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Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 3

2012-09-06T20:09:22Z

201.174.64.182:

==Chapter 3: Beginning α==

His memory was not complete.

Although he had finally found the answer to what he had always been seeking, but he had been unable to recall everything.

“…”

But this was enough.

That missing memory.

It was good enough that the empty hole in his chest that had always been torturing him was filled.

“…”

Ryner could remember it now.

That missing memory.

He could remember that what had filled that empty space in his memory- those memories that had been shackled with the chains of forgetfulness.

They were the memories of him before his fifth birthday.

They were memories that existed long before he opened his eyes in that battlefield filled with corpses.

In his memory, his black-haired and gentle mother had said this.

“… love you, Felna. I love you.”

In his memory, his father with tired eyes that were filled with intelligence said.

“I will always protect you. No matter what happens, I will always protect you.”

They had seemed like they were about to cry. Ryner was unable to understand why they seemed like they were about to cry. And the two of them had called him Felna.

Felna.

Felna.

After the second and third time they called him by that name, he finally recalled the meaning of that name.

Felna Lieutolu.

That was his, Ryner’s real name. But that had disappeared. It had vanished from this world.
Because it was taken as a ‘sacrifice’.

His name, memories, personality- everything had been offered to the monster living in the other world.

Towards this, Ryner had said,

“I’m scared.”

He had said.

“I’m scared to forget about Daddy and Mommy.”

So his mother had almost seemed like she wanted to cry. Her expression was an extremely lonely one.

But, as if she waved away that sadness, a smile appeared on her face and she stroked Ryner’s head.

“It’s alright. It’s alright, Felna. This is all for you…”

“But”

Father interrupted what Ryner wanted to say.

“… Don’t worry. Even if you forget us, we won’t forget. We will definitely rescue you and welcome you. One day, when all difficulties have been dealt with, we will come to get you. So don’t worry.”

He had said that.

Ryner had relaxed. Because Father was a person who would definitely not lie to him, so Ryner felt relieved at his words.

But he was still a little uneasy, he asked, “…Definitely?”

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 219.jpg|thumb]]
His father had smiled gently and nodded.

“Definitely. Sleep quickly. Everything will end when you awake.”

As he said this, Father stroked Ryner’s head too.

Father’s hand was very warm and Mother’s hand was very smooth. They overlaid their hands on Ryner’s head and held on to each other tightly. Ryner felt very happy and comforted by this. He felt as if he could finally be at ease and slowly dozed off.

Then Father said.

“… It’s be fine, Felna. This way, you won’t have to fear the curse of the Alpha Stigma anymore.”

Mother continued.

“… I will always, always protect you here. No matter what disaster you encounter, I will always protect you.”

The two of them started crying when they said this.

At that time, he was unable to understand why they were crying.

But now he understood.

He could understand what the two of them wanted to do at that time.

And the contract with the Other World.

His mother’s sacrifice so that the Goddesses would be tricked.

His father’s despair at sacrificing his wife so that his son could be saved.

“…”

But that didn’t matter now.

Compared to this.

Compared to this, what was more important to him was—

That.

“…I…”

He whispered.

“…I… A monster like me was loved when I was brought into this world.”

He whispered.

In that moment.

He woke up.

“…”

Ryner opened his eyes. But his vision was blurry.

“…Ah.”

He moaned.

Then he noticed that he was actually crying. He wanted to wipe the tears away, but he continued to
weep ceaselessly.

Towards this.

“…Ah, eh, ai—”

After two or three tries, he finally managed to wipe away his tears.

He confirmed that he was not crying and then lightly breathed in. Then he got up and surveyed his surroundings.

Looking at his surroundings, Ryner softly said,

“…Rain, huh.”

Then he kneeled on the floor of the carriage and tried to reach out of the shelter. It seemed as if the rain was as heavy as expected.

Then,

“Aish.”

Ryner followed the sound and walked out.

It was extremely dark outside. Maybe it was because of the dark clouds or because it was evening.

Ryner looked at the dark, rainy scene.

There were Nelpha soldiers and citizens surrounding him. And it seemed as if they were still moving.

Everyone looked tired and they were still travelling under these weather conditions, it meant that they couldn’t through off Roland’s pursuit.

Ryner walked to an elderly person nearby,

“Ne ne, can I ask something?”

The elderly person looked his way, then asked,

“What is it?”

Ryner nodded,

“Ya, about that… I was injured and I slept for a while, so I don’t have any idea of what time it is now… What time is it? Night? Morning?”

“It’s morning.”

“Morning, huh. Hey hey, it can’t be we travelled through the night.”

But the elderly person shook his head.

“How can that be. We just started moving. We don’t have to worry about the pursuit soldiers from Roland if we’ve reached here.”

Hearing this, Ryner frowned, “…Heh, the situation has changed drastically since I sleepy. Don’t have to worry about the pursuit soldiers from Roland? Does that mean we’ve crossed the boundaries?”

The elderly person nodded, “Crossed two, ne.”

“Two!? Ai, ha? Then, this isn’t Cassla.”

The elderly person shook his head. “How long did you sleep for? This is the northern side of Cassla, the Southern Country of Ali. Ma, we can cross over today. Vois Fieurelle-san is at a country called the Republic of Belis, making preparations to welcome us.”

Hearing what the old man said, Ryner slowly remembered what had happened before he lost conscious.

Yes.

Roland. Sion had foolishly used a Heroes’ Relic to start a massacre, but he was stopped by Vois.

Then, a monster had appeared from under Vois’s feet…

“…”

Ryner narrowed his eyes when he thought of this.

He remembered the monster that had appeared under Vois’s feet.

That thing had called itself ‘Goddess’.

Ryner knew that Goddes. That was the name of the monster from the Other World that had made the contract with his father, Lieral.

Of course, his father had not told Ryner who was still a child about the detailed process—he had said, ‘Anyway you’ll forget everything quickly’, so even though he did not get a detailed explanation, but he had had still remembered this point.

The second opponent his father had contracted with—that was the Goddess.

After remembering that, Ryner murmured,

“… Talking about which, who was the first person that father made a contract with?”

He suddenly thought of that.

His father had not spoken of that.

He had only said, in order to rescue Ryner, he had made two contracts with monsters. Then who was the first person he had made a contract with?

Ryner wanted to remember this. He wanted to remember from his recently recovered memories, but he still could not remember it.

So he frowned,

“… Ah ah~, ma, it’s only regaining memories, it can’t be that easy to understand everything, huh.” He said softly.

Talking of which, he did not understand how he had suddenly regained those forgotten memories.

Before losing conscious, from the conversation between the Goddess and that monster, α, that wanted to emerge from Ryner’s eyes, it seemed as if Ryner had a connection with them, so he had done something like that to himself.

“…Talking about which, this is too sudden, so I completely can’t understand what is going on.” He said in frustration.

The old man nodded his head.

“Exactly. Not too long ago, we were still living peacefully under King Gread Nelphi’s reign. That group of arrogant people from Roland… Roland’s…” But the old man stopped here. He stopped, as if trying to hold back his emotions from overwhelming him and his voice trembled.

Then.

Then the old man tightly held the hand of a girl who had one side of her face bandaged. She was probably his granddaughter.

Seeing this, Ryner asked, “…Your granddaughter?”

The old man shook his head.

“No. My family has been killed because of that beam of light.”

Ryner’s contorted slightly at this. But he suppressed it. Because the ones who felt the real pain was this old man and everyone else. So he continued.

“… Is that so. Then this kid?”

“This child’s family has, has died too.”

“…”

Towards this.

Towards this, Ryner could only say,

“… Is that so.”

Besides the pity for that old man and girl, a feeling of unease arose in his heart.

Because that light.

Because that Heroes’ Relic—because that beam of light, a light that caused the cruel massacre, was something not to be used by humans.

Because Kiefer, Toale, Arua, Kuku- couldn’t they have died too.

“…”

An unease permeated him.

If they still survived, then that would be good. Even though this old man’s family had died and this girl’s family had died, he still wished that his companions had survived—he started to think
about the most disappointing matters.

“…”

His body started to tremble.

He looked around for his companions’ silhouettes. He checked whether his companions had survived. But he couldn’t find them.

There were only tired soldiers and citizens moving here.

Ryner asked, “…Ne, Ojii-san.”

“Eh?”

“The leader of this group… Who is the person in charge of these people from Nelpha? Is it Toale?”

Hearing this, the man’s face contorted. Like earlier, his face was filled with anger.

Seeing this, Ryner said, “… It can’t be.”

He couldn’t stop himself. “It can’t be, this kind of situation… You’re lying.”

He looked around again. He looked at who was at the front of the people from Nelpha. He ran towards the soldier who was leading the group. He caught up quickly.

Facing the soldier, he asked, “Hey, you. Who is the man in charge of this group?”

The soldiers turned towards him. Upon seeing Ryner, their faces brightened.

“Ah, you-you are Ryner-san who chased away the Roland soldier!! We have heard of what you did…”

Ryner interrupted them and continued. “Enough with the nonsense, tell me. Who is the leader of this group?” He shouted. The soldiers were rather frantic.

“… It’s Major Cyrus.” They replied.

Major Cazer Cyrus. He was capable Imperial Nelpha army officer was following Toale. But why would Cyrus be in charge of the army? The leader here should be Toale. So why was it Cyrus and not Toale who was leading them?

Then Ryner thought of something. It couldn’t be.

It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be.

Toale, he.

“…”

Toale couldn’t have died, could he?

Thinking of this, Ryner almost collapsed to the ground. How could this-how could this be.

Something like this could never happen.

Because.

Because, because Kiefer was with Toale? Arua and his girlfriend, Kuku were with them too?

What if.

If Toale died.

Because if the light that the Heroes’ Relic held by Roland killed by companions. I.

Then I will.

“…”

Cannot forgive Sion.

That would mean I cannot forgive that guy. Ryner thought.

The terror and despair swamped Ryner and he felt like crying.

Then he asked the soldier that seemed a little timid in facing Ryner who was overly nervous, “…Then where is Cyrus?”

The soldier pointed up further ahead.

“Major Cyrus is at the front because we are going to cross the boundary…”

Ryner didn’t wait for him to finish. He had started running. He passed the group of soldiers and citizens.

There was some distance to the front of the group.

Although the killing light from Roland had killed a large number of people, there were still two thousand people. There were people, people, people. He had been running for some time, but he still couldn’t see the front.

Even so, he continued running. He ran desperately. All the while, he yelled, please give way and excuse me, as he continued running.

Finally, he saw the group that seemed to be leading the refuges.

The black armored soldiers that were commanded by Vois were in the head of the army and a group of men wearing the Nelpha army uniform seemed to be on the guard to protect the Nelpha citizens.

At the head of these Nelpha soldiers was Major Cyrus.

The first time he had saw him, those sharp eyes were slightly tired. He did not look well and his tea-coloured hair was streaked with dirt and mud.

Seeing him now, Ryner couldn’t help but think that he had missed several fights while he was asleep. He felt even more depressed.

If there had been a fight, then the chances of his comrades being injured were increased.

“…Damn it.” Ryner moaned and started running again. He passed by the Nelpha soldiers and approached Cyrus.

Cyrus quickly noticed him, “… Ah ah, you’ve finally woken, huh. You were injured badly…”

He looked to Ryner’s left shoulder as he said that, “…Huuu. Even that kind of wound can be healed… The army doctor said there was no choice but to amputate it. I see. That annoying brat wasn’t lying about everything.”

Hearing this, Ryner remembered. His arm had been slashed by the Roland soldiers and had injured his bone too.

Ryner had felt that, apart from amputation, there was nothing else to be done for that wound. In that kind of place where there were no medical facilities, there was no way for him to heal it. The blood would not stop unless it was amputated and cauterized.

But now his shoulder was only slightly bandaged and it didn’t hurt when he moved it.

Ryner tried moving his left arm then looked at Cyrus. “… Is that annoying brat Vois?” he asked. Cyrus turned to the black armored group that was walking in front of the soldiers and citizens, and nodded.

“Ah ah. He brought you who was near death and Ferris Eris here. He said he was the reinforcement that you called… Well, is that true?”

Saying this, he looked at the Nelpha soldiers formation. That formation was so that he could attack the rear of Vois’s black-armored soldiers and then spread out.

Looking at Ryner thinking, Cyrus nodded.

“…If anyone trusts him on the battlefield, then they don’t have the right to live.”

“Yes. You’re really capable… I can slightly understand why everyone trusts you.”

But Cyrus ignored Ryner and said. “Don’t talk nonsense. Answer my question. Is that guy really your companion?”

Hearing this, Ryner looked at the black-armored group walking in front of them. In front of them was a simple and roofless carriage that seemed like a palanquin where Vois was sleeping on.

“… Who knows. It’s not wrong that we know each other… but he can’t be easily trusted. That guy is a liar. But.”

Hearing this, Cyrus nodded in agreement. “…Ah ah. Under these kind of circumstances, we can only depend on him. I am already unable to return to Nelpha. There is no country that is willing to accept a few thousand soldiers and citizens. If that man is really able to prepare accommodations for everyone, then we can only depend on him.” He said.

Ryner nodded his head.

“Has Vois prepared for us to be welcomed in the Republic of Belis?”

“Ah ah.”

“Then, he wants us to join the Anti-Roland Coalition he created?”

“Ah ah.”

Watching Cyrus reply, Ryner asked with a trembling voice, “Then, Cyrus… Who was it who accepted Vois’s proposal?”

No, actually he asked with a voice trembling with fear.

Then he held his breath. He held his breath because he was too nervous.

Because what if.

What if the one who accepted Vois’s proposal wasn’t Toale. What if it wasn’t Toale who was supposed to be leading these Nelpha citizens and soldiers.

“…”

That would mean that Toale had really died. If Toale had died, then Kiefer was dead too. Kuku was dead too. And he didn’t know why Ferris who was supposed to be with him was missing. From the dirt on Cyrus’s body, it seemed as if two or three fights had occurred.

At that moment.

At that moment, the possibility of Ferris dying because she was unable to treat her wounds—

“…Wu.”

Towards his own imagination.

Ryner wanted to vomit at his own imagination. He wanted to yell out loud. He wanted to cry.

But he frantically forced himself to calm down. Even though he forced himself to calm down, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t breathe. Just like that. If Cyrus didn’t answer, Ryner would die because of lack of air, he thought. At this moment,

“…Toale-sama said… if it’s someone you know, then we can trust him.” Cyrus said.

As he said that, “……Puaaah.”

Ryner released his breath. Then he scrunched his face but he couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“…”

What, he was still living, what kind of joke was that, don’t make everyone worry. He wanted to laugh. But he forced himself to stop.

He was a terrible person for being able to laugh because his comrades were still alive.

But even so.

Even so.

“…That’s great.” Ryner said. He said that’s great with a little sob.

Then, “…Where’s Toale now?” He asked.

Cyrus pointed behind him to a large carriage that had was covered to prevent others from looking in.

“In that carriage.” He replied.

“But I have something to tell you first.” He said.

Ryner asked, “What?”

Cyrus looked to the carriage with a steady expression that a twenty-year old person should not have.

“…Toale-sama’s body has been harmed by that strange beam from Roland. Half his body has been injured. With such a big wound, he can’t be saved.” He said.

Ryner had difficulties understanding what Cyrus had said, “…Ah?” He could only reply.

But Cyrus continued, “But the people haven’t been told this yet. Before we reach the Republic of Belis, we will tell the people that Toale-sama is in charge of everything—this mental relief is needed. The current situation is not very steady. If there are more rumors of Toale-sama dying in battle, then the people will be unable to progress. So after you see Toale-sama, don’t go around crying. You have already revealed too much from your earlier expressions. Do you think you’re the only one who wants to cry? Don’t be naïve. I have already succeeded in leaving Nelpha and stepped on this journey—there are no obstacles on the path we are taking. So, laugh. Laugh when you go to see Toale-sama. Don’t spread that meaningless unease among the people who have lost their family and companions, but still continue to strive.” Cyrus said this in a calm, steady manner.

Towards this.

Towards this, Ryner.

“……Ah ah… Ah ah, yes. I apologize.” He replied quietly.

He understood what Cyrus had said. He had completely understood. There were children among the citizens. There were some children who had seen their family disappear right in front of them. Everyone was struggling against their pain and continuing.

He couldn’t be so naïve.

So.

“…….Ha, ha ha.” Ryner laughed quietly. He laughed with an expression that was about to cry.

Cyrus nodded when he saw this, “…Toale-sama is in that carriage, thinking of a battle strategy. You can go greet him.”

He said this with a different, resounding voice that even the surrounding people could hear it.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 243.jpg|thumb]]
So Ryner replied, “I understand.” Then he walked away. He walked towards the carriage- the carriage
that was transporting Toale.

He opened the cloth door of the carriage and looked in. Toale, Kiefer, Arua, Kuku and even Ferris were in there.

Everyone looked to him. Looked at Ryner.

Then.

Kiefer said with tears in her eyes, “…Ry-Ryner…”

She held a strange stone in her hand. She frantically pressed that stone to Toale’s shoulder.

No, it was the part of his body that used to have a shoulder.

“…”

Yes.

His right shoulder was gone. No, it wasn’t only his shoulder. The right side of his chest, his right wrist and his right leg, too. The right side of his body, one third of his body, had disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place.

Kiefer spoke to him with a trembling, hoarse and nearly inaudible voice, “…To-Toale he… Toale he tried to protect me from that beam of light…”

But she didn’t continue.

But this was already enough for him to understand.

So Ryner said, “……Yo.”

“… You seem to be rather energetic, Toale.”

Toale seemed to be conscious and heard this. He turned to Ryner, “…That joke is not funny.”

Although he said that, he still laughed.

Ryner climbed onto the carriage and got near to Toale. Ferris stood up, “Come here, Ryner.” She said as she offered her seat.

Ryner nodded his head, “Thanks.”

He sat on the left side of Toale and looked at his pale face, “…Protecting…Kiefer, huh?”

Hearing this, Toale laughed and said, “…Protecting girls is expected, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“So tell Kiefer-san too. Don’t cry, ne. Anyway, I would have died on the battlefield anyway…”

But Kiefer still frantically pressed the glowing stone on Toale’s body. “But, but.” She could only say that. Because her voice was choked with tears and sobs.

Ryner looked at the stone she was holding, “… That’s Vois’s?” he asked. Ferris nodded.

“…He said it is a healing stone. It’s a Heroes’ Relic. He said—although it has its limits, but it can heal fatal wounds.”

Hearing this, Ryner looked at the stone again. Then he looked at the wound that the stone was pressing on. Surprisingly the blood had already stopped. The wound was starting to heal. The flesh was starting to regenerate and his body was healing.

But.

“…”

Even so, Toale’s life was slipping away.

Probably.

Probably because Toale’s wound was fatal.

Toale said, “…It’s because of this stone that I was able to stay alive until Ryner-san woke up.” He said with that tired and pained voice.

Hearing this, Ryner started, “…What are you saying.”

But he was interrupted, “I’m about to die. Personal matters… I know them the best.”

“It’s like that, huh.”

“Ai ai.”

“Is it painful?”

But he shook his head. “… Compared to those who lost their relatives but don’t have anyone… the children who have no justice… no righteous companions to come to help them, who can only progress while crying, this pain is nothing at all.”

He had a sad face while he said this and looked out of the carriage. Of course, so that no one would be able to look in from outside—no one would be able to see Toale’s dying image, so there were curtains on the window but this wasn’t what he was seeing. He was looking at the suffering in the people’s hearts outside the carriage.

Towards this, Ryner,

“… Ah ah. That’s right.”

“Yes.”

“Ah ah.”

He said. Then he looked at Toale. He looked at those eyes that were slowly losing their life.

Then.

“… Then?” Ryner asked.

Toale looked towards him and smiled, “… I was waiting for you to wake up.”

Hearing this, Ryner scrunched his face up in annoyance, “Ah~, that face, you want to push something troublesome onto me again~”

“Ha ha, you gu-guessed right.”

“Can I don’t do it? Whatever that you tell me to help you do, can I don’t do it? You can continue to live yourself and go do it yourself. I can’t bear the burden of so many people’s lives.”

But,

“Please, Ryner-san. I can only count on you…” Toale stopped when he reached here.

Suddenly.

His words stopped suddenly.

Something, something important was being lost from his body quickly.

“Wait, hey.” Although Ryner said that, he could only smile,

“…Ma…ma, forget it. Anyway, Ry…ner-san, will definitely help…. Ah ah, at last… I can see you…”

He only said until here.

Then he stopped.

Everything ended.

Everything had ended.

One person’s life had ended so easily.

Toale’s life had surprisingly ended so easily.

Towards this.

“No… Wait, you’re lying… No, nooooooooo!” Kiefer yelled.

Arua and Ku Ku cried.

Ferris didn’t look towards them. She looked into the distance emotionlessly. She looked into the distance despite the fact that there was a piece of cloth blocking her view to the outside view.

Ryner he.

“…”

He held Toale’s hand. He held Toale’s remaining hand, his left hand that had not disappeared.

Then, “…Here it is again… He pushed an extremely troublesome job to me again. I’m not doing it. I don’t want to bear the burden of people’s lives. Do that kind of troublesome matter on your own.” He said that softly and tightly held Toale’s hand.

He could feel his face contorting. He could feel the tears almost flowing out. But he desperately forced them back. He tolerated the pain so that his tears would not flow out. Because like what Toale had said. There were people who were more unlucky than him. The people outside this carriage who were carrying a greater pain and even more people who were grieving because of this foolish war.

So.

So he held back his tears, “…Ah ah, damn it… Aaaaaaaah, damn it! I know. I’ll do it, is that fine, I’ll do it. I’ll bear the burden of these people’s lives. Yours too. Everyone’s. So…so.” Ryner looked at Toale’s face as he said this. He looked at the still smiling face of Toale, who was dead.

He closed his eyes. He helped Toale to close his warm, gentle eyes.

Then.

“…So. I will do this… So sleep peacefully, you simpleton.” He said and stood up.

Ferris looked at him and said something that did not suit her, “…Are you alright? Ryner.”

So Ryner asked in return, “You?”

Towards this, she was still emotionless, “No.”

Ryner nodded. “I see.”

“Ah ah.”

“I understand. Then, let’s exchange. When I slept, everyone worked hard. Leave the rest to me and stay here for the moment. I…” He opened the flap to the carriage as he said this, “I’ll go see Vois.”

He walked out.

Then he passed by the Nelpha citizens and soldiers and the soldiers that Vois commanded.

He moved towards the front of the procession.

“…”

At the front, Vois stood, as if waiting for Ryner to arrive.

He looked at the carriage where Toale had passed away in, smling.

Looking at Vois’s face.

“…What’s there to be happy about?” Ryner used a slightly harsh tone to ask.

Vois shrugged, “Ya~, what a touching speech. Carry the burden of these people’s lives—what a touching phrase.” He said rather insincerely.

So Ryner glared at Vois, “…You bastard, are you mocking me?”

So.

“Ai ai.” Vois nodded. Then he smiled, “Ai ai. Yes. Talking about that, even if someone useless like Toale Nelphi died, it won’t affect our situation much. If you panic over such petty things, then you’re are really pitifully stupid…”

Ryner ran towards Vois when he heard this, his fist curled and raised, swinging to Vois’s face.

Vois still used that smiling, mocking face to look at Ryner’s actions.

Just as the fist was about to hit him.

“…Anyway, Toale-san is not dead yet.” Vois suddenly said.

Towards this, Ryner released a dazed sound, “…Heh?” Then he frantically stopped his punch. He managed to stop his fist from hitting Vois’s face. But Vois turned his face so that his fist made contact with Vois’s face.

“Yaaaaa~n” He pretended to be thrown to the side by the punch and landed on the ground. He pretended to land on the ground with a ‘umph’. Then he pressed his uninjured face and said, “You-you-you hit a kid who did nothing wrooong~!? You owe me, so please return this favour in the future…”

But Ryner interrupted him, “Hey, don’t bother about that. Compared to that, what did you say just now? To-Toale he… he didn’t die…”

Hearing this, Vois nodded his head. “He didn’t die, you know?”

Ryner gaped in surprise, “Ai, ai, but I witnessed it? Toale’s death… His pulse… his brathing…”

“Stopped?”

“Ah ah.”

Then Vois said, “I was the one who stopped his heart and breathing. Then if I want him to move, it’d be simple. Anyway, to Derunio ‘Death Transference’—ah, that’s the healing stone that I gave Kiefer-san—if it’s that, that kind of wound is easily healed. Ma, although the price is quite large.”

Towards this, “Th-then… Toale, he”

“So he might still be living.”

Hearing this, Ryner turned around, thinking to return to the carriage.

At this moment.

“…But if he is to live or die, that depends on my mood.” Vois said.

Hearing this, Ryner stopped and turned around. He glared at Vois. “… Ah ah? What is that. You did this to force me to help with your plan?” He asked.

But Vois shook his head. “No no. But I feel that even if I don’t take Toale-san as a hostage, you will still help me.”

“Then, why did you do this.” Ryner asked. Vois laughed. He laughed mockingly, as if he were looking down on Ryner.

Then he said. “That’s simple. Because Ryner-san, you—you’re much weaker than what I had expected.” He said.

Ryner was unable to understand the meaning of these words.

Ryner was unable to understand the meaning behind Vois’s words.

Weak.

Weak.

“…”

Perhaps he was really weak. He had been unable to do anything in front of the Goddess that had came from Vois’s shadows. So, he wasn’t able to become the power that this guy had expected.

But Ryner could not understand what this had to do with Toale.

He couldn’t understand what Vois was thinking about.

Vois said. “…Isn’t it like that? You witnessed Roland killing many Nelpha citizens—but you stopped me from using the Rhule Fragmei to stop the Roland soldiers. What does that count for? What did that accomplish? This is a war, you know? But you still said we couldn’t use such dangerous weapons? Something dangerous like that couldn’t be used by humans? Please stop joking. It was the other party who attacked first. Then we can only counter-attack. The other party wants to kill us. So we can only kill the enemy. You don’t even understand this, yet you want to bear the burden of other people’s lives? Bear the burden of the lives of the citizens? Not using weapons? Ha ha, ha ha ha, really, even if Ryner-san is a person who can only sleep, please leave your daydreaming to when you’re sleeping.” Saying that, he stopped smiling. He wiped away his cheerful smile and looked at Ryner.

“But on the battlefield, you can’t joke about this. Do you want to cause all your comrades to die just because of that naïve thinking?” He said.

Towards this.

“…”

Ryner could not reply.

Because what Vois had said was too true. Because what he had said was too true.

Checking Ryner’s face, Vois continued. A smile appeared again, “This is why I did this. I wanted to let you the experience the terror of losing your companion. This was quite troublesome, you know? I had to think up of quite a few reasons to change the place where you were undergoing healing.”

Hearing this, Ryner finally understood why he wasn’t together with Ferris, Kiefer and Toale when he woke up.

Vois had arranged for him to wake up in a different place so that Ryner would not be able to understand the current situation.

To awake in a battleground.

But be unable to see his companions.

It can’t be-it can’t be that everyone’s dead. He wanted Ryner to be anxious.

At that time. Because he had stopped Vois from counter-attacking, so he had caused many companions to die. Vois wanted to trigger this kind of fear in him.

Everything was planned by Vois. All this was his meddling.

So Ryner tensed, “…You are still very…”

Vois happily interrupted Ryner and said, “Cute?”

“Annoying…”

Hearing what Ryner said, Vois was even more happy, “Then, this situation has four effects.”

“… Didn’t I say, you’re very annoying.”

But the more he said that Vois was annoying, the happier Vois was.

“First, I said this earlier. Let you personally experience your companion’s death. And hope that you will understand that you will continue to cause others to die if you don’t attack the enemy because you are so gentle and weak.”

Saying this, Vois stepped forward and leaned towards him, “Then second. Let you experience, that even if you are prepared to attack the enemy… Even so, the fact that your companions will still die. This time he didn’t die. Actually, this time he didn’t die. But next time, he will die. He will die surprisingly quickly and easily. This is war—and humans are extremely frail.”
Vois said this sadly. He was pretending to be sad as he said that. Then he continued, “But you said that you would take the responsibility of the people’s lives. You said you would take the responsibility of the people’s lives. Then even if your companions die, you don’t have the right to stop. Even if Kiefer-san is decapitated. Even if Ferris-san dies, there won’t be time to cry. You don’t have the privilege to cry. This is a test.”

Hearing this.

Ryner imagined Kiefer dying.

Ryner imagined Ferris dying.

He only imagined it.

“…”

Just by imagining it, he felt fear and it seemed as if he were unable to stand.

But, like what Vois had said.

He could only continue.

He had no choice but to continue. His comrades would die. Important and precious people would die. Then the reason for those deaths was—

Because Ryner had chosen this path.

“…”

Because Ryner had chosen this path, so his comrades who followed him would die.

This was expected. Even if he did not think about it, this was an expected and understandable matter. No, he had experienced that not long ago.

Ferris had almost been killed because she was protecting Ryner.

Toale lost half of his body because of that light released by Roland.

No, Kiefer, Arua and Ku Ku to, they lived because they were lucky. It was miraculous. Everyone could have died in that split second.

Even so.

“…”

Even so, if he still wanted to continue.

He had to be prepared for that.

He had to be prepared for the fact that his comrades would die.

Ryner glared at Vois, feeling hatred.

Seeing this, Vois shrugged, “It’s not my problem if anyone dies.”

“I know. I’m only speechless because I had to be lectured by a brat like you in order to realize my stupidity.”

“…Wu eh. Ma, anyway, everyone except me is an idiot so you don’t have to mind that.”

“You jest.” Ryner said with a tired smile.

But Vois still continued, “Then.”

“Hey, there’s still more.”

“Didn’t I say there were four effects?”

“Four. Four. Alright, then what are the remaining two?”

Vois nodded and continued. “Through the hoist of having Toale Nelphi die, Toale-san should personally understand the situation. Before he died, he thought the best method of action was to leave the Nelpha soldiers and citizens to Ryner-san… Which means, when he wakes up later, the king here will not be him. But you, Ryner-san—this effect.”

But to this, Ryner said, “Even if you didn’t do something like that, Toale’s relationship with me…”

But Vois interrupted Ryner, “Your relationship with Toale-san can be anything. I meant it so that the Nelpha soldiers can successfully integrate into my army. Ma, when Toale-san awakes, he will definitely want to be one of you personnel… He will definitely let the Nelpha soldiers integrate successfully into the Anti-Roland Coalition that Ryner-san and I established.” He said.

He made it seem as if Ryner had helped him to create the Anti-Roland Coalition. Talking about which, what had this guy said, for the sake of allowing Ryner to kill Sion, so he had made Ryner the king of the Anti-Roland Coalition, and had come here.

From birth, Vois Fiurelle had had everything belong to him, but this time, he actually wanted to let Ryner be the king and said that he would be Ryner’s subordinate.

“…”

He tried to figure out Vois’s intentions.

No, he thought about all the lies that this guy had told him.

He thought about the Goddess hidden in his shadow, and the reason for the existence of an organization like the Anti-Roland Coalition.

But he was unable to figure out Vois’s intentions based on the intel he had now.

So.

“… Then what is the fourth one?” Ryner continued.

So Vois said, “The fourth is… after this incident, to hope that you can understand the fact that you have chosen lives.”

“Ah? Chose lives?” He asked. Vois nodded. He took out a stone that was similar to the stone that Kiefer had pressed to Toale’s body. It was a Heroes’ Relic called Derunio.

“I have four pieces of stones like this. If you want to use this stone, you have to pay a price. The more healing needed to be done, the greater the price. Do you know what the price is?”

Of course, he didn’t know. So Ryner shook his head.

“It’s blood. Human blood. In order to heal Ferris-san’s wounds, I needed all the blood from two people. For yours, I needed all the blood from one person and half the blood of another. And Toale-san needed all the blood from eighteen people…”

Hearing this, Ryner widened his eyes.

“Wa-wait, do-do you mean, in order to heal our wounds, we have to kill other people…”

But Vois laughed, “Do you feel surprised just by hearing that? No no, I didn’t kill anyone. Ma, if I needed to kill anyone, killing ten or twenty pawns would be fine. But if I killed more than that, no one would be willing to sacrifice themselves. I let hundreds of soldiers donate some of their blood. This way, no one would need to die.”

Even after hearing this, Ryner was still uneasy. Because this person always told lies.

If there was a need to, this person would kill ten or twenty people without hesitation. So,
“Did you really not kill anyway?” Ryner asked seriously.

Vois shook his head. “If you still feel suspicious, you can go and count, you know?”

“I don’t know how many soldiers you brought.”

“Ah ha. Then you have no way to investigate.”

“You—”

But Vois still smiled. “I’m joking. I really didn’t kill anyone. But even so, you have chosen human lives. Because of the light the Demonic Beast Destroyer, Ellearms, released, many people were killed. But there were survivors. Even though they had serious injuries, but there were people who survived. If there was Derunio… if there was this stone, then they could continue to live. But there are only four pieces of this stone. There are only four pieces of this stone. Ai ya ai ya, what should we do~” Vois said as he dangled the stone in the air.

But Ryner was very clear about what he was about to say. “… Are you saying that you didn’t help them but saved us?”

Vois nodded his head. “Exactly. But you would say that you didn’t ask for this, right? So anything could have been done towards saving you. I’m talking about others. Ferris-san and Toale-san. And a child. This time, I only used this to save those who you wanted to save. What do you think this means? Of course, I was the one who used the stone, but the one who made the decision was…” Vois stopped and threw the stone towards him.

Ryner caught the stone.

He caught the Heroes’ Relic that used human blood to heal wounds.

Confirming this, Vois continued. “… The one who made the decision about who to save was you, Ryner-san. Or I should say, you’re very clear about this? Ever since you woke up in that truck, your surroundings has been like hell. There were people who lost their parents. There were people who lost their children. Some people lost their precious people. But, but but but but but, you still wished for you companions to survive—you thought of this, didn’t you?”

Hearing this.

Hearing what Vois said, Ryner’s face tensed.

Because he had thought of that.

Because he had thought of that, in actuality.

Because Vois’s words pierced deeply into Ryner’s body, pierced Ryner’s heart.

Seeing Ryner, Vois said with a happy and cheerful expression. “…It isn’t anything to feel troubled about. That is human. Arrogant and sly, yet gentle, then suddenly warm—you are sadly human. But you are unable to continue being an ordinary human. You are unable to be an ordinary human because you have decided to carry the burden of human lives. Right, this way, hasn’t your weakness lessened? Hasn’t your naivety lessened? Are you prepared to be a king who is in charge of a large number of human lives?”

Towards this question, Ryner.

He shook his head. “… I’m sorry. I haven’t…”

But he was interrupted by Vois.

“Then please make your preparations now. Your best friend, your opponent has already started walking on that path. He has put the lives of humans on the horizon and is walking forward in despair. Then, what about you? What do you want to do? Do you want to continue with no sacrifices? Haven’t you decided to save him? Then you should progress. You should continue. Come, come come, throw away those useless dreams, progress…”

But he only spoke until halfway.

“…Enemy attack!?”

A voice rang out from the front of the procession.

Vois turned in that direction. “A la la. I was interrupted when I was about to finish speaking. Ma, but my words have mostly been etched into your mind. Then please give me permission to let the story continue…” He walked out as he said that.

A black-armored soldier came to him, “… The enemy is an assassin from ‘Azure Princess Mercenaries’.”

Hearing this, Vois said with annoyance, “Those guys again.” Then he turned back.

“Alright, Ryner-san. It should be time for you to show your face. This is the first reason for you to become our king.”

Hearing this, Ryner tilted his head. “…What does that mean?” As he said this, he looked to the direction where the enemy was. They had probably crossed over from the boundary of the Republic of Belis.

But the enemy was from the Republic of Belis.

That meant that that there were enemies in Belis where the Nelpha citizens would be staying.

So Ryner said, “… It’s a little different from what you said?”

Vois laughed, “No no, there’s no difference? Right now, the one attacking isn’t what you suspect is a soldier from Belis. It is an assassin from a smaller but nasty organization. I was nearly killed by the assassin from that organization recently…”

Hearing this, Ryner finally found something believable in what this person was saying. “Ah ah, so you allowed me to be the king so that you would not be targeted by that assassin?”

“Mostly. Ma, although it’s not only that… Anyway, Your Majesty Ryner Lute—please go and deal with that assassin.” He said.

Your Majesty.

So Your Majesty, please deal with the assassin—hearing this, Ryner smiled wryly, “This is the first time I’m seeing a subordinate saying this to the king.”

“Doesn’t it suit you?” Saying this, Vois flicked his finger.

In a moment.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”

From the carriage where Toale’s corpse was supposed to be, Kiefer’s cries were heard loudly.

Ryner looked at Vois tiredly with half-lidded eyes and asked, “He’s revived?”

Vois nodded. “That was very energetic. Let me prepare Toale-san’s prosthetic arms and legs.”

Ryner said softly, “How should I say this…”

Then the flap of the carriage opened and Ferris looked out, “Ry-Ry-Ry-Ryner!? Toale’s ghost, haunting…”

“Ah yes yes. He isn’t haunting you. Toale is still alive.”

“Still alive?”

He was about to explain what Vois had told him to Ferris, who was tilting her head.

But.

From the front of the procession, there was an explosion.

A bright light.

With no time to rest, another battle had started.

Ryner turned his eyes to the directions of the battle.

“Ferris.”

“Eh?”

“Anyway, let’s defeat the enemy before we talk about this. Let’s go together.” He said.

She jumped down from the carriage and looked in the direction of the battle. She reached to her waist and looked at Vois, “Vois, return me my sword.”

“Ai ai, of course. Relca.” He said. A black-armored woman pulled out Ferris’s sword where it was on the carriage and threw it towards her.

Ferris caught it and fastened it to her waist. Then she nodded her head, “… Then let’s go.” She looked at Ryner.

Ryner nodded in reply, then looked to the front.

There were sounds of an intense battle from the front.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 275.jpg|thumb]]
Explosions. Roaring. Cries.

Their attackers seemed to have come from a mercenary group called the Azure Princess.

Azure Princess.

A mercenary group called the Azure Princess.

“…I’ve never heard of it before.” He muttered. He flexed his injured left wrist to check if there was any lingering pain. Then he patted his waist and told Ferris, “Do you need to prepare?”

Ferris replied, “I’m waiting for you, idiot.”

“Really?”

“Wu eh.”

“I see. Alright. Then…”

Ryner said, “Although it’s extremely troublesome, but we still have to work hard.”

He walked towards the battlefield again.

In a far northern plane.

He opened the map.

“…”

On the map was a drawing of the powers on the Menoris Continent.

First, in the south of the map was the name of Roland that had conquered the whole of the southern continent by claiming the Estabul Kingdom, Imperial Nelpha and the Runa Kingdom.

Then in the north of the map was the name of the Kingdom of Gastark that had defeated Imperial Stohle and was continuing to expand into the south. Its power had already started to reach into the central continent.

Lastly, in the centre of the map.

It was called the Central Continent, it was the largest territory in the Menoris Continent.

There were thirteen adjacent countries and three countries called the Three States were drawn to the north of these countries.

No, they were the three strongest countries in the Central Continent.

The names of the Three States were—

Geihlficlant Empire.

Ertolia Republic.

Remrus Empire.

These three countries ruled together and competed amongst themselves. They decided everything that happened in the Central Continent. And these small countries were controlled by these Three States.

So he had written down which countries currently belonged to which state.

Looking at this.

He looked at this.

The young monarch of the northern continent, Riphal Edea, king of the Gastark Empire looked at the map with his one eye, “…Fu. It looks like we’ll be fighting with Geihlficlant first.” He said lightly.

Long pink hair. His right eye was filled with determination and charisma, drawing everyone in and—the left eye that had been eaten by the cursed sword, Glovil.

But even so, he still carried that sword. He put that big black sword that was longer that what humans used behind his back and carried the map in one hand as he stood on the plain.

Behind him were tens of thousands of soldiers.

Although he carried the responsibility for these tens of thousands of lives, but he did not back down and happily looked at the map.

Right now, he was looking at the boundary lines on the map.

He was looking at the boundary line that separated the northern continent and the central continent.

But there were two coundary lines. There were two boundary lines between the north Gastark Empire and the Central Continent.

The east—belonged to a country in Geihlficlant Empire, Eilosendo.

The west—belonged to a country in Ertolia Republic, Deriljael Kesla.

Riphal Edea narrowed his visible right eye and looked at the two countries on his map.

No matter which was nearer or more easily attacked, he had to count in Eilosendo. And if he were to attack Deriljael Kesla first, then Geihlficlant who was nearer could attack him. This way, he would be having a war with two empires at the same time.

That would be bad.

No matter how he thought about it, it was better to defeat Eilosendo first—then move on the Geihlficlant Empire.

“Ma, Deril—, ah~, whatsitsname, I can’t remember. Alright. We should still attack the one with the easier name, Eilosendo first.” He said, then he threw the map to one side carefully.

A man standing behind him caught the map.

It was a man around the same age as Riphal—around twenty-two or twenty-three year old.

He had the same pink hair as Riphal and a pair of bright blue eyes. As if matching his eyes, his uniform was also blue.

He was Riphal Edea’s right hand man and the military advisor of the Gastark army, Reeglewaz Pentest.

That Reeglewaz—Reaz said. “…You can’t remember the name. Isn’t it because you have insufficient brain cells?”

Hearing that, Riphal turned around, “Because there’s no need to, so I’m too lazy to remember the name, Reaz. Anyway, isn’t it a country that is about to be eliminated by us and about to vanish?”

Reaz laughed. “Ma, that’s true.”

“Then, what do you think. It’s fine if we go to Geihlficlant first?”

Reaz looked to the southern sky and nodded. “There’s no problem. Geihlficlant Empire is a country that has the sea on its east. That means that when we fight Geihlficlant, we don’t have to worry about the east side. And there’s the plan to ally with the Republic of Ertolia and invade.”

But Riphal shook his head. “Ertolia wouldn’t respond. Because they will betray us quickly. Compared to their life-long enemy, Geihlficlant, Gastark that has recently emerged will be more dangerous. But when they discover that, it will be…”

“Too late… So let’s begin quickly. We have to let the name that I have been waiting for resound through the Central Contient.” Saying this, Reaz raised his hand.

By only doing this, the thousands of soldiers behind responded. These soldiers consisted of mixed groups. What had originally be the six northern countries had been conquered by Gastark, then organized to this army.

But with six different kinds of magic and the soldiers of six different countries now, they moved as if they were from the same organism.

This was Reaz’s power.

He was able to provide the soldiers who had lost their countries with evidence for a new existence, give them a new reason to live and then control them.

He had more or less used the brain-washing powers of the Rhule Fragmei, but the management of the army strongly depended on Reaz too.

Reaz ordered. “… Everyone.”

At this moment.

“Wuah, impressive. You’re able to easily command so many soldiers. The brain-washing Rhule Fragmei doesn’t even have this effect. We have to learn from you.” A woman’s voice spoke from in front of them.

Hearing this, Reaz stopped his orders.

Riphal turned his eyes to the voice. Then he tensed. Because that woman’s voice had been too near to him.

He could not feel her presence at all.

He could not feel her presence approaching at all. On this wide plain where there were tens of thousands of soldiers, there were no figures approaching him, nor any presence that could be felt.

But that voice was right by their side.

And Riphal had turned to where that voice had been.

“…”

He couldn’t see any figure.

What exactly was it.

“What is this, who…” He spoke until there.

“Here, young Hero King of the North-san.” The voice was right by his ear. A breath blew gently and then a dagger shot to Riphal’s neck—

“Riphal!?” Reaz yelled then pushed him away. Riphal used that force to jump away. Then he rolled on the ground and pulled out his sword as he got up. He pulled out Glovil and swung it.

He finally saw his enemy.

Looking at his enemy.

“…Wh-what is this, what exactly” Riphal said softly.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 293.jpg|thumb]]
Because his enemy was very beautiful.

A beautiful woman.

She was about eighteen or nineteen years old?

She had a pretty face and adorable, challenging eyes.

She had long ice-blue coloured hair which was a rare colour and evidence that she was a holder of ‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’.

‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’—this referred to people with abnormal magical abilities. They had magical powers that were greater than even what their bodies could hold. A large number of ‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’ holders would always drown in their power and were controlled by it, resulting in them losing their magical compatibility and becoming magic deficient.

Even if they were deficient humans who were unable to control their spirits—this was the name for the ‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’ holders.

But.

“…”

The woman in front of him did not seem to be anything like that.

Although she seemed a little stubborn, but she had intelligence in her eyes.

But those rational eyes clashed with the butterfly-patterned dress that she wore, making people confused.

A butterfly-patterned uniform and a dagger in her hand.

She stuck out her adorable tongue, “A la la, your reaction is unexpectedly fast. I actually slipped…” She hadn’t finished speaking when she threw the dagger towards him. She used a slight action and threw the dagger towards him.

The dagger flew viciously towards him. Riphal was unable to dodge. No, he couldn’t even react.

Monster, he couldn’t help but think.

This was a really dangerous monster, he couldn’t help but this.

The dagger flew straight towards him.

The dagger flew straight towards his heart.

“…”

But his sword responded. The sword that Riphal held—Glovil reacted and knocked aside the dagger.

Seeing this, the woman’s eyes widened slightly.

“Oh~, you can even avoid this? Impressive.” She said and narrowed her eyes slightly. “Or I should say, it seems to be the sword defending by itself~ just now. That is Glovil, right? That was amazing. It shows that you are a ‘True Hero’. I’m not so stupid to challenge a Hero, so I should retreat first.”

As she said this, Reaz pulled out his sword and swung it at the woman.

But the woman didn’t even look at him.

She lightly pushed his sword and then used Reaz’s strength to push him away.

Reaz’s posture was messed up and after he was kicked, he collapsed. Reaz’s sword fell at near his lower body, “Wuah.”

Reaz quickly rolled away to avoid it. Then he quickly stood up and retreated two or three steps and ran towards Riphal. He stared at the woman nervously and said. “…Riphal.”

“What?”

“Use the time I take to distract this woman and escape. We have no power to deal with that kind of opponent.”

“Ah? What are you joking about? How can you face that monster…”

But he was interrupted, “Of course I can’t win. But the both of us can’t die here. With our comrades—the promise we made when we sacrificed our comrades with the Sword of Regeneration has not been completed, we can’t die like fools… right? So please escape quickly. Then call Lir here. Only Liru can deal with here properly.”

As he said that, Reaz started to weave a light square. Gastark’s magic. Compared to physical battle, Reaz was more suited to long-range magic.

But.

But that woman looked at that magic happily, “Ai~, are you going to use magic? If it’s using magic, I wouldn’t be merciful, is that fine?” She said.

The holder of the ‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’ who was abnormally strong in magic said.

So Riphal stopped Reaz’s hand that was about to complete the magic.

Towards this, Reaz said, “What are you doing…”

Riphal shook his head, then looked at the woman.

“…Earlier you said, you were merciful. Then you had no intentions to kill us from the beginning?”

Hearing this, the woman smiled, “No. If I could kill you, I would feel very lucky… Although you are the person that Glovil chose, so I couldn’t do that now. I don’t have enough tools to kill you.”

Hearing this, Riphal was more nervous. “…Why do you know this sword? You can’t be the Goddess’s subordinate”

“You’ve guessed wrongly~ Anyway, can’t you tell just by looking. How can a beautiful girl like me be that monster.” She said.

She called the '''Goddess''' a monster.

That mean that she knew about the existence of the '''Goddess'''. No, not only that. If she knew about Glovil, then she would also know about the ‘Worshipper’ that brought the sword over to this world.

But what power would know so much about this?

“Who are you?” Riphal asked.

But she smiled beautifully and perfectly, “I’m a person who will be warning you, Riphal Edea.”

“… A person who will warn me? Warn me about what?”

“A person who will warn you about your future. You can’t come here. If you want to progress, then head to Deriljael Kesla. Don’t come to Eilosendo. I wouldn’t get my money if you go there.”

Hearing this, Riphal finally knew who this person was. “… You’re the mercenaries that Geihlficlant hired. I heard the rumors about you, Azure Princess. Is it. You are the leader of the mercenaries who have been destroying those small countries in the Central Continent, Pia Varliere.” Riphal said.

Hearing this, she smiled.

Pia Varliere smiled.

Then she said. “Not leader, it’s queen, strong and arrogant Hero-san.” Then she smiled again.

“Then, listen to what I say, Hero King of the North. Or else—” She emanated a strong killing intent. She emanated a strong killing intent that could make one’s heart stop beating.

Then she said.

She said. “Or else I’d have to kill you.”

But towards this.

Towards this Riphal laughed. He looked at her, emanating his own killing intent.

No, he was looking at his other subordinate who was standing behind her.

It was Lir.

It was Lir Orla.

Looking at Lir, Riphal said. “Kill that arrogant woman.”

Lir replied. “Of course.”

Then he raised his hand. He wore a golden ring on his finger. It was a Rhule Fragmei that only those Chosen by the gods could use—the Ring of Lightning Beasts.

He waved the ring, “Appear, Lightning Beasts!”

A few lightning forms appeared around Lir as he yelled that. They slowly formed into beasts and surrounded Pia.

But even after seeing Lir, Pia still smiled, relaxed.

“Ah, l see. You’re pulling this on me?”

Riphal nodded. “Ah ah. Then surrendering would be better? Because I’m not a person who will kill women. After you surrender and give us your information, then I can release you.”

“Ara, you’re so gentle.”

“Can’t you tell by seeing?”

“Aha.” She laughed. That was a relaxed laugh. In this kind of situation, that woman was still able to laugh, relaxed.

Then.

“… If I were to kill such gentle boys, then I would feel sad, so forget it, forget it. I did warn you already? Don’t attack Geihlficlant. Understand?”

Saying this, she lowered her stance.

Seeing this, Lir said, “I won’t let you escape.” And raised his ring. The lightning beasts ran towards her.

But Pia still laughed, “Muoh~!” She shouted adorably.

A red light appeared from her fingers—no, it appeared from the red-coloured fake nails that she was wearing on her five fingers and sliced apart the lightning beasts that Lir had summoned.

Then,

“Then goodbye. If I meet you on the battlefield after this meeting—then I’ll really kill you.”

Then she took something that was like a small marble and threw it into the sky. The marble released a bright light.

“…”

She could not be seen anywhere.

The three of them looked at where Pia had been speechlessly for a moment.

Then.

“… the Azure Princess. Huh.” Riphal said softly.

Then he looked into the sky.

The Queen of the Azure Princess, Pia Varliere had said that they could not attack Geihlficlant. She had said they could not attack Eilosendo. If they attacked, she would kill them.

He remembered that sentence.

He remembered her words.

After remembering that, he said, “Really, what was that. Even though she had a cute face, she was a monster on the inside…” Riphal turned to his childhood friends who had experienced the same burdens as he had.

“Alright, what do we do? What do you feel about what happened? Do we face them later?”

Reaz replied, “If we don’t do it then we can’t start anything. And the number of enemies using the Rhule Fragmei will increase. Even if it isn’t like this, Roland is already using them. Fighting with the Azure Princess can be a preparation for fighting with Roland.”

Lir shrugged, “If we can win. The sacrifice will be huge.”

But Riphal laughed. “Large sacrifices didn’t start from now. Isn’t it?”

The two of them nodded. “Yes.”

“Then,” Riphal said. “Then let’s go. We wasted a little time. Let’s head towards Eilosendo—then Geihlficlant. Reaz, give the command.”

So Reaz raised his arm and waved.

“Progress!”

Then he started to order the army.

Gastark Empire had started to move towards the Central Continent.

Riphal looked at this scene.

Then he turned around and looked in the direction they were heading towards.

In front of them was Eilosendo, the Geihlficlant Empire and the mercenaries, the Azure Princess that Geihlficlant had hired.

And then even more in front of them was the Fallen Dark Hero was looking from the south.

Looking at this.

Riphal looked at all of this.

“…Alright, this is the beginning. The beginning of our story.” He told this to Reaz, Lir and his companions.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Dai_Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Dai_Densetsu_no_Yuusha_no_Densetsu#Volume_4_-_The_Great_Fascination_Of_Wiles_And_Tricks|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Dai_Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 3

2012-09-06T20:06:55Z

201.174.64.182:

Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 2

2012-09-06T20:06:07Z

201.174.64.182:

==Chapter 2: Human α==

The colour of the sky was changing.

It never stopped changing.

From the sky above Ryner, or to be more accurate, the sky above Ferris started to change as if it changing from afar.

Far, far away. To a place where many overwhelming events had happened. Finally, it changed until the sky in the southern continent. The sky of the grey southern continent. A sky that was choked with hopelessness.

Under this sky.

Under this sky, stood a girl.

She had long red hair and a shapely body. She wore a peach-coloured blouse and skirt.

The girl looked to her side. Her face was flushed with embarrassment.

“That… That, Sion… I, If it’s Sion, then you can do whatever you want to me.”

She said this in embarrassment and pressed a hand to her chest.

“My body belongs to Sion-sama.” She said.

Then Sion Astal looked at her.

His golden eyes gleamed under his silver hair. He looked at the girl’s body with his determined
eyes.

“Hey, then I can really do whatever I want to you?”

What was this.

But the girl looked at Sion and blushed harder. She replied, almost whispering, “To me… It’s your choice.” Her voice could hardly be heard.

Then he walked towards her and touched her neck. When Sion touched her neck, the girl’s body trembled. She was clearly nervous and excited, and her whole body felt as if it were on fire. Sion said softly, “Then, I can really do whatever I want?”

“Eh. It’s your choice.”

“I understand. Then…”

Sion’s expression changed as he said, “Then… Die. Monster.”

Sion gripped the girl’s neck. He twisted it. There was an unpleasant “Crack!” Sion knew that the monster’s neck was broken.

Under these circumstances, that person would have died immediately.

A normal girl would have died immediately.

But the girl laughed.

Although her neck was broken, but she still could move. She grabbed on to Sion’s shoulders and hugged him tightly.

“…Aha, Ahahaha. Sion is so childish. But you used to like my behavior. Please, use more strength and fall into the entangled web of love with me… Fall with me and land in this kind of abyss. Never turn back. Be passionate, release yourself, Hero!”

As the girl said this, she widened her eyes. She stared at Sion.

Her eyes became wider. And wider. In the end, her eyeballs fell out but the girl still continued to laugh.

<Ahahaha hahahaha, shahahaha.>

Sion’s face tightened.

“… My ears.”

He used his other hand to clench the girl’s head hard and attempted to twist her head off completely to stop that voice that was making him crazy.

But no matter how hard he tried to twist or to break, the sounds of the girl’s laughter continued. To make matters worse, the hair he gripped in his hands started to wriggle and squirm. They crawled to Sion’s wrist. The areas where the moving hair touched caused a numb feeling to spread throughout his body. Sion momentarily lost conscious.

Then the scary voice of the girl said.

“Ahahahaha. It’s no use. As long as it is a human, if they are touched by my body, they will lose their sense of self. Your life ends here. This is your end. You will become part of me, and fall into the darkness with me. Just like the previous king. Just like your father.”

As she related the horrible affair, her hair reached towards the rest of Sion’s body. No, that could not be called hair any longer. Sion released her hair because that thing had melted, as if it were a liquid and stuck to Sion’s hands and wrists.

She slowly, slowly eroded Sion’s body.

“…Wu…”

Sion groaned in pain.

He tried to think of a plan to escape from her control, but he could think of none.

She started to invade his body.

She started to take control of his body.

It was like there was no defense against her actions.

Sion’s face tensed.

“…Bastard.”

It was obvious. He could only subject himself to his fate.

In the deep abyss of despair, he suddenly heard a voice.

“…Wu. It seems to be more troublesome than I thought it would be. How tiresome.”

Sion looked towards the source of the voice.

A man with an interested expression stood behind the girl. It was not known how long he had been standing there.

He was a blond man and his beauty attracted the envy of others.

He was the Head of the Eris Family, who had the ancestral duty of serving the King of the Roland kingdom, Lucile Eris.

Therefore, in order for him to fulfill his role as Sion Astal’s protector, he immediately attacked the monster that had placed Sion in danger.

“… But, if you need my power to deal with this kind of lowly creature, then you have no future. Won’t you work harder? Sion?”

What was happening? Why would he said something like this?

At this moment, Sion was fighting against the invasion of the monster. He looked at Lucile.

“…Gu gu, wu. Wa… This, this is bad.”

“Is it?”

“Eh.”

“Then you can die first.”

“I said. That was what I told the monster.”

“Ha ha. Really?”

“Ah ah.”

“I see. Then work hard. If you can’t deal with this standard, then you have nothing worth my protection.”

“…”

Sion thought that what the unpleasant character said made sense.

Yes, the enemy in front of him was not suited to be his enemy.

In these few months, Sion had constantly encountered their enemies—if it was not the creatures that
called themselves '''Goddesses''', it was monsters from outside their habitat.

The opponent Sion was facing was a copy of a '''Goddess'''. They only needed to use a part of their body as a medium. From there, many monsters could be created. Moreover, the real body of the '''Goddess''' was not here. If his battle with this copy took up much effort, then it would be unacceptable.

Thinking of this, Sion concentrated.

He started to build the curse in his body.

The curse that was created for the sake of destroying the '''Goddess'''.

His concentration increased and the '''Curse''' of the '''Mad Hero''' started to progress quickly. Then he spoke like he was casting a spell,

“… Get out of my sight, '''Goddess'''.”

In a second, many black swords appeared around Sion.

They were so black that they seemed to absorb the darkness.

They were so black that they seemed to eat the darkness.

They were darker than black.

Looking at these swords, the monster that was preparing to eat Sion became desperate.

“Wait…Wait—”

Without waiting for her to finish speaking, the swords plunged towards it.

They pierced through the monster’s body slowly and agonizingly.

The areas that the swords pierced became more transparent and colour began to fade from its body.
Finally, it disappeared.

The cries of the monster had yet to be unleashed when the curse devoured it. Then everything
finally…

“…”

Finally, there was calm.

The monster had been eliminated. Sion double-confirmed it.

“…Wu…”

Groaning softly, Sion kneeled on the ground.

He was tortured by the sensations of being burned.

But this pain did not originate from the monster’s attack.

It was because he had used a power that he had no wish to use.

It was the after-effects of using the curse of the '''Mad Hero'''.

Sion felt as if he was being corroded away by the curse of the '''Mad Hero'''. His human personality was slowly fading away.

That heart-wrenching pain was displayed on his face.

“… Thanks, I can depend-”

The pain reached its peak.

But Lucile smiled at him and said something strange, “You did well.”

Sion suppressed his pain and forced himself to laugh.

“… What is that? If it’s a word of thanks, then should you convey it that way? Really, saying this kind of things to comfort children.”

“Is that so?”

“Ah ah.”

“I see. Then do you wish to praised next time?”

Sion raised his head, his tense face carrying an expression of pain and stood up.

“…No, I’m not doing this for the sake of praise.”

His whole body hurt, as if it were about to fall apart. Aside from this, Sion felt a part of his most precious feelings and important memories had been lost.

Of course, he did not think that this was because of who had praised him.

This was something he had to do and only he could do. It was just like that.

Lucile said. “But if I don’t praise you now, then there will be no one else to praise you. Wouldn’t you be lonely?”

Sion replied, “… Don’t say such silly stuff.” He smiled faintly.

He looked at his surroundings and checked the condition of his body.

“…”

What an amazing place.

There was a blood-red ground and a white sky with nothing in sight.

A world with only red and white.

There was no noise.

There was no light.

Only this world that was red and white.

It was a world beyond human comprehension.

If one spent too much time in this place, they would go mad.

No, even if they stayed here for an hour, they would go mad too.

“…”

What am I thinking, he thought as he touched his chest and felt his remaining humanity.

He smiled sadly, as if mocking himself.

“… Then we should return, Lucile.”

As he said that, Lucile’s figure disappeared. Like usual, he only appeared when he wanted to, and
disappeared when he wanted to.

Sion forced a smile upon his surprised face before he closed his eyes.

The red and white world that belonged to him disappeared.

The ugly world that the '''Goddesses''' made faded out as well.

He opened his eyes again.

“…”

The world had regained its usual scenery.

He could see the capital of the Roland kingdom before his eyes. He was sitting beside his throne.
Sion could sit on the respected chair that only the loneliest person could sit on.

“…”

But when he sat on the throne, he could see the similarities between this scenery and the gory
world that the '''Goddesses''' had created.

He could only see pain, despair and darkness.

Killing family, betraying friends and offering his body as a sacrifice. After experiencing this, he had finally managed to get to the position he held today.

“…”

So he could see the decaying scenery.

The '''Mad Hero'''’s laughter.

The voices of grotesque '''Goddesses''' and uncomprehending humans.

Sion would be tortured by these voices and he would thinking of crying.

When he was alone, he felt like crying.

His personality was slowly disappearing.

His rationality was slowly fading.

This was bad.

Terrible.

“… so lonely.” He muttered softly.

He leaned into his chair and watched the crimson rays of dusk shine through the window.

“…”

In the past, there were people who would stay by his side and relieve his boredom.

It was a long time ago. Every time Sion said he was lonely, Ryner would blurt, “Huh? Haaaaaa. You
dare say that you’re lonely when you ordered me to stay by your side? You’re kidding. What kind of joke are you trying to pull off? If you don’t want me to die, then let me leave. I don’t even have the strength to yell “Aaaahhhh”. So, can I leave now?”

Ferris, who was sitting to one side, said, “Wu, hearing you say this, I feel a little lonely too.
Let’s go buy dangos together.”

Although this was a strange conversation, Sion still felt happy when he heard this.

“…”

Thinking about that piece of happiness he had enjoyed not too long ago, Sion smiled sadly again.

“…”

But those days of happiness would never return.

When the colours of the world changed, they could no longer return to their original colours.

Every time he thought of this, he always.

Always.

“… This really makes one feel lonely, Ryner.” Sion murmured.

Even so, he would continue to progress.

Sion would work hard so that if the cogwheels of fate started to veer into a hopeless future, his
actions would at least hinder the developments of this future and lighten the impact. He struggled desperately. As a result, he had no more time to rest.

If he stopped, the whole world would be thrown into chaos.

So he breathed in and destroyed his weaknesses. He destroyed the weakness he had of reminiscing the past and wallowing in pointless angst.

There was already no more time.

He had no time to recall the past.

So he thought that he’d put his efforts into progressing into his future.

Killing his biological father, betraying his friend, abandoning his humanity— this was all for the sake of progress. He lifted his head again—

“…”

Sion turned to see a girl standing in the hall. It was not known how long she had been standing there.

In that moment, he thought that it had come again.

The monsters released by the '''Goddesses'''.

Lately, the ''Goddesses'' had been increasing the frequency of their attacks.

From the human world or from the Other Side.

Although the monsters created in the human world were weaker than the monsters created in the Other
Side, but the assassins that the '''Goddesses''' sent had a power that was more than what a human would
have.

So Sion tensed, ready for battle.

But when the girl walked in, he relaxed.

He knew this girl.

“…”

He watched the girl who had entered the Hall.

She was younger than Sion by around two or three years. She was sixteen years old.

A wavy, amber pony tail and large eyes. She wore the Roland army uniform that did not match with
her petite body.

Sion recognized that appearance.

Milk Callaud.

That was her name.

Sion had used this girl to make sure that Ryner would stay by his side.

This girl was Ryner’s childhood friend.

The girl stood in front of him currently.

Sion looked at her. Then he erased the roiling darkness in his body. He erased the pain,
hopelessness and sadness that was released from the '''Mad Hero''' from his body.

Then he gave her a fake smile, “… Isn’t this Lieutenant Milk Callaud? It’s been a long time since we met. Is there anything I can do for you?”

For unknown reasons, Milk looked at him with a slightly serious expression. “… There’s something I’d like to ask Your Majesty.”

That adorable voice carried an undercurrent of solemnity.

Sion replied, “…Some things? What is it?”

Although he phrased it that way, he understood why she was here.

The reason why she was here.

She was here to ask about what was happening in this country.

She was here to ask what had happened to the world.

She was here to ask about the country that had launched war on the world.

She wanted to ask Sion Astal, who was the Hero King and supposedly a good man, why he had continued
with the human experiments secretly; and the reasons for the invasion of other countries as well as
why he had betrayed his friend.

“…”

Was Ryner Lute a traitor?

Milk was here to ask this.

This was the first person to save Ryner.

This was the first person to stop Ryner’s Alpha Stigma from going berserk.

This person was the childhood friend of Ryner but she did not follow him and came here instead.

For Ryner.

For the sake of helping him out.

She clearly wanted to leave with Ryner, but she came here—

Came here to keep an eye on the man that had betrayed Ryner.

“…”

Sion could withstand the accusing look Milk was aiming at him.

He could withstand her feelings.

For a moment, there was a slight pain deep in his chest.

But it was only for a moment.

Sion smiled warmly immediately, “If you have any questions, you can ask them.”

So she continued in a determined tone. “No, there aren’t so many problems. I just wanted to ask one
thing.”

A straight-forward tone.

It was different from his first impression of her when they first met.

It was noticeably different from his impression of her when he first thought to make use of her.

Then, she gave him the impression of being adorable and inexperienced, but now he could feel the
intensity of her thoughts.

She was determined to change something.

Anyone who wanted to save something had a similar expression.

She had decided on something and came here with that strong determination.

He could feel it, just by looking at her expression.

“…”

But towards this.

Sion felt that it was meaningless.

No, interrogating Sion now was really meaningless, he thought.

She would interrogate Sion and get some information from him and pass it on to him, or for Ryner’s
benefit, she would persuade Sion.

No matter which side…

“…”

Everything seemed to be foolish, to Sion.

It was too late.

It was too late because all the saddening events had already occurred.

Even Ryner’s and Sion’s relationship.

Even Sion’s relationship with the world.

It was already at a stage where the darkness was overwhelming and there was no hope for any chances
of redemption.

Then, suddenly.

“…”

Sion felt the darkness in his body ache. He felt the pain stab through his body, the Curse of the
'''Mad Hero''' was starting again.

He couldn’t help but scrunch his face.

This was bad, he wanted to softly groan.

That was starting again.

In another universe different from their world, the ''Mad Hero'' and the ''Goddesses'' were starting their
ugly battle between each other.

In that moment.

The scene distorted.

The entrance to the Hall where Milk Callaud was standing—this image.

A dark corridor where a subordinate of the '''Goddesses''' stood—that image.

The two images overlapped each other so that they would both be seen at the same time.

The different images started to move. He thought furiously of ideas to deal with both sides, and felt nauseous and dizzy.

This was the after-effect of using the curse of the '''Mad Hero'''.

Sion had to exist in both worlds and then react to both situations at the same time.

The real world and the Other World.

“…”

In the dark corridor.

The subordinate of the '''Goddesses''' started to shake its head with a gurgling sound.

Gu lu gu lu, gu lu gu lu, it started to shake as if it were mad.

Then it walked towards him.

<<Kiiill hiiim kiiilll hiiim kiiillll hiiiim kiiilll hiiim!!!!!>>

It shouted as if got nearer.

Its hair swung in his direction.

Her surroundings would decompose as she walked past. It chased after him, emanating a foul stench
and decaying.

He only needed to look at it to understand that this monster was stronger than its predecessor. It
was very obvious that its nature was far more vile than the previous one.

If he didn’t deal with it immediately, he would be killed.

It he didn’t deal with it immediately, the world would be eliminated.

“…”

But towards this, Sion’s expression remained calm.

He was already accustomed to this kind of situation.

“Lucile.”

Sion, who was in the Other World, said to the human world.

Then, in front of him…

A blond, beautiful man appeared in the middle of the dark corridor.

He turned towards Sion.

“…Ah ah, alright. I shall devour this fellow. So you can be that cute girl’s opponent.”

He nodded towards Sion.

In the next second, Lucile disappeared and the monster’s head was retrieved.

Then the monster that had lost its head,

<<Don’t, don’t interfere, Lucile Eris! You-you-What you’re doing is insane…>>

But Sion ignored that voice.

He ignored the images of the Other World.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he smiled. As if nothing had happened, he smiled warmly.

But in truth, nothing had happened in the real world.

Even if it was a large magical attack.

Even if the mad '''Goddesses''' caused trouble.

For now, that power was unable to interfere in the affairs of this world.

Though it was only for now.

“…”

Because of that, he pretended that nothing had happened.

He smiled warmly as he looked at the girl before him.

Then.

“… Then, I’ll listen to your question now.”

He said.

Therefore, Milk could ask what she wanted to ask. It was probably the boring question that Sion had
predicted.

What happened to you and Ryner?

What has happened to our country?

This kind of question, compared to the current situation and the depressing script, was able to
make one laugh foolishly but happily.

Towards Sion who felt like crying and was invaded by the ''Mad Hero'' and the ''Goddesses'', this was a
simple trouble made him feel like laughing.

Towards this kind of question, Sion had many answers and excuses prepared.

He only needed to choose one from these, an answer that could she could accept and feel at ease.

There was no need to tell her the truth.

There was no need to tell her the despair in this world.

Only he was needed to sink into that despair.

“…”

So Sion smiled, watching Milk.

He smiled that usual, calm and youthful smile and watched Milk.

Then said, “Ah, ask away.”

So Milk nodded her head and thanked him. Her round, big eyes looked straight at him as she asked,
“… What has happened to this country?”

This… She had asked the question that Sion had predicted…

But at this moment.

She continued. “I wanted to ask Your Majesty this. And about Ryner… What has happened between Your
Majesty and him? I wanted to ask Your Majesty this. But after seeing Your Majesty… After seeing
you, I understood that it was meaningless to ask that. So I decided to ask something else.”

She suddenly said this.

Sion narrowed his eyes at this.

“… Another question?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

So she asked.

Her face appeared to be a little worried, although Sion did not know why.

“…Your Majesty, what are you fighting with?”

She said.

What she wasn’t looking at Sion.

She was looking at Sion’s chest.

As if she wanted to look into his inner mind, she looked at Sion’s chest.

Sion looked at his chest.

But there was nothing there. There was nothing particularly eye-catching.

But Milk kept looking at his chest. As if she could see through Sion’s chest. She looked at Sion’s chest seriously.

An expression as if she could see something Sion couldn’t see.

No, that was not right.

It was an expression as if she was able to see another world that only Sion could see.

He felt a little nervous at this.

“…What are you saying?” he asked.

But towards this,

“…” Milk did not reply.

She only looked at Sion’s chest. She looked towards him with that expression as if she was so
scared that she was about to cry.

“Miss Milk?” Sion said.

“…”

“About that, what’s wrong?”

“…”

“Eh…”

Sion stopped speaking.

Because Milk’s body seemed to lose strength and collapsed.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 143.jpg|thumb]]
“What-” Sion exclaimed in surprise.

For unknown reasons, Milk seemed to lose consciousness and her head was about to collide with the
floor…

“Danger-”

Sion stood up from his throne. He ran towards the Hall. Although it was clear he would not reach
her in time, but he still rushed forward.

But when Milk’s head was about to strike the floor.

“…”

Her body was supported by someone.

Outside the Hall.

A man appeared from behind Milk, gently carrying her.

“…”

Sion stopped then looked at the man who was carrying Milk.

Although he was still quite young, he had long white hair. He had a gentle and experienced
expression. He wore the Roland Army uniform.

Sion recognized this man.

Sergeant Luke Stokkart.

He always had a smiling, calm expression. He was a man who was as gentle as a nursery teacher and
who followed Milk. But he was a man who had helped Sion secretly during the revolution. He was like
Rahel Miller’s right-hand man.

The right-hand man of Miller came here.

No, ah, it was possible that it was this man who brought Milk here.

After all, only a small number of people were able to enter this Hall.

Only an exceedingly small number of people were able to approach this Hall that would be under
attack from the '''Goddessess''' any time. These people were prepared to face anything odd from this Hall.

He had also placed security measures around this Hall.

And Milk Callaud was not on his approval list.

So she would be unable to get here alone.

That meant, “…It was you who brought her here? Luke.”

Luke raised his head when he heard Sion’s question. He still had a warm, smiling and calm expression. But if he was tricked by that face, he would suffer greatly, Sion understood that.

This man was the hardest to command amongst Sion’s subordinates. From the time they had met until
now, it had always been the same.

His performance during the revolution was equal to Claugh Klom and Rahel Miller… No, this man was better, but he would never appear on the stage.

He would always be backstage, carrying out top-secret missions and sneakily executing them. He seemed to smile happily, but he was always able to make things proceed his way.

It was impossible to guess his thoughts just by looking at him.

He was a man who was intellectual and powerful but it was incomprehensible why this man would
decide to follow Sion and Miller.

Ah, on this point, Claugh who had some dealings with Luke had said, “No, that man is not thinking of anything. He’s just someone who is competitive but has a strong sense of justice which is worthless. He is an idiot who just wants to do what he thinks is right. So that guy just simply wants to follow you. There’s no need to worry about something strange.”

That was what he had said.

But.

“…”

Sion looked at Luke.

As expected, this man had a calm, cheerful but unfathomable smile. Sion tried to guess at what he
was thinking but he gave up quickly.

He didn’t understand the reason why Luke had brought Milk to see him.

So Sion asked honestly, “… What have you come here for?”

Luke’s eyes were creased because he was smiling. He turned to Sion, “What have I come here for;
what a cold attitude. Because I haven’t seen Sion recently, I decided to come and pay a visit… Did
I interrupt you?”

Sion wrinkled his brow when he heard this. “No… but why did you specially take Milk Callaud along
with you?”

“Is it strange? Captain Milk is my direct superior. I just wanted to come with my superior to greet
fawn over Your Majesty, that’s all.” Luke said.

Sion wanted to laugh at this.

Greet?

Fawn over?

That, Luke Stokkart?

If there was no need, if the man himself felt that there was no need for himself to appear, come to
greet Sion only?

Really, it made one want to laugh.

Sion looked at Luke who was lowering Milk to the ground and said, “… Ma, jokes aside, what are you
here to inquire about?”

Luke still smiled, “Wu ah, Sion is as straight-forward as ever. But there’s nothing we wish to
inquire about. Speaking of which, you don’t mean to not answer the question even though it’s
already been asked? The world has changed. You have become the king. A perfect king that is well-
liked by the people. What complains would I have?”

Towards this, Sion laughed, “Don’t speak nonsense.”

But Luke still had an indifferent expression. “No, no, this isn’t nonsense. It’s the truth. But,
ma, I feel that the problem is that you have too many secrets…Ma, forget about that. There’s no
human who has no secrets.”

Towards this, Sion looked at Luke and said, “… That’s strange. What secret do I have that, even
you, are unable to understand?”

“Is it like this?”

“Yes. And, about what is happening to my body, I have already told that to Miller. About The '''Hero'''. About the '''Goddesses'''. I have told Miller about all of this and he is understood. So about this you…”

Luke nodded.

“I heard it too.”

“Then what other problems are there? What have you come here for?”

Luke laughed at Sion’s question.

“I don’t believe a topic that has been passed on by someone else.”

“Eh? So you’re saying that unless I tell you directly, you wouldn’t accept it?”

But Luke shook his head.

“Your words can’t be trusted. I, I only trust what I can see.”

Sion felt a little troubled by these words.

“...You, You’re a troublesome person.”

Luke laughed, “That’s not the case, right? If it’s left alone, everything will end by itself…”

Saying this, he gently let Milk rest on the ground. Then he stood up. Raising his head, he turned
to Sion.

Looking at Luke’s face, Sion said.

“It is troubling if everything is messed up.”

“It wouldn’t be too troublesome.”

“Huh. Ma, there isn’t anything much… Eh, then what are you here for?”

Luke still smiled even after Sion asked that.

“… I came to give a small test.”

“Test?”

“Ai ai. I came to test you.”

“Test me?”

Luke nodded. Then he spread his hands with a I’ll-explain-to-you expression and started to speak.

“The king of the largest country in the southern continent, the young Hero King of Roland Kingdom,
Sion Astal. Gentle, clever- really, you are a monarch who has saved the country and praised by
everyone. But suddenly you declared war on other countries. You even secretly continued the human
experiments and carry secrets that many of your subordinates do not know of. Then, what has
happened to the young Sion? Or have you become mad, like your foolish father, drowning in your
power? For this…”

Sion smiled when Luke said this.

“You’re here to test me?”

Luke nodded his head. “Yes.”

“Eh. But how am I to be tested?”

Sion asked this, but Luke shrugged.

“No, like I said, I have already tested you. And I felt that you are a wonderful king, although you
have too many secrets but that is fine.”

Sion tilted his head when Luke said this.

“Wu? Already tested? When was that…”

Luke looked at the sleeping Milk and said. “Didn’t Sion frantically try to help Captain Milk who
was dizzy because of my actions? Since you can reveal that kind of expression, then I can be at
ease now. And you still possessed a degree of humanity that was beyond my expectations.”

Sion’s face tensed when he heard this.

When Milk first appeared until now, all this was the test that Luke had carried out. It seemed as
if he had passed that test.

About the results of the test, Luke had said. “And you still possessed a degree of humanity that
was beyond my expectations.”

He still had his humanity. That was what Luke had said.

But towards this, Sion muttered.

“… A boring farce.”

Luke nodded. “Yes. But it was an important matter to me. As someone who is commanded, I have to
carefully choose the people who I follow…”

“Then, because I still have my humanity, you will follow me?”

“Yes.”

“Really, that makes me feel touched. But what does this tell me about the man who knocked out his
own superior to test me?”

Sion said this. Luke revealed a slightly sad expression,

“… No, there is a reason for that… but what that reveals is confidential.”

Sion exclaimed, “What does that mean? Don’t you have your own secrets too?”

Luke resumed smiling and said, “I do not matter. I was originally the doctrine of secrets.”

“That’s despicable.”

“Ahaha. I specialize in being despicable.”

Luke laughed as he spoke.

Then he observed his surroundings.

He could only see Sion, himself and Milk in the Hall.

Then.

“Ah, he… the monster near you—Lucile Eris-san is here too?”

Luke asked.

“…”

Sion was already frustrated.

Whenever he spoke with this man, he would feel a genuine feeling of exhaustion.

How many secrets did Luke know, what kind of plan was he coming up with; he could not completely
predict Luke. If he was unable to predict Luke’s thoughts, he would be unable to respond to Luke.

So Sion did not want to become enemies with this man.

Even more than Claugh and Miller.

He had to make this man his ally.

Humans.

This man was the most dangerous character amongst the humans—because Sion truly thought like this.

So he looked at Luke and said, “… Really, what have you come here for? If you have anything to ask,
you can ask it directly. I will answer your questions.”

But Luke assumed a calm expression, “ So I told you I would not believe everything that you have
said about yourself.”

Sion really felt frustrated when he heard this.

“Ah ah, you are such a troublesome man. Then Miller shall explain everything to you. I have told
him everything . After that, he understood. No, so that he could understand, I told him everything.
Which means that I have no more secrets that you can exploit.”

Sion said.

Yes.

He had told Miller most of his secrets.

He remembered that he had told Miller about now, Roland, the world, the situation Sion was in and
that depressing script.

His description of the context had been something like this.

About this world, there was an inhuman, greedy existence called the '''Goddesses''' that wanted to consume
everything.

As the '''Goddesses''' maintained their greedy and ruthless methods, they violated and caused a shortage of food in the world. It planned to bring the world to its demise.

There was another inhuman existence called the mad '''Hero''' who destroyed these '''Goddesses'''.

But in order to destroy the '''Goddesses''', the power of that mad '''Hero''' was needed. So Sion had accepted that power.

However, if one wanted to use the '''Mad Hero'''’s power to destroy the '''Goddesses''', then the barrier in this world that had been created by the '''Goddesses''' had to be destroyed.

The worst thing was that the barrier that the '''Goddesses''' had erected was actually the ‘''Humans''’ living on the Menoris Continent.

That meant that every organism that was named human, was a magical power created by the Goddesses
to seal the '''Mad Hero'''.

But only the blood of the royal family of the Roland Empire was not that of the ‘''Human''’ that the '''Goddesses''' had created. Instead, the '''Mad Hero''' had created a different magical power that could break the '''Goddesses'''’ barrier, ''Human α''.

And the curse of Human α could over-rule the ‘''Human''’ and transform others.

That meant that before the rule of the king of Roland who had the blood of ''‘Human α’'', all of the
people in Roland were no longer ‘''Human''’, but were transformed by the curse of ‘''Human α''’.

The citizens of Estabul who had been conquered by Roland had been transformed by ‘''Human α''’.

Moreover, the people of Imperial Nelpha and Runa Empire that had been invaded by King Sion, who was
born with ‘''Human α''’ were slowly becoming not ‘''Human''’.

As ‘''Human''’ decreased, the barrier of the '''Goddesses''' would weaken.

If the barrier became weaker, the power of the '''Mad Hero''' would become stronger.

When that power reached the west side of the central Menoris Continent.

That meant that when the Roland territory had expanded to the west side of the central Menoris
Continent—opposite the desert where humans were unable to live for long. When the world where the
'''Goddesses''' lived in would become Roland territory where ‘''Human α''’ lived on—Sion would be able to kill all of the Goddesses, that would be gratifying.

Sion had told Miller this completely ridiculous, insane nonsense.

But Miller had believed him.

Because he had seen it.

The grotesque, ferocious appearance of the '''Goddesses'''.

And the mountain of corpses that were Sion’s subordinates that had been eaten and ripped apart by
the '''Goddess'''.

Even so, the '''Goddess''' had been unsatisfied.

It yelled that it had was not enough, not enough, it hadn’t eaten enough.

It had yelled crazily.

Miller had seen that horrible form.

So he understood.

Then he confirmed that he would cooperate with Sion to the best of his abilities.

He had confirmed that he would lend his strength to Sion so that the '''Goddesses''' would be exterminated.

As Miller’s most capable subordinate, Luke should have heard this before.

But this man came here. He had came here to exploit Sion’s secrets.

Of course, without visual evidence and this nonsense was passed on from someone else, it would be
hard for someone to believe him, this much was clear…

At this moment.

“I did believe it.”

As if he were peeking at Sion’s thoughts, Luke said. Then,

“The things that Miller-sama showed to me. And what you said to him, about the Goddess and the
Hero. I did believe it. You wouldn’t tell him lies.”

Luke said.

Sion looked at Luke with a surprised expression and said. “… Then what was there to inquire? For
what purpose did you come here…”

But Luke interrupted Sion. He opened his eyes that had been creased into slits because of his
smile, ‘…But the possible truth that you told Miller-sama takes up how much of your secrets? Twenty
percent? Thirty percent? When what is the rest of the seventy percent? If we only look at one part,
only look at a tiny portion of what seems true… Ah, then what would happen if it becomes an
entirely different story after we see the whole truth? Because this kind of situation happens
often. So I came here on Miller-sama’s behalf to investigate this…. That is my job.”

Saying this, Luke looked towards Sion.

Even though he was smiling, but his eyes were very sharp and keen as they probed for the truth.

Towards this.
“…”

Sion couldn’t help but smile.

No matter how Luke tried to search for that truth, it was a truth that could not be completely
attained, anyway.

Yes, what he had told Miller was not the whole truth.

What he had told Miller about the '''Goddesses''' and the '''Hero''' was not complete.

No, towards this, the legend of the '''Goddesses''' and the '''Hero''', even Sion who was personally involved had some parts that he could not understand.

The sources of the legend were different so the context of each ‘truth’ was different.

There was a version of the '''Goddesses''' going crazy and there was a version of the '''Hero''' going crazy.

Ma, no matter which side had gone crazy—Sion thought that anything was possible now.

No matter what, he only had to concentrate on the things that he could do.

Regardless of who it was, even if it was a mistake, he could only do what he was able to do.

So he had already made a choice.

Sion Astal had already made a choice.

He had chosen the road that he had thought most suitable.

He made the choice to kill his biological father, betray his best friend and sacrifice his own life
for the sake of progress.

So he could let Luke do this.

If there was any other ‘truths’, if he thought there were other appropriate routes, then he could
go and find them.

So Sion said.

He smiled and said to Luke. “…Ma, it’s your decision. No matter how you struggle, the ending will
always be the same.”

Luke smiled at this too. “Ah ah, I will do that. How about I say… I have already done that.
Preparation for another experiment…”

Towards this, Sion asked, “…Experiment?”

In the next second.

There was a whooshing sound. Then he felt as if an invisible thin thread entangled his head.

He wanted to slide his finger between his head and the thread, but it was too late.

“Gu.”

He released a soft sound, but his voice was cut off.

The thin thread encircled his neck tightly, making him unable to voice anything.

Luke pulled that thread. He had set up the thin thread in the Hall without Sion noticing.

Luke gently pulled on the head of the thread.

The thin line tightened.

“…”

He couldn’t release a sound.

Luke continued with an elated expression and said,

“Heh, then let the experiment begin~. Following this, I will kill you… Then the monster that
protects you will come and kill me, right?”

Sion wanted to shout, ‘stop this!’ when he heard this. But he was unable to utter a sound. He was
strangled too tightly and so he was unable to make a sound.

“…”

But even though it was like this, Sion still wanted to shout: stop this quickly, don’t do such a
foolish thing. Or else that man, Lucile will, will come and kill you…

He wanted to shout this.

But he was unable to voice it.

This was bad, he thought.

It was not because he could feel himself dying.

This was really bad.

If this continued, Lucile would come out and kill Luke.

Luke was an important human towards this country.

He would fight against the '''Goddesses''' from today onwards.

He was a necessary character who would help to expand Roland’s territory the west of central
Menoris Continent.

So Sion wanted to shout, ‘stop this, quick!’.

But he was unable to speak.

The thin line tightened and started to cut into the skin.

He would die, Sion though.

Then in that moment.

“…”

Suddenly.

“…”

Lucile did not appear.

Sion widened his eyes.

This was impossible.

It was impossible that Lucile did not appear.

So Sion looked at Luke with an expression of surprise.

Then Luke said.

“…Ah, looks like he wouldn’t appear. Then the first experiment was a success.”

Saying this, he gathered the line in his hands.

A whooshing sound followed and Sion was released. The thread of unknown design returned to Luke’s
hands.

Sion coughed and heaved, recovering from his strangulation and then he stared at Luke.

“…What… what have you come to do?”

Luke shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s a secret.”

“…That thread, is it a Heroes’ Relic? How did you get it?”

“That’s also a secret.”

“Don’t kid me. Don’t think that because no one can figure out your secrets, you can ask about other
people’s secrets.”

Luke laughed at what Sion said.

“…So I won’t ask you. I will exploit your secrets by myself…”

Saying this, he continued to stare at Sion. Luke laughed, a little troubled, then said,

“Even if this happened, the fact that I am your ally wouldn’t change. Like what I said, you’re a
wonderful king. I believe that you are a heroic savior who will be able to change this country and
this world. But in order for that to be accomplished, I think I ought to help out a little. Ma,
what I’ms doing now is a secret experiment, you’ll know what it is soon. So you don’t have to glare
at me.”

He said.

But Sion continued to glare at Luke,

“…”

As if he wanted to say something.

But he said nothing.

Because like what Luke had said, it would be soon.

He would know about the secret experiment that Luke was carrying out.

Like what he had said, Sion would soon understand the contents of that experiment.

That was, with the scene that Sion was looking at, something else that would happen in a different
place.

In a different place from the Hall that Sion, Luke and the unconscious Milk were in.

Human world, the Other World.

In the Other World where Lucile was supposed to be destroying the monster released by the Goddess,
that had happened.

Sion turned his attention back there.

Sion was standing in the dark corridor.

Not far from him was the corpse of a strange body.

It was the corpse that the '''Goddess''' had released to kill him.

It should have been thrown there after Lucile had killed it.

But when monsters died, they would disappear from this world.

This was the space created by the monster, so when its master had disappeared, this world would
immediately collapse and disappear.

But this world continued to exist.

Its creator had died, but it had not collapsed.

This meant that there was the existence of a magical creature.

It could be another monster that had taken over the control of this world or the Goddess.

No, unless it was Lucile who had decided to maintain this place for some reason…

“…”

Although he thought of that, this view immediately disappeared.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 171.jpg|thumb]]
Because Lucile was further ahead in the dark corridor.

And Lucile.

That Lucile Eris was pinned against the black wall of the corridor by his neck.

Lucile looked to him, an expression of pain that did not belong on his face.

He uttered, “Don’t come over, Sion…”

But he could only speak until here. Because the grip around his throat had tightened.

“Sha, ah… wu.”

Lucile moaned.

Sion was unable to move.

That Lucile was pinned down by a power.

That Lucile bordered on being killed.

Under these circumstances, Sion was helpless.

But the events were progressing.

The person strangling Lucile turned around.

Seeing that appearance, that person’s identity was easy to figure out.

“Is it the real… real, '''Goddess'''…”

Sion muttered dumbly.

The '''Goddess''' smiled.

Dazzling hair that was coloured with the colours of the rainbow and beautiful eyes. It was as if
all the beauty in the world was coalesced into that single being.

Sion’s gaze was fixed on that extraordinary beauty.

He was captivated by her.

Then the beautiful woman spoke. She used that beautiful and adorable voice that could charm anyone,
“Ah ah, Sion Astal, you still continue to move forward.”

Even though he was gripped by the throat, Lucile still managed to say,

“Do, Don’t listen, Sion… this person, has the magic to brain-wash…”

But the '''Goddess''' looked at Lucile and said:

“I won’t use magic on you, Lucile Eris, only I stand on your side… I am the only woman who loves
you… Have you forgotten even this?”

“Shut up, mad '''Goddess'''…”

Upon hearing what Lucile said, the '''Goddess'''’s expression became sad and lonely, as if she were about to cry.

When Sion saw this expression, he wanted to walk over and let her depend on him.

He wanted to walk over and hug her.

No, that was not right.

It was something in his body that wanted her.

It was the something in his body—it had to be the power of Asruld Roland, the '''Mad Hero''', that
strongly, very strongly wanted her.

Wanted her.

Wanted to hug her.

The curse in his body was shrieking to obtain all of her.

But Sion did not move.

He frantically tried to control his movements and suppressed the power in his body.

Because that woman.

That '''Goddess''' was a woman he couldn’t touch. So Sion frantically tried to withstand the urge.

He frantically controlled the urge that swelled within him.

He frantically suppressed the shrieks of the mad hero in his body.

He roared ‘Shut up!’ to the voice that shrieked ‘Hug her!’

He roared ‘Shut up!’ to the voice that shrieked ‘Own her!’

Then he looked.

He looked in the direction of the '''Goddess'''.

She was so beautiful.

He looked at the beautiful '''Goddess''' who had almost the same features of Milk Callaud.

“Darn it,” Sion muttered.

Then the '''Goddess''' smiled and said, “Is it painful? Asruld Roland.”

She asked.

She approached Sion.

Sion’s features twisted. He frantically tried to suppress the overwhelming desire to ‘hug her, own
her’.

Then he said, “Don’t come near, monster. If…if you come nearer, I…I…”

But the '''Goddess''' with Milk’s face said, “You can hug me, you can possess me, that is all that I
exist for.”

Sion glared at the Goddess, “What… are you?”

It was obvious that she wasn’t a normal '''Goddess'''. He could tell this from the moment he had seen
her.

Because that unknown power in his body had reacted excessively to this woman.

The mad hero in his body, Asruld Roland, had reacted differently to her than how he had reacted to
the other fragments of the '''Goddesses'''.

So Sion was questioning the woman in front of him. He stared at this monster that had almost the
same features as Milk Callaud.

“What exactly are you?”

The woman smiled again.

“You already know the answer, don’t you? You know it in your heart. How did you feel when you saw
me? Why don’t you follow that feeling…”

Suddenly she stopped talking.

Then she faced the sky.

In that space where the monster had created the dark corridor.

Following her movements, a big hole appeared above the corridor. On the other side of the hole
appeared another dimension.

She silently looked there, watching the hole above the corridor.

Suddenly, her expression morphed to one of sadness and she said, “Ah ah, the demon that you
released has now met with the '''Goddess of Unsurpassed Vileness''. To us, this is not a good development. This way, Alpha will disappear and the shackles containing the '''Solver of All Equations''' will be lessened. This
should have been done by you, Asruld Roland.”

The woman said.

She said that the '''Solver of All Equations''' and the '''Goddess of Unsurpassed Vileness''' had met.

Sion asked, “Are you… Are you referring to Ryner?”

“… Yes. Yes, it’s like that. Ryner whom I love. The '''Lonely Demon''' whom I love. Because you didn’t quickly catch his heart, he has landed into the hands of the ugly '''Goddess'''. I did help you. I was always mesmerized by the love between the both you. I was always mesmerized by the insane
friendship between the two of you… But you always, always weren’t crazy for love. Ne, isn’t it,
Eris Reed, the weakness your beloved hero has is disturbing, right?”

She asked Lucile who was pinned against the wall.

“But you are in the wrong too, Eris. No matter how you increase your powers, you aren’t the genuine
article, not if you don’t become one with Ryner. That’s why you lost to me, that’s why you, the
powerful demon lost to me…”

Lucile glared at the woman, “…That’s only for now. You can be smug but that’s only for now. I will
gain the power to leave the script you have written.”

Hearing this, the woman was sad, “It was not written by me.”

“Shut up… shameless woman.”

“I can shut up, but this is the truth, Eris. I cannot interfere in this script, nor can the
'''Goddesses'''. Truthfully, the ones who wrote this depressing script were you. Even if I say this, you wouldn’t receive my message.”

Then the woman released Lucile.

Lucile collapsed to the ground, weak.

She seemed to show no interest in Lucile and spread her hands, looking at Sion.

Then her voice turned lively, “But maybe it’s because of that, that I like the both of you. Because
of this, I like the both of you. Because of that very sad, too short and always unpredictable love…
Let me help you. I will definitely kill those greedy '''Goddesses''' who love to cause trouble for you
frequently. This time, in this world, I will help you so that the two of you will be able to be
loved.”

Saying this, she approached Sion.

She was approaching Sion.

The power in Sion’s body reacted.

He could hear the wails of the mad hero in his body.

Hug her.

Hug her.

Possess her.

Possess this '''Goddess'''’s power.

If he did this.

If he did this.

If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If
he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he
did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did
this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this. If he did this.

He.

Ryner.

Maybe he wouldn’t need to kill that beloved demon.

Maybe there was no need to kill him in order to change this decaying world that was poisoned by
‘light’.

The hero yelled.

As if she could hear the hero’s yells, the Goddess smiled.

“Come, hug me, Asruld. Come, hug me, Roland. Come, hug me, Sion Astal.”

Hearing this.

Sion widened his eyes.

Staring.

Staring at that '''Goddess'''.

Staring at that '''Goddess of Reincarnation''' that was so alike Milk Callaud.

Then.

“If I hug you, what will you gain from it?”

The woman smiled, devastatingly beautiful.

“…”

She smiled, she didn’t reply.

But Sion knew. Even though he didn’t understand what she had told him, he knew.

What she would gain was the darkness.

That deep, inky, unfathomable darkness.

She was mesmerized by that darkness.

She was mesmerized by that deep darkness that could cause anyone to go mad.

In his body, the fragment of Asruld Roland stirred.

Wanted her.

Wanted her.

Wanted her.

But at the same time, the hero shouted:

She was scary.

She was scary.

That cheerfulness behind her smile was scary.

So he couldn’t touch her.

Wanted her.

Don’t touch her.

Want…

But that stopped.

“Shut up!!”

Sion shouted and struck his chest.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I will choose the path that I walk, so shut up, you monsters!”

Sion yelled.

Like this, the voices in his body stopped. The voice that desired this woman stopped. The
mysterious voice that feared this woman stopped.

Then he could finally look at the monster in front of him calmly.

Look at the stunning beauty in front of him.

Look at the monster who had the face of Milk Callaud.

Sion asked, “Why do you imitate Milk Callaud’s appearance? Why do you use her face?”

Hearing this, she turned sad again, “Ah ah, you still won’t go mad… But that strong rationality
will destroy your heart one day…”

“Anyway, just answer my question. Why do you use her face?”

Towards this, she replied, “This is my true appearance. For the sake of reincarnating into someone
who you cannot harm, for the sake of reincarnating into someone who you will not harm if you don’t
go mad—this is what I have done to myself—I am the one who made you fall, Sion. This is for the sake of freeing you from the mayhem, for the sake of letting you fall and become mad, for you to live, free from worry.”

Hearing this, Sion’s expression tensed.

“Then, from the beginning, Milk Callaud was…”

“Yes, she was me… but she was born as a human, so she had a human personality…”

“Then Milk Callaud, she… she’s now…”

“She’s here. In me. And she’s looking at this right now. She’s frantically shouting ‘Save me, save
me, Ryner’ because she does not want to be hugged by you. Unfortunately, you have to hug me. No
matter what, you have to hug me. This is so that he can be saved. This is to save beloved Ryner.”

Saying this, she became more sad, as if she was about to cry. No, she really cried, tears cascading
from her eyes.

She continued, “Ah ah, ah ah. How ironic. If you can be tempted by my power now, if I can force you
to hug me… This chance has been lost. We have lost another chance again. Now you have the immunity,
the immunity towards my power… This way, when you are forced to hug me after today… you will come
and hug me of your own will. You will get me by your willpower and devastate me. That is too sad,
too painful… Because you will cry when you hug me. You will cry, why is this world so insane. So I
wanted you to hug me here because I don’t want you to be in even more pain…”

She sobbed and sobbed. Her tears evaporated and disappeared into the air. Sion did not know if those tears were real.

But he knew the meaning of her words.

“…”

She was letting him make a decision.

Progress or run away.

Letting him make the decision.

She said, “It’s not too late, make me…”

But Sion shook his head.

“No.”

“But…”

“No, I won’t hug you. Even if I did not have your help, I would continue. Isn’t it like this?

Lucile.”

After he said this, Lucile stood up from where he had been at the '''Goddess'''’s feet. He raised a hand to wipe at the wound that the '''Goddess''' had left on him when she had pinned him to the wall. Then the wound disappeared, as if it had not been there.

But even so.

“…”

The wound in Lucile’s heart would not disappear.

It was still not enough.

He still did not have enough power to kill a genuine '''Goddess'''.

Even if he had devoured hundreds of divine creatures.

Even if he had devoured thousands of devils.

But it was still, still not enough.

Sion felt like that was depression.

Sion felt that was an endless depression.

Because it was proof that what they had done up until now was a meaningless struggle.

But even so.

“…”

A strong and confident smile appeared on Lucile’s slightly tired face, and said, “I don’t have any
intentions to become the demon that I once was, '''Goddess of Reincarnation'''. If it is still not enough, I will continue to progress. If that’s still not enough, then I will put in more effort in my progress. Even if means that I have to unleash everything forbidden, sacrifice my body, worship the soul… I will finally devour all of you.”

He said and laughed.

It was an empty laugh.

It was a sad laugh.

The Goddess said with an expression as if she were about to cry, “But there is only destruction at
the end.”

Lucile laughed harder, “So what? So what? We have already decided. Sion and I… we have decided to
step on this path. We will walk on this path without borrowing anyone’s strength. It’s just like
what you said, '''Goddess of Reincarnation'''. The script is written by us. I… no, Sion Astal, the new hero who devoured the fragment of Asruld Roland will create it.”

Hearing this, the expression of the Goddess changed. She widened her adorable eyes, “…What…Asruld… you have devoured him? What are you saying? How can, how can, a mere human, cannot possibly…”

Lucile laughed and continued, “It’s impossible, it’s impossible. Yes, anyone would think so. But is
that right? Is that true? In fact you can feel it, can’t you? You can feel the faint presence of
the '''Hero'''’s consciousness; the power that the '''Hero''' is releasing is so weak. Why would such a strong magical presence be so quiet?”

She stared at them with a wavering expression, “Isn’t, isn’t he asleep…”

Lucile laughed.

“He’s awake. He has always been awake for the past hundred years. He has caused every generation of
the royal family to become mad… but now he doesn’t have that power. He does not have that power to
cause Sion to go mad. Why do you think this is happening? Why would the '''Hero''' who has the power to destroy the world let people think that he is still sleeping?”

This question,

“…”

The '''Goddess''' was unable to respond.

She was unable to respond to this question.

“Sion is devouring him. Sion is devouring Asruld Roland’s power.”

“How can that…”

“Ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha, unbelievable? Isn’t it unbelievable? But this is the truth. And everything
has started. Everything has started, the script, the story. Everything has started changing beyond
your expectations.

Hearing this, the '''Goddess''' looked at them again and asked, “What…what has happened here? Asruld.”

Sion replied, “I am not Asruld Roland. I am Sion Astal.” Her expression became sad, it wasn’t the
pitying expression she had earlier, but it was one of genuine sadness and depression.

“Is…is that so. You are really devouring Asruld.”

“Ah ah.”

“But whose power are you relying on? Just you… Just by you who are a human, it is impossible
overwhelm Asruld. Whose power did you use to do this?”

Sion replied, “No. We did not use anyone’s power. It was Lucile who killed the people who were
possessed by Asruld. He continued to kill, kill, kill, until he came to me.”

Lucile replied, “Yes. I chose the strongest person who could devour the '''Hero'''. Sion is that person. That’s all. But because of this, everything will change. The destiny of the world, our destiny, and your destiny will change. Now, which side will you stand on? There’s no need for Ryner Lute to become the '''Lonely Demon'''. Sion, and I, will write the new script. Do you still want to join after that?”

The Goddess was silent for a moment, as if thinking about something, the sad expression still on
her face.

But she quickly smiled that beautiful smile again, “Mere humans can actually struggle to this
stage. Alright, I will stand on your side. I will look at the empty future that you will create.

But, but even if it is like that, I will make this prediction.”

She reached out her hand, as if summoning, as if wanting to pull Sion over. She reached towards him
and said, “What will wait for you at the end is despair. What you wish for will never occur… You
will beg me, you will say that you want to hug me, crying…”

“I won’t.”

“You will. But, that’s fine. Now I will look at the future that you will be creating. I will help
you for the sake of the future that you will create. The empty future that you desire—no devouring
Ryner’s life, no hugging my soul, no harming anyone—except for yourself, you will walk down that
lonely, sad and foolish path so that no one else will be harmed. You can temporarily believe in
it.”

A smile appeared on her mesmerizing face.

A smile appeared on her attractive face.

It was so charismatic.

Sion felt that she was very charismatic.

He didn’t know whether if that was the Mad Hero’s feelings or his own feelings.

But he just felt like that.

“…”

This '''Goddess'''.

Milk Callaud was so beautiful.

Then the '''Goddess''' said, “Good bye.”

She disappeared. She vanished, leaving behind the dark corridor and the hole in the roof.

Leaving behind Lucile and Sion. Sion looked at Lucile. He looked at the beautiful man that was
facing him.

He laughed and said, “Really, don’t lose in a place like this.”

Lucile turned his head to look at him and said, “…My apologies.”

That emotionless voice. It was an emotionless voice that was very alike to Ferris.

But in truth, that voice masked some feelings.

In that emotionless voice, there was anger, reluctance and despair.

Sion stared at this sad ‘''Human''’ who had given up on being a human and said, “Eh, forget it. You
always put up with my weakness. You’re forgiven this time.”

Hearing this, Lucile looked at Sion in surprise.

“Ha, ha ha. What was that, two weak people licking their wounds for one another?”

Sion shrugged. “Yes. There’s only the two of us now. We have to reassure each other.”

“…”

“Because we are truly weak, so we have no choice. But next time it will be different, next time
will be more…”

Lucile stopped Sion, “I know. Next time, I will do better. I won’t let you see something like what
happened today.”

He said.

Sion looked at Lucile.

For the sake of not involving his little sister in the darkness.

For the sake of not involving his family in this despair.

For the sake of rescuing this country, this world from the hands of an irrational monster and
giving up his humanity—

This was the half of the over-friendly— so friendly that it made one sad—the Lonely Demon.

Looking at Lucile, Sion said, “…Ah ah, no problem. I trust you.”

Lucile did not reply but smiled sadly.

“…”

He disappeared.

Then the world started to collapse.

The person who maintained this world had disappeared. His surroundings started to collapse.

Sion watched this by himself.

As the fallen mad hero eroded him.

He devoured the hero at the same time.

Sion watched the world collapse.

“…”

He closed his eyes.

Then the darkness became like the images surrounding him. In that moment, he felt like never waking
up from the darkness.

Even if he opened his eyes, he would be facing another boring day.

Even if he opened his eyes, he would be facing a boring life.

But even so he could not continue to close his eyes.

He could not continue to close his eyes.

Because Man had to progress.

He could not stay in the same place.

So he opened his eyes.

Ryner and Ferris were no longer by his side. He himself would not become the human he once was.

Even so, he opened his eyes so that he could continue.

“…”

Then the images reverted to the original world.

The hall in the palace.

In this hall, there were two other people apart from him.

Luke and the still unconscious Milk Callaud.

Sion looked at Milk. He looked at her adorable sleeping face and turned his attention to the man
who was hugging her.

That man, Luke looked in his direction and spoke. He was still smiling and gentle. “…It was a
success. You have passed, Sion.”

Sion creased his brows at this, “...Passed?” he asked.

Luke nodded. “Ai ai. You’ve passed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about? Of course I’m talking about the experiment. After that, the second
experiment was carried out. Then the result was that you passed.”

“What are you saying…”

But Luke smiled, his eyes piercingly sharp, “…This kind of matter, aren’t you the most clear about
them? You resisted temptation. Until the end, you still didn’t do anything to my captain.” Luke
said, as if he had witnessed the meeting of Sion and the '''Goddess of Reincarnation'''.

Sion frowned. “…What…”

But Luke interrupted Sion, as if seeing through his thoughts.

“… Ah, let me explain first, I didn’t see where you were or what you encountered. I didn’t see
anything at all. Because I’m different from the three of you, I’m only a normal ordinary human… but
what happened. I know what happened. So I said you—Sion passed. You didn’t do anything to our
captain and continued to progress. But if you did something to Captain Milk, then you would meet
your end.”

Towards this, “…My end?” Sion asked in surprise.

Luke nodded. “Eh. It would have ended. Because a curse like this was applied.”

Sion finally understood.

He finally understood what Luke had been doing.

That man had said curse. He had said so that the curse would be used.

But what curse was that? What was that curse that was able to kill that monster—the Hero?

“…”

Something like that did not exist.

Something like that could not be used by mere humans.

But this man had said it.

Luke had said it.

“Because a curse like this was applied.”

So Sion finally understood.

Why this man would understand what had been happening.

Why this man was so confident in coming to meet with Sion and Lucile.

So Sion glared at Luke.

“… I see, so the one who has been controlling you is Lieral? Is Lieral Lieutolu controlling you?”
He asked.

Lieral Lieutolu.

The man who had been a baron in the Roland Empire.

The man who had led the magical scholars of this country.

He was the man who had created the fundamentals of KUURI. He was the man who had created the
fundamentals of RAGURU. He was the man who had constructed the majority of the magical spells used
in this country.

Ever since he had became the leader of the researchers of magic, the magical structures of this
country had developed rapidly.

He was a genius. He was a genius that other magic scholars could not understand.

Because he was an exceptional genius, he gained too much knowledge—in the end, he did the
forbidden.

He had contacted something outside of this world.

The other side of the logical human world.

The '''Hero'''.

The '''Goddesses'''.

The Other World where the mad divinities resided in.

“…”

He had gone mad too.

He had desperately tried to save something that could not be saved.

He had desperately tried to save someone who could not be saved.

He had made his son, Felna, into the '''Demon''' (Ryner) so that his son could be saved. Because his son
had the Alpha Stigma.

The contract had been signed.

That insane contract had immediately been signed.

Felna would not go mad and die of his Alpha Stigma. He would not suffer from the poison of the
Alpha Stigma.

Because he had became the genuine article.

He had became the genuine despair.

Felna had became the '''Demon'''.

But even though he could escape from the violent death and curse of the Alpha Stigma, what awaited
him was even more despair.

The '''Demon''' could become the prey of the '''Hero'''.

The '''Lonely Demon''' would become the prey of the '''Hero''' sooner or later.

Once he became the prey, he would fall into that prison forever. That prison where all the prey of
the '''Hero''' went to.

But Lieral would not allow something like that to happen.

He would not allow something like that to happen.

So he had gone even more crazy.

He had done something forbidden again. He had sacrificed his wife to save his son and he was hunted
down by the country. His son, Felna had disappeared.

Even the signs of him being in this country had been erased.

“…”

That was all Sion knew about him.

For the sake of saving his son, he was the man who had sacrificed the world and his wife.

“…”

Sion looked at Luke.

He looked at the man who was the subordinate of that crazy man and said, “… Have you been possessed
by that Roland spirit?”

But Luke shook his head. “No no, I’m not controlled by anyone. With him… I only made a deal with
Baron Lieutolu.”

“Deal?”

“Eh.”

“Huh. That what did you offer? What have you given that man for the price of information?”

“Nothing much. I didn’t give him anything important. Firstly, I helped Baron Lieutolu to escape so
that he would not be caught by Sion, and the location of Ryner so that he could catch up to Ryner…
Only this. Are there any problems with that?”

“…”

Sion was unable to reply to this.

Luke continued, unheeding, “Ma, there can’t be any problems. You want to save Ryner. And Baron
Lieutolu wants to save his son. Both of your interests are the same, so there aren’t any problems…
If there’s anything wrong with what I did, please tell me.”

Towards his question, Sion glared at Luke and said, “…No, there isn’t.”

There was nothing wrong. Luke’s words were reasonable. He was very clear and there was nothing to
complain about. So there couldn’t be anything wrong.

There were no problems.

But even so, looking at that man’s smile—looking at that innocent, but unfathomable smile, he felt
an unease in his heart.

It was as if he had been lied to. It was a colourless, formless, invisible trick that made him
suspicious.

Luke continued to smile. He smiled innocently but his expression was undecipherable.

Then.

“That’s good. Since Sion has accepted this, let’s continue.”

Sion frowned, troubled by this. “What’s there to talk about?”

He laughed again. “Of course. Anyway, it should be you we’re talking about now, right? Sion. You
have been carrying this alone and hiding it from us. What we’re going to talk about…”

Luke gently set Milk down on the floor again and stood up. Looking towards Sion, he said, “… From
now on, I will be explaining my secrets to you, the first king that I have approved of. The secret
I have been carrying. The secret I have been holding.”

Sion looked at Luke, annoyed. He looked at Luke with an expression of resignation. There was no
need for any more secrets.

“…After all you’ve said, what secrets are there? It sounds a little scary.”

“Right? But please listen.”

“If I don’t want to?”

“You don’t want? Wu~Eh. Ma, it’s okay if you don’t listen, but you’ll regret it later.”

Sion sighed tiredly. “…You are a truly troublesome person.”

“Is it like that?”

“Ah ah.”

“But I’m useful, right?”

“It’s troublesome if you’re too useful.”

“There we go, there we go~ You should be elated that you have a useful subordinate like me.”

Sion looked at him through half-lidded eyes.

He looked at this smiling man who was too useful, who could be friend or foe.

Then he sighed again.

This man would continue to talk about this secret. So he breathed in deeply. Then Sion said. “…
Then? What is that secret of yours?”

Finally, Luke stopped smiling. He wiped away that innocent smile and narrowed his sharp eyes.

Then.

“…It’s not something that is very important… it’s about a monster that you and the Goddesses do not
know about. It is about the person who is controlling this script from the backstage. It is about
the monster who truly controls the '''Hero''' and the '''Goddesses'''.”

Luke said.

He said that it was about the real person who was controlling the script from the backstage.

He said the monster who was controlling everything.

Sion looked at him in surprise. “…What are you saying…”

Luke interrupted Sion. Then he said, “They call themselves ‘'''Worshippers'''’.”

“‘'''Worshippers’? What are they?” Sion asked. Luke shrugged.

“Sa? It's probably a world that we are unable to understand, an existence that we are unable to
understand, like the '''Hero''' and the '''Goddesses'''… But there are some issues that can be understood. There are some matters that I can understand. Like, what you’ve started to discover? Why can a mere human, Baron Lieutolu, wield the power to curse you—the '''Hero'''? How does he know how to summon the '''Goddess'''?”

Sion nodded his head at this.

“I see. So those ‘'''Worshippers'''’ are the ones controlling Lieral.”

But Luke shook his head.

“Not only Baron Lieutolu. They were the ones to give the Rhule Fragmei to the Gastark Empire. Then,
giving you the protector… Lucile Eris, allowing the '''Goddesses''' to have astounding powers were caused by them.”

Suddenly, in response to what Luke had said, a man suddenly appeared in front of Sion. A beautiful blond man appeared.

Then Lucile Eris said, “…What you said just now, what does it mean?”

Luke laughed when he saw Lucile who had suddenly appeared. “Ah ah, I finally meet with you… the foolish '''Sword''' who thought he had signed a contract with a thousand demons by his own power—Lucile Eris-san~”

He laughed when he said that. Luke laughed, as if he were mocking everything about Lucile.

“…”

Nothing was said.

Lucile just looked at Luke.

Sion also stared at Luke.

They watched this man who was always laughing and unpredictable.

“…”

Then Luke replied. When he had ensured that everyone’s attention was fixed on him, he said, “…Then. All the actors have arrived… let us start talking. How we will escape from the monster that is controlling the '''Hero''' and the '''Goddesses'''. The plan to escape from those creatures’ plans. Let us talk about this—King Sion Astal.”

Luke said this after he laughed mockingly. And then he knelt on the ground.

<noinclude>
<br/>
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|-
| Back to [[Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Dai_Densetsu_no_Yuusha_no_Densetsu#Volume_4_-_The_Great_Fascination_Of_Wiles_And_Tricks|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 1

2012-09-06T20:05:39Z

201.174.64.182:

==Chapter 1: Cursed α==

There was a scream.

Ryner was screaming.

That was because he had seen despair.

Ah, no, it was because he had saw a darkness that was worse than despair.

“…”

He tilted his head as if he were going berserk.

But he had no other option but to face that despair. Although it was an extremely tragic scene, he
could not look anywhere else.

So he could only look at the monster before him.

The monster was a human.

It had emerged from Vois Fiurelle’s shadow.

For unknown reasons, Ryner knew her name. Even though Ryner had never seen her before, but he knew
her.

The Goddess.

The Goddess of Unsurpassed Vileness.

“…”

How did he know her name, Ryner didn’t know. But Ryner knew it.

No, to be more accurate, it wasn’t Ryner who knew, but something in Ryner that knew her.

Something in Ryner’s body knew it.

Something that was the cause for the five-pointed star in Ryner’s eyes.

He opened his eyes.

He opened his eyes completely.

When he opened his eyes, the five-pointed star turned red as if he had gone mad and glowed.

Then those eyes turned on the Goddess’s face.

Because she had no eye balls, so there were two holes where her eyes should be. From those empty holes, worm-like creatures crawled out. She had no nose. Her mouth was like a slit. Long teeth hindered her from closing her mouth properly.

But because he saw this face, Ryner screamed. If it wasn’t because he was looking at a face that definitely wasn’t human or like another creature, he wouldn’t have screamed.

Of course, he had other reasons for screaming.

That was because he felt as if his eyes were about to rupture.

His eyes were about to rupture.

My eyes are about to rupture.

It wasn’t only like that. The pain was almost as if his eyes had ruptured and fallen out of his skull.

Then something almost dropped out of his eyes. It was something that made himself feel extremely uncomfortable.

Ryner wanted to block his eyes so that that thing would not dropped out.

He tried his best.

But his hands could not move.

His body could not move either.

He could only endure the pain in his eyes, then…

“…This is outrageous. You were late, Goddess of Unsurpassed Vileness.”

Suddenly, a voice descended from the sky.

This wasn’t the voice of the goddess. The voice of the goddess, who had been abusing the land and fighting Ryner, had been so high-pitched that it almost deafened Ryner.

This voice was very deep and dark, almost like the one that rang in Ryner’s mind and whenever it spoke, the pain in Ryner’s eyes would peak.

At this moment, the Goddess laughed. That laugh sounded ugly as it emerged from her torn mouth.

Then a worm-like creature crawled out from her shriveled eyeholes. Those creatures looked in the direction of the voice.

“α? … So you’re here. It’s a little inconvenient that you actually appeared here.” The Goddess said.

As if replying to the Goddess, Ryner’s eyes spoke. “The situation is different. The Demon has already betrayed the Hero.”

The Goddess who had no eyeballs widened her eyeholes.

“Oh? …Then this host is the real body, not the Alpha Stigma we met before.”

“Ah, that’s right. This guy has signed a contract with the Demon’s half, the Solver of all Equations.”

Ryner could not understand the conversation. Although he knew that this was something important but the things he knew were extremely limited and so he could not completely understand them. All he knew was that the red five-pointed star in his eyes and the Goddess knew each other. But who was the host they were talking about?

Unless?

“It’s me?” Ryner muttered softly.

The conversation continued.

Not human, but a conversation between inhuman creatures.

“Goddess,” the conversation continued.

“But why is that fellow still alive? Weren’t you given the task of destroying this world’s Weaver of All Equations? Why aren’t you accomplishing your mission.”

“… I said the situation has changed. For the sake of protecting his life, this guy’s mother disrupted the contract between us. Under the magic of Artofaru, I cannot work normally.” Ryner’s eyes said.

Hearing this, Ryner stopped breathing in surprise. Mother? This fellow just talked about his mother?

Even more mysterious was Artofaru this word. Ryner felt like he vaguely knew about it. This was before he was killed by that weird guy, when he was in a dream-like place and was under attack from a bloody monster with wings.

The woman said a word. In his memory, the woman said a word.

For the sake of saving Ryner and allowing herself to be eaten by the monster that shared the same shade of red as his Alpha Stigma, this woman had said this word when she was about to die.

“Leave this place quickly. Lieral should have been able to completely suppress this monster by using the Arofaru’s power, even so, escape quick…”

It was what they had said. Now hearing it from his eyes and the Goddess, it was her, there was no mistaking it.

“…That person was my mother? That, that woman was my…”

Suddenly, Ryner felt the impact hit him, almost as if it was smashing his body apart.

It wasn’t literally, though. In reality, nothing had happened to Ryner’s body, only that he could feel something in his body change.

The alarm in his mind went off and a foreign feeling gripped his body. He could feel that he had found an important memory of his. It was a sealed memory.

It was a person’s name.

It was a familiar person’s name.

And it was the name of someone close to Ryner.

It was Lieral Lieutolu and his wife, Iruna Lieutolu.

“…”

Those two people's name triggered a resonance in Ryner’s mind.

“… That, that’s my parents’ names…”

He mumbled. His lost memories flooded his mind.

These memories were about his parents who he had thought to be gone. These memories were before he was five years old.

They were memories before the memory of standing in the middle of a blood-stained battle ground, staring at the corpses surrounding him.

It was the memories about his kind father who was a noble of Roland and with his father, his mother who loved him very much.

Those memories, those long forgotten memories made him want to yell.

Yell as he cried.

But he could not move.

Because of his eyes.

These cursed eyes were controlled by a monster.

The monster spoke, “And now everything has been complicated. All of the legends have been broken.
Even Ω who was devouring Eris Litel met some trouble and was absorbed instead.”

Hearing this, the ugly expression of the Goddess became even more contorted.

“Ω was absorbed? Only the Weaver of All Equations has that power. What is going on?”

“I’m not sure. I only know that the monster that ate all the surrounding magical power—Lucile Eris is not of the same clan as the Eris Reed we know. I don’t think that guy is the other half of my host, The Weaver of All Equations. That power cannot be handled by that guy.”

What his eyes said made the Goddess cross her arms as if she was thinking. Even though she had a grotesque face that should not exist in this world, but that action made her as if she were slightly humane.

The Goddess spoke again, “Then what shall we do now? If we kill him now, the consequences would be disastrous. For your information, everything can be ended if we kill him. The Mad Hero can eat this Solver of All Equations then consume the Weaver of All Equations. If we do this, the cycle will be completed.”

His eyes protested, “No. The situation has been changed. The power of the Weaver of All Equations has increased abnormally. And this guy is my host… he has lost all love towards the Mad Hero. He is allying with the heroes and fighting with the script. He has started to save him and he wants to pull the fallen hero from the depths of destiny.”

“… Ha, saving that hero? Then, is this guy standing on our side?”

“Yes.”

“Unbelievable.”

“But this is the truth.”

“Wu…”

The Goddess looked towards the sky, using her shriveled eyeholes to look at something that we could not see.

“So, this slave has sent us the information… that everything has progressed beyond what is written in the script? Human.” The Goddess said. Vois nodded.

“Yes, Goddess-sama. I received the news that this person, Ryner Lute, was coming with me to kill Sion Astal.”

“Eh, so this person is at my disposal?”

“I think so.”

“… That’s good. I believe that the betrayal of humanity is wise. You have come to seek refuge with me… because we have a contract. (You cannot lie to me)”

Hearing the Goddess’s tone, Vois nodded. “Please be assured. Sooner or later, I will present Sion
Astal’s head to Goddess-sama.”

“Eh. Then I’ll leave first. I will treat this person as an ally—α, I’m ordering you do to something else.”

“Another order? What is it?”

“Keep a close eye on this person. If need be, lend him strength.”

“Ha ha ha ha. … lend him strength? I am to help a Demon? I see. I understand, this is also good. This world is crazy.”

At this moment when the Goddess entered Vois’s shadow, she said, “… when is the world not crazy?”

As she said this, the Goddess disappeared.

The rupturing blood red and intensely glowing five-pointed star disappeared at the same time.

The invisible bonds that held Ryner also disappeared.

“…”

But Ryner could not stand up. It was as if the strength in his body had been sapped away.

Reasons. He thought of them immediately.

The reason was because of excessive blood loss. His left shoulder had been cut by a Roland soldier and it had damaged the bone.

And he had lost a dangerous amount of blood.

No wonder.

“…This is bad.” Ryner groaned softly.

He almost fainted. His vision dimmed slowly.

This was really bad.

Suddenly, his brain was unable to handle the large influx of events. His consciousness was slowly fading and his senses dimmed.

Vois’s voice said, “… Even if they faint, it’s fine. I can still handle Ryner’s and Ferris’s wounds. So rest well. If there’s anything, you’ll have to wait until you’re awake.”

Vois’s voice faded.

Losing all consciousness, maybe I’m dead, maybe I died like that.

Even if he was about to die, how could Ryner keep this calm attitude?

Maybe it was because he had remembered something.

He remembered something that was always elusive to him.

He had finally found the answer to that blank space in his memories. About his family and background. And the reason why he would have these cursed eyes.

All of this lingered in his heart.
To prevent the memories he had forgotten from being lost again, they lingered in his heart.

“…”

Then he lost consciousness completely.

Time passed.

Ferris woke up and opened her eyes.

Immediately a lovely scene greeted her eyes.

It was the night sky. The pretty clouds moved across it even though there wasn’t any wind.

Looking closely, she discovered that it wasn’t a cloud but it was herself.

She was jolting and moving.

She looked around herself and discovered that she was on a delivery truck. She was being transported to a place she did not know.

“…wu.” She said softly.

“What is the situation now?” She muttered and tried to sit up. Instantly, her body exploded with pain.

“…”

But she didn’t cry in pain. She carried that emotionless expression, void of character and checked the wounds that was left from the battle with Roland.

Then she discovered that her wounds had been wrapped up. Even the most serious wounds had been bandaged and it had stopped bleeding.

But looking at the wound under the bandage…

“…”

She revealed a surprised expression, softly saying, “…Strange.”

Indeed, this was strange. The wounds she had needed to be bandaged so that they would heal and they were not minor wounds.

They needed treatment such as stitches or using fire to kill the bacteria.

But the wound under her bandages had no burns or stitches. They had been perfectly healed. Even the scar that would be left behind by the wound was not there.

And…

“…”

Ferris narrowed her eyes and studied her surroundings again. What attracted her attention was the delivery truck. She would not see the face of the man who was driving but he was a soldier wearing black armor.

“… Who are these people? Who captured me?”

Roland soldiers? Or another country or organisation?

It wouldn’t be Roland’s soldiers. Their soldiers wore white armor.

But these people seemed to be against Roland.

So who were these people? What situation am I in?

“…”

She tried to remember what had happened before she lost consciousness.

She could barely remember what happened. She knew that she had taken the blow that was meant for Ryner and lost her ability to fight. But they had won that battle and defeated the Roland army. Then she had escaped with Ryner.

She could only remember that much. They had ridden a horse and fled in the direction of the Nelpha army. Because she had lost too much blood, what happened next was dealt with by Ryner. Then she could not remember anything else.

What had happened?

“…”

What had happened after that? And what was the purpose of these black soldiers?

Putting that aside, where was Ryner?

Where was that man?

“…”

That thought flashed in her mind and she felt her heart thump hard. She suddenly had a bad feeling and started to get dizzy.

No matter what, that person should be injured badly. For the sake of protecting me. That perverted, shameless foolish man had his brain wired wrongly. He actually allowed his shoulder to be cut deeply in order to protect me, who had lost my fighting ability.

“…”

That wound he had gained was dangerous. If it was not treated to, it could cause the death of
Ryner.

If it was not dealt with immediately, it could take the life of a person.

Her mind was filled with this.

“… That bastard. He left me here and disappeared? Where did he run to?” She mumbled softly. Then she sat up.

She didn’t let out any sound. She sat up slowly. So that she would not alert the soldier who was driving, she sat up. She crouched on the truck and studied her surroundings. At this moment, a voice spoke.

“… Ah ah, you’re awake, Ferris.”

Ferris knew that she had heard this voice before.

Ferris turned to the direction of the voice and looked to her side.

“…”

There was a vaguely familiar teenage boy travelling beside the truck.

He seemed to be fourteen or fifteen years old. He had a mop of black hair, a weird face and a pair of sly black eyes. He was dressed like a witch.

Vois Fiurelle.

This should be this bratty kid’s name.

Due to Sion’s order, she and Ryner had gone on a mission to find the Heroes’ Relics. They had came to a country called Iyet Republic.

They had to bring along this perverted boy so as to cooperate with the largest organization in the country.

At this moment, Vois stuck his head into the truck and asked, “… So how’s the wound? After all, Ferris used a Rule Fragment that has healing powers. If it was used properly, the effects would be good, but if it was used with a body that was incompatible, the person would die… What is wrong? You wouldn’t be destroyed just by wearing a pair of short pants.”

As he talked, he reached towards Ferris’s skirt.

“… What. You bastard, what are thinking of doing?”

Ferris avoided him quickly. She kicked Vois in the face.

“Wowww”

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 089.jpg|thumb]]
Then, Vois flew off with a happy face. After checking that he had been kicked away, Ferris got off the truck.

The surrounding black-armored soldiers emanated a killing intent when this happened and turned to her. Some unsheathed the swords at their waists. Ferris looked at these soldiers.

“…”

Ferris coldly looked at these soldiers and emanated her own killing intent. A smile lifted to Ferris’s face when she discovered how weak they were.

“…What are you thinking of, Vois? Using these weak scum to deal with me?”

As she spoke, she reached for her waist.

But. Her sword was gone.

She didn’t know whether Vois had taken it or if it were lost on the battlefield. All in all, she
was presently without a weapon.

But this problem wasn’t a serious problem to Ferris.

If there was no weapon, she would just have to snatch one.

Snatch a sword and take Vois, who commanded these soldiers, as a hostage. Then get news of Ryner’s location.

She thought of this quickly and knew that this would be an easy win. The soldiers were weak and victory was in her reach.

So she immediately put her plan into action.

She put more power into her slender shapely body. She did not overly rely on strength. She relied on jumping. A perfect combination.

Then she calculated the air resistance, friction, resistance, weight, speed—she took all these factors into consideration and used them to accelerate her movements until it was the fastest.
Faster and more efficient.

More powerful. Her body was moving so fast that the naked eye could not catch her actions—

“…”

At another side, “Alright, Ferris, stop that. I wouldn’t be so foolish as to start a fight with you.” He had not finished speaking when she had snatched a soldier’s sword like she planned, then held it to Vois’s neck.

Vois looked at the sword. The sword that could kill him before he reacted was on his neck.

But the faint smile still remained on his face.

He was still smiling.

“… Ah, Ferris is still as S as before. She wants to kill me because I took a peek at her panties…”
Ferris pressed the sword to his throat.

“… Shut up. You’re a hostage now. I have the power to kill you, so reply my questions honestly.”

The soldier beside them interrupted, “Let go of Vois-sa…”

Before he finished what he was about to say, Ferris sent him flying with a powerful kick. The other soldiers reacted. Just as they were about to crowd her, Ferris raised Vois’s body.

“…Can’t you see the hostage? Your master’s body and head are about to have a divorce.”
Hearing this, the soldiers dared not to approach them.
Vois raised his hands.

“…She’s joking. Everyone, sheathe your swords~. It’s alright, we know each other. Anyway, you don’t have to worry.” He said.

But Ferris’s sword did not move.

“… I don’t remember having a friend like you.”

“My my, that sentence really gave me a shock, you’re not joking, are you?”

“I’m serious. And you’re saying these nonsense only to buy more time. Reply my question now.”
Hearing this, Vois continued to smile.

“Alright, alright. Ask your questions.”

Ferris asked the question that had been troubling her since earlier.

“Ryner… Where is Ryner?”

That question had been revolving in her mind for some time.

Why, why was she getting a foreboding feeling. Ryner had received a fatal blow, for unknown reasons or maybe a dangerous matter that had caused him to vanish. She couldn’t think like that.

The more she thought about it, the more anxious and foreboding she felt.

But it was because she was not strong enough. She felt responsible.

Why, What was it that made her so anxious?

“…”

It seemed as if something bad happened.

She could only confirm this.

Yes, something scary must have had happened. She didn’t know why she thought of this. So she narrowed her eyes and glared at Vois and said,

“…Answer me quickly. Where is Ryner and what is he doing?”

Vois raised his brows in surprise, an expression that said, ‘what-is-this-about’ on his face. He
said, “… Heavens, it looks like the person Ferris is most concerned about it that… Ah, how annoying, it’s still the same person as before. Your relationship with him is very good. It makes me jealous. Although my preferences are younger, around seven year old Lolis…”

“Shut up, brat. If you continue to speak useless nonsense, I’ll make your life become something like your nonsense.”

At this moment, Vois looked rather disturbed.

“…Wa, you’re for real, huh? Alright, although I’d like to continue this game, my brain might move house if I continue to play. I’ll speak the truth.”

“…”

“If it’s Ryner, then he’s still on the truck. See, he’s right behind you. Relax, Ryner has been seen to…”

He was interrupted by Ferris, who grabbed Vois’s hair and leapt onto the truck.

“Ow…ow, ow!”

Ignoring Vois’s cries of pain, Ferris continued in the direction of the truck.

But at this moment, the agitation in her heart could not be soothed.

Why did she feel uneasy?

An ominous feeling rose in her mind. This thought made her body momentarily gripped her body.

It was bad.

It was really bad.

It was worse than death. It was a monster that seemed like a monster. It was a scary scene of her possessing Ryner, as if she controlled his body.

“…”

Why did this strangely foreboding scene appear in her mind? Why would she imagine such a ridiculous
event? She didn’t know.

But it was better now.

At least she could see Ryner and hear that usual, foolish-sounding, sleepy voice and his ranting
that would last the whole day. Ah, it was troublesome, that annoying ranting.

So she increased her speed. She rushed towards the truck that Vois had pointed to and jumped up.

“…”

It was like Vois had said, that fool was on the truck.

That mussed hair and the unmotivated face.

This was her companion, Ryner Lute.

This lazy person who talked of not sleeping enough was on the delivery truck. He slept with a silly look on his face.

Ferris could see Ryner.

Ryner was right in front of Ferris.

Then.

“…”

Ferris released Vois and rushed to Ryner’s side. She checked his wounded shoulder. That wound had
been obtained when he protected her from the Roland solider. But now this wound was healing.

The serious wound and rib was like a minor scrap, it had become a minor wound.
Seeing this, she breathed in relief.

“…”

The worry she had felt and all those dreadful things that she had been thinking of and her feelings of unease had never happened.

Looking at this, Ferris could not help herself.

“…”

She could not help herself but say, “…I’m relieved…”

She said this from the bottom of her heart. Then she smiled slightly and silently touched Ryner’s rumpled hair.

She slowly released the surprised breath she had taken. The worry in her heart dissipated like a
cloud.

For unknown reasons, whenever she looked at this silly face, she would feel at ease.

“…”

She found back her calm. Turning her head, as if protecting Ryner, she pulled Ryner to her side and
said,

“… Then. What is going on? Vois. What is the situation now? Why are you here? And who are those
black-armored soldiers working for? And what you said earlier, you know the Rule Fragments this phrase… Don’t tell me you are Gastark’s companion?”

That was right.

Vois had used Rule Fragments this phrase earlier. Ferris called them Heroes’ Relics. And the northern Gastarks called these Heroes’ Relics Rhule Fragmei.

That was to say, this person’s way of referring to those dangerous objects was the same as the people from Gastark. It was difficult not to suspect him of allying with Gastark.

So Ferris tensed and glared at Vois, then asked, “Answer me, Vois. Are you friend or foe?”
Hearing this, Vois smiled. “… Will an enemy help you to heal your wounds? Am I right?”

“Then what are you planning to do now?”

“Yes, what will I do now?”

“If you don’t say, I’ll kill you.”

“Ha ha ha, kill me? You’re the same as ever. I give up. Then where shall I start from?”

“From the beginning.”

“From the beginning?”

“Eh.”

“Alright, I’ll start from the beginning. Ah, right. Should you first explain why you were so uneasy?” Vois asked.

Ferris narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “… What are you saying?”

Vois shrugged.

“You didn’t accomplish anything just now. You were frustrated from just now and you were frustrated about what to do, weren’t you? Ryner’s fine. He didn’t meet any trouble. What, you were thinking about this so you didn’t know what to do, right?”

This seemed to offend Ferris and she glared at Vois.

“… What are you talking about? No… Who are you?”

Vois laughed lightly. “… I. I’m me, of course. Ferris, Vois Feurel, fifteen years old, carrying the
mantle of the Feurel Organisation and now the leader of the Anti-Roland Coalition—of course I’m joking. After all, Ferris know all this, right?”

Ferris mumbled, wasn’t this the annoying person who kept lying?

But even though she had recognized his lies, why did Vois had such a smug expression?

“Ha, what I’m saying is all lies. Towards friends, the world and the gods—did you know? This world actually does not have the existence of real gods?”

Hearing Vois’s proclamation, Ferris’s expression turned grim.

“…You have some sort of neurotic problem…”

Vois shook his head instantly.

“No no no, that’s not true. If my brain had some sort of problem, then that would be bliss. That way, I wouldn’t have to see this messed-up world lose its direction in its progress, I wouldn’t have to see this world fall into despair. But this is not reality, it is impossible to get any links to relate to the world’s truth. So I can only lie to escape everything. Right? It’s fortunate that lying is my forte.”

“… You… What are you talking about…”

But she was interrupted by Vois. His eyes were filled with wisdom, as if he wasn’t that brat who
like to lie anymore.

“The unease that you are feeling now is true, Ferris. Ryner has been cursed by the Goddess. His special ability—Alpha Stigma has been cursed. But even so, please look at this.”

As he spoke, he reached into his lap and brought out a glass ball the size of his thumb.

Ferris received it and said, “…What is this?”

Looking at the glass ball, she could say that there was nothing special about the glass ball. It was just an ordinary glass ball. Ferris glared at Vois and said, “… What are you up to?”

Vois said, “Please use this glass ball to look at Ryner.”

“Glass ball?”

“Yes, this way, you’ll be able to see many things. I will explain to you in detail after you’ve seen through the ball.”

Ferris looked at Ryner with the glass ball, half-suspicious and half-trusting.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 105.jpg|thumb]]
At first, the glass ball showed a muddled reflection. She couldn’t see anything.

But as Ferris concentrated, the ball started to get a little transparent.

Then.

“…”

Finally it became clearer.

The Ryner that was reflected in the glass ball still had that lazy expression. Like usual, he remained asleep. A 120% lazy specimen.

But looking at this Ryner, Ferris whispered, without thinking, “… What, what is this?”

Why did this happen?

On the body of Ryner who was sleeping peacefully, was a terrible scene. It was made of thousands and thousands of naked women who were dancing. They were like a crowd of spiders continuously emerging from the main body. These small, naked women ran all over his body. They let out a high-pitched “chi chi” sound. Reaching out their scaly arms, they grabbed on to every part of Ryner’s skin.

It was as if they wanted to forever withhold Ryner’s freedom from him by tightly holding on to him.

But Ryner remained unknowing of this. Yes, without this magical ball, Ferris would never have seen this.

But this.

“…”

The scene the magical ball showed as like a scene from hell.

Then she passed the ball back to Vois.

“W-what are those creatures?”

Hearing Ferris’s question, Vois answered, “That is α. You might find this tiresome, but let me tell you everything I know. Α is something the Goddesses made in order to destroy an unknown power in Ryner’s body so they cursed him.”

Ferris aimed the magical ball at Ryner again. The bondings of those thousands of women were revealed again.

“If it’s the Goddess, then what are these creatures imprisoning Ryner’s body?”

But Vois shook his head, ‘No. These are only the curse the Goddess placed on Ryner. It is not the true body of the Goddess—although it might be argued. But α has the power to kill the Solver of All Equations. In a fight, α has the same amount of power as the Goddess…”

Ferris did not understand what he was talking about.

“Stop. Shut up first. What do you mean by that?”

Ferris knew that Vois wanted to use this interspace to change the topic. But. So she stopped him.

I don’t want to stop this. There are more important things that could be confirmed later.

So Ferris continued to ask, “You… Tell the truth. Who are you?”

Hearing this, he revealed that childish, innocent smile. “…Didn’t I say this before? I’m a liar. But this. This time, I’m a fool who can even lie to the gods.”

Looking at the monsters in Ryner’s body, Ferris asked again,

“… These disgusting monsters… Goddess whatever, are they the enemy?”

“… About this, huh. Currently, it seems as if they are on our side.”

“Then, they’re on our side?”

“It should be.”

“Ha. That’s unbelievable.”

“Ah? Then, I’ll change what I said. I… I’m the only ally of myself. I’m only helping you because I can benefit from it. Can you accept this?”

“… Huh. This can be more or less accepted.”

“That’s great.”

“So this means you’ll help Ryner?”

Vois nodded his head. “Of course. But this means you owe me. I won’t help people for nothing—this is what my family taught me.”

But Ferris smiled faintly, “… If one uses the sword to exterminate the person who they owe a favour to, then there’s nothing to owe—this is the teachings of the Eris family.”

Hearing this, Vois’s eyes rounded in surprise.

“Wa, such a violent way, it’s really Ferris’s style, how nostalgic.”

Ferris only shrugged her shoulders and said

“I don’t think so. I see that not many people will lament over you.”

“Ah!? For real?”

“Ah.”

“I see. It seems as if my love is unrequited. After all, towards someone humane like you, even if I
reveal my honest side, you wouldn’t feel anything. Ah ah, there’s no point indulging in these meaningless sad feelings. Let’s return to the topic we were talking about earlier.”

Vois looked around after he said that.

“Even though I said that, this isn’t a good place to talk about business. If we don’t go now, I’m
afraid that the Roland soldiers will catch up to us. Let’s walk and talk at the same time. I should explain all the details of the story…”

“Explain in detail, but you wouldn’t tell me your mini plot.”

Ferris said.

Vois laughed “Of course I wouldn’t say.”

Then Ferris sat down on the delivery truck that carried the sleeping Ryner.

“Then sit tight, everyone, we’re setting off. We’ll be chasing after those Nephians. Then we’ll meet up with army from the Autonomous Holy City of Cassla. Let’s go!”

As soon as he finished speaking the black-armored soldiers yelled: yes!

Then the delivery truck began to move.

It drove into the darkening night.

When the light signaling the next day broke over the horizon, they had already caught up with the Nelphan soldiers. Even the progress of the army could be vaguely seen.

Ferris softly mumbled, “…Wu.”

She looked at Ryner again. She smoothened that rumpled hair of his, then she grabbed it and hit Ryner hard. But Ryner did not wake up. He continued to sleep with a satisfied look on his face. He never reacted.

“…”
Seeing this, she smiled faintly. Then she resumed her strict expression.

“… So Vois. Let’s start talking about business.”

<noinclude>
<br/>
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|-
| Back to [[Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Interlude|Interlude]]
| Return to [[Dai_Densetsu_no_Yuusha_no_Densetsu#Volume_4_-_The_Great_Fascination_Of_Wiles_And_Tricks|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Dai Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 3

2012-09-06T20:03:18Z

201.174.64.182:

==Chapter 3: Beginning α==

His memory was not complete.

Although he had finally found the answer to what he had always been seeking, but he had been unable to recall everything.

“…”

But this was enough.

That missing memory.

It was good enough that the empty hole in his chest that had always been torturing him was filled.

“…”

Ryner could remember it now.

That missing memory.

He could remember that what had filled that empty space in his memory- those memories that had been shackled with the chains of forgetfulness.

They were the memories of him before his fifth birthday.

They were memories that existed long before he opened his eyes in that battlefield filled with corpses.

In his memory, his black-haired and gentle mother had said this.

“… love you, Felna. I love you.”

In his memory, his father with tired eyes that were filled with intelligence said.

“I will always protect you. No matter what happens, I will always protect you.”

They had seemed like they were about to cry. Ryner was unable to understand why they seemed like they were about to cry. And the two of them had called him Felna.

Felna.

Felna.

After the second and third time they called him by that name, he finally recalled the meaning of that name.

Felna Lieutolu.

That was his, Ryner’s real name. But that had disappeared. It had vanished from this world.
Because it was taken as a ‘sacrifice’.

His name, memories, personality- everything had been offered to the monster living in the other world.

Towards this, Ryner had said,

“I’m scared.”

He had said.

“I’m scared to forget about Daddy and Mommy.”

So his mother had almost seemed like she wanted to cry. Her expression was an extremely lonely one.

But, as if she waved away that sadness, a smile appeared on her face and she stroked Ryner’s head.

“It’s alright. It’s alright, Felna. This is all for you…”

“But”

Father interrupted what Ryner wanted to say.

“… Don’t worry. Even if you forget us, we won’t forget. We will definitely rescue you and welcome you. One day, when all difficulties have been dealt with, we will come to get you. So don’t worry.”

He had said that.

Ryner had relaxed. Because Father was a person who would definitely not lie to him, so Ryner felt relieved at his words.

But he was still a little uneasy, he asked, “…Definitely?”

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 219.jpg|thumb]]
His father had smiled gently and nodded.

“Definitely. Sleep quickly. Everything will end when you awake.”

As he said this, Father stroked Ryner’s head too.

Father’s hand was very warm and Mother’s hand was very smooth. They overlaid their hands on Ryner’s head and held on to each other tightly. Ryner felt very happy and comforted by this. He felt as if he could finally be at ease and slowly dozed off.

Then Father said.

“… It’s be fine, Felna. This way, you won’t have to fear the curse of the Alpha Stigma anymore.”

Mother continued.

“… I will always, always protect you here. No matter what disaster you encounter, I will always protect you.”

The two of them started crying when they said this.

At that time, he was unable to understand why they were crying.

But now he understood.

He could understand what the two of them wanted to do at that time.

And the contract with the Other World.

His mother’s sacrifice so that the Goddesses would be tricked.

His father’s despair at sacrificing his wife so that his son could be saved.

“…”

But that didn’t matter now.

Compared to this.

Compared to this, what was more important to him was—

That.

“…I…”

He whispered.

“…I… A monster like me was loved when I was brought into this world.”

He whispered.

In that moment.

He woke up.

“…”

Ryner opened his eyes. But his vision was blurry.

“…Ah.”

He moaned.

Then he noticed that he was actually crying. He wanted to wipe the tears away, but he continued to
weep ceaselessly.

Towards this.

“…Ah, eh, ai—”

After two or three tries, he finally managed to wipe away his tears.

He confirmed that he was not crying and then lightly breathed in. Then he got up and surveyed his surroundings.

Looking at his surroundings, Ryner softly said,

“…Rain, huh.”

Then he kneeled on the floor of the carriage and tried to reach out of the shelter. It seemed as if the rain was as heavy as expected.

Then,

“Aish.”

Ryner followed the sound and walked out.

It was extremely dark outside. Maybe it was because of the dark clouds or because it was evening.

Ryner looked at the dark, rainy scene.

There were Nelpha soldiers and citizens surrounding him. And it seemed as if they were still moving.

Everyone looked tired and they were still travelling under these weather conditions, it meant that they couldn’t through off Roland’s pursuit.

Ryner walked to an elderly person nearby,

“Ne ne, can I ask something?”

The elderly person looked his way, then asked,

“What is it?”

Ryner nodded,

“Ya, about that… I was injured and I slept for a while, so I don’t have any idea of what time it is now… What time is it? Night? Morning?”

“It’s morning.”

“Morning, huh. Hey hey, it can’t be we travelled through the night.”

But the elderly person shook his head.

“How can that be. We just started moving. We don’t have to worry about the pursuit soldiers from Roland if we’ve reached here.”

Hearing this, Ryner frowned, “…Heh, the situation has changed drastically since I sleepy. Don’t have to worry about the pursuit soldiers from Roland? Does that mean we’ve crossed the boundaries?”

The elderly person nodded, “Crossed two, ne.”

“Two!? Ai, ha? Then, this isn’t Cassla.”

The elderly person shook his head. “How long did you sleep for? This is the northern side of Cassla, the Southern Country of Ali. Ma, we can cross over today. Vois Fieurelle-san is at a country called the Republic of Belis, making preparations to welcome us.”

Hearing what the old man said, Ryner slowly remembered what had happened before he lost conscious.

Yes.

Roland. Sion had foolishly used a Heroes’ Relic to start a massacre, but he was stopped by Vois.

Then, a monster had appeared from under Vois’s feet…

“…”

Ryner narrowed his eyes when he thought of this.

He remembered the monster that had appeared under Vois’s feet.

That thing had called itself ‘Goddess’.

Ryner knew that Goddes. That was the name of the monster from the Other World that had made the contract with his father, Lieral.

Of course, his father had not told Ryner who was still a child about the detailed process—he had said, ‘Anyway you’ll forget everything quickly’, so even though he did not get a detailed explanation, but he had had still remembered this point.

The second opponent his father had contracted with—that was the Goddess.

After remembering that, Ryner murmured,

“… Talking about which, who was the first person that father made a contract with?”

He suddenly thought of that.

His father had not spoken of that.

He had only said, in order to rescue Ryner, he had made two contracts with monsters. Then who was the first person he had made a contract with?

Ryner wanted to remember this. He wanted to remember from his recently recovered memories, but he still could not remember it.

So he frowned,

“… Ah ah~, ma, it’s only regaining memories, it can’t be that easy to understand everything, huh.” He said softly.

Talking of which, he did not understand how he had suddenly regained those forgotten memories.

Before losing conscious, from the conversation between the Goddess and that monster, α, that wanted to emerge from Ryner’s eyes, it seemed as if Ryner had a connection with them, so he had done something like that to himself.

“…Talking about which, this is too sudden, so I completely can’t understand what is going on.” He said in frustration.

The old man nodded his head.

“Exactly. Not too long ago, we were still living peacefully under King Gread Nelphi’s reign. That group of arrogant people from Roland… Roland’s…” But the old man stopped here. He stopped, as if trying to hold back his emotions from overwhelming him and his voice trembled.

Then.

Then the old man tightly held the hand of a girl who had one side of her face bandaged. She was probably his granddaughter.

Seeing this, Ryner asked, “…Your granddaughter?”

The old man shook his head.

“No. My family has been killed because of that beam of light.”

Ryner’s contorted slightly at this. But he suppressed it. Because the ones who felt the real pain was this old man and everyone else. So he continued.

“… Is that so. Then this kid?”

“This child’s family has, has died too.”

“…”

Towards this.

Towards this, Ryner could only say,

“… Is that so.”

Besides the pity for that old man and girl, a feeling of unease arose in his heart.

Because that light.

Because that Heroes’ Relic—because that beam of light, a light that caused the cruel massacre, was something not to be used by humans.

Because Kiefer, Toale, Arua, Kuku- couldn’t they have died too.

“…”

An unease permeated him.

If they still survived, then that would be good. Even though this old man’s family had died and this girl’s family had died, he still wished that his companions had survived—he started to think
about the most disappointing matters.

“…”

His body started to tremble.

He looked around for his companions’ silhouettes. He checked whether his companions had survived. But he couldn’t find them.

There were only tired soldiers and citizens moving here.

Ryner asked, “…Ne, Ojii-san.”

“Eh?”

“The leader of this group… Who is the person in charge of these people from Nelpha? Is it Toale?”

Hearing this, the man’s face contorted. Like earlier, his face was filled with anger.

Seeing this, Ryner said, “… It can’t be.”

He couldn’t stop himself. “It can’t be, this kind of situation… You’re lying.”

He looked around again. He looked at who was at the front of the people from Nelpha. He ran towards the soldier who was leading the group. He caught up quickly.

Facing the soldier, he asked, “Hey, you. Who is the man in charge of this group?”

The soldiers turned towards him. Upon seeing Ryner, their faces brightened.

“Ah, you-you are Ryner-san who chased away the Roland soldier!! We have heard of what you did…”

Ryner interrupted them and continued. “Enough with the nonsense, tell me. Who is the leader of this group?” He shouted. The soldiers were rather frantic.

“… It’s Major Cyrus.” They replied.

Major Cazer Cyrus. He was capable Imperial Nelpha army officer was following Toale. But why would Cyrus be in charge of the army? The leader here should be Toale. So why was it Cyrus and not Toale who was leading them?

Then Ryner thought of something. It couldn’t be.

It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be.

Toale, he.

“…”

Toale couldn’t have died, could he?

Thinking of this, Ryner almost collapsed to the ground. How could this-how could this be.

Something like this could never happen.

Because.

Because, because Kiefer was with Toale? Arua and his girlfriend, Kuku were with them too?

What if.

If Toale died.

Because if the light that the Heroes’ Relic held by Roland killed by companions. I.

Then I will.

“…”

Cannot forgive Sion.

That would mean I cannot forgive that guy. Ryner thought.

The terror and despair swamped Ryner and he felt like crying.

Then he asked the soldier that seemed a little timid in facing Ryner who was overly nervous, “…Then where is Cyrus?”

The soldier pointed up further ahead.

“Major Cyrus is at the front because we are going to cross the boundary…”

Ryner didn’t wait for him to finish. He had started running. He passed the group of soldiers and citizens.

There was some distance to the front of the group.

Although the killing light from Roland had killed a large number of people, there were still two thousand people. There were people, people, people. He had been running for some time, but he still couldn’t see the front.

Even so, he continued running. He ran desperately. All the while, he yelled, please give way and excuse me, as he continued running.

Finally, he saw the group that seemed to be leading the refuges.

The black armored soldiers that were commanded by Vois were in the head of the army and a group of men wearing the Nelpha army uniform seemed to be on the guard to protect the Nelpha citizens.

At the head of these Nelpha soldiers was Major Cyrus.

The first time he had saw him, those sharp eyes were slightly tired. He did not look well and his tea-coloured hair was streaked with dirt and mud.

Seeing him now, Ryner couldn’t help but think that he had missed several fights while he was asleep. He felt even more depressed.

If there had been a fight, then the chances of his comrades being injured were increased.

“…Damn it.” Ryner moaned and started running again. He passed by the Nelpha soldiers and approached Cyrus.

Cyrus quickly noticed him, “… Ah ah, you’ve finally woken, huh. You were injured badly…”

He looked to Ryner’s left shoulder as he said that, “…Huuu. Even that kind of wound can be healed… The army doctor said there was no choice but to amputate it. I see. That annoying brat wasn’t lying about everything.”

Hearing this, Ryner remembered. His arm had been slashed by the Roland soldiers and had injured his bone too.

Ryner had felt that, apart from amputation, there was nothing else to be done for that wound. In that kind of place where there were no medical facilities, there was no way for him to heal it. The blood would not stop unless it was amputated and cauterized.

But now his shoulder was only slightly bandaged and it didn’t hurt when he moved it.

Ryner tried moving his left arm then looked at Cyrus. “… Is that annoying brat Vois?” he asked. Cyrus turned to the black armored group that was walking in front of the soldiers and citizens, and nodded.

“Ah ah. He brought you who was near death and Ferris Eris here. He said he was the reinforcement that you called… Well, is that true?”

Saying this, he looked at the Nelpha soldiers formation. That formation was so that he could attack the rear of Vois’s black-armored soldiers and then spread out.

Looking at Ryner thinking, Cyrus nodded.

“…If anyone trusts him on the battlefield, then they don’t have the right to live.”

“Yes. You’re really capable… I can slightly understand why everyone trusts you.”

But Cyrus ignored Ryner and said. “Don’t talk nonsense. Answer my question. Is that guy really your companion?”

Hearing this, Ryner looked at the black-armored group walking in front of them. In front of them was a simple and roofless carriage that seemed like a palanquin where Vois was sleeping on.

“… Who knows. It’s not wrong that we know each other… but he can’t be easily trusted. That guy is a liar. But.”

Hearing this, Cyrus nodded in agreement. “…Ah ah. Under these kind of circumstances, we can only depend on him. I am already unable to return to Nelpha. There is no country that is willing to accept a few thousand soldiers and citizens. If that man is really able to prepare accommodations for everyone, then we can only depend on him.” He said.

Ryner nodded his head.

“Has Vois prepared for us to be welcomed in the Republic of Belis?”

“Ah ah.”

“Then, he wants us to join the Anti-Roland Coalition he created?”

“Ah ah.”

Watching Cyrus reply, Ryner asked with a trembling voice, “Then, Cyrus… Who was it who accepted Vois’s proposal?”

No, actually he asked with a voice trembling with fear.

Then he held his breath. He held his breath because he was too nervous.

Because what if.

What if the one who accepted Vois’s proposal wasn’t Toale. What if it wasn’t Toale who was supposed to be leading these Nelpha citizens and soldiers.

“…”

That would mean that Toale had really died. If Toale had died, then Kiefer was dead too. Kuku was dead too. And he didn’t know why Ferris who was supposed to be with him was missing. From the dirt on Cyrus’s body, it seemed as if two or three fights had occurred.

At that moment.

At that moment, the possibility of Ferris dying because she was unable to treat her wounds—

“…Wu.”

Towards his own imagination.

Ryner wanted to vomit at his own imagination. He wanted to yell out loud. He wanted to cry.

But he frantically forced himself to calm down. Even though he forced himself to calm down, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t breathe. Just like that. If Cyrus didn’t answer, Ryner would die because of lack of air, he thought. At this moment,

“…Toale-sama said… if it’s someone you know, then we can trust him.” Cyrus said.

As he said that, “……Puaaah.”

Ryner released his breath. Then he scrunched his face but he couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“…”

What, he was still living, what kind of joke was that, don’t make everyone worry. He wanted to laugh. But he forced himself to stop.

He was a terrible person for being able to laugh because his comrades were still alive.

But even so.

Even so.

“…That’s great.” Ryner said. He said that’s great with a little sob.

Then, “…Where’s Toale now?” He asked.

Cyrus pointed behind him to a large carriage that had was covered to prevent others from looking in.

“In that carriage.” He replied.

“But I have something to tell you first.” He said.

Ryner asked, “What?”

Cyrus looked to the carriage with a steady expression that a twenty-year old person should not have.

“…Toale-sama’s body has been harmed by that strange beam from Roland. Half his body has been injured. With such a big wound, he can’t be saved.” He said.

Ryner had difficulties understanding what Cyrus had said, “…Ah?” He could only reply.

But Cyrus continued, “But the people haven’t been told this yet. Before we reach the Republic of Belis, we will tell the people that Toale-sama is in charge of everything—this mental relief is needed. The current situation is not very steady. If there are more rumors of Toale-sama dying in battle, then the people will be unable to progress. So after you see Toale-sama, don’t go around crying. You have already revealed too much from your earlier expressions. Do you think you’re the only one who wants to cry? Don’t be naïve. I have already succeeded in leaving Nelpha and stepped on this journey—there are no obstacles on the path we are taking. So, laugh. Laugh when you go to see Toale-sama. Don’t spread that meaningless unease among the people who have lost their family and companions, but still continue to strive.” Cyrus said this in a calm, steady manner.

Towards this.

Towards this, Ryner.

“……Ah ah… Ah ah, yes. I apologize.” He replied quietly.

He understood what Cyrus had said. He had completely understood. There were children among the citizens. There were some children who had seen their family disappear right in front of them. Everyone was struggling against their pain and continuing.

He couldn’t be so naïve.

So.

“…….Ha, ha ha.” Ryner laughed quietly. He laughed with an expression that was about to cry.

Cyrus nodded when he saw this, “…Toale-sama is in that carriage, thinking of a battle strategy. You can go greet him.”

He said this with a different, resounding voice that even the surrounding people could hear it.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 243.jpg|thumb]]
So Ryner replied, “I understand.” Then he walked away. He walked towards the carriage- the carriage
that was transporting Toale.

He opened the cloth door of the carriage and looked in. Toale, Kiefer, Arua, Kuku and even Ferris were in there.

Everyone looked to him. Looked at Ryner.

Then.

Kiefer said with tears in her eyes, “…Ry-Ryner…”

She held a strange stone in her hand. She frantically pressed that stone to Toale’s shoulder.

No, it was the part of his body that used to have a shoulder.

“…”

Yes.

His right shoulder was gone. No, it wasn’t only his shoulder. The right side of his chest, his right wrist and his right leg, too. The right side of his body, one third of his body, had disappeared, as if it had never existed in the first place.

Kiefer spoke to him with a trembling, hoarse and nearly inaudible voice, “…To-Toale he… Toale he tried to protect me from that beam of light…”

But she didn’t continue.

But this was already enough for him to understand.

So Ryner said, “……Yo.”

“… You seem to be rather energetic, Toale.”

Toale seemed to be conscious and heard this. He turned to Ryner, “…That joke is not funny.”

Although he said that, he still laughed.

Ryner climbed onto the carriage and got near to Toale. Ferris stood up, “Come here, Ryner.” She said as she offered her seat.

Ryner nodded his head, “Thanks.”

He sat on the left side of Toale and looked at his pale face, “…Protecting…Kiefer, huh?”

Hearing this, Toale laughed and said, “…Protecting girls is expected, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“So tell Kiefer-san too. Don’t cry, ne. Anyway, I would have died on the battlefield anyway…”

But Kiefer still frantically pressed the glowing stone on Toale’s body. “But, but.” She could only say that. Because her voice was choked with tears and sobs.

Ryner looked at the stone she was holding, “… That’s Vois’s?” he asked. Ferris nodded.

“…He said it is a healing stone. It’s a Heroes’ Relic. He said—although it has its limits, but it can heal fatal wounds.”

Hearing this, Ryner looked at the stone again. Then he looked at the wound that the stone was pressing on. Surprisingly the blood had already stopped. The wound was starting to heal. The flesh was starting to regenerate and his body was healing.

But.

“…”

Even so, Toale’s life was slipping away.

Probably.

Probably because Toale’s wound was fatal.

Toale said, “…It’s because of this stone that I was able to stay alive until Ryner-san woke up.” He said with that tired and pained voice.

Hearing this, Ryner started, “…What are you saying.”

But he was interrupted, “I’m about to die. Personal matters… I know them the best.”

“It’s like that, huh.”

“Ai ai.”

“Is it painful?”

But he shook his head. “… Compared to those who lost their relatives but don’t have anyone… the children who have no justice… no righteous companions to come to help them, who can only progress while crying, this pain is nothing at all.”

He had a sad face while he said this and looked out of the carriage. Of course, so that no one would be able to look in from outside—no one would be able to see Toale’s dying image, so there were curtains on the window but this wasn’t what he was seeing. He was looking at the suffering in the people’s hearts outside the carriage.

Towards this, Ryner,

“… Ah ah. That’s right.”

“Yes.”

“Ah ah.”

He said. Then he looked at Toale. He looked at those eyes that were slowly losing their life.

Then.

“… Then?” Ryner asked.

Toale looked towards him and smiled, “… I was waiting for you to wake up.”

Hearing this, Ryner scrunched his face up in annoyance, “Ah~, that face, you want to push something troublesome onto me again~”

“Ha ha, you gu-guessed right.”

“Can I don’t do it? Whatever that you tell me to help you do, can I don’t do it? You can continue to live yourself and go do it yourself. I can’t bear the burden of so many people’s lives.”

But,

“Please, Ryner-san. I can only count on you…” Toale stopped when he reached here.

Suddenly.

His words stopped suddenly.

Something, something important was being lost from his body quickly.

“Wait, hey.” Although Ryner said that, he could only smile,

“…Ma…ma, forget it. Anyway, Ry…ner-san, will definitely help…. Ah ah, at last… I can see you…”

He only said until here.

Then he stopped.

Everything ended.

Everything had ended.

One person’s life had ended so easily.

Toale’s life had surprisingly ended so easily.

Towards this.

“No… Wait, you’re lying… No, nooooooooo!” Kiefer yelled.

Arua and Ku Ku cried.

Ferris didn’t look towards them. She looked into the distance emotionlessly. She looked into the distance despite the fact that there was a piece of cloth blocking her view to the outside view.

Ryner he.

“…”

He held Toale’s hand. He held Toale’s remaining hand, his left hand that had not disappeared.

Then, “…Here it is again… He pushed an extremely troublesome job to me again. I’m not doing it. I don’t want to bear the burden of people’s lives. Do that kind of troublesome matter on your own.” He said that softly and tightly held Toale’s hand.

He could feel his face contorting. He could feel the tears almost flowing out. But he desperately forced them back. He tolerated the pain so that his tears would not flow out. Because like what Toale had said. There were people who were more unlucky than him. The people outside this carriage who were carrying a greater pain and even more people who were grieving because of this foolish war.

So.

So he held back his tears, “…Ah ah, damn it… Aaaaaaaah, damn it! I know. I’ll do it, is that fine, I’ll do it. I’ll bear the burden of these people’s lives. Yours too. Everyone’s. So…so.” Ryner looked at Toale’s face as he said this. He looked at the still smiling face of Toale, who was dead.

He closed his eyes. He helped Toale to close his warm, gentle eyes.

Then.

“…So. I will do this… So sleep peacefully, you simpleton.” He said and stood up.

Ferris looked at him and said something that did not suit her, “…Are you alright? Ryner.”

So Ryner asked in return, “You?”

Towards this, she was still emotionless, “No.”

Ryner nodded. “I see.”

“Ah ah.”

“I understand. Then, let’s exchange. When I slept, everyone worked hard. Leave the rest to me and stay here for the moment. I…” He opened the flap to the carriage as he said this, “I’ll go see Vois.”

He walked out.

Then he passed by the Nelpha citizens and soldiers and the soldiers that Vois commanded.

He moved towards the front of the procession.

“…”

At the front, Vois stood, as if waiting for Ryner to arrive.

He looked at the carriage where Toale had passed away in, smling.

Looking at Vois’s face.

“…What’s there to be happy about?” Ryner used a slightly harsh tone to ask.

Vois shrugged, “Ya~, what a touching speech. Carry the burden of these people’s lives—what a touching phrase.” He said rather insincerely.

So Ryner glared at Vois, “…You bastard, are you mocking me?”

So.

“Ai ai.” Vois nodded. Then he smiled, “Ai ai. Yes. Talking about that, even if someone useless like Toale Nelphi died, it won’t affect our situation much. If you panic over such petty things, then you’re are really pitifully stupid…”

Ryner ran towards Vois when he heard this, his fist curled and raised, swinging to Vois’s face.

Vois still used that smiling, mocking face to look at Ryner’s actions.

Just as the fist was about to hit him.

“…Anyway, Toale-san is not dead yet.” Vois suddenly said.

Towards this, Ryner released a dazed sound, “…Heh?” Then he frantically stopped his punch. He managed to stop his fist from hitting Vois’s face. But Vois turned his face so that his fist made contact with Vois’s face.

“Yaaaaa~n” He pretended to be thrown to the side by the punch and landed on the ground. He pretended to land on the ground with a ‘umph’. Then he pressed his uninjured face and said, “You-you-you hit a kid who did nothing wrooong~!? You owe me, so please return this favour in the future…”

But Ryner interrupted him, “Hey, don’t bother about that. Compared to that, what did you say just now? To-Toale he… he didn’t die…”

Hearing this, Vois nodded his head. “He didn’t die, you know?”

Ryner gaped in surprise, “Ai, ai, but I witnessed it? Toale’s death… His pulse… his brathing…”

“Stopped?”

“Ah ah.”

Then Vois said, “I was the one who stopped his heart and breathing. Then if I want him to move, it’d be simple. Anyway, to Derunio ‘Death Transference’—ah, that’s the healing stone that I gave Kiefer-san—if it’s that, that kind of wound is easily healed. Ma, although the price is quite large.”

Towards this, “Th-then… Toale, he”

“So he might still be living.”

Hearing this, Ryner turned around, thinking to return to the carriage.

At this moment.

“…But if he is to live or die, that depends on my mood.” Vois said.

Hearing this, Ryner stopped and turned around. He glared at Vois. “… Ah ah? What is that. You did this to force me to help with your plan?” He asked.

But Vois shook his head. “No no. But I feel that even if I don’t take Toale-san as a hostage, you will still help me.”

“Then, why did you do this.” Ryner asked. Vois laughed. He laughed mockingly, as if he were looking down on Ryner.

Then he said. “That’s simple. Because Ryner-san, you—you’re much weaker than what I had expected.” He said.

Ryner was unable to understand the meaning of these words.

Ryner was unable to understand the meaning behind Vois’s words.

Weak.

Weak.

“…”

Perhaps he was really weak. He had been unable to do anything in front of the Goddess that had came from Vois’s shadows. So, he wasn’t able to become the power that this guy had expected.

But Ryner could not understand what this had to do with Toale.

He couldn’t understand what Vois was thinking about.

Vois said. “…Isn’t it like that? You witnessed Roland killing many Nelpha citizens—but you stopped me from using the Rhule Fragmei to stop the Roland soldiers. What does that count for? What did that accomplish? This is a war, you know? But you still said we couldn’t use such dangerous weapons? Something dangerous like that couldn’t be used by humans? Please stop joking. It was the other party who attacked first. Then we can only counter-attack. The other party wants to kill us. So we can only kill the enemy. You don’t even understand this, yet you want to bear the burden of other people’s lives? Bear the burden of the lives of the citizens? Not using weapons? Ha ha, ha ha ha, really, even if Ryner-san is a person who can only sleep, please leave your daydreaming to when you’re sleeping.” Saying that, he stopped smiling. He wiped away his cheerful smile and looked at Ryner.

“But on the battlefield, you can’t joke about this. Do you want to cause all your comrades to die just because of that naïve thinking?” He said.

Towards this.

“…”

Ryner could not reply.

Because what Vois had said was too true. Because what he had said was too true.

Checking Ryner’s face, Vois continued. A smile appeared again, “This is why I did this. I wanted to let you the experience the terror of losing your companion. This was quite troublesome, you know? I had to think up of quite a few reasons to change the place where you were undergoing healing.”

Hearing this, Ryner finally understood why he wasn’t together with Ferris, Kiefer and Toale when he woke up.

Vois had arranged for him to wake up in a different place so that Ryner would not be able to understand the current situation.

To awake in a battleground.

But be unable to see his companions.

It can’t be-it can’t be that everyone’s dead. He wanted Ryner to be anxious.

At that time. Because he had stopped Vois from counter-attacking, so he had caused many companions to die. Vois wanted to trigger this kind of fear in him.

Everything was planned by Vois. All this was his meddling.

So Ryner tensed, “…You are still very…”

Vois happily interrupted Ryner and said, “Cute?”

“Annoying…”

Hearing what Ryner said, Vois was even more happy, “Then, this situation has four effects.”

“… Didn’t I say, you’re very annoying.”

But the more he said that Vois was annoying, the happier Vois was.

“First, I said this earlier. Let you personally experience your companion’s death. And hope that you will understand that you will continue to cause others to die if you don’t attack the enemy because you are so gentle and weak.”

Saying this, Vois stepped forward and leaned towards him, “Then second. Let you experience, that even if you are prepared to attack the enemy… Even so, the fact that your companions will still die. This time he didn’t die. Actually, this time he didn’t die. But next time, he will die. He will die surprisingly quickly and easily. This is war—and humans are extremely frail.”
Vois said this sadly. He was pretending to be sad as he said that. Then he continued, “But you said that you would take the responsibility of the people’s lives. You said you would take the responsibility of the people’s lives. Then even if your companions die, you don’t have the right to stop. Even if Kiefer-san is decapitated. Even if Ferris-san dies, there won’t be time to cry. You don’t have the privilege to cry. This is a test.”

Hearing this.

Ryner imagined Kiefer dying.

Ryner imagined Ferris dying.

He only imagined it.

“…”

Just by imagining it, he felt fear and it seemed as if he were unable to stand.

But, like what Vois had said.

He could only continue.

He had no choice but to continue. His comrades would die. Important and precious people would die. Then the reason for those deaths was—

Because Ryner had chosen this path.

“…”

Because Ryner had chosen this path, so his comrades who followed him would die.

This was expected. Even if he did not think about it, this was an expected and understandable matter. No, he had experienced that not long ago.

Ferris had almost been killed because she was protecting Ryner.

Toale lost half of his body because of that light released by Roland.

No, Kiefer, Arua and Ku Ku to, they lived because they were lucky. It was miraculous. Everyone could have died in that split second.

Even so.

“…”

Even so, if he still wanted to continue.

He had to be prepared for that.

He had to be prepared for the fact that his comrades would die.

Ryner glared at Vois, feeling hatred.

Seeing this, Vois shrugged, “It’s not my problem if anyone dies.”

“I know. I’m only speechless because I had to be lectured by a brat like you in order to realize my stupidity.”

“…Wu eh. Ma, anyway, everyone except me is an idiot so you don’t have to mind that.”

“You jest.” Ryner said with a tired smile.

But Vois still continued, “Then.”

“Hey, there’s still more.”

“Didn’t I say there were four effects?”

“Four. Four. Alright, then what are the remaining two?”

Vois nodded and continued. “Through the hoist of having Toale Nelphi die, Toale-san should personally understand the situation. Before he died, he thought the best method of action was to leave the Nelpha soldiers and citizens to Ryner-san… Which means, when he wakes up later, the king here will not be him. But you, Ryner-san—this effect.”

But to this, Ryner said, “Even if you didn’t do something like that, Toale’s relationship with me…”

But Vois interrupted Ryner, “Your relationship with Toale-san can be anything. I meant it so that the Nelpha soldiers can successfully integrate into my army. Ma, when Toale-san awakes, he will definitely want to be one of you personnel… He will definitely let the Nelpha soldiers integrate successfully into the Anti-Roland Coalition that Ryner-san and I established.” He said.

He made it seem as if Ryner had helped him to create the Anti-Roland Coalition. Talking about which, what had this guy said, for the sake of allowing Ryner to kill Sion, so he had made Ryner the king of the Anti-Roland Coalition, and had come here.

From birth, Vois Fiurelle had had everything belong to him, but this time, he actually wanted to let Ryner be the king and said that he would be Ryner’s subordinate.

“…”

He tried to figure out Vois’s intentions.

No, he thought about all the lies that this guy had told him.

He thought about the Goddess hidden in his shadow, and the reason for the existence of an organization like the Anti-Roland Coalition.

But he was unable to figure out Vois’s intentions based on the intel he had now.

So.

“… Then what is the fourth one?” Ryner continued.

So Vois said, “The fourth is… after this incident, to hope that you can understand the fact that you have chosen lives.”

“Ah? Chose lives?” He asked. Vois nodded. He took out a stone that was similar to the stone that Kiefer had pressed to Toale’s body. It was a Heroes’ Relic called Derunio.

“I have four pieces of stones like this. If you want to use this stone, you have to pay a price. The more healing needed to be done, the greater the price. Do you know what the price is?”

Of course, he didn’t know. So Ryner shook his head.

“It’s blood. Human blood. In order to heal Ferris-san’s wounds, I needed all the blood from two people. For yours, I needed all the blood from one person and half the blood of another. And Toale-san needed all the blood from eighteen people…”

Hearing this, Ryner widened his eyes.

“Wa-wait, do-do you mean, in order to heal our wounds, we have to kill other people…”

But Vois laughed, “Do you feel surprised just by hearing that? No no, I didn’t kill anyone. Ma, if I needed to kill anyone, killing ten or twenty pawns would be fine. But if I killed more than that, no one would be willing to sacrifice themselves. I let hundreds of soldiers donate some of their blood. This way, no one would need to die.”

Even after hearing this, Ryner was still uneasy. Because this person always told lies.

If there was a need to, this person would kill ten or twenty people without hesitation. So,
“Did you really not kill anyway?” Ryner asked seriously.

Vois shook his head. “If you still feel suspicious, you can go and count, you know?”

“I don’t know how many soldiers you brought.”

“Ah ha. Then you have no way to investigate.”

“You—”

But Vois still smiled. “I’m joking. I really didn’t kill anyone. But even so, you have chosen human lives. Because of the light the Demonic Beast Destroyer, Ellearms, released, many people were killed. But there were survivors. Even though they had serious injuries, but there were people who survived. If there was Derunio… if there was this stone, then they could continue to live. But there are only four pieces of this stone. There are only four pieces of this stone. Ai ya ai ya, what should we do~” Vois said as he dangled the stone in the air.

But Ryner was very clear about what he was about to say. “… Are you saying that you didn’t help them but saved us?”

Vois nodded his head. “Exactly. But you would say that you didn’t ask for this, right? So anything could have been done towards saving you. I’m talking about others. Ferris-san and Toale-san. And a child. This time, I only used this to save those who you wanted to save. What do you think this means? Of course, I was the one who used the stone, but the one who made the decision was…” Vois stopped and threw the stone towards him.

Ryner caught the stone.

He caught the Heroes’ Relic that used human blood to heal wounds.

Confirming this, Vois continued. “… The one who made the decision about who to save was you, Ryner-san. Or I should say, you’re very clear about this? Ever since you woke up in that truck, your surroundings has been like hell. There were people who lost their parents. There were people who lost their children. Some people lost their precious people. But, but but but but but, you still wished for you companions to survive—you thought of this, didn’t you?”

Hearing this.

Hearing what Vois said, Ryner’s face tensed.

Because he had thought of that.

Because he had thought of that, in actuality.

Because Vois’s words pierced deeply into Ryner’s body, pierced Ryner’s heart.

Seeing Ryner, Vois said with a happy and cheerful expression. “…It isn’t anything to feel troubled about. That is human. Arrogant and sly, yet gentle, then suddenly warm—you are sadly human. But you are unable to continue being an ordinary human. You are unable to be an ordinary human because you have decided to carry the burden of human lives. Right, this way, hasn’t your weakness lessened? Hasn’t your naivety lessened? Are you prepared to be a king who is in charge of a large number of human lives?”

Towards this question, Ryner.

He shook his head. “… I’m sorry. I haven’t…”

But he was interrupted by Vois.

“Then please make your preparations now. Your best friend, your opponent has already started walking on that path. He has put the lives of humans on the horizon and is walking forward in despair. Then, what about you? What do you want to do? Do you want to continue with no sacrifices? Haven’t you decided to save him? Then you should progress. You should continue. Come, come come, throw away those useless dreams, progress…”

But he only spoke until halfway.

“…Enemy attack!?”

A voice rang out from the front of the procession.

Vois turned in that direction. “A la la. I was interrupted when I was about to finish speaking. Ma, but my words have mostly been etched into your mind. Then please give me permission to let the story continue…” He walked out as he said that.

A black-armored soldier came to him, “… The enemy is an assassin from ‘Azure Princess Mercenaries’.”

Hearing this, Vois said with annoyance, “Those guys again.” Then he turned back.

“Alright, Ryner-san. It should be time for you to show your face. This is the first reason for you to become our king.”

Hearing this, Ryner tilted his head. “…What does that mean?” As he said this, he looked to the direction where the enemy was. They had probably crossed over from the boundary of the Republic of Belis.

But the enemy was from the Republic of Belis.

That meant that that there were enemies in Belis where the Nelpha citizens would be staying.

So Ryner said, “… It’s a little different from what you said?”

Vois laughed, “No no, there’s no difference? Right now, the one attacking isn’t what you suspect is a soldier from Belis. It is an assassin from a smaller but nasty organization. I was nearly killed by the assassin from that organization recently…”

Hearing this, Ryner finally found something believable in what this person was saying. “Ah ah, so you allowed me to be the king so that you would not be targeted by that assassin?”

“Mostly. Ma, although it’s not only that… Anyway, Your Majesty Ryner Lute—please go and deal with that assassin.” He said.

Your Majesty.

So Your Majesty, please deal with the assassin—hearing this, Ryner smiled wryly, “This is the first time I’m seeing a subordinate saying this to the king.”

“Doesn’t it suit you?” Saying this, Vois flicked his finger.

In a moment.

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”

From the carriage where Toale’s corpse was supposed to be, Kiefer’s cries were heard loudly.

Ryner looked at Vois tiredly with half-lidded eyes and asked, “He’s revived?”

Vois nodded. “That was very energetic. Let me prepare Toale-san’s prosthetic arms and legs.”

Ryner said softly, “How should I say this…”

Then the flap of the carriage opened and Ferris looked out, “Ry-Ry-Ry-Ryner!? Toale’s ghost, haunting…”

“Ah yes yes. He isn’t haunting you. Toale is still alive.”

“Still alive?”

He was about to explain what Vois had told him to Ferris, who was tilting her head.

But.

From the front of the procession, there was an explosion.

A bright light.

With no time to rest, another battle had started.

Ryner turned his eyes to the directions of the battle.

“Ferris.”

“Eh?”

“Anyway, let’s defeat the enemy before we talk about this. Let’s go together.” He said.

She jumped down from the carriage and looked in the direction of the battle. She reached to her waist and looked at Vois, “Vois, return me my sword.”

“Ai ai, of course. Relca.” He said. A black-armored woman pulled out Ferris’s sword where it was on the carriage and threw it towards her.

Ferris caught it and fastened it to her waist. Then she nodded her head, “… Then let’s go.” She looked at Ryner.

Ryner nodded in reply, then looked to the front.

There were sounds of an intense battle from the front.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 275.jpg|thumb]]
Explosions. Roaring. Cries.

Their attackers seemed to have come from a mercenary group called the Azure Princess.

Azure Princess.

A mercenary group called the Azure Princess.

“…I’ve never heard of it before.” He muttered. He flexed his injured left wrist to check if there was any lingering pain. Then he patted his waist and told Ferris, “Do you need to prepare?”

Ferris replied, “I’m waiting for you, idiot.”

“Really?”

“Wu eh.”

“I see. Alright. Then…”

Ryner said, “Although it’s extremely troublesome, but we still have to work hard.”

He walked towards the battlefield again.

In a far northern plane.

He opened the map.

“…”

On the map was a drawing of the powers on the Menoris Continent.

First, in the south of the map was the name of Roland that had conquered the whole of the southern continent by claiming the Estabul Kingdom, Imperial Nelpha and the Runa Kingdom.

Then in the north of the map was the name of the Kingdom of Gastark that had defeated Imperial Stohle and was continuing to expand into the south. Its power had already started to reach into the central continent.

Lastly, in the centre of the map.

It was called the Central Continent, it was the largest territory in the Menoris Continent.

There were thirteen adjacent countries and three countries called the Three States were drawn to the north of these countries.

No, they were the three strongest countries in the Central Continent.

The names of the Three States were—

Geihlficlant Empire.

Ertolia Republic.

Remrus Empire.

These three countries ruled together and competed amongst themselves. They decided everything that happened in the Central Continent. And these small countries were controlled by these Three States.

So he had written down which countries currently belonged to which state.

Looking at this.

He looked at this.

The young monarch of the northern continent, Riphal Edea, king of the Gastark Empire looked at the map with his one eye, “…Fu. It looks like we’ll be fighting with Geihlficlant first.” He said lightly.

Long pink hair. His right eye was filled with determination and charisma, drawing everyone in and—the left eye that had been eaten by the cursed sword, Glovil.

But even so, he still carried that sword. He put that big black sword that was longer that what humans used behind his back and carried the map in one hand as he stood on the plain.

Behind him were tens of thousands of soldiers.

Although he carried the responsibility for these tens of thousands of lives, but he did not back down and happily looked at the map.

Right now, he was looking at the boundary lines on the map.

He was looking at the boundary line that separated the northern continent and the central continent.

But there were two coundary lines. There were two boundary lines between the north Gastark Empire and the Central Continent.

The east—belonged to a country in Geihlficlant Empire, Eilosendo.

The west—belonged to a country in Ertolia Republic, Deriljael Kesla.

Riphal Edea narrowed his visible right eye and looked at the two countries on his map.

No matter which was nearer or more easily attacked, he had to count in Eilosendo. And if he were to attack Deriljael Kesla first, then Geihlficlant who was nearer could attack him. This way, he would be having a war with two empires at the same time.

That would be bad.

No matter how he thought about it, it was better to defeat Eilosendo first—then move on the Geihlficlant Empire.

“Ma, Deril—, ah~, whatsitsname, I can’t remember. Alright. We should still attack the one with the easier name, Eilosendo first.” He said, then he threw the map to one side carefully.

A man standing behind him caught the map.

It was a man around the same age as Riphal—around twenty-two or twenty-three year old.

He had the same pink hair as Riphal and a pair of bright blue eyes. As if matching his eyes, his uniform was also blue.

He was Riphal Edea’s right hand man and the military advisor of the Gastark army, Reeglewaz Pentest.

That Reeglewaz—Reaz said. “…You can’t remember the name. Isn’t it because you have insufficient brain cells?”

Hearing that, Riphal turned around, “Because there’s no need to, so I’m too lazy to remember the name, Reaz. Anyway, isn’t it a country that is about to be eliminated by us and about to vanish?”

Reaz laughed. “Ma, that’s true.”

“Then, what do you think. It’s fine if we go to Geihlficlant first?”

Reaz looked to the southern sky and nodded. “There’s no problem. Geihlficlant Empire is a country that has the sea on its east. That means that when we fight Geihlficlant, we don’t have to worry about the east side. And there’s the plan to ally with the Republic of Ertolia and invade.”

But Riphal shook his head. “Ertolia wouldn’t respond. Because they will betray us quickly. Compared to their life-long enemy, Geihlficlant, Gastark that has recently emerged will be more dangerous. But when they discover that, it will be…”

“Too late… So let’s begin quickly. We have to let the name that I have been waiting for resound through the Central Contient.” Saying this, Reaz raised his hand.

By only doing this, the thousands of soldiers behind responded. These soldiers consisted of mixed groups. What had originally be the six northern countries had been conquered by Gastark, then organized to this army.

But with six different kinds of magic and the soldiers of six different countries now, they moved as if they were from the same organism.

This was Reaz’s power.

He was able to provide the soldiers who had lost their countries with evidence for a new existence, give them a new reason to live and then control them.

He had more or less used the brain-washing powers of the Rhule Fragmei, but the management of the army strongly depended on Reaz too.

Reaz ordered. “… Everyone.”

At this moment.

“Wuah, impressive. You’re able to easily command so many soldiers. The brain-washing Rhule Fragmei doesn’t even have this effect. We have to learn from you.” A woman’s voice spoke from in front of them.

Hearing this, Reaz stopped his orders.

Riphal turned his eyes to the voice. Then he tensed. Because that woman’s voice had been too near to him.

He could not feel her presence at all.

He could not feel her presence approaching at all. On this wide plain where there were tens of thousands of soldiers, there were no figures approaching him, nor any presence that could be felt.

But that voice was right by their side.

And Riphal had turned to where that voice had been.

“…”

He couldn’t see any figure.

What exactly was it.

“What is this, who…” He spoke until there.

“Here, young Hero King of the North-san.” The voice was right by his ear. A breath blew gently and then a dagger shot to Riphal’s neck—

“Riphal!?” Reaz yelled then pushed him away. Riphal used that force to jump away. Then he rolled on the ground and pulled out his sword as he got up. He pulled out Glovil and swung it.

He finally saw his enemy.

Looking at his enemy.

“…Wh-what is this, what exactly” Riphal said softly.

[[Image:DDnYnD v04 293.jpg|thumb]]
Because his enemy was very beautiful.

A beautiful woman.

She was about eighteen or nineteen years old?

She had a pretty face and adorable, challenging eyes.

She had long ice-blue coloured hair which was a rare colour and evidence that she was a holder of ‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’.

‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’—this referred to people with abnormal magical abilities. They had magical powers that were greater than even what their bodies could hold. A large number of ‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’ holders would always drown in their power and were controlled by it, resulting in them losing their magical compatibility and becoming magic deficient.

Even if they were deficient humans who were unable to control their spirits—this was the name for the ‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’ holders.

But.

“…”

The woman in front of him did not seem to be anything like that.

Although she seemed a little stubborn, but she had intelligence in her eyes.

But those rational eyes clashed with the butterfly-patterned dress that she wore, making people confused.

A butterfly-patterned uniform and a dagger in her hand.

She stuck out her adorable tongue, “A la la, your reaction is unexpectedly fast. I actually slipped…” She hadn’t finished speaking when she threw the dagger towards him. She used a slight action and threw the dagger towards him.

The dagger flew viciously towards him. Riphal was unable to dodge. No, he couldn’t even react.

Monster, he couldn’t help but think.

This was a really dangerous monster, he couldn’t help but this.

The dagger flew straight towards him.

The dagger flew straight towards his heart.

“…”

But his sword responded. The sword that Riphal held—Glovil reacted and knocked aside the dagger.

Seeing this, the woman’s eyes widened slightly.

“Oh~, you can even avoid this? Impressive.” She said and narrowed her eyes slightly. “Or I should say, it seems to be the sword defending by itself~ just now. That is Glovil, right? That was amazing. It shows that you are a ‘True Hero’. I’m not so stupid to challenge a Hero, so I should retreat first.”

As she said this, Reaz pulled out his sword and swung it at the woman.

But the woman didn’t even look at him.

She lightly pushed his sword and then used Reaz’s strength to push him away.

Reaz’s posture was messed up and after he was kicked, he collapsed. Reaz’s sword fell at near his lower body, “Wuah.”

Reaz quickly rolled away to avoid it. Then he quickly stood up and retreated two or three steps and ran towards Riphal. He stared at the woman nervously and said. “…Riphal.”

“What?”

“Use the time I take to distract this woman and escape. We have no power to deal with that kind of opponent.”

“Ah? What are you joking about? How can you face that monster…”

But he was interrupted, “Of course I can’t win. But the both of us can’t die here. With our comrades—the promise we made when we sacrificed our comrades with the Sword of Regeneration has not been completed, we can’t die like fools… right? So please escape quickly. Then call Lir here. Only Liru can deal with here properly.”

As he said that, Reaz started to weave a light square. Gastark’s magic. Compared to physical battle, Reaz was more suited to long-range magic.

But.

But that woman looked at that magic happily, “Ai~, are you going to use magic? If it’s using magic, I wouldn’t be merciful, is that fine?” She said.

The holder of the ‘Anomaly of Magical Conductivity’ who was abnormally strong in magic said.

So Riphal stopped Reaz’s hand that was about to complete the magic.

Towards this, Reaz said, “What are you doing…”

Riphal shook his head, then looked at the woman.

“…Earlier you said, you were merciful. Then you had no intentions to kill us from the beginning?”

Hearing this, the woman smiled, “No. If I could kill you, I would feel very lucky… Although you are the person that Glovil chose, so I couldn’t do that now. I don’t have enough tools to kill you.”

Hearing this, Riphal was more nervous. “…Why do you know this sword? You can’t be the Goddess’s subordinate”

“You’ve guessed wrongly~ Anyway, can’t you tell just by looking. How can a beautiful girl like me be that monster.” She said.

She called the '''Goddess''' a monster.

That mean that she knew about the existence of the '''Goddess'''. No, not only that. If she knew about Glovil, then she would also know about the ‘Worshipper’ that brought the sword over to this world.

But what power would know so much about this?

“Who are you?” Riphal asked.

But she smiled beautifully and perfectly, “I’m a person who will be warning you, Riphal Edea.”

“… A person who will warn me? Warn me about what?”

“A person who will warn you about your future. You can’t come here. If you want to progress, then head to Deriljael Kesla. Don’t come to Eilosendo. I wouldn’t get my money if you go there.”

Hearing this, Riphal finally knew who this person was. “… You’re the mercenaries that Geihlficlant hired. I heard the rumors about you, Azure Princess. Is it. You are the leader of the mercenaries who have been destroying those small countries in the Central Continent, Pia Varliere.” Riphal said.

Hearing this, she smiled.

Pia Varliere smiled.

Then she said. “Not leader, it’s queen, strong and arrogant Hero-san.” Then she smiled again.

“Then, listen to what I say, Hero King of the North. Or else—” She emanated a strong killing intent. She emanated a strong killing intent that could make one’s heart stop beating.

Then she said.

She said. “Or else I’d have to kill you.”

But towards this.

Towards this Riphal laughed. He looked at her, emanating his own killing intent.

No, he was looking at his other subordinate who was standing behind her.

It was Lir.

It was Lir Orla.

Looking at Lir, Riphal said. “Kill that arrogant woman.”

Lir replied. “Of course.”

Then he raised his hand. He wore a golden ring on his finger. It was a Rhule Fragmei that only those Chosen by the gods could use—the Ring of Lightning Beasts.

He waved the ring, “Appear, Lightning Beasts!”

A few lightning forms appeared around Lir as he yelled that. They slowly formed into beasts and surrounded Pia.

But even after seeing Lir, Pia still smiled, relaxed.

“Ah, l see. You’re pulling this on me?”

Riphal nodded. “Ah ah. Then surrendering would be better? Because I’m not a person who will kill women. After you surrender and give us your information, then I can release you.”

“Ara, you’re so gentle.”

“Can’t you tell by seeing?”

“Aha.” She laughed. That was a relaxed laugh. In this kind of situation, that woman was still able to laugh, relaxed.

Then.

“… If I were to kill such gentle boys, then I would feel sad, so forget it, forget it. I did warn you already? Don’t attack Geihlficlant. Understand?”

Saying this, she lowered her stance.

Seeing this, Lir said, “I won’t let you escape.” And raised his ring. The lightning beasts ran towards her.

But Pia still laughed, “Muoh~!” She shouted adorably.

A red light appeared from her fingers—no, it appeared from the red-coloured fake nails that she was wearing on her five fingers and sliced apart the lightning beasts that Lir had summoned.

Then,

“Then goodbye. If I meet you on the battlefield after this meeting—then I’ll really kill you.”

Then she took something that was like a small marble and threw it into the sky. The marble released a bright light.

“…”

She could not be seen anywhere.

The three of them looked at where Pia had been speechlessly for a moment.

Then.

“… the Azure Princess. Huh.” Riphal said softly.

Then he looked into the sky.

The Queen of the Azure Princess, Pia Varliere had said that they could not attack Geihlficlant. She had said they could not attack Eilosendo. If they attacked, she would kill them.

He remembered that sentence.

He remembered her words.

After remembering that, he said, “Really, what was that. Even though she had a cute face, she was a monster on the inside…” Riphal turned to his childhood friends who had experienced the same burdens as he had.

“Alright, what do we do? What do you feel about what happened? Do we face them later?”

Reaz replied, “If we don’t do it then we can’t start anything. And the number of enemies using the Rhule Fragmei will increase. Even if it isn’t like this, Roland is already using them. Fighting with the Azure Princess can be a preparation for fighting with Roland.”

Lir shrugged, “If we can win. The sacrifice will be huge.”

But Riphal laughed. “Large sacrifices didn’t start from now. Isn’t it?”

The two of them nodded. “Yes.”

“Then,” Riphal said. “Then let’s go. We wasted a little time. Let’s head towards Eilosendo—then Geihlficlant. Reaz, give the command.”

So Reaz raised his arm and waved.

“Progress!”

Then he started to order the army.

Gastark Empire had started to move towards the Central Continent.

Riphal looked at this scene.

Then he turned around and looked in the direction they were heading towards.

In front of them was Eilosendo, the Geihlficlant Empire and the mercenaries, the Azure Princess that Geihlficlant had hired.

And then even more in front of them was the Fallen Dark Hero was looking from the south.

Looking at this.

Riphal looked at all of this.

“…Alright, this is the beginning. The beginning of our story.” He told this to Reaz, Lir and his companions.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Dai_Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Dai_Densetsu_no_Yūsha_no_Densetsu#Volume 4|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Dai_Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu:Volume 4 Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Hidan no Aria:Volume8 Chapter2

2012-09-03T23:39:22Z

201.174.64.182:

==2nd Ammo: Cosplay Cafeteria -Ristorante Mask- ==

Carrying Aria on my back, on the way back to Academy Island's boys' dormitory, I was wary that those of "Grenada" might make a U-turn and come attack us, but...Tamamo-

"In the end, they are nothing more than emissaries.　From the beginning, I had released Shikigami into this area, and am having them watch. If the 'Kin' were to enter any part of this rectangular island, we will immediately be informed by Shikigami, so be at ease. Also, according to mine ears, they hath all crossed the ocean and skies, disappearing. Fufun."

-laughed at my unease.

As for Sister Meiya, she asked me for where I lived, saying: "I wish to do a little shopping, so please go on ahead first." and entered the convenience store.

I don't know the view of the SSR on the movement pattern of those monsters, but...because those two, who seem like specialists, had completely relaxed any form of alertness, it should probably be alright.

Rather, other than thinking that, I have nothing to base my judgements upon.

And...the next thing I had to worry about was Aria's condition.

Returning to our room, I laid Aria down upon the sofa, and--because it was enormous, It was possible have her lie down completely flat, housed by the three-person sofa--Aria-

"...Nnn...Peach bun avalanche..."

-muttered things like that, sleep-talking, ''Smile'', and as she slept, she smiled.

Certainly, it seemed that Aria had only lost consciousness...rather, it seemed that she was just in a deep sleep.

Her breathing while asleep also seemed to be as usual, and her pulse was also normal.

"Funfun...That there is no shrine here, what matter of house is this? Thine devotion is lacking, one of Tohyama. Funfun."

Suddenly complaining about something about my room and going 'Funfun' with her nose, Tamamo, going into the kitchen...

"Hast thou no syrup? Where is the syrup?"

While saying that, she took some pudding, which had "Riko's" written on it with magic marker, out of the fridge.

And, while muttering "Spoon, spoon, spoon", she took one of the spoon's from the kitchen, ''Nom Nom''

Just by herself...she started eating.

What are you doing?

"Mmmmm. This too, is quite delectable. Tohyama.　I give thee mine praise!"

Licking even the back of the lid of the pudding, Tamamo turned towards me with an innocent smile.

(Riko is going to get angry later...rather, why is she so friendly to me, who she's met for the first time?)

I sighed, and, ''PatterPatterPatter'', Tamamo, scurrying this way-

"Mmmm. Thou art the current generation's Tohyama, art thou not? Thou art wondrously similar to the Tohyama that I had met at Nasuno. I could not have thought it from our first meeting. By the lanterns of midday, thou dost give off a feeling that thou art introverted, but good, good. Then, look here."

While saying something which seemed to hint that she was an acquaintance to one of my ancestors, (and while suddenly seeing through my nickname,) she turned her back to me as if to show off the backpack-like crate she was carrying.

"...?"

"Look. Today, I too hath worked quite hard. Put the offering for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagushi Tamagushi] within."

''Shake, Shake'', when Tamamo shook her back, ''Clank, Clank'', because the sound of coins rang out...

I finally understood.

This is an offering box.

She was walking while carrying that sort of thing?

"Tamagushi...?"

I said, stating my confusion,

"Quickly, put it in, put it in!"

Tamamo leaned her body foward, and her tail was completely straightened.

"...!"

--''Swish'''

At that sight, I took a step back.

...Th-this girl, isn't wearing...anything.

Because she was wearing Japanese clothing with a short inseam, and because of her tail, the hem had flipped up, and it became visible.

"He-hey! Wear something!"

"...? Not wearing sandals should be fine, should it not? We are in a house."

"No-not that, w-wear some panties! At least, make a hole for the tail to come out of in those clothes!"

"Pan...ties?"

Tamamo made a "?" symbol with her tail, ''Spin'', and spun this way, "Art thou speaking of undergarments? If one wears such a thing with Japanese clothing, 'tis a loincloth. Do you not know of a thing such as that?" With that, she fixed the flipped skirt.

I wiped off my cold sweat, thanking God that because Tamamo had a childish appearance, I did not go into Hysteria Mode. Well, that's though this girl is probably also a kind of god.

Even so, just in case, I averted my gaze from Tamamo...

"Dost thou worry about Aria, one of Tohyama?"

"Of course."

I'm also worried about your lower body, though. Don't you ever catch colds?

"Do not linger over it. She will not become the Scarlet Blazing God immediately."

"...scarlet blazing god...?"

I frowned, and--

"...I see, do you not know of it? Well, it could not be helped. The Tohyama Samurai are dying out, after all."

Staying in the same place, Tamamo sat straight, her attitude a little careless.

"If nothing in the Tohyama family has been passed down, then I have no choice but to teach you. I am Tamamo--white-snouted golden-furred[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Hidan_no_Aria:Volume8_Translator%27s_Notes#Chapter_2] heavenly fox...by your words, a monster, a demon."

She said it.

This time it's a demon, is it?

Well, ability users, witches, and vampires also exist. As of now, it isn't something to be surprised at.

"My mother too was Tamamo, my grandmother too was Tamamo--since times long past, our race has watched over the relationship between humans and Irokane, and prevented its misuse. For those multitudes of years, we established harmonies and hostilities, reaching up until now. This refers to Irokane, but in this girl's heart too...what I am about to say is not to be said to Aria...it is embedded. Also, an enormous amount of Hihiirokane, rarely seen before in history."

"Ah...ahhh. That, for once, is something that both Aria and I know."

"It is possible that Irokane and humans bond. As for those bonds, there art two types. "Method Bond"--a bond which gives the power of what thou call ability, and "Heart Bond"--a bond of emotions, in other words, were Irokane to bond too tight with a human, the human's heart will intermingle with the Irokane, and in the end, the Irokane will take it over."

Now that she mentions it,

At Hotogi's branch shrine in Kyoto, Shirayuki and Kazayuki had talked about it.

--"Irokane is a metal which communicates with human's hearts," was it?

"Taken over, by the Irokane...what will happen when that occurs?"

"She will become the Scarlet Blazing God. When she does, we kill her."

...!

"Ki-kill, hey...!"

Tamamo fixed her round eyes upon me, who had panicked.

"Do not panic. She will not become such immediately. However...if she doth become it, without hesitation, kill her. You saw her condition earlier, but it seems that that girl hath faith in thou. Well, thou canst do it, canst thou not? Even if thou does not, someone shalt. Even if it were I, 'twould be fine."

"Stop it...to kill or not to kill. That kind of thing--"

"'Tis fine even if war　erupts on this planet?"

"War...?"

"Hihiirokane is a volatile Irokane which enjoys war and love. And, as for those who hath been invaded--the Scarlet Blazing Gods, a heart for war and a heart for love--those two hearts art driven into intense fervor, and the one that hath been affected becomes a Cursed God. In the past, seven centuries ago, there was a human who had become thus. That one seduced an emperor, inciting a war...and finally, she was struck down by the Hotogi Miko and Tohyama Samurai.

"...ch."

"I had said not to linger on it too much, had I not? Aria shalt not become such immediately."

"Is it being...prevented by something? Prevented from becoming like that?"

Still not understanding, I asked an amateurish question, and--

''Nod'', Tamamo nodded.

"So that such a tragedy would not be repeated a second time, what the Mikos of that time conceived was--"The Golden Shell."

"Ka...ra...gane?"

"A shell, 'tis a shell. Laid over the Hirokane as if plating it, a special shell, which only allows "Method Bond" to make its bonds, while "Heart Bond" is isolated. As such, a shell which was fitted for humans had been created. Because 'twas known that if the shell had its seven layers, Heart Bond would be cut off, 'twas also named as "The Seven Stars of the Golden Shell". If the shell is in existence, Method Bond is slowly bonded...if it bonds in the length of three years, Heart Bond is completely cut off."

Three years--at those words, I remembered what had taken place in EU.

Indeed, Sherlock had said that.

As for Hidan's inheritor...until their ability is awakened, there was a need for her to co-exist with the Hidan for, at the very least, a space of ''three years''.

Probably, that meant that that was until the "Method Bond" which Tamamo had spoken of was completed.

"That one, Hilda, used a technique which extracted the Golden Shell from Aria. I did not think that she had progressed her research on Irokane to that level. At least, 'twas not skillfully done. Thanks to that, 2 of the 7 layers of the Golden Shell had been returned."

"Two layers...what will happen?"

"Slowly, this girl will be taken over by the Irokane. Eventually, she will even become the Scarlet Blazing God."

"...ch..."

"Do not panic again and again. 'Tis alright for the moment. In that time, 'twould be well were we to take back the Golden Shell from those of "Grenada" No matter what, they are our opponents in battle. If we gather and return all layers, afterward, Heart Bond will be stopped, and she will return to as she was before."

"New...that, Golden Shell, can't one be newly made?

"A multitude of diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds...if we assemble a great number of materials, and train a hundred Miko and have them work, we shalt be able to make it. However, though the Golden Shell hath been conformed to the Irokane, there is a need for a hundred years. If we try to cover it, if the remaining five layers art again created, we shalt not be able to make it in the time until the girl becomes the Scarlet Blazing God."

"Then...approximately, what is the period for which the two layers of the Golden Shell can hold it back?"

"I do not know. For there has been no-one who has attempted it. If it is merely mine opinion, then... this is but a guess, however, it should be a few years. 'Tis not something that shalt occur today or tomorrow."

"..."

A few years...huh.

What should I think of that?

If there exists only a postponement, it should probably indeed be possible.

Anyways, it seems that currently, Aria is alright...yes.

"However, Hihiirokane's 'Heart Bond' has slightly started. First, from now on, in regards to war and love, the girl shalt probably start to speak her heart without hiding anything. That is the symptom of the beginning. However, do not panic, and respond. Is that fine?"

War...and love...?

Thinking about it a little, I paused to look at the sleeping Aria...and nodded.

"Yeah. I understand."

War--In regards to fighting, Aria doesn't hide anything that's in her heart, right? Definitely, nothing will change from what has been happening up till now.

And, love--In regards to romance...this should be fine too, right?

Because, ever since the time we first met, whenever she had the chance, "I have no interest in it!" is what she would say. Aria, that is.

At the opening ceremony, "So-something like romance...is completely useless!" starting with that, and when she was fighting with Shirayuki, "Romance--th-that's a waste of time, I've never had it before, and I don't plan on ever having it either!"...Towards Reki, "Things like romance, I-I...don't care about that! Really, really, reaaa--lly, I don't care at all! REALLY, got it!?" She even went that far to deny it.

So, Aria...won't change. At all.

When I thought that, the doorbell for the room rang.

"'Tis Meiya."

As if the outside was visible, Tamamo said those words, but just in case, I walked to the door, Beretta held in one hand...when I looked outside through the peephole, indeed, it was Sister Meiya.

"...Did you buy something back?"

While using polite language to ask her, who seemed to be my senior in age, that question, I opened the door, and-

"Ahh, Tohyama-san. That is a relief. Your room was here, was it not. I, because my strength was not enough, staggered around, and got lost. Ufufufu."

-while laughing with an 'Ahahaha', Meiya entered.

Somehow...she seems completely different from when she was attacking the witch, Katze Grasse, earlier...a friendly attitude. Somehow, it makes me feel a vague fear, at the fact that it kind of resembles the split personality of a certain Miko.

Tonight, that Miko, or rather Shirayuki, had gone out to the festival at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suitengu Suiten-gū].

She had said that her return would be the morning tomorrow, but..

(Before, had we had Shirayuki's assistance, things might have turned out a little different, wouldn't it...)

I casually looked into the vinyl bag that Meiya, who had not really been of assistance, had brought back, and...huh? What's that?

It was filled with a large amount of liquor.

This is a situation where she had completely bought out everything from the convenience store, right? Also, there were many several pastry buns. What?

Facing me, who was frowning, with a large smile on her face, Meiya...

"Tohyama-san. It is well that you were unhurt at that place, was it not? As expected, true to the rumours, you are a magnificent paladin."

Wearing the slippers reserved for guests, she took the vinyl bag and headed to the living room.

Somehow...besides the massive sword on her back, she radiated the air of the young wife living in an apartment building.

I too returned to the living room, and Meiya sat, straight-backed, upon the side of the sofa.

"Tamamo-san, how is Aria-san?"

While taking the liquor bottles out, she looked at Aria's condition.

"'Tis normal. However, as expected, the Golden Shell is insufficient. We art compelled to take it back from those of 'Grenada'."

"Well, well...''Slurp''"

Ah. She drank. Lejay Creme de Blueberry...she took the sweetly-scented wine, which appeared to be a cocktail base, straight up.

Whether it be Tamamo or this person, I wonder;when they have finished their work, do the people of 'Deen' feast?

"However, to have Tohyama do that, it seems a heavy burden. Let us do something. Meiya, attack Katze Grasse with haste. Take one back and return. She will return to Germany, will she not?"

"Yes."

Suddenly draining the strong liquor like it was water, Meiya nodded.

And, while placing the empty bottle upon the low table, she took Uguisu-bread, thought to be a chaser, and the next bottle of liquor out.

(Ah, that is...)

Bailey's Irish Cream--Medica's Ganaha-sensei had been drinking it during the lesson--giving off a scent reminiscent of sugared pastries, it was a a high calorie, strong liquor.

Meiya emptied the liquor in a full gulps, and again, she opened the bottle of bourbon--Wild Turkey, her lips pursed.

Uuu. I haven't drunk anything like liquor, just looking at it is starting to make me feel sick.

"U-um...that..."

To I, who tried to continue with 'Is bad for your body'...

''Smack'', Meiya stopped me with the hand that was clad in long, white gloves.

With the movement of her shaking her head, her light blond hair shined in the air as it swayed about.

"I know what it is you wish to say. It is true that a nun cannot drink liquor."

"N-no...it's not that..."

"But, there are sisters other than me that are like this. We are exceptions. One type of ability user takes away from her own body, and to disperse the ability, after battle, they have to take in a large amount of something orally, or they will die. Sugar, protein, ascorbic acid--what has to be consumed differs from person to person, but mine is alcohol. However, do not worry. Because in Italy, it is tolerated to start drinking liquor from the age of 16, and as such I have a constitution which will not get drunk. I am sorry that this sin of heavy drinking is so unsightly. Oh Lord, forgive me; ''Gulp Gulp''...Haaaah."

Immediately after having asked for forgiveness from God, she drank again.

Well, this person...other than having breasts more gigantic than Shirayuki, her whole body is slender, no matter how much she drinks these high calorie liquors, she'll be alright. As far as I've seen, she really won't get drunk.

I've gotten used to seeing that level of unnatural phenomenon, from Aria's peach bun scourge and the super pot ramen incident with Reki. It's so sad. These days, if I become surprised at these things one by one, I would lose heart. I've already learned that.

In the room, full of the sweet scent of liqueur--

I too sighed, and sat on the sofa.

I had become worried again, and I checked Aria's temperature with my hand...It's normal...isn't it...

"Tamamo-san. I will definitely kill Katze Grasse. The peace conference at Bandire has failed, and at this rate...She will be tried by the Inquisition, and she will be excommunicated, torn into 8 pieces, and discarded into an unnamed grave without even a cross...I will, to-together with those witches, will go to hell...!"

Trembling where she sat, Meiya-san opened the bag of chasers, ripping it.

"At least, I will show you the completion of the witch hunt! The Canossa denomination too is negligible!"

...Canossa...?

I know of it because Nii-san had studied abroad for a short time at the Rome Butei High, but that is the name of the organization which is called SSR here, isn't it?

Th-this person is a high school Butei student?

If she is, the Butei Highs all over are the same, aren't they. They're full of weirdos.

"...Well, 'tis good that thou art motivated. How was it? Did Kana draw you in?"

Kana.

Towards Tamamo, who had spoken Nii-san's name, I lifted my face.

"I...do not know. Because, Senpai has changed a little from how she was before..."

"Meiya-san. You seem to know Kana--"

I interrupted the conversation, and Meiya, a bottle of Żubrówka in her hand, faced me with a smile.

"Yes. She is your Onee-sama, is she not?"

...Onee-sama...

We-well, I'll just stay silent. Gender is one kind of personal information, after all.

The fact that Nii-san will break every bone in my body if I speak freely is also rather unpleasant.

"I have to introduce myself a little bit to Kana-senpai's little brother, don't I...I am Meiya Romano. 18 years of age. My nationality is the same as my mother's, Italian, but my father is Japanese, and his name..."

On the other side of the long receipt, Meiya wrote the words "明夜",

"It can be written this way."

She showed it to me with a knowing smile.

...Just in case, "Ahh, I see. That was surprising" I made that face.

Apparently satisfied with my reaction, Meiya flashed a sunflower-like smile.

"--As an exorcist in the Vatican, I am inducted by the holy order, in the Rome Butei High I am a Kanossa fifth year--Ah, in Italy, high school is up to five years. I was not held back. Then, during those two years, I had hunted criminals together with Assault's Kana-senpai. I might say that I get along very well with her, or I might say that we are on the same wavelength...It was fun to do my job."

"Ahh..."

I let out a voice which seemed somewhat comprehending.

Indeed, this kind of calm personality would get along well with Kana.

"At that time, whenever I taught her recitations from the Bible, she was able to remember it immediately...I remember that I was very surprised by the quickness of her mind."

I see. The fact that the Nii-san from after his transfer started to occasionally recite verses from the bible is from this person's influence.

"Nii-sa...Kana has a a special ability. When she is Kana, she can remember the entire contents of a book she has read once. That's kind of like cheating. It's not a trait to be surprised about."

In short, it's just being able to memorize it with the power of Hysteria Mode.

That's unfair, Nii-san. Even though you told me, "You can't abuse HSS for studying."

"Now that you mention that, Tamamo. You too started talking to Patra suddenly. Is she an acquaintance?"

I asked Tamamo, who was extracting a cream bun from Meiya's vinyl bag, and-

"Mm? Ah, ahh, Patra? Yes. I hath met her before."

Tamamo, sitting straight again, brought the bun around to her back, and while covering it with her tail, she answered.

"In the war before, I was "Grenada". At that time, I was companions with Patra's great-grandmother. The person who taught her Japanese was me. After the war, in preparation for the next war, it seems that she taught her descendants Japanese as well. Therefore, well. While she hath an accent, Patra's method of speech is akin to mine, is it not?"

Indeed...I remembered that Patra used a rather ancient mode of speech.

That was because, the great-grandmother who had taught her Japanese had in the first place learned ancient Japanese from this Tamamo.

"...The last war, you say. Isn't that a story from a time long past? Around the time of Patra's great-grandmother, whom you spoke of. How old are you exactly?"

Because of Vlad and Sherlock, I was confident that I would not be surprised even if I was told 100 years old by that childish-looking girl, but...

"I? I was born on the second year of Kennin, therefore I count 808 years old."

"What...!?"

Because of my surprise, no other words would leave my mouth.

I-Impossible.

She's been alive since the thirteenth century, the Kamakura period?

"Rather, look, one of Tohyama. Asking a goddess her age is nothing. Thine faith is insufficient!"

No matter how I looked at her, Tamamo, hitting my knee with her tiny hand, was an elementary school student...

Also, she even looked like she was in one of the lower grades.

"I-if that's so, shouldn't you dress up more like a grandma?"

While pulling my knee away, I responded, and-

"Originally, I was a giant fox. I had transformed, taking upon this appearance. When I transform into a human, I cannot change mine mass. If there was a granny that was this small, it wouldst seem suspicious, and I would not be able to be in the city, would I? Therefore, I became a young girl. Understand that much without having to ask!"

While responding with some reasons which I didn't understand even if I heard them, Tamamo continued to hit my knee with a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gohei gohei] which she had procured out of somewhere. It hurts, I said!

"If you don't want to seem suspicious, then get rid of your ears and tail first."

I said the most obvious thing, when...

Was it because that wasn't possible? Tamamo's face went completely crimson-

"That is not something that thou canst understand!"

It seemed as if her sore point had been touched.

"If you're going to look like a child, I'll treat you like a child. If I, for example, use respectful language towards you outside, I'll seem suspicious. Just having a man that uses respectful language to a young girl about seven years old is something that people will report about. In the Japan of today, that is."

While pushing the gohei back, I also got a little irritated-

"Even though thou art a new one...this generation of Tohyama is impertinent! Is this fine, one of Tohyama? I have experienced 'War' countless times, and if I am to say it, a veteran! The way to fight, the way to survive, the way to steal, the way to protect, I knooooowwwwww very well. Therefore, respect thine elders more! Show me some faith!"

-saying that, she caused a clanking noise to ring out as she swung her back this way, got onto all fours, and stuck the offering box outwards.

"Add in thine apologies, and put it in! Put in your faith!"

...In the end, money? Rather, don't swing your tail and butt this way!

I thought that she was really insistent, so putting in about 100 yen should be good, but I shouldn't spoil a ''child''.

So that I could become ''distant'' from this person, I took a ''ten-yen coin'' out of my wallet- [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Hidan_no_Aria:Volume8_Translator%27s_Notes#Chapter_2]

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, granny."

I put it in.

"Mmm. Tohyama-san, you will definitely profit."

Meiya applauded at that scene.

...It seems that without me knowing it, I've been sucked into a war between monsters, but...

When I looked at these two, apparently the few allies that I have...

My uneasiness increases. By a lot.

Afterward, Meiya said that she was taking the last bus to Narita Airport and went back, Tamamo also left these words: "The boundary field shalt immediately expand. This evening, do not leave this floating isle," and around 2:00 in the morning, she left the room.

The bags of bread had been cleaned up, but...Ah, the empty bottles of liquor were all over the table.

Well, it should be fine if I clean them up tomorrow. Today, I'm already worn out.

The actual bottles were pretty stylish after all; I'll just think of it as some interior design.

"Haaah..."

...The attitude which had intensified at the 'Bandire' had completely relaxed thanks to those two, or rather, as a result of those two.

However, I was worried about Aria, so I covered that small body with a blanket...

The electricity still on, I decided to be like Reki and held my gun, sitting down on the sofa and going to sleep.

Afterward, I did lay my cheek on it and start getting drowsy, but--

I had a dream that Aria became a vampire and went wild, and I couldn't sleep properly.

Even so, I did slip into a mildly deeply sleep, and in the morning...

''Tweet, Tweet''...within the cries of the swallows...

"--Idiot Kinjii!"

--''Smash!''

"--Kuh!?"

Suddenly, my face was kicked by a foot in black knee-socks, and I woke up.

"A...Aria!?"

Had she woken up?

While rubbing my eyes, I turned towards her, and Aria--

"Ki-Ki-Kinji, you...Wh-what!? What is this!? Whatwhatwhat!? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"

Despite being in her uniform, she was hiding her body with a blanket, trembling.

She was shaking to an extent where it looked like she was splitting into 2~3 people.

However...within me, who saw that, I breathed a small sigh of relief.

(--She's the normal Aria...!)

I understand.

My face was kicked, and she said something, but her movements and way of talking was as the normal Aria's.

"Aria, that's great..."

While cutting off the words of I who had spoken as usual-

"Wh-Wh-Why am I alone together with you, i-it's already morning, you know! In...In a room with nobody else in it! Just the two of us! St-staying the night!"

''Redden!''--Yes, 0.1 seconds.

The speed of her high-speed-blushing technique was also normal.

(But...what's she getting red at?)

Shuffling backwards from me, who was frowning, Aria, on the other side of the blanket thrust outwards like a matador...

''Rustle Rustle'', she felt around inside her clothes.

What...is she doing...?

I thought, and when I thought it, 'Kching!', she was stretching her hands towards her guns!

"He-hey Aria! It's fine if you're not normal to that extent!"

"You...what did you do to me! Honestly, without hiding anything, lay open the situation in detail! Idiot Kinji is really an idiot! You've skipped way too many steps! A hole! 20 hole combo chain-fire!"

"He-hey, calm down! Even if you put two of your handguns together, you can only go up to a 16 chain-fire! Rather than that, what have you been saying up till just now! Yesterday, you were at Empty Island and--"

"Yesterday...Empty Island? ...? ...? I do-don't have any memory of that--"

Aria, who said that, looked at the empty bottles lined up on the low-table made out of glass and "!" widened her eyes in a perfect circle.

"Kinji...I-I don't remember anything...That, th-that trick...I've seen it in movies and dramas before...!"

Pointing at the multitude of liquor bottles, she glared at me.

What had she understood, and how had she interpreted it? She was glaring at me as if I was some massive criminal.

"He-hey, by 'trick'..."

"I didn't think that you would do things of that level, but I-I was careless...! That's a common method of a womanizer...you really did it, didn't you...? ...? Ouch-"

--''Splish''

Apparently, Aria had noticed something wrong, and she pressed down on the scar left on her nape, bitten by Hilda.

There was mostly no bleeding, and it seemed that the wound had already clotted, but--

There, a lip-shaped scar was left, having been violently sucked by Hilda and clotted.

"No! No! No way!"

And blushing even further, she fountained steam from her head with a 'Choo Choo', and runaway locomotive Number-Aria--

''Thump Thump Thump!''

-ran towards the washroom in massive panic.

"--Gyaaa!"

Raising a scream which I couldn't have thought belonged to an English noble, ''Thump Thump Thump!''

She came back.

More than any monster at the Bandire, it was a terrifying appearance.

"Wh-Wh-What did you do to me!! You Ero-Kinji!! YOU SERIOUSLY ERO-KINJIIi!"

Wh...What is it! This time!

*Aria and I woke up in the morning, just the two of us.
*Aria has no memory of last night. Furthermore, there are many empty liquor bottles on the table.
*On Aria's nape, there is lip-shaped clotting.

Why do I have to be screamed at because of the three of these things combined!

"W-Wi-With this..."

Aria, who was pointing at the lip mark on her neck with a trembling finger-

"With this, today--I CAN'T GO TO SCHOOL, CAN I!! YOU SERIOUSLY STUPID KINJI----!"

Wh-why!

Why is that because of that clotting, you can't go to school!?

"--If you're going to stick something on, at least think a little bit about the consequences! You Ero-Baka-Kinji! EBK!"

Tears in her eyes, Aria, who had stamped her feet in rhythm, (and anger) to that original phrase, had a menacing look, and in response to that I was also just about to break into tears.

One question! What the hell did you think, and what should I stick on! What should I!?

Without even making it in time to stick my hand up to ask that question--this was also normal--Aria, who had used the sofa as a stepping stone and jumped, flipped her skirt--

"HOLE MISSILEEEEEEE!!"

Like a missile, she brought a two-legged drop-kick deep into my face.

Afterward--for some reason, Aria was embarrassed even looking at my face, and with that attitude she shut herself into her own room.

Even when it was time to go to school, she didn't come out.

It seemed that she seriously wished to take a break from school.

This was after what had happened yesterday, so I didn't want to leave Aria, but Tamamo had said that 'Grenada' had crossed the sea and sky--probably with ships or planes--and left this place.

And also, Shikigami....speaking by my interpretation, a net was strung out which acted both as a radar and alarm, she had also said.

Furthermore, Aria is the owner of battle ability enough to suddenly defeat the walking tank LOO; if the I who was not in Hysteria Mode was here...I'd just drag her down.

"Then, I'm going. Just in case, don't let go of your swords and guns. Make sure you've plenty of spare magazines too."

I spoke to the door of the small room which Aria had decided as her own room of her own will, and decided to go to school by myself.

From within the small room-

"...Huh...When did I shoot...Eh...?"

Aria, who was counting her bullets and speaking to herself-

Really had lost all memory of yesterday night.

I had seen this often at Assault, but when people suddenly lose consciousness, the memories of before and thereafter will be blown away.

"Also...I heard this from a certain trustworthy person, but you're being targeted by the remnants of EU, you know. Those guys have a lot of friends. The Koko sisters from a while ago are also one of them. Be especially careful, alright?"

Avoiding the matter of Irokane which I had been told to not speak about by Tamamo, I told her this just in case, and...

"That's the same as what's been happening up till now, right? Qu-Quickly go to school."

With a tone which seemed to be driving me away, she responded with her anime-like voice.

With the beginning of the day, I took the lessons of the subjects English, Chemistry, and Japanese Characters, and--

At the fourth hour, right before the combined long-homeroom of three classes started, Aria finally came to school.

Looking, a band-aid was stuck to her neck. A kitty-patterned one which Riko had brought into our room.

The remnant of the clotting had naturally become small, and it seemed that she had just passed the time until she was able to hide the clot with that.

Getting red again when she looked at me, Aria sat down on the seat next to me, when...

With amazing obviousness, she didn't look in my direction.

But, as for being angry...rather than that, it seemed that she was embarrassed.

I couldn't hear the signal of her rage-mode, the purring of a lion cub, and occasionally, she would glance this way, blush, and resume her stare forward.

I don't really understand the meaning of those movements, so for the time being, I'll ignore her--

(Then...besides all this, should I tell her about what happened last night...)

While everyone moved to the sporthall in which the long-homeroom was being carried out, I thought about that point.

It seems that Aria has no memory of last night.

Even if I suddenly explain about the unbelievable circumstances which had taken place yesterday to that kind of person...she wouldn't believe it. And it seems that Aria has randomly become vigilant against me.

With that, rather than having just me say it, it would be better to bring Jeanne and Reki into this too, and after setting down the direction to go hereafter, talk about it with everyone. It's said to form a tiger of three, after all. As for Shirayuki, Tamamo had said that: "I shalt look for an opportunity and speak with her, so nothing should be said from you, Tohyama," but that was probably also for the sake of preventing the dissemination of information towards Aria.

Also, there is another danger that talking about 'Deen' and 'Grenada' would pose to Aria.

Putting aside that she was about to win the trial, those are the people who had Aria's mother take the fall.

If I told Aria about yesterday, she'd probably say something like: to go arrest Hilda, I'll travel all the way to her base--this is just my imagination, but there's probably even something like a castle in Romania.

(Well, I understand her feelings, but...)

That was something especially dangerous.

--First of all, if a Butei's battle becomes an away-game, it's an overwhelming disadvantage.

This is something which is immediately understood even by feeling.

A direction which should corner the enemy, and conversely a place where oneself can retreat, the home-game where the location ammunition, food, and water is all known is far easier to fight in. Backup coming from Connnect, Logi, Medica will obviously dull if away.

--Next, the battle-ability of the enemy is still indeterminate.

I had heared this from an instructor who had come from the Jietai; in land-war, there exists thing called 'The Law of Treble Attackers'.

Speaking simply, to be victorious in invading an enemy's territory, one needs at least three times the battle-power. Around that much, an exhaustive amount of energy is needed to 'Invade'.

Therefore, for now, I'll just leave the warnings to Aria to the contents of what I had said this morning--

(Let's observe her condition for a while...)

Last month, I had been subjected to being the leader of Team Baskerville.

I had been informed afterward, but for every team leader, there is a required lecture called 'Tactics I', and I had earnestly attended it. Because it was rather easy to get credit from it.

As a result of it, or maybe thanks to it, I had now picked up the habit of thinking about this kind of thing.

"Brats! We're deciding the costumes for 'Ristorante Masque,' which we'll be doing at the culture festival!"

''Clang!''

While quieting the talking students with a warning shot towards the ceiling, Assault Instructor Ranbyou shouted.

The second-year students of A, B, and C-Class are gathered in the sporthall, but...Jeanne of B-Class was...I don't see her. It seems she's absent.

My phone didn't connect either. While avoiding being eavesdropped, she probably was chasing after 'Grenada'.

"Alright, each of the teams gather, and go on standby--*cough cough*!"

Lezzad Instructor Tsuzuri spoke, and because the people of D-Class and E-Class, and X-Class, who rarely showed themselves, weren't here, the members of the same teams started to group together just as they were.

Bloody Tsuzuri, if you're about to choke then don't smoke inside the sporthall.

With that, besides me, who was frowning, wasn't just Riko and Aria from the same A-Class, Shirayuki from B-Class and Reki from C-Class had gathered.

"..."

Because there was that incident from yesterday, I indirectly sent a look to Reki, but...

"..."

Reki was Reki. There wasn't any reaction at all.

Wearing the same headphones as always, she was zoning out.

(Well, this is the wrong place to have that kind of talk. Guess I'll do it after Jeanne comes.)

Rather, those...those headphones.

She isn't receiving any Kinji-sniping orders from Wind-sama, right?

I thought, and lifted the headphones directly off her head. When I put them on, trying to listen--

''Click''. Reki used the remote control attached by a cord, and Fire Starter by the Prodigy became audible, starting with a deafening instrumental which was like air-attack klaxons had started screaming in my ears.

Wh-What the hell is this? What's this supposed to mean? He-hey. Don't turn up the volume! Turn it off!

Bloody Reki. She had me hear a sound which was like a warning. Did she get mad that her headphones were taken?

Reki kept facing forward, in Aria's direction, not looking this way, so I didn't know her expression, but...

"Kin-chan, the lottery box has come around."

"Ah, thanks."

When I realized it, Shirayuki, who was keeping directly by my side, had spoken, so I came back to reality, and returned Reki's headphones to her head with a thump.

The box, brought by a helping first year, had a round hole opened on its top...It was the lottery which decided the ''costumes'' each person was to wear there--at the "Ristorante Masque", which one section of us second years were in charge of for Butei High's culture festival.

(This lottery is also me laying my life on the line, huh...)

In a normal school, Ristorante Masque would be something like a cosplay cafe, but this is the abnormal Butei High. Acting out the professions held by the worn costumes, behaviour like that is what is looked for.

''Something like that'' I can't allow.

Looking from Butei High's point of view, this is a chance for students to appeal with their undercover investigative techniques without seeming strange, so if one doesn't do it properly, a terrifying punishment was waiting, coming from the Masters' All-Stars.

In short, this is a grave lottery which is entwined with my life.

"Then, Master, please draw one. This is the male box."

Ah. Isn't this Fuuma? She's carrying the box. I just realized, though.

You, don't call me 'master' in front of people. I'll give you hell with my scramasax.

"Also, only one redraw will be recognized. Then, may the fortunes of war guide your hand."

In response to Fuuma, who was smirking up at me for some reason, I remained silent and inserted my hand into the box. I started to fumble around the innumerable double-folded papers which were inside.

(...Well a good one come out for me...?)

Nothing as good as what I'm praying for will come out, though.

Mmm...the ones at the bottom of the box will probably be my target.

Nobody knows the method of making this lottery, but they wouldn't write the outrageous things straight off the bat.

By the way, among the huge misses, there is the thing called 'Female Clothing'.

If I draw that, I'll commit suicide by pistol right here.

It's a lot better than death by lynching at the hands of the teachers.

"What...What is it...?"

I hesitatingly opened the paper which I had pulled out...

"Shinto Priest"

No, no, no. It'd be difficult to act like this.

Ignoring Shirayuki, who had stolen a glance at my paper and ecstatically burst out with things like "Kin-chan-sama, we really are fated to come together!", I said, "I'll change," and put my hand in the box once again.

"If you are changing, then the first will be declared void. The second costume will be forced upon you."

I knew that, so the second one, which I drew with desperate resolve was--"Policeman (M.P.D. - Patrolman)"

Thank God. If it's this, I think I'll somehow be able to tide it over. I'm always there anyways, and observation is easy.

Exhaling a breath of relief, I sat down right there. With this, one thing is settled.

Looking around, there were many first years holding boxes and walking around...from everywhere in the sporthall, the voices of delight and wails could be heard from boys and girls who had drew their lots.

"Master. Jeanne-dono is absent today, but she had designated Master as the drawing-proxy in advance. Patience."

Fuuma stuck the female box out, so I also drew a lot for Jeanne.

"Waitress (At Home Cafeteria)"

...I don't know the name of the shop, but it should be fine, right?

Rather, it's whatever. At least it's a human.

"Then, next is Riko. I'm goiiing!"

With a composed gesture, Riko, with a frilly uniform, took a piece of paper out from the female box.

Good for you, huh. Dressing up is your specialty after all.

Rather, it seemed that she knew about Bandire since last month, but is it fine to talk to her about yesterday? There weren't any instructions from Tamamo, so I don't know, but...

Looking, Riko's first draw was "Thief (Manga [Cat's Eye] Style)"

Uwah. That's some drawing ability you've got there, Riko. A thief. Isn't that fitting?

Wonder what it'd be like if you became a mahjong player. [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Hidan_no_Aria:Volume8_Translator%27s_Notes#Chapter_2]

Before me, who was stunned-

"Eh...There's no point in cosplaying like this!"

''Flutter''.

Riko threw the piece of paper behind her.

He-hey, you're going to throw that card away?

The second lot which Riko drew was "Gunman (Western Pioneer Age)"

The person herself went, "Oooh! I'll do it, I'll do it!" seemingly overjoyed, but why's there a role which ends in 'man' in the female box? One really can't get careless. In this lottery.

Shirayuki, who continued...

Had the first lot "Chinese Dress", but said "My body's curves will stick out, and it'll be really embarassing, so..." and canceled.

I imagined it...

Th-that's right. Please stop. If you were that, the curves of your large chest will clearly stick out, and furthermore because of the slit of the dress, those plump thighs with snow-white skin will be visible up until your waist.

If I'm showed that, there's the horror that I'll go into Hysteria, and the Ristorante Masque will devolve into chaos.

"That's great, if it's this, then I think I'll be able to do it..."

The second lot of Shirayuki, who spoke, was "Teacher (Arbitrarily Elementary~High School)". Yes. I'll allow that.

"..."

Having stuck her hand into the box silently, Reki drew her first lot, which was "Sorcerer".

In the midst of the entire Baskerville becoming silent, Reki...drew her second lot after looking at the first year girl Mutsu, still not saying anything.

The atmosphere was such that it felt like it was impossible to do a tsukkomi, so nobody did one.

Then, this time, "Chemical Research Lab Staff" came out.

Well...that should be fine, right? That is. She doesn't talk much, so it seems good.

"Fuuu, Haaa..."

Taking deep breaths was Aria, who was extremely bad with dressing up.

Whilst Shirayuki and Riko, who had already entered the safe zone, smirked and looked over her, Aria stuck her hand into the box with an expression which one might have when handling a live bomb...Like pulling out a fuse, ''Rustle''...she withdrew a paper.

Aria, putting in your willpower has no effect on lotteries. Well, I can't really talk about other people.

''Swallow''...Her throat made a sound, and on the opened paper--

"Idol"

Was written.

"I-I-Idol...U-Um, those pretty girls who appear on Japanese TV...?"

Aria, who locked her eyes on the paper even while trembling, was about to break into tears.

'Yes, yesyes,' Shirayuki slightly stooped over and nodded, but at her mouth, there were the dimples which appeared when she was trying not to laugh.

From the side of Riko's mouth, twisted like a cat, (this was a also a sign of her trying not to laugh,) a snort escaped. Ah, you drooled a little. Are you really holding yourself back so much?

This is just for example: I also imagined Aria joining [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKB48 AKB48]...

He...Hehe...N-no. Don't laugh, me!

Still, don't laugh. I can hold it back. If I laugh, I'll be shot to death.

Rather, no matter what or how they tried to cover up, she'd be the only ''junior idol'', right? That is, if Aria did it.

There's a gap between her and real idols.

Furthermore, in my head, the title "Aria-chan 8 years old" appeared, and it reminded about the unfortunate DVD package-

"He...Hem!"

I laughed for an instant, but followed up by covering it with a faked cough.

Was...Was I found out...? I hesitatingly stole a glance at Aria's expression, but...

Performing the rather troublesome thing of self-imagination, Aria appeared to be imagining that she had a performance where she said things like, "Is everyone having fun!?" and her face was really hot and red, as if she had gotten a fever, the type where one's face heats up like an electric heater. As a result, she didn't seem to have noticed my laugh. Thank God. This finished without my death.

''Sweat''...''Sweat Sweat''...

A large amount of sweat dripped from her forehead, just like in manga, and Aria--

Spoke with a tone that a soldier who was forced to make a bitter decision might use-

"Ch-Chan-Change...!"

She said, and readied her right hand, braced like a talon--

"Ka-Kanzaki-dono...then, the next one will be definite...!"

If it was something like a bird, then Aria's gaze could definitely kill, and Fuuma shuffled slightly back from her.

''Thud!''

Aria, who had stuck her hand inside the box with a force which could have broken Fuuma's arm joints, had gotten what for her second lot?

Opening in slow motion, on the paper which Aria's tiny hands were holding...

On the paper...

"Elementary School Student"

Was there.

Ele.

Elementary School Student!

This time, it really is: "Aria-chan 8 years old," isn't it?

A-Aria. You...

What kind of horrible luck is that? Never gamble in your life.

"You did it----! You did it, Aria! By a certain definition, this definitely suits you! Kyahahahahahah!"

Riko, who shouted that, was rolling around at the feet of Aria, who was restraining herself like she had been frozen solid at the moment she saw the three words, "Elementary School Student", and laughing uncontrollably 'Ahyahyahya,' she clutched her stomach.

Was it that Shirayuki had also reached her limit of tolerance? She had knelt down as if prostrating herself, and leaking a noise of laughter which could not be called a voice, she hit the floor with a thudding noise.

I, who stood there shocked at the depths of horror in which Aria's luck resided, also - unintentionally; really, unintentionally - thought about a elementary school student with sharp eyes, sucking on a lollipop and carrying a red backpack--

"Ha--"

I laughed, and at that moment, I noticed the killing intent of Aria, who seemed to have snapped.

In the middle of my brain, the high-impact song "Firestarter" once again started to stream.

''Boom!''

Aria stuck her hands in the two-sides of her skirt, and drew her Governments!

Th-this is bad! Didn't I say to make sure that your magazines were full this morning!?

"Nothing happened! Nothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnooooooooooooooothing! First, it's the death sentence for you!"

In response to Aria, who had stuck her pistols out, aiming at Fuuma, Riko and I leapt in from the left and right.

"Stop it, Aria, don't shoot! Ranbyou's here! We'll be included and taken care of too!"

"''Aria-chan'', give up! Riko will help you make the costume! Kyahahahahaha!"

"WHO THE HELL IS ARIA-CHAN! A HOLE! HOLE METEOR SHOWER! HOLE BIG BAAAANNNGGGG!"

So, this time it's a series of celestial bodies. There's a lot of them, huh. Hole series, that is.

While thinking that, I protected Fuuma, crying while scattering caltrops behind her and running away, from the barrel of Aria's gun. Even though she's like that, she's still my junior, my Amica.

Continuing to go wild even though her first target had escaped her, Aria was in vicious brat mode. You drew this yourself, so resign yourself to it.　This is nothing more than a childish tantrum.

Just like Riko had said, by a certain definition, this is a really fitting role. "Elementary School Student", that is.

"DIE! DIE! DIEDIEDIEDIEEVERYONEDIE! IF EVERYONE WHO SAW THIS DIES, IT'D BE LIKE THIS NEVER HAPPENS! Gurk!"

Shirayuki put Aria, who was screaming those words, into a Nelson, Riko and I desperately pinned the guns on the left and right, Reki had run outside the sporthall at some point in time, and was now sticking half of her head out of the cover of the bulletproof door, staring this way. Reki, if you knew how things were going to go, then gives us a warning before this actually happened!

From then on, Butei High entered a shortened class for a while, and the preparations for the culture festival went on.

As for Aria...other than being forced to take a consecutive 30 german suplexes from Ranbyou up until she said "Please let me be an elementary school student,' she was not attacked by anybody.

The people from 'Deen': Jeanne, Meiya, and Tamamo didn't appear, let alone the enemy...which is to say, 'Grenada'.

The ambassadors to the Bandire who stayed by Aria's side were Reki and I.

It's ominous that I don't know anything about what those guys're doing, but besides the fact that the following days were completely safe, I...couldn't really do anything, and as a result had nothing to do. After all, safe things are by nature good things.

Furthermore, there was one more thing, relevant to my safety, for which I was thankful for...

For some reason, it seemed that Aria was in a good mood. Recently, that is.

This was a trend which I had seen since giving her a ring last month, but ever since the incident with the clot mark on her neck, the number of times she had fired at me had reduced.

Simultaneously, I also felt that the number of times that Aria had had fights with Shirayuki and Riko had decreased. As for this...rather than getting along better, it felt as if she had developed some sort of tolerance. I also felt that she was taking things from other points of view far more than she had up till now.

I had thought that the reduction of the Golden Shell had taken effect, leading up to some sort of hormone imbalance, but because this trend was something which I had seen directly after I gave her a ring for her birthday, I felt that it was unrelated.

I really...don't understand girls.

--It was part of the rules that the costumes for 'Ristorante Masque', which we had decided by drawing lots the other day, had to be prepared by oneself.

The deadline was set to be at at a date quite a long while before the culture festival, but...

If the costumes weren't finished by the time of the deadline, one would be subjected to the full punishment course proffered by the celebrities of Butei,

This was truly a matter of life and death, so everyone would somehow do something to make the deadline.

Therefore, it became a tradition of sorts that everyone would gather in a classroom the night before the deadline and spend all night finishing up.

On the night that this 'meeting to finish up' took place...at nine o'clock.

In the classroom where I was, with a paper bag with a police uniform inside, 5 or 6 teams had gathered and were making conversation while finishing their costumes.

The desks had been kept to the back of the room, and each team had set up a picnic sheet, sat down, and worked.

Because there were people who were already wearing their almost-finished costumes, it had the feeling of a costume party of sorts.

There were those who had brought in small speakers, and were streaming music into the room.

Looking around, Shirayuki and Reki were in a corner, and Haimaki, whose popularity was rising due to commercials by SoftBank, was sitting there as well.

(...?)

Come to think of it...what's with this zone here by the wall, partitioned off from the rest of the room by a screen?

As I thought that and tried to have a look inside, the noise of rustling clothes and--

"Sooo, what kind of guys are you into, Hayakawa-san?"

"Hmmm, I'm...about that...probably somebody that's a bit dark..."

"Who from our class? Come on, tell us!"

--things like that could be heard from within, so I took a step back with a force that rivaled the me in Hysteria Mode.

Is this...a changing room!?

In the small gap at the foot of the screen, fallen skirts could be seen...

These...these goddamn Butei girls, they don't even know the concept of shame!

I get the fact there has to be a place where people can change from their uniforms into their costumes, but don't set up a changing room in this kinda place! It's just asking for trouble.

I can guess from the level of business around, but tensions were high, maybe because we were gathered in a classroom at night? At this kind of time, I need to be more alert of girls' gossiping than ever.

"Kinji, that isn't the best position."

Just as I was wiping away my cold sweat, Mutou, in a fireman outfit, put his arm on my shoulder.

"Over here. From this angle, if you look hard enough, the figure of the girls are thinly visible. Keep your focus. If you do this, you can delight in their silhouettes!"

Mutou whispered that into my ear as he circled around the screen.

"I-I'm not interested in that sort of thing, or rather, get to work!"

I shook myself free, and made my escape towards Team Baskerville.

But...what? Did he say silhouette?

Use your focus on something else, won't you? Like studying. You failed modern literature, didn't you?

"Um, Kin-chan. How far along are you on your uniform?"

A female teacher--Shirayuki, wearing a white blouse with a tight thigh-length dark navy skirt, said.
[[File:Aria08 099.jpg|thumb]]
Cleaning up the space next to her, she cleared a space for me to sit.

Her tone...and feeling, they all feel teacher-like. She's serious even when it comes to roleplaying.

She was obeying the notice from Masters which said: "While wearing the costumes used for Ristoranted Masque inside the classroom, students have to act out their role for at least one hour after entering the classroom, to practice," wasn't she?

"It's nearly done. Could you look at it after to check that there's nothing off?"

"Of course. Hehe...I'm somewhat looking forward to it. What Kin-chan looks like as a patrolman."

Shirayuki, wearing black-rimmed glasses, looked up to me and smiled...a teacher's costume really suits her.

She's had a rather adult body from the beginning after all...she really seems like a new teacher.

She's overflowing with motherly traits, so she feels more like an elementary school teacher.

(About that...if Aria and Riko came, it'd really be like an elementary school, huh.)

...After glancing at Hiraga's back (also like an elementary school student), as she sat upright in a chair with Mutou's supply-type group, Carrier GA, sewing cloth embroidered with gold-thread....I sat down.

And the police costume which I took out of the paper bag...was actually just something made nearly completed that I had bought.

Coincidentally, buying costumes was something that was frowned upon, but because it wasn't against the rules, it's done a lot. People who make their costumes from scratch like Shirayuki are rare indeed.

And the creation/retail of those clothes are handled by the girls of CVR.

They, who close in on criminal groups through so-called 'seduction', also learn how to seduce the other sex through clothing, so they can make any sort of clothing without trouble. There are students who dress as males, so they take orders for male clothing as well.

Because I really had no desire to go and directly negotiate with that squadron of beautiful girls, I ordered through a mail, just like buying it online, but...at this kind of time...Those damned girls stared at the ground as they overcharged me.

However, though it's expensive, the clothing is real. There shouldn't be a problem with this.

But, in regards to Ristorante Masque, it was written on a printout from Masters that: "It is forbidden for real things, such as stains and damages, to not be present."

If one's uniform isn't approved, one is sent to the full course, so I rubbed the new uniform, giving it a sense of being worn, and I pulled on the badge, widening the pinhole, occupying myself with the fine details.

"K-Kin-chan, what...what do you think of my teacher costume? Is there...anything strange?"

Shirayuki, who was shaving away at the edge of the attendance clipboard with a file, turned to face this way and asked me a question, so...

While trying not to look at that massive chest which stuck out--

"--It suits you. You seem like an elementary school teacher."

I answered her vaguely, looking at her out of the corner of my eye.

With that, Shirayuki smiled a love-filled smile...apparently trying to hide it, she suddenly crouched down, as if she was kowtowing.

And she was saying: "Tohyama-kun, this won't do...we're teacher and student...but, if we overcome that barrier...if it's a secret...i-it's fine, you know...?"

What kind of barrier is Hotogi-sensei overcoming all by herself? I've no idea what she means.

Or rather, when acting as a teacher, you really say 'Tohyama-kun', just like you should.

I've been saying this from the morning of our opening ceremony, but keep doing that and please stop with 'Kin-chan'.

(Well...)

I got tired of working really quickly.

I'm really bad at this kind of thing...this kind of simple work, that is.

I had gotten a bit distracted...

(Come to think of it, when it comes to being on campus at night--this is the first time since being sniper restricted by Reki.)

While continuing to work, I looked Reki's way.

"..."

Reki, who was set to play a 'Researcher', was wearing a white coat above her uniform, was sitting, and was sewing together a light-green blouse.

She was in the exact same position as she was when I entered. She hadn't moved even a millimeter.

"..."

Reki's the type of person to never get tired of simple tasks, huh. To do things that everybody doesn't like indifferently, and forever. I really wish she'd share some of that ability with me.

--I took the sleeve of her blouse, looking at her handiwork and...woah.

The stitching was accurate to the point where it looked like it was sewn by a machine.

Her personality really shows when you make her do this kind of work.

Reki's also extremely attentive when it comes to being a sniper. She's persistent in her sniper restriction, she hates firing recklessly, and she even modified her Dragunov so that she could reload unused bullets back into the magazine from the chamber.

In front of the knees that very same Reki, the perfectionist...a pair of rimless glasses was prepared, almost like she was trying to imitate reality in a very...Reki-like manner.

I took them in my hands and sat them on Reki's nose...and even then, she didn't move an inch.

Hey, have a little bit of a reaction.

So I thought to myself, when she looked up at me through the gap above the lenses of the glasses.
[[File:Aria08 103.jpg|thumb]]
Uu.

This is...the exhibition of the technique the glasses (girl) loving Mutou had talked about, 'looking up while letting the glasses droop down'. He'd said something like 'The destructive power of that is seriously awesome,' but only now do I understand what he meant.

What on Earth is this. I can feel the Hysteria bloodflow, even if just a little.

When combined with Reki, it becomes a dangerous object. I should take it off.

And I'll have to be alert against the glasses that Hotogi-sensei is wearing, as well as the pair that Jeanne wears occasionally.

Haaah...glasses...that was truly unexpected. This world is filled with dangerous things. Dangerous for me, that is.

As I was doing this and that, Riko, dressed as a cowboy, came and shouted "Good morning everyone!"

Why would you say 'good morning'? It's 10:00 PM right now.

So I thought, but asking Riko the meaning of her announcements is like asking a chimpanzee why it's making noise (an interesting but pointless exercise), so I decided not to. In any case it's probably some form of 1337speak or something.

It seems like Riko's already finished with her costume--

She was wearing a ten-gallon hat, and a blouse made of unbleached cloth came together in front of her chest, leaving her belly button completely exposed.

She was also wearing leather boots and a leather vest, as well as a miniskirt made of denim, with strings of leather hanging from its hem like noodles. It was really detailed work.

Rather, she had even changed her guns to antique-like revolvers, but would she be alright armed like that?

Putting aside my uneasiness, Riko was grinning and standing in front of the door to the classroom--

"C'mon, hurry up! You'll definitely be suuuuper popular! Cuteness is justice!"

--and she was pulling on someone, who was beyond the door and couldn't be seen.

"<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>"

The legs of that person, who seemed to be shouting at a pitch higher than that of a person's hearing range, were being dragged in and...they came into view.

Accompanying red strap-shoes...were socks striped pink and white. There were even white frills attached to the upper edge of the socks.

Sectioning peoples' clothing and memorising them: 'Dress Scan', was something that had become a habit through Inquesta.

We'll definitely be accepting, so show it to us. ''Miss Elementary School Student.''

"I-I-I knew it! I DOOOOOOOOOON'T WAAAAAAAAANT TOOOOOOOOOO!"

Aria, who was wearing a kids' size blouse with buttons on near the top of her left and right chest (this also had big frills on its lower hem,) and a skirt which was so small as to be stupid, was struggling against Riko with a force which threatened to dislocate her wrist joints.

It seemed like she wasn't wearing the push-up bra she normally had on, and it was clearly an A...no, AA-size. There, the reality of her being an elementary school student is at its pinnacle.

Aria-chan (8 years old) had finally become completely visible, and she was wearing a red satchel covered in pink. On the satchel's left side was a holder for a soprano recorder.

The detail of the design. Riko made this costume. Probably.

To guard against the possibility of any holes, I had done a week of image training of the Aria as a schoolgirl, and also practiced resisting laughter, but if I saw the squirming Aria any more, I'd burst out laughing, so--

"Aria, give up. If you don't finish making the details of your costume, then Ranbyou'll drag you around town on her bike as punishment. In those clothes. He-Hem."

At the end, the laughter which would have spelled my self-destruct leaked out, but I hid it with the 'coughing gesture' which I had mastered.

After I said those words with a straight face, smoke started coming out of the top of Aria's head like a wire had short-circuited, and even as she continued looking down...

She staggered over here like Koko - Meimei using drunken fist, and she tottered down, sitting cross-legged, next to me.

In response to Aria, who had sat right next to me...

For an instant I felt Shirayuki glare with eyes like blades, so I glanced at her, but...Shirayuki was smiling gently as always.

S-Seems like that was just a hallucination or something, because of my tired eyes. I've probably been doing too much detail work.

Rubbing my eyes and looking at Aria--a nametag with: 'Year 4 Class 2: Kanzaki Aria' written on it was stuck on the right side of her satchel. Her designation as being in 4th grade of elementary school once again hit the mark, and I once again had to fake a cough.

"Hem...Autumn's a season where the air's just starting to dry up...Almost feels like I've caught a cold."

My voice trembling with the laughter that was swelling up, I announced how it felt like I had a cold.

Aria, who was already completely red, glared up at me as if to say: "If you dare laugh, I'll blow a hole in you."

Even her cheeks were puffed out, she really is an elementary school student.

"Hey! Aria-chan! The sewing box is over here! Aria-chan!"

Aria grit her teeth and clutched at her skirt.

Clenching both her hands with all her might...she must be trying to resist her frustration.

"You...you must really want to say 'Aria-chan', but...!"

An index finger made contact with the Aria's forehead, just as she was speaking in a voice dripping with venom.

With a smile as warm as sunshine, Shirayuki-sensei poked her.

"You can't do that, Aria-chan. Elementary school students can't talk with that kind of tone."

She's talking about Masters' order, the one hour of 'acting out your costume'.

"...Uguuu...!"
[[File:Aria08 107.jpg|thumb]]
"Right, and then, when we're lent tools, we have to say thank you, right?"

Looking closely, the index finger that Shirayuki-san's putting between Aria's eyebrows...isn't its fingernail outstretched?

I noticed only because Aria was sliding away from me like she was trying get away, but Shirayuki's putting an enormous amount of power into her finger.

Aria, who had to act like an elementary school student because of the rules...

"...I'll remember..."

I was thinking that she had spoken with a voice which sound like it had been groaned out from the back of her throat...

The muscles in her face twitched, her face forming an expression that looked like a saber-toothed tiger was forcing a smile.

And as the smoke from the magma of the shame and rage that swirled inside her body spilled out of her mouth...

"...Y-Yes! Fank you very much! Sensei!"

She widened her camellia coloured eyes and shouted at Shirayuki.

''Twitch!''

The veins on Aria's forehead--did it really become that shape inside her?--stood out as a 'D'.

"...!"

To my eyes, it looked like the 'D' in 'Die'.

Could it be that somewhere on Aria's body, her veins were standing out in shapes 'I' and 'E'? And when we put them together...

G--G...God that's scary! The hell is this new system!

At this killing intent, even the fearless armed Miko-san who's picking on Aria has pulled away.

Riko the cowboy has even fallen backwards, and is crawling back.

I secretly lifted up D-mode ON - Aria's pink skirt, inconspicuously checking that there weren't any guns in the holsters by her thighs.

"A-Aria, there's no need to act. Let's just do our work. Alright?"

Remembering that Aria had once boasted about how she had bested a grizzly bear with her bare hands, I desperately tried to cool down the nuclear reactor on the edge of meltdown.

Damn it. Butei High is hell. Since this is a peaceful event, just making costumes, why does my lifespan have to be shortened like this?

And you, Reki. When did you disappear like smoke along with Haimaki. Again.

That goddamn intuition. Afterwards, Officer Tohyama's going to file a complaint and arrest you.

At around 11:00 PM, everybody had finished their own costumes…

We had decided that everyone going home would bring three desks from the back of the classroom and return them to their original place, so the scene inside the classroom gradually returned to normal.

Professor Reki, the human watch, had also said 'It is time to sleep,' and had went home. Shirayuki-sensei went home to do student council work, and Aria-chan tottered home with an unsteady gait.

(Alright…I should be just about done too.)

Somehow…it feels like though he's young, this police officer has no motivation whatsoever.

I had rented the S&W M360 which has recently been used by police from Amdo, but when I try holding it--it's light, and it's built durably. Quite a good gun. I quite like it.

Looking around while in my police uniform, only a few people were left.

And coincidentally, all of those people were girls. Ugh. It's about time for me to head off.

…But…

The activity of the culture festival--'Ristorante Masque'…the preparations for it are just about finished.

There were incidents, and it was pretty troublesome, but making preparations with everyone gathered like this…it wasn't boring.

I'm in the second year of high school, so I can only experience preparing for a culture festival in high school once more.

Thinking that, I felt myself settle into a slightly sentimental mood. (Though it isn't in my nature.)

The remnants of Baskerville were I, who was slow and bad with his work, and--Riko the Cowboy, who apparently liked the atmosphere here or something and was reading Young Gangan.

Mutou's team was only left with one person.A girl wearing a sparkling slim dress, and with limestone pasted to her phone…Ah. Is that Hiraga-san? She wasn't in her uniform, and her hair, which wass normally always done up, was untied and had been pushed up, so for a moment I had no idea who that was.

I'll take this opportunity. I'd asked Hiraga-san to do something for me, and there's something I've ordered from her, so I guess I'll talk to her a bit.

"Hiraga-san."

I squatted down next to her, still in my police uniform--

"Ah, Officer Tohyama!"

''Spin.''

Hiraga-san turned back.

"--!?"

She had put on makeup so thick I couldn't even see her skin.

"I'm Ayaya! Thank you for stopping by!"

Thick foundation, eyeshadow applied so the she looked like a panda…she was also wearing fake eyelashes, and so her eyes looked like kirins' eyes…what the hell is that?

"Are you…a ghost?"

"Officer Tohyama! This is a cover girl! You're pretty handsome, so it'll be cheap!"

Hiraga-san opened a lottery slip with 'Charisma Cover Girl' written on it with both hands, and fluttered the heavy-looking eyelashes of both her eyes. Did she think that was a wink? Another fail…

(Rather, for this girl to be a hostess…that shop's committing a crime, isn't it…)

Hiraga-san's also bad at drawing lots. In an opposite manner to Aria. She had drawn a role which fitted herself not at all. It does seem like she really likes it though.

"Waah! Ayaya's so cute!"

In response to Riko, who had for some reason dived in (literally), cover girl Ayaya…was praised.

"Ehehe. Welcome--! Crack open the champagne!!"

''Don Don Don Don Don Perignon--!

Looking at Riko and Hiraga-san, who had started singing as they waved their hands around like they were cheering, I already felt like saying 'that's enough'. Hiraga-san's definitely going to receive some corporal punishment after this. Amuamidabutsu.

"Ah…by the way, Hiraga-san, thanks for your work. You really helped clear up the debris of the…tank-like thing on Empty Island."

I called out to her from the side, and Hiraga-san...

"Officer! I'm the one who should be saying thank you. That stuff we salvaged make really good materials. Was it really alright for me to take everything?"

"Yeah. It'd be pretty dangerous if that stuff was found. Well putting that aside, that thing that I had ordered…"

I looked to the water, and Hiraga-san said "Aha! I'm half done!" and pulled from a fabulous Chanel handbag--

"I finally sewed on the emblem tonight, which is why I was left here."

--one black glove.

Ooh. So it'll look like this.

I put it on my right hand, and…it fit perfectly.

As expected of Hiraga-san.

'The fabric portion is formed of TNK wire, so its structure is such that even if your hand takes an impact, the energy'll be dispersed. Until the second joint of the index and middle finger, the interior--is prepared with the superhard alloy carbonized tungsten cobalt coated with nitrated titanium. Its name is 'Orochi'!"

--It may be a glove, but it's an open fingered glove.

All the fingertips are exposed, and for the pinky and ring finger, the entire finger is--the index finger and middle finger is slightly longer, going up to the second joint--bulletproof fabric also covers the glove up until the first joint. Half of the thumb is covered.

It's slightly unbalanced, but it's fine. Just like I ordered.

But, I had left the design to her, but…it's really too cool. It feels like it's futuristic, like it's from a sci-fi movie. There's a Butei High emblem on the back of the hand, and that looks like it's from an anime.

(But, well…it's fine.)

If I told her to do it again, she'd charge me extra.

And it's not something I just show people either.

This is--the open fingered glove I ordered after the battle with the Koko sisters. For the sake of protecting my fingers.

Normally, gloves that contain metal like this---'slid knuckle', is constructed for use in hand to hand combat, but in my case, it was constructed to use 'Slash'.

'Slash' is a dangerous technique that uses the index fingers and middle fingers of both hands to enclose a bullet coming my way, changing its trajectory slightly, just so that it won't hit me--

Before, I had done it with my bare hands and had learned my lesson, so I requested its design.

Well…I'd like to be spared from vicious battles where I'm forced into a position where I'm made to need to use 'slash' though. 'Grenada' and 'Deen' haven't moved at all, but far east warfare…was that it? It seems like I'm being drawn into this and that, and because of that I don't know when and who will attack.

Even the thought of being able to fight on par with those monsters with this is painful, but there's nothing for me to do but prepare in my own way. As much as I can within the limits of a normal high school student.

"Ahh, with this---it's fine. There're no problems. Just that there's no point for this if I don't have both gloves. I'll be leaving the left hand to you."

"Of course I'll make the left hand just as you ordered, but…when you get both, what'll you use it for?"

"…Trade secret."

I gave an answer that wasn't an answer to the charisma hostess-san who had asked.

In any case, even if I told her, she wouldn't believe me.

"By the way…why did you name the glove 'Orochi'?"

'Officer Tohyama! Flex your hand, try opening and closing it!"

Since Hiraga-san said to, I did as she said, and…

The metal shell attached to the interior of the two fingers clicked together, making a pleasant sound.

"Look! Your fingers look like a snake opening and closing its mouth!"

I, who had been made to do something so stupid, was stupefied…

Riko had seen my 'Orochi' from the side, and her eyes started to shine.

"That's soooooo cooooool! Super cool! Give it to Riko! Give it, give iiiiiiitt!"

"H-Hey! Let go of my hand! It won't fit your hand!"

'Hey, Officer Tohyama. Once you get both gloves, what can they be used for? Tell me, tell me, tell meeee."

Riko, who seemed to have taken a liking to the anime-like design of my gloves, and Hiraga-san, who was stubbornly continuing to ask, grabbed onto my sleeves from both sides.

T-This is an impossible scene.

An officer in uniform is getting entangled with a cowboy and a hostess. Even in Tarantino's films, which have a lot of absurd scenes, nothing like this ever happens. Rather, this is more like a scene from a comedy.

In the changing corner, I changed into my school uniform from the police costume…

"Kinji."

Riko, who had changed before me, called out to me from beyond the screen.

Seeing as she had called me 'Kinji' rather than "Ki-kun'…this was the 'Inner Riko'.

"What is it?"

"Are you going to make that a normal move? You're slowly leaving behind what it means to be human."

…That's just like Riko.

Just by seeing Orochi, she knew its use.

--She's talking about the move she saw just once at Tokyo station, 'Slash'.

"Leaving humanity behind? If you're the one telling me that, I guess it's all over for me."

I answered from the other side of the screen, and Riko chuckled--

"Riko-chan, your friend's calling for you, you know? Someone with the same sort of clothes, kind of frilly and western. It seems like they aren't from this school."

"Alriiight! Someone not from this school…?"

A classmate from outside the classroom called her name, and Riko returned to 'Surface Riko' and answered.

Just like that, Riko left the classroom…

…

Mm…?

Somehow, it seems like the girls are moving out of the classroom?

Having finished changing, I exited the changing zone--

Ah. Damn it. Fuck my life.

There was no one left in the classroom, and there were still a few desks against the back.

Those bastards. They gave up on cleaning up and went home. Are they telling me to do it?

I don't know whose it is, but someone had forgotten the amplifier they brought in here. The MP3 player's also just lying there. It's fine because it's quiet piano music, but the sound was still on too. Seriously.

There weren't any witnesses, so I thought I'd just head out too, but…

If I don't clean up, I'll be lynched tomorrow when they go on the hunt for the culprit. The girls'll just come together on this one. If that happens, my internal report'll take a hit, and my plan to transfer to a normal school will also be affected.

So, alone in the classroom in the middle of the night…I carried desks, with piano music in the background.

"Just…a little bit more.)

I took a desk, and looked up--

"?"

''Rustle''.

At the edge of the door, a pink string…or rather, Aria's twin tails were visible.

She hid her head, but couldn't hide her tails.

The hem of the skirt of the sailor uniform she had apparently changed into was also visible.

She always tries to hide like that. Exhibiting the fine skills that belong to every S-rank Butei.

"What're you doing, Aria?"

I called out to her, and Aria started for a moment..then entered the classroom.

I thought that she had gone straight him sand went to sleep, but she came back? Did she forget something?

"What am I doing? I don't really know, but…you weren't coming back."

Aria dipped her head a bit, muttering: 'Reki's sleeping and Shirayuki's doing work…I couldn't connect to Riko's phone either." Afterward, she looked up at me, almost like she was peeking.

"Then, maybe Kinji's still in the classroom…or so I thought, and you were here."

"…? I don't really get it, but you're just in time. Help me out."

"…I should be the one asking, why're you doing this all alone?"

"Why? No idea. Help me out."

Saying it twice, Aria walked over…with a small noise, she helped me take one.

Now that I think about it, something like this happened during our summer vacation. Aria appeared when I was cleaning up.

"Guess there's no helping it. The reason why I was worried was because of this."

Aria sat on the desk that she had carried, and she looked at me, still carrying the remaining desks, with relieved eyes.

It seems like she's in a good mood, but…you're just going to help me carry one desk?

Well, it's better than nothing.

The classroom returned to normal.

Looking at the clock, the date was about to change.

Finally, I went over to the amplifier that I had left, and I tried to switch off the sound-

"Isn't…that fine just as it is?"

Aria was looking at the window--and the veranda in the Year 2 Class A classroom.

"Why? If we leave it on until morning, it'll be a waste of electricity."

"That's not what I mean. Just…um. Let's take a break, is what I'm saying. You're slow."

A break? You only took one desk.

And though it's Friday, it's pretty late already. I want to go back and go to sleep, but…

If I say something against my lady's will, I'll be sentenced to death.

"…If that's what you meant, then say so."

I swallowed my complaints and pulled out someone's chair, going to sit, but---

With movements which suggested that she had just decided on something, Aria put her hand on the slide door leading to the veranda.

"The veranda. The boys were in it all day, so I hadn't gone out. I'm going."

Her back still towards me, Aria opened the door and stepped out onto the veranda.

My master had just said 'I'm going,' so that means 'Come too, slave.'

If I hang back, then the guns'll leave their holsters, so I also went out to the veranda…

I looked over at Daiba, on the other side of Tokyo Bay, lights still on and sparkling.

The observation vehicle in Bullet Town was still lit up, and it looked like thin oval lights from here.

"…It's beautiful."

"Yeah."

It's the Daiba I've always seen, but this is probably the first time I've seen it from the classroom veranda and in the middle of the night.

(Rather…)

I noticed only after coming, but this veranda has a pretty good atmosphere.

It'd be nice if I was a lone, but when with a girl…you want to take a break in this kind of romantic place? This is troubling for me, you know.

"…"

"…"

From the amplifier in the classroom, the piano music could be faintly heard--it mingled with the sounds of the surf of Tokyo Bay, and in contrast, highlighted the silence. It feels like a scene from a movie.

It even felt like only Aria and I were floating in the middle of the darkness.

Now, the feeling of it being only the two of us increased.

This…this is awkward.

Leaning on the handrail with her elbows, Aria's hands (it seems like her elbows didn't reach) went to the same handrail. I glanced in her direction, and…

Aria was glancing this way at exactly the same time, so our eyes met.

The timing the two of us took to avert our gazes was exactly the same.

Ah…what is this.

We're completely synchronized…that's a problem.

It seemed like we thought the same way, and so things were becoming increasingly awkward.

"… …"

"… …"

U-Um.

This is weird.

Normally, Aria loves to talk, and there'd never be such an interruption in the conversation. It's strange.

''Glance…''

I looked Aria's way, and again, she looked at me.

Our eyes met again, and once more, we averted our gazes simultaneously.

Ahh…what the hell is this.

This has become really troubling.

In other words, um, we both…seem to be ''aware of each other''.

"… … …"

"… … …"

The wind direction changed, and Aria's bittersweet gardenia scent reached me.

Damn it. A topic. A topic. Isn't there anything?

I had become panicked because of the feminine scent, and I couldn't think of anything.

Can't a UFO or something fly pass?

"Ahhhhhh, um. What's that?"

--''Point''.

Aria stretched her arms out, and pointed at the horizon.

Seeing as the way she's talking seems to be pretty forced, it seems like she was looking for a topic as well.

"Mm? Where?"

I…also spoke a little forcedly, looking at the direction Aria was pointing.

"Um, it looks like a super high tower. It's dark though."

"Ahhh…that's the Sky Tree."

"Sky Tree…?"

''Tilt''.

Aria looked over here with her camellia colored eyes. It seems like she doesn't know about it.

"You don't know about the Sky Tree?"

"What on Earth is that? It's weird English. I don't know it."

Aria shook her head, her twin-tails shaking as well.

"You…stop watching BBC all the time and watch the Japanese news too. Well, I may say that, but I don't really know much about it myself…but, I know that it's a radio tower. It's being built, so it's only finished up to the second observation platform."

"Oh….?"

Thinking about it, the Sky Tree…is pretty much done.

According to the news, it's now 450m high. It seems like it's about 70% finished.

When it's finished, will I…still be in Butei High?

When it's finished, Aria will…

For a while longer, the two of us stayed silent, looking at the faraway Sky Tree--finally, Aria opened her rose pink lips.

"Today…well, I don't really want to think about that elementary school student costume…but it was fun. I had fun. Doing things like that to prepare for a culture festival, it was fun."

"--Yeah. I also had fun. Well, it's finished though."

"I wonder how many times I'll have a night like that in my life?"

"In your life? A few times, right? Until now, there've been a few times."

"No. There definitely won't be that many. This was my first time."

"Your first…?"

"In the London and Rome Butei High, I was an ''aria''. I mostly cancelled this kind of work, and even if I did it, I did it alone. Actually, I was thinking about not going and doing my work alone, but…you…were here."

"…I was?"

"H-huh? That's not it, that's…Um, Riko. I was dragged here by Riko."

"A-Ahh. Now that you mention it, that did happen. Well, whatever the case…coming here and working with everyone…wasn't it nice?"

"T-That's right. That's why I want to treasure that time…this time…"

I see.

Aria wants memories of school life, even if she's in a school like this.

Ever since she was small, she's been with adults, and was working at the London Butei division…so events like this, as a student, are fresh. She must've been happy.

"…If only this day would continue on forever. When I wake up tomorrow, it'd be this morning….Taking lessons, eating lunch, preparing for the culture festival…that would continue."

In response to Aria, who was jokingly talking about that science fiction-like scenario, I laughed softly.

"And at night, I'd return to the classroom…I'd find you, and I'd carry one desk. Afterward, the two of us would go out onto the veranda--and do this…"

Aria spoke, and looked up at me--

I reflexively turned to face her, and when I looked into her face from such a close distance...

Aria's eyes were smiling--Aah…

--How do I say this?

In any case, she was beautiful.

I'd never be able to say it, but she was beautiful.

I was enraptured by that sight, like I was being sucked in.

"…"

After coming this far…the strength of her eyes--a figure of speech like that doesn't quite fit.

An artist with skills so amazing such as to be comparable to God created a beautiful girl who belonged to an ideal world.

And she was given life, and started walking.

I…felt that way. About Aria.

(…?)

Rather...

Normally, she's cute enough as she is, but she looks even more beautiful than that tonight.

Ah. She's--it's thin, but she's wearing makeup. Damn. What was that I was saying about God?

"…Did you put on makeup? You weren't wearing any when making your costume."

I said, and Aria--

"!"

--showed off her super blushing technique.

She started a series of panicked gestures which looked like she was grabbing onto an invisible meteor shower of candy.

"T-That's--that's, that's because, tonight's a date."

"D-Date?"

"--Eh!?"

Aria's camellia colored eyes went completely round, and she stiffened.

No, no, you shouldn't be saying 'Eh!?' right? You're the one who said it. I'm the one who should be going 'Eh!?'

Anyways, this is just going out to the classroom veranda.

I've never heard of a date with a total distance of 1 meter.

"Th-that's not…what I mean by a d-date is---it's just a comparison!"

She opened her mouth wide and shouted at me, so…

"I-I got it. I understand. Don't open your mouth like that. I can see all the way inside."

I tried to calm her down.

What is it this time? She suddenly hid her mouth with both of her hands, looking this way just with her eyes.

"…What's wrong, Aria?"

"Nyothing."

"Why're you suddenly talking like a cat."

"…Don't stare so much. At my…um…next to my incisors…"

Ah. Her canines?

"What's wrong with your canines? Did they extend or something?"

"…"

Remembering the night that Aria had been bitten by a vampire, I asked seriously.

"Huh? There's no way they'd extend, right? Are you an idiot? Um…it's a complex of mine. These teeth."

"Why? They're like a cat's--and um, well…by common sense, they'd be cute, wouldn't they?"

"Cu…cu-cute? You think so? Isn't that stupid?"

"Um, that's why--I said 'by common sense'. As an extremely normal Japanese guy, it's normal to think that way."

I spoke, a little redundantly, and Aria's expression looked like she was thinking...

"In the Christian faith, that isn't so. The devils in religious paintings have this kind of teeth, so...they're made fun of as 'devil teeth'. It was gossiped about a lot in Rome Butei High."

She was saying it sadly, so...

"Then, stay in Japan forever."

I said as consolation...

Accompanying her specialty, the blushing technique, Aria also exhibited her petrification technique.

Just by being told to 'Stay in Japan forever' by me...why did she turn to stone?

Aria, who was creaking like a robot without enough oil, muttered in some English I didn't understand: "Why are you saying such proposal-like words so calmly?"

"You really...ignored all the steps...!"

Lifting the ban on showing her canines immediately, Aria glared up at me.

Really...what've you been talking about this whole time, Aria-san...

I feel like I've seen all of your human emotions at this point.

"--You know. The truth is, there's something that I wanted to say to you!"

"What is it..."

"You're a boy who's really weird with his steps."

Steps?

Had I danced in front of Aria?

"My father had said to 'be careful of boys who ignore the steps'...so after you did weird stuff to me in the PE warehouse, I was wary, but...nobles can't pass over the steps when it comes to ''that''. We're not animals after all. T-That thing before...my neck...I mean..."

Neck...?

Ahh. The blood clot on her neck.

Now that I think about it, Aria's convinced that that was me who did that.

I don't really understand, but it seems that she's angry about that.

"I'm sorry for hurting you."

It would be weird to start talking about Hilda now, so I'll just say that.

I made an expression which said: 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again,' and...

Aria's expression grew slightly panicked.

"Ah, no. You don't have to give in like that. It seems like I was drunk, so I don't really remember...I'm not really getting worked up about it."

Please don't. It actually wasn't me.

"Also, you had the resolve to do even something like that, so...I'll forgive you for that. It's forgiven. But! You have to follow the steps properly after this!"

So, these steps have appeared again.

I don't know what's allowed or expected of me according to these 'steps', but seeing as Aria's talking in a way that's masking a more direct expression...it seems like it's a term related to 'male-female relationships'. I know that much.

Most likely...a normal guy would be able to understand the meaning behind Aria's words.

After all, it's something that Aria can talk about, though she's bad with such things.

--But, I...

Because I hate Hysteria Mode, I avoided girls entirely.

And extremely stubbornly too. I avoided them on purpose. For as long as I can remember.

That's why...I can't really understand anything to do with 'boy-girl relationships.'

Even though I'm being talked to about it, I don't understand, and I don't really understand what's interesting about the drama in romance.

So, I...

"..."

Averted my eyes, feeling a little depressed.

I'm sorry, Aria. It seems like you're talking about something earnestly, but...

''I don't understand what you mean.''

Even so, I feel like it would be rude to ask about and have her meticulously explain every detail about these 'steps'.

After all, I'm in the wrong for being so naive as to not be able to understand, and it feels there's some sort of desperation in Aria's actions...so...I'll just play along for now. Even as I don't understand.

"Yeah, I've got it. I'll be careful. I'll follow the steps properly. That should be fine, right?"

"Ah...y-yeah. So, um, this. I-I was happy about your feelings, but..."

Aria stuck her left hand out and let me see.

"...?"

"The ring. I'm not going to wear it yet."

Ahh.

The ring I gave her for her birthday, huh.

It's your choice whether to put it on or not.

"...Did you not like it? I'm sorry if you didn't. I don't have much sense in these things."

"N-No! Nonono!"

Aria shook her head at a speed where she looked like Ashura, with multiple heads.

And looking at me again...

"That's not it. It's just that I'm not wearing it ''yet''. I-I'm not going to return it. I've already sent it to a Swiss bank. Carefully too."

"It's fine if you don't give it back."

I smiled wryly, and Aria blushed at my words--

"But...but that ring was skipping steps. About a hundred of them. I didn't sleep and thought about it for three days, but in the end I concluded that it's way too early for us. So...I won't wear it yet. However...um, even so...you remembered my birthday really well."

"That's...I ''am'' the leader of Baskerville. It's one of my duties to know about the members of my group."

"'Duty'...? Then, do you know the birthdays of the other members? Shirayuki's or Riko's, or maybe Reki's?"

"Ah...I don't know precisely."

I spoke honestly, and Aria's expression relaxed into one that seemed to express: 'I've won'. Won what?

And for a while after that, her eyes flickered, as if wondering whether or not to ask me something. And after...

"...Hey, then...could I ask you something else?

"That's fine. I don't really have anything to hide."

Other than Hysteria Mode.

"Um...er...Kinji. U-Until now...have you had a girlfriend?"

Huh?

Wh-what the hell?...she's continuing this hateful line of conversation.

"No."

"You're lying. After all you're pretty popular, aren't you?"

"Like hell. My nickname's 'introvert', you know? Zero. Zero girlfriends. Don't ask about something that you don't even need to ask about."

My mouth in a 'へ' shape like that of Star Wars' clone troopers, I answered, and--

Aria slipped into a shy, loose smile.

What? She's making fun of me.

"What about you?"

"Eh?"

I fired off the same question, counterattacking---

Since Aria is Aria, she frowned in a 'へ' like Darth Vader's.

"--I've been saying this since the beginning. I've not had any romances with anybody. None. I was always thinking about Mama..."

I see...it seems like I asked something bad.

"Sorry. Just responding in kind--"

"Th-That's alright. Mama's high court trial is next week, and she's definitely innocent. The prosecutor's also said that he won't appeal if she's innocent. Japan's laws are modified so that the verdict is announced on the same day, so Mama--can become free next week."

"That's right. I know that she's innocent, but it was worth it working so hard, Aria."

"Yes...so, with this...from now on, um...a little bit of ''that kind of thing''...I know have a little bit of space to think about s-something like that...'Could I?' or s-so I w-was thinking, and just at that point, y-you...ri...riri...ring..."

She tried once more, whispering, to return to talking about stuff like romance after talking about her mother...Aria had seemed strange to me since earlier...

"Somehow...you're different from normal. Did you eat a peach bun you dropped on the floor?"

Thinking that there might be something wrong with her body, I took the opportunity to change the topic and asked that question.

"Nobles don't do that kind of thing! I'm not you!"

Aria turned towards Daiba--

"That's not it, from now on, Kinji and I...that's...w-what...? Rather, why am I only talking about this stuff? Since before..."

"Don't ask me."

Aria...there really is something strange about her tonight.

Her nerves are probably strained from the shock of being forced to be an elementary school student.

"...Shall we go home? It's become cold."

"Y-Yeah..."

We returned to the classroom, and--Aria took hold of the back of my uniform with her miniature hands.

And before I turned around, she put her forehead against my back.

"Then...let's say that with this, we've advanced a step."

"A step..."

"Yes. It was beyond just one door, and it was only for five minutes, but this...that we had tonight--it was the first date of my life. We advanced past that step. I've decided on that."

...

Well, whatever Aria wants to think is up to her.

"Alright, I'm heading back."

'That's right'--

I'm not going to say that. After all, you're a little strange tonight.

Strange, or rather...

My intuition isn't great, but the Aria on the veranda...somehow, I felt that she was talking from the depths of her heart.

I also thought that she couldn't do it very well.

And it didn't seem like it was just because my ability to understand her was lacking.

Not being able to phrase one's thoughts well. That happens often, but...normally, at that kind of time, people won't talk much. They want to speak, but they can't. They take that kind of attitude.

But, it felt like the Aria just now was talking about her deep thoughts without being aware of it.

It didn't feel like she was lying. But...the cover that Aria used to cover her feelings--the cover that everyone uses to hide their true thoughts...it felt like that had been removed.

People that are drunk or are delirious with fever...speaking as a Butei, they are in a state where it's almost like they've been affected with a minor truth serum. Those kinds of people will accidentally spill out their true thoughts, things that they can't put into words, as incomprehensible expressions.

You can't place any weight on anything that you're told while people're in that state
[[File:Aria08 137.jpg|thumb]]
So--

I'll pretend that what took place on that veranda never happened.

"You must've gotten chilly. I'll make you some hot coffee when we get home."

Exiting to the hallway from the classroom with its lights off, I said those words while we walked side by side, illuminated by emergency lights--

"Yeah."

Next to me, Aria nodded once.

"...When Kanae-san's released, let's celebrate with everyone. We'll have a drink at Club Estella in Daiba. I'll order a massive cake in advance. When we've finished eating it, we'll finish off with roasted espresso rungo doppio, which'll be far more delicious than my instant coffee."

Her face, dimly lit up by the green emergency lights...looked so very happy.

That's great, Aria.

Looking at your smile, I honestly, from the bottom of my heart, think that way.

Your mother will be innocent. Your wish will be granted. That moment will finally come next week.

Really, truly...that's great.

Aria.

<noinclude>
{{Hidan no Aria Nav|prev=Hidan no Aria:Volume8 Chapter1|next=Hidan no Aria:Volume8 Chapter3}}
</noinclude>

Hidan no Aria:Volume8 Chapter3

2012-09-03T23:37:49Z

201.174.64.182:

==3rd Ammo: Silver-white ICBM==

"The accused, Kanzaki Kanae--is sentenced to 536 years of imprisonment."

That verdict echoed within the 800th courtroom of the Tokyo high court.

I, seated in the seats of the defense, couldn't believe my ears.

The text which declared the postponement of the death sentence or life sentence wasn't spoken by the judge, so I had had a bad feeling, but...I can't believe it. Aria's mother, Kanzaki Kanae-san...

...was convicted.

And there wasn't even a delay before its execution. It's a heavy sentence. Too heavy.

"..."

Sitting next to me and dressed in a suit, Riko looked over to the prosecutors with sharp eyes.

Jeanne, who we had lost all communication with after Bandere, and Sayonaki Vlad, being held in a level 5 holding facility in Nagano, weren't present, but I had thought that we would definitely win this trial.

--We lost. Completely.

The sentence was reduced from the first trial, but still, this high court trial's a loss for the accused.

Because, Kanae-san's actual life sentence hasn't changed.

(That's not right...! Something like this is...!"

Strange.

This trial is strange.

For some reason, there wasn't an audience, and there wasn't anybody from the mass media either--

I even feel that there's something that we don't understand lurking at the back of this.

"That's an unfair verdict!"

Aria stood up, her chair scraping on the floor, and she shouted in a high-pitched voice.

"This---Why!? I gathered so many testimonies, so much evidence--Why!? Mama is...Mama is innocent! Why!?"

Aria, also dressed in a suit, tried to sprint over to the prosecution, but--

The young female attorney, Renjou Kuroe, held on to her tight, keeping her back.

"Don't raise a racket, Aria! You're giving a bad impression for the next trial! We'll appeal directly, so calm down!"

--The next trial--

If she's sentenced to life imprisonment, we'll no longer be able to overturn it.

This trial has finally been driven into a corner.

"Let go! Let go of me! I'm not angry at you! You're talented, and you did all you could! The one's that're strange are those people!"

Aria wept as she pointed at the prosecutors and further, even the judge.

"Do it over! Do it over again! I'll replace all of you and do it again! This is a---mockery! You've all conspired together to frame Mama...My Mama! This is a conspiracy!"

"Stop it, Aria! There's still the supreme high court! This isn't definite!"

Unable to say anything other than that, I also went to restrain Aria, but--

Even when together with Renjou, who was a former Butei, we couldn't control her.

Looking around, the security had taken out their handcuffs and were coming to surround Aria.

This is bad. This is really bad. If Aria punches them and gets arrested here...!

"--Aria. Please calm down."

With that single quiet sentence, uttered from the seat of the accused--

I knew that Aria had regained control of herself.

Her gaze was turned towards her own mother--

--Kanzaki Kanae-san.

Aria had been struggling violently just a moment ago, but her eyes changed from rage to sadness...she just...she just looked at Kanae-san.

--Please don't go. Please don't be apart from me--

Her eyes seemed to be clinging onto those words.

Wearing a grey suit and shaking her wavy hair, Kanae-san faced Aria...

"Thank you, Aria. Your hard work...really made me happy. I can't believe that you had made I-U your enemy, that you had accomplished this much. You've grown a lot. For a parent, that's a joy beyond all other."

...and she was calm.

More so than anybody else here.

"Tohyama Kinji-san. I thank you too from the bottom of my heart. You've given Aria an amazing partner. I'm happy that I'm able to see that with my own eyes. But--"

Kanae-san spoke up until that point--

Erasing the expression on her face completely, she closed her beautiful eyes with those thick eyelashes.

And her face formed the expression of...someone who had been made a scapegoat and was thinking about the person who had appointed her death...someone who wasn't here.

"--I knew that things would turn out this way."

She muttered.

Apparently trying to comfort Aria, who was clutching the guns with Kanae-san's picture on them and continuing to cry, Renjou bundled us into her own Audi, and after spending some time in the parking lot...

She started forward, as if chasing the vehicle carrying Kanae-san from the high court.

She was thinking along the lines of...'Even if just a little, I'll let Aria be by Kanae-san's side', right?

Aria, on a passenger's seat, was staring at the transport vehicle, which had gone through Roppongi Road, avoiding a traffic jam.

"Mama..."

Flicking a glance to the front mirror in response to that voice, I saw that Aria was...still crying.

That's...that's right.

In this trial, the defense was fought to win.

For the sake of winning, Aria had literally risked her life, continuing to fight. For several years too.

Throwing away her youth as a normal girl, she ran around the world, fighting with Riko and Jeanne, capturing Vlad, driving away Sherlock and Patra and gathering evidence.

--In spite of that.

Only Riko, Jeanne and Vlad's share was deducted from Kanae-san's sentence.

The evidence of the defense concerning the other members' crimes wasn't enough. Their sentences were left behind.

Why? I don't know. The case of the prosecution regarding Kanae-san's crimes seemed...even for an amateur like me, illogical. It was clear that their reasoning didn't stand. Even their evidence was ambiguous.

--However, judgement was passed.

...What do we do now?

Would it be fine if we arrested all the scattered remnants of I-U, including Patra and Hilda? And then would it be fine if we took a rope to their necks and dragged them to court, making them say that they were in the wrong? That's just a dream.

Even if we could, something like that would take years.

Renjou had bought us time, but there's no way we would make it in time for the Supreme High Court.

The delay of s trial in Japan was improved through the enforcement of frequent new laws. No matter how hard we worked, within maybe three years...no, within two years, the supreme high court would judge, and Kanae-san's life sentence will be definite.

...While worrying about that, I looked at Riko, who was sitting next to me.

Riko had closed her eyes earlier, seeming to be thinking about something.

The car drove on, keeping up with the transport vehicle. It took a right at a reservoir intersection--entering Sotohori Road--and approached Kinnoushita.

At that moment, at a place quite far away from the stop line of the traffic light...

The transport vehicle stopped.

"...?"

Renjou took off her sunglasses and looked up the road.

I had also noticed the irregularity.

The traffic lights in front of us--

(They're off...?)

Neither red, yellow, or green were shining. They were off.

The lights for pedestrians were also off, and people were milling around in front of zebra crossings, looking around at each other.

"...What is it...?"

Looking around, I saw that crowds of salarymen were pouring out of the buildings to the left and right, worry all over their faces.

I noticed late because it was noon, but it's dark inside the cafe's and convenience stores on the ground floor.

The lights on the billboards had also gone out.

"A blackout?"

Just as Renjou muttered those words, Riko opened her eyes wide, as if she was alerted of something.

"...?"

The next instant, my eyes--

--took hold of something...irregular.

''Something black'' was spreading out from below the transport vehicle in front of us, which was currently stopped...and it was coming this way.

It looked like it could have been a fuel leak, but that wasn't it.

That was...a shadow...!

The 'shadow' was stretching this way.

I looked to the sky from the car window, but it didn't seem as if there were any helicopters or airships passing by.

"...!"

In the blink of an eye, the shadow enveloped the bottom of our car.

That too was strange. The space outside the car remained bright.

''Though there's nothing above, there's still a shadow''...!

--This is...!

The instant the memory of a scene like this flashed into my mind----

"--!"

A flash of light erupted, and following it was an overwhelming screeching of sparks, piercing my ears.

Renjou's voice of surprise as well as Aria's shriek resonated in the car.

I had thought that it was an explosive, but that wasn't it. This is--electricity. A high voltage electric current had just torn through our car.

It gave rise to an impact which felt like we had been struck by lightning from below.

"...!"

The current seemed to have passed through the metal portions of the car--in other words, the exterior, leaving the interior unharmed.

However, smoke as well as a choking sound was rising from the bonnet...not to mention the flames licking out from under the hood.

Tens of liters of gasoline are held inside a vehicle.

If it ignited, all of us--

"Everyone, get out of the car! We're in danger!"

Kicking the door open and getting outside, smoke was rising from the transport vehicle in front of us as well.

All its tires had gone flat too.

"Kanae-san--!"

Just as Aria and I tried to sprint towards the transport vehicle--

Golden sparks burst from the rear of the vehicle.

"--Mama!"

"Aria, wait! It's a trap!"

Looking inside, the driver was hammering on the door.

It seemed like he was trying to get out from the car, which had come to a stop, but was unable to.

Could the door be broken? Or was something installed there and is keeping it closed?

Having gotten onto the asphalt, I noticed that the strange shadow by my feet had disappeared.

A series of unnatural movements from an unnatural 'shadow'--

"Hilda...!"

The reason I shouted her name--

Was because I could see her.

At some point in time, she had stood up on the car and now, she was twirling her frilly parasol--

Giving off a decadent and, somehow, unlucky impression, a girl in gothic lolita.

Having put herself forth as 'Grenada' during the Bandire, the most battle hungry of them all--

And she was the vampire girl who bit Aria that night!

"...Hilda! I've seen you in photos--but this is our first meeting, isn't it...!"

Hilda sniffed at the sight of Aria, who had drawn her guns reflexively.

And shaking her twin-tails, curls of golden hair hanging downwards, she looked the other way.

"That's intolerable. How rude. I'm not really in the mood to fight, you know? I really hate the sunlight."

Hilda pressed the handle of the parasol against her cheek, as if embracing it--

"I say that, but I accidentally acted! Well, you just casually came out of Tamamo's barrier after all. And also..."

Tapping the roof of the car with a stiletto heel made of black enamel, she indicated inside it.

"This is your Mama, isn't it? I'll exterminate every one of Father's enemies, their families, their followers...I'll force them to extinction."

"--Kinji, give support from the right side!"

Aria shouted in her anime-like voice--

Following her usual movement pattern, she sprinted straight towards Hilda.

She ran with abandon, a reckless charge which made it seem like she had a jet engine strapped onto her.

"...!"

Without missing a beat, I drew my Beretta and ran towards Hilda's right...I see, it seems like her field of vision on this side is limited because of her parasol.

The instant my and Aria's shadow stepped into the shadow of the transport vehicle...

"--Mm."

It seemed as if Hilda exerted herself slightly--

"Uu---!"

"Kyaaaaaaa!"

Aria and I fell to the ground simultaneously.

T-This is...!

Her ability...!?

It was like I had taken the shock of a 600~900 thousand volt stun gun.

"As I was saying...don't show me yourselves like this...your blood running so high. I won't be able to hold myself back, will I? Ahh. I wonder if I should start feasting. Even Primo like you...it feels like I could."

I tried...I tried to stand, but I couldn't.

I'm staying conscious. That's another similarity with a stun-gun. Her ability--the current is impressive, but it doesn't seem as if she can raise the voltage.

"...Fu-Fuck...!"

In spite of that, pain is flashing through all my nerves, and I can't put any strength into my muscles.

Even so, Aria hadn't let go of her guns, and her knees were quivering...

"Hi...lda...!"

Crawling inside the shadow, she clung to the license plate of the transport vehicle, which was still smoking.

Her teeth clenched tight, she strained, but--she couldn't. Aria couldn't stand either.

"...Ahh, I've had it. Aria, when I look at you...hunger just seems to well up. I remember your delicious flavour...I remember it well..."

Hilda stepped down towards the trunk as if going down a set of stairs--

Not even giving Aria's guns a thought, she crouched down.

"I wonder if I'll have some accompaniment to my drink. The blood of that dying cockroach over there tastes like soured wine left in a thrown away bottle. On the other hand, your blood is like century old wine."

By cockroach...does she mean me?

I may ask that, but if this continues...I'm really the same as a dying cockroach.

Only able to squirm on the ground...unable to do anything.

I can't even put strength into a single finger. I can't even fire.

"--Hilda!"

A yell rang out--

It belonged to Riko, who had exited from the car.

Only able to turn my eyes in her direction, Riko was holding Walthers in her hands, and knives with the tails of her hair.

"Get away...Hilda!"

Even as she was holding two knives and two guns at the ready, Riko was trembling. Trembling so much that even I, looking from quite a ways away, could tell.

She was stifling her terror, trying to bluff. That's what it felt like.

Seeing her behaviour, I recalled the relationship between Riko and Vlad, who I had battled in June.

When she was young--Riko was imprisoned. Imprisoned by the father of the girl standing before us, Hilda. Dracula Vlad.

Seeing as they seemed to recognize each others faces, could it be that Riko and Hilda met during that period?

"Aaah, the fourth. What fierce eyes. How cute."

Hilda hugged herself, performing the gesture deliberately.

"That's why I love you, fourth. If I'm the most high class of purebred dogs, you're a stray afflicted with rabies. But...you know, don't you? That you and I are friends."

--As if Aria and I couldn't be seen, she spoke to Riko.

"Currently, while father is absent, I am the master of the Dracula family. I won't shut you in a cage like father did. My marble room, my canopied bed of silk, my bathtub of pure gold...I'll lend it all to you. I don't mind leaving Koumeikan in Yokohama to you."

Having said that, Hilda descended to the road.

"Don't get any closer! Don't look down on me. Do you think that I'll be tricked by such worthless lies!?"

--She grinned.

At the sight of a screaming Riko, Hilda brought a finger to her mouth and grinned.

"Look at my eyes, Riko. They aren't the eyes of someone who's telling lies, are they?"

"..."

Riko reflexively stared at Hilda's eyes--crimson irises only slightly filled with sparkling gold.

Her breath seemed to leave her, as if she heard the words 'oh fuck' coming from her heart.

"Alright. Put down your guns and knives. For the sake of our friendship. Do it while looking into my eyes...yes, like that. Do it while looking closely...slowly, slooowly..."

"......!"

Looking at her--Riko put her Walthers down, her hands trembling. She did the same for the knives in her hair...

"Yes. It's fine now, fourth. Good girl. Listening to what I have to say, you're a good girl."

Riko's body seemed to be moving contrary to her own will.

Hilda, her stiletto heels clicking, approached Riko until she was right before Riko's eyes.

Riko didn't fire. She just stared at Hilda in a daze.

--She's done. It seems like she's been affected by some sort of hypnosis.

This is getting ugly...none of us can fight anymore.

Isn't whether we live or die...entirely up to Hilda...!?

Hilda removed one of her bat earrings from her ear--

"As proof of our friendship, I'll give you this."

She attached it to Riko's ear.

"...!"

Riko withered, trembling, but even then, her eyes continued to glare at Hilda.

Hilda faced her with a smile.

Using that opening, I spasmed, trying to get a grip on my Beretta, but--

"Gaaah...!"

High voltage current once again tore through my hand.

My body snapped backwards, leaving me facing upwards.

With that, my hand was numb, and it couldn't move. All it did was twitch.

"--If you're the most hideous litterbug to ever walk this earth, I'm the most beautiful Helena Morpho butterfly. Tohyama. You're forbidden from even turning your face this way."

Hilda frowned and averted her crimson eyes away from me.

This is impossible. I can't do anything. Faced with this witch, the me who isn't even in Hysteria Mode is really an existence comparable to that of an insect...!

No, even if I ''was'' in Hysteria Mode...could I fight her? With this human stun-gun?

Fuck, I don't want to d-die in a place like this...

Will we be finished here...? So soon...!?

--That moment--

"...?"

Hilda tilted her parasol, her gold twin-tails waving about. Her slender, dainty eyebrows creased, and she looked to the skies.

It was hard for me to move even my eyeballs, but in my field of vision, restricted to the sky...

--?

What is that...?

From beyond the skyscrapers, a silver light could be seen, high, high up in the sky.

It wasn't a star. No star exists that can be seen during the day.

"..."

It was coming closer.

That--

I remember seeing that before...!

It was one of the ICBMs that the members of EU had escaped on at the same time Sherlock had escaped on one. Modified and constructed, it was a transport...!

The instant I realised this--

With enough force to shake the ground, the silver-white ICBM pierced the road.

It didn't explode. It stayed unmoving, like a slanted telephone booth. This really is a transport.

As if to prove it--I could see a hatch on the side begin to open, releasing white smoke.

"...?"

Someone showed himself in the hatch--

Aria, still lying on the floor, seemed to have locked gazes with him.

"That was dangerous. You are...Aria, are you not? I knew when I first saw you."

The sunlight at his back, he showed himself, stepping from the silver-white ICBM, on which 'Polaris 05' was written.

A handsome boy wearing what seemed like the uniform of a foreign Butei High, a grey blazer.

He was shining, like a prince who had come galloping on a white horse to save the princess.

His glossy black hair was immaculate, and it gave off a slight shimmer. The boy stepped from the hatch to the floor.

And as if protecting Aria, he faced Hilda, blocking her way.

"Hilda. You have hurt the person whom, more than anyone else in this world, cannot be hurt."

With a tone similar to the one I use while in Hysteria Mode (though a little higher pitched,) he spoke. Using his right hand, he drew a slender saber from a silver scabbard engraved with an emblem.

At the sight of the saber, which sparkled like a gem in the sunlight, Hilda frowned, as if in discomfort.

"I have three pieces of bad news for you. One, this is a Crux Edge I borrowed from the grand cathedral in Canterbury. Its core is Swedish steel, but the pure silver foil on the blade was shaved from a cross over 400 years old. The second..."

Next, the gun the boy drew into his left hand was...a Sig Sauer P226R, nicknamed the SIG.

It's supplied to governments, an elite automatic sidearm that England's SAS and America's SWAT like to use. It's expensive, but it's a masterpiece with high reliability.

"Holy bullets. In addition, pure silver bullets that have been blessed by a Protestant church...something that you aren't used to."

Bullets of silver. Those insanely expensive bullets, nicknamed 'Silvers'. They're probably also magically coated--(It isn't an area that I'm familiar with, but it seems like famous temples and churches bless them against evil.)

"Third...I am angry. Hilda, I'm angry that you hurt Aria."

His face stormy, the boy spoke.

The sword and gun he was wielding was called 'Gun-Edge' in Assault.

Even for Aru=Kata, it's relatively difficult, so it's a style that's died out, but if you're able to master its usage, it's useful in battle.

I also use it occasionally; it's able to respond to both close distance and mid distance threats, leaving no openings.

"...How hateful."

Hilda opened a fan which used black ostrich feathers and hid her nose and mouth with it.

"What a distasteful stench. When I think that it's the stink of silver..."

''Tch''...That seemed to be the sound of her teeth grinding.

It looks like this boy's threats are working.

"I am well aware of the impoliteness of nobles not following the protocol of a proper battle and launching a surprise attack, but...Dracula Hilda. I will bury you here."

The boy faced Hilda with black eyes...eyes containing an earnest depth along with a tinge of blue.

Dropping his hip a little, he stood ready, arms crossed over each other.

"Aria, close your eyes. I don't want to show her blood to a lady."

Having been told that, Aria remained silent, her camellia eyes staring blankly.

Or rather, Gun-Edge boy, have you been ignoring me all along?

That's intentional, isn't it? He hasn't even looked over here.

"..."

...As the boy closed the distance between them, Hilda, who was clearly showing her distaste of the arms the boy was carrying, gestured towards the clear and sunny sky.

"--If you would like to play with a lady, then think of the time and circumstance. Mannerless cur. Wanting to play on a day with such bad weather, at such a late time...did you think that the noble Lady Dracula would accept?"

Hilda refused with some strange complaint, and...her feet in high heels, her shin, her knee...

Like a melting amber statue, she sunk into the car's shadow.

This too was something that I had seen on Empty Island. Starting from her feet, she disappeared, just like a magician.

"Farewell, then. I'll hold myself back for today."

Finally left with just her head and parasol, Hilda spoke to Aria, leaving those words behind her...

And with that, she disappeared.

A thud sounded, and I turned my head, finally able to move, towards it...

Riko had sunk to the asphalt road.

It felt like the threads of stress that had been stretched out had, along with the hypnosis, dissolved.

"Are you alright, Aria?"

The handsome boy spoke as he took Aria's shoulder, helping her to stand up...

A little bit late, I also somehow managed to stand and stumble towards Aria.

"...I can move. Let go of my shoulder."

Aria, being prideful, turned towards the boy though her knees were still slightly trembling.

The boy examined Aria from head to toe, as if checking on her condition. Realizing that she seemed to be fine, he brushed the dust off his shoulders and straightened his collar.

"What about Mama...?"

Because Aria looked towards the car, I looked as well...

Apparently, Kanzaki Kanae-san had finally able to exit from the car. Supported on either side by bodyguards, she was looking this way with eyes that seemed to be filled with relief.

By law, we aren't able to speak with her, but...she seems to be unhurt. Thank God.

However--

I looked between the ICBM that the boy had been riding and the boy himself.

It doesn't seem as if he's an enemy, but who the hell is he?

"Saying this after being saved is a little rude, but...are you a remnant of IU? What did you come here for?"

I pointed towards the ICBM and spoke before the boy finally looked towards me.

His eyes, black as obsidian, rested on me in a sharp gaze.

I felt...something like hostility in that gaze.

"Before asking others for their identity, give your own name first."

"...I'm Tohyama Kinji."

"I know. I saw a photo of you during my advance investigation."

Don't ask me for my name then.

"--I am L. L Watson."

Hearing that name, Aria started, letting out a voice of surprise, and turned towards the boy.

--Watson...?

That name was...written in the Inquesta textbook.

Yeah, he was the famous partner of Sherlock Holmes, Aria's great-grandfather and the leader of IU. It's the surname of the famous man, a former military doctor, who was Sherlock's lifelong partner.

"Eh...!? Eh, the-then, you're, could you be...?"

Aria's voice shook a little, but differently from before, when she was numb from the electric current...

And whilst she spoke, she looked up at Watson.

Watson, facing Aria with a small smile, nodded once--

"That's right. I am Sir J.H. Watson's great-grandchild."

This time, he turned to me, frowning.

"Tohyama. You asked me what I came here for, but...do I need to give a reason?"

Watson, who looked up at me with his tidy double-edged eyes, seemed displeased for some reason.

"It's fine for you to say something like that, right? I don't know who you are."

Becoming slightly irritated myself, I responded--

Watson looked at Aria, and then at Kanae-san, standing further beyond.

And--

"I came to save my fiancé and mother-in-law. That's all."

He said.

...?

Not understanding him, I looked at Aria, and her eyes were wide and staring at Watson...She looked at me, and the expression of shock still on her face, she averted her eyes, like she was panicked.

"...Fiancé?"

Because of the atmosphere, which I couldn't really fathom, I asked Watson again.

"I'm talking about Aria."

Isn't it obvious?

As if saying those words, Watson spoke without hesitation.

And looking up at me, who was taller than him, he straightened, repeating what he said.

"--Aria is my fiancé."

Afterward, we explained the situation to the policemen that came running, and we saw off Kanae-san, who was once again put back onto the transport vehicle and sent to the detainment facility...and also, Hilda didn't seem to pursue us, so...

We parted ways with Watson, who seemed to have something to talk about with the lawyer and therefore accompanied her to her home in Toranomon. Riko suddenly said that there was something she had to do, and she headed off to Nogizaka district.

Left without a choice, Aria and I rode the train back home, just the two of us.

During the train ride, Aria...didn't say a thing.

I teased Aria a little bit, as she couldn't reach the handholds, but when I had just spoke one sentence to her, she started acting strangely, turning her face away from me, so she remained taciturn.

This atmosphere...I can't ask any questions.

About Watson.

L Watson.

Aria is his fiancé.

If you look at historical manga...there ''are'' things like that among the nobility. Ever since the people in question were very young, their parents arbitrarily decided their spouses.

Aria had someone like that too, or so it seems.

Hmm...That's how it is.

...So, yeah. Those are pretty much my thoughts on the matter.

I've heard about this during an Inquesta class; the Holmes and Watson family were initially, (stemming from their first generation) an intimate, single household. Both were granted the title of nobility, so in terms of family status, it's fitting as well.

Isn't that alright? It's really fitting. A handsome boy and a beautiful girl.

...The air seems charged with these thoughts...

Had I been unconsciously releasing this tension into the air?

The moment we descended onto the Butei High station from the monorail, Aria grabbed my sleeve.

"...Why're you so quiet?"

Huh?

I turned towards Aria, whose voice was subtly trembling.

"Because you're quiet? When we got onto the Ginza-line, I tried talking to you once. You ignored it, so--"

"Don't get angry. Listen to what I'm saying calmly."

"Why is it that I have to be angry?"

"Um, that person just now--"

"I don't really care about Watson. He has nothing to do with me."

In the end, I was forced to use the name 'Watson'.

Leaving Aria at the platform, I descended the stairs ahead of her.

Last month, at this landing...Aria had seen Reki and I and came looking for a fight...And now, Aria caught up to me here.

"...You're doing this even though you were e-engaged to Reki?"

She spoke to herself in a small voice.

Aria misunderstanding things is something that happens all the time, it wasn't especially something to get angry about, but--

No matter how much I tried to resist, I found myself growing annoyed. I turned, intending to give her what she had been looking for.

"That thing with Reki was--"

"Today was the first time I met him."

Had she read my thoughts? Aria reined in her words, which came out a little strong.

"Watson is...the fiancé that my grandmother decided on her own. That was something that I had only been told of once--and my grandmother was getting on in years, so there were often times where she would talk to me of reality mixed with her own fantasy. I didn't take her seriously, and to be honest, I had forgotten. About what she had said."

"..."

"It's true. I swear to God. I first met Watson today."

Looking up at me and speaking sincerely, Aria seemed...somewhat desperate.

"To expand a little, I didn't even know if he existed. I had heard a rumour of there being a heir to the Watson family, but...right now, that family is taking care of the organization Liberty Mason's high-level work. As long as Her Majesty the Queen doesn't give express permission, they can't show their real identity. Every one of them lives with a fake name, doing their work undercover--"

Eyes like that of an abandoned dog, Aria spoke. I...

(Why is she getting so desperate?)

I felt myself getting angry for no reason I could think of.

Isn't she making it feel like I've been shouting at her for having a fiancé?

I've understood all along.

I've understood that you will eventually disappear. I've understood that you live in the world of nobility.

"...Kinji..."

Which is why there's nothing that you need to give any excuses for.

As Butei, you and I are just teamed up temporarily. In the end, you and I are different. In ability, in status, and in the world that we live in.

Staying silent, I turned my back on Aria and walked down the stairs.

The sound of footsteps following me--didn't appear.

<big>''L. Watson''</big>

Watson wrote his own name on the board in flowing cursive script--

Kyaaa!

Just by him doing that, the girls in class screamed in a high pitch voice.

At the enthusiastic praise, the nervous homeroom teacher, Takamagahara Yutori, stepped away from the teaching platform.

Smiling, Takamagahara-sensei said: "Alright then everyone! I'll be introducing a very special guest, a transfer student! Coming from Manchester Butei High, he's a reaaally cool exchange student!"

So...there's no way, or so I thought, but it was true.

(Watson...He transferred here...)

I frowned, and beside me, Aria was trembling in shock...

Once again, she stole a look at me.

What is it with you? You've been like this since yesterday.

Don't take that kind of attitude, where it feels like you're afraid to touch a sore point.

Unlike you, it's not like I have any business with your private matters.

It's not something that I should intrude in.

"My name is L Watson. I'll be in your care."

Watson spoke with a voice that was a little high for a guy, and he took a seat at one of the tables farthest to the back.

Just as he took his seat, the bell that signaled the end to homeroom rang.

Simultaneously, the girls crowded around Watson's seat, accompanied by cries of 'Waah!' or 'Kyaa!'

They look like paparazzi crowding around a Johnny's-type idol.

"What was your specialty class back at your old school!? Which one will you be in here!?"

"I was in Assault at New York, Inquesta at Manchester, and Medica at Tokyo--I've come to give a final polish to my Butei skillset."

Kyaa!

The girls started getting excited again. It felt like all their eyes had become heart shaped.

"You're like a prince!"

"I'm not part of the royal family. I'm a viscount."

Kyaaa! Kyaaa!

They became even more excited. Looking at the girls, quite a few of their eyes had now become $ marks.

"Your skin is so pretty! It's even more beautiful than a girl's!"

"...Thank you."

He smiled. The girls screamed with their high-pitched voices when they saw Watson smile, showing off his white teeth. In its aftermath, a few of them seemed to have become lightheaded, and they staggered around...they were supported by the girls from Medica and Ambulace.

Thank God that Riko's taking a break.

She loves these kinds of disturbances, so she has the habit of exacerbating the situation. 

(But...Watson's a pretty big deal.)

If I was surrounded by that many girls...Just thinking about it makes me want to run away. I'd prefer being surrounded by armed criminals.

Even so--Watson was perfectly calm.

It feels like he doesn't care at all, confronted with a herd of girls. He's completely used to them. With the relaxed attitude that comes with being surrounded by friends, he's handling them well.

Taking into account the fact that he's such a beautiful guy, he's in a completely different league.

"What club are you joining, Watson-kun!?"

"I don't have any plans."

Hearing that answer, the colour of all the girls' eyes changed in an instant. "Join the soccer club! I'm starting as the manager soon!" 'Eh, how do you feel about the drama club...?" "Please come to the swimming club!" They started fighting over him with invites.

"I'm sorry. I don't join club activities in any of the Butei Highs. Swimming is especially bad for me--"

Watson smiled wryly, but the girls didn't back down so easily.

They really want to become the transfer student's friend, don't they. He just happens to be handsome and a viscount as well.

"You can't just be in the go-home club!"

"That's right. Are you planning on napping on the roof together with Kinji?"

Hey, swimming club people. I'm planning to eventually transfer out, so it's true that I'm not joining any club activities, but...don't mention my name. Or rather, were you looking at me nap? Well, when Aria or Shirayuki're in a bad mood, I don't want to head back to my room, so I just sleep away the time.

"But, if Watson-kun hangs around with Tohyama-kun...he'd get tainted...ah, won't I have a chance if that happens...?"

The drama club girl whispered to herself.

Tainted? What's that supposed to mean?

"Tainted?"

Apparently, Watson had felt something strange about the same phrase. He asked the girl about it.

The girl glanced in my direction. Holding her hand up to her mouth in order to prevent her lips being read...she whispered something to Watson.

Having listened to her, Watson looked in my direction, his face reddening--

"...Wha...! Tohyama did tha...? H-How lewd...!"

His thin eyebrows raised in anger, Watson glared this way.

His face is pretty, so it doesn't really carry a lot of weight, but in any case..."Looking like that, Kinji's a womanizer. Kanzaki-san, Hotogi-san...there's many other victims too." That's what's been spreading around, right?

That would be because, my involvement in those scandals is often talked about by the girls.

But...to rebuttal her argument...

* In the beginning, Aria stayed in my house to investigate Hysteria Mode's trigger.
* Shirayuki got a key from Aria, and then she stayed in my house for reasons unknown to me.
* Riko wanted to get close to Aria and I, intentionally approaching me and setting an example for Aria.
* Reki proposed to me because of Wind-sama's orders.

I don't even feel like defending myself one by one like this.

Rather, I can't. There's too much confidential information, not to mention things that aren't clear to me either.

Apparently, Watson had been told more tales of my legendary exploits, as unfounded and without proof though they were.

"...Tohyama truly is a lady killer, huh. To have tempted so many...!"

His face reddening even more, he was getting extremely flustered; it almost look liked he was about to blow his top.

Men who've reached that kind of age shouldn't change their expressions so much just from hearing gossip.

Or rather...normally, when boys hear from someone about my fictional female history, they normally admire me, saying: "What an awesome guy. I want to learn from him." I'm not sure why, but I speak from experience.

(Well, whatever.)

I'll just forget about Watson.

He can think what he likes of me.

Those stories aren't the truth. There's no point in talking about it; they're just rumours founded on misunderstandings.

If Watson is a guy who takes stock in rumour without confirming its truth, I'd be devaluing myself as a man just by going up against him.

Afterward, during the normal classes--

Watson kept pace with us.

No, that isn't quite it. It wasn't just that he was keeping pace with us.

When he was pointed out by the teacher, he answered every question correctly. Of course he'd get all the English questions correct, being a native speaker like Aria, but he answered all questions correctly. Questions about math, biology...even Japanese history, which came after.

Even ignoring the fact that Butei High's standard score is quite low, this was something that sparked the admiration of the entire class.

In any case, Watson had just transferred today from a foreign Butei High school.

"I studied a little in advance."

Every time break came, he would say those words to the girls who would come praising him, a wry smile on his face...However, to be honest, he was more capable than me in all of the classes, where I was just about average.

It isn't completely correct to say that someone is smart because they're good at calculation and memorization, but if he's able to remember so much from just a little studying, I have to admit how intelligent he is.

His appearance is beautiful...in reality, he's a noble...now he's a genius too?

That's why girls won't leave him alone.

Afterward, I was waiting for the bus that would bring me from the normal section of the school to the section for the specializations...it didn't come.

Normally, I'd ride on Aria's bike together with her and walk to Inquesta from Assault, but...

When things are awkward, just like they are now, we don't move around together. It's nice not being around Aria all the time, but not having her bike is unexpectedly making things even more difficult for me.

--Yesterday, Aria didn't come home to my room.

I was a little worried, so I had Fuuma from Lezzad look for her. It turned out that, as a form of stress release, she was playing Daruma dropping (with peach buns) with her junior in the girl's dormitory.

For some reason, Aria was in a really bad mood, so her Amica, Mamiya, was terrified.

Really. Venting her feelings on those younger than her, treating her food as toys...

(...She's a brat, just as ever...)

I sighed softly.

Just as I had, a black vehicle pulled up in front of the bus stop.

It wasn't a bus. Its hazard lights were flashing, and...Wait, isn't this a Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet? It's a super high-class car; it can't be worth less than 1,000,000,000 yen.

As I stood there shocked, the hood of the car automatically opened, storing itself in the back of the car.

The 911 opened up completely, and I saw the person in the driver's seat.

"So, it really is you, Tohyama."

The boy who took off his sunglasses was...Watson.

"The bus isn't coming. At the last intersection, the Assault students started brawling inside the bus. Ranbyou ran sprinted there and flew into a rage. She flipped the bus with her bare hands, so traffic's stopped for a while."

...Those bastards from the Die-Die Squad...

I don't care how many of you are injured, but please stop causing trouble for the general public.

Rather than that, Ranbyou...just being Ranbyou. Flipping buses with her bare hands...

"Get in, Tohyama. You'd probably make it in time if you walked, but--I'll send you to Inquesta. There's some things that I want to speak to you about."

--Saying that, Watson opened the door. I could feel that he was slightly uncertain.

What could it be?

Somehow, I feel uneasy being alone with him.

It's not just that I can't stand him--Intuitively, instinctively, I feel danger.

Nevertheless, the bus isn't coming. I guess I'll hold him to his word and get in.

When I got in the car, the hood closed automatically, and Watson started the car, but...

What could it be? I could smell a faint, cinnamon-like fragrance coming from Watson. Why would he have that kind of scent as a guy? Weird...

"...Nice car."

"There was a Carrera that was modified into a two-seater, so I bought it yesterday. In Japan, it's too much to handle if you don't have a small chassis."

That's amazing. He changes the car he drives based on the country?

If Mutou heard about this, he'd go crazy with envy.

But really, this pitch-black Carrera suits Watson. It looks perfect when a beautiful guy with black hair rides in it.

Our conversation didn't continue after that, and we sat in silence.

As we were waiting at a traffic light, Watson glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes before he started hostilities.

"--Looking like this, you're a womanizer, aren't you."

So, you're really going to talk about that?

"You were told that by the girls, huh."

"I hate boys like you the most. Let alone your helplessness before Hilda, you...you treat g-girls...so loosely."

Watson gripped the steering wheel a little tighter.

Since he takes things so seriously, it seems that he's the type of guy who lets the blood rush to his head.

Just the type of person I'm bad with.

"So I told Aria to stop living at your room."

"Thank God for that. It was causing a lot of trouble."

I humphed, turning the other way.

Watson did the same.

"It looks like I just don't really get along with you."

"It's not just that you don't ''really'' get along with me, you ''don't''. I feel the same way."

Afterward, as he stopped in front of Inquesta, Watson had an angry look on his face.

"It's planned for Aria and I to formally marry when we both reach majority, but...before that, I'm distancing Aria from you. It seems that she holds you with unusual regard."

"Do whatever you want...Thanks for sending me here."

I opened the door, getting out of the car...

"Remember this. ''The partner most suited to Aria is me, not you.''"

Watson spoke those words in the same manner as a declaration of war.

Bssssh--!

Accompanying that sound, my butt hit the sport's halls court.

The day after Watson had sent me to Inquesta, period 4...

It was time for PE, and we were told to play volleyball, but--

"...Ouch..."

I was hit by an attack directly to my face. In other words, I had just taken one to the face.

"Sorry Tohyama. Are you alright?"

Kneeling on one knee further down the court, Watson, dressed in shorts, apologized.

I--didn't answer, and made a rough gesture that meant "don't worry about it" before I stood up again.

Rather than that, that attack just now...

Weren't you looking at me, aiming for my face...?

For a while afterward, we continued to score points and they continued to take points from us...after enough time to make people think it was an accident, it finally happened again.

Watson's attack scored a hit right on the side of my head.

Furthermore, the ball landed outside the court, making it our loss.

Judging from the last one, I knew. The others didn't know, but this indeed was ''hostility''.

(That bastard...)

Watson had scored half of their team's points in that game. He's an agile guy.

His body's flexible, and he's skillful even in using little tricks. Including the one he used to smash me in the face.

At a corner of the sports hall, the first year girls whose fourth period appeared to have been cancelled (and had been cheering for Watson ever since the beginning of the game) surrounded him.

Watson brushed his hair up, a refreshing smile on his face as he talked to the girls.

...Like I thought, he's avoiding looking this way on purpose. What a transparent bastard.

Afterward, during the lunch break, as I felt my irritation building at the fact that my nose was still aching and ear still throbbing, I noticed something extremely troubling.

(Damn it...)

I didn't have any money.

I was shockingly devoid of money.

This was due to the fact that recently, all I had been doing was work that I wasn't compensated for...and because despite that, I had been involved with a lot of battles, so I had been buying a lot of equipment.

If all I'm doing is spending and I'm not getting any income, I'll run out of money.

Borrowing that motorboat from Mutou's sister the night of Bandered was a serious hit to my wallet. When I asked her to put it on my tab...she flew into a rage, screamed "I'll run you over!" and came to collect my debt on her motorbike.

(Once again, Shirayuki's taking part of her shrine's rituals, so she isn't here.)

Guess I can't help it. I'll get my hands on a portion of the payment I gave to Hiraga-san when I ordered 'Orochi'. The portion that paid for the left hand glove.

But I can't spend it frivolously.

Even if I get a request from any civilians, I'll only be compensated next month.

I'll have to make do with the cheapest thing, this bread roll.

(Even though I'm hungry from just having had PE, all I have is this...?)

I settled the bill, took some water from the self-service section and went to table. I opened the vinyl bag containing the bread...now I slightly understand how Fuuma, the girl in poverty, must feel.

I set to eating my bread, completely alone...

Ugh. Watson was walking towards me, carrying the tray for his meal.

And when he saw my poor excuse of a meal, he smirked in a hateful manner.

"...What is it."

"Shall we eat together?"

Despite the fact that he said that he didn't get along with me, Watson placed his tray on the table, smiling all the while.

Rather...that's the steak plate isn't it, the most expensive dish in the cafeteria.

It's a steak of Kobe beef. What's more, ''blanched'' Kobe beef.

"Um, payment is made directly after purchase..."

Lifting my head to face the direction that voice was coming from, the lady who manned the cash register was standing next to Watson.

Looking at Watson, his eyes below long eyelashes were staring blankly up at the lady as she stood there holding her apron and fidgeting...it seemed that he thought that you were supposed to pay after.

"I see, you pay immediately in Japan. Maybe because it isn't customary to leave a tip here?"

Saying that, Watson opened the wallet he had taken out of his breast pocket.

The lady and I startled simultaneously.

10000 yen notes were stuffed into the Louis Vuitton wallet to the point where it seemed like it was about to burst.

"Just a moment. I'm still not used to the yen's currency conversion. Is this enough?"

"Y-Yes. I'll bring the change immediately!"

Having been handed a 10000 note, the lady left, extremely flustered. Watson looked at her go, a wry smile on his face...and with that, he turned towards me.

And with elegant movements, so beautiful that my eyes stared in fascination, he crossed himself, giving thanks for the meal. Afterward, he cut into the steak, which was so soft it almost seemed that his knife sunk into it.

''Click''...''Click''.

"Tohyama."

"What is it."

"Do you want some?"

"..."

I stayed silent.

"I'm not giving you any."

Then don't ask.

Faced with Watson, who was taking his meal with graceful movements like those belonging to an actor...I silently stuffed my face with my bread.

Watson watched me do that with lighthearted eyes that glittered triumphantly.

This bastard. He really doesn't like me.

"As far as I can see, it seems like you're having trouble with money."

"Sorry about that."

"For Butei, money is the lifeline which ties us to ammunition and equipment. If it's interrupted, any Butei would be weakened."

"I know."

What Watson was saying...was the truth. Even the first years at Butei High learn this.

As opposed to the police or the Jieitai, who take care of their equipment using public funds, Butei have to think about their finances, which are always spent on equipment.

"You even had some transactions with the Mutou siblings as well as Hiraga Aya."

"...You looked into it, huh."

Fundamentally, Butei run on money.

Putting aside the 'work that I'm not getting any rewards from' that I've been spontaneously doing recently, when it comes to normal requests, Butei are told by Masters to take on requests in order to counterbalance the completion of a request instead of the payment or distribution of money that normally makes up the compensation, even within the student community.

Furthermore, in this case, it isn't forbidden to 'save' money. Conversely, it isn't against the rules to suspend work when payments are delayed.

In the world of Butei, such a severe and realistic side does exist. Even if one is a student.

"I've found one of your weak points so soon."

Watson's handsome face broke into a smile.

I don't really know what--but something about him is dangerous for me. That's all I know.

But, what is it...? That, I cannot see.

At Butei High, even during the second semester, we have PE at the indoor pool once a month, but--the next day, if Watson sets something up for me again, I intend to counterattack.

But unexpectedly, Watson was just watching the class.

(Could it be that just like Aria, he can't swim?)

Watson warmed up with the rest of boys of year 2 class A before he, dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and pants, put on a pair of Chanel sunglasses...taking a pipe chair, he placed it next to a table after carefully dusting it off.

He likes things to be neat.

He sat down, knees spread in front of him, and afterward, with a manner that indicated that he had just noticed something...he folded his legs in panic.

Just as I tilted my head to the side due to his strange movements--

"Aalllright, you brats! Do 20 lengths of the pool! I'll shoot the people that slack off to death!"

In exchange of a starting pistol, Ranbyou, who was next to Watson, fired an M600 'Elephant Killer' before disappearing.

Ranbyou...really, it's impossible to take away her teaching qualifications because of that.

Well, I was thankful at least that that violent teacher had disappeared, so we took the fact that she hadn't said whether we should be doing vertical or horizontal lengths as our argument, and quickly completed 20 horizontal lengths of the pool.

After that, there was time left over, so it was time to relax while the devil was away.

Everyone just swam as they liked, and it became a free time where we just chatted by the poolside.

I...took a film magazine from the bundle of magazines that Mutou, foreseeing Ranbyou's abandonment of class, had taken out of his locker, and headed to borrow one of the pipe chairs sitting next to Watson.

"...?"

Looking at him...Watson's face was red as he stared at the boys fooling around in their swimsuits.

(Has he caught a cold?)

If so, then of course he'd abstain from going into the pool.

When the earnest Shiranui, who had completed 34 horizontal lengths, equivalent to 20 vertical lengths, got out of the pool, Watson went 'Ah!' apparently surprised, and slid his chair back a little bit.

"...Hey Watson. If you aren't feeling alright, you should go to Ambulace."

Watson, having been spoken to by me, turned this way, looking at my chest and shoulders--

His mouth trembled, going 'Wa, wa'...before he turned away.

He didn't say anything, and he was red to the tips of his ears. Doesn't he have quite a serious fever?

"Hey Kinji! All of AKB's in this one! Shiranui, you get over here too! Let's have a vote!"

At the poolside, Mutou had without hesitation spread open a gravure magazine was gesturing at it.

"It won't be much of a vote with just three people, will it?"

Shiranui, who was handsome to the point where he was able to stand up to Watson, was a great guy to hang around with...so it seemed like he was pretty excited.

"You guys...What do you gain by doing stuff like that?"

I thought about refusing because of the sheer pointlessness of it, but I feared that I wouldn't be able to borrow magazines from Mutou if I acted indifferently.

As one might expect, I won't go into Hysteria Mode from swimsuit gravure, so I guess I'll tag along.

"Then between all of us, there're 5 votes. Hey Watson, you choose too."

Mutou opened a can of coke and took a sip before spreading the magazine out on a plastic table...

Watson, who had been purposely not looking in this direction to begin with, looked directly away.

"I refuse. Don't spread that kind of book wide open in a public place."

That kind of book, he said. These gravure photos?

Even ''I'm'' fine with them.

"C'mon, don't say that. If there's so many here, there's definitely at least one girl who you'll like. You'll think I'm tricking you, just take a look at all of 'em."

Saying things that sounded like they were meant to draw customers to an indecent shop--Mutou, the upper half of his body naked, forcefully slipped his arm around Watson's shoulders, hugging him towards his body and showing him the photos.

"--Kyaa!"

Watson, whose cheek was pressed against Mutou's chest, let out a short scream.

His sunglasses slid off, and his eyes, having become visible, had even become wet.

It looks like blood has rushed to his head. It seems that as he was watching the pool, he was getting feverish.

"Wha...what is it? That voice was like a girl's. Alright then, it's fine if you don't do it. Rather than that...doesn't it seem like you've gotten feverish? Look, have some coke. It's cold, so it feels good when you're hot."

Mutou let go of Watson and stuck out the cola he had been drinking earlier, as if in some sort of apology.

Watson took the can of cola that was pressed towards him in both hands.

"B-But you--before, you..."

"I only took a sip."

"But, yo-your mouth touched it--"

"What're you saying? We're both guys."

Mutou said. Water from Mutou had gotten on Watson's sportswear earlier, so...

"If you have a fever, it'll be bad if you get wet. You have to wipe it off."

Shiranui grabbed a towel and was on the verge of wiping off the droplets of water from Watson's body, when--

Watson sprang up, as if even the thought of it was horrible.

He rammed into Shiranui, and for some reason, me as well.

"I-I'm going back! I can't take any more!"

Saying that with a voice so high-pitched that it seemed like it had changed, Watson ran in a strange zig-zag pattern (maybe because he was panicking?), getting out of the pool.

Like always...there's something strange in all of his movements.

After school that day...

I had to save on my spending on food, so I bought some canned field rations at a 50% discount--my wallet had become light enough that it felt like I could fly it like a kite, and with it in hand, I gave Hiraga-san a call.

"Hello hello, what can Aya do for you?"

"Hiraga-san, this is Tohyama. Um, this is about Orochi's left hand..."

"Ah, that isn't finished yet. This week is a little..."

"It's a little hard for me to say this, but...the payment for the bill will be a little late. I'll definitely pay next month, so could you finish it up according to the normal schedule? As always, I'm sorry, but I'd like to put it on my tab."

"Mmm..."

Hiraga-san made a noise that seemed to express that she was thinking, the sound of her flipping through schedules next to the mouth of the telephone came through.

"Since Tohyama-kun is a regular, it would be OK under normal circumstances, but...this time...I'd like to postpone it."

"Postpone it...is making it difficult?"

"That's one reason, but the main reason is, I received an urgent request from Masters. Money was donated to the school, so they want me to fix all kinds of broken fixtures around the school."

"A donation...?"

"It seems that Watson-kun gave a whole lot of money!"

Watson...?

"It seems that the person who asked for Aya was Watson-kun too. So, this month, Ayaya is super busy! That's how it is!"

Hiraga-san said, followed by a tired sigh.

...That bastard Watson. What does he mean to do by keeping Hiraga-san's hands full?

Could it be that...this is also more of him harassing me?

"...Hey, Hiraga-san."

"Yes?"

"I understand that the left hand portion of Orochi will be postponed. However...be careful of Watson."

"Be careful?"

"Something about him is strange. He's..."

I thought about saying that he was harassing me in strange ways...but I have no proof.

I'll just keep that particular aspect to myself.

"??? What about him is strange?"

"About that...um...just something."

"I don't see anything strange about him. Watson's a nice person. Before, he came to Aya's place and ordered some other equipment. Teehee."

That's...Hiraga-san's version of a delighted laugh.

It's the way of laughing she uses when she makes massive profits because the other side of the transaction doesn't bargain even though she's overcharging them.

"No, he moves strangely. When we were at the pool..."

Having had Hiraga-san taken from me, I spoke unhappily--

"Ahhh, could it be ''that''? Tohyama-kun is jealous? How cute--♪"

With a cute voice, like that of a kindergartener, Hiraga-san started to say incomprehensible things.

"J-Jealous?"

"There's a rumour going around that before, Watson-kun was all alone with Aria-san in a cafe. There's also information concerning the fact that Tohyama-kun is living apart from Aria-san."

Living apart?

"Y-You're well informed...I didn't know about that thing with Watson and Aria."

"Aya isn't popular, because she's so tiny. So one Aya's interests is listening to the love stories of the popular people, so Aya feels like she's taking part of them."

W-What a dark hobby. I, who's nicknamed the Introvert, can't really say anything though.

"If I put those two pieces of information together...Tohyama-kun had Aria-san taken from him by Watson-kun and is jealous. Wahaa, it's like something from a manga!"

"N-No. I'm just...Waton's just strange, so..."

"Watson is a good person. He gave me a big piece of candy. Tohyama-kun, jealousy between men is disgraceful!"

When I tried to repeat myself and say something against Watson, she hung up on me.

It seems that at some point, Hiraga-san was won over to Watson's side.

I've started to somewhat understand, but...it seems that Watson's doing the laying the foundations necessary to seal my movements in places that I can't see.

What's his aim?

Rather than that...candy? He really knows what each of the girls like. One more thing on the list of things I don't like about him.

--I figured out that Watson also has weaknesses.

His luck in drawing lots.

Transfer students decide their costumes for Ristorante Masque afterward, but the time frame is too short, so they aren't asked to make it themselves.

In exchange, they only have one chance to draw. It seems that there's a rule that states that changes will not be recognized.

Only things that could just be worn without any modifications were inside the box that a first year had brought during recess, but...

Written on the lot that Watson opened up under the gaze of several classmates was--

"Girl's Uniform (Butei High)"

The worst one possible. Why? Because it's a girl's uniform. He's definitely going to be up for some corporal punishment.

Other than me, who was thinking 'about time, you bastard' in my heart, tension was running high throughout the students of Class A.

"..."

Watson's manner gave off the feeling that he was thinking.

"Deception is part of strategy...If you don't want to be suspected...you should in turn, show your cards eagerly and willingly."

He said something like a proverb in English.

"...No way. I don't really want to do this, but...well, it seems like I'll be throttled by the teachers if I don't. Since I drew it myself, I'll do it. Should I change now?"

So he said. And because of that, the class broke into an uproar.

The girls were rushing into the toilet, jerseys in hand, saying things like: "You're welcome to use my uniform!" or "Please use mine!" "No, mine!" One section of the boys were preparing digital cameras while saying inexplicable things like: "We finally get to see the third boy-girl of our lives!"

There was no need to change immediately, but nobody said that.

Afterward, Watson, having borrowed a uniform from the girls, disappeared somewhere from the corridor, the uniform in hand.

Everyone was waiting impatiently...when a panel was suddenly taken out from the ceiling, and Watson's voice rang out.

"It's the costume that we've all been waiting for, so I'll be making my entrance a little bit of a surprise."

From the hole in the ceiling, a girl dropped down to land standing on the podium.

His SIG SAUER locked and loaded, Watson winked, his face smug.

'Waoah!' A strange cheer came from the boys.

It seemed to be a voice that instantaneously mixed 'Woah!' with 'Wha...!?'

It's not that I can't understand how they feel. If I actually got along with Watson, I might've even let my voice loose as well.

--Watson was that cute.

Not like Kana, who was so beautiful, too beautiful, to the point where it didn't feel real, but she was the epitome of the boyish girl, the girl who has a sense of closeness. Well, when comparing him to girls, he isn't the type to make mouths drop open like Riko or Aria, who turn heads just by walking into the room.

After this had happened--

Even the group of boys who had been resenting Watson, who had snatched all popularity amongst the girls, started to treat him nicely.

Watson became the class favourite, and the number of his friends continued to increase.

Not only did I not get along with Watson, I also didn't have many friends in the first place, so...

Gradually, I found that there was nowhere for me inside the class.

A few days later, Mutou was invited to a party at Watson's (of course, I wasn't invited.) He got to eat a lot of delicious food at Watson's massive room, located inside the dormitory...or so he was saying so happily, so--when I warned him, saying: 'Be careful of Watson,' he answered: 'Watson's a good guy, you know? I only understood it when he changed back then, but he's easy to like,' getting angry at me instead.

(Even Mutou's been charmed by Watson...)

Because I was bothered by it, I did a little searching and found out that the bulletproofed trike that I borrowed from time to time, Road Fox, had been loaned for an indefinite period by Watson. He has a goddamned car. He's clearly doing this to drag me down.

What a dirty bastard. Trying to undermine me from the outside in like this...

Nighttime came, and I sat alone on my room's sofa--

I don't have any hobbies that I can really call hobbies, so I had completely disassembled my gun, maintaining it to pass the time.

Right now, I'm broke. If my guns malfunction, I won't be able to have them repaired.

(Aria's at the girl's dormitory and Shirayuki's at her shrine...I'm alone, huh...)

Guns are normally made out of around 30~100 parts, but my Beretta and DE are modified, so they have more.

So, when completely disassembled, it's as difficult as putting together plastic models. After checking the state of each part, the part has to be cleaned, and in that way, I could spend the time.

I used a flannel cloth to apply oil to the inner parts of the gun, which I had almost finished maintaining.

And as I did that, what I thought of without meaning to, was Watson.

(I know that he doesn't like me because he declared it while in the car, but...)

For some reason, Watson is trying to set up my fall.

He pinpointed my weakness, targeting my lack of sociability and isolating me.

Simultaneously, he used the the attribute of Butei High students' mercantilism, their willingness only to work with money involved, depriving me of Hiraga-san and Mutou's help. However, I'm unable to save money and reclaim their aid.

I was unable to resist his actions.

Because of his strategy, little by little, I'm becoming alone.

Well...ever since the Uraga Bay accident, I've been trying to put distance between myself and Butei High, and because of my level of success in doing so, I was nicknamed the Introvert...I'm used to loneliness.

But, I can't take his method of doing things. That's what irks me.

(I don't like using this way of talking about it, since it's sexist, but...that bastard Watson. He's using the dirty ways that women use despite being a man.)

If he hates me, he should just come for a fight like a man. That's the path of all male high school students of Butei High...No, of all male high school students of Japan.

And when that time comes, I'll take him on his offer.

I understand that he'd want to monopolize Aria, who's an amazing Butei, but ostracizing me like this?

Right now, as we're prepared for the battle with 'Grenada', this isn't a time where we should have divides like this.

"That's a scary face, Ki-kun."

Those words were whispered into my ear, and at that voice, which sounded like a bell had pealed ever so softly, I startled, turning around.

And right next to me was Riko.

"Riko...? You're always appearing like a ghost."

"I tiptoed in~. I was thinking like, when'll I be noticed, though."

Teehee. Laughing, Riko raised her head and plopped herself down on the revolving chair by the computer.

She then rolled over here in her chair, coming to a stop beside me.

In her modified uniform that she always wore, on one of her ears was a single earring that I knew I had seen before.

"Oh, oh, Ki-kun. Are you maintaining your guns all lonely by yourself?"

Riko placed her feet, covered with socks that were decorated with things like cherries, on the floor and spun left, then right, turning little by little.

Because of that movement, her frilly skirt and soft, wavy hair floated through the air...

Floating, floating...

And a sweet scent like that of vanilla drifted towards me.

I was still feeling rather dark, so I returned to checking my guns--

"Ki-kun is all alone."

"Don't say it twice. I don't need your sympathy."

"Don't be hurt~. Riko doesn't mean to do anything like that."

"Don't puff your cheek up like that. You look like a kid."

"Ehehehe~."

Completely uncaring about the aura about me which screamed 'Go away', Riko took two PSPs out of her pocket.

And the 2 PSPs in her hands like two guns, she turned to the kitchen.

Exactly at that moment, the microwave went 'ding'.

"...?"

"Here, Ki-kun. You were so into it that you didn't even hear the sound of the microwave spinning, huh."

She was right.

"...I've lost. It looks like I've been too on edge lately."

"It looks like your maintenance's finished, so play some games with Riko while eating! Um, you know, I bought an autumn-limited set of chestnut rice. There was this special offer for couples where I could get a scratch card, so I bought two. I'll give one to Ki-kun, my boyfriend~."

Saying this, Riko walked to the microwave, the big ribbon attached to her back of her modified uniform fluttering...Muttering 'owowowow', she took two convenience store lunchboxes from the microwave.

"Boyfriend...? Well, I'll take it. I'm tired of eating rations."

"Ki-kun, let's duel in Ace Combat! We can do it while eating! The loser gets a slap on the wrist~!"

Riko brought the lunchboxes to the table in front of the sofa and sat herself down next to me with a thud while pushing a PSP towards me.

Ah. Isn't this my PSP? When did she get it out?

Rather than that...are you planning on eating at the sofa table? While gaming?

(She's carefree as usual...)

When Shirayuki, who's always going, "Your manners are horrible!' is gone, she immediately starts to do whatever she likes.

It had been a long time, but I laughed. I laughed at Riko's disihibition. It may've been a little wry though.

...Therefore...

Lying on the sofa all the while, we ate the chestnut rice, fired missiles at each other, ate warm pickled vegetables that were a little weird, fought a dogfight with a rule limiting us to machine guns only, and slapped each other on the wrist.

I had some experience with this game, where we use modern fighters and have dogfights, but--

Whenever Riko turned, she had a habit of leaning in the same direction, just like a kid.

Furthermore, she was sitting directly to the right of me...

"Gnnnnnngh! Alright, I've gotten behind you! Don't run away, Ki-kun! Kyahaha!"

Ah, hey, don't turn to the left...!

With enough momentum to knock me flat, Riko pressed her leaning body against me.

Her smooth arms stuck closely to me, and her elastic thighs pressed into me through her skirt--Her sweet smelling chestnut brown hair w-was pressing against my face. My neck was being tickled by her ribbon and twintails, and it was really ticklish. It was like the right side of my body was melding into Riko.

"H-Hey! Don't get in my way, I can't see my screen because of your hair!"

"Take this! And that! Crash!"

Riko was just innocently playing the game, so it wasn't really erotic at all. Because of that, I seemed to be alright when it came to Hysteria, but I couldn't fly like I wanted to. I can't shake off Riko's plane's pursuit.

Aah...I'm out of respawns...I lost again.

Drove into the ground, my F14 was crashed--

"Alright! This is Riko's twelfth win! Ki-kun's won two and lost twelve~!"

Out of energy, I slumped to my left...

As I was lying there, Riko got all over me like I was a futon or hugging pillow.

"Teeheehee! Ki-kun's weak~!"

Several soft area's on Riko's body clung to mine, so--

"H-Hey. Get off me..."

As one might expect, this is bad. So I thought, trying to push Riko off me.

Riko lifted her uppper body up like she was doing a push up.

"Ah, Ki-kun. There's a piece of rice stuck to you~!"

Looking at my face from point blank range, she really took a grain of rice from my mouth.

And she ate it.

"..."

I was starting to get embarrassed when Riko's expression changed into one that showed: 'I've thought of something good~!' A smile on her face, she took a grain of rice from the lunchbox on the table...

"Aaahhh, there's one stuck to Riko too~~"

Sticking a grain of rice to her cheek, she looked up at me with teary eyes.

...In any case, she's going to say: "Take it and eat it. Use your mouth directly." right?

"Ki-kun, take it and eat it♪ Maybe directly with your mouth?"

Riko took a cute pose and said what I imagined she would've.

I flicked the grain of rice of her cheek with my finger.

"Myaah!"

Riko squeezed her eyes into X shapes and rocked upwards--

I caught the sight of her chest, holding a sense of weight that didn't match her diminutive body, bouncing up.

Because of that movement, my face was, for an instant, obscured by two independent shadows.

L-Like always...She has an outrageous body. That's the only part of her that really experienced a growth spurt.

It's like a figure that takes the cuteness of Aria's miniatureness and the ''goodness' of Shirayuki's well-sized proportions. That's what I thought when I see Riko from up close again.

"Mmm? Geez, where are you looking~? You pervert~~!"

Riko thudded on my face happily, as I stared up at her in a daze.

"H-Hey! The punishment was supposed to be a slap to the wrist, right? Don't hit my face!"

Somehow able to crawl out from under Riko, I complained.

"The rules have changed~! From now on, it doesn't matter how you hit!"

She said something which was just an arbitrary decision of The Riko, so--

Having gotten annoyed, I gave my all and at the end of a furious battle that made up the next game, I brought Riko down.

And when she lost, she said, "I'm changing the rule change from just now again! Now it's back to what it used to be~!" running away. My full annoyance at Riko experienced a limit break and transformed into super annoyance...so I caught her, clutching her to my side and spanking her butt through her frilly skirt. Well, just slapping. 
[[File:Aria08 201.jpg|thumb]]

...When we had finished doing those kinds of stupid things, it had become really late.

Looking at my watch, it was already midnight.

We have school tomorrow, so we have to go to sleep soon.

I took a shower, changed into my pajamas and returned to the living room...

Still rolling around on the sofa, Riko rested her cheek on her hand and grinned up at me.

"...What is it?"

"Mmm. I'm tired."

"I can't do anything even if you tell me."

"Sooo tiiiirrreeeeed~!"

Riko kicked her feet around.

"Doooon't waaaant toooo sleeeeeep~!"

"What're you telling me to do...?"

With a spoiled voice like she had returned to being a baby, Riko rolled around.

At the sight of her, I sighed deeply.

"I want to talk."

"About?"

"Anything's fine~. I want to talk. Forever."

"I refuse. I'm going to sleep."

I opened the door to my bedroom...

The bedroom was cold, so I thought of having some of warm air in the living room flow in and left it open.

"But well...thanks for today."

Sitting on my bed, the bottom right one of the two bunk beds in the room, I said to Riko that which I had been too embarrassed to say earlier.

"You came because I've been depressed lately, right? I feel a little bit better now."

Riko stayed silent for a moment.

"...That's not all."

She responded with a small voice...Feet hitting the floor, she exited the living room, apparently having entered the bathroom.

I could hear the sound of the shower running.

It seems that she wants to sleep here.

I don't want her to, but...Riko came here because she was worried about me, so well, I guess I'll let her do as she wants.

Rather, at some point in the time, the two bunk beds have been occupied as the following: Upper left = Aria, Bottom left = Riko, Upper right = Shirayuki, Bottom right = Me. Therefore, it's split between the four people that can come in and out of this place freely (3 of them are entering illegally.) Riko sleeps here whenever she wants, and it happens quite a lot. As for chasing her out, I can't refuse her right now.

Thinking this, I turned on my side, falling asleep...

I heard the sound of the electricity going off in the living room--and the room darkened.

...Footsteps sounding, Riko entered the bedroom and turned on the footlight...

I heard the sound of her hand reaching my bed, so--

"!?"

I suddenly awoke.

Looking back, Riko, in pajamas, was trying to sneak into the bottom right bed...in other words, my bed.

"H-Hey! What is it? You're the bottom left one, right?"

"Ah, I mixed it up♪ And now, the mix-up will continue!"

Sticking her tongue out, she thumped her own head...

Just like that, she got her knees on my bed.

H-Hey.

What on Earth is this.

Even if I try to run, I can only enter and exit on the side that Riko's on.

Gone into panic, I squeezed my body against the wall, trying to run away, but--conversely, that didn't go well.

Rather, I had now given Riko enough space to get on the bed.

And of course...Riko got on.

What am I doing? That was a pretty good self-destruct.

Wasn't that a movement which is just like saying: 'Get in'?

"I-It's tight, so don't get in."

..."Nobody's here today."

Riko spoke, her voice coming out husky and erotic...

She wasn't wearing the loose smile she usually did, but her eyes were so very sad.

--I-I'm suddenly caught in a massive disaster. I've been cornered in an instant.

To get out of this bed, I have to get out from Riko's side. However, even if I try to get out with all I've got, I might be kept in with all she has...I'll be pushed down by the monstrous strength of her hair, which can move like a snake.

What should I do? My head's completely blank. Terrifyingly, I couldn't even lift my body.

But if we continue to stay silent like this, I don't know what'll happen to me. Just like Riko said, my wingmen that impede Riko from approaching me (Aria and Shirayuki) are gone.

I can't just stay silent. She'll have her way with me. S-Say something, me!

This is really bad, if I really don't say something, then--

I panicked.

"R-Riko. Your pajama's inside out."

And so, I said something that I noticed then and there.

No. Nonono. Kinji. That's not it. That's not what I should be berating her about!

"Ah, you're right.

Her large, double-folded eyes stared down at her own pajamas. Riko put her hands on the hem of her dress, and suddenly--

She flipped it up!

"--!"

I just barely managed to roll over and turn my back to Riko.

What I been able to see for just an instant was Riko's bare boobs--about the bottom fourth of them.

(D-Do girls...not wear underwear when they sleep!?)

C-C-Ca-Ca...Not that, calm down, Kinji!

This isn't the time to become terrified at having discovered this habit that girls have!

Apparently, Riko had fixed her pajamas. I have to drive her away somehow.

"Riko, you...um, get off. Normally, at this point...you'd be beaten up by Aria or Shirayuki, right? I'd most likely be beaten up as well, for some reason."

Riko spoke to my back, a little bit of a laugh mixed into her words.

"Riko is fine. It doesn't matter who Ki-kun likes. All the girls that like Ki-kun don't really feel like posers, so I'm a little annoyed, but...liking ''that'', that means that Riko has a good eye for guys, right?"

"Wh-What're you talking about?"

"Riko is fine with it. When together with Riko...just like today, Ki-kun's always been gentle with me. Mmm...because of that, just like Yuki-chan said, Riko's probably suited to being someone's mistress."

Once again, I could hear the sound of bed's springs squeaking behind my back. S-She turned on her side.

Rather, what kind of conversations do you have with Shirayuki?

"H-Hey. Don't spread the blanket out."

"Eh? Isn't this fine? It's cold."

Saying that, Riko took the back of the blanket that was draped onto my body and crawled inside it.

"My hands have become cold."

Her nose touched the back of my head...around my neck. Riko continued to whisper in a flirtatious voice--

And she stuck her hands in the pockets stitched to the left and right of the stomach area of my pajamas.

"...!"

My body stiffened and Riko giggled.

I've been driven into a corner. I've finally been embraced.

"Riko, you know about--my condition, right?"

As my final card to play, I somehow managed to act calm, warning her.

"You're talking about HSS? Ki-kun calls it Hysteria Mode, right?"

"That's righy. Different from Kana, once I go into it, I can't control myself. Originally, it's something that we possess in order to protect women, to act cool, and -- I'm only saying this considering the circumstances -- to leave children behind."

"''I know''."

Bringing her face close to my head, Riko whispered, the scent of shampoo accompanying her words.

"Then--go back to your own bed."

Really...in a situation like this, when I'm trying desperately to control my transformation in Hysteria, I can't even soften my tone.

However, Riko didn't draw back.

It's fine if I warn her of the worst that may come, right? Even if it's a little harsh?

"What will you do if I go into Hysteria Mode...and attack you?"

I told her as if it was a last warning.

"When it happens, it will happen."

Riko responded, completely calm.

What a...You should think of yourself more preciously.

Furthermore, I'm also involved in this. I'm begging you, so please accept my warning and back off.

"But if you go into Hysteria Mode, it'll be a little bit troubling~. It feels like Riko's thoughts will all be seen through...every last one of them~. So--flirt with Riko until you're just about to, alright?"

"That's why I'm saying that I don't have that kind of control..."

"It's fiiiine~. I won't do anything weird."

"You're already doing it!"

I put my hands in my pockets, trying to take Riko's out.

And at that moment.

Riko grabbed my hands.

And just like that, suddenly--

(...?)

Riko gripped my hands tightly.

"Please...stay by my side..."

A serious voice.

I opened my eyes, which had been closed so tightly before.

Riko is...

(Riko is...crying?)

I tried to turn back in reflex, but Riko pushed her face against my back, not allowing me to do so.

"...Make Riko forget. Make Riko forget everything...Riko wants to forget...Everything from before...after seeing her, I remember it every night...Nightmares...Riko can't take it anymore..."

"...Before...?"

'H-Hil...Even saying her name is horrible. At Romania...she...I..."

Riko continued to cry into my back.

For a while, as I lay there, listening to her sobs...

I began to be able to read Riko's behaviour.

--Hilda.

The day before, she attacked us with a high voltage current...Riko was the only one she didn't attack. The batgirl of Grenada.

She's the daughter of the person who confined Riko in Romania before.

Dracula Vlad.

That girl probably also...tormented Riko, right?

And probably with the most extreme methods, having inherited her father's sadism.

That trauma was probably relived when Riko saw Hilda.

"Riko..."

...Having nightmares of painful memories...I can understand her feelings of wanting to...rely on someone.

Before, when I had lost my family...I was in that stage of grief where all I wanted to do was cry against someone.

So...having gone through the same thing together and being able to sympathise...well, it's not that I can do that.

Doing something like this is fine...right?

In response to Riko's crying, the Hysteria bloodflow died down.

And turning around forcefully...

"..."

I took Riko's head, which she kept down, not wanting to show her tearful face.

And I hugged her to my chest.

Having done that....

As if the emotions that she had been holding back up till that point had broken through...

Rika cried, her voice muffled by my chest.

Normally, Riko is...lighthearted, and she puts on a strong front, but...from way before, she's had an emotionally unstable part of her.

That's probably the manifestation of the wound she's received to her heart.

(Hilda...)

There's plenty of personal scores that I have to settle with you, but I really can't forgive you. After knowing this.

The next time I meet you--I'll do something to break you. Just like I did to your father.

"...When are you going to sleep until? You're going to be late."

An anime voice, filled with astonishment.

In the midst of the daylight, I lazily woke.

"...Riko...?"

Noticing that there was nobody in my arms, I muttered with a drowsy voice.

"Like I thought, you were with Riko.　No wonder your sleeping face was so happy."

I woke up at the sound of ''Aria'''s voice.

Aria, dressed in her sailor uniform and carrying her schoolbag, was staring down at me, her hands at her hips.

Just in case...it's impolite, but I flashed a glance at her chest...just confirming that it wasn't Riko in disguise.

It was as small as they could go. It's the real Aria.

Her eyes, which were already angry, grew angrier, and she slid her slender feet further apart, about 15% wider than the width of her shoulders, standing like a king.

This is...a sign that she's angry.

If I tell her that I was with Riko, I'll　probably be subjected to hole dancing.

"That's not it. I was alone..."

"Please say that after wiping the lipstick away from your cheek."

What? R-Riko...

I rubbed my cheek, but--nothing was there.

"That was a lie. You're really not suited to Inquesta."

Damn it. She got me.

Bloody Aria.

You managed to pull that on me despite being weak against Inquesta's tricks yourself. Why're you getting so desperate for?

"I passed by Riko below. And in the living room, there's two empty trays of the same meal, both eaten."

As if showing me more evidence, Aria picked up a strand of long, wavy, chestnut brown hair from next to my pillow before discarding it.

"Kinji. Why did you try to hide this from me?"

The blood vessels on her temple standing out to form a 'D', Aria looked down on me.

(G-God, that's terrifying...!)

I'm completely at a loss here.

"T-That's because you were asking with a face like a demon. Rather than that, is it fine for ''you'' to be here? You were told by Watson not to go to Kinji's room, right?"

For the first time in a long while, I activated the super secret technique handed down through the Tohyama family: 'Reverse Blame'.

"I-I...don't need to follow Watson's instructions."

"You certainly followed them very well, seeing as you haven't come here recently."

"That's--because after Watson came, you suddenly became seriously unhappy..."

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's all my fault."

Taking advantage of the fact that Aria had faltered a bit, I left my bed.

Preparing to be fired on, I changed into my bulletproof uniform.

"Rather than that...Kinji, why're you talking about Watson? It's still too early for me to talk about--he arbitrarily said that he'd even become my partner. That's why I'm saying, there's no need for you to stop caring and go running to Riko..."

Her voice getting more and more soft and fragmented, Aria seemed to be making some kind of excuse.

"What are you talking about? Watson's a nice guy. Isn't it fine for you to get along well with him?"

"Are you listening? Why are you getting so angry? It's true that Watson's a nice person, but..."

"It's fine. I'm not angry. Don't care about me."

As I spoke those words, letting them pierce the air--

Inside me, I felt the hazy thoughts that I had about Aria and Watson settle into place.

Until now...As Aria's partner, I've been fighting against the criminals affiliated with I-U.

But those battles were all very, very close.

If I had taken even one step incorrectly, Aria and I would have died a long, long time ago. Our days were spent walking on a tightrope.

And now, this time we're enfolded into the struggle between 'Deen' and 'Grenada'.

However, I don't have much anti-ability battle experience. If I directly confront those monsters, I'd be completely helpless. Just like what had happened at Sotohori Way.

On the other hand, Watson beat Hilda off with just a threat. He prepared expensive equipment to fight against a formidable foe, and he has the technical knowledge.

In regards to the battles from now onward-

''Aria should team up with Watson.''

That's why, for the sake of Aria's safety...I probably started to treat Aria badly on purpose, even if I wasn't conscious of it, trying to distance myself from Aria.

Also, in the first place--the two of them are 'Holmes and Watson'.

They fit each other well. No matter what anybody thinks, they'd come to the same conclusion.

"..."

As if obeying what I had told her, 'don't care about me', Aria left the room, her footsteps sluggish.

--I'll be going to school alone again.

And though I'm going to class, I'll be alone.

That would be the fault of my conflict with Watson.

I've been completely undermined, from the outside in.

But, if he's undermined me...

That means that the bastard's moving.

In the battles of times long past, once the fortress has been undermined...

The next step is to attack the heart of the citadel.

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