Thus, only Jaekiel and Hedera were left alone.
'Anes, you really lack flexibility.'
Jaekiel quietly thought to himself.
Anes had rubbed Hedera the wrong way, leaving the atmosphere less than
pleasant, but it wasn't something Jaekiel didn't understand. Anes had
always been expressionless and strictly followed the manual.
In other words, she sometimes lacked awareness.
It was then that Hedera spoke.
"Now, there's only one thing left to ask the Auditor."
"I will do my best to answer anything."
"On this expedition, did you make your mark while dressed in the attire of
the Imperial Family?"
"…"
The question was quite tricky.
The atmosphere had subtly grown heavy, so he expected something like
this, but he hadn't thought the Princess would be concerned with such
details.
'Or perhaps, I should consider this a stroke of luck.'
Considering the atmosphere at the last gathering, this was likely something
the other princesses had noticed as well. It was fortunate that only Hedera
was asking about it.
"Perhaps with your personal secretary–"
"Tether hastily brought the clothes, and as they were from disaster relief,
only the Imperial Family attire remained. I had no choice but to wear it."
"Hm."
"I had to hide my identity, so I had no choice."
He emphasized the fact that he had no other choice.
It wasn't a lie, so he felt no guilt. Perhaps his sincerity got through, as
Hedera soon nodded as if she understood.
"Well… That's understandable."
Hedera's expression eased noticeably.
Was this matter more concerning to her than the Imperial Tower's
achievements? The Third Princess must also be watching closely, and he
realized he'd need to be even more careful in the future.
At least, the misunderstanding seemed to be cleared up.
However, Hedera wasn't done speaking yet.
"Auditor."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"May I assign you a simple task?"
"Yes. Of course."
Hedera blinked quietly.
"You don't even ask what the task is. You just say you'll do it first. My
Auditor."
"Because it's Your Highness's command."
"…I really appreciate that."
Her voice softened slightly.
"All you have to do is move your lips lightly. When I say something, just
say the first word that comes to mind."
When he heard it, it didn't seem like a difficult task.
However, Hedera added something cautiously.
"May I use my Word Command?"
"Yes. I don't mind."
Even though it was uncomfortable to submit to the Word Command, he
didn't think he'd recall anything that would compromise him. It was better
to allow it and gain Hedera's trust.
Hedera slowly lowered her mask.
"My Auditor, from now on, after you hear a word, say the first word that
comes to mind."
At the same time, the unique energy of the Word Command enveloped him.
'It's stronger than before.'
Hedera's command had grown significantly more powerful. It wasn't just
Jaekiel who had been advancing and growing stronger.
"Then let's begin."
"Yes."
Jaekiel nodded, steeling himself inwardly.
If a really critical question was asked, he'd try to resist the Word Command
as much as possible, something like that.
But.
The questions were so easy that his worries seemed unfounded.
"Tether?"
"The Second Princess's secretary."
"Anes?"
"My secretary."
"Imperial Tower?"
"Workplace."
"First Princess?"
"Scary."
"…Good. Now, the last one."
Hedera took a deep breath and looked at him with a rather serious
expression. He wondered what kind of question awaited him.
Finally, Hedera parted her lips.
"Me, Hedera."
Whoooosh!
At the same time, the Word Command intensified several times over,
pressing down on him. Hedera had suddenly amplified its power.
'…!'
He couldn't resist the sudden change, and his mouth spoke the first thing
that came to mind.
"…Happiness?"
Right after he said it.
He was startled by the change in the atmosphere.
The cold gaze she had shown until now was completely gone, and only
warm eyes were directed at him.
"That's right, you really are my auditor."
Hedera finally smiled.
"…You've worked hard, My Auditor."
Downstairs in the conference hall.
'Somehow, I managed to get through it.'
He was relieved, thinking he'd overcome the biggest hurdle of this
expedition, when suddenly Anes apologized.
"Auditor, I'm sorry. I think I unintentionally upset the Second Princess."
"That can happen."
"It's my first time facing such an esteemed person, so if it had a negative
impact on you, I truly apologize."
Jaekiel waved it off as if it were no big deal.
"I'm fine. If it really bothers you, just do better the next time you face the
Princess."
It was then that Anes felt a strange discomfort.
'…Why am I apologizing to the Auditor?'
When she thought about it, it was strange. Technically, it was the Second
Princess whose mood she had upset. So, it would have been right to
apologize to her.
No, she needed to think further back.
'In the first place, why did I do that?'
Anes was a woman who always acted according to the manual.
She knew better than anyone what kind of status Hedera held, and there
were countless manuals on how to show proper respect to such an esteemed
person.
Erase your ego, follow their will, show respect… Anes had blatantly
ignored all of that.
She hadn't been able to erase her own ego.
Why?
Anes's question was simply, why?
Why had she, who valued and loved following the manual more than
anyone, broken it?
'…Because of the Auditor?'
The reason soon became clear. It was because of Jaekiel.
She, who had always lived according to the responses written in the
manual, had for the first time started acting according to her heart's will.
Her life was changing.
Was the Auditor gradually changing her life?
…It was unfamiliar. Truly, it felt strange.
Anyway, setting aside these thoughts, Anes asked.
"Auditor, what should we do now?"
"Well… Honestly, there's no issue if we return right now."
"What? But we still have the presentation left, don't we?"
Anes tilted her head slightly.
"Isn't it a bit odd to leave without participating? Of course, even if we do
participate, it's a big deal. The Imperial Tower doesn't have much to
present, aside from the Auditor's achievements."
Anes looked at Jaekiel, not understanding.
He responded with a look of even less understanding.
"Where would you find better presentation material than that?"
Jaekiel pointed his chin towards a corner.
Teddy Divine's corpse was hanging from the tip of a spear, and next to it
was the purified cursed sword.
"We can just present that."
"Oh…"
…Now that she thought about it, it made sense.
"So the tricky presentation problem is solved. Shall we return to the
Imperial Tower immediately then?"
"Anes, what do you think we should do?"
"Hm."
Anes spun the cube in her hand.
"We've gained a tremendous advantage and even solved the tricky
presentation issue… I'd probably return quickly to avoid any trouble."
"That won't do, that won't do."
Jaekiel shook his head.
"Just be satisfied with this and leave? No way."
"…"
Anes blinked expressionlessly.
"…Are you saying there's more to gain here?"
"Of course there is."
Jaekiel nodded.
"We haven't seen the secret techniques yet, have we?"
"Oh, the secret techniques…!"
Anes rarely showed admiration, but she still tilted her head, as if a question
remained.
"Um, Auditor."
"Yes?"
"When we extracted and recorded the Blue Tower's magic, didn't we use a
duel method?"
"Yes. It wasn't a duel we proposed, though."
"At that time, there was a covert atmosphere of looking down on the
Imperial Tower, and no trust in us. But now, hasn't the situation completely
changed?"
Anes spun the cube again.
"I don't think anyone will challenge us now."
"My secretary really says frustrating things quite often."
Jaekiel tapped the back of Anes's neck with his cold palm, causing her to
shiver and let out a small yelp.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
"You don't have to fight to see magic, do you?"
Jaekiel murmured this as he stepped forward.
"Everyone, pay attention!"
At the center of the round table, an ice spear was planted vertically.
"We'll take a 10-minute break, and then we'll hear the presentations from
each tower. Everyone, prepare with all your heart."
"…"
…Is that a method?
Had Anes been overthinking it?
No. That wasn't it.
…It was just that the Auditor made difficult things seem so easy. Every
single time, without fail.
Anes quietly observed the atmosphere of the other towers.
And she was surprised.
Faces that looked troubled, expressions she had seen somewhere before.
It was like the atmosphere of students facing a very challenging group
project back in her academy days.
"…It's amazing. Truly amazing."
There was nothing else to say.