Volume 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Chapter 4
The Threshold Between Duty and Sentiment
1
Within Sector 3 of the Imperial Capital
”Uuuuuuuuuu……”
On the second floor of the base, within the strategic planning room used for squads
Within the perfectly sound proof roo on the table before her, the petite blue haired fe next to her, Iska handed over a juice bottle
”Captain Misht the carbonated juice that you like”
”Yay! It’s ginger ale!”
Mishtened up in an instant As fast as a carnivore pouncing on its prey, she grabbed the bottle with both her hands
”Come on, Nene and Jhin too, let’s take a little break”
”How unusual”
”Eh?”
”That you bought juice in a glass bottle instead of a can”
Sitting in a chair across the table, Jhin folded his araze at Iska
”Did they run out of canned juice?”
”No, I wasn’t really paying any attention to that I just kind of… Felt like it”
Until Jhin pointed it out, not even Iska hilass bottle for juice, that was─
‘Here This is to thank you for guidingall this time too’
”… Now that I think about it, it’s cause I was given juice in a bottle”
”Given? By who?”
”Ah, no no no! That’s not it, not it at all It’s just that I went to buy soave me Back when I went to the Neutral City that is”
Seeing Jhin knit his brows, Iska shook his head in a fluster He couldn’t possibly say that it was given to him by the Ice Witch of Calamity, and even if he did, it was obvious that it would just
… Now that I think of it, how did I get back?
… Before I realized it, I was in a passenger cab and had already arrived at the Imperial capital
The driver said the fare was paid for in advance Just being told that, Iska couldn’t grasp the situation right away Even if he boarded a passenger cab in a daze, there was no way he could pay the fare since he had forgotten his wallet In that case, the one who paid for the fare beforehand was…
”Aah this is useless!”
Mismis jumped out of her seat with a thud
”There’s too much to memorize! What’s with this? All we know about the specialunder Lishi+a-chan’s co for it next ht? Then why are there so many documents about it beforehand…?”
The mountain of docuh Not only that, there was more than just that Behind the e of the sa for them
”Uuu Saying that there’s no guarantee that we’ll come back alive if we don’t cram the entire mission’s contents into our heads, it’s too much”
”Though she also said that even if you uarantee that you’ll coht~”
”Nene-chan, I don’t need that kind of comment!”
Mismis plopped back down into her chair And now, she had her head against the table
”After getting worn out by lectures, it’s physical training on the grounds Once the body is tired fro worn out by studying, it’s back to training… She won’t even tell us what kind of mission it is, there’s no end to the anxiety as to e’re going to do huh”
”I can at least predict that it won’t be a hile h”
Saying that, Jhin went back to reading through thepace
”Now that I think about it, Iska─”
”Hi there~ Misht now?”
A broadcast interrupted Jhin fro The voice they heard was Lishi+a’s It was likely a communication from the central base where her operations room was
”How’s it going? Is Jhin-jhin tired of all your co to memorize all those documents yet?”
”gulp…”
”On top of that, you didn’t ask Iska-chi to go buy you juice did you? You can’t do that, it’s a breach of rules for an officer to give commands to their subordinates unrelated to their duties Aah, but if there’s any ginger ale left then I’d also like one though~”
”You’re watching aren’t you!? Come on, show yourself!”
The captain looked around frantically in the room where there was no way surveillance cameras would be put in place
”Anywho, setting that aside Iska-chi, is it fine to ask you to run a little errand somewhere?”
”To Lishi+a-san’s position?”
”Nope, to the Imperial Diet”
The fifth seat of the Holy Apostles did not hide her bitterness
”You et, but Iska-chi was a prisoner until a few days ago And you were released thanks to who again?”
”… I remember”
The Eight Grand Apostles As the ultimate authority at the summit of the Imperial Diet, they were the ones who held real power over the entire Empire in place of the Emperor
”That written report about the time you went to the Nelka forest, it see it over And so, they called for a ”
”… It couldn’t be, they’re done with Iska-nii and throwing him back in!?”
”There there, calm down Nene-tan I just heard about it myself”
Nene stared at Iska with a worried look And in contrast, Lishi+a’s voice that rang out through the room was a carefree one mixed in with a yawn
”Anyways, go and see The ’s at four in the afternoon at the usual place”
”Another suspicious chat huh?”
Jhin spoke while leaning back on his chair
”There’s no way the Eight Grand Apostles have anything good to talk about At any rate, it’s those guys that Master called the shadiest of the”
”… That’s how it goes”
The Man of Black Steel Crosswell ─ the est swordsman of the Empire, the on he considered his most detested opponent, was not the Nebulis Ies He never relaxed his guard around the Eight Grand Apostles That master who served as the personal escort of the Emperor, said that of the ultimate authority in the Empire
”In any case, I’m off”
”Iska-kun! I-if so over as a captain okay!?”
Mis back at the captainout for her child, Iska left the room behind
The Imperial Diet
Also known as ‘The Unseen Will’
The source of that second na did not appear on any map It’s location was verbally passed down from a superior to their subordinate It was absolutely never written down It was to the point where Iska was first informed of it only when he first rose to the status of a Holy Apostle
”Five thousand metres under the Imperial Capital huh…”
The terees
In the abyss of the planet where undergroundan enormous elevator that was located in the central base, could one reach the ‘Unseen Will’
… For the sake of hiding froency
… How meticulous
Even if the entire Ees from Nebulis, they themselves would be completely unscathed It was a place where one felt like they could hear the sneers of the Eight Grand Apostles
”We’ve kept you waiting”
Iska looked up directly in front of him at the e of eight ht Grand Apostles While being the eight people who had the Empire under their thumb, only their silhouettes were shown on that monitor
”Now then, Successor of Black Steel Iska We have confirmed the contents of your report”
”To have fought with the Ice Witch of Cala talent”
A tone with a sense of joy Seeing that the Eight Grand Apostles were in good humour, Iska secretly felt a sense of relief It was a fact that he was tense fro been called here by those of superior status, but the Eight Grand Apostles were also eerie in that he never knehat they were thinking
”However, I was unable to protect the power reactor”
”The duty given to you was to keep the Ice Witch of Calamity in check, not to protect the power reactor”
”The E the Ice Witch of Cala been able to validate that, you have h to consider your reinstatement into the Holy Apostles”
Holy Apostles ─ hearing this spoken by the Eight Grand Apostles, Iska reflexively raised his face
It was far too hasty The Empire had a doctrine of skill supreular soldier with outstanding talent would leap over the position of an officer… But, even taking that into consideration, was there really a case where soainst the state to be appointed to the Holy Apostles so quickly?
”We understand your feelings of wanting peace As a Holy Apostle, you would be able to hold an audience with his Excellency the Emperor However, to rise to that status, there is naturally a need for you to silence the other Holy Apostle candidates Especially since there are none who do not know of your criminal record”
A deep laughter was passed through the monitor Awoman’s voice could be heard
”And so, ill present you with the conditions for your reinstatement into the Holy Apostles That is─”
”The capture of the Ice Witch of Calamity”
”─! To capture, Al─”
As Iska was about to reflexively say Alice’s naed to stop Even he did not knohy he kept her name secret on the spur of thethe Eight Grand Apostles of the name Aliceliese Lou Nebulis IX He understood that they were enemies But, could he really do it?
… With my hands
… To hand Alice over to military headquarters… That’s…
‘How old are you?’
‘… Oh? Then I’m one year older’
A carefree sirl as his enemy showed for an instant that her heart had thawed That htened his cynical mind for just an instant
”There is no time limit However, do make haste If you wish to protect the Empire that is”
”Make haste? What does that mean?”
The Eight Grand Apostles spoke like they were predicting a bleak future As a threat against Iska, the scale of the way they put it was far too large
”I wonder if you have heard of this legend? ‘The Great Witch Nebulis is still alive’”
”If it is about that, then I heard it many times when I was a child”
It was a sihost story that anyone who lived in the E to seriously consider For exaht that ‘The world will end in one more year’
”But is there so about…”
”Fumu, so it seems you do not know”
A so out
”The one who spread that legend throughout the Empire, was none other than your Master”
”Master!?”
”We believe it to be the truth”
”That ht that there was no way that you would not know as his successor, but I see ere mistaken… Then it is fine”
”Forget that we spoke of this”
They had already lost interest in Iska as a single soldier The tone of the Eight Grand Apostles quickly became cold and dry
”All you have to do is chase after the Ice Witch of Calamity Just with that, you will be reinstated into the Holy Apostles That is of course, as long as you never perform a jailbreak like you did before”
”We have high expectations of you”
”Now go It is nothing, Lishi+a Ean Empire will pass you your next mission All you need to do is follow her instructions”
”…”
A silent bow While unable to say anything, Iska turned his back to the Eight Grand Apostles
Half asleep and half awake
As the night wore on─
Both his vision and thoughts were diht in an illusion After returning to the base where Captain Mis for hih the docule bit of information from those docu from the time he returned to the barracks fro in his roo as the night wore on
‘Why, do you like this painter?’
Alice was an enemy
She was a pure blood direct descendant of the Great Witch Nebulis who revolted against the Ehter of the current queen of Nebulis, and the Ice Witch of Calamity which posed a major threat to the Empire There was likely no better example of a perfectly clear enemy
Also, she was likely the most formidable enemy he had ever faced If he were to capture her, the balance between the nations would likely crue, the Iency would have no choice but to coht Grand Apostles’ aim was unmistakably on point However…
”… It ”
Looking up at the starlight coh his , Iska muttered to himself
”Can we not get along without peace talks or hostages?”
Unless the witch was captured, peace talks would not occur Iska hiht this just until recently Because he believed this, he fought against the star spirit corps from Nebulis, and took action to battle the pure blood witch in order to capture her
… But that’s wrong
… Even without peace talks, Alice smiled
Iska and Alice Even if one were to say they weren’t on good terently in the Neutral City By nature, weren’t the Eency able to do the sa any peace talks, wasn’t it possible to find a path that didn’t involve conflict?
Stretching out one leg, Iska sat up While resting one hand on his knee, Iska picked up a coht flickered on and off, and Iska waited quietly for the other side to pick up
”F-fwaaaa… I-Iska-kun… What’s… Up… Munya… So late at night?”
”Sorry for contacting you so late at night, Captain”
Mis for her to fully wake up…
”Okay, Iska-kun It’s alright now”
”I’ it on you so suddenly, but please excuse ”
”Heh? Wh-what’s wrong!?”
From the other side of the communication device, he could hear the fired up voice of his surprised female captain
”By take a rest fro well? Or maybe you’re dissatisfied in my leadershi+p…? S-sorry Iska-kun, I’m such a useless captain…”
”That’s not it, that’s not it at all”
”Ha!? It couldn’t be because I snuck away on et barbecue? Sorry Iska-kun, I didn’t know you wanted to get meat that much”
”I’ you that’s not it!?”
Iska cleared his throat with a cough And while feeling like the hand holding the receiver was stiffening, Iska th as he spoke
”I have so to do, in the Neutral City”
”The Neutral City? Eh But you just used Lishi+a-chan’s ticket to the art exhibition right? And before that it was the opera ticket I gave you”
”It’s not like I have soo see there It’s just, there’s someone I want to meet and talk to”
”That is?”
”It’s, u a very troublesome conversation and take quite a bit of tih”
Making a bitter s tone
”I plan on leaving early in the , but because of the distance from the Imperial Capital, it would take about ten hours just for the round trip I don’t knohen I’ll be able to get back”
”So you want to take a break fro”
”Yes”
The next day, the four of the out, the schedule for the day had to be reworked Let alone Mismis, it would likely also cause problems for Jhin and Nene
”Is it important?”
”… Yes Please allow o”
The captain on the other side of the line rerand sigh cah
”It can’t be helped Iska-kun is going so far for it after all”
”Thank you very much”
”But I have one condition I’ll be going with you tomorrow”
”Eh?”
Why would she? With a moment of silence between them as Iska hesitated to ask her motives, the one to speak up first was Mismis
”Try looking in a mirror”
”A mirror?”
”Iska-kun, right now you’re ht?”
”…”
Just from that phrase, Iska’s half open eyes shot open in surprise
”See? Just like I thought It’s being passed through your breathing you know?”
Mish the line
”Your voice was stiff froover it quite a lot right?”
”… I have nothing to say against that”
Putting his hand to his brow, Iska took a deep breath Normally, Mismis couldn’t be described as quick-witted by any standard, and her memory was definitely poor However, only her ability to perceive changes in ely sharp
”You got me there As expected of our captain”
”Heheheeh Well yeah But just like I said, I’ on your own Iis different fro a subordinate go and do soht?”
”… Understood”
Iska nodded No s turned out, there was a need to eventually report it anyways Since he had to talk with her about it anyways, even if she didn’t know his exact intentions, having his superior co with him would likely be fine
”Captain Mismis, please do accompany me”
”Roger that! By the hat’ll you be wearing? If we’re going as civilians I need to quickly pick out clothes!”
”It’ll be fine in our norarments”
They were combatants from the Empire That was a fact that was indispensable to what he wanted to accomplish the next day
”Then toe at six in the ”
Cutting off the connection, with his consciousness far ht possible, Iska continued to look up at the Ih his
2
”Alice-sama”
In a corridor overfloith light, Alice was called out while returning to her private quarters froe public bath, and turned around
”Rin, where were you? I thought ere going to get in the bath together?”
”…”
”Rin?”
The young attendant reht as she stared at Alice with her aer or anxiety in her gaze, as being conveyed was a different e like a deep seated fear
”I have so to speak of with you”
”What is it?”
The attendant then replied with a suppressed tone
”We have finished collecting information on the swordsman from the Empire”
”About Iska?”
It was about the lineage that she was concerned about fro
… Though I met him twice in the Neutral City
… It’s not like I could have asked him directly
He likely rivalled even the Holy Apostles ere the greatest fighting force of the Eular soldier as not even an officer, moreover, when he ay from the battlefield, the ferocity he had as a swordsentle and nor man
”Let’s hear it”
”Yes It is just, in this passage…”
”Of course, let’s go to my room”
Within the passageway, they didn’t know if anybody would come across them Especially because both Rin and Alice kept it secret from even the queen that they encountered Iska in the Neutral City Ayin, it would be bad if anybody heard them speak of it
”However, it really took some time huh?”
In Alice’s private quarters, the ‘Jewel Case Bell,’ Alice’s spoke to Rin while shutting the door firmly
”After asking you, it would be one thing if it was inforht our spies would be able to gather inforiven just a few days”
She also didn’t think that she wouldthat period His favourite food was pasta His hobbies included appreciation of opera and paintings She learned of such information that their spies would be unable to uncover so naturally
… Also his sleeping face was quite cute
… Wait, what a with it seriously!
”Let me hear the report”
Pushi+ng away her internal conflict, Alice nodded towards Rin
”… Just who is he?”
”A Holy Apostle”
With just those words, her attendant infor
”Not only that, it seeest to ever attain the status of a Holy Apostle in all history There is nothat he bears influence as one of the most prominent swordsmen in the Empire”
”A Holy Apostle!? Wait a e?”
Altogether, the Holy Apostles of the Empire were eleven people Since each and everyone of theer to wipe out an entire star spirit corps, for the past several decades, the I intelligence about them Alice herself had information about all eleven Holy Apostles drilled into her head
”I’ve never heard of a Holy Apostle named Iska…”
”That is because there was never a recorded battle of hi pro sent to the front line, he had his status stripped from him and was imprisoned”
”Imprisoned?”
Alice knit her brows Why would so talent to rise to the position of a Holy Apostle need to be imprisoned?
”What were the circumstances?”
”… I do not know quite how to express it”
With an unusually weak expression, Rin held out a faded azine from the Empire
‘The youngest Holy Apostle in history’
‘Arrested for the cri the prison break of a witch The judg imprisonment has been passed down’
… Sentenced to life imprisonment
… But wait, what is this about a witch’s prison break?
The o
”Due to breaking out a witch that was captured within Io, he was stripped of his status as a Holy Apostle Just in case, I looked at other sources of inforazine do not seem to be a mistake”
”He became a Holy Apostle but was immediately stripped of it Is that why I don’t know about it?”
”It is not just Alice-sama The spies who discovered it were also surprised”
However ─ as Rin said that, she began fidgeting with the hair that came down on both sides of her face It was a habit of hers Whenever she was deep in thought, she would unconsciously fidget with her hair
”Just as Alice-sama knows, he was acquitted”
”I know that well”
”He was acquitted eleven days ago It was just the day before Alice-saht with that swordsman in the Nelka forest”
Iska was acquitted for the purpose of fighting the Ice Witch of Calaree with the Ee a pure blood witch all on his own
”But, the more I think about it the less sense it makes”
Alice looked down at the azine in her hands
”Setting aside the time in the Neutral City, e ht with ht?”
”Yes, though it is a failure I do not wish to recall…”
Perhaps because she remembered that she had started the attack, but had the tables turned on her, Rin spoke in a hazy tone
”However it is just as you say That swordsainst the Nebulis Ioal was actually to fight against the Ice Witch of Calaainst Alice-sama”
”Then, I wonder why he released one of our coo?”
She couldn’t help but feel there was a contradiction On one hand he was taking actions to free a witch, on the other he challenged Alice and Rin with the intent of capturing them
… Even though to the Empire, we are all just witches?
… What’s different about the witch that he released?
”About the incident of the witch’s jailbreak, we believe that it may be a trap to try and deceive us”
”Rin, look into the star o by him”
”I have already eh”
”You work fast As expected”
Nodding with satisfaction, Alice sat down on a corner of her bed
─That was enough for the day It was about time to sleep
Having been Alice’s servant for ten years, this was a naturally born signal to Rin When she looked at the teacups in the cupboard, it was teatime When Rin pinched her apron, it meant she had other business to attend to There was that kind of tacit understanding between the sure that the footsteps frootten far away, Alice stretched her arms out to her pillow
”She didn’t notice right…?”
A handkerchief It was the one she borrowed from him in the Neutral City Ayin She had told Rin that she already burned it away When Rin told her it belonged to soet rid of it, Alice had replied as such, but in truth, she had hidden it under her pillow
”… I can get rid of it at any time after all”
Alice are that she was justan excuse But, not yet She had yet to ask of Iska’s true feelings
‘The fine arts have no borders Isn’t Alice the one who said that?’
… I don’t get it
He lent her his handkerchief to wipe away her tears He guided her to the art gallery, and taught her about that painting with all his heart Was that all like Rin was saying, a trap just to deceive his ene he showed her in the Neutral City just an act? It wasn’t too late to deal with the handkerchief after verifying all that
”You seem to be quite concerned with that Imperial soldier I see”
”Mother!?”
The door opened without even a knock Despite being late at night, herfinished her official duties, she may have been just on her way back to her own room
”Wh-why are you here?”
Alice hid the handkerchief behind her in a hurry
”I heard that you coate an eneence agency Alice, it is nothing for you to read into”
”…”
”… Or is it that you have another reason to be so concerned?”
”No, I overreached myself”
It see with Iska in the Neutral City Judging that fro, Alice secretly let out a sigh of relief
”But as an observation of the enee…”