Leviathan:Volume 4 Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Sea, Swimsuits and the Mysterious Stone Fragment

Part 1

"Look quickly, Nee-sama! There's a kind of coconut tree!"

"You're right. This feels more like a resort than I expected."

On the Sagaminada shore of Atami City in the Shizuoka prefecture—

Inside a minivan that was racing along a coastal national highway...

Shirasaka Hazumi smiled cheerfully while looking at the expansive urban scenery outside the window as well as the Sagaminada sea. As for Juujouji Orihime, she was watching her cousin with a smile.

They had set off on the first day of the summer vacation. Fortunately, it was an excellent sunny day.

Orihime was dressed in a tank top of white lace and shorts whereas Hazumi was in casual wear with a patterned one-piece dress and a cardigan. The two of them were sitting behind the driver in the second row of seats.

Likewise sitting in the same row was Asya, namely, Anastasya Rubashvili.

This minivan had a maximum capacity of seven passengers. Three people were supposed to be able to fit in the second row.

Besides, Asya and Hazumi were petite while Orihime's figure was quite svelte too. Even with the three of them sitting side by side, it was not cramped at all.

That being said, Asya, sitting on the right, looked displeased.

She kept glaring at Hal, who was in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel—as well as Luna Francois in the front passenger seat.

Incidentally, Asya was wearing a short-sleeved parka and three-quarter-length cargo pants. As habitually, Luna was dressed in a classy black dress, standing in stark contrast to Asya.

"Harry, would you like to have some chilled mandarin orange?"

"They're still being sold? I didn't even see any at the shops in the station. I thought they had been relegated to legendary fantasy food already."

"Don't worry. They are actually still produced in small quantities and can be ordered online and purchased at certain stations."

"I see—"

"I've heard that it's a seasonal tradition as part of nostalgic Japanese travel, so I ordered some. A rare trip... Today will commemorate our first time traveling together."

"Oh okay."

"Please be patient. I shall peel it for you presently."

"You don't have to go to so much trouble. I can peel it on my own."

"No, it would be too dangerous. Aren't you driving at the moment, Harry...? This really is cold, it is hurting my fingertips a little."

"Oh... I'm serious, just hand me a whole mandarin. I'd feel bad otherwise."

"Fufufu, don't worry, I have already finished peeling. By the way, this is how it feels."

"—So cold! D-Don't suddenly touch my ear, okay? I'm driving after all."

"My apologies, did I startle you? Well then, Harry, please open your mouth."

"Huh?"

"Making you extend your hand while you're driving would definitely be a bit dangerous, Harry. Hence, I shall feed you instead. Could you say 'ah~' for a sec? It would be safer this way—"

"Of course not! Luna and Haruomi, cut it out!"

Asya suddenly roared, causing Hazumi and Orihime to jump in fright.

The two Japanese girls had apparently been watching the scenery outside the window, chatting happily, getting along with perfect harmony, which was why they had not noticed the interactions between the two in the front seats. Orihime then asked, "What's the matter, Asya-san?"

"Did they do something?"

"Nothing at all. It's just Luna making inappropriate jokes and Haruomi grinning idiotically on the side..."

When Hazumi inquired as well, Asya replied with irritation.

Listening to the conversation in the back seats, Hal glanced at the rear-view mirror while driving to check his own expression. Phew, no idiotic grin.

"Stop talking nonsense. I've been driving very seriously the whole time, okay?"

"Indeed. I only played a little prank because Harry wasn't speaking much to me. Please do not mind us, everyone."

From the front passenger seat, Luna Francois looked back and explained innocently.

It was on occasions like these that Hal could not help but praise her worth as a vixen and actress. As a side note, Hal decided to keep secret the wavering thought of "I might as well open my mouth and see given this rare chance, right?" crossing his mind.

"Asya, you're a bit neurotic today, aren't you? What's with you?"

"N-Nothing. I just felt a pissed off to see you strangely flustered by a girl, no longer acting like an innocent boy... That reminds me."

While glaring intently at her fellow master-class witch Luna and Hal, Asya continued, "Although you are definitely two of a kind, were you ever this close? And Luna, you've changed subtly. How should I put it? It's like you're more feminine or something."

"Fufufufu. My dear hopeless Asya, do you finally feel my overflowing feminine charm?"

"W-What kind of unfunny joke are you making!?"

While playing dumb in response to Asya's inexplicably foul mood, Luna Francois calmed down the atmosphere in the car, meanwhile not forgetting to throw sultry winks at Hal from time to time.

It was probably a small skit designed to enhance a sense of camaraderie and intimacy as accomplices.

While concluding that, Hal noticed that he was surprisingly not repulsed by it.

No matter what, Luna Francois Gregory was undoubtedly an intelligent beauty. Simply conversing with her was very enjoyable already.

(Girls are truly scary...)

This was a threat he had never felt from his childhood friend.

With wariness and trepidation, Hal stole a glance at the front passenger seat. Keenly noticing his gaze, Luna Francois smiled back in response.

—The fact that he felt slightly attracted must remain secret too.

"Hey, is the 'Dragon Palace' you mentioned nearby?"

Asya, Orihime, Hazumi and Luna Francois—Hal did not direct his question to any of these four. The dragon ghost, whom he was posing the question to, appeared in the last row's auxiliary seat in the minivan.

Manifested as a young girl in a scarlet kimono, Hinokagutsuchi replied haughtily, "One could certainly consider it nearby—Perhaps. Possibly wandering the sea in this vicinity, possibly slumbering somewhere like a rock, one of the two."

After listening to this ambiguous answer, Hal grumbled, "Why thank you for such a precise tip."

"No need to get so hung up, Harry. There is nothing wrong with failure. Since this outing simultaneously serves as a company recreation trip to soothe our bodies that were exhausted from the intense battles earlier, why not take it easy?"

"I agree. In my case, I will take your advice. Let's relax in a sightseeing mood, shall we?"

It was Orihime supporting Luna Francois from the back seat.

She turned out to be quite good at reading the mood.

She must have used this joking tone to offer such a frivolous opinion in an attempt to alleviate Hal's anxiety.

After that, the junior student who had never gone on any trip for the past few years, let alone a beach, spoke up too.

"A bit embarrassing as it is to say, I am plenty satisfied to be able to come here already. Thank you very much, everyone, for taking me along!"

Always smiling like an angel—Shirasaka Hazumi. At this moment, the smile dominating her visage was even more dazzling than usual, looking like she really was in bliss.

After confirming this through the rear-view mirror, Hal felt extremely satisfied too.

Just to be able to see this smile, the expedition to Izu was already worth it.

Temporarily casting aside his thoughts on Luna Francois, he stepped on the gas pedal with a relaxed mood.

Gathering information first was necessary at the initial destination. The current time was a bit past 9am. Their group had set off from Tokyo New Town early in the morning to come here.

As a side note, breakfast had been eaten inside the minivan. Rice balls courtesy of Orihime.

"Haruomi, let's stop at the next station to have a second breakfast."

"Can't we just look for a burger joint or a convenience store?"

"Since we are traveling, we ought try out local ingredients and cooking, but restaurants aren't open at this hour... This kind of situation dictates going to a station's shopping area. It's quite usual for those kinds of places to open at 8am!"

"Considering you're foreigners, Luna and Asya, that level of familiarity with Japan is way too much..."

They had already made two rest stops this morning. Although Asya had bought food like hot dogs or instant noodles each time, it looked like her stomach was empty again.

In response, a third person said with a smile, "Senpai, I have the same request. I would like us to make a stop too!"

"Sure, got it."

Following his policy of indulging Hazumi as much as possible, Hal instantly nodded.

Hence, three hours later—

Hal parked the minivan at Shimoda City in the Izu Peninsula.

The location was a certain mountainside shrine quite close to Sagaminada's shore. Since there was no parking lot nearby, Hal stopped the car on the side of the road near the red torii entrance.

Local visitors to the shrine seemed to be doing the same thing, so Hal followed suit.

This was a small shrine for which titles like "divine temple" or "grand shrine" would not apply.

Despite the shrine's diminutive size, it still had a very solemn ambiance surrounding various facilities such as the entrance approach and the worship hall. Surely, such an atmosphere could only have arisen from the dignity exhibited by a wooden structure baptized by the passage of time.

Walking along the front approach, Hal and Asya conversed.

"This place's history can be traced back to the early Kamakura period... In other words, eight centuries ago."

"But the building itself probably went through demolition and reconstruction multiple times from disasters like fire, right?"

"Even so, this shrine is still an old building with more than three hundred years of history."

As a side note, their other three witch companions were also present. However, the former dragon's ghost had disappeared despite the fact that that the deity venerated at this shrine was "Fire Goddess Hinokagutsuchi."

...Five types of divine treasures related to the fire goddess were kept in the Witch Mansion at Shin-Kiba.

Last month, Hal had located the dragon king's heartmetal from among them.

Those artifacts originated from a certain ancient shrine in the Tokai region—in other words, here.

"Well then, Harry, the three of us shall go off for a bit on our own."

After seeing Luna Francois, Orihime and Hazumi off, Hal and Asya walked alone by themselves.

They were headed towards an isolated house within the shrine's premises.

It was the residence inhabited by the family of the head priest running the shrine. SAURU's Tokai branch had informed them in advance about Hal's visiting group of dragon specialists from Tokyo New Town.

After they rung the bell normally at the door, the owner of the house invited them inside.

Only two of them were making the visit because an excessive number of guests would impose unnecessarily on their host.

After greeting the middle-aged head priest who received them and engaging in ten minutes of pleasantries, Hal and Asya asked to be taken to the storehouse where the family heirloom was kept—

In front of the storehouse, Hal summoned the magic gun.

"If that signpost to the Dragon Palace is here, could you simply tell us more directly?"

"Unfortunately, it is not clear to me either."

From the magic gun in his right hand came Hinokagutsuchi's whisper.

The head priest in charge of showing the way had gone back, leaving the storehouse's door wide open. Only Asya remained by Hal's side. This storehouse was reportedly a building from the early Showa period. Filled with dust, the old storehouse did not offer any illumination while having a seemingly vast collection.\

Then the guardian of the magic gun said, "In the past during my reign as the Crimson Queen, the castle of my residence was located in the sea."

"A castle in the sea—You mean something like the Dragon Palace of folklore?"

As soon as Hal chimed in, Hinokagutsuchi's voice responded.

"Mm-hmm. Nevertheless, the priestesses and shrine maidens in my service were mostly born on land. When it came time for their return to their homeland, I allowed them to take something back... It seems."

Completely unapologetic, Hinokagutsuchi's voice sounded like she was bragging triumphantly.

Hal proceeded to ask her to identify possible locations in "the sea within the vicinity" for the Dragon Palace. This caused the former queen of dragons to point along the coastlines of the Japanese islands from Kantou to the Tokai region, continuing to the waters around the Ogasawara Islands, finally extending to the Northern Mariana Islands.

For a carpet search operation, it would be quite a large area.

"With the passage of time, I lost my dragon king body and drifted to this land in spirit form... Then at a certain point in time, I heard a shrine maiden from this shrine inquire 'Goddess Hinokagutsuchi, where are you from?'—"

"Then you answered 'the Dragon Palace' as a joke?"

"I suppose. However, that group of people serving me was truly impressive. After I told them the location of the Dragon Palace's signpost, they finally found it after an arduous adventure."

"Sounds like some kind of puzzle quest."

At that moment, Asya interrupted.

"Specifically, what shape is the object?"

"Please. Why would I pay any attention to something of no use to me?"

"This kind of useless hint function would definitely elicit crappy reviews from players if it appeared in low-difficulty RPGs in recent times."

After grumbling, Hal motioned to his childhood friend with his eyes.

Boasting rare top-class power in the world, the witch instantly chanted a song of summoning.

"I pray to the ancient divine seal of purity. Send the blue wyvern to the ground."

A mysterious creature suddenly manifested over Asya's head, a wyvern.

A dragon with wings sprouting out of the shoulders in the place of forelimbs. A gigantic homunculus crafted in imitation of dragons. However, her wingspan was only three meters now—

Naturally, this was Blue Rushalka.

Originally a super-size creature whose body length reached ten-odd meters, she was miniaturized as much as possible by Asya before being summoned.

"Rushalka, find the artifact that gives off the scent of dragons as well as that of Hinokagutsuchi—The Crimson Queen. If necessary, use pseudo-divinity."

During the decisive battle last month, Hal and Orihime had located Hinokagutsuchi's heartmetal by relying on Akuro-Ou's sense of smell.

They were currently intending to reuse that method. In the next second, the miniaturized Rushalka obeyed Asya's request and swept her sharp gaze across the interior of the storehouse.

The blue wyvern vocalized "kyuahh..." softly.

Naturally, the interior of the storehouse was quite dim with only a small window opened near the ceiling. However, a blue glow appeared in this darkness, presumably due to Rushalka's magical power.

Guided by the light, Hal stepped into the storehouse.

Part 2

"So this is the 'signpost' Senpai and Asya-san found..."

Sitting on Hazumi's right palm was the object that the two of them had found in the storehouse during the day—

Dressed in a yukata, Hazumi was tilting her dainty head with an incredulous expression.

"What kind of object is it exactly?"

Hazumi's right hand was holding a black stone.

Almost the same size as her palm, it looked like a shard of obsidian with an irregular surface. Glowing faintly under fluorescent lighting, it had a greenish tint.

"Currently unknown. However, it's thanks to Rushalka's perception that we found this... So there shouldn't be any question that it has the scent of dragons."

"Shirasaka, you can try checking it with magical sight too."

"Oh, okay."

As expected, Hazumi nodded obediently after listening to the joint suggestion from the yukata-wearing Asya and Hal.

As a witch, currently Level 2, she was a fourteen-year-old girl. Hal watched as her expression tensed as she stared intently at the black stone.

"In that case, let me try too."

Orihime was the speaker. Likewise dressed in a yukata, she was sitting next to her cousin.

Hal and his friends were gathered in a spacious Japanese-style room inside a hotspring inn at Shimoda City near the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula. Gathered around a dining table they were currently having dinner.

Hence, Hazumi and Orihime looked at the black stone.

With a flash, their pupils turned blue. It was apparent that they had activated magical sight.

Using vision to confirm the presence or absence of magical power, its strength, its flow and various other changes. Among humans, witches and Haruga Haruomi were the only ones capable of doing this with the naked eye.

Hazumi and Orihime looked at the stone using enhanced vision. Then the two of them showed surprise simultaneously.

"Listen, Haruga-kun. Indeed, I can sense the power of magic from this stone... But it feels extremely faint to me."

"You too, Nee-sama? In fact, it is the same for me."

"Speaking of agreement, it's the same for Haruomi and me too. Naturally, Luna as well..."

"Yes, my appraisal had the same outcome. The magical energy hidden inside this stone can't be considered high."

The last member, Luna Francois offered her opinion.

As a side note, the girls' yukatas were designed with patterns on white backgrounds.

What differed were the patterns and the colors of their sashes. Orihime's was pale blue, Asya's was yellow, Hazumi's was pink while Luna's was navy blue. Providing colors to choose from was part of the inn's service.

"Perhaps this is an enchanted artifact that can only be activated by the right person using the right method," said Hal with a shrug.

On the large dining table before their was a sumptuous diner.

Sashimi of several types of local fish. Abalone, conch and other shellfish in season. There was also Japanese spiny lobster served as both sashimi and roasted forms. Prepared in a small pot was sukiyaki featuring Izu beef.

Also featuring steamed red snapper and pot-cooked rice with conger eel, the menu had no blind spots to speak of.

Roughly two hours prior, after enjoying a view of the setting sun over the sea horizon, Hal and company had separated by gender for a soak in the hot springs before meeting up for dinner.

"By the way, as a matter of fact, Hinokagutsuchi doesn't know how exactly this thing is used either."

"Perhaps sending it to SAURU headquarters or the Hawaii lab for testing might be a solution."

"Since it might become essential for our investigation here, let's wait and see before sending it away for testing. Anyway, send the observed data to Waikiki first and ask them to analyze it."

Hal's report, Asya's musing, Luna's suggestion.

After listening to the three seniors who were experienced in research, Orihime and Hazumi could not help but feel impressed.

After visiting the shrine in the afternoon, Hal's group had visited the southern Izu office of SAURU's Tokai branch to borrow several sensor devices (as a small branch in a rural area, it did not have very high-end equipment).

"Let's examine the stone tomorrow while we continue our local investigation," Hal muttered while picking up a piece of spiny lobster sashimi with his chopsticks.

"Then there's playing in the sea or water activities, beach volleyball, sunbathing, watermelon splitting, long-distance swimming, floating on a swim ring, surfing, scuba diving, barbecue—What else?"

"Haruga-kun, you seem unexpectedly excited for recreation."

"It'd be bad if you got the wrong idea about me," Hal grinned and explained to Orihime.

"Despite how I look, my goal is actually to become an adult who always uses up all my annual vacation days. No matter how tight the schedule, I must take a summer vacation. That's my conviction."

"Speaking of which, I think you fooled around in Corsica for half a month last year..."

"Simply doing as the Romans do. As an island in Europe and French territory to boot, isn't it common sense to take a vacation there?"

After answering Asya's murmurs, Hal could not help but jump in surprise.

The five of them were sitting around the dinning table with Luna Francois on his right hand side. The blonde beauty in a yukata was an abundant display of exotic charm.

With such an appearance, she suddenly leaned her body over.

Luna Francois picked up the teapot and poured green tea into Hal's cup.

"Well said. It should be quite enjoyable to recuperate here for two or three days, Harry."

"Yeah, sure."

"With Asya and I here, we will do everything we can to assist you. Relax and take a break."

"Yeah, sure."

Still to recover from his surprise, Hal could only repeat the same answer in a loop.

A floral fragrance was coming from Luna Francois at point blank range. She had apparently applied perfume after her bath. In addition, she had put on light makeup for a natural look. What feminine allure.

Hal's heart rate sped up slightly.

Luna Francois' airs, beautiful face and floral fragrance were amplifying each other in a multiplying effect.

The five of them were divided into three rooms for accommodations.

The girls had two rooms with Orihime paired with Hazumi and Asya paired with Luna Francois while Hal had a single as the only boy.

There was an electric massage chair in Hal's Japanese-style room.

The chair was currently in operation, relieving the stress from Hal's back.

"That girl Luna isn't trying to seduce me for real, is she...?"

Although the mechanical message was monotonous, it still managed to stimulate the pressure points accurately.

In fact, Hal had received Luna Francois' invitation immediately after dinner, asking if he wanted to visit the inn's relaxation corner for a massage.

After declining her, he went back to his room alone and started up the massage chair.

Instead of chasing after her escaped prey, Luna simply smiled and said, "Then I shall go alone. Accompany me next time♪"

Then she left Hal.

"It feels like a super focused flurry of jabs... Is she planning to weaken me continuously with light punches, biding her time for a chance to deliver a full-powered hit...?"

His entire body sunk in the massage chair, Hal contemplated Luna Francois' tactics.

Seemingly a bit convoluted, it might actually be quite a solid approach. Judging from the current situation, rashly going on the offensive in extreme ways—like "barging into Hal's home to propose marriage"—would be pushing things too forcefully. Even if she did that for real, he would only run away.

However, Luna Francois was not coercing him against his will.

Her offense consisted only of insignificant jabs, yet the effects were quite substantial.

No matter what, expressing care at such clean moments (although with ulterior motives) and proactively showing affection (although simply feigned) was making Hal feel somewhat tempted, more or less.

Despite clearly knowing it was a lie, perhaps going along with it might be a kind of happiness.

"Well, there's actually no reason why I can't accept her invitation... Although I do't know whether that could establish a vassal covenant."

Hal entertained lustful thoughts while soothing himself with the humming vibrations.

Knock knock. There was a light knocking at the door. Hal stood up and walked to the door but could not be bothered to switch off the massage chair.

"Haruga-kun, you're inside, aren't you? May I have a word with you?"

"Juujouji?"

Orihime was standing outside the door in a yukata.

Hal immediately invited her into the room. The super popular girl, secretly called the "Princess" by other students, settled her gaze on the still-operating massage chair by the window.

"Does this feel good to sit in?"

"So-so, I guess. There's no harm giving it a try if you find yourself waking up every morning tired and lacking energy in your entire body."

"In that case, I am fine with sitting in this one."

Next to the massage chair was a completely nondescript wooden chair.

Orihime smiled cheerfully and took her seat on the chair that was not electrically powered. Hal returned to his place on the massage chair and switched it off.

"I don't mind if you continue, you know?"

"It's okay. I'm going to enjoy it for another three hours or so afterwards," answered Hal half-jokingly to Orihime being considerate.

Although a slightly unusual conversation, it was more relaxing for the body and mind than a monotonous mechanical massage. Perhaps this was because—of the fact that Orihime was by his side.

Hal's heart fluttered slightly, making him a bit uncomfortable.

Finding this change unbelievable, Orihime showed a somewhat worried expression.

"By the way, it only occurred to me when listening to you just now... Haruga-kun, are you referring to the fact that you feel tired when you get up every morning? It is not a good sign when even sleep fails to alleviate fatigue."

"Because... think about it, a lot has happened lately, right?"

"Haruga-kun, neglecting sleep and quality of meals as soon as anything comes up is your weakness. In the same situation, Asya-san would never take either of them lightly."

"That's definitely true. You make a good point."

No matter when, humans needed to eat and sleep properly.

Otherwise, the body would not be able to function as desired when caught in a perilous predicament, lacking strength where it was needed. Blessed with a strong and resilient nature of wildness, Asya had been adhering to this principle subconsciously the whole time.

While the conversation was striking a deep chord within Hal, Orihime said to him, "By the way, for a while now, I have been a bit curious about the matter of rising from bed... Isn't Hazumi frequently going over to wake you up, Haruga-kun?"

"Yeah. She comes with unexpected frequency."

"To be honest... I was considering this from the start whether I should be going along with her."

"Huh!?"

Hal was stunned by Orihime's shy reveal.

He could not help but start imagining: in addition to the adorable underclassman, even her older cousin was by his pillow, waking him up from bed—Surely, that would bring about an even greater sense of bliss, resulting in more brain matter secretions than from just Hazumi alone.

"However, after that battle against Princess Yukikaze, the time we have been spending together... have become quite lengthy, after all."

"Now that you mention it, that seems to be true."

In June, an intense battle had taken place against Princess Yukikaze and her minion—Genbu-Ou.

As frontline combatants during the whole conflict, Hal and Orihime had to frequently rush all over New Town to handle aftermath matters. Not only that, whenever the two of them were together in the same space—

Hal would subconsciously approach Orihime.

Conversely, Orihime would frequently walk over to his side as soon as she saw him.

As for the reason why, neither of the two of them could articulate it clearly, but if anything—it was probably because it felt delightful spending time together.

"Hence... When I was considering whether or not to accompany Hazumi to your house in the morning, Haruga-kun, I suddenly felt afraid. I did not know if you might find... me annoying or similar by your side—That worried me somewhat. After all, we have really spent so much time together lately..."

"Of course not. I'll definitely be very happy if you came too, Juujouji."

"But it would also be weird to be together too frequently..."

"Nothing of that sort, I think. I suppose it'd be better if you came with her. Yeah."

"R-Really?"

"Yup. I can swear to heaven if you want."

"Starting with the second term, if the opportunity presents itself... May I come together with Hazumi?"

"Of course."

Interacting with a blushing and slightly flustered Orihime was quite rare.

For some reason, it felt very comfortable yet bittersweet. Hal found it unbelievable. Clearly whenever he was together with girls, encountering heart-racing moments for him was equivalent to being subjected to Luna's "attacks."

However, he felt very contented right now.

Neither unsettled nor was there any inexplicable unease. Could it be that in Orihime's case, there was a sense of trust that did not require him to interpret and analyze every word and action?

"Or perhaps, if it is permissible—"

There was no need for formalities with Orihime, so Hal said, "Tomorrow morning is perfectly fine too."

"W-What are you talking about? Weird rumors would start if I were to visit a boy's room to play during a trip. And not to mention with Hazumi too!"

"Now that you mention it, Juujouji—"

Confronted with his slightly flustered female classmate, Hal could not help but offer his view.

"Aren't you here in my room on your own right now?"

"Good... point... I can't believe I did not notice that..."

"Besides, this isn't a school trip or anything like that. There's no reason for people in school to know, right?"

"Now that you mention it, that is true indeed..."

"......"

"......"

Their gazes meeting from up close, the two of them fell silent at the same time.

The shy Orihime was slightly fidgeting uncomfortably while Hal also displayed some embarrassment. Accidentally going with the flow of the mood just now, he had said something without thinking.

That being said, before his eyes right now, Orihime was currently so shy that she kept her head bowed.

This posture was quite rare given how fearlessly she usually conducted herself. If he had to find an example, this would be similar to during Akuro-Ou's birth ritual, when Hal had used his right hand to pour magical power into her heart—engaging in an awful act of contact...

Recalling that ended up causing the pounding in Hal's heart to intensify.

Not only that, he was currently on a trip in the same room, as well as being alone with Orihime to boot—The beating in his chest kept accelerating like an alarm.

At this moment, Orihime suddenly looked up, gazing at Hal with eyes of uncertainty.

"E-Excuse me, Haruga-kun—"

"Uh, about the earlier suggestion, I guess never mind. Think about it, if Asya and Luna finds out you and Shirasaka are running over to my room, they might complain that we're behaving inappropriately on a business trip."

"R-Really?"

"Y-Yeah."

Hal retracted his earlier statement out of cowardice, but elicited an unexpected reaction. Parting her lips slightly, Orihime spoke timidly, "In that case, I-I could come alone, you know...?"

"Huh?"

"Compared to two people, it's less likely for one person to be discovered. I will secretly get up earlier and come to your room directly, Haruga-kun, then going back immediately. That should be fine, right...?"

"A-Are you serious?"

"That is what I am thinking..."

"Then for tomorrow morning, I'll be counting on you..."

"R-Really? Understood. Tomorrow... I will disturb you a little while evading detection as much as possible..."

" "......" "

After reaching a consensus, the two of them made eye contact again.

Orihime's face was red beyond compare. Hal suspected his own face to have the same expression. With an unbelievable and bittersweet atmosphere hanging in the room with the two of them alone, Hal felt that the beating in his chest was not going to subside any time in the near future.

"Th-Then even if you feel sleep-deprived because I came to rouse you, no complaining, okay?"

"Th-That goes without saying."

"Definitely keep the room unlocked, okay...?"

"I'll make sure everything is in place."

The conversation sounded almost like they were arranging for a tryst.

This was a first experience for Hal, so feeling embarrassed could not be avoided. Orihime was probably feeling the same.

As a result, she changed the subject somewhat abruptly.

"B-By the way, Haruga-kun, our current task is to locate the castle in the sea that used to serve as Kagutsuchi-san's residence, isn't it? Just like the Dragon Palace."

"Yeah, that's right. It's where she lived when she was still a dragon king."

Hal hastily switched his mind back to business mode.

This was information told to them personally by Hinokagutsuchi at the poolside reception a few days ago.

'One of my dragonslaying runes, the Rune of the Bow, is currently in your hand, brat... As for the other one, it might still be lying dormant in my castle of old.'

'That rune was put away as a reserve weapon?'

'It would not be be incorrect to say that. Well, it would be amusing if you went on a search for it, though I know not whether you will succeed.'

After listening to Hal's question, Hinokagutsuchi had smiled malevolently.

After that, Hal had spent a little time organizing the various clues randomly given out by the former dragon's ghost. The conclusion he reached through careful deductions was to go on an actual search.

Hal cleared his throat, put on as serious a face as he could and started to recount.

"Although it is currently still unclear how many centuries the Crimson Queen lived as a dragon king, what is certain is that she was alive roughly eight hundred years ago, in other words, the early Kamakura period. The Queen apparently considered her territory to be what modern Japan calls the East China Sea, the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the west end of the Pacific Ocean—the waters where the Kuroshio Current passes through."

"Territory... as in sphere of influence?"

"Speaking of which, Princess Yukikaze also mentioned that she had 'never held territory on earth before.'"

A term used for the domain under a dragon king's or a tyrannos' rule—Territory.

Hal could still recall vividly how Tokyo New Town had become Princess Yukikaze's "territory" last month. Far away in North America's New York State, the island of Manhattan was the castle of the dragon king Red Hannibal, his "territory" in other words.

"Although the Crimson Queen seldom appeared before humans, those fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of her and her minions treated them as 'deities' to revere and worship. Having enjoyed treatment as a deity, the Queen continued pretending to be a goddess even after turning into a ghost, arbitrarily issuing orders and playing mischief on the people frequenting the shrine during the daytime."

"The Dragon Palace of a great queen of dragonkind... It seems quite interesting. Moreover—"

Orihime snickered.

"Didn't Kagutsuchi-san mention it before? That Dragon Palace is still wandering in the ocean, practically like a mobile castle. I would really love to see it for myself."

"It also raises the question of what serves as a power source to drive something as gigantic as a castle."

After chiming in with his comment, Hal began to think deeply.

On the low table in front of the massage chair was Hal's cellphone and the black stone.

An uneven surface, a color similar to obsidian with a slight tint of green.

Hal suddenly recalled something. What he had witnessed once recently—the sight of "a gigantic entity resembling a castle" moving arbitrarily over the sea. Indeed, it was quite similar to this black stone...

"Call Asya and Luna over. I've thought of something."

Part 3

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Part 4

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Part 5

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