Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 7 Chapter 1 (section)

== 1.05 Ako Part 1 ==
The True Journalist, Haemori Ako.

She had received her talent from her skillful photographer grandfather.

He apparently wandered around battlefields from a young age, acting as a war journalist. He took pictures and videos of the incidents caused by civil wars, guerilla resistances and terrorist attacks.

Yet Ako was the most curious about when her grandfather had stepped away from battlefields. With an antique-like analogue camera in his hand, he would photograph anything as long as there was a request for it.

Her grandfather never spoke to Ako about his time on the battlefield. Taking her to take pictures of nature and animals, he only talked about how valuable peace was.

Borrowing her grandfather's camera, she took many pictures. He would always praise her. Since Ako was the kind of person to thrive with compliments, she increasingly fell in love with the idea of leaving some sort of chronicle behind.

It happened when Ako became a middle school student.

Her grandfather, along with his partner camera, returned to a battlefield and never came back.

War addiction. Ambition. Thrill-seeker. Looking for a place to die. —Thus the people around branded her grandfather. But Ako had asked her grandfather for the real reason.

''—While I'm in this country, I forget what peace is. I even almost forget the truth about all the lives so needlessly lost behind this peace.''

After saying so with a smile, her grandpa returned to the battlefield.

What was the "truth" that her peace-loving grandfather sought after?

Ako was pursuing it even now.

"I knew I wasn't crazy."

The following morning after parting from Akatsuki at the art gallery, Ako came to a certain warehouse at the back of the school.

The wooden shack the size of half a classroom at most was packed full of materials and trash. Apart for items such as a rusted bicycle or P.E. equipment that were there for who knows how long, there was a mountain of dusty cardboard boxes.

These were all things carried out of the journalism club room. It was the all materials they'd once gathered, with Ako's personal belongings mixed in with them.

Inside the warehouse where the morning sunlight poured in, Ako spread a large paper on a mat.

It was the town's map.

With her camera in her left hand, she took a close-up photo of the art gallery on the map.

"The art gallery has also fallen to the hands of the Demon Lord."

She scribbled an X with a red pen in her right hand.

Yesterday, Ako had fallen asleep inside the art gallery. When she'd woken up she'd been carried by Akatsuki, and while laughing he told her they'd been driven out of the art gallery due to it being past closing time.

After that, Akatsuki parted from her as if nothing happened.

Yet Ako realized.

Something had happened at the art gallery back then.

Because Ako hadn't been sleeping due to growing tired of walking. As proof, although she'd tried replicating the actions of the middle school couple, and wasn't tired at all, she'd fallen asleep on the sofa. It was to make the Demon Lord and his army of darkness lower their guard.

She also had proof that something had happened there. Yet since it was something only Ako knew of, she had to seal it. Truly a pity.

"The journalism club has taken one step further toward defeating the Demon Lord."

Adding narration to her video, she folded the map.

Just as she turned around in order to return to class, she stumbled on a box at her feet. Since her camera was about to bump into the wall, she curled her body to protect it.

"Ouch…"

Covering for the camera and scratching her head, she looked down the collapsed box.

It was a box full of Ako's belongings. A bundle of photos scattered from the file that flew to the ground.

Gasping, Ako hurriedly sat down. While covering the photos as if to hide them, she looked at the open entrance.

"What I have done was a careless mistake. If I'm found by the secret organization again I'm probably a goner."

Confirming that the figure she was scared of—a woman clad in a dark coat—wasn't there, she felt relieved. Putting down her camera, she hid the photos inside the file again.

These photos that Ako hurriedly grabbed depicted something that wasn't human.

They were monsters with various sizes and shapes. Civilians seeing them would think they were CG or special effects, but those who saw it would know it to be extremely valuable photo.

Finishing cleaning up, Ako left the warehouse with her camera in hand.

As she entered the school and went toward the shoe lockers, the school's morning scenery entered her eyes. Showered in the petals of the cherry trees planted near the school, she could feel the smiles of new students.

It was a truly nice scene.

"This town is peaceful today as well."

A natural smile rose to her face. Stopping there for a while, she let her camera linger on the scenery in front of her eyes.

The camera saw the new students chatting among themselves. Several were smiling bashfully.

Yet someone pulled on the sleeves of the new students. "It's that Demon Lord girl that senpai told us about…" they whispered. Ako twitched.

"If you're interested in the Demon Lord, do come to our—"

Before she finished saying this, the new students left quickly.

"…"

She didn't call out to them.

She knew perfectly well how other people looked at her.

And so she couldn't give up so easily.

"Club member Akatsuki is probably already at school."

Entering school, she headed to Akatsuki's class.

Would he be surprised if Ako revealed she knew something happened at the art gallery? If he were, he would probably praise her as a genius.

Ako was the kind of person to thrive with compliments.

Just like her grandfather once praised anything and everything she filmed, Ogata Akatsuki probably also noticed her talent. Ako wouldn't be able to hide her talent.

She reached his classroom and peeked inside.

Ignoring the first bell, she didn't see her excellent journalism club member anywhere.

"If you're here for Ogata-kun, he's not here."

She turned the camera toward the voice. Two girls looked at Ako.

"Did he take the day off?"

"Dunno."

The eyes of the two girls who bluntly answered turned severe. Ignoring someone else who tried stopping them, they spoke resolutely.

"Say, Haemori-san. Why are you deceiving new students into joining your club?"

"I do not deceive them. There really is a Demon Lord."

"This stupid Demon Lord thing is just your—"

She started, but sank into silence. Seeing Ako intently filming her, she hung her head as if suddenly coming to her senses.

"I-I'm sorry. Don't take my pictures."

The girl who apologized and lowered her head was, without any doubt, scared.

"…"

Ako could feel her heart throbbing in pain.

Every time she saw this expression, she recalled her crimes from the past.

The next thing she knew, the LCD screen was reflecting the floor.

"…Club member Akatsuki is a friend."

Mumbling this, she left the classroom.

Noticing she was still filming the floor, Ako raised the lenses. Doing this was a shame as a journalist.

Seeing the students passing the corridors while smiling, she felt a bit better.

Perhaps due to inheriting her grandfather's love for peace, Ako also loved it. The countryside high school was as peaceful as ever today.

Many things happened until now.

She also made mistakes at times.

But right now Ako was at peace.

No matter how hated she was, the fact that Ako loved peace remained unchanged.

"Once club member Akatsuki comes to school we have to fetch our material as fast as possible."

Finishing charging up her mood, Ako walked through the corridor in high spirits.

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