Editing Sorcery Hacker:Volume2 Phase01 (section)

===Part 1===

The sun was shining in a tropical paradise.

The sea was a beautiful mix of blue and green and the beach was covered with fine white sand and colorful flowers. Instead of normal conifer and broadleaf trees, the forest was mostly made up of mangroves growing directly up from the beach. The hermit crabs were larger than someone’s fist and the butterflies were a breathtaking blue. The rules governing this place were so strange, all the way down to the insect varieties never seen on the Static Continent.

The ocean seemed so different from the Static Continent where everything was built up into harbors.

Very few artificial objects could be seen in the pure and bright ocean here.

The only unnatural presence there were the leisure yachts and the giant railroad bridges connecting two continents. That and a bent metal tower sticking up from the island’s forest.

“What is that?” Mamilis tilted her head. “It’s bent.”

“One of the island’s famous lightning cloud cannons. When thick lightning clouds arrive, those blow them away. They should swivel like a construction arm.”

This would probably be a comfortable place for the Harpy, Cat Sith, and others freed from the 3rd class cars. Mermaids had great influence over the island of Laguntreat, so the oppression of demons was almost entirely absent here. Some might even decide to settle down here.

They saw a giant squid known as a Kraken and an enormous crab known as a Karkinos.

There were even some more unusual demons like a Nagaraja, Ketos, or Afanc that ordinary people would have a hard time picturing from the name alone.

Aquatic and decidedly nonhumanoid demons regularly appeared on the beach and in the ocean here. Despite looking like a picture book scene of a demonic world, the atmosphere was relaxed and everyone was taking it easy.

Of course, demons were not the only ones on the beach.

A young human man was staring blankly at a graceful older Mermaid lying nearby and a lost human child was clinging to a Lizardman’s leg and crying.

Most of the buildings that dotted the beach were built using wood from the palm trees and mangroves and a lot of them had an open design with the walls removed, allowing the wind through. That would make crime prevention difficult, but it created a relaxed and open atmosphere that made one think there was no strife here.

This was Laguntreat, the island of mermaids and decursing.

The remote island was located in the sea south of the Static Continent and it had gathered attention as a midway point to other continents ever since the age of ships.

But once the ocean railroad had opened and intercontinental travel had become a lot less risky, it had needed to find a primary industry other than trade.

“The answer they found was decursing using their pure spring water. In other words, medical and health treatments using sorcery. I believe the Oceavita Water Therapy Institute now manages all of the island’s spring water.”

Straitlaced Striker Henrietta explained what she knew while still wearing her hot armor even though this tropical paradise was better suited for swimsuits and tanned skin.

After walking along the bridge, they had arrived at Leonardo Station. Since it was not just called Laguntreat Station, it was probably named after a mayor, someone who helped get the railroad built, or someone else of note.

They had not seen any desert islands between the stopped 3rd class cars and here, but maybe they would have found one if they had walked long enough in the opposite direction.

Henrietta’s armor clanked heavily as she walked.

“You have heard of the hot spring towns built in volcanic regions on the Static Continent, I assume? This is similar to that.”

“Are you saying the mountain here will erupt someday?”

Dark Elf Mamilis did not quite get it and she looked vaguely uneasy, but that may have been due to living in a sky city all her life.

Henrietta shook her head, which also shook her blonde ponytail braid.

“No, the powerful demon at the mountain peak is the main factor here. Laguntreat has 143 officially registered springs, but they all come from that mountain.”

It was a fairly tall mountain. The top was surrounded by thick clouds and snow, which seemed unusual for the tropical climate. The colossal silhouette visible through the white curtain was obviously not a mountain ridge.

Henrietta seemed somewhat exasperated by the ridiculous scale of it all as she placed a hand on her hip and winked.

“That is Water Lord Fleurelisia, who is also known as the Ocean Queen. She is a giant winged fish that slithers on land like a snake. She uses her land, sea, and air forms to rule water in all of its forms: solid, liquid, and gas. I believe she measures at around 450 esoule<ref>Approximately 540 meters.</ref> She is powerful enough to be known as one of the demonic Four Lords. She has been inactive of late, simply lying motionless up there on the mountain peak for several combo-years now, but I have heard that has created permafrost toward the top of the mountain. No one can hope to predict when she will move again.”

“The Water Lord,” muttered the Dark Elf like she was viewing a clock counting down to the end of the world.

Did her fear come from her experience with another of the Four Lords, that gargantuan fire dragon? Or had she been reminded of nearly being captured by human traffickers when the dragon attacked?

The human tourists reacted much like her, but the local demons did not seem to care. They might see the Water Lord like a guardian deity.

“It would be simplest to think of her as similar to Fire Lord Blasthogg, the giant dragon that attacked the sky city. I am hesitant to blindly accept it as fact, but based on what those dangerous individuals said, they were apparently involved in the very origin of magic.”

Incidentally, short and busty Teleria Nereid Aquamarine was pale and trembling instead of listening to any of this.

“Ahhh…”

(How do I even describe this? It’s like a weird itch on my back. Why is someone I know talking about my mother with a solemn look on her face?)

It was fortunate that Henrietta did not remember the Water Lord’s middle name onward. That would have been bad. She had 98 excuses ready to go already, but it would be hard to explain away a matching middle ''and'' last name. And she was not at all confident she could convince Ayato once he grew suspicious.

Mamilis kept glancing over at her with an unreadable expression. That Dark Elf was one of the few people who knew her secret.

She placed a hand at the center of her large chest and took a deep breath.

(It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I just have to avoid making him think I have any connection to the demons here. I am Sorcery Trainee Teleria from the Academy Towers and I am currently journeying with Ayato as a bounty-hunting Forward. Good, my roleplaying is flawless. I won’t let anything rouse his suspi-)

“Princess? Why didn’t you inform us you were returning for a visi- mgh!”

“Abwagwah!!!!!!”

A graceful older Mermaid sunbathing atop a woven grass mat (lying face down with her shell bikini strap undone) spoke up in puzzled surprised, so Teleria immediately placed a hand over her mouth to silence her.

Black-haired Ayato looked even more puzzled than the Mermaid.

“Princess?”

“Y-y-y-yes, that is a very strange thing for her to say, Ayato! They must have a local custom of calling travelers that. You know, like when we were in the commercial capitalist city of Drizzagrad and came across those weird cafes where they called everyone ‘master’ or ‘mistress’!”

Ayato’s head remained tilted and Teleria maintained her smile despite looking like she was about to cry.

Meanwhile, brown Mamilis kicked at something hard.

“More importantly, we need to deal with this ice coffin. Coach, let’s carry it to the spring or wherever to get him decursed. We’re way too conspicuous with this thing.”

“Good point. That might be why we are gathering salespeople,” said Henrietta, annoyed by all the people trying to sell her large, round striped fruits chilled with ice.

Yes.

They were dragging along the rectangular ice coffin using the ropes tied around it. It was certainly a bizarre sight, especially with the human silhouette vaguely visible through the frost.

Dark Elf Mamilis tilted her head.

“Coach, why is everyone on this island selling watermelons? Are they a local delicacy?”

“Yes, but that isn’t limited to Laguntreat. They’re a standard beach food. Especially for that thing where you put on a blindfold, spin around, and break them open with a stick.”

“Is that some kind of ritual???”

She now seemed to have more questions than before.

Henrietta shooed away a Harpy, a swimsuit girl with seabird wings, who was trying to sell her something.

“Dangerous individual, you seemed to know a lot about that sorcery gun’s curse. Oceavita Water Therapy Institute will select the best spring for you based on the type of curse. If they need to determine what kind of curse it is for you, you have to wait in line and it takes a long time, so it would be much faster if you told us everything you know.”

“The Queen Astaroth Revolver is essentially a contract with a devil. The world’s laws are distorted to your benefit, but that can also be turned back against you to destroy you. That is a popular form of curse, but this one is exceptionally powerful.”

“Isn’t that all the more reason to leave this in the hands of the experts?”

Mamilis was tall and cool, but she was a grandma’s girl deep down, which made her generally obedient.

There were apparently 143 officially registered springs. The many options explained all the simple wooden arrow signs seen all over the place.

“Ah!”

They ran across several children fully engrossed in bug catching.

Despite her Mimic Option, Dark Elf Mamilis immediately reached up to her ears as if to hide them. The kids of course did not notice at all.

While most of the stores and other buildings had an open design without walls, the therapy institute was built of white marble. It looked different on the most fundamental level.

Once inside, a mechanical cool breeze born of sorcery created a refrigerator-like chill. A shiver ran up brown-skinned Mamilis’s spine.

That may have been a luxury for the people of the island. They could see people lying on the lobby benches and it was unclear if all of them even had anything wrong with them. One girl had partially stripped off a seal-like costume, leaving her upper body almost entirely bare, so she must have been a Selkie. Surprisingly, that was a type of Mermaid. A large beaver-like Afanc was trying to hit on her, but she was not listening.

The boy’s group crossed the lobby to reach the reception counter.

The receptionist in a nurse cap, a long work dress, and an apron smiled as she jotted down notes based on Ayato’s description and the symptoms they had seen.

“Understood. This patient appears to have been part of some sort of criminal activity, so who is authorizing this treatment?”

“That would be Henrietta Split Destrius here. She is a knight from Sky City Celedileka.”

“Wait, dangerous individual. I never said you could use my name here.”

But Sorcery Hacker Ayato and his partner Teleria were on the run and Mamilis was a Dark Elf, so that straitlaced Striker was the only one who could safely use her name on this kind of paperwork.

In addition to the clipboard held to her chest, the receptionist held a hand over a spherical Media Summoner on the counter. It looked a lot like a fist-sized crystal container or a snow dome.

“Okay, your registration is complete. We will take the patient now.”

Once the ice coffin was in the institute’s care, this was a job for the sorcery medical professionals. They received a wooden block with a number carved into it, so they left the white marble building.

The tropical forest had plenty of shade, but all the moisture made it humid and buggy. That was enough for Ayato’s group to head back to the beach where Mamilis raised her arms and stretched her back.

“It’s weird how it feels cooler here.”

“It might be a humidity issue,” answered Ayato.

Nearby, a girl with countless snakes for hair was sunbathing while lying face down on a sheet made from an herbivore’s tanned skin. Was she an Echidna? A Medusa? No, she may have been a Nagaraja. Whatever she was, it was rare to see demons so relaxed and unguarded in public places. Her thick serpentine lower body was lazily wiggling side to side as she basked in the sun.

In her armor and tight skirt, Henrietta rubbed her fingers against her temples.

“It takes a full day before the first report back? And if they haven’t decursed him then, they will probably have to try another spring? We definitely need a hotel now.”

“Coach, what should we do? We spent a lot of time in our room on the train, so I’m sick of just sitting around.”

“Why not go sightseeing? It isn’t everyday you travel outside the continent.”

“Eek!” Teleria paled and trembled. “(Oh…oh, no, no. If we split up, I won’t be able to control things and they’ll figure it out. No, wait, I just have to solve each problem in turn! Don’t give up yet!! Mamilis already knows my identity, so she isn’t a problem. I only have to worry about what Ayato and Henrietta do, so if I can keep them together…)”

“Miss Teleria?”

“I’m fine! I’m definitely not acting weird! Why would you even think that!?”

The blonde girl straightened up a little too quickly, making her large breasts shake vertically.

“But, Coach.” Mamilis tilted her head. “Do we have the money for a hotel? I mean, the Henrietta casino plan was just you manipulating the odds with your Sorcery Hacking to delay her inevitable loss, so you weren’t really expecting anything from that, right?”

“What. Did. You. Just. Say?”

“Miss Mamilis, I think we need to have a chat about when to keep your mouth shut. But regardless, we will be fine. We completed our job as Forwards on that train, remember?”

Ayato snapped his fingers.

[[Image:SorceryHacker_v02_BW02.jpg|thumb]]

“Yes, yes. You want your reward, don’t you?”

Teleria shrieked at the sudden voice.

Their client – a long-haired woman – had traded her classic maid uniform for a purple bikini. She was lounging on a beach chair made from woven vines. The glass on the side table may have contained a mixed drink made from mango and pineapple juice. A glass straw leaned against the side of the large glass which was decorated with a red flower.

This was Micha Angelos.

Her actual age was unknown, but Ayato recalled that she did not drink alcohol. That apparently dated back to a bitter experience when her bull man of a master had offered her a glass of an amber liquid and a single test lick with the tip of her tongue had ''messed her up something fierce''. Then again, with the tourist markup, that fruit drink had probably cost more than an entire bottle of an ordinary alcoholic drink.

She shooed away a girl carrying a silver halide camera used to try to sell people commemorative vacation photos.

“This is your glorious reward from His Excellency. Please accept it with appropriate joy.”

“Joy? While picturing that minotaur in my head?”

“Do it.”

“We were the victims here. I already have him to blame for feeling weird when I eat a 0.2 rayker<ref>Approximately 280 grams.</ref> rib roast. And medium rare ones were one of my favorite foods.”

While lying on her back in a way that seemed designed to show off her large chest, she grabbed a small bag of gold<ref>Approximately 200,000 yen.</ref> between two slender fingers and dropped it in his hand. The purple beauty then placed both hands behind her head as a pillow.

“Interested in another job?”

“Nothing interests me more than that sun oil on the side table there. Eh heh heh. I see it contains a stimulation dulling herb. Does that mean your fine skin reacts very sensitively to potions, Micha Angelos? Why didn’t you tell me you had such a cute side?”

“Sorcery Hacker, I will only state this merciful warning once, so listen very carefully. Lay a single finger on this skin I keep pristine for His Excellency and I will dismember you on the spot.”

“Aha, a loophole!! I am free to touch the swimsuit-covered parts as much as I want as I will not be touching your ski-”

“I was not kidding about the dismemberment.”

Her smile did not reach her eyes, so he decided to take her at her word and raised his hands away from her.

“In that case, I am in the mood for some time off.”

“If you say so. But once you are sick of taking it easy, you can come crying back, Mr. Workaholic. We both know you lack the mental complexity needed to enjoy a vacation.”

That was the end of it.

Ayato blinked and those sexy curves were nowhere to be found. Instead, a purple nocturnal butterfly made of adult lace and bright jewels was flying away. The scene was so calm it did not disturb the other sunbathing girls like a chilly Asrai or a Nagaraja with snake hair and a serpentine lower body.

They had some funds now.

Most of the hotels came in the form of raised-floor cottages on the beach. After checking in at the manager’s room, you would head to one of the villa-like cottages dotting the beach. The puppy-like mermaid waiting behind the counter greeted them while seeming unsure what to do with her long fish tail.

“Welcome back, Princess. You want the cheapest room we offer? I wouldn’t dare! I would be punished for providing such poor service to you of all people!”

“?”

“Ho…ho ho ho. It’s so cute how they call everyone princess instead of ma’am! Now, Ayato, stop letting their standard lip service get the better of you! We need to go!!”

When they received their room key in the manager’s room, Ayato could not help but check what level it was as a sorcery device. They walked along a pier-like wooden walkway to carry them out into the ocean instead of just on the beach. There was no ocean railroad bridge or other cottages to block the view of the sun setting over the horizon from here. It had to be the nicest cottage in the area. For some reason, the entire place was oddly luxurious and its Media Summoner was unusually large. A bottle in a bucket of ice sat on the table as a welcoming gift.

Silver-haired Mamilis’s eyes widened and she poked at the bottle full of a toxically bright pink liquid.

“Wow, is this alcoholic?’

“I doubt it. Alcoholic drinks have the cork sealed with a special sticker to let you know. Also, the chateau or distillery likes to advertise their brand, the production region, and the shipment date on the label.”

“You know a lot about this, Henrietta. You’re so mature.”

“Thanks to the nightly parties those nobles threw after losing the courage to fight. To be clear, I learned all this so I would not drink any by mistake.”

While Dark Elf Mamilis and Striker Henrietta discussed that, Teleria quietly observed the cottage. She checked each room in turn and found red flower petals scattered atop a large canopied bed. There was even a message card on the pillow: “I see you have finally captured a man in the outside world and brought him home with you. Since there are no male Mermaids, that is a trial we all must face if we intend to have a child, which is especially important for you given the line of succession. I should have known you would overcome that trial so easily, Princess! The drink we have provided has a fantastic effect on men, turning them into a runaway freight train, if you know what I mean. Good luck tonight, Princess!”

“What does that say, Miss Teleria?’

“Nwuhthing at all, Ayato!! Ha ha ha. Just some silly advertisement, so don’t bother looking at it. And don’t even think about touching that bottle!!”

She balled up the unwanted message card in record time while blushing bright and speaking at a rapid pace. She was starting to suspect this cottage might be littered with traps, so she would need to do a thorough cleaning of every single room.

“Coach.”

Then Dark Elf Mamilis poked just her head into the bedroom entrance. As a grandma’s girl deep down, she could behave oddly childishly despite her tall and slender build.

Since no one could see them here, she had removed her Mimic Option earrings to let her long ears show.

“Should we choose rooms now?”

“I vote we all share the same room, Miss Mamilis. Yes, let us all sleep in the very same bed!!”

“In that case, I will assign rooms to everyone. But once that is done, we need to find some way to kill time. A full day is a long time.”

“Miss Mamilis, the laws of nature tell us precisely what we must do here, do they not?”

The brown bare-midriff girl tilted her head and Ayato made an awfully powerful suggestion.

“This is a tropical paradise, so how about we swim in the ocean?”