MaruMA:Volume05:Chapter1

Chapter 1

Girl hunting.

That was the term that I got swept along by that made me want to ask, 'Murata, just how old are you?' and brought me here to this ocean full of jellyfish after the Obon Festival.

I'm a pacifist that believes that love is something you earn, not something you hunt down, but due to the sad truth of not being popular for 16 years, I was lured here by a paid summer job.

"Summer, blue sea, radiant sun!"

"... Jellyfish," I added.

"Skimpy swimsuits, the freedom of being at a resort!"

"... Barnacles."

"At the beach, every man you meet looks cool! Because, half their face is hidden by sunglasses!"

"... You're mixing this up with skiing."

Heading out to refill the vending machines, the two of us ambled in the direction of the parking lot. While the wheels of the handcart fought their way through the sand, I lodged my complaints with Murata in irritation.

"You know, you said 'pick up girls or wait for them to pick you up, either is okay,' but in reality we're just slaving the whole day in the beach house and then helping out at the guesthouse at night. How and where are we going to pick up girls in bathing suits?"

"If you have passion, time is nothing." My friend easily dismisses me while pouring all of his effort into giving me a sidelong glare.

Murata Ken, who was in my class in the second and third years of middle school, shoved all the physically demanding work off on me and was lounging about. In the first place, this beach house/M-Family Guesthouse was operated by his relatives. Their solid management practice was based on one simple principle: one can hire friends and family and pay them very little. In this case, their choice was the son of a second cousin twice removed, who was in his first year of high school, but the fact that he did nothing but laze around all day surely wasn’t what they had in mind!

"How about those two office ladies staying in the Marguerite Room? They saw you fall down yesterday and said you were cute."

The rooms at the M-Family Guesthouse all had plant-based names.

"And the three attractive ladies in the Sugarmelon Room said they accidentally saw you changing, and the four men in the Mandrake room have given you a full 100 point score!"

"Hold on! Where is the part where I get my pick of girlfriends? No, from now on I'm turning away from matters of love and focusing solely on making a huge profit off of this awesome part-time job. What I'm reallllly finding strange here is that an upstanding worker such as myself is earning the same amount as you standing around being all happy-go-lucky."

"Oh come on, keep your cool. Eventually, some girls will fall in love with us SUPER HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS."

I had long since given up on having a love affair.

Anyway, I was drawn here by the idea of getting 9000 yen a day so whether I get a girlfriend or not, everything will be fine as long as I get money for the grass-lot baseball team. As for the romantic hopes of my buddy here -- that train had long since left the station.

On top of it all, the hair of the boy walking next to me in sandals was different than a month ago.

He had an image-change for the end of summer.

Seriously, I didn't think that there was anyone within my circle of friends that would scheme up a manga-worthy plan to be attractive. Right now his hair was bleached and almost blonde and he had even given himself blue eyes with contacts. Even so, he can't go far without his glasses so he has a pair of prescription, blue-tinted sunglasses on his head. People who are nearsighted don't have it easy.

"What? There are baseball players with blonde and brown hair, right? That handsome guy Matsui that you like is blonde, too."

"That's true, but..."

I almost answered, 'that hair looks good on him because he's handsome,' but I just sighed while staring at the back of his head. This guy in glasses who was in my class in second and third year in middle school was absolutely not the type that would be hated by girls. I think he has a refreshing, intellectual face that exudes intelligence and personality. If he had just a little bit more confidence in himself, he could get a girlfriend without bleaching his hair.

"... Did you really have to cast out such a strong aura of wanting to be liked by going all out and getting contacts? Anyway, isn't your school all male? What are you going to do if you end up with a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend at the end of the summer?"

"I'll deal with that when it happens. I'll take responsibility and date him!" Murata clenches both of his fists. If he's telling the truth, that's manly of him. "I just want to be liked. For someone like you who's just going to the Tokyo Dome when you ride the train in Ikebukuro 8 or 9 times out of 10, this is something you will never understand. Even though your name is Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi, whenever you go out, you're always going to Kourakuen or the Seibu Dome Station."

Yeah, my name is Shibuya Yuuri. It's not Yuri (百合) or Yuuri (悠里) or even an abbreviation for Yuutai Ridatsu(幽体離脱). The amount of trouble it's caused me in my sixteen years of life... I'm not going to think about it anymore. Now that I've turned 16, I've been starting to find it convenient because it's easy to explain. Most of my introductions end with me only saying my last name anyway.

"And what the heck were you thinking with this ancient plot device, wanting to snag yourself a girlfriend at the beach huts on summer vacation? That doesn't even work any more in manga. Murata, you have too many dreams about girls."

"Oh yeah? So if you just play baseball in the blazing hot sun, the girls will come running talking about how cool you are? You have too many dreams about baseball."

"I've never had such a convenient dream."

"Whatever happens, isn't it good being here? If you were at home, you'd just be watching high school baseball, right? Here you can catch some summer rays, and if you do this work here you'll be able to raise the funds you need for the team and be able to get rid of the tan lines you got from your uniform that you were so distraught about."

I grabbed a blue can from the open vending machine as if I was allowed to do so. This sports drink that never sold out was so cold that I could barely taste its sweetness. The bottles that Murata pulls out of the cardboard box fall down into the same spot the sports drink came from. As I stare down at his protruding shoulder blades, I can't help but think he is a little wrong.

I wasn't very proud of the dark, baseball brat tan on my forearms, neck, and face that I got from wearing my uniform. With my body being pale all the way down to my ankles, I’d totally stand out by the poolside, and not in a good way. Some guys on the baseball team I lead had even gotten the nickname 'momohiki' -- like the long white underwear.

But now, we were giving ourselves different tan lines.

A couple that passed by turned their heads away and stifled their laughter. It's proof that we look ridiculous to others.

"I thought I could tan my shoulders and back, but... the front of my chest, stomach, thighs are going to remain chalk white. We're going to look like human doraemon, like we've been forced into wearing clothes from a variety show!"

The beach house uniform was a swimming suit with an apron over the top. A cute girl in this outfit would surely be fun to look at, but unfortunately we were guys. There was nothing less sexy. I heard we're a bit popular with the female customers, but I think that them just staring at our backs and asses might be a form of sexual harassment.

I was still presentable in my surfer shorts, but with Murata in his bikini bottom he was pretty much just wearing an 'apron-kini.' Translation: a new word for 'apron AND bikini.' Even though it's not me, the stares he's receiving hurt.

Even my own eyes hurt from despair.

To think that the first person I would see naked in an apron would be Muraken.

It looks more like a costume than a uniform so the MADAMES are definitely fantasizing about something.

"Even if we're fantasized about, COME BACK days that I had a girlfriend. The summer when you're sixteen is short and only comes once, and even the peacock decks himself out to prepare for a romance."

"Peacocks don't wear camouflage bikinis."

"Hey, you don't seem to like my uniform. You say that, but you've gone to trouble to coordinate the color of your baseball cap and apron. And... even with that stone you've got hanging around your neck. What is up with wearing a baseball cap at the beach!? No one wears pro baseball caps any more. How would you like it if I were to start calling you Giant's hat-kun or Kakefu-kun?"

"You know if you don't wear a hat or something, you'll faint from heat exhaustion. We're doing this 3K, back breaking work, after all."

3K means dirty, you didn't tell me about this, and watch out for people sneaking photos. After I'd finished my drink and thrown the bottle into the trash, I fingered the stone hanging on my chest.

It was a strong blue, deeper than the sky.

The Lion's blue magic stone heated up under the UV-rays and its color washed out. The expectations of the one who'd given it to me and the sad fate of its previous owner disturbed me. He told me that it was supposed to be a talisman, but I don't think a rookie like me is worthy of it.

"... I mean, I'm wasting my time in a place like this..."

"Now wait a minute! What do you mean, waste? The experiences gathered in one's youth are totally important. You don't know what kind of career you want when you're an adult, do you? If you learn the guesthouse trade, that might open up a possibility for you in the future."

By the way, there are also just-barely sixteen year old high school students who have determined their career already.

Baseball-holics who don't appear to recognize reality and as a result are students who spend all their effort on their body.

That's me.

I, Shibuya Yuuri, a baseball boy like you find on every corner, was forced one day to become the ruler of a country and castle. And I wasn't your normal, everyday type of king. SUPER STAR, THE Ore-sama ROCK was cool too, but my title was pretty cool as well. I had a totally average stature and totally average appearance and my intelligence was that of an average high school boy, but...

I was the Maou.

Not too long ago, I was flushed away from a pretty unromantic venue into a fantasy world that would have made a great setting for an RPG game. There, I was surrounded by a troupe of unearthly beauties, who dropped the job of Maou in my lap without further ado. I thought I was dreaming.

But it was all real.

I don't really know what all that talk about my soul was about, but when it comes to the fact that I ended up as the king of Shin Makoku, that I am half-mazoku and half-human, that there are a mountain of problems that someone has to solve, it's the truth that these are all things that I have chosen myself.

There were still moments when I wanted nothing more than to run away from all the responsibility. And I still have a lot of doubts as to whether I'm actually qualified for such an important task. I have only my teammates to thank for the fact that I haven't already failed miserably -- they've always got my back.

"Hello? You guys are from that red guesthouse across the way, right?"

I had let my gaze drift off in distraction, but as I heard this troubled voice, I lifted my head.

I saw what were likely two female college students walking towards us while clinging to each other and looking like they were about to cry. Murata's hand, which had been busy refilling the bottles in the vending machine, froze.

"Yes, that's right. Is there a problem? Did one of you get stung by a jellyfish?"

The sight was too shocking for a healthy high school boy to look at directly, but one of the girls was using both of her arms to cover her breasts. A soft-looking valley of dreams. What could have happened?!

"My friend's bikini top got washed away in that grotto over there. It got stuck on a place we can see, but... we can't get to it."

Dark blue with thin red diagonal stripes and lemon yellow strings on the sides to tie it on. What am I talking about? The color of the bikini. The girl who had deeper tan lines rubbed her crying friend's shoulder. On her tan stomach, she had a belly-button piercing.

No wonder that bikini top got pulled off, I thought to myself. Anyone who regularly wears underwear that ties on knows how dangerous it is. As weird as it might sound, I'm speaking from firsthand experience there.

"Don't worry, the boys will take care of it."

"Eh!?"

Belly-Piercing is comforting her friend. At what point was this decided without a request or contract? Both Murata and I thought to ourselves that we had gotten involved in something bad. On top of it all, we weren't beach-goers but temporary employees of the M-Family guesthouse. We cannot simply ignore troubled customers that appear in front of us.

For a customer, we should be ready to enter into any grotto or JUNGLE. We steeled ourselves for it. It definitely was not because these two were cute.

"Well, then: off to Kamakura!"

"Not quite, Shibuya: off to the grotto!"

The grotto was bigger than expected and the dusky lighting inside made it the ideal spot for a date. At this time of day, the water reached about hip level so you can't reach the bikini without getting a little wet, but if the tide went out, you might be able to walk across. On the other side of this rocky area, a lemon-colored object was hanging on a jagged ledge.

There was only one problem: in front of the rocks, a red flag waved cheerfully in the water.

"Guests, swimming here is forbidden. This is troubling, Ladies, having a secret meeting in a dangerous place like this."

I'm so exasperated I sound like Mino Monta.

"Hmm, it looks like about 20 meters. You can swim, right, Shibuya?"

"Me? B-but it's forbidden to swim here!"

"You're good at swimming in places it's forbidden, right? You know, like that dolphin pool."

I had no response to that.

I dipped a foot into the water. The seawater was colder than I anticipated, and it seeped through my gym shoes. As I twisted up my denim apron and tested the rocky ground carefully with the soles of my shoes, I set off to rescue the yellow butterfly which had been left behind in the grotto.

"Shibuya, is everything okay?"

As I reached the red flag, the water reached up to my chest. It was a bit deeper than I thought it would be, but as long as my feet reach the bottom, it's fine. With careful steps I arrived at the place in question and I reach a hand out towards the fabric that was so yellow it hurt my eyes.

"... This is the first bikini I'll touch in my life, huh?"

I was thinking some healthy thoughts of a sort as my fingers finally found the bikini and I unabashedly grabbed it with my right hand.

After all of this, surely they would forgive me putting it on my head as a reward. No, even if putting it on my head and being like a Mr. Frog would be bad, it would at least be okay to sniff it.

"Shibuya, hurry and come back! Let's go back to the guesthouse together!"

Scraping together the little self-control I had, I threw my lemon-yellow prize over my shoulder. Murata was waving his hand dramatically.

"Settle down, I'm coming back even i-.... uh..."

As I was about to take my next step, I saw some sea animal right in front of my foot.

Of all things why is a crab in this place!? If you step on a live crab, you'll be punished by heaven. Most Japanese children are taught this when they are young. The enemy began to threaten me with its brown claws, waving them up high. Trying to quickly evade it, I ended up tipping over and submerging my entire body in the salty seawater. The bikini top that I'd simply laid over my shoulder floated up and threatened to drift away before my very eyes.

"Damn it, stay here!"

Quickly I stuck my hand out, but I missed it by a hair. The arm I stuck out because I thought it was going to get away from me is pulled downwards.

Tug.

"... Geh!"

With an even greater power, my body is pulled down.

"M-Murata! It's a giant squi-!"

All three of them were on the beach with their hands to their ears in identical, 'what did you say?' poses.

As I stubbornly decide that I was not going to let the bikini top I had gone through all the trouble to get, I sink deeper and deeper until seawater went up my nose and I couldn't breathe anymore. The only creatures that would drag a person into the ocean are an Umibouzu or a ship ghost. Four months ago, I would have been screaming thinking I was going to be killed.

But now, I'm quite calm.

I mean, I'm being summoned, right?

Thanks to my prior experience, I knew that I shouldn't freak out and struggle. I should relax and take a deep breath.... damn. A piece of seaweed got in my mouth when I breathed in.

---

Hey, dad.

What is it, Yuu-chan?

I've been wondering for a while, but who in our family is anti-alcohol?

No one. Your Papa and Mama drink as much as they want.

.... But then why is the refrigerator full of non-alcoholic beer?

Why? It's for you, Yuu-chan. Middle school students start to want to go behind their parents' backs to try cigarettes and alcohol, right? After all, kids are full of curiosity at your age. But unfortunately, alcohol and puberty don't go together well at all. It not only hinders physical development, but weakens the brain cells and makes you stupid. That's why Papa and Mama decided to keep only alcohol-free beer in all the places you could find! In return, I'll tell you what it feels like to drink alcohol whenever you want! So, Yuu-chan, pay attention now. Glug, glug. Ask me right now, Yuu-chan. Ahhh."

---

Even though I was teased like that, my cigarrette and alcohol abstinence was not shaken in the slightest. As an athlete, I didn't want to put even a single millimeter of potential body height into jeopardy.

So, even if a huge keg is placed in front of me, even if I'm asked to drink as much as I like, I will absolutely not take any. However, on the eve of becoming a professional baseball player, I will gladly have beer poured over me.

Ah, that would be nice. I want that guy and that guy and that guy to get it all over me - the beer, I mean. It'll probably mix with my tears and burn my eyes and will get into my windpipe through my nose and I'll hack and cough it up, huh....

"Gurgle... hmphaaaaah!"

There was fluid pouring in not only through my nose but into my ears as well. I had to close my eyes from the pain and bubbles assaulting me.

I tried to breathe but there was no air anywhere.

I wanted to struggle, but I found I couldn't stretch my limbs out at all. When I rose up, my head banged against some kind of obstacle. Was I trapped inside a ridiculously small water tank? This taste isn't just plain water.

Beer!?

Despite my short life, I had never thought the day would come when I would be stuck in a beer keg. I located a paper thin layer of oxygen in the vicinity of the ceiling, and I pressed my lips against the wooden lid and breathed. In the meantime, I kicked against the walls that closed me in trying to escape.

In truth, the thing was very sturdy.

I try using my head and shoulders instead of just my legs, but the wooden frame wouldn't give way. I marshaled all my strength and threw myself to the left and the keg lurched to the side.

"Gugh, gurgle gurgle!?"

'Is it falling down stairs!?' is what I was unable to yell properly, and after the keg and I completed three full rotations, it tipped over. The violence of impact broke it apart with a crash. I found myself gasping for breath on the ground in the middle of a lake of beer.

"... I, I wonder if Momotaro felt like this?!"

Even if I end up stuffed in a keg of alcohol, I'm not going to overreact. I'm used to ending up in strange places.

This is pretty much always what it's like when I travel from modern day Japan to the world that contains Shin Makoku.

After I had more or less collected myself and was taking in my brightly lit surroundings, a few women immediately caught my eye. They wore ultra-short mini-skirts and blue aprons just like the one I had. They flitted busily here and there between the tables, supporting crockery-filled trays high in the air with both hands. The tables were nearly all occupied. Various shouts came from all around; I couldn't tell whether they were drink orders or sexual harassment.

So I had landed in a bar? That was new. In the middle of the room, a group of people had clasped shoulders and were singing a song at the top of their lungs. In the corners sat men who preferred solitude, nursing their beers alone.

Someone at the nearest table pointed at me and shouted, "Hey, a waiter dropped a beer keg from the second floor! You're wasting the beer we can drink!"

"He's a guy. Since when does this place hire male waiters? Whatever, hey there kid, get me another-... Hm?"

The red-faced drunk guy stared at me. Shoot! I hastily pulled my cap down over my face. In this world, black hair and black eyes had a certain meaning and carelessly flaunting them was dangerous.

"Geez kid, you went all out! You dyed your hair black! Admiring the king is one thing, but if his passionate and loyal elite guards find you, you won't get off easy, you know? Those guys have seriously devoted their lives to His Majesty."

It seems they've mistaken me for a fan. More importantly, I can't just let the phrase 'elite guards' pass. Had some dubious organization been founded without my knowledge while I was gone?

"Your Majesty!"

The wooden door was violently ripped open and a man with crazy, wild hair came storming towards me. I sneaked a quick glance out the door; outside it was the dead of night and a heavy rain thundered down from the sky.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?!"

"Geh, Günter!"

"'Geh' is a bit of a cruel word to use! Ah, but what an overpowering joy it is to see you again- guhah!"

The clear eyes of the man who transcended beauty were drawn down and his complexion instantly changed color. He became pale as ash and blood ran from his nose.

"Wh-wh-why are you dressed like this?! Of all things, you are n-n-n-naked with an apron!"

"Naked with an apro- what!? No, I have swim trunks on! Günter, your nose is bleeding! Your nose!"

"And why are you clutching that brassiere?"

Brassiere? Oh, he meant the bikini-top. It's not really underwear so there's shouldn't be a problem with a guy holding it.

With drips of water coming off of his grey hair and his purple eyes glistening, he grips my hand.

Lord von Christ Günter was the competent advisor to the 27th Maou of Shin Makoku (that's me) and he was my overprotective tutor. The reason his perfect nose was red was probably because he's currently in a COUNT DOWN to breaking down in tears. Günter's appearance was so magnificent that one brief look at him stormily captured the hearts of women, but as soon as I came on the scene, he always drowned in mucus and tears. His breathtaking beauty went straight down the drain.

The customers at the bar had begun to whisper: "The guards. The guards are here."

"... So you were the one."

For some reason, all the strength in my body drains out of me.

At that moment, a small shadow came flying at my chest as I tried to stand up from amongst the smell of barley.

"Yuuri!"

"Gah!... G-Greta! What are you doing here?"

I lifted up the little girl who had, through various circumstances, become my daughter. She had beautiful olive skin, browned by the sun, along with manly eyebrows and long lashes. Her auburn curls that had grown a little since the last time I saw her were bound into two pigtails over her ears. Despite me being a smitten father, she really was extremely cute.

"Man, Greta, every day you get even more CUTE! That's a sin, JUNIOR."

"Who's JUNIOR, a man?"

... I suppose that's a bad habit she picked up from Wolfram.

As I sat sprawled on the floor, I looked up and saw that Lord Weller was standing by the door as well. He was the only one who was calm in all situations. I had never once seen him lose his poise.

"Hey, Conrad."

I expected him to answer me with his refreshing smile, like he usually did, but the second son of the three mazoku brothers that look nothing alike instead showed me a rare frown.

"I apologize for interrupting your happy reunion, however..."

He pressed his jacket into my hand and eyed the lower half of my body critically, seeming to be concerned about my legs covered in only swim trunks. Then he gave some money to the nearest suitable customer at the bar, who proceeded to pull off his pants.

"Here, put these on."

I hurriedly tugged the pants on without taking off my shoes. They were still warm from their previous owner.

"What's going on? You're in such a bad mood."

Lord Weller Conrart, who was the second son of the previous Maou and my trusted caretaker/bodyguard, had the blood of humans and mazoku flowing in his veins. The Pheromone Beauty, Lady Cheri, fell in love with a human who had nothing of worth other than his sword and the child that was born was Conrad. Maybe that was the reason for his plainer looks. In contrast to his older brother Gwendal and his younger brother Wolfram, with Conrad, my inferiority complexes in this respect were held within limits.

Apparently, for some reason he was more popular with women than his too-beautiful brothers. It was probably because he possessed the gift of being able to speak compliments easily and had a refreshing smile.

But at the same time I knew there were moments, even for such a friendly young man as Conrad, when shadows lay over his bright, brown eyes.

Since we'd been speaking quietly, the bar guests had resumed their previous activity: a true reveler had attention only for the glass in front of his nose.

"We have to get you to a safe place as quickly as possible," said Conrad.

"What? But we're inside the country, right? Why would the inside of our own country not be safe? Ah, are there problems again? That's why you brought me here so rushed like this, right?"

"No, Your Majesty..." said Günter with an apologetic tone to his voice. I push my arms through the sleeves of the heavy leather jacket and pick myself up off of the wet floor. "Actually ...you haven't been summoned."

"Huh?"

"Well... this is very hard to say, but ... wait, don't misunderstand me! Not a single day goes by that I don't long for your return, but..."

"We did not summon you," interrupted Conrad, perhaps getting impatient with the roundabout speech. He's usually not the type of person to do that, so he must be at his wit's end. "Actually, we want to assure that Your Majesty is in a secure location until things have calmed down here. We thought you would be safest if you returned to where your parents are."

"That means you don't want me to come here?"

Conrad grabs Greta's arms then gives me a small nod and adds, "At least for the moment. The situation here is very dangerous."

"Those humans- no, there are suspicious things happening in the human countries. From the information gathered by our spies... it is said the humans here have gotten their hands on a tremendously dangerous weapon."

It must be a really powerful weapon because here Günter had to take a deep breath. If we're talking about Earth it'd be guided missiles or planet destroyers or something.

"In any case, it's a repulsive thing. It is said that if you open that box, it will let loose that which was sealed long ago along with calamity and this world will be covered in betrayal, death and despair."

"Ah, that's Panchira's Box."

Lord Weller lets loose a chuckle.

"I see. It's similar but not, very indecent."

The correct answer was 'Pandora's Box.'

"It is similar, but it is more horrible. Pandora's Box also contained hope, but there is no hope in that thing. Once you open it, that's it. No one can stop it."

Greta clings to my arm as if frightened.

"In this world, four objects exist that are not to be tampered with under any circumstances," said Conrad. "The humans, and the humans of the superpower Shimaron at that, have managed to bring one of those objects under their control. The name of the box is 'the End of the Wind.' If it remains in their hands, they will open it sooner or later."

"Even though it's so horrible?"

"It's because it's horrible that they want to use it. They believe they will be able to control it. But, that is an exaggeration."

Lord Weller's silver-sprinkled eyes darkened for a moment.

".... Günter, I hear people moving around outside who are not from this country. Let's be careful and go out the back way."

"I'll ask the owner if we can disappear through the kitchens."

"Yes, please do. Your Majesty, I know you must be exhausted, but-"

"Don't call me 'Your Majesty.' You named me, after all."

As I spoke that familiar platitude, Conrad seemed to relax a little and seemed a tiny bit relieved. What kind of horrors must he be dealing with, to show pleasure at such a small thing as that?

"... That's right. Anyway, I would like for you to wait in the other world until we have this crisis better under control. The priestesses have already gathered in the Temple of Shinou and are making the necessary preparations to send you back to Earth."

"Surely you all aren't planning to start a war while I'm gone?!"

"As far as it is possible, we will try to avoid it."

"Not 'as far as it is possible,' 'absolutely never!'"

"Understood. Now, let us act like spies. Greta, take care not to fall behind."

Günter was already in the kitchen and nodding at us. Although the cooks were busy with their pots and pans, they kept an eye on us. From their perspective, we had to look like a pretty weird group.

"Please don't forget your position even while you are on Earth. Always act with caution and be aware of your surroundings. When everything is sorted here, we will definitely call you back right away. But at that time, I will..."

Without even giving me the time to ask 'you will what?' Conrad opened the back door. The cold air and a heavy gust of rain made the gloomy night even more unwelcoming than it already was.

After pulling up Greta's hood, we quietly stepped out. In this terrible weather, not even a torch or a flashlight would have been of any help. Günter murmured some phrase, and then his high nose began to glow red. So the nose of a beautiful man crusted with dry snot comes in handy on dark roads.

It's actually practical magic, though.

"Shouldn't there be like, a cooler way to provide light?"

"I see." Lord Weller gave a bitter laugh. "I was wondering why he was asking so fervently about Christmas on Earth."

When we reached the tree where the horses were tied, Conrad got on his horse and then pulled Greta up after him. He placed her in front of him and reached around her sides to grab the reins. Günter and I also shared a horse in the same manner.

I tried to ignore his hot breath on my neck since this was an emergency.

"This path leads to a church. If everything goes according to plan, you’ll be able to make your return trip from there as long as the priestesses can prepare in time," explained Günter.

A sharp draft of air whizzed past my ear. My wet hair moved very slightly in that direction.

"Your Majesty, watch out!" yelled Conrad as he reached his arm out from his seat on the horse next to us.

At almost the same moment I heard his voice, I trusted my instincts and ducked to the right. To my left I heard the nasty sound of flesh being split open. The temperature on my back suddenly drops.

"Günter?!"

The tutor fell from the horse causing muddy water to splash in high arcs. The red light from his nose drew a curved line during his fall like a lightning bug. His hands had been caught in the reins so the horse reared up and brayed loudly.

"Günter! What do I do, I'm sorry! It's because I dodged out of the way!"

"Yuuri, get down right now! Get down!"

I managed to jump down in the nick of time, just before the animal galloped away. I thought I was going to land on my back, but Conrad caught me deftly.

"To think they would have come this far... Do you see that light? Run towards it without stopping. Do not turn around. Here, take Greta's hand."

"But what about Günter?"

I staggered a few steps towards the fallen tutor.

"Don't worry about him!"

Conrad pulled me back forcefully. I grabbed for Greta's hand and ran for the glinting light. It was probably about 200 meters, but my mind was completely blank so I didn't know how far it was or how long it took to get there. Conrad shooed his horse in the opposite direction and after he'd briefly laid his hand against Günter's neck, he followed after us.

The two orange lights revealed themselves to be torches mounted on either side of a doorway. When we pressed against the doorway covered by a roof, only one side gave way with a creak. Greta quickly slipped under my arm through the crack before I could stop her.

"... This is a church?" she asked. "But I don't see any statues of gods or an old man giving a sermon."

"Don't worry about it."

The inner chamber was bright and warm so travelers could come in and rest at any time. Wooden benches stood in rows on the stone floor and several candles flickered in candelabra. It wasn't very different than an orthodox Christian church, but instead of a wooden cross, there was shallow basin full of water and a giant painting.

A lavishly furnished chamber was depicted there but there was no one in it.

"What a beautiful person. They look like Wolf," murmured Greta next to me with a sigh.

"Eh? There's no one painted there. Do you think that looks like Wolfram, Greta?"

If I had to say, I suppose the legs on the overly ornate table could kind of look like his.

Conrad slid a massive locking bolt into place on the door and approached the altar. That reminded me what a dangerous situation we found ourselves in and that one of us was missing. I grab onto his soaked clothes with both hands and frantically beg for forgiveness.

"I’m so sorry! What do we do, Conrad!? Günter was gunned down! It's definitely my fault! I shouldn't have ducked!"

"Calm down. He wasn't gunned down. There are no guns."

"But what if he's... de-..."

The words stuck in my throat and I couldn't get any air through.

"Please breathe. It's alright. He's not dead and it's not your fault. We never expected that the enemy would have gotten inside the country. Someone must have let them in. Otherwise, they would never have been able to bring horses and weapons through. We didn't think they would have an accomplice. It was our mistake, Yuuri, not yours."

"But..."

"The fact that Günter was hit was not because you ducked. In the darkness, he was the only clear target. Besides, if you had gotten hurt and he was fine, he would have ended his own life by stabbing himself in the heart. Don't worry, he's not dead... he is in a state of suspended animation, however. But, thanks to that we could safely leave him back there without him being killed. Our enemy doesn't have enough time to go around finishing off 'dead' opponents."

"You're, not...!" I finally managed to swallow the lump in my throat, and I looked into the eyes of the companion standing before me. It didn't escape me that the old scar over Conrad’s right eyebrow trembled just a bit. "You're not lying to me, are you?"

"No, I am not."

"You've been hiding something from me. There's something important you don't want me to know and you're desperately keeping your mouth shut, right?!"

"What makes you think that?"

"That's my job!"

The magic stone on my chest became warmer, although it had to be wet from the rain. Hot and heavy, it pressed against my skin. It hurt so much it felt like I was being branded by it.

"Crouching down behind home base and reading the other players is my job. I read the thoughts of the pitcher and the defense and then make a decision. And not just my teammates, I need to read the batter and the runners and figure out the plan of the people on the bench. Reading all the people, friend and enemy, and then giving the signal is the catcher's job. I'm still pretty inexperienced so I can't read everyone, but I can sense a little bit about the person who's closest to me!"

Having his collar grasped by his short-tempered boss, the corners of Conrad's mouth twist. It was something very far from a smile.

"... I guess I can't fool you."

"Someone's coming!"

At Greta's sudden shout that was almost a shriek, we both looked at the doors. Under the impact of a powerful strike against them, the locking bolt bent and looked like our fortifications were about to give way. This isn't just them ramming themselves against the door.

"That's not the power of a human... what are they using?"

Lord Weller drew his long sword with a flourish and he laid the sheath in front of the painting on the altar.

"The only place my sword will return is at the feet of Shinou," he quietly murmured like a spell.

"Stop that, Conrad. It sounds like bad luck!"

Does he intend to never sheath his sword again?

"I've entrusted my sheath into the care of His Majesty Shinou. It means that I will not stop fighting until Shinou permits it of me. In return, I ask for His Majesty's protection. It's only a small gesture, to urge myself on, nothing more. Please hide Greta under a chair or somewhere. They probably won't target a child."

"And what about me? Am I going to fight bare-handed?!"

"Do you see Shinou in the painting?" Conrad suddenly asked. Inside the giant picture frame shone forth only the luxurious chamber of royalty, unchanged.

"... Are the both of you trying to play a joke on me?"

"That's good, you can't see him. Then throw that water onto it."

"What?! B-but isn't that totally against the rules when dealing with works of art!?"

As a self-proclaimed high school student of high morals, I cannot damage a work of art. But, after glancing at the door that looked like it was about to be breached at any moment, I had no choice but to trust the words of the man who had survived battle grounds before.

I hesitantly sprinkled a few drops of water from the basin onto the picture with my fingertips.

"Whoa, it lit up! Was that a chemical reaction?"

"Please don't be so refined about it. Just firmly toss it over the entire painting."

While preparing myself by saying a few words to the Ministry of Education, I gripped the basin with both hands and tossed the water in a big wave over the picture. A pallid light spread throughout the entire interior of the church.

"... Awesome..."

"You can go back through there."

"Huh?!"

I thought I misheard what he said because of the stress.

"But this is a painting! Just because it's shining and I threw water on it doesn't mean it got all soft. And even if I go through the canvas, it's just a hard wall be-"

Bits of metal and wood flew through the air and the front entrance broke in. Ten or more attackers storm into the building.

They yell out something, but the sentence endings are so strange I couldn't understand a word of it. They all wore the same clothing; the movements of their long limbs made their cape-like coats swirl.

They were wearing red and green masks so I couldn't see any of their faces.

Except for the dark green color of their clothing, they reminded me of the killer in 'Scream.'

"Your Majesty, quickly! You must jump through the painting!"

"But there's so many! How are you going to take them on alo-"

"I'm telling you to jump because I don't think I can protect you!"

Two of the attackers carried objects under their arms that looked sort of like weapons. Actually, they looked like those super-powered dustbusters you always see on infomercials. The long head shuddered once before a fireball came shooting out with crazy fast velocity. It was bigger than a basketball by far.

It doesn't suck things up!?

Luckily, the first fireball only hit the wall, but the second one whizzed straight in my direction.

"Oh no!"

I'm scared of myself that tried to catch it out of habit. The smell of burning fabric abruptly reached my nose. The flames were sucked up into the center of the painting and a round, dry surface appeared and the glow disappeared. I tested the surface carefully with my fingertips, and it felt like your everyday oil painting again.

The other eight attackers kept coming closer and closer looking for an opening to strike.

"Please! Do what I've asked you!"

"But the picture dried out..."

"Then find water-...!"

Before he had finished his sentence, the enemy closed in on both sides and attacked with drawn swords. He parried one attack with his blade and blocked the next strike with the guard. Fearing an attack from behind, I reached behind me while keeping my gaze on the scene and laid my hand on the door to the left of the altar. It wouldn't open. No matter how much I turned the handle, it wouldn't open.

"Shit!"

The incessant clanging of metal and the blue sparks I saw in the corner of my vision. Several times, the sound of a sword hitting the floor mixes in and I can feel the impact on the soles of my feet.

I try to kick the door open with all of my might and put a decent hole in the center of it.

Outside, the heavy rain roared.

"How..."

For only a few seconds, I was distracted by the rain and didn't pay attention to what was going on behind me. One of the attackers took advantage of this opportunity and swung his blade at my back.

The air moving past like a shriek stopped halfway. It sounded like it hit something hard, but that object loses to the power and weight and gets cut off. I hear an unsettling sound of meat hitting the floor like prey falling out of the sky.

I thought that I had been cut clean through my muscles and bones and had fallen to the stone floor.

I turned reflexively and saw Conrad using his right hand to cross blades with the enemy. Dark red blood was flowing over his throat and ears.

At four points in the room, green heaps lay on the floor. The enemy had only been reduced by this much.

"Get outside."

I moved to dive through the hole in the door like I was told, but my heel felt something strange.

It was an arm.

"Conrad?!"

I couldn't muster the courage to lift my gaze and I just stared at the severed, left arm. The fingers were still bent as if they were holding something and the elbow was bent at a natural angle. I didn't see a single drop of blood. The arm almost looked like a well-crafted prosthetic.

"Yuuri!"

I jerked my head upwards in surprise and saw that my protector's back was just a silhouette against the light. His left side definitely looked strange.

"Hurry and get out. It doesn't look like you can travel through the painting anymore."

"Conrad, your arm..."

I couldn't say anything else.

"Haven't I told you already? For you..." At that moment I knew that even though Conrad had a cold sweat on his brow, he raised his bloodless cheeks and mouth into a fearless smile. "...I would give my arm, heart, and life."

That smile might not have been his usual friendly smile but that of a raging, demonic swordsman.

I couldn’t allow anyone else to be injured. Praying that no one was waiting for me on the other side, I plunged my upper body into the hole in the door. Heavy raindrops splattered in my face.

Placing my hands on the shifting mud, I manage to pull the rest of my body outside. However, at that exact moment the ground under my feet broke away and I slid down with the mud. There were no branches to cling to.

"Is this a cliff!? Hey... whoa!"

When I turn to call Conrad's name, the door is blown off by heat and an explosion.

I look up as I'm being swallowed by the mud and rain. There are flames and smoke coming out of the back door of the church that is getting farther and farther away.

The broken bits and shining embers are sparkling as they fall from the sky. Reflecting off of the rain drops in the air, the brightness doubled and tripled.

It's like watching fireworks from directly below.

I could only absentmindedly think that until my sight and breath were stolen away by the mud.

Someone whispers a short apology into my ear.

Back to Prologue

Return to MA Series

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