novelraw Chapter 87 : Chapter 87
Chapter 87 : Chapter 87
Chapter 87: Quill Pen (1)
Pelatz's son, Loque, is a mage.
A mage belonging to the Liberation Tower.
"Probably the Rebellion faction."
The main clientele of Russell's leather shop were mercenaries.
It was a place that Empire knights, if not those from the north, wouldn't frequent.
Pelatz had come to meet Isotta, not for magical beast hide armor.
'Isotta had a quill pen.'
A magical tool that enables long-distance communication.
Of course, there was a limit to that distance.
The same was true for the communication sphere I received from Cassion.
"He either came to check on the situation because he couldn't get in touch, or to deliver something."
The Liberation Tower must have realized that the tunnel brokers had been executed.
That was the whole point of displaying their heads in the square.
The public display was not just a show of force, but a warning.
"He either came on behalf of his son, or Pelatz himself is also associated with the Liberation Tower."
He might have offered to do it since he was on his way.
Pelatz was a man who would do anything for his son, Loque.
"Of course, the latter is more likely. The Liberation Tower is such a secretive group that they wouldn't entrust tasks to outsiders."
The Liberation Tower, being a group of mages, is reclusive.
However, that didn't mean all its members were mages.
There were rare instances of ordinary people who sympathized with their ideology.
They were usually relatives of the member mages.
"Gazdag is probably not involved. The delegation is too conspicuous."
Of course, they could have used that perception to their advantage, but still.
Continental mages are not that bold.
There was a high probability that this incident was Pelatz's solitary act.
'Gazdag.'
The tongue that pronounced it was awkward.
It meant that Gazdag was not one of the places that had rebelled, taking advantage of the Otherworld's southern advance in the past life.
Because one tends to chew out enemies or traitors more than innocent allies.
"It would be nice to see his face, but it's not worth the hassle. It won't be him anyway... are you listening?"
It was something I said for Ellen to hear.
That there was no reason to meet with the delegation over this matter.
But no answer came.
When I turned my head, Kubel was streaming tears.
"You went through something like that..."
Come to think of it, Kubel only knew that I, a mage, had been taken hostage; he didn't know the detailed circumstances.
It wasn't that important.
It was a past that didn't matter whether Kubel knew or not.
"...Are you okay?"
Ellen looked awkward.
"Of course. Is there any reason not to be?"
The fire was precise.
Pelatz had turned to ash and disappeared, but the armor he wore was intact.
It was proof that I had not lost my reason.
"He was your enemy."
"The enemy is the Torch."
My criteria were clear.
My enemy was the mage of the Torch.
And the Otherworld that had tormented and brought ruin to the north in my past life.
"I told you, I understand. Pelatz's choice was certainly plausible. It was rational to someone."
The rumor was bound to come out sooner or later.
In fact, I should have been surprised that it had lasted for eight years.
"Still. Aren't you angry?"
"I am. I'm just holding it in."
The Torch.
In fact, it would probably be fine not to avenge that enemy.
What was important to the regressed me was Elaine.
Next was erasing her regrets.
"...I'm sorry."
Ellen, who had been biting her lip, opened her mouth slightly.
She had tried to satisfy her curiosity. It was because of her suspicion about the dream.
Uncovering the whole story was an achievement, if you could call it that.
But at the same time, it was like picking at a wound.
"I didn't know it would turn out like this."
"I didn't know either."
"..."
"I'm not blaming you. I was just surprised."
I never thought I would solve the mystery of my past life like this.
"From what I can see, what you should be doing is not apologizing, but taking credit."
The credit for helping me find out who spread the rumor.
"But..."
"You don't need to feel sorry for investigating my background either. It's thanks to that that we found out."
"...How did you know?"
Ellen's eyes widened.
"I just know by looking."
I smiled gently.
Ellen didn't smile. It seemed there was something still bothering her.
"But you were the one who brought Pelatz here."
"I was."
"...Didn't you already know? That Pelatz had spread the rumor."
I did something unnecessary.
Ellen didn't seem to be able to shake that thought.
Because before she came, I had already been confronting Pelatz.
"Indeed. It's understandable to think that."
I nodded.
It was a reasonable misunderstanding.
"I brought Pelatz here for three reasons."
"...?"
"Kubel needed real-life experience."
Pelatz was a knight.
Through him, I wanted to help Kubel develop a thicker skin.
"I met Pelatz at Russell's, no, Isotta's leather shop. A leather shop frequented by mercenaries. It's not a place a knight would use. They don't even handle magical beast hides."
Magical beast hide armor is in fashion.
It was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing.
There was no way continental knights would wear something like that.
"So I suspected that Pelatz was involved with Isotta."
"He's a knight."
"I'm close with knights."
"You have to exclude Serzila."
Ellen drew a line with the Empire.
"The world is wide. Just because someone is a mage's friend or colleague doesn't necessarily mean they are a mage."
As Ellen said, Serzila is a particularly special land, but anyway.
"There are rare people who join hands with mages. There are those who do business with them, and those who try to use them or are used by them."
To use their expression, it's because a mage is a clumsy demon.
Their abilities are bizarre, but in the end, the one who possesses them is human.
"Among them, family, lovers, friends. These are the most common reasons for siding with a mage. In fact, Pelatz was the father of a mage."
Wasn't Iagar like that too?
That's why I understand Pelatz's choice.
"Well. That's not to say there are many cases. They are rare cases."
The Church never stands by idly.
Because it's not siding with family, but with a demon.
"...What's the last reason?"
"Pelatz remembered me."
That was the biggest reason.
"Few people in the world know my face."
I had been in my room since a young age.
I rarely even stepped outside the Inner Fortress, let alone the domain.
Also, when Iagar was annihilated, it was known that the Harad who had burned down the Inner Fortress had died with it.
The Church does not reveal the faces of dead mages to the world.
They just officially confirm the death of the mage named Harad.
"I can act as just Harad, but not Harad of Iagar."
That was why the Harad of the past life could appear in public as Elaine's guard knight.
Few people knew me to begin with, and on top of that, I had aged, so I was no different from a new person.
No one recognized me, nor associated me with Iagar.
"But Pelatz recognized me, not just Harad, but Harad of Iagar."
To the Church, Harad Iagar was a dead mage.
Pelatz had confirmed his survival.
"I had an obligation to silence Pelatz."
Whether Pelatz knew the truth or not, whether he had spread rumors or not.
I was in a position where I had to kill him anyway.
Because of Pelatz, the possibility had arisen that my survival would be discovered by the Church or the Empire.
"...You were planning to kill him from the beginning?"
Ellen's face was one of disbelief.
"There was the option of appealing to his emotions, but I probably would have killed him. I don't particularly like uncertain things."
"..."
"You just added one more reason for me to kill Pelatz."
* * *
"Are you disappointed?"
"No."
Ellen said, as if letting out a breath.
She did not hesitate. That would be rude to me.
"I understand. It must have been a choice for Serzila, not just for you."
I'm not alone.
That's what I said earlier. My partner is Serzila.
If my survival is discovered, the Church will tear into Serzila as well.
I had protected Serzila.
Therefore, his choice was rational.
But... it's just a shame.
When I had decided to kill Pelatz, I didn't know the truth.
Regardless of Pelatz's position in hiding the truth.
At least to me, Pelatz would have been a welcome person.
Such a person, I had thought of killing first.
"...Would you have killed Pelatz even if he were a good person?"
"I would have to, since I'm not a good mage."
I called myself a bad person.
Ellen didn't like that.
As she bit her lip, I looked back at Kubel.
"So Kubel, you have to be more shameless from now on."
Kubel's expression was serious.
However, he did not seem disappointed in me.
The emotion on his face was similar to Ellen's.
"The more you get caught, the more people you'll have to kill."
"A bad person doesn't worry about others."
At Kubel's words, I smiled brightly.
"You're certainly a good person."
Ellen furrowed her brow.
Kubel had beaten her to it.
Moreover, it was exactly what she had been about to say.
Ellen's mind raced.
I had to offer a word of comfort. Preferably something better than Kubel's... Then my eyes met with his. My mouth opened reflexively.
"People can be bad, I guess."
"Oh dear. I suppose I am a bad mage then."
"...You just have to be good to me."
At that, I laughed.
It was a bigger laugh than the one I had shown Kubel.
* * *
I squatted down and examined the armor that had encased Pelatz.
I intended to dismantle it piece by piece.
"You know how to take off armor too?"
Ellen was surprised by that.
"...What do you take me for?"
"No. But you're right."
I might not know how to put it on, but I get a feel for how to take it off just by looking.
A dull person might not, but I was quick on the uptake.
"Knowing how to do something and being proficient at it are different."
If it were the first time, I might have gotten stuck.
But my hands undid the armor without any hesitation.
It was not the skill of someone who had taken off armor once or twice.
I have never worn armor in the past.
I was not close with the Iagar knights either. Because knights are more sensitive to mages than servants are.
Ellen found that frustrating.
Pelatz. That bastard knew quite a lot about my past.
But he couldn't resolve Ellen's questions.
How did the once-weak Harad become so strong...
"I'm usually proficient at something after seeing it once. This isn't that difficult."
I nonchalantly undid the armor.
I took off the chainmail inside, and even the thick clothes inside that. Something came out from within those clothes.
It was a small crystal sphere.
"A communication sphere."
It was smaller than the Moon Tower's communication sphere that Cassion had given me.
The smaller it is, the shorter the communication distance becomes, I added.
"Each communication sphere has a different color."
The communication sphere Cassion had given me was a faint silver.
On the other hand, Pelatz's communication sphere was a murky greyish-white.
"I once found a communication sphere at the residence of Ios's colleague. It was the same color as this. Greyish-white is the color of the Ivory Tower."
The Rebellion faction of the Liberation Tower had secured a means of connecting with the Ivory Tower.
I smiled, as if satisfied.
It was a refreshing smile, as if I had finally solved a problem I couldn't solve.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I'm thinking of meeting the Grand Heir."
"Why?"
"To ask if he's had a dream."
"..."
A dream.
I was obsessed with dreams.
Such a Harad is not weak at all.
He resembles the Harad from the dreams.
Not the Grand Heir era Harad, but the Harad who had served Elaine when she became the Grand Duke.
"...Do you have dreams too?"
"Unfortunately, that's the wrong answer."
I smiled darkly.
Enigmatically.