Ch. 3

Chapter 3: I Want to Live (3)

For the time being, I followed Nebia toward the place where Haili was said to have died.

The atmosphere inside the manor was quite unsettled.

Understandably so.

The very day after the Head of House had died, the eldest had died as well.

But why did he kill Haili instead of me?

The current Head of House was none other than me.

Perhaps he thought that even if he killed me, he wouldn't be chosen as the next Head of House?

It was a plausible enough theory.

Even if I died, the next candidate for Head of House would likely be Haili.

Rcibel's approval rating among the family was surely rock bottom.

Which meant there was a high probability that Rcibel intended to deal with the eldest and the third first, and then finally deal with me — the Head of House — last.

"This way."

Nebia strode out of the manor at a brisk pace.

It seemed Haili had died outside.

And so, passing through the garden and entering the small forest situated between the town and the manor—

"……We've arrived."

Nebia closed her eyes with a pained expression and stepped back.

She probably didn't want to look at Haili's body.

Completely understandable.

She had seemed quite shaken by the Head of House's death just yesterday.

"Head of House."

Leaving Nebia behind and moving a little further in, the manor's people had gathered.

At the center of them, a single cloth draped over something.

That was probably Haili's body.

"What's the situation?"

From Nebia I had only heard that he had died — no details had been passed along.

The head butler began to explain.

"As you can see, Young Master Haili passed away in the forest. The cause of death is believed to be the recoil from a mana circuit reversal."

"Mana circuit reversal?"

A mana circuit referred to, quite literally, the internal bodily function that allowed one to store and use mana.

It was a concept frequently mentioned in the game as well, so I was familiar with it.

But it had reversed?

"Yes……. We cannot say for certain yet, but the burst blood vessels and the clumped mana masses dispersing into the air match the condition of other bodies found with mana circuit reversals."

Death not by poison or by weapon, but by mana circuit reversal……

Unless the person had deliberately altered the flow of mana within their own body, it was an impossible cause of death.

It wasn't impossible for an outside party to alter someone else's mana flow, but to pull that off required an extraordinary level of understanding and mastery over mana.

Rcibel was a remarkable individual, but he wouldn't have that degree of power or knowledge yet.

"Then are you saying he took his own life?"

"No, there are other methods as well……"

The head butler was about to explain something when....

"Brother!"

I turned my head at a familiar voice to find Serfi, panting heavily.

He approached the body with an expression of visible shock and sank to his knees weakly.

"What…… What is this……. No, this can't be right……"

"Serfi……"

Serfi must be taking this harder than I'd have expected.

His father had died yesterday, and now his eldest brother had died the very next day.

For me, Haili was merely a character I'd spoken to once — someone I didn't know from the game — so the damage wasn't great, but it wouldn't be the same for Serfi.

"Brother, what happened……?"

Serfi looked toward me with trembling pupils.

"The cause of death is believed to be a mana circuit reversal."

"Mana circuit reversal……?"

Serfi muttered those words, then clenched his teeth with a bitter expression.

"Head butler, what was it you were about to say?"

He had been trying to say something earlier, but Serfi's arrival had cut it short.

The head butler opened his mouth again.

"The thing is — a mana circuit doesn't necessarily reverse of its own accord."

"I know it's possible for an outside party to alter someone's mana flow. But doesn't that require an overwhelming difference in ability?"

Haili had, to my knowledge, a certain level of skill as a magic swordsman.

There couldn't be many people capable of overpowering Haili so decisively.

"No, there is another method besides that."

There was yet another method?

"What is it?"

"Hmm……. Well……"

For some reason, the head butler seemed reluctant to say it.

"Don't drag it out, just say it."

Gulp.

The head butler swallowed dryly.

"It's nothing other than this — if someone were to intentionally lower the interference resistance of their own mana circuit, another person could move their mana with ease."

If someone lowered their own mana circuit's interference resistance……

"Are you saying that someone asked my brother to lower the interference resistance of his mana circuit?"

"Yes. We cannot say for certain, but that is what we suspect."

To entrust one's mana circuit — something directly tied to one's own life — to another person meant that the other person was someone greatly trusted.

With this, it made sense how Rcibel could have killed Haili without having the ability to do it by force.

To Haili, Rcibel was simply an innocent, adorable little brother.

Whatever reason Rcibel might have given for asking Haili to lower his mana circuit's interference resistance, there was a high probability that Haili would have done so without much suspicion.

"Tch……"

But there was no evidence.

If Rcibel had killed him by this method, it was because Haili had opened his own mana circuit willingly.

Which meant there was no way any physical evidence would remain.

"So…… So you're saying that Brother trusted the other person and lowered his mana circuit's resistance, and then someone exploited that to kill him……?"

Serfi, who had been listening to the conversation, confirmed his understanding.

The head butler nodded quietly.

"Just who on earth would……"

Serfi glanced sideways at me.

He had every reason to be suspicious.

After all, the relationship in which one would entrust their life without hesitation — family was the most likely candidate.

But the direction of your suspicion is a little off, Serfi.

"It pains me to defend myself in the face of my brother's death, but I was in my room the entire time after Father's funeral ended."

At those words, the head butler nodded in agreement.

"Yes. The Head of House remained in his bedchamber the entire time. Since Nebia was standing guard at the door without a break, I believe it would have been impossible for him to leave without her knowledge."

At that, Serfi scratched the back of his head.

"No, I wasn't trying to suspect Brother……"

He seemed sorry for having suspected me.

"I understand. There's no other way to feel given the situation right now."

"Brother……"

Serfi had been hanging his head with a complicated expression, then seemed to notice the eyes around him and spoke.

"I, I didn't do it either. I went off alone to the forest on the other side of town, so there are no witnesses…… but I only went hunting, I genuinely had nothing to do with this."

Serfi, growing anxious that he might be marked as a suspect for lacking an alibi.

Of course it wasn't you.

Because I already knew who the culprit was.

"I know. I at least know it couldn't have been you."

"……Yeah."

Ah, I'm truly losing it.

I know who the culprit is, yet I can't say a word because there's no evidence.

It's suffocating enough to kill me.

Now that I thought about it — where had Rcibel gone?

"B-Brother!"

Speak of the devil.

Right on cue, Rcibel came running through the crowd.

And with an expression of absolute shock, at that.

"Why…… why would Brother Haili……"

Tears streamed down Rcibel's face.

Oh, really now?

He's the one who killed him, and he has the nerve to put on that kind of performance?

If he'd been born in the modern era, he would surely have become a celebrated actor—specializing in villains.

"Rcibel, you…… Never mind."

Serfi started to say something, then stopped, let out a deep sigh, and walked over to Rcibel and patted him on the back.

"……Let's go somewhere else."

Saying that, he took the crumpling Rcibel under his arm and left.

He had clearly been about to suspect Rcibel……

It seemed seeing Rcibel's masterful performance of tearful grief had changed his mind.

In truth, that guy was the one who killed him, so there was no need to feel any sympathy — but still.

Regardless, I continued listening to various people's testimonies in hopes of catching even a single piece of evidence.

But it was meaningless.

No matter who I asked, they only said that Haili had gone out for a walk alone.

When discussing Haili's death, not a single mention of Rcibel surfaced.

That was because no one would think that Rcibel — who was only ten years old — had committed murder.

This was why one's everyday image was such a frightening thing.

The household retainers whispered among themselves about who could have done such a thing, and at one point it was even briefly suggested that it might have been Serfi, who had no alibi.

And yet Rcibel had equally gone out for a walk alone.

At this rate, things would only grow more chaotic.

For the time being, I dispersed the crowd and ordered the scene to be cleared.

In the end, without having found a single piece of evidence pointing to Rcibel as the culprit.

.

.

.

.

The next day.

Haili's death was announced, and the funeral was held.

The townspeople seemed quite rattled by the back-to-back funerals.

I managed to calm them down and send them on their way for now, but the unease lingering in the air was unavoidable.

With both the Head of House and then the eldest son dying in quick succession, it was only natural that things didn't add up.

Among the people, rumors were circulating that perhaps I was orchestrating all of this to seize sole control of the Head of House's power.

Looking at the circumstances alone, I could understand why they might think that……

Even so, it was a little hard to stomach.

"Phewww……"

With Haili's funeral fully concluded, I returned to my room.

The sun had already set outside, and darkness had fallen.

This hour was the one I feared the most.

Because there's no telling what that bastard Rcibel might do next.

If my assumptions were correct, the next target would probably be the third — Serfi.

And then, finally, he would come for me.

I had no intention of sitting by and letting him do as he pleased.

Serfi's death had to be prevented no matter what.

Surely he won't make a move tonight, of all nights?

He had already killed both the Head of House and the eldest in succession.

He wouldn't go after Serfi immediately, would he.

Logically, if things escalated too far, even he would find himself in a difficult position.

No matter how little evidence had been found pointing to Rcibel as the culprit, if he had any sense at all, he wouldn't dare to act so boldly.

If he had any sense at all.

"Ha……. Tomorrow I'll assign some guards to Serfi, and make sure he can't wander off anywhere for the time being."

And with that, the third night in Last Fairy passed.

Of all the wretched luck, getting possessed into a cursed dark fantasy and doing nothing but work without even a moment to adjust……

It left me feeling vaguely wronged.

Usually when you got reincarnated into another world, it was supposed to be leisurely adventuring with some cheat skill, soaking in all the healing vibes.

"Healing — as if. I'm not even asking for that."

At the very least, I'd have liked enough time to sort through the disasters that would unfold in this world going forward and actually think.

I was also preoccupied with those letters that had brought me here, and I found myself wondering just how far along the main story of the game had progressed by now.

First, let me deal with Rcibel.

Then, perhaps, I'd have a little breathing room.

I needed to take care of the problem right in front of my eyes first.

"For now, let me rest just a little……"

Between the consecutive incidents, I had been running on almost no sleep for three days straight.

I was certain I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight either, since I'd need to stay on guard against Rcibel.

Since there were still plenty of people outside, I'd get just a little rest now.

That way I could make it through tomorrow.

And just as I was letting my mind drift into a growing haze—

Clunk—

"Young Master Kleina……!"

Nebia flung the bedroom door open and burst in.

The fact that she hadn't even knocked told me it was urgent……

Something felt ominous.

"What is it?"

"The third…… the third……"

Nebia stumbled over her words, face just as pale as yesterday.

Ah, no.

Please, tell me I'm wrong.

"The third Young Master has passed away……"

You've got to be kidding me.

Rcibel, you absolute—