Editing Rental Magica Volume 1: Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 2===
 
 
Itsuki felt a soft touch on the back of his head.
 
It was incredibly comforting, and the hand smelled good.  He felt as though he wanted to simply vacillate forever like this.
 
He felt something tickle his throat, and when he opened his eyes, he saw golden hair and a pair of emerald eyes.
 
"Eh...?"
 
"Huh...?"
 
Their eyes were less than a finger's distance apart.
 
For several moments, the two simply stayed like that, petrified.
 
"Eek..."
 
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Itsuki shouted with great vigor.  In that moment, he tumbled from his knees, the back of his head slamming hard into concrete.
 
"Ow!"
 
Thanks to the pain, he fully regained consciousness.
 
Seeing the blonde girl sitting in front of him, he blinked his eyes several times repeatedly.
 
"--A, a, Adilisia-san?"
 
"... I, if you are that surprised ahead of me, then I will not have any time to be surprised, you know.  Is that also one of <Astral>'s negotiation methods?"
 
"No, that, it wasn't anything like that... what were you..."
 
"I just intended to measure your temperature.  It would not be strange for there to be some strange residual curse in your body after falling into an ocean tainted to such a degree with spell power, would it?"
 
"I, I guess you could say that, but..."
 
Then, he finally noticed his surroundings.
 
"Ah, that's right.  Are you alright, Adilisia-san?"
 
"I don't know."
 
Her face turning deep red, Adilisia turned away.
 
"No, I didn't mean anything weird; are you injured?'
 
"Huh...?"
 
The girl frowned, puzzled.
 
"Say, those tough-looking demons were destroyed, right?  Are you going to be okay, Adilisia-san?"
 
Adilisia gave a small sigh and smiled at Itsuki's words.
 
"As usual, you know absolutely nothing, do you?  Unlike simple demons with ether bodies, mine are flesh and blood.  They would not disintegrate from something so simple as spell power interference."
 
In high spirits, she pointed to the chest of her jet-black dress.
 
She was the same old Adilisia.  It was as if the weak face she made the moment they fell in was a lie.
 
Itsuki was somehow happy at her behavior.
 
"So... where are we?" he asked.
 
He turned his head several times, looking around.
 
For now, they weren't in the sea of the <Night>.  They were in the corner of a room with naked concrete walls.  They were in a large space like a parking lot, and there were several sharp-cornered pillars standing.  The dust-covered floor was cracked, and there were rusted, suspicious machines scattered about.  What little light there was came from a white lamp affixed to the ceiling.
 
"Is that... by any chance..."
 
He strangely recognized the area.
 
He felt that he had seen this on the reference documents before coming here.  That is to say, it had appeared from time to time on Furube City's regional TV before.
 
''...  Is this... the goblin factory?''
 
It suddenly hit him.
 
.......
 
................
 
"... Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
 
In that instant, a scream ran from his fingernails to the top of his head.
 
"------!  Wh, what on earth are you..." Adilisia protested, covering her ears with both hands.
 
"B, because it's...  I didn't think this could be the goblin factory!  I, if you think about it, then from those strange stains, they look as though ghosts might come out of them like in the TV programs..."
 
The girl looked at Itsuki incoherently explaining things with a curious expression.
 
"You... for someone who was not afraid of my demons, what reason is there for you to be afraid of childish tricks?"
 
"I, I guess you could say that, but..."
 
Repeating the same phrase that he had said earlier, Itsuki then grumbled about how they weren't the same thing.
 
He was genuinely not above such shame.
 
He was a loser who took the concept of manliness and slapped it, crushed it, tossed it in the garbage, and finally disposed of it in space.
 
"Well, I suppose that is like you."
 
Adilisia lightly shook her head.  Her golden curls shook elegantly as she did.
 
"... Now that I think about it... we're not wet?"
 
"Somehow."
 
"But I thought we fell into the sea...  There's even air down here, what's the deal?"
 
"My my.  You are unexpectedly direct about the workings of your mind."
 
As if confirming something, Adilisia clapped her hands together and nodded as she said, "This will do."
 
"What will?"
 
"First, see the current situation with your own eyes.  It'll be faster than if I explain things, I think."
 
Standing up, the girl approached the window.
 
It could be called a window, but it was crude, with a broken shade draped over it.  The sash and the glass had disappeared long ago, and a rusted frame and the shade were all that remained of what was once a window.
 
Adilisia lowered the shade.
 
"------!"
 
Itsuki's jaw dropped.
 
Outside of the window stretched a frozen ocean.
 
Of course, a tattered factory like this couldn't support so much ice.  Plus, even though it was ice, not the slightest bit of cold air could be felt.
 
"This is... the bottom of that ocean?"
 
"Yes.  The <Night> has not ended yet."
 
Adilisia, closing her eyes, nodded again.
 
 
Itsuki tried to arrange his thoughts.
 
''After getting assigned the 'job' by the <Organization>, we came to erase this <Night>.  This meant that we had to fight with <Goetia>, who also took the offer.''
 
''However, a sudden, unusual change occurred in the <Night>.''
 
''The ripples and the whirlpool emitted from the sea destroyed the demons that Adilisia called out.  This interrupted the fight.  I then fell with Adilisia-san into the <Night>.  Finally, it looks like the sea froze after we fell in.''
 
What happened?
 
''...  What a relief,'' he thought absentmindedly.
 
To a high school student who could just see ghosts, such things weren't under his control, or rather, he didn't have the strength to do anything anyway.  This was only the third magician-like work he had taken on since becoming a president, and it was the first full-blown job of those.
 
He drooped his head glumly and heaved a sigh.
 
"What is the matter?" Adilisia asked from beside him.
 
"Well, it's just... I was thinking if we couldn't escape somehow."
 
"If that is the case, then you may do as you like.  I have something to search for.  After going to all the work of entering inside the <Night>, even if I were alone it would be fine."
 
Instantly sliced in two.
 
If he impeded her, she would probably abandon him in an instant.  Or rather, she seemed like she would be a willing suicide assistant if he were to get in her way.
 
The girl crouched down over the concrete and scraped something out with a scrap of metal.  It looked like a magic circle.  Inside the large circle, there were several pentagrams and squares intertwining with one another.  And then, as if to enclose those shapes, she bit her pinky finger and wrote out letters in blood.
 
Itsuki gulped at the act of self-mutilation, but suddenly asked,
 
"...  You're looking for something?"
 
He tilted his neck.
 
"..."
 
Adilisia's finger stopped.
 
She had a face that bluntly said, "Damn it!"
 
"You mean it's in this <Night>?  So you tried to stop us from taking this offer because you were looking for that?"
 
"...  I, I will tell you, but..."  The girl curled her hands into fists and raised her face.  "This is a state of emergency, thus it cannot be helped that we are together.  I will not give you any more information than is needed."
 
"Ah, y, yes.  Understood!"
 
Flashed at by Adilisia's emerald eyes, Itsuki immediately bowed.
 
However, he was a bit late, as Adilisia tapped her magic circle, seeming regretful.
 
"...  It's no use."
 
"Wh, what's wrong?"
 
"My fetishes are insufficient.  The equipment I have now and this impromptu magic circle are lacking spiritual significance, even though I tried compensating for it with my own blood."
 
Irritated, she bit the nail of her thumb.  Under normal circumstances, they were at a complete loss for anything to do.
 
''A fetish...''
 
"Say, how about this?"
 
Itsuki unclipped the badge on his collar.
 
In an instant, the color of astonishment filled Adilisia's eyes.
 
"L, lend me that, right now!"
 
The girl leaned forward.
 
However--in a rare move, Itsuki pulled that badge away from her.
 
"H, hold on a second."
 
"What is it?"
 
"I'm not going to just give this to you for nothing."
 
"...  Are you asking, that I help you to escape?  If that is the case then, I will simply take it from you by force."
 
There was an extraordinary murderous intent lurking in the tone of Adilisia's voice.  It was a scale of absolute zero that seemed to freeze Itsuki to his fingertips.
 
"N, no, just listen!  If you have something to search for, then I'm fine with that.  If so, I'll even cooperate.  In return, what do you say we help each other get out of here?"
 
Adilisia glared as if evaluating him.
 
"...  You say you will cooperate with me?"
 
"Yes!  It's not unheard of, stuff like this.  'Bitter enemies placed in the same boat give and take?'"
 
Spouting out a four-character kanji compound<ref>Refers to the phrase "goetsudoushuu" (呉越同舟 ''Bitter enemies in the same boat'') that Itsuki just used</ref> that made little sense in the current situation, Itsuki's heart raced wildly.  Itsuki was obviously no match for Adilisia in magic, and he wasn't confident that he could even beat her in a fistfight.  As such, his life was on the line in this negotiation.
 
"..."
 
Adilisia took a single breath, as if perplexed.
 
"However, there's still a problem."
 
"Is it by any chance that you have to keep what you're looking for secret?"
 
As Itsuki turned toward the water, the girl fell silent.  Looks like he hit the mark.
 
"You know, I'm still a president.  If there's a secret you have to keep, I'll never tell anyone.  I'll keep it a secret from Nekoyashiki-san, Mikan-chan, even Honami!  ...  Or is even that not enough?"
 
"Are you telling me to trust you?  Without even forming an official geis between magicians?"
 
"You were the one who was handling me like a normal person, right?  Couldn't you at least trust me that much?"
 
Finally, somewhat weakly, Itsuki placed his hand on his cheek.
 
The golden-haired girl lowered her shoulders.
 
"Are you talking about, equivalent exchange?"
 
"Ah, wasn't that one of the basics of magic that Honami talked about?"
 
"Yes, of course it has a simple meaning in transactions, but it also means that what you have and what you do not have are of the same value.  In this situation, you are saying that the fact that you are not a magician has the same value as the fact that I am."
 
"Er, what do you mean?"
 
Itsuki goggled his eyes at her.
 
"You are telling me to believe you because you are not a magician, correct?  ...  That is fine then."
 
"Huh?" he replied again.
 
Adilisia's face turned slightly red, and then she turned away.
 
"I said that I would trust you!  So, lend me your badge."
 
"A, alright."
 
Adilisia wrenched the badge out of Itsuki's palm, and placed it in the center of the magic circle.
 
Then,
 
"With a polished silver pentagram of this caliber, there will be enough spiritual significance.  Using the mirror, it can be made into a symbol of amplification as well.  --Hmph, anyhow, it seems like that Honami is your company itself, president."
 
"Ah, speaking of which, do you know Honami?  I was wondering because she called you 'Addie.'"
 
"We were classmates in an English institute.  She was famous for having revived the lost Celtic Magic."
 
"Is that... something amazing?"
 
"Originally, there were a large amount of poems and gardols that were only transmitted by mouth and took twenty years to memorize."
 
"T, twenty years..."
 
"In the later part of its history, there was the Ogam script, but in the beginning and the middle of Celtic Magic--the druid's method of learning was entirely oral.  That girl did fieldwork in England and patched together various oral traditions.  Thanks to that, the pile of papers from the report she presented reached the ceiling, but just the face of our teacher at that time was enough of a sight."
 
"..."
 
Remembering the desk buried by the contract documents from last week, Itsuki made a glum face.
 
''So she was totally serious when she said, "Why can't you do this much in just a day?"''
 
It's no wonder than that she looked at him so blankly.
 
He felt that it was harmful to have an overachieving student as a teacher.
 
"...  Shall I begin the ceremony?  Using the pentagram, I will evoke a demon with an impromptu ceremony.  You might get possessed by the demon if you are too close, so please move away a bit."
 
"Oh, r, right."
 
In a flurry, Itsuki retreated back.
 
Making a surprised face at his appearance, Adilisia spun her words.
 
'''"--I do invocate and conjure thee."'''
 
Her voice was slow and quiet.
 
'''"--I do invocate and conjure thee."'''
 
Again, she whispered the same spell, holding the pendant of Solomon on her chest.
 
'''"--I do strongly command thee, by Beralanensis, Baldachinensis, Paumachia, and Apologle Sedes: by the most Powerful Princes, Genii, Lichide, and Ministers of the Tartarean Abode: and by the Chief Prince of the Seat of Apologia in the Ninth Legion--"'''
 
"..."
 
Itsuki gulped down a gob of saliva, gazing at the scenery that hid a bizarre feeling of tension.
 
There was a slight pain in his right eye.
 
''...  What was that?'' he asked himself, holding his eyepatch.
 
Just before he was about to fade away, a voice sounded in the back of his head.  However, even though it seemed like he would normally lose consciousness at times like this, he strangely felt a slight sense of fear.
 
''Slight...?''
 
No.  It wasn't slight at all.  In that instant, there was a rumbling, and his fear was completely shattered.  Instead, the emotion he felt when he heard those words was a rising, uplifting feeling.
 
''I feel like I've always heard that voice before...''
 
His thoughts continued on without him.
 
''That is...''
 
He remembered.
 
 
--When he was in kindergarten.
 
--He was in the <Ghost Mansion> being chased by a monster.
 
--A hallway covered in dust.  A tear-stained kindergarten uniform applique.  The one he saw when he fell over <!-- Note to proofreaders!  There was no period at the end of this sentence in the original text-->
 
--"Icchan!  Icchan!  Icchan!"
 
He heard the crying voice of a girl from far away...
 
 
"Follow me!"
 
"Ah..."
 
From that one order, he returned to reality.
 
To the ether body floating in the center of the magic circle directly above the badge, Adilisia was holding out the pentagram of Solomon.
 
'''"--Behold the Pentacle of Solomon which I have brought here!  Therefore, in the name of the king, thou must follow my order!"'''
 
An ether body like white smoke quivered.
 
Finishing off, the golden-haired witch continued.
 
'''"Come forth, Eligol!  Firm knight commanding sixty armies!"'''
 
"!"
 
Eligol.
 
The strongest knight, and the last demon that Adilisia had evoked in the fight above the sea.  When Itsuki had seen him, he had mentally prepared himself for defeat like an unbreakable spirit of one who died at war.
 
But.
 
--Poof!
 
Eligol appeared on Adilisia's shoulder.
 
"Poof?"
 
Of course, that's not really what it sounded like, but that was the mimetic word that came to Itsuki's mind.  However, it was very fitting.
 
Eligol's armor shone in the light of the white lamp.  He had his heroic crimson flag.  He had his sharp lance and the green snake wrapped around his arm.
 
It was the exact same silver knight as before.
 
...  However, he was palm-sized.
 
"Wh, wha, what is that?"
 
"P, please do not laugh!  It cannot be helped!  It took me a year to call out that Eligol from before.  Evoking him so suddenly, of course he would only be a shadow of his true form."
 
"Ah... ha, ha..."
 
His mouth hanging open, Itsuki nodded.
 
Special magical ability.
 
Each magical art had its strengths and weaknesses.
 
The demons that Adilisia could summon with her Magic of Solomon were extensive, all-purpose, and very powerful, however to call out the true form of those demons required an enormous amount of time and preparation.
 
When those things were lacking, results like this occurred.
 
"... gh"
 
"I, I will tell you beforehand, his nature as a demon has not declined in the slightest despite his size.  He will not be any use in battle, but he will be useful enough for now!"
 
"I, I got it.  I won't laugh.  Since I won't laugh, please don't let him stab me with that spear."
 
Running from Eligol, who was poking his spear in Itsuki's direction, Itsuki held his head and made a wish.
 
 

<span style="font-size: 300%;"><center>*</center></span>

 
 
Meanwhile.
 
A single crow fluttered down to a point halfway up the mountain, similar to the position of Honami and the others.
 
It was as dark as night.  If it were a genuine bird, it shouldn't have been able to fly.
 
Stopping the crow in his arm, a black-clothed person made two, three large nods.
 
"--It seems like our leader has evoked Eligol again," he notified a young man next to him.
 
They were the magicians of <Goetia> that had accompanied Adilisia.  After Adilisia and Itsuki were swallowed by the frozen ocean, they scattered secretly among the mountain.
 
"Alright, we will stay on standby as long as our leader lives.  If, by any chance, there is some kind of disturbance from <Astral>, we will eliminate them individually.  --It was outside of our predictions that our leader would be captured by the <Night>, but we cannot let any word of this situation escape these grounds."
 
The young man pointed out some directions.
 
Then, once more, the crow took to the sky.
 
If a crow could have the intelligence of a magician, it might be surprised.
 
Several magic circles appeared on the area halfway up the mountain, focusing on the center of the frozen ocean.
 
That is--using one mountain as a stage, ten individual magic circles intertwined to form one giant, complicated magic circle.
 
 

<span style="font-size: 300%;"><center>*</center></span>
 
 
"A taboo..."
 
Nekoyashiki's voice paused.
 
The normally airy, lighthearted onmyouji's face stiffened like a stone.  The hairs of all four cats wrapped around him stood on end.
 
Mikan, who was shying away, and even Honami, with her cape being held onto by Mikan, swallowed their breath at the gravity of the word.
 
"No way... seriously?"
 
"No, it's just a suspicion.  I haven't found any evidence."
 
Kagezaki shrugged, his appearance as usual as ever.  It was a movement like a doll's, as if it were a lie.
 
"However, so long as you have suspicion, you can launch an investigation.  You all know how much of a sin it is for a magician to become magic, correct?"
 
"..."
 
A silence fell.
 
As if taunting the three, Kagezaki continued to speak.
 
"Spell power is an incredibly easy energy to manipulate.  The control of that manipulation is called magic.  Depending on the spell power that has leaked out, spell wave pollution can occur.  Normally, spell wave pollution doesn't last long, and its scale comes to light.  Even a large-scale spell wave pollution, such as this <Night>, will disappear without a trace with the dawn."
 
Self-purification was at work, even in spell wave pollution.
 
Just as a river flows into the sea, as an animal's corpse changes into earth, spell power as well sooner or later flowed and then disappeared.  That was the truth of nature.
 
Kagezaki's lips became twisted.
 
"However, in the case that a magician has become magic, none of this applies.  Yes, you could say it's like the difference between fire and nuclear power.  A magician that has become magic expels spell wave pollution simply by existing.  Furthermore, in this case, the spell wave pollution is not purified by nature.  Remaining like in cryogenic stasis, nearby soil and animals--and occasionally humans are 'infected' along with it.  Some different species like mermaids and werewolves are born in such a manner.  In modern terms, perhaps you could say it's like radioactive waste?"
 
With a smile like a noh mask, Kagezaki finally whispered,
 
"--Of course, in exchange for all that, you can gain power incomparable to that of plain old magic."
 
The reason that magic was kept away from the public at large was not because it was some huge secret.
 
It was because it was dangerous.
 
Otherworldly power lures magicians very easily, and in exchange for that, corrodes reality very easily.
 
What the <Organization> did was largely for that reason.  That is to say, the associations within it watched each other so as to prevent the violation of a taboo.  It was a conviction agency for the purpose of restricting and erasing magicians who have violated a taboo.
 
That's why everyone was afraid of it.
 
Kagezaki--was a magician who punished magicians.
 
"I know all that."  Going up against Kagezaki's cruel smile, Honami flashed her Ice Blue Eyes.  "So what are you telling us to do?"
 
"No, no, I'm just confirming things.  If <Goetia> really has broken a taboo, there is a need to add a fitting penalty from the <Organization>."
 
His words had a formal sound to them.
 
Then, a high-pitched voice interrupted the two staring at each other.
 
"--Ho, Honami onee-chan?"
 
"What, Mikan?"
 
"Um, is president onii-chan going to be okay like this?  Because if president onii-chan is 'infected' with spell wave pollution--"
 
"Ah..."
 
Honami became speechless.
 
If it was normal spell wave pollution, then anything bad that happened would heal in a number of days.
 
And then, even if this really was spell wave pollution born of a taboo, a magician could possibly be saved from a worst case scenario.
 
However, Itsuki was--.
 
''I have to get back to Icchan--''
 
"--?"
 
Honami, biting her lip, put her hand to the collar of her sailor uniform.
 
"Honami-san?"
 
"Right now, the president's badge is--"
 
For a moment, she felt her badge as if entranced by it, and then suddenly stiffened.
 
"Nekoyashiki-san, we might not make it in time."
 
"What do you mean?"
 
"The president!"
 
As Honami spoke, she ran off toward the frozen ocean.  In a panic, Nekoyashiki and Mikan followed her.
 
"...  Make it in time, huh?"
 
Kagezaki gazed at the backs of the three with empty, soulless eyes.

<noinclude>
===Notes===
<references/>

{{RentalMagicaNavbar
    | [[Rental_Magica_Volume_1:_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
    | [[Rental_Magica_Volume_1:_Chapter_5|Chapter 5]]
}}
</noinclude>