days.
Mel gritted her teeth.
‘That damn fat witch…! At a time this important, she goes and gets food poisoning after eating seafood at some tavern….’
The play <The Knight of the Lake>.
It was a play beloved throughout the Kingdom of Gallia, and renowned as a cutting-edge production that emphasized the shimmering light by the water.
A play that combined a traditional narrative
with highly sophisticated lighting magic.
In this fantasy of light and darkness,
the wealthy of Saintroix lost their minds.
In a word….
‘Without a lighting mage, we’re sunk!’
Mages were a precious resource.
So the troupe had no choice but to hire even a fat old maid of a mage who'd been kicked out of the Alchemy Guild.
And that fatso currently had an upset stomach.
Mel had to find another mage in this sprawling city of Saintroix. The enormous responsibility had been dumped on a mere receptionist.
“Seriously, everything’s a mess…. This is why you should never get a job at a troupe that suddenly becomes a hit….”
As she was complaining,
salvation arrived the very next day.
An incredible sight appeared before her eyes.
One was small,
and the other was overwhelming.
Sway—
“!”
‘Wow, her breasts are huge.’
Even Mel, a woman herself, couldn't help looking for a moment. One of the two women who'd visited the troupe's office had breasts that overwhelming.
‘The small one is kind of cute, but the big one has an ordinary face…. But which of them is the mage?’
The brown-haired woman wearing an expensive necklace spoke passionately. With her animated gestures, her body swayed almost embarrassingly.
“As for our young lady, ‘Radiana’! She’s a prodigy who trained under a Great Mage of Light in Lenezia, a major city in the Arcana Republic, and a genius who will bring glory to the Republic in time—!”
“A-a genius?”
“Yes! Our young lady is an undisputed genius!”
“….”
Wow.
She really sounded like a con artist.
Mel replied awkwardly,
“Ah, yes….”
“And that’s not all! Our genius young lady Radiana has also inherited the secrets of the Eastern merchants who came all the way from Erda, and all the secrets of the elements that no one has ever known….”
Blah blah
Chatter chatter
‘So the big-breasted one is the maid.’
The brown-haired maid went on and on. And she was so unnecessarily eloquent that listening to her made Mel’s head spin.
‘I can’t decide based only on the maid’s praise.’
Letting the maid’s ridiculous compliments go in one ear and out the other, Mel looked at the petite young lady she took to be the mage.
Brown hair similar to the maid’s.
But she radiated elegance and intellect.
‘A “genius mage Radiana” from the Arcana Republic…. I don’t know if she’s really a genius, but from the catalyst in her hand and the condition of her clothes, she seems like a convincing mage.’
“….”
“….”
Radiana kept her head bowed. The more her maid praised her as a genius, the redder her face became.
“!”
Mel was impressed.
Her eye for people was accurate.
‘She’s pretty modest for a mage. Unlike that arrogant fatso. I bet she’s the sort who’d turn down praise even if someone called her a genius.’
For some reason, Mel found herself taking a liking to her.
Even if her skill was a little lacking,
Mel wanted to hire her if she could at least do the basics.
Mel gestured for the scatterbrained maid to stop talking, then addressed Radiana.
“Th-then, is there a lighting spell you could demonstrate right now?”
“What kind?”
“Um…. Have you ever seen the play <The Knight of the Lake>?”
“I’ve memorized the script they sell in town.”
“!”
Good heavens,
she’d memorized it?
‘That fatso hadn’t even properly familiarized herself with it by the day before.’
The receptionist Mel’s smile deepened. Somehow, she felt like she’d found a partner who could stick around.
“Then, could you show me lighting like this: in the final scene, when the Knight of the Lake sheds a tear, it glimmers and turns into a star in the sky?”
The play’s highlight.
The scene hinted at the knight’s ascension.
Radiana nodded, then quietly opened her palm. In a calm voice, she recited the activation words.
[Gather and spread, power; flow of the source, scatter forth.]
Rumble—!
At that moment.
A tear appeared at the corner of the maid's eye.
Mel watched in shock.
“?!”
‘What kind of control over lighting magic is this…?!’
They weren’t real tears.
The light at the corners of the maid’s eyes was made to look like tears. Then it slowly rose and shot toward the office ceiling.
Like an ascending star.
Leaving a trail behind….
Flash—!
Then, as if exploding,
it scattered into a huge cluster of stars.
The magic demonstration ended there.
“….”
“….”
“….”
Mel dropped to her knees.
“…Genius Mage, please come work for our troupe.”
At her plea,
the maid looked triumphant, while the genius mage hid her face with her hands, blushing with embarrassment.