Chain Reaction (3)
The officials gathered at the Holy Synod launched an unprecedentedly unified assault on the Paras Kingdom.
"A pyramid has been erected in the Iron Kingdom as well. This is a clear violation of another nation's sovereignty!"
King Kitra kept his mouth shut.
'He won't tell them.'
Shirone knew that the most powerful language was silence.
'They just want a reason to pass judgment. If he doesn't answer, the initiative won't shift.'
Balkan was among the few who thought the same.
'Where's Havitz?'
If he had activated Vanishing, he would have been struck by the Pope's presence a moment ago.
'Pope Constantin is real. His divine power could stun even a high-ranking demon.'
Of course, Satan was on a different scale.
'Two possibilities. Either something more interesting than the pyramids has happened… or Havitz has weakened.'
In practice both could be true, but Balkan couldn't decide.
'In any case, the momentum has completely swung to Paras. Most nations have been broken. Those still holding out are…'
Balkan's gaze slid to the Kashan Empire.
'Uorin.'
She had buried her face so deeply it was invisible; her shoulders trembled.
"Kuu—"
Her moan made Gando whisper.
"Your Majesty, are you all right?"
Time waves kept surging; her head felt like it would explode.
'What is this? Why—'
She clenched her teeth and slowly lifted her head. A golden melody of the future vibrated like guitar strings.
'Is the future constantly changing?'
Dizzy and overwhelmed by nausea, she suddenly bolted to her feet.
With foreign officials watching, she pushed open the door and left the chamber.
The chair called out.
"If you leave now, a penalty will be applied! You will be barred from the next session!"
Uorin ignored it and Gando followed her.
"Your Majesty!"
"Why did you come out? You should have stayed."
Uorin looked so pale it seemed she might die at any moment.
"I'll call the medics."
"No. Bring Kido."
"Your condition—"
"Talli!"
Gando bit his lip at her whisper of a shout and ran outside.
Uorin, walking alone, sank to the floor in front of the door and could go no further.
"Hey! Uorin!"
By the time Kido arrived she was trembling, half-conscious.
"Kido, the timeline keeps shifting."
"Don't talk."
Kido lifted her into his arms while Gando fumbled the key and opened the door.
"Gando, guard the outside." Uorin issued the order and listlessly pointed to the carpeted floor.
"Over there."
When Kido set her down, she sat cross-legged and said,
"Lay an earthbound spirit."
It was to restrain Havitz.
"...Understood."
Kido produced a talisman from his back, spun it until it leveled, and then activated Manifestation Art.
'Earthbound spirit.'
A crushing gravity pinned the room around them so they could not take a single step.
"Never release it." Uorin closed her eyes and activated History Search.
"Guh!"
Time waves poured in relentlessly, but it looked as if the largest change had already occurred.
'Then I can find it.'
No matter how the world changed, human behavior remained predictable at a broad level.
'Find the keywords.'
The sum of causes produces the result, but each cause carries a different weight.
If someone ate an apple—
'We have to analyze every cause.' Because they were hungry, because they liked fruit, because only an apple was available, because they were dieting, and so on.
Which cause matters most depends on the person.
'The core keyword!'
In a trance-like state she weighed every possible cause.
How long had passed?
"Hah—!"
Uorin snapped her eyes open and pitched forward.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Kido asked, turning his head only halfway, but Uorin, stunned, couldn't answer.
"I asked if you're all right!"
She had succeeded in finding the core keyword.
But in the world now swallowed by a new time wave, the person who became the most crucial event was—
'Why?'
It was completely unexpected.
'Kaiden?'
Kaiden from Tormia, bound to the fate of the Red Cross Star. An unusual background, to be sure, but his influence in this Synod had been negligible.
'Not me, not Shirone, not Havitz… Kaiden?'
"This is totally wrong."
Uorin shut off her Future Sight and rose; Kido hurriedly supported her and asked,
"Do you feel any better now?"
'What on earth is happening in this world…'
She looked at the pyramid outside the window with a troubled expression.
'What is about to occur?'
Meanwhile, in the council chamber the assault on Paras continued.
"Reveal the true nature of the pyramids! If you do not, we will be forced to use military action!"
Kitra remained silent; the serpent coiled at his throat flicked its tongue like a taunt.
"This—"
Just as an official tried to shout, Kitra stood and, without uttering a word, headed for the door.
"Stop him!"
"We formally request the detention of King Kitra!"
Any participant in the Synod could be detained, but the procedures were dreadfully complex.
'It won't work. The Synod is the center of diplomacy. You can't just detain a nation's representative.'
Frustrated at uncovering nothing, the officials changed targets.
Gis of the Jaive Kingdom.
"We'd like to ask Jaive. Do you know why the pyramid was erected?"
Gis snapped back.
'How would I know?'
"Jaive wasn't the worst-hit country! I heard the angels' power was neutralized."
Touching that sore spot made Gis bare his teeth.
"Do not sway public opinion with unconfirmed incidents! I will announce the facts myself when the time comes."
Albino interjected.
"By the way, there's an odd article in today's paper. Well, moral criticism might not be our business, but such collusion destroys trust, doesn't it?"
'Old fool. He knows perfectly well.'
That opened the floodgates; officials from other nations chimed in at once.
"Exactly. I heard that under Jaive's royal law citizens could elect a new monarch. This could affect Synod principles—shouldn't we clear it up?"
Gis reacted as Kitra had.
"Hmm."
"Say something! Say a word!"
'Are you insane? So I can speak?'
Whether they confessed or denied, the moment they opened their mouths they'd become prey.
Pedra, Arakne's prime minister, who had been watching the mood, backed Gis.
"What matters now is the pyramid. We should suspend the meeting to give each nation time to respond, shouldn't we?"
His gaze stabbed toward the Synod chair.
'Cut it off. Cut it off now.'
The chair banged the gavel.
"We'll recess for three hours. Gather information, then we'll resume."
The officials' faces soured.
'It's already been lost.'
There was no doubt the Synod had attended a private banquet hosted by Arakne.
Lupist rested his chin on his hand.
'This is why night politics are terrifying.' Sharing weaknesses builds an alliance stronger than any document.
'But it's an opportunity for us too.'
As soon as Gis left, Plu—who had been deep in thought—quietly stood.
'Huh?'
Shirone watched her leave.
'In a rush?'
She didn't seem especially hurried, but it was unusual she hadn't reported to Lupist.
Plu walked out and fixed Gis clearly in her sight.
"Ugh, I'm burning up. Bring me coffee. Lots of ice."
It was her first time using a beauty trap, but with each step her heart turned colder.
'I'm a professional.'
She only had to complete the mission.
Albino's advice from hours earlier ran through her mind.
"You can't approach as delicately as Arakne. Go by the book. Start with a collision—an 'accident' that looks accidental."
"Classic, but humans are masters of rationalization. They won't notice."
"Do you really think so? Albino, you'd notice, right?"
"No. I wouldn't."
Albino smiled.
"I can say that because it's not my problem. It's a limit of cognition. People think in causes when looking at themselves, and in results when looking at others."
"Hmm."
"Not that it's evil—it's just unavoidable. We grant ourselves leniency we won't give others. That's why silence toward others can be useful…"
Albino stroked his beard.
"Anyway, the reason you're worried is you see Gis as the predetermined result. But Gis doesn't know the result."
Plu understood.
"For me it's a specific incident; for Gis it's just one coincidence among many."
"Exactly. If you assign meaning to every coincidence, you'll go mad. They call it a stupid mistake. But to the person who made it, it isn't stupid at all—they were simply swept along by cause and effect."
Human beings.
How far apart are we?
"Oh, please. So many people who don't even know…" As officials left the chamber, Plu approached the grumbling Gis.
'No need to worry.'
Plu hurried down the corridor and tapped Gis on the shoulder; his coffee spilled.
"Ah, what the—annoying."
To Gis she was one cause among many.
"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry."
To Plu, he was the single result.
"I had papers to hand off and was in a rush... Are you all right?"
Gis scowled.
"Are you busy here alone? Keep some order where important people gather."
As the officials who had left the chamber started to focus on them, Plu bowed her head.
"I'm truly sorry. It was my mistake." The officials murmured.
"What? What's happening? That woman—she's the secretary to Tormia's Magic Association, isn't she?"
"They say she spilled coffee."
Gis's ears pricked up.
'Secretary to the Magic Association?'
And Tormia, led by Yahweh, held some influence.
'Hmm.'
Someone of that rank wouldn't bow her head before everyone lightly.
'Right. Jaive's name carries weight.' Gis straightened his shoulders.
'This will work.'
Plu, still bowed, stared at the floor and recalled Albino's counsel.
—No woman hates being called beautiful, and no man hates being called strong. The degree varies, but the instinct is universal. It's working at a genetic level.
'Win favor.'
—To control a man, praise his power: money, authority, position, his abilities—make him feel like the strongest man alive.
Gis's expression softened.
"Why bow over such a trivial thing? Stop it. Aren't you also a VIP of a nation?"
—Once that happens, men are often half out of their minds. To use a female analogy, it's like walking while being told you're the only one called 'beautiful'—the sensation is similar.
Plu understood.
—If you succeed that far, the first button is fastened well. He'll give most things, because he needs to feel hugely competent and powerful. That's when it begins.
The war of desire.