Chapter 43: The Trials (2)
The Trials (2)
It had taken a liberal application of Hypnotism, a few faked resumes, and several well-placed lies, but in the end, Rin had kept her word and had gotten Sakura, Ayako, and herself into Kaneshiro Yoko's office.
And yes, every bit of deception and trickery had been necessary to make that happen. When Sakura had stated that Kaneshiro Yoko was the owner of a large shipping company, she had been speaking the truth, but she had also been massively understating it.
A shipping company? More like a shipping empire! Kaneshiro's company had thousands of boats and tankers spread out over more than a hundred countries, she had branches and daughter companies everywhere in the world, and her corporation took care of nearly five percent of the world's total shipping trade, earning her billions upon billions of American dollars every year.
And she didn't limit herself to 'just' the shipping trade either. She was also involved in numerous agricultural companies in Eastern Asia, a dozen or so car manufacturing plants in Japan, and she even owned several research complexes in the United States that focused on developing medicine.
Kaneshiro Yoko was an insanely successful woman, which meant she was also insanely busy. Under normal circumstances, the girls wouldn't have stood a snowball's chance in hell of ever meeting her.
Rin's Hypnosis and talent at fraud had managed to get them inside however. They were in Kaneshiro's office now, having ensured that they had about an hour to interrogate the woman in private, and Ayako was all primed to bring her the bad news about Paris-san's death.
Likely, the woman would be devastated, like judge Koyama and the idol Nagao, but Ayako was prepared for that. She had numerous comforting words ready on the tip of her tongue, and she'd taken a pack of tissues with her.
She was completely prepared for any kind of emotional reaction.
But then she laid eyes on Kaneshiro herself, and all words remained stuck in her throat.
"And who might you be?"
The question was asked in a voice that was surprisingly low for a woman, almost ridiculously so.
"I don't recall having an appointment with teenagers today."
The owner of the voice slowly got up from behind her desk, keeping a close eye on the girls, studying them carefully to find any sign of a wicked motive.
"The guards should have stopped you long before you got anywhere near here. That's what I pay them for. How did you manage to get past them?"
Kaneshiro Yoko fired off the questions one by one, but Ayako didn't answer to any of them. She was too busy gawking at the woman.
Not because she was beautiful, or particularly exotic, or strangely dressed, but because she was huge.
Kaneshiro Yoko was massive! Almost gigantic even, to a degree Ayako had never seen before, in men or in women.
Standing over two metres tall, with legs like tree trunks and arms as big as Sakura's waist, clad in a specifically tailored suit, Kaneshiro Yoko cut a very intimidating figure. Her eyes were black, her hair was cropped very short, and three deep, white scars ran vertically over her left eye.
Her presence was dominating, her glare bone-chilling, and Ayako suddenly found herself incredibly grateful that they had Rin with them. If things got violent, her Magecraft might be the only advantage they had.
Not that she was even remotely planning on doing anything violent, but one never knew. Kaneshiro really was an intimidating woman.
"How we got past the guards is not important." Sakura eventually replied, smiling her beautiful smile, thoroughly impressing Ayako by how composed she was in front of this giantess. "We are here because we want to inform you of Carlton Paris' death."
"Carlton kicked the bucket?" The black eyes widened in shock for a fraction of a second, before they immediately went back to a neutral position. "How unfortunate."
"He was murdered." Sakura clarified, her smile disappearing at the heavy topic. "His body was buried near the Ryuudou-temple, and it was only recently discovered. That is why you haven't heard anything from him in several months now."
"I see." Kaneshiro nodded, rubbing her square jaw thoughtfully. "So that means he didn't leave the city without telling any of us. If, at least, what you're telling me is the truth."
"It is." Ayako professed before Sakura could, gaining some heart from the lack of violence so far. "We were the ones who found the body. The police confirmed it was Paris-san, but because he was a gigolo, they will probably try to sweep the case under the rug."
"So you decided to visit his clients and tell them about him biting it?" Kaneshiro lifted a single eyebrow. "How kind of you. I suppose you are not willing to tell me how you found out about my relationship with him?"
"Your letters to him." Rin replied shortly.
"He kept those?" The large woman seemed surprised by that, and even slightly touched. "Surprising. I wouldn't have thought they meant anything to him."
"I'm sure they did."
"Perhaps." Kaneshiro looked unsure for a moment, but the crack in her rough exterior disappeared quickly. "Well, thank you for telling me about Carlton. Good luck on the rest of your trip to tell his other clients."
"Wha?" Ayako blinked once, her brain not quite catching up with what Kaneshiro said.
"I am a busy woman. I have no time to waste on crying or talking about dead lovers. I have work to do." The large woman said gruffly, turning her face away. "Since you found your way in here perfectly well, I take it you can show yourselves out too."
"But-" Ayako began to protest, but she fell silent when Sakura grabbed her wrist and lightly shook her head.
"I think Kaneshiro-san is the type of person to bury her feelings under work." The plum-haired girl whispered. "We shouldn't push her. Let her deal with her grief in her own way."
"Ah, right. Makes sense." Ayako nodded, feeling slightly relieved her girlfriend had stopped her before she'd made a fool out of herself.
"Are you not worried we'll tell people about your relationship with Carlton Paris?" Sakura asked curiously, letting go of Ayako again. "Naga- ah, that is, some of the other women we visited were very concerned about that."
"I don't care if you tell people. You can shout it from every rooftop in the city and I wouldn't give a damn." Kaneshiro shrugged uncaringly as she walked back to her desk. "What's one more scandal on top of all the others?"
"All the others?" Rin sounded almost afraid to ask.
"The usual stuff that happens in the shipping business. I've been accused of exploiting my employees, dodging taxes, bribing city-officials, and recently, of trading in conflict-diamonds." Kaneshiro's expression had been fairly neutral so far, but when she spoke of the diamonds, her lips pulled taut. "That I have been sleeping with a gigolo is nothing compared to that."
"Right." Rin mumbled, before her eyes narrowed. "Say, these rumours, they wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you're a woman, would they?"
"They don't." Kaneshiro shook her head immediately. "I understand why you would think that, but no. This type of mudslinging happens to everyone in the high classes of society. It is an inescapable fact of high life, regardless of gender."
"Regardless of gender? That is surprising to hear." Ayako remarked, before she smiled. "Positively so, of course."
"Don't go thinking now that the shipping business is in any way welcoming to women." Kaneshiro warned her gruffly, crossing her beefy arms. "It's still very much a man's world. In fact, the only 'glass ceiling' my peers have ever heard of is a café in Tokyo where the first-floor ceiling is actually made of glass and the waitresses on the second floor don't wear panties under their mini-skirts."
"…Out of academic interest, where is this café exactly?" Ayako asked, leaning forward while pressing the tips of her fingers together. "It is imperative that you tell me."
"Ignore her." Rin promptly knocked Ayako on the head. "Let's get back on track. Is there anything more you can tell us about Carlton Paris?"
"Our relationship was strictly business." Kaneshiro gave Rin a curious look, no doubt wondering why Rin wanted to know about her former 'employee', but she answered readily enough. "I know very little about him. If you want to know more, I suggest you visit Sumida Gina."
"We have heard her name before." Rin nodded. "Is she likely to help us?"
"Definitely." Kaneshiro didn't hesitate for a second to give the answer. "She is good-natured, beautiful like a dream, kind, supportive, sweet, and utterly foolish. She always helps those who ask her for aid, even if she would have been better off ignoring them."
"She sounds like a wonderful person." Sakura smiled.
"She is." Kaneshiro nodded, her expression turning a bit dreamy. "But so, so stupid. Men are always taking advantage of her. I've tried to warn her, many times, but she just doesn't get it. There were moments when I wanted to take her into my arms and never let go, to protect her from the world."
"This made a rather sudden U-turn into yuri." Ayako mumbled, softly enough that the woman didn't hear her, though Rin bonked her on the head again. "Ow."
"Back when the two of us still regularly made use of Carlton's services, she often talked my ear off about him." Kaneshiro continued. "I didn't really listen of course, but if you are interested in what she has to say, you can visit her yourselves."
"We will." Rin nodded sharply, before slowly stepping back, gesturing for Ayako and Sakura to do the same. "We'll leave you to your work now. Have a pleasant evening, Kaneshiro-san."
"Hm." The woman nodded gruffly. "You as well, kids. Good luck with your investigation."
It was the second day of the trials, at nine o'clock sharp in the morning, and most of the people who had attended the day before were present again.
Shirou too had returned, mostly because of his promise to Lady Montmorency and Lady Barthomeloi, and once more, he sat to Lady Barthomeloi's left.
He'd brought the treasures that he was going to show to Lord El-Melloi with him, in a large bag he'd just set to the side, and although Lady Barthomeloi had glanced at it with some curiosity, she'd yet to comment on it.
"Fujimaru." She then spoke up, drawing Shirou's attention as she looked at him with an impassive gaze. "Grover Meluastea was executed yesterday, and his remains are set to be burned this evening, once the Litanies of Protection have been delivered by the Church and the necessary Bounded Fields have been set."
"I see." Shirou mumbled, his own gaze darkening as he remembered that malicious and evil creature that had somehow managed to pretend it was a man. "Thank you."
"Your gratitude is misplaced. He was always going to be executed." Lady Barthomeloi jerked her chin to the side in a motion that seemed almost bashful. "Hastening the process was a small matter."
"Nevertheless, I do appreciate-"
"Quiet, you two." Lady Montmorency interrupted them, making a shushing motion. "The trial's starting again."
Indeed, barely a few seconds later, the bailiff arrived in the courtroom, the same one as yesterday, looking proud and regal in his golden armour and helmet adorned with red feathers. Once he came into view, most conversations in the hall ceased, and the bailiff's glare ended the remaining ones.
From there on, basically everything went the same as it did on the first day. The judges came in, then the attorneys and prosecutors, the bailiff demanded silence again, and then the senior judge called in the first accused.
"Bring in Carla Meluastea." The senior judge said calmly, his voice, which had been very passionate the previous day, now unusually even and controlled, and whispered conversations started up yet again as it turned out that yet another member of that family had survived so far.
Shirou himself was mainly surprised by how many members that family had in the first place. They'd convicted over twenty-five members of the Meluastea the day before, and there were apparently still some left.
They must have, to put it in a crass way, bred like rabbits.
Soon after the judge made his announcement, the doors opened again, and a pretty goth-like girl was brought inside by the guards. She put up a good show of looking composed, though Shirou was able to spot she was terribly nervous.
That wasn't necessarily strange, as most people brought in for their trial so far had been on the range of nervous to terrified out of their minds, but what made it unusual in Carla's case was that the nervousness was not for herself, but for others.
The goth girl was made to sit down in the accused's chair, and then the senior judge took the word again.
"Carla Meluastea. You stand accused of numerous crimes-"
And Shirou zoned out again.
That continuously repeated rehearsal of crimes really was getting tedious, and the redhead dreaded having to listen to it for six days more. He'd better find something else to do or think about while that was ongoing, or he'd go crazy.
It seemed most Magi thought along the same lines as he did, as many of the people in the hall had pulled out magazines, newspapers, or other reading materials, and even Lady Barthomeloi let her gaze wander as the judge kept on talking.
Lady Montmorency however paid rapt attention to the trial, and Shirou didn't doubt she was using her administrative super-brain to burn everything that happened today into her memory.
Frankly, better her than him.
Eventually, he made eye-contact with Lady Barthomeloi, and, having nothing better to do, jerked his head towards Carla Meluastea in askance.
"Like her brother Rudolph Meluastea, she more or less willingly cooperated with the purge, aiding me in finding and capturing her relatives." Lady Barthomeloi explained shortly in a very soft voice, so not to disturb Lady Montmorency. "Furthermore, she hasn't committed any egregious crimes herself, so I decided to show leniency."
"Will she be fully acquitted like her brother yesterday?"
"That is our intention." Lady Barthomeloi nodded.
"Isn't that overly generous for a few hours of services rendered?" Shirou asked sceptically.
"There are more reasons for their acquittal than just those services." Lady Barthomeloi informed him, her tone mysterious.
Shirou considered asking about those other reasons, but at that point, the judge had finished reading up the list of Carla Meluastea's crimes and gotten to the verdict itself.
"Because of services rendered and her exemplary record as a researcher and team-leader over the past decade, Carla Meluastea is cleared of all charges." The judge announced, just as Lady Barthomeloi had predicted.
Shirou looked at the young woman, expecting the same mix of confusion and relief as he'd seen in Rudolph the day before, but was surprised to find Carla still looking fearful.
"Furthermore, the members of her team are also acquitted of their misdeeds, provided they obey the terms and conditions set for them by the Department of Policies." The judge went on.
And there was the relief that Shirou had been expecting. Apparently, Carla cared a lot about her team, enough to worry more about their sentence than her own.
Carla's acquittal generated a small buzz from the crowd, but it was nowhere near the bomb that had gone off after Rudolph Meluastea had been cleared of all charges. Apparently, it was no longer as surprising.
"By virtue of seniority, Carla Meluastea shall now become the new head of the Meluastea-family." The judge then continued. "Although it is no longer a Ruling Family and the Department of Archaeology shall be stripped from them, they shall retain the possessions that are left after the fines and repayments have been subtracted from it."
The news that the Meluastea were definitely going to survive, as a family even, got a louder reaction from the crowd, but unlike the day before, Lady Barthomeloi didn't let the situation get out of hand.
"Silence." She demanded once Carla Meluastea had left the courtroom, and her order was obeyed immediately. "Carry on with the trials."
"At once!" The judge replied, standing up straight, before smashing his gavel down in a show of motivation. "Bring in Lysanne Saward."
And from there, things continued as normal, with Lysanne Saward being sentenced to having all her possessions be taken from her and to having to work for the rest of her life to pay off the remainder of her debt to her many blackmail-victims.
The fact that all these victims were still alive and well prevented her from getting a heavier punishment, but the judge wasn't going easy on her nevertheless.
"Didn't she have an accomplice?" Shirou asked after lady Saward had been taken out of the hall again. "I recall there were two people in Saward's Workshop back then."
"Millicent Archibald." Lady Barthomeloi confirmed. "You will not see her put on trial today however. Lord El-Melloi is in negotiation with us to lessen her punishment, and until that matter has been resolved, she will not appear in public."
"I see." Shirou said with a nod, making a note to offer Lord El-Melloi his help, should the man require it.
"Could I inquire as to what you have in that bag?" Lady Barthomeloi suddenly switched the subject, her tone indicating she'd been wanting to ask that for some time now.
"Nothing special." Shirou shrugged, avoiding any details in his statement, as it was a matter between him and Lord El-Melloi for now. "Just some family stuff I am hoping to sell here soon."
"Are you in need of money?" Lady Barthomeloi asked, and Shirou could almost swear there was a glint of concern in her eyes. It was gone though before he could confirm its existence. "If so, my family could provide support-"
"There is no need. I am not short of money myself. There is simply something I want to do that will cost me quite a sum." Shirou shook his head, quickly nipping even the mere suggestion of borrowing money from the Barthomeloi in the bud. "I cannot talk about it now though. It's something between me and Lord El-Melloi."
"…Very well." The brunette nodded after a moment of silence. "If you are certain. My offer still stands though."
"Noted, and thank you."
After that, neither Shirou nor Lady Barthomeloi spoke a word, both finding something else to pay attention to.
It wasn't an uncomfortable silence though. Not at all.
Fiore Forvedge unironically loved the Clocktower.
While many accurately described the place as a pool of sharks, a garden of assassins, a cesspit of sins, and a great deal of other such flattering adages, to Fiore, it had been something of a home, the only one she'd ever had.
Her family's estate had never been a home to her. It would have to be a little more… homely, to be considered such. It wasn't homely though, not by any stretch of the word, and even the presence of her mother and little brother had done nothing to make Fiore feel any fondness for the place.
At least at the Clocktower, she was free from the overwhelming pressure of having to be the best in the family at all times, free from her grandfather's whims, and free from the relatives that were always looking to trip her up. At the Clocktower, she'd made wonderful friends, Marie Alva and Rosaly von Stahlen-Frobrecht, and she could spend all her time on research that she genuinely enjoyed.
Some people might not consider that to be much, but to Fiore, it had been heaven. To her, the Clocktower was her home.
Being forced to return to her family's estate for a while had been akin to torture for Fiore, and she'd left that place again at the earliest opportunity, hurrying back to her true home.
Only to find that home not as she left it.
In her half-year absence, everything seemed to have broken down. Marie had been missing, Rosaly had been close to a desperate breakdown, her small laboratory had been reclaimed by the family that had rented it to her, and all her ongoing projects had either been destroyed or stolen.
What's more, the Clocktower itself had been in chaos. The Aristocratic Faction was about to declare war on the Neutral Faction, most independent Magi were fleeing the Clocktower as fast as they could, and almost everyone whom Fiore had managed to acquaint during her previous stay now utterly ignored her.
That had been a very bad week, but fortunately, most of those problems had already been resolved now. Marie had been retrieved from the claws of her family, Rosaly and Fiore had somehow managed to survive the fires of battle, and the Aristocratic Faction had won a swift and decisive victory, pretty much ending the war before it had even begun.
But that had not been the end of it. Not by a long shot.
Even though the Aristocratic Faction had won the war in less than a day, the fall-out had been enormous and the status-quo completely upended. It would likely take months before a new equilibrium would be reached, and until that time, independent Magi were at a terrible risk.
They were easy prey for any faction or group seeking to improve their standing and number. They would be forcibly recruited through cajoling, bribery, blackmail, or even outright threats, and as long as the Department of Policies was wrapped up in their post-war efforts, there was no one who'd put in even a modicum of effort to stop this.
Having no great political power or financial power of their own, nor the magical power required to offset such disadvantages, Fiore, Rosaly, and Marie were very vulnerable to such tactics. They had to be exceedingly careful during these hectic times not to get snapped up by unsavoury types, and since fighting or fleeing was not possible for them, hiding was their only recourse.
That was why they were currently staying in Fiore's room, located in the general dormitories of the Clocktower. They'd holed up there ever since the purge ended, and they were perfectly willing to stay there for a good while longer.
It wasn't the bravest of options, but Magi weren't meant to be brave anyway. They were meant to survive, and it was common knowledge that if you couldn't fight or run, you needed to hide instead.
Fiore's room was fairly suited for that. It might have been meant for just one person, but since they were at the Clocktower, where everything was needlessly extravagant, a one-person room offered enough space for two people to live comfortably and three if they were fine with things getting a bit cramped.
The only thing lacking about it were its defences. Fiore's room was meant as a living space for an apprentice Magus after all, not a defensible position or fortress. The room did have a few Bounded Fields, but any sufficiently determined Magus would have no great trouble getting through them.
Which was why the girls were exercising constant vigilance to protect themselves. They always kept an eye on the door, never completely let their guard down, and even took turns keeping watch in the night, so they wouldn't be taken by surprise in their sleep.
They had made some attempts to improve the defences and to develop better means for self-protection, but as they lacked the required materials, they had eventually given up on that.
At this point, they just passed the time by reading, talking to each other, playing games, and whatever else they could come up with. It had felt a bit wasteful at first, lazing through the days like that, but Fiore also had to admit it was actually quite enjoyable. If she forgot about the exact circumstances that had forced them to stay together, she could almost pretend it was like one of those 'sleepovers' she'd always heard about in popular fiction books.
However, hiding in her room brought its own fair share of troubles with it.
"She is still barely eating." Rosaly muttered, leaning down to bring her head at the same level as Fiore's, looking with pain in her eyes at Marie, who was sleeping at the dining table, her head in her arms and her plate of food almost untouched before her. "Only one potato, two carrots, and I don't think she even looked at the meat."
"She is tired." Fiore whispered softly, reclining in her wheelchair. "And still in shock about what happened to her. It is not surprising that her appetite is very small. Frankly, I'm already very glad she isn't having constant nightmares."
"Yes, I am also very glad she is able to sleep so well, and that she can smile and laugh when she is talking with us." Rosaly nodded sharply, before she pursed her lips. "But this cannot continue. After… what happened, Marie needs to regain her strength. If she doesn't eat, she'll never recover."
"I know." Fiore suppressed a very deep sigh as she looked at her poor friend. "But we cannot force her to eat if she doesn't want to."
"Then we must tempt her." Rosaly argued, but Fiore just shook her head.
They'd had this discussion numerous times already, basically every day since the purge had ended, but they hadn't gotten anywhere with it. They had tried numerous avenues to make Marie eat properly, but so far, without success.
It didn't get better over time either. If anything, it got worse. The potato and two carrots that Rosaly had mentioned? They were the only thing Marie had eaten all day.
"She ate less than yesterday, and yesterday, she ate less than the day before." Rosaly was close to tears at this point. "What if she stops eating entirely tomorrow?"
"With any luck, the day after tomorrow will be better." Fiore stated, putting her hand on Rosaly's shoulder. "After her father, mother, and sister have been convicted."
"Ah!" Rosaly's eyes went wide, and she looked at the calendar. "Of course! Their trials are in two days, aren't they?"
"Yes." Fiore nodded, again looking at the girl sleeping at the dining table. "I think that's why she has been so down lately. She doesn't know what to feel."
"Shouldn't she just be feeling glad?" Rosaly lifted an eyebrow. "I would be glad."
"Would you though?" Fiore challenged her, feeling the other girl was taking the situation too lightly. "Would you be glad if your family was about to be put on trial? A trial where they are certain to be sentenced to death?"
"W-Well, n-no, I…" Fiore's question brought Rosaly up short, and the redhead looked away, unwilling to imagine such a scenario. "But… But that's because my family is nice. Marie's family is evil! They hurt her!"
"But they are still her family, the people whom she had lived with for all her life." Fiore countered. "And you can't just let go of that in a month."
Life would be so much easier if you could, but that just wasn't how it worked. Not even for Fiore.
"…Marie was indeed pretty conflicted about going to her family's trial." Rosaly agreed after a moment, rubbing the back of her head, before she gave a short bark of laughter. "Shows what I know! I thought she would have been eager to see it."
"Yeah, I expected that she would be too." Fiore mumbled slowly. "As you said, her family's treatment of her was positively vile."
It was by no means unusual for Magi-children to be treated badly by their families, but Marie Alva's fate had been a particularly cruel one, even among Magi worldwide.
Her own family, her parents, had changed her into a Dead Apostle, a monster created solely for the purpose of destroying humanity, and had then chained her to a table and brutally sliced her apart for months. It was the kind of horror story that edgy teenagers would tell each other about at a campfire, or that would feature in particularly gruesome slasher films, but to Marie, it had been a painful reality.
Her own father had tormented her without end while her mother stood by and watched, openly approving of his conduct. They had twisted her very nature, tortured her for months, and, if it hadn't been for the last-second intervention of a Sorcerer, they would have put her down like a diseased animal.
But despite all that, Marie could not bring herself to feel any enthusiasm about their trial and subsequent execution. She was just tired, spent, and utterly done. She had no intention of ever laying eyes on them again if she could at all help it. Not even to see them squirm, beg, and cry.
She had moved on, and she was completely fine with how things were now.
Or at least, so she claimed.
Fiore didn't believe her though. Nobody could go through such an ordeal and come out alright. The fact that Marie was barely eating was proof enough that she was still very troubled by what had happened to her, and Fiore feared that Marie wasn't going to be able to work through it on her own any time soon.
Marie needed help, professional help, and while Fiore and Rosaly were planning on getting her that help once the status-quo had been restored and things had settled down again, that didn't help Marie now.
They had to do something right this moment, or Marie might not live to see next month.
"I have been thinking." Rosaly spoke up again, slowly taking place on the sofa in the living room. "We may have been going about this completely the wrong way."
"What do you mean?" Fiore asked, rolling her wheelchair over to the sofa as well.
"We have been isolating ourselves in here, with nothing to do, allowing Marie to spend the whole day doing nothing but thinking about what happened to her." Rosaly explained. "I think that might have been counter-productive."
"You think we should have provided her with a distraction?" Fiore asked, rolling a bit closer to her friend again. "More than we have been doing already I mean?"
"Our 'distractions' so far have been limited to small talk and reading books. I don't think those are going to provide the distraction she needs." Rosaly shook her head. "It has to be bigger."
"…Like going outside?" Fiore finally realised what Rosaly was getting at. "Actually doing something productive."
"Exactly." The redhead nodded.
Fiore did not know what to think about that. On one hand, she did agree that just sitting around in her room for who-knew-how-many-more weeks was a bad idea. Fiore had already caught herself overthinking matters a few times, and it had to be much worse for Marie.
On the other hand, there was a reason they were hiding, and that reason was still very much valid. The brunette really didn't fancy being hunted down by unscrupulous types, who would pressure her, blackmail her, or even threaten her into joining their faction.
It seemed Rosaly had already thought about that though.
"We go out during dinner." The redhead stated, leaning forward with a martial expression on her face. "We stick to the busiest places, making sure never to be alone anywhere. We keep an eye out for people following us or looking at us weirdly, and we always stick together. It'll be difficult, but I really do think it's possible to go outside and return safely."
"I'm not so sure." Fiore wanted to agree with her friend, she really did, but caution forced her to remain on the fence. "Preferably, I'd like some more insurance that we will make it back to my room unharmed and unfollowed."
"…" Rosaly's expression became complicated, and she rubbed her chin, clearly trying to think of something to set Fiore at ease.
"Is there no one we can ask for help?" Fiore eventually asked after Rosaly had remained silent for several minutes.
"We already discussed that. We don't have any contacts we can rely on here." The redhead shook her head, pursing her lips. "We enjoyed our freedom and independence too much to spend any time on making friends and allies over the past years."
"A mistake, in hindsight." Fiore acknowledged. They really should have found themselves a sponsor while they could, for both guidance, and, more importantly right now, protection, but they'd neglected to do so, and now they were paying the price for their foolishness. "But it is not too late to rectify it."
"You want to find a sponsor now?" Rosaly asked sceptically. "Anyone who's halfway competent will smell our desperation from a mile away. That can never end well."
"We could try Lord El-Melloi." Fiore tried, floating the idea she'd been harbouring for a while now. "He seems reasonable."
"I doubt we're the only ones thinking that at this point in time." Rosaly smiled wryly, crossing her arms. "Asking him to be our sponsor right after he gained so much power… Yeah, I'm sure he'll welcome us with open arms, us and all the others having the same idea."
"There is no need to get sarcastic." Fiore frowned, lightly swatting the redhead's arm.
"Right, sorry." Rosaly apologised with a sigh, before she shook her head. "My point stands though. Lord El-Melloi becoming our sponsor might benefit us a great deal, but it won't benefit him."
"Then we'll have to make sure we do benefit him." Fiore said decisively, before holding up a hand when Rosaly made to protest. "I know it is a long shot, and unlikely to work out, but we should try at least."
"But that's-"
"I agree." A third voice suddenly interjected, and Fiore and Rosaly quickly turned around to find Marie standing behind them, her eyes half-closed in sleepiness and her hair in disarray. "If it's Lord El-Melloi, the worst thing he can do is say no."
"Marie!" Rosaly whined, clutching at her heart. "Don't sneak up on us like that! How long have you been standing there?!"
"I wasn't sneaking though?" Marie protested, looking honestly bewildered. "I woke up when you talked about sponsors, and then I walked over because I wanted to talk as well. I'm quite sure I made a lot of noise while doing so."
Which meant that she had missed the part where Fiore and Rosaly had been discussing her mental issues, something that honestly relieved Fiore, even while it also filled her with shame for talking behind her friend's back.
"We were planning on stepping out soon." Rosaly replied bluntly, making Fiore wince slightly at her tone. "Staying cooped up like this for much longer isn't healthy, so we tried to make a plan for an outing."
"Where to?"
"We hadn't gotten that far yet." Rosaly admitted. "The cafeteria perhaps?"
"It would be nice to have someone else cooking for us for a change." Marie smiled, taking Fiore aback by how easily she agreed. "When do we want to go?"
"No time like the present." Rosaly smiled, to which Marie gave a nod, and Fiore felt progressively more overwhelmed with every word coming out of their mouths. "How about we go out for dinner this evening?"
"Sounds good to me." Marie smiled back at Rosaly, before both girls turned to Fiore, their smiles still on their faces.
Against such peer pressure, there was little the brunette could do. She had her reservations, but in the face of her friends' hopeful looks, those reservations seemed utterly irrelevant.
"Alright. This evening it is." Fiore relented, and she couldn't suppress a smile at the cheers she received in turn.
Said smile shrunk considerably though when she realised it would be the first time Marie had gone on an outing since being freed from her family. It would quite literally be an event that she hadn't expected ever to experience again.
…That truly made it something to celebrate, didn't it?
Fiore's smile returned in full, no, it was even brighter than before, and she rolled her wheelchair over to the other two, smiling and laughing with them again, like she used to.
It was good to be home again.
After Carla Meluastea had been acquitted and had been given the lordship of the Meluastea-family, nothing much of import had happened on the second day of the trials.
As such, Shirou immediately excused himself once the senior judge closed the court for the day. He bid his goodbyes to the ladies he was with, before he grabbed the bag with the various treasures he wanted to sell and made his way over to Lord El-Melloi's office.
The lord had apparently also hurried back, for when Shirou arrived, the black-haired man was already sitting at his desk, Lehrman standing next to him. He was calmly reading a report of some kind, though he immediately placed aside once the redhead entered.
"Fujimaru." Lord El-Melloi acknowledged him shortly, leaning forward in clear interest. "I see you brought more of your items."
"I did." Shirou nodded, holding up the bag that was filled with treasures from the Vault. Not Illya's items of course, but still quite valuable.
At least, he hoped they were valuable. The mirror had been a good start, but he'd have to hear from Lord El-Melloi, or perhaps rather Lehrman, whether the rest of his items really were worth any money or not.
"Where is everyone else?" He then decided to ask, noting to his surprise that Lehrman was the only one at the lord's side right now. Even Grey wasn't present, which was exceedingly unusual to say the least.
"The others all had their own responsibilities to attend to." Lord El-Melloi explained, looking at his empty right side, where Grey was supposed to be standing. "I admit it is unusual for me to not be pestered constantly by numerous people, but it seemed everyone had better things to do. Even Grey had to accompany Reines for some matter she wouldn't tell me about."
"I see." Shirou scratched his head for a bit, before he shrugged. "Well then, shall we get to business?"
"Let's." Lord El-Melloi nodded, and Lehrman clapped her hands in enthusiasm, her grin so bright it could have lit up the night's sky. "What did you bring?"
"Yes, what did you bring?!" Lehrman echoed him in a much more enthusiastic voice.
"Just a few items of mine that I no longer have any use for." Shirou replied, before pulling several of said items out the bag. He didn't grab everything yet though, limiting himself to an Enchanted knife, a Ring of Protection, an Eternal Candle, a Water-Purifying Goblet, and several other trinkets and baubles. "What do you think?"
"They certainly look good from here." Lehrman grinned impishly, before picking up the Water-Purifying Goblet. She closely studied it from all angles, going as far as to lift her eyepatch and expose a silver Mystic Eye, and then muttered a short Aria for a type of scanning Magecraft. Judging from the huge grin that appeared immediately after, she must have liked what she saw. "Oh yes, very good indeed."
"This is not bad either." Lord El-Melloi muttered after thoroughly investigating the Enchanted knife, covering his mouth with his hand, a single bead of sweat going down his temple. "Fujimaru?"
"Yes, sir?"
"How did you get hold of these items?"
"They have been in the family for generations." Shirou replied, rather truthfully, since Thor was sort-of family and the god had lived for many human generations indeed. "But since they have been gathering dust in the storage from the moment my forebears claimed them, I figured I might as well sell them."
"That's very practical of you." Lord El-Melloi said, his tone so ambiguous Shirou had no idea whether that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult. "Most Magi would hold on to them, even if they didn't use them. One of their descendants might find use for them after all."
"I have better versions of all the items here." Shirou waved his hand dismissively. "These things will not be missed."
"…Right." Lord El-Melloi rubbed his brow, sighing tiredly, making Shirou wonder what he'd done wrong this time.
"Setting outside all the outrageous things you just said, you really brought us good stuff, Fujimaru." Lehrman took that opportunity to speak up again, holding up the Water-Purifying Goblet. "The ability to completely purify water of any and all impurities is incredible. The matrices of spells and Enchantments that this Goblet would require to do so are undoubtedly immense. What's more, those spells have been sunken into the foundations of its very being, oh, and this material! It looks like gold, but it is much more than that. Normal gold isn't this conductive to Magical Energy, so it must be something else entirely. The prestige of owning this object alone would already be worth tens of millions of pounds to most Magi."
Lehrman's cheeks had turned a glossy red at this point, yet for once, there was no trace left of her normal bubbliness. Her eyes were completely serious as she gazed at the Goblet, even while her mouth was set in a manic smile.
"It can't be that special." Shirou protested, getting slightly unnerved by how intense the pinkette was behaving. "I saw many artefacts in Lady Barthomeloi's office that looked a lot more impressive."
"Those artefacts are in her office so she can show them off." Lord El-Melloi told him, waving the Enchanted Knife around while admiring the green afterglow. "They are priceless treasures that serve as symbols of the Vice-Director's power. I assure you, they are not the norm among Magi."
"Right." Shirou scratched his temple for a bit, before crossing his arms, deciding to head off any questions. "Nevertheless, even if they are as amazing as you claim, I still want to sell these items."
"You have made that clear." Lord El-Melloi nodded, passing on the Enchanted Knife to Lehrman once he'd finished inspecting it himself. "Fortunately, I have a few contacts who can help us with that. I actually contacted several of them last night, and they were very interested in what you have to sell."
"They were?"
"Heavens Almighty, Fujimaru!" The man suddenly ground out, taking Shirou aback with his sudden irritation. "Enough with the humility! You know very well what you did over the last month and how everyone sees you now! Of course people would be interested in anything you have to sell!"
The reprimand echoed in the office for a moment longer, and then the lord sighed again.
"My apologies. I was overly harsh."
"No, you are probably right." Shirou mumbled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "I should stop denying reality already."
As unpleasant as it was, there was no escaping the fact that he was now politically important, famous, and a public figure. He no longer was a nobody, and it was high time he stopped acting like one.
It was not only the wrong way to go about things now, it was clearly also annoying a lot of people around him.
"…This knife is even better than the Goblet." Lehrman offered after a few seconds of silence, her voice once again peppy, and both Shirou and Lord El-Melloi jumped on the chance to leave the awkwardness behind them.
"How much can you sell it for?" The lord asked.
"A hundred million pounds." Lehrman said confidently, and Shirou let out a low whistle. "Perhaps even more. By the way, I may already have a buyer for this in mind."
"A buyer?" Shirou asked, prompting the pinkette to continue.
"A collector of blade-shaped Mystic Codes." She explained, slowly drawing her thumb along the flat of the blade. "He's insanely rich, quite eccentric, and completely harmless. If you sell him this knife, you can be completely sure he won't ever use it for nefarious purposes."
"Blade-shaped Mystic Codes, you say?" Shirou parroted, his interest now piqued. "Can you tell me more about this man and his collection?"
"Maybe, with his permission." Lehrman looked away coquettishly. "Can I tell him that you are interested in doing business?"
"…" Not quite sure of it, Shirou looked at Lord El-Melloi for help.
"Tell your contact that Fujimaru might consider selling the knife to him if he directly tells us what he is willing to pay for it." Lord El-Melloi ordered Lehrman, who smiled in response. "If you have any particular wishes about the price though, Fujimaru, now's the time to share them."
Shirou had to think about that for a moment, but aside from money to help the lord with his debts, there really wasn't anything that he wanted.
Except…
"…You said that this potential buyer is a collector of blade-shaped Mystic Codes?" He asked, just to verify.
"Huh, well, yeah, he is." Lehrman confirmed, appearing a bit confused that that was what he'd focused on.
"In that case, I would appreciate it if I could take a look at his collection." Shirou smiled as innocently as he could. "I am rather interested in such Mystic Codes myself, as it happens."
"Ooooh, how shady." Lehrman grinned. "Do I need to worry you're going to steal his Mystic Codes?"
"Not at all, miss Lehrman." Shirou shook his head, again telling nothing but the truth. "I am not going to steal anything from him. I merely wish to take a look."
Since he could literally copy the Mystic Codes through his Tracing-ability, stealing them would be utterly unnecessary and rather stupid too. Yes, something could be said about the originals being the originals and all that, but there was no law that said a copy couldn't be better than the original.
The redhead had had no luck so far with practicing his Tracing at the Clocktower, because of a lack of time and especially means, but if he could get a glimpse of a sizeable collection of blade-shaped Mystic Codes, it would go a long way to make up for that.
Yes, he had Mjolnir and the Mysterious Power, and so far, they had served him very well, but that didn't mean he was going to neglect his extremely unusual and useful ability to copy any and all Mystic Codes that were blade-shaped. He would have to be an utter fool to do that.
"Only take a look, you say?" This time, it was Lehrman who parroted him, her one eye studying him closely, before she nodded. "I… I think that shouldn't be a problem. I'll get back to you on that."
"Alright." Shirou smiled, mentally doing a fist pump in victory.
"I will ask my contacts about people who are interested in the other items." Lord El-Melloi added, before waving his hand towards the objects that hadn't been discussed yet. "I will first need to know though what we have here exactly. I can't offer to sell something if I don't know what it is."
"Of course."
So Shirou began explaining the function of the items to them, making sure to imprint into his memory every instance of mouths falling open, choking on tea, dropping cups from hands, and generally looking utterly flummoxed.
Illya was going to love this.
"I-I can't *sniff* b-believe that he's a-actually *sniff* gone." Sumida Gina, the next woman on the list of Carlton Paris' clients, cried softly, tears streaming over her cheeks and onto the ground despite Ayako's best efforts to stop the tide with paper tissues. "H-He always seemed so s-strong! So powerful! Larger than life!"
"There, there, it's alright." Ayako tried to comfort her, grabbing another paper tissue when the current one was fully soaked, desperately wiping away the tears that just kept on coming. "Ooooh, please stop crying!"
"H-He was the o-only one I-I could e-ever trust!" Sumida sobbed, hugging her arms to her chest. "What am I going to do now?! What am I going to do?!"
Sakura smiled as tenderly as she could at the woman, waiting patiently for the worst of the shock to pass. She could empathise with her a little –mainly by imagining what it would be like if Senpai was killed– and thus tried her best to look as sympathetic as possible, even as her girlfriend fumbled around in a minor panic, looking utterly adorable as she did so.
Rin on the other hand was much less patient, as evidenced by her finger's rhythmic tapping on the couch she was seated on, but the black-haired girl also held her silence, waiting with the questioning until Sumida had calmed down a bit.
Their conversation with Sumida Gina was definitely very, very different from the conversation with Kaneshiro Yoko. Where the large woman had taken the news with grace and a stiff upper lip, the heiress was taking it a lot harder, practically bawling her eyes out.
That difference in mental fortitude was also reflected clearly in their physical appearances. Kaneshiro had been a giant of a woman, someone who could knock out ten men at once and probably ate nails for breakfast without any milk, while Sumida was… Well, to put it bluntly, she was a wispy waif.
The heiress was short and frail, with eyes so blue they almost looked clear, a hauntingly beautiful face, and hair that was so bone-white it made her look even frailer than she already did.
No wonder Kaneshiro had expressed the wish to take Sumida into her arms and protect her. This woman almost seemed made to fulfil the role of damsel-in-distress, and her attitude certainly didn't do anything to counteract that image.
Furthermore, she was the heiress of a massive company. It wasn't anywhere close to the level of Kaneshiro's, but it was huge all the same, making her a very rich woman too.
With her looks and her riches, it was a surprise she hadn't long since been courted and married by a man from Fuyuki's upper class. Had all the local rich men gone blind recently or something?
"I knew something had happened!" Sumida wailed, somehow still managing to look gracious and refined even as she made a mess of herself. "I knew it! He didn't disappear without telling us! He would never!"
"W-Well, it seems you were right to think that." Ayako laughed nervously, clearly hoping they'd had the worst of the crying by now. "I'm sure he loved you very much."
"Huh?" Sumida looked up at Ayako, her confusion apparent in her every feature, to the point where the tears momentarily ceased flowing. "No, he didn't."
"…Hah?" Sakura could almost see the confused sweat drop appearing on Ayako's temple. Not that she herself was any better. She too was deadpanning at the white-haired woman. "He didn't?"
"No, he didn't." Sumida confirmed, her brows pulling into a frown. "He was a friend, but not my lover. I had to pay him to spend time with me after all."
"B-But you were crying and everything!" Ayako protested indignantly, clenching her hands, in which she still held several soaked tissues.
"Because he was my friend!" Sumida declared, her eyes becoming misty again. "He kept me company without pressuring me to marry him. He always used protection in bed to ensure I wouldn't become pregnant. He was someone I could turn to if my latest suitor turned out to be yet another criminal after my money."
"Ah, yes, I hate it when that happens." Rin nodded, totally steel faced, before she erupted in baffled anger. "As if! How the hell does that happen multiple times, you daft woman?!"
"I'm bad at reading people!" Sumida defended herself, puffing out her cheeks indignantly. "There are always so many men after me, acting sweet and kind, that I barely have any time to think before I have to choose one of them. But I don't expect you to understand that, miss gorilla."
"…What was that?" Rin's expression suddenly became very calm and pleasant, something that immediately set off all kinds of alarm bells in Sakura's head. "What did you just call me?"
"You are so mean and aggressive, I cannot imagine that you know how hard it is to be so popular with men." The heiress continued, blissfully unaware of the impending danger. "You are decently pretty, so you may have one or two perverts after you, but you will never understand what it is like to be as desirable as I am."
"Desirable?" Rin sounded utterly incredulous now.
"My features arouse baser desires in numerous men-"
"Your features?! You mean your coin purse-!"
"But Carlton was different, you said?!"
Rin began a scathing remark, but Sakura talked over her just in time. They still wanted information from Sumida, and that meant they couldn't make an enemy out of her, yet.
Not that she blamed her sister. Sumida Gina might have the superficial makings of a perfect princess, but from what the plum-haired girl had seen so far, she clearly hid a very difficult personality underneath.
"Yes, Carlton was different." Sumida proclaimed, apparently having missed Rin's remark. "No one ever really listens to me, not even daddy, but Carlton was sweet and kind and nice, and he always took me seriously."
"Right." Sakura smiled again, though the smile was much faker than before. "So you can't think of any reason anyone would want to kill him?"
"Maybe it was someone who was jealous of Carlton because he was allowed to spend so much time with me." Sumida suggested, rather ego-centrically. "Or maybe a former suitor I spurned who wanted to take revenge on me by harming Carlton. Or maybe-"
She began firing off suggestion after suggestion, all of them centred on her, and it wasn't long before the girls stopped listening.
"This is the woman whom Kaneshiro wanted to take into her arms?" Rin sneered in a low tone while they clandestinely put their heads together, referring to the giantess who'd given them a rather positive description of Sumida's character. "Is she blind or something?"
"They do say love makes blind." Ayako laughed sheepishly, before looking back at Sumida herself. "And I do have to admit she is beautiful. I can somewhat understand wanting to take her into your arms. Can't you, Rin?"
"To strangle her perhaps." The black-haired girl hissed like an angry cat, her hands opening and closing quickly, as if imagining she was indeed strangling Sumida. "Or squeeze her until she pops like a grape."
"Alright, Nee-san, calm down." Sakura quickly placed her hands over Rin's, rubbing her thumbs over her sister's knuckles. "Don't lose your patience."
"I won't." Rin assured her, relaxing her hands, before smiling lopsidedly. "I won't commit any violence."
"Good girl." Ayako praised her, patting her head, to Rin's visible irritation. "Now, is there anything else we want to ask her? Because if not, I suggest we get out of here."
"As unpleasant as she is, Kaneshiro did say Sumida knows a lot about Paris-san." Sakura mused, before smiling wryly. "So we're going to have to put up with her for a little longer."
Two deep sighs answered her, making Sakura's smile even more wry.
"-Carlton even told me he could sense that he was being followed."
Sakura tuned back to Sumida's ranting just in time to hear something potentially interesting.
"He was so nervous that day he didn't even bring me any chocolates."
But of course it was mainly about her again.
"He didn't even listen when I read him the poem that I'd written that week. Honestly, it was shocking. Definitely the worst date I've ever had with him. I almost refused to pay him, but he apologised properly, so I forgave him. Daddy does always tell me I have a soft heart-"
"Did you just say Carlton thought he was being followed?" Ayako interrupted her.
"Huh? Well, yeah." Sumida did not seem happy at being interrupted, but she did answer the question. "Mainly whenever he came back from Maita Rei. Of course, I did tell him not to visit her anymore, but he didn't listen."
"Maita Rei again, ha?" Ayako mused softly, sharing a knowing look with Sakura and Rin. The previous day, Nagao, the idol, had also spoken badly of this Maita Rei, and the girls were willing to bet it wasn't a coincidence that her name had come up again in the conversation with Sumida.
"Indeed. I hope that answered your question, ogre-girl." Sumida grumbled, casting a foul look at the brunette.
"O-Ogre?!" Ayako spluttered, her eyes going wide at the sudden insult.
"Hmpf." Sumida looked down at Ayako's hands, before her sneer became even deeper. "Of course."
Sakura followed the white-haired woman's gaze, but didn't see at all what Sumida could be getting at. The brunette's hands looked the same as they always did.
A bit larger than average for a girl her age, much stronger than one would think, somewhat rough and calloused, as expected of someone who practised a martial art with conviction and dedication, several blisters that were slowly healing, and shortly trimmed nails, so she wouldn't accidentally scratch someone's eye out during practice.
In short, they were perfectly fine hands that Sakura loved to have on her body.
Sumida clearly didn't think so however, and when Ayako wilted under her demeaning glare, Sakura got an immense urge to punch the white-haired bitch right in her smug face.
Before she could though, Rin already took action.
"That's a rather strong insult from someone who looks like she's halfway to becoming a Gashadokuro." The black-haired girl rose from her seat, immediately firing an insult back, comparing the woman to the well-known ghosts that were created when soldiers starved on the battlefield.
"G-Gashadokuro?!" Sumida clearly didn't appreciate the comparison, her face becoming red and spotty. Gashadokuro were famous for their hideousness after all, as befitting of people who died of disease and starvation.
"Yes, you definitely look like one." Rin repeated. She wasn't entirely honest there –Sumida was frail and skinny, yes, but not nearly to the point where it looked unhealthy, let alone where it looked like starvation– but if that woman could somehow find fault in Ayako's appearance, then yes, she definitely looked like a hideous ghost, on the inside if nothing else.
"You rotten brat!" Sumida fumed.
"Blowhard." Rin countered, her calm demeanour contrasting strongly with Sumida's rage. In fact, the black-haired girl was almost smiling, clearly enjoying the reaction her words elicited.
"Why are you so cruel?!" Sumida wailed, taking a few steps back. "You're just like all those men who said they loved me, only to leave me again!"
"I thought at first that those men were scum, but if this is how you always are, I'm definitely starting to sympathise with them." Ayako scoffed, and Sakura was relieved to see she'd dismissed the woman's insults as the nonsense they were. "Girls, I think we're done here."
"So do I." Rin agreed, and Sakura nodded her assent. "I would wish you a good evening, Sumida-san, but I'm not going to waste my breath on that."
"Don't you ever come back!" Sumida howled, shaking her fists in rage, and her eyes flitting around, likely searching for something to throw at them.
She was far too late however, and before she could find anything, Ayako had closed the door of the apartment behind her.
"That was unpleasant." The brunette stated once they were outside the building and on their way back home. "Very unpleasant."
"We wasted a lot of time there." Sakura agreed, casting an irritated look at the apartment complex behind her. "But we couldn't have known that in advance."
"Indeed we couldn't. Now, let's forget about it and focus on Maita Rei." Rin said sharply, already dismissing the past hour from her thoughts. "This is the second time someone mentioned her when we asked who could have hurt Carlton Paris, which means we have to check her out at least."
"It could just be a coincidence." Ayako suggested.
"I don't believe that and neither do you." Rin remarked, casting a pointed look at Ayako, who inclined her head in agreement. "Shall we go now?"
"No, Nee-san, it's too late for another interrogation." Sakura shook her head, having just checked the time. "We need to get back if we want to be in time to have dinner at a proper hour."
"Right, dinner. Nothing's more important than that at the Emiya-household." Rin smirked.
"Precisely." Ayako nodded, looking very serious, confirming once more that she was the perfect girlfriend for Sakura and Shirou.
"…I was joking, you know." Rin's smirk turned into an uncertain smile.
"I wasn't." Ayako replied, her expression cast in stone, prompting Sakura to give her a kiss on the cheek to show her appreciation.
"…Right." Rin sighed, before she shook her head in exasperation.
"We'll call it a day for now and continue tomorrow." Sakura said, finalising the decision. "Let's go back home. Will you be eating dinner with us, Nee-san?"
"Sure, if you'll have me."
"Naturally."
With that said, the trio started on their way back to the Emiya-estate. Today hadn't been a very successful day, but they had been able to cross two names off their list at least, and they'd gotten another clue that pointed at the woman called Maita Rei.
Hopefully, that interrogation would prove more fruitful.
The Aristocratic Faction had achieved a massive victory over the summer. There was no one in the Moonlit World who didn't know that, aside from people who'd been living under a rock.
They had brought down a large chunk of the Neutral Faction, they had reclaimed both Mineralogy and Botany through Lord El-Melloi, they had shown very clearly what happened to traitors to the Magus-Association, and –though this was yet unknown to most people– they had created strong ties with a budding Sorcerer.
Despite these victories however, the mood in Lorelei Barthomeloi's office was surprisingly dark.
"Grover Meluastea's body truly has disappeared without a trace." Mirei Montmorency informed her direct superior, her voice calm even as her eyes flashed in both rage and uncertainty. "My people have checked every nook and cranny of the mortuary and the surrounding area, but there was nothing to be found."
"How could this have happened?" Lorelei demanded, scowling deeply in displeasure. "Any thief should have been stopped long before they could even approach the mortuary."
"I do not know." Mirei admitted, her expression pained. "I interrogated all the guards myself, including the head of security, and thoroughly inspected all Bounded Fields, twice, but I could not discover any new information."
"The head of security has been relieved of his position, I presume?"
"Of course, as has the captain of the guards. I am hesitant to punish them further however, as it appears not to have been their fault. Whatever Magecraft was used to make the body disappear, it was highly sophisticated and completely unknown to us."
"Then do not punish them further. Give them a new assignment elsewhere within the Department of Policies and have them redeem themselves there." Lorelei waved the matter away, before focusing on the missing body itself again. "Grover Meluastea was executed already, was he not?"
"He was, yesterday, immediately after his trial, as Fujimaru requested." Mirei confirmed. "He was decapitated, and his body and head were stored separately. I checked myself whether he was indeed dead, and he was."
"Then we can assume he did not leave the mortuary on his own initiative." Lorelei stated, and Mirei almost huffed in amusement at the idea. "His body must have been stolen."
"By a very skilled thief at that." Mirei added. "As I said, no one noticed anything amiss until the next morning."
"What was the thief's motive?" Lorelei asked, knowing that the 'who' and 'how' questions were unanswerable right now and thus skipping straight to the 'why'. "Did he possess a Crest, or any unusual talents or properties that made his body worth stealing?"
"Not to the best of our knowledge. He was a crafty, cunning man, with brutality and guts to spare, but his talent as a Magus was average through and through." Mirei pursed her lips as she replied. "Though again, that was only to the best of our knowledge. It is not unfeasible that his true talent remained hidden from us to the very end."
"…Fujimaru seemed unusually keen to have Grover Meluastea executed as quickly as possible." Lady Barthomeloi recalled from the day before. "I will question him in regard to his reasoning for his haste. He may have new information for us."
"Knowing him, he probably does." Mirei scoffed, shaking her head lightly. That boy was a veritable goldmine of information. The only problem was getting him to share it. "For now though, let us shelve the matter of Grover Meluastea. We have other problems to discuss."
"…" Lorelei didn't say anything, but she did gesture for Mirei to continue.
"Several of the families in our Faction appear determined to sabotage and undermine our efforts to consolidate our power in the Clocktower's new status-quo." Mirei had been surprised at first to find that there were people within the Aristocratic Faction who'd dare to go against Lorelei so brazenly, but by now, she'd realised it actually hadn't been all that unexpected. "According to my agents, they fear you might come to consider them… unnecessary, if nothing is done to 'curtail' you."
"I did notice something of the sort." Lorelei nodded, a hint of smile on her face. "Many of the lords who were previously content to follow my orders suddenly appear recalcitrant to continue supporting my decisions."
"I have collected the names of everyone involved in this plot, as well as their stated aims and the division of tasks they made for themselves. My suggested course of action would be to-"
"We shall take no action against them."
"Pardon me?" Mirei blinked owlishly, wondering if she'd perhaps misheard.
"We shall take no action against them."
She hadn't misheard.
"You want to let them continue their petulant behaviour?" Mirei frowned at her boss' sudden passiveness, which wasn't at all characteristic for a Barthomeloi, to say the least. "Are you sure that is wise? They hamper our efforts, vote down your suggestions during meetings, and have withdrawn all the support that their families normally supply to the Faction."
"As is their right." Lorelei said mildly. "Everything they have done is in accordance with the agreements signed at the foundation of the Magus Association. They have violated no rules or laws."
"Not the letter of the law, no, but they definitely violated the spirit." Mirei huffed, before pursing her lips. "So you really don't intend to take action against them?"
"Not yet." Lorelei confirmed with a slow nod. "I will, of course, punish them for their treachery eventually, but for now, let us give them enough rope to hang themselves with. Sooner or later, they will break the ancient treaties, and I can expel them from the Faction."
"…"
"You disagree?"
"I do not. I am merely surprised you would choose such a course of action. Your forebears would never have had the patience for it."
"You would know that better than me." Lorelei's eyes darkened ever so slightly for the shortest of moments, before her neutral expression reappeared almost instantly again. "Now that we are speaking of my family anyway, let me ask; Is there any news from them?"
"There is, my lady." Mirei nodded, before reaching into an inner pocket of her coat. "A letter arrived in my office today, signed by your aunts, uncles, cousins, and the rest of the lot."
Correspondence between Lorelei and the rest of the Barthomeloi almost exclusively took place through Mirei. Lorelei herself largely ignored any letters sent from home, and out of desperation, the family had almost begged Mirei to act as their emissary. Unable to refuse such an earnest request, the elderly woman had accepted.
"What does my family have to say?" Lorelei's tone indicated very clearly she didn't really care, but since she couldn't exactly brush this matter aside like so many others, she reluctantly forced herself to listen.
"They congratulate you on the recent campaign against the Meluastea, praise your leadership-abilities, and speak of how proud they are to be your relatives." Mirei summarised the first part of the letter, before falling silent. The second part of the letter was about a subject Lorelei would not appreciate, and Mirei wondered how to break the news.
"What else?" Lorelei didn't give her a chance to think though, so Mirei decided to be blunt.
"They are once more insisting that you marry, so that you may produce children soon."
Lorelei scoffed.
Scoffed.
Lorelei Barthomeloi, the Vice-Director of the Magus Association, Queen of the Clocktower, and certified ice-statue, scoffed.
It was such an astonishingly unexpected sound that Mirei froze for a solid five seconds before she was able to process it, and by then, Lorelei had dismissed the subject already. Not verbally, but the fact that she was explicitly looking away indicated clearly that she had no intention of spending another second on the subject of her marriage.
"I will inform your family of your… response." Mirei decided to be diplomatic about the matter, making a mental note to write a polite letter back to the Barthomeloi.
They were not going to be pleased, that was certain, yet even so, there would be very little they could do about it.
Lorelei was too powerful for them to control anymore. She was stronger in Magecraft than any of her relatives, she had complete authority over the Clocktower, and was even technically the head of the family itself. If she decided not to listen to their orders, there really wasn't anything they could do.
Mirei suspected that that was why the Barthomeloi went to such lengths to indoctrinate their heirs; to ensure that they would remain loyal to the family even after leaving. It was becoming increasingly clear however that the indoctrination had not been nearly as successful with Lorelei as it had been with her predecessors.
Which was a good thing, really. At the very least, it made her more likeable.
"Was that all?" Lorelei then asked brusquely, the letter having put her in a rather bad mood.
"Almost. There is but one more matter we must discuss." Mirei replied.
"What is it?"
"Fujimaru."
As Mirei had expected, the name was enough to make Lorelei sit up and pay attention again. Only a few weeks before, the elderly lady would have lightly teased her about it, or made a snide remark in her head about young love, but right now, she did no such thing.
It had been acceptable to do so, back when Fujimaru had been a mellow, if powerful boy whose mannerisms and general behaviour appealed to Lorelei to a surprising degree, but not anymore now that he was a Sorcerer in the making whose actions could determine the political landscape for years to come.
It was hard to tease Lorelei about paying attention whenever he was mentioned when he was so genuinely important. It really was too bad, but for now, it seemed Mirei had lost the point of teasing.
"What is there to discuss about Fujimaru?" Lorelei asked, bringing Mirei back on track. "There has been no change in his behaviour or his stated intentions for the near future."
"Fortunately not, no." Mirei agreed, and the 'fortunately' was entirely meant there. "For now, he is still on our side, loyally doing what we ask of him. However, and I do hate to say this but I must, there is no guarantee that this state of affairs will continue."
"You mean to say he may not remain our ally forever?" Rather than playing dumb, Lorelei immediately cut to the heart of the case, which Mirei was grateful for. She would have hated having to explain everything bit by bit.
"That is exactly what I am saying." Mirei nodded. "I want us to be prepared for when he breaks with us."
"Breaking with us will have no advantages for him." Lorelei said, sounding almost defensive. "He has given his word to remain on our side, at least for the foreseeable future, and so far, he has proven himself to be a man who honours his oaths."
"I am not trying to cast doubt on his honour." Mirei said mildly. "I am merely trying to warn you that spoken oaths can be broken as easily as they were made."
"I know this. I would never trust an agreement made with a Magus without having an enforceable contract in place, but I believe that such a contract is unnecessary now." Lorelei remained on the defensive, her hands curling slightly, as if they wanted to ball into fists. "Furthermore, I am certain that Fujimaru would never agree to a magically binding contract under any circumstances, making this discussion moot."
"You are shifting the goalposts." Mirei pointed out, not unkindly. "I am not saying that you should persuade Fujimaru into signing a magically binding contract. All I am trying to do here is have a discussion with you about what we'll do to keep Fujimaru on our side and what we are going to do if we fail in that."
"…" Lorelei's hands curled a bit more, but then fully relaxed again, before the girl softly, almost unnoticeably, let out a breath.
"Sorcerers are a whimsical lot." Mirei said sagely, holding up a finger, giving a pretty good impression of a teacher imparting knowledge onto a student. "Maybe he'll never betray us, maybe he'll change sides as early as tomorrow. There is simply no telling with those kinds of beings."
"Your opinion of him is entirely too low." Lorelei protested, showing clearly her inexperience with Sorcerers.
"Perhaps." Mirei allowed, understanding that trying to make the girl see reason on this was a lost cause. "But please humour me. We can keep this entirely hypothetical if you want, but I would feel much more comfortable with a plan in place to deal with him if he goes rogue."
Lorelei's nostrils flared, her hands tensed again, and for a moment, Mirei feared she'd pushed too far and was about to be forcefully evicted from the office. No such things happened though, and the brunette regained her self-control fairly quickly.
"Fujimaru asked me, approximately a month ago, to take his friend as my apprentice, in exchange for his aid during the Purge." She reminded Mirei, with a hint of smugness in her voice. "As long as that stands, it is unlikely he'll turn against me."
Oh, so it was 'me' now? Mirei mentally rolled her eyes with a tired smile, but made no mention of it out loud.
"Then I suggest you start making work of that apprenticeship." The elderly woman said instead. "If you are truly depending on it to keep the boy on your side, you must take it seriously."
"I will."
"I mean it. In fact, it might be a good idea to start asking Fujimaru about more details the very next time you see him."
"I was going to convene with him about Grover Meluastea. There is no reason why I cannot include his friend's apprenticeship in that conversation."
"Good." Mirei said shortly, tapping her cane on the ground once. "Do whatever you must to keep him loyal. Furthermore, try to persuade him into affirming his stance on Clocktower-politics in public. Him being a Sorcerer is not yet publicly known, but it will get out soon, of that I have no doubt."
"Hm." Lorelei didn't respond verbally, instead just giving a small hum.
Mirei considered for a moment whether she should again raise the question of what they would do if Fujimaru turned against them, but ultimately decided to let it be. Lorelei wasn't going to give a straight answer anyway, and the answer was pretty obvious if you thought about it.
If a Sorcerer turned against the Aristocratic Faction, Lorelei was the only one who stood a chance at beating them. She would be the one to fight Fujimaru if everything went wrong.
Which was perhaps why she didn't want to talk about it.
"That pretty much concludes today's meeting." Mirei then said, crossing the last items of her mental list. "We have discussed Grover Meluastea, the treachery within our own Faction, your family's request, and Fujimaru's loyalty. That is all for today."
"Very well." Lorelei nodded, before looking away. "Then you are dismissed."
"Good. I must return to my paperwork. Oh, but before I go, my lady, do you intend to question Fujimaru as soon as possible?"
"I do." Lorelei confirmed, turning back to face the elderly lady again.
"Then there is no time like the present. You can find Fujimaru in the cafeteria on the second floor."
"Are you saying I should meet with him now?"
"Do you have anything else to do?" Mirei challenged her.
"Nothing pressing."
"Then yes, I am saying that you should meet with him now. I already readied a more casual outfit for you, just for that purpose."
Lorelei didn't respond after that, looking pensive, no doubt weighing her options in her head, and after ten or so seconds without a response, Mirei decided to get back to work.
"It was just a suggestion though." She said by ways of goodbye. "You don't have to talk with him if you don't want to. All I'm saying is that now's a good time. Well, anyway, good night, Lorelei."
"Good night." The girl muttered, the crease in her brow showing that she was still deep in thought, and Mirei wondered if she would indeed head down to speak with Fujimaru.
Only a month before, Mirei would have been certain that she would not. Now however, she wasn't so sure anymore. With how odd the girl had been acting lately, it wasn't unthinkable that she would actually go to the cafeteria.
Indeed, before Mirei had even left the hall, the door to Lorelei's office opened and the girl herself stepped out, clad in the outfit Mirei had prepared for her, clearly on her way to speak with Fujimaru.
Maybe that letter that Mirei was going to write to the Barthomeloi about Lorelei once again rejecting the idea of her getting married could carry a more hopeful note than the elderly woman had initially expected.