MaruMA:Volume16:Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In Blood Pledge Castle where the Maou of Shin Makoku stays, there is a portrait of the great ancestor of the mazoku, His Majesty Shinou and the Wise Sage who was always by his side supporting him.

One of them has shining golden hair, staring in front of him with brilliant blue eyes, while the other had jet-black hair draped over his shoulder, staring at his people and his king proudly with those equally black, intelligent eyes… Although such an explanation is attractive to the art experts in the years that followed, the true situation remains unknown.

After all, this painting was done long after the Sage disappeared from Shin Makoku, and His Majesty Shinou also left the world of his own accord, sealing himself into the Shinou Shrine—done at a time when no one in the castle had ever seen Shinou’s true face, in fact.

And even more unfortunately is the fact that Shinou was of the opinion that “stuff like portraits can be done after we’ve croaked”, so there were only a few rough sketches to go by. Apparently, the palace only provided those sketches and asked the artist to draw the king he would never again have the chance to meet.

The palace painter back then, Etienne, cracked his head over it, completely at a loss.

After cracking his head over it, he finally figured out – “Get those people who saw Shinou with their own eyes before here, and ask them how His Majesty Shinou looks like. Or bring all the servants here, there should be about ten of them who could be of use” plan.

This is what later became known as the ‘montage’ method.

So the painter summoned all the elderly who had retired back one by one, asking them how His Majesty Shinou looked like. But of all the previous servants, only one out of twenty-four was of any help.

The ‘montage’ was quickly morphing into something else. Disappointed, Etienne left Blood Pledge Castle and went underground.

But he wasn’t a painter who lived quietly underground. Instead, he was a so-called fanatic who would draw as many paintings as you wanted as long as the request was rational and the reward substantial. Not only could he make the impossible possible, he was also a man who could complete a giant portrait. So he immediately started questioning the only servant who was any good.

Hmm~~ Shinou’s eyebrows were very manly and majestic, his blue eyes weren’t too big or too small, his eyelashes are gold like his hair, not long or short either. Etienne continuously adjusts Shinou’s features according to the old man’s testimony.

Darn, his features became totally unnatural.

So he summoned all the blonde young men in the country, called a few to stand in front of a wall at a time, and asked the old man to look at them from the next room over.

“I think Number 134 and Number 759 are the most similar.”

Surprisingly, the old grandpa’s memory is pretty good.

“And then Number 280 and Number 422 are really similar too, only the colors of their eyes is different.”

And he is very observant about the details too.

“Number 15’s chest is really awesome, huh.”

Looks like he’s also very strong for his age.

Thanks to the success of this plan, Etienne managed to figure out Shinou’s features roughly, so all that’s left had to be left to the artist’s imagination. As for the Wise Sage, since he couldn’t find anyone with the same hair and eye color, ninety percent of it was the painter’s imagination.

Rumor says that when the palace painter once yelled, “Thank goodness I have a thing for black hair!” when he completed the painting, and then fell down the stairs.

Just like that, thanks to the hard work and delusions of a palace painter, the portrait of His Majesty Shinou and the Wise Sage was finally completed. Putting aside whether it actually looked like them or not, the piece was hung on a wall and greatly praised by the people of Shin Makoku, the artist even more so. Not only did they compliment him for a job well done, they even paid him so much he didn’t have to worry about money for the rest of his life.

After all, he’s the specialist painter, Etienne, who challenged the irrational portrait, is trustworthy and at the same time utterly unpredictable in his tracks. If you want to get a colored portrait done, just look for him.

It’s only too bad that Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina hadn’t been born yet back then. If she heard of this plan, she may have immediately started inventing a ma-powered image-capturing device.

Even if the palace’s specialist painter suffered quite a bit at one point, the secret behind the production of His Majesty Shinou’s portrait still couldn’t be made public.

The prime minister back then considered that if everyone found out His Majesty Shinou’s rare and precious image is based on two aristocrats, two commoners, and one guy who got his costumes messed up’s random drawings, the people would probably be devastated, so he ordered everyone related to keep it secret.

It’s been a few thousand years since then, and now no one knows what happened behind the scenes anymore.

Now when the people working in Blood Pledge Castle, as well as the dogs and young boys who get permission to enter, look up at the portrait, they will sigh things like “how beautiful and how majestic” or “why do I suddenly feel so tired”.

Sometimes someone would mention that His Majesty Shinou as seen in the masterpiece looks a lot like someone. People like Spitzweg or Bielefeld get mentioned a lot, and number one among them is Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram.   “Mn…” Although His Majesty Shinou’s portrait is in Blood Pledge Castle, Wolfram, who is said to look a lot like Shinou, is still on the sea. He supports his delicate chin with his fair finger, feeling frustrated on the ship Sizemore leads, ‘Friends on the Sea’.

“In that case, that means Brother went to the world Yuuri grew up in…”

“That spiraling scene must have been the entrance to transport His Majesty, it must have been! Otherwise why wouldn’t the soldiers that immediately jumped in have found them, or even any clothes or glasses? And that whirlpool! It disappeared as soon as it swallowed the three of them, so it must have been waiting for His Majesty to jump in.”

And Lord von Christ Günter, who agrees with everyone that he has a thing for double blacks, is also there.

“You thought so too, that’s why you pushed His Majesty into the sea, right. If that’s not the case…”

The man known as the super beauty’s face clearly says “I wanna hit you”, but Wolfram doesn’t care. Compared to Brother’s ‘that’, Günter’s iron fist dictatorship is nothing to him.

Instead, he’s really worried for Gwendal, who jumped into the sea after Yuuri and Murata. Surely he couldn’t have actually gone to Earth with them, could he?

“Goodness—how could this have happened! Wolfram, why did you push Gwendal back then and not me!?”

“I didn’t push Brother, he jumped down himself. If you really wanted to go that bad, why didn’t you jump down yourself?”

“How could I jump, back then I was still holding Gurrier, since Gwendal asked me to take care of him.”

Günter looks up at the ceiling unhappily, the hair beside his face falling lightly onto his face. Although his actions are childish, it still looks really beautiful.

“I can’t abandon my post and jump into the ocean of my own accord. But if it was an accident, if it was an accident…”

“So what would you do if it was an accident? Don’t tell me you would abandon your post?”

Günter doesn’t answer the young soldier’s serious question, murmuring to himself as though he hadn’t heard,

“I really wanna see the world His Majesty grew up in… go to where His Majesty grew up… ‘Ears’.”

Of course at this time no one would pay attention to the fact that he got the name wrong.

“You probably want to follow and see as well, huh, Wolfram?”

“I’m still okay.”

“There you go again, you’re always so stubborn with your words.”

“I’m not being stubborn, I really never thought of going to the world where Yuuri grew up.”

“Sometimes you don’t have to force yourself so much, y’know, Wolfram.”

Günter’s gaze is condescendingly saying ‘you were just like a pouting brat just now’.

Usually, Wolfram, being as obstinate as he is, should probably be about to explode by now. But instead he crosses his arms in front of his chest and straightens his back, his attitude not only matter-of-fact but also full of self-confidence as he retorts,

“I’m not forcing myself! To Yuuri and me, it doesn’t matter what kind of world he grew up in, it doesn’t change the fact that Shin Makoku will always be the best!”

With that, even Günter, who’s always good with his words, can’t say anything.

“There’s no country better than this, and I believe Yuuri thinks the same. Once his body gets used to it, he would probably want to stay here all the time, right?”

The prime minister who had been considering whether or not to put “what is patriotism?” into the compulsory education textbooks slaps his knees out of instinct, saying, “That’s exactly it!” But the fact that the one to suggest it is Wolfram makes him feel rather unwilling to admit it.

And why does his heart tremble this way? Is it jealousy? The benefits of being a teacher? Or could it be love? If it was the third one, that would be bad, so he quickly clears his throat and acts calm,

“Such model words are pretty good, Wolfram.”

“Huh? Hey, what are you trying to do?”

Günter puts his right hand on Wolfram’s cheek, his left hand plastered onto his own stomach. Although he really wants to ask why Günter is comparing with his stomach, it’s already much better than Gisela, who measures healthy soldiers’ temperatures through their anuses.

Even though they’re all mammals, but people aren’t cats or dogs. Even the soldiers who can tolerate pain would cry silent tears.

“Mn~~ You don’t have a fever.”

“How rude!”

“Because your words are too exemplary, it’s making me a bit uneasy. How strange, you’re obviously not that impressive a child, unless something happened on the long journey… Ah!”

As though something occurred to him, Günter reaches his right hand into Wolfram’s pocket before he could be batted away, pulling out a bundle of grey at lightning speed. ‘That thing’ hanging from the neck is a square object about the size of a palm, an amulet made of one hundred percent hair.

That’s ‘Günter’s Protection’, the thing that sealed Wolfram’s maryoku so he wouldn’t feel weak even on shinzoku land filled with shinryoku. But it’s a bit moist, as though still emitting the scent of the sea, which makes its effects even more intriguing.

“Ah! Hey, give that back to me! Gimme back--!”

“So it is because of this!?”

Wolfram hurriedly snatches the amulet back from Günter’s hands.

“You’re using that ‘Günter’s Protection’ to transfer my personality and wisdom unto yourself, aren’t you!? That’s the only reason you can say such exemplary, manly words.”

“No, no! Even if I don’t rely on something like this, I will grow!”

“Then why haven’t you returned it to me? And why is your big tongue acting up again?”

“T-that… Anyway, this amulet! I’m borrowing it until we return to Shin Makoku!”

He evidently hated it in the beginning, but since he started wearing this amulet, his old seasickness started to fade slowly as well. If it’s a large vessel that doesn’t sway too much, he’s already able to ride it safely without getting sick. To think that such a moist and disgusting pouch could actually replace seasickness medicine. Although it’s a bit embarrassing, it’s still best if he could ride on a boat comfortably.

But Wolfram thinks rather uneasily, “Hold on a sec!”

If what Günter said is true, and his maturity that Yuuri pointed out is all due to this disgusting pouch… then if he returned it to Günter, does that mean he’ll return to what Mother meant by ‘it’s okay as long as you stay like you originally were forever’?

However, the hesitation in Wolfram’s heart is interrupted by the person who opened the door.

“You two!”

That tone is like a teacher scolding children.

The person who came in is Günter’s adopted daughter, the brilliant medical officer, Demon Sergeant Lady von Christ Gisela. Today she doesn’t have to deal with stinking men, so she’s in a smiley mazoku-in-white mood.

Her expression says “I can’t stand these people” as she raises her eyebrow deliberately,

“Your Excellency Günter, it’s really unbecoming for an elder to take back something that was given, you know. And the same goes for Your Excellency Wolfram.”

Those slightly pale fingers grab their hands, and take the pouch that was on their heads away. Gisela puts the disgusting amulet with hair poking out everywhere on the bed,

“Please don’t argue over a one hundred percent hair item such as this.”

“Gisela, you should call me (Adopted) Father.”

“It’s not like we’re alone together now, and besides we’re on duty, Your Excellency. Speaking of which, you two were the ones who decided to put Gurrier on public display, weren’t you?”

“What do you mean, public display…”

“How is that any different from having an open ward?”

Only Günter’s high-level majutsu could handle Gurrier Josak, who was left to them by Gwendal.

At the same time when the ship reached the open seas, he put Josak, whose living functions were about to shut down, in a state of suspended animation, and finally managed to calm him down.

It’s just that back then there were only Josak and Günter in the room alone, and everyone promised not to peek no matter what, so even though all they could hear were strange noises (probably from Günter), chest-beating and foot-stomping (probably from Günter) and weeping (probably from Günter), Gisela, Wolfram, the captain Sizemore and the million-job man aka Günter’s personal officer Dacascos were all asked to leave the room.

Only the stars peeping in from the window know what happened in that not-too-large ship cabin. The two grown men continued with their ominous, mysterious ritual until the moon was hanging high in the night sky.

Exhausted, Günter finally appeared from behind the door.

His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was a mess, and there were even bright red slap-marks on his cheeks.

Don’t tell me he hit himself? Although everyone was thinking the same thing, no one dared to say it out loud.

Even Gisela couldn’t help but wonder if her adopted father isn’t an expert in majutsu, but instead an expert in curses.

Anyway, he lay Josak, successfully put into suspended animation, into a wooden crate stuffed full with ice. This was the difficult process he had to go through before he was handed over to Anissina. An expert in poison and majutsu, Anissina would surely find a way to wake the zombified Gurrier Josak up again.

Since the wooden crate and ice cubes were initially kept in the storeroom, it’s unavoidable that they would smell of fish and blood, so Josak’s body now reeks of gore. Thankfully he’s not a vegetarian, but even so Günter feels sorry for him, and so he lets his face up a bit for a breather.

Although it’s true that they prepared these things last minute, they still feel really guilty for putting him a wooden crate that was used to store fish. If he dreamed, he would probably have no choice but to dream of a rendezvous with maidmers.

To express a certain degree of apology, Gunter tries to install pink-colored lighting in the freezer to cheer him up.

To think that, goodness~~ How could something like this happen? Even though he’s no match for Adalbert, Josak still has those biceps that His Majesty Yuuri envies, so the serene atmosphere makes him look just like the ‘Sleeping Hunk’ in the fairy tales!

If he were to wake up, he would surely hope that everyone around him could see the way he’s illuminated by the beautiful lights. With that in mind, Günter opened the door to the next room, at the same time thinking, “When night falls, the pink lighting shining on the deck will surely be beautiful.”

But Gisela, who ran here after noticing what he had done, frowns as soon as she enters the room,

Thinking, “Why does this have the atmosphere of a country club stripper performance!?” And even feeling as though she was tricked.

“Publicly displaying an unconscious patient is a very senseless thing to do.”

“I thought that since the pink lighting is so pretty, maybe Gurrier would want everyone to see it.”

“Are you talking about that low-grade lighting?”

He is immediately put down—Lord von Christ had put his heart and soul into that décor.

“I have already locked the room door. But rather than leave him out for public admiration, why don’t you use the high-speed raft to send him back to Shin Makoku as soon as possible?”

“A body in suspended animation can’t withstand that pressure. If he were to get injured from the tremors of the high-speed raft, it would decrease the value of the body.”

“If he requires such careful treatment, why doesn’t His Excellency stay by his side?”

By now Wolfram can only stare in amazement as the daughter in reversed roles lectures her adopted father. Even if it’s the adopted father she respects, as a medical officer Gisela simply cannot tolerate his actions.

Although she can’t tell if Günter healed him using majutsu or voodoo, from the perspective of a medical officer at least, Gisela seems to be extremely indignant,

“When Your Excellency was still Snow Günta, His Excellency Gwendal stayed by your side. He even put a snow rabbit on your important parts.”

“Don’t tell me you want me to do that too?”

“I have already put a swan ice carving on Gurrier’s crotch.”

Gisela says decisively. Although it sounds cold just listening about it, Wolfram still decides in his heart that he must go see that later.

“But Gisela, other than Josak, we have another important task.”

“What task?”

Günter doesn’t reply, only glancing at the corner of the room. There’s a cuboid object covered with a cloth there. Gisela claps her hand over her mouth despite herself, holding her breath,

“That couldn’t be…”

“It is.”

The pale blue cloth is covering a rectangular box just slightly shorter than a coffin, but it’s 1.5 times as deep as a coffin. Its size means it would take at most two strong adults to carry it with ease. Even though it isn’t revealed to the public, its ominous aura can still be felt around the room.

That is one of the Four Forbidden Boxes, ‘Inferno on the Tundra’ that was taken out from Seisakoku.

“It’s on the ship!? Wasn’t it in the cabin of the other ship?”

“That’s right, it was at the bottom of the guard vessel. But it can’t always be there.”

“Why?”

“Because we need to make a decision.”

Since Wolfram, who was staring at the Box from more than five paces away, has spoken, Günter continues on,

“His Majesty hopes to sink this Box to the bottom of the sea. Isn’t that right, Wolfram?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Personally, I feel that since ‘Wind’s End’ is currently kept safely in Shin Makoku, it would put my heart at ease if this ‘Inferno on the Tundra’ is also left where we can see it. However…”

“However Yuuri said he hopes to not bring it into Shin Makoku, and Mura… His Eminence agreed.”

“To think His Eminence thinks so too? Since the great His Eminence said that, then it is obviously our proper course of action… But even if we want to sink it into the sea, the exact location on this ocean is another problem.”

“He said he doesn’t want anyone to find it, so it has to be in a place fishing boats won’t pass.”

Of course at that time Gisela doesn’t know that those three in a faraway ocean are currently being held in a fishing net.

“Even so, we can’t abandon in an outer ocean with nothing to do with Shin Makoku either. Besides, if one day we want to retrieve it, we can’t not know where it was sunk. Therefore we must have a precise destination in mind, a place where we can measure its depth.”

“But Your Excellency, do you think His Majesty would possibly use a Box he threw away again?”

“You have a point.”

Günter pushes the hair on his face behind his eyes, revealing his violet eyes.

As they’re seriously discussing where to discard the Box, a corner of Wolfram’s brain is using the part that can’t think properly to daze off.

Violet eyes represent the bloodline of the lakeside tribe with powerful maryoku. Maryoku… Speaking of which, could it be that his own sealed maryoku has returned to his body since the amulet was removed? But he can’t feel the change at all… And he doesn’t suddenly feel seasick either...

Wolfram suddenly finds it hard to breathe, so he tries to swallow, but something seems to be stuck in his throat, completely unbudging.

“…Wha…”

Leaning against the wall, he slowly raises the arms crossed in front of his chest, the tips of his fingers steadily moving towards the Box. The bottom of his feet are numb, he can no longer tell if he’s standing still or walking.

Gisela looks at him with an expression of surprise,

“Your Excellency?”

Wolfram forces out the words,

“Everyone is telling me not to get close, not to touch that Box no matter what. But…”

“Wolfram, what’s the matter with you?”

“Yuuri forbids me from touching it, why?”

He wasn’t ordered to or anything, but his limbs are numb as though under pressure, his shaking fingertips still obeying his brain’s orders. He uses his tips of his right hand fingers to touch the cloth covering the Box, feeling the numbness reach his heart.

“Why can’t I touch this Box?”

“Didn’t you say yourself that it’s because you might be the Key? His Majesty and His Eminence said so too.”

“That’s right.”

Wolfram reconfirms it solemnly.

“Am I being controlled? No, my body isn’t going against my brain, I’m moving according to my own intentions, I’m alive.”

“But if I were the Key, I should be able to handle the Box even more safely, right?”

“But His Majesty would rather throw it away than use it live on something else?”

“Use it live? That’s right, we should use it better live.”

The distance of five paces is now only half a pace. Right now he’s holding ‘Inferno on the Tundra’, and could release it at any time.

“I should have objected. When Yuuri said he wanted to throw it away, I should have objected with everything I had.”

Because a part of this Forbidden Box is…

“Your Excellency Wolfram, please forgive my insolence!”

“…Mmgg!”

After making a noise like drinking full malt wine, Wolfram’s body starts moving. He is pushed by a fearsome power to the wall beside the Box.

Gisela meant to grab his chest, but in the end it became a throat lock. The right hand she’s using to subdue Wolfram is covered with a glove up to her forearm. The glove covered with dense thick hairs, so it looks rather disgusting.

But although the woman known as the Demon Sergeant is sweating from her temples, she smiles bravely,

“Phew, to think that the convenience tool the Poison Lady stuffed at me would come of use at a time like this.”

“G-Gisela? Your arm, that furry glove is…”

Instead, her adopted father Günter seems panicked.

The Sergeant’s right hand has become the front limb of a wild mountain beast.

“According to what Anissina said, this is ‘As Long As I’m Wearing This, No Matter How Weak My Strength Is, My Business Will Boom’, its product name is ‘Ahh Even The Bear’s Paw Wants to Borrow’, while I personally call it ‘Bear’s Paw’.”

After shortening it, the name becomes unexpectedly normal, but her attention is elsewhere. Because she remembered the scene when Anissina stuffed this convenient ma-powered tool at her. That petite yet arrogant Poison Lady had said,

“This is an invention for girls with naturally slender arms and weak men, but for a young miss soldier like you who might need to move heavy things on your hand sometimes, you may need to use this ‘Ahh Even The Bear’s Paw Wants to Borrow’ too.”

“Hohoho, what young miss soldier! Who is she talking about—Who!”

Wolfram’s body is being lifted up and up, with his back pressed against the wall. To use the terms of the national techniques from the place His Majesty Yuuri grew up, it’s a perfect nodowa.

“Haa--!”

“You’re raising me too high up, Gisela! Let go, hurry up and let go of me!”

If this goes on like this, Wolfram might very likely suffocate.

But Wolfram, on the brink of losing his rational mind, is putting up quite the fight, grabbing Gisela’s wrist and glove, and twisting it unhesitatingly.

“Mgh!”

Gisela clenches her teeth instead of screaming, then turns her body to try and shake off the pressure on her wrist. Although she manages to save her wrist, she also gives Wolfram back his freedom, and his feet finally return to the ground. With that, the Bear Paw has lost its usefulness.

“Did I just witness the moment Anissina’s ma-powered device was defeated with my own eyes?”

Günter murmurs to himself as he stands on the spot motionlessly, feeling as though he’s witnessing an important event for the century as he watches his adopted daughter struggle with Wolfram. Finally he regains his senses when he hears someone’s angry scolding, and realizes he can’t let them keep fighting.

“You’re still in the mood for a breather in the corner!”

“Huh?”

That stern voice is coming from around his knees.

“You coward! If you don’t stop that guy now, not only will the Box open, the soushu will also be released! Is that okay with you?”

That tone is really arrogant, and the voice sounds very unfamiliar. Even if he raises his head and looks around, he can’t see anyone.

“Don’t just stand there! Take me, take this moist pouch and hang it back around that guy’s neck!”

“Me? The pouch?”

Just then, Günter notices something terrifying. That exceptionally arrogant and commanding voice is coming from the amulet he made from his own hair.

“D-don’t tell me there’s a life living inside my ‘Günter’s Protection’…”

“You’re still thinking about that stupid question? Look at that guy, hang the pouch back onto his neck!”

Wolfram has pushed Gisela to a side and reaches out his hands, about to touch that Box. There’s no time to hesitate! So Günter grabs the one hundred percent hair pouch and dashes up to him.

Then with a momentum that almost makes a smacking sound, he hangs the amulet’s string back around Wolfram’s neck.

His brow immediately creases tightly, his lips contort, his expression turns to one of grief, and he even poses as though screaming.

“…Phew.”

But neither Günter nor Gisela hear Wolfram’s scream. The situation also takes a completely different turn from what they expected, moving towards the unexpected.

The amulet, standing between the Box and Wolfram’s body, bounces Wolfram away with an immense power. Although he crashes to the ground, fortunately this takes him away from the Forbidden Box. Now, no matter how far he stretches his arm, he wouldn’t be able to reach the Box.

And then they witness something even more unbelievable.

Golden hair starts sprouting out of the palm-sized pouch.

This really ominous-looking pouch is made of one hundred percent pure hair, and since the knitting isn’t that good, there are many places where the hair seems rather loose. But the main component is Günter’s grey hair, so not one spot is golden.

In that case, why is the pouch sprouting golden hair?

“Why is this happening…”

Putting aside Günter, whose normal reactions are exaggerated as it is, the image before their eyes make even brave Gisela hold her breath—although she’s still wearing the bristly fur glove.

It’s not just golden hair emerging from the pouch around Wolfram’s neck, but a human head. No, it hasn’t emerged yet. Following the top of the head is a forehead, and the back of the head where the hair is a little messy, and then the face. If the brows appear as well, so they should be able to see eyes and ears.

But all of this is unexpected.

What come next are fingers. The fingertips grab the side of the pouch, pulling the pouch open in one go.

The opening to the pouch has already reached its limit, and miraculously it doesn’t break. The opening is still expanding at the same time, and a man’s arm reaches out of the pouch that has gone beyond its limit, plus an forearm and shoulder—that’s a right arm with well trained muscles.

The two grown men scream, and the lady known as the Demon Sergeant goes pale.

She doesn’t yell nor do her knees grow weak even in a situation like this, so it goes to show that Gisela is still the braver one. As for Wolfram, he can’t even speak anymore, frothing at the mouth and about to pass out any time.

No wonder, too, after all a human head and arm just came out of the pouch he always wore around his neck.

Goodness--! The pouch—There’s a person coming out of the pouch--!!”

“Calm down! Please calm down, Father! It’s not that rare for a person to come out of the pouch. Not long ago, Miss Greta ran out of His Excellency Gwendal’s pouch too, right!”

That and this are completely different things.

“Y-you’re right, Gisela. This is very normal in majutsu as well, it’s a normal trick. There must be a secret mechanism somewhere, there must be!”

But the pouch man doesn’t care about the three of them, lost in waving and stretching his arm. His forehead and one arm are both stuck in the middle, which makes him look even more disgusting and terrifying.

Just as Gisela was about to yell, ‘Damned Poison Lady, is this one of your doings again!?”.

Suddenly there’s a deep ‘crack!’, and the pouch man’s head knocks into Wolfram’s chin before weaseling out of the pouch.

That person has shiny golden hair and brilliant blue eyes.

It feels as though they saw him before… But last time they met, he wasn’t quite so three-dimensional, ad more flat.

Maybe he’s decided that he can’t pull much more of himself out, so the pouch man raises his right hand and casually greets them,

“Hey!”

Back to Chapter 1

Return to MA Series

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