The Magic Academy's Physicist-Chapter 193: Corruption (2)

“This child isn’t a Beast. She’s someone with emotions and can get hurt!”

Heerlein defended Aether desperately.

She started off with appealing emotionally, which meant it was Heerlein’s subjective assessment.

Of course, most of the people gathered here had neither met nor had a conversation with Aether, much less have established a close relationship.

The people couldn’t relate. Rather, they gave her strange looks. Civilians in the back, the mages in the front.

“Count Heerlein, this only puts you at a disadvantage.”

Mössbayer turned up his lips. It was a sleazy smile.

Heerlein racked her brain. Somewhere deep within, she came up with reasonable grounds to defend Aether.

“Don’t you all know? Aether made Flare, too. All of you know what Flare is, right?”

“Flare? Ah, that’s right.”

“Let’s say that Aether is a Beast. Then would a Beast give us something like that to kill other Beasts? How are you going to explain this?”

It was a valid argument, which made Mössbayer recoil.

Aether was an enemy to Mössbayer. An enemy of the Beasts who had created and distributed Flare. He had no clue about Rosemary and Aether’s relationship.

But even a broken clock was right twice a day. Mössbayer concluded that framing Aether as a ‘Beast’ would be advantageous for him.

I must protect Master Rosemary. I just need to say that she was behind all this.

It was a reasonable judgment, the right decision on his part.

“Count Heerlein, are you also cooperating with that Beast?”

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So he decided to take it a bit further.

“...Excuse me?”

“That brat over there, and you as well. Why are you defending a monster who’s perfectly fine after being hit by the rain from a Beast?”

“......Be careful what you say, Viscount.”

“Are you perhaps involved in this incident as well?”

The people were going back and forth. Heerlein was a war hero, but so was Mössbayer. He had once stopped an invasion by the beastkin decades ago.

“If so, then please confess. It isn’t too late to do so.”

“I-I’m not. Do you know how many Calamities I destroyed on the northern front?”

Heerlein pointed to her eye, the one that she had lost. It was the remnant of surviving a Cataclysm.

“That must be when you came into contact with them. How is it, did you get a decent bribe?”

“You, if you keep insisting like this.......”

“It only confuses us if you keep going back and forth. Do not be so whimsical like the barbaric Youko and just tell us.”

He was saying whatever he wanted, but the people were nodding.

They couldn’t grasp the current situation either. Why was that girl okay when their families, lovers, friends all died from the rain, became Beasts.

If that girl had originally been a Beast.......

Then it made sense.

They were all exhausted. They wanted to go home quickly and rest. There were also funerals that needed to be held. The demolished buildings had to be restored. They didn’t want to waste their mental energy like this when there were people who were going to be busy from now on.

Most of all, they needed a target for their grief.

Who caused this if not for that girl?‘

A prey with its weakness exposed made for a good target.

“Hey, you guys!”

Unable to stay put any longer, Freyr yelled.

“You’re all being weird! Aether blocked the attack from that turtle! Miss Heerlein and I helped, too! So why are you all saying that we’re monsters? Why!”

“Then who’s the mastermind?”

“How would I know!”

Mössbayer sighed ‘huuu’.

“History proves it. Attacks like these were always accompanied by humanoid Beasts, because ones like that turtle usually don’t have intelligence or are weak. Certainly, there has to be a culprit who let that thing loose in the city.”

“Then why don’t you go find that guy!”

“Why when they’re right in front of us?”

“My friend made Flare and even protected you all! What more do you need!”

“Dear fellow citizens of the Empire. We already have a victim who has been manipulated. I ask everyone that you do not get swayed by this and make the right judgment.”

“You bastard! What did you just say?!”

“Humanoid Beasts are that intelligent. She must have decided that it was disadvantageous for her because ‘we’ took down the monster.”

“This is ridiculous!”

It was as Freyr said, this was ridiculous. It wasn’t making sense logically.

Even Orléans’ brainwashing had been undone. Vermel had used the totems and destroyed the circle that was used for mind control. Everyone’s current thinking was their own will.

However.

Aether–‘I’–knew. That people weren’t very rational creatures.

“What do you mean it’s ridiculous. From what I can see, it’s actually you who aren’t being logical.”

“What?”

“As you all know, humanoid Beasts are mostly weak. As such, they mimic humans and try to get sympathy from us. That they are misunderstood, that they are simply humans with a unique constitution. And that is how they evoke compassion in us.”

Most just saw what they wanted to see, heard what they wanted to hear. Believed what they wanted to believe.

“Making Flare, pretending to protect us... do you not realize that they are all hints of sacrificing the few for the many?”

“Th-that makes sense.”

“But what’s Flare, then? Again with talking about things that only you folks know about, tsk.”

Aether’s help had long since been erased from the people’s minds.

They only remembered one thing: the fact that the girl before their eyes was unharmed even after being in the rain.

“Wait, but Lord Mössbayer, what you said also sounds a bit... Argh......!”

“Here’s another minion of theirs!”

There were also voices of doubt protesting from the back, but they were quickly lynched.

The majority was ruling. Even the ones who sensed something weird shut their mouths, not wanting to be labeled as being a minion of the Demon Army.

Aether frowned as she watched them. It didn’t matter if it was displeasure that ‘I’ felt or ‘Aether’ felt. It was a disgust that each ego had experienced in their respective worlds.

Still.

Aether held back. Heerlein. Freyr. She calmed herself for the sake of those defending her.

They defend this one even though they know that they’d be at a disadvantage.

She was thankful. Perhaps the world didn’t need to end just yet.

It was as she was thinking she could put off her decision a little while longer.

Shhhk! A swift attack spell came flying.

“Kugh!”

Heerlein fell back from the impact. Freyr screamed, and Aether whipped around in surprise.

“Apologies for being late, dear citizens.”

Clop, clop, clop!

Disciplined footsteps. Battle mages in the latest uniforms showed up at the scene.

And from between them, a middle-aged woman appeared holding a flag.

“Th-that’s.......”

The woman looked back and forth between Aether and the people, and spoke.

“From now on, we, the Totzfel family, will take care of the situation. I ask that everyone follow my instructions.”

“It’s the army!”

“The elite order of the south are here!”

Relatively close to the capital, the Duchess of the House Totzfel had rushed here from the southern lands.

“Company Three, gather the bodies and search for my daughter. Company Two, get on restoring the buildings, and Squad Four will work together with the medical personnel of the capital to quickly treat the injured.”

The mages got moving at Duchess Totzfel’s words. Order was starting to return. The people let out sighs of relief.

“Company Five will head to the palace and check on His Majesty and the Imperial family and return. Lastly, the rest of you.......”

Fwoosh! Duchess Totzfel pulled out her staff.

“Will arrest the red-handed culprit with me.”

Aether didn’t say anything. Instead, she knelt towards where Professor Heerlein had been knocked down.

“...Hey there, are you alright?”

“Urghh....”

Heerlein groaned. She’d taken quite the hit while she had her guard down. She wasn’t going to be able to get up any time soon.

“You....... What did you do to my mentor.”

Aether picked up the staff that she had put down. Although she knew she shouldn’t, her head boiled.

Her instincts were screaming. To swing the caliper. Just do it like you used to. Clear murderous intent filled her mind.

[...I sense malice.]

That was when the Elementals who’d been quiet for a while spoke up.

TITLE[I stayed put because I wasn’t sure, but that’s... we can’t do anything about it.]

[I wasn’t sure until just now! But! I know now for sure! It seems that one is a Beast after all!]

The Elementals judged based on two criterias.

Evil thoughts or energy, and immunity to ‘Steam Rain’.

Having evil thoughts didn’t necessarily make someone a Beast. If that had been the case, then many people would’ve been called a Beast by now.

But being unharmed even after taking all that awful rain. It wasn’t something that could be explained. That was what added certainty to the Elemental’s reasoning.

“S-see! I told you so!”

It was going in a good direction. Mössbayer continued instigating, boosted by Duchess Totzfel’s support.

To think that that Totzfel would show up here!

Duchess Totzfel. She was a cunning traditional aristocrat. Unlike Duke Hasfeldt who appointed anyone as long as they had talent, she feared there being gifted people amongst  the commoners.

Heerlein, who had become a noble despite having a commoner background. And that girl Aether who was following in her footsteps.

And that brat called Freyr who had come out of nowhere.

They’d all be an eyesore.

Mössbayer chuckled, clicking his tongue.

It’s obvious that she showed up with political intentions. Of course she’d want to become a chief minister since the Imperial family fell apart due to this.

She was also someone who was power-hungry.

That snake-like bitch.

Someone he usually disliked, but was now a reliable ally.

I will join in here.

As he was preparing his staff with magic with that thought.

Thwack!

“Kyaaaa!”

Mössbayer clearly saw it.

Craaash─!!

The sight of Duchess Totzfel sent flying with a staff.