Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

The Devil's Spice Volume 1 Chapter 1

2020-05-25T07:19:08Z

67.249.118.224: /* Chapter One: A Splash of Red */

==Chapter One: A Splash of Red==

A man clad in a black form-fitting suit and mask nimbly scaled a wall using a rope attached to a grappling hook. After reaching the top, he silently rappelled down the other side. He could clearly see a uniformed man standing a fair distance away thanks to his compact night vision goggles.

''In position, as expected,'' he thought.

The young guard was busy twiddling with his rifle trigger. The intruder was perturbed by the inexperience of his target but quickly attributed it to simple resource allocation. This outlying wall sentry, surrounded by a small forest, was not a high priority.

The intruder had intentionally chosen this entry point because of that. He had surveyed the entire area for many nights until he was confident that he could enter without being noticed. He had never attempted something of this difficulty and scale before. Taking out Karasuma Nikaidou, head of the Nikaidou Group of Companies (NGC), would not be easy even with heavy preparation. He had plenty of reasons to be nervous, but he neatly bagged those emotions and threw them in the freezer.

He silenced his breathing and kept his body low to the ground as he slinked towards the guard and continued his approach until he was within a hair's breadth of the unfortunate victim's back. He soundlessly extended his gloved left hand a few inches past the guard's left cheek and covered the guard's mouth. While stifling any call for help with one hand, he mechanically placed the panicked guard in a sleeper hold using only his right arm. This was only viable because of the extensive gulf in strength between the two. It was a feat somewhat counterintuitive to the intruder's slim but muscular physique.

When he was certain the guard would never wake again, he threw the body over his shoulder and hid it with the rope behind an exquisitely pruned shrub. The climbing tool was of generic make because he planned to leave it behind.

The intruder moved to the main mansion within the large property while skillfully avoiding detection by the patrols. He was grateful that the owner despised animals because watchdogs were far harder to fool than human guards. He finally reached the service door where the servants and delivery men commuted in droves just an hour earlier. They had been transporting food, tables, and decorations from outside the mansion.

The service door was locked but such things meant little to him. He easily forced the door open by destroying the doorknob with his hands.

"Must have been an impressive party. Having not one but two celebrity chefs cater... Just how much money does that cost?" muttered the intruder under his breath after having ensured his solitude in the preparation room.

Before he could open the door that led farther inside, he heard footsteps from the corridor. Based on the heavy thuds, he judged that it belonged to a man. It gradually grew louder. It was likely a more experienced guard than the one he had dispatched earlier. He tried his best to keep the metallic crunching noise to a minimum when he forced the door open, but his efforts were for naught.

''I hope he isn’t enhanced like me.''

He planted his back flat on the wall to the right of the door. The guard swung the door open with enough strength for it to hit the wall. Holding a pistol with both hands, he peeked into the visible section of the room. Finding nothing, he stepped in.

Terror painted itself on the guard's features when he saw a hand inches away from his face. The intruder expertly muffled the guard and slipped his combat knife horizontally into the side of the guard's neck. Without pausing, he pulled the knife towards himself and severed the carotid arteries and windpipe. He quickly released the guard's face and hopped away as he made the cut to avoid most of the blood spatter. A blood trail would lead to his detection.

He clicked his tongue despite the successful silent kill. He was left with a corpse that spread not only blood but also the smell of iron. Being unable to take the enemy's rear had led to this mishap. He had inadvertently placed a time limit on his mission.

Deciding not to waste time, he abandoned the corpse and silently ran through the corridor leading to the main hall. The corridor was well-lit, so he deactivated his night vision goggles. From this point on, he would have to kill anyone he encountered as quickly and quietly as he could. A small hope that they fit his criteria flickered in his chest.

---

"Ojousama, you are skipping," said a young woman in a flat tone. She was dressed in a butler outfit sans coat.

"I know, and I'm humming too. Any complaints?" said the little girl. Her black, long-sleeved dress and long and wavy ebony twintails danced with each step she took.

"I know you are excited that we are finally at the climax, but it would be better not to count your chickens before-"

"I’ll make them hatch."

"But you cannot. Some eggs just do not hatch."

"I'm not talking about eggs but plans."

"But hatching plans refers to their creation, not about seeing them to fruition."

"You say tomato, I say marinara."

"While I also like marinara, that is beside the point." A trickle of exasperation was audible in the young woman's reply.

The little girl, who looked no older than twelve, turned to the butler and flashed an irresistibly adorable smile, beaming with charm and innocence. It was a stark contrast to the words that dropped like lead chunks from her pink lips.

"Relax, Saya. My father will die tonight."

"I never questioned that, ''Kaika''-Ojousama," said the butler, showing a subtle, playful smirk.

"Now you are just being mean." Kaika pouted cutely, her wavy fringe shaking from the movement, but all expression disappeared from her face in the next moment. "Spice is about temperance." Her tone was so frigid it rivaled the Arctic tundra.

A look of regret showed on the butler's minimally expressive countenance, but she quickly collected herself, straightened her slender figure, and then bowed deeply. Her short, glistening, black hair, which normally curtained her right eye, drooped down.

"I apologize for my rudeness. My joke went too far, ''Kai''-Ojousama." She continued staring at the carpet. "I merely wanted to remind you that this is still Karasuma Nikaidou we are talking about."

"I’m well aware of who my father is. Being one of the richest and most powerful men in Japan means nothing tonight and likely any day after that."

"He has also been reigning over the darkness of NGC for most of his life."

"I guess that does deserve some credit." She daintily placed a finger on her chin.

"Uhm, how long am I supposed to keep this pose, Ojousama?" Saya’s back was still parallel to the floor. Her mistress giggled.

"Until you are satisfied? I didn’t ask you to hold it in the first place."

Saya gave a soundless sigh before raising her head. The stoic mask adorned her face again.

''I might have been a little too harsh,'' Kaika thought, but she immediately dismissed the idea. Calling her by her full name did not warrant such a cold reprimand, but she knew that her relationship with Saya was not frail enough to be hurt by it.

Kaika resumed her buoyant skipping as they passed a large, open wooden door. The corridors they traversed were adorned by vases, oil paintings, and other antique displays, but those paled in comparison to the museum of a main hall that the mansion boasted.

The intricate metal and glasswork of the chandeliers refracted light in a web of subtle colors. The wide main stairwell extended up towards the second floor until it split into two curving staircases leading to opposite ends of the hall. The colorful threading details of the carpets were highlighted by the white marble floor.

Kaika sighed. Her eyes skimmed over all the wealth, which almost triggered a gag reflex from overexposure. Her sight eventually rested on her father, and her urge to vomit worsened.

"Good evening, Father," said Kaika. The disgusted face she had on completely vanished. She smiled sweetly at her father like any loving daughter would.

"Kaika!" said the titan of a man after turning to his daughter. "I didn’t see you in the party. Were you feeling unwell?" He smiled with a hint of worry and casually fixed his greyish-white locks in an attempt to improve his appearance. He sported a dark grey suit, and his lilac tie was loosened, indicating that the time for entertaining guests had ended.

"Nothing to worry about, Otousama. I just wanted to avoid the crowd. Rather than that, Happy Birthday!"

She gleefully trotted to her father, who was standing on the bottom step of the stairwell. Kaika caught him just as he was about to go upstairs to retire to his bedroom. This seemingly serendipitous reunion was neither happy nor a coincidence.

"Thank you. I’m sorry but I had to invite all those people. I must keep up appearances."

"Please do not apologize, Otousama. Today is your day, so do not worry about me. More importantly, do you have time right now? I wanted to talk to you about something."

"But it’s already so late. Are you sure you don’t want to rest in your room?"

"I have been in there the whole day. Besides, you know that I will not be sleeping until much later, right?"

"You were probably studying the entire time. Your body can still relieve fatigue even without sleep. Just lying down should help a lot."

"...Otousama, do you not want to talk to Kaika?" She made a childish frown while hiding her trembling fists behind her back.

"You know that isn’t true. You’re my greatest treasure. I know I’ve been busy recently and haven’t paid much attention to your activities, but rest assured. You’re always in my thoughts.”

Kaika gave her father a refreshing smile and said, “I understand.”

Karasuma was not lying. Kaika knew that her father loved her second only to the existence of his economic empire. Even distinguishing between the two was splitting hairs.

“While it’s still far off, I intend to hand everything over to you. Never forget that."

''Yes, I know. But we have a timing disagreement.'' Kaika chuckled inwardly.

"Still, I don't think I can quite agree with you acting like this just to get what you want."

"Like what?"

"A child. You're fifteen. You should act with more grace, as any Nikaidou must." He was not serious about this complaint. Kaika knew that he liked her cute act and she used that.

"I think it fits me far better than acting like a depressed teenager."

"I don't think anyone should be acting like a depressed teenager, not even depressed teenagers."

The father and daughter both burst into laughter. Karasuma believed that he could see through Kaika's acting, and he was right, but only when she chose to let him do so. However, even Kaika was finding it hard to keep herself in character. This was not due to her father's sensitivity but her swelling excitement for the impending reveal.

Saya remained near the entrance while Kaika and her father idly chatted. She made a call on her terminal. A short while later, a guard appeared at each of the four entrances to the main hall. Kaika noticed their presence. The preparations were complete.

''Bon appétit!''

Saya raised her hand as a signal. The guards at the east and west entrances of the second floor slowly headed down the stairs. Following suit, the two guards on the ground floor approached the father-daughter pair, who continued their cheerful exchange. Despite his focus being robbed by Kaika's cute gesticulations, Karasuma paused and swiveled his head as he peered at the approaching guards.

''Saya's estimation was correct. You didn't keep that throne by sitting on your hands.''

Seeing her father alert, Kaika lowered her head and started trembling. She embraced herself as she shook and surrendered to the sensation of electricity hurtling through her veins. The back of her eyes burned, and her throat parched. She relived what her father did to her and what he made her do. Her mind swam in a sea of recollections, and her petite frame's shaking gradually increased until it peaked.

Then she squeezed together all those memories and tossed them away like a used gum wrapper. They held no real value to her. She was going to kill her father but not for those inconsequential reasons.

The trembling stopped. Her reverie felt like hours, but only seconds crawled past. Karasuma, seeing his daughter in a strange state, approached her in worry. He stretched his hand out to her but flinched to a stop.

Kaika burst into maniacal laughter.

Her face contorted. Her attractive features fell into the uncanny valley. Her cheeks flushed as she continued to engulf the main hall with her laughter.

"Kaika!?" Karasuma tried to grab hold of her shoulders. He probably thought it was some sort of breakdown.

Kaika deftly avoided his grasp by stepping back and, with disappointment poisoning her every syllable, spat out, "You still don't get it?" She shook her head. "I knew it. You are so-"

''Boring.''

Those were her naked thoughts rolled into a single word. That word was her first step crossing the Rubicon, the genesis of her betrayal, and her truth.

However, before she was able to drive the stake into her loving father's heart, he suddenly pushed her aside. She fell to the floor sideways from the sudden assault. This forced the guard that was supposed to be approaching from the east into her view. Confusion ate into her mind.

''Why is one of the mercenaries dead!? Saya reported to me earlier that she had successfully switched out four of the mansion guards!''

She filtered through the possibilities as fast as her synapses allowed.

''Did that bastard foresee the attack? Has he seen through my act all along? Did I underestimate him? Did all my plans, all that preparation just crumble to dust?''

Her paranoia boiled over.

She stared with a blank face at the blood slowly soaking into the carpet and weakly whispered,

"Did I... lose?"

---

The intruder reached a corner near the end of the east hallway leading to the main hall. He hid in a blind spot when he saw a guard standing near the entrance. He easily identified that the guard’s right arm and shoulder were cybernetic based on his uneven arm volume and stance.

He knew that it was dangerous to take on someone with ARtificial Musculature and Skeleton, commonly called ARMS, not because he suspected defeat, but because it would likely result in drawn-out combat. The disturbance could alert the security of the entire estate.

''Even an MMA champion will easily fall in a ring against two mediocre fighters.''

That did not apply to him, but he still opted for prudence.

While he was weighing his options, the guard started walking into the main hall. He used this chance to move closer and get a better view of the superfluously large room. He quickly attempted to grasp the situation. The presence of a young girl was unexpected for the intruder because she had not come up during his investigation.

The intruder readied himself. The guards were probably moving towards Karasuma to reinforce his protection. He would be impossible to kill if they got within ten feet of their charge. It had to be now.

He took a runner's stance like a cheetah preparing for a hunt. Using the explosive power in his legs, he rushed into the main hall. This alerted the two west entrance guards, who had the east entrance in view. The reaction of the two guards informed the guard whose back was turned to him of the danger.

The guard did not use a weapon and relied on his ARMS instead. He twisted his torso then swung his right arm towards the intruder. It was a perfectly executed back-fist and could not be dodged on reaction.

But he dodged it. The intruder knew the attack was coming and dove down as he closed in. The guard looked shocked after cleaving through space instead of flesh, but that did not last long. The intruder, thrusting his knife upwards through the guard’s chin, cleanly lodged the blade between his hemispheres.

This victory did not slow the intruder down. He pulled out the knife, smoothly spun around the standing carcass, and dashed towards Karasuma. Everyone in the room moved except the girl. They were only a short distance away, but the intruder had already achieved his maximum velocity and would reach Karasuma a few seconds before they could stop him. The girl was blocking his path, but he could run her over with little effect on his charge.

''I can't risk avoiding the girl. Four unknowns versus one is not a good idea. I don’t have a choice..!''

Karasuma, however, did. He could have used the girl as a shield to buy time, but he did not. He pushed her away from the intruder’s path. The intruder veered to the left and swung the reverse-gripped knife in his right hand across Karasuma’s throat. He dashed past his victim as he made the slice. Karasuma made a gurgling noise as he impotently stared at his daughter and expired.

Red splashed on the young girl. It coated her face, her flowery black dress, her almost pallid skin, her slackened cheeks, and her slightly parted lips.

The intruder had not expected that Karasuma would push the girl away in what seemed like an attempt to save her. He was thankful for the act because he did not want to hurt anyone unnecessarily. Traumatizing a child with a murder scene was already something unforgivable. The intruder apologized silently in his heart.

''This must be unfair to you. Seek me for compensation if you wish.''

He stopped his dash a few steps away from Karasuma’s corpse. Deciding to immediately escape using the same route from which he entered, he turned around and saw the girl veiled in red. At that moment, what gripped his heart was not guilt but dread. It was an unavoidable distraction. Before he could recover, a kick whipped towards the right side of his jaw. He raised his right forearm to receive the blow, but he was an instant too slow. Only his fist reached his jaw area. A clanking sound uncharacteristic of flesh resounded from the contact.

[[File:TDS_V1_C1.jpg|thumbnail|Shards of black scattered in the air.]]

Shards of black scattered in the air. His goggles flew off, fortunately not breaking and cutting his eyes. His fist managed to moderately redirect the rushed roundhouse kick. However, the attack still smashed part of his mask and knocked away his knife. He was taken aback at the young woman's speed despite knowing she had ARMS. She was the farthest away from Karasuma when they all moved.

While the woman was still recovering from her off-balance kick, the intruder endured the impact that lightly jogged his brain and started running.

''I can’t get my knife..!''

He beelined towards the east hallway. The woman ordered the remaining guards to capture or eliminate him. The three pulled out their guns and scrambled after the intruder. She did not follow them.

The intruder darted through the estate. He ignored the alarm siren that echoed throughout the halls. He was no longer concerned about being detected since the deed was done. He was confident that few could rival his speed in a straightforward race. The lack of night vision was only a minor setback since he already had the path mapped in his head. He eventually reached the corpse laden bush and high jumped over the wall. He disappeared into the forest as if devoured by the undergrowth.

Only after he had confirmed that he had eluded his pursuers did he stop to address the image that persistently stalked his mind. It was not the usual elation after a successful kill. It was not the worry that he could be traced by something he left behind. It was the face of the girl bathed in her father's blood. It rekindled the fright that almost cost him his jaw.

"She was smiling."

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[The_Devil%27s_Spice:Volume_1_Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
| Return to [[The_Devil%27s_Spice|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[The_Devil%27s_Spice_Volume_1_Chapter_2|Chapter Two]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Chapter 1

2020-05-25T07:04:06Z

67.249.118.224: /* Chapter 1: The Snow White in the Sleeping Forest */

[[Image:Amaryllis017.jpg|thumb]]

==Chapter 1: The Snow White in the Sleeping Forest==

===Part 1===

Blobs of light were being refracted, and a gust lifted the powdered snow.

--Ehh…!

I hold onto the handles, firmly tilting the Icemobile. I spin the steering wheel to the right to climb the mid-wall, and after a pause, I turn left to the curb and then turn to the right curb immediately. The tunnel of ice continued to extend, and though the scenery was simple and repetitive, I couldn't relax one bit.

It was -16º Celsius, fairly warm compared to how it usually is in this underground world, where the walls and ceiling are completely frozen, and the breath released between the lips floats back like a white comet.

"I say, it's about time to rest now, isn't it?" I hear an unenthusiastic voice behind me.

"We've been traveling for 6 hours already!"

--Really.

I ignore the voice of my colleague who wanted to slack off and strengthen my grip on the handles of the three-wheeled vehicle. Right, right, left, right, left. There's a need for continuous cornering skills in the tunnel. In such moments, I lower my waist and twist my body. I match my breathing with the bounce, absorb the impact of the shocks with my knees, and shift my weight in a rhythmic manner.

"Hey, you listening, Amaryllis? Hey, Amaryllis Alstroemeria?"

"Shut up…!" I shout out, cutting off that cheesy voice, and continue to turn. The goal is near, just another 30 seconds away... 20... 10. There's a light at the end of the narrow tunnel, a wide world out there--

--Now…!

''Bonk''! We bounce off the ice floor, going towards the very tall place that seems like a dance hall.

--Brake…!

I maintain the balance of the vehicle, and at the same time, activate the reverse jets to kill the speed as we land. ''Donk''. The skates crash onto the floor, bouncing off like rubber several times. The wheels gain balance and manage to land while killing the impact.

"Phew…"

I fasten the front wheels to steady the vehicle and finally heave a sigh of relief. I'm able to control the Icemobile and my own limbs after driving it for so long, but I still feel tense falling from such a great height.

"Hah!" With a growl, my colleague sitting beside me landed too. Seeing the skates of a massive vehicle land and smash the ice with style is always a highlight.

"Goodness, well, we made it…"

He clicks his tongue, stroking the swept-back hair that he is so proud of.

Can't you just land a little quietly?, he reprimands me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a tranquil voice echoes in the hall.

I turn to look and find a tall, slender woman there. She's as pretty as a goddess, her hair glittering like an emerald.

"Cattleya, it's been a while!"

"Thank you, as usual, Miss Amaryllis." Cattleya pets her pretty, silky hair as she shows a gentle smile.

If I have to choose the prettiest lady in the world, she'll be the first person I'll nominate.

"How about it, Cattleya? Are you free tonight?"

"I-I'll be troubled, Mr. Eisbahn."

--This idiot!!

"Ow, owwwwww!!" I tug the antenna at the ears hardly, pulling this beast away from the pretty woman.

"Enough already."

"What? Just a little touch?"

"How many times must you be reminded not to woo girls during your work?"

"It's a man's duty to pursue a pretty lady."

"You can do that when we're done with our work and duty here." And as usual, we continue to bicker.

"Erm...I think it's time to begin the delivery?"

I look back and find Cattleya giving us a troubled, stunned look, "Ahh, sorry, sorry. We'll do it now." I hurriedly apologize.

"Hurry!"

"Help out too!"

I chide my colleague who isn't doing anything and begin to unload the goods from the Icemobile. There are backup batteries, spare parts, charging cables-- all standard issue. Us robots are powered by electricity, so any items related to batteries are necessities.

Cattleya receives the issued items as she asks me with a soft voice, "How's the 'torso' looking now?"

"Same as usual, peace and calm. As for any drama, there's just Daisy and Gappy's arguments."

"Huh, again?"

"They're on such bad terms it's worrying."

"What's the reason this time?"

"It looked like they were fighting over Oil Candy. We already said that we'll 'half' them in this situation, but they wouldn't listen."

"Oh dear."

Cattleya beams happily, and we continue talking as I sort the items out. We only meet once a week, so there's a lot for us to discuss.

And right when we're about done unloading the goods, "Ah."

Cattleya looks up at the sky.

--Sky…

Sparkling lights begin to fall gently from the ceiling. These are speckles of ice called Ceiling Dust, and though they are called dust, they are able to give off such a beautiful light and flutter down from the skies. This is one of the rare natural phenomena that occur in this world of ice 500m underground, isolated from the world.

"So pretty…" Cattleya mutters as she looks up.

"You're prettier," Eisbahn says as he puts his arm around Cattleya's shoulder.

"Leave her already," I pull Eisbahn away.

The speckles of light continue to flutter and gather in the hall. Each of them forms complicated crystals in the shape of 'six-sided flowers in three layers', prettier as they overlap each other, coating the silver world with snow.

"Time to go."

"Ehh~ let me rest for a little while."

"No can do. We got another 30 houses to go to."

I drag my slacker of a colleague by his arm and hop on the Icemobile.

"Tchee!"

I ignore Eisbahn while he gives a childish reaction, and start the engine. The Icemobile bellows excitedly, rumbling,

"See you, Cattleya!"

"Be safe!"

Cattleya's voice can be heard from behind as I charge into the tunnel, headed to the next point. The goods piled up at the back of the Icemobile rattle. Though Eisbahn has been grumbling, he leans his body firmly onto me.

I accelerate, and the ice crystals stuck on the Icemobile glitter as they drift to the back.

===Part 2===

"Big sister!" "Welcome back!" "Amaryllis!"

I return to the village, and the children gather. Soon, I'm surrounded by at least ten of them. 20 hours passed after a trip through the assigned path, and I return to the 'torso' again.

"I'm back, everyone. Have you been good kids?"

I pat each one of them on the hand, and they all reach their heads out to me, going I want, I want.

"Listen, listen! I've worked hard to do a lot of 'parts shining'!"

"Really? That's great!"

"Sister, I did a lot of 'cutouts'!"

"That's really great!"

The children narrow their eyes happily as they get a pat on the heads by me. They're all holding blue glowing translucent metals in their hands; the job of the children in this village is to use and polish these metals.

"Sister, let's play, let's play!"

"Sorry. I still have a lot of work to do. Later then."

I coax the children who continue to cling onto me and leave the scene. I do want to stay with them for a little longer, but the most important thing is that I have to report what happened today.

I hurry down the road in the village. The sides of the road are lined with rows and rows of ice sculpted houses, and the light shining from the ceiling are sparkling like a starry sky.

I continue to marvel this typical, beautiful street scenery as I hurry on, and at this moment,

"Hey~Amaryllis! Good work!"

I'm called by a lively voice, and opposite the road, a tall woman is raising her hand, waving at me.

"I'm back, Viscaria. The icemobile tyres feel a little weird."

"Got it. I'll have a look."

"It's parked at the usual place."

"Okay."

Viscaria Acanthus extends the feeler from her finger as a response. Her arms are made of metallic feelers, meant for repairs, tools like screwdrivers, hammers, pincers, spanners, and bars contained within them. The 'mechanic' in the village refers to her.

Viscaria points a feeler from her right index finger and adjusts the beret on her short red hair. This beret is her trademark.

"Haven't you been working too much? It's taxing on your body if you don't rest."

"Thanks, but I'm fine here."

"If you feel unwell anywhere, give me a shout."

She waves the hand with the feeler pointed out, says 'goodbye', and leaves. Viscaria has the appearance of a 25-year-old woman, and to me, she's someone who's like a reliable older sister to me.

"Yo, Amaryllis!" "Welcome back, vice chief!" "Good work today!"

"Everyone, I'm back!"

I answer their greetings with enthusiasm and continue to move forward.

After walking about 15 minutes, I'm finally able to see the village hall. It's a thick ice pillar that stands between the ground and the ceiling, and the town hall is located inside this hollow ice pillar. This is the central area of the village, one that has yet to change over 100 years.

I pass through the main doors that are shaped in an arch, and the first thing I see is the open atrium hall. I attach the cable placed on the reception counter to my arm and let it charge for 5 minutes. Back, then, I had to keep changing oils to maintain the internal functions, but with the rapid development of robotics engineering, simply recharging batteries alone is enough to keep me running.

--My battery is recharged. 99.98%.

Once I'm done recharging, I continue to the inside of the village hall. I continue on by skating down the polished, shiny floor, down the corridor, and ascend the stairs. My feet step on the anti-slippery powder scattered on the stairs, qew qew, letting out a cute sound.

I ascend the last flights of stairs, and in front of me is a transparent, tall door.

"Village Chief Chamomile!"

I raise my voice.

"It's Amaryllis! I'm back!'

Soon after, I hear a voice, "...Come in." and the doors slide open. "Please excuse me!" I step into the Village Chief's room excitedly.

The Chief's room is the core. The silver patterns on the ceiling race around, spreading throughout the entire wall like Tulip antennas stuck onto them. All the communications network in the village are centered around here, whether wired or not.

"Welcome back, Amaryllis."

The Chief turns his 'head' over to me with a rumble. Ever since he gave up on his body 30 years ago, the Chief continues to live on with merely a head. He's able to save on electricity without a head "This is saving electricity too." and that is his usual mantra.

"How are you feeling?"

"My shoulders have been a little stiff recently…"

"So I suppose there is nothing."

I ignore that light-hearted joke as usual and sit on the chair...

"Now then, the report for today."

"What is Eisbahn doing?"

"Chasing after the butts of many young girls."

"Good to be young. When I was younger, I was called the Iron Playboy--"

"I shall skip on that since it is the 370th time you're mentioning that."

If I leave him to continue, I'll have to hear a long autobiography that will last for at dozens of hours, so I pinch the Chief by his nose. He snorts, letting out a weird sound.

"Report. A round of delivery through 56 Issue points was done."

"Um, good work."

"There are 3 with metallic frostbite. Light injuries though, so just a change of parts."

"3...that's a little too many."

"Maybe it's because the recent difference in temperatures causing it. I intend to focus on treating frostbites during the next 'body checkups'."

"Good."

I then propose other 2-3 ideas, and the Chief understood them all. If it gets a lot serious, there is a need to summon the members of the of the 'committee'. Other than that, the little problems are to be settled by the Chief. That is the rule of this village.

"Are you going to check on the 'Snow White'?"

"Yes. It's a daily thing...how about you go have a look too, Chief?"

"No, I'll sleep...fuuahh."

The Chief yawn, his head rolls onto the table, and he leaps onto the cushion he loves so much.

"Got to save electricity…"

He mutters his usual mantra and immediately went to sleep mode.

===Part 3===

I return to the entrance of the village and see Viscaria busy with repairs.

There are a few more metallic feelers, and 10 of these chords are reaching out, surrounding the icemobile and nimbly doing all kinds of independent maintenance on it. Everywhere, there are sounds of metal, tools hitting, blue flashes of laser and steam being released.

"How's it going?"

I poke my head to see. "Yeah." Viscaria answers me as she lies on the floor. The way she leans under the icemobile resembles a frog who got knocked down in an accident. The iconic beret has landed by her side.

"There's a little problem with the vehicle itself...the wheels can't be used anymore, so I'm changing them."

"Good work."

"Where did you flip the vehicle?"

"No, I didn't. Why?"

"There's a strange crack on the handles…"

Viscaria points "Here, have a look.", and flickers one of her feelers to show me.

"Ah, it's true."

As she says, there's a web-shaped crack on the icemobile steering wheel.

"But such cracks can appear when there is a drastic difference in temperature…"

"So it can't be used anymore?"

"No no, it's easy to repair it. Just melt the cracked part, and add soft cream back to it."

"Please do so."

"Got it."

Viscaria utilizes her right feelers nimbly, repairing many areas. All these feelers are moving in a lively manner.

"You're really dazzling a lot when you're repairing things, Viscaria."

"Really? I'm glad."

The repairman with the matching red short hair curls her lips up slightly, looking very delighted. She, whom I view as a reliable older sister, looks like a mischievous boy in such moments."

"I've been doing this for more than 300 years. I'm at the point where I can't calm down if I don't repair anything."

"Heh, I guess that's our calling."

"Calling...maybe it is, I don't know."

After that, Viscaria continues to repair for another 5 minutes. "Alright, I'm done." She shouts, and the feelers reaching out from her fingertips shrink back with a swoosh.

"Are you going over to 'Snow White' today?"

"Yep. It's a daily thing."

I get onto the icemobile, activating the engines with a boom.

"If you find that there's something wrong, come back to look for me."

"Understood. Thanks as always, Viscaria."

"Well. It's my calling."

With a swoosh, she reaches a feeler from her fingertip, adjusting her beret proudly.

===Part 4===

And so,

"Why are you following me too!?"

"Don't be so cold to me."

"Seriously, stop touching around! You big pervert!"

I lash out furiously at the man who's hitching a ride on the back seat. The man continues to sneer, saying, "Well well, let's get along." He has no intention of reflecting on his actions at all.

Here's how it happened. I bid farewell, got up onto the icemobile, preparing to look at the 'Snow White'. "I'm going too!" A guy with blond swept back hair leaps into the back seat--the name is Eisbahn Tricrytis.

I slap the filthy hand that's aiming for my butt and accelerate the speed of the icemobile. If I don't hurry there, I don't know what this sex offender sitting behind me will do.

"You're being cold to me."

"Of course. I need to be as cold as possible to a guy like you who starts wooing girls at any given moment,:

"It's fine. We all have sex options installed on us."

This sex option refers to one of the functions installed in us robots that allows us robots to have sex. There are a lot of sex options installed in female robots, and I'm one of them.

"Sex options are prepared to service our masters. Not a good thing to be used on robots ourselves."

"It's because of such words from you that you'll always remain a virgin--guah!?"

[[Image:Amaryllis033.jpg|thumb]]

I smash an elbow into the unruly guy behind me, "Enough with that small talk…!" and growl.

Male robots with sex options installed in them will often tease women of the same kind or do some sweet talk to create some atmosphere. Most of the time, I guess they can't help it because they have such a setting, but Eisbahn, in particular, goes overboard. This guy will get his hand on a woman whenever he sees one.

--Ahh, let's hurry up and reach there already…!

While I continue on this unhappy two people ride, I cut right and left quickly. Finally, the surrounding ice walls become clearer, and the layers of ice start to show a vibrant green. The villagers call this place the 'Ice Plant' zone, and all kinds of plants grow and bloom in the ice like art pieces. The end of this zone of Ice Plants is our destination today--the 'REM Forest'.

Grrr! The brakes cause the vehicle to shave the road, and I park the icemobile. Eisbahn quickly gets off the boot.

"Chief, do you hear me? I'm Amaryllis."

I cover the antenna at my ear with my hand, calling the Chief through the wireless, "Fuuuaaa...saving power, saving power…" only to hear a sleepy voice.

"Stop sleeping and open up."

I chide, "Alright." and the Chief's voice echoes in the Mind Circuit. The doors leading to 'Snow White' is probably about a 1m thick, and nobody is allowed to enter without the Chief's permission. Even I or a 'committee member' like Eisbahn can't do so.

--It's cold…

The moment the door opens, rich cold air resembling a white phantom rushes out. While this underground world is encased in ice, the temperature here is colder.

--External air intercept.

I increase the body temperature conditioning function by about 30%. Robots won't catch colds because of the cold temperature, but the oils or batteries inside the bodies may be damaged. In worse situations, there might be a sudden metallic exhaustion caused 'Metal Frostbite.

"Nothing changed."

I looked up at the ceiling, and the first thing I see is a large 'Spindle'. This is the main computer controlling the entire 'Snow White'. The surroundings of this Spindle is covered with thin blood vessel-like fibres, appearing like a freeze dried fruit with a thin silver dress wrapped over it.

The Spindle continues to spin its massively long, slender body, shining its gentle light upon every corner of the room. This light is a unique 'pulse' that maintains the running of the system and maintains the numerous capsules called 'Cradles' that have become one with the wall. These Cradles are the life supports protecting the lives of more than 300 of the 'Masters'.

This is the cryo facility that allows for life to continue under low temperatures--dubbed 'Snow White'.

A hundred years ago, there was a massive weather change on the surface, and the world went into an ice age. Due to unknown reasons, the 'cold wave' caused the entire land to freeze, and all animals and plants were practically extinct.

But even in such radically harsh environment, humans--our masters never gave up. They built an underground shelter 'Snow White' to evacuate, and hibernate in there until the ice age ends. From babies till old people, 300 hundred humans continue to sleep, their aging process stopped in the process.

And during the days the masters sleep, us 'villagers' are tasked to maintain the running of the 'Snow White'. In this world of ice 500m underground, we create a little village, living for a hundred years. All the villagers are robots, and our only important mission is to protect the Snow White. The Mind Circuit with high autonomy installed in us is to make sure we protect the Snow White while the manual mode can't be used.

--One day.

I wonder as I look up at the Snow White.

One day, when the masters awake, I'll do my best to serve them and prove my value, whether it is to cook, wash clothes or cleaning, anything that I can think of, I'll do it. Also, if I'm allowed to, I want them to hear the songs I'm proud of.

I put my hands on my chest, humming the lullaby as usual.

Sleep well, sleep well, sleep well for today.

I shall continue to hold you in my arms, so sleep well.

One die, even if this country, is wiped out, the morning light,

Everything, and anything is for you.

That is why, sleep well, for today.

Until, the day, you wake up again.

The tune ends, and I hear a light clapping.

"It's a nice tune no matter how many times I hear it."

I turn back to look and find Eisbahn leaning at the wall.

"Ahh, thanks."

"Feel like sleeping when I hear that."

"Are you praising me?'

After a pause, "Of course." Eisbahn answers.

--Master.

I cross my fingers in front of my chest and offer my usual prayers.

--Please, hurry and wake up.

We are waiting.

Tentatively waiting for the day our masters wake up in this underground world sealed by ice.

We have been doing so for more than a hundred years.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Amaryllis_in_the_Ice_Country|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Prologue

2020-05-25T06:58:06Z

67.249.118.224: /* Prologue */

[[Image:Amaryllis012.jpg|thumb]]

==Prologue==

The sun shined upon the little garden in the nursery.

“Don't cry anymore, Fuu. Okay?” I did my best to appease the girl who was letting out large drops of tears.

However, no matter how much I tried to do so, she wouldn't stop.

“Yuu! Apologize now!”

“I'm not in the wrong.” Yuu pouted his lips to the side.

The biggest bully in the nursery just couldn't get along with Fuu for some reason.

“It's her fault for not kicking the ball to me anyway!”

“But Fuu's the one who started playing with the ball first. Why did you snatch it away?”

“I asked her to lend it to me, but she wouldn't.”

“Goodness...”

The sky-blue ball rolled at my feet, swaying leisurely in the breeze.

“Fuu, here's the ball.”

“Waaahhh!”

“Yuu, apologize.”

“Don't wanna.”

—Uu...what do I do now?

—I really do love kids, but I'm really at my wit's end in this situation.

—What do I do? What do I do...?

Just when I was at a loss as to what to do,

 

“Oya oya? What's the matter?”

 

The ball floated gently, and the man who picked it up showed his usual genial smile.

“Principal...!”

“Good work there,” the principal consoled me as he smiled, the wrinkles on his face further emphasized as he patted on the heads of Yuu and Fuu.

“You want to play with this ball?” He asked tenderly, and Fuu nodded.

“You want to play with this ball?” Yuu was faced with the same question, and his head remained tilted aside as he nodded.

“I see, I see.”

The principal nodded, and let the ball swirl rapidly on his fingertips. The sky blue ball rumbled as it spun on his index finger; Yuu and Fuu widened their eyes as they saw this.

“Since both of you want this ball—”

Principal beamed and did a barehanded chopping action.

“I shall 'half it'.”

 

A hundred years passed thereafter.

 

To this day, I can still recall the scenes of that day.

A blue, blue sky, a warm sun, a dazzling golden nursery, the impish face showed by the Principal, and kids showing sparkling eyes.

Time passed, the Principal passed away, Yuu, Fuu and the other kids became adults. They advanced in age and finally died off.

In this world, I am the only one who knew about all these. These memories will never fade away.

At the final moment, before my consciousness was cut off, I suddenly wondered.

Ah, Principal, my dear Principal—

Is my 'Halving' considered a success?

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Amaryllis_in_the_Ice_Country|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Amaryllis in the Ice Country:Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 2

2020-05-25T06:54:02Z

67.249.118.224: /* 2 - The Rebirth of the Traditional Classics Club */

==2 - The Rebirth of the Traditional Classics Club==

It's often said that life in high school is rose-coloured. As the year 2000 comes to an end, the arrival of the day that matches that description as defined by a Japanese dictionary isn't too far off.

However, that doesn't mean that all high school students would wish for such a rose-coloured life. Whether it's studying, sports or romance, there will always be some people who would prefer a grey-coloured life rather than all that; I know quite a few within my own reckoning. Still, it's quite a lonely way to live one's life.

Here I was striking up a conversation of such a topic with my old friend Fukube Satoshi in the classroom filled with the light of the sunset. As always, Satoshi would smile and say, "That's what I thought as well. By the way, I never knew you were so masochistic."

How unfortunately wrong he was. So I protested, "Are you saying my life is grey-coloured?"

"Did I say that? But Houtarou, whether it's studying, sports, or what was the other one? Romance? I don't think you've ever been forward-looking in any of those."

"I'm not exactly backward-looking either."

"Well, true,"

Satoshi's smile broadened.

"You're just 'saving energy' after all."

I gave my approval to that with a snort. It's fine as long as you understand that I don't exactly hate getting myself active. I simply dislike wasting energy on anything bothersome. My style is to save energy for the betterment of the planet. In other words, "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, make it quick."

As I utter my motto, Satoshi would shrug his shoulders as usual.

"Whether it's saving energy or cynicism, it's the same thing, isn't it? Have you ever heard of instrumentalism<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrumentalism</ref>?"

"Nope."

"In short, it means that for a person like you who has no particular interest, just by observing the fact that you have not joined any club here in Kamiyama High, the Holy Land of high school club activities, makes you a grey-coloured person."

"What? Are you saying death from murder is no different from death from negligence?"

Satoshi answered without hesitation, "From a certain perspective, yeah. Though it's a different matter completely if you're trying to convince a dead person that his death is due to your negligence in order to exorcise his soul."

"..."

Cheeky bastard. I once again looked at the person before me. Fukube Satoshi, my old friend, worthy opponent and deadly rival, is rather short for a guy. Even as a high school student, he could be mistaken as a feminine-looking weakling, but he's totally different on the inside. It's quite difficult to explain just what that difference is ー anyway, he just feels different. Besides carrying a smile all the time, he's always seen with a drawstring bag, as well as his trademark cheekiness. He's also a member of the Handicraft Club, don't ask me why.

Arguing with him is just a waste of energy. I waved my hand to signify the end of this conversation.

"Yeah, whatever. Just go home already."

"Yeah, you're right. I haven't got any club activities today... maybe I'll go home."

As Satoshi stretched his waist, he suddenly realized something and looked at me.

"'Go home already'? That's rare hearing that from you."

"What is?"

"If it's going home, wouldn't you usually have done so before even uttering that sentence? Just what business would you have after school when you aren't affiliated with any clubs?"

"Ah."

I raised my eyebrow and took out a piece of paper from the inner right pocket of my uniform jacket. After quietly handing it to Satoshi, his eyes widened in amazement. No, he's overreacting. It's not like he's really surprised, though it's true that his eyes have widened. Satoshi is well-known for such exaggerated reactions after all.

"What?! How can this be?!"

"Satoshi, behave yourself."

"Isn't this a club application form? I'm surprised. Just what on earth has happened? For Houtarou to actually join a club..."

It was indeed a club application form. Upon seeing the club name that was written in, Satoshi raised his eyebrow.

"The Classics Club...?"

"You heard of it?"

"Of course, but, why the Classics Club? Have you suddenly found an interest in classic literature?"

Now how should I explain this? I scratched my head and took out another piece of paper from my inner left pocket. It was a letter with scribbled handwriting, which I handed over to Satoshi.

"Read it."

Satoshi promptly took the letter and started going through it, and as expected, began to laugh.

"Haha, Houtarou, now that sure is troublesome. A request from your sister, huh? No way you could refuse that."

Why was he looking so gleeful? On the other hand, I was very aware that I was showing a bitter expression. This airmail from India that arrived this morning was attempting to make adjustments to my lifestyle. Oreki Tomoe is constantly like that, sending letters to derail my life.

'Houtarou, safeguard the Classics Club, the youth of your big sis.'

When I had opened the envelope and read through that brief letter this morning, I became aware of its self-centered content. I had no obligation to safeguard my sister's memories, but...

"What was it that your sis is specialized in? Jujutsu?"

"Aikido and Taiho-jutsu<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiho_Jutsu</ref>. It can be pretty painful if one has the intent to hurt."

Yup, my sister, a university student proficient in both academics and martial arts, was not content with conquering Japan alone and had decided to go out and challenge the world as well. It would not be wise to incur her fury.

Then again, while I could attempt to resist with what little pride I had, it was also true that I had little reason to oppose her. Indeed my sister had hit the bullseye by pointing out that I didn't have anything better to do anyway. I decided that I might as well be an invisible club member rather than an unaffiliated student, and so without hesitation, "I submitted that application this morning."

"You know what this means, Houtarou?"

Satoshi said while glancing at my sister's letter. I sighed and said, "Yeah, there doesn't seem to be any benefit from this."

"... No, that's not what I meant."

Lifting his gaze from the letter, Satoshi said with a strangely cheerful tone. He tapped the letter with the back of his palm and said, "There are currently no members in the Classics Club, right? This means that ''you'' get to keep the club room for yourself. Isn't that great? A private base within school for your own use."

A private base?

"... That's an interesting way to look at this."

"Don't you like that?"

Such strange reasoning. Satoshi was basically saying I could have my own secret base in school. I could never have come up with such an idea. A private space, huh? It's not like I really desired such a thing and would have strived to work hard for it... But it's not so bad if it comes as a perk. I took back the letter from Satoshi and replied, "Guess it's not so bad. I might go have a look."

"Good. Opportunities are there for you to try out."

Opportunities there to try out, huh? Well, it's not like it didn't suit my personality at all, so I smiled bitterly and picked up my shoulder bag.

I was still faithful to my own motto.

From the opened windows, the shouts of the Athletics Team could be heard.

"... Fight! Fight! Fight!..."

I wouldn't want to get myself involved in such wasteful energy consumption. Don't get me wrong--I'm not saying that saving energy is the superior option, so I'm not dismissing those active people as fools at all. I headed towards the Classics Club room while hearing them continue with their chants.

I walked along the tiled corridor and up towards the third floor. Upon meeting the janitor, who was carrying a large ladder, I asked him where the Classics Club room was and was directed to the Geology Lecture Room on the fourth floor of the Special Purposes Block.

This school, Kamiyama High School, was neither copious in its number of students nor large in its campus area.

The total number of students was somewhere around a thousand. While the school provides curricula for university entrance exams like most high schools, it wasn't particularly noted for its academics. In other words, it's a normal high school. On the other hand, the school had an extraordinarily large number of clubs (such as the Water Paint Club or the A Capella Club, as well as the Classics Club), hence it was quite well known for having a lively annual Cultural Festival.

Within the campus grounds there are three large buildings. The General Block which houses the regular classrooms, the Special Purposes Block with its special purposes classrooms, and the Gymnasium. That's quite normal really. There's also the Martial Arts Dojo and the Sports Equipment Storage Room. The fourth floor of the Special Purposes Block, where the Classics Club room is located, is relatively remote.

While cursing at such a waste of energy, I walked across the connecting corridor and up the stairs towards the fourth floor, where I quickly found the Geology Room. Without hesitation, I proceeded to slide the door open, but found that it was locked. This was to be expected, as most special purposes rooms are normally locked. I took out the key which I borrowed beforehand in order to save energy and unlocked the door.

After turning the lock open, I slid the door open. Inside the empty Geology Room, the sunset could be seen from its westward-facing window.

Did I say empty? Nope, turns out it was not what I expected.

Within the sunset drenched Geology Room, which is the Classics Club room, there was already someone inside.

A student was standing beside the window looking towards me. It was a girl.

While "graceful" and "neat" weren't exactly the first words that came to my mind upon seeing her, there were no other words that I could think of to describe her properly. Her long black hair flowed past her shoulders, and her sailor uniform suited her very well. She was tall for a girl, probably taller than Satoshi. While it was clear she was a high school girl, her thin lips and forlorn figure reinforced this old-fashioned image of what a school girl would look like within my mind. In contrast, her pupils were big, and rather than graceful, they looked energetic.

She was a girl that I didn't recognize.

Yet upon seeing me, she smiled and said, "Hello. You must be Oreki-san of the Classics Club, right?"

"... Who're you?"

I asked candidly. Though I was never good at interacting with people, I didn't intend to treat someone I had just met for the first time coldly. While I didn't know who she was, for some reason, she seemed to know who I am.

"Don't you remember me? My name is Chitanda, Chitanda Eru."

Chitanda Eru. Even though she had given her name, I still have no clue. By the way, Chitanda is quite a rare surname, and so is her first name, Eru. It was not possible for me to forget such a name.

I looked once again at the girl called Chitanda. After making sure that I didn't know her, I replied, "I'm sorry, I don't think I remember who you are."

While maintaining her smile, she tilted her head, apparently confused.

"You're Oreki-san, right? Oreki Houtarou of Class 1-B?"

I nodded.

"I'm from Class 1-A."

''So do you remember now?'' Was what she seemed to be hinting at... Was my memory really that bad?

Hang on. Since I'm from Class B and she's from Class A, was there any chance of us having met before?

Even within the same grade, it was not possible for students from different classes to interact with each other at all. The only chance they got to do so was via club activities or friends. I had no such links through either. Then it must have involved the entire student body, but the only event I could think of was the school's opening ceremony at the start of the semester. Besides, I don't think I had ever been introduced to anyone from outside my class then.

No, wait. I remember. That's it, there were chances for us to interact with other classes during lessons. If it involved the use of special equipment, then it's more feasible to teach more than one class at the same time. That must mean during PE or arts-related subjects. During middle school, there would also be vocational classes, but as this high school is a mainly academic school, that's out of the equation. And PE is gender-separated, so that leaves...

"Could it be that we had music lessons together?"

"Yes, that's it!"

Chitanda nodded her head greatly.

Despite figuring that out myself, I was still surprised. For the sake of my remaining pride, I must confess that I have only attended any of those optional arts lessons once ever since enrolling here. So it was of course impossible for me to remember any faces or names!

But on the other hand, this girl called Chitanda managed to remember me after seeing me just once, so here was living proof that it was not exactly impossible... Let me tell you this, she must have possessed a frightening level of observation and memory.

Still, it could also be that it's all coincidental. Different people could interpret different meanings from reading the same newspaper article, after all. I regained my senses and asked, "So, Chitanda-san. What brings you here to the Geology Room?"

She quickly replied, "I've joined the Classics Club, so I thought I should come to greet you."

Joined the Classics Club, in other words, a member.

At that moment I had wanted her to guess how I was feeling. If she's joining the club, it would mean the end of my private space as well as having to fulfill my obligation to my sister. I had no reason to join the Classics Club. I sighed within my heart... ''It was a futile effort.'' While thinking that, I asked, "Why are you in the Classics Club as well?"

''I didn't want to join this club!'' I tried to convey this implied message within my question, but it seemed like she totally didn't get it.

"Well, I have personal reasons for joining."

She even evaded my question. Unexpectedly, this Chitanda Eru is quite suspicious.

"What about you, Oreki-san?"

"Me?"

Now that's tricky. How should I answer her? I don't think she'd understand that I came here due to an order from my sister. But as I began to think about it, I realized she didn't really need to know my reason.

Suddenly the door slid open and a loud voice boomed inwards, "Hey! What are you guys doing here?"

It was a teacher. Probably patrolling the campus after school time. With a firm body and tanned skin, he seems to be a PE teacher. Though he wasn't carrying a bamboo sword, it wouldn't look too far fetched to imagine him with one. While he's way past his prime, he still has that air of authority around him.

Chitanda shirked back for a bit upon getting yelled at so suddenly but soon reverted to her calming smile. She then went to greet the teacher.

"Good afternoon, Morishita-sensei."

She made a perfect salutation by the way she bowed her head with the right speed and angle. Seeing how she maintained her manners regardless of where she was, I couldn't help but feel envious of her. The teacher called Morishita was briefly stunned into silence by her courtesy but soon went back to talking loudly again.

"I saw the door unlocked so I came over to see what was going on. What are you doing entering the classroom without permission? What's your name and class?"

... Hmph, without permission, huh?

"I'm Oreki Houtarou of Class 1-B. By the way, Sensei, this is the Classics Club room, and I'm afraid you've interrupted our club activities,"

"The Classics Club...?"

Without hiding his suspicions, he continued, "I thought that had been abolished."

"Well, that was before today. It's been reactivated this morning. You can confirm with our supervising teacher, umm..."

"Ooide-sensei,"

"Yes, you can confirm with Ooide-sensei."

A suitable explanation at a suitable moment. Morishita quickly lowered his volume.

"Oh. I see. Well, continue with what you're doing."

"But you've only just seen us."

"And remember to return the key when you're done."

"Yes, sir."

Morishita once again turned to gaze at us before shutting the door roughly. Chitanda once again cowered her body at the loud sound, but then gently whispered, "He's..."

"Hmm?"

"He's quite loud for a teacher."

I smiled.

Anyway.

Guess I have no more business here.

"Alright. Now that we're done with the introductions, shall we go home?"

"Huh? We're not having any activities today?"

"Well, I'm going home."

I picked up my shoulder bag, which doesn't have much stuff in it, and turned my back towards Chitanda.

"I'll count on you to lock the door. You don't want to get yelled at like that again, do you?"

"Eh?"

I then proceeded to leave the Geology Room.

Or rather, I was about to leave, when I was stopped by Chitanda's discerning voice.

"Please wait!"

I turned around to look at Chitanda, who looked as though she had been told something quite unthinkable, and who said blankly, "I, I can't lock the door."

"Why's that?"

"Because I don't have the key."

Oh, yeah. The key's with me. There weren't that many spare keys available to be borrowed, it seems. So I took the key from my pocket and held it towards her.

"Here, you take care of... Sorry, I mean, please take care of this, Chitanda-san."

But Chitanda didn't respond. She simply stared at the key hanging from my finger, and before long she tilted her head and asked, "Oreki-san, why are you carrying that?"

Is she missing a few screws in her head?

"Well, I couldn't have come in without a key... Wait a minute, how the hell... sorry, how did you come into this room, Chitanda-san?"

"The door wasn't locked when I came in. I thought someone else had entered before me, so I didn't need a key to enter."

I see. Unless she had received a letter from a former member as I had, she wouldn't have known that there were no other members in the Classics Club.

"Is that so? When I came the door was locked."

Turns out it was a mistake for me to utter that so nonchalantly, as the expression in Chitanda's eyes changed instantly and her gaze became sharp. Was it me or have her pupils gotten larger? Indifferent to my startled expression, she slowly asked me, "When you said the door was locked, do you mean that door which you came through?"

While feeling confused at such a change in expression for such a graceful girl, I nodded. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Chitanda took one step towards me.

"So this means that I was locked inside, right?"

The clear batting sounds made by the Baseball Team could be heard from the outside. While I have no more business with this room, Chitanda seemed to want to talk for a bit longer. I sighed and relented, and placed my shoulder bag down on a table nearby.

Locked inside, was what Chitanda had said. Is that so? I thought for a bit. The key was with me, while Chitanda was inside the room. I have no memory of ever locking the door. Then the answer was simple.

"Wasn't it you who locked the door from the inside?"

Yet Chitanda shook her head and denied that unequivocally.

"I never did that."

"Well, the key's with me. Who else could have locked the door besides you?"

"..."

"Well, there are times when people forget whether they've locked the door or not,"

Yet Chitanda doesn't seem to be paying attention to my explanation, and suddenly pointed right behind me.

"By the way, is that your friend over there?"

I turned around and found the silhouette of a black uniform collar from behind the gap of the slightly ajar door. His gaze quickly met with mine. I remember seeing those brown eyes that look as though they're smiling, so I raised my voice and called out, "Satoshi! That's some sick hobby you've got, eavesdropping on other people's conversations!"

The door was opened, and as expected, the person that entered was Fukube Satoshi. Totally feeling unashamed, he said brazenly, "Well, sorry. I wasn't intending to eavesdrop."

"You may not be intending to, but you ended up doing so anyway."

"That may be so. But I just couldn't barge in when I saw the usually inactive Houtarou spending quality time alone with a girl in a special classroom during sunset. I don't want to end up getting kicked out."

What's he talking about?

"I thought you went home already."

"Yeah, I was about to, but then I saw you with this girl inside this room from downstairs. Guess I'm still inexperienced as a peeping tom."

I ignored Satoshi's comments about seeing us from the outside, as that's his usual way of joking. Yet for people who're not used to such light-hearted jokes, they might end up taking him seriously.

Seems like Chitanda too has been fooled.

"Eh, eh, I..."

Her calm expression from a while ago had disappeared, being replaced by a flustered look. She seems to be the type that wears her expressions on her face, as she appears to be saying "Look, I'm feeling flustered right now" with a nervous look. While it was fun to see her like that, I wasn't going to let it go on any longer.

Fortunately, in order to expose Satoshi's joke, all you needed to do was ask him, "Are you serious?"

"Of course not."

''Phew.'' Chitanda breathed a sigh of relief. Such was Satoshi's motto: "Jokes are to be made on the spot, so too are misunderstandings to be dispelled right away."

"... Oreki-san, who might this be?"

After recovering from Satoshi's joke, Chitanda asked a bit wearily. Guess I should introduce Satoshi to her, or we won't get anywhere. I said briefly, "Oh him? That's Fukube Satoshi, a pseudo-human."

"Pseudo?"

A most suitable introduction, which Satoshi seems to have taken in good humour as well.

"Haha, great introduction, Houtarou. Pleased to meet you. And you are?"

"Chitanda, Chitanda Eru."

Upon hearing the name of Chitanda, Satoshi gave an unexpected reaction. For once, he actually went speechless. For someone so talkative like Satoshi, it was rare to see him like that.

"Chi, Chitanda-san? ''That'' Chitanda?"

"Hmm? I don't know which Chitanda you may be referring to, but I believe I'm the only one with that name in this school."

"Then it must be that. I'm surprised."

Satoshi's surprise was genuine. And if he was surprised, then I should be too. I learned some time ago that this fellow has a way of finding out all sorts of amazing information. Yet what was it that made him so surprised? I couldn't even guess.

"Hey, Satoshi, what is it this time?"

"What is it, you say? I know you're not that well-informed, but are you telling me that you've never even heard of the Chitanda Clan?"

This time, Satoshi shook his head and sighed in an exaggerated way. Of course, this was one of Satoshi's ways of joking. Since I know he's extremely well-versed in all sorts of useless knowledge, I was not at all ashamed about being ignorant of one of them.

"What about Chitanda-san's family?"

Nodding satisfactorily, Satoshi began to explain.

"While there are quite a few old prestigious clans in Kamiyama Town, the most prominent are the four 'Exponential Clans'. The Juumonji (十文字) Clan that runs the Arekusu Shrine, the Sarusuberi (百日紅) Clan that operates the bookstores, the Chitanda (千反田) Clan with their large farmlands, and the Manninbashi (万人橋) Clan of the mountain. The first kanji character of their surnames is represented by an exponent of the number ten (十百千万), hence they're called the 'Exponential Clans". The only other clans to be on equal footing with those four are the Irisu Clan that runs the local hospital, and the Toogaito Clan with their dominance in the field of education."

Dumbfounded, I blinked suspiciously and asked, "Four Clans? Satoshi, are you serious?"

"How rude. Have I ever lied about stuff like this?"

If Satoshi says it's true, then it's most likely true. Yet, prestigious clans in this day and age? While Satoshi was still scowling, Chitanda came to his aid.

"Umm, I've heard of that story before. Though I'm not quite sure about my family being a famous clan."

"So it's all true?"

"But, this is the first time I've heard about the four 'Exponential Clans'."

As I stared at Satoshi, he merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't say I was lying."

"But that was all made up anyway, wasn't it?"

"Well, I always wanted to be the one to get a legend started,"

As though wanting this topic to end, Satoshi clapped his hands together and said, "Anyway, Houtarou, what seems to be the trouble here?"

You sure are inquisitive. So in order to make a long story short, I briefly explained the details to him.

It was getting a bit dark, so Chitanda went to turn on the lights.

After hearing the story, Satoshi crossed his arms and started to groan.

"Hmm, it is a strange case."

"How so? It's just that Chitanda happened to forget that she locked the door, isn't it?"

"No, it ''is'' strange."

Satoshi uncrossed his arms and clapped his hands.

"Lately, schools have been very demanding on how their campuses are run. Kami High's management of its classrooms is particularly bothersome. In case you haven't noticed, none of the classrooms here can be locked from the inside. The reason is to prevent students from doing anything suspicious inside."

As Satoshi explained triumphantly, a suspicion was raised in my head. I know Satoshi can be particularly diligent in finding out such trivial knowledge, but isn't he learning a bit too much? Considering he's only been in this school for less than a month.

"How'd you know about this stuff?"

"Well, I was trying to hide in a classroom in order to experiment with something last week, but then I found out I couldn't lock the door from the inside."

"You know? I think the school designed its doors to prevent specifically the likes of ''you'' from 'doing anything suspicious'."

"Well, I guess so."

"You bet."

We both laughed. As a result of our dry laughter, Chitanda took a step backward. Noticing this, I cleared my throat and said, "Well, something must be wrong with the lock then. It's getting dark, so I'm going home."

I stood up from the table I was sitting on.

I felt someone grab my shoulder. I turned and saw Chitanda, who had somehow approached me from behind without me realizing.

"Please wait!"

"What is it now?"

"I'm curious about it."

Upon seeing Chitanda's close-up face, I winced.

"So?"

"Why was I being locked inside? ... If I wasn't locked inside, then how did I manage to come inside in the first place?"

Chitanda's gaze had a sort of power that seemed like it wouldn't accept a foolish answer as a response. Feeling overwhelmed by this, I replied meekly, "So, what about it?"

"If it was a mistake by someone, then who is it? And how did they end up locking me in by mistake?"

"No, I think there's something wrong with the lock..."

"I'm ''really'' curious about it."

She said as she advanced forward, forcing me to move back.

At first I thought Chitanda to be a sort of graceful lady, but that was merely my first impression based on her appearance. I now realized that I was looking at her true self. Especially her large energetic looking eyes, which are in contrast to her overall appearance. Those eyes reflected her true nature. "I'm curious about it", that sentence alone had made this "Exponential Clan" lady the poster child for curiosity itself.

"Why has this happened? Oreki-san, and Fukube-san as well, will you help think about this?"

"Why do I have to..."

"Well, it looks interesting."

Interrupting me, Satoshi accepted her challenge right away. As expected from Satoshi, but, "Well, I'm going home. Not interested."

It goes without explanation, for me, it's a waste of energy. And if I don't have to do it, I'm out of it.

Yet, Satoshi, who ought to know my modus operandi very well, said, "Oh, come on, Houtarou, help us out. I'd do it if I could, but I can't come to any conclusions just based on my own database alone."

"This is stupid, I'm..."

As I was about to continue, Satoshi glanced sideways. Following his glance, I saw Chitanda.

"... Ugh."

With her mouth tightly shut, and her fists clutching her skirt, she glared upwards at me. I subconsciously took another step backwards away from her. If it's just comparing the intensity of personalities, she wouldn't lose to my sister. It was a warning from Satoshi: ''I think you're better off going along with her whims.''

Glancing alternately between Chitanda and Satoshi, I nodded softly towards Satoshi and honestly took his advice. Otherwise, we might incur misfortune upon ourselves.

"... Yeah, I guess it ''is'' interesting. I'll think about it."

I had no choice but to say that in a deadpan tone. Yet that response was enough to get Chitanda to relax her glance.

"Oreki-san, have you thought of a solution already?"

"Hold it right there. Houtarou is the type that likes to think before he moves. Yet once he's put his thoughts together, he's capable of getting things done."

Stop being so talkative. Though moving before thinking is never good.

And so I began to think.

When Chitanda entered this room, the lock was opened. Yet when I arrived, it was clearly locked.

If Satoshi is to be believed, then there's no way Chitanda could have locked the door from the inside. However, rather than such an arbitrary reason, it could be that it was the result of an unconscious action. For example, the door was in a semi-locked state when Chitanda entered the room, and the spring within the lock must have somehow been triggered after she was inside and locked her in as a result.

After explaining this theory, Chitanda tilted her head while reserving her judgment, though Satoshi instantly raised his voice.

"That would be impossible. There is no way the locks in Kami High could have gone into a semi-locked condition based on its design. The key would not have come out in such a state."

No room for a middle ground, huh?

If that's the case, then that leaves the lock being locked knowingly by someone. So I asked, "Do you remember what time you entered this room?"

Chitanda thought for a while and said, "Right before you. About three minutes, I think."

Three minutes, that's too short. There wouldn't be time, as the Geology Room is the most remote place in Kami High.

... Now this is getting tricky. As I was starting to think all over again, Chitanda suddenly shouted, "Ah!"

"What is it, Chitanda-san?"

"I know. Think about it, who else has the key?"

"Huh? Who?"

Chitanda had a joyful look in her smile... For some reason, I had a bad feeling about this. As expected, our lady here turned towards me and said, "Oreki-san, of course. He has the key."

Just as predicted. Rather than concluding that it was a good deduction, she realized something and said, "Ah, but is this even possible? Isn't Oreki-san a trustworthy person?"

... Are you supposed to say such things in front of the person concerned? While I was speechless, Satoshi laughed and said, "Well, I don't know about Houtarou being trustworthy or not, but I don't think he's the sort of person that would have fun by locking you inside. He's got nothing to gain from it, after all."

Spot on there. You know me well - I wouldn't do anything that doesn't benefit me.

This means it wasn't me that locked the door.

Then... who was it?

I don't get this. So I proceeded to scratch my head.

I don't even have a clue. For some reason, I felt guilty as I asked, "This is no good. You got any clues?"

"Clue? What do you mean by that?"

What a straight counter-question.

"A clue is a clue."

Satoshi helped elaborate on my over-simplified explanation.

"Something that's different from the norm. Did you notice anything that feels different or strange, Chitanda-san?"

"Hmm, now that you mention..."

''Is there something different?'' While I wasn't exactly expecting much, Chitanda was looking around the Geology Room before turning her gaze downward and said gently, "A while ago, I heard some sounds coming from beneath my feet."

Sounds?

So someone did lock the door? I had no idea.

No, what if, that's the case?

... I see. I've somehow come to an understanding. Satoshi noticed my expression and said, "Houtarou, you seemed to have realized something."

I silently picked up my shoulder bag.

"W, where are you going, Oreki-san?"

"We're going to witness the reenactment of the scene of the crime. If we're lucky, we might get to see it."

I sensed Chitanda frantically following me, and Satoshi is right behind her, no doubt.

It was already quite late as closing time was approaching. The Baseball Team could clearly be seen tidying up their equipment. Chitanda and Satoshi, whom I should have already left behind long ago, ended up accompanying me. Or rather, they were following me.

Chitanda walked beside me and asked, "Tell us already. How come you've figured out already?"

Satoshi too asked from behind, "She's right, you know. We're not supposed to have secrets between us."

Stop saying something so gross. Without turning my head, I said, "It's not exactly a secret. It's just that it's so simple that it doesn't require much explanation."

"It may be simple for you, Oreki-san. But I still can't understand."

Chitanda pouted... While it's bothersome to explain, evading her questions is also a waste of energy. I straightened my shoulder bag and wondered where I should start.

"Alright, how about if I say that you were locked inside by someone using a master key?"

As I said something that was a matter of fact to me, Chitanda's voice was raised in surprise. Looks like we'll have to start the explanations here.

"Ehh? How is that so?"

"The Geology Room is located far off in the campus. If someone were to lock you inside using the regular key, he would need to return it to the staff room before I could have borrowed it. Three minutes would be too short for anyone to attempt to do that."

"I see. So it must be another key, and since there's only one regular key, that would leave the master key, right?"

Exactly. And naturally, it's to be expected that the master key couldn't normally be used by students.

Furthermore, there is another piece of decisive information.

"Chitanda-san, you said you heard something coming from the floor below you, right?"

"Yes."

"If the sound comes from the floor of the fourth floor, what would you normally have thought of first?"

Satoshi, who looked quite relaxed, answered, "The sound comes from the ceiling of the third floor?"

"Right. And that's our master key user."

The only person who would work on fixing stuff on the classroom ceilings after lesson time would be...

"I'm amazed you managed to figure out that it's the janitor."

Chitanda said while nodding eagerly.

The person that we saw on the third floor was the janitor, who was carrying a large ladder. As he emerged from a classroom, he placed the ladder on the floor and took out a key from his pocket. And right before our eyes, he began to lock the doors of the third floor classrooms one by one. In other words, he first unlocked all the classroom doors, then proceeded to do whatever he was working on inside the classrooms. And when he was done, he would then come back to lock them all at once. If someone happens to enter the classrooms when the doors were unlocked, then that unlucky person would have ended up getting locked inside... Much like Chitanda here.

As to what the janitor was working on, I had no idea. By going through so many classrooms and carrying a large ladder with him, it could be that he's changing the light bulbs for the classrooms, or perhaps checking on the glow starters or fire alarms or something like that. At any rate, Chitanda's question has been largely solved.

And thus a case is closed.

"You see? Told you he'd get things done if he puts his thoughts together."

"You're right. I'm amazed."

I don't see myself as that amazing... After all, it was Satoshi that told me about the key management system, while it was Chitanda that noticed the sound coming from below. I was planning on playing dumb all along... Oh well, they can think whatever they like of me. At any rate, I was made to go through all that trouble, but upon looking at Chitanda and seeing such honest admiration reflected in her meaningful eyes, I ended up swallowing any complaints that I may have had.

"Well, anyway. Even though you were in an indoor environment, I still don't understand how you didn't hear the door being locked."

Yet Chitanda didn't take that as a criticism or sarcasm, and merely smiled.

"Well, I could explain that. I was... yes, I was looking at that building from the window."

She said and pointed towards a building by the road. It was the Martial Arts Dojo. It was a shabby looking wooden building, worn down after being exposed to the elements for so long. I decided to take a leaf out of Chitanda's book and voiced my honest opinion, "Seems like you're really mesmerized by that."

"No, it's just that I find this building to be quite mysterious."

"Hmm."

I don't see how this building was mysterious, but Satoshi seemed to have understood something when he muttered, "Well, it does look particularly old."

"Yes, it is."

Is that so? It could be, though for her to have been distracted by such an old building, I had no idea whether she was being elegant or just carefree.

Before long, we came upon a red traffic light. Like us, there were other students heading home from school.

"By the way, we haven't properly greeted each other yet," Chitanda gently said.

"Greeted?"

"Yes, the Classics Club is going to commence its activities from now on, after all. Let us have fun together."

The Classics Club! I've totally forgotten about that! I was supposed to just go take a look at the club room, but it was all for naught as Chitanda had joined the club... But this is all in hindsight now. My application has already been submitted and subsequently filed on record. In this school, it was impossible to quit a club after joining it for one month.

As I lowered my head, Chitanda turned to smile at Satoshi.

"Are you joining the Classics Club as well, Fukube-san?"

Satoshi crossed his arms and looked as though he was thinking, but very soon replied, "Well, it sounds interesting. Alright, I'm in."

"It'll be a pleasure to get to know you, Fukube-san."

"No, the pleasure's all mine... Pleased to meet you as well, Houtarou."

I glanced mockingly at Satoshi, who decided to play dumb.

As the traffic light turned green, I started to walk. Sticking my hand in my pocket, I felt the letter inside. It was the letter from my sister. Indeed, ever since this letter from Oreki Tomoe had arrived, I had this feeling that something had been set in motion.

You happy now, sis? There are now three people within your youth that is the Classics Club. The traditional Classics Club has now been resurrected. This is also probably goodbye to my peaceful energy saving days. As for why...

"Ah yes, we still haven't decided on a president yet. What should we do?"

"You're right. Though Houtarou definitely doesn't seem to be the sort of person to be a club president."

These folks probably wouldn't put up with my energy-saving ways. If it were just Satoshi alone, I could still handle him somehow, but the main problem is...

Our eyes met. Chitanda Eru smiled with her big eyes.

The main problem is with this lady here. I just have a vague feeling about this.

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==Translator's Notes and References==
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| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 3|3 - The Activities of the Prestigious Classics Club]]
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Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 1

2020-05-25T06:35:00Z

67.249.118.224: /* 1 - Letter from Benares */

==1 - Letter from Benares==

Dear Houtarou,

I am currently staying in Benares. Although in Japan this place is commonly known as Benares, calling it Varanasi is probably more accurate in terms of pronunciation.

Benares is a great town, Houtarou. This is a town of funeral ceremonies - after all, it has been since a long time ago. It seems like whoever dies here can ascend directly to heaven. Or am I wrong?

Oh yes, this place is said to be "free from the wheel of reincarnation." What that means is that dying here is equivalent to becoming an enlightened being in the Buddhist sense. In China, a long austerity is required to reach this state of "release". But here you simply pass away and then everything is okay.

Well, that's a pathetic story for the Chinese.

It might be a bit late, but congratulations for being successfully admitted into high school. It is Kamiyama High School after all, isn't it? What a boring choice. But congratulations anyway.

As your big sis, let me give you, someone who has safely become a high school student, a piece of advice.

Enter the Classics Club.

The Classics Club is a humanities club in Kami-High with a long tradition. Also, you might already know this, but I also belonged to the club in the past.

I heard this from someone else, but it seems that our tradition-rich club has had no newcomers for three years and currently has no members at all. If no one joins the club this year it will be disbanded. As a former member of the club, this is certainly not something I can stand.

However, if there are newcomers in April then the situation will turn out differently. Houtarou, safeguard the Classics Club, the youth of your big sis. For now, you can join the club in name only.

Moreover, it's not really that bad of a club. It's particularly great in autumn.

After all, you don't have anything better to do, do you?

I'll call you after reaching New Delhi.

With love, 
Tomoe

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| Return to [[Hyouka|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Hyouka:Volume 1 Chapter 2|2 - The Rebirth of the Traditional Classics Club]]
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