Chapter 34: The Judge Part 2

Emily Robinhood couldn’t understand the emotions of ordinary people.

Even so, she acknowledged that others were different from herself and made an effort to learn how to be considerate toward them.

That’s why she ended up acting like that.

It was probably Stan Robinhood’s doing. Since she was his younger sister, he had spoiled her endlessly, always calling her cute and pretty. No wonder she turned out like this.

Proper family education was truly important.

“……?”

Emily tilted her head as if she found the situation strange. She maintained the finger heart with stubborn determination, like someone completely incapable of feeling even a shred of shame.

At this point, I was the one who felt embarrassed.

“That’s enough. You can stop now.”

“Yes.”

At my words, Emily obediently lowered her fingers that had been making the heart.

Then she returned to drinking her bubble tea as if nothing had happened.

At least now I understood how the situation had gotten to this point.

“Emily, why are you trying to get on my good side?”

“……”

Emily remained expressionless.

But strangely enough, I could still tell what she was thinking.

She was a rare kind these days.

Lately, I’d been suffocating, constantly dealing with experts in psychological warfare. Compared to them, she was practically innocent.

“I wanted to gain your favor.”

“Why?”

“……”

She didn’t say anything, but it was clear that she had some kind of request.

And that request likely had something to do with the work I’d be doing going forward.

I could guess what it was. Her strange behavior had made it impossible not to.

Emily had looked at my research and given me appropriate advice.

That was her own way of showing kindness.

However, there was something she hadn’t expected—

That I had gotten closer to the truth even faster than she expected.

She must have changed her thinking after seeing me approach Tillis.

After all, she had only seen me as an ordinary person.

Well then, let’s try probing a little.

Since she wore her personality openly, there was a lot I could potentially gain.

“According to Professor Georg’s research, the metal that makes up Ex Machina’s mechanical devices was concluded to be ordinary iron.”

“Yes.”

“I’m not entirely sure, but based on the structure of the mechanical device, ordinary iron obviously wouldn’t be able to withstand the strain, which must be why the other researchers pressured Professor Georg.”

“That’s correct.”

“But it really was just iron, wasn’t it?”

“……”

Judging by her expression, I was right.

“It must have been a result of some external factor, not technology, acting on ordinary iron.”

“If it’s magic engineering…”

“If it were magic engineering, then there would’ve been a corresponding device from the start. But since there wasn’t, they must’ve started doubting the metal’s properties themselves, right?”

“…Yes.”

Before she could even finish her excuse, I shut it down at the source, and Emily drooped like a puppy caught in the rain.

Her expression remained blank, but her thoughts were strangely easy to read.

“If it was an external factor, what could it be? An awakened ability? No, awakened abilities originate from the person. Even if one could be applied to an external device, maintaining it for a long period would be impossible.”

“……”

So it wasn’t magic or awakened abilities.

But there were all kinds of abilities in this world.

Awakened abilities and magic. Abilities that manifested upon reaching a certain level in martial arts.

And then there was divine power that was currently wielded only by a few priests and paladins who had been baptized by Kult.

And then…

“Demonic power.”

There were entities that could even stop time.

That premise alone explained most of the unanswered questions. A researcher from Ex Machina who held a grudge against Tillis.

If the grudge was deep enough, they must’ve faced a truly desperate situation. And that kind of negative emotion would’ve been more than enough to summon a demon.

In Tillis’s words, they “called forth something they shouldn’t have.”

“Just because they’re an Ex Machina researcher doesn’t mean they can’t make a deal with a demon.”

Ex Machina and Lemegeton.

They’re such massive organizations that it’s hard to imagine someone having ties to both.

But strictly speaking, Lemegeton wasn’t an organization.

It was more like a qualification.

“You’re amazing, Johan.”

“I tend to be.”

Emily looked up at me with her usual indifferent face.

But of course, I could tell she genuinely meant it.

Well, naturally.

Anyone else might’ve noticed that Ex Machina was targeting Tillis. But guessing that a demon was involved? That would’ve been nearly impossible.

But I was different.

Because I knew what Tillis really was. Demons might not be common, but when it came to her, it was a different story.

She drew them in.

She deliberately fuels cycles of hatred, pushing depraved criminals to form contracts with demons.

So, now we’ve figured out that the one targeting Tillis from Ex Machina was a demon contractor.

Then the question was…who?

Honestly, just getting this far would’ve been a satisfactory result.

But surprisingly, I found out who it was.

“Coran Lekias. The one who planned all this from Ex Machina….isn’t it him?”

“……!”

For the first time, Emily’s usually indifferent expression broke.

In fact, it was something she had told me herself. I had found out thanks to her carelessness.

Why else would she have tried to get on my good side in the first place?

She was the one who gave me the clue. And now, that same person was sending me a signal, asking for help.

It wasn’t just to expose a traitor that she leaked the information.

She simply knew because she was close to him.

“You thought I’d be able to help Coran Lekias.”

“…Yes.”

Emily, who had been staring at me in shock, soon admitted it without resistance.

It seemed she too had realized the mistake she made out of impatience.

If she hadn’t told me, I never would’ve figured out that Coran Lekias was part of Ex Machina.

After all, wasn’t he already someone with the respectable position of Head of the Imperial Technology Research Department?

Now that I thought about it, there were definitely some odd parts. I had just failed to notice them earlier.

“Ha! No wonder his timing was always so perfect.”

When Ariel tried to destroy the mechanical device, Coran Lekias was the first to appear and stop her.

With Ariel’s skills, she could’ve turned that machine into dust in under a minute.

He must’ve been watching from a distance and jumped in at the right moment.

“You two must be close.”

Master and disciple. That kind of relationship was more than enough justification.

Even if she was emotionally distant from the average person, it didn’t mean she had no emotions at all. She could have felt compassion.

And even if not, she must’ve had some purpose for working under Coran Lekias as his student.

“Master sees me as his dead granddaughter. He’s a pitiful man. That’s why I want to help him.”

“…So it’s sympathy.”

“Is that strange?”

“No, nothing strange about that.”

It was a simple reason.

She said that she wanted to support my research and that she felt sorry for Coran Lekias.

Even if she had emotions that were out of touch with ordinary people, this moment showed just how kind-hearted she truly was.

Well, maybe because she had spent all her time cooped up doing research, her way of handling things felt a bit clumsy.

If she had designed it more carefully, wouldn’t there have been no chance of me catching on?

“Just so you know, there’s not much I can help with.”

“Isn’t there anything you could do?”

It seemed Emily had higher expectations of me than I’d thought.

No—before that, wasn’t she just too quick to trust people?

What exactly did she think I could do?

“If Master dies, it’ll be hard for Johan’s experiment to succeed too, right?”

“That’s true.”

So she did have her own thoughts about it. Right, this was a situation where I had to cooperate. Even for my own sake.

If Coran Lekias died, I wouldn’t be able to borrow the power of the demon he had made a contract with.

Not that I could make a contract with that demon myself, anyway…

“Still, don’t you think if I’m giving something, I should get something in return? For the sake of a smooth plan, I mean.”

You know, that.

Emily, after all, was a high-ranking member of Ex Machina.

There might be some powerful mechanical device even someone as useless as me could put to use.

While she was at it, couldn’t she just give me one amazing self-defense gadget?

“……”

Emily tilted her head.

Was what I said too difficult?

Or maybe even now she still didn’t want to admit that she was part of Ex Machina?

“Ah!”

It seemed Emily had simply been slow to react, as she nodded belatedly.

And then…

“Please help me, big brother Johan♡”

“I’ve been meaning to ask. What the hell is that supposed to be?”

“I’m acting cute.”

“Wow, you’re really something else.”

Just like before, Emily formed a heart with her fingers.

At this point, it was clear what kind of state the Robinhood family was in.

With someone like Stan Robinhood who was Lobelia’s closest aide raising Emily that way, even if Lobelia became emperor, the empire probably wouldn’t run smoothly.

***

In the end, I brought up Emily’s identity as I made my demand.

Yes, I boldly asked her to give me something that could help in combat.

Even though her identity had been exposed, Emily didn’t seem particularly surprised. She just looked at me with an expression that said, “Why would you even need that?”

Once again, it said everything about the state of the Robinhood family.

She didn’t even seem to realize that being a member of Ex Machina could be a problem.

I couldn’t tell if it was because her genius gave her a different perspective or if she was just that naive.

“Haah… Well, since I agreed to cooperate, I guess we should start by gathering information.”

Honestly, no matter what plan I came up with, the chances of success were slim.

Unless Coran Lekias completely gave up on the attack, there was no way I could survive under the condition of having to face Tillis.

She was a true monster.

There was only one way to deal with someone like her, armed with strong convictions and a black-and-white logic full of contradictions. That was to not do anything that would get her attention.

Still, I said I would cooperate, and if Coran Lekias died, my experiment would be put on indefinite hold.

I had to try something. Anything.

“Yuna.”

I called Yuna, just like always.

First, I needed to dig up some information.

With her abilities, she would’ve been able to extract some decent information.

“Yuna?”

But unlike usual, no matter how many times I called her, there was no response.

I didn’t expect her to always be nearby, but she usually answered right away when I called, so something felt off.

“Should I try calling her again later?”

In the end, I turned my attention to other matters first. I looked for Yuna occasionally throughout the day, but she never responded to me even once.

And by that point, I couldn’t help but sense that something was wrong.

“Ah…”

It had been a whirlwind of a day.

As a result, I realized I had forgotten one critical issue.

Am I being watched right now?

Tillis had implanted a suggestion in me, and now she was probably lingering around to observe the results.

She was likely watching, hoping to see me spiral into a pit of corruption.

It was because I had shown her how desperate I was.

I’ve really shot myself in the foot.

If Tillis was hanging around me, then Yuna wouldn’t be able to come.

She’d already been exposed to Tillis once, so she would be doing everything she could to stay away from her.

Which meant she couldn’t come anywhere near me.

Hmm…

Tillis had her sights set on me, but she wouldn’t act until I’d been clearly defined as black or white.

She was the complete opposite of Kult.

Kult was always calculating.

He was a shadowy figure who adapted his tactics to the situation as needed.

But Tillis wasn’t like that.

If it was evil, she killed it. If it was good, she helped it.

There wouldn’t be any intervention until I, who was precariously balanced in gray, leaned to one side.

She would just keep watching.

I feel like… there might be a way to use this somehow…

Tillis lingered around me.

Coran Lekias was lying in wait, keeping a close eye out for any opening in Tillis’s defenses.

And that could only mean one thing.

Doesn’t that mean I could actually position them to fight each other?

Ha! Unbelievable…

It was the perfect setup for stirring up trouble.

***

In my past life, there was a saying: “When whales fight, the shrimp’s back gets broken.”

It means you end up unfairly crushed between powers way beyond your control.

That’s exactly what my situation had been like so far.

As an ordinary, decent citizen, all I could do was shed tears and beg for mercy under relentless and unreasonable attacks.

But now? Things were different.

Once just a powerless shrimp, I had ended up in a position where I could make the whales clash.

And it just so happened that I was starting to feel the weight of all that injustice.

“Ah! Senior! It’s been a while! Have you been well?”

“Yes, Dietrich. Actually, I heard you’re close with that Mr. Kult who visited before?”

“Oh! Yes! He’s a dear friend of mine!”

“Would you mind arranging a meeting for me? There’s something I’d like to discuss, and I think it would be helpful to get his perspective.”

“Of course! I’m sure Kult would be more than happy to agree!”

“Thank you.”

Let’s throw one more whale into the mix.