⁂
“…That size has always been twenty gold coins.”
“Got an order in from the necromancer trade. For a ritual spell, apparently. Market’s up.”
A cramped room. They sat facing each other across a table, and Sheryl puffed out a cheek at the portly man, who was refusing to engage.
What a back guild actually does, in business terms, is broker. In this case, take an order and hand over the goods. Since the trade is illegal on principle, the standard practice is that nothing is ever physically here except on a handover day. The guild itself is a small office and nothing more, with no adventurers loitering the way they do at an adventurers’ guild, or in this case no assassins, no hired muscle, no thugs. Assemble what’s wanted when it’s wanted, match supply to demand, settle on the spot. All of it aimed at avoiding a raid from above, presumably. There won’t be so much as a ledger here to serve as evidence, either. Keep the damage minimal if anything goes wrong. That’s the thinking.
“…I need a magic crystal. Without one I cannot go on living.”
“Sorry, missy. We have to put the one paying more first.”
“…But my order came first.”
“This isn’t the legitimate world. In a hard business that runs on nothing but profit, it happens all the time. Give it up.”
Sheryl went pale. If her magic supply is cut off it’s a life-and-death matter in the most literal sense, so that stands to reason.
That was when a knock came at the entrance. Three, a pause, then two. The portly man got up and went to the door, returned one knock, and got one back. He turned the lock, and the man who came in was wearing a black robe. The portly man looked him over and gave a small nod.
“Magic crystal, yeah? Got exactly what you ordered.”
Sheryl appealed to the portly man almost pleading.
“…Please wait. I will find the money. Give me time and I will pay, without fail.”
The black-robed man dropped his eyes to Sheryl and me and tilted his head.
“Hm? What are these brats?”
“Ah, I had orders from two of them this time. The little miss here bid twenty gold coins, the gentleman forty.”
“That’s how it is, then. Sudden order, so the cancellation notice didn’t reach you in time? It happens, missy. Give it up.”
Sheryl glared at him.
“…I do not accept that. This man will only use it for something wretched. That much is certain.”
Something seemed to catch at the black-robed man. He studied Sheryl’s hood closely, and drew a sharp breath.
“Cat-ear hood… ah. I remember. You’re Brad’s little sister, aren’t you? He used to come and go at our place. The Marx family.”
Sheryl gave a small nod, and the man went on.
“Right, right… well, no wonder you need a magic crystal.”
“…If you know the circumstances, then let me have it. And all the more so if you are Brother’s associate.”
At that, the black-robed man put on a coarse smile.
“Bad luck. Your big brother’s already out of our outfit.”
“…What does that mean?”
“He had a magic academy identity card, see. Came in very handy. And he needed money, so he’d walk over any dangerous bridge you put in front of him. Gutsy kid, I’ll give him that.”
“…I asked what it means. I too can rarely reach Brother. I know very little of how he is now.”
“His head went somewhere strange lately. No idea what he’s up to these days, but there’s no decent talk about him, put it that way.”
“…In any case, let me have it. I can pay twenty gold coins.”
“Hey. You said just now that I’d only use it for something wretched, didn’t you? Well, you’re right, I probably will, seeing as the man I’m passing it to is a necromancer.”
“…Then let me have it.”
And there the black-robed man shut her down flat.
“No. Because this magic crystal sells for a hundred gold coins. Which makes sixty gold coins for moving it from one hand to the other. Can you do addition and subtraction? That’s all it is. And on that subject, you little brat—where do you get off talking down to me?”
“…?”
“You’re keeping yourself alive on dirty money the same as me, aren’t you? Aren’t you the little sister of the sewer rat who earned his keep helping us out?”
“…Say what you like about me. But do not speak ill of Brother.”
“Let me put it plainly. Living the way you do makes you a filthy rag too, a piece of garbage. You live off dirty money and you want to tell me you alone came out clean? That’s the type that gets under my skin worse than anything. Brats, honestly.”
“…”
“So learn your place. You piss-smelling little kid.”
The black-robed man took a pouch out of his coat.
“There. Forty gold coins.”
The portly man made an expression it would be hard to name and asked him a question.
“A hundred gold coins… you’re moving it on at more than double? That’s a bit rough, isn’t it?”
“It’s a bulk order. Cuts it fine on my end too—if I don’t get the numbers together exactly, I’m in breach of contract and out an enormous sum. And you couldn’t do what we do anyway, could you, when buying a single one puts you at your limit?”
“Well, no arguing that. Can’t be helped, I suppose. Forty gold coins is double the going rate as it is. Still, that necromancer’s something else. Ignoring the market completely… wants the numbers whatever it costs, I suppose.”
“Right. Here’s to a long association.”
The black-robed man took the seat across the table from us, and the portly man sat beside him and opened the pouch. He started counting, and built four towers of ten gold coins on the tabletop.
“Forty gold coins, confirmed.”
The black-robed man gave a big nod and turned that coarse smile on Sheryl again.
“If it galls you, stack up a taller tower of gold than that. Not that your big brother earns anything like it.”
“Ngh…”
Out of the corner of my eye, Sheryl was on the verge of tears. I took a large pouch out of my bag.
“Then I’ll stack the coins on her behalf. Five towers of gold ought to do it.”
I opened the pouch and spilled the coins across the table. I was sincerely glad I’d brought two hundred along to be safe, though it had made for an awkwardly large bag.
“Wh—!”
“Hm? Some problem? I was told a moment ago that selling to whoever pays more is the back guild’s way of doing business.”
The black-robed man went white and raised his voice.
“Hey, wait! This has to go to a seriously dangerous outfit! If I don’t make the buy properly, the boss will beat me half to death!”
Not my problem. There isn’t another sentence available in a situation like this.
“So? What’ll it be?”
I put it to the portly man.
“Well, but… the gentleman here is a regular…”
That put the color back in the black-robed man’s face.
“That’s right! I’m a regular! Not like you people, once a year!”
What an exhausting pair. I shrugged.
“A hundred gold coins, then. So? What’ll it be? You wouldn’t much enjoy having it moved on at more than double either, I imagine.”
There’s as much money as anyone could want in the mansion’s storehouse. Half of my previous life’s assets, which I left to my disciples—to Merlin and the rest—to spend on advancing magic, has never been touched at all. Bluntly, money isn’t a problem for me.
And the portly man thought about it, and thought about it, and thought about it, and smiled.
“Sold!”
At which I smiled back and answered.
“Bought!”
And the black-robed man stood there and went “G-G-G—guhhhhhh!”, a howl of pure anguish.
On the way home, Sheryl, who hadn’t said a word from taking the magic crystal until we were outside, asked me a question.
“…Why does Ephthal go that far for me? A hundred gold coins is… a very great deal of money.”
“My house is the Alcott ducal house. Your family’s ancestor did a great deal for mine, so… we have a family precept about it.”
The part about her ancestor was true. The family precept was a lie. No such thing exists.
“…A family precept?”
“The Four Emperors are kin who walked the line of death together. They shall aid one another, and that bond is eternal, and it shall hold down through their descendants. That precept.”
We did swear something along those lines before storming the Demon King’s castle, mind. We fought like cats the whole time, but we were close.
“…The Four Emperors. Thunder God Emperor Ephthal. I have heard he hated crooked things and was a man of duty and feeling.”
Oh—looks like you gave your kids a good education, Isaac. I nodded along, pleased.
“…Though he is said to have been violent when angered, and impossible to handle on account of an outrageous temperament.”
That part you could have left out, Isaac. I nearly fell over. Not that it isn’t true. Once the switch goes, it goes.
“…Ephthal? Then the sandwich, at the start? Was that also because you knew I was of the Ice God Emperor’s line?”
“That was plain meddling on my part. I didn’t know anything about your background then.”
Sheryl spread both arms at that and threw herself at me for all she was worth.
“Huuug… Ephthal really is a good person.”
By the way, I said.
“Would you tell me about your brother? From what was said back there, he attends the magic academy, doesn’t he?”
After a conversation like that one, of course I was curious, and there was no leaving it unasked.
“…Money was needed to keep me alive. The means was as you heard. I have barely seen Brother in two years. He said that as he is now, dirtied, he would only dirty me, and told me one-sidedly that he did not want to meet. We exchange the occasional letter, and only business. Nothing more.”
Hmm. A strong sense of justice, or else caring too much. Bound too tightly by his own morals, presumably, and thinking about a man like that earning money in the underworld leaves an odd taste.
“…Come to think of it, I was startled to see Brother at this festival.”
“He attends the magic academy, though, doesn’t he? So there’s nothing strange about him being there.”
Sheryl gave a small, quick shake of her head.
“…For some reason he has been chosen as a class representative. Brother works terribly hard, but he has no talent for magic, and his marks at the academy were about as close to the bottom as you can get. So I am startled.”
“Doesn’t that just mean he put in a tremendous amount of work?”
“…He was already working close to his limit. Climbing from there to class representative is not possible.”
Sheryl looked up at the sky with distant eyes.
“…I am very worried. I think he is probably trying to do something for my sake. Money will be needed to keep supporting me from here on as well, and winning the festival is as good as a guaranteed future.”
“Worried why?”
“…There are various ways to strengthen a human being. I am worried he has ruined his body with reckless doping. He is a person who will stop at nothing when he has a purpose.”
Doping. Sure, there’s more than one way to do it, and in most cases the drawbacks are so severe that ordinary people don’t touch them. Specifically: your lifespan shortens, or the strain lands on your brain or your organs. Nothing good comes of any of it.
“…Watching Brother grow dirtied and damaged for my sake. That is very sad, and I am worried.”
I let out a long sigh.
“What a worthless breed.”
“…Worthless? My brother and I?”
“No. Him, behind us.”
I looked back, and the black-robed man from earlier was coming toward us, flashing a knife.
“Hey, boy. Hand over the magic crystal and be quiet about it.”
“On what grounds?”
“I told you, didn’t I? If I don’t bring that back, things go badly for me.”
Another deep sigh.
“It’s your own fault for walking around a slum like this as a couple of kids in the first place. Whatever happens, you’ve got no room to complain.”
“Whatever happens, there’s certainly no room to complain. For you.”
I caught Sheryl up in my arms, triggered my physical enhancement, drove my legs down, and jumped.
“…Eh?”
One backhand as I passed him.
“Aguh!?”
A ridiculous noise, and the feel of a cheekbone breaking traveled up my arm. The man flew some ten meters, rolled along the ground, and eventually stopped. Then I set Sheryl gently down on her feet, and that was that.
“Right. Let’s go home.”
Sheryl blinked at me and spoke in obvious surprise.
“…Ephthal… you were that strong?”
Ah, of course. Sheryl had never seen me fight. I laughed a little and answered.
“Well. I’m the Thunder God Emperor’s descendant, after all.”
“…Ephthal?”
“What is it, Sheryl?”
“…There is something Maria said. I think I understand it now, more or less. That she had found a place to be. Somewhere warm and noisy… somewhere enjoyable, where you can feel safe. I think mine is here.”
And the moment she finished, Sheryl spread both arms and dove into my chest.
“…Huuug.”
I gave a wry smile and patted her head.
Now then. Today was the second day of the semifinals.
Since it would tell us about our opponents in the finals, we were watching from the competitors’ waiting room by way of scouting the enemy, and—
“Well, well? If it isn’t Maria-san. And what is the flattest chest in the first year doing in a place like this, I wonder?”
“Well, well, Irene-san? I showed you my strength exactly as you told me to, and you still speak that way? This is what comes of being a Holstein with all the nutrition going to her chest—actually, you’re irritating, so stop picking fights.”
Sparks were visibly crackling between the two of them. This had all started when Irene-san and company came over to pick at us on our way to the match.
“Fufu. Still, Maria-san?”
“What? Have you got another complaint?”
And there Irene-san turned her usual sharpness around completely and put on a gentle smile.
“When I recall the days of being pestered, day after day, with duel me, duel me… I do have a great many thoughts about it, but—”
Ah—so you used to get it from Maria too, Irene-san. Feeling a sudden rush of fellow feeling, I couldn’t help laughing.
“I would be willing to acknowledge you now. Your ability.”
“Wh—What’s brought this on all of a sudden? It’s creepy.”
“I did tell you, did I not? The student council acknowledges anyone with ability.”
And there the Student Council President put out his right hand to me.
“Ephthal-kun, wasn’t it? Your Level 5 was splendid. And Anonymous Hope-san’s illusion, too.”
A handshake, apparently. Refusing when a hand’s been offered would be strange, so I took it.
“Which means the finals are ours and yours. I promise you we shall meet it fairly and with everything we have. Isn’t that right, Vice President?”
“Yes, that’s so, President. Ah, and Maria-san? The truth is we are short-handed on the secretarial side. You kept challenging me to a duel because you wanted to join the student council… didn’t you?”
“W-Well… that was the case at the time.”
“Once the festival is over, come and visit the student council room. You would be welcome. All of you, of course.”
“What is with you, this is so sudden, it’s creepy… no. No, that’s wrong. That isn’t it, is it.”
And Maria, who had worn a sour face right up to that moment, shrugged like someone letting something go.
“Thank you for acknowledging me. I really am glad about that part. But I’m… not joining the student council.”
Irene-san’s eyes went wide in surprise.
“And why is that? After being so persistent…”
“Because I’ve got one… I suppose.”
“Got one?”
Maria turned her eyes to me, and her cheeks colored slightly.
“Sorry, but I’ve already got—a place to be.”
Irene-san let out a slightly disappointed breath. Then she and the president looked at each other and gave rueful smiles.
“It appears we have been turned down… President.”
“Haha. Well, free will is a thing to be respected.”
And the president put on a smile and started off toward the platform.
“Then let’s meet again in the finals. First years.”
“Maria-san, I will grant that your side is higher on average in magic technique. However—in real combat, I wonder?”
And with that, the student council members climbed up onto the platform.