In the country of the flugels, Gjallarhorn, a lone young woman who wasn't a flugel, stood in the middle of the white town. This was one half of this country's capital, which had been split into east and west due to reasons regarding the color of one's wings, a source of discord that stretched far into the past…
The young woman who had long red hair and golden eyes, was Haruka.
She had her arms crossed and was pouting as she waited in front of the clock tower situated in the center of the white town.
"…He's late."
The reason she was there was to exchange information with a certain person. Haruka would expertly draw out the information she wanted but only spill what was absolutely necessary, all the while eloquently convincing the other person that he was profiting from all this.
She'd run that simulation in her head over and over again, but now that it was time to actually put things into action, her opponent just wouldn't come.
"Argh dammit! Where the hell is that guy!" Haruka started walking while mumbling her complaints.
If her opponent wouldn't come, then there was no other choice. Haruka didn't want to move about too recklessly, but in this case, she would probably have to go get them.
She walked through the town that was colored completely white with no variation, observing the people who lived here as she passed by.
For races that could fly, the basics of living were fundamentally different from other humans.
It was normal for entrances to be on the second or third floor of a building, but of course there were no stairs or ladders leading up to them.
The town was built so flush to the cliff face that there was a real danger of falling if someone made one wrong step. But it didn't seem like that caused any problems at all for the residents.
On the other hand, roads and walkways were far wider compared to normal human cities. That was because they were much more likely to bump into others than normal people since they had wings.
For good or bad, having wings was a major standard for this entire place. That was just the way of life for flugel. There was actually an aphorism spread throughout the world that said a flugel without wings was just a human. That was why they placed such importance on the color and shape of their wings and hated anything that differed from their ideals.
"…Oh?"
As she was observing the comings and goings of the town, Haruka spotted a suspicious-looking figure. The figure was similar to Naru in that they covered their whole body in a mantle. The color of the mantle was white, but the objective of covering their face and wings was probably one and the same. Haruka could tell this because she'd been with Naru this entire time. Covering one's wings that way created unnatural bulges in clothing.
Of course, it wasn't possible to immediately see through that, and the only one who could do so straightaway would probably be Penny.
—Could this be an unexpected chance to have information fed to me on a silver platter?
Feeling the sight of the person in a white mantle was extremely unusual, Haruka's face split into a devilish smile. She was still technically waiting to meet someone, but… He's the one who missed our appointed time first. I was at the right place at the agreed-upon time, so he has no right to complain to me.
Coming to that conclusion, Haruka made a hurried change in plans. She tailed the person in the white mantle.
Haruka made sure not to be found out as she chased the white-mantled person through progressively less populated streets.
It's all right. There's no chance I'll be found.
Deceiving, tricking, and infiltrating the enemy without them noticing was Haruka's specialty. She even had absolute confidence that she could do the same to Lunaru Fenris or the Grimm King if she put her mind to it. So tailing the figure in the white mantle without being noticed was no problem for her. It was like taking candy from a baby.
The person in the white mantle entered a small room, and Haruka moved right up to the door. Then, she opened it just a crack so she could peek inside.
There's two, three, four… five people other than white mantle here. From what they're wearing and whatnot, it looks like they're all pretty rich and powerful.
The six people gathered here most likely had quite a lot of power and influence in the capital.
Now isn't this suspicious, seeing people like this gathering in secret and all.
Curious, Haruka put her ear to the door and concentrated on listening in to their conversation.
"You're late, Shimura."
"Sorry. I got held up at a meeting back there."
Apparently the person in the white mantle was named Shimura.
When he took off his mantle, he revealed white wings as one might've expected. He looked to be in his mid-50s in human terms, and his body was clearly trained. His eyes held a sharp gaze. It was easy to tell that he wasn't one to be messed with.
No way was he a normal citizen.
"So, what did Her Highness say?"
"It's no good. We can't count on that opportunistic queen. She wouldn't listen to my advice, not even for the third time. She won't understand that if this keeps up, those with filthy wings will only keep multiplying."
Haruka sensed that this was a gathering of people who were not happy with the black town. They were of the faction that had prided themselves on their white wings since ancient times and wouldn't accept anything that didn't fit within their standards. They looked down on others and believed they were true nobility, never doubting that fact.
From their perspective, it must have been mortifying to see those with mixed-colored wings—or in their words 'tainted wings'—create their own town and act as if they were equals.
"Then it really…"
"Yes. We will have to crush those filthy-wings that keep multiplying by ourselves."
Haruka put her hand to her mouth.
This conversation's turned really violent. "Crush?" That's nowhere near peaceful.
It seemed to Haruka that this situation had been in a stalemate for too long and was just about to explode.
"But that is…"
"Of course that will mean dirtying our hands. But someone has to do it. We can't defend justice only with pretty words. Someone has to fulfill their duty, even if it means becoming evil. Didn't we all gather like this because we were prepared to do so?"
Justice.
Haruka couldn't help but chuckle, hearing that word.
I see. It seems like they're stereotypical people who are full of themselves. By indulging in the word 'justice', anything can be forgiven. In fact, by doing exactly what others wouldn't they may think they're noble for having to dirty their own hands to enforce justice…
Ahh, how laughable. There's no one more vicious and wicked than those with their eyes clouded by 'justice'.
"Also… I have heard that those filthy-wings are preparing for war with us as well. It'll be too late if they attack first."
Not only are their eyes clouded by justice, but they're paranoid too… This is serious, Haruka thought. So they're delusional, think they're right, and also paranoid about being attacked themselves. They're just bombs waiting to blow.
I don't know if Hinata's noticed this already, but the fuse to this country's destruction has already been lit.
"I've already called upon others who feel the same way we do, and we're forming a volunteer army. All our hearts are one. There is no doubt that we love our country." Shimura spoke passionately, and all the others raised a cheer.
If one was in the minority, it was easy to put the brakes on a bad idea. But if one was in the majority, then a bad idea became impossible to stop. Mob psychology messed with one's decision-making abilities, causing one to perceive everything they did as right.
Now it was just a countdown until everything went haywire.
"Also, we have friends on the outside. They are without wings, but Merc feels the same way we do. Actually, the information he's provided has been a great help."
"By the way, I don't see Merc anywhere…"
"I suppose it's because moving around this town is very hard for Merc, seeing as how he's human…"
Merc… Is that the name of the one who lit the fuse?
This was most likely the case, but she felt that something was wrong since the person himself wasn't there.
Shouldn't Merc himself be here for a meeting this important? That way he could rile them up even more. Did he just get lazy at the last second?
Well, the exact reason didn't matter to Haruka.
I've gotten my hands on some nice info. I probably don't need to stay here any longer. This'll be a nice present for Naru.
Haruka disappeared the next instant as if she were mist without once letting her wan smile crumble.