Chapter 131 - Association of Mysterious Story Collectors (part one)
Chapter 131: Association of Mysterious Story Collectors (part one)
One week after the Bloody Saint case.
At the academy, the incident of that night was completely hidden.
There is no one who talks about the vampire or the missing curator Lièvre.
The members of the Dynameis have cooperated with the purification of the altar in the underground ruins.
At that time, it had reached the point that a spatial collapse was about to occur, so it had to be done.
Speaking of which, about the matter of the ten young women who the vampire was supposed to receive.
It is said that this case was also resolved.
I heard about it from Palug when she returned home last night.
The monastic knights and alchemists who were pursuing the kidnappings were able to rescue them and bring them back to the safety.
After that, I returned to my ordinary daily life.
It is the same as before, except that Klaus and Auguste always seize me after school.
Within a week, I understood that it is impossible to beat the force of these two people combined.
Although there is nothing safer than having them support me from left and right with their strongest tag-team, it feels suffocating.
“Let’s play with the dragons in the large stable today. Blumbell and Briar also want to see you.”
“Or, how about we train? You’d better think about your fighting method a little more.”
Neither are bad ideas, but I have played with the dragons three days ago and Klaus has worked me to the bone the day before yesterday.
Today I want to go back to my room and relax.
Let’s secretly get away from these two watchdogs with potion-making practice as a pretext.
“Um, so today I have to get back to my room quickly—”
As I was saying that, I found some people making a bonfire in the peripheral of my vision.
Under the tree on the side of the school building, I could see Actorius-sensei, Chloe and Beatrice.
Those three people seem to be having a pleasant talk.
For me who has been seized from both sides like a captured alien, it feels quite enviable.
I wonder if it is possible to join them.
“It seems Actorius-sensei is making a bonfire over there.”
“Actorius, huh? Certainly, I think that guy is good at outdoor cooking.”
Klaus would often work together with Actorius-sensei, so he would know about that.
From his usual clumsy behavior, I thought he wouldn’t be good at cooking.
However, magical creature preparation methods have appeared frequently in class, so it is not that surprising.
I don’t know what he’s roasting, but it has a delicious smell.
Considering the season, maybe it’s chestnut?
“Klaus-sama, Auguste-sama, can I also join them for about thirty minutes?”
“Go ahead. I think it should be safe since she would be with Actorius~”
“Then, maybe I should set things up in the meantime……”
Klaus was talking about setting the activation timing of the 「Infinite Corridor」.
There is something I still want to confirm, so I wanted to change the start-up configuration.
Surprisingly, Klaus agreed.
If he refused it, I would not know what to do on my own, so I feel grateful.
“Thank you!”
Then I was released by Klaus and Auguste and I headed for the three people who were making a bonfire.
I feel sorry for Auguste and Klaus, but this somehow feels invigorating.
“Ah, Erica-san.”
“Erica-sama!”
Chloe and Beatrice waved at me, so let’s switch gears.
Actorius-sensei, who noticed me a little later, smiled when he saw me.
“Everyone, are you making a bonfire?”
“Yes, I made a bonfire thinking that I should eat some of the teaching materials left over in my class.”
“It already feels like autumn, how nice.”
Not potatoes or chestnuts, but teaching materials.
Actorius-sensei handed over a small branch to me while smiling.
At the end of the long and thin branch, there were three fungal walkers.
“Now, Erica-san, you too……oops, I can’t get rid of my habit easily. I mean, Aurelia-san, please have this.”
“These are……”
“These are fungal walkers. They are roasted.”
The degree of baking is moderately strong.
They don’t have a face drawn on them, so I barely feel a bit more eager to eat them.
I still have a bit of reservation, but I should think of them as roasted mushroom skewers.
“Thank you. Let’s eat.”
I decided to prepare my heart and bit on it.
It tastes good.
Like a low-quality mushroom, it’s surprisingly delicious.
“……delicious!”
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
When I nodded repeatedly while chewing, Actorius-sensei smiled as if relieved.
As I ate, I looked at what the other three had in their hands.
Beatrice had a roasted mushroom while Chloe had a roasted white worm.
“Yours is a white worm, Chloe-san, are you okay with that?”
“Hm……yeah, it’s delicious.”
Certainly, it looks like a white sausage when it’s roasted.
It looks delicious.
However, remembering the night of that incident, I have an indescribable feeling about white worms.
“Here, you should try it too, Erica-san.”
“No, because of many reasons, it’s a bit……”
“Ah……I, I see……you’re right.”
I refused the worm that Chloe was offering.
“Aah~ you’re scared that it would multiply in large quantities, huh.”
“No, no. I was just a little surprised, but I’m fine if it’s just looking from afar.”
I replied to Actorius-sensei while sidestepping the question.
I can’t tell him about the mutated white worms from that night.
“I see. If that’s the case, I’m glad.”
After Actorius-sensei smiled, he bit his roasted white worm which was still sizzling.
I also chewed on my remaining roasted mushroom.
Then the four of us talked to each other while eating.
“By the way, Actorius-sensei, has my brother still not returned to the academy?”
“Yes, it seems to be a difficult case……but rest assured, this is Eduard we’re talking about, he will be fine.”
“Yes, since it’s my brother, that should be the case.”
“……do you feel lonely?”
“A little bit. But I’m used to it since my brother has traveled often from a long time ago.”
My older brother seems to be working on his separate job for a prolonged time and he has not returned to teach.
I wonder if he’s involved in some trouble, that older brother of mine.
I’m not worried since he’s strong, but it’s been a long time, I wish to have a look at my brother’s carefree smile.
“Chloe-chan. Have you found everything you were looking for?”
“No. But I think I have found a clue.”
“I see. I’m happy for you.”
Beatrice seems to be worried about Chloe.
The thing Chloe has been looking for is probably a clue to her older brother’s whereabouts.
“Right. Glaw-san, has anything changed lately?”
“Y-yes, Erica-sama! Every day is peaceful! The children from before are very kind now!”
The victims of the false charge case from before seem to have reconciled.
That is pleasant to hear.
“That’s good. You must be relieved. Do you enjoy the school?”
“Yes, learning magic has become so much fun! These days I did some study by myself and I mastered the future vision in an extremely short time!”
“You’re amazing, Beatrice~”
Mastering the future vision in such a short time by self-study, that would be impossible without a combination of both good education and talent.
Is this child actually in the genius category?
“I mean, isn’t future vision a very high-level magic?”
“Seems that way. But, I seem to have no aptitude for past vision. Clochydd-sensei was exasperated, he said that on top of my optimistic nature, I have too little attachment with the past……he also added that maybe it’s because I have no regrets in life and that I am a bit too carefree to ever look back……”
I think it is a good thing to be positive and bright even though her circumstances are complicated.
But this ability to see the past and future, if triggered incorrectly, would it become a new death flag?
However, seeing Beatrice who seems to be having fun, I can’t tell her to refrain from learning that magic.
Even if the issue of bullying is resolved, it may still be necessary to be alert.
I looked around searching for Tirnanog who should be guarding Beatrice without being seen.
I should talk about this later.
“Ah, it’s almost time to prepare for this year’s All Souls’ Day.”
Actorius-sensei, who had been listening to us while smiling until then, had a look of realization.
“I have to stock large fungal walkers. I have to request for it tomorrow!”
“The large ones taste bland, right?”
“Yes, Cloacina-kun. But they can also taste delicious if you season it right.”
“Eh, Chloe-san, are you going to eat the big ones too?”
Then Actorius-sensei started explaining how to cook the large fungal walkers.
(He likes to cook, huh, that Actorius-sensei. He’s a warm and polite person, so it’s no wonder.)
After that, he also explained how to cook other magical creatures and things like that.
For the first time in a long while, it feels like I can finally experience mundane daily life.
Then, after about 30 minutes of relaxing, I stood up.
“Thank you for the meal. I have to go back to my chaperones soon……”
At that time, I covertly slipped a piece of paper into Chloe’s pocket.
Of course, Chloe must have noticed it.
She is just that kind of a person.
The paper I handed out to Chloe says: “After school the day after tomorrow. Wait in the corridor of the school building.”
☆
After school on the promised day.
Chloe and I were in the corridor of the school building together.
Naturally, she had removed her snowsilver accessories.
Although it was evening, the Infinite Corridor was easily activated in the same way as before.
Klaus and Auguste are waiting in the courtyard.
I had also asked them to leave, so there are only me and Chloe in the corridor of this school building.
“So this is one of the Seven Wonders……! We really can’t get to the exit no matter how much we walk.”
“Yes. There’s something ahead that I really want you to see.”
To be precise, there is something I would like to ask Chloe to cooperate with.
According to Klaus’ conjecture, that mirror is connected by causality.
My mother appeared because of me.
Then, if the causality is connected by means of Chloe, then Sigríður who was on the other side of that mirror can be determined as the Duchess of Lucanrant.
Klaus and Auguste also had a slight idea of Chloe’s true identity, that’s why they agreed to this method.
Then I walked along the corridor together with Chloe.
Our side-by-side figures cast some shadows in the corridor.
After going around the corridors for the umpteenth time, a butterfly-like light appeared as before.
I opened the door at that place.
It was the same room as last time.
The mirror was also there.
“This is a magic mirror that connects the present with the past or the future.”
“……magic mirror?”
“If you activate this mirror, you may talk to people of the past, look at them, or hear their voices.”
I know that I may be doing unnecessary things.
But I really want to make sure, and I want to show it to Chloe if possible.
I tried to touch the mirror after gulping down the magical power replenishment potion.
I felt dizzy from the sensation of having my magical power drained.
“It won’t connect with only this much magical power……”
I can’t compare to Klaus as a source of magical power.
Besides, I should have invited Beatrice, who is Dolores’ niece.
But I wanted to try this with Chloe, just the two of us.
It is in order not to spread Chloe’s true identity to too many people.
“I’m sorry, Chloe-san. It looks like it was a failure today.”
“No. Erica-san, I heard voices……is this the voice of the people in the past?”
“You heard voices, Chloe-san?”
Hearing Chloe’s words, I tried to listen closely.
But, the voice sounds so distant that my ears could only hear it faintly.
Before we knew it, the mirror looked like it was getting soaked by rain.
A gray shadow of a person appeared in the world on the other side of the drizzle.
“If we supply magical power into this thing, will we be able to hear more voices or see things more clearly?”
“Yes.”
“……I will try it too.”
Having said that, Chloe touched the mirror.
With a start, Chloe also staggered onto the floor.
It felt like the mirror turned bluish.
The sound of the rain went away.
There were sounds of a lot of birds flying up and the sounds of a lot of fruits falling from the trees.
Then, on the mirror surface which was not foggy anymore, a girl with a similar appearance to me appeared.
Frederica Bort.
Unlike last time, I could see her face without being disturbed by the fogginess.
(Aah……I really resemble my mother, huh.)
Next, a girl with a similar appearance to Chloe appeared.
It was Sigríður.
It appears that our conjecture was correct.
“Huh, just now, someone appeared in the mirror, right, Sigríður?”
“No, nothing was reflected in the mirror, and even if it was, there were only shadowy figures.”
“Is that so……I don’t think that’s the case, but this thing supposedly only connects once a week.”
Frederica was staring hard at our direction.
It seems that she cannot see us.
Apparently connecting the past and the future is very difficult.
Sigríður turned to the side with an uninterested glance at our direction.
“Even if one of the possibilities of the future can be seen, it will only cause confusion within humans.”
“Hahaha, well, that’s true.”
“Such a thing is nothing but evil. Is it not?”
“Maybe so. But guessing the future is not evil.”
Chloe was looking at the other side of the mirror without moving.
As always, her emotions are hard to read.
What kind of feeling is she having now as she looks at the past vision?
However, the mirror gradually turned cloudy.
“Thanks to that, I was greatly empowered.”
“What did you see?”
“My daughter, perhaps. It wasn’t bad.”
“Daughter? If you, of all people, become a mother, that will be such a joke.”
“Right? That’s why I—”
The sound of rain intercepted Frederica’s words.
The girls of the past once again disappeared behind the drizzle.
“It seems that it is easy to see someone who is connected by causality. Perhaps they are our relatives.”
“Yeah, I know……that girl is perhaps my mother. The other person is your mother, right, Erica-san?”
I nodded quietly.
“Our mothers of the past, the ones in the other side of the mirror, seem to be the same age.”
I was able to see that person again.
It is a pity that the mirror was not two-way, but I am also grateful for being able to see her and hear her voice.
“I don’t remember much anymore……but it feels so nostalgic.”
She should have almost no memory of her mother, but she still misses her.
I am the same.
“I remember my mother’s face, but I have no memory of her talking.”
“I also have no memory of my mother. I only remember her singing voice.”
Chloe’s eyes met mine.
She has a smiling face that seems like she’s about to cry.
“……we are a bit similar, huh.”
Chloe muttered.
“Maybe so.”
I nodded.
Both of us are daughters of a Duke, both of us have lost our mother, and we were prepared from an early age for what will happen.
And we both have secrets that can never be made public.
We are similar to each other but different at the same time.
I tried to reach out my hand to Chloe.
She opened her eyes and looked alternatingly at me and my hand.
“I said that I would not be involved at that time, but……can we be friends from now on?”
After blinking several times, Chloe smiled like a blooming flower.