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fabelyn · 2 years

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In Carcere Ch.41

Pairing: inahoxslaine (orangebat, inasure)

Rated: T Warnings: spoilers for series finale Chapter: 41/? Chapter Word Count: 12k

Summary: At first Inaho visits out of duty and humanity. And then he finds he can’t stop going back to see Slaine Troyard.

Lemrina watches Inaho leave and has to squeeze her hands into tight balls to stop herself, lest she falls back into one of her destructive tantrums from when she was younger.

It’s not that she ever endeavored to be anywhere near Inaho’s capacity for plotting, but she wanted to have some use. As much as Inaho claimed he saw no way to avoid the oncoming plot, Lemrina knows it’s not quite true: he simply has no way to do so with his current lack of resources.

She’s a martian princess! She can wield aldnoah! Surely she can do something other than be a figurehead for someone’s search for power.

As Inaho is ushered into the prison by the Warden, he sees the space has once again been converted into a small training facility.

He notices Slaine focused on the flying simulator, Harklight watching from a distance.

“It’s quite pointless to adapt the room only near its necessity,” Inaho says as he enters, noticing Slaine jolt slightly at his voice and swerve to look at him. “It’s too close to when they need you for any physical capacity gained here to make much of a difference.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” Slaine shoots back, relaxing and going back to focus on the screen as Inaho and the Warden approach him. “There’s no way anyone will want me to be regularly fit, so this is better than nothing, pointless as it may be. So, when’s the next murder spree?”

“Your physical health should not be a threat to your incarceration. A cell or guards that could fall at any physically strong opposition are a fatal flaw. Besides, as you’ve just proven, the remodeling of the room now makes it clear you will have a purpose outside these walls. Keeping you in the dark for longer should be the priority over lack of fitness.” He turns to the Warden, catching her eye roll by his side. “I hope you have taken note of that, though I plan to have a thorough talk with you about it later.”

“That’s quite the serious change, and beyond my scope of—”

“Not a problem, I will write a detailed paper on the issue and you can review it and send it to—”

“I’m sure you can make your own way by now,” the Warden cuts him off and, without waiting for an answer, turns around and hastily leaves.

Inaho hears a quiet snicker behind him, and turns back to find Slaine muffling his laughter with his hand.

“Did you do that on purpose to send her off?” he asks, still grinning.

He looks calm, so nothing truly happened while I was gone. Good . “My suggestion, you mean? No, it is the natural conclusion anyone would reach upon seeing the situation.”

Slaine shakes his head, still looking amused. “I was worried they’d be forcing you to come back too soon during your rehab, but it sounds like you’re back to normal. Welcome back, I suppose.”

For a moment Inaho wonders if the alleged worry was simply polite conversation from Slaine, but then shies away from that thought. Slaine might be better at him regarding polite speech, but that didn’t mean he was willing to use it. If Slaine said he was worried, he had been.

“I wish I was back in better circumstances, but I’m home, I suppose.”

“Say that to sister Yuki when you go back to your house, not here. I’m assuming you were stupid enough to come here first upon arrival.”

“Obviously this takes prio— sister Yuki ?”

“Oh. Ah.” Slaine looks flustered. “She asked me to call her that. Is that a problem?”

“Obviously not, especially if she’s the one that suggested it. I’m glad she’s been visiting in my absence.”

That said, her behavioral change towards Slaine was… strange. Especially since it occurred after Inaho had risked his life for him.

Inaho ponders the information received, and he can finally see just how much he had been affected and in need of help; he’d let Yuki’s unexpected change go by unnoticed.

I’ll watch for a while longer before drawing any conclusions. Whatever this is, Yuki isn’t the sort to pretend kindness to double-cross, so Slaine isn’t in danger.

“Yes, she’s been visiting frequently. She’s very sweet, I have no idea how you turned out the way you are. In fact...” He cranes his neck in the direction Harklight was positioned —although the simulator wall blocks them from view—and lowers his voice, “I think even Harklight is mollified, which is saying something, given he’s martian.”

Now that may be more worrying. Inaho frowns. “Do you believe that to be genuine?”

“I don’t think he’d talk so well of her to me if he wasn’t.” Slaine pauses and sighs. “But it’s not as if I was ever that close to him to be able to say I can read him openly. So, tell me if anything feels wrong, but I don’t think your sister is in danger from him. So, with that settled, how are you?”

“According to the last medical exams, my gluco—”

“There is no way even you wouldn’t understand what I just meant,” Slaine cuts him off with exasperation and lightly shoves him.

Inaho couldn’t help smiling. “I admit it, I was joking. I’m fine. And you?”

“I’m fine, nothing happened,” Slaine brushes him off with a wave of his hands. Inaho notices there are no new signs of harm on his wrists. “I’d say nothing could happen in this hidden hell hole but… well. But, are you really fully healed? Even though your rehabilitation was cut short? How much will that impact you?”

“From the start my doctor exaggerated my conditions, and increased the rehabilitation time I needed, so as to avoid the UFE thinking I could be too useful.”

“Smart doctor.”

“Yes. So although they brought me back, I had enough time to heal. I mean it when I say I am fine. I no longer have any symptoms.”

“Good. I’d like to say you should sit down, rest, and not use too much of your brain but…”

“It’s inevitable, at this junction.”

Slaine’s face falls. “...I’m sorry.”

Inaho blinks in confusion. “What for? Even if you weren’t here, the UFE would have used my other friends for their plotting, so I’d be in this situation either way. And I hope you aren’t apologizing for the injury that led to my needing the analytical machine.”

“N-No, of course not!” Slaine huffs. “I had every reason to do that. Payback for shooting me down before, self-defense…”

Inaho nods in satisfaction. “Perfectly logical.”

“Anyway… and what about Lemrina?”

He asked about my well being first, a part of Inaho thinks, and he hates how childish and stupid that sounds.

“She was doing well with her own rehabilitation. She might go back to fully walking again, if she doesn’t leave too early to come back here.”

“I hope she doesn’t do such a thing. It’s pointless and besides, Rayet’s already left.”

“...As friendly as they may be to one another, she’s likely coming back for you.”

“Hm… Well… Nevermind that, for now. We need to sit down and have a long conversation. We likely don’t have too many days left, so can you come here tomorrow?”

“Why? I’m already here.”

Slaine looks at him despairingly. “You just landed from a flight. You haven’t rested or seen your sister. Working without resting first is exactly what will force you to have more head problems again. Go home, go rest.”

The words but I wanted to see you again, talking to you makes me happy, were at the tip of Inaho’s tongue, but he was well aware that would not sound like mere friendship, even from him.

No, the best course of action was to listen to Slaine and leave. It wasn’t too bad; whereas before Slaine would say it with the clear intent of not wanting to stay too long with Inaho, at least now the demand seemed to come from caring about him.

“I understand, but first, this belongs to you,” Inaho says, and produces the pendant from his inside pocket.

Slaine reaches out and takes it from him, staring at the markings etched on it.

“You know… maybe it’s stupid of me to keep getting this back.”

“How so?”

“Ha, I’m sure you of all people won’t believe this but… I told you when I gave this to you a few weeks ago that this seems to protect those who have it… except it’s never protected me.” He chuckles. “I know that’s silly. It’s more likely that I was incompetent whereas you and her were not. But still, it makes me wonder, why am I holding on to something that only ever makes me feel inadequate?”

“Because it’s human nature to want to hold on to the last memory of something that was meaningful to you,” Inaho answers easily and nearly adds: “And you shouldn’t get rid of something that means so much to you just because of some negative emotions” , however...

However, can’t Slaine’s words also serve towards his feelings for Asseylum? And in that case, wouldn’t it be best to let go?

After all this time, Inaho still can’t be certain if helping Slaine move on from his attachment to Asseylum will do more harm than good.

“Will you give him the note, for me? If your words were not mere platitudes… do this one thing for me.”

“I will!”

“Watch out for when I leave. Simply come call on me constantly and you’ll know when that is. Then, wait a week… no, two weeks. Act like nothing's wrong. After the two weeks, leave. Go back to him. Hand him the note. If you at any moment think the note may be discovered, read its contents yourself and tell him. I’m sure… I’m sure he’ll believe you.”

“I’ll do it! Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your message gets to him, no matter what!”

“Good. As for… how you came about this note…”

“I won’t tell him how. But… is it something he can check, because if he doesn’t know the source…”

“Yes. And… thank you.”

“Nao! Welcome back!” Yuki is waiting for him at the entrance, beaming. Inaho smiles back and lets her hug him without complaint.

“How have you been, Yuki?”

“I’ve missed you so much! Come, get in the car, I made some cake for you, tell me everything.”

“There aren’t any details I believe you’d want to hear,” Inaho explains as he allows himself to be wrangled into the passenger seat. “You know how rehabilitation goes. Everything went accordingly and the damage has been removed. I’ve been with Dr. Yagarai and Lemrina inside the facility all this time, so there is little news.”

“How is Lemrina?”

Inaho repeats what he’d told Slaine, and expects Yuki to make her usual annoying relationship implications.

To his surprise, Yuki says nothing of the sort.

Something is wrong.

“What about you? How have you been in my absence?”

“Oh, I’ve been fine, I don't put myself in dangerous situations like you kids.”

“Harklight is still around. Has he been polite to you? Any danger?”

“Oh no! Harklight is so sweet! You wouldn’t believe he was an undercover military martian, and he helps around the house, and it’s nice to have someone willing to learn cooking with me.”

Inaho ignores the jab. “And I heard you’ve gotten close to Slaine, you’ve been visiting him and even let him call you sister.”

“Of course. The poor boy. Locked up and treated like that; and with you and Lemrina, then Rayet too, gone, I couldn’t leave him all alone. He’s so cute! Really charming to talk to, too.”

A more emotional person might have widened their eyes at that, but Inaho controls himself.

Logically speaking, this is on par for the course. There is no reason to continue to treat Slaine with hostility, when his victim, Inaho, wasn’t holding a grudge. Moreover, Slaine’s crimes were explainable when one considered they’d been at war and on opposite sides, and now Slaine was paying more than he should…

However, Yuki isn’t driven by logic. Which means there’s more to the change of heart.

Inaho inwardly sighs. While he’d like to get to the bottom of it now, he has many more pressing things to prioritize. He’ll have to leave it until after they come back safely from the UFE’s latest plot. That, and Rayet might know something, so he’ll wait to ask her.

Despite the new training facility made for him, when Inaho arrives the next day Slaine chooses to have the talk in his cell instead, over a game of chess.

“So… where do we begin?” Slaine asks.

Inaho moves a piece. “I was informed by both Harklight and the Warden that nothing of note has occurred during my absence. I take that to be a lie.”

“Maybe I was wrong and that person didn’t make contact after all.”

“There is more probability of those two lying to me.”

“Ha, thanks I suppose. Yes, he—they made contact. Damn.” Slaine curses as a piece is eaten, but Inaho knows that’s not it.

“That the one we are after is male is hardly a surprise; there are too few females in power on both planets. Besides, what does it matter, are you not going to tell me who it is?”

“That’s the issue… they asked me not to.”

“And you’ll oblige?”

“I fear it’s a test, to see how loyal I am to you. They’ll make contact with you soon enough, I think. If you can guarantee you’re able to feign surprise I can tell you.”

“I see… perhaps it’s best to not risk it. Do you feel as if the knowledge would be helpful at this juncture?”

“It’s complicated. I think you do need to know. Not just for machinating, but to be prepared should you meet. If he doesn’t make contact with you, say, a month after all this UFE business is done, I’ll tell you.”

“That seems reasonable. What can you tell me about him, other than his identity.”

“He’s a mess. He doesn’t act like it, but the motivation for all this he told me… it’s not healthy, let’s just say.” Slaine sighs. “Not that I’m one to talk about healthy motivations, I suppose.”

“So you believe he told you his true motivation?”

“I can’t guarantee it, he could be quite an actor, but it felt too real. Besides, he could have given me something simple like desire for power and yet he chose to reveal such convoluted feelings. I thought about it a lot, and I think he meant what he said.

“However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous to us. Destroying terrans isn’t his goal, but it’s something he’ll do without hesitation if it aids him. Which means when contact is established you’ll need to convince him it’ll be more profitable to keep terrans alive and in line. That or ensure he never reaches enough power to do otherwise.”

“So it’s someone powerful enough that that is such a possibility. I see, as expected.”

“Yes, right now Her...Her Majesty holds the most power, and if she’s toppled there would be political infighting. This person still needs to consolidate more power, or gather enough of a following, to guarantee he can substitute her. That said, and I may be risking too much by saying this, beware that power itself is not his goal.”

Inaho frowns. “Meaning?”

“To become the ruler of all martians, or terrans, isn’t what he wants. This means that if he finds another person capable and trustworthy of ruling, he may back that person instead of fighting for the… throne, shall we say. And that can be both a good or a bad thing.”

Inaho blinks as he loses a bishop. “I don’t understand, why would it be bad? If he’s not after ultimate power, that means we can come to a deal to place someone of good intent, or even abolish martian royalty and suggest the introduction of a democratic panel—”

Inaho stops himself, realizing he had been taken in by Slaine’s words and not noticed what the conversation was treating as a must.

Before he can ask, Slaine explains. “It can be negative because we can’t rely on a power hungry attitude. That is often easier to deal with. But revenge, loyalty, and patriotism are more complicated. We can’t simply promise power then backstab him. We can’t foresee actions as easily as we would if we knew his goal was so simple.”

“I see.” Inaho hesitates, but ultimately chooses to point out his realization. “Slaine, we’ve been speaking as if… keeping Asseylum in power is not an option.”

“...Do you want her to?”

“I did not say that.”

“You’re not answering me. Inaho… you’re smart, you realize that there are two ways I can escape this confinement. One is to run and live in hiding for the rest of my life. The other is to topple the accusations against me, which would attack her character, and she might not recover from it.” Slaine flinches. “I’m sorry if that sounded like I’m asking you to choose. I didn’t mean—”

“I would pick your side,” Inaho says, staring down at the pieces and most certainly not at Slaine. “Which is to say, I understand what you’re asking. I have never defended her actions. And I’m not saying to leave her in power, but whereas I am sure we can easily find someone smarter to fill the position—” He hears a sound that seems to be Slaine chortling, and takes it as a good sign, “—it will be harder to find someone just as peace-oriented.

"Furthermore, and this is the reason why I asked in the first place, you say this person doesn’t wish for the martian throne, yet simply pointing Asseylum on the right path, or even making her a puppet Empress wasn’t among your considerations. Either you didn’t consider that, which is improbable, or this person has a personal vendetta against the royal line or Asseylum.

“Now, if it’s against the royal line as a whole, then Lemrina would be in danger, as she’s being used only to likely be discarded in the future. However, if this were so, you’d be keen on discussing how to stop this person, yet you mention possibly working together. Therefore, Lemrina is not in danger. In conclusion, they specifically do not want Asseylum in power, and her removal is not up to discussion with this man. Oh, and checkmate.”

Slaine blinks at him, then at the board, for a minute before bursting out in laughter.

“I can’t believe it, but I actually missed your insane conclusions,” he eventually says, recollecting himself. “Yes, he has issues with the current royal family. But while Lemrina is part of that, because she was cast aside by them, he doesn’t see her as part of his grudge. That doesn’t mean he won’t use and leave her if needs be, but she’s not his focus. If, of course, we are to believe his motivation.”

Inaho almost smiles seeing Slaine so relaxed, but he can’t, because he has one more pressing question to ask and he knows it will ruin the mood again.

“This grudge. Is it to the extent that removing Asseylum will suffice, or does he want more?”

As expected, Slaine is somber again. “That’s more complicated to gauge. Perhaps if they can perceive that leaving her alive would be sufficient punishment, or if she’s useful as such… but it’s not certain. You need to figure out if you’ll work with them, even if it means putting her life at stake.”

Inaho has the instinct to look down at the board, only to recall he has already won. “Not just me,” he says softly.

Slaine gives him a look, which Inaho thinks might be sympathy, but that doesn’t make sense—

“What I want or not, what I think or not... in the end my hands are tied and I’m locked in here. Whether we work with this man and to what extent and how… I’m sorry but it’s on you. If you don’t want this risk, you can stop this, regardless of my feelings.”

Ah.

Inaho looks at the board, only to be yet again vexed by the fact he’s already won.

“This has been my mistake,” he finally says, “I shouldn’t have brought this up.”

“No, it’s important—”

“No, it’s redundant at this moment. From what you’ve revealed, Asseylum will be affected regardless of our cooperation. It doesn't matter at this juncture what our feelings towards her death may be, because refusing to cooperate would not help her. We need to continue to pursue a collaboration with this man and revisit this topic when we have enough power to do something about it.”

“...” Slaine stares at him with an angry expression before clicking his tongue. “Then there’s nothing else to say on this topic, is there?”

I don’t understand. “Did he believe our ruse?”

“I think it was such a ridiculous excuse he had no choice but to consider it. But that doesn’t mean he’ll take the bait without further proof.”

“I see.”

“Well if there’s nothing else on this topic, I think I should go get some exercise, we can continue talking tomorrow.”

Even Inaho can tell he’s being dismissed, and decides not to fight it.

Is it that talking about Asseylum still makes him irrationally emotional… or is he simply less patient with my presence now that I’m not his only support?

When he’s finally alone, Slaine curbs the sudden desire to lash out and overturn the table.

He wanted to grab Inaho by the neck and shake him but… he was a recovering patient. Recovering from saving him, at that.

He groans and places his head in his hands.

That idiot.

Did he take Slaine for that much of a fool? Of course Inaho doesn’t want Her Majesty killed. He might disagree enough with her actions to distance himself, and even help Slaine escape… but even Slaine can tell Inaho wouldn’t want the murder of someone he used to be close with just because of that. So why not just admit it, instead of finding roundabout ways to circumvent the question?

Naturally, it had to be because he thought Slaine was too fragile to handle hearing he wanted to protect Her Majesty.

Slaine glances at his wrist.

And whose fault is it, if he treats you like glass?

He feels a pang of regret. He’d just gotten Inaho back and already sent him packing.

Inaho wasn’t sure how long Slaine’s dark humor would last, but when he visits the next day Slaine is waiting for him with a chessboard already set up.

“...I shouldn’t have kicked you out yesterday,” he says begrudgingly when Inaho takes his seat.

This is a testament to how things have improved. "It's fine.”

“You can pick the topic for today.”

There really are only two major discussions they need to have. Order shouldn’t matter much, but if he’s to choose... “I think it’s best to finally explain to you what the plan is this time. I assume Harklight and the Warden don’t have all the information.”

“Yes, and Harklight wasn’t picked as my escort.” Slaine sighs. “Which is expected. The newest member would never be chosen for such a thing.”

“I don’t consider it wise to attempt to change that.”

“And I agree, if you try anything it’ll just look suspicious, so leave it. At least this way one of us is safe, and he can keep an eye on Lemrina. So, I know you are a good strategist, but your higher-ups not so much; are we going with the same plan?”

“Close. This time the target isn’t near the water like the last time. He’s based in the middle of Europe. Right now, the UFE is slowly bringing in people to the nearest abandoned military encampment they could find.”

“Are they going to risk putting me on a long ground journey? I can’t imagine that. Not to mention, even if the operation is small, to go around with a skycarrier in secrecy, as well as other armaments. Either this will be dangerous or very, very slow.”

"Precisely. They’ll be using the Deucalion. They’ll load the skycarrier and the most relevant necessities on it during its current route. Then when it stops at a small coastal town they’ll take you in—”

“Oh, so I’m finally going onboard the Deucalion?” Slaine sounds excited, and Inaho can’t tell if it’s mere sarcasm. “I’m amazed they’ll risk placing me there.”

“They were incapable of thinking up other options.” Inaho could have given a few, but none of them would be better for Slaine, so he had not pointed them out to his superiors when they finally called to explain the plan.

“I’m sure. That said, how will they get the Deucalion to stop and unload without anyone noticing it’s move—oh, I see. They’re going to use the dead spaces.”

“Is that what martians called the blindspots where signals wouldn’t work?”

“Yes.”

Inaho is impressed. “I didn’t expect you to figure it out so fast.”

“I’ll assume you didn’t mean that as a slight to my intelligence,” Slaine huffs, but colors slightly. “It would be strange if I didn’t . If it weren’t for those signal dead locations affecting our capacity to find you, the war would have been over long ago.”

“Yes, we used them to survive for years in the Deucalion, and the UFE upper echelons are naturally aware of that, which is how they manage to come up with a mildly decent plan on their own, for once.”

“And for how we are getting rid of these martians…?”

Inaho sighs. “That next part is subpar. They want a repeat of what you’ve done last time.”

“...Who are we killing, and why?”

“Count Percival. He’s accusing the UFE of murdering Count Mikael.”

“...Really? They’re going for the most suspicious target?”

“I share your disbelief. And shared my sentiments with my superiors when they explained.”

“Let me guess. While he is the most suspicious one to go down, if memory serves me right, Count Percival had quite the sway in martian politics. He was good at making convincing speeches, and it helped him take over some sizable lands. So, I’m guessing martians aren’t squabbling and stabbing each other like the UFE hoped, and instead slowly getting together to slander the UFE instead, which is the opposite of what they hoped.”

“Indeed.”

“Even so, this is still stupid, unless there’s a detail you haven’t mentioned?”

“There is. Like I said before, I don’t agree with their plans, but at the very least this detail should shed some clarity to it. This time, they plan to reveal the UFE had been monitoring the Landing Castle, in search of any suspicious activity given their aggressive stance towards the UFE.”

“I think I see where this is going, and hope they’re also going to admit to monitoring other Landing Castles and can produce proof of that if asked.”

Inaho smiles. “They weren’t, but I’ve since set them on the correct path.” Which should prove useful should any of the Council have grown suspicious of Inaho's allegiance.

Slaine looks at the board pensively. “It’s still… complicated. But I suppose they can’t afford to lose the few martians on their side by murdering them. That said, if I were to choose I’d—” he pauses, then shakes his head. “Nevermind, look where I ended up, my ideas are hardly to be followed.”

“You failed due to consequences outside expectations, and your own reluctance to…” Too late Inaho remembers he should use tact, and now he can’t simply take it back. “...to stop Asseylum from making an announcement.” Or using Lemrina more.

“Rich of you to say that, you were attempting to free her.”

“I’m not saying I would have agreed with you back then, only that your hesitation, as well as luck, were why you failed, not your plans.”

“Luck? You of all people are mentioning luck? Don’t patronize—”

Maybe I should have listened more when Yuki attempted to teach me tact. “I’m not patronizing. Any result that doesn’t involve a 100% success rate, ultimately relies on a certain degree of luck. The pendant reaching Asseylum’s hands, and that being the key to jogging her memory had low probability of success. It could have just as well not succeeded, given the mathematical odds, but it did, and so luck was involved.”

Slaine snorts. “Didn’t I tell you? That pendant does wonders for other people.”

“So, what was your idea?”

“... Attack… attack a neutral party, or even an ally. Kill everyone but a martian or two that works with communication. Force them to send a distress signal to everyone, claiming they are being attacked by another faction.”

The idea is sound but… Slaine’s voice isn’t. “That wasn’t your original plan.”

“...Fine. Call Her Highness to the Deucalion. Pretend to attack it. Martians have attacked her before—oh, wait, they think that was me.” Slaine makes a complicated look but then shakes his head. “Still, no one will think the UFE is crazy enough to attack not only their one safety line with the martians, but their greatest weapon as well.”

“I see. Attempting to attack her anywhere else would be complicated as she’s well guarded. But in the Deucalion, most of her protection would be by terran staff that can be warned of the plan. However, for this to look real it would involve major casualties. No, not if it occurred during a dead spot above the ocean. No one would need to die, they could simply claim to have shot down the enemy carriers into the waters, and Asseylum’s word of what happened would do the rest.

“...Hm, thankfully the UFE doesn’t have that many loyal personnel it can risk knowing about and participating in this charade, as it would require enough people to man the Deucalion and attack. Attempting to do this with the people inside the Deucalion unawares would result in valuable loss even they cannot afford.”

“Good, then. Shall we stop for today?”

Inaho blinks, not expecting to be kicked out again. “Already?”

“Well, that was a lot of thinking, and maybe it’s better for you to rest your mind.”

“I told you, I’m completely healed.”

“So you were before, and still the problem came back after too much strain. The operation is starting soon, better not to force it already so you don’t injure yourself again.”

“My internal injuries only reached such heights due to extraneous circumstances whose probability of occurring again is below—”

“If you don’t rest, I’m telling sister Yuki you’re forcing yourself.”

“That isn’t fair,” Inaho complains, but he’s already standing up at the threat.

Slaine grins from ear to ear, making it almost worth it. “Life isn’t fair, see you tomorrow.”

“Attacking Asseylum aboard the Deucalion has a flaw,” Inaho says unceremoniously as he sits down on his usual chair the next day.

Slaine, preparing the chess board, doesn’t miss a beat. “Good day to you too. How so?”

“No martian would do it.”

“You’re well aware they’ve tried killing her twice.”

“A—” Inaho nearly said madman, but remembers in time that Slaine seems to have some fondness for Saazbaum, despite killing him. “A man with a longstanding vendetta, yes. And even then, he did it due to specific circumstances. Slaine…” Inaho hesitates. He would rather not delve into territory that may be too emotional for Slaine, but it’s a necessary segue to the other topic Inaho needs to broach with him.

“Spit it out already.”

“Have you… ever wondered why the martians agreed to stand down when Asseylum told them to, despite being on the brink of complete success?”

Slaine freezes. He then reaches out to move the first piece, hand shaking, but then thinks better of it and sits back on his chair.

“...I’ve avoided thinking on the subject. It… really made no sense to me. I always assumed that by then, it’d be too late to turn the tide.” Slaine pulls on his ponytail while avoiding eye contact. “Although not every Count had a grudge against her, that didn’t mean they were all such loyal dogs like Count Cruhteo. A lot of their adoration for her during my time was because Lemrina was saying what they wanted to hear. It did surprise me to think they’d rather forgo certain victory just to listen to her talks of peace. Even if they hated listening to a terran, surely their hatred of me wouldn’t be enough to—”

Seeing he’s going on a dangerous spiral, Inaho cuts him short. “It was because of aldnoah.”

“...What?”

Inaho is used to explaining himself. However… he thinks this much is well within Slaine’s capabilities to understand, and wants him to come to the conclusion himself. “You’ll understand if you think about it. The Emperor was extremely sick back then.”

Slaine blinks rapidly for a few seconds, then his eyes widen. “They didn’t know Lemrina existed. Meaning the only successor to aldnoah was her. If the Emperor died, she would be the only one with the power to grant aldnoah, and she could remove it as well. Count Saazbaum had no qualms attacking her, but he had Lemrina in his grasp, meaning he had a way to aldnoah even if she died.”

Inaho lets out a small smile at his expectations being met. “Precisely, which brings me to a topic I’ve been wanting to broach with you: how aldnoah works. I talked with Lemrina, and it seems martians aren’t certain of what would happen if the Emperor died.”

Slaine perks up. "That's right, I asked her to talk to you. Of course, we’re aware that when someone given aldnoah rights dies, whichever martian tech they activated will deactivate. But while a Count—or anyone given access directly by the royal family—can in turn grant an underling access to a weapon they themself have already activated, the underling is not granted the power to activate any technology on their own like one does when granted by the royal family.”

Inaho nods. “Although the founding Emperor’s son has already died, he did so along with everyone he granted access to, so martians haven’t had a chance to verify the result. Lemrina told me you believe this is the primary reason why the mastermind has been slow in moving his schemes along. I concur.”

“Yes, and, I suppose a large part of why they followed her at the critical juncture.” Slaine sighs but then shakes himself. “But the most important thing is, I remember Rayet saying she nearly killed her and you had to perform CPR…”

“I was also informed Asseylum performed CPR on you,” Inaho says, and then wonders why he’s said that now.

Slaine snorts. “What are the odds…”

“Well, I believe it would be—”

“Rhetorical question, rhetorical question! Ahem, my point being, and I know you already figured out where this is going…”

“The answer is yes. When she was strangled by Rayet, Asseylum’s heart stopped beating and needed to be restarted, during which the Aldnoah lost power.”

“Whereas I, who had been granted a one time activation access, did not lose it, being able to pilot the Tharsis afterwards. Meaning you, Lemrina and I now have the key information both the UFE and the martians all need: access granted by the royal family is not removed when they die. I take it you told her to not spread this to the organization?”

“Naturally. And she understood how grave this is. If the Counts, especially this mastermind, find out they can go against the royal family and retain the access they already have, they might have already turned against them. From what we discussed, there is no chance that anyone else was aware that you could pilot the Tharsis without Saazbaum himself aiding you.”

“Only the man himself, but he’s dead and I doubt he deemed it worth mentioning to anyone. And even if the information on what happened to the Deucalion is well known, they will never figure this out as long as Asseylum giving me CPR and then my piloting the Tharsis based on that remains secret. The problem begins when the ailing founding Emperor dies—”

He forgets to avoid her name when he’s too focused. Inaho muses as Slaine plows on.

“When they find out they can retain what power they already have, not just Asseylum’s standing, but Lemrina’s becomes precarious. They might feel there is no need for anyone of the royal family to persist… No, they’re too power hungry for that. They might implement drastic measures against the royal family harming the martian cause faster, but they wouldn’t harm Lemrina as long as she’s willing to side with them. She’d be the only hope for an increase in power, as well as removal of power for their enemies.”

Slaine crosses his arms and sighs in clear frustration. “There has to be a way we can use this knowledge to our advantage, but how? Ugh, if it were the other way round, the death would result in a removal of access, it’d be easier to plan. Just keep Asseylum and Lemrina away from the Counts when the Emperor dies and don’t give them access again…”

If it were the other way round, you’d never have been able to pilot the Tharsis and save Asseylum. But even Inaho knows not to point this out.

Instead, he finally reaches the subject matter he’d been looking forward to. “There is… one more thing I wish to discuss pertaining to the aldnoah powers.”

“Oh?”

“I believe the loyalty clause is a falsehood.”

“... Go on.”

“I have a few examples to base my theory on. First of all, there is Count Saazbaum, he orchestrated everything over his vendetta on the royal family, therefore he can hardly be said to love or be loyal to them. Even if he had nothing against Lemrina herself, I doubt he loved her.”

“However, it could be said that at the moment of receiving aldnoah his feelings were different. It would mean you do not need to keep loyal forever to continue to have aldnoah, which is certainly a relevant find, but which I don’t doubt the mastermind has already figured out.”

“No, I meant further than that. That from the beginning, you do not need those feelings to receive it.” Inaho pauses to see if Slaine has something to say, but he only looks surprised, so Inaho continues. “Indeed, Saazbaum has a potential explanation, so let us come to my second sample: myself. When I received her blood—”

“Actually, how did you? Did you think to have an aldnoah granting ceremony before the fight as a backup measure?”

“I did not, in fact. I received her blood when I was practically unconscious. Asseylum came over to remove me from my Kataphrakt, and was shot from behind by Saazbaum.” Slaine winces, Inaho pretends he didn’t see. “Her blood flew into my mouth.”

“What are the odds…wait don’t—”

“Rhetorical question, yes, I understood it this time. I have never been loyal to Asseylum, nor was I ever in love with her. I saw her as a dear friend, nothing more. Moreover, I wasn’t in the state of mind to express any feeling at that time. And yet, I was granted aldnoah.”

“...Even if you did not see yourself loyal as a subject to their sire, you were loyal to her as a friend. And seeing her get shot in front of your very eyes would muster any feelings you were able to have at that state into horror and desire to protect her from death.”

“That seems like a forced conclusion, but we’ll go back to that. Now, it’s important to understand that once the UFE realized I had aldnoah due to ingesting her blood, experiments were done with what they could find of it.”

“I’m not surprised they’d stoop to that for a chance of acquiring it. But given that I was never met with an army of terrans using our— martian technology, this experiment must have ended in failure.”

"Precisely."

“But wouldn't that mean that fealty or love is a requirement?”

“I assumed as much… until I learned how you acquired it.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Surely you won’t tell me you were loyal or in love with her before she gave you CPR?”

“I wasn’t in love with—wait, that isn’t important right now. Ah, let me think… I might have thought she was pretty like a fairy before fainting but… indeed… I had no feelings for her yet…! But, I developed them later…”

“I’m sure you’ll agree that if you didn’t have them at that time, it wouldn’t make sense for it to lay dormant until you developed loyalty or love. After all, if it can wait for the correct emotions to be triggered, why not be canceled when those emotions are no longer there?”

“But, you yourself pointed out the UFE experiment failed!”

“Yes, and it has led me to one hypothesis. Slaine, are you aware of how one usually receives aldnoah directly from royalty? Is there a ceremony for it, for example?”

“There is, of course. The Count, ah, I mean, anyone receiving it becomes a Count, must swear his fealty in a public—”

“No, be more specific. What are the gestures, the rules, the detailed practices of it?”

“...A date is set for it. If there’s more than one person waiting for it they’ll have the ceremony together. It’s announced to the public and any family of higher standing in society must attend. It’s held in a large ballroom, with a throne set on top of some steps. The Count to receive it dresses in military gear, walks to the bottom of the steps and kneels. He will then proclaim words to demonstrate his fealty. Let’s see, Cruhteo’s was—”

“You can skip the words actually.”

“You’re the one who— fine , after he says his piece, the Emperor would stand up and slowly descend the steps until he is one step above the person. He would then receive a cup… no, wait… before that he’d lower his hand so that it’d be kissed by the person as further sign of fealty. Then he’d received a fancy cup and a fancy knife. He’d spill a bit of his blood in the cup and then allow the person to drink from it. After that—”

“Thank you, you’ve told me what I needed. Let’s go over two points then. Actually, three, I have a question: is the excerpt left by the former martians saying you need loyalty something that is widely divulged?”

“Yes, even I was told to know it by heart, despite being assured I would never have the right to receive it.”

“Very well. So next point: from what you narrated, it’s not as if a ceremony is set up and whosoever wishes to receive the power can participate. From what you’ve said, the person to go through is selected beforehand.”

“Yes. Aldnoah is not something to be foolishly spread. Anyone that receives it directly from the Emperor has to be in a role to use it in a great capacity. In other words, either someone willing to take military command, or some project for betterment of life on Mars. Therefore, the person must first make their desire for such a crucial role known, and then their worth is measured. Of course, worth just means who they’re related to, these days.” Slaine says it with a rueful smile, but then sobers up. “I think I see the point you’re trying to make with this. That loyalty is a requirement is the most well known knowledge. Therefore, anyone that isn’t assured of their own loyalty would never risk requesting aldnoah. Because if they did and then failed to receive it… they’d have set their own death sentences.”

“Indeed, the rule —and the consequences, should it be true—instills a psychological barrier that removes any undesirables from the pool of candidates. Anyone who requests it must truly believe they are loyal, at least for that moment in time.”

“But that isn’t all.”

“Yes. From the information gathered by the different failures and success, as well as what you’ve just outlined, I believe it’s possible to conclude the transfer of aldnoah has two requirements. One is blood, for a more permanent access. But before that, you must first—”

“Skin to skin contact,” Slaine says, almost catching up.

“Not quite, as that would mean anyone that has merily touched royalty would have at least the one time aldnoah access. I believe that specifically, it is the mouth to skin contact. Perhaps when in that contact, aldnoah particles are ingested via oratory or respiratory means.”

“If you love someone, you’ll likely kiss them, even if not in the mouth. And the most common form of swearing fealty is by kissing the hand…” Slaine considers out loud. “I received temporary access by being given CPR. You received it in full as you had done CPR on Asseylum and then ingested her blood. Anyone else simply trying to ingest her blood without the contact would fail. Heh, that makes perfect sense, which makes me wonder…”

“Hm?”

“Did the former civilization leave instructions in such a way as a means to protect whoever inherited the power to grant aldnoah? By masking it as loyalty and love and simply not an exchange that can be done by skin then blood, ensuring thus that people would hesitate to treat the heirs as people to respect and obey, rather than tools. Or… or are the instructions false?”

“You think the Emperor forged them?”

“He inherited it because he found aldnoah first. Perhaps, he found real instructions to aldnoah and had enough self preservation to fake… no, the whole expedition was filled with scientists, they’d have surely realized if the ancient text was not so.”

“Even if he knows the truth, I doubt he has told anyone, even Asseylum, how it truly operates.”

“...This has become both worse and better for Lemrina.”

“I understand it’d be worse since it means if anyone else comes to this conclusion, her quality of life as royalty will be in jeopardy, as one can simply lock her up somewhere and receive the power as they will. But how is it better?”

“It means it’ll be harder for someone to figure it out. If the Emperor is as sickly as you said, he’s vulnerable. All one needs is one doctor willing to hand over one frask of his blood for testing. But it’s harder for anyone to figure out they must… I’ll just call it kissing… kiss him first to initiate it.”

“So the nameless mastermind is someone you think has the power to plant a doctor by the Emperor’s side. Don’t look so worried, it’s not hard to assume the head of such an operation has that much power.”

“Fine, yes, that’s it.” Slaine clicks his tongue in annoyance. “The frustrating part is, this knowledge is all but useless. We cannot leverage this, as revealing the truth would put Lemrina at risk.”

“It’s too soon to say that. For example, we now know that Lemrina can grant aldnoah without needing the recipient to love or be loyal to her.”

“You already have permanent access, and I don’t foresee the one who gave it to you—even if by accident—attempting to take it away. I care for Lemrina, so this knowledge doesn’t change my chances. Rayet… seems to also have enough feelings for this not to matter. Harklight is likely loyal. Anyone else… would be a liability to give powers to without the conditions of love and loyalty.”

A fleeting thought comes to Inaho. However, it’s too abstract for him to quite grasp it yet. He’ll need to first think over all the new confirmed information before he can truly say if there is an usage for it or not.

“It’s also better to know the truth, even if you cannot find a use for it now. However, will you be telling others about this?”

Slaine ponders. “I think Lemrina has a right to know. She needs to understand how dangerous her standing truly is. As for Harklight, I will let Lemrina decide, and respect what she chooses. I advise leaving Rayet up to her, too.”

“That’s agreeable.”

“What about you?”

“I never involve my sister in these matters, and my friends also have no reason to be dragged into this knowledge for now. Mazuurek… no, I won’t be telling him unless there is an advantage in doing so.”

“What about her ?”

Inaho can’t help but raise an eyebrow. “I have absolutely no reason to do so.”

“You don’t think it’s important that she is aware of the danger?”

“Do you?” Inaho winces the moment he realizes he asked out loud.

“...You are, or were, much closer to her than I ever was—”

I wouldn’t have murdered an entire planet for her sake.

“And you have the option to meet her, I don’t—”

I am most certainly never asking if you do want to meet her. I won’t let you, even if you say you do.

“—so obviously it’s your choice.”

“She isn’t as sharp as Lemrina. There is nothing positive she could do with the information, but many problematic alternatives she could do with it. There is no doubt, that for both Lemrina and Asseylum’s sake, Asseylum should be kept in the dark for now.”

“...I see. Anyway, I think this is enough thinking for today.”

“I'm not unwell—”

Slaine mouths ‘sister Yuki’.

“Fine,” Inaho says in defeat, standing up. Before he can leave, however, he remembers he had something to hand Slaine. “Oh, I brought this. I can bring more material if it becomes something of interest to you.” He takes the booklet out of his bag and passes it over.

Slaine glances at the title. “ ‘Let’s Learn about the HyberGate Restoration effort ’... followed by two exclamation marks…”

“Rayet gave this to me.”

Slaine looks vaguely relieved. “Oh, that explains why you handed me something so… childish. So, you didn’t want to read it, so you fostered it to me?”

Inaho shrugs. “I haven’t had the time—”

“A transcript of how many words you say in five minutes would be longer than this booklet.”

Inaho ignores the jab. “It’s not a subject I’ve ever delved into. If you find it interesting enough and wish to pursue more in-depth material—”

“You mean, if I want something more age appropriate.”

“—perhaps I’ll also look over the topic.”

Slaine sighs, looks over the booklet cover again, then shrugs. “Fine. Thank you. I suppose there’s no harm. And it might just be a topic I can read about without needing to hide. I’m obviously not going to figure out what’s wrong with it, and should I ever escape and attempt to destroy it out of spite…” he snorts, “the UFE might just pardon me for it.”

“Alright, maybe I could use a book about the gate…”

“So it is a subject of interest.”

“I wouldn’t say so. It’s just that that booklet was so bare bones and childish on any details it left me frustrated.”

Inaho smiles but says nothing else. Slaine’s requests were mostly comprised of pictures of the outside, animals and nature. Perhaps it’s simply that anything involving mechanical information is a dangerous ground to treat, but nonetheless, it’s nice to see him expanding his interests.

He glances at the piece of paper. He doesn’t recognize the handwriting, there is no proof the claim is legitimate. And yet…

He glances at her. “And you… can’t tell me who this is?”

He watches her shift nervously, but still she refuses. “I’m sorry, I promised, sir. But… but I trust them.”

He considers where she had been. And who she is acquainted with.

No, this doesn’t like the sort of thing he would have done…

Nonetheless, even if the writer is a mystery, the information described on the paper is logical and fits the situation. Too much so.

He has a tendency to trust his gut, and it hasn’t failed him yet. He just needs to think of ways to act while seemingly innocuous.

Now, how do I time this? I should avoid implicating either of them , since I’m sure if this is true they’ll assume one of them was my source of information.

He pauses for a moment, considering again if he could possibly be the source, but quickly discards the notion.

So, I need to wait until he’s away, then make contact with… hm, but what shall I say...

“I think Harklight has mellowed out towards you.”

“Is that so? It’s hard to read him.”

Slaine laughs. “Really? He’s much easier to read than you. But yes, he definitely sees you in a better light these days. Probably thanks to sister Yuki.”

“I have noticed both seem to have taken an interest in cooking. I hope she shows signs of improving soon.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that, her cooking is fine!”

“You say that because you aren’t the target.”

“Ha, that’s where you’re mistaken. Half of what she’s making for you, she’s bringing to me.”

“... My sincere apologies, I assure you I did not approve this torture method.”

“Hey!”

“Why is Nao so mean to me?” Yuki sniffles.

“No idea, your cooking is great,” Slaine says, eating his third cake piece. Yuki beams.

“I’m so glad I have you and Harklight to taste it. I suppose it’s a younger brother thing. I should be thankful he hasn’t acted out in puberty like most boys would.”

By now used to the way Yuki switches from talking like an older sister to like a mother, Slaine simply makes comforting noises.

“But he isn’t like that with you, right? He treats you well?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, absolutely.”

“Good, good. In fact, I think you’re the one he treats best of everyone he knows, Slaine.”

Probably because I’m the only one he sent to prison then regretted it.

“Hmm.”

“You know… Slaine…”

Yuki doesn’t have a manipulative or subtle bone in her body. She’s practically telegraphing she’s about to try and widdle something from Slaine.

“Go on, you can ask me anything.” She isn’t like her brother, it should be safe to say that to—

“Has he ever talked about crushes with you?”

Or maybe not.

“Cru—you mean romantic interests?”

“Yes, has he?”

“We’ve… mentioned girls in our conversations but never in that sort of… capacity, and I never noticed his having any special interest in any of them.” Well, he had certainly been told repeatedly Inaho was never in love with Her Highness. Likely because they feared he’d react to it.

“What about boys?”

“...Boys?”

Actually… given the variety of types of girls always hovering around Inaho, from a naive princess, to battle ready assassins, it would explain why Inaho had not yet fallen for one.

“You… think he likes boys, sister Yuki?”

Yuki smiles and taps her nose. “My Nao senses are tingling.”

Slaine has heard enough to know her Nao senses are the furthest thing from reliable.

Regardless, it’s not as if he has something against it. Martian society was certainly much more lax in that regard than terran one, if only due to the significant ratio between women and men.

So why did his heart just race?

“Slaine, may I ask something that may be inappropriate?”

“Is it about boys?”

“...What?” Inaho actually drops the piece he was moving.

“Sorry! Just… got confused with a conversation I had recently. To answer your question, it depends. Ask and I’ll decide if I’ll answer.”

“...When and how did you get those scars? Precisely?”

“Why?”

“If I know how old they are, and the cause, I may be able to find the appropriate treatment for them.”

“...Leave them be Inaho, you’ve seen their state, you’re not going to make them go away.”

“But perhaps decreasing their size and inflammation might help alleviate—”

“Leave it.”

“I understand. So… what were you referring to, when you said boys?”

“Your sister was trying to find out if you’d told me about anyone you like.”

“By ‘like’ I assume you mean anyone I may have a romantic interest towards.” Inaho sighs and closes his eyes momentarily. “Yes, that does sound like something Yuki would pry into.”

“Right, when I said you never sounded in love with any of the girls we talk about she… mentioned boys?”

“...”

“I heard terran society is complicated, but martian society is very open about this sort of thing. It’s why our plan on your fake feelings might work.”

“I don't see the objective of this line of questioning. I’ll tell Yuki to cease with the questions. If I had anything I wished to report to her, I’d have done so directly.”

“Right. I just mean. Regardless of gender, I’m here locked up away from most people you know. If you need someone to pour your heart to. I’m good at keeping secrets, I won’t even tell sister Yuki.”

“How… reassuring. But I sincerely do not have any feelings that I wish to, as you put it, pour my heart out about.”

Slaine leans forward to try and pat Inaho in the back. Realizing he can’t quite reach over the table, he settles for patting his shoulder awkwardly.

Inaho has a suspicion that is far too probable. However…

Considering the rate of success, he’ll corner Rayet first, before confronting his sister. Since this time Slaine will be leaving along with him, there is no danger of her saying something in his absence.

“Change of plans, they’ve pushed forward the departure date.” Inaho says.

“How soon? Oh,” Slaine notices the equipment Inaho and Harklight are carrying in. “This soon, then.”

Harklight takes out a wig from a box without bothering to hide his distaste.

“It seems they’ve been able to move more than they’d hoped to the correct location. That and there are fears taking too long may get the operation discovered. They believe after the report on your behavior last time, you can be trusted to behave aboard the Deucalion for a while longer than before.”

“With the collar on, naturally.”

“Naturally.”

Harklight’s face darkens. “This will mean you’ll be in danger for longer.”

Slaine shrugs and tries to give him a reassuring smile. “They’re not going through all this effort just to press that button easily, Harklight, so don’t be worried. Besides, I’d like to think of the positive side of this.”

“Which is?” Harklight and Inaho manage to ask in unison.

Slaine gives them a bright smile. “I am finally boarding the Deucalion.”

Which, truly, was something he was looking forward to.

All those years of war had turned Inaho into a figure to focus his hatred on, but now he’d become a regular person.

But the Deucalion… even now it still held a place of mysticism in Slaine’s heart.

He’d tried to board it after Asseylum and had been shot down. Which had brought Cruhteo’s ire on him, which then led him to Saazbaum.

It was the Deucalion that kept Her Highness safe after her murder attempt, and it was also the Deucalion that thwarted his plans again and again, up to the very end.

Whole Landing castles had fallen, along with the most advanced of martian technology, but the Deucalion withstood it all and even today remained operational.

Of course, he knew there was little wonder to be found inside. Most of its glory was due to its aldnoah drive, giving it a leverage no other terran tech had, and its crew taking orders from Inaho.

Still, there was something meaningful about soon boarding it. Moreso at the irony of Inaho being forced to let him board now, when he hadn’t back then.

No, perhaps he wants it to be a disappointing experience. To bury another meaningful part of the war years in the mundane.

The journey is unpleasant, but Slaine doesn’t complain.

He certainly makes jabs at his disguise, but makes sure to have no reaction when the collar is put on. He doesn’t want Harklight more upset than he already is, nor for Inaho to become so.

It’s not as if the collar is any different than his time with Cruhteo, in a way. He could have been killed at any second, and only Cruhteo’s insistence in trying to please Asseylum had kept his head attached, even if that had not stopped the abuse. The collar is but a visual reminder of what Slaine has been used to for most of his life: a false move and he’s done.

The journey is vastly different from the last one. This time they put him in a small crate. Inaho almost tried to complain, but Slaine jumped inside before he could even try. Inaho should know better than to complain over something that would never be changed.

And so his journey was as forgettable as it was uncomfortable. Hours upon hours locked alone inside a small crate.

Still, the last leg of it turned out to be worth every minute: they opened the crate and put him in a small boat. Certainly, it was nighttime and he couldn’t really see around him, but the scent and sound of the sea, as well as the wind in his face, were enough. He’d have liked to reach and touch the water, but knew better than to move in a suspicious way in front of the guards.

There is the fewest possible illumination on the pier and runway, and even then, the guards practically march him inside without pause.

That is fine, Slaine had the outside of the Deucalion memorized long ago and does not need to linger on it now to know what it looks like.

“... What .”

It’s an uncouth reaction, but it’s all Klancain can muster.

The underling that brought him the news is visibility cowering. “S-Sir, I said—”

Klancain lifts a finger to shut him up, even as his other hand reaches to massage in between his brows. “I heard you quite clearly the first time.” And he cannot handle hearing the report even once more.

“W-We can...” The man visibly gulps, “we can surely track their trajectory—”

“No need,” Klancain snaps, “I know exactly where they’re headed.”

“Do you wish to attempt communications, sir?”

“I have an inkling it won’t go through. Dismissed ."

The door barely closes shut and Klancain is already collapsing on a chair.

Mazuurek, what have you done?

Given the current time, and how long it must have taken to realize the situation and report to him… there was nothing he could do to stop the incoming… collision.

Inaho Kaizuka, Slaine Troyard, there is little I can do on my end this time. If you can escape this with Troyard intact, I will do my part but… first you’ll have to get through this.

Inaho wishes he had the analytical machine to once again make up for his own lack of ability in analyzing body posture.

He couldn’t speak to Slaine during the ground transportation, nor could he risk much in the boat with the guards less than a meter away and constantly keeping watch.

Slaine seems to have taken the journey well; he’s not pale or shaking, but Inaho wishes he could be certain of it already.

Analyzing it logically, the chances that he is truly fine are high. As a pilot, claustrophobia is not an issue for him. He has no history of fearing the dark, so it wasn’t traumatic. And he has a love for the ocean, so that part must have lifted his spirits.

They’re marched through the back and into empty corridors.

Pointless, the crew will see Slaine soon enough.

They’re nearing the main war room when the ground suddenly lurches. The certain sign that the Deucalion has now taken off.

Inaho watches in amusement as the two guards lose their footing and stumble, grabbing at the walls, while he and Slaine keep their balance easily.

Slaine glances at him, smiles and winks before going back to a blank expression just as the guards manage to regain their footing.

So he is fine, good. It would, however, be better for his feelings if Slaine never winked at him again.

They knock on the war room door and a brusque voice tells them to come in.

“Ah, and here’s the star of the show! Welcome back, Arne Gunhild,” Captain Abbott stands behind the desk, face not showing any of the welcome his words may have implied.

He turns to the guards before either Inaho or Slaine have a chance to reply. “You two had your work cut out for you—”

Hardly.

“Why don’t you two go and rest for now? I kept this boy in line last time, and we’ll have a nice little talk to make sure he does the same again.”

The two guards don’t hesitate to take the offer and leave.

Abbott then turns to Inaho. “You’re free to go rest too.”

“I’m fine staying here.”

The general rolls his eyes. “Of course you are. You look like someone comfortable with a stick up your ass.”

Slaine’s impassive expression breaks as he tries to hold in his snort of laughter and fails.

“Well, I suppose you might as well stay a bit, I do have some information you’re going to need to hear. So, it looks like with each passing day, the UFE assumes you’re dumber and dumber, Troyard. Did they honestly think you’d risk fleeing before entering the UFE’s one and only victory weapon? This rushed take off is ridiculous. Well, anyway, do you two want the bad or the good news first?”

“Captain, we’re receiving a signal.”

“What?”

Captain Magbaredge quickly goes to the panel to view the signal herself, wary.

Certainly, the Deucalion’s location is not a secret, but they had chosen a route with as little to no air traffic as possible. And this location that they’d decided on to pick up Slaine, specifically, had to be deserted.

And yet, now they were picking up a large object coming up fast in their direction.

What could possibly fly towards us without previous clearance from the UFE?

“Captain, they’re sending a message.”

“Show me,” Magbaredge demands, though she feels a little better with that. If the incoming ship is attempting contact first, then this may not be an assault. Nonetheless, given Slaine is now part of their cargo…

She reads the transmission, her eyes going wide, along with the rest of the crew that hears it.

“We can’t!” Mizusaki bursts out.

“Refusal would be too suspicious,” Magbaredge states grimly.

Is this a coincidence? Doubtful. But it can’t be one of Kaizuka Junior’s plots…

“...Allow it. We have no other recourse. However,” she raises her voice to make sure her orders are clear. “Do not report this yet.”

“Captain?”

“You heard me. This information does not leave the Deucalion. Do not panic, I don’t plan to hide this for long. Let us simply wait until they board and make contact. We’ll hear what they have to say personally before informing the UFE. Understood? ”

Satisfied by the various shouts of yes ma’am she receives as a reply, Magbaredge turns back to look at the screen, feeling the start of a headache coming.

This is as far as I can do for you. I've bought you all the time I can afford to give you, but the rest will depend on you, Junior.

“I think the time wasted asking us which we prefer is—”

“Good news first,” Slaine interrupts the incoming monologue, before Abbott can lose his patience.

“Smart boy. So, I assume you’ve been at least told the gist of this new, wonderful , operation?”

“We are to be taken to an abandoned site that, as we speak, is being supplied with weapons and people. From there we will attack another Count.”

“I doubt that’s all Kaizuka told you, but I don’t give a damn. Yes, that is basically it. So, the thing is, The UFE Council can’t exactly go around telling everyone that works for them about their cowardly plans. So, we do have a reduced crew we can trust. Now, the vast majority of that trusty crew is busy preparing the base of operations as fast as they can without being discovered. Which brings me to the good news for you, Slaine Troyard. Less eyes trailing behind you, because the few people we’ve got in the Deucalion have their own shit to do.”

Slaine doesn't bother to feel happy. “I can't imagine being trusted to freely run around the Deucalion.”

“Precisely. And that, my boy, brings us to the bad news. While you won’t be stalked as much, any room that may be even remotely valuable will either remain manned or locked at all times. I know giving you the map sounds like idiocy, but I want you to familiarize yourself with the layout as soon as possible and… and I cannot stress this enough… stay the fuck away from the central control room . If you so much as sneeze near the outside of the aldnoah drive room while alone, my fingers might accidently press the switch on your collar. Stick to the common areas. Hell, feel free to go to the roof and enjoy the sky for all I care. But stay away from that drive .”

“Yes, sir, I wasn’t planning on doing anything, sir.”

“Like your word could possibly be enough to make this okay. This whole situation feels like a suicide mission. Put the one guy with every reason to enact suicidal vengeance on us inside the UFE’s prized treasure and main defense again martians. As if that wasn’t risky enough, make sure to keep Inaho Kaizuka within strangling length at all times— which is a problem because he is still a useful strategist, of course.”

Slaine blinks, noticing the slight hesitation, followed by a faster pace of speaking. As if Abott had just said something and regretted doing so.

Why…? Ah, he realized I might not be aware Inaho is the one that is powering the aldnoah drive .

“My point is, although you will deal with fewer interactions on your day to day, you and your keeper over here must make sure to avoid any and all critical areas of the Deucalion at all times. Understood? You look like you think this is a debate club, Kaizuka, and that now it’s your turn. I'm not asking for your opinion, I’m asking if you understand the rules which you will follow as long as we’re here.”

“...I understand.”

“Good, Slaine?”

“I understand, sir.”

“Smart boy.” He sighs and moves from behind the table to pat Slaine’s shoulders, voice softening. “It’s a pity I can’t really like seeing your face, given the circumstances which we meet, you’d make a good soldier. Now,” his voice sharpens again as he looks at Inaho.

Inaho is unbothered by the different treatment. If anything, he is glad the General is even slightly on Slaine’s side, even if he seems to dislike Inaho himself.

“You haven’t talked to the Captain yet, go greet her properly. You can come back to escort Slaine to his chambers after you’ve done so.”

“I can greet her later.”

“And drag along Slaine to the control bridge? One of the critical places I just warned you about? No, you’ll do so now, since I want to have a private chat with him. What are you hesitating for? If I wanted to hit him I’d do it in front of you. Out .”

Slaine wonders if Inaho is still standing there because of what happened with Miers. Abbott, however, clearly has no such intentions. He turns to Inaho and tries to give him the subtlest of nods. Thankfully Inaho seems to understand, and proceeds to leave.

“I’ll be back soon,” he says as a parting shot.

Abbott snorts and crosses his arms. “As protective as always, maybe more so, I heard there was an incident?”

“...There was, sir.”

“Hm, yeah, they told me you thankfully saw the light and realized escaping was not in your best interest.”

“Exactly, sir.”

“Bullshit, I think you stayed behind because Kaizuka was injured. Oh, don’t fret. Let me be honest with you here, the only reason I agreed to this lunacy of a plan is the relationship you two have. You see—”

Behind him, Slaine hears the sound of the door opening. Abbott straightens up and turns to it, irate.

“Who the fuck dares to—”

He cuts himself with a strange choking noise, eyes almost comically wide.

Before Slaine’s curiosity is enough to break his military training and have him turn around, someone answers, and his vision blurs .

“Oh, am I interrupting? I’m so sorry! I was looking for Inaho…”

Slaine can hear the rush of blood in his veins even as he starts to have trouble breathing.

No matter how much time has passed, he can still recognize Asseylum’s voice.

Notes:

-THE NEXT CHAPTER IS DONE: don’t panic worrying how long it’ll take me to get you guys out of this cliffhanger. AThe next chapter is done, all it needs is revisions and beating and will be posted in at most a month from now. This chapter actually took longer to come out because I wanted to guarantee I would not go on hiatus yet again after this cliffhanger. I know I have been awful to you guys, but even I wouldnt go so low with you. Also I waited 3 days to post this one because I thought the cliffhanger deserved a friday the 13th posting date-If how Asseylum came to be there, as well as certain scenes, are not clear. Fear not, they will be properly explained next chapter-However, if why Klancain and even Magbaredge are so worried isn’t clear… while this will also be expanded upon next chapter I will leave this for now: do you think the UFE wants the risk of a live Slaine so near Asseylum?-And with this comes my interpretation of how aldnoah has to work, for what happened in the series to not be a plothole.-Thank you to people who continue to read and even leave comments despite how long I’ve been taking. You guys are the reason I keep trying to come back.

#aldnoah.zero #aldnoah zero #orangebat #inasure #slaine troyard #inaho kaizuka #az fic: in carcere #my fic

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fabelyn · 4 years

Text

In Carcere Ch.40

Pairing: inahoxslaine (orangebat, inasure)

Rated: T Warnings: spoilers for series finale Chapter: 40/? (previous chapter) Chapter Word Count: 13k

Summary: At first Inaho visits out of duty and humanity. And then he finds he can’t stop going back to see Slaine Troyard.

“I’m sorry to say, I can’t reveal who our leader is yet,” Lemrina says the minute she can find some time alone with Inaho. “He actually requested it from me after meeting with Slaine. He says he’d like to talk to you without prior knowledge coloring the discussion.”

Meaning he wants to ensure I don’t have time to prepare or plan based on his identity. At least I know it’s a male, though that was hardly unexpected considering the male gender predominance in high Martian ranks.

“And while normally I would assume your lack of expression might help…”

“You don’t want to risk the breach of trust it would be if I accidentally reveal I knew in some way. I understand. I assume he revealed his motivation and plans to Slaine?”

“They didn’t have time to go over details of the current plan, but yes, he told Slaine why he’s doing all this and some other relevant information I can’t reveal.”

“And Slaine’s verdict?”

“Agrees the words made sense, and the emotion demonstrated seemed real, so Slaine ‘trusts him as far as he can shoot him’.”

Inaho nods. “So he has decided to believe this man but hasn’t been blindly led and is keeping a healthy skepticism. Good, in between you two choosing to follow him, I assume I will have the same opinion, unless I’m privy to information you both were not.”

Lemrina is pleased enough with the mild compliment, as Kaizuka acknowledging anyone else’s intellect is certainly one, and tries to be gentle. “I’m sure it all means he should be coming to you soon.”

“That depends, did he also ask Slaine not to tell me?”

“Hm, I don’t know actually.”

“If he asked the same of Slaine, it means he won’t be coming anytime soon.” Which is a nuisance; the faster I can discuss this with Slaine, the better.

“Maybe that will be for the best, I heard the medical staff say you’re making quite a bit of progress, but that doesn’t mean you’d be fully mentally ready for him soon.”

“Certainly. And did Slaine go forth with our plan?”

“You mean, that pathetic excuse of an idea, where you pretend to only be pretending to love him?” Lemrina hisses.

“Did you not once pretend to only be pretending to be in love with him as Asseylum?”

Lemrina gasps as if he’d physically slapped her. “That… was different . And much more toned down. And… and besides if you really think it’s the same situation, all the more reason for you to accept my opinion on the subject as the correct one.”

With that, she pushes her wheelchair out of the room.

Inaho is hardly concerned; Lemrina is hardly one to be fine with prolonged solitude. And his observation was perfectly logical, she will admit it herself soon if never out loud to him. She will be back.

And she certainly was.

“I think it’s time to tell you one more thing.”

You mean you forgot to do so yesterday when you left in exaggerated displeasure. “Yes?”

She recounts the Emperor’s situation as well as Slaine’s fears.

Inaho considers it. “This is something I should examine further when I’m fully recovered. But for now I agree with Slaine’s interest in this. How both the UFE and Vers treat you and Asseylum will change according to this knowledge. But, we have an edge over both.”

“Rayet’s attempt,” Lemrina says. “I asked her before coming over. She told me she tried strangling Asseylum to the point where she required CPR to be revived.”

Inaho nods. “Correct, and at that time, Asseylum was the one that had directly activated the Deucalion, and it stopped functioning, confirming her momentary death.”

“By then, Slaine had already received aldnoah from her by way of CPR—what?” Lemrina stops, noticing the rare sight of Inaho’s lips quivering upwards for a moment.

“Nothing, the coincidence amuses me.”

“I hope you’re not thinking this is a case of indirect kissing?” Lemrina asks in disgust.

“No. I never understood the logic behind attaching the sentimentality of a kiss to the action of sharing a surface at different—”

“No need to go further, I’m satisfied. What’s important is that Slaine retained his aldnoah access even after her momentary death.” She sighs. “If only all of the Deucalion crew hadn’t witnessed that death and subsequent system failure. It will be easy for either faction to get their hands on that information.”

Inaho shrugs. “Even if they do, it’s of little consequence unless the knowledge that Slaine piloted the Tharsis thanks to Asseylum is also information they can procure.”

Lemrina considers it. “It’s hard to say for certain, but I think not. He first used it when he was with Count Saazbaum.”

“During a fight between planets, where all eyes were elsewhere, and Slaine didn’t use the Tharsis to interfere in a way that would have gotten him noticed before he took off with Asseylum in tow. At which point one could assume that he drank her blood and only after was able to use the Tharsis to leave.”

“Count Saazbaum was aware of my existence, so one could assume if Saazbaum didn’t pass his aldnoah access to Slaine, I might have. They'd have to go as far as know Slaine only met me after using the Tharsis.”

“Although that only works for people that are aware of your existence. Meaning, assuming that you and Slaine met before his using the Tharsis is something that may only dissuade your leader from looking for— wait.” Inaho considers it further. “Slaine could have operated the Tharsis without the aldnoah drive, if Count Saazbaum had allowed it, unless he made a show of being able to operate it fully when he reached martians with Asseylum?”

Lemrina shakes her head. “No, initially there was an uproar as they focused on saving her life. Count Sauzbaum took over and simply acted as if her rescue was his plan and Slaine a mere follower of his. After that, they focused on silently keeping her coma a secret and pretending I was her, partially recovered. There was no interest from martians to getting to know Slaine, much less the extent of what he could do with the Tharsis.”

Inaho’s head begins to feel uncomfortable. Although he can still plough on further, he’d rather not do any damage that might show up on test results. “This is as far as I can go for now,” he says, pointing to his eye. “But I can still say at least this until I’m able to reflect further: I don’t think we are at the risk of either martians or terrans finding out the truth. One would have to have an intricate knowledge of Slaine's abilities with the Tharsis, a timeline, as well be aware the Deucalion shut down mid flight once. We never divulged to every crew that it was due to Asseylum nearly being murdered. I don’t see it happening. Besides—”

“Really, if it’s hurting you, you can stop and retake this another time!”

“This much I can handle. It’s one last thing. If your leader was on the path of closing in on the truth, he’d have to ask you, Slaine or Harklight for details on Slaine and the Tharsis. So long as neither of you ever divulged anything to him, only we know about this.”

“He never asked. So we know something neither the UFE or he does. I wonder if we can use that to our favor? Ah, but don’t think about that now!”

It is frustrating that he can’t reflect on it now. Even more so when Inaho acknowledges there are many things he could have already thought through if he’d been invested in it since the start.

There’s no point in regret now.

“ Ha! I win again. Told you that the second match was a fluke. There’s no way I’d lose to someone who… who…”

Rayet realizes too late that making fun of Slaine for being incarcerated and thus not being allowed to work out properly really isn’t a good look.

“I mean, of course I wouldn’t lose every match, but it’s actually really impressive you bet me in arm wrestle at all! You should be proud!”

Slaine bursts out laughing. “You are even worse at giving compliments than Inaho. It’s fine, really. It is the truth. I’ve been tying some stuff together and lifting those but the results are slow.”

Rayet relaxes; Slaine laughing without a biting edge to it is rare and a good sign. “I used to think anyone could pilot if they had the coordination for it. It took me a while to realize you do need strength to keep your stamina at the controls for long. Nina and Inko always complain about feeling bruised after too long.”

“Did you visit them before coming back? How are they?”

“In good spirits. Which is something, after being forced to work like that for the UFE.”

“Can’t they simply quit?”

“Not everyone can walk away that easily. They let me go at first because they thought I was touched in the head. Inaho, they assumed broken, plus I guess since he was only leaving to take up, well, you, I guess that worked out just fine. The old geezers aboard the Deucalion… I think they refuse to leave because they know the UFE is simply going to shove someone else in their place, so they might as well stay aboard to protect the Deucalion.

“And the rest… I guess they could ask to leave but… and go where? I guess this is my own fault because I keep complaining, and also because you only saw them when the UFE started doing shit. But the Deucalion itself… It feels like home. And safe. If there was a way to leave the UFE without sacrificing the Deucalion, who knows.”

“... Speaking of the Deucalion. Rayet?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you tell me about that time you once mentioned, when you tried to strangle Her Majesty?”

Rayet leans back on her chair, now worried again. “...Why?” Inaho had been very emphatic about not trying to pry the topic of Asseylum out of Slaine in his absence. The possibility of Slaine himself bringing it up hadn’t factored in. Especially not with this sort of request.

Then it hits her. “Oh, wait. Is this about the aldnoah thing? Lemrina asked about the same thing. Yeah, I tried killing her, she fainted, Deucalion went down, she was revived.”

“Yes. But I’d like the details, please.”

Not that Slaine truly needs the details, but it’s clear Rayet is treating him like some invalid that cannot handle even that, and it’s grating on his nerves to not be able to show he is not as unstable as he had been. “I think they might be important.” he lies. “And it’s fine, you won’t upset me.”

Rayet considers it, then shrugs. She can blame Slaine if Inaho complains later. “Alright then. My memory is a little foggy because I wasn’t in my right mind but uh… I was in the shower, reflecting on, well, watching my family be killed before my eyes.”

Slaine blinks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine. You couldn’t have known. Anyway, in comes Asseylum chatting happily to her maid about how everyone is so nice to her and I just… broke? I know how ridiculous it sounds when I tell anyone. Hell, even back then I knew I wasn’t okay doing it. Anyway, the motivation was stupid so we can skip that—”

“You can skip it if that’s what you want. But as for stupid motivation to commit crimes, I certainly cannot judge you, if you wan’t to talk about it,” Slaine says with a mirthless smile.

“...I blamed her. But it wasn’t like my anger now. Now I can see her actively failing and harming people, so it feels like it’s okay to feel this way. But back then… I blamed her for things that weren’t really her fault. I mean, everything happened because she was so naive, but there’s a limit to what I can blame her for that. My family was tasked with murdering her with false promises of glory. Then they were betrayed and killed instead. We had lived a life of lies until then, not being allowed to reveal where we came from, even.

“I thought… if she hadn’t come to Earth, none of it would have happened. And then, despite the destruction that her arrival inadvertently caused, she went around skipping through the corridors of the Deucalion like she was out on a fun vacation. No one even blamed her for it! It was too much. My family was dead and she didn’t even look upset . I wanted her to stop smiling. ”

Rayet’s hands are balled into fists on the table. Slaine reaches out to place his hands over hers.

How different from the me of back then . Cruhteo would whip him, tell him he was worthless, the rest would at best ignore him, at worst steal his food and beat him up. Every day he had to walk in tiptoes, no mistake was ever too small to not get ruthlessly punished for.

And then there was her, smiling brightly and talking about seeing birds and water, unaware of his treatment.

He had loved that. He could bask in her obliviousness and for a while pretend nothing was wrong, nothing was happening to him. He had needed that small amount of joy to get through the day.

...But would he have ever suffered that much if she had known and done something to stop it?

No, don’t do that. Don’t blame her for the things you never told her about.

“What then?” He asks, hoping to pull them both away from a spiral by focusing elsewhere.

It works, and Rayet focuses. Her hands relax again, so Slaine takes his back. “So then the maid left to do… whatever, I don’t remember. I wasn’t in my right mind, like I was acting on autopilot. I went to where she was showering, and grabbed... the nearest object I could to choke her.”

“You choked her with a towel?” It would have been easier to use her bare hands.

“No, I don’t remember what that object was.”

“I deal with Inaho constantly. Don’t try to lie to me.”

“... It was that pendant.”

Slaine lets out a sound that is between incredulous laughter and choking.

“I really only brought her more misery, didn’t I?”

“Slaine—”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have given it to Inaho. I guess it brings bad luck.”

That he switched so fast from focusing on Asseylum to worrying about Inaho makes Rayet excited enough to speak without thinking. “He’d have taken it anyway.”

“What?”

“... Because… Because he doesn’t believe in that stuff, you know.”

“Ah, right. So, you used my pendant.”

“Right. She eventually stopped struggling and fainted so I let her fall to the floor. I just...stood there not really thinking. But then the Deucalion lurched, fell and stopped moving. Then Inaho and the maid came back.”

“He likely realized what the Deucalion losing power meant.”

“I guess. And then more people came, they brought in a defibrillator. Inaho personally administered CPR…”

There is a fleeting expression on Slaine’s face, that goes away too quickly for her to make out.

“She woke up again, but the Deucalion didn’t start up.”

“Yes, once turned off, aldnoah needs to be personally activated again.”

“Right. And… that was it. So, Lemrina said this all means even if the former Emperor does die, martians will keep their power?”

“...Yes.”

Rayet clicks her tongue in annoyance. “There really is no easy way to get rid of their power.”

I wonder. “Please don’t tell anyone. No one knows as much as we do.”

“Don’t worry. The only person I’m inclined to tell is Inaho, and I know Lemrina is going to fill him in. As for why knowing is so useful, I’ll leave you scheming people to it. Now, one more game before I leave?”

“Since Inaho isn’t around, how about poker?”

“Sure, but don’t invite that Harklight. He looks like he can keep a straight face a little too well.”

Slaine does, later on, invite Harklight for a game of poker.

Rayet was right; he does have a good poker face.

“That’s it,” Slaine says after the third loss in a row. “You are playing against Inaho when he comes back.”

“I fear I’m not quite that good.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”

“Don’t be silly, I know how packed your schedule is.”

Packed mostly with useless fluff. Still, it is necessary to establish a routine of continuous movement and meetings, so as to mask any suspicious activities.

Mazuurek, leading the way to a private room, continues the mindless chatter. “I’m surprised you came so early, in fact. I hope I haven’t interrupted any important meetings, I really have nothing urgent to say, I just miss personal company sometimes.”

“On the contrary,” Klancain replies. “I happened to have an opening.” True, as dropping a meeting to randomly visit Mazuurek might seem suspicious. “So it was simply luck that I could come over so soon.”

Instead of answering, Mazuurek stops in front of a door and opens it for Klancain to walk inside.

It’s one of Mazuurek’s favorite guest rooms, and Klancain is casual enough with Mazuurek to sit himself down on a couch.

“This room is safe, I always check,” Mazuurek assured him, sitting down on the opposite side.

“Is somewhere in your Landing Castle not safe right now?”

“Not that I’m aware. But, well, I thought it might be prudent to be careful.”

“Oh yes. Pardon me, I didn’t mean to come off as judging you, my friend. It is indeed better to be safe than sorry in these troubled times. It’s just that, if you had a more concrete belief on being spied upon, I could try and help.”

Before Mazuurek can answer, there is a knock on the door and a servant comes in bringing food, glasses and a bottle to set the low table between the two Counts.

“That was different,” Klancain comments mildly when they’re alone again. “Usually I see that former maid of Her Majesty’s.”

Mazuurek smiles as he grabs a pastry. “She had been granted some vacation time off. I made some calculations and realized she had accrued two months of vacation she had never bothered to request. Hungry?”

“Not really, thank you, but I’ll accept a drink. And that was nice of you.”

“Not that nice, according to her. She certainly acted like I was kicking her out, not rewarding her with some time to rest.” Mazuurek sighs. “I used to allow them to do as they wish with their vacation, but I’ve noticed my martian underlings all refuse to take time off, so I decided to set her as an example. Really, I do understand that in between needing to build up Vers to become hospitable and then getting ready for war, we hardly ever had time for such things. But now that we’re here, I want to increase Labor Rights so my workers have a better life. Even if it takes a while for it to sink in.”

“A commendable idea. I should reinforce that in my own Landing Castle. Oh!” Klancain had been examining the drink bottle and finally noticed the label on it. “This is new, and from your territory, no less. What’s this, Mazuurek?”

Mazuurek looks half apologetic. “I’m sorry, but I was hoping to hear your opinion on it? It’s something that has been around for a while here, but recently I thought of perhaps increasing production and trying to export to other territories. It might help the economy.”

“I’ll gladly be your test group. Let’s see…” He tries taking a sip. “Very good. I can definitely see this succeeding as an export.”

“I hope you aren’t saying that just to please me.”

“I wouldn't jeopardize your economic endeavors by lying about their success rate. But tell me, has something happened? I thought you were doing fine.”

“Fine is good, certainly, but I want more than that. Perhaps with a surplus of income I could expand and help more people. Not to mention… who knows how things will be in the future, considering the current situation.”

Ah, here we go .

Mazuurek waits, but when he sees Klancain has no plans to say anything, he continues, now serious.

“The UFE murdered Count Mikael.”

“...Yes.”

“And you knew about it.”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you…”

“Do anything?” Klancain downs the rest of his glass in one motion, then looks at Mazuurek with sincere despondency. “Because there was nothing I could do. If I had sufficient sway, I would never had allowed the UFE to not only murder one of our own, but to go further and do it in a way to create strife between our people. Yes, I knew about it; but that is the extent of what I can do. The terrans that compose the UFE Council did not arrive there by easily listening to martians.

“...You could have told me.”

“Did Kaizuka tell you?”

“I... thought we were closer than Kaizuka and I,” Mazuurek says, and colors lightly, likely from frustration.

Klancain flinches; he’s gone too far. “I apologize, my friend. The subject is a complicated one for me. If you’re upset with me for not having done anything, rest assured I am even more so. I didn’t tell you because I saw no point in burdening you with it.”

“But I could have done something!”

“Do you truly think so? What would you have done, then? Revealed what the UFE was planning, thus restarting another planetary conflict and resulting in more bloodshed?”

“... I…”

“If Kaizuka also chose to keep this from you, then it’s because even he realized there was nothing you could do. But please, don’t take that as you are lacking. If it is a failure, it’s one we both share.”

Mazuurek silently stares at him, then his shoulders sag. He leans forward, reaching for his empty glass.

Klancain grabs the bottle and offers to pour for him. Mazuurek hesitates then, to Klancain’s surprise, grabs the whole bottle from him and drinks directly from it.

“That isn’t very respectful of you,” Klancain says with amusement.

“Ah, screw that,” Mazuurek says uncharacteristically, but he’s smiling.

“Care to share?”

“As much as you care to share your information.”

“Alright, I deserve that. Sobriety it is.”

“Ah, fine, you don’t,” Mazuurek admits, and hands the bottle over. Klancain considers it for a second before shrugging and following his example, foregoing the glass.

“I understand that it’s not as if I’d do anything about it. Just like about… Slaine Troyard.”

Ah. “Kaizuka told you that, too.”

“Oh, you have no idea .”

“Hm? I’m all ears.”

“... No, I will keep the details to myself. Not out of spite, but some things… are Kaizuka’s to talk about. You can go ask him.”

Oh? Did he mention his feelings for Slaine to Mazuurek? A pity it would be too suspicious to inquire about that. “Maybe I will. He and I never had a chance to talk, actually.”

“You’ll work out great, with those tendencies to not tell your friends the very relevant information you know.”

“Mazuurek…” Klancain tries to offer him the bottle again, but Mazuurek refuses.

“No. Look, as I said, I have to admit I really can do nothing about Troyard, nor could I have stopped the UFE without making it worse. But to think that even you will refuse to tell me such important things… it means not only do you not think me useless, you don’t even see me as trustworthy or care about me enough to ensure that I’m also aware!”

Maybe I shouldn’t tread too lightly after all. “I see. So, when will you be telling Her Majesty?”

“...!”

“Come now. Are you perhaps not fond of her enough to keep her informed?” It would be nice if you acknowledged she is hardly intelligent enough for you to ever risk it, but you won’t go down that path.

“That’s… I don’t want to hurt her.”

“And that, my friend, is why I haven’t told you. Sharing this with you, so you too can live knowing how powerless we are, wouldn’t make me happier.”

Mazuurek’s shoulders sag in defeat. “I suppose I understand. But still, now that I know this much, it’s not going to help me to keep more from me. Promise me you’ll now tell me if you know of the next attack.

“While I can swear I am not aware of any attack at the moment... no, I cannot promise you I’ll warn you of future ones. Not unless you promise you’ll take that information and do nothing with it.”

“...! But what if I find a way—”

“And what way would that be? Visit the Count and stay with him forever? No Mazuurek, I will not risk your life by telling you that information in advance.”

Mazuurek looks like he wants to argue, but again can’t find an argument. Klancain takes pity on him.

“Obviously, if you are ever their target,” he chuckles at the notion, “I will immediately warn you. Although, thanks to Kaizuka, I assume you’ll be on the lookout hereon for suspicious skycarriers requesting permission to land, and you can just shoot Troyard on sight.”

To Klancain’s surprise, Mazuurek groans, pulling at his bangs. “I… am going to try and avoid that. Shooting him down I mean.”

So Kaizuka did say something about his feelings. “What is this? Pity for him now?”

“I guess,” Mazuurek says, and can’t quite look him in the eyes, confirming Klancain’s assumption. “Oh. Maybe you can at least help me with his collar?”

“Hm?”

“Can you acquire the plans to how it was made? I could try and find a way to dismantle it.”

It’s a relief to finally hear something he can agree with, and Klancain smiles. “As a matter of fact, I might be able to procure that for you.” He had, in fact, already begun to do so; if he could remove the collar mid-operations, he could take Slaine from the UFE through the easiest route. “Or at the very least, the signal information. The UFE knows this collar is all that keeps Troyard in check and obedient outside of his cell, the plans won’t be something they’ve left unguarded.”

“I imagine so. But it’s fine, we have to try something. Maybe I could create a device to jam the signal, at least.”

“True, I’ll tell you of any updates I have on that, just don’t get your hopes up too much. And if the UFE tires of keeping Troyard alive, I’ll tell you after the fact. That’s the most I can do.”

Mazuurek sighs. “Fine, I know not to push my luck. That said, Slaine Troyard… I feel partially to blame for that.”

“Hm? Why so?”

“I’ve been thinking, ever since Inaho came over. I recalled when I first heard they’d use him as a scapegoat to secure peace.”

Klancain considers it. “Ah, yes. The UFE Council called Her Majesty in for a private meeting, and neither of us had the power or influence to join in.”

Mazuurek nods. “And then when she came to us later, with the idea of using him in her head, I remember… remember how I didn’t really object. I thought, ‘he’s dead, and nearly succeeded in hurting terrans and was keeping Her Majesty captive, why not?’. I was tired, I wanted an end to all the fighting already and besides, maybe it would be cathartic for Her Majesty to pay him back for the hurt he caused her. I never voiced a complaint.”

“You didn’t know he was alive.”

“Did you?”

“No. We landed on Earth together, remember? I still hadn’t managed to acquire any connections to terrans, much less the UFE or Kaizuka. I didn’t have the information,” Klancain answers truthfully.

“That’s the thing. You also didn’t know he was alive, but you thought things true. I remember how you tried dissuading Her Majesty. You said Count Saazbaum would be more appropriate. In fact, you even offered your father—”

“Ah, please don’t think that suggestion was a big sacrifice on my part. We weren’t close and besides, my dear father would want nothing more than to have his memory used for the sake of Vers’ future.”

“Even so, you tried . I said nothing. It never occurred to me just how fragile the peace we’ve brokered on this lie really is, until Inaho spelled it out to me. Maybe, if I had just said anything…”

“Maybe nothing would have changed.” Klancain cuts his thoughts short. “It wasn’t your job to think of it for Her Majesty, don’t blame yourself for something that you might not have achieved even if you had tried. I could also have done more. Insisted on it, or talked to you to get you to help me. But I dropped it quickly enough, too.”

He had initially wanted for Slaine to not be used, as he had known nothing would seal his fate tighter than that; in any other situation the UFE might lock him up but never as closely guarded as now that they cannot afford to lose their excuse.

That said, choosing Slaine as the figurehead did help him in other regards; by blaming a young boy, it speeded up martian suspicion of Asseylum by at least a year.

“I suppose. And I’m sure the UFE wouldn’t let Her Majesty change her mind so easily.”

Klancain considers if he can afford to push Mazuurek a little more. He doesn’t want him feeling worse, yet he does need to plant seeds of doubt on him, if he ever hopes to not have to fight him in the future. He chooses to try. “As a matter of fact, that is something I’ve been wondering.”

“Yes?”

“Was placing all the blame on Troyard something the UFE came up with?”

“You mean…!”

“When I think about it, wouldn’t the UFE rather blame a martian Count, instead of a terran boy that had just barely risen to power?”

“So, you think Her Majesty suggested him.”

It certainly sounds like the foolish, lacking in oversight, decision of someone who never had to think of the consequences of her actions in a negative light, and who wanted him to personally pay. “I’m afraid I am leaning towards that assumption, for now. Recall, if you please, that Troyard’s troops were poised on the eve of a victory. The peace protected terrans and not our people. It would not interest them to broker a peace too fragile that would result in Vers taking back the fight before they could even recover.”

“But then, why?”

“Maybe at that moment they wanted nothing more than to please the one person they had to thank for creating the ceasefire. And if her request was something that came with no sacrifice to them or their power, why start their relationship with a refusal? Better to give her that, start amicable relationships with a show of being willing to follow her lead then disagree and push back or more serious matters for the UFE.”

That, and now having something over Asseylum’s head. If she ever seems to be no longer following UFE’s interests, they can hold Slaine over her head. If she tries to amass martian power against terrans one day, they can ruin trust her people have in her by revealing the truth.

And that is the true reason they willingly kept Slaine alive even before they had any use for him. They could have killed him and claimed an accident, or suicide, to appease Asseylum’s sensibility if she ever cared to ask.

He is a tool to overturn regimes. The question is, who will use him.

Wherever you realize it or not, accept it or not, Asseylum, it was Slaine that gave you the power to create this false peace. Everything you built thanks to him, he can destroy.

And I’ll see to it that he does.

Mazuurek does not notice Klancain’s darkening face, lost in his own thoughts.

The UFE’s power must be diminished.

He’d been meaning to tell Klancain of his plans to increase his own influence, but now he’s changed his mind. It’s not that he wants to be petty over the lack of information; he simply feels it would best if Klancain continued to be oblivious, to not harm his own standing in the UFE.

Besides, Klancain is smart, he’ll notice it in time, if Mazuurek succeeds.

“Lemrina, how does the aldnoah transfer work?”

Lemrina frowns. “ You don’t know?”

“Assume I don’t.”

“Fine. By swearing fealty to the Royal Family then accepting our blood. The loyalty and the blood together allow for aldnoah use.”

“Slaine—”

“Other body fluids don’t carry the same power as blood. Rather than that, through skin to skin contact is how loyalty, or love, is verified. That gives the subject a temporary contract; you can use aldnoah to activate one thing to your will, but nothing else. To complete the contract and fully receive aldnoah, blood must then be ingested.”

“I presume you gave Slaine your blood then, during the war?”

Lemrina shifts uncomfortably. “... As a matter of fact, no. I… was foolish. I knew he’d need me less if I did give him, and I wanted to retain some power over him… “

“That was a very sensible decision on your part.”

“No, no it wasn’t. Maybe it sounds like it, but I know there was nothing logical about it, I just wanted attention. Anyway, I would give him my blood now, but I can’t ask for his loyalty.”

“About that, is there some basis, some test done, to ascertain it requires loyalty?”

“A text left behind by the ancients. It said:

“ Those who are loaned to ‘successor’ and ‘maneuver’ need to ‘recognize’ each other as part of their own. The consciousness that feels like a part of oneself, recognizing that the object is a personality different from oneself, can also be called ‘loyalty’. In other words, it is also called ‘love’. Only to those who pledge ‘loyalty’ or ‘love’, Ald Noah's ‘maneuver’ is borrowed .”

“...”

“What is it?”

“Nothing, just my head.” For once, it’s a lie.

“Kaizuka, you have a visitor.”

Inaho frowns at the unexpectedness. He doubts it’s his friends from the Deucalion, or else they’d come as a group. He glances at Lemrina, doing strength training a few feet away, but she looks back clearly just as lost.

“That’s fine, bring them in,” Inaho says.

Even more surprisingly, it turns out to be Eddelrittuo.

“Greetings, Inaho Kaizuka…” she says, and Inaho can’t quite place the look on her face.

Well, whatever it may be, she doesn’t seem pleased to be here. “It’s been a while, Eddelrittuo.”

“Yes…” Before she can say anything else, she catches sight of Lemrina and her eyes grow wide. “Y-You!”

Inaho sighs inwardly, wishing Eddelrittuo had learned to be a little less open and expressive.

“I suppose working under Mazuurek, you haven’t seen a fellow maid of Her Highness, so your surprise isn’t shocking.”

Annoyingly, she does not catch the hint. “W-What?”

“Hello, Eddelrittuo,” Lemrina says smoothly, coming over as fast as her wheelchair would allow. “It’s been a while since we both worked together under Her Majesty’s employ, hasn’t it?”

Finally Eddelrittuo understands. “Oh! Right! Yes, it’s been so long, how are you?”

“I’m doing better. My legs can almost move again.” To prove her point, Lemrina exerts some effort and her legs kick.

Eddelrittuo’s eyes grow wide again, but for the first time since her arrival, she smiles warmly. “That’s great! I’m so happy for you!”

“I’m done, we can relocate to my room,” Inaho says, trying to steer them towards privacy, but to his surprise Eddelrittuo scrunches up her nose.

“Why would I want to visit your room?”

So she wasn’t sent by Mazuurek due to a sensitive topic. “That’s fine then. So, why are you here?”

She stomps her foot. “Count Mazuurek he… he gave me a vacation! ” The last word is said as a wail.

Inaho looks to Lemrina, assuming this is a cultural thing.

Lemrina is frowning slightly. “Vacation…? Oh, yes, I recall that concept.” She giggles and turns to Inaho. “Receiving time off isn’t expected for martians, especially not those… those of us who work directly with the Royal Family. That is a privilege, you see, and needing to rest would imply weakness and dissatisfaction with the work. At most you receive a day or so of rest a month.”

“And I’m not tired!” Eddelrittuo whined. “I didn’t become Her Majesty’s personal maid on a whim! I was picked as the best, and I never shirked from duty!”

Child and slave labor rolled in one. Hm, is this a consequence of the harsh conditions of the planet, resulting in the need for more work and less ethics? Something similar even if not as drastic did occur in Japan after—

This isn’t the time for that. “That is stupid,” he says bluntly. “People need rest, for the sake of their psychological health. There are countless studies on it. Outside of martial law, Earth has civil rights and labor laws in place to protect people, and I assume Mazuurek is trying to implement them.”

Eddelrittuo sniffs. “Yes, he mentioned something of the kind. And said that…” She raised her head up proudly. “As a former maid of Her Majesty and someone that others hold in high esteem in the Landing Castle, I had to be the example to do it first, because if I did it, others would naturally follow.”

So are you upset or not? “So you decided to visit me?” Inaho doesn’t bother to hide the incredulity in his voice. Lemrina bites her lip, but it’s clear she’s stifling laughter.

Eddelrittuo puts her hands on her hips, and looks up at Inaho vexed again. “Obviously this isn’t my idea of this ‘vacation’ thing. When the Count told me to take off from work, I wanted to hang around the Landing Castle to help out. It’s my time off so I could right? But then Mazuurek asked me to run errands.”

“... You could have refused. If it’s your vacation, it means time away from work.”

Eddelrittuo looks horrified. “ Disobey direct orders from the Count?! I am an exemplary maid! I would never! ”

Trying to comprehend this further might just undo all the progress I’ve done with my recovery. I’ll send Mazuurek a list of materials to help him when I can, he’ll need it . “I see. So, what was the errand?”

“He wanted me to bring you... this!” She reaches into her bag and takes out a carefully wrapped up bottle.

He unwraps it as Lemrina looks over his shoulder. “... Alcohol?”

Eddelrittuo is looking proud again. “Not just any alcohol! That liquor was especially made in Count Mazuurek’s territory! He said he wants to start promoting it to other places, so you better show respect and be thankful he let you have such a thing for free!”

Is he planning to supplement his economic revenue by finally taking up trading? This is a luxury item so it won’t have much of a big impact. Then again, if the impact is small, less attention to him earlier on. And the revenue from this could then be used to invest in better items…

“Tell him I appreciate it. I’ll keep it safe and share it with my sister when I return home.”

Eddelrittuo looks satisfied. “Good!” She glances at Lemrina and hesitates. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Is that her loyalty to the Royal family, or did she grow fond of Lemrina after being with her for two years? So long as it isn’t pity it should be—

“I’m fine , thank you,” Lemrina says, too curtly.

Whether Eddelrittuo meant is a friendly gesture or not no longer mattered; Lemrina had interpreted it as pity.

It’s not enough to deter Eddelrittuo. “Now that Count Mazuurek managed to kick me out, I’m going to stay here. I know that if I come back earlier he’ll just send me on another long errand again. So, if you need me, or you just want to talk about… about our work, you can call me!”

“There won’t be a need,” Lemrina insists.

“Certainly, give us your address,” Inaho says instead, and ignores the glare from Lemrina.

He doubted he’d need it, but it might be useful to know where she was staying at, to use her to move around if he needed an excuse.

Inaho is finally seen as fit to walk outside soon enough.

Lemrina wonders if she should be polite and act happy for him, but decides not to when Inaho barely blinks at the news.

“It’s only natural. I’ve been fit to do so for some time, but since I never insisted on leaving, they decided to make use of that and pay extra heed. Everything points to me being discharged on time, so naturally they can’t keep me away from open spaces for longer, as they need to see how I react to the public. Besides, the level of rehabilitation necessary has been exaggerated from the start, to dissuade the UFE from using me more.”

Lemrina shakes her head at the predictability of his answer and focuses on moving her feet, frustration bubbling at being unable to follow suit just yet.

“You started your own rehabilitation after mine,” Inaho points out. “If we consider time spent and results, you are making progress faster.”

Is he trying to console her for not being allowed to walk with him? It doesn’t quite work.

“It’s not as if I’m missing out on anything,” Lemrina says, more for herself than him, and even Inaho knows better than to contradict such a thing.

He could have argued in favor of allowing her, accompanied by him, to walk outside with her crutches. However, while Inaho knows the UFE is not monitoring his every move, he has plans he’d rather not have something as conspicuous as someone on crutches accompanying him.

He barely pays attention to the rest of the medical facility as he walks to the exit; he only notes that it remains unchanged, as expected.

Outside he pauses and pays more attention. The flow of people remains the same as the last time he had been there. No, perhaps it had increased slightly.

Nothing he’d seen had reached the number of crowds he’d witnessed in his birth city before the war, but compared to other places, he supposed this city could be considered of the more populated ones for the current standards.

Just as well for him, as with that many people, he’d be able to find an exclusive martian bar.

Not that, technically, exclusivity was allowed. Asseylum had been vocal against bars that attempted to be specific to any race… which did not mean people had not found ways to circumvent that.

There are two places he’s been told of. One is a bar recommended by Lemrina, as the base for those of her faction in the city.

Not that she had to tell him that. The name alone was clear enough the owner was feeling disinclined to the current martian rule: The Sons of Zeus .

Even as Inaho is amused at the name —is it overconfidence that no one would understand the bar was, in a way, referencing the Dioscuri , or boldness to not care for consequences?— he would rather not go there. He wants to hear the regular opinion of martians, not the chatter of already converted dissidents.

Which brings him to the restaurant recommended by Mazuurek.

He finds it, entrance half hidden in a narrow alley, and it’s name is equally amusing to him: Prometheus Restaurant .

Martians quite enjoy their Greek. I wonder if the connection in name is on purpose.

There is no window to the inside, and the door is closed, manned by a waitress who jumps to attention when it becomes clear Inaho plans to enter.

“I’m sorry, sir,” the man says politely, “I’m afraid we are full. Do you have a reservation, sir?”

And as easily as that, a place could guarantee exclusivity while flying under the radar.

Wordlessly, Inaho takes out and shows him the token Mazuurek had long ago handed him for such a situation. The waiter examines it and smiles, opening the door for him to enter.

It’s dimly lit and, while not truly full, has a decent number of seated people. Inaho finds a table in between two filled ones and sits down. A television overhead is playing the news. He orders something and settles down for listening in.

For a while, nothing relevant is being said. At the table behind him are a couple who are lightly mocking their Count and laughing at their brilliance at having used an errand to make a date week between them. The table in front of Inaho has three martians who are unaffiliated to any Count —did they defect or have their Count die? They never say, but all martians on Earth are military so they must have worked for one— discussing the jobs they’ve been doing in the city to make ends meet. Sadly nothing relevant of the operations is being said, as they are clearly very low on the hierarchy and simply bemoan their work.

And then food and drinks arrive for both tables, and the conversations all converge into awe. Awe at what they’re currently tasting, reminiscent awe over things they’ve tasted before, and hopeful awe at what they’re planning to taste next.

Inaho’s own appetizer arrives, and it isn’t anything he hasn't tasted before.

If martians are still reacting like this to terran food after all this time, then the quality of their food on Vers is worse than I presumed.

And then, finally, something of use to him is said.

It happens, naturally, the moment the television brings news of Asseylum. A hush falls over the restaurant as everyone, even the waiters, stop to look at the news.

It’s nothing much: Asseylum is seen somewhere in Africa, talking to an affected population still struggling after the war, saying she feels for their plight and pledging to help.

“We are all humans,” Asseylum says to a microphone, surrounded by bodyguards, “we should not be harming each other. Vers will make up for the pain it caused our terran brothers and sisters.”

“Why are they so sure the war is the cause for their issues?” Someone grumbles in the restaurant. “I heard terrans were all fighting themselves before we came along.”

“Right, right. That’s why Vers was created in the first place, wasn’t it? To get less people on Earth to fix their problems.”

“Why is she pledging to help them when she hasn’t even helped us ?” One of the people on the table ahead of Inaho says, voice a little too loud. His companion hisses at him for it, but no one else tries to argue.

No other complaint is forthcoming, but even Inaho can read the displeasure on the faces around him. It’s soon gone, however.

This is not enough for a revolution, but the dissatisfaction has already settled in. If the dissidents want, they can spread and increase resentment until Asseylum’s defenders become the minority.

Inaho waits longer, but there is nothing else of note.

As he leaves, he glances at the name of the restaurant again, and wonders if in the future any call back to Prometheus will be removed.

Slaine lays in his bed, running over his talk with Klancain again. No matter how much he thinks back to it, or how much time passes, he can’t get any additional clarity.

Inaho should be coming back in less than a month, if he doesn’t dawdle, but Slaine doubts he will bring back any news of Klancain. Even if the man had requested that he keep the identity from Inaho, it would be foolish of him to go so soon. Whoever he has in his pocket in the UFE might accept a meeting with Slaine… but one followed quickly by a meeting with Inaho? No, Klancain had done everything slowly so far, he could afford to wait longer.

Slaine frowns as he looks at the dark ceiling. That is something he’s wondering about. Why has Klancain been so slow? Certainly, by letting things run their course, the martian acceptance of the Empress may decrease naturally… but he runs the risk of terrans fortifying themselves. Is it a mere oversight of Klancain’s? Slaine doubts it. Either Klancain has less power than he seems, and thus can barely make a move, or he is waiting for something.

How many times have I come back to this? There’s no point, there are too many possibilities, I need Inaho’s insight for this.

Not that Slaine is too frustrated. He had expected to gleam little from the conversation; his main priority was finally seeing who the leader was, and setting in motion his plan with Inaho.

If nothing else, hopefully I succeeded in…

In keeping Inaho alive?

Slaine blinks, and sits up from his bed as the realization dawned. He quickly covers his mouth with a hand before a nervous laugh escapes. He doesn’t want the guard coming in wondering why he is awake.

He could have gotten rid of him. Inaho is useful, but hardly as much as he had been before the brain damage. Not to mention, his status as a terran makes it clear where his allegiances would always truly lie.

If Slaine had wanted to, he could have instead told Klancain that Inaho will be a liability, no matter how nice he is to Slaine in his captivity. The Warden is in Klancain’s pocket, so is Harklight.

Honestly… they could even recreate what they had done for the Empress: stage an accident, murder Inaho, put Lemrina in disguise in his place.

Laughter bubbles again, and Slaine grabs the pillow to muffle it.

He hadn’t even contemplated that. He had so little desire of wanting to harm Inaho now that when the singular chance presented itself all he could focus on was how to protect him instead.

All that time he had wanted him gone and yet failed at every turn… and finally the opportunity only presents itself when he no longer has any desire to do it.

It truly is as if the universe is laughing at him.

Even so… more than the hilarious irony of it all, the situation feels… freeing.

For the first time, for truly the first time, Slaine feels the burden of their roles gone.

No matter how much Inaho treated him as an equal, and no matter how much Slaine truly believed it, the fact never changed that Inaho had his life in his hands.

Now, even if a little, Slaine has a similar power.

Maybe it shouldn’t change anything, yet it does, even if Slaine can’t quite place what.

“Do you have a detailed world map? No, of course you don’t. Do you have a personal device that can use the internet?”

Lemrina blinks. Inaho visiting her room was unexpected enough, and his appearance by asking strange questions was even more so.

“... Yes, I do not have a map. And no, I don’t have a personal device of that sort. Why?”

Inaho sits down on her bed. “I knew the probability was very low, but had to check.”

She observes him. She still can’t read his face, but Inaho is talking faster and being ruder than normal.

This may be his way of being upset. “What’s wrong? Why the map? Why not use your tablet?”

Inaho sighs. “They took away my personal tablet when I got here and gave me a pre-approved one, to avoid my looking at material that might overload my neural senses.”

“And this new tablet won’t allow you to look at a map?”

“It would. But it’s not as safe as mine.”

“Start from the beginning. Why do you need a map and why must it be kept a secret?”

“Inko called me. Inko is—”

“I know who she is, Rayet told me.”

“Inko and my other friends had been planning to pass by me here in a week, but the Deucalion’s route has been changed.”

“... I’m not following.” She hates to admit it, but she doubts Inaho will explain if she doesn't say it.

Inaho hesitates before replying. “The Deucalion has a pre-established route. It has never needed to be changed.”

“Did Inko not have a reason for the change?”

“They told her that with the escalating tension and suspicion due to the Landing Castle massacre, they want to avoid the Deucalion moving in the same pattern as it has for the last year, to avoid it becoming a target from martians. And the new route would also be better for monitoring all the Landing Castles as it focuses on Europe.”

Lemrina huffs. “Well, apart from the fact that we know it wasn’t my people that did it, isn’t this a logical step? The Deucalion is the most well known symbol of terran power, after all.”

“As you said, the UFE knows martians are nowhere near to attacking them yet. That said, yes, this could be simply a ruse to make it more believable that the UFE is just as worried and in the dark about the attack as anyone else. However, there are two other possibilities.”

“Which are?”

“They could be using this to have attention focused on the Deucalion, and with that act elsewhere without being noticed.”

Finally Lemrina understands. “They want attention on the Deucalion to attack another Landing Castle.”

“Possibly. However these two hypothesis—”

“Are you not exerting yourself?”

Inaho frowns. “I have less than three weeks before I’m discharged. I can do this much without backlash.”

“Alright. You were saying?”

“The two hypothesis we’ve talked about so far are easy to verify: if the Deucalion changing route becomes news, then indeed either the UFE wants to act worried over martians, or it wants attention diverted to the Deucalion. I’ve already checked the news, and there is nothing of the sort so far.”

“It could be early days yet. Official announcements often need to be reviewed. If your friends just learned of it, maybe it’s still being sent to the press. But, where does the map come in?”

“... If this change isn’t advertised at all, then something else is being done. I have one or two ideas, but I don’t want to voice probabilities without first checking a map. My knowledge of the European continent isn’t detailed enough to visualize their route and what they’ll be passing through without one.”

“... I think they’ll be allowing me to walk out of this place soon, I could look for one.”

“Bringing back a map will be strange. There is a museum close by. My sister took me to it the first time I was here, there’s a map that will suffice. I would go there myself but, in this case I think it would be prudent to be careful. So I’d like to have you with me as an excuse.”

“Alright. But if you need to acquire one faster—”

“I don’t. Even if we had confirmation, there is nothing we can do, so we might as well be cautious about it.”

“... I see.”

There is no news of the Deucalion the next day, or the next, or the following days either.

Lemrina sees Inaho frown sometimes, as he watches the news channels intently.

Perhaps a kinder person than Lemrina might try to placate him with platitutes on how maybe the staff is hiding such information from them, as a means to avoid a lapse in Inaho’s recovery now that it is almost done.

No, there is no reason for them to hide something so simple from him. And he isn’t the sort to feel better by silly words.

It is, however, frustrating to not know what are the possibilities Inaho is worrying about. But Lemrina’s pride won’t let her beg for information he has already refused to impart. She can demand answers again when they manage to procure a map.

If Slaine was around, he’d be able to keep up with Kaizuka and would explain it to me without acting like it’s an obvious conclusion to make.

“Your— Lemrina?” A timid voice brings her back from her reverie, and Lemrina is forced to focus on Eddelrittuo again.

The maid had decided to visit her, and Lemrina didn’t want to cause a stir by refusing to meet.

Worst of all, Eddelrittuo had assured her yet again she’d spend the remainder of her vacation nearby, in case Lemrina wanted her help.

“I apologize, my mind was far off. You were saying?” She asks with a plastered smile.

“N-Not a problem! I just said that it’s amazing how much progress you’ve made!”

Lemrina wants to use her once again functioning legs to kick the girl. Instead she keeps on her smile and pretends to focus on her physical exercise, to avoid having to look at Eddelrittuo.

It’s not, truly, as if the maid has done her ill. She treated Lemrina very well during their time working together, giving her the full respect and attention a legitimate royal member deserved.

… But Lemrina had caught her wistful gazes at her comatose sister. Much like Slaine, Eddelrittuo had seen her as a replacement for Asseylum, and had always hoped that was only temporary.

Of course, if she had forgiven Slaine for that, she could hardly lash out at Eddelrittuo for the same.

No, if the maid’s former actions had simply not created a bond between them, it had not brought out vengeance as well. What was making Lemrina wish to kick the girl out was her actions now. More precisely, her looks.

The pity. The terrible pity in her eyes. Eddelrittuo had never loved her, yet here she is throwing out praises for every little thing. As if she had seen Lemrina as so pitiful and weak that even this much success was beyond expectation. As if she needed validation to succeed. As if she was so miserable she needed the pity of a pathetic little maid who couldn’t even decide her own loyalties.

Slaine is alive. She wants to say that. It would shock Eddelrittuo more than any slap or kick would. She has the words on the tip of her tongue.

You think you can afford to act like I’m beneath you? Like I need your pity and your kindness and your silly little praises? Do you think your words or existence mean anything to me, change anything of mine? Foolish little girl! Pity yourself and the stupid life you’ve led. You gave your all to my sister, did you know she has kept Slaine prisoner all this time? She lied about his involvement, while he is alive and kicking and thanks to her, will never see the light of day! Pity—

She realizes she is stepping too hard and stops, breathing in deeply. To not only shake Eddelrittuo, but even make her fully push away Asseylum would feel vindictive but…

But that feeling would leave, and I’ll just feel guilty. This girl is so young. If my sister, who prepared all her life to rule, can turn out so pathetic, who am I to grow bitter over a little maid, who was taught nothing at all?

So what if she pities me now. I won’t be forced to bear this for long. Soon she will leave, and Kaizuka will treat me like I’m not in rehabilitation at all. Then I can go see Rayet, and Slaine, and Harklight, who will be happy for me but won’t look at me like I’m a charity case…

She sighs. Eddelrittuo is immediately alert.

“Is everything alright? Should I call someone? Can I help?”

Lemrina looks at the eager little face… and pities her instead.

“I might have stepped incorrectly just now, help me to a seat.” She doesn’t request, she demands, even if softly, yet Eddelrittuo happily obliges.

Maybe she doesn’t pity me as much as I think. Maybe what she wants is to be useful. Is she trying to make up for having chosen Asseylum?

… It doesn’t matter. Let her have her peace. I’ve found mine.

As for Slaine… no, she wouldn’t tell her. It would help no one.

Enough people are broken. If all goes well, one day she will know the truth. Let her have her last few moments of innocence.

Eddelrittuo helps her to a seat. Lemrina looks at her and smiles. “Thank you,” she says, then can’t help but giggle.

“What is it?”

“Oh, I apologize for laughing. I’m just… happy I’ve come this far.”

Actually, I’m imagining Rayet’s face if I tell her meeting her has stopped me from lashing out at a martian.

Another week, and finally Lemrina’s legs are good enough that she’s allowed out. She makes a show of telling staff she wants to visit the museum she heard is nearby, and Inaho agrees to take her there.

Inaho glances at Lemrina as they walk unheeded towards the exit of the medical facility. She seems focused on walking but nothing else.

Then again, this won’t be the first terran city she has visited, so it’s expected that she wouldn’t be nervous or excited about it.

They walk through a doorway and find themselves in a crowded corridor, with nurses running left and right, and people with physical disabilities being helped around. Inaho ignores it all, naturally as he’s been walking by alone for a while now, but Lemrina pays attention.

“It’s always surprising when I see how crowded the rest of the facility is,” Lemrina says as they pass by the doorway to a room where some wait in a line for physical training.

“It’s because we have connections, so we are rewarded with more space fully dedicated to us.”

Lemrina sighs. “I know.”

“This way,” Inaho says, then walks without waiting for her. His pace isn’t fast, so Lemrina can keep up without struggle. A good thing, as she’d never put herself low enough to ask Kaizuka to slow down for her sake.

Lemrina looks at their surroundings intently as they walk, then turns to him. “I always wondered, looking at all the buildings, is the sparse population a direct result of the last war only?”

“It depends on the location. Although everywhere was impacted by the last attempted invasion, many locations were already partially abandoned as a result of Heaven’s Fall.”

“... Although Mars is a vast planet, the habitable land is small. I have heard the soldiers talk about it, and seen pictures: the streets are lined with people. They have barely any space to walk, much less live. Meanwhile Earth has all this space… Vers could come here and inhabit it without needing to kill more terrans.”

“It’s not so simple. Not every land is equal in resources. Not everywhere can handle now the population density it once could.”

“I know. I’m just saying, it isn’t impossible.”

Inaho doesn’t bother to answer, as they’ve reached their destination.

The museum was hastily created; Inaho assumes the reasoning being that with the popular medical facility nearby, the museum might thrive.

It was set up in an abandoned office building with a large reception area.

“Lead the way,” Inaho whispers; although he is now certain he is being too cautious, since he can afford to do so, he will.

Lemrina nods, and steps ahead as if leading Inaho to where she wants to go. They pass by the entrance to the martian center as she heads straight to where the Earth exhibit is.

As expected, the room is dominated with a hologram 3-D map of Earth as it is. Thankfully, they are alone.

Inaho reaches out to touch it, and the map amplifies where his fingertip landed.

“It’s interactive, if you want,” he says nonchalantly to Lemrina, who nods and pushes him aside, understanding her cue.

She looks at the map: Inaho had amplified it in Europe.

Was that by chance or is that where he wants me to focus? This is Kaizuka, I’m sure even this was thought out.

Unwilling to ask for more directions, Lemrina focuses on pretending to be engrossed in it.

It soon isn’t pretense.

So much land, and it all had people living in it? Or perhaps, like the city itself, there was so much space for more…

Focus.

Inaho had told her what to look for before they’d arrived, so she simply scrolls around Europe, between the parts Inaho wants and her random choices.

She’s not sure how long she stood there; being able to see a detailed layout of Earth really did interest her, but eventually Inaho cuts her wandering hand.

“You’ve spent too much time at this, let’s go back,” he says, and Lemrina instinctively becomes defensive.

“It wasn’t that long!” She snaps, before realizing it’s likely just his excuse now that he’s seen enough. Lemrina tries to read the conclusion on his face, but it’s fruitless as usual.

Lemrina wishes she could say she patiently waited until they were back to the medical center to demand answers, but she makes it only as far as the empty road before rounding on Inaho.

“So?”

Inaho doesn’t look at her, but his brows crease slightly. “You need to understand this is mere conjecture, although I believe the probability of this happening to be around 80%—”

“Yes, yes! What is your theory?”

“... The Count that is currently aggressively campaigning against the UFE has a protection the last Count did not. His Landing Castle is based deep within the continent, so using abandoned ships like the last operation isn’t a possibility.”

“So the UFE would use the Deucalion? But that is so conspicuous.”

“Yes, too much so. There are abandoned military bases or simply half destroyed cities all over Earth that could be used for a short, secret, operation. Initially I had assumed that the UFE would take time, around months, to slowly arm and staff one of those near the Landing Castle without their movements being noticed. To try and make use of that in a short period without anyone noticing the movement of armaments and personnel would normally not be possible, in the layout.”

“Which is why you thought the Deucalion might be used as a distraction? Because while everyone looks at it, they could operate more freely?”

“Yes, but that is also flawed. Not everyone will focus that much on a simple route change, and not for long enough, unless they plan to have the Deucalion do more for attention. However, it’s been a week and so far there has been no news about it; which brings me to my other theory, which the map has confirmed.”

“Which is?”

“... The Deucalion will be used to transport people and tools to a chosen settlement. Whenever they land in a larger city, they’ll likely get people to secretly board along with equipment, then drop them off at strategic spots. Given the size of the Deucalion, and that the UFE can also supplement what it carries through some small ground operations, they can speed it up and have the bare minimum for training ready in weeks, and launch an attack in less time afterwards.”

“... You got all that from a map.” To her chagrin, Lemrina’s words don’t come at as flat as she hoped, and there’s a small tone of admiration.

If Inaho notices it, he takes no heed and simply shrugs. “Not necessarily just that map. I had previous knowledge I needed to confirm by viewing one.”

“So you knew which settlement they’d use for operations.”

“No, there are countless places and bases that could work. The relevant information isn’t that, but the traceability of the route chosen.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Not all of Earth is covered in connectivity. The war, the destruction, the weapons used all caused spots where signals and transmissions don’t work well or at all unless you are side by side. Even if the Deucalion did carry equipment and people, anyone tracing it would notice if it kept landing in a spot that should have nothing. However, if the Deucalion does the landing in a transmission blind spot, no one far away would be able to tell.”

“So you… knew where the blindspots were?”

“I had a general overview, as it was necessary to either avoid or use them when we were in the Deucalion, especially trying to reach the Russian base. The map was necessary to confirm my memory: the route they are taking does pass through blindspots, two of which are right over abandoned bases.”

“I believe that’s what must be happening.”

“Don’t be too sure just yet. But we might know soon enough, maybe.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll tell Dr. Yagarai I plan to stay another week around here after my treatment is done. If the UFE, however, tells me to go back home when it’s done, or even recalls me before I am done—”

Lemrina sucks in her breath. “They’ll want you to return to prepare to bring in Slaine.”

“Precisely. Obviously they could take longer and take Slaine by other means, but the longer the transport, the more danger of Slaine being seen or escaping there is, which they will never risk. In twenty six days the Deucalion will be on the route point nearest to Slaine’s location, so that is when they’ll want him to board it.”

“Let’s think of something we can do with the information in the meanwhile,” Lemrina says, though what she really means is that she’s hoping Kaizuka can come up with a plan.

“I don’t know if there is anything to be done.”

“There must be!”

But when they arrive back, Dr. Yagarai is waiting for them, looking both grave and apologetic.

“Inaho… I truly am sorry but… your presence was requested back in your home. Your… work has been piling up, it seems.”

Notes:

-A sentence was changed in the last chapter in the exchange between Inaho and Yagarai. I forgot that it was clear the UFE knew Inaho could use aldnoah, and a comment thankfully reminded me. The sentence was changed not long after I posted it, so if you've read last chapter recently, you probably got the corrected setence.

-I forgot to add this to ch39 but, after the 2year wait between ch37 and 38 I never imagined I'd get so many comments. I'm really thankful for everyone who comes back to read despite the ridiculous update frequency and then comment too!

-On how aldnoah works: I talked it over with some people. Many thanks to the Discord group chat for giving me the supposed poem that explain how it works. That said, the whole “oh it works with love/loyalty” thing is… bullshit to me. For many reasons. I wanted to explain them here but… let’s see if the characters don't eventually explain in the fic. If they don't, i'll make a future note explaining the reasoning behind what Ive chosen. because I have given up and decided I need to pick what I want because canon is so filled with plotholes over this that there is no valid answer there.

-My beta has begged me to go back and beta the early chapters (which had no beta). After even commenters started offering to beta those chapters, I came to the conclusion they were really that in need of work, so my beta is not only betaing the new chapter, but has now gone back to do former chapters too. Thank my poor beta. As of this moment, chapters 01 has been redone and reuploaded to AO3 a bit after this new chapter. I need to figure out if reuploading old chapters will make AO3 act like I’m uploading new content. I dont want to reupload and accidently have readers think theres new chapters, so I might only reupload along with new content, depending.

Regardless, here are the changes being made, so you guys dont fret: NO changes to story. No matter how cheesy or clunky i feel dialogue or plot progression used to be, any redoing of written plot will not be done, and in the rare case that I realize I should redo it, I will absolutely warn people in current chapter notes. But i feel like that cheapens the experience and i dont recall a need for that, so assume NO plot content is being altered. Changes are: fixing grammar and punctuation mistakes. Also removing the usage of “blond” “brunet” descriptors, as I’ve since realized using those arent that good and its better to just work harder on sentences to use names without too much repetition. Clunky or cheesy sentences will stay as they were (though my beta is still also fixing those in the current chapters).

-Deucalion is Prometheus son.

#aldnoah.zero #aldnoah zero #orangebat #inasure #slaine troyard #inaho kaizuka #az fic: in carcere #my fic

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