“So, Frondier, why did you call me here? If it’s nothing important, I won’t forgive you no matter how broad-minded I am.”
Philly changed the subject. It was truly a considerate act that brought tears to my eyes.
“……Your Majesty, do you perhaps,”
“You should call me ‘Miss Philly.’ You always have.”
“……”
I looked at Philly through the rearview mirror. Philly was smiling broadly. She looked very happy.
“……Do you perhaps know a knight named Pascal,”
“Miss Philly, you should,”
Philly said, “call me that.”
“…Miss Philly, by any chance, do you know of a knight named Pascal?”
“Of course, I do. A promising knight of the royal palace, how could I not know? I’m also aware that he works as a teacher in Constel.”
Philly’s voice was brimming with kindness as she seemed quite pleased to answer.
Azier next to me closed his eyes deeply and sighed.
Let’s try not to bother Azier forcibly for now.
“Um, Pascal thinks I wield Aura.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“I’m not sure how the rumor started or spread, but I didn’t think Pascal would believe it without any basis. It must have been a convincing lie. When you think about it, the person who spread such a rumor must be,”
“Wait a moment, Frondier.”
That’s when Philly interrupted me. She tilted her head, looking confused.
“Why do you say it’s a rumor?”
“…Pardon?”
“What?”
Something about our conversation didn’t quite align. Philly and I looked at each other with similar expressions of confusion.
Then, suddenly, Philly’s eyes widened as if she had realized something astonishing.
“Frondier, you mean you can’t wield Aura?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
As I affirmed, Philly’s mouth opened wider in surprise.
“Then how did you, all this time…?”
Even in her surprise, Philly omitted the details. About things like Renzo or Chimera. I’m thankful once again for her consideration.
“It’s difficult to explain, but I cannot wield Aura.”
“…My goodness.”
Philly momentarily sealed her lips as if pondering something. In that interval, Azier gave me a look that said, ‘What in the world are you up to?’
“──Well, I understand now. So, who’s behind all this?”
“I have a guess who it might be.”
“Is this entity behind it all powerful enough to summon me?”
There was an edge to Philly’s question.
Just from the conversation so far, it might seem like I was dragging my personal problems to Philly, imploring her to solve them as if she were nothing less than the Empress of the Empire.
While not entirely inaccurate, there was a crucial distinction.
“I believe the person behind this is someone named ‘Gregory’……”
I relayed to Philly the investigations and deductions I had made thus far. After listening to my story, Philly maintained a brief silence before speaking up.
“So, you’re saying this Gregory person is spreading rumors in Constel. Using information gathered through espionage.”
“Yes. In Constel, and even within the Imperial Palace.”
“……How far does this go? Frondier?”
Philly asked incredulously, guessing my intent.
Indeed. The recent eccentricities exhibited by the knights. Their simultaneous, disruptive actions suggest they are not unrelated to Gregory.
……But honestly, I shouldn’t be bragging about this. It’s something I learned from a side quest.
Philly narrowed her eyes and said,
“However, for a large number of rumors to spread, they need to be passed on to many people. And not just any people, but those with influence. How does Gregory manage to leak information to them? And why would they believe Gregory’s words and spread the rumors?”
Gregory usually appears in the form of ‘Raven’ when he approaches others.
It’s hard for anyone to believe the words spoken by a raven without any doubt. Why did they believe Gregory?
He knew the answer to that question as well.
“Gregory is a former member of ‘Indus.'”
“……!”
Philly’s expression changed.
On the surface, ‘Indus’ is a group that works to improve the rights of civilians. It’s the organization that Serf Daniel, who targeted me, and Gregory belonged to.
However, since Serf died and Indus succeeded in covering their tracks, there are still very few people who know the darkness of Indus.
Of course, Philly was one of those incredibly rare people who knew the darkness.
“Gregory was expelled from Indus after his complicity in a crime was discovered by the police. But that’s information the general public wouldn’t know. After all, cutting off ties is exactly that.”
“……So, you’re saying that Gregory got kicked out of Indus, but he’s still pretending to be a member of Indus?”
“That’s what’s likely. I think he’s using the Indus name to gain the trust of important figures and then spreading all sorts of rumors. Even if they’re suspicious at first, if Gregory’s words turn out to be true, they’ll start to believe him as well.”
“What’s Gregory’s goal?”
“……I’m not exactly sure yet. I think he’s planning to escape.”
It’s clear that Gregory is trying to cause a commotion.
If he uses the Indus name to spread all the rumors he’s collected so far, it will naturally damage Indus’s image.
The police are still investigating the knights’ crimes, and Indus is working to restore its image.
……However, I can’t quite imagine the uproar caused by the rumor becoming that big. Won’t it just make a little noise?
“Indus won’t sit still since Gregory is running wild like this. I can only guess that Gregory is aiming for that gap.”
“I see. Not bad.”
As expected of Philly. She’s quick to follow.
I nodded and said.
“However, the information I’ve confirmed hasn’t revealed why the knights are committing these crimes. Once we know that, we’ll have a clue……”
At that moment, a phone rang somewhere. It was next to me, on the driver’s side.
“Excuse me, can I take this?”
“Sure.”
Philly said nonchalantly. The driver took out his cell phone and put it to his ear. Then,
Vroom-
The car’s speed increased strangely. The car, which had been gradually increasing its speed, was now impossible to ignore.
I looked at the driver.
“……Hey.”
The moment I spoke softly, the driver turned the steering wheel. The continuous acceleration, the unrelenting speed, the guardrail in front of us, and the cliff beyond it whose bottom was unknown.
Thud!!
The sedan hit the guardrail and soared into the air.