Volume 1 – Following the Maze Drawn With Lines of Blood
Cutie’s dry clapping alone was heard, and everyone looked at her with an urge to kill.
(A ridiculous method of doing things like this shouldn’t work……)
Even Mary, who knew her, thought this way.
The troops looked like they could attack Cutie at any moment.
The leader would usually make his move at this point, but he was awkwardly quiet with his arms crossed.
Everyone was silent, and among the awkward atmosphere, Calaria suddenly stepped forward.
She clenched her fist and punched Cutie’s head from the back while she was cheerfully clapping.
“Agh!?”
Cutie reflexively screamed.
She held the spot that was punched with one hand, turned around and spoke with a frantic tone of voice:
“What are you doing!?”
“You looked like a shitty girl who had no one around to scold her.”
“What a rude stray dog…..! I am the heir of Majoram Technologies, don’t you know!?”
“I see, so that’s why you’re like this. I still have a grudge against you for calling me a dog at the start as well. May I hit you one more time?”
“That’s why I called you a stray dog! I can tell from your eyes that you’re a mercenary, right!? You’re a savage.”
“Impressive. Well, that stuff doesn’t matter. There are way too many things I want to ask. Mary, will you take me to a room somewhere? Along with this girl.”
“Hey, don’t grab my collar! It’ll stretch! My suit will stretch! Mary, stop this woman!”
Calaria, who was tall for a woman, grabbed Cutie by the nape of the neck as she struggled to get away.
The atmosphere got cold again in a different sense.
Mary’s cheek twitched as she glared at Captain Jaysam who was still standing there.
Then, the four of them headed for a conference room inside the facility.
◇◇◇
“I see, I understand your circumstances, Princess Mary.”
After what happened in that room, Jaysam nodded when Mary’s explanation ended.
“I was worried after hearing about a big explosion, so I’m just glad you returned safely.”
“I’m glad your strategy worked out well too.”
“That’s because there weren’t any arcana users over here. Anyway, you said it was Calaria, right….? I’m glad that you’re here to increase our fighting power.”
“Jaysam, I don’t think we can trust her.”
Cutie put her chin on her hand and glared at Calaria while pouting.
Calaria laughed at this, ‘hnph.’
“What if I can’t trust you, you ill-natured woman?”
“My name is Cutie Majoram, you know?”
“That’s too long, ill-natured is easier to say. I can call you a deceiver too, if you want.”
“I’m going to crush you if you keep barking, dog.”
“Stop whining, wild fox.”
The two glared at each other, seemingly in an explosive situation.
“C’mon now, you two…… We all have the same objective, so let’s get along. Okay?”
“Ugh. I don’t understand why you trust that dog, Mary. You tried to kill each other, didn’t you?”
“Because I think we’re alike, as two people who seek revenge. Besides, Miss. Calaria is a kind person, probably!”
“Probably…… that’s way too vague.”
“Are you in any position to say that? That performance you displayed just now made it seem like you want to destroy this organization. What’s your true motive?”
Mary agreed with Calaria’s remark in her mind.
They had gotten through that situation thanks to Calaria, but what was Cutie planning to do if they were not there?
It didn’t seem like she even brought any guards, but still……
“I meant it when I said I want to employ the Liberation Front as soldiers of my company.”
“Hey…… you weren’t kidding when you said that, Mr. Q!?”
“Mr. Q…… Eheh!”
“M-Miss. Calaria!”
“Don’t laugh, stray dog! Jaysam, call me Cutie from now on. Never say Mr. Q again!”
“F-Fine.”
“So, about my announcement earlier – you’re wondering why it was so sudden, but that’s only natural. Things are moving quickly. And at the center of it all is-”
Saying that, Cutie looked at Mary.
“Me?”
“Of course. You must be the reason Dugan betrayed us and joined hands with Henry.”
“You grabbed everyone’s attention when your powers awoke, which is convenient, seeing as you’ve been treated like trash all your life.”
“First of all, it’s strange that you don’t possess any powers. Magical powers are hereditary. Most children of sorcerers become sorcerers as well. That’s why aristocrats have been able to hold onto absolute power even in this era of technology.”
As Cutie said, even with the discovery of sorcery guns and developments by enterprises like Majoram Technologies, the citizens still have not been able to oppose the aristocracy.
Organizations like the Liberta Liberation Front have not even been allowed to exist.
“Your sister Francis was a top-class sorcerer, and I’m sure your brother Edward would have become one as well. You’re a child of sorcerers, but you’re the only one who does not possess magical powers. On top of it, you gained an arcana power at the moment of your death. You’re clearly irregular, are you not?”
“I’m sure both the king and the duke wanted to crush her before her powers awoke.”
“And they even killed the first princess, Francis……”
“My sister……”
“Dugan is going after you so hard that he doesn’t care about using explosives like that in the city. Taking all this into account, I decided that the organization must be reshuffled.”
Jaysam’s expression made it unclear whether he was convinced or not, and he said ‘hmm……’
Simultaneously, Mary fell quiet.
She still did not know anything.
Even Francis, who had come to the dungeon to save her back then, probably knew the circumstances.
In other words, Mary was the only one in the family who did not know.
The silence continued for some time before Calaria asked Cutie:
“Hey, Cutie, I’m changing the subject a little, but I want to ask something. Was the explosive used last time made by Majoram?”
“From the color of the flame, it’s highly possible that it was made by Pupa. Further, you can’t get that kind of power without being military.”
“Is it the same one that was used when Miss. Yueri died?”
“From the look of the explosion, yes.”
“Yueri? The same one that was used? When was that?”
“4 months ago, it happened in a neighboring country.”
“That’s quite far back. So the Kingdom intervened in a neighboring country…… that’s an international problem. Why are you being targeted so persistently, Calaria?”
“I don’t know anything, I was just suddenly targeted.”
“And who’s this Yueri you mentioned, Mary?”
“Miss. Calaria’s partner, and the person who raised her.”
“The person who raised this stray dog…… she can’t be normal.”
“She was the user of the Justice arcana.”
“Hmmh, there are plenty of reasons for her to be targeted then. What was she doing before you met?”
“I don’t know. Yueri didn’t talk much about the past.”
“There it is, a woman who doesn’t talk about the past. She definitely had some problems.”
“Stop talking about her like that.”
“A past not talked about until death and carried to the grave is definitely not a good one.”
Calaria bit her lips and fell silent.
(From the looks of it, Miss. Calaria herself…… is also bothered by how Miss. Yueri didn’t talk about her past.)
Mary worriedly looked at her.
Then, Jaysam, who had not participated so far, started speaking up.
“Hey Cutie, I get that your circumstances are important. But what’s going to happen to the Liberta Liberation Front now? What did you mean by ‘reshuffle’?”
“Oh, right. Let’s handle that part first. Dugan’s attacks are going to become even more merciless from now on. In other words, the guerilla warfare the Liberta Liberation Front has been conducting so far is about to become a lot more deadly.”
“I know that.”
“It’s easy to say. But, you can’t go into this without being fully committed.”
“So you tested us?”
“I won’t blame anybody for leaving the organization now. I’ve prepared enough money for those who want to quit to live outside Captis for a while.”
“Miss. Cutie…… you thought that far ahead?”
“A settlement fee, huh? So you’re not as mean a woman as you seem.”
“That’s right, so show some respect.”
“Hmph. Your way of doing it is too forceful, though.”
“I want the only ones remaining to be those who can throw away their lives and their pride in order to kill Dugan. Being forceful is good for that.”
“So you’re sorting the troops, in a sense.”
“In simple terms, yes. Those who are not fully committed to the cause will only hold us back. I’m sure you’re unsatisfied with this, but I decided it was necessary. There are probably people here who entered by just random chance.”
Most of the members felt confused when they found out that Majoram Technologies was backing the organization.
Majoram was mostly considered to be in the same boat as Dugan Slava.
Even if they were on bad terms now, Majoram was certainly a part of the suffering the people had endured in the Slava Territory.
Did they want to kill Dugan so badly that they would lick the boots of such a company?
“Indeed, we’ve been moving towards the same goal, but whether someone will be fixated that heavily on Dugan’s death or not depends on the treatment they received in the past.”
Calaria spoke after answering Jaysam’s remark with a nod.
“To hate the person, or to hate the system – the former is the kind of person Cutie requires.”
“That’s correct. The people who hate the aristocratic society right now do not only hate Dugan, but also us. It would be ideal to have a few people like Mary.”
“Me?”
“That’s right, if it wasn’t for you, we might have been trying to curry favor with Dugan right now.”
In that case, Dugan certainly would have betrayed Majoram.
But no matter how many arcana users are offered up, even a national military enterprise could not be completely stopped.
Hiding one’s true opinion and bowing down may be a necessary choice now and then.
In that case, Cutie would be degrading herself in a deadly manner.
“I’m grateful to you Mary, for letting me avoid all that.”
“I-I guess that’s nice…..?”
“You sent an evil man to hell covered in blood. You should be proud, Mary.”
“Calaria, is that sarcasm? Joining hands with Dugan or opposing him are both similar choices. In which case, I would rather choose the path that lets me take revenge. So, I really am grateful to Mary.”
Cutie clenched her fist under the table.
She was probably remembering Francis.
Mary, in contrast to Cutie with whom she could sympathize, trusted Calaria also in a different manner.
◇◇◇
After that, the troops gathered again and Cutie gave another speech.
Jaysam was not convinced either, but he seemed to be accepting things anyhow.
As a result, half the members quit on the spot.
A lot of the remaining members had not yet given an answer, and the atmosphere in the hideout quickly got darker.
◇◇◇
A few hours afterwards.
The leaving members gathered their things and left, and more than a few decided to quit as well when they saw this.
Meanwhile, Mary was in the doctor’s office where Ami was resting.
Mary caressed her head and spoke to her in a soft voice:
“It seems you’ll be healed after you rest a little while. I’m so relieved, Ami.”
“Mhm…… Lady Mary, I’m sorry…… for the trouble.”
“No, I’m thankful you’re with me.”
Mary lightly tapped Ami on the tip of her nose, and a feeble smile appeared on Ami’s face.
Calaria watched on while standing in the corner of the room.
The door of the doctor’s office then opened, and Tinny came in.
“My Princess, Miss. Calaria, this is the communication device you requested earlier!”
She handed a device to Mary and Calaria.
“Hm…… Thank you, this will be helpful.”
“No, I should have given it to you before the plans were carried out. The other members are already saved on the contacts list. And I’ve modified it to be on mute, so please be careful. Oh, but it still has vibration!”
After a brief explanation, the two stored the devices in their skirts.
“Where did you…… Ah, things are getting pretty crazy though, aren’t they?”
Tinny started talking after a bitter smile.
“Will you stay, Miss. Tinny?”
“There’s nowhere else for me now. So, I want to use my life to kill Dugan.”
Mary was a little surprised by her words.
She had not imagined her feelings on the matter to be so deep.
So Tinny also desired revenge, just like her.
Mary wanted to know a little more about Tinny’s past, and was about to speak out when……
“Hm, a power outage…..?”
The lights in the room suddenly turned off.
Everyone looked up at the ceiling.
The next moment-
“Ugh, gah, gaaaaaaagggh!”
A man in the corridor outside was screaming.
Everyone was surprised by the noise, and Mary was the first to leap out of the room.
As for what she saw……
“Guh, agh…… Ah, ahh…… Save, me……”
It was a man with a pipe sticking through his abdomen.
Blood was gushing out of his insides through the hole.
The ceiling above him was broken, and the plumbing inside was laid bare.
(Did that break off and stab him…..?)
Mary tried to rush towards the man.
But a loud thunk suddenly reverberated from the broken ceiling, and another damaged pipe was let loose.
Its sharp tip stabbed the man in the face, almost as if it was aimed right at him.
“Oggh!? Ogh, brrgh…… Agh, gah…… hnnh……”
The man died while reaching out to Mary and collapsed as he opened his eyes wide in shock.
Blood started spreading on the ground as it overflowed.
“Was that…… an accident?”
Mary stood completely astounded in front of the man’s corpse.