Editing Leviathan:Volume 5 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 1===

Going to the American East Coast required a long-haul flight over twelve hours long.

The time of arrival was around 9am on the morning of August 5. Hal looked up at the North American sky that he had not seen for quite some time. It was so blue that it compelled the viewer to relax in leisure.

Were this the West Coast, perhaps he would be able to use the description of "sunny and refreshing."

However, as soon as he stepped out of the airport into the outdoors, he was instantly greeted by the humid and stuffy atmosphere. Unlike the West Coast's dry climate, the East Coast was quite wet.

Hal and his group had landed at Logan Airport in ''Boston''.

Immediately, they suffered from a hot and stuffy environment similar to Japan's.

"Hazumi!? You are looking very pale. Are you alright!?"

"Y-Yes, I feel very uncomfortable, but if I rest somewhere cool and shaded, I probably..."

Orihime hurried over to look after Hazumi who had suddenly crouched down.

One could hardly blame her. After being locked in an airplane for more than half a day then encountering this sort of summer heat immediately after disembarking. Not only that, but there was also a thirteen-hour time difference between Boston and Tokyo New Town.

"This humidity and heat, combined with the mental strain caused by jet lag..."

"Even for me and Haruomi, this is tough..."

Hal grumbled and Asya murmured irritably too.

This was an air journey from the islands of Japan to the United States. Compared to flying west to places such as Europe or the Middle East, eastbound flights produced more severe symptoms of jet lag, since it involved moving opposite to the Earth's rotation, after all.

If even Hal and Asya, who were used to traveling, were suffering, it went without saying for Hazumi with her weaker constitution.

As a side note, the junior witch, who was susceptible to feeling unwell from overexposure to both direct sunlight and air-conditioning, was dressed in a summer dress with floral markings with a cardigan on top as well as sunglasses and a straw hat.

"That being said, Orihime-san seems to be doing well..."

"Me? I guess it's because I slept well on the plane?"

With Asya staring at her, Orihime answered matter-of-factly.

Dressed in a tank top and an open-shoulder cutsew paired with a white miniskirt, she was the only one lively and energetic, despite claiming beforehand that her overseas traveling experience only consisted of Hawaii, Tahiti and Korea. Hal felt drained yet impressed.

"It's probably due to a fundamental difference in physical endurance too..."

In terms of vitality in a broad sense, Asya should be unparalleled.

But in the case of pure physical endurance, there was probably no one who could surpass the athletic girl whose past feats included national kendo champion... However, it was at this moment that Hal realized.

He was supposed to hold a clear advantage in the form of the suspicious power of dragonbane.

In spite of that, he was still suffering from jet lag. This was most likely proof that he was "still human." If there ever came a day when not only time zones but even the presence of air no longer mattered to him&mdash;

Ending this unpleasant thought, Hal spoke up.

"I'm going to rent a car. You girls take care of Shirasaka."

Leaving on his own, he walked towards a bus parked in front of the airport.

The bus was imprinted with a rental company's logo. Since the actual parking lot of the rental cars was some distance away, one had to go there via the free shuttle service.

Hal and ten-odd other travelers boarded the bus.

Thirty minutes after making his way to the rental company he had booked ahead of time, Hal drove a Japanese-made light sedan back to the airport to meet up with his friends.

After occupying the front passenger seat, Asya said, "A corrected routine will help eliminate the fatigue from jet lag! Anyway, Haruomi, let's go for breakfast first!"

"Come on, weren't you eating donuts at the airport just now?"

That being said, it would be a good idea to take a break before embarking on a long-distance drive.

Hal drove the car and stopped in front of a nearby burger shop. Since Boston was a city he had visited a number of times before, he knew his way around somewhat.

"Isn't Manhattan our destination? That would be in New York, right?"

They were at a hamburger chain quite famous domestically in America.

After finding seats inside the shop, Orihime asked in puzzlement.

"But isn't Boston in the state of Massachusetts?"

"Yes. The institute of technology bearing the state's name is also very famous. This is the state's capital."

"It sort of counts as being to the right of New York State, right? But the two states are really big, so Boston and Old Manhattan have no connection at all."

After listening to Hal and Asya's explanations, Orihime tilted her head.

"In that case, why did we come to Boston?"

"I wanted to make a detour&mdash;to visit Salem."

"Salem huh...?"

Hearing the name of the place Hal had spoken quietly, Hazumi reacted.

Although she had collapsed for a while, it looked like her condition improved with the help of cold orange juice and air-conditioning indoors and within the car. Timidly, she said, "I've heard of it before. I remember it was during a periodic training session on witch knowledge."

"I figured. This city of Salem was the stage for witch hunts during the seventeenth century, you know?"

" "Witch hunts!?" "

"I decided after discussing with Asya. It would be good experience if you two could visit that place once, Juujouji and Shirasaka."

"We have a tea party scheduled with the 'Grandmas' this afternoon."

Hearing the unsettling subject of witch hunts, the two Japanese witches were rendered speechless.

A meeting with their "seniors" had been arranged for Orihime and Hazumi without giving them advance notice or time for mental preparation. Hal and Asya had intentionally not told them.

"It's not like they'll eat you alive. Relax."

Saying that, Asya immediately reached for the paper box before her.

What she picked up was a king-size bacon burger. After ripping open the aluminum foil for keeping it warm, she took a great bite. The 100% beef patties were stacked in three layers and topped with thick grilled bacon. It looked plenty impressive.

As a side note, this burger chain's selling point was that it did not use any frozen meat whatsoever.

In addition, there was a king-size cheeseburger and fries (extra large) in front of Asya.

"S-Such impressive quantities."

Hazumi's eyes were round while she stared at the outrageous amount of fries.

Carrying a small mountain of french fries, the container should be called a "paper bucket." The amount was so great that it would be more than enough to feed a Japanese family of four.

"This is a chain whose expansion is centered around the East Coast. In addition to abundant quantities, they also offer great flavor."

"Well, I can't believe you're free to choose this kind of size at a shop that doesn't cater to big eaters in particular. Land of the free indeed."

"So this amount isn't a meal combo meant for a whole family to share?" Orihime asked the emphatically muttering Hal in a whisper while Asya was heartily enjoying the fulfilling nature of American portion sizes.

"No no no, their main target demographic should be active guys in high school and college. I happened to see someone order this meal earlier, but gave up on finishing it in the end. Powerful contenders capable of finishing it only show up once in a while, apparently... like Asya."

Apart from Asya, the remaining three had ordered a regular-size fries to share, paired with cold drinks to soothe their parched throats, thus enjoying a short break.

After spending forty minutes in the burger shop's cool environment, Hal's group got in their car and drove to Salem.

The drive from Boston took less than an hour.

With only a population of forty thousand, Salem was a quiet port city. Brick buildings could be seen everywhere. Overall, the streets seemed quite old. Compared to Boston with its abundant skyscrapers, the contrast was striking.

"There are quite a lot of cute buildings with nice atmospheres."

"It feels a bit like a drama set."

"This area consists of relatively old buildings or houses. They were mostly built during the seventeenth century."

While Orihime and Hazumi were looking out the car window happily, Hal nodded and explained.

"I don't know if he used the scenery here for inspiration, but during the 1920s, a guy called Lovecraft wrote a horror novel featuring a city very similar to Salem. For fans of that genre, this place is like a pilgrimage site."

"Haruomi and I used to play 'The window! The window!' and 'Sneaking into Innsmouth' at an old mansion in this city. We had so much fun."

"? Was there something at the window?"

"Although I have no idea how it was played, I can imagine it being mischief without a fear of God..."

Next to the puzzled Hazumi, Orihime smiled wryly in exasperation.

But she immediately changed the subject.

"By the way, Haruga-kun, you mentioned witch hunts earlier..."

"Simply put, they happened back when America was still a British colony. At the time, girls living in Salem would play a game imitating a seance."

"I presume it was something quite similar to divination games in Japan like Kokkuri-san or Angel-san," Asya added from the front passenger seat.

"Girls in puberty trying out occult games with a playful mindset."

"However, preachers and officials raised an uproar when they found out and arrested all the girls, locking them in prison to carry out witch trials, finally executing them."

" "......" "

"From there, things unfolded like medieval witch hunts. Only five or six people were arrested in the beginning but suspicions of women being witches kept spreading throughout the city. In the end, the number of people arrested reached as high as three digits. Only after dozens of people had lost their lives did the government finally step in to bring the whole incident under control."

Facing the speechless Orihime and Hazumi, Asya shrugged and said, "This incident stands as an important historical lesson about the cruelties of mass hysteria, passed down to the current day. However, I believe that the current Salem is just a simple and friendly town."

With casual conversation going on during the drive, they soon reached the destination.

It was a house located in the countryside of Salem. Within the premises enclosed by a perimeter of high walls was a beautiful, carefully maintained garden. After going through the gate, they had to proceed&mdash;another twenty minutes. Of course, it was by car.

At the entrance to the house was an oval plaza resembling a bus terminal.

Hal parked the car on the side. There were several vehicles apart from theirs, including luxury German cars, old American cars and even a half truck.

Thanks to that, Hal's Japanese car was not particularly conspicuous.

Also, the solemn and majestic mansion in front of them was built in a oblong shape with three floors.

This was the "country house" style that English nobles liked to use for their rural palatial residences. The "old mansion" setting used in novels and movies mostly followed this type too.

"Umm... Senpai." Perhaps due to her piqued curiosity, Hazumi asked from the back seat.

"What kind of place is this? A museum... of sorts?"

"No, it's just a personal residence. A certain old lady's estate."

"Really? It took a long time getting here from the main gate, you know?"

Adjacent to Hazumi, Orihime was also staring wide-eyed. As a side note, this garden was four times as big as the Tokyo Dome in area.

Asya shrugged and said, "Rich people in America often build houses on unnecessarily big plots of land. Not only swimming pools, but they even put golf courses into their gardens too. Well, this place is actually pretty low-key for a wealthy family in that range."

"If I remember correctly, Miss Erick's family made their fortune through the futures market, right?"

"Yes. She secretly used her powers as a witch to predict wheat and soy production the following year, thereby profiting in the process."

"A witch?"

Orihime asked Asya and Hal about the word that had appeared in the conversation.

"Yeah. Rather than the magi known as witches nowadays, a real witch."

"Today, we are going to meet the matriarch of this household and her friends, a couple of old ladies. They are all witches&mdash;they use traditional spells and concoct potions, etc... In other words, they are a group of old ladies who use magic."

"They were the benefactors back when SAURU first started as a research organization, providing magical knowledge as the brains and funding operations as sponsors."

"All of us, members of SAURU, call them the 'Grandmas.'"