10

Rubelmel briefly wondered if it was martial arts rather than magic, but she immediately dismissed it as impossible that, under her watchful gaze, he could have slipped into her reach in a mere instant, stolen the Original Canon, and pulled away.

To begin with, Ains’s legs had not even moved.

It was not that only Rubelmel’s awareness had skipped for a few moments, either. Kirishiya and Seidel behind Ains were just as unable to hide their surprise as Rubelmel was.

“Rubelmel-san, this is sorcery. A power that exists in a separate category from magic.”

Ains flipped through the Original Canon he had obtained and checked its contents.

“One of the sorceries I possess, ‘Miracle Right Arm.’ A sorcery by which, if I desire it, anything I am able to obtain will come into my hands. This Original Canon is mine. It would make no sense for me to be unable to read my own Original Canon.”

And so, Ains concluded, his right arm had grasped this.

Feeling the sweat running down her back, Rubelmel showed her frustration.

“The people of the Next-Era Luminaries use very interesting magic. Rubelmel-san does, and the earlier Corbelli did too. But you people do not understand the difference between magic and sorcery.”

“…So you know Corbelli. I heard he went missing in the kingdom, but I see, Ains-sama was the one who confronted him.”

“He used an interesting kind of restrictive magic. Though he himself called it binding sorcery.”

Ains let out a breath and turned back toward Kirishiya while holding the Original Canon he had recovered.

“I would not have minded handing it over, really. This book exists so that it may be read and deepen knowledge. If it is only going to be used incorrectly, then it is better off in someone else’s hands.”

“…Ains, -san? What are you saying? That is…”

Kirishiya could not understand. She could not grasp the meaning of Ains’s words.

The dissemination of the Original Canon had begun in the Ains Domain, and while part of the Original Canon was stored there, all of the others found within the kingdom were under the kingdom’s control.

It was not exactly anyone’s personal possession, but if one had to say, it belonged to the state and was a national treasure.

That was why Kirishiya could not understand Ains’s words.

As if that meant—

“…You again. …Are you going to get in my way again!?”

The furious words hurled at Ains’s back came from Darius.

“It was your fault I ended up in this situation to begin with, Ains! Because of a crippled attendant like you, I—!”

Darius glared at Ains as he raised his voice.

However, the words that followed became weak, completely unlike before.

“It is over now. If this reaches Father’s ears, then I am truly finished. And if it is Father, then there is no doubt he will hear of this…”

“Darius-san, no matter what you do, I will report this matter to my father, His Majesty. There is also no doubt that the kingdom will impose severe punishment upon the Sobi House.”

Darius collapsed to the floor, while Kirishiya stood straight as though she were about to bring down the hammer of justice.

At that moment, Kirishiya saw it for an instant. The fearless smile Ains showed when he turned back toward Darius.

But once he turned back again, it had already vanished from Ains’s face.

“I see. Certainly, I may have obstructed your goal of regaining your father’s approval.”

“…”

“Then why do you want to regain that approval?”

“…Why? It means exactly what the words say.”

Darius’s lifeless words spilled into the disordered archive.

“That is not what I mean. By regaining that approval, what will you become? That is the purpose behind your desire to regain it, is it not?”

Ains poured mana into the ring on his left hand, deployed the magic box, and stored the Original Canon inside.

“…No matter where I go, I am still a member of the Sobi House. The power I possess is nothing more than the authority of the Sobi House. …If Father, and of course the Sobi House as well, stop acknowledging me, then even that will disappear.”

As Darius said that, he resigned himself to the possibility that before that happened, his own life might be taken by the ‘curse of the Sobi House.’

“…I know that too. I have no power of my own. I am only borrowing the authority of the house. That is why they do not look at me, and why they do not listen to what I say. For me to be myself, I need Father’s approval. Managing the Original Canon is worthy of that. So give back the Original Canon. You said it yourself earlier, did you not, that you did not care whose hands it ended up in.”

Even so, this had all happened in front of Kirishiya. Even if Darius were to obtain the Original Canon, there was no doubt the kingdom would harshly pursue the Sobi House over it.

Perhaps Darius understood that as well, because his words did not carry such strong greed.

“No, unfortunately, I cannot hand this over to you. But something else would be fine. From hearing your story, it sounds like you want to establish your own worth. In other words, if you can do that, then you would not need your father’s approval or the Original Canon, would you?”

“…Hah. As if such a convenient thing exists.”

Ains answered Darius, who gave a dry laugh.

“I will give you that convenient thing. No matter how you look at it, I did get in your way, after all.”

Walking over the soot-stained floor scattered with books, Ains approached Darius.

“A-Ains-san! He committed evil deeds! Evil must be punished under justice! Are you going to aid evil, Ains-san!? Please reconsider!”

Those were Kirishiya’s words, burning with the flames of justice.

“The same goes for Darius-san, and for that Next-Era Luminaries member Rubelmel over there. They are evil, and they must be captured and punished. To protect the kingdom and its people, justice must be carried out!”

Without stopping, Ains answered Kirishiya as he walked.

“Kirishiya-san. You do not understand what the word justice truly means. It is only natural that, being the same age as Laika, you would not understand that much yet, but your words are too light.”

“What!?”

Ains’s words were not what Kirishiya had expected. At words that sounded as though he were taking Darius’s side, Kirishiya’s thoughts stopped for an instant.

“The justice you speak of—justice for whom is it?”

“T-that is, of course, justice for good people, for everyone. Those who threaten them are evil. Am I wrong? Am I saying something mistaken?”

To Kirishiya’s firm, confident words, Ains answered smoothly.

“You are right in one respect, but it is not the correct answer. Until you understand this, Kirishiya-san will never be able to truly carry out justice.”

“…”

Kirishiya had never expected to be told she was wrong. And so she thought over the meaning of Ains’s words.

Meanwhile, Ains went right up before Darius’s eyes and held out that right arm which was not of this world.