[V12C18] Connected Knowledge

“Please come in.”

Lana invited Cyril and Glenn into the living room.

Meanwhile, Glenn took care to stay quiet by slowly following Lana while covering his mouth with both hands.

(I need to suppress my voice…)

Monica was an important friend to Glenn, so of course, it shocked him to see her staring at him in utter terror. He was equally disappointed in himself for frightening her.

Glenn remembered back to how his master Louis often scolded him for his lack of consideration. He could offer no counterargument.

When they arrived in the living room, Monica was nowhere to be seen. According to Lana, the black-haired girl named Karina had taken Monica to her bedroom.

Apparently, Karina was a craftswoman temporarily contracted to Lana’s trading company, and also a friend of Monica’s. Since Lana trusted her, it seemed safe to leave Monica in her care.

Once the three were seated at the table, Cyril retrieved a notepad and writing materials from his bag, spreading them across the table.

Lana was a civilian, so it was inadvisable to share classified information with her. However, Cyril seemingly intended to include Lana as a collaborator.

Cyril made eye contact with both Glenn and Lana before speaking.

“Our first order of business is explaining the current situation so that Miss Colette can understand. The ancient artifact Gluttonous Zoe’s power has been used to steal Monica’s memories, as well as Prince Felix’s face… Regarding this, I have one concern.”

“Concern? Is there something I’m not seeing…?” Glenn asked.

“Y-You mean about Walker-san…!” Lana exclaimed.

Cyril returned a slight nod of confirmation.

“It is as you suspect. Let us assume that the Mage Association successfully recovers Gluttonous Zoe and analyzes what was stolen… In doing so, what if they discover his stolen face?”

“Oh no! The President’s identity will be exposed!”

“Precisely.”

They did not know how Gluttonous Zoe stored what it stole, but it was reasonable to assume that the contents might be exposed during the analysis. Once they discover the existence of the body manipulation magic cast on Isaac, he will be placed in grave danger.

Isaac seemed to be cooperating with Melissa with full knowledge of this.

“He probably intends to recover his face before Lady Melissa and the other Sages find out,” Cyril explained.

To do so, he would have to beat out the Sages and be the first to recover Gluttonous Zoe. This seemed like a very risky gamble.

Nevertheless, this was the only way for Isaac to conceal his identity.

“In which case, our job is simple,” Cyril continued. “We will join the Gluttonous Zoe recovery operation tomorrow at noon, and support him with everything we have! In preparation, I want to formulate a plan for recapturing Gluttonous Zoe and retrieving what was stolen.”

“But I’ve never even seen Gluttonous Zoe… Uh, it’s a box, right?” Glenn asked, crossing his arms.

“No problem. I’ve got Gluttonous Zoe’s design memorized.”

As usual, Cyril could be counted on in times of need.

Glenn’s head was empty aside from a single thought: “I’ll beat the crap out of Theodore Maxwell!” He had yet to come up with a concrete plan.

On the other hand, Cyril could do exactly that. He would lay out the strategy and explain what everyone needed to do, having handled all of the necessary research and information gathering beforehand.

While watching Cyril draw Gluttonous Zoe’s design with a quill pen, Glenn could not help but admire the former Vice President of the Student Council.

Once Cyril finished the drawing, he put down the quill and lifted it for Glenn and Lana to see.

“This is Gluttonous Zoe.”

“…? Is Gluttonous Zoe some kind of caterpillar?” Glenn asked.

“What are you talking about? This is no time for jokes,” Cyril retorted.

Glenn was perplexed.

Cyril seemed confident in his drawing of Gluttonous Zoe, but what he drew could hardly be called a box.

Glenn had often been scolded by his master for his lack of vocabulary, but he could only describe this drawing as “a fat round caterpillar covered in a bunch of eyes.” It was by no means a box.

Even though Glenn had never seen the real Gluttonous Zoe, he could tell that this drawing looked nothing like it.

Glenn glanced at Lana with a hint of desperation. Lana returned his stare with a similar sentiment.

For once, both were thinking the exact same thing. Namely…

——What now?

The man in charge was the ever serious Cyril, but then he created this unintentional joke at such a critical moment. Only now did Glenn realize how desperate the situation was.

Oblivious to Glenn’s despair, Cyril began his explanation.

“The design here utilizes a pattern meaning ‘Spirit King’ from the former imperial territory of Luvana. By this, we can infer that the artifact is related to the summoning of a Spirit King. In other words…”

Cyril continued explaining the caterpillar-like drawing, but Glenn and Lana were not listening to any of it.

After all, the “pattern” Cyril was pointing at just looked like a smaller caterpillar riding the fat caterpillar to Glenn.

(Maybe we’re already doomed…)

At that moment, the usually optimistic Glenn was on the verge of giving up. However, their savior appeared suddenly and without warning.

“Monica-chan has calmed down a bit! I wanted to make her some warm coffee, so would our guests like some too?”

Karina, the girl with black hair tied into a bun, had descended from the second floor.

Noticing the documents on the table, Karina approached like a curious cat, prompting Cyril to quickly cover them with his hand.

“I apologize, milady. These are confidential documents, so I cannot let you see them,” Cyril explained.

“Don’t worry, Vice President,” Glenn followed. “I’m pretty sure she won’t understand anything even if she does see.”

“True. The design is extremely complex, so I suppose analyzing it is no easy task…”

“That’s not really what I meant… well… hmm…”

Meanwhile, Karina had discovered the words “Gluttonous Zoe” written at the top of the drawing. Her cat-like eyes widened in surprise.

“Gluttonous Zoe…? Is that what ate everyone’s precious things?”

Karina muttered to herself, staring at the giant caterpillar drawn by Cyril.

“I was there,” Karina continued. “I saw that man using this box in the warehouse district. I didn’t see the other sides, but I remember the front and the lid.”

Karina grabbed the quill and quickly drew something beside the giant caterpillar.

The tip of her quill effortlessly crafted the design of an antique box adorned with an array of exquisite gemstones. The box was undoubtedly beautiful, but it also had a bewitching nature that seemed to sow the seeds of anxiety in the hearts of the viewers.

Glenn instantly recognized that this was Gluttonous Zoe; it wasn’t a caterpillar after all.

＊　＊　＊

Seeing Karina’s sketch left Cyril puzzled.

(Who in the world is this girl? …Miss Colette only mentioned that she was a craftswoman…)

As he was pondering these suspicions, Cyril failed to realize that Karina was staring at him, having finished the drawing.

Her youthful face was devoid of emotion, radiating a cold indifference. This was reminiscent of Monica’s expression in front of a chessboard.

“Are the important things inside this box?” Karina asked.

Sensing a strange pressure from the petite girl, Cyril unconsciously nodded.

“R-Right…”

Though the drawing itself was still black and white, Karina began labeling the colors of the gemstones as she explained.

“A box-shaped magical tool for storing objects has to have a check valve for preventing back flow. The gem responsible for controlling that part is essentially the core of the tool. It will glow when storing things, so it should be easy to recognize.”

A glowing gem? Such a thing had been mentioned in the Lorelei’s story of the Gluttonous King.

Cyril closed his eyes and placed a finger on his temple, recalling the Lorelei’s song.

Since he had promised to write an impression, he made sure to memorize the lyrics down to the last word.

Accompanied by the Lorelei’s beautiful voice, the story resurfaced in Cyril’s mind. The end of the Gluttonous King.

＊　＊　＊

“——You will not be granted an easy death.”

Along with the words of condemnation, the mage raised the gem in his hand. That gem reflected the candlelight of the dim tower, glowing a deep red.

“——Gluttonous King, you shall be turned into a tool so that you may serve your country in death.”

The mage looked down at the gem in his hand with a cruel smile.

＊　＊　＊

“Red. There’s a description of a gemstone reflecting the candlelight and glowing red.”

Cyril scanned the drawing. There were two red gems on the upper right and lower left corners of the lid, as well as three on the left side of the front.

“If the core is a red gem, then it should be one of these… but…”

Cyril pointed at the five locations before furrowing his brow in doubt.

The placement of the red gems was off-center, which seemed strange for a critical component. In addition, none of them were particularly big.

Perhaps the intention was to camouflage the more important gems, but Cyril did not find this to be a convincing argument.

Karina seemed to have the same opinion, as she frowned too.

“Hmm… A powerful enchantment needs a gemstone of corresponding size… My intuition says it’s either the diamond at the center of the lid, the blue gem at the front of the box, or the green gem at the keyhole equivalent part…”

Cyril sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. Perhaps it was hasty to base their analysis on the description of a glowing red gemstone.

Cyril retraced his memories of the Lorelei’s song again, searching for descriptions of a diamond, a blue gem, or a green gem. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a hesitant question from Lana.

“Ashley-sama, earlier you mentioned that the design of this box comes from the former imperial territory of Luvana, correct?”

“Y-Yes, this part at the corners.”

“Large red gemstones such as rubies or garnets are unpopular in Luvana and the neighboring countries. Many considered them ominous due to their resemblance to blood.”

As suspected, looking for a red gem had been a mistake after all.

Cyril frowned, embarrassed by his lack of thought, until he heard Lana’s next words.

“…However, the noblewomen of Luvana acquired special gems that glowed red under candlelight, and admired them in secrecy… Or so the story goes.”

“Gems that glow red under candlelight?”

Cyril pondered the meaning of this. Perhaps the gems had been enchanted with some sort of magic.

Meanwhile, Lana removed the necklace she was wearing. It appeared to be a delicate pendant, adorned with a green gem about the size of her pinky nail.

Lana lit a candle, then called out to Glenn.

“Glenn, could you close all the curtains in this room?”

“Got it!”

Once the room was dark, Lana held her pendant in front of the candle flame.

When exposed to this light, the green gem quickly changed into a dark red. Cyril widened his eyes in surprise.

“…It changed color.”

“This gem appears green under sunlight, but turns red in front of a candle. That’s why many call it ‘an emerald by day, ruby by night’.”

In the midst of Lana’s explanation, Karina energetically flung open all of the curtains. Then, she rushed back to the table and stared intently at the gem in Lana’s hand.

“This is it! The gem was this pretty green color!”

The knowledge of Cyril, Lana, and Karina had converged upon a single answer.

Meanwhile, Glenn felt out of the loop, having contributed nothing aside from closing the curtains. He raised a hand and asked, “So, um, what does that mean?”

Karina picked up the quill and went back to her sketch of Gluttonous Zoe, circling the gem on the keyhole of the box.

“This keyhole part is our target! The mysterious gem that turns green under sunlight, and red under candlelight! If we destroy this, we might be able to get back everyone’s precious things!”

Raul Roseberg had a talent for bewildering anyone he spoke to, but Cyril Ashley was the only one capable of bewildering him in return. Cyril’s “artistic talents” did a number on Raul when the two were constructing their report in the Ascard Grand Library.

“This looks exactly like Ray writhing in pain when Louis-san stepped on him during the New Year’s ceremony!” (Raul)

“No, it is the former emblem of the Empire.” (Cyril)

“I sometimes find weird carrots shaped like this!” (Raul)

“It is a combination of a falcon and a sword.” (Cyril)

“…Okay, I’ll handle the diagrams. Cyril, you focus on the written portion.” (Raul)

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