Harun.
A gray city said to see rain or fog for 300 days out of the year.
The origin of its name comes from the lake located on the outskirts of the city of Harun.
Before the Empire was founded, its shores were also called the Lake of Death.
There were stories that an unidentified monster would appear on nights of the full moon, or that a fairy would emerge on the dark of the new moon.
The Lake of Mist, Lake Harun.
The small satellite city in the Magic Tower territory came to be called Harun after this lake.
The people of Harunsdel enjoyed setting boats afloat on this lake.
As if flaunting the power they had built upon what were now nothing more than vanished monsters and superstition.
…An antique ship.
Colorful magical lamps shimmered across the deck in a variety of hues.
I took the card.
Irina Rodnina Harunsdel
“Lady Irina. You’re confirmed.”
“……?”
“Is there anything else you require?”
I gave her a gentle smile. Irina’s light brown eyes wavered slightly.
“Do you not know who I am?”
“…Ah, ah! My apologies. You’re Sir Menemen’s younger sister. Forgive me. I was only recently hired. Please… pardon my mistake.”
I placed a hand over my chest and gave a slight bow.
“Aide Deran greets the First Daughter of Harunsdel.”
I took Irina’s hand and kissed the back of it. I could sense her faint disgust, but what could I do? I didn’t want to do it either.
“…Where should I go?”
“My apologies. If you would wait just a moment, I will escort you.”
I signaled to another staff member who had been watching us from the side and confirmed their nod.
“This way, my lady.”
I led her toward the stern of the ship. Not toward the towering structure rising above the deck, but closer to the waterline.
A place that required climbing down a ladder. I quietly opened the door.
“You may head down here.”
Creeeak…
“…I can’t imagine a regular council meeting being held in a place like this, Aide. What exactly are you thinking?”
“Well… it’s not so much about what I’m thinking.”
A low chuckle slipped out.
“Mmgh?!”
I grabbed Irina by the dress and yanked hard, forcing her mouth open. I shoved a pill inside her small mouth.
“I thought I’d give a sheltered young lady a taste of heaven.”
“Mmgh—! Cough, cough! Wh-What are you doing?! Wh-what did you make me swallow?!”
“Heh heh heh…”
I loosened my belt.
“…You… what are you… doing…”
“Curious about what you swallowed? Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
I pulled a small vial from inside my coat.
Written on it in tiny letters were the words:
Hidden Camera Big Success
“—Aureus. Double shot.”
Swoosh—!
A fourth-circle metal projectile spell.
In one swift motion, I fired the vial’s cap at the ones hiding and watching us.
“Ghk!!”
“Urk!!”
Two figures tumbled to the ground.
I walked over and ripped off their masks. I recognized their faces.
“So it’s the coachman from before… sneaky bastards.”
“…Didn’t you pull a little too hard? You stretched my dress out completely.”
Irina grumbled.
“I didn’t expect it not to have a collar.”
“…Are you making fun of me?”
“I’m saying I was caught off guard too.”
Irina let out a sigh, covering her chest. Thanks to the way I’d yanked it, the dress had become considerably more revealing.
“…For a second, I thought I’d been betrayed twice over. You’re annoyingly good at acting.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“…That wasn’t a compliment.”
That’s right.
Everything we had just done was an act to eliminate their surveillance.
“Take Irina down.”
We were putting on a show of faithfully following that order to reassure the enemy.
“Change your clothes first. And I forgot to ask… how good are you with a sword?”
“…About the level of an average academy student.”
“Even that genius swordswoman Camilla Bliss is an academy student. Have you manifested the color of your mana yet?”
“….”
Irina pressed her lips shut.
Of course she hadn’t.
Manifesting the color of one’s mana, the stage before forming the shape of sword aura.
No first-year could do that, and even among second-years, only a handful.
If I remembered correctly, even in third year it was only about three out of ten.
“Still, take this for now.”
I tossed her the gear the masked men had been wearing. I wasn’t sure if she could fit it under that dress, but it was better than nothing.
I started climbing down the ladder hatch I had opened earlier. Creak, creak… the rusted ladder swayed precariously.
“…What are you planning to do now?”
“Simple. There’s a control room down here that can shut off most of the ship’s lights. I’ll cut the magical lamps there, then crawl my way to the captain’s cabin.”
Cause chaos, then seize the helm while everyone’s distracted.
Hijacking 101.
In this case, maybe it’s more like “easy-jacking”.
“…Even if you call it a control room, it’s basically a mana tank. Security will be airtight.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll break through.”
“It’s not that easy—!”
“For me, it is.”
That much was obvious.
Mana tank or not….if it’s related to mana or magic in any way, if it falls under the domain of the Grand Magical System, it can’t escape my influence.
“This party isn’t just Harunsdel. Minor nobles from other houses are here too. It’s a social event as much as a meeting. We mess that up first.”
“…What do you want me to do?”
Irina asked without resistance.
At this point, instead of arguing common sense, she’d chosen to trust me.
As I continued descending, I answered,
“Fifteen minutes from now. After that, head to the meeting venue. The pill I slipped you when I kissed your hand…wait for your chance and throw it at Menemen’s shadow guard.”
“…That’s it?”
“Yeah. It’ll cause temporary paralysis on contact with skin. After that, run or do whatever you can.”
I’d climbed quite far down. Above me, Irina’s light brown hair was visible as a small glow of light.
She called out, her voice wavering in a way that didn’t suit her.
“…Th-Then what about you? You’ll be okay… right?!”
She looked uncharacteristically fragile, and I let out a quiet laugh.
“Irina. When this is all over, I’ll tell you something interesting.”
“…—!! ———!!!”
I couldn’t tell if my words reached her. Her voice had already faded beyond hearing.
Vrrrrr…
The hum of the engine, maybe. The strange vibration swallowed up any remaining sound.
“…Guess I’m at the bottom.”
The end of the ladder. The floor was still a bit of a drop.
I let go and jumped.
Thud!
***
“…Hoo.”
I took a breath.
The smell of oil. The scent of metal. And mixed in between them—
A faint sweetness.
The lingering trace of mana.
◆ [Shape Transformation] trait activated.
◆ Partial Manifestation (20%) – Demon of Justice and Execution
I shrugged off the stifling uniform. I tossed the jacket onto the floor and loosened the tie as well.
“Now I can finally breathe.”
It felt like I’d been wearing clothes that didn’t fit. Literally and figuratively.
I tied a band around my head. I slid a sheet of paper into it so that it covered my forehead and part of my face.
Carved into the paper were the same runes as last time.
“Let’s do this.”
Sss—
Hoo……
A searing heat coursed through my entire body, and I quietly raised my hand.
Below the ship’s cargo hold.
An underwater basement where only a faint red light glowed dimly.
I placed my hand on the metal pipe running along the wall.
◆ [Total Magical Structural Analysis] activated.
It was at that moment.
Wiiiiing……
Click.
The faint humming noise suddenly fell silent.
And the world changed.
***
“Captain. No issues so far.”
A passenger ship owned by Harunsdel.
A large ship with six floors, four grand staircases, three magical elevators, a gym, a swimming pool, a public bathhouse, and even its own carrier pigeon post office.
Despite having a hotel-class lineup that could generate enormous profits if operated as a cruise ship, Harunsdel used it exclusively for their own parties.
There couldn’t possibly be any problems.
The captain of the Encounter received the report indifferently.
“Yeah. Yawn…… Care to join a round?”
The captain spoke as he shuffled the playing cards at the poker table.
“Oh. Is that okay?”
“You’ve got the seniority, don’t you?”
“Haha. Then I’ll play just one round.”
A peaceful evening drifted by.
Unaware that someone had infiltrated their ship, they were busy drinking and playing cards.
Beep─
Then, an alarm sounded.
“What is it? Hey. Go check.”
“Uh…… It looks like there’s a leak in the mana system.”
“Yeah? That crap again. Leave it for ten minutes. If it’s still like that, have the rookie fix it.”
It was a common occurrence.
They had worked aboard the Encounter for over ten years.
Minor malfunctions in the mana system had happened time and time again.
The ship itself was old, so the waves distributed to each deck weren’t uniform.
Still, it was something that could be fixed with a minor manual adjustment.
A trivial issue.
…Or it should have been.
Beep─.
Beep, beep, beeeep─beep─
Beepbeepbeepbeeeep─!!!
Until the alarms began blaring in rapid succession.
“……”
“……”
“……”
An ominous silence settled over the poker table.
“…Hey. What is it?”
“…M-Mana leak…… Severe damage detected in the drive system!!!”
Crash!
The cup he had been drinking from fell to the floor. The captain rushed to the control panel, only to break into a cold sweat at the abnormal readings he saw.
“This is……”
“What the hell is this…?”
The captain’s lips trembled.
How was he even supposed to describe what he was seeing?
“…Someone is forcibly redirecting the mana bound for each deck… into the main drive system!!!!”
“What…?!”
If the mana supplying each deck had been cut off—
Then the upper floors right now… the lights, the elevators…
Were they all completely shut down?
Dizziness washed over him, and the captain shouted,
“…The broadcast system, turn on the ship-wide announcement right now!!!!”
“…I-It’s impossible!! The mana’s been cut off. The magical devices are dead!”
“Damn it. Go outside and bring in one of the standby mages!!! Anyone, hurry!!!”
But the commotion lasted only a moment.
Flicker.
The magical lights in the control room blinked—
And went out.
“Damn it. I can’t see a thing! ……I’ll start a headcount. Jack!!”
“Yes!”
“Alex!”
“Here, sir!”
“Jayden!”
“……”
“…Jayden! Jayden!! …Jayden?”
“……”
“Wh-What the hell.”
Tension thickened in the silence.
An unknown fear was tightening its grip around the crew.
“Jayden, Jayden! Answer me! Jayden!!”
The reply came from not far away.
Right beside his ear.
“—Looking for this?”
“……Huaaaaargh!!”
A man in a paper mask.
Adele Bliss let out a faint snicker.
Muttering, he shoved aside the crew member he had been holding.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be seeing Jayden very soon.”
Pop—
The passenger ship floating on Lake Harun.
All the bright lights shining from it went out.
As if the dazzling glow that had lit up the night lake so brilliantly had all been a lie,
Only darkness spread over the surface of the lake.
***
At the same time.
Awen, who had been picking up the refreshments on the table one by one, lifted her head.
“Huh? The lights went out.”
Seizing the moment, she began stuffing the snacks between her fingers.
She was planning to make up for what she hadn’t been able to eat while keeping up appearances before anyone noticed.
– Kyaaaaah……
– Aaaah—!!
“What’s with all the screaming? It’s just a little blackout.”
Come to think of it, something like this had happened once at Tane’s Robine dormitory.
Back then, it was because of the demon’s barrier that covered the Knight Department, and the third-years had been mobilized. It was complete chaos.
“……Huh?”
……Now that she thought about it, this felt similar to that time.
Did something happen?
Crunch.
Awen tilted her head as she chewed on a snack.
Leave a Reply