A Grand Dream (4)
"Day one is reconnaissance."
Officials headed for their nations' districts.
"Only one nation can be the leading country. There's no one right now who can propose an alliance."
Even if an allied bloc won the vote, the question of which nation would lead still remained.
"For priorities among allied nations to be decided, the balance of power has to tilt quite a bit."
At a point when friend and foe weren't yet sorted, no nation would willingly reach out.
As the officials' thoughts grew tangled, Uorin burst into the room and snapped, "What are you doing?!"
Kido watched, and Havitz lay sprawled on the bed, blinking.
"What?"
"You're starting a fight over Shirone. Did you forget the deal? The condition for handing over the world was—"
"You get Shirone."
Havitz sat bolt upright. "That's a good strategy. If Shirone accepts being mine, it's good for you too."
"You can't win someone's heart that way. Stick to the original plan. Stop going off course."
"You're the one going off course."
"What?"
Havitz pointed at Uorin. "The History Search. If Kashan becomes the leading nation, you can unify humanity into Ultima."
That was also why Uorin was certain Shirone would come to her.
"So what? I said I'd hand over the ability if I got what I wanted."
Among the lineage of Mitochondria Eve, only Uorin had futuresight.
When she looked at something, its future trajectories appeared as lines of light.
The apple she was looking at had a faint glow running along its surface. After a moment, a hand-shaped light linked to the apple's glow and sent the apple tumbling down.
"Honestly, it's nothing special," Havitz said, and Uorin turned her gaze.
"Seeing future movement—it's just prediction. That's easy."
Why futuresight was powerful.
"The real value kicks in when you close your eyes. That's the secret you tried to hide."
If Uorin saw nothing at all, the timeline could expand without bound.
"Because every signal is connected."
Havitz's fingertip; the table his finger touched; the floor the table rested on; the earth beneath that floor. If the trajectories of buildings on that land—the people, animals, plants—were all revealed as lines of light—
"You'd be ruling history. You could manipulate the variables that happen within it."
Havitz lifted the apple. "So, what do you think?"
A golden web of timelines trembled huge.
"If I drop this apple here, what will happen two hundred kilometers away?"
The apple rolled across the floor. Kido would pick it up; if it were mine, it would rot and the janitor would take it away. Of course, thrown into a trash bin, that apple would become food for insects...
If you sped up the timeline without end, the colony of insects would shift, producing biological changes on the order of ten thousand individuals...
"Stop."
Uorin shut the thought down.
The deeper you probe with futuresight, the more it expands—until the brain overloads.
"Impressive," Havitz said. Even without Uorin's explanation, he seemed to see everything as if tuned to divine frequency. "My petty act of dropping an apple ends up changing the history of insects. Feels godlike."
Uorin wrinkled her nose—because those insects could one day become humans.
"Seeing with the eyes has limits. History Search's radius is too vast. At best..." she trailed off. "You might find Ra Enemi."
"No, that's not right. Abilities have no limits. It's just that your brain is human."
Havitz paused. "I heard remnants of a Gaian brain remain..."
A murderous light flashed in Uorin's eyes and hot anger rose in her chest. "What are you trying to say?"
"Remember why I kept you alive. If I had to take it by force you'd kill yourself, so I had no choice but to go along with your wishes... But I wanted that ability that badly."
"If futuresight fell into Shirone's hands, I think I'd feel anger for the first time."
Havitz moved toward the door. "My way might be better. Think it over."
If he crossed out of Kashan's district there would be a commotion, but there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
When the door closed, Kido said, "I don't like this. It was an impossible deal from the start. That man is just using you because he covets your ability. If this keeps up—"
"Shut up."
Kido's eyes hardened. "Get a grip! Even if you could create Ultima, Shirone already loves someone!"
"Kido, please." Uorin slowly lifted her head. "Please... shut up."
Toward evening, Arakne's envoy delivered letters to each nation.
"A banquet. How fortunate," Lupist said, laying the letter on the table. Shirone lowered his eyes to read.
"Most will attend."
"Hmm. Now the groundwork that couldn't be done in meetings will start. They'll want to feel the atmosphere, so nobody will skip it. The problem is—"
Lupist pointed to the letter's final line. "'For the enjoyment of the banquet, entertainers from each nation are requested to attend and grace the occasion.' On the surface it might be a contest of cultural superiority, but—"
Albino said, "Night politics are about to begin. Arakne will launch a full beauty trap. I'm curious how potent it'll be. Why don't you experience it once? If you know the level, you can estimate how much information will leak from other countries."
When no one answered he shrugged. "I couldn't do it at my age anyway..."
"I'll decide based on the situation. The bigger issue is our entertainers. I'd like to keep them as reserved as possible."
He didn't say he'd protect them.
"If there's any impure intent mixed in I'll refuse. Do we really need to go that far?"
No one agreed with Shirone.
'Could it get worse than that?' It wasn't about liking it or not.
If everyone did it, Tormia would have no choice but to compete.
'But ignoring Shirone's wishes isn't good either. This is a mess.'
Lupist chose a middle path. "First we ask the entertainers what they want. Shirone, will you go and tell their leader?"
"Yes."
Shirone thought it best to persuade them himself.
"To the banquet?"
Shirone found the entertainers' lodging and relayed the letter to Ozent Reina. "It's probably not a pleasant place. It'll be crawling with greedy people."
"Likely." Reina nodded. "Okay. I'll get ready and go."
"Huh?" They'd expected her to refuse. "Are you sure? You know what kind of place it'll be."
"We can't just not go, can we? We're fighting for Tormia too, so we have to accept some of it. They'll probably expect Maya, and if things go wrong I'll step in and take control."
When Shirone hesitated, Reina smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. This happens often at the royal court. Trust me and leave it to me. But the problem is..." She glanced down the corridor. "I'm not sure about Kaden. If his hand moves regardless of his will—"
"I see." The banquet could turn into a mess.
Reina and Shirone went to Kaden's room and explained. "So please stay in your room for a bit—"
"No." Kaden was firm. "I won't let Maya go alone. I will protect her unconditionally. Let me go."
"Even if you say unconditionally..." Kaden knew he couldn't fully suppress the symptom that made his hand move on its own. "I won't bring the Black."
"It's a dangerous crowd. One small mistake could tarnish Tormia. So this time—"
"Please let me go with her."
When Reina turned, Maya stood among the entertainers. "If I don't go with Kaden, I won't go."
Shirone stepped forward. "Don't worry. I'm going to the banquet too, so nothing will happen."
Maya's chest swelled at the thought Shirone would protect her, but she shook her head. "No, I appreciate the sentiment, but... I want to go with Kaden. I won't feel safe otherwise."
'Maya.' Kaden's expression went blank. He wasn't foolish—he understood what drove her words.
'She's trying hard.'
She was desperately struggling to keep her promise to forget Shirone.
Kaden stepped forward. "I swear. I will never make a mistake. Please let me go."
His resolve was stronger than ever; he glared icily at his right arm. 'You know your own body, right? If you make a mistake this time, I'll really cut you off.' The right arm didn't respond.
When they arrived at the banquet hall, easily two hundred people were chatting. Among such global figures, the entertainers grew tense.
"Tormia's turn is last. Entertainers, please enjoy yourselves and come when you're summoned."
The ten minutes taken to decide how to handle Kaden had pushed their turn to the end.
'Remarkably agile.' This was no time for indulgence.
The stately atmosphere grew overheated as alcohol flowed, and some figures stood out.
"Puhahaha! Yes, yes! As expected, Rubian is the best for drinks. Isn't that so?" Prince Marcus of Eiron bellowed.
In his early thirties and a notorious womanizer, he openly scanned the women in the hall.
"Heh heh, so that's why I—huh?" Mid-sentence his gaze swept the room and froze on Maya.
"Oh?" Because she had once been with a Valkyrie troupe, most people recognized Maya. "A famous guest has arrived." Marcus grabbed another cup and strode over to her.
"You're the mysterious Maya, right?" His voice was smooth, but his eyes, loosened by drink, were menacing. "I'm Prince Marcus, first prince of Eiron."
The weight of his title felt heavier than expected, and Maya involuntarily shrank. "I'm Maya. It's an honor to meet you."
She extended her hand; Marcus's fingers curled around it like a snake. "Hoho, your skin is so soft..." Just as he was about to make an indecent joke, a terrifying look rose on Kaden's face.
"What are you?" Because it had been expected, Maya explained calmly. "He's my bodyguard. Kaden, greet him."
"Bodyguard?" One thing she hadn't expected was that this place didn't follow common decency. "How off-putting. Is that all Tormia has? An entertainer's bodyguard glaring at a prince."
There was no point arguing right and wrong. If Kaden subdued Marcus, they'd instantly add Eiron to their list of enemies.
'Hold back, Kaden. Starting a row with Eiron already would only please the other nations.' Harsh reality.
Under the officials' serpentine gazes, Kaden had to choose. He couldn't disappoint Maya, so he bowed his head. "Forgive my rudeness—"
And at that moment, Kaden saw his right hand racing upward at incredible speed.