Editing Leviathan:Volume 4 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 1===

"Look quickly, Nee-sama! There's a kind of coconut tree!"

"You're right. This feels more like a resort than I expected."

On the Sagaminada shore of Atami City in the Shizuoka prefecture&mdash;

Inside a minivan that was racing along a coastal national highway...

Shirasaka Hazumi smiled cheerfully while looking at the expansive urban scenery outside the window as well as the Sagaminada sea. As for Juujouji Orihime, she was watching her cousin with a smile.

They had set off on the first day of the summer vacation. Fortunately, it was an excellent sunny day.

Orihime was dressed in a tank top of white lace and shorts whereas Hazumi was in casual wear with a patterned one-piece dress and a cardigan. The two of them were sitting behind the driver in the second row of seats.

Likewise sitting in the same row was Asya, namely, Anastasya Rubashvili.

This minivan had a maximum capacity of seven passengers. Three people were supposed to be able to fit in the second row.

Besides, Asya and Hazumi were petite while Orihime's figure was quite svelte too. Even with the three of them sitting side by side, it was not cramped at all.

That being said, Asya, sitting on the right, looked displeased.

She kept glaring at Hal, who was in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel&mdash;as well as Luna Francois in the front passenger seat.

Incidentally, Asya was wearing a short-sleeved parka and three-quarter-length cargo pants. As habitually, Luna was dressed in a classy black dress, standing in stark contrast to Asya.

"Harry, would you like to have some chilled mandarin orange?"

"They're still being sold? I didn't even see any at the shops in the station. I thought they had been relegated to legendary fantasy food already."

"Don't worry. They are actually still produced in small quantities and can be ordered online and purchased at certain stations."

"I see&mdash;"

"I've heard that it's a seasonal tradition as part of nostalgic Japanese travel, so I ordered some. A rare trip... Today will commemorate our first time traveling together."

"Oh okay."

"Please be patient. I shall peel it for you presently."

"You don't have to go to so much trouble. I can peel it on my own."

"No, it would be too dangerous. Aren't you driving at the moment, Harry...? This really is cold, it is hurting my fingertips a little."

"Oh... I'm serious, just hand me a whole mandarin. I'd feel bad otherwise."

"Fufufu, don't worry, I have already finished peeling. By the way, this is how it feels."

"&mdash;So cold! D-Don't suddenly touch my ear, okay? I'm driving after all."

"My apologies, did I startle you? Well then, Harry, please open your mouth."

"Huh?"

"Making you extend your hand while you're driving would definitely be a bit dangerous, Harry. Hence, I shall feed you instead. Could you say 'ah~' for a sec? It would be safer this way&mdash;"

"Of course not! Luna and Haruomi, cut it out!"

Asya suddenly roared, causing Hazumi and Orihime to jump in fright.

The two Japanese girls had apparently been watching the scenery outside the window, chatting happily, getting along with perfect harmony, which was why they had not noticed the interactions between the two in the front seats. Orihime then asked, "What's the matter, Asya-san?"

"Did they do something?"

"Nothing at all. It's just Luna making inappropriate jokes and Haruomi grinning idiotically on the side..."

When Hazumi inquired as well, Asya replied with irritation.

Listening to the conversation in the back seats, Hal glanced at the rear-view mirror while driving to check his own expression. Phew, no idiotic grin.

"Stop talking nonsense. I've been driving very seriously the whole time, okay?"

"Indeed. I only played a little prank because Harry wasn't speaking much to me. Please do not mind us, everyone."

From the front passenger seat, Luna Francois looked back and explained innocently.

It was on occasions like these that Hal could not help but praise her worth as a vixen and actress. As a side note, Hal decided to keep secret the wavering thought of "I might as well open my mouth and see given this rare chance, right?" crossing his mind.

"Asya, you're a bit neurotic today, aren't you? What's with you?"

"N-Nothing. I just felt a pissed off to see you strangely flustered by a girl, no longer acting like an innocent boy... That reminds me."

While glaring intently at her fellow master-class witch Luna and Hal, Asya continued, "Although you are definitely two of a kind, were you ever this close? And Luna, you've changed subtly. How should I put it? It's like you're more feminine or something."

"Fufufufu. My dear hopeless Asya, do you finally feel my overflowing feminine charm?"

"W-What kind of unfunny joke are you making!?"

While playing dumb in response to Asya's inexplicably foul mood, Luna Francois calmed down the atmosphere in the car, meanwhile not forgetting to throw sultry winks at Hal from time to time.

It was probably a small skit designed to enhance a sense of camaraderie and intimacy as accomplices.

While concluding that, Hal noticed that he was surprisingly not repulsed by it.

No matter what, Luna Francois Gregory was undoubtedly an intelligent beauty. Simply conversing with her was very enjoyable already.

(Girls are truly scary...)

This was a threat he had never felt from his childhood friend.

With wariness and trepidation, Hal stole a glance at the front passenger seat. Keenly noticing his gaze, Luna Francois smiled back in response.

&mdash;The fact that he felt slightly ''attracted'' must remain secret too.

"Hey, is the 'Dragon Palace' you mentioned nearby?"

Asya, Orihime, Hazumi and Luna Francois&mdash;Hal did not direct his question to any of these four. The dragon ghost, whom he was posing the question to, appeared in the last row's auxiliary seat in the minivan.

Manifested as a young girl in a scarlet kimono, Hinokagutsuchi replied haughtily, "One could certainly consider it nearby&mdash;Perhaps. Possibly wandering the sea in this vicinity, possibly slumbering somewhere like a rock, one of the two."

After listening to this ambiguous answer, Hal grumbled, "Why thank you for such a precise tip."

"No need to get so hung up, Harry. There is nothing wrong with failure. Since this outing simultaneously serves as a company recreation trip to soothe our bodies that were exhausted from the intense battles earlier, why not take it easy?"

"I agree. In my case, I will take your advice. Let's relax in a sightseeing mood, shall we?"

It was Orihime supporting Luna Francois from the back seat.

She turned out to be quite good at reading the mood.

She must have used this joking tone to offer such a frivolous opinion in an attempt to alleviate Hal's anxiety.

After that, the junior student who had never gone on any trip for the past few years, let alone a beach, spoke up too.

"A bit embarrassing as it is to say, I am plenty satisfied to be able to come here already. Thank you very much, everyone, for taking me along!"

Always smiling like an angel&mdash;Shirasaka Hazumi. At this moment, the smile dominating her visage was even more dazzling than usual, looking like she really was in bliss.

After confirming this through the rear-view mirror, Hal felt extremely satisfied too.

Just to be able to see this smile, the expedition to Izu was already worth it.

Temporarily casting aside his thoughts on Luna Francois, he stepped on the gas pedal with a relaxed mood.

Gathering information first was necessary at the initial destination. The current time was a bit past 9am. Their group had set off from Tokyo New Town early in the morning to come here.

As a side note, breakfast had been eaten inside the minivan. Rice balls courtesy of Orihime.

"Haruomi, let's stop at the next station to have a second breakfast."

"Can't we just look for a burger joint or a convenience store?"

"Since we are traveling, we ought try out local ingredients and cooking, but restaurants aren't open at this hour... This kind of situation dictates going to a station's shopping area. It's quite usual for those kinds of places to open at 8am!"

"Considering you're foreigners, Luna and Asya, that level of familiarity with Japan is way too much..."

They had already made two rest stops this morning. Although Asya had bought food like hot dogs or instant noodles each time, it looked like her stomach was empty again.

In response, a third person said with a smile, "Senpai, I have the same request. I would like us to make a stop too!"

"Sure, got it."

Following his policy of indulging Hazumi as much as possible, Hal instantly nodded.


Hence, three hours later&mdash;

Hal parked the minivan at Shimoda City in the Izu Peninsula.

The location was a certain mountainside shrine quite close to Sagaminada's shore. Since there was no parking lot nearby, Hal stopped the car on the side of the road near the red torii entrance.

Local visitors to the shrine seemed to be doing the same thing, so Hal followed suit.

This was a small shrine for which titles like "divine temple" or "grand shrine" would not apply.

Despite the shrine's diminutive size, it still had a very solemn ambiance surrounding various facilities such as the entrance approach and the worship hall. Surely, such an atmosphere could only have arisen from the dignity exhibited by a wooden structure baptized by the passage of time.

Walking along the front approach, Hal and Asya conversed.

"This place's history can be traced back to the early Kamakura period... In other words, eight centuries ago."

"But the building itself probably went through demolition and reconstruction multiple times from disasters like fire, right?"

"Even so, this shrine is still an old building with more than three hundred years of history."

As a side note, their other three witch companions were also present. However, the former dragon's ghost had disappeared despite the fact that that the deity venerated at this shrine was "Fire Goddess Hinokagutsuchi."

...Five types of divine treasures related to the fire goddess were kept in the Witch Mansion at Shin-Kiba.

Last month, Hal had located the dragon king's heartmetal from among them.

Those artifacts originated from a certain ancient shrine in the Tokai region&mdash;in other words, here.

"Well then, Harry, the three of us shall go off for a bit on our own."

After seeing Luna Francois, Orihime and Hazumi off, Hal and Asya walked alone by themselves.

They were headed towards an isolated house within the shrine's premises.

It was the residence inhabited by the family of the head priest running the shrine. SAURU's Tokai branch had informed them in advance about Hal's visiting group of dragon specialists from Tokyo New Town.

After they rung the bell normally at the door, the owner of the house invited them inside.

Only two of them were making the visit because an excessive number of guests would impose unnecessarily on their host.

After greeting the middle-aged head priest who received them and engaging in ten minutes of pleasantries, Hal and Asya asked to be taken to the storehouse where the family heirloom was kept&mdash;

In front of the storehouse, Hal summoned the magic gun.

"If that ''signpost'' to the Dragon Palace is here, could you simply tell us more directly?"

"Unfortunately, it is not clear to me either."

From the magic gun in his right hand came Hinokagutsuchi's whisper.

The head priest in charge of showing the way had gone back, leaving the storehouse's door wide open. Only Asya remained by Hal's side. This storehouse was reportedly a building from the early Showa period. Filled with dust, the old storehouse did not offer any illumination while having a seemingly vast collection.\

Then the guardian of the magic gun said, "In the past during my reign as the Crimson Queen, the castle of my residence was located in the sea."

"A castle in the sea&mdash;You mean something like the Dragon Palace of folklore?"

As soon as Hal chimed in, Hinokagutsuchi's voice responded.

"Mm-hmm. Nevertheless, the priestesses and shrine maidens in my service were mostly born on land. When it came time for their return to their homeland, I allowed them to take something back... It seems."

Completely unapologetic, Hinokagutsuchi's voice sounded like she was bragging triumphantly.

Hal proceeded to ask her to identify possible locations in "the sea within the vicinity" for the Dragon Palace. This caused the former queen of dragons to point along the coastlines of the Japanese islands from Kantou to the Tokai region, continuing to the waters around the Ogasawara Islands, finally extending to the Northern Mariana Islands.

For a carpet search operation, it would be quite a large area.

"With the passage of time, I lost my dragon king body and drifted to this land in spirit form... Then at a certain point in time, I heard a shrine maiden from this shrine inquire 'Goddess Hinokagutsuchi, where are you from?'&mdash;"

"Then you answered 'the Dragon Palace' as a joke?"

"I suppose. However, that group of people serving me was truly impressive. After I told them the location of the Dragon Palace's signpost, they finally found it after an arduous adventure."

"Sounds like some kind of puzzle quest."

At that moment, Asya interrupted.

"Specifically, what shape is the object?"

"Please. Why would I pay any attention to something of no use to me?"

"This kind of useless hint function would definitely elicit crappy reviews from players if it appeared in low-difficulty RPGs in recent times."

After grumbling, Hal motioned to his childhood friend with his eyes.

Boasting rare top-class power in the world, the witch instantly chanted a song of summoning.

"I pray to the ancient divine seal of purity. Send the blue wyvern<!--incantation has changed compared to Volume 1, no transient, dragon is literally "flying dragon"--> to the ground."

A mysterious creature suddenly manifested over Asya's head, a wyvern.

A dragon with ''wings'' sprouting out of the shoulders in the place of forelimbs. A gigantic homunculus crafted in imitation of dragons. However, her wingspan was only three meters now&mdash;

Naturally, this was Blue Rushalka.

Originally a super-size creature whose body length reached ten-odd meters, she was miniaturized as much as possible by Asya before being summoned.

"Rushalka, find the artifact that gives off the scent of dragons as well as that of Hinokagutsuchi&mdash;The Crimson Queen. If necessary, use pseudo-divinity."

During the decisive battle last month, Hal and Orihime had located Hinokagutsuchi's heartmetal by relying on Akuro-Ou's sense of smell.

They were currently intending to reuse that method. In the next second, the miniaturized Rushalka obeyed Asya's request and swept her sharp gaze across the interior of the storehouse.

The blue wyvern vocalized "kyuahh..." softly.

Naturally, the interior of the storehouse was quite dim with only a small window opened near the ceiling. However, a blue glow appeared in this darkness, presumably due to Rushalka's magical power.

Guided by the light, Hal stepped into the storehouse.