The Gathering Storm

“I see. That explains everything. It definitely has to do with your news,” the lady officer said thoughtfully after hearing Lynch softly explain what had happened that morning. “So you really did come with her.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. It seems that after what happened the day before yesterday, Her Highness the Princess's people and the Governor's Mansion are taking your opinion very seriously. They specifically tightened security measures and even brought in high-tier powerhouses on short notice to hold down the fort.”

“I doubt it's just my news. Even I wasn't certain my suspicion was accurate, so they couldn't be that sure either. They must have sensed something amiss as well.”

“Even so, your advice played a role.”

“Yes, yes, of course.”

Seeing the lady officer's firm insistence, Lynch felt a mix of touched amusement and a bit of smug pride.

His hard work over this period hadn't been in vain. If this were a month and a half ago, he probably wouldn't even have had the qualification to meet these people.

Still, he didn't let pride go to his head and emphasized, “I imagine they conducted an assessment of their own and reached a worrying conclusion, which led to all these actions.” Lynch watched Mr. Gulman walk past not far away and frowned. “Mr. V and Viscount Moliere aren't slacking off on horseback either; they're discussing how to handle this. To be honest, I'm regretting something a bit.”

“Hm?”

“I invited Mrs. Maggie and Martha,” Lynch said with a bitter smile. “I'm afraid it's too late to stop them now.”

“That's fine. Battles between Soul Severers intentionally avoid dragging uninvolved ordinary people into the fray. What was dangerous was the civilian riot like the day before yesterday. In the current situation, they are actually the safest; the danger lies with Soul Severers like you instead. What I don't quite understand is, since they discovered a potential threat, why don't they just cancel the ball? Why take such a huge risk?”

“I don't get it either. Perhaps they have another objective. After all, nothing these politicians do is surprising. I'll go ask Mr. V in a bit. It's not convenient for you to ask directly, but as an outsider, it won't be as easy for him to brush me off.”

“I was thinking, why don't you pull out first? Since you know there's a risk, there's no need for you to get involved.”

“No way. If I run away over a mere possibility, how could I keep my footing in Rhine? Besides, you definitely have to stay for duty. I need to keep an eye on you, or else what if you eat all the pastries here?”

“Hmph, suit yourself.” The lady officer waved a fist, turned around, wrinkled her nose playfully behind Lynch's back, and strode away carefree. “I'm going back to patrolling, then. Take care of yourself. If I see Maggie and Martha, I'll remind them to stay safe. See ya.”

Lynch clicked his tongue softly. This girl was as dashing as ever. But how did she manage to secretly finish off all the pastries on his plate while discussing serious business so earnestly? And sneaking off the second she finished eating—didn't she think that lacked basic morals and manners?

Whatever. The pastries on the table didn't seem as appetizing anymore. What a mood killer.

And so, Lynch swiftly gathered another plate of not-so-appetizing assorted cakes and wandered through the Duke's mansion while snacking.

Strolling around casually, he couldn't tell if it was an illusion, but people who had seemed completely normal earlier now carried a distinct, meaningful air whenever he caught sight of them.

Beside the small lake, a black cat crouched near the water, staring at empty iron buckets with its feline face full of melancholy. Seeing Lynch approach, it merely arched its back lazily and gave a stretch.

In front of the orchestra, several men in formal evening wear stood with their backs straight as rods, ignoring everyone. Yet Lynch remembered that when they went to the dock to receive the Church of the Black Night's transport ship, every single one of these men had been present.

In the small garden, Regional Bishop Harlan, whom he had met just this morning, sat upright and dignified, taking his daily routine sunbath.

Then there were the most familiar Watchers, racking their brains trying every possible way to slack off.

And those burly men disguised as guests once again—their experience at the cathedral having made them fall in love with this kind of work—were scattered all around the venue looking shifty, pretending not to recognize Lynch when they saw him.

“Want to try?” In the equestrian grounds, the stern-faced Mr. V didn't ask why Lynch had come over, simply handing him the reins. “His Grace the Duke's thoroughbred horse accelerates quickly and is very steady.”

“I'll pass. The faster it runs, the faster I'll fall off.”

Even as he said that, Lynch still asked a stable hand for a horse and gave riding a try. Mmm... looking down from on high made him feel a cut above everyone else. It was quite a nice feeling.

However, the moment the horse moved, he flattened straight against the horse's back, clinging tightly to its neck. There was nothing he could do; across two lifetimes, he had never touched one of these creatures.

Flashbulbs flared continuously beside him. Lynch glanced over and saw the female journalist Maya standing beside a camera, flashing him a vengeful smile.

“What's the schedule for later?”

Once Lynch was able to sit upright on the saddle, the three slowly ambled along the edge of the riding grounds. Viscount Moliere glanced around to ensure no one was nearby before replying, “Dinner starts at five in the courtyard, a fairly casual buffet style. Dinner lasts for an hour. Once it ends, the ball begins at six-thirty and concludes promptly at nine.”

Lynch pulled out his bronze pocket watch, checked the time, and nodded thoughtfully. “A little over four hours left...”

“What's the matter?” Mr. V showed a peculiar smile. “Wishing it were over before it's even started? Do you have plans with Natalie tonight? I can't agree to that.”

“I'm just worried on your behalf. Isn't every passing minute feeling like a year to you?” Lynch inquired nonchalantly, “Your Lordship Viscount, Mr. V, I see that quite a bit of Rhine City's high-tier power has been mobilized. The people in this courtyard alone are enough to start an occult war, aren't they?”

“That's only what you see,” Mr. V said, shaking his head. “There's far more power you haven't seen. C and M of the Watchers have both arrived in Rhine and are resting in the castle. Two rank six captains from the Southern Navy have also been recalled to Rhine and are on standby with the fleet. Even if the eight publicly known high-tier powerhouses haven't all come to hold down the fort, they're ready to join the fray at any moment. Everyone is being very cooperative, because letting something happen would be like smearing mud on our faces. If someone truly managed to harm the Princess in Rhine, none of them would ever be able to show their faces in public again.”

“Such a massive response?” Realizing that such a huge commotion stemmed from a single suspicion of his, Lynch said with a subtle expression, “You wouldn't make such a fuss just from my words. You must have investigated. What did you actually uncover that made you prepare as if going to war?”

Mr. V smiled. “We found nothing at all.”

“Huh?”

“This morning, after you notified Baron Boivar, while you were still in deep discussion with him, both the Governor's Mansion's intelligence department and the Watchers sprang into action. We even mobilized intelligence brokers from the black market, determined to dig up the mastermind behind the day before yesterday's incident as fast as possible.”

“??? So you're saying you didn't do anything for the past two days?”

“Heh. It was very likely done by Parliament to escalate tensions, and to avoid escalating those tensions further, it wasn't convenient to conduct an in-depth investigation back then, so it was temporarily shelved,” Mr. V explained in detail. “But this time, for the sake of our reputation, we had to at least investigate thoroughly to see what they were actually up to.”

“And the result?”

“The result is that there were no results. All the professionals spent the entire morning and afternoon without finding a single clue. Everything was wiped completely clean, as if nothing had happened the day before yesterday at all.”

Lynch's expression darkened. Having learned so much by now, he could see why this was the most terrifying outcome.

It meant a formidable force was cleaning up behind the scenes—and harboring sinister intentions.

The unknown was truly the most frightening. Precisely because they knew nothing, they had to reinforce every side's strength as much as possible to prepare for the worst conceivable outcome.

“Can the ball really not be canceled?”

“Her Highness the Princess has other plans,” Viscount Moliere sighed. “The ball must go on.”

“...Isn't she using herself as bait?”

Viscount Moliere said matter-of-factly, “Mr. Levive, living in this era, everything has a price.”

“Mr. Levive.” Mr. V patted Lynch on the shoulder from his horse. “No need to be overly nervous. Just enjoy the ball. We've made the most thorough preparations possible. Now, we wait to see their move.”

Lynch came around as well. Indeed, prepare for the best, plan for the worst, and for the rest... take things as they come.

Then he might as well enjoy this grand occasion. Let the music play on, and let the dance continue.