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The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village:Volume1 Chapter 1

2012-06-22T21:29:47Z

74.110.222.76:

==Chapter 1: Regarding Jinnai Shinobu==

===Part 1===

The large residence with a thatched roof looked more like the set for a period piece than somewhere anyone actually lived. As I opened the front door, my eyes met with a burglar young enough to still get away with being a freeter.

“Eh? Wait…you!?”

As my heart jumped up into my throat, I reached for the umbrella stand and grabbed a wooden sword that had been bought as a souvenir in Kyoto.

“What the hell happened to our home security!?”

I shouted out louder than necessary more to gain control of my panicking heart than anything. When I swung up the sword with relative seriousness, the burglar managed to unfreeze his body and move. His body readied to flee. With loud footsteps, he shot out onto the open porch and then into the unnecessarily large yard.

The burglar tripped over a stone in the yard and fell flat on his face. Wallets and an ornamental bear spilled out of the backpack he wore. He hesitated over whether he should pick them up, but he finally decided to give priority to flight.

My overall small granny must have finally noticed the ruckus because she headed out to the porch. She smelled of incense, so she must have been cleaning the Buddhist altar.

“What is it, Shinobu? Did a stray cat get in?”

“It was a burglar. Honestly, what happened to our house’s sensors?”

“Sorry. Your granny likes a nice breeze, so I had a window open. That shut off the switch.”

“No, I’m not blaming you. And when I say ‘sensors’, I’m not really talking about the security company either.”

“All the agricultural products in these Intellectual Villages are brand names, so we get so many thieves. I was left speechless when I heard a bunch of grapes costs 30,000 yen.”

“Yeah, but the junmai daiginjo dad and the others make in the facility out back is at least 50,000 yen a cup, right?”

The burglar had spilled his spoils across the yard, but granny checked inside to make sure nothing else was taken. Burglars had started to steal even the solar panels on the roof, so it could be a real pain.

Meanwhile, I put the Kyoto souvenir back in the umbrella stand and decided I might as well report it to the police with my smartphone. It likely wasn’t going to do any good. The village’s police stations were incredibly short on officers and they rarely answered the call from the 110 operator due to either listening to music with headphones during the day or sleeping at their posts at night. Also, they could hardly stand up to a real armed group of thieves. If people actually believed the police could do anything, they wouldn’t exactly pay the security companies so much out of pocket, now would they?

When I finished with that process that I had decided I “might as well” do, I walked across the wood floor of the hallway and further back into the residence.

The thatched roof house had no redeeming value outside of its age, but it did have a few points in its favor.

One of those was the real Zashiki Warashi that lived inside.

“Honestly, isn’t it a Zashiki Warashi’s job to protect the house and keep this kind of thing from happening?” I muttered as I arrived at a door.

Without knocking on the sliding door (can you even knock on sliding doors?), I forcefully opened it and shouted at the top of my voice.

“You, Zashiki Warashi!! Quit slacking off and do your job!!”

But the Zashiki Warashi in question was not there.

After staring into the empty room for a second, I headed for a new destination. I knew where she likely was if she was not there. It was possible she was out (even if she was a Zashiki Warashi), but that was highly unlikely in the middle of a summer day as hot as this one. She would only bother to go out for a walk early in the morning or in the evening.

It may have been the case for all Zashiki Warashis, but there was one characteristic that the one in our house definitely had. Due to this characteristic, I knew one place that had either the highest or second highest appearance rate for her.

That place was my room.

“…That damn indoor Youkai.”

This time there was no reason to knock or say anything. I grabbed the handle of the sliding door to my room and forcefully slid it to the side.

“You’re getting careless, Zashiki Warashi. How the hell did you overlook a burglar!?”

The Zashiki Warashi that had entered my room without permission glanced over at me. She was a black-haired beauty that looked perfect in a red yukata. The Youkai’s body proportions were much too glamorous to be called a “child”.

She was wearing special goggles for a 3D movie.

She was holding a wireless controller and controlling a character displayed on the big screen.

For an instant…

Just an instant…

My body froze up despite the fact that I knew this was what Youkai were really like. A single word took control of my mind. On an impulse, I opened my mouth and shouted.

“Appearances!! You need to keep up appearances as a Youkai!! The culture of Youkai is part of this country’s traditional arts! Do you want to lose that!?”

“Yeah, but isn’t that idea of Youkai just taken from manga and anime? Youkai are supposed to blend into the background of each passing era. The idea of the ‘good old’ Youkai that fit into the ‘good old days’ is nothing more than a recent trend. There’s no real reason we have to stay exactly the same.”

“Yes, but a Zashiki Warashi is supposed to bring fortune to the house it lives in as well as drive out burglars and such.”

“I don’t wanna do that!!”

The glamorous Zashiki Warashi removed the goggles, took a pose in the video game, and then turned to face me while still sitting cross-legged.

The hem of her yukata was flipped up and the white of her thighs stabbed into my eyes, but she did not seem to mind.

“I would rather you didn’t shove all the battling onto us Zashiki Warashi! I am completely confident I would lose spectacularly to another Youkai and even to a human if they were Onmyouji class!!”

“This is the 21st century, so I doubt that profession even exists anymore. Also, if this was some Onmyou master thief or something else straight from a light novel, I think he would steal things in more fantastical way, you damn Youkai.”

“Also, if I did more Zashiki Warashi-like things, wouldn’t you actually get mad at me?”

“You mean sneak into my futon and straddle me with no warning in the middle of the night?”

That was apparently a characteristic of all Zashiki Warashis, and it would have been fine if she looked 10 like the stereotypical Zashiki Warashi. However, when it was done by one whose bust exceeded 90 cm, it was more than adolescent boy knew how to deal with. Rather than feel lucky, I would feel a shock rush through my body like my heart was jumping up and breaking my ribs.

The dynamite body Zashiki Warashi was completely unaware of all this, so she casually changed the subject.

“More importantly, you went to the Sanatorium, didn’t you? The sweets shop is on the way. I assume you at least bought some popsicles on your way back. Can I count on at least that much?”

“Shut up. Huh? They’re gone… Oh, when I grabbed the wooden sword, I…”

I headed back to the front entrance, but not to treat the Zashiki Warashi. I simply did not want the popsicles I had bought to melt before anyone could eat them. The box of 10 popsicles was indeed lying on the floor. I had dropped them when I reached for the wooden sword to deal with the burglar.

I returned to the room with the Zashiki Warashi and she immediately pulled a soda-flavored popsicle from the box. I received no thanks whatsoever. However…

“Nnnn!! Air conditioning isn’t bad, but you just can’t beat cooling down from within.”

“Your smiles at times like this really do fit the ‘child’ part.”

She ignored my comment. As a Youkai who was as old as the house, she may have seen it as the nonsense of a human child.

“Speaking of the Sanatorium, did Madoka say anything troublesome?”

“…She’s more or less troublesome through and through, but she was extra troublesome today.”

“If it’s that bad, I think I’ll plug my ears right now.”

“No, you’re listening to this. I’m getting you involved in this even if I have to force you.”

===Part 2===

The reason I had gone out into the heat during summer break was to head to a facility known as the Sanatorium so I could visit an acquaintance named Madoka.

However, Madoka did not have some horrible illness.

She was simply a classmate of mine.

As the old-fashioned word “sanatorium” suggests, it was simply meant to add to the atmosphere of the Intellectual Village just like the thatched roof of my house. The facility had nothing to do with tuberculosis, mental illness, or anything else medical. The Intellectual Village created a brand-name image of the “good old days”, and the Sanatorium was something like an attraction.

I had no idea why the rich would pay so much money just to be hospitalized there despite having nothing wrong with them. But then, taking a trial tour of the JSDF had become a popular means of dieting, so businesses had been created around providing strange ways of staying healthy.

Since it was targeted toward rich people with odd tastes, the price was of course ridiculously high.

My classmate Madoka-chan had a rich enough family, but she herself was a super high school girl who did day trading herself.

They must have been focusing on providing the expected image, because the waiting room had overly strict means of preventing escape installed in places.

“Hello, how are things outside?” asked a girl in a thin surgical gown with a smile so lively I doubted anyone could be healthier than her.

“Peaceful…other than the off-season Yuki Onna I met at the bus stop. Y’know, I’m not going to have interesting things happen to me all the time.”

[[Image:Zashiki_v01_023.jpg|thumb]]

“But it’s summer break for students.”

“A perfectly healthy girl who chooses to hole up in this medical facility has no right to say that.”

“That doesn’t stop me from saying it,” said Madoka.

I was there simply because I was the class president. To be blunt, Madoka was a problem child. She did not get along well with her parents and she found no enjoyment in school. No actual abuse or bullying had occurred, but she was still definitely isolating herself.

Our homeroom teacher preferred to avoid all conflict, so the job of checking on her periodically had been thrust onto me even though it was summer break.

“Are you doing your homework?”

“That really has no impact from someone who hasn’t done his homework either.”

“I won’t deny that, but I’m just trying to start a conversation. If I don’t find something to talk about, the conversation isn’t going to last long. I’ve been looking after you since April and I still don’t even know what kind of food you like.”

“If we have nothing to talk about, I can teach you how to make money.”

“That’s the thing about you. You can make all the money you need on your own, so you never rely on anyone. And so you feel no need to meet anyone halfway. Is that why you’ve isolated yourself despite having no real reason to?”

“You say that, but what do you want me to do? Should I throw 30 billion yen into the train station trash just to get along with everyone? Or should I force troublesome tasks on others for the sake of communication even though I don’t need anything done? You know, something like ‘Hey, you over there. I’ll give you 5 billion yen, so use it to make double that.’ Actually, I think that would be enough to put a normal high school student in the mental hospital.”

“Yeah, probably,” I replied offhand.

Unfortunately, my role was merely to talk with Madoka, not to resolve her problems. Why would I go that far? It isn’t like class president is a paying job.

“By the way, some guys in suits have been walking around. Who are they? Did you hire some kind of service again?”

“They aren’t here for me. I haven’t lived that long yet.”

“?”

“They’re inheritance agents.” Madoka lightly waved her slender index finger around. “As you know, the Sanatorium focuses more on creating the right mood than on any actual function. The only people here are either health enthusiasts like me or old people who have gotten sick of making money in some filthy city so they simply want to live out their last days peacefully surrounded by the beauty of nature.”

“And what are those something-or-other agents here for?”

“I don’t really know. The reasons differ from person to person. Some do not want to give their family their inheritance. Some want to give their inheritance to their mistress rather than their wife. Some want to give everything to their grandchild while not leaving a single yen for their son.”

I can’t say what my expression was at that moment, but Madoka had a mischievous look in her eyes as she stared straight at me.

She had a way of livening up when it came to talk of money.

“All of them have their reasons for leaving their families and coming to the Sanatorium, so it isn’t surprising that these inheritance agents are so common here.”

“Being rich must be tough…” I muttered without thinking.

Merely by living in an Intellectual Village, I may have qualified as rich, but my allowance was no greater than that of a normal kid, so it never seemed that way to me.

“It could be a lot worse than that.” Madoka grinned. “A while ago, there was a rumor that anyone who entered a certain room here would die. A certain rich old man actually had his family enthusiastically try to throw him into that room.”

“…Seriously?”

“Seriously. I thought it might have something to do with Youkai and Package, but it must not since nothing ever came of it. Or maybe the assembly simply hadn’t been completed.”

I didn’t like the sound of the terms she used.

Feeling weary, I replied, “If you’re going to talk about dangerous things, at least keep it within the realm of things relating to my position as the class president…”

“What are you talking about? If you haven’t brought me any interesting stories, my only option is to laugh at your tragedy. So I’ll take this opportunity to tell you something.”

“Myahhhh myahhh!! I’m not listening!!

“You mentioned that you met an off-season Yuki Onna on the way, didn’t you? You’re probably in a lot of trouble thanks to that. Why is it that Youkai always seem to hide when the reporters for a spiritual TV show arrive, but they always show themselves at the worst possible time for you?”

“Don’t ask me!”

“Is there some kind of smell only Youkai can detect? Maybe it has something to do with the sake your family makes.”

“My old man treats that Zashiki Warashi like she’s some great king of fear he needs to tremble before while my uncle is known for only getting teased by her.”

“But the fact remains that they both have a high encounter rate with her, right? Just like with that Yuki Onna, you always seem to run across the ones that you could have easily gone without running across and that it is quite dangerous to meet.”

She seemed to be truly enjoying herself.

As if in contrast to my weariness, Madoka’s face lit up as she added, “What I was talking about before barely counts as dangerous compared to you and that Yuki Onna. But now that you’ve run across her, you’re likely already involved and nothing I say will change it.”

===Part 3===

The red yukata-wearing Zashiki Warashi rolled over, opened a laptop lying on the tatami mats, and began browsing a video sharing site.

“I get it, I get it. Things took a dangerous turn and someone is trying to kill you. That has nothing to do with me. O-Ohhhhhh!! A panda videooooo!!”

“How cold-hearted can you be!?”

“I already told you not to expect any Youkai battles out of me. I’m basically a child, remember? I’m not suited toward ridiculous battles like the Shichinin Misaki or the Hyakki Yakou where they scatter curses everywhere and slaughter anyone they run across.”

“Surely there are other ways you can help! Also, that game system and that computer are mine! A Youkai can’t make a contract with the provider. If I die, you can’t access those video sharing sites!!”

“Chehh…”

It seemed that was the only aspect of this that bothered her. The adult-like Zashiki Warashi turned away from the video of a fluffy panda and faced me once more.

“So now you’re negotiating with Youkai. It’s disappointing how much of your innocence you’ve lost. You used to have such bright, pure eyes.”

“You need to stop trying to get by on seniority when you’re cornered.”

“You were cutest when I would give you a bath every day or when I would help you change in the pool changing room.”

“I said stop it!! We humans have no way to win when it comes to seniority!!”

“I really didn’t know what to do when you would grab onto my swimsuit and tug the entire time because you were afraid of getting lost. The problem was that you didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!” I screamed as my soul was torn down from the inside.

She had had that glamorous body since before my grandfather was born. Those things seemed so risqué when I thought back on them!!

“So is someone really trying to kill you?”

“Unfortunately.”

“What’s the reason this time?” asked the Zashiki Warashi as she rolled over and her pure white legs were exposed from the disheveled hem of her yukata. “You live in an Intellectual Village not a large city, so running into Youkai is not exactly rare. Especially for you, Shinobu. On that trip to the beach to swim, you got a love letter from a mermaid.”

“…Yeah, and afterwards I was almost dragged down to the bottom of the ocean.”

“Did you do anything to make that Yuki Onna try to haunt you and kill you? Like mentioning that story of a Yuki Onna sparing the man she married.”

“No.” I shook my head. “That’s not it.”

===Part 4===

After what Madoka had told me, I was of course on my guard.

On the way back from the Sanatorium, I trudged down the mountain road because I was too cheap to pay the bus fare. Due to thickly grown trees casting too much of a shadow, the area contained none of the solar panels that changed angle like sunflowers. Instead, a small waterway ran alongside the road with a great number of small hydroelectric water wheel generators running off of the natural water that was 300 yen a liter. Even something like that had been carefully calculated out with fluid mechanics to ensure the shape and width kept fallen leaves from clogging up the waterway.

I may have been on my guard, but I had overlooked one obvious fact. The mountain road was the only road back, so I would naturally pass by a certain bus stop near a sharp curve. And if the Yuki Onna I had met before was still standing there, I would of course run into her again.

“…I really am an idiot…”

“So we meet again. Hee hee hee… Perhaps this is destiny. So, how about you try marrying me?”

She looked to be around 13. She had long, pale blue hair and wore a pure white kimono that could easily be mistaken for burial clothes. An odd cracking noise of unknown origin seemed to come from the intentionally old-fashioned bus station bench. The plastic materials may have been undergoing some kind of change due to being frozen.

“…Yukinko was it?”

“I am a Yuki Onna. A Yuki Onna is the representative example of a beautiful Youkai. Please do not confuse a woman of deadly beauty such as myself with one of those brats that like to play with snow. Also, let’s get married.”

“A flat-chested Yuki Onna like you should probably just switch bodies with a certain large-breasted Zashiki Warashi I know.”

As I spoke, I could see a warning light flashing inside my head. I could also feel a definite change in temperature as I backed away from her.

Meeting a Yuki Onna could lead to death.

Unlike the Zashiki Warashi at my house, the Yuki Onna was a Youkai that had killing humans as a primary characteristic. Just as a Zashiki Warashi was wont to climb into your futon in the middle of the night and straddle you, a Yuki Onna would kill someone simply because she was a Yuki Onna.

To be blunt, she was more dangerous than some ferocious pet an irresponsible owner had abandoned.

I sorted through a few condition in my head.

Most people probably know the story of the Yuki Onna more on the level of a picture book or old story rather than as a Youkai tale. And that was the extent of my knowledge as well.

Two men were stranded on a snowy mountain in winter and a Yuki Onna killed the older man. She let the younger man go, but made him promise to never tell anyone what happened. Later, the man married a certain woman and ended up carelessly telling her the story of the Yuki Onna. However, it turned out the woman he married really was the Yuki Onna.

Looking at the story at face value makes the Yuki Onna look rather fickle, but if she had been planning to marry the younger man from the beginning, she actually seems much more meticulous. The story featured several promises both obvious and hidden. For example, if the younger man had married some other woman before the Yuki Onna appeared to him in disguise, she might have bared her fangs on him then.

Since old stories often have morals, one theory states that the Yuki Onna could represent the horrors of a mountain during winter and the marriage promise could represent proper mountain climbing knowledge. With the proper knowledge, a mountain can be enjoyably majestic, but it bares its fangs if you are careless.

But enough about explanations created by city scholars who have never seen a real Youkai.

The problem was that the existence that represented the horrors of a mountain during winter was leisurely sitting on a bench in front of me. Naturally, this was a situation where the conditions could possibly cause her to immediately bare her fangs on me.

I was in a dangerous position.

I decided the best way to avoid carelessly stepping on any landmines would be to not make any promises to her whatsoever. There were some Youkai that you would die just by seeing, so it could have been worse.

“…So why is a Yuki Onna like you out in this hot midsummer weather?”

“Will you promise to marry me if I tell you?”

“No, I won’t. And isn’t that rushing things a bit? You can barely even say we’ve met.”

That marriage request was likely a trigger that made her attack. She would ask anyone who met certain requirements to marry her. Any of those who agreed would be bound by promises and frozen to death. I could hardly take her seriously. She was taking marriage too lightly. It was light as air.

The little Yuki Onna looked at me with spiteful eyes.

“If you do not promise to marry me right here and now, I will make sure you die…”

“Geh!? You prepared two paths to attack!?”

''If I don’t make that ridiculous promise, I’ll be killed, but if I do make it, she’ll bind me with promises and kill me? Could the characteristics of a Yuki Onna be any worse!?

“I-I’m a minor…”

“Only by human rules. According to Youkai rules, even a verbal promise is enough. So let us get married. Marriage now.”

“I like the human way!! And I don’t think I would last even a day if I was thrown out into the snowy plains you come from!!”

“Then promise to marry me as soon as you are of marrying age according to the Japanese Constitution.”

“Too bad! The Japanese Constitution does not recognize marriage between human and Youkai, so it’ll never be possible!”

Customarily, Youkai were treated as something similar to human, but there was no actual legal basis to that. They could not even sign a cell phone contract.

The Yuki Onna tilted her head to the side and said, “So you’re saying it can’t happen unless the Japanese Constitution is revised for some reason? Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.”

''Geh. Not good. I doubt the law will change anytime soon, but I’m afraid of having her come after me in 50 years saying I’ve broken my promise. She’ll look exactly the same in 1000 years, so it’s completely possible.

“I won’t even discuss marrying someone whose name I don’t even know.”

“I am #58902385Ra4.”

[[Image:Zashiki_v01_035.jpg|thumb]]

''Shit, she’s serious. That was her national registration number that no one uses anymore, wasn’t it!?

“B-but I also need to know at least one weakness of someone before I’ll discuss marrying them.”

“I do not like cicadas or concrete dams.”

“Take this! Min-min<ref>Min-min is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cicada.</ref> bomber!!”

“Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

I grabbed a cicada from a nearby tree and threw it at her. The Yuki Onna fell off the bus stop bench and ran off. I didn’t get a good look at her face, but I had a feeling she was crying.

''Hmm.

''Good thing she was an idiot.

That was one way of driving away a Youkai.

What mattered most was that I had managed not to promise her anything.

“I don’t remember hearing that Yuki Onna don’t like cicadas. Was that a personal weakness rather than one of the entire race?”

With a quizzical look on my face, I started back down the mountain road.

I had made it past the first threat after Madoka’s warning, so I can’t deny that I let my guard down a bit.

However, I would not have been able to avoid what came next even if I had been on my guard.

Immediately afterwards, someone suddenly shot me in the chest with a hunting rifle.

===Part 5===

The Zashiki Warashi in the bright red yukata rolled over and her glossy hair spread out across the tatami mats.

With a bored look on her face, she said, “I call bullshit on that. If you really had been shot, you wouldn’t have come back home.”

“Okay, fine. I exaggerated a bit. I wasn’t actually shot through the heart.”

“You actually do well in school, but you don’t look like it at all, so try not to say things in such a stupid way.”’

Thanks to that, my nickname was “Intellectual Yakuza”.

But anyway…

“I don’t want to be called stupid by such a good-for-nothing Youkai. And nothing you say sounds remotely Youkai-like anymore. You should be saying things that sound like they are filled with significance and make you sound like you have vast experience from having lived since before the dawn of civilization, not checking the times of net concerts every day!”

“Oh? Would you rather have a debate regarding the range of random numbers X that relates to the frequency with which Youkai appear?”

“Don’t bring up one of the top 10 unsolved problems of the 21st century!! Also, you’re a Youkai, so doesn’t that give you too much of an advantage?”

“You’re saying I should know everything about Youkai just because I am one? How naïve. Shinobu, can you give me the random number range for the genes that determine if a human is male or female as well as explain when, where, and how those genes are expressed?”

“Nhh…”

“There are just things we don’t know. We just live as we are. Neither of us are scholars and we can live perfectly fine without knowing why we were born,” said the Zashiki Warashi with a thin smile. “Also, comments that sound full of significance or ancient experience are not really all that valuable. All of that only sounds so impressive because the differences between modern language and archaic language make things take longer to understand. That so-called significance is nothing more than what you see every day. If you said it in modern language, you would just be describing things everyone already knows. What value is there in forcing those things into old, formal language?”

I got the feeling the conversation would never make progress if I didn’t just give in there.

“…Can we get this conversation back on track?”

“I’d rather digress some more.”

“Why are you such a pain in the ass, you Zashiki Warashi!?”

“Oh, that’s another thing. I’d like to complain about being referred to simply as ‘Zashiki Warashi’. I don’t like how I was given a personal name and yet no one uses it. It feels like I have a stack of business cards that never grows any smaller.”

''Don’t act like you know what you’re talking about when you’ve never worked for a business.

“What was your number again?”

“No, not the number string the government gave me. Did you forget my personal name is Yukari?”

“…Is it? Well, no point in remember that. Zashiki Warashi gets the point across well enough.”

“What if there are two other Zashiki Warashi standing on either side of me?”

“In that case, good-for-nothing Zashiki Warashi or indoor Zashiki Warashi should work.”

“…”

Still smiling, the black-haired Zashiki Warashi that looked good in the bright red yukata fell silent.

And then she suddenly pinched my right nipple.

“Ky-kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

My entire body started to tremble.

''Wh-what!? Is some unexplored door beginning to open!?

“…People’s names are important, aren’t they?”

“Wait, stop…Ayayaya, don’t twist!!”

“Aren’t they?”

“Ahh, ahh!! Yes, they certainly are, Yukari-sama!!”

“Fine then.”

With that strange approval, she finally removed her fingers from that protuberance of my body.

While trying to catch my breath I said, “C-can we…Can we finally…get back to the main topic?”

“I still want to digress some more…”

“No, thank you!! Let’s bring this back!! We’re backing up!!”

I had no idea how far off topic we would get if I let that Zashiki Warashi maintain control of the conversation any longer. Despite how I look, I try to be at least a bit on the S side of things! I had no intention of seeing those as two sides of the same coin and therefore developing in both directions, so my only option was to forcibly regain control.

“O-okay…How far did I get?”

“The difference in sensitivity between of the right one and left one.”

“No!! Oh, I remember! I was shot by a hunting rifle!!”

That was when she had called bullshit.

However…

“The truth of the matter is that someone really did fire one at me.”

“Who? The Yuki Onna?”

“Someone. I don’t know who, but a human. I was shot at by a human. Only a human would go to the effort of specifically using a hunting rifle. They were clearly being cautious of the laws.”

“I suppose. In this Intellectual Village where a bunch of grapes costs 30,000 yen, the extermination of harmful animals like crows and boars is an everyday event. It’s true that even if the gunshot of a hunting rifle is heard throughout the village, no one will think some dangerous incident has occurred.”

That was what made rural areas so scary.

Normally, people would assume something was horribly wrong just by hearing a gunshot. However, the norm here was a bit different. The fact that no one would be surprised to see someone wandering around with a gun makes you wonder if the village was even part of Japan.

“So who was it? Did you happen to catch the Chinese mafia burying a mutilated corpse?”

“They wouldn’t bury someone in an area where nature is so highly maintained.”

“Then who was it?” asked the Zashiki Warashi.

I sighed and then answered.

“''An inheritance agent.''”

===Part 6===

My first thought upon hearing the gunshot of the hunting rifle was that someone was dealing with some dangerous animal. The sound hurt my ears meaning it was nearby, but I was in the mountain. A hunter working nearby was not too surprising.

It was some things other than the gunshot that seemed strange.

First of all, there was an electric car driving up the mountain road. Intellectual Village was an incarnation of the ecological and health booms, so that in itself was not too strange. However, it ''was'' unusual for the engine sound effect meant to warn those who could not see it to be deactivated. This meant it was approaching silently.

Second of all, the back window of the electric car was open and a man wearing a suit was leaning out and holding a hunting rifle. I had never heard of a hunter shooting from within a car, and someone pursuing a dangerous animal would not be wearing a suit. Hunters always walked through the mountains and wore bright orange vests. This was to reduce the danger of being confused for a bear and shot by a fellow hunter.

Third of all, a portion of the bus stop bench next to me shattered along with the gunshot.

The shot had not merely mistakenly gone my way.

The man was clearly aiming or me!

“…!?”

''Who?

''Why?

There was of course a reason I had been able to start moving before answering the questions that appeared in my mind.

This was because I could not properly imagine what kind of destruction a hunting rifle could do. Even if it had shattered a bench right in front of me, I could not imagine how much pain I would feel if it pierced my own flesh.

If it had been a knife or a metal bat, I would have been able to clearly imagine the pain and therefore would have frozen up in fear.

The hunting rifle’s power was simply so great that the silently approaching electric car seemed more intimidating. Since I felt the road was dangerous, I looked past the guardrail on the sharp curve of the mountain road and felt fear grab at my heart due to the 5 meter drop there.

The fact that the danger was so great actually gave me a way out.

I did not give a single thought to whether I could actually escape the hunting rifle by jumping from that small cliff.

Instead, I leaned over the guardrail simply in order to avoid the car headed my way.

I did not exactly jump.

I lost my balance and fell rolling down the 70 degree slope before I had a chance to mentally prepare myself.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

My vision spun around and around and around.

Dull pain tore across my entire body.

My breathing stopped.

A stinging pain spread across every inch of my skin.

As I rolled down, I broke the branches of short thickets and the smell of the grass I was crushing gained a dark red iron-like scent to it. It didn’t feel like I had broken any bones, but I had no strength. My breathing was erratic. It reminded me of the body blow I had received in a punishment game once. I had overdone it. The pain and suffering was so great that I completely forgot about the hunting rifle and the electric car.

Reality was forced back into my mind by an explosive noise from overhead.

It was the sound of the double-barreled hunting rifle being fired once more.

''You’re not letting me off the hook after I fell down a cliff!? I’m just a high school boy. I can’t think of anything I’ve done that would warrant going this far!!

“Dammit…!!”

''At any rate, my only option is to find some cover and make a run for it!!

I dragged my aching body along and frantically started rustling through the underbrush and making my way between trees. That was when I realized it. If the man had taken time and aimed at me, he would have hit me. He had lost sight of me, and that previous shot had been to see if I would react.

I had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.

The noise I made as I moved had to have given away my position.

I could feel myself paling, but what was done was done.

''I guess I have no choice but to run to safety!!

The suited attacker would be hesitant to jump down from that height. However, he would eventually work up his resolve. I had to get as much distance as I could in that time.

Normally thinking, I could not escape someone who had a hunting rifle by running. However, it was too soon to give up. The Type 32 from Yasuda Firearms the attacker was using was a shotgun. It was the same one the old man next door used. Compared to a standard rifle type, it had a short range. On top of that, the area was filled with high class Japanese cypress trees. The more distance I got, the denser the cover between us would be. From 40 to 50 meters would be the deadliest range. Once I made it 100 meters away, I would likely survive even if I was hit.

I may have been completely wrong about that.

That may have just been the mistaken reckoning of an amateur high school boy.

But whether I was wrong or not, that hopeful view kept me from freezing up.

I ran through the trees and trampled the underbrush while pulling out my cell phone. I could only hope for the bare minimum of functionality as even the lens of its camera was broken. (I had a smartphone too, but the Zashiki Warashi usually swiped it to use as a music player.) The nice thing about an Intellectual Village was that you got three bars of signal even in the mountains. For an instant, I was worried they could track me using it, but I decided it wasn’t worth worrying about. After all, the attacker was close enough to actually see me.

However, I did not call 110. Rescue would never make it in time. The ones who would take action first if I reported it would be the small police department in the village. Only one old man would be there at that time. If that old man was enough of an elite soldier to handle this situation, the people making high class fruits would not pay so much to hire armed security guards.

I made the call without hesitation.

My classmate answered with a voice lively enough to put the school sports teams to shame.

“What is it? Did you forget something?”

“Madoka-san. I have something I’d like to ask you!”

“I haven’t done the summer homework if that’s what it’s about.”

The thunderous roar of a gunshot rang out nearby. The dull sound of bark being ripped from trees continued afterwards. I ran on with the belief that my groundless, hopeful view was accurate. I had no choice but to believe it even if it was groundless. If I had let my fear catch up to me, I would have frozen up. And so I thought only about the convenient things that would allow me to survive. I fled. As I did so, I shouted into the phone half in desperation.

“You said meeting that Yuki Onna was dangerous!!”

“Right, right.”

“Well, you didn’t know anything about those inheritance agents being even more dangerous, did you!?”

“Wow, Shinobu-kun. So you’ve already figured that much out.”

“I’ll fucking kill you!! Why didn’t you tell me that from the beginning!?”

I heard the sound of flowing water and grimaced. If there was a river, the trees acting as my cover would thin out. The danger of being shot would increase. However, there was no stopping my legs. I knew it was dangerous, but I had no choice but to continue straight on.

Whether she knew my situation or not, Madoka’s voice was utterly indifferent as she said, “Eh? But I was hoping for a good story. It would’ve been a complete waste to tell you that beforehand.”

“…!!”

''Thank you for the courage to live on☆

''I’m gonna survive this no matter what so I can give you a good punch!!

“Inheritance agents advertise their services as ‘successfully transferring the client’s inheritance to the client’s person of choice regardless of the legal order’. I guess you could think of them as a group of lawyers that are a bit more active than most. I explained that much here at the Sanatorium.”

“They wouldn’t be carrying around a hunting rifle if they were a proper business! I’m guessing there’s some darker aspect to this!”

“The problem lies in their method of transferring the inheritance. Doing so while ignoring the legal order would normally be impossible. That means the client cannot give everything directly to their grandchild while skipping over their son. They know that would be stopped by the courts.”

The trees ended.

I stopped without thinking and found a small river and rocky riverside. Both together were about 30 meters across. However, I would not be able to keep up my usual pace across those hard rocks and in the water. But if I hung around, the attacker would catch up and shoot me.

“The clients first transfer their assets to the inheritance agent. This is a donation of assets rather than an inheritance. Sending it to some third person at that point is no different than a company giving to a specific individual, so it can be given to a grandson or mistress or whoever else. The amount given is less due to a donation tax having to be paid twice. However, the inheritance agent can make back the amount lost through investments.”

“You mean like that day trading you love so much?”

“When it’s related to an Intellectual Village, they can also deal in high quality agriculture futures.”

The sound of someone moving through the underbrush and branches gradually approached.

I had no time to hesitate.

I knew it was dangerous, but I charged out onto the rocky river bank.

“If they succeeded in that, they wouldn’t be wandering around with a hunting rifle. So did their investments fail and now they’ve lost the assets they’re supposed to hand over?”

“No, they never had any intention of giving those assets to the specified person. After being legally given those assets, they just keep them for themselves.”

“Then they’re just a bunch of con artists!!

“Exactly. However, they make hundreds of millions if not billions of yen per job. With that much money on the line, they’ll be willing to get rid of someone who has become inconvenient.”

I ran across the river bank covered in round rocks and then charged into the small river. The flow was stronger than I had expected. I continued forward while making sure my feet weren’t taken out from under me.

''Don’t come.

''Don’t come.

''Don’t come.

If that man with the hunting rifle from that corrupt lawyer group made his way out of the trees, it was almost certain he would shoot me in the back.

“Okay, I get that they have a reason to kill someone. But why me!? I don’t have any evidence of their dishonesty and I never chanced across anything incriminating!!”

I had seen those inheritance agents going back and forth within the Sanatorium, so had I seen anything dangerous there? I couldn’t think of anything. I couldn’t think of a single thing I could have seen that would warrant shooting me with a hunting rifle and disposing of my body somewhere.

“Wait. Wait!!”

“What?” replied Madoka.

“What’s the connection here?”

The water filling my shoes felt quite uncomfortable. I couldn’t believe that people in the cities put a 300 yen price tag on a liter of the stuff. Even so, I continued on. I made it across the small river and started running across the smooth stones once more.

“You said the Yuki Onna was dangerous, right? Is there some connection between her and the inheritance agents!?”

“''That’s exactly what I was saying''.”

“!?”

A rustling came from a thicket on the other side of the clear stream from me.

At about the same moment, I made it across the rocky bank and charged into the trees of the forest.

I felt the gunshot reverberate in my stomach more than I heard it. Wild birds took flight all around me.

I had just barely made it.

But there was no guarantee I would make it next time.

Crossing the river had slowed my pace down by too much. I had somehow managed to hide in a thicket, but I was too close. The density of the trees around me was too low to act as proper cover.

A lead bullet would reach me.

However, I had a means of victory.

In the old days, rivers were often used as borders between lands. The simplest example is probably the borders of a prefecture or a city.

Private property was no exception.

And in an Intellectual Village where the agriculture was of such high quality that a bunch of grapes cost 30,000 yen, people made sure to have security networks that could protect their crops.

I only had to raise one hand.

The instant it was caught by the infrared sensor, something happened.

Something rose up in a straight line to block my path.

It was a wire security net with high voltage electricity running through it.

It was likely meant to keep out both dangerous animals and thieves. The beasts would continue on and be roasted, but a human would notice the danger and step back.

To make sure that the humans did not escape, a similar high voltage net rose up behind me on the rocky river bank. I was surrounded by the net walls.

I heard the slight static of speakers installed in the area being powered on.

They were most likely set to play a recording when the intruder was concluded to be human since nothing was “roasted”.

“Beyond this point is a mandarin orange orchard owned by Tanaka Farms. Entry of all unauthorized personnel is forbidden. Members of security are being dispatched, but Tanaka Farms is not liable for any harm done by the high voltage current before you. I repeat…”

I heard the sound of someone walking through a thicket.

The suited man carrying a hunting rifle appeared.

However, he had heard the announcement too. He had to know the unrelated security guards would be arriving before long. Even if he killed me there, he did not have time to retrieve the body and dispose of all traces of the crime.

We glared at each other for a few seconds.

Finally, the suited man slowly backed away while still aiming the hunting rifle at me. He then clicked his tongue and ran off.

It may have been due to being surrounded by those high voltage nets, but the cell phone connection had ended.

While waiting for rescue to arrive on that mountain, I muttered quietly to myself.

“…Package, hm?”

===Part 7===

The Zashiki Warashi in the bright red yukata spoke with her cheeks stuffed full of the ohagi my overall small granny had brought us.

“Fi’m funfry. (I’m hungry).”

“What kind of starving character are you? And could you actually listen to my story?”

“I wonder why people fall for scams,” she said in a tone that made it sound like a Youkai would never fall for one.

She then brought another ohagi to her mouth. She was still lying down, so it was rather rude.

“It’s so obvious that’s dangerous from the moment you have to hand your money over to someone else temporarily. It’s not like you can demand your money back after giving it to them.”

“The ideal situation for a con artist is not some proper method that no one would find suspicious. They prefer something that looks good at that the time and seems worth it ''even if it is a bit risky''. That bit is what clouds over people’s rational decision making ability.”

“So something like a chance at being one of the clever winners in life?”

“Or they say they’re giving you some special advice because you were one of the lucky few to be chosen.”

My words put an oddly bewitching smile on the Zashiki Warashi’s face.

“So the desire to give your inheritance to someone other than your proper family is an attractive enough opportunity to cloud people’s judgment?”

Admittedly, that left a bad taste in my mouth too, but I would have preferred she did not look at me like I was the representative of humanity’s evil intentions.

“But from what you’ve said, they’re just a group of con artists.”

“Yes, and from how smoothly Madoka was able to explain it all, people must be beginning to catch on to their M.O. It’s probably at the stage where people just need some proof.”

“It’s that Yuki Onna that Madoka mentioned that catches my interest,” she said. “Since you spotting her developed into that hunting rifle attack, that Yuki Onna must be an important factor to those inheritance agents. Which means…”

“Which means it might have something to do with Package.”

===Part 8===

===Part 9===

===Part 10===

===Part 11===

===Part 12===

===Part 13===

===Part 14===

===Notes===
<references/>
<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[The_Zashiki_Warashi_of_Intellectual_Village:Volume1_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[The_Zashiki_Warashi_of_Intellectual_Village|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[The_Zashiki_Warashi_of_Intellectual_Village:Volume1_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 7

2012-06-17T21:19:46Z

74.110.222.76:

==Chapter 7 - Knight and Maiden==

It happened soon after the Holy Woman of the Sword had been inaugurated, at the end of the queen's funeral.

It was on a path through a grassy field leading to the castle. The sky was clear and blue, just like the old pastoral songs would describe.

"Do you want to be free?"

A boy grabbed the arm of a beautiful girl in a broken carriage.

"Right now, you're stuck in a cage. Do you want to be free?" the boy asked.

The girl laughed. She twisted her lips as if to ridicule the boy's naïveté and lack of restraint. It was an unbecoming laugh for the Maiden of the Holy Sword.

"If I could be free, I would have done so long ago."

Ann Duke was at first taken aback by her response. But then he smiled and nodded.

It was just a single chance meeting.

In that moment, his kindness gazed upon the future, and her strength pulled it closer.

In the stone hallway connecting the castle and the temple, a shadow proceeded straight through.

"Get out of the way!!"

With this single exclamation, the soldiers on duty stood down and opened the door. The shadow continued into the dark room, lit only by a magic square, without hesitation.

"Lady Orietta...!"

"What is the meaning of this!?" she shouted loudly amongst the magicians making a stir. Her hair was a mess due to lack of sleep. Her face was deep with the color of fatigue. However, the light in her eyes was strong.

"Explain this! Who started this disgusting activity!?"

"It was the on the orders of the king."

Riveil was the one who spoke up.

"Sir Riveil! Are you telling me that even you supported this!?"

"We were simply acting on the king's orders."

"Forget about him, then! Stop this horrible undertaking immediately!"

Orietta entered the center of the magic square. Several of the magicians could be seen shivering. The Holy Knight Ann Duke and the Maiden of the Holy Sword Orietta were given special privileges due to their social status. They were occasionally given more authority in certain matters than the king's closest retainers.

The only one amongst the magicians who could speak to Orietta as an equal was Riveil.

"Please stop, Lady Orietta! The magical technique is still being executed. If we stop the procedure, then some unfortunate reaction might occur in Lady Mimizuku's body due to the roughness of our knowledge regarding the matter," Riveil said in a reserved tone, though hoarsely enough to make one feel that it was dignified.

Orietta's index finger stopped.

She was seemed to be running it across the reflective surface of the magic square.

"Lady Orietta... please understand! We, as the ones who carried this out, will take responsibility of..."

"Would you not complain if someone stepped across your memories?" Orietta asked. Her obsidian eyes had tears floating in them.

"... Please understand. This too was for the country's sake..."

Riveil lowered his head deeply.

"Get out."

With her long, slender finger, Orietta pointed at the door.

"I will deal with you later. If you don't want to incite the rage of my husband, get out of this room immediately!"

The magicians could not oppose those words. Everyone bowed to Orietta, and then left the room.

Only Orietta remained in the room. She stared at the shining surface of the magic square as if clinging to it.

Orietta remembered her reason for coming here. When Mimizuku had suddenly lashed out, there was a faint presence of magical power in her. Orietta had been a top grade student of magic arts at the temple, and her genius in magic allowed her to sense the slight fluctuations of magic around Mimizuku.

Someone, somewhere, was reading Mimizuku's memories.

Mimizuku's memory itself was like a kaleidoscope, changing the scenery several times.

Orietta pursed her lips and made certain of what she was seeing.

Whatever was going on, she would put a stop to it.

If she loved Mimizuku, then that was what she needed to do.

After hearing that Mimizuku's memories had returned, Ann Duke ran back to the castle again.

When he opened the door, the first thing that leapt out at him was Mimizuku, screaming bloody murder.

"Where's Fukurou!?" Mimizuku yelled, grabbing at the attendants around her.

"Fukurou! Where's Fukurou!? What are they doing to him!?"

Ann Duke stopped without thinking upon seeing her menacing look. With her eyes wide open and her hair spinning wildly about in her corybantic rampage, she looked like a feral beast.

"No! Give him back! Give Fukurou back!!"

Mimizuku didn't seem to take any notice of what was around her. She simply called out for someone named "Fukurou" and thrashed about.

''" The Mimizuku whose memories have returned may be a completely different person from the Mimizuku we know now..."''

Ann Duke remembered his own words.

He thought that her mind might have slipped off into some far off emptiness, but still...

"Mimizuku!!"

Ann Duke raised his voice.

Even though Mimizuku had not been here for long, the days they had spent together were definite. In those few days, Mimizuku had smiled and felt happiness, and nothing could take that away.

Riding on a sliver of hope, Ann Duke called her name out.

Her motions stopped all at once. The attendants, worn out from being bitten and scratched, gazed at Ann Duke as though they received salvation.

"Mimizuku, it's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of," Ann Duke said in the quietest voice he could muster, slowly walking toward Mimizuku as if pacifying an injured beast.

Mimizuku, in a daze, stared at Ann Duke. She slowly blinked two or three times.

There was a sudden sparkle. Her expression had gone through innumerable changes. It was a mix of sadness, happiness, and pain. She then made a disjointed, disfigured face, as though she were making an impossible decision.

"An... dy..."

"Yes, what is it?"

Ann Duke then slowly ran his hand through Mimizuku's hair, drawing in close. It was at that moment.

In a more subdued action than her rampaging, Mimizuku flung off Ann Duke's hand.

Ann Duke, taken aback, closed his eyes dejectedly.

Mimizuku looked up at Ann Duke, glaring with her whole eye from the brow down. In her eyes was an unmistakable will. It wasn't hate. It was an amalgam of regret and misery.

"Leave," Mimizuku declared clearly. "Leave, Ann Duke."

"Mimizuku..."

"Get the hell out! I don't want you, or anyone else in here! Just leave me alone!"

The face of the one who said those words was not someone that Ann Duke knew. The Mimizuku that Ann Duke once knew was in a fleeting dream, with her innocent smile and her docile surprise.

He never thought she could have made as strong a face as she was making now.

"Mimizuku... should I leave you alone?" he asked, still unsure. Mimizuku pouted her lips and rolled her hands into fists.

"Please, leave me alone."

"I understand... I'll go."

Upon gently saying these words, Ann Duke made the attendants bow and leave. Ann Duke looked behind him one more time and spoke to Mimizuku, who was standing starkly in the center of the room.

"Mimizuku, please don't forget one thing."

No matter what kind of memories Mimizuku had, no matter what kind of world she lived in.

"We love you."

''Don't forget it.''

Hearing those words, Mimizuku cupped her face in her hands and turned away. She turned as if trying to shake off the memories of Ann Duke and the others.

Making a dull, quiet sound, the door closed behind her.

With that sound, Mimizuku collapsed onto the floor and gave a tiny, tiny sigh.

"... I love you too... Andy..."

''Ooh...''

These warm drops were tears.

"But I can't forgive you."

''I love you, but I won't forgive you.''

"I will absolutely never forgive you for burning Fukurou's painting..."

''Where are you?''

Sighing to herself, Mimizuku cried, thinking only of Fukurou.

That night, Mimizuku turned on the lamp at her bedside and sat down in her bed. There had been food delivered to her, but she didn't feel like eating, so she just drank water.

Mimizuku thought. She got lost in thought. Mimizuku hadn't used her brain often throughout her life, but for the sake of Fukurou, and for her own sake, she thought. She thought of what she had to do.

On top of her bed, she sat down neatly on her knees. She wiped her tears. She didn't want to be seen with such a pathetic face.

She then clearly spoke.

"Come out, Kuro."

She waited for several seconds. There was no response.

However, Mimizuku did not have any doubts.

"Kuro...!!"

She simply called out his name.

''Poof!''

Kuro's small form, quivering before her eyes like a flame, appeared with a small sound.

His form was different from how Mimizuku had always seen him in the forest, as his body was translucent and his existence could only be felt faintly. However, the way he scratched his cheek with his upper right hand and the crunching sound it made confirmed him to be Kuro.

"... It's been a while," Mimizuku said, still with slightly teary eyes.

"... I did not think that we would meet again. Mimizuku."

The way his voice rattled her eardrums, that was definitely Kuro.

"Why?" Mimizuku asked tremblingly.

"It is up to the world in which we live," Kuro responded indifferently.

"Is it because I lost my memories?"

"You could say that."

"Don't mess with me, Kuro."

Mimizuku's voice was low, and her words were heavy with accusation.

Then, as if opening a dam, Mimizuku leaned toward Kuro and let loose her thoughts.

"Ugh!! Why did Fukurou do something so idiotic!? I can't, I just can't believe it!! Was I really that much of a bother to him!? I know I was annoying! I know it, I know, I know, but... to go that far...!"

Small pools of tears began to form in Mimizuku's eyes.

"Am I really... that... unwanted? Was I... really... that much trouble...?"

Mimizuku had known how impudent and brazen the things she that day in the forest were. Mimizuku had known a lot ever since long before, since before she had even come to the forest.

She had felt as thought the pain would rip her in half.

She felt that if she remembered the past for even a moment, her mind and body would be torn apart by the pain.

However, she couldn't fall. She couldn't shed off the world she lived in, now matter how much she wanted to.

Because she had to see Fukurou again.

Kuro didn't answer Mimizuku's question. He simply stared up at her with those eyes whose expression was impossible to read.

"... You know, Kuro," Mimizuku said weakly as she wiped her tears.

"Fukurou's been captured. What should I do? Fukurou's been taken away from me..."

"I have indeed heard that the king has been captured by human hands."

"Yeah, that's right. Aren't the other monsters going to help him?"

"They cannot do that."

"Why?"

"Look at this body, Mimizuku."

Kuro then spread his four arms out wide. His body was dim and quivering, and Mimizuku could see through it.

"Right now, a strong spiritual barrier has been erected around this country. In the castle as well. Around the underground area where the king is held as well. I have managed to slip in through a hole in the web, but I cannot remain here for long."

"... So the monsters can't come here?"

"Aye." Kuro nodded. "However, that is not the immediate reason."

"What do you mean?" Mimizuku responded.

Kuro opened his pomegranate-like mouth.

"You humans underestimate the power of the Lord of Moonlight!" he said as if shouting. He shook his bat-like wings, but they did not make their usual flapping sound.

"Even if he is captured on the night of the new moon, when his power is weak for a short period of time! Who do you think he is!? The king of the Ieri, the King of Night! When the full moon appears, even if he is held down, he could burn this town, this entire country, to the ground!"

There, Kuro suddenly stopped moving.

"... However, the Lord of Moonlight did not do that."

"Y... yeah..."

Even Mimizuku understood what Kuro meant. From the very beginning, she had mulled over the fact that if Kuro wouldn't eat her, what monster would?

"This country being here right now. That in itself is the will of the Lord of Moonlight, and no matter what the Ieri wish, they cannot bend that will..."

"Then they've abandoned the King of Night!?" Mimizuku yelled without thinking.

Kuro lowered his head as if to escape Mimizuku's vision.

"... The King of Night is indestructible."

"But...!"

"Even if the current king is killed, allow time to pass, and magic power will gather in the earth, bringing about the birth of another king. That is how it is arranged."

"Then you ''are'' abandoning Fukurou!"

Kuro didn't answer.

As the flame in the lamp flickered, a fitting silence spread through the dark night. The moon from outside the window was large to the point of imbalance, but beautiful.

Finally, Kuro spoke.

"... There is nothing that I can do."

Mimizuku bit her lip at his response.

''Well then,'' she thought.

''What can I do?''

From the start it was wished that she would do something. Wished for by her own self, who had had her memories erased. Even if she thought and acted for Fukurou, she would just be neglected again, right?

''Neglected...''

Mimizuku finally understood what the word meant. Curling her hands into fists against her knees, she bared her teeth and thought.

The old Mimizuku in the forest would have never thought like this. She would live without thinking of the contents of others' hearts, and simply did what she wanted, which was to be told to do things by others. Mimizuku, who had come to know what it was like to be loved, was now afraid of not being loved, and she had come to know herself better because of this.

''Understanding so much... it's sad...''

Even so, she didn't think to go back. She didn't want to go back to that time, when the only thing she understood was pain.

She wanted to rescue Fukurou.

She wished to go back, but with all her knowledge of happiness and sadness and tears. She wished to go back to the forest together with Fukurou.

''Even so...'' she thought.

Even so, her memories ran about her. The ones of the forest, the ones of that village, and--the ones of this country.

Ann Duke caressed her kindly.

Orietta embraced her gently.

Claudius became her friend.

In this lifestyle, everyone was kind to her. Who would it help for her to turn around and kick sand in the faces of all these people?

Even Fukurou might not wish to be saved. She might be rejected again, even if she went and saved him.

If Fukurou rejected her again like he had in the forest, would her current self really be able to handle it?

Living here, eating the delicious food, being treated kindly, being happy.

"... That's right, Mimizuku," Kuro said, gently interrupting Mimizuku's thoughts. Startled, Mimizuku looked up.

"One moon ago, on the orders of the Lord of Moonlight, went to retrieve this. Hold out your hand. Mimizuku."

"Huh?"

A single strand of hair fell into Mimizuku's outstretched hand. It was somewhat dull, red hair.

"What's this...?"

She felt like she had seen it somewhere before. But where?

"I confirmed it on the orders of the Lord of Moonlight. This is proof. The man whose stomach you stabbed... still lives.

"Huh...?"

Mimizuku opened her eyes wide with surprise.

''What does he mean?''

Mimizuku looked at the strand of hair in her hand. This color was definitely it. That's right. The man inscribed on the last page of her bloodstained memories of the village.

He lived.

She hadn't known if it was true or not. If she were to doubt it, she would have had no proof, and if she had lied to herself, then she could have brandished a weapon as much as she liked. However, Kuro had confirmed that the man was alive for her.

Mimizuku hadn't killed anyone.

And Fukurou had made the order.

"Ah..."

Mimizuku tightened her grip on the hair, rolling her hand into a first around it, and placed it against her forehead.

How difficult to comprehend. How easily defeated were her notions, how unskilled.

And yet...

''He had always treated me kindly.''

Mimizuku understood.

''He had always, as much as he could, treated me kindly.''

She understood it now.

Warm drops of water began to fall. She wasn't sad, but they still fell.

"I must go. Mimizuku."

"Oh... Kuro...!"

Mimizuku looked up and saw that Kuro's figure was quivering unstably.

"I am sorry, but there was a limit from the start. If I use any further magic power, I may be detected."

And then, Kuro hesitated for just a moment. Mimizuku thought she saw him smile.

"Now, Mimizuku. If fate allow it... let us meet again.

"Wait! Wait, Kuro! Please, just tell me one thing!"

She told herself not to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop fast enough.

''I wish I could burn Kuro's shape into my eyes more clearly, more strongly...''

"Just tell me one thing! Kuro... is Fukurou important to you!? Or... or is he just important to you because he's your king, and not because he's Fukurou...!?"

Kuro's form was already paler than the morning mist, but he still answered Mimizuku clearly.

"That is right."

Mimizuku's face twisted.

"It is just as you say, Mimizuku."

That was how Kuro answered. However, Kuro's form had already disappeared, and his true last words remained in Mimizuku's ears.

''"However... the paintings drawn by the king... are incomparably beautiful. That is what I think."''

Those were Kuro's last words.

Alone, remaining in silence with only the light of the lamp, Mimizuku sat quietly, and finally wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She looked up out of the window at the moon.

It was as beautiful as Fukurou's eyes.

That day, Ann Duke went to the king's office. As he entered, the king did not stop his hand or look up from his documents.

Ann Duke slammed his palms down on the king's well-made, lacquered desk. It made a low thump.

His eyes burned blue, and his face had lost some color.

"Release the King of Night this instant!" Ann Duke said in a deep voice.

"I can't do that."

The king didn't look up, and his response showed that he knew everything that had happened.

"Why!? You've known the whole time, haven't you! You've been receiving reports from your magicians, right!?"

Overcome with impatience, Ann Duke grabbed the king's collar.

"... Let go of me."

The king's voice was also deep, and cold.

"Try raising a hand against me in this place. I have something that I cannot let go of as well. If you take your wife and leave this country, I will round up your remaining family and have them all beheaded and put on display as a warning. Are you prepared for that?"

Ann Duke felt a lump in his throat, and make a sound. He knew that the king was serious, and not merely tossing an empty threat.

He slowly removed his hand. The king still did not look up.

"... What reason could you possibly have for imprisoning that monster when he's done nothing to hurt us?"

"Monsters are monsters, and thus evil. That in itself is the reason."

"You can't be serious!!" Ann Duke shouted.

His wife had returned home late the night before and told him everything without wiping her tears. There was no way he could have stood by without doing anything.

The path Mimizuku had walked up to this point was nothing short of heroic.

"Between the degenerate humans who hurt her, and the King of Night who cared for her, tell me, which one is really evil!?"

"You are the one who carried out the subjugation of the demon king, Sir Ann Duke.

Ann Duke nodded. He was ready to accept his sin.

"That's right. That's why I'm the one telling you now, let the King of Night go free!"

However, the king did not give in.

"I cannot do that."

"Why?"

"Too much time has already passed. At the next full moon, in just a few days, the mummification of the King of Night will be complete. If we released him now, he wouldn't live long."

"Then shouldn't you give him back his magic power!?"

"Are you sane, Ann Duke?" The gray-haired king lowered his eyelids and shook his head. "Try it. If the demon king gets his power back, he will bring all of his monsters to this country and attack."

"... The King of Night isn't just an ordinary monster. If you speak with him, maybe you'll understand..."

"What a naïve thing to say. Ann Duke, with that kind of thinking, you'll expose this country and all of its citizens to danger."

Being bored through by the light of the king's sharp eyes, it was Ann Duke's turn to lower his eyelids.

"I'll protect them," he said, gritting his teeth.

He dropped the palms of his hands onto the desk, hanging his head.

"I'll protect all the citizens... and this country..." he sputtered out, although with a strong tone of voice.

The king thought it would be overdoing it to reject those words. He looked straight down at Ann Duke.

Since long before, the MacValen name had been famous in this country. When the youngest brother pulled the Holy Sword from the scabbard, his elder brother immediately complained to the king. "'My younger brother is too kind to hold that sword!'" he had said. The oldest, who was head of the MacValen household at the time, had declared that "'My younger brother is too rigid to hold that sword!'"

The king now knew that neither of them was wrong. He was both too kind, and at the same time too rigid, when wielding the sword.

His sword was a sword that did not balk at the act of murder, and he himself was not one to let his heart go out to the life that he had cast away.

Even so, the Holy Knight was able to become a "symbol" of this country, because he found something that he must protect. The wife he loved, his family, and his country.

So the king placed his hand firmly on Ann Duke's shoulder.

"... The king of this country... is me," the king declared, as if pressing for an answer.

"Let us recognize that there was a misunderstanding. Even so, there is no way to undo what has already been done. The subjugation of the demon king is something that we have been seeking for a very long time. In order to bring about prosperity for this country, we must make clear our magic power, and for that, we need a large amount of magic. All of this is for the sake of the country."

Ann Duke ground his teeth together. The king's words were not without meaning. The king was a man who placed the country before everything else. That was why he was king, and why the country was where it was.

"... With the King of Night's magic power..." Ann Duke said in an accusing tone, "Do you plan to heal Dia's arms and legs?"

He had always known. But he couldn't say it. He knew though, that if the king were to obtain such a large amount of magic power, Claudius would be his utmost priority.

"It's for the sake... of the country." Immediately after speaking, the king shifted his gaze. "I do not plan to give up the throne to anyone but Dia. However, if I died, I'm afraid with that body of his... he wouldn't be able to protect the whole country. If I can do anything at all, then I will do it. I've developed an army, and pushed for agricultural and commercial growth. However, with that body... with his arms and legs, I don't know if he can stand the pressure of the throne."

Ann Duke could not criticize the hapless king any further.

The king could not help but love his own son. Even Ann Duke, who had no children of his own, understood how painful it was.

"... What will become of Mimizuku?" Even so, he could not give in. "Even now, that girl is still crying, looking for the King of Night. What will become of her?"

What would become of Mimizuku, who cried out in pain just remembering the King of Night?

The king let out a single sigh.

"... Ann Duke. You're telling me that if the King of Night was to be freed, and he went back to that forest with her, Mimizuku would be happy? If Mimizuku returned to that forest, she'd be happy? Is that really what you're losing your patience over?" At those words, Ann Duke's face became dim. "Do you really think that that monster would want a single little human girl to be happy?"

"But...! Even so..."

The king turned his back to Ann Duke, who would still not give in.

The king looked down at the town from his office window.

"You raise her, Ann Duke. If you do that, then that girl will have no more troubles in her life. Give her happiness by your hand," the king said in a somewhat gentler tone.

Because the king's back was turned to him, Ann Duke wasn't able to see what kind of face the king had when he said those words.

"..."

"A person's happiness lies in other people, Ann Duke," the king, who had one child of his own, said.

Ann Duke bit his lip. He closed his eyes tightly.

He wanted to bring Mimizuku happiness. If he could, he would do it by his own hand. She had been reborn before Ann Duke as a nameless girl with pure-hearted eyes. Maybe it was fate. Maybe she appeared for the sake of his love and affection.

He thought that he would teach that poor, small girl of a brilliance many times greater than merely living. He thought that it would be wonderful if he could save this girl, who didn't even know the meaning of tears.

But who would understand?

Why are others able to limit the happiness of a single human being?

"... You will be attending the ceremony on the next night of the full moon, Holy Knight Ann Duke," the king said in a voice teeming with severity. "The one to finally stab the demon king's heart... will be you."

Ann Duke closed his eyes tightly upon hearing those words. He curled his hands into fists just as tightly.

"... As you wish..." he answered in a cracked voice, as if he were spewing blood. "... My king, Dantes."

That was the seldom spoken name of the king.

"I wanted to be a friend to you... Ann Duke."

Ann Duke then turned his own back to the king.

He never turned back.

The one who brought Mimizuku her lukewarm soup that day was not the usual attendant.

"Mimizuku, how are you feeling?"

Mimizuku kept her back turned to any guests, but she reflexively turned around upon hearing that familiar, gentle voice.

"... Orietta..."

It was Orietta, who was smiling and holding a tray.

"Why are you making that face? Do you want to get even thinner?"

"..."

Mimizuku looked down without answering. Interposing the large, canopy-affixed bed, she turned away.

Orietta smiled as if sighing, and placed tray with the soup bowl on it at the side of the bed.

She then turned around and sat down on the bed. Mimizuku had her back turned to Orietta, but she could still feel the vibration.

"Hey, Mimizuku," Orietta said in the gentlest voice she could muster, as she always did. "Would you like to become our daughter?"

Mimizuku blinked several times at Orietta's words.

"You know, I don't have a daughter, let alone one as big as you," Orietta said, giggling. She then lowered her eyelids a little. "My body can't have children."

Suddenly, Mimizuku's heart rang out.

''It hurts,'' she thought. Something inside of her hurt badly.

Orietta slowly began to speak, as if she were telling a small child a fairy tale.

"It can't be helped, but that's how it is. I'm the "Maiden of the Sword." I, along with the sword, am offered to the chosen hero--nothing more."

While listening to her words, Mimizuku thought of Orietta.

Orietta's indigo eyes resembled the night sky. Mimizuku found them very nostalgic.

They were the same color as Fukurou's hair.

Orietta continued to speak, as if singing.

"Whether I live or die is up to the hero. I'm no different than a slave!"

Mimizuku shivered at the mention of the word "slave." A cold sweat ran across her back. ''Now,'' she thought. ''Why now?''

Orietta chuckled. It seemed like she did, at least.

"But Ann Duke told me that... he told me, all the fortunes that he received from being chosen by the Holy Sword as the Holy Knight... he would give them all to me."

For some reason, Mimizuku's world began to waver incessantly.

Before Mimizuku's eyes expanded a scene of some happening long ago. Specks of flame. Two moons in the night sky.

"'Go wherever you like. You're free now,' he said."

''"Go. Girl who names beasts. There is no reason for you to be here anymore.''"

It was him.

He was the reason she had been there from the start.

"You're free."

"Why?" Orietta said, gazing at Ann Duke. She acted brave, straightening her back.

It was the second time the two had spoken. It had only been a few days since the incident with the carriage.

Ann Duke was still young, and Orietta was still small.

"I'm yours."

That was how she had been raised. Born as an infant, raised in an orphanage, and handed over to the temple after her genius with magic had been discovered, she underwent rigorous studies in the magic arts in order to become the priestess to defend the Holy Sword. In the process, she lost the ability to have children, but she thought little of it.

"If so, then go beyond the horizon. I won't do anything about it."

"Why?"

Orietta's face grew twisted.

She didn't know what kind of face to make.

"Why are you telling me something like this?"

"You told me before. 'If I could be free, I would have done so long ago.' Since I can, I'm releasing you from your birdcage."

"But you don't gain anything from it..."

Ann Duke shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't lose anything either. I'm the good-for-nothing son of a knight family. --Actually, there is one thing I'm losing. By letting you go, I'm missing my chance with a beautiful girl... But even so, I want you to smile. So that's that."

And then, Ann Duke looked deeply into Orietta's eyes.

"If it forces one woman to become a sacrifice, then the Holy Sword is not so holy anymore, is it?"

At those words, Orietta's shoulders slumped straight down.

''Oh, I see...''

This was without a doubt the man "chosen" by the Holy Sword.

"Where should I go?"

"Eh, as if I knew."

"I see. Well then, where do you live?"

"Huh?"

Ann Duke left his mouth hanging half-open. To that miserable look, Orietta struck a daunting pose.

"I asked you where your house is. I've always wanted to cook and clean on my own. If it's alright with you, please hire me."

"... Are you serious?"

"Completely. Of course, only if your mansion is fairly comfortable."

Then, Orietta gave a hearty smile.

"I don't care if you hire me or give me up."

"Orietta..."

Mimizuku gasped.

"Even though you were free, why didn't you go anywhere?"

Orietta turned around and faced Mimizuku's small, rolled up back.

"Well," she said, "even if I choose not to go anywhere, isn't that a choice I made freely?"

Mimizuku covered her face with her hands. Tears began to drip from her eyes.

She thought of Orietta.

She thought of Fukurou.

She thought of what Orietta said, about how not going anywhere was a choice you can make freely as well.

''Fukurou.''

She called out his name.

''Hey, Fukurou.''

''Where did you tell me to go?''

''That time, I would have chosen to stay by your side.''

''Is it alright for me to stay by your side?''

No, that's not right. She didn't need permission from anyone. Hadn't she made the decision that day? Among the rustling of the Forest of Night.

''Even if you don't allow me, I'll be by your side. Eat me, King of Night.''

She knew what crying was. She had been taught. She remembered.

"... Uuu... uuu..."

For some reason, her chest felt tight.

Her throat felt like it was burning, and she couldn't breathe. Suddenly, gently, she smelled a serene scent.

She was being embraced softly from behind by Orietta. She gently caressed her head, and she understood that Orietta too was crying.

Mimizuku wanted to shake her off. She had to shake her off. However, Orietta, quivering, spoke.

"... You've done so well..."

Orietta's arms were warm.

"You've done so well... to live up to this point..."

Those words broke the dam. Mimizuku cried, and cried.

"It wasn't that bad..." she said, sobbing uncontrollably. She had never thought it had been so tough.

Even though she lived the life she did, she never thought it was difficult. And then, every day she had spent since coming to the Forest of Night had been enjoyable.

"Hey... hey, Orietta..."

"... Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Orietta asked, patting Mimizuku on the back.

"When I received all those pretty clothes, and all those good things to eat, and when everyone was nice to me, what was I supposed to say to all that?"

Orietta smiled at Mimizuku's question.

"At times like that, you're supposed to say 'thank you.'"

"Thank... you..."

That's right, there was a word for that. Mimizuku held on to Orietta's hand and said it.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Orietta."

She cried as she spoke. She had to say it. She had to say it.

''Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...''

Her thoughts overflowed. Her words overflowed.

"Mimizuku...?"

"Uuu... ugh...! Th-th-thank... y-you... Kuro... Fuku... rou... thank you...!"

Mimizuku then collapsed, and wailed as if lost in a dream.

"Thank you! Thank you...!!"

She was happy.

She was incredibly happy.

''Even though you didn't do anything for me...''

''You listened to my story.''

With his cold eyes, beautiful like moons, he looked at Mimizuku.

''I existed in those eyes.''

It was the first time she knew she was alive.

''Thank you.''

"I... I miss yoooooouuu...!"

''There's something I have to tell you.''

Orietta, as though she had made a decision, embraced Mimizuku more tightly.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Return to [[Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Forward to [[Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 7

2012-06-17T21:18:47Z

74.110.222.76:

==Chapter 7 - Knight and Maiden==

It happened soon after the Holy Woman of the Sword had been inaugurated, at the end of the queen's funeral.

It was on a path through a grassy field leading to the castle. The sky was clear and blue, just like the old pastoral songs would describe.

"Do you want to be free?"

A boy grabbed the arm of a beautiful girl in a broken carriage.

"Right now, you're stuck in a cage. Do you want to be free?" the boy asked.

The girl laughed. She twisted her lips as if to ridicule the boy's naïveté and lack of restraint. It was an unbecoming laugh for the Maiden of the Holy Sword.

"If I could be free, I would have done so long ago."

Ann Duke was at first taken aback by her response. But then he smiled and nodded.

It was just a single chance meeting.

In that moment, his kindness gazed upon the future, and her strength pulled it closer.

In the stone hallway connecting the castle and the temple, a shadow proceeded straight through.

"Get out of the way!!"

With this single exclamation, the soldiers on duty stood down and opened the door. The shadow continued into the dark room, lit only by a magic square, without hesitation.

"Lady Orietta...!"

"What is the meaning of this!?" she shouted loudly amongst the magicians making a stir. Her hair was a mess due to lack of sleep. Her face was deep with the color of fatigue. However, the light in her eyes was strong.

"Explain this! Who started this disgusting activity!?"

"It was the on the orders of the king."

Riveil was the one who spoke up.

"Sir Riveil! Are you telling me that even you supported this!?"

"We were simply acting on the king's orders."

"Forget about him, then! Stop this horrible undertaking immediately!"

Orietta entered the center of the magic square. Several of the magicians could be seen shivering. The Holy Knight Ann Duke and the Maiden of the Holy Sword Orietta were given special privileges due to their social status. They were occasionally given more authority in certain matters than the king's closest retainers.

The only one amongst the magicians who could speak to Orietta as an equal was Riveil.

"Please stop, Lady Orietta! The magical technique is still being executed. If we stop the procedure, then some unfortunate reaction might occur in Lady Mimizuku's body due to the roughness of our knowledge regarding the matter," Riveil said in a reserved tone, though hoarsely enough to make one feel that it was dignified.

Orietta's index finger stopped.

She was seemed to be running it across the reflective surface of the magic square.

"Lady Orietta... please understand! We, as the ones who carried this out, will take responsibility of..."

"Would you not complain if someone stepped across your memories?" Orietta asked. Her obsidian eyes had tears floating in them.

"... Please understand. This too was for the country's sake..."

Riveil lowered his head deeply.

"Get out."

With her long, slender finger, Orietta pointed at the door.

"I will deal with you later. If you don't want to incite the rage of my husband, get out of this room immediately!"

The magicians could not oppose those words. Everyone bowed to Orietta, and then left the room.

Only Orietta remained in the room. She stared at the shining surface of the magic square as if clinging to it.

Orietta remembered her reason for coming here. When Mimizuku had suddenly lashed out, there was a faint presence of magical power in her. Orietta had been a top grade student of magic arts at the temple, and her genius in magic allowed her to sense the slight fluctuations of magic around Mimizuku.

Someone, somewhere, was reading Mimizuku's memories.

Mimizuku's memory itself was like a kaleidoscope, changing the scenery several times.

Orietta pursed her lips and made certain of what she was seeing.

Whatever was going on, she would put a stop to it.

If she loved Mimizuku, then that was what she needed to do.

After hearing that Mimizuku's memories had returned, Ann Duke ran back to the castle again.

When he opened the door, the first thing that leapt out at him was Mimizuku, screaming bloody murder.

"Where's Fukurou!?" Mimizuku yelled, grabbing at the attendants around her.

"Fukurou! Where's Fukurou!? What are they doing to him!?"

Ann Duke stopped without thinking upon seeing her menacing look. With her eyes wide open and her hair spinning wildly about in her corybantic rampage, she looked like a feral beast.

"No! Give him back! Give Fukurou back!!"

Mimizuku didn't seem to take any notice of what was around her. She simply called out for someone named "Fukurou" and thrashed about.

''" The Mimizuku whose memories have returned may be a completely different person from the Mimizuku we know now..."''

Ann Duke remembered his own words.

He thought that her mind might have slipped off into some far off emptiness, but still...

"Mimizuku!!"

Ann Duke raised his voice.

Even though Mimizuku had not been here for long, the days they had spent together were definite. In those few days, Mimizuku had smiled and felt happiness, and nothing could take that away.

Riding on a sliver of hope, Ann Duke called her name out.

Her motions stopped all at once. The attendants, worn out from being bitten and scratched, gazed at Ann Duke as though they received salvation.

"Mimizuku, it's alright. There's nothing to be afraid of," Ann Duke said in the quietest voice he could muster, slowly walking toward Mimizuku as if pacifying an injured beast.

Mimizuku, in a daze, stared at Ann Duke. She slowly blinked two or three times.

There was a sudden sparkle. Her expression had gone through innumerable changes. It was a mix of sadness, happiness, and pain. She then made a disjointed, disfigured face, as though she were making an impossible decision.

"An... dy..."

"Yes, what is it?"

Ann Duke then slowly ran his hand through Mimizuku's hair, drawing in close. It was at that moment.

In a more subdued action than her rampaging, Mimizuku flung off Ann Duke's hand.

Ann Duke, taken aback, closed his eyes dejectedly.

Mimizuku looked up at Ann Duke, glaring with her whole eye from the brow down. In her eyes was an unmistakable will. It wasn't hate. It was an amalgam of regret and misery.

"Leave," Mimizuku declared clearly. "Leave, Ann Duke."

"Mimizuku..."

"Get the hell out! I don't want you, or anyone else in here! Just leave me alone!"

The face of the one who said those words was not someone that Ann Duke knew. The Mimizuku that Ann Duke once knew was in a fleeting dream, with her innocent smile and her docile surprise.

He never thought she could have made as strong a face as she was making now.

"Mimizuku... should I leave you alone?" he asked, still unsure. Mimizuku pouted her lips and rolled her hands into fists.

"Please, leave me alone."

"I understand... I'll go."

Upon gently saying these words, Ann Duke made the attendants bow and leave. Ann Duke looked behind him one more time and spoke to Mimizuku, who was standing starkly in the center of the room.

"Mimizuku, please don't forget one thing."

No matter what kind of memories Mimizuku had, no matter what kind of world she lived in.

"We love you."

''Don't forget it.''

Hearing those words, Mimizuku cupped her face in her hands and turned away. She turned as if trying to shake off the memories of Ann Duke and the others.

Making a dull, quiet sound, the door closed behind her.

With that sound, Mimizuku collapsed onto the floor and gave a tiny, tiny sigh.

"... I love you too... Andy..."

''Ooh...''

These warm drops were tears.

"But I can't forgive you."

''I love you, but I won't forgive you.''

"I will absolutely never forgive you for burning Fukurou's painting..."

''Where are you?''

Sighing to herself, Mimizuku cried, thinking only of Fukurou.

That night, Mimizuku turned on the lamp at her bedside and sat down in her bed. There had been food delivered to her, but she didn't feel like eating, so she just drank water.

Mimizuku thought. She got lost in thought. Mimizuku hadn't used her brain often throughout her life, but for the sake of Fukurou, and for her own sake, she thought. She thought of what she had to do.

On top of her bed, she sat down neatly on her knees. She wiped her tears. She didn't want to be seen with such a pathetic face.

She then clearly spoke.

"Come out, Kuro."

She waited for several seconds. There was no response.

However, Mimizuku did not have any doubts.

"Kuro...!!"

She simply called out his name.

''Poof!''

Kuro's small form, quivering before her eyes like a flame, appeared with a small sound.

His form was different from how Mimizuku had always seen him in the forest, as his body was translucent and his existence could only be felt faintly. However, the way he scratched his cheek with his upper right hand and the crunching sound it made confirmed him to be Kuro.

"... It's been a while," Mimizuku said, still with slightly teary eyes.

"... I did not think that we would meet again. Mimizuku."

The way his voice rattled her eardrums, that was definitely Kuro.

"Why?" Mimizuku asked tremblingly.

"It is up to the world in which we live," Kuro responded indifferently.

"Is it because I lost my memories?"

"You could say that."

"Don't mess with me, Kuro."

Mimizuku's voice was low, and her words were heavy with accusation.

Then, as if opening a dam, Mimizuku leaned toward Kuro and let loose her thoughts.

"Ugh!! Why did Fukurou do something so idiotic!? I can't, I just can't believe it!! Was I really that much of a bother to him!? I know I was annoying! I know it, I know, I know, but... to go that far...!"

Small pools of tears began to form in Mimizuku's eyes.

"Am I really... that... unwanted? Was I... really... that much trouble...?"

Mimizuku had known how impudent and brazen the things she that day in the forest were. Mimizuku had known a lot ever since long before, since before she had even come to the forest.

She had felt as thought the pain would rip her in half.

She felt that if she remembered the past for even a moment, her mind and body would be torn apart by the pain.

However, she couldn't fall. She couldn't shed off the world she lived in, now matter how much she wanted to.

Because she had to see Fukurou again.

Kuro didn't answer Mimizuku's question. He simply stared up at her with those eyes whose expression was impossible to read.

"... You know, Kuro," Mimizuku said weakly as she wiped her tears.

"Fukurou's been captured. What should I do? Fukurou's been taken away from me..."

"I have indeed heard that the king has been captured by human hands."

"Yeah, that's right. Aren't the other monsters going to help him?"

"They cannot do that."

"Why?"

"Look at this body, Mimizuku."

Kuro then spread his four arms out wide. His body was dim and quivering, and Mimizuku could see through it.

"Right now, a strong spiritual barrier has been erected around this country. In the castle as well. Around the underground area where the king is held as well. I have managed to slip in through a hole in the web, but I cannot remain here for long."

"... So the monsters can't come here?"

"Aye." Kuro nodded. "However, that is not the immediate reason."

"What do you mean?" Mimizuku responded.

Kuro opened his pomegranate-like mouth.

"You humans underestimate the power of the Lord of Moonlight!" he said as if shouting. He shook his bat-like wings, but they did not make their usual flapping sound.

"Even if he is captured on the night of the new moon, when his power is weak for a short period of time! Who do you think he is!? The king of the Ieri, the King of Night! When the full moon appears, even if he is held down, he could burn this town, this entire country, to the ground!"

There, Kuro suddenly stopped moving.

"... However, the Lord of Moonlight did not do that."

"Y... yeah..."

Even Mimizuku understood what Kuro meant. From the very beginning, she had mulled over the fact that if Kuro wouldn't eat her, what monster would?

"This country being here right now. That in itself is the will of the Lord of Moonlight, and no matter what the Ieri wish, they cannot bend that will..."

"Then they've abandoned the King of Night!?" Mimizuku yelled without thinking.

Kuro lowered his head as if to escape Mimizuku's vision.

"... The King of Night is indestructible."

"But...!"

"Even if the current king is killed, allow time to pass, and magic power will gather in the earth, bringing about the birth of another king. That is how it is arranged."

"Then you ''are'' abandoning Fukurou!"

Kuro didn't answer.

As the flame in the lamp flickered, a fitting silence spread through the dark night. The moon from outside the window was large to the point of imbalance, but beautiful.

Finally, Kuro spoke.

"... There is nothing that I can do."

Mimizuku bit her lip at his response.

''Well then,'' she thought.

''What can I do?''

From the start it was wished that she would do something. Wished for by her own self, who had had her memories erased. Even if she thought and acted for Fukurou, she would just be neglected again, right?

''Neglected...''

Mimizuku finally understood what the word meant. Curling her hands into fists against her knees, she bared her teeth and thought.

The old Mimizuku in the forest would have never thought like this. She would live without thinking of the contents of others' hearts, and simply did what she wanted, which was to be told to do things by others. Mimizuku, who had come to know what it was like to be loved, was now afraid of not being loved, and she had come to know herself better because of this.

''Understanding so much... it's sad...''

Even so, she didn't think to go back. She didn't want to go back to that time, when the only thing she understood was pain.

She wanted to rescue Fukurou.

She wished to go back, but with all her knowledge of happiness and sadness and tears. She wished to go back to the forest together with Fukurou.

''Even so...'' she thought.

Even so, her memories ran about her. The ones of the forest, the ones of that village, and--the ones of this country.

Ann Duke caressed her kindly.

Orietta embraced her gently.

Claudius became her friend.

In this lifestyle, everyone was kind to her. Who would it help for her to turn around and kick sand in the faces of all these people?

Even Fukurou might not wish to be saved. She might be rejected again, even if she went and saved him.

If Fukurou rejected her again like he had in the forest, would her current self really be able to handle it?

Living here, eating the delicious food, being treated kindly, being happy.

"... That's right, Mimizuku," Kuro said, gently interrupting Mimizuku's thoughts. Startled, Mimizuku looked up.

"One moon ago, on the orders of the Lord of Moonlight, went to retrieve this. Hold out your hand. Mimizuku."

"Huh?"

A single strand of hair fell into Mimizuku's outstretched hand. It was somewhat dull, red hair.

"What's this...?"

She felt like she had seen it somewhere before. But where?

"I confirmed it on the orders of the Lord of Moonlight. This is proof. The man whose stomach you stabbed... still lives.

"Huh...?"

Mimizuku opened her eyes wide with surprise.

''What does he mean?''

Mimizuku looked at the strand of hair in her hand. This color was definitely it. That's right. The man inscribed on the last page of her bloodstained memories of the village.

He lived.

She hadn't known if it was true or not. If she were to doubt it, she would have had no proof, and if she had lied to herself, then she could have brandished a weapon as much as she liked. However, Kuro had confirmed that the man was alive for her.

Mimizuku hadn't killed anyone.

And Fukurou had made the order.

"Ah..."

Mimizuku tightened her grip on the hair, rolling her hand into a first around it, and placed it against her forehead.

How difficult to comprehend. How easily defeated were her notions, how unskilled.

And yet...

''He had always treated me kindly.''

Mimizuku understood.

''He had always, as much as he could, treated me kindly.''

She understood it now.

Warm drops of water began to fall. She wasn't sad, but they still fell.

"I must go. Mimizuku."

"Oh... Kuro...!"

Mimizuku looked up and saw that Kuro's figure was quivering unstably.

"I am sorry, but there was a limit from the start. If I use any further magic power, I may be detected."

And then, Kuro hesitated for just a moment. Mimizuku thought she saw him smile.

"Now, Mimizuku. If fate allow it... let us meet again.

"Wait! Wait, Kuro! Please, just tell me one thing!"

She told herself not to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop fast enough.

''I wish I could burn Kuro's shape into my eyes more clearly, more strongly...''

"Just tell me one thing! Kuro... is Fukurou important to you!? Or... or is he just important to you because he's your king, and not because he's Fukurou...!?"

Kuro's form was already paler than the morning mist, but he still answered Mimizuku clearly.

"That is right."

Mimizuku's face twisted.

"It is just as you say, Mimizuku."

That was how Kuro answered. However, Kuro's form had already disappeared, and his true last words remained in Mimizuku's ears.

''"However... the paintings drawn by the king... are incomparably beautiful. That is what I think."''

Those were Kuro's last words.

Alone, remaining in silence with only the light of the lamp, Mimizuku sat quietly, and finally wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She looked up out of the window at the moon.

It was as beautiful as Fukurou's eyes.

That day, Ann Duke went to the king's office. As he entered, the king did not stop his hand or look up from his documents.

Ann Duke slammed his palms down on the king's well-made, lacquered desk. It made a low thump.

His eyes burned blue, and his face had lost some color.

"Release the King of Night this instant!" Ann Duke said in a deep voice.

"I can't do that."

The king didn't look up, and his response showed that he knew everything that had happened.

"Why!? You've known the whole time, haven't you! You've been receiving reports from your magicians, right!?"

Overcome with impatience, Ann Duke grabbed the king's collar.

"... Let go of me."

The king's voice was also deep, and cold.

"Try raising a hand against me in this place. I have something that I cannot let go of as well. If you take your wife and leave this country, I will round up your remaining family and have them all beheaded and put on display as a warning. Are you prepared for that?"

Ann Duke felt a lump in his throat, and make a sound. He knew that the king was serious, and not merely tossing an empty threat.

He slowly removed his hand. The king still did not look up.

"... What reason could you possibly have for imprisoning that monster when he's done nothing to hurt us?"

"Monsters are monsters, and thus evil. That in itself is the reason."

"You can't be serious!!" Ann Duke shouted.

His wife had returned home late the night before and told him everything without wiping her tears. There was no way he could have stood by without doing anything.

The path Mimizuku had walked up to this point was nothing short of heroic.

"Between the degenerate humans who hurt her, and the King of Night who cared for her, tell me, which one is really evil!?"

"You are the one who carried out the subjugation of the demon king, Sir Ann Duke.

Ann Duke nodded. He was ready to accept his sin.

"That's right. That's why I'm the one telling you now, let the King of Night go free!"

However, the king did not give in.

"I cannot do that."

"Why?"

"Too much time has already passed. At the next full moon, in just a few days, the mummification of the King of Night will be complete. If we released him now, he wouldn't live long."

"Then shouldn't you give him back his magic power!?"

"Are you sane, Ann Duke?" The gray-haired king lowered his eyelids and shook his head. "Try it. If the demon king gets his power back, he will bring all of his monsters to this country and attack."

"... The King of Night isn't just an ordinary monster. If you speak with him, maybe you'll understand..."

"What a naïve thing to say. Ann Duke, with that kind of thinking, you'll expose this country and all of its citizens to danger."

Being bored through by the light of the king's sharp eyes, it was Ann Duke's turn to lower his eyelids.

"I'll protect them," he said, gritting his teeth.

He dropped the palms of his hands onto the desk, hanging his head.

"I'll protect all the citizens... and this country..." he sputtered out, although with a strong tone of voice.

The king thought it would be overdoing it to reject those words. He looked straight down at Ann Duke.

Since long before, the MacValen name had been famous in this country. When the youngest brother pulled the Holy Sword from the scabbard, his elder brother immediately complained to the king. "'My younger brother is to kind to hold that sword!'" he had said. The oldest, who was head of the MacValen household at the time, had declared that "'My younger brother is too rigid to hold that sword!'"

The king now knew that neither of them was wrong. He was both too kind, and at the same time too rigid, when wielding the sword.

His sword was a sword that did not balk at the act of murder, and he himself was not one to let his heart go out to the life that he had cast away.

Even so, the Holy Knight was able to become a "symbol" of this country, because he found something that he must protect. The wife he loved, his family, and his country.

So the king placed his hand firmly on Ann Duke's shoulder.

"... The king of this country... is me," the king declared, as if pressing for an answer.

"Let us recognize that there was a misunderstanding. Even so, there is no way to undo what has already been done. The subjugation of the demon king is something that we have been seeking for a very long time. In order to bring about prosperity for this country, we must make clear our magic power, and for that, we need a large amount of magic. All of this is for the sake of the country."

Ann Duke ground his teeth together. The king's words were not without meaning. The king was a man who placed the country before everything else. That was why he was king, and why the country was where it was.

"... With the King of Night's magic power..." Ann Duke said in an accusing tone, "Do you plan to heal Dia's arms and legs?"

He had always known. But he couldn't say it. He knew though, that if the king were to obtain such a large amount of magic power, Claudius would be his utmost priority.

"It's for the sake... of the country." Immediately after speaking, the king shifted his gaze. "I do not plan to give up the throne to anyone but Dia. However, if I died, I'm afraid with that body of his... he wouldn't be able to protect the whole country. If I can do anything at all, then I will do it. I've developed an army, and pushed for agricultural and commercial growth. However, with that body... with his arms and legs, I don't know if he can stand the pressure of the throne."

Ann Duke could not criticize the hapless king any further.

The king could not help but love his own son. Even Ann Duke, who had no children of his own, understood how painful it was.

"... What will become of Mimizuku?" Even so, he could not give in. "Even now, that girl is still crying, looking for the King of Night. What will become of her?"

What would become of Mimizuku, who cried out in pain just remembering the King of Night?

The king let out a single sigh.

"... Ann Duke. You're telling me that if the King of Night was to be freed, and he went back to that forest with her, Mimizuku would be happy? If Mimizuku returned to that forest, she'd be happy? Is that really what you're losing your patience over?" At those words, Ann Duke's face became dim. "Do you really think that that monster would want a single little human girl to be happy?"

"But...! Even so..."

The king turned his back to Ann Duke, who would still not give in.

The king looked down at the town from his office window.

"You raise her, Ann Duke. If you do that, then that girl will have no more troubles in her life. Give her happiness by your hand," the king said in a somewhat gentler tone.

Because the king's back was turned to him, Ann Duke wasn't able to see what kind of face the king had when he said those words.

"..."

"A person's happiness lies in other people, Ann Duke," the king, who had one child of his own, said.

Ann Duke bit his lip. He closed his eyes tightly.

He wanted to bring Mimizuku happiness. If he could, he would do it by his own hand. She had been reborn before Ann Duke as a nameless girl with pure-hearted eyes. Maybe it was fate. Maybe she appeared for the sake of his love and affection.

He thought that he would teach that poor, small girl of a brilliance many times greater than merely living. He thought that it would be wonderful if he could save this girl, who didn't even know the meaning of tears.

But who would understand?

Why are others able to limit the happiness of a single human being?

"... You will be attending the ceremony on the next night of the full moon, Holy Knight Ann Duke," the king said in a voice teeming with severity. "The one to finally stab the demon king's heart... will be you."

Ann Duke closed his eyes tightly upon hearing those words. He curled his hands into fists just as tightly.

"... As you wish..." he answered in a cracked voice, as if he were spewing blood. "... My king, Dantes."

That was the seldom spoken name of the king.

"I wanted to be a friend to you... Ann Duke."

Ann Duke then turned his own back to the king.

He never turned back.

The one who brought Mimizuku her lukewarm soup that day was not the usual attendant.

"Mimizuku, how are you feeling?"

Mimizuku kept her back turned to any guests, but she reflexively turned around upon hearing that familiar, gentle voice.

"... Orietta..."

It was Orietta, who was smiling and holding a tray.

"Why are you making that face? Do you want to get even thinner?"

"..."

Mimizuku looked down without answering. Interposing the large, canopy-affixed bed, she turned away.

Orietta smiled as if sighing, and placed tray with the soup bowl on it at the side of the bed.

She then turned around and sat down on the bed. Mimizuku had her back turned to Orietta, but she could still feel the vibration.

"Hey, Mimizuku," Orietta said in the gentlest voice she could muster, as she always did. "Would you like to become our daughter?"

Mimizuku blinked several times at Orietta's words.

"You know, I don't have a daughter, let alone one as big as you," Orietta said, giggling. She then lowered her eyelids a little. "My body can't have children."

Suddenly, Mimizuku's heart rang out.

''It hurts,'' she thought. Something inside of her hurt badly.

Orietta slowly began to speak, as if she were telling a small child a fairy tale.

"It can't be helped, but that's how it is. I'm the "Maiden of the Sword." I, along with the sword, am offered to the chosen hero--nothing more."

While listening to her words, Mimizuku thought of Orietta.

Orietta's indigo eyes resembled the night sky. Mimizuku found them very nostalgic.

They were the same color as Fukurou's hair.

Orietta continued to speak, as if singing.

"Whether I live or die is up to the hero. I'm no different than a slave!"

Mimizuku shivered at the mention of the word "slave." A cold sweat ran across her back. ''Now,'' she thought. ''Why now?''

Orietta chuckled. It seemed like she did, at least.

"But Ann Duke told me that... he told me, all the fortunes that he received from being chosen by the Holy Sword as the Holy Knight... he would give them all to me."

For some reason, Mimizuku's world began to waver incessantly.

Before Mimizuku's eyes expanded a scene of some happening long ago. Specks of flame. Two moons in the night sky.

"'Go wherever you like. You're free now,' he said."

''"Go. Girl who names beasts. There is no reason for you to be here anymore.''"

It was him.

He was the reason she had been there from the start.

"You're free."

"Why?" Orietta said, gazing at Ann Duke. She acted brave, straightening her back.

It was the second time the two had spoken. It had only been a few days since the incident with the carriage.

Ann Duke was still young, and Orietta was still small.

"I'm yours."

That was how she had been raised. Born as an infant, raised in an orphanage, and handed over to the temple after her genius with magic had been discovered, she underwent rigorous studies in the magic arts in order to become the priestess to defend the Holy Sword. In the process, she lost the ability to have children, but she thought little of it.

"If so, then go beyond the horizon. I won't do anything about it."

"Why?"

Orietta's face grew twisted.

She didn't know what kind of face to make.

"Why are you telling me something like this?"

"You told me before. 'If I could be free, I would have done so long ago.' Since I can, I'm releasing you from your birdcage."

"But you don't gain anything from it..."

Ann Duke shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't lose anything either. I'm the good-for-nothing son of a knight family. --Actually, there is one thing I'm losing. By letting you go, I'm missing my chance with a beautiful girl... But even so, I want you to smile. So that's that."

And then, Ann Duke looked deeply into Orietta's eyes.

"If it forces one woman to become a sacrifice, then the Holy Sword is not so holy anymore, is it?"

At those words, Orietta's shoulders slumped straight down.

''Oh, I see...''

This was without a doubt the man "chosen" by the Holy Sword.

"Where should I go?"

"Eh, as if I knew."

"I see. Well then, where do you live?"

"Huh?"

Ann Duke left his mouth hanging half-open. To that miserable look, Orietta struck a daunting pose.

"I asked you where your house is. I've always wanted to cook and clean on my own. If it's alright with you, please hire me."

"... Are you serious?"

"Completely. Of course, only if your mansion is fairly comfortable."

Then, Orietta gave a hearty smile.

"I don't care if you hire me or give me up."

"Orietta..."

Mimizuku gasped.

"Even though you were free, why didn't you go anywhere?"

Orietta turned around and faced Mimizuku's small, rolled up back.

"Well," she said, "even if I choose not to go anywhere, isn't that a choice I made freely?"

Mimizuku covered her face with her hands. Tears began to drip from her eyes.

She thought of Orietta.

She thought of Fukurou.

She thought of what Orietta said, about how not going anywhere was a choice you can make freely as well.

''Fukurou.''

She called out his name.

''Hey, Fukurou.''

''Where did you tell me to go?''

''That time, I would have chosen to stay by your side.''

''Is it alright for me to stay by your side?''

No, that's not right. She didn't need permission from anyone. Hadn't she made the decision that day? Among the rustling of the Forest of Night.

''Even if you don't allow me, I'll be by your side. Eat me, King of Night.''

She knew what crying was. She had been taught. She remembered.

"... Uuu... uuu..."

For some reason, her chest felt tight.

Her throat felt like it was burning, and she couldn't breathe. Suddenly, gently, she smelled a serene scent.

She was being embraced softly from behind by Orietta. She gently caressed her head, and she understood that Orietta too was crying.

Mimizuku wanted to shake her off. She had to shake her off. However, Orietta, quivering, spoke.

"... You've done so well..."

Orietta's arms were warm.

"You've done so well... to live up to this point..."

Those words broke the dam. Mimizuku cried, and cried.

"It wasn't that bad..." she said, sobbing uncontrollably. She had never thought it had been so tough.

Even though she lived the life she did, she never thought it was difficult. And then, every day she had spent since coming to the Forest of Night had been enjoyable.

"Hey... hey, Orietta..."

"... Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Orietta asked, patting Mimizuku on the back.

"When I received all those pretty clothes, and all those good things to eat, and when everyone was nice to me, what was I supposed to say to all that?"

Orietta smiled at Mimizuku's question.

"At times like that, you're supposed to say 'thank you.'"

"Thank... you..."

That's right, there was a word for that. Mimizuku held on to Orietta's hand and said it.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Orietta."

She cried as she spoke. She had to say it. She had to say it.

''Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...''

Her thoughts overflowed. Her words overflowed.

"Mimizuku...?"

"Uuu... ugh...! Th-th-thank... y-you... Kuro... Fuku... rou... thank you...!"

Mimizuku then collapsed, and wailed as if lost in a dream.

"Thank you! Thank you...!!"

She was happy.

She was incredibly happy.

''Even though you didn't do anything for me...''

''You listened to my story.''

With his cold eyes, beautiful like moons, he looked at Mimizuku.

''I existed in those eyes.''

It was the first time she knew she was alive.

''Thank you.''

"I... I miss yoooooouuu...!"

''There's something I have to tell you.''

Orietta, as though she had made a decision, embraced Mimizuku more tightly.

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| Back to [[Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 6|Chapter 6]]
| Forward to [[Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 8|Chapter 8]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Mimizuku to Yoru no Ou: Chapter 5

2012-06-16T21:37:52Z

74.110.222.76:

==Chapter 5 - Gentle Lapse==

The sound of cheers traveled loudly through the room.

All the cabinet ministers and soldiers bent over for a toast.

Overseeing the room on his throne was the gray-haired king.

People congratulated the Magician Brigade on their success, and the Holy Knight for his gallantry. Quick-spirited troubadours began to sing odes in the corners of the hall.

Ann Duke leaned his back against a corner of the hall and looked at the scene from afar.

"Lord Holy Knight! They're having a drinking contest over there! I'm sure you'd drink them all under the table!" a friendly soldier said, coming over to Ann Duke.

"Nah, if I drink too much again, my wife'll get mad," Ann Duke answered with a pitiable smile.

"Can you say hello to her for me?"

"Yeah, sure. There are plenty of people from the temple here today after all. She didn't want to come because she was nervous and said she hated these kinds of things."

"Haha! That's too bad!" the soldier said, disappearing back into the crowd.

They succeeded in the subjugation of the demon king, and the captured girl was saved.

The news traveled through the peasantry in an instant. Even at this very moment, citizens were raising a glass to the success of their kingdom.

Ann Duke didn't shy away from a drink either.

However, the subjugation of the king was yesterday. He wanted to go back to his mansion and rest. His wife was surely waiting for him to return, and she didn't like to come to celebrations like these where everyone was passing around greetings here and there.

He had thought of being absent under the pretense of rest, however from the standpoint of the kingdom, he was the face of their honor, and there was something he was interested in anyway. He was waiting after the toast for that report.

Eventually, a servant ran up to Ann Duke. He whispered something into his ear. Hearing that, Ann Duke nodded and gave his thanks to the servant.

He then quietly left the hall behind.

If the king knew why he was leaving, there was no way he would have stopped him anyway.

Ann Duke had been waiting for the report that the girl captured by the demon king had regained consciousness.

Passing through a long hallway, knocking on a door with a golden handle, he slowly entered into the room.

There was a single bed underneath a bright chandelier. There, a small girl was laying down on her side.

Ann Duke walked up to the girl. In the bed stuffed with waterfowl feathers, the girl slept as if sinking into it. Her cheeks were miserably thin, and Ann Duke remembered how surprised he had been at her lightness when he had picked her up. The magic flames had been made so that they didn't burn the girl, but she was still a sooty mess.

He ran his fingers through her thin hair, which gave the impression of straw. He pushed her bangs aside and her forehead was revealed. There was a strange pattern on it, and none of the magicians had any idea of what it represented. However, it was definitely the work of the demon king, and there seemed to be no doubt that she was affected by some kind of spell.

"Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

"..."

She then peered through her slightly open eyes, staring fixedly at Ann Duke.

"Ah... a...." she groaned incomprehensibly.

"Yes? What is it?" Ann Duke asked gently.

However, the girl couldn't muster any more words, and she tried to somehow raise her body out of the bed. Struggling from her lack of strength, she took Ann Duke's hand.

"Are you alright? Are you hurting anywhere?"

"N-... no."

The girl's voice was slight, like the flapping of insect wings. The wrists that Ann Duke was holding had changed to brown. They had been able to melt the chains off with magic, but they couldn't remove the marks, as she had apparently been wearing them for a very long time. It pained his heart to see that. However, Ann Duke was thankful that she was in good health.

"Alright, good."

He heaved a sigh of relief.

The girl hadn't used her brain much, and all she could manage was,

"Where... am I?"

"This is Red Ark Castle. You don't need to worry anymore. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Nothing... to be... afraid of," she repeated like a parrot.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm Ann Duke. Ann Duke MacValen. What's your name?"

"My... name?"

The girl gently closed her eyes.

Her eyelashes shook as if she were shivering.

She then opened her eyes.

"I forgot my name," she whispered.

To these words, Ann Duke gazed in wonderment. The girl looked at Ann Duke's face with pure, innocent eyes.

Ann Duke nipped at his lip, cast his eyes downward, and shook his head several times.

He then gently embraced the girl's head.

"You poor thing..." he said quietly, in a deep voice.

The girl seemed to tilt her head slightly as she was engulfed in Ann Duke's chest.

She couldn't understand why any of this was being said to her.

The rumors that the King of Night had been suppressed and that the captured girl had been rescued traveled through the region in the blink of an eye.

The people talked of praises for the Magician Brigade and the Holy Knight, and they expressed their sympathy and pity for the girl.

The poets sang their praises along with a note from their harps. They sang of the girl with the strange pattern on her forehead, of her misfortune, and of her cruel destiny. They sang out in a beautiful, melancholy rhythm. They also sang great praises of the heroic deeds of the Holy Knight.

However, there was one thing they never sang of.

They never spoke of the demonic King of Night, and no one knew of his whereabouts.

"Your name is Mimizuku."

One day, a beautiful woman with black hair entered her room of the castle and said this to her in a kind voice. Her hair had been woven into two or three braids, and her eyes, which were the same color as her hair, gave off a brilliant, gentle light.

"Your name is Mimizuku. I heard it from the hunter who had been saved by you earlier when he got lost in the forest."

"Mimizu... ku?"

Mimizuku, sitting on her large bed in a carefree manner, repeated the name. She was wearing a light, thin dress, and a bit of color had returned to her gaunt cheeks.

"Yes. Do you remember?"

"I... I don't understand. But, when you say it... I feel like you might be right. Yeah, my name is Mimizuku," Mimizuku said in a low voice, lowering her eyelids. As if sealing away something important into her heart, she held her hands against her chest.

"I am Orietta. Orietta MacValen. I'm the wife of that lazy Holy Knight. You know of Ann Duke, yes?"

"Yeah, I know Andy."

Ever since Mimizuku had woken up several days earlier, Ann Duke came to visit her every day. Mimizuku slept often, and he would talk with the attendants overseeing Mimizuku's affairs as he stroked her head.

"Yes, I'm the wife of that housekeeping knight. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mimizuku."

Mimizuku shook her outstretched hand. She smiled. Her hand was like a vibrant whitefish as opposed to Mimizuku's, which was like a withered leaf.

Orietta frowned a little after shaking her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, uh..."

"Orietta."

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, Orietta, Andy's... wife?"

"Yes, unfortunately, that's me."

Unlike her words, Orietta's face was joyful.

"Mimizuku... is it okay if I call you Mimizuku?"

"Uh-huh!"

Mimizuku's eyes sparkled at Orietta's question. Even though they said it was her own name, she felt it to be incredibly precious to be called by it.

"Mimizuku, how do you like living here?"

Being asked "how," Mimizuku tilted her neck. However, she just said what she thought.

"Well, um... There's lots of delicious food. I get lots of pretty things to wear, and everyone's really nice!"

"Is there anything missing?"

"Andy would always ask that! No, there's nothing missing."

Mimizuku shook her head in response. Truly, her lifestyle was more than enough. She would always wonder why they did so much for her.

Probably because they were able to do so much for her, they did just that.

Orietta was smiling at her.

"Have you remembered anything?" she asked in a small voice.

She meant of the days that she had spent before she woke up, in the forest.

Mimizuku didn't have an answer. She shook her head again, but slowly, and with very a different feeling.

Orietta kneeled down on the carpet next to the bed and met eyes with Mimizuku.

"You know, Mimizuku. Up until now, you were in the forest. You were imprisoned by monsters, and your eyes were fearful... That must be why you lost your memory... to protect yourself. Don't push yourself to try to remember. Mimizuku, it might be best to forget. From here on, you have a new life ahead of you!"

The Forest of Night.

Monsters.

Fearful eyes.

The words spun around in the back of Mimizuku's head.

''Really?''

It might be best to forget.

''Re-really?''

"I have... a new life ahead of me?"

"That's right," came the affirmation.

''That's right, it's just like that.''

''Really?''

Why?

Deep in her heart, someone was asking.

She heard a jangling noise somewhere far off.

Along an aged stone path, the smell of mold hung in the air. The ceiling was high, but with no window. With the power of magic, it burned brightly, changing from red to blue. The king moved forward, his footsteps echoing through the room. The magicians flanking him didn't say a single word. The only things that could be heard were shoes hitting the ground and something that sounded like a deep groan.

At the farthest end of the hall, a black shadow was crucified on the wall. When the king stopped, his last step was the most conspicuous of all.

"King of monsters."

The hoarse, but dignified voice arose from the king.

Held in place by a transparent thread, Fukurou was crucified to the wall with his body suspended. His eyes were closed shut, and his wings didn't make the slightest movement.

"Is he conscious?" a magician at the king's side asked.

"Let's see if he can hear us," Riveil answered from underneath his gloomy robe.

"Demon king."

The king spoke strongly. Responding to his voice, or perhaps for another reason, Fukurou lifted open his heavy eyelids.

Silver, faint light flowed from them. They were dimmed due to the influence of the magic power, but the strength of the light made it clear that he was the ruler of the monsters.

The king took a deep breath, and turned to meet him, unflinching.

"Demon king. How do you feel about being captured by humans?"

He spoke with provocation. However, the demon king ignored his question.

"... The king of humans...?"

His voice was deep enough to be felt in the ground.

"Indeed. I am the king of this country, Red Ark."

For a moment, a flicker of emotion seemed to appear in Fukurou's eyes. It was something close to disdain or disgust.

The king thought that he seemed quite humanlike.

He didn't think that something belligerent, with purely evil intent, could feel things such as scorn or hatred.

"... Do you hate humans? You look like a human, king of monsters. It seems like you enslaved a human girl, is that right? Without killing or using your abilities... were you planning revenge?"

Fukurou responded to the question with a silent rejection, not making the slightest twitch. The king bit down on his molars. Even if he was captured, he didn't think he could keep his dignity as long as Fukurou did.

It couldn't be helped. His enemy was a monster, after all.

"... Whatever. The girl is receiving diligent care in the castle. That girl lost her memories, but that's convenient for her, considering that her lifestyle will be fortunate and renewed from now on. Demon king. Your expectations were completely off the mark."

Fukurou didn't answer. He simply closed his eyes again, as if he had lost interest. The king exchanged glances with the magicians, and the reverentially held out a large crystal orb.

The crystal was bright with magic power, and a red flame swayed inside of it. With its beautiful handiwork and the magic power, those who looked at it were taken in by its mystique.

"This flame represents your magic power. When the flame changes from red to blue, your magic power will be depleted, your body will dry up, and you will become a mummy representing the power of this country's magic."

The king explained all of this casually, and even though he was giving Fukurou a death sentence, Fukurou did not make a response and remained silent.

Running out of things to say, the king turned on his heel, and went back the way he came. To the sound of his footsteps disappearing in the distance, a voice suddenly arose.

"Human king."

The king stopped. Retaining his majesty as best he could, he slowly turned around. He met with Fukurou's silver eyes once again.

"Human king. Which do you value more: you, or your country?"

It was the first question asked by the king of monsters to the king of humans. The king of humans scowled and gave a response with no hesitation.

"That question is meaningless, demon king. Those two things are incomparable. I will, at any time, choose my country. So long as I am myself, I will choose my country."

So long as he had the will, he wouldn't even put them in the same league.

Fukurou closed his eyes to the king's response, and became silent, as if sleeping.

The blue sky, marked with only a few thin clouds, wrapped over the bustling castle town market.

"W-wah...!"

Standing at the entrance to the market, Mimizuku's sanpaku eyes were wide open.

"There are so many people!"

"It's the first time you've seen just this many people in one place?" Ann Duke asked, smiling. He was standing beside her.

"It's definitely the first time!" Mimizuku answered.

"Well then, grab onto my hand so that you won't get lost, okay?" Orietta said. She was standing opposite to Ann Duke. She took Mimizuku's small hand. Mimizuku blinked several times, but then smiled joyfully.

Today was the first time that Mimizuku had left the castle.

She wore clothes that were not flashy, but decidedly well made, along with a hat to match. Ann Duke and Orietta escorted her.

"Hey, Orietta! Everyone's carrying lots of stuff!"

"Yes, this is a shopping area after all," Orietta said, wondering if Mimizuku understood.

Mimizuku, finding it difficult to comprehend, tilted her neck.

"You buy things you want in exchange for money. Here, Mimizuku, open up your hand."

Orietta placed three coins in Mimizuku's empty hand.

They had engravings of pigeons on them, and they seemed to Mimizuku like treasures.

"Use these."

"Pay? With money? For something I want?"

"That's right, something that you want."

"Something I want..."

Mimizuku thought for a bit.

Ann Duke laughed.

"Go look around, first!" he said, pushing Mimizuku's back. In the market stalls were fresh fruits and vegetables, beautiful fabrics, and fine objects that Mimizuku had never seen before.

Mimizuku looked around; most of what she saw was completely new to her.

"Oh my, hello, Lady Orietta!"

Suddenly, a voice arose from a stall to the side. A woman who had come to sell wheat flour appeared before Orietta.

"You're with Lord Holy Knight as well? I'm so jealous of how well you two get along..."

Saying this, the lady gave a hearty laugh.

"Whether or not we get along, he's coming with me today. Whatever I buy, I don't have to worry about bringing them back home, so long as he's here!" Orietta said, putting forth her best smile.

"Ahaha, no mistaking that! Say, Orietta, who's this child?"

The woman looked down to Mimizuku. Mimizuku looked up at Orietta, wondering what she should do.

"Lady Orietta, you've already had a child this big?"

"Isn't she cute?" Orietta answered with a smile, ignoring the woman's second comment.

Before she knew it, Orietta had let go of her hand, and was lightly touching her back. Mimizuku felt as though she meant that she should go, so with her heart beating loudly, she mixed into the crowd between the street stalls. Greeting people here and there, Ann Duke watched her small figure to make sure that he wouldn't lose sight of her.

After bumping into several people, Mimizuku found herself standing in front of a single stall. She stopped for a rest, and found herself smelling the sweet scents emanating from the stall.

"Hey, little miss! Want something to eat?" the proprietor said to Mimizuku courteously. Mimizuku panicked a little.

"Will it taste good?"

"Have a bit and see! Here, eat."

Wrapped in dark colored paper was a cooked fruit dipped in sugar. When she took a bite, warm sweetness and fruit juice mixed in her mouth.

Mimizuku's eyes sparkled.

"Delicious!!"

"Is that so, is that so!"

To Mimizuku's response, the man grew even more spirited.

Without taking a breath, Mimizuku bit into the fruit. After wildly proclaiming its deliciousness, a crowd of adults had soon gathered around her.

"It's even better than the food in the castle!" Mimizuku said truthfully. The crowd was suddenly thrown into a state of excitement.

"That kind of praise is beyond anything I could ask for!"

"Little girl, aren't you going a bit far in your laudation?"

"But it's true! It's amazingly delicious!"

Mimizuku responded honestly even though she didn't know the person who had talked to her.

"Man, now I have to try too!"

Mimizuku's brazenness brought in plenty of customers. When Mimizuku saw their fingers handing over the coins, she suddenly panicked.

"Oh, that's right! Don't I have to give you money?"

The stall owner's hands were already full, and he gave a laugh.

"I don't need any, miss! I'm fine with just you saying that my food is delicious!"

The crowd extolled his generosity, and they showed it through their willingness to purchase more.

"No, that's no good. Orietta said I have to exchange money...!"

The crowd was shocked by Mimizuku's utterance of the name.

"What? Are you an acquaintance of Lady Orietta? The candidate for Maiden of the Temple, is it...?"

An old woman then walked up to Mimizuku.

"Look, your mouth is a mess. Hold on a moment, I'll wipe it off for you."

Extending her gentle, wrinkly hand, she wiped the area around Mimizuku's mouth. She had eaten so quickly that bits of food were all over her face. Everyone gave her kind smiles.

"There, now you're all clean. Oh my, what's this? On your forehead..."

The old woman moved Mimizuku's bangs to the side. What appeared was the strange pattern.

"You... it can't be..."

The old lady swallowed her breath, and the crowd turned silent for a moment. Mimizuku stood there, looking at all of them with a puzzled face.

"Young lady... are you a princess...?" the old lady asked, her finger trembling.

"Hm? I do live in the castle, but I'm not a princess."

The crowd stirred.

"No, that's not what I meant. You, who was saved in the demon king's subjugation, are the princess of the Forest of Night...?"

"Huh? Um, maybe? I..."

To those words, the crowd murmured excessively.

Even though she didn't really understand, and even though she wasn't a princess, she had a feeling as though it was just as she was told. Mimizuku remembered what Orietta had explained to her before.

"Aah...!"

The old woman suddenly yelled, and then embraced Mimizuku tightly.

"W-wh...!"

"You've come back alive. I was so afraid, this is wonderful...!"

"Uh, um...!"

Hugging Mimizuku, tears began to fall from the old woman's eyes. Mimizuku felt confused as the drops began to fall onto her shoulders.

"It's the princess! The princess saved from the Forest of Night is here...!"

Joyous voices could be heard. Mimizuku was jostled about, being touched and hugged by various people. In a nervous flutter, she shook hands with several people.

''What's going on?''

Mimizuku's heart began to beat louder and faster.

It was warm.

What was going on here?

After a while, Ann Duke emerged from the crowd and took Mimizuku with him.

The hands she felt were warm.

"Hey, Ann Duke."

"Hm? What is it?"

"That old woman was all worried. Because of me."

"Yeah, she was crying."

"Crying..."

"Her tears were flowing for your sake," Ann Duke said with a kind smile.

What were tears?

But they were warm. They were affectionate. When she thought of this, her sinuses cleared and her nose felt fresh.

Generally, Mimizuku was obedient as someone who was living in the castle for nothing in return. She never had more free time or boredom than she knew what to do with. She liked to sleep in her bed, and she enjoyed looking at the scenery from her window, and she loved talking to the attendants who occasionally stopped by. Everyone was kind to her, and Ann Duke and Orietta were like family.

There was even one time where she had talked to the king.

"It is the first time that we meet like this, Mimizuku."

The gray-haired king arrived in Mimizuku's room with several attendants. Ann Duke was beside her, and he whispered to her that he was "the highest man in the country."

"Ah, uh, nice to meet you!"

"Hmph... I see you've become quite energetic."

"I, uh, you've done so much to help me!"

"I don't really care about that. I will give you all the care that you need."

Their exchange ended there, and finishing up with her, the king took on a severe expression. Mimizuku asked Ann Duke if the king was angry, and Ann Duke laughed.

"With that face, he's just troubled by something is all."

"Yeah, it looks like that kind of face," Mimizuku agreed.

And then, several days later, a single servant visited Mimizuku.

"Lady Mimizuku, I have brought you this."

The servant held out a collection of keys.

"What's this?"

"... They are the keys to the tower in the west."

"Hm? The tower in the west?"

"The person living in that tower would like to meet Lady Mimizuku, I am to report."

"Me? Why?"

The old servant simply smiled.

"Please, take this and go."

He handed her a ring of keys that shone dully. Mimizuku took them without much feeling.

"Understood! I'll go!" she responded, grinning widely.

She listened as the servant told her the road to take. He then disappeared back into the hallway. As she watched his back grow farther and farther away, Mimizuku sighed.

The entrance to the west tower required several keys. Testing out the keys on the different locks one after the other, she eventually opened the door. There was a soldier standing right next to her when she entered, but with a single glance and Mimizuku's keys, he simply greeted her with no other comment and without turning to look at her, allowing her to go further in on her own.

When she opened the door, there was a long, winding staircase.

Mimizuku ran up the staircase without any hesitation. She remembered to roll up the hem of her plain dress as she went up the steps.

As she caught her breath at the top of the stairs, she came to a well-crafted oak door.

''Well...''

Mimizuku knocked on the door three times, copying what the castle dwellers did whenever they entered her own room.

"Who is it?"

She was startled by the voice she heard from inside.

"I'm Mimizuku."

There was no other way of saying it.

"... Come in."

Receiving permission, Mimizuku entered inside. When she opened the door, a wide room spread out before her. It was easily twice the size of Mimizuku's room.

There was a latticed window, a bookshelf, a large bed, and plush toys and figures of soldiers.

In the center of the room, sitting in a strangely shaped chair, was a shadow.

"What's wrong? Why won't you enter?"

She heard a voice from the chair. It was high, like a girl's voice. Sitting in the chair with a large wheel attached to it was a small shadow.

It had thin, discolored arms and legs.

It had light hair and eyes, and a small body. His hair color seemed to remind Mimizuku of someone.

"I'm glad to meet you, Mimizuku."

Sitting with his back straight in the chair was a boy who seemed to be more or less ten years old. He was faintly smiling.

"I am Claudius. Claudius Vain Yordelta Red Ark."

Mimizuku blinked.

"I am... the prince of this country."

With his light hair gleaming from the elegant chandelier, Mimizuku thought he looked quite similar to the king.

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