五十二話
「......あー、色々と聞き忘れてた」
逃げるように部屋を後にしたのち、詰所からも離れて数分後。宿に向かって歩きながら俺は、そういえばゼノアが〝魔法使い狩り〟の正体やら動機やらも教えてくれると言っていた事を思い出す。
折角なら聞いておくのも有りだったかなあと若干、後悔の念を抱きながらも別にその部分は無くても困らないかと割り切る。
「ただ、まぁ......聴覚か」
情報を教えて貰うだけ教えて貰っておきながらああして不義をしてしまった事に対し、ゼノアには罪悪感があるものの、存外あまり強くは感じていなかった。
理由はきっと、あの瞳が原因。
全てを見透かしたかのような瞳をじっ、と見詰めていたからか、どうしてか思ってしまうのだ。
......確たる理由はないけれど、ゼノアは俺が彼女の申し出に対して首を縦に振らない事を予め知悉していたのではないのか、と。その上であえて言葉を尽くしていたのではないのかと、どうしてか無性にそう思ってしまう。
「確かに、対策は単純明快だけど、安易にそれは実行出来ないよなぁ」
聴覚を無くす方法は簡単だ。
鼓膜を潰せばいい。
ただ、それをするとゼノアが言っていた通り、とてつもないハンディキャップを背負う羽目になる。
「でも、姿が見えないんじゃ、ただ一方的に俺が斬られるだけになる」
聴覚が大事であるからと考え過ぎては一撃も与える事なく死ぬ、という可能性も十二分に有り得る。
「せめて、目の前にいるって状況を作り出せれば何とかなるんだけど」
「......ま、そこはリレア達と相談になるのかな」
そんなこんなで、ぶつくさとひとりごちながら歩く事十数分。
黄昏色の空に夜闇が混じり始めた頃、漸くたどり着いた宿の前で佇む二人の影。
どうも、ソフィアとリレアは俺よりも先に戻って来ていたらしい。
「そっちはどうだった?」
「ダメね。元々、〝認識阻害〟を扱ってた魔法使いの交友関係が狭過ぎるからか、知己すら探すのに一苦労。欠陥なんてもっての他だったわ」
「あたしは教会の人達に聞こうとしたんだけど、そんな物騒な話に首を突っ込むもんじゃないって怒られただけ」
二人ともが疲労感を表情に貼り付けながら、肺に溜まっていた息を吐き出す。
教会とは、ソフィアに〝治癒〟の魔法を教えてくれているシスターがいる場所。
〝ミナウラ〟で出会ったアバルドのように治癒系統の魔法であれば他者からの師事は不可能に近いが、世間でよく知られる怪我を癒すだけの一般的な〝治癒〟の魔法であれば、使い手も多く、師事する事で己のステップアップをはかる事が出来る。
故に、ソフィアは度々、教会に顔を出しては〝治癒〟の魔法をあるシスターから習っていたらしく、その伝手を頼ろうと試みたがどうにも撃沈してしまっていたらしい。
「で、キミの方は?」
「聞けたよ。本当かどうかは分からないけど、〝ミナウラ〟で俺の命を助けてくれた人が頼れって言ってた人だし、まぁ、信じていいと思う」
「で、聞いた話によると、〝認識阻害〟の欠陥は自分の聴覚を封じてしまえば、〝認識阻害〟の影響を受けないで済むって一点だけ」
「ふぅん、なら————」
聴覚捨てちゃえば良いって話ね、と早合点しようとしたであろうリレアの発言を遮って、俺は言葉を続けた。
「————ただ、あの〝魔法使い狩り〟の能力が〝
蒐集家
「要するに、色んな魔法を扱える魔法使いって事。だから、聴覚を捨てたところであんまり意味がないって言われた」
「あー......そういう事。だとすれば......あー、色々と面倒になってくるわね」
リレアがくもった表情のまま、前髪を掻き上げる。そして、掻き混ぜる。
「......面倒な事実?」
眉を潜める。
ダメだったとは言っていたが、どうにも何か目新しい事実を掴んでいたのかもしれない。
怪訝に俺が首を傾げると、今度はリレアではなく、ソフィアが口を開いて教えてくれる。
「うん。あたしが〝魔法使い狩り〟について尋ねようとして、首を突っ込むなって教えてくれたシスターから言われた言葉なんだけど、
話の脈絡から察するに、ここでのソフィアの言うあたし達とは俺達ではなく、教会の人間という括りを指しているのだろう。
だが、不思議に思う。
〝治癒〟の魔法を使えるシスターを始めとして幾らか魔法使いがいるだろうに、どうして〝魔法使い狩り〟からの被害がないと言えてしまうのか。
ぐるぐると渦巻く疑問。
地頭の出来が決して良いワケではないからか、それが指すワケというものが一向に見えてこない。
そんな折。
「そこで私、ちょーっと考えてみたのよね。あの〝魔法使い狩り〟の男、あの時、〝復讐〟って言ってたでしょう? だから、王都の魔法使いに恨みを持っていて、尚且つ、教会には恩、若しくは手出し出来ない理由があって、それでいて、騎士団が不用意に動けない————騎士団の長がいないこのタイミングを狙えば
丁寧に条件を一つ一つ組み合わせていくと、ピッタリとそれに当て嵌まる人物が偶然にもいたのよねえとリレアが言う。
「時に、ユリウスくんは王都の治安を守る役目を負ってる騎士団に、どうして魔法使いが二人しかいないのか。その理由について知ってるかしら?」
「実は、五年くらい前までは騎士団って結構な人数の魔法使いが属してたのよ。私達を苦しめてくれてる〝認識阻害〟。その本来の使い手であった魔法使いも、その一人だったわ」
へぇ、と思うが、抱いた感想は本当にそれだけ。その事実が一体、彼女のいう面倒な事実とどう関係しているのか、さっぱり分からなかった。
カザレアの悲劇? と、聞き慣れない言葉に対して聞き返すと、リレアは「ええ」と言ってそれについて語り始めてくれた。
「事の発端は、とある盗賊集団にある貴族家の令嬢が拉致された事がきっかけだった筈なんだけれど......彼女の救出にあたって、どうしてか中々腰を上げようとしない当時の騎士団長に痺れを切らして先走って助けに向かった人がいたの。名は確か————バミューダ。でも結局、何かを予見してたからなのか、堅実の姿勢を崩さなかった当時の騎士団長の選択が正しかったの。結果、先走ったバミューダのせいで捕らえられていた令嬢は死に、数十の民間人も犠牲になった」
そんな慢心が生んだ悲劇ねと彼女は言う。
騎士団のトップである当時騎士団長の意見を支持していたならば、恐らくは犠牲が生まれようとも、もっと少なかった筈であると。
「ただ、令嬢を助けようと試みていたバミューダは九死に一生を得たんだけれど、その責を押し付けられて処刑され、当時の騎士団長も責任を取って騎士団を去り、今の騎士団が出来上がった感じねえ。副団長にあのゼノア・アルメリダが据えられた理由は五年前の悲劇を起こさない為だと誰もが言ってるわ。今の騎士団に殆ど魔法使いがいないのも、十中八九、統率を図る為でしょうね」
そもそも、そのカザレアの悲劇が今の〝魔法使い狩り〟とどう関係しているのだろうか。
「その話にはまだ続きがあって、バミューダの処刑に対して、助命を嘆願していた人達がいたのよ。バミューダはただ助けようとしただけなのに、責任を取って処刑はあんまりではないか、とね。そんな訴えをしていたのが当時の教会の人間達と————バミューダの弟であるオリヴァー。私は、オリヴァーが〝魔法使い狩り〟なんじゃないかって睨んでる。何が面倒な事実かって言うと、要するに、件の〝魔法使い狩り〟は、もし私の予想が正しかった場合、教会に匿われてる可能性が限りなく高いのよ」
Chapter 52
"...Ah-- I forgot to ask her a bunch of stuff."
As I made my way back to the inn, the thought of Zenoah possibly telling me about the 'Magician Hunter's' identity and motive flashed through my head.
I felt a little bit of regret not asking, but I decided to only dismiss that part of the story.
"But... one's sense of hearing, huh?"
Albeit not too strongly, I still felt guilty towards the unjust I did to Zenoah despite receiving all the information I needed.
Her eyes must've been the reason.
I was ignorant to the reason why staring at her eyes seemed that she could see right through my entirety.
...I don't have a clear conclusion, but I wonder if Zenoah already knew prior to my decision that I wouldn't accept her request, just like how I'm also wondering to myself if I said too much.
"Indeed, the countermeasure is plain and simple, but it's not something that can easily be done, is it?"
The way to rid my sense of hearing is...
Namely, by crushing my own eardrums.
But as Zenoah had said, doing that will put me in a tremendous disadvantage.
"But if I can't see him, I'll just get killed one way or another."
If I focus myself on the importance of hearing, it's more than possible that I'll die without even being able to deliver a single blow.
"If I could at least create a situation where he'd be right in front of me, I could do something."
"...I guess I'll have to discuss that with Lilea and Sofia."
I walked for more than ten minutes, only muttering to myself.
As tinges of darkness began to mix with the twilight sky, I finally arrived at the inn only to find the two shadows of two people standing in front of it.
Apparently, Sofia and Lilea had returned before me.
"How did it go?"
"No good. It was hard to even find acquaintances, since the magician who originally used{Disorientation} magic only had a very small friend group. Finding flaws in his magic was completely out of the question."
"I tried asking the church people about it, but they just told me not to get involved in such a dangerous matter."
Both of them sigh, their faces plastered with exhaustion.
The church is where the nuns who teach Sofia healing magic are located.
Although it's almost impossible to learn distinct healing magic from others, such as the person I met in Minaura, Abald, one can learn general healing magic that only heals injuries from the vast amount of users that it has.
And so, Sofia had been visiting the church frequently in order to learn healing magic from a certain nun, but it seems that her attempts had been unsuccessful.
"So, how's your side?"
"I was able to ask a certain person. I don't know whether the information I received is true or not, but the person who saved my life in Minaura told me to rely on that certain person. And well... I think I can trust her."
"And from what I've heard, the only flaw in the{Disorientation} magic is that you can't be affected by it if you suppress your own sense of hearing."
"If that's the case--"
I interrupted Lilea, who was probably trying to make a hasty conclusion that we should just throw away our auditory sense, and continued to speak.
"--But it seems that the "Magician Hunter's" true magical ability is called{Collector.} "
"{Collector?} "
"In essence, he's a magician who can use various kinds of magic. So I was told that it wouldn't make much of a difference even if I gave up my hearing."
"Ah-- That sure makes a lot of sense... It's going to be a lot more trouble if that's the case."
Lilea ruffled her bangs with a clouded look on her face, and proceeded to churn from where she stood.
"...Troubling discovery?"
I furrowed my brow.
Being concerned as she was, I thought she may have been onto something new, a fact that I've only yet to know.
When I tilted my head in doubt, this time Sofia, not Lilea, opened her mouth and filled me in on the details.
"Yeah. When I tried to ask about the 'Magician Hunter,' the same sister who told me to not get involved said that if we don't do anything, we wouldn't be harmed."
From the context of the conversation, I guessed Sofia was not referring to us three, but to the people of the church.
But I wondered--
Given that there may be some magicians in the church, including sisters who only can use healing magic, how can she be sure that they will be safe from the Magician Hunter?
Questions started to swirl around my head.
Perhaps it is because I didn't have a good head on my shoulders, but I couldn't see any reason why this was the case.
Then...
"So I thought about it for a minute. The 'Magician Hunter' said he's doing this for revenge, right? Therefore, he held a grudge against the magicians of the capital, but he also owed the church a favor, enough for him to have a reason not to touch it. Nevertheless, he's doing all the killing now because he knows that the Knights can't move carelessly. That brings me to a certain answer."
When you carefully put the pieces together one by one, it just so happens that there is a certain character who fits the picture perfectly, Lilea said.
"The capital is the most important part of this country. But do you know why there are only two magicians in the Order of the Knights responsible for protecting the security of this place, Julius?"
"Until about five years ago, there were quite a number of magicians in the Order of the Knights. The magician who originally possessed{Disorientation} magic, he was one of them."
I guessed that was an amazing feat, but that's really the only impression I had.
Upon hearing my concern about such an unfamiliar matter, she reaffirmed herself, and began to talk about it.
"It all started with the kidnapping of a noblewoman by a group of thieves. During her rescue, there was a person who got fed up with the then Knight Commander, who for some reason was reluctant to get up from his chair, rushed ahead to help her himself. His name is-- Bermuda. But as it turned out, the choice of the then-Knight Commander who remained adamant on his stance, perhaps foreseeing what was to come, was the right one. As a result of Bermuda's preemptive action, the kidnapped woman, alongside dozens of civilians, died."
Such pride, Lilea said, became a tragedy.
Had he supported the opinion of the Commander of the Order, there probably would have been fewer, if any, sacrifices made.
"Bermuda, who merely attempted to save the noblewoman's life which nearly cost him his, was still executed to atone for his actions. At the same time, the then Knight Commander took responsibility and left the Knight Order, thus founding the current one. Everyone says that Zenoah Almerida was appointed deputy commander so that the tragedy of five years ago wouldn't happen again. The reason why there are almost no magicians in the current Order is, in all probability, for the sake of control."
What does the Tragedy of Cazalea have to do with the current magician killings?
"There was more to the story. There were people pleading against Bermuda's execution in exchange for theirs, saying that he merely wanted to help, and taking the blame for the casualties was just not fair. And the people making the appeal in question at the time, were the church people, and Bermuda's younger brother-- Oliver. I have a strong suspicion that Oliver is indeed the 'Magician Hunter.' The troubling fact is that the same 'Magician Hunter,' if I am correct, is most likely being sheltered in the church."
Star-Slaying Swordsman
星斬りの剣士
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/star-slaying-swordsman/
Action Fantasy Martial Arts Mature Psychological Shounen
Adapted to Manga Dark Fantasy World Male Protagonist Mature Protagonist Medieval Philosophical Romantic Subplot Sudden Strength Gain Sword And Magic Sword Wielder Transplanted Memories
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7336gg/
アルト／遥月