Gerda Asman silently stared into the eyes of the person holding her hand.
'Wants to help… does he even understand what he's saying?'
He had just uttered words that could get him killed without a trace, yet there was no sign of hesitation on his face.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"No, I think you do."
"This is your last chance."
"Is it?"
Asman looked into his light blue eyes.
There wasn't a hint of doubt in them, as he returned her gaze calmly.
Asman looked away, lost in thought.
'His emotions are so transparent it's almost embarrassing.'
Despite trying to act unhurried, the emotions she could read were anything but relaxed. The more she read him, the more laughable his calm facade seemed. She even felt an urge to break that composure and make his true feelings spill out.
'There's no doubt about his feelings... I just need to stay calm and think.'
Felix Weitzel had spoken words that only a Pleroma could know.
Given his emotions and the situation, he was likely a fellow follower of the Pleroma.
But if he was a first-generation Pleroma, no matter how much his emotions acted as a safety net, it would become troublesome. If he became a Pleroma before her, the chances were high that he would outrank her.
"Have you been baptized?"
"I'm still taking lessons on the doctrine."
Asman nearly sighed in relief.
If he was still taking lessons, he was just a layman.
An ordinary person without any powers, just one of the hundreds of thousands who had pulled a number, hoping to receive the Pleroma's blessing someday.
Asman relaxed her shoulders and leaned back in her chair, asking,
"Where did you hear about my story?"
"I didn't hear it anywhere. It's just that when you said you wished you could use magic, it stuck with me."
"Tell me more."
"If you become a Pleroma, you'll be able to use magic. As long as you don't mind, I wanted to use the power of the Pleroma to grant that wish."
He tilted his head slightly as he continued.
"But... the fact that you mentioned baptism first really caught me off guard, Asman. You always manage to exceed my expectations."
"..."
Of course, by now she had essentially admitted to being a Pleroma.
Having realized that, Asman forced a smile to hide her emotions.
'...I feel like I've been drawn into Weitzel's game.'
However, there was nothing strange in the emotions she was reading. As Asman reviewed their conversation to see if there was anything off, a question suddenly popped into her mind.
"We were talking about what you did earlier today when this topic came up. If you meant that you wanted to help me become a Pleroma, doesn't that seem a bit out of place? I was sure you meant helping me with something I did during the day."
"Well, when you said you couldn't tell me what you did today, it made me wonder if you were walking the same path as me. Of course, I'm willing to help with anything you need, Asman, no matter what field it's in."
"..."
Asman was now certain she had been caught in his trap. No matter his true intentions, he had only been probing her. If she hadn't shown any signs of panic, she could have let the conversation pass smoothly.
Asman smiled back at Weitzel, who was still smiling as if wondering why she was making such a big deal out of it, and thought to herself.
'...This could actually work out in my favor.'
If he was part of the same group, there could be benefits.
Power within the organization and the right to control life and death depended on the first-generation Pleroma.
Not only did Weitzel pose no threat, but he had essentially handed over his life to her.
So then...
'There shouldn't be any harm in playing along for a bit.'
The fact that the first person she had given her trust to in this place was in the same situation as her but ranked below her was something Asman found immensely satisfying.
'Let's test him one last time.'
Asman looked back into Weitzel's eyes and asked,
"You said you wanted to help."
"Yes."
"Could you give me your blood?"
"..."
Weitzel, who had been smiling calmly the whole time, suddenly stopped, his mouth slightly agape as he stared at her.
'Of course.'
The second generation doesn't drink blood, so it was natural for him to be shocked.
She asked not just to test him, but also to let him know she was a first-generation Pleroma. If she hadn't, Weitzel would likely have felt betrayed when he eventually found out the truth, just as she had felt uneasy earlier.
'Let's see how he responds.'
Laypeople were usually not used to the idea of sharing blood. Just thinking about how he might react filled Asman with a bitter anticipation.
'...If he reacts poorly, I'll just have to manipulate his mind to erase my existence.'
And if that wasn't enough, she would have to kill him.
But she wasn't confident she could bring herself to do that now.
Fortunately, Weitzel quickly regained his composure and smiled.
"Not yet."
* * *
"Could you give me your blood?"
She came on strong.
The question seemed a bit out of the blue, almost like she was testing me.
She probably wanted to see how far I was willing to go for her.
If I answered wrong here, it would mean the end of everything I'd worked for.
But I really couldn't give her my blood.
My blood contains magic, and she would know I'd been lying this entire time.
I'd better give a vague answer.
"Not yet."
"Does that mean you can later?"
"Of course. Once I've prepared myself, I can do it."
Gerda burst into laughter.
It was a laugh that suggested she found it amusing that someone would need to prepare themselves for something like this.
'So she's already thrown common sense out the window.'
Who could easily agree to let someone drink their blood? The fact that I half-assented should be seen as a small miracle.
'Anyway, with the conversation wrapping up, let's check something.'
Gerda Asman
Favorability +7.5*
'...Her favorability went up.'
Is it because she realized I'm not in a position to challenge her? It seems like her guard has dropped a bit.
Knowing that her favorability increased also gave off a familiar feeling, like dealing with someone of my own kind. But I decided to ignore that.
After all, Pleroma wouldn't use anyone who was purely innocent or naive as a pawn, so it wasn't all that surprising.
"Alright."
While I was checking the favorability window, Gerda seemed to have made up her mind and spoke.
"As you probably guessed, I'm a first-generation Pleroma."
"I see."
"Just as you said, becoming a Pleroma granted me the right to use magic. But as you probably know, there's always a price to pay for anything."
'Granted the right to use it?'
Normally, one would say 'I can use magic now,' but she phrased it a bit evasively.
Maybe she hasn't been given the ability to use Vitriol yet.
With these thoughts swirling in my mind, I asked,
"A price?"
"The price for immortality and magic. My mission is to bring new lives into the fold of His will. That's what I couldn't tell you yesterday."
Even though my false emotions were clouding my rationality, I could still recognize when someone was spouting utter nonsense.
I did my best to ignore the headache creeping in and continued my act.
"A mission... That sounds incredible. How was it given to you?"
"As soon as I was reborn, I received a revelation. It's something you just know, without anyone having to teach you."
Gerda grinned with genuine pride.
So... it's not like there's a set quota, such as "bring in ten people within a month" or anything like that.
And since it's a revelation, it wasn't delivered in a document or anything.
In other words, there's no written evidence I could confiscate. To get that, I would have to move further up the hierarchy.
Thanks for the valuable information. I'll have to adjust my strategy.
Then Gerda, narrowing her eyes as if in thought, asked me,
"I've got something planned for tomorrow. Would you like to join me?"
* * *
I shook the rainwater from my hair, drank the antidote, and took a seat. Today, none of my friends could meet my gaze.
"What?"
My sharp question prompted Elias to finally lose his composure and burst out laughing as he leaned back in his chair.
"Hahaha! Were you really locked up in your house for ten years? I thought you'd be a bit awkward, but you talked surprisingly smoothly."
"..."
The situation made it impossible to carry a recorder this time—getting caught would have been too risky, even more so than during the Strauch incident.
Instead, I'd resorted to using sensory transfer magic again. It seemed their reaction was due to the things I had said today.
Since it was a sensory transfer, it couldn't store or replay anything, but I had used it to let Narce tap into my senses a bit.
Narce was sitting there, stifling his laughter with a hand over his mouth, so there wasn't much else to say.
I turned my gaze to Leo and called his name.
"Leo."
"..."
He must have listened in too.
He was trying to look serious, maybe thinking it would spare me from feeling embarrassed, but the fact that he couldn't meet my gaze gave him away.
People who have something to hide either make excessive eye contact or, like Leo, avoid it conspicuously. Now that I looked closely, it seemed like he was stifling a bit of a smile too.
"I only transferred it to Narce, so how did you two hear?"
"We had to know what Gerda Asman was saying too. Hearing it directly is the most reliable."
Elias answered.
But I had a feeling it was just because they thought it would be fun.
Regardless, they needed to hear the conversation anyway, so it wasn't a problem. At least I wouldn't have to explain everything again.
"If you heard it, then you know what's going on."
"Yeah, I looked into it, just in case..."
Leo cleared his throat, adjusted his posture, and pulled a newspaper out of his bag, pushing it toward me.
On the last page of the Empire Times, tucked into a small corner, was an article about a missing child.
[MISSING CHILD]
Name: Anna Bauer (7 years old)
Date of Disappearance: December 4, 3 PM
Location: Heiligenzi City Park
Physical Description: 117 cm, 19.5 kg, carrying a city orphanage bag with a name tag
Details: Disappeared during the afternoon walk at Heiligenzi Orphanage (3:00 - 3:10 PM)
"It's already happened. The undercover officers we had watching the place didn't notice anything."
* * *
That's right. They always moved at this pace.
Even in the novel, they abducted people with little hesitation. That's why they caught Elias's attention in the first place.
December 4th was the day of my third meeting with Asman, right before I forced him to admit to being a Pleroma.
It was a crime that, timing-wise, I had no way of stopping.
But that didn't make the burden on my heart any lighter.
"We're here."
I held Gerda's hand and helped her down from the carriage.
Heiligenzi City Orphanage.
While Gerda rang the doorbell, I read the plaque at the entrance. After a moment, the thick iron gate slid open.
On any other day, I might have made small talk, but today, not even the potion's effects could stir me to speak.
Noticing my silence, Gerda glanced around and muttered,
"The atmosphere is gloomy."
"It would be."
You did just abduct someone.
We completed the procedures for identification and safety before heading to the activity room. Since we were outsiders, and given the current tense atmosphere, we were only allowed in on the condition that a teacher accompanied us.
As soon as we entered the activity room, we saw a teacher standing by the window, looking out at the playground with a dark expression. The children outside playing lacked the usual energy.
"Teacher."
"Oh, you've arrived."
The teacher gave us a faint smile as they turned to face us.
Gerda sat across from them and spoke in a concerned tone.
"I heard about what happened. You must be heartbroken."
"..."
The teacher didn't respond and instead turned to look out the window again. After a moment, they finally replied,
"Ten minutes... She disappeared in just ten minutes..."
Gerda took his hand and gently patted it, speaking in a calm voice.
"It must be very hard on you. I've only known these children for a short time, but even I'm heartbroken. I can't imagine how you must feel. But let's hope for her safe return."
"That's all we can do."
The teacher forced another weak smile before tears began to fall. I learned later that this was the teacher who had taken the 7- to 10-year-old children out for a walk that day.
Once the teacher had composed themselves, they said they would go gather the children and stepped outside.
Gerda watched the teacher cross the playground before turning back to me and asking,
"You don't feel guilty, do you?"
"...Of course not."
How could you not?
I forced a smile, ignoring the twisting in my gut.
Gerda nodded, then looked out at the children.
"They should consider it an honor. Not everyone gets the opportunity to offer themselves to Him."
"..."
They had taken someone and handed them over to the Pleroma, and now they were calling it an honor.
I had forgotten during the past few days, spending time with Gerda Asman in what felt like a normal life, that his mind had already been twisted by the Pleroma.
Gerda was beyond saving, manipulated to the point that normal thought was impossible. "Scum" didn't even begin to cover it. If I could, I'd find a term that captured the full extent of this depravity.
'…Who am I even pretending for?'
The nausea I had felt when I first encountered the reborn Asman returned. Even though these were fake emotions induced by the potion, the self-loathing I felt was real, unlike the embarrassment from saying cringy lines earlier.
Then Gerda, with a concerned expression, turned to me and asked,
"What's wrong?"
"..."
My plans have changed.
How can I move faster to obtain concrete evidence?
I stared at Gerda's face for a moment before replying.
"...I'm feeling a bit unwell. I was caught in the rain on the way back yesterday."
"Oh, it did rain. Are you sure you can stay here?"
"We do have a plan for today, don't we? I'll be fine."
"Really, it's okay if you want to go back and rest."
And let you go ahead with your abduction?
I caught the hand reaching for my face and shook my head.
Of course, they don't abduct their targets on the same day they choose them. I had learned this after many long conversations yesterday.
They avoid committing the abduction on the day they visit to prevent themselves from becoming suspects.
So today, we were here to choose a target.
Since it takes a few days to carry out the kidnapping after selecting a target, I had time to set up my plan and put it into action.
"No, I can handle it today. Let's proceed."
* * *
I'm too sick to go.
That was the message I sent to Asman the next day.
The abduction was scheduled for three days later, and I was pretending to have come down with the flu in the meantime.
I carried Gerda Asman's letter, which had arrived via public mailbox, and walked back into the school.
After warping from the dorm to the underground student hall, Elias waved his hand and began reading my letter aloud with a chuckle.
"I never knew that hexing a target through their food was a thing. I'll have to be careful when meeting other Pleroma. Of course, Asman, if it's you.... Pfft!"
"Pffft..."
Narce, who had been reading the letter alongside Elias, hastily covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter.
"Stop reading."
I resisted the urge to rip the letter I had written to shreds and instead pulled out a newspaper filter.
I'd seen Elias use one on a newspaper before.
It's a thin sheet designed to regenerate the magic in magical paper or ink, often used for listening to recordings embedded in articles.
'But that's not the important function right now.'
This is just a cover to protect the letter from being dissolved, though regular paper would have worked too.
I just chose this because it's the most durable and transparent material I knew of—it's made for reading through, after all.
As I inserted the letter into the filter and placed it between heated metal plates, Elias began reading Gerda Asman's letter aloud.
"Thanks for the reply. I'll use the magic ink you sent me to write back. It's amazing that it disappears after just an hour. I didn't even know such a thing existed. It's perfect for us.... Wow, thorough much?"
Elias winked at me.
I hadn't lied.
The ink really does disappear without a trace an hour after being activated.
It's a common tool nowadays, but it hadn't been invented 40 years ago, during Asman's original time, so it would naturally be unfamiliar to him.
I had to reassure him to get him to write down his plans in detail, so the time-limited magic ink was an essential tool.
'Of course, the problem is that if the ink really does disappear, it's useless...'
But fortunately, there was one thing I could take advantage of.
It's basic logic that if you remove the magic, the spell it powers will also fail.
So, I destroyed the magic in the ink by heating it.
Even though magic has shattered much of the old scientific framework, it still interacts with our ecosystem.
I'd learned enough from my experience converting poison into a catalyst that magic is affected by heat. When I successfully adjusted the temperature and concentration to complete the conversion, I had confirmed this.
A newspaper from the Kingdom of Bavaria would have done the job too, but it would no longer be an original, so I opted to coat it myself since the materials were simple enough.
As I sealed the letter with the filter, Leo, who had been helping me, muttered with a slight smirk.
"You've still got a knack for coming up with schemes."
"Schemes? Really?"
It wasn't the best choice of words, but Leo seemed satisfied, so it didn't matter.
I smiled as I looked at the perfectly preserved handwriting and the postal stamp on the envelope.
They said there wasn't any written documentation.
So, I'll just have to make them create it.