The Magic Academy's Physicist-Chapter 291: Locking The Door After The Horse Is Gone (13)

Chapter 291: Locking The Door After The Horse Is Gone (13)
0% “It isn’t your fault that people died from the atomic bomb. It was all dropped by the Demon King!”
“If I hadn’t made that, the world wouldn’t be this way right now.”
Even if people died, they would’ve died in a linear fashion, not slaughtered in a way that defied Lanchester’s laws.
“This came about from a single rudimentary bomb. Yet they want me to develop Dark Day? Is the government crazy? I won’t do it. I can’t do it.”
What I was saying was ironic, of course, because not long ago, it was none other than me who was trying to set the world on fire.
“But I wouldn’t have done anything if I knew this would happen. Should have just pushed through even if things were a bit hard....”
“...No, Miss.”
“I shouldn’t have done it.”
“It’s not your fault, I’m telling you.”
“No, I’m....”
“Argh!! This is so frustrating─!!”
Leninya pounded her chest and smacked me. Not that it hurt. How could the punches of my pupil hurt?
“Are you frustrated?”
“Yes!”
Yeah, that’s good to know.
Because the authorities should also be frustrated right now.
“Someone famous in the history of warfare once said that there are two ways to end a war quickly! Either lose or fight really well and win. Do you want us to lose, Miss?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then we have to win, by making something incredibly powerful. And in order to do that, we need your knowledge and power.”
Then Leninya held out today’s paper.
“Take a look at this!”
[Kaurelia Research Institute Survey][Q. What do you think about former Winter Heaven Aether?]
[1. She is not a Beast and is a decent person : 21%]
[2. Although she is a Beast, I think she is decent : 11%]
[3. Although she is an evil Beast, we need to cooperate with her for the sake of the current war situation : 37%]
[4. She is evil and must be executed or banished immediately : 29%]
“The majority think that we should work with you. If you help them, you’ll be able to save the country and receive overwhelming support.”
Wait, why was she so sure about this.
“I told you I’m going to be discarded. Take a closer look at number 3.”
3: We must cooperate with Aether because war is now imminent.
Which meant that they were going to cook me once the war was over.
I couldn’t move yet with the negative opinion still dominant.
Right, until they decided that they lost the ‘horse’.
**
After Aether holed up in the shanty town–
The other Golden-Eyeds who followed her also disappeared. Akasha and Rosemary. The two Beasts vanished.
Vermel was even dragged off by General Pecton.
Where? To the army, of course. He was apparently going to be sent to the field after a month of basic training.
Now the ways in which the government could communicate with Aether became severely limited.
“Then since it has come to this, let’s force her here.”
“Are you mad? Force her when we should be doing our best to persuade her? Do you want to set this country on fire!”
As the struggles of the bureaucrats grew–
The Demon Army was in full swing.
[The first battle took place today at the northwestern battlefront. Our forces suffered a company-sized casualty.]
It began with a light knock. They had sent dozens of high-level Beasts to attack.
Then they gradually increased the troops that they sent. Kaurelia defended well. The army’s morale slowly went up. It was doable.
“I think this might work?”
“The number of casualties is still only a hundred and some. We did well against the initial shock so it should get better.”
It wasn’t long after the bureaucrats were thinking that.
[Breaking news: A mushroom cloud has been observed in the skies over Shaleromo region.]
[Around 34 000 heavy industrial, commercial, and residential units in the region have been destroyed. The estimated death toll is 82 000.]
A tactical nuke was dropped onto the northwest’s key industrial zone.
**
Lotte knocked on the door of the shack even on rainy days, then eventually fell sick with a cold.
Freyr was spurned while pleading in the streets with tears, the reason being that she was defending the evil Golden-Eyed.
Yufiel used her family’s power and interfered in Parliament, but nothing came of it. Rather, it only greatly reduced the approval ratings for her party.
It was the same for the government’s approval ratings. There were ongoing anti-war protests and demands for the impeachment of the administration.
And in the meantime, the soldiers on the front were dying.
[There are abnormal symptoms being ed from the units stationed near the Shaleromo region.]
[The soldiers are showing symptoms such as nausea, chills, diarrhea, hair loss, loss of appetite, skin lesions.]
[Targeted investigation of some troops revealed large amounts of denatured sodium in their urine.]
Bang!
“That bomb wasn’t just a bomb?”
“It seems like a magic to make the area barren.”
The government lost control over the area, and so it was naturally taken over by the Beasts.
And unlike humans, Beasts were hardly affected by residual radiation.
[As of this time, additional casualties have been counted: 23 000 more people have been exposed to radiation, bringing the current toll up to 105 000.]
[The army has lost five generals and three Elite Elementals due to this incident.]
“What?”
“Is this true?”
The people’s anxiety also grew by the day.
“The Elite Elementals were killed? That can’t be.”
At the very least, Elite Elementals had died. And the people didn’t believe it at first.
They had all thought that an atomic bomb wasn’t a big deal, because the Elemental Kings had worked together to stop the bomb when the World Tree had nearly burned.
Of course, Kaurelia would have been destroyed long ago if not for Aether. It was because her use of the Eightfold Way had prevented a catastrophe.
But the citizens were not aware of this.
Now without her, the situation on the front was more dire than ever.
“What is the President doing! What is the administration doing!”
“Come up with a plan, now!”
Protests condemning the incompetence of the current government continued in front of the administration building and Parliament.
In fact, the government was also going out of their minds.
The public was still strongly against Aether.
“Say that we’re willing to give her and the Golden-Eyed a good deal, then bring her in secretly and have her research, no?”
“She said she wasn’t going to move until she had the people’s permission.”
“Haa, for goodness’ sake.”
The President of Kaurelia, Dwight Eisen, brushed back his hair and let out a groan.
“And it also seems that she feels guilty about the bomb she made, saying that she doesn’t have the motivation to make that Dark Day thing right now....”
“What? Are you kidding me, after we released her?”
“It’s not a joke. With the people reacting like that, and the number of people she’s indirectly killed gradually growing... Even I wouldn’t be able to maintain my sanity.”
“...I see.”
He did understand.
If she could go around normally even after all that criticism, she’d be a true Beast. But she did have feelings which would be why she was staying inside and not coming out.
“Your Excellency! Your Excellency─!!”
“What, what is it?”
“It’s bad! There are flyers falling from the sky!!”
Upon hearing that, the President hurriedly opened the windows.
And as they said, flyers were falling from the sky.
Flap.
Snatching one of the flyers, President Dwight began to read it slowly.
[To all the people of Kaurelia.]
[Despite advising repeatedly to surrender, you did not listen.]
[Rather, you continued in pointless rebellion. This is highly regrettable, and I am informing you that you have thrown away your chance.]
It was a written notice.
[Starting with the incident in Shaleromo, the same tragedy will be repeated dozens and hundreds of times. My armies will trample the elves, and my magic will bring death to the Elemental Kings.]
[All Golden-Eyeds who see this, immediately flee to the coast of Kirel Sea. Follow the humanoid Beasts there and defect.]
[The rest of you foolish and incompetent things will be purged.]
[I will take the leader’s will as absolute, and no longer advise surrender. That is all.]
“Look at the back, Your Excellency! It lists the expected bombing sites.”
“Ah, damn it....”
It was saying that they would drop bombs on all major cities including Märcherm; it was about 50 locations.
“We must retrieve command of the air somehow.”
“...Ha, it’d be too late. The fact that he’s deceiving us this boldly means he’s that confident.”
There was now a big power gap between the forces of the Demon Army and elf country.
If they fought using traditional forces alone, then they’d win with the help of the Elemental Kings, but the introduction of the atomic bomb rendered everything pointless.
If the Elemental Kings ever showed themselves–
Hundreds of atomic bombs were going to fall there.
“This is madness.”
“You must hold it together, Your Excellency. The people will be uneasy!”
“No, even I cannot do anything about this.”
The people already learned about the mushroom cloud, and that bomb killed 100 000 soldiers and civilians alike, they say.
The number 100 000 wasn’t a small one by any means; it was the population of a small, medium-sized city.
So how could a population of that size be wiped out in a single night? It was absolutely impossible with the tools of warfare that people had known until now.
And on the fourth day since an atomic bomb fell onto the Shaleromo region–
The Kaurelia Research Institute took another survey.
[Q. (Latest) What do you think of former Winter Heaven Aether?]
[1. She is not a Beast and is a decent person : 32%]
[2. Although she is a Beast, I think she is decent : 16%]
[3. Although she is an evil Beast, we need to cooperate with her for the sake of the current war situation : 47%]
[4. She is evil and must be executed or banished immediately : 2%]
The shock of the atomic bomb had been too great for the people.
As well, they spread flyers that they were going to drop that same bomb across Kaurelia, so that was that.
Now the people were seeking even a rotten piece of wood to hold onto. They wanted some kind of hero to show up right now and end this war chaos.
And so their attention naturally turned to Aether.
“Your Excellency, the public opinion has turned in favor of that Golden-Eyed.”
“Good. Try making contact with her again.”
Eventually, someone in the government came knocking on the door of the shack.
“This is Karina Rzhev, Director of National Security! Please open the door!”
- If you have something to tell me, please say it out there first.
“A-are you the former Winter Heaven?”
- I won’t repeat myself.
The voice coming through the board wasn’t that impressive. Karina was certain that the person behind this door was Aether.
“The President has asked us to bring you. The research shows that the public opinion has also improved. It is time to uphold the promise!”
- .......
“Please don’t worry about what’ll happen post-development. His Excellency guarantees a bright future for you and the Golden-Eyed. Even if the war ends, this country has no reason to abandon you......!”
- That’s enough.
The woman’s voice was getting further away.
N-no.
Becoming urgent, Karina banged on the door and raised her voice.
“Please open the door! We need your help! Please! I beg you─!!”
The head of security, Karina, stood there and banged on the board over and over again.
“Kaurelia will be doomed without you! You said you’d help us!! Please keep your promise!!”
She cried out again and again, but her heart wouldn’t reach her.
Shaaaaa.
Before she knew it, heavy rain began pouring from the sky.
“Damn it, I don’t want to die like this.... After all that it took to get to this position....... Dad, Mom...!
Sob
.......”
“Let’s go back, Director. It’s raining.”
She did her best to carry out her duty to the very end, and ended up returning drenched and carried by her subordinate.
After coming back home, Karina fell ill and had to be nursed for a couple days.
And while she was getting nursed, she had to suffer through awful nightmares.
It was a dream where the whole world was on fire. A scenery with heavy smoke rising and lights flashing, creating a photosphere.
A world of ash with no color to be found anywhere.
“...
Gasp
!”
As she walked through that space, she gasped awake and abruptly rose from the bed.
Fwump
–the wet towel dropped.
And as if possessed, she operated the scroll as soon as she got up and turned on the radio.
Wishing that the situation now wouldn’t be much different from before,
please
.
[......Breaking news. A moment ago at 9:54, an atomic bomb with a magnitude of 13 kT fell on the Kiezpel region.]
[Casualties are expected to reach at least 110 000, with deaths being mostly civilians.......]
“Ah....”
The nightmare wasn’t over yet.