Shattered Scenario

“I never expected Chairman Kingsley to send you, John Moriarty.”

The detective smiled as he removed the last components of his disguise. “That was the point, headmaster. No one would ever imagine us two working together, and surely few would imagine that man trusting me with something as important as national security.”

The headmaster nodded. “Well, yes, I suppose so. Did Kingsley say anything-?”

“I can’t tell you in case someone unpleasant might be listening in.”

“…Surely they can’t have infiltrated the school.”

“Never rule something out until you have proof that it’s not possible.” John clapped his hands thrice. “For now, let’s put ourselves in the mindset of a potential enemy looking to attack this place.

“If I were a terrorist, I would be thinking about when, where, what and how first.

“When - when is the school at its most vulnerable?

“Where - where exactly in the school do we strike and where from?

“What - what is the objective and what is the best way to achieve it?

“How - how do we strike and how do we work towards our goal?

“To answer that, let’s put this place in context. The Imperial Royal Academy isn’t just famous in this country, but across the world. Any attack, successful or otherwise, would naturally attract a large amount of attention and media coverage. That would increase exponentially if there were any fatalities, doubly so if those fatalities were or happened to be related to VIPs.”

“…When do you think they’ll strike?” The headmaster asked.

Detective John Moriarty chuckled. “You already know the answer. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say even the potential terrorists know. Why else would the chairman have scheduled the emergency session of the guild leaders to be on ‘that day’?”

Wordlessly, the headmaster placed the school’s maps and schematics onto the table beside them.

“Every single building at the school, all the entrances and exits, the underground levels, tunnels and sewer system. There is no feasible way we can cover all of these places, so, if you were going to try and infiltrate the academy, where would-?”

“From above.”

“…Huh?”

The detective smirked. “I’d climb in, jump in or fly in.”

***

Disappointed, Arc mumbled, “Sorry for wasting your time,” before walking away from Charlotte and Alice.

“What was that about?”

Charlotte squeezed her friend’s hand. “Nothing important from the look of things. Maybe he thought you knew his secret language?”

Well, I understood, but I don’t care what he has to say, Charlotte thought. Anything to do with Japan or my old life doesn’t matter to me anymore.

“Come on, Alice.” Charlotte lightly pulled her friend along. “If we don’t go shopping for accessories now, they’ll all be gone before the freshmen’s ball.”

“Okay. Have you decided who you’ll-?”

“I’ll be going with all of them,” she said, a little bit exhausted. “When I told them I’d go with you if they didn’t stop fighting, they said they’d rather all go with me at once. Honestly, those boys.”

Alice giggled. “It just shows how much they care about you.”

“Ah, my sweet Alice, you don’t know how tiring they can be. They all used to be so cute and honest when we were kids. Well.” Charlotte smiled bashfully. “I’m happy that they’re still with me after all these years.”

“You really do love them, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“...I don’t know if yours is the same as theirs.”

Charlotte didn’t respond, but Alice knew she’d heard her.

She knows. I wonder if she’s troubled by it. Alice thought.

“I don’t have much experience with things like this, but if you ever need someone to talk to or rant at, I’m here for you.”

Charlotte gave Alice a delighted smile. “Thank you. Don’t tell-”

“It’s a secret between friends.”

Ah, she’s too cute! Charlotte bit her tongue to hold back her grin. Finally! I have a female friend!

***

“The Silent Sect?” The informant almost sounded confused when Arc asked about them. “I haven’t heard anything in years, no one has.”

The Dark Guild was a publicly known underground information broker who had connections all over the world, not just within the kingdom.

In the games, not even the elusive Silent Sect could avoid their eyes and ears.

In fact, whenever Reis was able to contact them, they had relevant rumours regarding the Sect’s movements.

“...When was the last time anyone heard from them?”

The informant checked through two of his many logbooks; then three more before saying, “Not for at least 8 years now, maybe more.”

“That long?!”

“Keep your voice down!” The informant groaned and scratched his head. “Well, on one hand, it’s a good thing that we don’t hear anything about them. On the other.” He frowned. “It’s too strange.”

“...Out of curiosity.” Arc put another bag of coins onto the desk. “I don’t suppose you’d be able to find out the names of the last people to ask about the Silent Sect? I’d give you two more bags like this if you can uncover who asked about them 5-10 years back.”

“...Make it four and I’ll do it.”

“Done.”

It’s too different. Every single thing is too different from the original scenario. What happened to the Silent Sect?

…Has another reincarnated done something to them? Or did they join them, trading future knowledge for power and other rewards?

I just hope nothing worse happens.

***

“Hmm, I’m surprised Angela agreed to it,” Kara mused as she and Reiss shopped. “Taking 3 girls at once to a ball.” She laughed. “What a playboy you are.”

“W-well, I just…I just didn’t want any of my friends left out.”

“Hmm.” She smirked. “Friends, huh?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. At the very least, you should have a bit more tact and not ask one of your partners to help you buy accessories for all of the girls you’re going with.”

“I’m sorry…I did try asking one of the other girls in our class, but they turned me down.”

“If there’s one thing that all women can appreciate, it’s a partner who knows how to pick out good gifts without being told what to buy.”

“Is that so?”

Well, that’s not too different from what it was like on Earth. I never had a girlfriend, but I do know what sort of things Kara and the other girls like. Reiss smiled. Well, a dense protagonist has their charms.

If not for that, I doubt I could’ve invited the 3 main heroines at once, though Ria’s a bit of an airhead and kuudere, so she would never take much convincing.

This is just one small step towards fulfilling my dream.

***

“Why don’t I ever get sent on any fun assignments anymore?”

“Why not go see your disciple, Lucien?” Stephen suggested. “He always seems to be happy to spend time with you.”

“I know, but the boss said it’d be good to let him become a bit more independent and enjoy school life. But she wants me to drop in 2 days after the attack to check up on him.”

“...Ever the worrywart. Even though the duke and his allies have their orders.”

“Anyone who hasn’t met the boss will be stupid enough to try their luck. Maybe not the duke, but that’s because Samantha could swoop in and snap Grace’s neck at any moment.”

“Logic would dictate that he should defy, or try to resist, Samanatha and save the large number of lives that will be lost as a result of Rose’s plans.” Stephen took his glasses off and began to clean them. “Two lives do not equal two thousand.”

“...You’ve never been in love before, have you?”

The shorter man snorted. “A useless thing…Love is what gives people weaknesses.”

“Except for Samantha.”

“Do you mind not saying my name with that disgusting voice of yours.”

“Heh, speak of the devil.” Lucien grinned as the vampire entered the room. “All good on your end?”

With a frown, she answered. “Yes, just about. I made sure everything was perfect for Onee-sama. Ah, soon!” She clasped her hands together. “The whole kingdom will be at her mercy! I can hardly wait!”

“...Sometimes, love makes people blind. Other times, it makes them insane.”

“Huh?” Samantha’s neck snapped at an unnatural angel as she glowered at them. “I’ll kill you.”

“Try it. Might help alleviate my boredom.”

“Both of you, stop it.”

Suddenly, Rose spoke up.

She hadn’t been there a moment ago.

No one had seen or heard her enter, nor had they even blinked before she’d appeared.

Though her tone of voice was soft and sweet, it deeply terrified her subordinates into immediate submission.

“Onee-sama!” Samantha lovingly hugged Rose. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

Rose giggled and patted her head. “I do wish you could all get along a little better with one another. I would hate it if I had to take a more direct action.”

“...Lost myself for a moment, sorry, boss.”

“You’re forgiven, Lucien. Risa’s already on her way to the site. Samantha, go to your station and so as you’ve been told.”

“Y-yes!”

“Stephan - tell our ‘allies’ I wish them the best of luck.” Rose laughed. “I’m quite excited to see the fruits of our labour.”

With a small smile, Stephen nodded and left.

Love makes people blind, Rose repeated in her head, knowing what had made Stephen’s heart break the first time, and what made his heart waver now.

***

“The Silent Sect, the Blue Banners, the criminals at Tartarus,” the detective looked over his scattered notes and photographs again. “If I were looking to take over the underworld, wiping all of them out would definitely help. It’d be a tough task, but if I was strong enough and had memories of my past life too, it’d be doable. Rose.” He picked up the blurry sheet Kingsley had given him; the only photo they had of her left, and it was near impossible to make her out in it.

“She definitely didn’t exist in the game, but why would you go through the effort of wiping them out? Why not take them over and control them? What is it you’re truly after?”

He remembered a famous movie quote about how some people lacked reasons and just enjoyed chaos, but John didn’t believe that was Rose.

Her actions, her careful planning, all of it screamed of her intentions.

What those intentions were, he did not know.

Someone who knows the original scenario.

Someone who knows how to break it into perfect pieces.

Someone who… Someone who…He bit his lip. I don’t know.

For the first time in a long time, the great detective was lost.

And that scared him.