漫画大王

Chapter 229 [Illustration]

“So you’re saying we need additional granite and elium... Where do you even plan to stash all this stuff? Do we even have enough space, let alone the means to transport it?”

“I found out that the Temple has a large storage facility specifically for club use. We can rent a section of it. Large clubs all do this, apparently. There’s no cost. I’ve already applied for the lease, so consider it done.”

“Really? What about transport?”

“The warehouse staff will handle it.”

“Wow... The Temple is really something.”

“Right? I didn’t expect such comprehensive support either.”

Louis Ankton and I were discussing matters related to the Magic Research Club. This guy wasn’t just smart; he was also quite meticulous.

Since we were running a club, he wanted to know everything about the Temple’s support system so as to leverage it fully.

“Smart guy. Good job, kid.”

“...Can’t you just give a normal compliment?” Louis said in a slightly exasperated tone, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

“I can’t help it. This is just how I was born.”

“Well, I think I’m finally starting to understand what kind of person you are...”

Louis seemed to accept me as just a quirky, foul-mouthed guy, someone not to be feared outright. As a result, his naturally prickly demeanor occasionally surfaced.

He was helping me with details I’d never care about if I were on my own. While I was good at starting things, I was lousy at sorting them out.

He was more like a vice president than a treasurer, really. Even if the club only had six members.

But a five billion won budget?

That was pretty substantial.

“...”

Ellen was staring silently at me from the breakfast table as I talked with Louis.

Not a word was said by her, but I could feel a heavy, silent pressure.

‘I got it, I got it, okay! I won’t bring up this stuff when you’re around! Besides, Louis started this conversation in the first place...’

Anyway...

If the assassins weren’t caught, the group mission would last until Friday evening.

We’d then take a break at the mansion from Friday evening until Sunday before returning to the Temple.

Ellen’s original suggestion was to use the spare time for training, but oddly enough, we ended up grabbing our coats and heading outside instead.

The mansion was located in the polar region. A light snow was still falling, and though the snow near the mansion had been cleared away, there was a significant pile of snow around the perimeter.

Ellen crouched and started forming a snowball with her gloved hands.

Then she began rolling it around.

“You do it too.”

“... Okay.”

I never thought she was the type to do such things.

Well, she wasn’t the type to do such things. She had stepped out of character. Wrapped in a thick coat, Ellen was making a snowball with her gloved hands while getting snowed on.

‘I don’t know what it is, but she looks really cute.’

She was someone who would normally be far from being considered cute, yet I kept finding her adorable in recent times.

‘A characteristic of the strongest character in this world: suggests making a snowman.’

In no time at all, Ellen and I found ourselves rolling snowballs.

Anyone seeing this might consider it damaging to the infamy of delinquent Reinhart.

But worrying about such things was already a lost cause. I put more effort into rolling my snowball. Because of the abundance of snow, Ellen and I quickly managed to create rather large snowballs.

“Move aside.”

Ellen lifted her substantially-sized snowball effortlessly and placed it on top of mine. It still felt strange to see someone so delicate with that kind of strength. You’d think I’d be used to it by now.

She had suggested making a snowman, and we had finished surprisingly quickly.

Ellen didn’t seem to think it was over, though. She started patting the snowball with her gloved hands.

“...What are you doing?”

“Finishing it.”

“What more do we need? We made a snowman.”

‘Stacking two snowballs on top of each other is what constitutes a snowman, right?’

Ellen looked at me and tilted her head.

“How is this a snowman?”

‘How exactly does a snowman look to her?’

I stared at Ellen blankly as she began sculpting the snowballs with her hands.

“Bring me more snow.”

Ellen didn’t intend to let me idle and kept asking for more snowballs.

***

If my idea of a snowman was a cottage, then Ellen’s idea of a snowman seemed like a palace.

I knew she had a high level of dexterity, but seeing her use it to make a snowman felt strange.

“Seriously, are you making an actual person?”

“This is a snowman.”

‘This isn’t a snowman; it’s more like... A figure of an actual person made out of snow, perhaps? Is there even such a thing as a snow person?’

Regardless of what I chose to call it, Ellen, after shaving and refining those two stacked snowballs, had sculpted it into a human shape. The other snowballs I had rolled were used to add details.

Watching Ellen put her talents to such mundane use in real-time left me with an indescribable, eerie feeling.

Ellen took a step back to admire her handiwork, nodding in satisfaction.

A human sculpture made from snow...

“And don’t tell me this is supposed to be me?”

“Yep.”

Despite the material’s limitations, the sculpture’s face closely resembled mine. Even the attire it was wearing, if it should even be called that, mimicked a Royal Class uniform.

The figure wore a sullen expression and had a slightly tilted posture with its arms crossed, just like me. There were even details like hair and the creases in the uniform’s pants.

Eventually, though, snow would pile on the sculpture\'s head and distort the shape.

Ellen, worried, fetched a large umbrella from somewhere and fixed it above the snowman to shield it from the falling snow.

Although it wasn’t what I had expected, we’d ended up spending hours outside making a snowman. Ellen had to use her bare hands for the delicate work, since gloves didn’t allow for such precision.

As a result, her hands were beet red, and her face was flushed from the cold.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Nope.”

“Yeah right. Your nose is running.”

“...”

Ellen touched her nose, realized I was lying, and then glared at me. “It’s not.”

“Lies or not, let’s just head inside,” I said as I grabbed Ellen’s ice-cold hand. “If you get frostbite, you’ll have to cut off your hands, you know.”

“...”

Ellen didn’t resist as I led her inside.

Maybe it was the cold, but she seemed to be shivering slightly.

***

Back inside the mansion, Ellen and I enjoyed some warm tea. Her cheeks were flushed as she sipped her tea.

Ellen was watching the snowfall outside, with the snowman and his umbrella standing outside.

A few of the staff admired Ellen’s creation from a distance.

“Do you make snowmen often?” I asked.

It didn’t seem like something she’d typically do, sculpting a human figure out of snow. But it also didn’t seem like it was her first time. Ellen continued gazing out the window.

“Sometimes. With my brother.”

Of course this topic would come up. She didn’t do it alone, but would occasionally make them with her brother. I tried to imagine Ellen and her brother making snow figures on a snowy day.

Ellen as a child...

What would she have looked like?

It was hard to imagine, since she was still quite young.

I imagined Ellen, but smaller in size.

A younger Ellen Artorius, with a sullen expression.

She must have been unbelievably cute. I wonder if there were any photos of her?

“It’s been a really long time since I made one.”

Thinking about her brother had to make her sad, but Ellen did not hold back when she spoke to me about him.

She had made a snowman with me for the first time in ages, just like she used to with her brother. It felt somewhat nostalgic for me too, considering I never thought I’d be making a snowman at my age.

Ellen said she liked the snow. She disliked the rain because it reminded her of the day her brother left. Snow, on the other hand, probably held happy memories of her brother.

“I wonder how the others are doing.”

I suddenly felt curious about how the group mission was progressing. I was also curious about the dynamics between the two intellectual powerhouses.

Given their poor relationship, things might not go smoothly on their end, and conflicts could flare up.

“What do you think will happen? How will the mission turn out?” I asked Ellen, who was gazing out the window.

“I hope it doesn’t end early.”

I had asked about the outcome, but Ellen had given an entirely unrelated answer. Immediately, she seemed surprised by the words that had come out of her mouth.

As if she hadn’t expected herself to say such a thing.

Even if the mission ended early, we could still choose to stay. There was no need to rush back to the Temple.

But Ellen hoped it wouldn’t end early.

What could that mean?

***

That evening...

“... Why are you here?”

“I... got executed.”

Harriet had been eliminated and been summoned back to the mansion.

“...”

Ellen stared silently at Harriet.

***

Harriet felt uneasy.

Not because of the eerie, sinister, and chilly atmosphere of the ancient castle of Epiacs.

Not even because the way the mission was set up was unnerving, even if it was just a group mission.

Nor because she feared being assassinated at any moment.

The day before, Ellen and Louis Ankton had been assassinated, and Reinhart had been executed during the first meeting due to his classmates’ half-joking, half-malicious antics.

Harriet knew from the previous deserted island mission that those eliminated from the group mission were leisurely spending their time somewhere else, and that it would be the same this time as well.

At the moment, it was Ellen, Louis, and Reinhart who were there, and that was unsettling for Harriet.

There was no reason to feel uneasy, no need to worry about such trivial things. But Harriet felt restless and anxious, plagued by an unnecessary guilty conscience.

Adelia, who was with her, noticed Harriet’s unease and expressed concern. Harriet knew that Ellen and Reinhart were close.

The two of them being alone together wasn’t something new and wasn’t something to be worried about. It had always been this way, and the two had even gone on long journeys together.

But still... She didn’t want this any longer.

They had only spent no more than just a day or two together, but the thought of one more day, of these days piling up, of them becoming so close that there was no room for her to interrupt, was... terrifying.

Ellen was Harriet’s friend. A good and kind friend.

Harriet didn’t dislike or hate her. There was no reason to.

And yet, she disliked seeing Reinhart and Ellen together.

She didn’t dislike them individually, but discovering that she might grow to dislike a dear friend caused such a strong emotional response in her that she could not control.

‘I shouldn’t dislike them,’ Harriet thought.

But thinking about what the two of them might be doing together filled her with an unpleasant impulse that overrode her other emotions.

The certainty with which they treasured each other made it impossible to deny their connection.

Forcing herself between them would only make her feel so miserable and insignificant.

Clinging to Reinhart, who wasn’t even a mage, forcing him to join and even lead the Magic Research Club just to spend a bit more time with him...

That all made her feel so...

‘Pathetic. What difference is there between me and a whining child? Begging for attention, for Reinhart to spare some time for me. And yet he obliged.’

Ellen provided Reinhart with boundless assistance. It was no exaggeration to say that the present Reinhart was Ellen’s creation.

But Harriet? She whined. Reinhart helped Harriet even though he had no reason to, but she couldn’t offer him anything in return.

She had such a strong feeling of inferiority.

Wanting to be someone precious to the person she treasured, but knowing it was an unattainable goal.

She couldn’t stop the deepening bond between Ellen and Reinhart.

And so, Harriet couldn’t hide her anxiety knowing Ellen and Reinhart were now together in the holding area outside the mission’s boundaries.

They had already spent so much time together, and while she knew she couldn’t prevent it and there was no reason to prevent it, she was still tormented by this vague anxiety.

She didn’t want to lose Ellen, but at times she felt an overwhelming desire to let go of her relationship with her.

‘What if we weren’t friends? Then, I could comfortably like Reinhart. Liking someone shouldn’t carry such a weight of guilt.’

Harriet despised these thoughts of hers the most.

Harriet had begun to be increasingly aware of just how miserable she was, recently more than ever.

Just as Ellen was suffering, so was Harriet. And at that moment, Harriet couldn’t focus at all.

It was the group discussion time, and yet she couldn’t concentrate on the conversation they were having to uncover the assassin. None of it felt important.

She wanted to throw it all away.

‘I, too, want to get out of here quickly.’

That was Harriet’s only desire.

With a gentle smile, Vertus looked at Harriet, unable to hide her restlessness.

“Harriet, why do you look so anxious?”

His smile and gentle gaze—that was all.

But for those who could see them, the true intentions hidden beneath Vertus’s gaze were evident.

Such as Charlotte de Gradias, who gave her a similar gaze from the opposite side of the table.

“Yeah. You seem pretty anxious,” Charlotte added.

Those two gazes. Gentle, yet hiding something unsettling.

“Like someone hiding a secret.”

It was the gaze of predators who had found their prey.

“Oh, oh... th-that’s not it! Wh-What would I be hiding!”

For the first time in her life, Harriet de Saint-Ouen tried to act.

She intentionally acted suspiciously.

This was an opportunity for her to leave the mission early.