そのエルザは今、メイド達とは別行動で一人、独自に行動していた。視点を変え異なるポイントから攻めようというのである。
「エルザ様、このような事をされては困ります！旦那様はお忙しく、お約束を取り付けた方としか会わないと仰られていて…」
「早急に話をする必要があると言っているでしょう、生憎だけれど、そちらの都合に合わせるつもりも、また余裕もありません。穏便に済ませようとしている内に案内して下さらない？どう足掻いても取り次いで頂けないというのなら、こちらとしても不本意ですが実力行使に訴えさせて頂きます」
　ただならぬ気迫を発するエルザにエアリ＝アルを突き付けられた使用人の中年女性は、主の言い付けとエルザの脅しの板挟みで今にも失神しそうなほど怯えきっていた。一応は念動力を持つ超能力者ではあるものの、所詮手の平サイズの物体をほんの少し動かすのがやっとというこの使用人にとって、有象無象に数えられる中級魔術師でさえ手の付けられない相手になってしまうのだ。
　震える声で懸命に説得を試みる哀れな使用人を促して案内させようとしているのはカーマイン家、社交パーティでエルザを戦慄させた、あのリュートが住まう屋敷である。何の前触れもなく突然訪れ、家主に会わせろと邸宅内に押し入ったエルザを取り押さえようとした数人の使用人が、エルザが行使した魔術によって麻痺し、昏倒し、幻覚で攪乱された挙句の有様が今のこの状況であった。攻撃魔術を使わないだけまだ優しいとは本人の弁だが、そこは魔術師を偽る魔法使いの成す業である、白目を剥いて泡を吹き痙攣している者が出始めている辺り、説得力の欠片も無い。本人の魔力係数が直接効果の強弱に影響する魔法ではなく、構築する式に許容限界のある魔術を使っているだけ、まだ理性が残っているといえなくもないが…平均的な魔法使い一人で上級魔術師数人分に匹敵する魔力係数を発揮し、その平均的な魔法使いのエルザが行使する魔術はいわば”常に最大出力”になってしまうのだから、どちらにしろ並の人間にとっては堪ったものではなかった。
　襲撃犯とリュートの間に繋がりがあると確定した訳ではなかったが、不安要素は潰しておきたい、というのがこの訪問の目的である。エルザが救出隊に参加しなかったのは、立地的見地から魔法使いの大火力が敵味方に及ぼす影響を考慮しての事と、若干エルザがキレ気味で「アカい」思考をしていた事に起因する。何より、これから行おうとしているのが、ランの名が記された研究データの存在、そしてホテル襲撃とランの誘拐に彼の関与があったかを明らかにする事を主眼としているからだ。シュトラヘルツ家が国連退魔機構に出資しているのと同じく、カーマイン家が技術寄与を行っているという立場上、早期段階での武力行使は論外とされ（彼が清廉潔白であった場合、無為に圧力をかけた形になるシュトラヘルツ家の立場を危うくする為）、状況如何によっては不可視の刃が飛び交う相当辛辣な知的遊戯に発展する可能性ありと想定された事もあり、舌戦が得意ではない（本人達は大層不本意だろうが）脳筋集団であるシュトラヘルツのメイド達よりも、キレ気味でありながらも老獪な魔法使いであるエルザの方がまだしも適任だと説くコルの説得があまりに必至だった為、エルザは渋々ながらこの役を引き受けたのだった。
　その説得の裏に、どうせ危険な目に遭わせるならメイド達やランよりも首謀者にしてしまおう、という真意を含んでいたのは、現にこうして口八丁すら使わず真正面から乗り込んでいる辺り、ある意味では正解だったのかもしれない。これで救出隊に加わっていようものなら、ラン救出までの障害を切排除する為に、ランを巻き込んで一切合切を消し飛ばしかねなかったのだから。
「後生ですからお許し下さい…お言い付けを破ったとなれば、温厚な旦那様といえどお叱りを受けてしまいます」
「私が無理を言っているのは重々承知しています。あなた方に非が無い事は説明しておくので安心なさい、それでももし咎められて辞めさせられる事になったら、私の口添えで次の仕事先を斡旋して差し上げるわ。だから早く彼の下へ案内を。今ならまだ、あなた方の立場も、身の安全も、これ以上悪くせずに済むのよ」
「そ、そんな…」
「…それともやはり、実力行使がお好み？」
　スッと表情が消えたエルザの声色が低くなる。次いで全身が静電気に包まれたかのような総毛立つ感覚。気付けばエルザの体を幾筋もの白光を瞬かせる電流が這い回り、周囲に放出されていた。
　いよいよ身の危険を悟り、息を呑んだきり恐怖に声も出せなくなった使用人が身を竦ませたその後ろから、やけにのんびりした声が掛かる。
「あまりうちの使用人を苛めないでやってくれるかな。ここには僕を含めて戦う力を持たない人間しかいないんだから」
「…」
　視線を使用人の背後に移せば、昨夜のパーティで見たスーツではなく私服に白衣という更に野暮ったい服装のリュートが、長年使い込まれたらしき薄べったくなったスリッパを引きずり、階段を降りてきたところだった。エルザの意識がリュートに向いた事で威圧めいた圧力から解放された使用人は、その場でへなへなと座り込み、そのまま横倒しに崩れ落ちてしまう。
「あーあ、気を失ってしまっているじゃないか。自分より遥かに格下の相手に、こんな可哀想な事をするものじゃないよ、うん、うん。どこからどう見ても朗らかな雰囲気ではないけれど、一体何の用かな？僕の発明品が届くのが待ち切れなくて、直々に取りに来た…って訳じゃあなさそうだ、うん、うん」
「ええ、あなたに伺いたい事があって来ました。『是が非でも』訊かせて頂きます」
「どうやら断らせてもらえないみたいだね、断ったら後が怖そうだし。分かった、お望み通り話を聞こうじゃないか、うん、うん。そうだな、僕の研究室で良いかい、爺や以外の使用人が近付くのを禁止している場所だから、あそこなら他の誰かに聞かれると拙いような話もできる」
「助かります」
「ここまでしておいて助かるも何もないと思うけれど…それと術を解いてやってくれないか。流石にこんな事でこんな風に死なせたりしたら、彼等も浮かばれない」
　そう言われて振り向き、明らかに危なげな呼吸音で喘いでいる使用人が数人居る事に、やっと気付いた。
　慌てて術を解いたエルザは、自分が焦りから罪のない無力な相手に凶行を働いていた事を、今更ながら恥じたのだった。
「さ、入ってくれ。少し臭いけど我慢してもらえるかい、換気の途中だったんだ」
　リュートの言葉通り、部屋の中からは一面にメロンをぶちまけた後のような、仄かに甘い香りが漂ってきていた。どちらかといえば小腹に響く匂いだ。
「不快という程の匂いではないと思いますが…何の匂いですか、これは」
「ああ、女性はこの手の匂いは好きな方なのかな、僕は甘い果物が苦手でね、とりわけメロンなんか食べると頭痛がするくらいなんだ、チョコレートとかの甘いお菓子なら疲れた時に食べるくらいには好きなんだけれど、フルーツ系の味だけはどうにも受け付けないんだよね…ああそうそう、この匂いが何か、だったね。この匂いは僕が今、研究している新薬の匂いだよ、うん、うん、ただ、どうも成分配合的に、こんな香りになっちゃうみたいでね。ほら、特別な力を使わずにゴーストと人間の双方が触れられる物質の中に、霊糸を使った繊維があるだろう？触れ合ったり、衣装にしたり、捕獲したりするのに使われたりするけれど、霊糸は貴重な物だから高価で量産が利かない、うん、うん、そこで僕のこの研究だ、この新薬を一般的な繊維や材質に混入する事で、霊糸繊維と同等の効果を持たせようという試みなんだよ、今は表面に塗布して一時的に効果を得るのが精々だけれど、将来的には長期間持続、できれば効果を恒久的なものにしたいと思っている。悪霊を捕縛する手錠みたいな物があると現場が楽になるだろうし、呪術的なものに頼らない悪霊対策だってできるかもしれない、実体化できないゴーストだって通常の物質に触れられるようになる手袋や、服なんかが安価で手に入ると嬉しいだろうしね、うん、うん。そういえばキミの妹もゴーストだよね、この研究が完成すれば、もっと気軽に服選びができるんじゃないのかい？ん、待てよ、彼女は普通に実体化しているみたいだったけど、霊体化した場合は着ていた服はどうなるんだ…？エルザ君、そこら辺どうなのかな、着ていた服も含めて霊体化してしまうのだろうか？だとすれば、ゴーストの自意識下に服も取り込まれて同化するという事になるけれど、そうなると繊維組織はどんな変化をしているんだろう…？ねぇ、今度キミの妹に尋ねてみてくれないか」
「そういう話をしに来たのではありません！………って」
　早くも研究の方に思考がズレ始めたリュートについ声を荒げたエルザだったが、そのリュートのランに対する言葉に目を剥いた。
「まさか、昨日の事を何もご存じないのですか！？」
「え、昨日何かあったのかい？」
　キョトンとしたリュートの目にはまさに、昨夜エルザが見たままの、研究以外目に入らない独特の色が浮かんでいた。
（誤魔化している素振りは無い、というより、完全に身の回りの事が目に入っていない…！）
　邪気のない純粋さと底なしの空虚を覗かせる、理性的な怖気を抱かせる目。己を偽りで覆い隠す者には決してできないその目が、演技ではない事を物語っていた。半ば予期していた事だったが、エルザは軽い眩暈を覚えていた。アイーナがしばしば思考の海に沈む事があるように、あの時の話の内容から、彼の意識が思考へと移った事によるものという可能性を考えもした、だがそれは所詮、自分の「そうであってほしい」という願望に過ぎなかったのだと、現実が声なき声で嘲笑う。
　通常、この手の人間は自分だけの世界に没頭していて、まともな問答など期待できるものではないのが常だ。しかし彼の場合は、このように相手と向き合い、対話が成立しているにも関わらず、それでいて彼の脳という世界では彼だけの全く異なる思考で埋め尽くされ、それ以外の物事が割り込む事はない。向き合い言葉を交わす人物の認識も、周囲で起きている出来事への対応も、それに対する彼自身の反応も、それこそ全てが思考の外側で行われている。本人以外には理解の及ばない一種異様な思考構造は、天才か、異常者か、そのどちらかであり、そのどちらでもあるといえた。
　少なくとも、自分を映し込み認識していながらも見ていないその目に、パーティで彼を前に感じた薄ら寒さが蘇っているのだけは、確かなのだ。
（いかん、駄目だ、考えがてんで読めんどころの話ではない、こちらの予測が全く及び付かぬ。というかこれ、探り入れる意味なくね？）
　駆け引きにさえなりそうもない状況に頭を抱えて突っ伏したい衝動に駆られるが、だからといって諦めて会話を打ち切っては得られるものも得られないと意を決する。情報を引き出すのに常人の定石が使えないのであれば、敢えて定石を外すだけの事。
　思い出せ、そして考えろ、自分が誰なのかを。
　数多の不条理を力業で覆してきた魔法使いに、無理などという言葉は通用しない！
　魔法使いエルザ・シュトラヘルツ、無理を通してみせる！

「実は昨夜、あなたがお帰りになられた後、ホテルが襲撃されたのです。多くの死傷者と、それから、妹が誘拐されました…」
「へー」
（殴りてぇ）
　無理矢理上げたテンションが一気に下がった。
「成程、それで僕の所に来たんだね」
「え？」
「何を呆けた顔をしているんだい。誘拐されたキミの妹はゴーストだ、ゴースト集団消失事件と付けて、誘拐犯と関連があるかも、と思ったんだろう？身内が誘拐されて暢気に事を構えていられなくなって、彼女が囚われている場所を突き止める手立てを求めて僕の助力を仰ぎに来た、うん、うん、そんなところじゃないかな？」
「…ええ…まぁ…そうです？」
　もうそれでいいや、と半分以上納得できないままヤケクソで頷いた。仮に彼が本星ではなかったとしても、遺留品以上にハッキリとした手掛かりに繋がるのであれば、この際何でも良い。如何なる方法を用いようと、ランの居所さえ掴んでしまえば、あとは大手を振るって殴り込めるのだから。
「何故に疑問形なのかな？…そうだなぁ、例えば本人がゴーストになってから長く愛用していた物とか憑依していた物なんかがあると、それに染み付いた霊波の波長を元に霊波検知機で追えるかもしれないよ」
「パーティーで妹が身に付けていた装飾品がいくつか遺留品として見付かりました。最近購入したものですが攫われた時に身に付けていたものです、これでは不可能でしょうか？」
「うーん、それじゃ難しいね、波長の残滓が染み付くには年単位で毎日のように使っていないと。身に付けていた時期ではなくて、身に付けていた期間が重要なんだ。怨念が篭もってたり染み付いた品であれば期間は問わないけれど、ああいうのは強い思念が篭められたものだから例外扱いかなぁ、うん、うん。品物の他にも、人間でいう髪の毛や皮膚のような体組織に近いもの、つまりゴースト本人の遺体か遺骨そのものの一部、最低でも一握りの遺灰でもあれば検知機は使える。何かないかな、そういうの」
「毎日…身に付けていた物…あ」
　ある。ランが毎日、必ず身に付けていて、今はエルザの手元にある物が。
　エルザは着物の袂に手を突っ込み、白いリボンを取り出した。これは、必ずランを救い出すという意思の下、お守り代りに拝借してきたランのリボンである。ランのトレードマークにもなっているこのリボンは、パーティーの時はドレスに合わせて髪を結い上げていた為、ドレッサーの上に置かれたままになっていたのだ。
　元はランがジャック・オ・ランたんと呼ばれていた頃、ジャック・オ・ランタンを模した髪飾りだったものが、怨念を昇華した後に変じたリボンだ。怨霊と化してからの歳月をランと共にあったこのリボンなら、身に付けていた期間も、染み付いた怨念と霊波も、申し分あるまい。こんな形で手掛かりに繋がろうとは、本当の意味でお守りとして機能しているのかもしれない。
「それ彼女のかい？なぁんだ、ちゃんと持って来てるじゃないかエルザ君。それに染み付いた霊波から波長パターンを検出すれば本人が発する霊波を追えるよ。貸してごらん」
　言われた通りにリボンを手渡すと、リュートは奇妙な突起とボタンの付いた、どこかで見た覚えのある何ともレトロな形状の機械を取り出し、後面の小さな扉を開いてリボンを中に入れた。
（…鉄○２８号のリモコン？）
　じゃああの突起はレバーか。前に倒すと「行け鉄○」で、後ろに倒すと「逃げろ鉄○」で、交差させると「頑張れ鉄○」なのか。あのボタンは、実はボタンと見せ掛けてダイヤルで、あれで出力調整するのか。ドラ○ンレーダーみたいな表示が付いてるのだけが違うなー。そんなアホな事を考えながら待つ事数秒で検出は終わり、返されたリボンを受け取ったエルザは、小さな疑問にぶち当たる。
　これで探せるのは、本人だけなのだろうか？
「あの、この検知機、本人に所縁のある物も探せたりしますか？それが可能なら、妹を助け出した後にもう一度、使わせて頂きたいのですが」
「ふむ…物にもよると思うけれど、霊波が検知できるのなら、失せ物探しも一応可能ではあるね」
「妹の、腰骨を探したいんです」
「腰骨だって？」
「はい。あの子の遺体は一部が未だ発見されておらず、腰から膝まで幽体ですら形を成す事ができません。あの子を引き取ってから独自に行方を追っていたのですが、一向に見付けられないのです」
　これまで立てた仮説通り、襲撃犯であり誘拐犯である”死体回収屋”と、ランの名が頻繁に記された人工幽霊創造の実験データを作成した人物が繋がっているのなら、ランを救出する事で一挙両得も有り得るかもしれないが、そうでない可能性は依然として残っている。無理に連れてこられた上に事件に巻き込まれ、何も得が無いまま骨折り損で終わるとなれば、あまりにもランが報われない。せめて当初の目的くらいは果たしてやらねば連れてきた意味が無くなってしまうし、何よりただでさえ姉としての尊厳が地に落ちているのだから、更に地の底をブチ破って信用を落とすのだけは避けたかった。
　ところが、リュートが意外な事を言い出して、事態は急変する。
「あのさ、変な事訊くけど」
「何でしょう」
「その腰骨って１０歳くらいの女の子の？大腿骨まであったりする？もしかして彼女の名前って偽名で、生前はエトランゼって名前だったりしない？」
「…おい、なんで知ってる」
「うわー、なんだろう、縁って怖いねー。それ僕の地下研究室にあるよー、うん、うん。あ、もしかしてハッキング仕掛けてきたの、キミ達？あのオカルト障壁よく突破できたね、魔術師ってそういう事もできるのかい？デジタルに対応した魔術か、興味深い事例だなぁ、うん、うん」
「いやそんな魔術は無い、って、おい待てコラ」
「はー、そうかそうか…爺さんのコネを辿って手に入れたものだったけど、持ち主が居て探してるんなら返さない訳にもいかないよね、うん、うん。研究を続けるには別の物を探してこないとなぁ。なかなか条件に見合うのが見付からないから大変なんだよね」
「おンっどりゃあああああ！！！！！テメこのよくもいけしゃあしゃあと！！！！！！！！」
　段々と目が座っていったエルザは、全く悪びれる様子もないリュートにとうとう怒りを爆発させ、全身から迸る雷が部屋の中に爆ぜた。
「わ、凄い放電。ごめんごめん、まさかあの腰骨の持ち主が成仏してなくて、キミの妹までなってるなんて思ってもなくて…ちょっと落ち着いて、ここで作ってる新薬って本当に有用なものになると思うんだ、絶対に人の役に立つはずだよ、それを破壊するのは利にならないだろう？ちゃんと返すからさ、怒らないでくれよ。おっと危ない」
「そうじゃな、おぬしの隠している研究だの爺さんのコネだの手に入れた経緯だの、聞きたい事が山積みじゃ、このクソボケがぁ…！」
　この期に及んでも慌てる素振りも見せず、それどころか放電から研究成果を護るべくテキパキと避難させているリュートに、一度振り切った怒りゲージを下げる事もできずに全身を震わせるエルザは、地の底から響くような声で、余所行きの口調さえも忘れて憎々しげに吐き捨てた。
「なんか口調変わってない？それに若い内からそんなオーガみたいな顔してたら年取ってから皺できるよ。んー、ほら、キミの妹の霊波、地下研究室の方に反応がある。これ腰骨に反応してるんだね。あれ、でもおかしいな…」
「なんじゃ、まだ何ぞあるのか」
　すっかりやさぐれたエルザの問いに、リュートが初めてほんの少し困った顔をして顎を撫でる。
「これは僕も予想し得なかった事態だよ。腰骨以外にも、同じ霊波パターンが複数反応してる」
　検知機の表示は間違いなく、ランの霊波を示す光点を３つ灯しているのだった。

「どうですかな、あれの様子は」
「…頑なに我々の話を嘘だと思い込む事で心の均衡を保っているようだが、他者に対して反応を示さなくなっている様は、殆ど心神喪失状態に近いな。無機物生命として生まれた者が自我を得た際、自らのアイデンティティを得るまでに一度は通る道に似ているが、命のみならず存在までも創られたものだという事実は、やはり相当なショックだったのだろうよ」
「まだ耐えていたとは。元々与えられた記憶と偽りの人格だというのに、確立した自我というのは厄介ですな。意外にも根付いた基盤は脆くはなかったという事ですか。ま、そこまでの揺らぎが生じているのなら、あとはほんの一押しでもしてやれば容易に突き崩せましょう、これで本来の計画も再開できるというもの。中東に出向いていたあなたを、わざわざ無理を言って呼び寄せる事は無かったかもしれませんなぁ。いや、あの”グリズリー”を葬ったのですし、その価値はあったという事ですかな、Ｍｒ．ギガノフ」
　埃の積もった薄暗い廊下に、老執事の上機嫌な声が反響する。が、口調とは裏腹にその表情は全くの無表情だ。
「彼は勇敢だった。このわたしの一撃を受けてなお、命尽きる最後の瞬間まで倒れなかったのだ…恐るべき執念、尊敬すべき闘志。彼はまさに敬意を表するに値する戦士だった。惜しむらくは彼が実力を出し切れぬ体になっていたという事だ。全盛期の彼であったならば、わたしといえど彼を仕留められたかどうか」
　ギガノフと呼んだ野戦服の男を引き連れ歩く老執事は、それに対して感情を感じさせない目を向けただけで、ただ「そうですか」と返しただけだった。
「しかし解せぬな、あの小娘が貴様の探していたコピーゴーストなのは解ったが、追い詰める必要がどこにある？確固たる人格を持たぬコピーが必要だというなら、あの小娘を捕えたコピーでも良いのではないのか」
「少々認識が違いますな、なにも精神崩壊させようという訳ではないのですよ。単純に、後天的に付随した余計なものを取り払おうというだけです」
「余計なものだと？」
「自分をオリジナルと認識するまでに自我が確立されている以上、彼女は通常の人間同様に感情を持っている事になります。感情とはつまり喜怒哀楽、それに含まれる正の感情が邪魔なのです。旦那様の研究を完成させるのに必要なものはエトランゼ・シュトゥーリアの負の感情、恐怖、悲哀、絶望、憎悪、彼女を怨霊に変質せしめたそれらマイナスの感情エネルギーこそが『鍵』となる訳ですな。負の感情は往々にして正の感情をいとも容易く塗り潰し、凌駕してしまうだけのエネルギーを秘めている、旦那様はそこに着目なされたのですよ。実際、負の感情を発現していたコピー達は、死して正気を失い希薄となっていた正の感情のコピー達を取り込み…正しくは捕食というべきか、自身の存在を補強してしまったくらいでして」
「まるで蠱毒だ」
「言い得て妙ですな。ただ、捕食の影響か感情が暴走し、困った事に『鍵』のひとつとなるコピー…即ち『憎悪』を持つ彼女が、スタッフを殺害して逃げ出してしまったのです。勿論すぐに追っ手を掛けましたが、これが都市伝説の影響を受けてハロウィンにしか現れず、しかも神出鬼没で全く行方を掴めなくなってしまい、仕方なく代用となるコピーを作ったのですが、ファーストロット以降のコピーを同じ環境においても、所謂共食いの兆候は見られず、劣化した希薄な存在としてしか生産できなかったのですよ。これは旦那様の見解では、既に本懐を果たしたオリジナルの怨念が時間経過と共に薄れているからだ、との事らしいですが。ともあれ、劣化したコピーでは束にしたところでファーストロット・コピー程の強い感情を宿す事ができず、時間をかけて彼女の捜索を続ける傍ら、劣化コピーをファーストロット・コピー並に補強する実験の為に雑霊を集める、という手間をかける事になってしまったという次第で。結果として思わぬ所で彼女を探し当てたものの、余計な感情を覚えていた、という訳なのです。『鍵』として必要なものは、残すは憎悪のみであり、それ以外の感情は不確定要素を生む危険性がありますのでね」
「…では、貴様等の元にいたあのコピーは、劣化コピーだというのか？」
「いえ、あれもファーストロット・コピーですよ。ただし持っている感情は『歓喜』なので、既に憎悪を除く負の感情がインストールされた彼女の『鍵』には成り得ませんがね。正の感情ながら何故かあれだけ捕食の対象にならなかったようで、ずっとあのまま、へらへらと笑っているだけの存在でしかありませんが、希薄ながら２０年間その存在を保ち続けているので、劣化問題を解決する為の研究対象として役立ってもらっていましたし、こちらの言う事をある程度認識して聞いてくれるようになったので、昨晩のような使い方もできます。はは、それで最早必要のない存在になったというのは、何かの皮肉でしょうかな」
　やはり表情は変わらないが声の調子は上機嫌、その差が薄気味悪さを助長していたが、ギガノフはそれでいいと考えていた。自分から振ったとはいえ、こんな気の滅入る話を、それこそ表情にまで表して上機嫌に語られたら、相手が非力な人間の老人であろうと殴り殺してしまいそうだ。だが、そんな彼等に加担しているのは他ならぬ自分なのだ。自嘲気味に鼻で笑うが、老執事は一瞥をくれただけで何も言わなかった。
「さて、では我等が『お姫様』の最終調整といきましょう。彼女には２０年振りの『憎悪』を受け入れてもらわなければなりませんからな」
　通路の行き止まりにある部屋に入ると、カビ臭い匂いが鼻を突く。石壁に板張りされた床を照らす裸電球、書き散らかされたメモ用紙が散乱する年季の入った机には蒸留器や試験管が所狭しと並べられ、学術書らしき分厚い本が何冊も収められた本棚が並ぶ、古めかしい研究室のようだった。
　老執事が部屋の一角からぶら下がる鎖を引くと、重苦しい音を立て壁がスライドしていく。その向こうは、これまでの石造りとは違い、近代的な建物のそれであった。クリーンとは言い難いが清潔感溢れる空間に何基ものシリンダーケース、中で蠢く何かが不規則に色を形を変えていく様を足元の計器が絶え間なくモニターし続け、その隙間で幾人かの者達が、真剣な眼差しで研究に没頭していた。彼等は老執事とギガノフに軽く会釈をしただけですぐに手元に視線を戻したが、二人がそれを気にするでもなく歩を進めていくと、ロケットの格納庫にも似た一際広い空間がそこにある。
　老執事はそこにあるものを見上げ、芝居がかった仕草で両手を広げた。
「負の感情を全てインストールしてしまえば、彼女は自らと同じ感情を有する完全なコピーを永遠に生み出し、またそれらを捕食する事で負の感情は絶え間なく供給され続け、余剰霊力は純エネルギーとして放出される。怨霊へと変質せしめる強烈な負の感情、コピーを生み出す死者の子宮、それがやっと揃ったのです」
　老執事の視線の先にあるのは、巨大なガラスシリンダー。中に納まっているのは女性を模した巨像、いや、像と呼ぶには些かの誤解がある。何故ならそれは、この世ならざるものだからだ。眠っているようにも見える『それ』は、物質で構成されたものではない。物理的な存在ではない霊的な存在。その中で唯一、下腹部に浮かぶ白い固形物だけが、物理的な存在である事を主張していた。

（あれがオリジナルの腰骨か…命を産む子宮を支えていた腰骨を依代に産み落とした怨霊を母体が喰らい、また産んでは喰らうおぞましき循環…まさに死者の子宮、反吐が出るシステムだ）
「あと少し、あと少しで、旦那様の念願が叶いますぞ。Ｅ．Ｓ、我らが姫、朽ちる事なくスタンドアローンでエネルギーを生み出す『霊子ジェネレーター』！全世界の、世に存在する全ての在り方に革命をもたらす、人類が夢見る永久機関が…！」
（だが、事はそう簡単には済まんぞ。じきに、小娘を取り戻しに奴が来る、わたしが小娘のアクセサリーを使って餌を撒き、そう仕向けておいたからな。精々わたしの望みが叶えられない事を祈っているといい）
　無表情のまま感動に打ち震える老執事を冷めた目で見ながら、ギガノフは腰のハンドガンにそっと手を触れる。
（”グリズリー”の弟子、”バレット・スコール”。お前ほどの手練れだ、あのような侮辱を許しはせず、次は本気で殺しに来るのだろう？果たしてお前は、わたしを理解できるか？失望だけはさせてくれるなよ…！）
　ギガノフが獰猛な笑みを浮かべている事に、誰一人気付く者はいなかった。

Elza, right then, was taking different action from the maids, and acting by herself. Due to a change of opinion and strange point, she was going to attack.
"Elza-sama, doing this is very troublesome! The master is busy, and I've been instructed to only let people those with an appointment meet with him..."
"I'm telling you, I need to talk with him urgently. I'm sorry, but I had planned on making the arrangements, but there's no time for that. Won't you please give up and let me inside? If you won't let me in no matter how much I try, then I'll have no choice but to use my true power to get his attention."
Elza, who was surprisingly pushy, pointed Aeri=al at the middle-aged female servant. Conflicted between her master's orders and Elza's thread, she was so afraid that she turned pale. The servant was someone who had the special ability of telekinesis, but could only slightly move things that were about the size of her palm, so one of the large number of mid-level mages was someone she couldn't hold her own against.
This place that Elza was demanding entrance to from the poor servant who was desperately trying to persuade her with a shaky voice, was the Carmine house, the one who gave Elza the shivers at the social party, the mansion where Ryuuto lives. Without any advance notice, Elza suddenly called upon him, and was trying to force her way in to meet with the master of the house. There were several servants who tried to restrain her, but Elza used magic and made them paralyzed, pass out, or confused by illusions, which lead to the current situation. Since she hadn't used any attack magic, she thought she was being pretty nice, but she was a wizard passing herself off as a mage, some of them were starting to have their eyes roll back, foam at the mouth and convulse, so it was quite persuasive. Her magical power coefficient didn't have a direct effect on the strength of her magic, since she was using magic whose limit was set by the casting ritual, so it wasn't as though it was impossible, but... An average single wizard could output a magical energy coefficient equivalent of several high-level mages, so for Elza, as an average wizard, her magic was 'always very powerful', so so matter what she did, it was overwhelming for an average human.
She didn't come to check if there was some connection between the attackers and Ryuuto, but she wanted to eliminate anything she felt uneasy about, and so that was the purpose of her visit. The reason Elza wasn't included in the rescue team is because, considering the location, a high powered wizard would affect both enemies and allies, and Elza thought that she might "see red" and go wild. More importantly, what she was about to do, to find out whether he had anything to do with the research data with Ran's name in it, or the hotel invasion and Ran's kidnapping, was also crucial. The Schtlehertz family finances the UN anti-demon organization, and similarly the Carmine family contributes their skills, so from that stand point, using force at this early stage wasn't unreasonable (if he wasn't involved in it, it would be be risky from the standpoint of the Schtlehertz family), and depending on the situation, it's possible that might turn into an intellectual competition that would be like throwing invisible daggers at each other. Elza wasn't very good at verbally sparring (They probably were very reluctant), but, even if was angered, as a sly wizard, she was better than the hotheaded Schtlehertz maids. This is how Col convinced her, and since it was pretty clear, Elza reluctantly accepted this role.
The real reason behind this explanation was that if someone was going to suffer, it wouldn't be the maids or Ran, but the mastermind. And if she couldn't be that eloquent, she could dive straight in, so in a certain sense, it might be the right thing to do. In that case, if she joins with the rescue team, it would eliminate an obstacle until Ran is rescued, so it's possible it would completely remove the chance Ran would get caught up in it.
"For the love of God, please forgive me... If I go against his orders, I'll be scolded by the gentle master."
"I'm aware of what I'm asking for. You've explained to me that it's no fault of your own, so be at ease. However, if you are blamed and are fired, I'll put in a good word for you for your next job. So hurry and take me inside. If you don't do it now, then I won't be responsible for your job or your safety."
"T, that's..."
"...Or perhaps, you would like me to use my true power?"
Elza's gentle expression disappeared from her face as she dropped the tone of her voice. She felt her hair standing on end, as though her entire body was surrounded by static electricity. Then she noticed Elza's body was giving off a white glow, with electricity running on it and sparking off to the surroundings.
She finally realized the danger she was in, and the servant gasped, and found herself unable to speak from fear. As she cowered in fear, from behind her, a very nonchalant voice called out.
"Won't you please stop tormenting my servants so much? Everyone here are defenseless humans, including myself."
"..."
Moving her gaze to behind the servant, she saw Ryuuto, who wasn't wearing his suit from last night's party, but instead some plain casual clothes with a lab coat. As he came down the stairs, he had on some slippers that looked like he had used them for years. Elza turned her attention towards Ryuuto and the servant, who was released from Elza's overwhelming pressure, just fell over and collapsed onto the floor.
"Ah, so she fainted. This is the kind of sad thing that happens when you face someone much lower than yourself, yea, yea. No matter how you look at it, this isn't a happy atmosphere, but just what do you want? You couldn't wait to get my inventions, so you came by and get them yourself... No, that's not what it looks like, yea yea."
"No, I've come to ask you something. I need to ask you it 'no matter what'."
"It seems like you won't take no for an answer, and if I refused, something scary might happen. Very well, as you wish, I'll listen to you, yea, yea. Yes, how about in my laboratory, my old man and outside servants are forbidden to come close to it, so we can talk without anyone else listening."
"Thank you."
"I don't think I've done anything worth thanking yet, but... could you please undo your magic? If someone were to die in this way because of this, they wouldn't be able to rest in peace."
As he said that, she turned around, and a clear obvious gasping sounds were heard from the many servants, and she finally realized.
Elza, who had quickly undone her magic, was now ashamed that, in her impatience, she had acted violently towards the innocent, helpless servants.
"Well, come in. It stinks a little, but could you please bear with it, I'm in the middle of venting it."
Just as Ryuuto said, there was a faint sweet smell in the room, like after cutting open a melon. It was a smell that that makes your stomach rumble.
"I don't think the smell is anything unpleasant, but... What is this scent?"
"Ah, so women like this kind of scent, I don't like sweet fruit, and when I eat melon I get a headache, though for chocolate and sweets, when I'm tired I like to eat them, but the taste of fruits I just can't stand... Ah yes, this smell is, what is it. This smell is my the smell of the new drug that I'm developing right now, yea, yea, but the mixture of ingredients causes this smell. See, among the things that can touch both ghosts and humans without using any special powers, there are fabrics which use spirit threads, right? They're used to touch, as clothing, and to capture, but spirit thread is valuable, so due to the cost, it can't be used for freely, yea, yea. So this research of mine, this new drug, when mixed in with any fabric or raw material, will give it the same effect as spirit thread, or that's what I'm testing, right now applying a coating on the surface gives it a temporary effect, but that's it, but soon I'll get it to last for a long period of time, and hopefully make it a permanent effect. If there are handcuffs that are used to capture evil spirits, it will be easier when a crime is committed, and they might not have to rely on magical items to combat evil spirits, and for ghosts that can't materialize, they can wear a glove that will be able to touch normal things, and they can get cheaper clothes, so that's a good thing, yea, yea. By the way, your little sister is a ghost, so when my research is complete, she'll be able to choose her clothes more easily, right? Mm, wait, she seems like she can materialize normally, but when she turns ghostly, what happens to the clothes she wears...? Elza-kun, so what do you think of this, do the clothes she wears also turn ghostly? And if so, does a ghost subconsciously include their clothes are part of themselves, but if that's the case, are they changing the makeup of the fabric...? Ah, next time, could you let me ask your little sister?"
"That's not what I came here to talk about! ...Wait"
As Ryuuto's thoughts had already started being diverted to his research, Elza's voice slipped out, but her eyes opened wide at Ryuuto's words about Ran.
"Do you really not know what happened yesterday!?"
"Eh, something happened yesterday?"
Ryuuto had a look of bewilderment in his eyes, a unique color that Elza didn't see last night, when he had eyes for nothing except his research.
(He doesn't seem like he's lying, more than that, he completely doesn't notice anything around him...!)
His eyes were a bottomless pit of innocent purity, gripped by a logical fear. They were the eyes of someone who could never pretend to be something else, saying that this wasn't an act. Elza half expected this, but she still felt a little faint. In the same way that Aiina blinks repeatedly as she sinks into her ocean of thoughts, it's possible that his consciousness went from the previous conversation into thinking mode, or maybe this was nothing more than his own desire that "this is what I wanted to happen", and he was actually laughing on the inside.
Normally, this kind of human would live in his own world, and you wouldn't expect to get a straight answer from him. However, in his case, even when faced with her like this, regardless of the conversation, his own mental world would be completely filled with strange thoughts, and other things aside from that could not enter it. Even the recognition of the words of the other person, dealing with the events that were happening around him, and his own reaction to them, were all outside of his thoughts. It was a strange way of thinking, one that could not be understood by anyone except himself. Was he a genius, or an abberation, or maybe both.
At the least, his eyes were showing himself, though not seeing anything. It reminded her only of the slight coldness she felt when talking with him at the party.
(No, this is bad, this isn't the time to guess what he's thinking, and I can't predict it at all. Or rather, maybe there's no point in busting in here to investigate?)
In this situation where strategy, of all things, seemed useless, she wanted to fall to her knees and clutch her head, but still, she knew that giving up and ending this conversation would not end well. If she couldn't use the methods that would work on normal people to extract information, she she would have to think outside the box.
Remember, and think, who are you.
You are a wizard who has lots of absurd powerful skill, who doesn't know the meaning of the word impossible!
The wizard Elza Schtlehertz, will show you how to ignore the impossible!

"Actually, last night, after you left, the hotel was assaulted. There were many casualties, and also, my sister was kidnapped..."
"Oh."
(I'm gonna punch him)
The forced excitement instantly vanished.
"I see, so that's why you came here."
"Eh?"
"What's with the confused expression? Your kidnapped sister is a ghost, and you think it might be related to the ghost disappearing incident, or the kidnappers are related to it, right? You didn't imagine a family member would be kidnapped, and you're trying to find out where she's being held, and you're here to ask for my help in doing so, yea, yea, that's right, isn't it?"
"...Eh... Well... Yes?"
Whatever, this is fine, and while she wasn't able to comprehend the majority of it, she nodded her head in desperation. Even if he wasn't behind this, if she would be able to get a clearer clue than her lost accessories, then that was fine too. As long as she could get a grasp on Ran's location, then any method was fine, and she could launch an open assault later.
"Why the uncertain tone? ...I know, since she's a ghost, if you have her favorite thing, or something that she had possessed before, then I might be able to trace the wavelength of the residual spirit waves back to their origin using the spirit wave detection device."
"I've found many of the accessories my sister wore at the party. She only purchased them recently, but she was wearing them when she got kidnapped, so is is possible to use these?"
"Hmmm, that would be difficult, the residual wavelength would only leave its mark if used every day for about a year. It doesn't matter when she wore it, only the amount of time it was worn. If the item has been dyed with her hatred, then time doesn't matter, but that sort of thing has a strong impression of her thoughts, so it would be need to be handled specially, yea, yea. Aside from objects, her human hair or a tissue sample or something similar, basically from the corpse of the ghost or her remains, or at the worst, a small amount of her cremated ashes, those could be used by the detector. Do you have anything like that?"
"Something... Worn every day... Ah."
She did. Right now, Elza had something close at hand that Ran had worn every day.
Elza thrust her hand into the sleeve of her kimono, and pulled out a white ribbon. This was Ran's ribbon, which she was using as a good luck charm so she could save Ran. This ribbon was Ran's trademark, and during the party, her hair was made up to match her dress, so she had left it on her dresser.
Originally, when Ran was known as Jack-o-Ran-tan, they were hair ornaments that looked like jack-o-lanterns. But after her grudge evaporated, they turned into ribbons. During her years as a vengeful spirit, the ribbon was with Ran, so in terms of length of time worn, and being dyed with her grudge and spirit waves, were should be no problems. And now that it she could get a clue from it, maybe it really was a good luck charm.
"Is this her's? Hmm, you really were prepared, Elza-kun. If I can detect the wavelength pattern from the spirit waves dyed in this, I'll be able to follow the spirit waves coming from the person herself. Let me borrow that."
Holding the ribbon out as he asked, Ryuuto pulled out a strange device with things sticking out and buttons. It was a retro-looking machine that she thought she had seen somewhere else before. On the back side, he opened a small door, and he put the ribbon inside.
(...A Tetsujin #28 remote control?)
Oh, so those things sticking out are levers. Should he be saying "Go Tetsujin" when pushing it forward, "Retreat Tetsujin" when pulling it back, and "Hanging in there Tetsujin" when moving them opposites. And that button was actually a dial that looked like a button, and could maybe adjust the output power. The only thing different about it was a display that looked like a Dragon Radar. As she was thinking such stupid things, several seconds later, the detector was finished, and Elza was handed back the ribbon, and Elza ran into a small problem.
With this, would they only find Ran herself?
"Umm, this detector, can you also find things related to the person? If it's possible, after I save my sister, I'd like to use it for one other thing."
"Hmm... I think it would depend on the thing, but if it can detect the spirit waves, then it should be possible to find a lost item."
"I want to look for my sister's pelvis."
"Pelvis?"
"Yes. One part of her corpse has not been found yet, and from her hips to her knees, she can't give her ghostly body form. Ever since I adopted her, I've been following strange leads, but I've never found it."
According to her working theory, the attackers and kidnappers were "corpse collectors", and they have some sort of connection with the ones who created the artificial ghost creation experimental data that had Ran's name recorded so often. Therefore, saving Ran might kill two birds with one stone, though there still is other possibilities. She forced her to come, and got her caught up in this incident, so if it were to end with all this work being for naught, Ran wouldn't have gained anything. If she can't at least fulfill her initial goal, then bringing her along would have had no meaning. More importantly, her dignity as an older sister was plummeting, so she wanted to avoid having her faith in her being completely destroyed when it hits the ground.
However, Ryuuto said something unexpected, and the situation completely changed.
"Umm, I this might sound strange, but..."
"What is it?"
"Is that pelvis from a 10 year old girl? And does it go down to her femur? And could it be that her name is an alias, and when she was alive, her name was Etranger?"
"...Hey, how did you know?"
"Whoa, what, you look scary. It's in my underground research facility, yea, yea. Ah, could it be that you were the ones who tried to hack me? That occult barrier gets pierced often, so a mage can do that sort of thing? Some sort of magic dealing with the digital, I'm very interested in cases like that, yea, yea."
"No, that's not magic, wait, hey wait!"
"Hah, I see, I see... I obtained it from my grandfather's connections, but even if I tried to find its owner, I wouldn't have been able to return it, yea, yea. To continue my research, I'd have to find another item. I didn't find anything else that would have worked, so it was a real problem."
"You bastaaaaard!!!!! How could be so shameless!!!!!!!"
Elza's eyes glazed over, and without any hesitation her anger finally exploded at Ryuuto, and thunder burst from her entire body into the room.
"Wow, that's quite an electrical discharge. Sorry, sorry, I didn't even think about the owner of the pelvis being able to go to Heaven, let alone that it might be your sister... Calm down a little, the new drug I made is here, and it will be really helpful, and it will definitely be useful for people. If you destroy it, what good is there in that? I'll give it back, so please don't be angry. It's dangerous."
"Then I've got a ton of questions, about your hidden research, and your grandfather's connections and about how you obtained it, you damn fool...!"
At that time, rather than being flustered, Ryuuto tried to quickly protect the results of his research from the electrical discharge and get it to cover, but Elza's anger gauge didn't drop one bit, and her whole body was shaking. With a voice echoing from the ground, forgetting her polite speech, she spat out hate.
"Hasn't your tone changed? You're young, so if you make such an ogre-like face, as you age, you'll get wrinkles. Hmm, look, your sister's spirit waves, they have a reaction to the underground laboratory. It's reacting to the pelvis. Huh, but that's strange..."
"What, what's wrong?"
At Elza's completely angry question, Ryuuto had a slightly troubled expression on this face for the first time, and stroked his chin.
"It's a situation that I didn't expect either. Aside from the pelvis, there are multiple reactions to the same spirit wave pattern."
The detector display was showing 3 dots of light for Ran's spirit waves.

"So, how is she?"
"She's stubbornly convinced herself that our story was a lie, to maintain her mind, but she doesn't seem to be able to put up any resistance to others, and it won't be long before her mind gives in. As something born as a non-living lifeform, once she obtained a sense of self, she was on a path similar to obtaining her own identity, but as something whose life and existence were constructs, it was, of course, quite a shock."
"So she's still resisting. Even though the original memories and personality given to her were fake, her sense of self that was created is quite a problem. Surprisingly, the foundation that it grew from wasn't weak. Well, now that these tremors have started, with just one more push, we should easily be able to break it, and we can start again with our original plan. As you are heading to the Middle East, I don't think we will need to specifically call for you. Well, burying that "Grizzly", is there any value to that, Mr. Giganov?"
The old butler delighted voice echoed in the dusty and gloomy hallway. However, unlike his tone, his face was completely expressionless.
"He was a brave man. He took a shot from me, and still, until his final moment, he never fell... His frightful tenacity, his honorable fighting spirit. He was truly a soldier worthy of my respect. It is just a shame that he couldn't use his true strength with that body. If he had been in his prime, I don't even know if I could have beaten him."
Walking alongside the fatigue wearing man called Giganov, the old butler just looked at him with expressionless eyes, and simply replied with "I see."
"However, I don't understand. I know that the little girl that you were searching for was a copy ghost, but what about her made it necessary for you to hunt her down? If you needed a copy without a firm personality, wouldn't the copy that caught the girl have been fine?"
"You are slightly mistaken, it's not that we are trying to break her mind. We are just simply removing the unnecessary things that she has gathered."
"Unnecessary things?"
"Moreso than her sense of self that was established before she thought she was the original, she possesses emotions which are the same as a normal human. The positive emotions which are included in human emotions, are a hinderance. In order to complete the master's research, what is needed is Etranger Shutulia's negative emotions. Fear, sadness, despair, hatred, the energy from the negative emotions that turned her into a vengeful spirit are the "key". Negative emotions can sometimes easily overwhelm the positive emotions, and those great energies are hidden, and this has piqued the master's interest. In reality, the copies which produce negative emotions consumed the mindless and weak positive emotion copies... You could call it a predator, strengthening its own existence.
"Like being absorbed."
"Yes, exactly. However, the predator influence or emotion ran wild, and one of the copies, which is a "key" to this troubling problem... Basically, she possessed "hatred", and she murdered the staff and fled. Naturally, we immediately went after her, but due to the effect of an urban legend, she would only appear on Halloween, and she would appear randomly, so we had no idea where she was at all. There was nothing we could do about it, so we created a substitute copies, but all copies after the first lot, even when put in the same environment, never showed any signs of this cannibalism, and we could never create anything but these weak copies. In the master's opinion, the original's grudge had already grown weak with the passage of time, and so this was the result. In any case, the low quality copies did not have the same strong emotions as the first lot, and as time passed and we continued our search, our next plan was to gather various spirits in an experiment to try to strengthen a low quality copy to the same level as the first lot copy, which is how we spent out time. And in the end, we found her in an unexpected place, and she had gained unnecessary emotions. So the only necessary thing as the "key" is for her to have her hatred left, and all other emotions are risky, in that they may create uncertain things."
"...So, was the copy you had with us a low quality copy?"
"No, that was also a copy from the first lot. However, her emotion she has is "joy", so since she already had the negative emotions, not including hatred, installed in her, she can't be the "key". While she is a positive emotion, for some reason, she wasn't a target of being preyed upon, so she's always been like this, an existence that just grins at everything. However, while she is weak, her existence has maintained for 20 years, so in order to solve the problem of the lower quality, she's been useful as a subject of our research, and she understands and follows what we say, so we can use her like we did last night. Haha, how ironic, that now she's no longer needed."
Of course, his expression didn't change at all, but the tone in his voice became happier, and that incongruity made it feel weird. However, Giganov thought it was fine. Though it was his own fault, this depressing story, and the expression and happiness in telling it, made him want to punch this old powerless human to death. However, he was the one who helped him in all this. He laughing derisively at himself, but the old butler only gave him a single look and said nothing.
"So then, let us give your "princess" her final adjustment. She must accept her 20 years of "hatred"."
Going into a room at the end of the hallway, the smell of mold invaded his nose. The lights affixed to the stone wall shone onto the wooden floor, and memo papers with various writings were scattered all over an old desk. Crowded on the desk was a distillation flask and test tubes, and next to it was a bookcase filled with many big scientific-looking books. It was an old laboratory.
The old butler pulled a hanging chain in one corner of the room, and a heavy noise sounded as the wall slid over. Over there, it wasn't stone, but was modern architecture. Though it really couldn't be called clean, the space had a cleaner sense to it, and there were multiple cylinder capsules, inside of which some squirming thing was randomly changing color and shape. In front of it were gauges constantly monitoring it, with several people with serious looks doing research on it. Those people only gave a slight recognition towards the old butler and Giganov, and then immediately returned to what they were doing before. However, the two of them paid no heed and continued walking onward, and made their way to a large area that looked like a rocket hanger.
The old butler looked up at the thing that was there, and dramatically spread out both of his arms.
"Once all of the negative emotions are installed, she will begin producing perfect copies that contain all of the same emotions she has, and will once again be a neverending supply of negative emotions to be preyed upon, and the excess spiritual energy will be released as pure energy. At last, we have her strong negative emotions which turned her into a vengeful spirit, and the womb of her corpse that creates the copies."
The old butler gazed at a giant glass cylinder. Placed inside of it was a giant figure of a woman. No, to say it was a figure would not be entirely correct. Because this was something that was not supposed to exist in this world. Looking as though it was asleep, "it" was not made of material. It wasn't a physical existence, it was a spiritual existence. The only solid thing in it was an abdomen, which was a physical existence.

(That is the original's pelvis... The pelvis, which contains the womb which creates life, gives birth to vengeful spirits and consumes them, then births and consumes again and again in a vulgar cycle... It's a real corpse's womb, with a system that would make one throw up.)
"And soon, very soon, the master's wish will come true. E.S., our princess, non-decomosing, stand-alone, energy creator, the "Spirit Child Generator"! This will revolution the world as we know it, the dream of humanity, a perpetual motion machine...!"
(But, this won't end so easily. Soon, those who wish to bring back the girl will come, since I left the girl's accessories as bait to induce the come. I guess I should pray that my wish will not be fulfilled.)
The still expressionless butler was trembling from anticipation. Looking at him with cold eyes, Giganov softly touched the handgun at his waist.
("Grizzly"'s apprentice, "Bullet Squall". With such skill as yours, will you forgive such an insult, or next will you come seriously to kill? Can you really understand me? Do not disappoint me...!)
Giganov gave a ferocious smile, without anyone realizing it.