Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 9 Chapter 2 (section)

== 2.05 Shiika Part 2 ==
—Alpha.

Shiika didn’t really understand them, but they could be said the reason for Munakata’s disappearance.

Enclosure, Bubble, Paradigm Shift.

Munakata Kaiji investigated those mysteries, and now Akasegawa Nanana inherited them and tried solving them.

Money. Business.

Both were completely outside of Shiika’s understanding. She’d probably never understand what sort of movements occurred in this country even if she asked for an explanation. She also had no idea what the people of the Round Table were like, and she couldn’t even imagine the identity of the mysterious auctioneer called Sotheby.

So Shiika focused her thoughts on Alpha.

The phenomenon called Enclosure was said to have been as a result of monopolizing Alpha.

Then what about Bubble? And Paradigm Shift?

Once, there was a large incident involving Alpha. Since Nanana and Munakata said so, it had to be true.

However, thought Shiika.

In the end, had the Mushitsuki called Alpha wished for it to be so?

Shiika herself was a Mushitsuki. In addition, she’d met many Mushitsuki until now. Met and at times clashed with. Because of Shiika, many became Fallen.

A certain boy was hailed as the strongest Mushitsuki and feared as a demon.

A certain girl lent her help to anyone with kindness, thus providing courage and hope to countless people.

The girl who was scorned as the weakest fought all alone against many Mushitsuki. There were also assassins who criticized Shiika for not doing anything. There were also Mushitsuki who screamed at the top of their lungs that they would capture her. And now, she was being protected by Mushitsuki who decided to move forward despite still hesitating.

People spoke of them, especially about the demon and her friend, as legends.

Kakkou.

And Tachibana Rina.

Was Shiika the only one to feel discomfort at people feeling awe at them from completely opposite sides as if they were a devil and god?

When Kakkou had appeared in front of Shiika, he was supposed to have only been following the mission of defeating her. Even so, he’d asked for her dream, and was surprised at her having the same dream as his. And he hesitated.

Rina became Shiika’s friend. In front of Shiika she laughed, cried, and spoke of love. It made Shiika think that Rina’s usual gallant self was her pushing herself too hard.

To Shiika they were simply a normal boy and girl. If people who laughed, cried, worried, got hurt and yet still tried rising up weren’t normal, then what were they?

And so, she thought.

Wasn’t the Mushitsuki called Alpha just as normal of a person?

They too laughed and cried, worried, got hurt and still tried rising up?

''I want to speak to them—

So she thought.

Why did you become a Mushitsuki?

When you first became a Mushitsuki, what did you think?

What did you see at the time?

And—what sort of dream did you have?

She wanted to meet them and converse.

In accordance with these feelings swelling in her chest, a different emotion was born inside Shiika.

When the auction first started, Shiika had only been barely able to follow the conversation. But as she started understanding it, she knew the auction’s true meaning.

There were people who used Mushitsuki as merchandise.

Even the fact that perhaps the first Mushitsuki knew the secrets about Mushi had nothing to do with it anymore.

Each and every Mushitsuki was actually just a person that could be found anywhere.

Even so—

Even now they were captured at some place—

Waiting for years and years for someone to bid on them—

Like they were mere property—

“…taru! Fuyuhotaru!”

The voice heard from afar caused Shiika to come back to her senses with a start.

“Stop it! Cancel your ability!”

It was Namie’s voice. Shiika hurriedly stopped her ability.

“Hah… Hah…”

Shiika was standing in a basin some distance away from Mushibane’s camp.

Absolving her ability and walking along the ravaged earth, she returned to Namie inside the forest.

“This isn’t good… I can’t save anyone with this.”

Turning around, Shiika bit her lips. Her hair stuck to her cheeks with sweat, and due to her fatigue and mental exhaustion, even her limbs clad in T-shirt and short pants felt lethargic.

Namie followed Shiika’s gaze. Her great figure was covered by work clothes.

“…It would certainly be no use like this.”

“I’m sorry. I was the one who asked for training and yet I can’t do it properly…”

“No, I also find it a pity I can’t help. I can give basic training to the entire Mushibane including you… but for any more than that we need a specialist. —No, with a strange ability only the user themselves could understand it. One of my juniors underwent training under a certain woman, but…”

“T-then, if she teaches me maybe I’ll be able to do something?”

“No—there’s a rumor… that she died in battle. Quite recently at that.”

Hearing the words of ''died in battle'', Shiika felt her heart throb. Another person—another Mushitsuki died. Rather than simply seek her teaching, if she could meet her even once, what sort of tale would she have?

“Also, the SEPB gives up on training those who go berserk and they started turning them into Fallen immediately… anyway, we can’t start relying on people who’re no longer there. If we keep doing our best without giving up, at some point we’ll succeed.”

“…Right.”

Although Shiika nodded, her pain wasn’t gone.

Munakata and Nanana, as well as the people of Mushibane, did their best to help Mushitsuki.

Even so, she herself—was unable to do anything. She was only being protected.

But she wasn’t going to give up.

She too would attempt to grow up even a second earlier—

As she tried going back to the camp after this resolution of hers, a lone boy appeared from the forest.

“…Report. Returned just now. Saved a single person. No wounded.”

Speaking sullenly with a cold face was the boy with pierced ears. The boy who’d wailed while hitting Shiika just the other day.

“G-good work.”

Next to Shiika who lowered her head, Name stepped forward. She wordlessly beat the boy’s head.

“Ouch! What the fuck are you—”

As he held his head and raised it, he was speechless. Because he’d looked at Shiika sullenly until now, he hadn’t noticed what happened right behind them.

“What the hell.”

The basin that they were standing in was not a basin at all just an hour ago.

It was a forested area, just like the place the boy was standing at. However, Shiika’s ability turned a space as large as a baseball stadium to a wasteland.

Trees were knocked down, broken, and distorted until not even a single branch retained its form. Ground was lifted up, rocks broke and scattered about. Perhaps reaching into underground water channels, some parts of the ground had large water spouts. All plants met their death and all animals ran far away—it became a space with no remaining signs of life.

If Shiika participated in battle—other than her none would survive, with no regard to either friend or foe.

“Please speak more politely to someone above you in position.”

“U-umm, Namie-san. I don’t really mind…”

“We have to. One day, we’ll make him into a commander. Regulations are important. —What are you spacing out for? If your report is done, go back.”

The boy standing there with an empty face had his butt kicked and came back to his senses.

“Err, I… apologize for hitting you…”

“Eh? O-oh… please don’t mind it.”

Shiika talked to the boy who turned around back to the camp. Starting that night, while he still complained, the boy helped Mushibane. Since she kind of made up with that boy, she was happy.

When the three of them back in camp, a familiar girl was waiting for them.

“Nanana.”

“Yes! Akasegawa Nanana present! Yahaha.”

The rich girl looked drunk and cheerful today as well. While leaning on the limousine, she held up her stick as if this was a classroom roll call.

“Is today a payment day as well?”

“Wow! You actually knew it! I’m going to wait here until Sotheby comes.”

The girl had a bad reputation with Shiika’s other allies, but she didn’t hate Nanana. She knew many things that Shiika didn’t.

Looking at the corner of the cottage, Munakata on his wheelchair was there like always.

He probably hadn’t recovered yet—

Even asking him, he’d only reply “I’ll recover in due time” while smiling. Shiika couldn’t help but feel anxious at seeing Munakata like that.

“I’ll definitely win the auction.”

For an instant, Nanana showed a serious expression.

The surprised Shiika stared at the girl, but Nanana immediately blurted, “Nyahaha, I’m going to pray,” and headed to the cottage.

Nanana always looked like she was increasing her bids as if it was a game. On the other hand, her obsession about this was not half-hearted in the least. Perhaps she had her own kind of strong motive to participate in this auction.

Feeling reassured by Nanana’s confidence, Shiika turned to the secretary.

“Looks like we’ll win this time, then.”

“I was unable to grasp the identity of the other bidder.”

As always, the secretary spoke in a mechanical tone.

“The current situation will only bring about the ‘winner’s curse’.”

Unfamiliar words. Shiika tilted her head.

“The winner’s… curse?”

“It means becoming obsessed with the competition and bidding on an impossible price. At this rate, even if she wins the bid, the Akasegawa Foundation will…”

Even while explaining calmly, the woman’s expression looked stiff.

Even if Nanana won the auction, a curse would be cast on her—if it went according to what the secretary said, it would mean no winners existed in the auction.

It became night and the cottage’s door was opened from outside.

“Sotheby’s here.”

It was Nihei. He had apparently been waiting for the auctioneer outside.

Sotheby appeared and stood in front of the door.

“A new bid has been announced by another bidder…”

Those words sent the lobby to silence.

Shiika unconsciously looked at Nanana’s face. The girl with her cheeks dyed red due to alcohol stared at Sotheby while grinning.

“Who on earth could that be? Who’s that bidder? Do they even actually exist?”

“Why, I would never make this up…”

“Even though only the members of the Round Table have the right to participate? Even though none of the members made any move?”

“I have invited only the members of the Round Table…”

“…That was a funny way of phrasing it. How many people of the same caliber as the Round Table are there in the country?”

“If you have some idea, then you are free to try asking those people… I am unable to reveal the name of the bidder, but no matter what the bidder does, I cannot influence them…”

“I’ve already investigated every possible avenue. Couldn’t find anyone that was likely to be the bidder.”

Shiika had heard about this from Nanana when they waited for Sotheby.

The eleven Round Table members other than Nanana made no move.

Although no match for the Round Table, there were other millionaires with similar spending power. But she had thoroughly investigated all of them and found no hints of any of them bidding.

Not one of the other eleven Round Table members, nor one from the outside—

Did that person actually exist?

“Oh my… how mysterious indeed…”

Sotheby’s insolent behavior made Nanana erase her smile.

“Should I drop here? If that other bidder doesn’t exist, you’ll lose your chance for a big juicy cheque, right?”

For a moment Sotheby was silence.

But without any movement about, he started speaking with a creepy voice.

“Enclosure had happened due to an attempt to monopolize Alpha… the wealthy, including the Round Table, all took together to invest against this ‘omen’… For people who knew nothing about the situation, it probably looked as though mountains of money were swallowed by the ground…”

“…”

“And then Enclosure transformed—into Bubble. That Bubble was, so to speak, ‘greed’… those who felt something in regards to Alpha became ecstatic… the people involved with Alpha exploded with happiness, were elated, and threw around money as if in a trance… that whirlpool of bliss infected those people who were anxious from Enclosure, and suddenly the economic situation turned gleeful indeed… Bubble involved even those people who knew nothing about Alpha, and all the country basked in this senseless happiness…”

Shiika and the rest listened silently to Sotheby’s sermon.

“This bubble of greed led people astray… adding to Alpha—who could be said to be the prototype, it dragged forth three new possibilities… these should have all led toward the next step… however, the three had thorns, and they pierced the bubble of greed that swelled without end… soon, the bubble collapsed…”

“What happened when it collapsed?”

Sotheby lowered his head at Munakata’s question.

“This I shall tell you… at our next meeting…”

“Hmph.”

Nanana wore a defiant smile.

“My goal is not to deceive my precious bidders… my duty as an auctioneer is simple: to sell my merchandise… if you drop out of the bid and the other bidder does not pay the promised amount—you will incur the penalty…”

“But if they did pay, their victory would be certain?”

“That is indeed the case…”

Everything that Sotheby said was so abstract. He seemed to be explaining something, but hadn’t actually revealed anything. He was probably telling them that if they wanted to know the truth, they had to win Alpha.

But Shiika couldn’t help but ask the auctioneer in front of them.

“I don’t know what kind of a person Alpha is.”

Nanana and the rest all looked at Shiika.

“But you’re trying to sell them for money…”

“Alpha is an extremely invaluable item… if you win the auction, you will be able to learn all that you wish to know…”

“I don’t understand this value. But—”

Shiika glared straight at Sotheby.

Her black widened pupils reflected his form.

“Why can you call a human being, an item?”

Probably unconsciously, Sotheby took a small step backward. 

The emotion Shiika had upon discovering Alpha was a Mushitsuki...

Was anger.

The more she heard from Sotheby—the more her desire to meet up with and speak to Alpha swelled like a bubble, the stronger those emotions grew.

She didn’t know the true identity of the auctioneer called Sotheby. But he declared the value of a Mushitsuki loudly and tried to raise the price even further. It was also obvious he was exhilarated at it working.

While the release of the Mushitsuki Alpha was delayed by another and yet another second, what were they thinking about, wherever they were?

“Will—”

As if to escape from Shiika’s gaze, Sotheby turned his body. He spoke to Nanana.

“Will you bid or fold?”

Nanana narrowed one eye.

“Bid.”

Shiika turned to Nanana.

“I told you I’ll definitely win this, right?”

Nanana apparently made up her mind. Even if she didn’t know the identity of the other bidder even until the very end, she was resolved to win in this battle of bids.

“Nanana…”

Shiika bit her lips.

Although she wanted to meet and speak with Alpha, she couldn’t do anything. About the only thing she could do was believe in Nanana.

“Yahah.”

Laughing at Shiika who directed an imploring look at her, Nanana spun her stick.

“Well then, when’s the next payment?”

Sotheby let out a vulgar laugh as he lowered his head.