[349] A Swordsman's Conviction (1)
Shirone arrived in Vashka, the capital of Tormia.
He couldn't take his eyes off the view framed by the carriage window. The streets were neatly paved, and people's clothes were flamboyant, as if everyone wanted to show off their individuality.
As they entered the main avenue, buildings rose so high they seemed to pierce the sky. Shirone checked the names of institutions he'd only read about in books, one after another.
The Alchemy Foundation, the Swordmasters' Association, the Supreme Court.
At the last stop stood the storied building of the Magic Association.
The eighteen-story structure might as well have been a tower. Even the first floor alone could easily contain several noble townhouses.
Tilting his head back to find the top, Shirone had to shield his eyes from the reflected sunlight. The entire façade shone like glass; he couldn't bring himself to stare for long.
"Let's go in. This is the Magic Association."
Gangnan, having paid the coachman, passed Shirone and said it as he walked by.
When they reached the entrance, the guards turned to Gangnan and bowed a full ninety degrees. As if they were the gatekeepers of the Magic Association itself, even the guards carried themselves with extreme formality.
But Shirone already knew everyone who worked here was a mage.
This was the holy place of the magic world—only those acknowledged as the strongest of their class, regardless of rank, were allowed in.
Unfamiliar with revolving doors, Shirone looked up and hurried in small steps. He was nearly bounced along by the glass as he reached the hall. At the central reception desk, a clerk smiled and directed nobles to their departments.
Gangnan headed to the elevator bay not far from the entrance. Glass-enclosed, capsule-style lifts rose and fell without pause inside transparent tubes.
'They run on air pressure. Convenient,' he thought.
Gangnan checked which floors the lifts were stopping on, then frowned and chose the stairs. Shirone, disappointed, reluctantly followed.
The staircase was wide enough for twenty people to walk side by side. There were four landings and the stairs spiraled like a helix.
On the third floor, the view opened to a plain stretch of corridors and offices.
Beside an office labeled Outsider Management stood a young woman.
She was Ravid Plu, administrator of the third floor of the Magic Association's security department.
She was shorter than average, with blue-streaked hair down to her waist. Her skin was pale and her lips crimson; from a distance she looked severe, but up close that tart expression wasn't an ugly face at all.
She had a magic staff gripped in both hands, propped against her hip. The shaft was thin, the tip adorned with an ornate phoenix motif and set with a large crystal orb.
Plu stepped forward to greet Gangnan.
"Hello, Chief Secretary. Did the dispatch go smoothly?"
"So-so. And the Association Director?"
"He left this morning and is currently out."
Gangnan pinched one eye in annoyance.
"Where did he go?"
"I'm not sure. I heard it would take about three days."
"Damn it, of all days—"
Gangnan's mission didn't have a strict deadline, so there wasn't much to be done.
He couldn't make Shirone, who'd come up from the provinces, wait indefinitely. While he mulled this, Plu pointed at Shirone and asked,
"But this boy…?"
"Oh, he's a guest of the Director. That's awkward. Shirone won't have a proper place to stay."
"A guest?"
Plu looked at Shirone in disbelief.
In the two years Plu had worked at the Association, few visitors had slipped into Gaold's private audience so quietly. Most were top envoys from other nations or high-ranking politicians whose names alone made people tremble; the whole Association would be cleaned and dedicated cooks hired in anticipation.
'Could he be—?'
One thought flashed through Plu's mind.
Maybe he's connected to the project. Just seeing Gangnan ask Gaold's whereabouts so quietly made it feel like they were trying to avoid other departments' attention.
'No way. How could someone so young be part of the project?'
Even Plu, who claimed to be among the rare few of Gaold's inner guards in the Association, was at most on that project's outer edge.
Under those circumstances, a boy younger than her assisting Gaold was impossible.
'Who is he, then? A relative of the Director?'
In any case, Shirone's first impression left a bad taste.
Those who followed the eccentric Gaold tended to share one trait: they wanted his recognition. Plu felt an inexplicable sense of rivalry toward a boy who had come to see the Director as a guest—someone who might get the private audience she herself couldn't.
Gangnan, arranging the schedule, spoke to Shirone.
"Shirone, why don't you stay here for a while? I have to head out. Plu, can you look after Shirone until the Director returns?"
"Ah, of course—"
Just as Plu began to answer, Shirone turned to Gangnan and said,
"Um, could I step out for a bit?"
"Hm? Where to?"
"I have a friend in the capital. I'll stay there for a while and come back."
Gangnan hummed and considered.
It would be best for Shirone to stay at the Association, but slipping him out wouldn't necessarily be a bad plan. It would keep him out of other departments' sight.
"All right, then go. But keep it secure."
"Yes, you don't need to worry."
Plu, having overheard, grew more suspicious.
Gangnan was easygoing except when dealing with Gaold, but at work he was meticulous. A private audience with the Director was no ordinary matter. Plu couldn't fathom what Gangnan trusted in a boy not yet twenty to rely on for security.
'Is he royalty or something? Who would request a personal favor from the Association's Chief Secretary?'
Contrary to Plu's worries, Gangnan didn't seem overly concerned. Whatever two people knew wasn't necessarily a secret. He'd followed orders to bring Shirone—what came next was Gaold's responsibility.
"When you're done, come back here. Be back within three days. When you arrive at the Association, find Plu."
Gangnan also told Plu, "Plu, when Shirone returns, take him directly to the Director. Preferably somewhere quiet. I'll handle things, but in case I'm not around—"
Plu bowed politely.
"Understood."
She ran through possibilities in her head.
'Shirone? Then he's not royalty. The name rings a bell. Where have I heard it?'
Something tugged at the edge of her memory, but it was still hazy.
Gangnan placed his palm on Shirone's back and turned.
"Come on, I'll see you out. I'll walk you to the gates."
Shirone glanced between Gangnan and Plu, then hurriedly bowed.
"Ah, yes. Goodbye."
Plu nodded once and watched Shirone with sharp eyes.
The name was familiar; she simply couldn't place it because they'd never met.
'Well, I'll look into it later.'
Plu waited in the corridor until Gangnan disappeared, then quickly turned away.
* * *
Stepping through the revolving doors, Shirone found himself back on the golden, shimmering avenue and felt anew that he was in Vashka.
Gangnan checked the time and pursed his lips.
"Sorry, I've got more work. Do you know where your friend's place is? Can you find it alone?"
"Yes. I know the address. I'll ask around. If I can't, I'll take a carriage."
"Good. See you in three days."
Gangnan turned on his heel and left.
He wasn't really worried. It was absurd to think the kingdom's top aspiring mage couldn't find a single street.
Gangnan raised his hand at the main road and a luxury carriage stopped immediately. When the door opened, a mustachioed gentleman and an elderly woman were already seated. Gangnan climbed in without hesitation and the carriage pulled away.
Shirone waited, then flagged the next carriage. A carriage giving off a blue glow pulled up.
When he opened the door, a girl with dimples looked over and smiled.
"Uh... hello."
Shirone was taken aback.
In Vashka, sharing a carriage with strangers was normal, but being trapped in a small space with people he didn't know felt foreign to him. It was even stranger that the person sharing the ride was a girl his age.
"Come on in. Where are you headed?"
"Oh, toward the palace."
"Perfect. We won't have to detour."
Shirone climbed in and sat across from her. After telling the coachman the location and turning back, the girl covered her mouth and laughed with a wink.
"Why so nervous?"
"You're not from the capital, are you?"
"Oh, am I that obvious?"
"People from Vashka never seem fazed when sharing a carriage. Don't take it the wrong way—I'm not saying you're provincial. On the contrary, you're actually really cool."
Shirone flushed and bowed his head. He'd never quite adjusted to this kind of banter, even back in Marsha.
The girl, however, chatted as if it were perfectly ordinary.
She was twenty and studying for the diplomatic exams. She had two boyfriends—one younger and one a twenty-eight-year-old businessman.
Shirone let her chatter wash over him.
Once during the ride she hinted about meeting up separately, but when his attention wavered she laughed it off and didn't press.
"Well then, take care. Nice meeting you."
"Yes. Goodbye."
When the carriage left and Shirone was left on the roadside, he looked worn out after just thirty minutes.
It wasn't only the girl's talkative nature—he'd taken a real cultural hit. The capital didn't make everyone the same, but now he understood where Dante's freewheeling mindset might come from.
"Ugh, my head already hurts. The capital is definitely different."
Shirone entered an upscale residential district.
Reina's house stood where the Res Mountains ran like rapids and the palace spires were visible. Smaller than the main family estate but still luxurious, it fit its neighborhood.
"Well, Reina is a court musician, after all."
As he reached the front gate, the retainers who had accompanied him to Kazra recognized Shirone.
"Oh? Isn't this Lord Shirone? What brings you here?"
"How have you been? I'm here to see Rian. The swordsmanship school is on break, after all."
"Well, yes, but—"
They trailed off oddly.
The retainers exchanged glances and, deciding it wasn't right to leave him standing, one of them turned away.
"Please wait a moment. We'll be right back."
As a guest of the Ozent family, it would be improper to keep him at the gate. Shirone wasn't offended, but he couldn't shake the sense that something was off.
The butler-in-chief, Lewis, came out of the house. His intelligent gaze that had once unnerved Shirone was the same, but now he greeted him with a welcoming smile.
"Welcome. It's the first time since Kazra, isn't it?"
"Yes. I was very grateful back then. But you're here now?"
"Because our elders serve at the court, we come and go from the main house often. Come inside."
Shirone followed Lewis and asked,
"Is something wrong? The atmosphere felt strange."
"Well... you'll see once you're inside."
Reina's house was much larger on the inside than it appeared from the street.
Two women stood in front of the door to Klump's room—one was Reina, and the other was an unexpected face.
"Oh?"
"Shirone!"
Tess, her face wet with tears moments before, brightened and ran up, punching Shirone's shoulder with both fists as she shouted.
"What, what, what? How did you get here?"
Shirone greeted Reina first, then turned to Tess.
"Haha! I had some business in the capital and wanted to see Rian. Did school finish all right?"
"Well, it's... actually—"
By now Shirone was starting to feel frustrated.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Reina said with a serious expression.
"Rian dropped out of school."
"What? He dropped out?"