Chapter 55

(Elu’s Point of View)

Following Justus’ intervention, Elu and the others were invited to his reception room. It was a serene room, entirely constructed of wood, from floor to ceiling, including the walls. It hardly resembled a research center.

The room was impeccably clean and organized, and on the south side, a sunroom of wood housed several colorful flowers.

How should I put this? It didn’t at all match the impression I had of Justus’ appearance. That was Elu’s candid thought. Next to him, Lifa appeared equally surprised.

However, upon reflection, Justus was merely the research center’s chief executive. It was improbable that he would be involved in the building’s interior design, or personally manage a reception room unrelated to his research.

So the room was likely designed according to the preferences and original concept of the person responsible for its management.

【”So, where did you leave the teacups?”】

【”Just sit down. Who wants to drink that disgusting tea you make?”】

Even toward the man who, according to Elu’s information, was Harold’s direct superior, he showed no mercy.

Yet, while his words were harsh, his hands expertly prepared a teapot and as many cups as there were people. It was a surprising spectacle for Elu and Lifa.

【”Who said anything about you drinking it? I was merely trying to entertain these ladies.”】

(TLN: People tend to assume Elu is a woman, but we still don’t know for sure. He probably keeps it ambiguous on purpose.)

【”Oh, so you want your guests to witness your stinginess in all its glory? You’re as vicious as ever.”】

【”Says the one who ensnared a girl while on duty. Do you want a side wife?”】

【”Hell no, I’d willingly marry such a skinny girl.”】

【”So you’d consider it if it were a voluptuous woman. Good luck getting your fiancée to approve of a mistress.”】

【”How ridiculous for a scientist to jump to conclusions so easily. If you judge everything with such extreme logic, then that astral body research you’re so proud of isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”】

【”And who benefited from that research? Be careful what you say; you’re being rude.”】

【”You better worry about yourself, you bastard. Your dementia is getting worse. Did you forget how many times I broke my engagement with that girl?”】

Their verbal sparring continued without eye contact. The other two observed the savage exchange in silent astonishment. While arguing without interruption, they seemed surprisingly in perfect harmony.

Though the content of their conversation was entirely hostile, the atmosphere between Harold and Justus was surprisingly calm. Of course, there wasn’t even a hint of a friendly atmosphere, but despite the animosity, their exchange seemed more like a business discussion.

There was a very mysterious sense of distance to it.

Meanwhile, Harold had served them tea.

Elu and Lifa were seated on a two-seater sofa, and Justus was facing them. Harold sat alone by a window, at a distance.

【”Oh well. Please disregard that eccentric man, you two—which reminds me, I haven’t heard your names yet, have I?”】

【”I-I am Lifa Goodridge.”】

【”My name is Elu. It’s quite an honor to meet the renowned Dr. Freund.”】

【”I’m Justus Freund. Please, don’t stand on ceremony.”】

It was quite unusual for such a statement to be made without a smile or any expression at all. Well, Elu thought, I don’t quite fit into the normal category either.

【”Thank you for your concern.”】

【”So, why are you two here? I don’t suppose you were invited by Harold, which would mean you’ve been through a cataclysm.”】

【”Well, actually, Lifa is the one who…”】

Elu poked Lifa’s arm with his elbow. Following that signal, Lifa began to speak.

【”I’m interested in magical research and am actually studying it myself. So I asked Harold to introduce me to a field expert, and…”】

【”Given his reputation, we thought the person he worked for might fit the criteria.”】

【”I see. It’s quite unusual for that guy to accept a request like that.”】

【”Well, it seems he was interested in one of her ideas that could involve the use of astral powers, though it’s not really part of her research.”】

【”Oho…”】

Elu, taking over Lifa’s conversation, explained. Justus took a sip of his drink, looking at Harold with a stern face, as if telling him he had been too careless.

Their agreement was that Lifa and Elu would stay together in Attis, where they met Harold, and knowing of his connection to Dr. Justus, they persistently urged him to bring them along.

Elu’s first task had been to make an impression on Harold. When Lifa asked Harold to accompany her on her trip to Mount Giran, she made a deal with him, a sort of trade-off: “If you lend me your strength, I’ll accept your terms.” Though she hadn’t anticipated the outcome at the time, Elu believed that bringing up this deal in this situation would be beneficial for Harold.

So, having instructed Lifa to back him up so he wouldn’t be exposed, Elu tried to glean any information he could from Justus’ words and actions. However, despite his careful observations, he made no progress.

Therefore, he focused on Justus’ research on magic—or rather, on what he called “astral bodies.” But still, it was quite difficult for Elu to do much more alone.

Perhaps anticipating this, Harold had spoken to Elu beforehand, saying, “I’m not expecting much. I’ll consider any knowledge you gain as a gain. Other than that, focus your entire attention on ensuring he doesn’t notice any connection I might have with the Giffelts.”

Even Harold himself was that vigilant. In other words, the man called Justus was extremely troublesome.

Elu reflected on the chain of events surrounding Harold five years prior. He considered the all-powerful puppet master who could even manipulate the Tribunal, still hiding his identity.

Perhaps that puppet master was Justus, or someone close to him.

Elu’s honest thought was that if Harold was going to make him confront someone like that, he should have told Elu everything he knew. But Harold refused to do it, or perhaps he couldn’t, leading Elu to believe Harold still held some major secrets.

Well, he’s obviously no ordinary man after all.

(For now, I’ll concentrate on the problem at hand. I can’t lose focus when facing this one.)

Elu composed himself, putting up impregnable mental defenses, ready to withstand any scrutiny, while he smiled naturally, challenging Justus to sound each other out.

◇

(Harold’s Point of View)

【”But you sure do know a lot about Harold.”】 (Justus)

【”That’s probably because someone’s been slyly spreading rumors as they please.”】 (Harold)

【”I didn’t know there were people like that. They’re really the complete opposite of me, as I’ve only been speaking the truth about you.”】 (Justus)

【”Yeah, thanks to them, I get gloomy looks wherever I go. It’s really annoying.”】 (Harold)

【”I didn’t know you were that sensitive. That discovery should be written down in the record books.”】 (Justus)

Harold thought spitefully, “You’ve really been telling people whatever you want.” He couldn’t hide the resentment that oozed from his words and expression.

Needless to say, the person responsible for spreading Harold’s bad reputation and ruining his image was none other than Justus himself. His ulterior motive was likely to isolate Harold, rendering him helpless to make it easier to bind him. There is no such thing as a person who would be benevolent enough to help someone they heard only bad rumors about, so for now, Justus’ expectations had been met with a huge success.

Because of him, Harold was stuck with the extremely disturbing alias of Knight Killer.

Furthermore, his reputation was very bad with the staff of the research center where he lived. But there was no helping it since, from their perspective, they were the direct neighbors of an evil murderer who couldn’t be described as a human being, and Harold had his faults, too.

To put it briefly, his open hostility frightened them. And so, Harold started living with his Switch constantly on whenever he was in the research center, with the exception of his room. Otherwise, it would have been too hard for him to keep calm. His explanation was that human hostility was much more frightening than any mighty monster.

Hence, Harold’s words became even worse, thereby increasing the staff’s animosity, and trapping him in a vicious circle. And that’s basically what led to the current situation.

【”But what I’m wondering about is that idea of yours that piqued Harold’s interest. Can you tell me about it?”】

【”Yes. I wondered whether I could combine magic, which relies on an individual’s nature, with the versatility of science, and what I figured was—”】

Lifa’s self-made science and magic hybrid technique. Harold had instructed her to talk about it but to pretend that it was still just a theory.

Though Harold had many reasons, his biggest motive was to use Justus’ technology and ideas to strengthen Lifa’s power. From her fight with the Hydra, he deemed that the power of her attacks was not sufficient and that it needed to be raised further.

Truthfully, he initially intended to take care of the problem by meddling with Liner’s group from the shadows later on, but this way was more efficient. Each man knows his own business best, so it was better to leave science to an actual scientist.

Naturally, since Lifa was going to join the Hero’s party, she would have to fight with Justus sooner or later. It would be disadvantageous if he was aware of her means of attacks when that time came. But that was just the logic on paper.

But no matter how smart he was, it was unlikely that Justus would consider the battle aspect behind those researches at this point in time. It would be difficult for him to find countermeasures even once he found out his opponents had Lifa in their ranks.

At that time, Liner’s and the others’ obstructed plans would just have to be corrected. Furthermore, Harold would secretly intervene and put his game knowledge to efficient use. And there wouldn’t be much time wasted either, aside from the correction of the plan.

That’s why he dragged Lifa to the research center despite being aware of the risks. It could be said that he had found a heaven-sent opportunity, even though it wasn’t on purpose.

【”….Mhm, I can understand why Harold was interested.”】

Justus let that thought escape him after listening to some of the theories developed by Lifa. By the way, though Harold was listening, there were too many technical words, and he only understood about half of it.

Although Lifa had the appearance of a child, her brain was capable of developing antibiotics and obstructing Justus’ plans; she was more than qualified to be referred to as a genius. Average as he was, there was no way Harold could follow this conversation of prodigies.

【”So, what do you think? Are there some things that I can improve or…?”】

【”Although I can’t really say without putting this into practice, there are several points I have some thoughts about. I wouldn’t mind teaching you, but I’m already too busy as is.”】

Justus shifted his eyes to the room’s clock. He probably didn’t have much more free time left.

Unable to get any advice, Lifa could only reply 【”I-I see.”】dispiritedly, but Justus’ next words were surprising.

【”But your ideas and points of view are certainly wonderful. You can stay here for a while if you want. We’ll get to discuss lots of things whenever I have some time.”】

【”Huh, really?”】

Shit, Lifa bit the bait without thinking. No, even I didn’t think he would be willing to spare part of his private time. That Justus doesn’t care much for other people.

Lifa’s theories must have tugged at his heartstrings.

However, the more she stayed, the more the risks increased. Every little thing she exposed from there on out could reveal the secrets of Harold & co, one after the other.

【”Hold on, Lifa, if you do that, we’ll get back to the village too late, and our lie will be exposed. You do know uncle won’t just forgive you after one good scolding this time, right?”】

The one who interfered with that predicament was Elu. Harold didn’t know if Elu came up with this on the spot or if he had prepared himself beforehand. But Elu was surprisingly natural as he came up with a lie that explained why they couldn’t stay for too long.

At first, Lifa’s expression looked blank as she didn’t understand what Elu was saying, but she soon accurately grasped the situation, and her little face became pale. From an outsider’s point of view, she seemed to become frightened upon imagining the scolding from the uncle that Elu spoke about.

【”What does this mean?”】

【”The two of us come from a small village. Most of the villagers there make a living by working in the fields and raising livestock. Since it’s that kind of village, Lifa, who’s devoted to science, stands out a little, and her family has strictly told her to stop wasting her time on research.”】

What Elu was talking about were Lifa’s actual circumstances in the game’s story. It was no lie.

Though Harold wondered how Elu knew about that, Lifa’s facial expression didn’t turn surprised but embarrassed. In other words, Lifa had probably personally told Elu in the previous days. It seemed like, in just a few days, their relationship had deepened to the point where she didn’t mind speaking to Elu about things like that.

【”Though this time I went as far as Attis, I actually lied to my parents that I was going sightseeing in the Royal Capital. So I cannot stay for too long.”】 (Lifa)

【”Mhm. Then, how long can you stay?”】

If it were up to Harold, he would have answered 【”We can’t.”】 without a second thought.

However, that was not Elu’s answer. After a few seconds, he answered with a serious face.

【”Two weeks is our limit.”】

【”Is that so? But it’s just as I thought. You are smart. I’d have had some doubts if you had directly replied that you can’t stay.”】

From those words, Harold slowly understood Elu’s intentions. And a cold sweat ran throughout his whole body.

From the earlier conversations, there was no way Elu didn’t know the time it took to go from their village towards Attis and the royal capital. And upon their meeting with Harold in Attis, they boarded a ship together with him towards the royal capital. Considering the time Harold’s given duty would take and the time it took him to come back, everything was pretty clear.

Usually, it would be unlikely for two girls who came from a small village by themselves to travel using something as expensive as a boat. At best they’d come by carriage, at worst they’d come on foot. Either way, there was a wide difference in speed when compared to a ship.

And yet, they came to the royal capital. Whether the royal capital was on the way towards their village or not, considering the Royal Capital’s distance from Attis, it would be strange if they weren’t considerably in advance of their initial schedule.

If they had been late, they probably wouldn’t have bothered to meet with Justus at all. Whatever reasons they came up with, there was no way for them to justify not having any time in excess.

Harold had believed that Elu’s lie had no weakness, that it was perfect.

However, far from being just turned down by Justus, Elu gave him enough information to make Lifa and himself stay.

And the worst part was Justus’ last words. They implied that he didn’t trust Elu in the slightest. This way, it became impossible for Elu to make any rash moves.

【”When you want to return, I’ll find you a ship that will get you to the closest town to your village. That way you’ll be able to extend your stay.”】

Justus proposed. But in Harold’s ears, that proposition sounded like a death sentence.