Chapter 23: You’re No Match for a Monster

 

“Mr. Albert. Will you please accompany me?”

Vera’s visit.

Because it is a one-person visit, there is no pressure by numbers as before, but the seriousness of the visit is unparalleled.

Already activated “Binding Chain” and standing by. Knowing that Al will be able to detect it even in its inert state. On battle stance. A warlike attitude.

“Not so calm huh. Well, of course, I will follow Vera-dono. A carriage?”

“We appreciate your cooperation with ……. Today it’s in a salon room of academy.”

From a person requiring observation to a suspect. He often changes his status from one to another. Mainly for the worse.

(Hmmm …… Worst case scenario is that the mana that harms “The Oracle’s Divine Child” gets away with crap? Isn’t it that warm… Sigh )

“Then let’s go.”

Vera doesn’t set the “binding chain” on Al, at this point. In a manner of speaking, he is still in a state of doubt. It’s almost like taking him in.

Concealing the occurrence of a disaster individual.

The title often changes from one to the other. Mostly for the worse.

By doing so, they intentionally tried to harm the new students of the frontier aristocrat group.

Fortunately, the newcomers were able to defeat the disaster and thus saved the day, but …… That can’t be the end of the story.

In fact, this has not been a major problem until now. Even though this kind of thing was rampant.

However, this term is different. There is even a member of the “Divine Child of the Oracle” who is related to the royal family. Those who know the situation well know that the shadow of the royal family has infiltrated the academy. It is normal to think that they will be quiet for a few years from this term.

It is just that there were idiots who did not consider these circumstances at all. That is the four teachers.

However, as the shadow of the royal family, I was going to end with a warning to those of the behind-the-scenes family, as there would be a balance of power among the factions.

It was supposed to end with the four teachers being abandoned by their faction or feeling uncomfortable.

But guess what?

They went missing and died suspiciously in the dungeon.

A few days after the investigation began, the other two died suspiciously. And all at the same time, in a salon room.

If this were an intra-faction purge, that would be fine, but it is not. The way they died was too different.

And even if they are corrupt, those associated with aristocratic families …… have horizontal ties, especially if they are capital aristocrats, and purges with their lives are rare.

Victor, Who received reports, Thought it’s work of Al.
And so did Vera.

The fact that two people involved in the shadow of the royal family suspected it at the same time was enough to warrant an investigation.

The two men were not only the same, but they were both involved in the same thing.

 

(Well, it was a rather crude way of doing things, so it’s not surprising that they would be suspicious. There is no forensic investigation, but magic is a mysterious power. It would not be surprising if there was magic to read past events within a certain range. …… But, since traces of mana are carefully erased, mana-mediated magic could be deceptive. …… Now, what kind of evidence did they find? (Or are you still in the skeptical stage?)”

Al also expected that he would be suspected. A cool-headed madman. I don’t expect a perfect cover-up in an academy full of mages.

But in the end, it was Falconer’s way. He was going to invoke the “I got hit, so I hit back,” and make the excuse that he was still in the habit of being out on the frontier. …… Randomness is also a Falconer’s way.

****

Even while taking him in, Al sensed Vera’s nervousness. The “binding chain” had already materialized and was centering on her arms. Ready to unleash at any moment.

“(I guess they anticipate that my mana fluctuation is low and are ready to set it off at any time, but …… Aren’t you being a little too cautious? Well, I’m a suspect, but that’s not for me to say.)

“(Albert Falconer. Against him, the automatic reaction of “Binding Chain” is too slow. No,…… I hear that the Falconer family’s physical enhancement is better than the disaster individuals. Can I really put my clutches on him at this distance? The mana fluctuation is so small that it’s hard to read the start of a move ……!)”

There are no words to speak to each other.

Al, too, is painfully aware of her wariness, so he does not make any unnecessary movements and concentrates only on walking.

Then we arrive at our destination, the salon room.

Al is unconcerned, but Vera’s tension is at peak. Rather, this is where the real work begins.

“Mr. Victor. I have brought Mister Albert with me.

“…Did you come already?”

(Whow. Look at that, you look so grim. When I first met you, you seemed like a more relaxed superior.)

In the salon room are Victor, Joel and Rauno, the youngest members of the royal family’s shadowy guard, who are said to be candidates for His Highness Adam’s personal guard.

And one more. The one who has become the master of the salon room.

A monster. A marvel. Stranger.

(… Is it real? I think this may be the first time I’ve ever come face to face with a monster other than my father, up close and personal…)

Vera senses. Al’s mana, which had hardly ever fluctuated before, stopped all movement of it.

“Damn! Hey, Victor! He’s going to kill me! Ha ha! My blood is boiling!”

The light disappears from Al’s eyes. Empty eyes. The true nature of the Madman.

“！！”

This is the sign of a Berserker’s Awakening!

The moment she felt this way, Vera pointed her “binding chain” at Al. She was supposed to be …… but for some reason her eyes were reflecting the ceiling.

Pain in the back before understanding what it means. At the same time, something touches her neck. Vera’s vision goes dark, unable to even moan. Her consciousness is cut off.

“This is self-defense, right? It is the Falconer family style to “do it before you get hit. For some reason, I sensed an intention to attack from Vera, so I went ahead and did it.”

“….I see. I should have chosen a more spacious place to call out. This distance,…… this room is already within your distance, no wonder you were able to afford it the other day. You could have done whatever you wanted to Vera, the magician, faster than the reaction of the “binding chain”.

Victor is barely keeping his composure, but Yoel and Rauno’s inner thoughts are far from it.

A move beyond Vera’s “binding chain”. Impossible. Moreover, she had already materialized the “binding chain. It is not just killing. There is still room there.

Al’s move, on the other hand, is quite simple. He evades the “binding chain” and leaps at Vera, knocking her to the floor. Then, he instantly pressed down on her neck, knocking her out of consciousness.

That is all. The speed of the attack just exceeded the reaction of Yoel and the others.

Naturally, the owner of the room sensed every movement.

“Kid. Stop at that level. You know you can’t beat me anyway.”

“Yes, i know. I never thought that there would be a monster waiting for me that my father would have to risk his life to kill. …… I was just so excited!”

“Oh! The way you put it, your father or whoever he is could kill me if he put his life on the line?”

Lord of the salon room.

A person of higher rank than Victor.

He has golden hair of crystal-clear beauty.

A face sculpted like a doll.

Tall but slender physique.

Distinctive pointed ears. Elf race.

Yet, they are not just any elves.

Eyes as red as blood.

“Yes. Perhaps. Even if you have the attribute of immortality,…… my father’s life …… no, if you are prepared to sacrifice one arm and cut into it, it is likely to reach that life. Well, if it’s only at this distance…”

He replies matter-of-factly. Al the facts. There is no bottom to the monster in front of us. But the bottom of my father, Baron Brian Falconer, is also unseen.

This elf-like creature’s bottom is deeper, but with the current distance between us, Brian would be able to reach it before it shows its bottom. To its life.

“Ha. It’s not funny at all. …… but the …… kid was a Falconer. So your father is Brian, the current head of the family. Surely he could reach …… my life at this distance. It’s a damned thing, though.”

Do you know my father?

The light does not return to Al’s eyes. The battle readiness of a berserker. There is no wavering in his mana.

“Oh. But that was before he took over the title of baron. If he’s still in the thick of the action in the Great Forest after that, then I suppose I can understand the …… kid’s assessment.”

(This is impossible. I can’t reach this person no matter how I try. I didn’t even know it existed until I entered the room. He controls his mana far better than I do. At this rate, he must have found out about the four of them. I guess I can’t make up any lame excuses. ……)

I gave up.

He decides that no matter what he does, he is no match for them.

At the same time, Al is convinced that he will not just be judged as a sinner …….

“Dear Claire. This is Albert Falconer, son of Baron, Brain Falconer. …… already know know, don’t you?”

“Huh. …… You’re still a boring guy, Victor. …… yes, he is. The faint traces of mana in this room belong to this kid. The other two are too small to follow the trail, but the two people who died in this room were done by the kid.”

It was easily determined.

But clearly, this is not the end of the story.

“And then what? Do you have an offer to make?”

Victor’s cold eyes turned to the suspect. But although it doesn’t look that way from the outside, Victor regrets it. He regrets letting Claire and his superiors get involved in this case. He could not have stopped it, however.

“I dare say that …… got beat up, so I just had to do it back. Well, I thought it was a bit more deceptive.”

Al can only open up. He is convinced that the rest of his treatment will be determined by the will of the monster in front of him. He knows that Victor does not have the right to decide.

“They left the outbreak of anomalous individuals and that, too, disaster individuals. And yet it defeated that individual in the dungeon in a way that saved Claudia and the others. Yeah, I’m telling you, they didn’t talk. By using my own special means, I have secretly read the memories of one of the followers.

The sequence of events suggests that you may have the right to “retaliate,” albeit a bit far from it. But this is not a frontier, but a royal city. I should have known that the theory of the frontier could not be understood.”

It’s like a pre-judgment fact check.

“Yes. It is as you say. Do you think if we finally push the frontier logic, we can make it work? You took the easy way out with”

He speaks simply.

From the beginning, he had planned to deceive and to pretend that he did not know.

“We had already made our move, and they were going to be punished. But you still did it. Why?”

“…………”

Al is suddenly lost. This …… a higher level of the non-human called Claire. He realizes again that her red eyes are staring at him, and he speaks up.

“Simply because I don’t like them myself, and because I have seen a slight desire to harm the “Oracle of the Divine Child” from the guys. It was much weaker than the black mana of the bishop, but.”

Claire chuckles. I knew it. …….

“Did you see that black mana from the four of you? Even Vera couldn’t see it? You expect me to believe that?”

There is a sense of resignation in Victor somehow, although it is in the form of a question. It’s a resignation that it’s settled, that it’s over. Naturally, Al also senses this.

“I can see it. In fact, I saw a glimmer of black mana in the magic stone of the individual disaster that I submitted earlier. I knew that Vera-dono was unaware of it.”

“How do you prove it?”

Victor clings to him as if in agony.

If we are asking for proof to others about magic, mana, and sensing them, the same can be said about Claire, who sensed the traces of mana in this room in the first place. Even he knows that.

“You’re way out of line, Victor. You already know that, don’t you? The boy is one of the “apostles”. We cannot punish him. Rather, we can say that it was a measure to protect the Son of God. The church will even praise you for it.”

“But …… Dear Claire. There was no oracle or revelation that this one would appear. At least, the Church has not disclosed its existence. I cannot take the liberty of admitting here that he is an apostle…”

Apostle.

Those whose existence is revealed by the Church through revelation or oracles from the Goddess.

The apostles that Victor and his group are referring to here are the guardians and guides of the “Divine Son of the Oracle”.

The protagonists mentioned by Al. The “Oracle’s Children” in this world.

The oracle by the goddess recognized them in this world, and at the same time, the existence of apostles, who were sent for the sake of the children of the oracle, was also reported in the oracle.

And it is said that the information of the apostles, who are deeply involved with the Godchildren, is very strictly controlled by the Church. If it is bad, it is more thorough than the information about the godchild.

(Something smells fishy. Apostles? Me? From the nuance of the story, are they the ones who serve the godchild? Well, I certainly support the protagonists. But that doesn’t mean I want to get involved directly with them. Either way, I guess it’s fine, just stay in the shadows.)

“However…..”

“I don’t understand this guy. …… nothing …….”

Claire and Victor’s exchange of opinions continues.