Editing Kaze no Stigma:Volume3 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 2===

After leaving the restaurant, with a manner of walking that showed no hesitation, Kazuma had his eyes upon the back street. After walking several  minutes, finding a slightly empty space and stopping there, he looked up at the sky. 

"Well then - what are you going to do?"

Facing the empty space, quietly, Kazuma asked -

"Will you come out by yourself? Or else - be dragged out?"

The answer was a blow. The light ball that suddenly appeared came flying at high speed, aiming at Kazuma's head.

That oblique attack from the sky, Kazuma dodged it, nimbly swaying back. The light ball flying before his eyes suddenly altered its angle and started climbing just before it crashed into the ground.

A second dive.

But this time, with no dodging involved, its aim was off.

"Good grief!"

The light ball flies around Kazuma as it pleases. The irregular high speed maneuver disregarding the laws of inertia, perfectly exceeds humans' perception capacity.

By using his eyes alone, Kazuma can only perceive the light ball's movement as a line not a point.

But -

Lightly, his right hand stretched horizontally. As it, just by doing that he can take something which has been placed there, a relaxed, natural movement.

And yet, when the light track blended with his fingertips, as if it was something they mutually agreed upon - Kazuma's hand seized the light ball. And without change grasped it tightly.

"It huts, it hurts, it huuuuuurts!!"

The high pitch shrill that gushed out of the light ball jolted his brain.

Simultaneously the light faded and the real figure hidden inside materialized. It had a human pattern. However, it's height was less than twenty centimeters. Incidentally, the ears were slightly sharp and transparent wings were growing from its back.

Looking hard at the thing held in his hand, Kazuma murmured, looking bored.

"What, it was a bug?"

"Wrong! Bug is wrong!!" 

From inside Kazuma's palm, that thing was wiggling and struggling. 

It was belonging to the species referred to as pixies. Living inside forests, mischievous but cute fairies. They rarely ventured into human communities but as he unfortunately knew, not never.

It happened at the end of the last year. Together with Ayano, during the job at the school she was attending, it was the first time he was around something called "a fairy's prank".

Although he was the only whose good fortune wasn't damaged, the memory of that one night's stupid fooling around was still fresh.

"So, what do you want?" asked Kazuma with apathetic words.

If the pixie were to say this is just "a greeting because of a chance meeting" he was seriously determined to crush it.

"You see, you see, I have a request, Contractor-sama."

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem this fairy just happened to pass by. However, the response was meaningful. Because he was called by a name it wasn't supposed to know.

"Does this mean that instead of greeting the party you want to ask a favor from, you start the attack?"

Cross-examined, visibly looked down upon, while innocently laughing, the fairy answered.

"Ah, that - that was a play for the sake of  an impressive stage-entry? Something like that - ouuuuch!?"

"Ha - ha - ha"

With a dry laughter, Kazuma grasps the fairy, considerably inserting more force. He said with perfectly serious tone:

"Die at once!"

"Auuuu...it huuurts, I'm really going to die!" 

With sober eyes. Kazuma looked at the struggling fairy. - Of course, without reducing the strength.

Observing the way the fairy's movements were becoming slughish, when it's breath became faint, he opened his palm.
With no energy to flap it's wings, the fairy fell to the ground with a flop. After several seconds -

"Auuuuu.....how cruel....Gyaaaa!"

Kazuma lightly placed his foot above the fairy who got up at last.

While feeling a frail resistance from the sole of his foot, he fired the next question.

"Well then, question number two. Where did you find out about me?"

"Aah, how terrible!"

Just like that, the energetic fairy jumped out from underneath the foot. Standing still in front of Kazuma's eyes, glaring at him as if saying "I'm really angry!"

"You don't remember about me?"

"You don't get it."

Waiving his hand quite bothered, flinging off the fairy's complaints and its body, Kazuma asked:

"What did you call me?"

Surely the pixie saw his face during that incident but he doesn't remember telling it he was a Contractor. It wasn't information easy to come by.

"Ah - that? I heard it from the head of our village", answered the fairy as a matter of course. Laying on its back with legs outstretched, it continued with a triumphant air.

"And so, it's been decided that only Contractor-sama can rescue our family from crisis. I was sent because I was a close acquaintance."

"............that so?"

''close acquaintance - who are you talking about?''

Although harboring that that sort of feeling, he can't flatly refuse the request of the patriarch of the fairy village. Kazuma pressed forward.

"So, what is that request?"

"This is a major incident!"

Planning to display its anger, the fairy rose slightly higher than Kazuma and talked on and on leaning forward.

"Recently humans have entered the village and stole the family's treasure!"

Contrastive to the excited fairy, Kazuma replied in a sober tone.

"..........Well, that happens often."

"No, it doesn't! Even the patriarch said it is unparalleled in history!"

"That's wrong", Kazuma declared with absolute confidence.

The fairy's village is placed in a slightly different dimension from the material world humans inhabit. Therefore, by physical means it absolutely cannot be reached.

"I don't know whether it is unprecedented or not but it will happen again. No matter how secure barriers will you form, in front of human greed, they are powerless" 

For the sake of satisfying one's desire humans conquered all hardships. Even if a dimensional barrier were to block their way, if it is necessary, it will, without exception be smashed.

What's more, they don't pay attention to the damage inflicted on others.

The affirmation of all desires - whether they are good or evil, that is mankind's course of action - Kazuma knew it so.

"Don't be so proud of such a thing......."

"It doesn't mean I am particularly proud of it. I am simply pointing out the truth."

Even because of those eyes obviously filled with blame, Kazuma doesn't falter. Throwing out his chest with dignity, he affirms himself.

"Moving on, the request is to find the treasure, right?"

"Uh-huh. That's right. If we don't have it, our entire existence will be in danger!"

Seeming convinced that the request was already heard, the fairy began dancing, looking glad. While quietly starring at that appearance, Kazuma let out the essential question.

"Will there be a reward?"

The fairy petrified in the middle of her dance. Voiceless, eyes and mouth forming 3 separate O's, it stared at Kazuma. Kazuma also, calmly stared back at her. Not less than one full minute, they stared at each other.

"............errrr.............Contractor-sama..............."

Finally pulling herself together, the fairy asked Kazuma in a cracked voice.

"What?"

"Contractor-sama, you made a contract with the spirits of the wind and became a Contractor, right........?"

"Yes", Kazuma nodded in assent.

"And because of that, well........we, the pixies, are fairies affiliated with the wind, you could say the relatives of wind spirits.........."

"Thank you for especially teaching me such an obvious thing. What of it?"

"So,.........well, as for the proxy of the King of the Spirits on this earth, isn't it natural to help his family in times of crisis, don't you think?"

"...........Ah, I see."

Smiling sweetly, Kazuma kindly extended a hand to the fairy. He softly wrapped his hand around that small body, treating it like fragile glass work.

"Listen up, '''bug'''."

"No, hear me out, I'm not a....."

With that firm smile that clung to him like a mask, Kazuma inserted little by little more power in the hand grabbing the fairy. 

"Wow - putting one's life on the line for the proof of one's identity, huh? Not what I've hoped for but that way of life can't be evaluated."

"Auuu....fine, something like me, just an insect............."

Yielding to terror, the fairy sold her pride. Kazuma nodded.

"Listen really close, bug. You should know about me that just because I made a contract with the King of Spirits, it doesn't mean I am burdened with some special sort of special duty."

"S-sneaky.........does that mean that you took all the power without any sort of risk?"

"Yeah", Kazuma boldly declared tossing the fairy.

"That's why, if you want to request something from me, start by showing me the stack of cash. I'll listen to your story after that."

Saying those words he turned his back on the thrown out fairy and started walking.

It wasn't a strategy, much less a joke. Kazuma considered this discussion already over. 

"Wh - wait a minute!"

The dumbfounded fairy, seeing off his retreating figure, flew before Kazuma in a panic.

"I understand, we'll give you some of our village's treasure."

".........a fairy's treasure?" Kazuma frowned, very suspicious.

"Something like glass beds or pretty stones you picked by the river or insect shells or - "

"The fairy village is not a crow's nest! We have lots of gold and gems, you know!?"

Just by hearing that, Kazuma's facial expression didn't cheer up. Looking up at that fairy with that apathetic face, he casually said: 

"How much of those?"

"Uuu, huh....."

"There doesn't seem to be a big amount, huh? If your family is in crisis hand over at least half of everything you own!"

"You'll go that far!?"

"That's the foundation of business, you know", Kazuma heartlessly declared to the whining fairy. 

With sulky eyes, she glared at Kazuma.

"........I have to consult the patriarch"

After all, it became like this.

"Please do. And - "

Nodding proudly, Kazuma suddenly changed the topic. 

"About the treasure, what is it?"

"Eh?"

"So, the shape, the material, its function or something like that. If you don't tell me about those I can't search for it." 

After understanding the meaning of those words, the gloomy, depressed fairy's facial expression began to shine. She shouted with vigor.

"You came around!?"

Answering to the fairy's smiling face, Kazuma also broadly grinned.

"If it's the treasure of the fairy village, I pray it has enough value to satisfy me."

Instantly the fairy remembered that optical illusion-like mouth that seemed to split until ears. Timidly, she asked:

"Say......just for reference, what will you do if it doesn't satisfy you?"

"Annihilation, isn't it obvious?"

".......isn't it obvious..."

Toward the fairy, involuntarily repeating it, Kazuma grinned all the more.

"When that time comes, you will be the last to go. After burning in your memory that the destruction of your family was the result of the rashness of your speech, you can die."

Sizing it in his hand for the third time, Kazuma laughed enjoying himself from the bottom of his heart. If, from that back bat-like wings and a pointed tail were to appear because she was hallucinating, that is definitely not the fairy's responsibility.
"Auuuu......."








"Well then......"

Permitting for a while the fairy's scream, Kazuma returned to the topic.

"Enough idle talk, tell me the job details."

"Well, you see.........to call the announcement of my entire family's annihilation idle talk......"

"You're noisy. So, what kind of treasure is it?"

"This kind"

Smoothly escaping Kazuma's hand, the fairy's and his head touched each other. Through the contact portion, the "treasure"'s image poured into Kazuma's brain.

"...........a seed?"

That was the first impression. Unidentified life force, so to speak.

The strong pounding wave, from within the shell, rose ready to burst open. 

"What on Earth is this?"

Being asked so, the fairy looked away. After its eyes wondered about for a while, it looked at Kazuma, waiting for an answer, with an upward glance.

"Let me see.......that is something like a trade secret..........no?"

"What sort of business?............well, it doesn't matter."

Although riposting, Kazuma easily allowed the secret. He had no interest in a treasure he can't take hold of and obtained only the necessary information for searching. There's no meaning investigating further.

"Then show me the points the humans invaded through. We'll follow from there."

The wind will certainly remember the treasure's presence. No matter how advanced the enemy's shielding was, Kazuma had confidence he could locate it less than 24 hours. 

"Eh? Ah, that's fine. Because we know where it is."

"What? - Ah, so that's the reason."

The answer to the question that came to mind, Kazuma instantly found it by himself. In other words the commission wasn't for a search but for a recovery.

"The place it is this way."

The fairy touched his hear with hers for a second time. Deriving the name of the place from the information flowing in, Kazuma's eyes faintly opened wider. 

"........Ah? This is - "

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing. Leaving that aside, bug, are you coming too?"

"Yeah, I'm coming. - By the way, Contractor-sama?"

Resigned but including a faint hope, the fairy looked at Kazuma.
[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 03 079.jpg|thumb]]

"Do you remember my name?"

"No."

Instant reply. Incidentally he had no guilty feeling about it. The fairy named herself with a sigh.

"It's Tiana. Please treat me favorably, Contractor-sama."

"Stop that. Kazuma is fine." 

When Kazuma told her his name, the fairy - Tiana corrected herself, looking glad.

"Please treat me favorably, Kazuma♥."

"Use Kazuma-sama."

"............."

"It's a joke."

".........teh"

Overwhelmed by anger, she pretended to throw kicks from Kazuma's back.

''Ei! Ei!! I give up!!!''

After the one-two punch, a reversal left hook and then a left, low hit finish stroked Kazuma's phantasm, Tiana finally felt refreshed.

However, she was careless. Kazuma was a Fuujutsushi - within a certain range his perception had no blind spots.

"I saw that."

"Fukyaaa."

The small wind pebble flied together with the cold reply, delivering a hard blow on Tiana's face.