Mastermind
“Since when’d ya know it was me?”
Vallen says while glaring at me.
We both understood that a battle was already inevitable at this point– I guess that’s why he wanted to get his doubts off of his chest.
“When I saw that the operatives of the Empire of Lucia could use the [Wingboard], I thought that someone from the academy was guiding them…There’s no way that operatives of another country would be able to use a magical tool that hasn’t been introduced to the market.”
“I see. Well, I guess it’d be obvious to think that someone taught them.”
The one who taught the operatives how to use the [Wingboard], was probably the man before me, Vallen.
“But, how’d ya tie that to me? It wasn’t just limited to me, someone else could’ve taught ‘em.”
“I’m certain that the use of the [Wingboard] as an escape tool was already considered before the operation began. Calculating backwards from the time the operatives started acting, its use was probably considered before the practice for the festival began…Those who knew how to use the [Wingboard] before practice, were those who were had actually touched it, either last year or the year before that. You were one of those candidates.”
“Me?”
“Last year, though the Magical Games Festival was cancelled, it should have proceeded as if it would have been held until then. There should have been practices for each competition…Having repeated a year, you must have had the opportunity to touch a [Wingboard] back then. After all, you were supposed to be a participant in Drive Race.”
I was able to find that out from a bit of research into the participants for last year’s festival.
Vallen had planned to participate in Drive Race.
“…I ain’t the only one who had the chance to touch a [Wingboard] last year. So, how’d ya narrow it down to me?”
The answer to that question, was actually quite simple.
“That’s simply– because you’re the most likely to do that.”
Unlike my previous conjectures, this one had no basis.
But this was the conjecture I was most confident of.
I had only arrived at that conclusion that after hearing what the Student Council President had to say, but even if I didn’t hear that, I would have come to the same conclusion anyway.
“Kuha…! That ain’t wrong!”
Vallen smiles in a good mood.
“When we first met, you should have been cooperating with the operative you personally defeated, and you deceived me and the Student Council to let them escape.”
“That’s right. I pretended to defeat ‘em and let them escape from the back.”
He didn’t just so happen to forget to report to the Student Council that he fought; he deliberately didn’t do it. This man pretends to have a sloppy nature, but in fact, he was calculating from the very beginning.
“What is your objective?”
“I don’t need to tell you shit.”
I continue to ask Vallen, who evaded the question.
“Is it related to the death of the former Student Council President during the Great War?”
“…Tch. That fucking piece of shit, talking ‘bout unnecessary things.”
Vallen clicks his tongue and points his right hand at me.
Flames swirled around his palm.
“Sorry ‘bout this, but I don’t feel like chatting anymore. I’m feeling really pissed with all your snooping around…For now, I’ll at least make sure ya can’t even walk anymore!”
This man was probably going easy on us when we fought in the city last night.
The swirling flames before me are incomparably larger and hotter than the ones last night.
Normally, this magic would require 30 seconds of preliminary movements. He was able to prepare it instantly was because he had mastered the use of Donning.
The hellfire approached.
And I– severed it.
The unleashed barrage split to either side, flying apart as if it had been repelled.
“…Ah?”
“Sorry.”
I say to Vallen, whose eyes were widened in astonishment.
“You may have planned to end this in an instant, but– I’m stronger than you.”
◆
Around the time Tweight and Vallen confronted each other.
A group of three boys and girls were heading to the academy, passing through the city at night.
“U-umm, Elysia-san. Are you sure that Tweight-san is acting by himself?”
Mize asks the girl beside her while running.
“I don’t know. But his personality is that of someone who would do something like that, so I wanted to confirm it, just in case.”
“Well, Tweight’s the type of guy who’d handle the important matters by himself, isn’t he?”
While the person himself thinks he’s improving, when viewed from the side, Tweight was the type of guy who was burdened with problems. Elysia and Mize had a vague understanding of Tweight’s past, so they understood that it was definitely the result of being dyed with the value system of the environment he was raised in. Gran also vaguely expected as much.
So Elysia, Mize, and Gran had met up in secret, without telling Tweight, and headed for the academy at night. Tweight had told them to rest for the day, but he might have decided to do something in secret. Such suspicious spurred them to action.
“Mm…? Oi, there’s someone at the school gate.”
Being tall, Gran was the first to notice the figure.
Since everyone here had heard that Tweight had fought against operatives who infiltrated the academy, they bared their vigilance. In particular, Elysia, who actually fought against someone who was thought to be an operative from another country last night, was prepared to draw her sword at a moment’s notice.
However, the identity of the figure at the school gate was–
“If the President hadn’t instructed me to, I wouldn’t have kept a lookout…I didn’t expect anyone to actually come.”
A familiar female student muttered with a sigh.
“Mira-san? Why, are you here…?”
It was the leader of the Hawk Team, Mira Opstein.
In response to Mize’s question, she slowly opened her mouth.
“I apologize for this, but I can’t let you pass though here.”
“And…why is that?”
It seems that there’s no need to fight for the time being.
Judging so, Elysia lets go of her scabbard and asks.
“Currently, Vallen Stielen and Tweight-san are at the academy, in the midst of a duel for the right to participate in War Game. I have received instructions from the President to prevent any and all interference.”
Elysia and the others’ eyes turn round after receiving an unexpected explanation.
“…Duel?”
Gran asks a question with a puzzled look on his face.
“I don’t really understand the situation, but…in regard to what is happening at the academy now, is it something that you and the Student Council are aware of?”
“There is no problem with that understanding.”
Mira affirms.
From that declaration, at the very least, Tweight wasn’t risking his life by fighting against the operatives. There was no guilt to be felt from Mira, even if she was hiding some facts.
“Is it really just a duel?”
Elysia asks with a sharp look in her eyes.
But Mira was unperturbed, and she plainly replied.
“That is what I have heard from the President. Vallen-san’s fighting style is dangerous, and we have to take such measure to avoid involving all of you.”
Just how much of those words can be taken as truth? Elysia thinks to herself.
At the very least, Mira doesn’t appear to be lying…but she might not know the real situation either.
— Is the true identity of the mastermind, Vallen?
For argument’s sake, let’s assume that the Student Council President knew everything from the very beginning.
That Vallen was the mastermind who guided the operatives to the academy, and that Tweight had arrived at that truth. As a result, the two of them were fighting in a remote area…and the Student Council President has tolerated it for some reason.
That line of thought is coherent.
However, the question still remains, just how much did the President know…
“…Well, whatever the case, as long as Tweight isn’t in danger, then there’s no problem.”
The possibility that Mira’s words are true still exists.
In the worst-case scenario, they were prepared to fight, but it appears that their worries were unneeded.
“You shouldn’t worry; Tweight-san will come back safely. Even that rabid dog, Vallen, wouldn’t use excessive force to attack an underclassman…moreover, a student of the Common Course.”
Mira told Elysia and the others in a calm voice, as if to reassure them.
However, feeling a sense of discomfort from her words, Elysia and the others exchanged glances. They immediately comprehended that there was a discrepancy between Mira’s and their own understanding.
“So, you don’t know, do you?”
Elysia tells Mira, who looks at them curiously.
“You should worry about the other person.”
Author’s Note:
{Notice}
This work will also be available on Kakuyomu. (TL/N: Not this arc, though)
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Mines of Mordoth 