v6c0

“It’s finished.”

“I guess it’s over, huh…”

Hyoro and Jaga sprawled over their desks.

The year-end exams for Midgar Academy had just ended.

“Going to predict your scores, then?” I asked.

While Isaac-kun’s absence had left quite a large void to be filled, I managed to pull through with Nina-senpai's cheat sheets.

I was quite confident that this time round, I’d manage to pass all my subjects while just barely avoiding failing marks.

“As if I’d do that.”

“Our grades are fixed now. All that’s left are the practical exams next week.”

“That's true.”

I had no interest in trying to predict my grades either. In fact, having to actually do that would be troublesome for me.

The terrorist incident involving that mysterious white fog had ended around a month ago.

It was around the middle of February now.

The knight orders had made a huge mess during their investigation, but the academy had finally settled down in the end.

Still, I have to say; this alternate world with its frequent terror attacks was the best.

The most exciting thing I could look forward to in my previous world was hunting motorcycle gangsters.

Ah, come to think of it, Nee-san’s still unconscious.

Still, I wasn’t too sad about it. Instead, I was enjoying my freedom from her. After all, Zeta said she’d wake up eventually, so I guess she’ll be fine.

I wonder what Nee-san will do about her graduation and afterwards, though.

No, actually, she didn’t even take her year-end test, so what if she gets held back a year… I hope she graduates ASAP.

“So what are we going to do after this? Training for the practical exam…?”

“As if I’d do that.”

“Now that the written exams are over, it means we can fool around until the practical exam.”

“That's true.”

“I’m not going to let you run off after winning. That’s a lot of our money you’ve got.”

“After all, we have the support of our greatest ally, Mitsugoshi Revolving Credit.”

Hyoro flashed me a crude grin even as he flashed a stack of banknotes, while Jaga had a smug look on his face as he shuffled the cards.

“Come, let’s go! Onward to our battlefield!”
“You’re talking about my room, right?”
“We won’t let you sleep tonight. You’d better take a shower first.”
“Well, I’m going to sleep. Like normal.”
They grabbed me from both sides.
Just then, I heard Christina-san’s voice.”
“...I’m sorry, Kanade. I couldn’t do enough.”
“It can’t be… What are we going to do now…”
There was a girl I’d seen from somewhere in front of Christina-san.
“I don’t believe it… They actually found Eliza-sama not guilty…”
The girl wept.
Ah, I remembered now. She was the girl I helped earlier, in the mist.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Looks like you were scared.”
“Alright, alright, I’m going–”
Still, I was impressed by how they ruled her not guilty despite everything that happened. The power that these great noble families wielded was really something else.
With those thoughts in mind, I left the classroom.
=======================================================================

I lay back on my bed, which was covered with banknotes, and muttered to myself.

“Overwhelming victories always feel so empty…

Hyoro and Jaga had left before the date had changed. What had started as a competition turned into mere work, and so I calmly continued reaping all their money away.

Now that the excitement was gone, all that was left was a boundless emptiness…

“Fufufu… That’s the kind of attitude the strong would have.”

I got up from the bed and gathered up the banknotes I had scattered for the sake of theatrics.

There were a total of 2 million zennies there.

Thank you Hyoro, thank you Jaga, and thank you, Mitsugoshi Revolving Credit.

“So these are limited-edition Mitsugoshi playing cards, hm? And they cost a lot too… Pretty twisted, I’d have to say.”

They seemed to have a horror-themed design.

Should I sell them off?

In any case, it would be too early to sleep right now, so I should probably do some training instead.

Just as I was about to begin training my mana, I noticed a shiny card falling from the edge of the bed.

“Hm? THis is…?”

It was a deluxe card that shone with gold light.

The fancy lettering on its face read, “Royal Mitsugoshi Exclusive Bar Member Card.”

Behind that was written “Member No. 001, Cid Kagenou.”

“Oh, I remember now. The Mitsugoshi company set up a bar for their exclusive members, so Gamma gave me this membership card.”

I hadn’t really paid much attention to it, since they were just ripping people off with the knowledge they’d stolen from me anyway.

“An exclusive bar, hm…”

I looked at that big stack of banknotes.

I kind of liked how, in spy movies, they would have secret conversations in quiet bars.

“Maybe I could get a friend discount if I went there…”

At worst, I could always just run off.

Alright, let’s go.

Now a good spy needed a good suit. The one I had when I was posing as John Smith was in tatters, so I’ll use the one which Alpha had Mitsugoshi make for me.

After shining my shoes and giving my hair a slight parting down the middle… I strode out into the night of the royal capital.

=======================================================================

“So this is the place…”

Surprisingly enough, this exclusive members-only bar was located at the end of an underground alley.

Its stately-looking door had the Mitsugoshi company’s logo carved into it.

It would seem this was a secret bar.

I was slightly nervous as I opened the door and entered. The interior was indirectly-lit and had a calm atmosphere to it. There were many pendant lamps hanging over the bar counter, their radiance toned down so they looked like stars shining in the sky.

Was the floor made of wolf king stone and the table made of a slab of Yggdrasil tree wood?

Just the value of what I could see right now was well into the hundred-million zenny range. I reflexively calculated the risk-return ratio of stealing it all.

“...Greetings, dear customer.”

“Oh, right.”

I responded like an idiot because of my guilty conscience.

“Here’s my membership card.”

I produced the gold card from my pocket, but the attendant shook her head.

“Being Cid Kagenou-sama is enough for admission. Welcome to our establishment. We have a VIP room for you further within…”

She invited me to a seat deeper inside the bar with a look from her lovely heterochromic eyes.

“No, I’m fine with a counter seat.”

Though I was briefly confused, in the end spies always sat at the counter.

“Understood. I will lead you there.”

“Pardon me… But have I seen you somewhere before?”

Upon hearing my voice, the girl turned around with a surprised look on her face.

She was a half-elf, with one silver and one gold eye.

“I believe you saw me before at the Mitsugoshi company.:”

“Ahhh, now that you mention it, I think you were standing beside Gamma.”

“I am honored to be remembered by you. My name is Omega. This way, please.”

I followed Omega to a seat at the counter.

I took a look at the bartender. She was an elf whose blonde hair was cut short, dressed in men’s wear,

“Are you from Mitsugoshi too?”

“It is an honor to serve you. My name is Chi.”

“I’m Cid Kagenou.”

“But of course you are.”

Chi bowed calmly to me, but for some reason her fingertips were trembling slightly.

Could it be that she wasn’t very experienced at her job? Was it really okay at a high-class establishment like this?

“May I take your order…”

I had decided what I wanted. I was going for the feel of a secret agent from a certain spy movie I’d seen before.

“...A vodka martini.”

I said in a deep voice.

“Shaken, not stirred.”

At times like these, it’s important to maintain the calm air of a veteran.

I mustn’t let them know this is my first time at a place like this. On the contrary, I need to exert a wordless pressure, like I’m testing them instead.

“A vodka martini, shaken, not stirred. Understood.”

Chi’s expression tensed up.

She took a deep breath and then began mixing the cocktail with her trembling hands.

Were trembling hands necessary for mixing drinks?

As I studied her movements with mild interest, her hands shook harder.

“I see…”

I didn’t know much about cocktails, so it would seem I had learned something new.

Apparently, an experienced bartender needed trembling fingertips.

As I pondered that, a thought suddenly came to mind.

Did this world actually have vodka in it?

“...How strange.”

Chi’s shoulders flinched.

No, I wasn’t talking about you.

It’s just that the very existence of vodka in this world was  strange.

Now why was this the case… Although, I didn’t need to think to know the answer.

It was all because of them.

“So you drink vodka martinis?”

The voice came from behind me.

It was a lovely voice, like tinkling bells. I didn’t bother looking back.”

“...Alpha, is it?”

“It’s been a while.”

“That it has.”

She seemed to have grown more mature after our time apart.

Her hair was lovely and blonde, and her eyes were blue. The simple dress she wore suited her well.

“You’re not good with stiff drinks, are you?”

“Now when did I ever say that?”

“You didn’t. But at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you enjoy your drinks.”

Clever girl.

Frankly speaking, I had no interest in alcoholic beverages of any kind. I just drank them because I thought it looked cool.

“Well, I wouldn’t say I don’t have problems with them.”

“I see. So you do have trouble with them.”

Alpha chuckled quietly.

“Pardon the delay. Your vodka martini.”

Chi deposited the drink in front of me with trembling hands.

Her shaking was more noticeable now. Her professional skills were truly amazing.

“I’ll have a Manhattan, then.”

“Understood.”

The Manhattan that Alpha ordered was probably a whiskey-based cocktail.

But why was there whiskey in this world?

“So, you’ve finished the whiskey, then?”

I tried probing for more information while pretending I knew all about it.

“At long last, yes. We haven’t put it on the market yet, but I’m sure it would sell for a high price. The Vegaltan nobles who tried it offered 2 million zenny per bottle.”

“I, I see…”

As I thought, they’d done it.

I shouldn’t have gone overboard and tried to show off my knowledge of distilled spirits.

“That too was thanks to the knowledge you shared with us.”

“Umu…”

Good lord, of course it was.

In resignation, I downed the vodka martini in one gulp.

“...How does it taste?”

“As it should.”

In other words, I had only tasted the alcohol in it.

“Fufu…”

Alpha chuckled quietly.

“Is something the matter?”

“Not really. I was just happy.”

“About what?”

“That suit. You put it on at last.”

“Hm. I see.”

“I had it custom-made. The fabric is spun from the threads of black silkworms.”

“Oh…”

Black silkworms are far larger and more savage than the silkworms of my previous world, and they were highly toxic to boot. Their silk was a top-quality material that only experienced hunters could gather.

“I’ll forgive you for forgetting the promise that you made.”

Come to think of it, Alpha seemed really happy as she looked at me while I wore this suit.

I had no idea what kind of promise I had made her, though.

“...Thank you for waiting. Here is your Manhattan.”

“Thank you.”

Alpha seemed to be in a good mood today.

After finishing her Manhattan in one gulp, she nodded.

“We should probably have let it brew longer. Still, this isn’t bad.”

Alpha put down the glass and looked at me.

“To think you’d come to a bar, even though you dislike spirits. Did something happen?”

“Hm? Not really… I just happened to see the membership card in my room.”

“If you’re afraid of being overheard, you can speak freely in this place. The only people here right now are part of our own.”

Her mood suddenly turned serious. In other words, she was willing to play along with this spy game.

“I see… So, how’s that mission going?”

“...That mission, hm.”

She repeated my words back to me with a serious face.

“The details of the Oriana Kingdom are in the report that I wrote.”

“Ah, I read that in 3 seconds after completing my mission.”

Shadow Garden would send me lots of reports at regular intervals.

Since they were all written incomprehensible ancient runes, I would incinerate them instantly upon receipt.

“Three seconds… Have you actually mastered the art of accelerating your thought processes?”

“Whew…”

I pressed my lips to the glass without saying anything.

“It seems you are not yet willing to discuss this technique. Clearly it must require a great deal of skill. The risk of overloading the brain if it should fail is… Indeed, we are as yet incapable of replicating this feat ourselves.However, we have been training ourselves faithfully as you have directed. Therefore, I hope you will teach us your secret when the time comes.”

“...Look forward to it, then.”

“We will not betray your expectations. I swear it…!”

“So, what about that mission?”

“The plan is going well. Rose Oriana has decided to fight, as a queen.”

“It seems everything is going according to plan.”

“It seems you foresaw this outcome from the moment you made contact with her.  It appears you are quite interested in that girl… Indeed, I am a little jealous of her.

Alpha delivered her reply in a joking tone.

“She is an essential pawn in the plan.”

“...I understand. She is crucial to bringing them into the light.”

“Into the light?”

“Is something the matter?”

“Oh, no, nothing’s wrong.  I was simply inspecting the situation from various angles and hypothesizing the worst-case scenario.”

“Truly, you are able to discern all possibilities. Still, I hope you could at least spare more thought about… No, it’s nothing.”

Alpha stopped herself without saying anything.

“You haven’t changed a bit. You’ve always been chasing a great dream, one so large that even we can only glimpse fragments of it… But the preparations for it are finally complete. Don’t you think so?”

“If you only cast your eyes into the distant future, that is merely a small step in the whole scheme.”

“I understand. The Oriana Kingdom is now revolutionizing itself with Shadow Garden’s resources and support. Leave this matter to us. Things are going well for now.”

“I see. It is good that all is proceeding well.”

“Indeed. Also, we have changed our ancient rune codewords.”

Alpha hands me several sheets of paper. Incomprehensible codes are written there and I frown in thought.

“This is the deciphering code key, but I’m sure you can understand it easily enough.”

“Mm…”

Not good. It’s making my eyes water.

“...Get me some apple juice.”

I fold the paper up and place it in my pocket.

“Huh? Ah, yes. One apple juice, is it?”

Surprised, Chi’s eyes went wide.

“Let’s move on to the Midgar Academy incident. Zeta finally submitted her report. Took her long enough.”

Alpha sighed as she said that.

“Honestly, that girl, she’s always late. You should talk to her too.”

“She has her own way of doing things.”

“You’re always so soft on her. Still, it’s thanks to her efforts that the Fenrir Faction has been destroyed.”

“That Fenrir Faction, hm?”

“It seems she found all their hiding places before taking action. After you defeated Fenrir, she crushed them in less than half a day. She did well. Too well, perhaps.”

“I see.”

It was that terrorist, right?

“Due to the Oriana Kingdom incident, we don’t have many people to spare. Zeta ought to only have Victoria and some of the numbers on hand. I don’t think they would be enough to destroy the Fenrir Faction in just half a day. Since it’s her we’re talking about, there’s probably something she hasn’t mentioned in her report.

Alpha sighs again, louder this time.

“You should scold her too. Tell her to properly submit her reports and not go so overboard.”

“Mm.”

“You have to, alright?”

“Mmm…”

“Thank you for waiting. Your apple juice.”

“Mm!”

That was good.

They must have used really good apples for it.

“Zeta handled the post-battle cleanup too. She covered up all traces of our involvement. It seems people from the knight orders handled stuff on the Diablos’ Cult’s side. On the surface, it simply appears to be a terrorist attack.”

“Mm, the usual backstory, then.”

“Also, about Claire-san going unconscious. Zeta’s report was a little vague. Perhaps we should re-investigate the matter…”

“It’s alright. Let her rest for a while.”

After all, it’s pretty much confirmed that she’ll be repeating the year. I want her to get as much rest as she can.

“Er, but…”

“I will handle things on Nee-san’s side.”

“Understood. As I thought, you were worried about her after all.”

Alpha smiled.

“Oh yes, the terrorist incident made me think of something…”

I remembered what Christina-san had said in the classroom today.

“The deputy student vice-president Eliza is in our school. She committed many acts of violence against  the students during the incident.”

“Eliza… Ah, that great noble.”

“Yes, her. It seems Vice-President Eliza was investigated by the knights for untoward behavior during the incident, but they found her innocent of wrongdoing.”

“Do you want her to be guilty? If you do…”

“No, not at all. Her innocence or lack thereof is none of my concern. However, the fact that she could be found innocent even with evidence and witnesses gathered is a little…”

I’m a little envious, actually.

“I see… Indeed, you are correct. Corruption has eaten deeply into the Midgar Kingdom. Due to its size, it might run even deeper than in the Oriana Kingdom. Eliza Darkaigan’s father Marquis Brad Darkaigan can be said to be the leader of the faction which symbolizes this rot.”

“Hm.”

“Their faction’s name is the “Thirteen Night Blades”. As the name implies, they are a secret society composed of 13 people in places of power within the Midgar Kingdom. Some call them the shadow rulers of the Midgar Kingdom, and they are deeply involved with the Diablos Cult and other criminal organizations. Eliza Darkaigan was found innocent at Brad Darkaigan’s direction.”

“The rulers in shadow, hm…”

“The man who was directly involved in the matter was probably this man, Count Gete Mono. As the lowest-ranking member of the Thirteen Night Blades and Brad Darkaigan’s confidant, he is also their ace in the hole within the prosecutor’s office. All crimes committed by nobles fall under his jurisdiction. My guess is that once again, no charges were filed this time due to a lack of evidence.”

Alpha points toward a piece of paper containing a portrait and a brief writeup.

So that’s Gete Mono. He’s got a pretty villainous-looking face. Might as well let me see the writeups on the other twelve.

“Even with a full slate of witnesses and testimony?”

“This happens all the time. Any incident that falls into his hands gets covered up.”

“I see.”

“Gete Mono isn’t the only one doing this. The other members of the Thirteen Night Blades are using their power for their own gain and contributing to the corruption of the Midgar Kingdom. Due to their ties to the Cult, nobody can stop them and their power continues to grow.”


“These Thirteen Night Blades are a truly admir… truly despicable lot.”

“While we intend to deal with them at some point, we have our hands full with revolutionizing the Oriana Kingdom. Thus we will allow them to remain at large for a while.”

“I see…”

So these are great nobles in another world.

Rulers of the shadows who will be ruled innocent, no matter how many sins they commit.

“...You’ve given me a good idea. Thank you, Alpha.”

I finish the apple juice and rise from my seat.

“You seem happy. Are you going to do something?”

“...You’ll find out sooner or later.”

“I see. Please contact me if anything comes up.”

Alpha vanishes into smoke and disappears.

Not bad.

That’s a really cool way to make an exit.

“Put it on my tab.”

Saying so, I hide my presence and vanish into the darkness.
=======================================================================

Count Gete Mono suddenly looked up and out his window.

The streets of Midgar Kingdom at night stretched out before his eyes. For some reason, he had the feeling that someone was watching him…

“Was I imagining things?”

He turned his attention back to his documents while muttering to himself.

The fire in his hearth burned merrily, with a crackling sound.

His fountain pen traced a path over the paper. It was a quiet night.

He put his pen aside, and then took a sip of coffee that had gone cold.

“I can’t believe it still smells this good even though it isn’t hot any more. Still, that’s Mitsugoshi’s top-grade coffee beans for you.”

After nodding in satisfaction, he turned to look at the documents on his desk.

They were documents concerning the Eliza Darkaigan incident, from the fees needed to cover things up to the list of people that he had to buy off or eliminate.

While all that should have been enough to find her innocent, the situation wasn’t as simple as that.

After all, there were too many witnesses.

Two of these eyewitnesses in particular, namely Alexia Midgar of the royal family and Christina Hope of the great nobles, were a thorn in his side.

He had to go to great lengths and much cost to overturn their testimony.

Gete stood up and looked out the window. The glass reflected a tired, middle-aged man’s tired, frog-like face.

“You’ll need to pay the appropriate price for this, Darkaigan-sama.”

After all, this was a crippling outlay of resources.

And there were still more people to be dealt with.

One of them was the minor noble called Kanade. She’d eventually get in the way if he let her run free.

However, Gete’s specialty was paperwork and risk management. Wetwork was better left to the other members of the “Thirteen Night Blades”.

“Oh well. I’m getting tired of being the bottom rung in the Thirteen Night Blades. I hope I’ll get an appropriate position after this.”

Gete was in his 30s, like how he appeared.

He had inherited his father’s place in the Thirteen Night Blades, but due to his youth he had been relegated to playing unflattering roles.

His father’s death was surrounded by mystery. While it had been ruled an accident,Gete could not forget the stab mark in his back.

“...The truth will remain in the darkness. So much the better.”

Both Eliza and his father’s incidents were essentially the same. If she tried to reveal the truth hidden in the darkness, she would find out firsthand.

Gete turned away from the window and rang the bell on his table to summon a servant. After sealing the documents, all he would have to do was send them to Marquis Darkaigan…

“...Hm?”

He suddenly sensed someone looking at him, and looked up.

It was the same old workroom that he was familiar with. Nobody knew it better than he did.

However, there was a clown here.

He had sat down on the sofa at some point.

The light from the fireplace illuminated the blood-drenched clown that was staring at Gete.

“Who… Who the hell are you! When did you get in here?!”

Gete immediately pressed the bell.

“Someone! Anyone! Get out here now!”

The shrill sound of the bell echoed through the night.

“Oi! Is anyone there?!”

The only sounds in the night were Gete’s angry voice and the hollow sound of the bell.

The blood-soaked clown did not move, merely looked at the panicking Gete.

“Oi… Is, is anyone there?!”

It was strange.

It had been a long time since he rang the bell. Under normal circumstances, the guards should have been here by now.

But it was a quiet night out.

No… it was too quiet.

“...No, it can’t be…”

Gete’s hand slipped off the bell and he fell to the ground.

The clown slowly rose to his feet.

His hands dripped with blood. Fresh blood.

His footsteps made a strange sound, “picha”. He left a bloody trail of footprints across the high-quality rug.

“It can’t be… did you…  everyone in the manor…”

The blood-soaked clown did not answer. Above the crescent moon that was his smile, his eyes remained fixed on Gete.

“Aiiiee…”

Gete began backing off with a squeal of terror.

Picha, picha. The clown slowly closed the distance between them.

“Who, who are you, why are you… why are you doing this to me… You won’t get off easily if you harm me!”

The clown did not answer.

He continued slowly closing the gap to Gete with those pichapichapicha footsteps, as though mocking the front Gete was putting on.

Suddenly, the sight of his father’s death filled Gete’s mind.

“Are you… are you… Are you going to get rid of me?! Even, even though I did so much for the group, even though I sacrificed so much for the “Thirteen Night Blades”?!”

Pichaaaa…

The footsteps came to a halt.

The blood-soaked clown laughed from somewhere deep inside his mask.

“I see… so it’s just like with my father, you’re going to…”

Pichapicha. The footsteps started again.

They grew faster and faster. Soon, he was within arm’s reach…

“Aiiieeeee… Stay back, stay baaaaaack!”

Gete grabbed his coffee cup and threw it.

It bounced off the mask of the blood-soaked clown, spilling block liquid all over it.

Gete turned tail and ran.

Despite his looks, he had actually scored quite well in the magic knight academy. Despite his obese form, he was far quicker than the average human being.

Gete instantly reached the door and flung it open.

If he could just get to the knight orders…

If he could escape… He clung to that hope for a moment.

“Ai…Aiiieeeeeeeee!”

However, he was pushed down by the entity on the other side of the door.

“What, what the hell! Get out of my way!”

He struggled desperately to feet.

Then, he noticed the blood covering his body, and realized exactly what had pushed him down just now.

“You guys… You’re the guards…”

To be precise, they were the corpses of the house guards that had been hacked apart.

These magic knights had bad attitudes, but they were strong, and he had spent a lot of money to hire them.

And now, they had been brutally slaughtered.

“Aieee… Alieeeeeyeeeeagh!”

Gete kicked their corpses aside and ran.

Picha, picha. And then, the sound of the footsteps stopped.

“Ah…”

He looked up. The clown’s mask looked down on him.

“Ah… ah… ahh…”

The clown was holding a playing card.

“No, don’t…”

With a crisp, slicing sound, the card stabbed down between Gete’s eyes.

Gete reached for the object, an incredulous look on his face.

“Ah…”

And then, he slowly fell backward onto the ground.

As he looked down at the blood spreading on the ground, the clown muttered to himself.

“That was the first…”

His voice echoed through the quiet night.