No Game No Life:Volume 5 Bagian 1

Bab 1: Mencoba

Part 1

“Waaaaaahhhhhh!!”

- Ibukota Federasi Elchean, Elchea

Benteng terakhir Imanity - Peringkat terakhir diantara 「Enam-Belas Ras」

Hanya beberapa bulan lalu, negara ini diambang kepunahan, ditekan hingga kota terakhirnya.

Namun sekarang Elchea telah menambah negara maritim yang luas, 「Eastern Union」, dan terus melebarkan wilayahnya dengan kecepatan yang belum-pernah-dilihat.

Teriakan penderitaan yang melengking dan keras datang dari ibukota sebuah negara yang lambat laun berubah dari 「Negara」 menjadi 「Federasi」.

- Dengan sekejap.

Pekerja dalam kota yang sangat sibuk, membeku beberapa saat, seakan-akan waktu telah berhenti. Tapi itu hanyalah sekejap mata, dan kemudian mereka langsung melanjutkan pekerjaan mereka, seolah-olah tidak terjadi apa-apa.

Yap – itu adalah peristiwa normal, dan semua sudah terbiasa olehnya.

Semua tahu bahwa 「Orang itu」 kemungkinan berteriak lagi.

Dan alasan mengapa orang itu membuat keributan, kemungkinan karena alasan yang paling normal.

Beberapa kali atmosfir simpatik mengangkasa di seluruh kota, meskipun semua orang masih harus kembali ke tempat kerja mereka masing-masing setelah itu.

“Argh!! Apakah kamu idiot? Kamu idiot! Kamu memang idiot, kan!?”

Gadis berambut merah dengan lincahnya merangkai kalimatnya tiga kali, dan berteriak lagi.

- Stephanie Dora, biasanya dipanggil Steph.

Dia adalah kepala keluarga Dora, memiliki gelar bangsawan, dan dia juga adalah cucu dari raja sebelumnya, serta putri berdarah biru.

Dia seharusnya menjadi wanita anggun dengan potensi yang luar biasa di masa depan - namun, masa depan itu tidak akan terjadi sama sekali dalm waktu dekat, dan dia jelas tidak memiliki alasan untuk menjelaskan situasinya sekarang ini.

Dia duduk di kursi, menggaruk kepalanya mati-matian, melihat keatas dan meraung keras.

“…Siapa yang idiot, des?”

Pertanyaan ini diajukan oleh Werebeast yang sedang duduk bersila di lantai di samping Steph - Hatsuze Izuna.

Umurnya terlihat di kisaran single-digit, seorang gadis muda berpakaian yukata dengan telinga seperti-rubah yang besar dan ekor yang berbulu.

Buku di tangannya terbalik, namun Steph tidak repot-repot untuk mengoreksinya.

“Maksudku Sora dan Shiro, tidak, aku!! Apa yang ku katakan – serahkan padaku – argh!! Apa aku idiot? Aku idiot!!”

Dia terus berteriak dengan lengannya terbuka lebar.

“Temukan alasan sebenarnya mengapa Ratu Seirens hibernasi dari perpustakaan raja sebelumnya!! Serahkan padaku!! Bukankah ini yang idiot akan katakan!? Berapa banyak buku menurutmu yang ada disana!? Dan, apa yang mau aku katakan adalah!”

Dia berhenti sejenak, dan mengamati rak buku yang menutupi semua tembok sekitar.

“Mengapa dan bagaimana bisa aku menerima tugas seperti mencari sebuah buku yang eksistensinya masih tidak jelas dengan mudah!!”

Mereka berada di dalam ruangan rahasia raja sebelumnya - perpustakaan rahasianya.

Raja sebelumnya telah memainkan peran raja bodoh demi menyelidiki dan mencari tahu isi dari game negara lain yang melibatkan magis atau kemampuan supernatural, sekaligus bagaimana Imanity sendiri dapat meraih kemenangan atas mereka.

Catatan yang beliau buat sepanjang hidupnya - warisan dari manusia agung ini, semua diperlihatkan di dalam ruangan ini, menutupi tembok sekitar mereka.

Pekerjaannya yang hebat dikompilasi dalam ribuan buku, sampai memenuhi perpustakaan.

Walaupun mereka sudah mengurutkan berdasarkan tanggal ditulisnya - masih belum ada tanda-tanda petunjuk kapan raja sebelumnya mendekati Seirens, jadi mereka hanya bisa memeriksa buku-buku tersebut satu per satu. Steph mengeluarkan raungan penderitaan saat menyadari tugas itulah yang harus mereka jalani, peritiwa inilah yang tadinya terjadi.

Dan baigan terburuk adalah -

Steph menunjuk ke arah Izuna dengan ekspresi sedih di mukanya tapi tanpa air mata untuk mengekspresikannya secara penuh - Werebeast yang memegang buku secara terbalik.

“Apa sih yang menurut Sora, Izuna bisa lakukan? Dia bahkan tidak paham Imanity!!”

“Steph-kou, kamu terlalu keras, des. Apakah sekarang tidak terlihat bahwa aku sedang belajar, des.” - Apa?

“D-Dapatkan kamu berhenti sebentar? Kamu tadi memanggilku apa?”

“…? Kakek berkata bahwa Steph adalah bangsawan sebelumnya, des.”

“Mengapa kamu harus menyingkatnya!? Itu membuatku sangat terhina!”

“…Mengapa, des? Steph-kou.”

Izuna menoleh ke Steph dengan memiringkan kepalanya.

“Ah, aaaaahhhhh, jangan mehinaku dengan matamu yang bundar dan polos!? Jika aku kebetulan membuka pintu ke dunia baru selagi kurang tidur , bagaimana kamu mau menebusnya untukku!?”

Steph mebenturkan kepalanya pada sudut meja karna frustasi, akan tetapi Izuna menyahutnya dengan dingin:

“Steph-kou, hentikan, ayo kembali bekerja, des. Kakek masih mengunggu kita, des.”

“…Guh…k-kamu benar, tidak ada gunanya merapat seperti ini.”

Ya, kakeknya – Hatsuse Ino sedang ditawan oleh Seirens.

Izuna juga capek, tapi bahkan dia sudah berusaha keras untuk belajar bahasa Imanity, jadi Steph tidak punya hak untuk mengeluh - Steph mengambil nafas yang dalam untuk menenangkan dirinya.

Setelah itu dia mengoreksi Izuna..

“Omong-omong, Izuna… Bukumu terbalik.”

“…! A-Aku tahu, des. I-itu sengaja, tentu. Des!?”

Izuna buru-buru membalikkan bukunya, sambil Steph melanjutkan untuk mengoreksinya..

“Juga, walaupun kamu benar-benar tidak mengacau, tidak masalah, tapi bahasa Imanity berbeda dengan bahasa Werebeast, bahasa Imanity dibaca secara horizontal!”

“-? Apakah ada bedanya antara membaca secara vertikal dan horizontal, des?”

Izuna terbelalak dengan ekspresi penasaran di wajahnya.

“…Izuna, Aku belum pernah menanyakan ini sebelumnya, tapi berapakah umurmu?”

Izuna mulai menghitung dengan jarinya secara perhalan setelah mendengarkan pertanyaan itu..

Dia menjawab dengan pertanyaan yang meragukan:

“A…Aku seharusnya memulai menghitung dari nol, kan?”

- Steph langsung mengerti.

Semua ini langsung masuk akal mengapa Izuna ingin sangat dekat dengan Sora dan Shiro, karena mereka pada dasarnya jenis orang yang sama.

Mereka adalah para jenius dalam video game, akan tetapi mereka tidak tahu hal lain selain itu.

Steph menghela nafas dan memberikan padanya buku yang lain.

“…Izuna, kamu sebaiknya memulai dari yang ini.”

“Buku macam apakah ini, des?”

“Itu adalah sebuah buku yang dulu aku gunakan saat aku masih belajar bahasa Werebeast, itu terdapat dalam sebuah format game antara kedua negara–“

“Oh, Aku mengerti, des.”

Pada saat mendengar kata game, Izuna segera menyabet buku tersebut dari Steph dan mulai membolak-baliknya dengan kecepatan yang hebat.

Steph menyetujui motivasi barunya, dan dia tahu bahwa Izuna sesungguhnya berusaha yang terbaik.

Tapi, jika dia membaca secepat itu, kemungkinan dia tidak akan paham apapun - Steph menengadah ke langit-langit dan mengeluarkan nafas panjang.

“B…bagaimanapun aku perlu mencari satu per satu –“

Baru saja saat Steph serius mencari wahyunya

Grumble~~~~

Dia mendengar suara dan bunyi yang membuat pencarian wahyunya langsung menguap.

“-Steph-kou, Aku lapar, des. Bawa makanan, des.”

Bagaikan sebuah saklar dalam dirinya dinyalakan, Izuna tiba-tiba berkata pada Steph dan menutup bukunya dengan suara keras.

Dia termotivasi, energik, dan ingin menyelamatkan kakeknya.

Kendati demikian, dia sebenarnya berkata - bawa makanan.

Izuna meminta itu dengan mata besarnya yang bulat tanpa ada maksud jahat.

Sang gadis Werebeast menggaruk telinganya yang besar dengan kakinya sambil melanjutkan melambaikan ekornya yang berbulu dari kiri ke kanan.

Steph dipaksa untuk membuat keputusan setelah melihat penampilannya yang luar biasa manis.

Satu, lupakan semua hal dan ambruk saja.

Dua, buat makanan untuk makhluk yang manisnya tidak terjelaskan ini.

Setelah berseteru dengan dirinya sendiri selama beberapa saat - kantuknya akhirnya menyerah pada kemanisan Izuna.

“O-oke… lagipula kamu tidak bisa melakukan apapun dengan perut kosong… Aku akan segera membuat sesuatu yang simpel untuk dimakan dengan bahan yang aku punya sekarang.”

“Mm, Aku sangat ingin makan ikan, tapi aku akan menahan diri, kamu diampuni, des.”

Begitu saja, Steph menyeret dirinya perlahan keluar dari perpustakaan.

…Kembali ke topik utama, kalian semua masih ingat bahwa ini adalah Elchea, kan?

Pada saat itu, Steph dapat saja ambruk tanpa peduli pada dunia dan menyerahkan masalah makanan Izuna ke koki di dapur, namun dia benar-benar lupa tentang pilihan ini. Steph berjalan lesu seperti tak bernyawa, keluar dari perpustakaan, sambil Izuna mengikutinya dengan ekor yang masih mengibas-ibas, dan tidak ada seorang pun yang menghiraukan untuk mengingatkan mereka tentang itu.

Part 2

Mari berganti pemandangan - ke dua puluh ribu meter di udara.

Sora mulai berpikir di ketinggian hampir tiga kali tinggi pegunungan Himalayas.

Bagaimana dia seharusnya mendeskripsikan pemandangan di hadapannya?

- Pertama, silahkan imajinasikan sebuah kubus Rubik.

Kemudian berikan Rubik yang memerlukan tingkat kecerdasaan tertentu itu ke seseorang yang sangat jauh dari tingkat kecerdasan yang dibutuhkan itu.

Setelah dipisahkan secara paksa dengan sepasang tang, pecahan dari kubus Rubik akan tersebar di sekitar lantai.

Sekarang tahanlah keinginan untuk mengomeli, dan ulangi langkah-langkah tadi sekitar seribu kali lagi.

Jadi? Sekarang kamu mengerti?

Pemandangan tersebut diatur dalam model yang sedemikian rupa - dimana pemandangan tersebut berada di sekitar Sora.

“Selamat datang di kampung halamanku, terletak di balik Phantasmas, Kota Terapung – Avant Heim.”

Dengan punggungnya menghadap ke gunung kecil pecahan dari Rubik.

Jibril memperkenalkan 「Kota」-nya dengan senyum manis di wajahnya, sembari Sora dengan bengong menanggapi:

“Um, Aku cukup yakin bahwa semua kota yang aku tahu paling tidak punya jalan di dalamnya.”

Pemandangan di sekitar mereka dirajut dan ditenun dengan kubus-kubus raksasa yang tak terhitung dan saling tumpang tindih.

Di mata seniman terkenal, ada kemungkinan tema yang bermakna di balik semua itu.

Namun, dengan menyesel, Sora, Sang perjaka delapan-belas-tahun, hanya dapat menjelaskan semua itu dengan satu kata.

Dan kata itu - kacau-balau

“Pokoknya, Jibril – ijinkan aku berkata ini mengenai Flügel.”

“…「Ruang Bebas」…penting…”

- Sora dan lainnya memulai bekerja di waktu yang sama dengan Steph dan Izuna.

Untuk mengetahui syarat sebenarnya agar dapat membangunkan Ratu Seirens - jadi, untuk melaksanakan perbandingan dan evaluasi dengan orang-orang yang telah melalui game yang sama, mereka harus pergi ke satu tempat di dunia, dimana sebagian besar informasi tersimpan.

Dimana tempat tersebut - kota para Flügel, Avant Heim.

“Ah, Master, jangan berkeliaran terlalu jauh dari aku, karena udara disini agak tipis.”

Sora dan Shiro mengangguk puas setelah mendengar perkataan Jibril.

Juga Sora benar-benar tidak punya ide, bagaimana mereka harusnya melanjutkan dari sana.

“…Betul juga, jika hanya para Flügel yang tinggal disini, tidak perlu menyediakan transportasi umum sama sekali.…”

Dalam 「Kota」 di bawah mereka, tidak ada sama sekali pintu, jendela, maupun jalan. Sejujurnya, makhluk yang dapat bergerak tanpa ada segala bentuk batasan tidak perlu semua itu. Meskipun mereka dapat memahami itu, fakta bahwa seluruh tempat telah dibangun dengan kubus yang sangat besar dan tak terhitung, menghancurkan rasa perspektif manusia, dan karena mereka tidak punya perbandingan tempat lain, mereka tidak dapat mengukur seberapa besar sebenarnya tempat itu.

“…Itu tidak seperti kota…Lebih seperti teka-teki bergambar…”

Shiro menjelaskan pemikirannya yang mudah pahami, setelah itu dia bergumam sambil meliihat ke atas:

“…Langitnya…biru?”

Di ketinggian dua puluh ribut meter harusnya berada di ambang luar angkasa, jadi mereka tidak seharusnya bisa melihat langit biru sama sekali…

“Avant Heim adalah salah satu Phantasma yang berperingkat kedua diantara 「Enam-Belas Ras」. Ras ini bahkan berperingkat lebih tinggi dari ras yang dimana adalah sumber dari Galeri Elemental di dunia – Elementals, dan mereka adalah organisme yang benar-benar mandiri dari semua bentuk umum reproduksi. Sederhananya… Avant Heim adalah dunia lain sepenuhnya, hanya itu yang kamu perlu tahu.”

Walaupun udara di atmosfer tidak terlihat mencukupi untuk Master-nya - Jibril masih terus menjelaskan.

“”Hmm…Begitu – Aku tidak paham.””

Sora dan Shiro mengangguk bersama dengan ekspresi fokus yang sama.

“Tidak peduli Flügel atau Phantasma, kamu kebanyakan menolak sepenuhnya untuk bekerja sama dalam ketentuan yang masuk akal oleh yang lainnya dan entah mengapa membuat kita merasa rileks.”

Setelah satu kalimat sarkasme, Sora memandang ke arah horizon, dan melihat sesuatu di bawah pohon tinggi yang istimewa - mungkinkah pandanganya menipunya… kemungkinan tidak, memang ada sesuatu dibawah itu yang terlihat seberti tengkorak naga, dan itu dihiasi dengan megah dan teliti, kemudian ditinggal begitu saja –

“…Jibril, Aku tidak mengerti seni arah dari kota ini sama sekali.”

“Apa!? Tempat ini nantinya akan menjadi tahta Master, kalau ternyata kamu tidak menyukainya, hal itu membuatku kecewa…”

Mendengar Sora menggerutu, Jibril membalas dengan setengah hati.

“Omong-omong, kamu mungkin seharusnya menyelamatkan gadis ini kan?”

Sora berbicara sambil menunjuk ke arah –

“Aaaaahhhh, matahari! Matahari! Aku akan meleleh! Aku akan meleleh, terbakar dan menguap!”

Plum sedang jongkong dengan badannya mengerut menjadi bola dan tudungnya menutupi wajahnya sambil terus menerus menangis.

“Ah, Aku minta maaf… I benar-benar lupa tentangmu, apakah kamu masih hidup?”

“Aku akan mati dalam beberapa detik ke depan! Kekuatanku menurun secara drastis!!”

Untuk seorang Dhampir seperti Plum, sinar matahari sangat fatal untuk mereka; dan dia sepertinya dapat hampir menangkis sinar matahari dengan sihirnya, namun sihirnya itu sendiri sepertinya menguras energinya lebih lagi.

“Itu dia, Jibril, tidak bagus untuk Izuna dan Steph terus menunggu, jadi terbangkanlah kita saja ke tempat diamana semua informasi terkonsentrasi. Juga, untuk Plum, sangat bagus jika di dalam ruangan –“

“OK, jadi silahkan genggam lenganku, dan kemudian –“

Dia terlihat agak gelisah - namun ekspresinya masih tidak dapat dibaca juga, kemudian dia memegang Sora serta lengan Shiro dan berkata:

“…Masters, Aku mengerti bahwa sangat kasar bagiku untuk mengajukan permintaan ini - tetapi dapatkah kamu setuju atas dua permintaanku ini?”

“…Apa itu, jarang sekali kamu seserius ini.”

“- Tolong jangan kecewa, dan tolong percaya.”

…Sora sama sekali tidak mengerti.

Dan Jibril cuma berkata satu kalimat ini, kemudian berseru: “Benda di sana itu.”

“Y-ya!?”

Plum yang dimaksud dengan “Benda di sana itu”, menjawab dengan hanya matanya saja yang terlihat dibawah tudungnya.

“Aku tidak masalah meninggalkanmu disini – jadi bisakah kamu sedikit lebih cepat?”

“Ah, Aku segera kesana sekarang juga, jangan tinggalkan aku –“

Plum buru-buru berdiri dan berlari, dan dalam sekejap dia memegang Jibril – pemandangan berganti pula.

Part 3

There – it was probably within one of the cubes they had saw from a distance earlier.

The place they were in was even more solemn and immense than the Elchean National Library Jibril had hogged for herself – it was a humongous library.

The high-perched ceilings appeared to stretch up to ten stories high, and the interior was designed like an ancient ruin, with stone-made pillars and stairs, intersecting corridors and curved walkways with intertwining vines growing all over them.

And – those things that looked like 「Pillars」 were actually bookshelves.

On the other hand, there was random memorabilia scattered around the entire place as well, and stairs and walkways arranged in impossible fashions like a surrealist M. C. Escher painting were all over the place – and what lit them up was, gigantic fixtures of painted glass that were definitely not on any walls, as well as infinite amounts of floating lanterns.

It was a dream-like yet elegant place – but it was a blasphemous library completely incomprehensible to the likes of the Imanity.

But leaving that aside for now, Sora spoke while pointing up at something:

“…Jibril, that was probably your doing, right?”

It was probably the effect of the large amount of air that Jibril had transported for the sake of Sora and the others.

The library (of sorts) appeared to be ravaged by strong winds, and large amounts of books were dancing about in mid-air in spiral patterns.

However Jibril looked over at that with a smile on her face and spoke:

“Don’t worry about it, Masters, the owner of this place is the creator of the 《Book Equality Law》.”

Sora looked up at the dancing books, and remembered why Jibril had took over the Elchean National Library – or rather, the reason why she had left Avant Heim.

Due to the fact that they had collected too many books, the books were overwhelming Avant Heim – and they chose to deal with it by passing the 《Book Equality Law》 in the name of eliminating unnecessary books.

“Her books are the Flügel’s books, I am a Flügel, so her books are my books.”

Her triple conjugations proved her Takeshi idealism, and she continued with a smile on her face:

“Even if this small accident here was caused by me – or was it on purpose? I believe that she has to consider all these factors before she can 「Decide」, but of course she is extremely kind and tolerant, being able to forgive my mistakes, of course. Even if there are books within the stash there that cannot be copied, reproduced and are the only remaining copies in this world, that’s how it is ♥”

So she could only damage those books because she owned them as well.

- Speaking of which, regarding the 《Book Equality Law》 from earlier, Jibril really couldn’t forgive its existence.

After which –

“Aaaaaahhh~! The books! All the books I haven’t finished~~~~!!”

Everyone looked towards the source of this outcry.

While the one standing there was –

“…Whoa…”

Even Shiro couldn’t help but cry out in awe, and the person standing there was – an extraordinarily beautiful young girl.

The halo spinning around on her head, and the wings stretching out from her waist suggested that she was a Flügel just like Jibril.

However the pattern drawn in the air by her spinning halo was even more complicated than Jibril’s.

The largest difference between them was that she had a single horn protruding from her jade-green hair.

Her wings that appeared to be woven from streaks of light flapped in the air, and her appearance as she did so appeared unbelievably sacred.

But her appearance as she was flying about and struggling to collect all the books that were flapping about in the air, as well as her expression that hinted she was about to cry, was completely different from Jibril’s icy cold demeanour when they had first met – instead she was extremely cute.

- Phew, phew…

She panted intentionally, then landed beside Jibril and spoke:

“Ugh~ Jii-chan you’re mean-nyan~”

A saddened expression appeared on her face which immediately shifted to an angelic smile.

“Is this what I think it is-nyan? Is it those pranks that people play on their loved ones-nyan? Aww~ Jii-chan I haven’t seen you in so long~~ nyaaaaa!?”

Jibril brilliantly teleported away in order to dodge her flying lunge towards her.

Upon seeing her crash into a pile of books, Jibril spoke blandly from behind Sora:

“- Masters, I’ll introduce her to you, she’s the one that approved the dastardly 《Book Equality Law》, the head of the 「Council of the Eighteen Wings」 of Avant Heim, the 「Full Representative of the Winged」 that has the right to make the final decisions regarding the country’s affairs –“

She sighed and continued –

“Azrael-senpai.”

- She introduced the motionless girl with half her body buried in books to Sora.

…

“…How should I put this.”

“The Flügel…are interesting…”

That girl was the full representative of the race that was ranked in sixth place, brought death with them wherever they went in the past, and used to be god-killing weapons?

Sora and Shiro mumbled to themselves, having had their expectations completely crushed.

- At this time, the young girl that was buried in the pile of books earlier, maybe because she had teleported, she had already hugged Jibril tightly while rubbing her violently with her cheeks over a span of time so short that no-one present had noticed.

“Nyan~ Jii-chan is so mean~ I haven’t seen you for so long, but you’re still as cold as ever~~~~ but! That’s fine too!!”

“Azrael-senpai is as annoying as ever as well.”

Jibril spoke with a smile on her face despite having her cheeks violently jerked about.

- Although Jibril would usually reply sarcastically, this time she outright insulted her, which was rare.

“Nyan~ I’ve said I’m not your senpai, call me nee-san, neeeeee-saaaaaannnn~~!!”

Azrael flew about in the air, drawing a figure-eight around Jibril.

“Jibril isn’t a particularly good case but is it really ok for the full representative of the Flügel to be someone like this?”

“…Nii…you have the right…to say that?”

Shiro looked coldly at Sora, however everyone present ignored that line.

On the other hand, Jibril spoke coldly while being pestered, harassed, and having her cheeks rubbed:

“Azrael-senpai, I gave a request for today, please allow the Masters to browse the library –“

“I refuse-nyan~ unless you call me Nee-san, I’ll deny all your requests~ ♪”

Jibril replied in frustration:

“If you explain why you’re rubbing my cheeks, and allow the Masters to browse the library, I’ll consider it.”

“Because Jii-chan is cute! Explanation over, and I’ve allowed them-nyan!! Alright, now call me Nee-san ♥ -“

She spoke while lunging towards her, while Jibril teleported away from her outstretched hand.

“So Masters, I’ve already acquired her permission, please browse this place freely. This is the personal library of the 「Representative of the Winged」, among which countless books have been acquired through the cursed law by taking the books of others, so there’s not a single place with more information than here.”

“Y-you’re mean!! Jii-chan went back on Nee-san’s promise with you-nyan~!?”

Azrael appeared devastated, and her voice was layered with immense shock.

Jibril replied with a flawless smile once again.

“I said that I’d consider it, and after some consideration, I’m not going to ♪”

“Waaaah~ Jii-chan never used to cheat others like this-nyan~ - and whose fault is this-nyan?”

- Glare~~~~

Her tear-filled eyes shot over to Sora.

The power in those eyes appeared as if that gaze alone could kill.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sora, this is my sister Shiro, please take care of us.”

“…Take care…”

Those two completely ignored her gaze as they were used to it from Jibril.

Upon seeing their reaction, Azrael let out an interested “Oh?”, while Sora pointed at Azrael.

“What does she mean by Nee-san? Jibril, you’re the sister of the full representative of the Flügel?”

“Yes-nyan ♥”

“Nope ♪”

Both of them replied without hesitation – and with truly sisters-like smiles – they replied with completely opposite answers. Jibril sighed and continued:

“The Flügel cannot reproduce, we have no sisters, no brothers and no parents, there is only the order in which we were created.”

“…Ah, so that’s why you call her Senpai.”

Which means, she was a being created even earlier than Jibril.

“Also, Azrael is the 「Representative of the Winged」, not the 「Representative of the Flügel」.”

“…Is there a difference?”

“She’s merely the 「Senator」 of the 「Council of Eighteen Wings」 with nine members, herself included.”

At this mention, Sora recalled what she had said earlier.

He remembered that before Jibril belonged to Sora’s posse, she was a member of the 「Council of Eighteen Wings」.

“Basically she has the first say only when emergencies occur, and another 「Right」 -“

Which meant – Jibril shook her head and smiled bitterly.

“She’s not great nor brilliant, so you don’t need to respect her in any way.”

“…You’re really mean even to your own kind, huh, you really haven’t changed at all…”

Probably because she was unhappy with her response, Azrael puffed up her cheeks in rebuttal.

“That’s not how it is-nyan!! All of us were created by Artosh, so our father is Artosh, and the earliest to be created was me, Nee-san! The last one to be created, Jii-chan, is my imouto! Isn’t this an unspoken fact-nyan!?”

Upon hearing her words, Jibril’s bitter smile turned into one of mockery, and she continued:

“- She raised a suggestion like that during one of the meetings, which was completely rejected by all of the members of the council, that’s how pitiful her intelligence is.”

“Be~cause~ if I don’t do that, Jii-chan won’t ever call me Nee-san~ nyan~!”

“Everyone knows that, which was why they turned it down, unless you’re telling me this is the first time you’re hearing of this?”

Jibril’s tone was as cold as ever, while Azrael hugged her once again and began showing off her little sister with a smile on her face.

“Jii-chan she is~ among the children created in the Great War she is the 「Final Unit」-nyan ♪”

She laughed cheerily, while Jibril on the other hand sighed deeply in frustration.

“The children created in the later stages, since they were created when Artosh-sama was at full power, have a power that is completely indescribable by children like me created during the middle stages of the war-nyan~!! However~ the strong children were all fighting on the front lines – so everyone died in the 「Final battle」…”

Azrael’s spirits momentarily dipped, and if the person she was hugging happened to be an Imanity, that person would definitely burst like a balloon. She continued while hugging her only surviving sister.

“Jii-chan is the only final-stage unit that survived after the 「Battle」, and she’s the 「Final Unit」 as well-nyan! She’s everybody’s imouto, and what a cute imouto she is-nyan! It should be made a law to call her that, so why doesn’t everyone understand?”

She once again began flying about in figure-eight shapes cheerily.

Jibril squinting her eyes in disgust was a rare sight as well, but –

“…Jibril…to deal with her…disturbing…precious recordings…”

Shiro spoke while lifting up her smartphone, and began taking a video of the angels.

On the other hand, Sora was pondering another question.

He closely observed Azrael’s innocent and cheerful smile –

“…This is a pain, at this rate I’ll need to change the plan…”

He mumbled to himself disappointedly.

- Glare.

Hearing his softly spoken words, Azrael kept smiling – but then looked towards Sora with a powerful gaze.

“- So, are you the one that snatched my beloved Jii-chan away from us-nyan?”

“Huh, to say a virgin snatched a lover from someone, your question is pretty hard to answer.”

Sora replied indignantly, with his head lifted and chest protruding, at the same time appearing dignified, tragic and powerful.

Azrael stepped closer.

“Oh -….”

“…Huh?”

It was impossible to react to that, as it was a step that ignored all boundaries of distance.

The step itself took multiple instants before Sora and Shiro realized what was happening, and they cried out in surprise.

- In that instant.

A silent shock emanated from Jibril’s body that caused the library to quake.

Sora had initially suspected that she had used magic, however after hearing what the two said after that –

“…Senpai, if you even so much as touch a hair on my Masters’ heads – I’ll just say you might want to reconsider it.”

“Really now~ Jii-chan you don’t need to be so tense~ there are the 「Ten Pledges」 anyway-nyan.”

- Sora realized, she had merely unleased a slight bit of 「Malicious intent」.

Just how much did Jibril restrain her power under normal circumstances –

As they got an extremely small glimpse of Jibril’s 「True power」, Sora and Shiro felt cold sweat running down their cheeks.

And Azrael didn’t seem to mind that 「Slight malicious intent」, instead she turned around to face Sora.

With those jade-green eyes – eyes that were impossibly different from Jibril’s – she spoke while glancing at Sora:

“I wish to make something clear.”

“- Yeah, what is it?”

- Her gaze this time, was completely incomparable to her gaze from earlier.

A sudden crushing sense of malice filled the room, causing the air in the library to freeze, giving them the impression that the very universe itself was being affected.

If they were to answer incorrectly – they would die immediately.

This world has the 「Ten Pledges」.

Jibril was awaiting their orders by the sidelines.

- Despite this, they were unable to relax.

Azrael’s gaze gave them that impression, after which she spoke:

“As long as you command it, Jii-chan will call me 「Nee-chan ♥」 right-nyan?”

…

…?

False alarm – no, Sora felt a sinking feeling that gave him the impression that as long as he were to relax, his very soul would escape him.

The very reason why he was barely standing was because Shiro was clutching his hand in fear.

However, Azrael ignored him and continued emotionally.

“E-even like she licked the feet of the E-Elves, she could like mine – or shower with me or something! N-no, I won’t force her to do something like that!! For example you could allow me to watch or something –“

- How could she have known that? Sora felt suspicious, however he took out his smartphone from his pocket and replied:

“…If you want videos of Jibril showering, I have videos –“

“I’ll bet the Flügel’s race piece for that! Give it to me-nyan!!”

- An impossibly loud sound could be heard in that twenty-thousand-foot high altitude.

“Azrael-san, please calm down, you don’t have the right to do that. To bet the race piece, you need to consult the decision of the「Council of Eighteen Wings」 right? I think your request will be unanimously denied once again ♥”

“U-ugh~~…! – Nyan?”

Jibril’s tone of voice didn’t carry any sense of apprehension despite her adding a small (giggle) at the end of the sentence, however Azrael –

“Wait a second-nyan… noises of gears rumbling are coming from my head! My brain is currently working at light-speeds, it’s the most active it’s been in my, Azrael’s twenty-six-thousand years-nyan!”

- Azrael let slip her incredibly long lifespan just like that while appearing as though considering something.

Finally she raised her head up all of a sudden, seemingly having got an idea.

“- Right-nyan!! You…your name is Sora right!?”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’ll be your possession as well-nyan! My judgement dictates that if that happens I can shower with Jii-chan!!”

“The worst idea you’ve had in twenty-six-thousand years, great job on that hard work, Azrael-san.”

Jibril smiled a smile that couldn’t even be described with the adjective cold, as it carried hints of disappointment as well, and she mocked Azrael.

However – Shiro glanced silently over at her brother.

Azrael had nonchalantly raised her personal freedom as a condition – just as Jibril had said, she wasn’t the representative of the Flügel, and so even if they were to acquire her, they wouldn’t acquire the Flügel race.

Although it would be no easy feat to play against the Flügel.

Azrael even hinted that she would 「Intentionally lose」, also it would be a rather beneficial decision to have her as an asset.

Also her brother’s intention included absorbing the Flügel as well.

On this train of thought, Shiro looked over at her brother as though to confirm her suspicions –

“…?”

She found that Sora had completely lost interest and had calmed down, after which she looked over curiously at Azrael.

Her face still had that enchanting smile on it – an overly perfect smile.

“…Ah…” – understanding what her brother’s expression meant, Shiro nodded slightly.

Sora sighed unexpectedly, turned around and walked away.

“…It’s rare of you to say such things, but this sort of thing should wait until next time…”

“Eh~~… Jii-chan’s naked body –“

Azrael refused to give up, and Sora grasped Shiro’s hand and spat.

“…I bragged to Steph earlier that I would acquire three races, but now I’ll have to apologize to her.”

Looking over at Azrael, Sora – glanced at her with a truly disappointed gaze and said:

“- This one’s useless, Jibril alone is fine.”

Ignoring Azrael’s squinted gaze, Sora and Shiro proceeded to the mountains of bookshelves.

“So Jibril, we can browse the books here right?”

“…Yes, Azrael-senpai has approved of it.”

Sora nodded and surveyed his surroundings.

Books, books, books… it was a giant city made up of nothing but books.

And within his line of sight, he could see that on the back of countless books, there was – writing of multiple languages he didn’t know.

“Since my original expectations were crushed, it looks like we’ll have to tough it out… forget it, let’s try our best, Shiro.”

“…Mm.”

The two agreed and disappeared in the piles of books, while the two Flügel watched them go in silence.

Part 4

Azrael sat cross-legged on one of the piles of books and put her head in her hands.

“Mm~ I wanted to use myself as bait to get Jii-chan, could it be that the bait was too big-nyan?”

She coldly revealed the reason why Sora’s expectations were crushed.

No doubt, Azrael’s thoughts were completely different from her demeanour, as she didn’t believe nor trust Sora.

To get Jibril back, all she wanted them was to fall into her trap.

- As for why Jibril called them her Masters, she had no interest.

“…You really haven’t changed, Azrael.”

Azrael’s expression twitched slightly upon having her name called directly like that, and she replied calmly:

“Jii-chan can even talk back to people such as me and Artosh-sama, so it’s impossible that you would serve under mere Imanity-nyan. As long as it’s by the pledges, sealing one’s intentions or making one a puppet should be easy-nyan. Anyway those two must have won by pure luck, so you’re being forced to follow them, right-nyan? To be honest –“

She looked directly into Jibril’s eyes.

“- Jii-chan has changed.”

Jibril replied Azrael’s words with a cold smile.

“Yes, I have changed…whereas you can’t.”

“…”

“As for how I was defeated in that challenge, you have nothing to say – my expectations were all for nothing.”

Jibril smiled faintly in betrayal, and continued coldly:

“…The reason why I defied my late Master (Artosh) and you, is because – I just can’t take your personalities anymore – too stubborn, so…”

She hesitated slightly, should she say it? Or –

Jibril decided to go with it.

She knew Azrael would take offense more than anyone.

Despite this – she decided that she would tell her, so she did.

“Which is why we lost, and until now – you still won’t change.”

Hearing these words, Azrael’s smile completely vanished.

To be honest – Azrael’s expression was like a cold puppet.

No, it was a completely different existence with Azrael’s appearance – and it spoke:

“- 「Final Unit」, hast thou discovered the 「Answer」?”

Jibril looked at that existence with a gaze of pure hate, and she spoke to it, almost spitting her words:

“- Yes, or more correctly, I found it long ago, it’s just that I didn’t have concrete evidence.”

“…”

“So now I must help the Masters find what they need, so – that’s it.”

Jibril turned away, leaving behind the silent existence.

- …

“…What do you think-nyan?”

- You had to ask.

“…Yes-nyan, but what if you’re wrong?”

- You don’t have to ask, you know already.

“…That’s right-nyan…”

- 「First Unit」, I completely trust in your decision, not just me, but everyone else.

“I know, nyan…”

I know… she told herself that repeatedly.

Azrael was speaking in reply to – the will of the Phantasma (Avant Heim) residing within her.

Azrael merely looked at the people who were searching through the books –

She could only ask again when they made a move.

Part 5

“…No, we won’t make it at this rate.”

Standing before a gigantic pile of books, Sora realized that their efforts were futile after a mere half-hour.

“Shiro, how many languages of this world have you learnt?”

“…Only…the Imanity, Werebeast and Elven languages…”

Shiro mumbled nonchalantly, and Sora caressed her head lovingly.

For Sora who could barely learn the Imanity language, that stunning learning pace just simply couldn’t be described with 「Only」.

But, despite that –

“Jibril, which languages are these?”

“It’s the Dwarven and Demon languages, I can vaguely understand them…”

…Right, the only one that could understand all the books there would be Jibril.

Even though Shiro could learn foreign languages at incomprehensible speeds, the books here alone were in the millions, so relying on this few people to search for information here would be impossible, which was obvious from the very start.

“…Jibril.”

“Yes.”

“There’s no time, if we take too long, Ino’s life will be in danger. Even if we have a lifeline, if the Seirens think we’re genuinely running away, we’ll be in big trouble – can’t you get some help?”

They had no time to sit here and slowly gather information, as they needed to challenge the Empress once more as soon as possible.

Because of that – Sora had originally intended to rely on Azrael to gather help –

However his hopes were crushed as soon as he realized Azrael didn’t have any intention of the sort.

The expression Sora saw on Azrael’s face, wasn’t that of a knowledgeable Flügel – nor was it something like Jibril’s who was a collective of both curiosity and intelligence, nor was she a trigger-happy person.

It – was only –

“…I can get help, but I fear it may not be what you’re expecting.”

Yes, that would be Azrael’s intentions, but –

“There’s no other way, so let’s do what she wants since we don’t have the time to just sit here – Shiro.”

“…Mm.”

- Sora made a once-in-a-blue-moon fidgety gesture – he nibbled on his fingernails, and Shiro replied as well.

“- Since your original expectations were crushed, we can only adapt to the situation at hand, so we’ll need you to cooperate.”

“…OK…”

Part 6

“Hey, Azra…el?”

Sora decided to call upon Azrael, but froze momentarily instead.

- Probably because she had turned the scenery in the Eastern Union or the things within her knowledge into reality.

She was just like the Japanese hikikomoris Sora knew – which included Sora and Shiro themselves – exactly like that, she was buried in a kotatsu-like thing, with her head covered within a blanket, staring at a projector (television) that had only static on it –

“…What is it-nyan…? What is it so important that you have to bother someone useless like me-nyan?”

What a waste of energy – Azrael made the surroundings on her appear dark and gloomy in an attempt to accentuate her sadness.

Faced with her overly exaggerated acting skills, Sora instead felt admiration, after which he spoke with a deadpan expression:

“- Ah~ um, you know about the hibernating Empress of the Seirens right?”

“Nyaaaaa…that idiot that was influenced by fairy tales and pushed two races including herself to the brink of extinction in the span of a single generation, leaving even the shellfish speechless? Everyone knows-nyan~…”

Azrael replied under her blanket.

- While looking at her halo that was spinning about above her blanket, Sora continued while experiencing indescribable feelings:

“Y-yes, that’s her, we’re looking for the records of the conditions she set before starting her game.”

“…If that’s you want, Jii-chan knows as well-nyan! It’s 「She will continue hibernating as long as she hasn’t fallen in love」-nyan.”

“Yes, but – that’s fake.”

Hearing her words, Azrael’s eyes lit up with a sharp glint as though forgetting her previous depressed act.

“Oh! Is that why everyone lost-nyan? So what’s the actual conditions-nyan?”

- That fellow was a Flügel after all.

“That’s what I want to know, so I’m looking for all available records of people that have carried out games with her, and the exact words the players were told for comparison.”

“Oh~….”

Azrael stared into space for a moment, after which she replied coldly:

“About that, if you’re looking for records, they’re placed in a certain somewhere, look for it yourself, and I’ll inform you again if you have a definitive goal.”

But – no doubt, she was different from Jibril.

“Yes, but there’s too many books, we don’t have time, so where are all the related records –“

“I don’t know at all-nyan! Ahahahahaha~”

…

“Because of the 《Equality Law》-nyan~ After lending those books out countless times, even I don’t know where they are-nyan~♪”

“Do you understand now? Master, this is exactly why I left my hometown.”

Probably because she had forgotten she was supposed to be acting depressed, Azrael laughed cheerily while Jibril was completely solemn.

“…Since you all live to collect books, you should at least keep them properly…”

“Hmm? That’s wrong-nyan, our aim is to collect 「Knowledge」, 「Books」 are actually nothing to us-nyan. I even think that as long as we can memorise the contents of the books, throwing them away is fine as well; but since the people who haven’t read them would be angry, we didn’t do that-nyan~”

“Do you understand now? Master, this is exactly it! The reason why I left my hometown.”

Jibril smiled a smile that indicated she would strike at any moment as she explained to Sora once again.

- Sora now understood, all she was focused on was 「Knowledge」-

「As for what that meant」…Sora couldn’t restrain his laughter, however he didn’t bother explaining it, and instead asked Azrael:

“So, what should I do?”

“Hmm~ just let the people that are in charge of the books’ locations to search for them! There are some others that are just as close-minded as Jii-chan, so as long as they’re willing to, you should be able to get all of them-nyan~”

“Mm, so I’ll leave it to –“

“I’m not in the mood-nyan~”

Seemingly wishing to appear sad once again, Azrael spoke while burying herself under the blanket once more:

“I can allow my cute imouto’s toys to wander about everywhere, but I have no obligation to take care of you all. I have no value in being your companion, and even Jii-chan called me an idiot, so I’m very depressed now-nyan~ I’m very hurt-nyan~ So I don’t want to do anything-nyan~”

Sora slowly passed her his phone.

“Even if I show you videos of Jibril in the shower?”

“----------No.”

“If you agree now, I’ll throw in the offer of her calling you 「Nee-san」 then?”

“---------------------------N…no deal.”

Azrael replied while sweating furiously, as though she was engaging in mortal combat with something.

She squeezed out her words while breathing heavily, seemingly undergoing some brutal training.

“I-I’m very~~ hurt now-nyan – something like that… ah, no, I’m not dismissing Jii-chan as something beneath me-nyan! It’s just that I’m too hurt, so I need something more than that – um, you should know…what I mean right?”

Cheh – Sora grumbled silently.

He saw that amongst Azrael’s deception and lies – only her devotion to Jibril was real, which was the reason why he played his trump card but to no avail.

At this rate, his actions would be limited.

Facing an opponent such as the Flügel? Having the opponent have the upper hand in a game still yet unknown to them? – What a joke.

“- To be honest, I don’t care what happens to you, so if those stupid fish, mangy mutts and bald monkeys want to go extinct just let them, at the most we’ll just get a few more books describing their downfall-nyan. For me, it’s advantageous-nyan.”

Her gaze fell upon Sora.

“To someone immortal like me…people like you who die in the blink of an eye don’t even deserve the value of a 「Fairy tale」. You want me to help? Why do I have to-nyan?”

- But he couldn’t let her have the upper hand, as if she did it would be all over.

If Azrael insisted on playing mind games – bring it on.

“So that’s how you really are, which is why I said you’re useless, can’t you even detect my mockery? 「Dead man」.”

Sora replied with determination but at the same time in pride – and hearing his words, Azrael’s expression changed.

“A tool used by no one, a puppet with no value, I’ll assume that’s a pretty enjoyable life you’re living there.”

“-…”

“It’s fine, since when we’ve taken over the world, people like you would definitely say something like 「Please allow me to join」 right? Because you all only know how to follow along with where the wind blows. Jibril, we’ll think of a way ourselves, so let’s go find your friends one by one –“

Sora stood up and turned to leave.

“…You dare to pick an argument with me, don’t tell me you’re running away now?”

- She took the bait, Sora smiled to himself.

“Argument? Hah! Only equals can argue with each other.”

“Oh… I didn’t think that you’d be so self-conscious about it, you’re worthy of some commendation after all.”

“- The one that’s on the lower rank is you of course, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed today? Airhead.”

“….Very good-nyan, who’s afraid of who-nyan.”

After which she raised her hand and announced.

“「Kill and plunder for the things that you desire, for that is tantamount to the decree of heaven」-nyan!”

…

-…Hearing her extremely crass words, Sora and Shiro half-closed their eyes.

“…What kind of words are those…?”

“Ah, Masters, that’s a Flügel idiom so it’s fine if you don’t know it.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Not an argument – but we’ll play a game-nyan, it’s just that –“

Ignoring Sora and Jibril’s conversation, Azrael snapped her fingers.

“「All of us」 will play a game together with Jii-chan’s friends that you’re looking for, then you can ask for their help.”

- In an instant.

Everyone present was teleported with a force that even Jibril couldn’t resist.

And what they saw after the scenery had changed was –

- A long banner with the words ‘Kuuhaku「」 Autograph and Handshake Fan Meeting’ written on it.

Countless Flügel were setting up the place –

“…We were tricked -!!”

As almost a hundred gazes fell upon them simultaneously, Sora understood instantly.

- She merely pretended to be provoked – which means, he lost in the mind games department.

But, as compared to this, the gazes that were upon him nearly made Sora and Shiro black out.

However – the questions that were festering in his mind caused him to stay conscious.

It was a card that none of them had expected.

Although since Sora had already shut his ears and was prepared to faint, he didn’t hear any of it.

It was probably the sound of a girl yelling for help, and the sound covered the entire area like an explosion.

Under the countless approaching gazes, Sora asked in a trembling voice:

“Hey, Jibril, what…is this? What is this-aaaaahhhhh!”

Sora yelled while frantically hugging Shiro whose eyes were already rolling up into the whites, while Jibril clapped her hands once and replied:

“Ah, I forgot, in order for them to deal with the Eastern Union, I took the Masters’ 「Bible (Observation Diary)」and passed it to them, in order for faster transmission of information –“

Jibril giggled and continued:

“I even gave them complimentary autograph vouchers, handshake vouchers, date vouchers and sleepover vouchers, don’t forget all the various and dream-like special items –“

“Don’t use that sort of dirty methods!! Like that even if repeated buyers increase, the buyer penetration rate wouldn’t increase, right!?”

“…I see, I wanted to say that we would sell a large amount of copies but there seems to be an eerily small amount of people here, so that’s the reason. Next time I’ll think of an even more profitable method – or rather, a more effective way of passing information.

Jibril’s face was full of determination, and she began furiously writing down stuff on a notebook, however Sora continued:

“Wait a minute Jibril! You have to report to me when you’re doing things like this!!”

- No wonder Azrael knew a suspiciously large amount of information regarding them.

But since the reason for that was due to their own comrade, how were they supposed to win at their mind games?

To make it clear, the hundred Flügel present there were all Sora and Shiro’s 「Fans」.

Looking over at them once more, Sora almost fainted again, however Jibril smiled –

“No problem, Masters, you’ve won this time.”

“Huh? What?”

- Jibril spoke while looking sharply over at Azrael.

“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~”

“~~~~~~~~~~~”

“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~”

“~~~~~~~~”

- That was probably the Flügel language.

The two of them were conversing in a language that Sora and Shiro couldn’t understand.

But for some reason –

The hall that was filled with a woman’s screams of help since earlier…

The atmosphere suddenly changed, and what replaced it was a suffocating silence.

“- Um~ Jibril-san? I have a bad feeling about this, what are you guys talking about?”

“Ah, sorry Master, we’re done talking so I’ll tell you now.”

Jibril turned around.

“Just as Azrael-senpai said, we’ll recruit these people’s help to find our information.”

Jibril spoke with a smile on her face to the trembling Sora and Shiro.

“Essentially speaking, we just have to defeat all of them in a game ♪”

“Jibril, do you know how much effort we put into just defeating you alone – who can beat such a large amount of Flügel?”

“…Shiver.”

The two were demophobic and anthropophobic in the first place…

Not to mention that they had to face off almost a hundred Flügel in Materialization Shiritori, so they would definitely not be able to survive.

Just imagining it – made Sora and Shiro’s faces pale in fear.

“No, that means 「Defeating all of them at once」, luckily the opponent’s demands aren’t that huge.”

“Yep, you just need to play against everyone here-nyan.”

“If you win, everyone will help you collect the books that you’re looking for. If you lose, I’ll let the Masters choose whether you want the autograph or handshake events. These are the conditions we set down earlier.”

Damn –

The hall was filled with women’s voices crying for help once more, and Sora and Shiro were at the verge of fainting.

“Jibril…do you want us to die…?”

“…Jibril…we…trusted you…”

The siblings were trembling non-stop like newborn deer.

“Please relax – the Masters won’t lose, and –“

Jibril looked over at Azrael.

Azrael clapped her hands once.

“We can’t possibly play Shiritori with this many people, so let’s play - 「Red light, Green light」.”

“- Jibril, let me ask you again – do you want us to die?”

“…Tremble.”

Playing red light, green light against the Flügel?

They could fly and teleport freely, so if there was a place beyond their grasps…

That was basically hinting at 「The afterworld」.

While Azrael cut off his train of thought.

“But the normal version of red light, green light is too boring-nyan, so –“

“In conjunction with the nature of the Flügel – we’ll use a 「Word Game」 to play it.”

Jibril raised up her palm as she said this.

On her raised palm, just like a vortex –

Forty-six characters woven from light appeared on it.

Sora knew those characters – those were the forty-six – katakana.

Jibril threw those characters over to Azrael.

“Hmm~? Are these the letters of your world? Are there consonants?”

Azrael closely pondered the characters, then began moving her hand about in a complex fashion.

- Although Sora couldn’t detect magic, the ground began to shake about as if something was hoisting it up from underneath, so they guessed that there was a gigantic spell being activated.

“Alright, I’m done-nyan, so let’s get started-nyan?”

As she said this, the katakana – the forty-six characters from ア (a) to ン (n), on Azrael’s hand – converted to light…

And they dissolved simultaneously, automatically distributing themselves individually amongst the hundred Flügel females.

After ensuring that all the characters were assigned, Azrael then said:

“The rules are simple, I have just transported the characters to a certain location on each of the women present.”

- Forty-six characters, and with the participants almost entering the hundreds, there was no way to tell who had which characters.

“The game is Red light, Green light, so for your convenience I’ve specially banned teleportation from being used within the game.”

- After that…

“If you both get caught by these children you lose, and if you manage to evade them for an hour it will be considered a victory.”

“As long as you touch the shifting characters – that is if you manage to do it while not getting caught, the characters will be transferred to the Masters.”

Jibril spoke with a smile on her face as if to continue Azrael’s explanation.

As she finished, she threw two characters over to Azrael.

“When characters combine they become 「Word Spirits」.”

Azrael raised her hand as an example, and the two letters - 「コ (ko) 」 and「タ (ta) 」, began spinning around on her wrist, and she said:

“After you touch the 「Word Spirits」, their meanings will become reality – no matter whether it’s a concept or an object, you can even shift their states at will.”

“”Oh.””

In the instant that she said that, Sora and Shiro – saw the future.

Azrael combined the two characters in her hand – and then –

“- Nyaaaaaahhhhhh what is this, it’s disgusting aaaahhhhhh!! Nyaaaaahhhhh!!”

A gigantic - 「OctopusTa•ko」materialized and its tentacles wrapped around –

The future Sora and Shiro saw became reality, meanwhile Azrael rolled around on the floor while yelling.

“Ah, Senpai you really are something, what with combining characters of a language you don’t know to entertain us.”

Jibril laughed coldly beside her, while Azrael probably genuinely felt disgusted.

In an instant – with a huge boom, the space about them exploded and the squid disappeared along with the characters.

“J-just like that, nyan?”

Sora and Shiro looked at her speechlessly with their eyes half open, while Azrael pretended as if nothing had happened.

“You can turn the meanings of the words into reality-nyan, no matter whether it’s a thing, a phenomenon or a concept, it will appear just the same-nyan.”

“Also, since Senpai didn’t know what the words I passed her meant, what materialized was my impression of the words that I passed to her. In the actual game, the ones that can use the 「Word Spirits」 are the Masters alone ♪”

“…”

She replied cheerily and nonchalantly, confessing that she had played a prank on Azrael.

However Azrael didn’t seem to mind either, and she coughed and continued:

“But – once the words are used once they will disappear, so I suggest that you use them carefully-nyan!”

-…

“The explanation’s over, do the Masters have any questions?”

“A lot – such as how we run away, if you don’t know this by now I’ll tell you. Humans can’t fly.”

“Tremble.”

“…I apologize, Masters, I was originally going to help out – but I cannot participate in this time’s game.”

Her two Masters appeared surprised, while Azrael laughed and said to them:

“If you wish to borrow Jii-chan’s strength it won’t be considered as a competition-nyan, since no one will be able to catch you. It was already very generous on our part to allow you to use the 「Word Spirits」, so –“

Azrael giggled and…

“The Dhampir hiding over there, please lend them your wings.”

…She looked over to the side.

- Just like that.

Plum was dragged out into plain sight as her invisibility spell was crushed like glass.

“…Eh? E-eh~~~~~~!? W-why was I noticed!?”

“…You really are something – your presence was erased to a notable degree.”

- Even Sora and Shiro had forgotten her existence, and Jibril spoke respectfully.

Azrael stood beside Jibril and asked Plum:

“Hey, even if you’re a useless species that can’t even be compared to a mosquito, if you put your back into it, there shouldn’t be a problem in creating a spell that gives the user wings right-nyan?”

- Azrael asked her question in a disrespectful tone even more prideful than a god’s.

On the other hand, Plum replied boldly despite trembling in fear of death.

“E-eh~~ i-if you want me to let them fly at a speed of a Flügel that would be impossible… The force of the shock would disintegrate not just them, but me as well, also my power is running out –“

Azrael continued to smile.

“If you’re tired you can just extract body fluids from those two-nyan!”

“I will dedicate myself to create wings for you two!”

Plum’s attitude changed faster than the speed of sound, and she bowed respectfully at the both of them, however –

“No, wait a minute, why do we have to agree to this –“

…As Sora was about to say that, he stopped at Jibril’s gaze.

- Please don’t be disappointed, and please believe –

He saw the girl that had told him that sincerely with an expectant yet disappointed gaze.

And, as he shifted his gaze, he saw the empty girl who was like an uninhabited shell, who was smiling but looked like a dead person.

“Kill and plunder for the things that you desire, for that is tantamount to the decree of heaven – that’s the kind of 「Game」 it is-nyan?”

“…”

The uneasy gaze with a soul residing within it, and an empty puppet-like smile.

What Sora saw there was – a scene exactly the same as earlier – but…

- Game, this word made Sora and Shiro’s eyes light up, and their brains cooled down at extreme speeds.

Rules, victory conditions, and Azrael’s intentions, all those things swirled about and combined themselves at furious speeds within their heads.

“…Nii.”

Shiro who was doing the exact same thing appeared noticeably uneasy, however Sora nodded his head at her, and told her – I know.

It was a noticeably different 「Game」 than they had taken part in previously.

The game would have to end before it began.

Kuuhaku「」 followed this golden rule, however this game was –

It was a game challenged by the opposition, a game that they had not taken into account for, which meant that it was a game where the opponent had the upper hand.

It was also a game with undisclosed conditions that were hidden in the Flügel language.

It was also a game with rules intentionally prepared to be disadvantageous towards them.

This game was too dangerous, too suspicious, they didn’t have enough information, so they shouldn’t be agreeing to it at all.

“…Masters…please, please believe me.”

Within her wavering gaze there lay a preparation to even receive punishment.

But – it was also a gaze that completely believed that Sora and Shiro would win, and it was with that in mind that Jibril had prepared the game.

“- Let me confirm the conditions.”

Sora glanced over at Jibril, and asked with his mind completely calm.

And Shiro who was looking up at him uneasily since earlier, upon seeing Sora so decisive, decided to follow along with his decision.

The uneasiness in her eyes vanished, and she merely concentrated in order to sharpen her thinking.

Just like that, Sora and Shiro ignored Jibril who closed her eyes in a gesture of gratitude beside them.

The two began deducing all the things they needed to take into consideration – their brains spun about violently, pondering this game which they had not anticipated earlier, even anticipating things that they wouldn’t be able to anticipate beforehand.

“- First, Shiro and I will have to hold hands throughout the entire game, and this is a definitive condition.”

“…Let Plum make…wings.”

“Yes, Shiro and I will each have one side of a pair of wings that will move according to our thoughts, this is a definitive condition.”

“…Plum…you can do it…you have to do it.”

Shiro’s sentence turned from a question to an order, and Plum replied with her head drooped low in sadness.

“Eh, that…? T-that will be an extremely complex spell, if possible I don’t –“

“I don’t care what the shape is like, but over the course of that period I will permit you to lick off my sweat.”

“Leave it to me!! I will show you the true power of the Dhampirs – hah!!”

She replied with a completely unnecessary burst of energy.

In an instant Plum’s wings turned blood-red, and complex patterns appeared within her eyes.

Plum began conjuring a particularly complicated spell, and changed her appearance into –

…A scarf.

The scarf billowed in the wind gently, and landed on Sora and Shiro’s necks.

Sora and Shiro were connected to each other like two people under a single long scarf.

“P-phew…I-I disguised my existence on the physical plane…!! A-at this rate…t-the two ends of the scarf…should have the capabilities of a pair of wings -!!”

Just as the first time she had met Sora, she did the same thing to their luggage as well, and Plum transformed herself into a flying scarf.

In that atmosphere where even the Flügel expressed their admiration, Sora could almost see Plum puffing out her flat chest in pride.

- Although she was panting heavily.

The scarf connecting Sora and Shiro’s necks spread out at its two sides…

It drew a pattern in the air of blood trickling, and wove itself into wings. Sora nodded…

And asked the remaining question:

“- After which… transform Avant Heim into a place where Shiro, Plum and I can move about freely without restriction. Also, even though we have wings, we don’t know how to use them, so I request that after we leave – the game will only start five minutes after…do you have any problems with that? Shiro.”

“…Mm, no problem.”

- At this time all of them took a deep breath, and it wasn’t because the two of them had experienced such a drastic change in character…

Instead it was because he had only requested five minutes of extra time.

“There’s no problem right?”

Jibril turned around and asked Azrael and the Flügel crowds behind her.

Using a never before used power, with a measly forty-four characters as weapons, the Imanity would have to avoid the onslaught of a hundred Flügel.

If they could do it – all of them swallowed their saliva at once.

“…Mm, there’s no problem-nyan, although I feel it’s a bit too lenient-nyan…”

Azrael spoke, appearing to be the only one that hadn’t grasped the situation.

Her fingertips shifted gently – after which a giant explosion occurred.

“- I’ve already turned Avant-kun (Avant Heim) into a place befitting of your conditions – so now we can begin right?”

Azrael dismissed rewriting the appearance of another world entirely as though it were as easy as drawing a sketch.

She snapped her fingers once more, and the walls began shifting silently – and a gigantic hole appeared.

…From the hole in the wall, the entire city of Avant Heim could be seen.

Maybe because Azrael had shifted the position of the sun, or simply because some time had passed, it was night-time outside.

There was no sunlight, which made it an optimal environment for Plum.

They stuck their heads out of the gap to examine the conditions outside – Sora and Shiro grasped each other’s hands tightly.

The scarf on their necks that was being blown about in the wind – they could sense that Plum was resisting the urge to say something.

They couldn’t see anything done below.

However they felt a sensation as if their bodies were going to be swept away in the wind, which meant that it was at extremely high altitudes.

“So – now let’s begin the game with the two Master against all the Flügel present.”

Behind Sora and Shiro, Jibril announced respectfully.

And behind her there were the gazes of almost a hundred Flügel.

Despite this – once they were to enter the game, those gazes wouldn’t be able to affect Sora and Shiro’s thoughts any longer.

“This is the map of this version of Avant Heim.”

Shiro took one look at the map that was flapping about in the wind and nodded.

While Jibril took a step back and bowed deeply.

“…Masters, thank you.”

“To be honest I’m not confident at all, but… we believe in you, so you better not let us down!”

“…It’s natural…to care about family.”

Jibril and Sora and Shiro were engaged in a conversation only the three of them could understand –

“”-「Aschente」-!!””

As Jibril and everyone else raised their hands and yelled this single word:

Sora and Shiro leaped out of the hole in the wall.

In an instant, gravity took hold of the both of them, which was a force no human body could resist.

Along with the strong winds outside, the two slowly – descended at an increasing speed.

They couldn’t see what was beneath them, but whatever it was there could only be one outcome – death.

When faced with this they were impossibly not uneasy nor scared – why? Sora couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“…Nii…”

Hearing his sister calling out for him, Sora looked to the side, only to see that the other side of the scarf – had a single wing growing out of it.

Sora confirmed that there was another similar wing on his back through Shiro’s gaze.

“…Let’s go…”

- Yes – Sora smiled, they couldn’t possibly feel uneasiness nor fear.

They grasped each other’s hands, and flapped their wings together as one.

With a force even more powerful than an eagle’s – they broke the shackles of gravity.

References

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