Chapter 24: Fastening the First Button (7)
Duval Mackenzie’s days were always the same.
Regular meals, regular training, regular sleep.
And books.
Within that mechanically repetitive life, he neither sought nor expected change.
At least, not until there was one single exception.
“Ugh…”
He suddenly clutched his throbbing head.
An unpleasant pain reverberated inside, as if an insect made of ice were burrowing into his skull.
The pain that sprouted in his head traveled along his veins toward his abdomen, and soon a wave of nausea hit—strong enough to make him feel like vomiting on the spot.
Even as he barely endured the agony, he ground his teeth with a sharp creak.
‘That damned bastard.’
A man’s image flashed in Duval’s mind.
Golden hair and teal eyes.
A sturdy build, comparable even to his own above-average height.
And most of all, that unsettling gaze—like it was piercing straight through him.
Lian Gwendil.
“…Tch.”
Duval had no choice but to accept the fact that he had been played by him.
If things had gone according to plan, he would have already stabbed a dagger into the man’s back and achieved his objective.
But contrary to expectations, it was Duval himself who ended up cornered and outwitted.
The first reason was that he had underestimated and let his guard down around him.
The second was that the man was far more skilled and experienced in combat than Duval had thought.
‘And on top of that…’
The sensation of the dagger slipping from his grasp that night still lingered vividly.
It wasn’t simply losing a weapon.
It was proof of an indelible disgrace—betraying Rahma’s trust.
If he could, he wanted to cleanse that sin right this very moment.
But he knew that if he acted rashly, he could ruin the grand plan, so he forced himself to swallow his resentment.
“Hoo…”
He could not allow himself to sabotage the great work.
The only small comfort he had was knowing that he had successfully carried out every order Rahma had given him.
Once things were settled, he would erase this humiliation without fail.
It was while he was clenching his teeth with that resolve—
“Ah.”
—that he heard the voice of the very person who had been the cause of all his pain just moments ago.
Lian Gwendil. It was unmistakably his voice.
“Mackenzie-senior, so you were here.”
…The bastard had walked straight to him.
To calm his excitement, Duval took a quiet deep breath before turning his head.
“Oh, Gwendil-kun? What’s the matter, at this late hour?”
Lian Gwendil, despite appearances, was surprisingly perceptive.
If Duval showed even the slightest hint of something strange, he might immediately grow suspicious.
In fact, Duval had a history of worshiping the Evil God for years while living nonchalantly among the believers of the Holy Sun Church.
Deceiving a single young freshman was nothing more than child’s play for him.
“There was something I wanted to investigate.”
“At this hour? Must have been pretty urgent then?”
“Well, you could say that?”
But now was not the time.
With that conclusion, Duval quickly regained his composure.
He looked at Lian with his usual smile.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Oh, I’d appreciate it if you could.”
Even as he felt a faint sense of discord from the young man’s demeanor—so different from before—Duval kept the conversation going.
“What kind of book are you looking for?”
“Hmm, I hope you don’t misunderstand but…”
After hesitating for a moment, Lian spoke carefully.
“Do you have anything related to sorcery?”
“Sorcery?”
“Yes, sorcery. As in…”
Lian glanced around before lowering his voice to a whisper.
“…Cultists of the Evil God.”
When Duval looked at him with a startled expression, Lian awkwardly added in explanation.
“Well, it’s nothing much, but I was attacked last weekend when I went outside.”
“What? What do you mean—wait, more importantly, are you alright?”
To anyone watching, Duval’s reaction looked exactly like that of a senior startled by the sudden story, yet still worried for his junior.
“Haha, thank you for your concern, senior. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt.”
“So what exactly happened? An attack? And sorcery on top of that… Are you sure this is something I’m supposed to hear?”
“What’s the harm? They told me not to go spreading it around, but they never said I couldn’t tell anyone at all.”
Speaking casually, Lian began summarizing the incident from that day.
He said he had been attacked from behind, but the assailant had been so weak that nothing had come of it. Duval simply smiled at that.
“Well, that’s a relief. You could have been in real danger.”
“Exactly. And the pattern carved into his forehead… it looked like evidence of sorcery I’d seen once before. That’s why I came to investigate.”
“…And you’re telling me this?”
“It’s nothing more than my own conjecture.”
Lian Gwendil nodded.
“For all I know, it could have just been some idiot pretending. My guess alone wouldn’t be enough for the Church or the Academy to act. And besides, it might just cause an unnecessary fuss.”
“That’s true… If your hunch turned out right, though, it would cause quite the commotion. The Church, the Academy, and even the Imperial Family would be on alert.”
And that was precisely Rahma’s intent.
After a short moment of thought, Duval gave a small nod.
“Hmm, I happen to know a few good books. Shall I get them for you now?”
“That would be great. Can I come with you?”
“Sure, let’s move. I’m pretty sure they’re over that way.”
If it turned out to be true sorcery, the boy would surely become serious and start poking around.
And such foolish behavior would no doubt help Rahma’s plans succeed.
‘I’ll mix in a few and hand them over.’
Books related to Evil God cultists were subject to censorship, but there were still a few that had been approved for publication to raise awareness of their threat.
He figured giving the boy a few of those would do the trick—
“…But actually, I think there’s more to it than that.”
Following behind him, Lian Gwendil suddenly said that.
Duval had intended to give a half-hearted response, but as the young man went on, he couldn’t help but let his expression harden.
“It’s something you hear in strategy manuals, isn’t it? You know… shout in the east and attack from the west.”
“Why do you think they attacked us? It’s not like random street thugs would go crazy and mess with Academy students, and neither Senior Lancia nor I have done anything to earn such grudges. If they really were Cultists of the Evil God, all the more so. Why on earth would they attack an Academy student right in front of the Academy? And in such… a clumsy way, with such pathetic people.”
“They’re trying to divert attention. Stirring things up here on purpose, drawing vigilance and manpower outward. They’re after something.”
Then what could that be?
What exactly were they aiming for?
Lian Gwendil dragged out his words slowly, almost like savoring them.
“If I were to make one more guess… yeah…”
“The Dungeon Field Class a few days from now.”
“That’s the one.”
At those words, Duval had to revoke the conclusion he’d made earlier.
He had to kill him.
He absolutely had to kill him.
Right now, right here.
Relieved that the boy couldn’t see his face since he was in front of him, Duval forced out a laugh.
“…Haha, that really does sound like a stretch.”
“Heh, you think so too, senior?”
Lian laughed awkwardly.
Matching his laugh, Duval slowly began selecting the books he’d been asked for.
All the while, in his head, he was endlessly thinking about how to kill him and how to deal with the body and the traces.
“Honestly, I think it’s too much of a stretch myself. I haven’t told anyone. No—more like I couldn’t.”
“I see.”
“But… well, I was thinking I might at least consult someone about it. That’s why I’m doing this bit of preliminary research.”
That answer only made Duval even more determined to kill him right now.
He pulled out a couple of books and handed them to Lian.
“Here. You’ve still got time, so if you go now you can check them out.”
“Thank you, senior.”
“No need to thank me. Helping people find books is my job.”
And I should be thanking you.
Duval muttered soundlessly as he looked at Lian’s turned back.
For coming all the way to me on your own.
With that thought, he quietly gripped a dagger inside his coat.
Unlike last time, this one was freshly sharpened and coated in poison.
And above all, this time, he would not be careless.
As he closed in right behind Lian, Duval silently thrust the dagger toward his back, exactly where the heart would be—
Thud.
—but something pierced his body a split second before.
“…Hm?”
The pain came a moment late, completely unexpected.
Looking down, Duval saw something stuck in his abdomen.
A familiar hilt.
The very dagger he’d been given by Rahma—and had lost to Lian.
“That’s not what I meant by ‘thanks.’”
In that still-utterly-calm voice, Duval tried to quickly retreat, but he couldn’t.
A hand was gripping him firmly.
“What I meant was, thanks for being such an idiot and showing your true colors so fast.”
With those words, Lian suddenly drew a mace and smashed it with full force into his head.
“Ah—aaagh!!! Uaaagh, you crazy bastard!!!”
Hearing Duval Mackenzie’s scream as he went flying, I glanced at my mace.
Maybe it was my imagination, but the metal head looked slightly dented.
I muttered in quiet amazement.
“Man, you’re sturdy. An ordinary guy would have died from that blow.”
“What—what the hell are you doing?! Why would you…?!”
“Wow, still acting even now?”
With that, I gripped the mace in both hands.
Because there were too many obstacles around, I kept it in its shorter form.
“Kh!”
Barely dodging the downward swing, Duval leapt far back.
No matter how I looked at it, that wasn’t the movement of an ordinary cadet.
“…How did you know?”
“Hm?”
“How.”
Holding the dagger he’d pulled from his stomach, Duval glared at me.
His teeth clenched as if to endure the pain, his eyes were bloodshot.
Even without looking closely, I could tell his condition wasn’t great.
Then again, taking a direct hit to the head and being fine would be stranger.
“I’m asking—how did you know?!”
I chuckled at that.
“Impressive. Most people would be barely able to stand right now.”
“Answer me!”
At his shout, I just shrugged.
“What? That you were the one who attacked me? Or that your real target—the one behind you too—is the Dungeon Field Class?”
“…”
Maybe I should shake him a little here.
I stared at him and spoke.
“It’s simple.”
Spinning the mace once in my hand, I whispered—
“…I can see the future.”
It was an utterly absurd thing to say, but apparently not for him.
Duval’s eyes widened in disbelief as he glared at me.
“What… what do you mean…?”
“Why, sound like a lie? Think about it—how else would I have known and come here?”
Smiling slightly, I saw him step back again.
“Hup!”
Then, all of a sudden, he pulled something from his coat and threw it behind him.
At a glance, it looked like a bat.
I immediately recognized it as one of the means of delivering information to someone.
I stayed where I was, watching, when suddenly, despite the blood spilling from him, he burst out laughing.
“You idiot… puffing yourself up because I flattered you… Even if you get out of here now, you’ll be dead soon enough…!”
But Duval trailed off, staring blankly into the air.
What he’d thrown was suddenly tangled in midair like it had been caught in a spider’s web.
I tapped my neck with the mace and said—
“Did you really think I’d come find you without making any preparations?”
His stunned look quickly twisted into something much uglier.
Maybe deciding there was no hope, he turned to run—
So I hurled the mace at the back of his knees with all my strength.
With a nasty cracking sound, he screamed and collapsed to the floor in a pathetic heap.
“Gyaaaaah!”
“Oh, that one hurt, huh?”
Face-down and pitiful, Duval began frantically crawling away using both hands.
I walked toward him slowly.
When my shadow finally fell over him, his body jerked violently.
“N-no…”
His dazed mutter was filled with despair.
Looking down at him, I slowly raised my mace.
And to reassure him, I whispered—
“It’s fine.”
Then, without hesitation, I brought the mace down.