Chapter 105 - The Grand Temple

Morrigan hesitated, pausing in her diligent brushing of Reaver. Her strokes had been so practiced that even Reaver, who had initially growled about whether she really thought he was some kind of dog, had eventually begun yawning and purring.

What she had just heard over the communication link was shocking enough to bring even that to a halt.

["... What do you mean, Lord Ganesha?"]

As she transmitted her message woven from Mana, Ganesha chuckled at the other end of the call.

Hmm.

Now that she served Aiden, she had switched from calling him Master to calling him Lord. That was a noteworthy degree of professionalism.

... If only the person they were about to discuss possessed even half that sense of duty.

["The chief seems positively worked up. She insists on seeing this man Aiden in person."]

["..."]

The moment Morrigan heard that, her entire body went rigid.

["... Isn't she someone who shouldn't be moving about so freely?"]

["Personally, I couldn't agree more, but..."]

Indeed, alongside the demons, her kind were the only beings forbidden from interfering with the Omnipotent One in the first place.

Presumably, that was because any misstep in influencing him could turn the entire continent upside down.

Wasn't that the very reason for the pact with the demons? If either side meddled, it would end in a major catastrophe, so they had agreed not to cross the lines drawn for them.

["Yes. She knows all that, but she says she has an important reason."]

["... And what would that be?"]

["She says she can't stand waiting anymore."]

["..."]

["Apparently, having held back this long, she ought to be allowed to at least stake a claim on him now."]

["..."]

Morrigan's eyes went utterly blank.

Well, really.

Given what she knew of the chief's personality, the woman was so imperious that objecting would be pointless. In the end, Morrigan would have to do as she said.

["Drakan."]

["... Yes."]

["You're going to have a difficult time."]

Morrigan's relationship with that woman was complicated enough for Ganesha to say that in genuine concern.

["Serve her well. She is the one who created you, after all."]

At those words, nearly all the color drained from Morrigan's face.

All manner of memories of her dealings with that woman seemed to flash through her mind.

["... Yes."]

But rather than voice any of them, she merely answered:

["That is the reason I exist."]

As though it were the most natural thing in the world to say.

▣

The Grand Temple was where those who made it through the main round of the succession ceremony went.

It stood on a remote island, at whose center sat the Primordial Brazier, a symbol of the Holy Kingdom in which a sacred flame burned as an offering to the god of purification.

The entire island had been converted into a facility. This was the succession ceremony's main stage.

Airplanes had yet to come into common use in this era, but mana stones from the Magic Kingdom made it possible to build things like airships.

On the flight there, whatever Aiden might have been feeling, his companions were clearly enjoying themselves.

"Ooh!"

Noel exclaimed beside him, her eyes shining.

She pressed her face against the window hard enough to flatten her cheek, gazing down at the view with sparkling eyes. What an innocent soul...

"Wow!"

"..."

It was a little surprising to see Katya rubbing her cheek against the window beside her in much the same fashion.

Didn't she have nothing but traumatic memories of the Holy Kingdom?

"... Isn't this familiar territory for you, Your Highness?"

"No, I've never seen anything like this either."

"..."

"The capital where my damned moth— I mean, Her Holiness conducts her business is one thing, but I've never been anywhere like this."

... Aha.

Since she'd never been here, she had no bad memories of it, leaving her free to simply admire the view.

At least she wasn't slumping listlessly as she had before. That was a relief.

Aiden, by contrast, was looking down at the scenery with a deep frown.

Even a rough visual estimate put the Grand Temple at the size of a decent-sized city.

Its many enormous buildings stood close together, forming a sort of academic district.

"..."

Aiden gave a wry chuckle and swept back his hair.

'... Back to school at my age.'

That about summed it up.

Granted, practically everyone participating in the succession ceremony seemed fully accomplished already, but plenty still had room to hone their abilities.

The Grand Temple was something of a boot camp for that purpose... or perhaps an academy was a better comparison. It doubled as an educational facility.

'Which makes this even more ridiculous...'

Thinking that, Aiden looked at the long line of preliminary qualifiers behind him.

There had to be several hundred, at least.

It was absurd that so many had passed even after the preliminary screening, though considering that the applicants had numbered in the thousands, it had eliminated quite a few.

The problem was that Act 2, Blasphemy, was a scenario built around the slaughter of the people here.

'More than half.'

That was the proportion certain to die in the original game.

And however hard Aiden tried to prevent it, there was a strong likelihood that some casualties would prove unavoidable.

"..."

Still frowning, he loosened his wrists and closed his eyes.

Honestly, it irritated him.

He was no saint, but he had enough of a conscience to feel something akin to responsibility if he knew someone was dying and did nothing to stop it.

Still.

'... Even if I can't prevent every death.'

He would have to try to keep them to a minimum.

The main scenario was one thing, but he had no desire to lie awake at night, kept from sleep by regret.

And he did have people around him who might be useful in that regard.

"Lovely air, isn't it?"

"..."

When he addressed Alex and his group, who had been trailing behind him all this time, their faces twisted horribly.

"Cheer up."

"..."

"No smiles?"

When their expressions failed to improve, Aiden tilted his head and pulled a sheaf of papers from inside his clothes.

They were the documents both sides had signed before the preliminaries began.

"Let's see. According to this, if you don't do as I say, you'll never be allowed to set foot in the Holy Kingdom ag—"

"... Yes, the air is certainly lovely."

"Ha ha ha!" Alex and his companions laughed stiffly.

They were bound to him by a forced contract, but for now, that would do.

Aiden chuckled and tucked the papers away again.

'Numbers always help.'

Especially on an isolated island with access to social infrastructure, having people to act as his hands and feet would definitely mean something. That was why he had brought them all the way to the island rather than having their royal privileges stripped.

Ultimately, any area beyond his own observation was a blind spot. Having people who could gather information from those places was important enough to determine whether he could keep abreast of events at all.

"..."

And as for that crucial matter of keeping abreast of events...

'... There's one more.'

There was one more person he needed to contact as soon as he entered the Grand Temple.

▣

Royals, particularly the higher-ranking ones, all had an eccentric streak.

Thanks to the perfect superhuman that was Alester, most people simply assumed other royals would share those qualities. Anyone who actually served them at their side, however, knew just how ridiculous that was.

Indeed, the attendants serving the second princess, Mylène, were ready to cry out, "Stop spouting bullshit!" at anyone who expected every royal to live up to Alester's image.

"My lady. My lady, wake up."

Seeing that the airship was gradually descending, Aya, Mylène's personal maid, urgently shook the enormous suit of armor lying on the bed.

The woman apparently wore heavy armor over her entire body even when she sprawled out in bed for a nap...

"..."

For an instant, an expression encompassing all of life's regrets crossed the maid's face as she shook her mistress. Still, she was a professional attendant. Recovering her composure, she shook Mylène again.

Her admirable efforts were not in vain. Mylène finally sat up with a drawn-out groan.

Glossy silver hair poked out of her heavy armor, hanging down in thoroughly disheveled strands.

"We'll be at the Grand Temple soon, my lady."

"..."

Mylène nodded blankly and crawled unsteadily out of bed.

Only to miss her footing and fall headfirst onto the floor.

Apparently unable to get up by herself because of the heavy armor, she flailed her arms and legs for a while before speaking in resignation.

"... Aya. Help."

"..."

Once again, all the regrets in the world flashed across Aya's face.

Somehow, Mylène did manage to get to her feet in the end.

It was ridiculous to think someone like this had achieved one of the best times in the preliminaries...

"The real succession ceremony starts now, my lady. If you keep acting this scatterbrained, you could be in serious trouble!"

"Mmm..."

Giving a languid, unenthusiastic answer, Mylène yawned widely and opened the door of her assigned private cabin.

"...?"

Then she tilted her head at the man who suddenly appeared as soon as she opened it.

"Hello. Are you Princess Mylène?"

"... Uh."

That wasn't an affirmative response. She had merely drawn out the sound because she had no idea what to say, as the glance she cast at Aya proved.

Of course, Aya could do nothing to help beyond looking at the man in bewilderment herself.

She had never seen him before, and no visit had been scheduled.

Unfazed, the man standing outside the door continued calmly.

He was remarkably friendly, as though he had known Mylène for years. An uninformed observer might easily have mistaken this for a reunion between old friends.

"I've wanted to meet you and introduce myself for some time. I hear you have a remarkable talent."

"... Hmm?"

"I'm Aiden Kellermain."

Having introduced himself, the man bowed politely.

The motion was graceful enough to suggest considerable training in etiquette.

"... And I'm someone who would like to develop quite a close relationship with you, Your Highness."

Aya's jaw dropped.