Editing Kami-sama no Inai Nichiyoubi:Volume7 Chapter2 (section)

===Part I===

As dawn began to break, the town of Ostia was covered in fog. The excessive white color obstructed the view as well as the darkness of the night, and the area did not seem ‘bright’ at all.

So it was only when Ai heard a cawing voice that she realized it was dawn.

Reacting to the sound, Ai woke up in a state of oblivion.

There was wind.

A morning breeze blew in from the lake, stirring the thick fog like milk in the bottom of a cup of tea, causing it to fade.

Ai was on top of the only surviving sign at the third street intersection. There, she hugged one of her legs and let the fog dilute.

The surrounding area was littered with piles of junk, and on closer look, one could see a handful of dirt in the center.

It was all the iron bugs remains Ai had buried.

The fog returned and buried the junk, and Ai buried her face in her arms.

More than thirty people.

That was the number of Dead Ai knew at this point.

Last evening, Ai and the others had stifled most of the iron bugs, but that was ‘most’, not ‘all’. At the same moment the iron bugs that flew into the meeting room, there were apparently a few iron bugs that rampaged down the hill before burning up.

After burying the intruding iron bugs, Ai heard the news from the Captain and immediately ran out of the hotel to continue burying the burning iron bugs in the dark night. This was to reduce the number of Dead as much as possible.

But that's all over now.

<i>—Batatatatatatatata.</i>

Ai slouched up to look at the sound of gunfire in the distance.

Three blocks down the street, flaming iron bugs were fighting citizen soldiers.

"Push! Go around them! That's right, I'll hold them off! Break them up!"

They outnumbered the bugs three to one, and had an advantage in numbers, but it was not enough to fight. In fact, even now, the flaming right arm of the iron bugs pierced one person’s heart.

But,

"Alright! Don't worry about me!"

The man held the iron bugs in his arms and blocked their movement. The remaining two men opened fire, using their assault rifles like electric saws to quickly tear the iron bug apart and burn it to the ground. The three of them cheered for a moment, then quickly tightened their expressions and buried themselves in the fog again.

Ai watched as they were buried in the mist and buried her face again.

Once the Dead exceeded thirty, the citizens who were under attack began to fight back. They, who had forgotten to stop due to death, turned into warriors who ‘died in battle’ and valiantly took down the iron bugs.

The iron bugs spilling down from the mountain were completely stopped by the dead soldiers. There was no reason for Ai to go out to the front lines, as there was a chance she might die. That was why she sat on the signpost.

Another gust of wind.

—She thought to herself, remembering that there was such a game. The iron bugs would kill the humans, and the humans resisted. The killed humans would return to the frontlines in numbers, but the winning condition for the humans was to not die, so they could not overwhelm the enemy.

She could not remember such a game. Perhaps there was none, and rather than it being a game, it was a well-made ironic story.

Right when Ai was having such useless thoughts,

"Ai."

She was found.

“Haa, haa, haa…I-I finally found you, you brat…"

Alice was beneath the signboard, standing and huffing.

"Let’s go."

Ai closed her eyes, and shriveled up like an armadillo.

At the bottom of the sign, Alice stood gasping for air.

Let's go."

Ai closed her eyes and curled up like an armadillo.

"Hey! Do you know how worried everyone was about you!? Get down here right now!"

Alice was furious, stomping on the ground. But Ai did not reply, for she was an armadillo.

"Ahh, is that, so? I’ve been looking for you all night and you're acting like that now?"

In the same way that Ai was a little more stubborn than usual, Alice was also a little more vexed than usual.

"Haaa!"

A roundhouse kick.

"!"

The sign that had been tilted at an angle could not withstand it. <i>Wawawa, </i>and Ai flailed about, barely landing her feet on the ground.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what are you doing!?"

"Woooaaahhh amazing. Looks like a beetle~"

Satisfied with the blow, Alice seemed to be in a good mood again.

"What are you getting all pouty for?"

"I’m not pouting! I’m in distress!"

"Distress!? You’re in distress? I've been thinking for a while now, but where did you learn such difficult words? Some manga?"

"———!"

Ai knew all of Alice's tricks. Alice’s words were meant to taunt her, to get her angry, and to buck her up, even if it meant having to force a smile. Ai also knew very well how to deal with it. All she had to say was, "Thank you, Mr. Alice. I don’t need the concern, but I appreciate it."

But at that moment, Ai fell for it, hook, link, sinker.

"S-Someone is struggling with the idea of life and death, what are you talking about now? Please go back alone if you want to!"

"Idea of life and death? How do you write that In detail?"

"———~! Mr. Alice, you idiot idiot idiot!"

"Yeah, yeah, it helps if you speak in simple terms like that."

"You’re so stupid that you failed all your subjects in your first year!"

"…Oi, don’t be so specific. And also, who told you that!?"

"I’m not talking to stupid people!"

"Shut up, you idiot. You’re noisy! The only calling others stupid is the stupid one!"

Then the two of them continued their crude insults.

Of course, anyone who called someone else a fool would immediately become one. But Mr. Alice here did not understand it and did not deny the idea as to whether he was a fool, so he was truly a fool. There were various extents to being a fool though; some were closer to having common sense, and some were fools amongst fools. I’m a good idiot, you’re a bad idiot, people in the past would say that there was no distinction of ranks between fools. In that case, he was probably the biggest idiot of all and just wanted to drag everyone down to his level. Would that not make him a fool?

At this moment, suddenly,

They stopped insulting each other as though they just had a warm-up exercise.

They hurried off..

"What are you going to do about the Captain's request?"

Alice said, his shoulders heaving like a fuming mountain gorilla.

"I'm going to say no!"

Ai replied, snorting loudly.

"Why!?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to refuse!"

"Fine, I get it!"

<i>I’ll beat you up! </i>Both of them continued their conversation with such a tone. Alice started limbering his body, swinging jabs at the air before him. You! You don't want us all to die!"

"You don’t want everyone to die, right!?"

He then swung his fists at the Dead who were rumbling in the distance.

"I hate it!"

Ai too swung the shovel around and snapped the signs around them.

"Why not!? It's war, you know! People will die! Don't you approve of Ortus?"

"I don't know!"

She really did not. Why did she not want that to happen? Ai was already convinced that death was the norm.

"Fine, I get it! I’m the same!"

Alice ripped out the problem that had been lodged inside Ai, labeled it as ‘unsolved’, and threw it behind them. Ai too swung the shovel wildly before her as though the problem itself was right in front of her.

"You know, Mr. Alice!"

"What?"

"I'm so angry! I'm really pissed off and I want to beat something up!"

"Yeah! Say it!"

Ai swung the shovel with blinding speed. She feinted eight times before striking the front.

However, she could not hit that thing.

"But I just don’t know what that thing is! "

And before that, Ai had no idea why he wanted to punch that thing. She did not know where the heat came from.

She had no more dreams.

She had no reason.

So why was her heart still burning?

"Waaaaaahhhhhh~!"

Ai shouted. The Dead, Living, and even iron bugs, "What was that about?" all looked at her twice in succession.

"Woaaahhh—————!"

Alice too shouted and pointed his pistol at the sun.

He fired.

However, the magic bullet that was certain to hit something could not find its target and vanished immediately. Ai and Alice stared at where the bullet disappeared to, as though they were spitting into the sky.

<i>"Yes!"</i>

The two of them affirmed something and started walking again as if nothing had happened.

"What are you yelling for!? Don’t you feel embarrassed or something?"

"What about you, Mr. Alice, don't you think shooting guns is a bit excessive? Please behave yourself."

The two of them walked through the fog, chiding each other.

"… By the way, where are we going?"

Ai asked once she had calmed down. They were on the road to the hills.

"After you ran off yesterday, the town council proposed a plan. If this succeeds, Madame can be defeated without any more Dead appearing—That's what they said."

"Is that true!?"

"I haven't heard the details either, but Dee said to call you anyway."

<i>Her, </i>Alice pointed with his chin when he mentioned her. A simple base had been built on the side of a hill, beyond the fog, and Dee was waving at them.

"Ah! You're both late! Hurry up!"

Beside her were Bendo, the guard Captain, and Shaun, who was chained in handcuffs.

"Shaun is the one who suggested this operation."

Alice whispered, his eyes darting around as he made sure not to let his guard down.

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"He wants to bury Madame."

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"I'll explain the situation then."

One had to wonder where Dee obtained a teaching whip, but she swung it around as she looked around at everyone.

"According to the report of the investigation team, Madame's main body has been hunkered down on a hilltop, producing only iron bugs and not moving on its own."

Ai, Alice, and the other soldiers on the frontlines were gathered in a field tent set up beside the hill.

"As for the iron bugs that they produce, ninety-nine percent of them were quickly burned by Alice's flames, and the remaining super-sized iron bugs were completely subdued by the thirty-odd ‘Dead Soldiers’."

Dee clapped her hands, but no one followed suit. Bendo in particular looked on grimly as he asked,

"Then there is no reason to fight anymore, is there?"

"Hmm?"

"Since we got her contained, that should be fine, right? There’s no need to poke the bear."

"My my, what happened to yesterday's enthusiasm, Bendo? Scared out of your wits?"

"Shut up…."

Sparks flew between the two of them. Apparently, the two of them had been arguing since last night until now.

"I'm saying that we can't tolerate any more Dead."

"That again? Old minded Bendo."

Dee cut him off and smiled at the soldiers standing beside him. They, the young soldiers, showed wry smiles as if they were caught between a rock and a hard place.

"The Dead should die, huh? I can understand why you feel that way, but can't you hold back a little? Mayor, you’ll cause morale to drop if you do that. Do you know, Bendo? You’re basically telling brave men and women who gave their lives, 'Thank you, but you must die’. "

"…You all don't know what you're talking about."

The Dandy Mayor, who always wore a tight suit and prided himself on his ageless body, suddenly had wrinkles on his cheeks as if remembering his age.

"You think we're hard-headed old men and you think you're open-minded young people…that's true to some extent…but our hard-headedness is a scaffolding, so to speak. It's the kind of solidity that people need as they live and age…it’s not that being open-minded is always good…"

"But won’t it be for nothing if you get destroyed because of your hardiness?"

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"…So, I ask you, Lady. How long are you going to live like that?

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Bendo said, not to Dee, but to the Dead who stood behind her. They were rooted, probably taken by surprise.

"You noticed, didn’t you? You noticed that you’ve become immortal, right?...you realized that you have decided when your demise will be…"

"Once this battle ends, we’ll ask the Gravekeepers …"

"That’s hard to tell, I think…there is an old saying that you hate, ‘if there is a bad apple, then every single one is a bad apple’…I don’t think people who sell the most important concept of ‘death’ would not end up fallen…like me. Until yesterday, I never thought I would continue continue living after our comrades died yesterday…but you already used the ‘for the sake of preserving the lives of many’ as an excuse to validate your existences…"

A look of almost hatred caught sight of Dee.

"…All because of the whispers of that little girl over there."

"I have to give my heartfelt congratulations to you, Bendo."

Dee Ensy took him head on.

"Then you'll live. You'll survive tomorrow, and the next day, and forever."

"Hmph, that’s a horrible thought..I'll never accept that—my position remains that the Dead are only going to exist until this battle is over."

"So, does that mean that we agree to finish this fast?"

Dee beamed.

"If you’re going to continue this battle of attrition against Madame while she’s in a lull, that’ll cause the fallen state you speak of to worse. I’m glad we agree to be aggressive"

"! I don’t mean that."

The conversation that was supposed to be derailed had somehow been rerouted back on track.

"Don't try to take your way out of this! You're just trying to get that 'black surface' back after all!"

"That's right!"

"Ahhh! I have enough of this brat! She’s only honest in such moments!"

"Of course I’ll be honest here. It's the key to saving the world."

"I don't understand…"

It seemed everyone aside from Bendo felt the same. They could not imagine why Dee’s perspective was so lofty.

They don't understand the high perspective of Dee. But for now, let's talk about Madame.

"Well, that’s fine, I’ll get you to understand slowly…but let’s talk about Madame."

Smiling, Dee looked at Ai, who was pouting, Alice, who looked sleepy, and Shaun, who was asleep.

"I'm counting on you three☆."

Ai would have preferred an explanation rather than a wink here.

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