38 - Testing the Effects
Until a short while ago, a faint light from outside had illuminated the area, but now even that was gone, and a pitch-black darkness enveloped the surroundings. In the narrow space of the attic, where dust danced in the air with the slightest movement, Rei lay hidden, holding his breath.
This was his fourth night lurking here. Just as he began to wonder if information wouldn't come so conveniently one after another, movement occurred in the room below.
The presence of a visitor. There was a high possibility it was the person he was targeting.
Suppressing his presence once more, Rei listened intently to the voices in the room below. The conversation, exchanged in whispering tones, was difficult to make out. Still, he picked up the occasional rise in volume and inferred the content.
"That? I cannot do such a thing."
"Listen carefully. If this goes well, you will get more money than ever before."
"And if it fails?"
"It will be nothing. Listen, your role is simply to cause a bit of a commotion in the area and draw the guards' attention. You cannot be held accountable for any crime."
"But..."
The man was not keen on the proposal brought to him. For the man, it was a request that required him to be prepared for considerable risk.
"Listen... this is..."
"Really!? No way!?"
The man's voice grew louder in surprise.
"Lower your voice! What if someone hears us?"
The other man hurriedly admonished him.
"There is no way it will leak outside."
"Even so. And then..."
"Hmm. Just with that..."
He couldn't hear most of the rest, but this was enough. There were only so many things that could be done by drawing the guards' attention.
(But they're of a poor sort)
Rei felt a bit appalled thinking about the contents of the secret talk happening below. The one who brought the proposal, though it was unclear how specific he was, seemed to have hinted at his backers. If that fact became known, the man who heard the story would undoubtedly be eliminated. It wouldn't be strange for the speaker to be disposed of as well.
(I see. It might be a lie)
It occurred to him that the person conveying the information might not know the truth, but that didn't matter. Rei had no intention of thoroughly verifying the background connections.
That was something the Kingdom should do, and if the process led to a situation that threw the Kingdom into chaos, that was exactly what Rei wanted. Besides, he already had the necessary material.
Knowing that they were plotting something was enough for Rei. He quietly left the spot and moved away from the building where he had been lurking.
The next place he headed to was a building near the entrance of the slums. Passing through the alleys he had been taught, he entered through the back door.
"Did something happen?"
The man must have had someone watching from somewhere, as he had noticed Rei approaching the building. As soon as Rei opened the door, a voice called out from inside.
"The person we've been waiting for has finally arrived."
"I see."
"There are still some left. Can you tail the man who comes out?"
"There is no need. I know who the opponent is."
This wasn't the first time the target man had come and gone. His identity had already been vetted.
"...You were hiding that, weren't you?"
"There was no reason to tell you."
"Ah, information is exchanged equally, then. In that case, I will provide information from my side."
"No way?"
The man and Rei were not allies. They were merely cooperating temporarily for their mutual benefit. To gain something, one had to give something.
And Rei possessed something to give.
"As for the whereabouts of the children, I'm not quite sure, but I think I know."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"They've been sold to slave traders. I'm not an expert, but it's illegal."
"Why do you think so?"
"Even if you ask me why... from the conversation, it seemed they knew the children were kidnapped. Buying children known to have been obtained through crime is illegal, isn't it?"
Such knowledge was the result of thoroughly studying the laws of this country. What constituted a crime, and how far one could go. Rei's efforts toward his revenge were exhaustive.
"Well, I suppose so."
"I don't know where they were sold. I said slave traders, but I don't even know if they were sold."
"What?"
"Which sells for more, boys or girls?"
"That would be girls, I suppose. Though, of course, it depends on their appearance."
Which would earn more as a slave. This was the result of thinking about that.
"Right? But from the way he spoke, it felt like that slave trader was looking for boys."
"...Why?"
"I don't have a clear reason myself. I just thought there might be some specific purpose."
"A purpose..."
"If the purpose is labor, how many years would it take for children? Do male prostitutes exist?"
This occurred to him because the man who spoke with the air of a slave trader was particular about the boys' appearance.
"Male prostitutes?"
"Male courtesans."
"Would anyone frequent such a place? I've heard rumors of such tastes, but it shouldn't be something one can openly admit out of shame."
In this world, there was no understanding of male homosexuality. Rei, who knew that in a certain period of his original world's past there had been the existence of pages, had wondered if this world was the same, but it was not.
"...That would also be illegal."
"That too?"
"Creating such a place to secretly enjoy a hobby that cannot be made public. If someone had such a taste, would it be a noble? I can't imagine a commoner having such a preference."
"I've only heard of it in rumors, but I suppose so."
"If that's the case, the backing is quite significant. A noble, or multiple nobles, are behind it. Well, this is just a guess, so it's not decided."
In reality, Rei wasn't certain either. He still lacked enough information.
"And that slave trader?"
"He might be the master of a brothel."
"Either is fine. Do you know who he is?"
"That... it's about time for your information."
Information is equal. This was something the man had brought up.
"Ah, I understand. The one connected is a low-ranking official of the Ministry of Justice. A man named Heizem."
"That's not something a low-ranking official would think of."
"Hmm?"
"Ah, this is a separate matter. There is something I want to ask of you regarding this as well, but that can wait. Now, about the slave trader."
Giving the exchange information first was the priority. To gain the man's trust, it had to be that way.
"Right. Do you know his name?"
"He was called Karl."
"Karl?"
"It's a pseudonym. His real name is Larc, if I'm not mistaken."
"Wait a minute? Why a pseudonym? And his real name too?"
More information than he had expected. The man was surprised that Rei had brought this. But it was too early to be surprised.
"Do you want to know more?"
"Of course I do."
"Really?"
"Hey, don't tease me. Investigating that was supposed to be the condition for cooperating."
"That's true. Then I'll tell you. That slave trader is a Royal Guard Knight. I've seen his face at the castle. There is no mistake."
"Y-you're lying, right?"
If he was a Royal Guard Knight, it meant the mastermind was someone inside the castle. Moreover, the people a Royal Guard Knight served were limited.
"See, it would have been better not to know. Since he's a Royal Guard Knight, it's illegal. Well, whether it's legal or not, a Royal Guard Knight being a slave trader is a major problem the Kingdom cannot make public. If you tell anyone, you'll likely lose your life."
"W-what do you intend to do with this?"
"This information is a powerful weapon if used well, but if it fails, it will kill me."
"True."
"I don't want to get too deep and expose my identity. I want to leave the investigation to someone else."
"...That's probably true, but..."
"But, I might be able to create a trigger for an investigation to start without my identity being known."
"Is such a thing possible?"
The man was completely drawn in by Rei's talk. All that was left was to deliver the finishing blow.
"Will you cooperate? Well, you have no choice but to cooperate. To find the whereabouts of the children, that's the only way. Besides, if I fail, your life is gone too, right?"
"Y-you...?"
Rei's words were clearly a threat.
"After we iron out the details, but it's not as if there's no chance of winning. The connection between the civil officials and the Royal Guards seems thin."
"Why?"
"Otherwise, would two of them appear in such a short period? Besides, what the civil official is trying to do has a high possibility of destroying what the Royal Guard is doing. The root might be the same, but other than that, they seem to be moving separately, without connection. There is a gap to exploit."
"I see. Do you have an idea of who that 'root' is?"
"For your own sake, it's better not to know even the guess. Now then, I will explain what the civil official is trying to do. And what I want to ask of you. Is that alright?"
"A-ah."
The man had been swept away by the momentum of Rei's talk. Rei's story had no physical evidence; it was merely a series of inferences. One could not condemn the opponent based on Rei's testimony alone.
Even knowing such information, the possibility of the man being held accountable for a crime was low. For if he were held accountable, it would conversely mean admitting that the inferences were facts.
Without realizing this, the man proceeded with preparations for that day, doing as Rei told him.
◇◇◇
For a while from the next day, Rei stopped going out and spent his time in the castle. He had obtained the necessary information. All that was left was to check the progress of what he had asked the man to do.
Until then, he only acted to see if he could find any further corroboration for his inferences. His outward behavior didn't change. He simply spent more time than usual at the Royal Guard Knights' training ground.
Once the place had become quite deserted, Rei stopped his training and, at the water area at the edge of the training ground, took off his upper garment and wiped away his sweat.
"Hey, Kamui. Still as enthusiastic as ever, I see."
At the appearance of the target person, Rei's face distorted slightly. Because he knew that the better things went, the more unbearable the development would become for him.
"Larc-sama, it seems you've been putting more heat into your training lately as well?"
"Ah, because I can't afford to lose to you."
"I am not even fit to be at Larc-sama's feet."
"That's not true. I know your training routine well. It's a harsh regimen. Perhaps thanks to that, your body is well-trained."
Rei desperately suppressed the goosebumps he felt at Larc's gaze, which seemed to lick over his upper body.
Wondering if it would work on a man, Rei had been continuously emitting Charm at the training ground for the past few days. It worked perfectly, but only on Larc. Though, strictly speaking, only as a man.
That fact, and the unpleasant color of desire emanating from Larc, made it clear that Larc had pederastic tendencies.
The problem was whether this was Larc's personal preference, but stepping further into that was quite a courageous act for Rei.
Rei thought he should probably stop, but Charm wouldn't just wear off so conveniently.
"No, compared to the other knights, my body is far too slender."
"Is that so? It certainly looks slender, but that's, well, a thing in itself, isn't it?"
Larc's hand reached out to Rei's body without hesitation. It wasn't as if he were checking trained muscles. He slowly let his fingertips crawl.
"L-Larc-sama?"
"Ah, sorry. Are you not used to having your body touched by others?"
"I-it's not exactly that, but..."
"...Ah. You were being preyed upon by that boorish woman, weren't you?"
"I cannot say anything regarding that."
"I see. But it doesn't seem to be your intention. Poor thing, to have this body used as a woman pleases."
(T-this is bad)
The provocation had gone too far; words clearly despising women began to emerge from Larc's mouth. The hand extended to Rei's upper body continued to move without stopping.
"In my position, 'forced' or things like that..."
"...I see. Hey, can you not disobey my words either?"
Larc's intention was clear. He was asking if he could also make Rei do as he pleased by order.
Rei's answer to that was already decided.
"I do not know. Since the Princess's orders take priority, it would be very rude of me, but there is a possibility I would be disobeying you."
"The Princess... I see, that's right. You were the Princess's slave."
"Yes."
"What a waste. If it were you, I'm sure the Prince would take a liking to you too."
Larc was completely losing his sanity. To reach out to Rei's body and say such a thing was like saying Prince Neil would take a liking to Rei's body.
"Serving the Prince is beyond my capabilities."
Furthermore, Rei timidly took a step further.
"...I wonder? Would you like to try meeting him once? The Prince is the type who doesn't care much about status."
Larc returned the exactly expected answer.
"That would be too presumptuous. I believe I should refrain from that."
"That is something to be decided after hearing the Prince's intentions. Shall we go meet him now?"
"That is..."
If Prince Neil desired it, Rei could not disobey. Loyalty to the royal family was the highest constraint. If he broke that, the fact that he was not under the influence of the collar of subordination would be revealed to those around him. Rei regretted that he should have laid some groundwork with someone like Miria, but fortunately, a lifeline appeared.
"Hey, Kamui. Shall we talk for a bit?"
The sweet voice of a female knight who approached, completely ignoring Larc. Rei felt relieved, and in contrast, Larc showed a look of panic. With the appearance of another person, calm thinking seemed to return to Larc.
"Talk?"
"Yes. I haven't talked with you much, so I thought maybe once in a while."
"I don't mind, but... Larc-sama, is it alright?"
"Ah, yeah. I don't mind. Well then. Until next time."
"Yes."
With Larc leaving, Rei breathed a sigh of relief. Then, bringing out his trump card—"Physical relations are forbidden by order"—he forcibly shook off the female knight and left the training ground immediately.
Swearing in his heart that he would never use Charm on a man again.
◇◇◇
Rei's image of Prince Neil had completely crumbled. He had heard Prince Neil was sickly, but being sickly didn't necessarily mean he was a good person.
He decided against asking Princess Ekaterina about Prince Neil's character. This was based on the thought that she wouldn't do something like expose the shame of her own family.
In that case, there was only one person to ask.
"What kind of person is the Prince?"
"Why do you ask such a thing?"
"He'll be a competitor, so I need to know his character."
"Ah, I see. He is physically weak."
"That's not what I meant by character."
"O-oh, right."
"Could it be that the reason the Princess is aiming for the next generation is something other than the Prince being sickly?"
"Why do you think so?"
A slight hint of wariness appeared in Miria's emotions. That told Rei his thinking was correct.
"Today, I spoke with the Prince's Royal Guard Knight. My impression of that person was not very good."
Rei pushed the conversation further.
"Who was it?"
"Larc-sama."
"Ugh..."
Miria made an overtly disgusted face. With this, there was no way she could keep a secret. While thinking that was a problem in its own right, he decided to use Miria's simplicity to dig deeper.
"You know, don't you?"
"K-know what?"
"He stared at my naked body."
"Ah, yeah."
"Not only that, he stroked me with his fingers."
"W-with his fingers..."
"Lewdly. If another knight hadn't come, that hand..."
"That hand?"
"It was on the verge of reaching my lower body."
"Oh?"
"Are you perhaps happy about this?"
"N-no way!?"
Miria denied it, but Rei knew it was a lie. However, now was not the time to pursue that. There was something else to pursue.
"Well, that's fine, but you do know, don't you?"
"I-it's a rumor, a groundless rumor."
"What kind of rumor?"
"...That the Prince and Larc..."
"Are in a pederastic relationship?"
"...Yes."
Miria confessed a piece of highly important secret quite easily. This was why Rei couldn't let go of Miria.
"Why is there such a rumor?"
"That's because a lady-in-waiting..."
"Ah, from the lady-in-waiting's gossip. And that lady-in-waiting?"
"She died."
"Whoa? They go that far?"
It wasn't certain that it was Prince Neil's doing. However, Rei deliberately showed this reaction.
"The evidence is gone."
Miria did not deny this. She might not know the truth, but there was no doubt that such a rumor existed.
"The evidence was erased, right? Moreover, Larc-sama still continues as a Royal Guard. The meaning is clear."
"W-well."
"But there is actually no evidence. Was there something else that could provide more certainty?"
"...There are no ladies-in-waiting around the Prince. For now, the reason given is that ladies-in-waiting who spread such falsehoods are not trustworthy."
"Then, who takes care of his personal needs?"
"Children called pages."
"...Boys, right?"
With this, the whereabouts of the kidnapped children were known. It was also confirmed that Prince Neil was a villain. If it was male homosexuality, Rei, as a modern person, could understand that some people are like that. However, kidnappers are criminals in any era. Rei was genuinely appalled that someone could be so bold.
"I wonder how His Majesty the King can leave such a situation alone?"
"There is no firm evidence. Even if there were, he can't just make a fuss, right? His right of succession is first. He's the only male. Besides, there's a part of the King that sympathizes with his weak body."
"Even so, if the next King is into male homosexuality, then what comes after. Are women completely out of the question?"
He didn't mind if the Prince liked men. The problem was the successor, Rei thought.
"I don't know. But since there are no women near him... perhaps he has no experience?"
"Experience... I didn't expect Miria-san to have that thought."
Prince Neil was Princess Ekaterina's younger brother. Thinking he was still young, Rei had asked out of curiosity about his interest in women, but he found it surprising that Miria mentioned sexual experience itself.
"Is something strange?"
"The Prince is still young, right?"
"About the same age as Kamui."
Miria's thought process was Rei's fault. It was because Rei naturally had experience with women.
"He's not that old... uh, why did it come to that? Wasn't there some trigger?"
"This is also a rumor, but..."
"Yes."
"The Prince is a beauty, similar to the Princess. It's said that the trigger was when someone thought it would be amusing to make him cross-dress."
"Who did such a thing?"
"...The Princess."
While sounding a bit reluctant, Miria told the truth.
"Uh... I really don't know what to say to that."
"It was just a childish whim. She just played by making him wear her dresses."
"Well. As a child's game, it's not that unusual. I don't think that alone would actually lead to this. There must have been other things."
It wasn't unusual for a young boy to be made to cross-dress. Rei thought that was separate from turning toward male homosexuality.
"I don't know about that. Information on the Prince doesn't flow out much."
"Even though you're in the same castle?"
"Yes."
"He's thorough. It means the Prince has more power than I thought."
"Probably."
As the eldest son, Prince Neil was the most likely candidate for the next King. Naturally, there were many people called aides. Since those aides would hold important positions in the next generation of the Kingdom, they were loyal.
The people who could be called Princess Ekaterina's aides were aiming for a reversal of that situation. She was steadily expanding her supporters, but at this point, she was inferior in terms of power within the castle.
"Speaking of which, did you find out anything about the Hero-sama's matter?"
"That's..."
"Eh, you still don't know?"
"I know that among the three, the one who brought it up was Hinata-dono. But Hinata-dono wouldn't clearly tell me who she heard it from."
"I see. I see."
"What do you mean 'I see'?"
"It just came out of my mouth, it doesn't really mean anything."
"I see."
Rei didn't know the reason why Hinata was hiding it. But he thought that trying to hide it meant either she felt some guilt or she didn't trust them.
Hinata, who had a strong sense of justice—or from Rei's perspective, a selfish desire to be a good person—should rarely feel guilt. In that case, it meant she didn't trust them.
What could have been the trigger for her to stop trusting Princess Ekaterina, whom she had been close to? Rei thought about it.
It wasn't the fact that she had made him a slave. Regarding that, Hinata should feel a sense of complicity. In that case, the possibility arose that she had developed distrust of Princess Ekaterina due to someone's suggestion. Rei suspected Prince Neil's camp.
Things were becoming more chaotic in places Rei didn't know. If possible, he wanted to stir it up even more and bring chaos to the Kingdom in a visible form.
(I thought it wasn't time yet, but maybe it's okay to move)
The revenge Rei was planning against Fumiya and the others was not something that could be achieved through schemes within the castle. Because of that, he had intended to avoid contact as much as possible so his identity wouldn't be revealed, but regarding Hinata, it seemed he couldn't say that.
"What are you thinking about?"
Miria spoke to Rei, who had sunk into thought. Even if asked, there was no way he could tell Miria the truth. In his original purpose, Miria was also Rei's enemy.
"A-ah. Just a bit."
"So what is it?"
"I've been suspected lately."
"Of what?"
"That the relationship between Miria-san and me is a lie."
"Eh, why?"
"That... do you remember what Geel-sama said before?"
"What? There were too many, I don't know."
"The story that a man and woman who have had a physical relationship somehow exude that kind of atmosphere."
"Huh?"
"Apparently, Miria-san and I don't have that."
"No, that's..."
There was no way they had it. They had no physical relationship.
"What shall we do?"
"W-what do you mean 'what shall we do'?"
"Going all the way is impossible, but I think I'm okay if it's only halfway. If that would create the atmosphere, I think it's better to try."
"Halfway?"
"Just putting our skin together and touching a bit."
"I-impossible!"
"But the one who will be troubled if we're suspected is the Princess, right? For the sake of the Princess, I think a little bit is unavoidable."
"For the sake of the Princess... n-no, still impossible."
Miria thought for a moment, as if her loyalty to Princess Ekaterina was being tested, but the conclusion was the same.
"Miria-san, are you really a Royal Guard? Excuse me, but I doubt your loyalty."
Rei pushed Miria further. This wasn't one of his revenges, but just simple harassment.
"E-even if you say that..."
"Sigh. It can't be helped. Then we can skip the touching."
"Uh."
"Please take off your clothes. At least let's look at each other's naked bodies and get rid of the shyness. You're fine with that much, right?"
"............"
"You're fine, right?"
"............"
"Don't tell me you can't even do this?"
"...I-I can."
"Then please take them off quickly."
"U-understood."
Miria usually wore simple armor as a Royal Guard Knight, but her appearance in the bedroom was no different from an ordinary woman.
Turning her back to Rei, Miria loosened the strings of her clothes on her back.
The nightgown fluttered down to the floor. At that point, Miria froze.
"Everything."
"I-I know."
Urged by Rei, she reluctantly began to move her hands again. She removed her underwear and became completely naked, but Rei was still relentless.
"Could you face me?"
"...Yeah."
"You have to move your hands."
He further instructed her to move the hands covering her chest and lower body. Miria's entire body was now dyed bright red with embarrassment.
"D-don't look."
"Were you listening? The goal is to fade the shyness."
"...Even if you say that, it's still embarrassing."
(Hmm. Just as I thought)
Miria's emotion was simply that she was embarrassed. He felt nothing directed toward Rei.
Rei was verifying the difference between his Charm and the original. Rei's Charm did not have the effect of forcibly stimulating instincts like Kamiira's or Rui's. It wasn't always active either.
He thought it might be the difference between women and men, but he also wondered why the effect differed depending on the opponent.
What he had learned so far was that instinctive stimulation occurred in cases like today's Larc, where the person had sexual interest in Rei, or in people with a promiscuous personality. However, while this had an immediate effect, the effect also vanished quickly.
On the other hand, with sexually immature opponents, he might gain their favor, but he wouldn't stimulate their sexual desire. Princess Ekaterina was a representative example.
And he believed that the effect appeared slowly and had the characteristic of being difficult to erase.
And now, he had tried stimulating Miria, who was sexually immature and likely didn't see Rei as a member of the opposite sex. The result was as he thought; there was no sign of increased sexual desire, nor increased favor. At the very least, unless he was consciously perceived as a man, Rei's Charm was ineffective.
To advance his relationship with Princess Ekaterina, a trigger was necessary. That was the conclusion Rei had reached from his experience with Cecil. Cecil had allowed a physical relationship out of sympathy for Rei. Similarly, he had to create a trigger to take a step further with Princess Ekaterina.
That would be his future plan.
There was actually an error in this inference, but it would be a long time before Rei noticed it.
"Alright, confirmation over."
"Eh, eeh?"
"Well then, I'll return to my room."
"H-hey. Aren't you taking yours off?"
If it ended like this, she had just had her naked body seen. Thinking this, Miria questioned Rei.
"Do you want to see?"
"No way!?"
"Then it's fine, isn't it? I'm not embarrassed to have my naked body seen by Miria-san. It would be a waste of effort."
"I..."
It wasn't that she had feelings for Rei. But having steeled herself to expose her nakedness, having it end so abruptly felt unsatisfying in its own way. Though she couldn't put such thoughts into words.
"Miria-san, you should train a bit more."
"Is that the only impression you have!?"
"What else is there?"
"...Just forget it."
"Ah, I see. Then good night... you're attractive as a woman. I've reconsidered you a bit."
"Just go home already!"