Editing Sorcery Hacker:Volume4 Phase02 (section)

===Part 10===

Despite what Queen Astaroth Revolver had said, not even Teleria’s recovery magic could set and heal broken bones instantly.

“Isn’t claiming you slipped and fell from a ladder a bit of a cliché excuse for getting into a fight and losing badly, Ayato?”

“Never again will I doubt the power of karmic retribution. I really shouldn’t have tried to peep on the women’s bath.”

“You have lipstick on your neck, you know? Who was it who kissed you? Hmph!!”

“Gyahhh!!”

His crying and shouting did not move Mamilis or Henrietta to come to his aid. They only glared. Maid Julielt Resurrection did at least have her hands wandering the air worriedly.

“U-um. I owe Sir Sorcery Hacker my life, so please leave him be. If you must whip someone to quell your anger, then I offer up my body to do with as you please.”

“Don’t spoil him, maid!! He easily could have lost his life back there, so we can’t have him making a habit of it! …Honestly, this is completely different type of royal maid. And why does she have to say it in such an indecent way!!?”

But this meant Ayato was immobilized even when morning arrived.

The Precession Festival would begin at nightfall.

If they were to stop the assassination of the king, their top priority had to be letting him rest so he could recover by then.

The media summoner contained nothing but the Precession Festival today.

Unless he narrowed down the results himself, the randomly displayed news articles and videos were all about the big event.

“It is now noon. Today is finally the day of the long-awaited Precession Festival! If you aren’t a local, you’ll need a ticket to get in, so I hope you have yours ready. This star festival happens only once a thousand combo-years, so it’s sure to be a huge celebration. Our channel will be there for all of you who hope to watch from home, but we will also be holding high-definition live viewings in regional centers for people to gather and celebrate together.”

“Precession is the process by which the North Star takes up a new position in the sky and I can’t help but wonder how our own lives will change in the new age. To help answer that question, we have invited on a teacher from the Academy Towers who is an expert in the relationship between the global environment and sorcery technology.”

“Today will be sunny! Let’s see, but there will be some scattered cloud cover starting in the evening. I know we all hope it will be clear for the Precession Festival, so let’s see if those pesky clouds will hear our prayers. Also, the mana-conducting silver smoke in the sky above the capital could cause some interference in the intangible mist mana lines, so there is a concern of problems with transmission speeds.”

Ayato waited in bed like that.

“Ugh.”

Bored, he began some sorcery experimentation.

Self-maintenance was a unique form of maintenance used by Sorcery Hackers, but he had a bad habit of dragging nearby people into his blanket while doing it.

Today’s victim was the royal maid who had arrived with a new water pitcher.

“Oh… B-but if I can repay my debt like this and it is necessary to protect the Combined Royal Family, then I am willing to offer up my body to him.”

Maid Julielt Resurrection showed almost no resistance and sounded almost pleased as she was dragged into the vortex on the bed, but sensible Teleria quickly extracted the curvy victim from the blanket.

“You are supposed to be letting my magic rapidly knit your broken bones, Ayato, so why are you still indulging in this perversion!?”

And so he ended up receiving a few slaps during the healing process.

Eventually, night fell.

He couldn’t wait any longer. He left the bed and got dressed while testing out his shoulder and ankle. When he left the bedroom and entered the living room, he found Teleria carrying a plate of baked goods. …The lazy Sorcery Hacker had a feeling she was the one spoiling him more than anyone, but he wasn’t going to refuse the food. And if he was being paid up front with homemade cookies from his adorable wife, he felt ready to save the entire world.

“Oh, Ayato. You’re up already?”

“I’m fine now. As always, your skill is second to none.”

The two of them found Mamilis and Henrietta and then left the hideout. Maid Julielt Resurrection stayed behind. 9th Prince Roberat knew her too well, so the enemy could easily recognize her if she were hiding among the festival crowds while attempting to stop the prince’s assassination attempt.

They gathered in the roofless former warehouse and used the Human Cannon Catapult to reach the second level.

It was night this time, but the place felt drastically different from before.

They were met by a flood of light and noise.

More than that, the streets were packed full of people, people, and more people.

“Guardeleo is waiting in the central square,” said Ayato as he took a look around. “All of the streets around here gather there. The VIPs of the other continents will each parade down one of the major streets before arriving at the central square. That means the biggest risk is the central square, not the parade.”

“D-during his Precession Festival speech, the lights will all shut off, right?” asked Teleria. “So everyone can see the stars in the sky.”

“An attack then could come from any direction.”

The parade routes were blocked off, but the paths on either side were packed full of people. Even though the festival hadn’t even started yet. The festival stands set up to profit off of all the tourists were being half-crushed by the waves of people.

“Th-this is incredible, coach. There are so many people.”

“We’re short on time. First, we need follow the course of the event and check where people will be looking.”

The crowds were enormous.

Ordinarily, people were divided between the levels by class, but now the people of nearly every level were gathered on this one. More specifically, the people of the higher levels had descended here.

That would be why they didn’t hold Guardeleo’s event on the top level.

Some of the bottom level children could be glimpsed here and there, but that probably meant 3025th Prince Geranud had used their Human Cannon Catapult to sneak them in.

“What do you think, Miss Henrietta?”

“I think we can assume the attack will be during the parade. Killing the king in the secure palace would be like advertising that one of the royal family did it and he must rarely leave the palace in his current state. So this would be the only opportunity.”

“Agreed. And we know the 9th Prince has a concrete plan to assassinate the king at this event, but sending a knife-wielding assassin at him isn’t going to work. From where do you think a pro would target Guardeleo?”

“The very idea makes my head hurt… Security is at its highest today, so trying to approach the king now would be foolish. The standard plan would be a sniper shot from a distance, but a bomb set up in advance could also work?”

“You don’t sound certain.”

“That’s for sure,” spat Henrietta.

She was watching a Royal Guard standing a short distance away.

“Their basic equipment includes massive anti-dragon rifles and battle rifles capable of functioning as sniper rifles, right? That means they should be familiar with sniping tactics. They would make sure to watch any good sniping points when they set up their security perimeter.”

“And the same for bombs, right? They’ll have used dogs and sorcery devices to check over everything several times over. I doubt anything set up and then left for days on end would go unnoticed until today.”

But then what ''were'' they going to do?

The assassination attempt was confirmed. What Queen Astaroth Revolver really wanted out of it was unknown, but she was at least assisting 9th Prince Roberat. Yes, this was the prince’s idea. There was no excusing him.

There were princes and princesses mixed in with the crowds alongside the street. 18th Prince Thocimas was innocently waving to a visiting dancer performing on the street. 39th Princess Ekalitena was sipping at a cold drink. Those would be the ones lower down the line of succession who didn’t have the military or financial strength to overthrow those above them. But an inability to win through the ordinary methods did not mean they wouldn’t gamble on an assassination or attack, so Ayato made sure to keep an eye on them.

Some kind of film crew was busily reading off a script.

“Let’s see. The Precession Festival’s opening parade will be starting soon. The Royal Guard has informed us in the press that we must restrict our light usage. But not to worry – our cutting-edge night-vision crystal devices can still deliver every last second of the Precession Festival’s starry sky to your homes!”

''Think,'' Ayato told himself.

At the very least, thoughts weren’t enough to kill someone. Queen Astaroth Revolver might have use of 9th Prince Roberat’s political power, but she would still need to take some concrete action to assassinate the king.