The funeral was in full swing.
Galois, true to his reputation as Hiaka’s great magician, had vast connections, and countless high nobles, royals, and magicians came in without end.
But no matter how many of them wept together, none of their crying could compare to the wails of Professor Odian alone.
“......”
I wasn’t sad. Galois had said what mattered wasn’t his existence, but what remained after he disappeared. What Galois left behind was still being passed on to Grandray. He was a man who had achieved his dream. There was no reason to mourn the process of a human completing himself.
“......”
In any case, aside from attending the wake, there was a public showing where I had to appear once more. I couldn’t go alone, so I called on Rebecca, who had been buried in the training facility, practicing only magic.
Ever since becoming a magician she had met Ezekiel often, it seemed, and when I told her of Galois’s death, Rebecca showed no sign of surprise at all.
“You already knew?”
“Yes.”
And then she said that she could see, with her eyes, the old men who were about to die.
The “Master of Mana” naturally read the fading of life force. And when such men appeared to her, she said she always made her heart ready in advance.
“Who else is there?”
I was a man who neither respected Rebecca, nor expected respect from her. But this question—I instantly regretted asking.
“My father.”
Even now, I regret it.
***
I attended the funeral with Rebecca.
That day was when the assassins ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) came, and many assassin professors from Black Abyss and White Saber attended. From heavyweights like Betelgeuse and Lang, to Kollider and Vyper as well.
Among them was a Black Abyss professor named Ludenbach. The female professor standing beside him seemed strange somehow.
“...Professor Eugene?”
“Ah, Professor Dante. Long time no see.”
It was Eugene, the White Saber professor of Curses.
She quickly spotted Rebecca and congratulated her engagement with a smile—her reflexes fitting the “super ace professor,” hailed as the best among our cohort aside from me.
But then I noticed: in Ludenbach’s arms was a newborn baby.
Those two, like this...
“......?”
A spark jolted through my mind.
It had already been common knowledge that Eugene was pregnant when she went to the Empire.
And I remembered: right before the hotfix, when Ludenbach and I rode the airship to Jinksythe, he had said that his wife was pregnant.
“I didn’t know you two were married.”
“Mm. We haven’t exactly gone public. People point fingers, you know.”
Still, marriages between Black Abyss and White Saber weren’t unheard of, so I accepted it as it was.
The baby, about a year old, blinked open its chubby eyes and stared blankly at me.
The child of assassins. Behind the baby loomed Galois’s portrait.
Thus, where one era ended, another was beginning.
“What’s the baby’s name?”
The question slipped out, born of a sudden ominous thought. Ludenbach gave a vague smile.
“Dante.”
...What?
“...was what I was going to name her, but she scolded me terribly. So we settled on Dantia.”
I pressed my fingers to my temple. Just like when we flew to Jinksythe, Ludenbach had an unhealthy admiration for me... Still, I was relieved it wasn’t Dante as the girl’s name.
Ludenbach, drifting through life, had been lucky to meet the sharp and decisive Eugene.
“You’re expecting another one too.”
Rebecca said this then, and Eugene’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
Her hand covered her stomach.
“Just... a feeling.”
“Wow, Princess, your sense is sharp. I’m about three months along.”
“Congratulations. I hope you have a safe birth.”
Until then, I thought nothing of it.
“So what about you two?”
The question made me choke.
Cough, cough.
What the hell kind of remark was that?
“...Uh, what?”
Rebecca looked equally flustered. Eugene pressed again.
“Do you two have no plans? I heard the prince had no interest in proposals, and Your Highness is at just the right age—it would surely delight His Majesty.”
“Ah. Uh...”
The most dangerous attacks aren’t strong ones—they’re the ones you don’t expect.
Rebecca darted a glance at me, utterly lost, but I too had never imagined being asked something like this and was caught off guard.
“Well, we’re still newlyweds, so...”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yes... We thought we’d... prepare a bit more...”
Rebecca shot me a sidelong glare—What preparation? I didn’t know either.
I just wanted to divert the topic somehow.
“You’re preparing then?”
Professor Eugene smiled lightly, carrying the conversation forward.
“I think if your mind is set, sooner might be better. Of course my husband said we should enjoy life longer first, but I was never sure. Maybe because I’m a workaholic? Drinking parties, hanging out with friends, traveling... I always wondered, what’s so fun about that?”
“Ah.”
“What about you, Princess?”
“I also... don’t really know the joy of play.”
“Exactly. You’ve always been so busy, never resting.”
“Yes. I’m a bit of a workaholic too.”
“Then raising a child might be even more fun. It’s hard, but children level up every single day.”
Ludenbach shook his head as if in denial. On closer look, he had dark circles dragging down two lines. No doubt the baby cried every night, leaving him sleepless.
“Oh, and by the way, I think your child would be very beautiful. Don’t you agree?”
“Eh? Ah.”
“Ah, yes...”
“Professor Dante is already famous for his looks, and the Princess is so lovely too. The child would be striking.”
“Mm...”
“Uh... yes.”
“So, Princess, would you prefer a boy or a girl?”
“Me?”
“Yes. Of course, whichever is born, you’ll raise with love, but still—people’s hearts lean just a feather’s weight one way.”
“Ah, that’s true. Um...”
If there were a mouse hole, I’d hide in it alone. Rebecca could fend for herself.
“Hmm...”
But Rebecca’s silence only made the atmosphere more awkward.
“A boy would be best.”
I belatedly invoked my 『Chivalry』 to answer for her—
“But that’s Professor’s choice. And the Princess?”
Blocked by 『Tai Chi』, the question returned to Rebecca.
“Hmm......”
After some hesitation, Rebecca answered slowly.
“A girl.”
“A girl? That’s nice. Why?”
“Mm. No reason. I just... want to raise her like a princess.”
Eugene chuckled softly and nodded.
“My sister’s daughter is about seven now, and watching her grow is so lovely. Compared to boys, she’s calmer too.”
“I see.”
“Would you like to hold Dantia for a moment?”
“What?”
An SOS came in Rebecca’s eyes—Why would I hold a baby? She looked at me that way. She might be a demon, but she gave a little nod—her way of saying handle it yourself.
As Eugene suddenly extended the baby, Rebecca had no choice but to take her.
Rebecca carefully held the infant in her arms.
The sight was strangely unsettling. Her usual sharp, blade-like expression was gone. Instead, she gazed down at the baby with a conflicted look.
“This feels... strange.”
“What does?”
“Sacred? Holy? Something like that.”
You too... When Rebecca passed the child to me, I understood her words.
It was true. A newborn was not human.
“......”
Somewhere far away, a star glimmers.
One person, having finished his journey, returns to that star. Another, just beginning, sets out on the road.
Human history has continued like this.
“......”
And as a professor who possessed nearly all the truths of this world, I felt a responsibility to see that it continued.
“Why a boy?”
After we left them, Rebecca asked me.
“What?”
“You said boy earlier.”
“I did. ...”
“......”
“...Just, if it were a boy, we could eat together. Go to the sauna. Third in line to the throne...”
I rambled nonsense.
Rebecca stared at me for a moment, then walked ahead.
“......”
And as she passed, she muttered.
“...Who would even give birth to him...?”
***
When the paper on the 『Curse of Pettiness』 was spreading across the world,
I too began mobilizing numerous Hiaka assassin groups to search for traces of “Abraxas.”
– This is Betelgeuse.
“Yes, Division Chief.”
From this point on, Betelgeuse, head of Hiaka Academy’s Black Abyss Division, personally moved on my behalf. That was how big a player I had become. Of course, it came at a steep price.
– I chased after the Security Chief Abraxas’s tracks you mentioned, but found nothing.
Ah. As expected.
– So I tried writing in the 『Memorandum∞』.
What?
“The 『Memorandum∞』? How did you manage to use the Empire’s national treasure?”
The Kreutz 『Revelation↑』, Hiaka’s 『Ledger⧉』, and the Empire’s 『Memorandum∞』—these were known as the Three Books of Providence, capable of unearthing information.
– Let’s just say I had a chat. A personal debt between me and a royal assassin.
The words of the most assassin-like man I knew.
– Anyway, I found something odd. When Abraxas came to Hiaka, concealing his identity as Security Chief, it seems he sought out and met several children.
“By children, do you mean Princess Rebecca?”
– Correct. Rebecca. Elize. Balmung. And one called ‘Quan.’
Rebecca was destined to be the mage of the Hero Party.
Elize and Balmung would be its assassins.
But... Quan?
“If you mean Quan, he was a Dormant Dragon cadet.”
– Yes. But he suddenly disappeared in second year. He appears neither in the 『Memorandum∞』 nor in the 『Ledger⧉』.
“......”
That was highly suspicious.
Now that I thought of it, after the first few encounters, Quan had only ever skittered about like a cockroach—appearing and disappearing in flashes.
Even that, he hadn’t shown himself since the Bomiteka Invasion Battle.
“Please investigate further.”
– One hundred million.
“I’ll pay you two hundred if you uncover the truth.”
Laughter trickled through the Crystal Orb.
– Our positions have reversed, haven’t they?
A troubling man.
*
Meanwhile, I began appearing more often at the royal palace to visit the King.
Audience was difficult, but visiting with the Princess was easy.
“Your Majesty, greetings. Dante Hiakapo has come.”
“You’re here.”
“Father, how is your health?”
“Improving greatly.”
The King’s face was expressionless.
Even looking at Rebecca, expressionless.
Looking at me, even more expressionless.
“Well. Have you practiced?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
From what I had gathered from Rebecca, the King greatly enjoyed “Hiaka Royal,” the traditional Hiaka board game.
On the board, one summoned units and magic with [Illusion] to destroy the opponent’s base.
Because indulging in games diminished dignity, he told no one. But the Princess knew, and through repeated visits I had begun playing him.
Despite studying hard, I always lost to him. Even though he saw my growth, he was beginning to lose interest.
“...This time, Your Majesty may have to be prepared.”
Today was the day. I intended to use the “Shard of the Star.”
“Prepared?”
Hiaka III’s voice dripped with contempt.
“All who challenged me have died by my hand. You would be any different?”
Fearsome words indeed. But a man who bows is no attractive son-in-law.
“Your Majesty. I am a professor.”
“Oh?”
“And today, I will teach you.”
On the dragon-like face of Hiaka III, along the lines of his wrinkles, a smile spread.
“Show me, then.”