Backlash (4)

Frondier settled into the passenger seat while Azier took the wheel.

“...Don’t you use a driver, brother?”

Frondier asked, recalling Enfer's chauffeur.

Having frequently ridden in Enfer and Philly's vehicles, it seemed strange to him that someone other than a designated driver would be behind the wheel.

“I used to have one,”

Azier replied, expertly maneuvering the steering wheel.

“But he died.”

“...Surely not...”

“He died on a mission. My carelessness. I haven't hired a driver since.”

Hearing this, Frondier thought back to the time he rode in Philly's car.

Back then, the driver, controlled by the 'business card,' had crashed the car into the guardrail. It had been dangerous not only for Frondier but also for Philly.

That's how vulnerable drivers are in prestigious families and the Imperial family.

Usually, prestigious families don't just choose anyone as a driver, but it would be difficult to keep up with someone like Azier on his missions.

Azier's expression remained emotionless as he spoke about the death of his former driver.

It was impossible to tell whether he was controlling his emotions or if he genuinely felt nothing.

Perhaps Azier felt more responsibility for not protecting the driver than sadness for the driver himself. He was that kind of person.

“Where are we going now?”

“We're going to the headquarters of Phenomenon, one of the pro organizations. The Imperial family is easily entangled in useless politics, and Constel, already distracted, could spread more rumors. It's not something for students to hear either. The pro headquarters has enough space to accommodate the personnel, so it's appropriate.”

Most Constel students aim to become pros after graduation.

Naturally, it's impossible to manage so many people in one place, so there are various organizations where pros gather, and even now, they are springing up and disappearing like mushrooms after rain.

These individuals, who have come together to exterminate the outer monsters and expand human territory, are a vital force for the continent, alongside knights and police.

If the police resolve disputes between people and knights protect their lords and land, pros literally protect humans from things that are not human.

In other words, the involvement of pros in this Mana Injection case suggests the involvement of 'monsters.'

“Are monsters involved? In this case?”

Frondier asked nervously. Azier's eyes briefly darkened at the question.

“Based on the investigation so far, it's more likely the opposite.”

“The opposite...?”

“Frondier, the Mana Injection case is simple, as the name suggests. Someone is getting Mana injections, and their Mana is being amplified. So, a simple question arises: Where is this Mana coming from?”

“...Then, is it perhaps monster Mana?”

“That's a possibility, but it's not realistic. The more likely scenario, as the pros and the Imperial family suspect, is that humans are collaborating with monsters.”

Azier, unusually, shared a lot of information with Frondier. This was to provide Frondier with as much context and information about the current situation as possible.

“Collaboration means that monsters are helping humans in ways other than Mana?”

“Humans have been seeking Mana throughout history. It signifies greater power. Through sacrifices, witches, prayers to gods, astrology, and so on, humans have tried to obtain Mana by any means necessary. Could this be the first time someone has come up with the simple and crude idea of injecting someone else's Mana into their own body?”

It couldn't be.

It's the first thing anyone who desires Mana would try.

But there was a clear reason why such cases hadn't emerged until now.

“...Rejection.”

“Exactly. When humans inject foreign Mana into their bodies, they experience a tremendous rejection reaction. If the affected area is removed immediately, they can survive, but once the blood circulates throughout the body, it usually leads to death. At best, they become invalids. Even injecting Mana from the same human causes a rejection reaction, so the idea of injecting monster Mana is too risky. It's more reasonable to manipulate Mana from the same human.”

“Then what kind of help are the monsters providing?”

“To develop a Mana injection without side effects, you naturally need test subjects. Test subjects who will continue to receive Mana injections 'until the side effects disappear.'”

“...They must have used humans.”

“Yes.”

It was a chilling story. Azier replied calmly.

“And that's where the problem starts. That's where we started to suspect a connection with monsters.”

“Problem...?”

“As you've seen for yourself, people who receive Mana injections show visible symptoms, but they don't reach the point of death. This means that the rejection reaction has been significantly reduced. To refine Mana to that extent, they must have used a considerable number of test subjects.”

Jacob, whom they had seen at the department store.

He was still unconscious after Frondier had struck him on the back of the head, but his life wasn't in danger. In fact, it was because Frondier had hit him so hard that he was unconscious.

This meant that the rejection reaction had been minimized to the point where it posed little threat to life.

“However,”

Azier said.

“It doesn't show.”

“Pardon?”

“Reports of Mana Injection cases keep coming in. But for the number of test subjects that must have been used, there has been almost no increase in missing persons or death reports. The test subjects are likely mostly orphans from poor families with no relatives or family ties. But how do they bring them in without being noticed, and what do they do with the bodies afterward?”

“...The monsters?”

Azier nodded at Frondier's guess.

“They eat them.”

“……!”

“Originally, human abduction is more of a monster specialty than a human one. Constel students often imagine mythical monsters as monsters, but most monsters are much more insidious. It was the same in last year's incident, and it's the same this time.”

“...Those two-legged wolves might be involved.”

“Right. ‘The real outer monster pack that hasn't been culled.’ Humans provide a list of people whose disappearance wouldn't be noticed, and the monsters kidnap them according to that information. The wolves eat the discarded bodies after the experiments, and depending on the situation, humans may have given the monsters appropriate compensation.”

Frondier nodded at Azier's words.

He understood why Constel couldn't be the meeting place. This definitely wasn't something for children to hear.

“...Come to think of it, I also...”

“You're an exception, Frondier.”

There was a brief, lightly dismissed protest.