Chapter 28 - The Code of Conduct of Hollow von Heisenberg
Even without staining my own hands, the most troublesome duo—the protagonist and the heroine—would lose their lives tonight.
Ah... magnificent. This felt absolutely wonderful...
My grand plan had been drastically shortened—no, it no longer even required such an elaborate scheme.
At last, I would be able to live a peaceful, human-like daily life.
Yes... it had been a while since I last crossed swords with Mister Orvin. I should do that again.
Lately, I had been far too busy to properly train in swordsmanship.
Surely, it would become a liberating and enjoyable time.
When I returned to the Heisenberg estate, I set my bag and belongings on the desk in my room.
Let’s see, my practice sword should be...
The moment I opened the closet, a simple dagger clattered down to the floor.
“Oh, right. I completely forgot to return this to Allen.”
I had borrowed it during that special mana imbuement class, then accidentally brought it home and missed my chance to return it.
“I’ll give it back tomorrow... no, that’s impossible.”
Allen would die tonight. He would be killed by Zova.
That meant I would never see him again.
“...I suppose this counts as Allen’s keepsake, doesn’t it?”
Muttering so, I placed his dagger deep inside the closet.
Right after, I moved to the garden to spar with Mister Orvin for the first time in a while.
However—
“Ah.”
My sword was flicked away, and the tip of his blade rested against my neck.
“My victory, young master.”
“Haa... as expected, Orvin. Have you improved even more since last time?”
“Your praise is far too generous. —However, my sword has not changed much.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I noticed hesitation in your swordplay, young master. Did something happen at school?”
“...No. Everything was as usual.”
I cut the training short and returned to my room to have dinner.
But—
“...Terrible.”
It had no taste at all.
Despite being a first-class steak, it was like chewing on soft rubber.
“M-my deepest apologies...! I shall prepare another dish immediately, one that better suits your palate, so please, wait just a moment!”
The maid, Miss Sistie, bowed in a rush and tried to retrieve the plate in a panic.
“Wait. Sistie, try tasting this first.”
“T-that is unthinkable. A mere servant like me could never eat the same food as you, Master Hollow...”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t touched this portion yet.”
I gestured to the untouched edge of the steak and offered her a clean fork and knife.
“T-that isn’t quite what I meant... but very well, if you insist.”
With graceful hands, Miss Sistie cut a piece of the steak, murmured “Thank you for the food,” and placed it in her mouth.
“Well?”
“...If I may say so—it is truly delicious.”
“...I see. So it’s just my tongue, then.”
“Never! That could never be the case! I shall bring you a fresh plate at once!”
“No need. You’ve prepared this carefully. I’ll eat it as is.”
Wasting food was foolish.
So I continued chewing the flavorless meat in silence.
Now that I think of it... that tamagoyaki had been truly delicious.
A taste I would never have again—yet for some reason, I longed for it.
Feeling strangely unwell today, I decided to shut myself in and read a grimoire.
Yes, at times like this, reading was best.
Immersing myself in the world of knowledge should clear away this foggy mood.
—or so I thought.
“...”
The words refused to stick in my mind.
Was this what people called “the letters slipping off the page”?
Everything I read passed straight through my brain and vanished into the void.
I snapped the book shut and slumped my shoulders.
“Sigh... what’s wrong with me?”
Right now, everything was proceeding exactly according to plan.
Perfectly.
It was the best possible outcome.
And yet... I felt unsettled.
What is this feeling...?
Even I couldn’t understand myself.
“...This won’t do.”
No matter how many times I asked myself, I came up with nothing.
At times like this, objectivity was needed.
I used <Void Step> and teleported to the Forbidden Archive.
“—Entia, do you have a moment?”
“Oh my, what is it?”
She sat in her usual chair, eyes still fixed on her book, not even glancing my way as she answered.
“You know my values as a human being, don’t you?”
“Of course. I am the Witch of Knowledge, after all. I know everything about you—your personality, your tastes and inclinations, your circle of friends, your favorite foods, even your preferred type of partner. I have it all catalogued.”
“...Creepy.”
“M-my, don’t flatter me so much...!”
Entia’s cheeks flushed red as she waved her right hand frantically.
I hadn’t meant it as a compliment, though…
The Witch of Knowledge really was an odd one.
“So, what do you need from me?”
“Well... how should I put it. I don’t really understand myself right now.”
“Ohh, I see. Well, that’s about the age you’re at, after all.”
She suddenly looked at me with warm, knowing eyes, as though she had realized something.
“No, it’s not that. Not the embarrassing angst of puberty. This is... more philosophical.”
“Hm.”
Entia gave a halfhearted reply, clearly uninterested.
“In any case, I don’t really understand myself, and that’s a problem. Times like this call for objectivity. I’m going to ask you a few questions. Answer them as if you were me.”
“Whaat... I don’t want to. That sounds like a pain.”
“...I see. That’s a shame. I was planning to repay you by teaching you some Japanese knowl—”
“—What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and ask me, right now!”
Entia banged on the desk with a fervent expression, bang, bang, bang.
Honestly, this witch was so easy to manipulate, it was almost funny.
I sat down in the chair across from her and cleared my throat.
“All right, first question. Right now, without dirtying my own hands, I can get rid of the protagonist. But if I do that, won’t my life lose its ‘tension’—things like purpose, or a sense of fulfillment? Would I feel that way?”
“NO. You don’t place any value on vague things like purpose or fulfillment. No matter the circumstance, you act with your own survival as the absolute priority. That is your unshakable, immutable value system.”
“...True enough.”
Time for the second question.
“If from here on, I keep running away from everything, keep living in fear of death, keep hiding from all strong enemies—wouldn’t I start to hate myself? Wouldn’t something like my pride, my sense of self-respect, eventually break?”
“NO. Perhaps the Hollow of the original story would, but not you. You aren’t such a prideful human. If what awaits at the end of your cowardice and fear and hiding is survival, you would surely accept it.”
That sounded an awful lot like she was calling me pathetic... but she wasn’t wrong.
“Then, how about this? Out of nothing but a selfish desire to survive, I went around crushing every ‘protagonist power-up event.’ As a result, Allen and Nia now stood at the edge of death. If I were to save my friends as atonement, as penance for that—would that fall within the bounds of my code of conduct?”
“NO. You only take risks if the return justifies it. Your code of conduct is simple and clear: everything boils down to whether your own life is in danger. If your actions lead to the deaths of your friends, you would surely grieve. You would surely feel regret. But risk your life to atone? Absolutely not.”
“...That’s exactly right.”
To the three questions I posed, Entia had given flawless answers.
“Siigh... I knew it. No matter how I think about it, no matter how I twist the reasoning, the answer is ‘No.’ I have no reason to act. There is no merit in saving Allen and Nia. The optimal move at this moment, at this point in time, is—doing nothing.”
In the end, I was a man who placed self-preservation above all else.
But really, could you blame me?
I had reincarnated as a walking death flag. Of course I’d be cautious.
“Sorry for disturbing you.”
I stood and was about to teleport back to my room when Entia let out a long, heavy sigh.
“Siigh... unbelievable. You’re so clever, yet you understand nothing about yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Honestly, you leave me no choice. As the eternal Witch of Knowledge, I shall guide this troubled youth.”
Entia said this while staring straight into my eyes.
“The <Primordial Flame> and the <Primordial Ice>—having taken in both of these mighty Factors, the Great Elder Zova had reached the very pinnacle, a completed form as a mage—one could even call it a kind of ultimate state. That overwhelming power might, someday, somewhere, threaten your life. A potential adversary who could one day place his finger on the trigger of your existence... an uncertain element of the future. To eliminate such a threat as swiftly as possible—if, in that process, as a mere byproduct, you happened to save your friends... would that, perhaps, still fall within the code of conduct of Hollow von Heisenberg?”
“...YES.”
Comments
Post a Comment