novelraw Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104 : Chapter 104
Chapter 104: Roberta Sinclair's Mischief (3)
The professor's meeting room of Cia-Harphe Academy.
As a vague silence surrounded the circular hall,
[So…….]
Konstanze opened her mouth.
[Professor Argento, you're in quite a state.]
Konstanze's gaze turned to the center of the circular hall.
Students, including Abel, were standing there. Abel, who stood at the forefront, looked particularly disheveled. A face smeared with sewage, formal robes torn like a rag. Was he all right for someone who fell from the main building's rooftop? Not a single wound. Konstanze thought, adjusting her glasses.
[Testify as the supervising professor. Why did Miss Sinclair cause such an incident?]
“It was to prove her capabilities.”
Abel answered in a stoic tone.
He turned his back for a moment to look at the students. Demian reeked of cat urine, and Ernst was soaked in the scent of a notoriously foul-smelling fruit. Monika and Lizer were just clutching their noses and staring into the distance. Roberta was merely bowing her head in silence.
“Roberta Sinclair wished to participate in the practical evaluation. Although she was met with her father's opposition, she planned this incident to prove that she possessed sufficient capabilities.”
“Ha! How absurd.”
Meanwhile, Curtis, who was sitting in a corner, opened his mouth.
His daughter was staging a protest. He had come running after receiving a letter with that news. He couldn't hide his anger as he had a mountain of contracts to deal with immediately. Numerous tasks were being held up due to Roberta's mischief.
“Answer me, professor. The practical evaluation requires the consent of the student, the professor, and also the parent to be taken. I clearly opposed it, and Roberta was just throwing a tantrum. Am I wrong?”
“You are not wrong.”
Abel answered without hesitation.
Curtis was right. He had exercised his legitimate authority within the institutionalized policy. Curtis was wary of the dangers of the practical evaluation and had disallowed her participation based on Roberta's age and skill. There was nothing else Abel could say. Whatever he said would only be illogical.
“You speak, Roberta.”
Thus, Abel pointed to Roberta.
Because if anyone could make an illogical plea, it would only be her own flesh and blood.
[That's right. Speak for yourself, Miss Sinclair.]
Konstanze seconded Abel.
It was because she was curious. The practical evaluation was one of the curriculums that students avoided, so for what reason did she so fervently wish to participate? It couldn't be that she was short on graduation credits…….
“Roberta, thanks to you, I’ve started to dislike cats a little.”
“Forget it. I don't need an apology, so just let me know the reason.”
Demian and Ernst also chimed in,
- Indeed, Roberta Sinclair. As for the trouble you've caused, you just need to receive a fitting punishment. Now is the time for an explanation.
- I still can't forgive you for releasing a swarm of toads in the lab……, but we want to know the cause of your mischief.
The professors also demanded an explanation through the mouths of their familiars, and,
“Fine! Let's hear it.”
Curtis opened his mouth with his arms crossed.
“What's making you so upset? You are still young, and at the same time, immature. I could tell just by looking at the mess you've made today. How do you intend to prove your skills by just pulling a bunch of pranks?”
“I……”
Roberta's gaze shifted towards Curtis.
I, she said. She opened her mouth bravely but found it hard to continue. As Curtis said, all of Roberta's actions were pranks. Even if they had crossed a line, they were nothing more than mischief. Everyone was displeased, but no one was hurt; there were numerous areas to clean up, but nothing was damaged.
But, for that very reason,
“……It's political.”
Roberta said to everyone.
That her pranks were indeed political.
“CIAR is the empire's finest educational institution.”
Roberta took a step forward.
“That is why it teaches. How to handle weapons, the knowledge to cast various spells. They are all studies intended for practical application. But I wanted to prove something.”
It's not just weapons that can be made from iron.
It's not just killing that can be achieved through magic.
War is a series of madness wrought through weapons and spells. Some interpret war as being in touch with the very nature of creation. If so, is Cia-Harphe Academy, this place called the empire's finest educational institution, a place that teaches the madness wrought from instinct? I don't know. I don't know, but,
I can prove that it's possible to play pranks.
“I know how to make weapons. I know how to cast magic too. I also know how to combine and apply both fields. I don't play pranks because I lack skill. I've been playing pranks because I have sufficient skill.”
To insist that such things are also possible.
Just as there exist traps that can be laughed off,
To inform that there are also valid spells that only inflict a sense of humiliation, like losing a game.
Both weapons and magic can be made light. Or rather, they must become light. One day, they ought to be treated as playthings.
Roberta had intended to preach so. Just as a mural containing political discourse is scribbled in some back alley, Roberta had intended to express her anti-war principles in the most avant-garde manner.
“That's right. I am an anti-war advocate.”
At Roberta's declaration, Curtis's eyes twitched slightly.
“I am the daughter of a family that sells and develops weapons, but I've thought about it all my life since I was young. That if I were to inherit the Sinclair family, I would no longer trade weapons. I wouldn't make them. Instead, I would make and sell toys.”
But……, she said.
Roberta trailed off.
“Have you come to the conclusion that it sounds like a delusion.”
Abel asked.
Looking back at Roberta.
“……Yes. Because I still don't know reality. I was just thinking things over in a comfortable place. So I have to face reality and then solidify my conclusion.”
[What is the reality that you think of, Miss Sinclair?]
Konstanze asked.
In a cautious tone, resting her chin on her hand.
“A place where the horrors of the Mirror War have yet to be dealt with. Or a place where monster invasions are frequent. Or a place that is underdeveloped like the capital's slums……. I think reality exists in such places.”
“I agree. You're right, Roberta.”
Demian nodded.
“A few days ago, I visited the slums with Professor Argento. I also felt that I knew too little about reality.”
“Well, for a kid, you seem to have had some admirable thoughts……”
Ernst tilted his head.
“It seems you're prepared to see the deaths of others, so I won't argue. But have you ever thought about the possibility of you dying?”
“Yes, Roberta. You too can be in danger at any time.”
Monika said in a low voice.
“I respect your desire to face reality. But I lost my parents during the war. That's why I can say with confidence, human life is truly fragile. You are no exception.”
“It seems you already know that fact well enough?”
Lizer shrugged his shoulders.
“Roberta, didn't you almost die when you were young?”
I can feel the smell of explosives, the sound of bombing, the sensation of fear.
Lizer muttered so, and,
“That’s right.”
Roberta nodded.
“I almost died when I was young.”
“That……”
Curtis groaned.
Did she remember everything? It must have happened when she was only four or five.
A brief thought passed through Curtis's mind. The carpet bombing they had been swept up in during the evacuation. ‘Heaven's Footprint’, which was merely a reconnaissance aircraft, had shaken the battlefield with the power of the Sinclair family's explosives. It must have come as a shock to the young Roberta.
“Even so, that was a long time ago, Roberta. Hasn't the Mirror War already ended? You are blessed. An era as peaceful as this is rare. Forget about reality and whatnot, you just need to graduate safely……”
“It's not over.”
To Curtis's words, Roberta answered curtly.
“You know it too, Dad. Peace is just an illusion.”
“I……”
Curtis let out a sigh.
He knew well enough that peace was an illusion. Where else could there be such a deceitful word? If a section of an era was recorded as peaceful, it would only mean that the distinction between those who could not possibly be at peace and those who could barely be at peace was clear. Curtis affirmed the current era as someone belonging to the latter.
He had finally become safe thanks to selling off weapons,
And now, was his daughter trying to face danger because he had sold off weapons? This is impossible.
Curtis smiled bitterly.
“Finally, I will state my opinion.”
Meanwhile, Abel stood beside Roberta.
He looked down at Roberta and nodded once.
“I believe Roberta is a student with outstanding talent. Lord Curtis seems to look down on Roberta's pranks, but as someone who has experienced them firsthand, I can say that she employs quite sophisticated techniques.”
Clap, clap, it went.
Roberta clapped her hands twice.
It was the signal to open her pocket plain.
A mechanical device was now placed beside Roberta. An object shaped like a square. It was the tool she had used to confront Abel on the rooftop of the main building.
“Introduce it to everyone, Roberta.”
At Abel's suggestion,
“This guy's name is Mechanical Slime No. 3.”
Roberta lifted the hem of her cloak and opened her mouth.
“No. 1 exploded while I was making it, and I don't know where No. 2 went. Anyway, I will explain. A slime is a monster that changes its form to react to various situations……”
As Roberta continued to speak,
The form of Mechanical Slime No. 3 gradually changed.
“……I was inspired by that to create it.”
A shield shaped like an umbrella, a weapon in the form of a long spear, and finally, the aspect of a cannon that supported automated shelling.
Mechanical Slime No. 3 could transform into forms optimized for defense, combat, and support, and at the time she confronted Abel, it had only been operating for support purposes. It could directly defend the user depending on the situation, and it was also possible to engage in combat while holding it.
“To introduce one of its functions……”
Roberta stroked the surface of Mechanical Slime No. 3.
Soon, a cannon barrel was revealed. Mechanical Slime No. 3, completed in the form of a cannon, tilted its barrel towards the glass ceiling of the professor's meeting room.
[Excuse me, just a moment. Are you about to fire a cannon right now?]
“That is correct, Vice President. I request a defensive spell.”
As Abel answered Konstanze's question,
──*Kwaang!*
A projectile that soared with a roar.
It was different from the one that had been shot at Abel.
It was a proper incendiary shell. The incendiary shell, fired without separate loading, flew flamboyantly, and Konstanze, startled, brandished her magic wand. The incendiary shell, shrunk by the command of the magic wand, soon disappeared, and,
“It can create and fire projectiles through divine magic. There's no need to load them separately. It's also possible to create other projectiles besides incendiary shells.”
Roberta finished her explanation, staring at Curtis.
“How about it, Lord Curtis.”
Abel opened his mouth in a stoic tone.
“Roberta is a student with sufficient talent. Would you not reconsider her participation in the practical evaluation.”
“──Hah.”
Curtis just laughed.
Several emotions swirled unresolved.
When did she become able to create such a thing? When did she become染d with an ideology like anti-war-ism, and when did she start acting out, saying she would face reality?
“Fine……”
It wasn't that he was particularly impressed. If asked to point out the problems with the tool Roberta had created, Curtis could easily spot its flaws. If asked to negate her ideology, he could negate her ideology. If asked to laugh at her resolve to face reality, Curtis could laugh louder than anyone and mock his daughter's will.
But if he were told to forbid all of it,
“……Do as you please.”
There was nothing else Curtis could say.
“I will follow Roberta's will.”