Alex, slightly hesitant due to Mitsuki’s sudden reveal of her true identity, posed a question.
“…May I ask just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“About this matter… does Kousuke also know?”
Mitsuki smiled at the question.
“Of course.”
Upon hearing that, Alex decided to re-evaluate his perception of Kousuke. He had initially thought Kousuke to be a mere youth matching his appearance during their meeting, but now he realized that, whether by chance or destiny, Kousuke was remarkably adept at handling the situations that arose.
Mitsuki’s involvement had undoubtedly been the perfect strategy to subdue Alex. Whether Alex was consciously aware of this or not was debatable, but once Alex himself had come to that conclusion, it was difficult to overturn. After all, dealing with Mitsuki and Kouhi, let alone Kousuke himself, would be utter folly.
“I see…”
Alex had intended to conceal his thoughts, but Mitsuki seemed to have seen right through him. She then said this:
“Just so you don’t misunderstand, even if you were to seize power and start a rebellion, Kousuke-sama would not use our power.”
“…What?”
“That’s right. Because if something were to happen, all we’d need to do is close the Teleport Gate.”
“No, but then what would happen to this town we worked so hard to build?”
Closing the gate would, naturally, halt the inflow of goods from the outside. While it would be ideal if they could be entirely self-sufficient, the current situation made self-sufficiency impossible. Alex understood that closing the gate under such circumstances would lead to disaster, without even needing to think about it.
Mitsuki hesitated for a moment at Alex’s perplexity, then immediately nodded.
“Ah, I see. Your perception of the town from the outset is different. You see, Kousuke-sama doesn’t intend to maintain this town at all costs, no matter what happens on this floor.”
Alex’s expression became one of being caught off guard.
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. It was originally a village built with the expectation that it might fail. Although, given how rapidly and unexpectedly it’s grown, he probably won’t let it go easily. However, if he thought it was a hindrance to the tower, he wouldn’t force himself to maintain it.”
Alex judged Mitsuki’s words to be truthful. At the same time, he let out a sigh.
“…So, it turns out my fundamental premise was mistaken.”
“Well, most people wouldn’t expect something like this to be undertaken with the expectation of failure.”
As Alex put on a tired expression, Mitsuki’s face lit up with amusement. If his current feelings could be put into words, it would be that he hadn’t even been playing the same game from the start, making victory impossible. Seeing Alex, who had realized this in many ways, Mitsuki finally retracted her wings.
“Ah, right. I don’t know if this is necessary information, but I’ll tell you anyway.”
Mitsuki abruptly changed the subject, leaving Alex looking slightly bewildered.
“…What is it?”
“The Mikusen Temple knows about Kouhi.”
“What? Is that true…?”
“Yes. We had a bit of an argument with the temple side before, which is why I revealed my wings like this. Silvia was there at the time too.”
Silvia, prompted by Mitsuki, nodded.
“I see.”
As Alex nodded, Mitsuki looked at him appraisingly.
“Are you planning to use this for something?”
“Certainly not. If you were willing to come in person, perhaps, but if it’s only through my words, the most it could be used for is a deterrent.”
“Oh. So you’re not asking me to come in person.”
Mitsuki’s teasing tone led Alex to a realization.
“I don’t consider myself that shameless. …Besides, I have no intention of dying yet.”
Mitsuki chuckled at Alex’s response.
“You understand quite well. Well, if anything were to be done, it would probably be to ask Kousuke-sama to mediate.”
“Hmm… well, I’ll keep it in mind as a potential option for emergencies then.”
“Yes, that would be the safest approach.”
Mitsuki agreed with Alex and then gestured to everyone present.
“Well then. My business here is done. It’s getting late, so let’s all disperse.”
Having been underground, they hadn’t been able to gauge the time, but a significant amount had passed. Since Mitsuki had set up this meeting, it was fitting that her words would conclude it.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
After finishing his work for the day and returning to his mansion, Alex was drinking by himself in his private room. Alex wasn’t someone who drank alcohol every day, but he occasionally enjoyed a moderate amount on his own. Perhaps sensing this, Floria came to his room.
“Father…”
Seeing his daughter’s hesitant expression, Alex gestured for her to come closer.
“What is it at this hour?”
In response to his father’s question, Floria, his daughter, hesitated for a moment before speaking decisively.
“Father, do you have any regrets?”
“…What’s the matter, asking so suddenly?”
“But… if it weren’t for me… if I didn’t have this blessing, you wouldn’t have had to end up as the deputy of this place.”
Her words caught Alex off guard for a moment. Then, he smiled wryly.
“Goodness. Was I making that kind of face?”
“…Father?”
To his daughter’s questioning look, Alex adopted a somewhat relieved expression.
“I have no regrets.”
“But…!”
“Well, it would be a lie to say I don’t feel regret. …But then again, there’s also a part of me that’s looking forward to it.”
Floria tilted her head at her father’s sudden words.
“Looking forward to it?”
“Yes. I’m curious to see what will happen to that seemingly ordinary young man who has two apostles, beings that are supposed to be rare. …Or perhaps he’s not ordinary at all. Maybe I just can’t see it.”
Coming to this tower was a foregone conclusion for Alex, especially considering Floria’s situation. While there might have been other options, at this point, there were no alternatives other than coming to this tower. He had no regrets about that. However, as Floria had just mentioned, he hadn’t intended to end his days as a mere deputy. He had hoped that, if not to replace the tower’s administrator, he could at least gain some degree of control. That ambition had been shattered by Mitsuki’s appearance. Furthermore, after their subsequent conversation, his perception of Kousuke had completely changed. Or, perhaps it was more accurate to say it had been changed for him. He thought it was a rather selfish ambition and couldn’t help but laugh at himself.
“…Father?”
“Ah. I’m sorry. In any case, you don’t need to worry too much. For now, just thinking about how to govern this town is enough.”
“…I see.”
Alex gave his nodding daughter a mischievous smile.
“Or perhaps it would be interesting to found a nation?”
“That…!?”
“Ah, no. I’m just kidding. For now, at least.”
To his stunned daughter, Alex added a caveat. While it would undoubtedly take time, if the conditions were right, he believed it wasn’t an impossible dream. Considering the tower’s current standing on the continent, it wasn’t an implausible scenario. At the very least, it would be more feasible than attempting to establish a new nation on any other continent. Of course, there would be numerous challenges in founding a nation. However, Alex mused that the biggest hurdle would likely be obtaining permission from Kousuke, the tower’s administrator.
The latter part of this narrative is Alex’s personal musings. Currently, Kousuke has no intention whatsoever of founding a nation (as it would be too troublesome).
Corrected typos on May 24, 2014
