"Hooo, that was one stressful meeting. Don't just bring weirdos like that around, I swear."
"I concur. My nerves are already quite frail, so I would appreciate it if you didn't do anything to wear them down any further, Lieutenant."
"Shut the fuck up. Don't whine to me. I'm bothered by this whole thing, too."
On our way back, we walked through the long hallway leading to the castle's gate.
There was no meaning or reason behind the group we had. I wanted to be alone as soon as possible, but those idiots somehow felt the need to tag along with me.
Though that being said, it wasn't like I didn't understand the point of what they were saying.
"In all honesty, I am afraid of what will come. This is giving me a really bad feeling. I never imagined that there was someone who could talk back to Lord Heydrich like that... Lady Samiel might be able to refrain herself, but I cannot be sure about Lord Schreiber."
"And you too, Bey. You never hold back, and I don't want to be caught up in some nonsensical mess."
"Indeed, I couldn't agree more. If possible, I would like Lord Heydrich himself to quickly end him, or for him to leave as soon as possible. I see no reason for him to remain on this bed of nails. Is he, perhaps, just exceptionally courageous...?"
If anything, I'd call him "insane." Just remembering him irritated me.
"Were you the one who looked into him?"
"Yes. Is there anything you want to know? I have all the details regarding his background, including date of birth, the state of his family, academic records, and even the shady jobs he's done for the Vatican. If you wish, I can reveal it all to you."
"No, I don't give a rat's ass about the details. Just tell me your impression of him."
"Hmm... Then I'll be as brief as possible."
Spinne scratched his chin.
"He is basically a hallmark of excellence. If he'd taken the normal path at the Vatican, he might have even become a cardinal, but the current day and age didn't allow him to. This is a time when the strong must pick the path of arms."
"Oh? So, what, the thing at Katyn was his first setback?"
"We can't be certain. The church has saints that were much like heroes of the battlefield. The faith is about more than just donning the cloth and spreading doctrine. The Roman Catholic Church is a religion of war, after all. It appears that he considered it to be the truer way of practicing the faith than relying on the whitewashing it presents. That's what his records suggest, anyway. He was doing his jobs so well that it's hard to believe he was forced into it. In fact, I feel passion in it. And that's why I think it doesn't add up. The man I saw in the Throne room definitely doesn't seem like a zealot burning with faith. His derisive attitude and pessimism made him somewhat empty, almost."
Spinne was definitely right about that. Not to mention that someone who'd sworn an oath to the church would want to return as quickly as possible.
"However, the hearts of men are difficult to read. Just as Malleus said, the incident at Katyn might be his first failure. He'd lost all his comrades, after all. The man might be hurt and desperate. If that was the case, it made sense why he wasn't afraid of Lord Heydrich. He is basically a corpse, after all."
"So he just stopped caring about everything? Well, I can't say he looked like that."
"And that's your take on him, huh?"
I could agree with some of his points, but not overall. His character just seemed more vague than before, honestly.
In that case, I figured it was better to make it simpler, and changed my approach.
"Malleus, what does he look like to you? I mean, to you as a magician."
Was he strong, weak, and could he stand against us? I'd been curious about that for a while.
He definitely wasn't normal. He'd even caught me off guard in Katyn. However, for whatever reason, I couldn't quite gauge his power.
That could probably be solved by just attacking him, and that was what I would have usually done, but with him, I was just stuck searching for the right timing.
My frustration probably showed on my face, since Malleus replied with a line clearly meant to calm me down.
"You're stronger than him. I mean, it's pretty hard to tell what his color is."
"What do you mean?"
"Hmm, well, it has something to do with life force,. basically. Animals have it, obviously, and you can find it in towns and nature. It's often called 'Aura' recently. I'm sure you two can feel it, too, however faint it may be. It's the feeling you get when you just know that someone's in trouble, that a place is bad or good for you, etcetera. Everyone has their own way of sensing it, and for me, it's color. Just by looking, I can see the shade, depth, intensity, all that. And that's what I use to make my judgements."
"News to me."
I did see what she meant, though. However, while she used color, for me, it was smell and taste. I tended to judge people and just about everything else by whether they seemed appetizing.
"Most intriguing. What is my color, if I may ask?"
"You're not very consistent. The gradient seems purple, but it changes depending on your mood or physical condition. Overall, you're pretty typical. Then again, most normal people are warmer colors, like orange or yellow. Basically, you're normal, but unpleasant."
She pointed her finger at Spinne, looking all self-important.
"Haaah. Well, I suppose I can't deny that. But the way you put it makes it sound like those who have few changes in their color are abnormal."
"That's more or less how it works, but don't you go around spreading this. It'd be a bother if someone felt I was talking behind their back."
"All right, all right. And?"
"The closest single-colors we have are Machina, Samiel, and Schreiber. I don't think I need to tell you that they're pure black, pure red, and pure white. And those colors are the type that would rumble and howl if you could somehow hear them. They're not right upstairs."
For someone concerned about talking behind people's back, she sure wasn't keeping her mouth under control.
"Valkyria is greenish, while Babylon is navy blue or ultramarine. And Bey, you're red, too. But unlike Samiel's, your red's mixed with black. If hers is like fire, yours is like blood."
"And what about you?"
"Hm? Pink, of course."
That was definitely bullshit. Both Spinne and I knew it, but didn't care enough to push it.
"So yeah, that's how I see us all. And as for our guest, Ludvig..."
That was what I actually cared about. She'd said that it was pretty hard to tell his color, but now she'd drop the details.
"I'd say he's gray. A bit like mist, I guess? Or maybe darkness?"
"But darkness is black."
"Not always. The only thing true about darkness is that you can't see it. For an extreme example, imagine looking at something so bright that your vision doesn't work. Wouldn't that be a darkness made of light?"
"Hmm, that sounds reasonable."
That seemed like sophism to me, but I could understand Malleus' take on Ludvig. To her, he was a man like the darkness.
"So yeah, I don't know what to make of him overall. There could be a deeper color hiding behind the mist, but I don't see any strength in him. He doesn't seem all that dangerous. Spinne might be right about him losing all motivation. And when you think about it, gray suits him pretty well. It's a weak, apathetic color."
"Or it could be just a smokescreen."
I considered why he'd do that, and a certain proverb came to mind.
"Lieutenant Bey, you seem to be curious about his combat ability, but I think there's no need for you to worry. Some say that 'a skilled hawk hides its talons,' but I find that to be nothing but lowly nonsense."
"Ah, I'm with you there. After all, if the hawk has to hide the talons to be able to catch anything, it's sort of losing the struggle to begin with. Those who are truly skilled actually show off what they're capable of and use their might to make everyone else bow down to them. When they do that, the prey just line up for the slaughter. That's more or less how it is between countries, isn't it? If they acted weak, they'd just be crushed from every direction. That's why they flaunt their power and open up new negotiation opportunities."
"Indeed. That is exactly how our Lord Heydrich behaves, as well. Hiding your talons and going for a fatal blow once there's an opening only works the first time. Those who present this idea as one to live by are fools."
Basically, concealing your abilities was highly limiting and momentary. Since it would stop being useful after the first time, it was meaningless in the long term.
"However, if you stand out too much, you might get some people holding you back or just pushing all the troublesome shit onto you. Still, if you don't want that, you'd probably have to shut yourself away from everyone. So those who think that way aren't 'hiding their talons' — they're just incompetent idiots who want to believe they have talons to begin with. Let them keep crawling on the ground, where they belong. If you're not confident that you can show your talons, be hindered by someone, yet still crushed them all and make them scatter, then there's just no point in hiding them to begin with."
"In the end, it's all about your ability to neutralize your target's retaliation against your surprise attack. It all depends on whether or not you're able to do that."
If you couldn't, you were always just a talon-less weakling, and if you could, you should've just done the deed without any bullshit.
"Of course, there are those who wish to achieve a decisive victory with that surprise attack. As for whether that applies to Ludvig... Lieutenant, do you believe he is capable of holding himself against our retaliation? Let's assume he reveals his presumed talons and severely damages the Obsidian Round Table. Do you think he could survive and escape after making an enemy of Lord Heydrich and the Vice-Commander?"
"Hell no."
That was simply impossible. Not to mention just how ridiculous it was to think that the surprise attack could harm Lord Heydrich or Mercurius.
"And that's how it is, Bey. If it's really a smokescreen, then it's just proof that he's incompetent — a show-off who thinks he can work miracles. And if there's no smokescreen, then like I said, he's just a really desperate guy. So much that acting gaudy with you is the most he can do."
"Oh, shut up. I don't fucking need that comment."
I still had my doubts about Ludvig, but there was no point in continuing the conversation, so I decided to end the discussion about the shithead.
"That aside, you got me kinda curious. What's the most intense color you ever saw?"
"Is that even a question? Gold and Silver, of course. Don't ask me more about them, please. I don't want to talk about it, and I'm not even sure if I can see them right."
"Are they the aforementioned 'darkness made of light'?"
"Yeah. So if I made those two an exception..."
Malleus suddenly looked up at my face. It felt like she was trying to look through my thoughts and see what was beyond.
"Claudia is pretty amazing, too. She's pure blue. It's the color of a clear, ever-expanding sky. It makes me feel like an angel is about to descend, and honestly, it kinda scares me."
"An angel? Is she fucking braindead?"
Her shitty comparison pissed me off, so when I got back to my haunt, I instantly kicked away one of the chairs.
Then I realized I fucked up, which made me even more pissed.
It was late into the night. Claudia was asleep, and the fact that I considered I might've woken her up irritated me yet again.
I mean, come on. Why the fuck did that even matter to me?
Why was I making a fuss about whether she was asleep or not? If she complained, all I had to do was tell her to shut up.
"Light. Light? Pure blue? Hah!"
She really was an idiot. The mentality of someone who craved the sun so badly was beyond my comprehension.
Even brats who were whining for stuff were more reasonable. What she sought wasn't something you'd give your life for, and bliss that compensated for death just didn't exist.
I thoroughly believe that. It was a damm conviction to me, so the whole situation seriously pissed me off. I had to let it out somewhere before I snapped.
"Shit! Why am I so...? Argh, fuck!"
That idiot had to pay for making me mad. I walked up to the door and kicked it open, intent on drowning her in vocal rage.
"..."
But she was such an idiot that she didn't wake despite all the noise I made. Her lack of reaction was so absurd that it made me forget my rage.