Previously: Zenos saved the victims of the poisoning incident.
Around the same time the poisoning incident at Goldrun’s faction party came to a close.
A cleaner at the Royal Infirmary discovered a man in the cleaning supplies closet, gagged with a bit and bound hand and foot.
The man was a mid-level healer and said to belong to Goldrun’s faction.
He said:
He was suddenly attacked from behind by someone and his invitation to the professor’s party was stolen.
“Hey, Zenos. And Umin, too. Did you come all this way to see me?”
The next day.
Zenos and Umin were visiting the Third Building of the Imperial Guard Division in the special administrative district.
It’s a place where suspected criminals are temporarily detained and interrogated.
Becker appeared from the back room, separated by a thick pane of glass.
“Haha, this is my first time being interrogated, it’s quite a novel experience.”
Becker said, with his usual bedhead.
After the incident, the Imperial Guard Division, who received a report of attempted mass poisoning, took Goldrun and Becker into custody. Zenos and Umin applied to meet with Becker, and permission was granted, leading to this visit.
Becker sat down and looked puzzled.
“But it’s only the day after the incident and I’m still being questioned, how did you get permission to see me?”
Zenos scratched his cheek.
“Well… I have a little acquaintance in the Imperial Guard Division.”
“An acquaintance…?”
“Hey, Mr. Zenos.”
A woman with shining blonde hair and blue eyes appeared from the back. It was Krishna, the young Vice-Captain of the Imperial Guard Division.
“Wow, what a beautiful person…”
As Umin gasped involuntarily, Krishna said to Zenos with an embarrassed look.
“Mr. Zenos. I’m touched that you came all the way to see me under the pretext of a visit.”
“No, I didn’t come to see you today… Why are you making that shocked face?”
Zenos continued, as if to follow up.
“But, it was helpful that you made things convenient for me. Thank you, Krishna.”
“It’s nothing, considering the debt I owe you, Mr. Zenos.”
“Um, what is your relationship…?”
Becker looked back and forth between the two. Interrupting Krishna, who was about to say something, Zenos spoke to Becker.
“I came here today because I have something I want to ask you.”
“…Something you want to ask?”
“Um… Mr. Becker, you didn’t really put the poison in, did you?”
Umin, sitting next to him, asked hesitantly.
Becker had described the composition of the poison that the faction members drank as “probably”. In other words, he didn’t know it exactly. Therefore, Becker was not the one who made the poison. That’s what Zenos said during the incident.
Perhaps afraid to hear the answer, Umin’s hands, clenched on her lap, were shaking. Becker was silent for a moment, then glanced at Krishna and nodded.
“…Yes. In a way, that’s true.”
“In a way?”
“I couldn’t allow Goldrun, who took the life of my former lover, to become the head of the organization. I thought he should be impeached. But there was no evidence.”
“There’s the photo that Mr. Bonds had.”
“Goldrun is the most powerful person in the Royal Infirmary, and he has the Seven Great Noble Families behind him. If he wanted to, he could easily cover it up.”
“…”
“So I came up with a plan. I would poison the faction members, creating a situation similar to fifteen years ago. And then, I would make him, in his panic, talk about his past crimes and expose his foolish actions to the faction members, that was what I originally had in mind.”
Certainly, if his actions fifteen years ago came to light as fact, his centripetal force would decline, and his advantage in the director election would be greatly shaken.
“But, Mr. Becker, you said you didn’t put the poison in—”
“What I prepared was a drug that only paralyzes the body for a certain period of time, it had no lethal power. I intended to corner Goldrun by pretending it was poison.”
Becker says he didn’t put in the real poison. But the faction members had indeed drunk poison that put their lives at risk.
“I myself drank the wine in the flow of things, but I thought it was strange. At first, I thought I had made a mistake in the preparation—”
Becker closed his mouth once, and continued.
“That’s not it. It’s natural to think that someone other than myself added another poison to the celebratory drinks—”
“Another person put the poison in? Could it be—”
“Alfred?”
To Umin and Zenos’s words, Becker nodded slowly, saying, “Probably, yes.”
“I think Alfred was probably watching Goldrun’s movements somewhere all along. And then, he secretly infiltrated the party and put in the poison. He may have tried to recreate the incident from fifteen years ago, just like I did.”
“Then, Mr. Alfred…”
“Yes. He may have been there. He may have pretended to drink the poison, and blended in with the many fallen healers, observing the outcome of the situation.”
“…”
Silence fell over the room.
If the story is true, the drug Becker prepared was not lethal. However, Alfred brought in real poison. Enough poison to kill all of his former colleagues.
Krishna, leaning against the wall, abruptly crossed her arms.
“This is undisclosed information, but a faction member has been found who claims that his party invitation was stolen by someone.”
“Then, after all—”
Umin said, standing up.
“But, Mr. Becker. If that’s the case, if you had just told us sooner…”
“No, I am ultimately guilty as well. I realized that real poison had been mixed in, but I didn’t take action immediately. Seeing Goldrun take the same actions as fifteen years ago, for a moment, I didn’t care about anything anymore. I even thought that it would be fine if everyone, including me, died.”
“Mr. Becker…”
Next to Umin, who dropped her shoulders, Zenos turned his eyes to Krishna by the wall.
“What happened to Goldrun?”
“He’s dejected, but he stubbornly refuses to admit the incident from fifteen years ago. However—”
Krishna waved the photo that Umin had brought as evidence.
“There is evidence. We’ll somehow be able to charge him.”
“He has the Seven Great Noble Families behind him.”
“Do you think I would yield just because the opponent is a noble?”
“That’s right.”
Zenos grinned, and Krishna returned the smile.
“Besides, fortunately, Lord Fennel is one of the few sensible nobles. There are rumors that he will withdraw his support from Goldrun. The current director of the Royal Infirmary, Lord Shalbard, also heard the story and said he will revoke his retirement, and it has become known that Goldrun tried to sacrifice the lives of his faction members. He will lose everything.”
“I wonder if he can pay me…”
“I’ll hold on to the payment pledge instead. I’ll make him sell his mansion if necessary to get the money.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“If Mr. Zenos says to take it off, I’m prepared to take it off at any time. It’s embarrassing, though…”
“No, what are you talking about…?”
“I see…”
Hearing of Goldrun’s downfall, Becker let out a big sigh as if the strength had left him. It was a calm face, as if the weight he had been carrying for many years had been lifted.
Krishna jerked her chin.
“Don’t worry about this man either. He didn’t put in the poison, and since he’s someone Mr. Zenos has helped, I’ll use my authority as Vice-Captain to get him released.”
“No, please be fair about that…”
“P-Please!”
Umin bowed deeply to Krishna, said “Mr. Becker, I’ll be waiting for you!”, and left the room with a slightly relieved face.
Becker called out to Zenos, who was about to stand up and follow.
“Zenos.”
“What is it?”
“Actually, there’s one thing that’s been bothering me.”
“…Is it about Alfred in the photo?”
Zenos answered, turning around, and Becker nodded with a slightly surprised look.
“You noticed it too, after all.”
“Well, I did think it was strange.”
“What do you mean, Mr. Zenos?”
Zenos told Krishna, who tilted her head, to show her the photo. The photo of the accident scene from fifteen years ago shows a young Alfred caught in the explosion. Blood is overflowing from his abdomen, and his face is pale.
Krishna looked at the photo and said:
“This man is Alfred, who is suspected to be the real culprit of the poison incident? I’ll remember his face. But what’s strange about it, Mr. Zenos?”
“Goldrun used the life force of the victims here to treat the Seven Great Noble Families. That’s the incident from fifteen years ago.”
“I heard that…”
“But, as you can see, Alfred is quite seriously injured.”
“Yes, I understand that too.”
“I can’t imagine him surviving after having his life force further sucked out from this state.”
“…”
Krishna furrowed her brows.
“Could it be that this man, Goldrun, treated him on a whim?”
“There was no mention of such a thing, and there’s no merit for Goldrun to do so. Rather, he should be troubled if anyone survives unnecessarily.”
Becker added, and Krishna looked puzzled.
“But, this man, Alfred, was certainly on the research lab’s roster, right?”
“Yes, that’s why I’ve been bothered by it ever since I saw that photo.”
After a moment of silence, Becker said in a heavy tone:
“The Alfred I’ve been interacting with all this time, who… no, what was he?”
In the silence, Becker’s gaze turned to Zenos.
“Zenos. Perhaps this is not a simple case of revenge from fifteen years ago.”
“…”
“And you are the one who stopped his attempt. Zenos. You may be his next target.”
Zenos scratched his head.
“I’d prefer to avoid trouble, but if he shows up in front of me, I’ll collect the inconvenience fee for this time.”
Saying that in an annoyed tone, Zenos left the room. Becker and Krishna, who were left behind, looked at each other and smiled wryly.
“How very… reliable.”
“Mr. Zenos is out of the ordinary in many ways. He doesn’t realize it himself.”
“I wonder if he has recognized his own position a little with his experience at the Royal Infirmary.”
“I hope so…”
Krishna uncrossed her arms.
“However, I honestly hate you for the fact that Mr. Zenos went to the trouble of coming to visit.”
“You’re casually throwing in your true feelings. But, it’s probably not for me.”
“Oh?”
“It’s probably for Umin.”
“Umin… is that the girl with glasses who was with Mr. Zenos? That’s hard to ignore.”
Translator’s Note
Krishna uses “kikizute naran na” which is more like “I can’t let that go unheard” or “I can’t just let that slide”.
“Even if Goldrun’s faction is dismantled, there are many excellent people, so they won’t have trouble finding a place, but Umin is different. You see, my research lab, which she belongs to, is minor, and Umin is my niece. If I’m charged with attempted murder, her position at the Royal Infirmary will be gone. That’s why he went out of his way to come here and claim my innocence.”
“…Mr. Zenos wanted to help that girl that much? D-Don’t tell me Mr. Zenos is—”
“Pick up all the coins—”
At Becker’s words, Krishna raised her face, which had been drooping. The special-grade healer continued, gazing into the void:
“Those are the words Mr. Zenos said when he entered the party hall. All the coins included not only the fallen healers, but also Umin. I don’t know how much of it was his true feelings, but he acted according to his words and saved everyone. Goldrun would have died if he had been left alone, so in a sense, he was saved too.”
“…I see…”
Krishna nodded slightly and said to Becker:
“So, that means that you were also included in those coins.”
“…!”
Becker blinked as if he had been caught off guard for a moment. Then, he looked at the door where Zenos had disappeared with deep emotion.
“He really is… an incredible man.”
“Originally, interrogators should not easily agree with the suspect’s words—”
Krishna said, then slightly lifted the corner of her mouth.
“But I completely agree with that opinion.”
Around the same time, there was a shadow moving through the forest, as if to get away from the Royal Infirmary.
The figure, with a mouse-gray hood pulled over its head, muttered to no one in particular.
“I never expected to be interrupted by Zenos again. It seems we’re destined to meet.”
The figure bit its thumbnail with a snap.
“What do people think and how do they act in extreme situations? Ah… I could have gotten more interesting data if there hadn’t been any interference.”
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, and the hood flipped up.
Its face was reflected in a puddle at its feet.
Gazing at the somewhat androgynous features, it muttered a word.
“Alfred… this vessel is not bad. I’ll have you accompany my interests for a while longer.”
The figure pulled the hood down again, and disappeared as if melting into the shadows of the trees.
A/N: The epilogue continues a little longer.