A suffocating standoff of many against one ensued.
Elias was the first to break the silence, letting out a laugh mixed with a shout.
"What kind of nonsense is this now?!"
"...Wow."
Narke stuck his hands in his pockets, tilted his chair back, and let out an impressed sigh. It seemed I'd said something absurd even before he could keep using Insight.
"...Lucas."
Leo called my name and then just silently shook his head for a long moment.
If you call someone, you should speak. This is the most terrifying part.
I spread my hands and opened my mouth.
"I'll explain properly. I don't mean I'll actually become a Pleroma, I mean I'll act like a Pleroma believer."
"...Either way, you're saying you'll go even deeper than this. Are you trying to get yourself killed? Of course not, I know that. But..."
Leo, still burying his forehead in his hand, took a breath.
"Lucas. It might sound a bit oversensitive to you, but I don't want to create another situation like last time."
"Yeah~ Honestly, from a spectator's point of view, it was agonizing."
Elias laughed in agreement with Leo's words.
He must be talking about the Strauch incident.
Right after the incident, there was a festival, so I thought his tension might have eased a bit, but around that time, a group of Bavarian mages were attacked by the Pleroma again, so he must be quite worn out.
But at the same time, because of that incident, he also doesn't want to back down from the Pleroma.
Even now, he's just baffled because I haven't explained properly; he's not outright refusing or saying it's impossible. He's only asking me to confirm the risks of the plan.
It would be nice if we could reduce the risks, but there's no way to do that, so I have no choice but to make him understand why I have to enter enemy territory again.
"Right, sorry. But I also have reasons why I can't give up on this plan."
Seeing Leo look at me without a reaction, I immediately continued.
"First, if I don't act as a Pleroma believer, the amount of information I can obtain is also limited."
Who would readily tell their plans to someone who isn't even a Pleroma?
To get information from Gelda Asman, just changing my emotions isn't enough; I need to be in a similar position to him.
As if understanding without me saying more, Leo nodded.
"Second, the Pleroma's plan was involved in Gelda Asman becoming a Pleroma. The steady stream of disappearances in Heirigenji happened even before Asman became a Pleroma. He was targeted to make those abductions smoother."
"Right."
"Ultimately, our enemy isn't just the tool Gelda Asman, but the Pleroma side trying to procure manpower from Heirigenji."
And...
Is it really just Heirigenji?
The scale of their scheme is proportional to the scale of the benefit I can gain.
Before, I said the Pleroma are at least three.
In the novel, Elias only caught the surface, not the depths.
I need to grab the roots and see how far their plans extend.
"Right. Hearing you, it seems you're even thinking of going into the Pleroma side's world. Really, your plans always look reckless, and they actually are, but..."
Leo pressed his lips together firmly, exhaled deeply, and looked at me.
"But they've been that effective. So, is there anything we can do to help?"
* * *
Today marks the fifth day of coming to meet Gelda Asman.
Fortunately, each time, the first person I met after taking the medicine was Gelda Asman.
Arvin Asman, no, Eric Asman, seemed truly immersed in his business, as he was never home.
'Lucky.'
Today, I came to the Asman house again and looked outside.
The plainclothes police officer Leo had told me about was across the street in a cafe, flapping a newspaper and occasionally glancing this way.
And...
Elias should retract his 'machine' comment.
Whether the medicine's effect was properly manifesting or not, I felt a momentary negative feeling toward the plainclothes officer camped out in front of the house.
'Now I see why Leo was wary.'
Of course, I immediately felt repulsion and snapped out of that emotion as soon as I felt it, but the fact that I felt such an emotion even for a moment was quite startling.
Then, from behind, Gelda Asman came and sat at the table.
"I should rest at home today, right?"
"You must be very tired."
"I've been running around outside constantly these days."
He'd been taking me around for days to introduce the capital, so it's understandable he'd be tired.
Anyway, it's about time for me to bring things up, so it's fine. The weather is cloudy today, and it's pouring rain just like that day.
'It's a bit early...'
No choice. There's no time to dawdle.
As I smiled silently, Gelda asked me.
"What did you do during the day?"
"I looked for places I'd like to go with you, Mr. Asman. Of course, I'm also fine just being at home like this."
I sat down and answered with a smile.
'This is driving me crazy...'
To think these words are coming from my mouth?
Each time, an unfathomable sense of reality hits me, but thankfully, the medicine kicks in at the right time so I don't jump up and run out.
Gelda laughed and waved his hand.
"Haha, not that kind of thing."
"I'm serious."
Seeing Gelda smiling with a face that said he knew I wasn't, I smiled along and continued.
"Alright. In my spare time, I did trend analysis. I was wondering if I should keep pushing forward with the planned direction."
"You're diligent. When are you thinking of publishing the newspaper?"
"There are differences of opinion among my business partners, so it keeps getting delayed, but I plan to wrap it up before the first half of next year is over."
What wrap-up, it'll never be published in my lifetime.
Forget the first half, there's no need to drag this relationship out past December, so let's wrap it up around then.
I leaned forward and smiled softly.
"And you, Mr. Asman?"
"Well... I started work again from today, but... It's a bit hard to tell Mr. Baichel. It's a personal matter."
Good, well said. I don't even need to hear it; it's Pleroma business.
Let's check here. Gelda Asman is maintaining his relationship with me purely out of interest.
I looked into Gelda's eyes and summoned the Favorability window.
Gelda Asman
Favorability +7
*Of course, it's a bit high for just interest, but the type of emotion seems different from mine now.
From the start, he only met me with a light heart, not with serious emotions like me after taking the medicine. It's only natural since we haven't known each other long...
'Just looking at that expression tells me.'
Even now, Gelda is tilting his head, observing my reaction with an amused face.
I took the stage 8 medicine today, so he must have felt the difference from yesterday.
Bringing up a topic he said was personal and hard to talk about was probably to see my reaction.
I don't know why he's meeting me just to observe reactions, but my guess is it's part of the process of using his ability freely, having not obtained it long ago.
Anyway, the important thing is that no matter what attitude I take, I am emotionally in the inferior position now, and the other party knows it.
'Good.'
Just as planned.
I'm falling into the role of the inferior among inferiors without a single error.
This is why such relationships become tiresome, but it's the most optimal relationship and position for shattering wariness.
Now that the foundation is properly laid, all that's left is to actively utilize the image of me created within Gelda Asman.
"Personal matter?"
"Yes."
"Is it still too soon for me to know about that?"
"..."
At those words, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly, suppressed.
"Probably."
Right, of course that's the answer. Who would carelessly talk about Pleroma matters?
But my position is different. Since the topic has come up, let's draw it out today. I don't want to drag out this inappropriate relationship for long either.
"That's a shame. About when might it be possible?"
"I think it might take a while."
"Can I take that to mean I'll be able to meet you until then?"
The other party burst out laughing.
"Well, yes. That seems to depend on you, Mr. Baichel."
"Ah, that's a relief. But... I don't think I can wait until then now that I've heard about it."
"Hmm..."
Gelda suppressed a laugh and tapped the table with his finger.
It's obvious even without looking. He probably sees it as me throwing a tantrum.
Whatever, it's intended, so it doesn't matter. I hope he sees me as a fool blinded by love spouting stupid things.
Because...
I'm about to say something like a bolt from the blue.
I quickly summoned the Traits window.
Retry Lv. 1
― Move to checkpoint just before 〈Chapter 5〉 ― 1 use 2.0 points
― Next level requires 2.0 points
* Available points: 5.0 points
* Until next point acquisition: Luck 0.25 points
'I can use it twice.'
That's enough.
If it's the wrong choice, I'll rewind immediately.
Looking at Gelda, who was just laughing, I opened my mouth.
"...Let's go to the place you desire. First, I'll show you a small world, then a large one."
Before those words even finished, the laughter vanished from the other's face.
While feeling surprised at the reaction, Gelda quickly managed his expression and lifted the corner of his mouth.
"Suddenly?"
I didn't answer that and shook my head.
"I understand this much, no... if it's you, Mr. Asman, you can understand even more than this."
"..."
The other's face hardened again.
I can hear the sound of wariness rising.
'That's right.'
I desperately held back the laughter threatening to burst out.
Before, I said the Pleroma create incantations from things other than scripture.
If they used lines from Faust for the decisive magic that turns people into Pleroma, I thought they must have quoted that work elsewhere too.
So I picked out lines that could be used as incantations and recited them as is...
'It worked.'
I clearly didn't ask 'Are you a Pleroma?' but said 'I can understand even this much.'
What if he acts like this because he's feeling guilty first? It would have worked even if he pretended not to know.
I fully enjoyed looking at Gelda's hardening face and formed a gentle smile. Thanks to the medicine, making a soft expression wasn't difficult. Surprisingly, just looking at the other's face made it come naturally.
I reached over the table and took Gelda's hand, clasping it. Fortunately, there was no revulsion, as he didn't pull his hand away.
"I can understand anything. Because I'm in that position."
"..."
"I know I brought up a sensitive topic. If it was rude, I'm sorry..."
I kissed the back of his hand and asked.
"I want to help. Is that not allowed?"
I should go... ask Elias if he has any alcohol.
Maybe Elias was right to call me a machine. I found myself thinking I should come after taking stage 9 next time.
Anyway...
'Tell me.'
Seeing confusion now seeping into Gelda's stiffened face, I removed my lips.
Now it's time to listen.
To hear how they plan to hand people over to the Pleroma from now on.
—-----------
T/N:
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