Chapter 43 - New members (tentative)
Volume 4: The Imperial Capital & Disturbance
Translator: Black Lotus
Editor: imsara
Tiarietta hugs herself, wondering if this cold weather can be managed. She wanted to finish the story before she froze.
“So, what do I have to do to survive?”
“We value our people. So, I would like to propose that you join the Vice Owl…”
“I will.”
“As soon as possible…”
White Mask–Charlotte’s surprised voice caused Tiarietta to smile unknowingly.
”I see, ‘Vice Owl’ is not an individual, but something that represents a group of researchers. Yeah, it’s really fascinating. To be honest, I’d like to leave my job and move to your base of operations right now.”
“Thank you for explaining, but I still need you to be at the Academy.”
“Hmm. Does this have something to do with the ‘information’ you want, Lisa?”
“Yes, sir. But, before you ask, let me just say that there are some conditions for formal participation.”
“Well, of course. Not to mention the confidentiality and the fact that I won’t be looking into your identities for a while.”
“I’ll be making sure that he’s worthy of our trust for some time.”
“I’m afraid that I’m not worthy of your “trust”. I’m aware of that fact, and I’m willing to give you my trust. You have to trust me, though.”
Charlotte, who is puzzled, was supplemented by Lisa.
“It’s dangerous to trust her as a human being. But, she insists that if our interests are aligned, there is no betrayal.”
“Exactly. There’s no advantage to me in exposing the inner working of your demon race. If anything, it’s a disadvantage.”
“What do you mean?”
”The demon race has some special attributes, and therefore there are some magic that only they can handle. Regardless of whether Lisa-chan is like that or not, you should definitely avoid a situation where you are captured. It would be a disaster if they killed you. It is my personal opinion that the demon race may not be compatible with people, but it is my opinion that they should be kept alive.”
“Professor Lucianell is a good person, isn’t she?”
“Let’s get this right now, since any discrepancy in understanding will lead to conflict later. I’m a ruthless person. The only reason that I think the demons should be kept alive is because I want to study their unique magic. I have strong connection to ancient magic.”
“In the demon society, there was little awareness of ‘keeping records’. Diverse races tend to rely on oral traditions within their own tribe. The longer a person lives and the stronger they become, and the more individualistic they become. Therefore, on the side of those who are opposed to them, researching magic specific to the demon race is extremely difficult.”
”Umm…I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure. In the sense that you are friendly to all of the oppressed demon race, aren’t you still a good person?”
Tiarietta felt that the white mask was very young in terms of mindset.
“─ I don’t expect to be friendly to others, I’m not very good at it, although I can make up for it on the surface if necessary. When it comes to life and death, for example, if I found someone’s body, whether it was a relative or a stranger, I would only say, ‘Oh, what a waste!’”
“What a waste, huh?”
“There’s no limit to the amount of information you can get from ‘death’. People, demons and monsters are valuable because they live and do things. If they are dead, there is no way to study them.”
“You’ve only seen demons as objects to study?”
“Not exactly. Everything in the world is for me to study, including myself.”
“I still don’t understand…”
Charlotte nodded her head.
Lisa added again.
“Her thoughts are similar to those of the demon race. We put our own interests first. That’s why we won’t hesitate to take the lives of others if necessary.”
“I don’t advocate killing, but that’s generally true,” she said. “Therefore, I would never ‘dedicate myself to someone else.’”
“We may put our fellow humans and the Lord at the top. Now, I am. I am incompatible with you.”
“It’s not that I don’t understand. It’s just that I’m not there yet.”
Tiarietta aloofly shrugged off the cold-hearted glare.
Watching the exchange between the two, Charlotte was still puzzled.
”I don’t think you need to understand. It’s an innocence and purity that is rare nowadays. An innocence and purity, which is a necessary ingredient for a researcher. It’s the opposite of what I’m used to, but yes, that’s fine.”
“It is precisely because it is so plain that there is no end to his curiosity.”
A girl who seemed to be in her early teens as far as I could tell. If this genius, who has already surpassed me, is raised like this, she will grow up to be someone who will shake the world.
(Good grief. As an educator, I’m a bit of a clunker, but I’d like to watch her grow up.)
“However, I wanted to be in a position to do research with him.”
“Now, I’m a self-promoting, rational thinker, but do you think I’m up to it?”
Charlotte’s eyes shifted to Lisa.
“I think we can “trust” her as long as the interests are not reversed, but what do you think, Lisa?”
“…if you make any suspicious moves, we’ll deal with it immediately. I’ll take care of it on those terms.”
“Let’s see…”
“Ha-ha, you’re really cute. You won’t be bothering your friends, will you, Lisa?”
“Familiar.”
“Well, the stakes are not reversed. You don’t have to worry about that. After all…”
Tiarietta chuckled, shivering in the cold.
“You guys have a connection to ‘Shiva’, don’t you?”
“You’re very clear. Did I say something that might give you a clue?”
“Oh,” and Lisa held her head up.
Tiarietta is also at the level where she worried, ‘She’s a little too honest.’
”It’s half a sham, but, well, it was that communication magic that led to the last minute confirmation.”
Tiarietta read through all of Weiss Owl’s papers, but there was nothing on communication magic.
“This is a simplified version of magic that would normally require extensive magical techniques. However, why is it not researched at all?”
“Perhaps that’s because there’s no one in the Vice Owl who could use this magic.”
“As far as I know, there’s only one person I know that could pull off such an unprecedented feat. But, he doesn’t seem to belong to Vice Owl.”
“If this is the case, Shiva is in a position to provide them with technology, but not so much as a ‘friend’.”
“Hence, I thought it was just a ‘connection’.”
”I don’t know.”
“I admire your astute eye, lady.”
“I don’t feel bad about the compliment, but that raises the question. Like him, what is your real purpose?”
Charlotte paused for a moment and then announced,
“We are the group that watch over Shiva and help him to spread his greatness to the world. We are the Shiva watchers’ group for short, the Beobahater. Also known as the Round Table.
(TlNote: Beobahater…the hell is this slang…)
“Where do you want me to start?”
“Oh, the Round Table is the main body of the activity, isn’t it? If that’s the case, should the official name of the group be “Camelot”?”
She was mumbling something.
“The Vice Owl, in a way, is a private circle of concerned citizens.”
“Oh, sure…”
I felt it was useless to try to figure out this area.
“I’m not going to be a member of the Round Table, but I’ve tentatively joined the Vice Owl, right?”
“Sooner or later, you will be knighted. Good luck!”
“Oh, oh. That’s something to work on…”
Anyway, they’ve accepted her as one of their own, albeit provisionally.
“So, what do you guys expect from me? What kind of information do you need?”
Charlotte straightens up her residence and announced gravely (but without hiding her loveliness).
”The academy is now being targeted by a dark organization.”
“What?”
“Do you know of any dubious activities such as backstreet student council or anything like that?”
“Ah… yes, there is. I don’t know about the secret student council, but I heard that a strange religious group is working behind the scenes not only at the academy but also in the kingdom.”
“That’s it! Details!”
“No, but it’s not in the scope of my interest, so I’ve only heard the level of gossip about the teachers from Porcos-sensei, right?”
“That’s fine. I’d like you to work with Lisa to gather more information in more detail, if that’s okay with you?”
“Mmm, it’s quite a hassle, really – well, that’s what I’ll end up doing. I’ll do it. So, Lisa, don’t look at me like that.”
Tiarietta shudders as the temperature begins to drop again. It’s about to freeze.
”Then first, tell me what information Professor Lucianell has.”
“That’s okay, Tia. Let’s see, first of all, about the religious community…”
Information sharing takes place in the midst of a cold snap.
“Here’s the whole story.”
☆☆☆☆☆☆
I am Shiva and I saw it!
In the middle of class, the alarm from the monitoring ward that we had put in place to prevent the members of the roundtable from going out of control sounded loudly (in my ears only).
I was so surprised that I couldn’t jump, but I didn’t expect it to come from Lisa, who was thought to be the least likely to go out of control.
Well, if it had been Frey, Professor Tia would have been reduced to ashes by now. You’ve saved your life.
Anyway, it is.
“So it’s the back student council…”
I murmured to myself so that no one could hear.
I heard that some stinky people are working behind the scenes at the academy, even though it’s not exactly true.
The teachers don’t seem to have grasped the reality of the situation yet, but won’t this be a troublesome conversation?
For now, let’s leave the gathering of information to Professor Tia and the others and if anything happens, I’ll take care of it behind the scenes. I’ll continue to keep an eye on Lisa and the others.
It’s just a little weird.
The group that’s watching over me or the group that I am watching over, I wonder who’s watching over me?
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