261: The Mastermind in Custody

"Lord Vee. We've received a message."

"I see. Then let us all listen to it together."

We arrived safely at the Vanillagen Route Count's mansion.

In the end, there were no attacks—neither on the elevator that ascends to the middle class level, nor on the road from the elevator to this district, nor within the Count's mansion itself. Not a single enemy was seen.

Hmm, just as Viridiana said—either careless or suspicious. Honestly, we might as well start suspecting it was all staged by them.

Anyway, to clarify things, let's hear what Memoqui has to say.

"The individual who issued orders to the attackers has been definitively identified as Lord Cisennbrain. Here is the evidence data. However, Lord Cisennbrain, arrested by the police under Prince Synkubirim's command, claims unclear memory of events from the past few days and denies having issued such orders."

"I see. So it really is Magatsuki, then."

"It was said to be fruit knife-sized, right? So it wouldn't be surprising if it had been touched somewhere along the way."

Mekoshii brought out several other pieces of data.

I see. It seems the assailant's true identity is an artificial human created and operated under Magatsuki's command.

Magatsuki, having infiltrated Teisei Vanilla Sid, used the fact that while irreversible brainwashing isn't possible, the manipulated person gradually forgets their experiences during the manipulation, and thus exploited that ability to infiltrate and control Lord Shisenbrain.

"Why would Magatsuki attack Vee? If Magatsuki is driven by revenge against humans, like Shuu Suumeree's Magatsuki, it wouldn't do something like this, would it?"

You're right. If Magatsuki were seeking revenge against all humans, they'd be attacking indiscriminately among the underclass rather than targeting the middle class. Even if they didn't harbor such revenge, aiming at Master Vee doesn't seem to be Magatsuki's own will.

"Perhaps... to whoever gave the orders to Magatsuki, I was the most convenient target. Whether the attack succeeded or failed didn't matter either way."

Magatsuki attacking Vilijanira was due to someone's orders, then.

Hmm, could Magatsuki really be following orders from a human?

No, there's also the possibility that this Magatsuki's personality is completely different from that Magatsuki. If that's really the case, it wouldn't be strange at all.

And regarding why Vilijanira would target that particular opponent...

"Is it really the Prince Sinquibirum at the root of this all?"

"Yeah. From what I've gathered from the documents he collected, it seems Count Sisenburein was involved in various shady activities. So, they likely used the Magatsuki as a pretext to eliminate Count Sisenburein and have me attack him."

"And by capturing Count Sisenburein himself, they could easily dispose of any incriminating evidence. Quite troublesome, isn't it?"

"It would be convenient if we could just kill Lord Vee. Even if we can't, we won't face retaliation. That's the kind of thinking, isn't it? Quite infuriating, isn't it?"

Well, that's probably how Prince Synquvulim or those around him see it.

Viljaniela is someone who upholds the imperial law, so she can't act without evidence.

Even if the Emperor himself dotes on her, she still has to exercise judgment within reasonable bounds.

Yet she holds enough status and capability that she can't be ignored.

Ah, yeah, I suppose to the other side she might be quite an annoyance.

Moreover, the various activities carried out by Lord Sisenbrain—rumors suggest smuggling operations among the underclass and some middle-class segments, leaking intelligence gathered from various power holders to rival factions, diverting part of the tax revenue, and so on.

Since an investigation has been launched this time and evidence has been obtained, they can proceed with arrests and disciplinary actions even without the matter involving Villigianira.

Hmm, if we're talking about how much of a hindrance the prince's perspective was, I think Countess Cisembrein was actually more of a nuisance than Villigianira.

"...There's nothing we can do about it, really. Let's just treat this matter as closed. It's certain that Lord Sisenbrain committed illegal acts, and it's impossible to intervene here now. There's no physical evidence that Prince Shinkubirim used Magatsuki to plot my assassination either."

Understood. However, I will endeavor to encourage the other artificial intelligence to share any information it can.

"Hmm. I was hoping the other side would make a clear, obvious mistake so I could exploit it."

"I think it's tough, though. If they made such an obvious mistake, they'd have been eliminated long ago."

It's frustrating, but I'm completely stuck.

Unfortunately, it seems we won't be able to resolve this issue from this angle.

"Satā, memo, Joharis. Let's shift our mindset. We'll focus on preparing for the marriage dance party, and by displaying our composed demeanor to those around us, we'll make it clear that there was absolutely no damage to our side."

"Understood."

"Got it."

"Roger that."

Well, we've successfully accomplished our purpose in reaching out even to the underclass.

No one got hurt, after all.

Perhaps the best counterattack would be to remain composed, just as Viridiana says.

"Then, let us move. Since we're already out, let's venture a little farther."

"…Huh?"

"Understood."

Afterward, under the pretense of gathering research materials, we headed to an ice cream shop located within the same district and ended up eating over thirty different kinds of ice cream.

Nothing went wrong, and the ice cream was delicious, but still, I think there's such a thing as being too bold.