Chapter 7 - Edwin's Justice
Montaigne told his story: Long ago, in the time of the world's creation written of in the Testaments, mankind possessed the ability to use arts at will. Over the ages, this ability became lost to time. Nowadays, the only way to access arts is via the use of an orbment.
However, one clan inherited that lost power... They are known as 'magicians.' They exist in the present day, living normally among the rest of modern society.
'I know this is a lot to take in, so I can hardly blame you for being skeptical,' chuckled Hux. 'However, I suspect that there may be a magician in our very own city. Perhaps they are even closer to us than we realize. Now, with that in mind, reconsider the death of Mr. Hart's adopted son. If he truly was murdered by inexplicable means...perhaps it was the work of a magician.'
Afterward, Montaigne warned Edwin to keep the story to himself. 'Tell no one. Not even your family,' he said. 'Or next time, it'll be one of us turning up dead.'
Edwin was once a selfish and naive child. That is, until one day when he was 14 or 15 and saw a reporter's article exposing the evil deeds of some big-shot politician in a faraway land.The legislator had used his position and the suffering of others to line his pockets with mira, but the expos㌔ destroyed his career. Afterwards, the reporter casually remarked that it was their job to reveal the inequities of the world and attempt to right its wrongs.
Since that day, Edwin's sense of justice centered on uncovering everyday hypocrisies and shining a light on the vague and obscure.
'Magicians...?' pondered Edwin. 'If people like that really are hiding out there, I'll just have to expose them myself!'
The newsroom was as busy as ever. Ed in particular was engrossed in his work as of late. He had even stopped going to the cafe and asking Agnès to check his drafts. 'What the heck is he up to?' she wondered.
'Ed? Are you there?' Agnès called out in a relative whisper.
'Y-Yeah. What're you doing here?'
As soon as he saw her, Edwin scrambled to put away the manuscript he had been working on at his desk. Agnès, who had managed to catch a brief look at his documents before he set them aside, thought they looked like the kind of materials he would gather before writing an article. There was an itemized breakdown of Mr. Hart's inheritance, notes from the press conference, a statement made by the estate manager, Mr. Montaigne, a brief story about a girl with a ribbon, and a revision request from Brandon to reformat the personal history of the board's chairman.
She also spotted two spelling mistakes on his working draft, but Edwin's distant attitude had miffed her, so she decided to keep them in her back pocket as ammo to tease him with the next time he came to the cafe.
'I was out making deliveries, so I brought you lunch. You haven't eaten yet, right?'
'Ah, good timing, Agnès. Thanks for saving me the trouble.'
Edwin snatched the wrapped sandwich from her hand and made an immediate beeline for the door, mumbling an excuse about chasing a story with his mouth half-full. Something about his clumsiness seemed different than usual, to the point where Agnès felt lightheaded as Ed vanished from sight like a fleeting mirage.
'Was it just me, or is something off about him?'
She glanced over to Brandon and Carly for answers, but all they could do was shrug, looking no less troubled than her. Uneasiness and confusion were written all over their faces.
'What does all of this mean? What the hell is Ed up to?!'
第７回 エドウィンの正義
モンテニューの話はこうだった。遥か昔、聖典にある創世の時代、人類には
魔法 を自由に扱う力が備わっていたのだという。だが長い年月の間でその力は失われ、いまや人々は導力器の助けなしに魔法 を使うことは出来ない。それが当然となってしまった。その失われた力を密かに受け継ぐ一族……それが『魔法使い』だ。彼らは今の世にも確かに存在し、人の社会に溶け込んで生活しているのだという。
「信じないかね？まあ無理もないが……実は私は、この街にも１人いるんじゃないかと睨んでいるんだ」
「フフ……案外君の近くにいるかもしれないぞ？」
「そうだな、もし君の考える通りウェーバーハルト氏のご養子が絶対に判らない方法で殺されたのだとすれば……それは魔法使いの仕業かもしれないな」モンテニューは最後に、この話は絶対に口外しないように念を押した。たとえ君の肉親にでもだ。でないと今度は私や君が命を落とすだろう。
エドウィンは幼い時分から、やんちゃで単純な子供だった。確か１４か１５になった頃だと思う──どこかの地方のニュースが報じられる中で、とある記者が大物政治家の悪事を暴いたのを見たのだった。人々を苦しめ私腹を肥やしていた政治家は、それはもう完膚なきまで、ものの見事に倒されてしまった。そしてその記者は事も無げにこういった。世の中の理不尽なこと、納得のいかないことを追求して、納得の行くようにするのが記者の仕事なのです、と。
それ以来、身の回りの偽善やうやむやを明らかにするのがエドの正義となった。……魔法使いだって？ そんな得体の知れない奴が本当にいるなら、俺がこの手で明らかにしてやろうじゃないか──！
「……エド？ いないの？」相変わらず騒がしい編集部にちょこんと顔を出し、アニエスは小声で呼んでみた。エドは最近とても忙しいらしく、店にもぜんぜん来ないのだ。原稿のチェックも頼んでこないし……一体何をしてるんだろう？「あ、ああ……なんだ、来てたのかよ」自分の席で何か書き物をしていたエドは、素早く机の上の仮原稿──いつも取材レポートの一環として書かされているやつだ──をしまって振り返った。ちらりと見えた文面は、どうやら例のウェーバーハルト氏の遺産の顛末らしい。ようやく分配が決まって会見では云々、財産管理人モンテニュー氏のコメントがどうの、リボンをつけた女の子の話、もちっと理事長の経歴をきれいにまとめとけbyブランドン。
スペルミスを２箇所見つけたけど、アニエスは黙っている事にした。なんだか少しよそよそしい態度が気になったし、今度店に来たときに冷やかすネタにでもしようと思ったのだ。
「出前のついでにお昼を持ってきたわよ。……まだなんでしょ？」
「ああ、こりゃ助かる。サンキューアニエス、ナイスタイミングだ！」取材に行ってきやーっすと言い残して、パンの包みをひったくったエドウィンはもうドアを潜っていた。その勢い……というよりどこかいつもと違う言動に、エドが一瞬で視界から消えたみたいな錯覚がして、アニエスは思わず軽い眩暈を感じた。──なんだろう、この感じ。ブランドンやカーリーに困った視線を送ってみるけれど、事情を知っているはずの２人はただ肩をすくめてアニエスと同じ顔を作ってみせた。不安、困惑、意味が判らないといった顔を。
……どういうこと？エドは一体何をしているの──？
Continue Reading Sunshine Agnès
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| ⇐ Chapter 6: Fissure | Chapter 8: 22 Cards of Fate - Part 1 ⇒ |