EP.197 The Curtain Falls (3)

First Prince, Izak.

The first time I heard that name was through the First Princess, Lruiel. The princess told me that her brother was a paranoid patient, a person who was nothing short of a mess.

“If I had to describe my brother in one word, I would choose the word ‘psychopath’ without hesitation.”

She said he was a power-crazed lunatic. A person who wouldn’t hesitate to kill his own kin for power. The First Prince I heard about from Princess Lruiel was that kind of person.

‘In other words, that’s all there is to it.’

Thinking back, that was true.

All I knew about the First Prince was what I had heard through the mouth of Princess Lruiel. Even though I tried to not care about the royal family, it felt a bit strange.

“The First Prince, isn’t he the heir to the throne?”

The knighthood ceremony.

Speeches on the battlefield.

Or the ceremony honoring the hero’s achievements.

If he was the heir, I should have seen him at such public events at least once, yet… I had never seen the First Prince even once.

‘Something’s strange.’

I hadn’t thought much of it until now, but once a doubt arises, it leads to more questions. The decisive factor was the letter in my hand.

A letter from Kelharlem.

A letter said to be sent by the First Prince.

There, a faint trace of magic could be felt. It was indeed very faint, but a remnant of magic remained. Of course, considering the small amount, one could also think it was a remnant left from the clash with Skebal.

But still, it felt strange.

I had the feeling that I was missing something. I frowned. Generally, I had no intention of getting involved in royal power struggles. If I got involved, it would complicate matters in any form.

‘However…’

This changes the story a bit.

If the First Prince is involved in a series of incidents and I suspect he has a connection to magic, this was not something I could just overlook.

The center of humanity.

The authorities that govern humanity, the heads of the royal palace.

If magic is involved there, it must be rooted out. I muttered softly.

“…Should I topple it?”

“What do you mean by topple? Are you talking about the palace? Do you want to see me collapsing with a neck-related issue, senpai?”

A voice responded, startled by my muttering. I turned my head to see where the voice was coming from.

“I already have so many things to deal with, if another incident erupts here, I might actually die from overwork. Seriously.”

On the sofa placed in one corner of the faculty room, sat Kalt, glaring wide-eyed. His gaze was so sharp that I lowered mine.

‘I owe a bit in this incident…’

I subtly lifted my head to look at Kalt’s face. More precisely, the eyepatch covering one of his eyes.

“…Are you feeling better?”

“I did feel a strong muscle ache, but it seems to be okay for the most part. It’s a bit strange, though.”

“Strange?”

I cocked my head.

“What’s strange?”

“I was definitely injected with something, right?”

Kalt pulled out a test tube from his robe.

The test tube filled with a red liquid didn’t seem like a normal drug at first glance.

“It’s a serum currently being developed to enhance the body of a superhuman. It’s a drug that hasn’t undergone side effect testing yet… To be honest, I was a bit prepared when using it.”

That one of my limbs might become unusable.

Muttering those words, Kalt shook the test tube.

“But, I’m fine.”

“…Fine?”

“Yes. Aside from the muscle ache, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Isn’t it that the drug didn’t inject properly?”

“No, the effect was properly received. In fact, I even displayed movements close to that of a superhuman…”

Shwoop.

Kalt swung his arm like a sword as he spoke.

“I really felt like a superhuman when delivering the final blow.”

“…Really?”

I squinted my eyes.

With Kalt in my sights, I raised my hand.

“Hey, Kalt.”

“Yes?”

“Want to try dodging?”

“Pardon? What do you… Ack!”

Snap!

I flicked my fingers.

An instant spell was completed and shone. The power was lowered to a level that only felt like a sting, but… the speed was the same as usual.

The spell was aimed at Kalt’s forehead.

However, what got hit was the wall of the faculty room.

“What, what is this?”

Kalt, tilting his head in confusion, looked at me with wide-open eyes, but… I was just as bewildered.

“…Did you just dodge that?”

“No, what do you mean?”

Pointing at Kalt, who was looking at me as if he had really lost it, I said.

“How did you just do that?”

“Yes? What are you…?”

“Dodging the spell. The movement and the flow of mana shouldn’t have been detectable, how did you dodge it?”

Only then did Kalt turn his head to look behind him. A slight scratch remained on the wall of the faculty room. That was the trace of the spell Kalt had dodged.

“Uh…”

Kalt blinked.

“I felt a jolt travel up my spine and…?”

“Hey, that’s…”

I spoke.

“Isn’t that extra sensory perception?”

An instinct close to foresight.

A sensation that symbolizes the superhumans of swordsmanship.

And a sensation Kalt had never possessed until now.

“…Is this for real?”

“…Should I try it again?”

“P-please.”

Kalt stiffened and stared at me.

As if to beckon him over, I slowly brought my thumb and index finger together. Gulp, and a dry swallow went down my throat. For some reason, I felt tense as well.

“G-going?”

“Yes, please proceed.”

Snap!

I flicked my fingers again.

This time, I added a little more force.

Smite.

A streak of light was aimed at Kalt’s forehead. If he dodged this too, Kalt would surely have stepped into the realm of the superhuman.

Snap!

And then, the Smite hit.

With a very lively sound.

“Ugh!”

Not against the wall, but on Kalt’s forehead.

Kalt’s head snapped back.

—

“Getting closer to the superhuman realm is long and arduous…”

“They say it’s a realm you can only reach by sacrificing something or breaking apart.”

Seeing Kalt rubbing his reddened forehead, I smiled bitterly.

“Still, it feels like you’ve almost made it.”

“It seems so. I’ve dodged about six out of ten attacks.”

It was the truth.

After one success and one failure, I had launched about ten more Smite attacks, and Kalt had succeeded in dodging about six of them.

“It’s not perfect, but it feels like you’re a step closer to being a superhuman.”

“To be honest, I’ve had experiences where it wouldn’t be strange if you became a superhuman.”

“Is that so?”

“Hey, think about it.”

I spread my fingers wide.

“You’ve been on the battlefield for a long time. You’ve crossed the front lines countless times over the years, so you’ve gained plenty of experience.”

Thumb.

“Plus, you learned swordsmanship from the superhuman, Uncle Kuntel, so your skills must be somewhat perfected.”

Index.

“And, you managed to return alive after encountering Death’s Blade and the Skull liquor. I find that the most amazing. How did you endure that?”

I folded my middle and ring fingers.

Waving the remaining finger in front of Kalt, I said.

“All that’s left is to either break or sacrifice something.”

“…That’s the condition to become a superhuman.”

“Well, they say the ancient superhumans of Galatric reached that level in different ways, but… I don’t know about that.”

I smiled.

“Congratulations, Kalt.”

Reaching the realm of the superhuman.

It was something Kalt had dreamed of for a long time. Seeing an old subordinate take a step closer to his dream was quite a pleasant feeling.

“Those eyes of yours.”

I pointed at Kalt’s eyes.

The left eye he lost during the battle with Skebal.

“I’ll make sure to fix it somehow, so don’t worry about that.”

Kalt fiddled with his eyepatch and smiled bitterly.

“You don’t have to, really.”

“It’s because I’m involved. I’ll do it.”

I waved my hand and spoke.

“Anyway, I got a bit off track.”

I picked up the letter I had placed on the table.

“The First Prince, what kind of guy is he?”

“I don’t know either.”

“…What?”

I blinked.

“You’re a royal guard, right?”

“Right. The name Hound sounds familiar.”

“It doesn’t make sense that the closest one to the royal family doesn’t know the prince well.”

“That’s the thing.”

Kalt sighed briefly. He looked like he had a lot to say, but didn’t know where to start.

“The First Prince is a very unique individual. That’s the conclusion I reached after observing him a few times… But how do I explain this?”

Ah, Kalt sighed again.

“It feels like he’s not just one person.”

“…Not just one person?”

“Yes, it’s different. Just… a bit alien.”

A Tracker.

A class that reads and understands someone’s actions and ‘tracks’ them. True to Kalt, who boasts exceptional talent in that class, his observations of humanity were remarkably sharp.

“That side of him seems obsessed with power. He has spider webs all over the royal palace and shows the face of a tyrant by purging those against him.”

“But,” Kalt interrupted himself.

“On the other hand, when watched from the shadows, it’s different. It feels like a ghost. He doesn’t want to reveal himself. It’s like he’s watching from behind the stage…”

Two distinct appearances.

“The distinction between those two forms is clear. It’s as if he’s not one person.”

So, what seems to be the problem here?

As I was about to explain the situation to Kalt, something shined from my bosom. It was the magic tool connected to Lruiel.

“…Wait a moment.”

I pulled out the magic tool.

Had the royal family’s communication network been restored, letters were writing themselves on the brightly glowing parchment.

“Professor, the royal family’s communication network has been restored.”

And the magic tool wasn’t just ringing for me.

Beeeeeep!

A loud sound echoed from Kalt’s coat as he pulled out a magic tool with a frown on his face.

“…Let’s check and then talk.”

“Sounds good.”

Kalt and I focused on the messages coming to us. I looked at the letters being inscribed on the parchment.

“There’s much to convey, but I think I’ll have to tell you this fact first.”

A brief hesitation.

My eyes narrowed at the next inscribed letters.

“My brother has disappeared from the royal family.”

“That means he vanished overnight.”

And.

“At the Red Palace where my brother stayed…”

The moment I read the next letters, I held my breath. I tore my gaze from the parchment and looked at Kalt. Kalt’s expression, too, seemed to reflect the information he had just received… his gaze was shaking.

“…I’m going now.”

Kalt sent a communication to his subordinates while I began to write a reply to Princess Lruiel’s letter. And together we stood up from our seats.

The stage that had come to an end.

Something was writhing behind it.

—

The First Princess, Lruiel.

She was wandering through the halls of the palace alone. Her thoughts were in disarray. Every time her mind became chaotic, she would wander the palace alone.

‘My brother has gone missing.’

The heir to the throne had vanished.

Each department was turned upside down, but the Red Palace, where the First Prince resided, was no different than usual. Lruiel couldn’t comprehend that fact at all.

Those who lost their master.

The servants who couldn’t ascertain their master’s whereabouts.

They should be the ones in the most confusion, yet they continued to tend to the Red Palace as before. As if they were soulless dolls. Always the same, yet that only made the scene more bizarre.

‘I’m missing something.’

That certainty washed over her.

‘What exactly am I missing?’

With a frown on her face, Lruiel walked down the royal corridor. How long had she been lost in thought when she suddenly felt the air around her shift.

“……”

Lruiel lifted her head silently.

It was broad daylight, yet the surroundings were dark as if night had come. It was not a natural darkness. It was the kind of shadow created by sunlight casting on objects.

Thunk.

Then, footsteps echoed from the darkness.

Lruiel looked toward the source of the sound. Someone came forward, dragging shadows with them. He flamboyantly opened his arms wide toward Lruiel.

“Oh, Lruiel.”

Gaunt body.

Platinum hair, faded to be close to gray.

Clad in black and white.

Lruiel thought of the name of the person looking in her direction from within the shadows.

“…Brother Izak.”

The First Prince, Izak.

Lruiel’s eyes narrowed as she gazed at him.

“I heard you have gone missing.”

“Who knows?”

Izak shrugged.

“I’m just returning to where I belong. This place isn’t my seat anyway.”

“…It’s true that you’re not a fitting individual for the throne. At least I’m glad you’re aware of that. I suppose my barking had some merit.”

“Haha, you’re quite sharp, Lruiel.”

His dry laughter echoed down the corridor.

Izak’s eyes curved into crescent shapes. A smile, resembling a sneer, lingered in Lruiel’s ears.

“The image of you running away in fear during our childhood still looms in my mind.”

A light threat. Lruiel hid her trembling fingertips within her sleeves as she continued speaking.

“…What are you planning to do?”

“Something of greater value.”

“Is there anything more valuable than the past ten years you spent trying to sit on the throne?”

“Oh, Lruiel. Do you think there’s value in something that can always be taken?”

Gulp, Lruiel furrowed her eyebrows.

“…Are you saying it’s ‘worthless’ right now?”

“There’s no way I would say otherwise.”

“Then, you’ve brutally killed your own blood for something worthless…”

Just as Lruiel was about to voice that thought, Izak interrupted her. He filled the void left by her words with his own.

“The sacrifice is not for something worthless.”

He smiled.

“What was needed was stimulation for my boring life. Humans struggling to live are always beautiful. Just as they were a hundred years ago, and a thousand years ago.”

The shadow tilted precariously.

“When you’ve lived for a long time, you’ll find that stimulation is what you crave.”

Lruiel gazed silently at Izak.

The person she clearly despised as her brother wasn’t smiling like that, nor did he enjoy using such tones.

He was different.

Something was off.

“You, you’re not my brother.”

Lruiel opened her mouth.

“Who are you?”

At that question, Izak’s lips twisted. In tandem, the shadows around him also distorted. As if a being wearing the mask of a human drew closer.

However, Lruiel couldn’t move. Paralyzed, she forgot how to breathe as she stared at the oncoming shadow.

Thunk.

The shadow halted before her, slowly bowing its head.

“That question is not yours to ask.”

The shadow whispered into Lruiel’s ear.

“The one who should ask the question is Stella.”

With that phrase, the sound of footsteps faded away. Only when the sound was completely gone did Lruiel exhale.

“…Hah, huhu…”

Breathing heavily, she wiped the cold sweat trickling down her nape and turned around.

“……”

There was no one there.

As if it had been that way from the very beginning.