Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter6

2013-04-11T20:31:19Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 6: The Morning of the Departure ==

===Part 1===

—Four years ago, it was the day when the still young girl's heart was completely broken.

Flames were rising one by one all over the shrine.

The flames emitted black smoke and thunderously blazed. There were the screams of the disordered guards.

On that day, at the shrine, where the Elemental Lord was worshipped, a major event that shook the empire was occurring.

The Fire Queen suddenly flew a banner of revolt and stole {{Furigana|Strongest Flame Spirit|Laevatein|margin=13}} from the shrine.

The likes of the Empire's Spirit Knights couldn't even prove to be her opponent. The raging Laevatein wielded a gigantic flaming demon sword and was simply mowing down the spirits blocking its way.

Inside the whirling flames and black smoke, a girl was running alone.

The «Divine Ritual Institute's» princess maidens, who were packed into the bedrooms, were already escaping towards the outside.

However, the girl's running wasn't to escape.

It was to stop her.

Her senior maiden—Rubia Elstein, who she adored like an elder sister and had respected from her heart.

(It has to be some sort of mistake. Rubia-sama wouldn't do—)

The girl was out of breath, and finally reached the entrance of the shrine.


The fire Queen was— over there.

Her red hair fluttered in the surging violent winds, and in that hand of hers was a sword of blazing scarlet flames.

In the dead of night, her face, shined upon by the light of the flames, was no less than extremely beautiful.

"Rubia-sama."

The girl gulped.

She came all the way to stop her and yet—

Before that oh-so terrible blood lust, simply standing took all she had.

However, she strained her voice bravely.

She had to stop her. That was the duty of one born into the royal family.

"Do not— get in my way."

The Fire Queen warned with an emotionless voice.

Her ruby pupils, carrying red hot flames, looked down on the girl before her like shooting through her.

"No, Rubia-sama. There's no way I will allow you to pass through here."

Glaring firmly back at those eyes, the girl recited the Spirit language summoning.

"—Thou, servant of the king of the child of man, knight and master swordsman!"

"—By the contract of the old blood, become the sword that protects me, come forth and do my bidding!"

The girl's contracted spirit was a high ranking holy spirit, which had served the Ordesia royal family for generations.

Even if she couldn't win, she should be able to roughly stall for some time—


—That was what she thought.

However.

"I said don't get in my way."

At that moment, the Fire Queen swung the sword of scarlet flames held in her hand.

In just a moment. A red killing-flash occurred, the summoned holy spirit was wrapped in a red hot conflagration and vanished.

"Wh...at..."

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Thump*. The girl collapsed on her knees at that spot.

It was painful to breathe. Her throat had a cramp, and she couldn't even gasp.

The cause was the contracted spirit she had put perfect trust in.

The strongest knight, who always protected her since she was young, vanished too quickly.

"N-No, help me please..."

The hopeless fear crushed the heart of the girl, who was overflowing with confidence, into small pieces.

Throwing off all her pride as a royalty, the girl just shed tears and begged.

The one who was there was neither the empire's second princess, nor the elite princess maiden of the «Divine Ritual Institute».

It was merely a powerless girl.

The Fire Queen bent over her waist gently. The girl's whole body trembled with just that.

"Fianna Ray Ordesia— Never appear before me again."

She whispered that close to her ears, and then went on, disappearing into the middle of the blazing flames.



===Part 2===

"...!?"

Fianna jumped up from the bed.

Her rough breathing would not settle. Unpleasant perspiration was causing her undergarments to cling closely to her skin.

"A dream..."

After muttering and regulating her breathing, she tightly grabbed the bed sheet.

It was Claire's room in the Raven Class' dormitory. The morning sunlight was shining in from the window.

It seemed that she had slept with her uniform on. It couldn't be said that it was comfortable enough to sleep in, but the uniform of the «Divine Ritual Institute», which incorporated the holy attribute, had the effect of fatigue recovery.

(My secret, looks like it hasn't been exposed...)

Slightly easing open her chest area, Fianna breathed a sigh of relief.

—And then, she recalled. It was about yesterday night.

(If he hadn't protected me at that moment, right now I would have been—)

She bit her lips, and put strength into her hand grabbing the sheet.

(...It's the same as that day. In the end, I couldn't do anything.)

At that moment, the room's door suddenly opened—


"Fianna... you've awoken?!"

"Kyaa!?"

Fianna reflexively screamed, and quickly concealed her exposed bosom.

"M-My bad!"

Flustered, Kamito averted his eyes.

"W-Why did you suddenly enter..."

"Sorry... I had the same experience with waking an ojou-sama, who always oversleeps."

As Kamito scratched his head, he apologized. His face was spread with the color of weariness.

"Your hand's injury, is it alright?"

"Ah, it's no big deal. Claire had already called for the medical team after all."

With a flutter, Kamito waved his left hand, that had been pierced by the spirit, to show her.

It certainly looked like his wound had been healed, but that expression of his looked like he was still in pain and enduring it.

"I'm sorry, it's because of me. Because I meddled unnecessarily."

"No, Fianna, if you hadn't used the spirit crystal at that time, I'd have been done for. Thank you for saving me. About the spirit crystal of releasing, isn't it unreasonably high priced?"

"I-It's nothing special, who do you think I am?"

"I see...you are the former royal princess."

As Kamito wryly smiled, he sat beside the bed.


(...N-No way, why is my face so hot, I wonder.)

Fianna's heart was racing.

(I'm just '''trying to use him and yet'''.)

For her face to not be seen directly for some reason, Fianna drew her hands near to her knees and looked down.

"About yesterday's intruder, it seems the Sylphid Knights are in the middle of investigating. The teachers also seem to be moving in a fluster, however, the plan is for us to go investigate Mine Town as planned."

Kamito cut his sentence there—

"That's—it. Before we go for the quest, I have to talk to you."

"Isn't it still early to propose?"

"...Don't make fun of me. You know it, right? About that matter."

Kamito said with a frowning tone, and *kata*, a small sound was heard outside.

Fianna smirked. It was the same as a girl's face when thinking of messing around.

Upon brushing her glamorous black hair, she gently drew her lips close to Kamito's ear—

"I understand. With just the two of us, at a place where Claire isn't around, you have something important to talk about."

"Hn? Ah, that is so, but..."

It was a manner of speech that had something unclear— Kamito frowned, and at that moment...

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Bam*— The room's door suddenly opened.

"Hey, Kamito, with just the two of you, at a place where I'm not around, what important thing do you have to talk about?"


<nowiki>*</nowiki>Gogogogogogogogo...!*

"Claire!? W-Wait, you misunderstood, the words just now were by no means a conversation like that—"

"Scarlet!"

When Claire called out its name, a red-hot hellcat appeared from an empty space.

"Y-Y-You have two choices... Roasted or smoked?!"

"—Fianna, let's run away!"

"Eh...Kyaa!"

Kamito gently carried Fianna, kicked open the room's window and jumped.

"Ah, y-you got away, wait up!"

===Part 3===

The academy courtyard was hazy with the morning mist.

Rinslet Laurenfrost took her maid and wolf for a morning walk.

"Carol, let's have breakfast at the dining hall?"

"Yes, milady."

Carol nodded, seemingly happy. The white wolf walking beside her also howled.

Contrary to its ferocious-looking appearance, this wolf surprisingly made round and cute eyes. It was the high-ranked demon ice spirit «Fenrir», which had served the Laurenfrost family for generations.

Walking a contracted spirit wasn't something that unusual.

The spirits particularly like walking in the forest. The «Spirit Forest» surrounding the academy was an environment of exceedingly good feeling to the spirits that manifested in this world.

Girls from the Knights were running in a fluster in the academy corridors surrounding the courtyard.

"What? It's been noisy since morning."

"It seems that a thief broke into the academy last night, milady."

"To creep into this academy, that's a brave thief— Ah?"

Frowning suddenly, Rinslet raised her voice.

Kamito was walking towards the Spirit Forest from the academy building.

Kamito was leading a shockingly pretty girl.

"Ah, it's Kamito-sama. The girl beside him is, if I'm not mistaken, the newly admitted student, Fianna-san?"

"..."

Rinslet pouted her lips, seemingly sullen.

"I wonder why, my chest is somewhat surging with anger."

"Ah, milady, do you dislike Kamito-sama?"

"Yes, I hate him! That distinction-lacking person!"

"However, milady, you seem pretty concerned about Kamito-sama."


"I-I just want to steal Claire Rouge's slave!"

Rinslet's face turned red, and she turned away.

—And then, over there, she spotted the appearance of another acquaintance and frowned.

Just right at that moment, Claire came out from the Raven Class dormitory's outer gate.

She somewhat looked strange and was tottering with an unusually depressed expression.

Even her prided red twintail was now dejectedly dangling.

"What on earth happened?"

Rinslet muttered, seemingly worried.

(...She may be my rival, but as expected I cannot abandon her.)

Even if they always quarrel, she was worried about her childhood friend one way or another.

Leaving behind Carol and Fenrir at that spot, Rinslet quietly approached from behind.

"W-Why he— are such big breasts good? Those lumps of fat..."

"What's with breasts, Claire Rouge?"

"...! Ri-Rinslet!?"

Claire was taken aback and screamed.

"Aren't your breasts being deplorable a usual thing?"

"S-Shut up... Well, that's enough. Besides that, have you seen Kamito?"

"Kamito-san, I happened to see him some time ago. He was walking with a girl, just the two of them."


"W-What was that?!"

"They went entering towards the forest direction. If you run after them, you can still make it."

Claire... groaned.

"I-I don't care about such a guy! I hope he dies by suffocation while being buried in breasts!"

"Hey, Claire, what on earth happened?"

Rinslet inquired, seemingly puzzled.

Claire tightly bit her lips—

"Rinslet, hide your shame and listen... W-Why are my breasts small?"

Rinslet kindly smiled at Claire, whose face bashfully reddened.

"You are not at all at fault. It's just that your deplorable breasts are at fault. Besides, so-called maniac men who like those also exist in society."

"Rinslet, didn't you say something earth-shatteringly rude under the pretense of comforting me?"

"It was just your imagination."

Rinslet nonchalantly said.

"It'd be fine if I could share and give my breast to you, however..."

She muttered— suddenly, Rinslet recalled an article that she read from some magazine.

"Claire, I remembered a method to enlarge your breasts."

"Eh?"


Claire gazed at Rinslet with eyes full of anticipation for a moment.

...However, she instantly shook her head.

"...L-Lies, there's no way such a method exists. I heard a rumor that the legendary large breast spirit had been seen in the «Spirit Forest» in the older days and went hunting, but even that was a false rumor."

"Eh, y-you were doing such a shameful thing?"

Rinslet was, as expected, a little drawn back.

"S-Shut up... That's enough. I'll hear you out about that method."

"Ahem." Claire coughed and said.

She took an attitude as if she didn't seem interested, but her keen interest had been found out.

Hmm. Rinslet placed her hand at her chin.

(...This is perhaps something I can use as a trade.)

It seemed that Claire's worries were not something very serious.

If that's the case, she felt like it was a waste to just give the information to her rival.

(...That reminds me, Claire's team entered into an S rank quest.)

Rinselt recalled about the thing she casually heard from Carol yesterday.

"It's alright even if I tell you. However, it is just difficult to do it for free."

"W-What?"

"I also want to have the privilege of joining Team Scarlet's current quest."


"...Huh? Why are you coming along?!"

"It is unfair that only you guys get to go on a trip. Besides, it will be troubling for my manservant to be tamed as you please at a place where my eyes can't reach."

"It isn't a trip; it's a quest. To begin with, Kamito isn't your manservant."

Claire bluntly shook her head. It was natural. If the number of people participating in the quest increased, then the ranking points given per person would also end up decreasing after all.

"I see, in that case, it's regretful but, I am unable to tell you the method to enlarge your breasts."

"Guu..."

Claire, seemingly vexed, gritted her teeth.

For a few seconds, she sternly glared at Rinslet—

"...I-I get it."

Eventually, she sighed as she gave up.

"You may come along. However, forming a team with you is something temporary."

"Th-That's obvious! Who would join a team like yours?!"

===Part 4===

During that time, Kamito and Fianna had gone deep into the «Spirit Forest».


At night, it was a forest of darkness with the squirming of nasty spirits, but during the day, it gave off the same feeling as a sacred shrine. Such was the «Spirit Forest»: a place with a two-faced nature.

(That reminds me, I met Claire here...)

...That was, in many ways, the worst kind of meeting, though.

"To walk in the middle of the trees with just the two of us, it's just like a date."

"This isn't a place suited for a date. There are spirits that the eyes can't see drifting all over the place."

"It's fine. If I had to say so, then I'm more the type that gets fired up being seen."

"...Wh... Pr-Princesses don't say such a thing!"

"It's a joke. What are you getting red for?"

While having such a conversation, the two of them emerged into a clearing in the middle of the forest.

He didn't have to worry about anyone hearing about their chat.

"Well then, I have one thing I want to ask—"

"My underwear's color is black."

"Don't go ahead and answer. That's not it, I don't plan to ask such a question."

Kamito retorted with deadpan eyes. It was not good for him to be dragged into the princess's pace.

"Ahem", he coughed, and gazed straight into Fianna's eyes—

"Why do you know my true identity?"

"..."


There were a few seconds of silence.

And then, she calmly sighed.

The color of disappointment that she couldn't conceal surfaced on her face.

"...Hey, are you really unable to remember?"

"Sorry, but I don't have a princess acquaintance."

Fianna sighed again at Kamito's reply.

She puffed her cheeks, rather than being shocked, he felt like she was angry.

"Hint one, do you remember anything looking at this forest?"

"The forest?"

"Yes, «Astral Zero's» forest."

Astral Zero... There was something stuck in Kamito's mind.

"Hint two, the «Blade Dance»"

"Blade Dance, you mean the one three years ago? ...Don't tell me, you're an opponent of one of the blade dances!?"

"Hint three, hair style!"

Shouting in an irritated voice, Fianna tied up her hair with both hands.

She wore her glamorous black hair on both sides, that face—

"Ah!"

Kamito spontaneously raised his voice.


"...I-I remember!"

Three years ago, she was the girl he saved when she was being attacked by a spirit in the Astral Zero forest.

Certainly, Kamito got seen when he wasn't wearing his female clothing at that time.

"The girl from that day was you, Fianna!"

"...Yes, jeez."

Fianna pouted her lips as though she was peevish.

"Err, but, your atmosphere is greatly different..."

Kamito spoke ambiguously. It was not that he remembered it that vividly, but at least she wasn't such a grown-up girl.

"What, Kamito-kun, you too have changed pretty much."

"Various things happened."

Kamito awkwardly averted his eyes.

His line of sight unconsciously fixed on his left hand covered by leather glove.

—Three years ago was when just about everything changed.

After all, it was that day he lost her, reaching his hand out to the «wish» that should have never been wished for.

"Despite promising to meet again, despite me waiting all this time. You disappeared."

"...Sorry."

Kamito honestly apologized.


Fianna placed her hands on her waist, and sighed in disappointment.

"It's fine, I'll forgive you. I'm offended that you completely forgot about me, but, well, that's it. To you, it was only one girl you saved by chance."

"But hey—", she desolately muttered.

Suddenly, she pushed her soft fingertip gently onto Kamito's lips.

"You're really my first love."

"Wh...!?"

"It's a joke."

"...Wh-Why you."

Kamito glared with a deadpan look, and Fianna giggled.

"I see, you're the girl from that time..."

However, even if—

Why on earth did she come approaching Kamito? That reason was not clear.

"Fianna, why did you come to this academy?"

"Of course, it's to kiss my beloved Kamito-kun."

"...Don't you feel embarrassed saying that?"

"Y-Yes...that just now was a little embarrassing."

Fianna turned red and looked downwards. ...Well, she'll do it.


"I came here because I heard about Kamito-kun."

"About me?"

"Yea, a few days ago, I heard a rumor from my castle-serving butler. That there was a male elementalist, who defeated a rampaging militarized spirit. After investigating, that name—"

"Was my name, the one, who disappeared three years ago."

"That's it. Although, I knew intuitively just from the male elementalist part."

"Then, why did you come to meet me?"

"Th-That's to kiss with Kamito-kun—"

"No, that's enough."

Kamito interrupted, and Fianna was a little sullen as she kept silent.

And then, she calmly opened her mouth.

"I thought of threatening you with the secret of your past and forcibly getting to join your team."

"What do you mean?"

"If I was in the same team as {{Furigana|Strongest Blade Dancer|Ren Ashbell|margin=13}}, the strongest blade dancer, I thought that I could win this time's Blade Dance."

"...I see. That means that those unnatural seductive methods were also part of your plan?"

"Err... I-I got exposed."

"Your acting was too unnatural. Well, I think you did your best."

At any rate, she was a real princess, and through rigid ways, she was a famous «Divine Ritual Institute» princess maiden. In relation to such a field, in a certain way, she was a girl more innocent than this academy's ojou-samas.

"However, don't misunderstand! D-Doing such a thing is something I've only done to you, Kamito-kun!"

"No, such a follow-up is troubling..."

Kamito moaned with a deadpan look and sighed.

"However, why do you plan on entering the «Blade Dance»?"

"That's..."

Fianna made a perplexed-like expression—

"Isn't it obvious? If I win the Blade Dance, I'll have all the status and honor I desire. Everyone, who was ridiculing me —The Lost Queen, useless princess— will have to recognize me."

"...I see."

—That was a lie. Kamito had a hunch. That was not the true reason.

Her cold pupils were similar to Claire's, carrying a strong will towards their goal.

With such a reason, she shouldn't be able to have such eyes.

"Hey, Kamito-kun. You aren't angry?"

"Hn, why?"

"After all, I'm trying to use you."

Kamito shrugged his shoulders at the princess, who became serious at a strange time.

"It's nothing, Greyworth always uses me. On top of that, Claire gives me the slave treatment. Even if such people increase by one or two, it makes no difference."

"It seems even that {{Furigana|Strongest Blade Dancer|Ren Ashbell|margin=13}} has it hard in various things."

Fianna bitterly smiled, at that moment—

"You guys, what are you doing there?!"

The thicket rustled, and a cold voice resounded.

He turned around, and a girl, whose face he recognized, appeared from the other side of the thicket.

"Ellis?"

"...Oh, it's Kamito."

Ellis took a breath of relief and sheathed her sword. Then, she pushed through the thicket and walked towards his direction.

Immediately from behind, Rakka and Reishia from the Knights appeared.

"Ellis, what's the matter? Why are you in the middle of the forest?"

"Those are our words. Because of yesterday's intruder, the Knights are being strained. I'll want you to be discreet with your own actions."

Immediately, Ellis's line of sight moved towards Fianna, who stood behind Kamito.

Her expression immediately turned stern.

"Y-You guys, what are you doing at such a place with just the two of you!"

Before Kamito knew it, a sword was pressing near his throat.

...As always, it was a god-speed sword draw.


"No way, you guys—"

"How dumb, isn't there only one thing a boy and a girl of age could do in the middle of the forest."

"Wh-What was that!?"

Ellis's face got dyed bright red at Fianna's words.

The sword's edge was raised with a jerk.

"Oi, Fianna!?"

Kamito shouted, but Fianna feigned ignorance.

"Th-The academy doesn't have a rule that prohibits illicit sexual relationships. At any rate, the opposite sex isn't here, after all. However, even if the rules allow it, the Knights won't! What were you doing, say it!"

"Well, what did we do? However, isn't it generally like your imagination?"

Fianna pressed her breasts tightly onto Kamito's arm.

Ellis's eyes increasingly rose with danger.

"Fianna, why do you always make pretenses, which is like pouring oil onto the fire!?"

"Ev-Even though I'd gotten a slightly better opinion of you..., you insolent person!"

She swung her sword.

Kamito jumped back in a fluster to avoid that merciless attack.

"Wa-Wait, Ellis! Knights, please come, there's a murdering demon here!"

"You fool, I '''am''' a Knight!"


"I said it in irony!"

Kamito shouted.

"Captain, you're wasting your time."

Rakka placed her hand on Ellis's shoulder.

"Apologies, whenever our captain is before you, she gets emotionally unstable."

"...Th-That's not true!"

Ellis's face turned bright red, and she snarled at Reishia, who chuckled.

For the time being, it seemed the danger to his life had subsided. Kamito took a breath of relief.

"Jeez, Ellis, what's the matter since this morning?"

"Ah, it has been decided that we are departing to a mine for a quest. To use a light source inside the tunnel, we came to capture light attribute spirits."

The one who answered was Rakka.

That's right. They were holding lanterns inserted with small spirit crystals in their hands.

"A mine? Could it be, by any chance, the same Mine Town Gado investigation quest as us?"

"Ah, that's right. Although, we didn't have the investigation quest."

"What do you mean?"

"It is a quest newly added this morning. The details were the arrest of the assailant and the recovery of the stolen highly classified materials."

"The assailant— that Jio Inzagi brat."


He was a male elementalist, who used several contracted spirits.

He seemed to know something about that boy's goal.

"That's right. We haven't gotten hold of the brat's true identity but, the highly classified material stolen from the library was something that had recordings about the strategic-class militarized spirit, «Jormungandr», sealed in the postwar period in Mine Town Gado. It seems that there are people secretly maneuvering at the outskirts of Mine Town."

Ellis held her temper, seemingly vexed.

"It's because of Jio Inzagi —that brat— that the confidence in the Sylphid Knights fell to the ground. To restore the Knights' honor, I as the Captain, have to arrest him."

Rakka and Reishia strongly nodded to Ellis's words.

(...It seemed like it won't end as an ordinary earthquake investigation.)

A premonition passed through Kamito's mind.

There was the stolen strategic-class militarized spirit's highly classified material.

And then, there was the assailant, who somehow knew Kamito's true identity.

(Wasn't Greyworth holding on to the information regarding that assailant?)

Kamito honestly did not understand what that Dusk Witch was making him do. However, he thought about it, for Greyworth to present an S rank quest at this timing, he felt something intentional behind her actions.

(That witch...)


Kamito groaned loathsomely.

After that, he faced Ellis—

"...Hey, Ellis. Since our goals are the same, why don't you cooperate with us?"

That Jio Inzagi assailant wasn't a common opponent.

He, of course, knew about Ellis's ability, but he wasn't an opponent that could be managed with her skills.

However, Ellis decisively shook her head.

"Kamito, I appreciate your feelings, but I just can't borrow your help. This is something that the Sylphid Knights should settle."

"Well, you may think like that, but don't overdo it."

"A-Ah... you too."

Ellis turned red and faced away.

Fianna, who saw that situation, pouted her lips, seemingly sullen for some reason.

===Part 5===

At that time, Claire was hugging a pillow on her bed and writhing.

"To get the boy I li-like to rub my b-breasts!"

She shouted with her face flushed red, and struck the pillow. *Posun*. *Posun*.


—To enlarge her breasts, it was best to get a gentleman she likes to rub them.

Rinslet told her that.

"Th-There's no way I can do that! Besides, a boy I li-like—"

While hugging the pillow tightly, she rolled idly on her bed...and suddenly stopped.

"..."

At that moment, Kamito's face came to Claire's mind for some reason.

Like the prince of the romance novels targeted at teens, which Claire loved reading, Kamito, in her imagination, forcibly pushed Claire down on the bed—

''"Fuwaa, wh-what are you doing, idiot, pervert!"''

''"Surprisingly, it seems you do have breasts."''

''"Eh?... I-Is that so? That's not true, it's the same as usual, as usual."''

''"I'll make them even bigger. With this magnificent technique of mine."''

''"No, hey, fua, a-aa ♪"''

Kamito's fingertips in her imagination tightly grabbed Claire's breasts.

One rub, two rubs, each time her breasts went expanding like a fluffy cake.

("Fua, hn, wh-what is this, how amazing...!?")

Her uniform button popped out with a snap, and her underwear ripped, and then—

"...There's no way that would happen!"


Claire hit her pillow, and writhed.

"Wh-What's with the magnificent technique... Am I an id-idiot or what?!"

"Nyaa?"

"Wh-What are you looking at, Scarlet!"

She faced the floor and threw the pillow, and the fire spirit escaped in a fluster.

"Ahh, I-It's all that guy's fault!"

While hugging her shoulders with both hands, she increased the pace of her breathing.

(...What do I do, I've somehow begun feeling hot. I wonder if I have a fever.)

Her body was hot for some reason. Claire placed both hands on her cheeks, and was struck with an idea.

(...I-I wonder if they'll become big, if I rub them myself.)

"I-I shall try it out..."
[[Image:STnBD V02 171.jpg|thumb]]

With her fingertips, she held her own breasts just a little.

"Ah, hn..."

She involuntarily let out a voice due to the light numb-like sensation.

(Wh-What do I do...it somehow feels good.)

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Funyuu*. *Funyuu*.

"Fua, ah, hn, no, this... is not good and yet, hn."

She was rubbing her breasts in a half conscious state—



<nowiki>*</nowiki>Gacha*— the sound of the room's door opening resounded.

"...Y-You, what are you doing?"

Kamito was standing with a puzzled-looking face.

"...Fua!? N-No, this isn't what it looks like!"

Immediately following what she said, countless fireballs released by Claire blew Kamito away.

===Part 6===

With this and that, it was one hour later. At the plaza in front of the gate, Kamito was preparing for the departure.

It wasn't a place that far from the academy. It was a distance that wouldn't take a day riding through the highway by horse.

It seemed that Ellis's team had already departed. As for the girls, who were receiving the wind spirit's divine protection, they should be able to reach there even earlier.

Equipping Est on his waist, who had transformed into her sword form, he was confirming the equipment.

"I am late, Kamito-san."

A platinum blond ojou-sama came leading a horse.

"Eh, Rinslet's also coming?"

Kamito asked Claire.

"Yeah, it was a high grade strategic trade. In exchange for the important piece of information she held, I allowed her to join the quest this time."

"Important information? What's that?"

"It is a se-secret... it's an important piece of information after all, it can't be told to someone like you."

"Certainly, it's an important piece of information to you. A method to enlarge your breasts—!"

"Hey, Rinslet Laurenfrost, do you want to turn to cinders?"

"Hey, Claire, your eyes, your eyes are serious!"

Rinslet backed off.

"Ah, I'm worried, milady. To go to such a dangerous place."

At her side, Carol, the maid, was worrying about her master with her hands put together like she was praying.

As she was not an elementalist, she naturally couldn't join the quest. She was a care-taker at the academy.

"It is alright, Carol. I am worried about you instead."

Rinslet hugged her brave maid who had affection for her master.

"I wonder if you can wake up alone in the morning even when I'm not around. Eat precisely three meals. For the washing, take care not to let it be covered in bubbles again."

"Yes, milady, I will do my best even if milady isn't around."

"...No, that is strange."

Kamito retorted to the two of them, who were somehow getting excited, with a deadpan look.

"By any chance, could Carol be a terribly no-good maid?"


Thereupon, Rinslet sternly turned around and glared at Kamito.

"What are you saying? It is fine as long as a maid is cute!"

"Well, if you're alright with that, it's fine, however..."

(Or perhaps I should say that Rinslet is truly a perfect superwoman at all housework!?)

...It was surprisingly beyond the truth.

"The meals milady makes are very delicious."

"Carol, you should also do some work..."

Kamito was amazed at the no-good maid.

"St-Stop, I said stop, didn't I!"

Such a scream was heard from behind.

Kamito turned around, and Fianna, who was on the horse, was being swung about—

"Kyaa!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Thud!* Her butt fell to the ground. It seemed that her reflexes weren't very good.

"Jeez, despite being a royal princess, you can't ride a horse? Horse riding is a noble's basic knowledge?"

"The me-method to ride a horse wasn't taught at the «Divine Ritual Institute»!"

While beating off the mud stuck on her skirt, Fianna answered back.

"Horseback combat practice is a required subject in the academy, it's something you have to get used to. Well, with those breasts, it might be difficult to keep your balance though?"


"Yes, that's right. As I do not have aero breasts<ref>Aero as in Aerodynamic (ie: aerodynamically shaped to reduce air resistence, like how cars or airplanes are shaped).</ref> that don't catch air resistance like yours, I may certainly be unsuited for riding a horse. Since I catch air resistance, that is."

"Wh...a-aero breasts, what?! Don't make up new words!"

Rinslet came around at the spot where the two were quarreling.

Brushing her platinum blond hair, she faced Fianna and smiled.

"I'm Rinslet Laurenfrost, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance from now on. And, as Kazehaya Kamito is my manservant, could you please not make a move on him as you wish?"

"Ah, I don't plan on making a move on him. Since he's your manservant, how about you properly discipline him?"

"You can sure use your words, your Highness... hohoho."

"Fufufu..."

Between the two of them, sparks were scattering.

"You girls..."

Kamito, who was on the horse, was astounded and sighed.

Fianna turned towards Kamito's direction, and an impish smile surfaced.

"Hey, as I can't ride a horse, Kamito will give me a ride."

"Uh?"

Before Kamito answered, Fianna had jumped behind him.

"Wh...!"

"Come on!"


Claire and Rinslet raised their voice simultaneously.

Fianna wrapped her hands around Kamito's waist, and tightly embraced him.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Fuyon*, the sensation of her soft breasts touching him was felt.

"W-Why me? Have Claire or Rinslet give you a ride."

"I want to be given a ride by Kamito. Or, do you want your true identity exposed?"

"Guu..."

"N-No, that's no good!"

Claire struck the ground with a whip with a snap.

"Ah, why?"

"Wh-Why...? A-At any rate, that's no good!"

"Even if you're a royal princess, that's unfair!"

Rinslet also sullenly puffed her cheeks.

...He didn't understand very well what was unfair.

"Oh dear, it seems I have many difficulties in store for me..."

Kamito deeply sighed on the horse with Fianna sitting behind him.

<noinclude>

==References and Translation Notes==
<references/>

{{SeireiDance Nav|prev=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter5|next=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter7}}</noinclude>

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter1

2013-04-11T18:02:57Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 1: Team Battle==
===Part 1===

"U...h..."

Areishia Spirit Academy, Raven Class dormitory.

In one room, upon where the refreshing morning sun shone, Kazehaya Kamito woke up.

(Hn, if I recall, today ... there's a team battle in the morning.)

Usually, he would enjoy a bit more time dozing off, however, today he could not do so.

He had enough of being late and receiving sermons by the teacher, Freya.

Planning to fold the sheets and get up, he reached out both hands, then—

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Funyuu*.

...His hands touched something that felt soft.

(What is this? It's small, soft, a little cold... feels good.)

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Funyuu*. *Funyuu*.

While half awake, he was playing with the mysterious soft thing with his palms, then...

"You finally woke up, Kamito."

"..."

At that moment, Kamito's movement froze.


[[Image:STnBD V02 023.jpg|thumb]]
A beautiful, nude girl was sitting on his chest.

Her silver hair was glittering while basking in the morning sun. Her tight bare skin was white like milk.

Her body, which depicted her smooth curves, was small, but it was the proper body of a girl.

Her mysterious violet pupils were looking down at Kamito expressionlessly.

"What's the matter? You're not going to play with my breasts anymore?"

"... Owaaaaa!"

Kamito got up in a fluster and said, while pointing at the beautiful girl before him,

"Wh...Wh...What are you doing!? Or rather why are you nude?!"

"I'm not nude, I'm properly wearing knee socks."

While straddling over Kamito's abdomen, the girl raised her knees to show him.

Startled by that action, which was mysteriously erotic, Kamito looked away in a fluster.

"No, that's worse! Because compared to nude, knee socks nude is even, err, ...that!"

"Do you want me to take off my knee socks? Kamito... pervert."

While the beautiful silver haired girl stayed expressionless, she bashfully rubbed her knees.

He did not understand why she was embarrassed about that but, somehow, to this spirit, showing her bare feet seemed more embarrassing.

Yes. This snow fairy like beautiful girl was not human.

She was the Sword Spirit Est.



She was a 'Sealed Spirit' that possessed extremely powerful strength and had made a spirit contract with Kamito a few days ago.

But in her current condition, she could not exhibit even around a tenth of her original strength.

Within his subconsciousness, Kamito was rejecting the spirit contract with her and as a result, she became unable to return to Astral Zero where her real form was.

"A...Anyway, move aside Est!"

"Roger, Kamito."

Although Est seemed a little dissatisfied, she obediently moved.

She was squirming on the sheet. ...The sensation of her soft thighs was bad for his heart.

While scratching his bed head in relief, Kamito finally got up and at that moment.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Chuu*.

"...!?"

It was a complete surprise attack.

Despite that he noticed that he was kissed, it spanned about several seconds.

The sensation of her soft lips gently separated. His cheeks turned hot.

"You... Wh...What are you doing all of a sudden?!"

"A wake up kiss, Kamito."

Est answered expressionlessly.

"Why do such—"


"Because it's unfair. Is it only Claire? Is it that you don't want to do it with me?"

Towards Est's blaming tone, Kamito firmly softened his voice.

"You s...saw, didn't you? ...That."

"Yes. Because, at that moment, I was also there."

"...Ah, come to think of it, that is right."

Kamito immediately recalled and sighed heavily.

One week ago from now, that time when he fought the frenzied militarized spirit in Academy Town.

Est was certainly there— as the form of a sword of her elemental waffe.

It seemed that the scene at that moment was being observed.

That moment when Claire kissed Kamito, who had lost his energy, to wake him up.

It was certain that it awakened him in one shot, however... now that he thought about it, it was extremely embarrassing.

"I heard that a kiss is an official ritual of a spirit contract. In that case, Est too."

Est gently brushed her silver hair hanging by her cheeks.

She closed her eyes, slightly pouted her pitiful cherry-blossom color lips and slowly brought her face near him.

"So, why did it turn out like this!"

"It's my natural right. It's because I'm Kamito's contracted spirit."

"...!"

Although she was a Sealed Spirit, who concealed powerful strength, Est's current appearance was that of an ordinary cute girl.


Being approached like this, it could not be helped that his chest was beating fast... so he thought.

"He...Hey, Est..."

"Please shut your eyes, master."

Est brought her face near in one motion. A distance at which the tip of his nose encountered her sweet breath.

Just before her rose bud like lips was about to touch...

"Kamito, because there's a team battle this morning, make breakfast more luxurious than—"

"...!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Bam!* The bathroom door was slammed opened.

There—

"Wh...Wh...Wh...Wh..."

A beautiful red-haired girl was standing there with her ruby-colored eyes wide open.

Her body was wrapped in a bath towel and depicted her gentle curves.

From her skin, which had slightly turned to cherry blossom color, white steam was rising up.

Her chest was definitely of a child's level but that slight bulge was also plenty charming.

From the tip of her soaking wet red hair, drops of water were dripping onto the floor.

On the bed, before her was nude E— no... knee sock nude Est.

And then, time froze.


"Claire... Y...You're mistaken, this is...!"

At that moment when Kamito stood up in a fluster to explain.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Gogogogogogo...!*

"Wh...What are you doing, you perverted sex maniac——!"

"Guoo!"

A leather whip, used for animal training, came flying all of a sudden and landed a clean hit on his chin.

Kamito wound the bed sheet around his body and fell to the floor.

"I...I've misjudged you, you licentious brute, beast!"

While holding onto the bath towel with one hand, the girl came walking briskly and forcefully trampled on Kamito's head, who was squirming on the floor, with the heel of her bare foot.

Claire Rouge.

A classmate of the same class; to whom, by some twist of fate, Kamito became tied to in a master-servant contract.

At least her face was of a ridiculously cute and beautiful girl. However, her personality was like this, brutal to the extreme.

"Wh...What-What were you doing? Hey, just now, what were you doing with that Sword Spirit?"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Pishii, pishii, pishiii!*

"Hey, wait, stop ... guoo!"

It was a tempest of whips that relentlessly swung downwards. Her bristled red hair was just like blazing flames.

—Then, during the tempest of the devastating whips.


Kamito noticed. He noticed it— completely.

"Wa...Wait...Claire, isn't that bad?"

And then, as he completely noticed it, he had to say it. For her sake.

By the way, for things like this, Kamito had a strangely honest personality.

"...? What?"

Her clear ruby pupils sternly looked down on Kamito.

"Erm, that angle ... err, can be seen."

"Eh?"

Claire— while placing her foot on Kamito's head, blinked her eyes.

And then, she finally realized.

On top of Kamito's head, from the opening of her bath towel, her thigh, which became exposed, was being peeked at.

"...!"

Claire's whole body felt hot.

She fixed her bath towel in a fluster and her shoulders slightly trembled.

"Y...Y...You, you!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Gogogogogogogogogo...!*

"Wa...Wait, this is a misunderstanding, relax! Err, '''I did not see as far as the inside'''!"

Kamito's frantic excuse—


"..."

Seemed to have backfired.

"...Oh, I understand."

Claire informed him with a shuddering-like voice.

"After this, I'll give you two choices. Answer honestly."

Kamito gulped down his saliva and nodded moment by moment.

Here, he should choose his answer carefully. Depending on his reply, it was not unlikely that he would become cinders.

"About your cooking preferences, would you prefer medium? Or well-done?"

...Things like choices did not exist from the beginning.

"I...If possible, rare is good but..."

At the same moment Kamito answered,

"Scarlet!"

From an empty space, a hell cat, clad in crimson flames, appeared.

"Roast huh, it's decided."

Together with such a refreshing death sentence smile, as though she was fascinated, spontaneously—

A flashy explosion resounded in Raven Class dormitory today as well.



===Part 2===

Areishia Spirit Academy.

A training school, where princess maidens, gathered from all over the empire, trained before becoming proper elementalists.

In its vast territory, the academy possessed the «Spirit Forest», Academy Town, and residential teachers who possessed strength equal to that of the imperial capital's spirit knights, just like an independent small country.

It was the time when the morning mist cleared up, and the bell of lectures commencing sounded. At the same time, there was one particular carriage visiting the academy.

An old butler in a suit was working as the coachman of the one-horse carriage.

The coachman got down the horse in front of the gate and opened the door of the carriage in a respectful manner.

"We have arrived, Fianna-sama."

"Thank you for your efforts, old man."

Coming out of the carriage was a beautiful girl about fifteen, sixteen years old.

Her glossy black hair was fluttering in the gentle breeze. Her cold looking eyes were emitting a strong will. Her clear white skin could be associated to the virgin snow of the area of Laurenfrost and her uniform of a black dress like design was shining.

The girl, called Fianna, alighted from the carriage and looked up at the school building of the Academy and was dazzled.

"This is Areishia Spirit Academy. The place where elementalists from all over the empire gather."

"Please be fully careful, Fianna-sama. It is not possible to deceive the eyes of that Dusk Witch with poor tricks."

"I understand."


With a nod, Fianna gently grasped a spirit crystal, which was concealed by the sleeve of her uniform.

In the empire's currency, it was a good-for-nothing article of 20 million rood.

"Rubia Elstein's sister seems to be in this academy."

"Princess, that name is a taboo. You had better not say it here."

"That is right."

Calamity Queen, who once brought about an unprecedented great calamity to the empire.

That person's true name was even prohibited to be spoken of as a taboo.

Just by muttering that name, it was said that a pure girl's sacred nature would be polluted.

She thought that it was a ridiculous superstition. Nevertheless for the people, who saw her up close in the past, they felt that there was a slice of truth in such a jinx.

(...That's right. The truth is I have yet to be bound by her terror.)

The girl cleared her throat and then she lowered her voice and whispered.

"Besides, I am also concerned about the elementalist, called Kazehaya Kamito."

"Hmm, is it that male elementalist? A few days ago, it was said that he defeated a frenzied militarized spirit in Academy Town."

"Yes, based on all the eye-witnesses' words, it seemed to be a splendid blade dance of close resemblance to that of the strongest blade dancer — Ren Ashbell."

Fianna's voice got lively as she got a little excited.

The old butler glared at her in such a state.


"Princess, don't tell me, you fell in love with that boy, didn't you?"

"Fe...fell in love...!?"

Fianna's voice was turned inside out. Her cheeks turned red.

"Th...that can't be it, right? After all, I have never met him before... it's just that I have an interest in what kind of person this male elementalist is."

It was a lie.

The male elementalist, who defeated the frenzied militarized spirit in Academy Town.

The moment Fianna heard that boy's name, she immediately realized.

It was him.

Three years ago, that boy, who had saved her in the forest of Astral Zero.

Despite promising to meet again, he disappeared for some reason after the Blade Dance.

(—However, I finally found him.)

When she heard the report on that day, Fianna decided to enter into the Areishia Spirit Academy.

If that boy announced his candidacy to the Blade Dance again—

That was a never again chance to her.

"Kamito, I'll forgive you for breaking our promise."

Fianna glared at the school building of the academy and an impish smile surfaced.

"However, I'm not letting you escape again♪"



===Part 3===

About eight minutes had passed since the start of the match.

In a deep forest, which was enshrouded in a light purple mist, two shadows were moving fast.

"Claire, watch the thicket on the left. There's an ambush."

"How do you know?"

"Intuition, if it was me, I would ambush from over there—"

At that moment, bluish-white lightning bullets were fired from the left thicket, just as Kamito suspected.

"Tch—"

Kamito kicked the ground and accelerated. He jumped in front of Claire and repelled the lightning bullets shot at the speed of sound with the sword.

It was not a feat that could be done with an ordinary sword. Endowed with spirit magic resistance ability, the elemental waffe of sword spirit Est— «Terminus Est», made all the magic attacks ineffective.

"Claire!"

Before Kamito shouted, Claire was already capturing the target. Her red hair was fluttering in the wind. Below her fluttering skirt, a leather whip holder could be glimpsed.

While she placed her foot on a tree branch and dodged the rain of fired lightning bullets, she released her elemental waffe— «Flame Tongue».

There was a sharp swinging, cutting sound. The Flame Tongue, which cut up everything, very easily cut down the rows of standing trees.


From the middle of the grove of trees that became almost bare in a moment, a thunder elementalist girl appeared.

It was a girl, who had her eyes hidden by her forelocks and felt a little gloomy.

There was a cluster of bluish-white lightning bullets floating beside her.

It was not a high ranking spirit like Est or Scarlet. It was a low ranking spirit that could only keep an indeterminate form, however, it was plenty helpful as a battery to use spirit magic.

It seemed that that girl's role was a disturbance by means of support fire.

"Humph, a sniper who shows herself is the same as a turtle coming up on land."

Claire thrust her whip in a declaration of victory. While being accompanied by the thunder spirit around her, the girl sniper ran towards the middle of the forest in a flustered manner—

"You're not getting away! Scarlet, chase her!"

At the same time Claire shouted, the elemental waffe Flame Tongue transformed into the form of a hellcat, clad in flames.

Because of being possessed by the frenzy spirit, Scarlet was once the size of a kitten, however, now it had recovered plentifully. Its form was of a lovely cat but its strength was certainly of a roaring fierce lion.

The surging crimson flames attacked the thunder elementalist girl.

However, that scorching heat, which by right could melt even rocks, did not even burn a single place of the girl's body.

That was because this place was a battle field in Astral Zero, which the academy controlled for practice match usage.

Therefore, it was another world where spirits live in.


In the real world, spirits had to change into an embodiment of physical strength but here spirits could be used as an embodiment of pure divine power.

In other words, it could make physical damage to the body almost zero.

Nonetheless, it did not mean that shocks, pain and so forth disappeared, a consequence was that an equal damage would be received to the mind instead; for example, if one was torn up by Scarlet's claws, it was certain that one would faint and become unable to battle.

While carbonizing many trees of the forest, Scarlet was closely chasing the girl. However, the girl seemed considerably battle accustomed and while deceiving it with spirit magic, she was quickly escaping deep into the forest.

"Erghh, stay still!"

Losing her temper, Claire jumped down to the ground from the gap of the trees.

"Since it came to this, I'll blow everything together with my strongest spirit magic."

"Wait, Claire, the ground looks weird—"

Kamito shouted, and at that moment, a large quantity of earth and sand blew up from where Claire's feet were.

"Wh...!?"

Appearing from underground were gigantic crustacean pincers.

"Negligence is one's greatest enemy, Claire Rouge of Raven Class!"

From inside the sand that was fluttering up and the large hole that opened in the ground, the carapace armor of countless protuberances flew out.

It was an elemental waffe of the type that covered the whole body in armor.


Claire was blown off by that shock and was falling to the ground. The spirit's direct attack was, in any case, of impacts, earth, sand and so forth that gave the body substantial damage.

"Claire!"

Before Kamito came running to her, the carapace elementalist was already in pursuit. This was not a coincidental attack. They were scrupulously aiming for the moment when Claire went down onto the ground.

"Eat this, the elemental waffe of the carapace spirit «Kuraste»— «Breaker Arm»."

"—Guu! Flames, dance in my hand, dance!"

Claire, who fell, released countless fireballs from her hand.

However, the armor type elemental waffe was plunging in the face of this level of flames.

"Ha, the flame attribute isn't effective against the carapace spirit. Didn't you learn that in the lecture?"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Gaa*— A shoulder-tackle of the carapace armor blew Claire away.

Kamito kicked the ground and quickly turned around. Holding Est in a backhand grip, he tightly embraced and stopped Claire's body that came flying.

"U...gh..."

Claire leaked out a languishing voice in his arms.

It seemed that she had greatly drained her divine power from the attack just now; however, it seemed that she was still conscious.

(Just before the crash, she released the fireballs at the ground and destroyed her opponent's stance. As expected of her.)

"Hey, are you alright?"


"Y...yea... Eh... y...you, what are you doing!"

Suddenly, Claire's face turned red.

Claire's petite body was being held in such a manner that her back and knees were held by both his hands.

It was what was called being carried like a princess.

"Fua... Id...idiot... qu...quickly put me down!"

"He..hey, don't struggle! You'll fall!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Quickly put me down——!"

Boka. Boka. Boka. Boka.

Claire, who was striking Kamito's chest while being carried like a princess, was somehow cute like a small animal.

"If you're worrying about me, you don't have to care about it, because you're pretty light."

"Is th...that... because my chest is flat?"

"No, I did not say such a thing. I just thought that you're cute like a small animal."

"...! Cu...cute..."

While her face was red, Claire looked downwards.

While sighing in relief, Kamito let Claire down.

The carapace elementalist had already disappeared. Because Claire was defeated in the attack just now, it seemed that she was waiting for another chance for a surprise attack. ...Compared to her outward appearance, she was a cautious type.

From deep in the forest, Scarlet, who should have been chasing the thunder elementalist, returned.


They did not seem to have suffered any injuries but they seemed to have also let their prey escape.

"That thunder elementalist purposely showed herself to us."

"Yea, when I got down onto the ground while chasing her, that carapace armor stopped me with a surprise attack. We have suffered thoroughly from their good teamwork."

Claire, annoyed, hit the ground hard with her whip.

"As expected of a team of the cunning Wolverine Class."

"It's not particularly that they're cunning or anything, considering their fellow spirits' compatibility, it was a natural strategy."

Kamito said while shrugging his shoulders and Claire sullenly shut her mouth.

"However, it's strange that they aren't coming to chase us. I know that they're being cautious but— even so."

"That's right. Since just now, that thunder elementalist's movement could only be seen as stalling for time."

Astral Zero's forest was returning to be silent.

He couldn't feel their presence at all, not from the surrounding thickets, not from underground.

(With such time stalling, do they have some sort of aim?)

"I want to send out a scout to search for the enemy, however."

"If that was possible, I'd have already done it."

At any rate, there were three people remaining in the opposing team. Compared to theirs', they had two people. Depending on the situation, it could be that one person had to fight two people or three people. In a one-on-one battle, both Kamito and Claire would not be defeated. However, if they were caught and taken on by more than two coordinated people, winning would be substantially more difficult. 


Also, even in the case of a one-on-one battle, the fellow spirits' compatibility had to be considered. There was the matter that the compatibility of the attributes was more effective than an elementalist's ability in an actual battle.

"—Seems like you're having a tough battle, Kazehaya Kamito."

Suddenly from behind, a voice sounded.

Kamito turned around and, from the inside of the shadow made on the ground, a black figure quickly appeared.

The black figure very quickly changed into the form of an adult woman.

She had glossy long black hair. She had a glasses-wearing intellectual appearance.

She had on a cuff-long white robe on top of her suit, that beautiful lady was—

"Teacher Freya?"

Raven Class's homeroom lecturer and this match's inspector, Freya Grandol.

The matter about her coming out from inside the shadow was her contracted spirit's ability—

"Is that alright? To appear in the middle of the match."

"What, there's no problem with giving poor-scoring students advice."

Freya suddenly smiled and pushed up her glasses.

"Although, the one you're facing off currently is a superior ranking team. It can't be helped if it's a tough battle. Based on individual strength, you two are nigh on unreachable but your team strength is lacking. ...By the way, why were you injured before the match?"

"This morning, I was roasted."


He glared at Claire beside him with scornful eyes and Claire quickly averted her eyes.

"In the first place, I think it is strange to have a five-to-two match though."

Despite having two people, the opponent team, they were facing, had five people. They had already defeated two but the sniper thunder elementalist, the hand-to-hand-fighting type carapace elementalist and then the last person, who has yet to show herself, were remaining.

"Do you know? The fact that your team only has two people is bad. You can't qualify for entry in this round's «Blade Dance» without a five-member team. What do you plan to do?"

"We'll find people before the deadline. We don't really need to have all five members to be high level elementalists. After all, my plan is for I, alone, and— this slave spirit to win through this."

Claire muttered unintelligibly and Freya glared at her with a serious face.

"You had better not take team battles lightly, Claire Rouge. You are certainly a superior elementalist but even so you absolutely can't beat a coordinated team."

After that, she turned towards Kamito,

"Do you know chess?"

"Greyworth had harshly made me her opponent. Although, I had never won."

"The queen is certainly a strong piece. In a one-on-one battle, there were hardly times when it will lose. However, depending on the situation, there are also times when it could be taken by a pawn, which certainly possesses no ability."

"I know such a thing."

"But you do not understand it. Your fighting methods feels...awfully isolated."


Without answering back anything, Kamito shut his mouth.

The boy, who was once called— the strongest blade dancer. He, who was raised as an assassin at that mad institution, «Instructional School», had never experienced fighting in coordination with his comrades.

Creeping to the target's back and cutting his throat— that was his original fighting method.

On a whim of the Elemental Lords, the Blade Dance's regulation was changed every time it was held.

The Blade Dance, fifteen years ago, was a battle royale.

The Blade Dance, three years ago, was an individual elimination match.

And then, this time it was a team battle.

Honestly, he didn't think that his teamwork with Claire was turning out well.

As an elementalist, he had a fatal three-year blank.

He had a contracted spirit, who could not exhibit even a tenth of her strength yet.

There were many factors that had to be overcome.

"Claire Rouge, you too. You do not understand what it means to fight in a team."

"I'm always alone. T...this guy is just a slave spirit..."

"Oh dear, you two have many difficulties in store for you."

Teacher Freya sighed and disappeared into the shadow again.

"...Hmm, because of that just now, two minutes have been used up. The time remaining is about five minutes."

As it was, if they did not reach a conclusion, both team's inter-school rank would drop.


For the two, who were still of low rank, that was a great blow.

—Then, the hell cat, snuggling at the side of Claire's feet, let out a roar.

"Hey, Scarlet is saying something."

"Yea, the forest looks strange. The wild animals are stirred up?

Claire was frowning with a serious face for some reason—

"There—"

She suddenly faced the forest and fired a fire attribute spirit magic.

It was a fireball— a high ranking spirit magic that would reduce a target to ashes with ultra-hot flames.

The red hot flames completely licked the ground and the forest near it was reduced to ashes.

With the rising black smoke, a boorish figure appeared in a relaxed manner.

"Well, what a frightening ojou-sama."

The girl wore the carapace armor of her elemental waffe over her body.

Despite receiving a direct hit of the fireball, she did not have a single burn mark.

"This is unexpected... you came out fairly. Have you already given up on a surprise attack?"

"Our roles have ended. The leader's preparations have been readied."

"Preparations?"

Claire and Kamito frown simultaneously.

In the direction where the black smoke cleared up—


"Huh....?" "What... is that!?"

A gigantic timber-scaffolding was put together.

While it was of a simple structure, it was unreservedly a splendid shrine.

On top of that, a small girl, who was wearing the academy uniform, was dancing the dance of a ritual for some reason.

It was a platinum blonde haired beautiful girl, who held a wooden cane.

"Our brethren, now is the time, hand down the iron hammer to the forest devastators!"

From the top of the gigantic scaffolding, she faced this side and thrust the cane with a snap.

"Wh...what's going on, that girl ... when did she make that large-scale shrine!?"

"We were preparing it last night to have it ready for today's match."

The carapace elementalist girl proudly held up her pincers.

...Indeed, if it was with that spirit's power, it should be possible to make the shrine in a night.

"I...it's unfair, that thing! A ritual Kagura!"

"Uh-huh, it isn't unfair! Without a large-scale ritual, I can't call out my contracted spirit!"

The girl, who was on top of the scaffolding and holding a cane, shouted.

"Shut up, a child should stay silent!"

"Unh, what do you mean by a child, isn't your chest also of a child?"

"What... did you say!"

Pakii! The sound of a twig being stepped on and broken resounded. Claire's red hair was bristled up like a blazing flame.


"The family of Druid ..."

While wiping the perspiration on his forehead, Kamito muttered.

The family of Druid was a noble of the Ordesia Empire. It was a family of ancient honorable elementalists, which had lived in the spirit forest since before the origin of the empire and succeeded the blood relationship of the princess maidens with their original methods.

"That girl's spirit is a little special, summoning takes time."

"I see, that was the reason you were stalling for time..."

The ground was violently shaking. The flames of the torches, lighted at the surroundings of the shrine, were thunderously burning up.

...He felt a tremendous sense of oppression. What that girl was trying to use was an outrageous spirit. It was likely that it roughly matched the military giant spirit that they fought the other day.

"—I won't let you. Scarlet!"

Claire released Scarlet as its elemental waffe, Flame Tongue, and hit the ground very hard.

"Kamito, I'll hold her back. You go destroy that shrine."

"I got it!"

Kamito nodded and ran with the silver-glittering «Terminus Est» in his hand.

As an elementalist, Claire was a genius.

Although her compatibility with the carapace spirit was bad, in a one-on-one battle, she would not lose.

There was a considerable distance till the shrine but with Kamito's legs, he should make it in time.

"...!?"


Suddenly the ground in front of him burst open.

From within the thicket, spirit magic lightning bullets were fired.

It was the thunder spirit girl. Naturally, Kamito had also predicted that an ambush was hidden in the forest.

However—

"Toryaaaaaa!"

"Wha...!?"

This was unexpected. —The elementalist herself came interfering.

It was impossible to ignore. Kamito stopped and turned around.

(I'll stun her in one strike—)

He nimbly turned around and aimed the handle of the sword at her stomach—

At that moment, an intense flash baked his eyes.

The thunder spirit, the girl was using, blew itself up in front of him.

The rain of the intense lightning attack assailed Kamito. Sharp pain till the point of numbness ran throughout his whole body.

It was not to the extent that he could not move. However, he was certainly stopped.

Before his eyes, the girl, who was caught in the explosion had fainted, and therefore have been defeated.

(That girl had resolved for a tie from the start...)

It was a tactic that could not be used in an individual battle but in the case of thinking only of the team's victory, it was not a bad choice.

Her duty was to stop him to the bitter end. And then, that had succeeded.


"We're done in..."

"Come, tyrant governor! Thou, beast king of the destruction army that grinds and smashes everything!"

On top of the shrine, the forest girl put up the cane to the sky and recited the majestic summoning.

The summoning ritual had been completed.

"...Its name is beast swarm spirit «Cernunnos»!"

From here and there in the forest, the roar of countless beasts could be heard.

That Druid girl was calling the beasts that were living in Astral Zero.

"The beast swarm spirit... a spirit of vast possession range type!"

It was the same as the frenzy spirit that drove Claire's Scarlet, the militarized spirit and so on mad, a type of spirit that would possess the target— the vast range edition.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Dodododododododododoo!*

The group of beasts, which were possessed by the beast swarm spirit, made the earth tremor and came charging.

"Be...Because they aren't spirits, if they were trampled, they'll die. Normally."

"I...If it's the handling of animals, I too will not lose!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Pishi!* *Pishi!* Claire, who defeated the carapace elementalist, beat her whip.

"Give it up, Claire, it's our loss."

"—The match is over."

Teacher Freya, who appeared quickly like a shadow, blew the whistle that marked the end of the match.

<noinclude>{{SeireiDance Nav|prev=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Prologue|next=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter2}}</noinclude>

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter6

2013-04-11T16:35:12Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 6: The Blade Dance at Midnight==

===Part 1===

—It was 2 am. The time when the academy students slept and forest spirits began stirring.

On the stone paving path illuminated by the moonlight, Kamito was walking alongside Claire.

"The academy at night has an atmosphere that is very different, "

"Of course, night is the time for spirits."

Claire kept facing front and bluntly replied. Solid sounds of walking resounded loudly.

Since some time ago, Claire had not said much. She might be tense about the duel with the Knights.

"Where are you planning to do it?"

Private battles should be prohibited within the academy according to academy regulations. Is there a place for a duel outside?"

"Over there—"

Claire abruptly stopped.

In front of what she was pointing, there was a gigantic stone circle.

Its ground was dimly shining in bluish-white.

"That's the— «Astral Gate»!"

"Yea, the gate that connects this world with the Astral Zero. The reason why the academy was built in such a remote place."


"...I see."

He was surprised that there was a 'gate' within the academy premises. That stone circle was perhaps a prehistoric ruin, which was used with an unknown art. It probably had a function to stabilize the unstable «gate».

"Isn't it dangerous? There are spirits that cannot be controlled by humans roaming about in the Astral Zero."

"You see, that «gate» connects to a safe area where there are only low-level spirits. If not, the academy wouldn't leave it alone, right?"

Claire murmured '''stupid''', and stepped into the middle of the stone circle.

She recited the words of opening the gate in the spirit language and the blue light on the ground further increased its brightness.

"Come on, you, faster! Get on too."

Led by Claire, Kamito hurriedly jumped on top of the formation of lights.

At that moment, his field of vision was filled with a white flash.

He had a feeling that his whole body was attacked with dizziness. And then—

...

—After opening his eyes, a scenery of another world spread out.

There was a deep dark forest with twisted trees standing tall.

Shining brilliantly in the night sky was a blood-like red moon.

There was a pale purple smoke-like fog shrouding nearby.

Astral Zero— another world which spirits live in.

"If it's here, nobody can disturb us. Even if we were injured, it would not be serious, so this place is often used by the academy students for duels."

In a situation such a thing occurred, the physical body of humans possessing divine powers would be treated the same as spirits, this meant that there's almost no physical damage received.

Naturally, this was not absolutely safe. Pain was felt normally; in exchange of the physical body not receiving damage, the mind would suffer an equal damage.

To fall into a lethargic state was still a good thing but in the case of receiving a serious injury, one would receive severe memory impairment and the destruction of the mind, there was also the possibility of not regaining consciousness.

"—Flame, illuminate."

Claire recited the spirit magic and a small fire ball was born on her palm, dimly lighting up a narrow open path in the middle of the forest.

"Let's go, Kamito."

Claire gently brushed her twin-tails and calmly walked.

"Do we have a chance of winning?"

"That depends on your ability. ...Honestly, it might be a little hard."

"Is that so?"

Kamito was surprised. For an elementalist of Claire's level, it was unexpected of her to say such a thing.

"Putting aside the other two, Ellis is strong. She isn't the Knights leader just for show. Besides, Scarlet exhausted some strength from this morning's fight with the «sealed spirit». Rinslet's ability is— well, at least I recognize it, but her teamwork is the worst."

"...That was a surprisingly calm battle strength analysis. I thought you were the more impulsive type."

"You, what do you see me as?"

"A dangerous fellow, who instantly swings a whip— Ouch!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Pashii*— A whip was promptly swung down onto Kamito's back.

...After walking a while, there was a historic ruin of a gigantic theater in the forest.

It was something from when Astral Zero and the human world were one— a long gone mythical era.

The crumbling looking stone gate greeted the two. It seemed that here was the stage for the duel.

"First of all, you, the sword elementalist, are the attacker. Rinslet and I will provide cover."

"I've got the most dangerous role! Isn't it your duel?"

"What! Do you have a complaint? Alright, if that's the case, I'll let you choose a position. Attacker or cinders, which do you like?"

"I get it. I'll be the attacker."


"A wise decision."

Claire nodded seemingly satisfied.

"By the way, you can properly handle that contracted «sword spirit», right?"

"Hn, ahh...probably."

"...Probably? What do you mean?"

Claire's eyes lifted up with danger. Kamito backed off in a panic.

"Well, you see, isn't it bad if it was summoned poorly and went out of control? That's why, I have not summoned it even once since I contracted it this morning."

That was somewhat of an explanation— he thought. Actually, it was half of the explanation.

The truth was that by contracting with another spirit he felt guilty in regards to her.

He felt a sense of betrayal about using a new contracted spirit.

"You succeeded in contracting in just one try, therefore there should be little chance of losing control but— well, it is a sealed spirit with a history and it certainly won't be funny if anything happened."

However, Claire seemed to have agreed for once.

"For the time being, try releasing your elemental waffe. You are able to do that, right?"

"A...aahh... Yeah."

The releasing of an elemental waffe was not something anyone could do but—

(Can't seem to get into the mood, it can't be helped—)

Kamito closed his eyes and concentrated his consciousness to the «spirit seal» engraved on his right hand.

'''"Dispassionate Queen of Steel, the sacred sword that destroys evil—"'''

He recited the summoning in the spirit language and the crest of two swords crossing faintly shined.

The path with a contracted spirit would be normally connected— however,

(What?)

...It was strange. He could not feel the presence of such a powerful sealed spirit.

No— he could pick up its presence but it was as if something wasn't right, like gears not fitting together.

'''"—Now form a sword of steel and be the power in my hand!"'''

At that moment, small particles of light gathered at Kamito's palm.

And then, what appeared was—

"..."

One short sword.

To be more precise, it was a small sword almost like a knife.

...*Shin*. An awkward silence arrived.

"...Is that the sword spirit's elemental waffe?"

Claire said with her face twitching.


For an incarnation of the powerful sealed spirit that cut down Scarlet in one blow—

...Honestly, it was too shabby.

"D...Don't judge it by its appearance, it might actually have an amazing ability."

"Y...eah, that certainly may be true!"

Claire nodded for a moment while having a stiff expression.

Kamito tried cutting a buckwheat tree as a test.

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Bekii*. The short sword very easily broke and vanished.

"..."

...Ahh, how should I say it, it's probably that."

Kamito beared the frozen Claire's gaze and calmly opened his mouth.

"To tell you the truth, this is the first time I've used a contracted spirit in three years. I have yet to regain that feeling."

"...Huh?"

Claire blankly opened her mouth to that shocking confession.

"You're lying... after all, didn't you easily tame that sealed spirit!?"

"That time was because I was frantically trying to save you. To be honest, I don't really understand myself how I succeeded in contracting it."

No matter how powerful a spirit one contracted with, there was no point if one could not fully draw out that power. When an inexperienced elementalist contracted a spirit beyond his means, it was often the case that its power would be too much to handle.

(...However, for my case, it's a little different.)

Kamito stared at his left hand, inserted in a leather glove.

(Probably, within my sub-consciousness, I thought about her.)

—Therefore, he could not connect the path with the new spirit.

"Wh..Wha..What's with that..."

He heard a dead groan. After lifting her head, Claire was tightly grasping a leather whip, used for training animals, with her shoulders trembling.

"No, I mean, um, my battle strength is lacking..." 

"What do you mean! I am counting on your battle strength!"

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Pishii!* *Pishii!* *Pishii!*

"Ouch! Wait..stop!"

A tempest of unforgiving whips descended onto the escaping Kamito.

Then, there—

"What in the world are you doing? Claire Rouge."

From the other side of the dark tree grove, that voice was heard.

Claire stopped her whipping and sullenly turned around.


The ones who appeared were Rinslet and the maid Carol.

"You're late, Rinslet."

"Aah, a lady getting dressed takes time."

Rinslet proudly brushed her extravagant platinum blonde hair.

"...? What, is Carol here too?"

"Of course, as milady's supporter."

After Kamito heard that, Carol brought out a flag, seemingly from nowhere and began swinging it.

"By the way, why were you whipping Kazehaya Kamito?"

Rinslet placed her index finger at her chin and frowned dubiously.

That was— before Claire answered, Carol interrupted.

"Milady, that's something unrefined to listen to."

"What do you mean?"

"That was a form of a slightly unusual love. In a unique way, that was a perverted play."

"Ehh! Is that right, you two!?"

"T...Th..T..That's not it! W...What are you saying, you stupid maid!"

Claire's face became bright red as she denied it.

...Indifferently, he wanted the fuse-blowing whipping to stop, as it hurt.


(...Why am I already worn out before the duel.)

Kamito began to seriously think about the absurdity of his life. At that moment.

"—Your side seems to be all present, Raven class."

A frigid voice descended from right above.

"...!?"

The four of them looked upwards together.

There, above the crumbling theater wall was—

A figure of a gallant female knight with her blue hair fluttering in the gentle breeze.

Beside her, two knights, also wearing the same silver armor, were standing.

He heard their names from Claire. The one with the short hair was Rakka. The one with the braiding was Reishia.

"—Ellis Fahrengart, for how long were you here!"

"By the way, you wouldn't by any chance be waiting for a chance to appear at a cool moment, right?"

"Wha... T...There's no such thing! I just only got here!"

After Kamito pointed it out with his half-opened eyes, Ellis was frankly disturbed and ended up almost falling.

...Somehow, that was a rather deplorable look for a Knights' leader.

Ellis sharply glared at Kamito and the rest, and drew her sword from her waist.


"Let's go, Raven class. Let's finish this duel by day break—"

At that moment. The illumination of a large flame lit the stage of the theater.

The one shined on by that illumination—

"That's—!?"

A large eagle was spreading its enormous wings and making an appearance in the red night.

"Let me introduce to you, Kazehaya Kamito. This is my contracted spirit— demon wind spirit, «Simorgh»!"

With a howl like the wind— The large eagle, clad in wind swooped down.

===Part 2===

At a point of an attack in-place of a greeting, —

The demon wind spirit glided closer and dived with its aim at the ground, where the four were.

An ear-splitting thunderous roar. Stone paving came unstuck and large amounts of earth and sand were whirled up.

A strong wind, brought forth from the force of the explosion, hit Kamito and his body was easily blown away.

"...Gahaa!"

He was thrown into a wall. With that bone shattering impact, he stopped breathing for a moment.

Even if one received an attack of a spirit of a purified form, the physical body cannot be hurt, however, the physical damage from a crashing impact and fragments of rubble were different. Small rocks fluttering up in the squall were cutting at Kamito's whole body. While covering his forehead with both his hands, Kamito clicked his tongue.

(...What destructive power! If I took a blow directly, I'll faint.)

That demon wind spirit... Simorgh.

Comparing just destructive power, it might surpass even Claire's Scarlet.

(That's right, where's Claire?)

He stood up and surveyed his surroundings, his two allies were at their respective positions.

Claire was providing direct cover from a mid-distance. Rinslet was providing rear support with a long distance attack.

Carol was...waving a flag at the outside of the theater where she had escaped to.

The thunderous wind that was blowing violently stopped. At that interval, Kamito began to run—

"Not yet, Kamito!"

"...!?"

At the same time Claire shouted, the roar of the demon wind spirit resounded.

From an empty large hole in the ground, a large demon bird flapped its wings—

"What are you doing, quickly release your elemental waffe!"

"Hn, even if you say that—"

At that moment, a cluster of wind that held an enormous mass gouged the earth while rushing over.


The stone paving came ripping off in a straight line. Kamito quickly jumped sideways.

While tumbling on the ground, he quickly recited the summoning of the spirit language in his mouth.

The spirit seal faintly glowed but as before the path with the contracted spirit was not connected.

(... It's no good, huh!?)

Just as he was about to give up, a glowing short sword was constructed in his palm.

It was the same unreliable elemental waffe but it was better than nothing.

"Are you just escaping? Kazehaya Kamito, I have misjudged you!"

Ellis, with a pony-tail hair swaying, alighted onto the ground.

"Ahh! I just have to fight, right—"

Kamito prepared the short sword and charged towards Ellis. The first to strike wins. If he defeated the elementalist first, then the summoned contracted spirit would vanished—

"Kamito, behind you!"

Claire's voice came from behind him— Kamito jumped straight to the side.

The wing of the demon wind spirit mowed down at the place Kamito was at just now.

"... What speed!"

Among the five grand spirit spirits, the ones boasting of being the fastest were the wind-attribute spirits. And Ellis was completely controlling one of them.

The demon wind spirit, dancing in the night sky, turned in an arc— and swooped down.


Kamito jumped again. The demon wind spirit that crashed into the ground blew up a large quantity of earth and sand— and then it immediately transformed into countless blades of the wind and cut into Kamito's arms.

"...Kuu!"

Tremendous pain was running in his right arm. Actually, it did not mean that his arm was cut off— but that pain was violently jolting his consciousness.

(—Well, I never thought it'd turn into the blades of wind with that timing.)

Kamito was astonished in his mind. Ellis's competency as an elementalist was something substantial.

"Kamito, I'll cover you!"

At the same time as her voice, A blazing flame illuminated the night sky red.

Claire wielded Scarlet's elemental waffe — «Flame Blaze».

The flame slash mowed down all the attacking blades of the wind in an arc—

"I won't let you interfere with the leader!"

The braided hair knight, Reishia, attacked Claire.

The elemental waffe held in her hand was a transparent ice sword— it seemed she also an ice elementalist like Rinslet.

Nonetheless, her spirit's rank was completely no match for Rinslet's Fenrir. It seemed she had the competency to release her contracted spirit into its elemental waffe but she had not made it hers yet.

She was not good enough to be a worthy adversary for Claire— Kamito concluded so and adjusted his direction to Ellis, who was in front of him.


In that moment, simultaneous with a violent blasting sound, the ground in front of him was being completely gouged.

"...!?"

"Huh, try taking on my elemental waffe— Rock Breaker!"

The short-haired knight, Rakka, shouted in a spirited tone.

Her specialized weapon was a large hammer with a long handle, which was easily being swung about by the thin arm of a girl.

Kamito jumped and backed away, getting some distance between them. She seemed more hot-blooded than Reishia.

While keeping his distance, he was chasing Ellis, who was within his sight—

Ellis had linked with Rakka's attack and was already moving.

As expected of the Knights' leader, Ellis' commanding ability was high.

First, she was to use her demon wind spirit to launch a preemptive attack to cause chaos on the battlefield. Next was to strike Claire on mid-guard with Reishia and Kamito on advance-guard with Rakka. While the two were pinned down, Ellis with the most battle strength would attack Rinslet on rear-guard. That was the so-called strategy.

(... Before attacking Ellis, firstly, I have to do something about this fellow.)

Kamito nimbly stepped in and let loose a slash. The flash of the silver sword shallowly cut Rakka's arm.

As it was an attack from an elemental waffe, blood did not flow out— but pain should be felt in the same way.

"This guy...!"

Rakka's face was dyed in anger. She aimed at the top of Kamito's head and swung her Rock Breaker down.


There was a thunderous roar. The ground was gouged and rubbles were whirled up. It was probably a spirit of the earth attribute. As expected, its destructive power is great but its movement was a large swing, making it easy to avoid.

"Chii, how restless!"

She too seemed to have yet to master her elemental waffe. Or perhaps, her contracted spirit's rank in contrast to her competency was too great— The spirit she was supposed to be using was manipulating her.

"Don't run, fight properly, male elementalist!"

"This doesn't mean that I'm just running away. In a group battle, you should pay more attention to your surroundings."

"What?"

"A capable hunter is taking aim."

At that moment, an ice arrow came flying and pierced the girl's chest.

Rakka was flashily blown away and bounced on the ground.

The elemental waffe, 'Rock Breaker', turned into particles of light and vanished.

"Fuu, nice shot!"

Kamito turned behind where the voice came from.

On the outer wall of the theater, there was the appearance of Rinslet brushing her hair.

"... Why are you, the support position, standing at such a conspicuous place?!"

"Ah, it's natural for me to be at a more conspicuous place than Claire!"


"Th...That stupid dog...! You were moving around and sniping, right!"

Claire shouted like she was gnawing.

"Fuu, as a worthy lady of the noble Laurenfrost family, I won't be satisfied if I'm not at the most conspicuous place at a dance party."

"That's my lady!"

Carol was delightfully swinging a flag from above ground.

"Hmm, you're pretty composed, Raven Class!"

—At that moment, at the back a strong squall was winding up.

Spreading its wings, the demon wind spirit roared and flew with its aim at Rinslet.

"A good target! Freezing ice fang, pierce— «Freezing Arrow»!"

Rinslet quickly released the Freezing Arrow—

The demon wind spirit immediately transformed to the countless blades of wind and rushed at Rinslet.

"Kyaa!"

"Rinslet!?"

In front of Claire, who planned to rush over, the braided hair knight blocked her way.

She quickly entered into the range of the whip in the gap that Claire lost her focus and slashed with her ice sword. The moment she got into the range, a sword was overwhelmingly advantageous. Claire was gradually pressured.


"Why you! How dare you do this to Rakka!"

"Kuu— Kamito, chase Ellis!"

"Ahh!"

Claire was in a predicament, but Ellis ought to be stopped now.

Ellis was running on the stairs of the theater. Her intention was to completely take out Rinslet.

Kamito aimed at Ellis's legs and threw the short sword. He concluded that it was dangerous to ignore her— Ellis jumped to the side and got into the audience seating.

In the vicinity, a high-pitched sound reverberated. The elemental waffe short sword hit the wall and got smashed up.

"Hmm, that's a pretty fragile elemental waffe."

While Ellis said that, she called the demon wind spirit to her hand.

And then—

"—Evil winds, pierce through my sworn enemy's heart, become a demonic spear and lodge within my hand!"

The moment she recited the releasing in the spirit language— winds blew violently and in her hand a very long spear appeared.

It was a ceremonial long spear and delicate patterns were engraved on its handle.

Its tip, illuminated by the red moonlight, was clad in sharp winds and was faintly making wind sounds.

Her pony-tail hair, which reached her waist, was agitatedly swaying and flowing in the wind.

Ellis completely spun the spear in one hand and stared at Kamito with a cold expression.


"This is my elemental waffe— «Ray Hawk»."

Kamito—

"...Beautiful."

Without a thought, let out such a voice.

"Hah, you too understand— the beauty of this 'Ray Hawk'."

Displaying her truly prided spear, Ellis loosened her cheeks, slightly delighted.

"Idiot, I mean you! Don't make me say that, it's embarrassing."

"Wha..? Me..!?"

Ellis turned bright red and became flustered.

"Hey, y...you're mocking me, right? Kazehaya Kamito!"

"No, I'm just normally entranced."

"E...Entranced... Ah....."

Ellis's face increasingly redden... as if purging evil thoughts, she shook her head.

"Ehh...Such a practical joke... As I thought, you are mocking me!"

"No, you really are beautiful— Owaa!"

Being enraged, Ellis thrust her spear with her face bright red.

As a result of losing her composure, it was easy to dodge.


However, when the demonic spear tip grazed the side of his abdomen, at that moment—

The blades of winds were released and cut his whole body.

(Guu...!?)

In response to the sharp pain, Kamito clicked his tongue in his mind.

(—That elemental waffe can create the blades of wind, huh!)

While bearing the pain attacking his whole body, Kamito jumped away to the back in one go.

That demonic spear could create the blades of wind, so there also was no point in evading with a paper-thin difference.

However, Ellis jumped again and released a stream of attacks like a tempest.

"Are you trying to escape... you insolent guy! I'll turn you into tiramisu<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiramisu Tiramisu] is an italian cake and desert</ref>!"

"What? Is candy-making also your forte? You cute sullen young lady."

"I...I am currently practicing making candies. For the sake of the gentleman that I'll marry in the future— Eh... What did you make me say! And who's the sullen young lady!"

Ellis pierced the theater wall with all her might in one blow and fragments of rubble flew around.

(...This person, she's seriously strong!)

As expected of someone who served as the Knights leader in this academy that gathered elementalists.

It was a beautiful blade dance like modeling after Kagura, which spirits enjoyed themselves in.

The wound in his left hand ached.


He understood that his senses were gradually getting sharper.

The serious blade dance was causing his blood to boil.

His body was recalling the sensations from three years ago.

(However, it wasn't something like this.)

It was irritating that his legs did not move as he wanted. His instinctive ability to read his opponent's movements was also falling.

(I—)

"You, don't run!"

Releasing a sharp thirst for blood and being clad in gales, Ellis came attacking.

It was not a clever thrust. It was a blow with all her might to decide the match.

However, there was a fatal chance born—

"Freezing Ice Fang, pierce— «Freezing Arrow»!"

Rinslet, who had recovered and was awaiting for a chance to snipe, released her Freezing Arrow without delay.

Simultaneously—

"Dance, crimson flame that invites ruins— «Hell Blaze»!"

After Claire settled Reishia, she released her flame attribute elemental waffe.

"...!?"

Ellis opened both her eyes in surprise.


The timing was perfect. The released ice fang and infernal flame went straight at their target—

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Pariiiin!*

They collided with each other in the air.

"...Wha!?"

Kamito's face twitched.

Ellis, in front of him, was also standing still, dumbfounded.

"Hey, Rinslet! Why did you get in my way!"

"W...What? You're the one who should not get in my way."

At that moment, the two of them began to quarrel.

"T...Those two..."

Kamito forgot that he was in the midst of the duel and deeply sighed.

(...They have the ability, yet their teamwork is really all over the place.)

"—How foolish, to fall out among yourselves!"

Ellis Fahrengart raised her elemental waffe spear once again.

Thunderously, a strong wind, unseen before, was winding up.

"T..To make a mockery of me by saying that I'm beautiful, I'll make you regret—"

There was already nowhere to run to. Kamito resigned his fate, at that time—


"Wait, Ellis! Something is strange..."

"What? Now then you're begging for your life."

Stopping mid-way— Ellis shut her mouth.

It seemed she noticed it too.

"What, this presence is ...?"

The atmosphere of the vicinity was heavy. That sensation, like one's back turning chilly, was—

"What?"

"What is this?"

Claire and the others seemed to have noticed it too. They looked up at the hazy night sky and tilted their heads in confusion.

Suddenly, a thunder-like sound roared.

And then— from a tear in the sky, that appeared.

===Part 3===

That was— a giant jaw, floating in the sky.

It had neither head nor body nor a tail. It was an eerie jaw with just rows of teeth lined up making a chattering sound.


"That's, ...don't tell me, ... a demon spirit!?"

The sudden appearance of that spirit made Kamito groan and terrified him.

A demon spirit— that was something with a spirit make-up that greatly differed from humans, and thus, that was a grotesque spirit that can never be tamed by elementalists.

"A demon spirit, why is it at such a place...?"

At that moment.

"Vo...Ruoooooooon—"

The demon spirit's rising ear-splitting roar caused the girls to cower.

There was a tremendous sense of intimidation. That divine power felt on his skin was comparable to a {{Furigana|devil-class|rank A|margin=13}} spirit.

Moreover—

(It's... going berserk?)

Kamito dropped his voice and carefully observed the demon spirit in sky.

A demon spirit was certainly a grotesque being, but it's unlikely that it would be going berserk without a reason.

(...What's going on?)

Groaning within his mind— Kamito recalled.

That reminded him, before the duel— the water spirit of the spirit device in Claire's room had went out of control.

It was a phenomenon that was normally unimaginable, but if the water spirit was in a frenzy at that time, it was natural that Claire also could not control it. ...Was that phenomenon something related?

Besides—

(Claire said that powerful spirits don't appear frequently in this area.)

For the appearance of that demon spirit to be by chance, it was too unnatural.

(What the heck—?)

The jaw floating in the sky mowed down many trees of the forest, and bit and crushed the ancient historic ruins to tiny pieces. The smashed-up rock fragments rained down from high in the sky.

"Claire Rouge, for now, we'll stop the duel. Is that alright?"

"...I understand."

Claire obediently nodded at Ellis's words.

Everyone in this place understood the danger from that demon spirit.

It did not mean that that was summoned in a purified form like contracted spirits.

If bitten by those teeth, the human body and so forth will be like mere scraps of paper.

"We're taking refuge. I'll take the rear, you all carry the fainted two."

Ellis prepared the Ray Hawk and gallantly got down to the center of the historic ruins.

"No, I'll take the rear. That is not something an ordinary elementalist can do one way or another."

The way of fighting spirits and fighting human elementalists were completely different. Of course, this didn't mean that the girls didn't learn how to fight spirits but— it was an opponent too dangerous for Ellis to fight alone.

"Stop the jokes. What can you, who can't even fully use his contracted spirit, do?"

"That's..."

Kamito firmly groaned. Certainly, it was not an opponent he could fight with that unreliable elemental waffe.

"There's no time to talk. Leave this to Ellis, let's hurry!"

Rinslet whistled and Fenrir, in a white wolf appearance, came giving both fainted Reishia and Rakka a lift. Carol also came running.

"Claire, what are you doing daydreaming!"

Rinslet pulled Claire's sleeves.

—Claire was looking downwards like she was thinking about something and she suddenly raised her head.

"Ellis, I'll take the rear."

"What?"

Ellis opened her eyes. Claire whipped her leather whip and called out her contracted spirit, the hell cat.

"..."

Claire's red pupils became nailed onto the figure of the demon spirit, raging like a storm.

...It was like she was completely entranced.


In response to Claire's appearance— Kamito realized and was taken aback.

(This fellow, don't tell me—)

Claire was obsessed with obtaining a powerful spirit.

For the sake of knowing the truth concerning her sister, Rubia Elstein, she needed power.

Therefore, she still reached out to the dangerous sealed spirit.

"You, don't tell me— You plan to make '''that''' your contracted spirit!?"

"..."

Claire did not answer. She just motionlessly gazed at the demon spirit in the sky—

"That's crazy! That's a demon spirit, furthermore it's in a frenzy!"

Kamito shouted, Claire swung her twin-tails and finally turned around.

"...It's a once in a lifetime chance."

She bit her lips and muttered with an expression like she had thought hard over it.

"Firstly, there's no such thing as encountering a spirit of that level in the «Spirit Forest». Besides, it's not like there weren't any elementalists who contracted demon spirits."

"You mean Greyworth? She's a witch."

"I too may have the qualities of a witch."

"Stop doing something stupid, you'll die."


Kamito grabbed Claire's arm, who was planning to dash anytime.

Claire sternly glared at Kamito.

"Don't get in my way. My reasons to want a strong spirit, I've told them to you, right?"

"Ahh, I understand. But that's no good. Your skills can't manage it."

"...Shut up, let go! You weakling, be silent!"

Claire shook Kamito's arm and shouted.

Within her ruby pupils, glaring at Kamito, genuine hatred surfaced.

"Despite snatching my sealed spirit! You can only use a weak elemental waffe, what qualifications do you have to say something?"

"That's—"

Kamito looked downwards. It was natural for Claire to be irritated. While he had indeed contracted with such a powerful spirit, he couldn't pull out its power completely.

"What? ... I was expecting a little something."

Claire awkwardly averted her eyes.

"I'll handle that alone. You all please escape."

"Claire Rouge, you—"

"Ellis, try to protect everyone. I don't want to think about it but if I—"


Claire did not speak after that.

And then—

"—Scarlet!"

She called her partner, flame spirit's name and ran towards the demon spirit, devouring the forest.

"Claire!"

Kamito held out his hand in a fluster.

At that moment, the demon spirit roared.

A lump of shock struck. The trees in its vicinity were thoroughly blown off.

"Winds, grant us the hand of divine protection— «Wind Wall»!"

Right away, Ellis recited the spirit magic and protected everyone at the back.

(Damn, Claire—)

While defending against the pebbles that were blown off, Kamito followed Claire with his eyes.

Claire was— dancing in the air.

She got on the winds like sparks dancing in the air.

In her hand was her flame spirit released into its elemental waffe— «Flame Tongue», which she was grasping.

The blazing crimson killing flash cut off the evening darkness.

Claire landed onto the ground and while running through the gaps of the tree grove, she drew closer to the demon spirit.


The demon spirit opened its giant jaws and made chattering sounds with its lined-up rows of teeth.

(...It's no good, this is too reckless!)

The girl, Claire Rouge, that Kamito knew was an excellent elementalist, possessing calm judgment and an insight for tactics at least in a battle.

However, she had lost sight of herself now.

Her feelings for her sister, Rubia Elstein, caused her to lose her calm judgment.

Her anger towards her sister, who betrayed her. Yet, her overwhelming love— caused a great number of conflicts to be mixed and that changed into a craving for great power.

"How tenacious! Become mine!"
[[File:STnBD V01 183.jpg|thumb]]

The flame whip dance splendidly. Her red twin-tails danced in the dark night.

That was— elementalist, Claire Rouge's blade dance.

"..."

Beautiful— he thought.

Despite being at such a time, Kamito, for a moment, was fascinated by that appearance and forgot everything.

...It was same as that time.

That time when she was fighting that rampaging sword spirit alone.

Kamito calmly clenched his fist and turned behind. And then—



"Ellis, Rinslet, I'll entrust the rest to you."

"Wha... are you an idiot!?" "Are you an idiot!?"

Both of them shouted at the same time. His ears shrilled.

"...Ah, I'm an idiot. Truly an idiot."

If Greyworth was here, she would have had relentlessly poured abusive words.

To take back the precious thing he lost, he had lived with lifeless eyes for these past three years.

Yet, he was recklessly giving his life away for such a thing.

However—

"I am her contracted spirit."

Therefore—

"That's, hm, I have to help her, that returning hell cat girl."

"Wait, Kazehaya Kamito!"

Kamito shook off Ellis's hand that planned to stop him and began running.

The crimson flame was dancing with the demon spirit in a blade dance.

It was no good for that noble flame to be extinguished. —He did not want her to die.

After all, she was— a normal girl.

Full of conceit, hot-tempered.


Putting on a strong front, easily lonely.... truly kind.

Liking canned foods and romance stories—

Merely a princess found anywhere.

"Oooooo...oon—"

The demon spirit roared.

It released a shock wave like blowing away the forest and Claire was thrown onto the ground.

"—Claire!"

===Part 4===

"...Ah...Aah, Ah..."

Claire, who thrown onto the ground, cowered.

The grotesque demon spirit made a creaky sound with its giant jaw.

It seemed— like it was laughing.

She planned to escape but her legs were shivering and did not move.

It was frightening. While she was fighting, her senses became paralyzed. However, presently—

"Y...You are not scary, therefore, become my manservant!"


The demon spirit, floating in the air, had no reason to even respond to that jeer but— it loudly laughed.

Claire's body trembled and spontaneously, she closed her eyes. The roots of the teeth did not bite at the same time. Towards an unfamiliar thing, instinctive fear bound her body.

—At that moment. The Flame Tongue in Claire's hand suddenly vanished.

It was not that she canceled the release of her elemental waffe. Scarlet opposed Claire's will and voluntary returned to the form of a hell cat.

"Scarlet!? Why...?"

Claire muttered in a blurry voice.

Was she finally being abandoned by even her contracted spirit—

However, the hell cat, clad in flames softly growl and kicked the ground and flew up.

"...!"

At that moment, Claire finally understood. Scarlet—

"Noo— Scarlet!"

Claire's scream resounded.

Scarlet did not stop. It bared its ferocious fangs and rushed at the demon spirit.

It was a red hot flame that even melted steel. However, it was not effective against the demon spirit.

In an instant, the demon spirit's teeth mercilessly bit and crushed Scarlet's body.


It screamed with agony. The flame spirit, which was bitten and crushed, vanished in the sky like a whirlpool winding.

"...Ah...Scar...let..."

Claire, as if all her body strength left her, sank down to the floor there.

Following reason, she knew that she should be escaping.

It was a last chance Scarlet made for her.

Despite that, her legs were trembling bit by bit. She could not even stand.

The extreme deep despair paralyzed Claire's whole body.

(Because of me, Scarlet—)

In the blank eyes, where the flame vanished, tears overflowed.

(...I'm an idiot. Kamito stopped me and yet—)

(—despite being unable to win, I plunged in alone.)

She was unsightly defeated.

Her contracted spirit, which was precious to her like family, was also lost.

While the demon spirit was making the chattering sound, it slowly descended.

Those sinister teeth that just ate and tore up Scarlet—

"No..."

Tears flowed along her cheeks. A stiff voice came out from deep in her throat.


"Save me... Save me— Nee-sama<ref>Nee-sama is an honorable way of referring to an elder sister in the japanese language. The term is difficult to properly translate to Englsih and so has been left as is</ref>!"

She closed her eyes in despair, and at that time.

"Claire!"

She heard his voice.

===Part 5===

"Oooooooooooo!"

While making his war cry, Kamito rushed towards the demon spirit.

The spirit seal, engraved on his right hand, emitted a bluish-white glow.

'''—Dispassionate Queen of Steel, the sacred sword that destroys evil!'''

'''—Now form a sword of steel and be the power in my hand!'''

While running with mud splashing, he recited the summoning.

At his palm, particles of light were born and transformed into the form of a sword—

However, it was not good like this. Against the demon spirit that brought down Scarlet's level of spirit in one blow, that short sword cannot be effective.

(—I beg you, lend me your power, you stubborn spirit!)


(—I know it, your power is just like that!)

The wound on his left hand sharply ached.

Again, the opened path with the contracted spirit was closed—

However, without minding it, Kamito continued to pour divine power into the spirit seal on his right hand.

It was an intense overload. Pain like burning was running throughout his arm's nerves.

(—Sorry, Restia. What I need now isn't you.)

Yes— what he needed was not the past.

It was the power to protect her here and now.

From the spirit seal on his left hand, violent flashes of lightning surged.

That sensation from three years ago was resurrected.

Everytime he kicked the ground to speed up, his whole body's sensation sharpened.

Just that demon spirit's movement was seen as slow motion.

(Recall it, that feeling—)

The sensation of the blade dance— where he danced together with his partner, the dark spirit.

(I am—)

Kamito kicked the ground and jumped high up.

(I am the Strongest Blade Dancer — Ren Ashbell!)


At that moment, a conspicuous dazzling flash was born in his palm.

From the spirit seal on his right hand, a huge amount of divine power came surging out.

The path to that sealed sword spirit was connected!

At the next moment, in Kamito's hand; he was grasping a sword that people wielded.

It was too gigantic for people to wield— the Demon Slayer.

And then—

"—Begone, jaw rascal."

The swing of the lump of the steel pulverized the demon spirit jaw into many pieces.

===Part 6===

The rain that began falling soaked Claire's back.

Her red twin-tails withered and closely clung onto her bare skin.

"Claire..."

Kamito called out to her back, whhich was cowering on the ground.

"Hmm... it's good that you're safe."

"It's...not good..."


Claire muttered in a shivering voice.

"My... My Scarlet..."

She turned around and from her red pupils, a drop of tear came out.

"You—"

"You're late... Idiot! Despite being my contracted spirit."

"Ahh. My bad..."

Kamito awkwardly looked away.

"Why?"

"Eh?"

"You have such great power and yet, at the beginning, why—?"

Claire firmly grabbed Kamito's uniform collar—

"..."

She weakly removed her hand.

"...No. It's because I'm weak."

She let out such a defeated voice.

"It's because I'm weak, that I couldn't protect Scarlet. It's because I'm weak—"

—She could not stop her sister.


"If I had more, more power, such..."

While being struck by rain, Claire repeated that with a blank expression.

"Oi, get yourself together!"

Kamito grabbed Claire's shoulder—

(...Eh?)

His body slanted.

His field of vision was growing dark. ...His consciousness suddenly went far away.

It seemed that the strike of the previous elemental waffe had thoroughly exhausted his divine power.

(Damn, what a bad fuel consuming... spirit...)

While cursing in his mind, Kamito lost consciousness.

<noinclude>
==Translator's notes and references==
<references/>

{{SeireiDance Nav|prev=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter5|next=Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter7}}</noinclude>

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter4

2012-05-16T20:02:18Z

Starkiller4299:

==Cat Fight==

===Part 1===

“Neeveeer, I’ll not accept this!”

It was evening. Claire’s angry voice reverberated throughout the Raven Class dormitory.

“I've already had to concede to her joining the team temporarily due to the guarding mission, but—“

She brushed her red twin-tail hair in irritation.

“Why is this girl in the same room with us?!”

She faced Fianna, who was drinking her cup of black tea in elegant small sips, and thrust her finger toward her.
[[Image:STnBD V02 099.jpg|thumb]]

Turning away standoffishly, Fianna sighed and muttered.

“What a small room, I wouldn't have thought that this is a place where a noble would live in.”

“Sh…shut up! If you have complaints, why don’t you take it up to the academy director?”

“What I am talking about is how messy the room is. Can’t you catch the sarcasm of the remark?”

“Grh…i…it’s usually properly tidied up!”

Kamito sighed as he was at his wits’ end. These two have already been like this for some time now.

“Hey, Kamito-kun, don’t you think so too?”

“Err, well…”

Casting a glance at Claire who was on the verge of tears, Kamito answered vaguely.


“That reminds me, Ren Ashbell’s true identity—“

“Ahh, it’s certainly messy. Claire should at least clean it up.”

Claire bit her lips with teary eyes.

(…Sorry, Claire. I’m unable to defy this princess.)

Somehow, the girl knew Kamito’s true identity.

Kamito’s intent was to quickly press the question, but, in this situation, Claire would also learn about it.

This princess seemed to have no intention of telling the secret to Claire, but she had been threatening him by leaking that name since a while ago.

Feeling like a cat on hot bricks, Kamito tediously sighed.

While the invisible fireworks scattered, Est was playing with Scarlet with a green foxtail.

It seemed that Claire realized that she was no match for Fianna in the battle of words, and diverted the flow of the argument to Kamito.

“Besides, why should it be my room?!”

“Well, because you’re the only person in the dormitory who occupies the room just by herself.”

“It’s not only me, even not just two of us. Including Est, it’s three people.”

“Aren’t you treating me as your slave spirit? By the dormitory rules, spirits are not counted as roommates.”

“Uh, that’s so, but…”



“Well, with all of us, I guess the room will be cramped, as expected. I’ll leave.”

In the first place, Kamito should have been living in a hut outside.

Moreover, it would be no good if rumors about a guy sleeping in a girl’s room were to spread.

“Hey, what are you going to do when you leave? Do you plan on going as far as sleeping outdoors?”

“For the time being, a tent would be sufficient. I’ll manage one way or another.”

Claire grabbed the back of Kamito’s neck as he tried to leave the room.

“What?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“That’s no good. After all, if you’re gone…”

Claire looked downwards and tightly bit her lips.

“Who will do the cooking and the laundry?!”

“…Err, you do it.”

“No way. After all, the meals you make are delicious…”

It seemed that Claire, who used to live on canned food, had her stomach held captive by Kamito’s home cooking.

“Besides, if you were to leave, wouldn’t that mean you and Est are left all alone together. That’s no good. Rinslet and, like just now, Ellis may come meddling. No, it’s not just Ellis and the others. After all, there are many girls targeting you out of curiosity.”


“If I’m being targeted…Est and I can fend off most of them.”

“I…it’s not what I meant… Stupid.”

Claire released her hold on the back of his neck.

“Y…you are mine after all. I’ll not give you to anyone.”

“…ven if you said that…”

Kamito softly sighed—

“Hey, what do you mean by yours?”

Fianna muttered in soft tone.

“Claire Rouge, what kind of relationship do you have with Kamito-kun?”

“Wh…what kind of relationship… that’s…”

Claire bashfully blushed,

“A…a sl…slave and a master relationship!”

“Wh…what did you say…!”

Fianna looked at Kamito with an astonished look.

“D…don’t tell me, you have such an insane relationship...”

“Wait, don’t utter something that’ll cause misunderstandings!”

“Hm…hmm, besides, what kind of relationship do you have with Kamito? Despite being a freshly admitted student, aren’t you being very intimate?”


In reverse, Claire was the one asking back this time.

When she did, Fianna coughed—

“Me? I’m… his little sister, Kamito’s.”

“Eh!”

“…? A sister, I …”

“Hey, listen, the truth is that Ren Ashbell’s true identity—“

“Ye…yes, she is my little sister, my little sister!”

Fianna murmured the magic words and Kamito nodded right away.

“Li…little sister… I see, so you had a little sister.”

Claire stroked her chest for some reason.

“However, I’m his stepsister.”

“Stepsister!?”

“That’s right, furthermore, a naughty stepsister.”

“A nau…naughty stepsister!?”

Claire’s face turned bright red in a split second.

…What on earth was she imagining?

“Here’s a hint, a stepsister can be married to her brother, right, onii-sama ♪“

Suddenly, Fianna tightly pressed her large breasts unto him.


Kamito was spontaneously startled by that duly soft sensation—

“Wh…wh…wh…id…idiot, you brute pervert!”

“Ouch, wait, it’s a misunderstanding, stop—“

For some reason, tears welled up in Claire’s eyes as she hit Kamito with her whip. Pishi! Pishi!

“Hey, what are you doing to Kamito-kun!”

Phishi!—Fianna grabbed Claire’s arm that swung up.

“Uh, wh…what!”

“Kamito-kun isn’t your slave.”

“Yea, that’s right.”

Kamito nodded.

“He is mine.”

“No, I’m not yours either, you know?”

Kamito retorted with half-opened eyes.

(…Good grief, I wonder why such people are all around me.)

“Too bad. Kamito is my slave spirit, after all…??”

“After all?”

As Fianna asked back, Claire’s cheeks slight blushed,

“After all, err… I even…did the spirit contract ceremony with Kamito.”


“…”

Fianna opened her mouth.

She faced Kamito, whose head was made to squeak.

“Hey, is that true? Kamito-kun.”

She had a devilish smile.

“No, that’s…”

Honestly, he was getting embarrassed just by recalling that time.

He turned bright red and cast down his eyes, which was roughly the same reaction Claire's shown.

If it was that embarrassing, then don’t mention it – she thought, but.

After witnessing such reaction from both of them, Fianna calmly muttered.

“I see…you kissed.”

Her tone was certainly calm, but it was the tone that concealed something dreadful.

…She was angry. She was certainly angry.

(No, why is Fianna angry in the first place?)

As Kamito showed a doubtful expression, Fianna quickly stood up –

Faced Claire, who was bashfully turning red and sharply thrust her index finger at her.

“Let’s have a match, Claire Rouge!”

“A match?”


“Yes, a match, where the winner is the one who can love Kamito-kun.”

“No…no way, not such a thing! To begin with, Kamito is originally mine!”

“I’ve been saying that’s not it…”

Kamito tried to cut into their conversation, but the two of them didn't seem to hear him.

“If you win, I’ll leave this room. Then, you can do all the perverted things you'd like with Kamito-kun, just the two of you.”

“I…I…I won’t do such things!”

“Ahh, then, is doing it by yourself more to your liking?”

“Wh…wh…wh…what are…”

Claire turned bright red and the steam vented from her head.

(…She was thoroughly toyed with.)

Claire was extremely weak toward the reprehension in such an area, she was a super innocent ojou-sama.

“Or perhaps, you have no confidence? You just don’t want me to take away Kamito-kun?”

Fianna further provoked Claire, who has finally snapped.

“Guu… A…as you wish! Come forth, scorching hot hellcat!”

She summoned Scarlet and held in her hand an elemental waffe – Flame Tongue.

“Hey, do you plan on destroying the dormitory?! The people from the Sylphid Knights will dash here!”

“It’s alright, because I’ll settle it before they come.”


“That’s completely not alright!”

Claire-san, her eyes were serious. …She was determined.

“Don’t be in such a hurry, Claire Rouge.”

However, Fianna waved her hand with a composed expression.

“What, now that it has come to this, are you pleading for your life?”

“I didn’t say anything about having a match in blade dance. I wonder if trying to settle everything with violence is something proper nobles do. Did all the nutrition that’s supposed to go to your head go to your breasts –“

Fianna looked at Claire’s breasts and smiled.

“— I guess that's not the case.”

“Burn all to nothing, red hot inferno ball!”

“Wait, Claire! Stop the spirit magic!”

Kamito flustered and held her hands to her back as Claire tried to recite fireball.

At their best, they were hovering near the bottom of the inter-school ranking. If they caused any more problems, <Team Scarlet’s> score would drop to the lowest rank.

“Guu…then, what kind of match are we having?!”

“Yea—“

Placing her index finger at her chin, Fianna slowly looked around the room.

—Then, her gaze stopped on a mountain of canned food, piled up in the kitchen.


Kamito overlooked that her eyes were sparkling.

“Then, the first one who satisfies Kamito’s body, wins – how’s that?”

“Sa…satisfies his body…!?”

Claire’s face turned bright red.

“No…no way, not such a thing! After all, I don’t know any skillful methods… that’s not it, su…such a thing is definitely not allowed!”

“I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you're having, but what I’m talking about is a culinary showdown?”

“Culinary!?”

Claire’s face froze.

It was natural. The first time he met her, she was only eating canned food.

She couldn’t possibly cook something decent.

“No way, I can’t accept such a duel!”

“Ah, offering a meal for a spirit to enjoy itself is the same type of <Kagura> as a blade dance, a skill of a splendid spirit contractor. Isn’t it also among the academy’s core subjects?”

“Th…that’s…”

“Or, are you lacking confidence? …Like that chest of yours.”

She snapped. At that moment, the sound of something snapping was heard.

“I…I get it…”


“Uh?”

“I…I accept it, this culinary match!”

Claire faced Fianna and sharply thrust her finger at her as she accepted the match.

At that moment, the princess expressed an impish smile.

(By the way, Claire, she has seen through the fact that you’re weak in cooking!)

===Part 2===

Just like that, the culinary showdown between the two of them somehow began but—

The two beautiful girls, who put on aprons, were standing at opposite sides of the kitchen.

It was the common kitchen at the first floor of the Raven Class dormitory. It seemed that as long as one was a boarding student, it was alright to freely use the ingredients available there.

Est the judge sat well behaved at the table and was tightly grasping a spoon.

While being nervous about the other meaning of having Scarlet take care of the leftovers, Kamito paced around the back of the kitchen.

(…Frankly, Claire has no chance of winning.)

He certainly had never eaten Claire’s home cooking but, in any case, she was the ojou-sama, who got through with mostly canned food in her meals since she came to the academy.


“Ehh, canned tuna, mackerel tuna… and I splurge a little and also open the canned crab.”

While humming, Claire arranged the canned food ingredients. Kamito had doubts about approving her combination of canned food but, for now, it looked edible, so Kamito took a breath of relief.

“Fruits are easy to eat after being cut.”

Upon seeing Claire slowly taking out the kitchen knife, Kamito interrupted her.

“Are you alright with that? Don’t cut your finger.”

“I’m alright, after all, I was always watching you prepare food.”

“I see…hn, you were always watching?”

“Idi…th…that’s not it, I do not mean something like that!”

“Waah, it’s dangerous, don’t swing the kitchen knife!”

Bun! Kamito splendidly dodged the kitchen knife, which grazed his nose tip.

“Hmm, be…because you said something stupid!”

Claire’s face, up till her ears, was bright red and she quickly turned away.

“Putting that aside, what on earth are you making?”

“Seafood curry, the one that you often make. Because I like that.”

“Eh, you don’t normally use canned tuna and canned mackerel for seafood curry, you know?”

It seemed that she tossed the ingredients into the sauce from what she learned by watching him.


“Sh…shut up… It’s not like there’s a reason to the fishes’ name one by one. It’s the same as not remembering the face of the partner, who you danced with at the ball.”

“…That’s terrible. Do remember that.”

Besides Claire’s character, just her appearance was that of a transcendent beautiful girl. He was without doubt that there would be as many young nobles as the number of stars, who would be hard-pressed by her lovely looks and ask her for a dance.

“…At any rate, Claire, you’re in a dress?”

“What, I was once too the daughter of a Duke family before my lands were seized, so I do at least wear dresses… Or perhaps, is it that I look strange wearing a dress?”

“No, I just thought that you looked good wearing it.”

“…Wh…wh…what are you saying, idiot.”

Kamito spoke his honest thoughts and Claire turned red increasingly and looked downwards.

She slightly raised her head and looked at Kamito with an upward glance—

“Hey, do you re…really… think I look good?”

“Yea, I think that your red hair looks pretty with that pure white dress…. I don’t want to admit it but honestly just your looks are prettier than any princesses.”

“…!”

“Well, while wearing a dress, your breasts volume is overwhelming lacking though. Using paddings there to make do with it is the only—“


Then, Kamito suddenly shut his mouth.

Gogogogogogogo… The kitchenware were clattering.

…It seemed that he stepped on another unnecessary landmine again.

“Ah…no… I’m sorry.”

“…Th…th…that’s right. Unless I use paddings, I can’t even wear a dress, right?”

“Hey, Clare, why are you holding such a thing? That’s a handy tool you use to peel vegetables, it’s not something you use on people… owaa, wai—“

===Part 3===

“Kuu, I can’t believe that there’s such a way to use a vegetable peeler…”

As Kamito cursed, he turned up at Fianna’s corner this time.

There were numerous scars like cat-scratches on his cheeks.

“Despite being poor at using the cookware, she completely mastered it using it as a weapon.”

At this rate, the day that Claire’s elemental waffe became a peeler from a whip might also be close.

(Turn into bonito flakes…? What a terribly unpleasant future.)

While pressing down on his cheeks, which were suffering a prickling pain, he was thinking about such a thing,

“—Hmm, you two are on pretty good terms.”


Raising her face from the chopping board, Fianna said with half-opened eyes.

Somehow, she seemed a little displeased.

“Is that how it looks like? Princess, your eyes are also surprisingly bad.”

“Not everything you see is the truth – That was a saying from a certain senior of mine.”

“That indeed seems like words that a princess maiden of the <Divine Ceremony Institute> would say.”

Kamito shrugged his shoulders and stood beside Fianna.

She was slicing a carrot with a nice tapping rhythm.

Because she was a <Kagura> expert, who pleased spirits, as expected her skill was good.

“You seem full of confidence.”

“Of course. During the time at the <Divine Ceremony Institute>, although there was a ceremony to offer cooked meals to high ranking spirits once a month, all of them were satisfied with my offered meals and returned to Astral Zero.”

“Really? That’s amazing.”

Kamito was honestly in admiration. That seemed to be a great expectation. Naturally, because appearance was more important than taste for the meals offered to spirits, he wondered if it would differ from the cooking humans eat.

“By the way, what was that one bottle you poured into the pot just now?”

“Capsicum. I’m using it as a subtle seasoning.”

“I see, a subtle seasoning.”

A subtle seasoning. The soup in the pot certainly became red and was making the ingredients subtle to see.


However, did subtle seasoning generally have such a meaning?

“…Is that okay?”

“Yea, it has such a vibrant and pretty color, doesn’t it?”

…That somehow invited anxiety but he gave up on investigating it.

Fianna nodded, seemingly satisfied, and casted her sights onto the chopping board again.

While listening to the rhythmic tapping sound, Kamito gazed at Fiannas face profile.

She had black pupils of long slits and virgin-snow-like white skin.

Her black hair, which reached up to her waist, was currently tied up to not let it fall.

Her white nape was mysteriously erotic.

Without thinking, Kamito was charmed by that somewhat mature face profile.

(With just tying her hair up, her impression has greatly changed…?)

Her tied up hair. There was something stuck in Kamito’s mind.

(…This girl, as I thought, have I met her somewhere?)

Despite that it should be the first time they met, the girl somehow knew Kamito’s true identity.

(However, I don’t have any princess acquaintances…)

It was irritating that he seemed to recall something but yet he couldn’t recall anything.

He was staring at Fianna’s face profile in that manner—

“Hey, Kamito-kun? Why have you being visually raping me since just now?”


Fianna turned towards him with a slightly troubled look.

“Ah, no … visually raping!?”

“That is certainly things like turning this fallen princess senseless, or training her like a slave. Kamito-kun, it’s your free-will to make these various perverted delusions but… well, honestly, it doesn’t really feel good to be used as a adolescent boy’s delusions.”

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

“Ah, I would like for you to not take a princess maiden, who serves the elemental lords of the <Divine Ceremony Institute>, lightly. I can read your mind like picking something up.”

After saying that, Fianna drew her face close and gently placed her hand onto Kamito’s forehead.

He was reflexively startled by the sensation of her cold soft skin.

“…Eh? No way, a nude maid, that’s shameful…”
[[Image:STnBD V02 115.jpg|thumb]]

“What’s shameful is your mind!”

Kamito spontaneously shouted.

Besides, what was a nude maid? Was it a variant of the naked apron? He was a little curious.

At that moment—

“Kamito, it’s about the meat’s grilling adjustment though, is medium good? Or, well-done?”

“Ahh, I prefer medium… owa!”

Upon turning around, before he knew it, Claire was standing there with a smile and a fireball floating.



“Yo…yo…you are the wo…wo…worst, something like nude maid, you’re the worst!”

Gogogogogogogo……!

“Wait, it’s a false accusation – Fianna!?”

He requested for help but Fianna had already left the scene with an impish smile.

“Tu…turn into cinders together with your insolent delusions, you pervert!”

The fireball Claire released blew Kamito away together with the kitchen.

===Part 4===

Just like that, 30 minutes passed.

At the table where the judges were sitting, the food cooked by the two of them was lined up.

Est, Scarlet and Kamito, who was worn out, were sitting side by side in a line.

As the result of drawing lots, they would start eating Claire’s cooking first but—

“…Ah, I have to at least ask, what is this?”

A black lump of something was laid down on the plate before him.

Wasn’t that probably the cinders thing Claire was always saying?

“If I remember, it was seafood curry… right? That was what you were making.”

“…I…It looks a little overcooked.”


The thing before him was completely carbonized… It was no longer about the taste.

“Ehh, is it bad if I don’t eat this?

“I…it’s not about appearances, what’s important is the taste, right?!”

“It’s awfully bitter.”

Est, who sampled a mouthful, muttered that expressionlessly.

“…Est, you betrayed me.”

“Isn’t that obvious? Est, you’ve done well.”

“Wh…what, Scarlet is deliciously eating it.”

“That’s because it’s a fire spirit. It probably doesn’t have something like the sense of taste.”

That burnt-black lump was completely eaten by Scarlet, but he had the feeling that rather than eating something, it was incinerating waste. After it finished eating, it puffed out a small fireball.

“…Isn’t Est also a spirit?! I don’t think she understands the taste of a delicate cuisine.”

“Use of abusive language towards a judge. Claire gets a point deduction.”

Expressionlessly, Est raised up a point-deduction card.

“Guu…”

“With just a black thing, there’s no need to eat it. It’s my victory.”

Fianna placed her hand near her mouth and a wide smile appeared on her face.

Well, there seemed to already be a winner decided, but they had to also at least eat and compare her cooking.

…Gutsu, gutsu, gutsu, gutsu, gutsu.

They saw the cooking that was carried over—

“Th..that’s..!”

Kamito was lost for words. Est widened her eyes unusually, Scarlet purred.

It seemed to be a boiling…stew.

It was red. It was more red compared to the time Kamito saw it a while ago, It was a stew whose ingredients could not be seen.

“Ehh, what is … this?”

“This is the Ordesia royal family’s speciality, the white stew.”

“How is it white!?”

At least on the surface, all he could see was one color, red. And then, there was a dreadful smell that even thrust up into his nose.

It was because of the subtle seasoning she used just now, he was certain of that.

“Wh…what is this?! There’s no way anyone could eat such a thing!”

Claire pushed aside her own matters and complained. …Well, she understood that feeling.

“Ahh, the daughter of the Elstein family is complaining without even trying it.”

Fianna brushed her glossy black hair and looked down at Claire.

“This isn’t fair. I doubt that’s something nobles, who are exemplars to the masses, do.”

“Uggg….!”


Unfairness aside, Fianna also did not eat Claire’s burnt-black thing, but Claire, who blew her top, seemed to not have noticed such a thing.

Or perhaps he should put it that she was basically weak to provocation to things about noble ojou-samas. She was even weaker especially when it involved her family name and her pride as a noble.

“I…I get it, it’s alright if I eat a mouthful of that, right? I’m good with spicy things, after all.”

The moment Claire nodded, Fianna expressed a wicked smile.

“Hey, Claire, that’s seriously dangerous—“

Without time for Kamito to stop Claire, she put the spoon into her mouth.

And then, at the next moment.

“Hyguu—!?”

……Patan.

Suddenly, she collapsed onto the table.

“Cl…Claire, are you alright?!”

Kamito helped her up in a fluster but Claire’s eyes were spinning.

“…Sh…she’s completely knocked out.”

“It’s my victory.”

Fianna placed her hand at her waist and smiled.

“Err, it was that kind of match?”


“Is that not it?”

Fianna looked surprised.

Well, he felt that it was certain that they did not decide on the precise conditions to win.

“You certainly did say that you made the spirits satisfied with a ceremony of the <Divine Ceremony Institute>, right?”

“Yea, just by eating a mouthful, they returned to Astral Zero seemingly satisfied.”

“Uh, I think that they probably did not return satisfied.”

“A cooking that even destroys a spirit sense of taste…Unable to prohibit the trembling.”

Est leaked out such a mutter.

===Part 5===

(Good grief… today was a troublesome day.)

Since then, one hour had passed, Kamito was using the shower installed in the bathroom.

Because Fianna said she would shower later, Kamito ended up entering the bathroom first without any reservation.

By the way, Claire was being nursed by Scarlet in the room. She should probably be groaning on the bed currently. Kamito thought she was pitiful but he could not even do anything.

It was already time for Est to sleep. She could not return to Astral Zero, so she needed to get a lot of sleep, and she would usually sleep for about half a day.


“At any rate”— Kamito muttered while having his shower.

(Fianna Ray Ordesia… huh?)

She was a girl, who was the second princess of the Ordesia Empire and the second spirit princess candidate next to that Calamity Queen –Rubia Elstein. Why did she know Kamito’s true identity? He did not clearly understand what her aim was for approaching him.

(It also doesn’t seem like she’s going to expose my true identity.)

Rather than seriously threatening him, Kamito thought that it was more like she was having fun with his reactions.

(…What on earth is going on?)

At the moment Kamito tried to stop the spirit device shower.

“Hey, Kamito-kun, I’m coming in.”

Such a voice came from the direction of the dressing room.

“Hn, Ah—“

He replied.

“Wh…what!?”

Kamito turned behind in a fluster.

Gararaa—The door opened.

Over there was—

“…What’s the matter? You look so surprised.”


A princess with a sheet of bath towel wrapped around her body.

“Wh…wh…wh…”

Kamito fell into a panic state for a moment.

“Fi…Fianna, what are you doing?!”

“Uh?”

The princess slightly tilted her head and made a lovely smile.

She had a slender white nape. She had an elegant narrow waist. And then, there were her large swelling breasts. He thought that her bare white legs, seen from the silt of the bath towel, were bewitching unlike those of a 16 year old girl.

Kamito was dumbfounded—

“What, even for me, doing this thing is… embarrassing, you know?”

Her knees touched each other and she bashfully muttered.

Slowly, Fianna gently dropped her towel.

“…!?”

Kamito instantly covered his eyes with both hands—but,

“A sw…swimsuit…?”

Fianna was wearing a separate black swimsuit beneath the bath towel.

It was a water festival swimsuit, where thin veils were attached at the chest area and a pareo was wrapped around her waist.

She had both nicely tightened legs and a narrow waist that depicted her elegant curves.


Her slightly flushed body was beautiful like descending goddess.

Kamito was charmed instantly—

“Eh, what’s … the matter?”

“Wh…what?”

“Sh…showing my bare skin to a boy…Kamito-kun, you are the first one, you know.”

Fianna’s voice slightly trembled as she embarrassedly muttered.

“Wh…why…”

Kamito gulped.

…He did not understand the point. Why was she doing such a thing?

As if his doubt was painted out—

“Hey, sit.”

Fianna gently touched his shoulders with her hands and made Kamito sit facing the reverse direction.

It was the sensation of a girl’s cold soft hands. His heartbeat beat faster right away.

“Fianna, what are you trying to—“

Fuyon.

“…!”

Suddenly, a soft sense of elasticity was pushed onto his back.

Kamito’s back jumped in a startle.


Fianna coughed –

“A…a princess like me is giving your back a wash. Consider this an honor.”

She began washing Kamito’s back with a bubble-foaming body towel.

“Er, wait a while, why are you –“

Kamito couldn’t comprehend it and was completely bewildered.

However, if he turned around, he would end up looking directly at Fianna’s bewitching swimsuit appearance, so he didn’t move.

“Be…behave yourself, do you plan on making me embarrassed?”

She said that in a sulky tone and strongly scrubbed his back,

“Ho..how is it? Does it feel good?”

“Well, even if you ask something like that…”

Honestly, it felt good.

Or, with a cute girl so close like this, there’s no way that it doesn’t feel good.

However, he felt like he’ll lose something important as a person if he said his honest thoughts.

“Yo..you’re surprisingly stubborn… Hurry up and get ensnared by me!”

“Ensnared!?”

Funyu. Funyun.

He felt like he heard some sort of dangerous word just now, but his senses were taken away by the sensation of her breast pressing on him, and his mind immediately became hazy.


(This is… bad…!)

Kamito, who was brought up as an assassin since he was young at the <Instructional School>, did not even do training against this kind of allurement. As, he was at the age where he did not yet require a counter-measure for such a thing, and his contracted spirit was keeping all approaching females completely away from him.

However, Kamito was now of the marriageable age of a youth.

He was already on the verge of losing his reason to the sensation of her breasts, pressing through her thin swimsuit.

“H..hey… where are you touching!?”

“Be…behave yourself! I’ll tell your true identity to that girl.”

“Th…that’s right! Why do you know about Ren Ashbell—“

Kamito was about to turn around and ask her – at that moment.

Bam!—Suddenly, the bathroom door opened.

“…!?”

Over there was –

“C…Claire…?”

Claire Rouge, who was looking downwards and whose shoulder was trembling.

“Kuu, I can’t believe you already recovered…”

Fianna tightly bit her lips.

“Yo…yo…you guys, wh…wh…wh..what are you doing?”


“You…you’re mistaken, this is, err—“

Gogogogogogogogo…!

Claire’s red hair bristled like flames flaring up.

Kamito resigned to being turned to cinders like usual.

“…”

Claire’s movement, after raising her whip up, suddenly stopped.

In her ruby pupils, flames were burning up, as she was sternly glaring at Fianna.

Fianna expressed a composed expression. Pitoo— she stuck her breasts onto Kamito’s back.

“Fianna!? Wh…why are you doing something like adding fuel to –“

Kamito tried to separate his body in a fluster but his arms were tightly held.

“I’m now washing Kamito-kun’s back. Could you please not bother us?”

“Kuu, yo…you guys…”

(Ah… I’m so dead.)

Kamito strangely closed his eyes with a calm mood.

However, the move Claire took next was completely unexpected.

It wasn’t the usual where she blew Kamito away with her Flame Tongue—

“I…I’ll… also wash your back.”

“Eh?” “Huh?”


She sternly glared at the dumbfounded two of them – and informed them.

“I mean I’m also entering the bath!”

===Part 6===

[[Image:STnBD V02 004-005.jpg|thumb]]
“Ho…how is it, Kamito? Does it feel good?”

“Ah, I’m the one who’s making you feel good, right?”

(Wa…wait, what… kind of situation is this!?)

Three minutes later, Kamito’s head was completely in a panic.

…He wondered if he was having a nasty nightmare. However, this sensation he felt on his back was real.

In a bathroom for 1 person to use, he ended up being covered in bubble-foam with two beautiful girls for some reason.

Furthermore, Claire wasn’t even wearing a swimsuit. Her naked body was just wreathed around by a bath towel.

Her vivid crimson red hair looked pretty on her fine milky-white skin.

She had a petite build and slender proportions.

That lovely-fairy-like body of hers was more than charming enough, even if she was lacking breasts.

There were red belt marks on her thigh seen through the slit of her towel. Claire had her animal-training leather whip wreathed around her thigh. Those marks were strangely captivating.

Kamito eagerly tried to not look at the two of them, but because the room was small after all, he would end up closely stuck to their skin with just a slight movement. That sensation ended up further boosting his imagination.

“Kyaa…hey, what are you touching, idiot!”

“Ah, if you move like that, you’ll rub my front…Hyauu.”

It was that situation just by twisting his body a little due to the ticklishness.

(Give me a break…)

If boys of about the same age heard this, they might think that it’s the Shangri-La of dreams, but, as for Kamito, he felt like it was as if he was sitting on a bed of nails.

…Why was this happening, he did not understand the point.

It was probably because Claire had an opposing heart towards Fianna that she ended up blurting out such a thing, and it became that she couldn’t back out but – as for Kamito, who was dragged into this, this was intolerable.

He should be getting out from here as quickly as possible, but if he moved even a little, he would end up directly coming in contact with their skin, so even if he planned to get out, he couldn’t get out.

“Hey, I’m the one who’s making you feel good, right? Say that it feels good!”

“Ouchhh, you’re peeling off the skin on my back.”

“Eh, it hurts so much? ... Wow, your back is full of injuries.”

“Ah, that’s because I’ve always been hurt by a certain somebody.”

“I…I’m sorry…”

Kamito groaned with a deadpan look and Claire awkwardly apologized.


“—No, I’m joking. Those are old wounds from the past.”

The injuries on his back were gotten from the time when he called himself Ren Ashbell (Strongest Blade Dancer) before.

“…Hn? Fianna, what are you looking at?”

—Claire frowned and looked at Fianna.

“I…it’s nothing.”

“What’s the matter with my spirit seal?”

Fianna had been intermittently gazing at Claire’s spirit seal on her right hand since a while ago.

“Di…didn’t I say that it’s nothing!”

Fianna let out a flustered voice unlike her usual self and quickly averted her eyes.

Claire stared at her in such a state, seemingly puzzled—

“…Your spirit seal is at such a place. How unusual.”

She had gotten a quick look at a part of her spirit seal at Fianna’s cleavage, who was wearing a swimsuit.

“If I recall, you’re a holy spirit user?”

“Yea… that’s right.”

Fianna, who replied her, had a slightly stiff expression.

“What kind of spirit is yours, summon it and show it to us.”

Kamito also had an interest in that. As teammates participating in the same mission, they should at least have a grasp of the type of spirits being used. That was also, without fail, the duty of being in the team.


However, Fianna turned away with a seemingly displeased look for some reason.

“I’ll show it to you when necessary. A spirit contractor doesn’t thoughtlessly summon her contracted spirit.”

Certainly, there were also spirit contractors with that kind of thinking among the academy students.

As there was the possibility that their spirits would be seen through by rivals from their appearances to their attributes, weaknesses and so on.

On the other hand—

“If you don’t make communications with your contracted spirit daily, mutual trust can’t be created.”

There were also people who thought like Claire, and they were the majority in the academy.

As either opinions also have a reason, either side couldn’t be unconditionally said to be correct, but—

For some reason, those words of Claire seemed to have got on Fianna’s nerves.

“…You won’t understand. Claire Rouge.”

“…? Hey, what do you mean by that—“

“I’m getting out already.”

Fianna muttered with an ice-like voice and quickly stood up.

—At that moment.

He heard the faint sound of weapons from afar.

It was something normal humans would fail to hear, the sound of metal clashing.

However, Kamito, who once received training at the <Instructional School>, certainly heard it.


“Kamito, what’s the matter?”

“There’s battle occurring within the academy—“

It might be fellow academy students’ duel. No, if that was the case, the Sylphid Knights should have immediately stopped it.

“I have a bad premonition.”

That was a pure uneasiness — to be honest. His intuition as a spirit contractor, which was honed as he went through countless battles— that was the only one he wanted to believe that did not dull as he expected.

(There’s no doubt, there’s a terrible fellow—)

He dashed out of the bathroom, nimbly put on his uniform, and then Est turned up, rubbing her eyelids and looking sleepy, in her pajamas. It seemed that this sword spirit felt an unusual phenomenon.

“Kamito, there’s something not good outside.”

“Ahh, sorry for waking you up, Est.”

“No, Kamito. I’m your sword.”

Kamito grasped Est’s small hand, and the girl’s body turned into particles of light in a moment.

At the next moment, Kamito’s hand was gripping the elemental waffe –Terminus Est.

He felt that her sword body was smaller and her radiance was also duller compared to usual but because she had just woken up, it couldn’t be helped.

Kamito jumped out from the room’s window.

“Wa…wait up… ahh, come on! Come, Scarlet!”

Claire called Scarlet and jumped out chasing Kamito.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter3

2012-05-16T19:34:17Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 3: The Lost Queen==

===Part 1===

After that, Kamito, who parted from Claire and the others, headed towards the academy director’s office immediately.

He knocked and opened the door –

“You’re late, for how many seconds do you plan to make this lady wait?”

That was the first thing Greyworth, who was sitting at the office desk, coldly said.

The Dusk Witch – Greyworth Ciel Mais.

Her figure was certainly that of a bewitchingly beautiful woman but she was originally a spirit knight with a long military service, who had her name entered first on the list of Numbers (the twelve knight commanders).

She had wavy ash-blonde hair. Her gray pupils were shining behind her small pair of glasses.

“Sorry, I heard that you have business with me, and no matter what my walking became heavy.”

“Hmm, so now you're able to run your rather cheeky mouth, are you? Where did the obedient pure boy from those days go? Really, this thing called the flow of time is cruel.”

“You’re the only one who doesn't change, Greyworth. Your outward looks as well as your tricky character.”

Kamito loathsomely spitted out.

Greyworth is one of the few people who knew him three years ago.

And she was the perpetrator who called Kamito, who threw away the name Ren Ashbell, to the academy and attempted to make him participate in the blade dance two months later.


She did not tell him the reason for that.

Although, it was often the case that the Dusk Witch worked Kamito hard without telling him anything.

“That’s right, you have certainly changed. Compared to three years ago, you’ve became especially weak. In the practice match a while ago, what was that sorry performance when faced with an opponent of that level? If it was the you from the past, you would have overwhelmingly defeated that one person in under three minutes.”

“You were watching? …As usual your hobbies are bad.”

“In such a sorry state, your participation qualifications for the blade dance are also doubtful. Or, was it a fluke that you defeated that military-use spirit?”

“That time was—“

Kamito slightly mumbled.

It was not that he defeated it with just his own strength.

Kamito, who had a chance meeting with his changed former contracted spirit and was struck with despair, was given the strength to stand once again by that red haired hellcat girl.

(…!)

Suddenly, the sensation of her soft lips was resurrected in his mind.

To shake it off and cleanse the evil thoughts, Kamito shook his head in a fluster.

“I also think that I’m miserable. I can’t even fully use my contracted spirit’s power yet.”

Kamito dropped his eyes onto his right hand, which was engraved with a spirit seal.


“Is it that you still can’t forget your previous woman? How stubborn.”

“Don’t mess around! For me, Restia isn’t like that!”

“On the contrary, getting hotheaded makes it increasingly suspicious. If you like, how about getting a lover or something in this academy? It might even divert a little of the loneliness.”

“Lov—“

“Or, are the girls in the academy too childlike? If that’s the case… I’m also good.”

Greyworth smiled bewitchingly and slightly pushed open her breast area with her fingertips.

He accidentally saw an adult-like black, lacy lingerie in her cleavage.

“D…don’t mess around!”

“It’s a joke. Hmm, with that tone, it seems that you have not yet reached that level. I’ve heard rumors that you are made to wait on a tiny breasted beautiful girl and a nude knee-socks spirit and are indulging in an improper harem cohabitation life.”

“Guu…”

Trying to refute, Kamito was at a loss for words.

…Looking at it objectively, that was the truth and so it was painful to be unable to deny it.

“Greyworth, did you call me just to tell some worthless jokes?”

“That’s right – but, of course, that's not the only thing.”

Greyworth creaked her chair and faced the visitor room at the inner side of the room.

“I have a girl I want to introduce to you – okay, come in”


“Okay.”

From the inner room, came what sounded like a bell being turned over.

The one who opened the door and appeared was –

A girl who wore a black dresslike uniform, different from the academy’s uniform.

It was a beautiful girl, whose beautiful long black hair was impressive, to the extent that he was taken aback.

She had clear black pupils. Without thinking, Kamito was charmed by her neat and clean appearance.

“…Eh?”

The moment his eyes met with hers, she made a puzzled face for some reason.

“Errm, you’re … Kazehaya Kamito-kun?”

While blinking her eyes incessantly, the girl asked.

“Ahh, that’s right, however–“

“But my impression is very…”

…It was somewhat strange, but it seemed the girl received a shock.

(Wh…what’s with this?)

“But, that’s right… he’s a boy after all, and it’s already been three years.”

The girl was muttering to herself in a voice that Kamito could not hear.

After that, she looked at Kamito’s face again.

“Yes, there’s certainly a resemblance, yeah. Besides, this is fine—“


“What’s up, Fianna?”

Greyworth called out, seemingly puzzled.

“Ah, s…sorry! Err, this is the first time I’ve seen a male spirit contractor!”

The girl called Fianna shook her head in a fluster.

“Erm… who is this girl?”

Kamito faced Greyworth and asked.

Then, the girl, for some reason, made a sullen expression and pouted her lips.

“I knew it, you didn’t remember… well, that’s fine though.”

“She is the recently admitted student who will be entering the same Raven Class as you.”

“Admitted student?”

Ah! Kamito nodded. They were talking about it at the café just a while ago.

(This girl is the one…)

Carol was saying that she was a daughter of noble social status, but, in any case, in this academy the ladies of noble social status were all around him, so he did not feel anything special.

(After that, she said that… her breasts were big.)

Without thinking, he glanced towards the dress-like uniform’s chest area—

(…Indeed, certainly.)

Kamito consented strangely.


“She is the Ordesia Empire’s second princess, her Highness Fianna Ray Ordesia.”

“…Ordesia?”

Kamito frowned for a moment—

“No way…!”

His eyes widened in surprise.

In Areishia Spirit Academy, which was a spirit contractor training organization, many genuine daughters of nobles were enrolled. This was the result of the empire’s royalty and nobles continuing the bloodline of spirit contractors through marriage of convenience that even spanned over several generations.

Naturally, there were also exceptions, but, speaking of spirit contractors, it was normal for them to be daughters of nobles.

Fahrengart, the head of the military family, and Laurenfrost, with a family history.

Its lands were currently seized, but Claire’s Elstein family was also of a noble pedigree.

However, this girl before him was – the second princess of the Ordesia Empire.

She was not even the nobility.

She was what one would call – the real princess.

(Why would the empire’s princess be in the academy?)

Daughters born into the Ordesia royal family should be scheduled to stack up training as a spirit princess candidates, serving the five great elemental lords, at the spirit princess training organization, the 'divine ceremony institute'.

In any case, Kamito kept that question in his chest for now and knelt down on the ground on one knee.


“Please pardon my rudeness, your Highness.”

It was not that he specifically pledged allegiance to the Ordesia Empire, but the bearing to take before the royalty was harshly driven into him by his former contracted spirit.

However, Fianna quietly shook her head.

“That’s alright, we are students of the same academy here. Besides, although I’m called the second princess, I’m the Lost Queen, my social status is already gone.”

“The Lost Queen?”

Kamito asked back – then he recalled.

(I see, the empire’s second princess!)

He heard about it from rumors.

(If I remember it, the girl was the spirit princess candidate to serve the fire elemental lord.)

Four years ago, the fire spirit princess – Rubia Elstein’s absconding happened.

The empire fell into chaos for a moment by the wrath of the fire elemental lord, who learned of her treachery.

For the sake of appeasing the fire elemental lord’s anger, the 'divine ceremony institute' tried to support a second spirit princess but –

At that time, the empire’s second princess should have been supported as the successor to Rubia.

However, she never became a spirit princess. At that time, she declared that she stepped down from the spirit princess candidacy for some reason and her existence was erased from the royal family.

The reason that she had rejected to become a spirit princess was not officially announced so far.


Henceforth, the second princess completely disappeared from the center stage.

That Lost Queen meant this girl in front of him?

“It’s just as she says. As long as you pass through this academy’s gates, no matter what social status the princess maidens have, there is no special treatment. Even a princess, a male spirit contractor, or the Calamity Queen’s sister.”

“There you have it, I’m the former princess, but nice to meet you, Kazehaya Kamito-kun.”

Fianna smiled and picked up the sides of her skirt with her fingertips, then bowed elegantly.

“A…Ah, nice to meet you—“

Kamito stood up and his expression froze.

“What’s the matter?”

“No, err…”

While scratching his face, Kamito looked away.

“?”

Fianna tilted her head to the side.

“Kyaa!”

It seemed she realized that what she was holding up was not a ball dress, but a short length uniform skirt.

Her mature black underwear, weaved with laces, was firmly etched into Kamito’s retina.


“Ka…Kamito-kun… pervert.”

The former princess’ face turned red as she embarrassedly muttered.

“I…I’m sorry…”

“You two, don’t flirt and act lovey-dovey in front of my eyes. It’s irritating.”

Greyworth glared at Kamito, with her eyes filled with bloodlust.

“…I’m sorry. And why did you call for me?”

About this witch. It was probably not just to introduce the admitted student.

(To introduce the empire’s princess to me, what is she scheming?)

As if she read Kamito’s emotions, the witch pushed up her glasses, seemingly sullen.

“It’s regrettable, despite purposely preparing a special mission for your sake.”

“A special mission?”

“That’s right. It was just nice that I had a mission I wanted to entrust her with, so I wanted your team to accompany her as her guards.”

===Part 2===

—A quest.

Together with official matches with fellow academy students, it was the system that supported the academy ranking system.


A given mission could set various objectives, from Kagura by a blade dance, the suppression of a rampaging spirit, the excavation and investigation of the sealed spirit, to the subjugation of spirit contractors gone astray.

By completing the missions that were divided into ranks depending on the danger level, the academy students could raise their team rankings just as they do by winning official matches.

“By the way, this mission’s difficulty level is S rank.”

“S rank?”

Without thinking, Kamito enquired back.

An S rank mission was the highest difficulty level mission in the academy's ranking.

The amount of ranking points it could net was extraordinary, but it was a dangerous mission that could even result in death depending on the situation. It should not even be possible to sign up for it with Kamito's current ranking.

“Did you prepare things behind the scenes?”

“Your hearing is bad. I said that I don’t practice special treatment. It just means that the ones suitable for this mission are Fianna and you. If you disagree, then I’ll spread the word around to other teams.”

“…”

It was not a bad deal. On the contrary, looking at Kamito’s current team, it was a godsend.

Till the opening of the blade dance, there already were only two months left. No, the final examination to decide the top three participating teams would take place even earlier.

With their current pace, they could not possibly make it by the means of regular official matches and missions.


Greyworth was somehow bent on making Kamito participate in the blade dance.

Although, forcing in a representative of the empire through the power of the academy director was not possible, as expected.

Therefore, she has got the S rank mission, whose danger level was high, and the completion bonus was also extremely high.

(If we could complete the mission, that would be it – huh?)

He was not pleased to move in accordance to Greyworth’s expectation, but??

If it was a mission to guard an important person, he had the experience of doing such things several times in the past.

Certainly, it was far better than raising the inter-school ranking steadily through the official matches.

“—I understand. Explain the details of the mission.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Kamito prompted and Greyworth smiled.

“Do you know Mine Town Gado?”

“Gado? Well, I roughly know its name. It is the town with the mine that was abandoned a few decades ago.”

Mine Town Gado. It was formerly a town with large spirit ore mining grounds, but, during the second Ranbal war, spirit ore deposits were exhausted, and it became a town with a completely abandoned mine.

It should certainly be a ghost town full of ruins nowadays.

“There have been frequent occurrences of strange earthquakes at that mine recently. I want you to go there and investigate that.”

“Investigate the earthquakes?”

For the academy to bring in an investigation request meant that it was probably not an ordinary earthquake.


It was often the case that the earth attribute spirits that rule over the land caused the earthquakes.

If that was because a spirit was angry or was in a frenzy, it could be appeased by a ceremony of a blade dance. Depending on the situation, there were also cases where a subjugation unit of spirit knights was formed.

As a mission it was relatively typical but—

“Stop joking. Why is an ordinary earthquake investigation an S rank mission?”

He did not think that such level of danger would be involved if it was just an ordinary earth spirit investigation.

Compared to the mission’s risk, the assigned rank seemed too high.

“You’re being distrustful as usual, can’t you trust my good will?”

“Can I trust it? You never lie. However, you also never speak the truth.”

“Hmm…well, it is indeed like that.”

Greyworth smiled and shrugged her shoulders in resignation.

“At that mine, it seems a strategic-class military-use spirit, who was sealed by the old Ordesia Knights, is sleeping there.”

“A strategic-class military-use spirit…!?”

Kamito spontaneously groaned. Fianna beside him also gasped in surprise.

A strategic-class military-use spirit – it could not be compared to the giant spirit that went into frenzy at the Academy Town the other day.

Because of its tremendous strength, it was impossible for an individual to control it. In the end, it could only be controlled by ceremonial Kagura performed by several hundreds of spirit contractors – it was surely a weapon of mass destruction.

At the end of the second Ranbal war, the continental nations signed a treaty, and all the seven bodies should have sealed and disposed off such spirits, but—

“Don’t tell me, the one causing the earthquake is that strategic-class military-use spirit?”

“At the very worst; it’s only a possibility. I want to entrust you guys with this investigation. If your investigation confirms that the seal has come undone —“

“I’ll perform the ceremony of resealing by the 'ceremonial Kagura'.”

Fianna calmly opened her mouth to speak.

“That’s right. For you, who are the former spirit princess candidate, this mission suits you perfectly.”

“…I see, that’s the reason you called for this princess.”

The spirit princesses, who served the five great elemental lords, were the experts in the 'ceremonial Kagura' that appeased spirits.

They did not receive any special martial arts training, and as the result they were not suited for battle, but all forms of ceremony have been driven into their bodies since they were children.

In the entire academy, there was only one former spirit princess academy student– a rare special skill user; the mission could only be accomplish with her, and considering that it had to do with a strategic-class military-use spirit, it might also be appropriate to set it as an S rank mission.

“…”

The terms were not bad. However, there was one more thing that he had to ask.

“…But is Fianna alright with this? With the guard being me.”

If it was just about guarding her, there should have been even more competent spirit contractors.


For example, Ellis Fahrengart. If it was her, whose sense of responsibility was strong and who also had the ability, there would be no shortcomings to her being a guard.

There were no merits for the princess to have Kamito, who was a boy, as her guard. If Greyworth grouped them together as she pleased, ignoring Fianna’s will— he planned to reject this deal.

However, Fianna –

“Of course, I’ll be relying on you, Kamito-kun.”

“Did Greyworth threaten you to group with me?”

“No, after all, I was the one who nominated you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. To travel with the world’s only male spirit contractor, isn’t it great?”

Fianna entwined her fingers with Kamito’s hand and gazed with upturned eyes.

Peering into her clear black pupils, Kamito spontaneously felt shock.

“Hmm, aren’t you popular?”

Greyworth said, seemingly displeased, and handed over a document with the mission’s key points written on it.

“If you intend to take up this mission, then sign here. This should not be a bad deal for you.”

It was not bad, far from that, it was an extraordinary deal for Kamito in the current circumstances.

However—

“I can’t decide this by myself. I have to at least ask Claire too.”


“Hmm, well, that’s alright. But hurry, I’ll have you leave tomorrow.”

“Claire?”

The one who raised her voice was Fianna.

“Ah, my team member, but—“

“Could she happen to be Claire Elstein?”

“…You know her?”

Kamito awkwardly scratched his head.

(That’s right, this girl is… the spirit princess candidate to the fire elemental lord.)

She was the princess maiden who was training at the same 'divine ceremony institute' as the Calamity Queen – Rubia Elstein.

If that was the case, it would not be strange for her to know even Claire, that girl’s sister.

“That person’s sister…”

Fianna’s lips slightly trembled.

She might be having regrets after hearing that the Calamity Queen’s sister was one of the teammates.

“I’m sorry, but Claire is my teammate. I’ll accomplish the mission together with her.”

Kamito informed her—

“Yes, that’s what I wish for as well.”

As Fianna nodded, she muttered in a soft voice.

“I don’t plan on losing to even the sister.”



===Part 3===

As the two of them left the office, Greyworth smiled.

“However, that princess did something bold as well.”

“—you knew, academy director?”

From inside of the Greyworth’s shadow, a lady quickly appeared.

Shadow spirit contractor – Teacher Freya Grandol.

“Is it about her using a spirit ore during the entrance examination? Of course, I noticed it. She did something impious. Doesn’t that stone cost twenty million rood apiece?”

“Then, I presume you are overlooking this unfair entry, right?”

“Princess Fianna was ranked next to that Rubia Elstein as the second spirit princess candidate at the age of thirteen. If she wakes up as a spirit contractor again, isn’t it the best bargain?”

“However, if she tries to lead her academy life using that thing, wouldn’t she be instantly exposed?”

“I think that’s something she also understands. She understands it and yet she became the academy's student. If she does not awaken, that would be the end to it, but if she awakens, it would be a fortune. Therefore, I grouped her with that boy.”

“Academy director, what on earth are you—“

Freya frowned, and at that moment a winged eyeball flew in from the office window.


It was a probe-use spirit, used by Greyworth.

“Hmm, it seems that an uninvited guest has infiltrated the Academy Town.”

“Is it the darkness spirit from the other day?”

“Well, I wonder? I do not know what they are aiming for, but… Freya Grandol, go prepare the order for the Sylphid Knights to strengthen the security.”

===Part 4===

Kamito, who left the office, took Fianna on a tour around the academy building.

She had an elegant light manner of walking. It seemed that a real princess’ way of walking was also polished.

“Fianna, are you wearing the 'divine ceremony institute’s' uniform?”

“Yes, as opposed to the Areishia Spirit Academy, it seems to be a recent design. During the time I was active, it used to be an even more bombastic ceremonial costume. That was cute in a way, but all the girls were definitely yearning for skirts.”

“…Hmm, is that so? It suits you.”

“Ah, even if it’s just a flattery, I am happy.”

As they were talking while walking, Kamito’s tone had relaxed tremendously.

As she was the Ordesia Empire princess and a princess maiden from the 'Divine Ceremony Institute' – he was thinking that there would be an even-harder-to-approach atmosphere, but she was a surprisingly easy girl to talk to.

The two of them, who had such conversation while walking along the corridor, were already basked in the attention of other academy students.

“Hey, take a look. Kazehaya Kamito, again, is going to rape the admitted student!” “The licentious beast’s special demonstration.” “But I might be a little envious.” “Wh…what are you saying!” “B…but if I was gazed at by those sharp eyes…I…I might be unable to defy.” “It’s just for a mere little while only, a little while only, I want to try being played with… don’t you think so?” “Th…that’s true, i…if he were to approach with force… my heart would surely be pounding.” “ No way, after all, he’s the demon king, the demon king that devours any girl he could lay his hands on.” “The demon king…” “The demon king of the night…”

A soft commotion like that could have been heard from the whole corridor.

(…What! The demon king of the night!)

He wanted to retort numerous remarks, but it seemed like it would become really troublesome, so he did not.

He had already gotten used to the girls’ frightened gazes.

However, it was strange, but there also were numerous girls sending him passionate gazes for some reason.

And then, for some reason, there seemed to be ribbon-tied letters and homemade sweets placed in his locker.

…Well, it might be just a prank.

“Hmm, Kamito-kun, you’re quite popular.”

“They’re just teasing me, after all, I’m the only male in this academy.”

“I wonder?”


Mugyu!

“…!?”

Suddenly, he felt a soft sensation at his upper arm.

Fianna pressed her breasts onto Kamito’s arm.

“H…hey, Fianna!?”

“Hn, what’s the matter?”

The princess expressed an impish smile with an upward glance.

The throbbing of his heart would not stop with that proper softness pressed onto his arm.

“No, princess… err, your breasts are hitting…”

“I do not mind. Or—“

Fianna gave a short teasing smile.

“You dislike immodest princesses?”

“…”

From the breast area of the dress-like uniform, her black lingerie was slightly in sight.

…He was troubled, earth-shatteringly troubled.

He felt like the sharpness of the gazes of the girls passing by along the corridor was gradually increasing.

Fianna was enjoyably gazing at Kamito, who has tensed.

“Fufu, it seems like everyone is jealous.”


“That’s definitely not it…”

Kamito sighed deeply,

“By the way, why did princess enroll into this academy?”

Suddenly, he tried to ask something that was on his mind since a while ago.

He did not care for the circumstances that made her throw away her position as a spirit princess candidate. He was just curious as to why she became a student of the academy now, after having once disappeared from the center stage.

“That’s—“

Fianna’s legs suddenly stopped. Kamito also stopped at the same time.

“Uh?”

“If I said — I came to meet Kamito-kun, would you believe me?”

“…?”

As Kamito was a little puzzled,

“No, it can’t be that you came to meet me, haven't we just met, Fianna?”

“…”

Fianna pouted her lips as she was a little sullen hearing such a reply from Kamito.

“…Idiot.”

Fianna muttered and pushed her index finger softly onto Kamito’s lips.

And then, she drew her face closer till her lips barely touched him.


“—Ren Ashbell.”

At that moment, Kamito’s expression froze.

With the unexpected name coming from her mouth – he was at a loss for words.

“…!? H…ow…”

Standing still and dumbfounded, Kamito leaked out a dry voice.

The only people who knew Kamito’s true identity as Ren Ashbell are the contracted spirit Restia and the witch Greyworth – those two people only.

How did this girl…?

“…I knew it, you don’t remember.”

Fianna pouted her lips, seemingly displeased.

Making such a face at this distance made it look as if she were a lover pestering for a kiss.

“It’s alright. I’ll keep it a secret from everyone, I did promise after all.”

“Promised?”

Kamito seemed to have recalled something, at that moment.

“Kamito!”

Claire came running from the other side of the corridor. It seemed that she was searching for Kamito.

“Come on, what in the world were –“

At that point, Claire suddenly stopped.


In the middle of the corridor, she saw the two's posture, which was almost like a couple kissing—

“Y…yo…yo…yo…”

Gogogo… her shoulders began to tremble bit by bit.

Her red hair bristled up like a crimson flame and blazed up tremblingly.

“Yo…yo…you slave… yo…you truly have no discretion…”

Pishii!—The moment her whip made a sound, the hell cat, cladded in red hot flames, appeared from an empty space.

The hell cat transformed into the Flame Tongue form in an instant and settled into Claire’s right hand.

“Th…that’s alright, I’ll thoroughly train you today…”

“Wa…wait, don’t misunderstand, Claire, this girl is –“

“—Claire?”

Fianna reacted to that name Kamito said.

She gently parted her arms from Kamito and glared at Claire with a sharp look.

“I see, you are Claire Rouge.”

“That’s right. So what?”

“You are that person’s sister…”

He felt like invisible fireworks scattered in Fianna’s eyes glaring at Claire.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter2

2012-05-16T17:31:16Z

Starkiller4299:

==The Young Ladies’ Afternoon==

===Part 1===

“Mugugug…”

[[Image:STnBD V02 049.jpg|thumb]]
Claire Rouge was stuffing a cream bun down her throat.

It was an unusual scene for her, who took it as a creed – that nobles are always elegant.

“Don’t binge, you’ll get fat you know.”

Kamito glared with his eyes half-opened and Claire struck the table like she was frustrated.

“But, but, urggggh!”

“Claire. That’s my jam bun.”

Est protested calmly.

This place was a salon café that was inside the academy.

From the opened terrace, the soft daylight was shining in.

The three of them were sitting and having a slightly late lunch at a round table near a window.

Inside the bamboo basket, placed right in the middle, there was a pile of jam buns, melon buns, sausage buns and so on, all kinds of buns.

Any student could use the café and on top of that the freshly baked buns were all-you-can-eat. Coffee and black tea also flowed freely.

There was also an eatery in the academy but as it charged a fee equal to a high-class restaurant in the imperial capital, for Kamito, who was not even a noble, and Claire, who had her fortune and territory confiscated, they simply could not use it.

“Our team ranking dropped again.”

Claire lay, prostrated, on the table and groaned.

“We were matched up with a superior team. It can’t be helped.”

“That may be true… but our true strength is absolutely greater.”

Claire tightly bit and closed her lips. Although they were at a disadvantage in number, she seemed to be unable to understand and accept losing to lower rank spirit contractor opponents.

It was certain that their level as spirit contractors was superior.

The cause of their defeat was that they did not execute the coordination between the both of them well. Claire over-relied on her strength and chased her opponents too far and Kamito too could not rely on Claire in a definite scenario.

With just the queen piece, it was not possible to win – in other words, it was something like that.

“Despite that, it’s not the time to be stumbling at such a place…”

There was a reason that Claire binged on the buns to the extent that she looked to be in a hurry.

The regulation of the blade dance held in two months was different from the individual battle three years ago, if they do not put together a five-member team, they could not participate. And then, only the top three teams of the inter-school rankings could participate from Areishia Spirit Academy.



Kamito, who had just come to the academy, had no achievements that could raise his ranking.

To raise one’s ranking, one had to win a formal practice match like this morning’s or complete a task assigned by the academy; however, he had not achieved either of them.

Defeating the giant spirit the other day, dueling with Sylphid Knights leader Ellis Fahrengart or even battling the frenzied magic spirit, those were all informal battles and did not reflect in the rankings.

On the other hand, for Claire, who should have been superior and tower above the rest as a spirit contractor—

It was especially surprising that she somehow had the result of the lowest class.

There was only one reason. It was because she was completing all the tasks alone.

She failed when she challenged the tasks that should be originally completed by a team and she was defeated when she challenged upper classmen opponents alone in a championship match. If she did such a thing, no matter how superior she was as a spirit contractor, there was no way her ranking could raise.

There was a reason that Claire was isolated in the academy.

Rubia Elstein.

Four years ago, while she had the position of a spirit princess serving the fire spirit king, she betrayed the spirit king and disappeared and brought about an unprecedented great calamity to the empire – The Calamity Queen.

Claire, who was her younger sister, was being looked at with eyes of contempt and fear from most of the academy students.

Claire's reason for participating in the blade dance was to restore the Elstein family name and – above all else - to know the truth regarding her elder sister Rubia Elstein.


—It was not the time to be stumbling at such a place.

Blood-oozing emotions were filled in Claire’s rough words.

“For now, we should also find comrades quickly. I understood it with this morning’s match. If we stay as we are now, then, far from winning the blade dance, we can’t even get into the top three ranks of the participation requirement.

The boy, who was called the strongest blade dancer three years ago, accepted his greatest weakness honestly.

At first he just came to the academy due to Greyworth’s request but now he clearly had a reason that he should regain his strength from three years ago.

It was the darkness spirit, Restia – his former contracted spirit.

It was to take her back with his own hands.

The girl who gave light to Kamito’s life for the first time, which was caught in darkness before.

And then, the girl, who gave a heartbroken Claire the frenzy spirit and tried to drive the giant spirit mad in the middle of the town.

Restia, who he met again, had greatly transformed from the girl Kamito once knew.

—What on earth happened to her?

So, for the sake of knowing that, he absolutely had to meet the participation requirements to the blade dance.

“Kamito, what’s wrong? You’re making such a serious face.”

“Did you forget to put sugar into your coffee?”

Claire and Est peered in with their faces with a worried look.


“No, sorry, it’s just…”

“By any chance, is it about your former contracted spirit?”

She was mysteriously sharp at such a time.

Kamito quickly averted his eyes from the ruby pupils that came peering in.

“…Well. It’s okay. But I’ll properly tell you when I feel like talking.”

Claire did not try to dig deeper into it. Despite always being arrogant, there were occasionally times where she showed such consideration.

“…Ah, I understand.”

Kamito nodded and there –

“Ah, everyone, having lunch?”

A tsun elegant voice was heard.

Kamito turned around. And there was –

A magnificently platinum-blonde haired beautiful girl was standing.

The very appearance of a noble ojou-sama.

With her smooth milky white skin, were her emerald eyes that locked up a faint radiance.

That appearance, where she brushed her hair with her hand at her waist looked strangely good.

Rinslet Laurenfrost.

A classmate of the same Raven Class as Kamito and self-named rival of Claire’s.


Due to her rivalry with Claire, she was trying to make Kamito into her manservant. A troubling ojou-sama.

Right beside her was –

“Fufu, what a delicious smell.”

The girl, who was dressed in a maid uniform, was standing there with a gentle smile.

She was wearing a long skirt attached with neat frills, her hair was cut into short bobs and she slightly put on a lovely white brim on her head.

She was Rinslet’s exclusive maid, Carol.

He did not know why there was a maid in the academy but he did not see maids other than her in the academy; it was surely an exception for the Laurenfrost family.

“…Why did you come here, Rinslet?”

Claire swallowed her bun and sternly glared at her.

“I just happenned to pass by. What a very simple lunch, having just buns.”

Rinslet brushed her hair and looked down on the three of them calmly.

“Milady is saying that she wants to eat together with everyone.”

“Wh… Carol, what are you saying!”

Poka! Poka! Rinslet’s face turned bright red and she hit Carol’s shoulders.

As expected of her exclusive maid, it was a magnificent interpretation.

“Sit down both of you. You came after all, let’s eat together.”


Kamito suggested and Claire stepped on his foot hard.

“Ouch, what are you doing?!”

“Nothing? I just thought you lack constancy …Idiot.”

“I…it’s n…not like I particularly want to eat together with you all!”

“Milady is saying it’ll be good to sit next to Kamito.”

“Carol!”

Carol soothed Rinslet, who turned bright red, and got her to sit down.

Rinslet, who sat next to Kamito, averted her eyes and spoke.

“…H…how are your injuries?”

“Ah, it’s mostly healed. All thanks to the healing spirit.”

It was about the injury he got from the time he fought the giant spirit. Probably because he overdid it, it’ll take a little longer then he thought, but as expected, the academy’s spirit medical care was excellent.

“Fufu, milady has been continuously worrying about Kamito-sama.”

“Carol, d…don’t say anything unnecessary!”

Rinslet snapped with a grinding noise.

“However, it is also natural that milady is worried. After all, Kamito-sama is under one roof with milady Claire, so it is not odd even if anything happened.”

“Wha…what are you saying, you stupid maid! There’s no way such things would happen.”


This time it was Claire who snapped.

“…What kind of worry is that?”

Est was munching and eating a melon bun beside Kamito, who sighed.

With just that, Rinslet and Carol ended up having lunch together too.

Even Claire, who appeared upset at the beginning, eventually talked about this morning’s match, after that which store’s cake was delicious and how boring the lecture of the introduction of the foundation of spirit learning, normal girl like conversations were beginning to bloom.

Somehow these two were on pretty good terms. Especially for Claire, who was being isolated in the academy, it could be said that she might be her only friend.

“That reminds me, it seems that a newly admitted student is coming to Raven Class.”

“Our class? Despite the fact that Kamito just came in recently.”

“Yea, I hear it’s the daughter of a noble social status.”

“Hmm, but even so, a noble social status now in this academy. There’s the Fahrengart family and the Laurenfrost family, this isn’t a bargain sale of noble social status.”

“Hey! Please do not lump the military Fahrengart family with the true pedigree Laurenfrost family?”

“I don’t care about such things… What’s wrong, Kamito?”


At any rate, Raven Class was famous for gathering superior problem children.

He just thought that if people like Claire and Rinlset were to increase, it would be troublesome.

“In the practical skill entrance examination that took place in the morning, she seems to use a holy spirit.”

The maid, Carol, took out a memo from her chest and said.

Carol’s maid memo pad – 'Carol's notes' were stuffed with data on the academy students and teachers… He did not understand well what on earth she used it for.

“Hmm, holy spirit user?...”

The holy spirit is one of the five grand element spirits but there were not that many spirit contractors, who used it.

It was a spirit, whose pride was extremely high and chose its own user.

Among princess maidens, it was said that it only opens its heart to specially pure noble girls.

(Because even in the competition three years ago, a holy spirit user gave him a tough fight…)

After all, a holy spirit had an extremely bad compatibility with the darkness spirit Kamito was contracted with.

But then, at that time, Kamito’s strength completely surpassed the opponent spirit contractor's, that was why he did not lose.

“Ah, by the way, it seems like it’s a very lovely big-chested girl.”

“Carol, where on earth did you procure such information?”

“Ah, Kamito-san, are you interested?”

Carol placed her hand near her mouth and smiled.


“Hmm, you are so concerned about the information of a big-chested admitted student, huh?”

“Eh?”

Gogogogogogogo……!

Kamito turned around and Claire raised her eyebrows and was glaring at him.

“Really, men are just idiots!”

“Kamito, is your vision useless? Are you just a beast without reason?”

Somehow, even Rinslet and Est were glaring—

Gyuuuuuuuuu!

Kamito’s cheeks were pinched by the three of them.

(This is unreasonable…)

===Part 2===

After various things, the lunch of buns ended and it was time to rest.

“Ahh, that reminds me—“

Ahem! Rinslet cleared her throat and said,

“Have you gathered your blade dance team members?”

“…N…not yet.”


Claire shook her head in shame to Rinslet, who asked.

It seemed that she knew that answer beforehand. Rinslet smiled,

“Ah, you still have not? I have asked something bad.”

Fufun! She held up her tea cup in an elegant movement.

Claire sullenly talked back.

“It’s just that there isn’t a person who matches up to our desired level. And you, have you decided?”

“Tha…that’s … I just have not found a person who balances with my level!”

“Eh? Rinslet, you couldn't gather anyone either?”

Kamito tilted his head to the side.

The ability of Rinslet, who used magic ice spirit 'Fenrir' matched approximately to Claire’s.

He was thinking that if it was her, she would already be in great demand but.

“Fo…for now, there isn’t, for now!”

Rinslet’s face turned red and she quickly turned away.

“Kamito-san, milady –“

“Uh huh?”

Carol tugged Kamito’s sleeves and came at the side, telling him the reasons in his ear.

“The truth is (mumbling)…”

“Hmm…”


According to Carol’s words—

It seemed that although she had tried gathering a team several times, so far, the expectations she desired from her members were too high and things didn't go smoothly because of her excessively high pride. The teams she gathered, repeatedly broke up and so, there were no students left to invite.

…How should he say it, it was indeed a Rinslet-like reason.

“Hmm, her pride is certainly high but… she is a truly good girl, regaredless.”

“That’s right…”

Carol earnestly nodded.

“Carol, what were you talking about with Kamito-san!”

“It was concerning the order in which milady washes her body in the bath.”

“Carol!”

Glancing at the playful ojou-sama and maid, Claire deeply sighed.

“Haa… I wonder if there’s really no one. A superior spirit contractor who would enter our team.”

“…We…well, your circumstances aren’t good.”

Chiraa. 

Rinslet coughed and looked at Claire with one eye.

“That’s right. Preferably, I should try approaching the newly admitted student from just now. Perhaps, it might be an unexpected bargain.”


“That is right. However, there might be an even better member unexpectedly close-by.”

Chiraa. Chiraa.

…Kamito finally realized.

(Ahh, I see. So that’s the reason she brought up the subject about the team.)

“Hey, Claire, just a minute—“

“What? Faa, do..don’t suddenly breath into my ear.”

“What are you turning red for? Lend me your ear for a while and listen.”

Kamito whispered into Claire’s ear in a quiet voice.

“Somehow, this ojou-sama plainly wants to join us as comrades, but is that no good?”

“Absolutely not.”

Claire immediately replied.

“Why? Rinslet’s battle strength is adequate.”

“That’s… even I recognize her strength. However, no. We suffered in the duel with Ellis a while ago, didn’t we? Because she doesn’t even think the slightest about teamwork.”

“Well, wh…”

It was certain that in the duel with Ellis’s group the other day, despite being a sniper, she was standing in the most conspicuous place for some reason and was knocked down in the beginning.

“Be…besides, Rinslet … about you …”


“Hn? Did you say something?”

“I..it’s nothing, at any rate, it’s a no! Rinslet is not allowed!”

“No, without saying such things, isn’t she somewhat pitiful?”

“Wh…what are you two sneakily talking about?!”

While twirling the front of her platinum blonde hair with her index finger, Rinslet was staring at them with a fidgety, uncomposed behavior.

“Wh…?”

“……”

Claire groaned seemingly unhappy.

“…I got it. I’ll try asking once.”

She sighed deeply and nodded. There were two months remaining till the opening of the blade dance. She might have reconsidered that it wasn't the time to be stating her desires anymore.

“Hey, Rinslet.”

“Wh…what is it, Claire Rouge?”

Rinslet’s voice was tensed and sounded slightly excited.

“You wouldn’t, by any chance, want to enter my team?”

“Id…idiot, don’t ask Rinslet!”

Kamito shouted in a soft voice.


Asking Rinslet, who was a highly prideful girl, in such a way –

Rinslet’s finger, which was tampering with the front of her hair stopped.

“Hm, if you think about what you suddenly said –“

She placed her hand at her waist and pointed at Claire, in a thrust.

“Aren’t you the ones who want to join my team?”

“Huh?”

Claire’s eyebrows sternly lifted up.

“What are you saying? Are you an idiot? You’ll join my team!”

“Rejection, rejection, rejection. You two will join my team!”

The two ojou-sama quarreled about something trivial.

…It was a perfectly parallel line.

“Either way is the same, right...”

Kamito retorted,

'''“It’s completely different!”'''

They shouted in stereo mode. Only at such a time were their breaths in sync.

“…Uhm it’s no good, these guys. Something like a team is absolutely impossible.”

“Really, can’t you guys keep quiet? This is a public place!”


A cold voice resounded in the salon café.

Everybody turned around—

At the café’s entrance, a ponytailed beautiful girl, who was wearing light armor, was standing.

“Ellis!”

Claire sullenly groaned. …Another hindrance came. She had such a facial expression.

Ellis Fahrengart.

The leader of the Sylphid Knights, who observed the academy’s public morals.

She had a charming appearance unmatching that of her strict personality. Her mutual relation with Claire’s group, from Raven Class, who normally caused problems, seemed bad.

Although to Kamito, it did not mean that she was such a hard-to-deal-with person.

At first, when Kamito entered into the academy, just because he was a male spirit contractor, she was prejudiced against him but she had remorsefully apologized about that matter.

Even if there were times where she was a little overly serious with her straightforward personality, for which she held a strong belief, he could respect the part of her that held the pride of a knight.

Ellis came walking, briskly, towards the table.

“Knights' leader-sama, what business do you have with us?”

“If it’s about redoing the duel, I’ll accept it anytime.”

Rinslet and Claire, both of their eyes wore a dangerous light.


On that subject, the duel the other day became unsettled because of the magic spirit’s sudden intrusion.

He wondered if that time’s conclusion was to be decided again—

(……Spare me. A duel again, no thanks.)

Coming over here, Ellis looked down on Claire with sharp eyes.

“Hmm, I have no problem settling it here and now, Claire Rouge.”

“Just what I want.”

Ellis drew out her sword and Claire also pulled out her leather whip from under her skirt.

In the explosive atmosphere, the girls, who were at the surrounding tables, stood up rattled.

“Hey, Claire…”

Kamito attemptd to stop it –

“Le…leader, calm down!”

“Y…you can’t draw out a sword here!”

Form the café’s entrance, two girls dashed over here with a flustered look.

They were wearing the same Knights armor as Ellis.

It was a short haired boyish girl and a somehow serious looking braided haired girl.

Kamito certainly recognized the both of them. They were the Knights girls he fought in the duel the other day.

If he remembered right, their names were – Rakka, for the one with the short hair, and Reishia, for the other with the braids.

Stopped by her Knights comrades, Ellis embarrassedly sheathed her sword.


“…S…Sorry, my Knights followers.”

Feeling ashamed, she cleared her throat and apologized to the two girls—

This time she turned towards Kamito.

“Kazehaya Kamito.”

“Me?”

Kamito tilted his head to the side, seemingly puzzled. Claire aside, he certainly did not recall doing anything to be kept an eye on by the Knights.

“It seems you lost completely to the Wolverine Class in this morning’s match.”

“What?! As I thought, you're trying to pick a fight.”

Claire stood up with a clank sound.

“That’s not it. Th…the truth is Kazehaya Kamito, you –“

Ellis shook her head, and rapidly blushed bashfully and looked down.

“Hn, what’s the matter?”

“So, err…”

“Come on, leader, despite that it’s better to say it quickly.”

“Despite that you’re always resolved, you’re slow at such a time.”

Reishia and Rakka were whispering behind Ellis.

“However, such a bashful leader is also cute.”


“Ahh, it’s like that, it’s almost like a girl who has fallen in love—“

“D…don’t make fun of me! I…I really do not think of such an insolent person!”

Ellis shouted with her face turned bright red.

After that she coughed to cover over.

“It was certained that I got a better opinion of you because of that day’s case but … that’s all. The one I admire is a pure strong female, like that Ren Ashbell(strongest blade dancer). It’s absolutely not such a boy!”

“…”

Kamito gazed at Ellis, who informed in a cold voice, with his eyes half-opened.

(…I’m sorry, your admired female is an illusion.)

“Unh, wh..what’s with that look!”

Ellis thrust her sword at the back of Kamito’s neck.

“Is it that strange for me to be admiring Ren Ashbell?”

“…N…no, that’s not it!”

Kamito panicked and shook his head.

At the blade dance three years ago – the blade dance, which was danced by the strongest blade dancer, left a strong impression on the girls of the same generation. Henceforth, she was the aspiration of the princess maidens, who aimed to be spirit contractors.

It seemed that Ellis was not an exception either.

“That’s enough, quickly state your business.”


“Shut up, I know that!”

After turning and retorting to Claire, Ellis stared at Kamito again.

“Kazehaya Kamito –“

“Wh…what…”

“Err, what I’m saying is, …”

Ellis seemed nervous as her hand was lightly trembling.
[[Image:STnBD V02 069.jpg|thumb]]

By the way, as the sword was left where it was thrust at, it could not be helped that it was dangerous.

“What I’m saying is… I…I want you!”

“…”

—Silence arrived.

Claire and the others, even Rakka and Reshia, were dumbfounded.

For a while, time froze.

“Wh…wh…wh..wh…”

Claire was the first one who opened her mouth.

Her face was bright red and her mouth was opening and closing.

“…!?”

Ellis widened her eyes, seemingly taken aback and shook her head.

“Th…that’s not it, the words, just now, do not have such a meaning!”


“Su…su…su…such a meaning means what kind of meaning!?”

“I mean, th…that –“

After Ellis took a deep breath,

“Kazehaya Kamito, would you join my team?”

“Eh?”

Kamito did not believe his ears to those unexpected words.

(…Ellis and me, a team?)

“What did you say?”

Claire and Rinslet were also staring in wonder.

Rakka and Reshia saw Ellis, who turned bright red, and were grinning.

“…Well, what do you mean?”

“I…I meant just that. Kazehaya Kamito, I welcome you to my team. Because you defeated that military-use spirit, I have no objections about your ability.”

Ellis rapidly said so and quickly averted her eyes, looking far away.

It seemed that in truth her intention was to scout Kamito.

With a sword thrust at the back of his neck, rather than being scouted, it was like he was being threatened.

Ellis’ results were restrained by the upperclassmen and were top class. If Kamito joined this team, it was certain that the likelihood that he would obtain the entry qualifications to the blade dance would greatly increase.



However—

“Ellis, I—“

“No way, this is my contracted spirit after all!”

The one who interrupted Kamito’s reply and shouted was Claire.

She stood up from the chair and tightly grabbed the sleeves of Kamito’s uniform.

“Claire, you…”

Kamito turned around and looked down and his eyes met her clear ruby pupils.

Claire’s eyes seemed to be swaying in anxiety.

It was likely that she was not aware of it, but she was staring with a clinging look.

(I see, she’s…)

It was surely that being betrayed by her sister, Rubia, caused her heart to be deeply wounded.

Being abandon by someone – something like that, being frightening to her, could not be helped.

That was why she was always in solitude. She could not depend on anyone.

Because she was afraid of being betrayed again—

“…”

Kamito –

Took a sharp breath and scratched his head.

(…Being shown such a face…)


While bitterly smiling, he gently placed his hand on top of Claire’s head.

He had decided on the reply from the beginning. She did not have to be worried.

“Ellis, sorry but I am her contracted spirit. I don’t intend to change teams.”

“…Kamito!?”

Claire, taken aback, raised her face and widened her eyes.

“…I see.”

Ellis tightly bit her lips.

However, by the next moment, she had already returned to her cold expression.

“…I understand. I’m sorry for asking something unreasonable so suddenly.”

“No, me too … thank you for inviting me.”

Kamito apologized and Ellis was a little bashful.

“I…it’s alright. Y…you are such a guy, therefore, I—“

“Uh?”

Ellis seemed to have said something but her voice was so soft that he didn't catch it.

“Ahh, you’ve been rejected.”

“It’s alright, leader has us.”

“Y…you guys… i…it’s not like that!”

Ellis turned bright red and shouted at her two comrades, who were grinning and teasing her.


“H…hey, Kamito…”

“Hn?”

While still grabbing Kamito’s uniform sleeve, she was bashfully saying something else.

“What’s the matter?”

“…Th…thank…you.”

“…? What?”

She was trying to say something, but her voice was too soft, so he could not hear her well.

It was unusual for Claire to be hesitating in such a way.

“S…so… erm…”

And at that moment. Bam! The door opened—

“Is the licentious, no – Kazehaya Kamito here?!”

An academy student girl came running into the salon café.

She seemed to have come here in a great hurry and seemed out of breath.

(Wait, it seems like she started saying my name as licentious beast just now…)

“I’m here.”

Kamito raised his hand and that girl felt relieved as she stroked down on her chest.

“The academy director is calling for you. So, go over immediately.”

“Greyworth?”



===Part 3===

At a corner of the Academy Town possessed by Areishia Spirit Academy.

At a table of a coffee lounge, which greatly stuck out on the outside, a strange set of customers was sitting.

One of them was a black haired girl dressed in a jet-black dress.

Darkness spirit Restia. The perpetrator of driving the military-use spirit brought in from the imperial capital mad, and bringing great damage to Academy Town a week ago.

And then, the other one had–

Steel-like hard black hair. A boy – skinny with darkish skin.

He had well-featured looks but just his red eyes strangely could not be expressed other than being glaringly shiny.

The two of them were clearly conspicuous in such a place, but not only did no one in the surroundings pay attention to them, it seemed that their presences were not even perceived.

“—So, I just have to steal that specific sealed material from the academy’s library?”

“Yea, because of the incident the other day, I am unable to get close to the academy.”

“Tch, how troublesome, what do we need such a thing for again?”

The boy spat onto the ground. However, no one found fault in that.


“That thing sleeping in Mine Town is a fairly hard problem. The seal of the highest grade Ordesia army spans several layers. With only the releasing ceremony, how many months would it take to wake it up—“

“Hmm, the disposed military-use spirit – what’s the plan for collecting such a thing?”

“You do not have the qualifications to know her prediction, Jio.”

The girl in black clothing gently shook her head. The boy clicked his tongue.

“Because you toyed with the military-use spirit of the imperial capital as you pleased, it became troublesome. Is it an order to steal it?”

“Isn’t it fine, I could observe his current strength.”

“I guess. Honestly though, I am disappointed. Is that the level? Ren Ashbell’s (the strongest blade dancer’s)?”

“He has not yet woken up.”

“I hope so. Even if I beat that guy, who lost his energy currently, there would be no point.”

“Ah, you have the confidence to beat him?”

“I’ll beat him. And then I’ll prove it. That this Jio Inzagi is the true successor of the demon king.”

The boy’s red lips bent. On his whole darkish skin body, countless numbers of spirit seals were shining.

Same as the demon king Solomon – the seal that carried seventy-two spirits.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Prologue

2012-05-16T14:16:26Z

Starkiller4299:

==Prologue==

—Three years ago.

“Haa, haa, haa –“

A girl was running through a forest of Astral Zero, where many twisted trees were lined up in rows.

Her shoes had long since slipped off and the soles of her bare feet were covered with injuries.

Due to her long black hair being done up at both sides and her long sleeved extravagant courtesy attire, she did not run smoothly.

From behind, a violent sound of many trees being mowed down was approaching.

Being caught up to was just a matter of time.

(Why did such a thing –)

The girl was invited for viewing the blade dance as the guest of honor of the Ordesia Empire.

Although called the guest of honor, she was only an extra invited as an excuse.

Fallen out of the candidacy of 'divine ceremony institute’ – the spirit princess training organization, she was the royal family’s excess baggage.

She had nothing other than the title of former second princess and was just a mere thirteen year-old girl.

Her noble colleagues, who should have pledged allegiance to the royal family by right, were sending her gazes of contempt.

Even the retainer court ladies were ridiculing her behind her back.


A worthless lost queen –

It was painful for her to be at the match venue where she would be exposed to many people’s gazes.

The aim was Ren Ashbell’s match, which was later on in the afternoon, and, particularly, even if she was gone, there was no one who would be worried.

Therefore, she came to the middle of a forest like this alone.

Without knowing how dreadful of a place the forest of Astral Zero was.

Approaching her from behind, Dryad (a tree spirit) let out a dreadful roar.

Naturally, Dryad had the temperament of a docile spirit. Perhaps, it might be angry about her stepping and breaking the twigs in the forest.

(It’s no good, if this keeps up –)

She could not get away – realizing that she prepared herself.

She stopped at that place, turned around and firmly glared at Dryad.

“Y…you, if you are my knight, so then simply beat it –“

Shouting with a shaky voice, she began to recite the summoning to summon her contracted spirit.

—Thou servant of the king of the child of man, knight and master swordsman!

—By the contract of the old blood, become the sword that protects me, hurry and come to my side!

The spirit seal, engraved on the girl’s chest, emitted a faint radiance –

However, that was all it did.


Suddenly, the path with her contracted spirit was severed and the seal's radiance vanished.

(…! I thought so, it’s already hopeless, I –)

Despair surfaced on the girl’s face.

Dryad let out a roar and swung its log-like spirit arm –

At that moment, a beheading light flashed.

“Eh?”

The girl opened her eyes reflexively.

The log-like spirit arm had cleanly vanished before her eyes.

It was as if time had stopped.

From the cross-section of the severed tree, something like a black fog was emitted out.

And then *don* there was the sound of someone landing on the ground.

Before the girl’s eyes, a single boy was standing.

It was a black haired boy, who wore a black vest with a pair of navy blue trousers.

In the boy’s hand was one swinging sword. He was grasping a jet-black magic sword that emitted black fog.

“Stay still there, it’s dangerous.”

The boy bluntly told her and turned towards the spirit before him.

Dryad, who had its arm cut off, let out an angry roar and attacked the boy.

It swung down its other arm. The girl reflexively covered her eyes.


However...

“It isn’t going to work on me, I’m sorry though.”

The boy was stopping the blow that came from Dryad with all its might, single handedly, with one sword. 

And then – he exhaled and kicked the ground together.

With all his strength, he cut off its arm and hit its torso very hard with the center of the sword.

It was a single blow. With merely a single blow, a spirit, who was prideful of its strength, was brought down and became motionless.

“Maybe I overdid it a little. Although, it was my intention to not injure it as much as possible.”

“…”

The girl was dumbfounded and the boy turned around.

If she had to say it, then the boy was of a slender, handsome look.

His eyes were clear such that, depending on how one looked at him, a girl of about the same age could also be seen.

At that very moment, she did not think of him as a person who brought down a spirit in the blink of an eye before her.

Then, the girl suddenly realized.

(Eh? This person, it's like I have seen him somewhere –)

The girl tilted her head to the side.

“Err, are you alright? Do you have any injuries?”

The boy asked in a calm voice.

“Ye...yea, I’m fine. You have my gratitude for saving me.”


“Is that so … that’s good.”

The boy took a breath in relief, put down the jet-black magic sword and came walking towards her.

At that moment—

“Ah…!”

The jet-black magic sword that emitted black fog – the girl realized its significance and her face turned pale.

That was it. A sword that cut up spirits could not be an ordinary sword.

(That’s an elemental waffe!? But, why –)

Then, the girl finally realized.

She surely had a recollection of the boy’s face.

“N…no way…why…”

She should have seen him before. After all, this boy –

“…?”

Seeing the girl’s expression stiffen, the boy was puzzled as if a miracle happened—

And then, as he was taken aback, his eyes widened.

“Gua… Damn it! Ahhh!”

He covered his face with both hands and shouted.

Facing a boy like that, the girl pointed her index finger out.

“''Why is Ren Ashbell-sama a boy''?”


“Gu…”

The girl stared at the boy, who was trying to catch his breath, with a stern look.

She understood that she was saying something unthinkable.

After all, the boy in front of her had short hair and even his chest was completely flat.

No matter how anyone looked at him, he was a boy.

(But I am not mistaken –)

The boy’s face was similar to the blade dancer’s, who was currently winning through the tournament with overwhelming strength.

Without a doubt, it was the face of that person - Ren Ashbell!

(Besides, that sword—)

The jet-black magic sword that was grasped in the boy’s hand. That darkness-attribute elemental waffe – 'Vorpal Sword (the sword that pierces truth)' is her synonym, who brought down many opponents before.

And then, above all else, there was that sword skill, which was displayed when he brought down the spirit that was in a rage with merely one blow.

“Ah, this is, err, how do I put it …”

The boy was attempting to deceive her frantically and hastily.

“Wh…What to do, Restia!”

“I don’t care. Even if you’re not in the middle of a match, I had always been warning you to be in female clothing.”

“But I didn’t think that there would be people in the middle of such a forest!”

“Nevertheless, since it was a cute girl, you went to save her without thinking.”


“I…it’s not like that!”

The boy was, for some reason, sneakily talking with the jet-black magic sword that was held in his hand.

The girl’s head was in complete chaos. She was also surprised that the true identity of Ren Ashbell was a boy because, to begin with, it was hard for her to believe in the existence of male spirit contractors.

Those that could contract a spirit were pure maidens only – that was the common sense taught to her from the 'divine ceremony institute' from when she was young. Speaking of a male spirit contractor, there was nothing that came to mind but that legendary demon king, Solomon.

(This tournament’s favorite, the famous Ren Ashbell-sama, was actually a boy –)

If that became known, it would be a big scandal that would shake the blade dance tournament.

Scratching his hair in a manner like he gave up, the boy gazed at the girl in resignation.

“Er…err, erm, there are circumstances to this. So, I am a boy but, without asking anything, could you keep this a secret from everyone?”

With his troubled-looking black pupils gazing, the girl’s chest throbbed spontaneously.

(Eerr, what do I do…)

Honestly, the girl was bewildered. The blade dancer, who she admired, was a boy – even if she suddenly said such a thing, there was no way that anyone could comprehend it immediately.

Besides, though, her throne inheritance rights had been erased, she was the second princess of the Ordesia Empire and a pure princess maiden of the 'divine ceremony institute'. Was it alright for her to overlook this fact that would desecrate the blade dance?

“…”

However, when she saw that boy’s troubled face –

“…I understand.”

Unintentionally, she nodded.

“I won’t tell anyone, I won’t ask anything. You are the one who saved my life.”

Even if her true identity was a boy, Ren Ashbell was her admired blade dancer.

Her (his?) blade dance gave the girl’s heart courage, who was always depressed since that day. That would not change. Besides, the fact that he had saved her life would not change.

To give a reward to a knight’s meritorious service was the royal family’s precept.

“T…thank you! You saved me some trouble!”

The boy took a breath of relief.

“You’re quite a simple person. It’s just a verbal promise.”

“Yeah, but you don’t look like a girl who would break a promise.”

“…”

Facing such straightforward words, the girl’s cheeks were slightly dyed red.

(Wh…why is my chest beating so fast…)

“I’ll escort you to the forest’s exit, as Astral Zero’s forests are dangerous.”


“Th…thank you…”

“Your shoes… they seemed to have slipped off. Come on, hold on to my back.”

The boy noticed that the girl’s feet were covered in injuries and gave her a lift on his back.

“Er…erm, my breasts are touching your back, however.”

The girl whispered embarrassedly at the side of his ear.

“Yeah?”

“N…nothing…”

With her cheeks dyed red, the girl quickly turned her face away.

In the middle of a dim forest, while listening to the sound of stepping on the fallen leaves, the girl enquired.

“Hey, why did you even fake being a girl and participate in the 'blade dance'?”

“…”

After a moment of silence –

“Because, I have a 'wish' I want to grant.”

The boy answered that with a serious expression.

A 'wish' – A miracle of the spirit king that was bestowed to the victor of the blade dance.

At that moment, those words that the boy spoke of brought about an insight in the girl’s mind.

(I see, if it’s for the blade dance 'wish', even my power…)

After coming to a place near the match area, the girl was gently let off from his back.


“After this, you’ll have to return by yourself. Because I have my next match.”

“Yea, Thank you. Err…”

“Uh huh?”

“Tell me your name.”

“My name?”

“Ren Ashbell is an alias, right? That’s not it, your real name.”

“…”

After he hesitated for a while –

“It’s Kamito. Kazehaya Kamito.”

“Kazehaya Kamito.”

It had a strange and mysterious sound. The girl muttered that name as her tongue rolled.

“Well, err… could we meet again? Kamito.”

“Eh? Ye…yeah, once the blade dance finishes –“

“—Is that so. It’s a promise, Kamito.”

—After that, in seven days, Ren Ashbell held the title of the strongest blade dancer.

However, the girl never met him again.

Because he, who should have been granted his 'wish', suddenly disappeared.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
|-
|}

User talk:Kira0802

2012-04-17T01:21:47Z

Starkiller4299: /* Blanking pages? */

Yeah, sorry about that. It's just that I usually correct everything to the style of Webster's dictionary since it's the end-all be-all of English, and words like rumour never have the -u. If you don't want me to do that in the future, let me know and I won't :). --[[User:yFSC|yFSC]] 04:45, 6 April 2011 (EDT)

==[[Hidan no Aria:Volume2 Chapter2]]==

Are you going to continue translating Volume 2 in the near future? Otherwise, I want to finish up v2c2 : ) [[User:YoakeNoHikari|YoakeNoHikari]] 13:53, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

I have put HnA on hold. But since your speed is amazing, I think that it's better if you continue. Also, with all the work I have...

Well, go on! After all, there's still a lot of volumes left. If you take V2ch2, then I'll maybe take HnA V5.
[[User:Kira0802|Kira0802]] 10:45, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

Alright thanks for the go ahead, I'll do my best. [[User:YoakeNoHikari|YoakeNoHikari]] 19:09, 26 March 2011 (EDT)

==[[Kore wa Zombie desu ka?:Volume1 Illustrations]]==

Could you please specify which text is for which pic? --[[User:Darklor|Darklor]] 15:35, 20 March 2011 (EDT)

Done, but I don't know how to place a pic beside the text... [[User:Kira0802|Kira0802]] 15:40, 20 March 2011 (EDT)

== Infinite Stratos Names ==

Hmmm, since she's Chinese, I like Huang Ling Yin too. Lingyin is okay too, but since the others often call her with just Ling or Ling-san, I prefer the separated version of Ling Yin.--[[User:Kuroi shinigami|Kuroi shinigami]] 23:09, 30 March 2011 (EDT)

Ichika calls her with Chelsea-san. Cecilia doesn't add any suffix when calling Chelsea --[[User:Kuroi shinigami|Kuroi shinigami]] 11:22, 2 April 2011 (EDT)

==Re: V3==

Alright, thanks a lot :) - [[User:YoakeNoHikari|YoakeNoHikari]] 07:44, 1 May 2011 (UCT)

Actually, do you want to finish V6C1. - [[User:YoakeNoHikari|YoakeNoHikari]] 08:08, 2 May 2011 (UCT)

== Hidan no Aria French Version ==

:Dear Kira, can you please tag this new Alt. project with the <pre>{{Warning:ATP}}</pre> So that I can find and evaluate it. Thank you!

[[User:Onizuka-gto|Onizuka-GTO]] 16:23, 6 May 2011 (UCT)

Are you translating HnA in the passe composse or the imparfait, so i know what to check for while editing?

Most of the time, I use the 'passé simple' to describe, as well as present. When Kinji is speaking to himself or to someone else, I use the 'passé composé' and when it is to mark a simultaneous action to a past tense word, united by a subordination conjunction, I use the 'imparfait', as well as in descriptive lines. [[User:Kira0802|Kira0802]] 01:02, 10 May 2011 (UCT)

ok. I'm still learning francais, so some accent marks might be wrong, but i should be able to help out in some cases. - Bzk

Oh, no problems, me too. [[User:Kira0802|Kira0802]] 01:07, 10 May 2011 (UCT)

* Ça te dérange si je continue la traduction française de HnA ? Il n'y a pas l'air d'avoir des traducteurs actifs pour le moment... Je me demandais aussi si par hasard tu avais un peu commencé la traduction des chapitres suivants (en français) ? Ah oui, j'ai modifié la présentation sur le chapitre 1 (j'ai rajouté les 1., 2., etc pour faciliter la lecture). Je peux les enlever si ça te plait pas :) [[User:Monoratique|Monoratique]]
* Ok ok ! Je ferais de mon mieux :) Merci ! N'hésite pas à changer si tu vois des problèmes ! [[User:Monoratique|Monoratique]]
* Aaaah, tu ne le dis que maintenant >__<' Ok, pas de problème, mais je le ferais petit à petit :) [[User:Monoratique|Monoratique]]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Salut. J'ai terminé et tenu compte de tes conseils, peut-tu aller voir le chapitre que j'ai traduit et me dire ce que tu en penses, stp?
[[User:Rixlanchy|Rixlanchy]] 19:59, 24 November 2011 (UCT)

== Rental Magica Names ==

[[Image:Rental Magica02032.png|thumb|]]
Hm... I know Wikipedia calls her Adelicia and that's why I went with it at first, but in the very beginning of volume 2, there is a letter signed in English by Adilisia and her name is spelled "Adilisia Lenn Mathers." In the end I decided to just go with what Sanda-sensei wrote, since he is kind of the author.--[[User:Amazing Buffalo|Amazing Buffalo]] 19:50, 15 May 2011 (UCT)

== IS ==

I would love to get the IS RAWS from you, thank you so much! - Desodus

== IS vol 6 ==

Yea, I'm going to do the whole vol 6. Should be done in around 1 more month I think. About vol 7, this is still not official, but ___________ from AS forum PMed me saying he will try translating vol 7. Not sure if he's already done some of it yet or not. Just PM him in AS forum to confirm. --[[User:Kuroi shinigami|Kuroi shinigami]] 04:06, 29 June 2011 (UCT)

== Punctuation ==

I've added some info, check out my talk page. [[User:Zero2001|Zero2001]] - [[User_talk:Zero2001|Talk]] - 17:24, 6 July 2011 (UCT)

== Marimite ==

Merci beaucoup pour ton message ! Oui, je vais créer une page spéciale pour les suffixes et autres, je ne pensais pas que j'écrirai autant de notes :D Ma traduction et mon orthographe ont encore des progrès à faire, mais je vais faire de mon mieux ! J'ai enfin terminé de traduire le premier chapitre, et ça m'a pris un temps fou, je ne pensais pas que ça prendrait tant de temps ! Merci pour les conseils en tout cas, ça m'encourage ! Et bon courage à toi ! :] [[User:Monoratique|Monoratique]] 16:25, 9 July 2011 (UCT)

+ Merci beaucoup de faire l'éditeur ! :) Ça doit pas être sympa de passer après moi ^_^' En fait, j'ai tendance à poster le texte sans le relire avec beaucoup d'attention, et après je le relis quelques jours plus tard sur BT, c'est pour ça qu'il reste des grosses fautes et des phrases mal tournées -_-' Oui, ''sakura'' , c'est OK. En fait, j'ai l'habitude de tout franciser (pareil pour la pâte de haricot rouge...) mais c'est pas toujours utile, je pense. Bref, encore merci ! ^_^ [[User:Monoratique|Monoratique]] 09:45, 31 July 2011 (UCT)

+ Oui, oui, il est ''enfin'' terminé même si je fais encore quelques retouches ^^ [[User:Monoratique|Monoratique]] 03:50, 6 December 2011 (CST)

== New Info that might be useful for IS V4 C1 ==

See my talk page. I added new data on interwiki links to the reference section. It should solve the problem of the strangeness of the external links. [[User:Zero2001|Zero2001]] - [[User_talk:Zero2001|Talk]] - 21:36, 13 July 2011 (UCT)

== IS vol 4 chapter 4 ==

It's strawberry shortcake, rare cheesecake, and a pear tart. --[[User:Kuroi shinigami|Kuroi shinigami]] 14:26, 19 July 2011 (UCT)

"The thing that Ichika brought out after saying that is a game named Barbarossa." No idea what kind of board game that is though lol --[[User:Kuroi shinigami|Kuroi shinigami]] 13:55, 22 July 2011 (UCT)

First one is "Subishi(this is SFX, change accordingly)!, Houki, who hold out the object (in question), answered.". The part in parentheses is optional, as in my interpretation of the situation.

Second one is actually one big sentence with the previous line. I'll translate it as a whole. "Houki hung her head, but everyone, including Ichika, is making an expression that thinks [why an oil field?] at Houki's incomprehensible answer." --[[User:Kuroi shinigami|Kuroi shinigami]] 14:31, 25 July 2011 (UCT)

== [[Help:Japanese SFX]] ==

I added a page for consultation on japanese sfx, etc. Use it for understanding. [[User:Zero2001|Zero2001]] - [[User_talk:Zero2001|Talk]] - 00:03, 21 July 2011 (UCT)

== Reply ==
Sorry that I have been inactive these past 1-2 months. This summer has turned out to be much more busy for me than I had initially expected. Hopefully, I'll be able to put some time to go over this during the last month of my summer break.

Also, I'm curious: Why did you skip to translating Chapter 4 of Volume 4? Was Chapter 2 of it not translated into Chinese or something?

== Something to think about ==

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_color#Making_links_appear_a_different_color_just_for_you Here]... Well what you do with this info is up to you. Use it or ignore it both are fine. of course you can also paint the links black if you want like I've done on [[IS:Volume6 Chapter3]]. I think that is the best option. [[User:Zero2001|Zero2001]] - [[User_talk:Zero2001|Talk]] - 19:03, 24 July 2011 (UCT)

== IS format ==

I don't mind. The link is to make reading easier after all, so change the format as you like to make it more easy to read. --[[User:Kuroi shinigami|Kuroi shinigami]] 14:34, 25 July 2011 (UCT)

As long as the reader benefits, I don't mind the changes, but I would prefer to be kept in the loop regarding stuff like format changes. It has been good work for now though.--[[User:Teh Ping|Teh Ping]] 15:06, 25 July 2011 (UCT)

== Campione Edits ==

Sorry, but I don't know Japanese. Even English is my second language. For edits I used google translator along with denshi jisho online kanji dictionary and the text version of Campione raws. Just for one sentence I waste too much time. So I will have to decline.--[[User:Hariseldon|hariseldon]] 18:44, 4 August 2011 (UCT)

== Campione! Guidelines ==

Yeah, no problem.
Good chance for me to set down set phrases and terms which can be brought through the works. Is there anything in particular that you want to see? [[User:Alexoconnel|Alexoconnel]] 05:30, 26 September 2011 (CDT)

== Re: Campione! Terminologies discussion ==

Right, thank you very much. I'll change those at the earliest opportunity. As for the Campione! guidlines, I've been coming up with some basic ones, and they should be up soon as well.

On another topic, any news on the problem with signing up? [[User:Alexoconnel|Alexoconnel]] 00:43, 5 October 2011 (CDT)

I finally managed to sign up for the forum; so I'll be using the resources there as much as I can. Thank you very much yet again!!! [[User:Alexoconnel|Alexoconnel]] 21:30, 7 October 2011 (CDT)

== Rika chapter? ==

Are you planning on continuing the Rika chapter? I don't mind taking over it if you don't mind :3

[[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]]

I'll take that as a yes then? XD

23:26, 14 November 2011 (CST) [[User:HolyCow|HolyCow]]

== from jima ==

its harder than i expected to translate but if someone has those chapters already i have no problem at all in letting them post´em since i also want to see the page move forward; thanks for the call i´ll try whith another chapter and hope for your help in latter cleanings and some advising( and i think ill start doing some deep translating job since the znt final series for anime have already started airing) let´s keep up the good work.

== Kikou Shoujo wa Kizutsukanai Prologue ==

I was just wondering if the prologue was completed or not, since it says it is on the Registration page but on the prologue page it says it isn't. :) [[User:Stellarroze|Stellarroze]] 08:35, 7 April 2012 (CDT)

Okay. :) There's another potential translator then, that's great. Do you know when he/she will start? [[User:Stellarroze|Stellarroze]] 09:49, 7 April 2012 (CDT)

== Blanking pages? ==

Hey Kira--

I just looked at all the pages that I've been to recently, and I'm not seeing any blank ones, and looking at the recent changes page the changes I've made were only +/- a couple hundred...If I did delete any pages that certainly wasn't the intent. Can you point me to any blank pages you found? I'd be glad to fix the problem. Thanks! [[User:Starkiller4299|Starkiller4299]] 20:13, 16 April 2012 (CDT)

EDIT: Ok, so I went back to extended recent changes...I see now what you're talking about. >.< I think I know what the problem was...I do a lot of my reading (and therefore grammar nazi editing) on break at work. This means 5 minute here, 10 minutes there, sometimes with an hour or three in between. And sometimes the page times out in that interval, which of course you don't know about until you hit 'submit'. My guess is that the page, for whatever reason, got deleted during one of those time outs. I've never seen blanked pages before though--and it's really annoying, because I've learned to semi expect it and do a copy/paste dump into a txt file before hitting submit so I don't lose my changes. And I usually double check the page (gotta scroll to the bottom to go to the next page, right?). Thanks for letting me know about the issue; I'll definitely keep an eye out for it in the future!

User talk:Kira0802

2012-04-17T01:13:56Z

Starkiller4299: /* Blanking pages? */ new section

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter8

2012-04-16T18:30:34Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 8: The strongest blade dancer==
===Part 1===

Academy Town was a small-scale town within the premises of the Areishia Spirit Academy.

The townscape, lined with stone buildings, was filled with the tumult of people.

While bumping many times over into the coming-and-going crowds of people, Kamito was running towards the arena.

—If that was him thinking about it too much, it was alright. However, he was feeling strangely uneasy.

(…Absurd. With the loss of her contracted spirit, a blade dance is just...)

While he was out of breath, he ran at full speed, pulling Est’s hand.

He did not understand why he was in such a frantic for her sake.

Claire Rouge was a – tyrant, who was prideful, willful and quick to lash her whip.

However, he somehow could not leave her alone.

(After all, her true self is—)

Kamito stopped at that moment.

“—Here, right?”

Before the arena built at the center of the town, there was a crowd of spectators gathered.

The blade dance was originally a holy ritual to let spirits enjoy themselves – a kind of Kagura.


However, there was no change to the fact that that was also the highest form of entertainment to humans.

Also, the same as other festivals, the spirits preferred a great number of enthusiastic people.

He showed his academy student badge to the guard and entered inside, and pushed aside clamoring spectators to get to the front.

There were ear-splitting cheers. The sound of shrills of weapons. The intense blade dance had already started at the arena.

There were about 20 participants. Various types of spirits were jumbled together and fighting.

It was a battle royal system where the last one remaining would earn the right to contract with a powerful military-use spirit.

Kamito searched for Claire—

“…!?”

For that unbelievable sight, he doubted his eyes.

That Claire Rouge was—

Covered all over with wounds and crawling.

Against the contracted spirits boasting tremendous power, Claire was fighting with just a whip and spirit magic.

While her whole body was hit and slammed into a wall, she stood up and fought again and again.

“Claire—“

He could not go help her. If Kamito got in and helped her, she would be naturally disqualified.

If he did that, she would probably never forgive him.

Kamito bit his teeth and in front of him, Claire was blown away.



===Part 2===

—Weak. Why am I so weak?

While being thrown to the ground, Claire strongly bit her lips. The taste of blood spread across her tongue. It seemed that she was cut somewhere inside her mouth. She planned to stand up but her hands went numb and did not move. It seemed to have caused a cerebral concussion. Even several bones of her ribs might be suffering damage.

“Guu…!”

Even so, she still did not raise the surrender card.

She slowly stood up on her shaky legs.

She sternly looked up. At the center of the altar was a worshiped stone pillar. Within that, there was a rank-A battle-class military-use spirit– 'Glasya-Labolas' sealed inside, brought in from the imperial capital.

Having brought down many spirit knights in the past wars, it was a famous giant-man spirit.

(…If I obtain that, I can be strong.)

—Nee-sama surely can be saved!

“Flame – dance in my hand, dance!”

She turned the divine power dwelling within herself into flames and produced a fireball of spirit magic in her palm.


In her situation where there was no supply of divine power from Scarlet (contracted spirit), even for Claire, who was superior, to produce out such a small flame took all her might. Naturally, such a thing could not bring down spirits.

However, if she aimed for the spirit contractors, possibly – there might be a tiny chance of winning.

“Huh? Do you still plan on doing this? You don’t learn, do you”

—She heard a scorning voice from her front.

“…!”

She bit her teeth and lifted her head. The two spirit contractors were standing with ridiculing expressions.

They were the Academy’s upper classmen. They were respectively using 'adamantine spirit' and 'magic mirror spirit'.

“Hey, are you truly not an idiot? You don’t even have a contracted spirit.”

“That very part of you is irritating, you know.”

“…You!”

Aiming at the two upper classmen ridiculing her, Claire released the fireball.

However, the fireball was stopped by the ore-looking adamantine spirit and easily repelled.

“Ahahaa, what’s that, spirit magic? – Do it, 'Adamantine'!”

The girl on the other side cruelly curved her lips and gave an order to her contracted spirit.

The adamantine spirit emitted a blue radiance and rushed and struck Claire’s abdomen.

“Agg…!”


A mumbling scream escaped from Claire’s mouth.

She did not dare aim for her vital points. She was slowly tormenting her and enjoying herself.

This was not a splendor blade dance for spirits to enjoy themselves. It was merely unsightly violence.

“…How cheeky, you. Despite being that Calamity Queen’s younger sister.”

The upper classman’s face was really distorted in hatred. While being hit many times over her whole body, — finally, Claire recalled. These two were colleagues, who were one-sidedly knocked down by Claire at a practice match a month ago. They were resenting about that time.

“What’s with that look? If you don’t give up quickly, you’ll really die!”

“It’s alright if you quickly kneel down and lick our shoes, and yet. Truly, that foolishness is the same as your sister.”

“…Shut…up, be silent.”

Claire tightly grasped the sand scattered on the ground.

“Hn, did you say something?”

“I said… be silent.”

It was no good. She could not restrain it.

(Only abuses at Nee-sama, no matter what, my boiling point for that is low!)

She put divine power into her left hand, which was grasping sand. A black spirit seal that was re-engraved ominously glowed.

And then the moment the path was connected, a horrifying sensation ran all over her body.


She would not be defeated at such a place. There was no value in her weak self.

(To grasp a more powerful power in my hand –!)

“What… a contracted spirit!?”

The upperclassmen’s eyes opened in surprise.

“If you wish for it, I’ll show you. This is – my true power!”

Gou!

The black flame, released from Claire’s hand, gulped down the adamantine spirit in an instant.

Appearing from within the blazing flame was—

A flickering jet black magic beast.

It was not a noble flame like Scarlet. It was a flame of darkness, showing signs of madness.

Guo…ruuuuuu…

The beast’s hair-raising roar shook the entire atmosphere in the arena.

===Part 3===

“…What’s that!?”

Kamito got up from the audience seatings and shouted.


The black flame spirit, Claire brought forth, engulfed the adamantine spirit in front of it in an instant.

—It was not Scarlet.

Its appearance was similar to that hell cat but the presence of that divine power was overly ominous.

The jet-black flame spirit bit and crushed the magic mirror spirit at the other side and was devouring those remains like a starving beast. That was not all. The spirits around the black spirit suddenly writhed as if going mad and began eating each other’s existence.

“The frenzy is spreading…!”

Kamito recalled about the magic spirit that appeared in Astral Zero last night.

And about the water spirit that went out of control in the bathroom.

The spirits, in a frenzy, lost their reasoning and were unable to restrain their powers. Until their own existence extinguished, they would conduct themselves with their impulses for destruction.

However, that black magic beast –

(It’s forcefully snatching away Clare’s divine power!?)

Claire stood rock still at the center of the arena with an exhausted expression.

From the black spirit seal engraved on her left hand, blood was trickling down.

Her face was pale and her whole body was quivering bit by bit. It looked like she was also barely standing.

If the situation was left as it was, she might lose her life.


The spectators, who realized that something was strange with the appearance of the spirits, suddenly began a commotion.

The spirit contractor girls, in the arena, were also perplexed at their contracted spirits that suddenly did not listen to their commands.

“Damn, what are the guys in Knights doing?”
[[Image:STnBD V01 004.jpg|thumb]]
Kamito looked around the inside of the arena. Despite being an obvious strange situation, the spirit knights that should have been prepared for unexpected situations were not moving. What was going on?

However, the spirit knights standing at the arena gate were all rooted at the same spot, staring into empty space. The eyes were not focused. It was as if they were entranced –

“…What? What the heck is happening?”

“That’s a frenzy spirit, Kamito.”

Est, who was beside him, muttered expressionlessly.

“A frenzy spirit?”

“It is a possession-type spirit that bestows berserk-ness to spirits. It isn’t such a high status spirit but the spirit possessed loses its reasoning and, until its own existence vanishes, it will continue to fight.”

“Possess – don’t tell me, that black magic beast is 'Scarlet'!?”


“Affirmative. That hell cat is a very powerful spirit, it should not vanish from the extent of being beaten by the magic spirit. It seems that it temporary lost the ability to manifest but–“


“Is that so…”

The fire remains of the flame spirit remained. However, Claire continuously thought that Scarlet vanished, so she was not able to connect the path.

“—But, in that frenzied condition, vanishing completely is also just a matter of time.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Kamito nodded.

'Scarlet' – a flame spirit with the appearance of a hell cat cladded in noble flames.

That was the very flame of a girl named Claire.

That flame turned into a crazy disgusting magic beast and was indulging and eating the spirits.

Something like that could not be her –Claire’s desired flame.

“—Est. I ask of you, lend me your strength.”

“I am Kamito’s sword. I’ll do as you desire.”

Est gently grasped Kamito’s hand. There was a feeling of a hand, cold but surprisingly soft.

“The cool-headed steel queen, the sacred sword that destroys evil – here and now, become my sword!”

Kamito spun the releasing of the elemental waffe; at the same time, Est’s body turned into particles of light and vanished.

In the next moment, a silver glowing single edged sword appeared in Kamito’s hand.

The spirit language inscription, carved on the edge, was – 'Terminus Est '.


Just by lightly holding it, he understood that it was a tremendously famous sword.

“I’m sorry. The path to my true form is closed, so this is the limit for me currently.”

Est, who turned into the form of a sword, said apologetically.

“No, this is plenty. – Let’s go, Est!”

Kamito prepared Terminus Est and jumped into the arena where the raging black flame was.

The moment he landed onto the ground, the magic beast of darkness bared its fangs and prounced to attack him.

He brandished the sword in a turning manner. He knocked away the black flame, and rushed over to Claire’s side.

“Claire!”

“…Kamito”

Claire opened her ruby-colored eyes.

Her knees were on the ground and she was breathing heavily. Her delicate body was going to collapse at any time.

The blood, trickling from the spirit seal on her left hand, was dying the sand scattered on the ground red.

At that moment, the black flame magic beast mowed onto the ground, like it was making fun of it, with its claws.

There was the scent of burning in the air. The hot wind with pebbles mixed in gently brushed Kamito’s cheeks.

“…!?”

In a hair’s breadth, Kamito dodged the black flame’s claws. He drove in a slash at the black flame spirit that was just knocked down.

The silver sword flash drew an arc. The elemental waffe of the sword spirit cut up even the intangible flames –


The black flame magic beast let out an ear-splitting scream and broke up in the air. It didn't mean that it vanished. The flames that were scattered were burning at their respective positions and formed a flaming wall surrounding Kamito in it. Kamito clicked his tongue and stopped at that spot.

“Claire, get yourself together, come to your senses!”

“Wh…what… Why are you here—“

A confused expression surfaced on Claire’s face –

“…!?”

Then, as if she just began to realize it, she opened her eyes in terror.

The scene that flew into her eyes was a cruel disastrous scene.

There was a blazing disgusting black flame.

A group of spirits was in a frenzy and devouring each other.

The students of the academy were losing their consciousness from having their divine power eaten and were falling down to the ground one by one –

“Claire, is this the power you wanted? Something like this? That’s your flames!”

Kamito shouted as if he was throwing up.

While he cleared away the attacking flame with the sword, he reached out his hand towards Claire.

“I…I…—“

Claire moved her lips with her pale facial expression –


She instantly shook her head as if she had changed her mind.

“Sh…shut up! I… I need the power!”

The red twin-tail hair violently sprung up.

The black flame blazed even more as if responding to Claire’s fury.

“…You don’t understand. My feelings of being always alone –“

Claire lied face down and said that gaspingly.

That day, four years ago, was when the still childish Claire Elstein’s life ended.

The girl, who was betrayed by her most loved sister, had both her parents imprisoned and lost everything, was –

To live taking persecutions as Calamity Queen’s sister.

If she didn't become strong alone, she would not be able to live on.

“…You’re not alone, idiot.”

“Eh?”

At Kamito’s words—

Claire raised her head with a blank expression.

“I am here. I’ll be by your side. After all, I’m –“

Kamito approached Claire with a step.

The flame wall in their surroundings burned with intimidation.


“D…Don’t come here…”

“Claire—“

“Do not come here!”

Pashin! –She closed her eyes and strongly struck her leather whip at Kamito’s cheek.

Red blood flowed from his cheek. Kamito did not even wipe that and took another step—

“…!? Why didn’t you avoid it?”

Claire’s cherry blossom-colored lips were quivering.

“I didn’t plan on hitting… and yet.”

Kamito stood before Claire and slowly raised his hand over his head.

“…!”

Claire thought it was a strike, and reflexively closed her eyes tightly.

Then—

….Poff.

“Eh?”

Claire widely opened her ruby-colored eyes.

She looked up at Kamito with a blank expression.

“—Claire, I like your flames.”


Kamito stirred up and crumpled Claire’s red hair.

“…Wh!? Ah, …li…like… Eh?”

Claire’s cheeks were dyed bright red inside.

“It burns prettily, dazzlingly and nobly. I like your flames.”

“Ah, sh…sh…”

—That was why he wanted to protect those flames.

“If you want power –“

Kamito looked straight into Claire’s eyes and said.


“I’ll be your contracted spirit.”

“Kamito…”

In Claire’s red eyes, a drop of tear surfaced—

Confused, she wiped it with her uniform sleeve.

“Wh…what are you saying? You are originally my slave spirit!”

“Ah, that is right…”

Kamito bitterly smiled and gently removed his hand from Claire’s head.


At that moment, he sliced and drove away the black flame magic beast that roared and came attacking with the sword.

With his back facing Claire, he blocked its way like a knight protecting a princess.

“—Hey, Scarlet. Did you forget your precious master?”

With Kamito’s words thrown at it, the black flame that cladded the magic beast trembled for a moment.

Scarlet – it seemed to respond to that name.

“…Scarlet?”

Claire asked.

“Ah, it wasn’t that your partner vanished. It just temporarily lost its power. Although, it’s now possessed by a frenzy spirit and has turned into such an appearance.”

“…Scarlet is alive!?”

Claire was taken aback and raised her head. Kamito nodded.

“Ah, this sword – Est informed me.”

“… That’s, by no means, that sword spirit?”

“That’s right. But probably even a tenth of her original power can’t be used.”

Taking a stance with Terminus Est in both his hands, Kamito turned towards the black flame magic beast.

“…”

Claire stared at the thunderously raging black flame.


She saw something within that flame and swiftly raised her head –

“…Yes that is Scarlet.”

She wiped her tears to shake it off.

“If that’s the case –“

“Claire, stand back. A frenzied spirit will attack even its contractor.”

Kamito controlled Claire, who planned to go to the front, with his hand –

Claire stopped that hand and shook her head.

“Scarlet is in a frenzy because of me. Therefore, only I can take her back.”

—Flames, dance in my hand, dance!

Spun from her cherry blossom-colored lips was the spirit language aria.

At that moment, a small fireball was born at the palm of her hand.

“Spirit magic? What can such a small fireball –“

“— Like this.”

At that instant, Claire pushed the burning fireball into her left hand.

There was the sound of flesh burning.

“O…oi, Claire!?”

“…A…gu…uuuu—!”


While barely clenching her teeth, Claire moaned in anguish.

On her pale face, perspiration like waterfalls flowed along her chin.

“You…!”

Kamito finally understood.

The black spirit seal, re-engraved on Claire’s left hand – that was the symbol of contract with that frenzy spirit.

The spirit seal was an exclusive 'gate' to connect the path between Astral Zero and this world.

If that was destroyed, naturally, the contract with the spirit would be annulled.

Claire was physically burning the spirit seal and was breaking the contract with the frenzy spirit!

Guorooooouuu…

The magic beast, clad in black flames, raged like a thunderous wind.

With the path being burned off, it shared the same pain as Claire, its contractor.

“Sorry, Scarlet, I too… will endure—“

Claire was putting up with the pain and that moment when Claire’s knees hit the ground –

The frenzied magic beast roared and sprung at Claire.

“—!”

Kamito quickly stepped in and got into the magic beast’s bosom in one bound.

The claws, cladded in flames burned the ends of his hair and at that instant – he mowed down with the sword when they passed each other.


There was a flashing sword swing. At the same time, the red hot flames that melts even iron attacked Kamito’s whole body –

“Kamito!”

Claire’s scream resounded.

However, Kamito’s body had already disappeared.

The moment the sword and the claws crossed, he dodged like a shadow and had turned to the flame spirit’s back.

(—A frenzied spirit certainly has its power greatly increased.)

The black flame spirit turned behind – but it was too late.

(However, no matter what, its movement became dull. In that case, it can’t win against me—)

Kamito kicked the ground and sharply turned, and swung the silver shining Terminus Est—

With that stroke of the sword, the black flame, possessing the flame spirit, was severed and killed.

“—Claire, are you alright?!”

Kamito rushed over, Claire was lying on the floor with a pale face.

From her red forelock clinging onto her forehead, drops of perspiration were dripping down.

“A…guu…!”

A gasping, like it was hoarse from her inner throat, leaked out. Her left hand sustained a severe burn.

Just the texture of her thin pretty skin was hideously burned, that scar was too painfully to look at.

However, the black spirit seal that was engraved disappeared without leaving any trace.


With this, the path with that frenzy spirit should be completely severed.

“That was so reckless. Look, I’ll treat it for you, so show it to me.”

“I…I’m fine, it’s just this much…”

Claire’s cheeks slightly turned red and she quickly turned away.

At that moment, intense pain was running all over, she softly screamed “Hyauu” and her eyes turned teary.

“What, you’re not being honest.”

“S…shut up, I’ll turn you into cinders!”

Kamito bitterly smiled at Claire’s usual behavior.

—However, this is the usual Claire Rouge.

She was not suited to have just a sorrowful face.

“By the way, where—“

Suddenly, Kamito turned serious and asked.

“What…”

“Where did you contract something like the frenzy spirit?”

“That’s—“

Claire stammered with her words and at that time.

“Ah, did you receive my present with pleasure?”


From behind, they heard such an inappropriate voice.

It was a gentle voice, like downy hair tickling one’s earlobe.

“…!?”

It sounded familiar – that was out of the question.

For three years, he always – yearned to hear it, that voice.

Kamito slowly turned around.

And there –

A beautiful girl, wearing a dark black dress, was giggling.

===Part 4===

Kamito stood still at that place with a frozen expression.

“Don't tell me, tha..t’s…”

What was there was –

A girl, who was the very light to Kamito.

She gave the boy, who had closed his heart into a cold cage, a warm light –

“…Res…tia?”


Kamito muttered in a blurry voice.

“—It has been quite a long time, Kamito.”

The girl, wearing a darkness-color dress, impishly smiled.

…It was unbelievable.

However, that appearance was as it was from that time, three years ago.

That beautiful face, without doubt, belonged to the girl, who Kamito knew.

The darkness spirit, Restia.

The contracted spirit of the strongest blade dancer – Ren Ashbell.

“Restia, I—“

Kamito reached out his hand and planned to approach the girl.

However, his legs, as if they were sewed on to that place, could not move.

Despite that the girl, who he was continuously searching for even three years, was in front of him —

— Something was strange. His spirit contractor intuition was telling him that.

She was smiling like that.

Moveover, in the girl’s hand, what was that ominous black lump?

“I wanted to meet you, Kamito. However –“

The girl faced that black lump at the altar in the center and threw it there.


“…?”

“Let’s leave the hug to the next opportunity. Look, as that child is waking up.”

When the black lump turned into a fog in midair, it surrounded the holy stone pillar at the altar.

The stone pillar that was brought in from the imperial capital and sealed the military-use spirit.

“Restia…What in the world are –“

Kamito muttered and at that time.

Suddenly, the ground violently shook.

“What…!?”

“Ah, looks like it has already woken up.”

“Restia…?”

“Kamito, be careful! She is the one, who gave me that frenzy spirit!”

Claire shouted to Kamito, who was being absentminded.

“Wh…at…!?”

At that moment, a ground-shaking roar resounded.

Pishii—the stone pillar enveloped in the black fog got greatly cracked.

Zu…zuzu…zuzuzuzu…!

From the tear of the cracked stone pillar, a giant human hand appeared.


That was –

(Glasya-Labolas is – going in a frenzy!?)

Taken aback, he turned around. Restia was giggling.

That somewhat devilish smile was something Kamito had never seen.

“—Good bye, Kamito. Let’s meet again.”

“Restia… What is going on!? What are you –“

“Because that is your wish.”

“…!?”

Kamito’s face froze.

“Wait – Please wait, Restia!”

“I had waited, it has already been three years.”

“Resti…”

Restia smiled once again and disappeared into the empty space that became a black fog.

Kamito dropped both his hands like he was exhausted and stood still there dumbfounded.

— He did not understand what happened.

(Restia gave Claire that frenzy spirit…?)

He could not believe it. No, he did not want to believe it.


However, the girl’s appearance belonged to the darkness spirit that he had been certainly continuously searching for.

His former contracted spirit.

The girl showed Kamito, who lost his human heart, his first warm light.

If that girl changed, that –

(It’s my fault… I had changed her into something different.)

The blade dance three years ago.

Kamito, who was victorious as Ren Ashbell, —

Attempted to have a 'wish' that humans can never wish for to be granted.

For that reason, he decided to lose her.

He believed that she would be alive somewhere.

The aching of spirit seal engraved on his left hand whispered.

—She would be alive again. He could still make up for his crimes.

By no means, it became that they met up again in such a manner – it was something he never thought of.

“Restia… Is this my punishment?”

If that was the case, it was too – cruel.

Like his whole body’s strength was drawn out and he was going to collapse, his knees hit the ground.

He was plunged into darkness. 


“Kamito!? Hey, are you listening, Kamito!”

Even Claire’s voice calling for Kamito was only absentmindedly heard.

Once again, the ground violently shook.

Passing through the 'gate' opened in the empty space, Glasya-Labolas was attempting to emerge here.

The wall of the arena collapsed due to the tremor and a large amount of rubble poured down over Kamito’s head.

Just before his body was going to be crushed – that moment.

Pashii – Kamito’s head was twined around by a whip.

“…Guoo!”

Kamito was violently dragged along the ground and he made an anguishing voice.

Immediately after, large amount of rubble fell at that place where Kamito had been at.

There was a thunderous sound. Clouds of dust fluttered up in the air.

…If he was crushed, he would have, without a doubt, died.

“Idiot! Wh…what are you doing!”

Over his head, Claire took up a daunting pose and shouted.

“Hey, do you want to die? Or do you want to turn to cinders?”

“No, not those two choices – Guoo!”

“Hmm, to retort, you are alright, aren’t you!”


Claire constricted Kamito’s head with her whip and with a jerk, drew her face closer.

“…”

It was at a point-blank distance as if the tips of their noses were touching.

Her ruby-colored pupils, filled with a strong will, were before his eyes.

Nevertheless in such a moment, Kamito was reflexively startled.

“…Come on, what? What is it?”

Seemingly noticing that her face was too close, Claire’s cheeks turned red and she slightly loosened her whip.

“It…it’s not like I’m particularly interested but … for once, listen up.”

“Wh…what…”

“That girl just now, h…how is she related to you?”

“She –“

Kamito averted his eyes from Claire's clear eyes

“Was my contracted spirit.”

“Spirit?”

Kamito silently nodded and clenched his left hand.

“…It’s my fault. It’s my fault that she –“

The thoughts of Kamito, who sank into the dark abyss once again,—


“So what!”

Claire’s voice, which was cold, drew him back.

“Eh?”

“I am saying so what!”

Claire was standing straight up, with both hands at her waist and her twin-tail hair over her shoulder.

Until a while ago, her depressed state was not even minute.

There was above all else her noble, beautiful crimson flame.

“No, it is because I…”

Kamito was taken aback dumbfounded—

“Didn’t you promise me just now that ‘I’ll be your contracted spirit’?! Please hold on the responsibility of your own words!”

Pishipashi! Claire placed a strike with her whip onto Kamito’s back.

“Ouch! Wh…what are you doing! Whipping a dead person!”

Without thought, Kamito stood up and shouted.

Claire suddenly smiled.

“A dead person? Then how about dying once? Look, look at that.”

“Aah?”


Kamito turned his face –

From the 'gate' in the empty space, bluish-white light was emitted and Glasya-Labolas came crawling out.

The battle-class military-use spirit, whose seal was undone; its over-all length was more than ten-odd meters.

Glasya-Labolas roared. Merely with that, half of the audience seats were blown away.

It seemed that the audience had already escaped but there should still be many citizens outside the arena.

From the giant empty hole in the wall, the state of the plaza was in sight.

Everyone was screaming and jostling, while running away. In response to the sudden appearance of Glasya-Labolas, the plaza and the main street underwent a chaos of agonizing cries.

Placing its hand on the crumbled arena wall, Glasya-Labolas slowly walked out.

With just that, the ground shook like an earth tremor occurred.

How would things turn out, if such a thing got out into the town – there was no need to think so.

“Waiting for help from the academy would be too late. Just the two of us will have to do this.”

“…Ah, that’s right.”

However – Kamito still had not recovered from the shock.

Even 'Terminus Est', which he was tightly grasping, was losing that cool and clear radiance.

An elemental waffe would demonstrate its true value according to the spirit contractor’s divine power.

With Kamito’s current condition, he was unable to even maintain the sword’s strength.


For example, even if he fought, it was certain that it would instantly be broken.

“…”

Claire stared at Kamito in such a state with a rigid expression.

“It seems like you’re still half asleep. If that’s the case, I’ll wake you up.”

After that, for some reason, her face turned red and she quickly looked away.

And, in the next moment.

“…!?”

Suddenly, his lips were closed.[[Image:STnBD V01 250.jpg|thumb]]

It was hot. It was a tender sensation that was gently getting wet.

The tip of his nose was tickled by a faint scent of her hair.

“Hn…”

Several seconds later, their lips slowly separated.

“Are you awake?”

“…A…ah.”

Kamito nodded like he was befuddled.

“Th…this is something… only once.”

Biting her lips, Claire turned bright red and looked downwards.




The numbing-like kiss had blown away all the anguish from Kamito’s mind.

“…Shock therapy? However, this is a little too effective.”

“Hm,,,hmm, that’s fine! – Well then, let’s go, Kamito!”

While her face was bright red, Claire spun the spirit language summoning.

– Protector of red flames, watchman of the unsleeping hearth!

–Now is the time, by the blood contract, hurry and come to my side!

Immediately, a blazing flame whip was born in Claire’s hand.

It was not the black flame, invaded by the frenzy spirit.

That was the flame of the noble Claire Rouge – Scarlet’s elemental waffe.

“Thank you, Scarlet. Lend me your power for just a bit longer.”

Responding to Claire’s feelings, the flame whip thunderously growled.

“I won’t make Scarlet, who is weakened, do something unreasonable. I’ll go around it to support, so you strike that giant human spirit.”

“Ah, I got it!”

Kamito firmly nodded and tightly grasped Terminus Est.

— That’s right. It is alright to not think about Restia now.

Now, just –


(To protect this tomboy princess, because that’s what I promised!)

Taking a stance with the sword, Kamito kicked the ground and jumped.

“I’ll show you, Claire Rouge”

The strongest blade dancer – Ren Ashbell’s blade dance!

Glasya-Labolas smashed the stone wall and stepped his foot out to the plaza outside the arena.

Kamito took a roundabout path to its behind and with a one-step jump, he pierced its ankle with the sword.

Vuoooooon!

Glasya-Labolas made a destructive roar – while the shock seemed to be blowing him away, Kamito clung onto the sword that pierced it.

(…What destructive power! As expected of a military-use spirit!)

The eyes of the giant, that were burning in anger, caught sight of Kamito’s figure at its feet.

It made a frenzy roar and swung down that blouder-like fist of its.

Kamito pulled out the sword and jumped back and using the giant’s arm as a stepping stone, he jumped again.

In order to crush Kamito, who appeared on top of his head, Glasya-Labolas reached out its hand –

At that moment when it seemed like it caught his ankle.

“Kamito!”

Claire swung her flame whip and bound that arm. As Scarlet was exhausted, cutting up the spirit could not be done. However, roughly sealing its movement was possible.

There was the thunderous sound of the wind blowing violently. Glasya-Labolas shifted its anger to Kamito on its head. In the state of passing by, Kamito brandished the sword. He cut the black crystal-like eyeball.

At that moment, from the eyeball that cracked, something like a black fog was blown out.

(That’s the frenzy spirit…!?)

The black fog coiled about the sword. Just at that moment, the tip of its edge was corroding to black.

Kamito was taken aback. – The frenzy spirit was a spirit that granted crazy attribute to spirits.

(Est is being encroached—!)

Kamito twisted his body and swung and cleared away the black fog.

He broke his stance in the air and was about to strike the ground as he was.

Then, Glasya-Labolas’ fist swung downwards.

Kamito took a stance with the sword in front of him – but he did not make it!

“…!”

Glasya-Labolas’ fist was – precisely stopped above his head.

Its arm, which was about to swing down at any time, was twined with a burning flame whip.

“Kamito! Now’s the chance, quickly do it!”

“Ah—“


Kamito laughed fearlessly and stood up, and concentrated his consciousness to the sword.

The elemental waffe of the sword spirit, Est, increased in radiance as it responded to Kamito’s feelings

He kicked the ground and jumped. Kamito’s sword once again danced in the midair.

And then –

“Oooooooooooo!”

The shining flashing sword cut up Glasya-Labolas’ body right in half.

===Part 5===

That moment when Kamito cut and turned over Glasya-Labolas, Claire was motionlessly staring at it.[[Image:STnBD V01 255.jpg|thumb]]

With the shining sword in his hand, Kazehaya Kamito danced a splendorous blade dance,–

That was almost–

Like the blade dance of Ren Ashbell, who she saw at the stage of the blade dance three years ago.

(…Don’t tell me.)

The moment Glasya-Labolas turned into particles of light, the flame whip returned to the form of a small hell cat. Claire preciously embraced the flame spirit, which became small like a kitten.

“—Thank you, Scarlet.”



<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter7

2012-04-16T17:14:48Z

Starkiller4299: Blanked the page

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter6

2012-04-16T16:43:04Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 6: The blade dance at midnight==

===Part 1===

—It was 2 am. The time when the academy students slept and forest spirits began stirring.

On the stone paving path illuminated by the moonlight, Kamito was walking alongside Claire.

“The atmosphere is very different, the academy at night.”

“Of course, the night is the time for spirits.”

Claire kept facing front and bluntly replied. Solid sounds of walking resounded loudly.

Since some time ago, Claire had not said much. She might be tense about the duel with the Knights.

“Where are you planning to do it?”

Private battles should be prohibited within the academy according to academy regulations. Is there a place for a duel outside?”

“Over there –“

Claire abruptly stopped.

In front of what she was pointing, there was a gigantic stone circle.

Its ground was dimly shining in bluish-white.

“That’s the – 'Astral Gate'!”

“Yea, the gate that connects this world with the Astral Zero. The reason why the academy was built in such a remote place.”


“…I see.”

He was surprised that there was a ‘gate’ within the academy premises. That stone circle was perhaps a prehistoric ruin, which was used with an unknown art. It probably had a function to stabilize the unstable 'gate '.

“Isn’t it dangerous? There are spirits that cannot be controlled by humans roaming about in the Astral Zero.”

“You see, that 'gate' connects to a safe area where there are only low-level spirits. If not, the academy wouldn’t leave it alone, right?”

Claire murmured ''stupid'', and stepped into the middle of the stone circle.

She recited the words of opening the gate in the spirit language and the blue light on the ground further increased its brightness.

“Come on, you, faster! Get on too.”

Led by Claire, Kamito hurriedly jumped on top of the formation of lights.

At that moment, his field of vision was filled with a white flash.

He had a feeling that his whole body was attacked with dizziness. And then –

…

–After opening his eyes, a scenery of another world spread out.”

There was a deep dark forest with twisted trees standing tall.

Shining brilliantly in the night sky was blood-like red moon.

There was a pale purple smoke-like fog shrouding nearby.

Astral Zero –another world where spirits live in.

“If it’s here, nobody can disturb us. Even if we were injured, it would not be serious, so this place is often used by the academy students for duels.”

In a situation such a thing occurred, the physical body of humans possessing divine powers would be treated the same as spirits, this meant that there’s almost no physical damage received.

Naturally, this was not absolutely safe. Pain was felt normally; in exchange of the physical body not receiving damage, the mind would suffer an equal damage.

To fall into a lethargic state was still a good thing but in the case of receiving a serious injury, one would receive severe memory impairment and the destruction of the mind, there was also the possibility of not regaining consciousness.

“—Flame, illuminate.”

Claire recited the spirit magic and a small fire ball was born on her palm, dimly lighting up a narrow open path in the middle of the forest.

“Let’s go, Kamito.”

Claire gently brushed her twin-tails and calmly walked.

“Do we have a chance of winning?”

“That depends on your ability. …Honestly, it might be a little hard.

“Is that so?”

Kamito was surprised. For a spirit contractor of Claire’s level, it was unexpected of her to say such a thing.

“Putting aside the other two, Ellis is strong. She isn’t the Knights leader just for show. Besides, Scarlet exhausted some strength from this morning’s fight with the ‘Sealed Spirit’. Rinslet’s ability is –well, I at least recognize it, but her teamwork is the worst.”

“…That was a surprising calm battle strength analysis. I thought you were the more impulsive type.”

“You, what do you see me as?”

“A dangerous fellow, who instantly swings a whip –Ouch!”

Pashii –A whip was promptly swung down onto Kamito’s back.

…After walking a while, there was a historic ruin of a gigantic theater in the forest.

It was something from when Astral Zero and the human world were one –a long gone mythical era.

The crumbling looking stone gate greeted the two. It seemed that here was the stage for the duel.

“First of all, you, the sword spirit contractor, are the attacker. Rinslet and I will provide cover.”

“I’ve got the most dangerous role! Isn’t it your duel?”

“What! Do you have a complaint? Alright, if that’s the case, I’ll let you choose a position. Attacker or cinders, which do you like?”

“I get it. I’ll be the attacker.”


“A wise decision.”

Claire nodded seemingly satisfied.

“By the way, you can properly handle that contracted 'sword spirit', right?”

“Hn, ahh…probably.”

“…Probably? What do you mean?”

Claire’s eyes lifted up with danger. Kamito backed off in a panic.

“Well, you see, isn’t it bad if it was summoned poorly and went out of control? That’s why, I have not summoned it even once since I contracted it this morning.”

That was somewhat of an explanation – he thought. Actually, it was half of the explanation.

The truth was that by contracting with another spirit he felt guilty to her.

He felt a sense of betrayal about using a new contracted spirit.

“You succeeded in contracting in just one try, therefore there should be little chance of losing control but—well, it is a sealed spirit with a history and it certainly won’t be funny if anything happened.”

However, Claire seemed to have agreed for once.

“For the time being, try releasing your elemental waffe. You are able to do that, right?”

“A…aahh… Yeah.”

The releasing of an elemental waffe was not something anyone could do but –

(Can’t seem to get into the mood, it can’t be helped –)

Kamito closed his eyes and concentrated his consciousness to the 'spirit seal' engraved on his right hand.

“The cool-headed steel queen, the sacred sword that destroys evil –“

He recited the summoning in the spirit language and the crest of two swords crossing faintly shined.

The path with a contracted spirit would be normally connected – however,

(What?)

…It was strange. He could not feel the presence of such a powerful sealed spirit.

No –he could pick up its presence but it was something like gears not fitting together.

“—now form a sword of steel and be the power in my hand!”

At that moment, small particles of light gathered at Kamito’s palm.

And then, what appeared was –

“…”

One short sword.

To be more precise, it was a small sword almost like a knife.

…Shin. An awkward silence arrived.

“…Is that that sword spirit’s elemental waffe?”

Claire said with her face twitching.


For an incarnation of the powerful sealed spirit that cut down Scarlet in one blow –

…Honesty, it was too shabby.

“D…don’t judge it by its appearance, it might actually have an amazing ability.”

“Y…ea, that certainly may be true!”

Claire nodded momently while having a stiff expression.

Kamito tried cutting a buckwheat tree as a test.

Bekii. The short sword very easily broke and vanished.

“…”

…Ahh, how should I say it, it is probably that.”

Kamito beared the frozen Claire’s gaze and calmly opened his mouth.

“Truthfully, this is the first time I used a contracted spirit in three years. I have not regained that perception.”

“…Huh?”

Claire blankly opened her mouth to that shocking confession.

“You’re lying… after all, didn’t you so easily tame that sealed spirit!”

“That time was because I was franticly trying to save you. To be honest, I don’t really understand myself why I succeeded the contracting.”

No matter how powerful a spirit one contracted with, there was no point if one could not fully draw out that power. When an inexperienced spirit contractor contracted a spirit beyond his means, it was often the case that its power would be too much to handle.

(…However, for my case, it’s a little different.)

Kamito stared at his left hand, inserted in a leather glove.

(Probably, within my sub-consciousness, I thought about her.)

—Therefore, he could not connect the path with the new spirit.

“Wh..wha..what’s with that…”

He heard a dead groan. After lifting her head, Claire was tightly grasping a leather whip, used for training animals, with her shoulders trembling.

“No, I mean, um, my battle strength is lacking…” 

“What do you mean! I am counting on your battle strength!”

Pishii! Pishii! Pishii!

“Ouch! Wait..stop!”

A tempest of unforgiving whips descended onto the escaping Kamito.

Then, there –

“What in the world are you doing? Claire Rouge.”

From the other side of the dark tree grove, that voice was heard.

Claire stopped her whipping and sullenly turned around.


The ones who appeared were Rinslet and the maid Carol.

“You’re late, Rinslet.”

“Aah, a lady getting dressed takes time.”

Rinslet proudly brushed her extravagant platinum blonde hair.

“…? What, is Carol here too?”

“Of course, as milady’s supporter.”

After Kamito heard that, Carol took out a flag from out of nowhere and began swinging it.

“By the way, why were you spanking Kazehaya Kamito?”

Rinslet placed her index finger at her chin and frowned dubiously.

That was – before Claire answered, Carol interrupted.

“Milady, that’s something unrefined to listen to.”

“What do you mean?”

“That was a form of a slightly unusual love. In a unique way, that was a perverted play.”

“Ehh! Is that right, you two!?”

“T…th..t..that’s not it! W…what are you saying, you stupid maid!”

Claire’s face became bright red as she denied it.

...Indifferently, he wanted fuse-blowing whipping to stop. As it hurt.


(…Why am I already worn out before the duel.)

Kamito began to seriously think about the absurdity of his life. At that moment.

“—Your side seems to be all present, Raven class.”

A cold voice descended from right above.

“…!?”

The four of them looked upwards together.

There, above the crumbling theater wall was –

A figure of a gallant female knight with her blue hair fluttering in the gentle breeze.

Beside her, two knights, also wearing the same silver armor, were standing.

He heard their names from Claire. The one with the short hair was Rakka. The one with the braiding was Reishia.

“—Ellis Fahrengart, for how long were you here!”

“By the way, you wouldn’t by any chance be waiting for a chance to appear at a cool moment, right?”

“Wha… T…there’s no such thing! I just only got here!”

After Kamito pointed it out with his half-opened eyes, Ellis was frankly disturbed and ended up almost falling.

…Somehow, that was a rather deplorable Knights leader look.

Ellis sharply glared at Kamito and the rest, and drew her sword from her waist.


“Let’s go, Raven class. Let’s finish this duel by day break –“

At that moment. The illumination of a large flame lit the stage of the theater.

The one shined on by that illumination –

“That’s –!?”

A large eagle was spreading its enormous wings and making an appearance in the red night.

“Let me introduce to you, Kazehaya Kamito. This is my contracted spirit – magic wind spirit, 'Simorgh'!”

With a howl like the wind – The large eagle, clad in wind swooped down.

===Part 2===

At a point of an attack in-place of a greeting, —

The magic wind spirit glided closer and dived with its aim at the ground, where the four were.

An ear-splitting thunderous roar. Stone paving came unstuck and large amounts of earth and sand were whirled up.

A strong wind, brought forth from the force of the explosion, hit Kamito and his body was easily blown away.

“…Gahaa!”

He was thrown into a wall. With that bone shattering impact, he stopped breathing for a moment.

Even if one received an attack of a spirit of a purified form, the physical body cannot be hurt, however, the physical damage from a crashing impact and fragments of rubble were different. Small rocks fluttering up in the squall were cutting at Kamito’s whole body. While covering his forehead with both his hands, Kamito clicked his tongue.

(…What destructive power! If I directly took a blow, I’ll faint.)

That magic wind spirit… Simorgh.

Comparing just destructive power, it might surpass even Claire’s Scarlet.

(That’s right, where’s Claire?)

He stood up and surveyed his surroundings, his two allies were at their respective positions.

Claire was providing direct cover from a mid-distance. Rinslet was providing rear support with a long distance attack.

Carol was…waving a flag at the outside of the theatre where she escaped to.

The thunderous wind that was blowing violently stopped. At that interval, Kamito began to run –

“Not yet, Kamito!”

“…!?”

At the same time Claire shouted, the roar of the magic wind spirit resounded.

From an empty large hole in the ground, a large magic bird flapped its wings—

“What are you doing, faster release your elemental waffe!”

“Hn, even if you say that –“

At that moment, a cluster of wind that held an enormous mass gouged the earth while rushing over.


The stone paving came ripping off in a straight line. Kamito quickly jumped sideways.

While tumbling on the ground, he quickly recited the summoning of the spirit language in his mouth.

The spirit seal faintly glowed but as before the path with the contracted spirit was not connected.

(… It’s no good, huh!?)

Just as he was about to give up, a glowing short sword was constructed in his palm.

It was the same unreliable elemental waffe but it was better than nothing.

“Are you just escaping? Kazehaya Kamito, I have misjudged you!”

Ellis, with a pony-tail hair swaying, alighted onto the ground.

“Ahh! I just have to fight, right – “

Kamito prepared the short sword and charged towards Ellis. The first to strike wins. If he defeated the spirit contractor first, then the summoned contracted spirit would vanished –

“Kamito, behind you!”

Claire’s voice came from behind him – Kamito jumped straight to the side.

The wing of the magic wind spirit mowed down at the place Kamito was at just now.

“… What speed!”

Among the five grand elemental spirits, the ones boasting of being the fastest was the wind-attribute spirits. Ellis was completely controlling that.

The magic wind spirit, dancing in the night sky, turned in an arc –and swooped down.


Kamito jumped again. The magic wind spirit that crashed into the ground blew up a large quantity of earth and sand – and then it immediately transformed into countless blades of the wind and cut into Kamito’s arms.

“…Kuu!”

Tremendous pain was running in his right arm. Actually, it did not mean that his arm was cut off –but that pain was violently jolting his consciousness.

(—Well, I never thought it’d turn into the blades of wind with that timing.)

Kamito was astonished in his mind. Ellis’s spirit contractor’s competency was something substantial.

“Kamito, I’m covering you!”

At the same time as her voice, A blazing flame illuminated the night sky red.

Claire wielded Scarlet’s elemental waffe –'Flame Blaze'.

The flame slash mowed down all the attacking blades of the wind in an arc—

“I won’t let you interfere with the leader!”

The braided hair knight, Reishia, attacked Claire.

The elemental waffe held in her hand was a transparent ice sword – it seemed she was the same ice spirit contractor as Rinslet.

Nonetheless, her spirit’s rank was completely no matched for Rinslet’s Fenrir. It seemed she had the competency to release her contracted spirit into its elemental waffe but she had not made that hers.

She was not Claire’s adversary – Kamito concluded so and adjusted his direction to Ellis, who was in front of him.


In that moment, simultaneously as the violent blasting sound, the ground in front of him was being completely gouged.

“…!?”

“Huh, try taking on my elemental waffe –Rock Breaker!”

The short-hair knight, Rakka, shouted in a spirited tone.

Her specialized weapon was a large hammer with a long handle. That was easily being swung about by the thin arm of a girl.

Kamito jumped and backed off, getting some distance between them. She seemed more hot-blooded than Reishia.

While keeping his distance, he was chasing Ellis, who was within his sight—

Ellis had linked with Rakka’s attack and was already moving.

As expected of the Knights leader, Ellis’ commanding ability was high.

First was to use the magic wind spirit to launch a preemptive attack to cause chaos on the battlefield. Next was to strike Claire on mid-guard with Reishia and Kamito on advance-guard with Rakka. While the two were pinned down, Ellis with the most battle strength would attack Rinslet on rear-guard. That was the so-called strategy.

(… Before attacking Ellis, firstly, I have to do something about this fellow.)

Kamito nimbly stepped in and let loose a slash. The flash of the silver sword shallowly cut Rakka’s arm.

As it was an attack from an elemental waffe, blood did not flow out –but pain should be felt in the same way.

“This guy…!”

Rakka’s face was dyed in anger. She aimed at the top of Kamito’s head and swung her Rock Breaker down.


There was a thunderous roar. The ground was gouged and rubbles were whirled up. It was probably a spirit of the earth attribute. As expected, its destructive power is great but its movement was a large swing, making it easy to avoid.

“Chii, how restless!”

She too seemed to have yet to master her elemental waffe. Or perhaps, her contracted spirit’s rank in contrast to her competency was too great – The spirit she was supposed to be using was manipulating her.

“Don’t run, fight properly, male spirit contractor!”

“This doesn’t mean that I’m just running away. In a group battle, you should pay more attention to your surroundings.”

“What?”

“A capable hunter is taking aim.”

At that moment, an ice arrow came flying and pierced the girl’s chest.

Rakka was flashily blown off and bounced on the ground.

The elemental waffe, 'Rock Breaker', turned into particles of light and vanished.

“Fuu, nice shot!”

Kamito turned behind where the voice came from.

On the outer wall of the theater, there was the appearance of Rinslet brushing her hair.

“… Why are you, the support position, standing at such a conspicuous place?!”

“Ah, it’s natural for me to be at a more conspicuous place than Claire!”


“Th…That stupid dog…! You were moving around and sniping, right!”

Claire shouted like she was gnawing.

“Fuu, as a worthy lady of the noble Laurenfrost family, I won’t be satisfied if I’m not at most conspicuous place at a dance party.”

“That’s milady!”

Carol was delightfully swinging a flag from above ground.

“Hmm, you’re pretty composed, Raven Class!”

—At that moment, at the back a strong squall was winding up.

Spreading its wings, the magic wind spirit roared and flew with its aim at Rinslet.

“A good target! Freezing ice fang, pierce –'Freezing Arrow'!”

Rinslet quickly released the Freezing Arrow—

The magic wind spirit immediately transformed to the countless blades of wind and rushed at Rinslet.

“Kyaa!”

“Rinslet!?”

In front of Claire, who planned to rush over, the braided hair knight blocked her way.

She quickly entered into the range of the whip in the gap that Claire lost her focus and slashed with her ice sword. The moment she got into the range, a sword was overwhelming advantageous. Claire was gradually pressured.


“Why you! How dare you do this to Rakka!”

“Kuu –Kamito, chase Ellis!”

“Ahh!”

Claire was in a predicament but Ellis ought to be stopped now.

Ellis was running on the stairs of the theater. Her intention was to completely take out Rinslet.

Kamito aimed at Ellis’s legs and threw the short sword. He concluded that it was dangerous to ignore her – Ellis jumped to the side and got into the audience seating.

In the vicinity, a high-pitched sound reverberated. The elemental waffe short sword hit the wall and got smashed up.

“Hmm, that’s a pretty fragile elemental waffe.”

While Ellis said that, she called the magic wind spirit to her hand.

And then—

“—Evil winds, pierce through my sworn enemy’s heart, become a magic spear and lodge within my hand!”

The moment she recited the releasing in the spirit language – winds blew violently and in her hand a very long spear appeared.

It was a ceremonial long spear and delicate patterns were engraved on its handle.

Its tip, illuminated by the red moonlight, was clad in sharp winds and was faintly making wind sounds.

Her pony-tail hair, which reached her waist, was agitatedly swaying and flowing in the wind.

Ellis completely spun the spear in one hand and stared at Kamito with a cold expression.


“This is my elemental waffe –'Ray Hawk'.”

Kamito –

“…Beautiful.”

Without a thought, let out such a voice.

“Hah, you too understand –the beauty of this 'Ray Hawk'.”

Displaying her truly prided spear, Ellis loosened her cheeks, slightly delighted.

“Idiot, I mean you! Don’t make me say that, it’s embarrassing.”

“Wha..Me..!?”

Ellis turned bright red and became flustered.

“Hey, y…you’re mocking me, right? Kazehaya Kamito!”

“No, I’m just normally fascinated.”

“F…fascinate… Ah…..”

Ellis’s face increasingly redden… as if purging evil thoughts, she shook her head.

“Ehh…Such a practical joke… As I thought, you are mocking me!”

“No, you really are beautiful –Owaa!”

Being enraged, Ellis thrust her spear with her face bright red.

As a result of losing her composure, it was easy to dodge.


However, when the magic spear tip grazed the side of his abdomen, at that moment –

The blades of winds were released and cut his whole body.

(Guu…!?)

In response to the sharp pain, Kamito clicked his tongue in his mind.

(—That elemental waffe can create the blades of wind, huh!)

While bearing the pain attacking his whole body, Kamito jumped away to the back in one go.

That magic spear could create the blades of wind, so there also was no point evading with a paper-thin difference.

However, Ellis jumped again and released a stream of attacks like a tempest.

“Are you trying to escape… you insolent guy! I’ll turn you into tiramisu!”

“What? Is candy-making also your forte? You cute sullen young lady.”

“I…I am currently practicing making candies. For the sake of the gentleman that I’ll marry in the future –Eh… What did you make me say! And who’s the sullen young lady!”

Ellis pierced the theater wall with all her might in one blow and fragments of rubble flew around.

(…This person, she’s seriously strong!)

As expected of someone, who served as the Knights leader in this academy that gathered spirit contractors.

It was a beautiful blade dance like modeling after Kagura, which spirits enjoyed themselves in.

The wound in his left hand ached.


He understood that his senses were gradually getting sharper.

The serious blade dance was causing his blood to boil.

His body was recalling the sensations from three years ago.

(However, it wasn’t something like this.)

It was irritating that his legs did not move as he wanted. His instinctive ability to read his opponent’s movements was also falling.

(I –)

“You, don’t run!”

Releasing a sharp thirst for blood and being clad in gales, Ellis came attacking.

It was not a clever thrust. It was a blow with all her might to decide the match.

However, there was a fatal chance born—

“Freezing ice fang, pierce – 'Freezing Arrow '!”

Rinslet, who had recovered and was awaiting for a chance to snipe, released her Freezing Arrow without delay.

Simultaneously—

“Dance, crimson flame that invites ruins – 'Hell Blaze '!”

After Claire settled Reishia, she released her flame attribute elemental waffe.

“…!?”

Ellis opened both her eyes in surprise.


The timing was perfect. The released ice fang and infernal flame went straight at their target—

Pariiiin!

They collided with each other in the air.

“…Wha!?”

Kamito’s face twitched.

Ellis, in front of him, was also standing still, dumbfounded.

“Hey, Rinslet! Why did you get in my way!”

“W…what? You’re the one who should please not get in my way.”

At that moment, the two of them began to quarrel.

“T…those two…”

Kamito forgot that he was in the midst of the duel and deeply sighed.

(…They have the ability, yet their teamwork is really all over the place.)

“—How foolish, to fall out among yourselves!”

Ellis Fahrengart raised her elemental waffe spear once again.

Thunderously, a strong wind, unseen before, was winding up.

“T..To make a mockery of me by saying that I’m beautiful, I’ll make you regret –“

There was already nowhere to run to. Kamito resigned his fate, at that time –


“Wait, Ellis! Something is strange…”

“What? Now then you’re begging for your life.”

Stopping mid-way – Ellis shut her mouth.

It seemed she noticed it too.

“What, this presence is …?”

The atmosphere of the vicinity was heavy. That sensation, like one’s back turning chilly, was –

“What?”

“What is this?”

Claire and the others seemed to have noticed it too. They looked up at the hazy night sky and really tilted their heads in doubt.

Suddenly, a thunder-like sound roared.

And then –from a tear in the sky, that appeared.

===Part 3===

That was – a giant jaw, floating in the sky.

It had neither head nor body nor a tail. It was an eerie jaw with just rows of teeth lined up making a chattering sound.


“That’s, …don’t tell me, … a magic spirit!?”

The sudden appearance of that spirit made Kamito groan and terrified him.

A magic spirit – that was something with a spiritual make-up that greatly differed from humans, thus, that was a grotesque spirit that can never be tamed by spirit contractors.

“A magic spirit, why is it at such a place…?”

At that moment.

Vo…Ruoooooooon—

The magic spirit’s rising ear-splitting roar caused the girls to cower.

There was a tremendous sense of intimidation. That divine power felt on his skin was comparable to a magic human-class spirit.

Moreover—

(It’s… in frenzy?)

Kamito dropped his voice and carefully observed the magic spirit in sky.

A magic spirit was certainly a grotesque being but it was unlikely that it would be in a frenzy without even a reason.

(…What’s going on?)

Groaning within his mind – Kamito recalled.

That reminded him, before the duel – the water spirit of the spirit device in Claire’s room had went out of control.

It was a phenomenon that was normally unimaginable but if the water spirit was in a frenzy at that time, it was natural that Claire also could not control it. …Was that phenomenon something related?

Besides—

(Claire said that powerful spirits don’t appear frequently in this area.)

For the appearance of that magic spirit to be by chance, it was too unnatural.

(What the heck –)

The jaw floating in the sky mowed down many trees of the forest, and bit and crushed the ancient historic ruins to tiny pieces. The smashed-up rock fragments rained down from high in the sky.

“Claire Rouge, for now, we’ll stop the duel. Is that alright?”

“…I understand.”

Claire obediently nodded at Ellis’s words.

Everyone in this place understood the danger from that magic spirit.

It did not mean that that was summoned in a purified form like contracted spirits.

If bitten by those teeth, the human body and so forth were mere scraps of paper.

“We’re taking refuge. I’ll take the rear, you all carry the fainted two.”

Ellis prepared the Ray Hawk and gallantly got down to the center of the historic ruins.

“No, I’ll take the rear. That is not something an ordinary spirit contractor can do one way or another.”

The way of fighting spirits and fighting human spirit contractors were completely different. Of course, this didn't mean that the girls didn't learn how to fight spirits but – it was an opponent too dangerous for Ellis to fight alone.

“Stop the jokes. What can you, who can’t even fully use his contracted spirit, do?”

“That’s…”

Kamito firmly groaned. Certainly, it was not an opponent he could fight with that unreliable elemental waffe.

“There’s no time to talk. Leave this to Ellis, let’s hurry!”

Rinslet whistled and Fenrir, in a white wolf appearance, came giving both fainted Reishia and Rakka a lift. Carol also came running.

“Claire, what are you doing daydreaming!”

Rinslet pulled Claire’s sleeves.

—Claire was looking downwards like she was thinking about something and she suddenly raised her head.

“Ellis, I’ll take the rear.”

“What?”

Ellis opened her eyes. Claire whipped her leather whip and called out her contracted spirit, the hell cat.

“…”

Claire’s red pupils became nailed onto the figure of the magic spirit, raging like a storm.

…It was like she was completely entranced.


In response to Claire's appearance –Kamito realized and was taken aback.

(This fellow, don’t tell me—)

Claire was obsessed with obtaining a powerful spirit.

For the sake of knowing the truth concerning her sister, Rubia Elstein, she needed power.

Therefore, she still reached out to the dangerous sealed spirit.

“You, don’t tell me – you plan to make that your contracted spirit!?”

“…”

Claire did not answer. She just motionlessly gazed at the magic spirit in the sky –

“That’s crazy! That’s a magic spirit, furthermore it’s in a frenzy!”

Kamito shouted, Claire swung her twin-tails and finally turned around.

“…It’s a once in a lifetime chance.”

She bit her lips and muttered with an expression like she had thought hard over it.

“There’s firstly no such thing as encountering a spirit of that level in the 'Spirit Forest'. Besides, it is not like there weren’t any spirit contractors who contracted magic spirits.”

“You mean Greyworth? She’s a witch.”

“I too may have the qualities of a witch.”

“Stop doing something stupid, you’ll die.”


Kamito grabbed Claire’s arm, who was planning to dash anytime.

Claire sternly glared at Kamito.

“Don’t get in my way. My reasons to want a strong spirit, I’ve said it, right?”

“Ahh, I understand. But that’s no good. Your skills can’t manage it.”

“…Shut up, let go! You weakling, be silent!”

Claire shook Kamito’s arm and shouted.

Within her ruby pupils, glaring at Kamito, genuine hatred surfaced.

“Despite snatching my sealed spirit! You can only use a weak elemental waffe, what qualifications do you have to say something?”

“That’s—“

Kamito looked downwards. It was natural for Claire to be irritated. While he contracted with such a powerful spirit, he couldn't pull out that power completely.

“What? … I was expecting a little something.”

Claire awkwardly averted her eyes.

“I'll handle that alone. You all please escape.”

“Claire Rouge, you –“

“Ellis, try to protect everyone. I don’t want to think about it but if I –“


Claire did not speak after that.

And then—

“—Scarlet!”

She called her partner, flame spirit’s name and ran towards the magic spirit, devouring the forest.

“Claire!”

Kamito held out his hand in a fluster.

At that moment, the magic spirit roared.

A lump of shock struck. The trees in its vicinity were thoroughly blown off.

“Winds, grant us the hand of divine protection – 'Wind Wall'!”

Right away, Ellis recited the spirit magic and protected everyone at the back.

(Damn, Claire—)

While defending against the pebbles that were blown off, Kamito followed Claire with his eyes.

Claire was – dancing in the air.

She got on the winds like sparks dancing in the air.

In her hand was her flame spirit released into its elemental waffe –'Flame Tongue', which she was grasping.

The blazing crimson killing flash cut off the evening darkness.

Claire landed onto the ground and while running through the gaps of the tree grove, she drew closer to the magic spirit.


The magic spirit opened its giant jaws and made chattering sounds with its lined-up rows of teeth.

(…It’s no good, this is too reckless!)

The girl, Claire Rouge, that Kamito knew was an excellent spirit contractor, possessing calm judgment and an insight for tactics at least in a battle.

However, she had lost sight of herself now.

Her feelings for her sister, Rubia Elstein, caused her to lose her calm judgment.

Her anger towards her sister, who betrayed her. Yet, her overwhelming love – caused a great number of conflicts to be mixed and that changed into a craving for great power.

“How tenacious! Become mine!”
[[File:STnBD V01 183.jpg|thumb]]

The flame whip dance splendidly. Her red twin-tails danced in the dark night.

That was –spirit contractor, Claire Rouge’s blade dance.

“…”

Beautiful— he thought.

Despite being at such a time, Kamito, for a moment, was fascinated by that appearance and forgot everything.

…It was same as that time.

That time when she was fighting that rampaging sword spirit alone.

Kamito calmly clenched his fist and turned behind. And then—



“Ellis, Rinslet, I’ll entrust the rest to you.”

“Wha… are you an idiot!?” ”Are you an idiot!?”

Both of them shouted at the same time. His ears shrilled.

“…Ah, I’m an idiot. Truly an idiot.”

If Greyworth was here, she would have had relentlessly poured abusive words.

To take back the precious thing he lost, he had lived with lifeless eyes for these three years.

Yet, he was recklessly giving his life away for such a thing.

However—

“I am her contracted spirit.”

Therefore—

“That’s, hm, I have to help her, that returning hell cat girl.”

“Wait, Kazehaya Kamito!”

Kamito shook off Ellis’s hand that planned to stop him and began running.

The crimson flame was dancing with the magic spirit in a blade dance.

It was no good for that noble flame to be extinguished. –He did not want her to die.

After all, she was –a normal girl.

Full of ego, hot-tempered.


Putting on a strong front, easily lonely…. truly kind.

Liking canned foods and romance stories—

Merely a princess found anywhere.

Oooooo…oon—

The magic spirit roared.

It released a shock wave like blowing away the forest and Claire was thrown onto the ground.

“—Claire!”

===Part 4===

“…Ah…Aah, Ah…”

Claire, thrown onto the ground, cowered.

The grotesque magic spirit made a creaky sound with its giant jaw.

It seemed – like it was laughing.

She planned to escape but her legs were shivering and did not move.

It was frightening. While she was fighting, her sensations paralyzed. However, presently—

“Y…you are not scary, therefore, become my manservant!”


The magic spirit, floating in the air, had no reason to even respond to that jeer but –it loudly laughed.

Claire’s body trembled and spontaneously, she closed her eyes. The roots of the teeth did not bite at the same time. Towards an unfamiliar thing, instinctive fear bound her body.

—At that moment. The Flame Tongue in Claire’s hand suddenly vanished.

It was not that she canceled the release of her elemental waffe. Scarlet opposed Claire’s will and voluntary returned to the form of a hell cat.

“Scarlet!? Why…?”

Claire muttered in a blurry voice.

Was she finally even abandoned by her contracted spirit—

However, the hell cat, clad in flames softly growl and kicked the ground and flew up.

“…!”

At that moment, Claire finally understood. Scarlet –

“Noo—Scarlet!”

Claire’s scream resounded.

Scarlet did not stop. It pared its ferocious fangs and rushed at the magic spirit.

It was a red hot flame that even melted steel. However, it was not effective against the magic spirit.

In an instant, the magic spirit’s teeth mercilessly bit and crushed Scarlet’s body.


It screamed of agony. The flame spirit, which was bit and crushed, vanished in the sky like a whirlpool winding.

“…Ah…Scar…let…”

Claire, as if all her body strength left her, sank down to the floor there.

Following reason, she knew that she should be escaping.

It was a last chance Scarlet made for her.

Despite that, her legs were trembling bit by bit. She could not even stand.

The extreme deep despair paralyzed Claire’s whole body.

(Because of me, Scarlet—)

In the blank eyes, where the flame vanished, tears overflowed.

(…I’m an idiot. Kamito stopped me and yet.)

(—despite being unable to win, I plunged in alone.)

She was unsightly defeated.

Her contracted spirit, which was precious like a family, was also lost.

While the magic spirit was making the chattering sound, it slowly descended.

Those sinister teeth that just ate and tore up Scarlet –

“No…”

Tears flowed along her cheeks. A stiff voice came out from deep in her throat.


“Save me… Save me—Nee-sama<ref group="1"> Older sister </ref>!”

She closed her eyes in despair, and at that time.

“Claire!”

She heard his voice.

===Part 5===

“Oooooooooooo!”

While making his war cry, Kamito rushed towards the magic spirit.

The spirit seal, engraved on his right hand, emitted a bluish-white glow.

— The cool-headed steel queen, the sacred sword that destroys evil!

— Now form a sword of steel and be the power in my hand!

While running with mud splashing, he recited the summoning.

At his palm, particles of light were born and transformed into the form of a sword—

However, it was not good like this. Against the magic spirit that brought down Scarlet’s level of spirit in one blow, that short sword cannot be effective.

(—I beg you, lend me your power, stubborn spirit!)


(—I know it, your power is just like that!)

The wound on his left hand sharply ached.

Again, the opened path with the contracted spirit was closed—

However, without minding it, Kamito continued to pour divine power into the spirit seal on his right hand.

It was an intense overload. Pain like burning was running throughout his arm’s nerves.

(—Sorry, Restia. What I need now isn’t you.)

Yes – what he needed was not the past.

It was the power to protect her here and now.

From the spirit seal on his left hand, violent flashes of lightning surged.

That sensation from three years ago was resurrected.

Everytime he kicked the ground to speed up, his whole body’s sensation sharpened.

Just that magic spirit’s movement was seen as slow motion.

(Recall it, that feeling—)

The sensation of the blade dance – where he danced together with his partner, dark spirit.

(I am –)

Kamito kicked the ground and jumped high up.

(I am the strongest blade dancer – Ren Ashbell!)


At that moment, a conspicuous dazzling flash was born in his palm.

From the spirit seal on his right hand, a huge amount of divine power came surging out.

The path to that sealed sword spirit was connected!

At the next moment, in Kamito’s hand; he was grasping a sword that people wielded.

It was too gigantic for people to wield – the Demon Slayer.

And then—

“—Begone, jaw rascal.”

The swing of the lump of the steel pulverized the magic spirit jaw into many pieces.

===Part 6===

The rain that began falling soaked Claire’s back.

Her red twin-tails withered and closely clung onto her bare skin.

“Claire…”

Kamito called out to her back, who was cowering on the ground.

“Hmm… it’s good that you’re safe.”

“It’s…not good…”


Claire muttered in a shivering voice.

“My… My Scarlet…”

She turned around and from her red pupils, a drop of tear came out.

“You—“

“You’re late… Idiot! Despite being my contracted spirit.”

“Ahh. My bad…”

Kamito awkwardly looked away.

“Why?”

“Eh?”

“You have such great power and yet, at the beginning, why –“

Claire firmly grabbed Kamito’s uniform collar—

“…”

She weakly removed her hand.

“…No. It’s because I’m weak.”

She let out such a defeated voice.

“It’s because I’m weak, that I couldn’t protect Scarlet. It’s because I’m weak—“

—She could not stop her sister.


“If I had more, more power, such…”

While being struck by rain, Claire repeated that with a blank expression.

“Oi, get yourself together!”

Kamito grabbed Claire’s shoulder –

(…Eh?)

His body slanted.

His field of vision was dark. …His consciousness suddenly went far away.

It seemed that the strike of the previous elemental waffe had thoroughly exhausted his divine power.

(Damn, what a bad fuel consuming… spirit…)

While cursing in his mind, Kamito lost consciousness.

==Translator's notes and references==

<references group="1" />

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter5|Chapter5]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter7|Chapter 7]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter5

2012-04-16T16:09:40Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 5: Claire's Feelings==

===Part 1===
(…Sigh, I have totally gotten myself into something troublesome.)

While walking on the stone pavement of the academy, Kamito sighed a number of times today. In front of his eyes was the culprit with her red twin-tailed hair swaying about.

As before he had an empty stomach, he had lost his house and to make matters worse that was the outcome from a duel by fellow spirit contractors.

…No matter what the circumstances, this is beyond misfortune. It has to be none other than the Dusk Witch’s curse.

“Unh, are you grumbling? How unmanly!”

Claire turned around and snapped her fingers.

“My house.”

“U…”

Kamito groaned with his eyes half-opened. Claire averted her eyes to look far away.

“Pyromaniac. Criminal.”

“…I… I get it! I also feel a little bad!”

She blushed and pouted her lips. It seemed she was at least aware of her crime.

As it was the right moment, Kamito blatantly sighed.

“Oh boy, the homeless me will have to sleep out in the 'Spirit Forest'.”

“……”

“Sleeping at night in the Spirit Forest is seriously a suicidal act. But it can’t be helped, after all, my house has been completely burnt down.”

Kamito dropped his shoulders unnaturally for Claire to see.

Claire gnawed her lips. And then, she tip-toed -

And stared into Kamito’s eyes, motionlessly.

Her face was near. Kamito was involuntarily startled as his nostrils were lightly tickled by the scent of a girl.

“…Okay then. I…I’ll compensate you, properly!”

“Compensate?”

Kamito’s face somehow twitched to a bad premonition.

===Part 2===

— Kamito was brought to the front of the female dormitory of the Raven class.

Although it was called a dormitory, it was not a normal building. It was an elegant mansion akin to the residences of upper aristocrats.

“…Eh, what’s this?”

“For a while, I’ll allow you freeload in my room. Please be grateful.”

“Huh?”

…What did she suddenly propose, this ojou-sama.

“After all, if I left you outside, Rinslet would come meddling. And because you are my slave spirit, it is natural for me, the spirit contractor, to take care of you.”

Claire informed him, bending her empty chest.

“No, that’s not it… you are still a girl of age and I may do something, did you not consider that?”

“D…Do you plan to do something to me?”

Claire glared. Kamito shook his head horizontally.

“Scarlet will stand watch. If you try to do something…cinders.”

“Isn't it a violation of the dormitory rules? A guy like me, entering the female dormitory.”

“It’s alright, because you will be treated as my contracted spirit. The same as Scarlet.”

“That is completely not alright.”

Kamito retorted with his half-opened eyes, Claire was fidgeting with her hair irritated and snapped her fingers.

“Ahh, come on, do you want to stay? Or do you want to turn into cinders? Which?”

“… Why are there only those two choices?”


Kamito dropped his shoulders and sighed in resignation.

Claire’s room was on the second floor of the aristocrat residence like female dormitory.

“Don’t make too much noise, because the dormitory secretary is super scary.”

“A…aah…pardon my intrusion.”

For Claire, who is ideally pictured as arrogant, to be afraid of the dormitory secretary, his interest piqued a little.

While thinking of that, he timidly stepped into the room.

No matter how rough her personality was, Claire was a girl.

In addition, she was an outstandingly, pitifully, beautiful girl; even Kamito could not help but admit that.

As expected, when he entered the room, he grew tense.

“—Flame, illuminate.”

Claire recited the spirit magic and the room was lit up.

Claire’s room was –

“……”

In senseless disorder.

There was a collapsed mountain of a large number of books. Clothes were left crumpled, plush toys and small items and so on, were scattered here and there till there was no place to stand.

It did not look like a room of a pedigree ojou-sama.

“…You should at least do some cleaning.”

“U…usually, Scarlet does the cleaning. Come on, quickly get in.”

Claire kicked Kamito’s back, sending him to the middle of the room.

“Ouch…good grief, you actually use such a powerful fire spirit to clean the room, if the spirit contractors across the world hear about it, they'll all cry you know.”

“Hmm, Scarlet is different from you, she is clever you know. She also burns the trash.”

“Ahh, I see. It is good as long as it’s convenient.”

As soon as they were arguing, a hell cat, cladded in flames, manifested and started to put the room’s trash together and tidy up. … Indeed, there seemed to be a place where the wastepaper was incinerated.

“…Are you fine with just that?”

If that fire spirit of Claire grew, it could match up with even a large dragon type.

…What a sorrowful sight? Was it being made to do things like cleaning the room?

“Thank you, Scarlet. Good girl.”

Suri suri.  Nade nade. 

Meow. Meow.

“Are you a cat!?”

Kamito retorted, without thinking, to the fire spirit fawning happily.

(…That proud spirit is completely tamed…)

Well, if one was gently stroked like that by Claire, whose outward appearance at least was that of a beautiful girl, it was understandable to be completely attached.

For now, since there was no place to stand, Kamito too helped with the cleaning.

A long time ago, because of Greyworth working him hard, housework became his forte.

He started carrying the books that were in a huge pile at his feet to put aside at a corner of the room.

Then, he caught sight of the titles written on the books’ front cover.

'The Count And The Naughty Princess', 'Tease Me More, Master!', 'The Princess Abducted By Pirates'… Indeed these are what teenage girls like. There were ten-odd such romance novels, which were intended for teenagers.

“Hmm, so, you like this kind of stuff. That was a little unexpected.”

“…Id… Don’t look!”

Bofun.

The pillow, Claire threw, landed a direct hit on Kamito’s face, and he toppled over and was squashed by the books.

“If you don’t want anyone to look, you should have tidied up. It’s no big deal, I feel, even to like such novels.”

“S…shut up, it…it’s not like I like them! … Err, yea, I borrowed them from a friend, so I have no choice but to read them!”

“Hmm, I see. You borrowed fourteen volumes of novels you do not like.”

“S…shut up!!”

Poka poka poka. 

Claire got partially teary and hit Kamito. It was weak, possibly due to being embarrassed.

Kamito shrugged his shoulders and placed his hand on the floor to stand up.

And, just then, that hand came in contact with–

(…Hn?)

A cloth that was somewhat nice to touch.

Was it silk? It was soft, silky and very nice to touch.

Unintentionally, he grabbed it. At its edges, white flutters were attached to it.

(—…, white flutters!?)

With his face twitching, he stared at his hand.

Kamito’s hand tightly grasped an undergarment attached with fine laces.

…Surprisingly, it was a rather mature silk panty.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Hn, what are you doing?”

“Owaa!?”

Kamito got flustered and stuffed it into his pocket.

—…, what was he going to do stuffing it in!

(What am I doing! Doesn’t this make me a real pervert?!)

“What? Why are you so shocked?”

Claire frowned and drew her face near with suspicion.

“N…no, it’s nothing!”

Kamito stood up while shaking his head. Was there a topic he could distract her with? He looked around… then he realized.

“…By…by the way, about this room, don’t you have a roommate?”

Even if this was a dormitory of the academy attended by princesses, the room was a little too big for one person to be living in it.

With the room so messed up, wouldn’t the roommate girl get angry?

Speaking of it, was it good to take in a guy without even getting permission from her roommate?

Thereupon, Claire tightly bit her lips and look downwards.

“I don’t. Nobody wants to be in the same room as someone like me.”

“…? Don’t tell me, you do not have a single spirit contractor partner?”

“W…who needs things like partners. As long as I have a strong spirit, I, alone, am more than enough.”

Claire folded her hands and declared so; she looked like pretending to be tough with all her might.

(…Why is it so?)

This person sure had a hard personality but, as a spirit contractor, her ability was top class.

He thought with such ability, she could ignore any team, however.

“But without gathering 5 people, you can’t enter into the 'blade dance'.”

“…I… I’ll manage it somehow. If I have to, I’ll somehow gather up just that number of people.”

Claire averted her line of sight awkwardly.

It seemed like she did not want to touch on this topic.

“Ig…ignoring that, you are hungry, right?”

Claire cleared her throat forcefully.

“Hn, Ah… your long-awaited soup, which you blissfully received, was wrecked.”

It was a certain somebody’s fault, Kamito glared scornfully at Claire.

“Hmm, it can’t be helped. Today, I’ll specially feed –treat you.”

“Did you say feed? Did you say that?”

“It was your imagination. Come on, bring out that table.”

While sighing, Kamito took out the table.

Claire started lining up a large amount of canned food, taken from the shelves.

Canned tuna. Yakitori. Salted cod. Vegetables boiled in soy sauce. Beef stew….etc.

Kamito was dumbfounded and looked down on the pyramid of cans. Canned foods are preserved foods that soldiers carry with them on a long campaign. It was at least not dinner for an ojou-sama attending the academy.

“…W…why is it nothing but canned food? It is definitely bad for the body, you know.”

“What a foolish question, it’s because I like canned food.”

“No, no matter how much you like it, having just canned food is just –“

“What, it’s no problem, after all I like them. If you have complains, then I won’t give them to you.”

Claire embraced the mountain of canned food with a sullen face. That face of hers was subtly red.

With that, he got it.

…Aha. That’s right.

“You can’t cook, right?”

After directly pointing it out, Claire stiffened her back.

“Th…th…th…that’s not it!”

“That reaction revealed it all. Even if the mouth lies, the body is honest.”

“D…don’t speak lewdly, idiot!”

“To misinterpret a very normal speech, I think that you’re the lewd one. You read too much of those novels. Claire is a lewd ojou-sama."

“U..uuuu!”

Tears flowed out faintly from her red eyes, Claire bit down on her molars.

…Damn it. He teased her a little too much.

(…What should I say, I unintentionally ridiculed her.)

The result of going overboard was frightening. Kamito honestly apologized.

“S…sorry… It was my bad. I said a little bit too much.”

“….!”

Claire was groaning. Like a wild animal of the feline family.

“S..such a glare… how about, to make up to you, I’ll make dinner?”

With that, Claire, with her bristled hair, opened her eyes.

“You can cook?”

“Well, it’s pretty much my forte. Do you have seasonings?”

“Such things are at the shared space at the front of the dormitory.”

“Okay, if I arranged things a little, even these canned foods will become something like a cuisine. As for the fire –“

“Scarlet.”

Claire snapped her fingers and Scarlet breathed out a small fire ball.

The fire ball drifted lightly in the air and stayed still on top of Kamito’s hand.

“…This is convenient.”

“I know!”

—And with that, after a few minutes.

In the room, the sound of something being fried resounded.

Spinach, bacon and sliced garlic were fried with butter.

Next to the frying pan, there was pasta just enough for two, boiling in a pot.

“If I recall right, she said she likes it al dente.”

He chewed one piece of pasta to check.

“Hn, this is just right. Claire, where are the cutlery –“

He put down the frying pan and turned around… There was no one in the room.

“…Eh? Where is she?”

He looked around the room restlessly.

The hell cat, lying down near his feet, purred and reached out its forelimb.

Once the fire was extinguished, he looked at the front of its forelimb –

From the other side of the door in the room, faint water sound could be heard.

“Oh, she’s showering.”

The shower installed in the room was a type of spirit device, which used the power of the water spirit.

To be clean in both mind and body at any time was – the ironclad rule of spirit contractors.

Kamito, feeling relieved, ignited the fire once again –

(… Shower!?)

He turned around again.

(W…why… is she so thoughtlessly defenseless at such a vital moment!)

“…”

Kamito swallowed his saliva.

Saaaaaaa –

Once he was aware of it, the water sound, which resounded in the room, strangely sounded bewitching.

Even if she has a child-like chest, she is still a sixteen year old girl.

Furthermore, her face, without flattery, was cute. Extremely cute.

Her chest was quite a shame but… nevertheless, it was there.

Suddenly, the memory of meeting her in the forest this morning revived.

Her beautifully nude body, with red hair clinging to it.

That properly elastic sensation his hand touched.

(Waaa, don’t recall it, me!)

He shook his hand, shaking off his worldly desires.

At that moment.

“Kyaaa!”

He heard a shriek from the bathroom.

Kamito was taken aback and came to his senses.

(… A scream?)

Perhaps she lost control of the water spirit, causing cold water to come out.

(No, a spirit contractor of her level should not fail in controlling the spirit device –)

“Nooooooooo!”

Bam! The bathroom door suddenly opened and Claire dashed out.

“Wha..!?”

Her dripping wet hair disheveled –

She ran nude towards him in a straight line.

“… Hey, what’s with your appearance–“

Then, Kamito’s hair froze.

She was – not nude.

She was nude but she was not exactly nude.

Transparent jelly-like water was twining itself slimily around her smooth, bare body!

“What’s wrong!? What the heck is –“

“…K…Ka…Kamito, he...lp me…!”

In front of his eyes was Claire, who collapsed on the floor and was gasping in agony.

“…No, don’t look… idiot.…Aaaa!”
[[Image:Sample.jpg|…No, don’t look… Idiot, Aaaa! |thumb]]
Biku, bikun!

Claire turned red and her nude body was jumping about like it was convulsing.

(…Sorry. It is impossible to not get excited!)

Kamito got flustered and averted his line of sight. On the ther hand, hearing the heavy breathing, stimulated his imagination.

“Ah… Hyaa… don’t…do… that…”

It seemed that the water spirit of the spirit device went wild. Claire was frantically trying to control it but there was no way she could do it in that condition.

“Hold on, I’ll help you right now!”

Kamito closed his eyes and concentrated.

“Unruly spirit of water, comply with my command and settle down!”

While he murmured softly sprit words of Chinju, his right hand was charged with divine power –

“Claire, grab my hand!”

“No, ahh…h!”

While Claire let out a hot long breath, she somehow reached out her hand.

The moment the tip of their fingers touched.

Paan!

The water spirit, which was running wild, had its form collapsed and immediately returned into water.

Claire stayed collapsed on the flooded floor and with her face flushed; she was breathing roughly.

Her untied red hair clinging onto her skin was strangely erotic.

Kamito turned away in a fluster.

“What’s wrong? With a spirit contractor of your level, how did such –“

“U…urm, when I was using the shower, the water spirit suddenly went crazy… such a thing has never happened before.”

While Claire moaned, she slowly got up.

“Fo…for the time being, why don’t you wipe your body. You will catch a cold after all.”

Kamito, with his face turned away, took out and handed over a handkerchief from his pocket.

“Th…thank you…”

Claire nodded and accepted it—

….

“Hey, Kamito”

“Hn. What is it?”

“What is the meaning of this?”

Claire’s voice trembled.

Moreover, somehow the room’s temperature had rapidly risen.

“Ah”

Kamito finally realized it.

….That was right. What was in his uniform’s pocket was not a handkerchief.

That was something he hid in a fluster a while ago.

That silky panty.

Gogogogogogogogogogogo….!

In Claire’s hand, an earnest flaming ball of spirit magic was born.

“Wa…wait, clam down. You’re mistaken, this is a mistake, if I explain you’ll –“

“Shut up! T…turn into cinders, you pervert –!”

===Part 3===

“Kamito, get me another serving!”

“...You sure can eat. You’ll get fat, you know.”

It was minutes after that event. The table was lined up with numerous of Kamito’s home cooking.

There was tuna potato salad to go with the spinach-and-bacon pasta. Pumpkin potage with gratin from the canned salmon, and for dessert, there was fruit yogurt.

They were made with the canned food, of which a great amount was found on the shelf as ingredients; however, Claire seemed full of praise. The act of her gleaming her eyes and stuffing her cheeks with pasta was somewhat awfully cute.

The fire spirit, in the form of a hell cat, was also devouring the canned tuna beside Claire.

Spirits can maintain their own existence, so they do not need material sustenance. However among the high ranking spirits, there were also some rare ones that like human food. Although, it was only as a luxury.

“No problem, I have a constitution that doesn’t get fat.”

Claire placed pasta on the plate and said that with a nonchalant face. Certainly, using spirits consumed physical strength, so it was true that there were a lot of ladies with a slender figure.

“Hey, don’t eat the dessert early. Despite being an ojous-sama, you have bad manners.”

“Unh, shut up! That’s up to me, right, you panty thief!”

“Guu…..”

Kamito groaned. Once she said that, he could not say anything back.

“You are demoted from slave spirit to panty thief spirit.”

“… What kind of spirit is that?”

Somehow, another new variety of spirit was born.

“You really are the worst. O…of all things, you stole my number one favorite panty!”

“I have been saying it wasn’t on purpose!”

“What? Are you being defiant?

Claire glared.

“…No, sorry.”

Kamito bowed his head in embarrassment. Well, no matter how much he thought about it, it was his own fault this time.

While Claire put the tuna potato salad into her mouth, she caught a glance of him.

“Well, I’ll recognize your cooking skills at least. This is very delicious. If you make meals for me every day, I’ll promote you to cooking spirit.”

“I’m grateful for that. By the way, those are almost like words of proposing.”

Upon pointing that out. Claire’s face turned bright red.

“D…don’t be an idiot! Do you want to turn into cinders? Come on, do you want to turn into cinders?

“I..I get it, so stop pointing the fork at me.”

“Hmm… n...next time you say such idiotic things, I’ll really burn you!”

Claire pouted her lips and turned away.

Kamito sighed in relief while he cut and divided the salmon gratin.

“…If only there was some soy, this would be much better, but...”

“What’s that? Food?”

“It’s a seasoning circulated in my hometown. Well, you can’t get it here though.”

Kamito shrugged his shoulders and said that –

“Hometown, huh….”

Claire murmured with her eyelashes slightly lowered.

Somehow –she had an awfully lonely expression.

After that, for a short while, there was only the sound of cutlery being used.

After eating that satisfying dinner, Claire’s mood also got a little better.

Somehow, there was a calm atmosphere.

Kamito suddenly raised his head and looked at Claire.

– He felt that it could be asked now.

He had wanted to ask her, since meeting her this morning in the forest, but did not have a chance to.

“By the way, you –“

“What?”

Claire placed down her cup of black tea.

“Why do you want such a powerful spirit?”

It was a simple question.

Despite using a spirit such as Scarlet, she still risked harming her body to reach out to a ‘Sealed Spirit’. He wanted to know the reason for that.

“…”

Claire –

Cast her slightly perplexed eyes down and murmured.

“There’s someone I want to meet no matter what.”

“Someone you want to meet…?”

Kamito dropped his sight to his left hand, concealed in his black leather glove.

What he lost three years ago, an irreplaceable, important bond which was there –

(So, she’s the same as me…)

The scar engraved at the back of his hand ached.

Claire sighed and inserted her hand into the neckband of her uniform.

“…Yea, I’ll say it. Something that I can’t help but hide.”

What she took out from her chest was a small pendent with silver chains.

At the very center, a shiny crimson red spirit crystal was inserted in it.

Kamito saw a crest engraved there – and raised his voice in surprise.

“A flame lion… the crest of Elstein duke family!?”


Claire silently nodded.

The Elstein duke family. The grand nobles who had served the royal family for generations ever since the founding of the Ordesia Empire.

One of the five princess maidens, who stood at the top among all spirit contractors, — was noble among nobles of spirit princesses, who served directly under the five great elemental lords, that were turning out in great numbers. 

No – that should have been so.

— Till four years ago, when that incident occurred.

Rubia Elstein.

The one who brought a great unprecedented calamity to the Ordesia Empire – The Calamity Queen.

She too, same as the girl in front of him, had burning-like crimson red hair.

“Don’t tell me, you’re…”

“Yes, I am the Calamity Queen – Rubia Elstein’s - little sister.”

Claire looked straight into Kamito’s eyes and nodded.

“…”

Claire Rouge. He had thought that it was an alias.

But, by no means –

(… I see. What she cast away was the Elstein family name.)

In this large continent, there was no one who did not know about that incident.

Four years ago, the spirit princess, serving under the fire elemental lord, – Rubia Elstein suddenly snatched the strongest flame spirit, 'Laevateinn' from the shrine and disappeared.

After learning of the spirit princess’ treachery, the outraged flame elemental lord got fired up and went into a frenzy.

It burned everything related to Elstein duke’s territory, including the Ordesia Empire’s land, the empire took enormous damage. And that did not put the elemental lord’s anger to peace, about a year after that, no matter what method was used, not a single fire could be lit within the Ordesia Empire.

Nobody knew why the fire spirit princess disappeared.

The Ordesia citizens furiously cursed her and, filled with hatred, called her

—The Calamity Queen.

“I want to meet my sister. When I meet her, I want to hear the truth.”

For that, she had to get strong.

She had to obtain the strongest spirit.

With the reward given to the winner of the blade dance –

For the sake of obtaining the right of granting just one desired 'wish'.

Claire’s expression was filled with a tragic determination.

“Besides—“

Claire slightly looked down and muttered.

“This round’s blade dance has that Ren Ashbell participating.”

“…!? Kehoo, kehoo—“

Once that name came out from Claire’s mouth, Kamito reflexively coughed.

“…? What’s wrong?”

“Aaah, that’s bad…”

Ren Ashbell was the winner of the last blade dance.

She suddenly appeared three years ago, the strongest blade dancer.

That blade dance was splendidly vivid. At the finals, even with Numbers candidates of spirit contractors, she overwhelmed them.

Due to her dedicated blade dance, the flame elemental lord’s rage was finally appeased.

“Three years ago, I saw her blade dance at the assembly hall. I also feel that I want to be like that, a noble, strong spirit contractor.”

Claire blushed and looked down a little embarrassed.

“Ever since that day, I’ve always admired her….”

“…I see.”

Kamito looked at Claire with a complicated expression – calmly grasping his fist tightly.

...After that, it was a strangely quiet time.

They tried to talk about anything a number of times but all of it did not last long.

Claire yawned cutely after eating up the dishes on the table. After filling her stomach, she seemed drowsy. Well, she did use a spirit of Scarlet’s level twice in one day, so it was natural.

“Wake me up when it’s time. If you do something funny, cinders.”

“…Wait. Does that mean I have to stay awake for the whole time?”

Kamito complained, and in front of him, Claire was making sleeping breaths.

She had an astonishing ease of falling asleep.

“…Good grief, you’ll catch a cold!”

Kamito carried Claire’s petite body up like a princess.

He carried her to the bed in the corner of the room.

Scarlet walked and jumped onto the bed.

(…Even so, this fellow’s sleeping face is truly angel-like.)

While looking at the face, making the gentle sleeping noise, Kamito smiled bitterly.

When he put Claire to the bed, her cherry blossom lips faintly moved.

“Sister….Father…Mother…”

(Sleep-talking… huh)

He seemed to have somewhat heard something he should not.

Certainly, after the incident of the Calamity Queen disappearing, Elstein duke family’s territory should have been seized and the duke and his wife imprisoned in the Balsas prison –

“…Hn, Kamito.”

“…!?”

He was shocked when his name was called suddenly.

“Ahh, what are you doing, pervert…idiot.”

“…What kind of dream is she having!?”

Kamito muttered while sighing, as he stared at his hand.

After that day three years ago, he hid his left hand with a leather glove.

(You and I are the same, Claire)

(These three years, I have stayed alive to get back my important person.)

Due to his error, he lost it, his former contracted spirit –

===Part 4===

At the same instant, in every room of the female dormitory Claire lived in, a little incident occurred.

The spirits used in the spirit devices in the kitchen, bathroom and etc. suddenly began to go out of control.

After the spirit investigation party investigated the dormitory, it brought it to an end with meager words that the incident was of an unknown cause –

In the darkness shined by the blue moon – a black-winged angel gently alighted at the academy tower.

It was a black haired girl, dressed in a jet black dress.

The girl landed gently on the roof of the female dormitory and smiled pitifully.

“—I wanted to meet you, Kamito.”

On the girl’s palm, wriggling lumps of darkness were floating.

“But you’re still not the true you.”

She reached her hands to the empty sky and the darkness colored orbs drifted and disappeared in the night sky.

“That’s why, I’ll offer up my memories.”

The girl chuckled.

Like a cruel little girl.

Like a pure demon.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter5

2012-04-15T21:56:38Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 5: Claire's Feelings==

===Part 1===
(…Sigh, I have totally gotten myself into something troublesome.)

While walking on the stone pavement of the academy, Kamito sighed a number of times today. In front of his eyes was the culprit with her red twin-tailed hair swaying about.

As before he had an empty stomach, he had lost his house and to make matters worse that was the outcome from a duel by fellow spirit contractors.

…No matter what the circumstances, this is beyond misfortune. It has to be none other than the Dusk Witch’s curse.

“Unh, are you grumbling? How unmanly!”

Claire turned around and snapped her fingers.

“My house.”

“U…”

Kamito groaned with his eyes half-opened. Claire averted her eyes to look far away.

“Pyromaniac. Criminal.”

“…I… I get it! I also feel a little bad!”

She blushed and pouted her lips. It seemed she was at least aware of her crime.

As it was the right moment, Kamito blatantly sighed.

“Oh boy, the homeless me will have to sleep out in the 'Spirit Forest'.”

“……”

“Sleeping at night in the Spirit Forest is seriously a suicidal act. But it can’t be helped, after all, my house has been completely burnt down.”

Kamito dropped his shoulders unnaturally for Claire to see.

Claire gnawed her lips. And then, she tip-toed -

And stared into Kamito’s eyes, motionlessly.

Her face was near. Kamito was involuntarily startled as his nostrils were lightly tickled by the scent of a girl.

“…Okay then. I…I’ll compensate you, properly!”

“Compensate?”

Kamito’s face somehow twitched to a bad premonition.

===Part 2===

— Kamito was brought to the front of the female dormitory of the Raven class.

Although it was called a dormitory, it was not a normal building. It was an elegant mansion akin to the residences of upper aristocrats.

“…Eh, what’s this?”

“For a while, I’ll allow you freeload in my room. Please be grateful.”

“Huh?”

…What did she suddenly propose, this ojou-sama.

“After all, if I left you outside, Rinslet would come meddling. And because you are my slave spirit, it is natural for me, the spirit contractor, to take care of you.”

Claire informed him, bending her empty chest.

“No, that’s not it… you are still a girl of age and I may do something, did you not consider that?”

“D…Do you plan to do something to me?”

Claire glared. Kamito shook his head horizontally.

“Scarlet will stand watch. If you try to do something…cinders.”

“Isn't it a violation of the dormitory rules? A guy like me, entering the female dormitory.”

“It’s alright, because you will be treated as my contracted spirit. The same as Scarlet.”

“That is completely not alright.”

Kamito retorted with his half-opened eyes, Claire was fidgeting with her hair irritated and snapped her fingers.

“Ahh, come on, do you want to stay? Or do you want to turn into cinders? Which?”

“… Why are there only those two choices?”


Kamito dropped his shoulders and sighed in resignation.

Claire’s room was on the second floor of the aristocrat residence like female dormitory.

“Don’t make too much noise, because the dormitory secretary is super scary.”

“A…aah…pardon my intrusion.”

For Claire, who is ideally pictured as arrogant, to be afraid of the dormitory secretary, his interest piqued a little.

While thinking of that, he timidly stepped into the room.

No matter how rough her personality was, Claire was a girl.

In addition, she was an outstandingly, pitifully, beautiful girl; even Kamito could not help but admit that.

As expected, when he entered the room, he grew tense.

“—Flame, illuminate.”

Claire recited the spirit magic and the room was lit up.

Claire’s room was –

“……”

In senseless disorder.

There was a collapsed mountain of a large number of books. Clothes were left crumpled, plush toys and small items and so on, were scattered here and there till there was no place to stand.

It did not look like a room of a pedigree ojou-sama.

“…You should at least do some cleaning.”

“U…usually, Scarlet does the cleaning. Come on, quickly get in.”

Claire kicked Kamito’s back, sending him to the middle of the room.

“Ouch…good grief, you actually use such a powerful fire spirit to clean the room, if the spirit contractors across the world hear about it, they'll all cry you know.”

“Hmm, Scarlet is different from you, she is clever you know. She also burns the trash.”

“Ahh, I see. It is good as long as it’s convenient.”

As soon as they were arguing, a hell cat, cladded in flames, manifested and started to put the room’s trash together and tidy up. … Indeed, there seemed to be a place where the wastepaper was incinerated.

“…Are you fine with just that?”

If that fire spirit of Claire grew, it could match up with even a large dragon type.

…What a sorrowful sight? Was it being made to do things like cleaning the room?

“Thank you, Scarlet. Good girl.”

Suri suri.  Nade nade. 

Meow. Meow.

“Are you a cat!?”

Kamito retorted, without thinking, to the fire spirit fawning happily.

(…That proud spirit is completely tamed…)

Well, if one was gently stroked like that by Claire, whose outward appearance at least was that of a beautiful girl, it was understandable to be completely attached.

For now, since there was no place to stand, Kamito too helped with the cleaning.

A long time ago, because of Greyworth working him hard, housework became his forte.

He started carrying the books that were in a huge pile at his feet to put aside at a corner of the room.

Then, he caught sight of the titles written on the books’ front cover.

'The Count And The Naughty Princess', 'Tease Me More, Master!', 'The Princess Abducted By Pirates'… Indeed these are what teenage girls like. There were ten-odd such romance novels, which were intended for teenagers.

“Hmm, so, you like this kind of stuff. That was a little unexpected.”

“…Id… Don’t look!”

Bofun.

The pillow, Claire threw, landed a direct hit on Kamito’s face, and he toppled over and was squashed by the books.

“If you don’t want anyone to look, you should have tidied up. It’s no big deal, I feel, even to like such novels.”

“S…shut up, it…it’s not like I like them! … Err, yea, I borrowed them from a friend, so I have no choice but to read them!”

“Hmm, I see. You borrowed fourteen volumes of novels you do not like.”

“S…shut up!!”

Poka poka poka. 

Claire got partially teary and hit Kamito. It was weak, possibly due to being embarrassed.

Kamito shrugged his shoulders and placed his hand on the floor to stand up.

And, just then, that hand came in contact with–

(…Hn?)

A cloth that was somewhat nice to touch.

Was it silk? It was soft, silky and very nice to touch.

Unintentionally, he grabbed it. At its edges, white flutters were attached to it.

(—…, white flutters!?)

With his face twitching, he stared at his hand.

Kamito’s hand tightly grasped an undergarment attached with fine laces.

…Surprisingly, it was a rather mature silk panty.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Hn, what are you doing?”

“Owaa!?”

Kamito got flustered and stuffed it into his pocket.

—…, what was he going to do stuffing it in!

(What am I doing! Doesn’t this make me a real pervert?!)

“What? Why are you so shocked?”

Claire frowned and drew her face near with suspicion.

“N…no, it’s nothing!”

Kamito stood up while shaking his head. Was there a topic he could distract her with? He looked around… then he realized.

“…By…by the way, about this room, don’t you have a roommate?”

Even if this was a dormitory of the academy attended by princesses, the room was a little too big for one person to be living in it.

With the room so messed up, wouldn’t the roommate girl get angry?

Speaking of it, was it good to take in a guy without even getting permission from her roommate?

Thereupon, Claire tightly bit her lips and look downwards.

“I don’t. Nobody wants to be in the same room as someone like me.”

“…? Don’t tell me, you do not have a single spirit contractor partner?”

“W…who needs things like partners. As long as I have a strong spirit, I, alone, am more than enough.”

Claire folded her hands and declared so; she looked like pretending to be tough with all her might.

(…Why is it so?)

This person sure had a hard personality but, as a spirit contractor, her ability was top class.

He thought with such ability, she could ignore any team, however.

“But without gathering 5 people, you can’t enter into the 'blade dance'.”

“…I… I’ll manage it somehow. If I have to, I’ll somehow gather up just that number of people.”

Claire averted her line of sight awkwardly.

It seemed like she did not want to touch on this topic.

“Ig…ignoring that, you are hungry, right?”

Claire cleared her throat forcefully.

“Hn, Ah… your long-awaited soup, which you blissfully received, was wrecked.”

It was a certain somebody’s fault, Kamito glared scornfully at Claire.

“Hmm, it can’t be helped. Today, I’ll specially feed –treat you.”

“Did you say feed? Did you say that?”

“It was your imagination. Come on, bring out that table.”

While sighing, Kamito took out the table.

Claire started lining up a large amount of canned food, taken from the shelves.

Canned tuna. Yakitori. Salted cod. Vegetables boiled in soy sauce. Beef stew….etc.

Kamito was dumbfounded and looked down on the pyramid of cans. Canned foods are preserved foods that soldiers carry with them on a long campaign. It was at least not dinner for an ojou-sama attending the academy.

“…W…why is it nothing but canned food? It is definitely bad for the body, you know.”

“What a foolish question, it’s because I like canned food.”

“No, no matter how much you like it, having just canned food is just –“

“What, it’s no problem, after all I like them. If you have complains, then I won’t give them to you.”

Claire embraced the mountain of canned food with a sullen face. That face of hers was subtly red.

With that, he got it.

…Aha. That’s right.

“You can’t cook, right?”

After directly pointing it out, Claire stiffened her back.

“Th…th…th…that’s not it!”

“That reaction revealed it all. Even if the mouth lies, the body is honest.”

“D…don’t speak lewdly, idiot!”

“To misinterpret a very normal speech, I think that you’re the lewd one. You read too much of those novels. Claire is a lewd ojou-sama."

“U..uuuu!”

Tears flowed out faintly from her red eyes, Claire bit down on her molars.

…Damn it. He teased her a little too much.

(…What should I say, I unintentionally ridiculed her.)

The result of going overboard was frightening. Kamito honestly apologized.

“S…sorry… It was my bad. I said a little bit too much.”

“….!”

Claire was groaning. Like a wild animal of the feline family.

“S..such a glare… how about, to make up to you, I’ll make dinner?”

With that, Claire, with her bristled hair, opened her eyes.

“You can cook?”

“Well, it’s pretty much my forte. Do you have seasonings?”

“Such things are at the shared space at the front of the dormitory.”

“Okay, if I arranged things a little, even these canned foods will become something like a cuisine. As for the fire –“

“Scarlet.”

Claire snapped her fingers and Scarlet breathed out a small fire ball.

The fire ball drifted lightly in the air and stayed still on top of Kamito’s hand.

“…This is convenient.”

“I know!”

—And with that, after a few minutes.

In the room, the sound of something being fried resounded.

Spinach, bacon and sliced garlic were fried with butter.

Next to the frying pan, there was pasta just enough for two, boiling in a pot.

“If I recall right, she said she likes it al dente.”

He chewed one piece of pasta to check.

“Hn, this is just right. Claire, where are the cutlery –“

He put down the frying pan and turned around… There was no one in the room.

“…Eh? Where is she?”

He looked around the room restlessly.

The hell cat, lying down near his feet, purred and reached out its forelimb.

Once the fire was extinguished, he looked at the front of its forelimb –

From the other side of the door in the room, faint water sound could be heard.

“Oh, she’s showering.”

The shower installed in the room was a type of spirit device, which used the power of the water spirit.

To be clean in both mind and body at any time was – the ironclad rule of spirit contractors.

Kamito, feeling relieved, ignited the fire once again –

(… Shower!?)

He turned around again.

(W…why… is she so thoughtlessly defenseless at such a vital moment!)

“…”

Kamito swallowed his saliva.

Saaaaaaa –

Once he was aware of it, the water sound, which resounded in the room, strangely sounded bewitching.

Even if she has a child-like chest, she is still a sixteen year old girl.

Furthermore, her face, without flattery, was cute. Extremely cute.

Her chest was quite a shame but… nevertheless, it was there.

Suddenly, the memory of meeting her in the forest this morning revived.

Her beautifully nude body, with red hair clinging to it.

That properly elastic sensation his hand touched.

(Waaa, don’t recall it, me!)

He shook his hand, shaking off his worldly desires.

At that moment.

“Kyaaa!”

He heard a shriek from the bathroom.

Kamito was taken aback and came to his senses.

(… A scream?)

Perhaps she lost control of the water spirit, causing cold water to come out.

(No, a spirit contractor of her level should not fail in controlling the spirit device –)

“Nooooooooo!”

Bam! The bathroom door suddenly opened and Claire dashed out.

“Wha..!?”

Her dripping wet hair disheveled –

She ran nude towards him in a straight line.

“… Hey, what’s with your appearance–“

Then, Kamito’s hair froze.

She was – not nude.

She was nude but she was not exactly nude.

Transparent jelly-like water was twining itself slimily around her smooth, bare body!

“What’s wrong!? What the heck is –“

“…K…Ka…Kamito, he...lp me…!”

In front of his eyes was Claire, who collapsed on the floor and was gasping in agony.

“…No, don’t look… idiot.…Aaaa!”
[[Image:Sample.jpg|…No, don’t look… Idiot, Aaaa! |thumb]]
Biku, bikun!

Claire turned red and her nude body was jumping about like it was convulsing.

(…Sorry. It is impossible to not get excited!)

Kamito got flustered and averted his line of sight. On the ther hand, hearing the heavy breathing, stimulated his imagination.

“Ah… Hyaa… don’t…do… that…”

It seemed that the water spirit of the spirit device went wild. Claire was frantically trying to control it but there was no way she could do it in that condition.

“Hold on, I’ll help you right now!”

Kamito closed his eyes and concentrated.

“Unruly spirit of water, comply with my command and settle down!”

While he murmured softly sprit words of Chinju, his right hand was charged with divine power –

“Claire, grab my hand!”

“No, ahh…h!”

While Claire let out a hot long breath, she somehow reached out her hand.

The moment the tip of their fingers touched.

Paan!

The water spirit, which was running wild, had its form collapsed and immediately returned into water.

Claire stayed collapsed on the flooded floor and with her face flushed; she was breathing roughly.

Her untied red hair clinging onto her skin was strangely erotic.

Kamito turned away in a fluster.

“What’s wrong? With a spirit contractor of your level, how did such –“

“U…urm, when I was using the shower, the water spirit suddenly went crazy… such a thing has never happened before.”

While Claire moaned, she slowly got up.

“Fo…for the time being, why don’t you wipe your body. You will catch a cold after all.”

Kamito, with his face turned away, took out and handed over a handkerchief from his pocket.

“Th…thank you…”

Claire nodded and accepted it—

….

“Hey, Kamito”

“Hn. What is it?”

“What is the meaning of this?”

Claire’s voice trembled.

Moreover, somehow the room’s temperature had rapidly risen.

“Ah”

Kamito finally realized it.

….That was right. What was in his uniform’s pocket was not a handkerchief.

That was something he hid in a fluster a while ago.

That silky panty.

Gogogogogogogogogogogo….!

In Claire’s hand, an earnest flaming ball of spirit magic was born.

“Wa…wait, clam down. You’re mistaken, this is a mistake, if I explain you’ll –“

“Shut up! T…turn into cinders, you pervert –!”

===Part 3===

“Kamito, get me another serving!”

“...You sure can eat. You’ll get fat, you know.”

It was minutes after that event. The table was lined up with numerous of Kamito’s home cooking.

There was tuna potato salad to go with the spinach-and-bacon pasta. Pumpkin potage with gratin from the canned salmon, and for dessert, there was fruit yogurt.

They were made with the canned food, of which a great amount was found on the shelf as ingredients; however, Claire seemed full of praise. The act of her gleaming her eyes and stuffing her cheeks with pasta was somewhat awfully cute.

The fire spirit, in the form of a hell cat, was also devouring the canned tuna beside Claire.

Spirits can maintain their own existence, so they do not need material sustenance. However among the high ranking spirits, there were also some rare ones that like human food. Although, it was only as a luxury.

“No problem, I have a constitution that doesn’t get fat.”

Claire placed pasta on the plate and said that with a nonchalant face. Certainly, using spirits consumed physical strength, so it was true that there were a lot of ladies with a slender figure.

“Hey, don’t eat the dessert early. Despite being an ojous-sama, you have bad manners.”

“Unh, shut up! That’s up to me, right, you panty thief!”

“Guu…..”

Kamito groaned. Once she said that, he could not say anything back.

“You are demoted from slave spirit to panty thief spirit.”

“… What kind of spirit is that?”

Somehow, another new variety of spirit was born.

“You really are the worst. O…of all things, you stole my number one favorite panty!”

“I have been saying it wasn’t on purpose!”

“What? Are you being defiant?

Claire glared.

“…No, sorry.”

Kamito bowed his head in embarrassment. Well, no matter how much he thought about it, it was his own fault this time.

While Claire put the tuna potato salad into her mouth, she caught a glance of him.

“Well, I’ll recognize your cooking skills at least. This is very delicious. If you make meals for me every day, I’ll promote you to cooking spirit.”

“I’m grateful for that. By the way, those are almost like words of proposing.”

Upon pointing that out. Claire’s face turned bright red.

“D…don’t be an idiot! Do you want to turn into cinders? Come on, do you want to turn into cinders?

“I..I get it, so stop pointing the fork at me.”

“Hmm… n...next time you say such idiotic things, I’ll really burn you!”

Claire pouted her lips and turned away.

Kamito sighed in relief while he cut and divided the salmon gratin.

“…If only there was some soy, this would be much better, but...”

“What’s that? Food?”

“It’s a seasoning circulated in my hometown. Well, you can’t get it here though.”

Kamito shrugged his shoulders and said that –

“Hometown, huh….”

Claire murmured with her eyelashes slightly lowered.

Somehow –she had an awfully lonely expression.

After that, for a short while, there was the sound of cutlery being used.

After eating that satisfying dinner, Claire’s mood also got a little better.

Somehow, there was a calm atmosphere.

Kamito suddenly raised his head and looked at Claire.

– He felt that it could be asked now.

He had wanted to ask her, since meeting her this morning in the forest, but did not have a chance to.

“By the way, you –“

“What?”

Claire placed down her cup of black tea.

“Why do you want such a powerful spirit?”

It was a simple question.

Despite using a spirit such as Scarlet, she still risked harming her body to reach out to a ‘Sealed Spirit’. He wanted to know the reason for that.

“…”

Claire –

Cast her slightly perplexed eyes down and murmured.

“There’s someone I want to meet no matter what.”

“Someone you want to meet…?”

Kamito dropped his sight to his left hand, concealed in his black leather glove.

What he lost three years ago, an irreplaceable, important bond which was there –

(So, she’s the same as me…)

The scar engraved at the back of his hand ached.

Claire sighed and inserted her hand into the neckband of her uniform.

“…Yea, I’ll say it. Something that I can’t help but hide.”

What she took out from her chest was a small pendent with silver chains.

At the very center, a shiny crimson red spirit crystal was inserted in it.

Kamito saw a crest engraved there – and raised his voice in surprise.

“A flame lion… the crest of Elstein duke family!?”


Claire silently nodded.

The Elstein duke family. The grand nobles who had served the royal family for generations ever since the founding of the Ordesia Empire.

One of the five princess maidens, who stood at the top among all spirit contractors, — was noble among nobles of spirit princesses, who served directly under the five great elemental lords, that were turning out in great numbers. 

No – that should have been so.

— Till four years ago, when that incident occurred.

Rubia Elstein.

The one who brought a great unprecedented calamity to the Ordesia Empire – The Calamity Queen.

She too, same as the girl in front of him, had burning-like crimson red hair.

“Don’t tell me, you’re…”

“Yes, I am the Calamity Queen – Rubia Elstein’s - little sister.”

Claire looked straight into Kamito’s eyes and nodded.

“…”

Claire Rouge. He thought that it was an alias.

But, by no means –

(… I see. What she cast away was the Elstein family name.)

In this large continent, there was no one who did not know about that incident.

Four years ago, the spirit princess, serving under the fire elemental lord, – Rubia Elstein suddenly snatched the strongest flame spirit, 'Laevateinn' from the shrine and disappeared.

After learning of the spirit princess’ treachery, the flame elemental lord in anger got fired up and got into a frenzy.

It burned everything related to Elstein duke’s territory, including the Ordesia Empire’s land, the empire took enormous damage. And that did not put the elemental lord’s anger to peace, about a year after that, no matter what method was used, not a single fire could be lit within the Ordesia Empire.

Nobody knew why the fire spirit princess disappeared.

The Ordesia citizens furiously cursed her and, filled with hatred, called her

—The Calamity Queen.

“I want to meet my sister. When I meet her, I want to hear the truth.”

For that, she had to get strong.

She had to obtain the strongest spirit.

With the reward given to the winner of the blade dance –

For the sake of obtaining the right of granting just one desired 'wish'.

Claire’s expression was filled with a tragic determination.

“Besides—“

Claire slightly looked down and muttered.

“This round’s blade dance had that Ren Ashbell participating.”

“…!? Kehoo, kehoo—“

Once that name came out from Claire’s mouth, Kamito reflexively coughed.

“…? What’s wrong?”

“Aaah, that’s bad…”

Ren Ashbell was the winner of the last blade dance.

She suddenly appeared three years ago, the strongest blade dancer

That blade dance was splendidly vivid. At the finals, even with Numbers candidates of spirit contractors, she overwhelmed them.

Due to her dedicated blade dance, the flame elemental lord’s rage was finally appeased.

“Three years ago, I saw her blade dance at the assembly hall. I also feel that I want to be like that, a noble, strong spirit contractor.”

Claire blushed and looked down a little embarrassed.

“Ever since that day, I’ve always admired her….”

“…I see”

Kamito looked at Claire with a complicated expression – calmly grasping his fist tightly.

...After that, it was a strangely quiet time.

They tried to talk about anything a number of times but all of it did not last long.

Claire yawned cutely after eating up the dishes on the table. After filling her stomach, she seemed drowsy. Well, she did use a spirit of Scarlet’s level twice in one day, so it was natural.

“Wake me up when it’s time. If you do something funny, cinders.”

“…Wait. Does that mean I have to stay awake for the whole time?”

Kamito complained, and in front of him, Claire was making sleeping breaths.

She had an astonishing ease to sleep.

“…Good grief, you’ll catch a cold!”

Kamito carried Claire’s petite body up like a princess.

He carried her to the bed in the corner of the room.

Scarlet walked and jumped onto the bed.

(…Even so, this fellow’s sleeping face is truly angel-like.)

While looking at the face, making the gentle sleeping noise, Kamito smiled bitterly.

When he put Claire to the bed, her cherry blossom lips faintly moved.

“Sister….Father…Mother…”

(Sleep-talking… huh)

He seemed to have somewhat heard something he should not.

Certainly, after the incident of the Calamity Queen disappearing, Elstein duke family’s territory should have been seized and the duke and his wife imprisoned in the Balsas prison –

“…Hn, Kamito”

“…!?”

He was shocked when his name was called suddenly.

“Ahh, what are you doing, pervert…idiot.”

“…What kind of dream is she having!?”

Kamito muttered while sighing, as he stared at his hand.

After that day three years ago, he hid his left hand with a leather glove.

(You and I are the same, Claire)

(These three years, I have stayed alive to get back my important person.)

Due to his error, he lost it, his former contracted spirit –

===Part 4===

At the same instant, in every room of the female dormitory Claire lived in, a little incident occurred.

The spirits used in the spirit devices in the kitchen, bathroom and etc. suddenly began to go out of control.

After the spirit investigation party investigated the dormitory, it brought it to an end with meager words that the incident was of an unknown cause –

In the darkness shined by the blue moon – a black-winged angel gently alighted at the academy tower.

It was a black haired girl, dressed in a jet black dress.

The girl landed gently on the roof of the female dormitory and smiled pitifully.

“—I wanted to meet you, Kamito”

On the girl’s palm, wriggling lumps of darkness were floating.

“But you’re still not the true you.”

She reached her hands to the empty sky and the darkness colored orbs drifted and disappeared in the night sky.

“That’s why, I’ll offer up my memories.”

The girl chuckled.

Like a cruel little girl.

Like a pure demon.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter6|Chapter 6]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter4

2012-04-15T21:26:23Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 4: The Wolf, the Cat and the Knight==

===Part 1===
Yare, Yare. I have suffered quite a lot since coming here.

One hour had passed since then. Slowly rubbing the pain away from his back, Kamito walked through the courtyard of the academy.

Although he had not been turned into cinders after receiving a hit from that flame whip; maybe Claire had held back some of her power, still, it didn't change the fact that it was quite painful.

Claire must be harshly admonished by Madam Freya in the punishment room.

Having eluded those female classmates who had enthusiastically pursued him, Kamito finally obtained a moment of peace.

Unlike other students, he has no classes for the afternoon. After all, he had entered the school just now and had not registered for the courses.

Areishiya spirit academy operates on a credit system in which the students can freely choose their preferred courses so long as they meet the requirements. Because of enormous diversity of the contracted spirits of the students, a uniform curriculum will not be able to fully develop the potential of each princess maiden.

"For the time being, I'll make some preparations for school life starting tomorrow. "

Kamito finally came to his specially prepared dormitory, a hut erected on the side of the stable.

Its appearance now looked even worse than when it was seen from the window. On top of that, it had the smell of cattle.

The door opened with a squeak. Kamito stepped in timidly.

"Hmm, surprisingly, it's not too bad."

Kamito expressed his impression of the interior.

First of all, the bed was clean. Looking from the inside, the room itself was spacious. Straw bed, table, chair, cabinet and other furniture were prepared after all. Cooking utensils were present as well. Anyhow there wouldn't be too troublesome living here.

Kamito immediately laid down on the straw bed, although it prickled his back a bit, the smell of sun dried straws were good for a comfortable sleep.

"Oh, well, no matter how I look at it, I need to endure it for two months".

Lying still on the bed , Kamito fixed his eyes on his left hand, covered by the black leather glove.

Two months from now, the spirit blade dance would be held in the elemental spirit realm Astral Zero.

Before that, he must find four more teammates in order to enter the contest.

It was not clear what Greywhorth will have him do.

But there was something he must check with his own eyes.

A name that was deeply tied to the fate of his own self.

Participating in the contest of the spirit blade dance festival 3 years ago, the Strongest Blade Dancer.

That accompanying her was a spirit of darkness that took the form of a human girl.

Who on earth were they?

Ren Ashbell shouldn't exist in this world anymore. Besides Greyworth, only a very small number of people were aware of this.

Even though one was just an impostor who gained the title of strongest blade-dancer by fraud, it couldn't be for this reason that the witch took this much trouble to summon him here. Greyworth must be holding a huge secret.

No matter what, to find out the truth, the only way was to cross blades directly in the spirit blade dance festival in two months.

"But, in your current state, you won't be able to defeat her. " said Greyworth.

That is most likely true. The witch was not lying. But surely she was not telling the truth either.

In the end, it all comes down to "the current state".

But in merely two months, he had to regain what was lost in the past three years.

"..."

....Guu, suddenly his stomach growled.

Feeling exhausted, Kamito lowered his arm that was raised towards the roof.

After all, he had not had anything to eat since wandering into the spirit forest this morning.

However, he decided to endure his empty stomach.

The reason was that he was out of money. Although there were restaurants for the students in the academy, the price was surprisingly high. This had already passed the level of a school for high class ladies, a school for princesses indeed.

What's the point of one cup of soup being as expensive as normal folk's salary?

"It can't be helped. Maybe I'll ask Ellis to show me around in the academic town tomorrow. "

One should be able to find cheaper and delicious restaurants in the academic town at the foot of the hill.

With the cooking utensils, he could also just buy the materials and cook it on his own. For the fire all he needed to do was to go to the spirit forest and catch some low level fire spirits.

"Bacon and mushroom pasta sounds really good..."

He got more hungry by thinking about food.

"Should I go to the spirit forest and collect some mushrooms now?"

As he started to seriously entertain that thought, from somewhere, the
smell of delicious soup flowed in.

"....hmm?"

Frowning, Kamito got up from the bed.

It seemed the smell was coming in from the gap of the half opened door.

Twitching his nose to inhale the smell, Kamito opened the door...

In front of him was a bowl of soup that gave off white steam.

Filled with a lot of onions and chicken with bones, the soup looked delicious.

"... am I imagining things, or is this the kindness from heaven for my unending misfortune?"

Drawing a blank because of the hunger, Kamito reached out with his hands toward the bowl without any suspicion.

Suddenly the bowl rose up a bit.

He stretched out his hand again.

Once again the bowl was raised.

Then in front of the Kamito was the face of that princess with platinum
blond hair.

Her name should be Rinslet Laurenfrost if he remembered correctly.

Behind her, the girl Carol in maid dresses stood courteously.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Kamito asked with half opened eye.

"Fuu, you must be hungry, right? Kamito Kazehaya?"

"Yeah."

Kamito noded honestly.

"Bark woof, and then swear that you will be my slave, I'll let you have this bowl of soup."

Rinslet held the bowl still, and puffed up her large breast.

"I refuse. Bye Bye."

Bang.

"Ahh, wait, wait a second. Listen to what I say, you insolent. "

Bang! Bang! The door was kicked repeatedly .

It would be trouble if she breaks it. Kamito opened the door again.

"What's that? Are you going to let me have the soup now?"

"Right away if you lick my foot ... Ah, why are you closing the door again!"

Rinslet quickly stuck her foot into the gap of the door, like a veteran debt collector.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

It looked painful... What the hell was she here for anyway?

"Are you alright, my lady?"

Worried about Rinslet, the Maid Carol asked.

Kamito had no choice but to open the door, Rinslet glared at him with tears in her eyes.

"How can you be so insolent after I offered my hands of kindness towards you? "

"No, you... hands of kindness?"

It appeared that she was serious. Slowly Kamito's head starts aching.

Sheesh, all the princesses of this academy are so troublesome.

Kamito complained inside his mind.

"Ah-"

After Rinslet got a glimpse of the inside of the hut, her face started to twitch.

"Ah, you, why are you living inside a stable?"

"The stable is next door. This is my dormitory. Home is where you make it."

"..."

"Stop looking at me with such pity. It makes me feel sad."

Her face looked like that she was seriously concerned about it. Kamito's attitude softened a little bit.

"Rather than living in a condition like this, you should come to my house. I'll specially hire you as a servant."

"Ah, my lady, I believe he will look great if we dress him as a maid."

Carol showed her support with a big smile. This girl was troublesome as well.

Well, after all, it looked like that Rinslet was genuinely worried about the circumstances.

"Your sympathy is appreciated, but I don't plan to throw away my pride." Kamito shook his head.

Displeased, Rinslet perked up her lips.

"So you don't like becoming my servant?"

"That's right. It is no use to try to placate me."

"So full of yourself, even though you wag your tail at Claire Rouge."

"When did I wag my tail at her?" Kamito grumbled with half open eye. Well, many people might think the same---

Could it be that this princess is trying to get close to Kamito mainly out of her rivalry with Claire?

"Yareyare, such an unexpected annoyance." Kamito let out a heavy sigh.

"I got it. That's fine with me if that's how you want it." Rinslet cleared her throat, and placed the bowl on the ground.

"Hmm?"

"I'll leave the soup here. From the very beginning it was because Carol cooked too much of it and it will be a shame to waste the leftovers. You should be grateful to my benevolence."

"Eh?"

(This young lady, by any chance----)

[[Image:STnBD V01 113.jpg|thumb]]
Rinslet turned around elegantly and was about to leave.

"Ahh, Wait, Rinslet!"

Kamito suddenly called out.

Rinslet winced and stopped in her steps.

"Wh-what is that? Suddenly calling other people's first name---"

"I can't be your servant, but we can be friends."

"Eh?"

Rinslet's emerald green eyes open wide.

"Thank you for being worried and coming to see me."

"Wh-wha, you, you insolent. Of, of course that's not true."

Rinslet suddenly blushed and turned her face away.

"Fufu, my lady is so..."

Carol covered her mouth and giggles.

===Part 2===

Right at that moment -

"Rinslet Laurenfrost!"

A voice with which Kamito had gotten familiar, suddenly passes into his ears.

Claire walked towards here, her red pigtails swaying.

It appeared that Madam Freya's admonishing session was finally over.

"Don't feed my contract spirits without permission, you thieving dog."

"You ... who are you calling a thieving dog!?"

Here we go again, Kamito let out a tired sigh.

"What's that? Isn't your family crest a dog?"

"You - Laurenfrost's family crest is a proud White Wolf!"

"White Wolf? Changing it into a Chihuahua fits you better."

"...!"

Provoked by Claire's words---

"Claire Rouge ... you really got my dander up. " Rinslet said with a
suppressed voice.

In a flash, a fog-like chill hung around them. The temperature dropped
dramatically.

"Wait, you can't be calling your spirit -"

Kamito hastily called out, but it was too late.

The cold wind swirled. Rinslet's hair flew up, rippling.

---Oh freezing beast with Ice-teeth, merciless hunter of the forest.

---Now is the time to abide the contract of blood, hasten to my side as commanded!

As soon as Rinslet finished chanting the summoning spirit spell, a gust of ice storm engulfed all of the surroundings.

Amid the roaring and swirling blizzard, a figure appeared.

A beautiful wolf, with a coat of silver white fur.

Its body exuded a freezing chill.

"This is ..."

"It is the contract spirit of my lady, Fenrir." Carol said with a smile.

The imposing aura that White Wolf carried, was definitely incomparable to a low level spirit.

For the ranking of the spirits, the White Wolf was unmistakably higher than mid-level. To have made contracts with spirits of this level, this young lady is definitely not an ordinary person.

"Well, your dog is still the same, with its coat color barely meritable."

Claire shook her pigtails in disdain.

"You... you called it a dog again, You flat chest! I absolutely will not forgive your insult to the family of Laurenfrost!"

Covered with the chilling air, the White Wolf roared, and dashed toward Claire.

"Who are you calling flat chest!? Come, Scarlet!"

Claire lashed at the ground with her whip. A scorching hell cat immediately appeared from the twirling rising flames.

It appeared that Claire had long conjured up her spirit already.

"-Hey you two! No fighting with your spirits here!" Kamito cried out. The horses in the stables neighed in fear.

"I will not forgive you for putting your hand on my slave. I'll end it here today, you thieving dog."

"I'll surely steal your servant and make him mine!"

Sparks burst out between the two girls.

If one only listened to these lines, it sounded like two women in love fighting over a man.

"The two ladies look like lovers fighting over a man!"

"Carol, you don't have to say that." Kamito looked at the maid standing next to him with squinted eyes.

"By the way, is it really OK to not stop them?"

"Right. They have always been like this."

"These two girls have always been behaving like this towards each other..."

"Yes, the relation between the two ladies is very good."

"Is this irony?"

Kamito grumbled with a sigh.

"You have always been an eyesore, Claire Rouge!"

"You are the same, Rinslet! Why do you have to always cause me trouble!"

Magic ice spirit Fenrir---

Flame spirit Scarlet---

The two spirits suddenly jumped up in the air and clashed.

Ice and Fire collided, sending a storm bursting around.

From the point of view of Kamito, the levels of the two spirit were almost the same. But it seems that Claire had an advantage in the skill of mastering the spirits.

However, the flame spirit in her command was apparently quite spent out.

(Because she was beaten up by the sword spirit a few hours ago---)

Receiving such a large amount of damage, she couldn't possibly have recovered by taking a short break.

Kamito observed the fighting of the two spirits.

"Eh? What?...... a burning smell?"

Kamito frowned and looked around.

When the sight came into his eyes, his expression suddenly froze.

It was burning.

Kamito's hut was burning fiercely.

The straws that stocked next to his hut had caught the sparks of the flame spirit and started burning.

"Ah, my home!"

Hearing the cries of Kamito, Claire quickly turned toward him.

"Rinslet! Pause! We got fire!"

"It is no use to distract me ... Huh? It really is burning!"

The hut on fire burned more and more violently. Sooner or later the stables would catch fire too.

"My home---"

"Calm down. Fire of this scale, I'll put it out in no time - Fenrir!"

Rinslet cried out, the white wolf of magic ice instantly came back to her side.

Just as one thought that the white wolf suddenly disappeared in the air, in Rinslet's hands a huge <ice Longbow> appeared.

"Elemental Waffe" the second purified form of the spirit.

"Oh freezing teeth of ice, pierce your target! <freezing arrow>!"

Rinslet pulled up an ice arrow and shoots.

The arrows turned into countless ice pieces and poured down, the burning flame was instantly extinguished.

"Well, with me here it is a piece of cake!"

Rinslet stroked her long platinum blond hair and puffed up her chest proudly.

"......"

Kamito stood motionlessly with a dumbfounded stare.

The hut was smashed into pieces by pouring down ice arrows.

"Kohon", Rinslet let out a dry cough.

"... Seems that I went a bit too far."

"This is not called a bit! Don't you have any control of your power?"

"You ... shut up! From the very beginning it was you who lit it up!"

Ignoring the stunned Kamito, those two engaged in arguments again.

At this time -

"What are you doing!"

The footsteps of several people running from the middle court could be heard.

One of them was the ponytail girl in a silver breastplate.

Ellis Fahrengart, the commander of the Knight brigade, Sylphid, who was in charge of up-keeping the discipline of the academy.

Behind her there were two girls in the same dress.

Claire sucked her tongue, and Rinslet also didn't bother to hide her face of displeasure.

"It is prohibited to fight due to private matters in school ... What!?"

The hastily running steps suddenly stopped.

Her eyes widened, looking dazed at pile of rubble that was Kamito's home.

Black smokes slowly rose from the charred rubble.

"This is ...... what on earth is this?!"

Ellis questioned Kamito, her voice charged with fury.

She drew the sword that hangs at her waist, pointing to the throat of Kamito.

"You, you hate the house that I made! Is that it? Is this your protest?!"

"No ... there is absolutely no such thing! This is because - "

Kamito quickly explained.

"It was this stupid dog who blew it up to dust."

"Before that, this pitiful chest lit it on fire!"

Hearing the voices from behind, Ellis turned around.

Claire and Rinslet, pointed their fingers at each other in accusation.

"... That's how it was. It was your work, just like always."

Ellis sighed with an expression that says "I understand".

"Knight commander, your greeting is more enthusiastic than usual."

"It is the usual greeting, isn't it? Problematic students of the Raven class?" Ellis looked sharply at Rinslet.

Soon, the girls from the Knight brigade who were following Ellis finally caught up.

A girl with tea colored hair tied in braids, and another girl with black hair in a tomboy style.

As soon as they saw Claire and Rinslet, the two girls put on expressions like they have bitten some bitter worm.

"... Hell cat Claire! And Ice Wolf Rinslet!"

"What did they do again this time, these guys from the lowly Raven class?"

In the eyes of the girls plainly floated a contemptuous look.

"... What did you say?"

"What did you utter just now?"

Claire and Rinslet glared at the two girls at the same time.

But the girls completely ignored them focusing their eyes on Kamito.

"Are you that newly transferred male Seirei-Tsukai?"

"Oh, not bad. Very handsome."

The girl with braids looked at Kamito up and down like she was evaluating his price.

The girl's sight made Kamito shrink away in discomfort.

"Wait, this guy is my slave spirit that I caught!"

"I tamed Kamito Kazahaya: he is my servant!"

Claire and Rinslet declared arbitrarily of their ownership of Kamito at the same time.

The knight girl with braids snuffs with disdain, said: "Alas, because nobody wants to form a team with you, you use your sex appeal to seduce the transfer student. Such a fitting style for a countryside noble."

"You dare to call me a countryside noble!"

Rinslet's face suddenly turns livid.

It appears that the girl stepped on the mine that should not be stepped on.

"Sure I did. Laurenfrost family has only a big-name, they are really just country bumpkins."

"You ... you ... you ...!"

"My, my lady. Please calm down -"

"Fu, fufu, fu, ... Carol, I am quite calm."

Rinslet revealed a bright smile ... although she tries to be ladylike, her face is still quite scary.

Another girl knight turned to Claire, and scorned: "As for Claire Rouge, although she is a noble, isn't she the sister of a traitor? Really, why did the academy accept this person for admission---"

At that instant, Claire suddenly lashed at the ground with the whip.

"- shut up. Or I'll make you into charcoal cinders."

Claire snarled with suppressed voice, her voice trembling, her red eyes quietly burning with anger.

(... Claire is the sister of a traitor?)

Kamito frowned.

(... what on earth is the meaning of this?)

The two girls felt the sudden change of atmosphere and fell silent.

"You went too far." Ellis chided the two, then turned to Claire.

She cleared her throat and said: "In short, I will report this instance to the knight headquarters. The charge will be the use spirits to start a small fire and and cause property damage. We'll give you notice for the specifics of the punishment at a later time. Please refrain from doing such stupid things again. We are busy, you know?"

"Let's go." Ellis said and was about to lead the other two away.

However, from behind came a voice.

"Hold on! Ellis Fahrengart, are you trying to run away?"

"What?"

Ellis stopped, turned back to Claire who called out her.

"What did you say just now?"

The calm tone of voice was full of anger. Ellis's hand was on the hilt of the sword at her waist.

"Oh, you heard it? I did not expect the Sylphid Knights to be cowards."

"Claire Rouge, do you think I'll just let it go if someone insults the Sylphid knights?"

Ellis unsheathed her sword. The other two drew their swords at the same time.

"I'll return that line intact right back at you. You may insult me as you please, but I will not forgive anyone who insults my sister."

Claire stroked the ground with her whip.

"I request a duel, Ellis Fahrengart, with the other two as well."

"Let me join as well, Claire Rouge. It is the Laurenfrost family's injunction to take revenge at those who dare to smear the family name of Laurenfrost."

Rinslet ruffled her hair, and showed an undaunted smile.

At this point, Ellis pointed the tip of her sword toward these two.

"Well, it will stain the name of the Sylphid Knights if we are accused of running away. I accept the request. I can't stand the mess of your Raven class any longer."

"Hey, isn't it prohibited to fight for private matters?"

At such a precarious intense moment, Kamito instinctively spoke out.

"It is forbidden to fight for private matters within school grounds. Anyway, I have no intention of doing it here."

"What do you mean?"

Ignoring Kamito who was tilting his head, Ellis turned to Claire.

"The time will be 2am tonight, in front of the <Gate>. I'll leave it to you to decide the format."

"...One-on-one is too much trouble. How about we fight as teams of three."

"That will do." Ellis nodded and put away the sword, then turned around and left.

Claire glared at the back of the knights and cursed viciously:

"Well I will let you regret this, especially that short haired girl. I'll definitely kick her ass!"

"Such a good opportunity. I have disliked the bunch from the Knight brigade since long ago."

"Rinslet, try not to be a burden."

"After destroying the hut, now you are having a duel. Please take mercy on me." Kamito sighed deeply. Then suddenly he realized.

Battle as a team of three. So, who will be the third person?

"As it turns out, -"

Claire placed one hand on her waist, and pointed a finger at Kamito.

"It is time to show us your strength, my slave spirit!"

"Ahhh... I knew this is how it would be..."

In front of rubble heap that was his former home , Kamito reluctantly dropped his shoulder.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter3

2012-04-15T14:51:29Z

Starkiller4299:

== Chapter 3: My Classmate is a Princess ==
===Part 1===

A stubborn footstep resounded in the academy hallway.

A sleeved uniform had been provided directly to Kamito, who was following the swaying ponytail.

The uniform Greyworth prepared was custom-designed for his personal use. The fundamental colour was the same as that of the other students, pure white, but the dress below it was certainly not a skirt. The cloth of his pants, which was incorporated with holiness, was worn nicely like a gentleman.

(Damn, the size is perfect...she knew it from the very beginning.)

Kamito cursed Greyworth in his head.

“The instructor building and the student building are connected on the second floor's hallway. The cafeteria is located on the first floor.”

Guiding him through the school building was the girl from before, Ellis Fahrengart.

While Kamito was changing into his uniform, Greyworth seemed to have summoned her.

At first, she openly showed a displeased face, but maybe because of her serious personality she did not abandon him midway and dutifully continued to guide him.

The school building's design was recklessly complex and in order to create a comfortable space for spirits, it has adopted the standard of the latest spirit engineering architectural style. Anyway, it was for sure a design that has given little consideration for the people using it.

Staring at Ellis' swaying ponytail, Kamito recalled the conversation from earlier. In the end, although he wasn't pleased that things has gone the way the witch had predicted ---

Hearing '''that name''', which was mentioned, Kamito was left with no other choice.

Ren Ashbell--- suddenly appeared three years ago, The Strongest Blade Play Dancer.

And, that Ren Ashbell's Contracted Spirit is---

'''A dark spirit in the form of a young girl'''.

"..."

While walking, Kamito dropped his gaze to his left hand which was covered with a leather glove.

(... No, it can't be her. Because, she is---)

Kamito shook his head. Trying to deny it rationally---but could it be... mixed thoughts were in his mind.

(... Well whatever. I’ll make sure of it with my own eyes. For now I'll dance in your palm, Greyworth.)

“You...”

Then Ellis, who was walking in front of him, suddenly stopped.

Facing him with her hand on her waist, she sternly scowled at Kamito. 

“Are you listening or what? It’s for your own sake that I’m explaining these things.”

“... Um, my bad. I was thinking of something.”

“Mm, thinking of something?”

For some reason, Ellis face became red, and she quickly walked towards him.

“Y-You, what kind of things were you thinking while looking at my back!”

"Wai-Wait, Don't swing your blade here!"

The blade was swung at point blank range, and Kamito quickly dodged it.

(Perhaps... this girl is also...)

It appeared that it was a common problem that all the students of this academy had no immunity to men.

Maybe the reason that she was walking so fast since before, was because she was conscious of the fact that Kamito was a man.

"Listen, don’t misunderstand anything! I have not accepted you. I'm guiding you because I have no choice but to comply with the Academy Director's orders!"

“Ah, I get it. But don't treat me like an enemy either. As of today I'm a student of this academy like you.”

"I'll never accept you. The fact that there is a man such as you who is a spirit contractor, there is no way I would accept it!"

Returning on her heels, Ellis began to walk quickly.

"All things considered, why would the Academy Director want a man transferred here..."

... It seemed that he was being disliked a lot.

(Well, it can't be helped. This is my fate as the only man in this garden of maidens.)

It's as if a lion has been released on a herd of rabbits.

Naturally, the overly boxed princesses would be wary of a man of the same age.

The <Spirit Blade Dance Festival> will be held two months later.

He had to obtain their trust gradually in this school life.

(Hmm, yeah. Speaking of life.)

Suddenly, something came to his mind.

"Hey, Ellis."

“What.”

Ellis turned around in a sullen mood.

He thought she might rage because of him calling her first name so casually, but apparently she didn't.

“From today onward, where should I lodge at?”

There was no male dormitory in this academy, and there's no way that he would be given a room in the female dormitory. Would that mean commuting to the school from the academic city at the foot of the mountain?

"Don't worry about it, the academy has prepared a splendid lodge of great expense for you. A part of the endowment had been especially allocated for the construction cost."

"What a strangely thorny way of speaking."

... Well whatever. It's certainly better than being homeless or be outside in the <Spirit Forest>.

"It can be seen from this window--- there it is."

Kamito looked in the direction Ellis was pointing at.

"... Um, where is it?"

Looking around the vast grounds, it seems he can’t find any lodging house there.

"Look well, over there at the corner of the plaza square"

Ellis was pointing towards---

“That’s... my lodge?”

A splendid building with a large roof.

More spacious than an ordinary residence house, there were many rooms inside.

Beside it was an exclusive bathing area. Mangers have been piled up near its entrance.

"Is-Isn't that a stable!"

Kamito yelled loudly.

"Are those eye sockets empty? Look closely."

"Ha?"

(Um, am I seeing something wrong?)

He only saw the stable.

No, it was a stable at best. After all, they are soothing their horses in that place.

(Mm?)

---And then, Kamito finally discovered it.

Next to the stable, where wooden planks had been put together and were erected, there was actually a lodge.

Here and there, different lengths of planks had been nailed down together.

The roof was flaky. A sudden gust of strong wind would destroy such a lodge.

"Ah, maybe--- that one?"

"Yeah."

Ellis simply nodded.

"Where's the splendid lodge! It seems like it was been built in three days!"

"Three hours. Do not underestimate the power of my contracted spirit."

"You built it?! I mean, wasn't it built at a high price?"

"A high price indeed, I wasted my time because of you. Are you unsatisfied?"

“I’m full of dissatisfaction. It's almost harassment towards me.”

"There's a proper bed, made of straws."

"I'm getting the same treatment as a horse..."

"Fu, You have a strong sense of pride. Of course a horse is more worthy of caring for than you."

With the ponytail at her nape brushing on her shoulder, Ellis says clearly.

Somehow, he wanted to cry.

"The restroom? The bath?"

"You can use the back of the lodge as restroom. Unfortunately, you'll need to share the bath."

"Shared bath... with the horses."

Kamito grumbled, "Are you complaining?" Ellis scowled at him.

"Look, even in the highly unlikely event that you try to invade the academy's restroom, my contracted spirit would turn you into a sauté mushroom."

"Sounds delicious. So, you really like to cook?"

"Aa, It's a hobby. Someday an ideal gentleman will take my hands for marriage, and to please him with my cooking, I'm usually training for it."

"Really, um, if there is a chance, please let me try it too. At least, I have a fine pallete."

"Aah. If there's a chance, I would like to demonstrate my proud cooking... Wha, Who are you to think that I would do something like that for you!"

Zing - In a flash the blade was been swung, and Kamito dodged it by a thin margin.

"... You. Forget about cooking, these are not the kind of hands for marriage---"

"Uh..."

Kamito retorted with half an eye closed. Maybe being self-conscious, Ellis quickly glanced away.

"Another thing, being the leader of the knights, aren't you messing up the order the most?"

"Shu, Shut up. It was because you said something strange!"

Kamito shrugged his shoulders, then turned toward the corridor again.

"Let's leave the topic of the dormitory for now. Where's my classroom?"

"The Raven class. Where extraordinary problem children are gathered, a perfect class for you."

"Extraordinary problem children?"

"It's exactly as it sounds. ...Mm, Why are you looking so bitter?"

"No, I happen to know something about it."

Kamito remembered in his head, the crimson haired young girl he encountered inside the forest.

Seriously no way!--- That stroke of uneasiness, he couldn't shake it away.

"Are you also from the Raven Class?"

Kamito tentatively asked a question.

The term "extraordinary problem child" fit this young girl perfectly.

"As if... I'm from the superior class Weasel!"

In an instant, the sword was swung in a flash.

Kamito was expecting it this time, and only the forelocks had slightly been cut.

"... T-The Fahrengart secret sword skill was fended off."

"....As such, don't casually swing at me with your hidden sword skills!"

Climbing up the staircase and walking through the long corridor, Kamito finally saw his classroom.

A large wooden double leaf door with an abstract spirit shaped carving was there.

Areishia Spirit Academy's classrooms were arranged a floor apart from each other. Because classrooms close to each other would likely duel or create some other commotion immediately.

"All the students attending here are princesses from noble families. There are some who hold a grudge against each other. Although as a regulation of the academy, personal struggles are prohibited, frequent incidents like dueling have never stopped."

While sighing, Ellis clasped her fist strongly.

"We the Sylphid Knights will protect this peaceful academy from the perpetrators."

"No, the one who is disturbing this peace is you---"

--- Was what he was about to say, but Kamito shut his own mouth.

As she spoke, the side of Ellis' face was extremely serious.

He thought that she was a reckless girl who swung her blade on every occasion --- his impression of her changed a little.

She possesses the pride of a knight.

The '''Male Spirit Contractor''', whose mere existence would bring disturbance to the academy.

From the point of view of the leader of the knights, who maintains public morals, she naturally couldn't accept Kamito.

Despite all of it, she could sincerely face and talk to him.

A bit stubborn, but at heart she was honorable.

"... Hm, why are you glaring at my face?"

Ellis suspiciously frowned her eyebrows.

"Well, I'm sorry for the various teasing from some time ago."

"...? Wh-Why you, suddenly!"

Her embarrassed reaction seemed somehow strangely cute.

===Part 2 ===

Looking inside the large auditorium classroom, no one was there. During this time everyone was out. Perhaps they are all engaged in practical training outside in the training field area.

"It's okay from here, I'll hear the rest later from my classmates. Thanks for your guidance."

"Fu, such gratitude is unnecessary. If there was a failure to properly guide you, '''You might deliberately lose your way''' into the toilet later."

"You really have no faith in me......"

At this comparatively caustic line from the departing Ellis, Kamito let out a deep sigh.

Judging from his experience so far on the first day, it would be a tall order to gain the trust of his classmates.

While muttering, Kamito stepped into the depopulated classroom.

Then, at that moment -swoosh- a slash sounded in the air ---

"Gueh!"

A whip forcefully coiled around Kamito's neck.

Being caught by the rough sudden attack, he had been pulled and thrown down in the corridor.

(Wh, What!?)

*Cough* Looking around himself while coughing ---

"Kazehaya Kamito!"

Over his head, a familiar voice of a young girl descended upon him.

... Honestly, a voice he doesn't want to hear.

"Y, Yo, You have escaped from me, despite being my contracted spirit!"

"Hugh, ug"

"Defying me!"

"Guh!"

Feigning ignorance and trying to whistle, the thing around his neck tightened.

(This sucks.....)

Thrown down flat onto his back, in front of Kamito ---

A blazing red haired beautiful young girl with her folded arms looking down to Kamito.

The blowing winds from the window caused her uniform’s pleated skirt to float in the air.

“Claire, you....”

A deep groan came from Kamito's throat.

"What, do you intend to reason your way out?"

"No, from this place, I can　slightly see your panties."

“Wha!”

Claire's face blushed, then she quickly restrained her skirt.

"Pe, Pe, Pe, Pervert~!"

Gogogogogogogogogo......!

A heat haze coming from Claire's body was rising.

No. It was not a heat haze. It was a completely burning Astral Zero's flame.

"It seems, you really want to be turned into cinders, Kamito?"

"Wai, Wait, not yet!"

Kamito felt that his life was seriously in danger, and quickly shook his head.

"Black is too early for you."

"...............gu!"

Strike* --- then Claire's whole body solidified.

From her neck to the tip of her ears, it turned deep red liked boiled octopus---

"It, It's not black! It is always white, black is....rarely, what have you made me say, idiot!"

*fwump*. .......She seemed to have overheated.

Losing her strength, she sunk down to the floor.

Being overly boxed into an ideal priestess was her greatest weakness.

.......Is it really okay for a spirit contractor to be so naive?

"Uugh, this is the second time...... I can't become a bride anymore"

With both of her knees on the floor, Claire is weeping gloomily.

......Somewhat, it looked that he had done something terrible.

"My bad....don't cry, ok?"

Kamito stood up then approached her while Claire glared at him.

.....Frightening. She could have burnt a person with merely her glaring.

She wipes her tears with her uniform sleeve, then clenches her leather whip tightly.

"Kazehaya Kamito."

"Wh, What?"

"I, I'm quite generous, so I'll give you one chance to explain."

Although her tone was calm, obviously her voice was trembling.

........Extremely angry.

"Sometime ago, why did you escape?"

"No, it's common sense that I would think of escaping."

Kamito unintentionally replies immediately.

An answer --- that he immediately regretted.

"......I got it. There's only death for a fugitive slave."

"Wa, wait, calm down. From a spirit I have become a slave?!"

"Slave, you're my '''slave spirit'''!"

"A new species of spirit was born. How about announcing it to the Spirit Research Agency?"

By the way, in whichever <Spirit Forest> of the continent, these species of spirit were yet to be discovered.

"Ch, Cheeky slave --- No, a slave spirit isn't it!"

"Uwah, I gi.....give, give up, seriously I'll die!"

Forcefully the whip on his neck ruthlessly tightened, and his consciousness was likely to fly away.

(The knight group, what are they doing! A murder is about to happen inside the academy!)

Looking around in the corridor with no sign of any student.

"By the way ---"

Then, Claire's face got closer. Looking rather displeased, she said,

"Sometime ago, you were speaking with the knight group's Ellis Fahrengart, '''you seemed to be getting along well with her'''. What does that mean?"

"*cough, How could you call that getting along together? She was just guiding me."

"Guide? Why?"

"Because today, I have specially transferred into this academy."

"Ha?..... You have transferred? Here at Areishia Spirit Academy?"

Claire spread open her eyes, then looked to Kamito's uniformed figure, she just noticed it now.

"No way....you are a man!"

"Aa. But, you have seen me contracting a spirit."

Kamito nodded, then showed his right hand where the spirit seal was imprinted.

"I'm a '''male spirit contractor'''. That's why Greyworth summoned me here. "

"........"

Therefore, Claire ---

Lost in thought, she put her finger on her cherry colored lips.

"Really, what........a transfer student......"

*pfft* *pfft* She murmured something to herself.

(...... If she stays quiet, she looks just like a usual, ordinary cute girl.)

And, while staring at her side face, Kamito thought.

Claire suddenly raised her head, then turned to face him.

"Um, because you are here, perhaps, you are also in the Raven class?"

"Yeah. .....does that mean, you are in the same class?"

"Yeah. I'm also from the Raven class!"

Claire spoke with a seemingly cheerful voice. Somehow she seemed awfully happy.

Her smiling face would charm anyone who was unaware.

"Say, since it has turned out this way, I'll give you another chance Kamito."

"What chance?"

"Contract. Without a doubt, this time become my exclusive contracted spirit Kamito."

"Wh, why do I have to do that?"

"Fu, It's natural! Because you snatched the spirit that should have been mine."

Puffing up with her unfortunate breasts, Claire pointed her index finger at his front eyes.

As always, she put forth an arrogant reason.

(......An annoying girl)

Kamito is really quite irritated. Particularly, with no gratitude for saving her life, he had been called a thief.

--- For such an arrogant princess, some proper punishment is needed.

"Okay. I'll bind a spirit contract with you, alright."

Helplessly, Kamito purposely nods his head.

"........Eh? Um, so, at last you have finally become obedient."

She thought that he would be more resistant. Due to the unexpected response, Claire nodded as though quite bewildered.

"In that case ---"
[[Image:STnBD_V01_088.jpg|Slowly, Kamito raised Claire's chin by his fingertip. |thumb]]
Slowly, Kamito raised Claire's chin by his fingertip.

"Ha? Wha, wha, what are you doing?"

"Doing? A spirit contract, a high level humanoid spirit contract..... you understand?"

"A......."

Claire's face froze.

A high level humanoid contract.

In short, it was ---

"'''A contract sealed by a kiss''', isn't it?"

Kamito said it, and Claire's face blushed red.

"Uh, not, to that extent --- you don't have to go that far, I mean, that."

In a panicky irritable tone, she shakes her head furiously.

"Eve, even without any such formality, I don't mind...."

"Are you scared?"

"I, I'm not particularly scared! Um, but, that......"

"Then close your eyes."

Kamito mischievously whispered to a shrinking Claire's ears.

"Eh, wait......hiwaaaa!?"

(.......She is totally green in such things. ) 

Such a cute reaction, of course I would want to bully her.

Slowly, bringing his face closer to her thin cherry color lips.

"Um, sorry, I apologize......so.....forgive me"

"Too late ---"

"Su, so...kyauu!"

Claire gave up then closed her eyes.

(An obedient girl.....)

Kamito smiles bitterly in his mind.

Of course, he does not seriously plan to contract by kiss.

It was a thorough revenge for being tormented by her, but he was not so devilish as to go that far to mistreat a young girl.

Time to let her off --- then, as he was about to detach his body, at that time-

"Hey, you."

He was tapped from behind his shoulders.

Kamito slowly timidly* turns around.

In that place ---

"What are you doing, here in this sacred institute Areishia Spirit Academy?"

A gentle smile floated from the beautiful woman standing there.

She seems to be in the middle of her twenties. Long black hair, and wearing a pair of green black rimmed glasses.

She was dressed in a dark grey suit with a long sleeved white robe on top of it.

"I'm the one in charge of the Raven Class, Freya Grandol. I've heard of you from the Academy Director. The Academy's first ever male spirit contractor."

Wearing a smile that looked like it was pasted on her face, the beautiful woman introduced herself.

However, her eyes were not smiling.

"Now, why did you make our princess cry, bastard?"

=== Part 3 ===

Kamito rises up onto the platform, causing some quiet murmurs within the classroom.

That a male spirit contractor had transferred in, the rumors seemed to have already spread around. But they don't often get the chance to meet a young boy of the same age, so they can't hide their anxiety and curiosity from him.

"Is that a male spirit contractor ---"

"He has such vicious looks, like he will kill someone with them."

"Seems like he has already raped Claire Rouge."

"Wh, What is rape?"

"I, I don't know, but....so, something, perverted!"

"However, his delinquent look, is quite cool ♪."

"Don't be fooled by his outward appearance. Because every man is a perverted beast."

"Rumor has it that he was also having an affair with Ellis Fahrengart."

"Eeh, with that super-serious leader of the knights? By the way, what is an affair?"

"I don't know but..... so, something, indecent!"

.......*whisper *whisper.

(.......What are they talking nonsensically?)

Looking around the classroom built like an old theater, Kamito let out a sigh.

The number of students are fourteen or fifteen. Everyone has been brought up as a princess. Almost all of them are looking towards Kamito with interest, but some of the girls seemed really scared.

(Well, It was an expected reaction from them.)

After all, whenever anyone heard about a male spirit contractor, the first thing that came into their mind was the name of the ancient demon king who brought disaster and chaos to the continent. ..... has an excessively bad image.

Inside the classroom being showered with sharp glances like needles, Kamito had the urge to immediately run away.

Among them the specially intense glare --- came from the red haired girl in the front row.

Claire's glare that can burn people merely by her sight was fixed on Kamito.

"Burn, Burnt, Burning......"

She grumbled with different forms of the word.

Apparently, for a while ago up until now, she still seemed angry. --- obviously.

For that, Kamito reflected whether he had overdone it.

(If I don't properly apologize later...)

"Obliterate into cinders, obliterate into cinders, obliterate into cinders....."

.......don't know whether he would be forgiven when he apologizes.

"Stop chirping. Be quiet. Do you bunch want to lose credit?" 

The professor in charge Freya Grandol, hit the desk with the class list, and the classroom became silent.

She was not a teacher of practical skills but a special lecturer, and also a member of the spirit research agency who is traveling in every region of the <Spirit Forest> of the continent performing field work.

"Here, you, hurry up and introduce yourself."

The eye glasses worn by the beautiful woman gives her an intellectual appearance, but　if she opened her mouth it would expose her true colors.

Well, to put it nicely she had a daring and largehearted disposition. At least, she didn't seem to be a bad person.

Kamito stepped forward in front of the podium, and briefly introduced himself.

"I am Kazehaya Kamito, sixteen years old. As you can see I'm a male spirit contractor however......so, don't be afraid and let us get along with each other, thanks."

It was too simple, but he had nothing else to say.

'''For secrets that can't be said''', there were plenty.

The classmates reaction were ---

"Like, ordinary......right?"

"Yeah, ordinary. Not much of a demon king."

.....oh?

"However, seems like, I have fallen for him ♪."

"A, see. Aaloof look, doesn't he make you want to protect him?"

The once quiet classroom were filled with buzzing again.

(Wh, what is this fluffy sweet feeling?)

Due to the unexpected reaction of the young girls, Kamito was puzzled.

He thought that he would be greeted with chilly eyes, or even despising eyes.

However, the reactions that he felt earlier from all of the girls were very light.

Guessing Kamito's doubt, Madam Freya whispered into his ear.

"Ah, the princesses here have different senses to the commoners. After all, they are constantly handling the most puzzling neighbor to humans: 'the spirits'. Well, rather than criticizing you as a male spirit contractor, they are just curious in many ways about a young boy of the same age."

(Really, That's how it is ---)

Since it was put that way, it might be a little easier.

"U, um, Kamito.....you?"

And, one of the girls timidly raised her hand.

"Ya, Yeah, What?"

"Um, umm, wha, what's your, favorite food?"

"Eh? Well, anything.....if anything, I like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratin Gratin]"

"Ordinary!" "Quite Ordinary!" "I thought he would say [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyotaimori Nyoitaimori]!" "Cute!"

bla* bla* bla*.

.....What's this. A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyotaimori Nyoitaimori]?

Starting with that girl, one by one they poured questions towards him.

"Where is your home town?" "Your three sizes?" "Which place do you wash first in a bath?"

.....Princess, It was almost sexual harassment.

However, the one who was asking the question was blushing red all the way to her ears.

"Have you decided your team yet?"

"Team?"

"Of course the team for this coming <Spirit Blade Dance Festival>"

"Aa---"

The <Spirit Blade Dance Festival> that would be held two months later was going to be in the format of a five person team group battle. Kamito, as one person, can't enter by himself, he needed to find other spirit contractors and form a team.

"As of now, I don't have a team yet. I'm going to start looking for my other fellow teammates now."

In two months, whether he would find such people, he didn't know.

"Is it true, that you have tamed the sword <sealed spirit> that no one else has been able to contract?"

"Wh?"

Kamito eyebrow frowned in surprise. It looked like words of the event from this morning had already went around in the academy.

What on earth ---

"Yeah, and I am the one who tamed this Kamito that tamed the spirit!"

Slowly rising, Claire puffed up her almost nonexistent breast proudly.

"......as I thought, you!"

The princesses shriek* together in excitement.

"Kamito, what's your relationship with Claire?"

"Master and her Slave Spirit!"

"Totally nonsense. Don't answer it for me!"

Kamito quickly retorted against Claire who was answering it with her hands on her hips.

"What, an insolent slave spirit."

"When did I become your slave spirit!"

Watching the interaction between these two people, the girls become more and more excited.

The situation was about to be out of control ---

*Bam*. Madam Freya strikes her desk. The classroom settles down.

"Arg. Girls, cut it out! You, hurry up and choose your favorite seat."

"Ye, Yes.....!"

Madam Freya sends a lifeboat, Kamito gladly rides on it.

Of course, he preferred to sit as far from the red haired princess as possible. he starts walking towards one of the seats in the back.

At that moment. Pashii* a torturing leather whip coiled around his neck.

"Arg!"

With the neck being strangled, in that way, he had been pulled backward.

"*cough *cough, what are you doing!"

"Where are you going? Your seat is next to me."

"Hah, Who will sit in such a dangerous seat? uooooh--"

While his neck is being strangled, Kamito tries to move forward.

"hm, trying to oppose me. I'll show you who's the master!"

scratch* scratch* scratch* scratch*...........!

Kamito tries to unfasten the whip, Claire skillfully controlled her whip and prevented him from doing so.

"dddd.....da, mn......"

He can't breathe. More and more the oxygen ceased to circulate in his brain, at that time.

Swoosh* the sound of a gust of wind, Kamito's body was suddenly released.

"Oooowahh.......!"

Kamito lost his balance and trips over the staircase.

What on earth happened ---

".......h!?"

Turning around, in front of him standing stabbed into the floor was a sharp arrow.

Not a metal arrow. It's a clear ice arrow sparkling from the reflection of the sunlight.

(......Is this, an elemental waffe?)

The same as Claire's flame whip, the incarnation of their spirit is turned into their weapon form.

Who was it...?

"A disgrace, Claire Rouge."

An elegant voice was heard in the highest part of the classroom.

Kamito staying down on the ground, looks up and there ---

An extravagant platinum blonde beautiful young girl, standing with her hands on her hips.

A high class princess, as featured in a painted picture. Her skin is as white as the first snow.

The color of her pupils is a fine emerald green in pale radiance.

A charming smile appeared, calmly looking down at Claire.

".......w, what do you want, Rinslet Laurenfrost?!"

Claire growled in a deep voice. A dangerous color floated in her ruby eyes, it seems like she would bite at any moment.

"Give up, because he had already said that he wants to sit next to me."

hmmp*, combing her platinum blonde hair, declared the princess.

I have not said anything of that sort---anyway it was a big help.

Kamito was about to stand up when the blonde haired princess gracefully came down the stairs.

She bent down in front of Kamito, and stared at him like evaluating his price.

As the adorably beautiful girl is intently staring at him, Kamito's eye unintentionally diverted.

"Hmm, the face is not so bad."

Rinslet seems satisfied nodded and,

"Hey! You,　do you want to become my servant?"

"Ha?"

Suddenly, she said something unexpected.

"Do, don't lay your hand on him as you please, this guy is my slave spirit!"

Claire ran up on the stairs, and immediately grasped Kamito's arm.

"When did I became yours."

"Shut up!"

Claire suddenly yanked his arm.

The upper arm touched her breast, Kamito's heart involuntarily beat faster.

Although it was almost '''none''' --- She was still a sixteen year old young girl.

A reasonable elastic feeling was all that was needed and his heart would be pounding.

But ---

fuyoyon~*

In his other arms, '''an utterly other dimensional sensation could be felt'''!

"Ah, he does not belong to you, does he?"

Rinslet held Kamito's left arm tightly with both hands.

Different from Claire's pitiful assets, over here there is a considerable...sense of existence.

(Wai, wait, this is.......!)

Pressed from both sides with soft feeling, Kamito's face suddenly becomes hot.

"Re, release, fool!"

"What did you say, flat chested!"

A crackling spark scatters from the two princesses glaring at each other.

funyu*. fuyon~*. fukyun~*.

......Though it felt great, but if they don't release his arms first, it seems like his heart would burst.

And, at that time.

"Owawawah, my, my lady, don't give more hardship to Mr. transfer student!"

From above the classroom, A young girl in maid clothes came running down.

(.....ha? A maid?)

Kamito spreads his eyes, staring at the young girl's appearance.

A waving long skirt with frills. A short bob trim cut black hair. A white brim that nicely suits her is resting on top of her head.

No matter how you look at it, she's a fine maid.

(........Why is there a maid here in this academy!?)

Since she called her my lady, it seems she is this blonde princess' maid.

But in any case, she seemed to have a more normal personality. Without a doubt, at least she　would intervene against this sour dispute. Kamito embraces a dim hope, but at that time...

"Princess......Kyaaaaah!"

The maid fell.

In the middle of the stairs, it was an impressive fall.

"Carol!?"

Rinslet's face became pale.

(......damn!)

Kamito shakes off the two people's arms, and jumps kicking off the floor.

"Hiaaaaaaah!"

Somehow he caught the screaming and falling maid's flying body. He wrapped his arms around the young girl so as to prevent her head from being hurt, and they tumbled down the stairs.

The two people hugging each other while rolling* down, finally stopped.

".......hm, are you hurt ---"

And, opens his mouth --- thereupon Kamito's thoughts froze.

In his front. fuyon~, there were large soft things.

Under the neat and tidy cloth of the maid, melons larger than that of Rinslet.
[[Image:STnBD_V01_103.jpg|"U......um, .........uaah, I'm sorry!"　fuwa~* Tears began to float in the young maid's black pupil. |thumb]]
"U......um, .........uaah, I'm sorry!"

fuwa~* Tears began to float in the young maid's black pupils.

kaatsu* her face blushed, panicky* she tried to stand up ---

"He, hey......mo, mogugugu~!"

The nose of Kamito was pressed more and more by her breast.

(I'm in trouble.....I can't breath....)

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

At the sight of two persons intertwined with each other, the classroom's young girls raise an excited scream.

"Pe, Pervert!" "As I thought a lewd beast!" "Reincarnation of the demon king!"

"N, No, I'm.........mogugugu.....!"

Hurrying attempting to deny, his voice is being absorbed by the well rounded breast.

Gogogogogogogogo.........!

".......?"

Suddenly, A rumbling sound can be heard from above.

......An earthquake. Perhaps.

Somehow, it has a very, very bad sensation.

Looking up from the valley of the breast ---

There, the shape of Claire holding a blazing flame whip.

"Thi, thi, this ero spirit~!"

"Wait, It can't be helped no matter how you look at it...."

"Shu, shut up, please turn into cinder!"

(Why is it that it always becomes like this.....)

While Kamito groaned hopelessly, the whip ruthlessly swings at him with no mercy.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter3

2012-04-15T14:51:24Z

Starkiller4299: Blanked the page

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter2

2012-04-11T17:22:03Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 2: Areishia Spirit Academy==

===Part 1===

Areishia Spirit Academy.

In this institution, all the witches from across the empire are gathered and trained into fully fledged spirit contractors.

Holding a beautiful garden behind its castle walls, the school building lined with elegant spires, seemed very much like a palace of a princess. --- In fact, this was nearly entirely correct. Out of the students attending this academy, almost all of them are genuine proper noble ladies.

“However, to unexpectedly have such a terrible encounter..."

Kamito muttered to himself as he walked along the red carpet covered hallway on the second floor of the school building.

“Lost inside the forest, I winded up contracted to a sealed spirit, besides...”

Since Kamito snatched the sealed spirit from her, that crimson haired young girl apparently had her eyes on him.

After that - Claire Rouge guided Kamito to the academy school building.

That was good, but apparently her claim that Kamito was to become her personal contracted spirit was serious. Round and round the whip coiled around Kamito. Rather than being guided, it might be more appropriate to say that he was being dragged, and they walked through the forest in that fashion.

Regardless, Kamito had no obligation to play along with the princess. Taking the opportunity when Claire went to the restroom, he unwound the whip and escaped.

“Ah, escaped, you traitor!”

Such a voice can be heard inside the restroom ---

(What? What made you think I wouldn't run away...)

That young girl was an outstanding spirit contractor but, her common knowledge of society was that of a naive lady.

“Anyways, before I am found by that girl again, I need to hurry up and meet Greyworth.”

Proceeding down the hallway, Kamito let out a small sigh.

... Depressed.

After all, so far nothing good had ever resulted from getting involved with that witch.

(... But, I can’t ignore this.)

Kamito took out one sheet of paper from his breast pocket.

Forty days ago, he had received a letter from Academy Director Greyworth.

If, what was written on it is true---

He might finally get some clue about that girl.

Nevertheless, Kamito could not deny the possibility that it was just some bait to lure him here.

(... It is useless to ponder on it. After all the other party is that Witch.)

And, here Kamito stopped in his tracks.

In front of him was the thick wooden front door: the Academy Director’s Office.

As Kamito was about to knock on the door ---

“Academy Director, I can’t agree with this!”

Suddenly, a voice could be heard from inside the room.

A high pitched, young girl’s alto voice.

It seemed that they were occupied currently.

(... It can’t be helped, I’ll kill some time for a while outside.)

While Kamito was moving away from the door ---

“Why should we welcome the likes of a man to this sacred academy of witch princesses?!”

He stopped his foot steps...

(...Mm, man?)

That perked up his ears.

“Because I said that we need him here. Isn't that reason enough for you?”

It was a constrained voice. But, it carried so much power that Kamito trembled even hearing it through the door. What a fearful voice from the witch no matter how many times one hears it.

“Ar, are you suggesting that we lack the strength?”

“Nonsense. I'm not belittling the power of your chivalric orders, but, '''He is special'''”

“... You mean the fact that he can communicate with a spirit despite being male?”

“Yes, but that is not all of it.”

“What do you mean ---"

And, the girl suddenly closed her mouth.

Silence fell for a brief moment. Then ---

“Who is there?!”

Darn it. Apparently they noticed that someone was eavesdropping.

Kamito quickly attempts to leave ---

Bang – suddenly, the office door was violently opened.

From the door which was kicked opened, there appeared -

A beautiful slender leg which was highly swung upward, a pony tailed beautiful young girl.

A pair of sharp, long eyes. A dignified handsome feature.

She wore a silver breastplate on top of her uniform, and it looked like the outfit of a valiant knight.

Inside the leaf pleated skirt, a lace underwear flew into his sight.

“Black!?”

“Wha... Y, You, Insolent Person!”

The young girl kicked Kamito with her whole strength in the stomach who involuntary blurted out.

“Guoh!”

The sudden attack caught him off guard, blowing Kamito away.

In a instant, the young girl shortens the distance between them and presses Kamito down on the floor, she unsheathes the blade at her hips.

Then she thrust it violently, pointing the edge of her blade onto his cheek.

"..."

Shooting a cold piercing look.

Then, those clear reddish brown colored pair of eyes widens. 

“You... are you... actually a man!?”

The stern face of the girl blushed and became bright red.

That time ---

“Fnn, aren't you quite behind schedule, Kazehaya Kamito?”

A displeased voice came from the back of the office.

Kamito who was still being held down by the young girl, slowly raised his eyes.

Over there --- there was the figure of a witch completely unchanged from three years ago.

Her ash-blonde hair was gently waving.

Her beauty extolled the seductiveness of an alluring adult.

Beneath her small pair of glasses, her eyes, the same gray as the color of her hair, were staring in his direction.

(... You have come out, witch!)

Kamito spat out bitterly in his head.

Dusk Witch --- Greyworth Ciel Mais.

With the appearance of a bewitching, carnivorous, beautiful woman, she was an experienced spirit knight that boasted the title of being one of the twelve knight generals of the empire.

The rumor that the highest ranked Spirit Contractor may transcend her age might have been real.

“--- It has been three years, Kamito. Looking at your face, it seems you have changed.”

"... You just don't change, Dusk Witch.”

A sarcastic response while he was still pressed down on his back, the witch let out a smile.

“Kazehaya Kamito!? Then, this guy...”

The ponytail young girl raised her eyebrow.

“Hey, isn't it about time that you let go of me?”

Kamito squinted his eyes and murmured towards the young girl riding on his chest.

“What is that? You shameless, rude person!”

“After all, I said it for your own sake.”

“... What do you mean?”

“Well, how to say it... since some time ago, your thigh has been touching my body.”

Her moderately tight thigh felt soft. It was a pity that he had to point that out, but it wasn't rubbing so much that he would enjoy the side benefits under such a situation either.

"......~wa!?"

The stern young girl’s face blushed burning hot red.

Standing up quickly while holding down her skirt, without mercy she swings down her blade.
[[Image:STnBD_V01_059.jpg|Greyworth’s voice called out the young girl Ellis which was about to move.|thumb]]
Within a hair's breadth, Kamito dodged it by twisting his body.

"Wha, What are you doing!?"

“You, You indecent... in this instant, I will make you into a marinated salmon!”

“Wait, Calm down! I’m not a salmon!”

Zing --- a sharp slash, Kamito’s forelock was cut.

Serious. Not even a shred of doubt in her eyes.

(... Un, in this one day, how many times have I almost been killed?)

An unlucky day. Or is it because of the curse of the Dusk Witch.

(Are all the girls of the academy like this?)

Being driven into the wall. Kamito felt the seriousness of the threat to his life --- at that time.

“Sheath your blade, Ellis. Any personal struggle in this academy is prohibited.”

“... Uh!”

Greyworth’s voice called out, the girl named Ellis stopped instantly.

“Ac, Academy Director... I’m just---”

“Do I need to say the same thing twice? Ellis Fahrengart.”

“... No, um, I apologize.”

Ellis while glaring intensely to Kamito, reluctantly sheaths her blade.

Grayworth pushed up her glasses and then smiled.

“So, you are already at that age. Well, to be pushed down by Ellis' delicate body hidden under the armor, most boys would not be able to control themselves.”

“A, Academy Director!?”

“Wait, please don’t say anything that will cause a misunderstanding! I’m---"

Kamito quickly objected. But, his eyes unintentionally went in the direction of Ellis breasts---

... Indeed. She was wearing her armor so it was hard to tell, but certainly, Claire Rouge's pitiful breasts were incomparable to hers.

“Yo, You, whe, where are you looking at!”

“My bad...”

Kamito quickly averts his eyes.

“Guh, if you weren't the guest of Academy Director, I'd have made you into a Pot-au-feu already!”

“... Why a Pot-au-feu!”

Although he didn't understand her metaphor, it sounded scary.

“Ellis, you can go now. It’s unpleasant to have people flirt in front of my eyes.”

Greyworth’s cold voice informed.

“I, I can't leave you alone in the same room with... this man. If he has an impudent lust toward the Academy Director...”

“There is no such thing!”

Kamito interrupted strongly. ... What is this girl saying?

“Well, it does not matter if that's the case. I’m always wearing my lucky underwear.”

“What...”

“Mm, Your face became red, boy, quite cute. By the way the color is---"

“I don’t want to hear it!”

“Just kidding. Why are you blushing?”

“Guah!”

The Dusk Witch giggles with pleasure, Kamito directed looks filled with killing intent towards her.

“Bu, But, the Academy Director should not to be alone together with such a guy without guard---“

“Ellis Fahrengart.”

Due to that calm tone of voice , Ellis shoulder trembled.

“Do I need to repeat what am I saying twice?”

“Um, I apologize!”

What a frightening Greyworth, with her voice trembling, Ellis nodded, and left towards the hallway swiftly.

===Part 2===

Finally released, Kamito stood up letting out a sigh of relief.

Hitting the dirt out of his coat, he set foot inside the office.

After Kamito closed the door behind him, Greyworth shrugged her shoulder.

“She was the daughter of the ducal House of Fahrengart. An excellent knight, but somewhat stubborn.”

“Is that girl a student here, too? She was wearing armor on top of her uniform.”

“She is the leader of the Sylphid's Knights, a party which manages any disturbance of the order of the academy.”

“Like a public morals committee. In that case, they should manage it more strictly.”

Kamito remembered, what happened inside the forest when he met the crimson haired young girl.

... To leave her at large is bad, in all sorts of ways.

“Fu, I'll take that into consideration. By the way Kamito, why are you so flaky. As if you were attacked in the Spirit Forest?”

“.....No, I was scratched by a cat. A lively hellish cat girl.” 

Kamito answered impatiently with a bitter face , Greyworth shrugs her shoulder.

“You’d better be careful, rumors says that in the inner depths of the <Spirit Forest> that even the Spirit Investigation Committee would not enter, there are S-rank Spirits still sleeping there. Once you encounter one, your life is forfeit --- in your case, can you manage to tame it?”

“Please Stop. I don’t want to associate myself with an S-rank Spirit again.”

"Yeah. '''As You are now''', you would probably be mincemeat in five seconds."

“Not even one second. Actually, with a contract spirit I might last for seven seconds.”

“Fu--- '''with a contract spirit'''?”

Greyworth directs her grayish eye towards Kamito’s right hand.

“That wound? Is ''that'' also a scratch by the cat?”

“This is---"

The wound--- on the right hand, that is where the Spirit Seal was engraved a while ago.

Kamito clicked his tongue secretly--- No, after all he can’t possibly hide it from the Dusk Witch.

“Well, how to say it. It is just happenstance. I made a contract with a particular sealed spirit. It was ultra-violent, had I failed the contract, I would not be standing here right now.”

“Ha, what a change of heart, that you have contracted with spirits other than ''her''.”

The grayish eye, inside the glasses, glistened sharply.

“Finally you decided to say farewell to that ghost, is that it?”

“... Guh!”

At that mocking tone, Kamito couldn't help but get agitated.

“She is not a ghost! She is...”

Kamito took out the paper in his coat’s pocket, then slapped it onto the front desk.

The beautiful witch did not waver in the slightest. A detestable calmness.

Kamito bites his lips, then asks Greyworth.

“This, you sent this to me. Is it true?”

“Ah, it’s true. Witches don’t tell lies.”

“It was... Indeed, you haven’t told a lie. But, you've never spoken the truth either.”

Kamito spat out what he wanted to say.

“... Well whatever. Tell me what you know.”

“Oh boy, Is that the attitude of someone asking a witch? You were cuter three years ago.”

“The cat changed into a tiger in three years. Do not think it will stay as your pet for ever.”

“A cat does not change into a tiger and never will.”

Greyworth intentionally shrugged her shoulder and fixedly looked in Kamito's eyes.

Kamito was involuntarily overcome by the pressure of that overbearing stare.

“The thing written there is true. '''Your Contracted Spirit is Alive'''.”

“... Guh!”

Kamito swallowed his breath.

A Witch does not speak the truth. But, she never tells a lie either.

“Her... Restia, where is she now?”

Kamito raised his voice, leaning his body onto the office desk.

The witch without moving her eyebrow, thrust a bundle of documents to the tip of Kamito's nose.

“... What are these?”

“Agreement Terms. Sign here.”

“This doesn't make any sense. What do you mean?”

“There is nothing you can't understand. For what purpose do you think I summoned you here? Did you take it that I, the Dusk Witch, will simply let you have the information out of goodwill?” 

“I understand fully that you have nothing but malice.”

Kamito snatched the bundle of documents, then slapped it onto the desk.

Bundled with a clip, Areishia Spirit Academy’s Admission Notification.

It was written there. No doubt--- Kamito's　''public'' Background Profile. 

“What kind of joke is this?”

“Today you will be admitted into the academy. Don't worry I've already taken care of all the necessary procedures.”

“How can I be calm! What do you mean by this, explain!”

“I need you. That's all.”

“Ha?”

The witch's words are always unexpected. Like a midsummer breeze.

“What are you talking about? I mean, this academy is, a garden of pure maidens.”

“No problem. Such a thing is no big deal with my authority.”

“That would be a problem in itself! '''Now is Different from Three Years Ago.'''”

Provoked by Kamito---

“Don’t get the wrong idea, Boy. You don’t have any right to choose.”

Greyworth told it in a shockingly cold voice.

"... Gu!"

“Till now I have allowed you to roam freely. Originally, the spirit contractor must be managed by the organization. You know that, right?”

“That is–-- "

In the Orudeshia Empire, spirit contractors are given various privileges, but in exchange they must be registered with the organization. If there exist stray spirit contractors that harbor ideologies that are against the empire, it will be extremely dangerous to the nation.

“They will sniff out your existence sooner or later. Don’t underestimate the country’s Spirit Knights, we don't know how it would have been three years ago, but with your current slump you will lose for sure; besides--- ”

Then, a demonic grin floats from Greyworth.

“There’s a slight chance that I might carelessly blab out the secret.”

“... What carelessly? In short this is blackmail.”

“It helps a lot that you understand so quickly.”

“So shameless.”

Kamito throws a loathsome sentence, Greyworth as if in regret shrugs her shoulder.

“Fu, why are you dissatisfied. One man in an institution where real princess maidens are gathered. Isn’t it like a marvelous luxury harem?”

“Oh, please, I’m--- ”

“If you like, you may take one student from the academy and do whatever you like to her. For example, Ellis Fahrengart from earlier--- who is seriously stubborn, but she is of the type to become ultra obedient once well trained. I am sure she will respond to whatever perverted radical play you have in mind.”

“Am I a sex deviant?!”

“A joke. There is no way that I have such authority.”

“I can’t hear your joke...”

Kamito moaned holding his temple.

“Why did you summon me now. What do you plan to do with me?”

“Glad that we can get to the point directly.”

“Since it is useless to oppose the Witch.”

A casual reply, Greyworth let out a smile---

“In two months, the Blade Dance will be held in Astral Zero. I have put you up as an entrant there.”

“What did you say?”

--- Spirit Blade Dance Festival.

Once every several years, it is the largest Kagura<ref>Kagura (神楽, かぐら, "god-entertainment")refers to a specific type of Shinto theatrical dance.</ref> ritual carried out in Astral Zero.

Spirit contractors gather from the continent, and perform blade dance as an offering for the Five Great Elemental Lords.

So to speak, it’s a grand martial battle festival of fellow spirit contractors.

The country of the victorious team will be given a few years of divine protection by the Elemental Lords, a guaranteed prosperity for the country. Together with a general assembly for the champion---

A single <wish> will be granted.

“Win the cup, Kamito. Nevertheless, '''as now''' it might be impossible for you.”

“I---”

Kamito bites his lips, strongly clenching his fist.

Not his right hand where the spirit seal was engraved--- It was his left hand covered by the black leather glove.

Zukiri, A sharp pain runs in his chest.

“I, I have decided that I will never participate in the Blade Dance Festival again.”

“No, You will compete. Otherwise there will be trouble.”

Greyworth placed her both hands onto the office desk, calmly shaking her head.

“Because, nobody but you, can win against that Strongest Blade Play Dancer.”

“Wh... at...!?”

The moment that he heard that name, Kamito face froze.

The Strongest--- the spirit contractors that are given this title, currently, there is only one in the whole continent.

Three years ago, a mere fourteen year old young girl dominated the spirit blade dance festival’s individual matches.

“--- That is right. '''She''' has returned.”

Greyworth’s grayish pair of eyes, peered into those of Kamito’s.

“The Strongest Blade Play Dancer--- Ren Ashbell.”

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter2

2012-04-11T13:04:46Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 2: Areishia Spirit Academy==

===Part 1===

Areishia Spirit Academy.

In this institution, all the witches from across the empire are gathered and trained into fully fledged spirit contractors.

Holding a beautiful garden behind its castle walls, the school building lined with elegant spires, seemed very much like a palace of a princess. --- In fact, this was nearly entirely correct. Out of the students attending this academy, almost all of them are genuine proper noble ladies.

“However, to unexpectedly have such a terrible encounter..."

Kamito muttered to himself as he walked along the red carpet covered hallway on the second floor of the school building.

“Lost inside the forest, I winded up contracted to a sealed spirit, besides...”

Since Kamito snatched the sealed spirit from her, that crimson haired young girl apparently had her eyes on him.

After that - Claire Rouge guided Kamito to the academy school building.

That was good, but apparently her claim that Kamito was to become her personal contracted spirit was serious. Round and round the whip coiled around Kamito. Rather than being guided, it might be more appropriate to say that he was being dragged, and they walked through the forest in that fashion.

Regardless, Kamito had no obligation to play along with the princess. Taking the opportunity when Claire went to the restroom, he unwound the whip and escaped.

“Ah, escaped, you traitor!”

Such a voice can be heard inside the restroom ---

(What? What made you think I wouldn't run away...)

That young girl was an outstanding spirit contractor but, her common knowledge of society was that of a naive lady.

“Anyways, before I am found by that girl again, I need to hurry up and meet Greyworth.”

Proceeding down the hallway, Kamito let out a small sigh.

... Depressed.

After all, so far nothing good had ever resulted from getting involved with that witch.

(... But, I can’t ignore this.)

Kamito took out one sheet of paper from his breast pocket.

Forty days ago, he had received a letter from Academy Director Greyworth.

If, what was written on it is true---

He might finally get some clue about that girl.

Nevertheless, Kamito could not deny the possibility that it was just some bait to lure him here.

(... It is useless to ponder on it. After all the other party is that Witch.)

And, here Kamito stopped in his tracks.

In front of him was the thick wooden front door: the Academy Director’s Office.

As Kamito was about to knock on the door ---

“Academy Director, I can’t agree with this!”

Suddenly, a voice could be heard from inside the room.

A high pitched, young girl’s alto voice.

It seemed that they were occupied currently.

(... It can’t be helped, I’ll kill some time for a while outside.)

While Kamito was moving away from the door ---

“Why should we welcome the likes of a man to this sacred academy of witch princesses?!”

He stopped his foot steps...

(...Mm, man?)

That perked up his ears.

“Because I said that we need him here. Isn't that reason enough for you?”

It was a constrained voice. But, it carried so much power that Kamito trembled even hearing it through the door. What a fearful voice from the witch no matter how many times one hears it.

“Ar, are you suggesting that we lack the strength?”

“Nonsense. I'm not belittling the power of your chivalric orders, but, '''He is special'''”

“... You mean the fact that he can communicate with a spirit despite being male?”

“Yes, but that is not all of it.”

“What do you mean ---"

And, the girl suddenly closed her mouth.

Silence fell for a brief moment. Then ---

“Who is there?!”

Darn it. Apparently they noticed that someone was eavesdropping.

Kamito quickly attempts to leave ---

Bang – suddenly, the office door was violently opened.

From the door which was kicked opened, there appeared -

A beautiful slender leg which was highly swung upward, a pony tailed beautiful young girl.

A pair of sharp, long eyes. A dignified handsome feature.

She wore a silver breastplate on top of her uniform, and it looked like the outfit of a valiant knight.

Inside the leaf pleated skirt, a lace underwear flew into his sight.

“Black!?”

“Wha... Y, You, Insolent Person!”

The young girl kicked Kamito with her whole strength in the stomach who involuntary blurted out.

“Guoh!”

The sudden attack caught him off guard, blowing Kamito away.

In a instant, the young girl shortens the distance between them and presses Kamito down on the floor, she unsheathes the blade at her hips.

Then she thrust it violently, pointing the edge of her blade onto his cheek.

"..."

Shooting a cold piercing look.

Then, those clear reddish brown colored pair of eyes widens. 

“You... are you... actually a man!?”

The stern face of the girl blushed and became bright red.

That time ---

“Fnn, aren't you quite behind schedule, Kazehaya Kamito?”

A displeased voice came from the back of the office.

Kamito who was still being held down by the young girl, slowly raised his eyes.

Over there --- there was the figure of a witch completely unchanged from three years ago.

Her ash-blonde hair was gently waving.

Her beauty extolled the seductiveness of an alluring adult.

Beneath her small pair of glasses, her eyes, the same gray as the color of her hair, were staring in his direction.

(... You have come out, witch!)

Kamito spat out bitterly in his head.

Dusk Witch --- Greyworth Ciel Mais.

With the appearance of a bewitching, carnivorous, beautiful woman, she was an experienced spirit knight that boasted the title of being one of the twelve knight generals of the empire.

The rumor that the highest ranked Spirit Contractor may transcend her age might have been real.

“--- It has been three years, Kamito. Looking at your face, it seems you have changed.”

"... You just don't change, Dusk Witch.”

A sarcastic response while he was still pressed down on his back, the witch let out a smile.

“Kazehaya Kamito!? Then, this guy...”

The ponytail young girl raised her eyebrow.

“Hey, isn't it about time that you let go of me?”

Kamito squinted his eyes and murmured towards the young girl riding on his chest.

“What is that? You shameless, rude person!”

“After all, I said it for your own sake.”

“... What do you mean?”

“Well, how to say it... since some time ago, your thigh has been touching my body.”

Her moderately tight thigh felt soft. It was a pity that he had to point that out, but it wasn't rubbing so much that he would enjoy the side benefits under such a situation either.

"......~wa!?"

The stern young girl’s face blushed burning hot red.

Standing up quickly while holding down her skirt, without mercy she swings down her blade.
[[Image:STnBD_V01_059.jpg|Greyworth’s voice called out the young girl Ellis which was about to move.|thumb]]
Within a hair's breadth, Kamito dodged it by twisting his body.

"Wha, What are you doing!?"

“You, You indecent... in this instant, I will make you into a marinated salmon!”

“Wait, Calm down! I’m not a salmon!”

Zing --- a sharp slash, Kamito’s forelock was cut.

Serious. Not even a shred of doubt in her eyes.

(... Un, in this one day, how many times have I almost been killed?)

An unlucky day. Or is it because of the curse of the Dusk Witch.

(Are all the girls of the academy like this?)

Being driven into the wall. Kamito felt the seriousness of the threat to his life --- at that time.

“Sheath your blade, Ellis. Any personal struggle in this academy is prohibited.”

“... Uh!”

Greyworth’s voice called out, the girl named Ellis stopped instantly.

“Ac, Academy Director... I’m just---”

“Do I need to say the same thing twice? Ellis Fahrengart.”

“... No, um, I apologize.”

Ellis while glaring intensely to Kamito, reluctantly sheaths her blade.

Grayworth pushed up her glasses and then smiled.

“So, you are already at that age. Well, to be pushed down by Ellis' delicate body hidden under the armor, most boys would not be able to control themselves.”

“A, Academy Director!?”

“Wait, please don’t say anything that will cause a misunderstanding! I’m---"

Kamito quickly objected. But, his eyes unintentionally went in the direction of Ellis breasts---

... Indeed. She was wearing her armor so it was hard to tell, but certainly, Claire Rouge's pitiful breasts were incomparable to hers.

“Yo, You, whe, where are you looking at!”

“My bad...”

Kamito quickly averts his eyes.

“Guh, if you weren't the guest of Academy Director, I'd have made you into a Pot-au-feu already!”

“... Why a Pot-au-feu!”

Although he didn't understand her metaphor, it sounded scary.

“Ellis, you can go now. It’s unpleasant to have people flirt in front of my eyes.”

Greyworth’s cold voice informed.

“I, I can't leave you alone in the same room with... this man. If he has an impudent lust toward the Academy Director...”

“There is no such thing!”

Kamito interrupted strongly. ... What is this girl saying?

“Well, it does not matter if that's the case. I’m always wearing my lucky underwear.”

“What...”

“Mm, Your face became red, boy, quite cute. By the way the color is---"

“I don’t want to hear it!”

“Just kidding. Why are you blushing?”

“Guah!”

The Dusk Witch giggles with pleasure, Kamito directed looks filled with killing intent towards her.

“Bu, But, the Academy Director should not to be alone together with such a guy without guard---“

“Ellis Fahrengart”

Due to that calm tone of voice , Ellis shoulder trembled.

“Do I need to repeat what am I saying twice?”

“Um, I apologize!”

What a frightening Greyworth, with her voice trembling, Ellis nodded, and left towards the hallway swiftly.

===Part 2===

Finally released, Kamito stood up letting out a sigh of relief.

Hitting the dirt out of his coat, he set foot inside the office.

After Kamito closed the door behind him, Greyworth shrugged her shoulder.

“She was the daughter of the duke house of Fahrengart. An excellent knight, but somewhat stubborn.”

“Is that girl a student here, too? She was wearing armor on top of her uniform.”

“She is the leader of the Sylphid's Knights, a party which manages any disturbance of the order of the academy.”

“Like a public morals committee. In that case, they should manage it more strictly.”

Kamito remembered, what happened inside the forest when he met the crimson haired young girl.

... To leave her at large is bad, in all sorts of ways.

“Fu, I'll take that into consideration. By the way Kamito, why are you so flaky. As if you were attacked in the Spirit Forest?”

“.....No, I was scratched by a cat. A lively hellish cat girl.” 

Kamito answered impatiently with a bitter face , Greyworth shrugs her shoulder.

“You’d better be careful, rumors says that in the inner depths of the <Spirit Forest> that even the Spirit Investigation Committee would not enter, there are S-rank Spirits still sleeping there. Once you encounter one, your life is forfeit --- in your case, can you manage to tame it?”

“Please Stop. I don’t want to associate myself with an S-rank Spirit again.”

"Yeah. '''As You are now''', you would probably be mincemeat in five seconds."

“Not even one second. Actually, with a contract spirit I might last for seven seconds.”

“Fu--- '''with a contract spirit'''?”

Greyworth directs her grayish eye towards Kamito’s right hand.

“That wound? Is ''that'' also a scratch by the cat?”

“This is---"

The wound--- on the right hand, that is where the Spirit Seal was engraved a while ago.

Kamito clicked his tongue secretly--- No, after all he can’t possibly hide it from the Dusk Witch.

“Well, how to say it. It is just happenstance. I made a contract with a particular sealed spirit. It was ultra-violent, had I failed the contract, I would not be standing here right now.”

“Ha, what a change of heart, that you have contracted with spirits other than ''her''.”

The grayish eye, inside the glasses, glistened sharply.

“Finally you decided to say farewell to that ghost, is that it?”

“... Guh!”

At that mocking tone, Kamito couldn't help but get agitated.

“She is not a ghost! She is...”

Kamito took out the paper in his coat’s pocket, then slapped it onto the front desk.

The beautiful witch did not waver in the slightest. A detestable calmness.

Kamito bites his lips, then asks Greyworth.

“This, you sent this to me. Is it true?”

“Ah, it’s true. Witches don’t tell lies.”

“It was... Indeed, you haven’t told a lie. But, you've never spoken the truth either.”

Kamito spat out what he wanted to say.

“... Well whatever. Tell me what you know.”

“Oh boy, Is that the attitude of someone asking a witch? You were cuter three years ago.”

“The cat changed into a tiger in three years. Do not think it will stay as your pet for ever.”

“A cat does not change into a tiger and never will.”

Greyworth intentionally shrugged her shoulder and fixedly looked in Kamito's eyes.

Kamito was involuntarily overcome by the pressure of that overbearing stare.

“The thing written there is true. '''Your Contracted Spirit is Alive'''.”

“... Guh!”

Kamito swallowed his breath.

A Witch does not speak the truth. But, she never tells a lie either.

“Her... Restia, where is she now?”

Kamito raised his voice, leaning his body onto the office desk.

The witch without moving her eyebrow, thrust a bundle of documents to the tip of Kamito's nose.

“... What are these?”

“Agreement Terms. Sign here.”

“This doesn't make any sense. What do you mean?”

“There is nothing you can't understand. For what purpose do you think I summoned you here? Did you take it that I, the Dusk Witch, will simply let you have the information out of goodwill?” 

“I understand fully that you have nothing but malice.”

Kamito snatched the bundle of documents, then slapped it onto the desk.

Bundled with a clip, Areishia Spirit Academy’s Admission Notification.

It was written there. No doubt--- Kamito's　''public'' Background Profile. 

“What kind of joke is this?”

“Today you will be admitted into the academy. Don't worry I've already taken care of all the necessary procedures.”

“How can I be calm! What do you mean by this, explain!”

“I need you. That's all.”

“Ha?”

The witch's words are always unexpected. Like a midsummer breeze.

“What are you talking about? I mean, this academy is, a garden of pure maidens.”

“No problem. Such a thing is no big deal with my authority.”

“That would be a problem in itself! '''Now is Different from Three Years Ago.'''”

Provoked by Kamito---

“Don’t get the wrong idea, Boy. You don’t have any right to choose.”

Greyworth told it in a shockingly cold voice.

"... Gu!"

“Till now I have allowed you to roam freely. Originally, the spirit contractor must be managed by the organization. You know that, right?”

“That is–-- "

In the Orudeshia Empire, spirit contractors are given various privileges, but in exchange they must be registered with the organization. If there exist stray spirit contractors that harbor ideologies that are against the empire, it will be extremely dangerous to the nation.

“They will sniff out your existence sooner or later. Don’t underestimate the country’s Spirit Knights, we don't know how it would have been three years ago, but with your current slump you will lose for sure; besides--- ”

Then, a demonic grin floats from Greyworth.

“There’s a slight chance that I might carelessly blab out the secret.”

“... What carelessly? In short this is blackmail.”

“It helps a lot that you understand so quickly.”

“So shameless.”

Kamito throws a loathsome sentence, Greyworth as if in regret shrugs her shoulder.

“Fu, why are you dissatisfied. One man in an institution where real princess maidens are gathered. Isn’t it like a marvelous luxury harem?”

“Oh, please, I’m--- ”

“If you like, you may take one student from the academy and do whatever you like to her. For example, Ellis Fahrengart from earlier--- who is seriously stubborn, but she is of the type to become ultra obedient once well trained. I am sure she will respond to whatever perverted radical play you have in mind.”

“Am I a sex deviant?!”

“A joke. There is no way that I have such authority.”

“I can’t hear your joke...”

Kamito moaned holding his temple.

“Why did you summon me now. What do you plan to do with me?”

“Glad that we can get to the point directly.”

“Since it is useless to oppose the Witch.”

A casual reply, Greyworth let out a smile---

“In two months, the Blade Dance will be held in Astral Zero. I have put you up as an entrant there.”

“What did you say?”

--- Spirit Blade Dance Festival.

Once every several years, it is the largest Kagura<ref>Kagura (神楽, かぐら, "god-entertainment")refers to a specific type of Shinto theatrical dance.</ref> ritual carried out in Astral Zero.

Spirit contractors gather from the continent, and perform blade dance as an offering for the Five Great Elemental Lords.

So to speak, it’s a grand martial battle festival of fellow spirit contractors.

The country of the victorious team will be given a few years of divine protection by the Elemental Lords, a guaranteed prosperity for the country. Together with a general assembly for the champion---

A single <wish> will be granted.

“Win the cup, Kamito. Nevertheless, '''as now''' it might be impossible for you.”

“I---”

Kamito bites his lips, strongly clenching his fist.

Not his right hand where the spirit seal was engraved--- It was his left hand covered by the black leather glove.

Zukiri, A sharp pain runs in his chest.

“I, I have decided that I will never participate in the Blade Dance Festival again”

“No, You will compete. Otherwise there will be trouble.”

Greyworth placed her both hands onto the office desk, calmly shaking her head.

“Because, nobody but you, can win against that Strongest Blade Play Dancer”

“Wh... at...!?”

The moment that he heard that name, Kamito face froze.

The Strongest--- the spirit contractors that are given this title, currently, there is only one in the whole continent.

Three years ago, a mere fourteen year old young girl dominated the spirit blade dance festival’s individual matches.

“--- That is right. '''She''' has returned.”

Greyworth’s grayish pair of eyes, peered into those of Kamito’s.

“The Strongest Blade Play Dancer--- Ren Ashbell.”

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}

Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter1

2012-04-10T15:04:46Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 1: You are my contracted spirit==

=== Part 1 ===

In a quiet forest where the sun rays were shining through leaves.

"Paa--"

Suddenly, the rippling sound of water resounded in the air.

Kamito, he--opened his mouth wide and just stood there.

A girl...In front of his eyes was a fully naked girl.

She was cute, extraordinarily cute. Her eyes were big and red like rubies, her cherry-red lips were wet and lustrous, her dazzling white flesh was as silky as milk, and on the surface of the water, her beautiful legs were slender and fine. Also, what caught his eyes more than anything was--

The hair that clings on her gorgeous fine glass work like body, crimson red like burning fire.

Of course, she was naked. Stark naked.

"......"

Kamito felt cold sweat on his back.

Not good.

It's really not good that she is seen naked.

......I should really run away quickly. Even though he gave that rational advice to himself, his body wouldn't move. Actually, he was ''charmed''. The scene was so surreal that Kamito felt a bit detached from reality.

And at that time, the girl--

[[Image:STnBD V01 013.jpg|thumb]]

Her moist and beautiful eyes blinked, having found the unexpected intruder.
Staring blankly, she seemed yet to have fully grasped the situation.
She didn't even try to cover her still developing small breasts.

Tick.

The water drops fell from the young girl's bangs. Kamito's consciousness came back at the sound of the water.

"Ah-that......"

Kamito coughed once, and removed his glance from the naked girl　who was standing motionlessly.

"How can I say it......it looks like an accident, right? It is an unfortunate accident for both of us..."

At that time, Kamito made two fatal errors. The first, of course, was that he started to make futile explanations. The best choice was to take advantage of the fact that the girl was dazed, and run away from the trouble immediately.

And the other error was--

"Even though it was an accident, I have seen you in such a situation. Sorry, my apologies."

Until here it was still fine, but the last part......

"Though, don't worry. I'm still a healthy boy, so I don't have ''that kind of interest''. I......"

Looking at the young girl's ''still developing small chest''--

"I have no interest towards a kid's body."

Looks like he stepped on a gigantic landmine.

"......"

A frozen silence fell.

Silently, the girl raises her arm with red hair coiled around. Her shoulders were slightly shaking. However the reason wasn't because of the cold, but Kamito was oblivious to that fact.

"Sixteen--"

"Eh?"

The girl's delicate lips were mumbling something, and Kamito lifted his eyebrows.

"I-I-I AM ALREADY SIXTEEN-YEARS OLD!!!"

At the instant when she screamed that out, the young girl's red hair stood on its end.

"Haa!?"

As Kamito opened his eyes wide in surprise--

"Sixteen!? For real? How can you have such a pitiful chest--"

He quickly covered his mouth. But it was already too late.

"......Unforgivable."

The young girl said that in a low, cold voice.

"D-Definitely unforgivable......you, you, you, you peeping demon, pervert, lewd beast!"

"You know it well, words like lewd beast." 

Kamito said that in a low voice with narrowed eyes.

"Hn?"

......At that time, he noted that the forest's trees were making a low whisper-like rustle.

(Is that the wind? No, that's--)

--- Guardian of Crimson’s blaze, Keeper of the Sleepless furnace!

--- Now is the time to abide the contract of blood, hasten to my side as commanded!

From the young girl's cute lips came a smooth incantation in spirits’ language. At that instant, accompanied by the sound of an air blast, a scourging flame whip appeared in the hand of the girl.

(.....a Spirit Contractor!)

Kamito shouted in his head.

Spirit Contractor --- another dimensional layer of this world, the “Astral Zero”.

Witches who had signed a contract with a fierce spirit from that place are called “Spirit Contractors”.

The Spirit Contractor can use different types of spirits, wielding its powers freely.

It seemed that the girl in front of him had a contract with a flame type spirit.

The young girl is a Spirit Contractor. It isn't something to be surprised about.

After all, this is the place where the country's excellent Spirit Contractors are gathered together.

(.....However, surprisingly she is even capable of using Elemental Waffe.)

The natures of the spirits summoned into this world from the Astral Zero can be roughly divided into two types.

The first type is a massless, shapeless type that appears in its original state as a ‘Divine Core’. This is purely the summoning of a spirit's power, and is used as a vault of magical power for the spirit magic.

There is another type, the pure state of summoning a part of the spirit’s existence as it is. Because of the tremendous amount of power required and the difficulty to control it, it is said that only a tiny portion of the spirit contractors can do it to this extent.

Even so, the girl before his eyes is not just using a spirit, but could use it to the extent of using the spirit as a highly optimized elemental buff.

(.... it means that, eh? – Am I now in a life or death situation?)

As the thought suddenly hits him, Kamito was stunned.

At the place where the flame whip touched the water's surface, a gush of white steam was rising from it.

"You, you have the guts..... "

The girl murmured with a trembling voice. Her face was red. Was it due to her anger, or her embarrassment?

"Rea-really, you have some nerve, to p-peek , while I, Claire Rouge, am taking my bath....."

“W-Wait, that's a misunderstanding! Let me explain it first!"

Kamito shook his head in panic.

"I will not listen to your excuses. Please turn into ashes, PERVERT!"

The flame whip ignited furiously in the wielder’s hand and was moving as if it was licking the water surface.

"Oooooh..!?"

Kamito threw his body, and quickly jumped into the dense brushes at proximity.

Nearly at the same time, the flame whip brushed its way over his head.

The idle red residue remained on the trees, which were cut off like a complete joke. The cut surface of the tree trunks' remains were surprisingly clean, without any trace of burn. The attack was so quick that the flames didn't even have the time to ignite the trees.

The hair on Kamito's forehead was fluttering down on his mouth while cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

(.....Um, that's a joke, right? I'm not going to die like that, will I?)

Zing, biyutsu – there was like an endless dance of crimson flash cutting horizontally and vertically in the forest. The bush was mowed down in a blink of eye and losing his place of hiding, Kamito hurriedly dashed out.

“You wild beast, stay still and let me hit you!“

“That's nonsense, I’m not a pervert!“

Kamito screamed out and at the same time, the whip swung downwards on his feet, causing a violent spark to scatter. Rising from the ground, the whip immediately sprang up in the direction of the forest woods, which got ruthlessly severed. But fortunately among all the unluckiness, the girl - Claire's aim wasn't quite accurate. After all, one hand was hiding her pitiful chest from being revealed, and in order to conceal her most important part, she squatted down in the pond. However, considering how she handled her whip in such a position, she should be normally talented at using it.

“How conceited despite being a pervert, please obediently turn into charcoal!“

“As I am saying, I’m not a pervert!“

Kamito stopped and turned around. He pointed out something that he had been mindful for sometime.

“Hey, are you sure that you're hiding it properly? Between the gaps of your finger, you can’t hide it delicately.”

“......eh?”

Instantly, Claire’s facial expression froze. And-

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”

Blushing deeply and screaming strangely in a cute voice - she quickly hid her chest with both of her hands.

“Ah, idiot!”

Kamito involuntarily exclaimed.

Claire let go and lost control of the flame whip, and it severed the trees behind the girl. Slowly, the huge trees came falling down right at her. However, Claire didn’t notice it since her eyes were closed in embarrassment while embracing her naked chest with both hands. 

(Damn--)

At this instant, Kamito kicked the ground. Running with his whole strength towards the pond, he then jumped while grabbing Claire’s shoulders.

“Wha-!?”

Claire’s red pupils dilated widely. Kamito ignored it and aggressively pressed her down in the water. The moment Claire’s hand touched the water, a gush of steam rose, and the flame whip disappeared. Immediately after, the trees　nearby fell down, and giant tree trunks collapsed down on them.

Duuuun!

Deafening sound almost broke the ears, and magnificent large water columns rose.

Absorbing the heat of the burning flame, the warm pond water poured down like heavy rain.

.....A few seconds later.

“Um......“

With a seductive rising voice, Claire slowly opened her eyes. She had an expression of shock, and her eyes blinked in wonder. Kamito was lying on top of Claire, and briefly he found himself staring into her eyes. Their faces were so close that if someone was to push his back lightly, their lips would likely touch. The crimson red hair clung closely to her nape. Her moist lips were cherry red. Delicate glass doll like perfect face was in front of Kamito's eyes. For a short moment it looked like he had involuntarily fallen for her. Kamito quickly shook his head.

“......Um, are you alright? Are you hurt..”

Claire nodded. Somehow, it seemed she had not fully absorbed the situation yet. Kamito sighed, then tried to stand up.

Funyuu.

His hand under the water had touched something soft.

“Hwaaah!”

(What is that? Mud?--)

Funyu. Munyu (touch, touch).

“Hm, ya, hwaaa”

From her moist lips came a shallow sweet voice. Claire's submerged naked body twitched for some reason.

“Um ..this is?”

Having come this far, Kimito finally arrived in a certain conclusion. A certain......awfully frightening conclusion.

(No, wait, calm down, maybe --- could I have mistaken)

It can’t be. There was no such thing. While letting a flow of cold sweat, he desperately tried to deny such a possibility.

"When I looked it earlier, it wasn't so..."

“Wh..wha.. wha..whattt .... are..you...do..ing”

Claire’s lip trembled, shaking involuntarily. She was blushing with tears in her eyes.

Apparently, it probably wasn't.....a lump of mud that he touched.

“You, PERVERT----!”

“Gwah!”

Because he got hit hard by a knee in the stomach, Kamito collapsed into the pond's water.

Gugugugugu....!

With rising wobbling heat haze behind her, Claire slowly stood up. Before one knows, the flame whip materialized by the flame spirit was again grasped in her hand. The water in the pond instantaneously started to boil, and bubbles began to show here and there.

“No..No, it’s a misunderstanding! Wait, I’m really gonna die.....”

“Sh..Shut up pervert, you will die here!”

Together with an almost ear breaking deafening sound, Kamito’s body whirled highly into the air.

=== Part 2 ===

“.....Un”

Few minutes later. Kamito starts to recover his consciousness, before his eyes, trees within the forest unfold.

He tried to rise---

Suddenly, he noticed something which was coiled around his neck.

It was a leather black whip for torturing. (What is this thing…), Kamito tried to remove it,

“Finally woke up, You Peeping Tom Pervert”

The thing on his neck tightens.

“Gweh!? Release me....”

Kamito coughed then looked upward-

Scarlet haired young girl – Claire, stood with her hands at her waist. Keeping her slim eyebrow arc raised, she gazed sharply down at Kamito.

This time she was not naked. The girl has changed into an adorable uniform. It has the pattern of black line within the pure white, Areishia Spirit Academy’s uniform.

A ribbon tie decorated the front of her chest. Instead of a button, a talisman was sewn on it. Between the gap of knee sock stockings and a pleated skirt, her slender beautiful legs stuck out brilliantly. The tiny ribbons tied her blazing crimson hair on both sides. This was the so called twin tail hair style. Judging from her still wet hair, it seems that he hadn’t lost consciousness for that long.

Keeping the neck of Kamito bound tightly, Claire puffed up her small chest.

“Well, be grateful. I went easy and didn’t kill you”

“That has to be lying. You definitely intended to kill me. ”

“What are you talking about? If I was serious, you would've been cinders by now. ”

..... She just said something terribly frightening in a calm manner.

By the way, cinders are the soft ash residue left from incinerated firewood.

“I beg your forgiveness to spare me from becoming cinders. After all, I helped you.”

“Yeah, I’m a fair noble, I’ll give you credit for that. You are of a higher grade than an average pervert, so you are a high grade pervert.”

“In the end the pervert designation doesn't change. By the way, isn't a high grade pervert even worse than an average pervert?”

“Wh.. What.....pretending to help, you ...you touched, my breast!”

Recalling what happened earlier, Claire's shy face suddenly turns red.

(Hmm?)

Seeing such a reaction from her, Kamito had an idea.

.....This girl, could it be that she is that kind of person?

“So it seems, that my lady is a pervert that has a hobby of whipping man.”

Kamito teased her nonchalantly -

“What!? Wr, Wro, Wrong, I’m not!”

The response was immediate as expected. Claire shook her head, and her cheeks instantly became bright red all the way to her ears.

“Then do you enjoy being whipped?”

“.....m! Wha... What.. are...you..sayi..ng?”

Claire's eyes twirled, as a steam puff rose out from her head. She is surprisingly flustered.

(Oh, as I expected....)

Kamito smiled bitterly in his heart.

(This girl, is really really innocent.)

Perhaps, this girl is not that special. After all, this is the Areishiya Spirit academy, where witch princesses who have made contracts with spirits are gathered.

Only pure maidens are capable of communicating with the spirits
from Astral Zero. Among them, those who retain enough divine
power so that they can command a contracted spirit, are noble girls
from the family of kings or lords of ancient and honorable
lineage, whose spirit contractor blood was strengthened through
marriage of many generations.

To maintain the purity of their body and heart, these girls are
raised in an environment that's completely separated from the
males since childhood: the so called elite education for
spirit contractors. Therefore, all the girls attending the
academy are super boxed-in princesses who are unaccustomed to
men.

Finding the unexpected weak point of the girl, Kamito had the
slight desire to play a prank on her.

Keeping a kneeling position, Kamito looked up at the embarrassed
bright red face of Claire.

"ah, then, there is something I have meant to say since earlier."

"wh...what, you pervert!"

"I can see your panties from this angle."

"Fuwah!" 

Tears begun to float in her crimson eyes, Claire hastily pressed down the fringe of her skirt with both hands.

“you... you saw it?”

“Only a glance, you are unexpectedly quite daring. It has the same color as your hair.”

"You... you lie! It is not red! It’s white, white!" 

“So, it’s white.”

“......ha!?”

Realizing that she was tricked, Claire bit her lips-

“U, uuuuuuuuuh~”

..... Somehow she started to cry.

At this sudden unexpected reaction, Kamito panicked. “What a slutty unladylike person, to confess the color of her own panties,” he had planned to tease her more with such words..... but he felt pity seeing her like this. 

Taking the chance while Claire was still in disarray, Kamito removed the the whip coiled around his neck.

“My bad, I went a bit too far with my prank. Sorry.”

Kamito stood up and placed his hand on Claire's head. Claire stopped crying, and looked puzzled.

“My bad that I have seen your naked body while bathing, and I have .... have touched your breast as well. But they were not intentional. Please believe me.”

“Wha, What.....”

Seeing the truthfulness in Kamito’s eye, Claire can not help but to avert her eyes.

“....What, What is this? If you are not a pervert, then '''why are you here?'''”

A question of matter of course. This forest is under the jurisdiction of Areishia Spirit Academy, known as the “Spirit Forest”. There is no reason for the presence of a man in the academy where pure witch princesses are gathered.

Even if he is not a pervert, there is little doubt that he is someone suspicious. 

“I was, summoned here by Greyworth.”

“Greyworth..... the academy director!?”

Claire suspiciously questioned. Indeed, it is only natural to doubt.

“I’m not lying. Look, here’s the evidence.”

Kamito shrugged his shoulders, and took out a letter from his burned coat’s inside pocket. The letter was signed by the renowned academy director. Also, it was stamped with the emblem seal that symbolizes the five great elemental lords.

“Is....that, the first rank emblem seal of the empire!?”

Claire let out voice of dismay from her lips. The first rank emblem seal is produced by sealing spirits with a special technique. It is rated as the highest among the emblem seals issued by the empire, and is said to be completely impossible to counterfeit. Of course, it is something that is rarely seen, but as a spirit contractor, Claire could certainly tell its authenticity. 

“.....It seems to be the real thing. But, why would the academy director call a man here?”

“Well, for that you have to ask Greyworth, that old hag. It was troublesome for me, too.”

“That... that old hag!?”

Instantly, Claire's face stiffened.

The Dusk Witch, Greyworth is greatly respected by the witch princesses who aim to become spirit knights. It was said that her popularity in the Orudesia Empire is neck and neck with the Strongest Sword Dancer Ren Ashbell. Even after a decade since she retired from the squad of the twelve knight generals, the most elite force of the spirit knights known as the <Numbers>, her legendary name as a witch is still being feared and revered to the highest degree. 

(Well, for me, she is nothing but a nightmare....)

Tucking away the letter in his pocket, Kamito shrugged his shoulders.

“Greyworth is an old acquaintance of mine. I came all the way here, but the academy ground is very large, so I have lost my way.”

Areishia Spirit Academy ground is incredibly vast. After all, beside the academic town at the foot of the hill, it also includes the entire spirit forest that spreads around it.

“Could it be, that you were misled by the spirits in the forest. That's so lame.”

“.....Yeah, that’s how it is.”

Claire chuckled, while Kamito nodded, feeling a bit dejected.

Existing in various location of the continent, the spirit forests are connected with Astral Zero through the GATE, and are inhabited by the spirits that have gone astray to this world. Most of the spirits have no interest in humankind so they are harmless. But there are also spirits who enjoy playing pranks, and they deliberately mislead the travelers who stray into the forest. As he was guided by the spirits'　whispers and went deeper and deeper in the forest, he must have lost the way to the academy.

“Anyway, I’m really glad that I met a person. It is not very appealing to become a victim of the forest. From here onward, which direction should I follow to get to the academy?”

“Which direction.....for your own information, I shall tell you, that it takes two hours to get to the academy from here on foot.”

“What, that far!?”

If he was to walk for such long distance, most likely he would be once again tricked by the spirits. Since a student of the academy was here, he had thought that the academy was much nearer than it was. 

(.....hmm? Why was this girl taking a bath at this kind of place?)

A plain question suddenly arises. Today is indeed a bit hot, nonetheless instead of coming all the way here, there should be showering facilities inside of the academy no matter what. Anyhow there are only girls in the school, there is nothing to be embarrassed about.

Being asked, Claire dug her hands into her wet twin tail hair and tried to comb it.

“I was here for the purification ritual for a spirit contract. Being a spring next to a shrine, the water here has the highest holy quality. Do you at least know that spirits like a woman which has a pure mind and body?”

“Spirit Contract?”

The moment he hears those words, a throbbing pain came from the back of his left hand covered in leather gloves. Kamito grimaced from the burning sharp pain.

“A bit further from here, there is an ancient holy sword in a historical shrine. Rumor has it that a powerful “Sealed Spirit” is inhabited there. Since the foundation of the academy, not a single witch princess has successfully formed a contract with it. It surely sounds like a very proud spirit."

Sealed Spirits – are not the spirits that reside in Astral Zero.

Among the spirits, there are those who were sealed into weapons or armors by powerful ancient spirit contractors. Most of them have brought about terrible disasters to the humans, and are dreadful beings called djinn or efreet by ancient societies. 

Of course, they are not meant to be employed by the human spirit contractors. For that purpose, the ancient great spirit contractors sealed them in weapons or armor so that they will never be summoned again.

“You, do you plan to form a contract with a sealed spirit?”

“That's right! Do you have a problem with it?”

“Stop, it’s too dangerous.”

“Hmm, you seem to know it quite well, even though you are not a spirit contractor. I’m quite aware of the danger, but I need a powerful spirit no matter what.”

Claire muttered, biting her tightly close lips.

Seeing her serious facial expression, Kamito involuntarily shuts his mouth.

“But, don't you already have a contract with the flame spirit from earlier? That is also a quite powerful spirit, won't it be fine if you raise it up?”

For its tribute, a flame spirit is not very rare. But, there are only a handful spirit contractors who can control a spirit of such rank and even capable of <elemental waffe> in the whole empire. Besides, spirit contractors that have formed a contract with multiple spirits are so rare that they almost don't exist. Discordance between the spirits can cause deterioration of the balance of divine power. Without enough talent one can't control them.

“'''Scarlet''' is an important partner. But-”

I need more power-- Claire calmly shook her head.

“I have a goal. To achieve it, I must have a strong spirit.”

=== Part 3 ===

Chasing the back of Claire on which her fluffily crimson twin tails swung, Kamito followed her inside the forest. Although Claire's leather loafers looked quite difficult to walk in,　Claire was a well trained spirit contractor after all, and her steps were light and frivolous.

“Here.”

Then, suddenly her well proportioned feet stopped walking.

With her hands on her hips, she looked back with a half eye glare towards Kamito.

“Why are you following me? You pervert peeping maniac. ”

“Without you, I don’t know the way towards the academy. As I have said several times, I am not a pervert peeping maniac. It’s Kamito, Kamito Kazehaya.”

“Fufu, what a weird name. Kuina’s origin?”

Kuina is an empire in the eastern region of the continent. It is said that its language, culture and the relationship of people with spirits largely differed from Orudeshia.

“No, It’s not from Kuina. I was born in a far remote island minority group village.”

Kamito intentionally obscures his own statement. Certainly, he was born in an island country in the east, but the larger half of his childhood life wasn't spent there.

“Your name also has quite a rare taste, Claire Rouge.”

“Don’t call my name in a friendly manner. Anyway it’s a strange name.”

“Really? But, I consider it a nice name.”

“Wha, What are you saying, stu, stupid!”

Claire's face blushed, then she suddenly changed back to her former direction, and briskly walked faster than usual.

Claire Rouge ---- obviously a Pseudonym.

Most of the students attending the Areshia spirit academy are surely young ladies of noble families who has been trained as spirit contractors since childhood. But Kamito has never heard of the Rouge residence. For hiding a noble family name, she must have some reason for it, but Kamito had no intention to delve more.

(.....Everyone has some secrete to hide. )

Kamito glanced in the direction of his left hand covered by a leather glove.

Even I have mine, too -

Claire keeps advancing steadily. Kamito hastily chased after her back where the twin tail were swaying. Now, losing sight of Claire inside the forest will bring only trouble for him. Kamito was well aware of the dangers of spending one night inside the “Spirit Forest”.

“Is that dress the academy's uniform?”

“Yah.”

Claire nods in a cold manner while walking.

Areishia Spirit Academy Uniform is pretty sturdy and also served as a protective garment, which has undergone spirit’s blessing, and it had the effect of raising the sacred attributes. It could also function nicely as a high ceremonial dress for contracting with spirits.

“What, are you saying that it doesn't suite me?”

“No, it suite you gorgeously. Honestly speaking, I am charmed.”

Kamito shrugged his shoulder, and then answered it honestly. 　Fine feathers make fine birds, Kamito planed to mock her with some caustic words, but it did fit her so perfectly that Kamito couldn't help but to compliment her.

“Wha, what, what are you saying!? Aren't you an idiot!”

(Kaatsu) Claire blushes in deep red, while (Pyun-Pyun) waving her whip.

“Uwahh, Calm down!”

“Wasn't it because that you said some weird thing?”

“''Me saying a weird thing?, I simply speak the truth - *in pain*, I got it, I got it, please stop waving your whip for every little thing.''”

(....phew, I need her as a guide, but what a bothersome princess.)

Dodging the whip which was swung downward at a paper thin distance, Kamito sighed in his mind.

The shrine that held the holy blade stood quietly　in a clearing in the forest.

Claire easily removed the entry forbidding ward, then stopped her steps, and turned to Kamito.

“From here onwards, it will be really dangerous, so, as a commoner you should stay away.”

“If you know that it’s dangerous, why not stop?”

“As am I saying, ''I need to have a strong spirit''.”

Claire calmly shook her head, and stepped into the shrine.

Disregarding her warnings, Kamito followed her. As for coming all the way, it was true that he needed a guide, but more importantly he was just worried about Claire.

After all “Sealed Spirits” are strong and at the same time have a wild nature. They prefer destruction and chaos; given the chance they would even murder the spirit contractor that employs them.

They are not something that can be managed by humans --- that's why they have been sealed.

Sixteen years of age, with such an innate talent of wielding a spirit, Claire might as well be called a prodigy. However, if by any chance, she was to release a sealed spirit and fail to control it, what would happen?

Although she was just a girl he met by chance, Kamito couldn't leave her alone.

“Why did you follow me? I can't guarantee what will happen to you.”

“Don't you have the absolute confidence to tame it?”

“Of, of course I do!”

“Then there’s no problem if I come along. ”

Kamito shrugged his shoulder and Claire turned away from him.

“....Suit yourself”

Inside the shrine is a dark gloomy misty atmosphere. Claire frowned slightly at the mold smells mingled inside the air.

“......Flames, let there be light.”

A tiny fire ball immediately starts to glow from Claire's fingertips, a basic spirit spell drawing on the power of Flame Spirit. The flickering light of the fire ball dimly illuminates the walls of the shrine which looked like a stalactites cavern.

The sword was at the innermost of the shrine.

“That..... is the sword that the sealed spirit resides in?”

Kamito muttered, while Claire nodded quietly.

A naked sword was stabbed standing in a huge stone. Although without doubt it was an antique of hundreds years old,　it has no rust in its body or dent of its edge. Delicate ancient runes were engrossed on its belly, radiating a dimly blue light.

“Existing here even before the academy was found, <the holy sword of Severian>.”

“The holy sword of Severian? The one that slayed Demon King Solomon?”

Demon King Solomon --- commanding seventy two powerful spirits, brought chaos and destruction to the continent, and '''the only male spirit contractor in history'''.

It was said that the one that slayed the demon king was the sword of Severian.

“Idiot, there’s no way that’s the real thing.”

Claire stated like she was amazed.

“'Holy Swords of Severian' stabbed into a stone can be found everywhere in the empire. Some remote villages even have one for the revitalization the village. Anyhow, even if it is not the real deal, since it is a rune sword, there might be a powerful spirit sealed in itself.”

“.....Indeed. Certainly, the real thing would not be in such a place...”

Claire walked toward the sword determinedly.

“Hey....”

“You stay back.”

Gesturing to Kamito who was coming close, Claire clenched the hilt of the holy blade.

“Don’t strain yourself.”

“....Got it.”

Kamito decided to watch over Claire at the edge where the light barely reached. The sealed spirit might be provoked by the presence of other people. A heavy silence filled the surroundings.

“.....Let's do this, Claire Rouge.”

Breathing deeply, Claire murmured to herself. Her voice trembled a bit: it seemed that she was nervous after all.

--- Oh Noble Spirit Sealed in Ancient Holy Sword!

--- Thou Shall Accept Me As Thy Master, And I Shall Be Thy Sheath!

From her cherry red lips flew a fluent incantation for contract ritual in spirit language. Her crimson hair stands on its ends. A crashing wind started to swirl inside the shrine.

Holding his breath, Kamito watched her intensively. Once the contracts had been exchanged and the spirit recognized Clair as its master, a spirit seal would be engraved somewhere on her body. The contract vows entered its conclusion. In this moment, a dreadful gust of wind swept inside the shrine.

“......eh?”

But, Claire is unfazed. She calmly recites her contract vow.

---And, dazzling light radiated from Severian’s holy blade in her hand.

(I can’t....believe it, She was exchanging a contract with the sealed spirit!?)

Preventing being swept by the wind, astonished Kamito raised his voice.

From the holy blade stabbed in the stone　came overwhelming tremendous divine energy. If it was an average spirit contractor, she would have already passed out.

“---Thrice I Command Thee, Exchange Vows With Me!”

And, Claire’s vow reverberates inside the shrine --- in that instant.

Clink!

“Pulled, pulled out. I pulled it out.”

“.....What, seriously!?”

Brandishing overhead the sword pulled out from the stone, Claire exclaimed with joy. In the next second---

The ancient runes engraved in its belly suddenly shined violently!

“......ha!?”

Claire involuntarily releases the blade from her hand ---

The holy blade thrust into the ground. With a flash it blasted into bits.

“Kyaaaaah!”

A short shriek flew, then Claire collapses into the ground.

“Hey, are you okay!”

Kamito quickly runs towards Claire.

“Wha, What? What exactly has....”

Claire held her temple and got up, then looked around restlessly.

“My, My sealed spirit?”

“No, I....can sense something terrible.”

Sweat is flowing intensely from the back of Kamito's neck. Wearing a terrified facial expression,　he looked up at the shrine’s ceiling. In that place, '''swinging while floating in the air was the blade'''.

It's not the shattered holy sword. But, It was a rough steel blade that looked very sharp.

“Is that.....the sealed spirit in the sword!?”

“So it was of the <sword spirit> class. Looks like it is rather irritated.”

“How do you know so much? You are not even a spirit contractor!”

“It is plain to see. No matter how you look at it, that doesn't seem to be someone who pledges his allegiance to his master.”

“.....umm, indeed so.”

Claire meekly nodded uncharacteristically.

The floating sword slants pointing its tip in a downward direction, suddenly it become motionless.

Then ---

“.....Get Down!”

Kamito in that instant, pushes down Claire to the ground. A buzzing sound of an insect grazed the ear, in a flash it went far away.

“Wai, Waa, Wait, where are you touching me, I will turn you into cinders!”

With her face deeply red, Claire beat on Kamito's chest repeatedly.

“Idiot, stop rampaging!”

Kamito quickly moved his body away, and looked in the direct that the sword spirit had flown to.

Fragments of rocks fall down with clattering sounds. The shrine’s ceiling was completely sliced off cleanly.

“It is remarkable to release a spirit of such rank ---”

Kamito glared with half opened eye towards　Claire.

“......but the spirit has completely gone berserk.”

“Shu. shut up. The, the taming of it starts now.”

“YOU....”

Kamito was stupefied, but he was in no situation to quarrel with her.

The spirit sword releases a chattering noise while approaching them. Inside the shrine, they can't move freely, and even the eye sight was restricted.

Kamito grabbed Claire’s hand and stood up. Touching each others soft skin, (Doki) a heart beat, but he showed no vexed expression 

“Hwaah.”

“Stopping making a cute reaction at every little thing. Let's flee.”

“Wha.. whaa. whatt.. Cute.. what me, Kyaa!”

“Let’s run outside!”

Pulling Claire’s hand, while running towards the direction of the shrine’s exit that was basking with sunshine.

The spirit sword did not immediately chases after them. Maybe as of now it has not yet completely awakened. With this opportunity they might be able to run away.

The moment they are out of the shrine, the flash of the sword grazed in front of his eyes. Kamito's forelocks fell while dancing in the air. The spirit sword lets out a tremendous roar, decisively knocking domn the surrounding trees in succession.

“Crazy, what a wild Spirit, just like a certain princess.”

“Alwa, always, you’re noisy...”

Feeling slightly awkward, and Claire fake coughed, then stood up.

“What a rebellious child.....I will give you a proper spanking.”

Her pair of crimson eyes were burning with a fierce determination; somehow she said some line of provocative. Rolling up the fringe of her skirt, she then took out the leather whip which was coiled in her thigh, hitting it hard in the ground. Kamito's heart beat for the brief sight of her white underwear, but he said -

“Are you insane!? You’re opponent is a high rank sealed spirit!”

“Easy victory. Amateurs like you please stay back!”

“Where are you getting all of your confidence? Whatever, let's run away!”

Claire shook off Kamito's hand that was grabbing her wrist.

“No, you escape yourself. I will absolutely make this spirit mine.”

“You, for what reason --- do you need a strong spirit that badly?”

“.....You will never understand.”

At the same time Clair averts her eyes.

“I need...power, I need a unbeatable powerful spirit that will not lose to any other spirit!”

--- Guardian of Crimson’s blaze, Keeper of the Sleepless furnace!

--- Now is the time to abide the contract of blood, hasten to my side as commanded!

Claire recited the summoning spell of her “Flame Spirit”. A crimson flame surges and she was engulfed by intense heat.

“The hunting begins, Scarlet!”

Together with scorching flame – a Scarlet Red Hell Cat appeared. Instead of a fur, it was blazing scarlet red colored flame that was wrapped around the beast's body.

(Is that the real form of her flame spirit!?)

Indeed, she was not all talk. To manifested in beast form is a proof that it is a high rank spirit. "Scarlet" might just be as a name of affection, perhaps it was not the true name of the spirit. Without doubt it is a high rank spirit that carries a true name. 

Claire wields her whip, and the hell cat growls with a frightful roar, then rushed towards the sword spirit. Dancing sparks scattered. The atmosphere trembled at the roar of the beast. The floating spirit sword went against them, cutting all the trees in its way.

“Scarlet, go get it!”

In response to Claire’s shout, the hell cat leaped.　High above the floating sword it went, and sharp blazing claws swung down at the sword. With a high pitched shrill sound, intense sparks sprinkled down, and the spirit sword dropped to the ground.

Claire ran at the same time. It was not a fatal hit. The spirit sword rose and flew in a split second, rolling over while drawing an arc in the air.

The flame spirit chased after it, trying not to loose it from its hands. Roaring loudly, it made a great leap again.

Violent sparks scattered once again. Clare strikes hard at the ground with her leather whip, slowly pressing forward against the sword spirit. It looked like that the leather whip was not meant for battle, rather for signaling instructions to the spirit.

At the fiercely attacks of Scarlet, the spirit sword's movement stopped --- At this instant,

“Eat this, searing fire ball!”

Clair releases a huge fire ball from her palm.

Fire Ball is a high level spirit magic which use ultra hot flames and can terribly burn up any of its target, leaving it traceless. The spirit magic’s power is determined by the spirit contractor’s own divine spiritual energy and the contracted spirit’s strength as a whole.

The released fire ball drew an arch in the air, then exploded in a blast that even Scarlet was caught in. The shock wave of the explosion knocked down the trees in the surrounding and fallen tree trunks radiate from the explosion center.

(What Terrible power......)

Shielding himself from the flying stones coming at his head, Kamito wrapped his tongue and marveled.

Such power was nothing like what a sixteen years old girl is capable of.

Inside the swirling fire the hell cat's figure shows up. Naturally, the hell cat can’t possibly be harmed by the blazing fire because of its fire nature.

The spirit sword float motionlessly in the air. It seemed that it had not received any damage either. Naturally, Claire didn't think that she would bring down a high rank spirit with spirit magic. But she should be able to get its attention.

“Scarlet!”

Claire exclaimed. The flame spirit's claws attacked at the spirit sword again. Its scourging hot claws could melt the iron steel. If its opponent was an average spirit, it would be instantly eradicated. But, the spirit sword quickly turned around, and the attack was stopped by the steel edge of the blade.

In an instant, the strange sound of metal scratching each other reverberated in the trembling atmosphere.

“Wh...What?....”

Kamito suppressed both his ears with his hands.

Receiving the full impact of the sound, Claire's face distorted from pain and she crouched down there.

The spirit sword released a weird sound - and then, transformed. Its shape changed from an average long sword to that of a huge bastard sword.

In a flash.

“What!?”

Claire’s flame spirit took the unexpected strike and couldn't avoid the big swing. The body was severely into two, and it vanished into the void together with the flames wrapped around its body.

With only one hit, it had lost the strength to manifest in this world.

(....Damn! Isn't it in a completely different league? It seemed that it has completely awakened.)

Kamito cursed, then took a glance at Claire -

Claire had collapsed on the ground, and her stunned blank eyes were fixed upward at the void where the flame spirit has disappeared.

Having finished off the flame spirit in one swing, the spirit sword aimed its next attack at Claire. 

The huge bastard sword flew with a bursting sound -

“Claire!”

Kamito shouted, and started to run. Without reason, his own body just moved before he known it.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Diving in front of Clair, he thrust his palm toward the bastard sword. Not his left hand enclosed by the leather glove – it was his right hand.

(……No choice but to do this! )

--- Oh Noble Spirit Sealed in Ancient Holy Sword!

--- Thou Shall Accept Me As Thy Master, And I Shall Be Thy Sheath!

Sweats rushed down from his forehead, he started to recite the incantation for spirit contract ''that he had sworn to never utter again''. The spinning tip of the sword pierced the skin of his palm. Red blood gushed intensely from it.

(.....Gwaah, Gah!)

Crushing amount of divine energy knocked on him, the soil and sands surrounding them are whirling up from the wind pressure. He almost lost his consciousness from the sharp pain. But if Kamito fainted here, Claire protected behind him would surely be cut in half.

--- Thrice I Command Thee!

“.....No way, a Spirit Contract!?”

A surprised sound came from Claire’s throat.

Kamito's heels sunk into the ground. And, the sound of his breaking bones resounds underneath his scalp.

--- Exchange Vows With Me!

Withstanding the terrible sharp pain, Kamito finished his last word of the contract ritual.

Instantly, the body of spirit sword radiated a pale blue light.

(What!?)

Intense flashes and thunderous sounds filled his consciousness.

=== Part 4 ===

He opened his eyes, and Claire Rouge’s face was there. Hanging lower onto his face was her twin tailed hair tickling his face.

It seemed that she shouted something, but he can't hear it clearly. Probably the sound blast had messed up his ears.

(.....Looks like I’m alive)

Weary lying on the ground, Kamito let out a breath of relief. The chance of success against a spirit of such rank was very low, but it looked like his gamble had paid off.

Raising his eyebrow, he grimaced from the torment of pain from all of his body and raised his right hand slowly.

In his right hand where was stabbed -

Instead of a wound, an emblem of two swords crossing each other was engraved on it.

It was the proof of the spirit contract - The spirit seal.

(Aah, I did it....)

Staring at the carved seal on the back of his hand, Kamito murmured.

A sharp sense of guilt bit his heart.

He had broken the promise with ''her'' ---

But, to save Claire under such a situation, that was the only method.

Claire noticed that Kamito has woken up, with her hands in his nape and her face approaching him. So close that he could feel her breath. With her clear crimson eyes, she stared at Kamito. Her cherry colored lips weakly trembled.

“......Why?”

"''Why, you’re a male, how can you contract a spirit!''”

“......”

Kamito does not answer and slowly rises up. Being ignored, the annoyed Claire raised her eyebrows.

“My, My Sword Spirit!?”

“My bad. Just a moment ago, I contracted it.”

Kamito sighes and at the same time he shows her the back of his right hand where the spirit seal is engraved.

“Wha, Whaa, Wha, Whaaaat!”

Claire wore a stunned expression with her mouth wide open.

(Well, A natural reaction....)

A long sigh --- Kamito felt a faint ache in his heart. Of course, he could clearly understand such response. Originally, a privilege that was granted to no one except pure maidens --- the spirit contract.

The existence of a man which could contract a spirit, throughout the history, belonged solely to one person. And the one who brought chaos and destruction in the world, the so called Demon King spirit contractor.

It is natural to fear him, who carried the same power of spirit contracts as the Demon King.

Kamito stands up and quietly turns around.

He does not regret. To save the girl, this is the only way he could think of.

“Wait, as am I saying Wait!”

Kamito was about to leave, but a voice called him from the back.

Turning around, he saw that Claire with her hands in her hips intensely glared at him.

"You stole...my spirit...take responsibility for it!"

“Huh?”

Kamito frowned. ....It doesn't make any sense to him.

At such reaction of Kamito, Claire impatient　brushed her twin tail.

“I should have been the one who had obtained that spirit, as am I saying, you have to take responsibility for it.”

“Re..sponsibility?”

Because of that unexpected word, Kamito had become even more confused.

....What was the girl saying.

“Therefore....”

Claire snapped her whip, then she points her index finger toward Kamito.

"You have to become my contracted spirit!"

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume1 Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 10

2012-02-01T13:21:13Z

Starkiller4299:

== '''Chapter 10''' ==


"Uuugh, I can't believe it, why did it come to this?"

As I stared at the marble corridor outside the guestroom door, I put up with my nausea.

"It couldn't be helped; it's because you declared your were absolutely going to become the king."

Conrad is grinning unlike a noble, leaning against a pillar that could reach the sky.

"Even so, the coronation... I haven't seen a coronation like the one in figure 8 of the history textbook..."

"Only one person can nominate you; the presenter, Mother."

"You talk like it's the Academy Awards."

Until a bit ago Günter was with us, too, but as usual he sang my praises and ran off to prepare the ceremony. He praised my uniform, and one more thing, the incident in the village.

"But I don't remember using so much water magic at all..."

I can't comment on a pinpoint of the downpour; when the village was extinguished it stopped like it never happened. When a group of magicians arrived from the capital city, the smoke was just going up from the smoldering trees and wheat.

I only remember Brandon myself. After that it cuts off to pure white. Even if I get grandiose praise about saving the country, it's hard to believe that I, a completely ordinary freshman, did it.


"As I explained to you, magical power is the soul's nature. Your Majesty, having the soul of the late Maoh, you obey the rules of the four elements with pleasure, without going through the trouble of taking the oath and such things."

Without anyone's consent, it seems Günter spread around my personal affairs. Conrad is a little bit more objective.

"I think a place we rested on the way to the capital is suspicious. You and I drank water then. Though I don't understand magic because I don't have it, I can't help but feel that had something to do with it."

"Don't worry about that."

It's a miracle I didn't remember it myself.

From the far side of the corridor, the blond with wavy hair comes running. The intense navy blue uniform suits him; the mazoku Prince Wolfram. With a sigh I mutter to this beautiful man, Günter.

"What with this plain design?"

"...Huh?"

I was essentially told immediately after that it was a design developed only for His Majesty, and the black clothes I originally came in suited me the most.

"There really aren't any shoulder straps or decorations? Do you seriously think it's ok for me to look poor if I'm going to become the Maoh?!"


He glances here and there without looking at my face. It might be my imagination but his usually white, smooth cheeks were a slight red.

"Appearing without any treasure, don't embarrass my older brother and me!"

Before I could open my mouth to respond, Wolfram grabbed my chest and fastened a shiny golden decoration to me.

"Hey..."

"My uncle Bielefeld gave this to me when I was a child. It doesn't have any special origin, but it suits someone who hasn't gone out on the battlefield, let alone military merit. Anyway, considering Yuuri can't even ride a horse, he's the wimpiest king in history."

"Don't call me a wimp~."

"All right, settle down."

When he says all that in unnaturally fast speech, Wolfram half-runs away. The present fastened to the left side of my chest is a gold bird with both wings spread. Conrad smugly gazes after his little brother's back.

"It seems Wolfram has taken a liking to Your Majesty."

"Eeeeeh?! That haughty Prince Whatever?!"

To escape from that topic I open the door a crack, and peeking inside I get a bad feeling again. Noble princes from here and there have gathered to this country from various places today, in addition to representing various families, and some here and there that had human-like shapes.

The flying bone race that I've befriended and their relatives, the ground bone race, like gargoyles on an American building, people with four legs that look like gray leopards, palm-sized petit-macho men that make the sound of an aburazemi[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C10N1|[1]]] (maybe a fairy), and a huge tuna lying on the soaked floor conspicuously.


"A... tuna?"

I keep reminding myself that I have to get used to it, because they were all citizens. They don't look human, no, they don't look like mazoku. I began to forget my policy speech because of too much tension.

My aspiration as the Maoh; a plan for the Japanization of Shin Makoku.

"Umm, on the dawn of my inauguration as the twenty-seventh Maoh, my ultimate goal is to switch over to pacifism and popular sovereignty.... Oeeh... Conrad, I think I'm going to hurl... I'm so stressed... My stomach hurts... I need to get to a toilet again, where's the toilet?"

"Again?"

"Not 'again', it's my stomach. My stomach!"

"We don't have time for that, Your Majesty!"

The teacher in the white, tight Chinese clothes runs by with a worried look on his face.

"It will begin sooner or later. Are you all right, Your Majesty? As I explained, after you progress down the center, when you ascend the platform the former Queen, Her Majesty Cecilie will coronate you... Of course, even if we didn't perform the ceremony, the people's loyalty to Your Majesty wouldn't waver, your form has that effect in and of itself..."


"Gah, that's enough, so tell me what to do."

"I'm relieved to hear that. You're very determined. Just seeing the promising form of Your Majesty..."

Overcome with emotion, Günter, who was entering the "old geezer" mode, passed by the expressionless man. I panicked as Gwendal lays his hand on the door.

"Wait a minute, shouldn't you go in before me?"

Not just in looks but also in personality, the eldest brother who was probably the most suitable for the role of Maoh with the same pout on his lips as usual, forced a smile. That's a big treat.

"The former Queen has been appointed the honorable role of passing the crown."

"Is that right? I thought you were still going to get me to spoil the ceremony. Because you're opposed to me becoming the king."

"Opposed? Me?"

His dorsal muscles freeze, looking like a smile, and with one step back he takes my chin in his fingers. Ah, there's an absolute height difference. But this isn't like in basketball or volleyball, or, I'm afraid to say, baseball; being tall shouldn't be related to being a catcher or a king.

"It's outrageous that I would do something like oppose you. I sincerely wish for you to become a good king."


"By 'good' you mean..."

"A compliant, submissive, meek king."

"You just plan on having the king at your disposal?!"

From behind Günter, who has become like an overprotective mother to me, Conrad carefreely said something unrelated. Come to think of it, it feels like that.

"Which reminds me, Gwen, Anissina came over."

The man who was usually a cool sale scowled at that instant. I've never seen such a scowl since I was born. With a click of hi tongue he disappeared on the other side of the door. I was surprised; even Gwendal has a weak point.

"Well, Your Majesty, are you all right? Are you tense? Take a deep breath, breathe in and exhale."

"What and I going to do?"

Accompanied by Günter and Conrad, I advanced down the center of the hallway as I was told. Jet-black petals were spread all over. It's a bad omen. Queen Cecilie waited on the platform and I approached on the stone staircase, with shiny golden curls and a sexy crimson dress.

"You, you're beautiful, Lady Cheri."

She had a full smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. But you don't need to fawn over me right now. Today, you're the lead actor."


We stood in our positions just like artists at a live venue. There's a small, artificial waterfall at the front of the stage, I spread my hands in the middle leaving a softball sized hole. The water falls quietly to the side, making a thin passageway.

"Well then, Your Majesty, put your right hand in the center of the waterfall, and listen to the will of Shinou."

"Huh? But isn't Shinou dead?"

"Eeh? But only people led to the hole in Shinou's shrine who are allowed to become the Maoh can put a finger in there. And if Shinou recognizes the new Maoh, he'll clasp your hand gently."

All she says about a person who should be dead is "Eeh?"?!

Lady Cheri brought her lips near my ear, only pretending to whisper.

"I was able to put my fingers in, but no one grabbed back. After I waited a bit to make it look important, I slowly took out my hand and raised it high. Like Shinou really acknowledged me. See, Your Majesty, that's not really difficult at all, is it?

From behind Günter pesters me.

"Your Majesty, hurry."

"Even if you say to..."


I stand in front of something like the Mouth of Truth, a tourist spot in Italy, with my right hand hanging in the air, hearing the sound of water cascading with a "swish" sound.

"If I lie won't it bite me?"

"No way. This is made of solid stone. It won't make any sudden moves."

That's right. When I timidly put my right hand near the dark hole, my index finger and middle finger enter together. It's cool as I expected, and the air around it is saturated with moisture. Boldly, I put my hand in up to my wrist.

"Ah, that was good, if you give it a try there's nothing to the ceremony. All that's left it to put on airs and lift up your arm..."

Huh?

My fingertips hit something. Probably the inside wall.

"Your Majesty?"

Günter peers at me worriedly.

"Huh... Uwah, wah, there's, there's..."

Something cold grips my fingers.

"So, something's, grabbed me, uwah, yah, Conrad, what's got me?!"

"Got you?!"


With frightening strength, my right arm is pulled in. Wait, hey, I'm being pulled into a man-made waterfall, so a wall should be on the other side of the water!

Am I going to be crashed into a wall and finished off?! Before that, who does this power to pull me...

"Dohwahp!"

I'm thrust into the face from the face with a shriek like a chorus member. Günter tries to grab the back of my clothes and left arm frantically. Conrad calls my name and grabs my belt. But there's a wall of water between us, and only the warped sounds reach me.

Even though there's a wall of water, the wall of stone that should be there isn't. When I'm drawn in I gasp for air... While I'm gasping I get a sense somewhere in my head. When I came to this world it was through a public Western-style toilet. My return ticket is the same mode of transportation. But this time the water is cleaner, better. I got a little bit of an upgrade; is this business class?!

After that it was just like Star Tours.


Ya...ya...ya...

What is this, a mark of absence from a sumo match? I don't know whether saying "ya" repeatedly is for yariika, yankees or yanbaru kuina.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C10N2|[2]]] Yanbaru kuina, that's awful nostalgic.

Close to my ear the "Abarenbou Shogun Theme" rings, and I awoke surprised by Kintetsu's Chance. It's nothing but my own blue cell-phone, ringing to the set timer.

"Shibuya."

"Uwah, you surprised me!"

It was the "ya" in Shibuya. After he shakes my shoulder I spring to my feet, and I noticed it was the guy in glasses that I went to junior high with that was calling my name. Who was he, aah, Ken, Murata Ken.

My nose is soaked like I was drinking water in a pool. The wet cloth is stiff, hard and heavy, and my skin was cooled by an unpleasant dampness. I narrowed both my eyes to try and shake my field of vision somehow and saw my surroundings. It was a gloomy public women's restroom, with ashen walls, a light blue door, to my back a mismatched brand of Western-styled toilet, and a paper holder that has nothing to do with it. Peering at me is Murata Ken; two or three steps away is a uniformed policeman.

"Murata Ken... You didn't run away?"

"I couldn't run away and leave behind someone who tried to help me."

The policeman asks if I'm ok. And if I wanted to take a damage report, or if I knew the assailant's names and such.


I was dumbfounded.

The night game is starting.

After that, with the soft lights in the courtyard, I recalled a night game with someone else. I recall the promise I made to a child who didn't even know how to spell 'baseball'. I recalled most of my dream.

"Murata... I had some sort of amazing dream."

"What was it?"

I shook my head quietly. I couldn't even begin to tell him, it was too long.

"Ah, I see. Well, Shibuya, I had something I wanted to ask you but..."

The moment I try to stand up, a cold gem touches my skin under the clothes. After that, a momentary flash of light draws my attention to the golden wings on the breast of m uniform. I grip the golden wings tightly in my left hand.

It, wasn't a dream?

Günter, Wolfram, Gwendal, Cheri, Brandon... Conrad.

"...Was it, really a dream?"

"Eh?"

Murata Ken reaches out an hand to me with a vague smile.

"But the belt for your pants snapped off and... Well, I didn't want to ask because it's a question about your personal hobbies but..."


Suddenly, when I look down at myself, my belt is torn off, my button has flown off, and my fly is completely open. Peeking out there was the sexy underwear all mazoku purveyors wore...

"Uhyah"

Damnit, maybe it wasn't a dream...

It's not over.

It seems this isn't the end of the game.
<noinclude>

''(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on [http://www.sakuracities.com/yaoigames/kkmnovel1.php Onadoru Euphoria]. Re-posted with permission.)''

{{MaruMA Nav|prev=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_9|next=MaruMA:Volume01:Afterword}}

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 9

2012-01-31T21:14:49Z

Starkiller4299:

== '''Chapter 9''' ==


The village was burning.

We departed early dawn with ten soldiers on horseback, without telling Günter we were leaving the castle. I was riding with Wolfram but it was hard to deal with his wild horse-handling over such a long distance on the first day. Nonetheless I was becoming an experienced passenger and managed to endure the rough ride somehow.

The soldiers with us were terribly beautiful. Then again, they were Wolfram's private troops. In short, does that mean they all have an honorable lineage as pure-bred Mazoku?

When I feel someone's eyes on me I look up, and seeing one flying bone person (or should I say animal?) a little behind us. Why did I say I could feel its eyes when the holes in its skull are empty?

"My older brother should have arrived there by now, so everything might already be under control. It isn't that dangerous, but since you're a wimp don't go where I can't see you."

"Don't call me a wimp."

But it was already passed noon by the time we arrived, and the village was ablaze. Houses and fields. It was a considerably hot fire; even the clouds were dyed red. The soldiers ran around to prevent the shower of flames from reaching the forest, and the villagers were all lumps together away from the fence.


Women, and children, and the elderly. Everyone is dumbfounded, standing completely still. Just one elderly woman is crying and screaming.

"It's already settling down, like you said awhile ago."

"Strangely so."

"But we can already see it. Ah, what should we do? So much is burned down! I wonder if those people are ok."

Then we turned towards the village that was dozens of meters away, to try and head out of the forest quickly.

"Ignorant in the ways of the world as usual, third son."

From behind us, where only Wolfram's subordinates should have been, came an interestingly familiar voice.

"...American football guy?!"

He's the man I met the first day when he just had three men on horses with him, Denver Broncos. Let's see, if I remember right his name was...

"Adelbert was it?"

"Oh, you have a good memory! And I thought you were an idiot."

"Well sorry for looking like an idiot."

When I was the only one talking to them I turned my head to look back, and all the beautiful soldiers on horseback seemed to be frozen in place. In fact, riding in front of me, Wolfram was stiff, not even twitching.

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1167.jpg|400px|thumb]]

Adelbert approached us slowly, speaking as he looked at Wolfram's profile.

"You're too much. Is it ok for the king to be protected by just ten men? Moreover, they're all pure-blooded mazoku, so they're all stuck in a simple human magic barrier. You should always have at least one soldier who can dispel magic at a time like this."

So does that mean, right now, that all of my allies but me are trapped in a barrier that keeps them from moving?! I can't believe, the place we're headed to is right in front of our eyes. Is this like a car running out of gas even though you can see a gas station?

"Yo, we meet again new Maoh."

"Hi."

It isn't clear if he's an enemy so I greeted him vaguely. Even though he seems to be enemies with the mazoku, if anything he was nice to me. When we first met he arbitrated between the villagers and me, and taught me the language.

Besides, his full name is Adelbert von Grats. Doesn't that sound like a mazoku name?

"...They can't move. Is that your doing?"

"Yeah, you could say that. It's a human magic barrier that I remembered studying a bit. Why are you riding behind this guy? How did you win over the youngest son, who only wags his tail for his mother and older brother?"


I don't think I've won him over. Besides that, this man was acquainted with Conrad, and from what he just said he seems to know Wolfram and Gwendal well, too. So why is he being hostile? I addressed this question.

"Are you really a mazoku?"

Adelbert cocked an eyebrow, his forehead wrinkling as he answered shortly.

"A long time ago."

"Then why are you on bad terms with Conrad? Why did you come here to interfere with us?"

"Because I hate them."

Hate?

"I hate them to death. Their ways disgust me. So I came to save you from their filthy hands. How pitiful, a sacrifice from another world, you should hurry and leave this place."

"Save... me...?"

"You were suddenly brought to another world, and coerced into being the new Maoh, right? The Maoh is the enemy of humans. This world has become corrupted and fallen into ruin because of his heinous existence. You look like a young human with good intentions to be made out to be such a monster. Well, isn't that too much? Don't you think that's cruel?"


When I first came to this world I was positive I was a human. I'm just an ordinary high school student. Not someone who possessed the soul of the Maoh, like Günter and Conrad and Lady Cheri expected. But no matter how many times I told them no one believed me.

"They need a sacrifice. They have to set up a king on the throne. A pure boy who doesn't know anything can't pose any resistance, which is good for them. All men hostile towards mazoku will be made to hate their leaders. That's the only reason for your existence."

"...I..."

Albert's words echoed in my ears as he stood right by me, making me speechless.

"You're a good human. That's why the magic barrier doesn't effect you. Right?"

"...Ah, I am a human... I'm not a mazoku... Or the Maoh...?"

"Don't listen to him!"

Wolfram's voice sounded hoarse as he shouted. The uneasiness made my shoulders tremble.

"Ah, huh, you could talk?!"

"Don't listen to that guy! He's..."

It wasn't just my shoulders, but my arms were wrapped around his waist and his entire body was trembling. As he turned his head to face forward I could see beads of perspiration forming at the nape of his neck.


"That man, he betrayed us... He'll try, to bring you, into his group, too."

"Wolfram, if it hurts then don't talk."

"Well done, third son!"

The man he just called a traitor drew a long, slender sword, and pointed the tip of the sword at the mazoku prince's throat.

"Even if you don't overwork yourself by speaking, you're at a disadvantage because you have quite a bit of magic that you aren't completely in control of. If you let your senses go more easily then you would feel happier like your subordinates."

When I turned my head to look behind us, the mazoku soldiers who were following us looked like a drunk old man staggering around and their eyes stared into space.

Because of Wolfram's high pride it looked like he would burst a blood vessel.

Adelbert added insult to injury.

"Look, the humans you hate so much are setting mazoku land on fire. Wolfram, you always said it yourself. What can humans do? They're like worms, it would be a mistake if they opposed mazoku."

"Humans?!"

I leaned forward on the horse.

We leave the forest with another kick. I can see the scenes of despair and hatred from between the crevices of the trees. From the other side of the flames, silhouettes of what appear to be arrows fly through the air. There's no close combat with swords; someone is attacking someone else.


A mother is lying on the ground, covering her child. A soldier rushes up while he's crouching, firing back with his bow.

It's war.

I couldn't believe what was happening right in front of me, so I kept muttering to myself over and over.

"This is war, war, it really is, it's real."

Perhaps on this sort of scale it could be disputed what it should be called. But, for the first time in my life I'm seeing the "real thing" and I can't think of anything but "battlefield".

"...Where and where, no, who and who? Mazoku and humans?"

An elderly person running towards the forest to take refuge, with a hunched over back, suddenly flies up. They stumble forward to fall. An arrow pierced their back. They aren't dead, but even though it's far away it catches my eye.

"Why are they shooting them, even though they're not soldiers... No matter how you look at them they can't be a soldier. That person was a villager. Shouldn't the villagers be refugees?"

The humans were setting mazoku land on fire.

But, only human children and women and elderly lived on that land.

At the beginning my voice trembled faintly. With the emotions of shock and dismay.


"Aren't they fighting their fellow men? Aren't those human soldiers attacking a village where the children who have run away live quietly?"

Wolfram spat out at Adelbert in disgust.

"You did this somehow."

"I just gave a little advice."

When I lose my balance and wobble the chestnut horse stirs lightly. The reddish brown tail swings largely left and right. The man called a traitor spoke as I watched the terrible spectacle.

"They're not disobeying the teaching of the god they believe in. Don't you know? Last year there was a record setting crop and those guys increased taxes. They collected this year using the same calculations and so there was nothing left to eat. There were only two choices; starve or get more supplies. They asked for my advice. So I told them. Their neighboring village was here in the land of the mazoku that they should hate. Their god will not be angry if they steal from people who cultivate on mazoku land, and live on mazoku soil. They won't be charged with the serious crime of stealing from their neighbors."

"But then, if they're humans, then aren't they both humans?!"

"No, they aren't the same. This village has humans who side with the mazoku. People who side with the mazoku aren't considered their fellow humans anymore."

I grip both hands until my thumbs ache, and impatiently hit my thigh.


"I don't get it!!"

"It's fine if you don't understand. At any rate, come here and I'll take you back. You're not a mazoku, you're a human, right? You're a victim taken from another world, just because you had black hair and eyes, so that they can dress you up like the Maoh and use you as a scapegoat. Once you take sides with the mazoku, we won't be comrades again."

Adelbert lends me his hand to help me jump off the left-hand side of the horse. Between him and the horse, there wasn't much space between us. Without looking this way, Wolfram whispers lowly.

"Go."

"Eh?"

"From the looks of it, they're not planning on killing you. It'll be troublesome if you get hurt trying to resist. Go with Adelbert for now."

"But, you and everyone..."

"Don't worry about us."

I take in his words. If I leave them behind, what will happen to them?

Wolfram whispers briefly again.

"Hurry and go, Yuuri!"


I slowly turned towards Adelbert on the other side; he was holding out a hand towards me.

"That's right, Wolfram. The moment you lose this guy you'll have to summon some new kid. Even if you're safe your elder brothers would blame you for losing the candidate for Maoh from right under your nose. It's always a wise choice to protect him rather than struggle and lose his life."

Wolfram only bit his lip; he whispered something quickly when I separated my arm. I'm not sure whether I heard him or not. I caught some of it.

"...I'll come for you. Definitely."

In the blink of one second I quickly accepted many feelings and information, and drew from them what action to take. No matter what the result would be, I gave my best answer for the situation.

Which would I not regret picking?

"Don't think I'll ride with you because you helped me."

I forcefully get off onto the ground and I was about to say that my lower body ached from riding a horse for a long time and I was going to stretch out. I'll look for a good rider among Adelbert's subordinates and try to ride behind him.

"I hate big macho builds like yours. They give me an inferiority complex. Even my face would lose."

"Then who will you ride with? Or can you ride by yourself?"


"By myself? No way!"

As I said the "way!" at the end I clapped the foot of my dazed ally with all my strength. Though the soldier didn't wake up, his spur struck the horse's stomach, and with a neigh the gray horse broke into a run. Lured by the first horse, the others begin running, too. Flinching, they were frozen in place and with my kick dashed off.

At once the sound of hooves filled the air all around as several horse-riders, both ally and enemy, ran off into the woods in disorder. As Wolfram's chestnut horse was swallowed up in the forest, only Adelbert and I were left.

"...Why did you do that?"

"Wolfram chose one last person. That person was me; only you didn't notice."

Ah, it's too bad that no weapons had been given to me to defend myself, the last person left.

"Yuuri, I said that I would take you away from the mazoku for your sake. So why would you do something especially to screw with us, eh?"

"I decided at the last minute to stay with you. This attraction is like a bad dream. But, just because I'm staying with you doesn't mean I'm on your side. I don't need you on my team."

Because he's not in my plan I announce that he isn't part of my future plans.

"Hey, hey, don't do that!"

Adelbert stepped towards me with his gigantic sword hanging from both hands.


"I told you not to be afraid, I went through great pains worrying about you. I should have broken one of your arms or threatened you to kidnap you from the beginning."

"Pl, please spare my right arm because I'm right-handed."

"It doesn't really matter if it's your left arm. But, the quickest way..."

Apparently the person I chose wasn't right for this man.

"I'll just have to get rid of the Maoh."

"Eeek!"

That was a pathetic scream, even for me. But he's wielding such a huge, long sword, and I don't even have any fencing experience. Moreover, his weapon probably isn't used for practice. It's for actual combat.

"Were, weren't you trying to get me away from all the mazoku?! It's not too late for that now! You don't have to suddenly change your mind and kill me, I can leave the country even if I have to walk!"

"You've decided to support the mazoku. That makes you the enemy. If the mazoku have the power of the Maoh, your existence will become more and more troublesome!"

"But didn't you say it before?! I'm a normal human, they set me up as the Maoh because my hair and eyes happen to be black. You said I was a scapegoat summoned from another world, even though I'm a normal human!"


The sounds of the blade swing around is awfully large and heavy and resounding.

"Would Shinou play a joke like that?"

"Th, th, th, then it's all a lie?! You were just talking gibberish when you said I was a normal human?!"

"I kept telling you that figuring I could get you on our side, but..."

Adelbert set his sights on me, I needed to pad the time.

"So that's what you're really like. That's too bad."

My back hits a parched trunk. There's nowhere to run behind me. Even if I dodged him once or twice, I'd be helpless after that. This wasn't like the duel with Wolfram. He had a lot of killing ability; there was also a great difference in their level of mastery.

The shadow of the sword he's brandishing over his head falls on my forehead. I gave up and closed my eyes.

When air vibrated as if a fastball had flown by a dead branch broke with a dry crack.

Splinters fell all over my legs and arms as I crouched down. Something dry and ball-shaped fell onto my lap and I gently opened one eye.

"Bo..."

One of the bone tribe that had been following me for a long time was "broken" with Adelbert's huge sword. Did it directly hit the spinal chord? It was almost completely destroyed and scattered about. The skull was sitting on my lap, and the light brown wings were going into convulsions.


He protected me?

"Kohhi, why did you..."

"That's the first time I've seen one of the bone tribe act like that. Risking it's life to protect its master? Che, strange, I beheaded it."

"What do you mean by 'strange'?!"

As I apologized to Kohhi in my mind, I stood up tightly grasping part of him (maybe his thigh). Of course, I didn't think bone could stave off a sword. But, if I simply closed my eyes and waited to die his death would have been in vain.

"What do you know about Kohhi?!"

Well, I don't know much about him, either.

Making no effort to hide his true nature now, Adelbert, who appears to be the villain, smiles.

"You feel sympathy for this race that has no will. This Maoh is an common person."

"Shut up! My commonness is my selling point, and I promise to reduce the sales tax!"

As I poise the bone... My weapon, with about a 3% chance of it being effective, some reassuring horses draw near. It wasn't a prince on a white horse, but Sir Weller and Lord von Bielefeld's troops.


Unfortunately for him, he couldn't do anything about being outnumbered, and in addition without a horse he couldn't do anything about it even if his hostage ran away. Adelbert dispersed and disappeared before the reinforcements came. Conrad ordered several of his subordinates to chase after him, and instructed them to locate him. Never approach him more than necessary, and don't try anything even if you think you have a chance. Because their lives were in danger here.

"They probably scattered."

Other than that, we exchange an embrace that would put the foreign actors to shame, and sand was thrown at Wolfram somehow.

"I'm relieved, Yuuri. I thought it would be too late."

"I'm relieved, too. I can finally understand what it feels like when men hug each other firmly in the movies."

They were just like this. While we pat each other on the back, Conrad's voice stiffened.

"By the way, what is that hard thing hitting my back?"

"Oh, this? A bone."

"A bone. Oh, I see, it is a bone. And what was your Majesty planning on doing with it?"


"Umm, I was using it as a club."

I energetically separate our bodies. I furrow my brows.

"I can't believe it, you were planning on fighting Adelbert..."

"But I couldn't let myself be killed."

"Ah, your Majesty, did you think it was like the time with Wolfram?! He and Wolf aren't even in the same league."

"Well excuse me for not being in the same league!"

The third son dismounted from his chestnut horse, and kicked the underbrush sourly. Though the effects of the demon seal had worn off, I couldn't compliment him on his complexion.

"Are you ok, Wolfram?"

"Hnn, there's no reason for you to worry about me."

"If that's the case I'm not worried, but-"

"He's paying for his mistakes. He did as he liked and brought your Majesty here."

Even if the youngest brother was scolded, he doesn't seem to have a speck of shyness. I quickly changed the subject from what I had asked about. "Besides that, how did you get here so quickly?"

"I was too slow. I was fighting near the border across the village, but the bone tribe that followed our troops sensed its companion's predicament. As I told you, they have a peculiar ability to communicate their thoughts. They can have conversations with only their spirits if they're not far away. So, I left that place to Gwen and met Wolfram and them while galloping here..."


"That's right! What should we do about Kohhi!"

I scraped up the remains scattered around the tree roots, and placed the skull gently in the center.

"Poor Kohhi... You gave your life for me... I'm really sorry, you might have had a wife and kids."

Although its sex is still uncertain. I can at least make a simple grave, and leave flowers on the anniversary of his death and equinoctial week. I know it's bad but I begin to dig through the grass with his own thighbone.

"Ah, just a minute, your Majesty, you shouldn't bury him."

"What are you saying? We can't leave Kohhi out here to get weather-beaten!"

"Because we have a responsibility to collect him. If he's buried how will he fly again?"

"Huh?"

"So, if we put him back together properly he'll be able to fly again."

"He, he's not dead?"

"There are a lot of mysteries about how they live."

"Really? You can really put him together like a plastic model? Then you won't make into into a strange new living thing by putting weird bones in?"


"It's fine, we have expert engineers."

A professional modeler? But I'm glad. Above all I want him to live.

When we finally came back out of the forest to return to the village, Conrad earnestly gave detailed instructions as he was dealing with the enemy soldiers who failed to escape.

"Although we're approaching the end, there's still remnants of resistance. Don't stray off where I can't see, all right? Because people hit by stray arrows lose their lives."

"S, stray arrows?"

That reminds me, what happened to that elderly person who was struck by something like a stray arrow earlier? While being careful not to leave Conrad's field of vision, I headed for the corner where injured people were gathered.

The cloth raised up to ward off sparks reminded me of the aid tents at sports festivals. But it wasn't a peaceful atmosphere under the roof; there were more than twenty injured people, lying down on top of the grass. While I stand there dumbfounded, people are carried in one by one.

They aren't mazoku nor man nor villager. They shout, and groan and cry.

A pale-skinned girl restlessly moves around by herself. Günter had called them a clan with healing hands. Is she, in a word, a medic? It seems in this country both men and women go to the battlefield. They're oddly progressive on that point.


"If there's something I can do to help..."

The girl raises her face and is amazed when she sees me. She looks around Wolfram's age but she must be older than me.

"No, your Majesty! Not at all, I can do this by myself."

"But more and more are coming."

"Umm, umm, excuse me for being so unsightly in front of your Majesty. Please, your Majesty, go and give directions to the soldiers."

I shook my head; it looks like I set foot on her territory.

"You're not unsightly at all... Everyone is hurt and suffering, and I'm not the type to give orders to troops."

As a new person is carried in the medic's mood seems to change. She handed me a box that seemed to be a first-aid kit, and pointed at the man near the entrance.

"This is inexcusable but could you please use this disinfectant on the patients with minor injuries over there? You will need to wear gloves. The cloth and scissors are here. Umm, your Majesty, do you have any experience giving aid to injured soldiers..."

"None but, maybe, I don't think I'll faint."

Because I've seen wounds like a pitcher hitting a batter with the ball, or from sliding or from cleats. The female soldier's expression seemed relieved, and she went to examine the patients with serious wounds. I boldly sprinkled antiseptic solution on a man who had cut his thigh. It wasn't like a cut from cleats; the flesh was open and pink.


"That's rough luck, you got hit without any armor. But don't worry, the wound is shallow. The proof is that I can't see any bone or muscle."

My hand trembled.

"That, your Majesty, that's too good for you..."

"Too good? The medicine must sting. Hey, just a sec, how about this salve?"

The young lady bowed her head towards me. There was a yellow gel inside the kit smeared on a large gauze bandage. I don't know whether I learned it in health class or the boy scouts, but wide bandages are wrapped around the thighs. The man continued repeating that it was "too good". Next, giving it all I've got, I examine the lacerations and burns.

I'm only a relatively active person but I've gotten plenty of scratches and bruises during extracurricular activities, but even so this was a "field hospital". After I treated some patients with minor injuries, a man lying face down was next.

There was a cut diagonally across his back but thanks to his clothes there wasn't too much bleeding.

He looked like a merchant who was attacked to test out a new sword. His light brown hair hung down to his dirty collar. A silver coin on a leather strip was moved behind his neck. Is it a good luck necklace or money from a country somewhere? Without much thought I tried to grab the glittering one yen coin.


"Don't touch me."

"Eh, ah, excuse me! I wasn't going to take anything, it's just kind of pretty so..."

"Don't touch me! Are you going to kill me?! Because mazoku won't let humans live."

"I... I won't kill you..."

The man grimaced as he tried to raise his body and groaned in pain. I don't understand all of the curses he repeats at me. He didn't look this way.

"Are you human?"

"Naturally, damn it, and you're with those mazoku! Damn, if you're going to kill me hurry and do it."

"I'm not going to kill you. What, are you scared of putting disinfectant on wounds as a grown man?"

"Disinfectant? Don't lie to the good people now, a mazoku saving humans?! You mazoku kill humans, so we kill mazoku back."

Neverminding that I put the fluid on his wound.

"I'm not going to kill you, be quiet already! Proof of that is that humans live in that village, don't they? If mazoku kill humans, then why are people living there?! It's you people who went there to destroy their quiet lives."

That's right, humans attacked the village, with swords turned against humans. The arrows were shot.


Even though they were both human.

The man turned his head to look at me, and I looked down on him from where I was standing.

"It's ok to destroy that place! That village sold their souls to the mazoku, it doesn't matter if we steal from them, naturally we'd burn a village like that! Our god forgives us; he lent us power to punish the mazoku!"

Because of the pain and bleeding, his laughter became slightly hysteric.

"God has chosen humans!"

"...What kind of god is that?"

The soldier with a bandage wrapped around his head got up next to us in a swaying motion.

"...What are you... saying to his Majesty..."

There wasn't a pause. He grips his sword, aiming his sword at the neck of the shouting human.

"Da..."

"Stop!"

The sword sharply cut through the air, and dug into the soft ground. The man's head was still attached to his torso. Fortunately, the weapon had broken. The medic girl lifted the man's chin and quickly applied a wet cloth to his nose. The injured man lost his strength, and his face pressed on the grass dead tired.

"When the wounded are excited, I'm afraid we have to put them to sleep."


As if this sort of trouble happens often, she smiles without losing her cool.

"Excuse me if I offended you, but, they're always unbelievers. You there, and you, watch what you do. All patients carried into my workplace are treated equally. I won't allow you to hurt one another! Ah, your Majesty."

She looked at me as I watched, overwhelmed, and saw the gem cradled at my neck.

"Is that an offering from his Excellency Conrart?"

"Eh, yeah."

"I see."

I don't know what she remembered when she nodded her head slightly and moved on to the next wounded person.

"It suits you, very well."

I staggered back to where Conrad was before, who had been giving orders to the soldiers. Soldiers came with clothes scorched here and there, reporting of a well.

"I see, don't get too close. Dig as wide as you can into the soil to entirely enclose it."

The subordinate bowed briefly and ran off.

With his arms folded, Wolfram didn't look particularly serious.


"When big brother comes back he should have the ground swallow this village. That way the fire will be put out and it won't spread to the forest."

"And what of the villager's homes and land? And the fields they worked so hard to clear?"

"Hnn, the fires were set by humans like them, so they should resign themselves to their fate."

Humans like them.

For no reason I'm drained of strength, and I weakly squat down there.

"Your Majesty."

Conrad kneels down, gently placing a hand on my back.

"Why did they do this... They say it's because they wanted food. To me is seems like they attacked this village because mazoku that despised humans, like Wolfram and Gwendal, hated them."

Wolfram snorted as if to say he resented that.

"Why should we do something so useless? This land has been mazoku land since long ago. If it burns naturally it's a loss. Besides, if the fire reaches the forest it's not something we can restore in one or two years."

The houses blazing up with dark smoke finally crumble down miserably. The farmland that was green and gold only a few days ago was licked by flames now. Several of the domestic animals had taken refuge in the forest.


"Why would humans do this to each other..."

Conrad was interrupted by a falling spark and pulled my shoulder back.

"I can sort of understand why you mazoku are hostile towards humans. Basically, umm, I can't explain it well but, it's sort of like how killer whales and dolphins are on bad terms... But that discord is because you're born different, I think I can understand it somehow. But why would humans be opposed to each other?"

That man's hysterical laughter from earlier ran around in my head.

"Isn't it like dolphins biting one another?! What kind of god wouldn't be angry at such meaningless, cruel things?!"

Falling between mazoku and human, I can't read his feelings in his low mutter.

"Well then."

Soldiers' voices of fatigue and despair rise up, as the ashes of burned wheat fly away.

It falls and piles up on the grass, dancing around again when it's scattered by hooves.

Over and over again. Until it returns to the ground again.

"Then on the world your Majesty is from, humans don't fight each other?"

"...That's..."

The blaze illuminates the figures of the riders approaching. Subdued by only three riders, the man was dragged along in a large lump of cloth, thrown out in front of us and looked at a group of villagers.


"This..."

The person in the old rags came into sight. An arrow pierced through the right shoulder of the soldier's uniform, his eyes were red from blood from his forehead. With a pale face and low voice, a peasant man muttered it was more baggage. Though I can't see any injuries, both his arms and legs seem to be twisted strangely.

Bones.

Imaging the pain, I barely manage to gulp down the vomit that's welling up.

"Clean up over there right away. Although nearly all escaped from across the border."

Even in such a serious situation, Gwendal's expression didn't change much. As always he was sullen and handsome, and with the exception of blood spatter from other people on his clothes he didn't have any traces of combat.

After he raised his eyebrows slightly at the youngest brother who had come, he began to talk to his younger brother about the situation as a soldier.

"Adelbert fed this man lies to provoke him. It's no wonder he's trained. The misshapen soldier is considerably involved. It seems there was a fire magician among them. That's why the fire is so powerful."

"There's no sign of it weakening at all. We sent a message with one of the bone tribe at noon, but a magic user hasn't arrived yet so what can we do besides hold out until then? We'll do whatever we can to protect just the forest."

"Well, without their assistance we can merely watch. Or..."


Realizing I'm a spectator myself, I bite my lip and hung my head in shame. Gracefully dismounting, Gwendal ordered a subordinate to take his over-excited horse away from the flames, and standing up straight he looked here.

"Are you going to suppress the flames roaring over this village with that commendable water magic like that one time?"

"What do you..."

Water magic like that one time? Anxiety smolders in my chest. Günter also said something about water. Something about forming an avatar with an element and pact.

Do I take responsibility for something that happened that I can't remember?

"Big brother, it seems this guy can't remember what happened."

Wolfram said it bluntly, as if it had no significance.

"You can't call that miracle anything but luck, he was only able to do it unconsciously. In other words, the Yuuri we have now not only can't handle swords or magic, he's also an amateur at riding horses."

"A miracle, that I? What kind of incredible miracle did I cause?"

Conrad is glancing at me apologetically. That glance brings to mind the eyes of the homeroom teacher in the student guidance room. You don't need to make that sort of face, because I got kicked off the team for hitting the coach. Because I did it myself, and don't regret it in the slightest. They called my mom and after she apologized to coach and the teacher in charge of that grade for the fact he got punched, and she laughed and asked. So coach, what did he do? There was a bit of a bad incident where this kid got pissed off and punched me. Yuu-chan's been like that a long time, as a child he had a strange policy type of thing, and when anything happens to contradict it it's like he blows his top. Well, when he forgets himself like that he just wants to protect those seven letters, "justice".


Among the teachers, they seemed to conclude like mother like son.

If you believe what my mom said, I'm enforcing a small-town sense of justice.

But now, even if I try to recreate it I can't remember it offhand...

"Anyhow, if he can't be useful he can at least stay out of the way."

It seems like the eldest son didn't seriously expect that.

One elderly woman is drawn out from the villagers who are gathered shoulder to shoulder. Unkempt blond hair and a stream of tears cling to her cheeks, frightened in front of the extremely beautiful nobles, particularly mazoku. A soldier gives the woman his sword, and leads her to the cowering enemy nearby. Gwendal said:

"These people burned your villages. Kill him, humiliate him, do as you like."

"What the hell?!"

He glares with an expression that says, 'You again?'. But I can't let things be. As always, it's me.

I've thrown out the conduct I've learned according to a different world.

But, that's me.

I clench my fist, and stand between the woman and injured soldier. The lone challenger of the influential mazoku.


"You can't. Isn't this guy, in short, a prisoner of war?! There are rules for how you treat a prisoner of war. It says the wounded will have the equal treatment to the girl a bit ago."

"Conrart, do something about this troublemaker."

"I can't do anything about it."

As if Gwendal was a little irritated he put a hand to his forehead.

"That would be the story if he was an average soldier, these are ringleaders."

"It's the same thing, you can't deal out capital punishment as you please even if he's a ringleader! He needs a proper lawyer, and his guilt will be decided in trial..."

I desperately try to persuade the woman who hasn't lifted the weapon. "Ma'am, don't be coaxed by such a thoughtless group. No matter how famous they are, there's still bad and good. I learned enough in compulsory education to know you can't kill prisoners as you please. Whether it's junior high history or citizen's or whatever, it's banned because it becomes capital punishment."

"I... that..."

"That woman hasn't received an education. It's troublesome if they defy the nobles, so we don't like to give the human citizens unnecessary intelligence. Compulsory education is absurd."

"There's no compulsory education~?!"

In a world of swords and magic, what's going on with people's rights?


Although it may not be an effective argument but it seems that I've avoided capital punishment for the time being as the woman stands there hesitantly. I can't be relieved as I look around the area. For example, the fireman holding a symbol bearer,[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C9N1|[1]]] or going back to a basic bucket brigade. But I don't see water anywhere. Everyone is digging up soil and pouring it on.

"Why aren't they pouring water on it to extinguish it?"

I calmly ask Conrad.

"Because the well isn't close. Besides, the blaze was started by a magic user, a little bit of water won't put it out at all. A normal fire would spread too slowly because they were ordered to burn up the target; unless we have a lot of water we can't compete just using water. Gwendal is a skilled earth magic user, so he thought to pile up the dirt to isolate it but the influence it has below ground might be too large, and the forest may need to be sacrificed... All we can do is wait for a magic user who can manipulate water."

Manipulate water. Isn't that what I did? I don't remember it, that time is a blank slate.

Wolfram was standing with a hand on his hip, and asked his elder brother in a trembling voice.

"Is this attack on our land a reason for a proclamation of war?"

"...Well, it's a good enough reason."

A proclamation of war?

Those words were rarely heard in the daily life of an average fifteen year old; I kept repeating those four words over and over in my head. A proclamation of war, a proclamation of war, a proclamation of war.


A proclamation of war?

"'A proclamation of war'?! You're going to wage war because of this?! This isn't a joke by some chance?"

I was ignored.

"...Think about it from different sides, Wolfram. Not a single regular soldier joined them. If we make this attack the main reason for declaring war, they can escape by discarding just one village. We need something certain."

"Then they can do what they want to remote regions of the country while we sit back and watch quietly?"

"You guys, listen!!"

They only glance at me, without looking as if they're going to give me a serious response.

The blood is rushing to my brain at a reckless speed. If my blood vessel was cut right now I'd lose it all. While I try to choose my words calmly, my mouth is stiff, and the tip of my voice trembles.

"Do you know any defense-only policies?! Anyhow, that means just protecting yourselves! That means never fighting yourself! That modern day Japan abandoned war for pacifism, and it's even written clearly into the constitution?! Being a Japanese person born and raised in Japan, of course I oppose war, too, not just 'oppose' but 'strongly oppose'!"

I point at Conrad, my tone raises at the end of the word as I speak.

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1197.jpg|400px|thumb]]

"Humans also fight each other on Earth, didn't you tell me that a little while ago?! Ah, they do, it's not untrue at all. But at those times there's always someone trying their hardest to stop it! The majority of the world's population want peace!"

I shout out halfway out of frustration. I don't understand Wolfram's or whoever's hot tempers.

"Is that the content of your conversations?! Purposely waiting silently until you have something more certain you can start a war with?!"

"...Don't shout."

Gwendal frowned like he was suppressing a headache. But my nickname is the Turkish March.

"Discuss it, discuss it! The farmland of the citizens of your country was burned. What are you going to do about it; how can it be secured? I want to absolutely avoid fighting, can't it be neatly dealt with domestically so that we don't need to from now on? That is, solve it by discussing it."

"Don't shout, foreigner from a different world!"

"No, I'll shout, I'm allowed to shout! I'll be Japanese until I'm twenty, even if I have the soul of the Maoh, I'll be Japanese until I come of age. I think Japan is more peaceful that this country, so even if you tell me to stop I'll continue talking! I oppose war, completely oppose, I'll oppose it my whole life, even if in death I'll oppose it!"


"So you've died once?!"

"Not bloody likely!"

I did it, I thought. Calmly, Gwendal, who didn't try to treat me like anything more that a cupid-statue peeing into a fountain in a garden, was caught up in an argument with me. Now that it's come to this I won't back down.

No matter how threatening looking like the Maoh is.

"You have no interest in becoming the king, so you don't have a say about our country! I have a duty to defend Shin Makoku, and an obligation to consider our national interest. The exaggerated ethics and lukewarm methods might be fine for place you call 'Japan' that you grew up in. But this is us; mazoku have mazoku methods!"

"Then I'll change that! I'll change the Mazola ways from scratch!"

This sky isn't dirty, this land isn't poisoned, this forest isn't in disorder, this world is beautiful. But there's something strange about this world.

"You guys are beautiful and cool, but the problem is you have bad personalities! Such as discriminating against humans, dangerous customs, privileged classes and liking war. So much so that when the other party mentions pacifism it's outrageous! They're both humans, but because they live on mazoku land it's ok to attack them! Doesn't that sound stupid?! 'God lends you power to fight' , what sort of disturbing faith is that?!"

"Your Majesty."

Of the three brothers, only Conrad calls me "Your Majesty". His topaz eyes seem to pierce me by surprise.


"They're absolutely mistaken, but even so it's useless to get us roped in. Even if we're in the right, war is a mistake."

Sorry, Conrad, the March can't stop during the climax. I feel dizzy from a lack of oxygen to my head. Who are we? What group am I joining? Wasn't I a human?

"If the King says we can't go to war, would the citizens obey that?"

"Your Majesty."

I spoke deeper and deeper, and shouted the next part.

"...I will become the Maoh..."

"Yuuri?!"

"I'll become Shin Makoku's king."

If I don't give the signal the game won't start for a long time.

The fire spread to the back fence. That sound of something like a small explosion is covered by a woman's scream.

"What..."

Trying to turn around, my body is bent and I have a coughing fit. A blow to my right ribs chokes the air in my lungs.

"Don't move!"


I'm in a full nelson with my chin being held unreasonably hard. A heavy metal touches my throat and chest and someone's breath is right next to my ear.

The cowering ringleader snatched the weapon from her hands. His eyes glittered, reddened with blood, and he took rough breaths with excitement and pain. Arrows were stuck in his shoulder and legs.

"Nobody move, if you move I'll cut this guy's throat."

I tried to turn my eye just barely to the side to see the man's face.

"It's useless for you to resist, either!"

"I understand..."

Extremely timid.

"I wonder if the Great Maoh will keep his lips shut. Like us underlings."

Someone clicks their tongue. Who is it?

I'm dragging along while he's moving, and the man speaks in a voice that's partially holding in laughter.

"If you're really the Maoh, is it really this simple? For a common soldiers like myself."

"...Ch..."

"Even though I'm not going to try and take you anywhere. If you guys even try to say a fragment of a spell, I'll probably die but he'll definitely lose his life, too! Don't get any ideas about going anywhere, I'm a soldier of twenty years too."


A pain like heat runs through my neck. Maybe there's a shallow cut in the skin.

The man carefully distanced himself from the mazoku, and demands a horse, water and food rations.

"You're acting like you're dying but aren't you the brat who said you're the Maoh right in front of us? But you're no good with swords or magic, I wonder if you're really the Maoh?"

"...I... can't... help... it..."

The tip of the sword touching my throat hurts but my ribs that were punched in hurt more. Each time I breathe my eyes tear up.

"Well, either way, there aren't two people born in this world with black hair and eyes. Even if you're not the King, I need to take you along to earn a ton of money. Didn't you know? They say you can gain eternal life if you get a person with black hair and eyes, I have colleagues who'll pay a load of money for that."

I heard it. Three or six days ago. Even though I can't control my own life and death, I can become a miracle cure for others; is there such an absurd life?! I shut my eyes tightly.

I'm sorry for shouting awhile ago; I'm sorry, so please save me. With all my might I raise my eyes, but not one ally makes a move, they watch with their breath caught at a distance.

The horse is pulled over, and a small quantity of water is put in the saddle bags.

Perhaps this moment is the beginning of my last chance? It's not possible for two people to get on simultaneously, even less so a hostage with a blade pointed at him. So, is the only chance right now?


"Get on."

The man turned the sword to my back. Seems he's planning to go through from behind. Unable to tell him honestly that I can't ride alone, I timidly put my foot in the stirrup.

It was the instant I crossed my right leg over the saddle.

A small black shadow quickly approached, and the arrow in the man's leg is pulled out.

The man screams like a frog. The sword cuts the tawny brown hide, and the timid grey horse neighs in a high pitch. It lifts its front legs, throws off its "baggage", and runs in fear.

"Darnit..."

When I thought my body was floating through the air, it crashed on a different hard surface; the ground. My ribs from before ache again, and I can't breathe in oxygen without it hurting.

"...Egh..."

My fingers grasp my chest and happen to fall onto something warm.

It's blood.

I can't see anything but the shadow of Conrad's back backlit. There was a shadowy mass at his feet.

The man had doubled over and collapsed. He shed fresh, red blood.

"...Is he dead?"

"Who knows."


There's a voice under my body, and in a rush I move my hips onto the grass.

Gwendal wiped off the mud and ash on his clothes. Why is this man under me? There's no time to ask the question.

Perhaps when I was thrown off the grey horse, because I catch sight of the small pitiable person who saved me.

The flames are already approaching there. Lying upside-down, the boy doesn't move despite the heat.

"...Hey..."

Fair-headed children with good physiques stood nearby.

"Brandon"

"Yuuri, it's dangerous, let me."

Staggering, I shake off Conrad's arm and get near the flames.

This child, because of humans setting fires, because of this malicious flame that someone started, because of this cowardly flame that can't be put out...

"Brandon!"

From the side a large fire flies, and somehow Conrad mowed it down.

"Brandon?!"

The boy turns up his face and I lift him onto my knee. His eyes were barely open, and he moved his lips. He's alive!

"...Your Majesty..."

"You don't have to call me 'Your Majesty'."


"...But, you're... going to... become the king..."

"Brandon."

I'll protect this village, I'll protect you, I promise that; I promise.

Something dripped onto the boy's cheek.

"I promise."

"Will you... t... teach me, how... to pitch?"

"I promise!"

Thunder suddenly pierces my ears, seeming in synchronization with my cry.

It whispers sweet, gentle and joyful things into my ear canals.

The rain begins to beat the ground...

Until every last one of us is dripping.

It seems it was a rare downpour.
<noinclude>

''(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on [http://www.sakuracities.com/yaoigames/kkmnovel1.php Onadoru Euphoria]. Re-posted with permission.)''

{{MaruMA Nav|prev=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_8|next=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_10}}

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 9

2012-01-31T21:14:47Z

Starkiller4299: Blanked the page

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 7

2012-01-31T20:03:54Z

Starkiller4299:

== '''Chapter 7''' ==


The clear sky quickly became cloudy, but the dark clouds only extended over the courtyard. A downpour that you couldn't even breath in clapped down on the pavement. With his eyes barely open, there was a reflection of Yuuri gazing at Wolfram.

"...Your Majesty?"

Gunter's voice was trembling as he called out, but he wasn't going to turn around.

Even his voice, not even mentioning the tone, sounded like a different person.

"You refused to accept defeat, running around wildly and ignoring the rules. And then an innocent girl was dragged into it, and still you greedily want victory."

"Wh, what are you saying like some sort of actor?"

"Is this what you call a real duel?! If that's the case, I can't let people like you do whatever you want! It's not my intention to shed blood, but I have no choice, I will slice you down!"

"What?!"

Though he said "slice", Yuuri's weapon was not a sword.

"Judgement!"

It appeared at the tip of his fingers like the fire magic that Wolfram used. It was two serpents that had fangs and were the same blue as the pouring rain.

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1153.jpg|400px|thumb]]

"What is this, how, that isn't a very king-like figure."

"More importantly than that, when did His Majesty make an oath with the element of water? Besides, it's virtually impossible to manipulate particles without saying the commands. How is His Majesty doing that even though no one taught him..."

As both people in Yuuri's group expressed their own thoughts, Gwendal muttered so lowly that neither of them would be able to hear it.

"I see, so it seems his soul is authentic."

"Justice" was faintly written on the translucent, glittering side of the serpents. It was really out of place. Without error it coiled around its Mazoku quarry. Wolfram let out a scream that was unlike himself, as he resisted and tried to shake it off. Every time he created flames at his fingertips, the downpour would squelch them. This was evidence that a water user had an advantage over a fire user. Victory or defeat of an embodied element was decided by the owner's status and ability.

"Get this thing off me! How the hell could you do this, so suddenly... You, who are you really?!"

"Who am I? Did you forget my other face?"

It was completely like a historical play.

"You, who selfishly snatched away an innocent life, I absolutely won't allow it!"


"Guh..."

More and more the serpents ("Justice number 1" and "Justice number 2") tightened around Wolfram trying to punish him when a soldier called out joyfully.

"He~y! She's recovered consciousness, she's not in any danger."

The girl was in the man's arms, with her eyes open as she recovered. She let out a small groan with a hand to her face.

"...I...why..."

Yuuri and Wolfram saw that. Wolfram wasn't about to make excuses. If he was going to kill him, then kill him. For a brat who only had some good looks being conquered was humiliating, and he would rather die like a military man than kneel and beg for his life.

However, the water serpents that were even wrapping around his neck evaporated and vanished rapidly. Out of strength, he sat down. Even Yuuri's radiant eyes weren't that of a normal person as he glared, and he pointed at Wolfram, declaring,

"Wolfram, undergo a great reformation after this! Even the lord has mercy."

"M... Mercy?"

Calling himself the lord, he gave a loud splash as he hit the muddy water.
<noinclude>

''(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on [http://www.sakuracities.com/yaoigames/kkmnovel1.php Onadoru Euphoria]. Re-posted with permission.)''

{{MaruMA Nav|prev=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_6|next=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_8}}

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 4

2012-01-31T19:21:54Z

Starkiller4299:

== '''Chapter 4''' ==


Is this really a banquet?

As I stepped up to the round, opal table, I felt my limbs stiffen from the tension. "This looks more like an military discussion than a dinner party."

The eldest son and the third son were in the room, and both were wearing what seemed like their usual uniforms. Since Conrad is that way, it must mean that full dress for those brothers is being in uniform. Each uniform has the same design but different colors. Gwendal was viridian without a speck of dirt, and Wolfram was a deep navy blue. There are many varying colors for each post. It's easy to tell the difference between land, sea and air.

A man that seems to be a waiter carrying a tray bows his head to me very deeply. But the eldest son and the third son, as they have have what seem to be champagne glasses in their hands, won't even try to greet me. Of course, I wasn't able to bear the awkward atmosphere.

"Good, good evening."

Wolfram laughed through his nose. Being scorned by a person with a nice face makes it at least three times as offensive. Conrad enters while smiling, and places his left hand on Gwendal's back.

"Your Majesty, this is my older brother Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, and over here-"


When he reaches towards the glittering blond he's swatted away as if to say "Don't touch".

"...is my little brother, Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld. Both of them were called Your Highness until the other day; now they're Your Excellency. Of course, they're several positions lower than Your Majesty, so it doesn't matter if you just address them by their names as you wish."

"Don't touch me."

Gwendal is quiet, but the young one is hysteric and yelping noisily.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch me with your human fingers?! I've never even thought of you as my older brother once!"

"Right, right, I get it so I won't pour your drink for you. Because my white cloth is different than yours it'd leave a serious stain."

Looking as if he's really used to it, the second son leaves his brothers. The pretty boy and the idler.

"I explained to you that we have different fathers. You probably noticed that only I, Sir Weller Conrart, am not one of the ten nobles. My father was a traveller of unknown origins; he was a person with no value other than his sword."

Wolfram made an irritated face. Gwendal was indifferent.

"Then, you're a half?[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N1|[1]]] Ah, why didn't you say something like half or double?[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N2|[2]]] Your mother was a Mazoku, and your father was..."

"Human. With light brown hair and eyes, and penniless."


"And he was a great man."

All at the same time everyone's eyes turned towards the entrance. The Sexy Queen who had such an amazing body that it was almost a crime smiled. It's a tight black dress that made with a lusterless material, has a cut that might reach her navel, and a slit that makes her shapely legs completely visible. She doesn't have a single accessory, as if to say, "I'm the jewel".

She's letting out even more pheromones than when she was nude.

"Mother!"

"Mother?!"

After all, if any of the three called her that, that would make her the mother of three people. Is it ok for the mother of people who are almost one-hundred to only look about thirty?

"Thirty... About fifty... one-hundred and fifty... She's about one-hundred and fifty years old?"

That is, awhile ago I got excited about a woman who is about one-hundred and fifty years old. Her golden curls stretch out elegantly.

"It's been a long time, Conrart. It's only been awhile since I've seen you, but you're looking more and more like the handsome man your father was."

"Mother, you only grow more beautiful as well."

"Oh my, you probably say that to all the girls."

This is a conversation between a mother and son?

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1095.jpg|400px|thumb]]

She hugs her sons one by one, but they barely look like mother and son except for Wolfram, and even if the eldest, Gwendal, is younger than her, she looks like a skilled older girlfriend spoiling a calm boyfriend. I secretly asked the second son.

"Is he a son brought in from the husband of a second marriage, or something like that?"

"No, I assure you, all three of us were born from that woman."

"Gwen, your forehead is wrinkling again. You won't be able to get the girls that way. Ah, Wolf! Wolf, let me get a good look at your face. Oh, you still look just like me. The men probably won't leave you alone!"

"...Mother, we just saw each other this morning. Besides, even if men liked me it wouldn't make me happy."

"Is that so? Are boys like that? I can't understand the feelings of young men these days. Aah, why couldn't I have had a girl? Boys are so rowdy and they distance themselves from their mothers so fast!"

"That's not true, I wouldn't distance myself from you, Mother!"

"Oh? Really?"

"Really!"

What an silly parent and child.

But, the queen's aim of attack is immediately directed towards me.


"Your Majesty."

"Hyah."

Her captivating body was pressed up against mine, an average body of a young fifteen year old high school student. Our faces were the same height, so close that we could have kissed. Her rose-colored lips shaped into a smile.

"We've met in the baths, didn't we, Your New Majesty?"

"That's, that's right."

"You've gotten so tense that you're stiff, you're really darling. I was thinking that it would be nice if someone like you would become the new king."

"I see." The reason I was becoming stiff is because the first 'big' of your 'big skinny big'[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N3|[3]]] is hitting my chest.

"Ne, King Yuuri. You're King Yuuri, right?"

"I see," this isn't the place to respond like an audience member of Alta.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N4|[4]]]

"Do you have a lover?"

"Hyaaah~!"

While she's making strange sexy sounds, their mother is pulled off of me. With an expression that wasn't shy or angry, Günter forced his way through.


"Please don't fall in love with the new Maoh, previous Maoh!"

"No~, really, Gunter. You sound like a cynical widow!"

"I don't care even if you resent and abuse me. Anyhow, I, if the previous Maoh and new Maoh were to be lovers... No, excuse me, I want to avoid an improper relationship such as being lovers."

"Previous Maoh? Who? This... woman is?"

Not a Sexy Queen, but she was a real queen? The lovely Mazoku in the black dress (or witch) smiled and presented her white hand to me.

"Welcome to Shin Makoku, King Yuuri. I am your predecessor, Lady Cecilie von Spitzweig. Your Majesty was summoned because I said I would step down from the throne."

"Then, this is because of you, uh, no, eh, Lady von Spitzweig Ce... umm, Cecilia? No? Li, e?"

"Call me Cheri. Che, ri. My older brother told me to reconsider it, but I'm tired of a life where I can't love freely!"

Lady Cheri, because you have that sort of motive, I had to become the new Maoh even though I'm still a minor. As her slender fingers grasped me before my eyes, I sighed. Ah, the owner these delicate white fingers, if she could hold onto power for about one hundred more years, I could be sent off to live a normal life in Japan, and when my unfortunate wife died before me, half a year later on a spring day, when I was being watched by my only son and daughter-in-law and cute grandchildren, then I could take a trip to the next world. Wait, what if this is the next world? If that's true, am I dead now...


"What's the matter, Your Majesty?"

My cheerful family planning rises and vanishes like a revolving lantern,[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N5|[5]]] rises and vanishes.

What a story.

I've been invited as a guest to a certain country, my teeth chattering from the tension of being in front of a ruler and nobles, and I made a mistake in one instant and drank from what would normally be a bowl to wash your fingers. All the nobles surrounding me laughed scornfully and said, "Doesn't he have any manner", while elegantly dipping their fingers in the bowl. However, only the princess drinks the water out of the finger bowl with a cool face. It seems like she doesn't want to embarrass her guest.

Even if it's called "bowl" it's not a game of American football, so they should be hospitable! That's an anecdote of my mind that warms my heart.

If she drinks all of the water, I wonder if that means she's a kind princess.

I secretly sighed while watching water be poured into silverware nearby.

I want to stop. I feel like I can get along with Conrad, but the eldest son and the third son are hopeless. I'm not sure about Madame Cheri, but I probably shouldn't try to the point of her feigning ignorance about everything.


I arranged the tips of my fingers on both hands and prudently dipped them in the small bowl. And...

"Eh?!"

Everyone else was holding it with both hands and drank it all in one gulp! Damn, I didn't read the textbook of morality very seriously. Conrad has the waiter move back without drinking.

"You seem to know a lot about filth, cleaning yourself with sake."

Wolfram, sitting next to me, is maliciously straightforward. So that was sake. Then it's ok, I can't have alcohol anyway. Not to observe the law, but to preserve the height I want to be and a healthy heart, I won't smoke.

Günter is a bit away from the round table, giving instructions to the waiters. He isn't a close relative of the Maoh, so he doesn't get a seat at Shinou's dinner. Therefore, there are five people around the table. Sitting clockwise from the youngest.

The new king, myself, His Highness Wolfram, a former crown prince, His Highness Conrart, a former crown prince, His Highness Gwendal, a former crown prince, and the previous Maoh, Cecilie.

When I'm enclosed by Wolfram who hates me a lot, and the pheromone queen, I can't concentrate on eating dinner.I understand the feelings that Wolfram hates me well because until recently he was a prince and he was suddenly demoted. It wouldn't be so troublesome if they had safely stuck to the hereditary system.


Pouring a drink into a faceted glass like from Edo (probably sake again), the waiter lightly leans over and asks about something like an in-flight meal.

"Your Majesty, fish and meat... Bird, mammal, reptile or amphibian, which would you like?"

Which?! If I remember right in the old days of Yakult,[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N6|[6]]] I think there was an athlete who may have eaten crocodile, but don't be surprised, this is what's called the difference in food culture. Even in Japan the viper is a popular dish. But it's really eel even though they say it's a viper.

"We, well, in that case, as a growing child, mammalian. No, wait, wait a minute. What kind of mammal is it tonight? It's not something like a fresh monkey or a newborn puppy is it?!"

A reflection of the image of the food market in China.

"It's cow." What a relief.

"The highest quality with eight stomachs and five horns."

"Five horns... Maybe something like gene manipulation, or... Uuh, well, the cow."

Hochinosu, mino, ginoa, yan...[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N7|[7]]] It's no good, I can't remember anything else about stomachs. A plate the color and smell of consomme soup and seems to be the appetizer is carried over. I took in hand what I had instead of a knife or fork. A dull, polished silver,


"...This brings back memories, a spork. Well, it is pretty rational. Totally rationally."

In elementary school, at lunch, this served two roles. For soup and hors d'oeuvre of the day.

"So, Your Majesty, what was the country you grew up in like? I wonder how it's different from our world."

The previous Maoh, Cecilie, grips my right hand tightly. At once the temperature of this male high school student who was formerly an unpopular jock goes up by 2 degrees.

"I, I don't know, there's nothing particularly odd, it's a boring world. Ah, but, this world is extremely different. We don't have people who can use magic, and we work more on improving scientifically..."

"Science! I've heard of that. It's a technology where people who don't have magic power or religious power can kill their enemies from far away, isn't it? The human countries seem to be doing that sort of research. It's terrible, the military capability to be able reach further than bows. If humans get that sort of war capability, I wonder if they'll abide by the agreement."

The third son said to his mother with cold eyes.

"I don't think they have those sort of ethics."

"Please don't say such scary things, Wolfram. If that happens, what are we going to do?"


"It's simple. We should stop suppressing our magic. When we fairly have equal war potential, we'll dispose of them because the humans will be too cocky."

"Wait wait wait, I didn't mean that kind of science! In short, well, umm, machines that will do troublesome chores like cleaning and laundry, and machines that will plow fields all at once. In short, stuff to make daily living more comfortable."

Cheri seems sweetly surprised.

"I don't think cleaning and laundry are troublesome. That's the job of the cleaning men and laundry women."

I didn't even think about how the queen lives up to now.

"So, so, instead of people in charge of cleaning or laundry, you'd have a machine."

"If that's so, the servants lose their jobs?

"If that happens, those people work at factories to build vacuum cleaners and washing machines..."

I don't really know if people can live easily.

"Ne, well then Your Majesty, how about love? What is love like between different kinds of people? After all when there's obstacles and opposition, doesn't passion just flare up more?"

I can't figure out what she means by 'different kinds'. She's probably alluding to mazoku and humans, but how should I relate that to Japanese? International marriage? People already aspire to, not even mentioning that they're free to, or a human with a chimpanzee, which rarely happens.


"At any rate, you came from a very distant world. I'm glad you're succeeding the throne. Because of that I can finally leave the castle. It's been my dream for a long time to go on a free love trip."

She's dreamy, I grip my fingers and nod my head at this and that.

"That, that's great."

Great things are brought out to the dining table. The meat of the main dish. A red meat dish that I wouldn't say is favorably rare is in front of me. In front of the previous queen is almost a whole amphibian... No, it is whole. With that sort of face, how could you be eating frogs, Madam Sexy Queen.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N8|[8]]] I tried to recite a haiku.

"You must have been anxious about whether you could do it when you suddenly found out you're a king. I was too. That day a messenger suddenly came, and it was made clear that according to Shinou Genshi Your Majesty had the soul of the next Maoh. But, Your Majesty, don't think about it too much. For the difficult things everyone around you, my brother and my sons, will help you as much as they can."

"Mother!"

Sticking a knife in his bird, Wolfram speaks in a voice that seems aggravated.

"I don't plan on working for this man! I can't agree when it's not clear if he deserves to be the new king."

"Oh, then will you succeed the throne, Wolf?"


Next he scoops up something white that seems to be potatoes, and shakes his head as he puts it on his plate.

"Of course not. Big brother is far more suited to that position than I am. If it was big brother, he would show that those cowardly humans are fools."

Subsequently he picks up a glass for wine or something like a type of alcohol.

Next to him Conrad looks like he isn't listening as he takes a bite of fish. When the youngest child says "older brother", he seems to only mean the eldest brother of few words.

"Right, Gwendal?"

He knives the chicken meat again. He seems to have decided his eating order. The previous queen tilts her head sweetly.

"But Wolfram, don't you know the consequences when the king opposes Shinou's words."

It seems like he's a god-like being and when they don't follow his words, terrible things happen. Then, in the case that I refuse to be the Maoh, will terrible things happen to this country and all its people, or to me, the newcomer?

"Of course, that means Your Majesty, too."

"Eeeh?!"

Conrad answered as if he saw through me.

"What's with that~! I never asked or wanted to be king. Then that's almost coercion."


"...As I thought."

When his spoon should definitely go towards the potatoes as the next in sequential order, Wolfram gave a sideways glance to watch my involuntary reaction towards Gwendal's murmur. Because in that short phrase, there is the sound of contempt.

"From the beginning, you never intended to be the king."

Holding his wine glass too strongly, Gwendal continues without looking this way. His blue eyes seem frozen over; nothing like a timid Japanese person.

"He may have black eyes and hair, but that doesn't matter. Because this person won't become the Maoh. He wasn't prepared from the start. Isn't that right, visitor from another world?"

"Eh... well, yeah..."

I unintentionally reply positively, and Conrad's words interrupt.

"He's only been in this country two days. His Majesty is confused. Don't you think your speculation is ill-mannered, and a bit too arrogant, Lord von Voltaire?"

"But you can't escape the reality. Shouldn't you know that better than anyone? How many sacrifices are made when a king doesn't feel like carrying out his responsibilities? Your Majesty, take my word for it, if you aren't prepared to live as a king please return to your original world immediately."


The man with the most suitable appearance for the Maoh turns to me with an icy smile for the first time.

"As a representative of Mazoku, please go away before the expectations of the people rise."

"But I..."

I want to say that I wanted to go back but stop mid-sentence, because something inside of me seems to block my throat and my voice stopped. It seems like my willpower or pride or a show of courage or something like that is being troublesome.

I face the red beef as I pull myself together. The new Maoh bashing still continued over the table.

On the opposing team, Gwen and Wolf; Cheri was neutral, and Conrad seemed to be fighting alone.

"I especially want to confirm whether he truly has the soul of the Maoh. At any rate, the visitor should return immediately. It would be wise to search for a substitute."

"He is the genuine article, Gwen, the real thing."

"How can you say that so positively?"

Even though I was could only see a rare steak, I could see Conrad's smile. I feel like I can see it. Even when I can only see the back of his head, I can still see his smile.

"I wouldn't mistake the wrong person for Yuuri."

As soon as he finishes his last word, Wolfram flares up hysterically.

"What kind of proof is that?! Just saying you wouldn't be deceived isn't adequate! He probably dyed his hair, and his eyes... He could put on colored contacts or something like that, there are tons of makeshift methods."


"Unfortunately, I can't show you evidence that would make you consent."

"Then don't declare something like that! Mainly, if by chance this guy is the owner of the Maoh's soul, after all, wasn't he raised among humans with a low social status? I can't trust our country to someone like that. It would be a blemish on the great history of the Mazoku."

"Wolfram, this isn't about what position he was born into. It's about how he lives, and how he decides to behave. But if you're going to make such a fuss over it, I'll tell you. His Majesty's soul was entrusted to the Maoh of that world, and he chose a suitable man from his subordinates. So even though His Majesty's father isn't from this world, he still has the blood of a Mazoku flowing through him."

"Ueeeh?! No way, my dad is a demon?!"

Not demon, but, Mazoku. When Japan had fallen into a great depression, bankers were called devils and demons. But, my father really was a Mazoku! How should I treat visitors in the future, as a son?

"What kind of face should I make when I see him, knowing my father is really a Mazoku."

"That should be fine, since when your father sees you, his son's really going to be the Maoh."


The second son is nonchalant. He has a point. That makes it harder.

"But Conrad, why do you know about my fath..."

"Even if his father is a Mazoku, isn't his mother still a human!"

It seemed like he wasn't going to stop attacking under any circumstances. Wolfram gulps down his glass, and because he's beautiful the way he glares this way is all the more fierce.

"You only have half the blood of a Mazoku flowing through your body. It's no wonder Conrart gets along with you, you're both "fake"! The other half of you is filthy human blood and meat, some person of doubtful origins, probably the blood of some girl with loose morals? That kind of person..."

Damnit, when I thought that it was already too late. I always regret what I do afterwards. It was because of this quick temper and flying into a rage that I stopped playing baseball after ten years. There are moments when my small-town sense of justice can't be suppressed. As a catcher, that's a fatal flaw. It's very disadvantageous in life.

Right in front of me I had slapped that beautiful face.

It was a good smack. The sound and angle were good. It was better than a one-base hit, but I how much damage it did to my opponent was immeasurable. As proof, the other party stared this way, dumbfounded. He doesn't make a counterattack. The surroundings became so still you could hear a pin drop, and Wolfram's left cheek, where I hit, was dyed red. Not just his left cheek. His right, too, and his forehead, and the whites of his eyes...

Conrad knocks over his chair as he stands up. This time his complexion is changing.


"Your Majesty, take it back, please take it back immediat..."

"No!"

Cheri slowly puts her knife on the plate. Gunter plunges forward while running.

"I don't plan on taking it back or apologizing! This guy said something he shouldn't have said, he did something he shouldn't have done! I don't care if you make fun of me and insult me! But how can you say someone else' mother, someone you haven't even met, has loose morals?! What the hell do you mean by person of doubtful origins?! That some floozy and a man had a kid?! My mother is a human; no matter how I look at her, she's human. As far as your concerned the human blood flowing in me is dirty! What do you plan on doing? What do you mean by filthy human blood? If someone talked about your mother that way, what do you think you'd do as a son?! That's right, I'm not apologizing."

My temper was always like this, non-stop objections like the Bay Stars. I had the upper hand on Gunter, and continued.

"I definitely won't take it back! He has a pretty face so I slapped him instead of punching him."

"Are you saying you definitely won't cancel it?"

I nodded my head to confirm that, and Lady Cheri clapped her hands in front of her chest.

"How wonderful, the engagement[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N9|[9]]] is complete."

Bulbs?[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N9|[9]]]

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1111.jpg|400px|thumb]]

Like the ones you plant to grow tulips?

"You see, Wolfram? Isn't it just like I said? The gentlemen can't leave someone as beautiful as you alone."

With her fingers entwined together she seems to be dancing for joy.

By gentlemen, she means... Me?!

"Because His Majesty is so cute I feel a little bit jealous. But it can't be helped, for the sake of my beloved son." "Wait a minute, settle down, well, someone calm me down. Can someone tell me what's happening? What kind of manners have I violated this time, can someone explain it to me simply?!"

My favorite tutor hangs his head, heartbroken. As if to say, "Oh no..."

"...You didn't violate any kind of etiquette. On the contrary, it's not used by nobles recently, but by an ancient refined, and traditional manner, Your Majesty just proposed."

"By proposal, you can't mean..."

"You asked for his hand in marriage."

Marriage?! In Japan a boy can't ask get married to a girl without permission if he isn't eighteen. Before that, if the type of engagement wasn't a problem, Wolfram and I weren't the opposite sex of each other.

"Ma, ma, ma, marriage?! A man and a man?! And I proposed?! When did I do that?"


"If a noble strikes the other on the left cheek with the palm of his hand, it's a request for marriage. And if the one who was struck shows their right cheek, then they've accepted the request."

"Uwah, no way! B, but, we're both men, booth meen!"

"That isn't unusual."

Damn it all, I proposed to a man who insulted my mother?! The flower of love of the famous couple doesn't bloom as a tulip or hyacinth.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N10|[10]]] Or maybe it's not a famous couple, but the birth of a royal couple?!

Gunter is sobbing. I don't want to think about whether or not they're tears of joy.

"Your, Your Majesty, this sudden proposal is leaving me speechless... No, I should be delighted. With this, Your Majesty can settle down in this country as king..."

"Won't someone please say it's strange that we're both men~!"

"How can you allow something so humiliating!"

Finally, Wolfram seemed to regain himself and shouts at me. He didn't appear to be showing his right cheek. "How can I do anything about it?! No one ever told me I had to make a fist when I punch people!"

"Shut up! This is the first time I've ever been humiliated like this!"


"Heeeh, really? You've had a really blessed life then. When I was told to wash the junior's socks, or was designated the slowest one on the team, that was really embarrassing! If you've lived for eighty years and can't forgive one mistake by another person..."

Agitated by the marriage proposal, Wolfram swept his arm across the table. Dishes and glasses fell to the floor, and a silver knife fell by my foot.

"Uwah, he, hey, that's dangerous. That's reckless. Completely reckless."

"Your Majesty, don't pick up..."

I squatted down and picked up a knife slightly covered in chicken meat.

"You picked it up."

Huh?

I look around my surroundings as I'm squatting; Conrad and Gunter seem to have sorrowful expressions with their heads hanging, and the pretty boy who dropped it in the first place has an angry, sardonic grin.

"You picked it up. Good, noontime tomorrow. The weapons of your choice. If you haven't even been on a battlefield, you're a coward who can't even ride a horse satisfactorily anyway. At least use good armor, and give me a good challenge."

"Wha, what?"


"Prepare to be torn to shreds."

After that he smiled maliciously and left after he apologized to his mother and older brother for leaving during the meal. The mostly useless tutor slumped his shoulders with a sigh.

"You propose and then immediately accept a duel. Your Majesty, I can't understand Your Majesty's mood swings."

"A duel? I was challenged? I was?!"

"Purposely dropping a knife is a silent challenge to a duel, and if you pick it up you are accepting the challenge."

"A duel?! Hey, then, suppose I get defeated, or, I probably will be defeated, but, will, will I die?! I casually pick up a knife to be nice, without even thinking about it, and that guy gets to shoot me to death?!"

With my poor imagination, a cloud of dust flutters around a Western desert as we take ten paces before we turn around and shoot each other, and I can't think of anything but the quick drawing gunman of spaghetti Westerns.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C4N11|[11]]]

The two people who are in "My Clique" try to comfort their new king, saying "It'll be all right", or "People rarely lose their lives in duels nowadays" or "You should come up with an eccentric weapon that Wolfram would never think of, to surprise him" or "Maybe if you wear a cute animal costume, it'll make him lose his fighting spirit". Gwendal and Madam Cheri watched them silently until they finished their drinks. Then they began talking.


"I knew he had no control over his emotions before... But I never expected him to be this impulsive."

"I know, I never thought he'd suddenly propose a duel."

When I calm down I instantly realize they're overlooking the marriage proposal. I am the so-called child who has returned from another world, who doesn't even know left from right. Surely I couldn't master the customs of Mazoku, moreover of aristocrats.

"But, he's not entirely to blame."

"What do you mean?"

Gwen asked in return with a side glance.

I have a bad feeling about this. The mother was hiding something when it looked like she was suppressing a giggle.

"Well, uhuhu, it's because of the aroma of my perfume in Your Majesty's hair. I left it in the bathroom with the shampoo. Surely you didn't know the effect it had when you washed your hair."

"The effect?"

"I asked a apothecarist to make it; it's something valuable that only works on Mazoku. If someone smells it and likes someone even a little bit, they'll become much more passionate."

"In short, it's something like an aphrodisiac or a love potion?"

"Oh my, what a crude way of putting it."


So if they favor someone they become more passionate. On the other hand, if they hate someone? Lowering his eyebrows slightly, Gwendal signaled a waiter to pour more sake.

"If one hated someone, they could become dangerous... It's no wonder Wolfram is in a frenzy. Mother, you should tell us those sort of things beforehand."

"Oh, why? Isn't Wolf's angry face the cutest? Is there a mother who doesn't want to see her son looking adorable?"

"...No."

"Oh, yes! How did Anissina's experiment with you go?"

"...I'm not ready to die yet..."

I listened dumbfounded as it sounded like a English radio broadcast.

Someone who hates someone else will become more dangerous. Someone who likes someone else will become more passionate. I see, so that's why Gunter was tearing up a little while ago.
<noinclude>

''(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on [http://www.sakuracities.com/yaoigames/kkmnovel1.php Onadoru Euphoria]. Re-posted with permission.)''

{{MaruMA Nav|prev=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_3|next=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_5}}

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 3

2012-01-31T18:56:28Z

Starkiller4299:

== '''Chapter 3''' ==


There were countless lights from the shops lined up, and people bustling around busily and lively. An enormous gate opened up for us, and the guards on the other side stood at attention with serious expressions.

As his horsed moved forward by my side, Günter spoke.

"Welcome home, Your Majesty. This is your, and our country. Long live the great Shinou and his people. Ah, we should never forget the entire world originated from the Mazoku with the power to defeat the Creator and wisdom and courage to prosper for eternity..."

Is this the national anthem?

"...kingdom, welcome to the capital."

He said the name of the country when I was thinking. Conrad whispered to me that to abbreviate, it was Shin Makoku. That's the only thing I will remember.

My impression as I entered the capital is very easy to understand by saying "huge Huis Ten Bosch".[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N1|[1]]] I could say that the stores and houses, and the residents, from my eyes, it looks like a foreign country. However, I no longer have any doubts that this isn't a theme park. Such an enormous, elaborate theme park couldn't exist in Japan. Even if this wasn't Japan, and even if this is somewhere overseas, where would someone have a motive to go this far to deceive one individual?


Me, who until yesterday, I was an ordinary high school student.

Me, who was told that from today on, I am the Maoh.

The only answer that remains that isn't deceiving is that this is all a dream.

"Until I wake up, I can't do anything but keep associating with people here." You can't get off a boat until it's at the harbor, and a baseball game isn't over until the ninth inning, either. I can keep company with people here until I can see the end mark.

"What are you saying? Your Majesty, well, let's go, Conrart and I will ride on both sides of you."

I see, I'll go, of course. Nine people in front, and accompanied by the remaining in the back, we progress down the main street in three lines. Citizens are on both sides of me, and they move out of the way and bow deeply to me.

"Ah, hello. Ah, umm. Ah, hi. Ah, you're so polite."

When I express my gratitude honestly one by one, the senior person in charge of education has a shocked face.

"Your Majesty... Please stop bowing your head to the citizens. Please have more dignity."

"What are you saying, the greeting is the basis of an interpersonal relationship. That's the same in any country in the world. It's a common rule to all nations."


This town looks prosperous compared to the towns we've passed through up to now.

At least, the places facing the main street.

As if I'd become an honor student, I looked down from the horse which was walking gracefully. It didn't seem like the same horse which had shaken off its master, and was feared by him as the black demon a while ago.

The spanker[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N2|[2]]] that was prepared for the king was born a rare jet black, black fur in Japan, called dark fur in this country. It was also heavier and stockier than the racing horses I've seen in a paddocks. It is said that it possessed all disposition required to be an army horse. Even if its heart stops, it'll carry its master and keep running. That's because it has two hearts. It's pretty nifty.

Because it's easy to remember, I named it "Ao". In the olden days in Japan it was common name for a horse like "Taro" for a human. That often comes out in historical plays. The color of each person's hair and skin was truly variegated and unreal. Like I've heard, there's certainly no one with black hair. Blond hair, brown hair, silver hair, white hair, red hair, chestnut, orange (I wonder if it's dyed), purple[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N3|[3]]] (I wonder if it's a trendy hair dye), green (probably chlorophyl)... green?!

"Hey hey hey hey hey heeey, Günter!"

"Yes?"

"There is a green person there, spaaace, space, space!"[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N4|[4]]]

"Ah, they are a family of healers. Because their blood is a little peculiar, their skin becomes pale, and they possess the unique power to increase patient's healing. Humans seemed to persecute them two thousands years ago, so they seem to have flowed to this land. We owe the current longevity of our lives to them."


"Well, well then, what about that purple haired person? That girl awhile back was like that too."

"They're a lake side tribe. There are a lot of people born with strong magic, and they're involved in the training and security of the king's capital. As you have probably noticed, Your Majesty, I also have the blood of the lake side tribe."

Violet eyes, I see.

I sighed on top of the horse.

"A horse with two hearts, skeleton frames flying in the sky, natural green and purple hair. It's not possible to come across these things in Japan. It definitely can't get any further out. Like a girl with bunny ears, or a sexy black panther girl, or a birdman with three eyes."

I couldn't help but laugh at my bewilderment from my own imagination, as Conrad winked at the person in charge of education.

"There is an unbelievable amount of races in this country. Günter and I have lived long lives, but even the scholars can't confirm the amount of people. For example, if you limit the counting to person-like individuals there's about fifty million, but if you count the flying bone race and ground bone race, aquatic races and bird races, it's impossible to have an accurate number. Furthermore, if you include the souls who live quietly in the forest and mountain areas, that means the Mazoku live in the skies, the earth, the rivers, the woods and everywhere. Your Majesty, the souls who will follow your are scattered all over this country."


A girl with golden eyes, who was obviously a member of one of those tribes, came scurrying over to the side of Ao, trying to hand me flowers. They were in a bouquet, and their multi-layered pale pink petals were slightly opened. After Günter received them and did a one round confirmation, he reluctantly presented them to me.

"These are ordinary decorative flowers. They aren't poisonous and they aren't thorny. That young girl probably wanted to pass it to Your Majesty more than to me."

"That's not true~. You seem way more popular than me~"

It's the very first time I've received flowers from a girl, so I was actually feeling pretty good about it.

Our troops marched forward without incident until we finally reached the true rampart. The gate made a heavy sound as it opened.

"...Uwah-"

At that exact moment I swear I could hear the theme music stream inside my head, and the narration of Naoto Ogata.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N5|[5]]] World heritage, ah, world heritage, world heritage. A poem of the wonderfulness of the castle.

The white stone paving of the road continued for a distance, with flowing waterways on both sides. The water branched off in two directions, going towards the town's eastern and western sides. When I looked ahead, I could see a castle often seen in European castle stories. It wasn't the German type of old castles but the large-scale type of country houses of Great Britain; a building with the left and right symmetrical. Being oversized in both width and height, I almost wondered if it was wide-screen. Rich green mountains protected the back, and the waterway started from a tunnel inside the hillside.


"...Umm, excuse me, I don't know what I should say anymore."

"Even if you don't say anything, here is the Maoh's castle, 'Blood Pledge Castle'."

Blood Pledge? There was a group in Japanese history who had the terrible motto, "One person one kill!", but it's not a very peaceful name. Such a beautifully magnificent castle, maybe it's better not to hear the origin... Even though I don't want to hear it, the person in charge of education explains it.

"It is said that when Shinou selected this land, he promised to not let harm come to the spirit of the land. As a mark of gratitude and friendship, when someone other than the Maoh occupies this castle, the spirit of the land swore to make him atone for his crime with his blood. An oath of blood, in short, "Blood Pledge Castle", obeys only Your Majesty the King. It's impregnable, no, it's an absolutely flawless castle."

"So that doesn't mean that both the castle and the king stamped a seal with their blood, huh?"

Conrad seemed to be very happy, and pointed the central path with his chin. Soldiers were standing at attention in rows on both sides for a distance. When I pass by them they're sure to bow their heads, like a reverse-wave of a stadium. The last time I was in a situation like this was when in an attempt to take a short cut, I ran through the department store. As it had just opened, I was greeted by the store clerks' welcoming bows, who were standing in rows on both sides.

From somewhere I can hear a tune that sounds like a mix of Ravel[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N6|[6]]] and Elgar.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N7|[7]]] Maybe it's the national anthem.

"Judging from this reception, Von Spitzweig's persuasion seems to have failed."


He seemed to bite his tongue at that person's name, who is he? More than that, why does everyone in this country have something like Von or Sir attached to them at the same time? Perhaps, Von is like the "Yama" of Japanese names, with Yamada-san and Yamamoto-san and Yamakawa-san, and is representative of numerous family names? Or... I guess I looked like I wanted to ask, and Conrad explained to me. More and more as I step into the garden, sure enough, I was welcomed to Hell.

"This country is divided into this area directly controlled by the Maoh, and territories of the ten nobles who obey the Maoh. Von is attached to their surnames. In Günter's case, he governs the Kleist region of the ten nobles so he is Lord von Kleist. I added Lord because in an emergency on the battlefield he is the person proceeding me. Basically the nobles are a military rank. Men and women are the same. Those who are prepared to fight will be invited to do so when they're adults."

Huh, I just noticed that macho guy I met in the beginning seemed to have Von attached to his name.

"Lord Stoffel von Spitzweig is the former Maoh's older brother. He is a man who did as he pleased as the regent. The previous Maoh... She was the top Queen, but she declared her intention to resign and we moved immediately to summon your Majesty. But that guy tried to have her declaration of resignation withdrawn by any means. He will try to persuade your Majesty to try to protect his own position. However, he seems to have failed somehow."

Huh, Conrad's name was...


"Now he's celebrating the new king's triumphant entry into the castle, and he's probably contriving to take in your Majesty."

For the first time, an expression resembling hatred appeared on the good-natured Lord Weller. But it immediately vanished. In the short amount of time that I exchange the bouquet of flowers to my right hand. I don't know whether I'm controlling my own feelings or the words Günter added immediately after that are.

"I won't allow that man to do as he pleases anymore. I think Gwendal and Wolfram feel the same way about that."

"I hope so."

Did something happen? Although any idiot would notice, I thought so too as I rode on. My right hand holding the flowers got near the deceptively innocent Ao's ear.

"Umm, that man called Spitz or Spielberg or something..."

How many times did he get an Academy Award? I couldn't even say it was a joke. Suddenly, my horse is a black demon who lost her temper, because the trained V8 engine goes full throttle.

Even I, the rider, don't understand what she didn't like or why she started running wildly. Certainly, I only wouldn't be safe if I was shaken off. I desperately clung to the horse running quickly down the straight course, while screaming with a "yay" and a shout that doesn't make it out, I was about to be the only person who reached the front of the castle strangely early.


The soldiers who were lined up to salute me would never think that the black hurricane that passed in front of the was their new king. From behind I could hear some advice.

"Your Majesty~, the reins, pull the reins-!"

"Conrart! As I thought, that horse still didn't have enough training"

Günter's words were brief, while he pursued me after kicking his horse's stomach.

"Don't cry just from this. She was, trained reliably, but even I, did not, train her, to have, a hover fly, go into, her ear. Your Maajeesty, pull the reiins, squeeze your thiighs!"

I run wildly through the the gift shops, interfering with things such as customers and shop assistants as they cover their heads, only thinking of going every which way. Ao easily jumped over several places, continuing to press on towards the entrance of the castle. Up to now soldiers were in a long row, but suddenly Ao intruded and ran beside the line in an obstructive place, and she ran through them. Down the center of the nice middle aged, dazed men.

She jumped over them again. During the short time in the air, I imagine the worst scenario.

I fall from the horse, and as my head drops I tell Conrad and Günter that the rest is up to them. What is the rest?! Why does my head drop?!

Just a little after the closed door of the main entrance, Ao suddenly reared up. I fell! And I hurriedly grabbed not only the reins but her jet black mane, and closed my eyes as I predicted the impact. But, the pain didn't come even after I waited five seconds.


"...Stay..."

And, the second I let my mind drift I fell. I'm sorry to say that this time under me is hard, cold and expensive marble. I learned the hard way that a passive voice is important.

As I looked upward, I thought absent-mindedly.

Ao stamped a few times, then brought his face near me. She didn't seem to remember her fears as her clear eyes ask, "What are you doing, Boss?". Her lips are covered in bubbly drool.

By my shoulder is someone's foot. When I moved my gaze a little, there was a face in a high position. What a surprisingly tall person. But if I did call out to that man, he wouldn't lend a hand to help. Since I've come to this world, this is the first time I've met an obviously apathetic person. Am I really the Maoh, the master of this castle, is this really my own dream? Then, isn't it ok if I'm amused more?

"Your Majesty!"

I can hear Conrad and Günter's voices. And the sound of hooves striking the stone. The man seems to have realized something from the words of the two people. From way above me, a seemingly shocked monologue descends.


"...His Majesty... This is?"

What is "this", "this", faster than I could object the Love Theme from the Godfather was streaming through my head. I've already decided your theme song. Standing in front of me without lending his hand, as I expected, was a man I couldn't match in height no matter how many times I was reborn.

Not just height, but his face, too, I couldn't match his face.

His hair was as long as half his body, an undiluted gray that could even be called black, and only a portion was tied behind his back. He squinted with a deep blue eye, and he didn't seem happy about anything. Whether he seems sullen because the space between his eyebrows and eyes narrowed, or because he is sullen, is something I don't understand from my short life span. But his sullenness would have girls whining for sure.

While I've been called the Maoh, my face and outward appearance and position haven't caught up to high school students. At any rate, my appearance and intellect are getting there. I'm not muscular, and my voice isn't low. To make matters worse, when I played baseball I was a bench warmer for three years.

The man's interest was brightened, and he tilted his head to gaze at me. His melancholy was increasingly conspicuous.

"Your Majesty, are you hurt?!"

Conrad arrived before him, smoothly getting off the horse and meeting me halfway. Trying to pass him, a group of nice middle-aged men from that I bothered a bit ago run this way. Günter also jumped off his gray horse, shouting something. I couldn't believe that I was in the center of everyone.


"Is that the new Maoh?!"

His alto voice resounded in an offensive tone.

As for the super beautiful shape of the fourth person, even I might be able to match his physique physically. It can't be helped because characteristics like the length of the legs is a racial feature, like height and shoulder width and body weight. Since when did I become someone who only worries about body build. Maybe, because of that day when the second pitcher said, "You, since you're a small target, it'll be hard to throw a ball into you".

Even if our bodies are evenly matched, when I just glanced up, I've already been defeated. How can they be this beautiful! Because of them, his face emits an aura. Although it's likely to seem that way because of his dazzling blond hair. His looks and voice are like an older Vienna chorus boy. His white skin seems transparent, and his irises are an emerald green that make me think of the bottom of a lake, and furthermore he doesn't have a split chin. He an angel, definitely an angry angel. However, being in this place, he's also probably a beautiful Mazoku.

"Gwendal... No, big brother, is that guy planning on ushering in this human of unknown lineage as our king?!"

When he says "that guy", the super handsome boy, like in shoujo comics, glares sharply at Conrad. I heard the name Gwendal awhile ago, together with something like Wolfgang or Wolfram if I'm not mistaken. If the man with the Love Theme from the Godfather is Gwendal, then the older Vienna chorus boy is probably Wolfram?

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1071.jpg|400px|thumb]]

"I can't put my confidence in such a filthy human! Judging from appearances he doesn't seem intelligent or dignified, and a man that would be lying around in the road in that area..."

"Wolfram!"

It wasn't Gwendal, the one he called brother, but Günter suppressed his words.

"What an awful thing! If his Majesty didn't have such a large heart, you would be losing your life about now."

A large heart, me? He seems to be thinking of someone else.

"Watch your mouth, I can't allow you to speak of his Majesty in such an awful way, even if you are the crown prince! Stop speaking so unfavorably of Conrart, even for an instant, he's your older brother."

Huh.

As I'm only listening, the character correlation diagram becomes jumbled up for me. The Godfather and older Vienna chorus boy are siblings; and he said Conrad is Wolfram's older brother.

Gwendal, Conrart, Wolfram.

Three Mazoku siblings.

"...Now way?! You, you don't look alike!"

"That is, inexcusable"


Conrad spoke with a smile as he walked to my side. He had an expression as if he was already used to these kind of things.

"Each of us have a different father. Well, not looking alike can't invalidate our blood relationship. Gwendal is my older brother, and Wolfram is my little brother. Perhaps they don't want to say something like that."

"You?" I asked inside my head.

Conrad, what do they think of you?

But sooner than I could ask the question, everyone's attention is turned back to me again. You are His Majesty, such are Günter's words.

"The new king, Your Majesty."

The nice middle aged men rush over. I've already gotten used to beautiful forms, so I don't mind these men's outwards appearances. Hnn, umm, oh, beautiful for their fifties, older men with dull blond hair and blue eyes. However, in their vicious military training they were taught to conceal the hidden door inside their eyes.

"I am the former queen's, Lady Cecille von Spitzweig's, older brother, Stoffel Von Spitzweig, who worked as a regent for the prosperity of this country. I sincerely welcome Your Majesty's safe arrival!"

"Umm, Lord von Spitzweig."


I spoke in a broken tone on purpose.

"Between me and your sister, who would you want to be Maoh?"

"Huh?!"

Stu~pid. If you can't respond right away, it just proves you only care about yourself.

"Hah, of course, Your Majesty the new king. The chance to choose the ruling family would be profitable for all the people of the nation. Your Majesty the new king is entirely our savior, who will create this country's future, and I hear the owner of a great soul."

"I think you're mistaken. I don't have such a great soul."

"Such modesty! That jet black hair and dark eyes! Your Majesty is certainly a Mazoku of high standing."

By the standards of this country, if you have dark hair and eyes, you're a handsome guy like them! Can I win? In short even though I'm only an average Japanese person, I have the authority of this country's seed?

That's a bit of a lie.

I only have the authority of a seed if I accomplish something.

"Where's the proof?!"

In a clearly hostile tone, he said exactly what he thought just now. The blonde that looks like an angel; Wolfram.


"What proof do we have that he's the genuine article? Until I've confirmed that, I'm not going to recognize such a kid as the Maoh!"

"Kid?! Ah, no, that is, I might not be able to tell the age of a foreigner, but I can guess. But, but that? You look like you're about the same age as me, no matter how I look at you. If you look older than you are like most American high school kids, maybe you're even younger than me!"

"How old?"

Cocky, he folded his arms as the third son arrogantly asked me. It seems like this person decided it was necessary to ban honorific words.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N8|[8]]]

"...Fifteen... In two months I'll be 16..."

"Hmph."

"What's with this 'hmph', hmph. Then what age are you!? Such an irritating pretty boy, and you're already acting like an old man"

"I'm eighty-two."

"...Yes?"

Eighty-two? Even so he has clear skin, a full head of hair and youth.

"Yeah, right!"

You guys wants me to believe that you have more life experience than my grandfather?!


The bath of the second day was reserved for my personal use.

The stone floor of the bathroom was based on a cream color, in the Maoh's private bath the bathtub is officially seems wide enough to swim in, with water gushing out from five cow's mouths in the corner. At the edge of the first lane, while sank my body cosily, I thought of myself up to now.

What now, what will happen, Shibuya Yuuri?!

I was flushed down a toilet, spit out in a strange theme park like world, had stones thrown at me by the citizens, got called a demon, got called the Maoh, was told to kill humans, was made to ride on a horse until I about died, was greeted by everyone, brought to a castle with a scary name, was called "this is?", was told that he'd refuse to admit I was the Maoh, it was confessed that their real age was five times their appearance, and I had to go inside the castle with the scary name.

There were two-hundred and fifty-two rooms, three stories high and in one part five stories, the ceiling was impossibly high, and built tough enough that even Godzilla would have a hard time with it.

The stairs are so long you about lose your breath, there's about one-hundred and ninety people or more working in the castle, on the other side is a modest stable but an enormous barracks, with four-thousand five-hundred full-time soldiers. In another directions, Gwendal and Wolfram's personals soldiers are at a lodging right now, brought from their own territories.


For the time being I was guided to a room the size of a basketball court, a fire was in the fireplace and the floor was paved with fabric and fur. The stone wall was completely concealed by white coating, it looks like picture of Ueno my mother took when I was a grade school student. On the remaining three walls seemed to be tapestries of the national flag. Surprisingly, there's a decorative plant in the corner of the room.

"No television, no games, no minidiscs."

Before that, there's no electricity or gas, so there's also no telephone.

"...The bed... is super huge..."

The bed was, big. Even though a canopy wasn't attached, it was big enough for sure that even if a set of quintuplets became junior high school students, they could still rest together on it and be fine.

A beautiful bathhouse attendant wearing only a loincloth that barely covered his important parts offered to wash my back in the gorgeous gilded tub, which I clearly refused. Because I'm bothered by an inferiority complex.

I took a light pink liquid from a nearby bottle. It has a good aroma. Maybe this was shampoo. I roughly pour the splashing hot water from the bucket. There is no conditioner! Rather than manly, I'd say I'm acting like a sports guy.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N9|[9]]]


I firmly washed my body, because I was satisfied with the bath I took on the second day, I wondered at the time if I should take a long bath again. "Huh."

From the opposite side of the place I entered, the shape of a woman only wearing a bath towel appeared. Not a girl, a woman. It can't be that this is, a mixed bath?! Wait, Günter definitely said that this was a private bath. Or is the said girl supposed to service me? There's not going to be that kind of service. No, because it's just been common people until now I didn't know, but perhaps she was a queen or minister or parliamentarian. But wait, wait-! Of all places in this huge pool she's in the second lane, where even if your body isn't stretched out in a line---!

She had golden curly hair down to her hips, a super sexy woman, whose chest was submerged only one meter from me. From steam, or from tension and excitement my eyes get misty, and I can't see clearly but she's surprisingly attractive. The measurements under her towel makes blood rush to my eyes and my cheeks and lips turn a lovely shade of pink.

But she's a "woman". She's not in the same generation as a "girl".

"Oh."

"Aaaaah, I, I, I, I didn't hear this was a mixed bath!"

"No~, it's fine. This bath is only for your Majesty, the Maoh. I only came in for a little bit out of habit. Don't mind me, new king, yo, ur, Ma, jes, ty."


"Uh, ah, that's a little bad, please don't come closer."

"Say, so you're the new king? How unexpected, to meet you in a place like this."

Now, my blood is rushing to my head and heart and the lower half of my body, and I couldn't make a calm decision. Danger danger danger! All the more because I've just reached puberty, it's ten times, or twenty times more dangerous!

"Ah~ah umm, young lady, no, miss, isn't it a violation of the rules to suddenly enter the bathtub without rinsing?! And besides that, with a bath towel! Don't you know it isn't good manners to put a towel in the water in a public bath?!"

My voice was almost turned inside-out. It's not possible to say it like Monomonta.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C3N10|[10]]]

"Oh my, I'm sorry. It's because it's been a very long time since I've taken a bath with men."

She said that as she gazed at me while I was unable to move.

"Damn... Cu-cute."

At that time, with a cry and a scream and a shout that didn't make it out, I left and began to run.

Why am I saying "cute", Miss Sexy, and why is Miss Pheromones in the king's bath, and besides all that, who are you Miss Sexy Queen!


I ran quickly in the form of only having a towel wrapped around my waist, and leapt into the place that I think I was told was my room, but once again there are young and cute girls there, and they raised their voices without seeming to make any words.

"What's the matter, Your Majesty!"

"What's wrong Your Majesty!"

When two people (the self-proclaimed Yuuri faction) came running in, the girl holding a lustrous black cloth trembled in the corner, and while she was made to avert her blank gaze from the new king crouching behind the gigantic bed, she murmured something lowly. My ass was exposed.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

"...I like girls, I like girls but if you ask me if I'd like to be seen, I'd rather not be, I'm not really that big or huge."

When he sent the maid back from the room, Conrad came over to the bed. By that time I had finally regained my composure, stabilizing and prudently wrapping the sheet around my waist again.

"Oh my, you put your behind away."

"Is there no privacy in this country?!"

"Your Majesty, as king you naturally have servants and maids. If you're surprised by each one..."

"Are they supposed to even be in my bath and my room?! Then what good does it do to hide this country's erotic books somewhere?! If I'm going to get picked up by beautiful naked women in the bathroom, where can I run away to and catch my breath?!"


"A nude woman in the bathroom? Oh..."

Conrad looked up to the sky as if to say, "My God!"

"...Come along."

"I thought this was some kind of service so I was just about to make a small request... Well, first of all, because I'm not a that great of a man, I ran away."

"I'm glad, I appreciate Your Majesty's sense of reason."

"Oh, ooh, Your Maje'y, please try this on."

The person in charge of education said that as he held a black cloth in front of his nose for awhile. His eyes had become completely teary.

"What's wrong all the sudden, hay fever?"

"E, ejuse me, I'm in an entirely different standpoint than I usually am, and I'm having trouble looking at you... You are too praiseworthy and lovely at the same time... Ah, my apologies! I said something offensive, I should know better, I, I'm flustered!"

"What's wrong, Günter, this doesn't seem like you?"


"If it's hay fever you should rinse out your nose, wash your nose. It makes my older brother feel better."

In the beat I intended to take off my clothes, my finger touched Günter's arm. With incredible speed he drew back to the wall. His face was red as if he had a fever. When he held up the glossy black cloth higher, it seemed to be some sort of underwear.

"They're underwear, but black, and glossy."

A thong. It can be tied on both sides. When I looked back at Conrad, he had his usual face.

"Why would a man wear a thong?!"

"Eh? It's the popular underwear for the time being."

"No way, then, that person and that person and that person are in a thong?! Even that guy making such a face was in a thong?! It can't be, you are too?"

"Ah, no, I prefer something more natural."

"Bihyaah!"

When they simultaneously turned their heads, Günter was holding his nose towards the wall. Was he suffering from cedar pollen as I thought; if he sneezed I'd be certain. His eyes were also drooping heavily, how should I say this, like, he began speaking in a tone like he'd suddenly become an Italian man. Because of his incredible beauty from the start, if he was a girl I'd probably be reeled in by these.

"Please don't trouble me by talking like a stubborn old wife, Your Majesty. It's the same as if I knocked on the door to avoid seeing you take off your underwear...Che... Hah?! What did I just say?!"

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1083.jpg|400px|thumb]]

Even though he seems to present an ambiance like a crimson rose, my joke was thrust back to me.

"P, blease ejuse me! I've had, in, in, insolent thoughts!"

"If you rinse out your nose with a normal saline solution, a normal sal... Insolent, eh, what?"

"I'll go cool off my head!"

I shouted for him to rinse, not cool off, at his fleeing back, but he didn't seem to hear it. But for the time being the problem is the underwear I'm holding in my fingertips. Since I'm just a kid in the middle of break, I can only think it's a little embarrassing.

"But, well, even Japanese have a 'sumo wrestler's loincloth' traditionally."

"That's true, Your Majesty. Maybe it'll feel surprisingly good, and can meet a new you."

I don't want to meet a new me.

"At any rate, what in the world is wrong with Günter? Well, this is my next underwear. Huh."

As I'm passed clothes one after another that are very similar to my uniform, Conrad brings his face close to me.

"...Your Majesty, you smell good."

"Oh, it's probably the shampoo. There was some pink stuff in the bathroom."

Who put it there, I don't know.


For Shinou's dinner, it wasn't a convenient trick to introduce a program, nor a program where the former five-star pitcher of a professional baseball team oozes their knowledge of wine to the guests.

"Your Majesty, the king, will only be surrounded by close relatives at this noble and special dinner."

Somehow with his nose crammed with cotton, Günter is strangely guiding the tension while his chest is held high. With his hair neatly settled behind him, he's wearing an outfit that resembles priest garments, off-white white a long beautiful gold thread embroidered down the front.

"Excuse me for being late."

Conrad returned after changing his clothes in a big hurry, and caught up with short, quick steps. As far as his appearance is concerned, I decided that he was the cosplay king! - this year.

His clothes were the pure white of a navy officer, an American woman's yearning. "Ai to Seishun no Tabidachi", originally called "An Officer and a Gentleman, starring Richard Gere. The theme music that everyone has heard is the BGM, refreshingly called an all-American number one hit. Without the hat.

"For the time being this is full dress."


The surface of the mountain stretched to the other side of the window, and I saw a light at the summit. The surrounding air was already dark, and the light was stronger than the twinkling stars.

"Please look closely, that is the holy ground of the Mazoku, the light of Shinou's shrine. That is where we all come from, the resting place of the great Shinou."

Putting aside the problem of a 'Mazoku, holy ground?', I looked at the wavering flame at the summit. Would it be like the temples in Japan? When seen through the eyes of a modern day Japanese person, Shibuya Yuuri, Shinou seemed to be like a god to these people. He probably has a grave there where he left from this world.

But, I was brought here because of an oracle or the words of Shinou.

"...I don't know whether or not I'm a king."

"Your Majesty, please look over here. This corridor is also an exhibition room, decorated with the gallant figures of all of the successive generations of kings. The portrait of your predecessor and yourself are incomplete."

Continuing to wander down the corridor, the paintings are so large that you can't even stretch both arms to each side, and there are twenty pieces. All the drawings are realistic with precise details so small if could make your eyes hurt.

"It reminds me of when I went to see the Barnes Collection at Ueno."

"They're lined up on this side in order of the newest. This is the 24rth Maoh, His Majesty Von Radford Bertrand. He was called the 'Lion King' by the people and revered."

"The Lion King? I think there's a similar nickname somewhere in the world..."


"This is His Majesty the twenty-third, Jeannot von Karbelnikoff, called a strict ruler. And then His Majesty the twenty-second, Arsenio von Roberski, famous as a powerful military man. His Majesty the twenty-first, Dwayne von Gyllenhaal, the belligerent king, and before him that is His Majesty Davison Henstridge the slaughterer, and Basilio von Rochefort the brutal king..."

"What's with these names gradually becoming more terrible? Isn't there someone more peaceful, like the oil magnate king or the newspaper king or a brand king?"

"Well... because we don't have oil or newspapers or brands."

"The fifteenth Maoh, Her Majesty Grisela Trantinian Yaft, the head-cutter queen. Her Majesty Brittany von Wincott, the bloodshed queen..."

I've seen the national traits of the Mazoku. Some are sitting on a chair with their hands on a dog's head, and other are leaning against a sword that's been thrust into the ground. On a horse next to a pole with the severed head of his defeated enemies, this is definitely a painting of a Maoh. There were about three woman, and a king that could only be called a boy by his size.

But, even though they had different colored hair and eyes, and each one of them were on par with each other in beauty, as we go further back in time they seem to become more and more superhuman. Well, I guess because they basically aren't human. The clothes are much thicker fantasy colors than the present day Mazoku, and they're drawn with mantels and armor.


"They look like they're from an RPG of ancient times. Ah, of course, this is a world of swords and magic after all. Your modern military uniforms make that more than clear. Oh, this person-"

"He is the seventh Maoh, His Majesty Forgeas von Voltaire."

"He looks just like the guy with the Love Theme from the Godfather from a little bit ago!"

"God... You mean Gwendal? That's because this is his direct ancestor."

"Eh?! Then shouldn't that guy be the next Maoh? If his ancestor was the king, then one of his descendants should succeed him."

Günter, like a teacher, tilted his head thoughtfully and replied.

"Your Majesty, the position of the Maoh isn't inherited."

"But there's no elections? How difficult, what a pain."

"Oh, right. You've grown up in a different world for about fifteen years. Well, you'll learn little by little, there's still up to a year before you become Maoh."

"A year?! I'm supposed to stay here a year?!"

Conrad looked at me as I asked in return, and the tutor looked astonished.

"Your Majesty, you're the king of this country, you'll be spending the rest of your life here. Why would you question one year?"

This has become serious. The way things are going I'll have to repeat a class. Moreover, it's too early in May to decide to repeat the first year of high school. Now all I can do is accomplish this imposed goal quickly, and head for the goal in a beeline.


"And this is our founder, who united the Mazoku, who defeated the Creator and established Shin Makoku, the original king, His Majesty Lord Shinou. Glory be to his holy soul!"

"Huh, this one looks just like that kid. He must be one of his ancestors. Eh, his name was?"

"I can't speak his name without authority."

"You can't say his name, che, how stingy."

"Your Majesty!"

"But isn't it thanks to this guy that I was brought here and can't go back? At the word of this guy who should be dead, my soul flew here from a different world? And you can't even tell me his name, as I thought, stingy."

"I will tell you later, Your Majesty."

Conrad's voice was holding back laughter.

In the particularly large portrait, he was arranged at the front, a young man with blond hair standing with a naked sword in one hand. Just like Wolfram. But, his eyes are a bright blue like the clear surface of a lake, and somehow, somewhere something was different about him than the future generations of Mazoku. My amateur impression was, "He's proud, he's important, he feels like a natural king".


"...This person is?"

Only this picture wasn't one person. In a place a little bit behind, someone that was obviously a different race than the current kings was drawn. He has very ordinary, functional clothes, and he has no sword and no armor. Although his thin smile doesn't seem to say that he's a vassal or a retainer, either.

"He looks a little oriental, doesn't he?"

Günter was very proud as he explained about him. His respect and affection from the bottom of his heart is transmitted to me, when I don't know him either.

"The Great Mage has black hair and eyes, and he's the only person in this world who is of equal status to Shinou. If he wasn't there, we Mazoku would have been torn apart by the Creator, and we wouldn't have this land or this country but would have lived as wanderers. Before that, this world may have been destroyed"

"In a word, he's an amazing person?"

"Quite so. Moreover, he's more beautiful than anyone!"

"Huh?!"

Apparently, this group's aesthetic sense was unfathomable by Japanese. More than likely, the oriental with the calm expression was barely prepared. His intelligence seemed to win over his beauty.

"This gentleman and Your Majesty look very much alike. All the people will notice Your Majesty's absolutely noble nature and praise it!"


The cotton is about to shoot out of Lord von Kleist's nose. Ah, wait, he has a nosebleed, his nose is bleeding!

"Alike?! How?! Where to we look alike?!"

"Look, look Your Majesty, like your hair and eye color. Your Majesty resembles an amazing person, charisma, charisma!"

"But black eyes and black hair is dominant and Japanese culture!"

Other than that, he doesn't look like me or my family at all.

Curse you, Shinou. In my heart I curse at you.

Thanks to you, who should be dead, I'm quickly getting caught up in all of this. Besides that, once I have to repeat a year, I'll go to your mausoleum or whatever it is and ransack it a bit.

These cursed thoughts. Without realizing it everything is bounced back on me.

Günter seemed like he was in a drunken trance, as he recited romantic things.

"Shinou is the darkness, and the Great Mage is the light. They yearn for each other, love each other, and are born bearing each other's colors in body. In short, darkness is light, and light is darkness!"

"Shall I leave you alone, because it's getting long."

It seemed like he was used to hearing it.
<noinclude>

''(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on [http://www.sakuracities.com/yaoigames/kkmnovel1.php Onadoru Euphoria]. Re-posted with permission.)''

{{MaruMA Nav|prev=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_2|next=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_4}}

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 3

2012-01-31T18:34:55Z

Starkiller4299: Blanked the page

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 2

2012-01-31T17:23:11Z

Starkiller4299: punctuation = win.

== '''Chapter 2''' ==


"Your Majesty!" that man said.

With long, thick silver hair and violet eyes, his body was about 9 times the length of his head.

I couldn't dismount alone, with my butt restrained on the horse's back, and I didn't know what to answer. What would be the best answer to being called 'Your Majesty'? Moreover, he was a super beauty at the prime of manhood at around thirty!

Since I'm lacking vocabulary and my CPU is running especially slow, I can't adequately describe this man's beauty. The average high school freshman wasn't used to being around such beauties often, much less men who clearly weren't Japanese like this man standing in front of me.

I clung to Sir Weller's back for what I would say was the rest of the day, we finally arrived at a small-scale village with wooden buildings after I after I had my first grueling experience of riding horseback. There were about fifteen houses, and it might be called a neighborhood association[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N1|[1]]] more than a village. From a different direction, armed soldiers returned to the entrance one by one from the forest a little further away. The scary thing is that "Fly, skeleton!" has followed our party without fail. I would have never thought, but maybe he's the mascot character of this theme park?

If that's so then it was bad taste, well, an original innovation.

The soldiers crossed the center of the village, and when they came to a large (I would only say about 4LDK[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N2|[2]]]) house, the door opened forcefully and a man rushed out.


The moment I saw his face I gave up on saying anything. He was handsome, more handsome, super handsome, and ultra some hand, I mean, handsome.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N3|[3]]] I would say his graceful expression makes his cleverness felt. What a smart-looking incredibly beautiful person! But such a dull expression.

In addition to being beautiful, his voice was a baritone that vibrated in your stomach. Adelbert from awhile ago was also fairly handsome but, this person was so perfect that girls would faint as soon as they laid eyes on him. It wouldn't only be girls in their late twenties who would faint. Mature women, and older women... Well, ladies in general.

"Conrart, hurry and give His Majesty a hand..."

"All right. Your Majesty, lean your body this way, and please dismount slowly, very slowly"

It seemed like Sir Weller's name was Conrart. I was finally liberated from the horse, and both of my feet touched the flat ground. I still felt a little unsettled from going up and down.

"Ah, Your Majesty, above all you're safe! I, Von Kleist, have anxiously been waiting for this day when we could meet"

While he spoke in a dramatic manner, he kneeled on the ground. I stepped back, startled. When I moved suddenly my butt hurt and smacked my lips, the beautiful man's expression changed.

"Your Majesty, are you hurt somewhere?! Conrart, even though you were with him..."

"Your bottom hurts, doesn't it, Your Majesty? Because this is your first time riding a horse."


Ne, wha. I was puzzled by his sweet smile. But, the beautiful man who introduced himself as von Kleist wasn't smiling.

"First time?! They don't teach horse riding in their elementary schools? Why did Shinou send His Majesty to that sort of world..."

"This isn't the time to talk about that, Günter. Von Grats reached him ahead of me"

"Adelbert! Your Majesty, did they do anything to you?!"

"...They threw stones and came towards me with hoes and ploughs but..."

"How horrible! Those humans... But, Your Majesty... Our language, how..."

It seemed he wanted to ask how I understood their language. I limply waved my right hand, and tried not to smile.

"Not at all, you're all very skilled at Japanese. You don't have to worry so much about me understanding, or be so modest. I'm surprised by how fluently all the characters that have already appeared can speak. Awesome, bravo, viva the actor spirit! How many years have you been in Japan? Which country are you from?"

Von Kleist (family name) Günter (name) had a dubious face.

"Country... I'm, from here."

"You were born in Japan?!"

At that time, Sir Weller said something shocking.

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1031.jpg|400px|thumb]]

"Your Majesty, this isn't Japan."

"Ah, you see, I knew you weren't born in Japan, right? If that's the case then this is... huh..."

What?

This isn't Japan?

Right now, did he just say this isn't Japan?

"Then, why is everyone speaking Japanese?"

"We aren't."

At this time, I carefully looked over Sir Weller from the front for the first time. He had the stature of about a nineteen or twenty year old, and unlike the villagers his garments were functional. The khaki leather belt and boots looked like they were influenced by television and movies, and seemed to be a military uniform of a country somewhere.

He has rather short dark brown hair, and eyes that were hazel with silver speckles. An old scar was left next to his eyebrow. He didn't just have scars there, but on both his hands and fingers. He placed one of those hands on my shoulder, and he purposely gazed down at me.

"This isn't Japan, Yuuri. Saying nothing of Japan, this isn't the world you were born in"

As I was being informed of something so shocking, I absentmindedly had thought about something else. Ah, I understand this man. If someone asked me to to tell them about this guy, I'd probably be able to explain him pretty well for sure.


That is to say Sir Conrart Weller seems to be like the person that the audience gives a standing ovation for when he unintentionally strikes a heroic pose in the center court of Wimbledon. But he isn't blessed like that because of his facial features. When compared to Günter and Adelbert, he is plain, and he's probably the type that could do various minor roles in Hollywood. But this person's expression is the result of the life he's lived up to now. It wasn't God's love or an artist's mold, but his own lifestyle.

That's what I would say about this guy, Conrad. I have a hunch I could tell someone that.

"Conrad... No, umm, Conrart"

"Eh? Ah, if you're used to English, Conrad is easier to pronounce. Some of my friends call me that, too."

"Have I met you somewhere before?"

After he thought for a moment, Conrad shook his head.

"No."

The man with silver hair and violet eyes was reaching a mature beauty.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N4|[4]]]

"Anyway, Your Majesty, we can't talk in a place like this. It's not a very clean place, but let's please go inside"

While he said something selfish about another person's house, Günter pushed my back. When I turned my head by chance, the residents of this village seemed to be glued to the cloudy windows of the simple wooden houses, eavesdropping on my situation.


The room had a warm heat stove, and it was a welcome environment for me since my uniform was still damp. Even though just a bit ago it was May in Japan, where I am now, what month is it here?! I can't tell if it's west or east from the dirty window, but an orange light from the setting sun is shining in.

I'm half dried from getting flushed down the toilet in the park, if it was a Japanese house here I'll quickly take a bath.

I took off my jacket that felt icky and damp, and stretch out near the fire. Günter seemed to be moved deeply by that.

"Your Majesty, do you usually wear black? How wonderful, how wonderfully suiting! Normally only people born as kings or very close to the king wear black. That noble black hair and those black eyes, certainly you are our Majesty!"

"...Even if you say that, it's just a uniform, a schoolboy's uniform... Besides, most Japanese people have black hair and black eyes when they're born..."

Though, it changes with the color of the skin according to each stage of life. Like the so-called tanned look that was popular for awhile before or Matsuzaki Shigeru. *In my case my hair had finally grown out in the middle of my third year of junior high, after[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N5|[5]]] I had been baseball team member. I was just starting to think about cutting it when summer vacation arrived.


"Uniform? Did you call this jacket a uniform? I see, this must be made by the most skilled craftsman especially for your Majesty."

They're actually mass produced in a factory. It was the most used among junior high school and high school boys country-wide in Japan. Moreover, it was a little small for my present size because I've been wearing it for three years.

"Your Majesty, you probably think that it's cold, but even though it seems that way it's spring in this country"

Conrad said that and took a position by the side of the door. He seemed to take the role of lookout, folding his arms and resting his head against the wall as his sword leaned. He closed his eyes softly.

I uselessly moved my chair as close to the fire as possible, which was connected to a table of a rough rustic make that you only find in folk craft shops in the recesses of the mountains. An unsteady lamp seemed to be in the mountain hut where an electric light would usually be hanging from the ceiling.

"...Creating minute details up to the season... What an elaborate attraction..."

"It's not an attraction."

I was corrected by Conrad as his eyes were closed.

"Even if you tell me that, I can't believe it! Right now, inside of me, it's either o-ne, this is an elaborate money absorbing theme park attraction, two-, this is one of those surprise shows that's often on TV, three-, this will all turn out to be a dream, which is it? Well, pick one. I hope for three."


Conrad didn't answer, but in front of me Günter had a worried face, and after he muttered a word that he wasn't familiar with he turned to me.

"Teper... Surprise..? Please wait your Majesty, and explain in order. Please be calm, and please do not test me with your foreign words."

"Ok, I'm calm. So much has happened that even if you say that you're my mother, I'll just clap my hands and laugh and call it an American joke." When I raise both my hands and give up, I sit facing Günter, and he firmly leaned forward and began to talk.

"Then I will tell you. Your Majesty, eighteen years ago, your Majesty's spirit should have been born in this country. However, because of the postwar chaos at that time, or fear that your Majesty's life might have been targeted internally, Shinou decided to send your soul to another world. So, according to the instructions of Shinou, we took your Majesty's noble soul that hadn't been born yet to the Earth. Your mother and your father created your Majesty' s body, and you've grown up in that world until today. However, while you should have originally been able to grow to adulthood safely in another world, you were summoned due to a situation..."

"Wait a minute, you're being too polite for me to understand.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N6|[6]]] Can you be more conversational!"

"Please don't say such an unreasonable thing. Your Majesty is Your Majesty, we are just your vassals."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, my name is Yuuri, Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi. I've called myself that for a long time. So here is the development to now?! I was really supposed to be born in this country, but for whatever reason I was born and raised in another world. But because I have things to do, I was summoned here from Japan. Did I get that all right?"


"How wonderful, you followed it. I admire your intelligence."

To my despair, Günter nodded deeply, happy from the bottom of his heart.

Narnia,[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N7|[7]]] I mean, I see, this is the same old story. It's in innumerable movies, and overused in anime and manga. Even though there's a variation in quality, it's in paperbacks and juvenile literature so often that it's not possible to count anymore. It wasn't anything original. However, it's rare for a person to actually be dragged into it. Moreover, to get dragged into it from a public bathroom is extremely rare.

"And, I was pulled into a tunnel to another world from the bathroom toilet, and was dropped on that mountain path."

"That's correct. By our calculations, you should have been able to be summoned inside our borders, and inside of our capital. However, perhaps due to some excess power, you were at a human village on the outskirts of our borders. It's inexcusable, Your Majesty. Of the people distributed along the borders in case of emergency, it's good that Conrart arrived in time. This land is part of our territory, for the time being you don't have to worry. Please be at ease."

"Even if you tell me to be at ease, this probably wouldn't be an easy situation for you guys either. Are you sure I'm the person you're searching for? When you think about the population of Japan, isn't it possible you mistook me for someone else? I'm of about average looks and intelligence, and I don't have any unusual birthmarks-"


I didn't have any evidence of any special birthmarks anywhere on my body. If anything I only have a faint scar on my left elbow from when I was a kid.

"But, umm, Günter, san, I do have a scar from rubbing against the artificial grass from playing baseball on my left arm. I don't seem to have any natural marks on my body that are 'proof of being a king'..."

His intellectual appearance collapsed for a moment and became sweet. If I put it well it's like an actor answering passionately; if I put it badly it's like an owner talking about his cat.

"No, from the moment I first saw you I knew you were our Majesty, I have no doubts about it! Since you have pure and noble black hair, and clear black eyes that aren't cloudy, and you were born with such a beautiful color to your body, and furthermore, you were wearing pitch black clothes, I cannot think it's anyone except you."

Geh, he said I was beautiful. Beautiful - maybe like him.

"Besides, it's even more clear since you're skilled in our language. What Adelbert did... to you was regrettable but... he drew out Your Majesty's stored language from the depths of your soul. Every soul has accumulated memories of its various "lives" that it has lived up to then. Of course, usually that door isn't opened, and people have to learn knowledge in their new "life". However, that man opened that door, and part of your sealed memories have been drawn out forcibly. Using the way of those savage, cowardly, and dishonorable humans!"

At the rough tone of the explanation, I asked timidly.


"...That seems rather convenient."

"Not at all! Though it's good that only the part of the memory with your language skills was awakened, when I think of if unnecessary memories were revived. There isn't a person who wants to know all of his soul's travels."

There are a lot of people who want to know in Japan. From besides the door, Conrad calmly interjected.

"But about that thought, we're able to speak to his Majesty now thanks to of that man's art. It's useless to worry about it until your veins pop out, Lord Von Kleist."

"...In order to teach Your Majesty about advanced noble language, I prepared the textbooks and rulers..."

His tone seemed sad from the bottom of his heart, but what worried me is what the rulers were for.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N8|[8]]] If they were for underlining text, no problem.

"At any rate, his stored language is evidence that His Majesty's soul was the one in this world. My confidence has changed into conviction now." "Oh Günter... I heard that somewhere..."

Apparently, they didn't seem to have any doubts because they believed I was "their Majesty".

But, usually in this type of scenario, a main character like a hero or savior or prince or princess solves the world's problems peacefully, and it has a wonderful happy ending. A famous author once said, If the story didn't have a happy ending it wouldn't be like.

"I get it. Maybe it's impossible to believe, but in any case in order to finish this, I have to accept your offer, right? If that's the case then let's get this over with quickly, what is the mission that I was summoned for? What princess should I rescue? Where's the dragon I need to slay?"


"Dragon? A ryuu?![[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N9|[9]]] We would never slay a ryuu, their kind have been over-hunted by humans and are almost extinct, and we protect them."

So in this world, dragons are at the top of the red list.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N10|[10]]]

There were several knocks on the wooden door, and with sword in hand, Conrad cautiously opened the door narrowly. Children that were about ten years old were standing there, and they looking up at him with and grinned from ear to ear.

"Yo."

"Conrad! Will you teach us to throw, we can't aim well at all"

"And after that can you teach us how to hit, and how to finish?"

Though the parents weren't leaving their houses out of fear of the soldiers, it seemed it wasn't the same for the children. And to them, it wasn't Sir Weller or Your Excellency; they just addressed him as someone older.

"You guys, soon it's going to be pitch black. Soon we won't be able to see anything"

"It's still fine!"

"It'll still be ok."

He looked in my direction worriedly, and he left the room after he bowed his head.

"...If the children like him, he must be a good guy, that person"


"Yes, he's the number one soldier of our kingdom. He's my prize pupil."

"You're a teacher, umm, Von Kleist-san."

"Please call me Günter. Of course, I am a teacher, and I'm also the advisor and assistant to your Majesty."

"If you're a teacher then can you explain this to me briefly? Günter, what am I supposed to do in this world? What kind of troublesome enemy do I have to defeat so I can go home."

"Humans."

The firewood in the heater crackled and popped.

"...Humans... Then, that is, what kind of person..."

"It's not a person, Your Majesty. We will destroy all the humans who are hostile towards our country, and burn their countries. For that reason we need a leader, so Your Majesty's power as a ruler is necessary."

Humans, destroy, and burn?

Destroy humans?!

I kicked the chair and ran to the back, fail, and fall to the ground on my back. A flustered Günter rushed over to me.

"Are you ok, Your Majesty?"

"Uwah, wait! Did you say we should kill humans, Günter-san?! If that's true I'll be killed too! Because if you look at me I'm an ordinary human, no, wait, even when you say something like that, your face looks a bit human... You're a human, too."


"No matter where I look, Your Majesty is a Mazoku[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N11|[11]]] like us. No, more than that, you're a being with noble black hair that should be respected! The chosen spirit was born into your dark body, that only Mazoku kings or people close to them have. However, your hair and eyes are both black, to appear as a human with both black..."

"Is a what like us?"

"Mazoku."

No way.

"...Then, what am I the king of?"

"You are the Maoh."[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N12|[12]]]

Maoh.

Father, father, look, there's a "Honyara"[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N13|[13]]] over there, I'm scared.

A Hakushon Dai "Honyara"[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N14|[14]]]

Formerly, Yokohama's Dai "Honyara"

Huh, Hama's Dai "Honyara", I have a feeling there's something wrong with that answer.

To start with, what is a "honyara".[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N15|[15]]]

I have a feeling they would curse, attack and kill humans, and be the boss of a terrible demon race.


Well, that is that, what am I the king of?

"Pull yourself together, You Majesty, please relax! Get a hold of yourself! You have become our hope, Your Majesty, the twenty-seventh Maoh!"

Aah~, as I thought~, he's still calling me this Maoh~. But twenty-seven is a good number~, 27~.

My shoulders were gripped and I was shaken roughly. I completely escaped reality from the residue of the shock. But this person, he said that I have to become a demon and beat humans to death. I could never do such a stupid thing, why isn't the enemy a slime or an evil sorcerer or a devil dragon or a big Maoh, and, if I'm the Maoh, then, am I the bad guy's side in this world?! Then there's a human hero or savior somewhere, and the last boss that's going to be defeated in the final dungeon is me?! Damn- If that's the case I can't end it by hitting reset two or three times, I'll fight the hero with all my power! It won't be possible for him to get to the ending if he's not level 99, I'll fight to the end or... Hey, I can't fight to the end, I'll die, I'm the last boss. When I'm in a pinch I'm usually quick-witted! I'll panic at the magic attacks of the enemy!

Aaah~ it's a lie~, someone please tell me this isn't true~!

"It's not a lie, Your Majesty! You are truly the Maoh. Congratulations, from today on you are the Maoh!"

What is there to congratulate!


Outside, the sky was turning purple, and the remaining half was orange.

Only the fire from the lamps that was shaking unreliably leaked from the windows of the houses. The children had cheerful voices, and were moving around with vague smiles.

"Your Majesty?"

"Uwah, stop it, don't call me Your Majesty."

Conrad is leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Over by 3 steps there are some square pieces of wood, and next to that the ten year old children are standing around there. Apparently, judging from the stick their holding in both hands, it seems to be a game that's somewhere in-between cricket and baseball. A piece of cloth is wound around the section of the strange, fat bat that's being gripped, there's two fielders behind the pitcher, and furthermore there isn't a catcher anywhere.

"I don't know the rules of cricket, but who alternates next after one person hits it?"

"There are no alternates, this village only has five children."

Another was in the outfield. He was only a shadow because it was evening.

When the pitcher threw the something that looked like a ball, the batter made a dramatic miss. The ball hit the wall and rolled, Conrad picked it up and threw it back, and it progressed like so.


"You've struck out three times. Howell, take the place on the first base."

"Was that baseball?"

But, why would they have baseball in this sword and magic world... The child in the outfield ran up. The five children standing have good physiques and fair hair.

"Wait, wait, if this is baseball then why isn't there a catcher? Shouldn't you squat down?"

"It's not fair if an adult joins."

"No, that's not a problem, it's not a problem. Well, let's see, who is that outfielder. What is your name?"

"Brandon."

His voice was irritatingly hoarse, he was definitely in the middle of his voice changing.

"Well then, Brandon, you be the catcher. Look, squat over there, and catch the balls when they come. Aah, there aren't any mitts or gloves?!"

"Your Majesty... No, Yuuri-sama, this is a village of refugees that flowed in from the other side of the border. The don't have a complete set of sports equipment."

The child shakes free from my hand, and looks up at me with a frightened appearance.

"Your Majesty?! Conrad, did you call this person Your Majesty?! This is the scary person mother told me about?!"


"Brandon! This person will become our country's king. He's far from a scary person, he's the one who will kindly be defending your village."

Don't tell the children something I haven't even thought about.

"King?!"

But the five children gathered... Four boys and a girl, knelt in place and covered their faces. Some of the children pressed their foreheads to the ground. I wouldn't say it looks like great respect.

"Please forgive us Your Highness, please don't chop off our heads, or burn down our houses."

"Howell, you didn't do anything wrong, so His Majesty has no reason to do such a thing. Look, Ema, raise your head."

"But the king... my father..."

As the girl recalled a painful memory, her voice rose and she cried. When several doors opened and mothers called out their names, the children all ran off towards their houses.

I picked up the ball at my feet. If the ball is this light and that was the pitcher, a mask and mitts might be unnecessary. The ball was a round leather bag softly stuffed with straw and sewn up, so it wasn't possible for the person who threw it to predict how it would curve.

"When I was their age, I used to play baseball until it got dark. And when it was night I'd have games and television, I didn't have any free time to do homework."


"Children are like that in any country."

I stepped on the board that was substituting for home base.

"Hey, Conrad."

"Yes?"

"Is it true that I'm the king? Furthermore, I'm the head Maoh scary enough to silence a crying child."

"It's true. I'm not sure whether you're the head or not, but you are genuinely His Majesty, the twenty-seventh ruler of Shin Makoku."

"Then, I'll be chopping off people's heads too."

"It's not like that! I should have said this is a village of refugees. If I remember correctly, the winter six years ago, they were oppressed because of a religious misunderstanding and all the men were executed. The women and children came to the national border seeking protection, and we lent them this land with almost no taxation on the condition that they can't extend their farmland. It's foolish king in the country of humans that they've deserted that killed their men and burned down their houses. But then..."

Conrad bit his lip, and seemed to look down regretfully.

"...I want you to remember that not all humans are like that. Well, Your Majesty, let's go inside. When it gets dark the temperature drops quickly. And Günter will lecture us."

The stars began to shine. The moon is still low. The light leaking from the windows is dim and unreliable.


There was nothing else shining. No neon signs or vending machines or convenience stores.

Where have I ended up.

"...What kind of trap have I fallen into?"

"But, this is your world."

Conrad smiled as he opened the door to the private house. Without any other source of light at dusk, even the light of the indoor lamp is like a searchlight turned sideways.

"Welcome home, Your Majesty."

This is the place where your soul should be.

Ah, what different culture of food!

This thing called supper that I was given seemed like the leather of shoes that not even a dog would chew, dry bread that you could hit a nail with it even at normal temperatures, and some dried fruit that might have been better for the teeth if I licked it instead of biting it.

"This is food we carry for military use, so it's dry like this"

Günter insisted across from me, and I practiced chewing each mouthful thirty times silently. Though I was hungry to death, I wouldn't be able to swallow the dry meat if it wasn't chewed thoroughly.


The number one soldier, Conrad, seemed to be loved by the children, so it seemed like he was at Brandon's or Howell's or Ema's, or one of the other two children's whose names I didn't hear, house being treated to a meal.

"I want to go there too~"

"You can't go. The citizens of that village are human, what would you do if some man-made food hurt your body?"

"I'm a human so it's ok."

"No! How can you say that for certain when they planned such evil things? This Günter cannot let His Majesty's life be exposed to danger at all!"

And then, ah, the bedding culture is different!

Of course, I believed I would be able to borrow the best bedroom in this house from the residents. Because they call me the Maoh, I seems like I should be allowed to rest my tired body on a soft futon. Though, judging from what I've seen of the world here, it might be a bed rather than a futon. However, my question was answered by Günter with a matter-of-fact face.

"Why? Hey, just a minute, why do I have a sleeping bag, when just a little while ago a soldier went into a room with a soft bed?! Well, am I really a king? Shouldn't this sleeping bag have been dried properly in the sun before that?"

"If an insurgent breaks in targeting Your Majesty's life, the soldier you saw awhile ago is a substitute for you. There is no attack from the window if you're here, and because Conrart fortified it, the entrance is safe"


"Your Majesty, tomorrow we'll be on horseback all day. Please take a long rest tonight and store your energy."

Even if he says to sleep soundly, there's not even a window in this cramped, dusty back room that I've been shut up in, spread out on this outdoor, tawny sleeping bag with barely any cotton stuffing... The floor is hard and the camping sleeping bag is made especially for tough guys. To make matters worse, it's my first experience being surrounded by handsome foreign men sleeping. Ah, sleeping like the "character of the river".[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N16|[16]]] Even the king of a king game might have more freedom.

And then, ah, what a different culture of transportation!

In front of me, with my lack of sleep, five lively chestnut horses were drawn out. The early morning has perfectly clear air, and their snorting is hot and white.

"Horses again?!"

I was wearing my stiff school uniform, which had gotten wet and dried, I reached out my hand to the giant animal timidly. I'm threatened with a "Uhihin"[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N17|[17]]] and withdraw.

"But since you're Mazoku, can't you use magic freely~?"

"Magic... You mean Majutsu?"[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N18|[18]]]

"Yeah, that's right, magic. Why not use it to go to the capital? Or up to the castle, you can go blistering speeds without galloping on a horse, with magic bashu~n and you can skip to the end"

Like the anywhere door,[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N19|[19]]] or bamboo copter, or something convenient like that.


Günter cleared his throat unnaturally and said,

"Your Majesty, Majutsu isn't for all purposes."

"Eh? From the television that I saw, witches and wizards only have to shake a staff and anything can be done almost disregarding science."

"I don't know who wrote the play or stage drama 'Terebi', but that information is needlessly exaggerated. Majutsu is mostly useful for combat, and besides that, look, for extremely important circumstances, like summoning Your Majesty."

So television is different from reality. When I'm going to argue with him, "When you say it simply, it conserves energy."

While being rubbed by a snout, Conrad said,

"Naturally, even if I, who doesn't have a fragment of magical power, say so, it won't be persuasive. Well, Your Majesty, will you ride with me or Günter? The horse-riding experience you mentioned from yesterday..."

"I've barely even been on a merry-go-round."

"That's right, you've only had a little experience on a carousel. It'd take at least three days to reach the capital with such limited experience, so please keep riding behind me. Their burden will increase, but if we switches horses at relay stops they'll probably hold out"

"My butt hasn't even stopped hurting from yesterday yet... Eh, how would you know what a carousel is"


"Please be prepared. Today your front will probably also hurt"

The soldiers from earlier greeted them and left one by one. When I look up at the sky, it has the skeleton models the same as yesterday. Of course, they're above us. Are they still the mascot character, what was it called? Kotsumohibimaru? Mr. Calcium?

"How about Kohhi? Yahoo~, Kohhi~, thank you for carrying me yesterday. I don't know if you're the same one, there isn't much difference."

I decided his name without permission, and waved my hand quietly. Then, his jaw made a clattering sound, and he repeatedly flapped his wings vigorously. It's awfully grotesque. I instinctively asked the person in charge of education.

"Uwah, it's mad! Is it possible for it to get mad?!"

"No, it was overcome with emotion when it was addressed by His Majesty's voice. Because they don't have the concept of "individuals", if you inform one of them you inform them as a whole. Because it's easy to communicate with the entire bone tribe, it's very useful on lookouts and scouts."

A lot of those words were hard to understand, but is he saying it's one for everyone, and everyone for one?

"Well, Your Majesty, we go soon too."

Conrad held the bridle in his right hand, and held out his left hand to me to pull me up.

Only the door of one house was narrowly opened, with a frightened villager who had blond hair peeping without showing his face.

"Ah~ ah!"


Facing that direction, I called out.

"What a waste! If you practice with a slightly heavier and harder ball, you'll become more skilled! And if the bat is cut more smoothly, and if the grip is thinner it should be easier to hit, and besides that..."

And still after that, don't they need a catcher?

"You have to have a catcher, for baseball~!"

I saw his mother grab him, and she closed the door frantically.

"I visit this village every now and then."

I give him some momentum so he can pull me up.

"Through this heart-breaking experience, the children are doing their best to grow up."

"Ah."

I can't even imagine my father being killed and my house being burnt down.

Günter had a discontent look on his face, but he struck the horse's stomach as he pretended not to look.

And that was the start of my first day of hell.


According to the G-shock that continued ticking away gallantly, running six hours from morning continuously, we transferred horses at places called relay spots about two times. At the third relay spot, in a village that was much larger than the villages before, the group tethered the horses to the outside fencing and took a rest stop at Günter's signal.

"You've become very tired, haven't you? A bit ago your mutterings became incomprehensible, Your Majesty"

Because it was forced to run with Conrad's constant encouragement, I remembered the horse's name. While I was tumbling off of that hazel mare, Nokantei, I begged in a hoarse voice.

"Help me."

"Of course. When we've run halfway, I'll do it for you."

"No, right now."

"Then for the time being, let's replenish our calorie intake. In a word, lunch."

Although I should have descended to the ground, it entirely feels like riding a boat. To make matters worse, although it seemed to be the second month of spring, but the sunlight was making me miss my refrigerator.

"I don't have an appetite. The nights are cold, noon is hot, and my throat is completely parched from dust, ah"

I was presented with the object of my desire, and spontaneously reached out my hand and stopped panicking.

It looked like a shapeless glass that an amateur made on their first day in the classroom. It was filled with cold water to the edges, and frost and drops of water clung to the outside. This is definitely what I wanted now.

"...Cold water..."

"Your Majesty!"


Günter came my way at a quick pace. At any rate, he'll probably tell me not to eat or drink anything that's given to me by humans. But the girl holding out the tray of water to me is about ten year old, and her hair and eyes are violet. Everything other than that is the same color as a human, but, but...

"Are you a Mazoku?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes Your Majesty. If we can help His Majesty with the last drop that we possess, we'll be happy."

If that's true, then it's fine. She's a Mazoku, and I'm and the King of the Mazoku. I touched the glass with my fingers. As I thought, it's painfully cold. The person in charge of education says something.

"Your Majesty, please wai..."

The water disappeared from my hands, and when I looked up at my side Conrad had taken the glass and put it to his mouth. After he drank a mouthful he returned it. Shortly he only whispers "Leave a little".

When I drank and returned the glass with only a little water left, the girl seemed glad, and she bowed deeply and ran away. The cold sensation in my throat quickly spread to my chest, just like the pain you get in your forehead when you eat shaved ice, and for just an instant my feet stagger. Suddenly my head was clear, and the surrounding greenery looked more vivid.

"...It seems like I was really thirsty. Like when you get dehydrated from midsummer activities."

"Being able to give water to His Majesty will definitely be the pride of that girl's life."

The man with the nice smile said something like that. But, I know scenes like this from historical plays. Just now he tasted it for poison. For my sake, he taste tested it.


The man in charge of education approached with a seemingly shocked face.

"Your Majesty, even though I've told you not to eat anything other than what we've brought over and over."

"But isn't this a completely Mazoku village? And hey, the people living here even look like you, and there's oddly a lot of beautiful men."

"While that may be true..."

Conrad unfastened the saddle on Nokantei, and lifted up the water to her the same as a person.

"It didn't taste strange, and in case there was anything at the bottom that didn't melt, I had him leave the last mouthful. Even His Majesty isn't slow to understand, he only wanted his first drink to be cold, after that he can endure everything, the water from the water bags or portable food."

"Conrart, you support the common people too much."

"So what?"

Conrad spoke with a knowing face.

"If we don't support the people, then who will? Ah, of course..."

Nokantei chewed on his hair. Happily, and lovingly.

"If it would help His Majesty, without even mentioning my shoulder, I would give my hand or chest or even my life."

"...You don't need to give your chest or life."


"Don't say that."

"Lend me your Majutsu. It's already a state of emergency for me, so use your magic to skip me there with a bafyu~n. I've had enough of horses, I'm already tired of horses."

"In regards to a bit about magic. At any rate, didn't I tell you I have no magic power? The top magic user in our country, Günter, could help you."

He raised his eyebrows. Kyah~, Günter-sama's grieving form was so cool, too.

"Your Majesty's magic is several times more powerful than mine. At any rate, even gods are frightened when they speak of the powerful of the demon king."

"Wait a minute. I'm a human so I don't have any magic power or spiritual power."

"Your, Ma, jes, ty, is, a, Ma, zo, ku!"

"But I've never seen a ghost, or hit the lotto, or seen through a girl's bikini, or has a 10 yen coin move on a Kokkuri-san..."[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C2N20|[20]]]

A confession. When I was in the fourth grade, I moved a ten yen coin on a Kokkuri-san myself after school. I was playing it with Nozawa, and he was so scared he cried, so I couldn't tell him I did it. I'm not sure what was misunderstood, but Günter showed a smile of admiration.

"I would guess that's an advanced ritual of a foreign country? Though I can't understand its relation to Majutsu because of my ignorance... But it's fine, Your Majesty. Magic power is the disposition of the soul. Even if you can't use it now, everything in this world will become as you desire sooner or later."


Conrad, who doesn't seem to have any magic power either, gently brushed his favorite horse's muzzle slowly.

"Even though I cannot use it, I haven't felt inconvenienced. Well, that is given a long term view on it. For the time being, though, I'm worried about you riding a horse alone."

"Alone, me?!"

Nokantei shook her head excitedly, and drops of leftover water on her nose scattered. This, me?!

"No, of course, it goes without saying that you won't be going fast. It's fine if it's only after you enter the capital. Won't it be pathetic if the citizens are disappointed? They demand a strong, sublime, absolute ruler, so you absolutely have to ride a horse alone, or it won't be an impressive entry into the castle."

"Uwah... On this one?"

"No~. The best mare has been prepared~. I've raised her beloved daughter up to today, making every effort. Without mistake she suits Your Majesty's jet black."

My dream of a noble riding a white horse has been smashed.
<noinclude>

''(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on [http://www.sakuracities.com/yaoigames/kkmnovel1.php Onadoru Euphoria]. Re-posted with permission.)''

{{MaruMA Nav|prev=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_1|next=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_3}}

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 2

2012-01-31T17:23:09Z

Starkiller4299: punction = win.

MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter 1

2012-01-31T16:28:17Z

Starkiller4299:

== '''Chapter 1''' ==


If that's the case, then why did she use those kanji?!

Since junior high when old enemies, some delinquents, would always call me "Furi (Disadvantage)" during fights, I've gotten used to eluding abusive language.

"Say something Shibuya[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N1|[1]]] Yuuri[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N2|[2]]] (Advantageous)!"

"Don't you mean Harajuku[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N1|[1]]] Furi (Disadvantageous)"

I've heard that cliche 50,000 times. By the way, I was born 15 years ago. That's right, my name is Shibuya Yuuri (Advantageous). 2Not Yuuri (abundant village) nor Yuuri (gentle pear tree) but Shibuya "Yuuri (Advantageous)". The name of my brother, who is five years older than me, is Shibuya Shouri (Victory). It's written as Shouri (Victory) and reads as Shouri, and even if it looks a little like "Katsutoshi (to win, same kanji)" it's not.

With the fresh leaves of May growing thick, I was in the middle of returning home from school on my bicycle.

Up to now I've looked up to a member of the middle school baseball team, but now I also look up to another senior on the kendo team, so I was talking about becoming a member of the kendo team just five minutes ago when I rode my bicycle away from my friend. I was stepping on the pedals in a good mood, heading through a quiet park near my home, when I happened across a serious scene.


Collecting money.

That's only what the bullies who practice it call it, but it's really plain old mugging. Today of all days I knew all three of them, the assailants and the victim, from samiddle (the same middle school?), and the one in glasses who was being pushed up against the back wall of the bathrooms, Murata Ken, was in the same class as me in the second and third year of middle school.

Now wouldn't be a bad time to leave on my bike, especially since no ones noticed me. If I pass by quickly, Murata wouldn't ever know it was me. It's not like he's really my friend, and I've never really talked to him. Besides, even if I did seem like an ally of justice, no one is looking hopefully or gratefully this way...Ah...I slowly stopped my bicycle.

A-Ah, it's no good...My eyes met with Murata Ken's.

"...What are you doing over there? Perhaps doing something illegal as a group?"

And so, I, Shibuya Yuuri decided to deal with two delinquents, and for what I guess is the 50,000nth time I heard "Well, is it Harajuku Furi?!". Thanks to this small-town sense of justice I was born with. Mugging people is a crime, and fighting two on one is unfair by my ethics.

"We're just "collecting money". Whatever money is in that guy's wallet, that's legitimately collecting money, right?"

Please, pull out a map and show me, in what country is this legal?


With navy blue and gray uniforms, the two high school students who had fair hair and matching contacts could have been said to have no nationality[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N3|[3]]] at all. They kicked me in the stomach and pinned me roughly against the mortar wall.

"Now look, our prey ran off because you were talking too much. Well? You're the banker's son, so shouldn't you know how valuable a customer is?!"

It's true. Oh, hell! I was going to save Murata Ken, and then he turned around and ran away at full speed. But I'm cute, I'll look around for assistance. But at 4:30 in the afternoon only grade school students are in the park.

"Why did you come save that guy? Are you friends? Or is it a secret crush?"

"Shut up! Ken is my favorite name, Tsutomu and Ken are my top favorite names."

Secretly, the teacher whom I admire is named 'Tsutomu', and my favourite actor in historical dramas is 'Matsudaira Ken'.

"Ah? It's your favorite name? Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Furi?!"

When they started laughing I tried to gain a tactical advantage. I was drawing out my fists and kneeing them when delinquent A grabbed my hair and pulled me into the dim bathroom.

"Hey, wait... You... Ah, wasn't this marked as the ladies' bathroom!"

"Is that so? Hunn, well, that's fine. There's a lot more stalls, so we can have our privacy. That's important."


"That's right, it's for our privacy. We want to keep a secret a secret."

Delinquent B matched his tone to his actions, and he began looking for a wallet from the snatched backpack.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N4|[4]]] The blue strap was cut, causing a mobile phone to tumble out; which began ringing as soon as it hit the wall.

"...What's this ring tone, have you heard it?"

"No. Aah, what is this, it feels like I've heard it somewhere, oh, I can't remember, like someone, from television. I'd guess from a historical play?"

"About that, who makes ring tones from historical plays other than the recent ones by Mito Komon? Moreover, isn't that a professional baseball strap? I don't believe it, Shibuya Yuuri, what is this about Shibuya Yuuri?"

"Shut up! What do you know about the virtues of baseball! Ah, hey, you..."

Delinquent B began pulling out money. It was a pair of Souseki-senseis.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N5|[5]]]

"What is this?! You have to be joking, are you really a banker's son?! Your father must be hesitant to lend you money because you are, but I thought you'd have more than this. He's doesn't want to loan you money,[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N6|[6]]] Shibuya-chan. "

"I'm not connected to my parent's business."

I didn't think to tell them, but I usually had about 500 yen[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N7|[7]]] in my possession. He gives me change steadily, but it's barely enough to use at a vending machine, and my savings are gone in the blink of an eye.

"Ah, ah, think of it as the bank making a special loan to Murata, two blue bills[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N8|[8]]] isn't enough. 20,000 yen at least, 20,000."


Suddenly his grip on my hair strengthened. Currently there were three light blue doors reserved in the lady's restroom. I was dragged to the center one, and kneed roughly in the back. The toilets didn't look like what I'd been told, and a Western-style toilet was in front of me.

"Hey, no way, you guys... aren't delinquents of ten years ago, so..."

"For someone who passed the entrance exams[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N9|[9]]] you're not very quick-witted, so how about we teach you not to have a smart mouth for future reference?"

Surely they won't really dunk my face in the toilet. Even if these guys were junior high school delinquents, it's the year 2000 AD, who uses such old-fashioned bullying?!

"If you get in our way, should we kill you? Next time it'll be serious."

As I feared, my rivals pushed my head towards the toilet. It seems like right now old-fashioned things are back in style.

I tried to hold up my neck, but I decided I had about 10 seconds to be prepared.

But a toilet! If I thought about a different type of face-washing vessel the function is the same. The water began to flow over my chin as it was pushed in. I tried to lift my head as a reaction, but the pressure at the back of my head didn't loosen at all. I gave up, took a deep breath, and stiffened my body.

After the toilets were modernized, there wasn't anyone who'd been dunked in the toilets. If that's true, then I should get in the Guiness Book of World Records. In other words, for just a few dozen seconds, if I closed my eyes and held my breath, even if they push me in, and even if my head is pulled... Huh?

[[Image:MaruMAnovel1013.jpg|400px|thumb]]

Either Delinquent A or Delinquent B's hand held me from above as usual. But some other force sucking me in, like there was a black hole in the middle of the toilet!

Is this a joke?! What hidden power brand name toilets have! It must be the ultimate secret of a strong cleaner! I couldn't fight it any longer, and while my head and shoulders and hips were painfully sucked in I, Shibuya Yuuri, thought with a scream.

Is it possible, this is the first time this has ever happened?!

For the first time ever, a man was flushed down a toilet?!

Hey, papa.

What is it Yuuri?

When we come to Disneyland why do we only go to the "Star Tours"?

What, you don't like the Star Tours, Yuuri?

It's not that I don't like it, I love it! But I at least already know all the lines of the "droid" that is the "pilot", how many times have we ridden it?

That's great, Yuuri! So you already remember all the lines the pilot droid has? Well then, Yuuri, just to make certain that it's correct, let's ride the Star Tours once more! Because someday when you grow up, this will definitely be useful.


That was certainly useful!

As my vision began to return faintly, I expressed my gratitude to my father after a long time. Even though he probably never predicted that his son would be flushed down a toilet over ten years ago, riding Star Tours at Disneyland in Tokyo 10 times in rapid succession was certainly useful.

After whirling down the flushing toilet, the scene I saw in that clear water was just like repeating what I had seen in my childhood. The droid shouted, and then we warped. The light became grainy and the stars were stretched into lines, and distorted, and then shrunk again into normal stars. My body was extended, distorted and then shrunk again...

Not really.

I could never really be flushed down a toilet. Besides, my body grew adequately, and I'm about the size of the average freshman.

I stretched out my arms and legs as much as possible, and triumphantly became spread eagle. The dirt road didn't go away after a long time. But the sky was nothing but blue. It was the clear blue sky of an area without things like air pollution or depletion of the O-zone layer, with clear air and blue sky. When I tilted my head, I saw green on both sides of the road. At my left hand were woods where the trees grew thick, and at my right hand was a meadow stretching in a slope with a private house. The house seemed like it was made of stone, and in the distance animals could vaguely be seen. Goats or... sheep, I guess.


Because of those bullies, my face was shoved into a toilet and I was dragged into a place that didn't seem to be habited, and I instantly panicked.

But, where is this? The scenery was entirely unlike modern Japan, and I muttered while sitting up.

"...The Alps?"

Like that girl Heidi. Even though I couldn't figure out how I got transported here.

As I quietly realized that my uniform was damp I got a seriously bad feeling. When I thought about this moisture carefully, it might be from the public bathroom. .. I'd better stop thinking so much. Water is water, there's nothing different about H2O.

From the other side of the road a young lady carrying a large luggage was walking. Both of her hands are under a wicker basket, but it falls from both hands at the same time. The sound of the fruits that were too large to be called apples tumbling onto the road rose up.

"Umm....."

I begin speaking and take a deep breath. Her eyes are staring in my direction. And mine are looking at her, too. Some words rose in my head.

A costume player (or cosplayer to abbreviate).

The length of the long skirt that seemed to be dragging on the ground. The old-fashioned triangular straps tied at her chin. Those blue eyes and dull blonde hair... A foreigner! But why was a foreigner in a long apron dress that seemed like that Heidi girl of the Alps climbing up the hill carrying luggage. As the girl dropped her basket, she pointed in this direction and began screaming something.


"Ah, umm, excuse me, I'm really sorry if I surprised you. It's just that I've been dumped at this place, you really don't need to feel like I'll harm you or threaten you..."

Her voice substituted for a siren, and one by one people ran out of the stone fairy-tale houses, quickly climbing up the slope. There were men and women and children. All the people were the same.

"...Every, everyone is cosplaying?"

No, these people definitely weren't modern day Japanese people. To begin with all of them were foreigners. If you look at us Japanese, the natural blonde hair and natural brown hair, natural blue eyes and natural split chin, I could only think they were a different race. Ten or more people gathered around holding useful farming equipment like ploughs or hoes or sickles. When the girl kept screaming, I couldn't understand the meaning as I watched her frozen.

"Wait a minute, really, please wait a minute, I was just dumped here. Umm, what's a better word for it, eh... Abandoned! I was just abandoned here! Ah... Ah, I know! I haven't solved the entire puzzle."

My brains and tongue rotated in a state of emergency. The houses didn't look like Japan and the people were cosplaying. All of the factors came together in me.

"A theme park?!"


That's right. Foreigners in cosplay, an outlandish town, if this the type of place used in two hour suspense dramas, wouldn't it have to be a theme park.

"Well, that's probably it. I'm stupid for not realizing it right away. I was abandoned in a theme park. But, even so, where is this? Is there a a place in Niigata with a Russian atmosphere? Even if that's true, that's a long way to be abandoned from where I live... Ow, ah, why is everyone in the Russian village, wait, why, rocks, and things?! Ow!"

Everyone working at the theme park must have been foreigners knowledgeable of Japanese foolishness. Nevertheless, why did they start throwing stones this way while I was frantically explaining?! Even if I didn't pay the entrance fee, throwing stones and setting up farming tools (they can be used as deadly weapons) is a bit of an over-reaction.

"Ah, umm, my wallet was taken a little while ago so I didn't pay the entrance fee, but I'll definitely do it in the future. If someone will lend me a phone, I'll do it by the end of today."

The end of today?

I'm holding my arms over my head as I avoided stones and mud, and I pretended not to see the peasants wielding giant fork-looking spades, I thought as I absentmindedly saw an infant begin to weep with a frightened face while looking at me.

The infinite blue sky? When I was arguing with the delinquents, wasn't it past 4 in the afternoon? It's possible to consider that I was unconscious for 15 hours. But no one found me during that time? Even the theme park's security? Furthermore in the May weather, my uniform was still really wet. What in the world happened to me?! My head is so full of questions it felt like it was weighed to the ground. Even though I'm receiving this unjust stoning, no one is helping me.


I heard a strong voice give orders, and I lifted up my head a lot. Thankfully, the shower of stones ceased.

"Who..."

I was going to ask who it was, but then I saw a man on horseback and my words were stopped. His costume design wasn't different than the villagers, but the brilliance and texture of his clothes were obviously of a different quality, and he dismounted from his horse with excessive action and took two steps this way.

American football, this man absolutely must play American football. His arms and chest seem that way. With dazzling hair and turquoise blue eyes, a fine, long hooked nose even though it inclines to the left a little, he seemed to be a beautiful Caucasian macho man with a split chin. Foreigner-loving Japanese girls would probably form a line asking for photographs in this place, and if necessary they would probably put money in his bikini pants.

The fault of this particular Caucasian was his huge nostrils on his triangular nose.

Secretly I think of him as 'Denver Broncos', that's the only NFL team that I know. When he tells the villagers a few words, and he kneels down and peers at me.

"...Umm... Seriously, thank you, for calming down everyone..."

His huge hands, which balanced out his figure, grabbed my head firmly.


I thought he was going to throw a 90 yard long pass like this. Furthermore he could probably get a touch down like that. But as he gripped my frontal lobes (no way) he didn't throw me, and with the power he put in his fingers I couldn't move for a minute.

"...Ow..."

As the pain hit me from five places I unintentionally raised my voice. You might call it shock more than pain. [[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N10|[10]]]I was more afraid from the shock that he would close his fingers too strongly by mistake than in pain. Finally the man separated his hands. A stream of sound flowed in at the same time. The root from my ear to my brain hurt as if water had gotten in it.

Wind, trees, cries of the animals, cries of the baby that sounded like an animal, and words.

Suddenly everyone began speaking Japanese. What, everyone can speak Japanese?! That's it, they're workers away from home (and probably taking their families) who came to Japan to work with tourists,[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N11|[11]]] so they're sure to have mastered everyday conversation. If that's the case, why did they keep speaking Russian (?) until now? What rude people. The beautiful macho man laughed.

"How is that? Can you understand us now?"

"Aah, it's strange to see a foreigner speak fluent Japanese."

My tension was relieved a little bit when I understood him. At any rate, I needed to understand the situation. To make it easier for them to understand, I tried to ask in a fake foreign accent.


"And, I'm not sure how I got here, or where or what time it is... Ah, but we can find out the time from a clock... Umm...[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N12|[12]]] Excuse me, where is this? How can I get back home?"

"What..."

Denver Broncos (or otherwise American football guy) put both hands on his waist and looked down at me.

"Just when this one looked good, this Maoh is just an idiot?"

Idiot?

"...How can you call an easily hurt young boy an idiot the first time you meet him."

My bad habit reared its ugly head. When I was a grade school child, my brain functions became overcharged and a red switch would flip on and off, and I'd begin speaking with terrible vigor. My fourth grade music teacher was impressed that I could ramble until I thought of something to say. She nicknamed me Turkish March. Only she called me that before or after.

"Certainly my enrollment in a prefectural high school, is not really because I surpassed the results of anyone or am someone to be jealous of. Even a child returning to his home country can be persistent, but I was in Boston for half a year after I was born. All the same, I'm not an idiot, what's with calling me an 'idiot' all of the sudden. If you look my father is an elite banker, and my brother is a student at Hitotsubashi."

I try to cover up my mediocre self by bringing up my family pride.


"By the way, my mother graduated from Ferris!"

"Fe... What? Is that a rural aristocrat somewhere?"

That was the response, and I found myself at a a loss for words. Questions of academic background weren't effective globally.

"Even so..."

Even so the actors of a theme park shouldn't call their guests 'idiots'. Basically for people who work in the service industry, customers are god. Somehow I stood up to preach about typical Japanese economic methods.

The people playing the villagers yelled abnormally.

"The demon stood up!"

"It's a genuine demon wearing black that stood up hurry and take the children inside!"

"It's already useless this village will be burned down like Kentenau twenty years ago."

"Wait this one is still young and unarmed and if you can get a person with black hair and eyes I hear you can get the power of eternal youth in the country to the west they're offering a reward."

"Ah I've heard about that too on at least one small island you could buy an eyebrow."

"Be careful even if he's unarmed this guy is a demon he should be able to use Majutsu."[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N13|[13]]]

"No Adelbert-sama is with us Adelbert-sama please protect this village please confine us with God's power so that this demon can't reach us."


What are these people saying! I can't figure out where to put punctuation marks even if they're speaking Japanese, it's not entering my head smoothly. Unconsciously I check my right wrist. It has a solid and clunky G-shock.[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N14|[14]]] I don't know if it'll work, but when if I hit someone with it I might get a little power boost. Wait, how can I hit someone, wait a minute, what am I thinking! But, these guys are looking at me with hostility, and everyone has the right to defend themselves. It's a state of emergency, no, it might be called an emergency evacuation. So, self-defense should be ok? I'm completely panicking.

The villagers picked up their dangerous weapons again, sidling up with desperate looks. The guy called Adelbert didn't have farming tools or stones in his hands. Instead, he was wearing a long sword on his hip. The man that seemed to have a lot of attack power said:

"Well, settle down all of you. This guy hasn't learned anything yet. We could persuade him before it's too late..."

When my back was turned, I heard the sound of something rhythmic. The sound grew rapidly and everyone was bewildered. I figured it out by listening. The sound of hoofs. Several horses kicking the ground as they galloped, a powerful clatter like an earth tremor, the sound of hoofs.

"Yuuri!"

I looked back as my name was called. A nobleman riding a white horse, coming to save me...

"...Gah..."


It's understandable that with my first impression I finished with "gah". It wasn't just three knights or noblemen riding white horses, but when I turned my gaze towards the sky a little bit, I saw something outrageous approaching. "Something" flew up there. In fifteen years and nine months, I could never imagine something like that.

It was a skeleton, tawny brown from age, and it seemed like oil paper attached to a bamboo frame had grown into wings. Moreover it flapped like a shuttlecock, and flew in the sky as if it was natural.

If you attach wings to a skeleton, it can fly?

It is wonderful, wonderful and elaborately made. I couldn't see any piano wire, or hovering devices or propellers that would keep it afloat. I wonder how this device works.

"Get away from him, Adelbert!"

The three rescuing knights rode close to the chestnut[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N15|[15]]] with star on its forehead, and they seemed to be soldiers with their swords drawn. But then, if I call it a chestnut like the JRA[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N16|[16]]] would, the villagers won't understand. The young man seemed to be the leader, even though I couldn't see his face his voice controlled the two following people.

"Don't draw your swords at the villagers! They aren't soldiers."

"But, Your Excellency."

"Disperse!"

The three horses forced their way through the people working as villagers, neighed and reared up. I covered my mouth from the cloud of dust and coughed miserably. Inside the beige mist, there were blue and orange sparks. Followed by klunking, the sound of metal striking each other heavily, the villagers trying to escape, the confused screams and the sound of grass.


Someone grabbed my arms. Slowly the surrounding scene becomes vague.

"Von Grats Adelbert! Why did you approach our border?!"

"You're the same as ever, Sir Weller, a hero among cowards!"

Ah, I get it. It's like a rule in mock battles, that they can't fight until they introduce themselves? As I'm thinking that, my body is slowly lifted off the ground. The dust clears away from the slope, the cavalry chasing away the villagers, and the young man who jumped off his horse to face the American guy with his sword. When I thought that the ground was becoming distant, I was suddenly turned away from that place and being flown away. My arms hurt from being suspended with my body weight.

"How am I flying... You're kidding?!"

Holding both my arms and transporting me was the skeleton device that was so elaborate that I couldn't figure it out. The tawny oil-paper wings flapped, chattering and flying forward. Wasn't it just a skeleton that had wings attached to it? Even if I looked up from right under its spine it was a jawbone and skull with no expression, and dark caves in the eye part of the face looked down.

"What should I say, thanks."


Even though I was being abducted, I wanted to at least express my gratitude, and I tried with all my might. It seemed that if it lost strength for even a minute it would fall, the flying skeleton desperately flapped its wings as it clattered. Adelbert made a fleeting glance this way, and remarked as he fought with Sir Weller, who seemed to be the leader of the soldiers.

"How clever! Using kotsuhi to transport him!"

"They are loyal to us, and don't lose themselves to personal grudges."

"And how about you, Sir Weller? Woah-"

From what I can see from twisting my neck and looking, Mister Brawns[[MaruMA:Vol01:Translator's_Notes#C1N17|[17]]] who was called Adelbert, barely avoids the tip of the sword of the leader called Sir Weller.

"Don't you think your skills are too good to use for those guys?"

"Unfortunately, Adelbert,"

I could only see the Sir Weller's khaki back and dark brown head. Somehow I knew that he smiled that moment.

"My love isn't as single-minded as yours."

When his subordinates returned from driving away all of the villagers, and they drew their swords out at the same time. Adelbert jumped on his horse, and called out to me as I moved at the height of the trees.

"Be patient for a while, I'll come save you soon!"


"Save... Am I being kidnapped by the good guys or bad guys right now?!"

Under my eyes, the leader with brown hair stops the soldiers that are trying to chase their enemy.

"Stop, don't chase him too far!"

"He is alone. I thought we should use his disadvantage, if we can catch up to him now..."

Sir Weller (I still haven't seen his face) orders strictly. So cooool. "Right now our top priority is taking His Majesty's body to safety."

Taking His Majesty's body to safety, does this mean this has turned into like a super-kabuki show? As I was participating in the super original theme park, with the super elaborate attractions, I secretly muttered as His Majesty.

"...Can you get me down from this super well-made sky ride for the time being?"
<noinclude>

''(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on [http://www.sakuracities.com/yaoigames/kkmnovel1.php Onadoru Euphoria]. Re-posted with permission.)''

{{MaruMA Nav|prev=MaruMA:Volume01:Prologue|next=MaruMA:Volume01:Chapter_2}}

Iris on Rainy Days: Dismantling- 4 Days Before

2012-01-27T17:53:19Z

Starkiller4299:

===Four Days Before===

Sunday.

I am wearing a white dress with frills on it, confirming my attire in front of the mirror.

I’m going on a date with Professor today. Even so, we’re just going for a half-day date to watch a movie and eat lunch.

“Iris, we’re about to go out soon~”

Professor’s voice came from downstairs.

“Alright, I’m coming!”

I answer loudly, putting on a large straw hat at the same time. This way, the antenna above my ears would be covered, and there wouldn’t be curious kids shouting “Robot! It’s a robot!”

— Attire okay, hat alright, battery level full!

I start running down the stairs in a hurry after ending my last minute check.

Professor is standing in front of the entrance, wearing her personal clothes.

— so stunning!

The blue shirt and green jeans are actually quite casual clothing, but since she’s quite tall, this would show off her exceptional figure. If there’s a white horse beside her, she would look just like a prince— but it seems rather strange to use this analogy.

A silver cigarette case is gleaming in front of her chest. Having Professor’s favorite oblong cigarette case hung on a chain, it seems just like a necklace. The 8-shaped circlet cigarettes are kept in the case.

“Professor, how does my clothing look on me?”

I twirl in a circle like a ballerina. The dress and the straw hat gently floated because of the breeze.

Professor narrows her eyes, as if dazzled by the sun and says to me “Mnn, it suits you.”

It suits you…… It suits you…… It suits you…… It suits you……. Professor’s words reverberate repeatedly in my mental circuit.

Ahh, just hearing this sentence would make me happy the whole day.

“Let’s go then.”

Professor walks over while lifting her long hair. I hold her hand while standing beside her.

After opening the door, the blue skies that would make people feel like singing seems to be blessing us.

There are a lot of people at the cinema beside the station.

I show my robot certificate at the ticket booth, then the workers start to size me up. My antenna above my ear is hidden, so they feel that I’m suspicious because they can’t tell if I’m a human or a robot.

It seems that the elevator is undergoing maintenance today; we passed by quite a few technicians at the entrance of the cinema. More than half of them seem to be labor robots, probably the HRL004 model from their appearance. No matter what, it’s quite an old model.

The history of labor robots is actually even longer than family robots. As more of them are sold in the market, they are often seen on the streets. Waiters at a restaurant and a night time security guard, attendants at the entrance hall of a company and carpentry— their uses are quite diverse.

Old family robots are also often sold in the second hand market, reused as labor robots. Young female robots usually originate from here. Recently, the people who combine second hand parts of robots to create a new robot to sell are increasing, and the hidden dangers have been treated as a social problem. By the way, it is against the law for people without necessary qualifications to assemble a robot, similar to the fact that we can’t just assemble a car and drive it on the road.

After entering the cinema, Professor and I chose a seat towards the back of the room. We place the fruit juice and popcorn on the small table of the seat. After five minutes, the movie starts to play.

“Hey, Professor.”

“What is it?”

“Why are we watching a horror movie today?”

Two young women watching a horror movie alone seems to be strange. The other people on the seats are just pairs of men and women.

“Analyzing the actions of the zombies can be used as a reference for the theory of movement control of robots.”

“Huh…… Theory of movement control……”

Professor is always passionate about her research. I can’t help but think admiringly “As expected of Professor,” while a hint of mirth suddenly appears on the corner of Professor’s mouth.

“Eh, why are you smiling?”

“Nothing, Iris is really an honest, good girl.”

“Eh?”

Professor praised me for some reason. That’s great.

“That’s right, Professor. According to my investigations, the movie ‘This is a Fateful Encounter’ is the most popular movie, a touching masterpiece…… It’s rare that we come here, so do you want to watch that?”

“I say, isn’t that a romantic movie?”

“That would be fine, romantic movies.”

“The stereotypical contents are lame.”

“The- then what about a monster movie? Like ‘Monster Showdown: Vanilla vs Chocola’?”

“There’d probably be a lot of kids there, so it won’t do. They’d make a lot of noise when the movie is playing.”

“What about ‘Third-rate Demon God Visa Darke’?”

“Isn’t that a series? I didn’t watch its predecessors, so how would I know of its contents?”

“Uuuu…… You know that I’m scared of watching horror movies, right?”

“Really?”

“Really.”

I puff out my cheeks and start to have a tantrum. Professor burst into laughter after she saw me.

All of a sudden, a bell starts to ring and the movie starts.

The long awaited zombies walked out unsteadily from the movie screen.

Therefore.

“It’s not bad.”

Professor tells me her impression of the movie, satisfied. It seems that she’s satisfied with the visual effects of the horror movie.

As for me, I became a pale-faced robot that had violent spasms periodically.

“Iris, are you okay?”

“H- h-h- how could I be okay! Wh- wh- wh- what is that, that movie that cuts like bzzzt~ and springs up like dong~!”

Instead of saying that this is a horror movie, it’s more like a violent, bloody movie.

Halfway through the movie, I try to hug Professor quite a few times in fear but was pushed away by the expressionless Professor with her right hand.

I try to fling away the squirting blood, flying brains and squirming intestines burnt into my mental circuit by violently shaking my head, but even if I do so, the data obviously remained unchanged.

“Since it’s so rare that we’re here, why don’t we take a commemorative photo?”

“Eh~ Here?”

After calling a worker nearby, Professor passes the camera to him. It seems like she’s going to use the signboard of the horror movie ‘Nightmare~ Rotten Nightmare’ as a background, to take the commemorative photo with me.

“No, let’s take it some other place.”

“That won’t do. We watched a movie here today, so we must take it here.”

“We’ll get cursed if we take a photo here!”

“That isn’t a scientific reason.”

After grabbing my elbow tightly, Professor hugs my shoulders in front of the signboard.

Our bodies are tightly stuck together, and it would be a great time if it’s some other time. But now, I just feel that the army of zombies from the signboard would jump out at any moment. Especially the zombies that had their lower bodies chopped off, their intestines poking out; I feel my whole body trembling just thinking of it.

“Okay, cheese!”

After shouting that, the worker presses the shutter.

Just like that, I took a photo, my face deathly pale, squeezing out a smile, with Professor, a devilish smile surfacing on her face.

After eating lunch at a nearby restaurant, we use thirty minutes to buy the ingredients used for dinner, then we returned.

On the way back home, Professor and I walked home hand in hand.

From just now, Professor is reading the newspaper she bought from a newsstand. One of the contents is ‘New Modeled Robot Unit Utterly Annihilating Enemy’s Base.’

“Reading while walking is dangerous, Professor.”
[[File:Iord 050.jpg|200px|thumb]]
“It’s okay. I’m holding hands with Iris anyways.”

“Really……”

“It’s because the special column in ‘Oval Times’ is too interesting. Crane Cloudy is one of the top researchers of robots in the world.”

Though Professor is still on a date with me, she is fascinated by the newspaper. I’m so jealous of the newspaper.

While dragging Professor, who’s holding the newspaper one hand, we arrive at Venus Plaza.

— it’s here.

About fifty meters from the plaza, it’s the shop. Its walls have been broken down, the ground is sunken, and there are also yellow tape on the outside, forbidding people from entering. This is the robot crime scene I saw from the news on the television.

“Hey, Professor.”

“Hmm?”

Professor finally shifts her attention away from the newspaper, raising her head.

“About that……” I point at the shop with the collapsed wall. Professor nods, answering immediately “The place where the robot rampage happened?” It seems that Professor knows of this as well.

“Why did the robot go on a rampage?”

I express my doubts about the matter.

Professor deliberately lowers her voice, answering: “I have an obligation to keep this secret, so I can’t answer you.”

“Eh?” I am confused. “An obligation?”

Professor smiles faintly and shrugs while saying: “I was just making fun of you.”

“For dissection, the robot was sent to our research centre. And our group is in charge of it.”

I blinked in surprise. I never would have thought that the robot in the news would have any connection to Professor. While thinking about it, the agency that is the most specialized in robotic matters is the ‘First Robotics Laboratory of Oval University’ where Professor works at, so it’s natural that things would turn out this way.

“Then did you get any information from that?”

“Mnn, yeah……”

Professor touches her chin lightly with her index finger.

“In a nutshell, it should be a ‘short circuit of the motor system causing the safety circuit to go haywire.’ Even so, we aren’t that clear about some parts, as the robot was excessively damaged.”

Robots have a central circuit that is called the ‘Three Main Circuits.’ The circuits are the mental circuit, movement control circuit and safety circuit.

Compared with a human, the mental circuit would be the brain, the movement control circuit would be the spinal cord and nervous system. The orders given by the mental circuit would be transmitted to the whole body though the movement control circuit, causing the limbs to move.

The safety circuit would be like a emergency brake system that would prevent the two previous circuits from going into disorder. All robots must install a safety circuit, and the robot manufactures are required to do that by law, so this type of circuit is hidden in my body as well.

“Even so, I still have something that I’m worried of.”

Professor continues to say. Taking out a cirgarette from her cigarette case, she places it into her mouth. The cirgarette immediately gives out purple smoke.

“After recovering the data of the mental circuit, I noticed something odd. Robots seem to be able to have ‘illusions’.”

“Illusions……. Huh?”

Professor nods. A sweet sour smell drifts over from the circlet cigarette.

“It seems that he was chasing ‘someone’ that only he could see. If you explain it this way, you would be able to explain the actions of the robot in a logical way. The robot breaking the door is because ‘that person’ was at the other side of the wall, walking to the fountain is also because ‘that person’ went there.”

Robots having hallucinations. Can this happen?

“I received reports of visual and color settings of robots going haywire before, but the case this time is quite rare…… Additionally, the other members of our group did not notice this before I suggested the possibility. Really……”

Professor’s eyes are as lively as the summer sun, and her voice is quite agitated to. Every time she talks about topics concerning robots, Professor would become extremely active. I like seeing Professor like this.

Even so, as our topic today is robot crimes, my feelings now are rather complicated.

“Oh…..?”

At this moment, Professor suddenly stops.

“What is it?”

“Iris, wait for me for a moment.”

After that, Professor walks to the other side of the road.

She is walking towards a robot lying on the ground. His right leg has been broken to the core, his body is broken down, curling up his body like a kitten, lying in front of a closed down store.

Professor ignored the fact that it would dirty her clothes and starts to carry the robot’s upper torso, leaning him on the steel door of the store. Then, she starts to do a whole body examination on the robot with a serious expression on her face.

“Hmm, the 007 model huh……”

After muttering that in a low voice, Professor slowly takes out a spare battery from her pocket and stuffs it into the chest of the robot. After a few seconds, a ‘beep’ sound rang, then the chest of the robot quivers violently for awhile like an electric shock was used on him after his heartbeat stopped.

“Very good, his circuits are still functioning.”

After taking out the battery, Professor immediately takes out her phone to make a phone call.

“…… Ah, Ralph? It’s me. I’m near the fountain plaza right now.”

Professor concisely tells the person at the other side of the phone about the model and condition of the robot. The conversation ends after about half a minute, then Professor starts looking at the cover of the gutters rolled nearby.

“This kid…… actually passed through such a dark, narrow place……”

As Professor said, the robot seemed to have crawled out from the gutters, his body stained with moss. After imagining the silhouette of a robot crawling through the gutters that are like a dark, narrow passage, an inexplicable feeling wells up in me.

Professor sticks a sticker with ‘Oval University First Robotics Laboratory: End of reclamation information’ onto the chest of the robot, then says to me after turning around “Sorry for the wait.”

“Professor, you called the research centre just now?”

“Yeah. I made some arrangements for collecting this kid.”

I turn my head around to look at the robot just now.

“You can fix him?”

“Yeah, I won’t know if I don’t try.”

Professor often fixes robots that are lying on the roadside. If she got to know the identity of the robot, she would contact the registered owner. Though there were some lucky robots who were taken away by their owners, most of them were kept in the storage room of the research centre.

If the robots are claimed by the Robot Management Department first, the robots would be turned into scrap metal after dealing with the necessary procedures. From this perspective, the robots found by Professor are actually very lucky.

Walking forward hand in hand, I ask.

“Hey, Professor.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you keep helping and fixing the robots?”

“Hmm, yeah……”

Professor thinks for a moment, then stares at me.

“Because this is the meaning of my existence…… probably?”

I feel that the smile that Professor gave me was gentle but contained a hint of sadness.

An expression like this would surface on Professor’s face occasionally.

<center>♠</center>

After dinner that day, Professor starts a long awaited ‘special talk’ for me. This is because Professor finished her work earlier than expected. I have this special talk other than a date; what a special day this day is.

I move the table and chair into the research lab while beaming, arranging the small blackboard and duster, then I prepare some snacks and tea. Then the preparations are complete.

A special talk.

This is a private talk that Professor organizes for me time after time.

Professor organizes a lecture at Oval University each week. As she’s a young genius who’s at the foremost territory of robot engineering, the classroom is always stuffed full of people, and quite a lot of people from other universities go there to listen.

Professor’s lectures are very special and would start talks with philosophical topics like ‘Robots and Ethics,’ ‘Robots and Love’ and so on. Learning about these lectures a long time ago, I shouted “I want to join too!,” but in the end, I couldn’t go. I want to see with my own eyes, Professor standing on the stage with her white robe and holding a cane, teaching with a heroic posture and cold tone. As robots don’t have the right to go to school, attending sneakily would just affect Professor’s stand. As I was about to give up, Professor gave me a suggestion.

“Why don’t we just have the lecture at home?”

From that time on, Wendy von Umbrella started to organize special lectures for Iris Rain Umbrella alone.

I take out my thick notebook from my beloved folder. The notebook was jotted full of questions that I asked during the previous lectures.

For example.

“Do robots undergo psychological growth?”

“Do robots undergo puberty and rebellious stages?”

“What are the differences between the emotions of robots and humans?”

“Can robots go to heaven too?”

“Would there be a day when humans marry robots?”

“How much does Professor love me?”

Though it was mixed with a few personal questions, these are still in a tolerable area. This is a personal talk, after all.

“Alright, please get back onto your seat.”

Professor walks into the lab. Today, she is still wearing a white robe on top of her suit, her beautiful hair tied up behind her. On the other hand, I’m still wearing my usual maid outfit, so our combination is rather strange.

Professor place her hands on the old wooden lectern that she brought from the university, saying: “Starting rollcall.”

“Iris Rain Umbrella.”

“Here! Here here, here!”

I poke out my body from the table, raising my hand energetically like a kid who just started school.”

“Miss Iris.”

“What is it!”

“Saying ‘here’ once would be enough.”

“Understood!”

I am extremely happy at this moment. It would be nice if robots could go to school one day.

Professor coughs for a moment, then started the lecture with a ‘ Well, please turn to page fifty two.’

I open the textbook that Professor uses in the university. As I read it quite a lot of times already, the book is quite tattered.

“The theme of the lecture today is ‘What is the meaning of the existence of a robot.’ Recently, this type of research is categorized as robot psychology. A thesis that I spoke of about eight years ago initiated a hot discussion……”

Professor says that rapidly. The blackboard is gradually covered with Professor’s beautiful writing.

I am recording Professor’s words onto the notebook. Of course, saving the contents on the blackboard in my mental circuit can be done, but it wouldn’t have the feel of a lecture if so. The most important thing is the atmosphere and our attitudes.

After thirty minutes.

“…… Hmm, the above is the history of the ‘meaning of life’ and ‘mental hygiene’ from older models to newer models of robots. Though the arrangement is rather ugly from an academic view, but it might be able to help out students who are looking for a reference. …… Any questions?”

“Here!”

I raise my right hand and wave it with all my might. But there’s only one student here anyways.

“Miss Iris.”

“Your lecture is very interesting, thank you for that!”

The first thing is to be courteous.

“Then, about the ‘meaning of existence’ that professor mentioned just now, does it include ‘robots must serve their masters’?”

“Of course. Learning robots are prevalent among family robots; the direct meaning of their existence is to serve the robot user.”

“Then the meaning of my existence is to serve Professor, that’s for sure.”

“How did you get to that conclusion?”

“Because I love Professor.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Saying ‘okay’ once would be enough; Professor said that.”

“You are really so fussy.”

Professor heaves a sigh.

While jotting down the tables and explanations on the blackboard, I ponder today’s theme – the meaning of our existence. Lastly, after I hand in a simple report of my thoughts, the lecture would end.

“Alright, I’m done!”

“Wow, you’re quick.”

Like a detective who solved a hard case, I slap the report onto the lectern.

“Impression Report (Eighteenth time)” Theme……. Robots and Meaning of Existence.

The meaning of my existence is Professor. My beloved Professor. I love you, Professor. Marry me, Professor. End!

After reading my report, Professor’s expression becomes as awkward as an old police who had the limelight stolen by a detective.

“Erm, Miss Iris.”

“What is it!”

“Your report has only one row.”

“That row has everything!”

“How unmotivated are you.”

“I’m full of motivation!”

“Are you looking down on me?”

“I cannot deny the possibility!”

After heaving a sigh, Professor fishes out a circlet cigarette from her cigarette case.

She breaks the 8-shaped circlet cigarette into half, then pops one into her mouth.

“Professor, cigarettes……”

“It’s okay. This isn’t the university anyways.”

“No, not that…… No smoking in the lab.”

“Ah.”

As if she is throwing a tantrum, she declares while pouting: “Then that’s the end of the lecture today!”

She takes off her white robe, throws it onto the table, and leaves the classroom speedily with purple smoke behind her. “Really.” The word faintly drifted over along with the smoke.

I pick up the report that I wrote. A large red word is written at the center— “REDO”

The prank today might be a little bit too much. As the special lectures are the only rare times when I can make fun of Professor, I couldn’t resist it.

To make her happier, I should send her some red tea and cake after this.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Iris on Rainy Days: Dismantling- 5 Days Before|Dismantling- 5 Days Before]]
| Return to [[Iris on Rainy Days|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Iris on Rainy Days: Dismantling- 3 Days Before|Dismantling- 3 Days Before]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Iris on Rainy Days: Dismantling- 7 Days Before

2012-01-25T21:00:30Z

Starkiller4299:

=='''Chapter 1 - Dismantling'''==
[[File:Iris on Rainy Days p012.jpg|200px|thumb]]
"Take care on the road! Come home earlier!" (Iris Rain Umbrella)

===Dismantling: 7 Days Before===

At the center of the Venus Fountain Plaza, there stood the statue of a stunning goddess.

She has slim limbs, skin as white as silk, and a great figure. Today, the goddess is still wearing a gentle smile on her face, silently observing the surrounding crowd.

Oval Town had once burned in the flames of war. That time, most of the town was burnt into ground, only the goddess statue survived without so much of a scratch, just like a miracle. From that day, the statue of the goddess became a symbol of hope and revival, and has been protected as the most important cultural asset of our country.

Beside the goddess statue that is about a hundred and seventy centimeters, the fountain is blooming flowers of water, having colors of a rainbow. On the dark tea-colored benches that were placed around the fountain, there are old men chatting with each other, children playing around, and lovers proclaiming their love for each other. It is a harmonious scene that looks like it came from a painting.

—it's indeed similar.

A squeaking sound starts to ring, and I start to adjust the pupil function of my visual system. After focusing my pupil of the white goddess statue, I sigh lightly.

The goddess statue looks like Professor. Professor is the top researcher of robots, Professor Wendy von Umbrella. She has a tall figure, black hair that is beautiful and luscious, wears glasses with a sleek, silver frame that suits her very much, and is the professor that I am proud of.

While thinking of the beautiful outline of Professor, I stare blankly at the goddess statue when the sweet sour smell of circlet cigarette floated over. I start to turn the angle of my neck, confirming the source of the fragrance.

The person who sat on the bench, smoking a circlet cigarette, is a middle aged man donning a dark blue suit. He is reading today's copy of Oval Daily, but from just now, he started to peek at me once in a while. I use a gentle smile to greet him, and he shyly shifts his gaze.

By the way, circlet cigarettes are products used for smoking cessation. Its shape is as the word 'circlet' in its name indicates, and its size is about the size of a circle made using the thumb and the index finger. When people start to smoke it, the ring-shaped cigarette would immediately straighten, and then the tip of the cigarette could be lit.

Although it is a replacement for tobacco that was made to prevent the mouth of the people who are trying to quit smoking to be too free, but recently the smokers who buy it because they like its smell is gradually increasing. Among the similar products, the one that sells the best is the type that combines two circlets into the shape of the number 8. This type of cigarette can be split into two halves, half of it to smoke, and the other half to fill the ashes.

The reason that I am so knowledgeable about this, is because Professor Umbrella loves this type of circlet cigarette.

— Mnn.

I shift my gaze to the goddess statue again, and suddenly started to ponder. The goddess statue looks very similar to the tall professor. However, I just have this feeling that it is lacking 'something'. Every time I see it, I would have this uncoordinated feeling in me.

When this meaningless question surfaced in my mind, time's up.

— After five more minutes, you will be unable to reach home in the scheduled time.

The inorganic, electronic voice of my mental circuit starts to urge me to hurry home.

— Alright already, it's almost time to go home.

With my back to the plaza, I start to walk home quickly. The shopping basket in my right hand is stuffed full of the ingredients for today's dinner, and a La Bier fish that is glittering in rich silver is tied to my back, causing the pedestrians who pass by to turn their head around when they see it. Seeing me carry a huge, one meter long fish while I'm only a hundred and fifty centimeter, being surprised would be quite natural. But after they notice that I am actually a robot, they showed an expression that said that this is understandable.

Differentiating between humans and robot is very simple. The ones that have a round antenna on their ears (It looks really like an earphone) are robots, the ones who don't are humans. "It's the robot from the Umbrella residence!"— a voice clearly projects into my auditory system. So, I smiled back at the person. Though robots used in families is not uncommon, but since Professor is a famous person, I get noticed sometimes when I walk in the streets.

After walking about ten minutes from the Fountain Plaza, I arrived at the Umbrella residence. Looking at the blue door that is full of ivies, I started to say: "Certification number HRM021-α, Iris Rain Umbrella. I'm back." After the electronic voice says "Certification complete, please enter", the large door opens silently.

The Umbrella residence is a grand mansion. There is a courtyard here that is the size of three station squares, and it is a large residence that would not be inferior to the mansions of administrators. The outer wall that was formed by red bricks makes people understand the grandeur of the history and traditions of the Umbrella family.

After entering the mansion, a luxurious hall could be seen immediately. The sunlight that entered from the skylight passes through the chandeliers, giving out a colourful radiance. The carpet spread on the floor is similar to the style of the ones in old castles. Large paintings are hanging on the walls, and the value of each work can provide for a luxurious life.

Passing through the corridor with the shiningly exquisite floor, I first place the fish in the freezer. I feel much better after that, and I started to walk towards the west-most room on that floor— the research room. The research room is stuffed full of materials and tools, the clean but chilly space is like a snowy field on a winter day.

Sitting on the creamy white bed near to the wall, I start to confirm the gauge on me.

Battery level 82.50%, waste in body 1.73%. The energy level is more than enough for labour, but charging my battery is the order that Professor had given me. So, I immediately start to charge.

After sterilizing the long, thin tube with a chemical for two times, I open the lock on my wrist, showing the connection plug. If I made a mistake in the steps, the black machine oil might just splatter through the whole room, so I must be more careful.

I insert the tube into my right and left hand in succession, then pressed the switch on the machine. Electric power and additional lubricating oil slowly flow into the connection plug on my right wrist. At the same time, the tea-colored waste in my body is being sucked out from my left wrist.

In the introduction manuals for robot maintenance, they would usually say that the system is similar to humans using IV drips. In reality, as the system undergoes the excretion and cleaning of the inner part of the body, it is more like artificial dialysis when compared with IV drips.

While looking upwards when charging my battery, I stare at the metal boards on the ceiling. The ceiling that is like a smooth mirror reflects my whole body.

Technically, there's not much difference in gender in robots, but I should be a girl. My age setting is fifteen. I have blue eyes, with delicate eyebrows on it. My maroon hair is slightly wavy, and the length reaches my shoulder. The length of my limbs are similar to Professor's, and my face is that of a beauty, just like professor— this is my own knowledge, and not just my opinion. It might be because Professor always praising that I'm cute that I feel like that.

The maid costume that I am wearing was designed in a fairy tale style. A maid's headdress lightly waved on my head, while the cutting of the apron emphasized the curves of my breasts. The peach coloured dress tightened at the waist, while the dress itself is quite loose, and would make people think of a wedding dress. Where did Professor buy such a lovely maid's costume, I wonder? Right until now, it's still a mystery.

After twelve minutes and one second, the process of charging finished. Battery level 99.93%, body waste 0.02%.

—Alright, target level achieved.

I jump down from the bed, leaving the research room. My destination is the kitchen, because I have to prepare for dinner.

In the large kitchen that is not inferior to high classed restaurants, I start to make a Bill La Bier stew pot. There's a lot of pots, sinks and gas stoves here, but I would always cook at the left side of the kitchen. Professor is very rich, and she could even hire over ten, or even over twenty chefs, but she didn't hire any up till now. Not only a chef, she didn't even hire other maids, and I have to handle the whole large Umbrella residence. I could only use all my effort, diligently finish the chores like cooking, washing the clothes and sweeping the floor.

I quickly cut the La Bier fish, and lightly picked up the pieces of peach-coloured fish.

—200.0025 grams.

While referring to the recipe searched from my mental circuit, I finish the preparations of making the Bill Labier stew pot. By the way, "La Bier" is a fish very similar to salmon fish, while "La Bier" is actually the name of a person. I'd heard that a fisherman called La Bier caught a large La Bier fish long ago, then he used a night to finish the whole fish. His way of cooking is was to cut the fish into big pieces, then stew it with the spices— that's the origin of the La Bier stew pot. It sounds like a simple dish, but if you want to cook it well, there's quite a few techniques. For instance, you have to accurately handle the fire and patiently scoop out the foam.

From the moment I pick up the kitchen knife, twenty seven minutes and twelve seconds has passed, and my job is done. I store the remaining food in the freezer. Professor doesn't have many visitors, so these leftover portions would probably rot in the freezer. With the large amount of ingredient bought and the large kitchen, the Umbrella residence is usually that wasteful.

As I complain in a small voice, an electronic voice starts to ring in my mind.

— Professor Wendy von Umbrella has returned.

"She's back!"

I rush out of the kitchen, passing through the hall, and violently pull open the doors to the outside. My dress fluttering in the wind, I start to run to the forecourt.

— Professor, Professor, Professor!

The person that is passing through the gate, is a tall, black haired woman who is wearing a jacket that is light like a swan, and looks incomparably beautiful although it doesn't seem like she has any make up on her— my Professor walks over to me slowly. And then, she waves suddenly to me.

Not caring about the battery loss, I run with all my strength to the professor. I am running with the speed a hundred meters in nine seconds, and emergency braked three meters in front of Professor. I am not sweating, or even panting too, but my body is giving off heat like a steaming stove, as if my body has been lit up. The image of Professor swirls in my mental circuit.

"Welcome back, Professor!"

I open my arms while beaming, welcoming the return of Professor. Although I'm somewhat overreacting, this is just a way of showing my love for Professor.

Professor looks at me, showing a gentle smile. She puts out the fire of her circlet cigarette and keeps her ash tray. My olfaction system detected a sweet sour smell after that.

"I'm back, Iris. Have you been a good girl today, too?"

That is a somewhat deep, cool and quiet voice for a female. The silver framed glasses on her nose makes her wise face even more striking.

"Yes! Professor's Iris has been a very very good girl today too!"

"Is that so. What about dinner?"

"It's the same as what I told you, a La Bier stew pot!"

"What a good girl you are."

Professor extends her right hand to me.

— alright, it's coming!

I happily wait for that moment.

Professor's hand lightly touches the top of my head. She used a gentle, but somewhat rough movement to caress my maroon hair.

This is really a happiness that cannot be compared with.

I look just like a kitten that had been caressed, making satisfied sounds with my throat. I enjoy the pleasure of contact with Professor's gentle hand, and the sweet sour smell of the tobacco that tickles the nose.

<center>♠</center>
Dinner time has always been the most nervous time for me.

Professor slowly scoops out a piece of La Bier fish from the pot. She continues to use a small knife to cut the fish, sticks a fork into in then swallows it with her rose colored lips.

Because of the chewing action, Professor's face is moving slightly. I stare at her face, slightly worried.

— Professor, how is it? Is it good? Hmm? Is it?

I ask repeatedly in my heart, waiting for Professor to express her thoughts.

"Hmm......"

Professor twists her neck. Then, my mental circuit suddenly cools down. Describing from the angle of a human, that would mean that a chill went up my back.

"E- e- e- errmmm, I- I- I- I- I- is there a problem with that?"

I ask in a rapid fire speed, feeling slightly dizzy. For Iris Rain Umbrella who is proud of her ability of doing chores, being told that my cooking is bad would be the same as questioning the meaning of my existence.

"To be frank......"

Professor raised one of her beautiful eyebrows, saying with an obviously displeased tone.

"To- to be frank?" I waited nervously for her next comment.

However, Professor's mouth slightly curls, a smile surfacing on her face. She says suddenly.

"It's really good."

I am quite shocked, and couldn't help but make an idiotic "...... Eh?" sound.

"Ah...... Eh? Aren't you disliking it......"

"No, it's very tasty. And the handling of the fire is especially good."

"............"

"Oh? What's the matter, Iris? Why are you showing me a tongue-tied expression?"

You can say that Professor is an S. The S in SM. A sadist. She always uses these simple traps to trick me. By the way, this is already the twenty forth time. The pitiful thing about robots is that they even remember how many times these meaningless things occur.
[[File:Iris on Rainy Days p025.jpg|200px|thumb]]
"Really, Professor! Haven't I said not to make these types of jokes!"

I throw the napkin at Professor angrily.

"Oi oi, that's too much of a waste."

"According to your words, the La Bier stew pot today is the wasteful one! Telling me to buy a whole fish, what are you preparing to do with it!"

Professor casually answered "I'll finish it after two days," and continues to eat. I answer "You always lie......," crumple the last napkin up, throw it, and it hits Professor's arm with a plop.

"Mnn, it really is tasty. Iris is really good at cooking."

Professor comments deliberately, and places another piece of La Bier fish into her mouth. Although I feel somewhat frustrated, but seeing Professor enjoying the stew, a send of satisfaction appeared in my heart.

After dinner, Professor goes to the washroom. While cleaning up the dishes, I recall Professor's childish actions, laughing for a moment, being annoyed for a moment, but a smile still surfaced on my face in the end.

Today, Professor is still pretty, likes to bully people, is gentle and stroked my hair.

— Mnn, I'm satisfied. Up till now, I have no comment.

The peaceful night gradually passes, and it is now time for sleep. I changed into my beloved pajamas that has pictures of flowers on it, then knocked on Professor's bedroom door.

"Professor, sorry for bothering you."

I walk into the room. As usual, Professor is wearing a purple pajamas slightly open at the chest, and is lying on her bed. She has a circlet cigarette in her mouth. The sweat sour smell is mixed with a slight smell of peppermint, and the smell floated over along with the smoke. The slogan used on television is "The taste of your first love," and I think that it's quite apt. That's right— it's the taste of the first love to me. The love between Professor and I— I really want to feel that too, but the only one in love is me, Professor is always calm.

I understand these feelings would only be useless, so it's better for me to be careful.

"Professor, smoking on the bed is too impolite."

"It's not against the law."

"And it could cause a fire."

"I never heard of cirgarettes causing fires."

Professor looks at the ceiling, continuing to puff out smoke. That's right, 'cirgarette' is another name for circlet cigarettes.

"The total data says that eight incidents occurred this year."

I block Professor's vision determinedly, looking at her from above. The smoke almost burned my eyes.

"How many times had it happened in Oval Town?" Professor continues to smoke.

"...... zero."

"Then it's okay."

"But that can't be used as an excuse, Professor."

I stubbornly snatch the cirgarette away from Professor's mouth. "Ah, give it back!" Professor sits up, extending her hand to my elbow.

As revenge for Professor making fun of me during dinner, I run around the room while holding the cirgarette. Professor climbs up from the bed too, chasing me. I hide behind tables and chairs so that Professor cannot catch me. Although it's childish, there's still an undeniable charm to it.

After playing two short rounds of catch in the room, Professor says "It's time for bed" and takes off her silver framed glasses. She stares at me with her eyes that are like a colourful glass. Professor is a beauty when she wears her glasses, and she is still a beauty after she takes off her glasses.

—Ah.

The goddess statue isn't wearing glasses.

"What is it?" Professor stares at me from the bed. I lightly tilted my head, honestly speaking my thoughts: "Professor is indeed...... suited for glasses and cigarettes."

"Huh? Why are you suddenly saying that."

"No, that's just my thoughts. ...... Then Professor, is it okay?"

This question means can I snuggle into Professor's blanket.

"Be my guest."

Professor lifts up her blanket and waves to me. I said "Sorry for this," then nervously lies down beside professor. After that, I curl up my body and raise my head to look at Professor.

We are very close together, and I can see myself reflected in Professor's pupils.

"Good night, Professor."

I bury my head in Professor's large, soft hills. It's so soft and has a nice fragrance to it.

Professor hugs me gently, stroking my hair. Then, she says "Goodnight, Iris" and kisses my forehead.

After changing my status to sleep mode, I enter the world of slumber.

I went through a happy day today, too.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Iris on Rainy Days:Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Iris on Rainy Days|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Iris on Rainy Days: Dismantling- 6 Days Before|Dismantling- 6 Days Before]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Asura Cryin':Volume1 Chapter1

2012-01-25T16:29:11Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 1==

Because my mother remarried.

To put it simply, that was the reason why I started living by myself.

It most certainly wasn't because of something like "I got into an argument with my mom over her remarriage and was chased out of the house."

My biological father died before I entered elementary school, so I have nothing but the fuzzy memories of him, and the man my mom wanted to remarry was, anyway, a seemingly well-loved pediatrician; I simply had no excuse to protest against it. Who knows what sort strange fate had decreed that such a respected man had to marry mom; perhaps it was the product of something akin to careless pity.

Soon after he joined our family, the reality of the remarriage hit me, and since I had shut up and entered a state of extreme focus as if I was already taking my high school entrance exams, I really wasn’t in a position to complain.

Anyway, the call for me to move out was sudden and surprising, but I can't say I wasn't happy about it.

That is not to say I didn't have any problems with it either.

Namely, the first problem came soon after mom's new husband, Mr. Sonomiya, bought an apartment in a new complex. "2LDK" apparently means the number of bedrooms is two. The parents would use one of the rooms and then there would be only one room left. The loan for the place was set for some twenty years and, in the meantime, and let's just say declaring "We've got a new member in our family" isn’t going to be good enough to trade the place for somewhere bigger. Well, that's that.

And then, another problem was that Mr. Sonomiya had a daughter about my age.

She was named Kazuha Sonomiya. Fourteen years old.

So to me, the daughter of Mom's new husband would become my younger sister. A one year different and unrelated younger sister.

To say I wasn't a bit excitedly optimistic would be a lie.

I was, after all, the youngest amongst two brothers, so the people in my usual environment were always just these unsexy and unappealing brothers five+ years my senior. And one day, I'm told out of the blue that I would have a younger sister, just how am I supposed to not be filled with gleeful expectation?

It definitely wasn't that I was thinking about getting myself into some sort of questionable relationship like something out of an 18+ game, instead, the two of us would be spotted by some fellow classmates while strolling through the streets together and I would cry something like "No! You don’t understand! She's just my sister!", and if I bring a girlfriend home, my little sister would become pouty and jealous and refuse to tell what's wrong - yep, it was merely these small fragments of happiness and definitely not scenes of sexual assault that had played across my imagination.

That was naive.

Even now, I remember it as if it was just yesterday. The day I met my new family, at the restaurant that Mr. Sonomiya dragged us to, Kazuha Sonomiya's gaze was downcast, and she never once met my eyes. Kazuha, with the white uniform of the private girl's junior high school hugging her form, was small and fair, her eyes lashes were long and she was probably pretty cute if she would smile, but I had no way to confirm that.

In any case, during that entire near-three-hour meal, I fully saw Kazuha's face only twice, and during both times, her expression was the sort of frightened wariness that one would wear after being approached by a pervert molester in a public train.

But of course, I can't just blame Kazuha. Her mother had died, after all, just a short two years ago. And so Kazuha probably was swimming in a sea of emotions regarding her father and this remarriage.

On top of that, she was forced to meet up with random boys she didn't know. It was obvious she couldn't accept it all just because she was told "These guys are, from today on, your older brothers." Nevertheless, though, Mr. Sonomiya was desperately trying to have his daughter join the conversation, asking her questions and whatnot, but realistically, I had a feeling he was just wasting his effort on something simply futile.

And, inevitably, we finished the main course and the adults got up.

With some sort of made-up grown-up reasoning like "You guys probably have things you don't want to say in front of us," our parents left Kazuha and me alone in the restaurant’s private dining room together.

Jeez, that was definitely a bad idea.

After we finished eating the ice cream dessert, we sat there for what felt like, in all seriousness, the entire timespan of the birth to eventual death of some star in a distant region of the night sky.

I wracked my brain for something to dispel the crushingly awkward silence that hung stale in the room. Eventually, the first words of something made its way out my mouth.

"...Do you believe in ghosts?"

In retrospect, that was a horrible thing to say.

With that one sentence, the atmosphere, which until now had been threatening to suffocate me with awkwardness, completely froze over, and no matter what I tried afterwards, not even the slightest smidgeon of warmth could be worked back in. This all happened on the last Thursday of March.

The next day, on the eve of the last Sunday of March, I swore to myself I would leave this house and start living by myself.

By the way, if I was asked if I believed in ghosts, I'd probably confess I'm not sure.

For instance, if someone told me that right over there is some earth-bond spirit, I would not believe it for a second, but if one were to say he can feel the left-behind thoughts and feelings of the departed, I'd probably end up thinking it's definitely a possibility. Well, that sort of cognition does exist. It was perfectly normal.

But then, if we were talking about if I wanted to be able to see things like ghosts in real life, then that is a totally different story: it would be a definite no. I really hate those sorts of occult things. If possible, it'll be good if I'd never have to deal with them in my entire life. It scares me, after all.

Misao spoke up, "Now, just what are you saying? You can feel us, right?"

I definitely think so too.

The spirit was called Misao.

The spring break before I was to become a middle school student, the airplane I rode on plunged into the ocean.

It was certainly quite a big incident, of course, it made it onto the news. About half the passengers survived. I can't recall well exactly what had happened during the episode, however, I do remember with vivid detail what happened after I was rescued and rushed to the local hospital; it had been blood-chillingly horrifying.

It was a small hospital close to a port in some foreign country. Because hundreds of crash victims were being stuffed in there all at once, I too had my entire body wrapped up in bandages like a mummy and was stuffed into a small hospital resting room with the others. It didn't hurt too much, bumping into bodies left and right. But in the silence of the night, wailing moans shrilled through the air. The other patients, and the nurses who didn't speak my language, and whatnot withered and decrepit elements loitering in the bleak darkness of the hospital room. They all scared me – they were all terrifying to me.

And what was truly most terrifying was the packet of blood plugged via intravenous into my body and the disturbing realization that I was looking down at it – at myself – from above. Even to the barely elementary school graduate me, I knew this was what they say is the soul’s last moments before death. I wondered if I would die... In that hazy dreaming cross-over state, many vague and obscure thoughts assaulted me.

"It's okay."

I think that was the first time I heard Misao, as a spirit, speak to me.

And I quickly came to realize that she was no longer of this world. After all, normal people don't float around in midair, glowing away in the darkness.

This particular Misao seemed a little more adult than usual. How pretty, I thought. And I wasn't scared. After having my plane plunge into the ocean and my life tossed to the verge of death, why should I be shocked to see something like a dead ghost floating above me? I think I laughed at the thought. Yes...Misao was really a beautiful girl.

"Don't be afraid. I'll protect you. And in exchange..."

Well, and that was how Misao became my guardian spirit.

Or, I suppose, that was how I became haunted by Misao.

Today is the first Thursday of April.

With the high school opening ceremony awaiting me tomorrow, today is the last day of spring break.

Three cardboard boxes and one borrowed suitcase.

That was all the luggage I had.

"See you later, Tomo. I have another delivery I need to make, so I can't help. Good luck with the move in!" Oohara's dad, who had helped me drive my stuff over in a dirty van with "Oohara Liquor" written on it, said as he pulled two warm bottles of Cola from the luggage rack and handed them to me.

"Thanks, sir." I said my thanks as I took the bottles, nearly dropping them.

"Ah!" Oohara's dad said with a wide hearty laugh that exposed the whites of his teeth.

"That Apricot guy is going to make me wait for him if I don't go now, so..." With those words, Oohara's dad shut the driver's side door. With a cacophony of clunking and knocking from the beaten engine, the car started and, spewing out deep red toxic exhaust, hurriedly rolled away.

We were left to stand at the doorway, absent-mindedly watching him disappear down the streets.

It was Spring. On the hill-path opposite the busy commercial streets, Sakura petals danced and fluttered in the whirling wind.

"- So that was Oohara family's dad, huh?" My friend, Higuchi, whispered to me after the Oohara car vanished behind the street corner. Snatching a Cola from me, he heaved a hefty sigh.

"Jeez, you really know how to get the scariest people to help you move your luggage. Props to you, man."

"Why? Oohara's dad is good person, you know." I replied. His face looks like someone who would definitely be a yakuza, though.

Misao nodded in agreement next to me. Her slender frame shaking in laughter.

"You're just interested in him, Tomo. You've heard the rumors, that Yamamoto is scared of crossing in front of that shop even to this very day."

"That's Yamamoto's fault, you know. Plus it was he who had started the fight."

Higuchi shrugged but said nothing. This Yamamoto was a fellow student at our middle school, he was the same grade as us and was a low-grade judo fighter. In the second year of middle school, he was something of a giant weighing over 100 kilograms (220 pounds). That guy, wearing the middle school uniform, strutted into Oohara's liquor store wanting to buy alcohol and got into a fight with the man.

Yamamoto refused to tell anyone much about what happened after that.

Most of the eye witnesses, however, claim that Yamamoto, with his face swelling with bruises, ran out of the store and was, for some reason, crying and screaming while wearing nothing but a pair of panties.

Well, whatever really happened is up to debate, but in any case, ever since then, the name "Old Man Oohara" became synonymous with terror to kids the likes of Yamamoto.

As a result, I had two reasons why I became rather famous. Number one, I was some sort of fearless weirdo that worked part time at the Oohara Terror shop. Number two, I was being haunted by ghosts.

"Well, whatever. Get moving putting the boxes away." Higuchi finished his cola first, stood up, and kicked aside a cardboard box on the floor.

My fingers still on the pull tab of the bottle, I stopped and looked at him, "Higuchi?"

"Hm? You want me to help you move?" Higuchi, with his eyes wide and clueless, stared at me as if to add, "I didn't sign up for that."

Then, what the hell did you come here for, jeez.

"If you're not going to help, then just go home. You also owe me a coke. Anyway, didn't some junior girl say she liked you the other day and weren't you planning to go see a movie with her?"

"Fool! Who the hell would go see a movie instead of his friend, who according to rumor, is moving into some haunted house? Besides, doesn't this place have a mountain-load of rumors about monster sightings and unexplained hauntings?"

"How about you stop staining the names of other people's boarding homes...Also, stop spreading these rumors."

"Alright, how about we check if those stories are really just rumors or not. Anyway, I’ll need to install a camera in your yard."

"No. And stop spouting off about those pointless things and help me out already." I turned to Higuchi and handed over a cardboard box. I swore to myself that, even if Higuchi ran to me bursting out in tears because he got dumped, I'm definitely not involving myself with him in the future.

In reality, Higuchi, for whatever reason, was often dumped. In fact, on average, he is rejected by his love interests about five times a year. For Higuchi, everything from his first impression to the content of his conversations is irritatingly problematic. He had something of an obsession with the supernatural and the occult.

Even though he treats me with the friendly casualness as one would a friend, Higuchi only approached me in the first place because he heard a rumor that I was haunted by a spirit.

Basically, Higuchi talks about only occult-related crap to even girls; on his first dates, nonstop conversations about demons, UMAs, aliens, and the like would drone on and on and, no matter how good-looking his face might be, everyone backed off. Then he would probably go back to digging up more supernatural crap.

"Shit, this is heavy. What the hell do you have in here?" Higuchi said as he lifted the cardboard box and, with his face in a crooked sneer, looked at me.

"Textbooks, dictionaries, and such. Oh, and the thing all the new students received at the E-Dance last week."

"That's all? What about the presents of the guide book to spirit-sightings and city legends that you were suppose to offer me?"

"I disposed of all that sort of stuff ahead of time." I replied and Higuchi's face immediately flashed an enraged color redder than the setting sun.

Spitefully, he glared angrily at a cardboard box innocently labeled "Oranges."

"Then, what about the porno magazines?"

"I don't have things like that."

"Tomo, you're a pretty uptight about stuff like that, aren't you."

"It's not that I'm particularly uptight..."

Normally, one wouldn't mix his porn and textbooks together. And, in any case, something must seriously be wrong with that Higuchi if he was actually expecting someone haunted by ghosts to give him a spirit-sighting guide book as present.

"Tomo, you don't need either one of those things, right? Since I'm here, after all." A teasing voice whispered straight into my head.

What the hell. Don't be saying things that are just going to invite misunderstandings.

Looking up in the direction of the sighing reply, I saw Misao starring off in the distance as if oblivious to the situation.

The Misao I saw now was, probably, about my age - fifteen. A beautiful teenager with her hands stuffed into the pockets of her spring coat.

Noticing my stare, Misao turned to me slowly and smiled.

Without realizing it, my heart fluttered with a flurry of playfulness and I squinted my eyes and stuck out my tongue at her with a "Pei". Between the shifting gaps of her long silky hair, the fluttering petals of the Sakura trees swept past and through.

"...but man, this really is an old house, you know."

Pushing aside the rusted iron gate, Higuchi stepped inside onto the stone pavement of the garden.

The front yard was a dreary place, poorly maintained and lifeless, only a few garden plants were left to sparsely populate the empty enclosure. The small brick house stood at the end of the short stone-paved path. Like Higuchi had said, it was definitely an old place. If I was told by someone that this was some sort of historical cemetery, I probably would've believed it. It looked old enough to have lived through the memories of easily half a century. The place wasn't just old, it was, frankly, crumbling from age.

"Are you really planning to live in a place like this? Are you going to be okay?" Higuchi asked, crinkling his brow.

Carrying my luggage in one hand, I fished for the gate key. "One of my brothers lived here two years ago. The inside is perfectly alright. Plus the high school is close by."

I produced the old fashioned brass key from my pocket. Instead of a key holder, a small protection pendant was attached to the key...probably just one of bro's particular preferences. I was sure there was no deep meaning or implication behind it.

The house’s door’s keyhole was thoroughly rusted through, but the key nevertheless turned unexpectedly effortlessly. With a screaming screech akin to something out a horror film, the door opened. Despite the midday sun, the hall, with its storm-shutters closed, was dark. All around, gray specks lay scattered about, shed from the white stucco walls. The light, shining in from the entrance way, glanced off the high ceiling and cast a most ghastly, disturbing, shadow. The billowing wind rushed and fluttered the curtains in rippling waves.

"Ooh, this is great...This place might seriously be haunted. But you'll definitely never be able to get a girl come here, man." Higuchi said excited as he peaked down the dust-stained corridor.

Hearing that, Misao chuckled out loud. And, with some level of sincerity, "A ghost, and a girl, both are already here, you know." She said teasingly.

Higuchi's ears, however, heard none of Misao's soothing, melodiously musical voice.

Even as I glanced at Misao gesturing at herself, I realized if I looked carefully, I could see through her ethereal form. The swirling flower petals, swaying gently downward, did not gather upon her shoulders and instead swept through her and away.

With that thought playing across my mind, I stepped through the doorway and laid down my bags. Definitely, if it wasn't because I had grown accustomed to Misao, I probably would never have built up the guts to live in a place like this.

Still wearing her stylish brown boots, Misao stepped into the house.

I could not hear her footsteps.

Without casting a shadow, Misao walked on tiptoes down the corridor; she floated just a little in the air.

It's been nearly three years since the girl called Misao Minakami went missing because of the airplane crash. In other words, nearly three years has passed since I was first haunted by a ghost named Misao.

However, perhaps it's because Misao became a ghost, her personality hasn't changed at all. In fact, she was actually enjoying her current situation.

Just looking at her, one would ever guess she was a ghost. If anything, one would just assume she was some normal teenage girl. Perhaps if one were to look at her entire body, one might feel something was missing, but unless inspected carefully, one would not notice she was translucent. She even still has legs. She doesn't go out as much as a normal girl would, but she does have a great sense of style and fashion.

From the moment we met in the hospital soon after the plane accident, through my return to Japan, acceptance to and completion of middle school, to right now, the very hour of my middle school graduation. Just why she continued growing up with me at the exact same pace. Just for that reason alone, she is already deviating from the standard image of your average ghost in this world.

Ghosts that grow up. Oh really? Isn't that great. Let us all approve.

The lovable and cute little girl guardian angel-sama grows up and becomes a beautiful teenager. If asked, I suppose it’s as fortuitous as it is unfortunate.

Certainly, Misao is cute. It's undoubtedly a blessing to have a girl like her only talk with me and always be by my side.

On the other hand, the reality that no matter how I reach out my hand for her, that I can never cross over to her world is, in a certain sense, terribly heartbreaking.

Those feminine arms and legs, or that deepening cleavage between those breasts, or the fair slender neck, or her well formed lips. The sort of situation where I, an adolescent boy rising into manhood, am forced to always see the siren's allurement, yet never be able to reach out my hands to take, is close to waterboarding and torture.

On top of that, even though Misao was well aware of it, she didn't much care about just what her own attractiveness was doing to me: approaching so close her lips nearly brush against me, sideling up next to me while I'm trying to bathe, standing around at such frustrating angles that the fluttering of her skirt would tease me just enough to check if I could see it or not. My god, are you doing this to me on purpose, miss?

Ghosts, by all means, aren't real in the first place and so perhaps Misao's existence can be explained as just some sort of hallucination created in my mind. After all, only I can see Misao, only I can hear Misao.

If I ever went to discuss this is with a psychiatrist, they'd probably theorize that I have schizophrenia and thus have a split personality - which in part was caused by a person named Misao.

And probably because of that, I would come off as something of a fragile pansy, and unfortunately, I have no basis to deny that accusation.

Incidentally, I have no real other connection with ghosts or spirits, and, aside from Misao, I've never met another ghost in my life. I might just be overly harsh on myself, thinking this way, but in terms of reality, I really wonder...

"Yeah, I really wonder, too." Misao said and, in a charming manner, purposely unbuttoned the collar of her shirt as if almost inviting me to peek between them.

That's really erotic, so please stop.

"If you can understand it that way, then isn't that good enough?”

It's not fine at all. I don't understand it. In the first place, I really hate pseudoscience like ghosts or the occult. And even if I didn't hate them, there is still that rumor that spread around middle school that I was possessed by ghosts and so there had been a large group of kids at school who, to this very day, were too scared to even come close to me. If things continue on like this, even if I enter high school, I still won't have a chance of getting a girlfriend through normal methods.

And if Misao was truly a real ghost and that her physical body did, in fact, die in the airplane incident, then hasn't three years been long enough for her to hesitate and meander? I think it's about time she found some peace in rest and go to heaven. I know that my hope for something like that was not just for Misao's own sake.

Well...at least until this night, before I met them.

We had started the project of moving in around noon, and with absolutely no thanks to whatever help Higuchi might have provided, and some thanks to Misao's roughly helpful advice of first taking care of the things necessary for daily survival and worrying about cleaning up and putting things away later, we were almost finished with it by the evening.

If nothing else Meioutei (1) was vast. A thorough cleaning of the house probably couldn't be finished with even a week.

"...So, how much is the rent for this place?" Higuchi, strewn lazily on the old sofa in the living room sofa, asked.

The rays of the setting sun shone through the open window and plastered onto the wall clock on the opposite with a bright reflective film.

In any case, no matter how much an old building gets cleaned, that tired and worn impression is just never going to be swept out. But once one gets used to it, living here won't be bad at all. The place has the feel of a setting out of 19th century London. It's the sort of atmosphere one would read about in a murder-mystery detective novel. Or perhaps a suspense-horror novel. It’s the sort of place a real monster might actually live. So anyway, how much is the rent here?

"I don't think it's that expensive, but I'm not sure. My brother is paying for it." Actually, I was just told I could use this place while he was out. He probably didn't think I'd actually come and live here.

"Tomo, your brother is in America right now, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded. Then, something popped up in my thoughts, "Actually, I'm not sure...he recently sent me a post card from India..."

"What the hell? Didn't he call you from North America just a little while ago?" Higuchi looked up, his brow furrowed doubtfully, "...Yeah, I don't really understand what’s going on with these super- smart people."

Yeah, I feel completely the same.

I've been told my brother, Naotaka Natsume was, from childhood, extremely intelligent.

Since middle school, he's been submitting scholarship papers and winning tens of thousands of yen in scholarships. When he became a college student, he had turned all that into cash and flew out the nest, where he was easily accepted into studying abroad.

Ever since, whenever he felt like he had time to waste on me, he would call internationally; I, on the other hand, had no way of contacting him. Maybe he told mom his address and email, but I didn't know. At first, I was completely unsatisfied, but recently, I've had cause to change my mind a little. Probably in order for my genius-born older brother to actually be a good older brother, he had to be paying more attention to me. I suppose some people could say we were lost on how to bridge that gap between us siblings...No, that's probably not it. It's just him.

"Ann-chan is here!" Misao snuck up on me and whispered into my year I held a wet wiping cloth in my hands absent-mindedly. Then, the slightly late and incredibly dull sounding door chime rang. Maybe the batteries are running out.

I returned the cloth to its bucket, washed my hands in the restroom, and, wearing slippers I brought from my real home, I headed toward the entrance. The door opened with a screech at its hinges and, standing outside, was a short-haired cheerful young girl who looked at me with a pouty expression. Her name is Ann Oohara; a classmate from back in middle school.

"Took you long enough, Tomo!" Ann said as she shoved into my arms a three-layered new-year's meal box and a bottle of orange juice.

"What's this? Whoa, what's in here?" The boxes were surprisingly heavy.

"Dad told me to bring you some dinner. Are you done moving in?" Without waiting for me to say "Well, pretty much", Ann barged into the house.

Looking down the corridor at the candle-holder shaped light bulbs, she blew a small whistle as if to say Aha! "This is amazing! I've heard people talk about it, but this place feels incredibly rustic and antique. It's called Meioutei?"

"Right. My brother called it that." Meioutei was the name of this rather western-styled house. And, actually, there really was a splendid Sakura tree standing dead center in the backyard that, even now, was blooming with vibrant vivaciousness. (2)

"Maybe it has a corpse buried at its roots." Misao giggle as she whispered into my ear.

I looked up at her with a horrified expression. Seriously, stop saying things like that! If because of nothing else than you, yourself, are a ghost.

Ann, who didn't seem at all frightened, occasionally breathed "Uwa - " and exclaimed "Hya-!" as she walked down the corridor. When she peaked into the living room, she blinked in mild surprise, "Ooh? Higuchi! You're here too!"

"Hnn?" Higuchi lazily propped himself up and, without much emotion in his voice, "Oh, it's just Oohara. What are you here for? It's a bit too late for little girls to be wandering around outside."

I think the fact he speaks with such a carelessly condescending tone even to girls that he really likes, is the reason why Higuchi has never even once gone out on a real second date.

"What's with the attitude? Especially when people go out of their way to bring food for you!"

"Eh? Really? I was wrong about you, Oohara. You're the greatest!" Making a complete 180 to a fresh new attitude, Higuchi jumped off the sofa.

I continued arranging the food onto the table in the living room – I have yet to clean the dining room.

“Where are the cups...?" I whispered softly, too quietly for Higuchi and Ann to hear.

Misao nodded, "I don't know about cups, but I saw a beaker in the next room."

Beaker, huh. It's certainly usable as a cup. Well, it should be fine as long as no one used it to store weird drugs or whatever.

"It's okay. I'll be here with you."

What the heck is that? How does that resolve anything? Besides, Misao, are you sure you're not mistaking "be here with" with "possess"?

Misao's personality had been like that since forever; whenever my judgment was at a loss, I would always be swayed over by her opinion. I mean, I know that if I ended up failing because of it, I would be the one who suffered the consequences, but once one is fixed in his or her role of listening to someone else it becomes incredibly difficult to break free. Just how many times did I get myself into a sticky situation even though Misao told me "I'll be with you, so it'll be fine.”? I headed over to the next room, mumbling to myself over that matter.

That room was, apparently, a work room my brother used for his various hobbies.

The interior was dreary with specialized tools and machines were strewn about. Like Misao had said; beakers of various sizes and shapes lined the medicine cabinet next to the nearby wall. Now that I think about it, my brother really used a lot of armies and remote-controlled helicopters in this room. Then he would burst out of here with his homemade air guns blazing; dropping bombs and firing rounds at me, who was then just a small child. Those were horrible times.

I picked three seemingly usable beakers from the shelf and turned to go back to the living room when I suddenly noticed it.

There was a strange lid covering something on the workshop floor. What is that? I thought with a flutter of interest. On top of the lid there was a distinct insertion slit for a key. More than a just a lid, this thing looked more like a door.

"Hmm...basement, maybe?" Misao suggested in a light tone.

I tilted my head, but didn't reply. No one ever said we had something like that here.

For no particular reason, I found myself incredibly interested. It's fine if it's just a storage room, but what should I do if there was really something like a dead body in there? What if I'm going to hear the cries and moans of demon spirits in the middle of the night? Surely, Higuchi's whole rhetoric about monsters can't possibly be anything but lies.

"Tomo, what are you doing? If you don’t come back soon we'll finish eating everything!" Ann's voice echoed in from the living room.

Even though Ann was a girl, she sure could eat, and Higuchi eats like an overworked, starved carriage horse. Leaving those two alone with food really could mean they would even eat my portion and finish everything. Am I really going to have nothing left?

"Wait! Seriously, just what did you two come here for?!"

Hugging the beakers, I hurriedly rushed back down the corridor. Misao stared at the door at her feet for just a little while longer before giving a shrug and turning to chase after me.

There after, in the span of thirty minutes two newspaper salesmen came by.

Ann greeted them for me. Maybe it was because she had been watching her father work since a young age, but she was surprisingly good with this sort of social interaction. In an overly friendly tone, her non-stop, one-sided chatting dropped whatever sales pitch for laundry detergent or baseball tickets the salesman might have prepared and slowly scared the guy away. I think that is a wonderful talent to have.

Ann was Oohara Liquor’s self-proclaimed poster girl. In addition to being classmates, we also became fellow employees, she’s my senior there at the Oohara store.

Ever since the proud, physically invincible old man Oohara strained his back and asked Ann for help I had began working at the store three days a week. I have no idea just what they actually thought about a middle school student working at a liquor store but the teachers at school seemed to have figured I was just helping out with the family business and overlooked the issue.

"But, Tomo, Dad says if your club activities conflict with your job you don't have to worry about the shop. Since you're in high school, you might as well enjoy doing things that only high schoolers can do." Ann said, happily stuffing her face with fried chicken.

"Clubs, huh..." I mused, tumbling around an asparagus roll in my mouth. Hmm, I thought, the spices making some sort of flavour dance, delicious.

"Tomo, you're really going to join a club or something?" Higuchi asked, as if truly mystified by the idea.

At that point, Ann cut in, "Ah! I made that egg roll, is it good?"

"A little too sweet… It's not that I don't want to join one, it's just that there isn't a club that I'm really interested in."

However, I don't have a hobby and the days of no work in addition to no club activities would just pile up becoming tedious. It's not like I have a girlfriend to go out with or the money to go out and play by myself.

And, more than anything else: I didn't want Misao to grow bored.

It's pretty understandable considering she's the ghost haunting me but Misao, who obviously had a lot of time on her hands, would often involve herself in my business. And if I ignored her she would, of course, get angry. As a ghost, Misao wasn't particularly powerful; she was, after all, no violent poltergeist who would rampage about and damn people. Instead, Misao would often whisper whimsically in my ear reminders of all my past failures, all of which she remembered well. If I could, I wanted to avoid such situations.

"Anything will do. Join the track club with me Tomo, you're pretty fast aren't you?"

Well yes, I was good at running. It was one of the few things I could actually compete with against my brother.

"Uh, don't. It's sweaty and it sucks. How about you join the go-home-club, you live alone, anyway, why waste that?"

"Stuffing yourself in a crumbling house like this isn't good for you! It's bad for your health, you know. Some creepy girl might crawl out of the old abandoned well and kill you or some murderer might spring out from under your bed and butcher you, you know."

"What are you, stupid? He'll be fine even if that was the case. Besides, Tomo is possessed by ghosts anyway and it shouldn't be a problem if one or two more monsters join up with him.”

‘What the hell kind of reasoning is that?’ I thought to myself. Misao bared her teeth at Higuchi and glared at him angrily.

"Only Higuchi would say something like that," Ann said, biting on tsukemono (3). Ann didn't believe in ghosts.

Even though she always called herself my guardian spirit, Misao had none of the powers a ghost would likely have. Of course possession and cursing all go out the window. It probably has something to do with her personality. Dark and malicious actions like that were bad for making friends.

Thus people only suspected my possession because suspicious videos and photos were taken of me, and that had been the direct reason why the whole rumor about me being haunted by spirits came about. There isn’t much more basis for it though than that and consequently I was classified under the possessed-but-harmless weirdo group at school. At the very least I was able to make friends with people like Ann, who did not believe in the existence of ghosts.

"How about joining the drama club, Tomo?" Out of nowhere, Higuchi suggested suddenly and randomly, "According to my sources, there isn't a single guy in the drama club so if you join you can easily be the male lead in anything!"

"That won't work! There's no way Tomo can act! There's just no way he could be a prince or something."

"If prince is no good, there are other roles. Like the princess or a corpse."

"Hmm! I kind of want to see him as a princess."

No way in hell. And anyway, I didn't say a single thing about wanting to join the drama club.

I guess it just has to be track then. No, the film club! Higuchi and Ann completely ignored me and my opinions and continued to argue over the matter while I stared at the three-layered dinner boxes and ate a sandwich.

"Tomo," Misao drifted down lightly and land on my shoulders, "Someone’s coming. A weird one."

"Eeh? Who is it?" I said aloud without thinking. Higuchi and Ann, with mystified looks on their faces, turned to look at me. They could not hear Misao's voice.

Before suspicion could settle in, the dull doorbell rang from the entrance way.

"Another newspaper salesman? Hey, Oohara!"

"Leave it to me!" Ann, responding to Higuchi's call, stood up energetically and dashed to the door.

Misao folded her arms across her chest, deep in thought, "Hmm...certainly didn't look like a newspaper salesman..."

Maybe it's the milk man or a security guard. Maybe a member of the neighborhood watch. It's probably nothing we should be worried about.

But then again, Ann seemed unusually quiet out there.

"Tomo, come here for a second, please."

Ann came back a short while later and beckon for me from the end of the corridor, a sort of discouraged disappointment apparent on her face. "I think we have a guest..."

I wonder who? There are only a handful of people who would know I moved in here today. Ann's dad, my mom, Mr. Sonomiya and Kazuha Sonomiya. It would be great if Kazuha came but that's not very likely. There's no reason for her to visit me. Or perhaps she is coming to patch things up with me...well, probably not.

"Uwaa..." Misao breathed in admiration.

A young lady, whom I had never met before, stood at the door.

She was tall, stylish, and slender. Wearing her high-heeled boots, she stood taller than me.

Even though it was April, she wore a full winter coat. The coat was jet black. Her long straight hair was jet black. Everything about her was black. She looked like a witch.

The only piece of color she had on her was the bright red frame of her glasses which somehow made its surroundings less stern and serious.

Underneath her glasses, she was a full-blown, heartbreakingly beautiful woman.

"She’s pretty, isn't she? Tomo, you really fall head-over-heels for people like that, don’t you?"

I was flustered that Misao was right on the bull’s-eye. Maybe it's the repression from my extremely capable brother working my cognition or perhaps I'm just weak to beautiful older women, but all my resistances instantly burned away. Misao clearly didn't sound too happy about that.

Certain if we were just comparing looks, Misao wouldn't lose so easily, but I never really thought of Misao as an older woman figure. If anything, she was more like a twin sister: and a ghost. Moreover, how should I put this… Misao had none of that erotic sexiness that seemed to exude from this other girl.

"Good evening. I suppose I should also say 'pleased to meet you.' For the sake of my task I want to just confirm you are Naotaka's younger brother, right?" The black-clad woman asked.

Instantly, I felt all the random thoughts and feelings that had played across my mind sink away. Oh, I see. So the beautiful lady is just an acquaintance of my brother. This suddenly got a lot less interesting.

"Umm, I'm sorry but my brother hasn't came back from studying abroad yet," it's not that I did anything particularly wrong I need to say sorry for, but I figured I might as well apologize anyway.

If I got her hopes up that maybe Naotaka was coming back, then I was so terribly sorry.

However, the lady did not seem especially downcast or disappointed; instead she smiled faintly as she studied me.

I was beginning to get a bad feeling in the bit of my stomach and I was at a loss for what to do.

This person might be beautiful, but she was also a bit weird. It's hard to put a finger on it, but there is definitely something strange about her.

"I know what you’re thinking."

"Huh?"

"I too am an acquaintance of Naotaka. And I didn't come here to meet him. I have need of you, Tomoharu Natsume."

"Eh, me?"

I was so surprised I used "Ore" without thinking (4).

The lady nodded, "Naotaka asked me to do this: If you were to ever move into this house, I was to entrust this to you."

"Oh."

Entrust. What? I realized I needed to ask.

An oddly out-of-place suitcase stood at the feet of the black-clad woman.

It seemed big enough to be used for travelling and the surface shone with a glossy metallic brilliance.

"Here," She brought the suitcase up and handed it over to me as I stared in bewilderment.

"Um, what?!"

As a result of taking that suitcase, I lost my balance and nearly fell over.

Since she had handed it over with such ease I didn't expect it to be so ridiculously heavy. I could barely lift the thing with both hands even though I was pretty confident in my physical strength from working at the liquor store.

"It's in your care now. Make sure you take care of it, okay?" She said in a stern tone.

Instead of heeding her words, I dropped the suitcase at my feet. "Wait a second. What is this thing? And who are you? When the hell did my brother ask you do to something like this?"

As far as I know, Naotaka left Japan only last summer and hasn't come back since. Has this girl has been holding on to this piece of luggage for the whole time? Or maybe he already came back. If that was the case, why didn't he just give this to me in person instead of asking her to do it?

"Don't ever lose track of this thing - it is extremely important for everyone. Even for yourself." She warned, completely ignoring my questions.

Even if you tell me that, just what the hell am I suppose do with it?

The suitcase entrusted to me wasn't just incredibly heavy, it was also made of something extremely tough - both the handle and the case itself were made of metal. The thing was closed so tightly together I couldn't tell where it was supposed to open. The outside was mechanical with slightly rusted thick bolts on its surface, with strange brown spots strewn about. I had no idea when this thing could have been made.

One thing was definite though: the case seemed extremely valuable and costly. I wouldn't have been surprised if there were stacks of bank notes inside there. Actually, I'd be fairly grateful if that was the case.

A thought ran across my mind and captured my imagination: what if there were weapons or dangerously suspicious white powder inside? What would I do then? I shuddered in fright at the thought. Just what the hell are you mixed up in while running around outside the country, bro?

"Umm...I'm sorry but can I return this to you?" I asked, nervously.

"No. If you don't hold onto it then there is absolutely no point." She said with a slightly scary glint in her eyes.

I was becoming increasingly more panicky. What the hell do you mean "no point?" I thought I just had to keep this for you for a while. Like, until I give it back to you after the time is up or when you want it back.

"Um...this really did belong to my brother, right?" I asked persistently.

I probably had a pretty pathetic expression on my face then because her stern look loosened and she laughed, "nope."

Eeh. My finger tips shook and I gripped the suitcase so tight that my knuckles turned white. So this really is stolen goods, then? I flashed the lady a look of terror and astonishment.

I was getting a horrible feeling about this.

I looked up at her, but she didn't meet my stare.

Underneath those red-framed spectacles her eyes stared directly upward above my shoulder at the ceiling.

But before that:

"Tomo, this person..." Misao's voice shook.

The black-clad woman's eyes without doubt or hesitation, locked upward straight toward Misao. To Misao, who couldn't be seen by anyone else except me.

"This from the beginning, belonged only to you guys", she stated clearly. She then turned on her heels, her back to us. Her coat fluttered wildly in the wind like a witch's cape as she walked away.

Misao and I stared after her in shock and astonishment.

Afterwards only the silver-colored suitcase was left at my feet.

"Hey, so who was that person just now?" Ann, sitting on her knees on the couch asked as I returned to the living room. Her big pretty eyes were sparkling with curiosity but a look of slight worry was on her face.

"She was friggin' hot. Who was she?" Higuchi asked. His eyes too, were glittering with wolfish lust. I suppose he was peeking earlier.

"Hey, what's with the suitcase? What's in it?"

"Let's open it and see, should be fine, right?"

The two of them then proceeded to drown me out with a steady flood of questions about the incident.

When I realized that I couldn't answer a single one of them a shiver of shock ran down my spine. Now that I think about it, I even forgot to ask for her name. Was she even really my brother's acquaintance?

‘My brother's acquaintance’, those words have a horrible ring to them; they were the causes of many dark times in my past.

I had been an idiot the day I became a middle school student – I had told Naotaka about Misao.

The next day, Naotaka brought over three older woman – his acquaintances – who were cognitive-psychology students. The three women stripped me naked and forced me down on what could only be described as a surgical table and then proceeded to, for the purpose of investigation, insert all sorts of strange metallic instruments into whatever holes and or orifices on my body and ran electricity through them, all the while pounding me with over 500 questions all of which I had to respond with "no". For half a year afterwards I was traumatized and pathologically scared by all serious-minded and stern-looking girls.

The year after, Naotaka dragged me to a strange and suspicious martial artist, whose name I didn't know, for training. Somewhere during that interim I was thoroughly beaten down and knocked out to the point I couldn’t recall what happened three days thereafter.

A meeting with Naotaka’s acquaintances has never, not even once, ended without me going through all sorts of intense pain and suffering.

Rushed by Ann and Higuchi, I chucked the suitcase down on the living room floor. The more I look at it, the more suspicious it gets. It looked like the sort of thing the Apollo 11 astronauts would've used to bring back lunar rocks, but it's probably a little too late for that.

"Maybe there's a biological weapon in there." Higuchi said jokingly. I found myself unable to laugh.

Well, there isn't a biological radiation sign or serial number on the case. Whether that's good enough a reason to feel safe was a bit too early to say. But if that was the case, then, maybe I shouldn't have thrown it onto the ground so violently earlier.

"So, how do we open this?" Ann asked, shaking and hitting the case.

I don't think you should be treating it so roughly, Ann. But because I was afraid that mentioning the elephant in the room might cause it to go crazy, I remained silent.

But Ann does have a point. The case's surface was flat and there didn't seem to be any hidden switch, keyhole, or place to enter the combination to open the thing.

"Maybe they use remote control to open this thing," Higuchi said without a sense of responsibility.

Ann, giving up, sighed, and laughed a little, "I've never heard of a remote-control bag like that. Besides, it's not like this is a bomb..." Ann's laughing tone dropped below a whisper midway through.

Now that I think about it, the news did mention a while back that instead of being scared of terrorist missiles delivering in nukes, rather, we should be scared of terrorists nowadays using suitcases to smuggle nuclear warheads into the country.

"..."

A thick white lace of silence hung stale in the room; everyone subconsciously glanced away from the suitcase.

I gave Misao a brief look. Since she was a ghost, surely she could easily peek into the sealed-shut case and see.

"Can't." Misao, however, shook her head from side to side.

In any case, it seems even Misao can't get into that trunk. Either that, or the inside of the case was pitch black and she couldn't see anything anyway.

I sighed deeply, "The next time my brother calls I’ll ask him what's inside." I have no idea when that is going to be though, I thought, but didn't say.

Preferably, it'll be nice if he called before I get blown up into chunks of raw meat. On the other hand, maybe there is only some special North American-only fruit in there...which would've gone rotten by now. Or maybe it's my brother's comfort blanket. In a certain sense, that might be worse than a nuclear blanket!

Whenever I looked at that mysterious trunk, I'd start to feel depressed, so I picked up the trunk and carried it out of the living room again. I lugged the thing over to the northern-most room, which I had designated for storage and left it next to the cardboard boxes that had already served their purpose in helping me move.

Then, the dull door bell rang once again. It was the third salesman today.

When the door of the storage room shut, a cardboard box tumbling in the draft, fell over. The box labelled "oranges" conveniently covered up the suitcase. However, I noticed none of this and instead headed toward the entrance. Outside the windows the sky was already dark. Today is the last day of spring and that was going to end in just a few moments. However, I had no idea today was also the last day of my peaceful and uneventful life, which will also end in just a few moments. Just not yet.

However, the wheels of fate are beginning to spin.

(1) The Kanji used mean sakura-call residence, however "meioutei", also can be spelled with characters implying hellhole, demon-pit, or Satan house

(2) Remember that the character for Sakura tree is in Meioutei.

(3) Tsukemono are various pickled Japanese vegetables.

(4) TL note: Unlike English which has at most three ways to address one's self - I, me, and myself - in Japanese, there are a lot more ranging from the standard watashi to the almost unused sessha. Ore is simply another way to address one's self in Japanese; it is considered slightly vulgar and therefore exclusively by men.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Asura Cryin':Volume1_Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[Asura Cryin'|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Asura Cryin':Volume1 Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Asura Cryin':Volume1 Prologue

2012-01-25T15:37:55Z

Starkiller4299:

===Prologue===

Three years ago, I was on an airplane for the first time in my life. The reason was something to do with the parents of my childhood friend, demanding and forcefully inviting me over to London, to visit and play with their daughter.

In this world, there are things we label as fateful; things like being forced on a plane without any regard of my own will. Namely, Flight MS 901 of Maiden Atlantic, departing from Narita Airport and heading toward Heathrow Airport. This all happened during spring break, right before the welcoming ceremony of the new semester in middle school.

That day, I had two really displeasing things on my mind.

The first thing was the reality that I suffered from terrible acrophobia.

My eyes stared at the unimaginably dull and thick shadow underneath the plane. The idea that something this bulky and cumbersome is able to glide through the sky was just unimaginable. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't grasp that concept. And the dream I had last night had been an absolute nightmare. It was something along the lines of me failing the school entrance exams, or me stepping off the side a sheer cliff, or the space-ship I was riding in burned to hell in the upper atmosphere - nothing but nightmares about falling. After being delayed by the troublesome luggage check-in, and then further hassled by customs over my documents, and sitting myself down in my designated seat in the plane, I was in the mood and ready to throw myself out of the window and just die.

Another reason for my depression was that my childhood friend, Misao, happened to be my traveling buddy sitting next to me in a wretchedly foul mood.

Minakami Misao. Born under Gemini. Blood type AB. Even though she had been exuberant about visiting her parents, after seeing my face in the morning, she started acting suspicious and midway through the flight. I could tell she was burning up with irritation. I'd try to ask her what was wrong, but she wouldn't answer. Was saying "It's nothing out of the ordinary" such a terrible reply when she asked what I thought about her outfit earlier? But as everything from her hair to her coat was the same as any other day, it wasn't like I could have said anything else. Even though the two of us had always been close since kindergarten, I still have no idea just what Misao is thinking.

"Uh, hey!"

"..."

When I called to her, she would simply turn to me without a word. Her eyes, big and fair as they were, would always be half-way closed as if she was doing it on purpose. Misao was definitely something of a beauty and, because of that, it was unusually scary when she was angry.

And it was this scary and angry Misao that now sat next to me in the aisle seat furiously crunching down on chocolate.

"About that chocolate... I bought it... as a present for your parents..."

"So what?" was her reply.

"Uh... nothing. Ah, did you see the girl sitting in the seat right in front of us?"

"Didn't notice."

"She's drop-dead gorgeous, you know. She's probably just a middle-schooler, but she's tall."

"So why should I care?"

"… I'm thinking she is a performer. Her legs are long... her torso is probably the same."

"Idiot, pervert, lecher, sexual harasser." she snapped.

And all the other passengers turned back toward me. Even the beauty in the seat front of us was throwing her glances toward us and laughing. I was getting increasingly more distraught and Misao's irritation too seemed to worsen.

The plane undocked from the boarding bridge and then slowly rolled onto the runway. My seat by the window was a lot higher than I had previously imagined and when I looked outside at the scenery, I remember feeling my head swimming in a haze of light dizziness.

"Um..."

I turned to ask Misao about switching seats when it finally hit me. Strapped around the collar of her coat was a necktie I had never seen her wear before.

"Hmm? Misao, could that outfit be...?"

Misao's furious chocolate-wolfing movements froze.

She slowly looked at me and, in a purposefully curt tone, said: "Yes, it's the middle school uniform. I want to show it to Dad and Mom..." Misao stopped there and studied my face as if she was expecting something. From my past experience I knew that if I gave the wrong reply at this critical juncture, I was going to be in a world of trouble.

"Umm... yeah! It suits you, it definitely suits you." I wondered if this is going to be good enough.

"Really?"

A smile lit across Misao's face. In a playfully cute gesture, Misao offered me back the half-eaten piece of chocolate. "Jeez, it took you long enough! Here, I'm giving it to you."

"Well, this is the present I had bought for your parents. Besides, there is just no way I am supposed to know what you're wearing under your coat. Anyway, I really just want to switch seats..."

"What's wrong? Wait... are you afraid of flying? How come?"

"You already know I'm afraid of heights! The plane is flying, isn't it? If it's flying, it has to come down, right? My older brother told me that planes accidents happen a lot during take-offs and landings."

"It'll be alright. It's not just going to fall out of the sky, you know."

Misao smiled; her expression soft and gentle as she squeezed my frigid hands. Her hands were small and warm and a sensation of familiarity and comfort welled up within me. I would come to reminiscence, many a time after, the warmth cradled within and nestled between our embracing palms. Many times. Yes, many, many times.

"-It'll be alright. I'm by your side." She was right. Halfway.

That day, Flight MS 901 of Maiden Atlantic crashed into the ocean.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Asura Cryin':Volume1_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Asura Cryin'|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Asura Cryin':Volume1 Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Asura Cryin':Volume1 Prologue

2012-01-25T15:37:32Z

Starkiller4299:

===Prologue===

Three years ago, I was on an airplane for the first time in my life. The reason was something to do with the parents of my childhood friend, demanding and forcefully inviting me over to London, to visit and play with their daughter.

In this world, there are things we label as fateful; things like being forced on a plane without any regard of my own will. Namely, Flight MS 901 of Maiden Atlantic, departing from Narita Airport and heading toward Heathrow Airport. This all happened during spring break, right before the welcoming ceremony of the new semester in middle school.

That day, I had two really displeasing things on my mind.

The first thing was the reality that I suffered from terrible acrophobia.

My eyes stared at the unimaginably dull and thick shadow underneath the plane. The idea that something this bulky and cumbersome is able to glide through the sky was just unimaginable. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't grasp that concept. And the dream I had last night had been an absolute nightmare. It was something along the lines of me failing the school entrance exams, or me stepping off the side a sheer cliff, or the space-ship I was riding in burned to hell in the upper atmosphere - nothing but nightmares about falling. After being delayed by the troublesome luggage check-in, and then further hassled by customs over my documents, and sitting myself down in my designated seat in the plane, I was in the mood and ready to throw myself out of the window and just die.

Another reason for my depression was that my childhood friend, Misao, happened to be my traveling buddy sitting next to me in a wretchedly foul mood.

Minakami Misao. Born under Gemini. Blood type AB. Even though she had been exuberant about visiting her parents, after seeing my face in the morning, she started acting suspicious and midway through the flight. I could tell she was burning up with irritation. I'd try to ask her what was wrong, but she wouldn't answer. Was saying "It's nothing out of the ordinary" such a terrible reply when she asked what I thought about her outfit earlier? But as everything from her hair to her coat was the same as any other day, it wasn't like I could have said anything else. Even though the two of us had always been close since kindergarten, I still have no idea just what Misao is thinking.

"Uh, hey!"

"..."

When I called to her, she would simply turn to me without a word. Her eyes, big and fair as they were, would always be half-way closed as if she was doing it on purpose. Misao was definitely something of a beauty and, because of that, it was unusually scary when she was angry.

And it was this scary and angry Misao that now sat next to me in the aisle seat furiously crunching down on chocolate.

"About that chocolate... I bought it... as a present for your parents..."

"So what?" was her reply.

"Uh... nothing. Ah, did you see the girl sitting in the seat right in front of us?"

"Didn't notice."

"She's drop-dead gorgeous, you know. She's probably just a middle-schooler, but she's tall."

"So why should I care?"

"… I'm thinking she is a performer. Her legs are long... her torso is probably the same."

"Idiot, pervert, lecher, sexual harasser." she snapped.

And all the other passengers turned back toward me. Even the beauty in the seat front of us was throwing her glances toward us and laughing. I was getting increasingly more distraught and Misao's irritation too seemed to worsen.

The plane undocked from the boarding bridge and then slowly rolled onto the runway. My seat by the window was a lot higher than I had previously imagined and when I looked outside at the scenery, I remember feeling my head swimming in a haze of light dizziness.

"Um..."

I turned to ask Misao about switching seats when it finally hit me. Strapped around the collar of her coat was a necktie I had never seen her wear before.

"Hmm? Misao, could that outfit be...?"

Misao's furious chocolate-wolfing movements froze.

She slowly looked at me and, in a purposefully curt tone, said: "Yes, it's the middle school uniform. I want to show it to Dad and Mom..." Misao stopped there and studied my face as if she was expecting something. From my past experience I knew that if I gave the wrong reply at this critical juncture, I was going to be in a world of trouble.

"Umm... yeah! It suits you, it definitely suits you." I wondered if this is going to be good enough.

"Really?"

A smile lit across Misao's face. In a playfully cute gesture, Misao offered me back the half-eaten piece of chocolate. "Jeez, it took you long enough! Here, I'm giving it to you."

"Well, this is the present I had bought for your parents. Besides, there is just no way I am supposed to know what you're wearing under your coat. Anyway, I really just want to switch seats..."

"What's wrong? Wait... are you afraid of flying? How come?"

"You already know I'm afraid of heights! The plane is flying, isn't it? If it's flying, it has to come down, right? My older brother told me that planes accidents happen a lot during take-offs and landings."

"It'll be alright. It's not just going to fall out of the sky, you know."

Misao smiled; her expression soft and gentle as she squeezed my frigid hands. Her hands were small and warm and a sensation of familiarity and comfort welled up within me. I would come to reminiscence, many a time after, the warmth cradled within and nestled between our embracing palms. Many times. Yes, many, many times.

"-It'll be alright. I'm by your side" She was right. Halfway.

That day, Flight MS 901 of Maiden Atlantic crashed into the ocean.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Asura Cryin':Volume1_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Asura Cryin'|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Asura Cryin':Volume1 Chapter1|Chapter 1]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Talk:High School DxD

2011-12-02T19:39:36Z

Starkiller4299:

This project requires a '''synopsis''' and '''registration page''' before it can be submitted for approval; that aside, we're still waiting for the higher-ups to come back of course --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 23:33, 14 November 2011 (CST)

Very nice ! Thanks a lot for translating the novel Code-Zero.

Tnanks for translation. Plot is very interesting and main hero is not narrow-minded japan schoolboy. It looks like Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi but more interesting than the last. (Palert)

Huh? I dare you to say that again after reading every volume after volume 5 of Itsuten :D --[[User:Larethian|larethian]] 10:02, 2 December 2011 (CST)

Hahaha, I sure would love that opportunity Larethian. So translated faster! :p jk [[User:Starkiller4299|Starkiller4299]] 13:39, 2 December 2011 (CST)

Kämpfer:Volume 1 Chapter 1

2011-12-01T19:14:42Z

Starkiller4299: removing the (!)'s--editor notes are fine, but should remain hidden or noted at the bottom. Took a few liberties with the translation too to make it easier to read. Please feel free to review!

==Chapter 1==

When I woke up there was a strange woman in the mirror.

'''Chapter 1''' <ref>I don’t understand don’t ask. In the novel they literally have two chapter ones….</ref>


That morning I got the impression that everything was the same, or so I thought. I went to the faucet to wash my face before breakfast. While washing my face I saw a woman looking back at me.

At the bottom of the faucet. 

A sixteen or seventeen year old, with black hair and tight lips with unusual white skin. 16 or 17 years old would be a good approximation.

Never mind the fact that this woman is so pretty that she could be put on a boy’s magazine just by looking at her face.

But even only looking at the face was somewhat embarrassing.

At this turn of events, I was naturally puzzled. I was left surprised, after all, that this woman was staring at me. Since this early morning and during the week, I was just a lowly high school student. Now I have to go to school. Nevertheless, right now I am facing a close encounter with a girl in the mirror. This is something like a miracle.

As I don’t want spikey hair , so I have the habit of sleeping on my curly hair. This morning, however, I had the most ridiculous looking hair.






My parents are the type of people that would point at me and laugh loudly to themselves without hesitation, and they are not the kind of people who would argue either. I'd been sleeping well lately, compared to when my parents had to transfer away, and I was left home alone. My original hair is gone; sometime between the last time I had checked in the mirror and now it had become something laughable. Right now in the washroom, I was trying to reaffirm that my hair was officially gone. 

(…What had happened…)

I can’t think very well in the morning. 

(Is the world reflected by the mirror real, or…) 

I absentmindedly thought about it. For sure, this was something questionable, but it is still real. The woman here presently must absolutely not be here. Anyone next to my pillow would think this is a dream, “Suppose early in the morning, next to you there was a cute girl” situation.)A possibility. Some time ago, my friends were joking with each other and within their jokes they said, "One day a beautiful girl will come from the desk.” I really did not expect to have a real encounter though.

The soul of Japan is as one would expect. The soul of a country. <ref> This looks like a play on words so its **** with me ことだまさすがはニッポン。言霊の国。The first part and the second part are almost the same.</ref> 

But she is pretty, and to actually meet her with my own eyes comes as a surprise. I prefer girls who look pretty, but then again, she appeared without any warning. This could be considered trespassing. The girl wasn’t saying anything. Since she was an intruder she probably wouldn’t be able to speak Japanese. She seemed reserved or rather surprised. For some time ago my eyes remained quite wide.



It was no wonder that she was silent. To encounter a man in the morning would be surprising, though I can’t really sympathize. As I finally managed to calm down and reached to splash my face with water, the same actions were being repeated in the mirror.

"ha..."

What was up with this chick? I wash my face and she washed her face at the same time. What a coincidence, or is this harassment? 

Looking in the mirror, I was surprised the girl was also mouthing the word “Ha….” Then a sinking feeling began to spread to my heart.

Sometimes I have a keen intuition. This feeling, I had experienced it before. It was like standing on the brink of death. This was a similar feeling to failing four different subjects in school. The latter example of course is just pathetic. What do you know.

I freeze, and hesitantly reach for my cheek.

Now the girl is also reaching for the right cheek. My heart, which is now likely to give out on me, is racing, and this time I take my right hand and pinch my cheek.

The girl pinches her cheek as well. I feel like there is a black cloud over my head and my heart is torn. Maybe, just maybe, this reflection is me? Is this me!?

While trying to calm my mind, I held a poker face in place with a vise like grip, and took one deep breath.



I took a second deep breath. Then there was an intense stabbing sensation in my heart, and I began to stagger around like a drunk.

Accepting what had happened, I screamed, and stopped breathing. Then, with all my strength, I took my right thumb and my right index finger and pinched my right cheek which made me experience an excruciating amount of pain. 

“Owowowowowowow!” 

As I was rolling around on the ground screaming, so was the girl in the mirror.

This is not a mistake, as I looked at my chest in the mirror. There are probably some rich men who find charm in having these two large pair of mounds.

“Uwa.”

I probably at that point gave the largest scream of my life.

“…Why did I become a woman?”

The person in the mirror was also reflecting the same lamentations. 

I couldn’t calm down. Why did this have to happen? I know I am supposed to be Natsuru Senou, a seventeen year old sophomore in high school. <ref>The Japanese school years will be referred to as Freshmen, Sophomore, Senior</ref>

I am of medium height, and slender. As for my grades, at one point my grades were really good, and then there was another time when my grades were really bad. This is a quick summation of my grades without going into too much detail. So overall, I am an average student. I have fairly decent reflexes. Well, even though I am saying this all about myself, I am just another average guy that you can find anywhere.

[[File:Kampfer_Vol1_Pg15.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Page 15]]



Also my eyes have a vision of better than 1.2. 

On the other hand, my female self is quite attractive. That’s quite sad, since I've never had a girlfriend yet either. Throughout elementary and junior high school the farthest any girl has ever gone with me is “friends”, and all girls would pass me by without notice.

I can’t say this with any pride, but, “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Well, typically, it should be normal to have a relationship with a girl my age, if only that would happen it would be great. 

I am pleased to say that because I said, “I want a girlfriend,” I can also say “As a man I have never been dumped.”

“Uwaaaaa!”

I scream one more time, even though the situation does not change.

Calm down, calm down, I tell myself earnestly.

I stifled my cries for the second time before trying once again to calm myself down.

At this point, I had a sore throat. How long had I been in shock? It felt like I'd been in this state forever. In actuality, it'd probably only been like this for ten minutes. All this slowly made me come to an understanding. I had become a woman.

I have no idea how this happened. I’ve never been to Morocco for hormone injections. Recently, when I looked up on the internet, it seems there are doctors who can quite easily make a man a woman through plastic surgery. So far I have never seen anyone benefit from such technology to this extent.

So what is this, a revival of candid camera?



Peering into the mirror, I noticed that the beautiful looking girl who was me had a gloomy face.

“…Wearing such a gloomy expression is a waste for someone who’s so pretty.“

Immediately I fell into a profound state. Moron. What are you saying to yourself? 

"What’s pretty is pretty", and I had profoundly thought about that. The "type" of girl guys like is vague, and their minds are reflected by their hearts, or probably something along those lines. Actually, “it is” rather than “something along those lines” is probably more accurate. But, putting that aside...

Even just meeting someone in town, you can still fall in love with someone just by talking to them and being yourself. "What has my body become?" I thought as I looked down at myself. As I was looking down, I saw my overly large chest--and then something else caught my eyes.

“...a sailor uniform?”

This is something girls wear. However, wearing these uniforms causes delusions that are of no good to any decent man in the world.
As soon as I wake up, I have a habit of changing my clothes, because then there won’t be the hassle of changing after eating breakfast. Also, if you sleep in late, you'll still be able to get to school on time. I don’t remember, however, having any clothes made specifically for women. If I were over the age of 30, then it’d be understandable if I happened to own some sailor uniforms, but...

“This is my school uniform…”

This uniform was the same as the ones at my high school.



Still it seems I’ve become some sort of strange woman, and I don’t understand how? Also, I don’t know how my clothes got changed either.

Who or what kind of ninja would come to house and change my clothes? If the person were to come again, I would return his uniform, because my school's uniforms are not cheap.

“…skirt…”

I felt some sort of strange anticipation as if something bad was going to happen, and I started to feel light headed as well. As I looked around the room to make sure no one was there, I decided to make sure that I had become a girl. So as I put my hands to the hem of my skirt. I flipped it up.

“It’s a woman’s…”

What is this? The result was just as I feared… During the Itouyoukadou sale, I bought three pairs of 1000 yen briefs, but now I seem to be wearing women’s underwear. I’m wearing the kind of underwear that older men might have a fetish for. I realized while looking at my thighs that there were light blue stripes. Apparently my new underwear had light blue stripes. Why are they striped?

I began to think, hey, why not look at my breasts? And then I told myself to stop right there. No doubt right now I have a bra on. So the results of my finding led to my despair, and I began ever so slowly to return to my room. The clothes that I was wearing have become women’s clothes all by themselves.



In the end, I was still a woman.

Falling on my butt as I entered the room, there was a thump from my butt hitting the floor.

A pretty girl was sitting down with her legs spread in the shape of the letter ハ.

Considering from another point of view it, was a quite the interesting view; however, because me being myself, I can’t see from that point of view.

I was slowly watching the clock on the desk move. The digital numbers were telling me “If you don’t go to school soon, won’t you be late?”

I know that I replied to the clock. To go to school looking like this, to go to school as the girl Senou, when the world thought of Senou Natsuru as a man. Today’s attendance would make my homeroom teacher have a heart attack.  This would be extremely pleasing to do, but after about three seconds, it would make me a murderer.

That’s not all. My classmates would be horrified. No, anybody’s heart would be shocked if in the small chance that they saw their classmate become a girl. I’ll probably be replaced, and sold somewhere far away, to where I would be shipped by plane. I’d probably be sold to a cabaret club or bubble country or something like that. Then again since I am a minor there is the issue of human rights, but I’m not quite sure whether human rights apply to people who changed genders. Holding my head, I thought this wasn’t something I wanted to think about. What can I do from here on, while feeling uncomfortable.

“…?”

I saw a bracelet attached to my right arm. Thin blue light was being emitted from it, but i had no memory of possessing such a thing.



It is cool to the touch.

It’s a metal, But I had no idea what type of metal.

[What is this……]

"It is a proof."

[WHAT!]

Hearing a voice coming from somewhere, I jumped up.

I shook my head as he looked around the room.

I live alone, but is there someone here?

[It is a trick, a trick]

The voice was coming from the direction of that stuffed animal.

It is tasteless to have stuffed animals in a man's room.

However this one is peculiar.

There are wounds in the Yakuza-Asako face, one eye is even covered with an eye patch.

It had a mouth like a saber-tooth tiger, which grew strangely stiff fangs.

Protruding from the abdomen were realistic intestines.

This is the “Entrails Animal” character merchandise.

These poor animals are manufactured and commercialized with the concept of a mutilated or thrown-out look.

After they were announced the manufacturer's stock prices dived, and there is still no sign of recovery.


They took a cue from the stockholders apparently, and ceased creation of their "entrails animals".

I honestly don't need it, but... I borrowed it, so it is important enough not to throw out.

The entrails animal "Harakiri Tora" from the fifth series has had its mouth open for quite a while.

Paka... paka...

[I finally noticed]

A woman’s voice.

Somewhat Shizuka-chan-ish.

A new version of it is in front of me.

The paka paka was from the intense discomfort of wearing animal entrails.

"There is a Purest Constraint [bracelet]<ref>Bracelet in kanji Purest Constraint in katakana</ref> on your arm."

[……Constraint?]

"By putting this on your arm, your power is guaranteed. Exert maximum force with '''Shaw''' in battle."

“Wait a minute, wait wait!”

I hurriedly waved my hands.

What is with you and all of this cryptic dialogue, Harakiri Tora?

"I do not know why I am pledging with a bracelet, Why I am talking to a stuffed tiger, and why I am a woman in the first place."

The biggest shock to me was knowing I would have to compromise with an articulate plush doll.

Listening to the mouth of Dahlonega toys? I think I'm good.

The Eye-patched Harakiri Tora wrote Creation.


"I don't know it."

“I know it.”

“From the world’s creation?”

“I don’t find the bible very interesting, what’s the story?”

“umm, it is...”

Harakiri Tora, speaking with Shizuka-chan’s voice.

“you are now a Kämpfer [Infantry unit].”

“Haaa?”

That is my response, plush doll.

“Kämpfer are elite combat units; mighty power is guaranteed by the pledge bracelet; break through any opponent it senses.”

“…Well, I don’t know.”

I felt like I was reading a game manual and it slipped out of my hand.

“The Kämpfer is a person who fights?”

“Yes.”

“I became a Kämpfer?”

"Correct."

“And I fight with an enemy?”


"Sure."

"In a blind way?"

"Oh Yeah."

Yelling, I grabbed Harakiri Tora and threw her into the trash can.

“Now, how could you do something like that?”

“Yes we can, for example we could do something like 'this' half-asleep.”

All of the sudden it felt like a hundred years had suddenly passed: I was commanded to "Save the world as a Kämpfer."

After becoming a woman and speaking to stuffed animals, I'm supposed to let it go? What a nightmare, a nightmare twisting itself to be heard as "Kämpfer".

"I see... It cannot be helped at all."

A voice was coming from the garbage can.

“I, however, was the one elected!”

“Do you believe me？”

Deep; and I have a reply.

“Do you believe me? Now that I’m a girl?”

I said this while displaying the uniformed body of a woman.

“Here you go. I am convinced.”


“…Not yet.”

I set my arms on the front of the trash can.

“This woman’s body serves to convince me.”

“It is the form of the Kämpfer, but I am unfamiliar with the form of a woman’s body.”

“I am a man.”

“So I became a girl, over my choice to be a boy over a girl.”

“What choices are really ever choices?”

“Well I didn’t choose at all."

Inside the trash Harakiri Tora is talking to the ground.

I reached into the trash and pulled out the plush doll; I cannot throw it away anyways, I’ll just have to place it on the desk.

“Hello again, what a cramped trash can that is.”

But you really are a well matched size for it.

“In fact, this bracelet is a testament that you’ve become a Kämpfer, and when it flashes you’ll become a Kämpfer.”

Observing the bracelet again, I saw it had no seams; just how it got onto my wrist, I don’t know.

“Oh, you can’t take it off”


Can Harakiri Tora read my mind?

“It cannot be taken off except under special circumstances, so you will stay a Kämpfer.”

“How do I get it off?”

“You can die...”

“Hey!”

I’m reluctant to say it, but it’s no use.

“Please think of it as an accessory, dark as well as heavy.”

Indeed, the burden to my wrist hasn’t gotten lighter.

“Why is mine blue?”

“Are you not pleased with it? Red is good too, you might become three times faster.”

“Meaning it exists, but you won’t give it to me.”

“Be proud and laugh.”

“Returning to the point, why and who do Kämpfer fight?”

“Because it is exists to fight, no that’s the truth.”

I guess I should toss Harakiri Tora into the trash again; she was tossed in hurry.

“Kämpfer only exist to fight; I cannot specialize in combat, so I selected the best suited person, you were it.”

“What should I say about myself ‘I’m an average guy, anyone could see that; I'll try my best’?”

“Please listen; you’re the man I chose.”

“You chose me?”

“You were chosen by a Moderator.”

Moderator, who is that?

“It is the responsibility of that person to pick up talent, and you were a perfect fit.”

“Who are you then?”

“I am messenger of the Moderators, mouthpiece of mythical angels.”

“They allow Entrails to flaunt something angelic?”

What awful taste; this will anger many pious Christians.

After this story I can’t really argue, I was chosen by the Moderators to fight as a Kämpfer... in a girl’s body.

“It seems you understand.”

The plush doll’s tone had the quality of a teacher’s; I was staring at it with hate.

“And I’ve been asking for awhile; what a difficult battle!”

“……”

“I came here as a plush doll imitation,”


I was fishing inside the desk; there must be a one hundred yen lighter somewhere. Tobacco sucks, but there is something useful about it, burning synthetic fibers.

“There is no fire, vinyl smells bad when it burns but I--”

“I didn’t say anything!”

I fished out the lighter.

“What is it, NO please drop it; give me another chance!!”

“I have been begging in the voice of Shizuka-chan too!”

I would also like to be reassured by that fond voice.

“I actually don’t know why you have to fight either!”

“Is this tale true?”

“The Moderators did not tell me what the catch was or how this serves their interest! It can’t be helped, man; unless you want entrails protruding from your stomach too.”

“From the plush doll?”

I returned the lighter to my skirt pocket. That's not very good for the care of the skirt; you can hear gas escaping with a “su~” sound.

“However, I still have to fight an opponent?”

“That is most likely.”

“Who am I?”


“Secret.”

“This Motherfucker…”

I do not know if a true man would have cursed like this.

“Even now I understand; from now on I am a Kämpfer.”

While I don’t understand the reason, this all seems to be possible.

Once again my head was being challenged, what is this!? Sudden I am a Kämpfer and I'm to to fight and so forth against something or another. Hey, who do I have to convince to become the new white hat?<ref> White hat is hero character, from a final fantasy reference</ref>

“Hahhahha, sounds like an impossible reality.”

What’s normal? I would want anything to be carefree and funny, but starting the day with a talking plush doll, I can't believe this.

“But this is all true, you can be called a Kämpfer; it's the whole truth without any pretenses.”

“…………”

“I cannot accept this.”

And well.

“What could one say to satisfy you; there is no doubt you are a Kämpfer.”

I looked into Harakiri Tora’s eyes. There doesn’t seem to be anything fishy about her, and there’s nothing outrageous behind her eyes.

After the day had begun, the term "guy" no longer applied to me; my preset had been selected, evidenced by the fact that I have the body of a woman, and I have to fight in this form.


I have a bad feeling this pressure will lead to a fight. I do not know why I have to fight, I wonder what the White Hat would say.

“It is not that you will fight.”

And Harakiri Tora?

“The Kämpfer were chosen to fight, not me.”

“Why, I don’t want to fight?”

“I know.”

Only like this is the plush dolls self-confident, mirroring Shizuka-chan.

Anymore questions feel pointless, I’ll just stop talking. Also, if I’m pursued as the plush doll said... I can just burn it later.

Looking at the clock, it's telling me I’m "almost late."

“OH, that was the entire point!”

“Sloppy. Any questions, please?”

“Each comment stings… Anyways, will I remain a woman?!”

I have to go to school already. Now I’ll have to run without eating breakfast or I won’t make it. And remaining a girl in a sailor uniform is quite the penalty game.

"Do you still want to remain a woman?"

"..."


“I’m being misunderstood!"

"I can return to being a man?!”

Immediately her eyes brightened. Sakura-original, I will be a normal boy again!

“According to how I put it...”

“If you do this you must fight.”

“If what?”

“It’s simple really. If you continuously to win fights, you will have no more enemies, hence no reason to turn into a woman. So you can always remain a man.”

“I see... Well, I asked about my target earlier.”

“Any hope I had, is gone I guess.”

“Motherfucker! It’s important now. I have to go to school!”

“Well...”

Harakiri Tora had been in deep contemplation for a while.

“There is no way. I can tell you a way to return to your original form though.”

“That’s it, tell me! No, please tell me!”

Grabbing the plush doll, to the me now, the Shizuka-voiced Harakiri Tora was enough to bow before.

“You are very impatient.”


“What is it? Teach me quickly. Quickly!”

“Please close your eyes tightly.”

“Alright.”

As she said, I closed my eyes; all I could hear was Harakiri Tora’s voice.

“So we will.”

Will? What is will?

In the next instant, just when I was starting to question it, I felt a strong blow to my abdomen.

Pain came unbidden from my abdomen. The plush doll SOB wanted to beat me; next I’ll burn her. Then my conscious went pitch black.

“Haaaa!”

I can sense my eyes.

I jumped up on reflex, falling off the bed as a bonus.

Bed? Looking around I see the familiar landscape of my room.

Gingerly looking at himself, large breasts?

I hurried off the bed and peered into the powerless television screen. Since my room has no mirror this makes a decent substitute.

No doubt about it, this is a man's face.



A great surge of jubilation came straight from the heart.

“Ah… I did it!”

I howled with joy: I am not a woman, My manhood has been restored, there is no such thing as a Kämpfer!

I jumped in front of my desk.

"You, don't lie to yourself, I returned you to normal."

Harakiri Tora said, however there was no reply.

“Hey!”

He brought his face closer, twitched but did not move, shaked but did not wave. He grabbed the tusks that had grown from its mouth. Precisely sewn into place, and there was no form of movement. How did I meet this ordinary looking plush doll?

Ideas swirled around while the plush doll, Harakiri Tora, slept. Perhaps the events that happened a while ago were just a dream.

“I see… So it was a dream.”

Joy gradually surged through me.

“Great! A dream, it was all a dream!”

Never mind that this has become a monologue. Happiness leaped inside me, inside each non-existent Kämpfer forced to become a woman and fight for no reason.


“Hurray, hurray! Now I’m an ordinary person, unrelated to combat, among other things!”

I ran around the room in joy, expressing the joy from a year’s worth of holidays; suddenly after jumping for joy, love, and school, I saw my arm.

I didn't believe my eyes there I see a light-blue bracelet; what’s this…?

“Well, I wasn’t dreaming.”

Harakiri Tora shook her head with a sigh.

Curelly, school looming over my head created an overcast mood, and while I looked up outside I saw cloudy weather. This good feeling was the worst.

Harakiri Tora is “Anything that can be dreamt, can be real” all told to be brutally honest with you. While what I wanted to hear, accept the less beautiful reality. I answered pitifully in my mind, “I want a wholesome, silent, satisfactory life,” or a return to the “already happy life” I had. '''(!)'''

“Don’t do it! You were returned to your immasculine figure!”

Harakiri Tora, admonishing words aren’t meant to raise my blood pressure.

"Good, being hit in such a way is a sure way to return. I wonder if there is a better way?"\


“You actually return automatically, I just wanted to do it in a playful way.”

“I’ll kill you.”

The sides of my abdomen were still throbbing.

“Oh yeah, It is probably a good idea to buy clothes.”

“Hey I’m not interested in fashion.”

Anyways I can’t really understand the idea of spending money on overpriced clothes. I continued to browse fashion magazines, all with similar looking clothes since fashion has looks that change often.<ref>He means he browsed fashion mags before but hes not willing to spend money on the clothes, not that he is currently browsing fashion mags</ref>

“Men aren’t; its women’s clothes we will need after the transformation.”

Come again? Why would we need to buy women’s clothes?

To my questioning, Harakiri Tora nodded naturally.

“The transformation works on your men’s uniform for school, it does not change all the clothes of the earth into a feminine version.”

“It’s mutually exclusive for your uniform.”

“I probably fit that size best.”

Not really, that was not made for my huge chest, among other things.

But do we have to get such things like women’s clothes? Once a man is in the shop, he’ll get treated like a pervert, and… that’s not even considering underwear.


“How do I turn back into a woman?”


“As I thought you would.”

“Do not just say so happily, I just asked…”

“I was returned a while ago, automatically, how do I return at the moment?”

“Since in addition, now it will be revealed.”

Shit! I remember, this stuffed animal is an agent of the devil.

Times up. I’m going to end up at school without any breakfast. Harakiri Tora was saying “just pick up some rice to eat on the way while walking, do not mind me please.” Naturally as if anyone cares.

I was late and it was last minute, I visited a convenience store on the way. Running in to buy onigiri, I thought of eating it on the run, but I decided to stop. For the first time I can rest.

To catch up I ran intently, angling around turns.

“Uwa！”

“Kyaah!”

I almost bumped into somebody, and stumbled; The other person also fell


“s-sorry,　huh?”

Apologizing on reflex for the mistake, I see their face. What, Wow! I know this person.


“I’m so sorry, I was looking in a different direction… huh, Natsuru-san?”

The other person I had almost ran into, was a girl.

"I’m so glad... ah; I can't say that, can I? But because it's someone I know, I feel kinda relieved."

Sakura Kaede laughed to hide her embarrassment.

She is slightly lower in stature, with long refreshingly shiny hair, and an elegant-curvy body. She is the idol of the school; simply put, a beautiful girl numbering in the top five, of which she was certainly at the top. I stuttered and thought to myself “good line” I’ve become a woman.

She is the heartthrob of many high school boys, and I also admire her; moreover many of my classmates from middle school are hardcore followers.

Sakura-san I will just say “Never mind” and wave my hand.

“Calm down, you didn’t cause me to fall.”

“Is that so? Natsuru-san’s kind as always.”

Endure! The benefits were the same as in middle school; she called me by my first name then too. My heart was stricken, beating faster while I maintained a calm façade.

“Want to go to school together?”

“Sure, since I’m already late.”

Sakura-san is with me, I grinned to myself.


Like this I can easily forget the crazy events from this morning. Going to school with Sakura-san makes my story almost lucky; many boys would pay to get this close to her. Unexpectedly alone, it’s like a lifetime of good luck, winning the lottery will be even less possible now.

Two people walking to school; almost feels like a date.

“Sounds fun Natsuru-san; did something good happen?”

“Yep, I’m with Sakura-san.”

I wish I hadn’t said that line, it sounds lame. Sakura-san surely won’t fall for that.

“Aha, I think I’m glad to have met Natsuru-san on the occasion I overslept for once too.”

That smile only helps to her benefit; but Sakura-san, that can make a man misunderstand.

Unfortunately I did not misunderstand; she has all-too-many boys who would like to go out with her, but there are no rumors about her going out with any of them. However many good boys voices, would swing for, “We cannot surpass the Tokaidatte’s fallen maple[Kaede]” it has become a school legend. However there is a gap between me and Sakura-san, I think; in other words it would be suicidal for me. Therefore I should enjoy the present situation.

“This is turning into a good morning , worthy of pleasing Sakura-san.”


“Is that so?”

I am listening anxiously.

"Just a second. Whatever, it's fine...or rather, I've given up." '''(!)''' 

I recall a profoundly heavy feeling; I cannot forget the unforgettable, and I decide to push the matter into the farthest corner of my mind.

“That’s right. How is the plush doll I gave you?”

“I-it’s there, decorating the top of my desk.”

“Good, I love that series, I’ve already accumulated the complete collection; I’ve even been fostering any that have been discarded.”

Sakura-san was innocently delighted at this.

Yes, the Entrails Animal Series stuffed animal was given to me by Sakura-san; so he cannot trash of abandon it.

He had a different sense of taste, it was “cute” but it also fit other criterion such as “cute and grotesque,” in all sincerity I also thought it was cute. So, the glo-series one I have, I had loved it without hesitation. No, of course, my comic taste is also out of admiration for her.

According to rumors, Sakura-san’s room is even like stepping into a world of Entrails Animal Goods.


“Do you think Harakiri Tora is cute?”

What a difficult question to answer.

“Ye-yeah, distinctly.”

“I’m happy to hear you say so.”

“I bet it would have a voice like Shizuka-chan.”

That pained me; Sakura-san had a mystified look on her face.

The school road has no one else on it; we have plenty of time the only other people here are jobless and tardy students. Sakura-san and I are obviously of the latter group.

We were talking silly while we continued along. Or rather, the topic was about Entrails Animals with Sakura-san, while I was trying to desperately continue the deflected conversation. She must have remembered the frustration and cleverly doctored conversation skills, following every morning to bring more to light.

While Sakura-san was talking, my sight kept flickering to my right arm.

“…What is that bracelet?”

An example is the bracelet, while I touch it,

“No, well I often wear this bracelet.”

“What brand is it?”

“Come now, how should I say this, Kämpfer?”


“…A German brand?”

It is not a brand at all. To begin with it’s not even a fashion accessory.

Obviously, since I can remember, I cannot leave this bracelet and its pledge. There is no seam, so I cannot resist or take it off. Not that I care anymore but, when asked to explain like now, it is troublesome.

What do I say, considering the moment?

“Ooh, its shining.”

Quickly checking, as Sakura-san said the bracelet is, in fact, shining.

A thin blue light was shining, flickering at regular intervals. This is the first time for this reaction; a sign of transformation maybe or…?

“do… do you need to do something?”'''(!)'''

The worst thing that can happen is becoming a woman here, outside next to Sakura-san. Once she’s seen me transform, she may call out; even better still, I could become a test specimen in someplace-somewhere.

“Uuh hey, Sakura-san. I’m sorry but I have to go on ahead.”

“Ah, how unfair Natsuru-san. Didn’t you say we could go together?”

Her cheeks are adoringly inflated. The Infatuation meter has risen; I cannot afford this absentmindedness. While striving to be calm,

“For I remembered. Well, For what we have. And anyways I have to leave here soon.” '''(!)'''


“I will also run if you do.”

Sorry, sorry. Please let me go alone somehow.

The bracelet’s blinking is speeding up. This horrible childish feeling is rapidly becoming reality. An earnestly dangerous situation.

Abruptly I saw a protruding gun’s muzzle.

“…A gun?”

I was speechless.

I watched keenly. Humans are not funny, and jokes about how nothing unexpected happens, strangely seemingly settled down my mind. At gunpoint that was now the case.

“What’s this? A woman and my enemy chattering, do you have eyes now?”

The primary gun, that the talking woman has, is enormous, but looks like a dummy.

She was slightly lower than my height; her tone of voice was terrible. Her skin was white and stylish, but no matter how “Beautiful” you classified the appearance, just as beautiful were sharp eyes profusely saying, “Caution Vicious Dog” as a poster would, and I would not be surprised with the poster having her picture on it.

“This sleepy man is the enemy blocking the story of innovation. He is a man and failed to hear me, what you are fancifully last?”


She wore a bored expression, and then pulled the trigger.

“Just a, please wait!”

Since we were about to be killed, we hurriedly raised out hands.

“What’s this all of the sudden! A mugging?!”

“Idiot, what are you fucking saying? A mugger as beautiful as this exists?”

She also referred to herself as a rare beauty.

“Apparently not!”

“What’s you name then? Mine is Mishima Akane [Beautiful Island of Crimson Noise]”

“I am Senou[Torrent of skill] Natsuru… Isn’t that a gun!”

“What this?”

She was dangling the muzzle a bit.

“This guy is mai~ weapon. The trigger can blow bullets out of you; one can even open some breathing holes, if it hits your skull, literary don’t you think?”

Where is the literature, what!?

The girl was, as usual, staring with eyes like a dog on the verge of pouncing. Come one! Come all! Less hostile, murderous satisfaction.

“So what’s the hold up here!?”

“Shut up man! Stop talking!”<ref>Akane has a Kansai accent apparently and I dont really know how to translate Kansai without looking up a hundred different resources so be aware it may not be 100% accurate after im done translating i will probably look up more on this to make it as correct as possible </ref>



It is not such a hard question and my life is on the line here!

“When suddenly everybody is about to be killed?!”

Wishing to ignore my appeal, her line of sight shifted. There, failing to understand the situation, is the figure of Sakura-san.

“Huh? You guy is that your girl?”<ref>Akane speaks in a very masculine derogatory slang filled speech here</ref>

I would be very glad if that was the case, but unfortunately it is not. There is no red; okay there are no others.

She stared at Sakura-san and watched her.

“What Sakura-san isn’t it? Aren't we Classmates?”

Now that you mention it, this girl is wearing our school uniform. But it has been customized with a shorter short sleeve hem. At any rate this is Sakura-san’s classmate, so that means, I am in the same high school as her?

“Hey, we go to the same fucking school”

“Really?”

Akane put returned the muzzle.

“Hey I can’t do without battling as I am expected to. Such as what I troubled to have said. To go against, come on! Instead of scratching my crotch at home, so I should do something a little constructive.”

What’s Constructive huh? It is being destructive me. Furthermore, prospects of reconstruction are zero.


“What good is that! Since you are my enemy, I will beat you to death.”

Enemy? “Enemy trouble,” perhaps?

Suddenly, my bracelet is flickering at the speed of lightning. My body started to move involuntarily.

“Dowaa!?”

“Oh, this motherfucker!”

Like I was being pulled into something like that. I’m running, not much however, the distance past one corner.

The vicious dog woman, I understand, is chasing me while holding a gun, but I wasn’t that much better.

Flashing emissions from the bracelet continued. A pale light envelops my entire body. A little glow was spreading; my whole body feels like it was washed away.

The light suddenly disappeared.

“Ahh…”

Looking down on my body. Sailor uniform with large breasts, and a short-skirt; the woman I had changed into this morning.

No light relieved him, but at the same time he wanted to hang his neck. Son of a Bitch, this morning was also reality? As a bonus I met with Sakura-san if it continued, but there was the hold up by the foul-mouthed woman. However it is complicated with the transformation into a woman. Is it blessing in disguise to be hidden away from Sakura-san, but what am I now?


“Haa… Ahahahahaa…!”

I heard wild laughter; unnoticed for some time, the woman with the gun in one hand was laughing.

“Great I say! As I had thought you were also a Kämpfer!”

I was frightened.

She was proudly pointing at him. If you look closely there was also a bracelet fitted on her right arm.

“It is as such because there wasn’t many motherfuckers [to fight] there.”

I see the gunpoint coming at me.

“Haa!? Why are you expected to fight me?”

“Why come on you don’t know? Kämpfer fight for the sake of existing. I will blow your head off to Jupiter!”

“I heard. Even so you…”

“Kämpfer are enemies to Kämpfer assuredly.”

This is the first time hearing this. Harakiri Tora had mentioned a fight against [Secret], did she mean this?

However, how am I expected to fight? This woman has a weapon in her hand pointed in my direction. My opponent won’t go easy on me just because I don’t have a weapon. Rather she opened fire, while abhorrently laughing.


“Do it soon! If you don’t run away I’m going to shoot you.”

“If I escape you won’t shoot!?”

“Well, shooting.”

She squeezed the trigger.

A bullet flew out from the muzzle on the brink of me, and my body moved.

Akane after looking right… She carried the gun outside towards me, naturally when that happened I jumped from where I was, literally without any regards to my intent.

Although a bullet just passed through where I had just been standing.

Akane, now provoked, narrowly glance around murmuring “this motherfucker” overlooked me, when she was suddenly embraced.

The vicious dog-woman drew the trigger in quick succession.

And how, her fingers cramped up suddenly from bring her index finger back and forth continuously, like drunkards on New Year’s Eve spitting out lead bullets.

Already off of the route to school and onto a noisy construction site; certainly her firearm had to be loaded again and again, but it should be limited, whereas Akane had been shooting indefinitely.

For this reason I have no margin of error.


I dodged all the bullets flying at me. I also was, and without regard to the difficulty, moving my whole body, automatically, to escape past fences and telephone poles.

Timidly take a quick look while unseen, Akane’s facial expression had become incessantly stern.

“Very well done, isn’t it.”<ref>Akane says done as in doing your sexual partner, then proceeds to say isn't it in a masculine way, haha</ref>

Thank you for the praise. I’m just going to run away now.

“However, Hey! Know this, my Gewehr[gun] can, infact, blow a wall to the stars. How many bullets, however, can your ass receive like shots from National Health Insurance.

It’s no joke. Yes! Pierce this wall with your tool, try to do something to my beautiful ass. What, there is nothing like it over there. I expect this is unfair.<ref>Natsuru's monologue is in a feminine form here</ref>

“Nothing is expected is it not.”

Hear me hated one<ref>A bit of speech in japanese directing towards an enemy, kindof hard to put in english so i put this</ref>, putting my thought into words is a bad habit that’s not going to change.

However, whether or not there will be time to change that, this vicious dog woman is earnestly trying to kill me.

Its time.

Instead Sakura-san unexpectedly made an appearance.

“Natsuru… san?”

After hearing that I became stiff. I abruptly ran because, maybe, I can visit these circumstances.

“Ehh… Natsuru-san… haa…?”



Fierce dog woman quickly turned the gun towards her.

“As yet hated<ref>Sakura</ref>, obediently continue on to school like a good-Samaritan.

Those eyes have a look like an actual hound detecting its prey. Or, possibly like the look my father gives to the spectator rapid-fire sneezing in a movie theater.

Shit girl, no intruding!”

The trigger finger connected.<ref>connected as in not to disconnect</ref>That’s dangerous Sakura-san!! I spoke out at once.

“Hey!”

Simultaneously, the palm of my hand became hotter.

Surprisingly, considering the moment, a crimson flame came twisting from my fingers.

The large flaming fireball next plunged forward to Akane. Without change it stole the fence on the opposite side with a direct hit.

The explosion smashed into the brick wall, shattering it into pieces.

“…!?”

Words of astonishment came from Sakura-san.

The Handgun carrying girl however, did not receive any shock.

“Bastard…Zauber[Sorcery]?"

“Hee? Zauber…?”

“Don’t play innocent. And I thought it was funny you were empty handed. Hey! Invoking items from your hand requires considerable refinement.”



More importantly I had a sensation of being hit by a steel frame being place on my head.

This morning I have met various things like a woman entwined in a plush doll that had talked, but the final blow had been the fireball exiting my hand. “Perhaps the whole of what Harakiri Tora was saying had been a lie, that I would be only a high school student,” clinging, but I had no grounds for hope, and it is tragically extinct. Kämpfer’s title had now become Katakana[ケンプファー ] .<ref>he says that he recognizes Kämpfer as a concept now since he had thought of it as a spelling in Katakana</ref>Mother, father; life sure is an irrational thing, that can be assured.

“What! The fact is I am hanging at the point of death.”

“…Preetenssee”

“Well good! After all this time you can feel free, the killing will finally be done!”<ref>again done as having sex</ref>

“Wait! To that extent, wait up!"

“I’m exhausted from your omissions!”

The gun is being prepared to come piercing through me. Filling the distance in order to certainly intending to kill. In good order the face and its fierce dog like emotions, was rapidly closing in.

When seeing that face, about to be dead like an ant lion being blown away. The person is assuredly serious. I have to be on guard, but from the fire ball from a while ago already, it seems, had not brought this to an end. A jet engine in my brain, flying around like a revolving lantern.<ref>The seriousness in the situation is related to thoughts swirling around in his(her) head like a revolving jet engine</ref>

Unpredictably, the fierce dog woman’s movement stopped.


The muzzle pointed in this direction as it was bore, I noticed what I was looking at.

Her gaze is being filled by the bracelet on my right arm.

“…tchi”

Clicking her tongue while swinging her right hand. To the extent the handgun had went in order to kill and erase me.

“Dear it is not it.”

Akane said and spit out, turned herself around, the handgun quickly followed suit.

Afterwards the woman left leaving me and Sakura-san.

“…Umm…”

Sakura-san coming to speak. It is troubling as to how I should reply to her, gently smile and run away silently.

Just as that woman here had, I will follow her plan however.

[[File:Kampfer_Vol1_pg51.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Page 51]]

==Notes==
<references/>

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Kampfer:Volume_1_Novell Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Kampfer|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kampfer:Volume_1_Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

User talk:Starkiller4299

2011-11-30T19:54:34Z

Starkiller4299: /* IS V2Ch1 */

High School DxD

2011-11-29T16:32:09Z

Starkiller4299: /* Editors */

[[Image:High_School_DxD_Volume_1.jpg|250px|thumb|High School DxD Volume 1 Cover]]

'''''High School DxD''''' (ハイスクールD×D) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ichiei Ishibumi and illustrated by Miyama-Zero, published by Fujimi Shobo under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko label.

==Story Synopsis==
The story follows Issei Hyōdō, a dim-witted, lecherous second-year high school student who is killed by a girl on his first date ever. Issei is reincarnated as a devil, and from that day forward, he serves as an underling of Riasu, a high-level devil who is also the prettiest girl on Issei's campus.

==Character Introduction==
===Occult Research Club===
Isei Hyodo (兵藤一誠, Hyoudou Issei)

Rias Gremory (リアス・グレモリー, Riasu Guremori)

Asia Argento (アーシア・アルジェント, Aashia Arujennto)

Koneko Tojo(塔城小猫, Toujou Koneko)

Akeno Himejima (姫島朱乃, Himejima Akeno)

Yuto Kiba (木場祐斗, Kiba Yuuto)

Zenovia (ゼノヴィア, Zenovia)

Gasper Vladi (ギャスパー・ヴラディ,Gyasupa Bulade)

Irina Shido (紫藤イリナ, Irina Shidou)

Rossweisse (ロスヴァイセ, Rosuvaise)

Azazel (アザゼル, Azazeru)

==Translation==

=== [[High School DxD:Registration Page|Registration]] ===

'''Translators are asked to [[High School DxD:Registration Page|register]] for chapters they want to work on'''

===Format Standards===
'''Every Chapter (after editing) must conform to the general format guidelines.'''
*[[Format_guideline|General Format/Style Guideline]]

=== Feedback ===
'''If you enjoyed the series, why don't you tell us in the [http://www.baka-tsuki.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4659 forum]'''

==Updates==
* '''13-Nov-2011'''
**Project Page & Teaser Created
* '''15-Nov-2011'''
** Volume 1 Life 0 and Life 1 '''COMPLETED'''
*'''21-Nov-2011'''
**Upgraded to full project.
* '''24-Nov-2011'''
**Volume 1 Life 2 '''COMPLETED'''
* '''27-Nov-2011'''
**Volume 1 Life 3 '''COMPLETED'''

==The ''High School DxD'' series by Ichiei Ishibumi==

'''Teaser''' translated by [[User:Code-Zero|Code-Zero]] (a.k.a n0m@n)

===Volume 1===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 1 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 1 Life 0|Life.0]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 1 Life 1|Life.1 Gave Up on Being a Human]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 1 Life 2|Life.2 Start of a Demon]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 1 Life 3|Life.3 Made a Friend]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 1 Life 4|Life.4 Save a Friend!]] (40%)
*[[High School DxD:Volume 1 New Life|New Life.]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 1 Afterword|Afterword]]

===Volume 2===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 2 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 2 Life 0|Life.0]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 2 Life 1|Life.1]]
*[[High School DxD:Volume 2 Life 2|Life.2]]
*Life.3
*Life.4
*Life.5
*Checkmate
*End Game
*Life. 8 vs Power
*fatherxfather
*Last kiss
*New Life
*Afterword

===Volume 3===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 3 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*Life.0
*Life.1
*Revenge Knight
*Life.2
*Life.3
*Life.4
*New Knight & New Rival
*New Life
*Friends
*Afterword

===Volume 4===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 4 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*Life.0
*Life.1
*Life.2
*Life.3
*Life.4
*Life.5
*New Life
*Special Life
*Afterword

===Volume 5===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 5 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*Life.0
*Life.1
*Life.2
*Life.3
*Odin
*Life.4
*Waltz
*Life.5
*VIP
*End Game
*WINNER
*Reunion
*Afterword

===Volume 6===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 6 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*Life.0
*Life.1
*Life.2
*Life.3
*Life.4
*Life.5
*New Life
*Afterword

===Volume 7===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 7 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*Life.0
*Life.1
*Life.2
*Life.3
*Life.4
*New Life
*Afterword

===Volume 8===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 8 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*Life.1
*Life.2
*Life.3
*Life.4
*Life.5
*Life.6
*Extra Life
*Afterword

===Volume 9===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 9 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*Life.0
*Life.1
*Life.2
*Life.3
*Life.4
*Maven
*New Life
*BossxBoss
*Vali Lucifer
*Bael
*Heros
*Afterword

===Volume 10===
*[[High School DxD:Volume 10 Illustrations|Novel Illustrations]]
*Life.0
*Life.1
*Life.2
*Life.3
*Life.4
*Life. MAX VS Power
*Life. MAXIMAM VS Power
*New Life
*Extra Life
*Afterword

==Project Staff==

*Project Administrator:
*Project Supervisor:

===Translators===
:*[[user:Code-Zero|Code-Zero]] (a.k.a n0m@n)

===Editors===

:*[[user:Chancs|Chancs]]
:*[[user:RikiNutcase|RikiNutcase]]
:*[[user:Deign12|Deign12]]
:*[[user:Ff7_freak|Ff7_freak]]
:*[[user:Starkiller4299|Starkiller4299]]

All editors that speak English proficiently are welcomed.

==Series Overview==
*ハイスクールD×D1 旧校舎のディアボロス (September 20, 2008 ISBN 978-4829133262)
*ハイスクールD×D2 戦闘校舎のフェニックス (December 20, 2008 ISBN 978-4829133583)
*ハイスクールD×D3 月光校庭のエクスカリバー (April 20, 2009 ISBN 978-4829133910)
*ハイスクールD×D4 停止教室のヴァンパイア (September 20, 2009 ISBN 978-4829134276)
*ハイスクールD×D5 冥界合宿のヘルキャット (December 19, 2009 ISBN 978-4829134702)
*ハイスクールD×D6 体育館裏のホーリー (March 20, 2010 ISBN ISBN 978-4829135006)
*ハイスクールD×D7 放課後のラグナロク (July 17, 2010 ISBN 978-4829135402)
*ハイスクールD×D8 アクマのおしごと (December 17, 2010 ISBN 978-4829135938)
*ハイスクールD×D9 修学旅行はパンデモニウム (April 20, 2011 ISBN 978-4829136287)
*ハイスクールD×D10 学園祭のライオンハート (September 17, 2011 ISBN 978-4829136775)

[[Category:Fujimi Fantasia Bunko]]

HEAVY OBJECT:Volume1 Chapter 2

2011-11-28T19:55:45Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 2: Tom Thumb Runs through the Oil Field >> Battle to Prevent Passage through Gibraltar==

===Part 1===

A girl known as an Elite, who was nicknamed 'the princess' (whether she liked it or not) by her own army and troops, was inside a giant naval port style of maintenance base zone.

The facility to maintain the Object she piloted had to be quite large to accommodate its over 50 meter size. If the ancient Greek designers who had built the Greek temples had seen the giant structure, they would likely have been utterly shocked. The princess’s Object, Baby Magnum, fit snugly inside the structure.

The Object was surrounded by maintenance walkways and the princess was sitting in the center of the Object itself.

In the center of its sphere-shaped main body was the Object’s cockpit.

To match the shape of the Object, the cockpit itself formed a sphere with a diameter of 2 meters. The seat was ergonomically streamlined, its shape had been calculated out by a computer to limit fatigue as much as possible, and it even had a massage functionality to avoid things such as bedsores.

The cockpit in the center of the Object had no windows or windshields with which to see outside with the naked eye. Her vision out was done solely through monitors working in unison with cameras and sensors. The monitors were curved to cleanly attach to the inside of the sphere and the Elite would constantly be viewing over 300 windows accurately but quickly.

It did not have just one means of control.

The princess used her index finger to lightly tap a device she was wearing that looked like sharp athletic sunglasses.

It was an example of an input device that used infrared rays to read the movements of her eyes, but she also had the more well-known fighter craft-type of control column and a large number of keyboard-like buttons. Any one of the control systems could function as the main system and any one could function as the subsystem.

With multiple main systems and countless derivations given the possible combinations of subsystems, it seemed as if just learning how to use it would be enough to confuse you. However, an Object itself was the military might of an entire nation. Not being able to fight due to a deficiency in the system was not acceptable, so the Elite pilots had to at the very least go through a piloting manual that was thicker than an encyclopedia and many more manuals on top of that in order to ensure they could use any of the derived patterns with no problems and would know what to do in any given situation.

“…”

The Elite princess gave a small sigh within the Object that was resting as it was serviced.

The sigh was not due to having just seen what her next mission was and thinking about the families of the people she was about to kill. Instead, she was holding a completely ordinary cell phone in her hand. To prevent hacking, the Object normally cut off all signals from the outside except for a few communications devices independent from the rest of the system, but the barrier walls through the long tunnel-like passageway leading from the cockpit to the outside were all open for maintenance purposes.

She was looking at the cell phone’s small screen.

A short email was displayed there.

It was from her true friend who she had met at a base in Alaska and who had come to save her when she had been in trouble.

“Heh heh.”

The actual content of the email was quite short and blunt, but the princess did not care. She had never before imagined that who had sent it could mean so much more than what it actually said.

“Heh heh heh heh heh. Heh heh heh heh heh.“

She started humming and moving left and right in her seat in a little dance. And then she swung her hand around and accidentally hit a lever with the back of her hand.

One of the giant main cannons moved with a loud kachunk and was about to crush one of the walkways. The princess frantically pulled the lever back in place before the cannon could send the old maintenance lady flying for a homerun.

===Part 2===

“Quenser, the mission is about to start. Personal communications are restricted, so put your cell phone away until we enter free time again,” cautioned Floretia, Quenser’s beautiful superior officer.

Quenser frantically stuck his phone in his pocket.

“The mission is simple,” boasted Floretia within a large transport craft while shaking the long narrow kanzashi-style hairpin that held her silver hair. “The enemy’s Object is trying to break through the Strait of Gibraltar, the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the disaster that would occur if it made it through, we must stop the Object before it breaks through the strait but without blowing it up. That is all.”

“''That is all''!? Stop it without blowing it up? What, are we supposed to give a non-lethal blow to a monster like that?” complained Heivia.

Floretia must have been aware she was asking the ridiculous because she gave a light shrug.

“The higher ups are seriously ordering that. It seems this Object is transporting a large amount of crude oil it stole and they want to retrieve it. Granted that is a rather reckless order,” Floretia said simply. “But don’t worry. As the commander on the scene, I will be giving you more realistic orders. …The stolen oil doesn’t matter, so just stop the Object from breaking through the strait. If you need to blow it up, oil and all, that’s fine. That is all.”

“I’d say that’s a pretty reckless order in and of itself. That isn’t an opponent for flesh-and-blood soldiers…” grumbled Heivia, but it seemed Floretia was not willing to compromise any more than that.

Quenser felt slightly dizzy when he imagined the intense fight to come.

“…The Mediterranean Sea. I guess that’s why the color of the camouflage on the uniforms we were issued was changed to gray.”

“Look, Heivia. Students these days catch on quickly. As an actual soldier, can you let him leave you behind like that? Hmm?”

“Fine, fine. I just have to switch out the camouflage pattern for my rifle, right? God, it’s like switching out the cover of a cell phone.”

“Are you picking a fight with your superior officer, Heivia? If so, hurry up and come at me.”

“You probably don’t want to do that. I think I’d get a little more excited than you’d like if you stepped on my crotch with those slender legs of yours.”

With that response, Heivia started switching out the reinforced plastic parts. While glancing over at him, Quenser spoke to Floretia.

“Why are you even here, Floretia-san? Weren’t you assigned to Alaska?”

“I wasn’t transferred here because I wanted to be. It was those higher ups again. Since you two and the princess will be working on this mission together, they were probably thinking that it would be best to have the same person giving the commands as in Alaska. Really, I’d rather not have to stick around for your grandstanding.”

“What will happen if this Object breaks through the strait? You said it was transporting crude oil it had stolen, right?” asked Quenser in an attempt to change the subject.

Floretia shrugged.

“Our country has been cutting off provisions to the enemy base zone for six months now and that would make that half year a complete waste. Apparently, the enemy Object travelling across the sea can also mine for its own oil. Paying no heed to the divisions between international waters and other countries’ territorial waters, it has been drilling up the oil, storing it in itself, and going around distributing it to its allied countries.”

“So it’s something like a delivery service for state-sponsored terrorist groups and it would benefit the world if we sunk it here,” said Heivia as his lips curved slightly.

Quenser shook his head.

“Is oil even needed on a battlefield centered on Objects? Their reactors are JPlevelMHD types, right? I thought those functioned on some special mechanism.”

“That’s the ironic thing. The more advanced technology gets, the more efficient it is to use older things like coal.”

“Yes, but for the JPlevel, it is melted down to have its structure altered before it is re-solidified. Do you know how long it takes to burn through it? Once you put that fuel inside, you don’t have to swap it out for 5 years.”

As they were diverging onto a tangent, Floretia brought the conversation back on track.

“The oil is used by the maintenance base zone, not the Object itself. Just like with the base you attacked in Alaska, an Object cannot continue to function if it does not undergo maintenance.” As she would be unable to drink once they reached the base, she sipped at a strong shochu. “The goal tape is currently being put up between the two sides of the Strait of Gibraltar. It’s a net with mines intertwined at even intervals. It’s supposed to prevent the giant steel form from entering, but who knows how effective it will be against that Object. That’s why the princess’s Object will engage it in battle and you two will act behind the scenes.”

“Sounds like a harsh area. I’ll probably be killed by stray bullets 100 times over,” muttered Heivia.

Quenser looked out the small window on the side of the transport craft. He could see the beautiful blue sea spreading out below the clouds. As he looked down at it, he muttered a few words.

“I’m back, you god damn battlefield.”

===Part 3===

The large transport craft Quenser and the others were aboard landed on a runway on the beach, but apparently that was not where the maintenance base zone they were assigned to was located.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me. That’s right in the middle!” moaned Heivia from atop a crude military boat with standard metal plates covering it and two autocannons on the front and back.

Quenser understood how Heivia felt.

A structure similar to an offshore oil platform stood at almost the very center of the Strait of Gibraltar. It was an island of steel supported by numerous pillars. Apparently, it was a quickly constructed base zone to be used to intercept the enemy Object that was attempting to break through the strait.

The pillars reached over 50 meters above the surface of the water and they supported a ceiling-like sheet about 300 meters square. Below that, many walkways, stairways, and elevators stretched about in every direction.

Quenser looked over at Floretia.

“We’re just a giant target like this. If we know that huge thing is coming, why don’t we call in the air force rather than just wait for it to come?”

“That won’t work against an Object. Your studies of their designs should have told you that much. Objects are synonymous with war. To stop the monster headed for the Strait of Gibraltar, we had to build a base zone for the princess’s Object.”

Quenser was well aware of that, but he simply did not want to fight.

At any rate, having to work in such a dangerous place was not something a person could easily bear. If the Object bombarded the base zone, their corpses would never rise back to the surface.

Quenser looked around and could see several more similar oil platform-like structures dotting the sea.

“Those are not oil platforms. This area is not a good place to drill,” replied Floretia when he mentioned that initial impression. “The oil needed for maintenance is gathered from cooperative areas around the world and stored in tanks at the bottom of the sea.”

“…So we’re doing the same thing as them. That really drains my motivation to fight,” Quenser said.

Meanwhile, Heivia disembarked and climbed up the metal stairway on his way to the top of the base zone. Of course, he was not intending to climb 50 meters using the stairway. He was first heading for an open area with a work elevator.

Quenser followed him.

“Hey, why are you so motivated?”

“It seems the higher ups are expecting quite a bit from us. From what I heard, they’ve supplied us with powered suits from the army.”

“Those things will be blown away to the point that not even ash remains from one hit from an Object.”

“But the powered suit might keep us from being blown to pieces by an explosion, right? Being killed by your ally’s armor would be one of the lamest ways to go.”

They came to a large metal plate 10 meters above the surface of the water. The area was over 100 meters wide and stretched about 30 meters back. Since there were a number of cranes stretching down toward the water like fishing poles, it must have been an area for loading and unloading cargo from transport ships. On the wall opposite the cranes, a number of elevators for moving entire containers up and down were prepared. The unrefined elevators were about the size of a family-oriented 3LDK but had only the bare minimum of railings.

Heivia ran around the large space before stopping in the center and spreading his arms wide. He may have been attempting to call down a UFO.

“Arriving at a large base really raises your spirits, doesn’t it?”

“…Filling my mind with knowledge that can’t be used for a thesis is a waste of space.”

“Are you still acting like a battlefield student? You graduated from that path in Alaska, remember? Once you’ve passed, there’s nothing wrong with slacking off for the rest of the time, right?”

“Your brain is like a muscle, so you’ll need to rehabilitate it if you stop using it. I don’t want to all of a sudden realize I know nothing but how to blow things up.”

As they spoke back and forth, Floretia waved a hand over at them.

“Hey, we aren’t here to have fun. Go put your things in your lockers and get to your stations. I heard that the higher ups will be observing this, so any mistakes will give them a bad impression of you.”

“That’s right. And our issued explosive was changed from C4 to Hand Axe, wasn’t it? That stuff is more valuable per gram than platinum.”

“Even so, it won’t even scratch on Object’s armor,” said Quenser having recalled what their mission was.

He then whispered to his companion next to him.

“(…Hey, do you honestly think this will work out somehow? It isn’t normal for people like us to take on an Object. Miraculous coincidences aren’t going to just keep happening…)”

“Actually, I do think this will work out.”

Quenser’s eyes opened wide at Heivia’s surprisingly lighthearted response.

Heivia shrugged.

“After all, it’s not just us this time. We have the princess’s Object. The Object vs. Object battle will be the main focus and we just have to help out every now and then from behind the scenes in order to give the princess as much of an advantage as we can. The princess will take care of everything else. This isn’t the same as in Alaska when we have to take on that ridiculously huge Object without an Object of our own.”

“Are you…sure?”

“Yeah, look.”

Heivia pointed past the giant metal sheet of the base zone and out to sea.

Facilities similar to the base were located here and there throughout the sea. It was not just a few. Twenty or thirty base zones covered the area of the strait in a straight line at even intervals. It looked something like an area filed with offshore oil platforms.

“They may have been hastily constructed, but there are about 30 Object maintenance facilities here. Even if one or two of them are targeted, we’re still prepared to keep the princess’s Object running. It isn’t normal to spend that much money on this and they won’t let facilities they put that much money into be easily destroyed. The higher ups must have a plan to keep that from happening. And that also raises our odds of survival.”

That did indeed allow Quenser to view the situation more positively.

If they were truly nothing more than sacrificial pawns, the higher ups in the military would not have spent that much of their budget. And they also had the princess’s Object. Given what had happened in Alaska, they could not solely rely on her, but having her still made a large difference. At the very least, a battle between Objects was more balanced than the overwhelmingly one-sided alternative.

Quenser and Heivia’s job was to support her.

They did not have to face a giant Object head on.

They just had to help the princess from the background and prepare the conditions needed for her victory.

If that was all, it was indeed possible that they could manage.

A smile naturally appeared on Quenser’s face and he turned to his companion.

“In that case, we should be fi-…”

Before he could finish speaking, a neighboring base zone was blown to pieces.

The explosive noise arrived slightly after the visual information.

As if it were a card pyramid being struck by a slap, the base zone collapsed due to a horizontal strike and sank into the sea. That neighboring base was over 200 meters away, but the shockwave from the explosion blew Quenser and Heivia off their feet. Small wire-like fragments of parts rained down from above them.

“What…the hell!? Was it not built up to code!?” Heivia shouted as he grimaced due to a ringing pain in his ears.

“You idiot! Don’t try to escape from the reality in front of you! That had to be an Object!!”

Quenser had landed on his back, so he rolled over onto his stomach and used his binoculars to look across the horizon.

He spotted a mountain-like form.

[[Image:Heavy_Object_v01_168.png|thumb]]

He saw the giant sphere of nuclear shelter-like armor surrounding a reactor that was characteristic of Objects as well as countless weapons extending from it. The main weapons on this Object were railguns. Apparently, they could fire shells a few meters long at almost Mach 10. Their destructive power had already been demonstrated. One of them had wiped an entire base zone from the map in a single shot.

On top of all that, this Object did not have just one giant sphere with a reactor inside.

It had three.

Each sphere was arranged such that they constructed an equilateral triangle and straight line-shaped armored parts connected the spheres. Ripples spread out from the Object as special A-shaped floats and air cushion engines on the bottom of the Object allowed it to float on the water.

The Object was specialized for naval battles. It was known as Tri-Core.

As soon as Heivia saw that giant form that had been in the military documents, he started yelling out complaints.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!! How is that thing even moving around!?”

“I don’t know! It’s probably some kind of combination of using air to make it float like a hovercraft and a water jet or something! For something that huge, it wouldn’t surprise me if it had multiple means of propulsion!!”

Paying no heed to those two boys, the Object aimed its giant railgun that looked like a steel pylon on its side at them.

It gave no warning or threat.

With a tremendous explosive noise, the base zones spread out in a line across the sea were horizontally blown away one by one.

Heivia covered his ears and shouted over the shockwaves.

“Shit, are we the prizes at a carnival shooting game or something!? What happened to the net of mines that was set up!?”

“Normal explosives aren’t going to do a thing! Surely you had realized that much!”

Quenser turned his binoculars in a different direction.

Only 60 seconds had passed since the first shot and almost half the base zones had already been sunk. That meant it was sinking them at a rate of about one every four seconds.

(Where is the princess’s Object? Don’t tell me it was taken out with one of those bases!)

Quenser was starting to panic.

“Hey, what’re we going to do!? We were too naïve! An Object isn’t something we’ll be fine taking on even if it isn’t head on! Hanging around on the edge of a battle between Objects is enough to get you blown away!!”

“No, wait. Why hasn’t the princess’s Object counterattacked yet!?”

Still lying down, Quenser looked around with his binoculars, but he saw no sign of the other giant Object.

That was when Floretia called out to them while glaring at the Object on the ocean with an irritated expression.

“What!? Didn’t you two hear!?”

“I don’t like the sound of that…”

“The princess is in a naval port-style base zone on the land having maintenance done on the floats for a naval battle! Apparently, they started acting up while crossing the Atlantic, so her arrival was delayed! Why did you think we chartered that transport plane to fly you over here so quickly!? Since our Cinderella is a little too lax with time, it’s going to be a bit before she gets here. Since you two are our only means of opposing an Object without one of our own, the higher ups want you to damage it now so the princess can easily finish it off once she arrives!!”

“No, fuck that,” said Heivia, briefly transcending the normal hierarchy of the military. “There’s no way we can do anything on our own. There’s nothing we can do without an Object!! Quit joking around and raise the white flag!! Didn’t you say back in Alaska that wars these days are not all-out wars!?”

“That is my decision when we can surrender the land and evacuate. This time, our lines are constructed such that they block the enemy’s path. Even if we raise the white flag, the enemy will still break through our lines to continue their mission. Whether we surrender or not, the Object still needs to destroy our base zones to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar. …Simply put, the situation will not allow us to surrender.” Without admonishing them, Floretia continued speaking with a humble expression. “Also, the higher ups did not give me the wireless code for the white flag this time. It seems they want us to prevent the enemy Object from getting through even if we get blown to pieces in the process.”

“…!?”

“So try to stop it as if your life depends on it…because it does. That’s why you were issued that Hand Axe despite it being more expensive than platinum.”

“Like hell we can do thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttttttttttttt!!”

“Like hell we can do thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttttttttttttt!!”

Quenser and Heivia both shouted at the top of their lungs and ran off ignoring their orders. They headed for the ocean surface spreading out beyond the cranes extending down like fishing poles. They were about 10 meters up, but jumping off was still safer than being targeted by the enemy Tri-Core.

“Hey, wait a-…!!”

Floretia started to call out after them, but before she could finish, she realized the Tri-Core was aiming one of its railguns their way. Her expression utterly changed and she jumped off of the base zone after Quenser and Heivia. Immediately afterwards, the giant mountain-like base zone was blown to pieces by the giant mountain-like Object.

===Part 4===

Quenser and Heivia were thrown out to sea.

Remnants of the base both large and small were scattered about, dirtying the sea. The scene was similar to the fallen trees and other flotsam piling up in a river mouth after a typhoon passes by. However, the maintenance base zone had been made up of steel and concrete, so the remnants scattered about the surface of the water were sinking down into the depths.

Quenser and Heivia were treading water in a desperate attempt to keep their heads above water, but their military uniforms were quite heavy after absorbing so much water. They were also carrying kilograms of plastic explosives and rifles, so it was not the same as swimming while wearing a swimsuit. It felt as if an invisible hand was grabbing at their ankles.

“Uehh…Dammit…I’m gonna die!! We got carried away! I’m never coming back to a battlefield with an Object on it!!” shouted Quenser even as he was about to sink.

Next to him, Heivia’s movements looked something like the halfway point between swimming and drowning.

“At this rate, we’ll be crushed by the remnants of the base raining down even if the Object doesn’t shoot us! Where are the powered suits we were issued!?”

“At the bottom of the sea by now! How about you dive down 300 meters and get them for us!?”

“They issued us suits that would make us sink like a stone for a battle on the sea!? Were the higher ups trying to get rid of us after they had gotten what they wanted from us!?”

“More importantly, shouldn’t we try to get as far away from the base as possible!? The oil tanks are at the bottom of the sea with pipes bringing up what’s necessary for maintenance, right? The safety devices must have kicked in to keep that crude oil from coming out of the broken pipes, but who knows how long those safety devices can last against that Tri-Core’s attack!!”

“So there’s going to be a black fountain followed by a literal sea of flames!? Who the hell okayed this horrible mission!?”

As Heivia complained, he sank below the surface once and then frantically worked his way back up. Once his head was back above the surface again, he shook it like a wet dog.

“Shit, I can’t last much longer. I-I’m sinking… I can get rid of these explosives, right?”

“And turn your 1% chance of survival into 0%!?”

“What good is this junk going to be!? Even if we set it up properly, it won’t damage the armor! And we can’t even get close in this situation!!”

“That’s true…Getting close to it is going to be a real issue, but…gyahh!! It’s coming this way!!”

Quenser screamed and Heivia looked toward the horizon with a shocked look.

The Tri-Core may have decided its victory was assured now that it had destroyed almost all of the base zones with its giant railguns (or it was relieved that no Object had appeared) because it was approaching while intermittently firing.

Its speed was around 200 kph.

(Is it just going to break right through the strait?)

Just as Quenser thought that, he heard Floretia shout over at him with only her head above the water.

“Do something!! If it breaks through, it will get that oil to the enemy base zone! If you don’t want that, stop it!!”

“Who cares about that now!? It can bring them some nice cooking oil along with it for all I care!!”

“If that oil gets there, the base zone’s Object maintenance area will be up and running again!! If that happens, an even worse Object that had been stopped due to lack of maintenance will join in!! The Mediterranean will be thrown into an even worse hell!”

“Oh, give me a fucking break!! Do you think I could get discharged from the military if I shot this superior officer of ours in the head!?”

Heivia made his comment to Quenser with a completely serious look in his eyes, but Quenser had more important things to worry about.

“Hey, this is bad! The Tri-Core is headed this way!!” he shouted with an even more serious look on his face.

“Of course it is, hero!! It’s trying to break through the strait, rememb-…”

“No!! It’s on a route that will directly crush us!!”

“Oh, come on!! You have got to be kidding me!!” Heivia shouted, but unfortunately, Quenser was not kidding.

The Tri-Core with its three reactors had realized that there was still a base zone that retained its basic shape even after 2 or 3 shots from its giant railgun and now seemed to be heading over to fire at pointblank range. Its giant form approached, paying no heed to Quenser and the others treading water there.

Of course, a human body would be utterly crushed if it was directly hit by the giant form.

The Tri-Core seemed to float using the same means as a hovercraft that blew air down, but it took so much to keep that giant body afloat that it was only floating 30-50 cm from the surface. Quenser and the others would surely be hit as they treaded water in its path and the blast of wind that kept the hundreds of thousands of tons afloat would utterly crush a human body.

At that rate, they would be pureed and eaten by octopuses.

Heivia’s eyes widened as he saw the Tri-Core approaching on a clockwise path.

“We need to get out of the way!!”

“You idiot! There’s no way we can swim that fast!! The Tri-Core is over 150 meters wide! Not even an Olympic gold medalist could avoid it!!”

“Then tell me, future scholar!! How are we supposed to survive this!?”

Even as they yelled at each other, the Tri-Core continued to approach with overwhelming speed.

It would reach them in less than 30 seconds.

(If we can’t escape by swimming to the left or right, the only option is…!!)

Quenser swam toward a nearby sinking lifeboat.

Seeing that, Heivia shouted, “Do you really think some cheap motorboat can outrun an Object made for naval battles!?”

“No, you idiot! Put this on!!”

Quenser tossed something that had been provided on the lifeboat toward Heivia and Floretia. It was a hairspray-sized can with a clear mask to cover the nose and mouth on the end.

“An oxygen tank…?”

“Put it on and dive!!” said Quenser as he put on his own clear mask and pointed down. “The Tri-Core travels over the water with giant floats and an air cushion engine! In that case, it shouldn’t reach down below the surface!!”

“!?”

It seemed Heivia and Floretia tried to give some kind of reaction, but Quenser did not have time to listen.

The end of the Tri-Core as it travelled at almost 200 kph had drawn quite near to them. As it travelled at such high speeds, it created a V-shape of high waves. Even though the actual craft was floating, the intense downward wind was tearing into the surface of the water. Even if by some miracle they managed to escape to the side of the Tri-Core, those waves would be enough to swallow them up.

“Shit!!”

Quenser dove down below the surface without having time to check if his mask was working properly.

The Tri-Core’s thick floats passed by above, barely missing him. The intense wind greatly disturbed the surface of the water, but that great fury did not reach Quenser below the surface.

(Hoo. I somehow made i-…)

Just as Quenser was breathing a sigh of relief, something almost caused his breathing to stop.

The Tri-Core’s main body did indeed use giant floats and an air cushion engine to almost perfectly float above the surface of the water.

However, something like a steel pylon stuck straight down from each of the three sphere reactors. They were shark anchors that were retractable like a police baton. The weights ensured that the giant Object would not roll onto its side.

The main body of the Object passed by over Quenser’s head, but the pylon-sized shark anchor was headed straight for him.

“!?”

Quenser immediately swam to the side in an attempt to avoid it, but the Tri-Core made a move of its own at the exact same time. It may have been adjusting its aim, but it made a sudden clockwise rotation like someone sliding their feet around on the ground. Its speed dropped considerably, but the giant shark anchor almost seemed to correct its trajectory toward Quenser like it was a guided weapon.

(Ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?)

At that point, he could not come up with any plans or tricks. Quenser simply frantically moved his arms and legs to try to get as far away from it as he could. However, his tiny human body only spun around in the water like a leaf blowing in the wind.

“Cough!?”

The shark anchor itself did not hit him.

If it had, his body would no longer have been recognizable as human.

He just barely managed to avoid it, but the swirling seawater agitated by the shark anchor’s giant mass put Quenser’s body into a spin.

(But at least I managed to avoid-…)

Quenser had miraculously managed to keep his life, but he was still not allowed a sigh of relief.

Something suddenly grabbed at his leg.

“!?”

Such intense pain ran through his leg that he thought his ankle had been dislocated, but it was not actually that serious. Even so, Quenser’s consciousness started to dim. Whatever had gotten caught around his ankle started to drag him through the sea at around 50 kph.

(Cough cough!! Dammit. Am I caught on some part of the Tri-Core!?)

Quenser looked at his ankle that had a grinding pain running through it and his expression turned bitter.

Something like a metal net was wrapped around one of the shark anchors and a portion of it had gotten wrapped around Quenser’s ankle. It did not look like a net that would be used for fish. This became even more clear when Quenser looked around and noticed a metal sphere nearby. It was about the size of the large balls used in sports festivals and its metal surface had thick thorn-like things covering it.

Quenser’s expression stiffened even further upon seeing it.

(…A mine!?)

He recalled that Floretia had said a net covered in mines had been placed across the Strait of Gibraltar to obstruct the Tri-Core. The Object had used its giant form to force through the net and had been dragging it along ever since.

Something like that mine could not destroy that Object.

But if it were to detonate there, it ''would'' blow Quenser to pieces.

(Dammit. I’m not going to let myself be killed by my own side’s trap!!)

Perhaps in order to even more accurately aim its railgun, the Tri-Core stopped moving, its air cushion engine weakened, and it came to a stop on the surface of the water using only its floats.

Quenser used that chance to ball himself up and reach for his ankle. However, it was so tangled up in the net that he could not free it. He panicked, but then someone else’s hand reached in from the side.

(!? …Heivia!!)

Apparently, his companion had gotten caught in the net, too. Heivia seemed to try to say something, but the oxygen mask and seawater prevented his voice from reaching Quenser.

Heivia used his hands surprisingly skillfully and freed Quenser’s ankle from the net, but he grabbed Quenser’s arm when Quenser tried to leave on the current of the water.

The Tri-Core was at an almost complete stop and was firing its railgun. It was utterly destroying a base zone that had already lost almost all of its original form and that’s soldiers had already leapt into the sea.

While its attention was elsewhere, they could safely escape from the Tri-Core by letting go of the net. However, Heivia kept a grip on the net.

(?)

Quenser was confused, but he grabbed the net like a ladder all the same. He simply could not tell what Heivia was thinking. The other boy seemed to be trying to explain, but Quenser could not hear him in the water.

After a bit, Heivia realized his efforts were a waste and simply pointed up with one hand while holding onto the net with the other.

What his gesture indicated was simple.

''The blast of air from the air cushion engine seems to have stopped, so let’s take this chance to climb aboard the Tri-Core before it accelerates again.

===Part 5===

===Part 6===

===Part 7===

===Part 8===

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[HEAVY OBJECT:Volume1 Chapter 1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[HEAVY OBJECT|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[HEAVY OBJECT:Volume1 Chapter 3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

HEAVY OBJECT:Volume1 Chapter 1

2011-11-23T21:48:32Z

Starkiller4299:

==Chapter 1: The Rank and File Soldiers that Tie Up Gulliver >> Battle on the Freezing Alaskan Snow==

===Part 1===

In the end, war was nothing more than battles between Objects.

A flesh and blood human carrying around a carefully-maintained rifle could do nothing.

Even if tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of soldiers gathered or even if tons of tanks and fighters were prepared, that 50 meter monster would casually wipe them all out. Some of them could move around even after a direct hit from a nuke or two, so it seemed insane to seriously try to fight them.

That was why everyone just left the main role to an Object.

By shoving the pain-in-the-ass main role onto the monster, they could leisurely watch from the sidelines.

That may have been why the 800 soldiers filling the base zone, a base that specialized in maintenance, were so relaxed despite being on the front line of a battlefield.

The area was called a base, but all they had to do was efficiently maintain the Object and see that it was dispatched.

The flesh and blood soldiers only had to guard the giant weapon as it was being maintained during the short time it was there and they would be rewarded as heroes who protected their country with no thought to their own lives.

With the Object there, they were perfectly safe.

The Object that protected them was like a tree that grew gold. Just by watching it, it would defeat enemy after enemy after enemy. The soldiers insisted that all that was the result of the entire base zone’s work so they should all be rewarded, and so their bank accounts became overflowing with money paid from the people’s taxes.

In reality, the war was carried out by the Object alone.

As long as it was there, their lives and futures were basically guaranteed.

It was because they felt that way that a panic fell over all the soldiers watching from the base zone in the instant their Object burst into flames and blew up.

In the current age, war was nothing more than battles between Objects.

That meant that the defeat of one’s own Object was always a possibility when the enemy also had an Object.

The white Alaskan snow storm obstructed their view, but they could still clearly see the red flames and black smoke.

The ejection device shot the pilot girl known as an Elite out into the sky, but no one was going to save a now-useless loser.

More important things were on their minds.

To reiterate, in the current age, war was nothing more than battles between Objects. Lining up tanks, fighters, and the other types of weapons used before would only be easily blown away by the 50 meter monsters that were Objects.

Now that their own Object had been destroyed, the enemy’s Object could move about freely.

What that meant was simple.

They would be massacred.

The overwhelming stream of weapons fire would send their flesh, bones, and organs flying into the air in the hopeless and definite massacre.

Nothing was left for them but to flee. Yet even if they unhesitatingly chose to flee, it would be a miracle if even a tenth of the soldiers within the base zone survived. Not a single one of them recalled the most basic of orders within the military – to stand their ground and hold the line.

A hellish game of tag began.

It was a ridiculous game of tag between a monster over 50 meters long and tiny humans.

===Part 2===

One day prior, a boy named Quenser stood in a snowy area of Alaska. He was within the maintenance base zone for the giant Object. Quenser’s build was different than what one would expect of a soldier. Simply put, he did not have the muscles a soldier needed. He looked more like someone who would be attending a school in a safe country. In fact, he could likely change what sex he appeared to be depending on if he was wearing pants or a skirt.

In reality, that overall impression was not incorrect.

The arms he was using to dig into the snow with a shovel were trembling due to exhaustion and myalgia.

“Dammit!! What’s the point of this work!?”

The person who made that announcement and gave up was the actual soldier who stood next to Quenser. Quenser looked surprised and the soldier boy he had met in the base zone threw his shovel down.

“There are all sorts of different types of soldiers. I'm normally a radar analyst that checked the specs of the enemy’s Object to find a weakness. I didn’t join the army to shovel snow!!”

That intellectual soldier was named Heivia. As Quenser did not fit in well with the athletic-minded spirit of the army, he got along with the boy better than the others.

(…Well, we are similar types.)

With that arbitrary thought, Quenser spoke.

“It’s not like there’s any other option. All of the fighting is left to the Object, but the people living in peace back home wouldn’t want to give up their tax money if they didn’t see anyone working at all. I was watching the CS news channel and I saw the people on the Flide council shouting about lowering taxes in order to get votes in the upcoming election.”

“That’s exactly the thing though,” said Heivia. “Even the folks back home can tell that digging up the snow like this to maintain a runway is useless. Knowing it’s just for show makes me want to do it even less.”

“Yeah, a fighter isn’t going to do anything against an Object. In the mock battle, it took out 1500 of them and I’m pretty sure that in reality they just called it there because they were tired of counting.” Quenser stabbed the tip of his shovel into the ground and leaned on it with both hands. “After all, Objects use anti-air lasers that are powered by a high-output reactor. Fighters may be able to fly at Mach 2 or 3, but they’re no match for the speed of light. The instant the Object gets a lock, they’re already shot down. I’ve heard that the armored units they mention in history classes were saved by dust and dirt and other stuff near the surface refracting the lasers, but the high altitude that fighters excel in is so clear that there’s nothing to obstruct the laser.”

“Those things are 50 meter monsters that can still move around after you nuke them. A fighter’s nothing more than a small bird or gnat to them. Maintaining a runway is a waste of effort.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that the aces from the aviation unit only stay on standby in their cockpits so they can listen to the radio. But I doubt the tanks from those armored units would be of much use either. …And about leveling off this runway. Couldn’t they just put a giant shovel on the front of an armored vehicle and plow it all out of the way in one go?”

“…What the hell are we doing…?”

“Well, I still prefer this to having to fight.”

“That’s not a very soldierly thing to say, but I’ve gotta agree with you,” said the delinquent soldier Heivia in agreement with the boy of civilian origin. “We can just leave the fighting to the Objects. Losing your life on the battlefield just isn’t done anymore. We just have to watch from afar and wait for the Object to bring back its success as a souvenir. People like us fighting is just out of the question.”

“You’re a noble, right, Heivia?”

“Yeah, so I have to go out here and ‘become an honored soldier’ in order to prove my worthiness to become the next head of my family. Basically, if I put up with life in a base for 3 years, I can spend the rest of my life in a giant mansion flirting with my many maids.”

Contrary to his words, Heivia did not look pleased.

He seemed to not be entirely satisfied with that peaceful life.

“It sounds like you have it tough in your own way.”

“Yes. Unlike you, Heivia, I’m a commoner. I have to make sure I can get a job. That’s why I came here as a battlefield student.”

“Are you hoping to be an Object designer?”

“Learning at the actual site is said to be the quickest course to wealth. If I stay here for 3 years, I’ll have gained the best education you can get. Then I can gain money and the privileges of being a ‘saint that helps the heroes’ by manufacturing and selling Objects for those heroes to pilot.”

“Successful battlefield students are so highly praised because of all the barriers in their way. Since they don’t undergo the training of a soldier, I hear they start dropping like flies due to battlefield sicknesses and overwork. Hearing that does manage to remind me that this is indeed a battlefield.”

“Speaking of that, did you undergo training, Heivia?”

“Yeah, I went through the old style of training when I enlisted. It seems they wanted to build up a foundation of muscles and a spirit of camaraderie over a 5 month period, but I ended up like this regardless. Since I haven’t been in a single real battle since being assigned here, even my hand-to-hand combat skills have probably grown pretty rusty.”

“I’m perfectly happy living the kind of life that leads to forgetting how to fight.”

“That’s not a very soldierly thing to say, but once again, I’ve gotta agree with you.” Growing tired of that subject, Heivia moved on to another. “These nutritionally balanced military rations are just plain disgusting. What were the people who developed them thinking? …It’s more expensive than normal meat but tastes a whole lot worse. I just can’t stand it.”

“Aren’t they purposefully making it something with no flavor so the soldiers’ spirits don’t change based on whether they like the food for that day or not? People have different tastes when it comes to food, so they can’t make something absolutely everyone will like.”

“So they feed us something absolutely everyone will hate? Fuck that!”

“The food is paid for by the other people’s tax money, so you really shouldn’t complain. I will admit that capturing a deer and grilling it with some salt would be better though.”

Quenser had made the comment offhand, but it made Heivia freeze in place for some reason.

He turned eyes of pure admiration toward Quenser.

“…That’s a battlefield student for you. You really are a genius.”

“Hey.”

“You’re right. If we don’t have any good food, we just need to go catch it ourselves.”

===Part 3===

And so Heivia threw aside his shovel, grabbed his military rifle, and headed outside the base zone. A conifer forest that seemed to jut out of the white snow surrounded the area. It was an area of nature that seemed like it would have more wild animals than they could ever want.

Quenser had been dragged along, but he put down the rifle Heivia had shoved into his arms.

“Let’s go back. The superiors will get after us if they find out. I can already hear them going on about lacking a love for animals or something.”

“C’mon, I know you’d rather have some juicy meat over those rations that taste like petroleum jelly. And I don’t understand why they praise you if you shoot an enemy soldier, but they get mad if you shoot an animal.”

“That’s because bullets aren’t free. They used the tax money to buy them in order to kill enemy soldiers, so I’m betting they just don’t want us wasting them,” explained Quenser, but Heivia was not listening.

He was heading deeper and deeper into the thick forest, following deer tracks in the snow.

(…I’m not going along with this.)

Quenser picked back up his rifle and sat on a nearby stone.

He looked back toward the maintenance base zone.

However, he was not looking at a line of thick reinforced concrete buildings. The base zone Quenser belonged to was a mobile base, so it was made up of a large collection of vehicles. These base vehicles were much larger than even large trailer trucks. The soldiers’ quarters, the radar control tower, and everything else were located onboard those large vehicles. Even the Object maintenance area was put together by lining up several giant trucks that were dozens of meters long.

That was yet another aspect of the rules of war that Objects had changed.

Rather than fortifying a single defensive position, it was more militarily important to be able to swiftly get the Object to any place it needed to be.

Quenser thought as he stared at that base of the new age.

(My superiors with their military decorations are sitting in a warm room sipping coffee as they wait for the Object to return.)

However, holding a grudge was not going to lessen the Alaskan chill and Heivia was right about Quenser being tired of the bland and tasteless rations.

Quenser dug through the pocket of his military uniform that he was still not used to wearing. He pulled out the survival kit he had been issued along with the knife he did not know how to use. The kit had everything needed to treat wounds as well as tools to start a fire or catch a fish.

(In an age where Objects deal with everything, even this is a waste of taxes.)

When stored, the fishing pole was only about as long as a ballpoint pen, but when extended, it was around 50 centimeters and looked like the kind of pole that would be used to catch wakasagi. However, it was made of a military carbon something-or-other so its strength and flexibility were exceptional. Instead of bait, the kit had a few different types of lures. It seemed they had tried to find a way to allow one to fish without wasting any bait.

Quenser walked around for a bit and found a meandering stream. He broke the ice covering the surface and let the fishing line hang down into the water.

“Ahh, today sure is a peaceful day,” he muttered despite being on the front line of a battlefield.

===Part 4===

However, an amateur student could not properly use a survival kit so easily. It was unclear if Quenser would even have been able to catch a fish with a proper fishing pole, so it was no surprise when he did not catch anything no longer how long he waited.

He heard intermittent gunfire in the distance.

Of course, it was not enemy soldiers drawing near; it was Heivia chasing deer in hopes of getting one for dinner that night. In that day and age, the idea of flesh-and-blood soldiers attacking a maintenance base zone that held a giant Object was unthinkable. It was like trying to destroy the wall of a nuclear shelter by tackling it.

Just as Quenser was thinking that, he heard crunching footsteps in the snow.

“What is going on?”

He spun around and saw a girl with a puzzled look on her face. The girl looked to be around 14 and looked even less suited for the army than a battlefield student like Quenser.

She had fluffy blonde hair that reached her shoulders and white skin. Rather than a pure blue, her eyes were a light sky blue and she seemed to be staring off into the distance so it was difficult to get a grasp on her emotions.

The delicate lines of her body went beyond merely slender.

Her question seemed to have been in regards to the distant gunshots rather than to Quenser himself.

Quenser gave a blunt response.

“We’re going to have a barbecue tonight. I’m in charge of the salmon and Heivia’s in charge of the deer. I may have been the one to bring it up, but I don’t even know if deer meat is any good. I’ve never had it before, so I’m a little unsure. I just hope it doesn’t taste too strange.”

“…You’ll come to an early death if you have a barbecue with no vegetables.”

The girl gave a sigh with the expression of someone who had opened a box and found something uninteresting inside.

Quenser looked away from the fishing pole that showed no sign of a bite no longer how long he waited.

“Where are you headed, princess?”

“Are you trying to provoke me to anger?”

The girl’s expression usually remained relatively unchanged, but she looked slightly offended there.

However, Quenser and the girl were barely acquainted and he was unsure what to say. She had likely only spoken up on a whim. He doubted any situation would come up where he would need to communicate with that girl.

After all, she was an Elite, a pilot of the giant weapons known as Objects.

While he had helped out at the Alaskan maintenance area, he had exchanged simple greetings with her, but he doubted that was enough to create any kind of friendship. Their positions were simply too far apart. He was a dime a dozen student and she held a position that very few had even within a single nation.

Unlike Quenser and the others, she wore an outfit exclusive to Elite pilots. The suit was rather difficult to describe. It was clearly different from a normal military uniform. It was a mainly indigo blue skintight suit that started at her neck and covered even her hands and feet. The boots and gloves seemed to be detachable and they were connected on with fasteners.

Over that, she wore a black armored vest to protect her torso and a type of pocket that spread out like a miniskirt. Apparently, the bottom of the vest and the top of the pocket attached when she was piloting the Object. In what may have been a military tradition, the neck of her suit had a sailor uniform collar attached that somehow looked like part of a school uniform from a safe country.

The suit was highly water resistant so it could be worn while working underwater and it would even stop blood from flowing to her lower body to preserve the functionality of her brain just like air force suits did. The special suit was very Object-like in the fact that it outdid each of the previously existing branches of the military.

Quenser recalled being surprised when he had first seen her light sky blue eyes in the maintenance area. At first he had thought they were truly glowing, but he had been wrong. When piloting the Object, weak infrared rays were used to allow even the movements of her eyes to act as an input device. Long exposure to that laser had lightened the original blue color of her eyes.

[[Image:Heavy_Object_v01_026.jpg|thumb]]

That lightening was not an unwanted destruction of the functionality of her pupils’ lenses by the laser. Instead, it was an advancement allowing the laser to be even more effective, so her eyes would not grow any lighter once they reached a certain point.

The girl turned those light-colored eyes that were the sign of an Elite toward Quenser and spoke.

“The Object is being serviced. I had nothing to do, so I was wandering around outside. That was when I heard what sounded like gunfire.”

“…Oh, crap. You could hear that back at the base? We probably have a lecture waiting for us then.”

“And the old lady chief was yelling something about ‘that stupid kid’ running off and wasting a perfect chance to learn something since the Object was undergoing maintenance.”

“Oh, crap! This is worse than I thought!!”

He started running back toward the base zone, but then…

“…No, wait. Even if I run back now, I’m still going to get that lecture, so my options here are really to get yelled at empty handed or to get yelled at after catching some salmon. …I see, I see. I’m not going back until I catch at least one even if I die first.”

“If you acted more maturely and did not do things like that, they would not get mad at you so often.”

Quenser returned to the fishing pole mostly out of escapism and the girl looked at him with a shocked look in her eyes. Either she truly had nothing better to do or she was not used to someone who was not a proper soldier (to the soldiers, piloting the Object was a matter of life or death, so they tried to keep their distance from the Elite girl to make sure nothing unexpected happened) because she continued to hang around. This was unlike when he helped out with the maintenance because then they would only exchange a few businesslike words.

(…Could it be that this princess is also tired of the rations, so she’s interested in the salmon?)

Quenser did not dare speak that thought aloud because he was sure it would make her most displeased.

He continued trying to come up with something to talk about, but the girl continued speaking before he could come up with anything.

“You came here to study the Object, correct?”

“Yes. If I can survive helping out with the maintenance here at the base for 3 years, nothing but success awaits me when I return home.”

“Why this base?” asked the girl curiously. “You know what kind of Object I pilot at this base, don’t you?”

“It’s a Composite Multi-Role Object. …In other words, it can be freely used in any environment on the earth and in any weather conditions. It’s the most standard type of the giant weapons. It’s fine on land or in the sea.”

“Standard is another way of saying old-fashioned.” The girl sighed. “The second generation Objects are not so greedy as to claim to work anywhere. An Object developed to fight in the desert without any thought to fighting anywhere else will outdo a normal Object in a desert battle.”

That was a theory that had started to gradually spread throughout the Object manufacturing industry.

When the first Objects had started appearing on the battlefield, a composite Object that could fight the same in any battlefield in the world was a king of beasts with no natural enemy. However, when multiple Objects started popping up in the various battlefields across the globe, the situation had changed.

A composite model that could be freely used anywhere had no real weaknesses. However, this also meant that it had no real strengths. When the situation had changed from an Object crushing normal weapons to an Object fighting an Object, the question of how to make one’s own Object stand above the rest came to the forefront.

One suggested answer to that question was to create an Object that had definite strengths even if that would destroy the even balance of its functionality. Afterwards, that Object would have its activities kept to the environment it excelled in, giving it an advantage over other Objects when it fought.

“Here in Alaska is the same. We have a normal Object with no disadvantages and they have an optimized Object with definite strengths. In this snowy area, my Object may not be able to win.”

“But you’ve continued to use that Object, right, princess?”

“…I have no choice,” the girl known as an Elite said with some hesitation.

All the previous giant 50 meter weapons had become “old generation models” due to the latest weapons, but not just anyone could become an Elite that piloted those Objects.

They were the people who met every desired condition under a search carried out using the army’s flowchart of conditions.

Also, a human only became a terminal that controlled an Object after they had abilities developed that easily overcame those of your standard genius by having their nature artificially honed, refined, and improved by chemical and electrical means to match an individual Object.

Once an Elite was developed so utterly, their fate was linked with that of their Object.

Elites could not pilot just any Object. They could only pilot the Object they had been fine-tuned for. In fact, it might not be wrong to think of an Elite as someone who had their brain fine-tuned for a specific Object.

Elites could only pilot the Object developed for them or an Object further developed from that one that used the same tree diagram.

In that case, what would it mean if the type of Object you used was becoming obsolete?

“I might not be able to win,” the Elite girl who piloted the invincible Object said suddenly. “I might not be able to keep up.”

That girl had had her brain fine-tuned for the sole purpose of piloting that Object.

“As someone who has actually worked on the maintenance of the Object rather than just believing in it, you should know. So why did you come here?”

“Because I value things differently,” responded Quenser after thinking for a bit. “Only the soldiers get so obsessed over what is strong and what is weak. I’m a student. If I don’t stay with an Object with academic value, I won’t gain the knowledge and skills I need.”

“…?”

“If I learn about a standard, basic model, I can use that knowledge anywhere. On the other hand, if I study a model that has already been optimized in one direction, I can’t use that knowledge anywhere else. For a battlefield student, your Object is the best option.”

His opinion did not take any of the serious issues like winning the war into account, but he could say that kind of thing because he was not a soldier.

“If you try for too much on the battlefield, you will not live long.”

“True, and that’s why battlefield students have such a low survival rate. But I’m butting in here on the battlefield in the hopes of getting rich quick, so I won’t complain.”

Hearing Quenser say that, the girl who was a veteran of many battles tilted her head in puzzlement like a normal girl.

“So you’re prepared.”

“Yes, well, I hate slowly working through normal schoolwork, so I’m desperate for this chance to skip ahead. I need to be prepared for whatever it takes.”

“Hmm,” said the Elite in a reaction that gave the impression that she was a little slow.

And then…

“Really?”

“?”

This time Quenser was left staring at her in puzzlement. However, it seemed the girl had no intention of continuing the conversation. She turned around and left that forested area of Alaska, leaving the boy with his rifle and fishing pole.

In real life, people often did not think back on strange things that happened.

In just such an example, the reason that Elite girl had spoken to him like that was something Quenser probably should have thought back on a little more.

After all, Objects were synonymous with war and flesh-and-blood soldiers had no value.

However, that also meant that just thinking about it may have been pointless.

===Part 5===

As expected, they received a lecture.

The two idiots named Quenser and Heivia were dragged to the barracks for the distinguished commissioned officers. Just like everything else, those barracks were inside the large vehicles making up the base. Three vehicles were bolted together alongside each other, creating a rectangular building about the size of a four-story building. Of course, the vehicles could be separated at any time in order to fit on a narrow path.

Quenser and Heivia were within the topmost fourth floor area of the officer barracks.

(Damn Japan-obsessed bourgeois.)

It was not simply due to the splendid interior decoration of the room that the two of them had that same thought in unison. It had a lot more to do with the fact that they were being forced to sit in the Japanese seiza style on the hard floor.

Meanwhile, their superior officer, Floretia-sama, was not sitting on the hard floor. The inner half of the room was raised up higher than the rest and had tatami mats laid out on it. She was sitting in front of a short-legged desk in the middle of the tatami mats. She was seated upon a zabuton cushion so soft a cat would likely never get up again once it lay down on it.

She was a beautiful woman with long silver hair.

Her hair may have been slightly dyed because the silver was tinged slightly blue.

She was tall, she was slender, and she had large breasts that greatly pushed out her uniform. The legs wrapped in black stockings that stretched down from the tight skirt of a female officer were not simply slender. They were overflowing with a streamlined beauty that somehow drew the eye. Her palely colored lips held a pipe. It was not the short, thick type of pipe loved by European detectives. Instead, it was a long, narrow Japanese kiseru that was just under 30 cm long.

Quenser did not know if it was from the type of tobacco she was smoking or if it was a scent mixed in with her hair, but he could smell faint sweet aroma.

“…You know why you were called here, correct?”

Her words were colder than the snowy plains outside the window when they stabbed into Quenser and Heivia’s ears.

They of course knew perfectly well why they had been called there.

They had left their snow shoveling duties to search for food outside the maintenance base zone. Since Heivia had also been firing his military rifle all over the place, it would have been odd if she had not been mad at them. It was on a level where they could easily be thrown in the detention barracks or possibly even court martialed.

“(…What are we going to do, Heivia!? This is why I told you to stop!! This was all about the rations, but I’d rather eat nothing but snow for the next three days than this!!)”

“(…Shut up, dammit!! God damn, is she really only 18? I know normal soldiers aren’t needed on the battlefield in this day and age, but I bet she could take on an Object with nothing but a clenched fist!)”

“Quenser, Heivia!”

Just by having their names called, the two straightened up in shock. Floretia was not even looking in their direction. She was playing with a long, narrow hairpin about 20 cm long that was modeled after a Japanese kanzashi while running a pen-like object across a board on top of her desk.

The board was known as a tablet.

Quenser had thought the devices were normally used to draw using a computer, but…

“Does this interest you, Quenser?”

“Y-yes!!”

“It may not be on the same level as you two who spend all your time searching for food, but I am quite busy. It may seem like nothing compared to you desperately burying the meat and fish you caught in the snow so it would keep, but I have to remotely command an operation on a small island in the Pacific while remaining here in this Alaskan base zone.”

“U-umm…”

Quenser moved only his eyes to look at the wall to the side. The entire wall was a giant LCD monitor and it was displaying a large map of the ocean and some islands. V-like red checkmarks continued appearing in relation to how Floretia manipulated the tablet.

“Yes, it’s actually quite simple. I make marks on this board and the giant Object on standby there fires a long distance bombardment that blows away the bases of the guerrillas. It really is simple, isn’t it? Please tell me you think so,” Floretia said nonchalantly as she continued adding more checkmarks. “Tablets really are nice. For one thing, it seems it can read the intensity of my guts from how I hard I press down as I write. I get the feeling that the long distance operation today is going especially smoothly.”

She must have actually been quite angry as she gave her commands because a creaking noise was coming from the plastic pen-shaped tool she held.

When they imagined the bits of flesh flying through the air somewhere in the world each time she made a checkmark, Quenser and Heivia started trembling.

“As I was saying, I am quite busy commanding multiple base zones and units at once, but then some idiots decided to give me even more to deal with. …By the way, can you imagine what is going on within my heart right now?”

“Yes, ma’am!! I would very much rather not envision it thought! I can tell that you are quite pissed, Floretia-san!!”

“Good. I am glad I have such excellent subordinates. I do, don’t I? Nod if you agree,” Floretia said, finally looking their direction with a sadistic smile.

After she had finished giving her orders to the units in the Pacific and had checked that the operation was complete, her expression suddenly changed to a carefree one.

“So what did you manage to get? I’ve had just about enough of those giant edible erasers they call rations.”

===Part 6===

Ultimately, the issue ended such that dinner that night sounded like it would be quite nice (Quenser and Heivia still had to run 20 km in the snow later as punishment though), but there was still some time before mealtime.

“You mean that hellish run is starting now!?” said Quenser as he braced himself for the announcement, but Floretia shook her head.

“You are a battlefield student. If I don’t send you over to the maintenance area to study the Object, I think the old lady in charge there would end up yelling at me.”

“Uuh!? I forgot I’d skipped out on that, too!! That means I’m also going to get a lecture from the old lady who can outdo even you!!”

“Oh, and Heivia, you can continue snow shoveling on your own. Make sure that runway is useable by sunset. The air unit has been complaining.”

“Noo!! That sounds worse than the 20 kilometer dash!! And why doesn’t the air unit get off their asses and help!?”

And so Quenser parted ways with Heivia and headed for the Object maintenance area.

It was a giant building that completely enveloped the giant weapon that was over 50 meters long. Just like the officer barracks, it too was crated from several vehicles linked together.

Vehicles with flat beds 15 meters long and 10 meters across were lined up on both sides and two quickly constructed walls had been set up with a roof connecting them. Overall, it looked something like a cross section of a warehouse. The large maintenance area was constructed of a few of those linked together.

In addition to the standard shutters, the maintenance area also had an emergency means of letting the Object out. The base vehicles making up the maintenance area were linked together surrounding the Object, so they would instead break apart and move away from the Object when it needed to leave. Since that method destroyed the floor of the area, it was not normally used.

Quenser entered the giant building through a small back entrance for maintenance soldiers.

The giant 50 meter Object that was a symbol of military might was an overwhelming sight.

Surrounding the reactor at its center was a thick wall like one for a nuclear shelter. The wall created a sphere-like form. Its undercarriage was in a reverse Y-shape and it did not walk or roll on wheels like a normal vehicle. Instead, it used static electricity to float just a bit off the ground. The theory behind it was completely different, but its movements made it look a bit like the ground beneath it was moving to slide it along.

Of course, merely covering the ground with static electricity was not enough to make such a large construction float. A spray that acted as a repellent to the electrified Object was sprayed on the ground as it advanced.

It used a laser as a means of propulsion.

The power of static electricity created a small gap between the Object and the ground and the air in that gap was heated up by repeatedly firing a laser that was reflected and concentrated. This heating caused the air to explosively expand which provided propulsion. It was the same theory used in the laser launch pads for shuttles.

Its main pieces of military equipment were the 7 arms stretching from the back of the sphere.

The 7 giant guns attached to them could pierce through even Objects of the same rank.

It also had about 100 other gun batteries covering the surface of the sphere. It looked less like an optimized weapon and more like a strange weapon that had every piece of weaponry its creator could think of stuck on.

In modern times, it was the cornerstone of the military.

It was the cutting edge in the history of war.

It was an Object.

Over 200 thick wires similar to the ones used on cranes were connected to the walls and ceiling, anchoring its giant form in place. Countless walkways ran through the air and many maintenance soldiers wearing work clothes were immersed in various types of work.

Suddenly, the high-pitched sound of a wrench striking a metal railing echoed throughout the area.

Quenser looked up in surprise and saw an old lady yelling at him from a third-floor passageway.

“So you’re here, boy! You should thank me! I’m willing to take any help I can get, so I’ll even use an unrefined boy like you! Grab some tools and get on up here!!”

“Sorry I’m late!! About my punishment…!!”

“I don’t mind, I don’t mind. A maintenance soldier shows his worth with his results!!”

Hearing that, Quenser headed for the third floor using a simple stairway that could detach at the press of a button.

“(...Ohh. Thank goodness she’s an understanding old lady. And here I thought I needed to be afraid of her.)”

“(…Well, if he ends up not being of any use I can stuff him inside an empty drum and hit it with a metal bat from the outside.)”

As they muttered their respective comments such that the other could not hear, the two of them started their work on the third-floor passageway.

The old lady was working on something related to the system.

The Object’s cockpit (and emergency escape hatch) was located on the upper back part of the main spherical body. No one wanted to think about it, but the piloting Elite would be ejected in an upwards diagonal trajectory from the back in case of an emergency.

Currently, dozens of barriers were opened to create a route to the center of the sphere and the light from the cockpit’s monitors could be seen shining deep within like it was the opening to a tunnel. The tunnel was not simply a path to the cockpit. It also branched off to connect to various other places such as the maintenance room for the reactor, the thick double-layer door where additional fuel was added, or the room to exchange the attached box in which exhaust gases were compressed and sealed. It was reminiscent of a subway tunnel made of barriers and switching rails.

Meanwhile, the old lady was leaning back against a railing near that tunnel and looking at a handheld device.

“That connects directly with the Object’s system wirelessly, right? If you don’t need a long cable to connect it, is there really any need to open all the barriers down to the cockpit…?”

“You idiot. The Object’s barrier walls cut off electromagnetic signals. If they didn’t, an enemy Object could mess with the system mid-battle.”

Suddenly, a bluish-white flash of light surged up in the corner of their vision, so they both fell silent. A welder was working on the Object’s armor.

The main body of the Object alone was over 50 meters, but it was not made by pouring melted steel into a ridiculously huge mold. Steel sheets about the size of a curved tatami mat were prepared and dozens, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of them were put together to create the giant sphere.

The point of the many thin sheets was to disperse and distribute an impact rather than provide the defensive power of a thick wall. The theory was similar to that of a simple bulletproof vest, but it used so many steel sheets that it could even hold back the shockwave of a nuclear strike.

“It’s called onion armor, right? Not only is it tough, but pieces can be easily switched out when an enemy Object damages it. Whoever came up with the idea deserves a Nobel Prize.”

“It may sound simple, but each individual sheet of armor is custom made and tempered by a skilled artisan like a Japanese sword.”

“The heated steel has a few milligrams of a powdered fireproofing agent added in, right? From what I’ve heard, that makes it stronger, but makes the metal difficult to reuse.”

“It’s all thanks to the skilled hands of the artisans. A machine just can’t get the distribution right, so it ends up actually being more brittle.”

Quenser and the old lady looked down from the passageway just as a forklift carrying spare curved steel sheets passed by below. The forklift had “A beautiful victory for Princess Milinda!!” written on the side in large English letters.

(That’s the princess from before.)

As Quenser had that thought, the old lady continued to speak beside him.

“Personally, I was more surprised by the mechanism with which electricity is supplied from the reactor in the center out even to the laser cannons on the outer surface without using a single cable.”

“It uses a printed circuit board-style of power supply, right? By setting insulating material and conductive material in place and burning them onto the steel plates, power can be supplied without having to lower its defenses by opening holes in the armor for cables. The person that came up with that deserves a Nobel Prize, too.”

“Really, boy. You make it sound like everything is so easily made.”

The old lady slowly shook her head. At the same time, she carried out maintenance on the Object’s software with quick motions of her wrinkled fingers over the handheld device.

As she continued to work, she asked Quenser a question.

“So you’re hoping to be a weapon engineer?”

“Eh? Oh, about me wanting to be an Object designer. Well, for a commoner like me, I was thinking that would be the best position to get a wealthy life out of. As far as money and social status go, it easily outdoes some of the lower classes of nobles.”

“You aren’t gonna get a proper life out of being a wealthy merchant. …Well, it’s your life, boy, so I won’t stop you. So what are you thinking of making your field of expertise as a weapon engineer?”

“I was hoping to go with the total frame.”

“You idiot. No newcomer in the making is going to get a job putting together an entire Object. That’s like saying your dream for the future is to become a billionaire. It’s just too vague. Don’t students like you usually start by studying the something convenient like the replicant field in order get a job with a defense contractor and then learn the more complex things there?”

“Yeah, well, I’m not too fond of the whole replicant thing.” The idea must have brought something to mind, because Quenser made an unpleasant expression. “That’s the field that comes up with new ways for machines to move based on the movements of insects and other animals, and I don’t like spiders and roaches and things like that. Although you basically just observe bugs, so I’ll admit the research for that field is pretty cheap.”

“You coward. You’re the one that’ll be crying later because you failed to build up the basics.”

“I wanted to study an Object with standard features like the princess’s as a battlefield student in order to quickly learn those basics without having to go through all that other crap.”

“Why do you think the leaders of the home country built zoos and insect museums in all the major cities? They’ve spent the people’s taxes in order to supply inspiration to the promising youths who are trying to design Objects.”

The old lady sighed.

Quenser then looked over toward the entrance to the tunnel-like route leading to the cockpit.

“Speaking of promising youths, isn’t it about time for the pilot…or rather, the Elite selection scouting? When I was at school in the safe country, government officials dressed all in black would come loiter around the school.”

“They have to do it four times a year, but they probably won’t find anyone qualified this time either.”

“Elites have to conform to something called Element, right? What is that?”

“…It’s a general term for the conditions an Object pilot must meet.” The old lady’s fingers stopped moving along the handheld device and her tone grew a bit colder. “That said, it isn’t some kind of esper power that allows them to operate the special equipment. Well, it’s true there is an aspect to it that they are naturally born with, but the Elites are a military project to thoroughly refine natural talent using even things like electric stimuli and suggestions. With that method of creating them, the biggest impediment comes from human rights issues rather than a lack of money or equipment.”

“You mean…?”

“Those who qualify have their human rights completely ignored, but no one complains and even the Elites themselves truly wish to fight for their country even after having been developed like that. People that meet those conditions are not exactly common. …The Elites being raised will be piloting the ultimate weapons and it would be a problem if they turned their weapons on their home country.”

They heard a mechanical noise and the old lady added in a whisper, “Don’t speak with her.”

A seat exited from the tunnel-like route using the cockpit elevator. The Elite princess was sitting in the seat with her upper body strapped in with an H-shaped belt.

“So you’re finally here, sleepyhead.”

“I apologize. I have no excuse.”

“Here, boy, I have a job for you. Service the emergency ejection device. No one else’ll do it because they say it’s a bad omen.”

In any age, that was the kind of job left to an amateur. The amateur would take care of the ill-omened, useless jobs while watching how the pros did their work out of the corner of his eye.

Quenser circled around to the back of the chair the girl was sitting in and started working.

“Speaking of superstitions, is that why the Object is completely white? Or is it just camouflage for the snow?”

“At first, it was properly camouflaged to match its environment,” said the girl.

“But the king of beasts that has no natural enemies does not need to hide and paying for the paint got expensive, so now it’s just white. …Not to mention that something 50 meters long can’t be hidden so easily,” added the old lady.

“Hehh. It’s not the same as the replicant stuff we were talking about, but I heard rumors that there was a project to intimidate the enemy with patterns based on ferocious beasts or insects.”

“There was also a plan to create a terrible mode where it would continually make a horrible scraping noise from changing gears. Neither plan ever got anywhere.”

“?”

“The enemy is not the only one that sees the Object. It would be pointless if it wore away at your allies’ morale as well and they can’t exactly show some horrible looking Object off to the citizens in a parade in a safe country.”

“I see,” responded Quenser. “Then what about that rapier hanging down from the ceiling on a rope?”

“That’s a traditional good luck charm.”

“It ensures victory,” chimed in the girl.

As he listened, Quenser continued moving his wrench.

He heard a slight clicking noise and then the girl’s head shook just as she was about to say more about the good luck charm. Quenser looked questioningly over from the back of the seat at the back of the girl’s head.

“I can’t breathe.”

“Oh, shit! You idiot!! Don’t mess with the setting of the belt!! You’re constricting the princess!!”

“What!? Did I just do something really bad!?”

“I can’t breathe,” the girl repeated.

Quenser frantically grabbed the tool again, but he did not know what he had done to affect the belt.

The old lady ran to the small work elevator.

“I’ll go find a knife!! Boy, you take care of the physical work! Pull on the belt to make a gap so the princess doesn’t suffocate before I get back!!”

As Quenser was still panicking, the old lady left.

He quickly circled around to the front of the seat.

“I-I’m sorry!”

“I don’t mind… Just do something.”

“Okay!!”

Quenser decided to do as the old lady had instructed and pull on the belt to keep the girl from suffocating.

…But the H-shaped belt was digging into her chest in such a way that it emphasized her breasts.

“Umm…”

Quenser’s fingers stiffened somewhat.

[[Image:Heavy_Object_v01_050.jpg|thumb]]

To grab the belt, he would have to make a hook shape with his fingers and dig down under the belt, but that would require him to touch the bulges on the girl’s chest.

(Despite her childlike proportions, she has quite a bit there…)

As useless thoughts like that raced through Quenser’s mind, he heard the girl’s quiet voice.

“…I’m going to die.”

“!?”

That was right. He could not hesitate in a situation like that.

(I’m saving someone’s life here. This is serious. I screwed up. I need to make up for that. But those are her tits. No, no, that’s not the issue here. I need to stay serious. If I don’t hurry, her life is in danger. I need to save her. I need to do what I can for this princess. Tits!!)

“Ooohhhhhhh!!”

Having finally prepared himself, Quenser reached out for the girl’s chest with everything he had before his jumbled thoughts could weaken his resolve.

“Ee…!?”

The princess gave a small shriek like that of a small animal and he stopped.

(Not good. I just locked onto her tits rather than the belt, didn’t I? I can’t be grabbing her tits with an aroused look on my face that would make her feel her chastity was in danger. But what am I supposed to do? How can I save her without defiling her!?)

“E-emergency…measures…” said the princess as her face was growing paler and paler.

“What? Do you have some way out of this!?”

“Yes…but…”

As she spoke, the girl pressed a button hidden under the seat.

Immediately afterwards, the seat she was sitting in exploded.

The H-shaped belt binding her was automatically severed and her small frame flew high into the air. However, Quenser was not able to just watch that. A mass of compressed air struck his body sending him flying a few meters away.

He landed rolling on the walkway and he saw a large white flower out of the corner of his eye.

It was the emergency escape parachute.

Normally, the high speed elevator would take her from the cockpit to the outer surface, the entire seat would be launched into the air, and finally the compressed air emitter in the suit would activate as the third stage. However, she had only activated that final stage which had sent her flying up almost to the ceiling.

(That ejection device really is a bad omen.)

As he muttered that in his heart, Quenser heard a voice.

“That’s the first time I’ve had to use that.”

===Part 7===

Once the sun had set, it was time for dinner.

Instead of heading for the mess hall, Quenser headed out into the falling snow. He was having a barbecue that night. As he had caught the deer, Heivia was of course joining him, but it seemed their superior, Floretia-sama, would be there too because she claimed to just care about her subordinates that much.

Everyone was bored since they left everything about the war to the Object. If they had offered, it seemed likely all 800 soldiers would have come along, but Floretia-sama decided it should remain a confidential matter between the three of them. After all, they only had a limited amount of meat.

And so the three of them had their barbecue.

They held their barbecue within the grounds of the maintenance base zone.

The base zone was nothing more than a collection of large base vehicles and they had secretly gathered in a space surrounded by facilities on all sides so the winter wind would not blow on them too much. There, they built a fire and placed a metal sheet above it.

Floretia, the superior officer, had gotten there first and was warming her hands on the fire she had started. She may have been the one most looking forward to the dinner.

“Even if I warm myself, the cold still permeates my body. I need to eat some fatty meat to warm myself from the inside.”

Quenser glanced at Floretia’s legs.

“Aren’t stockings warmer than bare legs?”

“Do you want me to shove them over your head so you can find out, Quenser? These are just for my appearance. They give nothing but peace of mind. Do you choose your socks based on what will keep out the cold best? I’m jealous of you guys that get to wear pants year-round,” said the woman in the tight skirt before turning to Heivia. “Good work, Heivia. Thanks to you, the runway can be used to take off from at any time. I’m sure the STOL group from the air unit thank you as well.”

“Heh heh. It was nothing.”

“But really the air unit is completely unnecessary. Those cowards removed all the weapons from their own planes, claiming it was to improve agility and stealth functionality. Really, they’re just afraid of having the enemy decide to shoot them down because they see them as a threat. They brazenly claim to specialize in reconnaissance, but almost all of the information on enemy Objects is brought back from the princess’s actual battles.”

“Dammit!! I had a vague idea that what I was doing was useless, but it really pisses me off to have someone else say it!! And given the condition out here, the snow’ll probably all be back by morning!!”

“Well, the age of fighters started going on the decline as far back as when chemical oxygen iodine lasers started being put on bombers. …The units were simply too big to fit on a small fighter. Once light came into play, being able to fly at the speed of sound didn’t matter so much. And then Objects came along. They have all sorts of different kinds of lasers. They can shoot repeatedly and in any direction. It’s impossible to fight against that in a fighter. All air units can do these days is bring in pizza from the safe country before it gets cold.”

“…That was 700 meters. I cleared snow from all 700 meters of that short takeoff runway all on my own!!”

As Heivia trembled in anger, Floretia stuck her tongue out where he could not see her. She then spoke to Quenser much more familiarly than how she gave orders to her many subordinates.

“By the way, I hear you spoke with the princess outside the base zone,” asked his beautiful superior officer who even had carefully-maintained manicured nails despite being a soldier on the front lines.

Her tone made it sound like that was more important than the fact that he had disobeyed his orders.

“Umm, is that a problem? I talk with her occasionally in the maintenance area, so I just interacted with her in the same way. Should I have thought more about our positions?”

“I don’t see a problem with it. Apparently, the medical group feeds her rations even worse than ours to make absolutely sure her health does not suffer, but I say that will lead to the stress doing her in before poor nutrition ever would.”

“Doesn’t the Elite princess have an exclusive recreation building? From what I hear, it is supposed to be filled with devices that have digitalized healing effects,” said Heivia more politely than he was wont to do.

Floretia grabbed a juicy piece of cooked venison with the chopsticks she used as part of her Japan obsession.

“That thing costs us all sorts of money, but does no real good. Do you think you could actually have fun playing with teaching materials your teachers at school handed out? Apparently, the princess dropped by once and has never gone there again.”

“So that’s how it is,” replied Quenser as he was reminded of the conversation with her from earlier that day.

He could not imagine anything making that girl smile.

That was the girl who had ominously said she might not be able to win in the next battle.

As those words of hers floated up in his mind, Quenser asked, “Have you ever lost, Floretia-san?”

“Yes,” she readily affirmed while looking like she wished she had some beer to go with the meat. “I’ve lost three times when commanding remotely and once with the unit I was stationed with. It was terrible. The criticism when I returned home was worse than the flight itself. But that isn’t too surprising. I head lost a weapon used for strategies on a national scale after all.”

“Eh? Objects are synonymous with war, right? What do you do once the other side destroys your Object? I doubt you could manage with a tank or a fighter,” asked Heivia, brimming with curiosity.

“It’s simple. You raise the white flag,” responded Floretia nonchalantly.

“Hah?”

“Wars these days are not all-out wars. Once one side’s Object has been destroyed, the victor has been decided. And this victor doesn’t have the time to spare needed to pursue all of the powerless infantry units. No treaty has been formally made in that regard, but it’s one of the basic facts of war that no one even feels the need to bring up. If the unit quickly retreats and surrenders the territory, there is no need to make things more complicated and hunt them down.”

Seeing the gaping mouths of the two novices, Floretia put on a carefree smile.

“Ha ha. I understand why you’re so surprised by that. When they train you, they don’t want to lower the tension, so they don’t tell you about conventions like that. But just look at me. I joined the military as a child soldier at 13 and have been on various campaigns ever since, but I do not have a single scar. In order to prevent any unnecessary deaths, we use clean weapons like Objects that gather all the military might in one place rather than spreading it out. My lovely skin shows that this is truly a ‘safe battlefield’.” Floretia spun her chopsticks around a little. “Did you know that the #1 reason for soldiers to be sent home from this unit is not being shot by the enemy or carelessly stepping on a landmine? It’s actually due to fights between men and women within the base zone. On the modern battlefield, you need to be more afraid of love affairs than bullets. Do you see just how peaceful this place is?”

Quenser started to agree, but then a question popped into his mind.

“Wait. But Floretia-san, weren’t you sending bombardments directly on enemy bases using a friendly Object in the Pacific earlier today?”

“You have a good eye, Quenser. That was not a war against another proper army. Attacks against guerillas or terrorists are nothing but suppression operations, so the previous conventions do not apply. …Listen up and remember this. That is the most efficient plan for using an Object. Large nations need some kind of mechanism for skillfully pushing back opposing forces.”

As the unpleasant turn of the conversation was ruining the taste of his food, Quenser decided to change the subject. The only subject other than the Objects he could come up with was the food.

Quenser looked at the venison that was acting as the main part of their dinner and then looked over at Heivia who had hunted it down.

“So are soldiers trained in how to hunt for food? I’m only at the level where I might be able to catch a single salmon after 3 hours.”

“Modern rifles have more than just optical scopes. They also have infrared cameras and microphones for searching for the enemy. It’s made so you can trace your target in multiple different ways. I wouldn’t end up with anything either if I headed into the great outdoors with just a fishing pole. Although the rifles are a complete waste of taxes since all the fighting is left to the Object.”

Floretia then spoke up while skillfully using her chopsticks.

“Unless the supply line to the base zone is cut off, we can get as much food as we want from the home country. And the base will never be taken out as long as we have the Object. Even when I was a new soldier, they didn’t always train us in how to hunt animals. At the very least, it certainly isn’t a skill combat engineers like you need.”

“A combat engineer…hm? I just can’t get used to how that sounds.”

“The management of the base zone revolves around taxes. If we didn’t give a job to the students that hang around, it could affect the number of votes the politicians get. The climax of the councillor election is coming up back in the home country and the current members of the Flide council are getting worried.”

There were many different kinds of combat engineers, but the ones Quenser and the others were talking about were soldiers that dealt with explosives. However, they were not professionals that used them to kill enemy soldiers. Instead, they destroyed bridges to cut off the enemy’s path or blew stones out of the way of their own path.

For a student who was full of strange knowledge and did not have the guts to actually shoot someone, that role was perfect. There was also the course of being a medic, but Quenser’s specialty was machines and he did not know much about living things.

“But then our base is made up of the base vehicles, so we can set up camp just by driving those vehicles around, and we also have the Object. There really isn’t much for combat engineers to do.”

“That isn’t just the combat engineers. It’s pretty much the same for everyone in the base zone,” said Floretia as she reached her chopsticks for one of the few pieces of salmon. “God damn this is a peaceful world. It feels like my gun could rust over and I could get zits from over-nutrition.”

“I know. As long as we have the Object, we’re safe. After three years in a base, I have the path of a noble waiting for me and Quenser here can go back to the safe country and become one of those distinguished scholars,” said Heivia with a smile as he patted Quenser familiarly on the shoulder.

“You kids are making me jealous,” spat out Floretia, but there was not the slightest hint of jealousy on her face. Most likely, she preferred staying on the safe battlefield to being promoted from the military to a strict political post.

“Yeah,” Quenser said. “As long as we have the Object, even those dulled by peace like us can fight a war.”

Quenser’s words there addressed one truth of the world.

It was true ''as long as they had the Object''.

===Part 8===

A day later they would know.

They would know what kind of hell awaited soldiers utterly dulled by peace once their Object was destroyed by an enemy Object.

Floretia had said that they merely had to raise the white flag if they lost.

However, she had also said something else.

''No treaty has been formally made in that regard''.

===Part 9===

An explosion tore through snowy Alaska.

The giant invincible Object that had been fighting 10 kilometers away through the snowstorm started emitting black smoke and stopped moving. Through binoculars, the pilot’s seat could be seen being ejected and slowly floating down to the snowy ground with its parachute.

And….

“…”

An unpleasant noise that echoed in his gut reached Quenser’s ears over the wind. The symbol of their safety, the Object, had been blown away by the enemy Object.

Its main body was a giant sphere covered in thick armor. In four directions, long insect-like legs stretched out to the ground. Its main weapons were sets of two low-stability plasma cannons, each measuring 50 meters. After a special gas was loaded into the cannon, a massive amount of energy from the reactor artificially created superhot plasma which was then fired. The sets of two were located on the front, back, left, and right creating a horizontal cross of cannons that allowed it to fire in any direction. It had a total of 8 of those cannons. Its spherical main body and four legs had countless laser beams, railguns, and coilguns, giving it over 100 guns in total.

The main body alone was 50 meters and the cannons stretching in each direction gave it a size of over 140 meters. The mountain-sized mass was slowly pointing its mid-range steel bridge-sized cannons their way. The set of two low-stability plasma cannons could melt a nuclear shelter buried deep in the earth in a single shot.

“…Hey,” said Heivia suddenly as he stood dumbfounded next to Quenser. “Why is it aiming in our direction? If the Object loses, we just have to raise the white flag and it’s over, right? That’s what Floretia said, right!? So why!? This isn’t something to be slow about. Hurry and raise the fucking white flaaaaaaaagggggggggg!!”

Quenser looked at the radio he had been issued.

He could hear an intermittent signal coming from it.

That was most likely the modern digitalized white flag.

Floretia must have followed the convention she had spoken of in order to bring the battle to an end. She may have made up her mind quickly in order to keep the number of sacrificed subordinates as low as possible.

However, the enemy Object had not stopped.

The sound of the cannons making slight adjustments to their aim seemed to be implicitly saying it did not care about the convention.

“Run…” someone said.

It was possible it was Quenser himself who had said it.

“Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!”

Had the 800 soldiers in the area been able to react?

A great roar and flash of light pounded Quenser’s senses.

Something seemed to be trying to smash his skull, much less his eardrums. The Object was not firing metal shells. It was using brutal low-stability plasma cannons that made use of the excess energy it produced.

What temperature did it reach?

Before he could think that, his consciousness was sent flying.

A beam from one of the low-stability plasma cannons had struck some of the base vehicles a short distance from Quenser. The vehicles used to construct the Object maintenance area were the largest of the greater than 100 large base vehicles that made up the maintenance base zone and one of those became distorted like a sugar sculpture before exploding like an erupting volcano.

The blast blew Quenser onto the thick snow.

Even while buried in snow that had to be below zero degrees, Quenser’s body was wrapped in an unpleasant sweat.

“What…?”

He could not even hear his own voice.

He frantically tried to check on the situation despite having lost over half of his ability to see and somehow managed to determine that he was in one piece. The low-stability plasma cannon must have moved along a straight path as it fired because he noticed an empty trench cutting through the deep snow.

(Was the heat so great…it melted the snow…and then caused a phreatic explosion…?)

It was possible even the steel had evaporated and then stuck to the ground.

As Quenser lay dazed on the ground, someone grabbed his arm.

It was Heivia who had bloodshot eyes and was breathing erratically.

“Hey, we need to get out of here.”

“…What…?”

“We need to get the hell out of here!! Our Object was taken out and their Object is perfectly fine!! We wouldn’t be able to do a thing even if we had 100 tanks. If we don’t get out of here, we’ll be slaughtered like a line of ants!!”

Running away.

What that meant finally hit home with Quenser.

When he looked around, he saw the other soldiers beginning to take action. The base zone was made up of over 100 large base vehicles. The soldiers were climbing or jumping aboard the nearest base vehicle and the vehicles were breaking their normal formation and scattering in a panic.

Shouts could be heard from all directions.

None of the soldiers were saying a single thing about fighting.

“Dammit!! Send out all the UAVs! Draw the Object’s attention away from us!!”

“Do we have a set escape route!? Is there any narrow mountain path that 50 meter monster can’t get through!?”

“Do we have a proper stock of chaff and flares!? Even if we can’t fight, we might be able to make it lose its lock on-…!!”

Because they were real soldiers, they knew just how hopeless it was to attack the Object head on.

As he watched it all, Quenser blankly spoke to Heivia.

“Run away…but where to?”

“…!!”

Heivia’s expression grew distorted out of fear rather than anger.

It was as if hearing how hopeless the situation was from someone else had brought the full brunt of the shock back all over again.

Immediately afterwards, they heard an odd noise.

Looking over, they saw the Object that was over 10 kilometers away approaching as if it were sliding. It was not moving using tires like a car. By using repeated small accelerations like a water strider, it moved smoothly around on both level ground and the steep slopes of mountain surfaces. It seemed to completely ignore the terrain just like a spotlight moving along the ground.

A low sound like an approaching thundercloud remained in Quenser’s ears.

(Oh, shit. So it uses static electricity just like our princess’s one…!)

Even as the frantically fleeing base vehicles started leaving him behind, Quenser merely stood in a daze amid the snow.

That Object was floating just slightly above the ground using static electricity. It weighed over 20 tons, but the reactor within it was both clean and more powerful than a nuclear reactor. It used that ability to create enough electric energy to make itself float.

A faint but distinctive smell reached Quenser’s nose. Most likely, the Object was spraying out the material that repelled its giant electrified form. Generally, the repellant would break down naturally in a few days and it was made to be harmless to plants and animals, but it smelled even more repulsive than blood to Quenser.

Something that huge moving as if the surface below it were sliding was a very strange sight indeed.

The base vehicles were trying to escape through a valley between two mountains.

With a sound like a thundercloud, the Object moved as if to circle around the vehicles and passed right up the diagonal side of one of the mountains. It then moved down into the path inside the valley to block their escape.

Their escape route had been cut off in only 20 seconds.

What awaited them now was clear.

“Shit!! Get off of there!!” shouted Floretia.

Immediately afterwards, the 50 meter Object opened fire with its cannons.

No, it was more than that.

The Object had more than just the low-stability plasma cannons. After all, the huge 50 meter mass had a reactor that was both clean and more powerful than a nuclear reactor. With its low-stability plasma cannons, laser beams, railguns, and coilguns, it had over 100 different weapons.

It opened fire with all of those.

Each of the high output weapons was so large that it would likely cause a normal battleship to tilt just by being installed and yet it had over 100 of them.

There was no point in trying to count how many times one heard a weapon fire.

Thousands and tens of thousands of roars piled atop each other and combined together creating a single giant explosive din.

As the base vehicles broke formation in an attempt to find anywhere they could flee to, countless shells and beams of light mercilessly assaulted them.

The block-shaped facility walls could withstand a direct hit from a normal shell, but they were blown away along with the beds of the vehicles like they were made of paper. Repeated explosions were heard as gasoline caught fire and soldiers’ bodies were thrown high into the air.

Heivia immediately grabbed Quenser’s head and dove down into the deep snow to hide. Even so, it was nothing short of a miracle that the Object’s bombardment did not tear their bodies in half.

(…No…)

Quenser’s head alone remained clear while the rest of him was in a state where he could not even tell what temperature the cold snow was.

(There aren’t any miracles or coincidences when it comes to Objects. An Object doesn’t leave enough of an opening for that kind of thing!! There has to be a reason. There has to be a logical reason we weren’t killed…!!)

[[Image:Heavy_Object_v01_070.jpg|thumb]]

Quenser looked over at a base vehicle being blown away by a railgun being used as crudely as a peashooter (even though it was powerful enough to be installed on a bomber). It had soldiers in its sights that were trying to flee, but the Object adjusted its aim toward a different base vehicle.

Seeing that, Quenser’s expression grew even more twisted.

“Dammit!! The maintenance facilities!!” Quenser shouted so loud he thought it would tear apart his throat in order to keep the explosions from drowning him out. “Get away from the vehicles used to service the Object!! They’re aiming for anything related to the Object! If you don’t get away from them, you’ll be hit dead on!!”

Just as the soldiers jumped from the large base vehicle in shock, the Object’s low-stability plasma cannon mercilessly blew the maintenance facility away.

Objects were synonymous with war.

No matter how many tanks or fighters were gathered, you could not stand up to an Object.

That was why the enemy Object was giving priority to destroying the spare parts storage and other facilities that could be used to repair the Object it had destroyed. In the off chance the Object could be reassembled, a true Object vs. Object battle where the winner was unknown would once more unfold.

That Object was not sparing the soldiers’ lives.

It was first utterly crushing all possibility of a counterattack. After that, it would use its greater than 50 meter form to chase after and slaughter each and every one of the flesh-and-blood humans who looked like ants compared to it.

The base vehicles were destroyed one by one.

Even though they knew it was not targeting them, Quenser and the other soldiers desperately hid. Just a slight misreading of the situation could get them crushed by one of the tatami-sized wall fragments that were flying from all directions.

“We need to get out of here while we can,” said Heivia as he grabbed Quenser’s arm with trembling hands.

Quenser ignored the tugging on his arm and simply remained motionless and listened.

“It doesn’t matter where to!! We just need to get as far away as possible from that monster! Just run!!”

He was not suggesting a strategic withdrawal; he was suggesting fleeing from something scary.

And…

“…”

(It…stopped?)

The Object that had blown up most of the major base vehicles had stopped moving amid the rubble and wreckage. Only the many giant gun turrets moved around slowly as if it were contemplating something.

Quenser thought his heart would stop.

Now that it was done destroying the Object-related facilities, was it going to start slaughtering the soldiers?

That horrible thought came to Quenser’s mind, but he still could not make his body move. The same thing seemed to have happened to Heivia next to him. They knew that their enemy was human with a mind of his own and was in fact a soldier just like them, but the presence was just so overwhelming that it felt like a giant dragon was staring down at them. It felt like the slightest provocation would get them torn to pieces by its vast maw.

They knew the Object was only moving based on systematic military orders, but Quenser and Heivia felt like herbivores that had run across the king of beasts and could only pray that it would spare them on a whim.

And…

The giant object that measured over 140 meters if its main cannons stretching out in four directions were included started to move. It changed directions with a motion similar to someone turning around because they were tapped on the shoulder from behind. With the sound like a dark thundercloud approaching, it headed in the direction it had originally come from. The soldiers on the path did everything they could to get out of the way, but the Object paid them no heed.

“What…?”

Quenser finally picked himself up off the ground and looked in the direction the Object had left in.

“Why are we alive…?”

What had been different between him and the human forms scattered about that lay unmoving on the ground? Quenser could come up with no answer to that question. Heivia spoke from nearby.

“I don’t know, but let’s go. I don’t know what’s going on, but we managed to survive. If we run as far away as we can now, it might make all the difference!!”

Heivia’s body was trembling terribly.

Quenser thought Heivia was right, but then he stopped.

He had noticed something at his feet.

It had likely been blown from one of the base vehicles used for their base zone. It was an LCD display. It was about the size an A4 piece of copy paper and it seemed to have wireless capability. It was emitting an electronic beeping noise.

The display showed a map of the area.

On a single point of that map, a red point was blinking.

(…A rescue signal…?)

All of a sudden it hit Quenser what it meant.

“The Elite princess!!”

The enemy Object was giving priority to eliminating all possibility of the destroyed Object being repaired. To do so, it had blown up the maintenance facilities and left the soldiers alone.

Didn’t that meant it would be only natural for the enemy to give top priority to killing the pilot girl who could possibly pilot a different Object?

“Hey, you noble and student over there!!” shouted Floretia from a slight distance.

They looked over and saw the beautiful woman with her steel-like bluish-silver hair making large gestures toward the slope of a mountain.

“We need to use this chance to escape!! I’ll prepare an official reason for the withdrawal to report to the higher ups!! If we get over the mountain, there’s a large valley. A single suspension bridge is the only way across!! Once we get across, we can get away from that giant Object!! It might try to bombard us from this side of the valley, but we might make it if we scatter once we’re hidden within the conifer forest on the other side!!”

“But…”

Quenser’s gaze moved between Floretia and the display at his feet.

In all honesty, he was overcome with so much relief he thought he would pass out upon having a clear goal he could escape to.

But…

What would happen to the Elite girl who was still alive…?

That thought stopped Quenser.

Floretia then noticed the display at Quenser’s feet.

“You idiot! Why do you think she’s sending out the rescue signal!?”

“…?”

“It isn’t for us to see! The princess is transmitting the rescue signal so the enemy will intercept it and have their attention drawn toward her!! She’s making sure we won’t be slaughtered!! Do you want waste all the effort she’s going to!?”

Quenser’s eyes opened wide.

Floretia’s words had stabbed deeply into his heart.

(Is that true…?)

Quenser looked around the area at the soldiers who were supposed to have tough muscular bodies from constant training but had neglected their training due to the benefits of the Object. They all averted their gaze whenever Quenser looked at them.

They looked awkward.

They looked as if they did not want to let go of their chance to escape.

(Whatever you say, she’s our ally and a girl of about 14 to boot. She’s the kind of person who is using herself as a decoy to save us. Can you seriously think of abandoning her…?)

“We’re leaving,” muttered Heivia. “We have no other choice!! Whatever we do, that princess will be killed, so we need to escape before that Object returns!!”

“Fuck that! Do you really understand what you’re saying!? Have you thought about what will happen to an Elite girl if she’s captured by the enemy army that has clearly said to hell with morals!?”

“What!? Are you saying you’re going to fight that Object!?”

Having those words shouted straight back at him silenced Quenser.

Heivia’s expression was filled with fear and disgrace.

“Anyone can just sit back and do nothing while the say what they think is wrong or right!! And if you ''can'' face that giant Object on your own and save the princess, that’s great!! But in reality, you can’t do shit!! The instant that thing catches you on its radar, it’ll blow you away so utterly not even dust is left!!”

Quenser thought as Heivia grabbed his shoulders.

(…Dammit.)

The gradual tightening in his chest was the natural response as a human.

He was feeling overwhelming fear.

(Of course I’m afraid. No matter what anyone says or how much wishful thinking they bring up, I can’t work up any courage. An Object is a monster. Trying to take on something like that is just wrong. I want to be as far away from it as possible. Heivia is right. No matter what I say, this sickening feeling isn’t going to go away…)

However, Quenser’s feet did not begin taking him to safety.

He merely stood in place and looked at Heivia once more.

“…But wasn’t that princess fighting that monster?”

“…”

“That monster makes grown men tremble in fear and makes us feel like we’ll die of shock every time it slightly adjusts its aim!! And yet she was piloting an Object all on her own to protect us from it!!”

Even if she was piloting a ridiculous weapon like an Object, she had to have been afraid. There was no way she wasn’t when facing a monster like that.

The day before, she had said she did not know if she could win.

She had not seemed especially serious, so Quenser had not read any deep meaning into it. However, he had been wrong. What if she had been holding so much unease below the surface that it had spewed forth even while she had such an unconcerned expression on her face? What if she had just wanted to say something about it to someone – anyone – to try to get rid of even a small piece of that unease?

Quenser thought about what he should do.

“…Give me that.”

Quenser held his hand out toward Heivia.

Heivia merely looked puzzled, so he repeated himself.

“Give me that rifle!!”

Quenser snatched the military rifle from Heivia. The high-tech weapon had an infrared camera, a microphone for searching for enemies, and other gadgets in addition to its optical scope.

However, Heivia’s face stiffened upon seeing that.

“…Are you really going?” Heivia shook his head back and forth like a small child. “What good will that thing do!? Didn’t you see that Object!? That monster is basically a giant reactor with the thick walls of a nuclear shelter around it!! It can still move after a direct hit or two from nuclear missiles!! Surely a future scholar like you can understand that!!”

“I know,” replied Quenser.

Heivia’s primary job was as an analyst who searched for the characteristics and weaknesses of Objects, but Quenser was learning about Objects from a design point of view. From his knowledge, he knew quite well that there was no way he could win.

But…

“I have no choice…”

“What?”

“Do you really believe that the Object won’t catch up to us if we cross the mountain and the valley on the other side?”

“Well…”

“If they truly want to kill the princess, it’ll just need a single shot. And if they want to capture her and take her back to their base, the Object is free to come after us once the normal soldiers restrain her. It’ll be turning back before long to slaughter us as we climb the mountain. …You saw how maneuverable it was, right?”

Quenser could feel his body tremble at the weight of the rifle because he had never seriously used one. He suppressed the trembling and continued on.

“It seems the princess is trying to buy some time, but she probably can’t buy enough on her own.”

The words he spoke did not seem real to him.

He wanted to get moving before he was too overcome by fear.

“Someone has to do something. Not out of responsibility, but in order to survive.”

===Part 10===

The slicing blizzard sent a sharp pain across the skin of his face.

The white filling his vision needlessly increased his unease.

The deep snow seemed to grab hold of his feet like a bottomless bog as Quenser desperately continued to run while holding the rifle in both hands.

He had been on the front lines for 6 months, but this felt to him like the first time he had actually been running on a battlefield.

His objective was to save the princess.

There was no reason he had to fight the Object. In fact, if he did run into it, he would be killed as a piece of trash rather than an enemy. He wished he had some way to approach through a blind spot of the Object’s and save the princess, but….

(Where?)

The rifle felt as cold as a hunk of ice.

Quenser gritted his teeth and looked around while putting up with the pain in his fingertips.

(Dammit! Where is she!?)

He could have sworn the display had indicated that area, but the Elite girl was nowhere to be found. Had enemy soldiers already taken her away? Or had he misread the map and gone to the wrong spot?

(God dammit! How could I have survived 6 months out here without knowing how to find my position on a map? …How much have I just been relying on others?)

Quenser stuck a cable into the scope area of the rifle. The other end of the cable had a small earphone for one ear. He put it in his right ear and operated the unfamiliar rifle with shaking fingers.

According to Heivia, it had a microphone for finding enemies.

(…)

While focusing on the microphone sticking out near the barrel like a bayonet, Quenser slowly rotated in one spot. While in the process of turning the microphone in every direction, he heard a slight noise through the earphone.

“This way…?”

He had not been properly trained, so he held the rifle as he had seen others do as he headed off in the direction of the noise.

As he approached, the slight noise grew gradually louder.

Eventually, it started to sound like human voices and Quenser frantically hid behind some nearby rocks.

He then stuck only his face out.

He could see human forms on the other side of the white curtain of blowing snow.

He guessed they were about 100 meters away. From that distance, he could not tell what they looked like, but he could see three or four muscular figures surrounding a single short figure. The short figure was on her knees unnaturally with both her hands behind her head.

(The princess! Shit, so she was caught after all…!!)

Quenser brought his head back behind the rocks and then looked around the area.

He could not see the giant form of the Object anywhere.

It may have headed back to hunt down the survivors now that the Elite girl had been captured.

For an instant, Quenser thought it might all be some absurdly huge trap and he would be shot by the low-stability plasma cannons from long distance the instant he made a move. However, he realized that was unlikely. He doubted they would use the Object to set up a trap for him alone and the giant Object would not need to set up a trap to deal with a mere human anyway. It would just slaughter him outright.

He may have been so afraid that his mind’s danger sensor was not working properly.

The Object was simply so frightening that he was taking completely unrealistic possibilities into account.

At any rate, if he calmed down and thought about it…

(The Object isn’t here.)

Quenser noticed the weight of the rifle once more.

He stuck his head out from behind the rocks to check on the situation.

(If I can do something about those four, I can save the princess!!)

A different unpleasant feeling than the fear of the Object now started tightening around his heart.

He had to “do something about” those four.

With that rifle in his hands, “doing something” meant shooting and killing those four humans. Quenser was not skillful enough to suppress them without hitting their vitals and the bullets in that military rifle were powerful enough to rip off a limb if he hit them there. They would die of shock whether he hit their vitals or not.

Could he really kill them?

Could he kill four people to save a single comrade?

(God dammit!)

He wrapped the other hand around his uncontrollably shaking fingers.

He could not keep his teeth from chattering.

(This is the battlefield. Killing is the norm here! By leaving all the fighting to the invincible Object…is this what we’ve been pushing onto her!?)

In a desperate attempt to work up some courage, Quenser pounded on his own thigh with his fist and then forced himself to hold up the rifle. However, he started feeling dizzy when he looked through the scope. He held back the urge to vomit and somehow managed to aim.

He was aiming for the male soldier closest to the Elite girl.

He put the sights right in the middle of the unsuspecting man’s head.

Now he just had to pull the trigger.

However, as if it had frozen solid, his finger on the trigger would not move.

(…This is a human.)

As he forced down the urge to vomit, the image through the sight shook.

(This isn’t one of the human-shaped targets from the training grounds. It’s a real human. This is a soldier just like us who has become dulled by peace after being protected by his Object and only wants to return safely to his country…)

He could not shoot.

Just as he realized that fact, he heard an odd noise through the earphone in his ear.

It was a sound being picked up by the rifle’s microphone.

It was the words coming from the mouth of the soldier he was aiming at.

“Hey, let’s test out the durability of the Elite’s special suit. Once the Object returns, we can tie her hands to it with a rope and have it drag her behind it. The test will be whether she’s naked or not by the time we get back to base.”

Quenser’s movements stopped when he heard that.

He then heard a laugh and the words of another soldier.

“No matter how easy it is to slide on snow, wouldn’t that still turn her to mincemeat?”

“Yeah, and what’ll we do if she’s still alive once we get back to our base zone? Are you gonna do a test on the wonderful Elite’s body? I hear the guys from the torture room were complaining because their tools are rusting over from lack of use.”

No, it was not his movements that had stopped.

It was his trembling that had stopped.

As well as the urge to vomit that had produced the trembling.

His heart had cleared.

He switched off the microphone as if shutting out what the soldiers had to say.

Quenser had a new thought.

He had not been able to pull the trigger because he had thought of them as human.

But…

They weren’t, were they?

A great noise exploded out and the rifle bullet had blown one of the laughing soldiers’ heads to pieces before Quenser even realized the noise was due to his finger pulling the trigger. Ignoring the collapsing headless corpse, Quenser shouted out.

“Get down!!”

Had the Elite girl understood what those words meant first or had it been the enemy soldiers around her?

Just as the girl threw her body down into the deep snow, Quenser used quick movements of his finger to fire bullet after bullet in semi-auto mode. With as little training as he had, he doubted he could deal with the recoil of firing on full auto. However, the enemy soldiers did not just stand there and let him shoot them. Almost reflexively, they turned their rifle barrels in the direction of the voice and fired.

Quenser had been only slightly faster.

Quenser only wanted to mow down everything there, so he just moved the barrel from right to left as he fired rather than carefully aiming. By repeatedly pulling the trigger, he sent bullets flying at even intervals which created a hurdle of death at about waist height. Fortunately, he had caught them by surprise. Red blood sprayed into the air and soldiers were mowed down onto the snow.

(…I might actually pull this off…!!)

However, two of the enemy soldiers had immediately gotten down and escaped the spray of bullets. As Quenser stood fully upright due to the recoil of the rifle, he could see one of the surviving soldiers aiming his own rifle while kneeling down. While keeping low to the ground, the princess tackled him. In a close-quarters struggle, the soldier could not fire his rifle. Quenser panicked, but his worry was unwarranted. The princess held a metal skewer for cooking that had been in the same standard-issue survival kit that held bandages and a small fishing pole. She used it to stab the enemy soldier in the side.

The one remaining soldier immediately tried to move away from the princess, but he carelessly raised his body too high. Immediately afterwards, he was struck by one of the bullets from Quenser’s rifle and collapsed onto the snow.

It was over.

Or so Quenser thought.

The soldier who was bleeding from the metal skewer the princess had stabbed in his side pulled his rifle’s trigger as he collapsed to the snow. Most likely, he had not intended to do so, but he happened to hit the trigger for the grenade launcher on the bottom of the rifle. The barrel was pointed in a random direction…which just so happened to be in Quenser’s direction.

The heavy explosive flew through the air in an arc rather than a straight line.

Quenser was unable to decide what to do in the instant he had.

Immediately afterwards, Quenser was sent flying by the blast and an odd pain ran through most of his upper body. The color white filled his vision. At first, he thought it was the sky, but it was actually the snow-covered ground. It took him a while to even realize he was lying on his side.

(…What…happened to me…?)

Just as that question entered his mind, all strength left his body.

He somehow managed to move his hand that had frozen up as if from rigor mortis, but the rifle grip slipped from his fingers. His arm then fell back into the snow.

He finally started feeling a throbbing pain in his gut and chest.

(Shit, what happened? Are they all dead? I didn’t miss any of them, did I? None of them are going to get back up, are they?)

No more shooting occurred.

Had he killed all of them, had they fled, or had they stopped because they considered finishing him off a waste of bullets? Buried in the snow as he was, Quenser could not tell.

(…Kh…)

He tried to look at his wounds, but his body would not move as he wished it to.

Meanwhile, even his mind seemed to be ceasing to function properly.

(What about the princess…?)

He had come all that way to rescue the Elite girl and yet he no longer had the energy left over to see if she was even alive.

His consciousness sank down into darkness.

Even the pain that had risen up seemed to vanish rather than exploding out within him.

===Part 11===

He thought he heard someone calling his name.

All he could see was strange scenery that was neither black nor richly colored. It seemed like he was seeing the images coming from his two eyeballs in mosaic without his brain processing them. While Quenser had lost his sense of balance, felt like was going to vomit, and stared blankly at that scenery, he heard someone call his name for sure.

“…Hey, wake up, Quenser!! Don’t go to sleep! Wake up!!”

“Heivia…?” Quenser muttered in a scratchy voice.

His body had to have sunk into the snow, but he could not feel it at all.

“Why? Didn’t you run away…?”

“Shut up. I had no choice.”

Heivia had a portable anti-tank missile hanging form a strap. He had to have known it would be of no help, but he must have wanted to bring as much firepower with him as he could. Quenser could tell Heivia’s body was still trembling.

Fear of that Object was not something that could be so easily wiped away.

Even so, Heivia had followed after Quenser.

“…Was I hit…?”

“You amateur. The grenade wasn’t directly aimed for you and it only blew some fragments off of a nearby rock. Your upper body was hit by the fragments of scattered stone. If you had been hit by shrapnel from the grenade, it would have ripped your flesh apart. They’re made so they’ll do that.”

“I see. Damn I’m pathetic… Did I pass out from fear after just a few scratches?”

Quenser tried to get up, but he groaned after feeling a powerful pressure on his chest. It seemed the mental shock had been great enough to make his heart contract too much. He coughed and finally managed to pull himself out from the snow.

“Oh, crap! Where’s the Elite princes…? Was she taken away while I was passed out?”

“What are you saying? You won. You took out all those bastards, so don’t worry. Look, hero. The princess you saved is right over there.”

Quenser looked in the direction Heivia pointed and saw the Elite girl standing about 2 meters away. She was standing stock still while staring at Quenser’s face as if she were looking at something she could not believe.

Her expression was rather difficult to describe.

Extraordinary fear was certainly present. As was incomparable shock. She also looked as if she could not yet tell if she should feel relieved. Overall, her expression was not one easily described using any standard emotion.

“Why…?” she said with a wavering voice that she could not hold still due to the waves of emotion roiling within her. “Why did you come to save me…?”

After that, her true thoughts spilled forth as if from a hole in her heart.

Or perhaps she had felt something that made her not want to lie any longer.

“You are not the one who is meant to fight. You are not an Elite. You were not protected by thick nuclear-shelter like armor, so why did you come here?”

Quenser pondered her words silently.

Something deeper than what she normally showed on the surface was present in her words.

“And I would mock you in my heart.”

Her words continued to spill forth.

That may have been inappropriate for the Elite pilot of the Object that was the cornerstone of their military force and, in a way, the representative of their nation.

“I mocked you because you always needed me to protect you and because you would all be killed without the Object!”

However, that unseemly inappropriateness was what made it seem truly human.

Quenser realized that her too-pure image was not something like natural water; it was more like tap water that smells of chlorine.

“I wanted to deny it and I wanted to have a more proper opinion, but I would always have those horrible thoughts about you!! So why did you come here to save me!?”

Quenser and Heivia exchanged glances.

They then looked back at the Elite girl.

They looked back at that girl who had lost her role with the loss of the Object.

“What do you mean ‘horrible thoughts’? That’s the truth.”

“Eh…?”

“I’ve tried to study as much as I can about Objects, but I only just now understood something upon actually fighting one today. Those things are monsters. Really, truly monsters. And who was it that has been fighting all alone this whole time to make sure those monsters did not come destroy our base zone?”

The girl looked at Quenser with a surprised look.

The long time spent buried in the snow and the mental shock he did not seem able to shake off had stiffened his face, but Quenser moved the stiff muscles to force a smile.

“But no longer,” Quenser said as he picked up the rifle that had fallen to the ground nearby.

He pulled out the empty magazine and replaced it with a new one Heivia gave him.

Compared to an Object, it was a puny weapon.

With it in hand, Quenser faced the girl and gave a truly horrible expression.

“You no longer need to fight alone. Is there any real reason you have to?”

The girl did not seem to know how to react to that.

She was an Elite, the pilot of one of the giant weapons known as Objects.

It might have been that no one had ever said anything like that to her before. She had been given the burden of many lives, winning had been expected of her, and she had even been implicitly threatened that she would lose everything if she lost. She had been desperately fighting under those conditions. That was why she had never raised a voice of protest against that solitary fight no matter how damaged she became or how much unease she held.

The girl did not seem able to fully accept Quenser’s words.

She turned her troubled gaze toward Heivia, but he only shrugged.

“I’m nothing special. Quenser just said that you alone wouldn’t be enough of a decoy and that brought me to my senses. I realized he was absolutely right, so I had to prepare something that would function as a proper decoy or else we would all be killed. And then…well…as I said before, I had no choice.” With that casual response, Heivia glanced around. “Now then, my princess and her knight. It looks like we can’t stick around here much longer.”

“…?”

Quenser frowned, but he realized what Heivia meant shortly thereafter.

Heivia’s false courage was hiding his fear of the distantly approaching thundercloud-like noise that the Object made as it moved.

“Let’s go! You made quite a racket when you shot and killed those soldiers. Their Object must have noticed and is heading this way!!”

Heivia’s cry ended the heart-warming scene.

They had returned to hell.

The life-and-death game of tag with the over 50 meter Object had begun anew.

“Shit!! Where are we supposed to go!?”

The deep snow grabbed at his feet as he moved, but Quenser desperately kept moving. In response, Heivia shouted out as loudly as he could as if to rid himself of his fear.

“You need to memorize the map of the area you’re gonna be fighting in!! There’s a cave about 50 meters ahead. If we can get in there, we can escape from that giant Object!!”

Fifty meters.

That was a distance they could manage in 10 seconds even when fully equipped if they were on a paved surface.

However, the deep snow robbed them of their speed and the enemy Object used static electricity to smoothly approach around the slopes of the mountain. Its movements made it look like the surface below it was sliding it along.

It was about 3 kilometers away, but that was nothing to that giant weapon.

“It’s aiming the plasma cannons this way!!” shouted the Elite girl.

(With that Object’s aiming devices, there’s no way it can’t shoot us at that distance. Are they still not sure whether they want to capture the princess alive or not?)

The distance to the cave felt strangely long.

(It’s true that they might be able to get some classified information related to our Object out of her if they tortured her, but this response is inconsistent with the soldiers from before!!)

He thought his legs were going to cramp up due to fear, but he had no choice but to continue running.

“Hey, Quenser. You’re a combat engineer, right!? Do you have any explosives!?”

“I have about 5 kilograms of normal C4!”

“What!? Isn’t 10 kilos the standard equipment!?”

“I felt silly carrying around useless explosives around the clock! And what I have is meant for civil engineering uses! It won’t work against an Object!!”

“Give it to me! Just hurry up and hand it over!! And a fuse too!!”

As they approached the entrance to the cave, Quenser tossed over a clay-like mass about the size of a can of hairspray. The bomb was inside a package of clear film and Heivia set the receiver for the detonation signal through the film before stabbing the electric fuse into it. He then tossed it right next to the cave.

The main weapons of the approaching Object, the low-stability plasma cannons, slowly aimed toward them.

However, Heivia leapt into the cave before they could spew flames and Quenser followed. The Elite girl’s foot got caught in the snow and she started to trip, but she managed to turn it into a roll that brought her into the cave.

Quenser frantically caught the Elite girl before shouting at Heivia.

“Hey, what are we gonna do!? If it fires its plasma cannons into the cave, we’ll be cooked to death!! No matter how much this cave branches apart, all the air inside will be heated up to the point that the entire cave will be an oven!!”

“That’s what the C4’s for! Now, outta the way!! Get deeper inside!!”

Heivia urged them on and Quenser headed further inside the cave while half-dragging the Elite girl. After heading about 10 meters in, Quenser had a thought.

What was Heivia planning to do with the C4?

He may have been planning to detonate it when the Object was right up against the entrance to the cave, but Quenser doubted that would do any damage to it. After all, the Object’s armor could withstand a direct hit from a nuclear missile or two with no real issues.

“Sorry, I decided to test our luck from the beginning.”

Immediately afterwards, Heivia hit the switch for the wireless detonation device.

With a tremendous roar, the roof of the cave collapsed, sealing off the entrance.

It was true that he was testing their luck.

First of all, he had just buried them alive if there was no other exit.

Second of all, the compressed explosive blast flowed into the cave.

Thanks to that, Quenser felt as if his eardrums were going to burst.

===Part 12===

They came across a branch in the cave after travelling down it a bit and found a different exit shortly after that. After exiting the cave, the three of them buried the exit in snow. They actually wanted to blow it up with C4, but the blast could have easily drawn the Object to them.

The giant Object could not enter the cave, so flesh-and-blood soldiers would likely be sent to search for them. They wanted the enemy to think they were still hiding in the cave.

Quenser and the others hid in a conifer forest outside the cave. Quenser had thought there was no way hiding behind the trees would do anything to keep out the cold in that freezing land, but merely being protected from the winter wind did wonders for his body temperature.

While munching on a ration that tasted like an uncooked rice cake made of an eraser, Quenser looked over toward the cave entrance.

“Well, it doesn’t look like they’ve been able to figure out where we went.”

“I can still hear that low, thunder-like roar, so the Object must still be near,” said the Elite girl as she strained her ears and brought a small ration to her mouth with both hands.

Hearing that, Quenser focused on the distant noise as well.

“Most likely, dealing with the Elite that can pilot an Object takes top priority for them. It probably won’t leave until the search is over.”

That also meant their fleeing comrades would not be slaughtered until Quenser and the others were found or the enemy gave up the search.

Heivia still had the heavy-looking but useless portable anti-tank missile hanging from his shoulder.

“Hey, since the enemy’s lost sight of us, can’t we survive if we take this chance to disappear?”

“Maybe, but that would just lead to our side being slaughtered as they climb the mountain,” Quenser said.

“Shit!” Heivia cursed.

The Elite girl nibbled on the corner of the square ration and said, “But do you really think we can safely continue to act as a decoy until they get away?”

“We’d definitely die if we did that. If an enemy soldier so much as catches a glimpse of us, they’ll call the Object and have it send some concentrated fire our way from its plasma cannons! Even just darting out to act as a decoy is out of the question!!”

“Then are you saying we just leave!?”

“Yes!! I just said we should do just that!! Not even the princess’s Object could stand up to that monster! How the hell are we supposed to do anything!?”

The princess hung her head down at the mention of her defeat.

“…That was because the device suddenly started to activate. It took a bit of time to cancel that mode and that Object attacked while I was trying to do so.”

“The device? Oh, the security device.”

Basically, it was a self-destruct device. The Object was a giant mass of military secrets, so there had to be a means of ensuring it did not fall into enemy hands. If its sensors detected that it could no longer function even if it had not taken serious damage, the princess’s Object would seal the special gas for its low-stability plasma cannons in the space between the armor and the reactor and then detonate it.

“That doesn’t matter. Don’t try to escape the problem before your eyes with idle chatter! We need to come up with a way of dealing with that damn water strider!!”

“Are you still thinking of running away? You may survive, but you’ll be traumatized for the rest of your life! You’re a noble, right? Being the sole survivor here will be seen as a disgrace for you. You won’t get to be the next head of your family and your life will head into a downward spiral faster than you can imagine!”

“…!? Then what the fuck am I supposed to do!?”

“At this rate, you’ll either die here on the battlefield or back in the home country! If you don’t want that, then we need to do something about that thing!!”

The three of them fell silent now that they were faced with the obvious question of “How?”

Quenser tossed the last piece of his flavorless ration into his mouth.

He looked at the other two’s faces and had a sudden thought.

“I’m a student who’s studying to be an Object designer, you’re an analyst who searches for things that could lead to a winning strategy against Objects, and you’re an Elite who pilots an Object. With the three of us…”

“Hey, you’re kidding right. I have a feeling I know what you’re thinking, but please tell me you’re kidding.”

“…We have no choice but to try to find one, right?” said Quenser with the stiff expression characteristic of someone who was truly cornered. “We need to find some kind of weakness in that supposedly unbeatable Object.”

And so, Quenser and the other two circled around the slope of the mountain on foot, heading back to the cave entrance they had blown up with C4.

He hid among the deep snow and held his rifle out through gaps between the trees.

He was not preparing to shoot an enemy.

He was using the scope in place of binoculars.

Quenser was looking at the Object, so the rifle would not be much use anyway.

“(…Hey, don’t hit the infrared switch. If it notices the exposure, it’ll blow us away with those plasma cannons.)”

Heivia was lying down next to him and giving him unnecessary warnings. That was just how nervous he was.

Not that that was surprising.

They were about 300 meters from the Object, but if it noticed them, there would be no escaping. They would merely be mercilessly slaughtered. Just hearing the thundercloud-like roar spreading through the ground was enough to make them tense up with fear.

“(…What is that Object doing?)”

“(…Searching with its radar? …No. It might be able to find a tank or fighter with that, but I doubt it can locate people with it.)”

“(…It appears to be trying to access a satellite. However, it is not going well because the signal cannot get through,)” added the Elite girl.

“(…Oh, that’s right. A chaff missile was fired as a meteorological weapon. It scattered signal-blocking particles in the clouds which turned the natural clouds into giant anti-satellite shields.)”

If the Object could use the satellite, they could be found in an instant. Quenser was now immensely thankful for that waste of tax money.

“Okay, let’s review what we know,” he said while staring through the rifle scope.

Heivia stared at the Object through the sight of the anti-tank missile and forced his tone to remain light.

“The enemy’s Object is codenamed Water Strider. Oh, and that’s just our codename for it. We have no idea what name they developed it under.”

“The name comes from those legs,” said the Elite girl crouching next to Quenser while she stared at the Water Strider with her naked eyes.

Quenser moved the rifle to look at the Object’s legs.

The main body of the Water Strider was a giant sphere. Four insect-like legs extended from there and to the ground.

It moved by gliding rather than walking. It slid along the ground just as a water strider moved across water, and thus it received that codename.

“It seems to slide along the ground using static electricity. It’s basically the same as yours, princess, but with those four legs, it can regulate itself to move smoothly across much rougher surfaces,” said Quenser while especially focusing on the very bottom of its legs.

[[Image:Heavy_Object_v01_106.png|thumb]]

The princess continued for him.

“The static electricity is only used to make the heavy Object float. It uses a different means to propel itself forward. For mine, it uses lasers to detonate the air, but the Water Strider uses its legs to directly kick off of the ground.”

In that aspect, the Water Strider truly moved like a real water strider. However, high-level calculations and minute adjustments must have been made instantaneously to ensure the Object’s weight did not become focused on a single leg which would crush it. It actually had to use a method where the legs only just barely touched the ground as they kicked off of it.

After thinking through all that, Quenser continued his explanation.

“Basically, the static electricity method is a relative of hovercrafts that blow air down to float on the surface of the water. Instead of destroying the Object, can’t we dig up the earth beneath its legs? If there’s enough of a difference in ground level, the power keeping it afloat will cease to be equally distributed and it might not be able to slide along anymore.”

“It can still walk using its four legs if it has to. If one leg is stuck, it can just pull it out. That may stop it for about 10 seconds, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop it from functioning,” explained Heivia. “Also, its plasma cannons and all its other firepower will still be active even if we do stop its legs. We’ll only have turned a mobile gun battery into a stationary one. Once it realizes we’re approaching to destroy its legs, it’ll blow us to pieces in no time at all. It might work if we were willing to die in order save Floretia and the others, but I’d honestly rather not die like that.”

“In that case…” The Elite girl moved her gaze from the Water Strider’s legs to the main weapons attached at the top. “Can we make the enemy misfire? If only an Object can destroy an Object, then if we used the Object’s own power…”

“Maybe if we had our own Object, but this tiny missile can’t even scratch its cannons.”

Heivia lightly struck his portable missile as if it were trash.

They could not destroy the legs or cannons.

That only left…

“So we’ll have to deal with the main body.” Quenser looked at the giant sphere through the scope. “But isn’t that the toughest target of them all? A nuclear shelter-like wall surrounds the giant reactor. How are we supposed to get through that?”

“Hey, we had spare parts for our Object, right? Were there any spares of the main weapons for the princess’s Object in there? Only the firepower of an Object can destroy an Object, so this could work if we have one of its cannons, right?”

“Do you know how much of an output an Object’s reactor has?” Quenser shook his head with a bitter expression on his face. “It produces enough energy to have energy to spare while firing over 100 weapons that would not receive sufficient energy from a standard nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Those reactors are crystallizations of human technology. They are handmade by about 300 technicians with skills that not even precision machinery can match. Where are you planning to get an energy source to replace that reactor?” Quenser continued giving flaws in Heivia’s suggestion. “And even if we did have a reactor to use, those weapons are meant to be fired while attached to a 50 meters, 20 ton Object. The shockwave from firing the railguns or coilguns might be enough to kill us if we fired them and the radiant heat from the laser or plasma weapons could turn us into human torches. …Actually, a low-stability plasma cannon would probably shoot off like a rocket if we fired one.”

“I was just thinking out loud, dammit. And that damn Water Strider made sure to destroy all the maintenance facilities from our base to crush even the slimmest possibility of something like that.”

However, the two of them both stopped speaking there.

“Wait a second.”

“Yeah.”

The Elite girl looked confused as the two guys took their eyes from the scopes and exchanged glances.

“Even if we can’t destroy the Object itself, their base zone is still run by soldiers.”

“That monster is still a weapon, so it’ll stop moving if it doesn’t receive regular maintenance, won’t it?”

Quenser and the other two moved far away from the Water Strider and headed down the mountain slope. The three of them came up behind the Water Strider’s maintenance base zone.

They were inside a rusted metal tower.

It had likely been set up as a watchtower while the base zone was being constructed and the radars had yet to be set up. It seemed to have been abandoned since the base zone had been completed, so Quenser and the others made use of it.

While hiding behind the bulletproof metal panels attached to the watchtower, they looked out into the distance where the enemy maintenance base zone spread out before them. The base appeared to be about 500 meters square.

“…Hey, did you notice it?” whispered Heivia as they looked out at the base zone.

“Yeah, it has a lot of radar facilities. In fact, the base is mostly made up of radars.”

Most of the buildings made of thick concrete were either maintenance areas for the Water Strider or radar facilities for supporting the Object. It had almost no normal military force outside of the Object. The base had been constructed based on the theory that Objects were synonymous with war and therefore everything should be focused on it.

“Not only are there no tanks or fighters, but there aren’t even any armored vehicles or soldier transport vehicles. The few vehicles scattered about all look like tractors for plowing the snow.”

“I guess they made everything either for Object maintenance or radar in order to cut down on unneeded maintenance costs for the inspecting the other vehicles.”

“It’s true that spending taxes on maintaining outdated tanks seems pretty ridiculous…”

Most likely, the only military force outside of the Object at the enemy base zone was infantry. And speaking of the infantry…

“I guess this isn’t too surprising,” muttered Quenser. “A student who had never actually held a gun before couldn’t take out four real soldiers. Those were probably just maintenance workers. They didn’t expect to have to capture an Elite like that, so they had to hurriedly throw together a team of noncombat maintenance soldiers to go after her.”

“Whether they were trained or not, those were still horrible bastards you killed. This doesn’t change the fact that you’re the knight that saved the princess,” said Heivia lightly.

Their moods had improved quite a bit just by getting some distance away from the object even if it was only temporarily.

“However, if they had to send maintenance soldiers to the front lines, it’s probably safe to assume they don’t have many normal soldiers. If we could just get rid of that gigantic Object, Floretia and the others fleeing might be enough to take them out.”

“The problem is what to do about that Object,” said the Elite girl.

Quenser looked at the largest facility in the base zone that was likely the maintenance facility.

“? …It looks like the roof and walls can open.”

“Well, their only means of fighting is the Object. It’d be a major problem if they were attacked while it was being serviced. I’m betting they make sure some of the cannons can still function while it’s undergoing maintenance so they can intercept any attack.”

“But if the Object is still running, how can they service it?”

“The Water Strider has over 100 weapons, so they’ll still have 50 left over even if they stop half of them for maintenance. That way, they have a minimum number active at all times.”

Quenser looked back at the base zone as a whole while listening to Heivia.

“…So what should we blow up?” Quenser asked his comrades in arms while thinking on the structure of the various buildings. “What would cause them the most problems if it was destroyed?”

“You already know, don’t you? The legs. There has to be a storage area or something that holds the spare parts for the Water Strider’s legs.”

“?”

The Elite girl looked confused, but Quenser nodded in agreement.

“Even with that giant form floating, quite a bit of stress has to be put on the legs. It’s bad enough with a giant flat surface like with a hovercraft and its using just the ends of those four legs.”

“According to our battle records, that damn water strider always goes back to its base for maintenance once every 12 hours. Most likely, it’s getting an overhaul for those ‘glass slippers’ on its feet. Constantly producing enough energy to make that giant thing float must melt the metal parts.”

“My Object uses static electricity too, but it can go half a year without replacing the parts. I remember because it is generally replaced with the attached box that holds the compressed exhaust gases from the JPlevelMHD reactor.”

“That’s due to the effective area, don’t you think? The flat floating surface at the bottom of the upside down Y-shape undercarriage is a few dozen meters across, so the burden on any one point isn’t too great. However, that Water Strider floats from only the ends of the four legs, so it gets worn down much faster. That’s what makes the vast difference between having to replace the parts every half day or every half year.”

“…Since it’s a half day, does that mean the Water Strider would chase after us for another 12 hours even if we destroy the facility?”

“Sure, if it had just replaced its ‘glass slippers’ with new ones. It’s been a while since it last replaced them and it had to have been putting more stress on its legs than usual while fighting the princess’s Object. I’d say its undercarriage must be pretty burnt out by now. In fact, it’s surprising it hasn’t headed back to the base yet.”

“So if we blow up those spare parts…” muttered the girl.

“It won’t be able to replace them. The Object will burn out its legs and no longer be able to move. Even if it does force itself to continue moving like that, the tough barrier walls will melt its system from within.”

“We can’t destroy the Object itself, but we’ll be able to run away from the threat.”

“That means we need to think of a way to sneak into the base,” said the Elite girl.

Quenser and Heivia looked over at the short princess and she continued speaking.

“As an Elite that pilots an Object, I have an idea how we can sneak through their radar net.”

===Part 13===

The only explosives they had on hand were the C4 for destroying bridges or rock and the portable anti-tank missile.

Quenser and Heivia headed down from the watchtower and headed for enemy’s Object maintenance base zone.

“…Should we really have left the princess behind?”

“All three of us going wouldn’t have helped any. If the Water Strider returns while we’re working, we need to escape from the base, so leaving a lookout behind like this is best.”

“Hah. Give me a break, Sir Knight. Even if rank and file soldiers like us are captured, there’s a chance they’ll keep the treaty and treat us as prisoners of war. However, an Elite would clearly be different. She’ll either be brutally tortured to get classified information on our Object or shot on the spot to destroy our army’s ability to fight at the root. You were just making sure she could still flee if we fucked this up.”

“Like I said: this is best.”

As Quenser trudged through the snow, a smile appeared on his lips.

Due to the cold, it was a stiff, awkward smile, but it was a natural smile all the same.

“You certainly have cheered up,” he said to Heivia.

“Of course I have. Charging into an enemy base with some scrawny bastard is so much better than being chased around by that monstrous Object.”

They had recovered mentally enough that jokes and sarcasm now came to them naturally once more.

They eventually reached the barricade at the back of the base. The enemy base zone was surrounded by a long net made of synthetic fiber, but it did not appear to have any sensors attached.

“What do you think? Should we climb over?”

“No, you idiot. The guards will definitely notice us if we climb two meters up. We need to cut a hole in the barricade,” Heivia whispered as he pulled a knife from his waist.

He used the large blade to cut through the synthetic fibers weaved into the barricade one at a time.

It took a while and they were worried a patrolling soldier would notice them, but one never did. It seemed they truly did leave everything to the Object.

“Let’s go.”

“Hey, where do you think the spare parts for the legs are stored?” asked Quenser as he slipped through the hole in the barricade.

It seemed like thick concrete buildings were placed here and there throughout the wide area of the base zone. A lot of them were large antenna facilities for assisting the Object. The area between buildings was unusually large either so an intruder could be spotted from the watchtowers or so the giant Object could pass through without obstruction.

Heivia answered while hiding behind the nearest building.

“I don’t know, but the Object has to be overhauled every half day. It’s probably the place the most people go to and from.”

“By the way, how long has it been since the Water Strider last started moving?”

“It should be coming back soon, so we need to blow up those spare parts before it does.”

If they could keep the Water Strider from being serviced on, it would be stuck at the base zone. However, if it was successfully overhauled, it could move around freely for another 12 hours. If that happened, their fleeing superiors and fellow soldiers would be slaughtered for sure.

Quenser used the scope of his rifle to look at the surrounding facilities and found one building that had a lot more footprints in the snow leading to its entrance than any other. The snowstorms made footprints disappear, but the white snow was a dirty mud color in that area alone. He could see footprints from 100 to 200 people as well as tire and tread tracks from a few heavy vehicles.

“That building isn’t big enough to fit the Object inside.”

“So are those footprints and tracks from taking the spare parts from there to the maintenance facility?”

“It might just be a popular strip club on the base. If so, we’re gonna end up in a firefight with 100 idiots pitching tents in their pants.”

Quenser used his rifle’s scope to look at the watchtowers at the four corners of the base zone, but the parabolic antennae of the many large radar facilities that had been built later blocked the view of any guards who might be in them. Once again, the Object took priority. At any rate, it looked like they were not going to be caught that way if they ran through the base zone.

Quenser and Heivia charged out from behind the building and ran across a wide open area of snow.

It only took 10 seconds to cross, but they thought their hearts were going to stop.

No gunshots from a sniper in the watchtowers were heard.

They pressed up against the wall of the storehouse.

“Let’s go in the back way. Do you know how to open an electronic lock?”

“If we have to, we can use the C4 to blow open the door.”

“That’s a great idea. If only it wouldn’t bring every soldier in the base to us.”

As Quenser and Heivia spoke back and forth, they circled around to the back entrance and found it unlocked.

“…I guess they decided there was no chance they would have human intruders.”

“And I thought having guards was a waste of money back at our base…”

They opened the small door and entered the storehouse.

The building was 50 meters wide, 100 meters long, and 15 meters tall. It was simply a large open area with no inner walls. Metal beams ran vertically and horizontally through the area. The metal framework was highly regular and created something that looked like giant bookshelves from a library.

And those bookshelves were lined with cylindrical parts.

The cylinders had a diameter of about a meter and a length of about 5 meters, making them look something like a fighter aircraft’s engine. From Quenser’s knowledge of Objects, he guessed they were the devices that created the massive amounts of static electricity by spinning the turbines.

“My guess is this is part of the undercarriage, but…”

“Yeah, at my station, we were analyzing the battle records and trying to come up with an expected design of the enemy Object. I’m pretty sure a part similar to this was drawn in the predicted diagram,” agreed Heivia.

Quenser looked at the side of the cylindrical turbines where a number was written. It was most likely a simple spec for the electrical power it used, but…

“…What the hell? Is this decimal point in the wrong place? If this is accurate, then it’s more than twice what I’m guessing the value is for the plasma cannons.”

“To keep such a large body afloat and moving at such high speeds, they have to go all out like that. The electrical simulation group estimates that each leg uses around 10 of these turbines.”

“Twenty times the power of a plasma cannon? And for just one leg?”

“Look,” said Heivia as he opened the maintenance cover of the turbine and peered inside. “The thing is jammed full of sensors. It almost looks like those horrible time bombs you see in movies. These are all for extremely sensitive security. They have to make sure they can predict ahead of time if control of one of these high output turbines is going to be lost so they can shut it down ahead of time.”

“…Come to think of it, I think I heard something about the turbines melting if they continually created energy.”

“It’s too late by the time they melt,” said Heivia. “Just because the turbine stops functioning does not mean the energy produced by the reactor is going to just disappear. The reactor and the legs have a few emergency transformers and discharge devices installed, but the amount of power they would have to get rid of would be orders of magnitude greater than what those can deal with. If all the turbines packed into a single leg went out, that would be 20 times the output of one of its plasma cannons. I’m betting the transformers and discharge devices wouldn’t even be able to function if the turbines actually melted and ceased to function. The devices would be blown to pieces.”

That was why the turbines had so many sensors installed. If they could predict a failure early, they could actually deal with the excess energy by discharging it in stages.

“Its functionality may be optimized…but the Water Strider’s design just forces a lot of things through, doesn’t it?”

“That’s just one aspect to creating an Object specialized for this snowy region. One like our princess’s that was designed to be almighty in any situation and the Water Strider that only works in Alaska may both be Objects, but they were developed with completely different ideas in mind,” said Heivia. “Deep snow can slow you down, so an Object that can move around quickly is a major advantage. …And that was what did our princess in.”

However, if the turbines could not be replaced, Quenser and the others would be victorious.

If the static electricity producer in the Water Strider’s undercarriage was destroyed, it could not be overhauled and then the enemy Object would be stuck.

And they had C4 they could use to carry that out.

But…

===Part 14===

Within the watchtower a short distance from the maintenance base zone, the Elite girl waited for Quenser and Heivia’s return.

Suddenly, her ears twitched and she frantically turned around.

She had heard the dark thundercloud-like noise the Water Strider made when it moved using massive amounts of static electricity. It had likely started back toward its base zone because its time limit was drawing near.

If it ran across the other two in the base zone, they would surely be killed.

The girl had been handed a radio for just such a situation. If it came to it, she was to contact Quenser and Heivia so they could get away. Their plan would fail, but they would keep their lives. If the plan to destroy the Object’s undercarriage had to be ended, they would just have to come up with some other way.

The Elite girl reached for the radio’s switch, but suddenly stopped.

(…Not good.)

She audibly gulped.

The enemy base zone was made up of maintenance facilities for the Object and large radio facilities to support the Object. They were likely meant to more efficiently locate the enemy in a snowstorm, but if she used a radio so near a base with that many precision radars…

(They would definitely notice. Not only would they locate me, but they might even realize the signal was being sent toward the base…)

The radio was supposed to let her warn them of danger, but the transmission itself would bring danger on them.

However, she could not tell them the Object was approaching without the radio.

The Water Strider continued to approach the base zone.

(What do I do?)

The Elite girl looked down at the radio.

She did not want those two to die. This was not an issue of being duty bound to protect the other soldiers as the Elite of an Object. Beyond such sworn duty, she simply did not want those who had stood up to protect her to die in vain.

Comrades in arms.

When that term appeared in her mind, the Elite girl nodded.

(The enemy’s top priority is the Elite that pilots the Object…)

She took a deep breath and then stared intently at the giant weapon.

That was her only chance to act as a decoy.

===Part 15===

With C4 in hand, Quenser’s expression turned bitter.

“…What are we supposed to do?” he muttered in a trembling voice.

The maintenance parts for the Object were just the precision equipment with no outer shell, so C4 was more than enough to destroy them.

However…

“There’s just too many of them. The amount of C4 I have isn’t enough!!”

The vast space within the building was packed almost completely full of the cylindrical parts. Quenser gritted his teeth at the overly cautious amount they had prepared.

Objects were synonymous with war.

Everyone on that base would be slaughtered if the Object ceased to function.

The massive amount of parts showed how afraid they were of that happening. The enemies were cowardly enough to leave all the killing to the Object, but they were well aware of its weaknesses.

Heivia was taken aback in the same way and he tapped Quenser’s shoulder.

“Hey, let’s just blow up the entire building. Even if we can’t blow up each individual part, we can crush it all under the rubble if we destroy one of the building’s main support pillars!!”

“Do you have any way of being sure that every single one of these thousands of parts will be unusable afterwards? And even if each individual part is unusable, they might be able to scavenge enough working components to put together a usable one!”

“But that’s-…! No, you’re right. The continued operation of the Object is a matter of life or death for them. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were that persistent. But what else are we supposed to do!?”

“Shit!!” Quenser swore and ran through the storehouse.

He looked at each of the shelves made of the metal framework to see if he could find any useful information. As he read the displays, his impatience increased, preventing him from actually comprehending any of it.

At the same time, Heivia glanced toward the exit.

“Hey, this is dangerous. We should really finish up in here! If we can’t take out the Object’s undercarriage, there’s no point in staying any longer!! We need to get out of here!!”

“Wait just a bit longer!! There has to be something!!” replied Quenser as he flipped through a turbine maintenance manual he had found.

When he then heard a low sound like thunderclouds spreading across the sky, he thought his heart would stop.

It was the sound of the Water Strider moving.

“Oh, shit!! Why didn’t the princess warn us over the radio!?” Heivia yelled, but Quenser paid him no heed.

After coming that far, they would die a vain death if they did not retaliate in some way.

(Wait a second. This combination of a four level sensor and automatic switch…)

Quenser looked back and forth between the maintenance manual and the shelves.

(What’s the number!? If I know the leading number…!!)

“Time’s up, hero!! If we don’t get out of here in 30 seconds, we’ll be trapped!!”

“Give me one more minute!!”

“What are you messing around with!? Didn’t you conclude we couldn’t blow them up!?”

“45 more seconds!!”

Heivia heard a great number of footsteps approaching. Quenser had likely lost his ability to make rational decision due to the hope he thought he saw before him. Just as Heivia was thinking of kicking Quenser’s ass to make him leave, Quenser finally returned to Heivia.

“Let’s go. Can we still make it!?”

“Because of some idiot wasting time it’s gonna be pretty thrilling, but hopefully! This way!!” Heivia said as he ran toward the back entrance.

He opened the door a crack and peered outside just in time to see the giant Object cut across nearby. It was likely headed for the maintenance area. The maintenance soldiers were following behind it.

“Can we make it?”

“It’ll be like cutting across a bee hive, but we won’t get another chance. The radar facilities will be on highest alert when the Object is undergoing maintenance. We need to get out of the base before they switch over the mode.”

They then heard a clanking noise.

It was not coming from the back entrance. The personnel door next to the giant shutter on the front was opening.

“Dammit, let’s go!”

Quenser and Heivia were almost pushing each other as they charged out of the storehouse.

It seemed the enemy army had lowered its guard quite a bit since the Object they felt was the sole threat had been destroyed. A great number people were gathered around the returning Water Strider as if it were a triumphant parade.

“Hey, you aren’t going to be using that C4, right? Stick fuses in it and throw it all over the area.”

“Are you going to use it as a diversion?”

“Once that damn Water Strider’s maintenance is done, we’re going to need some kind of plan to buy us enough time to escape. If they get a report of explosions all over their base, they might assume it’s being bombarded and turn the Object back to deal with it!!”

Quenser went along with Heivia’s idea and tossed the small pieces of C4 around as he ran. It was true that they were not going to need the C4.

After ridding themselves of all the C4, they headed back for the hole they had cut in the barricade.

That was when Quenser noticed something.

He suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong, hero!? Did you leave something behind!?”

“Yeah! The princess has been captured!!”

Heivia’s expression turned to one of shock upon seeing the serious look on Quenser’s face.

They headed behind a nearby building rather than for the hole in the barricade and then peered around the side so they could see the center of the base zone.

In the distance, they could see the Elite girl in handcuffs being forced to walk near the Water Strider. Their triumphant mood had not simply been due to the return of the Object. They were in high spirits because they now had a chance to lynch the person who had been threatening their lives.

Quenser looked back and forth between the hole in the barricade and the Elite girl in the center of the base zone.

“God dammit. What are we supposed to do!?” he asked.

“''What are we supposed to do''…? Oh, no. While I admit you’re a knight, you can’t possibly be thinking of trying to save her in this situation!”

“So we should just abandon her!? I’m not saying we have to take on the Object. We just scattered that C4 around, remember!? If we can confuse the enemy with that, there might be enough of an opening to save her!!”

“With just the two of us!? They have their Object. And even if they didn’t, how many soldiers do you see out there!? Do you know just how many reinforcements we would need to break through all of them!?”

“But without the Object, things would be different, right?”

“What?”

“If we can take out the Water Strider, we could manage with normal reinforcements like tanks or fighters, right!?”

Quenser gritted his teeth and operated the radio in his hand.

He was not detonating the C4.

He was trying to contact Floretia and the other fleeing soldiers, but Heivia frantically grabbed his hand upon realizing that.

“You idiot!! Their base is mainly radar facilities! If you send out a radio signal, they’ll find us in no time at all!!”

“But…!!”

“There’s nothing we can do. Even if we could contact Floretia and the others, do you really think they’d come!?”

“So we should just abandon the princess!? Do you remember why we split up with the main force and came here in the first place!? It was because we couldn’t abandon her!”

“Dammit,” Heivia said and quietly clicked his tongue.

He seemed to hesitate over something, but finally made up his mind and spoke.

“My military instructor taught me a secret trick back when I was trained.”

“?”

“If you raise the output of the infrared seeker on an 8th generation portable anti-tank missile as far as it will go, make a few special modifications to the aiming computer, and then connect it to the radio’s port, the high power military satellite will pick up the infrared signal, completing the transmission.”

“Wait, you mean…!!”

“But there’s no guarantee those in control of the radio facilities here won’t notice a trick like this and the chaff missile shot in to the clouds is obstructing any transmissions or signals. The instructor who taught me this said it should only be used as a last resort to get an SOS out. It’ll be a miracle if the transmission lasts even for a whole minute.”

As he practically spat out that explanation, Heivia put down the missile and started making the necessary preparations. Quenser removed the cover to the missile’s aiming computer.

“Do you know where and when the satellite is going to pass by overhead?”

“Look at the timetable in File 399 on your handheld device. If it’s on its standard orbit, you should be able to check it there without having to check online.”

Heivia connected the radio and portable anti-tank missile with a cable and slowly moved the barrel through the sky based on the data on Quenser’s handheld device. As he did, a bit of static ran through the radio’s speakers.

“There, Heivia. …Okay, it looks like we’ve got the satellite.”

“Hurry up and secure the transmission line and then connect to Floretia’s laser satellite communication device! I have no idea how long this manual method will last!!”

Despite the jury rigged method, they were using the proper military code, so the satellite actually relayed their signal. After getting the signal indicating the access had been a success, Quenser spoke into the radio.

“This is Quenser. Can you hear me, Floretia-san? We are currently near the enemy base zone!!”

“…!?”

They heard the sound of someone’s breath catching in their throat come from the radio.

Due to forcing the signal through with the portable anti-tank missile, the signal had a lot of noise mixed in. The static was louder than the voices, but they could barely manage to get their words across to each other.

“The princess was captured by the soldiers at the base. We are about to go save her. Could you lend us a hand? The base is mostly made up of Object maintenance facilities and radar facilities, so they basically have no tanks or fighters. If we can do something about the Object, we can easily defeat them!!”

“Do you know how dangerous that Object is? Give up on the princess. There is no need for you to die and, Quesner, you aren’t even an actual soldier. No one will blame you if you run away!!”

“We will deal with the Object,” said Quenser plainly. No one thought his words could be anything but a bluff. “Floretia-san, you can wait until you see the large flash of the Object blowing up, but the instant you think we could win at least send a single tank our way! That alone could completely change this situation. Please consider it!!”

“Okay, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up if I was you.”

“I’m free to get my hopes up over whatever I want,” Quenser said before switching off the radio.

He then turned toward Heivia.

He forced down the trembling of his body and said, “Now we’ve done everything we can.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think there’s really any chance of Floretia coming back. For one thing, your request was not based on military regulations. She isn’t going to put her subordinates and units in danger for that.”

“Now we just need to resolve everything by praying for a miracle and destroying the Object on our own.”

“Don’t say that like it’s easy. And I never said a single word about helping you save the princess.”

“I see.”

Quenser did not speak ill of Heivia for wanting to flee. He had forcibly gotten him involved before, but there was no guarantee they would survive the next time. Also, what Quenser was going to do next was not a proper military action. In fact, he was thankful that Heivia had stuck around as long as he had.

“…Sorry for making you tag along for all this. You leave through the hole in the barricade and escape into the forest over there. I’ll do everything I can to draw their attention while you do.”

“Wait, damn you. Don’t leave me with some horrible trauma! You’re not going to give me any choice are you!?”

Heivia was still stubbornly glancing back toward the hole in the barricade, but when Quenser dashed out from behind the building and headed for his next piece of cover, Heivia chased after him.

Quenser and Heivia headed out alone on a mission that had almost no chance of succeeding.

And of course, no miracle occurred.

After only 10 minutes, they were spotted, warning shots were fired at the ground near their feet by a sniper, and they ended up surrendering with their hands raised above their heads.

===Part 16===

Quenser, Heivia, and the Elite girl were brought to the center of the maintenance base zone. They were ordered to kneel down and put their hands behind their heads.

A soldier was placed behind each of them, holding a gun to their heads. A ring of people from the base zone had appeared to watch their public execution.

“Such a sad story, isn’t it? This is such a good example of a knight returning to save the princess.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“Oh, shit. The Object is entering the maintenance area.”

As Heivia and the Elite girl spoke back and forth, Quenser remained silent and watched the Water Strider slowly move along.

“(…If I create some confusion, do you think we can get away?)”

“(…Ahhn? You mean the C4 we scattered about? If that somehow blew up the Object, we might make it somehow.)”

“(…I’m serious here.)”

“(…So am I.)”

Meanwhile, one of the enemy soldiers stepped forward and stood before Quenser and the others. While chewing on some gum, he spat some yellow saliva at Quenser’s head.

“We’re gonna roast you with the Object’s main weapons.” He then turned toward the Elite girl. “For you, we’re gonna use suggestion and electrodes to pull out everything in your head. Your personality will never recover, but it’ll all be over in about 30 minutes. Afterwards, we’ll strip you naked and hang you from the main weapons until you freeze to death. Maybe the savages running through the woods and mountains will give up once they see that.”

“…So you don’t care about the war treaties relating to prisoners of war. I think I know who the real savages are here, you fucker.”

Heivia let that comment slip and immediately afterwards he had a thick leather military boot fly at his cheek. It struck him and he sank down into the snow. As he coughed, he glared at the enemy soldier with a powerful light in his eyes.

“The maintenance is complete, so it’s time for the execution,” the enemy soldier said mockingly.

With a great noise like a church bell, the walls and ceiling of the Object maintenance facility opened wide. Appearing from it was the giant weapon with a 50 meter main body and main cannons stretching in each direction, giving it a total length of over 140 meters. The Water Strider ruled over the winter Alaskan land with over 100 weapons and thick armor. As it had just replaced the parts for its undercarriage, the dark thundercloud-like noise created by the massive static electricity it created seemed to have a sharper tone to it.

It was about 300 meters away, but it had such great power that it could ignore such distances. The scene seriously made them feel like it would crush them under its legs if they gave the slightest movement.

Seeing that Object, Quenser whispered to Heivia.

“(…Get down when I charge out. Use that snowplow tractor over there for cover.)”

“(…Hey!!)”

Heivia did not have time to stop him.

Quenser charged out toward the enemy soldier approaching them. The surrounding soldiers held up their rifles, but they could not bring themselves to pull the trigger because of the struggle. That may have been thanks to the fact that they were all maintenance soldiers that had not been properly trained.

The enemy soldier must have thought Quenser was trying to grab his rifle because he pulled the rifle away.

However, Quenser was not grabbing for the rifle.

He was grabbing the rectangular radio strapped on the soldier’s shoulder like a knife.

“Get down!!” Quenser yelled just as the soldier pushed him away.

Quenser operated the radio with his thumb while rolling on the ground despite the fact that many rifle barrels were targeting him. Heivia assumed he was using the radio to detonate the C4 they had spread around the area, so he immediately jumped behind the snowplow tractor such that he covered up the Elite pilot.

However, that was not what happened.

Quenser was not detonating the C4 he had scattered as dummies.

He was detonating the leg of the Water Strider.

With an explosive noise, one of the four legs over 300 meters away exploded from the inside. It was not an external explosion. The explosion had clearly come from within the armor.

When Quenser had seen all the spare parts in the storehouse, he had determined it would be impossible to blow them all up. That was why he had searched out which spare parts would be put into the Object during its next maintenance and put C4 inside those parts. He still had plenty to learn, but his studies of the construction of Objects may have been what had allowed him to determine which parts were important and where he could stick the C4 inside them so it would not be noticed.

With its thick armor, the Object could not be destroyed even with a nuclear weapon. However, an explosive within the armor could destroy the equipment within the Object.

Also, he had blown away the turbines that consumed massive amounts of energy to create the static electricity that helped move the Object. Even one of them used twice the energy of a low-stability plasma cannon which meant each leg used 20 times that energy during normal use. This made it quite a delicate point.

So what would happen if that point was destroyed?

Tons of sensors were installed in the turbines to predict failures and shut them down in stages to minimize the damage. How much of a burden would be put on the emergency transformers and discharge devices – as well as the reactor itself – if one was blown up causing a chain reaction that blew up the rest of them?

The soldier who Quenser had stolen the radio from and who was now pointing his rifle at the boy looked over toward the sudden explosion.

But…

“…Did you think you could destroy the Object by causing an explosion within it?” he said triumphantly.

The initial blast had caused a few secondary explosions, but it had remained isolated to a single leg. It had not been enough to destroy the entirety of the Water Strider.

“Did you know that 5% of our Object’s weight is due to safety devices? A few rank and file soldiers sneaking into a maintenance facility and pulling a few tricks isn’t going to cut it.”

After causing the large explosion, Quenser had jumped behind the snowplow tractor and the enemy soldier was standing in the middle of the open snow aiming his rifle at him.

“The superiority of Objects will never be overturned. That is the battlefield we fight on.”

[[Image:Heavy_Object_v01_142.jpg|thumb]]

“Is that so?”

However, Quenser continued to smile even in that hopeless situation.

“Did ''you'' know that our princess’s Object and your Water Strider have similar devices installed? I saw it mentioned in your maintenance manual. Some Objects have security devices installed to ensure they will not fall into enemy hands. If it has not been destroyed but can no longer function, the enemy could retrieve it and analyze the technology. To prevent that, the special gas for the plasma cannons is used to blow the Object up.”

Something appeared in Quenser’s hand like he was a stage magician.

It was small enough to fit in his palm and looked like a rectangular circuit board.

“The device is controlled by precision sensors, so it almost never activates unnecessarily.”

The enemy soldier immediately realized what the rectangular circuit board was.

However, it was too late to do anything about it.

“But if that sensor is removed from a turbine that blows up, do you think it can make an accurate decision?”

After all, the C4 explosion had caused a malfunction in the Water Strider’s security device, causing it to activate. The special gas for the low-stability plasma cannons filled a special space within the giant machine…and caused a tremendous explosion shortly thereafter.

The great explosion caused by plasma within the Object enveloped the reactor in no time at all. However, it was an intentional explosion meant to destroy all classified information. It was set to only produce the destructive force needed to prevent any of the technology from being analyzed, so it was many times less powerful than a critical explosion of the reactor itself.

Nevertheless, all sound disappeared.

The giant sphere that was the Object’s main body explosively expanded and a pure white flash of light and an intense shockwave were emitted in all directions. The enemy soldier standing out in the open was stuck by the shockwave. He doubled over and was tossed a few dozen meters before landing. Similar things happened to the other enemy soldiers.

The giant Object had been blown up at the hands of a flesh-and-blood combat engineer.

That was an unheard-of event that completely overturned the theory of war itself. That accomplishment had been carried out by the combination of the skills of Quenser, Heivia, and the Elite girl. A combat engineer who normally worked behind the scenes to blow up stones or bridges to create or obstruct paths had been raised to the level of a hero that could influence the outcome of an entire war.

However, he did not have time to enjoy that fact.

“Gwaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!”

Quenser had immediately taken cover, but he did not escape unscathed.

Even though he was over 300 meters from the Object and hiding behind a snowplow tractor, the explosive flash of light seemed to pierce into his retinas. The surface of the steel tractor became scorched and it slid to the side.

Intense pain ran through his head and his sense of hearing was almost completely gone. A burning pain covered his entire back. He frantically rubbed his eyes as his vision was filled with pure white and tried to find Heivia and the Elite girl who must have been in a similar state collapsed nearby.

He then heard a clanking noise from somewhere.

A few of the soldiers must have miraculously managed to survive just like Quenser and the other two. His vision finally returned and he saw a few soldiers desperately trying to aim their rifles at him while staggering due to the shock of the blast.

Quenser once more felt the radio in his hand.

He set the frequency and sent the detonation code for the C4.

The explosives he had scattered about exploded and the enemy soldiers holding their rifles nearby were thrown humorously into the air.

Quenser shouted at Heivia who was lying collapsed nearby.

“Can you run!? Grab one of the rifles from the ground and return fire!!”

“God damn you! That’s what you call ‘creating some confusion’? Something that big is going to make me panic, too!!” Heivia shouted as he picked up a rifle lying on the ground.

Even if they had managed to destroy the Water Strider due to countless coincidences, their goal was not the destruction of the maintenance base zone.

They just had to escape safely.

But…

“!?”

As Quenser and the others ran toward the exit of the base zone, a single enemy soldier blocked their way. He was already holding his rifle up and had it aimed squarely at Quenser’s chest. The two stared at each other in that hopeless situation. Quenser clearly saw a smile appear on the soldier’s face.

And then he heard a gunshot.

However, it had not come from the soldier’s rifle.

A sniper bullet flew from much farther away and pierced straight through the side of the enemy soldier’s head.

The rest of the enemy soldiers turned in shock in the direction the gunshot had come from just in time to see countless missiles and shells fly in from outside the base zone. The enemy soldiers were not the only ones surprised by this. Quenser and the other two had been saved by the unknown covering fire, but they just stood staring in disbelief.

“They actually came… That’s Floretia-san’s unit, isn’t it!?”

“What the hell? It looks like that Japan obsessed pair of giant tits can actually be a decent commander!!”

The enemy base zone was filled with maintenance and radar facilities to support the Object. The rest of its forces were nothing but infantry units. They did not have any tanks or even armored vehicles.

On the other hand, Quenser and the others’ army had the full complement of tanks and fighters they had always complained were nothing but a waste of taxes. It had seemed almost certain that those outdated weapons would never actually be used, but they were finally able to show their true worth.

Several explosions were scattered about and enemy soldiers flew through the air. Amid it all, Quenser grabbed the Elite girl’s hand and ran for the exit. It seemed the sentry had been taken out by a howitzer.

Heivia ran alongside him while intermittently firing his rifle.

“Heh heh. Hey, Quenser! We’d have to be pretty stupid to die after coming this far, wouldn’t we!?”

“Yeah, Floretia-san came all the way here because she believed in us. We need to at least live up to her expectations!!”

Had their superiors who had been fleeing come back because they had seen the clear sign of victory that was the Object exploding? Or had they felt some kind of responsibility after running off and abandoning the Elite girl?

As Quenser ran out through the base zone’s exit, he turned back to look at the base that had black smoke rising from it.

The battle was essentially over.

Both sides had lost their Object. All that was left was for the normal soldiers to fight it out. Once it came to that, there was a great difference between an army made up of maintenance soldiers and personnel for the radars meant for an Object battle and an army that had plenty of old-fashioned tanks and fighters.

(Flesh-and-blood soldiers blew up that Object…)

The boy who had carried out an act that had overturned the basic knowledge of war stared blankly at the enemy base zone where explosions and gunfire continued.

The Elite girl must have been thinking something similar because she opened her mouth to speak.

“…Those people may see us as monster on the same level as an Object.”

“Not my problem,” Heivia said defensively as he stared at the base zone with his soot-covered face. “This is war. They’re the ones that taught us that when they ignored our white flag. We had all forgotten the weight of the word ‘war’ due to the Object.”

===Part 17===

War was taking place all over the world, but at the very least, the intense fighting that had been spreading through Alaska had come to a close. Both armies’ Objects had been destroyed and (rare for that era) a fight between flesh-and-blood soldiers had broken out. In the end, Quenser and the others’ unit had been victorious.

Quenser, Heivia, and the Elite girl had returned from Alaska to the home country.

They were from different places, so they parted ways upon leaving the maintenance base zone.

However, they had one last chance to meet.

A special awards ceremony was being held.

The one who had saved their army from a hopeless situation after their Object had been destroyed had not been a professional soldier. It had been a mere student who had been with the unit to study Objects. The news that flesh-and-blood people had destroyed an invincible Object had spread around the world and they were being honored with medals.

Quenser was within the waiting room of the party hall of a giant hotel the likes of which he had never set foot in before. (He had actually planned on visiting them quite often once he got rich as an Object designer.) The feeling of the unfamiliar dress clothes bothered him and he was continually adjusting the position of the high-quality necktie. However, the sight of Heivia after so long made him forget that feeling altogether.

“I thought you were supposed to be a noble? I’ve never seen someone who looked worse in dress clothes than me.”

“Shut up. I lost the feel for this kind of thing while chasing deer in Alaska. And they don’t look too bad on you.”

However, he was from a noble family, so he was not overpowered by the atmosphere of the party hall even if the dress clothes did not seem to suit him. His body was not unnecessarily tensed up like Quenser’s was.

“So what battlefield are you headed to next, Heivia?”

“Are you stupid? I was only killing time at a military base in order to have enough achievements to be my family’s successor. Now that I’m publicly known as one of the people who blew up an Object, I have no need to stick with the military. Now I can live the rest of my life richly and comfortably. …Although that sounds like it has its own annoyances.”

“I see. So you’re heading straight for the ‘successful career’ path.”

“You’re doing pretty much the same thing, right? I heard the military took an interest in you and gave you the special right to look through the country’s database. Now you can see as many Object blueprints as you want without having to head out to the battlefield. With so many samples to study, you’re learning speed should be overwhelmingly faster than those around you.”

Hearing that, Quenser pinched his cheek.

It had yet to seem real to him, but it seemed he had succeeded in getting a head start on his own successful career.

“What’s the princess doing?”

“Well, the Elite that pilots an Object obviously can’t leave the front lines so easily. For us, destroying an Object was enough of a miracle to get public recognition, but for our Elite princess, it’s the norm,” said Heivia, casually showing just how different a world the Elite girl lived in.

Quenser thought once more on the burden those who piloted and fought with Objects had to bear.

Meanwhile, Heivia continued to speak.

“She’s waiting for her next orders inside an improved Object developed from the same line as her Object that was destroyed in Alaska. I hear a giant Object like that would take three or four years to develop from scratch, so it seems there had already been a plan underway to switch over to this new one. …Well, don’t you think that princess must like the battlefield if she willingly chose a place like that to wait?”

“After everything we went through, I can’t understand how she could possibly want to go back.”

“Maybe it’s ''because'' of everything we went through. She may have been given a chance to seriously think about the value of the lives of soldiers like us.”

Suddenly, a knock came at the waiting room’s door.

A beautiful secretary who worked for a high military official poked her head into the room and asked them to head to the party hall because the preparations for the ceremony were complete.

As they left the waiting room and headed down the passageway to the party hall, Quenser had a sudden thought.

“Oh, hey. Did you get an email from the princess?”

“You idiot. That’s another special right you alone have. After all, you’re the one that first grabbed a rifle and went running after her back then.”

“…I was hoping to meet her while we were here.”

“Well, we’re parting ways once more after the awards ceremony, but let’s make this more about celebrating our departure than mourning our parting.”

They opened the double doors to the party hall and were greeted by applause and the flash of cameras. Guided by the voice of the master of ceremonies, Quenser and Heivia slowly headed up onto the stage where they were greeted by distinguished members of the military and had medals on ribbons that were probably more valuable than an Olympic gold medal placed around their necks.

At the end of the ceremony, the master of ceremonies gave one last remark.

“Now, a round of applause for these two who defeated an Object without the assistance of an Object of their own. Let us see them off to their next battlefield while praying that their special and excellent strategies can continue to benefit the world in the future.”

(…Eh? What did that idiot just say?)

While standing on the stage, Quenser frantically looked over at the various high military officials, but they were simply applauding with clearly false smiles on their faces.

Their eyes alone were serious.

Objects were synonymous with war. A silent pressure beat down on Quenser telling him that the officials were not about to let go of the kind of soldiers that could destroy an Object and turn around a war.

“(…Hey. Listen up, hero. It looks like this is no joke. I just heard that fat one over there talking. I know where we’re being assigned next!)”

“(…Where we’re being assigned? That’s already been decided!?)”

“(…Apparently, we’ll be working along with the princess’s Object! It seems they’re thinking that, since we managed to destroy an Object on our own, we might be able to damage an enemy army even more efficiently if we have an Object working with us!!)”

“(…Are you serious? So we’re going to be facing those monstrous Objects again!?)”

As the unexpected strength of his relationships with certain people made him dizzy, Quenser looked down at the medal hanging from his neck.

(Please tell me this isn’t going to end up being no different from a posthumous promotion.)

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[HEAVY OBJECT:Volume1 Prologue|Prologue]]
| Return to [[HEAVY OBJECT|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[HEAVY OBJECT:Volume1 Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume4 The First Question

2011-11-03T17:27:34Z

Starkiller4299:

"...... Yuuji."

"Wha --- arghhh!? What the hell are you doing all of a sudden!?"

"...... don't dodge."

"When you're butting your head with me, of course I'll dodge!"

"...... I'm not butting my head."

"? Then what's that? A heddobatto<ref>'''heddobatto:''' Headbutt.</ref>?"

"...... a kiss."

"Alright. I don't want to see any unnecessary movement from you. Put your hands behind your head and explain this slowly in a way that's easy to understand."

"...... putting lips together. A natural act between an engaged couple like me and Yuuji. It's called 'making out'."

"Wait. I didn't mean that I don't know what a 'kiss' is. I'm asking, why are you doing that out of the bl......ahhhh!"

"....... you say you know, with whom, when, at where did you......!!"

"N, no! What I meant is that I know the meaning of a kiss, it doesn't mean that I have any ---"

"...... experience?"

"--- you can't really say that I don't have any ex...gyaaaaa! I'm kidding! I'm just being cocky, I've never experienced a real one before!"


"...... I see. Then, it's fine."

"I, I thought I was going to die...... So, why did you talk about that out of the blue?"

"...... look."

"Yeah? Isn't that Akihisa and Shimada? I can't really see it from here --- but isn't Shimada running away from him?"

"...... they were kissing before that."

"Seriously! Ugh, the fellows in our class have started surrounding the ditched guy, Akihisa."

"...... an incredible killing intent."

"Woah, what a nice body! Something good is also stuffed in between his jaws. As expected, he's outnumbered."

"...... he can't move anymore."

"Tsk tsk. As usual, Akihisa is an idiot. They are famous for not showing any mercy to anyone who has experienced even something as small as a kiss."

"...... I'm sorry."

"Huh? What's wrong? Why are you apologizing? Since I haven't done anything like that, I'll fine, you know?"

"...... the truth is, while Yuuji was sleeping ---"

"I can't hear you! I totally, completely can't hear you at all!"

"...... it's ok. Since I'll take responsibility."


"That's not the problem, isn't it!? --- hah! Killing intent gyaaaaaaaaa!"

"Heretics discovered. We've secured them."

"Alright. Take them away."

"Roger! President Sugawa!"

"....... ah...... Yuuji......"

"How goes the preparations for the trial?"

"No problem."

"Well done. We're going to begin the emergency heretic trial! All members, do not be negligent in inspecting your tools!"

"""Roger! President Sugawa!"""

"...... what shoud I do. I was so busy selling him out that I forgot to mention that I only did it on his cheek......"


===The First Question===
'''Convert the following words to proper English.'''

"Haatofuru Rabusutourii"

 
'''Himeji Mizuki's answer'''

"heartful love story"

'''Teacher's comment'''

Correct. It's a common catchphrase you see in movies and books, but every now and then, there will be someone who will get the "heart" part wrong. Even though it should be a familiar English word to most, it's surprisingly difficult to get it right.

By the way, translated to Japanese, it's "A romance story filled with love". I'd definitely like to see you all spend your springtime of youth in such a manner.

 
'''Shimada Minami's answer'''

"hurt full rough story"

'''Teacher's comment'''

*hurt...... injury

*full...... to be filled with

*rough...... rough

*story...... story

It's a beautiful mistake to the effect that I was wondering whether you got it wrong on purpose.

I think you will be the only one "playing out"<ref>'''Playing out:''' Here, the word used is "演じる" which could mean, "acting"(meaning Minami's love story is really as such) as well as "committing a blunder"(meaning Minami made a mistake in her answer).</ref> such a "heartful love story".

 
'''Kirishima Shouko's answer'''

"hurt full rough story"

'''Teacher's comment'''

To think that there's another one.

----


"Aki, close your eyes."

That came rather suddenly.

In front of me were a pair of large eyes framed with full eyelashes.

A shampoo fragrance could be detected emanating from that beautiful hair with the back tied up into a ponytail.

And then on my lips --- I could feel the touch of the soft, warm lips of Minami.

What's this. What just happened. Why is Minami's face so close to me. Why am I spacing out like this.

Not knowing what happened, in a jerking motion, Minami pulled away from me,

"Th, that...... is not a joke, I'm telling you......!"

After saying that one line, she ran away from me.

Ahaha. Minami's face is surprisingly red. Just like a tomato.

I was overseeing this scene, taking in this situation in a strangely calm manner.

"As I thought...... Minami-chan, towards Akihisa-kun......"

I'm strangely concerned with the murmuring voice of the nearby Himeji-san.


"Yoshii, prepare yourself!"

And then, what came next was rather sudden.

A tightly clenched large fist appeared in front of me.

And then, I felt the hard, sweltering touch of Sugawa's fist on my cheek.

What's this. What just happened. Why is Sugawa-kun and the rest of F class closing in on me like predators closing in on their prey. Why is my vision quivering.

Not knowing what happened, in a jerking motion, Sugawa-kun pulled away from me,

"Th, that...... is not a joke, I'm telling you......! ...... we're really going to kill you!"

He raised his hand and gave the others around him a signal.

"Eh!? Eh!? Wait wait! I don't understand the situa --- gyaaaaa!"

A killing intent that had never been felt before. For some reason, it seemed like everyone was looking at me with serious eyes!?

"As I thought...... Minami-chan, towards Akihisa......"

"No, Himeji-san! Enough of that! Anyway for now, save me--- !"

At that moment, my consciousness descended into darkness.


"Gentlemen. Where are we?"

"""The court that passes down the oldest form of judgement!"""

"What will the heretic get?"

"""The iron hammer of death!"""

"What will the guy get?"

"""He shall throw away his love, and live in sorrow!"""

"Good. Now --- let the heretic trial of class 2-F begin!"


When I opened my eyes, it was the meeting place of Sabbath.

"Eh? Huh? What's the meaning of this?"

Even though the curtains had been drawn up and it was dark, I realized I was in my usual classroom from the feel of tatami. In other words, the masked guys standing beside the platform were of class 2-F.

"Akihisa, you've awakened."

A familiar voice came from nearby. As I tried to turn around to face that voice, I realized for the first time that my hands and feet had been bound.

And I had no choice but to roll my entire body to face the direction of the owner of that voice. What I was seeing before me was the figure of my bad pal, also with his hands and feet bound, lying there.

"...... Yuuji, what are you doing?"

"...... I've been dragged into this by you."

He spat with his scowling, annoyed face that gave out a complete feeling of wildness. Just like a wild animal tied up in a cage.

"Dragged into this?"

"Thanks to you, the talk about 'me getting kissed by Shouko while asleep' was overheard by them. What a great bother, bastard."


Hm hm. Kirishima-san kissing. Kissing Yuuji. I see ---

".............................. huh?"

No no no. Wait a minute please. Isn't it too good a thing to be ignored?

Kirishima-san and Yuuji have kissed? That beautiful Kirishima Shouko-san who is good in studies and sports and also with a good family background, and the plain Sakamoto Yuuji who is bad in personality and brains, have kissed? Haha. That's really a distasteful joke. So stupid to the point beyond laughable....... but, what if.

I don't really want to think about it, but what if. If in one in a million chance, that's true.

If that's the case, even if God permits, I shall not forgive him......!

"Everyone, this is bad! Sakamoto Yuuji is suspected to be a heretic! Time to prepare for an emergency trial!"

"Wait Akihisa! Rather, weren't you the one who was trying to make us kiss at the Kisaragi Highland incident!? In other words, you are the real heretic!"

Yuuji was prattling about some nonsensical stuff. Me, a heretic?

"Yuuji, how unsightly! You're plotting to shift some unfounded allegation onto me to protect yourself! Do you think I'll swallow that!"


This was not a joke. Having lived in this world for sixteen years. This was not something to be proud of, but I had never yet had the joyful experience of being kissed! ...... well, I've received one on the cheek however......

"This, this idiot......! If you don't believe me, just try listening to what they are saying!"

Even though I didn't get what Yuuji was saying, for now, I'd do as he said and try stretching my hearing. As I did that, I could make out a strange conversation going on between my classmates.

"--- read out the charges."

"Yes, President Sugawa. Eh--- the accused, Yoshii Akihisa (from now on, he shall be referred to as A), a student of our Fumizuki Academy's class 2-F, is suspected of violating our doctrine. The charges for A are indecent assault, as well as, acts of infidelity. At the early dawn of this very day, when A was forcefully performing an obscene act on his classmate, Shimada Minami (from now on, she shall be referred to as Flat-Chest), he was apprehended by our compatriots. He is now brought before us. From here on, after we have thoroughly investigated the relationship between A and Flat-Chest, to properly deal with A ---"

"Skip the trivialities. Read out the conclusion."

"We're envious of him being kissed!"

"Uhm. It's truly an easy-to-understand report."


Eh? Huh? Kiss? What's that. Speaking of this, something like that did seem to happen, or didn't seem to happen......

"Akihisa. You must have lost your memories from the excessive shock, so let me tell you about it. This morning, you and Shimada kissed. And it was right in front of Himeji."

Yuuji seemed to be explaining to me.

Kiss. With Minami. I kissed. What's that. After being told that, it did seem like Minami and I kissed.

But that's not possible.

"Haha. You can stop the jokes, Yuuji. Since there's definitely no way that Minami would actually kiss someone like me, right?"

Even for me, I'd know my place. I'm not someone who's passionate about any club activities, neither am I good in studies, nor am I good in anything in particular. Only someone who's not aware of any of these realities, someone like Hazuki-chan, would actually be willing to kiss me.

"Well, don't put yourself down so much, Akihisa. Indeed, you are the worst when it comes to looks, studies, and personality, and even if one closes his eyes to them, you're just someone with neither ability nor wealth, isn't it?"

"Damn you! Are you saying I'm good for nothing except for shoulder massages!?"


"At this age, only shoulder massages!? Don't you have other strengths that you can use for arguing!?"

There should be a limit to how much he can make a fool out of me. If my hands and feet were not bound up, I would have made a grab for him.

"In any case, it's a fact that you and Shimada have kissed. Seems like there's undeniable proof."

Before I could ask about the proof, a photograph was thrust before my eyes.

"............ traitors should die."

The person who muttered that and who was holding on to the photograph was none other than my classmate, the Muttsuliini Tsuchiya Kouta. Even though he is usually a quiet guy who is hardworking in taking photos while erasing his presence, right now, he is releasing a quiet killing intent just like a ninja who's a moment away from carrying out an assassination.

And in that photograph in his hand, wass a scene of a guy who resembled me kissing a girl who resembled Minami --- so as to speak, however you look at it, it's me kissing Minami.

"Eh!? Is this for real!? That wasn't a dream!?"

"If it were a dream, you wouldn't be all tied up like this."

"I, I see. So that's how I ended up like this......"

I did possess a hazy memory of that, but to think that it was real...... Me and Minami kiss huh.......

"I sorry for interrupting your reverie in embarrassment to the point where even your ears are red, but I have a question."


"That, that's not it......! This, is just, my face getting hot......"

"I get it, I get it. So, how did the both of you end up like that?"

How, you say......

"I'd like to ask that as well."

I had not the slightest idea why Minami would do that all of a sudden. She was probably threatened by someone to catch me in a trap, I guess.

"Use that spongy head of yours to think it through. Did anything strange happen recently, or was there anything about her that was out of the ordinary?"

Even if we're talking about something recent, ever since my mobile was broken, I've not contacted her at all.

"Uh~n......"

What was it. What actually happened?

"Let's change the question. When was the last time you saw Shimada?"

The last time I saw her. It's of course referring to a time other than this morning, isn't it? If that's the case,

"Erm...... the last night of the training camp, I guess?"

"The last night?"

"Yeah. After everyone was asleep, Minami came to me secretly."

"............ why didn't you think of that as strange?"


Yuuji had a dumbstruck look on his face.

"Well, because she was coming to kill me......"

"...... well then, what did you say to her before seeing her that night?"

The conversation before we met huh. Speaking of that, then it had to be the mail, I guess.

The contents of that mail, if I remembered correctly ---

"Something that sounded like a confession was said."

"...... huh? Shimada said that to you?"

"No, I said it to Minami."

"Did such a thing really happen?"

"Yeah. That did happen."

"Right, right. I see, I see."

Yuuji nodded.

And following that, as I was thinking of letting out a large sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,

"Go to hell."

Wham......

The heel of his shoe came burying itself into my face.

"...... ugh! My face......ugh! I could feel a dent forming in my skull...... ugh!"


"What's with the 'I don't know'! Isn't that something totally out of the ordinary, you idiot!"

Yuuji was looking at the writhing me as if I'm some kind of idiot. Damn! I can't afford to get any plainer than this!

"So, what was it that you said?"

Having calmed down again, Yuuji continued asking.

What did I say? What did I write in that misleading mail?

Erm....... ah, that's right. The mail that time, if I remember correctly,

"'I love you more than Yuuji' was written."

"Wait, your standard of love is pegged to me!?"

With a look of disgust on his face, Yuuji pulled away from me. A big misunderstanding.

Just as I was thinking about how to make it clear to Yuuji that even if I'm a homosexual I wouldn't go after him, the apparent organizer of this suspicious gathering (I'm afraid it's Sugawa-kun) looked towards here.

"Heretic, Yoshii Akihisa. Would thou repent and accept our judgement?"

With a quiet voice, Sugawa-kun (?) waits for my response. If I respond to him carelessly, I might jeopardise my life.

"Hey, before I answer you, I have a question."


"Speak."

"What kind of judgement are you referring to?"

Responding to my query, Sugawa-kun (assumed) squinted his eyes and announced to me.

"First, we shall prepare kerosene and a lighter ---"

"The accusations are false! I'm not a believer who would go against the doctrine!"

As if I would let myself get roasted from a misunderstanding!

"I see. In that case, we shall force you to confess."

"You said it! You just said 'force you to confess' all of a sudden! This trial is useless!"

"That's right! Let's force him to confess!"

"Let's falsify the records of the proceedings!"

"Hey wait! You guys are not playing by the rules!? Normally, at this juncture, I don't think you should be going along with the act of forcing confessions!"

Do this guys really understand what a trial means?

"Eeh, the kerosene and lighter are not ready yet!"

"Are those what you use for interrogation to yield a confession!? Both are used for execution right!?"


"That's not it, Yoshii. In the case when the accused pleads innocence, this would be used twice, once for forcing a confession, and once for meting out the sentence; we're just taking enough of it for one use."

"I won't be deceived! Even when you say it like the selling catchphrase of a facial cleanser that comes with added volume, I won't be deceived."

In the first place, when it comes down to using a lighter and kerosene, there won't be a second time.

"Yuuji! Yuuji, you should say something as well! At this rate, we're going to become roasted bodies!"

"Damn you guys......! If you want to do it, just do it on this guy!"

"Yuuji...... thank --- no! That line, thinking about it clearly, aren't you just selling me out to save yourself! You low-life. You only care about yourself!"

Normally, it should have been, 'if you want to do it, just do it to me!'. Because he said it in such a cool way, for an instant, I was thankful to Yuuji.

"Aren't you the man, Sakamoto. If you're willing to go this far, as you wish, we'll do it to Yoshii."

Even now, Sugawa-kun (verified) was still deceived by Yuuji's words.

"Realize it, Sugawa-kun! At this rate, I'll be the only victim!"

While I hollered at the limit of my voice, I did not display my fiery tension outwardly.

"Well, since the preparation of the kerosene seems delayed, for now, let's make Yoshii do 'Special Bungee Jump'."


I could smell a whiff of death from the sudden announcement from Sugawa.

"Sugawa-kun. Just out of curiosity, what's this 'Special Bungee Jump'?"

Even I know what a bungee jump is. The question is how 'special' is it.

"Let's see...... If I go into too many details, it might bring unnecessary unease to Yoshii, so I'll just give a hint ---"

Sugawa turned his face away, and seemed to look at the windows with the drawn-up curtains.

"--- I'd just say that it's akin to skydiving without a parachute."

People call that execution.

"You call that complete description a hint that wouldn't bring me unnecessary unease! With no cord!? You want me to do a bungee jump with no cord!?"

These guys are seriously bad news. In order to escape from this place, just as I was considering ramming my body against the window, and using the broken pieces to cut away these ropes that were bounding me,

"Akihisa."

I could hear the nearby Yuuji whispering to me.

"Eh? What's up, Yuuji?"

"Use this."

Hidden from Sugawa-kun's view, Yuuji handed out something with his bound hands.


"Yuuji..... Thanks......."

As I said my word of thanks to my bad pal who was saving me from this pinch, I ascertained the thing he passed over to me...... a rubber band?

"You can use this on your feet."

Yuuji announced to me confidently, and I looked at him and thought.

Ah I see. This guy must have contracted a terrible illness of the head.

"You know, Yuuji. I'm really happy, but just this alone can't support my weight."

However you think about it, I would end up in pieces.

As I explained this gently to my sick bad pal, an unbefitting smile floated on Yuuji's face and he replied.

"Stupid Akihisa. That's not all."

"Eh? Is that so?"

I see. This isn't everything yet. That should have been expected. Even if it's Yuuji, he should know this well enough. I was jumping to conclusion too early ---

"I've prepared another one."

He said confidently as he passed me another rubber band.


A pity. Yuuji's illness must have entered terminal stage and can no longer be cured by modern medicine.

"You know, Yuuji. It's not about the numbers."

As I looked at my bad pal who was carrying an illness of the head with pained eyes,

"...... suspension has just ended, and what are you guys doing right now......"

Ironman sighed as he slapped his hand on his forehead, having just walked into class for morning homeroom.

"Ah, Sensei! You've come just at the right time! Save me! This is an act of violence in school! I'm being bullied by my classmates!"

"That's not it! This is a holy war to maintain the morals within this school! Yoshii has committed acts of indecency towards members of the opposite sex!"

Having listened to us, with an utter look of amazement, Ironman began.

"Ah...... Whatever, are you guys okay with not taking mark replenishment tests? Thanks to what happened at the training camp, all the guys practically have no marks left right?"

Ironman was talking about the application to take the tests.

In order to take the tests during normal lesson times, the teachers have to make preparations and as such, it's necessary to make an application beforehand. At this rate, without making any application, we're probably going to carry on with normal classes.

At the end of that training camp, it was a death fray using every subject, and because of that, practically everyone was depleted of marks in all the subjects. That's why, it might be necessary for us to replenish our marks sometime down the road......


""This not the time for that.""

Since three months had yet to pass since the last summoning test war, we would not be able to wage a new summoning test war. Furthermore, we're the F class with the worst facilities. There was no need to worry about anyone attacking us. Instead of worrying about the test marks which wouldn't have any impending use, the direction in which my fate would take was much more pressing.

"Man man. If you guys say so, it doesn't matter to me then...... Anyway, just an announcement. The maintenance work on the summoning test system that started last week will take longer than expected. Even though the teachers are pushing for it, seems like it won't be ready till tomorrow. Just note that summong test wars are not possible till then. That's all."

While Ironman seemed to have left the class after prattling about something, all our attention was focused on the trial.

"Yoshii! Stop resisting! It's bad to not know when to give up!"

"Damn! Someone, save m--- that's right! Himeji-san! Where's Himeji-san!? The kind Himeji-san will definitely save me!"

I looked around the dark classroom to search for the figure of Himeji-san. The cute, smart, and well-endowed idol of F class was sitting in her own seat quietly.


"I beg you, Himeji-san! Save me!"

I called out to her frantically.

However, Himeji-san seemed to have not heard me and was spacing out, mumbling about something.

"As I thought...... Minami-chan, towards Akihisa-kun......"

"Eeh!? You're still going about that!?"

She seemed to be repeating that same old line for the past thirty minutes.

At the time when all ways seemed to be exhausted and as I was preparing myself for the worst,

"What, what on earth is this?"

A glimmer of hope appeared in the classroom.

"Hideyoshi! Thank heavens......! Since there was no sign of you all this while, I thought you were on a leave of absence."

Standing in shock, with a hand on the door, was my classmate who has been awarded the high honor of a rare beauty, Kinoshita Hideyoshi. I have heard rumors of her parents having made a mistake in entering the register, this dear friend of mine with a cute outward appearance has proclaimed herself to be guy.

"I was held up by some preparations this morning, and thus late, but....... Akihisa, what did you guys do?"

The classroom was curtained in darkness, and me and Yuuji were curled up like bagworms. And our classmates were masked. Anyone normal would have been surprised by this situation occurring in a classroom.


"Kinoshita. Don't interfere. Right now, we're about to execute heretics Yoshii Akihisa and Sakamoto Yuuji."

Finally, it's no longer a trial but an execution, it seemed.

"Is that so. However, I can understand if it's Yuuji, but what did Akihisa do?"

"Listen carefully, Kinoshita. The heretic Yoshii Akihisa had conducted an act of indecency by kissing Shimada Minami this morning in the premises of our holy city, Fumitsu Academy ---"

Slide.

In the middle of Sugawa's sentence, the door of the classroom, different from the one from which Hideyoshi had come through, opened.

And then, flushing all the way to her ears, with her face downwards, a female student appeared, quickly walking to her seat. Speak of the devil. It was the individual whose name had just been mentioned, Shimada Minami herself.

"""............"""

A sudden silence descended upon the classroom.


With a strange atmosphere that was different from usual, no one in F class spoke.

"Good morning, everyone. Due to various matters, I'm here to take over Fuse-sensei's class--- what's wrong, everyone?"

The teacher for the first period looked at us with widened eyes. 

<noinclude>
----
===Translator's Notes===
<references/>
{{BakaTest Nav|prev=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume4 Novel Illustrations|next=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume4 The Second Question}}
</noinclude>

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume3 The Seventh Question

2011-11-03T16:57:03Z

Starkiller4299:

==The Seventh Question:==

'''Please answer the following question.'''

"When the observer A moves at the velocity V, an ambulance with a sound frequency of f moves forward at a speed of v'. Please state what will happen when the speed of sound is at V? What kind of phenomenon is this?

'''Himeji Mizuki's answer:'''

"The observer A will hear the siren at a frequency of f(V+v')/(V-v'). This phenomenon is known as Doppler [http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume3_Translator%27s_Notes]."

'''Teacher's comment:'''
[[Image:BakaTest v03 p233.JPG|thumb]]
The same phenomenon will also appear during an F1 race. Though most people often feel that physics phenomenon are rather rare, they do often occur in our everyday life.

'''Yoshii Akihisa's answer:'''

"The observer A gets knocked away at the speed of v'+v. This phenomenon is called a traffic accident."

'''Teacher's comment:'''

Seeing you write this relative velocity makes me even angrier.

"Sensei, to think that you actually expected me to make it all the way here. The other teachers were all rather optimistic that I wouldn't be able to make it all the way here, right?"

"I don't ever underestimate an opponent. You're an idiot, but that mobility of yours can't be underestimated."

"Then I really have to thank you—hiya!"

I use my wooden sword to skilfully dodge Ironman's sudden punch.

I won't be as careless as the last time. Even if Ironman fights physically, I have to treat him as if he's a tough summoned beast!

"However, it will be great if you can use the mobility on other aspects. you're just a group of sexual harassers. Aren't you afraid of being suspended?"

The shocking kick that looks like it's coming over at a terrifying speed flies towards me. If I were to be really hit by him, I'll be left with half a life even if I don't die!

"I won't be threatened by you! We gathered so many people, you can't lock onto a target. The school can't suspended just a group of students, right?"

I duck and move forward, raising my wooden sword and hacks it at Ironman's abdomen. However, Ironman's huge arm easily swings my attacks aside. Is it the so-called flesh armour?

"Since you knew that you may be suspended, why don't you people love yourselves more?"

"If you want to suspend us, you'll have to memorise all the names of the students taking part in this!"

Using the reflex speed of being knocked aside, I lift my leg and step forward. Even though I hit Ironman's completely undefended leg, the unstable and swaying thing isn't Ironman, but my summoned beast. No matter how light a summoned beast is, it isn't a real body.

"And you dare say that! I'll beat all of you one by one, and then record the names of every single one of you!"

"—Ku!"

Before my summoned beast manages to stablise itself, it takes a punch attack that's not too heavy before flying to the corner of the wall. The moment the summoned beast flew to the wall, the sharp pain is passed onto my body.

"And you're the first one!"

In order to seize onto the opportunity, Ironman charges towards my summoned beast at lightning speed. If I want to beat that guy who's like a monster, one summoned beast alone isn't going to be enough.

What should I do? Do I give up now and run away? Do I kneel down in front of my comrades and beg for mercy? No, I won't let this happen! Since I made it all the way, even if my teeth are to be beaten out and blood spilled, I have to win this battle! I~~WON'T GIVE UP!

"Let's go—double summon!"

The moment I commanded it, another summoned beast appears in response.

"KU! YOSHII, YOU BASTARD!"

After blocking the attack of the other summoned beast that suddenly appeared, Ironman jumps away in shock and maintains a suitable distance.

If one summoned beast isn't enough, I'll just summon an additional one. Good thing I have this power, this is the great power that I got from before.

"Is it the platinum bracelets? The principal can really find trouble for me."

Ironman's casual look is no longer present.

This is the prize I won from the previous summoning tournament--the platinum bracelets. Yuuji's bracelet's ability creates a summoning field, and my bracelet has the ability to summon an additional summoned beast. As long as I use this ability properly, beating Ironman isn't just a dream.

"Sensei, the real show starts now!"

The two summoned beast get into battle positions, moving about as they surround Ironman. The main summoned beast is on the right, the secondary one's on the left as both of them swing their wooden swords at Ironman at the same time.

"Ugh, ku!"

Being attacked from different directions at the same time, Ironman loses his balance for a while. The next moment, the two summoned beasts let out heavy attacks that Ironman's kneecaps, which are still weak. However, Ironman let his kneecaps sink and let the strong thighs endure the attacks of the summoned beasts, and the pain bounces back onto me as if I attacked a tire.

My summoned beasts heavily attack Ironman with fists, kicks and wooden swords. The situation is completely reversed now. Ironman's clearly in the disadvantage, and my attacks cleanly hit the flesh. However—

"It's not damaging him at all!"

Ironman's defending onto his head and chest while using only his strong body to deflect the rest of my attacks. Damn it, this guy's definitely a monster.

"What now, Yoshii? You seem to be a lot more anxious now."

Seeing my slightly panicking look, Ironman inadvertently lets out a smirk.

On first glance, it seemed like I got the advantage, but the situation now is extremely critical, for I need to think of both the main and secondary summoned beasts' actions at the same time. I have to make instant decisions to decide whether to allow either the main beast or the secondary dodge the kick before both summoned beasts can either attack or defend. It's too hard to think of two people's movements at the same time, and if this keeps up, it might not be too good.

"BUT EVEN SO, I WILL NOT ADMIT DEFEAT!"

I let my main summoned beast swing its wooden sword and the secondary beast swings its right fist. After dodging the wooden sword, Ironman gets hit by the punch and counters with his kneecap. His target is the secondary—no, is it the main? I quickly raise my arms to create a cross guard and let my secondary beast swing its left elbow at Ironman's abdomen. However, Ironman blocks the elbow and does a leg sweep, intending to attack the main beast, no, the secondary—

"Your movements are becoming even slower, Yoshii!"

"Ku!"

I feel a sharp pain from my right wrist. Which side got attacked? The main or the secondary? Wah, oh no! The moment I stopped attacking, Ironman went in for the kill. Anyway, lets swing the wooden sword to block it—no! It's too late!

This time, it's a fist at the secondary beast—seems like it, but isn't he aiming at the main beast? Damn it, it's a feint!

"Gu, hu!"

I endure a sharp pain in my chest as my back lands on the floor.

"End of the line, Yoshii."

The winner is decided. Ironman seem to be declaring his own victory as he reverts back to his nonchalant look.

Seeing his thick, muscular arms that are like a live armour, my attacks aren't even tickling him, let alone scratching.

Maybe it's too reckless for me to summon two summoned beasts. Even if I'm to concentrate, my mind will get too confused until I am unable to decide what instructions to give to my summoned beasts. No, before I can worry about being unable to control two summoned beasts at the same thing, the most important thing is that I'm unable to deal damage to the opponent.

"Even if it's to fulfil that fleeting perverseness of yours, your concentration is only to this extent!"

Ironman slowly walks towards me as I continue to remain on the ground.

That's right, Ironman's right. My concentration isn't enough, which is why I'm unable to control my summoned beasts' movements properly.

But even if I understand this, I can't just gain enough concentration to control two summoned beasts at the same time. Seems like I lose this time, better to give up on peeping, and start training myself to concentrate! Concentrate—concentrate?

"That's it!"

With enthusiasm, I get up from the floor. That's right, there's still this method!

"Oh...so you still want to fight? Only your determination is stronger than others."

Seeing me stand up again, Ironman seem rather happy as he reveals a snarl. No matter when the situation is, this guy will always show a careful attitude. However, continue smiling, for right now, I'll make you unable to smile ever again!

"Ironman, I got to thank you for giving me this hint."

"The hint I gave you?"

"Didn't you just say 'concentrate'?"

Since I gave different instructions to the two summoned beasts, I got myself confused. If I'm to attack different parts and when the opponent increases his guard, those punches and kicks won't be able to show their real power. This is the problem that I'm facing now, but there's a way to settle this.

"That's right, it's to concentrate! I need to reduce the attack area. No matter it's a punch, kick, or wooden sword swing, main beast or secondary beast, from now on, my attacks just need to focus on one area."

If one attack isn't enough to break through that muscle armour of his, then I'll have to attack the same place multiple times.

Concentrate! Right now, I need to focus all my attacks on a certain piece—

"I'll focus all my attacks at your balls!"

"You, you bastard, how can you have such a terrifying thought!?"

"WATCH THIS, IRONMAN!"

The attack that looks like a hook downwards is actually a feint that's going to change into a flying kick that's aimed there. Once the flying kick is out, the wooden sword will be thrust at Ironman's crotch. Also, the punch that was aimed at the chest will change trajectory and move towards the abdomen. All this is to attack Ironman's important place!

"Damn it, this is the first time I met someone who's intent on attacking the lower body..."

Ironman isn't looking calm now.

The real show starts now! My summoned beast aims at his abdomen, and looks like it's about to grab his elbow, but is actually attacking between his thighs. I'll attack his lower body, attack, attack, attack. Anyway, I'll continue to attack his balls!

Recovering myself, I realise that Ironman's expending a lot of energy just to defend himself.

"GO TO HELL, IRONMAN!!!"

Since he can't attack, my summoned beast will release a heavy punch with lots of strength stored in it.

"KUUH!!"

Ironman frantically reaches his hand out to block his crotch.

"Hehe, you got fooled, eh?"

But in an instant, the main beast has already bent down to act as a jump board and let the secondary summoned beast jump towards Ironman's back. But this movement is a feint, the one who's really attacking is still the main beast!

"Damn—"

"WATCH ME NOW!"

Using his hands to guard his lower body, Ironman is unable to protect his head in time. Thus, my summoned beast hacks towards Ironman's head without any defense on it.

"Ku...Yo, Yoshii, you bastard..."

With a thonk, Ironman can't support himself anymore and gradually falls to the ground.

"Finally...IT'S FINALLY OVER!"

Such a long journey! I wanted to give up so many times, and it's not just once that I felt despair. But at this moment, the Fantasy Heaven is right in front of me.

"Minami's flat chest, wait for me!"

Those photos that represents the dreamworld is right in front of me! I'll so happy that I'm unable to—eh? There's a killing intent?

"WATCH THIS!"

Maybe it's my basic instincts, but I immediately ducked. The next moment, I immediately discovers some biri biri sound passing through where my head was.

"I won't hand onee-sama's virginity over to you!"

"Shimizu-san!"

Holding a seemingly familiar taser in her hand, Shimizu-san appeared in front of me. Isn't that the 200,000 volts taser that Yuuji lent me? Once hit, even if it's an attack that's blocked by clothing, it will immediately render anyone unconscious. That taser is definitely a dangerous weapon!

"Onee-sama was rather lost ever since last night, and wouldn't even look at Miharu. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! SHOW YOUR REMORSE TO MIHARU WITH YOUR DEATH!"

Shimizu-san waves the weapon in her hand, but compared to Ironman's speed, her movements are so slow, it's basically telling me to dodge them.

"YOU BASTARD! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!!"

"Heh, hoh!"

I easily dodge all of Shimizu-san's attacks. Seeing this situation, I just need to wait for her to exhaust herself, right?

Just as I'm thinking about how to fight, she seemed to have found out about my intent, as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out something in front of me.

"If you aren't going to be obedient, I'll spread these photos around!"

"Eh? You said photos—WAH! THOSE ARE EMBARRASSING PHOTOS OF ME!!"

Isn't Shimizu-san holding photos of me in girls' outfit? Why does she have these photos? Is it—

"—Shimizu-san, don't tell me you like me?"

"YOU MAKE ME SICK!"

I inadvertently shed a tear.

"However, why do you have photos of me?"

"That was because when I was taking photos of onee-sama in a cheongsam, I saw you in such a disgusting state, and felt that I can use it to blackmail you, so I took them! I have no interest in you lousy men!"

There's no need to call me a lousy man, right!? Never mind, anyway, everyone has their own preference.

"Shimizu-san, do you have a burn on your butt?"

"How, how do you know about that? Were you peeping or taking photos of me?"

Can't be mistaken, Shimizu-san's the culprit I'm looking for. If so, Kudou-san isn't the culprit then? So she wasn't lying to me.

"Anyway, I advise you to be obedient, or else I'll spread these embarrassing photos of yours!"

Shimizu-san is no longer pretending as she blackmails me. Oh~ looks like I have to punish her a bit.

"Hoo!"

"AHH! RETURN THAT TO ME!"

I snatch the taser in her hand and decrease the voltage output to the minimum.

—Psst!

"My, my body's numb now!"

Before Shimizu-san can react, she falls unconscious onto the ground.

"Now, all the enemies are dealt with, right?"

The main culprit behind this was exterminated by me, and now, no one can stop me.

"...Akihisa."

A voice calls me from behind. This voice is—

"Muttsulini! You alright?"

"...Of course I am."

Muttsulini's obviously tired all over. Seems like he got into quite a tough battle, huh? However, he doesn't look too weary from the battle, but showing a rather delighted smile.

"Nice going, Akihisa!"

"Yuuji! And everyone's here!"

Yuuji and the other boys from the other classes are here. Everyone's showing their smiles of having achieved their objective.

"Yoshii, you really beat Ironman!"

"The MVP undoubtedly goes to you."

The voices of my comrades praising me continue to spread.

"It's thanks to everyone's help! EVERYONE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"

My shout got everyone's response. I really want to thank everyone present.

"Alright, we should get moving!"

It's rare for Yuuji to show such an excited expression, but this guy is a normal man! Seeing that we're about to reach our goal, anyone will praise themselves for this.

"EVERYONE! WE HAVE NUMBERS HERE, AND THE SCHOOL CAN'T LOCK ONTO THE SUSPECTS. AND NOW THAT WE CLEARED OUT ALL OF THE TROUBLESOME PEOPLE, WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BEING SUSPENDED OR EXPELLED, SO PEEP ALL YOU WANT!!!"

"WOOOOHHHH!!!"

The roars of everyone seem like it almost flipped the roof off.

We have so many people here, so how can the teachers remember everyone? In other words, we won't have to worry about being suspended. Everyone's clear about this, so of course we have to seize this opportunity!

"EVERYONE, WIDEN YOUR EYES AND WATCH CAREFULLY, THIS IS THE UNEQUALLED GLORY WE FOUGHT SO HARD TO WIN!"

Yuuji pushes the girls' bathroom door aside.

Skin with lots of tension.

Skinny body and limbs.

Waist length white hair.

This is a face all of us are familiar with, and that naked body that we are unfortunate to see right now since it was normally kept under the closes.

If we miss it now, we may never see it again—

"You, what's with you people! Gathering so many people here, are you here to see this old granny's naked body!?"

[[Image:BTS vol 03 237.jpg|thumb]]

We just saw the principal in a sexy position.

<big>'''''"HOW DID IT END UP LIKE THIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!"'''''</big>

All of us start to shed manly tears due to this inexplicable scene.

"Good morning, Minami-chan."

"Ah, it's Mizuki. Good morning..."

"What's wrong? You look rather tired. Is something wrong?"

"It, it's nothing! There's no such thing! I'm just a little tired!"

"Is that so? It's true that last week's training camp was rather troublesome, so it can't be helped if you're tired."

"Ah, mm. A lot of really troublesome things happened..."

"However, the boys were all pale with shock. What exactly happened?"

"Ah, that? Well, who knows~ did they see something shocking?"

"Something shocking, huh...?"

"Even the principal who was visiting seemed shocked. Who asked the boys to come up with such a commotion?"

"You're talking about the second year boys peeping? It was Akihisa-kun and the rest who started this, but it ended up being blown out of proportion."

"Yeah...oh yeah, speaking of peeping, didn't we find a camera inside the changing room? As for the real culprit..."

"Eh? The real culprit? It's not Akihisa-kun and the rest who set it up?"

"No, that one seemed like it was installed by Miharu."

"That Miharu you're talking about, is it Shimizu Miharu?"

"Yeah! On the last day of training camp, I just so happened to see her pull out a camera from the changing room. After some interrogation, she admitted that her reason is to 'take photos of onee-sama', and admitted her guilt."

"What? So this means that Akihisa-kun and the rest..."

"Seems like we misunderstood. However, they still became peeping toms in the end, it's a little strange to apologise to them..."

"Ah, ah haha..."

"On a side note, I confiscated Miharu's camera, so there's no need to worry."

"I see~ that's good to know."

"Mn, it's about time for self-study. Let's hurry."

"Ah, you're right. Let's hurry up."

"There's only the two of us for this entire week, and it's rather lonely, but we have to work hard."

"Yes, then I'll leave myself in your hands."

'''Notification of suspension'''

All second year male students of Fumitsuki Gakuen, 149 in total.

The above students will be suspended from school for 1 week.

Fumitsuki Gakuen Principal Todou Kaoru

Didn't think too much, I just did it on a moment of impulse.

Now I'm really regretting it.

~Taken from a certain student's letter of regret~

<noinclude>
{{BakaTest Nav|prev=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume3_The_Sixth_Question|next=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume3_The_Final_Question}}
</noinclude>

Tabi ni Deyou:Wings

2011-10-01T20:15:58Z

Starkiller4299:

The boy looked up at the heavy, dark clouds in the sky.

Only some moments ago, it was still a clear blue sky, but then clouds slowly caught up from behind and the sky turned overcast. The speed of this happening could be called lightning-fast and the blue color that was there before was beyond imagination now, that one couldn't even tell where the sun was anymore.

Unaffected by this, the green that was surrounding them hadn't changed. From time to time they came by some farms that had been crushed by the snowfall last winter, but none of those could serve them as a rain shelter.

"...oh well. Looks like there's going to be a shower. I just hope we're out of here by then..."

"Don't worry! People always told me that I'm beloved by the sun."

"Too bad. ''I'' was always called the 'rain bringer'. Guess why."

"Uh-oh-"

The girl giggled while turning around. The clouds that had been gradually gaining thickness as time went by looked as though they would start pouring their contents over them at any moment.

What's so bad about getting a little wet, some may wonder. But that is a sentiment limited to those who have hot coffee and a dry towel waiting for them at home.

They required fuel to warm themselves up, they had to ignite their fires on their own and they had to dry their wet clothes immediately. They would be in big trouble should they catch a cold. Even if it doesn't lead to the worst case scenario, the two run the risk of starving to death if they are forced to stay at one place for several days.

"If things don't change, we're both going to catch a cold. Who would be the carer in that case?"

"Usually I think it's those who don't have enough power left to care for someone else that are cared for."

"It's a duel over who'll recover first, then!"

"I wonder... according to my personal prediction, you win that duel, but I'll be the one who laughs last."

"...what do you mean by that?"

"Well, I can already see how you'll fall sick again after overhastily claiming the victory by reporting that you've 'recovered'. Without any foundation, of course."

"........."

He had hit the bull's eye. The girl used to be stubborn and overhasty from time to time. Indeed, the situation he described was definitely possible.

"And then I'll eat the melon all on my own! After all, it would hurt your stomach, wouldn't it?"

"You won't! We're eating that melon only after splitting it in a grand pinata contest! Got me?!"

The large melon they had received from the director was, just as he had estimated, almost ripe, giving off a nice sound when knocking on it. While the boy was simply waiting for the ideal time to eat it, the girl had apparently already decided ''how'' to eat the melon. The execution of a melon-splitting event had been scheduled - without taking his opinion into consideration.

"I admit your plan sounds great to me... but you realize that we don't have a bat?"

"Uhm... then how about this?" said the girl and kicked Cubby's muffler briefly.

"Don't even think about it! It's going to break if you do that."

Well, actually, Cubby wouldn't break yet just by removing its muffler, but he willfully kept silent about this. For one thing, he had not in the least the intention to hit the road with the roaring sound of a biker gang, and for another thing, destroying his dear vehicle, the Super Cub, just for a melon after getting it finally repaired some days ago seemed way too cruel to him.

"Mh, can't be helped. In that case we'll just have to look out for a fitting bat somewhere on the ground."

"There's no need to insist on splitting it with a bat, though. I mean, it's not like we couldn't get cut it somehow with a knife."

However, his idea had no chances of getting adopted to begin with. The preparation of the melon had already been set to splitting it with a bat in her head. And he had no rights to make any changes to this.

"Ah, a place where there is water would be great, too. I want to eat it cold."

The girl, who had as expected completely ignored his opinion, patted the melon on the backside rack.

The boy fully agreed with her that such a large melon would develop its true deliciousness only when solemnly split. It would be a waste to make it just a dessert. In regards to this, both of them were of the same mind.

It's just that the boy couldn't be as optimistic as the girl was.

Leaving aside the bat, it seemed improbable to him that they would find a place with cold water so easily. Of course, a streamlet would do the job, but one had to consider the current look of the sky. It was way too dangerous to be around a river.

He didn't tell her, though, as he didn't see a need to dampen her spirits.

Thereafter, the two travelers and their Super Cub just kept moving on for a while and drove past the occasionally appearing intersections at full speed without paying the least attention to the traffic lights.

The reason for this was the weather of course. It kept getting worse, making the clouds even thicker than they had been before: even though it was just past noon, it was already as dark as in the evening, and once in a while they could even spot a thunderbolt flashing up between the clouds, which looked like tightly compressed dust balls. From that sight they could easily judge that there wasn't much time til the thunder-storm.

Then, when it became past four. Far ahead of the unchangingly dead-straight road, they discovered something.

"What's that? Doesn't that look like a warehouse or something?"

"No idea... I can't tell from this distance."

Somewhere ahead of their road, which cut through green scenery, there was an unpaved branch road that diverged at a right angle. And further ahead, he could see something like a warehouse made of galvanized sheet iron that was completely corroded by rust.

With his naked eyes, naturally he could not see as much as the girl who had binoculars, but what they saw should have been about the same from such a distance.

Also, being able to see something with just the eyes meant that it would only take a few minutes to arrive there on Cubby's wheels. Since there weren't any other junction until there anyway, they decided to approach the building for the time being.

A few minutes later.
[[Image:Tabi_ni_Deyou_P0084.jpg|thumb|It was indeed consumed by rust, but there were no holes to be seen in the walls and roof.]]

Along with a protesting cry from Cubby's brakes, they came to a halt and had their heavy load make the front suspension sink in deeply. From the engine fumed a steam-like heat, which could probably be attributed to the boy stepping on the gas.

The warehouse in question was in much better shape than they had expected from the distance; it was indeed consumed by rust, but there were no holes to be seen in the walls and roof.

The girl got off the tandem and the boy parked the Super Cub under a roof that was situated at an unloading area.

It had still not started to rain, so they had somehow managed not to become like drowned rats.

"Whew, thank God we made it in time," said the girl relievedly.

"Yeah. It's not raining yet, but I suppose we're going to be fine here."

He looked up at the warehouse behind him.

The sheet iron building, which stood solely and surrounded by endless green, wasn't actually that big. In terms of size and shape it was comparable with a small sports hall.

At the front was a metal sliding door through which quite large objects could be transported, but like the building itself it was corroded by rust. From the look of it, this place hadn't been maintained very frequently. It would have been to be expected that there was at least a sign of the responsible company or something, but since there wasn't even something of that kind, it seemed like this storehouse was not in use at the moment.

After he had shut down the engine and taken off his helmet, a large truck besides the house caught his eye.

In contrast to the from-top-to-bottom dilapidated storehouse that almost seemed to crumble down to iron-oxidic powder any second, the truck was loaded with a shining silver container and parked alongside the building. It was clearly too new to suit this place and stopped under a overhanging roof, hidden from the road.

"...There's a truck. Looks like we may be able to get hold of fuel."

"Why don't you just snatch the whole truck? A journey with air-conditioning is waiting for us!"

"No way. Or do you think I own a truck license?" said the boy with a wry smile and put down the kickstand after moving the motorcycle a little more towards storehouse, so that it wouldn't get hit by the rain. Of course he didn't forget to carefully make sure of the balance because of their delicate luggage.

"Who cares about a license? We haven't happened upon one uniformed officer, not even a police car, during our journey yet. Besides, neither of us has a motorcycle license and still we're riding a Super Cub."

"What I mean is that I have no clue how to drive it! That thing's not like a moped where you can help yourself by deriving from your experience with bicycles. How do you expect me to drive a 4-tonner truck when I haven't even sneaked a peek at a driver's seat of one in my life?"

"Then have somebody who knows teach you," said she a little dauntedly.

The boy shrugged, "Sure, when there is somebody like that."

"There is!" she declared and got him eying her. A demand for foundation was writ large in his face.

"For one thing, footprints. Look," said the girl, pointing at the tracks at her feet. Dry footprints that looked different from their sneakers' were scattered all over the ground.

"Judging from the size it's a man. He seems to wear sports shoes, so he may even be about our age. Taking the level of dryness into consideration, I would assume these footprints were made during the rain about two weeks ago."

"...In short, someone has been here recently and might still be?"

"Exactly! How's that? That's what I call 'reasoning'."

She gave herself airs, putting her hands on her hips, whereas the boy just breathed out a sigh.

"...If he were as old as us, he couldn't possibly know how to drive a truck, could he?"

"..."

The girl froze in the posture she had taken.

"Either way, if those footprints belong to a grown-up with that knowledge, do you think he would readily leave the truck to us?"

She was at a complete loss of words.

Even the girl was aware of how fatal it was to lose one's vehicle in the middle of this savage --- no, I mean "vast" land.

Of course she was! There was no way of forgetting the trouble they'd had with Cubby's engine some days ago.

"Well, if we're lucky we can at best get some fuel from him. But I suppose trucks of this kind are diesel-engined, so is there even gas?"

"......"

Her mouth was still closed. Apparently, she wasn't too happy about her conclusion being spoiled.

He turned away from his sullen partner and opened the mouth widely to get a loud voice from it.

"Hellooooo? Is there anyoone?"

There was no answer. Still, the walls were made of sheet metal, so his voice should have passed through them.

"Shall we just enter the house for now, before it starts to rain? Besides, we may find a rod of some sort which we can use for splitting the melon."

A high creak resounded as the blockade of the metal door was being broken.

They went for the large entrance that was designed to transport things through it. It was a pain to open the door with his bare hands, but the ordinary entrance on the side was sealed with wire wrapped around the knob and the rear entrance was locked. Consequently, this was the only way inside. Of course they could just have broken a window and entered from there, but they decided against it, for this would go too far.

They didn't know whether that sealed door was the deed of "the inhabitant", but judging from the red rust all over the wire, it hadn't been opened for months.

The same, however, applied to the sliding door. This became evident when rust started falling down from the top rail while it was being opened by the boy's frantic use of both his hands and feet.

Hence, it didn't seem to be used either. The owner must have been taking the rear entrance.

"Heere... we go...!"

Along with a noise, red rust rained down on his head.

He somehow succeeded in opening the door by squashing his shoulder and legs in between. It seems like using force can go well, too, once in a while.

"Well well... Hellooo? Is there anyoone?"

The girl hopped into the warehouse without even trying to understand the hardships he just went through. Concerning him, he was stretching his legs on the ground and breathing exhaustedly. The icing on the cake was the rust that was all over him.

From what they could see, there were no leaks through which the rain could enter and it seemed stable enough to withstand the storm. The temperature was rather cool, too, making it "comfortable" overall - if it were just for those aspects! However, due to the horrible moldy stench and the dark and gloomy air, they could not call it that at all.

Seen from outside, it had seemed like a simple barrack made of sheeted metal, but this was not exactly the case. While the ground really was left bare, heat insulating material had been used for the ceiling and there were also fluorescent lamps, though turned off. There was even some weak air-conditioning for work purposes.

At any rate, it was a thousand times better than camping outside. Hence, they set this warehouse as the day's camping ground.

While dusting the rust stuck to his hands, the boy took a look around.

"This building isn't used as a warehouse, as it seems."

"What do you mean?"

While untying her hair - she used a hair tie because her hair would get in the way otherwise - she turned towards the boy.

"Can you see any commodities? Even just traces? All that's here is this..."

What he was talking of were the rather unfamiliar things that could be seen there. For one thing there were hand-made metal holding devices. On some desks, workbenches apparently, there were tools, much much better than the ones in his own possession, and various strangely-shaped utensils and measuring instruments.

As a whole, they looked as though they served one certain purpose.

Right, it was like...

"...A garage?"

"Yeah. I think those tools are for maintaining or assembling something."

All of the tools were directed towards the holding devices installed in the center and seemed to cohere. He didn't know what was to be fixated on those stands, but he sensed that this place must have been for a lot of people to work on one thing.

"Who's there?"

The two were startled by a sudden voice and hurriedly turned their gazes towards the other end of the warehouse, just to have their hearts miss a beat yet again.

"Tz...! How dare you open the door and nestle in here, damn couple... What are you doing in my house?"

He was about in the middle of his twenties. His clothing consisted of simple slacks and a T-shirt, and while his body couldn't quite be called an Adonis body, it was one of a sportsman.

Just.

Just, what shocked them more than anything was his face.

''Pure white it was''. The decolorization the director had suffered stood no comparison with it. What could be seen of his skin was completely white as if he was part of a black-and-white photograph.

No, since there was shadowing, pure white might not be fully correct. He lacked color so much that it seemed as if he had been cut out and replaced by monochrome film.

"What? Is a visage like mine that unusual?"

"...Quite so. It is the first time I see someone that has progressed this far..."

"I'm no attraction. Get lost if there's nothing you want from me."

"Oh, actually there is. It looks like it's going to rain and our motorcycle will not get us far. Please let us spend only a night here. Furthermore, may we borrow a rod or something that is suited for splitting a melon?"

The man raised an eyebrow.

"......A rod?"

"Yes. We have received an extra-large melon from a kind person whom we met on our way, but we had trouble finding a tool to cut it. So why don't use the opportunity and have some fun splitting it, we thought. However, we lacked an appropriate rod in our luggage," told the girl fluently with a perfect ingratiating smile and for a few moments the man just kept suspiciously gazing at her.

"...Help yourself and use what you want. But hands off the stuff I'm using!" said he, when he had finally given up, and left them, going towards a cot that was installed at the back of the room. Apparently, he used a corner of the warehouse, which he had divided from the rest, as some sort of nap area.

The girl breathed out lightly and turned around.

"Heard him, boy? Let's accept his good will and go searching for a rod as part of a nice break."

"Y-Yeah..."

He joined the search with a light dread of her forcing smile that would not let him refuse.

After all, one ought not to defy her at the wrong time.

For starters, the two went to a line of racks, which were stocked with tools and stuff, and started looking for a tool that fit their needs.

"Boy? How about this?"

"You intend to split a melon with a spanner? ...well, leaving aside the idea, that length won't work out. Too short."

"How's this then?"

"A hammer, huh... it'll turn into mush!"

"Mmmhh... then it must be this."

"What on earth do you plan on doing with that wire stripper?"

The boy was a little stunned at the girl who randomly showed him what was in reach.

But he noticed that the tools here, too, were a little strange.

There were all kinds and sorts of them, but they all were rather small. There he thought he could find bolts and nuts in many different diameters, but even the largest sized were much smaller than the usual standard.

The man had sat down on a pipe chair and was watching them through his dull eyes bustle about searching.

"...hmph. A trip in twos, giving a shit about school? You kids must be full of yourselves, huh?"

The girl did not overhear the mumbling voice behind her.

Without stopping her fumbling hands, she ventured a counterattack with a small voice.

"Oh? I think that's still a good deal better than being a drunkard who's legless already in the daytime."

The air tensioned. He had heard her for certain.

"......as if a little brat like you could understand me..."

"Oh, but I believe I can understand part of a tiny little bit of you!"

She swiftly stood up and turned towards him - and threw something so fast it couldn't be traced by the eyes.

The object that landed before his feet with its pages fluttering open was without a doubt her student notebook, which she always carried around with her.

"Take a good look at that student card."

"......what's the point..."

The man picked it up grudgingly but frowned when he saw the open page - as though he was looking at something that made no sense.

Her photograph that was attached to the student card had already faded so much that one could hardly tell whether there was anything at all.

Her name and student number had been lost entirely, which indicated that quite some time had passed since she started "vanishing".

The man widened his eyes slightly.

"My symptoms haven't progressed as much as yours, but before long they will! Well, it's just a matter of sooner or later if you ask me?" boasted she for some reason, which made him give her a slightly queer look, though he averted his eyes right after it.

"...hmph. It really is just a tiny bit..."

"Wha...!"

To stop her from countering, he tossed her the student card and turned from them.

"......You'd better eat that melon quickly and get out of here."

Leaving behind only these words, he stood up, pulled the shroud and disrupted their field of vision.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

Their search proved to be much harder than they had expected; the clock showed seven in the evening at the time when they left the warehouse because they had given up searching inside.

It was still not raining, but since there was no sunlight, it was so dark outside that one couldn't do without a flashlight.

"Man!! What an insolent old drunkard!"

"Isn't calling him an 'old drunkard' a little cruel if you consider his age?"

"What? You're on the side of that old drunkard?"

The boy smiled wryly, watching her kick one of the H-shaped posts of the warehouse to vent her irritation.

"Say what you want, but... we're having him help us out by lending us a rod after all."

"And there's no sign of that rod! That's why I told you to pull that thing off and use that."

"But that 'thing' is the drainage pipe of the air conditioner. He's going to be troubled if we just pull that off!"

"Why should we care?"

"We should!" laughed the boy and took two flashlights out of the bag attached to the Super Cub. One of them he handed over to her.

"How's our watermelon doing?" he muttered and tapped with a finger on the watermelon, which made a dull, well-sounding sound. It was just the right ripeness. It could be said without a doubt that today and tomorrow were the best days to eat it. Otherwise it would get overripe. If they didn't find anything until then, they would have to split it with their hands.

Suddenly the boy recalled the truck that was parked by the warehouse.

He paused to think for a moment and pulled up the zipper of the bag.

"So in the end, what should we do now?"

"Mh... how about taking a look in that truck?"

"Truck? Aah, that one outside?"

"Probably, it's still loaded with things," stated he - seeming quite sure, to the amazement of the girl who followed him while cocking her head.

After they had headed to the truck and had closed the rusted metal door, the partitioning of the nap corner moved slightly.

As it was clearly too dark, the boy turned on his flashlight.

Looked at from far away it had just given him the impression of a normal truck, but it was larger than expected when they got nearer.

The shining silver container looked quite unnatural compared with the deterioration of the warehouse. Another sign that the truck hadn't been in actual use around here here was that its tires weren't very dirty.

"Looks like it's a rental truck. See the mark on the license plate?" pointed the girl out. (TN: most rental cars in Japan have a わ-car-number)

"Mh, did that man rent it? I wonder why."

"Well, for transporting something. Most likely. But the rental period has expired if you ask me. He's a criminal."

They examined it briefly, walking around the vehicle, and found out that at least the container was not locked.

While they didn't know what was inside, they could presume it. After all, this was a loaded rental truck parked beside a warehouse designated to put something together.

"...So... in here is what belongs into the warehouse?"

"I think so. If it's not in the warehouse, it must be in here," explained he and grabbed the door handle casually.

He jumped on the step and pulled the handle as hard as he could, whereupon the double doors opened along with a small creak.

The boy almost fell down because he had used too much power, but somehow he managed to keep his balance by grabbing the door bar.

"......huh? What is this?"

"...this must be..."

The boy was bereft of speech. Strictly speaking not because it ran afoul of his expectations, but rather because what he saw there exceeded them.

The two ascended the container as if they were allured in.

The cold light of his flashlight shone into the container and was reflected by translucent film on a long board. Although the volume of the frame, which was made of a snow white material, was extremely small, its length filled out the entire space of the container of a 4-tonner truck.

In the harmonic play of darkness and light, the very precisely-made yet simple film and those artistic curves looked graceful.

"......don't touch that."

They immediately turned around and spotted the man from earlier.

The girl was a little disappointed because she had been wary of another rant from him like when they first met. She hopped down the load-carrying platform, but for some reason the boy remained there.

The man turned straight towards him and darted him a drunk and shady glance.

"...you know what that is?"

"Yes. It's a human-powered aircraft. One for long distances at that," answered he promptly, making the man shut his mouth.

Right. That board-like, extremely long object was a main wing of a HPA. The transparency was a result of a thin polymer film that was affixed to its framework in order to decrease the weight.

The frame was supposed to be black since FRP is employed, but this one was white.

"...right. It was supposed to challenge the figure-eight flight at the Straits of Dover."

"That's amazing!"

The boy turned again towards the interior.

An ordinary human-powered aircraft is said to have a total width of around 30 meters, but of these wings only one was already next to 20 meters. It was no doubt a large long-distance plane.

"...So the warehouse is used to put this together...," said the girl and breathed out, now that it finally sunk in, before she walked away from the truck. Something, however, seemed to bother her, so she stopped. "...Uh? Why would you put it together at such a remote place? You can't be planning to fly all the way from Japan to England, right?"

"For a test flight. The Strait of Dover is situated between the frontiers of England and France, so it's a pain just to get a flight permission. I'm not so stupid as to go for the main event straight away," answered he while scratching his head listlessly.

"...Why on earth is it still in parts then?"

"...that's because all my colleagues vanished on the very day we hauled it here," whispered he, leaving her speechless. "Halfway through the project, it broke out in all members. Almost everyone of us quit his job, since most had one, and continued to work on the project while living from retirement money. Well, but in the end we only barely managed to get the parts done...," answered he indifferently, whereas the girl had averted her eyes unconsciously. "I'm the last one who caught it and the final one left. And even I have gone this low... Hey, brat. Won't you get out there now?"

The boy, however, showed no sign of alighting.

"...won't you fly it?"

Almost like looking down on him, he looked down at the man from the platform.

"It's not 'I won't', it's 'I can't'. There's no way I could put this together alone. To begin with, that's none of your business."

The boy let out a rather stressed sigh and,

"Alright, then let's take this to pieces and use it for our watermelon."

He proposed something outrageous.

"Hah?!"

The first one to doubt his sanity along with an outcry was the girl.

"Have you even listened to what he just said?! Boy! This is a valuable aircraft! Arisen from the collaborative work of that drunkard and his colleagues, you know?!"

"But isn't it mere trash if nobody's going to fly it?"

The girl could virtually feel the wrath burning in the man by her side. She gulped and took a step back.

"Brat... do you even know how many hardships we went through to construct this...!"

"I don't! But I can guess. Making something amazing like this without any sponsors must have been unbelievably difficult."

"Then don't..."

The boy cut him short: "But you're not going to fly it, are you? You told us yourself that we may take anything you don't use. And you don't use this, right?"

The man kept silent.

"Making junk out of it or leaving the parts there untouched is exactly the same in terms that your hardships are being rendered futile! If you're going to let it rot here anyway, we rather make good use of it with our watermelon."

"......Don't talk nonsense!"

Surprised by his roar, the girl took another step backwards. Despite her motto being "Quarrel? Hell yeah! GOGOGO!", she was not good with provocations that were logical.

The boy might have been much better than her in getting the opponent where it hurts.

"Nonsense? Really? I think it's easily more nonsensical to let it ferment in the truck forever. We're not talking about wine, after all."

He flashed a fiendish smile whereas the man, in contrast, contorted his face.

"...then... what am I supposed to do?!"

"Well, let's see... wouldn't it be best to use it for what it's originally been made for?"

"...what...?"

"Let's fly it!"

The man's jaw dropped---the girl besides him made a half-surprised, half-baffled face, too.

The provocative tone disappeared suddenly from the boy's voice and he continued smiling as if he were talking to a good friend: "You need help to put it together, right? You're not alone now! There are three in total."

The man relaxed his clenched fist and turned his gaze towards the aircraft in the container.

"......You're telling me to fly this all alone, though all my colleagues have vanished...?" whispered he.

The boy smiled wryly, "Well, of course. It's designed for only one pilot anyway. Aren't you forgetting that you yourself belong to those 'colleagues' as well?"

"......It's too late to go to Dover anymore. There's no point in flying it, you know...?"

"Mh, let's see... the speed at which the vanishment progresses varies from person to person... but you are clearly in its terminal stage. Added to that, it should be quite hard to make your way to Dover even with a good deal of luck at the current state of things in the world."

"We have gone this far... because we wanted to break the world record of traversing Dover... flying here won't leave any record... even if it would, as soon as I vanished, the record would vanish along with me for certain..."

He seemed to be rather speaking to himself than to the boy.

"I guess so. But there's no need to abandon your plans for tomorrow because you might die the day after tomorrow, is there? Let's do the test flight, just as planned!"

"Even though there's not going to be a main flight?"

"Yes. It's a thousand times better than to abandon it altogether."

The boy hopped down the platform and stood beside the girl.

"...what profit do you take from it...?"

"Let's see... in return for our support, please share some of your fuel and food with us," answered the boy without thinking long - to the surprise of the man.

"...I see, you're not doing it for free."

Then, for the first time, he flashed a smile.

He merely moved his facial muscles slightly, so it was even unclear whether one could call it a smile, but it was the first one they saw of him since they had met.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

"Looks like you just got us some hard work ''without my consent'', huh?"

"I'm so—... I'm sorry!"

He had prepared himself for some pokes in the side, but that turned out to be a complete underestimation. The girl slid her right arm under his and pressed　hard against his ribs.

"Now listen up. Unlike you, airplanes aren't a hobby of mine, hence I do not know how to put those things together. Understand?"

"W-Well, I don't know eithe... OUCHOUCHOUCHOUCH!!"

"I'm not saying that I'm not interested, you know?"

The boy was at once released from the infernal agonies. While he was falling into a fit of coughing, she whispered next to him with a smile, "Now that's something... an airplane..."

The two of them went to their bike and started to prepare the things they would need for cooking and sleeping. Since they had used up a lot of time for searching a rod, they were a little late.

Fortunately, the roaring thunderstorm had removed itself a bit and it wasn't raining just now. The noisy chorus by the insects that lurked in the meadows around the warehouse had apparently been called off tonight; they all held their breath.

"You had me quite surprised there, girl. So you are interested in airplanes?"

"Well, as much as others. I've only been on one once before, when I went on a trip."

"The school excursion?"

"Nah. A family trip. To a southern island."

"I see... how was it?"

It wasn't clear whether he asked for her impressions of the southern paradise or the flight, but the girl considered he meant the latter.

"Oh well... I couldn't even see the outside because I was seated right in the middle row! On top of that, there were passengers who were frightened of flying. You can imagine what a commotion it was."

"Aah... tough luck. Too bad for the opportunity."

"Yeah, exactly. I don't want to sound rude, but thanks to one passenger who wouldn't stop screaming, I rather was composed throughout the flight!" she said with a lopsided smile and pulled out a rolled-up blanket.

"Though I feel kind of sorry for that person for having to fly in spite of his fears."

"True."

A smile escaped her lips when she unintentionally recalled the now faint yet comical scene of that day.

''I wonder...''

''Are there still people on that island?''

''Are the cheerful people and the gorgeous casino girls still safe and sound?''

"Sorry for disturbing while you're rapt in thought, but you won't even get around to worrying about aviophobia when you board that plane."

They spun around upon hearing a voice behind them.

"After all, oneself produces the kinetic energy. If you don't pedal for your life before shitting your pants, you'll really crash."

It took them a few seconds to realize that it was the man from earlier.

His wildly grown beard was cleanly shaved and the outworn T-shirt had been replaced by a new one. Even his haircut, which was short to begin with, looked neat now that he had apparently combed it.

To them he looked at least four to five years younger than before. Now he may actually be worthy of the title "Aniki".

"Oh, you're more handsome than I thought."

"...I'm not so bold as to get on our plane with that shabby look, you know."

"Handsome" was actually referring to his natural features, but the man had apparently taken it as comment on his well-groomed appearance. Well, but nobody wants to say a compliment twice. All the more if one means it.

The girl deliberately didn't say anything, pulled out the boy's share of blankets and tucked all of them under her arm.

"So, what's the matter?" asked the boy. With a smile, of course, showing nothing of the biting attitude he had taken earlier.

The man, however, was rather flustered by that smile and averted his eyes while scratching his head. "...while the contract's only for a test flight, you have still become members of the team. It would be a bother if you caught a cold by sleeping on the bare ground. There are some cots inside, use those."

They grasped the meaning of his whisper as slowly as a fluorescent lamp would come on.

"Eh, for real?! But there's still one left for you, I hope, boss?!"

"Boss?" he wrinkled his brow a little upon seeing the bursting joy of the girl.

"You said we're a team, right? There's only one way to call the leader of a team!"

"No, I think that's just your prejudice..."

However, the boy's opinion was scrapped.

"'Boss' is fine. We have to decide on some name anyway."

"Then at least take something like 'chief' or 'leader'..."

"No. Sounds too intellectual."

She basically claimed that he did not look intelligent.

In the end, all other opinions were ignored and the man's nickname was more-or-less forcefully set to "boss". In this respect, she didn't have the right to criticize the boy for arbitrarily choosing their travel route. Which he did not say of course. The boy was smart.

"...Aah, and you can do some light cooking. There's a small kitchen in the annex."

"Alright, boy! Leave the dinner to me!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. Prepare our beds in the meanwhile!"

The strangely energetic girl chucked the blankets to him and sped to the back of the warehouse.

She was probably just delighted with the opportunity to sleep in a real bed again. And if he was honest, he shared her view.

"...Say..."

The boy turned around. Boss, still looking in the direction the girl disappeared, continued, "Since she suffers from «it», I guess you do, too?"

"Yes. Still in the initial stage, but my name has already been «lost». I guess my photograph is going to become unidentifiable, too, in the near future," he said unaffectedly.

It took a while until he got a reply.

"...What do you want? For what sake did you come here to the back of beyond?"

His question was drowned by the sound of the night while making small ripples in the meadows around them that were veiled in darkness.

"......I want to travel to the end of the world, together with her."

It sounded like a pipe dream indeed. However, what he said was by no means out of place and, above all, he was serious.

"...What are you going to do if you reach there?"

"I'll figure that out on the way! ...But well, perhaps I'll go on a round-the-world trip or so and demonstrate the excellency of Super Cubs to the world?"

"Sounds like fun."

A wry smile escaped his lips, which was however not a sardonic, but an honest one. The boy's confidence was clearly unfounded, but it brimmed with a strong will.

It did not matter whether it was feasible or not, for that was not the point of his dream to begin with. But the boss had the feeling that it would surely be a lot of fun, more than any game or work there was.

He had become unable to follow in suit.

However, he had his own objective.

He turned and headed again towards the warehouse.

"Okay, for today get something to eat and have some rest. We'll begin work tomorrow. We'll take half the day to put it together, so the flight will be the day after tomorrow."

"We're going to be busy, aren't we? ...Ah, right! Do you have some water here that I could use for keeping our melon cool?"

"There's a water tank that contains some purified water. Well, it isn't exactly icy water, but it'll do the job."

"That's great. ...Ah, but we didn't find a rod."

"Mh...... How about this?"

He pointed at the drainage pipe that was connected to the air conditioner at the ceiling—the pipe, which the girl had suggested to use earlier. However.

"Won't the cooling get broken if we take that off?"

"Hah? The only current we have comes from the dynamo! Only an idiot would turn on air conditioning. What a waste," he spilled, put one foot on the wall and tore out the pipe at once.

A few corroded screws flew off with a small creak, and the next moment a metal pipe was laid into the boy's hands. It was a bit longer than a meter, which was a truly ideal length.

"...somehow I have mixed feelings about this..."

His monologue remained unheard.

Surrounding the fire they had made from scrap wood in the center of the warehouse, the three opened a meeting while taking a meal. Unfortunately, their boss' provisions may have differed in quantity from their own, but certainly not in quality: today's menu was canned hardtacks.

"Tch. That's what you meant by 'provisions'? I was already expecting a delicious dinner..."

"It's not like this is all I have, but the other stuff is still packaged. 'Would take a while to dig all the stuff out."

"Where did you get these hardtacks from, then?"

The cans was imprinted with an English text and the corresponding Japanese translation. Moreover, it was marked as UN supply.

"The towns in these quarters were already deserted before we came here. Well, while getting here, we payed them a short visit, if you know what I mean," he explained and made quotation marks with his fingers.

His personality just became a little more questionable.

"What's wrong?" boss asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah, nothing, never mind."

They smiled wryly at him and continued their meal.

Shoplifting was a crime of course, but they didn't have the right to blame him for it. Breaking into forlorn shops to collect the abandoned goods had become to a everyday occurrence, for one could not survive in this world otherwise.

"By the way, what work does putting the plane together incorporate in specific?" asked the girl, upon which their boss set his can aside.

"...Let's see... First we have to assemble the main components. Then comes the bonding of the movable parts as well as their regulation. Finally, we'll do a test drive and naturally the test flight. We should be fine since we have the manual, but it will take the whole next day."

"Do we need any special skills?"

"Not for the assembling stage in general. But there are some things that require experience, so you'll mainly take care of the odd jobs."

"Can I get on it, too?"

"No. It's my plane," he refused her request almost like a child, which caused the girl to puff her cheeks.

"Miser. Then give us your truck!"

"Can't do that either."

"Why not?"

"There's no fuel because I wasn't able to refill the tank in the nearby village. Apart from that, I've used quite a lot of fuel for small things such as making fire, so you'd run out of gas before reaching the next town," he explained casually.

"Y-You idiot!" she roared, "What happened to our enjoyable trip—roof, sleeping place and air conditioning included?! We have even less reason now to help you!"

"I for one like our Super Cub..."

"Boy, SHUT UP!"

The boy, who had even lost his right to speak at last, was forced to focus on his meal—which, however, was easier said than done. Their boss and the girl were busy stealing the can from each other.

"I will keep my promise of giving you fuel! There's still plenty of gasoline from the dynamo. At the very least, you should reach the next town."

"What about provisions?"

"There are still quite a few cans left. You can appreciate preserved food more, right?"

"Hm... it's a fair trade then, then...?"

The boy suddenly stood up.

"Oh, where are you going?"

"I don't want to expose our luggage to the rain, so I'm bringing it inside. I'll also do a check, since we've been quite hard on Cubby today!"

"Mh, got it. Don't get caught by the chupacabras!"

"As if they'd exist!"

The boy left through the half-opened door and let out a small sigh. He was relieved that the hostile air between the girl and the boss had disappeared.

He did not assume that everyone in the world was kind-hearted, but as it was impossible to meet everyone, he wanted to at least make a favorable relationship to those he actually learned to know.

That he had provoked boss earlier was also part of that mindset. Well, he got them a slightly cumbersome task, but they weren't in a hurry, after all.

They were going to spend the following days together, so he wanted to get on as well as possible.

At least he thought so at this very moment. However, when he came back approximately 20 minutes later, after doing some light maintaining, he was a little cross with them.

"Oh come on! Just by the two of you...?"

"Haah...? Now, now, why so tense booy?"

She suddenly wrapped her arm round his neck, which he hurriedly shook off. The girl tended to forget restraining herself when alcoholized.

"Where on earth did he shelve this...?"

"He said they bought a whooole lot for celebrating the success of the test! The stuff's already expired... but it's still good, you know~?"

"Listen, girl. We're still in high school, you know? Alcohol is..."

"There's no high schooler that gives a shit about such an ooold law nowadaays~" the girl laughed with her tanned skin flushed bright red.

The empty beer and shochu cans that were scattered around those two were proof that a grand feast had been made during the twenty minutes the boy was away for maintaining their bike.

"But look, excessive alcohol consumption during the growth period has a negative influence on your growth..."

"I'm already sixteeen, you know? No way I'm still growing!"

The girl chuckled while clinging to his back.

She had a point there indeed, but judging by the feel on his back, some parts of her body could still need some growth. The boy was smart, however, so by no means did he say it. He loved life too much.

As a footnote: the boy was a nondrinker from the core. So much that his skin turned bright red in plaster shape when an alcohol-drenched patch was applied to him during a test in junior high.

As for boss, who was most definitely the patron of the alcohol, he was wordlessly drinking beer. Though his face looked serious as he stared into the air, it was obvious that he was drunk because he was red all over. Probably he was the type of person that would get silent when drunk.

"It's been a while since we last had some alcohol... and we don't know when's the next opportunity~..."

The boy gave up persuading the giggling girl.

He judged that it would be better not to care about them any more. Since nobody has made him join in the drinking, yet, the damage was still low.

The boy decided to quickly evacuate to the nap area where he would write the diary and then go to sleep.

"Nap area" may sound nice, but in fact it was just a corner in the warehouse that was divided with a partition and consisted of five cots. But to the boy and girl, who had basically always slept on top of some blankets on the asphalt, it was a heavenly place to sleep.

He lay on the bed and covered himself with a blanket so as to not get a stomachache. He was soon attacked by sleepiness while writing the diary entry.

Before long, the only voice still speaking, the girl's, slowly faded out and the boy fell into a soft sleep.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

The day dawned.

A noise of immense volume caused both the boy and girl to jump awake at the same time.

"W-What the heck?!"

The boy, utterly startled, jumped out the nap area, pushing the partition aside, and recognized the origin of the noise.

Boss was backing the truck into the warehouse through the front door and getting ready to unload the things inside.

Outside the building it was so silent that he could hear the twittering of birds far away. Apparently, it was fine weather.

"Hey, you two! Won't you get up already! We're starting!"

"Y-Yes!"

Where did the spirit from yesterday go? He hurriedly flung on a shirt and got into his trousers while jumping with the other.

The girl who had been sleeping in the bed next to him had degenerated to the embodiment of "inviting one's own misfortunes".

Leaving aside her richly stimulating clothing, which consisted of only her underwear and a blouse, her vacant eyes were the eyes of a dead. Her whole body was enveloped in the stench of alcohol and her hair was so disordered that she could have been mistaken for a Medusa.

She had apparently continued drinking for quite a while after the boy had gone to sleep and was now cursed with deep rings under her eyes that only added to her hypotension.

"Um... well, join us as soon as you're better!"

He took a packet of headache tablets out of their portable first-aid box and put it on the knees of the girl who had partly turned into a zombie.

According to what he knew from personal experience, she would take a few hours until becoming operative again. Most likely she hadn't even heard what he had just spoke to her.

With a deep buzz the engine stopped on the other side of the partition.

He put his messy clothes in order and returned the partition he had tossed away to its former place. He did so not because of consideration toward the lady, but because of the menacing death penalty that would come from the suspicion of having forgotten the consideration toward the lady.

"All right, boss. What are we doing first?"

"...Cleaning up."

"Cleaning up...?"

He was about to ask how they were going to clean up something when they hadn't even started, but he was immediately enlightened when he took a look at the hall.

There was the fire they had ignited the former day in the center of the bare ground. Well, it was already dead, since they didn't use it for keeping them warm anyway, but the problem was in what lay around it.

Countless empty cans and snack packaging were scattered about. And the most crucial problem was the vomit that was to be found at several spots.

"...You didn't have to drink until vomiting..."

"I have no excuse... Sorry, but I can't remember it at all..."

The boy joined the slouching of boss' shoulders with a sigh.

He seriously asked himself whether her brain was equipped with learning functionality upon considering the corn incident a few days ago and the current mishap.

"Oh well, leave it to me to throw away this... stuff. I've still got other preparations to do, so you clean up the interior for now."

"Got it..."

After letting out a slight breath, he headed towards the cleaning locker in a corner of the building.

"...By the way, what's with the little one over there?"

"She's idling because of a hangover and hypotension. She won't be moving for a while!"

"..."

The boss scooped up the pools with a mien brimming with mixed feelings and threw them into a bucket.

''"Just regret that you carelessly served alcohol!"'' the boy whispered in his mind while watching him go to empty the bucket while making a face as though he was carrying a load of highly radioactive waste matter.

Well then! It was about time to start the work assigned to him, but there was something to do prior to it.

The boy, in proud spirits, cowered before their luggage and took out a pig. Indeed, it was their ceramic anti-mosquito pig!

Be it inside or outside, one must not be careless. They did not pay much heed to it while riding the bike, but with the vicinity being full of meadows there were ''lots'' of insects. It's a must to take measures against them when staying at a place for a while for work.

Thus, he placed the spiral-loaded anti-mosquito pig at the center of the warehouse where the fire had been and began tidying the ground.

Contrary to the boy who had cheerfully started work, the awakening of the girl was accompanied by heavy discomfort.

Her head was throbbing painfully and her stomach was bewailing heartburn.

The reason was obvious. It was probably because she had poured way too much alcohol in the previous day—or rather, that was bound to be the reason.

Overjoyed with the alcohol she hadn't seen in a while, she had accidentally let loose too much. Or to be precise, she didn't even remember having let loose, so perhaps it was the most excessive drinking she had ever done?

She now agreed that alcohol should be taken in moderation—well, originally a girl like her wouldn't be allowed to drink in the first place, though.

"...Ueh... gh..."

She instinctively covered her mouth upon feeling vomit slowly wandering up, and managed to deflect the danger by turning on her valuable blanket while stroking her stomach.

"Looks like... I went overboard quite a bit..."

She had a funny taste in her mouth and her teeth felt strangely smooth, which led her to the assumption that she had thrown up a few times. Moreover, her stomach was empty even though she had eaten and drunk late into the night. On top of all that, her throat was rough and her voice in a sombre state.

However, the early bird gets the worm! Pulling aside the blanket, she slipped into the sneakers that were put next to her cot.

That moment something landed on her foot with a weak thump.

While raising a brow, she sluggishly picked it up.

"...Headache tablets...?"

Apart from the opened, half-empty packet of headache tablets, there was a small note attached to it that said "Don't strain yourself and take a rest" with letters familiar to her. There was no name, but it was self-evident who the writer was.

Suddenly, she noticed a bottle of water on the small rack right beside her bed.

It was one of their two-liter bottles which they used to store drinking water. By it was an upside-down glass.

"...jeez... my fellow companion shows consideration at the strangest occasions...," she smiled crookedly and poured water into the glass.

She held the bottle against her side for a few moments to cool her body down and feel the refreshing water through the thin polymeric material.

Then, accepting the boy's favor, she took two tablets out of the packaging and threw them into her mouth. After she had gulped them down at once with some water, a cold sensation spread in her stomach.

With her sleeves she brushed away the water drops that slid down her neck and found another object on the rack in the process.

A wet towel.

"Does he want me to wipe myself? ...jeez... I know nobody that's better prepared than him...," she sighed with a combination of joy and amazement and accepted his favor once again.

Noon. The weather was clear and free of any clouds.

"Oh, you? Already recovered from your hangover?" greeted boss, who had just leaned a dustpan on a corner of the warehouse, while wiping his sweat with a towel that was draped over his shoulder.

"Yes. I can still feel it, but it's gotten a lot better."

She wasn't lying. Thanks to the mysterious effect of the headache tablets, the pain that had been tormenting her temple and forehead had almost entirely disappeared, and she was feeling quite refreshed after washing her body and putting on new underwear. While she wasn't fully functional yet, there were no worries about minor work.

"Anyway! Sorry for making you clean up the mess for me."

"No sweat, little one. There's no way to tell who of us did what anyway."

"True word."

She may have giggled, but truth to be told, she could vaguely remember that more than half of it was her fault.

"By the way, where's the boy?"

"I had him throw away the trash. He should be back any moment."

''Trash'' probably referred to the empty cans and packages from yesterday. It seemed that her dependence on his most appreciated nursing was put on show even here.

"So, do you have any work for me?" she asked and looked down at the floor—no, bare ground.

Most of the remains of the feast the previous day were tidied away. What was still there were the ashes and bits of charcoal in the center. It didn't look like she was going to join the cleanup.

"Let's see... wanna help me with some real work?" boss grinned.

She was a little hesitant, but still she followed him and got on the step of the container of the truck.

"Okay, let's carry the parts out of there."

"Y...Yeah..."

They entered the container. Somehow the disassembled human-powered aircraft seemed much more extensive to her than the day before. She knew that type of vehicle only by hearsay. She had not the slightest idea what function each part had.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not asking you to put it together on your own."

"But...?"

"Just place the parts I give you where it's written in the manual over there. We'll save the larger parts for when the boy's back, so only the little ones for now," he said as he went farther into the container.

While the aircraft loaded on the four-tonner was quite spacious, its surface wasn't particularly big. There were lots of gaps, so they could easily move within the container. In terms of weight, the plane was lighter than the girl. This stuff went beyond her scope.

"Alright. This is the first one. Can you place it on the worktable?"

He one-handedly held out a component to her. No matter how unexperienced she was in mechanics, she was familiar with that kind of part. It was an axis merged with two blades—known as "propeller".

"Got it."

The moment she actually took it, she immediately understood why he had handled the part so carelessly.

It was truly light. She was surprised—not only by it being as thin as paper, but also by the fact that she could hold with just two fingers, even though the two blades reached almost a length of 140cm.

"Unbelievable..."

"Right? You could almost say the propeller defines how hard you have to pedal, so we put quite some work into developing it."

There was a very special something in his eyes gazing at the propeller. The girl didn't know much about him and his colleagues, but she figured that all those parts, including the extremely light-weight board, were full of their dreams and strong will.

When thinking about it like that, the propeller in her hands suddenly felt heavier than a stone.

Until she had softly placed it on the worktable, she treated the part like a baby with utmost care—not because she wanted to be considerate of the boss, but because it was her own will to do so.

"But say, does the funny shape of it have a reason, too?"

To the understanding of the girl, a propeller was normally equipped with two or three straight rotor blades. Or rather, that's the only way she could imagine them to look like.

The propeller before her eyes, however, was certainly two-bladed, but the shape was quite unconventional. The blades drew a smooth half-moon-shaped curve and hence looked more like the ventilation fan of a kitchen than a propeller. Furthermore, she was also wondering why it was painted in yellow, while all the other parts were white.

"Ah, yeah, the shape's yet another little highlight. It's made to get the best out of low rotational speed."

"But why are there two of them?"

Right, that was what puzzled her the most: there were two of those two-bladed propellers.

"Heh... that's... a secret."

"Uwa, that's mean."

Boss broke into a grin while looking at the offended girl.

"Just a little patience. Look forward to when it's finished. Anyway, next is this. Place it on the holding device that's labeled as 'A'."

"Whoa whoa!"

A large crate-like frame was handed to her from within the container, which she, startled, tried to hold in her hands.

It was a streamlined object that looked a little like a parallelogram with rounded corners, and was composed of shiny white material and just about boss' size.

However, it was as light as a feather, which again did not match its appearance at all. The girl could well-nigh hold it in one hand.

Holding it aloft, she brought it to told place with rather wobbly legs. The stand had apparently been specifically designed for it, so it was finely fixated by the metal fittings on there.

"But isn't this frame... plastic?"

The material the frame consisted of was completely white and its touch, as far as she knew, was definitely the one of plastic.

"Yeah, you're right. It's not ordinary plastic, though, but FRP."

"FRP?"

"Fiber-reinforced plastic. It has a 'bone' made of carbon fibres woven into it, so to speak. It's damn hard, I tell you," he explained with a smirk. He stroked the white body with a smile that resembled the one of a little boy who had gotten a new toy. "...Heh... to think I'll be flying this baby... it's like I'm dreaming!"

"Should I pinch you? Maybe you'll wake up?" mumbled the girl.

Boss laughed only with his face while keeping working. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm flying this baby whether it's a dream or not."

She breathed up.

She sensed that this feather-light aircraft was the lifework, the very dream, of the man before her.

"Come on, here's the first wing. Take the other end."

"Uwa!"

She hurriedly grabbed the end of the wing that appeared from within the container.

The wing, which was basically just a skeleton, was covered by a material that looked like transparent vinyl. So much that she unconsciously whispered, "This looks like chopsticks with wrapping around them..."

"You're actually not so wrong, since it's just a special type of macromolecule film we wrapped around the FRP-based skeleton."

Compared to the frame she had transported beforehand, the wing was clearly more massive and had a certain weight. As the same applied to its length, boss and the girl had to move it with the greatest care.

"A-Aren't these too long? I mean, won't they break midair?"

"They're going to bend, but don't worry: we calculated them so they won't break. Besides, about this much length is necessary to fly! If you look at the aspect rate..."

"I'll pass on details. I've never been good at physics."

The girl promptly abandoned any attempt to grasp the principle behind it and carefully placed the end she was holding on the specialized holding device.

"But physics is fun, you know? And it's handy in your everyday life."

"I prefer gymnastics."

"Gh... I lose in practical use..."

While accepting her answer because of a questionable reason, he also let the wing down.

Now that they had actually placed some of the parts, it became apparent that the holding devices were positioned so that the aircraft would stand diagonally in the warehouse instead of facing the door.

Which was only too understandable, because that was the only way to fit the giant wings somehow into the warehouse.

"Okay, next is the left wing. Show me some of your strength, sports-addict."

"All right!"

The girl, by now accustomed to the work, hopped onto the container.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

"Whew... this took longer than I thought."

The boy slumped on a tatami mat, with a side-glance at the brisk and sparking fire.

He was in a small prefabricated shed behind the warehouse. Apparently, it had originally served as the break room for the workers and was actually quite well-built. There was even a water conduit, though unusable.

Outside the window was a drum on a cement block, under which the fire was burning. It had quite some resemblance with the traditional drum-bath—with the exception that water within was boiling, making it a deadly iron pot instead.

The drum was covered by a lid, which was connected by a pipe in its center to a second drum, positioned a little lower. Out of the side of this second one looked again a pipe, which this time was connected to the lid of a much smaller third drum.

Though a citizen of the civilized world would have no doubt wondered what kind of cultic ritual this was, in the current Japan it was by no means a rare sight. It was a water purifier.

The both first drums contained previously stored rain water. The water in the first drum was brought to the boil, producing steam that then went into the second barrel and cooled down there by the cool water surrounding the pipe. The time it reached the third drum, it had become water again.

In short, by using steam that was once evaporated, they gained pure water without any pollution and bacteria.

There was a lot of water in Japan, but most of it was not pure enough to just scoop and drink it. Only few water conduits remained intact in these times of ruin, so they had often spotted such purifiers on their journey—and had become used to using it.

En passant, the heat source of this purifier was trash. The reason was apparently to get rid of the trash and boil water at the same time. The boy was a little anxious about the dioxin emission, but he reassured himself by saying that it wasn't so much trash. It's not like he only used trash; he had also added quite some firewood.

The reason for his exhaustion was the pouring the stored rain water into the drums. They weren't particularly big, but still they could store 44  gallons, which made about 200 liter. Considering that the bucket he had used to scoop could take 5 liter, he'd poured water into the drum almost 40 times. While youth spared him from lower back pain, he was in for some muscle ache the following morning.

But individual work also had its bright sides: the boy made himself comfortable on the ground, fully stretching out his arms and legs.

The scent of the tatami mat under him and the soft breeze made him drowsy.

He was enveloped by a listless feeling and could have slept anytime. The only thing that barely kept his eyelids open was the crying of the cicadas far away.

Though the boy had long since given up wearing the blazer of his winter uniform, doing only with the white shirt and the necktie, the summery temperature had become hardly bearable.

Despite the region he was at being near the northern frontier of this country, summer was hot even there, which might have also been a benefit of a country with four seasons in a sense.

Suddenly, the boy noticed with big eyes a change to his necktie, which had a rather plain, blue design and was part of the uniform specified by his school. The heat had loosened it so much that it had grown long and looked like the necktie of an office worker at a party.

The necktie was supposed to have the emblem of his high school sewn in.

However, not a single thread was to be seen at the spot where the sewing had been, degrading the monotonous blue necktie to one that was really just blue.

"......Oh my. At last even the name of my old school has been «lost», huh..."

The phenomenon that was slowly corroding the world had no official name.

Neither the medical circles, which are always eager to assign long scientific names to each and everything, nor the scientific circles, which normally try to make complicated formulas, gave the phenomenon a name.

Even the mass communication that loves it so much to think up tasteless names failed at creating a grand name for this mysterious phenomenon.

At last, someone started using the generic word "the vanishing", which then spread and became common.

No one was able to explain what principle caused this disease.

Renowned scholars all over the world had since been researching the origin with all their might, but so far no one had come up with a logical explanation. It was not even known why the symptoms were different between humans and animals, respectively objects.

The disease starts actually quite harmlessly.

First, your "name" is lost. No one is able to recall it anymore, naturally including the diseased person himself, too. The name vanishes without a trace from all books, digital documents, and everything else.

Secondly, your "face" is lost, meaning that you vanish from every photograph you're on. It doesn't matter whether it's a digital one, a painting or even in the memories of others.

Thirdly, your "color" is lost. Your appearance turns monochrome like the actor of a black-and-white movie.

Fourthly, your "shadow" is lost and even light passes through you.

Lastly, your very "existence" is lost and you disappear into naught. Everything you bequeathed disappears, be it paintings, texts, printings or recordings.

The only thing that remains is the memory of the people that have known you, in form of a feeling that "there was someone like you". A ambiguous memory that does neither include your name nor your face. It's the end if even those memories fade out completely.

Everything one has left in the world, and even oneself, disappears without a single trace.

The speed of progression varies vastly between each one. Some disappear on the same day as the disease breaks out, while for others the progress suddenly stops, allowing them to stay alive. But it can be said that in general, it progresses extremely slowly. Already four months had passed since the boy's name had been «lost».

There is no common feature between the people that get it—the disease spreads truly randomly. While the government found themselves unable to make progress with their research—it was not even clear how many had fallen victim to the disease—the country slowly stopped functioning properly.

A little more than one year had passed since. The government was no more and all lifelines had become unstable.

The citizens that had remained here and there had started working wellnigh voluntarily, struggling to maintain a lifezone to survive in.

But the atmosphere up here in the north turned out to be completely different from the slum-like conditions in the city zone the boy and girl had lived in.

There were no signs of devastation, which was probably due to the low population density, and only the odd fact that "there was nobody" remained clearly.

"HEY BOY!! Stop lazing around! Wake up!"

"Uah?!"

The angry yell that came through the open window made the boy jolt up like a mouse trap.

"You slacker... how dare you be enjoying a comfortable nap while your companion is doing hard work?"

He was literally scared stiff of the girl's glowering scowl that was fixed on him through the screen door.

''I'll get beaten up. Danger.''

"I-I got it. I'm on my way!"

"Just start working already! Hurry up!"

Threatened by a pounding against the window frame from behind, he slipped into his sneakers and jumped out of the shed.

"Don't rush me so much... You slept until late today, too..."

"Because I had to stay up long yesterday."

"...voluntarily, that is."

The very next moment he was hit by a lightning-fast, unrestrained body-blow that pierced him with splendid precision where it hurt most and showed him a shower of sparks.

When they came back, boss gave them a doubtful look.

"Huh? Now it's you who's white as chalk?"

"...leave me alone!"

Boss cocked his head in response to the mosquito-pitched voice that answered him, but he quickly returned to his work.

"...So, how far did you get while I was away?"

"We've taken all the parts and tools out. It was an awful lot of work, I tell you," she told him proudly and pointed at the well-arranged parts.

The truck that had occupied a large part of the quite spacious warehouse had already been backed out. The weight of the things one could see did not at all look like it required a whole four-tonner.

However, each part on its own was rather big, which was probably the reason why that container and its capacity had been need.

"Can't human-powered aircrafts normally be divided into more parts?"

"Mh? Ah, take a look at this."

The boss went to the workbench and brought something that looked like a blueprint. It wasn't too detailed, thus probably only used for putting the parts together.

"The more you break your components down, the more parts you need for linking. Weight-wise as well as stability-wise this causes problems. Especially because the material used is plastic—you can't just use bolts and nuts on it, as it might be damaged just by screwing on."

"So that giant wing is... one big part in itself?"

"Yeah! Using the fiber reinforced plastic mixing and injection molding for large objects method our entire team developed while pulling all-nighters."

"...using ''what''?" asked the girl quite half-heartedly, having trouble following him and not looking as though she was very interested.

The boss, however, beamed all the more. If he hadn't lost his color, his face would have been flushed with excitement for sure. No doubt about it.

"Alright, little one, perk up your ears: when forming the plastic, we basically put together two huge molds and injected the material, but we constructed them so that the movable parts were already completed at the time we removed the molds."

"Ah yeah? That's great, I guess?"

Her blank answer was as vague as it gets, somewhere between understanding him and not, but she probably just wanted him to stop. One could get as much by looking at her face.

"And that's an unique process made by your team?"

"Yeah. It's a compilation of existing technologies, but we're the only ones doing something of that size......," he answered the boy proudly... and slumped his shoulders for some reason, "...there's just one problem."

"O-One problem?"

The boy was startled by the boss's rapid loss of spirits even though he had praised him. Apparently, he had quite a lot of mood swings.

Boss returned the construction plan to the workbench and stroked the large body frame that was fixed on its holding devices.

"...the material can't be recycled."

"Recycled?"

"Yeah. Of course you know that it's difficult to recycle plastic, right? The best way would be melting it and giving it a new shape, but this baby has got carbon nanotubes inside. Because of too much foreign substances it can't be recycled. But because of the carbon, it's hard to break it into pieces and throw it into a landfill site, which is the common way to dispose of waste plastic."

"...in short, it's hard to throw it away?"

"Yeah. Moreover, while it's splendid in suppleness and elasticity, it's still plastic, hence lacks hardness. So it's got the huge downside of being hard to dispose of in spite of being easy to get broken! These days you can't make any money with technologies that don't take the environment into consideration..." he said with a grand sight and continued stroking over the frame.

Perhaps, that personality of his was the main problem that had made him vegetate in this warehouse.

"But enough of the old stories now, boss. Let's have a meal."

''Nice one, girl!'' Her usually worrisome gluttony proved to be of use for once. The boy gave her the thumbs up in his mind.

"Mh? It's already time?"

"It's already one o'clock! I haven't had breakfast, I'm starving."

She slumped down on a pipe chair, and rubbed her stomach.

The hangover she had from yesterday's hard drinking appeared to be past history to her. If one were to measure the strength of her stomach, the result would be no doubt a tremendous number. Even that so-and-so plastic that was troubling boss would probably have been digested by her stomach without a problem.

"Hm... I guess that's not a bad idea. Well, I've only got preserved stuff, so instant noodles is pretty much all I can offer you..."

"Ah! I'll have some! I wanna eat those!"

The girl started up, and even the boy's mouth was watering.

"W-What? Are instant noodles that special?"

"Yes! You know that we're traveling by bike, right? Because of that, we can't take so much water with us, so dishes that need a lot of water are unpractical to make..."

As a footnote, the boy and girl had both their respective tasks. While the boy was the driver and responsible for maintenance, the girl was the cook and responsible for their provisions. The boy didn't have a say in the control of their foodstuffs and the menu. She was surprisingly strict in that respect. Honestly.

"Well, if you're so keen on it, let's go with that for lunch. I've eaten quite a lot of it, so there's not so much left, but we should be okay."

"Yay! Hey boy! Hot water, quick!"

"Yes, yes."

The boy rushed off, urged by a dancing girl.

"...It's really odd that we're short of water because it didn't rain in the end despite that furious thunderstorm."

He clicked the switch and a blue propane flame started licking the bottom of the kettle.

The boy and the other two were sitting in the six tatamis' size break room in the shed. Thanks to the comfortable natural ventilation, it was several times cooler than outside, although the room wasn't equipped with air conditioning. A lower humidity would have been the final touch, but that would be asking for too much.

"And in comparison, a week ago we almost risked drowning just by looking up and opening the mouth due to the heavy rain... It's sickening that we have to be stingy with water for whatever we use it!"

"But well, once in the beginning, I tried drinking rain water directly."

"...just out of curiosity, what happened?"

"I did filter it first, mind you. Nevertheless, I had the runs the next day and lost more water than I took in."

"Uwa...," frowned the girl in response to boss' accurate description.

He took out a large plastic bag and poured out various types of instant noodles out of it. There were several packs of each type, which was probably because he had bought them all together.

"But I've gotten through somehow since I have made that boiler. Fortunately, there were tons of those drums around here. And if you conquer your weaker self, you get by with dry grass for feeding the fire."

"Once more I've come to realize that it's hard to stay at a certain place..."

"So is a journey," added the boy. A pensive mood filled the air.

As if to blow away that uncomfortable mood, the kettle on the portable stove before their eyes started to boil with a shrill whistle.

As the saying goes, "Kettles don't boil if you watch them," they start boiling in no time if you talk about something unrelated.

The serious topic went somewhere far: the wild beasts rapidly tore the packages of their instant noodles, opened them and waited for the boy to pour them hot water. The girl managed to amaze the other two by demanding hot water for two cups at the same time.

Then, for a while there was no conversation between them.

Having their appetite doubled by the agreeable empty stomach after hard work, and of course having the rare opportunity to enjoy noodles, it was especially the chopsticks of the boy and girl that moved without stop.

"Burp... I've filled my gullet..."

"...couldn't you at least use 'stomach'? You forget that you're a girl at times, don't you, girl?"

"You don't have to care about such trifles."

However, the appearance of her, leaning back while fanning herself with two empty cups before her, resembled a messy middle-aged man like two peas in a pod, and would have surely turned off even the most devoted lover.

If the boy's magnanimity wasn't as great as the ocean, he would have turned her down even before considering a confession.

"But still, maybe it was a mistake to eat ramen, udon, and whatnot on such a hot humid day... I'm drenched."

"Just so you know, there is a bathtub," boss noted incidentally.

Her face got brighter at once.

"For real?"

"Yeah. I'll run you a bath once we're done with the work."

"Yahoo!"

She jumped to her feet, threw the fan away and grabbed the boy's arm.

"We mustn't be lazying around here! We've gotta finish our work and then it's bathing-time!"

"A-Are you looking forward to it that much?"

"What a silly question! The three pleasures of life are 'eating', 'bathing' and 'sleeping'!!"

"You'll make a horrible wife one day."

His snappy remark was silently ignored, and instead he was walked off towards the warehouse without even getting the time to wear his shoes properly.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

While they didn't get on completely without a problem, there weren't any remarkable setbacks.

According to boss, the person who wrote the construction manual was as precise as it gets and did not only calculate the position of the holding devices, but also took into account the position of the tools and the mental state of the workers. Even with amateur eyes the boy and girl could see with what passion for detail it was written—it was actually much harder to do something the wrong way.

While they weren't quite sure if they would have wanted such a person around them, the two HPA engineers with 5 hours' experience couldn't thank him enough.

They finished inspecting all the parts and could at last begin to actually connect them.

With much care, they attached the tail plane to the bottom end of the skeleton in the center, which incidentally would have been the spine for humans. When connecting the—surprisingly not V but Λ-shaped— tail plane to the frame, whose cross-section became thinner towards the bottom like a reverse triangle, it looked almost as though the plane was wrong side up.

"...Say... I surely don't know anything about planes, but... isn't the plane at the back normally pointed upwards?"

Her question, which omitted—as was characteristic for the girl—any technical terms, caused boss to snort.

"Well, the common ones that you know are like that. Usually you want the center of gravity in the center of the machine because it makes the plane more maneuverable. However, you hardly ever change the angle when you fly a HPA, thus you put the tail plane below the machine, so it gets more stable. That way it tries to fly horizontally on its own."

The Λ-type tail assemblies are, however, not often used in the field because of concerns regarding the takeoff and landing. It may have been a little ironical that the only major case of it being used was an unmanned reconnaissance plane from a certain big country.

"...in other words, the reason is the same as why paper planes don't have a vertical tail plane?"

"Hmmm, well, you can say that, though that's not all there is to it."

"?" the girl sent him a sceptical glance.

He took two thin wires from the base of the tail unit and pulled them softly.

With a nice click, a pair of wheels swung out from the downward-pointing tips.

"The undercarriage is contained within it. Much better than building a separate container for it, isn't it?"

"What? This plane can actually land?"

"What else did you expect?"

"I was sure you'd go for a free fall in Dover."

"...hey peewee, don't tell me you think of it as something like that show they're doing at Lake Biwa.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdman_Rally]"

"It's not?!"

"Well, the record we are challenging requires doing everything from takeoff to landing with one's own power. Unlike that competition, you need to be able to do these tasks, too."

While proceeding with his explanation, he called the boy over and had him help him with the fixation of the tail plane.

Apparently, the boy knew what was to be done; he opened the toolbox at the side and took out some tools such as a spanner and a screwdriver, and started assisting boss.

"...but isn't it quite impossible for this tail assembly to take on the role as the rudder?" asked the boy without suspending his work. Boss, too, answered him from somewhere else while screwing a bolt. Those two were quite adept.

"The wings are doing that job. The tail assembly really does only the balancing. In fact, we could have just gone for an entire flying wing, but those are damn hard to balance out."

"...which galaxy is the language you are speaking from, guys?"

The girl was gazing at them with an uneasy and somewhat lonely look because the discussion they led parallel to work was dripping with words unfamiliar to her.

As they made progress and the two boy and girl became used to the work, each of them started to have their specific tasks.

Boss did the work, whereas the boy was his support. The girl, however, was in charge of bringing them the small parts and tools. And when strength was required, they joined forces.

For an example, the connection of the giant wings, which occupied the whole diagonal of the warehouse, to the body with united forces was celebrated with a hurricane of applause and rejoicings. The main sound source was of course the girl.

However, as soon as they had attached the crate-like cockpit below the body, she didn't really have anything to do anymore; the somewhat complicated, fine work had increased.

"Does the seat look okay?" asked boss.

The boy then checked the stability of the bicycle saddle by trying to jolt it. It was much firmer fixed than one would expect from something that was only attached to a plastic frame.

"Looks fine. It's stable."

"Alright, then could you do the wiring of the main wing rudder from there? But please be careful with the wires; it's a real bother to exchange them once they're ripped. There's enough material in the truck to make another set, but we don't have time."

"...got it."

The boy, now quite tense, slowly approached the nylon wire that dangled above him to the joystick, by winding it around several pulleys that were positioned in the cockpit.

"You're enviable... I wanna try sitting there, too."

"We're not doing this for fun, you know?"

"But we are, it's a pastime however you look at it."

What she said was actually quite the truth. He wasn't doing this in order to earn something, so it ''was'' for fun. Boss tried to counter her somehow, but he was at a complete loss for words because she had hit the bull's eye.

"You ought to put up with her. If she goes berserk in here, it will turn into a heap of pieces before we can complete it," the boy instructed him, causing the girl to put on a scowl.

"What the heck do you think I am?"

"A beast."

The next moment a bang resounded and the girl's clenched fist hit the boy.

He was sent flying out of the cockpit, whose exterior wasn't affixed yet, and landed on the bare ground.

"...looks like he has just become unable to work. I'll continue in his place."

"...do as you will." Not approval of her will, but the plea that his beloved machine remained safe was written on boss' face, which was twisted as if watching the prey consumption of a carnivore. "These wires control the torsion of the wings, got me? Connect the one with the red tip from the front to the the joystick and the blue one from behind."

"Torsion?"

In spite of the great curiosity she showed, her movement were most careful. Even the girl knew very well how dear this aircraft was to him.

She had clearly made sure that her punch a few moments before wouldn't harm the plane.

"This baby does neither have a rudder nor an elevator unit, hence the main wings are doing that job by being twisted."

"Do they really bend with this mechanism? Won't the plane come down accidentally?"

"Don't worry. I'm only going to do an 8-fly, so I will hardly need to change the course! Well, the takeoff and landing are kind of problematic, but these are over in a second."

"What about a loop?"

"You're asking me to do stunts with a plane that can barely fly?"

He nudged her head, making her laugh.

The girl didn't stop her work—which she with surprising skill—while jesting, and she was done applying the wires for steering the wings in no time.

"Do we need to adjust them now?"

"We'll leave that for when we're done assembling the rest. Next we'll go about the engine... which is basically just some cogwheels joined together, though."

The girl marveled at the gear box he tossed her.

"Boss, is this also made of plastic?"

As far as she knew and could imagine, cogwheels were normally made of metal.

The gears in the box he had given her, however, were made of something akin to plastic, whereas the case itself was acrylic. Each of them was full of tiny holes and not as heavy as their looks suggested.

"It's polystyrene. The case is acrylic. You see, they won't need to rotate really fast, and this way we need almost no oil."

"...you're insistent on making it lighter whatever it takes, aren't ya..."

"We are! The lighter the better. Otherwise it won't fly by human power."

"Would it be possible to install Cubby's engine on it and fly abroad?"

"No."

She was profoundly convinced that it was a brilliant idea, but it was immediately rejected.

''Too bad. I was looking forward to a comfortable trip overseas.''

When they finished attaching the engine part, boss took over the lead as the connecting of the engine with the wings required a lot of sensitivity.

The bicycle-like belt of the engine part was connected to the main spindle right below the body and finally looked like "something that can fly".

"Odd. Aren't propellers usually at the front?" the girl said and stroked the snow-white body frame.

The fact that the main wings extended right besides the cockpit did make some sense to her. The propellers, however, were not at the very front, but apparently to be brought on a bare mechanical part that was located somewhere in the middle of the body frame.

"We could have just as well put them at the front. In fact, that would be simpler and more stable."

"Then why did you not do so?"

"It's got to do with effectiveness. If we put it at the front, the produced wind would partly hit the plane itself. Apart from that... due to personal preference?"

"...isn't your personal preference kind of indifferent when the focus is on effectiveness...?"

"What are you saying?!" the boy started up and shouted at the lopsidedly smiling girl.

After being swept away, he had had no other choice but to clear away the unused holding devices while the other two had been continuing his work, whereas now he clenched his fist and started a heated speech.

"Geez, girls just don't get it! You understand the beauty of mechanics not a bit! Propellers are the decoration of a human-powered aircraft, you know? You may not be able to change anything about those elegant long wings, but you are free to do whatever you want with the propeller!"

"...Aah... yeah. Got it, got it. I won't lose another word about it, so get us a tea or something."

"...Okay."

His passion was not understood. With the by now quite light kettle in one hand, he headed to the shed, where they had prepared some more barley tea.

"...Geez, it's hard to understand those strange passions men tend to have...," sighed the girl and felt as though something named motivation　or spirits left her in the same breath.

"Well, that can't be helped. Definitely a gender-based problem."

"It is? Don't you think that the environment where you grow up and such do also have an influence?"

"Might also matter a little. But don't you think that the reason why the boys throughout the country are attracted to special effects and mecha animes and whatnot lies in their nature?"

The girl groaned upon his words.

"Well, live with it. The love for machines and adventures is about as deeply rooted in our manly DNA as the love for females."

"How bothersome."

Her voice that could have been both a sigh or a weak laugh blended in the crying of the cicadas outside the sheet iron walls, and disappeared without reaching anyone.

They gradually progressed, and after sunset, when the temperature became a little more agreeable, they were 90% done.

During this time, they had proved excellent communication skills, far above what one would expect from people that had just get to know each other the other day. For instance, when it had come to the phase of inspecting the plane and such, the boy, who had lost his position to the girl, had been dragged back, and their first collective work had started with boss giving them instructions.

At the moment, the boy was in the cockpit.

He was confirming what boss told him to inspect while flipping through a thick form that contained items to inspect.

"Next on the list. Push the joystick to the right."

"Roger. To the right."

When he pushed the wooden joystick to the right, the connected nylon wires raised a creak as they were strained, and the wings on both sides were twisted into different directions.

"Checked."

"Successful," boss said and stuck a seal on the check sheet. "Now try moving it to the left."

"Roger. To the left."

Simple and precise, as well as monotonous—the girl had immediately raised the white flag, since it was clearly not work that suited her, and was now gazing at them, sitting on one of the cots that were there for taking a nap.

She was silently watching them proceeding slowly but surely, and with a rhythm, with the inspection, so as to not disturb them. Was the feeling that rose in her upon seeing that they were fine even without her alienation? Or was it jealousy? Still unable to make out her feelings, she let herself fall onto the cot. She grabbed the blanket clump that served as a pillow and put it under her head.

The boy and boss looked almost like siblings with an age gap when they worked together like now.

Without paying heed to the girl and as if obsessed by something, but on the other hand with the sparkling eyes of a child, they were putting their heart and soul into that aircraft.

Perhaps they were more like senior and junior at school. It had already been over three months since the boy and girl had attended school, but the image she had had not lost its color yet.

However, she had already forgotten the faces of half the class. She had no way of knowing whether this was due to "the vanishing" or the natural fading of her memory.

If asked whether she was worried about them, her answer would have been "yes". How were they doing? The hundreds of miles between them was equal to a world in these times of non-functional Internet and suspended telephone service.

It was probably a distance unbridgeable in their lifetime without the help of Cubby. There was even the chance that they might literally drop dead by the roadside.

The girl had no intentions of returning to their town.

She didn't know how the boy felt about it, but she wanted to continue their journey.

Their journey wasn't one with a specific target. Many asked them where their troublesome journey was headed, but they always answered like that:

«To the end of the world.»

She did not demand any meaning of their journey, nor did she care about what troubles awaited them. Not once had she thought about their destination.

The girl wasn't specially fond of reading, but there was one line, which the boy had taught her, that had stroke chord with her.

Those were the words of a certain queen in the land of mirrors.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_the_Looking-Glass]

«''Here'', you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.»

The girl was keeping on traveling in order to stay with the boy.

She had left everything behind that would have hindered her. The only way to go was straight ahead.

If they were to return to their hometown, then it would be after they had tripped around the globe.

"Inspection compleeete!"

Boss flung the checklist and the form away, whereas the boy let out a big breath and sat down on a chair.

Compared to the assembling stage, physical labor had virtually been non-existent, but they had been made realize first hand that physical exhaustion and mental exhaustion aren't necessarily proportional.

They had been praying to the heavens while inspecting whether the machine they had built with their own hands worked properly, so it was no surprise that their necks had gotten stiff.

"Are we done for now?"

"Yeah. We checked the default settings of the GPS and the anemometer and everything else. The parts work perfectly, too. What remains is only the flight," with a broad smile he knocked lightly on the body frame of the aircraft.

The slim human-powered airplane with 38.2 meters width, 10.4 meters height and 30 kilograms weight, packed with the pride and passion and attachment of boss and his colleagues, was completed.

"Filled with deep emotion...?"

"No," boss denied, upon which the boy glanced at him.

Boss softly touched the wings and stroked them gently like his own child.

"It's all tomorrow, after the flight. I'll dance and rejoice only tomorrow after I've flown. This baby is a plane after all, not an ornament, right?" he turned around to the boy with a face that was, in contrast to his words, desperately hiding his excitement.

"...yes. It is a plane. We haven't put it together to make it rust away."

"Yeah. We mustn't jump like mad for joy just yet. Its true value lies in flying it."

These words weren't addressed to the boy, but himself. Therefore, the boy refrained from replying and wiped the sweat off his forehead, after which he breathed out.

"I hope it will be clear tomorrow."

"Are you joking? Of course it will be! If not, I'll go to court."

He almost had to laugh.

''Oh well, I'll better do what I can and make a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teru_teru_bozu teru teru bouzu] with some tissues. It's not good to use consumables without prospect of replenishment, but it should be fine once in a while.''

"Uphfa,"

The next thing that could be heard after this weird utterance was a dull sound, which originated from the girl falling off her cot. Apparently, she had accidentally fallen asleep while resting on the bed.

She idly sat up and had her gaze stagger somewhere between them and the plane.

"...Done?"

"Yeah. We're done."

"...Congrats," she sent her good wishes, still half-asleep, and walked toward the aircraft. "...What's its name?"

"Huh?"

"This plane's. Its name."

The boy and boss exchanged glances.

Her question had truly taken them by surprise.

"...Geez! Well, that figures... you guys just think about putting it together, but why don't you get that you're forgetting about the most important part!"

Normally it's the men who have an urge to give inanimate things a name, but common sense didn't apply to her.

"Didn't you and your comrades come up with some name for it...? Ah, I see. It vanished, huh."

Leaving alone the two silent men, she rummaged a toolbox that had been close to her.

"Come one, you decide, boss," with these words she pressed a completely normal, extra-thick oil-based black marker. Well, there wasn't anything else to write with, since they neither had an airbrush nor a spray can.

"Is it really okay to decide on that alone?"

"In return, the name would better satisfy us. If you give it a dull name, I'll give ''you'' a kick in the buttocks."

Boss shrugged his shoulders, walked up to the side of the cockpit, and gazed at the transparent polymer film.

After a moment wavering, he uncapped the marker and started to write. The final letters were...

"...'{{Template:Furigana|ジョナサン|Jonathan}}'...eh?" the boy said with round eyes, then boss turned around.

"Yeah. It's the name of the most famous seagull in the world."

Five katakana letters were written on the windshielding translucent film.

"...but your handwriting sure is scrawly... and worst of all, katakana! Why the heck didn't you use alphabetical letters? I mean, you wanted to fly this thing in Europe!"

"I don't care. I'll be flying it here. In the first place, ''you'' told me to write a name!"

"...somehow, that just ruined the image about as much as if we had wanted to give it a finishing touch by adding a pair of eyes, but accidentally drew nose hair instead."

"It's ''that'' bad?!"

"Oh whatever. Let's grab something to eat. I've gotten hungry because of my nap."

"...Women sure are fast in changing the topic."

"You don't mind it, do you? Anyhow, we're celebrating tonight! But if it's canned food again, I'll go on strike."

Boss let out a slight sigh and looked successively at the girl and the plane, wavering a little. Then he put his hands at his hips.

"Indeed... I declare tonight as the test flight eve because we have successfully completed all preparations. Well, there's not much food I have, so we'll have to put up with a curry party."

"Curry?! And you don't mean retort-packed curry?!"

"Yeah. We'll have to resort to canned carrots and meat, but the potatoes and rice are natural, and above all, the roux is a special spice blend."

Curry. The second this simple word reached their ears, their bodies started to emit a giant amount of saliva in their mouths. It had been months since they had last eaten real, non-ready, curry rice.

"A special spice blend..."

"The guy that wrote the manual made it. He liked to cook in his free time, you know. He would ''all the time'' come to me and tell me that he tried using 2% more turmeric or that he increased the size of his black pepper corns..."

"..."

The boy could somehow feel for him, as he was able to guess how much trouble an oddball as a friend could be.

They decided to do the cooking together. One reason for this was of course that they had to hurry up not to waste any current, now that the sun had set, but the pull of their empty stomaches was not to be underestimated, either. It also held true that they had nothing else to do anymore.

Rice was washed, potatoes were peeled, cans were opened for carrots and corned beef, and two fires were ignited, on which they then put a pot for the rice and one for the curry.

They started cooking without caring about who was doing what, and after an exceptionally short time, they had prepared their dinner.

While the number of ingredients used in the curry rice was very low, there was a whole lot of it. They virtually lunged at their dinner and ate, ready to empty both pots.

Since the boy wasn't wild about getting to see a sticky clot that pulled strings like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nattou Nattou]
the next morning—into which the curry rice would have turned due to the hotness and humidity of summer—it happened that even he, who would usually try to fill his stomach about 80%, ate for two.

As a footnote: they had somehow managed to find a cool place for the watermelon they had received from the director and his secretary, which resulted in excellent ripeness. The girl wanted to have the first try at splitting the melon and even blindfolded herself. By completely ignoring the confusing commands boss gave her and instead following the warm guidance of the boy, she grandly split the melon at one go.

It goes without saying that it tasted out of this world.

When the great rush had subsided and everyone had emptied their own plate, boss suddenly asked while grabbing himself another piece of melon, "Are you going to pay the nearby town a visit?"

"Mh, I guess we will. Or rather, we couldn't get by on this journey if we didn't travel from one town to the next one. We made quite a few stops on the way, but the next will be that village, yeah."

"I see."

"Why did you ask? Something wrong with it?" asked the girl while rubbing her bloated belly.

Boss, who was munching away on his melon piece, answered her, "Nope, go ahead and stop by there. It would be a mistake to go past it even though it's lively there."

"Lively?"

"Evacuated people assembled there and have created an autonomous organization. It's right by the seaside, and they were already sending out fishing boats when I was there a few months ago, so I guess their town has flourished even more by now."

"..."

The boy and girl exchanged glances.

Nowadays, a high population in itself was of great significance. It is hard for one to obtain enough food for oneself, but it's much easier for a hundred to obtain enough food for a hundred.

By joining forces one can reach new heights.

Where there are people, there is wealth. And the two travelers were going to benefit from that wealth as well.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

By the time the boy and girl were full and had successfully exterminated the curry, the rice as well as the watermelon, night had entirely fallen and the refreshing croaks of the frogs around the warehouse reached their ears.

Given that the moon and the stars in the broad cloudless sky were brightening the earth, they expected nice weather for the following day.

It was, however, still going to take some time until the humidity would start to drop. All three were sweating because their body-heat had increased thanks to the curry.

"Hey boss, mind telling me where the bath is?" asked the girl suddenly upon recalling what she had heard earlier.

Yes—this had completely slipped her memory because of the curry feast, but originally she had wanted to get done with work as fast as possible, wanting to take a bath.

"Sure, it's behind the shed. I filled it earlier and lit a fire, it should be about ready now."

Being one among them who appeared to have still some reserves in his stomach, boss stood up and beckoned them to follow him.

The boy had to admit it: he had eaten too much tonight. While holding his stomach, which was loudly complaining of excess load, he followed boss to the back of the shed, under a roof.

Right there they found the bath.

The expectations of the girl were belied, the prediction of the boy hit the bullseye.

"Seems like the warmth is just perfect. I'll let you go first."

What they discovered there was undeniably a drum bath.

It was a high-tech facility without peer, sparsely bordered by sheet metal and equipped with a naked bulb hanging from above. To crown it all, there was even shampoo and rinse ready to be used. The absence of a roof assured a stunning view of the starlit sky and the vicinity while wallowing in warm water.

"...Uuuh..."

Judging by the blatantly mixed feelings showing on her face, there seemed to be interest. However, even the boy had never taken such a wild bath. "''I should definitely ask if there are any manners that have to be followed''," the boy thought.

"Boss, how do we get into this?"

"Why, like you always do! There's a wooden chair inside to make sure it's not too hot, so all that has to be done is making a fire and entering. Also, don't complain that there's no shower."

Apparently having noticed by the tone in the boy's voice that they had no experience in bathing in a drum, he gently patted the girl on the back.

"O-Okay..."

"Aah, and by the way, the one that's not bathing has to put wood on the fire."

It took them a whole few seconds until realizing what he had just told them casually. As it had exceeded the bounds of their understanding, it was necessary for them to do a simulation within their heads.

"Wait... you're telling us to take the bath together?!"

"...Hah? How do you want to get two into that narrow tub? One of you just has to watch the fire while the other one is in there. Like a scullion."

"You must be joking! I'm a girl, you know?!"

"Well, I know that. But you don't mind if it's him, right? Being lovers and all."

"...Who said that?!"

Seized by the collar, boss was completely dumbfounded.

"Y-You're not? I was sure you were a couple because of your bike journey as a pair..."

With a growl she released him.

While the situation was indeed troubling, she did not really feel bad about being thought as a couple. However, it did trouble her right now. It was still too early.

"...Can't I put wood by myself?"

"No, look, drums are tall. You can't reach the ground, can you?"

Indeed. As he said, the rusted drum was tall taken by itself, but because it was also put on concrete blocks to make a fire below it, it was an impossible task to reach the ground from inside. Besides, it would have been far from her long-awaited paradise if she had to worry about the fire all the time.

"I can't do it, either... There's pretty much no way round having him do it."

"Ew..."

Well, such important decisions were always made without taking the boy's opinion into account. He was used to it.

For his part, the dread of "getting killed if he peeped" surpassed the desire of doing so by far.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

"I'll kill you if you peep, okay?"

Getting the exactly same threat as he had been imagining, the boy nodded awkwardly.

His hands tied up behind his back and his eyes covered by a blindfold, he felt just like a hostage taken by a terrorist. Wondering if he was going to hear another unreasonable request along the lines of "Don't move! Hands up!" he sighed.

"Listen, I won't peep. If you leave me like this I can't even put wood on the fire. And you want to enjoy your bath to the fullest, don't you?"

"I'll untie your hands once I'm in the bathtub, so bear with it until then."

The girl, for one, thought that she had been rather cooperative.

For their relationship, which had not yet reached the couple stage, this situation was, well, err... too stimulative! This was something that should happen only after taking one step after the other with due care.

Anyhow, the girl started to undress herself somewhere the boy could not reach however hard he struggled. She found a brand new dry duck board on the bare ground and lined her shoes there.

As much as it was summer, they were at the northern island. The night was chilly and the wind blew against her naked skin.

By the way, she had also considered the possibility that boss might peep and thus commanded the boy to keep watch.

It was highly questionable how well he could keep watch without being able to see, but she was positive that he would at least notice his approaching.

When at last was naked as mother had bore her, she allied herself with a rather large towel and went on to challenge the unfamiliar bath.

She ascended the concrete block steps on tiptoes and carefully entered the bathtub with her feet.

"Oh, it's not as hot as I thought."

"Well, of course it's not! After all, I have been adjusting its warmth the whole time."

She couldn't help it, but the drum with its cylindrical shape put on a fire reminded her awfully of the boiling curry pot.

Happily enough, there was a duck board and a wooden chair in the water, so she could enter without having to strain herself.

She found it a pity that she couldn't stretch her legs, but neither did she want to be picky.

"Alright boy, show me your back and come nearer. I'll untie you."

Upon staggering towards her in a half-sitting posture, she untied the nylon rope around his wrists.

Having calmed down again, he groped for the pipe chair that was close to him and seated himself on it.

"Girl. How's the temperature?"

"Excellent, excellent. But it might be even better if it was a little warmer?"

"Roger. Your wish is my command!"

He took a piece of wood within his reach and threw it into the fire below the drum. The hand towel that was firmly wound around his head inhibited his vision, but he could still locate the fire by the heat and the dim light.

When he fanned it, it flared up golden and burned stronger.

"Hah..."

"Are you enjoying your first drum bath?" asked the boy with a lopsided smile after hearing the girl's blatantly relaxing voice.

"Oh... it's better than I expected... I've never been in such a deep bathtub before, though."

"No wonder."

"But I now think I know how the ingredients in an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oden oden] must feel."

"Hahaha"

He could only hear her voice, but it was easy to imagine what her face must have looked like. Her face was bound to be completely slack. There was some sort of afflatus that told him so.

[[Image:Tabi_ni_Deyou_P0169.jpg|thumb|He could only hear her voice, but it was easy to imagine what her face must have looked like. Her face was bound to be completely slack.]]

Since she had missed out on the bath at the director's home despite being as much a bath-lover as any other girl, he was sure that she was enjoying it more than usually.

"...Boy...? Do you think 'it' will really fly tomorrow?"

Some while after he had started watching the fire, the girl addressed him rather suddenly. He stopped fanning.

"...Why do you ask?"

"No big deal, really. It's just that... it feels so unreal."

With a splash, the boy's head got drenched in water.

He could judge from the light that had just been dimmed that she was looking at him.

"Well, I mean, aren't airplanes kinda out of reach for us usually? If we get in touch with them, it's never really direct, is it? For example when following a trail with our eyes, or when getting into one for a trip."

"Do you mean that you don't think such a thing could fly?"

"I think that doesn't quite capture it," she replied and continued with a dreamy, calm voice, "You know, at least for me, making a plane is something like magic. It's not like I can't imagine how the logic behind it works. But somehow, I can't seem to accept ''that'' it would work."

"...in other words, that plane is a 'witch's broom' for you."

"...Sort of. That's a nice way to put it — it seems just the same no matter if someone tells you it flew with the power of lift or with the power of magic. But seriously, will that thing really fly? Being just a big empty shell," asked the girl with a wry smile.

While putting on a smile, he answered, "It will! The dreams of boss' team as well as our own are in there."

"Our dreams may make it too heavy to fly."

"Maybe. But let's believe that boss will overcome that with his spirit."

Despite the blindfold, he could vividly picture the girl's smile as she giggled.

"...Aaah, jeez! I wish I could fly it, too!"

"So that's what you were really thinking?" the boy laughed and threw another piece of wood into the fire.

"Oh shut your mouth, I can have my dreams, too, can't I? You're already monopolizing Cubby, after all. I would love to take you to the end of the world with that plane."

"There's only space for one in there."

"No problem. I'll just tie you up somewhere on there."

"You're being reckless..."

"Not at all! ...Ah, that aside, can you help me wash my hair?"

"While wearing this blindfold?"

"Yup. Be gentle, okay? If any shampoo gets into my eye, I'll choke you. Hard."

"..."

Thanks to a never-ending succession of unreasonable requests from the girl, he was condemned to even harder work than during the day, and had no opportunity to get some butterflies in his stomach.

By the time the girl happily left the bath, he was completely exhausted. Of course because of the persistent tension that exceeded the load of watching the fire many times.

About one hour had passed until he was released from the girl's long bath and could heave a sigh of relief in the warehouse.

"...I'm dead beat."

"What? Now you're a sissy. Just because of that...?"

''She's outrageous. Truly outrageous. What on earth does she think got me so exhausted?''

When removing his blindfold after a whole hour, even the warehouse was dazzling, though using the minimum light.

Well, the girl who had just taken a bath and was thus wearing her blouse without stuffing it into her skirt was in a sense dazzling, too. 

"Jeez... Why do women always take so much time to bathe?"

All of a sudden, the girl's vision got obstructed. Her hair was being mopped crudely with a bath towel that had been dropped onto her head.

"B-Boss! Stop it... cut it out!" she complained about being treated like a child and escaped from his claws.

But his forceful drying attempt had gracefully succeeded; the moisture of her hair had been eliminated, leaving only a comfortable warmth there.

"Do you want to go in now, boss? I'm fine with being the last one."

"No, I'll have a snooze first. I'm sleepy as hell because I had to move the truck early in the morning... Ah, right, you guys, go to bed in good time today! The weather should be nice tomorrow, judging by how it is now, but the best wind blows in the early morning, you know. Ah, and by the way: I'm used to that bath, so I don't need any help."

"When should we get up?"

"At about four o'clock. Don't oversleep!"

The girl rounded her eyes when she heard him, "''That'' early?! No dice! I can't get up at such an ungodly hour!"

"Don't worry. There is an alarm clock."

"That's not the problem!" she objected, almost screaming in horror, and was patted on the back by the boy.

"...I'll wake you up, okay?"

The boy was perfectly aware that such a bothersome task would naturally be imposed on him.

"It's only been nine. If we make sure to sleep at about 10 o'clock, it should be possible to wake up, don't you think?"

"Uuh..."

The boy let out a weak sight, seeing her still unconvinced.

"Okay, while I'm sleeping change shifts and use the bath once more. ...Ah, and boy. I bet she sponged on you, didn't she? Now's your turn!" boss said and turned around to leave toward the nap corner.

The girl wanted to say something in reply, but the boy would of course never have missed out on such a chance. He quickly went around her and stole her vision with the towel in his hands.

"Whoa! Hey?!"

"'I'll kill you if you peep' — right? Let's make sure you can't see anything."

"N-No need to do that here already!"

"Oh, it's fine, it's fine. Let's go. Thanks to your bath I'm drenched!"

Getting to have the lead for once, too, his mouth was curved in an eerie shape. If they hadn't had a blindfold, the girl would have discovered the hidden dark side of the boy at that very moment.

Almost as if carrying off a hostage, he pulled the girl behind him.

"Wait! I'll stumble! Please, remove this just for now!"

"It's fine, it's fine."

The boy affected ignorance to the finish, pretending not to have noticed that there was not shadow at boss' feet when he stood in the light.

The loss of one's shadow—such was the last stage of "the vanishing".

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

All of a sudden, he woke up. He had no idea what had made him awake, so it was probably correct to phrase it like that.

It felt rather odd to him because he had only been waked by the girl's punches when she rolled in sleep or by some sort of sound lately. Without any visible reason, without being left drowsy, he had suddenly woken up.

He sat up heavily and pulled the blanket he was covered in away.

The luminously painted chronograph showed two o'clock, therefore it was no surprise that the sun had not risen yet.

As he couldn't seem to fall asleep again, he decided for now to stand up. There was no trace of exhaustion in his young body, which might have been thanks to the opulent dinner he had had or to the fact that he had slept early.

This did, however, not apply to the girl who was sleeping on the neighboring bed.

She was lying prone on the cot, still in the same posture as she had written the diary, which was put next to the pillow, and snoring loudly. Moreover, the jersey she was in the habit of using as a substitute for a pajama was round her knees, exposing her defenseless bottom, which was only covered by her white panties.

He smiled to himself, seeing her childish sleeping position, and covered her waist with a blanket so that she wouldn't get too cold. In passing, he also sneaked a peek at the diary, where he found a quite funny entry.

The content itself was nothing special, but the text got stranger and stranger towards the end: the same word appeared three times in one sentence, one sentence was suddenly aborted, and by the time the text finally turned incomprehensible, her letters were all over the page. There were even mysterious lines outside of the page. This was proof that she had gone down fighting against sleepiness.

After blurting out a giggle, he poured himself some water from a PET bottle and took a small gulp.

The sound beyond the wall of metal sheets disclosed to him how the weather was outdoors—he could hear wind blowing through the meadows. There appeared to be no rain.

Sure, they had been able to guess the weather beforehand, but upon seeing how that prediction had hit the mark, it felt sort of like their prayer had been heard. ''I really ought to thank the teru teru bouzu we hung up before sleeping''.

Then, driven by a sudden hunch, he slid his hand through the shroud that divided the nap corner from the rest of the warehouse and produced a gap.

There was a still standing white plane in the center, whose elegant wings were softly bent by gravity. Despite having assisted its assembling a few hours ago, it was a breath-taking view.

In front of the aircraft, however, he spotted boss sitting cross-legged, faced toward its nose.

He couldn't recognize his countenance because it was hidden by the shadow of the wings, but there was a beer can in boss' hand and about ten more on the ground, as if forming a circle with him.

Boss' moved no muscle, and his emotions were to remain a riddle to the boy. In the end, he did not gather the courage to intrude this scene.

A while later, the boy fell asleep again.

He did not remember having had a dream that night.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

The next morning, the three took the long-winged plane out of the warehouse and initiated a last check.

Even though the main entrance was more than five meters shorter than the plane's total width, by following the white lines on the ground as written in the manual, they somehow succeeded in getting it outside, kind of like solving a wire puzzle.

"...this is really incredible."

"Yeah, I seriously wonder what his brain looked like!" muttered boss while gazing at the plane on the straight road.

"Who's 'he'?"

"The guy who made the manual."

"..."

Did 'he', the writer of that perfect and precise manual, whose face and name nobody knew anymore, really think about its transport during the planning stage? She had no idea who he was, but she was not uninterested in meeting him. Well, that was not possible anymore, though.

For starters, they began removing the transport according to the manual.

The carts had been detached from the holding devices, and were now carefully removed with several special, prespecified tools so as to not damage the machine. Without remarkable effort, they managed to free all parts.

Without even needing a jack or something like that, the plane's elegant body stood on its own wheels, gazing at the horizon ahead of the long asphalt. It was truly magnificent.

"...What was this just now? Magic?"

"Who knows. Anyway, the preparations are completed."

Boss turned around and spotted the boy, who had been taking some additional data such as the wind speed and was just trotting back.

All preparations were set.

"Boss, are you ready? Especially mentally," the girl asked.

"No, my heart is jumping out of my ears any moment," boss laughed with only his face. His body was already in the cockpit. The last check in front of the plane was being conducted by the boy who held the manual in his hands. After all, boss was the motor of this machine—an important ''part''. No way to do an inspection without putting him in, too.

"Now that sounds acrobatic. Anyway, you're never mentally prepared, so get in already."

"True word."

Boss flashed a smile on hearing her unmindful encouragement and looked around in the cockpit.

There was a seat for him to seat in and a cage made of FRP surrounding it. The seat was snow-white, being made almost entirely of plastic and transparent film. The only black objects were the GPS, the altimeter, the anemometer and the transceiver for communication, which were all attached at the side of the joystick.

The thin polymer film shrouding the cage was lit by the dazzling morning light and gleamed brightly.

He had to narrow his eyes. A mysterious, awe-inspiring mood akin to beholding a stained glass window in a church filled the air of the narrow cockpit — but was completely destroyed when the boy suddenly poked his face in.

"I'm closing now, boss! You've got your handkerchief, right? What about your lunchbox?"

"I don't need one!"

"Okay, if you've still got that much energy, you'll be fine. Good luck," the boy laughed and carried a large windshield over to him.

Since all functions and equipment were kept at the minimum, there was naturally no openable door incorporated. It was necessary to screw the windshield on ''after'' boarding the plane.

He had to have them seal him away in this narrow space.

Despite feeling like a prisoner, strangely enough he felt no pressure. All there was was boundless rapturousness.

He felt as though he could pull off anything right now.

''"Windshield attached. Go ahead."''

He heard a voice from the transceiver by his ear.

"All set. I'm starting to pedal now, remove the bumper when I give you the signal," he said and put his feet on the pedals.

In order to not burden the comparatively sensitive motor unnecessarily, he started off slowly and gradually increased the rotation speed. In the small mirror that was attached to the inner side of the windshield, he could see the contra-rotating propellers he was so proud of move.

''Don't worry, it will definitely soar up!''

"Remove the bumper!"

''"Roger."''

It was but a short command.

The real fight was yet to come. His comrades had built the aircraft, the boy and girl had put it together, and he had to fly it.

This was his first and final task. The world that was going to unfold before him now was only his and no one else's.

"Hurry up, boy! Hurry up!" the girl rushed.

She had finished her work quickly and had gotten on the tandem of the super cub, which was stopped by the road. The luggage was almost entirely taken off so that they could drive along with the plane.

"I know. Don't worry, it won't fly away just like that!"

Well, he had tried to calm the excited girl, but apparently he was very excited himself: he had quite some trouble putting the key into the hole.

When he finally managed to turn the key and switched on the ignition, Cubby's heart started to roar loudly. He kicked up the stand more violently than he did usually, opened the throttle slightly and moved onto the road.

The plane, however, was still there, moving straight ahead at the speed of slowly pedaling a bicycle.

The yellow contra-rotating propellers were rotating properly, cutting the wind, but there was no sign of soaring up yet.

For the time being, he chose to follow the plane from diagonally behind at about the same speed, so as to not get in its way.

"Is everything alright? Will it fly?"

The boy answered the girl's anxious question with a laugh, "No worries. He's arriving at a declining slope any moment, and he even has some headwind. It's bound to fly!"

Just as the boy had announced, as soon as the plane arrived at a slightly declining slope, the previously very slow acceleration started to increase bit by bit.

It's not like the boy knew what was needed for the takeoff of a human-powered aircraft. But he gathered that an appropriately high speed was required.

Cubby's speedometer was almost at 20kmph. He supposed that it was about time that it hovered a little.

Boss, who could be seen past the transparent windshield, was not paying them any attention whatsoever. He was solely staring straight ahead, pedaling with all his might.

That moment, he saw boss pulling the joystick.

The nylon wires that were connected to it conveyed his movement to the wings and made them bend slightly.

The tiny lift that emerged at that moment caused the super-light machine to hover slightly over the ground.

"It's flying!"

"Not just yet!"

Suppressing the girl who was about to leap for joy, he opened some distance between him and the plane to be sure.

The plane, which was hovering close to the ground, pulled in its wheels under the tail assembly and the cockpit, and continued its shaky flight at an unsettling height.

At the moment it was merely hovering due to the ground effect that was formed by the wings and the ground. He had to elevate in order to make it a "flight".

Boss was pedaling like mad, but the height was only barely increasing.

"Is he really going to be okay?"

"Don't worry. He's almost there. He's almost at 25kmph!"

His voice came out louder than he had wanted, but he didn't care in the least.

''It's going to fly! It will '''not''' fall!''

As if to display his unshakable faith, the boy opened the throttle and sped up Cubby. While the girl was clinging to him in surprise, he moved the motorbike to the side of the wings.

If the plane fell, they were probably going to be dragged in.

But the word "if" was already out of question. Boss was going to pull it off somehow. He was sure of that.

Then at last, the lift produced by the long wings grew strong enough to sustain the weight of the plane thanks to the speed.

The shaky flight suddenly leveled off and the almost 40-meters giant wings jumped up as if pulled to the sky.

"He soared up!"

"He did it!"

They yelled almost synchronously, causing the accidently driverless Cubby to stagger.
[[Image:Tabi_ni_Deyou_P0185.jpg|thumb|The plane elevated as if drawn up by the sky and gleamed in the morning sun.]]

The plane elevated as if drawn up by the sky and gleamed in the morning sun.

Its course was north and its altitude about 40 meters. The flight had entirely gotten stable.

"You did it, boss!"

''"Yeah, I sure did!"''

They could hear an enthralled voice from the transceiver. It was not hard at all to imagine his face from that excited voice.

''"It feels terrific...! Just as I felt at my first flight... no, it's even better!"''

"Please enjoy it to the fullest. We can't take part in it, after all."

The girl, too, was smiling at his rarely turbulent voice before she knew it.

''"I feel as if I could go anywhere right now... I can't thank you enough, guys..."''

"Thank us to your heart's content then. With gas."

Her capitalistic remark was, however, not countered with irony.

''"Sure! Take as much as you want! This feeling is all I need! ...I wanted to show this scenery to everyone else, too, but... even if they were here now, there's only space for one... so it would still have been only me in the end, huh..."''

The airplane in front of the super cub started to easefully shake left and right.

Boss was probably tilting the joystick because of his strong emotions. However, the plane was designed for 8-flights; while withstanding most movements, it was not able to do small ones.

But still, the giant white plane was inexpressibly beautiful as it drew a curve while inclining slightly.

"Umm, boss? Could you let me fly it as well?"

The boy answered the girl's mumble into the transceiver by poking her.

"Hey girl, that's boss' plane! It's not right for us to ask for something like that..."

"But we also helped him, didn't we? I want to get on it about once at least!"

"You don't know how to control, do you?"

"But there is someone who knows, isn't there? Boooss, pretty please?"

Shaking off his restrain, she addressed boss over the transceiver with a pleading voice.

Well, boss was not going to give in to such a voice, so the boy didn't mind.

''"Why, of course! I want to show this to you guys!"''

"Huh?!" the boy blurted out in a strange tone, his expectations completely belied.

Apparently, boss' good mood was vastly exceeding all his predictions.

The girl, on the other hand, seized the opportunity and spoke while leaning forward into the transceiver, "Umm... if I'll crash into something, forgive me please?"

''"I don't mind! One or two dents are no problem to fix! We even have a spare frame! We can fix it as many tim"''

His voice broke off.

"Boss...?" asked the girl while tilting her head.

No reaction.

"What's wrong?"

"Dunno. It suddenly turned silent."

The boy took the transceiver in his left hand and checked the LCD display. The battery wasn't empty. Neither was boss out of range for the signal yet. But it did not seem to be broken, either.

"...huh? Boy, what's that...?"

The girl pointed at the sky. Not the sky, to be precise, but the snow-white plane in it.

The contra-rotating propellers, which boss had proudly painted yellow to make them visible from afar, had almost stopped moving. It didn't look like they were rotating on their own, but because of the wind.

The beautiful white plane that had stopped moving started dropping step by step, tilting to one side.

It crashed into the softly swaying green ground.

<div style="text-align: center;">✱</div>

"Boy!!"

"Yeah!"

The girl clung swiftly to his waist, whereas the boy opened the throttle of the super cub as if to answer her.

He turned the handle to the side and jumped out of the road into the definitely ''not'' low grass.

They rushed toward the crash site they could see between the grass while mowing down the grass in their way, which had grown about to their waist's height.

The sharp blades of the grass cut into their uncovered cheeks and arms, but they couldn't care less.

Cubby then suddenly arrived at a place where the grass turned low.

They unconsciously took a breath.

At this place, which was about a small square's size, was the snow-white plane.

Its nose had stuck in the earth, the fine plastic cockpit seat had been entirely crushed, the wing had been broken due to the blow against the ground, and the transparent film was fluttering in the wind.

The only parts that escaped the crash, the frame itself and the tail assembly, were stuck in the ground, poking out towards the sky, and seemed almost like a white, futuristic sculpture.

The two, who had completely frozen, suddenly came to and got off the super cub and ran—towards the "thing that had been an airplane", without caring about the falling over Cubby.

"Boy! Can we move this?!"

"Yeah! Take that side!"

The two grabbed the body that was stuck in the ground and pulled it out like operating a lever.

They could clearly hear the wings get twisted, but neither of them cared.

The tail assembly touched the ground whereas the crushed cockpit appeared.

"Boss!"

The girl forcefully took off the windshield and looked into it — to find nobody.

Not even his clothes were left there.

They hardly exchanged any words after that. That is because it didn't require any explanation.

Boss had vanished. Not only he, but also his clothes and shoes along with him had suddenly disappeared from the cockpit. The microphone of the transceiver which he had worn was not to be found anywhere, either.

The two knew more than enough what that meant.

Boss had ''vanished''.

In a few words they decided to carry the remains of the aircraft back to the warehouse. There was no special point in doing so, but they somehow did not wanted to leave it out in the open like that, therefore they started without dispute.

As the plane was disturbingly destroyed, the transport in itself was not hard.

They took apart what they could and cut apart with a hatchet for splitting wood what they could not, and carried the parts back.

They were finished so fast, it seemed unbelievable that it had taken so much effort to put it together.

The wide sky and the unreservedly shining sun were no different from an hour ago, but somehow they looked much duller.

They stood before the remnants of the aircraft in the warehouse.

"...I wonder where boss has gone," muttered the girl.

The boy shook his head, "I'm sorry. I don't know."

"...No one knows. Whoever you ask in the world, no one knows where they disappear to."

Neither of them suggested that he may have just vanished into nothingness, for that was what they and the rest of the world feared.

They didn't believe in heaven and hell, but neither did they want to believe that the ones who had disappeared had simply vanished as the word suggested.

"What are we going to do... with that?" asked the girl while squatting by the remains of the plane and gazed at its degenerated appearance.

The cockpit that had consisted of the absolute minimum of material had completely lost its former shape because of the direct crash with the ground.

The pedals and the motor were still somewhat intact, but the deformation and damage of those was heavy, making it very unlikely for them to soar up to the sky once again.

The wings had fallen apart entirely, and they found themselves unable to repair their twisted frame or the torn film. The body frame was still okay, but the connecting piece to the wings and the motor component, which had been connected to the cockpit, had gotten deformed, and the yellow propellers broke to pieces with two blades missing entirely. Thanks to the fact that the plane had crashed headfirst, the tail assembly was undamaged, but that didn't change anything.

The girl was not versed in mechanics, but she could easily imagine what fate was waiting for those remains.

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."

"...'suppose so."

"But as boss said, there were spare parts in the container," the boy muttered.

The girl raised her face. "Can we fix it then?"

"I don't know. He said that there were enough parts to make one more aircraft, but without checking we don't know how much there really is."

The glimmer that had come in sight was too faint to be called hope.

The two had merely followed boss' instructions. They did by no means know how the plane was to be put together or what they were supposed to pay attention to. Above all, there was no point in assembling another aircraft as boss was no more.

"Shall we go then?" suggested the girl as she stood up.

"Go?" asked the boy.

The girl responded him with a, slightly acted, smile, "On our journey. Boss' job here has ended, but our journey is still going to continue, isn't it?"

After adjusting her clothes, she walked toward the nap corner.

"...True. Yeah, we're still on the way," he said and shook his head to recollect himself.

Right. They were aiming for the end of the world, after all. They had no reason nor the time to be lost here in grief.

The girl took a small scrap of film out of her pocket.

It was an extremely tin piece of polymer film, which looked like some wrapping at first glance. On it, however, were the black letters "{{Template:Furigana|ジョナサン|Jonathan}}", written with a marker. In this crawly handwriting they could still clearly sense his aura.

She inserted the piece of film like a bookmark into the thick assembling manual and put it in front of the remnants of the white plane.

The two went to the nap corner to collect and pack their things.

Because these two busy days had left them with quite a mess, they needed some time to get ready, but since they were used to it nonetheless, they managed to load everything onto Cubby within twenty minutes.

Making good on boss' promise, they filled Cubby's tank with gas and also decided to take some foodstuff, such as cans that seemed to last a while and rice, with them.

After that, with a silent understanding between them, they started to lightly clean the warehouse and the shed.

By the time they had finished all preparations and met up before their super cub in a corner of the warehouse, the clock was showing 08:00am.

"What are we going to do with the truck?" asked the girl.

"Do we even need to do anything with it? We don't need it, after all."

"...Oh dear! The whacked out trip on Cubby is still going to continue, huh..."

"If you talk like that, Cubby will sulk and break down!"

"That would be bad," she smiled wryly and inspected their provisions.

"Do we have water?"

"Yeah, I filled our bottles."

The boy finished inspecting the super cub, too, and put on his helmet.

"Alright. Are we set?"

"Aah..."

The boy put a helmet on her head while she let out a strange voice.

"What? Are we missing something?"

"Umm... No, it's fine. Should be," she answered ambiguously.

The boy tilted his head and asked whether they should stay for a little longer, but this proposal was rejected.

"According to what boss told us, the neighboring town is quite far away, right? The sooner we leave the better."

"Well, you've got a point. So it's really fine?"

"Yeah. OK, OK!"

While being patted on the back, the boy sat down on Cubby.

He turned the key, upon which a light humming started to resound as always.

After making sure the girl was clinging to him, he opened the throttle and drove off, holding against the faint gravity that emerged.

Thinking back, they had only spent a mere two days here.

This was probably what it felt like to leave a place with painful reluctance. While knowing there was no point in staying in that warehouse, it felt as though they were leaving something—something dear—behind there. They couldn't do anything about that reluctance.

He felt the girl press her head against his back and squeezed the handle.

It took only a few minutes until the warehouse had disappeared behind the hills of the road from the back mirror.

===Interlude===

The boy did not stop even when the sun had finished its turn and had disappeared behind the horizon. It also held true that they were a little late due to accidentally taking a wrong road, but the main reason was of an emotional nature.

When he closed his eyes, all he could recall from boss' face had become awfully vague because of the vanishing. The same applied to his stature, his voice, and the way he had talked to them. Almost everything that had defined boss had lost its shape like ice in boiling water and melted, blending in the boy's miscellaneous memories.

Every time he tried to recall his appearance, which had suffered disintegration of its [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gestalt_psychology Gestalt], he only felt as if having a déja-vu. When he struggled anyway, his pathless thinking twisted and broke off, leaving only an uncomfortable nausea behind.

''"Shall we take a rest here?"''

He couldn't bring himself to say this suggestion.

He kept stroking the girl's hand around his waist frequently as he drove on. The loss of one person close to him had made him anxious about the existence of the girl with whom he had spent almost every moment for three months. Just by thinking ''what if the girl vanished as well'', he was attacked by a gut-wrenching sensation and stroked her hand again.

He did understand with his head that it was highly unlikely for her to suddenly disappear as she was still in the initial stage. But while riding the bike like this, he could not see her face. He felt as though she could disappear any moment when he forgot about her, and couldn't calm down.

Apparently understanding his feelings, the girl clung to him strongly and pressed her body against his.

Wanting to talk to her, he opened his mouth, and searching for a topic, he closed and opened it repeatedly, only to eventually close it again. After he had repeated this meaningless cycle multiple times:

"...Boy?"

In surprise at her sudden voice, his stiff hands moved and applied the brake.

The sudden slow-down caused her to raise a small scream, whereas the super cub span out of control. This was apparently enough to wake up his dulled primary motor cortex and make him hurriedly balance the bike out, whereupon he stopped it.

"...S-Sorry. Are you alright?"

"Hey... are you really alright?"

Even without requiring her question, the boy was doubting his state of mind. What happened to boss did not justify such a behavior while driving.

He clenched his teeth in vexation of his fragile mind, and looked up at the sky.

"...Um. Anyway, what did you want to say?"

"...Look, doesn't this vicinity look like a village or something?"

She stretched out her arms from on the tandem and changed the direction of the handle.

The headlight of their super cub lit their surroundings and revealed a deserted building to them.

"You're right..."

They couldn't make out the details because the light created many shadows, but it was clearly someone's house. And there was not only one or two. Now that he thought about it, the on-going meadows scenery had suddenly broke off, and instead he had spotted many human-groomed things like copses and fields.

The girl took a map out of their luggage and took a look at it.

"Yeah. It's hard to tell because the names have gone, but this is probably a small village!"

The boy stopped the engine and took out two pocket lamps.

Lit by those two light sources, the appearance of the village became apparent.

He heard how the girl held her breath behind him.

Ruins. What they found were ruins.

Originally, this had probably been a village of decent size. There were large fields, many houses, and wide premises—as was usual for this island—with light trucks parked on.

However, there was not a soul. There was no single resident in this village.

Most of the buildings had collapsed due to snowfall of the past winters, looking as thought they had been trampled down, and those that were not had gaping holes in their roofs. The sheets that were still hanging from the clothesline had turned into old dustcloths.

Somewhere they spotted a light truck with an opened door. Somewhere else they discovered a satchel in the middle of the street. In the middle of a field there was a tractor that had gone stale there.

Even though there were traces of the habitants everywhere, there was not a soul. Only the crying of the insects and the blowing of the wind filled the air.

He felt his heartbeat grow heavy. He knew this feeling.

The capital, the nameless metropolis they had abandoned, the town that had lost more than 80% of its population and its entire functionality, was the same.

The convenience store on the way to school, the footbridge across the big intersection that had become empty of cars and whose traffic lights had stopped working, the lightless skyscraper he had gazed at from school at dusk.

His heart was spurred on by the distressing lack of people where there should have been.

"...Boy."

She plucked at the sleeve of his shirt.

He turned around and found the girl stuck to his back, trembling fiercely.

"Boy... I don't like this place," she mumbled with her gaze focused on one point.

The object that was horrifying her so much was a red satchel that lay on the street.

"Let's go. I don't want to be here. Not for one second."

"...Yeah..."

He nodded and quickly stuffed his lamp into his pocket.

He started the engine, put on his helmet, accelerated rather crudely and hit the nightly road again.

This village resembled their town too much.

Sealed memories were released again and caused cold shivers to run down their spines.

Silence enveloped the village once more.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Tabi_ni_Deyou:Dream|Dream]]
| Return to [[Tabi ni Deyou, Horobiyuku Sekai no Hate Made|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Tabi_ni_Deyou:Journey|Journey]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

The Longing Of Shiina Ryo:Volume1 Chapter 4: Ayaka

2011-09-13T21:02:04Z

Starkiller4299: Whitespace readability edits.

== Part 1 ==

You know, I actually believe there is such a thing as Justice in the Universe.

Despite knowing that there are many evil deeds that might go unpunished and good actions that will never directly give any fruits to their performers, I chose to believe that the Universe is formed by equations that will always get to balance themselves. It doesn’t matter how it affect the elements involved in the system, as long as the answer fits the question and vice versa.

There must be equality.

If that was not true I would have no reason to be running to school today, being the textbook example of ‘late’. And yes, that does contrast with me running away from school yesterday, so early in the morning I didn’t even met my teacher on the hallways while fleeing.

That’s ''karma'' for you.

It would seem like everything was too perfectly balanced for reality, but I refuse to give it more thought because I still have the whole ‘my real world is actually fictional’ theory on my mind. To be honest I probably deserved it. I got trapped in a gruesome nightmare; I ran for a long time; I fought like I haven’t fought in years (mind you, my childhood was really tough with all of those mysteries going on). How could I expect anything other than falling asleep on the couch and waking up so late for school I don’t even know why I bothered getting up?

So yeah, I believe in Justice. Especially today, because being mad at something you don’t believe in is a job for people who don’t quite grasp the meaning of the word ‘atheism’ yet still use it on a daily basis.

''That was mean.''
''I liked it.''

…and here we go again. I’m glad you did, but I would rather not listen to your unusual kind words or anything coming from you for that matter.

''Another rude thought coming from an essentially good boy whose body’s endorphin releases does not seem to be successful at achieving the runner’s high effect.''
''It’s very interesting to see just how out-of-character can you get when she is not around, or should I say ‘in character at last’?.''

What are you babbling about? I am acting as I always do. No, I am not even acting: I am ''thinking'' and you cannot cause harm to others with your thought alone, only with your actions.

''Nevertheless you just tried to and proved yourself wrong in your own terms, considering your belief that I am not a part of you.''
''Of course I could demand an apology as a habitant of your mind, but I think I’ll settle down if you admit that no one is as nice as you pretend to be when you’re next to her.''

My mind belongs only to myself and I won’t apologize or justify myself to anyone for anything that stays inside its limits; peculiarly to you, who is but an unwanted guest, a despicable intruder in my inner kingdom. Begone ye evil spirit!

''You're getting hotter, getting hotter…''
''By the way, I mean it as in the hot-cold game; I am not attracted to you.''

Oh, please! That thought would never cross my mind and…

''Or am I?''
''It doesn't really matter; either way, I am just the voice inside your head.''

Just go away, will you?

''Sure, i-it’s not like I enjoy being near you o-or anything.''

…

The absence of italic-underlined talk that followed was unsettling for some reason, but since it brought back my narrative it probably is a good thing. There are indeed a few unsettling and good things in life but most of them cannot even be thought of so early in the morning, especially on a presumably fictional universe under the risk of receiving a different rating and (for the lack of a better word) exciting some impressionable readers while greatly upsetting their beloved mothers.

Back to the work-safe ‘running to school’ we go.

Other than the sound of my feet stomping on the streets and the steady, fast heartbeats pulsing through me, there was absolutely nothing. At daybreak, the lingering silence on the town was as audible as the frail sounds my body produced, and it seemed to swallow them like quicksand. But as swiftly as the mythical god who shared the name with the chemical element once known as quicksilver…

…no, seriously: That’s it? You’re going away because I asked you to, easy as that? Aren’t you going to make any nasty comments about my overly dramatic manners, remind me of how particularly creepy the trees are this morning, or anything like that at all?

''I don’t need to. You just did.''

And then the uncommon voice left me and my narrative alone in a silent, distressingly weird world that was now too full of green for my personal fear-driven taste. Needless to say, in light of the circumstance, I ran just as Mercury would if he were a paranoid teenager with a disturbing and flirtatious inner voice while surrounded by mysteries and suspicious trees.

== Part 2 ==

Follows attached a small yet interesting report on the results of running too fast and for too long to school.

'''Good news''': I might have broken a world record of speed (we would have the exact number if I had waited for the patrol car to catch up)!
'''Bad news''': I might have broken something else too.

'''Good news''': My fear of trees made me lose weight; I even feel lighter!
'''Bad news''': According to the last doctor I’ve seen I should actually gain some weight in order to reach the ideal weight for someone of my height and age. However, I am also not sure if I should trust him, since Dr. Olaf turned out to be a vampire in disguise: he could be just trying to fatten up his next meal.

'''Good news''': I actually made it to the gates two minutes before they are usually closed, which means I either distorted space and time while running or… no, I think that’s the only explanation I have right now. Space-time distortion, that’s pretty much it. Sounds reasonable enough for my brain, which is currently just as tired as the rest of my body.
'''Bad news''': I don’t think I want to enter those gates; especially because once I do there will be no turning back.

Right, I know I did that whole box burning number yesterday, but that just something I did (pardon my non-French ambiguous expression) in the heat of the moment: just like Kouma said, it was meaningless. It’s easy to act manly when you don’t actually need to and right now I don’t know if it was the exhausting race against the clock or something else, but it sure feels like I spent all of my Special Power on that and now even pressing up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-start won’t help me.

That’s it: it’s not even eleven o’ clock and I already had a rough day, or at least what a common high school student as I aspire to be should consider a rough day. I am just going home and…

…

Absolutely nothing happened.

No one came out of nowhere with an interesting teaser sentence. No one decided to spend time with me to get my head out of my personal problems with random stuff. No one stood up, looked straight into my eyes and made me take a decision when I found myself in a turning-point.

Nothing like that happened at all.

Even though I invoked the trope (suspension point included and everything), no one came for me. Even though I really wanted them to, no one showed up. Even though I felt like I really needed them, no one saved my day.

Lifting my briefcase and putting it behind me by passing it over my shoulder, feeling the leather touch my back through the sweaty shirt, I started walking steadily.

Thank you, everyone. I had to break that awful habit of mine on my own, without relying on walking canes.

“Hah!” Feeling very brave after passing the gates, I spun and almost danced with my arms open as if challenging the whole world. Somehow I managed to stop myself before the applied energy was strong enough to send my briefcase flying away, but not without reluctance: laws of Physics work whether you like them or not, and whether you know them or not. “It’s time for me to live the dre...”

As I finished my gracious yet completely manly spin, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one around. By the time it dawned on me I wasn’t sure if I should be glad or sad that the faces I saw were familiar.

“You’re right: it is very hard to sneak up on him.”
“I know; if it wasn’t for that passionate anime character imitation of him at the café I think I would never be able to.”
“Now I kind of want to see that, especially after you spending roughly thirty minutes of a phone call talking about it. Do you think he’s going to do it again? I guess I’ll finally have a reason for frequenting that dreadful place.”
“Maybe next time we can record his despaired impersonation with a cell phone and put it on the Internet.”
“Probably along with that spin, it was very amusing.”
“Indeed.”

Facing that kind of situation, I should feel embarrassed and strange…

“Good morning, girls. What are you up to in this beautiful morning?”

…but I just didn’t want to feel that way.

“Hm.” Kouma raised her eyebrow. “This wasn’t quite the outcome I expected. I have mixed feelings about this.” Did she just say that she has some sort of feelings out loud?
“We arrived earlier today to make sure no blank cards or other suspicious objects were placed anywhere in our class.” Ryo didn’t seem tired, but actually sparkling: it was like the cases I was so tired of were exactly what she needed to feel alive, and it showed. “Also, after doing a little research we found out that nothing unusual has happened in the past days except for an unfortunate incident with bananas.”
“Nothing supernatural, though.” I felt relief when Kouma finally stopped staring at me and decided to focus on Ryo. “People often forget how their peels can be dangerous if left on the floor.”

The school chime rang, and then I realized that we have just wasted the two minutes I had to bend time and space to get.

“Let’s go, we’re going to be late! I don’t think Reikoku-sensei will let us…”
“Oh, don’t worry: she will let us in.” Ryo had a good example of her cat-like smiles printed on her face and she was pointing it at me. “Kouma already told her we could get a little bit late because of a project and Reikoku-sensei said it was okay: we exceptionally have five minutes of tolerance today.”
“A little project with Koukishin-kun.” Hissed the fashionista, her eyes gently rolling up towards the skies. Then she added without any sound, but with the sole movement of her lips and to me only. “Teacher’s pet.”

Sighing sounded like the only reasonable thing to do in such a weird situation.

“Anyway, we should discuss this later: we can be observed by our unknown enemy while in school, and since there are great chances he or she is in our classroom we’ll probably be watched closely.”
“So you did notice.” Kouma grinned like there was no tomorrow, and when looking at her I almost believed so. “Our school rules are not that strict, but the only ones who could go inside our classroom without being stopped by the inspectors were our own classmates.”
“Actually, no: I saw the exact opposite happening that day. When I entered the building, it was completely empty and no one even showed up to try and stop me from running away like a crazy person. And I’m a transfer student, so no one here knows me. Honestly, I think the security here is very, very lame.”
“That doesn’t sound right.” After seeing her argument discredited, Kouma Yon almost sounded offended. “We’ll have a lot to discuss on our meeting later at my place. For example, why would the staff…”
“Hey…” Ryo interrupted, and surprisingly I wasn’t pleased with that: Kouma sounded like she had a strong hint on something that didn’t fit. “I don’t want to ruin your party but we have exactly one minute to enter the school building and get into our room.” A small pause was added by Ryo, most likely for comedy effect. We played along with it, despite knowing that we were wasting time we didn’t actually have. “That happens to be located in the third floor.”

The image of Reikoku-sensei making a countdown filled my mind, and by the look on the girls’ faces I wasn’t the only one thinking about what would happen if she said ‘zero’ before we reached the room.

“Don’t worry!” I screamed as we ran towards school. “I can bend time and space!”

== Part 3 ==

Apparently, it doesn’t work every time I want it to.

Which is awful, now that I think about it: how awesome would it be if I could use that all the time, really? If I had the control over that gift, I would be able to prevent disasters, avoid problems and even fight crime. But better than all that, we wouldn’t have been late for Reikoku-sensei’s class for entire thirteen seconds.

What scared us the most was that not only she was waiting for us at the door but also didn’t say a single word until we got past her. In fact, there was not a single sound in the classroom at that moment and it seemed to me that my classmates were just dolls made of flesh because Ryo, Kouma and I were the only ones moving and it surely was not as if we had much of a choice. The rest of the class was standing dead still, but most likely because they knew that we, who against all odds received a five minute tolerance from the most feared teacher in the school and yet broke it as if in defiance, were the ones who were closest to death.

It was a mixture of pure respect with a strong desire not to join the about-to-be-killed party, and it disturbed me that they seemed quite used to it. Had anything like this ever happened before? What was the outcome of the previous group or individual’s actions? Who will bury our bodies?

It doesn’t really matter; I don’t think we’ll live to find an answer to any of those questions. Since it is my time to go, I shall leave with no regrets. It was a good life, anyway.

No, not really.

“Take your seats. Class is about to start.” Our homeroom teacher said in monotone and almost mechanically we obeyed: I think it is common sense that we pushed our luck as far as we could for a year or probably, a whole life. Does that mean we’re not going to die today? Well, I suppose at least not immediately. This is great, right? Right? I suppose so, since I haven’t even got a chance to lead a good life so far. So, in this situation even having an awful past is a good thing, right?

No, not really…

Full stop. I know where this is going and I don’t want to walk that road again. I need to think positive. Yeah, think positive: this kind of thought hasn’t taken you anywhere in the past and you decided to change this on your own today, right? Keep that in mind and you will be fine. That whole incident wasn’t dangerous at all, and there is no teacher that would kill students just for being late; you are only being over-dramatic as always.

“Aah, that was dangerous. You could really have died there.”

Theatrically I turned to face the person that uttered those words and tell her ‘you are not helping at all’, and then I noticed I there was someone else sitting by my side other than Kouma Yon. While my bipolar I-am-not-so-sure-if-I-can-call-her-a-friend quietly stood on my left side, the high pitched voice that warned me came from the opposite direction.

"Aah, hello! My name is Morimoto Ayaka! Nice to meet you!"
"Oh, hello. I'm Koukishin Shinzou, but you can call me Shin-tsu." I stop myself for a while and think. This girl is not familiar to me, and I have a fairly decent memory for faces and voices. We obviously haven’t met at Monday, otherwise she wouldn’t be introducing herself today. Also, while Kouma was sitting I guess. Oh, right; focus. "Sorry to ask, but I don't remember you being here when I was introduced to class; why haven't we met before?"

The girl giggled, clearly an easily amused person.

"Aah, that day. I had a cold and stayed home. I feel much better now, though!" She surely looked pretty much radiant to me. "Aah, I came to school yesterday and heard about you, but you weren't here. Did you catch a cold too?"
"N-not really..."

Now, what kind of poor, infantile logic was that? Is she serious? Everyone I talk to in this city seems to be slightly weird, but so far they have been closest to the eccentric genius type than the happy-go-lucky with a stupid and clearly unfitting verbal tic. Even if I accept this world as a fictional work that kind of character won’t fit at all here; not that I am pleased with the way this world is, but inserting this kind of wannabe-moe character in such a weird story would be unacceptable. Well, unless…

…unless this is just a farce. That would definitely fit and advance the plot. That would also be something that voice would say, so I’d better stay away from thoughts like this. For now, at least.

Suddenly, a piece of paper appears on my desk.

''Déjà vú.''

Considering the events that happened so far in the story, I am not sure if I should touch it or not. You know, ‘once bitten, twice shy’ and stuff. However, it came from Kouma’s direction, it was considerably bigger than a business card and it had words written on it. Better than decently handwritten ''kanji'' (which means Ryo wasn’t the one who wrote them) with small characters above that, differently from the ''kanji'', I could actually memorize; the ''furigana'' allowed me to understand what the rather complex ideograms meant.

What I didn’t understand was why Kouma Yon was acting so considerate of me today. I mean, she actually was nice enough yesterday for me to start wondering what was going on with her, but since I made her leave when our teacher arrived (which doesn’t sound very friendly, no matter how I look at it) I assumed she would be slightly more… angered, perhaps? She did whispered something to me this morning that suggests that she got the wrong idea of last night’s events, but why be discrete when she could easily make Ryo suspicious of me by saying it out loud? Maybe that’s how she even things in her head. I’m not so sure right now, and I might never be: understanding that girl sounds like an extremely hard task to me.

For now, I’d better stop daydreaming and start reading her message.

I don’t really care about your relationship with Reikoku-sensei.

What kind of an opening line was that? Am I supposed to answer that? How? Not only that, why does that sound so absurdly tsundere to me? Was Reikoku-sensei right about Kouma’s personality, then? And why would someone bring an orange ink pen to school, for heaven’s sake? It’s not even practical!

Focus: confusion is exactly what she is expecting from me, because confusion often leads to errors. Right now this is a battle field and I must defend myself while showing my own fangs in order to avoid another attack. Against an ambiguous non-question as hers, a straight faux-answer seemed to be the only way to go.

Good, because there isn’t any. Not of the kind you are thinking there is, anyway.

Then I realized that Kouma Yon is ambidextrous, but I wish I had found that out in more normal circumstances. She barely looked at my reply and started writing back right away with her left hand, while easily copying text from the blackboard to her notebook with the right one (which is a very impressive skill that must require a lot of training and good coordination from the start). I guess it would be safe to assume that she already had her next line ready before I handed her the paper. Soon came the confirmation to that thought, and I was not pleased to find out that my intuition was proven right.

Oh, and what would that be?

Great: now she’ll just play stupid and expect me to keep speaking until she gets enough evidence to prove her points. Well, I’m not going to fall for that; that game is something that can be played by two individuals.

Don’t do that. Don’t pretend to be pure and naïve on the subject when you called me “teacher’s pet’ earlier today. You know exactly what I am talking about.

While I probably should not respond like that to someone playing the role of a super detective in her head, I assumed it would be the best way to deal with Kouma: to fight cynicism back with more cynicism.

She comes to your house at night and you need to hide the fact that there was other girl with you. Not only that, you knew it was her before you even looked through the looking glass, which implies that you knew she would visit you. Could it be that our teacher has gone to your house at same time since day one? And what kind of “extracurricular affairs” would a male student and a female teacher have that would need to be resolved during nighttime? 

So, Kouma does care about my relationship with Reikoku-sensei. To be honest I even detected a hint of jealousy in her words. However, pointing that out right now would probably just make this discussion worse and not help me at all with my argument. Therefore, my only option is to distract her from the core of the subject as much as I can; Reikoku-sensei would get into serious trouble if rumors like those spread, and I don’t want anyone to be hurt just for caring about me. As a reply, let me see… Oh, I know: ''reductio ad absurdum'' seems to be a good way out.

Now you’re just being unreasonable. Seriously, do you really think someone like me would be able to successfully seduce our teacher? Not only that, but in a single day?

When I looked at Kouma Yon after delivering the piece of paper, it initially seemed to me that my argument had found a reluctant target. After a few moments of observation, however, her deep sigh gave me an idea of what would come in the next message; apparently I had won, although not without some sort of resistance.

You obviously could have talked to her before, just like you did to Ryo-chan before coming here. However, even if you had the chance to talk to our teacher before, it does sound impossible for someone like you to even attract the attention of someone like Reikoku-sensei.

That one actually offended my pride, but I’d better deal with it; a victory that requires some sacrifice is probably better than losing. It comes along with the job, I suppose.

Trying to look completely innocent (which technically, I am), I turned to face Kouma and saw her twirling her finger in the air. I’m not sure if I was distracted or something, but it certainly took me some time to understand what she meant by that gesture. As I turned the piece of paper around I saw what she meant by that hand sign: there was more.

What’s happening, then?

There were two paths I could follow, and choosing between them would directly affect my future, mostly because of the Butterfly effect. However, this time I think the typhoon will happen here in Japan. And yes, I know that’s not exactly how it works; I just needed an analogy, so go ahead and sue me.

I could either lie and keep lying until everyone found out or tell her a plausible yet toned down version of the truth and hope that she doesn’t investigate any further. Despite my reputation, I don’t consider myself a good liar; therefore, the solution to that problem is obvious.

It’s really hard to explain, but Reikoku-sensei is taking care of me, nothing more than that. Truth is, I don’t handle being alone in that big house very well. I’m really sorry I freaked out last night; I don’t know what I was doing. Now that I think about it, I had no reason to make you leave. Could you forgive me?

I saw the eyes of Kouma Yon moving quickly and reading the paper not once, but four times, like it was a business contract where she assumed the other party had planted some kind of trap clauses in microscopic writing font. I wonder if this is how obscure spiritual entities feel when offering deals to people in this century. Now that I think about it I could have asked how they felt; I’ve had many, many chances to do so. Instead, I would just run to save my life. Now I’ll have to hope to meet another one in order to find out. Wait, what?

She crushed the paper and threw it at her bag, without any apparent intention of proceed with the interrogatory. Then she looked at me, and her face was the same but somehow looked slightly different. It doesn’t make much sense even to me, and it makes me wonder if I’m the only one on Earth that can see the small hints of emotions in her face.

“…good.”

That was pretty much it.

After that, we went back to that particular state where she practically doesn’t talk to me and is not as uncomfortable as the state where she locks arms with me for no apparent reason. I guess that means things are alright between us then, at least enough for Ryo not to suspect anything during lunch.

No memorable events happened from that moment until the end of classes, except maybe for the occasional petty talk with Ayaka, who unlike the other people I know in this town, is not a disguised teenage expert at anything or a grown woman who is probably unreasonably feared by the ones who should feel at ease around her in order to learn as much as they can in an environment they find safe. And yes, since even my dear friend Shiina Ryo showed an exquisite side of her I wasn’t aware of when I needed help, I cannot count her as a ‘normal’ person anymore.

Morimoto Ayaka was just your normal, regular, common, usual, habitual, familiar, ordinary, plain, standard air head girl character that would have no particular characteristic worth describing if it wasn’t for her cartoon-like verbal tic (which she forgets occasionally, and makes me think if she didn’t unconsciously developed that in order to blend in). It was nice to talk to someone that could actually speak like someone of my age is supposed to, even if her topics are a little bit dull when compared to the information dumps I get from everyone.

No wonder I was suspicious of her in the beginning: I never get to meet normal people.

The students quickly left the room after the school bell rang announcing the end of classes for that particular day, leaving only Kouma Yon, Shiina Ryo and the transfer student that prefers to be called by a nickname that he doesn’t even remembers how, when or why he got it behind. Said student would have happily followed the hordes to the mystic gates that led the world outside if it weren’t for his unusual friends who apparently couldn’t discuss how the plot of the game they were currently working on should go and walk at the same time. The student was extremely disappointed at their lack of ability at multi-tasking, but also knew that with those two the best thing to do was waiting.

“Koukishin-kun?”
“Yes, Reikoku-sensei?”
“I will speak to you now.” It was not a question or a request, like people usually do when they want to have a conversation with each other. My teacher, just as my friends, seems to have absolutely no common sense. She briefly looked to Ryo and Kouma, who stood by my side. “In private.”

As the girls hurried out like they saw something awfully life threatening (and they probably did, if you think about how the other students react to our teacher), Reikoku-sensei proceeded.

“Please refrain from getting late and having the girls concealing the evidence of your laziness in the future. Consider this as a warning, because it’s your first offense: it won’t work, and you’ll just make everyone worry about you.”

Maybe it was because I already expected most of that or because I sort of have a selective attention deficit, but it is fact that the only element that interested me was the one that was completely new on that kind of speech.

“Were you worried, sensei?”
“I don’t know where you picked that idea from; I never said such thing.”

And yet she didn’t deny it.

“…thank you, sensei.”
“You’re welcome.” She said while sorting papers. “Now I would be pleased if you go and stay out of trouble, although I am fully aware that you will ignore the latter part.”
“How much do you know, sensei?”
“Nearly nothing, but enough to see that having two girls walking around asking questions to practically everyone in the school staff is an easy way of getting attention. I won’t ask you to tell me what are you up to, but your group should be slightly more careful. Considering that the three of you are working on something that requires secrecy, that is.”
“Understood.” I bowed, which seemed slightly unnecessary a second after I did it. “We’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Excellent. You may go now. Just be sure to let your friends know that I do not like it when my students stay outside the room trying to listen to the conversations I specifically classified as ‘private’, will you?”

The incredibly fast sound of footsteps rhythmically stomping the floor that followed came from the hallway and seemed to fill the whole school.

“Seriously, how did you know that?“
“Oh.” Reikoku-sensei bit her pencil softly and grinned. “I didn’t.”

== Part 4 ==

“We need a name.”

Kouma and I were still eating when Ryo said that, completely out of nowhere; this is how our investigation actually began.

Now using the house of the Kouma family as their temporary base, the unnamed, clearly improvised detective team gathered to start working on the unusual case that had directly affected one of their members. Against my personal expectations, Kouma Yon’s bedroom is absurdly normal; probably as normal as it gets, I’m afraid. There is not even a single thing here worth describing with a shower of adjectives or comparisons to nature forces. This is really plain and disappointing in so many levels.

“A name, you say?” Said the unusual girl whose room didn’t reflect her personality in any way.

“Yes, a name.”

Now that’s weird.

“I’m sorry; I am a little bit confused.” My right hand rose to gather their attention. “I aware that you are a novelist and probably knows more about plots than I do, but much to my dismay my vast experience in the Mystery field taught me that in this particular kind of cases the name of the offender is usually the last thing you are going to get.” Pondering on that last sentence, I stopped my speech for a while. “Unless, of course, you consider the possibility of having the criminal try running away after the revelation moment, thus making the last scene an action-fueled chase. It is also possible the accused party will try to kill or restrain the detectives in order to keep their dreadful secrets safe, but I suppose this kind of development is not that popular anymore thanks to the boom of crime investigation series. Hopefully we are not dealing with an old-school villain; otherwise one of us will get kidnapped very, very soon.”

As soon as I finished talking I noticed the way Ryo was looking at me, and it didn’t took me a great deal of time to understand that the odds of the face she was making being exactly the same I did when she started talking about music were incredibly high. Oh, dear; I just remembered that. She was so absolutely perfect at that moment…

Silently we kept on glaring at each other’s faces for a while, burning deep down with unresolved tension in such a powerful way I could not even think of a reason holding our foreseeable incandescent eruption back.

“No, not on my watch.”

And there it was.

Literally between us was a person who remained a strange element in our relation and had a thing for making me remember how fierce her pinch could be. Her moderately long yet unreasonably sharp baby blue fingernails served as a call of the real world to me and often reminded me that we weren’t gathered for a party; we had a supernatural case to solve and technically no clues to do so.

Certainly it’s not time for us to relax and I probably will remember this in the future even when Kouma Yon finally go back home, but not for the right reasons. My arms will have become giant, deep purple bruises by then. What a fabulous memento.

It could be worse, right? I mean, it’s not like her fingernails are tainted with my blood or anything. Unfortunately, there is a great chance she is avoiding that only because she just got her nails done. I cannot blame her for that, since baby blue a fairly decent color and it sure matches the rest of her deceivingly cute look. I just wish she would be more considerate of others (particularly when ‘me’ is an element of the potentially finite group ‘others’), that’s all. It’s not like I am asking a lot, really…

By the time I came back to reality, I noticed Kouma’s concerned look. Maybe it’s because I had stood still for several minutes but most likely because the ‘call of the real world’ attack of her pretty claws of absolute doom not only didn’t help, but produced the perfect opposite of the effect she was expecting.

“Hmm...” I looked to Ryo. “I just had another one of those moments, didn’t I?”

Her face had already given me the answer I anticipated, but she insisted on stating it.

“Yes, you did. It was really awkward, but at least now I know you weren’t ignoring me when it happened Sunday. You probably have the same problem with daydreams as that main character from that particularly famous medical television series.”

“You mean that particular show that decided to change a little bit of its formula after a faux-finale at season eight?” Kouma said, suddenly interested. I wasn’t that surprised, considering it’s only natural for a young girl to like pop culture. Not that there is anything truly ‘natural’ on Kouma Yon.

“Specifically that one. I really like it.”

“Me too. Back to the topic, I believe Shin-tsu does that kind of thing just because he enjoys being rude to people.”

Ryo shook her head and started twirling her long silky hair.

“Hmm, I find that argument very unlikely to be true. Shin-tsu has always been polite to me, and he does call you by your family name as a sign of respect. Obviously, he could use a few lessons on daily usage of Japanese language, since the quality of his speech alternates between extremely basic textbook-like sentences and complex television references that might sound obscure to the average person. Except for his utterly disturbing, almost complete lack of honorifics, it’s not that bad, anyway.” Listening to her talking like that made me think that it’s really such a big deal. “It might be just a trait of his personality or a result of living abroad for so long, but I guess he will get better with practice.” She finally took a break after another lecture and then added in a much lower, nearly whispery voice. “Hopefully.”

“What would be your hypothesis, then?”

Ryo had a serious look on her face, and for a moment I thought she was going to tell me that I suffer from an incurable disease or that she was my father. I’m terribly sorry about that particular reference, but I couldn’t help it because it was a lame joke but full of Force.

“He is a hero character in denial; he has everything he needs to be a strong protagonist that could solve the mystery and defeat the bad guys after an epic battle, but never used his powers for greater good and probably not even for his own good, and that’s why the plot never advances as it should and you can hardly see any character or relationship developments; he is completely stuck at the second act of the story, forever.”

I assume this is the moment where I’m supposed to explain to the reader what they are talking about, considering the following facts: a) my assumptions were right and this is a story; b) there is a reader who is interested and c) he or she is not a writer or a literary critic, therefore probably could not understand that. Obviously this still sound very unreasonable to me, but on the lights of the events of my life one can see that nothing good would come out of getting upset about such things. So, let’s play along for a change.

Many stories use the Three-act Structure, at least enough for your subconscious to have learned it and make you ‘expect’ things from movies you never saw before despite they being brand new. Most Hollywood movies are like that, and you cannot blame them: the only reason why a trope became a trope in the first place is because it worked fine.

The first act is where the main characters and the setting are established, and it is called ‘the Setup’. At some point in it, something bad happens and takes the protagonists out of their comfort zone and make the story actually start (without conflict, there is no plot). One can say that in my case I have lived in this particular stage for a surprisingly long time, and this leads us to the second act, ‘the Confrontation’: here the protagonists try to fix everything and end up making it worse because they are doing it completely wrong. So far, check.

If only I could find out what I need to change in my attitude to reach the next act.

“That’s an interesting point of view.” Kouma took a pause, and seemed to be seriously pondering about that. “So, all the bad things that supposedly happened to him would be just mere unused plot devices?”

“Exactly. But the situation has changed now he has two sidekicks, so there is a great chance the plot is advancing as we speak.”

“Hold on, I am definitely not okay with that.” Raising her left hand, Kouma stated. “The idea of being a sidekick does not please me at all, so I would like to offer an alternate interpretation to this matter.”

I could feel the levels of tension rising between the two of them, which was probably due to Kouma Yon disagreeing with Shiina Ryo. It’s safe to assume that this kind of thing does not happen often, and for a good reason; they both seem to have taken it personally.

“Please proceed.” Said my closest friend after clenching her teeth, her eyebrow clearly wanting to reach the skies.
“From my point of view, we are equal main characters representing the three parts of Freud's model of the psyche. It has been done many times before, and it still sells because it makes a balanced team that people can relate to.”

Several moments of silence followed, and just when I was fully prepared to start a discussion over her Freudian approach to nearly every single thing Ryo spoke, leaving me open-mouthed.

“You know what, that actually fits.” The tension vanished as quickly as it came. “So, you think we’re representations of ''ego'', ''id'' and ''superego''?”

“Precisely, except one of us is not playing his role properly.” She glared at me with sheer accusation in her eyes. “That’s right Shin-tsu, I’m talking about you.”

“Wait, what?” The fact that someone finally decided to start talking to me took me by surprise, I admit it. Does that mean it’s my turn to become one of actors with lines instead of being just an observer whose life is being analyzed and criticized on stage?

“As one could deduce from my statements, two thirds of this team are playing their roles properly. Being a natural stoic, absolutely rational and highly competent, I should be classified as this group’s ''superego''.” She said it like was something to be completely proud of, intentionally forgetting to notice the ‘socially inept’, ‘apparently emotionless’ and ‘cynical’; the attribute ‘super’ certainly fits her ''ego''. “Then we have Ryo-chan, who is emotionally mature, balanced and compassionate; a clear example of ego.” Since I didn’t see a problem with that second statement, I decided to save my rants to the end of her theory presentation.

“I see where you’re going.” Ryo smiled, but not with the lovely innocence I so quickly got used to. “You’re implying Shin-tsu needs to act a little bit more like an id guy instead of having that ego attitude?”

“Exactly.” Kouma seemed completely satisfied.

“Sounds very reasonable.”

“I am glad we agree on that.”

Do I need to point out that I wasn’t pleased with that?

“Excuse me, but what are you talking about?”

“Look, it’s not that we don’t like you the way you are…”

Kouma Yon abruptly interrupted Ryo’s speech, and the reason behind her actions was so obvious it was almost suspicious.

“On that matter, speak for yourself.”

“Alright; it’s not that ''I'' don’t like you the way you are, but I honestly believe that in order to tip the balance you’ll have to be, well… slightly more impulsive.”

“Hedonistic.”

“Whimsical.”

“Overtly lecherous.” That was the exact point when both Shiina Ryo and I turned to face a clearly embarrassed fashionista whose face desperately tried not to admit it in front of others. It’s safe to say my team had reached a moment that could be only described as ‘awkward’. Several seconds later, the absence of sound still lingered. “Just for the record, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that; it’s a valid characteristic of the 'id''.”

Even after she tried fixing it, the nearly solid silence created by Kouma Yon’s reckless words would not go away. I just had to do something about it.

“…could we just move on?” I suggested. “We still have a mystery to solve, after all.”

Suddenly I felt my shoulder being patted, and a mere turning of head confirmed that Ryo was the source of that friendly gesture. Yeah, like there was a chance Kouma would demonstrate any kind of affection towards me in front of Ryo. Wait a second… she locked arms with me in public yesterday, so I’m not sure of what she is capable of. There is no need to worry, anyway; she was probably just feeling cold. Hopefully.

“Oh, relax. We still have plenty of time, and it might be a good idea to make the mood a little lighter.” My friend gave me one of her signature smiles and it was convincing enough for me to want to feed her milk in a bowl. “I too was a little worried in the beginning, but there’s nothing good that would come out of rushing or despairing over such things. Your mind will probably work better after you spend some time not worrying about your problems, so I want you to treat this stress release moment as a measure to get yourself ready to fully understand the case.”

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s clearly not working.” This whole pointless analysis was actually making me more nervous about my current situation. “Your intentions might be good and I am thankful for that but this is not a common state of affairs with normal people, this is a…”

And then I realized.

I have been thrown into this kind of situation so many times, so it’s very hard for me not to search for patterns instead of proper clues. Surely it feels like I have a built-in mechanism for the unusual, and that’s why I wasn’t immediately able to see through this; it’s something completely different from the things I have fought or rather ran from before. The only thing I didn’t have the chance of dealing with.

If you manage to ignore the increasing supernatural elements and the fact every single person that crosses my path always seems to be on the verge of insanity (or much past it, in several cases), and if only you ignore the continuous flow of the plot you will see too.

They are all completely normal, in the end.

After all they are just teenagers, all of them; just essentially common youngsters living in a world made of youth with their sad teen issues, being and acting just as weird as their age allows them to because deep down they know that soon will come a time where they won’t have the chance to do so. There is absolutely nothing complex in it, despite their masks and monologues to an audience visible only to themselves.

Therefore, this case can be solved quite easily. It might leave an awfully bad aftertaste in my mouth, especially because when compared to other detective stories and even my own previous ‘cases’ it will certainly look like cheating to anyone including myself. Like one of those cheap ''novellas'' where the bad guy only appears in the last two pages, not being directly related to anyone on the plot and dying soon afterwards. Like a classically trained musician who decides to play on a pop-punk band for a living.

Through this stress induced catharsis I may have found a game breaker.

Instead of wasting several days pursuing small or useless clues that would just act as lies-to-children forcing us to seek for a bigger Truth, I am going to skip the boring parts and go straight to the clever tactical maneuver moment just because I can.

The reason for doing such a trick, you ask? It’s very, very simple: my opponent also is not following the rules. Obviously, in a mystery/crime and punishment story you should expect that at least one person is not following the law; if they were, there is a great chance you wouldn’t have a case from the very beginning. Despite that, my unknown foe broke rules so basic that, in order to be on the same level and achieve victory I must ‘cheat’.

The hidden enemy broke a Father Knox's Commandment, and that action is completely unacceptable to me.

When you see yourself involved in so many cases as I have, you realize that the only way to survive for the next school transfer is to trace patterns and know your tropes. I mean, how are you, a common teenager, supposed to hide from a six meter high one-eyed wild creature if you don’t know what and when it appears/attacks, or what can you to do make an ancient yet incredibly in shape mummy dizzy enough for you to escape safely from a pyramid full of traps that at the very least will hold you back for a moment or two? You ought to have information, especially when your life depends on it.

Books were my first choice of information source. Despite not being a technology hater such as my grandfather (who doesn’t even trusts telephones), there is something about the scent and the feel of paper books that make me calm and relaxed. Believe me, there are not many things that can get me into that state of mind.

Unlike Ryo, who will indiscriminately read any novel of any genre she comes across and then spend a great deal of time writing not unusually sharp reviews and articles about it on the Internet, the only genres of book that interested me (and not for reasons I should be pleased with) were Mystery and Horror. Forensic science articles (which I suppose both Kouma and Reikoku-sensei read in the same fashion as other people would read Sunday newspaper’s comics) were never something I paid too attention to, especially because I have always assumed that the day I actually needed to directly be in a morgue for a causa mortis’ analysis it would me my own, and then I wouldn’t have much work to do other than stay there while other people with pointy things opened my body and found an alien baby in my chest.

Or something like that, I am not so sure right now.

Back to the topic, classic mystery novels were the best. Of course, they were usually filled with cheesy and unrealistic dialogue and the solutions got either predictable or impossible after a while, but their cases murders and other crimes were decent escapes of the everyday life of, say, murders and other crimes. They provided me methods of solving cases and occasionally an accurate insight of the criminal’s modus operandi. While reading them, I realized that the mysteries in this world are ruled by tropes.

Father Knox's Ten Commandments for the Detection Club were a good set of them, and they show exactly what a good case should avoid in order to actually be a good case. Without abiding by those rules, the stories often end up looking like a mess and making the reader feel like the author was too lazy to provide a decent ending and cheated. Readers don’t like unrealistic novels, even when the genre is Fantasy; if the author fails to suspend disbelief, the story suffers.

Why do those Commandments work in several of the mysteries I came across so far? Simple; they are rules especially designed for making a story believable and the closest to real as it can be. Thus it is obvious that if properly created they would also work in real life; otherwise the set of laws would be pointless because they would fail their only purpose in existence.

So far, the setting was good: a developing town attracts a lot of attention to itself, and high school crime stories are selling well these days. The rules were being respected or subverted decently: the detective did not commit the crime (which would be the most awkward situation ever, unless I had another personality I was not aware of), my Watsons are far from stupid but they certainly do not conceal their thoughts, no poison involved, I’m pretty sure the criminal has been mentioned in the story, no secret passages anywhere to be seen (although that’s probably the point), no visible twins either, I have shared all the clues I have so far and if anyone classifies as the foreigner in this story, that guy would be me. The only accident that happened in this story didn’t help me; instead it brought me the whole mystery and this doesn’t sound like ‘helping’ at all.

Only one Commandment left.

The law my opponent broke was the most important to me, the one I always hoped for to be respected in the case: there should be no supernatural or preternatural powers involved. It’s exactly what makes the cases believable and honest. Therefore, I now have the right to stop being a nice guy and break the formula.

“Oh.” Kouma’s face was very close to mine, and she was holding a lit small lantern in front of my eyes. After she realized I was awake she turned it off and kept looking directly at me while talking to Ryo, who was not in my range of view. “It seems like he is back.”

Footsteps rolled.

“Gosh, you scared us!” I saw my friend running to me from the kitchen, her cell phone in hand. “You haven’t said a single word in seven minutes and just stood there, completely motionless. I was calling the hospital already!” She was obviously worried and for some reason it made me smile, probably because it’s nice to know that I have people who really care about me. “By the way, your telephone signal here is really awful.” She added slightly more calm, with the clear lack of common sense people have in those kinds of situations showing.

“Suspend the ambulance, I’m alright. Instead of that, please bring me a ''kanji'' dictionary.” I stand up, mostly to prove them what I said. “I was just thinking, and I believe I have the answer to the question we were going to spend days working on.”

Kouma merely nodded.

“You take the expression ‘lost in thought’ a little bit too serious, Shin-tsu.”

“Why, have you got an idea?” Ryo said, ignoring Kouma’s unneeded remark.

“An idea, you say? I think I just solved the case.” Savoring the glorious moment of my epiphany I looked mischievously to them. Now I know why detectives speak like this: it feels really great and I suggest everyone to try it once in a while. After waiting the proper time to give the final blow, I deliver the mysterious sentence that would close the current part of the show with a fade-out. “All we have to do is to organize a thematic party.”

== Part 5 ==

We were just two distorted shadow-like figures walking on the sunset until we actually reached our destination.

“Come.” I said without showing a trace of shame while opening the heavy metal doors, desperately trying to keep my facade. “Everyone is waiting for us.”

"Aah, why are the lights off, Shin-tsu?" She whispered. "You didn't say this was supposed to be a surprise party."

Ayaka was not yet aware that there was going to be no party and I was actually leading her to a trap, which was much more dangerous to me than to her; I might be mistaken about her and including an innocent person in this creepy setting, which might involve greater problems with the police and other less forgiving factions in a near future. However, I have already gone too far to simply walk back now. I have to do this or I won’t be able to live like a normal person.

So forgive me, Ayaka.

“What exactly do you have in mind, Shin-tsu?” Ayaka continued with syncopated pauses, and unfortunately I was able to detect more than a mere hint of flirtation in her words. Although I was flattered that she thought I had planned this only to be all alone with her in a dark place, it didn’t please me to know that her attitude in this situation doesn’t match the patterns I traced at all.

"Lights."

Some lights were turned on, illuminating only the center of the warehouse. The spotlights were rather strong and intimidating, just the kind of lights the police should use in interrogatories. Ayaka finally would be able to see the chairs and tables that were hidden in darkness just a few moments ago. If she is smart as I truly believe she is, she probably already realized why the chairs are aligned like that and why we're here. Which finally brings us to the third act, known as ‘the Resolution’.

I guess it is show time.

"It was you, wasn't it Ayaka-chan?"

Ayaka looked genuinely surprised at the unspecific accusation, but it didn’t mean she was not the culprit; just that she wasn’t expecting a confrontation at that very moment. No mistakes on her part so far, and she actually gained a few points with that flirting that was certainly unlike the character I had in mind when I ‘solved’ the mystery…

…however, with the lights on it’s easier to see things that would otherwise be ignored such as the no longer concealed yet still closed pantographic knife she held in her right hand. That whole flirtation thing was most likely a bluff of hers, and despite the damage my self-esteem suffered it did feel good to know that the target I picked wasn’t a saint at all; even if she thought I intended to attack her, walking around with a German post-war knife is not something every Japanese highschooler does.

"W-what are you t-talking about?" I guess she realized that she was looking too scared for someone who didn't know what I was talking about and quickly recomposed herself. Too quickly, exactly as I expected; that fit perfectly in the pattern I had in mind and showed me that I was on the right direction. "First you brought me to this... this abandoned warehouse without an apparent reason. Now you start talking nonsense." Ayaka was starting to show her true colors, and then suddenly started wearing her good girl mask again. "Aah, I don't know what you intend to do, but you can count me out of it. I'm leaving. Bye bye."

Rapidly I snapped my fingers and the doors were closed and locked. Ayaka looked back when she heard the noise, and when she turned to me again her face was expressing much more than the fear of someone who is alone with a possible attacker. I was right, thankfully; without a trace of doubt, Morimoto Ayaka is guilty. And I know I'm not supposed to, but I certainly love this.

"You're not going anywhere until I finish talking." I start to walk through the rows of chairs, apparently aimlessly. "If this was our class you would sit right there, am I right? And that place behind you used to belong to your best friend Minato.” A calculated pause “Please forgive me, I’ve made a dreadful mistake: it’s ‘former best friend’, right? Not many people keep friends with the people dating the ones they love."

Her astonishment was much more than visible, being nearly as tangible as herself.

"H-how could you know that? You haven't even met Minato-chan!"

"My, my. We’re in a class full of girls, and girls talk.” I consider myself a feminist, but even I have to agree with that. “You really should not underestimate the power of gossip. Rumors, stories and ideas are just like sound; they will spread as long as there is air for them to travel. And girl, do they run fast as the winds." I take a small break to breathe. This light is too hot and it's going to make me sweat buckets, but I must keep my act together; if I don't keep it cool now, I might never find out what I truly want. "So, I heard you liked this guy from other school but couldn't bring yourself to confess to him. Now it’s time for some speculation of my own: you even went as far as stalking him for a while, always from a safe distance. Then your best friend started going out with the guy, and you found that out by seeing it yourself on one of your stalking moments. You've got mad and decided to start a vendetta against her. Am I right so far?"

She didn't even need to reply; the answer was stamped on her face and it made me feel awfully great.

"So, you wanted her to feel the angst and sadness you felt but you didn't exactly know how." I continued. "You have been raised as a good girl and never had done something like that before, so instead of trying to beat her up you opted for psychological terror; scaring the hell out of someone seemed much easier."

Morimoto Ayaka was probably unaware of the fact she was trembling with visible anger, as I could guess from her next speech; her body seemed to know she had been caught, but her mind did not.

“You speak like your assumptions are facts but I can see that, along with the fact that you have absolutely no way of proving what you just said, there is another big blind spot in your theory.”

Just the kind of line I was expecting.

“Which is exactly why I brought you here instead of looking for the enormous amount of evidence an amateur such as you must have left, taking for example your fingerprints on the card Minato was supposed to get.” A grin quickly formed on my face when I saw that she shivered when I mentioned the ‘fingerprints on the card’ bluff. Not only that, apparently only at that moment she realized that someone had touched the card instead of Minato and seen the hallucination trap Ayaka had prepared to her. It shows that I am indeed dealing with an amateur here, and I was hoping for that; if my opponent is still a first-timer, I have a bigger chance not only of being the battle’s winner, but also saving her from herself. “I want to know how you made that trick. At first I assumed it was some sort of ‘brown note’, but after giving it a little bit of thought I noticed two things: one, a blank paper card was too vague for delivering an effect of that magnitude and two, there was nothing else different in the environment. I have a nearly photographic memory: believe me, I would know.”

I really shouldn’t be enjoying this, but I simply cannot help it. This is actually making me feel alive, although I know I won’t be proud of what I’m doing when it is over nor want to do it again. I might even feel dirty for acting like this, but the future always seems to be a distant thing to those in the burning heat of the battle. Well, at least I know now that it’s not about some sort of messiah complex; right now all I want is to defeat my enemy. I might regret every action of mine later, but right now I am but a duelist and nothing else matters.

“Checkmate.” I finished. “You already lost the battle, Ayaka. I now have you at my mercy, but I don’t intend to harm you if you only do as much as explain which method you used to cause that strong hallucination. You can trust me. Just tell me what exactly Shugoshin is.”

The ''kanji'' dictionary showed me how to read it and the girls confirmed it: that was the meaning of the signals I saw inside the hallucination. Literally it means ‘guardian spirit’ and according to Kouma there is a protein with that name. I don’t honestly think there is any relation to the protein in this particular case and now I need to know what this is about: there might be others of this, whatever this is.

Ayaka’s body was shaking like an earthquake was happening inside of her, but that didn’t distract me from my focus: I heard the click that gently when she finally opened her pantographic knife.

Things were finally starting to get serious.

"So you have pretended to be my friend to get something you want, just like Minato-chan did before you.” She started panting furiously, and I considered the possibility of her anger resulting in a nervous breakdown. “I am indeed surrounded by liars; rats and vultures, all of you. You are all the same, playing your stupid games. Every single one of believe you are the good guys in your heads, and assume the rest of the world is composed only of allies and enemies. And you think that it justifies what you have done just because you really wanted to know what 'Shugoshin' means?" She had a wicked smiled on her face, and the terrifying look in her eyes stated the fact that she was beyond far madness at the moment she raised the ancient German knife whose reflection of the light met my gaze blinding me for a moment. "I! WILL! SHOW! YOU!"

And this was the point where things started not going as planned at all.

What happened next lasted only for about a second, but I managed to grasp all the details since my full vision had return as a torrent, a giant wave of information coming together all at once.

As if by magic, a slightly humanoid form started to materialize around Ayaka's body. It started as a transparent, ethereal creature made of surrealistic light. Eventually it became a grotesque reptile being who enveloped Ayaka's body inside its own gem-like translucid flesh, tainted redder than blood but still apparently insubstantial enough for me to see the shape of the mad girl inside it. And for some reason, I knew a thing or two about that. Maybe it was just simple logic or an instinct my mind developed because of the strange things surrounding me, but I knew deep inside Ayaka completely lost control of that thing and was now being absorbed by it, in the same way as I knew I had to keep breathing in order to survive.

The creature enveloping my classmate started moving in my direction, fast as a bullet.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting it to come down to this. In the end Mystery with a capital M had really found me once again. What should a common person do now? In such a situation, practically anyone would be too astonished to breathe and then let themselves be almost instantly killed by that translucent lizard from outer space or dimension. Fighting or immediately running might seem like the obvious answer to someone observing them from a safe place, but no one has the right to judge them for that kind of reaction; suspension of disbelief is not something that comes easy to people and they don't enjoy admitting that there is an awkward situation happening right in front of them, something they always believed that could only happen a movie or anything. They are not supposed to be ready to fight back against something they cannot accept as real.

I'm just glad I'm not like them, not at all.

From the very beginning, I have faced many, many situations as weird as this and occasionally some even weirder. What terrifies me is that I'm not even afraid of that kind of thing anymore, which classifies me as a real freak even to my broken standards. It kind of sucks when you realize you are indeed a complete mess in your own eyes but I don’t think I can change that, no matter how hard I try.

What I can do is change myself. I meant it when I decided to fight back Mystery if it came looking for me again, even if at that time I wasn't intending to do it, well, literally. I will stand my ground, once and for all. If that's what it takes for me to solve this case and to have a chance of leading a common life preferably by Ryo's side, I guess will do it. Not just because of her, but mostly because it's a small price to pay for the peace I have dreamed of for so long.

So, I am actually going to earn my right to live decently by beating that sinister and menacing creature that came out of nowhere up. Sounds like a decent plan to me.

Better than the last one, anyway.

"Kouma, run!" Reality struck me less a second before the creature delivered the first attack, when I finally realized that despite having gathered all the courage I needed I was still but a common human fighting a supernatural entity. Hopelessly I crossed my arms forming an ‘X’ to defend the amazingly strong blow of the creature's axe kick. "Take Ryo with you and run away, now!"

The kicks and punches seemed to come from everywhere, and I don’t think that was far from the truth. That creature was way too fast for me, and I didn't think I had a single chance to beat it up with my bare hands. I could only wait for an opening and then hope for the best (and surely it’s not usual to me to hope for the best). Until then I would have to serve as a sparring bag for this monster, trying my best to defend its strikes.

Although I don’t want to believe that, it might be the only thing I’ll be able to do.

At the moment it decided to give me an uppercut I saw a small opening and decided to go for it, but at the very same moment I coincidentally showed the monster an opening of my own; I almost tripped over a wrench on the floor and the creature decided to use that moment where my defenses were down to attack me with a direct hit.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attack it because it was my own lack of caution that created that opening after all. In fact, I realized that I wouldn’t even have any chances to do as much as defend my body from its next blow, and it seemed to be a decisive one. As that deformed fist quickly came towards my face, I had only time to clench my teeth and think a single sentence: this is going to hurt an awful lot.

"Like Hell I'm going to let you save the day on your own!"

The creature was completely distracted by Kouma's sudden approach and turns its attention to her. The opportunity I was looking for was right there and I didn't need to think twice; I grabbed the wrench and used it to hit the monster's chin by moving the tool upwards with full strength, falling afterwards due to my loss of balance. The attack was effective and I must thank the monster for that; after all, I just copied and adapted its uppercut. Quickly after my hit, Kouma sent the creature flying away with her signature butterfly kick.

"Are you okay?" Kouma said as she offered me a hand to help me stand up.
"I'm alright. Thank you for the help, but I really need you to protect Ryo right now."
"I’m pretty sure Ryo can watch over herself, and I'm not your sidekick! If anyone is going to play the 'knight in shining armor' role here, that's me!"

We ran towards our common enemy, who was starting to get up.

"Stop being so childish and leave!” We might all get killed if things keep like this. “This is not a competition, Kouma!"

"It is, but this round we're on the same side.” Her voice was raspy and at that moment I could actually see her as a living person instead of a doll with occasional bursts of emotions. “Right now, we need to sum our forces and finish that thing off. Are you ready to rock, partner?"

I could not stop myself from smiling.

"Partner, huh?" I stared at her for a moment while we ran, whispering the words with a smile on my face. I like how that sounds, I really do. "Let's do it!"

Together we rushed and attacked the creature in perfect synchrony, combined like I had never expected to be with anyone in my whole life. It would have been a beautiful moment if we weren’t teenagers fighting barehanded for our lives and now without the surprise element that literally saved me a few seconds ago.

The battle went on but despite the addition of an ally we soon noticed that we were losing territory and willpower every second.

We had the strength we needed to defend ourselves and attack occasionally depending only on our foe’s moments of distraction, but there was a big chance of us getting tired before that thing did. It was a supernatural entity after all, and that meant it probably take more than two young martial artists to bring that monster down. What we need right now is someone that can attack from a larger range than me or Kouma, even if it’s not too long; just enough for that person to attack uninterrupted from a safe distance while Kouma and I distract the creature without taking too much damage.

I suppose it would be too ambitious of me to hope for Ryo getting a crossbow right now along with perfect sight and the skills of a trained sniper. I know I am being picky but just the crossbow really wouldn’t be enough because with Ryo’s current sight at long distance we had as much chance of becoming the target as the creature did…

“Hah!” A female voice said, and shortly after a sound that could only come of strong impact was heard.

Recognizing the sound of that voice I turned around to confirm my suspicions, and there she was; no, it wasn’t Shiina Ryo with a crossbow. That would be too weird, even for this particular story. I couldn’t be honestly expecting that, and so shouldn’t you. That would be completely unreasonable, like Reikoku-sensei coming out of nowhere with her telescopic pointer extended to a length that was at the very least ‘surprising’ and attacking the monstrous creature by using it like a whip. Very unlikely, I know. Especially because the mechanism that would allow it to morph both to a long lance-like stick and a folding whip just with a movement would probably take a ridiculously great time to be devised and it doesn’t sound very practical to anyone, except maybe for a teacher who is an oddity hunter in disguise. Not only that, the chances of such a character suddenly popping out to help us exactly when we need her are absurdly low: less than one in a million I’m afraid. That would be too unreasonable.

However, it was exactly what happened. How strangely convenient, indeed.

“What are you even doing here?” I asked when the creature fell.
“An old fat man dressed in red told me you would be here and that you would need help. It wouldn’t be logical to just believe anyone as easy as that, but since he was standing in front of your house and things are often weird around you I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.” Did she just justify her appearance by quoting the first line of the story? That’s it, I’m calling my agent. “He asked me to tell you that the two of you are even now and...”

Then we three hit the floor.

At that moment we learned a valuable lesson that they certainly don’t teach kids in school these days, especially in fictional villain schools: don’t stop attacking to start a dialogue because you’re enemy probably won’t be polite enough to wait for you.

Showing that it was not just a stupid creature without the ability to evolve, the monster developed a brand new body part in order to mimic the whip Reikoku-sensei used: a prehensile tail made of its plasma that reminded me of a scorpion’s, except for the surprisingly well-devised claw-like sting. The fact that thing created this deadly weapon after just seeing how other worked for such a small amount of time makes me genuinely worried, but relieved that Reikoku-sensei didn’t brought a sub-machinegun or a nuclear bomb to this fight; we already have enough trouble as it is right now.

I raised my face off the cold floor only to meet something that can only be defined as ‘bloody dreadful’. No, that’s not right: there are probably several other fitting adjectives for what I saw, but I didn’t mind much since we were about to be obliterated and we who are about to die do not care much about sounding good. Also, spending last moments at thinking on adjectives never helped anyone to go out with a smile as far as I’m concerned.

Did I just say a scorpion-like tail was bad enough? Oh, never mind; it’s never enough. Said prehensile part was dividing itself into several members right before our eyes and becoming one of my greatest fears, and I am not talking about trees but the exact thing those ancient forms of life have that scares me the most: tentacles. That’s it; we’re officially as good as dead.

A shattering noise filled the warehouse.

Just when I thought we were going to be defeated, the hope came from above; one of the enormous spotlights suddenly fell on the monster's deformed head. Struck by both the surprise attack and the heavy piece while it suffered a transformation, the creature kissed the definitely solid ground in the most audible painful way I could ever imagine. Mrs. Gravity attacked again!

"I told you… not to ignore me."

I looked up and saw Ryo hanging on the warehouse's roof metallic structure. She was controlling the lights from a cabin according to the plan, while Kouma was the one who would manually operate the door in the darkness. I guessed it had been really hard to get up there, especially for her; she was not the most athletic girl I knew, but her effort might have saved our lives by buying us time to counter-attack.

"Ryo!" I screamed, surprised by the relief just saying that name gave me. "You saved us!"

Despite the darkness we were into I could somehow figure she was smiling at me.

"I might not be a fighting freak of the nature such as Kouma and you, but I'm not a damsel in distress too, you know!” All the echoes of her voice die quickly, yet her deep heavy breath lingers and slowly spread through the warehouse. “On the other hand, that girl inside the monster is!"

And Ryo was right.

We all could just run and leave the mutant lizard monster behind, but that would mean leaving Ayaka behind as well. She might have done some bad and potentially awful things, but I don't think she deserves being possessed by this thing as a punishment.

Right now we're the only ones who can save her. We are her only hope.

Relying only on my companions and my instincts to save someone I have met only a few days before, I put everything on the line. I looked around and see something that could be used as a strong weapon, but might be much more effective if strategically used as a tool. It might be our key to victory.

"Kouma, the chain!"

After throwing it towards her direction, I raised my left arm and wrapped firmly the chain around it. Kouma immediately understood my plan and did the very same. Once she was finished, we ran with all our might; not away from nor towards the monster, but around it. We encircled the creature several times with the metal chain. Once restrained, the Shugoshin went berserk and tried to get free by breaking the chain as expected from a beast, but since its arms and tentacles were tightly surrounded the monster could not use its full strength.

"Now, sensei!"

Reikoku-sensei took off her glasses, revealing the face of a true sadist. She extended the telescopic pointer that now glowed green in the dark to its maximum (and dear, was it long) and raised it like she was going to deliver punishment to a kid I certainly wouldn’t like to be.

"Have you been a naughty boy?"

Now, that was completely unnecessary and uncalled for. Why would anyone say such a thing, especially during a battle for survival and salvation of a not-so-innocent girl? I have no doubts right now, that line was just pure fan service and I apologize for that. Well, unless you liked it and decided to buy the book just because of that. In that case, I won’t apologize but I feel forced to warn you that you are a broken person who should really seek for help, preferably not from women dressed as school teachers.

Moving on.

"FIVE!"

Contrasting to my teacher’s unbelievably loud battle cry which I could not make sense of, the creature moved its mouth as if screaming from the excruciating pain, but there were no words or sounds. That I understood a little bit too well.

"FOUR!"

Then it finally dawned on me: it was the countdown she showed at class that everyone was completely terrified of. Reikoku-sensei proceeded with the torture that was almost too painful to watch.

"THREE!"

The creature fell and evanesced, leaving behind only the shivering body of the culprit that was my classmate. While she seemed to have a fever, it was good for me to see that she was still alive and reasonably safe. It was finally over.

Kouma seemed to be as tired as I was, but she still found the strength to raise her thumb to tell me we did a good job along with a faint creepy smile that was almost sweet in that particular occasion.

We did it. We solved the case, we saved the day and everyone survived. Despite what Ayaka-chan pointed about the ''modus operandi'' we adopted, that still makes us the heroes, right? We are still the good guys here, right?

Right?

"What a weakling.” Said my teacher while putting her glasses back on, without any trace of mercy or compassion just like one should expect from someone that did that sort of thing all the time but not from an educator who dealt with young minds every day for a living. “You can barely call that an exorcism."

It was the last straw for me. How could she act cold like that after seeing the lives of three of her students in danger? I just was about to start an inflamed argument that would bring a little bit of storm to our calm moment, but then everything decided to change and definitely not for the best.

It was only reasonable that, a sick girl with practically zero physical strength and stamina shouldn’t engage into activities that required much of said attributes she lacked. It was also reasonable that, after doing something that required both attributes in a desperately fast way, the girl would probably faint like she almost did many times before while doing things that clearly required much less of her abilities.

Why couldn’t we foresee that, then?

How could we not expect her to pass out and fall from such height? Why did we only notice that Shiina Ryo was pushing her limits when we saw her unconscious body diving like a missile to the ground, without a single chance to defend herself?

How is it possible?

Shiina Ryo was now falling, special thanks to Mrs. Gravity acting as a major female dog as she always did. There was no stopping that, and unlike Kouma or even myself, there was absolutely no chance of her showing crazy fight movies’ moves and saving herself from the fall. No mysterious magical creature would envelop her body like in Ayaka’s case. She would not discover any psychic or anti-gravitational powers that would stop her from dying.

She was a common person and she was just going to free fall and directly hit the warehouse’s floor full of tools, chains and sorted mechanical parts with her back and head, most likely dying or becoming paraplegic with the trauma.

My own words resonated in my head.

A victory that requires some sacrifice is probably better than losing. I know I am the one that came up with that earlier this week, but I don’t want to believe it: if I do, then Ryo is going to count as the sacrifice for our victory and it makes everything fair.

I don’t want it to be fair, not this way.

The price should be the time and power we spent on this situation, and only that. Despite all the effort that was put into this battle and the trouble we had to create a situation where we could happily spend our days together, my best friend will probably die in front of me. Just like that.

There are many things in life we cannot control. Whether we are born in a good family or not, whether we’re extremely talented or below average, or even if we are of the right species, race or mindset for the survival in a certain environment.

At which point does a parasol becomes an umbrella?

What we can control is our behaviour, thus making our families good by fixing the problems between members and bonding with each other in times of need, and work hard until a commoner surpass a genius in his own game, and tricking a robot into making you mortal to be accepted as human. It’s now about how good your tools are for that service, but how you use and improvise with them as you go. If life gives you lemons, you’d better find a way to make an electrical battery out of them and to use the energy for something useful. Which is exactly what I am going to do.

When you need it to.

I am going to bend Time and Space, right here and right now.

(this is the part where a powered-up variation of the opening theme should start playing)

Probably, I haven’t actually done it the first time. In fact, there is a big chance that was just an impression caused by me over-reacting again like I usually do. Bizarre oddities and mysteries aside I admit I am too much of a paranoid and prone to delusions, so that kind of thing could happen to me. And that doesn’t mean anything to me. Even if I was mistaken, even if that was a lie I will have to make it become truth in order to achieve Ryo in time to save her.

And you know what? There is a great chance I am going to fail miserably, but I am going to do it anyway because this is what heroes do. Against all odds, probabilities and even common sense I will attempt something way beyond my capabilities having only sheer will power on my side and honestly, I still expect to win.

Because I couldn’t care less about Science than I do right now.

Because I have faced so many unrealistic things in my past that it wouldn’t be completely unreasonable if I didn’t develop some sort of power at this exact moment.

Because I have already changed inside and now it’s time to make the whole world change around me.

Because.

"UORYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a good catchphrase in time: I was too worried about defying Physics and forgot to look unbelievably cool, which also seems to be an important part of being a hero. I should have said something that the fans would be able to repeat on conventions and post on the Internet, and that would be used (even if slightly altered) on every big battle or dramatic situation. People love that kind of stuff, right?
It could be worse, though; I may have failed to look completely awesome, but I did manage to distort reality with the sole purpose of saving Shiina Ryo. Nothing is perfect, anyway.

That’s right. I made it.

Now, what a mystery I am becoming to myself: I never thought I had this ‘alpha male must save the girl’ thing inside me but that’s probably a built-in feature of my model, like the passion for soccer that burns the souls of everyone in Brazil. Wait, I did meet a Brazilian guy who disliked it, but he was a novelist and they just aren’t like you and me and therefore don’t count as ‘people’ when it comes to statistics. Just sayin’.

Thump.

In case you didn’t notice, I was just trying to get my mind to ignore the impact I was going to suffer when my friend lands on top of me. Now that it already happened, I see that it sure wasn’t great but not as ugly as I thought it would be. Just like a syringe injection at the doctor, or politics.

Her body felt unbelievably light when I held her in my arms, a fact Ms. Gravity desperately wanted to disagree with by still throwing me against the ground. It felt like I was holding a baby, and I didn't know that about Ryo. Once again I am starting to realize that there are a lot of things about her that I don't know.

I heard footsteps coming to my direction.

“Koukishin-kun, are you okay?” My teacher seemed to be honestly concerned, and that made me realize that I might have misjudged her. She is not a bad person, just probably a lawful neutral kind of character. “Answer me!”

“He took the impact to stop her fall, he is obviously not okay. Look at all those tools he fell on.” Kouma started checking on me with that small lantern of hers again. I wonder if she carries it around all the time. Girl purses sure are amazing hammerspace devices, with the capability to carry an infinite number of things. I should get one of those, although it might get me the wrong kind of attention considering I’m not in France anymore. Oh well, you can’t have everything. “Have you even considered Physics before doing that stupid action of yours?” She said, now directly to me.

No, I didn’t consider Physics: I was too busy defying it and trying to come up with a good catchphrase, and thankfully I only failed at the less important action of those two. Wait, maybe that meaningless scream could become a catchphrase. It happens once in a while in fiction, so why not? The girls could be right; maybe deep down I am an ‘''id''’ hero in denial just waiting to bloom as a hot-blooded macho protagonist like those found in eighties’ manga.

“Shin… tsu?”

My dearest friend and first person to actually believe in me was the legitimate owner of that sweet voice. She turned to face me, her eyes getting teary. I must be in a worse condition than I thought, and I’m pretty good at imagining awful things. However, I am better at pretending every single thing is alright when they’re not.

“Hello, sleepyhead.” Even I realized my voice was barely audible. “I’m glad you’re awake.”

“But…”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t raining or snowing as one should expect and all we had as background other than the mixture of steel and concrete above our heads was the dying dusk that slowly faded to a newborn dark, reaching us from the now open metal doors.

“Don’t worry, I’m tougher than most.” I reflexively smiled, not to assure her of what I was saying but actually at my own awfully bad bluff. “I just don’t think I’ll be able to do what I promised we would.” Coughing was slightly painful to me that time, and from the look on her face it’s safe to assume it showed. “I guess we’re not going to run together under the rain any time… soon.”

Then it was my turn to lose consciousness.

== Part 6 ==

Everything was so calm and silent it was hard to believe a battle had occurred here.

Actually, no. Not really. That would be an understatement. I have been in a few battlefields before, and after the heat of the battle is gone they all seem like this. It feels like you were listening to the world's loudest and most chaotic crossover thrash metal band ever and then suddenly you go completely deaf (yes, 1997 was a good year indeed). It's weird and you cannot help but feel empty, and it doesn't matter if you were enjoying or even understanding the song at all; from the moment it stops, you'll find yourself wishing it to come back even if you hated it with all your heart and soul.

Because it made you feel alive. There was action, and it was so fast and incredibly random it would seem constant to untrained eyes. It pierced your ears with its colorful riffs and striking drum hits. It made you dizzy and you felt like your head was about to explode because the song was so loud you couldn't hear yourself screaming. And then, there was nothing. Nothing, after a massive avalanche of vivid sounds.

It's just painfully awful, but so is life; we will learn to deal with it as we go and make it a pleasant experience by our very own effort, always hoping to have others that care enough to support us when we fall. This is what some of us call ‘living’.

Having that meaning in mind, I can honestly say I have never felt so alive.

“You really are tougher than most, aren’t you? To do such a brave yet stupid thing and walk out with nothing but bruises is really amazing, especially after that theatrical death speech. It was too well done for a first-timer, so I assume you’re already used to that.”

“Reikoku-sensei.” I finally opened my eyes and saw that at the moment we were outside the warehouse. “How is Ryo?”

My teacher sighed.

“Now I see why you’re not interested in Kouma-san at all.” I don’t think I understand what she meant by that or how is it relevant to this situation. At least I think I don’t. “She is alright, just terribly worried. I sent both girls to buy us something to drink after Kouma-san finished patching you up. The way Shiina Ryo looked at you was getting on my nerves, really.”
“What d you mean by pat…” As I tried to move, I noticed that under my jacket (that was covering me like a blanket) I was not wearing my shirt. Instead, what covered my torso like a female top were bandages and I could feel the scent of herbs flowing from them. “Kouma did this to me?”

“Yes, right after I finished taking photos of you for my personal gallery.” She looked away, probably because of the lack of reaction on my side. “You’re not in the mood for jokes, I get it. Yes, Kouma took care of Morimoto Ayaka and you. She took several things out of her tiny purse of hers just to find you medicine. You’d be amazed; it was just like a magician’s number. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t believe it, and I know that because I was here and I still don’t quite believe it.” Yeah I would. “Be sure to thank the doctor when she arrives and… never mind, here she comes.”

Feeling much better than I expected to but still very stiff and sore, I stood up and looked to the direction Reikoku-sensei faced and received something that in my condition could be considered a surprise attack. I was not given a chance to fight back, and in such circumstances there is only a single thing one can do: to receive the blow and hope for the best.

At that moment I was completely overwhelmed by Shiina Ryo’s embrace.

There was no need for words. We both had a long day and a not-so-short week and there was plenty of time to strengthen the bonds that were born online, so we actually knew how each other felt. We both have done our best to overcome personal obstacles. We both had won.

That time I actually hugged her back.

We stayed like that for a while, and it didn’t felt like an eternity at all; in fact, I honestly think she let me go prematurely, but I didn’t say anything because sounding clingy in front of Reikoku-sensei and Kouma Yon. Oh, right…

“Thank you very much for taking care of me, Kouma.” I felt somehow embarrassed for that public demonstration of affection, although I knew I shouldn’t. Maybe it’s the cultural shock of being in Japan, I’m not sure. “I wouldn’t have made it without you, partner.”

“You’re welcome.” Her face remained still. “Just keep in mind that this round is over, but not the competition.”

It didn’t took me a long time to see what she meant by those words, but it certainly took me longer than it should because I couldn’t make sense of Reikoku-sensei’s hand resting on her shoulder. Was she… being comforted? What for? I mean, I’m the one who fell upon sorted tools and mechanical parts.

As soon as Reikoku-sensei realized I could see what she was doing, she removed her hand gently enough for an untrained eye to take her gesture as natural. Then, in an obvious effort to avoid further questioning on that subject, she moved towards us and started talking to Ryo.

"You suggested a special task force to investigate and deal with Shugoshin or any other exquisite phenomena appearing in the city, right?” Reikoku-sensei looked like she was seriously considering that idea. "Sounds interesting. I suppose we can talk more about that on Monday.”

I was a little confused.

“Excuse me, what?” Did I say I was a little confused? I believe ‘borderline desperate’ fits much better. “We barely finished that monster and you are honestly considering turning this into a hobby? Not only that, isn’t it a little bit too soon to assume there are others?”

My teacher turned to face me.

“There are, and I refuse to say anything else right now.”

“Do you actually have a reason for doing so?”

“While I personally would love to, there is something slightly more important than that in my priority list right now.” She pointed to the girl who was still asleep, but not looking feverish anymore. Right, there’s the Ayaka situation. “About that, I need to talk to you in private for a second.”

“Sure.”

We took a few steps and then she whispered, presumably so neither Ryo nor Kouma would listen to her.

"I need you to take them away from here, because I will have to deal with Ayaka's parents now and that is most likely going to be the hardest part. Believe me, fighting that thing sounds like a piece of cake compared to having to explain to her parents that their daughter was technically possessed and might have problems with the local authorities, especially because of small things such as carrying weapons around. I don't think I will be home for dinner tonight, and I probably won't be able to visit you tomorrow as well. So, don’t worry about my portions, okay?" Slightly numb I nodded, honestly trying to ignore her calling my place ‘home’ once again.

We would only find out at Monday morning, but Ayaka had to transfer.

I didn't pay attention to the reason given by Reikoku-sensei, but I'm pretty sure most of the class will end up buying it. A certain group of girls will probably spread extremely surreal theories about this, and most of them will be about Minato and Ayaka's moving being directly related (which would be pretty much obvious, even for a complete idiot; I don't think anyone could actually believe it was a coincidence).

For a while, I suppose everyone will be talking about a big fight over a boy (partially truth) or how a friend made her family move in order to keep living close to the other and even about a romance between the two of them. I guess the way this story will end depends on their creativity alone, since calling one of the involved girls to ask what really happened would spoil everyone’s fun. In this particular case, it’s probably for the best.

And then, just after the heat of the moment is gone, everything will go back to normal again because small but economically developing cities are pretty much like that. I suppose that is what peace truly means: not the complete lack of problems or any events whatsoever but the unusual ability to make things get back on track and reach the same outcome even when they took different trajectories, completely ignoring the fact butterflies were tiring themselves flapping their magnificent wings on the other side of the world. It's the real world's version of the literary reset button, and surely it is useful.

Thankfully, the rest of that weekend was uneventful. There were no supernatural or mysterious elements from that point on and because of that, even Kouma seemed to be able to enjoy herself when we decided to meet spend the rest of the Saturday evening at Le Ciel Bleu after heading briefly to our respective homes to take the hot showers we deserved and needed so much. The mood lightened up and Kouma even tried to smile at a certain moment, but she wisely stopped herself when she saw the terrified look on the other customers' faces.

Sunday was calm, nearly monotonous. I woke up surprisingly early for someone who had just solved a mysterious case and fought barehanded a grotesque supernatural creature with reality shifting powers. From its very first moment I knew the day would be really empty and instantly grabbed my cell phone with the intention to call Ryo, and then I remembered Ayaka's case.

It’s time for some ‘book end epiphany’, which fits pretty well this story since I have not let go of that hypothesis yet. I have already grown a lot in a week; I learned that I should face my problems instead of running away because that's the only way I can protect the things that matter to me. If only I had learned it before I bet my life would have been easier, but I can't change the past. I can however avoid doing the same mistakes in the future and keep learning every day. And if I learned anything on this situation with Ayaka, it's that I should not base my happiness on other people. I am not sure if I am honestly romantically interested in Ryo yet, but even if I end up finding myself in love with her I'd better not be too dependent on her.

Besides, there is still plenty of time for us to actually decide on how we feel towards each other and develop something that could be properly called an amorous relationship; as I evolve so does my hypothesis, and I’m starting to believe I am actually living the beginning of a novel series.

Leaving the cell phone on the mahogany bedside table, I go to the window and once again gaze at the beautifully simple view of the city. After standing in front of the window for a while, I decide to do something I didn't have time to do since I got here. I turn on the amplifier with the bass guitar in my arms and get ready to practice for a couple hours.

I am certainly going to text her later, I know I will. After all, we're friends and it's not like we have much to do on a Sunday but chat. But right now I don’t feel such an unquenchable thirst for that; all I need to feel alive is my own self and a brand new jazzy tune.

I'm looking forward to the next week.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[The_Longing_Of_Shiina_Ryo:Volume1 Chapter 3: Kouma|Chapter 3: Kouma]]
| Return to [[The_Longing_Of_Shiina_Ryo|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[The_Longing_Of_Shiina_Ryo:Volume1 Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

The Longing Of Shiina Ryo:Volume1 Chapter 3: Kouma

2011-09-13T15:33:34Z

Starkiller4299: Whitespace readability edits.

== Part 1 ==

The first thing I noticed when I woke up in the morning was that I was full of energy. As I opened the windows, I listened to skylarks chirping and swallows twittering. The sound seemed to come from a beautiful cherry tree near my house, and was only interrupted by the sound of the departing geese flying above my house, probably in a V formation. It sure is spring.

I was in a good mood and had absolutely nothing to do at home, so decided to leave earlier than usual and take a nice walk to school.

Filled with spring orchids and cherry trees I failed to notice yesterday, the path seemed to be trying really hard to make sure I didn't forgot the season was spring. I don't mind; I love the spring. In fact, I love it so much I would spend the whole spring somewhere and when the summer decided to come, I would travel the world just to meet spring somewhere else again.

Now that I think about it, I have done such a thing. It wasn't that interesting or romantic, especially because I was being chased by mobsters. And aliens. And even a spy squirrel. No, really, a spy squirrel. This is so ridiculous I can't believe how someone would take me for a liar. I mean, if I were to lie about being hunted by something, it would certainly not be something like a squirrel. Even a serial liar would have some dignity.

It's interesting to see how different people react to the same thing. In this same situation (walking alone to school through this beautiful path, not being chased by a squirrel with license to kill), I guess Ryo would be looking at them happily like a kid seeing the circus for the first time. Wait, I must stop doing this; this is not the first time I compare her to a small kid in my thoughts. What if I ended up saying something like that out loud? She probably wouldn't be happy about this.

I kept walking through the streets that seemed to be a maze inside an endless urban garden.

What about Kouma? What would she think while surrounded by flowers? Well, she doesn't look like someone who likes spring very much. I can totally relate her to winter in my mind. However, it seems to me that while she tries to keep a facade of coldness and apathy towards anyone but Ryo she hides her sweet side deep inside herself. Her occasional bursts of feelings and the way she is concerned about Ryo made me think that there is a nice but tormented girl inside that apparently empty but incredibly well-dressed shell.

Maybe she is a little bit like Reikoku-sensei. Oh, I'm missing the point, here; I think that in the midst of this perfect, textbook example of spring Kouma would probably spend more time thinking about the biological classification of the flowers than about the beauty of the scene, but deep down she would eventually think "cute!”. I might be wrong, but that's what I believe.

I prefer not to ponder about sensei's reaction to this situation. Despite being a nice person (even if only to me), her taste for anything other than jazz is the kind of thing you don't want to imagine this early in the morning. Especially if you had breakfast. She really is into horror and it seems like she fits right into the "gore film aficionado" category.

Actually, I kind of like horror movies and I don't have anything against the old ones, but a certain scene from one of those movies is making me feel slightly uncomfortable about this walk. It shocked me, big time. Since then, I can't help but feel awkward when alone and surrounded by trees. I might still have the daylight, but the trees have their vines.

With that in mind, I decided to walk a little bit faster.

== Part 2 ==

No, I wasn't running. I was just, eh, walking a little bit faster. But you assumed I was running, didn't you? I knew it! You did assume I was running like a coward! Can't you read? And I was only moving myself slightly faster because I wanted to, not because I was afraid of trees and flowers or anything. Why would I?

Better safe than sorry, anyway.

I arrive at school without any events, and from what I could see I wouldn't have any events for a while; the school seemed even emptier than the streets. It was like a theater stage after the play is over. Like I was the only person on Earth.

Which would not be that bad, as long as there weren't any suspicious trees around me.

I enter the building where my class is located. The hall was silent and empty as the rest of the world seemed to be, but since there were absolutely no perennial woody plants in sight I started to relax. There were, indeed, a lot of wooden objects inside the school. Pencils, desks, chairs, even the floor. However, the thing that calmed me down was that they were all already dead. I just hope that no one at Greenpeace heard that one.

It didn't occur to me back then that in the same movie a girl was turned into a zombie with a pencil. Right, a pencil made of a dead tree. It doesn't make much sense, anyway. The movie is quite good, though. If you like that kind of movie and don't really care about details, it's worth a night of fun and weird dreams. Not really scary, just weird.

So, basically, I calmly walked through the hallway unaware of the fact that if my theory was indeed right and trees actually attacked people in what I can only describe as "an unorthodox way" I was trapped in the worst case scenario. Worse than a naked man rolling quickly into a dragon's den.

Everything seems to be worse when you're naked.

In much better spirits than before, I entered the classroom, which was (big surprise!) empty. I guess it's safe to say that I'm the first to step here today. That made me feel good about myself. Being the first one to enter an empty classroom is a great responsibility; it's such an honour, despite being such a small step...

I kept moving towards the last row, walking so slowly it was almost dramatic. Step by step, like a lion trying not to be detected by its prey. Every step felt special, every single of them was an omen. I just wasn't sure of what they were trying to tell me.

And then, when I reached my desk, I saw it.

A card.

A plain white card with absolutely nothing written on it was on my desk. The kind of card you would give to your contacts as a businessman. If you were one. If you had a decent job, I mean. If you had a job at all.

So yeah, a card.

I looked around and noticed that the other desks were completely empty. No one else had received a white card; no, I shouldn't suppose that someone sent it to me. No reason for that. There was no apparent reason for it to be there too, but it could have been an accident or something and...

...wait. Why am I making such a big deal about this? It's just a piece of paper. A common, standard, plain, ordinary piece of paper in blank. I can't be afraid of that. I really can't, and simply because I have seen too much and dealt with many weird things. It wouldn't make any sense. I need to stop being so paranoid; I won't be able to have a normal life if I don't quit sabotaging myself.

I just need to pick it up. Yes, I'll pick it up and nothing will happen to me. It will end up being a micro-love letter delivered in the wrong place, and after a lot of misunderstandings, fan service and confessions everyone will laugh. Everything will be just fine, right? Right?

Yeah, like that would happen.

Reality shifted clearly in front of my eyes. Crimsonness danced madly and spread through the once nearly monochromatic room like a paintbrush in the hand of an epileptic painter. In a second, the vivid red took over the room and distorted it. Around me, the classroom had literally changed from its natural state to a nightmarish, grotesque living hell.

Run.

Appalled, I look around out of the corners of my eyes, seeking for a hope I can't seem to find anywhere. Unable to move my body due to fear I ended up sinking slowly but not gently.

Run.

No visible means of leaving.

Run.

Being completely swallowed alive by a sea of red.

Run.

It took me a while to realize that the crimsonness enveloping the world was indeed alive, and every bloody strand emerging from its core was most likely a tentacle. Despair quickly invaded me as the enormous mass of red started closing in. I felt suffocated, almost claustrophobic; I was truly helpless in front of a power I could not understand and my worst fear had become truth.

It's here.

Symbols hovered in the midst of chaos like black ink butterflies, clearly unaffected by the closing storm of red. I felt like I had already seen that symbols somewhere else but for some reason, I couldn't make any sense of it. Actually, the reason might have been the fact that I was being crushed by something I have never seen before. I was right; it's always scarier when you don't know anything.

I cannot hide.

There is absolutely no escape from this.

In a moment of momentary madness, I wished for zombies or monstrous trees I could understand and eventually defeat. My wish was not granted, and as I was restrained by the grotesque ruby coloured creature I faced the truth I couldn't deny even if I wanted to with all of my soul.

Mystery had found me once again.

== Part 3 ==

And then I ran.

I admit it: I really, really ran that time.

As soon as the apparently interminable nightmare was over, I used all of the strength I had left to run away from the classroom. Not sure of how many minutes I have stood there, I rushed as if to compensate for the time I was completely catatonic and immersed into that wicked reality. I needed no more than a few seconds to move my body so fast anyone would have only seen a blur (if there was someone around to see me running down the hallway, that is).

The school seemed to be much larger now that I was trying to escape it. It didn't look like the place I had been yesterday, and I felt trapped. The crimsonness wasn't present, but the despair wouldn't let me go so easily.

So I ran and ran, but I still could not find a way out.

Like a scared rat in a maze, I kept running around without as much as a clue. Every room seemed dangerous and after that event, I felt like I was inside the enemy, but not in a good way. Not like Odysseus entering the city inside the Trojan horse but like a sinking boat. There were no visible exits to me; my brain had shut down and the single thing that stopped me from, well, stopping was sheer primal fear. When restrained, all I could think about was running away from that. Now I could only run, not thinking at all.

Every step meant nothing.

I jumped down the stairs, and without any grace gravity made me meet the ground with the same intensity I had inside of me.

Every sweat drop meant nothing.

I ached. Every single bit of me hurt, because I had accidentally bashed my knees and arms into objects while searching for a way out. The pain was now steady, controlled chaos striking.

Every breath meant absolutely nothing.

There was nothing particularly poetic or symbolic about it. Just despair.

Despair was everything, everywhere.

So I ran, falling several times and scraping my body here and there but not paying much attention to it. I was too scared to think about pain at that moment.

Too scared.

...

Eventually, I found an exit.

I ran towards it and found myself out of the school building, and a few seconds later I had passed the school entrance gates. Leaving a dumbfounded Shiina Ryo who tried to greet me behind. Without looking back even once.

I ran.

== Part 4 ==

Astonishingly realistic butterflies dance in the air, encircling me majestically as if to properly execute a ceremony to crown me King of Infinite Space. Playing the role of a true born star, my presence naturally provides illumination and warmness to the minuscule living bodies that gravitate around me. There is order in the expanding Universe, finally.

That's what they probably think. I guess.

To me, however, they are just like mere flies attracted to a cheap light they truly believe to be heaven. Also, I am most likely an ordinary man bound in a nut shell, without anything but his extraordinary inborn ability to attract the obscure almost instantly along with a high dosage of mostly justified paranoia.

Yes, my rationality is back, thank you for asking. Unfortunately, so is my chronic negativism.

I ended up at the same park I visited on Sunday, and only because I was too tired to keep running at random. Despite being used to running away from things and places, I am not very good at de facto running. Quite interesting, huh? My legs sorely hurt and I felt my whole body was bruised and/or scraped, so when I ran out of energy I simply allowed Mrs. Gravity to put me down as delicately as she could, laying me on the grassy ground. She's not really gentle, Mrs. Gravity. I'll keep that in mind.

Feeling slightly better, I tried to stand up just to find out that I couldn't; since I had no balance nor strength left I fell again, feeling like my legs were an imploding building. Sitting on my legs, I decided to quit trying to stand up. Maybe it's better for me to stay like this for a while.

Then I had the faux poetic butterfly moment and now I'm here.

Alone.

Surrounded by trees and not caring much about that. I do know that wasting time thinking about it means I do care, even if only a little. However, I just wanted to state that I am not, at least not in this very moment, afraid of, say, trees. Just for the record.

And since I'm being honest, it wasn't the distorted world I saw that scared me.

How can I say it without sounding like an idiot? I want to avoid clichés and tropes, but it is really hard to me. I am not that good at expressing myself, and that's probably the main reason why people often think badly of me. The truth is usually simple, but making a poor choice of words can ruin a lawyer's good case and convict an innocent man. Hence, I'll try to be as direct as I can and hope I don't ruin everything as I usually do.

Here we go: while I cannot deny the fact that I was afraid of something, I can only say that it wasn't the red dimension that scared me. That's because I had seen worse things many times before. Really. What really worried me was...

My cell phone rings, suddenly interrupting my train of thought and making my royal butterfly court fly away gracefully. Which is quite awkward, since not all butterflies have auditory systems. What a fortunate coincidence it is, to have only specimens of one of those specific subspecies hovering around me just in time to mark a change with a fairly popular graphical effect! I thought this kind of thing happened only in novels!

Self-parody aside, it doesn't take a genius to find out who was calling me. Actually, it does; given the circumstances, I could be receiving a call from a video tape girl from the underworld or from a masked killer. No, wait, not only important people with lines that are actually relevant to the plot make telephone calls; it might just be someone trying to call to a pizza delivery service or something.

Yeah, like that would happen.

Honestly, I only answered the call because the name on the screen was Ryo's. My cell phone rang several times while I was running, but I wasn't thinking about it enough to pick up the calls. Now that I think about it, the one calling me as I hurried away was probably her. After leaving like a madman without saying anything to her I guess I owe her an explanation.

"You're... pretty fast, aren't you?" Breathless, Ryo sounds like she is going to pass out any minute now. It's even worse than yesterday, which is quite concerning. "I tried to follow you, but... as I said before... I don't have much stamina."

She tries to laugh to make this moment a little lighter but ends up coughing and only greatly increasing the size my worries. And there is only someone I can blame for this situation; the one whose behavior made a friend worry so much she immoderately ran after him despite her body limitations.

"I'm sorry. I really am. This is all my fa-"

"Cut it out." She suddenly stops me. We stay silent for almost a whole minute. I mean, I stay silent; she actually tried to, but I could hear her breathing through the phone. By the time she starts talking again, her breathing is once again under control, but still weaker than the usual resulting in a soft, whispery voice. "I went after you on my own, so if it is anyone's fault, it's mine. You really need to stop blaming yourself for the mistakes of other people." Despite kind of deserving it, I didn't saw that coming. "Now, tell me what happened at school."

So I told her everything. I know that based on Kouma's assumption, this was a reckless thing to do; if Ryo really had big problems, I shouldn't worry her more with issues of my own. However, I couldn't help myself. I needed to talk to someone; I only noticed when I started telling the story to her, but despite trying to keep a cool state of mind I was still very, very nervous. When it comes to nerves, body and mind are not always found in the same tune, tempo or harmonic series for that matter. The result is the same as completely improvised polyrhythmic solos in live music: sometimes it might sound jazzy, intriguing and creative but mostly the results are utterly disastrous, true born mood ruiners.

There is another reason, though. I don't feel like hiding things from her. I simply don't. She is the one who had been there for me for a while, and probably the only one who really believes in me. Not in my uncommon stories who tend to become even weirder every minute, but in me as a person.

So, unless I must, I won't hide anything from my best friend. Obviously, I classify telling her "Kouma is a manipulative psychopath who thinks her good intentions make up for any bad deeds she performs" as something I must hide. For now, at least.

I'll suppress the dialogue that followed, since you already know what happened and Ryo is a very good listener, interrupting me only when I forgot to mention some detail that might have seemed quite obvious to me, but not to everyone else who doesn't happen to be inside my mind. After listening to my weird fiction-like tale, she only tells me to go home and calm down. Which would end up being just comforting common sense if she hadn't added that unusual, rather preoccupying sentence.

"Don't worry about anything, I will find a way."

I wonder if I managed to run into the mafia once again.

== Part 5 ==

The boxes.

The boxes are staring at me.

Probably staring back, because I have been looking at them since I came home. I don't blame them, poor boxes. I came home after Ryo hung up, and the oppressive silence in this house is driving me crazy. I bet this is being hard to everyone, even for the unanimated objects.

To run away from the weird, I came to this small town only to meet a split personality teacher, a possessive psychopathic fashionista with severely broken friendship ideals, a supernatural mind-blowing entity and now I get the hint that Ryo, the apparently fragile yet common girl who was my only link to the normal world, is in fact some kind of mobster. So, yeah.

My third day here barely started and I already feel tempted to move again.

The memories of what happened in class this morning are still too vivid, too real. Burned into my retina, the image of a bizarre world that seemed to be only waiting for me. The proof that I can't outrun Mystery. It found me again, and I can't help but despair. There is no hope, anywhere.

Once again, I feel forced to state it's not about the supposedly terrifying and truthfully obnoxious supernatural vision. After all I have seen in the past years, they don't even scare me that much anymore (truly unfortunate hazards of the profession); it's the lack of peace that bothers me. I'm always forced to run and leave everything behind all of a sudden, and I do realize that this have become a habit to me. However, I don't see any other alternative. I am, indeed, a walking lightning rod for disaster and staying here would only make things worse for everyone.

''Keep saying that to yourself, kid.
It makes you sound less of a wussy, and we certainly need it to sell the novel.''

Oh, you're here.

''And you won't be here for long, right?''

Yeah, I'm seriously thinking about packing up and leaving. Feel free to stay, if you want to.

''I wish.
You really embarrass me with your completely unneeded drama.''

So you think I actually enjoy having to do this? Don't you think I'd rather stay here with Ryo and have a normal life like everyone else? I have been dealing with this stupid thing for too long, and I'm just what you called me: a kid! A kid dealing with problems an adult wouldn't be able to! And I'm so sick of your comments! You are nothing more than a stupid voice at the back of my head that is good for nothing but bring me down! So don't you dare make me feel worse about this when my own parents were relieved to get rid of me! You know absolutely nothing about me!

...

Everything went silent and I never had the chance to ask if this was really a novel.

It stayed like that for exactly seven minutes and forty-three seconds until the doorbell rang. I tried to ignore it, but the person (assuming that it wasn't a tentacle-like tree vine) pressing the button persisted, like winners and travelling salesmen usually do. So it kept ringing and ringing.

Right now I'm not sure if I was touched by the beauty in the other party's perseveration or just got annoyed by that constant high-pitched noise, but it is true that I went down and opened the door. Probably the latter, taking in consideration my hand had turned into a blazing fist.

As soon as I opened that door, I found myself glad to have a fist of my own ready because my foe surely did.

My attacker's moves were lightning fast and I could feel the killing intent present in every single blow she dealt. She pushed me back inside my house with strong punches that could have broken my bones if I had used my arms to directly defend myself instead of striking her arms before she could hit me in order to make she waste her energy. Imagine that her attacks were just like river waters; basically, I chose to fight back by redirecting her strength like a floodgate and not simply block the flow and take the damage like a simple dam.

It seemed to be the most reasonable thing to do at the moment, especially because I was fighting for my life against someone who was obviously pretty good at modern wushu. Not a master, as someone used to reading novels would expect; just a dedicated student with incredibly powerful fists of doom.

Once again, hazards of the profession. When you get into trouble all the time you end up developing insane reflexes, an unusual way of thinking and even learning a thing or two about self-defense, martial arts and stuff. It's not like I'm good enough to become a kung fu movie stuntman, but it was surely enough to keep me alive after Kouma Yon's otherwise deathly attack.

Right, Kouma is the one trying to kill me.

Without enough time to dialogue, I can only keep striking back. Her fighting style is furious and harsh like an untamed stallion, which is completely unexpected from a girl like Kouma. She is certainly not an adversary to be messed with. Her small fists are powerful and merciless and that's why I cannot afford to hold back just because she is a girl. Especially because that would go against my feminist ideals. There, I said it.

There are many different schools in chinese martial arts, but only two real kinds of style; there is hard and there is soft. While Kouma's mighty attacks come from her training on the external part of fighting such as hitting other people and breaking stuff with bare hands, mine focuses on the internal side with breathing techniques, controlling the energy's flow and meditation.

Guess which style is more useful when you're in the middle of the battle of your life.

Kouma is certainly stronger than me. It is quite obvious to me now that she is not one of the soft school Chinese martial arts students; her style is based on body's strength instead of mind's balance. Which might be the only reason why I am still alive and fighting back.

Too bad, you guessed wrong; when two different fighting styles clash, it's all about not being hit before your opponent is. And since the soft school trains keeping yourself calm and not wasting energy, it's clear to me that if I keep avoiding her strikes and preventing her from hitting me, I have bigger chances to be the victorious one. Piece of cake, right?

Wrong again. I haven't trained in a while and I don't think Kouma could say the same. My techniques are rusty and my body is not used to fighting; I'm actually more skilled at running away. Not for long distances, I'm afraid. Still, I am in worse shape than I was a few years ago and I don't believe I am in conditions to fight Kouma to exhaustion.

Which means I am, in this very moment, fighting a great amount of fire with a half empty bucket of water. Right now, I only wish I had practiced more; Kouma is clearly far more skilled than I am in fighting, and this difference is going to show soon. It's only a matter of time before she overpowers me, unless I manage to do something about it.

No, wait; am I really inside a novel? I know it’s not the time to have an epiphany or an existential crisis, but that certainly explains a few things. Not exactly, but it is certainly a fine lie. Easier to swallow than the awful truth, anyway. It works as a decent excuse for the uncommon things that happened to me and to my obvious excess of thinking. No one thinks that much in the real world. Wait, I wouldn’t know that; considering I might a novel character, I could never been a real world common human. Perhaps.

Gracefully she jumps and misses by a hair an imperfectly calculated flying kick, making me retreat a step instinctively while she was still floating in mid air. It seems I’m not the only one who is not in good terms with Lady Gravity; Kouma is outrageously defying it/her. I really need to come up with a decent strategy to either defeat her instantly or restrain her until I can calm her down; if it keeps like this, I will certainly...

And then I got struck right in the face by her other foot and was sent flying through the living room.

I was way too naïve. How could I have ignored it? The perfect circle she had traced in air with her right leg was but the omen of something much, much bigger. The way she twisted her body, keeping her almost perfectly horizontally aligned; I should have seen that it was only a trick to distract me, taking my attention away from the other leg. Not a common flying kick as I thought it was, but a butterfly kick.

Trying to ignore the pain and heat present in the left side of my face, I realize that she wasn't trying to kill me. While beautiful aesthetically, the butterfly kick is surely not the most effective attack. To use such a low damage rate attack after finding a breach in the opponent's defense, she is probably...

Now it's not the time to analyze her attacks or intentions. I need to stand up.

When I manage to, she is already waiting for me. However, there is a big difference this time; we are now on my living room. How is it different, you ask? You can't be possibly expecting me to be happy about fighting in here when I spent a great deal of my time yesterday trying to fix everything up. There is no way I'm going to let her Kouma to walk in and destroy everything; I won't allow her to ruin my beautiful living room, even if I die in order to defend it!

Switching our roles was the obvious thing to do.

Kouma first tried to punch me, so I avoided it and grabbed her left wrist. Surprised by the sudden change in my fighting style she attacked with another punch, resulting once again in a wrist restraint. She raised her left leg furiously to kick me (and I'm not even going to say where, since I intend to keep this clean and free of parental guidance warnings), but this time my chromosome-influenced slightly superior physical strength (sorry girls, it just happens) finally overwhelmed her and I used the impulse to throw her forcefully against the wall while holding both of her wrists, our bodies sweating and synchronizing in the same pulse at that very moment.

Picture that scene. Go on, I know you want to.

Her eyes were now full of expression (overflowing with burning rage to be more specific); not only uncontrollable mad anger but a gracious tear glow, like a diamond exposing the Sun’s full color spectrum by letting the rays of light pass through itself.

No, not only fury.

Tears.

The girl I couldn’t even imagine feeling anything yesterday was now crying in front of me, like I had took something very, very important from her.

“Release me, you jerk!” She screams, raising the chances someone passing by the streets come here and turn this sudden fight development into a police case. This is getting dangerous; I’m way too pretty for jail. “I’m going to make you pay for that!”

And maybe I did. The problem is, I don’t really know if I did it. I don’t even happen to know what I don’t know I did. And even if I did know what I she believes I did, it wouldn’t mean I have done it. So, I need an explanation about what I possibly have done and evidence of me actually doing it. A semantics book would be fine, too.

“Hey, Kouma…” I say, negligently releasing her hands. “Could you be more specific? What exactly do you think I have don-”

I had released her hands alright. Problem is, by the time I took my hands away from her wrists they weren’t just hands anymore. They were, once again, blazing fists of death.

Lucky me.

Indeed. If it wasn’t for my sudden burst of luck, this story would be lacking a narrator. A living narrator, anyway; stories with posthumous narrators are becoming rather popular these days. Since there are a lot of supernatural elements in this particular one, I might keep my job after being buried. No, I think you need to be leastwise slightly alive to be the protagonist of a slice-of-life story. If anything you need to have, at any rate, a slice of your life.

About that luck thing.

Kouma wasn’t completely free to move when she decided to attack me. Afraid of rather disturbing retaliations, I kept my hold on her leg strong as I could. This fear was proven useful when she tried punching me, just as cavemen’s primal fear of well, deathly things. You got the idea, I hope.

I was lucky to be in a fictional world with a certain working level of coherent Physics.

When Kouma moved her arms to punch me with all of her strength, the driving force used on that physical action worked as an impulse that sent us spinning earthward, and those unbelievably fast revolutions didn’t stopped when we hit the floor. As opposing sides of the Yin Yang, the enemies revolved on their common axis until they stroke the room’s center table, resulting in falling moving boxes and great pain for both sides.

At least for mine, that I guarantee you.

Once bitten, twice shy; as soon as we stopped rolling like hay balls on a particularly powerful storm, I took advantage on the fact I was on top of her and once again held her by the wrists to avoid future attacks. Since I cannot trust Kouma to talk to me rationally right now (not while she can hit me), overpowering her completely might be for the best.

“Hah! You’re mine now!” I screamed with hints of madness, and then became truly aware of the situation.

Crazy looking guy? Check. Crying girl on the floor, being held by said guy in a rather uncomfortable pose? Check. Front door open to the streets, more than susceptible to attract the attention of curious passersby? Check. Negative luck on the guy’s side, making him a living sitting-duck in a world where every single person seems to have a gun? Double-check, triple-check, checkmate. Check it as much as you wish.

It would certainly look like I was taking advantage of something else (in this specific case, someone) other than the fact I was on top of her. Not that the first thing is completely unrelated, anyway.

I was just going to say this is not getting any better, but I guess it’s most likely a question of points of view.

Let’s check the facts, shall we? Lady Gravity did throw me to the ground, but she also sent a pretty girl along to make my fall, say, lighter. Also, said pretty girl did rolled with my on that ground, and I ended up on top, resulting in a fan service scene a little bit more risqué than the latter. Which is indeed a great thing for this humble character and quite a teaser for the average reader but it won’t help much selling the book since, well, we’re already in the middle of it. Bad marketing planning on the author’s part.

Just like this fight. I mean, no matter how much our society pretends to be open-minded, most of the audience won’t like the fact I fought Kouma, a girl, even if to defend my life. And those who see it as a good thing, because it was a fair fight between someone of the male persuasion and an equally (if not more) skilled female fighter, will complain about me winning the battle (yet would have clapped their hands if she had won). The only ones who are truly neutral about this are the people who liked this scene because of the blatant fan service.

There is no way I can please everyone right now. There is no turning point. So, in order to displease equally Greeks, Trojans and perverts, I will make the plot quickly advance by ending this action scene with the only thing whose mere trace can instantly kill the fun of any form of fiction: logic.

“Kouma, listen to me: while killing someone for no particular reason might be a recurring plot in anime and movies, it has some rather unfortunate implications in real life.” I said that hoping that I am the only one who noticed that we are in a novel. Well, noticed might not be the right term since it is only a theory induced by paranoia, but still... “You’re not being reasonable right now, and despite knowing you for no more than a short amount of time, I don’t think you are the kind of person who does this kind of thing.” Actually, I do. I seriously believe I’m lucky you didn’t come here with a sub machinegun. “Can’t we sit down and talk about this issue?”

She looked at me for a while, probably stunned by seeing me not talking like a complete idiot when around her.

“…fine.” Her voice was softer and breathy, almost to the extent of mellow. “I will explain my point and listen to your defense, like in a proper trial. After that, I will merciless deliver punishment. Is that alright?”

Just as reasonable as some governments.

Reasonable enough, anyway.

“Well, while I don’t entirely agree with you, I guess we can move on. Until the punishment part, I mean.” Sighing seems to be the only proper thing to do right now. Maybe there is such a thing as sigh timing. Like comic timing. Maybe my sigh timing is good especially because my comic timing sucks. Maybe. “First things first: why specifically do you want do deliver punishment to me?”

She gave me an upgraded version of that blasé look of hers.

“Isn’t it obvious?” No, not really. “I’m going to make you pay for making Ryo cry!”

== Part 6 ==

Apparently, the last time Kouma Yon saw Ryo cry was when the latter’s father passed away.

They were in elementary school’s first grade at the time, so Ryo must have suffered a lot. I don’t know if I could cope with that kind of feelings if something like that happened to me today and I don’t want to think about how I would have turned out without one or both of my parents. Being slightly absent is one thing, being separated by six feet of earth and spiritual/material world issues is a completely different one.

I really shouldn’t joke about this.

Anyway, it seems Ryo was truly worried about me. Worried to the point of crying after years of keeping a façade, worried to the point of making Kouma worry about her. Thankfully, they are not the most popular girls in school; otherwise we’d have a mass domino effect situation fueled by a little bit of ghostly influence but mostly by teen drama.

I shouldn’t joke about this either.

However, humor is my only current weapon to deal with the guilt. It would be hard not to notice; besides me and Kouma, no one in class seemed to be particularly fond of Ryo. The fact she is a walking nerd stereotype surely doesn’t get her any popularity points, except for the middle-aged ''otaku'' guys at the maid café. Let’s face it: just as me, she probably doesn’t have many real friends. Based on the unreasonable amount of time she spends connected to the Internet dealing mostly with sheer data for her projects, it’s not something that would surprise anyone.

A few things in life work proportionally. For a common person with several friends, seeing one of them having a hard time and moving to God knows where is certainly stressing and might be the source of many, many tears. Think about how it feels like, having fifty-percent of your friends moving to your town and, when everything seems to be starting to get better, wanting to go away from the town (and incidentally, from you) after telling a rather fantastical story. When you already are, according to the other half of your friends, a complete, massive sentimental wreck.

Please ponder about it for a while.

Kouma might as well punish me, for I am guilty. I was too careless, too selfish. After Kouma’s warning/menace I shouldn’t have told that occurrence to Ryo (or, at least, thought twice about doing so), but I really felt like telling it to someone. I thought I would explode if I didn’t, yet I almost made my best and only friend explode herself by doing so.

I am officially an idiot.

“You really are an idiot.” Kouma said, bringing me back to the real world.
“I don’t remember saying that out loud. How on Earth could you reply to that? Do you have some kind of mind powers?”

She looked quite disturbed.

“Reply to what?”

First a wave of shock. Then everything feels normal and you get used to that once odd feeling. Pretty much like listening to mathcore for the very first time.

“…I see.” I said, a little less devastated. “You’re just being the usual Kouma Yon.”

Her eyes rolled so quickly that for one second I thought they were going to pop out of her face.

“Seriously; you are very, very weird.” She made what I can only think of as a calculated pause. “So, tell me what happened to you that made Ryo worry so much."

“Haven’t she told you already?"

“I am assuming you never heard Ryo’s voice while she is crying.” Kouma sighed like an old man remembering the tough days of war. “Good for you. I could barely understand your name in the middle of that mess.”

“Ah.”

“Go on. Talking to a friend might not have helped much, but talking about it to a semi-stranger won’t do any worse.”

I was not sure of how I should feel about her statement. First, she made it very clear: we are not friends. Then, she offered her attention to a problem of mine with the cool attitude of a ''manga''-like big brother. Maybe she does have a personality disorder.

Still, she is the sanest person I have seen all day and, even better than that, she is here. With that in mind, I proceed to tell Kouma the dreadful story that happened to me, both before coming to this town and today.

“Is that all?” Kouma said when I finished my minimalist summary. After three hours. Despite her expressionless face being the same from the beginning to the very end, I’m betting no one would enjoy listening to the Director’s Cut.
“...yeah.” Breathless and feeling my throat becoming sour, I can only think about never having to talk again. A dream that won’t come true, unless the author finds a way to make a dialogue-based story with a mute main character work. If only this was a console RPG, my hopes and dreams could become true. “Pretty much.”

She stood up and started clapping her hands, and I noticed it was the second time I received a standing ovation since I came to this city. It must be one of those cultural things.

“You sir, are either insane or the best liar I have ever met. Either way, you are completely mental.” No, you’re mental! Even the same sentence! How dare you invade my mind without my permission? No, wait, that was a conceptual mistake of mine: it can only be considered an ‘invasion’ if the affected party does not agree, so please go on. Wait a minute, there’s something wrong here! “You couldn’t possibly expect me to believe all that nonsense. This was not wasted time, however.”

“Really?” I firmly protested. “You claim you don’t believe a single word of what I told you and yet you say we were not wasting our time. How so?”

“I just found out why Ryo is interested in you.”

“May I ask why?”

“Sure. It’s all about Sigmund Freud.”

What?

“What?”

That’s what I thought.

“Sigmund Freud.” Kouma answered, breaking the noir novel depressing ping-pong monologue mood at once. “Jewish-Austrian neurologist? Father of Psychoanalysis? Born in May 6th of 1856?”

“I know who Freud was! I’m just trying to see the relation between him and Ryo’s interest in me!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Actually, every time you say that it just means your line of thought is not obvious at all. “Electra Complex.”

“…Electra Complex?”

“What are you, a parrot?” Deep. Sigh. “Let me make it easy to you: her father was a storyteller too, except he made money out of it. He was a fairly decent novelist, specialized in urban fantasy stories. You are, without a trace of doubt, a great storyteller; you told me the most unbelievable story I have ever heard, yet you pronounced every word like it was an absolute truth you based your life on. Sort of.” While her cold attitude remained the same (no sudden dramatic changes like before, thank Heavens), Kouma seemed to be rather discomposed now that she unwillingly complimented me. “Her affection towards you is but a child’s; she is just looking for a replacement for her dad’s figure.”

“Ah.”

There was indeed a little bit of sense in what Kouma was saying, except she almost completely lost the track: giving it some thought, I noticed that it’s very unlikely that Shiina Ryo became friends with me just to fill a gap in her heart; I mean, we have around ten years between that incident and now. Some people do take longer times than others to get over something, but ten years is more than enough time for anyone to decide if they are either going to sink or swim. Ryo’s decision of becoming a novelist was most likely the only influence in her attitude directly left by her father’s death. Plus, only Jung would have said Electra Complex; Freud himself rejected the term, as it emphasized the analogy between the attitude of the two sexes.

The girls are not the only ones who read around here, you know.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Said Kouma Yon, not giving me any chances to point out obvious flaws in her logic. “Run away like you presumably always did?”

“…I’m not sure.” I finally said.

Disappointment was the only thing showing in Kouma’s eyes.

“You’d better decide soon. I cannot pretend Ryo is going to be alright without you here right now, especially if you leave under these circumstances, but I won’t stop you if that’s what you want. It’s your life, after all. If you choose to go, I hope you are wise enough to never talk to her again. Cleaning up the mess you made will already be a tough job, but I guess I can take it. However, if you stay I will certainly make you take responsibility for your actions; it will not be just your life, but hers as well.”

I think it’s the first time I have seen Kouma being truly mature instead of acting cool. I mean, it’s easy to see why she turned out like that now. She probably wasn’t creepy like that when she was younger; she most likely forced herself to become like that in order to help her only friend. Sounds weird, but I’ve seen that kind of thing happen before. People often change as they get closer to other. This evolution is their form to adapt and achieve equilibrium together.

I, too, have lost my balance.

Ryo might not be the only one seeking for a replacement or a savior here. Who am I fooling, really? I have been living like a damsel in distress, hopelessly running around crying and expecting to find something that worked as a magical hero that would bring me my happy ending when I should be the one seeking for that. I ran for my whole life and it never changed my situation. If anything, it changed only the shape of the enemy and the background; the battle remained the same.

I, too, need to grow up, and there is only one way of doing so, the right way for me; I need to fight back Mystery and solve it, once and for all.

Standing up, focusing on my target.

Breathe.

Walking to the kitchen, every step a small revolution.

Breathe.

Grabbing a matchbox, not looking back once.

Just breathe.

“I am not running away. Not anymore.”

The sudden friction generated a blue spark of pure burning energy, a flame so weak and surreal when compared to the light inside my soul. Like our Sun in comparison to the Pistol Star; no, V382 Carinae. Maybe not VY Canis Majoris, but certainly V382 Carinae.

I set fire on the paperboard moving boxes to make sure I would not look back or feel any temptations. This is it; I'm standing my ground and I'm going to earn the peace I longed for so long with my very own hands.

Like a man.

A manly man.

...gosh, this is getting old so quickly.

"Burning inanimate objects as a symbolic gesture for revolution is really, really lame. Even for you.” Spoke the fashionista. “Worst than that, the boxes you burned down could be easily replaced after a single stop at a convenience store, so there is nothing epic about it. And you might end up buying the same kind of objects, since burning something that holds you down is but a standard graphical representation and you need the dreadful objects anyway." She only nodded and shook her head. "Boy, are we feeling feminist today."

Now, I'm not sure if I became angry because she ruined my turning point moment or simply because she sort of mocked the feminist ideals I believe so strongly in. Wait, what?

"Why is everyone always trying to judge my actions? Stop acting like a psychoanalyst and just go home, Kouma!" I only realized what I had done when I had already screamed at her without a good reason.

“People often do that, so get used to it. Also, stop screaming to the ones who are going to help you on your personal coming-of-age issues. We’re going to solve that case and go back to our mediocre, boring teenager lives.” Once again, she seemed flustered. “And don’t get any weird ideas, I’m doing this for Ryo-chan’s sake.”

"I'm sorry.” I reflexively bow, not because of respect but mostly to avoid Kouma’s gaze; if she found out I was almost laughing, I’d be done for. “Just leave me alone for now, please. We’ll discuss that at school tomorrow." I added in a murmur, faux-shamefully.

Kouma Yon just looked at me, contemplating the situation. After a while she sighed and opened her petite mouth.

"No."

"...excuse-me, what?"

"No, I'm not going home. I’m sorry, but that is not going to happen.” She pondered about it for a while. “Well, actually, no; I am going home eventually. ‘Youngsters living together’ is not the kind of development we’re going to have in this story, at least not now. That would be too uncalled for and would most likely turn this into a harem situation.” Wait, then she knows about this being a novel! “What I mean is: right now, I'm staying here with you."

…

Fine, I admit it; that was kind of cute.

Don’t tell her.

"...I could just throw you out, you know." I say, pretending to be upset. Truth is I don’t really want to be alone right now, but I don’t want to be a burden to anyone. Specially Kouma. If half of what I think I know about her is true, she already has enough of that with Ryo.

She gave one of those evil grins, and I couldn't help but notice the contrast between her way of smiling and Ryo's. To be honest, I would think about anything to keep her smile out of my mind. It's really, really scary.

"I guess you could try." Oh my, she even winked at me while smiling in that awful way of hers. Surely. Not. Cute. "For now, don't you think it's better to stop the fire before it burns your house down?"

== Part 7 ==

In the end, after I assured her I was fine, Kouma went home and I had a peaceful moment to reflect on my actions and think about the future on my own.

"Shin-tsu, are you sure that you need all that chicken?"

Yeah, like that would happen.

I did manage to make Kouma stay away from my home, anyway. But, in order to do so, I had to go out with her.

No, not a date.

Seriously, no.

I'm not that popular, and I don't think she would like me. I have more than two dimensions, you see.

We just came to the market together because, apparently, all that fighting and talking made her hungry and my house smelled like an old oven. Obviously, we could just have eaten those instant ramen cups Reikoku-sensei brought me last night, but I actually felt like going out and Kouma wanted taiyaki.

What a big surprise.

She might get fat if things keep like this. I don't think her fabulous clothes would fit anymore. Which would be a disaster. So, it’s safe to say it would be quite a waste if all that fish-shaped cakes got her a large waist. Ha-ha.

Oh boy, that was amusing.

…

Anyway, I decided to make her eat something truly healthy for a change.

“Shin-tsu, did you get lost in thought again?”

Broccoli chicken salad sounded like a great idea to me because it takes only around 15 minutes to be ready. I’m guessing she eats meat, since I don’t know any other manipulative yet extremely violent vegetarian. Biased, me? No, not really; I just happened to see the way she looked at the raw meat in the refrigerated section of the market, but didn’t wanted to use it as an excuse or even remember it (as a feminist, I have a certain disdain for that kind of look; it’s built-in).

That girl is most certainly a predator, anyway. Her actions and bizarre logic qualify her as either that or an alien.

“Oi, I’m still here!” She said while pinching me with such effort I felt her fingernails harshly dig and drill into my skin, despite the thick jeans jacket I wore that was supposed to suppress some of the damage caused by, say, natural forces and crazy fashion victims. Suing the company for not making armor-like, Kouma-proof clothing seems the only reasonable thing to do.

It is very hard for me not to compare her and Ryo, especially because of their contrasting actions and the way they respond differently to the same kind of impulse. Thinking how those two ended up being friends for a decade is even harder. And I don’t even want to know how hard it might be to think about having a place and a future in this town.

It’s just better not to ponder about certain things.

“Yeah, we do.” I finally reply, mostly intending to stop her from tearing my arm apart completely. “I am not intending to use all of it in today’s dish, though; considering the unusual occurrences that happened to me today and the fact that both you and Ryo have promised to help me, I’m guessing I will be cooking meals for more than one person for a while.” 
“We could just come to the market when hungry.”

“That would be a nuisance, and it could be in the way of our train of thought. I mean, what if we get hungry just a few steps away from solving the mystery? That would be too distracting, and there is a great chance we won’t be on the same track after the sudden break.”

“Good point. What do you intend to cook?” She said as we moved towards the produce section to get vegetables.

“Let me see… Tonight we’ll have broccoli chicken salad, if that’s okay with you. For tomorrow, I was thinking about something a little bit more traditional, like Yakisoba.”

“I have no complaints about tonight’s dish, but you really should keep in mind that Ryo is not much of a fan of red-”

“-red pickled ginger.” It was a little embarrassing for both of us to say it at the same time, but I guess it shows we have something we care about in common. Someone. “I was thinking about that earlier and I have just the right recipe, so don’t worry.” Then I stop myself just before having another cooking show moment; that is a dangerous territory for a male’s reputation. “Is there anything you don’t like, when it comes to eating? Wait, that came out wrong…”

“No offense taken, be at ease. And no, I have no problems with eating anything.” Is it just me or Kouma is actually getting slightly less creepy and evil every minute? It’s most likely just me. “That was really considerate of you, anyway.”

“Well, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She quickly looked away, probably a side-effect of having shared a polite dialog with me without any cynicism or sarcasm.
“Oh, and Kouma?”

“Yes?”

“You’re still pinching me.”

She gazed down to see her own fingernails thrusting into my arm, and then quickly got her focus back to my face.

“It seems, yeah.” Kouma Yon said, without letting go or even showing the tiniest bit of embarrassment, and once again sighing was all I could do.

We left the market carrying way more plastic grocery bags than I intended to (which means they didn’t had the dude-don’t-ruin-the-environment paper bags I wanted, so taking a single world-killing plastic bag would already be classified as ‘way more’) and attracting the stares of pretty much everyone. The reason, you ask.

I know you didn’t ask anything, I’m just following the script.

Anyway.

People were looking curiously at us because (and I only realized it when we walked next to a mirrored glass where I got to see a reflection of us) Kouma and I look like a weird couple. About looking weird, uncommon, wicked, bizarre, and maybe even grotesque to some; that doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve got used to that. It would be awkward if I hadn’t, wouldn’t it?

It’s the couple part that bothers me. Sort of. I mean, she sure is pretty and quite smart when not following a completely different track other than, well, reality. She is quite fashionable too, I can’t deny all that. However, she certainly is not the kind of person I want to be associated with.

Which is why I must stop this right now.

“Kouma, correct me if I’m wrong, but even in Japan locking arms is a little bit too intimate for people who just met, being a gesture reserved for lovers or close friends.” She immediately stopped walking, and remained silent for what seemed to be several minutes to me. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She sighed, apparently disappointed.

“I don’t need to correct you, since your affirmation is correct.”

Only then I realized I have probably been pointing a gun at my very own head the whole time. There seemed to be only a single way to deal with Kouma, and I think I have finally found it. Took me long enough, that’s right.

I just needed to make one last test to confirm my hypothesis.

“Could you at least stop pinching me? I will get bruises if things keep like this.”

“Yes, I could.” She made a pause, and for once I truly believed I had knocked some sense into her. “And yes, you will.”

That’s it.

I could easily see the trigger I needed to pull.

“Kouma Yon, stop pinching me. Please.” I said, firm and calmly. It seemed pretty obvious to me that girl was like a computer in some points and would only respond to commands and only with proper, detailed syntax. “You may as well release my arm, if that’s what you want.”

In a dream world everything magically went just as planned, Kouma would have quickly released my arm.

However.

Not quite as planned, she not only kept holding my arm but also held tighter, as if I was a teddy bear in the darkest night, as if she was afraid I would vanish forever and she would end up finding herself lost and alone.

I’m not sure of how I should feel about it.

“Let’s go.” I finally said.

Then we went straight back to my flat, two jointed figures walking slowly with only the absence of noise as background.

== Part 8 ==

"So, you and Kouma-san, huh?"

Her presence kind of fascinates me, and I am not quite sure why. Probably because her attitude is so different in class that I feel like I’m having dinner with an evil twin or something. If I were to describe her in the form of a school-like multiple choice test, my options would probably be:

a)A doppelgänger; 
b)A dissociative identity disorder victim; 
c)A true born sadist; 
d)All of the above. 

I am not talking about Kouma Yon, but now that I think about it I realize I could be. The cases are absurdly similar. Both of them are wicked creatures who occasionally show small hints of kindness, despite living in an inner prison, a masquerade of their own. It surely sounds a little bit like a writer’s lack of inspiration to me, having two characters with practically the same basis on a story.

However, instead of spending a considerable amount of time pondering on such unfortunate and rather uninteresting things I’d better quickly answer my visitor’s question before she starts thinking too much. It seems like I am not the only one here who is often more interested in the context.

Obviously, I’m also not talking to Kouma. How weird would that be, taking into account the sentence the other character used? Now that I think about it, not that much. It would be Kouma we’d be talking about so it would actually make some sort of sense, I suppose.

I hope so.

“So, you have seen her leaving, huh?” I reply, taking a mental note to never ever let Kouma use the back door again. Or even the front door, for that matter. No, wait, she might want to invade my place by breaking the windows, breaking my ceiling or even digging her way in. I’d better still have that in mind when I decide to turn this house into a fortress. Which will most likely happen soon, if things keep like this.

She nods.

“Mimicking someone else’s sentence structure is an awfully sharp double-edged sword, Koukishin-kun. It can ridicule the other party when used against a poorly devised argument, yet make you sound like a royal-level fool if not properly manipulated. Pretty much like any weapon, if you ask me.” Her lips contorted a little bit, as if she was holding back a grin. “Just try and guess which case your lovely example fits the most.”

“I’m sorry.” I raise my hand in defeat. Now that I think about it, it’s the same gesture Kouma made yesterday when I convinced her to come help me by suggesting that it was the only way she could avoid things that she would (for unknown reasons at the time) find extremely unpleasing. That’s karma for you. “Yes, Kouma did spend the afternoon here. No, I am not in a relationship with her. Unless the red string of fate that connects us is a bloodstained chain of rivalry, I mean.”

Reikoku-sensei seemed genuinely interested.

“Rivals are often closer than friends, like their lives truly depend on each other. They usually do.” She miserably failed to suppress a giggle. “And it surely counts as a relationship, whether you like it or not.”

“How so?”

“Being aware that you have lived abroad for a long time, I cannot do anything but ask: are you familiar with the concept of tsundere?”

Nervous coughs suddenly erupted from my throat, making it sore as it never had been.

After that fan-service scene when I restrained Kouma earlier today, I’m guessing this kind of comment will most likely make me flinch. Every single time. It’s very hard not to think of her as a girl now that I’ve seen there’s really more in Kouma Yon than just sharp words, expressionless eyes and a killing intent. Keep in mind that I didn’t say that those things aren’t a major part of her, just that there is more (just a little more) than it.

That girl is most likely too rational, which is far worse than completely insane; either way, one cannot deny the fact she is truly mental.

However, she looks really cute (while not trying to smile) and is a walking fashion show, so it’s quite tempting to picture her becoming a love-struck beauty after several seasons of quarrels and awkward misunderstandings. Reacting with fake anger to every demonstration of care. Blushing madly while calling me a stupid dog. Saying it’s not like she loved me or anything.

Creepy.

“…I’d rather talk about something else. Pretty please.”

The ''karma'' wheel started moving again when the teacher raised her hand.

“So be it, then. It’s your badly written school drama story, your full-of-teen-angst love life. Your business, anyway.” Reikoku-sensei sounded honestly disappointed, yet somehow relaxed. “And just for the record, I do believe she is a good catch and you guys would make a fairly good pair.”

This makes perfect sense. They are so similar Reikoku-sensei actually roots for Kouma’s happiness. Which probably means Reikoku-sensei thinks I’m a good catch too, and worthy of dating a younger version of her. This train of thought leads to some complex, rather disturbing paths, which either could send me to a psychoanalyst or should send my homeroom teacher to a slightly different type of psychologist (or to jail, depending on her actions from now on).

That doesn’t make much sense.

Hopefully.

…

After a few seconds of silence, I finally noticed there was something else that didn’t make sense.

“Wait, what on earth are you doing here?”

She curiously looked down at her chicken salad bowl and then straight at me.

“I’m having dinner. Isn’t it obvious?”

Sometimes it feels like I’m surrounded by aspiring comedians, and these girls don’t seem to be very good at anything but playing Japanese comedy-like games with me. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a sense of humor; what bothers me is the fact that despite probably being the sanest person around, I only get the tsukkomi role in my own mind.

Life can be so unfair.

“Don’t play stupid, sensei.”

“Fine, enough with that. I’m here to check on you.” She raised an eyebrow. “Someone I happen to know decided to skip classes this morning, and as a fairly good teacher I supposed I should pass by and see if there was a problem I could help with. Unfortunately my plans of visiting that particular student were delayed, the reason being simple: this responsible teacher had a school committee meeting to attend to discuss a few issues involving the cultural festival the school will be hosting next month. After finishing her duties the awesome teacher gallantly and nearly literally flew towards her student’s home worried that something could have happened to him, only to see that not only he was doing well but also having a pretty girl of his age inside his house for company. Not a trace of a responsible adult around. Their actions only became more suspicious to me when the girl left quickly as soon as the doorbell rang. ”

“Is that the truth?” I said, my attention completely drawn to a certain detail (which helped me ignore the rest of the story). “About you being worried about me?”

Reikoku-sensei sighed in a cool manner, like a cat.

“Obviously. I am a teacher, after all. Your teacher. If I don’t worry about my students when they are not present in class, who will?” She really sounded reliable at that moment, and I could see that she really meant what she said last night. “Besides, you could not be expecting me to be coming here just for the delicious, wonderful free homemade food you cook.”

I could have taken it as a joke, but it really bothered me; I never said anything like that, and she didn’t sound as sarcastic as she usually did when playing with me. There was something different, and I wanted to know exactly what it was.

“I can, now.” I replied calmly with the intention to test her.

Her surprised silence only confirmed my suspicions. ''Touché'', sensei.

== Part 9 ==

After a rather dull philosophical discussion on whether fish do or don’t have a proper word for ‘water’, a black and white vampire movie and several cups of tea, it was finally time for Reikoku-sensei to go home. It was indeed a relief; I was afraid she had decided to spend the night, which would be (in my humble opinion) a little bit more inadequate than me spending the day alone with Kouma. Besides, I’m still not sure of whether she would or not attack me during the night.

I was just kidding. Stop taking everything so seriously.

“So I guess that means you’re coming tomorrow and the day after and so forth.”

“…pretty much.” She seemed slightly embarrassed, but not to the point of stopping her from coming to my house and eating my food every day.

“Fine.” I said after sighing enough to make her believe I was not so fond of the idea when in fact I was. “I’ll cook an extra portion from tomorrow on.”

“Aren’t you supposed to say something like ‘but it’s not like I want you to come here’, or anything like that?”

“I am not a tsundere character, sensei.” She seemed delighted to see that I was indeed familiar with the concept. “And even if I was, and I’m definitely not saying I am, you probably wouldn’t be my love interest.”

She approached me most likely intentionally using the natural charm of a full grown, older woman. Reikoku-sensei’s movements weren’t as much as steps, but more like Gravity had completely forgot her existence and without realizing handed her a license to dance tango alone in mid-air. Interesting: it seems that Gravity stops having such a strong effect on you when you grow up, but that’s probably because there are several other things bringing you down already.

“Oh, really? I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“W-why?” There was only a single sentence in my mind, and it was ‘don’t stand so close to me .

She then released a smile clearly tainted with malice and whispered between it, lascivious waving words flowing from her lips to my ears.

“Because I did correct your first day’s classwork last night.” She then backed off like a little boy who runs away after pressing doorbells. The teasing moment was over. “You sir, are awfully bad at statistics. ''Ciao''.”

Then she walked away, once again vanishing in the night.

Unfortunately for me, I started to realize I was getting used to this kind of relationship. By doing so, I probably am walking baby-steps towards complete insanity.

I won’t complain about that.

Also, I cannot complain about the fact people seem to be always coming to my place since I moved to this town. Thanks to that, I don’t have the time to actually feel lonely or to wonder why my parents haven’t called me yet. In fact, I might even have to thank that monster for keeping that kind of thought out my mind. If Kouma were here, I’m pretty sure she would complement that by saying something in the lines of ‘we are going to thank it alright, personally’.

Hah, how interesting; I’ve got to know a sweeter and actually decent side of her today, but the freaky first impressions won’t go away. Not easily, anyway.

Hah, how uncommon; I haven’t talked to Ryo since that call at the park. I guess I should text her or something to tell her I’m fine, although I’m pretty sure Kouma handed her a written report on my situation or something like that.

Hah…

After such an unusually tiring day, I only noticed how exhausted I was when I suddenly fell asleep sitting on the couch.

<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[The_Longing_Of_Shiina_Ryo:Volume1 Chapter 2: Reikoku|Chapter 2: Reikoku]]
| Return to [[The_Longing_Of_Shiina_Ryo|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[The_Longing_Of_Shiina_Ryo:Volume1 Chapter 4: Ayaka|Chapter 4: Ayaka]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter7

2011-08-05T16:32:47Z

Starkiller4299:

A tremendous roar shook the night air.

The sky was covered by leaden clouds.

The light of this month's first moon did not brighten the ground. Instead, the ground was shrouded in darkness like the ground of the deep sea.

A deafening sound was raining down on the earth like thunderbolts. And high in the sky, a swarm of white-winged airplanes was flying, producing this sinister ventilation sound.

To be exact, large-sized two-engine military biplanes with giant wings---

Bombers, sent from the enemy country beyond the sea to invade them.

At last, black clumps fell from the bombers, one after another.

These were clumps of steel, packed with explosives and death.

The giant bombs fell on the ground, spreading fire and devastation.

The shock waves swept the buildings away without mercy and the flames burnt down the streets.

This silent town had changed into a hell, filled with the cries and screams of its inhabitants.

The town was burning down tragically and crimson flames lit the night sky red.

There was a single girl at an elevation outside the town who was watching this calamitous sight in blank amazement.

"Ah... Ahh...," she stumbled with a voice as hoarse as the one of an aged woman.

It was a voice of despair.

Fire was burning down her home town - changing the landscape she had loved into mere ruins. And enveloping her dear friends and family---

The only thing that remained when the bomber formation had passed was a town in flames.

The girl dropped powerlessly on the grass, wet with the night dew.

It was then that,

"...!"

She noticed someone approaching her and raised her head quickly.

A shadow could be seen calmly walking towards her with the wildly burning fire behind it.

No, there were two of them. One had the silhouette of a young man.

The other one was shaped like a little girl.

She could not recognize the face of the girl because of the backlight. But it was clear to her that this girl had to be terribly beautiful - and that she was wearing strange clothes---

The girl was holding a single book before her. The letters of an unfamiliar language were engraved in its old and staled leather cover.

Finally, the both of them stopped in front of the anxious girl.

"You needn't cry," the young man told her with a calm voice and smiled. "If something's been broken, you just need to build it once again. Right?"

The little girl handed her book wordlessly to the man who then held it out to the girl on the ground.

She looked up to it absent-mindedly. Then, she accepted the book, reaching out her hands unconsciously, and asked back,

"...What is this?"

It was the little girl who answered her question. Her silver chain brushed the old lock she was wearing and produced a cold sound.

"It is a phantom book... a book written for your sake."

"...My book... a phantom book...," the girl repeated those words while looking down at the book.

And at the time when she raised her gaze again, the two of them had already disappeared.

==Chapter 5 - The Book Burners Extra Episode 01: Bibliocaust==
===1===

An unusual type of motorcycle was driving along a dusty road.

That large-sized bike was equipped with a large displacement two cylinder engine and on its right side was a side car with a windbreak. It was an American side car for military use.

The bike was ridden by a sturdy man. He was wearing a long coat that resembled a cassock as well as rough leather boots that looked just like cowboy boots. His strange clothes made him seem like a churchman but also like a bounty hunter.

He was probably in his late twenties.

Contrary to what one might expect, he had a quite graceful face. But because he was keeping his lips grimly closed, he seemed rather hard to approach. His gray hair was neatly tied to the back and his eye brows were wrinkled like those of a pondering philosopher.

Sitting deep in the seat next to him was a beautiful girl at the age of about 16 or 17.

Half of her face was covered by big, blindfold-like goggles. But one could still recognize her prettiness. Her skin was white as snow, her hair long and silver. She seemed almost like a doll, giving her the impression of a handcrafted fine work.

The road led to a little town by the bank of a lake.

It was a town with a calm mood and houses made of stone since olden days.

On the other side of the lake was a big factory from which a long chimney towered up to the dusky sky. Several warehouses for the products of that factory could be seen on the outskirts of the town.

At last, these two strangely dressed travelers on a motorcycle arrived at the narrow street along the warehouses.

While driving the motorcycle along, the man peeked into each of the many, complicated intertwined side streets.

This course of action resembled much more a hunting dog that's chasing its prey down than a stranger who has gone lost.

Then, after cutting several corners, the driver suddenly slowed down his motorcycle.

A slender shape could be seen standing at the center of a crossroads in front of them, surrounded by the high walls of warehouses.

"Stop! You there, stop right now!"

It was a young woman with a fearless face. Her hairstyle was plain like a man's and so were her clothes, though seeming comfortable.

She spread out her arms, blocking their way, and called out to the driver.

Her attitude did not imply friendliness, but neither did she seem like a robber.

The only weapon she was wearing was a baton.

The driver let out an annoyed sigh and put on the brakes wordlessly.

"Could you answer me some questions, please?"

The woman approached them easily after confirming that the motorcycle had stopped.

Her back was stretched and her look fixed at a certain height. It was the way of walking of a person with experience in hand-to-hand fighting.

"...Who are you?" the driver asked plainly, gazing at her with a disagreeable look.

"I'm Mabel Nash. A police officer," the woman introduced herself proudly.

"A police officer? You are?"

"Yes. Oh, is this the first time you meet a policewoman?"

"Yeah," the driver nodded bluntly.

Mabel laughed awkwardly.

"I see... well, since a few years ago women have been hired as police officers, too, in this district. For one thing there was a lack of manpower due to the war, for another thing there were some other circumstances... besides, I've heard policewomen aren't rare at all in the capital or the southern regions, right?"

"...And what does this policewoman want from me?" the driver asked, uninterested in her talk.

"We received a report. Actually, I would be off duty today, you know... but I was asked by an acquaintance," said Mabel and smiled wryly. She looked surprisingly sociable when she was smiling.

"...a report?"

"Yes. Someone reported that a strange man is riding about in town on a motorcycle with a young girl in its sidecar."

The driver grimaced fretfully.

"Do you want to tell me that... I am that strange man?"

"Umm, I suppose so... I mean...," Mabel muttered and peeked at the girl in the sidecar.

The girl in there was still wearing goggles, moving not a single bit.

She had initially listened to their conversation curiously and now her shoulders suddenly started to tremble. Her long silver hair waved and a muffled laughter arose from her beautiful lips.

"Hrhrhr... who else would fit that image better than you, Hal?" she said with a sadistic voice that didn't match her graceful appearance.

"Shut up, trash."

"Were you unaware of it yourself? Or did you even think you were cool?"

"I told you to shut up."

"Umm... please, you two...," Mabel interrupted them in a hurry before they would get out of control. Then, she looked at the girl in the sidecar and tensed. She had noticed the weird clothing of the silver-haired girl only now.

She was wearing a white outfit that covered her entire body.

There were leather belts sewed in at various places of her robust cloth, tightly tied and restraining her movements. The only body parts she could move freely were the parts above her neck and everything ahead of both her wrists. It looked almost like a straitjacket used to transport a fiendish criminal. Her dress may have been decorated with frills and laces, but it was doubtlessly made to constrain her.

And all over this straitjacket, one could see the dim glance of old locks.

Numerous firmly sealed locks on the belts of her straitjacket limited her free movement. She was being treated inhumanly - there was no other way to put it.

"What is it with... these clothes?" Mabel scowled sharply at the driver.

"Don't mind her. She's wearing it on her own accord."

"Eh?"

"I'm just adapting to your preferences!" the constrained girl looked up at Hal and laughed out, enjoying Mabel's disturbance.

Hal wrinkled his forehead and asked, "What do you mean by my preferences?"

"Don't play dumb... I know you love such stuff, don't you?"

"I am not in the slightest interested in your clothing."

"There he goes again... Don't deny that frantically just because you're in front of a female. You perv."

"Shut up, trash," ordered Hal the silver-haired girl, scowling at her moodily.

At first, Mabel had been taken aback by them abusing each other and had just gazed at them. She got a grip on herself again and turned to Hal.

"Who... who are you guys? You don't seem to be from this country, but you aren't ordinary travelers, either, right?"

"I am Hal Kamhout. She is Flam... Flamberge. We came to this town to search for someone."

"To search for someone?"

"Yeah," Hal nodded, "a young man who travels together with a girl. I don't know anything about the man's clothes, but the girl should be wearing a lock - just like the trash here. Furthermore... she carries strange books with her."

"Books?" Mabel said, narrowing her eyes cautiously.

"Do you have an idea, officer?" Hal asked her calmly.

The policewoman shrugged, "Hmm...," and explained, "Well, I don't know if you ask me out of the blue... Are those books valuable or something?"

"Such books have no worth," Hal declared firmly.

Mabel gazed at him for a moment with a searching look.

"Tell me... are you in the clergy?" she suddenly said as if the penny had finally dropped.

Hal's clothes looked like a priest's robe after all and, on top of that, he had tied a staff to the side of his motorcycle. This staff was huge at that and had a censer embedded in its tip. Mabel couldn't imagine that such an unpractical staff could be used anywhere other than at some kinds of religious rites.

Also his strangely insolent attitude, which didn't match his young appearance, seemed somewhat clergy-like to her. However.

"I am not a clergyman. I am a book burner," Hal said point-blank.

[[Image:Dantalian no Shoka-vol1-p251.jpg|thumb]]

Mabel had never heard of such a job. At least there was no priest's title with that name in the western church. Mabel was clearly bewildered, but Hal made no move to explain it any further.

"Well, whatever... so you aren't causing this girl any harm, right?" she asked after sighing resignedly and turning around to the constrained girl.

The silver-haired girl took off her goggles with her hardly-moving arms and looked up at Mabel with a calm smile.

Then, a mischievous grin flashed on her breathtakingly gorgeous face.

"Don't worry. That's his way of showing love."

"Stop talking crap and shut up," Hal urged her in a low voice, obviously annoyed.

He was expressing himself rather rudely, but it was obviously not just him one-sidedly abusing her.

After confirming this Mabel said, "Alright. Sorry for bothering you."

When she waved her hand and was about to leave, "Wait," Hal stopped her. "I do have a question as well."

"What?"

"I want to buy gasoline. Is there a shop nearby where I can buy some?" Hal said and looked down at the tank of his bike. Apparently, there wasn't much fuel left after riding around in town all day, searching for someone.

However, Mabel shook her head regretfully.

"There are no gas stations in this town. Private automobiles aren't that widespread yet... but a traveling merchant is coming here the day after tomorrow. You should be able to buy some from him."

"I see... got it," he nodded promptly.

In contrast, Mabel looked worried and asked, "What are your plans? It's quite a distance to the next town, you know?"

"I see. Then we will have to camp," Hal said without flinching.

"Again?!" the constrained girl complained.

Mabel couldn't suppress a small laugh when she heard that.

"Uhm... if you'd like, do you want to stay overnight at my place?"

Hal turned his expressionless gaze to Mabel. He seemed to fail to grasp her intention.

Mabel made an effort to sound bright and added, "My home may be small, but preparing a bed and some food should be no problem!"

"Why?" Hal asked straightforwardly.

She searched for words and finally said, "Well, it's my job to protect the public order after all... and don't you agree it's safer to have someone suspicious right by my side rather than to leave him to himself?"

The constrained girl listened silently to Mabel's flustered explanation, looking at her. Then, she raised a naughty laughter and pointed at Hal.

"Did you fall for him?"

"O-Of course not!" Mabel shouted hysterically.

Hal only gazed silently at those two, showing no expression in particular.

===2===

The town at dusk. Hal and Flamberge were walking on a street in the shopping district, led by Mabel.

The street was full of people shopping, people going home from work and shopkeepers at their market stalls.

But mysteriously, this scene didn't give off a lively impression. Certainly, one could hear the yells of the workers, who were lifting heavy luggage, or the fancy marketing phrases of the shop assistants. The shopkeepers were talking happily to their customers and the laughs of a bunch of playing kids resounded in the street. There were even people chatting together at the side of the street while drinking some liquor.

And yet, all of this seemed somehow feigned. It was almost like watching the actors of a bad play.

Next to Hal, who was gazing grimly at those people, the constrained girl Flam scoffed. "Now should I call this town lively or gloomy?"

"Don't forget that we're on the countryside here. Everybody is earnest," Mabel said, protecting the people of this town.

After sneaking a peek at her, Hal looked around at the buildings. Then he murmured, "An earnest rural town, huh...? There are quite many brothels, though."

"Isn't that your type?" Flam said chucklingly and pointed at a nearby building.

Below a gaudy signboard, which made the type of the shop clear at one glance, there was a young woman appealing to men while exposing her skin generously. The shop was enveloped by a dissolute mood which didn't suit such a little remote town at all.

"Well... that's because there was a weapon factory, you see..." Mabel stammered an excuse.

"A weapon factory?" Hal asked after turning around calmly.

"During the war it was lively there, with military people and migrant workers. And the same can be said for this place here... well, and thus the prostitutes gathered, aiming for that," Mabel said with a regrettable tone and shrugged. "To tell you the truth, that's also why I was employed as a police officer. Police men can have a quite hard time dealing with trouble about brothels."

"I see," Hal nodded seriously.

The constrained girl looked up to him and raised a sardonic chuckle.

"A town with lots of brothels, huh... you must be happy that we came here after hearing those rumors! Aren't ya, Hal?"

"Don't try to misrepresent the facts," Hal replied with a scowl.

"What rumors?" asked Mabel, cocking her head.

After letting out a short sigh, Hal said: "Apparently there are many people that go missing in this town, huh?"

"Eh?"

Mabel blinked in surprise. He didn't mind her and continued.

"I heard that more than 80 people disappeared during the two years after the end of the war. That's quite an extraordinary number, considering the population of this town."

"80 people...?" Mabel grumbled in amazement and turned pale. She strained to form a smile, but she only managed to make her lips quiver. "You heard a lie... that can't possibly be."

"What makes you so sure?" he asked back in a voice devoid of emotion.

"Don't forget that I'm a police officer! I would definitely know it if something like that really happened in this town. In the recent years not a single person went missing or died. At the most, you could say that some of the elder people who had been ill for a long time deceased in a hospital far away in another town---" Mabel clearly tried hard to explain.

But Hal came straight to the point.

"Almost all people who went missing aren't from here. They are travelers, merchants and other passers-by."

"You make it sound as if the inhabitants of this town would attack any stranger who passes by, don't you?" Mabel frowned, offended. Then she continued with an angry voice, "In that case, the next target would be the two of you."

"I hope so at least," he nodded with a serious mien.

Mabel gazed at him in disbelief, but she could not find a single sign of a joke.

She sighed, getting a grip on herself again, and looked seriously up to him.

"Perhaps, did the people you're searching for... also go missing in this town?"

"Who knows?" murmured the strangely-clothed man and clasped his staff stronger, which made the metallic staff creak lightly in his hand.

"You don't know?"

"That's why we came here. To investigate if it has something to do with them."

"I see," Mabel nodded slightly.

Then she stopped in front of a house. Despite being old, it could be called a well-built 3-storey house. Stone stairs led to the entrance, which was decorated with simple but pretty carvings.

"We're here!"

Mabel walked up the stairs with sure steps and showed them in, pointing at the door. The house was apparently her home.

"Such a house despite living alone? Quite uptown, aren't ya? Does it pay to be a corrupted police officer?" Flam asked, impressed.

"I ain't corrupted!" Mabel pursed her lips. "And I'm not living by my own either."

With a slightly proud face, she opened the door. Her home wasn't as luxurious as it looked from outside, but still it was spacious.

Right in front of the entry hall was a stairway, leading to the second floor, and on the right hand side was the living room in which a stove was burning. A woolen sofa was placed in front of that stove and on it was an old couple.

They noticed Mabel's arrival and turned slowly around.

"Welcome home, Mabel."

"You must be tired, Mabel."

They spoke stiffly, which resembled the sound of rusty gears, and smiled. That smile, however, seemed as artificial as the smile of a mechanically moved puppet.

But Mabel ignored their unnatural behavior and smiled back at them.

"Hello everybody. I've brought some guests with me. Two travelers called... err, Hal and Flam."

The two old persons turned around to Hal. With the exact same expression. Then they smiled again artificially.

"I see. Welcome."

"I see. You must be very tired from the journey."

They seemed as if they were repeating a set of decided phrases. Hal didn't pay attention to them and turned around to Mabel instead.

"Who are they?"

"They are my grandparents. Then there is..."

Mabel looked at the stairway.

From its landing one could hear the footsteps of someone going downstairs. The steps had a light sound to them, implying a rather low body weight. Eventually, a little head appeared over the handrail.

It was a little girl, around 12 or 13 years old. Her face looked almost like Mabel's made younger.

"Who are you?"

She darted a reproving look at Hal and Flam with her hazelnut brown eyes.

"Patty." Mabel called the name of the girl, letting her know that she is behaving impolite. Then she turned an awkward smile to her guests.

"She's my little sister Patricia. Patty, these people are Hal and Flam. I decided to let them spend the night here---"

"What did you come here for?" Patricia shouted snappily, ignoring the friendly introduction of her elder sister. "Leave! Just get out already!"

She then dashed up the stairs without leaving them time to even respond to her. After a few moments, one could hear a door closing upstairs. Patricia had shut herself in her room.

"Patty! Wait a moment... Patty!"

Mabel ran away, following her little sister.

After gazing at the disappearing woman Flam sighed with a frown. "That girl sure behaved badly. Maybe she noticed that you're a perv that's dead keen on little girls, Hal?"

"I'm neither a pervert nor keen on little girls. I do, however, think that this might be interesting---" Hal answered Flam, contrary to custom, seriously.

"Mh?"

The confined girl looked up at Hal, raising her slender chin. Her light, silver eyes became narrow like a cat's.

"At least that girl seems to have enough emotions to dislike me," murmured Hal, almost keeping a straight face.

Bathing in the light of the stove, lights flickered on the silver staff - like flames.

===3===

After midnight Hal slipped out of Mabel Nash's house.

The confined girl wasn't with him and neither did he carry his silver staff. The tall book burner turned over the sleeves of his robe and walked through the dark, sleeping town.

He was heading to the back of a hill that lied beyond the heart of the town.

It wasn't obvious at one glance, but if one took a good look at the city map, one could notice that the connections between the streets of this town were extremely unnatural at some points. There was one area that was greatly evaded by all the streets so that one couldn't reach it by car.

It was also impossible to see it from far away because of heights and forests --- so it could be called the shadow of this town.

After walking through the darkness without rest, Hal finally reached the blockaded hill.

And he held his breath.

"I see... so that was it..."

The back side of the town that he could see from there was a gruesome view of rubbles and ashes.

The remains of buildings that had been mowed down by a blast. Streets that had turned into mere ashes after being engulfed in a sea of flames.

It was a horrendous sight. Even after a long time that had passed since, one could still clearly feel the magnitude of the catastrophe that had haunted this town. The traces of war.

This town had probably been air-raided by the enemy country just like the capital.

Attacked by countless bombs. Burned down by the flames the explosions called forth.

Hundreds of buildings had surely been burned to ashes - and many more humans had lost their lives.

Eventually, even the people of this town had abandoned this land.

In terms of size the area was almost half the town's. Such a big space was left as scorched earth.

Most of the survivors seemed to be in the dark about the existence of this area - because someone was hiding it from them.

Someone had erased the remembrance of those terrible traces from the memories of the villagers.

But, who had done that? And why...?

"...Oh... What are you doing out here?"

Suddenly, while Hal was in deep thought, a sweet voice reached his ears.

When he turned around, he saw a woman standing near to him.

The woman was rather tall and voluptuous. Her dress was skimpy with a low neckline whereas her dress had a deep slit in which one could see her seductive thighs. An obscene perfume surrounded her gaudily decorated hair. She was the very model of a prostitute. Yes, almost ''too'' exemplary, which gave her the feel of a mere fabrication---

Like the other residents of this town, that prostitute seemed artificial.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" The woman went around to Hal's front, irritated by his silentness. Then, she noticed with a surprised voice: "Oh, what a lovely man..."

She entwined both her arms with his and pushed her bosom against his chest.

"Hey sweetie. Are you alone? Fancy spending the night together with me?"

"Why?" Hal sighed, bored.

The prostitute looked surprised at Hal's face.

"Huh?"

"I don't particularly mind when a prostitute touts on the street. But why are you at such a place?"

"Boy... what are you talking about?"

A slight sign of anger emerged on her face.

...which looked just how a third-class caricaturist would draw it.

"There should be much better places for a prostitute to lure customers. So why have you come here? Who commanded you?" He asked while letting his gaze wander over the ruins of the town.

"Who...? What the heck? What are you...?"

The prostitute was clearly agitated. Any expression had already left her face, leaving behind a inhumanly bare face that reminded of a sculpture.

Hal asked coldly: "Answer me. Who commanded you to come here?"

"Commanded... me? What do you mean? Seriously, what are you talking about...?" She shook her head awkwardly.

Hal continued without paying any attention to this, "Was it your own will that you came here and addressed me?"

"What are you talking about...? What the heheheck...? Whawhawhawhawhat...?" The woman's mouth formed words like a broken record player while opening her vacant eyes wide.

Hal frowned.

Suddenly, something white flashed past his view as fast as a blade.

"?!"

Fresh blood dropped down from Hal's cheek. The prostitute had thrust out her arm towards him, cutting the darkness apart: her shaking arm had suddenly, and carefully targeted, attacked his carotid artery. If Hal's reaction had been just a little slower, he would have died without a doubt.

"So it was you who attacked the strangers? No... or...," Hal asked while evading her continuous attacks.

However, the words of the prostitute were already devoid of meaning.

"WhawhawhatWhawhaT... arrrarree..." While wringing out words in a weird voice, she thrust out her fingers, aiming at Hal's eye balls.

Her arm was moving at monstrous speed, but Hal easily grabbed it in mid-air. Yet, the woman didn't stop her movement. She lifted him up with an unworldly power just in order to strike him against the ground.

But in the moment she was about to swing her arm down, "What immense strength," Hal disappeared for a moment and appeared behind her without making a sound.

The shoulders of the expressionless prostitute trembled clearly - as if she was disturbed. With a thunderous roar from deep within her throat, she thrust out her left arm again.

"But... it's useless."

Hal caught her bullet-like arm once again. He twisted her elbow into the wrong direction and did the same in one breath for her shoulder.

"Wha---!!" screamed the prostitute.

It is impossible to ignore the construction of the human body - no matter how powerful one is. Her joints creaked up, strained nearly to their limit.

"Don't move. This is a technique from the oriental martial art 'Baritsu'. You could easily break your arm," explained Hal coldly.

But the prostitute didn't think of stopping her resistance. The creaking of her bones grew more intense. A slight sign of unrest appeared on the cheeks of Hal's expressionless face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"

The prostitute broke her arm together with a unpleasant sound. And then her elbow got torn apart.

Hal made a stern face. Not a single blood drop was flowing in her torn-off left elbow, which was flying away. Only a wooden cross-section could be seen in her elbow joint.

"You---"

The woman, who had freed herself from his technique, took advantage of Hal's momentary disturbance and thrust out her right arm.

The side part of his coat got cut apart and soaked with fresh blood. He kicked the prostitute away to create some distance.

"Ah, so that's it... that's the answer...," he muttered while gazing at her left arm on the ground.

To be exact, it was a piece of wood. A piece of wood that was shaved to look like a human arm and a polished wooden ball as joint. The lower half of a puppet's arm.

The one-armed prostitute rushed towards Hal.

But before she could reach him, he grabbed her head without a problem and smashed it against the ground.

Her head got smashed up and shattered into countless dry splinters.

What was left in the end was --- the remains of a scantily clad puppet.

===4===

The night was already over when Hal returned to Mabel's home.

She wasn't there anymore - apparently, she had already gone to work. Hal completely ignored the old people in front of the stove and headed to the guest room.

After he had opened the door, he raised an eyebrow.

Hal's bed was occupied by two girls who were sleeping tightly close to each other. One of them was the confined, silver-haired girl. The other one was Mabel's cheeky miniature version.

The hands of the silver-haired girl were holding an old book of fairy-tales.

Apparently, they had fallen asleep while Flam was reading a fairy-tale to her.

"...you're quite late, Hal. Did you creep into some brothel to have some fun?" Flam said sleepily when she noticed Hal's early return.

"What are you doing?" Hal asked brusquely.

Flam got up, letting her soft silver hair dance, and said: "As you can see! I already won over the little girl for you."

"Hmpf," Hal sneered quietly.

"Mh..."

Patricia turned herself and woke up. After noticing Hal at the door, she sat up quickly.

"You came back?" she asked.

Hal nodded calmly.

"Yeah."

"You're wounded."

"Nothing serious."

"But,"

Patricia looked worriedly at Hal's blood-stained coat.

"Did you worry about me?" he asked after finally noticing the reason why she had slept together with Flam.

Patricia hesitated a little, but then she nodded slightly.

"It's not the first time that travelers visited this house, right?"

She nodded once more and added with a tiny voice: "They never came back."

"I see."

For a while Hal just gazed at the little girl who had her hair rumpled from sleeping. For the fragment of a second, a light of pity flashed over his eyes.

"We're leaving, Flam," Hal declared after grabbing his staff, which was leaning against the wall in a corner.

The confined girl protested with a clearly annoyed voice. "What is it, all of a sudden? Are you jealous because I chummed up with a little young girl?"

"Shut up, trash. Get ready."

He swung his blood-stained coat round and was about to leave, when,

"You aren't... ordinary travelers, right sir? Who are you really?" Patricia asked in a mature and calm voice.

Hal turned around to her and sulkily corrected her:

"I am not a sir. I am a book burner."

===5===

Hal took Flam to the factory at the lake shore in the outskirts of the town.

As it was already past opening time, a lot of machines were doing their work without rest. Despite this, it was very quiet and there were surprisingly few workers. No one rebuked them when Hal and Flam entered without permission.

"Hell, this is one desolate factory," Flam said, obviously bored.

She was shouldered by Hal like a bag because she was unable to walk by herself.

"I looked through the archives," Hal explained plainly. "It's as Mabel said. This factory produced weapons during the war. Ammunition, bombs and gun parts---"

"The war's already over, right? What are they producing now?" Flam asked suspiciously.

Hal just pointed at a building within the factory area.

It was a cheap storehouse which was used to store a mountain of boxed puppets.

But they were not beautiful as one would expect. There were corpulent middle-aged men and women, skinny old men, cheeky children and finally, heavily made-up prostitutes --- the inhabitants of this town.

"Pretty weird puppets. Who's going to buy such things and why? To alleviate stress by beating them up?" Flam asked blankly and shrugged.

"I don't think they are up for sale."

"Hah?"

"Have you ever heard of the so-called 'Shikigamis' that are used in the oriental sorcery?"

Flam smiled on hearing Hal's words. It was a beautiful, yet devilish smile.

"Yeah, it's a technique that lets a sorcerer control puppets made of paper or straw by casting a spell on them."

"Probably they are the same," Hal stated while pointing at the employees who were producing puppets.

Those expressionless people were working steadily like machines. Exactly like the prostitute he had met last night. They were puppets only made to act out the role assigned to them.

"You're talking about those workers? So, puppets are producing puppets?" Flam chuckled amusedly.

Hal answered grimly, "There is nothing strange about it if we assume that they are Shikigamis that have been ordered to produce new puppets."

"Hmpf... what's the point in making puppets anyway?"

"It's to replace the inhabitants of this town."

"To replace the inhabitants with puppets...?" Flam cocked her head, whereupon the lock at her collar produced a metallic sound.

"Most of the citizens here are suchlike puppets. Mabel was probably telling the truth when she said that nobody had died here in the past few years. After all, anyone who dies is replaced by a puppet that acts like the deceased did during his lifetime---"

Hal watched the working employees with emotionless eyes. Suddenly, his steps came to a halt.

"Further, it looks like broken puppets get replaced by new ones as well."

A puppet in a coffin-like box was carried in. Its head had crumbled into dust and everything below the left elbow was lost. It was the prostitute Hal had destroyed the prior night.

A destroyed puppet gets replaced by a new one. And like this, the town remains unchanged.

The daily life of the past is being played for all eternity in this town---

"Why would they do that?" asked Flam, seeming truly puzzled.

"Who knows? Just ask the culprit himself," Hal said and turned around leisurely.

He pointed his long silver staff at the darkness beyond a passage of the factory.

"---right, Mabel Nash?" he raised his deep voice, which echoed into that pathway.

Shortly after, a young woman appeared from the metallic stairway's shadow.

The woman was wearing a police uniform. Flam raised a laugh upon seeing Mabel's tensed expression.

"Oh? The police officers these days also show you around factories?"

Mabel looked a little distressed while listening to Flam's words that did not give off an impression of ill will.

Then she let out a deep, long sigh to signify her resignation.

"Since when have you known?" she asked Hal.

"Your question seems obscure to me, but if you want to know when I started to suspect that you're a puppeteer, that would be yesterday at the moment you called out to me," explained Hal in his usual frank tone.

"How?"

Mabel was clearly bewildered.

Hal didn't care and continued: "We purposely rode around in town with an eye-catching motorcycle and informed each and every citizen we met that we were searching for someone. We considered it probable for someone who has met the '''Yomihime''' to approach us when hearing about us."

"...So you lured me out, huh." Mabel sighed after hearing Hal out.

"By 'Yomihime', do you mean that armored girl with a lock and looks like a beautiful doll...?"

For the first time a change occurred in Hal's expression.

Immense hatred and anger surged up deep within his usually expressionless eyes. However, this lasted only a short moment. His mien immediately returned to his usual one, whereupon he posed a question to Mabel.

"You received a phantom book from the Yomihime, didn't you?"

"You mean this?"

Mabel took out the book she had been hiding behind her and held it at chest's height. A slightly triumphant　smile flashed over her face.

"The 'Rahouto Reihou Kaigen', huh... a long lost Taoist scripture that contains techniques to control familiars---"　Flam said impressed.

Hal's face darkened.

"When I conducted a ceremony as it was written in this book, puppets that obey me were born. I merely ordered them to play the stand-ins of the deceased villagers. It was also a child's play to increase their number by commanding the first ones I made. After all they work without stop and I was able to use the facilities of this deserted factory..." Mabel spoke steadily. Yes, almost as if she was confessing her overflowing sin to a priest---

"Why did you try to replace the inhabitants of this town with puppets?"

"'Why'? What a silly question! To protect this town of course!" Mabel reacted sensitively to Hal's reproach. "This town was almost completely destroyed once, you know? Devastated by a bombing raid!" Mabel bit on her lips while bearing up against painful memories. "It happened on the same day as the capital was attacked by an air-raid. I'm sure their target was the weapon factory here. Due to the masses of gunpowder in the storehouses and the burning hell when they exploded, less than just 400 people survived the attack... Do you understand that scale? Not even a fifth of a town that once had a population of 3000 people survived!"

Mabel's voice - her bitter outcry - echoed numerous times within the pathway of the factory.

Hal kept silent and heard her out.

"It was at that moment of despair that they gave me this book. They told me that it's my phantom book..."

The 'they' Mabel just mentioned made Hal's shoulders tremble.

"You commanded the puppets to substitute the citizen that died during the bombing raid?"

Mabel smiled.

"Exactly! To keep everything as peaceful as it was in times past. How is this a bad thing? The other survivors gladly accepted them, too! Well, of course. Their beloved family and friends returned to them safe and sound after all---"

"Puppets are and will remain just puppets."

Hal's harsh words shattered Mabel's smile.

"They can only follow commands. As soon as they are placed in an unfamiliar situation, they get into a panic. Yes, for example when they meet a stranger. Or when they are asked an unexpected question. Then they '''fall into a rage and attack those strangers''' in order to eradicate the source of their panic."

"Eh...?"

Mabel tensed like a block of ice.

"Did you not notice, puppeteer? Your puppets are the cause for the frequent disappearing of travelers around this town," Hal declared bluntly.

Mabel tried to object reflexively but suddenly fell into silence. She had just noticed the fresh wound below Hal's cut coat.

"No... you're lying..." Mabel shook her head weakly. But Hal didn't make a stop and continued driving her into a corner.

"People and towns change as time goes by. Naturally, some lives will also go lost in the process. But if you forcefully resist this mode of life, a distortion will come up somewhere. It's not this town you've been protecting. It's the shadow of its past. And your own weakness for clinging to that shadow."

After a moment of silence, Mabel nodded.

"Heh... I guess you're right."

A smile appeared on her her slightly downcast face.

This smile was of a sorrowful kind, but filled with a strong will.

"But you know what? It's too late to change my methods. Even if it's just its shadow, I'm going to protect this town---!" Mabel shouted out loud.

Her impression had changed. Hal noticed this fact and took up a stance. Suddenly, numerous shadows appeared behind him. Old and middle-aged people - and prostitutes.

The boxed puppets had awakened. It didn't take long until their number exceeded 10 and filled out the narrow pathway. Hal and Flam just stood there defenseless when the crowd of puppets suddenly charged them - with the appearance of the villagers, and with the special empty expressions of puppets.

Hal was well aware of their monstrous strength thanks to the encounter with a prostitute last night.

And he was also aware that he would stand no chance if such a number attacked him at once.

"I see."

But he kept a straight face. He just calmly removed the glove on his right hand.

"I shall burn it down then... get ready, Flam... No..."

A beautiful jewel was embedded in the back of Hal's right hand. Its color was a deep crimson that looked like solidified blood.

He clenched his right fist and when he opened his hand again, he was holding a golden bunch of keys. All of these old keys had mysterious letters engraved in them.

"Long Lost Library'Broken Yomihime', Flamberge! I ask of thee, Art thou mankind---?" He shouted at the confined girl.

Flam shook her silver-shining hair wildly and started laughing out loud. The factory resounded with her madness-filled, loud laughter, which was a complete mismatch for her beautiful appearance.

Hal brandished the bunch of keys over his head and went about opening the countless locks that had been sealing the girl. One after another, and at each time the keys made a sound like an instrument.

The released silver-haired girl slipped out of her dress.

She hadn't been wearing anything under her straitjacket.

On her almost shining naked body one could see a silver line reaching from her left side to her right thigh. It was a metallic zipper. A silver zipper was embedded in her porcelain-white skin.

《No. We art the Realm --- the Fallen Realm》

The lips of the silver-haired girl proclaimed with the hoarse voice of an old woman.

Hal reached out for her left side and pulled the zipper all way down in a breath. A dark and endlessly deep black space opened up between the split zipper.

"The silver... Yomihime...!"

It was Mabel who muttered these words with a contorted face.

Hal took out a single book from deep within the hole in Flam's naked body---

It was an old book bound with leather that had lost its color.

Mabel fiercely bit on her lips when she noticed.

"A phantom book?! But you're too late...! You have no time to read it---"

"Who said I'd read this?" Hal announced coldly.

He set up the long staff at his hip, pointing its tip straightforward. He looked like a soldier who was ready to shoot with a giant weapon. Then he '''loaded''' the staff by putting the phantom book into its tip.

"Cartridge Load --- Blaze!" he shouted austerely.

The next moment, bluish-white flames spit out of the tip of the staff.

The object that was spouting out this blade-like flame wasn't a staff anymore. The long body part was a balancer to bear up against the impact when shooting and the part that looked like a censer was a muzzle brake to counter the recoil. It was a weapon made for destroying.

A destructive weapon that uses the forbidden phantom books as ammunition and changes their magic into flames.

"Oh Branch of Calamity! Reduce everything to ashes---!"

The fire of Hal's staff mowed down the attacking puppets.

Those among the puppets that were hit by the magical fire were enveloped in it and crumbled down.

Mabel, who could just watch dumbfounded, stammered: "He's mad... he's using a phantom book... as kindling...!"

Hal ignored Mabel, who had fallen on her knees, and pointed his fire staff at the storehouses of the factory.

Fire balls came shooting out of the staff like bullets.

This bombardment instantly engulfed the boxed puppets in a hell fire.

Watching the factory burn down, "Aah...," Mabel raised her voice frailly.

"The Branch of Calamity that has been sealed by nine keys... don't tell me that is...," she murmured weakly, looking up at the man with the fire staff.

She pressed her book tightly to her chest.

"Are you going to... burn my book...?"

Hal didn't answer. He wordlessly pointed the burning tip of his staff at her.

Mabel sent him a pitiful smile without showing a sign of fear.

"The fire giant Surtr's cataclysmal staff, which he used to engulf the Earth in flames at Ragnarök... if you keep wielding this weapon, you are going to be buried in your own flames just like the giant race in the myths!"

Hal nodded calmly to the warning of the puppeteer.

"I know. That's the destiny of a book burner."

Thereupon, the fire of the staff engulfed the phantom book and its owner without mercy.

===6===

It was shortly before dusk that a tall man, together with a confined girl, visited Patricia Nash's home once again.

Patricia sat in front of the stove at the time and gazed silently at her grandparents who had stopped moving.

Her eyes were slightly wet with tears, but she was not crying. Sitting there in that dark room, embracing her legs, she looked almost as if she was waiting for the time to start moving again.

It was then that Hal and his companion came back.

The book burner, who had got off his bike, was carrying Mabel in his arms and his long silver staff on his back. When Patricia noticed this, she widened her eyes fearfully.

"...did you kill sis?" she asked with a firm voice, after taking a deep breath.

"It's my job to erase all phantom books and everything that has come in contact with them," Hal answered coldly. "Thus," he added without intonation in his voice, "I also burned the part of her mind that has been corroded by the phantom book. Most probably she won't remember anything since she received the book even when she wakes up again."

Patricia just blinked her eyes a few times and silently pondered the meaning of Hal's words.

Then, she suddenly raised her head and confirmed that her older sister was still breathing.

"But... she's still alive, right?"

Hal nodded wordlessly and laid Mabel on the sofa where she could sleep on.

Then he turned around to leave the house. There was nothing that held the book burner back in this town now, that he had extinguished the phantom book.

Patricia realized this fact and hurried after him.

Hal had already got on his motorcycle and was about to start the engine.

She looked up at him and said, "Uhm... thank you."

Hal turned around to her with peerie eyes.

"Why do you thank me?"

Patricia couldn't suppress a laugh, finding his reaction too funny.

"I knew... it was just a long dream we were in... everybody was dead really, but we played dumb all the time. Although it would have been our duty to enjoy life all the more in place of the deceased...," Patricia stammered haltingly and then, suddenly, gave a smile. This was because the book burner seemed to her, for whatever reason, as though he was smiling in spite of having the same sour look as always.

"Thank you for saving my sister," she thanked him once again.

Hal gazed at her calmly. "You should better thank your sister. She wanted to show you---"

"I know. I will definitely never forget how this town looked like at the time it was dear to my sister," she assured full of confidence.

After nodding wordlessly, Hal set off with his motorcycle and accelerated - without looking back.

The girl disappeared quickly after a few moments and it didn't take long until her hometown at the lakeshore became far, either.

They kept riding on the dry road for a while until the confined girl in the sidecar suddenly spoke up.

"...You look kinda happy, Hal," she said while letting her hair dance in the wind.

"I don't know what you mean," Hal declared grimly.

"You were smiling just now, weren't you?" Flam started teasing him.

"I wasn't."

"Ooh yes you were. From ear to ear."

Flam chuckled amusedly.

"You lech! Did you recall that little girl just now?"

"Shut up, trash."

The motorcycle continued its way with those two bandying words on it.

Their backs were dyed red all the while by the flickering light of the setting sun.

<noinclude>
{{Dantalian no Shoka Nav|prev=Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter1|next=Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Author's Notes}}
</noinclude>
__NOTOC__

Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter6

2011-08-05T14:08:35Z

Starkiller4299:

==Special Chapter 2 - The Lifetime Book Der Gevatter Tod==
__NOTOC__

There were two guests sitting at the counter of the bar.

One of them was an old man with a bony face and stale skin. Also, his unkempt long beard was white like the ashes of a stove.

The other guest was a young man who was wearing a leather frock coat.

Though his sincere features implied a good upbringing, a mysterious atmosphere enveloped him which did not reveal a single unguarded spot.

While toying with his pint of lukewarm ale, the young man was absorbed in reading a book. It was a novel with a thin cover.

When the young man had read about half of the book and ordered his second pint of ale,

"Lad... it seems you like books?"

The white-haired old man suddenly addressed him in a hoarse voice.

The young man smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes. I like them. How about you?"

"...I hate 'em. They're boring."

The old man said so and chugged his glass of strong distilled liquor. Then, he laughed lightly in self derision.

"Things are just repeating themselves in this world. There's nothing new out there. Even the book you're just reading is just a clichéd plot that consists of rewritten tales and myths if we'd analyze it precisely. The story patterns people can think of have been exhausted ages ago."

The young man gazed silently at the old man and eventually smiled amusedly.

"You might be right on that."

The old man nodded with a most serious face.

"But listen, there is a single book in this world that does not get boring."

"What's that book called?"

The young man asked back calmly. The old man looked a bit triumphantly then and answered,

"Your book, lad."

"My book?"

"Right! The book in which your entire life is written down, from birth to death."

The old man raised the corners of his cracked lips and smiled. The young man tilted his head slightly,

"I didn't know such a book existed."

"I bet you didn't. I didn't believe in such a thing, either, until I saw it with my very own eyes. But for each person exists a book that belongs to him... of course also mine."

"Have you read it? Your own book."

The young man opened his eyes surprisedly.

"You bet! Oh, I've read it!"

"When and where did you?"

"I already forgot that. I was still a child then, you know... but I still remember this scene clearly. It was a library built like a maze. Bookshelves, tightly packed with books, completely covered the walls with no end in sight. It was almost like a cave reaching into the depths of the earth---"

While muttering so, the old man closed his eyes as if he was visiting this place in a dream.

"And your book was in one of those bookshelves?"

The young man asked back in a serious voice for some reason. The old man answered while leading the sparsely remaining liquor to his mouth.

"Yes. As you say. But not just my book. There were all books of the citizens of this country... no, there were the books of the entire world's population. The thick books belonged to the long-living people, who have made numerous experiences. And the thins ones belonged either to the people that died young or to the people that may have lived long but had a monotone life."

"How was your book?"

"Mine...?"

When the young man asked him, the old man saddened.

"It was surprisingly thin! So thin, I almost fell into despair... my life was boring and, on top of that, short."

"But aren't you..."

The young man narrowed his eyes in bewilderment. Countless wrinkles were carved into the old man's face that were proof of a long life.

"Oh well... I didn't want to die, you know. So I racked my brain and groped for a solution."

The old man chuckled with a dry throat.

"Our life span is destined from the beginning by this book. If the grim reaper really does exist, then I'm sure comes to take us when he finished reading our book... Thus, I thought: In that case I just have to make sure it doesn't end."

"Is that possible?"

The young man asked.

"Didn't I mention? My book was surprisingly thin."

The old man said slovenly.

"So I got rid of that bothering cover and tried to stick the first and last page neatly　together with glue. So that one would unknowingly return to the first page when reading... in other words, there's neither a beginning nor is there an end to my book anymore. Its an endless cycle."

"I see. So that's how you..."

The young man tried to bend his book like the old man had explained to him. When he overlapped the two binding, the thin book became a round bundle of paper. And indeed, one couldn't find a beginning nor an end anymore.

"But I regret it now... my life was saved of course, but in return it became a recurrence of the same events over and over. Well, naturally, since it's a thin book."

The old man said so and sent the young man a pleading glance.

"Please, lad... Could you find my book and tear it, if you ever lose your way into that library? If you don't, I'm condemned to live the same boring life without being able to die, over and over---"

"......"

The young man wordlessly gazed at the frail-looking old man for a while. Then, he smiled gently and nodded.

"Alright. I promise."

"Ohh..."

While thanking him repeatedly, the old man bowed.

Tears poured out from his eyes. In the end, the old man fell prostrate on the counter and started to sleep, tired from crying. It seemed like he was completely drunk.

"My, my... did the gramps fall asleep?"

The bartender, that wordlessly polished glasses until now, recognized the figure of the old man sleeping and sighed. The young man kept silent and shrugged his shoulders. While mentioning that its his treat, the bartender poured out new ale to the young man.

"My sympathies for listening to his horror story."

"Horror story?"

The young man raised an eyebrow and asked back. The bartender showed him a broad smile,

"Yeah. If that gramps gets drunk, he always starts to babble that story. It's always the same. I don't know how much I've already heard it myself."

"Is that so?" muttered the young man. Then he continued, but seemed to speak to himself.

"I see... a life that has become a recurrence of the same events, huh?... surprisingly, this might just be the truth."

"Eh?"

The bartender looked at him in puzzlement, but the young man just smiled and enjoyed his ale.

<noinclude>
{{Dantalian no Shoka Nav|prev=Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter5|next=Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter7}}
</noinclude>

Toaru Majutsu no Index:RailgunSS2 Chapter1

2011-08-04T14:12:28Z

Starkiller4299:

== Chapter 1==
 
=== Part 1 ===
 
It began back on July 1st.

“A demonstration?” asked her underclassman, Shirai Kuroko, over the phone.

Misaka Mikoto was dressed in her usual summer clothes as she responded over the cell phone at her ear.

“Yes. They said one of Academy City’s seven Level 5s is the easiest kind of sample for others to understand and that my power is the most suitable to be explained of those seven. That’s why I need to go to a cooperative organization and carry out a large-scale performance.”

In reality, a power that clearly exceeded normal physical phenomena like Shirai Kuroko’s Teleportation would be even easier for others to understand, but those who did not understand how espers worked wanted to see someone from the “strongest group”.

Whether she understood that or not, Shirai Kuroko spoke.

“Oh, onee-sama!! So basically, you’re going to be dragged up on stage for some kind of secret human exhibition!? How dirty! I have been truly careless for someone who calls herself your herald!! Ah! It is not too late. I can rush to your side and save you at the perfect moment when you are being displayed half naked!!”

“I’m going to ignore your ramblings. I just wanted to let you know I won’t be back for a week.”

“A-a whole week!? With no break!? That’s simply too much of that kind of erotic thing!! That is not a kind of marathon you can get through on youth alone!!”

“Shut up. I don’t want to do go along with this school play-like thing either. And Kuroko, I really don’t think you can come along this time no matter what you say.”

“Onee-sama, please do not take my power so lightly. If I wanted to, I could sneak into a nuclear shelter.”

“Yeah, but I still don’t think you could do it.”

Mikoto glanced over at a road sign.

However, it was not written in Japanese. It was written in Cyrillic characters.

“Not even you can cross the Sea of Japan to get to Russia.”

 
 

=== Part 2 ===
 
Some people may have been jealous if they were told that Mikoto was going to Eastern Russia for a school event. They may have complained about unfair treatment if they were told that only she got to go and her classmates were stuck with normal lessons.

However, Misaka Mikoto felt only melancholy.

Simply put, it was not enjoyable.

First and foremost, the school trip had a clear objective. And that objective was solely for the convenience of the school. It did not take Mikoto herself into account.

Not only was she deprived of her freedom, but she did not have any fellow students with which to share the high and low points of the trip.

It was impossible for her to enjoy it.

A school trip with a large group could be enjoyable and a trip on one’s own with complete freedom could be enjoyable, but that was not.

(A demonstration, hm?)

Mikoto recalled what the frightening dorm supervisor had told her before she came to Russia.

The trip was part of a plan to strengthen Academy City’s connections with its cooperative institutions. In other words, there was a danger of various cracks appearing if she were to fail.

It seemed a disparity in technological levels was behind it all. There was supposed to be a difference of 20 or 30 years in technology between Academy City and the rest of the world. The cooperative institutions received a certain level of benefits from that, but Academy City did not fully release their information. It was a countermeasure against information leaks, but the cooperative institutions did not particularly enjoy it.

(They’re having a demonstration of one of the Level 5s that are the center of their program in order to emphasize that they are not hiding anything.)

Of course, nothing about Mikoto would actually be analyzed.

It was nothing more than an event to overturn the appearance Academy City had. It was just a trick to make it look like they were not hiding anything. Accurate information on Academy City’s seven Level 5s would not be handed over so easily.

Misaka Mikoto’s value as a living resource was greater than even a handful of jungles.

(…I’m being treated like a large and rare spider.)

Mikoto then noticed someone approaching her.

It was the local guide.

“Oh, hello! Welcome, welcome!!”

A tall woman approached Mikoto while speaking in a cheerful voice. She had long blonde hair, white skin, and a smooth, slender body. She was taller than Mikoto and appeared to be around college age.

“I am Setali S Skinikia, a security guard. As a member of one of Academy City’s cooperative institutions, I am honored to meet the #3 Level 5.”

She skipped straight past shaking Mikoto’s hand without permission and embraced her. If the woman had been Shirai Kuroko, Mikoto would have fired a high voltage current at her, but she was not sure how to react when it was the first time meeting the person.

“Oh, I just can’t believe one of those Level 5s would come here alone…”

“This is a demonstration to show our trust, so it would be meaningless if I was surrounded by security, don’t you think?”

Mikoto used both hands to gently push away the guide and Setali let out a laugh of unknown meaning.

“Nya ha ha! I heard you have already checked in, so I’m guessing you were looking around at the cityscape. What do you think? Our technology isn’t at the level of Academy City, but I still think it’s a pretty characteristic city.”

“Do you mind if I speak frankly?”

“Of course not.”

“It’s hurting my eyes.”

“Nya ha ha,” Setali laughed again when Mikoto responded honestly and pointed at the side of a building.

The building was not painted in psychedelic colors.

In fact, the buildings in that city were not painted at all.

“It’s called a Semipublic AR,” Setali said while tapping her foot on the walkway beneath her feet. The walkway had the same process applied to it as the wall.

“Simply put, all of the roads, walls, and signs in the city have been made into giant monitors. Many different services are offered to those walking through the city by having the various pieces of information they want added on to the scenery.”

Even then, the flat walls of the buildings had various pieces of information running across them and many arrows were moving across the walkways. They seemed to display the general flow of the people allowing everyone to continue smoothly.

The general goal had been to turn the city’s scenery and terrain into a giant touchscreen and that ingenious idea had been carried out on the buildings, pillars, and other structures. The buildings came in various forms with some flat and some curved, but none of them tried to look distinct with indentations or protrusions. All of the buildings seemed smooth.

“AR or augmented reality is used on the screens of cell phones and PDAs, right? Isn’t that the thing where you look through the camera and additional information is displayed over the scenery? I’ve heard of using it with facial recognition software to make virtual labeling.”

“That way of using it is easy enough, but when you cannot detect it without using specific tools, you end up with the problem of having people essentially sticking abusive labels on people’s backs. That’s why the AR we developed is ‘semipublic’. The technology we used is borrowed from Academy City, though.”

When she thought about it, Mikoto recalled that Tokiwadai Middle School’s sports areas had a system allowing the signs to automatically display information regarding the match currently ongoing. She had also heard that some public baths had walls that had been made into giant monitors.

She looked around lightly.

“But don’t people dislike having others see the information they’re bringing up?”

“Nya ha ha. The images are made so they’re in focus only for the user, so the image is blurred beyond recognition when others look. The level of isolation for the information can be set by each individual user.”

Basically, the building walls, roads, signs, pillars, and all other objects and structures making up the scenery functioned as monitors and each individual resident could obtain information from them.

The difference from a normal electronic display was that each person using it saw different information being displayed. People could be looking at the same sign and be viewing different information.

That technology was not seen in Academy City, but according to Setali’s explanation, Academy City had provided support in its creation.

It was possible that Academy City was using that city as a wide scale test before it went into real use.

“…That doesn’t seem to fit with the advantages of it being ‘semipublic’ that you mentioned before.”

“Making an environment where things can easily be checked on by a third party tends to act as a deterrent. Not that all of the ARs are normally checked, though.”

“Hmm,” responded Mikoto halfheartedly.

The AR did not seem to be operated by any kind of exclusive device. Mikoto randomly waved her gaze down at the walkway at her feet.

With an electronic hum, an image of Mikoto wearing silk lingerie appeared in the walkway.

“Bfh!?” Mikoto started coughing. “Cough cough!! Wh-what the hell!?”

“What is it?”

“No, um, th-this is…lingerie…An advertisement for a lingerie store seems to have popped up.”

“Hm? Nya ha ha. Did you get caught by the automatic changing?”

“W-wait, this is no joke! Is something like this usually displayed in the middle of a pathway like this!? Get rid of it! Get rid of it! How do I get rid of it!?”

“Don’t worry. It’s like I told you. That kind of electronic display is set to be isolated at a high level in the Semipublic AR. Other people can’t see it. All I can see is some other advertisement.”

“Is that so? …No, wait. Before you explain it, tell me how to use this thing!! Even if no one else can see it, it’s still embarrassing!!”

“Your skin, hair, and eye colors are taken from the photo for your ID you had taken when you entered the city. The rest is just a predicted image based on what you look like with clothes on, so the breast size is actually a little off from reality, see? If we wanted to, we could get accurate measurements taken, but people have a right to their privacy. We stop at just an estimated image.”

“I didn’t ask you about that!! And you don’t need to do any of that! It’s not my fault they’re actually smaller than this!! And how can you see it if it’s a Semipublic AR!?”

“Nya ha ha. Well, y’see, if I put my face up against your cheek like this so the height and distance of my eyes are the same as yours, I can actually see what would normally be blurred beyond recognition.”

“You can see it all!? Tell me how to get rid of this AR right now or I’ll blow away the pathway monitor itself!!”

Mikoto was blushing profusely as Setali taught her how to use it. She then succeeded in getting a keyboard-like touch window to display on a nearby show window. She used her fingers to hurriedly switch it to a mode where it repelled any unnecessary electronic advertisements.

“The Semipublic AR can be a bit troublesome, but you’ll have to get used to it while you’re here. Traffic lights, signs, and crosswalk signals are all displayed using it.”

Setali glanced over at the wall of a building most likely to check on some information.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“W-well….” Mikoto sighed. “A place created by the world’s largest shopping mall becoming a large city is not something you just get used to.”

“Nya ha ha.”

As she laughed, Setali slowly started walking. She may have been scheduled to be somewhere. Mikoto followed her.

“This area is still normal. The area with facilities for visitors like hotels and duty-free stores is an aggregation of buildings like a normal city, but the main business facility has become an incredibly huge construction.”

“…So it’s like a gym big enough to cover up an entire section of a city?”

“This was originally an experimental facility for testing economic effects. It was something like a trade show for experimental products. However, all sorts of things needed to be put inside and it became obvious that the area needed would exceed the planned 650 domed stadiums, so it was decided that it would be easier to just register the entire place as a city.”

“So that’s why it suddenly appeared in the middle of nowhere in Eastern Russia, hm?”

“There were a lot of disagreements as to where to build it. It is a huge scale for a business institution after all. You can’t underestimate the economic effects it would have on the area around it. No matter how successful it is, if all the earnings are focused solely on it, the smaller stores in the area cannot survive. It was rejected from all sorts of places until it finally ended up here.”

Setali opened a window on the wall that was adjusted so Mikoto could see it and made it slide along with them as they walked. A map of Russia was displayed within the window.

“Because of where we are, we need exclusive railways, highways, an airport, and hotels for visitors. That only increased the land we needed even further.”

In other words, they regularly got enough visitors to make those things necessary. Mikoto doubted anyone would travel dozens or hundreds of kilometers to buy everyday items, so the shopping mall must have functioned similarly to a theme park.

Just walking through the facility was an event in and of itself.

Even the food corner had such a great selection and quantity that it became a sight one would not normally get to see.

“…So I guess it’s something like the world’s largest window shopping facility.”

“True. This is an extremely large shopping center with anything you could want, so there are plenty of goods that you would normally never see like professional tools from any industry you can think of. Just seeing an area full of such rare things may look like a fantasy to some people.”

Setari zoomed in the displayed window bringing up a general list of the areas within the city.

The basic makeup of the city was split into two blocks. One block had daily necessities and the other had entertainment and luxury items. The transportation and lodging facilities such as the airport, the terminal stations, and the hotels were focused around the outside edges of the city.

The buildings for hotels, duty-free shops, and other such places were lined up seeming to surround the main large business facility.

A few points of light on the map must have been the areas with highly specialized products that Setari had mentioned.

Unlike in a tourist spot in Japan, the signs did not display things in many different languages. It was all in Russian. It was possible they could be set to other languages via the Semipublic AR, but Mikoto felt no real need to do so.

“But the visitors here travel a long way to get here, so they tend to go beyond window shopping in the end. They seem to think they should buy something since they came all the way here. In fact, the airports take on more packages for delivery than they do passengers.”

“If the president of a shopping channel or a discount store heard that, they would probably be frantically trying to analyze your system.”

“Well, the city exists to research that kind of thing. Money comes first!” Setali yelled out in an unrefined voice. “Have you ever noticed how there can be multiple department stores on the same street, but what sells and what doesn’t is different with only a few hundred meters of difference? Two of the same chain of convenience store can exist within a few dozen meters of each other, but for some reason one of the two will sell a lot more than the other. Putting things on sale can make people think the goods are “cheap”, so no one will buy them. If you put new and used accessories next to each other, the new ones will sell better despite having the higher price. …Well, there’s a lot to commerce. There is something that alters how well something sells making it either prosper or fail. This city aims to thoroughly research the psychological effects related to money. Customers pleasantly buy things and that data is used to calculate what environment allows customers to gather more easily and what environment has the opposite effect.”

It was a simple concept to understand because the city had a simple goal.

Drawing in large amounts of visitors like a world-famous theme park allowed them to get even better results for their research.

The city had to be overflowing with various ingenious ways of getting people to go past window shopping and actually buy something. If you did not watch out, your hotel room could end up filled with strange souvenirs.

Mikoto sighed.

“So I’m doing my demonstration here.”

“Yes.”

“(…Well, it’s not bad being the representative of Academy City, but being forced to do things for the convenience of the adults is a real pain.)”

“(…Well, from the records we received from Academy City, this girl is the most normal, has the easiest to understand power if you’re just seeing it, and has the most reasonable personality. …The other Level 5s would definitely ruin this.)”

Mikoto and Setali both muttered to themselves.

Finally, Setali changed the subject.

“As I said before, there was a problem regarding pressure on smaller stores with the advance of larger facilities such as this one. Searching for a solution to that is one of the themes of our research. …We deal with Academy City quite a bit. We may only receive the downgraded technology, but the quality is still better than anything else. Finding a way to reduce the friction between Academy City and its surroundings has more value than just as an economic effect.” Setali shrugged lightly. “But other than that, this is place surprisingly similar to a normal city. I work as a security guard, but I deal with a lot more dropped items or lost children than I do any real incidents. There are even some urban legends.”

“Urban legends?”

“Nya ha ha. There are all sorts of them. Lately, there’s been one about a ‘very valuable orange’.”

“?”

 
 

=== Part 3 ===
 
Saten Ruiko was a middle school girl that loved rumors.

Also, she was the type that pursued the rumors that were in truly bad taste and would anger the PTA types.

“Uiharuuu. Are you working on Judgment stuff again? You sure work hard for something you don’t get paid for.”

She was calling to a girl named Uiharu Kazari. Her characteristic trait was the great amount of flower decorations on her head and she was in the process of battling a PDA in order to make some sort of document.

“Saten-san, you chase after rumors despite that not getting you any money.”

“But that’s my hobby. If someone else told me to do it, I’m sure I wouldn’t,” said Saten arbitrarily turning aside Uiharu’s comment. “That boring paperwork doesn’t matter, so come with Saten-oneechan so we can go chase after the rumor about the very valuable orange.”

“…What kind of title is that? It clearly has some hidden meaning to it.”

“Listen, Uiharu!! A traveler was on an overseas trip when he found a souvenir shop in a certain country that was selling a very valuable orange!! It was said to be a mysterious orange that naturally grew in value just by having it!!”

Uiharu’s expression seemed to be saying “here she goes again” and she continued working on her PDA without looking up.

Saten continued speaking regardless.

“So the traveler bought the orange thinking it was a good luck charm or something, but when he got home and put it in his house, it started squirming.”

“…”

“The traveler was curious, so he went to the souvenir shop’s website and emailed the shop to check. The response said that the orange had over 100 eggs of a valuable type of ant called a crimson long-legged army ant laid inside. It said that it would naturally rise in value because those would hatch. …As the traveler read the email, the orange burst open!”

“Gyaaahhh!! That’s creepy! You really do love that kind of terrible story, Saten-san!!”

“Apparently, those crimson long-legged army ants love the damp and humid environment of Japan. It seems they’re quietly spreading their breeding area and if they aren’t quickly found and exterminated, the entire main island of Japan will be buried in giant army ants…”

“Stop telling me that kind of thing!! I-it’sh jusht a rumor!! Sho I don’t have to worry!!”

“Uiharu, those flowers on your head look like they would attract bugs. Bugs with six huge legs like this.”

“Gyaaahhhhh!!”

 
 

=== Part 4 ===
 
Mikoto’s face paled a bit upon being told the story of the very valuable orange by Setali. Even though she knew it was just a rumor, it was still creepy.

“Nya ha,” Setali laughed in her characteristic way. “It’s an expansion of the idea of an invasive species destroying the ecosystem of a land. The part about having to quickly find them and exterminate them is a stereotypical threatening message. The story has only spread through this city since it is a shopping mall where anything can be bought. Once you know what an urban legend is based on, it suddenly loses its impact and the fear it causes fades away.”

“It’s still not a very happy story,” Mikoto said in an exhausted way.

Setali seemed to realize that Mikoto was not interested, so she touched a nearby wall in order to change the subject. She seemed to be using her fingers to search for something on the AR and a report appeared on the screen.

“Let’s see, how about we talk about your schedule. Your itinerary, security postings, the progress of the demonstration, and other things are all saved in the online database. You can view any of those things at any time using your guest ID and the personal password we had you set when you entered the city.”

“So the actual demonstrations will be on the third and fourth days. And the rehearsal is on the second day.”

“Think of the first demonstration as for the press and second as for the general public. What you will be doing in both will be the same. …Are these people okay for your security?”

“It’s not like I can really say no, now can I?”

The point of the demonstration was to reduce friction between Academy City and its cooperative institutions regarding the level of technology open to them. If only Academy City personnel were deployed around Mikoto, it would be seen as Academy City not allowing anyone else near their espers which would not reduce the friction.

That was the reason that no Academy City adults such as the dorm manager were accompanying her.

Of course, the Academy City adults may have been very nervous about the whole thing. After all, it would be a major issue if Academy City’s #3 was kidnapped, harmed, or had her DNA map stolen. It would be a loss of a living resource and it could have an effect on the international relationship between Academy City and its cooperative institutions.

As proof of that, the following happened as Mikoto headed back to her hotel where she would part with Setali.

“So what am I scheduled to do now?”

“Nothing. You’re restricted from leaving your room until tomorrow. Academy City asked that we make sure you refrain from taking any actions of your own free will. If you touch the walls or floor to search for some information, I think it will just come up with the documents Academy City sent over.”

“Seriously?”

“I would think you would be more knowledgeable of the details when it comes to Academy City.”

“Um…I’ve come all this way to a major sightseeing area, so I was kind of thinking of having a look around.”

“Nya ha ha. There will be some guards stationed in front of your room and some of the responsibility lies with me, so please restrain yourself from going out for fun tonight.”

And like that, Mikoto was escorted back to her high class hotel and thrown into her room on the 20th floor. Just before closing the main door to the hotel room, Setali peered in through the gap.

“We may not be as good as Academy City, but our guards quite skilled, so don’t try anything.”

“Yes, yes, I get it.”

The self-locking door clicked shut. It was painfully clear how Mikoto was being treated. There was no other exit from that room, the entrance to the ventilation ducts were too small for a human to pass through, and only a sheer 20 story drop awaited one out the windows.

“Vahh.”

Mikoto let out a breath now that she was left alone.

She collapsed face up on the bed.

It was a real pain in the ass.

It was not that she did not want to do the demonstration. She had no complaints about going to Russia, either. However, she was completely bound by the schedule the entire time. It was all just for the convenience of the adults. If she did not have a minute to spare, she could understand, but she was being sealed up during what could have been free time simply because of what was scheduled for later.

Just to be sure, she used the Semipublic AR while still lying on the bed to check on what actually was scheduled for later. As she expected, it was nothing interesting.

It seemed that on the days of the demonstrations, she had to get up on stage wearing a lovely dress and show off some of her skills. She would be covered in sensors at the time, but according to the preliminary calculations Mikoto had done, devices of that level would not be able to obtain data useful for developing psychic powers.

In other words, Academy City was just putting on a show to say that there was no friction between them and the cooperative institutions. They were not actually handing anything over.

Everything was for the convenience of the adults.

It had no real value.

If you had no complaints about that, you might as well just announce you were running for student council president.

(Peter Wellgo, Ran Ryuushu, Eclek Savoge… It looks like they’re all from the diplomatic departments of overseas cooperative institutions. I guess my audience will be made up of stubborn people, too.)

Mikoto’s face grew cloudy as she viewed the list of invited people that was being displayed on the ceiling.

(Viner? What…? Are they holding a weapons show along with the demonstration? I guess that’s how psychic powers are viewed by those outside the city.)

“I can’t just stay on my best behavior,” Mikoto muttered as she lay face up on the bed.

She sat up and looked around.

Once she had decided that she was going to have some fun, that was what she was going to do.

Mikoto looked around and then approached the window.

She was on the 20th floor.

“So am I a captive princess or something?”

Normally, that would be an impossible height to escape from. There were no balconies on the wall. In fact, there were not even any protrusions or rainspouts. It was most likely made that way to heighten the effect of the Semipublic AR. The excessively flat wall had the same sense of height telling one to not get near it like an old castle or an office building.

There was nowhere one could get a foothold and there was no point around which to tie a rope.

However…

“They never seem to realize…”

Mikoto opened the window wide and leaned out.

“…that I can create as many footholds as I need using magnetism.”

She unhesitatingly jumped out.

The bottom of her loafers scraped against the wall while she was in a pose like she was skiing. Academy City’s #3’s sightseeing trip began.

 
 

=== Part 5 ===
 
The powerful magnetism caused the AR effects on the hotel wall to be slightly distorted, but there were no major issues.

Mikoto landed after heading vertically down the wall from 20 stories up and then looked around.

“Now then, where should I go? …This is a cooperative institution, so they might have a Russia exclusive Gekota.”

She started walking without having decided on a destination.

The hotel was near the edge of the city. All of the surrounding buildings were other hotels or duty-free shops.

High-rise buildings could not be constructed in the center of the city and the objective of the city was to be the world’s largest shopping mall. It covered a vast area, but it was not all that tall. It was only about 5 stories above the ground.

The large center facility was divided into two major facilities.

Each area was something like a giant shopping mall much larger than a domed stadium. The buildings were not perfectly rectangular. Some parts were just five-story boxes, some parts were shaped like donuts with giant courtyards in the middle, and some parts had large atriums that sank down below ground level.

(Overall, it’s kind of like a giant box that has been eaten into in various places.)

650 domed stadiums.

It was such a vast area, that one might have to ride the subway to get from one store to another. There was also more than one parking lot. Each parking lot was the size of one for a championship soccer match and there was one in each cardinal direction of the giant facility.

Mikoto entered one of the large shopping mall areas.

It did not seem like just a giant building.

For one thing, it was simply too vast.

The insides of the shops were displays full of products just like at a supermarket or a department store. However, there was an overwhelming amount of them making the stores almost seem like a type of labyrinth. It was amazing that each and every thing on display was actually for sale and not just a decoration.

The pet shop was as large as a zoo, the flower shop was like a botanical garden, and the temporary day care for small children was like a small scale amusement park. Mikoto had never before heard of a day care that had a roller coaster inside.

Even though it was evening, there were of course a large number of people there.

That may have been because it was like a theme park or it may have been because the area had no sense of the sunset.

Their prided Semipublic AR functioned as special monitors. The display used RGB instead of CMYK. In other words, the building walls, the path at one’s feet, and everything else glowed. A normal night scene was a collection of points of light, but in that city it was a collection of panels of light. There was simply so much light that any sense of dimness was done away with.

In fact, the less light there was in the surroundings, the more the presence of the Semipublic AR was forced upon you.

The races of the people walking along were varied. It was not just a general mix where some were white, some were black, and some were Asian. Misaka could see some distinctive builds even among those different groups.

(I see.)

Mikoto nodded as she looked around that building that was more a sealed off commercial district than a giant shopping mall.

(With an area this big, there would be a lot of lost children and pickpockets. I can see why they need those security guards in addition to the police. Having workers at the shops double as security was probably inspired by our Anti-Skill.)

And then Mikoto added another comment in her mind.

(…I can see how this would end up being a treasure trove of urban legends.)

There were places about which urban legends naturally popped up such as schools, hospitals, and tunnels. Large amusement parks and shopping malls also fell under that category. Perhaps because children got lost in those places on a daily basis, a lot of the stories about those last two involved human trafficking. Mikoto was not too knowledgeable about that kind of rumor, but even she knew two or three of that sort, so they were probably a fairly major genre.

Urban legends.

A very valuable orange.

(That rumor may have spread among tourists who came here because things are sold here that are not in other places. They may have thought that something like that could be found here. Well, there’s no point in thinking about a completely baseless rumor.)

Mikoto continued to walk around that foreign city as it turned to night in hopes of seeing something she had never seen before. After heading up some stairs, she realized she had entered an odd area. Instead of the vast large scale image of the places she had seen before, the shops lined up there were all quite small. The roof was narrow and the entire area seemed rather cramped. The shopping district a ways from the main streets seemed like the entire place had been dragged indoors.

“What is this place?”

She looked around, but she saw no signs. For an instant, she felt the area was quite inconvenient, but then she recalled the Semipublic AR. That city was a place where one could obtain any information one needed.

She brought her hands over to a thick round pillar and called up a keyboard. She typed in “area map” and a detailed diagram of the area immediately appeared on the pillar.

(Hmm… So they’ve invited in a few shops from outside the city. I guess it’s an economic experiment about the fusion of local stores and new stores.)

Small shops were lined up on either side of the long narrow passageway, but old-looking shops and shiny new chain shops alternated like Morse code. The experiment was most likely not seeing which one did better. They were likely trying to see how to get both to get even business.

New shops would not necessarily sell more.

For instance, in an area with a lot of brand new sushi or ramen shops, the customers would all head to the one old-looking shop.

Their goal was to analyze that to the point of knowing the actual values involved rather than just the common knowledge so they could always gain that effect.

(Trying to figure out what their ulterior motives behind things are as you walk along can be kind of fun.)

However, she would be lying if she said she was not mainly trying to see if she could find a special Gekota you could not find elsewhere.

She could feel her destiny for a once-in-a-lifetime encounter that transcended probability theory.

Encountering that Gekota would be nice.

Mikoto looked around thinking about entering a random shop. She changed the AR setting so that it would display information on her surroundings as she looked around. Matching her gaze, the signs for various shops were displayed one after another on the wall.

Suddenly, Mikoto’s gaze froze.

The data for one of the many signs was in Japanese which was rare for that city.

It read: Snack and Souvenir Shop Nihon Daruma.

Mikoto had just been thinking of that city as a treasure trove of urban legends and then that showed up.

I have no intention of explaining in detail, but it is a rather famous story in Japan, so you should be able to easily find it by searching on the internet.<ref>The urban legend being referenced is the "Daruma Woman". Simply put, it says a woman was kidnapped overseas and years later was found alive with her arms, legs, and tongue cut off in a shop in a foreign country that had "Daruma" in Japanese on its sign.</ref> However, it is a rather creepy story, so I do not recommend it. Do not look it up.

“…Are they trying to draw people in?”

It was a well-known rumor in Japan, so they may have looked it up on Japanese websites or the store may have had been opened by someone from Japan like a sushi or nabe restaurant.

However, even if it was shocking, the store won by catching people’s attention.

Mikoto was at a loss for words for a bit, but once the shock wore off, she started to get curious. For one thing, she had been wandering around that foreign city at night in hopes of finding something with some impact. Mikoto headed for the shop like she was being sucked in.

The door slid open.

The inside was odd, too. It was a lot like a Japanese convenience store. The clean and modern interior seemed unnatural. The shelves for the products were the same as a normal convenience store, but the products themselves were clearly different.

On the magazine racks were old books made of parchment with mysterious cursive writing in an unknown language.

Instead of plastic bottles in the glass door refrigerators covering one wall were bottles filled with a mysterious liquid as well as things like snakes and insects.

Next to the register where heat insulated containers for hot snacks would usually be were small dried heads of animals.

Nothing there was normal.

It could perhaps be described as occult.

Everything there would be laughed off as ridiculous if it was listed as a mail order product on the back cover of a manga magazine. However, with so many of them gathered and logically laid out within the store, there was a sense of unity to it all.

“Yah ho ho!”

The girl at the register gave a meaningless cry of greeting.

The girl was shorter than Mikoto but actually had breasts, so she annoyed Mikoto.

“Are you a tourist, miss? Well, I guess everyone in this city is a tourist. Although it’s rare for a Japanese girl to come in after seeing that sign. Are you starving for some stimulation?”

“What about you?” Mikoto said as she poked at something that looked like a crystal packed in plastic. “With that name and this design, I thought someone Japanese was running the store, but I guess I was wrong.”

The girl at the register had white skin and long black hair with just the ends braided. However, her eyes were blue and her skin color was not that of a normal Japanese person. She had the characteristics of a European, of an Anglo-Saxon.

Mikoto looked at the nametag on the girl’s chest that had her name written in hiragana.

“Lessar?”

“Yup, I’m Lessar-chan. We have all sorts of souvenirs. And don’t worry. Everything we have here won’t get you caught up at customs. So just loosen the purse strings.”

“You say that, but…”

Mikoto looked around the horrid convenience store again.

Instead of snack foods, dried bats wrapped in plastic were lined up.

[[Image:RAILGUN_SS2_01_018.jpg|thumb]]

“How am I supposed to tell what’s good or not?”

“It’s like an amulet. You just need to use your feelings to choose the one that matches your situation the best. I don’t really like putting added value on art or antiques.”

“Hmm… This selection goes a bit far for just grabbing people’s attention, don’t you think?”

“They’re souvenirs, so just random things are fine, right? And the things here are nothing more than materials. I don’t think you could make a proper spiritual item from them.”

Mikoto did not understand what the girl named Lessar was talking about.

Was she using terms commonly used in fortune telling magazines or something?

“I don’t think I need to buy anything that’s sole purpose is to bury one’s troubles.”

“Hm? Are you the type that denies the effects of good luck charms? But I think normal convenience stores are more or less the same. You go to the store because you feel you need something and then buy items to make up for your general dissatisfaction. Isn’t that all those everyday products are? This store specializes in the things that cannot be seen, but is otherwise the same.”

“I see. So this really is a convenience store?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Well, at any rate, it doesn’t look like I’ll find a Russia exclusive Gekota here.”

“I have no intention of stocking anything I have no interest in or knowledge of. After all, this is basically just a hobby. But I will always be here. This is basically a convenience store, so come back if you ever have any kind of dissatisfaction similar to if you were to suddenly want some ice cream during this warm night.”

“I see. Well, I have no worries right now.”

“Worries fluidly come and go. Even if you have none now, that will not necessarily be the case later.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

Mikoto headed for the sliding door. When she stepped on the floor mat, a soft electronic tone sounded. Even that was just like in a normal convenience store.

However, the words of the worker named Lessar alone were not stereotypical.

“Oh, one more thing. Watch out for oranges,” she said.

“Hah?”

“Watch out for oranges.”

With the smile of the service industry on her face, Lessar repeated her warning.

 
 

=== Part 6 ===
 
Mikoto’s frank impression of the store could be summed up in the word “strange”.

She had thought there might be some occult stores like that outside of Academy City and overseas, but it was still strange. She may have been affected by the atmosphere of the world’s largest shopping mall that gave the baseless impression that anything could be found there.

But then…

(If I stay away too long, the guards may figure out something’s wrong from the lack of noises. I probably need to be heading back.)

Over the next three days, she had a rehearsal, a demonstration for the press, and a demonstration for the public. She was of course planning to duck out when she found an opening, but she would still not be able to play around as much as that day.

Mikoto started regretting not having taken a picture of that store with her cell phone and then decided to head straight back to the hotel.

However, not everything went as planned.

On her way along the path leading to the exit of the large shopping mall area, Misaka Mikoto was forced to come to a stop.

This was not because the exit had been sealed.

Nor was there a thug or someone blocking her way.

At that time, in that instant, everyone but Mikoto was coming and going through the entrance like nothing was happening. Despite it being late in the evening, a large flow of people was formed by the great number of people entering or exiting the facility. Parents were heading for an amusement park with their kid who was waving a helium balloon around. Tall lovers were huddled together and talking while pointing at the floor. They were likely using the Semipublic AR to call up a guide to the facility. Mikoto was the only one that stopped.

There was a single reason.

There was something small that gave her an uncomfortable feeling lying on the floor near the entrance.

Lying on the floor as if someone had accidently dropped it was a single large orange.

“…”

It was an unpleasant coincidence.

There was a boy carrying many paper bags full of souvenirs and a girl walking into the facility while biting into a hamburger, but Mikoto alone was purposefully regulating her breathing.

Mikoto recalled the story she had heard from Setali about the very valuable orange. In the story a traveler sightseeing in a foreign country bought an orange that had the eggs of a large kind of ant packed inside of it. Mikoto felt the rumor should just be dismissed as absurd, but she could not get it out of her head.

(That…couldn’t really be true…right?)

Mikoto tried to deny it in her head, but it still bothered her. She could not just overlook it.

She slowly looked around, but there was no store selling fruits nearby.

While looking at the orange that looked oddly isolated just lying there on the floor, Mikoto approached a nearby thick pillar.

The Semipublic AR reacted to her presence.

She searched for “crimson long-legged army ants”.

Mikoto had no real plan behind doing so.

What looked like an encyclopedia page opened up.

''Crimson Long-Legged Army Ants.

''2-3 cm long. As their name suggest, they have characteristically long legs. They also possess 5 mm fangs.

''Their bodies are black, but their six legs are bright red. Also, the males have transparent wings.

''Carnivorous.

''In this rare species, both males and females are soldier ants. They prefer mammals to other insects or arthropods. They have been found within the flesh of fruits, but this is not because they are eating the fruit. It is speculated that they enter the fruit when a colony is destroyed due to lack of food so that they can camouflage themselves and more likely capture some prey.

''As army ants, they have no specified nest and instead construct a colony of around 50,000-100,000 ants with the queen in the center. They then wander around a set area in search of prey.

''While hiding within a fruit, a stimulus to the fruit can remove the queen’s limiter causing the eggs to hatch with a seemingly inexhaustible supply. When that happens, a great number of queens have been reported to appear despite queens usually being limited to one.

''There have been numerous reports of such out of control colonies attacking human habitations.

''In the Second International Conference on the Prevention of Harm from Dangerous Insects, it was decided to work on bringing down the number those incidents to half what they are in 10 years’ time and Academy City is providing technology to help.

''-> Related: The Hennis Village Incident.

Mikoto knew that only regret would await her if she clicked on that link, but she did so anyway.

She was taken to a video sharing site.

She could not tell the exact location shown, but it seemed to either be Africa or South America. The area had small spots of short vegetation growing on dried earth. A few run-down wooden buildings were standing there.

A black and red sandstorm was blowing.

Below that, people with tanned skin were running about.

It almost looked like they were trying to avoid sparks from a conflagration, but they were not. The large amounts of red light were squirming around. They were bright red insect legs. Thin, transparent wings were moving.

Doors closed one after another.

The people who luckily managed to slip inside the buildings beforehand were the lucky ones.

However, the people who had the doors slammed in their faces were…

“…!!”

Mikoto slammed her palm against the thick round pillar. Her strike had enough force to break a panel of glass and the Semipublic AR took it as the command to close the window and complied.

Her breathing was erratic.

She had not been able to watch that video any longer.

Instead of those images of the past, Mikoto turned her gaze on something from the present.

She looked over at the oddly isolated orange.

She thought she saw its skin move slightly.

“…Eh…!?”

It really may have only been her imagination.

It also could have been due to the minute vibrations from the feet of the people walking around it.

But whether it had been a mental effect or physical movement, that vague appearance of movement did not stop with that one instant. Mikoto continually saw the same thing happening. A strange chill ran down her spine.

What if that story had been true…?

(…I need some kind of sealed container.)

Mikoto looked around.

(If I have a something like a microwave that can contain it, then the contents of the orange won’t be scattered around even if it does explode.)

That shopping mall had all sorts of things for sale. They had to at least have the basic kinds of appliances sold in department stores. The problem was that the stores were so large she had no idea where to find what she wanted.

Mikoto operated the Semipublic AR on the floor and a twisting arrow appeared there indicating where the appliance corner was. Mikoto looked back at the orange lying on the floor and…

“You’ve gotta be kidding…” she muttered.

It was gone. The orange was gone.

Mikoto frantically looked around for it. A lot of people were coming and going through the entrance like a shopping district on a holiday. It did not seem that the orange had been trampled underfoot, but she could not tell where it had gone. Someone may have kicked it.

And then she heard children’s voices. She could not see the children because of all the people, but she clearly heard the innocent voices of children speaking in Russian.

One was a boy’s voice and the other a girl’s voice.

“What’s with this? It’s all squishy.”

“What did you get that for? Are you going to eat it?”

“Of course I’m not going to eat it. I found it on the floor. I’m gonna kick it all the way to the car.”

Mikoto’s head shot up.

She really could not see the ones speaking. She hurried in the direction of the voices which led her to the exit.

“Wait,” Mikoto called out despite not knowing who she was speaking to as she pushed her way through the crowd.

She was in such a panicked hurry that she was tempted to emit a weak electrical current, but she resisted.

The eggs forming the colony of crimson long-legged army ants were hiding within the fruit waiting for some prey.

A stimulus to the fruit would remove the queen’s limiter causing the number of ants to increase seemingly endlessly. The normal limit of a single queen would also disappear.

Once that happened, it would end like the video she had seen on that site…

“Wait!!”

Mikoto charged out of the building.

There was a parking lot large enough to be at a major soccer match, but tools for home gardens such as spades and buckets were lined up nearer the exit. The crowd was cutting around various corners creating a large flow of people.

(The voices sounded around 10, I guess. The boy’s voice didn’t sound like it had changed yet.)

She looked around.

There were a lot of parents with their children. There were even quite a few around the age of 10. Some were holding their parent’s hand, some were waving around balloons, and some were riding on their parent’s shoulders.

The boy had mentioned kicking the orange.

Mikoto looked down to the ground and quickly moved her gaze into the distance.

She saw something orange-colored fly by.

“There it is!!”

About 200 meters ahead, a family of four was walking in one section of the packed parking lot. The orange was at the boy’s feet. He must have kicked it again and again. Part of the skin had torn off. The orange was squirming eerily. It looked a bit like a heart about to die.

It looked like something breathing was about to burst out of it.

There was no time.

Mikoto had no idea how many crimson long-legged army ants were hiding within the orange, but she did not want to think about what kind of damage would be done to the boy that was kicking the orange were it to burst and there were even 50 or 100 of them inside. And if even a few of the ants that would scatter in every direction were allowed to escape, they would begin breeding after only a short period of time creating a seemingly infinite number of them.

She could fire a lightning spear or her Railgun.

A few options came to mind, but none of them would work.

She may be able to obliterate the orange, but that level of attack would only scatter the tiny ants around making it entirely pointless.

She could not solely rely on her power.

“…!!”

Like she was juggling a soccer ball, Mikoto lightly kicked up a tin bucket lying in the outside area for home garden products.

She manipulated magnetism.

An invisible force caused the tin bucket to swing around like a wrecking ball on a chain.

A heavy sound echoed out like when one swung a bat through the air.

The bucket flew down from diagonally above the boy, flew upside down just past his shoulder at high speed, and struck the ground covering up the orange on the parking lot ground. A metallic clang rang out as orange sparks flew.

“Ee!”

“Out of the way!!” yelled Mikoto, but she clicked her tongue immediately afterwards because Japanese wasn’t going to get through to the boy.

Luckily, the family of four was paralyzed by the sudden occurrence. Their lack of motion made things easier for Mikoto.

Purple electricity flew from her bangs.

With a feeling like the power in her forehead was being released externally, she controlled her power and the charged high voltage current was released all at once.

A loud noise similar to a gunshot rang out.

Mikoto put herself between the boy and the bucket and forced him away. She kept her gaze on the upside down bucket.

(I-is it over…?)

She then heard a slight scraping noise.

It sounded like claws scraping at metal.

Mikoto’s shoulders jumped and the noise continued.

It was coming from the bucket.

From inside it.

From within.

The scratching noise continued and continued and continued.

(You don’t mean…)

“They’re trying to eat through the metal bucket…!?”

One shot had not been enough to annihilate them.

The simple command telling them to frantically survive gave the ants greater leadership.

Mikoto stepped forward and fired two more high voltage currents into the bucket. She stepped on top of the bottom of the upside down bucket with one foot. She then poured a massive amount of electricity into the bucket just to be sure.

The tin bucket conducted electricity.

The inside would have been transformed into an environment more severe than an electric chair.

“…”

After firing over 20 electrical attacks at it, Mikoto finally stopped. The noise and light had been so great that even the onlookers remained silent.

She remained still for 30 long seconds with her foot still on top of the tin bucket.

She could not grasp the situation like that.

Without removing the bucket, she could not check to see what had been inside the orange or if they had been properly exterminated.

When dealing with bombs, checking to make sure it was truly not functioning was as nerve-wracking as deactivating it in the first place. It was a similar feeling to that.

Mikoto slowly took her weight off of the bottom of the upside down bucket.

She gulped.

She brought the bottom of her foot to edge of the bucket and pushed ever so slightly. The bucket moved a bit from just that. It was not a perfect defensive wall. Just tapping it with her toes had been enough to almost knock it over.

She pushed harder.

The bucket wobbled quite a bit and then flipped over. The contents were now exposed.

The skin and flesh of the fruit had been torn apart by the high voltage currents and now lined the inner edge of the bucket. Most of it was burnt black, but some still retained its original color. A marmalade-like smell reached Mikoto’s nose.

And something like black sesame seeds were scattered about. Gravity sent them pouring down into a small pile. Mikoto recognized them instantly. They were insects. The small six-legged insects had been turned to ash by the massive electric currents.

None of them were moving.

After confirming that, Mikoto manipulated magnetism to cover it all up with the tin bucket again.

She breathed a sigh of relief and sat weakly down on the parking lot ground.

An orange.

Crimson long-legged army ants.

The world’s largest shopping mall where anything could be bought.

A treasure trove of urban legends.

(So…it was true?)

The family of four was finally starting to make a fuss asking what she had done to their child, but Mikoto did not have the energy left to respond.

She ignored the cries in Russian and muttered in Japanese.

“…I guess I ended up making an unexpected demonstration a bit early.”

 
 

=== Part 7 ===
 
Much time had passed since the sun had completely set.

It was well past the time for dinner or even a bath.

Mikoto had not returned to the hotel. She had been led to one section of the shopping mall. It was not a place where normal customers went. The area was for only staff and the special workers known as security guards. It had been described as the “backyard”, but it was essentially an interrogation room for the security guards.

The room had a simple table and chairs, a recording device, and a one-way mirror covering one of the walls. It was not a comfortable place in the slightest. Even in that room the walls, floor, and ceiling were devices for the Semipublic AR, so it felt a bit unbalanced.

“I see. So there were army ant eggs within the orange,” muttered a female security guard.

It seemed her name was Enirya G. Algonskaya. She was a red-headed woman in her late twenties. Her exacting behavior vaguely reminded Mikoto of a certain frightening dorm supervisor.

“I watched over the bucket until you got there and there was no sign of any having escaped. They were all killed. However, I have no way of knowing if few of them could have made their way out while the child was kicking the orange. Just in case, I think you should spray some insecticide around the area.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“…But what is going on here? That incident was exactly like the urban legend. Whoever did it must be some crazy bastard.”

“As you can tell, we are in the middle of the investigation, so we cannot say anything yet,” Enirya said without smiling. “Of course, that is assuming that there were actually crimson long-legged army ants there.”

“…What?”

“The remains we have recovered have been completely turned to ash, so ‘we cannot say anything yet’. We cannot deny the possibility that some show-off was faking an incident that did not actually occur.”

“Are you serious?”

“It is merely one possibility. For us, that would be the best possibility, but we of course have to think about the less desirable possibilities.” Enirya shrugged. “We are currently investigating where the orange may have come from. However, there are over 80 places both large and small selling produce. This could take some time. And if the orange was brought in from outside, it could be even more difficult.”

“…”

“By the way…”

“What?”

“Did you know that the urban legend about the very valuable orange originated from a famous story about a cactus? A traveler in Central America buys a cactus and becomes suspicious when it starts twitching back at home, so he calls the florist or souvenir shop….and so forth. Also, the contents were not originally army ants.”

“??? What are you trying to say?”

“The version of the story where the cactus has turned into an orange is exceedingly rare. At the very least, it is not spreading throughout Russia. My conclusion is that the story of the very valuable orange is an exceedingly local urban legend that is only told within Japan’s Academy City.”

A searching gaze stared at her.

Mikoto frowned.

“Wait a second. You don’t mean…”

“And there just so happens to be someone from Academy City here for a demonstration right now. You do not have any guards or supervisors with you, correct?” Enirya spoke slowly. “We are a cooperative institution, but we are not knowledgeable in the local information of Academy City. I only know what I just told you because I requested some information from Academy City regarding this case. …So don’t you find it odd? This incident seems to have been based on that urban legend, so the one who caused it must have known the story of the very valuable orange. Am I wrong?”

“You’ve got to be kidding!! I only just learned of that rumor!!”

“Even if you have special powers, you are still essentially a normal middle school girl. The fact that you managed to ‘coincidentally’ resolve that incident seems suspicious to me.”

“It’s your negligence that allowed that orange to be there in the first place! Why am I being treated like a suspect just because I disposed of it!? Did I hurt your pride as a security guard or something!?”

“Oh, you need not get so worked up today.” Enirya spread out her arms to bring Mikoto back under control. “We shall continue this once your attorney has been called in. Although to be honest, I would rather get the truth out of you now.”

“…”

Enirya stood up from her seat and then left the interrogation room without turning back.

A heavy noise reverberated through the room as the door shut.

She had not promised to return Mikoto to the hotel. Would Mikoto end up staying there all night? Or would she be thrown into some kind of cell? Neither choice sounded like much fun.

Mikoto felt that things had gotten bad.

Mikoto leaned back in her cheap chair and thought while staring up at the ceiling.

Had it all just been a coincidence? Or had someone wanted to cause her demonstration to fail worsening the relationship between Academy City and its cooperative institutions? Or was there some conspiracy working to acquire Mikoto’s DNA map? She had no way of knowing. There just was not enough information.

However, she was not too worried.

After all, she had not been the criminal behind the orange incident. She had no reason to be panicked. Even the orange had been completely dealt with. There was little chance of the crimson long-legged army ants causing any real damage. As such, she just had to wait for the suspicions pointed in her direction to be cleared up. After all, Academy City let their valuable Level 5 outside the city with no guards or supervisors as a sign of their trust of the cooperative institutions. If that just ended up with her being locked up, Academy City would not stay quiet.

To pass the time, Mikoto started to pull out her cell phone. When she stuck her hand in her skirt pocket, she felt something squishy. It felt like oily skin.

(Uuh…!? What???)

Mikoto pulled her hand out in surprise and found a torn off piece of orange rind. She had used her foot when checking on the contents of the bucket, but that piece must have gotten stuck to her clothes at some point.

There were no ants left, but it was still creepy. If any small eggs were stuck on her clothes anywhere, it would be a major problem. Mikoto put the orange rind on top of the simple table. She started to move as far away from it as she could.

Suddenly, Mikoto froze.

Something like a small sticker was stuck on the surface of the rind. It reminded her of a QR code. It may take one to a web page displaying information on the product. Mikoto had heard of pages like that for produce that gave the expiration date as well as information on the area and farm it was produced in. Simply put, a small sticker could not hold all that information.

Mikoto’s eyes were fixed on the QR code.

If that orange was a product, would it really have been delivered all on its own? If it had been delivered, it would not have been packed all on its own in a box.

In other words, there was more than one orange.

It was possible there were more than ten similar items somewhere in the shopping mall.

It was possible there were more than ten oranges filled with crimson long-legged army ants.

“Wait…” Mikoto muttered.

She stood up from her seat in panic and headed for the door.

“Wait!! Listen to me!! The orange incident may not be over!! There may have been other similar oranges delivered with it!! If they had crimson long-legged army ants in them too, then this shopping mall could turn into a storm of ant colonies!!”

However, there was no response. She tried turning the knob, but it did not budge and there was no sign of anyone coming even after she pounded on the door for a bit.

Mikoto ran over to the one-way mirror covering one wall.

“I know you can hear me!! I’m not asking you to release me now!! Check on this QR code!! You may be able to find out where and when the oranges were delivered!!”

There was no response.

For an instant, Mikoto considered blowing the door down with a Railgun blast, but she decided that would not be her best option. If she broke her way out like that, a lot of people would attempt to stop her. She did not think it would be impossible for her to defeat all of them, but it would take too much time. She did not have the time needed to deal with a bunch of small fries.”

(The QR code…)

Mikoto pointed her cell phone camera at it, but there was no response. It seemed to be a different format. She looked around. The walls and floor had Semipublic AR functionality.

The fact that she had not been cut off from the network may have been because they considered her questionable but still likely innocent. At any rate, Mikoto brought her hands to the wall. After performing a few operations, she pressed the orange rind with the sticker on it directly up against the wall.

It must have read it with ultrasonic waves because a few windows opened up.

“A box of 20 entered today through the east gate. If one of them fell out, then there are still 19 of them!!”

Those crimson long-legged army ants were in oranges not in insect cages. The ants had a tendency to put a large number of eggs in a fruit waiting for prey when the number of ants making up the colony fell too low, but someone had likely purposefully created that situation.

Why?

First of all, they could bring in the ants without raising suspicion.

Second of all, they could make them breed seemingly endlessly upon removing the queen’s limiter.

In other words, a breeder had created a living time bomb with the oranges.

Had one of the oranges fallen out while in preparation for some kind of plan? Or had a number of them already been set up and that incident had been the first one to activate?

In any case, one thing was for sure.

The incident would not end only on the scale of what had already happened.

The real thing was yet to come.

A very valuable orange.

Urban legends could no longer just be laughed off in that shopping mall.

“…”

The other oranges had likely not “detonated” yet. If they had, the security guards would have been more panicked.

The time when the eggs would hatch and the ants would become active could likely be regulated by the temperature and humidity, but it was still based on living creatures. The breeder may not have been able to perfectly control the timing of the hatching of the eggs.

When Mikoto had thought things through that far, she heard a commotion on the other side of the door. They must have been watching her through the one-way mirror. They must have been waiting to make their move. However, they did not seem intent on asking her questions throughout the night either. The security guards were not going to listen to her. They were not going to investigate the oranges. In that case, they were nothing more than an obstacle to Mikoto.

Mikoto could manipulate magnetism.

She rotated the bolts fixing the table to the floor at high speed. She pressed the table into the corner of the square room where the door was to prevent it from being opened.

Now the security guards could not enter the room.

However, that also meant Mikoto could not leave through the door…

“They never seem to realize…”

Mikoto headed for the small window in the interrogation room. The room was on the fifth floor. There was nothing in the room that could be used as a rope and what one could bring in was greatly restricted. As such, the security guards had let their guard down. There were no metal bars on the window.

Mikoto opened the window and leaned out.

“…that I can create as many footholds as I need using magnetism.”

She unhesitatingly jumped out.

As the bottom of her loafers scraped against the wall while she was in a pose like she was skiing, Mikoto thought.

Who in that city had she heard the story of the very valuable orange from?

Who had told her to watch out for oranges?

Where were the remaining living time bomb oranges set up?

She had a lot to investigate.

It seemed her demonstration truly was turning into something completely unexpected.

 
 

== Notes ==
<references/>

 
 
<noinclude>
{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; padding: 0.2em; border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
| Back to [[Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index:RailgunSS2_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index:RailgunSS2_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter5

2011-08-03T19:45:58Z

Starkiller4299:

The awful silence was broken by someone asking "Where am I?"

A maze was unfolding before his eyes.

This maze was made up of countless bookshelves, crammed full of books.

Endlessly overlapping hexagonal corridors with no end were going through it.

In place of walls, one could see nothing but thousands upon thousands of backs of books.

There were no windows or doors in this maze.

Even when leaning one's body over edge of the stone spiral staircase, one could merely see endless corridors of bookshelves.

The corridors were drawing a light spiral and overlapped each other in several layers from the bottom to the top, holding a giant amount of books. It seemed almost like the Tower of Babel that had been lost during the age of the Bible.

This was the tomb of dark and bizarre knowledge.

And it epitomised the universe itself.

"---There's no name to this library. No one would call the world by a name after all, right?"

At last, another voice replied. It was the voice of a girl who sounded still young.

"Is... that so?" the owner of the first voice said. It was a boy who seemed bewildered. He asked back "Isn't that unpractical at times?"

The girl turned around upon his call. Surrounded by countless piles of books, she had been reading a book laid open in her lap. Her pure white dress that consisted of silk and numerous laces waved like a petal dancing in the wind. She let out a long breath that sounded like a stifled laugh.

"Just call it as you want at such times!"

"For example...?"

"The first person that ever lost his way here called this world 'Labyrinth Library'."

"I see."

The boy nodded. Indeed, this place was like a labyrinth and at the same time like a library.

But he was convinced there had to be a more appropriate name. Therefore, he asked again.

"What else?"

The girl erased her smile and told him silently,

"Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian"

"...Dantalian?"

"It's the name of the owner of this library," she said and turned her eyes to the ground. Terrible loneliness was painted on her face.

Sitting in the depths of the maze of bookshelves, she returned her gaze to the book in her lap.

"'Dantalian' --- Is this your true name?" the boy asked with his glance turned to her.

The girl didn't answer his question. One could only hear the sound of paper. The frail sound of turning pages.

==Chapter 4 - The Pop-up Book Episode 00: The Harlequinade==

===1===

This stone-built residence was half a day away from the capital, going by car and train.

However, the aristocratic owner of this cottage was just a come-down regional lord. So it wasn't all that palatial. It was just a very old building really.

One could see the courtyard behind the thrown-open gate.

A wide range of flowers were blooming in a all kinds of colours, and the morning fog had wet the grass that was thickly growing there.

The yard was probably not cared for in years. It looked much more like a wilderness than a garden.

It was quite hard to believe that this place was occupied until just half a month ago, looking at this pitiful scenery.

A man was walking on the stone pavement of this garden.
[[Image:Dantalian_no_Shoka-vol1-p175.jpg|thumb|A man was walking on the stone pavement of this garden.]]
It was a young man wearing a frock coat. In his left hand, he held a small travel bag.

The face under his hat looked still young; he was probably about 18 or 19 years old.

His walk gave off the impression of a trained soldier, yet one could not sense any rudeness in the atmosphere enveloping him. His mien resembled the one of an earnest boy.

The young man arrived at the door at the end of the stone paving and stopped.

After gazing at the dilapidated mansion for a while, he laughed wryly at last.

"Did I inherit something troublesome there, I wonder...? Jeez, grandpa..."

He searched his pockets and took out an old key.

The key was golden with a rather strong tinge of red. A red jewel was worked into its shaft and the key was connected to a thin chain.

"I had always thought that he didn't care about others, but I didn't expect him to live at such a place," he murmured, mixed with a wry smile, and approached the golden key towards the lock of the entrance.

However, he instantly gave up on that and lowered his arm.

The key did obviously not match the shape of the keyhole.

"It's neither the key to this door, huh... well, no big surprise I guess," he sighed lightly and hung the golden key around his neck like a pendant.

Then he searched again his pocket and took out an old bunch of keys.

They looked ordinary and weren't decorated in particular.

After trying out several of those keys, the door finally opened.

He slowly pushed the oak door open and entered the mansion.

After looking around in the dark with narrowed eyes, disappointment flashed on his face.

There was nothing inside.

The minimum things needed for living like a leather sofa or a dining table were there, but other than that there was nothing.

The book shelves were especially strange.

They were embedded in the walls of this mansion.

But not a single book was stored in them.

The young man touched the board of a shelf and stained his finger with the thick dust that had accumulated on there.

This was proof that this shelf had not been used in years.

"What does that mean...?" he frowned suspiciously and proceeded further to the inside.

The weak light shining in from the windows illuminated the dancing dust white. It looked almost like a deserted building.

The walls of each and every room next to the corridor were covered by giant book shelves.

But all of them were empty, without exception.

Not one book had remained in this mansion.

Although there were no traces of them being carried out, they all had disappeared mysteriously.

While being confused by this fact, the young man finally arrived at the last room.

The room was inside a tower on the courtyard side.

It was small inside like in a storeroom. The cold stone walls weren't coated with anything and an empty bookshelf was put at the corner of the room.

The young man briefly looked around in the room. He was about to return to the corridor when he suddenly noticed something.

Below the thin cotton dust on the carpet, one could see something that looked like a rail.

"...I see."

A wry smile flashed on his face, upon which he lightly pushed the book shelf next to the wall.

The deep sound of gears resounded and the big book shelf slowly turned around.

A cavity appeared behind. It was a narrow staircase leading deep into the ground of the mansion.

Taking a lamp that had been left in the mansion, the young man started to descend the dark stairs.

When he opened the door at the end of this hidden tunnel, he arrived at a broad basement.

The walls of the dark, moist room were dimly lit by faint lights. Furthermore, constructs that looked like half-destroyed pillars were spread in the whole room and were casting long shadows.

At this sight, the young man flashed an amazed smile.

Those pillars consisted of books.

All those countless books of the mansion had been gathered and piled up in this basement, filling up half of its space. It was like looking at [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%84%A1%E7%B8%81%E4%BB%8F oriental grave stones] which are built by piling up stones.

It didn't seem like they were carried here with a purpose. It looked like someone had been reading books and just threw the ones he was done with somewhere, which finally led to this sight.

There were all kinds of books. Everything from cheap yellowbacks to complicated books about philosophy.

There were also many books written in old or foreign languages. It looked like someone had been reading through any paper with letters on it in reach.

Almost buried in those thousands of books, a small silhouette had bent its back without making any sound.

It was a young girl.

A little girl was sitting all alone on an armchair and had a book laid open on her knees.

In the basement of a deserted mansion, she was reading a book.

Upon seeing this unexpected spectacle, the young man held his breath surprisedly.

The girl was so beautiful one could hardly believe she belonged to the living.

Her elegant black hair reached to her waist and was bound together by a headdress with laces.

Also the color of her eyes was as black as the night.

Her skin had a characteristic, oriental color and seemed smooth like honey that was melted into milk; she looked almost like a valuable porcelain.

Her dress was jet black.

The dress reminded one of the ceremonial robes of medieval knights; an odd mixture that couldn't be called dress or armor.

Her skirt was layered smoothly with many frills and her waist was decorated with a ribbon and seemed as frail as a fragile article. The metallic protectors on the back of her hands and the unrefined tasset that enfolded these outlines of her were rather strange as they didn't fit to her dress that was decorated out with laces.

She didn't make a movement, her gaze focused on the book. There was no change in her artificial-seeming expression either.

"A doll...?" the young man murmured spontaneously. But then, one could hear the sound of a turning page.

In the next moment, she had already raised her head and was directly gazing at him.

His own surprised face was reflecting in her insensate eyes that seemed like a clear morion.

But still unsure whether she really was human, the young man stood there dumbfounded.

Until she said, "Hey... who are you? What business does a human have here?", moving her jewel-like lips.

Her voice sounded lovely like the chirping of a songbird.

"What did you... come here for?" the girl asked the young man once again.

Her choice of words was confident and brash, but her voice wavered slightly at the end of the sentence. Her expressionless black eyes seemed kind of fearful.

At first, the young man appeared slightly surprised, but then he took off his hat and bowed.

Her being a human made of flesh and blood and no doll had apparently reminded him that such a gesture was a matter of course in front of a lady. Although she was a younger girl---

--- or possibly a diabolical figure.

"Please excuse my rudeness. My name is Huey. Hugh Anthony Disward. The grandson of the former owner of this mansion. Actually."

He may have introduced himself politely, but that didn't change a thing about the girl's distrustful stare.

With the thick book in her arms she stood up and carefully stepped backwards.

She was wary of Huey.

Or rather, she was afraid of him. Like a timid, shy child.

"You are... Wez' grandchild?"

She asked sceptically, upon which the young man, Huey, raised an eyebrow.

"Are you acquainted with grandpa? How have you been related?" asked the slightly confused young man and was glared at by the black-haired girl all the while.

When Huey came a step closer, she got startled and hid half her face behind her book as if it were a shield.

"You may not come even a single step closer." She tried to scare him off. "I was the first to ask."

"Huh?"

"Tell me... why does Wez' grandson come here after such a long time?"

The young man stood surprised for a moment, but then he got a grip and slightly shook his head. "I am looking for the library."

"Library?" The girl cocked her head slightly.

Huey nodded. "Ah, it seems to be some kind of odd private library of which no one exactly knows where it is. I thought I might hit upon a clue here by searching through grandpa's collection."

"What's the name of that... library?"

"Ahh... what was it again... oh, right, Bibliotheca... Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian, I think...," said Huey pondering while searching his blurred memories with squinted eyes.

The girl's face tensed. Her eyes, resembling the ones of a fearful cat, quivered in surprise.

"How... how did you get to know that name?" For some reason, she seemed to be irritated.

Huey noted her excessive reaction with surprise. The girl stared back wordlessly.

The young man gave in with a sigh. "...it was written in his will," he said without beating about the bush any longer.

"His will?" She made a bewildered face.

Huey took a crumpled envelope out of his coat and showed the girl the names of the sender and the receiver. "Grandpa sent me this letter shortly before his death. It says that he leaves all rights for this mansion to me. Under one condition."

"Condition...?"

"Actually, that is a mystery to me as well. 'Take over the «Bibliotheca Mystica».' That's all it said." Huey shrugged.

The girl eyed Huey without a word. She seemed to ponder something. Finally she lowered her stare and murmured by herself, "...there is no such thing here. Nor anywhere in this world."

"So there's no book here where I could find a clue, either?" Huey grimaced out of unease. He looked around, at the mountains of books that filled this basement, and then he asked with a slightly astounded face, "...How can you be so sure about that? Or do you even want to tell me that you've read all these books?"

The girl nodded without hesitation. Then, she briefly and succinctly declared with an emotionless voice, "I was bored."

Now Huey was completely bereft of speech.

The giant anthology of his bibliomaniac grandfather, who had collected these over half the time of his life, was placed in this room.

Among the books were quite a few written in old, no longer used languages or ones written in strange signs. Even ancient documents, which would have to be deciphered by linguists, were among them.

But the girl in front of his eyes claimed to have read them all.

He couldn't believe it. But the girl didn't convey the impression of talking nonsense, either.

"Who... are you?", asked Huey puzzled, "Why are you all alone in here? How are you related to grandpa?"

The girl's answer was simple "Wez and I were friends."

"Friends?"

"Yes. He... was, a good man. It is really unfortunate that he passed away." She spoke with an absent look. A slight undertone of loneliness was in her voice.

"Really?", Huey didn't seem to be able to share her feelings. "Well... in his own way, even he was a lonely old man. I'm sure he was happy that a little girl from close by like you kept him company," he said. "But I don't think it's that good to just break into other people's cellars," he added with a slightly contorted face.

The girl however kept quiet.

"Whatever. Tell me, might you have seen a cat or a dog around this mansion?" Huey composed himself and stated a question.

"No. I have seen no such thing around here," she shook her head indifferently.

Huey puzzledly touched his cheeked and said, "It might also be some kind of reptile... its name is 'Dalian'."

"Dalian?" The girl frowned.

Huey nodded with a sigh. "I actually didn't care about grandpa's will. I only came because I incidentally had some business in this town. But the annex of this letter had me a bit bothered..."

Out of the envelope he took a crumpled sheet of paper, which was stuck between the will.

On the paper was a short text in messy handwriting.

"'Take care of Dalian', it says... since it's from that man, I guess he wanted to tell me to take care of his pet." Huey showed her the text with a serious expression.

"P...Pet?!"

"That's why I thought I should hurry and and find that poor thing. After all, it would be a problem if it raged around the house, of if it were hungry, not to think of the excrements---"

"You... idiot of a grandson!"

Before Huey could finish talking, the girl let out a deep, angry voice sound from her lips.

A moment later the young man contorted his face in pain. The black-clothed girl, which had fearfully stood by the wall beforehand, had suddenly run up to him and kicked his shin with the heel of her boot.

"Ouch. Why suddenly...?" Huey immediately protested, but,

"Dalian is ''my'' name."

"...eh?!"

Huey could not hide his surprise in front of her beautiful, but angry face.

Then confusion appeared in his face. He had finally noticed what a peculiar trinket the girl wore.

Placed in the chest area of the noble dress, which was made of countless frills and laces.

''It'' was shining dully at the place where a ribbon or an adornment of flowers was supposed to be.

A steel box, affixed to a black leather band by silver chains.

A big, old lock hung in front of the girl's chest.

===2===

That coarse lock didn't fit the girl's slender body at all, and rather reminded one of a jougs used to shackle criminals and prisoners.

Huey looked at it with mixed feelings.

Judging from his face, he feared that his grandfather had locked her into that basement.

"Let me get this straight." Huey asked her with a serious mien. "You have not been confined to this basement, have you? Grandpa did not kidnap you here and... well, do something indecent with you... right?"

"The only indecent thing around here is your imagination," whispered the girl that had introduced herself as Dalian. Meanwhile she had sat at the table in the corner of the kitchen and was nibbling at a fried bread like a small animal.

"I have merely ''waited'' in that room."

"Waited? For whom?"

"That is of no relation to someone as insolent as you."

Dalian looked up at Huey, who cocked his head, and sighed, disenchanted.

Then she lowered her gaze to her bitten into fried bread and asked, "You should rather tell me where I can find the sugar."

"Sugar? Don't tell me you want to add sugar to that bun?"

"It is a firm tradition to sprinkle fried bread with sugar," claimed Dalian point-blank. Huey seemed slightly flabbergasted, but refrained from arguing with her and instead gave her the sugar pot from the cupboard. After sprinkling plenty more sugar on the already ginger bread, she nodded contentedly while Huey could only look at her with an amazed face.

At first, Dalian was totally against going upstairs when Huey suggested so. One could almost believe that something terrible would happen if she were to go to the surface. She was that persistent.

She only followed him to the kitchen because she sniffed  the bun in Huey's pocket. Apparently she had actually been pretty hungry. It were only the remains of Huey's breakfast which he had bought on the train on a whim, but Dalian stuffed her cheeks without complaint.

Huey discovered tea leaves in the kitchen and put the kettle on for some black tea.

After the tea leaves had boiled long enough in the kettle, he poured the tea into the preheated cups. He did this with the aptness of a kitchen maid, and not anything like one would expect from a young noble.

At first Dalian looked at him in wonder, but finally she whispered without hiding her vigilance, "Have you been... a soldier?"

Huey only shook his head, "I am only a simple pilot, no career soldier. Apart from that, the war is already over and fighting for my fatherland doesn't suit me anyways."

When he told her so, something like sadness flashed over his face for a split second.

"...Is that the reason you came to this manor?"

Dalian hesitatingly accepted the presented teacup.

"In a way, yes. Right now it isn't worthwhile to return to the university anyway, so I thought I'd laze around a bit and live off grandpa's inheritance... my uncle and cousins won't come close to this manor anyway, will or not."

Huey smiled weakly while dropping a sugar cube into his cup and stirring it.

Then the girl asked him, "Why not?"

"They are afraid! Of grandpa... or rather, of his collected books," said Huey and smiled slightly mischievous, "As you may know, grandpa was a bibliomaniac. Apparently he once gave away half his property for a single, rare book."

"...so?"

"Um, there are rumors according to which there are also cursed books in his collection. Ones, that teach their owner forbidden knowledge and ruin them that way. And sure enough, some incidents really happened close to grandpa which even the Scotland Yard had a tough time with."

"I see... so why did you come here, in spite of knowing that?"

"Well, I thought that maybe I might find here what I'm looking for."

"What you're looking for...?"

Dalian raised her face, still eating her bread. Her gaze was serious, but her neat face was full of sugar.

Huey could not suppress a quick laugh. Then he looked out of the window to evade her question and whispered, "...Dantalian is said to be the name of a demon. A demon with unimaginable knowledge, depicted with countless books in his hands. Since the library has such a high-strung name, I was a bit expectant, to tell the truth. But it looks like my hopes have been deceived."

"...this requires an explanation. How exactly have your hopes been deceived?"

Huey looked at her, slightly surprised, when she said so with an ill-humored voice.

"All of the books in grandpa's collection in the basement are ordinary. Sure, there are a whole lot - even valuable ones - but in the end those are just old books. It certainly isn't a private collection worthy of the name of a devil. The way things are now, it's also doubtable whether the stories about the strange events are the truth or not."

"It looks like you, as Wez' grandson, have an eye for books as well," Dalian said strangely haughtily, "But you really don't know anything at all."

"What do you mean?", Huey asked back seriously, "Do you want to say that grandpa had another, the real, library apart from the one in the basement? If so, where did it disappear to?"

"Just that it disappeared doesn't mean that it has never existed in the first place."

Dalian carefully sipped her black tea and pulled a grimace since she apparently had problems with the heat. She poked her tounge out like a child and blew into the hot cup.

"The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria Library of Alexandria] in the ancient Egypt, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Pergamum Library of Pergamum] of the Attalid dynasty, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Celsus Library of Celsus] of the ancient Romans... Phantom libraries that disappeared without a trace from this world are far from rare."

Huey burst into an amused laugh.

"I see... but I can't fathom where else in this mansion you could hide books."

Dalian sighed exaggeratedly.

"You really are incredulous... hey, do you know of the term 《vase world》?"

"The vase world? The tale of the Vaseman, right? It's written in, if I remember it correctly, the Biographies of Magical Techniques of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_the_Later_Han Book of the Later Han]..."

Huey hesitatingly answered her question.

It was an ancient legend from the orient.

In the later Han dynasty, a man from Rǔnán found his way into the vase of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xian_%28Taoism%29 Xian]. And what he saw there was a giant, solemn palace in a separate world. The world of the vase, in other words, the vase world---

"Oh, you are better that I thought. Well done," said Dalian with a disinterested voice.

Huey sullenly showed a crooked smile. "Oh thank you... but how is that related to grandpa's library?"

Dalian replied.

"The story of the Vaseman is not over yet."

"Eh?"

"When the imperial family of the ancient orient fell, the vase world as well left the possession of the Vaseman. From then on, the vase went over many generations from one owner to the next."

Dalian continued, with an oral fluency unbefitting her young voice.

For some reason, maybe because of this discrepancy, her words seemed somewhat lively. As if she had seen the events with her very own eyes.

"When the Mongolian shepherd people ruled over the continent almost a thousand years later, the vase finally got through the Near East to Europe. And 300 years ago, the ruler of a certain country obtained its possession---"

"Ruler?"

"Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor Rudolf II]... The king of Prague, the capital of magic."

Huey listened, engrossed in her story, since it sounded strangely true to him.

Rudolf II, also called the "the eccentric emperor", was known as a fanatic collector of art objects and books and for his passion for alchemy and magic, in spite of being a strict catholic. The exhibition room in his royal residence was decorated with art objects from all over the world and consequently called "[http://www.kb.se/codex-gigas/eng/Long/handskriftens/rudolf-ii/ Wunderkammer]".

One could say that, in a way, he had been the most appropriate owner of the vase world.

"That king tried to gain something outrageous through the power of the vase."

"Outrageous?"

"The knowledge of... the demons."

The girl in black raised her chin a bit haughtily. Huey showed a serious mien now.

"I see... the demonic knowledge, bound into the form of books by the demon Dantalian..."

The girl nodded.

"That is the way it is. The king thought he could gain infinite knowledge with the power of that vase world, what even the greatest sages and mages failed to achieve. The king intended to collect any kind of rare and strange books in which demonic knowledge was written down. Books from the lost ancient libraries. The innumerable amount of books destroyed by the book burners. And finally the forbidden [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimoire Grimoires]... even if it meant to invade different countries now and then, he wanted to collect all demonic knowledge in the vase world... a foolish endeavor," Dalian whispered and averted her eyes to the ground.

"How so?", Huey asked back with a sceptical mien.

Dalian looked at him pityingly and spoke with a dreadfully sharp tone, "There are things in the world that nobody should know, human."

For a split second, her voice led one to believe she had become something inhuman.

"Maybe so," Huey sighed faintly. "This reminds me: allegedly the collection of Rudolf II later triggered a war when the king of some other country got wind of it. Which ultimately led to the downfall of the Holy Roman Empire..."

Boundless grief showed on Huey's face when he muttered "war".

Seventeenth century. It happened shortly after the death of Rudolf II.

Just before the end of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War Thirty Years' War], the Swedes invaded Prague and forcefully intruded into the residence of the king there. It was told that as good as all of the collectibles there were stolen or went lost.

"Yes... and the vase taken from the castle was later sold to a noble from another country. To a dilettante on this island separated by the sea."

Huey looked up surprised.

"Don't tell me it was grandpa who bought this vase?"

The black-clothed girl nodded slowly.

For a while Huey silently watched her. Then he suddenly held his belly and bent forwards. However, he was not able to completely suppress his laughter, so his shoulders started trembling.

"I see, so that is the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian... Your fairytale was pretty amusing, I have to admit!"

Huey finally started laughing out loud, which was noted by Dalian with a surprised expression.

"...Fairytale?"

"Mhm. A horror story, just like one of grandpa's. Really not bad!", Huey nodded and wiped away the tears from his eyes. And started laughing again.

All the while Dalian watched him with big eyes - apparently she couldn't understand his reaction.

Finally her cheeks turned red from anger surging up inside her. Her closed lips vibrated bitterly.

"...You moron..."

Dalian spoke with a deep, unaccented voice.

"Eh?"

Huey finally stopped laughing. But that didn't calm Dalian's rage by far.

"What kind of... irredeemable moron are you? Getting all haughty just because I showed a little bit of restraint, since you are Wez' grandson... It was foolish of me to expect for even a second that an impertinent character such as you could be the Key Warden. I haven't waited for ''you'', but---"

Her train of words suddenly broke off.

Huey questioningly followed her gaze. Her shocked look lay on Huey's chest. On the key which could be seen between his clothes. A golden key, with a red gem embedded in it.

"That key... how did you get it?"

Dalian's expression was again full of fear.

Huey wordlessly produced the key.

Engraved on the dead-straight shaft was a line from an old poem.

《I ask of thee, art thou mankind?》

It was a strange text, somewhat like a magic spell.

"Do you know something about this key?"

Upon hearing his question, Dalian shook her head without saying a word. With her expressionless face she seemed somewhat magic, like a delicate porcelain doll. Her appearance was groomed to that extent.

Just when Huey wanted to ask the silent girl once again, he heard a carriage stopping close by the mansion.

Dalian's face tensed when she noticed it as well.

She hurriedly turned her head around like a small animal looking for a place to hide.

Dalian stuffed the rest of the bun into her mouth, stood up and was about to start running. She intended to flee into the basement. Seeing that, Huey let his shoulders slump.

As if to calm down a timid child, he smiled gently. "Don't worry, that's probably a guide coming to pick me up."

"Guide?", asked the black-clothed girl, not reassured.

The moment she pushed the book in her arms against her chest, the bell at the entrance rung.

===3===

Huey was watching the key hanging around his neck in the carriage that had come to pick him up.

Next to him sat Dalian who was busy watching the panorama of the passing streets with curious eyes.

After hearing the name of the person who had sent for Huey, Dalian suddenly changed her mind and wanted to accompany him in spite of her refusing to leave the mansion even by a single step before.

She seemed very tense however since she was not used to leaving the house.

With her right arm she still held on to the thick book she had started earlier. And with her left she clutched the seam of Huey's coat.

"I am very grateful for your acceptance of my master's invitation," the footman politely said to Huey, sitting opposite him.

He, Richardson in name, was a footman of an affluent figure that maintained a high-class hotel in this city.

Huey had made arrangements for a dinner with Richardson's master.

"My master, Henry Conrad, was an old friend of Lord Wesley Disward, which is why he was devastated by the news of the passing away of the lord...," said Richardson while wiping the sweat off his brow.

In spite of his polite choice of words, he seemed oddly tense.

But it was not Huey's gaze he shunned, but Dalian's.

It almost seemed like the footman feared the little girl.

Perhaps he had heard of some kind of repute the girl in black had. The fact that he did not rebuke her when she suddenly tagged along substantiated that idea.

"...Therefore it is our pleasure to be able to welcome you as the lord's son today. Please make yourself at home."

"Well, actually I am the grandson... not the son."

Huey softly corrected him and took an upright posture.

"The pleasure is all mine. I am indebted to mister Conrad for allowing my sudden visit. Apparently he shared my grandpa's... no, my grandfather's passion. I have been looking forward to an occasion to see his collection for a long time."

"My master will certainly be delighted to hear that. Furthermore, if you could please leave the accommodations for tonight to me. I have been told by my master to take care of it."

"Much obliged."

Huey showed the sincere-looking footman a friendly smile.

Dalian only observed their exchange of words wordlessly, but after a while she whispered to Huey. "Hey... what are you up to?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you thinking, leisurely leaving for Henry Conrad's estate just like that? You can't tell me you don't know that it was him who killed Wez. In order to steal an old book that Wez had purchased in an auction, that man made it seem like a robbery and---"

"I am aware of that rumor," Huey shook his head without erasing his smile. "But there is no proof. Therefore I thought I'd investigate it myself. The one thing we definitely can't rely on is the local police after all."

With those words he touched the slight bulge on his coat. He did so without even noticing. This movement he had taken to resembled a soldier habitually checking for his gun.

"There is a proof."

Dalian quietly whispered. Her view was turned towards the sky beyond the window. It's been some time since sunset. A strangely red moon shone down from the night sky shrouded in darkness.

Huey gave Dalian a slightly puzzled look.

"Tonight there is a full moon. If it really was Conrad who stole ''that book'', then he should currently be seeing what nobody should ever be allowed to see."

"...what are you talking about, Dalian?"

Dalian only calmly shook her head upon Huey's question.

"You will understand soon. As long as you are permitted to see..."

Huey listened to her enigmatic, auspicious words in silence.

He beheld her even face, lit by moonlight, as if trying to see through her character.

"You are quite a peculiar girl, Dalian," Huey finally said with a deep sigh, shrugging.

"And you are a truly rude man," she replied while staring at Huey from the side, pouting.

"It is the building that has come into view just now.

When the carriage finally left the forest behind, the footman pointed at a manor on top of a hill.

It was a large house, built in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tudor_style_architecture Tudor style].

The building itself was in no way inferior to the country estates of nobles. Most likely there were more than a hundred rooms.

"What a superb building. Is that Mr. Conrad's hotel?" Huey genuinely put his impressions into words.

The footman smiled contently. "Thank you very much. At this time we lodge only few guests, which is why not many employees are on hand. I ask for your forgiveness should you find something to your inconvenience."

"No problem. Is Mr. Conrad also living in this building?"

"Yes. In the tower over there at the northern front is the library. Above it is the office of my master."

"I see," nodded Huey and looked up at the hotel.

Upon which he wrinkled his brow.

The surroundings were already dark, shrouded in the veil of night. But one couldn't see a light in any of the rooms of this gigantic mansion. The same held true for the northern tower, in which the living quarters of the old man were located.

The carriage passed the gate and stopped on the carriage porch.

The outer door of the entrance was open.

But there were no traces of a butler or a parlor maid, which should should have welcomed arriving guests.

Richardson seemed to wonder as well. "I beg your forgiveness. Please wait for a moment."

With these words he climbed out of the carriage. After telling something to the coachman, he entered the building.

And the moment his figure disappeared, "...maybe we're already too late," whispered Dalian. Then she forcefully pushed open the carriage door.

"Eh? Hey, Dalian...?" Huey looked up surprised.

But she had already jumped off the carriage.

Her armor clanged. The girl ran into the mansion, her hair waving in the wind.

Huey had no choice but to follow her in.

He slipped through the open entrance and abruptly came to a halt.

The building was suffused with a stench.

The stench of fresh, thick blood, as well as the offensive smell of burning flesh was in the air.

Dalian stood in the middle of the room, still carrying her book under her arms.

Only her white skin glimmered faintly in this deep darkness.

"Dalian... do you know something? What on earth is going on here?"

Huey hurried towards the little girl with a tensed countenance.

What he saw when his eyes had gotten used to the darkness was a sight beyond his worst nightmares.

The entrance hall, which did the one of a high-class hotel justice, was completely devastated.

It was as if a giant beast had raged around. The stone pillars and marble statues lay shattered on the floor and the carpet showed burn marks.

The figures lying spread all over the hall on the floor appeared to be the employees of the hotel.

Parlor maids and servants, wrapped in pompous uniforms.

One could tell with just one look that they were already dead.

Some of them had been burned alive, others had been shredded apart by the claws of a giant beast.

A giant monster with three claws that no man had ever seen before.

"The northern tower."

Dalian turned around in the darkness.

In the current Dalian, one could see no a single trace the timid girl he had met in the basement. Even with those batted corpses in front her eyes, she showed no signs of fear.

"The cause of this calamity... is probably in Conrad's office."

"In his office? Was it Conrad who cause this disaster?" asked Huey. But Dalian gave no answer and hurried ahead.

But even before she could reach the exit of the hall, a scream resounded from the cloister leading to the tower.

It was a voice they already knew. The voice of the employee who had lead them to this manor.

"...Richardson?!"

Huey passed Dalian to protect her.

He took a hand gun from the inside pocket of his coat, standing ready to use it.

It was a big, top-break revolver for military use.

"You're carrying quite a dangerous thing around with you, huh," Dalian admonished him. "Did you actually plan to take revenge for Wez with that thing?"

"I don't owe grandpa enough to go that far. It's more like a protective charm since you don't only hear good stuff about Conrad," Huey played innocent. "This one is also a memento of grandpa. I haven't taken it out in ages. So don't expect too much of my skills with it. I can't seem to like guns, you know."

Huey replied with with a tense voice and entered the corridor.

Right then his expression froze because he noticed the corpse at his feet.

It was Richardson.

The footman who had gone ahead of them to the rear part of the mansion lay in the corridor, covered in blood.

A knife was embedded in his head, which still shone brightly even in the darkness.

A throwing knife.

"Look ahead!" shouted Dalian with a sharp tone.

Huey immediately raised his head.

Further back in the cloister someone lingered totally inconspicuously.

It was a man in magnificent clothing.

Brightly colored socks and a jacket with golden buttons.

The man held innumerable throwing knives between the fingers of both his hands. The same knives as the one in the forehead of the poor footman.

The man raised one of his arms, still dead silent.

Huey clicked his tongue when he noticed that the guy didn't aim for him but for Dalian.

He didn't have time to hesitate. He aimed for the chest and pulled the trigger of his revolver.

For only a moment a light flashed in the corridor.

Huey couldn't possibly miss at this short distance.

With accurate aim the man was hit in the middle of his chest and was blown away.

"What was that...?" Huey breathed wildly without releasing his alarmed stance. "Was that man the one who laid waste to the whole mansion?"

"That is impossible. A simple knife-thrower couldn't possibly level the pillars in the entrance hall," murmured Dalian relaxedly and proceeded down the corridor.

When she reached the place of the dead knife-thrower, she only shook her head.

"What the...?" After catching up with her, Huey also looked at the hallway floor, and held his breath.

There was nobody there.

There was no trace of the shot man, who should be lying right there.

Neither were his knives or traces of his blood.

Only ashen flakes were spread over the thick carpet.

Dalian bowed down and picked up one of them.

In her hand the dry flake crumbled to dust.

"As I thought... so it was Conrad who has taken ''that book''," the girl whispered quietly while touching the lock in front of her chest.

Her voice was awfully cold and even resembled that of the grim reaper when he takes someone with him.

===4===

On the way to the northern tower, they happened upon even more corpses.

Every single one of them had been killed in a gruesome way.

Someone had been wrapped by something akin a thick rope and had all of his bones broken.

Another one had been guzzled by the fangs of a beast.

And finally one who had been squished to a pulp by a giant something.

Among them were also some who had apparently taken up arms and attempted to fight. But even they had failed in the end and passed away. However, what they had tried to defend against remained a riddle to Huey.

"It almost looks like... they've been trampled by an elephant," Huey grimaced while looking down at the squashed body of a pitiful maid.

"Yes. That seems to be the case," agreed Dalian terrifyingly easily, without hesitating for a moment.

On the contrary, now it was Huey who was surprised and turned around to her. "By an elephant...? In such an urban mansion?"

"What are you shocked about? You were the one who came up with it."

"Okay, but elephants don't eat human meat. How do you explain the corpse of the man earlier?"

"It just means that we are not dealing with just one beast... look, like that one over there." Dalian raised her armored hand and pointed into the darkness.

On the landing of the stairs leading to the northern tower, supposedly where the office of the old man was, there glimmered golden eyes.

Then a golden beast with black stripes in its fur emerged.

From deep within the blood-smeared snout resounded a thundering roar.

"A tiger...!? What is such an animal doing in this country?!"

"You must not avert your gaze. When you turn your back on it, you are history," explained Dalian with an apathetic voice, as if she were reading something from a book.

Huey had no time to reply to her words. With a tense expression he took aim.

The giant tiger lowered its stance.

Like propelled by a spring, it lunged at the two, but one moment before reaching them, Huey pulled the trigger.

His revolver was loaded with .455 caliber rounds which were enough to instantly slay a human, but the shot sounded frighteningly unreliable with respect to a beast with a body mass exceeding 200kg.

After firing three consecutive rounds into the tiger, the body of the beast finally started swaying.

Huey shot once more, while his breath had gone wild due to fear and the recoil of his gun.

In front of his eyes the body of the animal suddenly started trembling.

It swayed as if his body had lost all substance and broke into little pieces without a single sound.

Huey watched in total puzzlement at how the remains of the creature danced in the air like ashes.

"...a phantom book has crossed the boundary." While whispering to herself, Dalian looked out of the window, up to the moon

She went up to the landing and expressionlessly looked at the ash-like flakes.

"What's the meaning of this, Dalian? What on earth was that just now...?" asked a wildly breathing Huey.

"Do you still not get it?"

Dalian turned around and let her beautiful hair dance.

"A knife-thrower, an elephant and finally a tiger. Perhaps a giant snake and a clown were among them as well... that should be enough to put it together."

"... a clown?" Huey made a clueless face after hearing her minimalistic explanation.

"A circus," explained Dalian triumphantly. "It is the actors of a circus that are wandering around in this mansion. Hey, do you not even know the 'Harlequinade'?"

"...Harlequinade?"[http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/exhibits/popup2/introduction.htm]

"The word stands for turn-up books. Look the things where you move the backgrounds of the figures through '''revealing''' or '''moving''' of flaps. Have you not played with such things as a child?"

Huey appeared clueless, but he let his gaze wander while searching in his memories.

"...I used to have a few pop-up books. Aren't those the kind where multiple sheets are glued together and jump out when you turn a page?"

Dalian nodded.

"Yes. The harlequinades, made in the middle of the 18th century by the publisher Robert Sayer, are generally considered as the origin of the turn-up books. They were called that because harlequin-pantomimes regularly appeared in them."

"Just a moment, Dalian... what are you talking about right now?" Huey interrupted the girl with a confused face.

Dalian's tone of voice turned sour. "Right now I am giving you the gist about the phantom book that Conrad stole."

"...phantom book...?"

"Look, Huey. This is the true form of the tiger you have just shot."

Dalian squatted down by the landing and picked something up.

Frail, ash-like flakes. The remains of the tiger Huey had shot.

He closely looked at the flakes after receiving them from Dalian.

"Paint?" he asked with a raspy voice.

The substance that crumbled into dust in his hands was dried, old paint.

No, one would have to say it was the picture itself that had been drawn with it.

The giant beast, which had brutally brutally devoured the employees of the mansion and attacked the two of them, was actually a painting of someone.

"In the world there are illusory books that originally should not exist. The phantom books, created through the knowledge of the demon world or secret ceremonies of the devils..."

Dalian lightly clapped her hands and dusted the paint off her fingers.

"In case someone who can correctly read a phantom book gains ownership of it, he will enjoy immeasurable blessings. But should someone own it, who is not worthy, then the phantom book will cross the boundary of the world and perturb logic as well as causality of this world. Therefore, in order to seal these dangerous phantom books, there is---"

"---the labyrinth library... the Bibliotheca de Dantalian, huh," Huey whispered with a frail voice.

Dalian nodded.

"Yes. And your grandfather, Wesley Disward, knew of the existence of the cursed harlequinade, which brought misfortune to its owner, and wanted to seal it. But the famous book collector Conrad had to let his sense of rivalry run wild..."

"And so he killed grandpa and stole the book... I see." Huey shook his head, a dark expression on his face. But I still can't believe it. This is impossible, right? An actual '''pop-up'''-book, which projects its painted scenes into reality..."

"Are you still doubting it?" Dalian shot him a dark glare. "In the 《Lidai Minghua Ji》, which was written in China during the Tang-dynasty, an incident is mentioned where a dragon, which was portrayed by a gifted painter as a mural, slipped out of the painting and took to the skies. A bird, a fish and a tiger... legends, where animals drawn by master painters slip out the paintings, aren't rare in the least."

"I see..." Huey nodded with an expression as if he had chewed on something bitter. "So, a circus was depicted in the phantom book stolen by Conrad? Like in Meggendorfer's 《Internationaler Zirkus》[http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/exhibits/popup2/meggendorfer.htm]."

After mentioning the name of a famous picture book author, Huey sighed wearily.

"Like most other kinds of magic, the power of phantom books is affected by the phase of the moon," Dalian indifferently continued here explanation. "An illegitimate owner such as Conrad couldn't ever possible control that power. Just imagine how it would turn out when all beasts of the circus caused havoc in this hotel..."

"Obviously there is no time to doubt your words... what is the plan?" He shook his head to take heart and looked at the small girl in front of him.

Her answer was short and simple.

"We have to find the phantom book and seal it. In the end, it's nothing but a simple picture book, so the mechanism should not be too complicated."

"Thanks for being straightforward. ...Dammit, grandpa sure left one troublesome thing behind."

Huey quietly clicked his tongue and strengthened the grip around his pistol.

After climbing the stairs, they reached a wide hall.

Along the way they had come across a clown and animals out of the harlequinade, but it didn't lead to a confrontation. Apparently, not all of the inhabitants of the phantom book had to be dangerous beings.

On the other side of the hall was the tower of Conrad's office.

But in the middle of the room, the twisted shape of a beast blocked their way.

When the two noticed, they stopped completely aghast.

The figure was even bigger than an elephant.

Scale-covered skin. Pointed, deformed horns. Wings like the ones of bats, with veins protruding hideously.

And though the snout, which was slit like a snake's, red burning breath leaked.

"...a dragon," Dalian said with an impressed voice.

Huey held his head, fed up with the events. "So that's the guy that has demolished the entrance hall... why would there be a dragon in a circus?"

"Did you not know that most circuses do have an exhibition shack for rare animals?"

Dalian answered his question easily.

"Oh, I've already seen such a thing indeed. But aren't those just animals like lizards from the tropics, which are disguised with bird wings and bull horns in order to trick people?"

"It is unexceptional when a real dragon is depicted in a picture book... by the way, what do you intend to do? Are you going to run?" asked Dalian and looked at him searchingly.

"I guess he won't let us leave that easily..."

Huey wiped the sweat off his forehead.

As if the dragon had heard these words, he directed his bloodshot eyes towards them.

It was the eyes of a beast, stimulated by the smell of blood.

He briefly showed his split tongue and started moving his giant body with an unexpected speed.

"Run, Dalian!"

Huey caught the hand of the black-dressed, frozen girl and ran into the shadows of a pillar.

The dragon's flames passed right behind him.

The mortar of the wall brittled and some of the cement-reinforced stone pillars crumbled down.

Huey grimaced, bathing in a rain of rubble.

He grabbed his pistol with just his right hand and fired his remaining bullets, without bothering to aim exactly.

The bullets were deflected by the dragon's scales and only left a few bluish-white sparks.

The dragon didn't show even the slightest sign of pain. Huey's face tensed.

All the while Dalian wonderingly looked at Huey's hand which held her slim arm.

Finally her usual, cold expression returned. "We are trapped."

The stairs from which they had come had been buried by the collapsed wall.

The only way which could be called an exit was the stairs leading up the tower. But unless they overcame the dragon, they couldn't reach it.

"I know. But I'm out of bullets."

Huey opened the top-break barrel and let the empty rounds drop to the floor.

"With that thing you wouldn't be able to defeat it anyways," said Dalian with a weary voice.

Huey nodded, irritated. "Seems like it. Ohh, well... Dalian, are you a fast runner?"

"What do you mean? Do you want flee after all?"

Dalian shot Huey a reproachful glance.

Huey laughed with a self-ironic undertone and shook his head.

"I'd love to, if I could... but ''you' are the one to flee, Dalian. I will catch his attention. During that time, you will run up to Conrad's office."

"...do you intend to become a decoy?"

"You know how to seal phantom books, right?"

With these words, Huey picked up a handy brick. Against a human, that might count as an improvised weapon, but its effect on a dragon was debatable.

"I don't give a crap about 'noblesse oblige', but a book of my grandpa is at fault for this whole mess. Therefore I can't simply ignore it. I don't even want to imagine what kind of damage such a monster could cause if it reached the city. We somehow have to deal with this issue within this mansion."

Dalian silently watched Huey's face while he spoke with a resolute voice.

Only now a soft smile, fitting her age, appeared on the girl's face.

Meanwhile, the dragon seemed to have lost track of them and aimlessly destroyed the pillars and objects in his proximity, spitting fire. If they kept hiding, they would sooner or later be targeted by one of those attacks without a doubt.

And in spite of that, Dalian seemed calm and,

"Take out the key... human,"

she ordered with a rather pompous voice. Huey blankly stared at her.

"Dalian. Now is not the time to..."

"I have acknowledged you just now," she said with the demeanor of a sublime queen.

Within her dark eyes glimmered a strong like, resembling starlight.

"Hmph...I am reluctant, but there is no changing it now. So, should you bear the qualifications to be the Key Warder, read now the words of the pact."

"The words... of the pact?" Huey had subconsciously grabbed the key on his chest tightly with his hand.

The golden key, with a gem embedded that gleamed red like the freshly shed blood of a virgin.

The line of an ancient poem, which was engraved in its shaft.

That short line was the first thing to come to his mind when he heard of the 'words of the pact'.

Right then a thundering roar resounded and the pillar Dalian and Huey were hiding behind collapsed.

The bloodshot eyes of this malicious magical beast caught sight of its prey and narrowed.

"I ask of thee..."

Huey removed the key from his neck and held it in front of his eyes.

He read out loud the almost faded line of the prayer with a raspy voice.

"I ask of thee, Art thou mankind---?"

Dalian smiled contentedly.

But the answer to this question did not come from her.

The metal box, which was bound around the chest area of her armoresque dress.

The lock that was attached to the girl's choker with silver chains.

That lock faintly shone and declared with the raspy voice of an old woman:

《Nay. We art the Realm -- the Endless Realm within thine Vase》

A faint light leaked from the chest of Dalian, wrapped in black.

The source of the light was her skin.

Her collar, which used to be covered by several layers of frills, now revealed her white skin.

Once could see a slim neck and delicate collarbones, resembling the wings of a little bird.

Furthermore, a chest, devoid of bulges, resembling the one of a boy.

In the middle of it. Above her solar plexus, where her heart should be, there was a rough metal body.

This was the first time Huey noticed.

Noticed that the lock on her chest had not been attached to her dress.

It was lodged directly into her snow-white body.

[[Image:Dantalian_no_Shoka-vol1-p221.jpg|thumb|The girl stopped any kind of movement whatsoever and only let out a weak sigh.]]
As if someone was calling him, Huey stretched his arm towards the keyhole.

He inserted the key into the girl's chest and slowly plunged it in.

"Uh...!"

The girl stopped any kind of movement whatsoever and only let out a weak sigh.

With a rattling noise the lock opened. It swung open to both sides like a gate.

Hidden behind it was a hollow space.

A hollow space surrounded by the faint light. An endlessly deep hole.

From the middle of her soft white chest protruded a big void.

A deep, deep, empty space, that seemed to pierce her slim body.

"---The labyrinth library, which seals 900'000 and 666 phantom books. The gate to knowledge hath been opened---"

The beautiful voice resounding from Dalian's lips cast a spell over everyone who listened to it.

In the next moment.

The dragon concentrated fire in its giant snout and let out a deafening roar.

Their escape had been closed off. Aiming at Huey and Dalian, the dragon ruthlessly spit out his flames.

But Dalian was faster.

Without a second of hesitation, she reached into the void in her chest. Her arm was pulled in directly though the opened keyhole. As if running an invisible path, it disappeared further and further.

When she finally pulled her arm out again, she held a book in her hand.

An old book with pages made of parchment.

The magical letters in it were written with animal blood - it was a magical tome.

Starting with the 《Liber de Nymphis》 by the alchemist Paracelsus[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus], there were quite a few works among the tomes of the middle ages that included techniques to control nature spirits. Most of them are considered as burned and even the remaining ones are mostly fakes.

But the book in Dalian's hands was a phantom book, which should not exist within this world --- a genuine grimoire.

When she opened the book, a thunderous shock wave was created next to her. She had summoned a sylph. The dragon's fire was repelled by the shock wave and reflected back at him.

The dragon bathed in his own flames and squirmed on the ground while letting out a roaring bellow.

"So that is... the power of a phantom book...," Huey whispered with a deep voice while watching the dragon's suffering.

Dalian hid her opened cleavage by hugging her book and turned around with slightly blushed cheeks.

"Come... '''we''' need to use this chance to seal Conrad's phantom book, '''Huey'''!"

Huey, who still stood there in a daze, blinked in surprise at Dalian's words.

Then he finally smiled wryly and nodded.

===5===

Conrad's corpse was in his office.

Probably he had been killed by the carnivores shortly after the Phantom Book had crossed the boundary, without ever realizing what was going on. His lifeless body was still sitting in his armchair, exposing a ghastly, bloodstained sight.

Still, Huey and Dalian were spared from seeing his fear-distorted face.

Because his head had been totally bitten off.

"So this is Conrad's Phantom Book..."

Huey spotted a book on the desk of the old man.

It was a handmade picture book with a pompous binding.

A gilded, thick cover in morocco leather. On the high-class paper one could see pictures by a masterful artist.

The author's name wasn't noted anywhere. But the pictures were unexpectedly beautiful for a nameless artist. The strokes were so precise that anyone would believe the pictures could come alive any moment.

The theme of the picture book was a circus group.

But the predators that should have been there weren't to be found anywhere in the book.

They had disappeared - as if they had slipped out of the pictures.

"The book is older than I expected. From a time, when paper-making still left imprints on the finished product... it is a work from the first half of the 18th century. Who knows? Perhaps, rumors about this pop-up book have been the trigger for the development of Robert Sayer's harlequins.

Dalian carelessly picked up the picture book and flipped through it.

Between the pages, one could catch glimpses of colorful sceneries.

"A real pop-up book, huh... I wonder whether the owners prior to Conrad have also met such a tragic fate," sighed Huey in exhaustion.

But Dalian shook her head. "Books and the people that desire them attract each other. Even a Phantom Book should be able to fulfill its original purpose as a book if it enters the possession of its rightful owner."

"I see... Conrad ended up like this because he stole the book out of his childish obstinacy as a collector. The innocent servants that got involved are just too pitiful...," noted Huey while he dusted the rest of the color off Dalian's shoulders.

The black-clothed girl nodded slightly. "Yes. If he had not known of the existence of the phantom books, nobody would have had to lose their life..." She continued with a slightly melancholic tone, "There are things in this world '''that should remain unknown'''."

When she closed the leathern picture book, the mansion's ominous atmosphere disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.

Dalian locked the clasp on the cover and handed the book over to Huey.

After receiving it, he hesitatingly stretched it out towards Dalian again.

The Phantom Book disappeared in her revealed chest without resistance.

Then, Huey's gaze wandered between her and his right hand.

The key, which he should have been holding, had disappeared.

Instead, a red gem was embedded in the back of his right hand. Almost as if Huey himself had become the the key of the gate.

"So the vase world was you, right... Dalian?", he asked calmly.

Dalian didn't reply. When she turned around after fixing her collar, the big, old lock hanging there in place of a ribbon was firmly locked again.

Watching that, Huey said: "I just remembered! Once, I have already lost my way into that vase world." He smiled slightly nostalgically. "There I met a girl called Dantalian, you know? She is the one who gave me the key..."

Dalian startled and froze.

She looked down stubbornly, as if to escape Huey's gaze.

"At that time, I made a promise with her. I swore to become her friend and get her out of there."

"I... see..."

Dalian moved her lustrous lips and quietly whispered something. It sounded like 'So you did remember after all'.

The tips of her ears were a little red.

"Dantalian is the name of a demon. The demon of knowledge who is usually portrayed with a book in his hand," said Huey while clasping his right hand.

The girl in black silently looked up at him.

Her emotionless eyes seemed to deny any question.

While knowing that, Huey still asked.

"Dalian, is your name the nickname of Dantalian?"

Dalian didn't give him an answer.

Instead she raised her chin and haughtily said, "What do you intend to do now, Huey? I'm hungry."

Huey smiled wryly and shrugged.

Then he looked around in the devastated office. "We should better leave before the people of Scotland Yard arrive. It should be rather difficult to explain the truth to them."

Dalian nodded greatly. "I agree... so?"

"Give me a moment... for now, I'll find myself an inn for the night. One that offers delicious, sugar-coated buns for breakfast."

He directed his eyes outside, where one could make out the blurred light of gas lanterns in the fog.

The black-clothed girl seemed content and nodded.

"Understood. Out of necessity I will have to accompany you."

After fixing his disheveled hair, he reached out his hand to the girl.

Dalian tried to make an indifferent face and reluctantly took his hand.

Then the two of them wandered into the darkness of the fog-covered city.

What remained in the blood-soaked study was only a large number of books, which had lost their owner.

<noinclude>
{{Dantalian no Shoka Nav|prev=Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter4|next=Dantalian no Shoka:Volume1 Chapter6}}
</noinclude>
__NOTOC__