On the day we were to leave, Dersia loaded her luggage, which seemed to be full of something, into the carriage with a light toss, then got into the back seat instead of the driver's. "Weren't you going to fly on a broomstick?"
"... What on earth are you talking about?"
Dersia called for the carriage, an incredulous look on her face. But I was the one who was more incredulous.
"I just thought a 9-Star mage riding in a carriage was a little... off. It shatters the illusion, you could say."
"Jern, I'm sorry I couldn't protect your childhood fantasies, but most high-level mages travel the way I do, by attaching a door to a space and opening it."
"There is no reason to physically move one's body."
"Isn't riding in a carriage also physically moving?"
"Even if the carriage moves, you can do other things inside. If you study during that time, there is no waste."
"Flying 'like a witch' as you put it might be faster, but that time is spent purely on travel, making it inefficient."
So she knew I was taking a jab at her for being a witch. There was no coachman. Because there were no horses.
She brought up a strange topic.
"Shall we try a little thought experiment?"
"...?"
"Assume you are the leader of the Red Lotus. You have been operating in the shadows for decades, perhaps even longer, gathering power, yet the Empire has not noticed a single thing."
"If you concentrate the power you've gathered and exploit the information imbalance—you can cause an incident far greater than you can imagine."
"For example?"
"Well, assassinating a member of the royal family, perhaps?"
I was silently horrified. Those were not words to be uttered, even in jest.
"However, you did not unleash the power you gathered, but chose the exact opposite."
"Such as?"
"You gave power to a heart-realm mage who was not a member to kidnap noble children, but it was a disposable gambit."
"You could have attacked the magic tower and killed its master, but you stopped at stealing a scribe."
"You occupied a city, but instead of using the defensive advantage when they sent troops to reclaim it, you immediately fled. You've repeated these actions with no clear purpose."
"So those things happened too."
As I slowly nodded, Dersia pressed for an answer.
"These are acts of terror with the clear purpose of making an enemy of the Empire. But despite having the power to carry them out perfectly, they stop at doing just enough. What do you think is the reason?"
"... How about the hypothesis that they're drunk on confidence and just enjoying themselves?"
"Explain your reasoning."
"Aren't all their actions meant to provoke a response from the Empire?"
"They could have strangled it in its sleep, but instead, they're just picking a fight by slapping its cheeks and spitting on it... That's the only way to understand it."
"Having operated in the shadows for so long, they've lost their sense of proportion and are filled with arrogance."
"So that is what you think."
I stopped Dersia, who was slowly nodding, with my next words.
"—is what the Empire would probably conclude. Because it's the easiest way to think."
Dersia looked at me as if to say 'continue,' and I stroked my chin, trying to trace the thoughts of the Red Lotus.
"I have fallen into the heart-realm, right? From that perspective, there is no way an organization like the Red Lotus could be sustained."
Pars's heart-realm was small. Perhaps because of that, his subordinates were also very weak. Magic on par with other mages, and subordinates that were laughable compared to my own.
An executive of the Red Lotus would definitely not be at that level. In that case, they would surely die.
"Even if they somehow found a way to extend their lives like me, for several decades...? I think that's truly impossible."
"Even if they could survive with their own know-how, it would only be a very small number. In that sense, the Red Lotus must be a small, elite organization."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"A scorpion with enough poison to kill a thousand elephants will still choose to flee from a person rather than attack."
"Not because it is stupid, but because it knows that if it gets crushed by the falling corpse, it won't be safe either."
"The difference between an individual and a group is even greater. Even if they launch a preemptive strike and assassinate a royal, or even if they wipe out the capital..."
My thoughts suddenly reached a dangerous territory.
"... They don't want to end it with something like that. Their goal is something higher. That must be it."
"Hmm, if it's an organization where all the members are living on borrowed time, isn't it more likely that they would harbor hatred for the world and act as they please?"
"People like that wouldn't be so patient. They wouldn't hide, either. They might not even wake up tomorrow, so why would they make plans for the distant future?"
Dersia's expression was blank. Well, I wasn't hoping for a hint. Instead, I combined the hypotheses I had pulled from my head and formed them into words.
"In that sense, I believe the current top priority of the Red Lotus is to match their weight class."
"What do you mean by weight class?"
"We've been thinking about it wrong. They didn't make self-defeating moves because they're stupid; they did it because they wanted to be seen as an enemy by the Empire."
"To be precise, they want to make their name known. That is the goal of the Red Lotus."
"To whom?"
"To all those who consider the Empire an enemy. This wasn't for the Empire, but a declaration of war aimed at the Empire's enemies and potential allies."
"It carries the meaning, 'We will fight, so lend us your strength'... They might have already made contact. The name Red Lotus was already spreading in the underworld."
"Your evidence?"
"For the scale of their actions, the aftermath is incredibly clean. Occupying a city, then abandoning it."
"Raiding a magic tower, then stealing from it."
"Kidnapping children, then casually ignoring them."
"Their goal must be to spread their major accomplishments to gather allies, while ensuring absolutely no losses on their side."
"This is connected to the point I made earlier about them being a small, elite group."
"Assuming I thought the same way, where do you think I would be going to find the Red Lotus?"
"I'm not sure. If it were me, I would have tried to find the underworld group that the Red Lotus must have contacted for help... or subjugated."
"Haa..."
As I shrugged and came to that conclusion, Dersia, who had been questioning me as if in an interrogation, let out a deep sigh. It seemed I had been completely off the mark from start to finish.
"You said you weren't sure, yet you got everything right."
"... Pardon?"
"There are some exaggerated and omitted parts, but yes. I am currently visiting the groups that the Red Lotus most likely contacted to increase their numbers."
"Through the exact same thought process as you, Jern."
Was it the opposite? It was practically just fitting pieces together; I must have gotten lucky. Dersia, unsure whether to laugh or be flustered, continued.
"I had originally planned to conduct a lesson on thinking and judgment in this carriage. But that was a foolish thought. At least when it comes to ideas, you may be superior to me..."
"Ah, so can I rest now?"
When I asked with a brightened face for the first time in a while, Dersia shook her head.
"We cannot waste time. Let's practice Shape:."
I shouldn't have gotten it right. The carriage ran across the plains for about two days. We had to camp on the first night, so I opened the luggage Dersia had brought.
Books, books, books, and more books. I asked Dersia, who was reading one of those books.
"Excuse me, where is the pot to boil water?"
"I didn't bring one."
"Then what about sleeping bags or blankets?"
"Why would I bring such things?"
Her expression was one of genuine puzzlement, making me wonder if I had misunderstood something. Dersia stepped out of the carriage and took out a key made of black metal from her pocket. ...
Ah.
"Can you use that on the carriage too?"
"If it is a carriage with a door that can be sealed, yes."
When Dersia opened the carriage door, there was, of course, a library. Not the one in the capital, but a library many times larger. I stepped inside and marveled at the length of the bookshelves, which seemed to have no end.
"It's really huge. Mine is only the size of a single room. Why didn't you show me this before?"
"Because my workshop is completely useless."
"...? Why? It's so spacious and has so many books."
Dersia glanced around the workshop with an annoyed expression before answering.
"I have read everything in here. They are all looks and no substance."
"Otōt."
"A folly of my youth. It is not owning books that is important, but reading and understanding them... In any case, it will be more comfortable here than in the carriage, so you may use it."
"Ah, yes."
I looked around Dersia's workshop, which was larger than a sports field. I even took out a few books to read, but none of them were of a kind I could understand. Well, that wasn't what I came here to find.
After wandering around for about ten minutes, I finally made my way back to the entrance and asked Dersia, who was reading a book.
"Where is the bed here?"
"....?"
"Can't you just use a book as a pillow?"
"What about something to eat~" "Starving for two days won't kill you."
"Why do you think this place is more comfortable than the carriage?"
"It is more spacious, is it not?"
I met Dersia's gaze as she questioned me as if asking what was so strange. And I was horrified. Dersia was completely serious.
"... I understand. Have a peaceful night."
It was a good thing I brought beef jerky, just in case. Despite that, by the time we arrived at our destination city, my condition was a mess. As I waited for the checkpoint line to shorten, slumped in the carriage like a pile of mush, Dersia, who was perfectly fine unlike me, smiled and offered a compliment.
"Congratulations. You have advanced another step."
"... I guess it works if you just keep at it."
Utilizing mana.
With dark circles under my eyes, I cast Shape: on my entire body. As I did, I felt my muscles relax, just a little.
Shape: Rupture.
Right now, its level was so weak that it only felt like a kind of massage, like being pressed and turned with a thumb. It wasn't healing magic. That was a magic that touched the realm of time, accelerating the body's natural healing speed, something that at least a 5-Star mage would dare to attempt.
Still, I had definitely succeeded in manifesting the Shape. I let out a long sigh and melted into the chair.
"I feel a bit more alive now. Though it's strange to use a magic designed for torture for recovery."
"Magic is a tool. How it is used is for the mage to decide."
This time, I squeezed it out in reverse. I applied the pain created in my head, that is, in the world of my heart, to my arm. However, this time it wasn't a lukewarm level like a massage.
"... Ugh."
A pain sharp enough to make my eyes squint. But I was used to it. Compared to Dersia beating, cutting, and tearing me apart as if I were her parents' murderer, this was nothing.
It seems to be helpful.
"Why are you looking at it like that?"
"It's fascinating. Elemental spells were too easy to be impressive, and with Remove:, I was just getting beaten up, so I wasn't even sure if it was magic."
"Heart-realm magic feels like a third arm. But this... um, how should I put it."
I clenched and unclenched my hand, muttering.
"... It feels like I've learned real magic."
"Because it is real magic."
As we were having this conversation, it became our turn.
"Halt, state your purpose for..."
"An Elder of the Black Magic Tower. I have come for research. Here are my identification papers."
"... Confirmed! Please, go right ahead!"
The disciplined guard, unlike with the previous carriages, didn't even inspect our belongings. I asked in surprise.
"You're an Elder?"
"I have been at the magic tower for fifty years. I have certainly earned such a position."
Dersia said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"My main purpose in making you my apprentice was to receive a workshop, but these small conveniences are not to be ignored."
"Even if you were just an apprentice, you could obtain similar results, albeit to a lesser degree."
"Ah, I see..."
"Is something troubling you?"
"No, I was just reverse-calculating your age from the phrase 'fifty years at the magic tower.'"
"... It would be best for you to stop."
Her tone was slightly clenched, so I did. Dersia parked the carriage at an inn and immediately started moving without even unpacking.
"Let's just do one thing, then you can rest. It won't take long."
"Yes."
I looked around as we walked down the main street. It might be because it was a weekday afternoon, but there were fewer people coming and going than I expected for a city of this size. The few people who were around were either suspicious-looking or drunkards.
The streets weren't very clean either... Overall, the quality was not good. I was on guard in case of pickpockets, but when they saw Dersia's pointed ears, they flinched and moved away.
"Hey, isn't that an elf?"
"Damn pretty, but... she looks like she has a damn nasty personality..."
I heard the second sentence with my Tide Sense. I hadn't realized, but it seemed elves were not a very well-liked race. Of course, Dersia paid no mind to such things and entered a dirty, smelly alleyway.
After walking through the alleyways, she arrived at a dead end, stopped, and put on her hood to cover her ears.
"We have arrived. It should be around here."
I asked, puzzled.
"Are you meeting someone?"
"No. What I am looking for usually inhabits dirty, narrow alleys like this. That is why I came."
"... Did you come looking for rats or bugs?"
"Something similar."
What is she talking about? As I was scratching my head, my Tide Sense caught something. A group of three men.
I couldn't tell for sure, but they didn't look very reputable. They were following the path we had taken, so it was clear they were tailing us. If my Tide Sense caught them, there was no way Dersia hadn't noticed.
But I didn't think Dersia would have come to meet scum like them. She'll handle it. As I was thinking that, she gave an order.
"Subdue them in a single blow so they cannot scream or shout."
Whom, how, why. I swallowed those words. There was something more important.
I bowed my head deeply and protested slightly.
"But Master, you're right here. Do I really have to be the one to do it?"
Dersia's lips curved up slightly as she replied.
"Now that you have learned a new magic, shouldn't you try using it in a real fight?"
Above those dark circles, her eyes were filled with a thick killing intent. ...
Probably.
It seemed Dersia intended to start from the very bottom.