Chapter 91 - Oriac

Most people would think the same: that flying required magic, that no human could fly through the sky without it.

Renée had spoken on the basis of that common sense. The answer she received defied it.

"It can be done."

Maximilian spoke. Renée raised her head. Albrecht remained frozen.

Seeing her tilt her head, Maximilian elaborated.

"We are developing technology for that purpose. It is still experimental and somewhat unstable, but not to the point of being unusable. You need not worry."

Bera immediately knew what technology Maximilian was referring to.

'... The Jumper.'

A portable flight device. It would be released to the public four years from now, upon the crown prince's accession to the throne. It had to be the very invention hailed as opening new horizons in magical engineering.

'It's already usable?'

Unstable though it might be, that degree of confidence suggested its development was well underway.

Bera's eyes lit up.

'That device would certainly make it possible.'

They could approach Oriac without triggering its magic detection. As Albrecht had suggested, they could dig upward through its foundations and investigate the interior.

"How many people can use it?"

"Five. That is all we have available at present."

Five. Assuming he carried Renée, that would accommodate the four apostles, Albrecht, and Count Vaishur.

While Bera considered this, Renée, who had been listening to the exchange, swallowed hard and spoke.

"I-it isn't dangerous, is it? It won't suddenly break down and send us plunging to the ground..."

It was a perfectly reasonable concern. They would be flying, after all; surely there ought to be some safety measures. Yet Maximilian answered her question in an offhand voice.

"Then you will simply have to fall. What else can you do?"

"... Pardon?"

"My brother means that those who go up should be sturdy enough to fall without being injured."

"Oh..."

Albrecht had recovered himself enough to offer an explanation.

An awkward smile settled on Renée's lips. Once again, she found herself thinking how much these two resembled the twins.

Perhaps Maximilian failed to notice her reaction. He continued in the same tone.

"Preparations should take about two weeks."

"That would be after the festival begins."

"Indeed. Is there anything else we should bear in mind in the meantime?"

Renée considered his question for a moment, then gave a little "Ah!" and continued.

"There's someone in the Holy Empire who might know about the master of the Magic Tower. We've sent him a letter, so I'll let you know as soon as his reply arrives. It might be helpful."

"Ah, that fellow called Trebo? The one the tower master mentioned in the corridor earlier?"

It was Albrecht who answered. He nodded, little chuckles escaping his lips.

"He certainly might know something. The tower master's behavior when she mentioned him was rather suspicious. She was so obsessed that I wondered whether she'd been in love with him."

Bera's expression twisted at those words.

"... Master Trebo was only five or six years old at the time. And the tower master was already over a hundred."

"I can understand it. What does age matter in love? Such love must exist in this world as well."

Renée flinched at Albrecht's playful reply and bright smile.

"... Shameless."

The word slipped out before she knew it.

Albrecht's expression cracked.

* * *

Another week passed after their visit to the Imperial Palace.

There had been no disappearances in that time.

That was becoming enough circumstantial evidence to implicate the tower master as the culprit.

Amid a peace that could only be called the calm before the storm, Renée and the others gathered in the count's drawing room and opened Trebo's letter.

Bera's expression hardened when he saw how many pages the envelope contained.

"... There are well over ten pages. It seems Master Trebo has some idea of what is happening."

"Would you read it to us?"

Renée's expression was equally grave.

Bera nodded and began reading the first page.

"Saintess, I received your letter safely. What a surprise it was to hear from you like this. Oh, yes, have you been keeping well? Here, the twins are terribly gloomy at the moment..."

He stopped short. Renée pressed her lips tightly together as well.

"... Bera."

At her prompting, Bera began flipping through the letter, his face stiff.

The greetings that began on the first page did not end until the fourth. Then came another five pages of lengthy personal chatter. Rapidly leafing through them, Bera finally found the point of the letter... in the very last paragraph of the last page.

CRUMPLE.

The pages crumpled in Bera's grip. His face contorted as well.

The thought of Trebo grinning away as he wrote nine and a half pages of preamble and a single paragraph of substance made his blood boil.

It seemed he would have to give the man a beating when they returned to the Holy Empire.

With that thought, Bera heaved a sigh and read only the letter's conclusion.

"... When I was at the Magic Tower, its master was deeply absorbed in researching the origins of life and species. From what you have told me, this appears likely to be connected to that research. It is unfortunate that she has finally crossed a line she should never have crossed."

The origins of life and species. Those words brought the corpses they had seen in the gutter to the minds of everyone seated there.

Suspicion was hardening into certainty.

Had she abducted people and reduced them to that state to study species?

Just as Renée was about to give vent to her anger, Bera read on.

"... For research of such a secretive nature, she would probably have used the laboratory in the Magic Tower's basement. It is a secret floor known only to a select few within the tower, including its master. If you intend to investigate, I suggest going directly there."

That was quite a significant piece of information.

Renée murmured in response.

"... And we happen to be digging our way up from below."

"Yes. We should inform the imperial family. I will pass word to Count Vaishur."

"Please do."

The decision was quickly made. Bera handed the letter to Mari and Rohan, who had been sitting beside him, and the two left the room.

Now alone with Bera, Renée spoke to him.

"... About ten days left."

"Yes. Everyone will be busy with the start of the festival, so fewer people will be wandering around the gutter. The timing is suitable."

Suddenly, Renée felt a tightness inside her.

It was not fear of willingly putting herself in danger. Nor was it nervousness over whether she would manage well.

"Bera."

"Yes, Saintess."

"I won't forgive you if you act on your own."

Concern for Bera.

That alone was the reason for the tightness she felt.

Bera's fingertips twitched at her words. Then he bowed his head and answered.

"I will remember that."

"Promise me."

Renée extended her hand, fingers curled into a fist with only her little finger outstretched.

"That you'll never rush into danger without saying anything. That if you have to do something like that, you'll tell me."

Don't go alone. She wanted to say that, but she knew.

In a truly critical moment, she would be of no help. If a fight broke out, she would be a hindrance. Blind as she was, keeping away from the battlefield would do more to help Bera.

That was why she was making this request.

She could understand his keeping her away from a fight. She only wanted him to tell her before he went.

If he did that, she could pray for him. At least that way, she could be of some help.

Bera gazed at her small, pale little finger, then hooked his own around it.

"I promise."

He knew that he had brought this upon himself—that his own actions had led Renée to press him with such a worried expression. Hoping to reassure her even a little, he invoked his divine powers and made his vow.

"If I must face danger alone, I will be sure to tell you before I go, Saintess."

Golden divine energy rose over their linked fingers.

* * *

The festival began.

The imperial capital was packed with people, bustling with activity.

Merchants filled the streets with their stalls, while tourists in little groups streamed past them in lines like swarms of ants. Everywhere was noisy and lively.

Yet there was one area untouched by that atmosphere: the low-income commoners' residential district beginning at Eleventh Avenue.

From Eleventh Avenue through Twelfth Avenue, the festival had made almost no impact. The streets were much as usual, if a little quieter, since most residents had gone out to enjoy the festivities.

That suited the party well. They could move about with as little notice as possible.

SPLASH.

Muddy water splashed with their footsteps. Renée frowned slightly at the squelching sensation, then composed herself.

This was her second visit to the gutter.

Reaching their agreed meeting place, she addressed Albrecht.

"Are the preparations complete?"

"Ah, you've arrived. All that remains is to set off."

Albrecht answered her with a bright smile.

His gaze moved over Bera, Rohan, and Mari, who had accompanied her.

"What a reassuring force. With half the Holy Empire's apostles here, losing would be harder than winning if a fight broke out."

"Oh, I only came because I couldn't very well send my husband off on his own. No need to flatter me so."

Mari spoke heartily. Bera followed with a question.

"How will we dig through the bottom? The foundations cannot be entirely soil."

"We have an excavator. It is a prototype as well, but it should be quite capable of digging a hole large enough for people to pass through."

As he spoke, Albrecht patted the machine he had concealed behind him, roughly the size of a grown man.

"I received your letter. After reading it, my brother and I narrowed down the possible locations of the basement. The answer came rather more easily than expected."

Albrecht pointed toward Oriac floating overhead—specifically, its eastern edge, where a particularly thick mass of earth clung to its underside.

"That seems the most likely location. So we intend to dig straight into it there."

"Understood."

"First, everyone put these on. I will demonstrate how to use them."

CLACK!

Something clicked into place. Bera turned toward the sound and raised his eyebrows at the large mechanical device strapped to Albrecht's back.

The Jumper.

The culmination of magical engineering, maximizing the machine's own output with only a minimal number of mana circuits.

That was it.

"Wear it on your back and operate it with the button on the left shoulder strap. To change direction, simply turn your body."

"I understand."

Bera strapped the Jumper onto his back and approached Renée.

"Saintess, if you will excuse me."

"Oh, yes."

Bera bent slightly, slipped one arm behind Renée's back and the other beneath her knees, and lifted her into his arms.

She flinched at his sudden closeness, then quickly gathered her wits.

This was no time for distracting thoughts.

"Now, let us set off."

CLACK.

The sound rang out again. At Albrecht's signal, the party began activating their Jumpers.

A faint vibration arose.

Then Renée felt herself rising into the air.