Chapter 13: From Forecast to Politics

A heavy silence fell over the laboratory. Everyone held their tongue and didn’t utter a single word; there was just silence. Even though the experiment had succeeded, or perhaps precisely because it did. The one to receive the biggest shock may have actually been me, seeing as the sense of reality of a prophecy was weakest in me.

The image of that tranquil village I just visited several days ago returned to me. I had a strong desire to go there immediately and make preparations for an evacuation...

“R-Right, we need to announce this quickly and e-evacuate everyone in the—” Alfina stood up and broke the silence. Her desperate expression brought me back to my senses. I took a deep breath to compose myself.

“Please calm down, Princess Alfina.”

“Ricardo... But...” Alfina’s face was telling me, “but you’re the one who predicted a monster flood would occur.” It was certainly true that our hypothesis of an outbreak of a monster flood in the west had been substantiated.

We turned the prophecy of a disaster that only Alfina could see into a forecast that anybody could see objectively. Honestly speaking, I didn’t think the outcome would be so clear. It just went that well. Until now, that is. The part that wasn’t all that straightforward began now.

Nature is honest. Monsters will surely react honestly to the pattern in mana fluctuations, even if a monster flood has never occurred before. However, could the same thing be said about humans? Data that anybody could look at objectively? Ridiculous.

“If the omens are confirmed, the chivalric order will dispatch right away to crush it before the flood can break out, right? At least... in the east,” I asked, and Fulsig tapped his finger against his forehead twice.

“Right. For a pack to form and move to the open plains, there needs to be an individual specimen of higher rank to serve as its core. Once that one is taken care of, the monsters will cannibalize each other. That’s how it’s possible to stop a flood before it happens.”

So there’s something like an alpha male which guides the pack into new territory. And when that one is taken out, the extreme situation of starvation will drive them to rampage and kill each other to take the crown as the new alpha male. Well, let’s set aside investigations of zoology, which is way outside my field of expertise, for now. The current problem isn’t the enormous wolf, but the clever monkey. In other words, the pack of humans. The image of our own alpha male and the organization which surrounded him came to mind.

“When it comes to dispatching the Second Chivalric Order, the core of the national army, it requires a royal command, right?” I asked, and Fulsig nodded.

After downscaling the army, the Second Chivalric Order became the group possessing the most war potential in the country. A dispatch required them to go to the very east of the Kingdom. The tremendous cost of doing so also threw off the balance of the distribution of military forces within the Kingdom completely. This meant only the highest authority could make it happen. It’d be problematic if that wasn’t the case.

However, having only the highest authority make a decision also means that it takes a tremendous amount of time and effort to make them move.

“If the observatories were to report such omens, the dispatch of the chivalric order would go smoothly. However, even though it’s obvious now, the first time this was discovered and reported, no action was taken until the second occurrence.”

The old man spoke with no emotion at all, in a completely level tone. His wrinkled eyes then wandered over to the granddaughter-like girl before him.

“So a prediction in an unprecedented territory, using an unprecedented means, won’t be assessed the same as the east, right?” I asked.

“That can’t be... Even though it’s so clear...?” Alfina muttered in despair. At the current rate, she would have to taste the same feelings she felt watching the prophecy, and she looked up at the old man, imploring him for help.

“I promise to report the results of these measurements as definitive. No matter who it is. However, I’m nothing but a retired old man to the royal palace. That means that I have to go through the proper channels, I have to report things from the very bottom of the ladder. At best, it would take half a year. And that’s only if it isn’t dismissed even once in the meantime.”

Fulsig’s official endorsement about the monster flood is critical. Without it, this really would be nothing more than a student research project. But that’s all it would be: an endorsement. By itself, it would be decisively insufficient to make the pillar of the nation move in time to make it for the disaster.

Let’s say that, in the other world, filled with trust in science and technology, a groundbreaking method in predicting earthquakes was discovered. The one who discovered it would surely be praised. It would definitely become the talk of the town in scientific society. But just how long would it take for national administration to legislate its use? Even half a year is an overly optimistic estimate. And in half a year, the lotus flowers will have long been scattered.

There’s actually an entirely different worry I have as well, but let’s set that aside for now. First, we need to find a way to make the country take action. And for that, we need a shortcut all the way to the highest level decision-making party in the nation, and a really fast one at that. The current date is the 12th of May. Judging by the time that the lotus flowers blooming lines up with the wheat harvest, the soonest the disaster could occur is August. If a campaign is not decided on next month, and if the subjugation does not take place the month after that, we’ll be in a bad situation.

I took a look at the people gathered here. We had the ideal team when it came to the analysis and verification of the prophecy. But regardless, we were the worst members to accomplish the vital point of actualizing a countermeasure. I mean, only one of us wasn’t a student.

“I shall petition His Majesty the King. It is my responsibility to have him listen, no matter—”

“That’ll have the opposite effect.”

Alfina spoke up full of determination, but her vigor was smashed to pieces by me in an instant. The royal palace would only harden their stance if she were to petition them due to her speech regarding the prophecy in the first place. We couldn’t afford a repeat of the Spring Festival.

“Princess Alfina, this is no longer a prophecy. It’s a forecast. A prediction that everyone here worked together to create.”

“Precisely, we got this far because of everybody’s help. That’s exactly why I have a responsibility to inform His Majesty about it,” Alfina desperately pleaded, but I shook my head.

She’s already fulfilled her role more than enough. Thinking of the things to come, I don’t want her taking on any more risks. My sensibilities might be a little naïve, but she’s still just a student. And unlike me, she’s a genuine student. This naturally also applies to Mia. In this situation, it would be troublesome if even just her name were to be mentioned to the higher-ups.

“Putting on the airs of a schemer like that will cause people to misunderstand, sir.”

“She’s right. The youngster here is trying to say that it’s not a prophecy, so there’s no need for you to carry the burden on your own anymore, Princess.”

“Ricardo...” Alfina’s eyes shot wide open.

Crap, she’s starting to make an expression that someone who’s meant to be protected shouldn’t be making.

“Come on, that’s the misunderstanding here. You’ve got the wrong idea.”

Being a knight to protect a princess was not on the list of services provided by a merchant. Taking on unreasonable ventures would only lead to mutually assured destruction with my customer. Fulsig’s interpretation was way off the mark. If I was capable of saying such a cool line, then back in the other world, I would’ve been more...

“Listen, alright? What I’m trying to say is that a forecast can be treated differently from a prophecy. Depending on how we deliver the news, it’s possible to widen the scope of the sense that there’s an impending crisis. That’s what I mean. Well, that’s if we’re able to properly convey it to someone who will very thoroughly scrutinize it.” I moved both my hands in the air in a fluster while trying to veer things away from the direction they were going in.

If the situation is left as it is, Weinder’s business, as well as all manner of other things, will be dealt a fatal blow. We don’t have any time to grieve over what we don’t have enough of. To begin with, the next phase is to execute countermeasures. Even if there were many options that each of us could take action on, a single person could only take one action at a time.

Even if just one such action is sufficient to solve the problem, then that’s enough. No matter how enormous the problem, there’s always a crux. In this case, it’s the key person that we need to convince.

“Looking at it from the point of view of those who share our interests, the influential nobles of the western territories would be our best candidates. Among them, we want those that would listen carefully to you, Director, or you, Princess Alfina. The condition is that we can get through to them with logic. It’s also a necessity that they do not fear overturning precedence.”

My face hardened as I listed all the conditions. They seemed far too severe to be able to find even just one viable target. There was too much in this country’s establishment that was deficient.

And sure enough, Fulsig cocked his head dubiously. Mia also remained quiet. And my personal connections numbered far fewer than these two. Silence swept over the room, as if stagnating in the air. And just as myself, Mia, and Fulsig all hung our heads down and looked at the table...

“Um, I was thinking of handing this over after we finished for the day.” Alfina suddenly pulled out a white envelope.

The wax seal was proof that it was an official letter. The crest was the same as the one I saw on the gates of the large city I stayed in overnight in the center of the western region. And the addressee... was me?!

“My aunt said she had things she wanted to ask you about last time.”

“By ‘last time,’ do you perhaps mean when you forced your way into Ricardo’s vacation, Princess Alfina?” Mia said with a sharpened gaze.

“It wasn’t a vacation, it was work. Jacob was with us along the way too, and when we got to the village, we didn’t do anything other than collecting this sample. Anyway, moving on here. We need to check the contents of the letter.”

I opened the letter in a fluster and scanned over the unexpectedly plain writing. Of course, only the writing was plain. The contents were a summons under the guise of an invitation.

“Uh, it’s written here that I’m to see her tomorrow? I thought it was normal for grand nobles to have the leisure of time... Like, if they summon someone in a hurry, it makes them look like they’re panicking and affects their standing, or something?”

“My aunt doesn’t really worry about such things.”

I looked to Alfina for help, and the niece of the sender smiled back at me in a slightly troubled manner. I was the one who wanted her to worry about these things a little, though.

“No, but, I mean, what about my plans? We don’t have much time to deal with the monster flood...” I couldn’t say that I really didn’t want to go, and clung to my just cause.

“Isn’t Archduchess Berthold the most suitable candidate for those conditions you just listed?” Fulsig’s words struck me like a punch to the head.

Alfina’s guardian sat one step below the king during the Spring Festival. I must have unconsciously ignored her as a choice, since she’s in far too high a position. I glanced down at the letter on the table with a twitch in my eye.

Okay, so this invitation is actually quite convenient. Or maybe you could say, here comes a mark begging to be swindled. But what if the archduchess is actually the swindler and I’m the mark? I’m just some puny commoner. I’ve got nothing for an archduchess to steal, or anything...

“It’s alright. When I spoke of you to her before going to Reylia village, she showed great interest in you, Ricardo.”

That’s not alright at all, though... Those two carriages weren’t just to protect the princess from an outside menace, they were a threat towards me, weren’t they?

“She’s quite the hard nut to crack, after all. I’ll have to choose my words carefully for the letter of recommendation...” Fulsig said. Though he appeared cooperative, he was actually just pushing it all on me, wasn’t he?

“I can’t possibly make a presentation in front of some big shot I just met. Should you not take this role as a man of experience and wisdom, Director?”

“Oh, but you were the one invited in the letter... Mhm, it’s written right here that it must be you. How about I write, ‘He’s the most outstanding among the pupils I’ve had here for the last ten years.’ Well, the wording is a little diplomatic, so if it doesn’t get through to her, it won’t help you any.”

I’m the one who wants to know how many students this old fart bothered to teach in the last ten years here.

“Sir? Please instruct me as to what format you would like the necessary data and graphs in.” Mia began organizing the data, as if it was the obvious thing to do.

“I will take responsibility and introduce you to her. It’ll be alright as long as she understands how amazing you are, Ricardo.” And Alfina put her hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me.

*

“In summary, the most important point is that this information demonstrates... no, that won’t do. Using the word information will work against me and lighten its value. Uhhh, I’ll be presenting to the archduchess, a noble, a woman, Alfina’s aunt... which do I use as a premise? Oh, and then there’s the problem after the presentation finishes too... Crap, no, this is no good at all. This isn’t the time to be mixing multiple problems together.”

After returning home, my outline of the presentation grew more and more chaotic. And before I knew it, it was pitch black outside.

By all rights, I should be starting by studying proper etiquette, but there’s no time for that. I’ll have to rely entirely on the little princess’s support. Not in terms of etiquette, mind you, but for when I have to beg for my life after I fail.

I’ll simply win with the contents of what I’m speaking of... famous last words. Everyone who immediately blunders a presentation says that.

“I think the day’s just about to change over now... It’s awfully inconvenient not knowing the exact time...” And just as I sighed and gauged the remaining length of the candle...

Knock, knock.

“Hm? What does she need this late at night?”

I turned around as Mia opened the door and entered my room. I couldn’t make out her complexion from the dim candlelight, but her expression lacked its usual composure.

“Sir? Jacob has a report for you.”

“Jacob? Isn’t he in Reylia with my father?”

My foster father was in the middle of a business trip. We’d only just determined that a disaster was a sure thing today, but I had him take action beforehand. I was up to my neck with work, putting together a presentation to get someone capable of moving the nation to take action themselves, but also, of course, preparing for the possible scenario where I was unable to do so.

My foster father should be on his way back home after preparing the goods needed for an evacuation.

“It can’t be... Did something happen to my father?” I turned to ask Jacob in a panic, who followed Mia into my room. The carriage that I saw following us partway during my trip came to mind.

“No, the president’s alright. Actually, we weren’t the target,” Jacob answered.

“What do you mean?”

Mia and Jacob exchanged glances.

“One of the children from the village was abducted by an unidentified man. Luckily for us, we just happened to be there and managed to get him back. Seems that man’s been sniffing about for intel on us in Berthold. The amount of goods we were carrying this time around were a little too big in scale for a farming village, so he likely got his info from that.”

It really was a bit backwards for a farming village to be importing food. It seems they got cold feet when I had my escort plain in the open while traveling with the incognito princess, but they ended up just taking the next chance they had.

As for the people who could be so fixated on the insignificant dealings of a company from a village far away from the capital that they would spend such funds... narrowed down to the ones that even knew I was taking a week off school, and the ones who could easily collect information on the flow of foodstuffs leads us to none other than...!!

“Dreyfan? Yeah, who else but Dreyfan.” And the moment I arrived at the answer, I started to lose my cool. My quill pen went flying off my desk and fell to the floor as I slammed my fist into the desk.

“Please calm down, sir.” Mia picked up my pen, wiped off the ink, and held it out to me.

“Like hell I can calm down. We just happened to get by without any harm done by pure chance!”

“Sir.” She placed the pen on the desk in front of me.

The pen is the symbol of stability for my mind. Even when I lose my composure and am unable to give form to my thoughts, I can constructively maintain myself as long as I have a pen and paper. Even if I’m unable to control my thoughts running amok, I can still control the movements of my hand. But there are still limits. For example, just like now, my trembling hand is unable to write anything.

“I get it. I need to calm down.” I forced my heart to slow down. Since this concerned the children of the village, Mia was surely far more worried than me. “Okay, I get it. Strangely enough, nothing happened.”

Even though they’d calmed down recently due to their important negotiations, the Dreyfans were still an enemy. Only an idiot would blow their lid at an enemy taking antagonistic action. It’s fine to get angry, but being shocked is unforgivable. You can’t protect anything like that.

“...How much do you know of what’s behind the guy? What did my father say?”

First is to confirm the information. It’s impossible that the Dreyfans directly took action themselves.

“They traced us back from the goods the president stocked up on in Berthold. Judging from the equipment and skills of the guy, he’s the same as us, a former soldier. Berthold’s our old haunt, so we’ve got a few connections there. Remy’ll likely be able to get something after some prodding. You can leave the capital to me. I may not look it, but I know a lotta people here.”

Jacob and Remy possess an unbelievable amount of skill for guards hired by a copper company. My only choice now is to believe in them.

“Well, it won’t really fly here to say the cost doesn’t matter, but you can use the rest of this year’s budget. Don’t just grab their tail; we need to confirm the main body behind all this.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say. I’ll get some nice wine for my connections.”

“Mia, help Jacob out. But limit yourself only to organizing the information he gathers, and under no condition are you to go out alone.”

“Understood. Jacob, please investigate the Kendalls too. Their relationship with the Dreyfans is pretty poor. I’ve got a few prospects we can go to as well.”

“Roger that.”

The two of them left as they talked. After confirming they were gone, I once more gripped the pen in my hand. The scuffle between children was long over. That stupid rich boy didn’t matter anymore. My target was now the father.

It doesn’t matter that no real harm was done. I’m making my decision based on the fact that he crossed the line and laid a hand on my family.

I’ll never forgive him. Not “I can’t forgive him,” or “I shouldn’t forgive him.” I don’t, and won’t forgive him.

I won’t confuse “ideals” with “reality.” I won’t pray for a world where the heavens punish the foul. The weak have no leisure to wait for the time it takes for such a wish to be fulfilled. In the time that the weak pray, the strong take action. All that does is increase the gap between them.

“But you know, Dreyfan...” I looked out the window past the palace walls, towards a large shop on the other side of the main street. “You’re the one who has confused ‘reality’ with ‘ideals.’”

I managed to slow down my heart, and the trembling of my hand ceased. Now then, I’ll have to think of what’s to come after the presentation. There’s one more thing I need to include now, after all.