The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 107

“It’s me. May I come in?”

It was JoJo’s voice. After quickly clearing the documents piled on the desk, I told him to come in. JoJo entered, looking as normal as ever.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“No interruption. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to chat. Are you busy?”

“I can spare some time.”

Just as he said he came to chat, the stories flowing from his mouth were truly trivial. Greetings, tales from his vacation, discussions about magic theories he was recently interested in, and so on. Light topics to talk about. So, I decided to subtly change the flow of the conversation.

Subtly-

“What do you think about this?”

“······Hmm, is this about Marquis Pongk?”

“He came by just now to urge me. Even though I told him I’d call him when it’s done, he keeps coming.”

“That means he believes in your abilities that much.”

“······Or does it mean he thinks I’m slacking off and not putting in the effort?”

“In other words, His Excellency thinks you would have already finished it if you had put in the effort. That means he highly values your abilities.”

A conversation where no suspicion could be found.

“Anyway, I don’t understand it even if I look at it. In the first place, I haven’t even touched the realm of transcendence, so what can I say? But since the topic came up.”

Since the topic came up?

“What secrets are you hiding in the core?”

“······Secrets?”

“Don’t play dumb. You said it all before. The core of core production is deeply imbued with your unique vision.”

“Suddenly?”

“What do you mean suddenly? You brought up the related story first. Besides, even if they don’t say it, any magician affiliated with the research lab would have wondered at least once what the secret is, right?”

At those words, I remained silent, and the room was filled with a moment of silence. Perhaps embarrassed by the suddenly subdued atmosphere, he waved his hand and said.

“W-Well, is it hard to tell me about your vision? It’s not that I had bad intentions, but we can’t always rely on you for the core, right? You’ll be fine while you’re here, but there will be times when you have to leave. You can’t always be tied to core production. So, I just said it.”

I roughly brushed it off and sent JoJo back. After that, I fell into deep thought. I needed to calmly consider whether the emotions I had now were based on an objective perspective or whether they seemed that way because Armin had raised doubts.

The conclusion I reached after deep contemplation was the former. If it were the usual JoJo, even if I had brought up the story about Gloria first, he wouldn’t have asked about the vision embedded in the core.

For individual magicians, a vision is as precious as their own life. It was the path they had walked their entire lives and the culmination of the tower they had built.

The magicians’ obsession with their visions was so great that even if the other person was family or a disciple, they would not reveal their vision unless they sensed that the time had come to let go of everything or unless they were truly prepared to leave everything to their disciple. That was the norm for most magicians.

That’s why I was so moved when my teacher told me about his family’s magic circuit.

Of course, JoJo was a slightly unusual case. His teacher had spread his vision widely – although it wasn’t properly evaluated – and JoJo had also come to the Empire and had it re-evaluated after research.

However, JoJo couldn’t possibly not know that most magicians keep the core of the core to themselves, even if they share the side details. Even though I said it was a vision, he casually asked about it once. Of course, he mentioned the reason afterward.

‘It seems like it’s not just nonsense.’

If it were the usual JoJo, he wouldn’t have mentioned it separately until I told him, even if there was such a reason. Of course, it’s still too early to be sure with just this. I needed more solid information.

#

After that awkward encounter, I assigned a watcher to JoJo. A watcher who would tell me everything without missing a single detail about where he was going, who he was meeting, and what he was saying. Thanks to my ability being used to its fullest, the watcher possessed the best capabilities, but JoJo was also an excellent magician. I ordered them to maintain a suitable distance in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.

At the same time, I thought. I hoped this watcher wouldn’t tell me anything. I hoped JoJo would be faithful to the work he was assigned. But the watcher, not knowing my heart, faithfully carried out its role.

“Who is he sending it to?”

A bird flying from JoJo’s room. It was clearly JoJo’s familiar [a magical animal companion], not an ordinary bird like the watcher I was controlling. I had seen it several times, so it was certain unless my eyes, the watcher’s eyes, were broken. I followed behind to see where it was going.

Flap- Flap-

JoJo’s familiar was heading to an ordinary house located on the outskirts of the Imperial City, one that could be found anywhere. When it arrived and tapped on the window, a black figure handed over the paper the familiar was carrying. A moment later, the familiar flew up once more, carrying a paper presumed to be a reply. With that scene as the last, I cut off the connection with the watcher.

‘······Why?’

I didn’t confirm the contents of the paper JoJo sent and received. But what could be the content that would be secretly conveyed by a familiar in the middle of the night? Only one thing readily came to mind.

‘Why did he do that?’

Every action has a motive. I trusted JoJo not only because he was a close friend but also because there was no reason for him to betray the Empire. Even now, after some time has passed, I couldn’t figure out why he had done this.

‘Whatever, it doesn’t matter much now.’

The deed has already been done. It would be a hundred times more beneficial for me to think about how to handle this matter rather than the motive. Fortunately, I’m the only one who knows this fact. Maybe the Emperor knows, but he might be leaving it alone thinking it’s my weakness, but the important thing is that I can resolve it first.

‘I’ll be busy from tomorrow.’

#

The next day, I raided the building with soldiers. As expected, the exterior appeared to be a normal house, but the interior had structures that couldn’t be seen in ordinary homes, such as secret passages leading to the outside.

Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate, I couldn’t find anyone, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out what kind of work was being done here just from the traces inside. As a result, I became certain of what happened yesterday and went to find JoJo.

As if he knew I was coming, the vice-director’s office, which was always so full of magic-related materials that there was no room to step, was neatly organized today.

“······It seems like it’s going to be a long story. Would you like something to drink?”

“It won’t be that long.”

A moment of silence. I was sitting face to face with him at arm’s length, but the air was so heavy that I wondered if the distance between us had ever been this far. Eventually, I opened my mouth first.

“I’ll put it simply. Stay in my hometown for a while.”

“······.”

“The air is good, the water is good, and it’s a good place to train in peace. I’ll tell them in advance, so you can receive support for anything you need.”

“······What can I say?”

Silence returned after the short conversation. JoJo still couldn’t lift his head. If he was going to feel so sorry, he shouldn’t have done such a thing.

“Just one question. Why did you do it?”

“······Because I saw what would happen afterward.”

“Afterward?”

“Your goal is to turn the monsters’ land into human land. Have you ever thought about what happens after that?”

What happens after that? Of course, I haven’t thought deeply about it. Isn’t it obvious? I’m already overwhelmed with the goal in front of me, so how can I worry about what happens after that? It’s like I’m not even at the starting line to run a marathon of 42.195km [26.2 miles], but I’m trying to build a body that can run it.

“The Titans we developed have given great power to the Empire. Right now, that blade is aimed at the monsters, but after you achieve your goal, where will that blade be directed? Will those above quietly put the sword back into its sheath?”

JoJo’s words were touching on the parts I had vaguely thought about and worried about. That’s why I couldn’t answer the question. But JoJo didn’t seem to want my answer, as he continued to speak.

“It won’t be. Human greed is endless. They will surely wield the sword against their own people. I was afraid of that. That the sword we made would be used differently from its original purpose. That the countless victims of the war would resent us.”

“So you passed on information about the Titans?”

“I’m really sorry to you. I ended up betraying you······. That’s right. At least if the other party knows that they have a sword that can harm them, they won’t be able to wield the sword recklessly.”

With those words, JoJo left the Imperial City and headed to the Dragnil Territory. I didn’t see him off. Many people were taken aback by the sudden farewell with JoJo – he had recently been on vacation, and the Imperial City was more suitable for research purposes – but they quickly found their place. This place was too busy to care about those who had left.

“My concerns were not simply due to my oversensitivity.”

Only Armin was bitter after grasping the truth of the incident.

#

However, the conversation with JoJo gave me a lot to think about. To be exact, about the things after I achieved my goal. JoJo’s concerns were not unfounded but one of the most likely scenarios.

If I made a mistake, I might have to spend my whole life on a battlefield where blood and corpses were scattered, instead of taking a leisurely rest after achieving my youth’s goal.

‘That can’t happen.’

I had realized how cruel war was at the Tera Barrier. If the war between humans and monsters was like that, how terrible would a war between the same race be? In that sense, JoJo’s actions were understandable. It would have been the best he could do in this situation.

‘In fact, everything has been passed on except for the core.’

Excluding Armin, JoJo was the fastest to join the project. Therefore, he was in charge of a wide area, and as such, if JoJo, not anyone else, passed on the information, it was safe to say that almost all information about the Titan, except for the secret of the core that only I knew, had been passed on.

In fact, I don’t have much opposition to the Titan flowing into other countries. As JoJo said, it could be a way to prevent war, or it could be a way to accelerate war.

However, the reason I kept security so tight was because I was worried about one situation. The worst-case scenario where other countries produce Titans faster than expected and deploy them on the border, preventing the Empire from concentrating all its efforts on the northern conquest, and eventually failing after a sluggish time.

‘But it’s okay. In the end, imprinting was used in the core, and I’m the only one who can draw out its proper performance.’

They will be able to shorten quite a bit of time with JoJo’s cooperation. But what they got was only the method of grasping the appearance of the sword. They didn’t know how to make solid steel, nor did they know how to strengthen the tang [the part of the blade that connects to the handle]. Even if they complete the sword, it will only be a decorative sword.

‘Not bad. It could be a blessing in disguise if you think about the future.’

It would take them at least several years, or even decades, to complete the core on their own, even if they concentrated all their efforts. That amount of time would be enough to achieve the existing goal.