Kiyotaka knelt before the painting of Volcanica and then stood up with some other knights. 7 cadets had passed the examination from the 80 that had attended. Reinhard and Julius walked over to congratulate them.
Reinhard: [I'm glad to have you with us, Kiyotaka.]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [It's good to be here.]
Julius: [You've shown excellent results. You even beat my score in the Oral examination.]
He said this with a polite smile, but there was some frustration in his eyes, and Kiyotaka was able to catch this.
Kiyotaka: (He feels inadequate.)
Emilia was off to the side, smiling as Kiyotaka walked over to a man with blonde hair, sharp features and red eyes.
Kiyotaka: [It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Barnes.]
Kiyotaka locked eyes with him while offering his hand, and Barnes shook it.
Barnes: [Hm... you're the one that Wilhelm...I see. That doesn't explain everything, but it surely does explain some of it.]
Kiyotaka: [Thank you, sir.]
Barnes: [I heard you are serving under the half-elf. Are you trying to make things more difficult for yourself?]
Kiyotaka: [Not at all. Emilia is simply the one I chose to serve under.]
Barnes: [Hm. Very well.]
His eyes were filled with suspicion, but he let it go due to being in a sacred hall. Kiyotaka went around greeting everyone, including the knights under Barnes, making conversation with them. He saw that Barnes's family were keeping their distance.
Kiyotaka: (Hm? It seems he doesn't get along with his family.)
Kiyotaka then walked over to Emilia to see Wilhelm standing next to her.
Emilia: [Congratulations Kiyotaka.]
Wilhelm: [Well done Kiyotaka-Dono.]
Kiyotaka: [It's thanks to the guidance both of you gave me that I made it this far. Thank you.]
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
They returned to the Karsten Estate. They entered to find Crusch and Anastasia having a meeting.
Kiyotaka: (Looks like they're having a discussion about something other than the hunt. Most likely about how they will interact with each other following the end of the Hunt. There's no need for the Emilia Camp to participate since it's obvious what stance Emilia will take.)
Kiyotaka went to his room as he picked up a book.
Advanced Earth Magic- By The『----- -- -----』-------
He began reading it, absorbing the contents within an hour, when he was called by Emilia. He got up and went to the meeting room to see Emilia, Crusch and Anastasia waiting.
Anastasia: [There you are Ayanokoji-Kun.]
Crusch: [Are we now ready to begin planning the hunt?]
Kiyotaka nodded.
Kiyotaka: [Do you have any plans as of now?]
Crusch: [I have sent members of my camp all across Lugunica. They will report a sighting as soon as they see it.]
Kiyotaka: [That's not an effective way of finding it. Even if it is sighted, by the time we reach there, it could be long gone. The only way is to know its location in advance, along with having enough forces to subjugate it at the ready.]
Anastasia: [Ayanokoji-Kun's gotta good point with that.]
Crusch: [But how would we be able to track it?]
Kiyotaka then remembered his previous loop of Rem screaming in agony after Ram was hit by a spray of mist.
Kiyotaka: (In that moment...)
Kiyotaka: [I have an idea. It's a hunch, but if it works out, then we'll be able to track it.]
Crusch: [Oh, and what would this method be?]
Kiyotaka: [Do you have any knowledge of the locations where the『White Whale』has been spotted?]
Crusch: [Verified letters are scarce.]
Kiyotaka: [Give me the unverified ones as well.]
Crusch's eyes widened and then sharpened.
Crusch: [What good would unverified letters do?]
Kiyotaka: [There's a chance some of those were correct, but given your reaction, there's something more to it?]
Crusch looked surprised and sighed, thinking that she'd been had.
Crusch: [Yes. The『White Whale's』fog has been known to erase people and make everyone forget them.]
Kiyotaka: (Then Rem's reaction makes sense given what a huge part of her life Ram was.)
Emilia: [It erases people?]
Kiyotaka: [The Unverified sightings may have been from people who were erased from existence. With no one able to verify them, of course, the sightings would be listed as false or unlikely to be true.]
Crusch: [Indeed. Now Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Let me ask you. How do you intend to separate the ones from erased people and the ones that are just fake?]
Kiyotaka: [That depends on whether the『White Whale』follows a pattern. If it does, then the false ones can be easily identified as fake. If not, then we can acknowledge that this is not the way to find the『White Whale』.]
Crusch: [Very well.]
Kiyotaka sat down at a table.
Kiyotaka: [I need a map of the world and a quill.]
Emilia: [The whole world?]
Kiyotaka: [There's no reason to believe that the『White Whale』would only appear in Lugunica.]
Crusch: [We don't have access to letters in regards to other countries.]
Kiyotaka: [Still, it is important to see the full map. Through the patterns of sightings, we can extrapolate a path through other countries.]
Crusch: [Extrapolate?]
Kiyotaka: (Right... they have no idea about graphs.)
Kiyotaka: [We can make educated guesses about its path.]
Crusch: [Very well.]
Crusch called in a servant, and that servant went to get the letters while another went to get a world map. The servants returned after a few minutes, holding a pile of letters, a map and a quill.
Kiyotaka: [Seperate them. Verified on the left. Unverified on the right.]
Kiyotaka took the map and quill, placing the map in the middle.
Kiyotaka: (Alright. Now I'll have to hope that this works.)
Kiyotaka looked at the piles of letters.
Kiyotaka: (Must be 1000 unverified sightings. Only that much? Even with 400 years? It killed quickly. So fast, most wouldn't be able to send out a letter.)
Kiyotaka then looked at the other pile of letters.
Kiyotaka: (Less than 70 verified sightings?)
Kiyotaka began marking the spots where the 『White Whale』had been verified to have been.
Kiyotaka: [There is a discernible pattern.]
Crusch: [Do you think we can predict its next location?]
Kiyotaka: [Yes, but I'm afraid we'll only get an area of chance with this. I'll start going through the unverified ones now so we can get a more precise location.]
Crusch nodded as Kiyotaka began marking the locations of unverified letters on the map, and time passed by. Many letters described people and villages which there were no records of existing.
Emilia: [Kiyotaka. It's night already. Go to sleep.]
Kiyotaka: [I'm fine. I'll finish this and head straight to sleep.]
Crusch: [I'll leave a servant girl here with you. She'll handle anything you ask.]
She said this as she and Anastasia left, but Emilia stayed put.
Kiyotaka: [Emilia?]
Emilia: [I'll wait right here with you.]
Kiyotaka: [Alright.]
Kiyotaka continued marking the locations down until finally he was finished.
Kiyotaka: [There. Now to mark the grid.]
Kiyotaka: (Wait... do they have rulers in this world?)
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (Well, I don't really need a ruler, but it would've been nice to have one.)
Kiyotaka began drawing a grid on the map. His lines were perfect.
Kiyotaka: (Now for the graphical calculations.)
Kiyotaka started making calculations in his head based on the plots via the map and found the IQR range for all the sightings. He began dismissing sightings that were outliers.
Kiyotaka: (That leaves that much. 937 unverified sightings were real.)
Kiyotaka then turned to the servant.
Kiyotaka: [Copy this map but leave out the ones I've marked off.]
The servant nodded as she came back after a few minutes with a copy that excluded the outliers. Kiyotaka then drew a line from the oldest sighting to the newest, following the sightings in chronological order.
Kiyotaka: (And there is the pattern.)
Kiyotaka turned to tell Emilia but found that she was asleep in her chair next to him.
Kiyotaka: [...]
She then stirred and tilted to the side, resting her head on his shoulder.
Kiyotaka: (I'll tell her in the morning.)
Kiyotaka fell asleep.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Kiyotaka woke up to see that his shoulder was free.
Kiyotaka: (She woke up first, huh? It's surprising how comfortable she is around me, especially after I told her the truth.)
Kiyotaka rolled up the map, got up and walked over to the dining area to find everyone there.
Kiyotaka: [I managed to complete it.]
Crusch: [Let's see it.]
Kiyotaka rolled out the map onto the table.
Wilhelm: [Incredible work.]
Julius: [I must agree.]
Kiyotaka pointed to a spot.
Kiyotaka: [This is it. This is the spot where it's most likely to show up again.]
Crusch: [When do you think it will show up?]
Kiyotaka: [In 4 days.]
Crusch: [There... 4 days... alright. We'll mobilise the army when we're ready.]
Kiyotaka: (And with the other plan I've set into motion, I can gather even more troops for us.)
Crucsh: [I'll write a letter to announce the war plans.]
Anastasia looked quite intrigued by Kiyotaka.
Anastasia: [Ya got a real good head on ya shoulders, Ayanokoji-Kun.]
Kiyotaka: [Hm? Thank you.]
Anastasia: [Were ya a scholar where you're from?]
Kiyotaka: [I guess you could say I've been a scholar since the day of my birth.]
Julius: [I see, but you're also very physically capable.]
Kiyotaka: [I was a scholar in... many things.]
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Kiyotaka woke up to the sound of marching.
Kiyotaka: (Right on time.)
Kiyotaka got up and walked out of the room to a terrace where he found Emilia and Crusch. He saw Barnes waiting below.
Kiyotaka: (You came personally. As expected.)
Barnes: [Hand him over, and there will be no need for conflict.]
Emilia: [I refuse. Why are you even doing this?]
Barnes: [He is suspicious. Hand him over for questioning.]
Emilia: [He's done nothing wrong!]
Barnes: [That's left to be known. His eyes hold a darkness like no other. Hand him over, or we will take him by force.]
Crusch: [You dare intrude on a Royal Candidate's domain and threaten to use force? Leave the estate this instant.]
Barnes: [All you need to do is release Ayanokoji Kiyotaka into my custody for questioning.]
Kiyotaka walked over to Emilia and Crusch.
Kiyotaka: [It's alright. It's only questioning. I'll return once it's over.]
Emilia: [But...]
Kiyotaka: [I promise that everything will be fine.]
Emilia: [Come back to me, okay?]
Kiyotaka: [Understood.]
Kiyotaka jumped down and went with Barnes.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Reinhard and Julius's voices could be heard from outside the room.
Julius: [What is this, Lord Barnes?]
Barnes: [He can't be trusted! Just look into his eyes. I saw that look at the ceremony. It's pure evil!]
Reinhard: [Lord Barnes, please. I confirmed Kiyotaka's intentions personally.]
Barnes: [Those eyes are not those of a human.]
Reinhard: [Please release him now. I'm not asking as the Sword Saint. I'm asking as Reinhard.]
Barnes: [Then let me ask him some questions.]
Reinhard could be heard sighing as they walked inside. Reinhard and Julius looked at Kiyotaka apologetically as Barnes sat down on the other side of him.
Barnes: [You answer my questions, and then I'll release you.]
Kiyotaka: [Of course. I'm here to clear up any and all misunderstandings.]
Kiyotaka: (I've done my research on you.)
Barnes: [Are you human?]
Kiyotaka: [Hm? Of course I am.]
Barnes: [Have you killed any innocent people before?]
Kiyotaka: [I have.]
Julius looked shocked. As did Reinhard.
Julius: [Reinhard. He's...]
Reinhard: [He's telling the truth.]
Julius looked shocked.
Julius: [How could this...]
Barnes: [How many?]
Kiyotaka: [Directly by my hand or...]
Barnes glared.
Barnes: [Both.]
Kiyotaka: [47 by my hand. A further 63 through indirect means.]
Reinhard: [You can't be serious. Why would you?]
Kiyotaka: [It was me or them.]
Julius: [What kind of excuse...]
Reinhard: [He's telling the truth.]
Julius: [If they were trying to kill you, then they're not innocent.]
Kiyotaka: [The place I was born and raised was a place of survival of the fittest. We were trained as Scholars of many things. Strategy. Academia. Combat.]
Julius grimaced, realising what Kiyotaka had meant.
Kiyotaka: [Anyone who failed to meet the standard would be ruthlessly beaten.]
Julius paled at this.
Reinhard: [He's telling the truth.]
Kiyotaka: [The standard was determined by the best student. That was me. The sole survivor.]
Barnes: [A victim of your upbringing.]
Kiyotaka: [Indeed. My father wasn't a very kind man, putting me in a place like that. This darkness in my eyes originates from that.]
Barnes: [I... I'm sorry. I was wrong.]
Reinhard sighed.
Reinhard: [This is all to be kept confidential. Understood?]
They nodded. Julius looked at Kiyotaka with new eyes. With pity.
Julius: [Does Emilia-Sama know?]
Kiyotaka: [She does.]
Kiyotaka got up.
Kiyotaka: [I'll be going now, okay?]
They nodded, letting him go.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Barnes was walking around when he saw Kiyotaka walk up to him.
Kiyotaka: [Lord Barnes. Do you mind having a talk with me?]
Barnes: [Shouldn't you already be back at the Karsten Estate?]
Kiyotaka: [Come now. I came all the way back to talk to you.]
Barnes sighed and nodded as he led Kiyotaka to a more secluded place.
Kiyotaka: [I apologise for the alarm I caused.]
Barnes: [It was my fault.]
Kiyotaka: [It's not a problem. I thought you might think something like that since you have a darkness in your eyes as well.]
Barnes sweated.
Barnes: [What are you...]
Kiyotaka: [Foster father and role model of Reinhard『Van』Astrea. A man who devoted his life to the Kingdom of Lugunica. An honourable man, but one with a past steeped in shame.]
Barnes: [You...]
Kiyotaka: [Even if it was for the succession of the Barnes family, it's not good to kill your brother in rage, you know.]
Barnes: [What? How do you...]
Kiyotaka: [I know a lot of things. The rest come from what I can see on your face.]
Barnes: [It was an accident. The final duel was never meant to end that way. I...]
Kiyotaka: [So you weren't angry that the woman you loved chose him over you?]
Barnes: [What?]
Kiyotaka: [A man who was abandoned by his house. His family. Who, since then, was unable to hold up a sword. That's who you are. Apart from your kind attitude, you're nothing remarkable.]
Kiyotaka held out his hand.
Kiyotaka: [Earth Smith Arts.]
A metal sword appeared in his hand.
Kiyotaka: [Take the blade. Or are you afraid of your rage tugging at it in the middle of battle?]
Kiyotaka held out the blade to him as Barnes backed away, and some mania was overcoming his psyche.
Barnes: [I did it. I killed him. I...]
Kiyotaka: (If I break him mentally, then he'll retire or be forced out of his position. Then his knights will go to serve someone else. That being Crusch or Anastasia. While I'm not in favour of giving them more troops, it can't be helped.)
Kiyotaka inspected Barnes closely.
Kiyotaka: (He's a liability. Only 1 year left before he's forcibly retired as well. He's not worth the trouble...)
Kiyotaka sighed inwardly.
Kiyotaka: (Is this really okay? Won't I just be going back to who I was before? Still, this is the best path forward to victory.)
He took a second and then sighed.
Kiyotaka: (I really have gone soft.)
Kiyotaka: [Barnes. Take the sword and redeem yourself.]
Barnes: [What?]
Kiyotaka: [We are hunting the creature that ruined Reinhard's life. Are you going to join us? Or will you stay this way? Useless and mediocre.]
Barnes: [The...『White Whale』? You're hunting it? Hunting that monster?]
Barnes gritted his teeth, slowly reaching for the blade. His hand was shaking as he gripped the handle in his hand tightly.
Barnes: [For Reinhard, I can... hold my sword.]
Kiyotaka: (All that is left is to hope that he can get over his past.)
Kiyotaka crumbled to dust.
Barnes: [That's Advanced Earth Magic... just who is this Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?]
—————————————————————————————————————
To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Part:
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