Chapter 199 - Allen Cell and Political Mariage [50]
199. Allen Cell and Political Mariage [50]
The moment Rose brought up the topic regarding Sebas-san,
「「「「「……」」」」」
An indescribable atmosphere and silence ruled the place.
(Looking back now, there were “signs”.)
The first time I felt uncomfortable was when we came to the Phantom Spirit Laboratory to find the spot.
For some reason, Sebas-san knew that I was informed of this building’s structure.
Thinking about it calmly, that should’ve been absolutely impossible.
(Only a few people involved in Ria’s kidnapping case knew that. Of course, Sebas-san was not part of that few.)
Sebas-san should have been at the Holy Ronelia Empire to mine Blood Diamond at that time.
Moreover, he was confined to the dungeon of the Holy Knights Association for a long time after returning to the Imperial Kingdom.
(There was no opportunity for him to learn of Ria’s kidnapping at all.)
In other words, Sebas-san should have never known the information that I was familiar with the structure of the Phantom Spirit Laboratory.
And the moment at which I was truly convinced that there was something strange going on was right after I defeated Gregor.
(At that time, I only said『I defeated one of the Thirteen Knights of the Oracle』.)
Nevertheless, Sebas-san mentioned the name『Gregor』clearly.
(Two pieces of information he never should’ve known. He spoke of it unconsciously.)
The situation was pressing at the time, so I let it slide, but there were certainly suspicious signs.
When I was thinking back to that,
「Now that you mention it, the president seemed to know something, didn’t you?」Ria asked.
(Yeah, there seemed to be something like that too.)
At that moment when Sebas-san revealed his true identity, the rest of us were stunned speechless, however the president was the only one who quickly unsheathed her sword. That reaction means she obviously knew something.
Then, the president spoke with a slightly complicated expression on her face.
「Actually… I secretly looked into Sebas around last year.」
「Looked into Sebas-san…?」
「Yes, that’s right. You know that the Black Organization has been involved in incidents all over the Imperial Kingdom in the last few years, right?」
In response to the president’s question, everyone nodded.
Almost all the citizens are informed about it because it is frequently reported in the newspapers and the radio.
「Those days – House Arcstria, which is in charge of national defense, was busy resolving the cases and taking precautionary measures for the future. I used to go around with my dad and the servants to look into the various cases. And I realised that there was a『constant』in all the cases while going through tons of investigation information. There was always, without fail, a『Thousand Blade Student』around the scene of the crime.」
The president paused before continuing.
「I immediately gathered the records of attendance of the whole academy and compared it with the date of the cases. As a result, there was only one sole person who matched the profile. The student who was always absent from class specifically on the day of the incidents – Sebas Chandler.」
「I see… So when you looked into him, there was a connection with the Black Organization.」
When Ria said so nodding,
「Not at all. No matter how much I looked into it, the results were completely clean. I couldn’t find any connection between Sebas and the Black Organization. But instead, I found something else that was very strange.」
The president quietly shook her head and told us about the『strange thing』.
「His information registered in the country was full of lies. Address, family, place of birth – all of which were nonsense. In the first place, there was no『Chandler』family in the Imperial Kingdom.」
「「「「「……」」」」」
We listened quietly to the pieces of information that came out of her mouth one after another.
「I was suspicious, so I made up a『punishment game』and had Sebas go pick up a Blood Diamond. As a result, the occurences of those incidents『dropped sharply』right away. That’s when it was clear that there’s some kind of connection between him and the Black Organization. Hmmm, I think it was just a couple of months before Allen-kun and everyone enrolled into the academy.」
It seems that the rumoured silly punishment game had a significant meaning behind it.
「The story from there on out is as everyone knows. Sebas, who returned home at the Sword King Festival, was confined to the dungeons of the Holy Knights Association. I didn’t dare to pick him up and left him there.」
When the president had finished her explanation,
「I never thought this much was going on behind the scenes. So that means, you didn’t forget Sebas-san’s existence.」Ria muttered.
She seemed astonished by the fact that the president had put more consideration into all this than we imagined.
「Ahaha. Lilim, Ferris, Sebas, and I have been together for ten years, you see? Of course I wouldn’t forget so easily.」
「「……」」
Lilim-senpai and Ferris-senpai, who had completely forgotten their childhood friend of ten years, quickly diverted their glances and held their tongue.
「Well, that’s why I wasn’t so surprised when Sebas turned out to be『Black』. But I never dreamed that he would be a super big shot – the Emperor’s Four Knights.」
When the president concluded the explanation, we all exhaled a little.
I was a little overwhelmed by all the information that far exceeded my expectations.
「I’m feeling pretty exhausted, so why don’t we go home for today?」
When I brought up that proposal,
「Wha!? Allen-kun is tired!?」
「H-How rare! He almost sounds like a human being, though…!」
Lilim-senpai and Ferris-senpai looked truly astonished.
「No, just what do the two of you think of me…?」
「What do you mean… A monster obviously.」
「An inhuman, though…」
「…Is that so?」
I just didn’t have the energy to clear up their misunderstanding in this state where I’m completely out of spiritual power.
Thus, I didn’t make any particular objections, and just replied with a strained smile.
After that, when everyone started to move out of of the building,
「Ah-」
「Wha!?」
I ran into Rodis-san, dressed in pure white, by complete chance.
Looking at this… It seems that he was going to take advantage of the spot here too.
「You guys, why are you her–」
As Rodis-san glared at us, he suddenly hardened like a statue.
「S-Sie, is that you…?」
As he squeezed out the name of his precious daughter from the pit of his stomach, a lone tear trickled down his cheek.