“The Conspiracy of Lady Jepar”
“Remaining Time: 3 Days”
“Ugh… Waaah…!”
The status window broke again.
Thanks to that, I learned once more that demons can spew rainbows from their mouths.
“Cough, ugh… Cough, cough!”
The randomly heated horn made my forehead burn up too.
The rainbow that started spewing out only stopped after completely emptying my stomach, and the dizzying headache finally subsided around that time.
“Ugh…”
I definitely experienced this symptom before, right?
It happened when Colette Bloodberry, Esme’s aunt, randomly appeared at Cosmos Academy, contrary to the main story.
“…Is it a coincidence?”
I rubbed my cold hand on my heated forehead. Feels like I’m alive now.
Nicasia’s pink pajamas are ruined, but now’s not the time to worry about that.
“Murmur… Let’s think calmly.”
The first problem is the status window, right?
It’s still warning me to stop Lady Jepar’s conspiracy.
Thinking back to the duel with Aunt Colette, it’d be stupid to assume the status window is broken.
Even though the text is all messed up, the information it’s trying to convey is clear.
“Next is…”
The second problem is the rainbow.
Metaphorically speaking, my horn got extremely hot, and my condition worsened. I, Murmur, grabbed the toilet and spewed out a rainbow.
I experienced the same thing when ‘Aunt Colette’ appeared at Cosmos Academy against the main story. Back then, my horn got super hot, and I felt nauseous, spewing out a rainbow.
“…So, I’m feeling the same pain as when Aunt Colette appeared?”
Aunt Colette.
Lady Jepar’s conspiracy.
These two events have no common ground.
First of all, Aunt Colette is from the Silver Dawn Council, who really hates demons.
Lady Jepar is someone who’s being used by Primeordial Rex, who despises humans.
“…Could it be different from the main story?”
It’s just a guess, but that’s the only reason that comes to mind.
The difference with Aunt Colette is that her appearance at the academy itself was evidence of deviation from the main story, but Lady Jepar is harder to figure out.
“…Let’s check. You can do it, Murmur. Hang in there, Murmur.”
If Lady Jepar is lying to us and continuing her conspiracy, we can’t just sit quietly waiting for the ‘Moonlight Choir Festival.’
Everyone could get hurt.
* * *
“The Conspiracy of Lady Jepar”
“Remaining Time: 2 Days”
“W-Wait…! Murmur?! We need to talk to Professor Gremory…!”
“Murmur doesn’t have time. Hurry up, Nicasia.”
I forcibly grabbed Nicasia’s hand, who was in the middle of a conversation with Professor Gremory, who teaches black magic defense, and pulled her hard.
I’m really, really sorry, but I can’t run around alone checking if Lady Jepar is still plotting or not.
Crucially, I, Murmur, am still a ‘5th-grade demon kid in the elementary section.’ Even if I find something, convincing Esme and Citrine would be tough.
It might be possible, but I don’t want to be optimistic and think, ‘Maybe it’ll work~!’
“Where are… Ugh! Where are we going, Murmur?”
“Murmur and Nicasia are going to check the magic circle.”
“Magic circle? Did someone set up a suspicious magic circle again?”
“If Murmur’s guess is right… We won’t need to worry about who drew it.”
Nicasia widened her eyes, looked at me, and quickly matched my pace.
“Murmur, explain in detail. I’ll help as much as I can this time too.”
“Thanks, Nicasia. But before that, Murmur has a question.”
“What is it?”
“Is Lady Jepar cooperating?”
Nicasia’s silver eyebrow twitched slightly.
“If it’s about the incident where Lady Jepar turned herself in, she’s cooperating properly. Riola is handling the legal aspects and coordination.”
“Is there anything hidden, or is she refusing to testify, or is the evidence strange?”
“I haven’t heard anything like that. And Riola isn’t finishing the case alone, so she couldn’t do that. Murmur, you’re still young, so you might not know, but… There are adults from the Imperial Palace.”
Nicasia groaned. She probably thinks I don’t know because I’m young and a demon.
It’s more like prejudice, but it’s close to common sense.
“Adults sent by Chancellor Uno, right?”
“…Uh, yes?”
“Nicasia, you’ve been talking a lot, but the adults don’t believe us. They’re here to figure out the truth, right?”
It’s obvious. Nicasia is the princess and has a mature body, but she’s a 5th-grade elementary student.
Her words alone won’t make everything disappear. The world isn’t that soft.
“If not Chancellor Uno, Murmur thinks Grandma Arnolt would’ve sent someone.”
“W-Wait, Murmur.”
Nicasia, who had been following me diligently, suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly, stopped like a giant rock, knelt down, and looked me in the eye.
What?
“Why does Murmur know about them?”
“Because it’s Chancellor Uno and Intelligence Chief Arnolt?”
“T-That’s not what I mean! Why does Murmur know about such high-ranking political figures in the empire?”
“Murmur isn’t stupid.”
Actually, I know because I played the game.
“That’s not an answer.”
“Nicasia knows too. Murmur can know too. The library has many books.”
“The reason I know is because I’ve met them since I was young…”
“The empire has an advisory council. Memorizing their names isn’t hard. It’s only six? It’s like memorizing your favorite animal names.”
Nicasia bit her lip and looked at me with confused eyes.
“And when Murmur eats alone, people point fingers at first, then ignore me. Then they start talking. That’s how I hear a lot of stories.”
“…I’m sorry, Murmur. I misunderstood.”
It’s obvious what the misunderstanding was.
She was surprised that I, a demon, know so clearly about the empire’s politics.
“Thinking about it, even I, a 5th grader, know about it. Esme and Citrine probably know too…”
“It’s okay. Murmur is a demon.”
“N-No! I was just being overly sensitive! So, I’m sorry! Murmur!”
Nicasia tightly hugged my waist and rubbed her cheek against mine.
“Ugh…! N-Nicasia, I can’t breathe…!”
“I-I’m really, really sorry.”
Nicasia’s chest is soft, but hugging it tightly makes it hard to breathe.
“It’s okay. Murmur and Nicasia are very different. Misunderstandings can happen. But apologizing like this makes us closer.”
“Murmur is really kind. Thank you for forgiving me.”
Nicasia gently stroked my horn and stood up.
Anyway, Nicasia’s surprised reaction isn’t entirely her fault.
I also spoke in a way unbecoming of a 5th-grade elementary student because I was in a hurry.
Since it’s resolved, it’s fine, right?
“Anyway, to get back to the topic, Murmur is right. The advisory council sent people.”
“Can we find out if Lady Jepar is acting suspiciously?”
“Hmm… At least if she blatantly hid evidence or refused to cooperate, Riola would’ve told us.”
There’s still something fishy.
Moving my small feet diligently, I finally arrived at a clearing about 100 steps away from ‘Terra Hall,’ where we usually have classes, with Nicasia.
“Is the magic circle here?”
“Murmur hopes it’s not.”
Lady Jepar’s magic circles are four, but their locations are randomly determined from eight places.
If we don’t find it here, we’ll have to run around the other eight places again, so I rushed to the closest magic circle first.
It wasn’t here last time.
“But to think of setting up a magic circle around such large trees and bushes… That’s bold.”
“Changelings can change their appearance.”
Nicasia sighed. At the same time, I found the magic circle while feeling the ground. When I infused it with magic, it emitted light. It’s the same one engraved with Lunarin.
And it was drawn just a day ago.
“…It’s the same magic circle?”
Nicasia turned pale and looked at me without me even explaining.
“H-How is this possible? Last time, we went around the academy with Lady Jepar and removed all the magic circles set up by Primeordial Rex, right?”
“It was engraved again in two days.”
“The location is different, but it’s the same magic circle, right? Murmur? I’m confident in my memory, so even if I don’t know much about magic, I can tell the pattern is the same.”
“Yeah, it’s the same magic circle that can summon the gatekeeper demon ‘Gabriel.'”
Nicasia covered her mouth with her hand.
“Oh my god… W-Who’s doing such evil and insane things again?”
“Lady Jepar.”
“L-Lady Jepar? That can’t be!”
Nicasia grabbed my shoulders.
“Murmur, think about it. Lady Jepar turned herself in that day. She made happy memories with everyone! She hugged Murmur and cried.”
“Murmur remembers.”
“She thanked us for reminding her of memories with her daughter and gladly accepted my offer, saying she was grateful for the opportunity. She handed over all the Lunarin stored in the guild and paid a hefty fine!”
“Nicasia…”
“I-It doesn’t make sense! She erased all the magic circles she worked so hard to draw! She’s cooperating with the investigation now!”
I pointed at the magic circle engraved on the ground with my finger.
“A magic circle that requires magic infusion can’t be set up without Lunarin.”
“B-But… That could somehow…”
“Nicasia. Think about it. Primeordial Rex lost all the magic circles drawn at the academy because Lady Jepar suddenly turned herself in.”
It’s a bit of a simple story.
“Would they go through the trouble of setting up magic circles again in that situation?”
“Ugh…”
“The only person who could reassure them to set up magic circles again and provide Lunarin is one person.”
“But it doesn’t make sense! Murmur! The people from the Imperial Palace are here investigating, and she’s still plotting?”
I shook my head.
“Nicasia. Think differently. Did you think Lady Jepar had other intentions until Murmur showed you this magic circle?”
“W-Well… Of course, she turned herself in and is cooperating…”
“There’s a saying that it’s dark under the candle.”
Nicasia lowered her head and gritted her teeth so hard it made a grinding sound.
“…I get it, Murmur. I’ll talk to the adults again.”
“Yeah, please do.”
If we’re lucky, Lady Jepar’s conspiracy will be sufficiently suppressed by the adults from the Imperial Palace.
But I’m not at ease. There’s even one unsolved question in my head.
“But Murmur… Why is Lady Jepar plotting such a scary conspiracy again?”
“Murmur doesn’t know either. That’s what I’m curious about.”
“She was clearly moved that day and turned herself in. So why isn’t she giving up?”
Nicasia let out a long, bitter sigh.
“It’s too cruel to say, but… It seems we couldn’t become Lady Jepar’s Phoenix.”
“Murmur doesn’t think so.”
That can’t be.
That soft and fluffy dessert-making event is canon!
Even though the reward is just ‘Cooking Lv. 1’ and no experience or combat skills, it’s still a canon event where you can make happy memories with the heroines! It’s a happy ending!
There’s no way it’s wrong.
Lady Jepar knows the results of her good deeds over 50 years. She knows she has students as precious as her own daughter.
I don’t want to tear apart that good story with the cold reality that the Phoenix’s disappearance can’t be healed.
…
Huh?
“…Huh?”
“Murmur? What’s wrong?”
“Nicasia… Murmur has a question. Answer honestly.”
Nicasia nodded.
“Is there anyone Nicasia knows who would praise Murmur?”
“Huh? Uh… Of course! There’s Esme and Citrine, right?”
“But Esme and Citrine can’t be close to Lady Jepar, right?”
Esme originally hated demons before meeting me. She said she never went to Piglet House after that.
Citrine has been so close to me since we became friends that she even tried to use the same bathroom stall, so she didn’t have time to brag about me to Lady Jepar.
“Uh, um… Well, uh… Hahaha… …Sorry.”
“There isn’t, right? Murmur thinks there isn’t.”
“Yeah, that’s right. The professors also intentionally avoid talking about Murmur. Especially… You know.”
“Because Aunt Colette called Murmur ‘the flesh and blood of the Demon God’?”
“Yeah, that’s right. So they can badmouth, but… I don’t think they’d praise.”
The flesh and blood of the Demon God.
Among demons, it might be a compliment, but the demons from the ‘New-Helheim Club’ don’t step out of their area.
So Lady Jepar treated me well.
No, I ‘misunderstood’ that.
Thinking about it now, it’s strange. Why didn’t I notice?
Was it because of Nicasia’s greeting at the start of the event? She said something completely different from the main story, but I didn’t feel anything suspicious.
“There’s no one to praise Murmur, right?”
“Yeah… I’m sorry for saying something so cruel.”
Let’s recall.
『”Of course. I could always hear stories about Murmur’s heroic deeds to save friends in the kitchen.”』
No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.
You might think it’s because only Citrine and Esme are around me, but no. That can’t be.
Murmur is a demon.
Even if misunderstood, I can’t be gossip material during my friends’ happy snack time.
“Nicasia, do you think the academy friends would praise Murmur at Piglet House?”
“… … … Ugh, no, I don’t think so.”
“Even if Murmur did something heroic, they wouldn’t talk about it, right?”
“…Yeah, they’d probably… badmouth. I’ve heard a lot myself.”
“Then, Nicasia.”
I tightly grabbed Nicasia’s sleeve.
“Who did Lady Jepar hear Murmur’s stories from?”
“S-She said she heard it in the kitchen, right? So, of course, in the kitchen… Huh?”
“That’s why Murmur asked. There are no kids who’d go around telling good stories about Murmur.”
“Uh… …”
“It’s not Esme. It’s not Citrine. The demons from New-Helheim never go to Piglet House. The academy kids wouldn’t praise Murmur.”
Nicasia seemed to reach the same truth as me, slightly opening her mouth and looking down at me.
“Who excitedly told Lady Jepar about Murmur’s ‘heroic deeds’?”
“Oh my god…”
“Why does Lady Jepar call Murmur ‘Murmur-nim’?”
It seems the rainbow and the broken status window are evidence that the main story has twisted.
