I Possessed the Villain’s Childhood Friend – Chapter 102

“Implant the blood of magical beasts and the mana core? What kind of nonsense is that?”

At my words, Charlotte furrowed her brows and tilted her head, as if she’d heard something completely incomprehensible.

No, it was actually beyond her understanding.

Implanting the blood of magical beasts and mana cores into one’s body.

If I didn’t have prior knowledge from the original work, I would have reacted just like Charlotte.

“There was certainly some research done in the Empire before. But it all failed. It’s been proven that the human body cannot endure the mana core of a magical beast. They couldn’t overcome the severe rejection reactions.”

“I know. But it’s all true. The executives of Avatarara have all implanted the blood of magical beasts and the mana cores. They perform teleportation that humans cannot do. Humans control magical beasts. Isn’t that enough evidence?”

“Hmm.”

Even with my reasoning, Charlotte’s furrowed brow showed no sign of easing.

Well, it made sense; this was a story that defied common sense in every way.

“Ms. Charlotte.”

“Uh-huh.”

But it shouldn’t be like that.

“When facing Avatarara, we mustn’t be bound by common sense. They’re the kind of people who defy logic.”

Those guys were nothing less than an assembly of absurdities for the people of this world.

“Avatarara…”

“I understand.”

“Pardon?”

“I get it all. I understand what kind of organization Avatarara is.”

As I was about to further explain, Charlotte shook her head, indicating she was good.

Could she be sincere about that?

When I read it in web novels, I thought it could simply be a fantasy world, but I had only just come to grasp how nonsensical Avatarara truly was after living in this world for four years.

No, even more so, I could say I found it incomprehensible how that was even possible.

An organization with only eight key members had almost brought down a massive empire.

And she claimed she understood all that?

“Are you serious?”

“Would I lie in a situation like this? You told me not to be bound by common sense, so why do you react like that when I say I understand?”

“Well, there’s that…”

“By implanting the blood of magical beasts and the mana cores, they are mana users who can utilize the abilities of some magical beasts. If you think about it the other way around, that means their powers can be countered by the methods used against magical beasts, right?”

… I’d almost forgotten.

Avatarara was indeed a collection of absurdities.

But the Charlotte in front of me was also a genius at an absurd level.

I had forgotten that she merely showed up during the final battle episode of the original work without any moments to shine.

I truly feel like I am still too tied up with the original story.

Even though I know that I shouldn’t be.

“And if the master said something like that, it probably means he already dealt a blow to that one named Es using that method.”

“Correct.”

“That guy said teleportation, didn’t he? I can see that clearly. The teleportation of magical beasts syncs their body with external mana. So, if you disrupt the flow of mana, either blocking or destabilizing the external mana, then that’s it. Complete blockage of external mana would take too long, so the Master must have disrupted the flow of mana. How impressive. That’s not an easy method to achieve.”

Charlotte seemed to have slipped into her own world, starting to babble about magical theories I couldn’t comprehend.

I didn’t understand a thing she was saying, but I suppose I can just think of it as her having found a way to weaken Avatarara.

★

“Long time no see, Aike.”

“Yeah, it’s been a month, right?”

Just after Charlotte left the room, Reina entered the reception room.

“I heard the news. You’ve become Ms. Charlotte’s apprentice.”

“Yep. I’m her first apprentice.”

Reina smiled softly, as if the fact of being the Philosopher’s first apprentice was a kind of honor.

Geniuses and a congregation of geniuses.

It must be a class that someone like me, an ordinary person, could never even imagine.

I feel like all I do is roll around every day.

“I heard from His Grace, Duke Ados, that you’re working incredibly hard every single day.”

“Well, that’s about all I can do. And I’m not the only one, right?”

Sofia and Leon set off on a journey for training, while Helen had returned to her family home, training just like me, and Atal was said to be swamped with work at the Central Church.

If those geniuses are putting in effort, then an ordinary person like me can’t just sit still.

I have to work harder, put in more effort than them.

“… I really hope that daily life returns soon.”

While we were casually chatting, Reina suddenly brought up that topic.

“Eating the snacks made by Miss Sophia and Miss Michelle, while watching the scene where His Highness Leon and Miss Helen spar with you. And Atal is over there, laughing while feeling troubled watching that. Then, at dinner, you and I share laughter talking about our funniest moments before heading back to the dorm. That kind of ordinary daily life.”

Right now, the Empire was truly in a chaotic era.

Avatarara had nine main forces, but there were far more members in their organization than one might expect.

Their influence had even caused ordinary citizens to stir up trouble all over the place.

Of course, the wall of the Empire is thick.

Even if the entire region was thrown into chaos, the Empire wouldn’t fall so easily.

But still, there was no way to call it daily life.

“Of course, for now, it seems like sadness will linger a bit longer, but I believe Ms. Ender and Miss Sophia would want us to smile again, like the excellent Miss Ellyn.”

As Reina said, there were those who had died because of them, after all.

“Sorry for bringing up such a dark topic. I guess I got a bit emotional since we haven’t met in a while.”

With an awkward smile, Reina apologized.

But why would she feel the need to apologize?

Obviously, it was Avatarara that was in the wrong.

“It will be possible to return. Everyone is working hard towards that.”

“… Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

I vowed once more in my heart that I would make sure you smile again, filled with peaceful days.

“Then should I step out for now?”

When Charlotte returned to the reception room, Reina asked.

For now, it was a method to hide the fact that I had knowledge about Avatarara.

But Charlotte shook her head.

“Wait a moment. You need to hear this too, Reina.”

“Oh, understood.”

Charlotte took a seat beside Reina, scratching her head and letting out a sigh.

“Right now, the worst situation I had expected has occurred.”

“The worst situation?”

“Yeah.”

With those words, Charlotte placed the documents she had brought in on the table and continued speaking.

“… Elam and Kashit have begun to move.”

Hearing Charlotte’s story, both Reina and I couldn’t help but close our mouths.

Besides the Astria Empire, there were three kingdoms on the continent: Sumel, Elam, and Kashit.

Among those, Sumel was referred to as a brother country to the Empire, but Elam and Kashit were not.

It was well-known that they viewed the Empire as a thorn in their side.

“They must have spoken from Avatarara’s side. The Empire is beginning to crumble, and they’ll decide their actions based on the situation. I don’t think a war is imminent, but there’s no such thing as absolute certainty.”

“… Wait a minute. If so…”

“Right. The factions have divided. There’s one side that claims we should deal with Avatarara first and another that insists we focus on Elam and Kashit for now. The latter clearly has much more support.”

The specifics were written in these documents, and when Charlotte summarized the contents for Reina and me, it was simple.

Observations that movements from Elam and Kashit were looking suspicious.

Predictions that full-on preparations must be made regarding this.

The response toward Avatarara’s organization will be left to the Sage, Charlotte of Arcana.

“… So, you’re saying to take care of it yourselves? Is that what this means?”

“Precisely. Of course, they say they’ll provide minimal support, but we can’t expect much.”

That was dangerous.

As soon as I heard what Charlotte said, I couldn’t help but grind my teeth.

According to the contents of these documents, gaining support from the Knight Order had become difficult.

In the original story, we could face them head-on with the help of about twenty High-Class Knights, but now that support is getting reduced instead of increased.

Of course, it’s fortunate that I could get even more help from Charlotte than in the original work, but that doesn’t change the fact that I couldn’t depend on her for everything.

And most importantly…

“For now, I’ll also work hard to secure more support, so don’t be too disheartened. It’s just an unavoidable situation.”

“… Understood.”

Seeing my worries reflected on my face, Charlotte forced a smile as if to comfort me.

But what I was worried about wasn’t that.

In the original story, there clearly weren’t any foreign interventions, yet suddenly there were these movements.

No matter how much I changed the future, I find it hard to comprehend that things would change so drastically.

Of course, there’s a saying about the butterfly effect, but this seems too extreme.

If I’m not careful, it’s possible that even after Avatarara is defeated, daily life might not return.

Am I missing something?

That anxiety slowly began to creep over me.

“Those guys possess at least the level of High-Class Knights, right?”

“Yes. With the abilities of magical beasts added, it’ll be practically impossible to face them even for a High-Class Knight.”

First, after sending Reina back out, I explained the information I knew to Charlotte.

“It will be a bit risky trying to face such beings while having a difficult time retrieving support from the Knight Order.”

“Then, doesn’t it make more sense to resolve the issues with Elam and Kashit first to ensure support before we move?”

We didn’t know what problems might arise internally in the Empire during that time, but considering the overall situation, that seemed to be the answer.

However, Charlotte shook her head at my words.

“No. We must make a move within three months. We have to.”

“Why so?”

“The magic the Master used on that one called Es at the end. To heal the wounds inflicted by that magic takes about half a year on average. If those guys have at least the skills of High-Class Knights, it means, conversely…”

“… We ought to strike when the enemy’s strength is unstable.”

“Right. There’s no need to wait for half a year. So, three months.”

That may indeed be the case.

In a situation where we don’t know when the political climate might stabilize, waiting could actually give the enemy time to act.

“But if we take action prematurely, winning might be impossible.”

“We’ll have to find a way. I’ll manage something. For now, just keep training steadily until then.”

“… Understood.”

That marked the end of our conversation for that day.